Union X

imagine if Player actually did let Ephemera in on the fact that they were faking being possessed. But only at the very last second

Like as soon as he keybeams them and opens that gate, Player gives him one last little, bittersweet smile. Because he did exactly what they wanted him to do. Their plan worked and now they can rest easy knowing that their friends will be able to escape and live on.

But . like. khux RETROACTIVELY makes him one of the best antagonists. he gets a clear (negative) character arc that very few other characters in the series as a whole have gotten. because now there’s lauriam. a fine polite young man who loves his sister and his friends and then is put through the dread and agony of a worst fear which is ultimately confirmed. and like. he legit just gets screwed over constantly. he tries so hard to have agency in the story but all his moves are in vain. a narrative ragdoll but not for lack of trying. argh.

contrast is a cheap and easy narrative tool to make both characters shine way brighter instantly. finally give marluxia his somebody and make that somebody a fantastic character with such unique depth and humanity to him and now suddenly you look at marluxia and your heart just aches no matter what he does or doesn’t do. that dullness, emptiness, and seemingly senseless cruelty is no longer boring but now agonizing. because lauriam used to be, in my humble opinion, one of the most emotionally expressive characters in the entire franchise. we see his joy, his anxiety, his wrath, his sorrow… and then marluxia is just hollow.

imo better than any other somebody-nobody pair we’ve seen so far, lauriam-marluxia is the best textbook example of just how tragic losing your heart really is. because he’s the most clearly different. (other than ienzo-zexion but it’s different for him bc it happened when he was just so young). but also it’s kinda proof how you can’t really blame everything on nobodyfication- the events that happened in your human life are gonna play into it too. bc he suffered worse before being a nobody than most ppl he ended up worse as one. it’s more like he had the greatest potential to become a wretch and a villain and that potential ended up being realized. based on the kinda thing larxene said in her character file it’s probably kind of liberating to let go of the pain of feeling guilt and remorse and just let yourself slip into being unashamedly evil

@khoc-week day 1 – Fountain

Elrena impulse illustration because I love her