#Coda Notes

[natteryaktoad]

Notes, Day 86, Part 3

Reed spent his Saturday teaching Coda to talk.

Reed: Who's a clever girl?

Coda: Meeeeeee!

Also, the pond is unfrozen, so he's happy.

I did let Reed babysit for a few hours after Maddy got home from work, whilst she and Cliff went out on a date.

[coddda]

Everyone knows that Light and L matched each other's freak but I think their dynamic in the musical (the Japanese ver specifically) is underrated. Like it's not super different from canon but they just had this extra edge of Violence that we never quite saw from the more methodical and careful mindgames in canon death note and I think it's great. Like, yes, they did declare in canon that they will bring each other to justice, yes L says he wants to send Kira to his execution, but in the lyrics of the musical they both outright say multiple times that they just want to straight up Kill each other. It's direct the whole way through. There's more mutual contempt. This game is about nothing more than simply being the first one to Kill the Other (they actually use the word "殺し合い" (koroshiau) or "to kill each other" to describe their game (translated as "murderous ... game")).

(Sidenote but all those references about wanting to send each other to Hell?? Beautiful)

Yeah this is a battle of justice and ideals, yes that clash is a key part of their final confrontation at the end of the musical, but throughout their duets (or even songs like The Game Begins where they're singing by themselves) there's this near singleminded desire to just fucking End each other. It's fucking Raw and it's great.

Also THIS FUCKING SCENE?? THIS SCENE FROM SECRETS AND LIES. Iconic. Actually Insane. My jaw dropped. Light looks like a crazy bitch it's beautiful.

Um. Also. Obligatory Playing His Game (yknow the gay sex song) lines dump. It basically says everything I just said above in like 9 lines. You see what I mean right.

In canon they're playing a game of mental chess, trying to use everyone around them to finally catch the other as their end goal, but in the musical you really do feel like all they see is each other. They would probably beat each other to death with their fists if it came down to that. Idk they're just so excited and fired up about their little game in the musical and it's so unhinged and fun and special and I love it. It's like the writers for the musical decided to kick their murderous intent up a couple notches and the result is absolutely Beautiful.

I also think that the intensity of their rivalry in the beginning just makes the wind-down of The Way It Ends soo much better. It's such a good contrast to their previous duets where they try to sing over each other (Secrets and Lies & Stalemate) or with each other but basically at the top of their lungs (Playing His Game). It feels like there's both a quiet mutual understanding but also an underlying disappointment that the game is finally over. In canon, L's death Is instead the peak of their game, the moment he gets confirmation that Light is Kira is the exact same moment that he dies. In the jdrama it's almost sudden, how L dies, after the quiet moment has already passed. But in the musical L's death, ironically, Is the one quieter moment in their game. Their peak was the game itself. It was Secrets and Lies and Playing His Game. But the end of the game in the musical is not a victory, it's just (as L says) the end of everything they'd been wanting up until this point.

Uh. Fuck it. Clip from the Kenji Urai version because I just love his delivery here. His tone just goes so well with the silence and the sound of the clock ticking. You see what I mean right.

Their rivalry in the musical may have been more shortlived but like Damn they were really enjoying every second of it. They were truly insane about each other until the very end. (Like despite everything I just said about the ending it was still unhinged as fuck. Light Making L Shoot Him and then Making L Shoot Himself with L's Own Hand?? Holy shit man. What the fuck /pos)

Musical Light and L your game might've been shorter but you'll always be famous <33 Please never inflict what you had on anyone else ever please stay in hell forever thank you

[rcmclachlan]

Can you imagine what Tommy looked like when he went in for his shift later that day?

(8x11 coda)

+

When Kinard walks into the locker room at the start of their shift, Lucy does a double take that would make Tex Avery weep with envy.

No one at Harbor would be able to say with a straight face that Kinard's been fully himself over the last few months, what with the wistful eyes and the almost complete lack of Independence Day quotes, but watching him stow his shit in his locker now, he looks diluted, like someone spilled water past the edges of his outline until he grew blurry and ephemeral. She has no idea what could've happened to make him look like this.

He shuts the door to his locker not with the cheerful flair with which he's done since she met him, or the way he's been doing it as of late: quick and perfunctory, like if he wastes even the slightest bit of movement, he'll be losing some kind of bet with himself. 

He shuts the door with a quiet click. Then he just stands there, hand on the handle. She's not even sure he's registered that she's in there with him.

"Kinard," Lucy says. "You good?"

It takes a second for it to penetrate, but she sees the moment it does. He blinks himself out of the fugue state and straightens up,  no expression on his face. He looks like the fucking Terminator. 

"Kinard," she says again, this time barking it out as forcefully as she thinks he can handle. That tone never fails to work on her brother's demon kids, and also Captain Ribiero.

"Donato." He says her name slowly, almost dreamily. He's as solid as a cloud. If she got off the bench and put her hand on his arm, it would fall right through him. "Do you remember the second time we flew together? The gas explosion at Park Fifth. Do you remember what you said to me after we got the kid out—Charlie?"

Wide-eyed, she stares at him, because he's never once brought up Park Fifth since it happened, mostly out of fear that she'd bludgeon him to death with the closest thing within reach for the reminder. It's been literally years since then, and the trust and rapport they've built has erased any hard feelings from that night.

"I asked..." She trails off with a grimace.

It hadn't been her finest moment, considering the kid had just died in his arms. It was her fault—for not listening to him when he wanted her to fly to the east side of the building, downwind, so he could get in and run to where little Charlie Kindstrom was trapped inside with a gas fire that wouldn't quit no matter what they threw at it. She had wanted to get in from the apartment window, have him attack it head-on, to save time, and she'd used her seniority to override him. They wasted precious minutes anyway, trying to get him inside by way of the one clear corner and somehow keep him from being flambéd. 

When they finally got Charlie on board, Kinard had been covered with ash and blood from where Charlie's skin had sloughed off during the transfer, and when Reina, their aeromedic, couldn't get her pulse back, he looked at Lucy with what, at the time, felt like blame. The guilt and frustration and the fact that this smart-ass fucking newbie was calling her out on her mistake, even though he wasn't, not really, got the best of her, got control of her mouth before she could wrestle them back.

"I asked if you ever got tired of being right all the fucking time."

He'd rocked back from it like he'd been slapped, eyes wide and hurt, red from the smoke and the loss, but he never answered her. Reina called time of death, and nobody said a word the entire flight to LA General. When they got back to Harbor, they had it out right there on the tarmac, then walked back inside, arms slung around each other, to find three of their teammates holding up pieces of paper with scores written on them. Nico gave them a 6.5, the fucker.

Now, she watches with wordless horror as a smile like a flatline slowly creeps across his face, eating everything in its path. He steps back from his locker.

"I do," he murmurs. "I really do."

Kinard exhales, then visibly steels himself, plates of armor sliding down, locking in, and then walks out into the hangar like nothing can touch him. Like nothing will touch him ever again. 

Realization hits, and it takes conscious effort to dig her nails out of her palm so she can grab her phone off the bench and open a very, very, very old text thread.

Blowing out a breath, she puts her phone on Do Not Disturb then slides it into her pocket so she can finish tying her boot laces, trying to unclench her jaw with varying success.

Not only does she have an entire shift to lead during the fourth straight day of a county-wide burn ban, which means every idiot from here to San Bernadino is going to try to burn their neighborhood to the ground because they couldn't go a week without throwing a backyard barbecue, but her best pilot's nursing what is clearly a freshly broken heart, and that's a thousand times more dangerous than some dumbass lighting up a firepit in their bone-dry yard.

"I should've called out," she mutters, then stands up.

Would've, could've, should've, but that won't pay her bills. Spending the next 48 hours keeping Kinard from falling out of the sky, however, better come with OT pay.

[au-palais]

me looking at the four walls ch 7 doc clocking in at 5k with still like 1/2 the planned plot to go....

[aois-amaterasu-painting]

20 spokes for 20 years of the GazettE - each spoke is made of Heresy logos.

The title Heterodoxy itself means "deviation from accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs." (So a bit like a heretical worldview)

A different version of a Ferris wheel appears in the Suicide Circus video with lyrics "Nobody can rewind time". And it was part of the 20th anniversary live setlist.

The purpose of the album is to look back (so rewind time?) at all their best songs divided into Singles, Lucy (hard/aggressive) and Abyss (dark/emotional).

The Ferris wheel itself is designed to resemble the Sun symbol, even more so when it's on fire like that.

The Sun is associated with the heart which connects well to Ruki's Immortal Creed merch design with the flaming heart on the front and the Heterodoxy wheel on the back.

I believe Ruki sees most spinning circular objects as symbols for Samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth). Examples being the Coda nest and the Wasteland mandala. (He mentioned samsara in connection to Coda stage visuals specifically in a 2014 interview)

Each of their new look/album is a death and rebirth of sorts, pushing towards enlightenment (escaping samsara)

[swan2swan]

This hymn just slaughtered the entire congregation.

[spaceprincessem]

coming out of my cage to post for robstar week (@robxstar) because i recently rewatched teen titans and i love robstar so bad. wasn't feeling very creative and they just helped me write some lil fun self-indulgent things 💖 now i can share with all of you

day 1 - friends to lovers

she's the tear in my heart

It wasn’t long after the completion of the Tower that the roof became their spot.

Robin loved to watch the sunset over the bay and Starfire found freedom in the star speckled sky.

The first few nights, when they were just beginning to understand how to coexist with each other he’d always find her staring up at the sky late into the night. He wondered if she missed being part of the greater universe, flying past galaxies and spinning through the vastness that both terrified and humbled him.

He didn’t have to ask if she was missing home.

There was a deep longing, a sadness that shimmered in the shadows of her eyes, one that even the brightest smile couldn’t chase away. 

These days she calls Earth her home and Robin’s never been more thankful to exist in the same place as someone else.

“Hey,” he smiles, finding her knees tucked up to her chest right on the edge where she always is.

“Hi.” She returns the smile, warm and soft and something that is just for him.

It makes his heart beat harder, a traitorous pitter patter he’s long given up the fight to stop. Batman taught him a lot of things, but never how to defeat a hunger that runs so deep that he feels the ache in his bones. How to unwant someone because being with them isn’t something you’re allowed to have.

He takes his place next to her, touching as much as possible; a searing line of heat from shoulder to hip bone. 

There’s a steady hum beneath his skin that wants and wants and wants.

It’s late or, really, just very early. Dawn will be breaking over the city soon, their horizon one of the last to see the sun rising in the sky. 

“You know,” Starfire says quietly, “it has been a year since we all met.”

Robin knows and not just because they all agreed to celebrate the anniversary of forming the Titans and their friendship. He will never forget that fateful day. As much as he hates to admit it, he was a little lost in the shadow of Batman, needing to set off on his own. New town and a new start.

He wasn't expecting to find his family.

Or the love of his life.

But he keeps that close to his chest; locked up tight with no chance of seeing daylight.

“Best day of my life.” Robin admits.

He can hardly stop himself from admitting deeper truths when Starfire is by his side. She tilts her head, hair falling over her shoulder as she eyes him curiously.

“Okay.” Robin laughs, “maybe best is a weird way to describe it, but I got to meet all of you, and I’m honestly not sure where I would be if we hadn’t.”

Probably in the depths of Slade’s clutches, destroying a city instead of saving it.

“I have also thought about that.” Starfire says, her gaze back on the sky.

A coil white hot and wicked slithers through Robin’s ribcage. He doesn’t have to ask to know what she’s imagining. The Citadel. He’ll never forget the way she said prize as if her agency didn’t matter. 

As if Starfire didn’t matter.

A royal princess that paid the ultimate price; sacrificing her freedom for her planet and people. She was starved and restrained, terrified out of her mind because of the horrors that awaited her. It still makes Robin sick to his stomach. 

Without thinking he presses closer and Starfire unwinds, letting her legs dangle off the edge of the tower as she takes up the space Robin offers her.

“I do not often have nightmares anymore of what could have been,” she says quietly, “but I suppose on such occasions it is not a surprise.”

Robin takes her hand, the need to touch and comfort too great. Something in his skin settles when her fingers lace between his own.

“You’re safe,” he reminds her. “You’re here, with us, and I won’t ever let anything happen to you.”

“I know.”

Robin can see the depths of green in her eyes, like an old growth forest with flecks of gold. Her gaze is heavy — honest — and Robin’s breath catches in his throat. He’s never known someone to have so much faith in him, despite his flaws and limitations and everything he’s done, Starfire believes in him. 

He imagines sliding his hand to cup her cheek, slotting their mouths together like they were made to fit, because Robin knows they were. 

 Not yet

Starfire’s knowing smile relieves some of the guilt and ache in his chest. He owes her so much and maybe one day he can return the favor.

“I believe we saved each other that day,” she squeezes his hand, thumb brushing gently over Robin’s skin.

I love you, Robin thinks unbidden.

“Yeah,” he swallows, choking back the swell of emotions, like the waves of a tsunami being sucked back out to sea, “we did.”

The sun catches over the tower, the water shimmering with the promise of a new day.

“If I recall,” Starfire says lightly, “I promised Cyborg that I would help make his famous three layer cake for our celebration today.”

“Starting at dawn?” Robin laughs as they stand up, hands still clasped together.

Starfire starts to say something, but a loud crashing sound from the kitchen answers Robin’s question. It’s followed by a string of curses causing Robin and Starfire to fall into each other laughing. 

“Come,” Starfire says as she tugs him towards the door, “I believe Cyborg is in need of rescuing.”

Robin just smiles fondly as she leads him back into the tower, counting down the seconds to when he never has to let go.

[hidey-writes]

wip wednesday

There’s a quiet murmur of sound in the room, movement and conversation. Gu Yiran waits, lets it wash over him until he can make sense of it. Two people speaking in low voices, the occasional lilt into a question before the sound dips back down into [murmuring]. Ding Guozhu, and Zhang Xiaoguang. The quiet metal sound of a thermos opening, and Ding Guozhu’s voice cuts out for a moment.  Zheng Bei’s voice isn’t there.  Neither is Yaoyao’s, Gu Yiran reminds himself.   It’s only that — The last thing Gu Yiran remembers, concretely, with any certainty, is Zheng Bei. The look on Zheng Bei’s face, bursting in through the door, the way his expression changed when he saw Gu Yiran, something almost frantic in his eyes. The very last thing Gu Yiran remembers is the shape of Gu Yiran’s name in Zheng Bei’s mouth — not Gu-laoshi, for once, but Gu Yiran. To Gu Yiran’s right, the door to the hospital room unlatches.  Ding Guozhu and Zhang Xiaoguang’s conversation quiets as the door swings open. First, Yaoyao’s voice, “I bet you’re all starving! Lao Jiu—” and then footsteps coming toward Gu Yiran’s hospital bed, too light and quick to be Zheng Bei’s. There’s a hurried shushing from the corner. The door closes too fast to admit a second person.  Gu Yiran’s eyes are already open. He’s already disappointed.

from the third draft! hopefully the penultimate draft - at least the one scene i have drafted feels like it's only about a draft worth of revision from being done, so i'm optimistic. i'm trying a new thing where i am simultaneously constructing the "outline" / very chaotic list of events by scene for the third draft while also starting to write it. i think i'm liking it so far.

[lone-star-shine-down]

Feeling normal about my Sole Survivor tonight

[natteryaktoad]

Notes, Day 86, Part 1

Melody: Part of me wishes I wasn't going to uni quite yet - I don't want to miss Coco being little!

Luisa: I'll trade, if you like. I'm going to miss Shawn so much!

Cliff: Why are we doing homework in the middle of Jazz and Melody's party?

Dorian: Because I've got the wanting to do it now feeling and if I don't do it now that will go away and then I won't want to do it another time!

Cadee: Come on, Love, shake my paw... I mean hand!

Dorian: When I grow up, can I be a cooker?

Jazz: Missed!

Neo: Did not! I can see snow on your coat!

Jazz managed to get his car fixed up and sold tonight, which is a nice boost for his college fund.

Melody spent ages doing her homework, and then I realised she's not going to school again, so her grades won't go up. It's not even like I could send her to school and then send her to college at the end of the day because it's Saturday.

Reed: Can't you two go to your room?

Time for Jazz and Melody's off-to-college party!

[coddda]

Light's relationship with his father is such a heartbreaking multi-faceted tragedy to me I hate it so so so much.

Soichiro loves his son so much, and while he's certainly not a perfect father I know that he cares deeply about Light. He wants to prove Light's innocence so badly but he can't let go of the underlying doubt that he might really be Kira and it gnaws at him. He does not know that from the very beginning he was being used by Light, whether it was to obtain information about the investigation, or to get to L, or to strengthen the foundations of his own lie that he wasn't Kira, this entire time he was simply another resource. He'll hang onto this doubt for years, even after L is dead, even if he doesn't express it in the latter half of the series, until he himself is on his deathbed, with what he believes to be undeniable proof that Light isn't Kira. (It's a lie, of course.) He dies happy, but it's on the foundations of blissful ignorance. His own son brought him here, brought him to the point where he had to sacrifice half of his own remaining life span, to his own death march, and was still trying to use him even now to kill someone else, but he doesn't know that. Soichiro said that what was evil was the power to kill others, and that whoever used it was cursed. Light was that cursed man, of course, and he tried to bring that curse onto Soichiro too by making him kill in his last moments. Soichiro was happy regardless, because he didn't know. He'll never know. (In the manga/anime at least. More on that later).

Light loves his father but it's not enough to turn him away from the terrible decisions he's made, if anything it only fuels them. His idea of "justice" is a twisted model of what he parroted from Soichiro, and he uses his father as another pawn (and a powerful one at that) in his plans. If he can prove that Kira is justice then perhaps his father will no longer call Kira, and therefore Light, evil, so he just needs to ensure that Kira becomes justice, right? It's Light's own actions that land his own father in the hospital for a stress-induced heart attack and yet he says only a few minutes later that he's the happiest he's ever been in his entire life. Even after Soichiro denounces Kira by calling him evil, even after he calls the Death Note's power evil, even after he unknowingly tells Light that he is cursed. When Soichiro dies Light is too deep in his own plans to actually properly process the fact that his own father is dying past what it means for his goals, but at the same time he still cares enough that after the fact he'll genuinely cry, only to brush it all away later. (Personally, I don't have a single doubt in my mind that Light's crying in that scene was genuine and I Will die on this hill). Soichiro had unknowingly denounced Light one last time just before his death, openly relieved that he "wasn't Kira after all", which also reveals that he has had doubts about Light this entire time, even after L died. By the time he's caught at the Yellow Box Warehouse Light will have denounced his father too, seeing him as someone who was made to be a fool, someone who was naive, even, too earnest for his own good. He won't realize that part of this description of his father might have applied to Light himself, back when this all started. Light takes after his father so much in so many ways already, so why not in this way too?

Ough. And honestly the other adaptations never miss out on this tragedy either, and I love them for that. (spoilers for the musical and 2006 live action movies I guess?)

In the musical we see Soichiro express his doubts and conflicts about who to believe, Light or L, if the son he raised really is a murderer, if everything he knows about him is just a lie. Like, there's an entire song about this, and you can tell how torn he is about it all, how badly he wants Light to be innocent but about how he also needs to face the truth no matter what it is, but at the end of it all he doesn't even get the answers he wants. At the end of the musical the only thing he finds is two corpses, Light's and L's, with no answers. No last words, no closure, only dead ends and a dead son and a grieving daughter. It's so awful I hate it here.

And the live action movie is fucking Insane. Like, wow. Okay. (Spoiler for the ending of Death Note The Last Name I guess) In the 2006 movies/novels Light writes Soichiro's name in the Death Note himself, and it's such an inconcievable move that it leaves even Misa shocked; Light tries to make Soichiro give him the Death Note for the last part of his plans, seeing his death as a "necessary sacrifice" (insert tangent essay about why I think 2006 live action movie Light is actually the most "coldhearted" Light Yagami, despite how infamous anime Light is). It doesn't work, and Soichiro does end up finding out that Light is Kira this time, and they have a confrontation, but he doesn't even sound truly hateful towards Light for it. He Never seems to outright hate Light for it, even after Light calls the whole confrontation a waste of time and instead tries to continue killing with the piece of the notebook in his watch, even after he tries to get Ryuk to kill everyone. When Ryuk inevitably writes Light's name and he collapses, Soichiro still reaches out for him and holds onto him as he's dying. Light literally dies in Soichiro's arms, still looking for the validation that he was right, that this wasn't all for nothing, that he was doing the good thing, trying to make Soichiro understand that he was trying to enact justice based on what he learned from him in the first place. Soichiro not only learns but sees for himself what his son has become, and Light dies in his arms leaving no closure for either of them. Soichiro will announce Light's death in L Change the WorLd on the news without saying his name, saying instead that it is only Kira who is dead, even though he and Light are one in the same. Sachiko and Sayu will never get to know the full truth about what happened to Light, instead Soichiro will lie and instead tell them: "Light was killed by Kira."

And then holy Shit the jdrama. If I write about it here this post is gonna literally double in length and also I don't really wanna spoil it but. Man. Man. If you watched it you know. Holy Shit dude I Cried.

It's the fact that, canonically, Soichiro will die oblivious to what Light has done, but even in the instances where he does find out, it doesn't make it any better, and it doesn't make him love Light any less, it just gives him more to grieve.

It's the fact that there isn't a single universe where Light doesn't use his father for his own gain, whether to gain information, or to try and control him with the Death Note, or make him write in the Death Note himself, and not a single time will he realize just how far he's strayed from Soichiro's ideals, and not a single time will he not forsake him for it by the end of the story.

It's the fact that, despite everything, Light will always refers to Soichiro as "dad/my dad" (informal) rather than "father/my father", even after he has been "denounced" (and this is true in every language that Death Note has been translated in, as far as I could find. Man, isn't that so cool! :) <- Through tears).

Anyways that's what I've been thinking of how's your guys' days going

[carlos-tk]

guys i wrote an actual paragraph 😭

[soulchronicity]

pluto and colliope minecraft skins made back in november. definitely some of my favourites

lacuna and eleuthromania aus both belong to @disruptivevoib

plutos is 64x64, colliopes is 128x128

i also have a version of plutos that puts the blindfold up. 128x128. he looks so sad

[corishadowfang]

coda Fic Notes

"coda" was supposed to be a one-shot! It wasn't supposed to have fic notes because it was supposed to be short...ish. ...But obviously that didn't work out, and uh. Well, there are enough things for me to go over that I figured, "Sure, I can do fic notes for this one." Some of these are things related to actually writing the story; others are details about the characters/future scenarios/etc., in case I never get around to writing them.

So unlike most of my longer fics, there isn't a playlist for this one. That said, I'd say if "coda" had a theme song, it'd be King by Lauren Aquilina.

I keep saying "coda" was supposed to be a one-shot, but uh...that's only half true. At the very beginning, when I first started thinking that I might want to do other stories in the Fallen Stars-verse, I actually did plan for "coda" to be a five-chapter story--one chapter to focus on each of the main characters' (Skuld, Brain, Kvasir, and Mimir) individual journeys over the course of the first year, and an epilogue following all of them. Some of the first bits I wrote for "coda," however, were...well, the first two scenes of the fic, haha, and those meshed together so well that I decided not to split Skuld and Brain's sections, and instead just focus primarily on the two of them in a one-shot; if I wanted to cover more about Kvasir and Mimir, I could do separate one-shots or add more chapters to the original. I did think about switching back to the original idea when I realized it was going to be a series, after all, but between how intertwined Skuld's and Brain's stories were and my burnout making my chest feel tight at the idea of re-writing things...that kind of got put aside.

Most of Kvasir's journey still got touched on in "coda," thankfully, but Mimir...definitely got the short end of the stick here. A lot of their personal journey involves more of them actually taking the time to sort out more of what it means to be reincarnated and how that affects their relationships with their classmates, the rest of Scala, and of course the main crew. That's...a little bit harder to show from someone else's point of view, so if I end up doing any other short fics for the crew, it'd be Mimir.

SPEAKING OF OTHER FICS--Brain doesn't figure out how to wake up the Dandelions here. That's in part because for a while, he and Skuld are just. Kind of in "recovery mode." And when they aren't, they've still got to figure out the actual mechanics of getting the Dandelions out. Which isn't something they actually start to parse apart until around their mid- to late twenties. This is the other fic that I have a really solid idea for, and that I'd almost kind of like to do--BUT this one was actually envisioned as a short series, and given my track record on keeping things short...it's, uh. Going to be a while before I get to this one, if I ever do.

On My Heart notwithstanding, this is probably the story I've done the most rewriting and reorganizing for. There are scenes from my original snippets that didn't make it into the final story; there are scenes that I added in, then decided didn't work and removed there; there are scenes that I thought I wasn't going to include, then decided, "Actually, no, I think this'd be a good idea," and reworked them a bit to shove them back in. There are even scenes that were taken out and re-added multiple times. For something that mostly exists because there wasn't enough of the content I wanted to read, there was...a surprising amount of editing involved.

For once, I really didn't have to put much thought into the title, haha; the name popped into my head as soon as I had the idea for the story (though I don't have an explanation for why it isn't capitalized beyond "it felt right"). The name itself is pretty self-explanatory, haha; it's basically a story that caps off the original story.

And some character things!

Mimir regains custody of the cat.

Skuld eventually settles on the name "Dandelion" for her Spirit pet.

Yes, Brain does eventually get glasses. Sunglasses or something else with a tint, specifically; the "golden eyes" thing is mostly cosmetic, but they do make him a lot more light sensitive, so on particularly bright days he can get headaches. On the plus side, he has very good night vision!

I think he also ends up with more of an affinity for darkness-based magic, but he discovers that like. Accidentally. Like--tries to use magic and accidentally falls through a Corridor of Darkness or something. With some practice, he ends up being able to use both Light and Dark magic pretty well, but I'm sure that initial discovery is a bit jarring.

Skuld's ability to use magic never fully recovers, and Brain's always going to be a bit more limited physically. This does the opposite of slow them down, because they decide to work together to cover each other's weaknesses. Brain basically uses a lot of support magic to boost Skuld's physical abilities/heal her/block attacks, etc., and this kind of just lets Skuld go ham on their opponent (plus block any attempts they might make to attack Brain). Nobody is very anxious to spar with them if they're on the same side.

Brain does end up joining Skuld in the Exploration Department for a while! He ends up liking it quite a bit. Kvasir and Mimir end up joining them on missions, sometimes, which often ends in...chaos. Meili gives up on trying to ban them from working together.

I know that Skuld and Brain end up living at the Land of Departure full-time, though I've gone back and forth on whether they just never move back to Scala fully, or they do move back for a time, and then return after the Dandelions wake up. That said, the Land of Departure is the best place to house a group of displaced children, so they'd definitely move there after that point.

I imagine that both Skuld and Brain feel responsible for the Dandelions (for obvious reasons), and so they both end up stepping away from the Exploration Department for a bit to focus on trying to help them re-adjust. Skuld eventually goes back; Brain actually finds helping with the Dandelions is more fulfilling, so he basically becomes the Keeper (in spirit) of the Land of Departure.

I think Brain ends up making more Spirit pets for people. Specifically, he ends up working with Mimir to provide them to people who are struggling.

Speaking of Mimir! They also end up becoming a therapist, haha. They start as a member of Kvasir's department, and then kind of branch out. They end up finding that they really enjoy it!

Both Kvasir and Mimir do end up going on diplomatic missions, even if it's not their primary jobs! Kvasir is good with people, and Mimir is good at being able to tease out and smooth over potential problems, so they end up being a good team. Skuld goes with them sometimes if they're visiting a new world. ...Brain has been banned from diplomatic missions.

Meili does not agree to take Frigga's place as the Head of the Council, in large part because they actually like their job. (Bryn is the one who eventually takes over the role.) They stubbornly stay as the Head of Exploration long past the point they probably should, but eventually turn the role over to Skuld when they do decide to retire.

I do think that both Brain and Skuld like. Have individual moments where they both realize they wouldn't want to go back to Daybreak Town, if given the chance. Like--not that they don't want to see their friends again (they'd still be thrilled if they got to see Ephemer, Ven, and/or Lauriam even once), but that they're happy here and wouldn't want to give up the lives they have now. It's...definitely a bittersweet realization.

I don't know all of the ripple effects that Fallen Stars' events would have on canon, but I do know a few: namely, Eraqus wouldn't hate darkness quite as much, Xehanort wouldn't be taken away to the Destiny Islands, and Baldr's whole deal would likely be noticed quicker and actually, you know. Dealt with properly. I...only really have loose ideas of what actually happens in the far future, aha.

(Despite this, I still imagine Xehanort and Mimir end up being very close.)

[boatswainscall]

I'm at a point with my Riven Hoard where I have to physically slap myself out of keeping many of them for the sake of slot and forma conservation. Because I'll get one for a weapon with an interesting gimmick and I'll immediately start researching its stats and checking its passives and I have to be like NO!!! That is at least a seven forma project WE HAVE THE CODA ON THE HORIZON WE CAN'T BE DOING THIS

[desecrated-host]

god you ever think about how light's eyes shine like they did in the earlier episodes in coda . you ever think about how his eyes get their liveliness back while hes dying