#so left arm is vanitas right is xigbar
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The Lost Princess Chapter 38
Warnings: same as the last chapter
Rating: SFW
“A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory.”
“A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream.”
“I want to line the pieces up--yours and mine.”
It was your birthday yet again in Daybreak Town. All of the foretellers gathered together and released lanterns for your birthday.
“How long do you think we’ll keep this up?” Aced asked.
“Till I get my daughter back,” Ira said.
“But we don’t even know if she’s alive. How do you know that you’ll get her back?” Invi said.
“I can feel it in my heart. She’s alive and she’s happy. And she will return.”
~~~~
Xehanort smirked at the sight of the lanterns entering Scala ad Caelum.
“So, he’s still hopeful of his daughter. He won’t be for long,” he said. He summoned his Keyblade and broke one of the lanterns.
“That girl will fall into darkness. She just needs a little convincing,” he said.
~~~~
Roxas walked through the basement corridor. He saw two capsules with familiar faces inside.
“...Donald. ...Goofy?” he asked. He turned to the door at the end of the hall and entered. DiZ was standing in a completely bright room in front of a single large capsule.
“At last, the Keyblade's chosen one. The protector of the Spirit,” he said.
“Who are you talking to? Me? Or Sora?” Roxas asked.
“To half of Sora, of course. You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of light and destroy Organization XIII.”
“Why? Who are you?”
“I am a servant of the world.” DiZ laughed.
“And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best,” he said.
“Was that... Was that supposed to be a joke?” Roxas asked as he summoned his keyblade.
“'Cause I'm not laughing!” he said. Roxas ran up to DiZ and struck through him. The Keyblade created a wave of data through DiZ. Roxas, surprised, stood straight.
“My apologies. This is only a data-based projection,” DiZ said. Roxas screamed in anger, and futilely struck DiZ repetitively with the Keyblade. DiZ vanished and reappeared behind him while Roxas caught his breath.
“Come, over here,” DiZ said. Roxas stared at DiZ.
“I hate you so much...” he said.
“You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good,” DiZ said.
“No! My heart belongs to me!” Roxas ran and cut again through DiZ. DiZ disappeared and the capsule glowed. The mechanical petals opened slowly and revealed what they contained.
“Sora...(Y/N)...” Roxas said. There, you and Sora were sleeping soundly in the capsule.
“You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over,” Roxas said. Roxas turned around and faded to white.
“Sora? (Y/N)?” he asked.
“Huh?” you asked.
“Who's there?” Sora asked.
“Sora! (Y/N)!” Donald said.
“Wake up, you two,” Goofy said. You and Sora woke up and the capsule opened again in front of Donald and Goofy. You and Sora stretch and the other two laugh at how small your clothes have gotten. You and Sora jumped out of the capsule in front of them and grabbed them in your arms.
“Donald!” you said.
“Goofy!” Sora said. The four of you laughed and hopped in a circle. Jiminy Cricket climbed on Sora's shoulder, yawned, and stretched. Odile did the same thing on your shoulder.
“That was some nap!” Jiminy said. Jiminy hopped down to the floor.
“You mean, we were asleep?” you asked.
“I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy...”
“When do ya think we went to sleep?” Goofy asked.
“Uhh...” Donald said.
“Let's see...we defeated Ansem...” Sora said.
“Yep,” Goofy said.
“...restored peace to the world...found Kairi... Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. And my brother gave me Odile and showed me memories of my parents. I think that's right so far,” you said.
“Then what?” Donald asked.
“What does your journal say, Jiminy?” Goofy asked. Jiminy took out his journal.
“Gee, there's only one sentence... ‘Thank Naminé.’ Hmm... I wonder who that is,” he said. You, Sora, Donald, Odile, and Goofy looked at one another and shook your heads.
“Some journal that is,” Donald said.
“Well, what do ya say we find out where we are!” Jiminy said. You and the group walked to Twilight Town and entered the Usual Spot.
“You know, I think I've been to this town,” Sora said.
“Me too,” you said.
“What's it called?” Donald asked.
“Hmm... Guess we must've imagined it,” Sora said. Hayner, Olette, and Pence were boredly lying around the room.
“What do you want!?” Hayner asked.
“Uh, nothing. Just wondering what was back here,” you said.
“Now you know. This is our spot.”
“Umm...” Pence said.
“What?” Sora asked.
“You're...new around here, right? I'm Pence.”
“Hayner. Nice to meet you, but we got stuff to do, so catch ya later,” Hayner said as he left.
“My name's Olette. Hey, did you finish up the summer homework, yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?” Olette said.
“Homework?” you and Sora asked. The two of you looked at Donald and Goofy, who shrugged.
“Hey, what're your names?” Pence asked.
“Oh. We’re Sora, (Y/N), Donald, and Goofy,” Goofy said.
“And this is Odile,” you said. Odile popped out and looked at everyone.
“Aww, she’s so cute!” Olette said as she scratched under Odile’s chin. Odile purred at the feeling.
“You know, we just met someone who was looking for you,” Goofy said.
“He sure seemed in a hurry. He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears,” Pence said.
“The King!” Donald said.
“Where'd you see him?” Sora asked.
“At the station,” Pence said.
“The station! Thanks!” you said.
“Well, we'd better get back to that assignment,” Olette said.
“Later,” Pence said. Him and Olette lef the Usual Place, leaving you, Odile and the trio by yourselves.
“Oh boy! The King's trying to find us!” Donald said.
“Yeah, let's get to the station!” Sora said. The five of you entered the Sandlot and found Seifer, Fuu and Rai.
“Hey you, where'd you come from?” Seifer asked.
“Uhh...” you said.
“You here to pick a fight with us or something?”
“Fight? We're not here to fight,” Sora said.
“Yeah, you big palooka!” Donald said.
“Okay, smartalecks... Time to teach you how to behave in my town. Bring it!” Seifer said. Him, Fuu, and Rai took defensive stances. Odile stood in front of you and the trio in a hostile manner.
“Calm down, Odile. We’re not gonna fight these guys,” you said.
“Man, what a jerk,” Sora said. Donald nodded and the five of you continued your trek to find the station. The five of you continued to Central Station and were suddenly surrounded by Dusks. You all fought them, but were overwhelmed and became exhausted. Mickey appeared on the ledge of the station. As the Dusks striked again and Sora held up his Keyblade while you held onto your dagger and Odile, Mickey swooped down and destroyed the remaining Nobodies with his own Keyblade. You and Sora were amazed. Donald and Goofy pushed you and Sora down and out of the way.
“Your Majesty?” Donald asked.
“Shh! You gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way,” Mickey said as he held out a pouch of munny.
“Here,” he said. Sora took it and Mickey ran to Market Street.
“Your Majesty...” Donald said.
“The King... Was that really him?” Sora asked.
“It coulda been... Yep, I know it was!” Goofy said.
“Now we know he's okay!” Donald said.
“The king was locked in the realm of darkness, right?” you asked.
“Uh-huh,” Goofy said.
“But we just saw him,” Sora said.
“Yep,” Donald said.
“And if the king is here, that means Riku’s here!” you said.
“He’s gotta be!” Donald said.
“Well, (Y/N) and I are gonna go look for Riku. Then we can go back to the islands together. Kairi’s there waiting for us! What are you two gonna do?” Sora said.
“Gawrsh, Sora. Do ya have to ask?” Goofy said. You and Sora giggled. Odile nudged your cheek, grabbing your attention.
“Huh? What is it, Odile?” you asked. Odile moved around, asking about Vanitas.
“Vani...I don’t know. I don’t know where he is or if he’s okay. But as long as I have you, Odile, I think he’ll be okay,” you said.
“You really care about him, huh?” Donald asked.
“Of course. He was my best friend and my brother. I have to know if he’s okay.”
“Hey, what do ya say, guys? Let’s stick together for one more journey,” Sora said. You all nodded in agreement.
“To...where again?” he asked.
“We hafta board the train!” Goofy said.
“Oh yeah.” You and Donald sighed while Odile shook her head.
“C'mon!” Sora said. The four of you ran inside the station.
“Wait up!” Hayner said. Him, Pence, and Olette caught up to you.
“Hey, Sora, (Y/N)...” he said.
“What?” you asked.
“Nothing, but...”
“We came to see you off. It just seemed like something we oughta do,” Pence said.
“Oh...really? Thanks!” Sora said. Suddenly, there was a ringing sound.
“You should hurry and get your tickets,” Olette said.
“Right,” you said. Sora took out the Munny Pouch at the teller and Olette noticed.
“What is it?” you asked. Olette took an exact copy of the Munny Pouch.
“They're the same,” Goofy said.
“Yeah,” Olette said. Sora looked to both pouches and shrugged.
“Four tickets, please!” he said. The teller gave him four tickets.
“I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again...” Sora said.
“Why not?” you asked.
“You're thinkin' too much,” Goofy said.
“Yeah, you're right!” You and the Trio boarded the train and followed it to Master Yen Sid’s tower.
~~~~
A girl was walking along the halls of a castle, trying to find her sister. She soon found her, reading a book in the seating area. She walked over to her and looked at her.
“Ugh, what do you want?” the sister asked.
“Father wants to see us,” the girl said. The sister groaned and followed the girl to their father’s office. The girl knocked on the door and waited for her father’s response.
“Enter,” he said. The two girls entered and saw their father at his desk.
“You wanted to see us?” the sister asked.
“Yes. A spirit has awoken. Find her and bring her here,” he said.
“A spirit? I thought that we were the only ones,” the girl said.
“Well, you’re not. Now go and don’t keep me waiting.”
“Yes, father,” the two girls said. They walked out of his office and walked down the halls.
“Should we ask Uncle Xigbar for help?” the sister asked.
“No. I think we can handle ourselves. Besides, it’s just one spirit. We’re far more stronger than she is,” the girl said. The sister smirked and summoned her weapon.
“This is going to be fun,” she said.
to be continued...
#kingdom hearts#kingdomhearts#kingdom hearts imagine#kingdom hearts x reader#kingdom+hearts+imagine#kingdom+hearts+x+reader#kingdomhearts imagine#kingdomhearts x reader#kingdomhearts+imagine#kingdomhearts+x+reader
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Kingdom Hearts 3 Tier List based on their Data Greeting Poses’s ability to Dab.
The time has come. I have spent hours researching. Looking at every character. And I have found them. The creme of the crop. The ones who didn’t even frickin’ try. The in-betweeners.
First up; Naminé Tier
Pictured: Naminé holding her hands to her chest endearingly.
Not Pictured: Literally anything even tangentially relating to a dab.
Naminé gets her own tier because she got shafted. She only has two poses; this one and the basic “standing still” pose that everyone gets. No dabbing. 0/10
Next is; Trash Tier
Pictured: Nine characters who do not know how to dab.
From left to right;
Kairi, who just has both arms together and to the side.
Roxas, who’s going HARD but doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s heard of the deep dab but seen neither, so his back arm is so far back it’s behind him and his front arm is too far forward.
Marluxia, who just has his arm straight out in front of him.
Xemnas, who is similarly not trying and just has his arms out with the front one at the slightest bend.
Ansem, who has amazing front arm posture, but forgot he has a second one. He also looks like he’s not very into it.
Terra. (and the not-pictured Terranort) He’s just dashing forward. What do you want from me, this is the most bent his arm got in either form.
Vanitas, who’s flat out running to try and get out of this picture.
Dark Shadow, who looks like he’s either in a ballet recital or contemplating his hand. Form isn’t bad but his head is nowhere near the dab arms. He’s just looking down at his arm instead of putting his head there.
Moogle. This boy is thinkin. And since he has such tiny arms I wanted to give him a pass. But he could still have raised his back arm higher and straighter, and I’m he will learn from this and get better.
This tier is filled with characters who either don’t know or don’t care about dabbing. Disappointing. 4/10 because some of them are still trying their bests.
And now; Mid Tier
Pictured: Eight characters who are trying to dab, but haven’t gotten it down yet, and Luxord.
From left to right;
Xion. Her cloak has a nice swirl, but her arm is still too far forward.
Riku. He’s actually in a reasonable back arm and head position, but his front arm is too far ahead of him.
Sora. Front arm good, back arm so far back it’s behind him. As with most in this tier, he’s really trying.
Armored Xehanort. It’s hard to place him because his positioning is pretty good, but it’s hard to read because of his complicated clothing. Plus, he’s dabbing to the goat helmet, which is like a foot above his head, and I don’t know how to feel about that.
Dark Riku. Good form, but his front arm is horizontal instead of vertical. Nice try buddy.
Aqua. She’s in more of a battle position than anything. She looks seconds away from curling one arm in more and stretching the other out, but unfortunately we don’t give first place to almosts.
Xehanort. He’s just doing ballet arabesque arms. He looks like he’s dancing, and while I appreciate that he’s having a good time, it’s not a dab.
Ventus, who’s really going for it. Unfortunately his arms are way too far forward and back, sorry bud.
Luxord. He didn’t even frickin’ try. He’s got his front arm and head in perfect form but his back arm is just at his side. What’s goin on buddy?
The main thing with the mid tier is it took a lot of tweaking. I changed the angle that I took the picture from... I angled the characters as much as I could to get their arms in front of their faces... and yet after all that work they still only turn out... meh. 6.5/10
And finally; Top Tier
Pictured: Our six finalists. They all have practically perfect dabbing positions with plenty of heart put into their craft.
From left to right we have;
Young Xehanort. This man is really going for it. Seconds after this picture was taken, he fell to the ground because of the side dive he concocted. What passion.
Dark Aqua. Learning from Light Aqua’s mistakes, Dark Aqua refuses to be second best, perfecting the pose of the predecessor with a low dab.
Xigbar. A man with style and flair, Xigbar’s form is perfect, and he even throws in some flexed hands just to be different.
Saix. Some may argue about Saix’s positioning in the top slot, seeing as his back arm is crossed instead of being straight out. This judge disagrees, however, as anyone who creates a blue aura of passion has nothing but respect for the craft.
Larxene. Currently in the middle of dancing, and the dab was just one of the many moves on display here today, earning her spot at the top.
And our final winner...
Axel. His positioning is amazing, even as he jumps into the air. The enthusiasm he maintained throughout was a sight to behold.
And those are our top tiers! Nobody was perfect (heh), but our contestants gave it their all, and I’m so proud of them. 9.5/10
#kingdom hearts#Kingdom Hearts remind#kh#re:MIND#data greeting#photo mode#organization xiii#moogle#sora#riku#kairi#axel#saix#naminé#xion#xehanort#larxene#long post#image description#alt text#kh3
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I'm really into the headcanon of Xigbar being Xion's Dad in the Yakuza AU so here is another one:
Xion: *messing with her hands as she mumbles* Why-...should I...-?
Roxas: *behind Xion* Good morning Xion
Xion: Aaah! *Jumps up as she almost takes something from her sleeve out* Huh? *Stops and masterfully slides it back* Hey Rox
Roxas: (Did she almost grab something?) ... Hey are you alright, did I spook you that bad?
Xion: Yeah silly
Roxas: My bad
Ventus: Morning Xion!
Xion: *puts her right arm behind her back* Hey Ven
Roxas: (Definitely hiding something)
Ventus: *glances between the two* ...Rox how about we talk?
Roxas: Hm? I guess so, sure
Ventus grabs Roxas's arm and walks away from Xion
Ventus: *stops* Did you two fight or something?
Roxas: What? No
Ventus: Then why does she seem so distant and you seem to be analyzing her as if she did something bad?
Roxas: (She couldn't be hiding something as bad as he did, could she?)
Ventus: Could it be like *whispers* Vanitas bad?
Roxas: No.. I don't think so, he had a different vibe like dangerous but she seems scared? I just want to know why is all
Ventus: Okay *let's go of Roxas* If you need any help just tell me
Roxas: Okay
Ventus and Roxas walk back to Xion, but Xion left
Roxas: Class?
Ventus: You coming?
Roxas: Nah I'll chill for a sec
Ventus: *rolls his eyes* Sounds like you
...
Roxas: *humming to himself as he stays on his phone*
???: Argh! How many times-
Roxas: (Who is that?) *Steps forward to see Xion*
Xion: Whoever you are, get away now
Roxas: Xion
Xion: Rox, go away
Roxas: Tell me what's wrong
Xion: Nothing
Roxas: Are you okay?
Xion: Yes
Roxas: Can you look at me?
Xion: *looks over to Roxas her cheeks stained with tears* Yeah
Roxas: Why are you crying?
Xion: Personal bushiness is all, I just have to make a decision is all
Roxas: If you need help I'm here
Xion: I know (If only you could but this is beyond anything I've known and I don't know if you'll exactly get it, Dad giving me a knife to protect myself saying that I'll have to kill someone one day...if it ever gets to that)
???: Poppet listen well, if anything ever happens use this *shows her a assassin's knife with a symbol on it* Use it well, if I ever get hurt I might not be there to help you
Xion: *nods*
???: You'll have to make a decision to use it or you'll get hurt and I don't wanna see my baby hurt, okay?
Xion: Okay
???: *Smiles* Good
#xion#xion kingdom hearts#kh xion#roxas#kh roxas#kingdom hearts xion#xion kh#kingdom hearts roxas#kingdom hearts#roxas x xion#rokushi#kh#kh ventus#kingdom hearts ventus#ventus#i like the thought of her dad being xigbar#xigbar/luxu#xigbar#yakuza au
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The Other Day at Hot Topic: Destiny, My Dude
The dust has barely settled between Roxas and Vanitas before business starts to pick up and for the first time all day, the unlikely duo find themselves confronted with a hoard of holiday shoppers.
It’s not long before they have barricaded themselves behind the register, side-by-side, juggling purchases from overenthusiastic nerds, under-enthusiastic goths, parents who just want a gift card so they can GTFO, and middle schoolers who can’t seem to grasp that Roxas and Vanitas can hear the kiddos rating them on their Hot Topic Scale of Hotness.
It’s a conversation which makes Roxas wince and grin in equal measure, trying to hold in laughter, as Vanitas helps the one that had said he was ‘trying too hard’ check out her items with all the warmth and personality of a GPS navigator.
When the last of the shoppers has left the store, Vanitas groans and slumps forward, arms crossing and rings clattering against the countertop. “Thank the Lord.”
Roxas sweeps a hand through his bangs and laughs, a relieved and airy thing. “Yeah… I think that’s the most people I’ve seen in here since I started.”
Vanitas rolls over, his back against the countertop, and covers his eyes with his arms. “And all those fricking children. I thought I’d have to beat them off of you with a mannequin arm.” He shifts his arms slightly to better level Roxas with an accusing glare.
“Whoa. Me?” Roxas steps back, a hand lifting to cover his heart. “You must not have heard them right.” He tries to keep his tone serious but can’t smother another smile. “Your brooding score was double mine.”
“Ah,” Vanitas shifts his arms back over his eyes, “shut up, Thirteen.”
Once again it seems that as much as Vanitas likes to throw shade, he doesn’t like to stand in it.
Roxas paces toward the trashcan to throw out a forgotten receipt, but continues over his shoulder, “You’re just salty we didn’t hear what they superscored you.”
“I’m salty,” Vanitas corrects, and it’s obviously not a word he’s fond of, “I had to be nice to them because, as much as you might enjoy the experience, I don’t want Axel to chew me up and spit me out.” He removes his arms, revealing a cringe, and narrows his eyes at Roxas, “I swear to God, the next person that tries to come in here, I’m going to bite their face off.”
Roxas doesn’t have time to try to suss out what this chewing and spitting comment means, before his thoughts are interrupted. “Shh…” he cautions, as Vanitas opens his mouth again, “I think someone is coming.” Roxas can hear humming and the rustle of displays being jostled off near the front.
Vanitas groans but pushes off the counter and rises to his full height. “Welcome to Hot Topic,” he greets with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, though their guest is not yet in sight. “Thanks for stopping by! What brings you in today and how may I be of assistance?”
Vanitas has the customer service voice of someone being held at gunpoint, but Roxas supposes it’s marginally better than Vanitas cussing people out or making unwanted comments about their sex lives.
“Uh, what?”
Roxas feels like he’s heard that disgruntled squawk before. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Demyx’s pompadour mohawk rises above the aisle displays, and then he’s peeking out, eyes wide, the stretch of his mouth skeptical. “You feeling okay, Vani? You’re sounding awfully... pleasant.”
“Oh,” Vanitas bats his hand as if to shoo Demyx off, cheer deflating from his voice, “it’s just you. Aren’t you off today? What do you want?”
Demyx smiles, waggles his eyebrows, tosses back his head, and, as he maneuvers through the aisles, starts to sing, “Hello, darkness, my old friend.” He’s not strumming on a ukulele, but he may as well be.
Vanitas groans, burying his head in his arms on the countertop once more, like maybe it will make Demyx go away. “Not this again.”
Demyx appears in full view and stretches out his arms, displaying a cropped, cut off ‘Take It Easy’ ‘Life is Good’ tank top above a flat stomach and ripped skinny jeans, slung low enough to reveal the edges of his boxers, despite the plaid shirt tied unevenly around his narrow waist. It’s a notable, but not, in Roxas’ opinion, unwelcome, departure from the unicorn sweater Roxas had last seen him in. The closer he gets, the more the air smells like burnt sand and coconut sunscreen.
“I've come to talk with you again.”
Vanitas scrunches his hair in his hand and, lifting his head slightly, his eyes flit to Roxas. “What did I do to deserve this torment?”
“I can think of a few things,” Roxas quips before his better judgement can stop him.
Vanitas presses a palm to Roxas’ chest without looking, pushing him a step off, but his glare returns to the approaching Demyx.
“Because a vision softly creeping,” Demyx’s voice dips lower, and his steps are light enough to make Roxas wonder if the aspiring rockstar hadn’t had a few ballet classes back in the day. “Left its seeds while I was sleeping…”
“And by that you mean Axel texted you?” Vanitas calls, entirely disrespectful of Demyx’s lyrical momentum.
That Demyx’s visit isn’t random hadn’t occurred to Roxas. No one had exactly praised Demyx for his reliability and work ethic, but it does seem like he and Axel are close enough to merit a personal favor.
Had Axel tried to stop Vanitas from targeting me by sending in a bigger target?
Demyx smile widens, but he’s not thrown off. He pauses just in front of the checkout lane, posture sure, the smell of the beach clinging to him stronger than ever.
“And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains.
Within the sound—of silence.”
A chill creeps up Roxas’ spine, listening to the soft lyrics laid bare, resonating in the empty store, entirely eclipsing and yet enhanced by the roaring background music. It’s not even that Demyx has the most incredible voice, so much as that he’s experienced enough to know how to really use it.
Vanitas looks less appreciative. He glances around like he’s looking for something to chuck at the man singing to him.
“In restless dreams, I walked alone—!” Demyx breaks with tradition to belt, one arm outstretched grandly as he advances, just a few paces away from the register.
“Boo.” Vanitas flings a Pokeball chapstick at Demyx’s jaw.
Demyx’s arms quickly rise in defense. “Ouch,” he whines. “Not the face, Vani…!”
Trying not to laugh, Roxas steps forward to ensure Demyx is alright, but he must be, because Demyx steps up to the register and lobs the chapstick back toward Vanitas’ chest.
“Vanitas used ‘Quick Attack,’” Vanitas observes sourly, as the Pokeball hits the ground and rolls away. “It was not very effective.”
“You don’t like it?” Demyx pauses in his singing to reassess. His hip juts out in challenge, and there’s a bit of a pout to his lip.
Vanitas’ sigh is heavy, but he shifts into a pointed smirk. “It’s not that I didn’t like it. I just didn’t think you knew what the sound of silence was.”
Demyx scoffs, decidedly offended. “Simon and Garfunkel, bro. It’s a classic. I picked it just for you.”
Roxas chuckles, a thousand percent sure that’s not what Vanitas meant, and earns a knowing side eye in response, before Vanitas returns to Demyx, “Yeah, well, serenade Roxas next time.”
“It’s one of Xigbar’s favorites,” Demyx continues, running with his own thoughts, as if Vanitas hasn’t spoken. “He likes the old stuff, asks me to play it all the time.”
Roxas recalls the large, intimidating man from the “training video” Aqua had shown him. Xigbar had been all over Demyx: standing too close, smiling too wide, pulling Demyx off camera to (most likely) make out. On one hand, his muscle mass and massive scar were inarguably terrifying. On the other hand, Xigbar’d been in the video drinking tea with Luxord and is apparently dating Demyx, which means he’s probably some kind of huge teddy bear. Right?
Yeah, no.
The wolfish smile he’d fixed Demyx throughout the video hadn’t exactly given Roxas teddy vibes. Xigbar’s confidence and cockiness had struck a harsh, uncomfortable contrast against Demyx’s playful naivete. Roxas can’t help but think Demyx has to be either totally stupid or totally fearless.
But, if Demyx is happy…
Vanitas leans forward, elbows on the counter, chin in his hands. His brows rise, as if perplexed, though he continues to smile. “He’s asking you to ‘shut it’ all the time, then.”
Roxas is somehow both pissed off and relieved to see that apparently Vanitas likes to give everyone shit about their love lives with very little background knowledge.
“Well,” Demyx tilts his head as if realizing this is a very real possibility before he shrugs, “he should be more specific.” Roxas chokes down another laugh, and Demyx turns his sights toward him, as if just noticing him, waving a small black bag. “Hey! Roxas! I brought you a surprise!”
“Please don’t let it be another song,” Vanitas mutters, nonetheless pushing off the counter and following Roxas out from behind it and up to Demyx.
Demyx proceeds to open a black drawstring bag, printed with a white, boxy, professional looking font reading “The Organization.” Small, metallic silver chains twine the letters and beside them what must be the band’s logo is printed all in white. The image—a cross with three points, curving into two tails at the bottom, like a crucifix impaling a heart, sends a slight chill up Roxas’ spine.
Roxas pushes the thought away. “This is stuff for your band?”
Demyx nods enthusiastically, tilting the bag to show it off to both of them. “You like? Xigbar and Axel re-did the font and logo a couple months ago and they killed it.”
“Uh, yeah… Looks great…” Roxas is saved from having to elaborate, as Demyx begins listing off items he pulls from the bag, handing them off to Roxas.
First, comes a demo CD with the same white logo emblazoned across the cover above the band name in the same font. Next, a t-shirt with the band name across the breast pocket, size small, Demyx assures him, “for obvious reasons.” Then, in quick succession, come a couple handfuls of stickers, something that looks like a tentative performance schedule, and finally, a slouchy black beanie with the logo stitched into the rim.
The last of which, Demyx opts to cap Roxas’ head with immediately, smushing his hair and leaving loose gold spikes sticking out at random. He’s talking all the while, “I invited Xigbar to come and meet you, actually. He can always tell who’s going to be a good fit with the band, but…” Demyx sticks out his tongue, focusing instead on fixing the back of the hat, as Roxas’ adjusts his hipster glasses.
Roxas is not exactly upset at missing this intro opportunity. “Oh, uh, that’s okay. I’m sure he’s busy…”
Vanitas snorts. He’s turned around, pretending to be busy organizing a register display.
“Oh, nah,” Demyx buries his nose in the bag again to ensure he hasn’t missed anything, “tattoo parlor was dead, he just didn’t want to come.”
Roxas blinks, uncertain what to make of this. Demyx laughs and then Vanitas does, harder.
Vanitas tilts his head to look at Roxas, his arms full and his head crowned. Vanitas’ expression seems both horrified and taunting. “Well, aren’t you a picture?”
Roxas glares back before checking himself and turning to offer Demyx a maybe slightly overwhelmed smile. “Thank you, man, but you didn’t have to go to all this trouble...”
Demyx waves the thanks away and snaps his fingers. “Yeah! A picture! We need a pic of our newest Organization groupie for the Instagram. Gotta give the fans what they want.”
Roxas smile turns wry. So that’s why he went to all this trouble.
Demyx pulls his phone from his back pocket. Roxas notes its case is plastered with band and beer stickers, as Demyx angles the camera toward him. “Smile pretty, Rox.”
Roxas thoughtlessly obeys as the camera flashes.
Demyx flicks through the photos with a thumb and nods, “Awesome, awesome.” He glances up. “What’s your Insta handle, bro?”
“Oh, gees,” Roxas bites the inside of his cheek in thought. “Haven’t used it much since high school. I think it’s either a-nobody-named-roxas or roxas-thats-a-stick.”
“Ugh.” Demyx full out grimaces, clearly not impressed with High School Roxas’ sense of humor. “Dude, if you join the band, we’re changing that.” He glances down again, tapping, swiping, “Ah! Here we go. Oh,” he breaks into a goofy grin, “look how freaking cute you were…” Demyx tilts his phone, elbowing Vanitas to look, which he doesn’t. “Skateboarding, karate, rock concert, emo selfie, emo selfie, more skateboarding... Oh, what?” His smile disappears, and Roxas shifts forward, to look at his saved photos upside down. “Whoa, that’s trippy.”
Demyx has up a photo of Sora balanced on Roxas’ shoulders, standing on the beach, the sun in their eyes, dripping with sweat, muscles straining, teeth grit around bubbles of laughter, desperately trying to stretch the few more inches needed to reach a low hanging paopu fruit, so that Sora could woo his crush of the week.
“There’s two of you!” Demyx continues. “You have a clone!”
Vanitas stiffens and stops pretending to be straightening anything to lean in and examine the screen, “It’s called a ‘twin,’ genius.” He turns away, rubbing between his eyes like Demyx’s very presence is giving him a migraine. “I have one, too.”
“Actually, that’s my little brother, Sora.” Roxas taps the screen and Sora’s handle @sora-the-explorer appears.
Demyx scrolls further down. “Man, Sora’s in half of these. He’s a selfie king.”
“Yeah, well.” Roxas would be more embarrassed by this information if Sora hadn’t been the one to make him download the app and force him to start uploading photos in the first place. “He means well. He likes to ‘share the fun’ with all our friends, so they don’t, you know, miss out.”
The small, derisive noise that leaves Vanitas’ throat makes Roxas grit his teeth. Yeah, Sora’s a huge cheeseball, but he’s also a downright amazing person.
“Wait, what’s this…” Demyx is well into Sora’s photos by now. “Roxie’s tenth grade piano recital?”
Vanitas and Roxas’ objections overlap, but Demyx is already pressing play. A familiar melody springs to Roxas’ ears. He did better than he remembers, though one discordant mistake still makes his fingers twitch.
“What was with your ‘I don’t play anything’ nonsense, Roxie? You’ve been holding out on me, man!” Demyx jabs a finger in Roxas’ chest. “You play the keys damn well.”
Roxas huffs, glancing down at his chipping nail polish, which had always made his instructor cringe. “It’s not exactly my most badass quality.” He glances back up, mouth twitching. “Besides, I didn’t think you’d want a classical pianist for your rock band.”
“Didn’t think we’d want a…” Demyx echoes, fading off, patting Roxas’ shoulder dismissively. “Well, if it was good enough for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Roxas!”
Roxas laughs, as Demyx cups his face in both hands, expression growing serious. “The Organization has been looking for someone to play the keys since for-ever! This is destiny, my dude.”
Roxas’ brain skips like a scratched-up CD. “I mean… I hadn’t ever really thought about…” Roxas mumbles, frowning.
This obviously means a lot to Demyx and he doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of Demyx and his friends off this fast. Especially not after this morning with Vanitas. And, it could be fun. Roxas has never been in a band before.
But he hasn’t played in ages… and the idea of singing in front of a crowd makes him kind of want to lock himself in the Hot Topic fitting room and barricade the door. He was never as good at either thing as he’d wanted to be. Not to mention, he’s only in town for break.
But it’s not exactly far, and some of their shows are bound to be on the mainland… and…Axel’s in the band… and… and…
“I just… I don’t know…Can I have some time to think about it?”
Demyx swats Roxas’ shoulder again unconcerned. “All good, little man. Think about it! Talk to Axel. Come to our practice tomorrow night. I’ll send you the deets. I know you’ll love it.” Demyx is already back to tapping at his phone like it’s a done deal.
“A-a-a-a-nd you’re tagged.”
Roxas has already nearly forgotten about the photo Demyx had just snapped of him. “What?”
#kingdom hearts#roxas#vanitas#demyx#axel#xigbar#akuroku#xigdem#organization xiii#the other day at hot topic#my writing
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Thanks, man. Definitely agree with you. The novels really drove home the point that Vanitas was a sad, tormented character. I wish he’d gotten more of a satisfying resolution, too. Like his pain being acknowledged and then going back to Ventus. I will never forgive Disney and Square for how badly the story got butchered because now I cannot move on with my fucking life. I wanna know what was going to happen SO badly, LOL.
I could not BELIEVE that KH3 was trying to pass Saïx off as a normal dude (as far as Nobodies go) on the same level as Axel, and that he just fell of the right path in the process of looking for some girl. Um, no. That explanation might work for casual fans, but for hardcore fans who were paying the slightest bit of attention and especially the ones who followed every detail, it’s unmitigated bullshit. How are they just gonna have Isa show up and play frisbee and eat ice cream at the end without distancing him from his Saïx persona?
Roxas was fast asleep in his bed, alone—until two other figures stepped into the room.
“Naminé must have begun her work,” said Saïx, observing Roxas’s slack face. Beside him, Xemnas was doing the same.
Whatever was happening at Castle Oblivion, no intelligence had come beyond the news of a termination. It was enough to arouse suspicion that the lack of communication was deliberate. At this point, Saïx and Xemnas had no choice but to put faith in Axel’s efforts there.
“Will he wake from this?” Xemnas asked.
“I am told he will,” said Saïx, “provided she strips the hero of all his memories.”
“Then much hinges on the affairs at Castle Oblivion,” Xemnas murmured, as if to remind himself, and looked at Saïx again.
But it’s not even just that. There were so many other things about Saïx that were left a complete mystery. Just countless little things I noticed. Ever since I beat KH3 I’ve been obsessed with figuring out what his deal REALLY was, because it was so interesting and now we’re never going to find out what it was. You know, I always fucking wondered…WHO told him this about Roxas’ condition? The novel went out of its way to describe that communication from Castle Oblivion had been halted. This scene takes place on Day 27 ~The Dark Margin~.
“Xion has gained power over the Keyblade, as we intended,” Saïx reported dispassionately. “She can fill Roxas’s role in collecting hearts for the time being.”
If number 14 could wield the Keyblade, the mysterious slumber that had seized Roxas would not pose a problem. They observed him in silence for a few moments, until Saïx turned toward the door.
“And the chamber?” Xemnas asked, halting him. “Have you found it?”
This was a crucial inquiry, deeply connected to the existence of Castle Oblivion itself. He had not, however, found the room in question.
“No, sir. I would say progress is slow…if we were making any to speak of.” With that, Saïx sedately walked out, leaving Xemnas alone with the sleeping Roxas.
Xemnas stared down at the boy. “So sleep has taken you yet again…” If the words had reached Roxas in his dreams, the boy gave no indication.
This is when Roxas dreams about being on the beach and Xemnas touches his shoulder and calls him, “Sora”. I think Saïx was talking to the voices again here, too. And I think that’s the only reason that he is so valued by Xemnas and became his right-hand man. He is receiving communication from the Dark Realm.
Xemnas’s motivations for planting these things were still more unclear. At some point, he had mentioned complementary memories that would fill in the gaps and perfect Xion—or Roxas. It made sense that they would be able to garner more hearts with a perfected Keyblade wielder. But was that really what he was after?
Saïx couldn’t fathom what Xemnas’s true objective might be.
“Sora or Xion—it matters not. But we need one of them under our control. Bear that in mind.”
Saïx nodded, and a serene smile came to Xemnas’s face.
If that smile meant anything, it was beyond him.
I definitely think Saïx has Multiple Personality Disorder (aka Dissociative Identity Disorder).
“You and Xion will be working together on your next mission,” said Saïx.
“Well, thank you, sir, for coming all this way to tell me.” Axel went to the mirror and started to fix his hair. Saïx glared at Axel’s reflection, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
“We’ll also need you to go back to Castle Oblivion.” Axel turned to look at him directly, his lip curling. “We? So that came from our fearless leader, did it?” Saïx, of course, didn’t answer that.
“The castle hasn’t given up all its secrets. And there is one in particular that Lord Xemnas—”
“You mean that chamber again?” Axel interrupted, turning back to the mirror.
“We turned the place inside out and upside down. If it’s there, we’re not gonna find it by just looking.”
Because there’s one side of him that genuinely wants to figure out Xemnas’ true goal and is conspiring with Axel. But there’s another side of him that seems like he knows exactly what is going on. It really confused me when I played this game again recently. I think sometimes Saïx is talking as a Nort with Isa’s human memories who is genuinely clueless about Xemnas. And other times, I think it’s the “demon” or whatever that is speaking through him.
“We have but one objective,” said Xemnas. “Be sure to keep that in mind.”
Saïx looked up at him.
“Don’t let Xion out of your sight. Watch her and you will come to understand the Keyblade master.”
Having issued the day’s final order, Xemnas vanished on the spot.
I think Saïx sometimes switches alters when he looks up or down. And eye fluttering is a common symptom of alter switching. He looks up when he’s in the “demon” mode. And he looks down when he goes back to “normal” (not that Saïx could ever really be called normal, but ya know…).
Leaning against the wall with folded arms was his once-upon-a-time best friend—Saïx—probably waiting for him. But Saïx was keeping his gaze fixed on an imaginary point below the floor.
“You’re sure things are better this way?” Axel wondered aloud.
Finally, Saïx looked up. “I never expected you to question it.”
He was looking down when Axel approached him. His gaze was fixated on an imaginary point on the floor. It’s like he was hypnotically programmed to wait there for Axel and was just staring like a zombie until he arrived. When he looked up “they” were talking, instead of Saïx.
In the Round Room, Saïx looked up at Xemnas high above. “Are you sure we’re dealing with Xion and Roxas the right way?”
His tone was markedly different from usual, as if he spoke to an old friend rather than a superior.
“Our plan seemed like a failure at this point, but then it occurred to me. Xion is keeping Sora’s memories trapped by claiming them as her own.”
He looked up and spoke with Xemans like an old friend. Much different than he normally acts. Then Xemnas discussed “our plan”.
“That gadfly? See that he stays away from Roxas. He only poses a threat if his buzzing reaches Xion’s ears.”
That was an order, and Saïx politely bowed his head. “Then we shall return to our original plan.”
As he kept his head low in obeisance, Xemnas couldn’t see his bitter approximation of a smile. Back to the original plan. No room for hesitation.
Isn’t that right, Lea?
But when he lowered his head afterwards, he started thinking like his normal self—someone who had Isa’s memories and was conspiring with Lea against Xemnas.
The aforementioned “novice”—Saïx, the lowest ranked of those present—didn’t even glance up from the dais.
It’s really weird.
Alone in the Round Room, Saïx raised his eyes to the high domed ceiling.
All they needed was Sora’s power. Everything was proceeding as anticipated. If Xemnas’s plan remained unchanged, then so would his. Still, Saïx saw a potential wrench in the works—Axel and his patently obvious doubts. It might have been a mistake to let him get so close to Roxas and Xion.
Saïx let out a rather human sigh and vanished from the room.
During this scene, he does it. And Saïx is said to sigh very much like a “human” a LOT.
“Turn great hearts into Heartless and let Sora defeat them.”
Saïx raised his head at that.
“And you know where to find suitably substantial hearts, I trust?” Xemnas went on.
The other three nodded.
“Change a great heart into a Heartless, and you might end up with an extra-useful Nobody. Leave it to our fearless leader to figure out how to replenish our personnel,” Xigbar remarked with a nasty grin.
“Again, everything is proceeding according to plan,” said Xemnas. “Do not let anything interfere.” With that, he stood up and summarily disappeared.
He raised his head when Xemnas mentioned “great hearts” in KH2. I think he switched alters at that moment. In KH2FM+, Xemnas praised his ability to plant seeds of doubt (just like him), then Saïx lowered his head. And afterward, he sounded genuinely concerned about Axel when he asked Xemnas about him.
“He was involved in the incident at Castle Oblivion… I warned you he had a hand in the demise of Marluxia and the others, and yet someone failed to eliminate him.” Saïx, number 7, glared at Xigbar from under his hood with a sharp glint in his eyes.
“Hey, he’s the only one who’s had direct contact with the Keyblade wielder,” Xigbar replied, unruffled.
“Observe them.” Xemnas issued the order quietly.
“Saïx, you go after Axel. Demyx, you follow the kid.” Xigbar translated it for the rest of them as if he were privy to Xemnas’s thoughts.
“The kid? Roxas, you mean?” Demyx got to his feet.
“Yes… That’s right. Roxas.” Xigbar smiled darkly and exchanged a glance with Xemnas.
Then there’s this. Okay, WTF? When the hell did Saïx ever warn Xigbar that Axel had a hand in what went down at Castle Oblivion?
Day 71: The Traitors’ End
Author: Xigbar
Saïx had a hand in what went down at Castle Oblivion—well, more like a whole arm. Which means Axel was in on it as well. It’s a fact that Xemnas ordered Axel to take out the traitors, orders which went through Saïx. No specific names were given, but naturally Xemnas knew who the turncoats were right from the get-go.
Because last I saw, Xigbar blamed Saïx for what Axel did to Marluxia and the others. I think at that moment Xigbar was talking to the “demon” inside of Saïx, which is why he had his hood up while talking to Xigbar. It also implies that Marluxia was not one of the traitors that Xemnas wanted eliminated. But then…who were?
Day 94: All Goes Apace
Author: Saïx
The hearts collected by our two Keyblade wielders, Roxas and Xion, have gathered together; and now, almighty Kingdom Hearts waxes large in the night sky. Our efforts have come to bear fruit, nearly ripe for the plucking. All plans proceed smoothly—alarmingly so, in fact, though this is no time to be deterred by paranoia.
Look at the title of this report. “All Goes Apace”. He talks exactly like Xemnas does.
Day 277: True Agenda
Author: Saïx
Axel and Roxas are up to something. No plot they concoct will change the fact that the Organization has cast off Xion, though. Our plans have split, diverged, and advance now to the next stage. The No. i project and Replica Program merely paved the way. Our true goals lie elsewhere.
This one’s called “True Agenda” and he acts completely in the know.
Day 298: Change of Plans
Author: Saïx
Axel failed to report that the impostor and Xion are working together. Instead, that news came from Roxas. The boy is far more easily handled than Axel, but now Axel has captured Xion and returned her to us. His motives are impossible to read. Our plans can be altered if necessary, but doing so can only delay their realization.
Then there’s “Change of Plans”. It seems like they’re all referring to the same thing.
Day 7: Meaning
Author: Xemnas
A name defines an object. Describes the span of it. Gives it purpose. We embarked upon the Replica Program to ensure our new power stays ours. Now, our shadow puppet, “No. i,” lives. It needs a name. Something to define it. To give the hollow vessel purpose.
Xemnas talks the same way Saïx does. And they’re the only ones who talk like this in their reports. It doesn’t sound quite…human if you ask me. And the way Saïx and Xemnas refer to “we” might not even be Organization XIII, but the “demons”.
Day 322: The Plan
Author: Xemnas
Be they a puppet or the hero’s Nobody, we merely need a functional Keyblade master. The details are unimportant. The puppet has developed to a point where the hero of the Keyblade may be entirely redundant. Indeed, perhaps we ought never allow Sora to awaken. He cannot be controlled. He will rise up against us. We must move our agenda ahead with that firmly in mind.
Here’s the “Plan” again.
Day 358: Goals
Author: Xemnas
With luck, we can bring Roxas back into our fold, but even if Sora should awaken, as the hero of the Keyblade, he is bound to keep unlocking hearts. If he should come to target us, we need simply subdue him and use his powers ourselves once more. I must become one with Kingdom Hearts. I will become a higher existence. All of my true ambitions begin there.
And there’s “Goals”.
The lesser Nobodies that served them were unfailingly obedient, but that was the only thing they ever did. The greatest difference between them and Organization members was not appearance but the capacity for independent thought. Where did that capacity come from, then? Did it have anything to do with the heart?
“I’m gonna go nuts in here…” Axel scratched his head and continued his search of the bizarre castle.
When Axel goes to Castle Oblivion after looking at Saïx in the mirror, he thinks about the connection between the heart and independent thought. This is on Day 119 ~Work to Do~, the day that Xaldin said that caring about something is a weakness.
Day 150: Dealing with Xion
Author: Saïx
As expected, the Duplicate is starting to show its limits. The Program showed promise, but a puppet is just a puppet: something to be toyed with until it breaks. I am utterly at a loss as to what Roxas and Axel see in that thing. How best to dispose of it merits my consideration going forward.
Here Saïx sounds more like his “normal” self. This takes place on Day 150 ~Fear~ the day Roxas asks Axel if there’s anything he can’t bear to lose.
Day 171: The No. i Project
Author: Saïx
Xion failed to complete its mission. If this continues, destroying it and using the next Replica as the Duplicate would undoubtedly yield a higher-grade copy. No. i was among the initial lot, which naturally raises questions about its capabilities. At present, it is nothing short of broken. I cannot fathom why Xemnas would want to keep it.
This is on Day 171 ~Love~, the day Roxas asked Axel about the power of love. He doesn’t understand what Xemnas wants because this is a different alter with subconscious memories of being treated like a toy and being broken.
Day 174: Just a Replica
Author: Saïx
Xion continues to sleep. All analysis on its function suggests no marked change. The copying appears to be working, but a Replica is a Replica. My latest report to Xemnas on this net me no clear answers. He simply stood, smiling. At times I find his thinking impenetrable.
In this report, Xemnas smiles at him creepily, and he admits he can’t fathom what goes through his head. He doesn’t understand the purpose of the Replica Program here.
Saïx: Why… Kingdom Hearts… Where is my heart?
In KH2, Saïx genuinely just wanted his heart back.
Saïx: Nngh… How much longer…Kingdom…Hearts… Will your strength never be mine?
When Roxas defeated him in Days, he sounded more like the “demon”.
“You don’t trust me?” she said as she passed. “I know when to let up. I’m not stupid enough to break my toys.”
There might even be a third alter which is the REAL Isa, who is lost in the Realm of Sleep, and he acts more like a zombie/robot. Like Roxas was at first, like Ventus was, and like Sora was in DDD while he was sitting in the Organization’s chair. Xion’s theme is called “Who Am I?” and I think it fits Saïx as much as everyone else. Subject X also wondered who they were. Probably because Subject X was originally Isa.
There, a lone boy lay fallen. The boy stood up slowly, and stared blankly in front of him. There, a pitch black hole—a portal of darkness opened. From there, a black-coated man walked up to the boy. The boy looked up at the man, silent and vacant.
“Do you want to know?” the man asked the boy.
The boy nodded, staring fixedly at the man. The man raised a hand, and letters rose up in front of the boy.
“You don’t feel a thing—you can’t have feelings. Do you want meaning?”
The boy gave a clear nod. The letters in front of the boy spun around, and then, another letter joined them. That letter was ‘X’. That which floated there was to be the boy’s name, from then on.
“…Roxas,” the boy read out, in a clear voice.
Xehanort called Roxas a good candidate for a vessel until he became too aware of himself.
“So what do they call you?” asked Axel. The boy only blinked, not enough to signal that he’d even heard.
“Let’s try that again. What’s your name?”
“…Ro…xas…,” the boy croaked, as if he’d never spoken before. Then Axel realized that Xemnas had named him only moments ago. It had been the same for him and his own name.
“Okay, Roxas. I’m Axel. Got it memorized?” Roxas just stared at him blankly.
“Well, let’s get outta here.” Axel had his doubts about taking someone who had just come into being to that stark, cheerless castle, but he didn’t exactly have a lot of other options at the moment.
Axel said that he was in a similar state when he first received his new name. Apparently Xemnas hypnotically programs the members to think they cannot feel emotions while they are in that trance-like state, when they first become Nobodies.
“As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that…of a recusant.”
This is probably what he said to Isa when he first became a Nobody. The Recusant’s Sigil is translated as “Mark of Heresy”. A recusant is a person who refuses to submit to an authority or to comply with a regulation. So the mark signifies total submission and obedience. Saïx is the only character who has a scar of this symbol. And it’s large and right in the middle of his face. I definitely think he was Xehanort’s favorite lab rat.
Saïx observed him from behind with what appeared to be distaste. In stark contrast to Demyx, Saïx left his long blue hair unstyled. The X-shaped scar on his forehead was all the style he needed.
“What d’you want? I’m kinda busy.” Irritated, Demyx turned around.
Instead of responding, the other man simply disappeared.
“Excuse me?!” Demyx shouted at the space where Saïx had been standing.
And then, as if to take Saïx’s place, Xigbar appeared with his hood low over his eyes. “Ready yet?”
Isa was a toy that was broken, like the Riku Replica after his memories were wiped clean. And the way Saïx acts in this scene is even more abnormal than he usually is.
Regardless, Aqua cut off a bite-sized piece of the cake with a fork and held it up to Ventus’s mouth. His head slowly revolved to look at her, like he was some mechanical automaton.
It reminded me of the way Ven was described in the novel while he was “broken”.
Ventus observed absentmindedly from where he sat on a bench. Actually, it was hard to tell if he was truly watching them. A small bird swooped down toward his feet. It hopped onto his foot, then onto his knee before finally stopping on his shoulder. Ventus didn’t react at all. Terra and Aqua saw this and shared a glance.
While Ventus had proven himself capable of taking care of his needs and doing what he was told, he never acted of his own volition. Unless Terra, Aqua, or Master Eraqus said otherwise, he would spend the entire day staring into space, and the biggest thing was that he never spoke.
Saïx is more functional than Ven was, but Isa probably was reduced to a similar state to Ven during the experiments. Subject X took a week to speak. Saïx is probably only more functional because he has Xehanort and the “demon” in control of him. But Isa’s alter is probably still a total zombie/robot. Totally unaware of his surroundings and just mindlessly follows orders, doing nothing of his own volition.
Xion got up and looked in the mirror. It’s me. Nothing new.
After getting ready for the day, she went to the Grey Area and found Saïx and Xigbar there.
“…Where’s Roxas?” she asked Saïx.
“None of your concern.” Xion had expected as much. Saïx never answered her questions.
Then Xigbar poked his face between them. “There you go again, Saïx. Why’re you so mean to our Poppet?” Saïx pointedly ignored him.
Xigbar always talks to me, at least, thought Xion. He’s so much nicer than Saïx. I like him.
“They’re saying Roxas fainted or something, and he’s still out like a light,” Xigbar supplied.
“Huh?” Xion started. Roxas was unconscious…?
“You worried about him?” Xigbar nodded understandingly. “Aw, sweet little Poppet. Why don’t I take you to visit him later?”
“Okay…” Xigbar patted her on the head. Why is he always calling me “Poppet,” though? she wondered.
Xion looks in the mirror twice while Roxas is sleeping, and remarks that she looks the same as usual. Xigbar and Saïx are both mentioned being present in the lobby both times.
“And who gave you the authority to—? No, I suppose there’s no harm in visiting him.” Saïx relented. “After your mission.”
For once, he wasn’t shutting her down. “What’s the assignment today?” she asked.
“Investigating, the same as yesterday. Although you’ll be going to a different world this time.” Saïx described the place to her.
“…All right.” Xion nodded and stepped into the dark portal.
Xion is worried about Roxas and Saïx is actually pretty accommodating, which Xion finds unusual for him. I think it’s referring to the idea that THAT was Isa’s true personality. Someone who worried about people he cared for and didn’t shut others down constantly.
Xion got up and took care of her morning routine in front of the mirror in the corner of the room. I’m the same as ever. And yet, I’m not.
She stared hard at the mirror’s reflection. It showed…someone else. But she knew who it was. The boy who looked like Roxas.
For a moment, she lowered her gaze, then looked again. Just her.
Her and her identity crisis. Xion laughed at herself.
I have time here. Riku gave it to me.
But not forever. I’ll ruin everything if I stay. I have to decide…before the Organization decides for us.
Xion looks in the mirror on Day 353 ~Resolve~, the one where Axel tells Roxas that Xion is a mirror that reflects him. But that time…she doesn’t see herself in the mirror. She sees Sora. Take note of how she lowers her gaze, looks up again, and sees herself.
“You’ve meddled again,” said a voice behind him.
Axel stopped short. He hadn’t even noticed Saïx’s presence.
“Sorry, did you say something?” He turned with a slight smirk.
“We don’t need them both. Just one. And pretending won’t change it.”
We, who? Axel wanted to ask, but he held it in, along with a bitter laugh. He wasn’t sure if that “we” meant Organization XIII or just Saïx and himself.
“Think about that.”
On this day, Saïx is telling Axel they need to choose one or the other.
“…Can’t you hear the world’s screams?”
“Screams?”
Axel finally turned around, and looked up at Saïx standing on a stairway.
“The time when we should move will come soon.”
“I dunno, whatever.” Axel turned his back on Saïx, and opened a dark portal in front of him.
I think the “we” Saïx was actually referring to was the one here. I think this is also hinting that this is NOT who Isa really was.
Oh, I am. And I’m sick of it. I’m even desperate enough to ask you if there’s another way.
The words nearly escaped him, but Saïx was already walking toward the Grey Area. The set of his shoulders told him plainly what the answer would be.
Axel realized how great the rift was between how he remembered their past and what he saw now.
Why am I even here? I don’t know anymore. What am I trying to do?
Axel specifically notes that there’s a huge rift between the past an the present.
“Are the three of us teamed up today?”
“You have your own mission, Roxas,” Saïx told him before Xion could answer.
“I can’t trade with Xigbar or something?”
“What an extraordinarily childish notion. Do you need Axel to walk you everywhere now?”
Roxas bit his lip and looked at the floor. “That’s not it…”
Then Saïx makes a comment that was most likely referring to Isa (his other personality), more than Roxas. Isa was a shy boy who was clingy to Lea. He acted more like Xion did with Roxas than how Saïx acts with Axel. Saïx is a compartmentalized alter, and NOT Lea’s best friend from childhood, Isa.
HE RECOGNIZED THE WHITE CEILING AND, SOON AFTER, HIS ROOM.
Something was different about it—but he couldn’t have said what it was.
This is my room. I’m a member of the Organization. Number 13, Roxas. But…something’s changed.
Roxas sat up in the hard bed and shook his head. His mind felt so fogged over.
Did I fall asleep yesterday? How?
He couldn’t remember. He really had no idea.
As he swung his legs over the side to get up, a pile of seashells beside his pillow caught his eye.
Similar scenes happen with Roxas. It’s suggested that Roxas is Ventus, but his memories were all wiped due to trauma. Roxas is an alter of Ventus. He passed out in Agrabah because the situation with Axel subconsciously reminded him of what happened with Terra and Aqua. He thought he’d never see Axel again, like Vanitas told him he’d never see Terra again. In that moment, he switched alters and went back to sleep, like Ventus.
Where did these come from? I don’t know. I don’t know anything at all.
He left his room, and his legs seemed to know where to take him now that he was awake. Muscle memory was carrying him to the Grey Area.
Right—I’m supposed to report in for my mission.
Some kind of pressure was gathering between his eyebrows. He walked down the hallway, and when he arrived at the lobby, no one was there.
“Axel…?” He murmured his friend’s name without thinking, then touched his mouth at the outburst. They had told him that Axel might have been terminated. He remembered that part.
See how the descriptions of his head pain are exactly like people with Dissociative Identity Disorder?
Roxas hadn’t expected to sleep very well, and he was right. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. The center of his head felt heavy, like something pressing from the space between his eye brows all the way back.
But yesterday… Yesterday I saw Xion. Why was she avoiding me? Why was she running away from me?
It’s because Roxas was not envisioned to be a separate character from Ventus. He IS Ventus, just without Ventus’s memories, and he has a lot of Sora’s memories. I’m sure stuff like this is why Nomura was so confused while trying to write KH3′s story.
Xehanort’s Report IX
We Keyblade Masters have a special gift. We can extract a heart, be it our own or that of another. By continuing this cycle, it is possible to remain in the world of the living forever.
This sounds like something a Lich would say.
— By the way, Braig’s dealings with Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep make sense now, as he was to become a vessel.
There is a certain reason for Braig to proudly exclaim, “I’m already half Xehanort.” Isa (Saïx) is included too. I think you’ll understand the details about their circumstances eventually.
No, we really didn’t. But thanks for getting my hopes up and making me wait an entire decade for nothing, I guess…
— What happens to the hearts of those who have had Master Xehanort’s heart planted within them?
They’ll gradually be swallowed by it. As for Master Xehanort, he plans to control them completely. The planted parts of the heart are captured rather than disappear.
And I’m sure the Lich had NOTHING to do with any of this.
358 Days is one week short of a complete year, of course…
Yes, of course for people who played KH2 they know that the game is like a countdown to the final day. And of course they know the realize why it’s missing that one week. So they already know the reason for the title is that it is “a week short of a year, split between two people.” But is that really the true answer? I named this game hoping that people would think on it even after they’ve finished playing it.
Where did the Organization’s coat and mark come from?
Xemnas remembering his human years. One year after BbS, Xehanort as well as five other apprentices toss aside their hearts. Then the Nobody Xemnas was born, and the Organization which he creates take a lot of things from his memories as a human. But as Xemnas had two people who he was, Terra and Master Xehanort, he takes from both of their memories. The coat used by the Organization was something that Master Xehanort originally wore. The Nobody mark used by the Organization is a similar shape to the mark Terra used. Xemnas gives Organization members names with an X in them. This has something to do with Master Xehanort’s interest in the X-Blade.
Last but not least: Is there a connection here? Was the one year between BBS when Terranort was discovered by Ansem the Wise and the apprentices losing their hearts, supposed to be parallel in some way to the year Roxas spent in the Organization? That’s my last bit of theorizing for this post.
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OK I just need to go off about KH3 again
Im sorry your probably gonna be seeing alot of these posts because I am friggin PISSED and no Im not saying this ONE THING ruined the game for me or that the game is bad thats not my intention I personally gave the game a 8.9 so clearly I enjoyed it I just didnt enjoy THIS shit
The romance between Sora and Kairi omg its just SO BAD it makes my danm blood boil because it didnt HAVE to be this bad but you wanna know why it was so bad this game and worse than any other game in the franchise?
Because Kairi was off the island
You heard me right, Kairi being off the island and put onto the battlefield destroyed this relationship for good and turned it into the biggest friggin joke its ever been when before there were actually some decent moments between them but this? this was downright laughable and so forced it felt like Sora was being held hostage and forced to say and do the BS that he was and it just felt uncomfortable to watch
Like him saying ‘Im strong with you Kairi’ which apparently in JPN he said ‘your strong Kairi’ which somehow makes it better to some people but bruh both are equally bad and equally laughable because neither of them are true
Kairi’s not strong and never has been, Kairi is just a love interest and has never been anything else from the moment she was introduced all she was is Sora’s love interest and that was literally all there was and all there still is to her character
Oh well without Kairi Sora wouldnt be alive she was the only thing keeping him tethered to the real world and lit his way back
So tf what? she deserves a friggin medal because she ‘believed’ ? dont make me laugh, wow Kairi’s one big moment of use was just ‘believeing’ in Sora which literally every single other character does but when Kairi does it suddenly its the biggest contribution anyone could give her because thats literally ALL she did so yea bravo Kairi, you believed
And then everybody proceeded to nearly get bodied all over again xD nice save Kairi, you literally almost made everyone die TWICE
Know who ACTUALLY did something to stop it a second time? Namine, Lingering will, The past keyblade masters, Yen Sid, those are the ones who actually DID something that made a difference and ACTUALLY kept them alive this time
Kairi literally barely kept him alive, brought him back to the light, just for him to nearly die all over again and her whole role ends up being a total failure that changed NOTHING
So yeah congratulations, her biggest moment amounted to nothing
Oh and dont get me started on that stupid hug Sora gave Kairi when she was about to get struck down by Terranort
Bruh dont give me that ‘he was moving too fast’ or some crap like that so he only had time to do that, BULLSHIT did you SEE how fast Aqua came at Riku in the ROD? Sora managed to get between them and shield Riku with his keyblade in literal seconds, but with Kairi he just hugs her?
You see now why I say this ship is laughable in this game and forced af? that made no danm sense, even if he would of pushed her out of the way it would of made more sense then just friggin hugging her as if thats really gonna stop anything
Bruh Sora and Riku had a more believable romantic moment in that entire ROD moment with Riku saying Sora’s name and then Sora appears to help him save the day and they summon a friggin rainbow keyblade, and then Aqua is about to friggin body Riku with literally only seconds to react Sora manages to protect him
Now I’ve seen people try to argue well everybody really was useless or needed saving in this game so its not just Kairi
BULLSHIT and lemme tell you why
Yea its true people like Riku and Mickey who are far more experienced still struggled and needed saving but guess what? they were DOING something, they held their own they didnt just friggin stand there they put up a danm fight and DID something that actually CONTRIBUTED
I mean bruh Riku and Mickey were literally fighting by themselves at the end of the game against THREE PEOPLE, again BY THEMSELVES holdin their own while everybody else had atleast 1 person helpin them, Aqua with Ventus and Kairi with Lea but Riku and Mickey? solo and doin the danm thing idc if they eventually get defeated or knocked out or struggle alot the point is their DOING something or atleast friggin TRIED to do something
Aqua gets roasted alot too but we’ve seen what she can do in BBS, she held her own and even fought and beat Vanitas, again even if she eventually was defeated or knocked out etc like her Vanitas fight in KH3 again she friggin TRIED and friggin DID something
Ventus got bodied but again we’ve seen what he could do in BBS and Ventus is no pushover, he unfroze himself with sheer will power and his glare was enough to give Xigbar [now Luxu] PTSD everytime he sees him or someone who reminds him of him, he too took on Vanitas and tied even though he didnt WIN he didnt lose either so his performance against Terranort in this game I agree was underwhelming but understandable given thats still his friend but he still did something in the end and wasnt totally useless
People raggin on Lea need to STOP because its thanks to him Kairi didnt get friggin smacked down early on because he took the danm hit for her and got sent flying instead of her defending her danm self
Keep in mind Kairi and Lea got the EXACT SAME TRAINING and even HE reacted with common sense but Kairi? even AFTER SEEING Lea get sent flying after defending her that STILL didnt make her defend herself and she just friggin STOOD THERE
Or how about when both Kairi and Sora got knocked back and Lea literally fought Saix and Xion and Xemnas BY HIMSELF to protect them
Gtf outta here man and put some respect on Leas name because he DANM sure deserves it for all the crap he took from Xemnas and the utter disrespect of having his keyblade I assume broken or damaged, being shot by multiple lasers AND having his hand stomped on by Xemnas this man was still TRYING even with all odds against him and being clearly outmatched he still TRIED
Meanwhile Kairi just gets her arm grabbed, I wanna make this very clear
She is not lifted off the ground like Sora was with young Xehanort, she was not pinned to the ground, she was not backed into a wall, she did not have both arms forced behind her back NO
Her feet are planted firmly on the ground, she has one arm being pulled above her head but she has another free arm which may not be her dominant arm but is still better than having none and she does NOTHING
She doesnt try to get her other arm free from him
She doesnt struggle or pull away from him
She doesnt try to turn around to lessen the pain of her arm being pulled behind her
She doesnt stomp on his foot to try and get him to loosen his grip on her to give her a chance to break free
Know who was in a similar situation and handled it way better with no battle experience?
So dont tell me it wasnt friggin possible for her to do anything in that situation because thats utter bullshit and you know it, Kairi didnt even STRUGGLE she didnt even TRY to get free
She used her free arm to reach out for Sora to ‘save’ her though, but not to even attempt to free herself
Yet THIS is who people are hoping is the main playable character next game to go rescue Sora?
Girl couldnt even save herself yet yall think she can rescue Sora? what a joke but unfortunately some people are actually serious about this and actually want a playable Kairi after this travesty of a performance
Before yall had good arguments, Kairi WAS inexperienced and she DIDNT have any battle training so she really COULDNT contribute or do much but that all changed in KH3, now she DOES have the SKILLS and the TRAINING and the means to be able to contribute and DO something and theres absolutely no more excuses why she shouldnt
Kairi says herself, this time I’ll fight too, this time its my turn to protect you
And when she fiiiiiiinally gets the chance to do all that, everything the fandom has wanted and waited years for her to finally be able to do, this is what she does
THIS is Kairi off the island, THIS is battle ready Kairi, THIS is Kairi DOING something and by doing something I mean NOTHING but getting in the way like Sora said years ago when he left her back on the island which now makes total sense because this is what happens when Kairi goes with Sora to the battlefield
Now we know what Kairi is truly capable of if you give her a weapon and the training to use it, absolutely nothing
And people actually want playable Kairi next game xD
Honestly I somewhat blame the fandom for this because I wouldnt be surprised if Nomura tried giving her a more active role because the fandom desperately wanted this for years and I guess this was his attempt at throwin them a bone but to be perfectly honest? he should have just left her ass on the island atleast then she had an EXCUSE to be useless but because he tried to give the people what they wanted and actually gave Kairi combat skills he just made Kairi 100% justifiably hateable now and I am so glad to see more people finally turn on this chick because the excuses for her has finally run out and its about danm time she got the hate she deserves because Sora deserved better
I think thats the part that hurts the most, I can accept Sora dying but its HOW he died that I cant accept and do you even need to guess how it was? thats right, saving Kairi
Seriously FDB
Listen Nomura, you tried and failed miserably, its time to stop, seriously, its time to stop, Kairi had her chance and she blew it and now its time to let it go and bench her ass on the island like you been doing out of everybodys danm way and leave the rescuing of Sora to Riku and everyone else who is actually of some danm use and knows wtf they are doing
Kairi can just stay on the island and ‘believe’ since thats apparently all shes good at doing, let her just ‘believe’ that Sora will come back while Riku and everyone else actually do the work of getting him back and she just be there to greet him when hes back
Im hoping the secret ending is hinting at us playing as Riku trying to save Sora because Im all for that, but if they really try to shoe horn playable Kairi in after all the negative reaction from this game Im not saying I wont play it but it will definitely make the game unenjoyable if majority of it has you playing as someone you strongly dislike instead of Riku whos actually a pretty popular and beloved character amongst majority of the fandom while Kairi is descending to one of the most disliked
So Im hoping Nomura has learned from this and just doesnt even try with Kairi anymore, just stop it
This game would have been so much better if he’d just manned up and took the risk and just abandoned Kairi in this game by letting her actually STAY dead and Sora accepts this and moves on [of course over time not instantly] but with the help of Riku and everyone else by his side Sora’s able to move forward and live on keeping Kairi in his heart forever and at the end instead of what we got hes just sitting on the beach watching the sunset while everyone else is playing and he takes out and looks at Kairi’s charm remembering how he didnt get to give it back to her this time but then all of a sudden a paopu fruit washes up near his feet which is unusual but he picks it up and as he does notices something in the distance but is blinded by the sun but he can vaguely see Kairi before she fades away, similar to how Axel saw Xion here
Lets say Kairi is holding the other paopu too, and once she disapears Sora cries for a moment but wipes them away and smiles knowing that Kairi’s still with him, he then proceeds to take a bite of the paopu fruit which would tie in perfectly with the title screen showing Sora with his back turned and a bite taken out of the paopu hes holding
This way Kairi’s importance to Sora is still in tact but shes no longer here to get in the way or need saving AGAIN, her character ends on a high note and Sora grows from the experience realizing that he cant save everybody no matter how hard he tries some people simply cannot be saved and he just has to let them go even if he doesnt want to
But nope, instead Sora dies saving Kairi like in KH1 and its just not sweet, its not even bittersweet, its more of a slap in the face than anything and Sora has zero growth from this, it just changed from Kairi needing saving to Sora needing saving and honestly we JUST saved everybody else and already we have to save ANOTHER person? its just ugh man I cant
Theres plenty more things I didnt like besides this but this is the one thing that pissed me off the most because I never expected it to be THIS bad
Also I know I use Sora and Riku as a comparison alot but that isnt because Im some salty Soriku shipper whos just mad my ship aint canon because honestly I dont give af when it comes to Kingdom hearts pairings I could literally care less about any of them hell Roxas could marry a tree for all I care or form a three way with Ven and Aqua I DONT CARE the only pairing I ever had a problem with is Sokai and thats because of my strong dislike for Kairi more so than the pairing itself and I think Sora deserves better than Kairi so this isnt just some bitter Soriku shipper because like I said I DONT care but I do somewhat ship Soriku, just like I somewhat ship Roxion and RokuNami and some older ships more out there like Sonami or Namitas etc no one cares but you get my point
I dont care about Kingdom hearts for the ships theres far more important things going on than to be worried about some stupid pairing, but Sokai just leaves a bad taste in my mouth everytime its even mentioned
And now no matter what they do with Kairi or Sokai in the future it wouldnt change a thing because after KH3 its irredeemable, the damage is done and theres no undoing it unless you give it one long ass arc like Riku to slowly redeem it but I doubt Nomura cares about the romance and Kairi enough to actually dedicate such an arc for it so yeah the damage is DONE
My bet for next games playable characters, Riku, Aqua, Roxas, Ventus, Xion, those are the only ones who make sense to me since they all have the strongest connection to Sora and are capable fighters and I feel Aqua although not having a strong connection to him like the others she would wanna repay Sora for saving her so thats my bet
If anyone bothered to read this whole thing then lemme know who do you thinks gonna be playable in the next game?
Also if you like Kairi and Sokai thats perfectly fine this isnt to bash the shippers or demanding you dislike it cuz hey to each their own, Im just saying I DONT
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@flamereign
the first realization of a fluttering consciousness is a sensation of pain . he isn’t certain where it’s located , && the more he tries to pinpoint it the more it seems to spread , until he is finally able to open his eyes && cough out some of the red dust he has been breathing in while sprawled uncomfortably , unnaturally , on the familiar earth of the keyblade graveyard . the action sends a more recognizable spasm of pain through his ribs , && pieces of memory line up proper to confirm that , yes , the pain is not situated in merely one or two select spots , && the past many days have been filled with very clear reason for it .
part of him threatens to slip back into the numb solace of lethargy ( coward ! coward ! coward ! ) , but it is the faint sound of commotion in the near distance which pulls him back into the tangible world . specifically it is the familiar ring of keyblades that he can match to previous recognition , && thus he knows the precipice of xehanort’s final goal is in motion . && that maybe he is not too late . she’s not a nobody like the others . her defeat spells demise , not recompletion . if he can just get to her before the heroes of light . convince her to run , or hide , or surrender before they strike her down , then maybe . . .
but he cannot jump to the desired solution without first putting together the equation . the first thing vexen does is scan his immediate surroundings from his location on the ground . the strength of wind implies he is still being kept at a high altitude . there is no sign of anyone standing watch to guard him or continue his torments upon his wake . he has no idea how long he has been out as this world lacks any natural cycle of night && day from his observations . perhaps they did not expect him to regain consciousness so soon , but more likely he imagines they no longer consider him in any position to be a threat . always underestimating , always miscalculating . small steps for small minds .
the nobody’s first attempt to push himself up is a disastrous failure , leaving him gasping for air through stabbing pain that seems to draw attention to a new source with every breath . the energy he has to spare before the chance of slipping back into unconsciousness is very apparent in its limitations ; an equation of its own to work out in his mind : what is necessary to reach his destination , how best to divi up the resources of his own body towards reaching the desired outcome ? fully casting a cure over himself is undoubtedly out of the question , he would black out well before it could even complete . so as with any seemingly unsolvable problem , he goes back to the basics .
both of his legs are broken in different areas . if he mends one to a condition capable of holding most of his weight , he can walk . the right appears to be the most viable candidate , as mending the patella to a functional state is far less intensive than fully reconstructing various spots along his tibia && fibia . he needs at least one arm in order to summon a shield if necessary , to cast magic with any real precision , to do the most basic caution of catching himself if he falls . he is equally competent with either one , he opts for the left in light of its minimal internal injury . the burns he feels he can tolerate , for reasons that do not even rise as a priority of noteworthy thought at the moment .
ribs , spine , lungs , sternum . . . even runs through a mental diagram of the human machine until after a few minutes he is settled on the specific repairs necessary for minimal function , && casts the spells accordingly . regardless of the carefully planned efficiency he feels it take its course on his already short supply of energy , && patchwork healing magic is never pleasant to suffer through , but he is still awake , && that means at least the first problem has been solved . now it is onto the next .
carefully ( slower than he should like , but he knows he cannot afford to test his limitations here . ) he is able to bring himself to his feet , && when he is comfortable enough with his balance to feel assured he will not sway off , even limps closer to the ledge for a better outlook over the surroundings . it is then he realizes the cliff he is on is now serving as a form of wall to a labyrinth that most certainly was not here prior . everything is taken in as quickly as his mind can register it : the tunnel ways made for funneling the heroes of light by the whims of xehanort , the larger segments of land squared off for what he can only rationalize is meant to cage the battles necessary for the x-blade to be formed . one of these is currently sequestering the older keyblade wielders , aqua && ventus , as they stand against vanitas && one of xehanort’s many past incarnations . another within sight is the battle ground of marluxia , larxene , && luxord , against what he can barely make out to be sora && his king companion . the third he cannot see the ground of from this angle , but the walls are sporadically lit up with the familiar purple glow of xigbar’s weapons && the occasional flurry of darkness he would recognize from his own creation even the butchered pieces of one at any distance . which leaves the fourth . . .
even lifts the arm not hanging limply at his side && stumbles into the dark corridor .
#flamereign#【❉】ic . ━━━━━ divergence . the equation of flames && rebirth .#✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ooooooh my gooooood i'm sorry this got so long#it's really just#so much context && inner thought processing please do not feel like you need to match it in the slightest#i was going to write him actually seeing lea && kairi when he got out of the portal but i just#knew it would add another 5 paragraphs at least so i'm washing my hands of this right now good bye *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧#torture implied //#bone injury //#ask to tag //
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Note: I made this before I finished KH3 but most of the points still stand
Edit: Putting this under a read more omg
hey okay. Xemnas. you gotta be kidding me. Listen up. I saw that scene in khiifm where zexion was talkin to i think vexen about finding new members. LIstEn. Anyone c-- hang on:
As I understand it, anyone can wield a keyblade if given proper training + they are granted one by a keyblade wielder (maybe master?? idk) No one in the organization has a keyblade until roxas shows up;
Roxas: So that's what the Organization does? Collect hearts?
Marluxia: Actually, you are the first of us to accomplish it.
Roxas: Wait, then--
Marluxia: The rest of us can defeat Heartless, but we have no way of
collecting the hearts they release. Eventually, the hearts will turn right
back into Heartless. You see, then, how special you are?
...
Marluxia: Lucky Number XIII... At last, a chosen wielder of the Keyblade
...
--Secret Report: Saïx--
The hearts collected by our two Keyblade wielders, Roxas and Xion, have
gathered together...
Xigbar and Xaldin were supposed to recruit new members. Not “specifically these people i know about”.
Zexion: I think eavesdropping is intrusive. Why are you even here? You
and Xaldin were tasked to recruit new members.
Zexion: Have you forgotten? Or were you procrastinating
???????: As if! I'm doing my job. I'll have you know I found one just
yesterday. "Mar-" something. That puts the Organization's count at 11.
If he was supposed to find someone specific, don’t you think he’d remember the name?
gosh. i can’t go any further without complaining about the GROSS MISREPRESENTATION OF EVENTS THAT HE HIMSELF WAS PART OF:
??????: How long ago was it... When a bunch of warriors wielding
key-shaped swords appeared and unleashed a spectacular battle. And
when it was all over, all that was left was a man lying unconscious
without his memories. Xemnas--Uh, I mean Xehanort, was found by
Ansem right around then, wasn't he?
Xigbar should absolutely be aware that there was? only 2?? warriors?????? unless you count the part at the keyblade graveyard, which is hardly “a bunch”. 6. anyway.
i don’t understand a lot more of kh lore than i care to admit... but for real. a lot can be explained as “well they (whoever is speaking) didn’t know about X” but hhhhhhhhhhh.
Questions:
How many Dandelions are alive today??
Why didn’t marluxia, larxene, luxord, and larxene go back to their Somebody names? (probably answered later in khiii or smth)
just How long ago was the keyblade war/khux?
why does vexen think the only way to continue his experiments is to rejoin Org XIII? There’s literally no economy. Ienzo is able to spend literally his whole time analyzing data and stuff. He could just Do Things
why are people getting norted So Fast?
Did xehanort get them before they woke up? did they agree to be norted?
why would larxene want to take over Again. literally what would you get from controlling a group of people possessed by someone else. like that seems BORING go take over a government or something
why would xehanort want people who Used To be able to wield a keyblade. Why not just get people who Potentially Could and Give Them Keyblades??? he can do it, he presumably gave one to Ventus and Vanitas! Aqua gave kairi a keyblade unwittingly, he could just freaking give them to people willy nilly!!!!
ok does xemnas go around to newly formed nobodies, give them a name, and leave again?? that doesn’t make sense. But he found roxas and gave him a name, then later that day, axel found roxas and they had ice cream. wth??
(Axel hands Roxas a bar of sea-salt ice cream. Roxas is surprised. He chuckles and takes the ice cream. They reminisce about the day Roxas was named. He wakes up in front of The Old Mansion in Twilight Town. A figure in a black cloak emerges from a corridor of darkness and walks toward him)
??????: You seek answers.
(The man waves a cloaked arm between the two of them and the word 'SORA' appears in the air, the letters shiny, silver, and hovering)
??????: I can give you purpose.
(The man waves his arm again and the letters swirl around Roxas, gaining momentum until they're barely visible as letters. The man slams his fist into them and four points of golden light shoot out, forcing Roxas to flinch. He opens his eyes and sees a new golden letter X hovering before him. The silver letters rejoin with the X in their center forming a new word, turning fully golden...)
Roxas: Roxas.
Xemnas: That is right--the new you.
(Later, Roxas walks through Twilight Town, seeing a group of kids eating ice cream. He stops and starts to turn around, when Axel places a hand on his shoulder. The flashback ends)
Axel: Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here, just like this and watched the sunset.
What’s going on when xemnas talks to roxas in the dark margin???
??????: I've been to see him.
(The seated figure turns his head toward the other)
??????: He looks a lot like you.
?????: Who are you?
??????: I'm what's left. Or...maybe I'm all there ever was.
?????: I meant your name.
??????: My name is of no importance. What about you? Do you remember your true name?
?????: My true name is...
??????: You have been with us for six days now.
(The seated figure stands and removes his hood)
??????: The time has come...
(He walks past the other and places a hand on his shoulder. Time seems to pass slowly and all sound drops)
Xemnas (soundless): ...Sora.
???? like. 1. why are they there. 2. why is roxas so comprehensible? 3. why is xemnas being all Dramatic to the new kid?? 4. the time has come for what. 5. Why does he remind him of his “true name” and stuff? through the rest of the game, he keeps any and all information away from roxas?
all my questions are about organization 13 i understand everything else perfectly.
why doesn’t xehanort just get a whole bunch of Past Versions of himself? wouldn’t that be easier? he’s already got 4 separate guys who are Just Xehanort. (well. some are terra but they are Past Versions.)
didn’t we kill ansem and xemnas? why isn’t Apprentice Xehanort here. He should have been recompleted, right?
does xehanort have an Extra Nort hiding somewhere just in case the whole Organization gets killed off? that’d be sensible.
#kh#khiii spoilers#kh3 spoilers#true organization xiii#org xiii#xehanort#kh norts#questions#i talk#original#long post#khiii#kh3#im so confused
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The Other Day at Hot Topic: Unwanted Advice
Roxas didn’t know how lucky he was that Vanitas initially intended to give him the silent treatment this morning.
Axel’s barely taken three steps out of Hot Topic before Vanitas starts in on Roxas again. Dude saunters up to him, swiping his tongue across the back of his hand and then cringing. Vanitas leans an arm against the checkout counter and tilts his head to squint up at the ceiling.
“I think there is actual vomit in my mouth right now.”
Talking with Axel’s left Roxas slightly fuzzy-headed, with a smile that’s starting to hurt his jaw. Roxas runs fingers through his hair and strains to mirror Vanitas’ scowl. “Shut up.”
Vanitas’ smooth, throaty voice lifts into a falsetto to mimic Roxas’ earlier words, “‘You want to pierce my what?’”
The falsetto drops off as Roxas grips the edge of the counter, tan knuckles whitening, and not just because he does not sound like that.
“Cringe.” Vanitas shifts to better visually appreciate Roxas’ growing discomfort. “I know grandmothers with better game than you.”
How had he and Axel not realized sooner Vanitas was listening in?
“Friends.” Roxas pushes back from the counter with both hands. “We’re friends.”
Vanitas’ smile stretches wider. “You were getting friendly alright.”
He has unexpectedly perfect teeth and that’s somehow unnerving.
“Chin up, though, Fight Club.” Vanitas pats the counter in lieu of trying to touch Roxas again. “I think your crush found it all endearing and such.”
Crush, Roxas considers. Because when someone else finds out about it, that’s the feeling that you get in your chest.
Vanitas prattles on, unaware that Roxas’ lungs have collapsed and he ought to be calling a paramedic.
“He was laying it on pretty thick. I don’t think a piercing’s the only thing that slut wants to give you for free.” Vanitas winks, like Axel had when he’d extended the offer, and Roxas feels like he’s been snapped in the face with a rubber band. “Be careful though. You’re a tiny thing, wouldn’t want him to break you.”
And then Vanitas starts to turn to walk away. And Roxas absolutely can’t have that.
“What’s your problem with me?” Roxas blurts before his common sense can grab him by the shoulders and restrain. “Do you want me to deck you again or what?”
The words don’t feel natural. He isn’t one for threats or unprompted violence, but he’s starting to wonder if that’s the only dialect of ‘stop talking’ Vanitas understands.
The guy’s smile drops straight off and he lifts both hands. Unfortunately, his mouth is still running, “No, no, no, hey, I get it now, sensitive topic: you and your new—ahem—close personal friend.” Vanitas’ dark brows bounce, and Roxas dated Seifer long enough to know when he was intentionally being baited.
Roxas places his hands back on the checkout counter and leans forward like he might vault himself over it. His next words edge through gritted teeth. “Drop it, man.”
“Hey,” Vanitas steps back, looking genuinely alarmed for half a second, apparently just now remembering that time when Roxas knocked him to the floor like a deflated punching bag. “I’m going to, because you didn’t rat me out earlier, and that was surprisingly not horrible of you.”
Vanitas nods like he’s about to go his own way.
“Not that it particularly helped,” he mumbles to himself, and then pauses, glances back over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you rat me out, by the way? You had plenty of chances to tell you-know-who what I said about him.”
Roxas scoffs. It’s like this Vanitas kid physically can’t not mock him. “Because I hit you? Because I can’t afford to lose this job?”
Vanitas’ pockets his hands and leans back, considering this new information with a wince.
Roxas stares Vanitas down. “And because you told me we were good. Are we good?”
“Of course, Roxas.” Vanitas makes no attempt to sound convincing.
“You’re not going to say this stuff to anyone who will listen?” Roxas prompts, and he’s starting to sound a touch pleading, “Because Axel has a boyfriend.”
Vanitas smirks. “No kidding.”
“And if he thinks I’m into him he might decide he doesn’t want me around.” The admission hurts worse than Vanitas’ mocking, burning at the edges of his tongue like something hot.
Vanitas rolls his eyes, voice smooth as ever, “You need to relax, Roxas. I’m not going to say anything to anyone, and I’ve got the bruised ribs to remind me.”
Roxas stares at Vanitas, trying to make himself sound like some kind of victim, as if Roxas wasn’t there.
“Actually,” Vanitas continues, drumming fingertips against the counter, his matte white polished nails not as chipped as his own. “I meant to be nicer earlier, it’s just, never in a million years did I think Axel’d actually be into a cute, insignificant, little nothing like you. But he must be, right? Because otherwise—and I’m still trying to process this part—he would have torn your throat out for talking trash about his boyfriend. Talk about ballsy, Roxie.”
“What?” Each word out of Vanitas’ mouth sounds more and more absurd. “I didn’t…”
Vanitas’ hand goes flat against the counter and he leans in like a poker player upping the ante. “Didn’t you?”
“You’re trying to say that Axel and Saïx are… actually together.” Roxas’ brows furrow. “Axel and Saïx.”
“Our type A, emotionally void, drill sergeant boss? That’s his man.” Vanitas shakes his head wistfully. “No wonder his thoughts are straying…”
As awful as this description sounds, it reminds Roxas of what he had said to Axel. About his... boyfriend? But Axel is nothing like that. And Axel had been so nice afterwards. And Vanitas is such a prick there’s no telling…
“Ah-ha.” Vanitas giggles and it’s terrifying. “You seriously didn’t know. Well, there goes half my respect for you. But hey, consider my honesty your payback for not ratting me out. Axel and Saïx? They’ve been together since the dawn of time, dumbass. It’s why Axel’s always here.”
Roxas shakes his head. It doesn’t add up.
“Quit messing with me.”
“Wish I was,” Vanitas picks up a round, pokéball shaped chapstick from one of the counter display bins and rolls it between his fingers. “Most days I feel like a ping pong ball being smacked between the two of ‘em. They don’t want to let me get away with anything, but they don’t want to fire me, free me.”
Vanitas clenches the chapstick in his hand and seems to realize he’s gotten off topic.
“They live together,” he elaborates, gesturing with his open hand like a reluctant orchestra conductor. “They’ve got like a dog, a flower garden, throw cushions, plans to honeymoon in Italy.” He stops, nose wrinkling. “I could keep going, but I’d vomit, and you’d be cleaning it up for making me explain this.”
Roxas tries to picture it—it just seems so unlikely. Axel’s so easygoing, Saïx, so uptight. They’re like hot and cold, an oven and a freezer.
“They’d strangle each other in five minutes,” Roxas objects.
“Had a lot of time to make it work. Grew up together. Childhood sweethearts,” Vanitas draws a mocking smile, shoulder bouncing again in a nonchalant challenge. “Ask anybody.”
Roxas’ arms cross, and it feels childish but necessary. “I will.”
“And when they confirm, you and I’ll be even.” Vanitas tosses the chapstick up, catches it. “How about that?”
“If they confirm.”
“When.” Vanitas gives Roxas another triumphant stare that makes his stomach feel like he’s chugged a large, freezing milkshake. “Now,” he jerks a thumb to the backroom where piles of boxes still await them, “let’s get back to work.”
Roxas snorts, taken aback. “Did you just say ‘work’?”
Roxas hasn’t forgotten that Vanitas’ definition of ‘working’ earlier had been standing around while he and Aqua lugged boxes.
“Yeah, yeah,” Vanitas rolls his eyes, “gonna pull my weight and all that jazz. Getting fired’s off the agenda for a while.” His annoyance darkens to a glare. “Don’t make me say it twice.”
“Fine.” Roxas shrugs and moves to head out from behind the register to join him. Whatever Aqua’d said to the guy must have been pretty darn inspiring. “But you need to start minding your own business.”
“There, there, Fight Club.” Vanitas pats his shoulder and slides between Roxas and the rounder of hair dyes, toward the back, wearing a smile that makes Roxas twitch. “Your dirty little secret’s safe with me.”
* *
Axel’s always thought that if he and Larxene had friendship necklaces they would say something passive aggressive like “Best B*tches” or “You Suck Slightly Less Than Other People.” And the way Axel sees it, we all need that friend who tells it to us straight. It just so happens that, in Axel’s case, all of his friends tell it to him straight: Saïx, Demyx, Xigbar...
But Larxene is next level.
There had been a break in the Claire’s crowds, and Axel and Larxene were back in the staff lounge again, him disinfecting his piercing equipment at the tiny sink by the mini fridge, her, a few steps away, clearing out a cubby for their new coworker.
Axel had told Larxene everything. He usually does. And when he doesn’t, she gives him hell until he wises up and fesses up.
Which is fine. He trusts her. She doesn’t spread his tea around like she might somebody else’s, and her unwanted advice is surprisingly solid, as far as unwanted advice goes.
When Axel stops talking for a minute, she clings to the sides of the stacks of cubbies like she’s fighting to hold herself up. “You are such an idiot I physically cannot stand it.”
Maybe not that straight.
“I’m sure Demyx will stop them from doing anything too crazy,” he insists.
Axel is not sure of this at all, but he’s not desperate enough to bug Luxord to come in when he no longer owes Axel a favor. That’s how you end up owing Luxord a favor. And that’s how you end up mostly naked flipping burgers on a yacht for some bachelorette, while your buddy hosts casino night below deck.
Or so he’s heard.
“I’m not talking about Demyx. Although,” Larxene chews on the thought, “you’re probably wrong about that too.”
“So, give me some advice then.” If she has any ideas on placating Saïx or getting Vanitas’ toes on the line, he’s all ears.
“Hm,” she pretends to consider. “Um, fire Roxas and Vanitas like you should have done in the first place?”
“Useful advice.”
“Alright. Stop tormenting the new kid, so you can get your skinny butt to work on time.”
Axel suspects she’s just upset that they got lectured by Marluxia. Axel usually doesn’t drag her down with him. Then again, she usually isn’t the one who broke the rules.
“I was going to leave on time, Larx, but you didn’t see him.” Axel musses his hair. “I couldn’t just go.”
He can still picture Roxas, slumped over a box of earrings, back in zombie mode. “He gets this sad, vacant expression like he’s been through something…” He shakes his head, feeling something tiny in his chest compress. “And between Vanitas, Lex, and Saïx, he kind of has. I had to try to cheer him up, y’know, make him feel welcome.” He stares at the ceiling for a second, voice quiet and wry, “Can’t count on anyone else to do it.”
“Right,” she sasses, pausing in her work to turn on him, hand on popped hip, “and how d’you think that went?”
“Hm? Think I overdid it.” He grins—he can’t not grin. “He got a little…flustered.” His equipment jabs at his hand and he glances down to refocus, lip still quirked up. “Was absolutely adorable, though.”
“You’re a douchebag.”
Well, it’s not Thursday if she doesn’t tell me that at least three times.
She slaps her hand against the white wood of the cubbies. “New advice: Stop talking to the new kid altogether.”
“It’s called being friendly,” Axel counters, slowly. “You could try it some time.”
She jeers, her green eyes fixing on him as he rubs his equipment down with a soft rag soaked in an alcohol solution. “Your definition of cheering someone up is flirting with them.”
He wants to deny it completely, but she’s not exactly the first to tell him so.
Liquid trickles down his arm, and he uses the rag to clear it up, slow circles, considering the words he traded with Roxas. “Maybe, a little,” Axel concedes with a small smile. “He didn’t seem to mind.”
Larxene dumps an armful of somebody’s shit in the pink-pearl-hued trash bin Xigbar donated to them on Demyx’s behalf. Papers, deodorant, candy wrappers, and a handful of the origami stars Naminé made fall in. Axel hopes they’re not his.
“Did you touch him?”
He doesn’t glance up. “Probably.”
“Axel.”
Their eyes meet. “Only a couple times.”
“So, yes. Did you tell him he was pretty?”
He returns his attention to the sink. “I—not exactly.”
“So, yes.”
“No. Larxene…” Cleaning fluid splashes the wall as Axel jerks the bottle too hard. “It’s fine.”
“You don’t know what it was like for Roxas,” she accuses, sneering, brushing off her hands above the bin and stepping closer. “What if he didn’t like it?”
“He liked it.” Axel rolls his eyes. “Trust me.”
“Then what if you gave him the wrong idea?”
Axel shakes his head, vaguely miffed, one palm bouncing up, “That I want to spend time with him?”
“You know I’m all for playing the field, but you’re dating Saïx,” she annunciates in that shrill way she has.
“Which means I can’t just ‘spend time with’ somebody? You’re starting to sound like Xigbar,” he teases, not as gently as he means to, but still, with a smile.
Larxene winces at this particularly low blow. She and Xigbar are too alike to get along at all—unapologetically stubborn, willful, profane.
“It’s not like that.” His towel is dripping cleaner and he twists it. “Roxas knows I’m seeing somebody.”
“Saïx is not just somebody, Axel. He’s Roxas’ boss. And boy doesn’t like to share his toys.”
He rings his towel harder, Saïx’s bracelet sliding down his wrist. “I know.”
He thinks of Marluxia. Just because Saïx hadn’t fired Vexen for hitting on a tipsy, flirty Axel like everyone seems to think he did, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have gladly done so.
She glares at Axel haughtily as she pitches a final paper star into the trash, like she’s not yet convinced.
Axel sighs in concession. “Okay, okay, okay, like I said, I overdid it,” his head tilts, smile tight, “but it worked, alright? Roxas was happy. I made him happy.” He stops smiling. His green eyes can pierce souls too. “I’m not gonna apologize for that.”
“You wanted my advice.” She grabs a Sharpie from the cup on the desk beside the cubbies and points it toward Axel, capped marker jabbing the air emphatically, like a throwing knife. “When this blows up in your face, I’m going to be the one with the margarita and the big old sign saying ‘I told you so.’”
He wonders if she might be right. Again, he thinks about the weeks of silence that greeted him when he got Vexen sacked. He doesn’t want that, not from Roxas. Or worse, he doesn’t want Saïx turning on Roxas if he thinks they’re spending too much time together.
He’s got to get in front of all this. Spin the narrative in his favor. Get Saïx on board with his new buddy. Get Roxas out of his slump. “It might help if Roxas believed me when I told him the truth.”
“Well, you and Saïx ain’t exactly a matching set.”
“How long did it take you to figure out?” Axel asks without looking at her, although his equipment hasn’t needed its past three rub downs. She doesn’t answer and he glances up. “That Saïx and I are together, I mean.”
The Sharpie she’s taken to the new employee label halts mid letter. It takes her a long moment to answer.
“I’d been at Hot Topic for maybe a day or two. Saïx was in the middle of teaching me some register bullcrap and you walked in. He froze up for a second. That was strange by itself, he’s usually so put together and customer friendly. He barely looked up, said, ‘Be with you in a minute.’
“But you completely ignored that, walked right up behind the counter and put these nice aviators with the tags still on ‘em on his forehead while he was talking. He shut up again and you said, ‘Beach later?’ And I just stood there waiting for him to chew you out, like, who the hell did you think you were to talk to Saïx like that? But he cracked and gave you this gag-worthy, million-dollar smile. Thumbed the sunglasses and said, ‘Yes, alright.’ And you said ‘Alright’ and smiled like you got away with something, and then you left. He was in a freaking sunshiny mood for the rest of the day.”
It all sounds vaguely familiar. They were Saïx’s favorite sunglasses for months until Xigbar took them surfing and a wave swallowed them away. Still.
“Not exactly the height of romance,” Axel mumbles, a brow rising, but he’s smiling again, something softer.
“It didn’t have to be. I could just tell, the way you two, I don’t know, respond to each other. So, if you insist on babysitting the new brat instead of canning him, might wanna come clean before he figures it out himself. I don’t need anyone else fawning all over you, and it sounds like his week’s been crappy enough as it is.”
Roxas. Fawning. Christ. If anyone’s fawning, it’s me.
She doesn’t get it.
I just want to pick up the melancholy little thing and put him on a tall shelf. Maybe a tower.
Someplace high up where nothing bad can touch him. Someplace that’ll make him smile.
Someplace close to the clouds with a salt breeze and a sunset, ocean view.
“Alright,” Axel hears himself say, “I’ll set him straight later.”
Finished clearing out the cubby and penning the label, Larxene turns to him, pale, thin, blonde brows arching. “Later?”
“I’m supposed to meet up with the cuddly-looking little badass after my shift.”
Her brows furrow. “Axel.”
This conversation is starting to exhaust him. Axel wraps up his tools in a dry cloth and glowers. “I’m allowed to have attractive friends, you know. Saïx’s therapist said it was okay.”
Words catch in her throat. Overhead the speakers go silent between songs. He feels like he’s swallowed something with sharp edges.
A new song starts, something upbeat, more One Direction, and the moment passes.
“Yeah, yeah.” Her eyes roll and her elbow jabs his bicep. “Just keep your hands to yourself.”
He manages a smirk. “No promises.”
Larxene smacks his arm, and he raises both hands in self-defense, toning down his grin.
“Alright, alright. I’ll try.”
He holds the door for her and they file out of the staff lounge.
“But he’s just so cute.”
“There you two are.” Marly is already approaching with light, quick steps, arms raised as if he intends to drag them out forcibly if necessary. “Come on to the front for a minute, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
#kingdom hearts#roxas#vanitas#axel#larxene#saix#organization xiii#akuroku#akusai#the other day at hot topic#my writing
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