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nadziejastar · 4 years

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An important thing I don't see acknowledged often is that Axel wasn't a very good friend to Saix during Days. They had a plan that seemed to be working, almost half the Organization was eliminated at Castle Oblivion, and Axel abandoned it in favor of eating ice cream with a pair of children. Doing so made sense from Axel's point of view, but turn off protagonist centered morality and Saix being upset is a lot more reasonable.

Yeah, I agree with you about protagonist centered morality. I think this is why Saïx’s character got the short end of the stick in this series. Sadly, he never had all of his mysteries revealed, and it wasn’t considered a priority to treat his character with the maturity and respect he deserved. I think once we learned more about him, we were supposed to have a whole new perspective on how he acted in 358/2 Days. That’s why I thought Isa in BBS was such a great plot twist. In so many ways, he was the polar opposite of Saïx. I was SO excited to learn more about him.

It’s sad how little respect the general fandom had for such an interesting character and for the significance of Lea and Isa’s friendship. And I think it was all due to Saïx being an antagonist in a series with very protagonist centered morality. People weren’t able to look past the superficial exterior of a “bad guy” and see what Isa’s character was all about.

I liked Roxas, Axel, and Xion’s friendship for what it was. But I have to admit, I do find it very annoying that the sea-salt trio gets put on a pedestal as this perfect group of friends (which it wasn’t) just because they were the protagonists. Meanwhile Isa was treated as an afterthought to Lea (which he wasn’t). I lost a lot of respect for this series after KH3 due to this black-and-white writing.

Before KH3, the impression I always got was that Axel and Saïx were prisoners of the organization. Especially Saïx. They made a plan together when they joined. They both agreed to eliminate anyone in their way so they could be free. It was Mr. Nice Guy Axel who was the one that never complained about the dirty work. And he was serious. He was gonna kill Naminé. He was fine with being an assassin for all that time. I got the impression that Isa was probably the idealistic one and Lea was the pragmatic one who did what he had to in order to survive. Isa was trusting like Kairi, and Lea was cynical like Riku.

“……Don’t break him,” were the words that slipped unconsciously out of Axel’s mouth.

“Ohhh, do I detect a soft spot?”

“Sora is half one of us. He’s on our side.” But even as he said it, Axel wasn’t entirely sure what he meant. It threw him off for a moment. Was he talking about the boy they meant to turn into their tool or about Sora’s other half—his Nobody, Roxas?

“You don’t trust me?” Larxene slumped in mock disappointment. “I know when to let up. I’m not stupid enough to break my toys.”

Speaking of trust… Axel still had no idea who the traitor was.

I noticed a recurring theme in the manga. There’s the theme of excessive force being used on a comrade. This scene takes place when Saïx was checking in on Demyx’s training, to make sure he was getting stronger. He thought he was slacking off and attacked him mercilessly. Axel also had a gut reaction to Larxene using excessive force on Sora and breaking him.

“What is it, Roxas? You have a mission to complete. You’ve spent enough time worrying about a puppet.” That word again. Roxas turned a furious glare on Saïx.

“Xion is one of us!” Saïx broke into a low chuckle, the first time Roxas had seen him so much as smile. “One of us? Don’t be absurd. Just count the chairs. When have we ever been more than thirteen?”

Saïx was very disgusted with the idea of considering other people “one of us”. It’s another reason I don’t like the idea that he was just looking for Subject X the whole time. It’s very out-of-character.

“I…I messed up a mission really bad.” Her hands were cold. “Did you hear about that guy pretending to be one of us? But I lost a fight against him. And then Saïx called me a ‘failure.’”

Saïx despises impostors. This might have contributed to his animosity towards Xion when she failed to take out Riku. Her failure reminded him of what happened to Isa. He also called her broken, which angered Axel on Day 193. I definitely think Isa had excessive force used on him by a “comrade”, and he “broke”. This scene is right before Axel arrives on the clock tower and tells Roxas why the sunset is red. I think that after Isa “broke”, that was the first lucid thing he said to Lea, which is why it was a special memory for Axel.

Anyone who gets in the way is shown no mercy. I think Isa was a lot like Demyx. He wasn’t that great at combat, and he was softhearted and probably naive. Lea was the realist who had to make the tough decisions.

There’s a scene later in the KH2 manga that has the exact same themes. I had to conclude that these themes were significant to Isa’s backstory due to how often they came up. Saïx approaches Demyx and threatens him that those who aren’t useful will be eliminated.

He tells Demyx that the orders are to destroy Sora. Demyx thinks destroying him is going too far.

He doesn’t want to destroy Sora because Roxas is inside of him and Roxas was one of them. Saïx doesn’t care.

He said Sora has come to destroy them. He’s a traitor.

He also said Demyx wasn’t strong enough to beat Sora anyways.

When Demyx is defeated, Saïx informs Xemnas and he makes a comment about the weak falling victim. And Saïx looks pissed when he says it.

Day 298: Change of Plans

Author: Saïx

Axel failed to report that the impostor and Xion are working together. Instead, that news came from Roxas. The boy is far more easily handled than Axel, but now Axel has captured Xion and returned her to us. His motives are impossible to read. Our plans can be altered if necessary, but doing so can only delay their realization.

The same themes come up on Day 298, which is when Axel has a moral dilemma. This is a day that Saïx has a really hard time reading Axel’s motivations. Xion is declared a traitor.

Saïx is utterly disgusted at Roxas trusting someone just because they are a comrade. He even said that was “human-like” thinking. Axel is actually on Saïx’s side.

Roxas thinks destroying Xion is going waaay too far, but Saïx is merciless.

This is the day Axel decided to make a tough choice. In the novel, he said he was doing it for everyone, and specifically for Isa—not Saïx. He started to isolate himself from Roxas. The day after, Axel is feeling doubts. And Saïx said he never expected Axel to question whether something was “for the best”. This scene was one of the few animated scenes on the DS. It was obviously very important.

Axel took Xion down with a strike to the neck. And this is also how he defeated Saïx in the manga. I highly doubt this was a coincidence.

After Saïx was knocked out, Axel even made a remark that seemed like he was referencing their past.

And this is why I bought all the localized mangas. Sometimes you get a better understanding from different translations.

Day 356: Unforeseen Events

Author: Saïx

Our plans never accounted for the possibility of both Xion and Roxas leaving. How did this come to pass? When did Roxas grow strong enough to outmuscle me? What were you really after, Lea? We joined the Organization at the same time, and formulated our plan. At this point, it’s just an idle fantasy. Everything changed. You, and me.

Saïx wakes up again and stabs Axel. In the fan translation, he makes a remark that he and Axel really are different, after all. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was referring to, but I figured it was a reference to their past.

And the official localization makes me think that even more so. Saïx tells Axel that he was careless.

Unlike Axel, he makes sure the job gets done. I figured that was probably what he meant, but after seeing both translations, I’m more confident in that interpretation. Saïx and Axel’s roles are reversed from the past. Axel didn’t want to kill Saïx, so he took him down in a non-lethal way. Saïx used that opportunity to try and kill him. It implies that in the past, Isa was reluctant to kill someone, but Lea was more willing to get his hands dirty.

“Axel says he’s willing to harm Naminé to get to me,” Marluxia shouted. “But you won’t let that happen, will you?!”

“…Axel!” Clutching the Keyblade, Sora glared at him. Still? Axel thought. Facing Sora like this reminded him of Roxas, which made him uneasy. The memory of a feeling welled up within, something that had never come over him when he confronted Marluxia or Larxene or Vexen.

But those connections were no more than memories of the past—Axel had never cared about anyone since becoming a Nobody. What was happening? Why was Roxas so important to him? Why was Sora? So long as he understood what the stakes were, he should have no reason to recoil from terminating someone. After all, he was a Nobody with no heart. And yet…he didn’t want to do this.

It’s probably connected to the backstory of how someone like Lea gained the temperament to become an assassin. I think Isa wanted to trust one of their “comrades”, probably a fellow test subject. Lea wanted to take him out. For some reason, Lea knew the “comrade” was going to betray them. Isa wanted to find a peaceful way to resolve things.

“Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you? You have my sympathies,” Axel said quietly. “From the heart.” His words were meant for the Replica. Not for her.

He gave the traitor the benefit of the doubt and probably stood in opposition to Lea, defending the impostor. This is probably why Axel despised Naminé so much and why he couldn’t destroy Sora. Naminé was manipulating both Sora and the Riku Replica and causing them to fight. And she was luring Sora to a horrible fate by manipulating his trusting and compassionate nature. Being so merciful came back to bite Isa. I think this is why it was always so important to Axel that Saïx trusted him. Isa had already been betrayed by someone he thought was one of them. Lea was the only one he could trust and Axel never wanted to betray that trust. When Saïx called Axel a traitor, it deeply hurt him.

The traitor likely tried to kill Isa, and then Lea probably took them out, or at least tried to. It was what happened to Isa that made Axel and Saïx so cold and ruthless to anyone in their way, and especially traitors. Axel was always doing it all for Isa. It was because Isa was such a kind and gentle person. That was what got him into so much trouble, so Axel agreed to do all the dirty work for him. But Sora, Roxas and Xion were innocent, like Isa was. It would betray Axel’s feelings for Isa to harm any of them. Kairi was the same. She was naive and trusting, and Axel was going to use her to harm Sora.

That was why Axel was so conflicted all the time. He became the type of person he hated. Since he was a Nort, Saïx had no idea why Axel suddenly started acting so differently after Castle Oblivion. You’re right. From his point of view, their plans were going very smoothly. Their freedom was on the line. Then Axel didn’t seem to care anymore and was more concerned with eating ice cream with these two kids. He was getting jealous of Roxas and Xion, but ironically, the one Axel really missed the most was Isa.

When Axel returned from Castle Oblivion, he was fine. But then Roxas told him he was worried about him. This made him not want to report in right away. He remembered a time when Isa was worried about him and it depressed him.

The situation with Xion was the reverse. Axel was remembering a situation where he was worried about Isa. Remembering how kind and selfless Isa used to be was enormously painful for Axel.

In a sense, Saïx did have a legitimate reason to be upset with Axel. All he saw was Axel growing so close to Roxas and Xion and distancing himself from him. But Axel didn’t tell Roxas and Xion they were his best friends because he had a sudden epiphany about how close they were. It was because he was remembering how great of a best friend Isa was.

Saïx was ALSO remembering how great of a best friend Isa was. That’s why he was so upset at Axel. Isa cared about Lea more than anything and would have done absolutely anything for him. He also put other people ahead of himself. His compassion got him into trouble. It hurt Saïx that Axel no longer seemed to value what they had together. Saïx couldn’t really experience friendship, but he still had the memories of it. And he was tormented by them.

#kh #kh saix #kh isa #kh axel #kh lea

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scriptlgbt · 5 years

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CW: Plot with exhibitionism, lack of public consent

Question

First of all, I know the situation I’m describing is inappropriate behaviour for everyone, yet it happens because people are nuts. I’m talking about those who do things like have sex in public or in your bosses office while he’s out and then they get caught. Now the majority of such incident reports in the media or social networks are with straight people. Then the public slams them for being inappriopriate. But, the rare times it has been gay people, sometimes they (the inappropiate ones) accuse the public as being homophobic even though it’s simply bad behavior for anyone. Also, in these incidents, the lgbt community really hate the bad rep when the public uses incidents like this to justify being homophobic, ignoring the fact that straights have done the same. Okay, so that’s out. If I put in my story a few characters that have done this, both straight and gay, any tips on how can I avoid writing it in the wrong way? Also, I’m aware that there are plenty of incidents like this that are also not widespread news so it’s possible I can write this without the media coverage, but it may hinder some plotlines. Thanks.

Answer

I’m going to answer this in a mostly informative (rather than advisory) sense about how sexual harassment and violence interact with the LGBT+ community. I am sharing a lot of personal experience (in vague terms) because I don’t know how to convey this information and its gravity in its absence. There’s still advice in this, and the info is part of that.

The reason homophobia is jumbled up in this is not because it’s not shitty to involve non-consenting people in your sex scene, but because historically, ‘cruising’ or ‘dogging’ has been the only situations someone gay could get laid. Pre-Craigslist (and now that SWERFs have run that part of Craigslist down) and during the illegalization of LGBT+ bars, in the absence of apps, and especially with people who didn’t have a place to go home to, whether because of homelessness or lack of safety, people have ended up in infamous parks.

It’s shitty and I’m not going to excuse that at all, I just thought I should explain the historical context for this.

LGBT+ folks are also exponentially more likely to get arrested and experience police brutality, with the results of that leading more often to homelessness, job loss, religious excommunication, than many other demographics. There’s harassment that’s targeted, about our genitalia, our sex lives, things that are actually consensual that are done with consenting people. People throw around slurs and label it as disgusting for being gay sex, rather than for being

Again, I’m not saying this to excuse but to explain the issues at play. My point is that people shouldn’t do this (because it’s not like the public as a whole can consent, just to be clear), but it’s still the case that homophobia does play into the reactions that people get. If everything were fully equal, then people would get equal reactions. It’s hard to notice from an internet post comment thread for example. But when sexual assault and rape happen within the LGBT+ communities, we handle things the way that cis straight people don’t - by cutting people out. This is a part of the healing process and important. No one who has been victimized should have to take responsibility for the people who have victimized them.

This also leaves those people who have perpetrated bad things to end up dealing with the greater societal oppressive straight community stuff they may have been sheltered from when they had a sense of community. Cis + straight society isn’t going to focus proportionately as much on the actual problem as people within our community do.

Personally, I have been forced to keep silent about abusers of mine because they threatened to spread lies about me that were more horrific than what they did to me. There was some brutal things they threatened as well that I won’t get into. It took hearing someone else going through the same thing for me to come forward. That, and I found out they were telling people these lies as what they perceived to be a precautionary tactic, so when I came forward a couple years after the fact, I lost most of my support system. That’s really difficult. A few others I didn’t know came to my inbox on social media to tell me their stories and talk about how I wasn’t alone, that they believed me because they had been through it or witnessed it or otherwise did not believe the things that were said about me could have been possible. (In as vague terms as possible, one of them was about a death that never happened and there is lots of evidence online that it never did.)

I also felt a crushing weight of how my abuser was a chronically suicidal trans person, like myself then too. I know how our community reacts to abusers, and I knew that if everyone unaffected (those outside the community) knew, I could have had blood on my hands. At least, that’s what I feared.

I was 20 when that happened, homeless for the second time in my life then, and it’s been a little bit now. I was homeless a third time at a different point and have had healthy relationships and stable housing in my life since maybe age 21. (Or 22? I mean there was a discriminatory eviction in there but I had a fallback place to live that I have lived in since.) (I turn 24 in December.)

Something I have learned a lot about since, and have found integral to all my healthy relationships, is the concept of transformative justice. To quote Wikipedia, “Transformative justice is concerned with root causes and comprehensive outcomes.“

I cannot recommend enough the following article:

Here’s my favourite piece on Transformative Justice, which explains how it works in an accessible way.

Punch Up Collective also has a framework here for conflict resolution.

I think that, ideally, to resolve these kinds of situations, the ability to analyze and hold accountable in this kind of way is pivotal to any and all healing and growth. If coming forward meant that something changed that would be conducive to healing, in all cases, people would feel safer coming forward. On a wide scale, there’s a lot of repercussions as it is right now, under rape culture. (And transmisogyny, and transphobia. The thing with LGBT+ cases though is that the issue is not painted as what it actually is, it is instead painted as a problem as result of LGBT+-ness and culture, not wider rape culture.)

The gist of this is that if transformative justice techniques and strategies, communication of that, and the nuances of these things, were integrated into stories about these issues, I think the effect of this on someone reading it for the first time would be quite a big deal.

I mean my story is obviously different because it involves IPV/Intimate Partner Violence, but some of the attitudes of not knowing how to come forward about a situation of non-consent are translateable. Not necessarily of the same gravity but I wouldn’t fault you for making it have a big gravity or smaller gravity. Trauma holds itself differently in everyone who has it or interacts with it.

I hope this helps.

- mod nat

#mod nat #transformative justice #conflict resolution #relationships #writing relationships #ipv #submission

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