Theory: 'Unversed' and 'Void Gear' have double meanings.

[Deleted member 252753]

Hi, this is a tentative idea I've had for a while and I might as well share. So, I always thought the symbolism around Vanitas in BBS seemed to fit a little oddly with other symbols in the series. Particularly I thought the explanation for the name of the Unversed - creatures unversed in their own existence - seems a bit laboured and the clockwork symbolism of the Void Gear also stuck out to me. Looking at more recent plot developments, particularly concerning the Book of Prophecies, I thought of possible hidden meanings for the two:

Unversed, if broken down and taken very literally, could mean 'not put in verse', as in not written down in the Book of Prophecies.

As for the Keyblade, if you thought of destiny as like a clockwork mechanism where one event leads to another like gears turning, a 'Void Gear' could be a defective gear which disrupts the whole mechanism. I don't think anybody talks about destiny or the MoM's plan like this but there is a lot of clockwork in Daybreak Town's tower, linked to the MoM.

Yeah, those are both very tenuous and make the big assumption Nomura had an idea of the BoP stuff way back when he made BBS. On the other hand, it does chime with the facts that Ven has been indentified as the replacement leader in UX and Luxu's secret reports say the replacement represents a 'virus' in the MoM's 'program'. Anyway, thank you for reading

 

[lusca_bueno]

Not only that, but the symbol in the cover for the book of prophecies contains heartless, nobody and dream eater elements, but not unversed ones.

 

[okhi12]

Not put in verse... knowing how Nomura likes to give new meanings to old concepts you may be onto something, and it sounds amazing. If Unversed are not in verse, that would mean the Master of Masters wasn't able to ''predict'' their existence, either because something prevented the Gazing Eye from seeing them or because the Eye was unable to send that information to the past after witnessing them, due to an interfering force (Darkness within Vanitas?)

Ultimately that would mean the Unversed and Vanitas/Darkness are unbound to the MoM's plan, and could potentially act externally and hinder it, doing exactly what Luxu is afraid the Virus will do, as you said.

Vanitas calls himself the shadow that both Ventus and Sora cast, implying he'll follow them closely forever, no matter how different his intentions may be.
I don't mean nor I want he'll be good from now on, but maybe he'll become the morally gray type of guy once he returns, sometimes helping and sometimes interfering. I usually like that kind of characters, so I'd be glad to see him back.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

The Unversed could certainly benefit from new story elements whether they were intended or not. Very little separates them from the Heartless besides designs and coming from Vanitas. Speaking of Vanitas, at first I thought he'd be done after KH3, but that does not seem to be the case anymore. Vanitas's Keyblade always stuck out to me because while he came from Ventus the Keyblade was not related to him like normally is the case with clones. I guess the same can be said for Young Xehanort's Keyblade.

It makes sense that Unversed symbols are not a thing though. In comparison to Heartless they haven't been around as long, coming into existence when Vanitas did. That's the only way they are created so they are less common and less well known they the other creature threats. So after Vanitas was defeated a Unversed likely hadn't appeared again until Monstropolis. This is something to really think about.

 

[Clue.Less]

This interpretation of "Unversed" makes more sense than the official meaning and that's the kind of worldplay Nomura seems to enjoy (see FFVII "Remake").

Also, thank you for sharing this thought--it just made me look up why the Unversed were called Nescients in French (it's from "nescience" -- absence of knowledge, ignorance -- very much on point). I thought it sounded pretty but hadn't given it much thought. The translation team did a great job on that one.

Vanitas, to me, feels more like a virus/parasite character than a severed part of Ventus. I know Nomura chose to give him Sora's face for dramatic impact but I hope there's more to it than that. Ventus's fractured heart connected with Sora's AFTER Vanitas was extracted from him. It would make more sense to me if Ven connected with Sora because Sora is sort of this worldline's Vanitas, rather than Vanitas looking like Sora because Ven connected with Sora. Sora is the guy who gets a keyblade when he's not supposed to, who ends up breaking nature laws and creating singularities, like a glitch of light; Vanitas could be his dark counterpart in another worldline.

I can believe that Nomura had the Book of Prophesy and UX plot in mind while creating Birth by Sleep. I wouldn't say the same for other plot elements, but if anything, the gear thing is intriguing.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

Also, thank you for sharing this thought--it just made me look up why the Unversed were called Nescients in French (it's from "nescience" -- absence of knowledge, ignorance -- very much on point). I thought it sounded pretty but hadn't given it much thought. The translation team did a great job on that one.

That is a great translation. I played KH1 and KH2 in French (and was sad that they stopped doing French voice-overs by the time I got the HD compilations). I liked how the Nobodies were called Similis, I didn't know the word but I got the implication that the Nobodies in the Organization acted as though they had hearts and feelings even though they didn't. It's a bit unfortunate that the actual meaning (a fake copy) is very close to replica, though. I don't know what a closer translation would be for a Nobody as 'personne' means nobody but 'une personne' means a person and I guess the translators didn't get to speak with Nomura and the other writers much.

 

[Clue.Less]

That is a great translation. I played KH1 and KH2 in French (and was sad that they stopped doing French voice-overs by the time I got the HD compilations). I liked how the Nobodies were called Similis, I didn't know the word but I got the implication that the Nobodies in the Organization acted as though they had hearts and feelings even though they didn't. It's a bit unfortunate that the actual meaning (a fake copy) is very close to replica, though. I don't know what a closer translation would be for a Nobody as 'personne' means nobody but 'une personne' means a person and I guess the translators didn't get to speak with Nomura and the other writers much.

The French voice actors were so good, I was sad they stopped, too At least the lockdown brought us Donald Reignoux crying his eyes out playing KH for the first time <3

I liked "Simili" too. And "Reflet" for "Dusk". "Personne" would have made the dialogues even more confusing, wouldn't it? Sora : "Roxas, tu es ta propre personne !" It would be intriguing though, that when the heart is split from the body, the empty shell that's left behind is the "person". And Riku's line to Xion in Days (I'm the biggest Nobody...) would have worked better than whatever the French was (can't remember what it was).

I don't mind Simili being close to replica. More grounds for Roxas/Xion existential crisis in the future.

I wonder how that part of localisation works.

 

[Xblade13]

The French voice actors were so good, I was sad they stopped, too At least the lockdown brought us Donald Reignoux crying his eyes out playing KH for the first time <3

I liked "Simili" too. And "Reflet" for "Dusk". "Personne" would have made the dialogues even more confusing, wouldn't it? Sora : "Roxas, tu es ta propre personne !" It would be intriguing though, that when the heart is split from the body, the empty shell that's left behind is the "person". And Riku's line to Xion in Days (I'm the biggest Nobody...) would have worked better than whatever the French was (can't remember what it was).

I don't mind Simili being close to replica. More grounds for Roxas/Xion existential crisis in the future.

I wonder how that part of localisation works.

"Simili" sounds close to "Simile" in English. That is the word for when you compare one thing as being "like" another thing. A less literal metaphor.

Pretty appropriate for a Nobody that is 'supposed' to have the memories of being a person but no emotions. They are "Like" a person, but not exactly the same.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

Hi, this is a tentative idea I've had for a while and I might as well share. So, I always thought the symbolism around Vanitas in BBS seemed to fit a little oddly with other symbols in the series. Particularly I thought the explanation for the name of the Unversed - creatures unversed in their own existence - seems a bit laboured and the clockwork symbolism of the Void Gear also stuck out to me. Looking at more recent plot developments, particularly concerning the Book of Prophecies, I thought of possible hidden meanings for the two:

Unversed, if broken down and taken very literally, could mean 'not put in verse', as in not written down in the Book of Prophecies.

As for the Keyblade, if you thought of destiny as like a clockwork mechanism where one event leads to another like gears turning, a 'Void Gear' could be a defective gear which disrupts the whole mechanism. I don't think anybody talks about destiny or the MoM's plan like this but there is a lot of clockwork in Daybreak Town's tower, linked to the MoM.

Yeah, those are both very tenuous and make the big assumption Nomura had an idea of the BoP stuff way back when he made BBS. On the other hand, it does chime with the facts that Ven has been indentified as the replacement leader in UX and Luxu's secret reports say the replacement represents a 'virus' in the MoM's 'program'. Anyway, thank you for reading

You might be onto something. I mean in ReMind he explicitly says that he was hidden in Ven's heart for a long time and Xehanort just tore him out. So if we're to assume that "Vanitas" existed at the same time as Ven did way back then, and Ven wasn't chosen as the true Union Leader... Who knows. People at this point in time already think that Ven was possessed by either Darkness or Vanitas and killed Strelitzia. Plus there's "Darkness" that was in Ven's heart in ReMind.

Then you have to consider what MoM said. He said something to the effect of the Keyblade War being a clash of darkness and light that's been going on since he was a kid. And, that they fought against "beings that looked like us" (or something similar). Vanitas isn't human, he's the embodiment of darkness from Ven's heart (or so we think). But he has the appearance of a human, he even has Sora's face due to the connection Ven and Sora have. We're thinking MoM means a Nobody because of what we've seen frequently, but that might not be it at all. Plus, Nobodies aren't necessarily based in darkness since their formation is rare. But the Unversed, they are quite literally not supposed to exist. (Will Nomura bring back the "Unbirth" concept? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z...)

And also, why is it that only Vanitas can summon the Unversed? He sent them throughout all of the worlds in BBS and they come back to him once defeated, and they only exist if Vanitas is in existence physically. Again, if what Vanitas is saying is true, that he was always there inside Ven's heart... And whatever "Darkness" is, it also existed inside Ven from the UX era... Hmm. Yeah, we could really go down the rabbit hole with this. I think you have something here.