#chirithy... write???

[cottonfeltgembira]

[WIP] Im finally writing a full proper fic in months now... (Rolls over on the floor)

Yosuke heaved a sigh, “Something tells me while you won't press me any further, you definitely wanna figure out what's up with me today.”

Yu, who was semi preoccupied with dusting a collection of music CDs on the bottom of the rack let out a chuckle, his response slightly muffled by the medical mask he was wearing.

“How did you know? And yes, I would like to know what's going on with you and if you allow it I'd like to help.”

“God, you are too good, man. And it's… really stupid.”

Yu got up from the floor and disposed of his medical mask and disposable gloves into the trash bin, turning to Yosuke with his hand on his hip. “Yosuke, if it's bothering you then I don't think that whatever it is it would be considered stupid.”

“That's the thing!” Yosuke sat up from his previous slumped position. “Look, just promise me you won't laugh when I tell you.”

“I promise.”

After Yu promptly dusted his shirt off he made his way to the couch, taking a seat next to Yosuke. “So, what is it?”

“The truth is… I'm stuck on the fact that I don't have a girlfriend.”

Yosuke’s silver haired friend only stared blank eyed, he wasn’t sure what he expected from Yu but his poker face wasn’t one of them.

“Uh, Earth to Yu Narukami? This is the part where you either break the promise and laugh or realize it's over for me.”

“Sorry, I guess I was expecting something else.”

“Something else?” Whatever it was Yu thought of, it couldn't have been good.

“Mmm, I was thinking you forgot Teddie in the freezer in Junes and you had to defrost him for a whole day.” He knew it…

“Well actually that did almost happen once- Hey!”

“But in all seriousness,” Yu changed his tone from his light jest. “I don't think you should let that worry you, I'm sure you’ll find someone. Besides, didn't you mention before you were going on dates?”

“Those were just dates, they’re different!” And they were different, Yosuke swore he tried everything in the book of dating and romance but not a single girl he went out with considered a second date. Was he not charming enough? Was there something about himself Yosuke didn’t know that girls just didn’t like? If only it were easy, like Yu would ever truly understand his plight. Yu could say he wanted a girlfriend and 30 girls in his near vicinity would drop everything to run at a chance to be his.

“Hmm, I don’t really get it. I think love comes when it wants to, you just have to be yourself.”

“Man, easy for you to say. Aren't you dating like 3 girls simultaneously right now?”

“Snrrk.” A loud snort came Yu, “Yosuke, you believe in me way too much.”

“What?”

“Actually, I’ve never dated, not even once.”

“WHAT!?” Yosuke shouted, thank god neither Dojima nor Nanko was home. He couldn't believe it, Yu could easily be pulling his leg but he sounded genuine, there was no way and yet…

Yosuke had to confirm,”You’re not just saying this to make me feel better about my dating failures, right?”

“If I was lying to you I would’ve said I’ve only been on a date or two.”

“Holy shit, you’re serious.”

“Oh, I am serious. I’m showing you it's really not the end of the world if you haven't found anybody by now. It's different for everybody, Yosuke.”

And he was right, as displeased as Yosuke was to hear it from Yu. Maybe he was just too eager. Yeah- Yeah that had to be it.

“I guess you’re right…Hey wait, didn't you had a thing with Ebihara?”

Yu tilted his head, almost akin to a fox, “Ai-san? No, she was troubled at the time. She did suggest dating but she was doing that out of wanting validation, she just needed a friend who could understand her and support her.”

“How did that even happen?” Yu only shrugged, another mystery to the strange array of acquaintances Yu had. From creepy nurse to grieving old woman to a middle school kid he tutored, it’s miraculous how he made the time to get to know these people, hang out with the investigation team and solve the case at the same time. That was his partner alright.

“Speaking of Ai-san, I wonder if it's still in my closet.” Yosuke watched as Yu eagerly got up, walking towards his closet and began digging through the drawers. As Yu dug for whatever buried treasure he had in his closet from being reminded of a female friend, Yosuke stopped the music on his mp3 player and took his headphones off for once, placing them on the coffee table.

Love comes when it wants to, huh?

Yosuke wondered if that love will ever come, at this point it started to feel bleak. Countless failed attempts with girls, maybe he wasn’t made to ever be in a relationship. It’s silly but he can’t deny it made him feel miserable. Yosuke Hanamura, still a loser at 21 and forever alone.

At least there was his partner. Yu was the first person who he’s ever felt truly close to, he saw Yosuke in his ugliest moments and didn’t bat an eye, Yu reached out to Yosuke and he’s been holding onto that hand ever since.

Yosuke admired Yu, he was smart, headstrong, and always got back up no matter what. At the same time, envious of the same things he liked so much about his best friend. It’s an ugly feeling, one he thought Yu beat out of him years ago at the riverbank. But every once in a while, jealousy would rear its head, and Yosuke sometimes wished it would show itself as a shadow so he can whoop its ass instead of doing it the hard way.

[omnificent-orion]

Waiting for...

[the-au-collector]

So the reason I was going through all my old writing was to find this specific KH3 speculation fic that I wrote a super long time ago. I remember it being better than it is but there were some highlights outside of the army of OCs and needless interpersonal drama.

Case in point: this angry little build-a-bear of a Nightmare Chirithy

His name is Nirithy and he’s a pathetic little bastard

He showed up in a lot of scenes with Kairi and I feel like this was the dynamic I was going for with them

I just felt compelled to draw them since Nirithy is the only thing I remember from this old fic 😂

(I traced Kairi’s face from a MoM screenshot there’s no way I can do side profiles right lol)

[8harvest-gold8]

The tales of weed pixie stixs and idiocy

[tarudce22]

I'm a responsible adult and must make responsible purchases

[cq-studios]

Alrighty, time for me to grow a pair and post an official announcement of my original secret project...

A KHUX Musical!

(made by someone who doesn't know how to write music but is trying their best)

This is a (first draft and rough recording of the) Strelitzia Song that'll be the opener to the show. The awkward pauses are for dialogue, which'll be included in the lyrics (just taken from cutscenes at the moment).

If anyone is willing, I would love to work with someone to write some actual instrumentation for this. I tried and it is way out of my scope lol

(Also, just because this is announced, please don't expect super frequent updates. I am a slow worker. Like, this project has been something I've been working on since 2021 and this is the only finished song I have. Patience is key with me.)

Anyways, lyrics/script under the cut!

STRELITZIA

ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO I WENT OUT ON MISSION,

AND I SAW YOU THERE STANDING IN THE SQUARE.

WHEN I RETURNED, YOU STOOD RIGHT WHERE I’D LEFT YOU,

WAITING FOR SOMEONE WHO’D NEVER APPEAR.

OH STRANGER,

AFTER THAT DAY

I SAW YOUR FACE ABOUT EVERYWHERE.

(SHE looks at PLAYER longingly from a distance)

‘ND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN’T SPOKEN,

I’M SCARED THAT MY HEART’LL BE BROKEN

BY YOU.

IF I FIND THE COURAGE TO,

TO EVER…

TALK TO YOU.

A LOT’S CHANGED SINCE THAT DAY, BUT THERE WAS A CONSTANT.

FRIENDS THEY CAME AND WENT, BUT STILL YOU REMAINED.

AND OVER THESE YEARS, I FEEL I GOT TO KNOW YOU.

I HOPE THAT ONE DAY YOU CAN KNOW ME THE SAME. 

OH STRANGER,

YOU DON’T KNOW IT,

BUT OUR PATHS HAVE CROSSED A HUNDRED TIMES.

‘ND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN’T SPOKEN,

I’M SCARED THAT MY HEART’LL BE BROKEN

BY YOU.

IF I FIND THE COURAGE TO,

TO EVER…

(SHE begins to approach PLAYER, then chickens out.)

TALK TO YOU.

(MASTER AVA approaches STRELITZIA from behind, tapping her shoulder and startling her.)

STRELITZIA

M-Master Ava?

MASTER AVA

Strelitzia, I need to ask a favour. It’s something only you—a Dandelion—can help me with.

STRELITZIA

Me? A-are you sure?

(MASTER AVA nods her head and hands STRELITZIA a RULEBOOK.)

MASTER AVA

I need you to listen carefully. It won’t be long before this world--

STRELITZIA

(sings)

OH STRANGER,

YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE IN DANGER.

IF I DON’T TELL YOU WHAT’S COMING,

HOW’LL I KNOW THAT YOU’VE SURVIVED?

‘CAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN’T SPOKEN,

MY HEART IT’D SURELY BE BROKEN.

IT’S TRUE.

I NEED TO FIND THE COURAGE TO,

TO FINALLY…

TALK TO YOU.

(CHIRITHY enters and rushes up to STRELITZIA.)

CHIRITHY

Good news! I saw them over there.

STRELITZIA

Thanks!

(THE DUO runs off stage together.)

(When THEY return, they are in a BUILDING SHROUDED IN DARKNESS. STRELITZA looks around for any sign of Player.)

CHIRITHY

Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me…

STRELITZIA

Hello! Is anyone here?

CHIRITHY

Hello? (beat) Guess I was wrong.

STRELITZIA

Well, it was worth a shot. I’ll head back to the Fountain Square.

CHIRITHY

Okay. I’ll keep searching. (beat) Hmm?

STRELITZIA

What?

(As STRELITZIA turns, the stage goes completely dark. There's a whooshing paired with an almost stabbing sound, followed by a thud.)

(When the spotlight returns STRELITZIA is on her knees, clutching her chest.)

STRELITZIA

(sings)

IF ONLY I’D HAD THE COURAGE.

MAYBE THEN WE COULD’VE FLOURISHED.

WE’D TALK TO EACH OTHER,

AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER,

AND I’D TELL MY BROTHER

THAT YOU WERE MINE.

IF ONLY-

(Hard cutoff on the final note. STRELITZIA collapses back onto the ground.)

[psianabel-writes]

Ephemer Week 2024 Day 3 - Home

(I need to write at least Something for this!!!!! whacks myself)

Post Khux, maybe ... a decade into the future ... ? Hmmm.

~ 600 words

------------

Home.

A fleeting thought caught Ephemer as he strolled across this recently built street, a sense of pride filling him as yet another goal had been reached. The new housing district was finally finished and connected to the one nearby, giving them all much needed space to live and prosper further.

Unsurprisingly many people enjoyed this sunny day out, children playing at every corner of the street - with each other or their parents - noises of laughter and delight all around. A ball flew in his direction, which a child yelled after him to watch out, but it landed way further away from him than initially thought, rolling up to his feet.

He had to stop to pick it up for them and threw it back, waving after the children as the ball landed safely there again, receiving much thanks in the process.

… This was home. He was here, those were his people. He woke up every day now looking over new projects, trying to aid where he can, listening to people's wants and needs.

A bit over a decade ago he would have been one of these same children, playing with a toy sword fending off made-up enemies with his friends.

Those made-up imaginations quickly became too real, the toy sword replaced by real keyblades, play dates becoming missions and scouts to new worlds, the street abandoned to a meeting room. Connections twindled. His comrades becoming his closest friends he would - … he left his life for. 

Home.

After a few more paces, a bit away from eyes that might have followed him, he stopped again. The grey street with its white buildings and the people with it - no, purple roofings, trees neatly lined up with the market nearby, the walls reflecting a nice eggshell tone from the sun shining on it. A handful of children stood in front of the Moogle's shop, another one came running towards them and they quickly exchanged words before they all ran in the same direction. On the other side of the street was a boy getting loudly scolded by his Chirithy, to stop letting himself get into danger.

He looked up further ahead, over the roofs, and his gaze fell onto the Tower gracing the skies above the city - the clockwork mechanism visible to even where he stood, swinging left and right. Over and over.

Over … and over.

Until it stopped and crashed, the roofs turning into a deep black, the color running down the walls swallowing them up whole - the trees bent from the heavy storm, someone was screaming from behind a destroyed wall to another, but no answer ever came. 

He looked down as he noticed his shoes were getting wet, another second later the street was flooded up to his knees. Debris came floating towards him, slowly building up right in front of him.

Ephemer held his breath. 

Home, right.

He blinked and returned was the sight of bright sunshine and laughter from kids. 

A decade - more than a decade, and yet -

He was trying his best to make this right here a home for a new generation. A place to find joy and happiness like he experienced in his … home.

From the rubble it rose, blooming into something so much greater. 

… Was this home?

Ephemer shook his head with an exhausted smile and closed eyes. This question wasn't necessary to him. There was nothing he could do about it here, where he stood was his home, even if it was different now.

Even if he wished he could share this home with his friends again. 

… One day perhaps he could answer this question for himself better, but for now, this had to do. 

[masteraqua]

the thing about melody of memory is that it was probably foolish of us to have ever expected the narrative to expand on kairi in any meaningful way, though we couldn't have known that at the time, of course.

MoM was originally intended to be a recap adventure narrated by chirithy, not kairi. square had already released a series of short story summary videos in advance of kh3, which were all narrated by chirithy, so i imagine that the "story" aspect of the game was essentially supposed to just be a longer version of that.

from interviews we know that a kh rhythm game had been proposed at least as far back as 2015, when kh3 was still in the middle of its own development. and we also know that the decision to replace chirithy with kairi came later in development when nomura pivoted to continue the story from where re:mind left off. (source)

the unfortunate outcome of all this is that we ended up with a game that was fundamentally not about kairi suddenly being marketed as though it was.

i started writing this post because i remembered how stupid and awful it was that the final boss is fought in the form of sora possessing kairi. but, in context, it was almost assuredly always the intention for sora to fight xehanort at the end. hell, it wouldn't surprise me if the devs had already finished designing the final boss when nomura decided to add kairi.

it sounds so obvious when you write it out like that, huh? from the inside, sora is the one being shoehorned into the game, and from the outside, it's the exact opposite.

[wizards-and-tea]

the drama of Lauriam suddenly getting his sister back and now having to explain him being friends with ventus (who Strel remembers killing her violently) to a 12 year old who was fished out of the afterlife like a week ago.

It’s so messed up

its so messed up!!! and thats what makes it so interesting

the situation is just sooooo juicy and ripe for exploration that i have a lot of ideas about it. for one, i can totally see lauriam being torn in two between ventus and strelitzia, caring about both of them but feeling the huge rift between them that he cant quite cross. things are bad on ventus' end too, if we assume that he hasnt gone to chirithy/namine then he absolutely doesnt remember anything. its heartbreaking to think about him trying to make friends with strelitzia but only making the situation worse, because of events he has no memory of.

but the person in this scenario i always think about the most is strelitzia herself. its so harrowing to think about her situation coming back from quadratam like shes been pulled out of hell by her brother (who is older and unfamiliar now) and shes back in a place that is familiar to her (even though she cant truly return home again) and there are lots of new people who are also keyblade wielders and want to help her (but one of them killed her and he doesnt even remember) like everything good has something bad following it, it has to feel like such a slap in the face. i can see her not just being scared and confused but angry and hurt too. theres a lot of potential for her to make and have a good life after she leaves quadratum but its a long road getting there and that first period after she gets home is going to be rough. i think the only thing thats kept me from writing out my thoughts in full fic form is how little we know and how many different paths kh4 could take (although depending on how long this drought goes on i might not care anymore)

[corishadowfang]

For the ask game mayhaps 😞 and/or ❓

(For this)

😔published lines or a section of a fic that was super sad, angsty, or difficult to write?

Haha, "super sad/angsty" I feel like sums up a lot of my fics, but there's definitely one that tends to stand out:

“It’s okay.”  Her voice cracked.  Her hands were sticky.  “It’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.” Another wheezing breath, in and out.  His fingers nudged hers, a little.  “S’ okay.” “I-it—it is.  It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re—Kvasir and Mimir, they’re probably waiting for us, and—and Meili’s going to yell, but we’re going to go home a-and—and maybe we can have the festival, still, and you can find masks of me to make fun of, or shove me into the fountain, or make fun of my cooking.” (His breathing was slowing.) “You’re going to be okay.”  Her hands shook, glowing green.  The wound didn’t change, seeping blood across his chest.  “You’re going to be okay.” Another breath—softer, this time, little more than a whisper.  “Love y…” And then he went still and quiet.

(Fallen Stars, Chapter 40)

❓ any WIP snippet you want!

This seems like a good place to share a "Ghosts" snippet, since I've been working on that one a bit:

“He had a whole life before I knew him,” he said, whisper-quiet, and he wasn’t sure if he was talking about Eraqus or Xehanort.  “It doesn’t feel—”  Fair.  “It’s so normal.” Chirithy nuzzled his cheek. Ven lifted a hand to scratch their ear, and took a deep breath, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.  “Can you imagine this place when it was full of Keyblade wielders?  That’d be so weird, to have a full class, instead of just a couple of us.”  He fell quiet, staring at shadows as they danced across the ceiling.  “Why didn’t he ever talk about it?”

[wodniars-void]

❓ and/or 😍 - For the ask game!

OOPS I LEFT THIS IN MY DRAFTS FOR TOO LONG SORRY CORI!!! Here's your ask as I had it written like,,,,, a week or two ago 😅

oooo thanks Cori! I misread your ask and accidentally answered "🤩" instead of "😍" so you get a bonus haha! I actually have a couple of little wips I dug into for that one- since you obviously didn't name a character, I spun a wheel :3

🤩a WIP snippet about or with dialogue from ________ [name of a character]: Your character is.... Chirithy!

"What?" Chirithy gasped. "But, you're not-" The spirit cut itself off, screwing its eyes shut. "Not what?" Aqua asked. "Chirithy, what's wrong?" Chirithy squeaked and shook its head. "I- you- That spirit… shouldn't exist in this time. Or- or really at all, but…" they sighed. "There was a terrible accident."

Now for what you really asked 😅

😍 published lines or a section of a fic that you loved writing?

This is a really fun question!! I decided to dive into a couple smaller and older things I've posted on ao3, and I decided on this snippet from a birthday gift I made for a friend! It's a couple years old at this point but I still think the passage holds up, and since it was a gift I had a really good time writing it and I'm really proud of how it turned out <3

(For context, the character was really Going Through It and was having a good cry in a sunflower field)

Sorry again for leaving this in the drafts, whoops! This was a fun couple of questions <3

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

I’m curious what you think of Ephemer’s role in back cover. Not role like the roles the foretellers are formally assigned, I mean like the role he has in the story, if he has one you can pin down

[context: I assume this is jumping off of Fellow’s post :)]

well for starters, I see him as a breath of fresh air in back cover! Chirithy aside (they’re the omniscient narrator), he’s the single face and open heart in a cast full of faceless, closed-off characters. He’s the one child of this particular story within what’s referred to as the age of fairy tales and I think that holds significance, even if it takes more of a backseat to all the stuff the Foretellers have going on.

Ephemer represents the notion, or the hope even, that not all children will blindly accept and obey every story that they’re told. The Dandelions as a whole are essentially children who can get to the core meaning of fairy tales and understand that they exist as a precautionary set of beliefs, not a strict set of rules. Ephemer’s willingness to question what he’s been told (to question the perhaps literal narrative he’s been caught up in) is exactly what inspires Ava to choose him to lead the Dandelions in her stead. Assuming she did want to alter fate/go against the MoM’s narrative, it makes sense why she was so drawn to Ephemer’s sincerity and inquisitive nature even before that scene where they talk at the fountain.

All sorts of stories, but fairy tales in particular, center around children. Children’s literature as a whole provides the foundation for what types of frameworks and ideas children will carry on throughout their lives and apply to the world they live in. With this in mind, the Dandelions are such an interesting part of the MoM’s intricately written story. It’s like they’re the very audience he was writing for, and he has a fascination with the ways they poke holes in and constantly challenge his narrative, which could be why he assigned Luxu to keep a close eye (his eye) on them.

[hyouta]

I watched χ, Back Cover, Union χ and then played 0.2

Hoo boy...

The plot of Kingdom Hearts isn't super duper complicated, no, what's complicated is the rebranding on Union χ, I completely blanked on there being Unchained, which became UX...

♥

I got mixed results on whether or not I should've watched or skipped χ chi but because it was on a suggested play order list I watched it over the New Year. My KH notes (that I started writing separately since re:coded) went from 2.5 pages to 11 pages alone. To be honest it was necessary for me to consume the information in this format. Disney world visits were alright but after the first hour I ended up playing the video at x1.5 speed to get through it slightly faster.

I got hooked right after finishing Agrabah. Ooooh what a lot to take in... I admit it's still a bit confusing to follow with it being dependant on what union you pick but I'm invested. I know who Luxu is from KH3 spoilers but that only makes me more curious.

I'm not going to write out 9 pages of notes, especially since it's just me describing what was happening, but:

I honestly don't know what to make of Cloud. My knowledge of him is limited to KH and Advent Children but damn he "really was gonna kill the Player and then went off to look for 'some guy' in the underworld (sephiroth? I assume? Never played FF7)"; it was sephiroth lol

I think that's the problem with not having played FF (or watched Tron), I ain't got a scooby doo what is going on or what anyone's motivations are

Mr "I'm so aloof" lol

My genuine surprise over Chirithy being a dream eater lol I don't know I just didn't expect a talking one, it seems so unique to the rest; though Riku talks so what am I saying.

♥

And OK... SO back cover was nice to fill in the blanks re: foreteller stuff and it gave me better clarification for one of my notes which was confusion on whose role was whose because it made it seem like it was dependant on the player (but not really?) - side note, been a while but I'm pretty sure I picked Union Ursus, he's a bit of a hard head but I couldn't help but feel bad for him anyway...

Some notes I made on back cover:

I can't read the text in this opening sequence it's too fast hold up

"Among us" I hate this I hate this, I haven't even played that game but that's all I could think of!!

Shaking chirithy in the vial like a shaker charm

Didn't expect Ava to be so young, or sound so young... Master and Luxu surprised me too

"Invi sort of reminds me of Aqua" whatever the fuck that means, I've already forgot

I had limited info on the Master but they were wayyy different than I expected

Lost page talks about "the one who bears the sigil" umm??

Concluded that χ chi wasn't really necessary... I thought it more for the Player context (the bangles and nightmare Chirithy).

♥

A bit naughty to break the order but because I already had the PS4 on I played 0.2 and cleared it in 3 hours. Honestly both this and BBS might be the most replayable games in the series for how easy to take in they are (for rpgs).

Didn't have a ton of things to say but:

PLEASED TO SAY I DIDN'T GET MOTION SICK!!

So... Mickey didn't know Aqua was in the dark world until KH1, where did the whole 10 years thing come from then?

Cute outfits for a dark game, Aqua can have a little bit of cutesy fun, as a treat

I'm telling my kids this is Layers of Fear

I can't remember if I've said this before but even though KH is a jrpg I wish it had more puzzles and platforming

Same with BBS I literally put my face in my hands and grieved for Aqua noooooooo;;

♥

I started the fandubbed version of UX and realised that every part, in part 1, I had already covered so I skipped this (no idea if anything was rewritten).

This dub skipped the Disney worlds so there's only a few things I'm missing out on I suppose, but not the end of the world if it's not super plot heavy. I might look for them after I finished the series.

More notes:

I knew Ven and Lauriam were in UX but I didn't know anything about their roles so I got excited to see them announced as dandelions and the new union leaders*

The twist of Ven not actually being the original choice was cool but man my heart hurts for him

Them talking about a fictional universe within a fictional universe gives me major brain ache but with the context we have for KH4 I am interested in seeing where it leads

Cause I do not really understand the Master's/Luxu's intention or role and I think that's the point but I don't quite understand their characters yet...

Honestly feel so so bad for the Player(s), KH is nothing but pain...

Since I watched UX dubbed I got to work on some wips, but then I got tired of pausing to open my notes app and just started writing in a new canvas.

Turns out the most confusing part of KH for me (along with UX branding) is the Disney worlds and their place in time.

(The song I linked to from my playlist, if anyone cares. It's basically how I feel consuming so much information)

Got me out here feeling like Sora.

The age of fairytales has me asking so many questions... lore related and questions wondering how our present cast will fit into the advancing story.

Me: I want everyone to get to rest and live their lives!

Also me: ok but give me more story of them anyway.

♥

I'm finally onto KH3! It might take me longer to get through due to how much I can play it but I'm hoping to finish the series by the end of January (I've played MoM up to the final part with new story and I will watch Dark Road afterwards of course).

Excited to actually start waiting for KH4 with the rest of you lol.

[eternal-reverie]

I have that one long fic project that I’m slowly working on but one idea caught me that I really want to write fast and casually???

It’s about Chirithy, specifically Strelitzia’s chirithy, caught in a time loop that starts off the night before Strelitzia tries to find player and ends at when Chirithy and Strelitzia are struck down. And then Chirithy wakes up remembering those events and tries their hardest to change fate

[flowering-darkness]

I would like to share some analysis of the last piece of writing I posted, if that’s alright, because I think being able to do something like this is good even/especially? if it’s on my own work:

(the writing itself is linked here if you’d like to read it - it’s the Aria-in-Clio’s-dream scene~)

As this piece takes place within Clio’s dream, Clio doesn’t currently remember it in this much detail - she knows she had a nightmare, and that Aria appeared in it, but it’ll only be after further dreams (where Aria keeps appearing to her) that more pieces of the puzzle fall together. She doesn’t yet realise that it’s the real Aria infiltrating her dreams instead of her just dreaming of her(?), which is probably going to be the focus of a slightly later piece.

At this point in time, Aria is still very much an antagonist, and is still intending to exploit the connection she’s made to Clio in whatever way is most useful to her(?) - which could include anything from forcing information out of her, to making her nightmares worse using darkness, to trying to corrupt her with darkness while she’s vulnerable to it in her dreams (from not having her Chirithy). But.. she’s also already found herself opening up to Clio, complimenting her battle prowess, and pitying the fact she naturally suffers from nightmares so chronically, so.. we’ll have to see how that pans out~

For some more specific details.. I usually like to specify which Keyblade Clio is using in a given situation, since she has the ability and experience to summon a number of different ones using the corresponding Keychain. However, I chose not to in this case, just to make things feel a bit more vague and thus more how they would be in a dream.

The overall sense of “things are a bit weird because it’s in a dream” is one I also tried to convey throughout with things like the Lux from the Heartless fading away instead of Clio collecting it, the fountain square feeling like a summer’s night despite it not being summer, the fog coming in from the sides despite the sun being visible, and so on.

When Clio properly spots Aria (though she’d felt her presence in the two previous instances, where she’d turned around too quickly), she specifically says “You’re that Rogue girl!” to make it obvious beyond doubt that she is visible as herself. Prior to this, Aria didn’t think Clio would be able to see her, but still would have retreated from being so close again (just in case), if Clio hadn’t made it clear it was her she had spotted.

As I said before, Clio doesn’t know at the moment that Aria appearing in her dream is because she was tagged with darkness by her(?) in their first encounter, essentially giving her an access point that Clio can’t get rid of (because she doesn’t yet know about it - it’ll eventually be visible on her back as time passes and Aria makes more use of it, but Clio can’t see that on herself and neither can anyone else from how her outfit sits!). However, the mention of Aria having her hood down - which reveals her flower in her hairpiece, which Clio wouldn’t otherwise have yet been able to see - is supposed to be a subtle indication that Aria has infiltrated her dream from the real world, instead of Clio’s mind putting her in the dream based on her memory.

(..The more I try to explain this, the more I realise it makes Aria sound like a Nightmare Dream Eater instead of a Heartless (which is what she is), but.. I’m justifying that by saying it’s only because she tagged Clio with darkness - and Clio doesn’t have a way to defend herself from darkness properly while she’s sleeping, because she doesn’t have a Chirithy - that she(?) can do this.)

On the note of how the piece ends: Fiore is what I normally use as Aria’s surname that she made up for herself, but it’s actually technically more of a name that’s just hers than Aria itself is (since that was derived from what she first overheard when she took over her vessel to gain her current form - which was, unbeknownst to her, Aquila crying out for Linaria). Despite this, she does see Aria as more of her name than Fiore (since that just translates to “flower”, and.. while Aria also just translates to “air”, it’s more of a name than a word, one could argue). That’s why she doesn’t tell it to Clio just yet - but she also just doesn’t want Clio calling her Rogue, because she’s sick of that being treated as her name by the antagonists she has to work for.

This is admittedly not something that comes through in the writing itself, but when Aria appears in Clio’s dream, her eyes look more alive there than in the real world. I’ve attached some brief screenshots to demonstrate; hopefully you can spot the icon difference!

This trait is one I put in to signify that.. by infiltrating Clio’s dreams, “Rogue” (Aria) is in an environment where she(?) can more confidently express herself without being overheard. She has a desire to break away from those whom she takes orders from, but does not currently see this as possible - yet having this space where she can not only spy on/track the heroes down, but also unexpectedly can talk to one of them as well, means she can arguably be more true to herself within that environment, instead of being forced to follow orders. This is also why her hood is down, since doing that reveals her flower, which is otherwise covered up!

On a more general note, she(?)/her(?) pronouns - or variations like she?/her? - are in fact pronouns you can use to refer to me if you want to, and it’s actually because of this self-insert (Aria) that I realised this, thanks to friends using feminine titles for her with uncertainty, like “girl(?)”. This was something that felt like it fit me very well, hence why I now use them much more consistently for her(?) in the writing (as well as to better convey whether I’m referring to Aria or to Clio without the context of the tuppers on the document). I simply like the concept of being more confident about my own gender than anyone else is.

..Okay, I think that’s everything, or certainly at least enough for the moment. I don’t actually know whether anyone will take the time to read any of this, but.. if you have, then seriously thank you so so much, it really means a lot. I hope it was nice to read - and if you happen to have any questions or comments at all, then please know you can always say them!!

[keybladeciel]

Day Six of @khoc-week is about journals...

Day Six: Journal

Ciel has a journal he writes in to serve as his report.

Report: Preventing an Unlawful Execution

I never thought that I'd take place in stopping an execution, but I had a job to do. The day started when I woke up to Strelitzia dozing off on a couch in the Mad Hatter's house. She must have kept a vigil on me during that time. When she woke up, she realized she had to be back somewhere, which could be why I noticed her booking it while I talked to the Cheshire Cat.

I arrived at the trial to witness a few things.

It was a show trial.

The Queen is immature and spoiled.

I was dealing with a fracking tyrant.

What ever it was, the Queen of Hearts was more than happy to execute Alice for no reason other than ignorance of her being a Princess of Heart. Needless to say, it was time to school her and chew her out. And so I did, knowing that the trial was a farce. I then bested her guards to buy Alice enough time to escape. I then found Alice hiding from the guards and talked to her. When I read her heart, it was that of pure light. I soon learned from my Chirithy that she has an important role.

Report: Princesses of Heart.

I can't believe a year has passed since I picked up the Keyblade, let alone the fact that I had a Mark of Mastery exam earlier than Mom and Dad had. I was tasked to go to Dwarf Woodlands to oversee the world order for it. As far as the rules go, I can't disrupt the order of that world despite being allowed to interact with the people there. I was given the order of events of that world prior to the trip with a copy of Snow White. I have read the story before and know what will happen. Snow White doesn't exactly die, but she won't wake up unless the bite of the cursed apple is out of her throat or she gets kissed by the Prince. It's a Canon Event.

I entered Dwarf Woodlands and ensured the events played out, up to the part where Snow White eats the apple. She goes into a magic induced coma and I fend off the Heartless around the area until the Prince arrives before pursuing Grimhilde. Grimhilde would eventually fall to her death due to a thunderstorm. Snow White awakens and she returns to being the fairest of them all and ended up falling in love with the Prince. Typical fairytale ending.

When I returned, I was given a lecture from Ava that I defended a Princess of Heart and that Princesses of Heart have hearts of pure light. The first one I saved was Alice and the recent one I saved was Snow White. Before Ava could call me a master, she revealed that I am close to two Princesses who wield a Keyblade. I then recalled that Celeste has a heart of pure light and I put two and two together and realized that I had a third Princess to look out for while I try to figure out the fourth as I found out, much to my own horror, that Celeste is a Princess of Heart.