Well, I think Lissar stating Heartstation's translation is more accurate plants a big hole in this theory.
Again, that's why I said that in the first place. I knew full well that the translation could be off.
At the very least, if Braig was the reason Terra kept up his charade, then don't you think Xemnas would have simply disposed of Xigbar once they became Nobodies? He certainly had the power to.
Not really.
Were Braig to follow Terra under the guise of another's name, why wouldn't he continue to use him as an asset even as a Nobody? If anything, it makes more sense for him to keep Xigbar around in that, upon becoming Xemnas, he
does have the ability to dispose of him, should Xigbar go against his will.
But that's not the case, so eh. :/
Braig doesn't want to kill Terra (that is interesting- that he'd follow him regardless of who's in control), but one thing I'm still certain of- whatever piece of Terra that is conscious in the Xehanorts still is lying about his identity, for whatever reason.
If not as Xehanort, then certainly at least as Xemnas (the connection is there- what with the whole "friend" scene with Aqua's armor). Why? Was it simply because it was easier for him at that point to continue to assume the identity of another? Hard to say.
But we also have the ARs, which feels like it's written by a heartless man who doesn't feel like what he's doing is wrong. Terra did say he'd do anything, but I doubt he'd be as heartless as Xehanort was.
Read the ARs.
They absolutely don't give off the same persona as MX or Ansem SoD. They are, in a word, inquisitive.
Practically no intimation of that power hungry, darkness obsessed personality is there.
And that's not surprising either, really. They were originally written for the game under the supposition that Ansem (the one we know now as Xehanort's Heartless) was once the ruler of Hollow Bastion (Radiant Garden).
If anything, the Ansem Reports provided a stark contrast. When meeting Ansem SoD, were you not surprised at how different he was as compared to what he had written?
I think it still holds true now, for whatever reason (memory loss or the influence of Terra). Xehanort, for one reason or another, acts differently than MX/Ansem SoD.
No, it isn't.
However, I really doubt Terra just happened to change his hair to look similar to MX's like it was some sort of fad going around Radiant Garden. That would be a coincidence. No, the reason the hairstyle has been partially altered is to show MX's influence on the vessel.
We've already got the display of MX's influence- with the palette swap.
I just don't think a minor change in hairstyle is enough for us to conclude something relevant here, especially considering that, looking at Xehanort's face in that scene, it's still 100% Terra's face. Why would his hair change slightly and his face not at all?
Given that he's a researcher under AtW, is it really that hard to say that he simply pushed his bangs back to give a more refined look? Yes, it looks more so like MX's hair than it did before- which frankly doesn't have to be anything more than irony. Xehanort, under the influence of MX (to whatever degree) changes his hairstyle in a way in which it almost mimics the MX's hairstyle.
You might say that this is still too much of a coincidence, but, as I've said, if you concede that Xehanort's hair looks like MX's intentionally, you must also say as much for Terra's hair. Terra's hair has always looked similar to Xehanort's. Which begs the question- if you think that there would have to be some sort of indication from how Xehanort's hair looks like MX's, wouldn't you also have to think that there was something going on with Terra too? That there's a reason his hair looks like MX's (I'm not saying there is or isn't, just posing the question).
i completely shot down this theory. yes not in a "sensitive" way tho lol.
You never shot down this theory.
The new translation, absolutely, but what you said did nothing.
Anyway, I can always modify this in the future, as it's really certain pieces of the theory that have been busted and not the entire thing itself. I'll probably wait until there's an English release (not because I don't trust Lissar, I do, but just to see how it compares to the translations we have so far).