Various Roxas Rambles
Oct. 1st, 2019 09:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
terribletwosWelcome to Kitty's Roxas Rambles. This is where I discuss headcanons, interpretations and any other Roxas-related nonsense that pops into my brain. Obviously, this will have spoilers for the whole series.
Oh and this will probably not tackle things that are already known canon so there won't be much Days discussions here, as Days is pretty cut and dry as far as Roxas' perspective. I'm more after the things the game doesn't outright tell us and leaves up to interpretation.
ROXAS AND SORA: LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE OTHER SIDE
To start things off, I want to tackle one of my favorite subjects and something that is oddly enough cloaked in a good portion of ambiguity game-wise (not counting novels or manga): Roxas and Sora's relationship development. We get very little insight into Roxas when it comes to Sora, beyond his initial issues in Days, because we see so little of him and he doesn't really explain himself. This leaves much of their major scenes up to interpretation of what's going on in Roxas' head. And that's what this is all about.
I touched on this a bit in my app. We all know that Roxas and Sora do not start off on a good foot, with Sora being responsible for basically everything that goes wrong in Roxas' life: from questioning his identity and breaking with Axel to losing Xion due to the memory mess to getting kidnapped/mindwiped and trapped in a computer simulation until he starts questioning his identity AGAIN to finally having to sacrifice his existence for Sora to come back. I know a lot of Roxas' first acceptance of his fate is driven by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and exhaustion after all he's been through to that point, that when he sees Sora is so much like him, he loses all will to fight. So then why does he try again after Axel's death? The game tells us that Axel touched Roxas' heart and Roxas seems keen to take back his life from Sora in the Station of Serenity. So what is this all about?
I think what we're getting is that Roxas, unlike Ventus, was more aware during his merger with Sora. We see it in his influencing Sora to cry in Twilight Town. He's not sleeping but he's not "actively engaged" either. Losing Axel seems to well, piss Roxas off, for lack of better explanation. Like make him question whether he was right to given into Sora. Because if he hadn't, maybe Axel wouldn't have died. That's possibly part of it. Another part is the location. TWTNW is a place of great power for Roxas, particularly Memory's Skyscraper, because it's where he first discovered his ability to dual-wield and it's where his emotions were most intense, after the loss of Xion. I think the general anguish associated with Memory's Skyscraper and Axel's death feeds into Roxas' want to exist, thus driving him to again challenge Sora. As brutally as he can. Roxas pulls no punches here and goes all out on Sora, even after he realizes what makes Sora so special, what Sora is fighting for. He still wants to live.
So Sora manages to come out on top and Roxas realizes he's not meant to win because he's not meant to exist. He accepts that Sora's will to live and reason for fighting is stronger than his own and merges with him again. But there is a BIG difference this time because Roxas is more "actively engaged" at this point. And that is that he passes on his power to Sora. Dual-wielding aka Final Form. This in itself shows Roxas more willing to accept his fate, losing this last unique aspect of himself. Now, in the initial release, this is depicted as a good thing, by Namime especially. It's fine because they met their original selves and they can still be together whenever Kairi and Sora are. Roxas seems all right about basically his death, bittersweet but all right. Look, his smiling in his last scene. Awww. (THIS UPSET ME SO MUCH WHEN I FIRST SAW IT)
Enter ReCoded. And here's where I'm going to get super weird. I argue that the data characters in ReCoded influence their data selves and here's why. Data Roxas is MESSED UP. He takes all of Roxas' bitterness and rage and puts it on steroids. He spends the latter half of the game mentally torturing Data Sora by forcing him to journey through Data Castle Oblivion and lose his memories, knowing how much not remembering his friends will devastate Data Sora. Because Data Sora is still Sora, as the game tells us and as we see in Data Sora's ability to someone the Keyblade. But as we find out toward the end, through Data Sora, Data Roxas is suffering just as much as real Roxas. And this is our first post-Days hint that what happened to Roxas might not exactly be as bittersweet but necessary as KH2 originally presented it.
The conversation between Data Sora and Data Roxas is raw and every bit as brutal as Roxas can be. Data Roxas' purpose is to test Data Sora to see if Sora's heart is strong enough to handle the pain it's carrying from everyone else connected to it (Roxas, Xion, Ventus/Vanitas and indirectly Namine, Aqua and Terra). Data Sora wins over Data Roxas by showing genuine concern toward his pain. And THIS is the important piece. So much was going on with Sora in KH2 and so much was over his head that he barely had time to express genuine remorse or empathy toward Roxas and was thoroughly convinced by everyone around him that Roxas being part of him was how things were supposed to be. But Data Sora has the chance to finally truly connect with Data Roxas and let him know that his pain matters and that Data Sora wants to share it. It's a powerful scene and completely defangs Data Roxas, who previously spent much of the conversation like a defensive dog, keyblades at the ready and and primed to swing at Data Sora whenever he got too close. This is when Data Roxas does something that had not happened in KH2, despite the general assumption that it would. Data Roxas gives Data Sora his memories. In other words, he shares the full extent of his pain with Data Sora since he now believes Data Sora is not only ready to handle it but willing to. Data Roxas is much softer than he's been the whole game in this moment, revealing his greatest wish to Data Sora, to return to Twilight Town with his friends. And Data Sora too does something Sora never got to do in KH2, he takes ownership of Data Roxas' fate. "You can rest easy, I've got you now."
All that said, people were upset that so much of this beautiful character development between Roxas and Sora was done with their data versions and therefore not their real selves. What does it matter that Data Roxas and Data Sora finally had a real heart-to-heart? Everything. Because it's clear that somehow this conversation influences the real Sora and Roxas. And it happens, as with before, in the place where Roxas holds the greatest power: TWTNW. A much more subdued Roxas is able to reach Sora in one of the deepest dreams and his sole purpose is to reassure Sora of his importance. Remember, the last we saw of real Roxas was that happy vision of him with Namine on Destiny Island in the end of KH2. But this Roxas isn't happy, he's somber. He's accepted his fate but it still weighs on him. As he tells Sora, "This could have been the other way around." At this point, Roxas is very much associating himself with Sora as we saw in KH2 during his farewell to Axel, to him, Sora is him because that's the way these things work. "You're me so you can feel what I felt." An overall question I wonder here is why is Roxas reaching out now, if things were fine at the end of KH2. And I do think it has to do with Data Roxas' influence. He now feels Sora is ready to hear, to listen. Otherwise, there is no way he could have come to this conclusion on his own between the two games.
And Sora proves him right. But goes one step beyond because Roxas isn't the only one who's been affected by their data selves. Sora is just ready to hear but he's willing to SEE. His emphasis that Roxas is his own person and deserves his own existence is again the first time we see Sora even broaching this topic where the idea of them being together isn't viewed as the way things are. I argue this is because Data Sora got to know Data Roxas and truly got to see how different they were, and this influences Sora. Data Sora also took ownership of Data Roxas' fate, which makes Sora want to do the same, only he wants to fix it. His claim that he wanted to tell Roxas they were different makes absolutely no contextual sense without the character development of ReCoded. But with it, it makes perfect sense. He did want to tell him because Data Sora wanted to. As Data Sora puts it, "You say you're an illusion, but you certainly pack a pretty big punch." A less direct way of acknowledging Roxas than Sora's now fully understanding, "No, Roxas, you're you. We're not the same."
Of course, this stuns Roxas. Who has spent this whole time convincing himself that he made the right choice, that it has to be Sora, that it's fine for him to exist as part of Sora. And here's Sora telling him NO IT'S NOT OKAY. Probably the only person since Axel to ever do that. His somber look gives way to a genuine smile and for the first time, he's ready to truly SHARE with his Other. People argue this scene is Roxas giving up on life completely, imparting his memories so he can complete the fusion. I say this take ignores the fact that the whole scene is Sora arguing for Roxas' agency and Roxas being happy that Sora cares so much. That take would also contradict how Roxas is again more "actively engaged" throughout KH3 when it comes to responding to places/people of emotional significance. Because it would assume Roxas would go MORE not less dormant. Whereas, Roxas does the opposite.
Using this post-game knowledge to inform DDD, I argue that this scene is actually Roxas starting to believe again that he DOES have the right to exist. And that since he has that right, he HAS something to share. He can acknowledge the life he had. His time was truly his. And this is why he shares his memories and pain with Sora. To show that yes he existed. I don't believe those memories BECOME Sora's but rather they become something to help Sora understand more about the people who need him. "Sora, see? That's why it has to be you." People have also pointed out that Sora is much more ragey after this scene, suggesting that Roxas finally shared some of his anger with him as well.
I don't think this maturation on either Sora or Roxas and this ability to actually speak honestly with each other would have happened without ReCoded's interactions leading the way. So no, I don't think the scenes between them in ReCoded should be disregarded as just data. Let's not forget that Sora's original plan to restore Roxas is to reload his data back into digital Twilight Town.
Anyway,as said above, after DDD, Roxas is more present both in Sora's thoughts and in his influence on Sora. We get his feelings about Twilight Town and even see them apply OUTSIDE of Twilight Town this time, with him reflecting on his Twilight Town friends while in San Fransokyo. And of course, Sora feels it too and even thinks about Roxas when discussing lost friends that remain with us, in our hearts. He again expresses his ownership of Roxas' fate: "I'm with you" and goes so far as to talk indirectly about Roxas making up the difference when he's not strong enough. This would be his first acknowledgment of his Other's impact on him and builds upon the understanding that started in ReCoded and continued into DDD.
One of Sora's driving focuses in KH3 is to restore Roxas, following their DDD conversation. I wish they had more time in KH3 so I could properly assess Roxas' current feelings toward Sora. But I think it's clear that it's deep admiration for the person who fought so hard to bring him back when he never should have existed in the first place. After all their rough starts and despite Roxas having every reason to despise Sora, their relationship at this point could definitely be described as one of true friendship. After barely understanding his Nobody and being unable to appreciate his pain, we've seen Sora gradually grow into someone who cares about Roxas and holds him dear. And I have no words for how much I love their journey together.
ROXAS' POTENTIAL HANGUPS/TRIGGERS
So one of the things I wanted to explore with Roxas post-canon is how he reacts to a life outside of the Organization's rules but also less scripted than his Twilight Town simulation. The fact of the matter is Roxas very much doesn't know how to be a normal boy. In the Organization, he was trained to avoid those who weren't Nobodies, although he broke this rule from time to time because Roxas. He could barely function with a day's worth of vacation, knowing only how to kill Heartless and hang out with his friends on the clocktower. In Twilight Town, Roxas experiences a "normal life" with friends, exploring things, getting involved in competitions and talking about school assignments. Of course, all of this was bits of Roxas' memory cobbled together from his conversations with the Twilight Town crew, along with some pieces from his time with Axel and Xion. It's basically Roxas parroting as he always does when he's trying to learn something new.
But when it comes to human to human interaction, he's still got a lot to learn. I imagine his humor is on the cynical side from spending his time around Nobodies and he doesn't know much about other pastimes, beyond the ones from his simulated memory such as skateboarding. He's probably really lost when it comes to the concept of biological family and would likely associate family with friends. A lot about the modern world would be super new to him.
Which brings us to what I feel is Roxas' lingering trauma (aside from identity issues): technology. I imagine Roxas is deeply distrusting of technology, especially advanced technology because of how it was used against him. Obviously he despises computers due to the associated memories but I think most technology would put him on edge at first. Even things like the gummi phones, particularly their video capacity. Roxas doesn't like being watched and he's uncomfortable about communicating with someone when he can't see them for similar reasons. He doesn't like things moving without his controlling them either because of how his mind automatically leaps to what or who can be controlling them.
I can see him having extreme issues about being alone for a while. Both withdrawal from being joined with Sora and flashes back to losing everyone he cared for and being the last surviving Organization member for a while there. It's not that he can't handle things on his own. I just think that he's going to need his touchstones for a while to help ground him until he adjusts to regular life. This may actually force him to use long distance communication to remind himself that his friends are still there, if they're separated for a decent length of time.
Sleeping may actually be a bit of a challenge at first. Since well Roxas has kind of been sleeping off and on in Sora's consciousness and might not be as keen on spending too much time on that. Not to mention that up until now, he's either not dreamed or dreamed about Sora so he's probably wary about resting and waking up somewhere else again. So he'll probably only do cat naps at first, things he can quickly shake himself out of and after that, bad dreams might even be a thing.
The final bad spot is probably falling. Not heights themselves. Just the sensation of losing his balance. Because he'd associate it with his fall from the clock tower. So this would only come up when dealing with something unsteady and he'd probably try to avoid it.
Not really a trigger but I want to discuss it anyway is Roxas' need to hold onto memories. I can see this being a carry-over from when he was a Nobody and the only memories he had were the new ones he made, which is what inspired him to start journaling. I can see Roxas still having that reflexive fear of losing everything again without warning and picking up the habit again, to capture all those precious days. Having trouble believing that they're truly going to last this time. I can also see it manifesting in photography, as another way to capture memories forever, harking back to his photos with the Twilight Town gang. Either way, I think it's a sweet way to deal with a real trauma.
THE LIFE HE SOUGHT AND ROXAS' FAMILY
Here I'm going to tackle two subjects at once but I think they're kind of intermingled. I have seen people say that Roxas wants to be a normal schoolkid and... I'm not so sure. Yes, we are introduced to a Roxas who just wants his life to return to normal with his school friends, who believes he's been normal this whole time. But Days presents us with a different kind of normal and again has Roxas demanding his prior life back, his life with Axel and Xion. So I think assuming that Roxas wants to be a normal kid is... flawed. Roxas just wants to be with his friends. That's normal to him, the whole trappings of day-to-day life aren't as important, and I'd actually go so far as to say I think Roxas, real Roxas, would be bored of them.
The Roxas who enjoys the lazy life is a mind-wiped Roxas who has been conditioned to believe that he's just another child. Whereas Days shows us a Roxas who cannot abide with downtime, who constantly has to be doing something to function because that's all he's ever done. I think Roxas in his natural state would be in-between the two. He's naturally restless because he's a keyblade wielder and wielders can't sit still because they are explorers and fighters. Casual life isn't really them. That said, I think Roxas can apply himself well and would do well at school. I just don't think he'd like being limited to that.
What Roxas has always yearned for is a purpose and Roxas finds purpose through his friends. Roxas' purpose is being there for his friends. He just never realizes it until he loses them because that's a pretty deep concept for a Nobody. But all of his character development has been because of his friends, either getting to know them, fighting for them or losing them. This becomes pretty explicitly clear in KH3, where his friends are the connection that brings him back, so he can fight by their side. Now this purpose includes the Twilight Town gang because they are very important to Roxas now, though perhaps not on the same level as Axel and Xion. But Roxas can't throw away any friends, even friends that were mostly simulations. They became just as much a part of his life.
So if Roxas' purpose is being there for his friends, it's not automatically associated with a "normal" life. I'm sure Roxas will still seek out adventure with his friends. Even local adventures. I just think it's important to remember that even though Roxas looks young and is new to the world, he's still essentially a child soldier. He's going to always have that need to be in the thick of things.
Back to the subject of family, it's obvious Axel and Xion are Roxas' family. I use this word not in the literal sense but in the found family sense. I don't think anyone has a "role" per se, so no sister, brother, dad, etc. But they are still very much a family because they are what Roxas perceives as "home." This is a bit of a retcon on KH2, which made it sound more like the Twilight Town crew was Roxas' home. But Days clearly established Roxas' ideal as staying with Axel and Xion. KH3 simply brought the Twilight Town crew back in the mix. I don't like lessening the weight of any friendship in this series, but Days just went too hard with this three as kindred spirits so. They're the people Roxas most trusts at the end of the day and the ones he's most likely to turn to for support. This does not mean that he doesn't cherish the Twilight Town crew because he obviously does. But it's also understood that if Roxas has questions, he's going to go to Axel and Xion first. Where Isa fits in remains to be seen.
I would like to toss in that Sora is very much important to Roxas as well. I do think he's family but not in the SAME family as Axel and Xion if that makes any sense. I think Axel and Xion are special to Roxas in their way, whereas Sora is special to Roxas in another entirely different way. Again it's hard to fully assess, GIVEN THE END OF CANON THUS FAR. But I also honestly can't see any way that Sora WOULDN'T be family. He's literally Roxas' other half. I won't call them brothers because I kind of hate defining the friendships in Kingdom Hearts. I really think they're something special that goes beyond terms and words. They just all love each other.
In other words, for someone who found his purpose through his friends, Roxas is about to have more than he knows what to do with. And that's really sweet. Which brings us to our next topic exploring how Sora affects Roxas' perception of Sora's most important people (sorry Donald and Goofy, not talking about you for this one).
CAN YOU FEEL SORA: ROXAS, KAIRI AND RIKU
Yeah, now we're going to get really into the thick of headcanon. Mickey, take the wheel! So we see that Roxas' feelings can influence Sora and vice versa. Roxas in how he responds to Riku's taunts in Days and how he cries at the memory of losing Donald and Goofy in KH2. Sora in how he cries about the Twilight Town gang in KH2, cries about Xion in DDD and misses Twilight Town in KH3. But how does this affect their perception toward the other's most precious relationships? In other words, how does Sora affect Roxas' feelings toward Riku and Kairi?
It's well established that Roxas was able to develop his own personality and identity apart from Sora because of the uniqueness of his creation. But after spending time (????) with Sora post-KH2 and their feelings already tied up in each other prior to their reconnection, it stands to reason that there could be some lingering effects. I don't believe these effects overrule Roxas' emotions so they can't make him do something he absolutely doesn't want to do. But I do think they can influence/temper his emotions some.
For example, I think they could make him instinctively protective toward Kairi, despite not knowing her at all, aside from Sora's memories. I don't think it would be overwhelming so much as a feeling that he should protect her. I also think it would make it easier for him to trust her, something Roxas is much less likely to do with people post-Days. So it's not mental/emotional coercion as much as a general "this feels right" sort of thing. Then you apply Roxas' "friend of a friend" mentality and similarity to Xion and Namine, and you can see how Kairi would be become important to him through her connection to Sora. It is pretty obvious that the reason Roxas feels such an initial pull toward Xion is Sora's connection to Kairi. So yeah.
Riku is more complicated since they have a very messy past, and Roxas has good reason to resent Riku. But Riku is also one of Sora's most cherished people. I think Roxas would be guarded around Riku, but some of that harsher bitterness that Roxas can stew in could be tempered by the Sora connection. So he'd be at least neutral and willing to get to know Riku better. Rather than avoiding him outright. While I don't like the rushed "happy ever after" conclusion for all the non-Sora relationship at the end of KH3, I do believe in Riku and Roxas finding common ground through Sora. I just think it might take a bit until Roxas is truly comfortable around Riku and not just neutral. I think what we see in their brief moment in DDD is the closest to their true interaction. (Yes, I know that's barely anything to go on but I'm a canon loser and I'll take what I can get.) I just think things will be more complicated than "well he's Sora's friend so I should play nice" because Roxas can FEEL Sora. And I think negative feelings toward Riku would actually feel WRONG to him in some way.
SEEING THROUGH YOUR EYES: ROXAS' AWARENESS POST-KH2
Okay, if you thought the last take was deep headcanon, I'm going to go truly overboard here because this is a subject very near and dear to me when it comes to Roxas. Does Roxas actually experience any of Sora's journey post-KH2? We know that because of Organization XIII's fuckery Sora's memories got into Roxas through his merging with Xion. So in KH2 Roxas remembers Sora's life prior to Roxas' birth. But this raises question about how that works after they become one again. Since it's obvious the merger is never quite absolute, possibly because of Roxas' two hearts deal and because Roxas formed his own complete personality prior to the reconnection.
I think Sora's tendency to react to Roxas' emotions when it places of great emotional significance to Roxas (Twilight Town and TWTNW) speak to a degree of awareness in Roxas. So I think he does experience Sora's journey in a vague metaphysical way, similar to how Ventus says he did in KH3 but slightly more personal. He doesn't really grasp much since it's like experiencing things through layers upon layers of fog, unless they're emotionally significant. This means that concrete details like the discussions of the plot are largely lost on him since he can't truly connect to them. He wouldn't know about the keyblade masters, Xehanort's crazy backstory, the Wayfinder mess or other things Sora learns and barely understands. But he can get flashes of moments Sora experiences. Bits of dialogue. Scenery. Things Sora feels.
Where things start to get the most messy is DDD, where Sora spends most of the game trapped in layers of dreams. My question has always been why did Roxas reach out to Sora in that moment and just how aware was he of what was happening ot Sora in DDD. This gets complicated because I do not want to undermine Riku's ability to reach Sora in his dream or his attempts to wake him up. But I do think there's reason to believe that maybe Riku wasn't the only one trying to shake Sora from his dreams. I do think, depending on awareness level, Roxas would be able to sense some shit going down. We see even Ventus has enough awareness to protect Sora's heart from Darkness when Sora goes under. So that Roxas has the same isn't a huge stretch.
And again, TWTNW is the place where Roxas holds the most power over his existence. We see that Sora's clothes change before Namine and Xion show up, back to his regular ones instead of the ones with the Recusant's Sigil. And this is before Riku starts shouting at him. What's important is that Namine and Xion are both people that are important to Roxas. And Namine shifting into Xion and making Sora (Roxas) cry drives this point home. I posit this entire shift is Roxas' influence on the dream, an attempt to interfere.
But giving up his memories and anger to Sora wipes Roxas out, causing Sora to drop again immediately after. I think it also matters that Roxas outright tells Sora their conversation isn't a dream. So yeah, I think Roxas reached out to interfere with the dream in the one place where he could. And he does so by reminding Sora how special he is and why he has to fight. But being within Sora, he's still trapped in the dream and he couldn't resist it for long. Basically, both Roxas and Ventus try to protect Sora in DDD. Hence why they are the first guardians of Sora's heart when Riku arrives to wake him up.
Moving into KH3, I talked about how Roxas is more actively aware after the DDD talk because his connection to Sora is stronger and more mutual. Sora is more attuned to him. But it also might help that he's not seeing through several layers of dreams.
TWIN KEYS: ROXAS AND VENTUS
Discussing Roxas and Ventus is fascinating but super hard critical mode because there is so little concrete information. All we know is that Roxas comes from Ventus and Sora's hearts because Ventus heart was inside Sora when Roxas was created. And that's the reason Roxas can dual-wield. That's about it.
Questions remain about whether Roxas has any Ventus within him? He doesn't seem to have his memories, but what about that whole feelings influence thing we discussed with Sora and Roxas? Would Roxas have lingering feelings of frustration toward Vanitas? What about Ventus' connection to the Union Leaders, does this affect Roxas? Does Roxas feel anything when he's around Aqua and Terra?
And then there's the identity bit, which is the most interesting to me. Roxas spends so much of his arc fighting to not be Sora and now that he finally has his own body, he sees that someone ELSE has his face. I'm not sure Roxas would take this well. I think it would make him weird toward Ventus at the very least, not hostile like he'd been with Sora but perpetually on edge and unsure. Because Roxas has no idea about the two hearts thing. Sora barely gets it. He would probably need to find touchstones in things/people that are purely HIS and not influenced by Ventus or Sora. Such as Xion and the Twilight Town gang.
Then there's Axel (Lea). Learning that Axel knew Ventus before he know Roxas would likely weird Roxas out and make him quesiton whether Axel sees him or Ventus at first. Since Axel always had his memories. This would definitely have to be something they sort out together because do think it would cause initial strain. And this is a major reason why I have trouble seeing Roxas call Axel "Lea," unlike other characters who use it. Because he needs to hang onto HIS relationship. He knew Axel, Ventus knew Lea. Maybe after a LONG time of adjusting to things, he could call him Lea. But I think it would take quite a bit.
I do see Ventus winning Roxas over since he's Ventus, and Roxas is weak to adorable dummies. But I do see Roxas having a bit of an internal crisis for a while before that. How could he not when his whole character is wrapped around his individuality and identity?
TWO!: ROXAS AND DUAL-WIELDING POST-KH2
There has been a lot of talk that Roxas shouldn't be able to dual-wield upon his return since the ability came from his connection to both Sora and Ventus' hearts. People claim it is a retcon allowing him to retain this ability. I beg to differ.
While we know that Roxas can dual-wield because he was essentially born from two hearts, I don't see why returning to Sora would take that away from him. People say he gives Sora his dual-wielding power in KH2 when Sora gets Final Form so he should no longer have it. But I never saw him as giving it away so much as SHARING it. They're merged and can tap into what the other has. Same as when Roxas shared his memories in DDD. He didn't lose them, he just shared them.
Roxas was BORN with the ability to dual-wield. Yes, he got it after Xion merged with him, but that's because Xion originally TOOK the ability away from him by gradually swiping his power. He's always had, it just wasn't awakened. So it makes sense that the Replica body, which takes the form of the person's heart would respond to Roxas being born of two hearts and continue his dual-wielding ability. Roxas wouldn't lose the fact that he was born from two hearts just because those hearts are now separated. Just as how Sora doesn't lose his keyblade affinity when he's separated from Ventus, even though his power mostly came from Ventus.
Roxas can still dual-wield because that's the nature of his heart. It's his true awakened self, and that's why it's so ungodly powerful in KH3. He doesn't need Ventus to still be connected to him for that.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: WHY DO PEOPLE SEE ROXAS IN ORG GEAR VS. TWILIGHT TOWN GEAR
This is not as serious as the above topics and is more a random musing. I realized that Sora pretty much never sees Roxas in his heart in his Twilight Town look despite seeing it toward the end of KH2. I am iffy to count KH3 because all instances of Twilight Town Roxas were through Roxas' perspective, when he was thinking of his time with the Twilight Town gang. Otherwise, Sora only ever sees Organization Coat Roxas. Why is this?
Well, let's look how others see Roxas on the metaphysical level. Axel obviously sees Organization Roxas because that's the Roxas he knows. Namine sees Twilight Town Roxas because that's the Roxas she knows. Riku sees Twilight Town Roxas, which is odd since I would think Organization Roxas has the greatest impact on him but he probably spent more time with Twilight Town Roxas. Riku's take on this is admittedly weird. Anyway, I think these perspectives tie back to what Namine says in KH2, that she and Roxas see each other the way they remember each other. So it stands to reason that everyone else would see Roxas as they remember him.
Only, again, Sora has seen Twilight Town Roxas. His only other interaction with Roxas was his fight with him in Station of Serenity. When he still didn't even know who Roxas was. But Sora continues to see Organization Roxas after KH2, even having Data Sora see Data Roxas as Organization Coat mode. I know the meta reason is Nomura likes to make it a mystery when Sora is dealing with Roxas by confusing us with black coats and making us think it could be Riku. But I need an IC reason too dammit. So what I'm tossing out there is that Sora sees Organization Roxas, despite having once seen Twilight Town Roxas, because Roxas is still a mystery to him until their talk in DDD. He doesn't really GET Roxas so he sees him as he saw so many of the Organization, an unknown. This means that theoretically any heart interactions (however they may occur) Sora and Roxas have moving forward should involve Twilight Town Roxas, and maybe KH3 was trying to get at that. I don't know, it's just a fun topic to poke.
Oh and this will probably not tackle things that are already known canon so there won't be much Days discussions here, as Days is pretty cut and dry as far as Roxas' perspective. I'm more after the things the game doesn't outright tell us and leaves up to interpretation.
ROXAS AND SORA: LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE OTHER SIDE
To start things off, I want to tackle one of my favorite subjects and something that is oddly enough cloaked in a good portion of ambiguity game-wise (not counting novels or manga): Roxas and Sora's relationship development. We get very little insight into Roxas when it comes to Sora, beyond his initial issues in Days, because we see so little of him and he doesn't really explain himself. This leaves much of their major scenes up to interpretation of what's going on in Roxas' head. And that's what this is all about.
I touched on this a bit in my app. We all know that Roxas and Sora do not start off on a good foot, with Sora being responsible for basically everything that goes wrong in Roxas' life: from questioning his identity and breaking with Axel to losing Xion due to the memory mess to getting kidnapped/mindwiped and trapped in a computer simulation until he starts questioning his identity AGAIN to finally having to sacrifice his existence for Sora to come back. I know a lot of Roxas' first acceptance of his fate is driven by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and exhaustion after all he's been through to that point, that when he sees Sora is so much like him, he loses all will to fight. So then why does he try again after Axel's death? The game tells us that Axel touched Roxas' heart and Roxas seems keen to take back his life from Sora in the Station of Serenity. So what is this all about?
I think what we're getting is that Roxas, unlike Ventus, was more aware during his merger with Sora. We see it in his influencing Sora to cry in Twilight Town. He's not sleeping but he's not "actively engaged" either. Losing Axel seems to well, piss Roxas off, for lack of better explanation. Like make him question whether he was right to given into Sora. Because if he hadn't, maybe Axel wouldn't have died. That's possibly part of it. Another part is the location. TWTNW is a place of great power for Roxas, particularly Memory's Skyscraper, because it's where he first discovered his ability to dual-wield and it's where his emotions were most intense, after the loss of Xion. I think the general anguish associated with Memory's Skyscraper and Axel's death feeds into Roxas' want to exist, thus driving him to again challenge Sora. As brutally as he can. Roxas pulls no punches here and goes all out on Sora, even after he realizes what makes Sora so special, what Sora is fighting for. He still wants to live.
So Sora manages to come out on top and Roxas realizes he's not meant to win because he's not meant to exist. He accepts that Sora's will to live and reason for fighting is stronger than his own and merges with him again. But there is a BIG difference this time because Roxas is more "actively engaged" at this point. And that is that he passes on his power to Sora. Dual-wielding aka Final Form. This in itself shows Roxas more willing to accept his fate, losing this last unique aspect of himself. Now, in the initial release, this is depicted as a good thing, by Namime especially. It's fine because they met their original selves and they can still be together whenever Kairi and Sora are. Roxas seems all right about basically his death, bittersweet but all right. Look, his smiling in his last scene. Awww. (THIS UPSET ME SO MUCH WHEN I FIRST SAW IT)
Enter ReCoded. And here's where I'm going to get super weird. I argue that the data characters in ReCoded influence their data selves and here's why. Data Roxas is MESSED UP. He takes all of Roxas' bitterness and rage and puts it on steroids. He spends the latter half of the game mentally torturing Data Sora by forcing him to journey through Data Castle Oblivion and lose his memories, knowing how much not remembering his friends will devastate Data Sora. Because Data Sora is still Sora, as the game tells us and as we see in Data Sora's ability to someone the Keyblade. But as we find out toward the end, through Data Sora, Data Roxas is suffering just as much as real Roxas. And this is our first post-Days hint that what happened to Roxas might not exactly be as bittersweet but necessary as KH2 originally presented it.
The conversation between Data Sora and Data Roxas is raw and every bit as brutal as Roxas can be. Data Roxas' purpose is to test Data Sora to see if Sora's heart is strong enough to handle the pain it's carrying from everyone else connected to it (Roxas, Xion, Ventus/Vanitas and indirectly Namine, Aqua and Terra). Data Sora wins over Data Roxas by showing genuine concern toward his pain. And THIS is the important piece. So much was going on with Sora in KH2 and so much was over his head that he barely had time to express genuine remorse or empathy toward Roxas and was thoroughly convinced by everyone around him that Roxas being part of him was how things were supposed to be. But Data Sora has the chance to finally truly connect with Data Roxas and let him know that his pain matters and that Data Sora wants to share it. It's a powerful scene and completely defangs Data Roxas, who previously spent much of the conversation like a defensive dog, keyblades at the ready and and primed to swing at Data Sora whenever he got too close. This is when Data Roxas does something that had not happened in KH2, despite the general assumption that it would. Data Roxas gives Data Sora his memories. In other words, he shares the full extent of his pain with Data Sora since he now believes Data Sora is not only ready to handle it but willing to. Data Roxas is much softer than he's been the whole game in this moment, revealing his greatest wish to Data Sora, to return to Twilight Town with his friends. And Data Sora too does something Sora never got to do in KH2, he takes ownership of Data Roxas' fate. "You can rest easy, I've got you now."
All that said, people were upset that so much of this beautiful character development between Roxas and Sora was done with their data versions and therefore not their real selves. What does it matter that Data Roxas and Data Sora finally had a real heart-to-heart? Everything. Because it's clear that somehow this conversation influences the real Sora and Roxas. And it happens, as with before, in the place where Roxas holds the greatest power: TWTNW. A much more subdued Roxas is able to reach Sora in one of the deepest dreams and his sole purpose is to reassure Sora of his importance. Remember, the last we saw of real Roxas was that happy vision of him with Namine on Destiny Island in the end of KH2. But this Roxas isn't happy, he's somber. He's accepted his fate but it still weighs on him. As he tells Sora, "This could have been the other way around." At this point, Roxas is very much associating himself with Sora as we saw in KH2 during his farewell to Axel, to him, Sora is him because that's the way these things work. "You're me so you can feel what I felt." An overall question I wonder here is why is Roxas reaching out now, if things were fine at the end of KH2. And I do think it has to do with Data Roxas' influence. He now feels Sora is ready to hear, to listen. Otherwise, there is no way he could have come to this conclusion on his own between the two games.
And Sora proves him right. But goes one step beyond because Roxas isn't the only one who's been affected by their data selves. Sora is just ready to hear but he's willing to SEE. His emphasis that Roxas is his own person and deserves his own existence is again the first time we see Sora even broaching this topic where the idea of them being together isn't viewed as the way things are. I argue this is because Data Sora got to know Data Roxas and truly got to see how different they were, and this influences Sora. Data Sora also took ownership of Data Roxas' fate, which makes Sora want to do the same, only he wants to fix it. His claim that he wanted to tell Roxas they were different makes absolutely no contextual sense without the character development of ReCoded. But with it, it makes perfect sense. He did want to tell him because Data Sora wanted to. As Data Sora puts it, "You say you're an illusion, but you certainly pack a pretty big punch." A less direct way of acknowledging Roxas than Sora's now fully understanding, "No, Roxas, you're you. We're not the same."
Of course, this stuns Roxas. Who has spent this whole time convincing himself that he made the right choice, that it has to be Sora, that it's fine for him to exist as part of Sora. And here's Sora telling him NO IT'S NOT OKAY. Probably the only person since Axel to ever do that. His somber look gives way to a genuine smile and for the first time, he's ready to truly SHARE with his Other. People argue this scene is Roxas giving up on life completely, imparting his memories so he can complete the fusion. I say this take ignores the fact that the whole scene is Sora arguing for Roxas' agency and Roxas being happy that Sora cares so much. That take would also contradict how Roxas is again more "actively engaged" throughout KH3 when it comes to responding to places/people of emotional significance. Because it would assume Roxas would go MORE not less dormant. Whereas, Roxas does the opposite.
Using this post-game knowledge to inform DDD, I argue that this scene is actually Roxas starting to believe again that he DOES have the right to exist. And that since he has that right, he HAS something to share. He can acknowledge the life he had. His time was truly his. And this is why he shares his memories and pain with Sora. To show that yes he existed. I don't believe those memories BECOME Sora's but rather they become something to help Sora understand more about the people who need him. "Sora, see? That's why it has to be you." People have also pointed out that Sora is much more ragey after this scene, suggesting that Roxas finally shared some of his anger with him as well.
I don't think this maturation on either Sora or Roxas and this ability to actually speak honestly with each other would have happened without ReCoded's interactions leading the way. So no, I don't think the scenes between them in ReCoded should be disregarded as just data. Let's not forget that Sora's original plan to restore Roxas is to reload his data back into digital Twilight Town.
Anyway,as said above, after DDD, Roxas is more present both in Sora's thoughts and in his influence on Sora. We get his feelings about Twilight Town and even see them apply OUTSIDE of Twilight Town this time, with him reflecting on his Twilight Town friends while in San Fransokyo. And of course, Sora feels it too and even thinks about Roxas when discussing lost friends that remain with us, in our hearts. He again expresses his ownership of Roxas' fate: "I'm with you" and goes so far as to talk indirectly about Roxas making up the difference when he's not strong enough. This would be his first acknowledgment of his Other's impact on him and builds upon the understanding that started in ReCoded and continued into DDD.
One of Sora's driving focuses in KH3 is to restore Roxas, following their DDD conversation. I wish they had more time in KH3 so I could properly assess Roxas' current feelings toward Sora. But I think it's clear that it's deep admiration for the person who fought so hard to bring him back when he never should have existed in the first place. After all their rough starts and despite Roxas having every reason to despise Sora, their relationship at this point could definitely be described as one of true friendship. After barely understanding his Nobody and being unable to appreciate his pain, we've seen Sora gradually grow into someone who cares about Roxas and holds him dear. And I have no words for how much I love their journey together.
ROXAS' POTENTIAL HANGUPS/TRIGGERS
So one of the things I wanted to explore with Roxas post-canon is how he reacts to a life outside of the Organization's rules but also less scripted than his Twilight Town simulation. The fact of the matter is Roxas very much doesn't know how to be a normal boy. In the Organization, he was trained to avoid those who weren't Nobodies, although he broke this rule from time to time because Roxas. He could barely function with a day's worth of vacation, knowing only how to kill Heartless and hang out with his friends on the clocktower. In Twilight Town, Roxas experiences a "normal life" with friends, exploring things, getting involved in competitions and talking about school assignments. Of course, all of this was bits of Roxas' memory cobbled together from his conversations with the Twilight Town crew, along with some pieces from his time with Axel and Xion. It's basically Roxas parroting as he always does when he's trying to learn something new.
But when it comes to human to human interaction, he's still got a lot to learn. I imagine his humor is on the cynical side from spending his time around Nobodies and he doesn't know much about other pastimes, beyond the ones from his simulated memory such as skateboarding. He's probably really lost when it comes to the concept of biological family and would likely associate family with friends. A lot about the modern world would be super new to him.
Which brings us to what I feel is Roxas' lingering trauma (aside from identity issues): technology. I imagine Roxas is deeply distrusting of technology, especially advanced technology because of how it was used against him. Obviously he despises computers due to the associated memories but I think most technology would put him on edge at first. Even things like the gummi phones, particularly their video capacity. Roxas doesn't like being watched and he's uncomfortable about communicating with someone when he can't see them for similar reasons. He doesn't like things moving without his controlling them either because of how his mind automatically leaps to what or who can be controlling them.
I can see him having extreme issues about being alone for a while. Both withdrawal from being joined with Sora and flashes back to losing everyone he cared for and being the last surviving Organization member for a while there. It's not that he can't handle things on his own. I just think that he's going to need his touchstones for a while to help ground him until he adjusts to regular life. This may actually force him to use long distance communication to remind himself that his friends are still there, if they're separated for a decent length of time.
Sleeping may actually be a bit of a challenge at first. Since well Roxas has kind of been sleeping off and on in Sora's consciousness and might not be as keen on spending too much time on that. Not to mention that up until now, he's either not dreamed or dreamed about Sora so he's probably wary about resting and waking up somewhere else again. So he'll probably only do cat naps at first, things he can quickly shake himself out of and after that, bad dreams might even be a thing.
The final bad spot is probably falling. Not heights themselves. Just the sensation of losing his balance. Because he'd associate it with his fall from the clock tower. So this would only come up when dealing with something unsteady and he'd probably try to avoid it.
Not really a trigger but I want to discuss it anyway is Roxas' need to hold onto memories. I can see this being a carry-over from when he was a Nobody and the only memories he had were the new ones he made, which is what inspired him to start journaling. I can see Roxas still having that reflexive fear of losing everything again without warning and picking up the habit again, to capture all those precious days. Having trouble believing that they're truly going to last this time. I can also see it manifesting in photography, as another way to capture memories forever, harking back to his photos with the Twilight Town gang. Either way, I think it's a sweet way to deal with a real trauma.
THE LIFE HE SOUGHT AND ROXAS' FAMILY
Here I'm going to tackle two subjects at once but I think they're kind of intermingled. I have seen people say that Roxas wants to be a normal schoolkid and... I'm not so sure. Yes, we are introduced to a Roxas who just wants his life to return to normal with his school friends, who believes he's been normal this whole time. But Days presents us with a different kind of normal and again has Roxas demanding his prior life back, his life with Axel and Xion. So I think assuming that Roxas wants to be a normal kid is... flawed. Roxas just wants to be with his friends. That's normal to him, the whole trappings of day-to-day life aren't as important, and I'd actually go so far as to say I think Roxas, real Roxas, would be bored of them.
The Roxas who enjoys the lazy life is a mind-wiped Roxas who has been conditioned to believe that he's just another child. Whereas Days shows us a Roxas who cannot abide with downtime, who constantly has to be doing something to function because that's all he's ever done. I think Roxas in his natural state would be in-between the two. He's naturally restless because he's a keyblade wielder and wielders can't sit still because they are explorers and fighters. Casual life isn't really them. That said, I think Roxas can apply himself well and would do well at school. I just don't think he'd like being limited to that.
What Roxas has always yearned for is a purpose and Roxas finds purpose through his friends. Roxas' purpose is being there for his friends. He just never realizes it until he loses them because that's a pretty deep concept for a Nobody. But all of his character development has been because of his friends, either getting to know them, fighting for them or losing them. This becomes pretty explicitly clear in KH3, where his friends are the connection that brings him back, so he can fight by their side. Now this purpose includes the Twilight Town gang because they are very important to Roxas now, though perhaps not on the same level as Axel and Xion. But Roxas can't throw away any friends, even friends that were mostly simulations. They became just as much a part of his life.
So if Roxas' purpose is being there for his friends, it's not automatically associated with a "normal" life. I'm sure Roxas will still seek out adventure with his friends. Even local adventures. I just think it's important to remember that even though Roxas looks young and is new to the world, he's still essentially a child soldier. He's going to always have that need to be in the thick of things.
Back to the subject of family, it's obvious Axel and Xion are Roxas' family. I use this word not in the literal sense but in the found family sense. I don't think anyone has a "role" per se, so no sister, brother, dad, etc. But they are still very much a family because they are what Roxas perceives as "home." This is a bit of a retcon on KH2, which made it sound more like the Twilight Town crew was Roxas' home. But Days clearly established Roxas' ideal as staying with Axel and Xion. KH3 simply brought the Twilight Town crew back in the mix. I don't like lessening the weight of any friendship in this series, but Days just went too hard with this three as kindred spirits so. They're the people Roxas most trusts at the end of the day and the ones he's most likely to turn to for support. This does not mean that he doesn't cherish the Twilight Town crew because he obviously does. But it's also understood that if Roxas has questions, he's going to go to Axel and Xion first. Where Isa fits in remains to be seen.
I would like to toss in that Sora is very much important to Roxas as well. I do think he's family but not in the SAME family as Axel and Xion if that makes any sense. I think Axel and Xion are special to Roxas in their way, whereas Sora is special to Roxas in another entirely different way. Again it's hard to fully assess, GIVEN THE END OF CANON THUS FAR. But I also honestly can't see any way that Sora WOULDN'T be family. He's literally Roxas' other half. I won't call them brothers because I kind of hate defining the friendships in Kingdom Hearts. I really think they're something special that goes beyond terms and words. They just all love each other.
In other words, for someone who found his purpose through his friends, Roxas is about to have more than he knows what to do with. And that's really sweet. Which brings us to our next topic exploring how Sora affects Roxas' perception of Sora's most important people (sorry Donald and Goofy, not talking about you for this one).
CAN YOU FEEL SORA: ROXAS, KAIRI AND RIKU
Yeah, now we're going to get really into the thick of headcanon. Mickey, take the wheel! So we see that Roxas' feelings can influence Sora and vice versa. Roxas in how he responds to Riku's taunts in Days and how he cries at the memory of losing Donald and Goofy in KH2. Sora in how he cries about the Twilight Town gang in KH2, cries about Xion in DDD and misses Twilight Town in KH3. But how does this affect their perception toward the other's most precious relationships? In other words, how does Sora affect Roxas' feelings toward Riku and Kairi?
It's well established that Roxas was able to develop his own personality and identity apart from Sora because of the uniqueness of his creation. But after spending time (????) with Sora post-KH2 and their feelings already tied up in each other prior to their reconnection, it stands to reason that there could be some lingering effects. I don't believe these effects overrule Roxas' emotions so they can't make him do something he absolutely doesn't want to do. But I do think they can influence/temper his emotions some.
For example, I think they could make him instinctively protective toward Kairi, despite not knowing her at all, aside from Sora's memories. I don't think it would be overwhelming so much as a feeling that he should protect her. I also think it would make it easier for him to trust her, something Roxas is much less likely to do with people post-Days. So it's not mental/emotional coercion as much as a general "this feels right" sort of thing. Then you apply Roxas' "friend of a friend" mentality and similarity to Xion and Namine, and you can see how Kairi would be become important to him through her connection to Sora. It is pretty obvious that the reason Roxas feels such an initial pull toward Xion is Sora's connection to Kairi. So yeah.
Riku is more complicated since they have a very messy past, and Roxas has good reason to resent Riku. But Riku is also one of Sora's most cherished people. I think Roxas would be guarded around Riku, but some of that harsher bitterness that Roxas can stew in could be tempered by the Sora connection. So he'd be at least neutral and willing to get to know Riku better. Rather than avoiding him outright. While I don't like the rushed "happy ever after" conclusion for all the non-Sora relationship at the end of KH3, I do believe in Riku and Roxas finding common ground through Sora. I just think it might take a bit until Roxas is truly comfortable around Riku and not just neutral. I think what we see in their brief moment in DDD is the closest to their true interaction. (Yes, I know that's barely anything to go on but I'm a canon loser and I'll take what I can get.) I just think things will be more complicated than "well he's Sora's friend so I should play nice" because Roxas can FEEL Sora. And I think negative feelings toward Riku would actually feel WRONG to him in some way.
SEEING THROUGH YOUR EYES: ROXAS' AWARENESS POST-KH2
Okay, if you thought the last take was deep headcanon, I'm going to go truly overboard here because this is a subject very near and dear to me when it comes to Roxas. Does Roxas actually experience any of Sora's journey post-KH2? We know that because of Organization XIII's fuckery Sora's memories got into Roxas through his merging with Xion. So in KH2 Roxas remembers Sora's life prior to Roxas' birth. But this raises question about how that works after they become one again. Since it's obvious the merger is never quite absolute, possibly because of Roxas' two hearts deal and because Roxas formed his own complete personality prior to the reconnection.
I think Sora's tendency to react to Roxas' emotions when it places of great emotional significance to Roxas (Twilight Town and TWTNW) speak to a degree of awareness in Roxas. So I think he does experience Sora's journey in a vague metaphysical way, similar to how Ventus says he did in KH3 but slightly more personal. He doesn't really grasp much since it's like experiencing things through layers upon layers of fog, unless they're emotionally significant. This means that concrete details like the discussions of the plot are largely lost on him since he can't truly connect to them. He wouldn't know about the keyblade masters, Xehanort's crazy backstory, the Wayfinder mess or other things Sora learns and barely understands. But he can get flashes of moments Sora experiences. Bits of dialogue. Scenery. Things Sora feels.
Where things start to get the most messy is DDD, where Sora spends most of the game trapped in layers of dreams. My question has always been why did Roxas reach out to Sora in that moment and just how aware was he of what was happening ot Sora in DDD. This gets complicated because I do not want to undermine Riku's ability to reach Sora in his dream or his attempts to wake him up. But I do think there's reason to believe that maybe Riku wasn't the only one trying to shake Sora from his dreams. I do think, depending on awareness level, Roxas would be able to sense some shit going down. We see even Ventus has enough awareness to protect Sora's heart from Darkness when Sora goes under. So that Roxas has the same isn't a huge stretch.
And again, TWTNW is the place where Roxas holds the most power over his existence. We see that Sora's clothes change before Namine and Xion show up, back to his regular ones instead of the ones with the Recusant's Sigil. And this is before Riku starts shouting at him. What's important is that Namine and Xion are both people that are important to Roxas. And Namine shifting into Xion and making Sora (Roxas) cry drives this point home. I posit this entire shift is Roxas' influence on the dream, an attempt to interfere.
But giving up his memories and anger to Sora wipes Roxas out, causing Sora to drop again immediately after. I think it also matters that Roxas outright tells Sora their conversation isn't a dream. So yeah, I think Roxas reached out to interfere with the dream in the one place where he could. And he does so by reminding Sora how special he is and why he has to fight. But being within Sora, he's still trapped in the dream and he couldn't resist it for long. Basically, both Roxas and Ventus try to protect Sora in DDD. Hence why they are the first guardians of Sora's heart when Riku arrives to wake him up.
Moving into KH3, I talked about how Roxas is more actively aware after the DDD talk because his connection to Sora is stronger and more mutual. Sora is more attuned to him. But it also might help that he's not seeing through several layers of dreams.
TWIN KEYS: ROXAS AND VENTUS
Discussing Roxas and Ventus is fascinating but super hard critical mode because there is so little concrete information. All we know is that Roxas comes from Ventus and Sora's hearts because Ventus heart was inside Sora when Roxas was created. And that's the reason Roxas can dual-wield. That's about it.
Questions remain about whether Roxas has any Ventus within him? He doesn't seem to have his memories, but what about that whole feelings influence thing we discussed with Sora and Roxas? Would Roxas have lingering feelings of frustration toward Vanitas? What about Ventus' connection to the Union Leaders, does this affect Roxas? Does Roxas feel anything when he's around Aqua and Terra?
And then there's the identity bit, which is the most interesting to me. Roxas spends so much of his arc fighting to not be Sora and now that he finally has his own body, he sees that someone ELSE has his face. I'm not sure Roxas would take this well. I think it would make him weird toward Ventus at the very least, not hostile like he'd been with Sora but perpetually on edge and unsure. Because Roxas has no idea about the two hearts thing. Sora barely gets it. He would probably need to find touchstones in things/people that are purely HIS and not influenced by Ventus or Sora. Such as Xion and the Twilight Town gang.
Then there's Axel (Lea). Learning that Axel knew Ventus before he know Roxas would likely weird Roxas out and make him quesiton whether Axel sees him or Ventus at first. Since Axel always had his memories. This would definitely have to be something they sort out together because do think it would cause initial strain. And this is a major reason why I have trouble seeing Roxas call Axel "Lea," unlike other characters who use it. Because he needs to hang onto HIS relationship. He knew Axel, Ventus knew Lea. Maybe after a LONG time of adjusting to things, he could call him Lea. But I think it would take quite a bit.
I do see Ventus winning Roxas over since he's Ventus, and Roxas is weak to adorable dummies. But I do see Roxas having a bit of an internal crisis for a while before that. How could he not when his whole character is wrapped around his individuality and identity?
TWO!: ROXAS AND DUAL-WIELDING POST-KH2
There has been a lot of talk that Roxas shouldn't be able to dual-wield upon his return since the ability came from his connection to both Sora and Ventus' hearts. People claim it is a retcon allowing him to retain this ability. I beg to differ.
While we know that Roxas can dual-wield because he was essentially born from two hearts, I don't see why returning to Sora would take that away from him. People say he gives Sora his dual-wielding power in KH2 when Sora gets Final Form so he should no longer have it. But I never saw him as giving it away so much as SHARING it. They're merged and can tap into what the other has. Same as when Roxas shared his memories in DDD. He didn't lose them, he just shared them.
Roxas was BORN with the ability to dual-wield. Yes, he got it after Xion merged with him, but that's because Xion originally TOOK the ability away from him by gradually swiping his power. He's always had, it just wasn't awakened. So it makes sense that the Replica body, which takes the form of the person's heart would respond to Roxas being born of two hearts and continue his dual-wielding ability. Roxas wouldn't lose the fact that he was born from two hearts just because those hearts are now separated. Just as how Sora doesn't lose his keyblade affinity when he's separated from Ventus, even though his power mostly came from Ventus.
Roxas can still dual-wield because that's the nature of his heart. It's his true awakened self, and that's why it's so ungodly powerful in KH3. He doesn't need Ventus to still be connected to him for that.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: WHY DO PEOPLE SEE ROXAS IN ORG GEAR VS. TWILIGHT TOWN GEAR
This is not as serious as the above topics and is more a random musing. I realized that Sora pretty much never sees Roxas in his heart in his Twilight Town look despite seeing it toward the end of KH2. I am iffy to count KH3 because all instances of Twilight Town Roxas were through Roxas' perspective, when he was thinking of his time with the Twilight Town gang. Otherwise, Sora only ever sees Organization Coat Roxas. Why is this?
Well, let's look how others see Roxas on the metaphysical level. Axel obviously sees Organization Roxas because that's the Roxas he knows. Namine sees Twilight Town Roxas because that's the Roxas she knows. Riku sees Twilight Town Roxas, which is odd since I would think Organization Roxas has the greatest impact on him but he probably spent more time with Twilight Town Roxas. Riku's take on this is admittedly weird. Anyway, I think these perspectives tie back to what Namine says in KH2, that she and Roxas see each other the way they remember each other. So it stands to reason that everyone else would see Roxas as they remember him.
Only, again, Sora has seen Twilight Town Roxas. His only other interaction with Roxas was his fight with him in Station of Serenity. When he still didn't even know who Roxas was. But Sora continues to see Organization Roxas after KH2, even having Data Sora see Data Roxas as Organization Coat mode. I know the meta reason is Nomura likes to make it a mystery when Sora is dealing with Roxas by confusing us with black coats and making us think it could be Riku. But I need an IC reason too dammit. So what I'm tossing out there is that Sora sees Organization Roxas, despite having once seen Twilight Town Roxas, because Roxas is still a mystery to him until their talk in DDD. He doesn't really GET Roxas so he sees him as he saw so many of the Organization, an unknown. This means that theoretically any heart interactions (however they may occur) Sora and Roxas have moving forward should involve Twilight Town Roxas, and maybe KH3 was trying to get at that. I don't know, it's just a fun topic to poke.