"Falls the Shadow," Kingdom Hearts 2, Xemnas/Saix

[y_c_reverse]

Title: Falls the Shadow
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts 2
Pairing: Xemnas/Saix
Author: Eimear
Recipient: Issola
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Saix rarely leaves the World That Never Was without orders, yet tonight he has. Xemnas follows, to discover why.
Prompt: Restraint and formality. Saix's loyalty and Xemnas' trust, and the intersection between that and the

Comments

[jpegasus]

I think my favorite thing about this is Xemnes' thinky. Knowing that "this sort of thing is interpreted like this" or "this will indicate BLAH" it's neat. :D

[jpegasus]

mm, thank you! i enjoyed making him all...clinical. and badly adjusted. even apart from the Nobody thing. ^^

- Eimear

[white_aster]

Oh mrrr. The idea of Saix being an oracle is neato, as well as him prophecying Number 8. And the thing with Xemnas' gloves was hawtomg. And Xemnas getting off on the surrender of power more than anything. Mrrr... And was it just me or was Xemnas thinking AWFUL HARD about how no, no, this thing I'm feeling can't possibly be a feeling, because AFTER ALL.... The leader doth protest too much....

[white_aster]

hee, thank you! i got so totally hung up on the prophecy aspect, and had way too much fun with it. i was actually afraid i'd veered off from the prompt because i got so into that one aspect, and then it turned out i was still doing okay. phew.

and yes, totally protesting too much. absolutely. i always got that sense from him in canon, too, like he was buying into the party line that No They Can't Feel Anything Absolutely Not. woez.

- Eimear

[white_aster]

Nnnngh, oracles are sexy! It's something about that whole "ridden by the gods" thing....

I got that feeling from all of them, really. That they were trying to convince themselves of it, or were just being emo, or just believed it because it was all they'd been told and they didn't quite remember what it'd been like BEFORE, so how could they remember if they were missing it NOW?

[anonymous]

Gorgeous. I love the atmosphere you create, the way you use details. Definitely like the mystic Saix and the analytical Xemnas. And the detail with Saix biting his glove and tugging it off, mmmm. And the use of control, the dynamics of power -- I particularly like something that uses power dynamics without it being a struggle for dominance. ♥ Thank you.

-- Issola

[anonymous]

i'm so glad you liked! the more i played with their contrasts, the more fun it became, and the chance to write Saix-the-oracle turned out to be just wonderful.

you give awesome prompts. ♥

- Eimear

[leavemea_lone]

Incredible. I know very little about KH but the fiction it inspires is almost always full of depth. good work :)

[leavemea_lone]

thank you! it's one of those fandoms where the source material has just enough raw edges to give people a lot of room to play around and do fun stuff. gotta love that. ^^

- Eimear

[leavemea_lone]

ah, it's like they know we feed off ideas, and give us only the barest things. ♥

[gibbous]

Augh, I love this. Xemnas must be in control at all times, yet there are moments where his maladjustment is brutally obvious. He's always got a follower in Saïx, though.

"The city in the river," he says hollowly, "falls to the Heartless flames. From the ashes he comes, and death whirls about him."

This is just beautiful. Oh, so symbolic. Frought with multiple interpretations. *squee*

[gibbous]

thank you so much! i spent a lot of time tinkering with the prophecy, trying to make it sound as vague and symbolic as a "real" one and also clear enough that a reader would be able to figure out who he was talking about. yay! ^_^

- Eimear