#khanuary

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 20 of KHanuary, we have members no.9 and no.10 of Organization XIII, Demyx and Luxord.

“Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one..." - Demyx

"The fun is in not knowing, isn't it? What is the point of betting on something when you already know the outcome?" - Luxord

These two being paired here has everything to do with process of elimination, but their weapons and skills are unique amongst the Organization. While we don’t have much in terms of backstory for these two, we know that Luxord is a gambler, using dice and cards to fight relying on games of chance to beat his foes, while Demyx is a slacker and musician who uses a sitar and water magic against his enemies. 

We meet both these members in KH2 in very different worlds, Demyx in Olympus Colleseum and Luxord in Port Royal, but both are causing trouble in order to further the Organizations goals and both are defeated by Sora in the end.However, it looks like they’re back again for a second round in KH3, so we’ll see what role they play in this new adventure.

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 16 of KHanuary, we bring in another character with ties to not only Sora but Kairi as well. This is Naminé. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll forget me... but we have our promise, so I can come back to you.”

Naminé has been described as a witch due to her power over the memories of Sora and those connected to him. When she was first introduced in CoM, Naminé was a captive of the Organization in Castle Oblivion, who used her to manipulate Sora by undoing his chain of memories (pun intended) and filling his heart with false memories. This plot ultimately backfired on the Organization and Sora was able to free Naminé, who spent the next year restoring Sora’s memories while he slept. It was later revealed in KH2 that Naminé was actually Kairi’s Nobody.

Remember when I said that Sora created 2 Nobodies when he became a Heartless? Normally in Kingdom Hearts, when a person loses their heart to the darkness, they become a Heartless and the body disappears or becomes a Nobody. But as a Princess of Heart, Kairi has no darkness in her heart, so when her heart was inside Sora, her body remained untouched. And because her heart was released from inside Sora’s body, that created a Nobody for her too.

It’s hinted that she may have a role in KH3, as she is among those that Sora needs to save. But what that role is remains to be seen.

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 6 of KHanuary, we end the Disney character drawings, for now at least, with the King of Disney Castle, Mickey Mouse.

“Don’t worry. There will always be a door to the light.”

Not only is Mickey a King in Kingdom Hearts, ruling alongside his sweetheart Minnie at Disney Castle, he’s also a Keyblade Master trained by Yen Sid, the sorcerer from Fantasia. He’s acted as a sort of confidant for Riku in later entries of the series, and has been a steadfast ally to him & Sora on their travels.

Fun fact: Disney only allowed Square-Enix(Squaresoft at the time) to use Mickey in only one scene in the first game. They made it count by having him help Sora lock the door to Kingdom Hearts at the end of the first game.

[kudotsurugi]

And so, KHanuary comes to a close with my favourite pairing in Kingdom Hearts: Sora & Kairi.

From the beginning it's shown that these two are good friends, having grown up together on Destiny Islands, but there has been some hints at the potential of something more. I hope we can see this bond grow stronger in Kingdom Hearts 3.

I think I'm gonna take a break from doing any themed months for a while. I know these last few entries were running late after the game came out and after the month ended, and for that, I am sorry. But i hope you enjoyed this little countdown series all the same.

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 19 of KHanuary, we have Organiztion XIII members no.5 and no.3, Lexaeus and Xaldin.

"I, Lexaeus, will not yield to the frail heart of an infantile coward!"- Lexaeus

"Trust no one. Feed your anger! Only anger will keep you strong." - Xaldin

We first meet Lexaeus in Chain of Memories, as one of the members sent to Castle Oblivion alongside Marluxia, Larxene, Axel, Vexen and Zexion. While the former three dealt the higher levels of the castle, the latter two along with Lexaeus were charge of the castle’s basement where both Lexaeus and Zexion were defeated by Riku, who found his way to the castle through outside help.

Xaldin is introduced proper in KH2 at Beast's Castle, where he attempts to sway Beast over to the darkness by convincing him that Belle could never return his love and that they would never break the spell brought upon him and the Castle’s residents. He is defeated by the combined efforts of Sora and Beast.

It is revealed later in BbS that when they were human, named Aeleus and Dilan, not only were they Ansem’s apprentices, but also Castle Guards. As of now, they’re human again alongside Ienzo, Lea and the other apprentices, presumably resuming their guard duties over Radiant Garden.

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 30 of KHanuary, we have chibis of the crew from The World Ends With You: Neku, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme & Joshua.

They make an appearance in KH3D, meeting both Sora & Riku in Traverse Town during their Mark of Mastery exam. Much like in their game of origin, they are doing missions for the Reaper's Game fighting monsters in the hopes of getting home. 

Sora & Riku help them when they can, and they leave with the promise to someday meet again in Shibuya. Personally, I hope we see them again soon, maybe not in KH3, but someday soon after.

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 12 of KHanuary, we bring in our first main antagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series: Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, otherwise known as Xehanort's Heartless.

“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."

In the beginning, we are told of Ansem, a ruler and researcher that was studying the Heartless, and that his reports are scattered across the mamy worlds in the first game. As you collect the reports, you begin to piece together the story of a man who lost himself in his research which caused the loss of many worlds at the hands of the Heartless. However... whether or not that is the true story of Ansem is a matter that we’ll get to another time.

Next time, we bring in a character with ties both to Sora and the antagonists of the next few games, Organization XIII. 

[kudotsurugi]

For Day 9 of KHanuary, we bring in a character who got a second chance at life through the Kingdom Hearts franchise: Aerith.

"No matter how far away we are, our hearts will bring us together again."

Along with Leon & Yuffie, Aerith is also a member of the Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. She is hinted at having something of long distance relationship with one of the characters in the series, but we’ll get to him soon.

As for what I mean by "second chance at life", if you're in any way familiar with Final Fantasy VII, you'll know her fate very well.