Listen, guys. I see A LOT of posts in the Lexaeus Tag about Lexaeus beating a child to near-death (in order for him to learn about Limit Breaks, mind you)
But I feel like no one ever really delves deeper into the rest of Roxas’s experience with Lexaeus in 358/2 Days.
For Starters: In the original DS game after enduring almost every organization member (Saix, Larxene, Zexion, Marluxia, Xigbar, and ESPECIALLY Vexen) treating you like an absolute idiot (aside from Axel) you meet Lexaeus. Not only does this large, hulking monolith of a man have the patience to explain how to use the Limit Break without treating you like an imbecile he has the GALL to tell you that you are valued:
Which like…. BLOWS Roxas’s MIND to the point of him saying:
To which Lex bluntly responds:
And even in the manga he says:
(In the actual American release he says that they’d beg him for 3 days and 3 nights if it meant having Roxas on their team)
But that Manga panel about him “Becoming passionate” is something that holds true in the game. When Roxas asks why they are trying to complete Kingdom Hearts, Lex looks wistfully into the distance and says:
This poor fucking guy doesn’t even quite REALIZE what he’s doing… he just knows it will make him whole. That’s all he wants. It’s what ALL of them want.
and when your day with Lexaeus is done Roxas postulates:
or MY FAVORITE….. the original DS version:
[Our group had its good apples, just like it had its bad. But everybody wanted the same thing: to complete Kingdom Hearts.]
SO LIKE. LEMME BE REAL HERE: WHEN PEOPLE BOIL LEXAEUS DOWN TO A BIG, SMASHY MAN WHO BEATS CHILDREN I REALLY WANT TO CRY BECAUSE HE’S ACTUALLY A BIG, PATIENT, SOFT BOY WHO WANTS ROXAS TO KNOW THAT HE’S VALUED AND JUST WANTS TO BE HUMAN AGAIN AND DO HIS JOB.
(And don’t even get me STARTED on Lexaeus picking up odd jobs that the other team members put onto him when they slack off.)
Lexaeus/Aeleus is the real MVP of the Kingdom Hearts series and I genuinely love him to pieces.
The Yellow Mage 