Wow Howler you outdo yourself every time!!! I really loved this one, and it's very intersting because prioritizing the collective by sacrificing the individual is a sentiment rooted in Japanese culture, and I think the creators of this story are, among other things, criticizing this system. Thank you for the early birthday gift.
You were spot on something a lot of us forgot or did not even notice this aspect of Riku and Sora's dynamic. Sora's a good person, but I never noticed him being self-righteous until kingdom hearts 2 with everything that happened to Roxas and how Sora treated and saw the Nobodies.
I can't wait for pt2 of Sora & Riku's heart to heart talk ;w; & I LOVE that KH is becoming more outward on its talk about how light & dark isn't as bare bones b/w that it seems & all the more complicated than just good & bad. A lot of people (including myself a decade ago) thought it was just that simple. & sometimes it is. Dark Road has given me a lot to think about & I hope Nomura & his team continue that. It's so good. & that we have more discussions & vids like this 1 Thank you for the new vid!! Lots to think about ^^b
Wonderful job as always Howler!!! I feel like my brain had seen these moments of generational Trauma throughout the games (especially in dark road) but this was just like stringing them all together in a nice pepe Silvia board
This concept is the False Light, the False Light that turned Xehanort toward Darkness. False Light is the Fear of the way True Light becomes unobtainable. False Light is caused by the Fear of being out of Control, not being Good enough. It is denial of the Shadow. It is "if I cannot have the Light, I will destroy the Light subconsciously." Sora is particularly Afraid of "being Alone". Darkness is all about being One ,and as One. Thus, Sora Fears Them. But Riku has been a Darkness, and Sora likes Riku. However, Sora still fears Darkness, which suggests Sora and RIku will be working on this in Future.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 Ohhh I like that! Plus with the idea of “love can be a false kind of Light” with unconditional vs conditional love!!! I am,,,, Thinking™️
Another fantastic video! I love this discussion about breaking the cycle of trauma. And we've all been waiting and hoping for KH to address that Darkness isn't all bad and Light isn't all good, and you've perfectly talked about all the ways the series has set up how the series will likely explore it. Amazing
Listening to you talk about this all this episode makes me want even more for Vanitas to get some therapy. A being of darkness being able to be a healthy and accepted part of the world would tie in with the themes you lay out in your analysis beautifully. Like, he doesn't have to be friends with the protagonists and hang out with them, but some emotional recovery would be nice.
When I saw how differently Sora reacted to the members of the Organization in KH3 compared to how he treated them in KH2, I knew that Sora was going in the right path. That's why KH3 Sora is my favorite
I agree. I've noticed a ton of people hating on KH3 Sora because of how happy-go-lucky and loving he is towards everyone when he used to be much more heartless in KH2-- completely missing the point of his character being about accepting his emotional empathy as well as not being allowed to be sad because of the people around him.
@@rirururu4697In addition to his own aggression and lack of empathy, it’s also likely he was being influenced by Roxas’ (justified) anger against the people who ruined his and his friends life. So post ddd when he realizes Sora never intended for him to suffer the way he did, he relaxes a bit due to Sora understanding him as a result of the memory transfusion in DDD’s TWTNW.
This was utterly masterful, the way you weaved together flawlessly all these different even to showcase what all of em have in common was really incredible. A few moments have particularly struck me, like at around 9:30 you basically distilled what was the point of Baldr's private conversation with Xehanort before dying, and the cog in the machine metaphor was extremely fitting. I also especially liked how you managed to fit in the notion of the worlds having to be kept separated when the main theme of the series is connections, and the way you managed to make it fit so perfectly with everything, including the hypocrisy of keyblade wielder tradition, their justifications for doing so and fear of conflict, and ultimately making connections conditional and worthless or a tool for their ends, especially with MoM, incredibly fascinating, and how this is particularly the main thing from keyblade tradition that Sora has been most directly forced to abide to, which then also ties to the example you used from avatar. Also great catch in emphasising how Riku was always eavesdropping on Sora even in the very first scene of the series, the fact he probably eavesdropped the pier conversation is all but confirmed now.
I don't have much to offer for analysis but I'm very grateful for your keen take on this series! I don't know how they'll decide to tackle the Sora and Riku drama but seeing how they explicitly have Riku mention his suffering in that line "got my own" with anti aqua in kh3 I hope that the next game is allowed to be even more emotional and like intimate. More scenes like the dark margin at the end of kh2. Edit: now that I think about it, there are def a lot of intimate scenes in the series. Like in DDD talking to the dream Roxas and a lot of the side games, esp Days. Hoo boy seeing those with more intricate choreography/facial animations tho??? Exciting I also wonder how far they'll decide to age sora up in the series. Will he end as a mentor to someone else or will become a deity like Riku is theorized to be an avatar of kingdom hearts? He's an ordinary boy after all. What's a new perfect world gonna look like? I'm excited for your next video! I've binged all your other vids and theyve given me a new love for the series I've been with since the beginning. It's so cool to see the intricacies along with the over arching plot like this.
Once again was too exhausted on my first watch to find anything to comment, but once again really good analysis! A lot of people often read Yen Sid as an abusive teacher to Sora, and I believe it comes from witnessing the pattern of teachers wrongfully assuming whatever black and white conclusion they reach on how darkness should be handled eventually hurting their students, and applying it to Sora and Yen Sid, but the thing is, while Yen Sid has misdirected Sora when it comes to the nature of nobodies, and while he did refuse Sora the title of Master, I don't think he is exactly working within that framework. He's only a teacher in very loose terms, and is not the most formative figure in Sora's journey (if anything, Donald and Goofy might qualify more, actually Xehanort himself might be considered the closest to a 'teacher' Sora has, giving him encouragement and eventually handing over the X-blade to him). Which makes me think that Young Xehanort has sort of a wierd place in Sora's story. He's like a secondary narrative foil to Sora (due to being a Riku parallel), especially in DDD, he's never lying to him so a source of information coming from the opposite side, and is also guiding Sora in his own way. It's a pretty amazing coincidence, but I recently finished an anime that focused on transmission and inheritence, the duality between tradition and renewal, and I can't help but see the parallel between Xehanort who wanted to erase absolutely everything in order to achieve true balance in the world, and Yakumo from Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu who wanted rakugo to die with him by refusing to actively teach it to anyone. I feel like an Encanto world in KH is bound to happen, if not in KH4 then eventually, and it would be a great world to explore this specific theme. Very excited to see what you will have in store for us next time! (Actually also also Nomura's recent comment on the future of the story is kind of freaking me out, since for now there is no way for us to know what happened behind the scenes I decided that it meant it was something good, but really I'm curious on what other people think it may be about)
I interpret Nomura's comment to be concerning getting permission to use a Disney World in a certain way... but imagine if it really was Soriku-related?
Could the dandelion leaders be considered a microcosm of this? they had master Ava give them specific instructions and rules but as they went on, they treated those more like guidelines. They had stuff about a trader, but they didn’t destroy themselves instead openly communicate working together. They had a fight but it was resolved very quickly. If so I wander wether they will be assisting others break the sickle
Yeah I would say the Dandelion Leaders were the ones who came the closest to breaking the cycle, but at the end they were forced apart by circumstances beyond their control that were caused by the actions of others (namely, Maleficent coming back in time and using the ark to escape the data daybreak town forcing them all to use the ark themselves and ending up in different worlds and time periods.
Hi there! Big fan! I love this series and am thrilled with every new upload! I'm shocked you don't have more subs, because you clearly got that literary analysis on lock! Keep up the great work! :D
I just binge watched your constructing Kingdom series, and it's so good ! Lately I've been watching everything #SoRikuEndgameActually related content, and it's crazy how much good it's done to my bond with the franchise as a whole. While I've been following it since I was 10 years old, and I knew I liked it a lot, I couldn't help but be affected by all the people saying KH is in large parts meaningless bs, and not daring to expect much from it. And then I watched the Riku is gay and why it matters video. Then the sleeping realm theory ones. And finally your series, which dissect its overall narrative so well. Now I actively know which direction I want the series to be going, and I can actually hope for a meaningful, foreshadowed, Soriku endgame, one that would also resolve the morality based conflicts that have been there since day one. (Though that hope is causing me way too much anxiety, hoping is bad for my heart 😂) So, thanks a lot for all the work you put into this !
Thanks for the comment and I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos. I totally understand the feeling of hope giving you anxiety. I’ve been in that state ever since I had my big “Kingdom Hearts fits the Heroine’s Journey” realization.
Oh geez, I can relate to your message so much. I did not have a healthy relationship/bond with Kingdom Hearts immediately following KH3. I loved KH so much up until KH3 but that entry just kind of ruined it for me. I didn't check out remind, melody of memory, dark road, or anything after. I think I was just frustrated with how the third numbered game TOLD us the way the themes were being handled contradicting how the themes were SHOWN to be handled during the 17-year lead up to KH3. As well as a multitude of other things like bad pacing, too many unanswered questions being pushed aside for more unanswered "unrelated" questions, and the answered questions having (in my eyes at the time) very bastardized solutions. It's not until I watched Howler and Tennelle's videos and convinced myself to follow KHUX and Dark Road that I started revolving back to liking KH again. It felt like a series with very complex conflicts again that I wasn't wasting my speculation and thought on. Soriku isn't just a ship. It feels like the backbone of the series-- platonic or romantic. Without looking at KH through the lens of how Sora and Riku's bond has been growing and instead ignoring it as just queer baiting (something that KH3 has pushed a lot of people to do), KH loses a lot of meaning and depth. And that's how you write good protagonists.
One of my fears is that there’s going to be a weird canon split where Japan will get the fully confirmed Soriku romance while the English will be watered down/wishy-washy so it could go either way in the player’s mind without having to be explicit
I'm at work right now but I got the notification and literally couldn't wait, so I have this playing while I'm billing lol. Always a joy to listen in. I can't get over how well you present your points and the thematic in the games that I never caught on to. Sora has a lot to learn and grow from, even further than he already has grown so much, and I find this very fascinating considering a lot of fans are under the impression that characters like Sora and definitely Riku have reached the end of their arcs, which couldn't be further from the truth. Also - any little thoughts or ideas what Nomura's comment at the KH concert (Loose translation: "There was an event that affected KHs a year after the last event") might mean for KH4? I wonder if he is referring to Disney's acquisition of Marvel and/or Star Trek and so KH may be visiting those worlds in the future or if he might mean something even deeper with a lot of Disney movies starting to become more open with LGBTQ titles and this may allow for a more obvious show of Sora and Riku's relationship, perhaps even an onscreen kiss in the future?! (That might just be a pipe dream but one can always hope)
You made several good points. Sora needs a firm awakening of the fact that all people have the potential to be good or bad, it’s not just there are two different groups but rather it’s more complicated than that. That in order to heal you have to empathize with others and help them see it’s ok to be selfish. However I fear that the Master of Masters won’t see this truth and will only insist on following that path that has caused so much intergenerational trauma. Which would mean Sora would be faced with making a very difficult decision.
Your analysis of the games are very insightful! I love how games can apply this to real life so we can all grow and become better people together through acceptance and unconditional love 💗 Even if we have different viewpoints we are all here for a human experience and should respect one another! Ancestral healing is tough to go through, but satisfying!
So in other words the keyblade masters have the same collectivist mindset and self righteous as the Jedi and therefore suffered the same fate Because one can’t help others if your unable or unwilling to help yourself
That is definitely a comparison I had in mind when making this video, I just hadn't been able to figure out a way to explain it that fit with the flow of my script.
@@stephenlamb4212 Honestly there's so many similarities between Star Wars and Kingdom Hearts that I'm actually planning on doing a video about it someday
One of the things about the series tha I love is that its very interpretive, like Riku's eavesdroping habit and his jealousy over Sora attention (btw for me Soriku endgame, because there's no way those two don't love each other).
@Oak Tutor It's fine if you headcanon them that way, but official sources make it clear that as far as the writers are concerned, Sora and Riku _don't_ see each other as brothers. In the Character Files, Riku specifically says that he while he _tried_ to be an older brother to Sora that changed and he doesn’t do that anymore, while Sora's thoughts in the Arendelle short story communicate that while he sees parallels between himself and Anna and between Riku and Elsa, siblings is not an accurate label for his and Riku's relationship.
@@oaktutor1154As Howler said, they don't. In fact, the ones that do (Terra/Ventus) fail to become the Child of Destiny and fall to Darkness. That Love isn't enough.
@Constructing Kingdoms Eh...just because Riku says he doesn't try to be an older brother to Sora, doesn't mean the two still don't see each other as brothers. It could just mean he stopped trying to act like Sora is some little boy he needs to act superior to all the time, considering that is what he does to Sora on Destiny Islands in KH1. And considering THAT was one of the sources of their conflict in that game to begin with, it makes sense why Riku stopped acting like that. In fact the scene at thr
It's fascinating how much it becomes more and more clear how Sora's darkness grows stronger, but becomes more and more oppressed, which is the problem. The greater the darkness, the greater the light. But he hides it, justifies it, instead of understanding it, coming to terms with it, using it as part of himself that he needs to accept. That he doesn't know everything, but he still feels the need to care for others properly. Honestly it's the conflict between the two egregious sides that are in conflict with each other that causes that strenuous upset and emotional volatility. Emotional intensity can be a great thing, volatility not-so much. The end result should be zen, even if all emotions within that zen are intense. Controlled, guided, understanding, put forth toward a directed ideal.
It's funny, literal yin and yang. Light in darkness, darkness in light, constantly in conflict because of these assholes. What's fascinating is none of these people ever sacrifice themselves or think to truly sacrifice themselves, they always sacrifice their students. It's always their STUDENTS that are the justified price, never themselves. They continue trying to rewrite the future in the blood of others, only for that blood to come back with a vengeance and scream at them and everyone else, continuing the cycle. They say the needs of the many outweigh the few but they're just cowards who are too afraid to actually do anything meaningful. Eraqus himself stayed in his little castle instead of going with his students and trying to work alongside them and understand them better. Staying in his own little worldview quite literally because HE STAYED IN HIS OWN LITTLE CASTLE IN HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD.
I love these videos so much! This was a really good one! I love the themeing that light doesn't equal good necessarily and dark doesn't equal bad. I can't wait to see the series go further with it I do have two comments but these can boil down to my personal hcs. 1. While I 100% agree that Riku's own darkness and himself made a lot of his decisions in KH1, I do think Ansem was manipulating it making it worse from the very beginning. The way KH1 has Sora meet Ansem in the cave talking about the door and then have Riku emotion the door. I think Ansem was strengthing those negative thoughts more then they would normally much like Maleficent later and Xehanort with Terra. 2. I disagree slightly about Sora being different then Hoder when it comes to not accepting any outcome but getting Riku back. I do think he comes to realize that at the end when he goes to save Riku, but in scenes like in Monstro Sora doesn't hold back from summoning his keyblade against Riku when Riku himself is unarmed, offering his hand, and had just helped him save Pinocchio. Pinocchio is unconscious in this scene tbf but it still reminds me so much of the Hoder scene. Again those are just hcs I have had on those events and think about a lot on context with Riku's actions in KH1 and the Hoder&Baldr and Sora&Riku parallels. Once again an amazing video! 👏
Glad you enjoyed the video. To address your comments 1) I absolutely agree that Ansem and Maleficent's manipulation helped make Riku's darkness worse, my point in the video was that even with their manipulation he was the one who chose to listen to them and let their words influence his decisions. 2) The comparison with Sora not accepting any outcome that didn't involve getting Riku back was to Eraqus, actually, not Hoder. Because Eraqus was the one who still wanted to try and save Baldr, and had previously talked about "destroying the shadow and only the shadow", but when Odin ordered Xehanort to strike Baldr down, Eraqus just stood on the sidelines and quietly accepted that he wouldn't be able to save Baldr after all. In contrast, even after everything Riku did, when push came to shove Sora refused to give up on him, even when others like Kairi or Ansem SoD tried to suggest that Riku was beyond any hope of saving. (Sora: "It's time to get Riku back Kairi: "You really think it'll be the same again between us? Riku's lost his..." Sora: "Riku!" Ansem: "Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is.")
@@The_Violet_Howler Wait, didn't Odin want Xehanort to just key beam the darkness out of Baldr? When Xehanort slashed him Odin looked shocked just like Eraqus. I thought that was the whole point of this scene. That Xehanort killing Baldr instead of saving him was HIS choice. He went against his master and moral codes because he wanted revenge for what he did to his friends. And that's what truly kickstarts his Dark Road. Maybe i missed something.
@@mellemadswoestenburg1296 I'll have to rewatch that scene and take a look, but the way I understood Odin in Dark Road was that while he was willing to allow the upperclassmen to try and find another way, but he was already prepared for that to fail and for death to be the only way to destroy the Darkness in Baldr.
Some notes I made along the ride: 4:42 Mentor: Sakaguchi to Nomura? 'Carrying' the Square properties? * Japanese culture: overwork and sense of duty 11:35 Yoko Taro (Drakengard/Nier) said it best: you only need to believe you are right, that you are justified. Nier: Gestalt/Replicant in the finale is perhaps the best example I can think of. A belief that ends in damage that can NEVER be repaired... During the game, both the player AND the protagonist(s) are presented with cues that not all is what it seems 12:34 A point made by Xehanort himself: "... We would never go beyond our guidelines. Never to enlighten them" 16:25 "not with us = against" mindset. Which is VERY prevalent in our world today 20:34 Huh... That's a new way to view that scene! Riku putting Kairi - and Sora - in their place. Calling them on their BS. * No wonder Riku was made out to be the 'bad guy' back in KH1. Personalities that value integrity, honesty, mutual respect and (devotion and truthfulness to) values WOULD NEVER TOLERATE STUFF LIKE THAT. I know, because I've walked that Road myself. Which mostly led to me being ostracized when people had to face the mirror. ** I guess they experienced JUDGEMENT rather than CORRECTION. My bad! 20:37 Kairi's response to being called out is rather telling... she's manipulating the scene to avoid blame (and accountability) 21:38 Sora awkward-laughs and Kairi immediately gets dejected - both from getting a (perceived) rejection/no, but maybe also because she realized how cruel she was (in that moment, and/or over the course of several instances regarding Riku) 25:25 A simple statement that is far more difficult to put into practice... 29:12 Story of my life... Closing thoughts: As much as healing, forgiving and forgetting are admirable virtues, there is (as always) the polar opposite: when people either don't or won't do so. Reference: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 series), late episode 40-ish onwards to the end of the show: The religious leader speaks of choosing to: Endure - Tolerate - Accept - Forget - Forgive Some words/actions simply hurt so bad that they are incapable of being fully mended (in their lifetime, mind you). Think of it as DUALITY Pessimism - Realism - Optimism "Expect the worst, hope for the best" The cross - X - as referenced in MoM's dialogue to Darkness #1: a word of Square (with four dots). At the time I interpreted this scene, this dialogue, as the combination of Light, Darkness, Nothingness/Apathy and Hope/Love The four pieces making up a whole being, as you referenced in one of your earlier videos (Norse Mythology) This comment became much longer than I anticipated...
Opening RUclips to find this at the top was such a delight today! You’re doing incredible work with this series and I’m devouring every bit of it voraciously! Thank you! ❤
Sora wasn't the one who will open the door, he's the one who'll break the loop. :V Perhaps the Door to Light isn't necessarily Riku specifically, but more-so the door to TRUE Light, not just adults' concept of Light.
Not even adopting that mentality. No. What those traumas did to them caused them to create MORE darkness instead of creating more Light. By constantly arising in conflict and instead of acting with proper emotional hygiene/stoicism, and properly dealing with and resolving their issues, they created more and more darkness in their attempt to vanquish it from existence. Trapped in their own loops just like the wheel. It's so fucking tragic. A microcosm of something so much bigger. Evolution, spirals, phi, intention, detangling and altering causality in the Now, purifying the data-like residue of the past be it organic, inorganic, or energy-based. All incredibly important.
I get the feeling one of the Master of Master's Names is Destiny. I feel like The Master scripts the reality of Kingdom Hearts Story and gives people "Roles and Scripts " to entertain so he can get what he wants. For example, The X, Recusant Sigils, is the "Mark of Cain". If you have it, you will betray someone. It is a Magical seal. And we know the Master of Masters named Luxu, thus making a "Cain" who makes more "Cains". And Destiny is Cruel, but Destiny created Riku and Sora, so not always. Freedom is Chaos, Chaos! Destiny is Order.
There is something to point out this whole cycle of trauma thing and that is connected to xehanort's 14th lifetime (referingcing an idea in one scene of dark road where "it will take 13 lifetimes to fix the world and then a 14th to explore it"), with the 13 lifetimes being the REAL organization 13, with the world being explored being unreality. While there's theories pertaining to some version of xehanort popping up in kh4, another theory that pertains to Sora breaking this cycle of generational trauma of self-righeousness is that SORA himself is the 14th lifetime (by way of being bequethed by Xehanort himself in the ending of KH3). Thus leading to the likely possibility of Sora manifesting his own keyblade (as Kingdom Key was supposed to be Riku's) in the form of No Name. It's thought the Gazing Eye on No Name (and a few other keyblades such as End of Pain, Void Gear, and Chaos Ripper to name a few) allows the Master of Masters, the one who orchestrated the events of the entire series so far, to see into the future. Whether it is MoM's actual eye or not, this means that No Name is indirectly tied to the generational trauma of the keyblade wielders. While i can't say this idea is for sure, i won't be surprised if it'll be made a fairly big deal that if Sora gets No Name that at one point he'll learn about how MoM sees the future and would remove the gazing eye from No Name as something of a stepping stone to break the proverbial cycle.
Sora/Yozora parallel? Y. has one blue and one red eye. In your theory: maybe Sora breaks the Gazing Eye and replaces it with one of his own? Would be a reference to Odin
23:39 In a quote by Nomura during an interview, it is revealed that the Darkness that comes up from the ground in KH1 , and takes Riku is not Ansem SOD Darkness but Riku's Darkness. It is like Baldr's Darkness. They might be separate initially, but integrated into him, going from Themself to Himself. So, the mechanics seem to be Riku's Darkness came to him, became part of him, and then Ansem, Seeker of Darkness attached to Riku's Darkness and imprinted on it. So the Ansem, Seeker of Darkness Riku fights in Re Chain of Memories isn't even Xehanort's Heartless. They are Riku's Darkness using Shapeshifting to recreate the imprint Xehanort's Heartless left. A attempt to copy him.
Xehanort truly is Darth Vader. There can be only 13. The Chosen One whose powers of emotional openness, capacity, and empathy nearly saved the world but instead he used to try and render everything into a blank canvas instead of harmonize it.
It's going to be intriguing. Sometimes you have to hurt to heal. Including excising the past to heal the present when others refuse to change and stop their way of thinking and reconsider a different path. They're still human, worthy of love and empathy, but it still means that it's time to take action. The Paradox of Tolerance and all.
Fuck that "No Meddling in Other Worlds" policy reminds me so much of Amaragus' original species segregation policies before it all changed, within this newly framed context. This video is beautiful mate. Coexistence, now - not just focusing on the differences, but focusing on the similarities and upholding the differences. Up holding the deviant individual, and uniting the individual within the community while taking care of each individual~
Darkness is an uprising revolution of violence - the language of the unheard. Light is desiring of conformity, of things being the complete same, of assuming you always know better. To mix it is to know you don't always know better, that you have to explore, submerge yourself in the perspectives of others, to explore yourself, and to understand that the self is multi-faceted for infinity, and can blossom outward like a lotus. Until you can see as many facets as possible and guide others with wisdom, not actively forcing your will, but offering guidance where possible and when asked for. While the higher up you go the more power you acquire, the more you also realize that you can't be always getting involved in every single lane - especially in a direct manner - because you understand more and more that the ripples it can cause can lead to people never growing up and understanding true truth. MoM thinks he's a God, but he's not a God, because he's constantly meddling directly. He has no wisdom, he only has an ideal that isn't even tempered with wisdom, logic, nor reasoning. He doesn't do little nudged, he actively puppeteers everything, causing more and more darkness in his endeavor to eliminate it. It's fascinating. MoM thinks he's a savior, but really he's an anti-christ.
Psychopomps aren't just for literal deaths - I think you already covered this but still - it can also be emotional and neurological deaths and rebirths. Similar to therapy. KH4'll be interesting.
It's gonna be hilarious as fuck the moment the MoM comes around and he's like "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DESTROY IT FOREVER." "Nah fam, we befriended it. Darkness is cool. But we're gonna fucking murder YOU for creating all this EXTRA DARKNESS in the first place you Boomer." MoM then has a moment of clarity "ahhh they did destroy it. By befriending it." But only on his deathbed just like Xehanort. Sora and Riku are goths/punks/emo now. They understand light AND dark.
I think the "destroy them" is a type of trick. It is reverse psychology. The Master has seen Riku and watched him become immune and purify Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. But The Master needs Riku and Sora to exist. So, he has to manipulate everyone to make them exist. Therefore, he must manipulate Luxu, and say things that make to think that is what he is doing.
sora's one step closer to his path of becoming the world's therapist-
Wow Howler you outdo yourself every time!!! I really loved this one, and it's very intersting because prioritizing the collective by sacrificing the individual is a sentiment rooted in Japanese culture, and I think the creators of this story are, among other things, criticizing this system. Thank you for the early birthday gift.
You were spot on something a lot of us forgot or did not even notice this aspect of Riku and Sora's dynamic. Sora's a good person, but I never noticed him being self-righteous until kingdom hearts 2 with everything that happened to Roxas and how Sora treated and saw the Nobodies.
I can't wait for pt2 of Sora & Riku's heart to heart talk ;w;
& I LOVE that KH is becoming more outward on its talk about how light & dark isn't as bare bones b/w that it seems & all the more complicated than just good & bad. A lot of people (including myself a decade ago) thought it was just that simple. & sometimes it is. Dark Road has given me a lot to think about & I hope Nomura & his team continue that. It's so good. & that we have more discussions & vids like this 1
Thank you for the new vid!! Lots to think about ^^b
Wonderful job as always Howler!!! I feel like my brain had seen these moments of generational Trauma throughout the games (especially in dark road) but this was just like stringing them all together in a nice pepe Silvia board
This concept is the False Light, the False Light that turned Xehanort toward Darkness. False Light is the Fear of the way True Light becomes unobtainable. False Light is caused by the Fear of being out of Control, not being Good enough. It is denial of the Shadow.
It is "if I cannot have the Light, I will destroy the Light subconsciously." Sora is particularly Afraid of "being Alone". Darkness is all about being One ,and as One.
Thus, Sora Fears Them. But Riku has been a Darkness, and Sora likes Riku. However, Sora still fears Darkness, which suggests Sora and RIku will be working on this in Future.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 Ohhh I like that! Plus with the idea of “love can be a false kind of Light” with unconditional vs conditional love!!! I am,,,, Thinking™️
damn. sora rly doesnt believe riku hurt him of his own free will. i cant believe i missed that. thats so sad omg
Another fantastic video! I love this discussion about breaking the cycle of trauma. And we've all been waiting and hoping for KH to address that Darkness isn't all bad and Light isn't all good, and you've perfectly talked about all the ways the series has set up how the series will likely explore it. Amazing
Listening to you talk about this all this episode makes me want even more for Vanitas to get some therapy. A being of darkness being able to be a healthy and accepted part of the world would tie in with the themes you lay out in your analysis beautifully.
Like, he doesn't have to be friends with the protagonists and hang out with them, but some emotional recovery would be nice.
I just want Vanitas to be happy, man
Vanitas lost his physical form and became the Formless Darkness again. I don't think They think the same way anymore.
Same here, Fam: I just want good things for our little edgy-boi. He deserves to be happy and healthy too 🥺🥺🥺
When I saw how differently Sora reacted to the members of the Organization in KH3 compared to how he treated them in KH2, I knew that Sora was going in the right path. That's why KH3 Sora is my favorite
I agree. I've noticed a ton of people hating on KH3 Sora because of how happy-go-lucky and loving he is towards everyone when he used to be much more heartless in KH2-- completely missing the point of his character being about accepting his emotional empathy as well as not being allowed to be sad because of the people around him.
@@rirururu4697In addition to his own aggression and lack of empathy, it’s also likely he was being influenced by Roxas’ (justified) anger against the people who ruined his and his friends life. So post ddd when he realizes Sora never intended for him to suffer the way he did, he relaxes a bit due to Sora understanding him as a result of the memory transfusion in DDD’s TWTNW.
Yes! Yes! I will watch but I want to say thank You for this! Not man people dive into the subtext of Kingdom Heart like my Mind does.
This was utterly masterful, the way you weaved together flawlessly all these different even to showcase what all of em have in common was really incredible. A few moments have particularly struck me, like at around 9:30 you basically distilled what was the point of Baldr's private conversation with Xehanort before dying, and the cog in the machine metaphor was extremely fitting.
I also especially liked how you managed to fit in the notion of the worlds having to be kept separated when the main theme of the series is connections, and the way you managed to make it fit so perfectly with everything, including the hypocrisy of keyblade wielder tradition, their justifications for doing so and fear of conflict, and ultimately making connections conditional and worthless or a tool for their ends, especially with MoM, incredibly fascinating, and how this is particularly the main thing from keyblade tradition that Sora has been most directly forced to abide to, which then also ties to the example you used from avatar.
Also great catch in emphasising how Riku was always eavesdropping on Sora even in the very first scene of the series, the fact he probably eavesdropped the pier conversation is all but confirmed now.
You're a Character in a Script, a role to Play, so to speak. Placing Light and Darkness in a Binary.
I don't have much to offer for analysis but I'm very grateful for your keen take on this series!
I don't know how they'll decide to tackle the Sora and Riku drama but seeing how they explicitly have Riku mention his suffering in that line "got my own" with anti aqua in kh3 I hope that the next game is allowed to be even more emotional and like intimate. More scenes like the dark margin at the end of kh2. Edit: now that I think about it, there are def a lot of intimate scenes in the series. Like in DDD talking to the dream Roxas and a lot of the side games, esp Days. Hoo boy seeing those with more intricate choreography/facial animations tho??? Exciting
I also wonder how far they'll decide to age sora up in the series. Will he end as a mentor to someone else or will become a deity like Riku is theorized to be an avatar of kingdom hearts? He's an ordinary boy after all. What's a new perfect world gonna look like?
I'm excited for your next video! I've binged all your other vids and theyve given me a new love for the series I've been with since the beginning. It's so cool to see the intricacies along with the over arching plot like this.
Once again was too exhausted on my first watch to find anything to comment, but once again really good analysis!
A lot of people often read Yen Sid as an abusive teacher to Sora, and I believe it comes from witnessing the pattern of teachers wrongfully assuming whatever black and white conclusion they reach on how darkness should be handled eventually hurting their students, and applying it to Sora and Yen Sid, but the thing is, while Yen Sid has misdirected Sora when it comes to the nature of nobodies, and while he did refuse Sora the title of Master, I don't think he is exactly working within that framework. He's only a teacher in very loose terms, and is not the most formative figure in Sora's journey (if anything, Donald and Goofy might qualify more, actually Xehanort himself might be considered the closest to a 'teacher' Sora has, giving him encouragement and eventually handing over the X-blade to him).
Which makes me think that Young Xehanort has sort of a wierd place in Sora's story. He's like a secondary narrative foil to Sora (due to being a Riku parallel), especially in DDD, he's never lying to him so a source of information coming from the opposite side, and is also guiding Sora in his own way.
It's a pretty amazing coincidence, but I recently finished an anime that focused on transmission and inheritence, the duality between tradition and renewal, and I can't help but see the parallel between Xehanort who wanted to erase absolutely everything in order to achieve true balance in the world, and Yakumo from Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu who wanted rakugo to die with him by refusing to actively teach it to anyone.
I feel like an Encanto world in KH is bound to happen, if not in KH4 then eventually, and it would be a great world to explore this specific theme.
Very excited to see what you will have in store for us next time!
(Actually also also Nomura's recent comment on the future of the story is kind of freaking me out, since for now there is no way for us to know what happened behind the scenes I decided that it meant it was something good, but really I'm curious on what other people think it may be about)
I interpret Nomura's comment to be concerning getting permission to use a Disney World in a certain way... but imagine if it really was Soriku-related?
@@rirururu4697could be both. Although I feel it’s probably just “yeah we got the rights for marvel/Star Wars” or smth similar
Could the dandelion leaders be considered a microcosm of this?
they had master Ava give them specific instructions and rules but as they went on, they treated those more like guidelines. They had stuff about a trader, but they didn’t destroy themselves instead openly communicate working together. They had a fight but it was resolved very quickly.
If so I wander wether they will be assisting others break the sickle
Yeah I would say the Dandelion Leaders were the ones who came the closest to breaking the cycle, but at the end they were forced apart by circumstances beyond their control that were caused by the actions of others (namely, Maleficent coming back in time and using the ark to escape the data daybreak town forcing them all to use the ark themselves and ending up in different worlds and time periods.
Hi there! Big fan! I love this series and am thrilled with every new upload! I'm shocked you don't have more subs, because you clearly got that literary analysis on lock! Keep up the great work! :D
I just binge watched your constructing Kingdom series, and it's so good ! Lately I've been watching everything #SoRikuEndgameActually related content, and it's crazy how much good it's done to my bond with the franchise as a whole. While I've been following it since I was 10 years old, and I knew I liked it a lot, I couldn't help but be affected by all the people saying KH is in large parts meaningless bs, and not daring to expect much from it. And then I watched the Riku is gay and why it matters video. Then the sleeping realm theory ones. And finally your series, which dissect its overall narrative so well. Now I actively know which direction I want the series to be going, and I can actually hope for a meaningful, foreshadowed, Soriku endgame, one that would also resolve the morality based conflicts that have been there since day one. (Though that hope is causing me way too much anxiety, hoping is bad for my heart 😂)
So, thanks a lot for all the work you put into this !
Thanks for the comment and I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos. I totally understand the feeling of hope giving you anxiety. I’ve been in that state ever since I had my big “Kingdom Hearts fits the Heroine’s Journey” realization.
Oh geez, I can relate to your message so much. I did not have a healthy relationship/bond with Kingdom Hearts immediately following KH3. I loved KH so much up until KH3 but that entry just kind of ruined it for me. I didn't check out remind, melody of memory, dark road, or anything after. I think I was just frustrated with how the third numbered game TOLD us the way the themes were being handled contradicting how the themes were SHOWN to be handled during the 17-year lead up to KH3. As well as a multitude of other things like bad pacing, too many unanswered questions being pushed aside for more unanswered "unrelated" questions, and the answered questions having (in my eyes at the time) very bastardized solutions. It's not until I watched Howler and Tennelle's videos and convinced myself to follow KHUX and Dark Road that I started revolving back to liking KH again. It felt like a series with very complex conflicts again that I wasn't wasting my speculation and thought on. Soriku isn't just a ship. It feels like the backbone of the series-- platonic or romantic. Without looking at KH through the lens of how Sora and Riku's bond has been growing and instead ignoring it as just queer baiting (something that KH3 has pushed a lot of people to do), KH loses a lot of meaning and depth. And that's how you write good protagonists.
One of my fears is that there’s going to be a weird canon split where Japan will get the fully confirmed Soriku romance while the English will be watered down/wishy-washy so it could go either way in the player’s mind without having to be explicit
Which would be highly ironic since Japan is NOT a place that legally and socially accepts queerness...
I'm at work right now but I got the notification and literally couldn't wait, so I have this playing while I'm billing lol. Always a joy to listen in. I can't get over how well you present your points and the thematic in the games that I never caught on to. Sora has a lot to learn and grow from, even further than he already has grown so much, and I find this very fascinating considering a lot of fans are under the impression that characters like Sora and definitely Riku have reached the end of their arcs, which couldn't be further from the truth.
Also - any little thoughts or ideas what Nomura's comment at the KH concert (Loose translation: "There was an event that affected KHs a year after the last event") might mean for KH4? I wonder if he is referring to Disney's acquisition of Marvel and/or Star Trek and so KH may be visiting those worlds in the future or if he might mean something even deeper with a lot of Disney movies starting to become more open with LGBTQ titles and this may allow for a more obvious show of Sora and Riku's relationship, perhaps even an onscreen kiss in the future?! (That might just be a pipe dream but one can always hope)
You made several good points. Sora needs a firm awakening of the fact that all people have the potential to be good or bad, it’s not just there are two different groups but rather it’s more complicated than that. That in order to heal you have to empathize with others and help them see it’s ok to be selfish. However I fear that the Master of Masters won’t see this truth and will only insist on following that path that has caused so much intergenerational trauma. Which would mean Sora would be faced with making a very difficult decision.
Your analysis of the games are very insightful! I love how games can apply this to real life so we can all grow and become better people together through acceptance and unconditional love 💗 Even if we have different viewpoints we are all here for a human experience and should respect one another! Ancestral healing is tough to go through, but satisfying!
So in other words the keyblade masters have the same collectivist mindset and self righteous as the Jedi and therefore suffered the same fate
Because one can’t help others if your unable or unwilling to help yourself
That is definitely a comparison I had in mind when making this video, I just hadn't been able to figure out a way to explain it that fit with the flow of my script.
@@The_Violet_Howler Not to surprisingly considering that everything nowadays is inspired by Star Wars in someways
@@stephenlamb4212 It is actually Hermetic and occult tradition and well as the concept of Infinite Narrative. Magick.
@@stephenlamb4212 Honestly there's so many similarities between Star Wars and Kingdom Hearts that I'm actually planning on doing a video about it someday
@@The_Violet_Howler that would be cool.
One of the things about the series tha I love is that its very interpretive, like Riku's eavesdroping habit and his jealousy over Sora attention (btw for me Soriku endgame, because there's no way those two don't love each other).
Yeah, There is a lot of subtext and occulted hidden meaning. The Master of Masters scripts that kind of thing.
@@Fragmentsinfractals488 they are best friends, so of course they love each other. They see each other as brothers
@Oak Tutor It's fine if you headcanon them that way, but official sources make it clear that as far as the writers are concerned, Sora and Riku _don't_ see each other as brothers. In the Character Files, Riku specifically says that he while he _tried_ to be an older brother to Sora that changed and he doesn’t do that anymore, while Sora's thoughts in the Arendelle short story communicate that while he sees parallels between himself and Anna and between Riku and Elsa, siblings is not an accurate label for his and Riku's relationship.
@@oaktutor1154As Howler said, they don't. In fact, the ones that do (Terra/Ventus) fail to become the Child of Destiny and fall to Darkness. That Love isn't enough.
@Constructing Kingdoms Eh...just because Riku says he doesn't try to be an older brother to Sora, doesn't mean the two still don't see each other as brothers. It could just mean he stopped trying to act like Sora is some little boy he needs to act superior to all the time, considering that is what he does to Sora on Destiny Islands in KH1. And considering THAT was one of the sources of their conflict in that game to begin with, it makes sense why Riku stopped acting like that.
In fact the scene at thr
It's fascinating how much it becomes more and more clear how Sora's darkness grows stronger, but becomes more and more oppressed, which is the problem. The greater the darkness, the greater the light. But he hides it, justifies it, instead of understanding it, coming to terms with it, using it as part of himself that he needs to accept. That he doesn't know everything, but he still feels the need to care for others properly.
Honestly it's the conflict between the two egregious sides that are in conflict with each other that causes that strenuous upset and emotional volatility. Emotional intensity can be a great thing, volatility not-so much. The end result should be zen, even if all emotions within that zen are intense. Controlled, guided, understanding, put forth toward a directed ideal.
It's funny, literal yin and yang. Light in darkness, darkness in light, constantly in conflict because of these assholes. What's fascinating is none of these people ever sacrifice themselves or think to truly sacrifice themselves, they always sacrifice their students. It's always their STUDENTS that are the justified price, never themselves. They continue trying to rewrite the future in the blood of others, only for that blood to come back with a vengeance and scream at them and everyone else, continuing the cycle. They say the needs of the many outweigh the few but they're just cowards who are too afraid to actually do anything meaningful. Eraqus himself stayed in his little castle instead of going with his students and trying to work alongside them and understand them better. Staying in his own little worldview quite literally because HE STAYED IN HIS OWN LITTLE CASTLE IN HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD.
I love these videos so much! This was a really good one! I love the themeing that light doesn't equal good necessarily and dark doesn't equal bad. I can't wait to see the series go further with it
I do have two comments but these can boil down to my personal hcs.
1. While I 100% agree that Riku's own darkness and himself made a lot of his decisions in KH1, I do think Ansem was manipulating it making it worse from the very beginning. The way KH1 has Sora meet Ansem in the cave talking about the door and then have Riku emotion the door. I think Ansem was strengthing those negative thoughts more then they would normally much like Maleficent later and Xehanort with Terra.
2. I disagree slightly about Sora being different then Hoder when it comes to not accepting any outcome but getting Riku back. I do think he comes to realize that at the end when he goes to save Riku, but in scenes like in Monstro Sora doesn't hold back from summoning his keyblade against Riku when Riku himself is unarmed, offering his hand, and had just helped him save Pinocchio. Pinocchio is unconscious in this scene tbf but it still reminds me so much of the Hoder scene.
Again those are just hcs I have had on those events and think about a lot on context with Riku's actions in KH1 and the Hoder&Baldr and Sora&Riku parallels.
Once again an amazing video! 👏
Glad you enjoyed the video.
To address your comments
1) I absolutely agree that Ansem and Maleficent's manipulation helped make Riku's darkness worse, my point in the video was that even with their manipulation he was the one who chose to listen to them and let their words influence his decisions.
2) The comparison with Sora not accepting any outcome that didn't involve getting Riku back was to Eraqus, actually, not Hoder. Because Eraqus was the one who still wanted to try and save Baldr, and had previously talked about "destroying the shadow and only the shadow", but when Odin ordered Xehanort to strike Baldr down, Eraqus just stood on the sidelines and quietly accepted that he wouldn't be able to save Baldr after all. In contrast, even after everything Riku did, when push came to shove Sora refused to give up on him, even when others like Kairi or Ansem SoD tried to suggest that Riku was beyond any hope of saving.
(Sora: "It's time to get Riku back
Kairi: "You really think it'll be the same again between us? Riku's lost his..."
Sora: "Riku!"
Ansem: "Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is.")
@@The_Violet_Howler Wait, didn't Odin want Xehanort to just key beam the darkness out of Baldr? When Xehanort slashed him Odin looked shocked just like Eraqus. I thought that was the whole point of this scene. That Xehanort killing Baldr instead of saving him was HIS choice. He went against his master and moral codes because he wanted revenge for what he did to his friends. And that's what truly kickstarts his Dark Road. Maybe i missed something.
@@mellemadswoestenburg1296 I'll have to rewatch that scene and take a look, but the way I understood Odin in Dark Road was that while he was willing to allow the upperclassmen to try and find another way, but he was already prepared for that to fail and for death to be the only way to destroy the Darkness in Baldr.
Thank you so much for making these! They're always a joy to watch
Some notes I made along the ride:
4:42 Mentor: Sakaguchi to Nomura? 'Carrying' the Square properties?
* Japanese culture: overwork and sense of duty
11:35 Yoko Taro (Drakengard/Nier) said it best: you only need to believe you are right, that you are justified. Nier: Gestalt/Replicant in the finale is perhaps the best example I can think of. A belief that ends in damage that can NEVER be repaired... During the game, both the player AND the protagonist(s) are presented with cues that not all is what it seems
12:34 A point made by Xehanort himself: "... We would never go beyond our guidelines. Never to enlighten them"
16:25 "not with us = against" mindset. Which is VERY prevalent in our world today
20:34 Huh... That's a new way to view that scene! Riku putting Kairi - and Sora - in their place. Calling them on their BS.
* No wonder Riku was made out to be the 'bad guy' back in KH1. Personalities that value integrity, honesty, mutual respect and (devotion and truthfulness to) values WOULD NEVER TOLERATE STUFF LIKE THAT. I know, because I've walked that Road myself. Which mostly led to me being ostracized when people had to face the mirror.
** I guess they experienced JUDGEMENT rather than CORRECTION. My bad!
20:37 Kairi's response to being called out is rather telling... she's manipulating the scene to avoid blame (and accountability)
21:38 Sora awkward-laughs and Kairi immediately gets dejected - both from getting a (perceived) rejection/no, but maybe also because she realized how cruel she was (in that moment, and/or over the course of several instances regarding Riku)
25:25 A simple statement that is far more difficult to put into practice...
29:12 Story of my life...
Closing thoughts:
As much as healing, forgiving and forgetting are admirable virtues, there is (as always) the polar opposite: when people either don't or won't do so.
Reference: Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 series), late episode 40-ish onwards to the end of the show:
The religious leader speaks of choosing to: Endure - Tolerate - Accept - Forget - Forgive
Some words/actions simply hurt so bad that they are incapable of being fully mended (in their lifetime, mind you).
Think of it as DUALITY
Pessimism - Realism - Optimism
"Expect the worst, hope for the best"
The cross - X - as referenced in MoM's dialogue to Darkness #1: a word of Square (with four dots).
At the time I interpreted this scene, this dialogue, as the combination of Light, Darkness, Nothingness/Apathy and Hope/Love
The four pieces making up a whole being, as you referenced in one of your earlier videos (Norse Mythology)
This comment became much longer than I anticipated...
Opening RUclips to find this at the top was such a delight today! You’re doing incredible work with this series and I’m devouring every bit of it voraciously! Thank you! ❤
You're correct on all points. WHICH IS WHY YOU AND EVERYONE ON THIS COMMENT BOARD ARE TRUE MASTER OF MASTERS.
🎉CONGRATULATIONS 🎊
May your heart be open to change, healing, and therapy... but probably not in that order.
Sora wasn't the one who will open the door, he's the one who'll break the loop. :V
Perhaps the Door to Light isn't necessarily Riku specifically, but more-so the door to TRUE Light, not just adults' concept of Light.
Not even adopting that mentality. No. What those traumas did to them caused them to create MORE darkness instead of creating more Light. By constantly arising in conflict and instead of acting with proper emotional hygiene/stoicism, and properly dealing with and resolving their issues, they created more and more darkness in their attempt to vanquish it from existence. Trapped in their own loops just like the wheel.
It's so fucking tragic. A microcosm of something so much bigger.
Evolution, spirals, phi, intention, detangling and altering causality in the Now, purifying the data-like residue of the past be it organic, inorganic, or energy-based. All incredibly important.
I get the feeling one of the Master of Master's Names is Destiny. I feel like The Master scripts the reality of Kingdom Hearts Story and gives people "Roles and Scripts " to entertain so he can get what he wants.
For example, The X, Recusant Sigils, is the "Mark of Cain". If you have it, you will betray someone. It is a Magical seal. And we know the Master of Masters named Luxu, thus making a "Cain" who makes more "Cains".
And Destiny is Cruel, but Destiny created Riku and Sora, so not always. Freedom is Chaos, Chaos! Destiny is Order.
There is something to point out this whole cycle of trauma thing and that is connected to xehanort's 14th lifetime (referingcing an idea in one scene of dark road where "it will take 13 lifetimes to fix the world and then a 14th to explore it"), with the 13 lifetimes being the REAL organization 13, with the world being explored being unreality. While there's theories pertaining to some version of xehanort popping up in kh4, another theory that pertains to Sora breaking this cycle of generational trauma of self-righeousness is that SORA himself is the 14th lifetime (by way of being bequethed by Xehanort himself in the ending of KH3). Thus leading to the likely possibility of Sora manifesting his own keyblade (as Kingdom Key was supposed to be Riku's) in the form of No Name.
It's thought the Gazing Eye on No Name (and a few other keyblades such as End of Pain, Void Gear, and Chaos Ripper to name a few) allows the Master of Masters, the one who orchestrated the events of the entire series so far, to see into the future. Whether it is MoM's actual eye or not, this means that No Name is indirectly tied to the generational trauma of the keyblade wielders. While i can't say this idea is for sure, i won't be surprised if it'll be made a fairly big deal that if Sora gets No Name that at one point he'll learn about how MoM sees the future and would remove the gazing eye from No Name as something of a stepping stone to break the proverbial cycle.
But Xigbar already has No Name.
Sora/Yozora parallel? Y. has one blue and one red eye. In your theory: maybe Sora breaks the Gazing Eye and replaces it with one of his own? Would be a reference to Odin
@@IngisenSo punished sora with an eyepatch? Majima Sora? I kid but jokes aside that does sound cool asf
23:39 In a quote by Nomura during an interview, it is revealed that the Darkness that comes up from the ground in KH1 , and takes Riku is not Ansem SOD Darkness but Riku's Darkness. It is like Baldr's Darkness. They might be separate initially, but integrated into him, going from Themself to Himself. So, the mechanics seem to be Riku's Darkness came to him, became part of him, and then Ansem, Seeker of Darkness attached to Riku's Darkness and imprinted on it.
So the Ansem, Seeker of Darkness Riku fights in Re Chain of Memories isn't even Xehanort's Heartless. They are Riku's Darkness using Shapeshifting to recreate the imprint Xehanort's Heartless left. A attempt to copy him.
Never clicked so fast
I love your deconstructions 💕
Love these videos so much!! ❤
Thanks for the video mate, this one was the most gorgeous one of all~
Xehanort truly is Darth Vader. There can be only 13. The Chosen One whose powers of emotional openness, capacity, and empathy nearly saved the world but instead he used to try and render everything into a blank canvas instead of harmonize it.
It's going to be intriguing. Sometimes you have to hurt to heal. Including excising the past to heal the present when others refuse to change and stop their way of thinking and reconsider a different path. They're still human, worthy of love and empathy, but it still means that it's time to take action. The Paradox of Tolerance and all.
Fuck that "No Meddling in Other Worlds" policy reminds me so much of Amaragus' original species segregation policies before it all changed, within this newly framed context. This video is beautiful mate. Coexistence, now - not just focusing on the differences, but focusing on the similarities and upholding the differences. Up holding the deviant individual, and uniting the individual within the community while taking care of each individual~
Break the wheel, create a spiral, act with stoic intent, feel and dissect your emotions, and seek the true heavens~
Darkness is an uprising revolution of violence - the language of the unheard.
Light is desiring of conformity, of things being the complete same, of assuming you always know better.
To mix it is to know you don't always know better, that you have to explore, submerge yourself in the perspectives of others, to explore yourself, and to understand that the self is multi-faceted for infinity, and can blossom outward like a lotus. Until you can see as many facets as possible and guide others with wisdom, not actively forcing your will, but offering guidance where possible and when asked for. While the higher up you go the more power you acquire, the more you also realize that you can't be always getting involved in every single lane - especially in a direct manner - because you understand more and more that the ripples it can cause can lead to people never growing up and understanding true truth.
MoM thinks he's a God, but he's not a God, because he's constantly meddling directly. He has no wisdom, he only has an ideal that isn't even tempered with wisdom, logic, nor reasoning. He doesn't do little nudged, he actively puppeteers everything, causing more and more darkness in his endeavor to eliminate it. It's fascinating. MoM thinks he's a savior, but really he's an anti-christ.
This was sooo goooud!!! ❤❤
Psychopomps aren't just for literal deaths - I think you already covered this but still - it can also be emotional and neurological deaths and rebirths. Similar to therapy. KH4'll be interesting.
It's gonna be hilarious as fuck the moment the MoM comes around and he's like "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DESTROY IT FOREVER."
"Nah fam, we befriended it. Darkness is cool. But we're gonna fucking murder YOU for creating all this EXTRA DARKNESS in the first place you Boomer."
MoM then has a moment of clarity "ahhh they did destroy it. By befriending it." But only on his deathbed just like Xehanort.
Sora and Riku are goths/punks/emo now. They understand light AND dark.
I think the "destroy them" is a type of trick. It is reverse psychology. The Master has seen Riku and watched him become immune and purify Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. But The Master needs Riku and Sora to exist. So, he has to manipulate everyone to make them exist. Therefore, he must manipulate Luxu, and say things that make to think that is what he is doing.
Keyblade Wielders are White Savior Complexes, got it. :^)