Stranger Things: The Lies of the Devil

(Guest post by Kenton)

Fear, pain, horror, doubt, corruption, betrayal, weakness, failure, loss, sorrow, depression, death; these are conditions and feelings that are all addressed in season 4 of Stranger Things. That it is able to cover so much in one season shows the strength of the planning and writing that went into the show, but it doesn’t end there: faith, hope, love, miracles, courage, joy, strength, and even healing are all here. This is a season of light and dark, good and evil, and my personal favorite season to this point. Notable was its terrifying portrayal of the villain, Vecna: he manipulates and twists everything to his purposes, and it’s miraculous that our heres, at least partially, hamper his evil machinations. I could write a series of essays, but hopefully I can cover this topic appropriately, even if this one has to go a bit long. There are significant spoilers here, if you haven’t seen season 4 yet, so you’ve been warned!

At his very core, Vecna is not just bent on achieving a goal: he thrills in the hunt. His powers allow him to kill psychically, which also opens portals into his realm in the Upside Down. He doesn’t just track down and kill, however: in the case of all of his victims, they are demoralized, and beaten down mentally before they are taken. He says his victory is inevitable; so he relishes in the buildup to his final triumph. They say hubris is the downfall of all people and civilizations, but there are few things as terrifying as an evil who is as powerful as their pride and hubris believes it to be.

Even with that power and ego, there is something Vecna fears: Eleven. In all his power he acts methodically, trying to draw her out. He fears his inevitable defeat. His speeches all boast that his final conquest is inevitable, but he wouldn’t have been exiled to the Upside Down without Eleven’s intervention. Up to that point, nothing stopped him before Eleven–except for his own weakness. Seeing someone exercise more power than him truly terrified him. We’ve yet to see his full power, but everything he worked for to this point has only delayed the “inevitable,” and resulted only in small, incremental successes. Even his plan to kill Max succeeded because he was aided, unwittingly, by the head of the basketball team, Jason Carver. This is all my opinion, but it ties very deeply into the gospel, even if my comparison may seem a bit ham-fisted.

You see, the devil is under the same limitations. He knows, deep down, that his defeat is around the corner. Sure, he has power, exhibited in a fallen world which serves his ends. War and corruption and famine and death and sadness plague us, and are only worsened by those whose complacency, greed, and evil perpetuate those painful results. There were individuals in Jesus's day afflicted directly by the devil, but we can see less direct interventions even in this day, and they are mirrored so much in Vecna’s methods.

When Chrissy, Vecna’s first victim, is tormented by him, his way of gaining enough power over her to take her life is to degrade and demean her through her memories. Haunting recollections of her mother shaming her body, and the visions he makes her see not only terrify her, but make her think she’s going crazy, making her feel completely alone. He shamed her to death.

His next victim, Fred Benson, is accused of being a murderer for something we know very little about, but involved him witnessing a car crash. When a conversation with a police officer turns into a rant of “Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!” He is snapped back to reality, but he doesn’t admit anything happened. He endures incredible pain, because he feels he deserves it. Satan works in this way, too. Instead of getting us to commit evil, he will instead shame us into believing that we have to be perfect, accusing us of being evil ourselves. He will bombard us with toxic and negative self-talk, intrusive thoughts, and evil ideas. He’ll even take advantage of mental illness and make us think that we can’t ask for help. One of the roles and titles of Satan is “the accuser,” and one of his many tactics is to accuse and shame us for things that aren’t true, to the point that we believe that we are “useless,” that we are “irredeemable,” that we can only stand still and give in. Isn’t that how evil wins? When good people can do nothing?

This is how Vecna had hoped to gain his supremacy, by instilling a spirit of fear into Eleven so demoralizing that she felt powerless. Vecna had overpowered her mind to the point that she could do nothing but watch Max gruesomely die in front of her eyes. Seeing that something was wrong from their end , Eleven’s boyfriend Mike was able to speak to her, and give her hope. I think that’s a speech that we should all come back to, at least once:

 “I don’t know if you can hear this; but if you can, I want you to know I’m here, okay, I’m right here! And… I love you! Do you hear me? I love you! I’m sorry I don’t say it more—it’s not because I’m scared of you—I’m not, I’ve never felt that way, never! … But the truth is El, I don’t know how to live without you! I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods: you were wearing that yellow Benny’s Burgers t-shirt … I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you, and I’ve loved you every day since. I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you with your powers, I love you without your powers, I love you for exactly who you are: you’re my superhero! And, I can’t lose you! Okay? Do you hear me, I can’t lose you. You can do anything: you can fly, you can move mountains. I believe that, I really do; but right now, you just have to fight, okay? … You need to fight!” (Episode 9, “The Piggyback”, Stranger Things Season 4, Vol. 2)

This speech is how Mike redeems himself from being a punk. All during this, El is restrained. More powerful than that were the shackles of doubt and fear which kept her from acting. But Mike’s speech was filled with the truth he’d held back and the truth gave her power to free herself, and prevent Vecna from killing Max and El. Mike had faith, and belief, and hope, and love, and these things cannot fail in the truth.

For us with the never ending tirades and doubt and shame that come from Satan, it is much the same. Learning and seeking the truth will give us power and faith to overcome. As Jesus said:

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32, KJV)

Satan, the father of all lies, will try to intimidate, to shut down, to paralyze, and to force us to give up. He will convince us that we are weak, faithless, and irredeemable. And that we should accept it! Our accuser will even convince us that our lives aren’t worth living—but it’s not true! We can be forgiven:

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, KJV)

We can overcome our weakness through Jesus:

“…my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27, The Book of Mormon)

His power can redeem:

“But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.” (Helaman 14:17, The Book of Mormon)

Even when we don’t think it’s possible:

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, KJV)

While Vecna has literal power over his victims, and relishes in his temporary victories, he fears the power of Eleven, and knows that she can, and inevitably will, defeat him. Satan doesn’t have that same physical power over us. Even knowing full well that Jesus Christ will have the ultimate victory, Satan still relishes in the opportunities he has now to fight against it. It’s exhausting! But there is hope. Jesus said:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV, emphasis added)

Notice how he says that His yoke is easy. What does he ask? That we join with Him in pulling his load, and then we will find rest. It’s that impossible, yet simple truth, that the things which Jesus did, we can faithfully follow. President Russell M. Nelson said it himself, when he quoted our Savior in his recent Sunday Morning address in General Conference, which we should come back to, at least once:

“‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33, emphasis added)

“Subsequently, Jesus entreated each of us to do the same when He said,

“‘I will that ye should overcome the world.’ (D&C 64:2, emphasis added)

“Dear brothers and sisters, my message to you today is that because Jesus Christ overcame this fallen world, and because He atoned for each of us, you too can overcome this sin-saturated, self-centered, and often exhausting world.” (“Overcome the World and Find Rest”, Russell M. Nelson, Sunday Morning Session, October 2022 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

I’ve written a veritable essay here, and the depth I could plunge on this subject isn’t even close to being fathomed. It took a few years for this season of Stranger Things to come, and it was worth it. The depth and detail of it is worth rewatching (which I’ve done). I didn’t even cover the power of music and friendship, the effects of mental illness, the lengths people will go to help those they love; the list goes on, and on. I couldn’t possibly cover it all! What I hope is that we’ve gained insight into the methods of our adversary, Satan; that we can find faith and strength to overcome his demoralizing tactics. In closing, I think we can find comfort in the closing words President Nelson in his Sunday Morning address, which I leave with you:

“With the power of the holy apostleship vested in me, I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too. I so testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Yzma: Zero to Hero

Yzma is NOT the villain in The Emperor’s New Groove. She is the hero of the story. Let me explain why.

At the beginning of the movie, the trajectory Kuzco was moving towards would have destroyed his empire. If Yzma didn’t prevent him from taking Pacha's village, he would have kept driving out more people from his kingdom for the next several birthdays. It would have kept escalating until the people revolted and dethrone the king, resulting in the destruction of a kingdom. It is easy to see the citizens were becoming frustrated with the Emperor, like his potential brides, Pacha, Chicha, and more. The only people that were loyal to him were the servants to the emperor. Without Yzma's intervention, he would not have become the compassionate character we see at the end of the movie.

After Kuzko fires her, she becomes determined to save the kingdom. So, like any hero, she ventures on a quest to set things right and teach a bad guy a lesson. She knows that she has to remove him from power because of his dedicated army that serves the emperor. So she transforms him to a llama to gain power and better utilize the kingdom in ways he could never. 

Unlike Kuzco, she already learned the importance of teamwork. Like every Disney heroine she has a sidekick Kronk. She relies on him to help her become empress. She may seem verbally abusive, but Kronk has never given her an indication that it bothered him. She is like your grandma who becomes blunter with age. You just do your best to help them because they are still have good intentions, like removing an evil emperor. Also, to support this claim when her soldiers’ become animals

Employee asks: “I turned into a cow. can I go home?”

Yzma response: “You’re excused”.

That is a great employer! How does Kuzko treat his people? He fires his trusted advisor (Yzma) and insults potential queens by saying “Let me guess you have a great personality”.

She is not afraid of hard work. She is willing to go chase after her mistakes even at her fragile age. Compare that to Kuzko at the beginning of the movie who is young and healthy but utterly lazy, having his servants feed him 

and throws his subjects out the window. 

Yet we see Yzma crawl through the mud to save her kingdom, 

keeps up with physical activity by smashing statues with a hammer,

 

and she eats healthily. 

She is a scientist that stopped world hunger. Let’s examine what we already know about her abilities. We know that these potions can change matter. We see humans change into creatures of various sizes. Kuzko's height and weight changes from going to a medium sized lama, to a small bird, to a heavy whale that causes a flood when it lands in water. Meaning his weight changes. 

One possible use these potions have is changing small bugs into livestock. She most likely been feeding her people with these potions. Even at the diner Kuzko and Pacha go to escape from Yzma, the edible bugs are large probably due to Yzma’s potions. She is feeding the hungry.

In the words of Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Yzma has lived longer than most and she may see herself as the villain and you may as well, but without Yzma's heroism many people would have perished. 

The Bad Guy Affirmation (Ralph's 10th Anniversary)

Wreck-It Ralph is among my favorite Disney movies (and one of my favorite cosplays), so I was enthusiastic when my daughter started asking to watch it in the past few months (she mostly likes the Disney Princesses in the sequel). This month celebrates the 10th anniversary of the movie about the lives of video game characters. Since Ralph, our main character, never exactly got his proper 30th anniversary in the movie, it’s only fair we give him a good 10th anniversary here.

The biggest conflict in Wreck-It Ralph has to do with the title character’s inner conflict about who he is. For thirty years he defined himself as a bad guy, specifically the way “bad guy” is defined by the populace of his game. Despite his job requiring him to be the “bad guy” for the game to function, none of the Nicelanders recognize this. Instead, they treat him like an inherently awful person. After being called a “bad guy” for thirty years, Ralph believed it. In a bad guy support group for video game villains, his fellow bad guys try to convince him that job title doesn’t define who he is as a person/program… but Ralph needs a little more convincing.

This becomes quite a good allegory for our own lives. The world bombards us with labels and titles from every angle: marital status, sexual orientation, occupation (like Ralph), political affiliation, etc. Sometimes it can feel obnoxious or even oppressive for the world to continually assault us with ideas and identifying labels of “what we should be like,” even if we want to believe differently. We are blessed with a modern-day prophet who has been inspired to teach us about how to deal with these identifiers:

“Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.

“No identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations: child of God, child of the covenant, disciple of Jesus Christ.

“Any identifier that is not compatible with those three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become." (President Russell M. Nelson)

After thirty years of life (like Ralph) my subconscious has begun to believe a lot of things that have been said about me… mostly from within myself. Despite help in therapy over the years, it’s tough to overcome this negative self-talk. How do I stop calling myself useless, worthless, or replaceable when I’ve thought that way for so many years? How do I undo all that backwards thinking? I’ll tell you one way… in closing the movie with Ralph’s share/voiceover, he says something that resonated: “If that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?” When I feel down on myself but I see my little girl chase after me and beg for my attention, and even asks to watch some of my most beloved films, how can I stop my spirits from feeling lifted? When I think of my unborn little girl grabbing my finger in a few months, how can I stop myself from smiling?

From the moments I’ve felt it (which I’m still working on) I feel lifted up even higher when I can feel that way about my Father’s love. If God loves me, how bad can I be? If I can cling close to the Spirit, and the Lord’s love, it doesn’t matter what other people call me (or what I call myself): I can remember my true identity. I’m not a bad guy… at least not in the ways that matter. I am a divine son of God, and a loving father and husband. I take great solace in the words of President Nelson, and I hope that you might too, as we seek to live up to our true and eternal identities: 

"Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become." (President Nelson)

Black Panther Binge List

This blog post is a little difficult to write, compared to other binge lists I’ve done. With the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, we never got closure for this character. And though it’s a sequel to Black Panther, we have no idea where Wakanda Forever will go. I’m just glad they decided not to recast T’Challa and they seem to be doing this movie in honor of Chadwick. Now, before the movie comes out, let’s review our knowledge of Wakanda so far.

Captain America: Civil War (2 hours 28 min)

Our first exposure to Wakanda (unless you count the mention in Age of Ultron) was the introduction of King T’Chaka and his son T’Challa. After the king was killed in Austria, T’Challa donned the Black Panther costume to catch his supposed killer. Joining Team Iron Man to catch Bucky, T’Challa followed Cap and Bucky to Siberia when he and his teammates failed to apprehend the Winter Soldier. I’d say his first true moment as a hero was capturing Zemo and sparing his life.

Black Panther (2 hours 15 min)

Only a few weeks after Civil War, T’Challa was officially made King of Wakanda. Didn’t take long for trouble to show up in the form of Erik Stevens (AKA Killmonger). He thwarted the Wakandans capture of Klaue (who he killed) and he threw T’Challa off the throne… to take revenge on the outside world. I have no right to speak on issues of race, as a white male, but I respect King T’Challa so much for rising above the oppression that his ancestors faced. In the end, the moral high ground won and T’Challa took the throne again.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

In an attempt to save Vision and protect the Mind Stone, the Avengers came to the newly opened-to-the-world Wakanda. While Shuri tried to science the Mind Stone out of Vision, Black Panther, Captain America, and Black Widow led an army (mostly Wakandans) to hold off Thanos’s forces. With the help of Bucky, Thor, Groot, Rocket, and Wanda, they almost succeed. Until Thanos enters the game… with Vision’s Mind Stone in hand, SNAP! T’Challa and fifty percent of life dusted out of existence.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

After the remaining Avengers collect a set of Infinity Stones from the past and bring everyone back, Black Panther and his Wakandan allies are among the large army to face off with Thanos in the final battle. Tony sacrifices himself to win and we’re led to believe they all lived happily ever after into Phase Four. We even got a shot of T’Challa with his family in Wakanda after the battle. Unfortunately, with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, we know happily ever after didn’t work out for the Wakandan royal family.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Episodes 3-5)

We don’t know when Wakanda Forever will take place in relation to Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So the appearance of the Dora Milaje in Latvia could be before or after the new movie. Regardless, check out these episodes if you want to see Ayo and her squad track down Zemo and fight against Bucky and Sam. Or not. You’d probably be okay either way.

It’ll be interesting how they choose to send off T’Challa with this movie. We may have already seen (heard) the last of Chadwick Boseman in What If, but I’m hoping that Wakanda Forever will give a satisfying ending to our prime timeline Black Panther. If you want to check out T'Challa's appearances in What If, you'll want episodes two and nine for Star-Lord T'Challa. Other versions of the Wakandan prince can be seen in episodes five and six. For now... 

D&D Class Breakdown: Rogue

For new players, it can be hard to choose your first class. For veteran players, it can be hard to choose a class and not fall into stereotypes everyone's seen a thousand times. So now I'm going to deconstruct the 5E Player's Handbook classes (Sorry Artificer, you'll come later) and talk about what works, what doesn't, and some interesting ways to play the classes. 

I won't be going into game mechanics as much as I'll be going into roleplay. 

Let's talk about Rogues! 

What is a Rogue? 

We have yet another class based off basic pre-industrial jobs. I kind of love how what was an everyday job 500 years ago is now a fantasy aspiration, like having physical skill is only obtainable in fiction. 

Well that's a mood. 

Anyway, like the fighter and ranger, every culture has someone able to blend into the shadows for one reason for another. The need in criminal circles is obvious, since being able to sneak is handy for thieves and assassins, but the skill also comes in handy for those who need to spy, hunt animals silently, and even protect the innocent by infiltrating bad guy spaces.  

Professional criminals are of course commonly tied to rogues, with burglars being the most in need of the skills. This isn't the "Give up your GP or your HP" sort of thug that mugs people on the streets, but the one that slips into the governor's manor in the dark of the night, taking only the truly valuable jewels, and leaving before anyone even realizes he's there. That's the spirit of the rogue. 

Quick note: the X-Men Rogue, the southern belle mutant who steals people's memories and abilities with a touch, is obviously not the kind of rogue we're talking about. Her name is in reference to the more ambiguous rogue, someone who is on the outskirts of society or the group. Since Rogue can never have a physical relationship without causing harm, she took up the name to express that she will always be an outsider. 

In The Game

Always looking for the next take, the rogue is the unsavory element in society that everyone regrets to admit that they need. The rogue knows how to get into the most guarded dungeons, infiltrate the enemies bases, and deal the lethal blow quickly and effectively. 

Most other classes see the rogue as an unstable wild-card, never quite sure weather or not the rogue can stay loyal if the right about of gold is offered, or if the dangerous individual with the unsettling amount of knives may become the next big bad. 

Players generally play three types of rogues: the murder-hobo, the kleptomaniac and the edge-lord. The murder hobo is the immoral psychopath with a lust for blood and who takes any slight as an excuse to execute the countless NPCs who cross their path. The kleptomaniac will steal anything that's either not nailed down or on fire, sometimes regardless of their value or how much trouble it could cause. The edge-lord wants everyone at the table to know that their character is dark and mysterious, constantly talking about sulking alone in a dark corner and taking a no-nonsense attitude to the parties shannegains. 

Annoying, all of them. 

Breaking the Trope

People playing this class tend to focus only on the criminal aspect of the rogue, rarely exploring the possibilities the class truly has. The following ideas will break away from the basic criminal element and show what can be done with the rogue class. 

Thrillseeker: There's a certain thrill of being somewhere you're not supposed to and seeing things only certain people can see. The thrillseeker may take a trinket here or there, but their main goal is to see what they can find, see how far in they can get before they get caught, and see what dirty little secrets they can reveal. 

Scout: Having someone to scout ahead is an unappreciated strategy for parties. You're basically breaking the DM's game by taking a peek ahead and setting off traps, accessing enemy strengths and weaknesses, and taking out an annoying guard ahead of time. 

Master of Disguise: You can hide in the shadows, yes, but what if you blended into a crowd? What if you got close to the cultist leader by pretending to be one of his inner circle? Slip into the king's party, dance with the queen, taste some crudités, take out the corrupt duke, then slip out with the rest of the shocked party guests. 

Famous Rogues

Vax'ildan (Critical Role): The rangers twin from Vox Machina, Vax is prone to breaking and entering to find the bad guy's lair and getting into trouble, including being hypnotized by a vampire. He's handy in a fight, but don't put him up against a door. 

Catwoman (DC) Selina Kyle is a literal cat burglar, so much so that at one point she put on cat ears and started owning the nickname. She's robbed every bank, museum and penthouse in Gotham, broken into and out of Arkham Asylum, and robbed billionaires like Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor. The only thing you find after one of Catwoman's burglaries are some shredded curtains and your valuables missing. 

Flynn Ryder (Tangled)

I'd put Aladdin on here to represent Disney, but honestly Aladdin's a shoplifter compared to Flynn, who we meet completing a successful heist to steal a crown. He's a charismatic thief who can talk his way into and out of most situations. Not content to steal everything of value, Flynn focuses on the high value targets to get what he really wants, though his biggest prize is when he stole Rapunzel's heart. 

-JOE

Who are Organization XIII?

This post we will examine Organization XIII members up too Kingdom Heart II. They are a group of thirteen (fourteen if you count Xion, which most members of the organization do not) nobodies who lost their hearts to Darkness. Features of the organization are they have an “x” in their name. Some have scrambled there previous life's name and added an "x". For instance, Axel former life was Lea, and Roxas is Sora. They also wear a black hooded coat. A nobody is made when a heart is swallowed by darkness and produces a Heartless. Roxas came into being after Sora stabbed himself with Riku’s, the keyblade of hearts, in keyblade in Kingdom Hearts I. They are a lot of heartless, but luckily the organization only contains thirteen (fourteen) members.

Most of the characters will not be examined to deeply because I don’t know too much about them and probably learn more about them as I play Kingdom Hearts II. I am creating this post because at this point this would be helpful for me to know the members of the Organization because I wasn’t able to get to know them well watching Kingdom Hearts 358/2.

My favorite Organization members are Axel and Xion with Roxas falling below them. in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 we see the development of Axel and Xion. Axel gaining friends, but then having to decide which friend he wants to live. while, Xion becomes her own person, but has to decide if she rather live or help another life. Both characters are complex and that is why they are currently my top favorite organization members. 

I will rank them in order they are associate with in Organization XIII. Each member has a number associated with them and the lower the number the higher in rank they have.

Organization XIII

1. Xemnas: Leader of Organization XIII. His goal is to build Kingdom Hearts to obtain a heart for him and his organization. At least that is what he says. Members of the organization question his motives. Currently alive.
   
   
   
   
2. Xigbar: The second-in-command of the organization and keeps an eye on everything. He acts in his own way to fulfill the organization goal. At this point we don't know much about him but we should keep an eye on him. Currently alive.
   
   
   
   
3. Xaldin: Even though he seeks a heart he despises love and friendship. He is another character that hasn't been explored yet. Currently alive.
   
   
   
   
4. Vexen: The scientist of the group. He is in charge of the replica program at Castle Oblivion. He is the creator of replica Riku and Xion. He died in KH Chain of Memories by Axel.
   
   
5. Lexaeus: Big muscley guy in the Organization. We don't get to know him well. He was sent to Castle Oblivion and was part of Riku story in KH CoM. He was killed by Riku Darkness after defeating Riku. 
   
   
6. Zexion: The Tactician in the group. He was sent to Castle Oblivion in KH CoM and didn't predict Axel betraying him and died. 
   
   
7. Saïx: Xemnas right hand man and is in charge of giving orders to other members. He is an Old Acquaintance of Axel. He was also the one that ordered Axel to Castle Oblivion in KH CoM to dispose of members that wanted to betray the organization. currently alive. 
   
   
8. Axel: He has his own motives and they are higher priority over the organization goals. We do not know what they currently are. He is best friends with Roxas and Xion. When he had a chose to save Roxas or Xion he chose Roxas. He may seem like a bad guy in KH CoM, but he is kind. He is one of the few members that we know most about. In KH CoM  he killed two members of Organization XIII. He is the only one to survive Castle Oblivion. currently alive.
   
   
9. Demyx: Relaxed person in the organization. He loves his guitar and is not a great fighter. currently alive.
   
   
10. Luxord: The gambler of the group. He loves treating everything as a wager. A gentleman and reserved persona. Currently alive.
    
    
11. Marluxia: He was the Lord of Castle Oblivion and in KH CoM he sought to take away Sora's keyblade and overtake the organization becoming the new leader. He is the main antagonist is Sora's story. He forces/threatens Naminé to wipe Sora's memory. Died by Sora.
    
    
12. Larxene: Highly conceited and mocks all those around her. She has a lightning personality. She was sent to Castle Oblivion in KH CoM and didn't trust Axel motives, but was killed by Sora. 
    
    
13. Roxas: Sora's Nobody and wielder of the keyblade. He is the main protagonist in KH 358/2. He becomes his own person and becomes best friends with Axel and Xion. He loves eating sea-salt ice cream with his friends at the end of each mission. Currently Alive.
    
    
14. Xion: The unofficial member of Organization XIII. a replica of Sora and Roxas made by Vexen. She is the embodiment of Kairi. and when she finds out that she is part of Sora. She willingly sacrifices herself to help Sora and save Roxas. She gets captured by the organization before she merges and is mind controlled to fight against Roxas. She is defeated by her best friend which allows herself to fully emerge with Sora. This takes place in KH 358/2.