Re: ~The Akuroku Fanclub~
Interesting... why is it that you don't consider them opposites Umbra?
I'm just curious because to me, they couldn't be any more opposite from each other.
I know you asked Umbra, but I'm gonna reply. Cause.
I'm also gonna direct quote from the dissertation:
[Zexion] is often stereotyped as expressly emo; quiet, angsty, and emotional. This, as most of us know, is not the case.
Zexion, for all appearances, is the quiet sort. That is to say, he’d be more likely to listen than to speak. This is not to imply that he never talks; any of us who’ve played Chain of Memories know that when given a topic, he has no shortage of things to say.
Yeah, everyone tends to stereotype Zexion as the quiet, emo one who doesn't talk EVER and pulls away from everybody. Which, is clearly not true.
Now, on the other hand...
Because of his inherent dorkiness, however, the Organization’s number nine is too often portrayed as a sugar-high idiot in a great amount of fanfiction. Let it be said now: Demyx is not. Never do we see him glomping anyone, or shouting for no apparent reason, or breaking into random fits of exuberance. Firstly, it’s unlikely that Xemnas would see any use for one such as that. More than likely, if Demyx really were the imbecilic prankster he’s so often portrayed as, the Superior would have turned him into a Dusk far before the events of Kingdom Hearts II ever occurred. Remember, Demyx is a Nobody, which means that the heart of his Other was obviously strong enough to support the transformation, and he has never shown himself to be incompetent. I doubt Xemnas would suffer anyone who was.
It's true; go on deviant art or fanfiction.net and almost every Demyx you see is like some crazy psycho hyper giggly glomping machine. He's not. He may be a little dorky in the game, like the quote says, reading off a notecard when he finds Sora in the underworld, but he's not insanely hyper.
I would say those two points alone helps disprove some of their opposite-ness. Most people think that Zexion is a quiet little emo kid who sits in the corner and reads his books, while Demyx is a crazy excitable ball of joy bouncing around the castle and glomping everyone he sees. THOSE descriptions are polar opposites. But they're not like that.
Also, a little more:
I read in the Zemyx HC that Zexion wouldn't respect Demyx because Demyx has a lousy work ethic or something like that just cause he doesn't like to fight. Well, here's what I say to that:
Zexion is also the type who does not much like getting his hands dirty. His focus is on manipulation, and he is damn good at it. He is never fought in the original Chain of Memories for this specific reason; he’d much rather rely on wits and intelligence than violence. Remember, though - this is not to say that Zexion is weak.
Gee, Zexion doesn't like to fight? That sounds a lot like Demyx...
However, all foolishness aside, Demyx is no weakling. Yes, he at first seems such; defeating water clones in a specified amount of time is not quite one’s image of an epic battle. In fact, he spends much of his time insisting that he is the ‘wrong guy for this.’ Demyx obviously does not enjoy battle. He seems more the type who’d prefer and excel at reconnaissance; he was, after all, able to steal the Olympus Stone from under Hercules’s nose, and was able to travel the belly of the Underworld fairly unnoticed.
This, though, does not mean he is weak. Admittedly lighthearted, yes, and quite probably a bit of a scaredy-cat, if the way he was running is any indication. But weak? Nuh uh.
The little bastard killed me four times before I was able to kick his ass, and even then it’s only ‘cause I went and leveled up. Now, I did not die four times and spend an hour trying to strengthen Sora up only to have someone call Demyx weak.
It would do one well, in other words, to remember that They-picked-the-wrong-guy-for-this!Demyx is the same person as Silence-traitor!Demyx. Demyx is less uptight than other members of the Organization. This does not mean that he is weak, or even that he is a bubbling ray of sunshine. He is a Nobody who, when he discovered that persuasion would not work on Sora, shrugged off his more jovial side and fought with all the cold precision of any Organization member. He is just as competent as he is optimistic, and he proves this well before he is defeated.
Demyx is not weak, and Demyx is not incompetent. He still works hard, and seems to be good at recon, and things like getting the Olympus stone. Maybe he just doesn't like to fight. Maybe he'd rather just get his mission done and avoid conflict. Maybe, and this is speculation, but maybe there's a good reason, like he had a near-death experience in a battle and would do anything to avoid being put in that situation again. That's why, in Days, he leaves the fighting part to Roxas. But that doesn't mean he's lazy or weak or dumb. Please, go play the Demyx battle again if you believe that.
tl;dr: Zexion and Demyx are not polar way-too-opposite opposites.
