#I love Brain and Ephemer so so much

[psianabel]

Ephemer's and Brain's scenes where they get appointed as a Union Leader - a comparison (and some other stuff relating to that)

Hi I'm Psi and I've been rotating these scenes in my mind for so long I just need to put down some words about this. Idk how long this is going to be, but I hope you will enjoy this. (Also screw the 10 picture limit of tumblr.)

There is quite the difference between those two scenes and it reflects a lot about their relationship with Ava, how they treat the title as a Union Leader, and are just ... generally interesting to look at, now that we kinda know everything.

The first frame each scene.

We know all of them got appointed at this same hill (except Strelitzia and, well, Ventus). Yet right from the start - even though the positioning are the same between them, Brain is seen lying down on the hill as Ava talks to him, while Ephemer seems to have been called to the hill to meet Ava there. Ava might have joined Brain on the hill instead of the other way around.

Brain is seen with the Rule Book in his hands already. The conversion starts for us right in the middle - he already got that book, and Ava told him to become a Union Leader.

The scene with Ephemer also starts right in the middle for us. Yet he doesn't have the rule book yet, but also asks Ava the same question as Brain.

Let's continue with Ephemer's scene for now. He questions everything Ava tells him, can't quite understand this end of the world, how he can't wrap his head around this while Ava already tells him what he has to do. It is very overwhelming for him (understandable), but he tries to listen to Ava's talk.

Ava assures him he isn't alone in this, that they can work together.

Ephemer just takes it all in, without questioning this loud on screen. I'm certain his mind is running miles right now. A silent thinker.

Brain, however, reacts quite differently. While we don't see the conversation they had before, the talk about the end, the war, doesn't happen here (which I definitely get from a narration point, and assume happened as he got the Rule Book before this scene started).

Instead he questions the choice of him taking on such an important role, immediately asking whose idea this was. Ava tells him the truth, that it was the Master of Masters, and assures him he'll be fine. And again Brain isn't quite happy about the work he just got appointed to do, and questions her about the four others - Ava must have told him about how they will take over the roles of the foretellers, to lead the Unions, how they can work together etc.

While he doesn't get an answer to his question, Ava's answer is still enough for him to draw an answer for himself - looking right through everything, how they aren't supposed to meet up before the war to do something unexpected.

"Clever as always" says to me that Ava knew Brain before all this. They definitely have met before, Ava knows how Brain thinks, how he's like and what he's capable of. Her short answers of "you'll be fine" over and over imply to me that.

The two scenes now drift apart in terms of the topic, yet they still kind of follow the same path.

Ava asks Ephemer to prepare for the other world - the world she intends to send the Dandelions to - while she starts a conversation about fate and destiny about Brain.

Again, let's start with Ephemer's scene first. Ava has given Ephemer the Rule Book now, and while Ephemer is still hung up about everything Ava just told him, Ava tells him how this other world won't have the Dandelions remember the war. Ephemer counters with how he isn't sure if this is a good idea, how the past is what makes the future after all. Ava notes how she thought he might say that and wonders if he still thought the same if he was there to witness the end.

Ephemer doesn't answer and the scene ends.

Throughout the entire scene Ava stays serious, going through this calm and collected without showing much emotion. The only time she does crack a small smile is at the very end.

Ava, now having joined Brain's side on the ground, starts dropping think-pieces towards Brain about the future, about predetermined fate, and if you knew what would happen, would you be able to change it.

Brain always answers her curious questions with curious questions of his own, furthering the discussion with her. He brings up the Book of Prophecies and knows how it holds the future in text form, wonders if you were to change the future if the text were to change as well.

Ava's expressions during that scene stays smiling, she chuckles at some answers from Brain, ... it comes off as appreciation that Brain just gets her, understands what she is about and her thought process.

A wavelength they share. Ava trusts him and you can see it in that conversation alone.

It is interesting, because with Ephemer - as he states the past is what makes the future - she simply comes off as "don't think about that. Follow the rules set in stone". Ephemer tries to challenge the thought, but Ava shuts him down. Even that far that, when he later meets Brain for the first time and Brain asks about the rules, Ephemer remembers Ava's words and follows what he had been told to.

Sure, these two topics - between Ava and Ephemer, and Ava and Brain - are different, yet it is still a conversation only the two individually got. And I can't help but compare these two, because the intentions of these scenes are the same, yet so vastly different excecuted.

And to bring everything to a peak, Brain's scene continues with him getting the Book of Prophecies, together with the list of the names of the five new Union Leaders.

Again, Ava trusts Brain in this, how he uses it, what he's supposed to do with it. And he assures her that he understood her message loud and clear. The scene ends with Brain saying he won't open it if he can avoid it and Ava, again, assuring him that he will know best.

Ava was intrusted to give the Book of Prophecies to one of the new Union Leaders in secret, noted that no one else from the other four should ever get their hands on it. Now that we know it wasn't Brain who was supposed to get it, the look at this and some other scenes get quite ... interesting.

There are some leftover things I want to cover.

- Ava and Brain have a much more comfortable conversation than Ava and Ephemer. I conclude from that that they knew each other before all this, as I mentioned before. Ephemer states that Ava is easy to talk to, so maybe that is also a factor. I also conclude from this that she specifically chose Brain for the Book because she already knew him. If she knew him before or after she got the list with the names would really be interesting to know, but sadly we don't know that. (But could you imagine if she knew him before she got her role?)

- Maybe Ephemer just needed this serious talk. We do know him as his bright, laughing boy, able to make friends quickly. He has troubles making important serious decisions alone (Shift Pride for example). Brain on the other hand is the more serious one, and Ava was more smiley in his scene - he can make decisions on his own if he wants to, maybe coming from a background where he was alone pre keyblade war times. Hm, just wondering here how this might be relevant to Missing Link one day ...

- Which scene happens first? Ephemer's or Brain's? I can only speculate, but let's put some things in order. We see one other scene between Ephemer and Ava, and it is when they meet at the fountain on the day Ephemer first met Player. There the conversation starts with "oh your name is Ephemer, right?" as if they ... have maybe met once before. Ava would definitely know Ephemer more here already if they had the talk about the Union Leader thing already. It must have been later than this then, though not much all too later, because Ephemer vanishes shortly after, to carry out what Ava asked him to do.

- So, Brain's scene before or after this point? We don't have a clear indication. I want to bring in the lines during the Ephemer - Ava fountain scene "Hey, maybe talking about the Book will cheer you up!" "Not a chance." here, simply because I feel this is important to Ava's decision of giving Brain the Book. Ephemer is so curious about the Book of Prophecies, he doesn't hide it. There is another line I want to bring in now, from the KHUx Finale.

"Master Ava told me you've been wanting to read the Book for a long time." This very line could reference this very fountain scene, implying that Brain and Ava met again at some later point to let him know just about that. Which is interesting, because it means that Brain knew that Ephemer was a Union Leader even before the war, or maybe Ava told him in a way without mentioning he's a new leader - paraphrasing here - "there is a boy called Ephemer who wants to read the Book so badly". Either way, it makes me think Brain's scene happened before Ephemer's just because of this line.

- following up on my previous point, Brain knowing that Ephemer wants to read the Book so badly from the very beginning makes the keyblade graveyard scene of them meeting for the first time interesting to look at. Other theories aside here, Brain asking him if he's the leader and if they should follow the rules, knowing this one thing about Ephemer - challenging him like Ava did in his scene, but this time in reversed roles. Kind of to see where he stands.

- knowing all that, seeing their relationship flourish through the game is so ... good. From Brain questioning if he's the leader to downright trusting him by showing him the list of the names of the Union Leaders, being the first person Brain seeks out to talk about this issue they face. I will not go into details about that, I just want to conclude it with my final image.

The keyblade, the Book, it was meant for Ephemer all this time - implying that Ephemer was the one who was circled in red by the Master of Masters in the first place.

I could go into another deep dive here, about how this was meant to happen in the first place, how even if Ava wanted to challenge fate and destiny by switching around the owners, this timeline was written down in the first place like that - but maybe that's for another day.

So ..... yeah.

Two scenes, so different, yet so similar to the core. Ephemer, who took his role as a Union Leader serious right away. Brain, who calls him a leader right away, calling himself lazy and not fit for the job in the first place.

Yet in the end they worked together blindly, understood and trusted each other.

Anyways uhhh, that's all, thanks for reading and I hope my jumbled thoughts make somewhat sense, lmao.

[espurr-roba]

khux-era keykid! might probably have their character tweaked and developed as time goes on, but this was super fun to design

[cq-studios]

29. How do you think they would be as a parent?—Ephemer

Ooh, okay, I do spend quite a bit of time thinking about this.

So, I think Ephemer would be a really fun dad overall, but he’s also not entirely stable.

He’d mask a lot of his pain with his cheery demeanour but sometimes his kid(s) will come home and just see him completely broken on the couch or something. Ephemer has a lot of trauma and I very much doubt Scala in general, let alone early Scala, has a good grasp on or ways to help treat mental health issues.

Speaking of that trauma though, I don’t think he’d want his kid(s) to be Keyblade wielders. I’ve talked about this before, but Daybreak Town certainly had a lot of kids dying… all the time. I can’t imagine that anyone, let alone someone as social as Ephemer, could’ve avoided that. I feel that Ephemer would be against kids wielding Keyblades similarly to how Skuld was against Shift Pride, with the compromise being the education system. Even still though, I can’t imagine Ephemer would be too comfortable with the idea.

I also think for similar reasons that he’d be a bit of a helicopter parent lol. All up in his kid(s) business, always checking in to make sure they’re okay, can’t let them out of sight for too long. Like people who had too much freedom when they were younger tend to not give their kids enough freedom and Ephemer certainly had quite a bit of freedom when he was younger.

I feel like his partner would try and rein him in a bit, to moderate success. The anxiety wins over quite often, but it gets better as the kid(s) get older.

I’m trying to think if I have any other headcannons about this but I think that’s it

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

Notes on “do you think we’re together in every universe?” (skulmerayer multiverse post):

Putting pain aside for a moment, this was a really neat mini project to make! I put some thought into what kinds of universes I wanted to have a peek into. There are just so many to choose from! This ain’t even the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure. But I hope the ones I did choose were interesting enough to think about and/or familiar to some of y’all :)

On an artistic note: I love using grayscale every now and then! I have some experience with charcoal and ink wash drawings so the style here is lightly inspired by that (even though I used pencil and gouache brushes 😅)

Composition-wise: Allow me to introduce you to the multiverse rubix cube lol!! The placements of each universe are meant to parallel each other. Universe A and C are branches off of union cross canon, so they’re across from each other. D and F are branches off of missing link. G and I are branches off of the era between. And B and H are about childhood innocence.

Here are each of their descriptions, in order:

Main Universe [in the context of the art]

The ataraxia universe, where Skuld, Ephemer and Player get together and stay together (my khux/skulmerayer copium universe)

Universe A

In which Darkness says “We could take over one of you here and now.” and actually commits to it, choosing Ephemer as its vessel.

Universe B

A universe in which Skuld is not Subject χ. After she and Ephemer awaken in Daybreak Town’s rubble, they found Scala and raise a family together.

Universe C

AU where the lifeboat roles were switched. Ven, Ephemer, Skuld, and Player escape the data world first, while Brain, Lauriam and Elrena stay behind. But it was never supposed to be this way.

Universe D

@corishadowfang’s Fallen Stars universe, in which Skuld arrives in Scala during Missing Link’s era.

Universe E

The current presumed canon universe, unless Skuld being Subject χ is proven otherwise.

Universe F

A universe where Brain and Player2 become close friends (perhaps more?) in Scala. Also known as the plain universe, because what’s a multiverse post without mentioning a bagel or two? 😄🥯

Universe G

I had my fic A Light That Never Goes Out in mind, but this is pretty much any universe in which the whole gang gets to stay together, and Ephemer and Player have the chance to properly build on their relationship. lots of copium in this one

Universe H

High school/modern/real life AU. (Special shoutout to @rosie-kairi’s idea of giving Ephemer braces!)

Universe I

Ephemer lives his life. Open to interpretation!

and finally, a Bonus (Everything Everywhere All At Once reference):

[the-au-collector]

So I just watched the new Missing Link cutscenes (here's the video I watched if anyone wants to see them too) and I am having Thoughts so let's dump them here shall we?

Player is just... confused. They just seem so confused in every scene they're in and I love it

I really want to talk about the Baroque Society. It seems like Square is going for a sort of "underdogs" vibe for them. They're small, they're tight-knit (?), they're clearly looked down upon by the higher ups (those scientists did not seem happy that they needed to be called to action).

I'm having mixed feelings about Neptune (also I'm assuming Nept is short for Neptune). On one hand, I love him so much. On the other hand, he seems just a little shady. What are his motives? I'm reluctant to believe any higher ups in this world have good intentions. Idk, I'm keeping an eye on him for now. That said, I love every scene he's in he's probably my favorite so far.

Freya's Japanese voice is kind of annoying to me, but otherwise she seems fine. She's the one giving all the information, but I do like the billboard she's by. I know Nomura said she's not related to Ephemer (which I still think she is), but I could (also) see her being related to the other silver-haired characters we know, like Riku or Hermod and Baldr maybe?

"You took in another one, didn't you?" Freya said that in the scene where Player joins the Baroque Society. "Another one?" Did Neptune pick up Brain too? Honestly I think it would be a complete mind fuck for Brain if Neptune did because now we have 5 kids running their own show, probably about to cause some big chaos...

On first watch it seems like these Societies act like guilds rather than unions, but when rewatching the scenes I realize the scientists say "the founters' societies" so maybe they're more like Unions than I initially thought. Also interesting they said founders, not founder. Regardless, this begs the question of why the Baroque Society is so small and shabby?

I'm loving the theory that Lea is descended from Remus but I'm really worried about why Remus didn't reappear. We can't get tragic siblings this soon can we?

Society Legal Investigations Committee... wonder what that is

Player is so confused but so happy to be part of the Baroque Society

I don't really have much to say about the scientists themselves, but the fact that we keep cutting to them makes me believe they're going to be very important.

The silver haired strangers... Ephemer's descendants perhaps? I'm guessing since they're very shady that they planted the dark thing Nept got from the guards into the Guards' minds... yeah we're going to have some interesting things going on in this game.

That's all I can think of for now but the gears in my brain are turning so hard, and I have some theories, especially about Remus. I'll spare you the theorizing until I get my thoughts in order though

[corishadowfang]

3 or 12?

(For this)

3. A character the fandom helped you appreciate.

Basically all of the Radiant Garden crew, haha. They were less interesting to me compared to everyone else (Braig and Xehanort aside), but the fandom's done a lot of cool stuff with them that's won me over, haha.

12. Compliment someone in your fandom.

I...will not be sticking to just one haha.

@starlightwayfinder You create such beautiful art and amazing fics, and are just a really sweet person overall.

@kicktwine Your art is absolutely amazing and I LOVE your worldbuilding. (My knowledge on FF14 is limited but I still get excited every time I see a spec bio post from you.)

@goldensunset I love seeing your thoughts on the games (they have a tendency to either make me emotional or go feral over how interesting they are, haha). Also, stairposting.

@rosie-kairi SO MANY of your shitposts/memes/etc. make me laugh, haha. Also, your art is fantastic.

@serenedash Good takes and fics and art!! I always get excited when I see something new from you.

@thetwilightroadtonightfall OVERMORROW IS MAKING ME CRY (positive). But also seeing you talk about Ephemer is so much fun because you're clearly having such a great time with it.

@psianabel Your FICS. Man, I love them so much; I have reread many of them several times, they're so good!

@hallowed-nebulae Also an amazing fic writer!! Seriously, I love your prose and how you handle the characters, and your worldbuilding is just so COOL.

@fungeiful Your art is fantastic; I've loved seeing all of the Brain and Player doodles. Also, bagelposting.

@cq-studios You're so enthusiastic about the mobile games and it makes me SO HAPPY. Your art style is also adorable.

@recusant-s-sigil I LOVE seeing/hearing your thoughts about the series; they're so well thought-out and interesting. Also, Scala Ask Caelum is very cool.

@scalacaelumx Amazing art and a very sweet person! I may not see you on my dash as much as some others, but I always get excited when I do.

@chibifightfu You have such amazing art and are just a super cool person in general! I always love talking with you, whether about KH stuff or random things.

@lightwithinthedarknessu You are one of the kindest people I've ever met. Also, I adore all of your writing.

@bookwormally ALSO A REALLY FANTASTIC WRITER and I will be continually impressed by your management abilities. (Also, thank you so much for organizing the World Guidebook Zine.)

@blazernot When I saw someone else was doing Skuld and Brain stuff, I got SO EXCITED, haha. Also, you're just a very cool person, and I love your OCs.

And...and there are definitely people I'm missing, so just know that all of you are awesome and I'm happy you're here!

[starlightwayfinder]

*Shuffles in quietly* I would like to offer more sad ideas about the Union Leaders.

With the upcoming Missing Link game my head is full of brainrot (heh) and I'm just . . . so sad for our resident goth cowboy so if you'll allow me.

Brain never forgives himself for what he sees as failing all his friends. He promised to save them and in the end they all get separated, he has no idea what happens to 4 of them but poor Ephemer was forced to rebuild keyblade society alone. Brain was his right hand man and he failed his leader. None the less he's determined to get more work done to lighten the load for future generations.

While Brain struggles to move on in life he does manage to find some semblance of normalcy and sees his lost friends all around him. He see Ephemer in the stone and bricks in Scala's foundation, sees him in the streetlights and in the pretty silver haired girl that is his descendent. Marrying her is one of the few bright spots of his current predicament and sometimes Brain swears late at night he can hear his old friends laugh.

Brain feels Lauriam's strong but gentle presence every morning at the start of dawn, when the world is still awash in dark but the light slowly creeps in promising the start to a new day. Brain also never forgives himself for not helping Lauriam more with finding his sister. He hopes he found her and they're finally together.

He sees Skuld in all the new keyblade wielders trying to find their place in the world. Skuld was in many ways the peacekeeper of their group and she always had their wellbeing in mind just as much as the dandelions. Brain didn't realize how much he relied on her strength until she wasn't there, those early days grappling with likely never seeing her again were some of the hardest.

And lastly Brain sees Ven in his beloved grandson. The two are so similar, sweet little boys full of kindness and earnest, it almost hurts to look at him some days. There was the one time the wind picked up his hat and Eraqus was able to reclaim it he brought the hat back and he smiled in such a ventus way Brain nearly fell to his knees. But before Eraqus could worry too much Brain grabbed the hat and placed it on his head but pulled it down enough to cover the little boy's eyes just like he did to ven, even their giggles sound the same. And at night when he kisses his grandson goodnight and says I love you, he's silently hoping against hope his words reach ventus across time and hopes above all else he's alive and safe.

It's many years later when Eraqus meets Ven that he feels a strange sense of familiarity. He remembers his grandfather's stories of his lost friends and how he reminded him of the youngest. So full of light and gentle as the wind he gets the strangest feeling if his grandfather were here he and ven would get along quite well. He's not sure if he can live up to his grandfather but he'll still try if only to relieve the poor man's pain even at the end of his life.

And yet Eraqus knows just like Brain before him he ultimately failed

*motioning for you to sit by the fire*

You’re always welcome to share your sad ideas here Anon. 

Brain must have so many feelings about his lost friends.. I can definitely imagine Brain wishing he could’ve been there to help build Scala with Ephemer. He’s so proud of his friend, but it still hurts knowing Eph did so much on his own.

And of course he’d regret not having the time to help Lauriam find Strelitzia. Or to help any of the other lost Dandelions, for that matter. 

Mhm, Skuld was a great peacekeeper/mediator within the Union leaders. And it’s so uncertain what happened to her… I’m sure Brain worries that he failed to help her survive.

That part about Eraqus and Ven… You’re going to make me cry! I love imagining Eraqus spending time with his grandfather… but his playful personality is so similar to Ven’s, no wonder it would bring back memories.. And the idea of Brain telling Eraqus stories about them…! 💔

[ok4ru]

The Eraqus and Xehanort swapped AU… 👀 @autumn-may-main @clankythecranky

So, in the Dark Road Swap AU, I decided not to change anything for the first part of the story so Xehanort still grew up on Destiny Island and was raised by Player.

But, this time Xehanort is a successful child of Destiny Island and also has the kingdom necklace since in this AU it's a pass-down gift in the Ephemer bloodline.

Sadly, Xehanort manages to lose it while going through the door of darkness.

But, he makes it to Scala and enjoys his time with also the people there. With one of the people being Eraqus. Eraqus was wary at first cause reeked of darkness but didn’t mind he had a new friend! A fast and close relationship grows between the two with also their love of chess and Scala ad Caelum's ancient history.

(Also maybe Grandchildren of Masters but hey, Xehanort doesn't know who his Grandpa is yet and only Eraqus so…)

Now I decided to make Eraqus more like Brain and have more of an interest in stuff and digging into it a lot than he usually should to the point it drives him crazy but Xehanort is always there to stop him. But most of the time Eraqus is just his normal self.

Xehanort also makes friends with Baldr and starts to bond over feeling light and darkness in people's hearts. They become close friends and Eraqus joining aside from them.

Now as for the Baldr and Hoder: I decided to switch to Baldr and Hoder which is funny because Hoder is originally associated with Night and Darkness but Square Enix uses that for Baldr's role instead of her so I guess I'm going by the original role.

Now in the story, one day Baldr informs Eraqus that he thinking of going to find his sister since he hasn’t seen her in a while, and the Mark of Mastery is coming up, and doesn't want her to miss it.

Eraqus got an off feeling about it but shrugged it off and encouraged him to find her.

During the main everything kinda plays out the same, that gang has to look for Baldr as well as their missing Upperclassmen. Except in each world, Xehanort and Eraqus started to feel a bit of dread and uncomfortableness building up every moment.

Not making it any better that learning Baldr is dead and they don’t know anything about whether their other classmates are safe since they also went through the Corridor of Darkness.

The boys find themselves in darkness alone, nothing else, not knowing how or if they’ll get home. Before Xehanort can tell Eraqus to put his armor on he sees Eraqus's almost lifeless body lying there. Eraqus gives up, he is tired. He told Xehanort to go without him and I told you, I wouldn't go as far as you…

Xehanort was baffled by his yet he wasn’t having any of it… “Not on my watch.” He said.

He helps Eraqus get his armor and tries to drag them out of there…

Xehanort thought to Eraqus's words but tried to not feed into them as much. “Maybe it’s just the darkness talking…” The boy could hold on any longer and ended up collapsing on the ground…That was until Master Odin found them.

The next day back in the classroom Eraqus seemed to be doing much better but a bit tired but still the same old Eraqus. It kinda gave Xehanort a bit of whiplash.

Everything after that, the duo fights the upper-classmen and Vor dies in the hands of Hoder which…Damn :(

Now as for the battle, I decided to do two things: The talk between Hoder and Xehanort is the same but Hoder starts to realize that Xehanort may not be as similar to her as she thought at the end…

As Hoder is being held down by Master Odin's chain she mentions to Eraqus that she realizes Xehanort seems to be his light while Eraqus seems to be always in his shadow…

Eraqus didn't really wanna hear this because to him it wasn't true. Defended him and said he would never be jealous of his best friend…Right?

Hoder begins to taunt Eraqus making him angry and leading him to strike her down.

Xehanort was shocked it was like the whole world was silent at that very moment…

So was Eraqus. He couldn’t even believe himself…Xehanort felt a sharp bit of pain in his heart and slowly started to realize…Those feelings of dread were from Eraqus but Darkness hadn’t taken his heart… Oh no, it was only the beginning of his heart going down a dark road…

I’ll go into debt about Xehanort and Eraqus’s relationship so more later this post is already long…

Edit: The first part of the story didn’t even get paste but it is here now!

[bluerosesburnblue]

1. I don't know if you're keeping up with FFVII Rebirth stuff, since I know you haven't played FFVII Remake (though I know you at least kept up with the general idea of what happened with FFVII Remake). But have you noticed how divided some of the fandom is with what's going on with it? Like, how some people think there are multiple timelines going on (which I definitely think is the case. And I think SE just confirmed that). Whereas some think there are only one.

2. And not even just with the timeline thing (though that's certainly part of it), people are just so adamant that everything they think about how FFVII Rebirth is going to go is absolutely right. And I'm just... worried that people are going to be wrong in some areas. And are building it up in their heads too much, and are going to be disappointed in the end. I feel like I learned my lesson some with Game of Thrones and KHIII, but this recent fandom trend (not just with FFVII oc) concerns me. 3. And I guess I'm wondering if you've also noticed that kind of thing in other fandoms, or feel the same way. I'm sure we could name other fandoms that are doing that (KH very much still is). And I also feel like FNAF definitely does that: like in "I've solved the story of FNAF (or this part of the story of it), and everyone else is wrong." And it feels like, at least in some ways, people are in danger of making their own stories of the stories they say they love, and not loving the real thing. 4. I'm hoping that the FFVII Rebirth thing will be SLIGHTLY better, now that SE has confirmed that it's multiple timelines. But a part of me is still kind of biting my lip, because it still feels like at least parts of the fandom are like, "FFVII Rebirth is going to open like X, and then do this thing, and then this is going to happen, and end like this." And I'm kind of like... why? ...Not that I want to put bad thoughts about FFVIIR out there now, when there's so many reasons to be hyped atm.

You know, funny enough, I was actually talking to a friend of mine yesterday about this exact same thing happening in the Pokemon fandom right now with regards to the ending of Pokemon Scarlet/Violet and how the fandom is completely split on what a certain device in the finale (not gonna spoil things since you did say you might be interested in the game) does. One side takes what the game says it is at face value, the other has a conspiracy theory that "fixes" certain plot holes that they're adamant is correct. And both arguments, to me, are kind of pointless since we already know that the upcoming second DLC this winter is going to cover it? They weren't even subtle about the fact that we're going to be getting more on it, with the DLC pack being called "The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" (Area Zero being the location of the game's finale)

And you're right, it is a worrying trend across a lot of fandoms. There's this... I don't know, obsession, with the idea of being "the one who called it" amongst certain people. As someone who's been known to engage in theories myself, I don't think there's anything wrong with theorizing, necessarily, or with defending the merits of your arguments pre-release, but you also have to be open to being wrong and willing to look at your stuff before and after and realize that "being wrong" isn't always some sort of failing on your part (though some people are just wrong because their comprehension of established facts were wrong and that usually is their fault, that's only an issue if you stubbornly refuse to allow yourself to be wrong when presented with corrected information)

Like, you might remember some of my KHUx theorycrafting and the fact that I was half-right, half-wrong on some things. Like, I called the fact that Ephemer and Brain were going to split up with one going outside of the Datascape to try to save the others and one staying behind, and that the one who stayed behind would also get out of the Datascape after the others were gone. I was wrong about which was which. Looking back, I can look at my own reasoning and see where it was sound, and where I was just limited by the available information (IIRC I said all of this before Brain handed Master's Defender and the Book of Prophecies over to Ephemer, which would have certainly changed my reasoning). Not having all of the pieces because they hadn't been revealed yet isn't a failing on my part. A failing on my part would be seeing those pieces and how they contradict what I've come up with, and refusing to adjust my stance because I won't allow myself to be wrong

Being wrong isn't some horrible, life-ruining thing that a lot of people in fandoms make it out to be. More people should be open to being wrong, actually. Takes the fun out of things if you always know what's going to happen, and to me it also kind of belittles authors by assuming that you know their own work better than they do (which, again, sometimes warranted because some modern authors shun "predictability" and make nonsensical plots just to surprise *COUGH* GAME OF THRONES *COUGH*, but frequently not)

Actually, another example. I've mentioned that I'm a fan of the comic One Last God: Kubera. It's a really wonderful, intricately crafted narrative and part of that is due to the fact that the whole thing was written as a fully complete novel before the author decided to convert it to a comic. It isn't being written as it goes, but has been fully planned out from the very start of the comic. Now, up until one of the most recent updates, there were two big theories in the fandom that most people... just kind of assumed were probably going to be true. Without giving too much away, one of the theories was that a certain character who would frequently seem to have their motivations and what they know shift between scenes, was time-traveling (and we were sometimes seeing their present self, and sometimes their self from another time). Another theory was that two of the highest-level gods in the series (Primeval Gods) were actually split personalities of the same person. Now, the former theory had some merit to me, the second made no goddamned sense since we had seen the two interact with each other, they've always been depicted as separate, and there's at least one instance where one is in the room and gives the exact location of the other (which even people who believed the theory took as fact even though it being fact would contradict the theory?), but the people who believed that one were diehard about it. Couldn't go into a discussion about either character without it being brought up

Well, lo and behold, one of the latest updates from this past month revealed that, actually, there's a way for someone to impersonate a god and that's what's been happening, with this directly being the real answer for the first theory and having a strong implication to be the real answer behind the second theory. I'm loath to even call it a twist, since the mechanic behind it is just... something that we knew about from the very start of the series and just didn't realize the implications of until it was said outright. I sure as hell didn't think about it, but when I saw it my first thought was "oh, DUH." But I saw people genuinely upset about this reveal because it contradicted the theory, calling it "disappointing" because "it feels like the author thought about it at the last minute," and "the time travel theory made way more sense." When, no, it doesn't. The new update is literally just taking something we were told at the very start to its logical conclusion. And yet people were getting upset because they had completely sold themselves on the theory being the true answer and their belief in it being "right" to the point where they were blaming the author rather than their own guesswork. It's something I find infuriating

All this being a very long-winded way of saying that from my observation, there's an ever-growing intersection between fans who are entitled and fans who refuse to allow themselves to be wrong that's leading to an unfortunate trend of people desperately coming up with theories, then refusing to admit when they're wrong and counting their theories as "better" than the source material. And this, unfortunately, just makes fandoms a much more hostile place between people who actually do like the source material and are open to new experiences and these fans

And I do want to make it clear that there's a distinction between defending your theory and reasoning when you have confidence that you're correct, and outright refusing to accept contradictory information because you can't handle the idea of having a flaw. I would know, because I got accused of doing the latter constantly at my last job when I was doing the former. The difference is in being able to verify the evidence you're using to support your logic. Like, for fuck's sake, I'm not "being defensive" or "trying to get out of things" when I hand you the stats and say something doesn't look viable. Same stuff can apply to fan theories

Also, as if this wasn't long enough already, I just gotta add:

And it feels like, at least in some ways, people are in danger of making their own stories of the stories they say they love, and not loving the real thing.

I hate to say it, that's most of fandom culture these days and I hate it. Go into any given character tag on Tumblr and you'll see a million headcanons that directly contradict what's said in the source material at best and completely undermine the character's entire storyline at worst. You'd start to suspect that the people making these have no sense of reading comprehension and are only here for the aesthetics, but then scroll a bit and you'll see dozens of "redesigns" that "fix" the character by completely ignoring a ton of the cultural influences, small personality-defining hints in the look, or in-universe justifications for things. Want to find a fic of a certain character because you like their personality? How about a dozen where they're so wildly out of character that the only possible explanation is that the author just decided to write out an OC and slapped the character's name on because that's the kind of look they imagined their OC having, because there's no way they could've gotten that from the source material

There's a reason I started a Fandom Critical tag on here for this kind of stuff. It's so pervasive nowadays. Like, it kills any desire I once had to publish my own stuff because, well, fuck, no one's gonna care about what I actually have to say about my works, they'll just appropriate whatever little bits and pieces suit them

And I just genuinely don't get it. I don't get how we got to this point where people will go around praising a creator's works with one breath while showing no sign of understanding or even liking that work with the "fan" content they produce. And this is a separate, but related, issue to the theory stuff above because, like I said, it's possible to just guess wrong with theories and it's fine so long as you don't refuse to accept that you were wrong or get militant about it, but a lot of non-theory fanworks? Those just go beyond into sometimes ignorant, sometimes spiteful territory. You don't even want to see what my blacklist on here looks like just to try to get a handle on some of that stuff because at some point the lack of respect for the original works and their creators just really eats away at me

[mcalhenwrites]

Rambles about writing, fyi I'm low on spoons lmao so this may be incoherent???

Okay, so I'm thinking about way too many things at once for story and fic ideas! 1. I want to get back to working on Serrated Petals. I've been considering posting that on AO3 since it's extremely problematic and not something I'm likely to be able to self-publish. It's a fucked up story with MC Villainfucker (Roland), the villain (Otto), and lying babygirl (Luther). Plus the only normal person in the goddamn book, Roland's younger half-brother, Stanley. (Correction: Stanley's father is also normal. Their mother, Minnie, is weird and passed her villainfucking interests onto her first son soooo... whoops?) 2. I wanna write Dandelions content again, but I'm also staring at Missing Link like... what if you reveal something important to me about Ephemer and Brain? 3. I have a keen interest in picking up The Dragons Cosmos again... I just want to write dragon universe stuff. I was supposed to ramble about this based on that poll I did like... idk when like 5 week ago, a lot happened tho and now I'm moving to another state sooooo maybe eventually I'll post about that? I HAVE SIX DRAGON UNIVERSE STORIES 4. Also new ideas are brewing but idk, seems like two of them need to steep, esp the littlespace one, but also the demon spanking one (need to worldbuild for both) 5. I can't stop thinking about Hazel/Ferdinand and how much I love them... I'm still kind of sad about Rascal ending. This is my OTP. They are my everything. 6. Speaking of other OTPs, I really miss writing Alvin/Jude/Milla stuff... I've been thinking of picking up The Gentleman story again, but that's Jude/Ludger! I want to rewrite Prairie Pinkists from scratch or at least heavily edit the previous chapters, idk... I feel like it's a mess... but I also wanna write Jude/Aska stuff again. I had hoped it would set off a trend of Jude/Aska fics so I could read it, but sometimes you gotta make your own damn food RIP... Anyway, yeah, I have Tales brainrot. \o/

[sweet-beezus]

Edit: Somehow, my queue glitched and posted this earlier this week, so hopefully~ this works out-

Golly, another @khoc-week has come and gone, time sure flies when you're having fun-

Thank you for another AWESOME week full of such fun OCs!!! I love seeing everyone's creativity shine through their characters, it's like a small look into everyone's brains where we can admire the little worms living in there... in a good way!

Whether they're freshly hatched or well aged, these silly guys always bring me so much joy! :)

Genuinely, I wish I had the energy to interact with every single one of them, so instead I will blow them all a kiss from afar!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ They are what makes this week of the year truly special!

Beware, I will be lurking in tags ready to pounce on every OC I see after this is over I'm OBSESSED- (jk jk... unless?)

Onwards, then, to the final prompt of the year!!

Day 7 - Happily Ever After

Now, alas I've been following the canon timeline and filling in gaps with my own fun worldbuilding, characters and lore, so by all rights their stories are not gonna reach a happy ending for a WHILE (writing? who is she?), however the hypotheticals are always a good way to cope with that!

What their endings have reached so far while we're in lore hiatus (waiting endlessly for Missing Link and KH4... jk jk I hope they take their time tbh-) is that ideally after KH3, while everyone is looking for Sora, they're world jumping and clearing out remaining hoards of darkness together as a crew, alongside Reixen for more bonding time, in a variety of new places! They solve some mysteries surrounding their own personal character arcs and learn things about themselves they never considered, it's a real eye opener. Day 2 kinda hints at that with my picks of places I want them to go to fulfill that! At this rate, they may just be a series of oneshots...

Of course, it all eventually HAS to end, so here's some loose ends and how they may tie them up!

Iris:

Considering Iris ended up in the future, of course she has to cope with the reality that the worlds she knew are gone, or at least have yet to be restored (aside from Daybreak Town there's no repairing that-). Plus the existential crisis of having technically been dead AND given a new, puppet-esque body to inhabit. Lucky, she is, to even be here to begin with.

At the same time, she's helping Alto regain his memories from the same era they both managed to escape in some way. Being repeatedly reincarnated kinda screws some things up along the way, so it's a long haul process for the both of them to come to terms with.

Depending on what happens with the Scala ad Caelum plotline, they may both travel there, or to what's left of it, for closure, as well as to learn about the culture there to see what became of it after they were both long gone. Pay their respects to Alto's pal Ephemer and all that.

Her ending ideally is moving on and learning to live in a time she didn't anticipate seeing, which should be simple in theory since she's so young. She stays with Irene and Alto in Radiant Garden, and together with Alto they both take up lessons with Merlin and Yen Sid to learn more modern Keyblade skills, eventually (despite being Keyblade Master precursors) they are granted the titles of Master and help protect the universe.

♡♡♡

Irene:

She returns to her job, forever changed by her experiences, and helps her fellow castle staff move on and forgive themselves for the horrors they had to go through. It's a long haul process, but it will be worth it!

She finds herself a comfy living place in Radiant Garden to offer as a safe space for those she grew close to when they need it, where she essentially adopts Alto and Iris, since they don't really have a place to go that isn't rooming with a wizard or an on-the-road teenager. From time to time she also travels to Twilight Town to visit Reixen and her found family (maybe attending her polycule wedding at some point), but otherwise seems perfectly content staying put. Maybe the occasional visit from Iliana, as a treat. That doesn't require much aside from constant pestering, really.

While readapting to life a decade later than she's used to is a hassle in of itself, she seems to do it with grace, which is impressive considering she was presumed dead for said decade-

She also has that wonderful romance with Russell, as they deserve, and they both get to retire at some point knowing they have their chance to heal from all the suffering they experienced... and with more adopted kids than they know what to do with-

♡♡♡

Iliana:

What I envision for her is kind of complicated and long, so I'll try to keep it short-

Ideally, she gets to save her world once and for all while also getting rid of Igni, which almost costs her her life (nothing is allowed to be easy with Igni, as we've learned from Day 4-). So afterwards she's in recovery surrounded by the loved ones she gained along the way. For how long? Who's to say, miss ma'am will either be MIA or in a comatose sleep (jk jk... unless?) so it depends entirely on her and the awful side effects of Igni's possession tbh-

Chronically ill? With Igni goo disease? More likely than you think!

On the bright side, she finally gets to reunite with her brother in this timeline, though later than intended, and the two eventually take off on a journey of self discovery! Or they probably camp out with their uncle for a while before they do that, either way. They make up for lost time and get to grow together as people while also tying up a whole heap of loose ends their pasts left behind. A whole heap is nothing to sneeze at in this case-

In between, she makes time to check in on various allies as well as hang out with (her nerdy now bf) Ienzo. They have a funky long distance relationship because of her travels, so she surprises him with her presence when she can.

Maybe she gets an engineering degree, who knows? Certainly not me, at least not yet.

I like to think she eventually takes on apprentices or something and is probably the most annoying mentor known to the universe, especially if one of her apprentices is conveniently a secret younger sibling (I joke but... maybe-).

Nothing will be easy, of course some stupid new plot will pop up and she'll have even more nonsense to deal with, but that's a later issue to think about.

♡♡♡

And finally, they all get therapy ♥

They're doomed by the narrative to be absolutely demolished but can never truly die, so it's only fair they can live out somewhat happy and fulfilling lives despite every up and down I throw at them!

That's all I've got for this prompt, thank y'all for another wonderful KHOC Week and I will see y'all next year!!

Or in the tags, I'm always in the tags. :3c

[khllentxene]

1) Love the vibes of this Scala. I’m so excited to see what this place is all about and learn more about the history and lore. Just gimme gimme gimme! The architecture of Scala is also just…so cool.

2) Love to see that big clock tower in the distance. If this is the Scala that Ephemer built, we can only assume that that place will also be the “important people round table” the real question is: how is it different? And will we get as much of a close look inside? Brain is obviously part of this story, but we still know so little on what his role will be. (Maybe he’ll befriend player? That’d be pretty swell. As a continuation of Ephemer befriending player in ux but also because I just like Brain. I want to go on detective adventures with him. :3 )

3) Keyblade!!! Maybe our starting Keyblade like ‘Starlight’? I love how it’s kind of reminiscent of Master’s Defender in shape and color, but obviously still different and built to fit the aesthetics of this world. Also…that keychain attached to it. At first I thought it looked like the symbol we’ve already seen, and while it has similarities, it’s definitely different. Curious to find out what it’s linked to and what it might mean, even if it’s just a symbol representing Scala of this time period or something simple like that.

Just some thoughts! I’m dying for a new KH mobile game to drip feed me lore and story bits! :3

[cloudofash]

Kingdom Hearts 4 - Thoughts, Predictions and Ramblings

I've had a mountain of thoughts collecting in my brain since Melody of Memory but I never could find a way to express them properly. Before I knew it UX had ended, Dark Road came and ended and now Missing Link is on it's way and the only thing I can think is how this all ties together and will lead into Kingdom Hearts 4 and the series going forward. I decided not to wait any longer, sorry if I can't present a coherent post here but I'd rather get all these thoughts out than let them fester any longer! 😆

Melody of Memory

Thanks to MoM's ending we know Riku ventures to Quadratum alone to find Sora, Kairi stays behind to train with Aqua and Donald and Goofy head to the Underworld to most likely ask Hades about Sora's whereabouts.

With Riku, I predict we'll get a Dream Drop style in KH4 where we switch back and forth between him and Sora, though I doubt they'll drop this time and will be very much awake. (Soriku stans we in there ayeee!! DDD 2!!).

If Yozora stands in Sora's way (whether initually or eventually) and traps him in crystal as the bad ending of Limit Cut suggested, that means Riku will most likely be the one to free him. And booooy the implications that has, especially when you consider Disney films like Atlantis the Lost Empire and Frozen where the main character had to fight for their loved one to free them from their frozen state. It would be a glorious parallel and would make for a tender moment between the two, something I believe is much needed after Riku was left out of sharing the Paopu Fruit and his rescue was forgotten by Sora. Not to mention Riku himself believed nothing he did was enough for Sora, not becoming a Keyblade Master, nor becoming a leader amongst his peers or even connecting himself to Sora and dreaming of his exact location for a year after being lost. Riku needs affirmation that he's needed by Sora, and Sora needs a reminder of who his Light is.

I love the idea of Kairi making potential friends outside the trio, thus I love the idea of her spending time with and possibly bonding with Aqua. Hopefully after their training sessions, Kairi will finally become a Team Player no longer dumped to the side. I think this will give her character the desperate boost it needs.

And finally, thanks to context from Dark Road we now know the dead can be contacted from the Underworld. However, I feel only those whose hearts are in The Final World can be contacted, not those whose hearts transferred to the other side of reality. I'd be surprised if Hades could reach hearts even on the opposite side of reality, but I won't completely rule it out. The Underworld could become useful for contacting Nameless Star in the future so they don't have to keep traveling to The Final World, and her human form may be revealed here (as we saw in Dark Road, the dead reappear in their original human forms rather than in the Final World's transparent stars). I expect that her human form won't look the same as her Quadratum form since it appears the "Somebody" who unalived her took "everything about her" which may include her original body, similarly to how Yozora's body was also taken and his heart was replaced.

Only time will tell and I can't wait for KH4 to come! When the next trailer drops I'll probably melt into a bowl of ice cream.🫠

Dark Road / Missing Link

Dark Road had a LOT of content in it but what I want to take away most from it for future titles is reincarnation (player character) and family lineages (Xehanort being Ephemer's great-great grandson or so) which we know will be touched upon in Missing Link (per an interview with Nomura). This can lead to an interesting dynamic between all the characters as we discover who comes from what lineage and which characters may even be distant relatives.

Aside from Xehanort, everyone else's lineage is up in the air aside from one other character, Riku. If the Crown Necklace Theory proves true then that means Riku, who had the Crown Necklace since he was a baby, is of royal blood through one of his parents or at least a descendant of a prestigious family. Given his silver hair and blue eyes, the only line I can imagine he comes from is Ephemer's. And this is also shown through Xehanort who descends from Ephemer and is also constantly represented with a crown.

If Ephemer's line are represented by crowns it's fair to assume he and his descendants are considered "royalty". And what could this mean for Riku in KH4 and the future? As Kingdom Hearts characters are constantly represented by Chess Pieces, the Ephemer descendants are the King pieces of the story so to speak. It all adds up when you consider Riku was not only initially the Keyblade's Chosen and the initial bearer of the Crown Necklace but now Yozora has seemingly come into the series as the opposite King on the chest board from the dimension of fantasy. And who does Yozora resemble most? Riku. Learning Riku's lineage is important as it could very well further point to Riku being the "True King" of the Kingdom Hearts dimension. It'd all tie together. But I have a theory on the Verum Rex, Falsus Rex discussion that I will save for a future time.

Aside from Riku, there aren't any other characters with even a hint about who they might be.

The only other candidate for Royalty is Kairi, not only being a Princess of Heart but she was raised in a castle by her Grandmother who may have been Queen of Radiant Garden, or they were at least of a high social class. If Kairi also comes from Royalty, is it the same Royal line as Ephemer's descendants? Her relationship with Xehanort seems to have started when she was only 4, he chose her as the vessel who would find and connect with the Keyblade Wielder for a reason. It would be interesting if he chose Kairi due to her being from his family line. The only evidence I have that points Kairi to being a Descendant lf Ephemer aside from possibly being royalty is that her Grandmother is the one who retells the story of how the Dandelions scattered across the worlds in search of light. Her Grandmother may have learned that from her ancestors, one being Ephemer, but it's also possible it was just a common children's story told to everyone regardless of lineage. But all of this assumes she descends from Ephemer and not a potential secondary Royal line. Her family is only from Radiant Garden as far as we know not Scala ad Caelum/Daybreak Town so it's very possible she has nothing to do any of the Dandelions and simply descends from the (speculated) Radiant Garden Royal family. Only time will tell and I'm very excited to learn more about her and her family.

As for Sora, there are no hints about his family lineage at all, aside from one line from his mother far back in KH1 we don't know anything about his father or any other family members (if we don't focus on the manga which mentions his uncle). He doesn't have a crown necklace of his own like Riku, he doesn't come from a castle like Kairi so we can assume he doesn't come from any Royalty. For Sora, I can only make an educated guess and I think he may come from Brain's line. If Xehanort and Riku come from Ephemer's line and Eraqus is rumored to have come from Brain's line, then I would expect Sora to also come from Brain's line since Eraqus is to Xehanort what Sora is to Riku, in a sense.

Also in learning which characters descend from which line, we can discover who is related to who. If Riku does in fact also directly descend from Ephemer then that would mean he and Xehanort are relatives - distant cousins. And the same would be true for Eraqus and Sora if they both descend from Brain. And if Kairi descends from either of these lines, that would make her a distant relative of either Sora or Riku. Her being distant cousins with Riku would be very interesting to their relationship, but her being distant cousins with Sora...well, talk about awkward.

But I'm jumping way ahead here. We'll have to wait for Missing Link to come out to see who comes from what family and I absolutely can't wait to see how it all plays out and how it ties to the plot of Kingdom Hearts 4 and the series' future!

[cq-studios]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Ephemer!

First Impression

Honestly, I’m not too sure. I think I was pretty indifferent to him at first, mostly because I hadn’t actually played the game/experienced the cutscenes. I watched Tennelle and Whitney’s recap of it so I was just hearing about what he did, not necessarily about him.

But I guess since he kept ditching people (Player, Skuld, Player again, but this time in Wreck it Ralph), I figured he was kind of a flake. I found that amusing more than anything tho.

Current Impression

He.

I’m a massive fan of all the NULs, but Ephemer is in the top spot very often (and Skuld is normally right there with him but she’s not who we’re talking about right now). I probably should have more to say but like I dunno

Favourite Moment

Ooh this one is tough.

I’m tempted to say when he comforts Skuld about, you know, how the is literally ending by saying “It’s not over til it’s over”, because it is simultaneously the most human and unhelpful thing to say, and it makes me laugh every time.

But there’s also the scene where he first meets Player, which I also think is fun.

Idea for a Story

I’ve had a little AU idea for awhile where, after Union X, Ephemer figures out that he’s never gonna see his friends again and uses the Unchained State to switch worldlines to one where the glitches hadn’t started yet.

He’d have memory loss with a subconscious feeling that something isn’t right, a la Sleeping Realm Theory. So like, he starts noticing that details of past events are different than what everyone else remembers, he’s much clingier than usual and doesn’t seem to know why, or he sees Player and breaks down out of a guilt he can’t remember ever having.

Skuld notices something is off pretty quickly, and Ephemer feels the same. So they, with the help of Brain (who they also roped into this), try to work out what’s going on. Eventually they’d figure it out, and Ephemer would go back to his original worldline.

I’m not entirely sure what would push him to go back. Maybe reading his Book of Prophecies and learning that Brain wouldn’t have a world to appear in if he didn’t. Or learning that he can move on (about Scala and his kids and stuff), once again with the help of the BoP. Or maybe the glitches start again, and the world ends again, and he realizes that there’s nothing he can do to change what he went through. He just has to accept it. Or you know, some combination of those.

I started writing this a bit ago but haven’t gotten very far. Don’t know if I’ll ever finish it but I’m still working on it on and off.

Unpopular Opinion

Uhh, I’m not entirely sure to be honest…

Like I don’t think I have one??? But I’m also not even quite sure what would be considered a popular opinion about him???

Favourite Relationship

Him and Skuld.

I love their friendship. I love that Kingdom Hearts lets a guy and a girl just be friends, and close one’s at that.

I feel like they have a very teasing friendship (definitely a believer of the prank wars dynamic for them), but like, if push comes to shove, they will stick together through the actual end of the world. I find so much comfort in that, even if in the end they get separated.

Favourite Headcannon

Dude’s a massive conspiracy theorist, and I like that for him. Especially because he ends up in a position of power and, due to the all but normal circumstances, I’m sure that suddenly the conspiracies that he would’ve believed were about him and his friends.

I live for this concept but have no clue how to apply it in a practical way.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

I come here with some questions bc you must have them in your head hopefully

Overmorrow/Objects of Affection spoilers ahead

Give me the ceremony details, i need to know what kind of union they had, was it simple and with close people to them? What kind of altire they used? Time of day?

Maybe it is too much but I wanna see what they chose for that day and your vision of that moment ahejdjbsjsjsjw

In other points, what kind of expression do you see when Ephemer reads the part about Blaine in the book? He is going slowly through it and part of me wants to know how you would describe the moment.

Now, not spoilers stuff but doodle comentary of the doodle pages you shared. I saw the doodle before finishing reading, and I had the biggest wheeze with the Ephemer hopeless romantic take on the handkerchief bc of Charis expression it was gold but then I got sad bc of couse you gave Ephemer matching scars to player (ФωФ) i love theb detail tho

Color me surprises when I got to the end of Objects of Affection bc as I was reading through it realized the doodle was coming true in a way absndjejsjajbsjs

You know me too well, Romy 😄🩵 I do have some ideas about everything. Not all the details, but enough to talk about it! I’ll talk about it under the cut since this’ll probably end up being a bit long [apologies to everyone if the read more doesn’t work, it can be hit or miss on mobile]

Okay! Let’s get into this!!!

The ceremony takes place in the morning, at the eastern beach, the same place where Charis and Ephemer (technically) first met. And it’s the place that would’ve faced Daybreak Town directly. It’s an intimate event, consisting of just their family, close friends and some of their apprentices. Hestia officiates it, and they hold a reception(/ball maybe?) at the academy that’s more open to the general public.

I actually plan on drawing their wedding attire eventually! I don’t have them designed yet, but what I can tell you right now is that it’s not like irl wedding attire. And they’d both have their hair down, as part of Cablean tradition. Whenever I draw them, you’ll be the first to know! 😊

As for Brain…I do wonder if there’ll be anything written about him, since ML is called “the forgotten era”. But if Eph IS able to read about him…there’d be a lot of mixed feelings. He’d be overjoyed knowing that Brain arrives in Scala, in the very same place he’s built a home and a new life in. But it would also break his heart realizing that he won’t be around to see that day, because it’s too far in the future. He won’t see Brain again…but he finds comfort in knowing that he’ll at least be able to make preparations for him.

You know what’s funny about your doodle observation? I made that ch 11 doodle for fun. But then I actually sat down and started thinking about how an actual proposal would happen…and so OoA was born! 😄 The doodle literally did come true, sorta.

Thank you for your questions!! I appreciate it. And I’m glad you had fun reading OoA!

[psianabel-writes]

Brain/Ephemer - Winter Gift

Snowflakes landed on Brain's clothes, one landing on his nose that had him squinch his face. It made him briefly look up to the gray sky, immediately regretting the choice as more and more snowflakes landed on his cheeks. He let out a deep breath, fog filling the air and he rubbed his hands together in front of him. At least this time he remembered to bring gloves. 

Snow in the winter of Daybreak Town wasn't rare, yet it was still a sight to behold. And everyone quite loved it, to various degrees. While he might rather stay inside, he had to admit it was quite beautiful like this - the air was fresh, sounds drowned in the snow, a beautiful sea of just white. 

Maybe he could enjoy some time outside then.

"Oh there you are, didn't think you're here already." 

Brain turned around when he heard Ephemer's voice, finding the boy smiling as he walked towards him. "It's nice."

In thick boots and with a fine winter coat Ephemer got to a halt with a jump right in front of Brain, holding out his hands to him. He was carrying a similar scarf like he was wearing, except it was black. "I actually wanted to give you this." Ephemer looked to him, seeing Brain surprised. "Believe me, it will make everything so much better."

It wasn't like he wasn’t cold, but the idea of having an additional piece of clothing around his neck … Brain wanted to take it, but Ephemer held it off. "Here, let me help you." He pushed Brain around and front behind he started to wrap it around his neck, not too tight, not too loose - Brain had to smile at the gesture, holding onto the scarf as Ephemer secured it with a knot.

"Perfect!" 

Brain looked down on him and honestly - as a winter outfit this was actually not bad. He turned back to Ephemer, met with sparkly eyes. 

"It's very fitting, I'll give you that." Reaching out to his hands, he took them in his, pulling him closer to plant a kiss on his forehead. Ephemer closed his eyes at this, squeezing Brain's hands. "Thanks." 

They had to stay for a brief moment just like that. The others could still wait for them, this was more important now.