-Hollow Bastion fell when they were just kids, that means Axel lost his heart when he was just a kid and was probably just lost in the darkness for years until he became a nobody
-He does all the dirty work so that Saix could get to the top of the Organization
-He and Saix drifted apart while in the Organization, getting into multiple arguments (a lot of these involving Xion)
-Axel lost Ven, even though they met once they still became friends and the fact that Lea never knew what happened to him.
-Axel found Roxas, whom he probably thought was Ven when they first met no doubt.
-And then Axel lost Roxas, one of the only people he actually cared about in the Organization (besides Saix)
-Axel lost Xion, someone he knew was just a replica yet he cared for her dearly and did so much to try and help and protect her
-Immediately after losing Roxas, Axel has to go find Xion even though she refuses to come back again and he’s just so upset with everything that it results to Axel breaking down in front her and ending in a fight.
-Axel’s last “memory” of Xion is of them fighting. Axel passed out after their fight and didn’t wake up until after Xion was gone, so he lost all his memory of her already. Their last moments together were in pain.
-The Organization tasked Axel to destroy Roxas. They were forcing him to go and kill his best friend.
-He tried so hard to get Roxas to remember him, and Roxas didn’t until it was too late and he had to return to Sora.
-Axel was on the run from the Organization all through KH2, he had nowhere to go.
-Even after Roxas was gone, Axel still searched for him tirelessly, even resorting to kidnapping Kairi just to get Sora to come to him to have a chance of seeing Roxas.
-Axel comes back TWICE to try and free Kairi, getting severely injured each time.
-He was basically killed by his friend (Saix)
-After Axel is stabbed by Saix, he wanders through the dark portals, pushing himself to keep going because the only thing he wants is to see Roxas again.
-Axel knew that he was going to fade, so he put his entire “existence” into his attack to save Sora and the others
-When Lea wakes up in Hollow Bastion, the first thing he’s thinking about is Roxas; even after he faded he was in a dream with Roxas and had to finally say goodbye, crying none the less
-Lea lost Isa. He was searching for Isa throughout KH3D and only to find that he had been taken by Xehanort and now a vessel.
TL;DR Throughout Kingdom Hearts Axel/Lea has been in constant pain and losing those he cares about.
Yada yada, time paradox, yada yada, killed an innocent child, pbbt. Done, in the past. Nothing to care about.
Theories floating all over Tumblr for the past 2 weeks consisting of mostly insane time traveler Marluxia exfuckflower have definitely caught my attention. Don’t worry, people in my ask box. I’ve been crafting this theory for a while. And it’s fucking pissing me off where I ended up. ‘Cause no, it’s not satisfying. And yes, IT MAKES SENSE. I’m so mad where I ended up after pouring so much time into this. I was expecting something incredible and… to be honest, touching? But, no. Tetsuya Nomura stomped on my heart. Again.
I’d recommend cranking up some tunes ‘cause this is gonna be a doozy. Might I recommend this? Personal favourite 😉
Let me introduce you with a question… Can just one essay make you feel respect for character development and feel righteous anger with an overwhelming need for justice? Hopefully by the end of this, your answer will be yes.
Xemnas is one of the bulkiest, he has large open sleeves. You see him the most through KH2 and I know him on spot also cause I can smell cheap hair gel when he passes by.
Xigbars is tight as well (Him, Demyx and Axel all share this) He is also part of the shoulder pads club.
Xaldins is the buffest (asides maybe Lexaeus) granted you rarely see those two together. His sleeves literally stay the same from the shoulder to the cuff, baggy hasn’t been in style for years…well neither have shoulder pads.
Vexens is rather big on him, not very form fitting. If you can’t tell it’s him by his coat you can probably tell it’s him by the stench of failure and betrayal. Look at him. Hiding his failure hands.
Lexaeus, holy crap. This dude is ripped. Form fitting sleeves that flare out. His upper torso is the largest, if you feel an earthquake nearby, you may have a Lexaeus on the loose.
Zexion is the least form fitting of all. It has to be baggy enough so he can hide back into his coat like a turtle. He enjoys reading in there and thinking of more ways to mentally torture Riku.
Saix shares the same coat that Xemnas does but with TOP shoulder pads, he likes to take Xemnas’s old coats. He does this in hopes Xemnas will acknowledge him, never happens. He is the only one sporting the top shoulder pad that prominent. Keep trying to be different, he may notice you one day.
Axel has the tightest coat of all. He is so skinny cause he’s so hot (literally), burning them calories all the time man. Rumor has it when he walks he squeaks cause of how skin tight the coat is. You can tell its him easily from behind cause his hood has a bunch of holes in it from his hair piercing through.
Demyx coat is similar to Axel, make it as tight as it comes. Biggest difference is he has shoulder pads that could stab your eye out. King of the shoulder pads. a mullet and shoulder pads, you poor water child.
Luxord has the largest arm holes (asides Zexion), he has to hide all his cards in there. He runs a magician act on the side so he has all kinds of things stored in his sleeves. Shoulder pad club members growing in numbers. Form fitting in the chest but arm room for days.
Marluxias coat has hair dye stains on it and smells like roses. Not much else to say.
Larxene Boobs.
Roxas is the shortest of the bunch, loose coat. If confused look for the clown shoes.
Xion has the second tinniest waist but open sleeves. Like Roxas, look at the shoes. While she is the only other girl besides Larxene an easy way to tell them apart is this, is she being a bitch? No. It’s Xion.
In case anyone in the fandom doesn’t know this yet, I want to share one of my favorite little pieces of KH trivia.
Xigbar’s title comes from a German folktale, the story of the Freischütz (lit. free shooter) which dates back as far as the 14th century. The tale is of a marksman who makes a deal with the Devil for magic bullets that will hit (or alternatively kill) whatever the marksman wills – they are bullets guided by the will of the marksman. Often the number is given as 7 bullets. Because no deal with the Devil is ever purely good for you, the catch is that while all the bullets will fly true and hit their mark, the Devil gets to guide the final (alternatively 7th) bullet.
If the Xehanort = Devil analogy isn’t obvious, let me clarify. Braig makes a deal with Master Xehanort for power (implied for the Keyblade, or just for adventure?) back in Birth By Sleep – but the deal ends up with him slowly being Norted. In the end, Braig has made a deal with the devil – and while he’s getting power and excitement, in the end, we know Xehanort is the chessmaster, and we know Xehanort will be firing that final bullet.
braig/xigbar’s character fucks me up so hard you don’t even
like he is legit a piece of shit and yet the writers go out of their way multiple times to make you suspect he’s not fully on board with 100% of the Nort shenanigans
xigbar acts like he knows everything and is on top of it and as far as the other characters are concerned, he is; it’s really only the audience that’s given these moments that make you question that impression
like, the opening of DDD? that was very deliberate; storywise it would have made way more sense for Braig to be fully cooperative and complicit in that moment. but instead he’s a victim, even though he’s supposed to be in on the plan—and it’s made brutally clear that Terranort hasn’t told him shit which is pretty eyebrow-raising
I think there’s some symbolism to the fact that in DDD, Xigbar has been “downgraded” to Vexen’s old chair, the lowest in the room; he was always the smirking jester at Lord Xemnas’s right hand but now the real king is throned and Xigbar’s just the jester on the floor, a Nort but one of convenience rather than worthiness. (meaning, I suspect Braig was Norted primarily to ensure a backup plan in case things went very wrong with Terra, not because Master Xehanort thought braig was an especially “worthy” vessel.)
the whole “freeshooter“ thing plays into this interpretation, too, which makes me more confident in it than I otherwise would be. also, given the whole “devil guides the last bullet” ending to the Freeshooter legend, i can’t help but think of how great/awful it would be if xigbar’s end in KHIII comes from him getting so fed up with “the old coot” that he tries to bail on Team Nort, and so to get rid of the liability, Master Xehanort possesses his body and makes him put a bullet through his own skull. I mean obviously that’s too graphic to actually happen exactly that way in the game but given some of the stunts KH has pulled in the past, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some kind of G-rated version of that idea come into play.
DID YOU JUST MAKE ME CRY OVER BRAIG
//maybe not 100% informed, but i would say at this point he is 100% on board with the nort shenanigans.
you gotta remember that we are talking about possession here. one strong heart corrupting and taking over the mind and will power of a body whom was more or less stricken of the first. Over time, that second Heart starts to change a person, mentally and physically into that of the second. tell me that the line “Me? I’m already half-Xehanort” is not said with the biggest shit eating proud smile on his face.
but that’s why i say informed. the time of period between bbs and the first clip of DDD took place over the course of the year – during this period Terranort was in a state of comatose when it came to remembering his past (either Terras OR Xehanort’s for that matter) and Xehanort’s soul was what gave him the impression to chase down Kingdom Hearts/the Door to Darkness. What’s not to say that Braig was there to push him along, down that path, because he knew what the original goal was? DDD opens up with that scene of Ansem staring at the ceiling. Its from his perspective so I really cant say what was going through his head at the time, but he looks down, finds Even and Ienzo out cold, then proceeds to summon the Keyblade No Heart and more stabitty stab. Possession, or maybe the darkness in him from the experimentation came to a full front, and he just outright attacked the others? Darkness as an element is highly unstable in the game, and has done far worse to the human mind.
But again, I dont think Braig saw it coming because, its possible Terranort did not either. Experiments finally was enough of a push that it unlocked his memories and sent “Ansem” down the path to creating the first organization – the thirteen vessels – which in fact was ANOTHER contingincy plan that Xehanort knew about by the prophecy. Braig probably only knew about the Ven/Vanitas Light Dark summon because it was probably on a need to know basis. – In Master Xehanort’s mind, it should have worked. When it did not, he moved forwards with the 13 Darknesses/Seven Lights – 1st Org 13 + 7 Princesses of Light. Til his Heartless decided to run with that potential and trip like a drunk at the finish line.
Contingencies, upon contingencies next to back up plans. Nort is good for these.
You’re right though – the Gathering of the Thirteen is symbolic – only to that that that stage was to represent the arrival of the New Organization + I think the game developers did not feel like making a stage in the Keyblade Graveyard and spoiling that bit – so recycle something they already had developed, and was familiar to the audience. Gives a better “oh crap” moment too when you see the camera pan around Riku and their all up shots of black cloak figures popping in like “where the lights at?”
Far as the downgrade? Not really: “One of the Organization XIII’s members, As Number II, he has Xehanort’s trust above all others.”
Thats a direct quote from the journal in DDD, in to which he still has his rank of number II. I think more or less the placement of the chair thing could more or less be a lateral move, and again, they could have simply felt like not reposing the stage because it was complete.
Xigbar’s importance to the story has always been along Xehanort though. I don’t see him as a jester, more maybe the loyal attack dog or spy that the king can always call upon if he wants to off someone. Also to that fact, you have two characters like Ansem and Xemnas at his right and left sides in the Gathering, because they are more or less characters that do not take direct orders from subordinates (even though Xig totally told Xemnas to take care of Sora to go peace out and report to MNort what he saw of Sora’s ‘power’)
So what does that mean then? Maybe Mnort is clever enough of a leader to keep his heads in line by bettering their social stature, and giving them the ‘illusion’ of control? Or maybe that this new order is going to be tiered for power, not just numerically ranked. I can’t see characters like Saix following orders from Ansem, nor could I see a loose canon like Vanitas (when he’s confirmed cause duh) following anyone but Mnort’s direct order. He’ll probably split them up into teams, and be the lintch pin that only holds it together. After all, without him, the 13 Vessels would be nothing.
and as far as him running away… honestly its a pretty thought, but fan canon.. Going back to the possession, as stated above, He is Half Xehanort. That means his own will has slowly been aligning itself to MNorts for near TWELVE YEARS in the KH timeline. At that point, what part of his mind is still Braigs, and what of it is Xehanorts? Does he even want or have the physical potential of even considering the notion. These are the things you have to take in mind with the vessels. They’re not themselves, technically, but they’re still fully aware of their actions and what their will is pushing them to do. They want what Xehanort wants. And by having that Dark Keybearers Heart, replica or not, beat inside them, they are more then fully capable as vessels. Remember what Xemnas said “Some where not strong enough, some where not loyal enough-“. The ones that didn’t make it where long since kicked to the curb, one way or another. Xehanort would not let Xigbar go, not easily.
The only way I could see him go sniveling back to Sora or perhaps moreso the apprentices would be only to pull a “Hail Hydra” stunt and try to blow up the palace from the inside out..
In a manner of speaking “devil guides the last bullet.” His magazines carry 6, 6 of the 7 bullets that are mentioned in the myth. Maybe, poetically, he is or could be considered the last bullet. One that could not be wasted because he’s needed to fulfill the prophecy at this point, and one of the remaining pieces Mnort is going to have in this Last Shot for the True Kingdom Hearts.
Oh my god you know what I just realized? Ven knows Marluxia. THAT’S why Marluxia is in charge of the Castle Oblivion team in CoM. Who better to find a missing kid than Marluxia and Axel, two Organization members who already know who Ven is and what he looks like
Someone over at KHinsider posted a translation of Nomura’s character comments on KH2 which were supposedly written in 2006, but just made available. The site is down now, but I’m queuing their post with a link to the whole thing.
But I did take a few screenshots.
And the comment on Zexion:
[ As he shares something like a master-servant or teacher-student relationship with Xemnas, like Saix, he is a character with strong connections. While he was the superior in that regard, perhaps that was ultimately his downfall. It is likely that if Marluxia and Axel had not betrayed him in Castle Oblivion, he would have played a central role within the Oranisation. ]
Well just shoot me through the chest why don’t you. This is a side we don’t totally see in the games, but it totally colors a lot of his comments. Like we know Saix was actually plotting against Xemnas, but a lot of what Zexion says sound like very pro-Organization sound bites. But then there is that pause when Xigbar mentions a secret, or the fact that we know him to be a tactician, and I wonder just how taken with Xemnas he was by the time of CO. After all, he actually knew more than Saix about the replica project and probably some of the science of Darkness, Hearts, and how things all started.
But what really, really intrigues me is how this is going to all play out now. We know Lea went back to Raident Garden and I presume he was filled in on the true purpose of Organization XIII, what with having come in for the end of that. For whatever reason, Ienzo and Lea were sharing information before, so there is no reason to assume that won’t continue.
I’d love to see how the information effects Ienzo, or what he does about it, considering this new information about his relationship with Xemnas (and one assumes, by extension, Apprentice Xehanort).
Stop talking and start doing: My Fallout Shelter for my Tumblr blog 