#kh nobodies

[tealandbrynnstone]

A sort of background but no less important important part of kh lore goes as follows:

Vexen is a brilliant scientist, he singlehandedly creates and manages the replicas - very important inventions that are a crucial foundation for current and future plot points.

Vexen is the first organization member to perish.

Shorty thereafter; all 3 of his (not biologically related) children start causing chaos.

All 3 of his children subsequently perish, the most notable of these being a replica and her replica specific problems that are critical to the plot of 358/2 and setting up the plot of kh2.

Vexen and his oldest child, among others, come back to life

Vexen immediately re-kills himself in order to rejoin the villains as they really need his replicas. This is all part of a secret traitorous plan to bring his other two children and other important characters back to life, all of which he succeeds at.

They make him a reserve member.

lmaoo my guy is one of the most plot important org members and he gets almost no credit.

[azmodeusart]

To celebrate my bday I decided to release this little set of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 mini filler sets for Preorder. They're available in my Etsy now, stylized to be like little Gummis! At least that's what I'm calling them..lol

[theblueprincess590]

What Does it Mean to have a Heart-An analysis of KH2

Kingdom Hearts 1 was a game that asked the question, what is the true nature of the heart. The game concluded with the answer that the heart's true nature was light. Kingdom Hearts 2 on the other hand focuses on a different question, What does it mean to have a heart?

In Kingdom Hearts 2 we are introduced to the Nobodies named so for their lack of self and purpose. They are the body that is left behind after a heart gives into darkness and becomes heartless. Without the heart the body becomes nothing more than an emotionless empty shell longing for its missing halve, a true creature of nothingness. Everything else the game tells about the nobodies is to push this idea from Yen Sid’s warning that the nobodies only pretend to be humans, to The members of Organization XIII dismissing the idea of even having emotions, to  even Xemnas’s indoctrination speech where tells the new members that they are feel nothing and are NOTHING! Not to mention there are the designs and animations of the Lesser Nobodies. With mouths made of zippers and Skin of rubber these lesser nobodies do not resemble human beings but rather sentient pieces of monstrous clothing. Their bodies move and stretch in ways only possible for something that is completely hollow on the inside. Everything about the Nobodies is designed in such a way to show the player that they are truly creatures without a heart, except for one glaring contradiction, Roxas.

Roxas is Sora’s Nobody created as a result of Sora’s sacrifice near the end of KH1. Because of the unnatural circumstances of his birth Roxas bears neither the face nor memories of his somebody. Which should theoretically make him the most hollow nobody of them all since Nobodies rely on memories of their past life to create the persona of humanity. Yet it’s the exact opposite Roxas is in fact the one character who shows the most humanity in all of KH2. Roxas is first introduced to the player as just your ordinary teenager living out his summer vacation. Unlike Sora he’s a far more grounded character who only wished to spend his last days of summer vacation goofing off with his friends. A far cry from the grand ambitions of traveling to different worlds. With even the World Roxas resides in reflecting his down to earth nature. Despite fitting Kingdom Hearts’s usual cartoony art style Twilight Town is at its core just your average suburban town where the most exciting things to do are go to the beach, play the local games, or investigate urban myths. It’s a world that feels not only like it could fit in the real world but like home. Which is perfect since Roxas more than any other Character in KH is meant to feel like a real kid, not just someone you would know but someone you were. After all everyone has at one point felt the melancholy of Summer’s end.  

And Yet Roxas is still a nobody, still an empty white shell, right? Everything else the game has told the player should mean that Roxas’s emotions were all fake, nothing more than a facade or the result of the false life given to him by DiZ. But then Why does he act so defiantly? Why does he fight so hard for his own personhood? Why unless such guttural rage when discovering his life is a lie? Why betray the Organization to find answers? Why oppose returning to Sora when that's everything a Nobody should want? Why shed tears when not a single soul is watching? And why WHY does he claim with such ever brilliant passion to have hearts? And it’s not just Roxas who does this. Every one of the human Nobodies has at least one moment of genuine emotion. From Xemnas’s hatred as he is struck down to Axel’s longing, they all show that despite everything else the game says Nobodies are capable of having real genuine feelings. Leading Axle to ask the big question, Do they really not have hearts? 

If Kingdom Hearts is a series built on the premise that everything is capable of having a heart then why are Nobodies the one exception? What does it really mean to have a heart? To Answer the Question we must look towards the Fool of The Heart’s Journey, Sora. In KH1 Sora came to a greater understanding of the heart by staying true to himself and being open to all those he met. However in KH2 Sora makes a fatal contradiction. Whether it be out of anger or juvenile rashness he keeps his heart closed off to the nobodies, believing what he is told about them without doubt and simply accepting whatever simplistic answer suits him best. He fails to see the heart within the Nobodies and thus becomes a Heartless hero himself, making the Members of Organization XIII respond in kind. Throughout KH2 Demyx ironically enough puts the most effort in acting like a human never releasing his mask of a lazy dude bro and retaining a passion for music despite it surviving no real benefits outside of combat. Yet it is during his final fight with Sora that the mask slips off. Before the two come to blows Demyx declares to have a heart only for Sora to dismiss it with venomous words that make the spoony bard crack. Demyx’s goofy face is discarded for one that is blank and stern, his voice now devoid of even the faintest hint of emotion, and his action straightforward and robotic like a machine built only for efficiency. Sora sees the heart in everything yet refuses to do the same for Demyx and So Demyx saw no reason to act like he had a heart anymore. If he is only to be seen as an empty shell then he might well play the part. 

Sora could have been friends with Demyx and maybe even the rest of Organization XIII but because he refused to see the heart within them he only invited further conflict. But of course Sora is the Hero of this story for a reason and he does not keep this mindset forever. Sora’s preconceptions are finally broken upon witnessing the Tears of Flames. Axel gives his life to save Sora, sacrificing himself out of sentimentality for his lost friend, a noble act that mirrors the actions of Sora’s own friends. Forced to see those he loves within the Flurry of Dancing Flames Sora’s heart begins to question the nature of the Nobodies. If Nobodies have no heart then why did Demyx cry out in terror when he fell in battle, why would Luxord care so much about his games, and why would Axel shed tears for a friend lost. All these questions flood Sora’s mind as he comes face to face with his Other.

For the first time in KH2 Sora questions his conflict with the nobodies. He asks who he is fighting, wants to know more about them, and why they have to fight in the first place. Throughout the fight Sora is the one on the defense accepting every blow from Roxas as if to understand his pain. Even the act of Taking His Keyblades shows that Sora is attempting to understand his Nobody for every Keyblde reflects the nature of its wielder's heart. Wait Hearts? Yes YES THAT'S THE ANSWER! THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A HEART!

By using the reaction command “The End” Sora is finally seeing The Heart within Roxas and thus answers the great Question of the Heart. That inorder to have a heart one must see the heart in others. It is far more than simply feeling emotions or having a sense of purpose or even shedding tears. To have a heart is something far more beautiful, it is the ability to see the heart in all things from people to animals, to toys to even worlds. By simply seeing the heart it becomes real. Even Kingdom Hearts 1 knows this truth. Pinocchio was just a simple puppet yet it too possessed a heart not because he was given one through the magic of the Blue Fairy but Geppetto Gave him one. Geppetto made Pinocchio out of love and cherished him as a son even before he could move without strings. Pinocchio had a heart from the minute Geppetto laid his eyes upon him and loved him. All the blue fairy did was bring that love to life. There is also of course The Hundred Acre Woods. By all accounts it looks to be nothing more than a simple book yet it is not only possessing a heart like a world but real people who live within the book with hearts of their own. And while an in universe explanation has never been given for this the thematic explanation is clear as day. The Hundred Acre Woods has a heart because people gave it their love and joy. They read the book and not only fell in love with its stories and characters but saw them as friends, as people with hearts of their own. Through the hearts of the readers The Hundred Acre Woods came to life.

Even the nobodies show they are capable of seeing the heart in others. Demyx may be a lazy bum but even he can see the heart that exists within all music allowing him to play with real passion despite his lack of motivation for all other actions. There is Luxord who possesses a deep respect for games and their rules. He may be a bit of a trickster but he is also a man of honor who will never cheat his opponents and always follows the rules of a game to a T even if doing otherwise would benefit him. And most importantly of all we have Roxas and Axel who see a heart within each other through their friendship with one another. They are told by everyone around them that their friendship is a lie, even turned against each other by their higher ups, and yet they still hold on to the bond despite it all. Even when they are the most separated from each other they still see the heart within each other, making their friendship as real as Sora and Riku’s. Ultimately Sora himself comes to recognize this truth, that to have a heart is to see the hearts in others, shown near the end of the game where he and Roxas have their true union.

Of course though there will always be those who fail to see the hearts in others. Saix, Xigbar, and Xaldin all show a failing to see the heart having no true ideals or bonds of their own. Xaldin targets Beast, wishing to strip him of all love both for others and for himself so that he may become heartless, a tool for the organization. He shows no respect for the concept of love seeing it as a flaw that must be removed from humanity so that they may become like himself. Xalidin does not see people for what they truly are, he only sees them as shallow copies of himself, copies he is free to use for his own ends. Xigbar shows a flippant disregard for all others, teasing both his enemies and allies not out of a sense of playful affection but rather as an explicit act of disrespect. He goes out of his way to upset everyone around him so that he may receive their attention, so all their eyes are laid upon him. Shown by how much importance he places on the angry look Roxas and Sora gave him. Worst of all is that despite demanding the attention of others Xigbar refuses to show them his true self, he never takes off the smug mask of a joker because he has no interest in connecting with others, no interest in seeing others as anything more than his audience. No to Xigbar the world is nothing more than a stage for him and him alone. Everyone else is just another faceless spectator. Lastly we have Saix. Besides The Superior of the In-Between Saix is the best example of what people believe the nobodies to be. He is a sorry excuse of a man whose face and words lack even a facade of emotion. All with one furious exception, Rage. Saix is defined by his anger, a true berserker that draws upon the power of the moon itself to become a beast that destroys all there is in a hatful blue flame. But where does this rage come from? Why would such a stoic and empty man harbor such a passionate rage? Simple because he is a nobody, Saix’s rage was born from the tragedy of losing his heart.  When his heart was taken from him Saix lost everything dear to him and was left with only an unbearable emptiness, turning him into the wretch he is now. Saix is defined not by his rage but rather by his loss, symbolized by the X shaped scar on his face, which only grows greater when going into his berserk state. Saix out everyone in organization XIII longs for a heart the most yet can never see it before him because he is blinded by his own tragedy. They all strove to take back the hearts they’ve lost yet without any understanding of what having a heart meant. They could not see the hearts in others and thus could not have a heart themselves becoming true nobodies. In order to understand why these 3 are the way they are one must be willing to look upon the horrid one who shaped them, Xemnas.

Xemnas is the First Nobody ever seen in Kingdom Hearts and as Such he embodies everything a Nobody is supposed to be. He is not a man but rather a void, a hollow force of nature that destroys everything it touches. Without remorse or guilt he spurred further conflict between light and darkness all just to meet his own selfish ends. Even going as far as to puppeteer Sora’s battles against the heartless to collect more hearts. Every world in Kingdom Hearts 2 is on the brink of destruction all because of the violence sowed by the empty words of a man who cares nothing for the innocents that have suffered by his hand.  His treatment of his fellow nobodies is no better. He stands above all them on his marble throne like a sham of a king ordering them to their deaths never once treating them as people but rather as weapons, even going as far as to threaten them with further dehumanization if they step out of line. And Despite the wicked grin he wears on his face he does not do anything out of malice. No it is far far worse than that. Every horrific act of evil committed by Xemnas is done out of pure apathy for all of existence, because he feels absolutely nothing. Even his cruel laughter is completely and utterly fake. Every single vile emotion he has ever put on display was nothing more than an act, an attempt to replicate the few emotions he does remember. The only thing that was ever real was the guttural scream of hatred he let out upon his defeat. Worst off all though are his claims to understand the heart. Xemnas believed that he alone understood the heart yet just like his heartless counterpart he was nothing but ignorant on the subject. Xemnas claims that the heart is the source of all power, of all pain believing it to be a burden of hate, rage, and envy. This reveals the tragic truth behind Xemnas, he rejects the Heart in its entirety. This is why Xemnas never truly used Kingdom Hearts to restore his or any Nobody’s heart because deep down he never wanted one. To have a heart is to suffer in Xemnas’s eyes. And it’s plain to see why when looking back on Xemnas’s somebody. Apprentice Xehanort was from the very beginning a pale imitation of a human being. Without any memories of his past Xehanort had his name and nothing else. He was one without identity and purpose just like a Nobody, yet he always had the chance to find them on his own. Xehanort was taken in by Ansem the Wise to be one of his apprentices, given both a home and family by the kind King as well as the opportunity to become a great man in his own right. But Apprentice Xehanort was a man without strength who lacked both the will and resolve to discover himself. Instead he grew jealous of his beloved king, attempting to mimic the wise man. He continued the Heartless research Ansem had long since abandoned, hoping to earn his Foster Father’s praise by continuing his forgotten work without ever thinking that there might be a good reason for why the work was forgotten in the first place. In the end all Xehanort did was earn his master’s scolding, turning his jealousy to hatred. Ultimately Xehanort would become Ansem’s Shadow Stealing his name and status out of spite and envy. Xehanort did not want to be himself, instead he wished to become his father leading him to his final act of self rejection. Xehanort become a heartless and nobody, literally tearing himself in two and destroying everything the young man could have become just because he was too weak to be himself, too weak to bear suffering, too weak to accept rejection, too weak to grow, too weak to strive for greatness, and too weak to shoulder the weight of a heart. In the one act of true cowardness Apprentice Xehanort gave up on himself  leaving behind one who could only see Darkness in the form of his Heartless and one who could only reject the heart out of ignorance in the Form of his Nobody.

This ignorance is why Xemnas loses to Sora. Throughout Kingdom Hearts 2 Sora’s preconceptions and childish worldview are challenged. Through his conflict with Organization XIII Sora is made to reexamine his beliefs on what it means to have heart. To Question what truly separates him from the nobodies and whether or not he should blindly follow the words of his elders. Thanks to the sacrifice of Axel and his duel with Roxas, Sora comes to see the heart within the Nobodies and recognizes that all it takes to have a heart is to see the heart in others. The experience was painful and riddled with tragedies but Sora never regretted it, for the pain only made him human. Whereas Xemnas wanted nothing more than to escape pain. He rejected the heart, rejected his humanity all so that he may never experience pain again. So Xemnas simply remained stagnant in his own shallow beliefs of the heart, never once leaving his pale throne of lies. In the end the Ignorant King of Nothing was struck down by one who was willing to accept pain in order to understand the hearts of others. 

[thewisaaaaad]

Hey, i know its been a while, and uh. I have no real reason for that I'm just lazy.

and also kingdom hearts has taken over my life again lmao.

so naturally, i smushed my two hyperfixations together into a delicous, angsty combo platter!

So here goes!

-----------------------

Lamb did not want any of this. They did not want the crown. They did not want to be death.

they did not want to kill Narinder.

They had wanted to rest, and their lord had been more than happy to grant them it.

Yet here they were, building a tomb to their God, burying the body of the One Who Waits, who waits no more.

Lamb had tried the resurrection ritual, of course. But, seeing as the crown was the reason he was dead to begin with, the lamb was unable to bring him back.

stupid crown. Why did it have to choose them? A perfectly good bearer was right there!

Whats done is done, no matter how everyone involved despised it. All Lamb could do now was make sure he wasn't forgotten.

... At least he recognized what happened, and forgave them before the final blow.

Lamb wouldn't have to live with being a traitor, too.

His last words still echoed in the unwilling usurpers head.

"Ah, I see... how your hand trembles, yet remains glued to the blade... It was not you who betrays me. How funny...

Know that I forgive your weakness, my Lamb. You will make a wonderful Death."

------------------

Years pass, and still Lamb champions Narinder's teachings. They work hard, making sure that the land is swept clean of the old faith, the newly resurrected bishops being surprisingly supportive of the new death.

Strangely, Visitor, the odd being who appeared in the temple ruins, seemed weirdly on edge recently. It had promised a gift for the lamb, beyond what had already been given, yet it seemed... skittish, when pressed on when they would earn it.

No matter, unless it decided to involve the Lamb eventually. There was nothing they could do to but wait and gather power.

then, lamb got an interesting prayer directed at them.

It was made in their name. A name long forgotten, and the only one who knew it was...

"Narinder?" Lamb whispered hopefully. They had learned to speak through their effigies, much as the bishops had when they were in purgatory. Maybe, just maybe...

The prayer continued. It was distant, quiet, yet full of faith. It was nearly drowned out by all the other prayers directed at them from all over the lands of the Old Faith, but the use of Lambs secret name helped them hold on to it. As did the direction the prayer came from.

up.

"...I do not know if this will reach you, my dear vessal, but..."

Lamb sat up at their desk, staring at the ceiling. Their heart thudded loudly in their chest, eyes blurring a little from the tears.

It was him.

"Narinder!" Lamb cried, leaping from their chair, sending it clattering to the floor. The prayer stopped suddenly, but the faith that flowed from it spiked, letting the lamb cling to it, follow it back to its source. With just a little more power...

"Lambert?" Narinder breathed. They could see him now, through the... Idol? Charm? Whatever representation of them that he held in his hand.

"Its really you. You're..." Lamb couldn't think of what to say. They just stared deep into those piercing red eyes that they thought they would never see again, relished the feeling of sitting in his palm, as they had once done after successful crusades. He stared back, his surprise slowly settling into a gentle, relieved smile. The sun behind him cast his face into brilliant relief, and the desert walls behind him complemented his eyes.

"My Lamb, my dear Ramses..." He sighed. "I fear I do not have much time to talk, and I mean to send warning." His face hardened, glancing away for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I need you to check on my body, if it is still there."

Lamb blinked. "...Um, excuse me?" they let out a bleating laugh. "Aren't you using it right n- Wait I buried it... In the tomb..." Lambs incredulity cooled rapidly, as they began to process what him speaking to them- alive, no less- meant.

"Actually, no." Narinder corrected, sending Ramses back into confusion. "This body is something called a 'replicant', and it drew in my soul after I was slain. I can only imagine that it was because it lay at the heart of an ancient battlefield." He coughed, glancing to the side with a grimace. "I have recently encountered... Nobodys- monsters formed from the soulless bodies of those with strong wills."

At that point, the gears in lamb's head clicked into place. "You want me to make sure that your body- your REAL body- isn't roaming around." Ramses said, the gravity of the situation settling on them.

Narinder nodded, a smirk appearing on his lips. "Yes. I do not know if it will resemble me or not, or if one has even formed- nevertheless, I would have you check for me. I was, after all, quite willful."

Ramses slowly opened their own eyes, and turned from the desk, the crown settling on their head as the Lamb prepared for battle. "Of course, my lord. I will deal with this immidiately, and then come for-"

"Ah. Right." Narinder's voice popped back into their mind, the connection not yet severed-draining as it was. "I would not have you come for me. Instead, I will try to find my way home."

Ramses, of course, stopped dead in their tracks. "How? Actually- where are you?"

"Somewhere far away, my lamb." he soothed. "But do not fear. Just take care of your own world, and we will speak again soon. I promise."

The phrase 'your own world' gave them pause, but their master had never led them astray before. "Alright. Is there anything I need to know before I possibly encounter an alien monster?"

"Magic works best on them, as i cannot guarantee that even weapons forged by Kudaai can permanently destroy them, let alone harm them efficiently. Use extreme caution, my dear vessel."

"Got it." Ramses said. "... I'll talk to you soon, Nari." they finished.

A short silence followed as the Lamb walked to the now pointless tomb, making them worry they had overstepped with the nickname.

"...And I to you, my love."

The whispered prayer once again halted Ramses entirely, their face flushing red as Narinder finished the prayer with that gentle admission.

After a moment, they shook their head, resuming their march toward his grave.

They HAD to talk to him soon.

------------------

from the forest, a silent shape watched a small woolly figure storm out of the empty crypt, rage burning in their eyes.

It said nothing, silently gliding into the trees.

why did they stir something foreign within it?

It should kill them. That will stop it.

[dawn-1386]

𝔄𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔰𝔬 𝔢𝔫𝔡. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔱. 𝔇𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔱, 𝔦𝔱 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔰, 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔱. 𝔖𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢. ♡

[keykidpilipili]

I think it would be hilarious if KHML or any future kh games introduced some humanoid nobodies that don't scramble their old names with an X like org 13 did. Decades of fans trying their best to make canon compliant names for their ocs then canon saying 'lmao anyway'.

[hollowwhisperings]

Naminé & Roxas Are Twins

(this meta was inspired by @violethowler's Constructing Kingdoms series on YT)

In KH2, the relationship between Sora & Roxas is seemingly paralleled with that of Naminé & Kairi. It is explained by characters in-game that Naminé, a Nobody, must have been created by Kairi's presence in Sora's Heart during KH1. Thusly is it concluded that Naminé must be the Nobody of Kairi, another facet of that Princess of Heart.

Except... Kairi is a Princess of Heart: a being of pure light, without any Darkness of her own. It is physically impossible for Naminé to be Kairi's Nobody.

At no point has Kairi exhibited the capacity to hold Darkness. Kairi's lack of Darkness is, arguably, one of the major reasons for her lack of combat prowess: without "darkness" of her own, Kairi is unable to feel the selfishness needed to hurt others. This is a small, fundamental kind of Darkness that all living things carry: without it, a Princess of Heart is all too essily incapacitated by selflessness.

Naminé isn't (can't) be Kairi's Nobody: she, like Roxas, is a Nobody of Sora & Ventus. Naminé and Roxas are twins.

Roxas and Naminé are unlike any other Nobody within the KH setting: they alone were capable of developing "selfhood", independently from their Hearts of origin. This is due to the many unique circumstances of their birth: Sora's self-sacrifice in KH1. That event featured multiple oddities likely to affect Sora's Heart, Heartless & the Nobodies created: self-sacrifice (love); heartlessness via keyblade; the specific keyblade used (the Keyblade of [People's] Hearts); the origin of said keyblade (Riku the ???, the person Sora likely loved most at the time); the presence of Kairi, a Princess of Heart, within Sora's Heart; the presence of Ventus, an artificial "Princess of Heart"; the location of the sacrifice (Ansem's Lab in Hollow Bastion, a World fallen to Darkness)... and likely even more factors, known & as yet unaddressed.

As twin Nobodies to Sora's Heartless, Roxas & Naminé were affected by all variables noted above. Sora has been the Host of several Hearts for his entire life: that makes him special, even before Riku chose Sora to be a keyblade wielder. I venture that the Heart most relevant to Naminé's birth was not Kairi's but Ven's: for where Roxas most resembles Sora in disposition, Naminé resembles Ventus-without-Vanitas. Kairi's presence within Sora's Heart had effects, yes, but less than perhaps understood.

The misunderstanding, I argue, comes largely from Kairi's longterm role of "Designated Female": as the lone KH-original female for much of KH's early development (& popularity), Kairi is often considered a "default option" with regards to all things feminine. This feeds not only into assumptions of a Kairi-focused love triangle but also into an overinflation of Kairi's presence in the story.

As with Xion, Naminé's true identity is obscured, in-game & within fandom, by her gender: "Xion & Naminé are female; the only female in proximity to this plotline is Kairi: Xion & Naminé must therefors be derivative personas of Kairi".

Here, as always, Kairi serves as a convenient "default" of femininity, misdirecting players and characters from the queer potential within KH. It is wholly believed, by Sora & the girls in question, that Naminé was Kairi's Nobody. Yet, it is never Kairi whose story and character is most expanded by Naminé's involvement: Naminé's story is, instead, a follow-up to that of BBS's Ventus.

Kairi struggles with a forgotten past, loss & a resistance to change (of "growing up"). Naminé, in parallel & in contrast, experiences the kind of life that Kairi has forgotten: [medical abuse], extortion & isolation. Naminé's time with Organization XIII & with DiZ mirrors that of VEN's with Master Xehanort (&, to a lesser degree, with Master Eraqus).

Kairi's history as a test subject of Xehanort &, possibly, of Ansem the Wise? She's forgotten it and, outside of Melody of Memories, we never get to see how it affected her.  Kairi's Ambiguously Traumatic Past is only ever used for her in her role as "MacGuffin" (i.e. an object of plot importance & no other story-relevant function, one that is ultimately interchangeable with). Kairi's story barely affects Naminé's & Naminé's doesn't affect Kairi's either: the characters most changed by Naminé's character arc were Sora & Riku. This further alludes to Naminé not truly originating from Kairi's Darkness but from Sora-Ven.

The duality of Sora-Ven is reflected in Sora's producing two distinct ("twin") Nobodies during KH1. Roxas is most reflective of Sora but physically looks like Ventus; Naminé is most reminiscent of Ventus-without-Vanitas but (allegedly) "looks like Kairi": this does not occur in the Nobodies of other hybrid-beings, as evident in Xemnas (Terra & Xehanort) & Xigbar (Braig & Luxu). In this way, Naminé & Roxas are more akin to Xion than most every other Nobody.

Ignoring the gender binaries (canonically used & assumed in-universe), the characters that Naminé actually resembles are Ventus (who I propose as Naminé's "primary" origin) & Xion (another artificial being with Sora Origins).

Narratively & thematically, Naminé's arc from CoM to KH2 was a continuation of Ven's story in Birth By Sleep. Both characters are strongly tied to themes of isolation, abusive authority figures, and artificial life. While other characters - Xion, Repliku & Terra-Xehanort - also explore these themes, Kairi notably does not.

I will note that Naminé does not NEED to be Kairi's Nobody to act as her narrative foil: I just find that identifying Naminé with Kairi is buying into the very same (false) Binaric Gender Roles that CoM, Days & (to a lesser extent) BBS sought to poke holes in. Tiny, easily mistranslated-into-nonexistence holes but holes nonetheless. Attempting to conflate Naminé with Kairi is to give the latter character more narrative presence than she truly has, in an effort to reconcile the two together beyond "similarly aged females in proximity to KH's plot".

[trashcantasch]

Day 16: Nobody

HPO taught the Gamblers in the mansion dining room how to play Uno :]

Day 17: Original Keykid or Keyblade

Kirby inspired Keyblades! :D

Day 18: Union

Lauriam and Ventus :]

[sirquestingbeast]

Hello all of 2 people paying attention to this. I've accidentally drank coffee on an empty stomach so best believe I'll probably be cranking out a part 3 of Classpecting Kingdom Hearts in your near future. For some reason, when I do that I suddenly start remembering things and actually can scrape together enough energy to manifest my thoughts in reality. Here is one that has been kicking around for a while that I will pass to you.

Demyx is very animated for a nobody and matter-of-factly states that nobodies do have hearts. And yes, we later on find out that they can grow new hearts and he knows more than he should know, yes, but we never really find out how the process of growing a new heart works; is it over time and separate from environmental stimuli or can it be influenced by what the nobodies are experiencing? If it is the later, than the events of Kingdom Heart would probably supercharge the process for Org13? If so, let's go back to Demyx for a second; he can confidently say that nobodies have a heart because maybe he already went through the process of growing one and becoming aware that he did so before the events of Kingdom Hearts 2 and maybe even KHDays. How long did that process take? What are the events that lead to it? There are other characters whose nobody status is still shrouded in mystery like Marluxia, Luxord, and Larxene; Marluxia has amnesia so that explains them, but what about the other two? Why is he the only one so open and normal about it?

[complete-idiot-inc]

I wanna scream about my Kingdom Hearts OC, I want everyone to know how much of a person he is!

*Slaps roof of OC*

This bad boy can fit so much trauma!

The best part? None of it is his own!

It’s purely based on what he once was, or rather, who he once was.

Somebody, anybody, please I beg you, let me yap about him!

[bookwormally]

A treatise on Nothingness and its state of being: A study of The World That Never Was

This study aims to clarify what nothingness is and how its contradictions work within our universe. As the most tangible example of Nothingness, all work was performed on The World That Never Was (TWTNW). As an entire world made of Nothingness, TWTNW provided the greatest opportunity to define Nothingness beyond the intangible.

(Go check out Nek's beautiful blackboard piece of twtnw here!)

My piece for the unofficial KH worlds guidebook! Because who doesn't want to read a piece of headcanon scientific theory on Nobodies?

[tealandbrynnstone]

In future KH media I need Even and Xion to have a father-daughter dynamic

Obviously they’re not going to go straight to like celebrating Father’s Day together or anything and I would in fact prefer it to be a bit of an estranged relationship because that would make more sense. So like Xion may never actually call him dad and Even may never actually call her his daughter but they can think it! The vibes are there and they are mutual!

He created her! She is his creation! She and Roxas will ask Lea and Isa what parents are when they explain she’ll go ‘oh wouldn’t that be Even for me?’ She lives in twilight town but visits radiant garden at least once a week to see her ‘dad’ and her ‘brother’ (Ienzo and Xion sibling agenda) and they’ll help her with her homework and tutor her in science and talk about their new projects and do you see the vision? There’s already some brilliant fics along these lines, so ik I'm not the only one lol

[hydez-artz]

an assortment of X-thread commissions I've done over the years.

[theblueprincess590]

The Fading Melancholy of Summer-An Analysis of KH3

Twilight Town is a very interesting world when you compare it to the rest of the worlds in KH3. Instead of being a sprawling fantasy world Twilight Town is a small town filled to the brim with the locals and traditions. You see the children playing through their final days of summer, families visiting the new bistro, and the whole community coming together for Movie night. And this simplicity is all by design, Twilight Town’s main purpose in KH3 is to reexamine what Sora is fighting for and the melancholy that is intrinsic to said journey.

Sora first travels to Twilight Town in KH3 with the purpose of Finding a way to save Roxas with the rest of the world empathizing why this is So important. When Sora first enters the world he is flooded with a sense of nostalgia, feeling as if it’s been forever since he has visited this world despite him only being gone for a week or two. This is because Sora is feeling what Roxas feels, his love and longing for Twilight Town, the only world he considers his true home. And Sora is all too familiar with this feeling as he too was once taken away from his home, making Roxas a mirror of Sora’s past. And this is why Sora is so personally driven to save Roxas, because for him it is the same as saving a long lost brother. 

Afterwards Sora is reunited with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Upon hearing Roxas’s story and seeing the photo of him with their data doublegangers They are driven to help Save Roxas. But why is that? Why does the Twilight Town Trio wish to save someone they only meet once? Well that simple, in Kingdom hearts connections exist beyond just one version of a person. As shown by Rinzler in Dream Drop Distance Bonds of friendship are so powerful that they not only transcend worlds but time and space. Sora had never met the original version of Tron as the one Sora befriended was a copy, and Rinzler himself isn’t even the original version of Tron, just a dream copy made by the sleeping world. And yet Sora still felt a connection to Rinzler, still saw him as a friend, and so did Rinzler in turn as he gave his life to save Sora’s. The same thing happens with both the real and data versions of Twilight Town. To Roxas the days spent in the Data Twilight Town was the best time of his life. For the first time ever Roxas got to act like a real kid, play with his friends without worry, and enjoy a summer vacation. Though his life there might have been fake his feelings weren't. The friendship he felt with the data copies of Hayner, Pence, and Olette was as real as any other connection, allowing those feelings to transcend the data world and into the real world. Roxas is for more than just Sora’s Nobody, he is his own person who not only has bonds of his own but a place in this world.

Sora’s need to save Roxas is perhaps the most important part of Sora’s motivation in Kingdom Hearts 3 as it exemplifies why Sora fights. Sora is a hero but not in the traditional way of being a great warrior who takes down a giant monster or archives something extraordinary. No Sora is a hero in that he is someone who sees the value in all hearts and constantly fights to save them. Sora does not give up on people, he does not accept the tragic fates of others, nor does he believe people are beyond saving. To him every heart has a light that will never go out and as long as that light still shines Sora will fight for them. This is why Twilight Town’s story is built around empathizing the importance of saving Roxas, because saving people like Roxas are the entire Reason Sora fights. It’s why when confronted by Xemnas and Ansem Sora whole heartedly rejects the idea that Saving Roxas is an act of darkness

Though Roxas isn’t the only reason Sora fights the forces of Darkness. Through Kh3’s depiction of Twilight Town heavy focus is placed on the people and their simple joy. The world is covered head to toe with also sorts of different people just living their lives. You see children playing through the streets, adults gossiping about the latest trends, people enjoying a nice cold sea salt ice cream in the summer heat, families eating at the Bistro, or the entire community coming together to watch movies. Even the gameplay mechanics feed into this sense of community. Twilight town is designed to be a place for you to come back to after every visit and just enjoy some downtime. It's where you go to cook with a little chef, synthesize items with the Moogles, and mail in your prize postcards. It’s also the world that introduces you to the lucky emblems and Classic Kingdom, the only parts of Sora’s journey that are not entangled in the conflict between Light and Darkness.

Twilight Town is a place of peace for Sora, Donald and Goofy, The embodiment of community. These carefree summer days and simple bonds are what Sora fights for, and when they heartless attacks it makes it all the more apparent why Sora can not refuse Xehanort’s call to action. Sora’s return to Twilight Town in Kingdom Hearts 3 is marked by an attack of The Demon Tide. One of the most powerful of Heartless. This monster represents the true horrors that lie within the darkness. A faceless hivemind whose body consists of nothing more than tangled legs that scample around in both pain and pleasure. More soulless than any other heartless The Demon Tide seeks destruction alone, like an avatar of gluttony it consumes not just hearts but all it sees. And as soon as it lays its ghastly tendrils upon the world Twilight Town goes from peaceful suburbs to a battlefield, where the people have vanished and their culture is erased. When the heartless appear, Twilight Town is rendered nothing more than a corpse that is only spared from its fate by Sora’s efforts. Though it is only a temporary victory. The Demon Tide was not vanquished and can always return as long as those that beckon the darkness continue to impose their heart on others.

Sora soon learns what brought The Demon Tide to this world when he comes face to face with two old enemies. It Was Xemnas and Ansem’s mere presence in the world that drew the Demon Tide to it. Xehanort’s return through off the balance between light and darkness, and as he other selves travel between worlds they bring the heartless with them. No world is safe as long as Xehanort continues to spread his heart like plague. As The King of Heartless and the king Nobodies stand before him Sora is faced with a terrible truth, he can not escape his own destiny. Sora must face the 13 seekers of Darkness. If not they will continue to endanger worlds and strip the people of their smiles.

Sora is a hero because he is always fighting for the sake of others. Whether it be for those that share his heart with or strangers he’s just meant. Sora will continue to travel, continue to fight, and continue to risk his life for the sake of others' smiles. Just like when he does tricks on the barrels to make the people of Twilight Town laugh, Sora accepts his cruel fate for the sake of protecting the joy of others. Even if that means he can never truly partake in that happiness himself. 

[thewisaaaaad]

Alright pretty satisfied with the Nobody

now how do I scythe.

[tealandbrynnstone]

Somewhere on the castle roof Xaldin is fuming rn

terrifying monstrosity: who could possibly love me when I am a terrifying monstrosity  me, stretched out on the table in front of them with a rose between my teeth: well