#vicarious kingdom hearts

[cesium-sheep]

I wonder how many of the people who are like "kingdom hearts is too confusing" are actually struggling with its general philosophy that includes both "anyone can do/be good" and "anyone can do/be bad", while still thinking that simple optimism and openheartedness is neither weak nor stupid. cuz. yknow. a lot of people who tend to have strong opinions on video games don't tend to vibe with all that, especially in combination. but I vibe with it.

[dreamsy990]

dreaming of color

[captain-krow-drozdov]

Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Mom Pick Me Up I Got Mugged In A 7/11 Parking Lot.

[sup-geek]

Aphrodite and Her Reach

Here are quotes from antiquity, from both Greek and Latin sources, that speak to Aphrodite’s, her being the goddess of love, having a nigh-infinite reach, all-encompassing power over man:

Muse, sing to me the deeds of golden Aphrodite of Cyprus, who roused sweet longing in the gods and overwhelmed the tribes of mortal men and the birds of the air and all the beasts, as many as the land nourishes and the sea; for the deeds of fair-wreathed Kytherea are a care to all. But three minds she cannot persuade or deceive: the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, grey-eyed Athena... Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love loud-crying Artemis of the golden bow... Nor do the deeds of Aphrodite bring joy to the reverent maiden, Hestia, whom crafty-minded Kronos begot first... Of these three goddesses she cannot persuade their minds nor deceive them. But for the rest there is no escaping Aphrodite, neither for blessed gods nor mortal men.

(Homeric Hymn 3 to Aphrodite, translated by Professor Susan C. Shelmerdine)

Fearing this disaster, the king of the dark [i.e., Hades] had left his shadowy realm, and, drawn in his chariot by black horses, carefully circled the foundations of the Sicilian land. When he had checked and was satisfied that nothing was collapsing, he relinquished his fears. Then Venus, at Eryx, saw him moving, as she sat on the hillside, and embraced her winged son, Cupid, and said ‘My child, my hands and weapons, my power, seize those arrows, that overcome all, and devise a path for your swift arrows, to the heart of that god to whom the final share of the triple kingdom fell. You conquer the gods and Jupiter himself, the lords of the sea, and their very king, who controls the lords of the sea. Why is Tartarus excepted? Why not extend your mother’s kingdom and your own? We are talking of a third part of the world. And yet, as is evident to me, I am scorned in heaven, and Love’s power diminishes with mine. Don’t you see how Pallas, and the huntress Diana, forsake me? And Ceres’s daughter too, Proserpine, will be a virgin if we allow it, since she hopes to be like them. But you, if you delight in our shared kingdom, can mate the goddess to her uncle.”

(Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 5, translated by Anthony S. Kline)

This extravagant bestowal of the honours due to heaven on a mere mortal girl roused Venus herself to violent anger. She shook her head impatiently, and uttered these words of indignation to herself with a groan: “Behold me, the primal mother of all that is, the source of the elements, the whole world’s bountiful Venus, driven to divide my imperial honours with a lowly human! Is my name, established in heaven, to be traduced by earthly pollution? Am I to suffer the vagaries of vicarious reverence, a share in the worship of my divinity? Is a girl, destined to die, to tread the earth in my likeness? Was it nothing that Paris, that shepherd, whose just and honest verdict was approved by almighty Jove, preferred me for my matchless beauty to those other two great goddesses? But she’ll reap no joy from usurping my honours, whatever she may be: I’ll soon make her regret that illicit beauty of hers.”

(Lucius Apuleius' Metamorphoses, Book 4; translated by Anthony. S. Kline)

‘Queen of Heaven, whether you are known as bountiful Ceres, the primal harvest mother, who, delighted at finding your daughter Proserpine again, abolished our primitive woodland diet, showed us sweet nourishment, and now dwell at Eleusis; or heavenly Venus, who at the founding of the world joined the sexes by creating Love, propagating the human race in endless generation, and worshipped now in the sea-girt sanctuary of Paphos... ’

(Lucius Apuleius' Metamorphoses, Book 11, translated by Anthony S. Kline)

Heavenly, smiling Aphrodite, praised in many hymns, sea-born revered goddess of generation, you like the night-long revel, you couple lovers at night, O scheming mother of Necessity. Everything comes from you: you have yoked the world, you control all three realms, you give birth to all, to everything in heaven, to everything upon the fruitful earth, to everything in the depths of the sea, O venerable companion of Bacchos. You delight in festivities, O bride-like mother of the Erotes, O Persuasion, whose joy is in the bed of love, secretive giver of grace, visible and invisible, lovely-tressed daughter of a noble father, bridal feast companion of the gods, sceptered, she-wolf, beloved and man-loving, giver of birth and life. Your maddening love-charms yoke mortals, they yoke the many races of beasts to unbridled passion. Come, O goddess born in Kypros: you may be on Olympos, O queen, exulting in the beauty of your face, you may be in Syria, country of fine frankincense, you may be driving your golden chariot in the plain, you may lord it over Egypt’s fertile river bed. Come, whether you ride your swan-drawn chariot over the sea’s billows, joining the creatures of the deep as they dance in circles, or on land in the company of the dark-faced nymphs as light-footed they frisk over the sandy beaches. Come lady, even if you are in Kypros that cherishes you, where fair maidens and chaste brides throughout the year sing of you, O blessed one, as they sing of immortal, pure Adonis. Come, O beautiful, O comely goddess, I summon you with holy words, I summon you with a pious soul.

(Orphic Hymn 55 to Aphrodite, translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis)

Long had Jove seen this, watching from his lofty seat, and to Venus he thus enfolded the secrets of his heart: "Goddess of Cythera, I will impart to thee my hidden troubles; long ago I decided that fair Proserpine should be given in marriage to the lord of Hell; such is Atropos' bidding, such old Themis' prophecy. Now that her mother has left her is the time for action. Do thou visit the confines of Sicily, and armed with thy wiles, lead Ceres' daughter to sport in the level meads what time to-morrow's light has unfolded the rosy dawn; employ those arts with which thou art wont to inflame all things, often even myself. Why should the nether kingdoms know not love? Let no land be free and no breast even amid the shades unfired by Venus. At last let the gloomy Fury feel the sting of passion and Acheron and the steely heart of stern Dis grow tender with love's arrows."

(Claudius Claudianus' De Raptu Proserpinae, Book 1, translated by Maurice Platnauer)

@en-theos, @deathlessathanasia, any additions, no? @astynomi

[inbarfink]

I've posted about my various Adventure Time Roleswap AUs, like a billion years ago (actually it was like six) and now that I've got New Artwork and slightly reworked designs for them maybe it's time to re-introduce them!!

So this what I call the "Bonnieverse'! It's a PB-Finn, Simon-Marcy roleswap! More details under the cut:

Bonnie Bubblegum: A young gum-blob girl found in the woods in the outskirts of Ooo and raised in the Crystal Dimension by Bob and Ethel Raincorn. At the age of 12, Bonnie returned to the Land of Ooo to live with her adoptive older sister Lady - and to try and uncover the mysteries of where she came from. Nobody quite knows what she is or ever heard of other “candy people” like her, as far as anyone knows she’s the first of her kind. She's an aspiring inventor - often creating goofy gadgets to help her on her adventures, but she’s still young and inexperienced so they don't always work as expected. While she’s not a bad fighter with her crossbow, she prefers to defeat her enemies with diplomacy or a clever plan. In spite of her cheerful and gentle demeanor, she had a ruthless strike that tends to catch others off-guard.

Lady Raincorn: Bonnie’s adoptive sister, pretty much the same as her regularverse counterpart. Maybe she’s a bit more of an overly nice pushover to provide more drama and to play off her more ruthless sister.

Prince Finn Martens: The young leader the Human Kingdom - a small island-based kingdom inhabited by the last few Humans in Ooo, as well as Hyoomans and other mutants ('Human' is considered more of a national identity than a species). Prince Finn used to enjoy being a thrill-seeking adventurer when he was Bonnie’s age. But ever since his mother, Queen Minerva, died of a plague - he had to step up and be more responsible as the new ruler of the kingdom. He does try his best, even though he’s still a bit of a violent, immature, fun-loving goofball at heart and not doing such a great job dealing with his mom’s death. Might be a bit living vicariously through Bonnie’s adventurous exploits. His steed is his adopted shapeshifting dog brother Jake (who is basically the same as in the mainverse)

Vampire Queen: Once Marceline Abadeer, a fun-loving pre-Mushroom-War rock star who found herself afflicted with vampirism. Marceline found it extremely hard to resist her vampire urges and secluded herself from her loved ones - trying to scare them away from trying to help her. After surviving the Mushroom War, she started hunting down other Vampires on purpose and absorbing their power to be strong enough to survive through the Apocalypse. Which only made things worse for both her self-image and her mental state. The acclimation of not just her Vampire curse, but those of countless other vampires, has really subsumed the original Marceline. Nowadays, she has very little memories of the person who she once was and, as the last vampire left in Ooo, she ‘rules’ over the desolate and gloomy (and nearly empty) ‘Undead Kingdom’. She spends her time trying to frighten people and appear as a terrifying villain (as a subconscious remnant of her desire to push people away before she hurts them or they hurt her) - but it mostly comes off as weird pranks which are (usually) harmless.

Simon the Ice Wizard: A young child when the Mushroom War broke out, Simon was orphaned by the war and was raised by Marceline Abadeer (AKA Vampire Queen). After she abandoned him to protect him from herself, he found himself under the frosty wing of Patience St. Pim, the Ice Elemental - who made him her protégé and transformed him into a powerful immortal elemental wizard. Although their relationship was always kinda distant. All of those experiences and more made Simon on the one hand very protective and kind and on the other hand kinda obnoxiously clingy and socially awkward. Although he's a well-meaning guy and the biggest nerd in Ooo - through a seemingly never-ending sequence of unfortunate misunderstanding he has accidently managed to develop a terrifying reputation as a fearsome merciless wizard. He's mostly interested in playing the drums and collecting and cataloging pre-Mushroom War artifacts. He and Bonnie are get along great because they’re both huge geeks, though he’s overprotective and doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea of a young child being the hero of the kingdom -which brings him to a lot of conflict with Prince Finn (also Finn just generally likes teasing him for being a huge nerd).

[dawntrailing]

6.5 New Minions/Mounts & Collectibles

Minions

Tourmaline Weapon - PVP Series (Level 15 Reward)

Kydonia Strolls Ⓣ - 400 Faux Leaves

Vicarious Vacationer - 4,000 Seafarer's Cowries

Wind-up Oschon - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Wind-up Golbez Ⓣ - Dungeon (The Lunar Subterrane)

Wind-up Forchenault - Merchandise (Eorzea Encyclopaedia Vol. 3)

Hydaelyn Idol - TBA

Zodiark Idol - TBA

Ryunosuke - Heavensturn (2024)

Mounts

Lynx of Abyssal Grief - Extreme Trial (The Abyssal Fracture)

Apocryphal Bahamut - Quest (7 Lynx Mounts)

Sabotender De La Luna Ⓣ - 600 Faux Leaves or 1 Gold Khloe Certificate

Garlond GL-IIT - 100,000 Seafarer's Cowries (Rank 20?)

Island Peerifool Ⓣ - TBA

Island Adenium Ⓣ - 200 Vegetal Vouchers

Peatie - Little Ladies' Day (2024)

Crescent Moon - Mogstation (TBA)

Barding

Abyssal Barding Ⓣ - Crafted

Orchestrion Roll

FINAL FANTASY IV: The Final Battle (Endwalker) Ⓣ - Crafted

The Red Wings (Endwalker) Ⓣ - Crafted

Kingdom of Baron (Endwalker) Ⓣ - Dungeon (The Lunar Subterrane)

One among Wonders Ⓣ - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Fair Winds to Guide Ⓣ - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Course Uncharted Ⓣ - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Myths of the Realm Ⓣ - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Pennons Aloft Ⓣ - Submarine

From Fear to Fortitude Ⓣ - Submarine

In The Balance (Amanda Achen Vocals) - Merchandise (FORGE AHEAD: FINAL FANTASY XIV Arrangement Album)

Dedicated To Moonlight (Forge Ahead) - Merchandise (FORGE AHEAD: FINAL FANTASY XIV Arrangement Album)

Dedicated To Moonlight (Amanda Achen Vocals) - Mogstation

The Labyrinth (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

Carrots Of Happiness (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

What Once Was (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

Flow (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

Athena, The Tireless One (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

In The Balance (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

Scream (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

White Stone Black (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

To The Edge (Forge Ahead) - Mogstation

Triad Cards

Halone - 24,800 MGP

Oschon - 24,800 MGP

Nymeia - Duel (Ylare - Old Gridania)

Althylk - Duel (Ylare - Old Gridania)

Nophica - Duel (Ylare - Old Gridania)

Thaliak - Duel (Malliart - Old Sharlayan)

Lymlaen - Duel (Malliart - Old Sharlayan)

Eulogia - Alliance Raid (Thaleia)

Durante - Dungeon (The Lunar Subterrane)

Zeromus - Trial (The Abyssal Fracture)

Fashion

Colorful Carrotsol - 6,000 Seafarer's Cowries

Emotes

Defeatist Attitude (/slump) - PVP Series (Level 5 Reward)

Greasy Delights (/eatchicken) - Promotional JP KFC collaboration

Apocalyptic Charades (/exodus, /sundering) - TBA

Love Heart (/loveheart, /heart) - Valentione's Day (2024)

Joyous Leaping 1-5 (/jumpforjoy) - Mogstation (China)

Framer's Kits

Palaistra - PVP Series (Level 10 Reward)

Cloud Nine- PVP Series (Level 20 Reward)

Twelvestold Blessings - Quest (Myths of the Realm)

Vanu Vanu - 6 Vanu Whitebone

Vath - 6 Black Copper Gil

Moogle - 6 Carved Kupo Nut

Wondrous Whimsy - 2 Silver Khloe Certificates

Fantastic Faux - 600 Faux Leaves

Season 8 PVP (Several) - PvP from ranking rewards

Notes & Sources

Ⓣ - Marketboard Available (Tradeable)

FFXIV Reddit

Garland Tools

FFXIV Collect

[robotsafari]

Appears. Hello robo just wanted 2 let u know that I think your kingdom hearts posting is sooooo cool and really really awesome. Brain slugs have prevented me from actually playing most kh games bcos they get easily scared and/or depressed but I am living vicariously thru u bcos u being a niche characters and game editions enjoyer is rlly inspiring 2 me. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

waauughh /positive) this means a lot to meee . i really hope i dont come off very complainer in these posts. i feel like my vibes are off a lot. i just feel very strongly about kingdom hearts. (im also just really bad at communicating how i feel) the game meant so much to me growing up (my first kh game was days) and i only recently started playing the games i missed out on becaause i didnt have a ps2 or gba back then

glad you feel inspired by my rambling.

heres some bonus larxene doodles as a treat.

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

To 10 Games

Thanks so much for the tag @thevikingwoman! In no particular order and no particular criteria. Just games that have meant a lot to me for one reason or the other over the years.

tagging @wintersongstress @muses-circle @elveny @alyssalenko and anyone else. I have no clue who is here anymore, lol.

1. Resident Evil 4

Though I love the remake and plan on replaying it soon, the original has to be on this list for not only being nostalgic, but just for being a big staple of my time in high school. I played this game way after it released, but it was such a fun escape when I needed it. Ada and Leon were the first couple I really shipped and their dynamics still appear in my writing today, even subtly. honestly I think it's also fair to say Ada also taught me how to flirt. lol.

2. Kingdom Hearts.

This was the first game I played where the story impacted me enough for me to cry at the end. Yes it’s not exactly great and it’s very cheesy and weird, but I feel the need to include it because this was the game that made me realize how impactful the medium of games could be in terms of storytelling.

3. Dragon Age

I’m sure you knew this would be on here! I’ve spoken so much about it, but let it suffice to say it got me back into writing and now I’m a much better writer because of the things I’ve learned and developed along the way! Will give the edge to Inquisition over Origins on this one, but I feel like a lot of people don't know how much I replayed origins, and in fact played it all the way back when it first came out.

4. Tomb Raider Anniversary

Been thinking about these games a lot recently. I do love the remakes but I have to say I’m partial to this Lara, of Legend and Anniversary variety. She likes adventures and history and she explores and goes to cool locations, and at a time in my life where I was just starting to realize how much travel means to me, I got to vicariously travel. I also think these games are a good blend of puzzle, exploration, and action.

5. Red Dead Redemption 2

This was the game that solidified my feelings that story telling in games not only rivals that of other mediums, but sometimes can even overtake it. Playing RDR2 feels like reading a long epic novel where the characters become your best friends by the end.

6. Last of Us

It would feel weird not to have this game on here because I truly think it is one of the best games that has ever been made. I just like to pretend the sequel doesn’t exist. Cough.

7. Assassins Creed 2

I love so many of these games—odyssey is definitely up there as well but I have to give this one to 2. I played it when I was 16 after coming home from Europe for the first time and enjoyed the hell out of running around Florence after I had been there. I did also have fun playing odyssey again after being in Greece. Couldn’t find the place I jumped from in Paros I was so sad.

8. Okami

This game is very much pure nostalgia. beautiful cell shaded animation and compelling use of Japanese mythology.

9. Mass Effect 2

I don't quite love ME as much as Dragon age due to my own preference for fantasy/medieval, but I love 2 for where it took the story/characters. Overall, ME is one of the few, if only, pieces of SciFi media I like.

10. Witcher 3

If you put a gun to my head and told me to name what I thought the best video game ever released was, I'd say Witcher 3. I have fond memories of playing this game while eating pizza in college. I also just love the animations for this game. In a time of "realism is the way" in video games, to me it's the more animated style that is much more timeless. (this is another reason I like Baldur's Gate right now)

[polypomefiore]

Do you think Vil ever just lives vicariously through the other pets stories? Listening to Rook and Leona’s stories about the Afterglow/Sunset Savannah and its wonders, Riddles stories about the Queendom of Roses and its fields and fields of flowers, Kalim and Jamil telling stories about the Scalding Sands and its history, the never ending skies that Kalim used to fly through, Epels stories of his village, so cold even in the summer and it’s bountiful harvest of apples each year, Idia reluctantly tells stories of his home with Ortho filling in here and there, the tweels stories of the open and deep ocean both the wonders and the horrors of the sea. Vils only ever known Briar Valley and the garden, depending on how young he was when he was given to Maleficia, he might not remember much of his own home, the kingdom he was born and raised in, he might feel shame that he can’t tell the other pets stories of his own homeland, he doesn’t even remember if the name he knows it as is it’s true name, or he might only know it as one title home, and he feels shame for not remembering much about his home.

NOOOOO my heart has been torn in two. OW. vil was around his preteens when his father had to surrender him to maleficia, but he never left the castle walls. poor thing has always been a caged bird. he knows extensively about the kingdom’s history because on the rare occasion his father could spend time with him, but that’s it. vil still clings to those stories preciously. id imagine he’d do the same with the others.

if the pets ever consider trying to escape, vil would be one of the first to be in favor for it, much to everyones surprise. he may not ever be able to go home, but he’d love to explore the world his father/fellow pets told him about

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Vicarious (Part 10)

Azula frowns at the mirror; she still has his hair lopsided. She has been at this for at least a half an hour and she only has an hour more to get it right. And and hour more to figure out how to groom Sokka’s beard.

Between his horrendous handwriting and his somewhat unclear instructions she might be better off just going to the man himself and let him manage that part. 

She can at least get his hair done nicely. At least that is a display of an attempt. 

She picks up the hair tie and makes another attempt to get it right. It is, by far, better than all of her other attempts but it still isn’t perfect. And maybe for Sokka that is perfect. He doesn’t really seem like the type to care if a few strands of hair come out of the wolf tail. Pushing back all of her screaming instincts she steps away from the mirror. 

She just needs to go down to the living room and converse with Aang or Toph or anyone really. Reading a book would also do; anything that will keep her from dwelling on those misplaced strands of hair. 

She wanders her way down the hall.

“Hey, Sokka!” Toph greets.

“Toph.” 

“All ready for your date tonight?”

“Yes. I think so.”

Toph throws her head back and cackles. “I can tell that you aren’t! Your heart is beating like crazy.” Her expression grows more serious. “You’ll do fine, Sokka. Just make her laugh, you’re good at that.” She pauses. “I guess that Katara could give you better advice than I could. She knows what women like.”

“You don’t?”

“I know what I like!” She declares. “Which, apparently, is a lot different. Unless Jin is also into Earth Rumbles. But she strikes me as the candle lit dinner, walks through a blooming field kind of woman.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Azula replies. She tries to think of the things that she would enjoy on a date. Decidedly, she also falls under the ‘a lot different’ category but in a much different way than Toph does. 

“You’re going to be fine. And if it doesn’t go well then you have us.” Toph smiles. 

“I can date you?”

Toph laughs again, louder this time. “Your humor is impeccable.”

“I like Earth Kingdom women.”

“Okay, maybe don’t say that to her.” Toph snorts. 

Her list of things not to do and say continues to grow, but no one ever seems to have advice on what to do. 

.oOo.

“I heard that she did it because she thinks that some spirit told her that she had to. Like a divine sacrifice that can only be done by someone with royal blood.”

“I heard that it was a dragon, not a spirit.” Mentions a second female voice.

Sokka hears the guards before he sees them. 

“I heard that she sees herself as some type of martyr.” Speaks a third guard. 

“Either way, she’s…she’s out of her mind. If you ask me, they shouldn’t have brought her back to the palace, she’s going to make the entirety of the Fire Nation look foolish.” 

“Quiet down, Admiral Chan, she might…”

“Hear me?” He looks Sokka directly in the eyes. “That girl set fire to my beach house and upset my son. I knew that she was insane before everyone else did. Had to keep my damn mouth shut though or I’d have to deal with she and her father.” 

“Didn’t she sleep with your son?” Asks the female guard. 

Admiral Chan sniffs. “From the sound of it, she wanted to. But my son has better sense than that. He knows a lunatic when he sees one. This one just so happens to wear a crown.”

Sokka feels his chest constricting. He wishes that he had some witty comeback but he doesn’t know what Azula would say, how she would react. He doesn’t even know how he would. He thinks that he might laugh it off, make some ridiculous joke at his own expense just to alleviate the tension. But that isn’t Azula’s style. 

By the time he decides that she would probably attack the holes in the logic of these rumors, the guards have already rounded the corner.

That he hadn’t said a thing in defense makes his face red and his eyes prickle. 

He finds it perplexing that he is affected so much by rumors that aren’t really even about him. Ones that he won’t have to worry about when he gets his own body back.

Somehow it feels like they are talking about him. 

Or maybe it is that he knows exactly why Azula is so inclined to keep to herself. Knowing that he has partaken in sharing the rumors that make him so uncomfortable now. It is so easy to gossip about her; she is a royal, she had a scandal, and, just to add intrigue, she shrouds herself in mystery.

Really it is quite simple; she is sad and she is hurt. She just wants peace. 

He hopes that she can at least have that while masquerading as him.  

Currently, he can’t cling to that hope. Not when she is approaching him with a razor and a demand; “help me fix your beard so that it doesn’t look stupid while I’m on your date.” 

She is just as stressed as ever. 

Perhaps more so. 

.oOo.

Jin is a pretty girl. 

In some ways she reminds Azula of TyLee. They are both bright eyed and happy-go-lucky. Maybe Jin isn’t quite as perky but she is certainly cheerful. 

Perhaps that is why Azula’s stomach is doing all kinds of flops and flutters. Why she is having trouble getting words out. She is out of her comfort zone on many different levels. She should have taken the woman to a play or a music event, anything but a dinner. If Sokka hadn’t already reserved a seat at the Crimson Imperial Candle, she very much would have picked a different date activity. 

Instead she is forced to endure the awkward and tense ambiance that overlays the elegant and romantic atmosphere that the eatery tries to coax. The fountains that cut all across the floor, dividing each table into a small and individual island are lit by dozens of candles hanging from the ceiling and floating in the water. Twinkling reflections and artfully positioned tiling make the water look like a sea of rippling gold. 

There is an option to eat while sitting on rugs and carefully arranged pillows but Sokka has chosen to reserve a table instead. Not that, that isn’t nice enough. The table is sprinkled with firelily petals and–likely per Sokka’s request–moonlily petals. 

There are other touches of Water Tribe influence in this arrangement such as a scatter of little wooden beads and paintings of wintery landscapes. Azula notes that he hadn’t requested any Earth Kingdom touches. 

From the look on her face, Azula is inclined to believe that Jin has pieced that much together as well. 

“Do you know what you’d like to eat?”

Jin speaks first, “why don’t you ask Sokka, since he wants to call all of the shots.” 

Azula grits her teeth. She is going to kill the man for putting her in this position. That dolt. That careless oaf! At least she can rest assured that she isn’t the only insensitive person around the palace. “I was actually going to let you pick the food tonight since I chose the decor.” 

“How thoughtful.” Although she smiles, there is anger twinkling in her eyes. “Sokka know how much I hate interior design and lo-ove the culinary arts.”

She makes a mental note that Jin wants to be an interior designer and cannot cook. If she had to guess, she would say that Jin is also a very picky eater. 

“Go on, Sokka, you know what I like to eat.”

Azula hadn’t seen a smile as forced as the one that the waiter makes since meeting Joo Dee. She clears her throat. “We’ll have the…” she tries to recall what dishes she had enjoyed while staying in the Earth Kingdom. She can really only recall one thing, “seared wild Kyoshi elephant koi.”

Jin rolls her eyes. As soon as the waiter is out of earshot she scoffs, “really, you think that some fancy gourmet meal is going to win me over? Do you even remember what my favorite food is? I remember yours; blubbered seal jerky. Your favorite color is indigo, your birthday is February 20th, you are really annoyed by singing nomads and singing gophers, you had a run in with a baby sabertooth mooselion, and you still sleep with this ratty old stuffed seal.”

Helpful information. But delivered most hostilely. 

“Do you even know a single thing about me?”

“I’d like to, why don’t you tell me about…”

“Because I. Have.”

“I’ll listen this time. I promise. Ask me to recount what you told me tomorrow and you’ll see.” 

Jin rises abruptly. “It’s a good thing that you have a big appetite, Sokka. Enjoy your elephant koi.”

Usually Azula can piece together exactly what she had said that had made a person turn away from her. This time…

This time she can’t understand it at all.

The woman didn’t even give her a chance to try.

Understanding dawns.

Jin didn’t give her a chance to try, but she had probably given Sokka many.

Even still, she can’t stop the tightening of her throat and the turning of her tummy. Now Sokka is going to destroy whatever she has left in life. He is going to ruin it much further beyond repair that it already had been. 

Perhaps she should try to win the woman back. If she can, he wouldn’t need to know. But no, there had been a finality in this breakup. She has a strong feeling that it isn’t the first break up. But it is the last. 

.oOo.

Sokka can’t say that he is surprised to see Azula home wearing a look of utter dismay. The way that she bites the inside of her cheek, the downcast of her eyes…

“It didn’t go well, did it?”

“She broke up with me…you. She broke up with you.”

Sokka sighs. “Yeah, I had a feeling that she would.”

“Because you think that I’m trying to ruin your life?”

“Because of me.” He mumbles. “I kind of gave you a task that I knew was doomed…”

“Then why? Why send me on that date at all?” She slaps her hands against her thighs.

He shrugs. “You’re smart and good with words, I thought that you might be able to do or say something that I wouldn’t have thought of.” 

“What would make you think that? All of the friends that I don’t have. All of the relationships that I managed to ruin? You picked the wrong person to fix your relationship troubles, Sokka.”

He flinches. He itches to say something, but once again he isn’t sure what to say. He isn’t certain because most all of him is inclined to agree with her; how could he expect her to fix a failing relationship when all of hers have crumbled, when she hasn’t exactly had success in forming new ones. “You’re not the wrong person. I know that you can make a few friends if…” 

“Don’t lie to me, Sokka.” She folds her arms across her chest. 

“I’m not lying. I think that you can make lots of friends. All you need to do is…”

“Change everything that I am to make people like yourself more comfortable around me?” She quirks a brow. 

“I didn’t…I wasn’t going to say that. You don’t make me uncomfortable.”

Azula rolls her eyes. “Please, Sokka. I know my own face and I know what it does when I am uncomfortable.” She takes a step closer and he takes a step back. And she laughs. “See! That’s all it takes. All I have to do is step towards you and you act like I’m going to set you on fire–set myself on fire to do it.”

Sokka swallows. “I–” He rakes his hand through his hairline. “You’re an intimidating person, okay. You just are.” He cringes at his own blunder. “And I know that you can…turn it off. I’ve had a few conversations with you that didn’t make me nervous.”

“Yes well, I’m not going to change my whole demeanor for  other people. Especially ones who won’t stick around when things get grim.” She turns her back on him. 

He groans. Why is she so hard to talk to? Why is he so bad at talking? Maybe if this body came with even a scrap of Azula’s eloquence maybe wouldn’t make a mess of every other conversation they have. Maybe if he had his own eloquence, that date wouldn’t have gone so poorly for Azula. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” He tries. 

She pauses and looks disinterestedly back at him. 

“I didn’t really know Jin.” He admits. And, Spirits, it hurts to say out loud. “I didn’t really try to get to know her.” 

Azula’s brows furrow. 

“She was like…I just kept picturing Suki and thinking about Suki. They are kind of similar.” 

“Pathetic, Sokka.” Azula scoffs. And with that she is gone, her footsteps echo from down the hall.

[ultraericthered]

EVANESSE'

"In a World made up of many other worlds, that itself is just one of many more, does anything truly matter?"

Evanessé is a very different sort of adversary Ephemer finds himself faced with later in his quest, debuting in The Missing Links should you choose the High Route. He is at first not against Ephemer and even helps him out at points, but he never commits himself to joining the side of Ephemer and friends either. He embodies the core theme of that game: the feeling of unfulfillment, like a piece of your heart, of your very self, is "missing" and you're unsure how to even begin to start looking for it, let alone find it. This theme maintains relevance in KH5 too, seen with Evanesse's arc and also the story arc in Rosas.

As it turns out, back during the timeframe of KH3, when Xehanort was inhabiting his new Replica body and planned on becoming a god by merging with Darxomnious, he secretly used the knowledge of Xion’s creation from one cursed timeline as a blueprint to create his own Hollow Replica he planned on reincarnating his human heart into once his power was united with Kingdom Hearts, but it ended up never coming to pass since Darxomnort was destroyed. Evanessé was that unfinished replica, and it ends up being Ephemer’s heart that gives life to him when he's found in his world, making him a Xehanort replica whose essence is but a pale copy of what came from Ephemer’s heart. At first Evanessé seeks only to find his own aim in life and to define his place in a World that seems bent on rejecting him, but he is plagued by self doubt that he can live up to his own expectations for existing and also by a specter of Xehanort that lingers in his DNA (yes, he sees and talks to Xehanort the way Sam Carpenter sees and talks to Billy Loomis), and he soon comes to resent life itself, gaining Xemnas-y powers of nothingness as he decides he just wants everything around him to disappear, hence his thematic name that serves as a foil to Ephemer's own: Evanessé = evanescence: a gradual fading, the condition of lasting for only a short time before disappearing quickly and being soon forgotten.

Some tidbits:

Here's what I can say about Evanessé as a character at this point. I love him, but....has no one yet recognized what an attack on Nomura and his decisions regarding his KH canon Evanessé represents?

He was created by Xehanort, here used as a stand-in for Nomura since Nomura identifies so strongly with Xehanort and made him one of his personalized pet OCs. He's conceptually a repeat of what Xion was, much like how Xion conceptually repeated the beats and qualities of other pre-existing KH OCs and Nomura made the replica concept more overcomplicated through this. He's designed like KH3 Riku, Yozora, and Noctis, more of Nomuras pet OCs. He was created in-universe for the purpose of Xehanort living vicariously through him out in the World while he reigned over it as a god, for the fulfillment of a fantasy that just could not come to be realized, much like how Nomura created Yozora for the purpose of fulfilling his Final Fantasy Versus XIII passion project that just could not come to be realized. And what does his tortured existence drive him to believe? That nothing matters. That in life, there is no meaning, only lore. All the nihilistic sentiments that Nomura's KH canon have been evoking in players for the last decade and going on into this one. And this is why, ultimately, Evanessé has to be struck down during the final battle. And also why it's hinted that Kingdom Hearts grants him divine mercy and salvation, taking him out of that dark, nihilistic place and into the light. It's the Kingdom Hearts of old and what this KH Divergence represents that prevails, not what he represents.

And I give him Dylan Sprouse as his VA, 'cuz he does have potential.

Evanesse' brandishing his Kylo Ren-esque keychained saber.

[cesium-sheep]

"I gotta tell you, it's embarrassing having to rely on a kid." "you wouldn't be the first, sorry."

[abovetherainandroses]

🔪 (for the writing ask)

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

sprout: tbh i try to avoid having to do research when i can help it lol like i'll just write Around the need. off the top of my head, some of the weirder stuff i've looked up are knife wounds (what it's like to be stabbed + treatment), and the mating habits of birds (it was a wing fic lmao)

storm: same as sprout lmao i don't love doing research so i try to avoid it. i feel like more often instead of researching real world things, i'll be doing intense dives into canon details to make my fic as canon compliant as possible. not so much with bandom, i play more loosey goosey with stuff there lol, because it's based off real people so there is so much to work off of... but for TV shows/movies and video games and stuff i'll be rewatching scenes and trying to incorporate as much detail as possible. (trying to be canon compliant with kingdom hearts is awful btw because kingdom hearts makes no damn sense)

this isn't a "weird" topic, but i recently wrote a frerard fic with ftm!frank where frank had gotten bottom surgery, and i actually did a lot of research on that because i really wanted to get it right. tbh even though i am trans i don't usually write about trans stuff, but it felt really nice to write some gender-affirming sex... vicariously feeling gender euphoria via rpf fanfiction LMAO

[patchun]

When I was younger after playing Kingdom Hearts in elementary school I got this idea in my head that I could somehow go to a different world - I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I'd go on walks with my dog and just look up at the sky, waiting for a big vortex to open and suck me up. There was this huge rock at the end of my street that I'd always hope would open into some sort of tunnel that would lead somewhere else. Eventually I realized no portal would be opening, and I realized it subconsciously long before I realized it consciously. I think it was probably then when I kind of... gave up on life as a whole. Starting from very young, I disassociated, I stopped making decisions or thinking about the future or trying to grow, because I felt like I just didn't belong, so what was the point.

Many years of (hardly) living later, now in college, I read the Homestuck epilogue, specifically Candy. I can't remember exactly what happened now, but if I remember, what probably resonated so hard with me was how John had disassociated for many years, just like me, and just like me had ended up at what he felt like a dead end, unhappy with his life and feeling like the world was crumbling down around him. Not to mention that Homestuck, like Kingdom Hearts, was an isekai. I was SEVERELY depressed for months. My eyes had been opened to this truth, and I had been forced to confront reality for the first time in a long ass time. But eventually I got over it and managed to go back to my disassociative state.

That is, until The Owl House. The effect it had was very different than the Candy epilogue though. The best word I can use to describe my relationship to the show is probably jealousy. I can live vicariously through the show, through Luz who I heavily identify with, but it resonates with me so strongly that it's painful. These things that Luz is able to get over and grow, I don't know if I ever will be able to. This family that Luz finds, I dont think I ever will. The life that Luz has, I will never have. There is no other world for me to be transported to, where there are people like me who will accept me wholly for I am, where I will find a new passion and value as a person.

And this time, these thoughts aren't letting go. As a result, I have an ever increasing desire to just, shall we say... Give up.

[sigridhawke]

IMMA DO IT Kann: 🖊️🐈💘😞 Enfer: 😖🎮🤍🔺

YEAH YOU WILL!!! Details about OCs ask for our beloved Crimson character just for you!

Also cause I haven't shared any art of them yet and this is my dear co-author coming in with the great asks about characters we've been obsessing over over the weekend.

Enfer on the left, Kann on the right.

Kann:

🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

Under the armour/sleeve of his right arm he has a full sleeve tattoo that is a mix of elven and dwarven stories and how Greater Ekatha came to be. He got it because it reminds him of his roots and what the kingdom stands for. It's not in colour, just a very pretty lineart.

🐈 CAT — does your oc prefer a wide circle of friends or a few close friends?

He has a pretty large network of friends, he’s one of those people others would direct you to cause he’s bound to know someone. He has a couple close friends but in general he is happy to just move from social circle to social circle.

💘 HEART WITH ARROW — what and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

The people of Greater Ekatha mean everything to him. Not just those born there, but the people who come from afar to stay for a short time or a long while. Much like the Princess he desires a world where everyone is free to travel and intermingle as they please and celebrate the life they have. While many in Vespera think themselves above the Elvendwarves of Greater Ekatha he considers them all family too and makes fairly regular trips to the sunless kingdom.

Arguably Enfer is one of the most important individuals to him, while he tries not to play favourites, Enfer absolutely gets a lot of special treatment from him. If Enfer desires something he strives to find a solution to not compromise his morals while also meeting the faun’s needs.

😞 DISAPPOINTED FACE — does your oc attract others, or do they tend to be left alone?

Part of the reason Kann ended up being put into a position of power is cause he can befriend pretty much everyone. He’s that friendly neighbour that will bake you some bread and say hope you have a good day as you head out to work. He does thrive in that environment, he loves being around people. He just doesn’t feel cut out to run a kingdom politically but that’s what Enfer is there for lol.

Enfer:

😖 CONFOUNDED FACE — is your oc an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert? do they let people in easily, or are they more reserved?

Ambivert! Before he lost his standing as leader of the fauns he let people in much more easily, but after being challenged for the right to lead right before an important council meeting that would hopefully end in treaties signed to prevent war, he became much more reserved and cautious. Being Greater Ekatha tho and aiding Kann politically has made him much more cunning but also the general atmosphere of Greater Ekatha and what it stands for has been bringing him back out of his shell. Mostly he live vicariously through Kann when it comes to social interactions.

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc’s favorite hobbies?

- He loves experimenting with different tea blends. Between Greater Ekatha and Vespera there are a lot of different flora to try. With the Wildlands close by too it's just a goldmine. He often brings a new blend for Odin and Thane to try when he and Kann travel to Vespera.

- Practicing sword fighting. Not something he needs so much in Greater Ekatha, but it was something he took a lot of pride in when he traveled between the three faun settlements.

- Being on the water. Not swimming necessarily, but he loves just being on the water. Thankfully you can take a gondola from one side of the kingdom to the other. It is something he misses from his time in the settlements was being on the ocean so often. He loves the smell of the sea, the warmth of the sun, the feel of water against his legs.

🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc’s neutral/questionable traits?

- Enfer plays into the ‘poor damaged faun’ role which wasn’t hard when he showed up to Greater Ekatha hornless, bloodied, face and body gouged. But for 16 years he’s kept up this ruse, letting people believe he has been broken by the experience and Kann keeps him close because he needs that support/is too weak to look after himself.

-  Enfer is greedy and bitter, but mostly greedy. While he had the best intentions to keep the fauns politically neutral, he did very much enjoy the power and once he lost that he found a way to get it back by working with Kann. He is also greedy for Kann's attention and is prone to jealousy given Kann is very blatantly a people person and beloved by all.

-  in the words of my co-author: gaslighting, gatekeeping, girlboss

🔺 RED TRIANGLE POINTED UP — does your oc know how to use any weapons?

- Like many fauns their horns/antlers are their prime weapons. Horns being stronger but if they break they don't grow back, antlers being weaker but more dramatic and more likely to grow back if broken. Because of this fighting/challenging for leadership often includes weapons too. Enfer is particularly versed with a sword. 

[halonicheart]

I adore Royal aus as much as the next person… I just can’t picture one for any of my OCs thus far. That could change though. Royalty aus are so fun.

I guess it mainly applies to Lovette cause I couldn’t picture her as a princess at all. Just can’t make it work in my head. So any wolchefant knight-royalty aus I live vicariously through others.

I did think of one AU though, where Royal Knight Haurchefant falls in love with a mournful spirit, a banshee. Banshee’s in modern day are misconstrued to be evil harbingers of death when originally they were far from. Where the kingdom feared this wailing women, Haurchefant found her cries hauntingly beautiful. He was warned never to find her. For countless nights he would listen for her cries with a heavy heart, aching so viscerally to cry out back to her, to comfort her…

How does one comfort a spirit? He wasn’t sure but he would damn well try even if it made him a fool. When he finally had enough of this spirit crying alone, Haurchefant ventured out into the woods in the dead of night. There, he finds a ghostly pale woman with dark flowing hair, her white dress soaked and tears streaming down her face. ‘How cruel…’ He thinks. ‘To be cursed to mourn alone..’

The woman does not speak, she can only stare in shock as this man willingly approaches her with not an ounce of fear. The spirit is even more shocked to find this strange man reaching to swipe her seemingly never ending tears. Often did her wails scare away others, it mattered not to her before, but he was different. He sought her out despite her shrieks of pain. He looked at her with nothing but kindness. For the first in a longest time, or even the first ever at all, she smiles as she grabs the hand still caressing her wet cheek.

Haurchefant is left breathless. He grew up on tales of her kind, not a single one came close. They told him they were vengeful specters, the kind that would snatch you into the grave upon eye contact, a being whose very scream could still your heart. She was none of that nonsense, quite the opposite. Just beneath her deceivingly cold surface was something warm. “Oh my… what a beautiful smile you have, my lady!”

Never before did he think a banshee could blush, her cheeks painted the palest of pinks. Haurchefant was enamored by the sight. The Knight needed, yearned to know her name. To whom should he call out for when she cries alone… and so he asks. “What do I call you…? What is your name, dear lady…” He worried she was incapable of speech due to what she was. Haurchefant was pleasantly surprised to find that she could.

In a hushed voice she answers simply “Lovette.” -and shares nothing more.

“Lovette! A most splendid name… tell me Lovette… what ails you? Why do you wail and mourn? Whom do you mourn?”

That she cannot answer. Forces beyond even her comprehension prevents her from spilling the truth. That is why she can only scream in hopes of someone understand. Even if she wanted, she would not tell this kind knight who made her feel more than just some wretched thing, that reason she mourns was for his very own coming death.

It was cruel of fate to bring him to her, even crueler she can not stop what is to come, most cruel of all… the heart Lovette thought she lost began to beat again for a man time will snatch away.