Keyblade... seeds? Lea quirked an eyebrow as Aqua went on about her understanding of how Keyblades were propagated, intrigued, but skeptical. "I dunno... I'd need to see some evidence on that one," he said. "And I mean beyond circumstantial evidence here. Because that's not how I understood it, and every Keyblade I've ever encountered was either the result of a direct handoff or someone's magical meddling in connection to Sora. And taking a kid and telling them their whole life that they can summon a Keybade might end up being a self-fulfilling prophesy whether or not they had a 'seed' to begin with, with how many chances there would be for an accidental handoff."
"Still, that brings up a whole new set of questions. If we're working on the assumption that Keyblades have enough intelligence and will to 'choose' people, what gives them the right to? Like, if a Keyblade decides it likes someone, that's it? That person doesn't get a say? Like, am I supposed to feel flattered that this random magic sword thing would just bust in one day and upend my life and there wouldn't be anything I could say or do about it? That's actually pretty messed up. What if I didn't want to be 'chosen'? Why can't I just tell it to take a hike, or whatever the equivalent is for something with no legs?"
"But if there is some kind of... seed, or connection, maybe we could figure out how to remove it? That way people who didn't want Keyblades or didn't want their kids to have them would have a say in the matter. And there might be a way to disarm rogue Keyblade wielders short of killing them. Because even if rogue Keybladers are few and far between, that's still a serious problem with the whole thing."
He crossed his arms over his chest, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. "Fact is though, we just don't know enough about how Keyblades actually work. And I don't mean what they can do, or even the philosophy behind using them, I mean how they work, in a magiscientific sense. What are they actually made of, how do they do what they do, what are the hard magical principles governing them, how do they fit in the magical laws of the world, that kind of thing. We've just kinda... gone with it, since we've all had more immediate things to deal with, but if there's one thing growing up in Radiant Garden taught me it's that magic and science are part of the same whole. A magical artifact can- and should- be studied and understood just like a machine or scientific tool, and Keyblades are no exception."
"That's all in the future though. No way we could study something like that properly in a world that's never heard of magitech. But the point is, no one and nothing has the right to shove itself into your life like that without your consent, much less upend it and likely put you in danger. Keyblades included. It's just wrong in principle."
"And it's interesting that you mention Sora, because he's not classically trained either. He's like me, and like most of the latest generation of Keyblade wielders; a bunch of mavericks who are mostly self-taught and spent years honing their own styles on the fly. People who're willing to play fast and loose with the rules if they get in the way of what our hearts are telling us, for better or worse. He's not the type to fall in line and do what he's told any more than I am, so if you're expecting to turn any version of him into some kind of model Master for a new era, you might be in for a rude awakening."
He sighed. "That story actually illustrates my point though, about you having a blind spot with regards to Keyblades. You look at them through rose-colored glasses because of how you were brought up. To you, a Keyblade is inherently a good thing for anyone who might get one, because all your early memories of them are bright and positive. You know logically that they can be dangerous, because of the adult life you've had and because you're not stupid, but you don't feel it. You look at a Keyblade and what you see is something positive, both for its wielder and the world at large."
"Whereas I've seen the harm they can do. Both in the obvious way as weapons- having had the tar beaten out of me by a Keyblade wielder on more than one occasion- and the harm they can do to their wielders. Keyblades put people in danger. They make people targets. Not just for the forces of Darkness directly, but for every psycho who looks at what a Keyblade can do and sees an opportunity for power. Two of my best friends spent most of their lives being used, abused, and manipulated for no other reason than the fact that they had Keybades. Sora's been yanked in so many directions and pulled into pieces, literally sometimes, again and again, because people want the power he has. I understand how much and in how many ways a Keyblade can hurt."
"We're both biased. And the truth is probably somewhere in the middle between how we both feel. But you've gotta stop assuming that anyone who can have a Keyblade should. That being 'chosen', whoever it is that's doing the choosing, is inherently a good thing for a person. Because it's not. Most of the time its's way more of a burden than it is a gift."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-02-07 07:32 am (UTC)"Still, that brings up a whole new set of questions. If we're working on the assumption that Keyblades have enough intelligence and will to 'choose' people, what gives them the right to? Like, if a Keyblade decides it likes someone, that's it? That person doesn't get a say? Like, am I supposed to feel flattered that this random magic sword thing would just bust in one day and upend my life and there wouldn't be anything I could say or do about it? That's actually pretty messed up. What if I didn't want to be 'chosen'? Why can't I just tell it to take a hike, or whatever the equivalent is for something with no legs?"
"But if there is some kind of... seed, or connection, maybe we could figure out how to remove it? That way people who didn't want Keyblades or didn't want their kids to have them would have a say in the matter. And there might be a way to disarm rogue Keyblade wielders short of killing them. Because even if rogue Keybladers are few and far between, that's still a serious problem with the whole thing."
He crossed his arms over his chest, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. "Fact is though, we just don't know enough about how Keyblades actually work. And I don't mean what they can do, or even the philosophy behind using them, I mean how they work, in a magiscientific sense. What are they actually made of, how do they do what they do, what are the hard magical principles governing them, how do they fit in the magical laws of the world, that kind of thing. We've just kinda... gone with it, since we've all had more immediate things to deal with, but if there's one thing growing up in Radiant Garden taught me it's that magic and science are part of the same whole. A magical artifact can- and should- be studied and understood just like a machine or scientific tool, and Keyblades are no exception."
"That's all in the future though. No way we could study something like that properly in a world that's never heard of magitech. But the point is, no one and nothing has the right to shove itself into your life like that without your consent, much less upend it and likely put you in danger. Keyblades included. It's just wrong in principle."
"And it's interesting that you mention Sora, because he's not classically trained either. He's like me, and like most of the latest generation of Keyblade wielders; a bunch of mavericks who are mostly self-taught and spent years honing their own styles on the fly. People who're willing to play fast and loose with the rules if they get in the way of what our hearts are telling us, for better or worse. He's not the type to fall in line and do what he's told any more than I am, so if you're expecting to turn any version of him into some kind of model Master for a new era, you might be in for a rude awakening."
He sighed. "That story actually illustrates my point though, about you having a blind spot with regards to Keyblades. You look at them through rose-colored glasses because of how you were brought up. To you, a Keyblade is inherently a good thing for anyone who might get one, because all your early memories of them are bright and positive. You know logically that they can be dangerous, because of the adult life you've had and because you're not stupid, but you don't feel it. You look at a Keyblade and what you see is something positive, both for its wielder and the world at large."
"Whereas I've seen the harm they can do. Both in the obvious way as weapons- having had the tar beaten out of me by a Keyblade wielder on more than one occasion- and the harm they can do to their wielders. Keyblades put people in danger. They make people targets. Not just for the forces of Darkness directly, but for every psycho who looks at what a Keyblade can do and sees an opportunity for power. Two of my best friends spent most of their lives being used, abused, and manipulated for no other reason than the fact that they had Keybades. Sora's been yanked in so many directions and pulled into pieces, literally sometimes, again and again, because people want the power he has. I understand how much and in how many ways a Keyblade can hurt."
"We're both biased. And the truth is probably somewhere in the middle between how we both feel. But you've gotta stop assuming that anyone who can have a Keyblade should. That being 'chosen', whoever it is that's doing the choosing, is inherently a good thing for a person. Because it's not. Most of the time its's way more of a burden than it is a gift."