We know what Marluxia and Larxene want. We know what Diz wants. But what does the girl at the heart of all these plots want for herself? Namine is an interesting character, because she's always depicted as a third party to the other characters she's interacting with: Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Xion are the ones in the spotlight when they speak with Namine, and its their thoughts and beliefs that are being held under the microscope. Namine is always there, but her needs and wants are never really addressed.
Well, there's a few things which one might guess at.
Namine is consistently denied the opportunity to create a real friendship that every other character in the series get to have. We can all run through the trios in our heads: Sora, Riku, Kairi; Roxas, Axel, Xion; Aqua, Ven, Terra; etc, etc. Who does Namine get to pair up with? There are people she interacts with, certainly, but there's no sense of close friendship that the others get. Nor does she ever really get the opportunity. For all the information we have, she might have well been with the Organization from the first day of her existence. If this were the case, the only time she would have met anyone without the intention of using her for malicious intent would be Sora when he firsts enters the castle. And even then, she is being forced to mess with his mind. In cruel irony, the one person who might like her for who she is is being forced to believe that they are friends through trickery and deceit, and the friendship that he believes they have never exists to begin with. And Namine obviously knows this falsehood: she never seems pleased about the prospect of Sora being duped, even if the end effect of the plot would, essentially, mean that she will finally get to have a friend. Instead, she goes out of her way to block her own role in the plan by forewarning Sora about what is afoot, and revealing that their make-believe friendship is a web of lies of her own creation. She stops something which might benefit her, to save a person she doesn't really know, and puts herself in danger in doing so.
Then, after all has been revealed, and Sora appears forgiving, Namine offers him a choice: having his old memories back, or keeping the ones he has of her. Even giving Sora this choice is pretty darn nice, considering that Namine is aware that one of the options involves him forgetting all about her. And that's no small thing: remember, Sora is the only person Namine has ever met that has been nice to her. He really is the only would-be friend she has. And when he opts for his old memories, she's noticeably shaken, though she carries herself well. And then, most important of all, she makes good on her word: she puts Sora back together. She doesn't really have to: after all, she could just tinker with Sora's head some more, and he'd never know that any of this had happened. Both of them would be pretty happy. Yet she does the right thing, and puts Sora back together again.
In the case of Roxas, she is the one who is actively placing his mind back into Sora's. Just as she was having a hand in screwing with Sora's head, now she does the same to Roxas. And yet, in spite of the fact that she is essentially killing him, Namine tries to comfort Roxas in his distress. She knows his end, and knows his pain, and knows that he really won't be able to remember her (or, at least, not in this physical plane of existence), but it still means something to her that she goes and visits Roxas in his time of need.
What does Namine want? Well, that answer seems obvious. Namine wants a friend. She's constantly surrounded by people who are using and abusing her, and she just wants someone who she can call a real pal. Yet, all of her attempts to get just that are thwarted, not just by other forces, but often by herself. Here's the thing, though: when she is complicating the diabolical plans, she is often losing something in the process. But Namine doesn't think about herself and her own wants and needs. She thinks about others, and what is good for them. She wants Sora to remember her, but she knows that Kairi means something to him, and so she lets him have those memories back. She knows that Roxas doesn't want to go, and it pains her to put him back, but again, she is thinking of the well being of Sora. And even in the case of Roxas, she does her best to make it easier for him to bear, even when it threatens to screw up the plan of secrecy.
And in the end, maybe what Namine really wants is just to make other people happy.
Here's a fun question: what does Namine want?
We know what Marluxia and Larxene want. We know what Diz wants. But what does the girl at the heart of all these plots want for herself? Namine is an interesting character, because she's always depicted as a third party to the other characters she's interacting with: Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Xion are the ones in the spotlight when they speak with Namine, and its their thoughts and beliefs that are being held under the microscope. Namine is always there, but her needs and wants are never really addressed.
Well, there's a few things which one might guess at.
Namine is consistently denied the opportunity to create a real friendship that every other character in the series get to have. We can all run through the trios in our heads: Sora, Riku, Kairi; Roxas, Axel, Xion; Aqua, Ven, Terra; etc, etc. Who does Namine get to pair up with? There are people she interacts with, certainly, but there's no sense of close friendship that the others get. Nor does she ever really get the opportunity. For all the information we have, she might have well been with the Organization from the first day of her existence. If this were the case, the only time she would have met anyone without the intention of using her for malicious intent would be Sora when he firsts enters the castle. And even then, she is being forced to mess with his mind. In cruel irony, the one person who might like her for who she is is being forced to believe that they are friends through trickery and deceit, and the friendship that he believes they have never exists to begin with. And Namine obviously knows this falsehood: she never seems pleased about the prospect of Sora being duped, even if the end effect of the plot would, essentially, mean that she will finally get to have a friend. Instead, she goes out of her way to block her own role in the plan by forewarning Sora about what is afoot, and revealing that their make-believe friendship is a web of lies of her own creation. She stops something which might benefit her, to save a person she doesn't really know, and puts herself in danger in doing so.
Then, after all has been revealed, and Sora appears forgiving, Namine offers him a choice: having his old memories back, or keeping the ones he has of her. Even giving Sora this choice is pretty darn nice, considering that Namine is aware that one of the options involves him forgetting all about her. And that's no small thing: remember, Sora is the only person Namine has ever met that has been nice to her. He really is the only would-be friend she has. And when he opts for his old memories, she's noticeably shaken, though she carries herself well. And then, most important of all, she makes good on her word: she puts Sora back together. She doesn't really have to: after all, she could just tinker with Sora's head some more, and he'd never know that any of this had happened. Both of them would be pretty happy. Yet she does the right thing, and puts Sora back together again.
In the case of Roxas, she is the one who is actively placing his mind back into Sora's. Just as she was having a hand in screwing with Sora's head, now she does the same to Roxas. And yet, in spite of the fact that she is essentially killing him, Namine tries to comfort Roxas in his distress. She knows his end, and knows his pain, and knows that he really won't be able to remember her (or, at least, not in this physical plane of existence), but it still means something to her that she goes and visits Roxas in his time of need.
What does Namine want? Well, that answer seems obvious. Namine wants a friend. She's constantly surrounded by people who are using and abusing her, and she just wants someone who she can call a real pal. Yet, all of her attempts to get just that are thwarted, not just by other forces, but often by herself. Here's the thing, though: when she is complicating the diabolical plans, she is often losing something in the process. But Namine doesn't think about herself and her own wants and needs. She thinks about others, and what is good for them. She wants Sora to remember her, but she knows that Kairi means something to him, and so she lets him have those memories back. She knows that Roxas doesn't want to go, and it pains her to put him back, but again, she is thinking of the well being of Sora. And even in the case of Roxas, she does her best to make it easier for him to bear, even when it threatens to screw up the plan of secrecy.
And in the end, maybe what Namine really wants is just to make other people happy.