Did you know that the ending for 0.2 was originally going to be very... Different. One draft involve Aqua resigning to the fact that she was just doomed to always be miserable while another involved her losing what remains of her sanity and screaming at the heavens. Nomura decided that the ending we got was the most fitting of her character arc. Would you agree?
O_O I did not know that.
Well. I think resigning herself to misery goes against the plot of 0.2. I think her self-analysis and recognition of the darkness is what’s really important about her character development. She went through BBS talking about how Terra has darkness in him and how that’s so bad, since those were Eraqus’s teachings. But now she has to experience her own darkness firsthand as the Dark World draws it out of her. And she also comes to trust in the guiding light of her friends in her weakest moments. I think if she gave into darkness or lost herself, the plot of 0.2 would have had to be very different.
I think 0.2′s representation of Aqua is probably very fitting for her character. She hasn’t lost her mind, but she’s not the same girl she was ten years ago. You can see the cracks in her sanity: her self hatred, the way she talks to herself, and her hope constantly wavering. I hope the next time Aqua makes an appearance, she still has these cracks. I think it would be more interesting and in line with her character to see her struggle with the aftermath of this trauma than it would be to see another KH character give into darkness.
That being said, if she just acts like the same old Aqua I am going to be pissed. >_<
THIS IS ALL SPECULATION AND OH MY DAYS SO MANY SPOILERS!!
The Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D are two unique blades the way that the x-blade was. They aren’t a representation of one’s heart, but constants that need to exist. This is probably because the x-blade was shattered or something. When the worlds became a realm of darkness and a realm of light, the KK was the light’s half of the x-blade and the KKD was the darkness’s half. They probably weren’t made from the x-blade themselves, but came to exist because of the state of the universe, much the way the x-blade did.
Anyway, KK and KKD are special. They reside in their respective realms to protect it. They have their own “consciousness” as it is, where they can choose their wielders. In my head, I always thought that they wouldn’t choose a wielder unless their realm was in peril. So when all the worlds start vanishing in KH1, the KK is like “woah hey what? damnit I better find myself a wielder”. It found Riku - one of few already anointed with using a keyblade - and I was like “sure this kid seems legit”. Then Riku went all darkness and the key was like “damnit, and I came all the way out here”. But he sees Sora, who has the heart of a keyblade wielder (Ven) and is like “actually this kid might work instead”. Then in Hallow Bastion it sees Riku again and is like “you’re that kid!” and goes with him. Then KK is like “actually you’re a dick and I like the other kid more” and goes back to Sora. And that’s the story of the KK.
So then there’s the KKD, chillin’ in darkness like “yeah man lovin’ this darkness gonna stay here forever” and then a mouse comes and picks it up. And the KKD is like “well, I mean, it’s been a while since like. I’ve done anything. Might as well.” and sticks with Mickey. But if it ever wanted to leave it probably could. Though I think the KKD and KK are both in this for the same reason: they want balance. Neither wants to see Light or Darkness consume everything. That’s why KKD stays with Mickey.
So, now let’s delve into keyblades as a whole. They were said to be “forged in reverence of the x-blade”, which is sort of weird since the x-blade looks dumb as hell and the keyblades look pretty rad most of the time. Maybe it’s like how an artist sees someone’s work and thinks “ha, I could do that, but better”. Anyway. “Forged” here is a pretty loose term, since hearts forge keyblades, but also like… you could just forge them out of metal, right? For the sake of simplicity and in the continuity of the franchise, let’s just define “forged” as “created with one’s heart”. This materializes a keyblade for the use of its owner. BUT it seems like whenever the owner dies, the keyblade can continue to exist. Since you know. The graveyard. This basically defies everything I know about creating and destroying matter but whatever.
So anyway. Wielders make keyblades with strong hearts. Are they blessed or something? IMO, it seems sort of like “forging a keyblade” was pretty damn easy before the world fell apart (KHUX). Maybe this is like a defense mechanism? Kingdom Hearts is like “well shit, I see what you guys do when keyblades are dime a dozen - you start wars! So you know what. New universe, new rules. No keyblades for anybody. Except these two new ones, KKL and KKD. No more wars. Stop it.” To which the very few keyblade wielders who survived the sundering were like “right, but how about we make a ceremony that lets us pass on the keyblade powers to new people, since like, we totally learned our lesson and won’t start another war”. So then the Ceremony came to be (which is just touching a keyblade apparently?? I think here’s more to it, but I’ll get to that in a minute).
So here we are in the new universe and we’ve got a few keys. The x-blade is broke, but that doesn’t matter until it becomes an essential and awkwardly convenient plot point. The KK and KKD are newly born. And I guess No Name (Xehanort’s blade in BBS and Master of Masters’ blade in Back Cover) survived, because why not. And then there’s the Dandelions. And that’s it. All the other keyblades are inert, since their wielders are dead. So someone passes the power of the keyblades onto Eraqus, Xehanort, and Yen Sid. Hopefully this gets revealed in KH3 since we got that awesome chess scene with chubby baby Eraqus. Yen Sid trains Mickey, then retires. Xehanort trains Ven, then fucks up literally everything. Eraqus trains Terra and Aqua, then dies. So we’ve gone from three to four wielders in one generation, since Eraqus thinks he’s special. I don’t know what “retiring” means in terms of using a keyblade, but it’s pretty safe to assume Yen Sid isn’t going to do anything but talk for the whole franchise. Xehanort takes over Terra. So we’re sitting at four wielders and six keyblades (since Terra/Xehanort each have one, and Aqua has Eraqus’s).
This brings about a whole other argument. Though the wielders die (Eraqus & in theory, No Name) the keyblades retain their power. Which is sort of in conflict with the keyblade graveyard. I think this has a lot to do with intent. Eraqus had always intended his keyblade to be passed down to Aqua in case he fell. MoM had always intended No Name to move forward through time. Each served their master’s purpose even after the master’s demise, so… in a way, they still had the heart of their master. I think this also explains why Aqua can’t summon her own keyblade anymore after the end of BBS. Her intent for her keyblade was to watch over Terra. It’s still doing that, in the Chamber of Repose. Then again, maybe keyblades can’t be summoned into the Realm of Darkness if they preside in the Realm of Light? Who knows.
Keeping the theme of intent, I think it has a lot to do with the Keyblade Ceremony. In every instance of the ceremony, the master intends to give the power away (Terra to Riku, for instance). So I think there’s more to it than just “touching the blade”. The only circumstance that defies this rule is Aqua to Kairi, but Kairi is a Princess of Heart so she can do whatever the hell she wants. So by the end of BBS, we’re sitting at six (potential) keyblade wielders and eight keyblades. Cue KK and KKD, makes ten. Actually, if we want to get technical, Xehanort might have been able to summon his own keyblade before being given No Name. So maybe eleven? At this point, the original Kingdom Hearts must be pretty pissed off.
So then there’s Sora. Who never had his own keyblade. Which I think is pretty cool. KK is Sora’s bro after KH1, so he never really needs one. And he was never given the ceremony officially. Though it could be argued that by housing Ven’s heart, it gave Sora the ability to have his own keyblade, but just the same it could be argued that once Ven’s heart is gone Sora might not be able to hold a keyblade at all. (I doubt that’ll be the case, but it’s funny to think about.) What are we at? Seven wielders, ten (possibly 11) blades?
Sora goes all sleepy time, so Roxas steals his Kingdom Key. KK is probably like “this is Sora! Feels like Sora. Probably Sora. I wish I had a glowing blue eye so I could be sure, but hey, whatever”. Xion “copies” Roxas’s key, explaining the two KKs at the same time. This is probably Ven’s keyblade since she’s siphoning parts of Sora out of Roxas, and the KK appearance is an illusion created from copying Roxas.
Xion dies. Roxas gets her keyblade (which was Ven’s). Dual wielding ass kicking ensues. Then when Sora wakes up, he can dual wield because Roxas - who is a part of him - unlocked that power for him. I think this is a really cool plot point actually, because it means when Ven gets his heart back, Sora will need to learn to manifest a keyblade of his own (not the KK) in order to dual wield again!! :D I’m all about Sora learning how to forge his own keyblade.
Let’s see. Lea gets a keyblade from Yen Sid’s ceremony. Bringing our total wielder count to eight: Destiny trio, Wayfinder trio, Mickey, Lea. Eleven keyblades: listed above (including KK for Sora), KKD (which means Mickey can probably dual wield), Master Defender (hopefully dual wielding Aqua in the future?!), and No Name (Terranort can officially dual wield..?).
Then keychains. Don’t worry, I’m almost done. “Keychains” modify the appearance of an existing keyblade. I actually don’t think keychains are actual keychains in most cases. It’s just that certain memories and experiences can color your heart, changing the appearance of your keyblade. The exception to this could possibly be Oathkeeper, since Kairi actually gives Sora a charm. But I don’t think he clips that thing on the end of his keyblade - I think just the memories of her and stuff bring about the transformation. Or maybe they are real keychains, but they are made when the heart remembers those memories? Because honestly, obtaining actual magical keychains seems absurd to me. This really isn’t elaborated on in any way.
Importantly, however! there are no keychains on the keyblades in the Graveyard. So maybe keychains are tied to a wielder’s heart, and when the wielder dies, the keyblade can be left behind but not the keychain itself. Again, there are exceptions with Master Defender (Eraqus) and No Name, since there is still intent in these blades. It’s interesting to think about. Also the Keyblade of Heart (forged from the seven princesses) doesn’t have a keychain. Maybe because it has no wielder? It’s a combination of seven hearts, rather than one? I don’t know.
ANYWAY. This was a lot longer than I wanted it to be, but I think about keyblades a lot. If anyone has anything to add or correct me on, PLEASE tell me because I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF!!! :D
<3 KCM
N I C E This is pretty much how I see a lot of it too. A few things I wanna add tho: A lot of keyblades do look really different than the X-Blade ofc, but all the wielders in Daybreak Town have Starlight at first, which looks like the Kingdom Key, which make up part of the X-blade, so that’s likely where the “in its image” comes from. Also Terranort probably can’t dual wield, since the Lingering Will has Terra’s keyblade. Also Data-Sora has a real keyblade that’s also a copy of the kingdom key like Xion’s. This also prolly means Roxas and Xion will forge their own when they and Ven are eventually revived. I kinda headcanon Zero/One being the proper true form of Data-Sora’s, even if in game you get it after he gets his real keyblade :v I kinda hope Roxas or Xion have Two Become One when they get their own keyblades, but brand new ones would be cool too. Oh also a lot of the keychains in KH1 seem to be physically given to Sora or gotten from a chest, while in every other game they just magically appear somehow.
Oh you’re right about Lingering Will and Terra’s keyblade!! O_O So no dual wielding for Mr. Bodysnatcher.
On keychains: three of them come from chests in KH1, and Kairi gives her charm. So it could be argued that at least four real life keychains actually exist? Also what about like, really weird keychains. Kingdom Key’s chain is literally Mickey’s head. I just imagine there was a conversation between Mickey and Sora, like:
Sora: “So, this keychain sort of looks like you??”
Mickey: “Oh, the three circles? Yeah, that’s the Kingdom’s Mark. It’s on the KKD too. I actually stamp all my letters with that symbol and have a huge banner over my throne. You know, to show respect.”
Sora: “Right?? But. It’s. Shaped like your head??”
Mickey: “What?”
Sora: “Well you know. The ears, and… I mean it looks just like you.”
Mickey: “………”
Sora: “And you know, doesn’t it look like your wife, too? Minnie, right?”
Mickey: “……………….”
Sora: “I mean, you’ve known about this mark for a long time. So when you saw Minnie, and the shape of her head, maybe you subconsciously–”
Mickey: “I DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS ANYMORE”
Anyway… maybe the keychains should just be completely overlooked. You know. For our sanity.
Isn't it alluded in bbs that part of Eraqus is in Terra (which is why the chains appear around him. Those are a signature of Eraqus i think)? So could it be that his keyblade retains its power because he's alive in Terra's heart? This would also imply that No Name retains its power because either MoM or Luxu are alive in some form.
Uhhhh I am really not sure! o_o That’s not something I say about KH a lot. I don’t know what allusion you’re talking about with Eraqus being part of Terra - I don’t remember anything like that in BBS. I know Aqua uses those chains in 0.2, but she’s also using Master Defender. I, personally, never attributed the chains to Eraqus. It’s a pretty common motif (the Castle that Never Was, the final reality shift in DDD), but I can’t say with certainty that it isn’t a signature of Eraqus.
As for No Name, MoM would probably still have to be alive, because even though the keyblade was passed down to Luxu, it’s still a representation of MoM’s heart. Unless, it’s like the x-blade, KK, and KKD, in which it’s not forged, and then… well that’s a whole other thing. We don’t know a lot about No Name other than it being very old. Either way, I don’t think MoM is around anymore. And if he is, I don’t think he’s going to reappear. I think he was just used as a kicking off point for the series and now he’s going to fade away into mystery.
If anyone has any more information on this stuff please send me a message because I’m actually very curious!
<3 KCM
Edit: The more I look into this the more I like the idea of those chains being something that is Eraqus specific! I don’t think part of him is in Terra, but the chains thing is really cool.
In Blank points, xehanort hinted or sensed that Eraqus had entered Terra’s heart. I think this is what they are referring to
Oh damn. Well.
I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot and I am officially jumping on the “chains are Eraqus’s signature” bandwagon. It makes sense in 0.2 when Aqua uses them because she has MD, and then when Terra uses them because of this scene. I do wonder about “set foot in your heart” because honestly I’m getting really tired of all this “hearts in people’s bodies” thing. Like, this should not be a plot point that reoccurs this often. Hopefully Eraqus has impacted Terra’s heart or something, and Eraqus isn’t really alive inside Terra like Xehanort is.
Can’t anyone in this series ever die? It really cheapens the characters when they get brought back to life every game.