(SPOILERS) KINGDOM HEARTS Union X Final: Part 1

[LoneFox]

omfg the only and main thought I have right now is WHO THE FUCK IS ELRENA AND WHY IS SHE LIKE INSECURE???? The BEST thing about Larxene that made her a great villain was her sass, but I don't see even a hint of the trait of personality in Elrena. I REAAALLY HOPE they do her chronology right or develop this correctly, cuz Larxene and Elrena seems completely opposite and different characters for now.

This! I was hoping that she would use some kind of dirty trick to get involved. But at least there is a plausible explanation for her out-of-character behavior, namely Lauriam. Remember that the story comes from Japanese culture, where titles and such matter quite a bit more than what we are used to, so having a crush on a union leader is a big deal for her.

 

[kirabook]

.... Elrena in no way gave the impression she was some trickster or vulgar though? I thought it's pretty clear by now that nobodies don't always match their somebodies and can change distractedly? Isa turned from the nagging friend to the murderous jealous ex-friend for example.

The core of Elrena seems to still be there in Larxene (teaming up with Marluxia no matter what), but clearly whatever she went through has changed her. Same with Marluxia, Mr. I'm a sweet big brother to using a child to turn another child into his puppet.

 

[HakaishinChampa]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1387417499306651655

LMAO

I had that thought when I was watching the cutscenes this morning, though I thought that Player, Skuld and Ephemer would all try to fit in one pod. (If we get a KHUX manga, this needs to be a scene)

Brain just trying to squeeze them in the pod like a suitcase with too much clothes.

 

[Squood!]

Guess May is the final update, eh?

Hopefully it's not near the end of the month.

 

[ShardofTruth]

I still don't get the connection between the Keyblade Graveyard (or Badlands), Daybreak Town and Scala ad Caelum.

During the Keyblade War segment of [chi] the badlands are simply the location where the union war takes place. There are no ruins of Daybreak Town to be seen and it's kinda implied it's actually another world by the game.

Now in the Union Cross finale we saw that the original Daybreak Town wasn't leveled but is still kinda disintegrating (somewhat similiar to Destiny Islands in KH). So it can't be the graveyard. Yet in the Keyblade War segment finale we see Ephemer and Skuld rescuing the player, taking him to another world. Back then it was implied that this is the world of the dandelions Ava spoke of but now we know that this world is actually a data backup of Daybreak Town and the Union Leaders didn't even know they weren't in the real Daybreak Town.

In KHIII there is this labyrinth that has Scalean symbols on the walls but that's about it. Maybe it's purely a creation of Master Xehanort and has nothing to do with both worlds.

Also in KH3 we learn that Scala ad Caelum was built on the ruins of Daybreak Town.

So what and where is the Keyblade Graveyard? Was it created during the very first Keyblade War when the χ-blade shattered and Kingdom Hearts disappeared? Did it house some sort of proto Daybreak Town?

In KHUX it's said that the world is still one, which wouldn't make any sense at all if the Keyblade War already happened.

This is really confusing and I don't think part two of the finale will make it any clearer.

 

[LoneFox]

I still don't get the connection between the Keyblade Graveyard (or Badlands), Daybreak Town and Scala ad Caelum.

Scala is the real Daybreak Town turned upside down. Keyblade Graveyard is a separate world, just like it is in BBS and KH3. I think what you are missing is, while the war took place only in KG, all the worlds were destroyed because of it. This was explained at the beginning of Dark Road, some of the worlds were still recovering from it at that time. We don't know for sure if it happened to Daybreak Town as well, but we do know that in went "Break" before being turned into Scala, and so far there is no better explanation for that.

 

[Xickin]

So does this make Ephemer Eraqus' family? (I highly doubt that) Or that he eventually handed down the Master Defender and willed it to be given to Brain's bloodline?

 

[Zettaflare]

So does this make Ephemer Eraqus' family? (I highly doubt that) Or that he eventually handed down the Master Defender and willed it to be given to Brain's bloodline?

I think the latter option is possible. Throughout the generations and years the Master's Defender probably ended up back into the hands of one of Brain's descendants before Eraqus. Possibly Eraqus' grandfather

 

[Eonstar890]

This update is making me think Strelitzia is Subject X instead of Skuld. She seems to not be as gone as we were led to believe.

So six darknesses trapped in the data world one escaped with Maleficent and five left for the other five pods? Does that mean Lauriam, Elrena, and Brain could also be infected too?

also if these events are happening simultaneously aren’t they going to arrive to see the Luxu vs. Darkness fight or at least the aftermath... yikes

 

[Sign]

So does this make Ephemer Eraqus' family? (I highly doubt that) Or that he eventually handed down the Master Defender and willed it to be given to Brain's bloodline?

We need to see how the rest of this plays out.

also if these events are happening simultaneously aren’t they going to arrive to see the Luxu vs. Darkness fight or at least the aftermath... yikes

Really hoping those two don't break more pods lol

 

[bambii (aka foreteller)]

Keep in mind we also see a Darkness manifest behind the Queen of Hearts in Dark Road. And I wouldn’t be surprised if DR goes in the direction of revealing multiple other instances of Darkness, which is what sets Xehanort off on his path.

This begs the question of whether Darkness will continue expanding and multiplying in the future, or whether what we see in DR is in fact one of the six Darknesses referenced here.

 

[Xagzan]

I don't really need to see any fights here, and I think people are off base if they think that's what's missing from the story, that seeing the battles would make everything worth it. At this point the only thing I care about or have any attachment to is the plot of Lauriam and his sister, as well as seeing just how Elrena undergoes such a drastic transformation from a kinda boring, bland character right now to the delightfully entertaining Larxene. Those are the only catchers of my interest, because it's relatable. It's human.

All these other shenanigans, digital worlds? People data backups? Real world vs computer worlds + time travel? My only reaction to these elements from the start has been, whyyy? Why, Square? Where are you trying to go with all this Nomura, and what does any of it have to do with the human experience that connects us to stories?

Are we going for a sort of artificial intelligence, synthetic life, issues of identity angle? Cause we've had all that already, with the replicas, and I'd hope they wouldn't just rehash the same material. But otherwise, it just seems like the primary interest is in The Lore™, in exposition and technical world mechanics. And KH deserves better than that.

 

[AdrianXXII]

I'm not liking this talk about the data world going into slumber. They're kind of setting things up in a way that implies that the Daybreak Kids don't go one to form Scala but instead are waiting to be saved, this would explode the number of current day wielders.

I remember the possibility of a Data-Strelitzia being floated around for a when we saw Luxu send the "True" dandelion, while I entertained the thought, I never really expected it. It also seems that Luxu has a means of entering and leaving the digital Daybreak Town without the use of the lifeboards. I'm also surprised Data-Strelitzia was awake and moving in a white coat. This kind of makes me think that Lauriam's dreams of her might actually be something closer to how Player and Ephemer were interacting before the Keyblade War.

My feeling is that in Part 2, Brain end the others will encounter Luxu and he'll tell them how to get Ephemer and the others out of the Digital World without the lifeboats. No idea how or why they'd go into the real world Lifeboats though.

There being 6 Darknesses kind of baffles me, with how obsessed this series has been with 7 and 13 for so long, the darknesses' falling short one of a significant number seems odd. Perhaps one of them isn't being counted for some unknown reason. I do find it interesting that the number matches the number of apprentices. Though seeing one of the Darknesses merged with Ven it seems unlikely the others jumped on with the Foretellers. I assume that everyone that ended up using the lifeboats was infected so that they'd bring a Darkness back from the Dataworld with them.

 

[Form Oblivion]

I totally went bonkers with this update. The idea that Strelitzia could be resurrected (in a way) through her data never came across my mind. Nomura will never cease to surprise me! The fact that there are six Darknesses is also very interesting.

But......uhhh...is that KHIII Secret Report 11 ever gonna make sense? This update made it all the more confusing.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

.... Elrena in no way gave the impression she was some trickster or vulgar though? I thought it's pretty clear by now that nobodies don't always match their somebodies and can change distractedly? Isa turned from the nagging friend to the murderous jealous ex-friend for example.

The core of Elrena seems to still be there in Larxene (teaming up with Marluxia no matter what), but clearly whatever she went through has changed her. Same with Marluxia, Mr. I'm a sweet big brother to using a child to turn another child into his puppet.

And of course, the biggest example is that Roxas' personality is pretty different from Sora's, despite being Sora's Nobody. Sure, memory shenanigans, but still.

There's also a huge time gap that we don't know about that could explain Elrena's personality change as well. We don't know when she landed or even if she made it there without any incidents, because we also don't know how Lauriam and Elrena became Nobodies. For all we know, the lifeboats those two were using were even more broken than we thought, and it ended up turning them into Heartless. Or, when they eventually made it to the real world, maybe Darkness played a role in what happened.

It's also very likely that Marluxia and Larxene never had those memories as Nobodies, so the personalities they have in that form are a direct result of them starting from a "clean" slate and whatever influence they've experienced post-Nobodification. When Sora defeats Marluxia in KH3, he starts to get his memories back, so for whatever reason, he didn't remember his time as Lauriam until he's about to be recompleted. As for why there's memory issues, I don't have an idea yet since Saix remembers his time as Isa (and I'm sure Axel remembered his time as Lea), as well as a majority of the Organization members (or at the very least Vexen and Demyx). So something probably happened once the gang reached the real world, and that might be why the changes are there.

I will say though regarding Lauriam, even though he's basically everyone's Big Bro, let's not forget he tried to ice Ven twice. The second time was while the boy was sleeping, on top of that. Considering the circumstances, I understand why he feels the way he does, but there is some precedence there that shows how he could've ended up being the Marluxia we know. UX does a great job of how violent he can be once he loses his cool.

 

[yuyayuzu]

This! I was hoping that she would use some kind of dirty trick to get involved. But at least there is a plausible explanation for her out-of-character behavior, namely Lauriam. Remember that the story comes from Japanese culture, where titles and such matter quite a bit more than what we are used to, so having a crush on a union leader is a big deal for her.

Umm... Why Lauriam can have different personality while Elrena cannot? Both were villains in previous games so it feels quite not fair to me if only Elrena must be the same with Larxene.

4 more darknesses.
Is there a possibility that 4 darknesses each infected Lauriam, Elrena, Brain and Ventus? And that's why Skuld does not fit Xenahort requirement assuming she is Subject X

 

[LoneFox]

Umm... Why Lauriam can have different personality while Elrena cannot? Both were villains in previous games so it feels quite not fair to me if only Elrena must be the same with Larxene.

What makes you think Lauriam has different personality than Marluxia? To me they seem very similar: proud, bold, manipulative, independent, and quite smart. The main differences are, Marluxia is about twice as old as Lauriam is in UX, doesn't have a keyblade and the power and responsibility that comes with it, and is under influence of the BS Xemnas told to him.

In general, both versions of somebody/nobody pair are very similar to each other. Sometimes they are exactly the same (Axel, Ienzo), sometimes they have differences that can be explained by circumstances (Xemnas, Isa, Lauriam). Roxas is an exception, but that's because he was influenced by Ven's heart.

 

[kingofgame981]

I have already expressing my feeling on youtube and now please excuse me for being self-embarrassed again here, but the moment "Link to All" began playing, I feel so happy and full of positive about the future of the series. It may be because of now we are all moving to the new saga with new plots revolving 6 Darkness beings (4 unknowns) and Brain gave Ephemer his Master's Defender.

Lauriam carried Ventus is the cutest big bro thing (Unless they are ages different away, I can imagine time travel of Lauriam getting older while Ventus still remain as his X's age will create a few meme) I have seen in the entire series tbh.

it's fucking 4am and i have to deal with your pessimistic asses already, ffs

https://twitter.com/x/status/1387417499306651655

That is cute AF.

EDIT: If someone is kind enough, please clarify to me the Darkness beings we are looking at here is different the Darkness that turned people heart into evil (and created the yellow-hue eyes), but will this also clarify that Braig's Darkness (KH3's secret ending) is also not this same Darkness being but the Darkness inside people's heart?

 

[Alpha Baymax]

This update is making me think Strelitzia is Subject X instead of Skuld. She seems to not be as gone as we were led to believe.

So six darknesses trapped in the data world one escaped with Maleficent and five left for the other five pods? Does that mean Lauriam, Elrena, and Brain could also be infected too?

The Secret Report 1 from Kingdom Hearts III seems to imply that it's either Skuld or Ava based on the sentence "Four friends and a key". Said friends could either be Ephemer, Ventus, Lauriam and Brain for Skuld or Gula, Aced, Invi and It's for Ava. Strelitzia was more of a loner.

I do agree with your line of thinking that the remaining Darkness' latched onto the Dandelion Union Leader's whilst they flung into the future. If Lauriam, Elrena and Ventus lost their memories of their past lives whilst time traveling to the future then that essentially makes them empty vessels for Darkness to linger.

 

[yuyayuzu]

What makes you think Lauriam has different personality than Marluxia? To me they seem very similar: proud, bold, manipulative, independent, and quite smart. The main differences are, Marluxia is about twice as old as Lauriam is in UX, doesn't have a keyblade and the power and responsibility that comes with it, and is under influence of the BS Xemnas told to him.

In general, both versions of somebody/nobody pair are very similar to each other. Sometimes they are exactly the same (Axel, Ienzo), sometimes they have differences that can be explained by circumstances (Xemnas, Isa, Lauriam). Roxas is an exception, but that's because he was influenced by Ven's heart.

Lauriam in here feels more like humble than proud to me. And one more difference is Marluxia is calmer than Lauriam here