First off, I made a mix for him! I'd wanted to make a mix for Roxas ever since he was Rebuilt, but could never gather quuuuiiiite enough tracks for it. Then this plotline happened, and well, it was pretty easy from there.
Here's the cover art for it! Drawn by yours truly.
You can listen to it [ here, on youtube ] or [ here, on playmoss ]!!
And [ here's ] the tracklist!
I'd give you an 8tracks link but 8tracks became a poop. Which is why playmoss is a thing?? playmoss is, basically an 8tracks clone which just streams straight from youtube links. It's pretty nice, and since 8tracks introduced it's "you only get a couple hours of streaming per week" rules I'll probably be porting all my playlists over to it. eventually.
ANYWAY
I'm gonna do a cut, and then I'll probably talk a little bit more about the playlist (because I love it and I wanna) and then we'll talk about the notes from ch59/63/64 that I couldn't talk about before now! And also some about the plotpoint and Roxasnort as a whole. Nice.
More on the mix!
I don't really have liner notes because, well, it's really hard to put liner notes to this!! The mix is a blend of "SUPER roxasnort songs" "cocky-as-hell songs" and "my fave possession songs" and clearly only the "SUPER roxasnort songs" really have lyrics in 'em that are, well, specific to him!
But let's talk about my favorite songs.
The Phoenix is a song I'd been wanting to use for Roxas ever since he got rebuilt back in Dead Inside, but like I said earlier, I never had enough songs to go with it!! It's just: I'm gonna change you like a remix / then I'll raise you like a phoenix -- that's very Roxas, very much about him being rebuilt. They rebuild him, yeah, but they change him too.
Dead Inside (the song) is!!! I like it a lot (and there are a lot of posession-themed lyrics in it) but it was just chosen because it's tone. A lot of these songs were actually ones I'd thrown into [ this one spotify mix I've linked before ] because I needed mood music when writing Roxas's scene back in ch59, and my favorite songs from the mood music playlist ended up in this mix!
Power is a really stellar song from the MATERIA remixed album, and even though again it barely has anything to do with Roxasnort specifically I'm just... I'm really fond of the lyrics, and the haunting "grindy" tone of the song. It's Very Rewrite Motifs.
THIS BODY! I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH LOL..... Actually my favorite Possession-Related Dear Hunter song is probably Take More Than You Need fit better in line w/ this mix
The Crips!! This can be considered Roxasnort's theme. I found Kredo a while back ((thru Marionette, Riku's new theme actually!)) and just?? I really love his work and while Marionette captures Riku's kind of underlying anger thruout Dead Inside, the Crips captures Roxasnort's constant cocky vibe, along with being a little electronic (rewrite) toned, and. It's good. I think it's good.
PSYCHO! This song is, the most Roxasnort song to ever exist. I pulled all the lyrics for the title of this mix (your ass belongs to me now) as well as the description (your mind is just a program / and I'm the virus / I'm changing the station) from it and. It's so good. Dead Inside is the top Roxasnort vibe and seeing as it's the same band and the same album, Psycho is obviously also really good for that vibe. AND ALSO THE LYRICS. Like I already just quoted them at you but that's.... it's so what just happened, here. It's the epitome of Roxasnort.
And then every other song in here is just me trying to capture his cocky vibe, and while there are some lyrics here and there that fit, I care a little less about that. Volcano does have a pretty neat set though? "The world is spinning fast tonight / you can hurt yourself trying to hold on / to who you used to be" -- but, yeah.
That's all I had to say about the mix!!
TIME TO TALK ABOUT ROXASNORT HIMSELF
I love him so much?? I really do. I've explored shithead Roxas before now, of course, because Roxas has kind of been a shithead since he got rebuilt, but now he just takes it up to an eleven. Or up to a thirteen, maybe I should say? Too far?? Okay fine.
I just am in love with Roxas being an absolute shit and, no, we don't see it quite yet and won't for a couple more chapters, but trust me when I say it rules.
He's a lot of fun to write for, and I love him so much.
Now: about the plotline.
I wasn't planning this? Like, yeah I mentioned it was going to go in Part 4 initially, but actually I hadn't planned to nort Roxas at all when I started ATR.
Here's a secret: Roxas's initial plotline in ATR actually involved Aqua? I hinted at this in that one ASAS chapter where the two of them meet, actually. She was going to take on Roxas as an apprentice and in the end it didn't work out because turns out Roxas has a hella weak heart?? I mean, he's a Replica, and he's not even a year old, so it's unsurprising because his heart hasn't had the time to grow strong, but. It just really doesn't work out. (Plus he ended up being a TERRIBLE student...)
So, I cut that plotline with Roxas (for the best, because it means Sora can get training now). And then I didn't have any plans for him at all?
To give credit where credit is due: I hadn't actually considered norting Roxas at all until I got a review where someone mentioned they were scared about it because Roxas was easy picking, and I went.
Oh yeah.
He sure is.
And I figured since I had nothing else going on with Roxas, I might as well? It didn't necessarily help my plot, but it sure as hell didn't hurt it either.
(Actually, another secret: I'd planned a scene where Aqua and Riku ended up fighting because Riku's darkness malfunctioned like hell and it just, oops. BUUUUT I ended up not having enough room for it and hey now Riku's darkness is getting fixed (well, provided HE doesn't get norted too,,) there just... wasn't room for it??? Roxasnort would've helped there because he could have triggered the fight but we cut the scene so, nevermind. HE'LL BE GOOD ELSEWHERE IT'S FINE.)
So now Roxas is a nort, and I'm really glad, because I love him desperately.
And also hey, I guess it did help me out in one way:
Helps me further cement just how terrifying Xehanort is.
Chapter 59!
In case you've forgotten what went down in ch59 (IT, HAS BEEN A YEAR,,) here's a convenient link to take you to it so you can reread it again!
This is the one where Riku and Aerith and Leon were in CO to get an update on Riku's darkness problems, and then Roxas shows up and starts yelling at Riku, accusing him of attempting to kill him. And then it gets worse.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and not just becuase I love me a good yelling, but because: Roxas.
Or should I say, because: Xehanort.
There's a shift, in here, where Roxas goes from yelling to something else. There's a shift, in here, where Roxas starts taunting Riku.
That's Xehanort.
Xehanort uses Roxas as a mouthpiece in order to get under Riku's skin.
Of course, Roxas isn't norted yet! And that's very important. Roxas hasn't been norted, yet, but Xehanort still uses him. How?
Here, come a little closer, let me tell you a secret:
Heart magic is terrifying.
The ability to twist someone's heart, to make them think or do what you want? That's terrifying. And Xehanort's a master at it. Shad had this power, too, in Dead Inside, and we saw him use it on Kairi. A couple times, actually, and not just on her, but... [ chapter 97 ], in particular. He twists Kairi's heart and makes her think things about Sora she would have never thought otherwise.
Of course, Shad's not that good at it. Or, not as good as Xehanort is at it. Xehanort's been doing this, perfecting the art, for decades now.
He twists Riku, too, in this chapter, in case you weren't certain of that now.
He makes Riku admit things he wouldn't have otherwise, drags the words out of Riku's mouth. It's not quite as strong of a grip as he'd had on Roxas (after all, Roxas can't remember anything from the moment Xehanort started manipulating him until the moment he stopped, and Riku can) but he still does it.
And I just?
Mmmmm I love it.
There's so much about this chapter that gives me life, and I'm really happy with it and just?? So much about what I'm doing with Xehanort. I'm so excited for it.
Chapter 63!
NOW FOR REGULAR OLD CHAPTER COMMENTARY SINCE IT WAS LITERALLY ALL SPOILERS
Brings back some old favorites:
Xehanort is
fucking terrifying
Roxas
didn’t stand a chance
Will I ever
give Roxas a break? nah
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH BECAUSE??? I love Roxas getting his ass
fucking handed to him by Xehanort. I love Xehanort being terrifying. I LOVE
ROXASNORT, LIKE, IN GENERAL. The concept is good I think the sequence I have
leading up to him being norted is good ((“seems fishy” “like you had a choice”
is one of my fave things)) AND LIKE??? Roxasnort when he’s fully introduced is
going to rule.
I LOVE CHAPTER 63 IN PARTICULAR DUE TO ROXAS GETTING HIS ASS
KICKED, LARGELY????? I loved 59 for Nort manipulating roxas and I love this
because “like you had a choice” and also Roxas didn’t stand a fucking CHANCE
against Nort.
I considered having Nort just knock him out IMMEDIATELY
after “like you had a choice” but I thought it’d be fair to at least give Roxas
a chance to fight? He wasn’t going to win, but, it was the fact he tried that
counted.
As for why Roxas isn’t fairing too well against Xehanort?
It’s a conscious decision. Xehanort’s gotta come off terrifying and what better
way then “Roxas literally can’t land a hit on him and also gets CREAMED”. You
may argue that Roxas handled Xemnas ok but 1) Roxas had Riku’s help 2) Xemnas,
being only a portion of Xehanort, is arguably weaker than Xehanort so
Initially Nort was gonna do like a large darkness attack
that would knock Roxas out but then I decided I wanted him to be more badass
hence, this thing
He was just going to slam Roxas into the floor hard enough
to give him a real bad concussion / just plain knock him out but then I was
like. Nort has Nort strength + Terra strength and if Terra alone would leave a
crater in the ground if he hit it hard enough, wellllll
I mean, no one’s using this mansion anyway, so it can get
Even More Destroyed Than It Already Was, it’s fine
The pacing of the end of the battle was really tricky
because!!! I didn’t want the entire battle to overbearingly read like Roxas
didn’t stand a chance, and I also wanted a distinct moodshift. This isn’t a
“everything’s going fiNE WAIT THE VILAIN SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT”
moodshift but it’s still a wait nothing’s
fine anymore sort of moodshift, I guess?
I mean, I just wanted that final blow to come off as
devastating without it being wordy and sluggish. The pacing of battle scenes
and having them feel Fast Paced is hard enough to begin with and then we have
to!!!! deal w/ this.
Idk. I’m probably babbling too much but!!!!
IN SUM
I’M YELLING BECAUSE XEHANORT IS BADASS AND TERRIFYING, AND
I’M ALSO LAUGHING AT ROXAS BECAUSE HE DID NOT STAND A CHANCE AND I LOVE IT B)))
It’s not that I hate Roxas but I do love norting people
((ROXAS IS NOT THE ONLY PERSON I’VE ENJOYED IMAGINING POSSESSED BY XEHANORT))
and I do love causing my characters pain. I’m laughing that Roxas seems to
constantly get the short end of the stick in FtPverse but??? OH WELL?????
Chapter 64!
THE CONCEPT OF “THIS IS WHAT WE BUILT YOU FOR FROM THE
START” IS RLY GOOD BTW!!!! It’s another one of those things that worked out for
me when it came to actually norting Roxas
Like, idk if they built Roxas to nort him initially, but by
the time they rebuilt him Boy They Sure Did. I mean, it never came off that
way, and it just being “we need Roxas back to finish kingdom hearts” is legit,
but the “we also rebuilt Roxas and specifically tailored him to make him a
nort” isn’t like??? farfetched at ALL, and is probably one of those things that
you’d think of and go “wait a minute why DIDN’T Xehanort do this”
So, I’m glad how that worked out, and I’m just, glad for it.
they did rebuild Roxas for kingdom hearts and they did tailor him to be
stronger than Riku specifically but that’s not like, a separate thing from
tailoring him to be norted. He was going to get norted when kingdom hearts was
a thing anyway, and building this replica to be Hella Powerful definitely lines
up w/ tailoring him to be norted, with being able to take Riku in a fight and
most likely win being an added bonus
So B))))))
THAT'S ACTUALLY ALL I HAD TO SAY ABOUT CH64 and that concludes my post about Roxasnort. I hope you enjoyed.
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