#No Longer a Nobody... // Roxas

[cosmosnout]

Wanted to play around with how the characters have similar features hehe (Yap session in notes)

[gulava]

That's why I needed Sora's help. So that we could end this battle...once and for all!

[catboygirljoker]

[video transcript: a scene from the 358/2 Days movie. Roxas: Hey, what happens when Heartless are destroyed? Xigbar: The hearts remain. And then those hearts gather together to form the great Kingdom Hearts. Roxas: Then, can you tell me what remains if a Nobody is destroyed? Xigbar: What's there to leave behind? We're not even supposed to "be" in the first place. Roxas: And the members at Castle Oblivion, where'd they go? Xigbar: Nothing's left of them. Roxas: In which case, I'll never see them again? Xigbar: That's right. You coming? Roxas: Huh? Oh, yeah. end transcript.]

this scene is so funny to me because if you watch it by itself you assume xigbar is being a total asshole for no reason. just random unmotivated callousness and cruelty. but the DS version of this scene comes at the end of a whole mission, and with that context, you can see that xigbar actually has a reason for...being an asshole.

(transcripts below are fetched from this text of ancient times, a GameFAQ so old that it mistakenly describes xigbar as seeing roxas when he sees xion with ventus's face.)

Xigbar: What's wrong? Dazzled by the new scenery? Roxas: Do you think it's true—about the members stationed at Castle Oblivion? Xigbar: Ha ha, is that seriously what's eating you? Roxas: We might have lost a comrade. Maybe multiple comrades. That doesn't bother you at all? Xigbar: As if. Look, the faster we get this mission done, the sooner you can RTC and get your answers.

Xigbar: Still with me there? I've seen you spaced out before, but this is ridiculous. Roxas: What? I'm fine. I'm fine... Xigbar: Let me guess. Castle Oblivion? Like I said: the longer we take here, the longer you're gonna have to stay in the dark.

Roxas: Good, then we can go home? Xigbar: Why, Roxas? Did you leave the toaster plugged in? Roxas: You know why. Xigbar: Heh heh. C'mon, let's RTC.

then the scene from the above clip plays. like, xigbar is absolutely being a jerk, privately making fun of roxas for thinking his best friend is dead (when it seems pretty clear to me from the above transcripts that xigbar at the very least knows axel is fine, and i think probably knows that a nobody getting defeated just turns them back into a human).

but he tries, repeatedly! to get roxas to not jump to conclusions. this is an issue he tries to help him out with on another occasion as well, in a later mission in halloweentown, and takes a similar "tough love" kind of approach where he doesn't correct roxas (though worth mentioning that he also goes out of his way to save roxas's hide in that situation).

in the end he tells roxas that axel's totally dead, gone forever, nothing left. still pretty callous and mean. but with the context of the mission, it's less "xigbar can obviously tell roxas is upset and doesnt give a shit" and more "xigbar has put up with roxas's moping for this whole mission and TRIED to hint that maybe he's jumping the gun, but at this point the kid can think whatever he wants, no skin off xigbar's back"

Bonus Xigbar Fact: tte hanashi spotted! if you watch xigbar's mouth at the end of the line "And then those hearts gather together to form the great Kingdom Hearts," you may be able to see him saying the phrase "tte hanashi"!

[reunionatdawn]

The beauty of Axel's original character arc

"I thought a lot about that. Should I leave him as he was or should I bring him back again? However, when I considered the people that Lea wants to bring back, his existence plays a big role. I think Lea has successively become a key character." (Tetsuya Nomura)

Nomura said that he debated whether to bring Axel back to life, or to leave him as he was. The fact that he wasn't sure meant that his KH2 character arc must have felt complete somehow. So, I'd like to take a look back at Axel's original storyline in KH2 and why I liked it so much. I thought his death worked very well as a beautiful and satisfying (albeit more bittersweet) ending to his story. In many ways, I found it to be much more poignant than his storyline in KH3.

“Is that how to treat a best friend on coming back from completing a long mission!” “I don’t recall becoming your best friend.” (Another Report: Roxas—Somewhere in Time)

Roxas was closer to Axel than any of the other Organization members. But he obviously yearned to have best friends his own age. That is why he was best friends with Hayner in his dream world, even though he didn't know them in real life. And he didn't even remember Axel. In other words, Roxas and Axel were not really best friends. In the short story that was included with the Japanese version of KH2FM+, Axel was the one who was insistent on using that label.

Hayner: Well, I doubt we can be together forever. But isn't that what growing up's all about? What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other. Right?

The whole concept behind Nobodies was that they had no hearts, but they still had their memories from the time when they did. So, the writers undoubtedly had some idea of what each member's backstory was like. In the original KH2, the writers chose not to explicitly tell us anything about Axel's past. But based on his behavior, we would be able to ascertain that he probably had a best friend when he was still a human. However, he was already a grown up. His summer vacation must've ended a long time ago. He could no longer be with his best friend, and he needed Roxas to fill that void.

Roxas: Organization XIII… they're a bad group. Naminé: Bad or good, I don't know. They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something.

One of the biggest themes in KH2 is that of duality. In Hinduism, the universe is said to be made up of two complementary opposite forces called Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the masculine force and is known as the destroyer or transformer. He is associated with chaos, darkness, and the element of fire, which symbolizes purification. Shakti represents light, order, and the feminine nurturing aspects of the universe, giving birth to new life. She is associated the element of wind, which symbolizes life energy and creation.

Axel's moniker is "おどる火の風". It translates to "Wind of the Dancing Fire" or "Dancing Fire's Wind". This is my theory of what the deeper meaning was. One of the most famous depictions of Shiva is that of him dancing in a ring of fire. This version of him is known as known as Nataraja. The rhythmic movements of the dance are said to cause storms and destruction. And there's a backstory to the dance.

In Hindu mythology, Sati immolated herself out of intense devotion to her husband Shiva when her father insulted him. When Shiva learned of Sati's death, he was overcome with grief, sorrow, and uncontrollable rage. Shiva carried Sati's lifeless body on his shoulders and began to perform the cosmic dance of destruction.

In KH1, the reports mentioned how Ansem amplified "storms" in the subjects of his experiments on the darkness of the heart. The kanji used (嵐) can refer to a literal storm or it can also be used metaphorically to describe an intense emotional state. I suspect that the original idea in KH2 was that Axel's best friend was killed during an experiment. And this event caused Axel's heart fall to darkness, turning him into a Nobody. It's probably the reason why Axel was so delighted to assassinate Vexen by setting him on fire.

Axel: Let's meet again in the next life. Roxas: Yeah. I'll be waiting. Axel: Silly. Just because you have a next life…

The imagery of Shiva dancing within a circle of flames represents the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Shiva performs the dance and destroys the universe, but this destruction is eventually followed by rebirth. His lover Sati was reborn as the goddess Parvati and reunited with Shiva as his other half. Their combined form represents unity in duality and cosmic balance. In KH2, Axel did not think he was going to be reborn. And that was the basis of his storyline.

Naminé: We may not have homes. But there is someplace I want to go… And someone I want to see… Axel: Same here.

Nobodies had a strong thematic association with death and the afterlife. In KH2, Naminé was the ghost girl living in the haunted mansion. In KH3, she was an incorporeal star in the Final World, the metaphysical place where people go when they have strong attachments and cannot pass on to the other side.

A Nobody was the spirit that went on even as its body faded from existence. They were very similar to the Unsent from FFX, which was another game written by Kazushige Nojima. Axel was created because his human-self had strong sentiments. He desperately wanted to be with his best friend forever. And this unfulfilled dream, ironically, kept his body and soul tethered to the realm of light.

Kairi: Maybe…waiting isn't good enough. Axel: My thoughts exactly! If you have a dream, don't wait. Act. One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?

When Axel asked Kairi if she wanted to "see" Sora, he was referring to her meeting him in the afterlife because he was planning to kill them both. A similar form of wordplay was also used in the Japanese dialogue. His intentions were made apparent by his outstretched hand. He wanted Sora to become a Heartless again. So, he probably planned to accomplish that the same way he became a Heartless.

(Japanese Translation) Axel: We're quite similar, aren't we? Both of us want to meet our important friends. Don't you think we're like comrades?

In the KH universe, when a person dies, their heart returns to the light of Kingdom Hearts. Since Axel didn't think he had a heart, he thought there would be nothing left of him to live on after his empty vessel was destroyed. Even if he wanted to die and be reborn to meet his best friend, he couldn't. He was driven by intense loneliness.

Some Kingdom Hearts fans think there's something romantic between Axel and Roxas and that Disney stopped that from being made explicit. Is that true? Have there been things Disney have stopped you from doing? Nomura: In terms of the relationship between Axel and Roxas, we never intended anything like this and this is actually the first time I ever heard of it! We don't want to openly negate how the fans have come to enjoy the characters, but it was not something the creative team intended. Axel and Roxas are the best of friends and that's their primary relationship. 

Axel's intense yearning to see Roxas once more made fans question his orientation even back in 2005. Akuroku was quite a popular ship back in the day and many players saw romantic subtext on Axel's part. I do agree that Axel is easily read as queer. But the creative team was not trying to imply that he was in love with Roxas. I think it was his human best friend that he was really in love with, and Roxas just reminded Axel of him. When he was with Roxas, he felt like he was with his best friend. And that's why he wanted to die by his side.

(Japanese Translation) Axel: When I was with him, it felt like I had a heart too. That kind of feeling... I feel it with you too... The same...

When Axel said, "the same", he was referring to how Sora reminded him of Roxas. But I believe that we were invited to read between the lines and wonder if he was also referring to a human best friend that had already passed on. Ultimately, Axel's original KH2 arc was not about being together with Roxas forever. Roxas merged with his other half and became whole. He would live on within Sora.

In some Hindu traditions, "Sati" also refers to the act of a widow willingly participating in a self-immolation ritual on her deceased husband's funeral pyre. It was seen as an expression of devotion and loyalty and also an act of peerless piety which was said to purge her of all her sins. The widow would achieve spiritual liberation (moksha) not only for herself but also for her deceased husband. This meant that both would be freed from the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). The widow was thought to be reunited with her husband in the afterlife, enjoying an eternal spiritual existence with him.

To help Sora reunite with Kairi, Axel self-immolated. After he died, Nojima probably envisioned that he would meet his dead best friend again, who was waiting for him on the other side. He had attained moksha, which represents the final goal of human existence in Hinduism, where the soul is liberated from the cycle of samsara. And that's probably why Nomura wasn't sure whether it was better to bring him back to life or to just leave him as he was.

"I never thought he would grow as much as he has. We originally planned to have him exit upon being defeated by Roxas during the opening of KHII, but all the staff, myself included, were strongly inclined to have him keep playing an active role after that. It's possible he will have things to do in the future, too. I tried to put that into his 'see you' line in KH2 FM+." (Tetsuya Nomura)

When KH2 was written, the writers probably had not envisioned a preexisting relationship between Saïx and Axel. But after its success, they decided to expand on the Organization's backstories, and came up with that idea. Isa was based on the original concept that was implied in KH2. Axel did have a human best friend, and that loss had a profound influence on his relationship with Roxas.

If Axel's human best friend was supposed to be literally dead in KH2, then him only being Norted is a major retcon, yes. But it was a retcon that would allow for the eventual reunion of Axel with his best friend in the physical life. Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, he could resurrect him from the dead. And that was the underlying idea of making Lea a Keyblade wielder in the first place.

Lea and Isa's backstory is one of the missing links of the KH series. By all means, it should have been depicted many years ago, in the defunct Birth by Sleep Volume II. This is a shame because it left their relationship extremely underdeveloped, and their reunion was largely glossed over in KH3 as a result. Because of this, I thought Axel's storyline in KH3 fell flat, and I thought that his ending in KH2 was more impactful. But I may change my mind if we finally get to see more of Axel's long overdue backstory in Missing Link.

[firestorm09890]

Something of a sequel to the big Nobody headcanon post but this one’s less sciency and philosophical and more “it’s not canon but it’d be sick as hell if it was.” that being said I think it’d be sick as hell if all the human-looking Nobodies had strange passive effects relating to their elements that happen when they’re in the vicinity

Xemnas - Nothingness - a deep, deep sense that something is wrong. no elaboration

Xigbar - Space - enclosed spaces seem a bit too cramped, and open spaces seem a bit too open. the intense pressure of claustrophobia, and the vertigo of acrophobia. no matter what, you’re always acutely aware that there’s an awkward distance between you and anything else around

Xaldin - Wind - there’s a draft in the area and you’re never gonna find where it’s coming from

Vexen - Ice - very chilly hands. why am I cold it’s not a cold day today

Lexaeus - Earth - he takes a step. the earth seems to tremor just a little. is it an earthquake? does anyone else feel that??? pull out the seismometer. nothing. huh

Zexion - Illusion - something’s wrong with the lights in the room... feels a little too dark. like when you go inside after being in bright sunlight outdoors and your vision hasn’t adjusted, but it doesn’t ever adjust. He himself is always an inch or two away from where he appears to be, and is generally hard to focus your eyes on. It’s worth noting this is intentionally the only visual effect

Saïx - Moon - looking in his eyes causes a sense of nausea and instability that gets worse the longer the eye contact lasts. your sanity might be slipping. this was blatantly ripped off of Reisen from Touhou. he also radiates power when in the moonlight

Axel - Fire - why am I warm it’s not a warm day today

Demyx - Water - okay please i can’t come up with anything other than “damn it feels humid today” and that’s gross so if anyone can come up with anything better please-

Luxord - Time - time seems to move either too quickly or too slowly. what do you mean it’s already been an hour? what do you mean only 2 minutes have passed? this one goes out to my homies with time blindness who get to experience this one already

Marluxia - Flowers - huh. allergies seem to be acting up. don’t have seasonal allergies? you do now, apparently. why does it smell like flowers everywhere

Larxene - Lightning - everything seems to have a static aura to it, but the shock never comes. contact with her directly does give a shock, though

Roxas - Light - y’know, for some reason, this kid seems, like, really trustworthy? I don’t know what it is but he seems like a good kid :)

Naminé - Memory - being around her... there’s something in the corner of your mind. an old memory you’d forgotten about. this all reminds you of something but you can’t grasp what it is

--

Each of these effects lies in perception and emotion alone. They’d be completely impossible to measure, even if it seems like they should be measurable. There are no temperature differences, in reality. No time dilatation. There is no light breeze blowing through the room there are no allergens in the air there’s nothing wrong with the lights there’s nothing. It all just seems that way. Just like Nobodies, and just like The World That Never Was. They seem human-- very convincingly. But there’s something missing. It seems like a city, but though the lights are on, no one lives in those buildings. It’s all for the sake of seeming. Feels real enough, and can have an impact, but there’s no true substance behind it.

Also only kinda related but I think if you look in the eyes of any Nobody you get a sense of wrongness. It’s different for all of them-- might be a manic look, might be a glimpse into unknowably dark depths, etc-- but ultimately you look in the eyes of a Nobody and go “oh there is something wrong with this person”. The eyes are the window to the soul (or the heart), after all. Following that logic, the more a Nobody’s heart grows, the more that effect goes away. The main elemental one doesn’t though. stay uncomfortably warm around Axel forever

And while I’m here

Xemnas, Saïx, and Xigbar all have somewhat catlike eyes. It’s most obvious with Xigbar. This includes the reflective eyes in the dark

those three also have pointy ears but so does Xaldin??? I don’t know why? it’s just.... a thing??? so in a similar vein, I think all the norts + a couple others should get sharp teeth. no there’s not a pattern. but it has to be characters who can actually pull off the look, for the rule of cool

Ienzo always had keen senses but becoming a Nobody sharpened them even more. ALL of them. Everything’s a little too much all the time. it sharpened everyone’s senses but it was worst for him

I think it’s a given that Vexen Lexaeus and Zexion had Nobodies of a specific class based on them and we just never got to see it but I think Naminé deserves to have special guys too. Though I bet if she did, Marluxia and Larxene wouldn’t have let her do anything with them and then DiZ would’ve been like “get those things out of my sight” :(

thinking about the greater Nobodies having physical traits that link them to their respective lessers but I don’t actually have any ideas, I just think the concept would be neat

[flummoxx]

Saïx’s final fight in the kh2 manga - a quick character analysis

(spoilers for kh2, 358/2 days, and kh3)

[ I wrote this 4-ish months ago but my writing has improved a lot within that time so please ignore any spelling errors or grammar mistakes ]

Setting The Stage: As Sora and his friends make their way through the Castle That Never Was, he comes across Saïx and Luxord, both prepared to fight them. Before Sora can prepare for battle, Luxord traps his friends (Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi) each in their own cards.

At first, the battle precedes how you would expect. Luxord challenges Sora to a card game in order to bring his friends back: Sora is reasonably upset at him and determined to win the fight, while Luxord may or may not be cheating. Saïx stands to the side watching this unfold.

Saïx Takes Over: In the middle of Luxord and Sora’s battle, Saïx breaks all of the cards in half, right in front of Sora’s eyes. When Luxord protests, Saïx threatens him with the same fate and he backs down.

As Sora stands there frozen in shock, Saïx takes this chance to get in the first couple of hits; knocking Sora to the ground. As Sora gets up, tears roll down his face, believing that all of his friends have died. When Sora finally gets the chance to hit him, he knocks Saïx back pretty far. This causes Luxord to call out his name and Saïx replies with, “I don't need your help.” As he enters his berserk state, the manga shows us a flashback to 358/2 days during the Roxas and Saïx battle.

With the usage of this particular flashback, it's clear that Saïx views Sora as Roxas, explaining his cruel actions here. By fighting Sora he's able to get payback for their battle in days; he's able to finally destroy Roxas, and to make him pay for everything Saïx believes him responsible for. Saïx prevented Luxord from helping him because this battle is something Saïx wants all to himself. He won't tolerate any interference. He’s waited long enough.

As Sora finds himself on the ground again, Saïx asks him some Important questions. He begins with, “You're still standing..? Why do you fight?” he then adds, “Your friends are gone. You have nothing left to protect.” Lastly, Saïx questions, “What point is there in fighting alone?”

I find all of these questions crucial to understanding Saïx’s actions in this fight.

Saïx thought that by making Sora believe all of his friends were dead, he would lose all motivation to keep going. He would lose his purpose. Sound familiar?

Fast forwarding to kh3, Saïx admits to losing all sense of purpose when Axel made friends with Xion and Roxas; leaving him and Subject X in the dust. Feeling that if Axel didn't need him anymore he no longer held any meaning. However, I don't think that was the only reason as to why he lost his purpose. Going back to kh2, Axel died as a sacrifice to protect Sora, leaving Saïx alone in the organization. During this time, most Nobodies were not aware they would come back recompleted after they faded away, so Saïx had no idea that Axel would return. I believe Axel’s death was the final push for Saïx to completely lose his purpose and revolve all his actions going forward around revenge and jealousy. When Sora continued to fight despite the loss of his friends, Saïx became confused as to why he would want to go on when he had nothing left to protect. 

Sora’s Victory: Sora tells Saïx that he still fights; that he continues to press on, because he knows that his heart is connected to his friends, even if they're not physically alongside him. Saïx doesn't understand this himself until much later in the series. (Mentioned in his character files, “If I could just connect to others’ hearts, that would be enough.”) With a final blow filled with determination, Sora finally defeats Saïx.

As Saïx begins to disappear, he looks to kingdom hearts above him and wonders where his heart is. He fades away alone with no one to support his fall. (If you're worried about Sora's friends, they're doing just fine. Luxord had kept the real cards that held Sora's friends in his pocket. The ones Saïx destroyed weren't the real thing. I'm assuming Saïx knew this but It made no difference as long as Sora believed they were dead. Jiminy Cricket was able to release them from the cards safely while Sora fought Saïx.)

[aitsuheart]

I had the most angsty Soriku idea

What if after Riku's sacrifice Sora wakes up in a world where everything is okay and happy.

Xehanort and the darkness are no longer a threat and Keyblades don't exist.

Ven, Terra, Aqua, Kairi, Axel, Roxas, Naminé and Xion are fine doing various things and are happy.

Sora is also happy but has a sense of confusion that there is something wrong something he is forgetting.

Riku.

Nobody remembers Riku, Sora doesn't remember Riku himself.

Riku isn't present but Sora slowly remembers him because he remembers someone special / precious to him and he sacrificed his life for Sora

Finally Sora has the choice to either try to get out of this made up reality and remember Riku so he'll come back or stay because everyone is happy and why would Sora want to ruin it

[transpanda-1]

TIMELINE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW KH BECAUSE THEYRE SMART (for @ashenberry)

In the beginning, a mobile game happened. This is universally seen as a “bad move” and everyone hated it

Anyway, Ventus jettisoned from said mobile game with some extra darkness(tm) in his heart because he didn’t settle his debt on his pay to win gacha dues

Cut to baldy mcbaldman Xehanort. He’s a weirdo obsessed with darkness, so he goes: “Eh. Guess I’ll rip the excess darkness out of this kid’s heart and make a new person or smthn”

Cut to him doing that. Vanitas born. Vanitas has no face, just kinda a blurry black blob with red eyes

Ventus goes “ow my everything existentially” and passes out into a death coma. Luckily though an actual baby Sora’s heart is passing by and goes “oh lemme fill that pothole for u. Googoo Gaga.” And Ven’s heart no longer resembles the Grand Canyon

Vanitas has face now, like Sora.

Xehanort’s like “boooo why don’t you die harder” and shoved Vanitas and Ventus together again when they were stronger cause he needed to form his super extra special car keys

Ventus goes “wtf die” and Vanitas goes “Okay. Your heart tho.” And Ven goes “wait shit.” And then his heart explodes

The remnants of Ven’s heart return to Sora, “heart pothole filler extraordinaire”, and asks if there’s no vacancy, then he’s let in.

CUT TO YEARS LATER AND A BETTER STORY

Teen Sora’s chilling on his island with his pals, [Girl] and bestest pal Riku who definitely doesn’t have repressed gay feelings for Sora that will result in an angsty apocalypse

Oops the apocalypse

Anyway [Girl] is a super bright heart and escaped apocalypse by chilling in the room next door to Ventus’s but still just a bit too far from the ice machine for convenience.

Sora figures this out and goes “ooh I hope this doesn’t wake anything tramsgenderly in me” and releases [Girl]’s heart from his, at the cost of needing to release his own heart

Cut to waking up things tramsgenderly OUT of Sora’s heart

Turns out this universe makes two things when u release a heart. Ur heartless, who has ur heart, and your Nobody, who has ur body. Very straightforward I know.

Because Sora had Ven and [Girl] inside his heart, his mom lets him have two Nobodies: Roxas and Naminè.

[Girl] restores Sora quickly so those two actual nobodies start out as blank slates n figure out their identities

And absolutely nothing else happened no siree

Some nobodies tried making a clone of Sora but it turns out his tramsgender vibes were off the charts and made a girl named Xion. She’s trans. She explodes. Queen.

[theblueprincess590]

Roxas’s Prologue at the Beginning of KH2 is the perfect introduction for KH2 Because it firmly establishes the 3 core themes of the Game through Roxas’s character. The First theme Roxas’s Story talks about is the idea of duality. Roxas is Sora’s Nobody, his Other, an integral part of Sora’s being that he needs back in order to become a complete person again and wake up. To put it in another way Roxas is the Prince Charming to Sora’s Snow White. But Roxas of course rejects his role in the fairy tale, he has become his own person after all why would he ever want to go back to Sora. Roxas fights his fate all the way until the very end when he finally meets Sora and understands everything. Roxas knows that things could be the other way around, that he could if he wanted to leave Sora to his eternal sleep and take his place in the universe but he won't because in this moment he truly gazes upon the sanctuary that is Sora’s heart and realizes that it is beautiful. Roxas knows that it has to be Sora, that only his heart has the power and kindness to understand the hearts of others and connect to all. So Roxas does what he was meant to do and returns to the sky he was born from. He restores Sora and brings about duality, right? The tragic ending of Roxas’s story hints that perhaps true duality has not actually been achieved, after all can it even be called duality when one has to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the other? Maybe just maybe true duality could be achieved if Sora and Roxas existed together side by side rather than as one being, but answering that question is no longer Roxas’s responsibility, it’s Sora’s now.

The Second theme relates back to KH1. In Kingdom Hearts 1 the game asks what is the true nature of the heart and answers with light so in KH2 the biggest question is “What does it mean to have a heart?” This Question is raised right from the beginning with the reveal that Roxas is a nobody. As stated in the 13th Ansem Report from KH1 the Nobody is the shell that is left behind after a heart becomes heartless, A body that still goes on despite its lack of a heart. And by the logic of KH Roxas should be an emotionless husk devoid of any real purpose but he isn’t any of that. Roxas by all accounts behaves like a normal teenager with emotions as real and passionate as Sora’s. Heck one could even argue he’s more like a real teenager tha his somebody. Sora is at his core a cartoon fairy tale character, his behavior and action exaggerated for dramatic and comedic effect, he yearns to see what lies beyond him in the great wide somewhere, and most importantly of all his beliefs are rooted in a sense of pure whimsical idealism. And Roxas isn’t really like that at all, he is far more grounded than Sora with his emotions being much more reserved often times giving in to melancholy rather than fairy tale wonder and only entering emotion as extreme as Sora’s when he’s forced into situations of intense stress by forces beyond his control, his desires are nothing more than a simple wish to spend his summer days on the beach playing with his friends, And he’s not at all concerned with grand ideals or beliefs just focusing on his small personal life. Perhaps the biggest piece of symbolism for Roxas being a normal teenager at his core would be his home, Twilight Town. Twilight Town is unique in the series for being the only normal world. It’s not a Gothic fairy tale castle like Hollow bastion nor a Child’s paradise like destiny Islands, rather it is just a simply quiet suburban town where the most exciting things to do are go to the beach or play Struggle. It’s the type of video game level that makes you feel at home with its music theme being the pure embodiment of summer melancholy. There is the Old Mansion of course which radiates haunted house energy but it’s important to note that the mansion is very much cut off from the rest of the town with the only people living there being outsiders rather than the actual citizens of Twilight Town. Now one could claim that Roxas only acts like a real person because of the false memories forced on him once he was trapped in the digital Twilight Town but it’s important to note that Roxas doesn’t lose any of his emotions or personality after he regains his real memories, in fact his emotions become even more passionate, like a star going supernova. So when Roxas definitely declares he has a Heart of his own to DiZ we can’t help but believe him despite everything else in the series telling us otherwise. With the entire nature of the series put into question it must be asked, What does it mean to have a heart if a being who is defined by his lack of a heart and emotions not only claims to have heart but shows the most humanity out of everyone else in the cast? Is a Nobody like Roxas truly capable of having a heart separate from Sora’s? All these Questions and more now Sora’s responsibility to answer as Roxas’s Other.

And Now we have the final theme of KH2 which is without a doubt the most important theme in the entire series, “Separation is inevitable.” In Kh1 the game explored the idea of People’s hearts staying connected even when they’re world’s apart through The Destiny Islands Trio and Sora’s faith that he will find them again even after the ending. KH2 further expands on this idea by confronting the truth that separation is inevitable, everything must someday end whether we want it to or not at that includes the time we spend with our loved ones. This is ultimately why Roxas' time in the digital world takes place during the end of Summer Vacation, to teach Roxas and the audience this fact. Every kid knows that summer vacation is going to end, that their time in the sun isn’t eternal so the days they dread the most are those final days of summer. By placing the story in this time frame it allows the kids playing the game to understand how Roxas feels, to let them experience and empathize with his growing sense of dread as every day counts down so that when Roxas’s finally says “Looks Like My Summer Vacation is Over” they all feel it. The digital Twilight Town existes to teach Roxas that separation is inevitable and that is because Roxas was rejecting this truth. When Roxas left Organization XIII he refused to say Goodbye to Axel, rejecting their friendship outright simply because it was easier to pretend they were never friends than to accept the pain of losing him. So the narrative punishes Roxas by giving him a normal happy life full of friends and then ripping it all away from him. And we see Roxas beginning to understand this Truth as he attempts to give Axel a real goodbye even if it was more for his own sake rather than Axel’s. However the take away from this theme and Roxas’s Story is much more than “we just have to accept the pain of separation”, rather it is something far far more beautiful.

“We can’t be together forever so we better make the time we do have together something to remember.”

That is everything Kingdom Hearts is about summed up in one sentence. Everything ends including the time we spend with our loved one but instead of wallowing in that heartbreaking truth we must embrace it and enjoy every second we have with our friends so that we will always be connected to them even when they’re gone. Or to simplify it, “Don’t be sad that Summer is almost over instead savor those last few days with your friends so you never forget them”

[lightandfellowship]

Xion takes on Sora's appearance at the end of Days basically against her will as she becomes more and more like Sora, but I think specifically in the context of her boss fight and the cutscene right before it, it's also a mask she's putting on deliberately.

Because she needs to act antagonistic towards Roxas in order to get him to fight her. It's like she's saying "Don't hesitate to strike me down. You're no longer fighting your dearest friend—you're fighting your enemy". Because in a way, Sora is the villain of Roxas' story. Yes, Organization XIII are the real villains, but the Organization treats Roxas and Xion the way they do because of Sora. All of Roxas' frustration and anger and pain can be traced back to Sora and how being his nobody specifically has caused Roxas' life to fall to pieces.

Also, consider her line right before the fight starts: "You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too."—she says this while wearing Sora's face. Though she's talking about her role as the puppet who leeches away Roxas' powers, I feel like there's a double-meaning here. Xion has already decided that she belongs with Sora, and soon she will be the first to return to him, with Roxas being the one who's "next". So keeping in mind that she looks like Sora right now, reread that line as if it were Sora saying "You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too". Roxas becoming a part of Sora, the exact fate he struggles so hard to avoid in KH2. The exact type of thing that would motivate him to fight for his life.

Even if none of this is what Roxas is thinking about as he fights Xion (because, like, he's still very much in the dark about a lot of things, including his exact relationship to Sora), even if Roxas is simply fighting out of necessity and fear and desperation rather than anger, I still think this is one facet of what the battle represents: this conflict between Roxas and Sora. A conflict that Xion is tapping into in order to make this inevitable clash easier on Roxas, in order to ensure that he doesn't hold back. And it's only after Roxas defeats her that she regains her old appearance again because now she can drop the act and simply be...herself.

[venjamin-kingdomhearts]

kinda funny that roxas comes from sora, is a part of sora, yet spent so long away from sora, not knowing who sora even was. still just labelled as nothing more than “sora’s nobody”. meanwhile ven’s seen as the “original” and thus separate from sora, when in fact he’s been with sora for longer period of time than what he remembers of his own life. you know. a i making sense???

[ebroxas72]

tagged by: @catjamsprinkles

Name: Gabrielle/Gaby.

sexuality: Bi/pan (but due to personal reasons I'm currently only considering dating gal).

dog or cat person: Cat person. Literally, I have my kitten on my lap as I type this.

current time: 9:57 p.m.

Dream job: A version of game development that pays the bills. what I am doing currently I enjoy but it can't pay the bills yet.

Favorite animal: Cat.

Blog creation date: sometime in either 2011 or 2012? a long long long time ago.

Reason for URL: Store time: EBroxas72 was originally my username for Minecraft, and I came up with the user name in order to match my brothers when we both were on the same server. My brother's username was "SimSora13" which can be broken down to "sim" as in the sims, (his favorite game at the time) Sora (his favorite KH charather), and 13 (His age at the time but it also works as an organization 13 reference.) So I wanted my username to match his name pattern so that it's clear that we are siblings and that we are super cool lol! So I came up with EBroxas72! "EB" (as in Earthbound, my favorite game at the time) Roxas (Sora's nobody from KH), and 72 (my favorite number. Don't @ me 72 is the best number!) So yeah, many years later I've kept the name. and I refuse to change it. I will be an ebroxas72 until the very end. and then when I am gone EBroxas73 will take my place or something. Even though Bro no longer goes by Simsora and goes by his fursona's name now. thus the matching meaning is lost.

followers I'd like to know more about: @ce-heich-ceand @addpar if they'd like!

[magpiejay1234]

Okay, so Day 9 with Marluxia is where significant lore inaccuracies start.

First of all, we start with Purebloods not releasing Hearts, and Emblem Heartless releasing Hearts, which in DDD becomes the inaccurate retcon of Purebloods not having Hearts, when in fact, they are literally Hearts. Just like how Nobodies are actually Bodies, Dream Eaters are actually Dream Constructs, Unversed are actually aware of their existences, and are based on emotions that are expressed, or "versed".

In the original canon, the reason Purebloods did not release hearts was because they were too corrupted by darkness, as they were fully submerged into the Darkness hivemind, whereas Emblem Heartless, being artificial creations, retained some sense of individuality. Once a Pureblood was defeated, it was assumed given their darkness level they would re-manifest until purification, or purify over a longer time, that we as the player character do not see.

Second is the idea they actually need a Keyblade to collect hearts to create Hearts of All Men, when in actuality, they have been collecting Hearts artificially, as we see in the Heartless Generator, and KH2's script implies Altar of Naught was designed specifically to retrieve purified Hearts away from the real Kingdom Hearts. It is possible that Vexen studied Kingdom Key to achieve this, as he talks before the mission (implying the Keyblades/Keychains obtained in this game are mostly his creations), but even then they were still indeed collecting Hearts, so the statement is just incorrect.

Unfortunately, the plot of the game is built on this incorrect idea.

Third issue is not that big of a deal. Since Marluxia gives you the tutorial of defeating Heartless, this becomes in Union X the idea Lauriam was somehow better than other Dandelions at defeating Heartless, and his quick bond with Roxas was actually a continuation of his bond with Ventus (who is still inside Roxas, not Sora).

This is a weird, though not necessarily bad case of Flanderization (again, tropes are not inherently bad), since the actual reason Marluxia does this is because as the second strongest member of the Org. 13 at the time, and one that desires to have a tool with a Keyblade, he would be most efficient in dealing with Heartless, and would seek Sora's Nobody as he will seek Sora himself in CoM.

(Of course, this event in Days will also be somewhat unimportant, as Union X will imply the main reason he sought after Sora was because he was carrying his original Keyblade, Divine Rose, which like most of the KH1 Keyblades was originally meant to be manifestation of the heart of Beast's Castle's world before the retcon.)

This additional context does not ruin the progression of the story, but weakens characters' actions, which in Marluxia's case is kinda bad, considering he is the brother of our "new" main character Strelitzia, and will almost certainly become a major recurring character both because of this, and his sheer power level.

****

I suppose we should also talk about Marluxia's element, flowers.

While there are many powerful plant monsters in FF, there is no plant-based elemental affinity in any of the FF games, except ironically in Kingdom Hearts. This is different than most JRPGs, where there is a plant element, as wood is one of classical Chinese elements.

There is sort of a Death element, which is characterized by Summons such as Odin, and Yojimbo, but I guess the main reason they didn't want Marluxia's element to be Death is because of the identity of Specter Nobody, aka Strelitzia. However, we cannot repeat plant element of Strelitzia, so we might end up her default to Death instead. More likely though, she will be non-elemental Holy to make her more special.

[firestorm09890]

Kingdom Hearts: Nobody Anatomy, Physiology, Psychology, Ontology??? headcanons

saw people talking about more monstrous Nobodies a bit ago (okay it was a long while ago at this point, this has been in drafts for ages) and that reminded me to share some of my thoughts. it spiraled kind of out of control and now this post is ridiculously long. three parts: the physical side, the less physical side, and other thoughts. most of it’s under the cut. enjoy

The physical side

All of these apply to ALL Nobodies, not just the funny squiggly ones.

Alrighty, here’s my proposal: Nobodies don’t have any internal organs. Even the ones that retain their human form. They may look and act like they’ve got regular human body processes, but I like to think that it’s just a hollow imitation. This is why every single Nobody has an absolutely snatched waist

So they’d lack both their metaphysical hearts and their real hearts!

The Organization was founded by a bunch of researchers who got into this mess via unethical human experimentation so you know they tried to pin down the specifics of Nobody biology early on, but every time they tried to use any medical equipment it would come up empty or just straight up not work. And then none of them were willing to get vivisected for the cause lmao

I think the greater Nobodies (human-shaped ones) are made up of the same weird, rubbery flexible stuff that lesser Nobodies are, but just don’t have that flexibility because hey! They’ve got a human form to maintain! They may seem human, but on a biological level, they’re closer to the squiggly guys than an actual human. This is why it’s possible for Xemnas to turn greater Nobodies into Dusks. We never see him do it, but I doubt it’s an empty threat. I don’t think there were any other greater Nobodies in the Organization in the past, but he’s probably transformed one of the specialized Nobodies, like a Dancer or Dragoon, into one of the lowest-ranked ones, like Dusks or Creepers or something.

All Nobodies have the Nobody sigil somewhere on them. For lesser Nobodies it’s easily visible, but for greater Nobodies, it’s on their backs, and since they’re always wearing those coats, no one ever sees it.

If a Nobody is cut, they don’t bleed- instead, little wisps of darkness leak out of the wound, like what happens in the Org’s death animations but on a smaller scale. They can heal faster than regular humans thanks to ✨something something darkness and nothingness✨.

Though Nobodies are supposedly shunned by both light and darkness, they are more aligned with dark than light. Any Nobody can wield light, not just Roxas (as shown by Zexion in Chain of Memories), but it takes great difficulty. However, they can wield darkness with ease.

Nobodies do need to sleep as regularly as humans, but can last much longer without food or water. Rest? Yes! Nutrience? Unimportant

They have no body heat- that’s a corpse, baby!!! That does bring up some questions about thermoregulation. I don’t feel like thinking about it tbh. There’s lots of questions in this vein: can Nobodies get drunk? I think they probably can’t. In 358/2 Days, Demyx says “Wait, training!? That sounds like work, which means sweating. Which is gross.” and that... complicates things! I could chalk it up to how a lot of people in Organization XIII have a tendency to keep acting like they’re humans and nothing’s changed, even though it has.

Nobodies are “born” in any world in the Realm Between. Roxas first appeared in Twilight Town, but some might have shown up by Castle Oblivion, or even the Mysterious Tower (god bless). Showing up in The World That Never Was is probably the most common.

The less physical side

It’s quite an unlikely coincidence that every apprentice of Ansem the Wise had a standout, super strong heart that allowed them to retain their human forms as Nobodies. I think it had something to do with being stabbed by a keyblade, not just their wills alone. That would also align with 9-12 being tied to a keyblade legacy. A strong will is important, yes, but you only get to be human-looking if there was a keyblade involved.

In a Nobody, the most important part of this will is the will to live. Should that ever wane, they Nobody will begin to destabilize, and eventually, they will return to nothingness.

Nobodies have hearts, and they do not have hearts. They have feelings, and they do not have feelings. It’s like the observer effect in quantum mechanics. Anyone who can sense hearts or feelings or whatever will not be able to sense anything from a Nobody, no matter how far along in development that heart may be, reinforcing the belief that yeah there’s nothing there. But there is... and also there isn’t. Both statements are true. A friend described it as “Schrödinger’s Feelings” and it’s the most accurate “Schrodinger’s ____” joke I’ve ever seen made. Someone else described it as depression which is also accurate (source: i’ve had depression). There are bouts of emotion occasionally, but those emotions are dulled (and usually negative) and most of the time there’s only suffocating apathy.

There is some truth to the statement that Nobodies’ feelings are simply recreations of what they might’ve felt back when they had hearts, but it’s also bogus. Memories are important to the makeup of a Nobody, but that statement is often used as an excuse that covers up the reality that there was a feeling there. It’s very easy to lie to yourself when there’s mostly data supporting your argument and any evidence against is less common and easily disputed by “logic” like this.

The most prominent “feelings” in Nobodies are an intense sense of longing and dissatisfaction. For some, the longing is for a heart, but for others it is aimless. That was the idea behind all the Nobodies having little hobbies like cooking and puzzles and reading magazines in the manga. They’re trying to fill that void with anything they can.

In one of the novels, Demyx, #1 proponent of the idea that Nobodies do have hearts actually, gives us this:

I play and play, but I can’t make a satisfying sound.

In truth, I know I won’t be satisfied in all eternity.

If you don’t have a heart, there’s no such thing as satisfaction.

You don’t even think you want to be satisfied.

And yeah, the novels aren’t canon, but it’s still interesting to see and think about. Nothing you do is good enough to fill that emptiness, but you can barely bring yourself to care about it anyway. Yep, depression!

Nobodies are prone to a high amount of introspection. It’s an inherited trait all Nobodies share- if you manage to survive past humanity in a bizarre fucked up state like this, you’re naturally going to be thinking about it. However, they’re all also incredibly bad at it, and generally do a horrible job at self-reflection. This is just an unfortunate coincidence

A Nobody can regrow a heart if they make connections, and are seen and acknowledged by others. Pretty sure that’s just canon. HOWEVER, Nobodies cannot help each other grow hearts- this is why none of the Organization regrew hearts after 10 years of being around each other, and despite connections within the group. 0+0 is still 0, after all. That’s what makes the policy of going undetected on missions so insidious. They’re never allowed the chance to regrow a heart. I’ve already talked about it somewhere else, but this is why Roxas grows a heart so fast- he ignores that rule, for the most part. Axel’s interactions with Sora are also what kickstarts his heart growth.

Hypothetically, since someone doesn’t have to remember a memory for Castle Oblivion to draw on it, the mechanics with the cards and the rooms could have been used to help Xemnas recall his past- considering how much time he spent talking to Aqua’s armor, I think that’s something he might’ve been interested in. HOWEVER! Since the Twilight Town card came from the memories on the other side of Sora’s heart, I propose that the properties of Castle Oblivion would have no effect on Nobodies. RIP.

Other thoughts

I’m not saying Ansem the Wise and Yensid were right about Nobodies! I do think they’re different from humans on a fundamental level, but demonizing them is Not Cool

On the idea that Nobodies aren’t meant to exist: Well. Just like before it’s total bogus bc the main perpetrators of that idea were either bigoted about it or liars or both but I think it’s a little more complicated than “everyone is flat wrong about this”. Nobodies are essentially naturally-occurring byproducts of Heartless. Most Nobodies (or, at least, the lesser ones, based on that one cutscene in kh2 where hearts rain down on The World That Never Was and we see a bunch of Dusks grasping for them) seem to have a drive to reclaim the heart they’ve lost- if reclaimed, that would mean they wouldn’t be a Nobody anymore. Creatures born in worlds of neither light nor darkness, created only through the destruction of another and only some of the time, who don’t even want to exist like this themselves... that’s what “Nobodies aren’t meant to exist” means to me, I think. BEAR IN MIND “MEANT” IS NOT THE SAME AS “DESERVE”

And then! There’s Nobodies who defy that! Or, uh, Nobody, singular. Roxas goes “bro I don’t care I want to exist as I am” and he does that (Naminé... didn’t really seem to share that opinion, if I’m remembering correctly. Probably because DiZ hammered it into her head that she didn’t deserve to exist). I wish we had seen something like that from one of the regular Nobodies- why should recompletion and/or regaining a heart be the ideal? Why do they have to die again in order to be “right”? It just further perpetuates that idea DiZ and Yensid pushed in kh2: Nobodies are Wrong and shouldn’t be around. Unless you’re special like Roxas or Naminé in which case it’s okay. But for everyone else it’s recomplete or bust... anyway this is a tangent I did not mean to go on with this post-

I think it’s interesting, how they’re made of nothingness and their existence is “nonexistent”. Nothingness is, as an element, something, as opposed to true nothing, which is the absence of anything. Nonexistence implies existence. It’s like how in math, sometimes an answer to a problem will be DNE-- that’s Nobodies, and “nothingness”. “Does not exist”, but in writing the answer, it does exist, as a nonexistent entity. As opposed to just... not having a math problem at all, and therefore not having a place to write a solution. That is true nothingness- all the Nobodies of people whose hearts weren’t strong enough to create Nobodies fall under this category. They don’t exist for real. Nothing as something vs nothing as nothing- ah fuck I just realized this is the second time I’ve used a math analogy for kingdom hearts. shit

in conclusion

that’s all of it. probably. i like nobodies a whole lot. now that i’m thinking about it i should’ve made this multiple posts instead of one huge one. if you read all of this you earn my undying love

[kh-yumio]

So I’ve seen you illustrate Vanitas and other cast having other features due to the darkness or not being human. What about nobodies? I like to think nobodies look human but that isn’t their true form. This would make it easier for them to get close to humans. I headcanon that nobodies also have the desire to consume hearts, even if it doesn’t do anything for them. It’s sort of like scratching an itch, you know? Because their own hearts are gone/locked away/growing.

I know a lot of “nobodies” no longer exist since KH3 and the use of Replicas. But I like to think for characters who never saw or identified as people aka namine, roxas, xion in their replica bodies they’d still maintain their nobodies species. (Minus the heart eating, unless it’s heartless haha.)

I’d love to hear and see your thoughts on this little blurb of mine if they interest you enough for that. No expectations or pressure. Love your work, can’t wait to see more.

Ok, your headcanon of them desiring to consume hearts is *Chef kiss*. The desire to have a heart even if it's not their own, take it from someone else just to fulfill a need and the desire to feel but get nothing 😞

I have a some of headcanons regarding the appearance of the Nobodies, yes, but nothing really that noticeable compared to Vanitas. I like to believe that their hands and feet are faded to white (because it's the predominant color on lower-ranked Nobodies), the pupils of their eyes are elongated and sharp, and some gain pointy ears.

Example with Larxene - Elrena:

Now that Namine and Roxas have Replica bodies they no longer have those characteristics and pass as ordinary humans.

[hollowwhisperings]

The Secrets of The Secret Room: KH2's Hidden Boss Arena as a Future Plot Point.

Anyone remember that Secret Room in KH2? The FRUSTRATINGLY difficult-to-reach one within the basement caves of Ansem's Castle? The one that lets you fight Data copies of the Organization XIII members? THAT Secret Room?

KH2's "Garden of Assemblage", GIF by superbia (nokuto.tumblr)

Well, what if we look at KH as a series and its LOVE for hiding plot within gameplay mechanics... and look at that Secret Room again after the Lore Bombs from KHUX & KH3?

The KH series LOVES to "hide" lore & plot foreshadowing within game mechanics: the different/same coloured dream portals in DDD & KH3, the "reset" levels in each game, Anti-Sora and Rage Form...

i wonder who, exactly, set up that Data Combat Record of Organization XIII members?

the easiest candidate is DiZ: he has the means, motive & opportunity to have set something like that up (know your enemy).

it's also plausible that Saïx set it up for Axel, a means of preparing him for assassinations but it doesn't make much sense given that Axel would need that combat data BEFORE he fought his targets while the Data Room only has those 'records' AFTER targets are defeated.

Xehanort is another candidate, perhaps setting the system up in order to have Data Copies of the Organization to fall back on for Future Use (no time travel required!). it WOULD be easier to put a Data Copy into a Replika than trying to locate, say, Lauriam or Arlene (who he only seemed to meet through Xigbar) upon their recompletion.

There's also That Looming Option of Darkness.

Darkness, getting one (or more) of the above characters to set this room up, ultimately for ITS use: Darkness seemingly needs 13 Vessels in its Game with MoM and, going with Sleeping Realm Theory, KH3 DID seem to imply that Data Riku & Young Master Xehanort were not only working for (or with) Darkness but were investigating how Hearts & darkness interacted with DATA.

KH's Primordial Darkness IS canonically tech-savvy: the Secret Room of Data Organization XIII fits EXACTLY within its modus operandi.

it's not JUST Darkness who knows of/discovered this Secret Room, however: Sora & Team Guardians of Light did too.

KH3 somewhat implies that Ienzo and Even learned of the Secret Room after being recompleted: it's probably what they were referencing when trying to set Xion & Roxas up in Replika bodies.

If Roxas is now made up of himself AND his Data Copies (from Data Twilight Down & the Secret Room)... it solves the issue of his dual-wielding keyblades despite no longer having 2 "real" Hearts to source them from.

I don't think that either of these Data Roxases would feel a need to have their own Replika bodies: Axel's Nobody formed a Heart but it integrated with his "recompleted" self without issue, just as all these Roxases would. These Hearts can merge or otherwise exist alongside each other without any issue because they share the same "Soul" (or, at least, there are no conflicting memories within their Timelines).

Xehanort did not seem much affected by Xemnas seemingly forming a Heart either: the "lived time" of Xemnas simply went back to Xehanort (& if the transistion WASN'T so seamless... it's not like he would care & he ended up Time Travelling Xemnas before any conflicts of heart could arise anyway).

Terra, on the other hand... well, Xemnas got the Fixation with Aqua's Armour from SOMEONE.

Back to That Secret Room...

my munny's on Darkness bringing that Data Organization XIII back into play at some point, if only to allow more Hidden Boss Gameplay post-KH3 for the purposes of "strengthening" the Darkness within its vessels.

It makes me wonder if the "Demyx" met during KH3 was actually a "Data Demyx": he and Luxord do not seem native to [this side of] "Reality" but to the home of Nameless Star, going by the Verum Rex trailer in Toy Box & the Secret Ending(s) of KH3.

the premise where DiZ or Xehanort sets up the Data Organization for further study, only for it to get used by Darkness could just as easily apply to XIGBAR/Luxu for MoM but... Darkness is the entity with the greater connection to Data Hearts so, regardless of WHO this Secret Room was set up by, it's probably Darkness who'll bring that game mechanic into the future of KH's Story.