#ex libris cinderella boy

[my-cat-ate-your-appendix]

A few theories floating around in my head that aren't based on anything, just me wildly speculating possibilities (and when I saw wild, I really mean it):

1) That book and that key

As was pointed out by user goodbye432, we can see that Violet's key comes out of the book, but this key still remains.

I feel like this could be a gateway key that helps all the keys find each other? Or it could be the book that acts as a gateway. Or maybe both of them as a combination act as a gateway?

Point is, that key definitely isn't a key that gathers narratonin

It doesn't have the narratonin compartment that all the other keys have

The whole structure is different, actually.

So it's probably not a key that was in the original story-key roster. Maybe it was created after the other keys to help them find each other better? Maybe Nox himself created this key while he was still a human? Maybe Nox created this key after he became a key? Maybe Nox didn't have anything to do with it at all? Maybe it was accidentally made by a cat named Prunella?

Personally, I don't think that key is sentient (like, I don't think it has a tiny goober form like the other keys), either, but that really has no basis at all. It very well could.

2) Are the stories themselves sentient?

The story just wants to be enjoyed, the story just wants to be finished, the story doesn't want to be destroyed. The story's sounding an awful lot like a sentient creature right now.

We know that the keys don't decide anything about the story, and nor do the holders of the keys. So who decides when the story ends? Who decides the amount of enjoyment (and therefore the amount of narratonin) received from the story? My bet's on the story itself.

I don't think this is going to have much relevance in the actual plot, but it was just interesting to think about.

3) Silver is in on it

Silver knows something. This has such major foreshadowing with this particular panel:

and then the scene immediately cuts to Silver

Suspicious. Also, so far, Silver's key is the only key that was left around with a note. Bronze and Goldie were literally on sale in a flea market. Silver's key, on the other hand, was left in the library, very clearly intentionally. It was meant to be found, just not by Chase.

And why was Silver broken? What happened? Did she just like, fall? I don't think so.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, since we all know that Silver adores Chase as well as her family and would never agree to endanger them again. Maybe she escaped and was supposed to help the other keys escape too? Maybe she was supposed to help Nox escape? Maybe she did help some of the keys escape, but not the others? Maybe she's part of the FBI? Who knows? Not me, that's who.

4) What's up with Ex Libris anyway?

So far, we've been hearing of Ex Libris as this kind of Big Bad Organisation, but we've never actually seen them make a move? I think it's clear now that Nox wasn't working for the Ex Libris, but rather for his own motives, so it isn't as if the Ex Libris sent him either.

So does the Ex Libris just like, not know that half of it's keys are missing and another key is trying to turn human? Or does it know and is deciding to not do anything about it?

Or does it know and can't do anything about it? What if the Ex Libris has been disbanded, and the keys just don't know about it? That's not quite feasible, I know, considering that Violet and Buddy are probably in the Ex Libris facility right now but that's just our assumption, y'know? They might be in hiding. I'm pretty sure Ex Libris wouldn't want Buddy turning back into a human, so they're definitely going behind Ex Libris' back to do what they're doing, so why can't they be in hiding? Why can't they be totally unaware of what's going on in Ex Libris?

Or maybe the Ex Libris isn't evil at all? They seem more like a bunch of sleep-deprived scientists making one mad discovery after another. If I'm right about the artificial key Buddy theory (see this post) then I admit that would make them more evil, but maybe they're aware of that. Maybe they know that what they did was wrong, and regret it. Maybe all the unethical experimentation was done by a far, far older batch of the Ex Libris, and the new generation of the Ex Libris is strictly vegan and on the keys' side. Maybe they're choosing to help by ignoring. Maybe there's a helper on the inside. Maybe it's Chase's dance partner who never shows up to practices.

Maybe he never shows up to practices because he's too busy trying to save the keys from the Ex Libris. Poor guy.

5) Chase's friends

Yeah, they're definitely not just there to show us that hey! Chase actually has friends his own age! It just doesn't line up.

Maybe one of them's going to coincidentally show up in the same book as Chase and Nox some other time, and Nox is just going to stare at Chase and Chase will be like "Dude I swear I had absolutely no idea this time."

I just think that would be funny.

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I'll be disappearing off of the face of Earth now.

(On a totally unrelated note, a few months ago, my school counsellor told me I should test for ADHD)

[toallthingscinderellaboy]

Cinderella Boy Text Posts (4/?) Chase

Here’s some text posts about the most wholesome, purest guy ever, Chase��

BONUS

All art is from “Cinderella Boy” by Punko on Webtoon

Link to other Cinderella Boy text posts

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

[batsinnappies]

I have a hc that Buddy gets along really well with kids

[gothicbeastgirl]

I looked at it sooooo many times.

There are 12 drawings, each one is a key role, and we can see opposites are in front of each other. The hero (sun) is up, and the opposite, the villain (moon), is below.

We can't see every symbol bc of the bright on the keyhole, but we only need to look at the right side. There's a diamond, Violet's key symbol, so I deduce Violet's key is now in the opposite side, the rose symbol (I guess).

Could this be the reason why Buddy is connected with Chase?

It looks like there's a master key in the middle of the page, and if you use it with your key you can appear in the same story that the key your "tracking" with your's.

That time Deacon went alone he was using the hero's key, and Silver used the helper's key. When Bronze used Silver to prove his theory, as @lexieloo28 said:

Maybe Nox were hidden when he recognized Bronze or noticed it wasn't Chase.

The question is: how Nox knows WHEN to meet Chase?

[tales-from-drama-school]

I HAVE BEEN WAITING WEEKS TO POST THIS

But punko made us promise not to spoil, so I didn't

I present to you...the keys family portrait!!! More content under the cut <3

I know ex libris wouldn't have anything like this but it's kind of fun to imagine if they did. Like look at them

They're sitting on bookmarks

Back: Ambrose, Bronze, Cerulean, Goldie, Nox, Garnet, Sparaxis

Front: Platinum, Ivy, Silver, Violet, Greywen

(from left to right btw)

My story roles are roughly based on Carl Jung's theory of the 12 story archetypes. I know I'm going to have to redraw this at some point when we meet the rest of the keys bc Punko will do it differently but that's a later me problem

Of course we have our faves, Goldie, Bronze and Silver. Who are the Hero, helper and heroine respectively

In the archetypes, Hero is self explanatory, but Helper is equivalent to the 'caregiver' role, and the 'Heroine' is just an aspect of the hero. But I think the 'Heroine' role could replace the 'everyman' role. So there's that.

NOX AND VIOLET EVERYBODY!!!!!

I actually think Nox suits him so well, although I still think of him as Buddy most of the time

The 'villain' and 'villainess' don't really exist in the archetypes, although there is a role called the 'outlaw', which I expect would kind of be an antagonist. But because of what we know of them so far, Nox (Buddy) replaces the 'explorer'. Not that this is very important

Sorry the picture turned out so big!!! This is Cerulean. I invented him for my fic Darcy Forenski and the Summer She Was a Wizard and he's the mentor key, which is the 'sage' role. They're the same thing. It's why he has a beard :D

This is Garnet, the ruler key. We've seen an arm of a red key in the episode 'dreams by day', so I just drew the rest of him lol

This is Sparaxis, the trickster key. In Cinderella boy, there's a 'thief' key that's mentioned, and in the 12 story roles there's a 'jester' key. Because Buddy (Nox) was the black colour I kind of ran out of ideas to make them look more like a thief, so I just made them a trickster with a jester hat.

Also the name sparaxis comes from an orange-coloured flower

This is Greywen, the creator/inventor key. What role does this allow you to access? Mad scientist. Artists. People that set the plot in motion. (she kind of ended up looking a little bit like prunella. Oops)

This is Ivy, the magician key. I did not draw her very well. But we also saw her in 'Dreams by day' in Silver's dream, and I thought the wings fit well with the magic idea.

This is Ambrose, the lover key. I know, I know! Its been said that there is no 'love interest' key, but that doesn't mean there can't be a 'lover' key. I mean, I guess he could be the thief key but that would just make him Hermes

Like, the literal greek god

anyway

Last, but certainly not least, we have Platinum. The innocent/the shadow.

This role is kind of hard to explain because in the 12 roles theory there's a role called the 'innocent', which is like the doomed innocent. The things that are good in the world. But there are a lot of roles that don't quite fit if you put all 12 keys in a story, and also because the keys are people I don't think she would be this perfect little girl all the time, even though she might look it. That's why I called her the shadow. I think this one is the least likely to be part of canon but it's what made the most sense to me

Anyway have some extra drawings of cerulean because he's my boy and I love him

[mikewheelerfan2022]

Cinderella Boy finale spoilers! Like, major spoilers

So first off…we got a Stargoth kiss!!! And the story has a happy ending, awwwww. But then it gets fucking crazy. Because Buddy’s name is actually Nox, and he’s a key? But he used to be human??? My jaw was on the floor for that part. Season 2 can not come quick enough want the fuck

[pali-and-proud]

Would Buddy hurt anyone? Why was Buddy shocked when he hurt Chase with the spear? AND WHY THE COMPLETE DIFFERENCE WITH THE SPEAR AND DEACON WITH THE WOLVES?!?

I GET TO TALK ABOUT BUDDY AND DEACON. AHAHA.

Thank you for the Q <3 I love and respect you, but I am going to bypass the first two questions because I am filled with thoughts on Buddy and Deacon's dynamic. Because I don't know if more people noticed (I'm 100% sure others have noticed) but Buddy and Deacon absolutely parallel each other.

What's Buddy's big motivator, as established by the Dreams By Night episode? To escape Ex Libris. To be free, essentially.

What's Deacon's big motivator, as established by The Book of Deacon? To lead his own story, without his parents controlling everything. To be free, essentially.

Buddy, from the beginning, harps on Chase's lack of preparation. Deacon, from the beginning, gripes about Chase's lack of preparation. Deacon over-prepares, to the point where Chase asks him what different scenes mean and what happens in the story. Something he used to do with Buddy, because both Deacon and Buddy indulge Chase in their explanations.

Deacon gets caught off-guard by Chase's perceptiveness, and Buddy gets caught off-guard by Chase's personality. And Chase might gripe about both, sure, but often about superficial, irrelevant details. Complaining about Deacon always being busy, or complaining about Buddy being pretentious. (Not about things of substance, like Deacon having enough money to attend college AND disliking the experience, or about not even knowing Buddy's name.)

We all laugh about Buddy being paranoid, but Deacon matches him pretty well. Deacon isn't spilling any names. Deacon, like Buddy, understands the necessity for secrets. Who makes the plans to hide Prunella? Who keeps telling Chase not to talk to Buddy about her?

(A thought for another time, but--something about kids of strict parents being sneakier, and something about Deacon always convincing Chase into keeping secrets.)

Deacon's being reasonable, and we know that, because we're listening to his reasoning, and his reasoning is nothing like Buddy's. (Buddy's all "EVERYONE is out for themself," while Deacon is a lot more subtly judging the shirtless Hot Topic wanna-be.) But their ACTIONS match each other.

Are they the same character? lmao absolutely not. They have different experiences, different mentalities, different perspectives. Deacon has a support system, whether financial (parents) or emotional (Bronze) or even social (Chase). Buddy has a bright eyed, stubborn kid who sees a vampire and somehow therapizes him, and sees someone covered in thorns and reciprocates their hug because he knows it was needed.

But how similar they are really shines in the Requiem arc. Deacon and Buddy match the other's barbs seemlessly, and they call out the other with ease. Deacon insults Buddy's fashion sense + teeth, Buddy tricks Deacon into nearly getting mauled by wolves, which is probably an escalation, and Deacon immediately starts plotting a revenge. "When I get my hands on him," he outright says, implying some retaliation, and yet he sees Buddy and Chase wrestling a vampire to the ground and immediately asks "What're we doing?"

He immediately joins them. He has no idea what they're doing or why they're doing it, but they're doing it, so he alas has to ascribe to it. And then you remember that Chase is the one who jumped Vamp, and Buddy ALSO has no idea what they're doing or why they're doing it, but Chase's doing it, so he alas has to ascribe.

They get each other, is what I'm saying. They're foils in methods (Deacon annoys Buddy verbally, Buddy annoys Deacon physically////Deacon chooses to maintain peace via secrecy, Buddy prefers honest communication despite the impacts/////etc etc etc) but they're mirroring the other. They're two beams of light, coming from the same source, going in completely opposite directions.

Buddy hurting Chase risked everything Buddy had gained, all the trust and the companionship and the grossly genuine friendship he gained. The physical pain risked ripping the emotional connection between them. Buddy hurting Deacon DOESN'T rip open anything, because however far Buddy takes things, Deacon's prepared to follow out of annoyance and spite alone. They have the same priorities: keep themselves (+ Chase/others) safe, and humble the other when necessary.

And Buddy has an embarrassing crush or something. everyone point at the idiot and laugh

[glooomm]

Buddy. I love you but WHY DID YOU JUST DO THAT TO MY BABY CHASE?! HIS HEART WAS BROKEN!

[crownprincesspb]

More evidence Buddy is a cat

Was too lazy to retype, but these messages are only mine. Sorry for including patreon screenshots, but it would’ve been the same had I retyped them!

[mazhaiyil-kaadhal]

🕯manifesting 🕯

that Mrs g and grandpa Ralph and everyone gets keys that they somehow found and they're all enthusiastic about the stories and it becomes an all out effort to go get buddy away from ex libris 🤜🤜

[rosered-schneeweisschens-sis]

…ruh roh.

[aioliravioli-69]

Chase: So I put the keys in this formation and then I uh...I...uhm, are you sure about this Dorkin?

Deacon: It's what the keys said you'd have to do and they probably know the ritual better than you

Chase: Yeah, but they've also been asleep everytime they went through it

Deacon: Come on Chase, we've come so far, you can't chicken out now!

Chase: I-...I'm not chickening out, it's just...are we 100% sure this is what I'm supposed to do?

Deacon: What other information do we have?

Chase: I...ok, I'll do it...for mom

Chase: Here goes nothing I guess

[toallthingscinderellaboy]

Cinderella Boy Text Posts (1/?) Chase & Buddy

Hope you enjoy the text posts because I spent my entire morning making these instead of going to work early like I said I would *clown noises*

BONUS

[captainjackscoat]

Keys Are People, Too by Inc0mple, an In- Depth Analysis With Theories

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ UP TO THE END OF CHAPTER 127 OF KEYS ARE PEOPLE, TOO, LOOK AWAY NOW!!! BEHOLD, SPOILERS! AND NOT ENOUGH JAABU!!!

Okay, so, Keys Are People, Too is to have 151 chapters, which means there are 24 chapters left. And as we know, a lot can happen in 24 chapters. The twelfth key still needs to be found (and dealt with, I imagine), and there still needs to be an ending. My main question just now is “who is the twelfth key?” 

I highly doubt Inc0mple will introduce an entirely new character simply for the purposes of having a twelfth key, and we know it isn’t Nox, due to the fact that KAPT was planned and mostly written before the canon S1 finale. So, this leaves the characters who have already been introduced. 

The royal siblings (I'm taking this list from In The Morning, and from The Silver Tiara) are Violet, Sylvia, Goldie, Bronte, Sofia, Reuben, Romeo, Jade, Cooper, Sutton, and Cora. Obviously, the eleven siblings are the keys (we know that for certain), meaning they fall under gemstones/metals and archetypes.  

I am obsessed with fairytales as a concept, as almost everything I write for myself has some basis in fairytales. So, I LOVE archetypes. Unfortunately, the typical storytelling 12 archetypes list doesn’t apply in this instance. Which means that through the material we have, we can assume new archetypes.  

We know there is the heroine key, Silver, who takes her place in the story as Idonea/Chase. The villainess key, Violet, who is Acantha/Buddy. The hero key, who is Prunella. And the helper key, Elise/Deacon. That’s four down, eight to go! AND! If there is a heroine and hero key, there must be a villain key to go with the villainess key, right? But I'll get back to that. Five down, seven to go. I’m going to apply the archetypes I have (minus the villain key) to the siblings! 

If you haven’t read Allume-Feu, look away now. 

Violet, the eldest daughter! To be honest, I'm not sure what her gemstone/metal is. Regardless, her archetype is likely villainess. Personally, I am on her side for anything because I love my beautiful murderous princess and I am SUCH a Violet simp, but we do know that she attempted murder by doing that lil thing at the ball. I’ve forgiven her automatically because I’m in love with her, but unfortunately, she is still a villainess. Is Acantha Spicula also a villainess? Yes. There can be two villainesses. Women supporting women in their homicides, we love to see it. 

Sylvie, our beautiful heroine with a sweet tooth. The burdened, sweet big sister. I honestly think her loss hit me the most, but maybe that was just In0mple’s fantastic writing making me feel all that pain. We know she’s Silver, we know she’s the heroine. 

Goldie, eldest son, always reminds me of MARVEL’s Thor for some reason. We know he’s gold, of course. We also know he’s the hero key! Easy enough. Someone, please, agree with me on the Thor thing. 

Bronte, gentle helper. I actually wasn’t a huge fan of Bronze before KAPT, but i have a soft spot for him now. Naturally, he is Bronze, and naturally, he’s the helper. Again, easy enough. I’m stealing that chicken mitt. 

That’s the four we know, who, conveniently, are the oldest four! Now onto the others. Just to recap (mainly for my own benefit), that’s Sofia, Reuben, Romeo, Jade, Cooper, Sutton, and Cora. Obvious archetypes first.  

Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? By the way, “wherefore” means “why”, so Juliet was asking “Why are you Romeo?”. Maybe because his parents named him that? But in all seriousness, Romeo and Juliet is probably better than you think it is. Speaking of which, “the greatest love story ever told”? Romeo, who falls in love with everyone he sees? Romeo, who writes love letters? Now, I wonder what archetype he could be... the Lover, of course! And i can’t find the comment exactly, but I believe Inc0mple themself (I don’t know their pronouns, I'm so sorry, please correct me) said that Romeo’s gemstone was rose quartz! 

Six archetypes down. Halfway there. 

Cooper, one of the twins. I mean, in the end notes of Heralds And Thieves (well well well), Inc0mple says “Jade and Cooper's dynamic goes like this: Jade talks your ear off on behalf of both of them while Cooper quietly robs you.” Cooper quietly robs you? Heralds and THIEVES? We know exactly what Cooper’s archetype is, and they are the thief. And their gemstone/metal is copper!  

And leading on with Heralds And Thieves, we have our next archetype. The Herald. As well as being a Scottish newspaper, The Herald is “person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen.” A prophet, if you will. Jade, my second favourite of all the siblings (second only to Violet, my beautiful queen), seems to predict, or try to will things into, the future. Jade says “I’M GONNA WILL YOUR DEMISE INTO EXISTENCE AND THEN IT’S ACTUALLY GONNA HAPPEN” and the thing is, it just might. And of course, Jade’s gemstone/metal is a jade.  

Eight archetypes down. Seventeen Ferrero Rochers down. Don’t tell my mum. 

Okay, now it’s eighteen Ferrero Rochers. DEFINITELY don’t tell my mum.  

Anyway. 

This leaves us with Sofia, Reuben, Sutton and Cora. Now, none of these are the villain key, I can tell you that. So, what are they? 

Sofia! Beautiful, smart, wonderful Sofia. Love Sofia. Sofia is described as bookish, and if I remember correctly, Idonea/Chase finds her often in the library. My guess, though it’s a fairly feeble one as I'm not 100% sure about Sofia, is that her gemstone is sapphire. She seems to be one of the more intelligent of the group, getting books and giving advice to her siblings. Of all the archetypes I can think of, The Mentor fits her best. God, I want to be friends with her so badly. 

Reuben, when you think about his name, has a ruby as his gemstone/metal. This is further proven by his dagger, which is ruby encrusted. Subtle? No. Yet I somehow managed to miss that until one of my friends pointed it out. Clearly, my archetype is the moron. From what I remember (I need sleep so I can’t remember much), Reuben is quite grumpy, and a bit rude sometimes. However, he seems to have an air of authority about him, and doesn’t do what people tell him to. My guess is as good as your own, but I'd say he’s the Ruler. 

Next up, Sutton! Sutton is wonderful and I adore him. First of all, Sylvie tells him “That’s not very funny, is it?” and then the boy proceeds to play pranks and the like. That makes his archetype obvious. He’s the Jester! Or the Joker. Whatever it is you like to call it, he’s the funny one. His gemstone/metal stumped me too, I'll admit, although I was leaning towards sunstone.

And now, the final sibling. 

Cora! Youngest sister, and she is pink, I believe. The logical explanation for her gemstone/metal is coral, although coral isn’t a gemstone OR a metal. Oh well. It doesn’t need to make sense. She fits one of my favourite archetypes. The Innocent. The little kid, sweet and perfect.  

And that’s the eleven siblings and their archetypes. The final archetype, as I said before, is the villain. So, who could that be?  

Peris Ravenell? Our favourite idiot man, or as I prefer to call him, our favourite wannabe himbo. His name, Peris, could link to Peridot or alike, but as much as he is an absolute moron, he is no villain. So that rules him out. (Unless, of course, my villain theory is vastly off and I'm yapping for no reason). 

Galeus? The father, the king, the horrible man I would kill on sight. I’m joking. Or am I? He could absolutely be called a villain, but he isn’t related to Rosenepphe by blood and therefore wouldn’t have the power to be the twelfth key.  

After about four hours of speculating and driving myself in circles, still I have no answers. It looks like my villain theory is, in fact, likely wrong. That opens up the possibility of it being not a man. So, who else do we have?  

Lady Acantha Spicula. Our fabulous villainess. Which archetype could she be? There is a fair bit of emphasis on her power, so perhaps the Magician? And what of her character? First, I'm looking at her name. 

In mythology, Acantha was a nymph who scratched Apollo’s face after she refused his offer of love yet again. Apollo, my dude, take the hint. He turned her into a plant called the Acanthus, because apparently that’s all he can do. I don’t know if that is at all relevant to the storyline, but it’s interesting. Plus, Rosenepphe and Sheda were anagrams of Greek figures! 

Acantha having her human form taken from her probably ties in with the ongoing theme in KAPT of loss of autonomy. Acantha, in the mythology, had her choice over her body taken away.  

A Spicula is “a hard, pointed projection on part of a plant or animal; a spine or prickle” according to Google. Again, may not be important to the storyline, but still interesting. 

Going back to the theme of loss of autonomy, Acantha Spicula, or Buddy, doesn’t really make her own choices. Ex Libris does. She is, I believe, purely a vessel for their plans, and she has no real free will.  

I can’t see any gemstone/metal she might be, but you never know. Her being a key could tie in nicely with the storyline, especially considering her magic being already there, and the fact that she has a magic book. You know who else does magic book related stuff? The keys. Just saying. 

Who else?  

Idonea! Our heroine and narrator. Granted, she doesn’t have magic, but could “The Narrator” be an archetype? I guess we’ll find out. It would explain why Buddy wants Chase out of the book, as he doesn’t want to have to fight/harm Chase. Idonea could be the gemstone Idocrase, for example. Less likely than Spicula, but still possible.  

And of course, Rose. Lady Rose, down in her tomb, drawing disturbing pictures and traumatising us all. Gotta love her. I’m not sure what her archetype would be, or her gemstone, but she remains a possibility.  

We only have 24 chapters to go, and the knowledge that Inc0mple is a genius hangs heavy over us all. 24 chapters, and at least one of those will reveal the truth to us. Who is the twelfth key? What on earth is Buddy up to? Where’s Deacon? Will Chase and Deacon be arrested for stealing that book? What of Ex Libris? Will Jaabu take over the world, as she should? 

I suppose it is all we can do to wait and find out.  

If you haven’t read Keys Are People, Too by Inc0mple, go read it as fast as you can because it’s less than two months until the story ends, and it’s one of the best things I have ever read. 

If you read all of that, I salute you. If you didn’t, I understand you. If you’re inc0mple, I hope you know you have changed my entire life with your fic. Thank you. 

[sunflowerpastels]

!! cinderella boy fast pass spoilers (kinda)

ok this current arc is making me wonder if we're gonna learn buddy's real name soon. it does seem like there's going to be a lot of focus on him as a character, as we've already seen so far

[cinderellafella]

What if the next key Chase and Deacon find is given to Prunella?? Also, I wonder what key she would have.