#are we saying Ven is Gula?

[stresslitzia]

Hey Chikai! If Elrena and Lauriam are in KH4, what would you like their story to be about? (And along with Strelitzia—should they get new Keyblade designs? What would those look like?)

WELL that is a question.

I think their story should be about trying to find Strelitzia, first and foremost. Like, that should be their first goal now that they have their memories of her back.

A secondary point that I'd like them to touch on would be the Keyblade Legacy thing, but I don't think they should have Keyblades throughout the entire game. I think that should be a reveal towards the end, like the Leablade at the end of Dream Drop Distance.

I do believe all three should have new Keyblade designs! Especially since we don't know what Elrena's Keyblade actually was. However, I'd like for their original weapons- where applicable- to be similar to the new ones.

For example, Lauriam used Divine Rose. I think his new Keyblade should look similar, but should not be identical. A combination of Divine Rose and Starlight, perhaps. The keychain, I feel, should resemble his old scythe- perhaps the cross point and blade in an XI shape?

Strelitzia should retain her upgraded Starlight as a base, but Destiny's Embrace-ify it. Wrap that Keyblade in vining ivy, laurels, and perhaps a craneflower near the handle. Make it an artist's nightmare.

Elrena's where the confusion starts. We don't know what she used before, but let's assume she was a Missing Ache user, like Ven. Let's go ahead and say that her new Keyblade would look a bit like a combination of Missing Ache's third upgrade and Gula's Keyblade, perhaps with a turquoise-and-gold color palette. The keychain should be a dragonfly.

[ultyso]

Was watching Everglow’s foreteller battles cause I can’t beat them aaaaaandddd uhm hello what’s this keyblade spinning we see a certain someone else also does ??????

[goldensunset]

Hi hi! Idk if u remember me but I’m the anon who mentioned the ‘skuld may have time traveled to scala’ thing. Well, one thing has been bothering me since then, and I wanted to share.

So we all know Luxu somehow took Brain’s body in the past and yet the real Brain somehow ends up in Scala. From what i’ve seen, we don’t actually have an explanation for how exactly this is performed! I might be in over my head with this one, but I’ve was thinking…Ava’s whereabouts are shrouded in mystery and even though Skuld = Subject X isn’t confirmed, she is the only keykid who fits the description. So! What if Ava pulled the same stunt as Luxu and is currently hopping bodies in the timeline? And what if she somehow got Skuld’s early on? Could be another explanation to why Xehanort’s mom is related to Skuld besides like… Skuld having a long lost sister or something. This one is kinda weird tho, hope you don’t mind me sharing :>

hi there anon 👋

ok so i AM taking the ‘luxu took brain’s body’ thing with a grain of salt bc the guy claims to have just peacefully given him the keyblade but he might’ve lied a bit. in any case i think it’s safe to say the real brain was sent to the future to live out his own life while some sort of fake version of him stayed in the past

so in other words… you propose that xehanort’s mom is a descendant of ‘skuld’ but it was actually ava who took skuld’s original body bc the real skuld’s heart was sent to the future… ooooh man that’s REALLY messed up lol

but i am absolutely now intrigued by the prospect of ava also having done the whole body-hopping thing too. i love luxu-ava parallels hhhhhhheeeeehhhehhhyeasssssssssssss except luxu did it because he had to even though he absolutely did not want to live such a miserably long life, while i can hardly fathom ava doing this for any reason other than her own personal choice. twisted girlboss

i totally think SOMETHING is up with ava and skuld. because they’ve brought up the fact that skuld is apparently similar to ava too many times for me to ignore it. gula says it, brain says it, skuld acknowledges it’s been said before, then ven agrees that he thought skuld had ‘seemed familiar’, the character files say it again…

my thought on the matter is still ‘ava hopped into skuld’s heart to just camp safely in there for an indefinite amount of time’ and then in radiant garden hopped again into kairi’s heart and influenced naminé’s existence but she never left and that’s why the foretellers are gonna go after kairi in kh4please i know i have no evidence for this but so what would her goal be in doing this? idk, what was ever her end goal? what were any of the foretellers planning to do after the war? did they mean to end up in unreality? or did they just wanna go live their lives in peace? dunno. but i firmly believe ava never crossed over into unreality and that she’s been hiding out and surviving in this world one way or another

[nyctoheart]

I just need to talk this shit out loud to process it... TLDR I feel like some of the 13 Darknesses are not where we assume them to be.

6 Darknesses remained after the war, found themselves in the data world:

#1-4 trapped in WiR chord with Player

#5 Possessed Ven before the war started, remained in him

#6 Escaped data world with Maleficent, fought with Luxu

We assume that means the first 7 possessed the Lost Masters. But we don’t know when, because none are possessed on screen:

#7 The Master may have gotten possessed on the hill after talking to one of them.

#8-12 Invi, Gula, Aced, and Ira may have gotten possessed during/at the end of the big battle, maybe the same with Ava.

#13 Luxu may have gotten possessed after the battle.

There is also the fight between Luxu and #6. Since #5 repossessed Ven after they clashed, #6 may have possessed Luxu when they clashed-- like Vanitas/Ven in BbS. But if that's the case, Luxu may have both #6 AND #13.

BUT, I think there’s a chance the Master and Luxu are not possessed yet since they wear black coats, which protect them from darkness. If so, they may get possessed in a future title. But then we don't know where #7 or #13 are currently-- or what happened to #6 after its fight with Luxu.

AND I say here that it makes no sense for Darkness to disguise as Ava when it’s repeated that Darkness has no form, and that it can hide within humans. So I think it’s possible Ava was possessed by Darkness during Strelitzia’s death (though the amount of control it had is debatable). If so, Ava was possessed days before the other apprentices. If Ava survived the war, she may still be possessed while behind the scenes, and I don't know if that relays to the other Darknesses as a hive-mind.

[nadziejastar]

yo! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQfcAMCH9gE do you jive with this?

The seven fallen angels, known as the Nephilim, are Lucifer (who represents pride), Mammon (greed), Asmodeus (lust), Leviathan (envy), Beelzebub (gluttony), Satan (same as Lucifer but also allotted with the sin of wrath), and Belphegor (sloth and laziness).

Well, my theory is that the Seekers of Darkness were supposed to represent the Seven Deadly Sins. I actually think that the Seven Guardians of Light were probably meant to represent the Seven Heavenly Virtues. So, pure light vs. pure darkness. The X-Blade is shaped like the Roman Catholic Keys of Heaven.

In the Bible, Jesus comes upon a man possessed by a demon, and asks him "what is thy name," according to the King James version. The verses continue, "And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many."

The 13 Darknesses are basically like the Biblical fallen angels. They want to acquire the Keys to the Kingdom. But to do so, they need to possess physical bodies. I think there was probably not enough time to properly incorporate this lore into KH3, so it was moved to Phase 2. But still, it makes a lot more sense as part of the Dark Seeker Saga.

Pride (Superbia)

“The world needs someone to stand up and lead. Someone strong to stop the weak from polluting the world with their endless darkness. Someone to dictate their destiny.”

Pride is the Original Sin, and the source of all the other sins. Once Dark Road comes out, I will know for sure. But right now, my theory is that The Master of Masters is the head honcho Darkness, named Super. He is a “Fallen Angel” and a false light, similar to Lucifer. He tempted Xehanort to start a new Keyblade War. Then he possessed his body (I don’t think the MoM actually had a physical form). Xehanort was just a pawn for Super to acquire the X-Blade.

Lust (Luxuria)

“I need only play the role of a fool desirous of the Keyblade's power.”

Lust is defined as “an intense desire”. Braig was desirous of the Keyblade’s power, so he became the new Luxu.

Envy (Invidia)

"As Lea and Isa started taking digs at each other, Ven watched in envy, missing the days when friendship was so simple to define."

I do agree with that Youtuber that Ventus was meant to be the vessel for Envy/Invi. In KHUX Ventus was envious of Skuld and Ephemer’s friendship. In BBS, he was envious of Lea and Isa. And even Roxas is envious of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. But when Ventus was split into two, I think Vanitas embodied Envy, and Ventus embodied the Heavenly Virtue Kindness.

Gluttony (Gula)

"The boy, though well-intentioned, seeks power single-mindedly. And that kind of hunger is a seedbed for darkness."

Gluttony is a distorted obsession, perverted obsession for food or the object of our pleasure. Ansem Seeker of Darkness was born from Terra's hunger for power. 

Wrath (Ira)

"It infuriated me to see how you just exited our lives. I was jealous."

Wrath is associated with jealousy, which is not quite the same as envy. Jealousy is more associated with anger and possessiveness, like a jealous lover who is furious that his girlfriend is chatting with another man.

[vectortothehairgel]

I got super drunk and tried to explain the plot of Kingdom Hearts: Part 1

I won’t post the whole thing here cause it’s like 7 pages long but here are the highlights of Union X and BBS: 

-Ok so firsth theres this bitch ass punk named the master of masters and hes’ the reason we can’t have nice things 

-He got all his apprentices together and was like “hey here’s this book of prophecies and shit from the future and you’re all gonna die including me BUT! You each have a role to play in the impending doom! Yaaaaayyy! Ira you get to be the leader. Aced you get to be the second leader (don’t usurp the first leader cause that would lead to the keyblade war ;) ). Invi you get to be a SNEK and also do nothing. Gula you get the page nobody else has and to be a ktity cat. And you dance dance dane and you dance dance dance. OK? Ava you have to get a bunch of special sunshine wielders and call them the dandelions and send them to the digital world. That is providing this isn’t the digital world, which I’m not sure of because I am DRUNK. Spoilers.

-And then Ven goes into teh future and also probably Lauriam and Elrena and Maleficent’s there too? Idk why??? Why are we wasting time on the past when nomura could be telling us how Riku makes pancakes for Sora and Kairi every mornig. Idk.

-Ven is now in the future and Master Xehanort (RIP Leonard Nimoy, I love oyu) Is training him but Ven isn’t edgy enough so Xehanort splits him in two with his Keyblade (idk why this never happens to anyone else?)

-ANyways Xehanort stops by Eraqus’s place and is like “Hi i have a comatose child help him please also I won’t pay child support byeeeee”

-LIke a few years later Terra and Aqua are taking their Mark of Mastery exam and Eraqus is like “Hey Xehabro you wanna come see how well my kids are doing?

-So he comes in and FUCKS UP Himbo Terra’s exam so he thinks he’s drenched in the power of Darkness. And then Xehanort goes to Maleficent and is like “hey you know what would be hilarous? Trick Himbo Man into stealing Aurora’s heart! Also this is liket he only time the Disney wolds will be relevant to the canon! Aint that neat?”

-Anyway a lot of stuff happens and they meet up again in Hollow Bastion where we see ittle widdle Ienzo and Even who does not age. And is a good candidate for a vampire. We also see Isa and Lea as a precious lil baby waby. And we meet tiny Kairi! Cute. Anyway the wayfinder trio all runs into eachother there and Himbo’s like “why are you spying on me” and Aqua’s like “cause you fuckin stole some girl’s heart???? Wtf???”And ventus is like “TERRAAAA PLEASE LOVE ME” and then Terra doesn’t for some reason. It would’ve been great they would’ve wandered around the galazy, like broz, like Han and Chewy, it woulda been great but Terra needs to fall to the darkness I guess so he goes off alone.

-And then they go to the destiny islands and Terra decides “Hey you know this purple haired kid I just met? I’m gonna give him my legacy which I may only have one of. Idk it’s not explained.” and then he does it. Sora doesn’t see any of this. Which is fine.

-Ven goes back to his dad and is liek “Hey dad what’s a X-blade also I met an edgy man who says he was my darkness. Hey if you knew about this why didn’t you do anything before.” And Eraqus is like “No more questions time for death!!” And Terra swoops in and is like “HEY NO” and Eraqus is like “OMFG Kylo?”

-Ven goes comatose and is left in the chamber of waking (which is stupid because he spends most of his time in tehre sleepigng, but unfortunately the developers didn’t ask ME.)

-Back at the graveyard, Terra and Xehanort fight and xehanort shoves his heart inside Terra’s body but surprise surprise! Eraqus is in there too and Xehanorr’s all ��You sly foxy daddy” and Terra turns into the Lingering Will. Which is like a Nobody but cooler. Also why don’t Sora Riku Kairi Lea Xion and Roxas get armor?! It’d be so cool. Anyway the Lingering Will gets really tired after the fight with Xehanort and is like “I’m gonna take a ten year nap and also make myself a cape! Goodnight”

-Aqua hunts him down and Aqua’s like “im master Aqua and by the power vested in me by everyone whose waifu i am get the hell outta my Himbo” and Himbonort is like “No go sit in the realm of darkness for a while” and then she does

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 55

Empty Words

Summary: In which Brain apologizes and Skuld makes Ven a promise. Word Count: 1,847 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

Ephemer knew a good barrage of curses; many of which he had learned from Gula and Aced. Which one would be better for the situation? One of the s-words? Perchance that delightful f-bomb he's heard so much about? Yes, maybe that one, repeated multiple times with an increasing range of incredible panic.

Never leave Anora, I love you.

Why did he say that? He was lucky that Anora pretended not to notice before heading back to the cabins. Maybe she had taken it as a compliment- but it was the first time Ephemer had ever uttered the words 'I love you' since they met. Hopefully it wasn't that obvious that it was meant romantically. Hopefully. It was still incredibly mortifying either way.

Suffice to say, he did not sleep at all before they were all called to get on the bus. He wasn't the only one that looked rough. Strelitzia looked like she hadn't slept in days- her eyes looked weary and had light bags under them. She refused to look anyone in the eye, and more than once she almost fell asleep on Lauriam's arm while standing up. Brain also looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep; his fedora slightly skewed than usual. Actually, the more Ephemer looked at him, the more it looked like Brain had been in a fist fight with someone.

Anora hung around Invi like a zombie. It had to be Invi in particular because Shelby wouldn't let her get near Ava. Invi didn't seem to make a fuss about it and opted to use Anora to help back everyone's things onto the bus. This worked out in the girl's favor because then she could find a place to sit, toss her stuff so no one could sit with her, and stay there until they were ready to leave. To further her new found spot, Anora curled herself into a ball on the bench seat and threw a blanket over her body; it hid her from the world and for a brief moment could allow her to believe that nothing else existed.

She must have gone to sleep because the next time she was aware of everything, the bus was in motion and someone was gently shaking her.

“Anora? You awake in that cocoon of yours?” Brain's voice asked. It sounded quiet, almost a whisper, as if he was trying not to wake her up if she was sleeping. Carefully, Anora brought her blanket down. It actually made her heart stop to see how close Brain's face was to her own. He was kneeling at the bench seat to be about eye level with her- considering the distance between seats, it looked like a very uncomfortable position.

Brain also looked to be in some amount of shock in seeing Anora's drowsy face. Almost bashful, he placed a finger at the front brim of his fedora to hide a bit of his face from her.

“I, uh… I wanted to say that I was sorry.” he told her. “This summer, I'd thought I do some… let's call them social experiments. The funny thing is, experiments fail if you don't account for every variable. I thought I knew the variables. But I didn't. So… even if it doesn't make sense, I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry.”

Anora's face crinkled into one of small confusion. Seeing it allowed Brain to let out a light laughter.

“Just go back to sleep, Anora-bird. We can talk again later.” And with that, he gently brought her blanket over her head again and left.

Brain refused to look up as he went back to his seat. On the way, he did happen to pass the seat Lauriam and Strelitzia were sitting in and paused for a moment. Strelitzia had gone to sleep with her head against her brother's shoulder.

“I hope you're happy now.” Brain darkly mumbled to Lauriam.

“You still need to talk to Ephemer.” the older of the two replied without even looking at him. Brain let out a gruff sound of acknowledgment before returning to his seat. Like the initial confrontation with Lauriam just hours after the girls' kiss, the meeting with Ephemer was not something Brain looked forward too, nor planned to go his way.

. . .

Anora did eventually come out of her hiding spot after they made the first restroom stop. Once they were moving again, she had a small thought and pulled out her phone. Her email inbox was almost deserted so it took little time to find a particular email. She pressed the 'Reply' button but hesitated to type a new message. After several minutes of struggling to write something, she instead started to reread the thread.

She really needed to meet back up with her cousin. There was just so much that she wanted to tell him- but travel to Daybreak Academy would have been expensive. She almost felt like she'd need him for a lot guidance in the very near future. But she couldn't ask her cousin to constantly go back and forth just for her. Could she? It's not like he wasn't already doing that for his fiance…

The girl quickly shook her head. What a dumb idea. Her cousin had a life outside of her, just like everyone else.

Curious, Anora picked up her head to see what everyone else was doing. Ephemer and Skuld were talking to a very happy Ventus (the boy turned around in his seat so he could face the other two), Strelitzia and Lauriam were occupying their time with a travel version of Reversi, and Brain was minding his own business with something Anora couldn't see. Unlike the drive down, Aced was driving the bus now. Invi was on the phone talking to some teachers still at Daybreak. Gula and Ira were also talking about something Anora couldn't quite pick up. Then there was Ava and Shelby, the Vulpes headmaster once more insisting that Shelby stay on the bus seat instead of roaming freely around.

Anora wondered for a moment if she could sit with Ava. But Ava likely would have wanted to talk- and that was if Shelby let Anora near his 'mother'. Anora wasn't really ready to talk about anything yet. Trying not to think about her inherit loneliness, her gaze finally fell on Brain. Lightly nibbling her lower lip, Anora carefully got up from her seat and started to walk over to where Brain was.

Ephemer happened to notice her out of the corner of his eye. He stared at her with a blank, weary look as she softly asked Brain something. There seemed to be a sense of surprise from the older boy, but he moved over so she could have a seat. The initial jealousy Ephemer had as he watched the display was quickly overridden by fear. Why was he so jealous all of a sudden? Anora was her own person, she could talk to whoever she wanted to. One little accidental love confession (one that she completely glossed over, mind you) wasn't enough to spark that much jealousy in his heart. Was it…?

This summer was the worst.

“This summer was the best!” Ven happily cheered. “Do you think we'll be able to go back next year?!”

Skuld gave him a small smirk of bemusement. “I don't see why not. It's ultimately up to the headmasters though- it's their timeshare, after all.”

Ven grinned from ear to ear. “My family always goes to the beach whenever we can, but it was nice hanging out with you guys. I can't wait to tell my dad that I finally beat someone at volleyball!”

“Headmaster Aced was going easy on you.” Skuld teased. “You've never seen him in a 3 to 1 match with Ephemer, Gula, and Ira. He had them begging for mercy just before the five minute mark. Isn't that right, Ephemer?”

“Huh?” came the absent response as the boy brought his attention to the others. “What did I do now?”

“And you guys say I'm the space cadet.” Ventus lightly giggled. But the boy's initial amusement gave way into a mild concern. “You've been doing that a lot lately, though. Are you okay?”

The disheartened stare Ephemer gave Ventus should have been the only answer the youngest needed. Regardless, Ephemer put on a light smile before telling him, “Don't worry about me, Ven. I'm fine. Might have caught a cold or something, but nothing to be worried about. Honest.”

“Oh...” was Ven's small answer. “O-okay. If you insist.”

Ephemer gave his friend another thin smile before reclining a bit in the bus seat. Both Skuld and Ventus continued to give him a wary glance, as if they were expecting him to confess that he wasn't okay. And maybe he would to Skuld later- but he'd never say it to Ven. They could hold off on having a talk about unrequited love when Ventus was, at least, five years older.

“I can't wait to get back to campus.” Skuld decided to say, hoping to redirect the conversation. “I've got to get into contact with my therapist so we can resume our sessions. This summer was nice, but I don't want to waste that feeling with biting off more than I can chew. Another year, another step closer to finally graduating.”

“Oh!” Ventus suddenly realized. “This is Lauriam's last year at Daybreak, isn't it?”

Skuld gave a small nod of agreement. “Brain and I've got another two, not counting this year. Then Ephemer's got three.”

“And I just started… sorta.” Ven finished. Giving a small, exasperated sigh, he put his head in his hands. “I hope guys all decide to take that internship thingie Headmaster Ava promised us. It's gonna be so lonely without you guys there.”

“You won't be alone.” Skuld told him. “You'll make other friends, and we'll be sure to keep in contact.”

Ven gave a small, rather sullen sigh. “You promise?”

“Promise.” Skuld agreed with a nod. “No matter what we do or where we'll go, we'll always be friends.”

It went unnoticed by the others, but Ephemer let out a small snort. 'Friends.' Didn't he say that he and Anora were just friends not that long ago? It seemed like it had been a lifetime away. Now here he was, practically stewing in jealousy because she chose to sit with someone that wasn't him. Maybe when school started up again, he'd be so preoccupied with schoolwork that he wouldn't think about Anora as often. Maybe he would shrug off that he admitted to loving her too. And he could forget about her kiss with Strelitzia, and how beautiful she was, and how much he just wanted to grab her face and…

Once more tuning out whatever conversation Skuld and Ventus were having now, Ephemer made himself a bit more comfortable in his seat before closing his eyes. Since his dreams got him into this mess, maybe they could shed some light on what he should do next. Because, honestly? He had no clue what he was doing anymore.

[iloveluxu]

So regarding the information gained from the newest cutscene with Ava and Brain, it brings a lot more light into Strelitzia’s murder

For starters: 

We know the current union leaders are Ephemer, Skuld, Brain, Lauriam, and Ventus. We know these people are identified by their books. 

Strelitzia was personally given a book by Ava, but it was stolen from her when she died, meaning whoever was connected with her murder most likely has her book

We've watched Brain and Ephemer been given their own books by Ava herself before the keyblade war started so they wouldn't have a reason to steal her book.

We have not seen Lauriam get a book from Ava, however, Lauriam is Strelitzia's brother so it wouldn't make sense for him to kill her to get the book. If he somehow got Strelitzia's book, then someone else would have had to take it from her to give it to him 

Our character was with Skuld when Strelitzia was killed. Not to mention there wouldn’t be enough time for Skuld to find Strelitzia, know she had a book, and then kill her to get the book. 

The only other character who doesn't have an alibi yet is Ventus

im not saying that Ventus killed her, from what we know about darkness and light and Ven in general, Ventus having an abnormal amount of darkness doesn’t mean anything about him being a murderer. But unless something comes up about Skuld or Lauriam that may incriminate them, Ven definitely has something to do with her death.

(side note: Gula was the only one left in the room after the Player and Skuld left so maybe him? but i don’t know why he’d kill her)

[not-so-missing-ache]

(My friend and I were talking and I can safely say I’m back on my bullshit again) So like, Gula as Darkness theory, but taken a step further to include Sora and a corpse. This is like 99.9% not gonna canonically make sense but eh So Gula as Darkness but he (probably) ends up in Ven’s heart. There’s atleast evidence that Darkness might’ve been stowing away in there... Anyways, Gula/Darkness got into Ven’s heart during khux times, maaaaaaybe after he died in the keyblade war, or something happens to Darkness once inside the data worlds? Maybe it’s how Darkness or even Ven got back out..? Or maybe like, if Darkness has a heart, once they loose said heart it travels it’s way to Ven. Maybe if they had like a connection, say if Darkness did actually posses Ven and killed Strelitzia that way? By the way, Gula’s keyblade technique in the novel is described as “speedy swordplay” which sounds a lot like Ven, maybe Gula taught him that/he got it from Gula/Darkness possessing him? So anyways, Gula is not with Ven, and later on is there for the creation of Vanitas. (Vanitas by the way essentially means paintings that include “symbols of death or change as a reminder of their inevitability” which sounds a lot like the Strel murder if you ask me) Hmm.. do we actually know where Vani’s heart went after he died in BBS? I don’t think so but I could be wrong on that... So like what if it goes on back to Ven? Then you’d have Ven’s heart that’s in Sora’s, but also Vanitas’s heart in Sora’s, too, except it’s actually Gula’s heart in there. Maybe it’s like a two for one sale so no one recognized this. So now there’d be a connection between Gula/Vanitas and Sora, though, even without the heart thing wouldn’t there still be one? “I’m the piece of Ventus that was taken away, and you’re the piece Ventus needed to be whole again. So, why shouldn’t you and I look exactly the same?” So then he comes back and stuff happens and replica(?) Vanitas dies in KH3. BUT YOU KNOW WHO ELSE MIGHT’VE DIED THEN TOO? SORA. On Twitter there’s been this thing like a Sora is a corpse theory, I forgot the people who had stuff on this but HMK (@ HMKilla on Twitter, HMK on YouTube) I think has stuff on this with who brought it up let’s also. So what if, Sora is actually dead. And is, in fact, an animated corpse in the events after remind. Wait did Chirithy ever mention anything about his heart died appearing, or just himself as a whole? Anyways, what if through that connection Gula was able to gain control over Sora’s body? On a side note, in the khux light novel it says that MoM was more interested in where his apprentices hearts lead them, rather than the fate of the world. Whether this is true or not idk, but, what if like he knew that Gula’s heart would lead him here (and then had plans to do something with that?) Like what if Gula could soooomehow sense that MoM was in that place we saw in the secret ending, and the only way to get there was through one of the kids. (Ex. Sora) Sora was an easy access point for hi, if he acted fast enough. Maybe he still really wants to find MoM after all these years and that’s why he did it I dunno. So then, you’re probably wondering about the epilogue Gula, right? What if, what if, it’s actually Ava? Like it’s a known fact she has the ability to become seemingly perfect copies of others, sooooo... Also maybe the reason Gula is the one to bring up caring about where Ava went is because he doesn’t want anyone to know it’s actually Ava but is just, like, bad at keeping cover or something? So it’s just like, yeah, where is Ava, why’d you exclude her Luxu? (Yes I’m aware of how bad that sounded bear with me please) Also, one tiiiiiny thing from the epilogue that means nothing: Luxu looking around at the four other foretellers, before ending on Gula, and seemingly still looking at him for a second before starting to say “hmm. I guess Ava didn’t make it after all.” Also, yes, I overanalyzed that extremely. I’ve been doing it all day and that’s probably where this “theory” or like collection of random words came

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Cherish the Moment - A SoKai Wedding Fic

Rated T. Sora and Kairi get married... Though there's some subverting expectations in here, since it's the only way I could write this--A, because so many others already have and B, because I felt I'd mess it up if I did it any other way--like, there are some moments Kairi's a bit sad that the few feelings she had for Riku will remain a question mark now (and thinks Sora might feel the same way about his feelings for Naminé)... But that really only lasts for five seconds, and can be seen as Kairi wedding jitters, as I swear all of this is really the fluffiest SoKai piece you'll ever read. SoKai, RokuShi, Namiku, Terqua, Gulava, VentusStrelitzia (as well as past PlayerStrelitzia). Slight RiKai and SoNami, but not really, but definitely more of the former, if any. Kind of written by accident when I needed a break from my other stories... and then it snowballed.

Kairi's PoV

As lovely as Kairi’s marriage to Sora was—that she did want more than anything else in that World, and that was a dream come true in so many ways—there was a little part of Kairi, that was sad that the questions she’d once had about Riku and herself would remain exactly that. And she imagined that… even though Sora would never admit it, the side of his heart that still existed in Castle Oblivion felt that about his tangled feelings for Naminé. But it was what it was—since this was real life, and it wasn't perfect, and Kairi wouldn't trade this feeling for the nothingness she’d felt at Sora’s disappearance for the world. Kairi wore something evergreen as her wedding dress—since it was the color she looked best in, and she wanted to look as beautiful as she could for Sora. ….Also, because Kairi had lost her virginity to Sora a long time ago, and she wasn’t going to lie or feel ashamed about it—and in order to match her, her sun was wearing a yellow tuxedo: that reminded Kairi of the bog world she and Sora had recently visited, that made her happy. Of all places they could've gotten married, the couple had chosen Monstropolus' laugh factory, for Kairi had thought if they got married in front of all the running doors, it could make a lovely sight. And it had. The two had also gotten Barbossa to marry them (when King Mickey had said he would be too nervous to do so). That had been Sora's idea… and Kairi got the sense that it was largely because he had been inspired by Will and Elizabeth’s wedding, who he thought they were like. Which was beyond sweet... And seeing the man's humorous reaction to this new world—before Sora and Riku had nearly instantly shoved him back through a Corridor of Light—had been more than funny to Kairi. But he'd actually officiated for them perfectly, in asking Sora if Kairi was the Elizabet to his Will or Calypso to his Davy Jones… But when Barbossa had begun talking about Sora and Kairi’s upcoming wedding night, Sora and Riku had furiously made him vacate the premises… and despite everything, Kairi had laughed. Even while she’d tried to defend the pirate from her husband and big brother (because yes, that was what Riku really was to her) But after that drama—right after they’d been married—Sora and Kairi had rode atop one of the doors together for a while—with both of them kicking their legs to and fro as it moved beneath them, like they’d both rocked on the paopu tree all those years ago. And while both Kairi and Sora felt somewhat bad that they were keeping their joy from everyone else, by having this special and private moment… they contended themselves with the fact that every other married couple would have been getting pictures away from everyone else at this point, anyway. "But maybe we shouldn't be doing this," Sora eventually said with a chuckle. "I mean, your wedding dress is so impractical for writing doors on, Kai. You might fall right off! And the last thing I want, is for my wife to die on our wedding day." But at this point that Sora had said this, the door had already reached its destination—sort of making Sora's words moot—but Kairi couldn't help teasing her love about it, all the same. "It's okay, Sora. Wielding the Keyblade gives us mastery over gravity, remember? That's how I fought in a dress in The Castle That Never Was. So, I’ll be fine if we want to do this again." But right now, they had bigger fish to fry. So Kairi walked towards Boo's door. The spouses had planned to go visit Boo during their wedding—because they'd wanted everyone they loved to be able to attend. And Kairi adored her, now that she’d gotten to meet her a few times. But now that she and Sora were at her door, planning to go through, Kairi found herself second-guessing if this was a good idea at all. They didn’t want to risk spooking the girl’s parents, who still somehow didn’t know about other worlds… "Sora," Kairi started, as she with loving eyes pulled him away from the door he'd just opened. “We can maybe disturb Boo later… But don't you think we should go see the rest of our friends for a little bit before our honeymoon? Sora didn't have to be asked twice; Kairi had sensed that he was missing Riku, after all. When the two of them got back to the Laugh Floor—where their ceremony had taken place—the lovers could see that Riku was trying to see if Naminé would eat the lemon meringue pie, if he got rid of the gooey bits from it, that she didn't like. …Riku and Naminé were wonderful for each other, and Kairi was honestly glad that they had each other... And Naminé ending up accepting Riku's offer was just further proof of that, in her eyes. And what were Sora and Kairi’s other friends doing right now? Most of the ones with responsibilities in other parts of the galaxy had left already. But some were still here. Like right now, Kairi could see that Ariel was thrilled that she could be part human, part mermaid in a monster form here if she wished... Aladdin was trying to stop Abu from stealing things, it appeared (though this was unnecessary, as both Kairi and Sora had told their guests that they were welcome to any of the decorations the two of them had brought here), and Kairi was glad when Xion kept reminding him that it was fine... Hercules was trying to convince Mike and Sully that they might as well have statues of themselves put up here in their world, like he had a few of his own in Olympus. And the Restoration Committee was trying to see if they could use the door system themselves, as some part of the defense mechanism. And a Lightning was wondering why just because a "Tron" (who had thankfully been restored!) had added a data version of her to his system, the real her had been invited to this wedding… Kairi didn’t even know the answer to that herself, but the more the merrier! Right? As for everyone else... Roxas was by Xion’s side in the whole Abu and Aladdin scenario. The former Nobody did seem somewhat sad that Xion was paying all her attention to it, instead of him… But since it was for Xion, it was clear that he was happy to be doing whatever she was. Terra and Aqua were dancing, and it made Kairi ponder whether or not they'd now decided they saw each other as more than siblings, after all. Lauriam and Ven were… comforting Strelitzia over Player's death. And Kairi once again thought about telling the poor dear that she hadn't had to come here—and that she could leave whenever she wanted to—but that she and Sora were both thankful she had come at all... And Lea, and Isa were catching up with Skuld at the punch table... And it looked as though King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Master Yen Sid were working on some amazing fireworks for Sora and herself? "Where do we even begin?" Sora asked nervously, as he scratched his ear. Kairi imagined that Sora probably wanted to go help with the fireworks display, but given his tendency to sometimes make things blow up—like those blasters back at The World That Never Was—Kairi didn’t know if that was the best idea. "Say, Kairi… what do you say we go talk to Ava first? Is it me, or does she seem lonely?" And Ava did seem that way. And Kairi got the sense that while the woman was thrilled, that what she’d done had helped to lead everyone here... that she was beginning to think what the Master of Masters had been after similar things, after all, and that maybe she had been wrong to kill him. And as soon as they approached Ava, she was telling them just that. "It's a beautiful wedding you’re having, Sora, Kairi... but my father should have been here, since he created all of this. But he isn't... and that’s my fault." '…Except that, as great as your father was… I think he did go insane from it all and would have destroyed the world, if you hadn't stopped him,' Kairi wanted to say, but didn’t. And judging by how Sora kept opening his mouth and shutting it again, Kairi thought that her other heart felt much the same way. But instead, she enveloped the girl in her arms--that Sora watched with a proud twinkle in his eye before he’d turned away from them, Kairi had seen. Perhaps he was about to find Gula and tell him to make sure his girlfriend was happy –and told her what was in her heart. "I get where you're coming from, Ava. Really, I do. And joyful times can make you think of all those who you've lost, who you wish could be there for you, too. …But I think you're looking at this in the wrong way. You've got to think about all that you have! Like your dear friends Gula, Invi, Aced, and Ira... and all of the various Key Kids who found their way here; and how you're now friends with us: the new guard when it comes to the Light, and together we've created some beautifulthings." And there was also the answer to Kairi’s own problem, wasn't it? She had been somewhat focusing on the teeny, tiny bit that she and Sora were losing in getting married—since they had had other feelings for others in the past—that she’d missed that, despite everything, she was finally tied with the love of her life in every way she had wanted to... and that meant more than all of the munny in the world ever could. And her words must have had the intended result of getting through to Ava, too, Kairi saw, because the older woman wiped her tears away... smiled at Kairi and Sora, as he joined them with Gula being pulled behind him, and said, "You’re right, Kairi. And in my heart, I’m still a leader to the Dandelion children. So why am I becoming undone, when I should be comforting Strelitzia--who's already lost so much!—about her love? If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do that right now. Thank you, my King and Queen." Kairi blushed at that title she and Sora had been given after everything they'd done (Riku and Naminé had even been given some, too), but didn't let it show. Instead, she admired how at that exact moment, Gula had chosen to kiss Ava on the cheek—to show her that she was cared for, but not distract her too much from her mission; or so Kairi guessed—while Ven had chosen to kiss Strelitzia full on the mouth, who was responding positively while Lauriam was not. So suddenly feeling very much in love for a few reasons, Kairi leapt into her precious Sora's arms—wrapping her legs around his waist, as he caught her at the last minute after her surprise attack. "Sora, you know what I just realized?” Kairi asked, as she leaned close to Sora and prayed to Kingdom Hearts to give her strength to say these next words, since she was a terrible dancer. “We've been lame! in not giving everyone our first dance yet!" Sora chuckled at this, as he leaned his forehead against Kairi’s own and looked deep into her eyes with loving ones of his own. “Then let’s go give them a show, Mrs.” And everyone around them must have realized what they were finally about to do, because Terra wolf-whistled, and Riku called out with a hand over his mouth, "Dance already, you two! You've already broken tradition by having the other couples do so before you!" Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku for that one. So in wanting to everything wedding the traditional way now, Kairi let Sora lead her onto the dance floor—and he winked at her in a way that made a shiver run down Kairi’s spine in the best way possible—and she prepared to do a nice, slow dance with Sora... only for the song to change to the Cupid Shuffle. And Kairi and Sora cracked up, as they once again leaned their foreheads against each other’s, but also held both of each other’s hands this time while doing so. After dancing to the song by themselves very shortly, Kairi and Sora motioned for everyone to come onto the dance floor with them... which Kairi was glad for—since it would hopefully distract everyone how she always messed up timing or did the wrong thing in this song. But Sora was a godsent when it came to making her look good at dancing, and somehow seemed charmed by her bad movements, so it was a win-win. Fortunately, the Cha-Cha slide came on right after the Cupid Shuffle—that Kairi knew better than any other dance—and she was able to redeem herself some. And seeming to realize she wanted to leave the dance floor on a high note, Sora asked with the kind of kindness he’d had in his eyes when he’d told Chirithy she’d made him remember how good it was to experience things with a friend, "Want to give everyone else the dance floor now?" And Kairi shouted "Yes!" faster than anything she'd ever said in her life, since—as it was—her feet were starting to kill her in these high heels, too. Sora, truly being a psychic, swept Kairi up off her feet before she could even voice the thought. And she leaned her head into his shoulder, like a soldier coming home for the first time in ages. It was at this time that everyone seemed figure out that they were ready to leave. So there were last minute goodbyes (Roxas pretended to cry that his brother was all grown up—and this had gotten a kick out of everyone—nevermind the fact that Sora was older than he was), thank yous, and promises to see each other again soon....As well as Kairi trying to give away some of the lantern decorations that she and Sora had bought for the event... But soon enough, everything was sorted out and Sora and Kairi were leaving in the gummi ship to go somewhere magical for their honeymoon, as all of their friends waved at them... and it was then that Kairi promptly passed out in Sora's arms... all the planning, stress, and exhausting—though perfect day—having finally gotten to her. … When Kairi later awoke, it wasn't to her and Sora's honeymoon location—as nice as that would have been; and Sora was still keeping it a secret where they were even going—but to their room in their gummi ship. And Kairi had to say... even if there was always a part of her that would slightly prefer being home, she could certainly get used to waking up in their bed in the gummi ship together. Sora’s scent was all over the blankets and it was lovely; Kairi had to resist the urge to roll herself back up into them and go to sleep again, even. But Sora must have sensed what she was about to do, because he stole her blankets away from her before she could get too comfortable and Kairi glared at him... before descending into a fit of giggles. "Hey, Kairi!" Sora was laughing himself. "You can't go back to sleep yet! I mean... here I am, somewhat carelessly leaving the ship in autopilot to make sure I was by your side when you first woke up after we were married. And you don't even care? C'mon! Where's the Kairi who jumped through Corridors of Darkness to see me?" Suddenly feeling more awake now, and giddy, and even somewhat like their younger selves, Kairi sat with her knees on the black mattress, and spared Sora a glance and a thought. "You're right... I'm not appreciating this moment enough at all. I should be calling you a 'lazy bum', and slapping you upside the head... Or actually, not doing that, because I'm a sensible girl who knows how to deal with her feelings now, outside of physically hurting the object of my affections. Especially since I need no excuse to touch you now. Eep!" And even before Kairi herself knew it—and she was the one who had done this!—she was flying through the air and then in Sora's arms, as she peppered kiss after kiss on every inch of his face, neck, and shoulders. And when he gently pushed her away from himself—while still smiling stupidly—Kairi could tell that he’d been getting distracted, too. But Sora somehow got himself back under control soon, to which Kairi could only frown. "Kairi… not now. The gummi ship will crash. And we're saving this for our special honeymoon, remember?" Kairi wanted to do anything but let Sora go. But as she recalled how Riku and Naminé's ship had been nearly destroyed by Heartless not so long ago, she thought that being cautious probably was for the best. "…Okay, Sora. Go pilot the gummi ship—and take me to wherever this glorious new world is—and I'll get us breakfast." Kairi, who had been moved by Sora's cooking at the bistro, almost hated that she was going to make stuff for them now... instead of letting the professional chef make food for her. But she also thought it was only fair, since he was apparently going all out for her in another way. And besides, she was quite the cook herself, wasn't she? Hadn't she found many neat ways to cook fruit on the island, that Sora and Riku had adored? Kairi got her answer to that question soon enough, when Sora told her "Yes, please do that, Kairi! And bring out the fruit flavor even more in the orange chicken, as you do!" And then Sora was diving for the control panel, as both he and Kairi saw an asteroid heading their way. And the Keyblade master got the ship to move in just the nick of time. Kairi laughed. As much as, in some ways, she didn't want it to be... this was kind of like old times: like when Sora had been driving the gummi ship after saving her from Hollow Bastion, and Kairi had been left asking Goofy what she could do to help him at all, while the brunet and Donald had fought about who was driving. And as much as Kairi had grown since then and was thrilled by it, because she never wanted to lose her friends again but to rather be their equal... She still liked being cherished by Sora like this—especially the day after their wedding—and if creating non-breakfast food was her part of the bargain to have that feeling, then she'd gladly do it. And she did. And the happy couple ate merrily. When they were done? Sora was pointing out to her the biggest amusement park she could have ever imagined! "Is this where we're going, Sora? It seems so fun! Oh! What's that ride that looks like a skyscraper, and-" Kairi got her answer to that question when she saw the "elevator" within the false building rocket back down to ground level from a horrifying height. "...You know, Kairi, weirdly enough... I must have somehow drawn on the imagery of this place when I developed my Attraction Flow. Or something. Like, I almost wanted to make an attack like that skyscraper—like a guillotine, almost—but I didn't." Huh. That was odd. Kairi really didn’t know what forces governed the multiverse—so maybe all things happened for a reason—but even so, there was at least one thing she didn’t want to talk about in that... "I'm all for us being entertained by roller coasters as part of our honeymoon, Sora... But can we stop talking about beheadings, please? I think I’m going to be sick." And not needing to say anymore to convince him, Sora gently took Kairi’s hand in his own and began leading her through the exit… and the moment Kairi’s feet touched the ground, she was already having so much fun! She ran on the cobblestone to where she could get funny little hats, and then motioned with her eyes that she and Sora should go to the castle towering above them next! Which they did. And as the two of them had always wanted to fly with one another, they went on a ride together of soaring elephants. And it reminded Kairi of that “Dumbo” Sora had summoned on his first journey. She had seen this while being in his heart. And Kairi made sure to point this out to Sora, as she leaned as close to him in the seat as she could—even getting out of her own seatbelt, so she could be within his. Once they exited that attraction, one of the workers seemed annoyed with what Kairi had done... but upon seeing the rings on her and Sora's fingers, shook his head and seemed to imagine it was only expected of newlyweds. Or so Kairi guessed, since he let them walk by without chewing them out in the slightest. Then, Sora was amazed by something called vanilla ice cream—since the two of them had only had seasalt and chocolate before—and in trying it herself, Kairi decided it was every bit as good as Sora said it was. And after that, Sora and Kairi discovered something called "race cars" in a place called “Autopia”, that neither could get enough of. But too soon after that—or perhaps not soon enough—they were back in their hotel room (that had aesthetics they both loved. Kairi partly loved them because there were pictures of Sora here somehow! Maybe the two of them really were somehow connected to this place and the multiverse was trying to show them it). And then Sora and Kairi were worshipping each other's bodies, lazily, as warm air spilled into the room. They'd both been slow and nervous with each other when they’d started, almost like it was their first time again, but then they’d found their way—as they always did with each other—and had just opted to make slow love. "And to think we can start every morning like this, Kairi," Sora said sweetly, as he kissed her lips and the morning sun spilled in. "Mmm. That’s the most perfect thing I can think of," Kairi answered back… “Well, aside from a few other things to make this even better”, Kairi said cheekily, as she sat up and her lips started going down, down, down Sora’s body. And in a world where anything could be torn away from them in any given moment—including each other, as they both knew well—knowing that they could wake up together for a while really was the best feeling in the world. And Kairi cherished it.

[ultyso]

Aight, I’m just saying, in the off chance we find out that Gula is big bro to Ven, you heard it here from me first. 🤣

[swankymcgilligan]

Namine and the Nameless Star

I’ve been thinking about the Nameless Star a bit. Most people seem to think she’s Strelitzia, but I really don’t think so. The stuff she says doesn’t really match up imo. For example, she says that the reason her heart was taken away was because it “pines for another”.

Which doesn’t really match up with what happened to Strelitzia. Sure, you could say that she was “pining” for |Player|, but that wasn’t really what lead to her demise. She was killed because Brain wanted to take her position as Union Leader, |Player| didn’t really have anything to do with it. 

I think the Nameless Star is connected to Namine. I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the Nameless Star and Namine were both in the Final World together. There was the reason they were the only two stars with spoken dialog. When I listen to the way the NS talks, it really reminds me of Namine. They’re both soft spoken and gentle-toned, the way the NS giggled even reminds me of Namine’s giggle. And then even a lot of the phrases they use or that are spoken to them are similar: 

1.

Sora and NS in KH3:

Sora and Namine in CoM:

2.

NS about her unnamed friend in KH3:

Namine about Sora in KH2:

3.

NS to Sora in KH3:

Namine to Sora in KH3:

Namine’s origins have always been a bit of a mystery. Even Ansem the Wise was baffled by her existence. Kairi, being a PoH, shouldn’t have really been able to produce a Nobody.  We’ve also never really found out why Namine has blonde hair. We know Roxas got his gold-blonde hair from Ven, but what about her? Where did her platinum-blonde hair come from? There’s also this mysterious file of Vexen’s that Axel found in Days, whose contents still haven’t been revealed:

So I think we’ve had more than enough hints that, rather like how Roxas is part Sora, part Ven, Namine is also not 100% Kairi. Which leads me to suspect that the Nameless Star is in fact the person that Namine got her blonde hair from. So we can rule out Strelitzia and Skuld. And, although we don’t know her hair color, I think we can also rule out Invi, since she appeared in the epilogue. That leaves us with only two possibilities as to her identity:

1. Ava

2. A completely new character

Evidence for NS being Ava:

As others have pointed out, there’s a few similarities between Ava and Namine. They both have a habit of clasping their hands, they both have the power to change their appearance (Namine taking the form of Kairi in CoM, Ava taking the form of another foreteller in KHX), and they both seem to have memory manipulation powers, as I believe Ava was the one who erased the Dandelions’ memories. There’s also the matter of Namine’s almost total exclusion from KH3. She didn’t appear in any of the trailers. She didn’t appear in the opening sequence. She only had a single, optional cutscene where she actually speaks. She doesn’t even appear properly until the end of the game. 

It made me wonder, is this bit of dialog between Xigbar/Luxu and Gula a hint that Ava is the reason that Namine was excluded from KH3?

One final idea I had; NS claims that her name and “everything about her” was taken away. If we assume that Ava is also Subject X, then that would certainly explain why Saix and Axel were never able to find a single trace of her, even after 10+ years. 

Evidence for NS NOT being Ava/ being a new character:

NS says they took away her name, yet Xigbar/Luxu was able to say Ava’s name at the end. Although to be fair, we don’t really know how this whole “name taking” works, so if Xigbar took away Ava’s name, it might stand to reason that he’d be the only one who could still say it. I couldn’t help but notice that none of the foretellers actually try to say her name out loud... Gula simply refers to Ava as “her”. 

[kingdommad300]

Possible Kairi Story Arc

Hear me out!

So lets say we start with Kairi not having much faith in herself. With getting killed by Xehanort and having Sora sarfice himself to bring her back again, she doesn't have much confidence in herself. Despit that, she goes to Yen Sid and insists that she learn the Power of Waking to assist Riku in finding Sora. Only to be denied the request.

So Riku goes to search the sleeping worlds, leaving Kairi left behind once again.

Yen Sid summons Kairi and finds Ventus had been summoned too. Yen Sid instructs the two that he senses strange activity coming from Radiant Garden and want the two of them to check it out as well as to find any alternative plans to find Sora if Riku isn't successful.

So they go to Radiant Garden, Kairi decided to go to her grandmother's house and discovers of her when she was younger. You can say Gula appears, (let's say he thinks she's Ava) and insists her on finding the truth about herself. Kairi leaves the house and sees someone that looks like Sora, so she goes after him. When she gets closer, she realises that it's Vanitas. They fight. Ventus finds both of them and finishes the fight.

Ventus asked if he can sense Sora at all, since he is still bears Sora's face. He explains his connection is not fully there. He then questions Kairi on using her Princess of Heart powers to bring him back, like she did before. She goes 'I'm not strong enough.' And then Vanitas says 'Then get more power.' And disappears.

After checking out the books in the radiant garden library and asking Aerith, she found out that there is a powerful light spell that can bring someone back from the dead but only a few people had been successful in doing it. So Kairi and Ventus decide to head to the worlds with the other Princesses of Hearts to borrow their power.

So they go to the Disney Worlds, learn a thing or two along the way, deal with some Foretellers in the world and collect the power.

During the journey, Riku joins them, explaining that the sleeping realm was a dead end and that he was concerned with what the two of them were doing. With Kairi, he is concerned about the shadow she is creating behind her with the light she is gathering, making her a huge target. But Kairi assures Riku that her greatest strength is her POH powers and it is going to be the key to bring Sora back.

So they have all seven pieces of the POH powers and Luxu (Xigbar) and Gula stop them, asking the three of them to give him the light (lux) they had gathered. Kairi refused and the three of them fight the Foretellers. Thought they could deal with Luxu, Gula managed to take Ventus and Riku out for the moment. Still believing Kairi is Ava (which she's not), insists on giving them the light before the Heartless come to take it. Kairi decides to try the revival spell instead.

But instead of the spell, Kairi was pushed into this light based form (similar to Rage mode) where she started to fight everyone while Heartless startes to rapidly appear due to her light. Gula and Luxu flee and Ventus and Riku deal with Kairi. With Riku managing to knock Kairi out.

They retreat back to Yen Sid and Riku reports what has been happening with both Ventus and Kairi.

While Kairi rests up, she dreams that she is on the islands with Sora by her side. She apologises for not being as strong as he saw her. Sora explains that it isn't her POH powers that make her strong but her determination to help, her willpower to do whatever it takes to get us back home and that her strength is what's allowing him to not give up, to keep going. Kairi says she wants to stay here but Sora says that she can't be the 'lazy bum' here. She has to wake up.

Filled with determination, Kairi readies herself with Riku and Ventus to deal with the Foretellers with the plan they have.

So they do the final world. Kairi fights Gula and defeats him. Gula still thinks that she is Ava but Kairi says that this is all me.

So the realm of light is safe from the Foretellers for the time being. Kairi asks all their friends to appear on the Islands. Once everyone gathers, Kairi explains that she is going to try the spell again so if its successful, we are here for Sora. If not, they are ready to deal with her. Ven tries to object, having become good friends with Kairi, during their journey but Kairi explains she won't be absorbing the power, she will be giving up her own and using the power to create the spell. Saying that she doesn't need her POH power to prove her strength. Her confidence returned.

And then she does the spell and leave it on a cliffhanger.

[eternal-reverie]

Ventus, Skuld, and Ava for the character meme?

Ooo alright I’m going to try my best to be more concise!

Ventus

First impression

I think the first time I saw him was in the kh2 secret ending?? Everyone thought “Roxas!” so that’s not unique It was jarring to see this happy go lucky attitude that Sora usually has… in this Roxas lookalike. Then actually playing BBS, I remember finding him very sweet but disappointed he wasn’t as interesting as Roxas? Or to put it differently, his storyline did not seem as compelling as Aqua’s and Terra’s within the same game. This lasted for several years, I did not understand the hype behind him until….

Impression now

khux really cemented in my love for this boy. It felt so odd to see him placed so far in the past but now some things make more sense for him? We briefly see his self-doubt when MX exhorts him to use the darkness and I’m so glad that we see that again in khux in full force. His imposter syndrome is pretty relatable and whatever will happen to his new friends here in khux should strengthen the case of his fear of losing friends in BBS. I don’t know, just the idea of a boy his age intertwined in the heart of a war conflict is really compelling.

Favorite moment

I was going to say when he forcibly unfreezes himself to save Aqua or the moment when he wakes up to save her again in kh3. Those were epic, but my hands down favorite moment is when he opened his arms up to embrace chirithy at the end of kh3 ;~: 

Idea for a story

Chirithy sharing stories of Ven’s time in the dandelions to Aqua and Terra would be cute and possibly mind-boggling for those two. Or just a story of him catching up with chirithy after this whole time.

Unpopular opinion

My unpopular opinion was Ven not being able to hold a candle to Roxas but my stance is different now. I guess my unpopular opinion could be that Ven is absolutely not the culprit behind Strelizia’s death??? I mean look at him. He’s a literal baby. 

Favorite relationship

This might belong in the above section but I feel like the rest of the union leaders are the better friend group for him rather than Aqua and Terra??? Maybe it’s because they feel more parental while the union leaders feel more like peers? It’s strange to say that since he’s closer to Aqua’s and Terra’s ages than the more apparent age disparity between the other union leaders and him. Ephemera’s and Skuld’s welcoming a friendship towards him really made an impression. Brain and Ven is pretty fascinating too with how brusque Brain is towards him about being assertive. 

Favorite headcanon

Ven is the kind of kid to collect things. Just out of pure fascination and sentiment. He goes through a rock phase, feather phase, stamp phase, etc things like that where he carefully finds the containers to put these items to cherish and study. Those items represent moments he would hold dear, like a small rock that Terra accidentally tripped over and they would all laugh or a coin Aqua gives Ven to buy a snack with, but ends up not spending it since it was so shiny. So all these things have a heavy sentimental value to him, and if someone were to take it away or deem it as junk, he would get really upset. 

Skuld

First impression

 A NEW KH GIRL!!!?!?! WITH LONG BLACK HAIR???? that i could possibly cosplay one day??!?

After that initial impression, she fell under the radar for me since khx was hard to get into back then. But once khux came out globally, she became easier to see and get attached to since she does hang out with player more than Ephemera.

Impression now

I love her strong convictions and I can never tire of looking at her design. I really want to draw her more often. 

Ȋ̴̩̘͆͋̑ ̶̡͚̫͛͘͘ẇ̷̧̖̺̻a̴̫͊̍̾̚ń̵̓ͅt̵͔͍̩̅͜ ̷͇̭̏̊͜n̵͎͎̈́̈̽̄̒ó̷̟͕͙͖ͅt̵̮̒h̶̰͖͉̤͑̀̑̃̚į̶̤̤͍̩̈́̈́n̵͈̮͙͕͊͘͝͝g̵͔͕̞̙͗̕ ̸̼̫͇͖̼͊̐̿̾b̶̛̻͖͙̠̯́͝ȧ̶͙̤ḓ̷̽̾̆̕ ̵͔̰̐͆̚t̷̹̬̿̃ô̸͉̻̺ ̵̡̃̐͊ͅẖ̴̻͂̂͑ͅą̶̡̭͇̣͌͘p̴̰̮̐̒̿p̸̻̆ȩ̸̦͍̌n̵̲̦͉̬̰̓͌͊ ̵̧̻̟̭̃̑̈̒͜t̶̘̼̊̓̊ǫ̷̦̎ ̵̙̩̪͎̄͊̄ȟ̸͇̥͉͘ͅͅẽ̶̠̝͂͝r̷̼͑̿̌̕

Favorite moment

She absolutely had her moment when she descends from the light and player calls her a goddess like yo what other character carries that divine energy besides her??? ok maybe strelitzia but that’s a sad example  

2nd favorite moment: her conviction against the shift pride rule. She had a firm opinion and wasn’t going to be swayed. Respect.

Idea for a story

Skuld is a great planner and organizer, to the point of pushing herself being so busy as a leader. One day she’s sent off with Ven to look for additional materials for Brain’s experiments but really it’s just a guise for the other union leaders to organize an appreciation picnic for her :D She’s at a loss for words, Then, Ven let slip that it was all Ephemera’s idea which he denies, distributing the credit to everyone else. They have a picnic among the dandelions with lots of sandwiches and pastries, all of which are her favorites.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t think i have any!

Favorite relationship

Skuld with Player is honestly my favorite thing to see. She’s there through the thick and thin for them.  Her friendship with Ephemera is so interesting as well since they were in a party together. I miss seeing their interactions.

Favorite headcanon

If you ask her nicely, she’s totally down with doing your make up. She had a lot of practice achieving beautiful makeup looks. She’s those kind of people that are really put together and radiate positive energy, that one can’t help but try to emulate. 

Ava

First impression

The foretellers were revealed such a long time ago it feels. I think Ira and Ava stuck out to me the most, the former because I love unicorns and the latter for the pink color scheme of her foreteller outfit. She seemed like the most approachable foreteller since she hung out Ephemera that one scene.

Impression now

She seemed like a straightforward character, always striving to do what’s right but right now I have a lot of doubts. Her clash with Luxu starting the war…her not being present in the kh3 eplilogue. She’s just so hard to grasp now??? And with the new screenshots of her with Brain…

Favorite moment

Her fawning over the chirithy in the test tube MoM kept! 

Idea for a story

This is so simple but I want to see her ordering dinner with the other foretellers. Just dinnertime conversation ranging from official talk to annoying things that happened that week for them. Aced gets all worked up and so to mitigate that Ava requests the waiter to bring a candle-lit cake to the table. Once the cake is brought over, the whole restaurant bursts into singing happy birthday, since it is someone as important as a FORETELLER right there. Aced becomes so confused that he forgets what he was upset about and just hesitantly accepts the cake. Gula tries and fails to hold back his laughter. Ira and Invi are late to react, but they join in laughing soon after. After everything calms down, Aced demands who did this, but Ava just gives an innocent smile.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t have any for her either. I guess I’m just tired of the fact that she has the bigger union? I’m just biased since I’m in Unicornis 😆

Favorite relationship

Her relationship with Gula is so tender ;~; and her relationship with MoM is so intriguing. His manner is much more serious whenever he interacts with her.

Favorite headcanon

In her spare time, she like to make trinkets, charms and jewelry to give as gifts to wielders in her union. They often don’t expect her unique gifts.

[chessdaze]

Day 3 of my @khoc-week​ catch up!

  Friends or Lovers? Show and tell who your OC is familiar with! Any friends? A Significant Other? Or maybe an enemy? Draw a picture of them with their best friend(s), enemy, or special someone! Or write a one shot about them interacting or going on a mission together. 

OH BOY I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS. But I wanted to focus on two relationships in particular with Atlas - that with his mentor/father figure Wynter and that with his two best friends Kei and Quest (who were briefly shown in yesterday’s prompt!). family figures weren’t really in the prompt but I went with it anyways because I HAVE to talk about Wynter. 

Wynter is the reason that heartsmiths exist, he’s an incredibly powerful magic user. He’s also the reason Atlas is even alive, so of course he’s an important figure in Atlas’s life. Including Atlas’s wonderland background which he doesn’t recall, Wynter is the only father figure he’s ever had. Atlas loves Wynter. However, there was a big strain on their relationship during the time leading up to the keyblade war.

Readmore time

Wynter is a keyblade user. I’ve done a piece of him with his keyblade here, besides probably MoM, he’s probably the eldest keyblade wielder in Daybreak Town. However he doesn’t use his keyblade for fighting heartless  on a normal basis as it has a very specific trait. It can freeze someone’s heart in time. Thus the name ‘hand of time’. A theme of Wynter’s character is that he’s stuck in time and not able to move forward and his keyblade and it’s power are a reflection of that and how his heart is stagnant - which is like a punch to the gut when MoM is explaining all of this to him (MoM and Wynter are like old buds).

As the keyblade war draws closer it becomes clear why Wynter was given this particular keyblade with this particular power. He aims to have Atlas survive the keyblade war through freezing his heart and body in time. He knows of the dandelions via Quest (who was chosen to be apart of the dandelions - but more on that when i get to him and kei), and wants to freeze Atlas in time and then let the dandelions/Ava know of his location so after the danger has passed they can retrieve him. But things never go as planned. 

Atlas refused, almost violently so, when the idea was brought up. In the end. Quest and Kei had to hold Atlas down while Wynter stabbed him with his keyblade. Hence the below picture (which was like one of the first i drew with atlas ever - and of wynter’s keyblade it’s changed a bit since this look):

As one can imagine, this wasn’t great on their relationship. In Atlas’s main story, he ends up drifting with the heartsmith’s shop/forge in the space between (being a ‘mini world’ in its own right), Wynter’s notes being scattered to the worlds (like ansem’s reports - and his notes on heartsmithing is a precursor to keyblade armor being made, but that’s an entirely different ramble), and doesn’t awake until the guardians of light find him 1000+ years later. 

After awaking he has so many mixed emotions about his mentor. He’s angry that Wynter took the opportunity for him to help wielders away, he’s angry that he was pretty much forced to have a keyblade he never wanted (in stabbing atlas with the keyblade, atlas pretty much became the successor to it), and being left all alone without his friends or his family was just...sad. He blamed Wynter and his two best friends for the longest time.

REWIND A SEC AND I’LL TALK ABOUT ATLAS, KEI, AND QUEST. 

I have dubbed them the ‘ribbon trio’ as their design all involve ribbons. my sister has also affectionally called them the ‘rose buds’ because of this picture below and thinking on it, it fits because of Atlas’s past with wonderland, Quest being from Beast’s Castle, and Kei’s family being florists.

here’s another one because they’re cute

As mentioned above, Quest is from Beast’s Castle. His parents died during the plague and he had been having a rough childhood when he was given the power of the keyblade and was able to go to daybreak town and join a union. Considering the state he was in (practically skin and bones), Gula was surprised when he appeared and wanted to join Leopardos. He had to be nursed back to a fighting health but when he was able he became a party leader and lead the party the Chevaliers (I did a photoset of them here).

Kei is from daybreak town and her family are the local florists (see a picture of her and her sibs here). She was the only one gifted with the power of the keyblade and felt the need to become stronger and stronger so she could protect her family - and so she joined Ursus. She’s known as a ‘party hopper’ because as soon as she thought she learned all she could from a party - or if she became the most powerful one in a party - she left in search of new challenges.

They both met Atlas via the heartsmith shop, and while kei and quest didn’t quite see eye to eye at first - Atlas was the glue that kept them together and eventually they became closer and could consider eachother friends aswell. 

Leading up to the keyblade war, the one chosen to become a dandelion was Quest. He was extremely torn over it, not sure what to say or what to do. Some dandelions mentioned that it might be useful to have a heartsmith with them because ‘who knows what could happen’ so Quest asked Ava about Atlas joining. However only keyblade wielders could join - so Quest left to ask Wynter if he planned to pass his keyblade onto Atlas, if he became a wielder then he could become a dandelion. 

He was explaining this to Atlas when Kei suddenly appeared and started an argument about Quest picking Atlas over her- and why she wasn’t chosen to be in this special group of wielders. This caused a huge rift between the three. Atlas became too busy with wielders flooding into the heartsmiths shop for repairs and upgrades before the war to really tackle the issue - but Kei and Quest were at odds for quite some time. Eventually they came to terms with eachother and the problem at hand -- and they both quit their unions to become heartsmiths instead. 

pictured in the main photo at the bottom is sort of what directly came after that - Wynter stating his plan to freeze Atlas in time and Atlas retaliating. Quest and Kei both agreed it was for the best, and that they would do their best to become even half the heartsmith that Atlas was. But of course Atlas still wasn’t having it - and to save their friend from the war they held him down in a chair while Wynter stabbed him with the keyblade.

The two of them then had a crash course of how to be a heartsmith and not long after the war happened. 

I feel like I should say it doesn’t end well for any of them. 

Wynter dies before the war even begins. He uses the last of his strength from non stop weeks of working to send the heartsmith shop into the space between after Kei and Quest leave - has enough time to reach his twin sister Crystal (who is the local baker), then dies in her arms. 

Kei and Quest both die on the battle field - Kei dies protecting Quest dies protecting a wielder (I’ve plotted it out with friends that he protects the player character pretty much and it’s the reason that the dandelions are able to reach them in time). Kei and Quest’s hearts however find themselves at the heartsmith shop in the space between - and for those 1000 + years, they protect Atlas.

However they get corrupted over time and become phantoms which is where the darkling like designs i made come into play. When the guardians of light reach the shop - they have to fight passed Kei and Quest to get to atlas because they’re still trying to protect Atlas even if they’ve been lost to the darkness. 

Kei and Quest are freed from the darkness after they are defeated, and they stay long enough to see atlas being awoken before vanishing from sight. 

So as you can tell ATLAS HAS A LOT OF FEELINGS AFTER WAKING UP/HIS TIME BEGINNING AGAIN. And I just....love his dynamic with his friends/mentor so much okay.

And as a fun fact - since trios sometimes have an object that’s related to them. Besides ribbons TM Atlas, Quest, and Kei all have actual keys and armbands that are personalized to them. Kei has a flower design on her key, Quest has a star design, and Atlas has a heart design. Wynter made these all from them - and they’re literally all keys to the heartsmtih shop. Atlas was given one at first but when it was clear how close he was to Quest and Kei, Wynter made the other two keys by hand and gave them to the two. Kei suggested the armbands and Quest found them and atlas fashioned the chains they all hang off of. 

Now I’ve rambled enough about that ONTO CANON CHARACTERS.

Sadly the above picture took me forever and I don’t have the energy to draw much else but here’s a small comic I made for a friend when we were plotting things together - because of course Atlas knows Ventus and they probably have a deep connection even if Ven doesn’t remember him. Sadly I never finished this comic but maybe one day....

and honestly I could ramble for hours about how Atlas would mesh well with a lot of the canon KH characters. He’s literally a therapist, it’s his job to talk to people and help them through problems AND BOY DO WE KNOW THE CANON KH PEEPS GOT SOME TRAUMA. and he’d want to help all of them the best he could. I can see him and Riku getting close especially. And he would definitely want to talk with Aqua after all of her time in the realm of darkness. 

as a small bonus have the first picture I ever drew of the ribbon trio+ wynter together! Their designs haven’t changed much since this - aside from a few small things. I think the major things that changed is that atlas doesn’t wear his glasses on a normal basis and both Quest’s and Wynter’s hair is longer. 

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 47

Cabin Fever Sets In Early

Summary: In which Brain makes his opinions on Anora abundantly clear. Word Count: 1,922 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

None of the kids looked like they wanted to be up at this unholy hour. But, for once, neither did the adults. Of the twelve of them, Ventus and Ava were still in their pajamas. Gula, Brain, Skuld and Strelitzia were dressed in clothes more suited for traveling, like sweatpants and loose t-shirts. Anora, Aced, and Ephemer made the attempt to wear actual clothes, but still looked like they had just gotten out of bed. This left only Lauriam, Ira, and Invi looking like they were ready for the day as usual. And then there was Shelby, who happily trotted beside Ava despite the risk of being stepped on.

In fact, Ira almost did step on Shelby as the Unicornis headmaster was trying to carry someone's luggage into the bus. Suffice to say, he was not amused.

“Ava,” he impatiently demanded the next time he saw her, “You have to put that thing in a cage before we leave.”

“But Shelby's fine.” she pouted. Ira rubbed his temple in frustration. It was way too early to be having arguments like this, let alone when he was the one set to drive.

“He hissed at Aced earlier.” he informed her, bitterly, in an attempt to get her to see his way. It didn't work in the slightest.

“So?” the Vulpes headmaster immediately questioned. “I'd hiss at Aced too if he was being rude to me!”

“He started it!” Aced shouted from somewhere behind the bus. “Stupid thing was trying to trip me!”

To further prove the point, Shelby -who was casually standing by Ava's ankles until then- hissed at the remark. Ira didn't even bother hiding his unnerved eye roll while Ava gave a bemused giggle.

“Can't believe I ever dated that...” Ira grumbled under his breath, but stopped himself from finishing. Instead, he then started to shout, loud enough to be heard from the dorms; “Alright! Everyone on the bus! We're losing daylight now!”

There was a small chorus of groans from the kids, too exhausted to be truly responsive to anything yet that morning. But they all started to make their way onto the bus regardless. Anora was second in line, and she sheepishly shuffled her way to one of the middle rows. Behind her, Ventus was quick to find a spot near the front.

“Hey Ven,” Ephemer mused as he passed the younger boy, “You have a brother, don't you? Why didn't you ask him to come along on the trip?”

For a moment, the youngest of the group looked like Ephemer had verbally assaulted him.

“Vanitas doesn't… like other people. Very much.” he quietly said, trying to avoid Ephemer's gaze.

“Ah, maybe next time!” the older boy smiled. Ven still didn't look at him. Giving a small shrug to the younger's reluctance, Ephemer moved on back to where Anora was sitting.

“Mind if I sit with you?” he asked. Anora looked up at him, raised a suspicious eyebrow, but nodded in agreement. Ephemer sure was more relaxed this morning than he had been for the past few weeks.

“Speaking of bringing along guests,” Gula mused from the back row, directing his attention to Aced, who was sitting two rows in front of him, “Why didn't you invite Ms. April, Aced?”

The Ursus headmaster immediately flinched before turning his body around to face Gula. “W-why would I do that?” he stuttered.

“Oh, I don't know.” the cheeky headmaster mused. “You two had gotten pretty close recently, so I was curious.”

Aced looked Gula over with a critical eye- trying to figure out what game the youngest headmaster was playing at. “If you must know, April and Anastasia are going to visit April's parents.” Aced then told him in a very certain tone.

“And you didn't join them?”

“W-well I did ask, if she wanted me to join them.” Aced stammered. “But, but she insisted that it was still too early in our relationship for me to meet her parents.”

“Oh really? How interesting...”

“How is that interesting?!”

“Oh, never mind...” Gula teasingly hummed as he got himself more comfortable. If it was meant to comfort Aced, it sure as fire didn't work.

“Are we all here?” Ira then questioned, making use of the bus's intercom system. It was Invi who did the head count and gave him a nod.

“Looks like it.” she agreed.

“Then let's get this show on the road.” Ira decided, turning on the bus's engine and smoothly guiding it out of Daybreak Drive.

Ventus had gone back to sleep the moment the bus started moving. He laid out on the bus's bench seat with a pillow at his head and his jacket as a makeshift blanket. His soft snoring could be heard if you got close enough, but no one wanted to disturb him. He was soon followed by Strelitzia, who had propped a pillow against the cold window, drifting off to sleep with the motion of the bus. Lauriam happened to look over at his sister and smiled. He then went through their suitcases to find a blanket for her. As Lauriam placed the blanket over his sister, she shifted a bit but did not stir, causing him to grin even more. He made himself a bit more comfortable before also going to sleep.

Skuld and Brain had decided to sit next to each other, both making idle chit-chat over the notes and questions they had at the last Dandelion meeting. Ephemer had pulled out one of his textbooks, Anora was curious enough to read over his shoulder, to which he did not stop her. Ava was lightly fussing over Shelby as she tried to keep the turtle on the bus's bench seat when all he wanted to do was explore. Invi looked like she had gone back to sleep, with her back against the bus window and her eyes closed, but she would occasionally mumble something to herself -something that sounded a lot like names of the teachers still at Daybreak during the summer- that made it clear that she was still trying to keep mental track of school security.

But it was still way too early in the morning to be awake. Anora gave up the battle eleven minutes after the bus left school grounds. She let out a long yawn as she laid her head down on Ephemer's shoulder. The girl was asleep before she even realized what she had done. Ephemer was quick to realize it, though, and did nothing to move her. Instead, he moved a bit to make it a bit easier for her before he laid his head on top of hers. A calm smile crossed his lips as he continued to read through his textbook. There was nothing more in this world that made you forget your worries than a long bus ride, and someone who made you feel happy resting on your shoulder.

. . .

Anora did not sleep for very long- waking up just an hour after she had gone to sleep. There was much more light outside than what there had been when they had first started. Ira was still driving the bus, and as she looked around, she found that only Brain and Invi were still awake. Brain looked to be playing some card game by himself and Invi had her back to the bus window, with one leg crossed on the bench and the other dangling off, while reading a rather steamy looking novella. Skuld had moved places, though, sitting in the bench behind Brain with her legs pulled up to her as she leaned her side onto the back of the bus bench.

Gula had moved places too, taking the spot next to Ava. He had gone to sleep with his head in Ava's lap. Ava herself was also asleep now, her head resting against the bus's window. Her fingers were intertwined in Gula's hair, as if she had been gently stroking him before drifting off. Shelby, much to the turtle's annoyance, had been placed in his cage.

“Anora.” Brain's voice suddenly spoke up, surprising the girl for a moment. She looked up to see him standing in the aisle, a set of playing cards in his hands.

“Wanna play War with me?” Brain asked, playfully shuffling the cards. “Promise to go easy on you.”

There wasn't much thought put into it when she nodded her head. What else did they have to do? So Anora carefully started to get up, made sure not to wake Ephemer in doing do, before going over to the bus bench that Brain had been sitting in earlier.

“It's really simple- my grandfather taught it to me when I was three.” Brain then went on. “Aces are high and the suits don't matter. We both pick a card from our stack, whoever has the highest card takes both. If we happen to draw the same card, then we pick out three cards at random, flip them over, and whoever has the highest total numerical count wins all eight cards. Still with me so far?”

Anora nodded, watching with a still groggy interest as Brain gave her ten cards to start with. The two played their game in relative silence after. Anora couldn't tell who was winning, her brain too sluggish from waking to even really care too know, but at some point she did start to notice that Brain kept staring at her. After they had been playing for ten minutes, she had to stop.

“Hmm? What's wrong?” the older boy casually questioned. “You were winning.”

Anora shook her head. Her face scrunched into an expression of conflict before quietly telling him, “You're staring at me.”

Brain raised an eyebrow. “Was I?” He then gave a callous raise and lower of his shoulder before saying, “Really didn't meant to, honestly. You're very… different. But at the same time, you don't stand out in the slightest. You're almost a walking contradiction.”

At this, Anora raised an eyebrow of confusion. Brain felt the need to explain himself further.

“Everyone here is either a headmaster or a Dandelion. Or related to one, in the case of Lauriam's sister. But you? You're no one. You shouldn't be here.”

A cold chill ran down Anora's spine. Brain looked up at her and took note of her paling expression. He leaned in close to Anora- his face held such a dark expression that Anora felt goosebumps growing on her arms.

“So, whose pants are you trying to get into?” he asked her. His voice was low and dark, while also not trying to raise suspicion from Ira or Invi. “Mine, Ephemer's, or Lauriam's? And if it's Ven's, then I'm sorry to say that I think the back exit on this bus is not locked properly. You should go check.”

Anora gaped at him in shock. He studied her, as if sizing Anora up, before coming to a certain conclusion.

“You are fascinating.” he decided in an expressionless tone. He sat up a bit straighter, bringing his focus back to the game. “So, is it my turn now, or yours? I lost track.”

Anora only looked at him. She eventually said, “Yours, I think.” before Brain gave a small nod and continued on like nothing had happened. But Anora had been put on edge. What on earth gave Brain that idea? Anora shuddered as a small breeze came in through the bus window; she didn't know, and she didn't want to know.

Too bad their summer only got weirder from there.