#Why to learn Scala?

[nonbinarypirat]

What do you think about all this mess in chapter 365? The existence of hierarchy in the society of demons was not something new, but for me it was somewhere in the background, that is, we know that demons have a ranks system but there were social elevators in it. I am asking you because I am a fan of your analysis of the mairuma universe and I am sincerely interested in hearing your opinion.

Good question!! I actually LOVE the direction the story took for the Scala test because it felt like it was going a little too well ya know? I was excited when they turned to farming because as soon as we learned about the carrots I was like, oh they should start a farm that’s the next idea. But I was like, hmm it feels too easy now doesn’t it. And then BAM fascist. But anyway, this is a great question to talk about since I previously made a post about how one of the overarching theme in the story is fascism and fighting against it through education.

The reason why I love this direction for the story is that up until now, all of the subtle hints towards more seediness and corruption has been in the background. It makes sense narratively speaking that we wouldn’t get hit with it too strongly because we like the main character are slowly learning about the world. Iruma is growing up in a relatively safe environment with him mostly being at his house, school, or a safe area like the shopping district (with some obvious exceptions to this). Iruma, having grown up in the human world, has no reason to assume or believe that there is serious systematic problems going on. Instead, he is slowly becoming exposed to this as he gets older and out into more situations where he can no longer not see it.

The signs have all been there from the start with the ranking system being the first exposure. Especially with the introduction of Kirio. The simple fact that you can get better meals if you are a higher rank in a school lunch speaks volumes to how low ranked demons are treated. Especially since we later see this stays true outside of school with Ameri and Iruma going to a segregated high rank only restaurant. And we see instances of bullying/intolerance when it comes to how students treat each other. The notable moments I remember is how the Azz fan girls treated Iruma at first when they thought he was a low rank compared to when they learned he had a higher one than they originally thought. Or the student’s comments to Kirio since he was a low rank. Or how the girls at the party treated the low rank demon girl.

We also have had the vile police system introduced to us during the Walter Park incident and when we first learned about Narnia. Prisons and the whole system is already fucked up and corrupt in the human world but it’s definitely worse in the demon world. The fact that the prisoners have to constantly give their mana up to the park not to mention the fact that it’s located underneath the park to begin with always felt gross to me. And when we first learn about Narnia, the cards start to come together. Narnia is said to treat any injustice, anything at all, on the same level. And he is shown to be cruel and ruthless in the face of what he considers crime. So if you committed tax fraud, you would probably be considered on the same level of a murderer and treated just the same. How are those even on the same level? But Narnia doesn’t care, he sees it as an opportunity to “maintain order” within the netherworld and uses that as justification for his actions. In the end, he doesn’t care about the demons he’s supposed to protect, rather he cares more about maintaining the strict hierarchy.

Add to that the fascist organization we have in the story that wants to control the netherworld to reshape it into their image. The introduction of Baal and learning about the organization kind of kicked started where the story will lead into. This has always been a story of fighting off bigotry and oppression, but it’s very subtly disguised behind what seems like a typical villain takeover plot. Because it’s subtle, we as the audience only start noticing when the themes become prevalent with the evidence stacking up higher and higher. And with the introduction of Azami, we can no longer not see what the story is trying to convey to the audience.

It’s crafted in a way to keep you unaware until we see Narnia being a full on fascist with his fascist cop buddy Azami. And the reason why it’s so effective is because the themes have always been there, just in the background. If we had all of a sudden had Azami or Narnia doing his little “maintaining order” speech without the small build up, it wouldn’t have fully hit as hard. But now that we have the Many-Ears race, a race literally known for being suppressed and subservient to higher ranks, we now see the cards fall into place. Some people wondered if the Many-Ears have done this to themselves, suppressing themselves when there was no need. But now it’s become clear that no matter how the Many-Ears came to live in this way, it’s clear that it’s not an issue of them doing this to themselves. Not fully at least. They are being used by those in power to keep them submissive to those they benefit the most. And the Many-Ears, believing they have no way of changing the system of powers, internalized and conformed to this idea as well. Being trapped in this mindset benefits the majority rule and keeps the “balance” in order. However, now they can see a better way for themselves. Now, they truly believe they have value and worth outside of being a worker for a strong ranked demon. Thus toppling over the hierarchy established.

Fascism feeds on a strict hierarchy where everyone knows their place. One cannot have fascism without it being built off the backs of those oppressed. And Narnia, being a fascist prick, has one dangerous weapon: power. He is a high rank, works within the demon border patrol, and now has become a 13 crown, one of the most powerful positions in all of the netherworld. He is almost untouchable at this current moment unless you are a fellow 13 crown (and we still don’t know how possible infighting works). The Many-Ears have no way of stopping someone like this and are basically forced to either fall into line or become seriously hurt. And even if they do fall into line, there’s no saying Azami won’t hurt them anyway. That’s the thing with cops, they can decide what goes with very little consequences (can you tell my feelings on cops?). Narnia knows, he uses this as a tool for oppression. If he has leverage, he will use it without a second thought to further his mission of control.

But here’s where education falls into the equation. The Many-Ears are no longer among the uneducated. Before, the oppressive power used their lack of knowledge to support the hierarchy. How will it work out for them if they no longer as unaware as they previously were? Once knowledge is spread, it’s hard to put a lid on it. You can’t go into their brains and erase what they know to be true. And now they are no longer fighting alone. This isn’t an us verse them battle. Fascism wants you to believe you are alone. It wants you to believe you are powerless. It wants you to believe that you are the only one that wants change. Why? Because there’s power in people, in community. No matter what happens in the next few chapters, they have people that care and want to see change too. And luckily for the Many-Ears, they have powerful allies too. One person alone can make change but a community of people can make an even greater change. And that is the reason why I love this story so much 🫶🏽

Sorry for how long this post was, I just saw this question and I’ve been dying to talk about this since the chapter dropped because I LOVE the themes of this story so much. And I love the anti cop mentality of both the main line story and the mafia story 🤭

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

Hehe thank u it is delicious. You ever think about how part of Xehanort's downfall is actually probably caring too much. How Eraqus may have been bawling his eyes out over what happened but Xehanort shut himself in his room for a MONTH. It was always interesting that he spoke of needing to correct the imbalance of the world but the layer of it being fueled by grief and finally, brutally being exposed to how ugly the world could be (because remember Baldr was in his class and he knew those guys for 2 years and Nothing like that had ever happened to him because the islands were peaceful Scala was peaceful HIS LIFE BEFORE DR WAS MIND NUMBINGLY PEACEFUL) is definitely part of kh writing highs. Sorry Ven is my son as u can see but norton. Norton your issues-

When you put it that way, it really is so sad that this was Xehanort’s very first experience with the world at large. He chose to leave in the first place, and I wonder if he ever wonders if the same things would’ve happened, if his friends would’ve died so tragically, had he not been there at all. That’s a horrible burden to have to carry, alongside everything else. And Eraqus wasn’t in the headspace to really help him navigate that (nor should he have been responsible for doing so; they were both young and grieving).

Norton your issues!!!! Your empathic powers are amplifying your issues and they’re affecting everyone around you negatively in a twisted parallel to how Sora connects to the people around them via empathy!!! This is why you need to learn how to carry the grief within yourself before anything else!! You two are character foils!! Norton!!!

[cq-studios]

Do you have any screenshots of your favorite details from KHUX?

HAHAHAHAHA, yeah I do

Gonna just drop a read more here 'cause if y'all know me at all you know this post is probably gonna be 10KM long lol

So, I'm gonna try to hold myself back a little because I literally have like 10 pages of notes about specifically stuff in the backgrounds and I doubt the internet will find my bench and lamppost count interesting. (Also image limit lol)

I'll list just 4 things for now (in no particular order) and talk about them a bit underneath.

NUMBER 1 || STREET SIGNS

So there are four street signs that we’ve seen in Daybreak Town. Two are in the Fountain Square (A and B), one is in the Marketplace (C), and one is in the Clocktower Outskirts map (D).

For B and D it’s pretty easy to figure out what the represent. B is a clock, probably representing the Clock Tower… or maybe the best place to see the Clocktower because it’s in Fountain Square. The overall shape of it is different from the rest of the signs so I imagine that means something. D is a gondola or canoe of some sort, which makes sense because it’s next to stairs that seemingly lead to the canal that runs through town. Maybe there’s a ferry system of some sort?

A and C I’m less sure about. The designs don’t really bring anything obvious to mind. Maybe C is Munny because it leads to the Marketplace? I’m not sure.

NUMBER 3 || DOOR UNDER FOUNTAIN SQUARE

See what makes this interesting to me isn’t just the fact that apparently Fountain Square is hollow underneath (maybe for pipe repairs or something, I don’t know) but just the general fact that a lot of structures in this town, that maybe shouldn’t be, are hollow.

If you look even some archways have windows, so there has to be an open space inside, right? Most of them seem at least connected to houses so I assume they’re basements or something. (The one by murder house gets me tho, like that’s right under the bridge. Who’s living right under the bridge)

And I also feel like this leads into the fact that, similarly but not as extreme as in Scala, Daybreak Town is kinda built on top of itself. Maybe that’s a symptom of being around so many (and possibly on) mountains but I still feel like it should be talked about more.

NUMBER 4 || LIGHTHOUSE INTERIOR MAP

There is so much to unpack here but I’ll try to keep it brief.

So I’m pretty sure this is one of, if not the oldest building in Daybreak Town. Two reasons.

1. Instead of having little wall lamps, like the rest of the town and buildings, all the light seems to come from mounted candles.

2. There are swords (A) on the walls and not Keyblades. Why would the Keyblade town not have Keyblades on its little shield emblem? Is it possibly because it was there before Keyblades?

This staircase here (B) is also the only known (not sewer drain) way into the waterways. It leads into the sewers then out to the little dock below the Lighthouse with the boat, hence the sign.

There’s these maps here (C) that I don’t really know what to say about, but is definitely worth pointing out. They’re all the same and I assume show the layout of the area surrounding the town (the darker parts being water). It could be a world map though (darker part being continents)… I don’t think we’ll ever really learn lol

And also I don’t know what this is (D) but I think it’s interesting that it has writing on it. It kinda gives me the vibe of those flat on the ground gravestones…

NUMBER 5 || BANNER

Daybreak Town actually has a flag it’s all over the place and you’ll start to see it everywhere if you look for it. They also kind of look like the banners in Radiant Garden. The colours and shape/mounting are the same but the designs on the flag itself (and mounting) is different.

I have no clue what that implies, if anything, but I figure it’s worth pointing out ‘cause it’s interesting.

[khmemeries]

Theory: Sora was supposed to use the Power of Waking on Xehanort at the end of KH3

I am pretty certain that the final battle from the Keyblade Graveyard onward in KH3 was altered late into development. The whole sequence feels off and at times even confusing. Nomura also described having difficulty writing this part of the story:

—The story's endgame where all your friends and foes gather at the Keyblade Graveyard was a masterpiece. Nomura: I know each fan has their own different beloved character, so I wanted to give each one an appropriate moment. But in the end there was too much story that had to be told then, and I ended up being restricted to the minimum necessary to move Sora forward. The truth is, the Keyblade Graveyard was the toughest part I faced when writing the scenario. [...] At the end of deep worry and thought, I narrowed my aim and ended up with the way it is now, which prioritizes rhythm.

No shade to Nomura for dealing with creative restrictions imposed on him... but yeah, it shows. I think the very end was also a casualty of these sorts of restrictions. One of the most nonsensical scenes to me in KH3 was this:

Riku: It's Xehanort. During the Mark of Mastery exam, we learned that he can transcend space and time. He's a portal. And we can use that to trap him. (Mickey nods)

Followed by this when Sora does a little Keyblade zippy zap:

I know we learned a little about portals in 3D but there was no foreshadowing that it was a way to trap someone like this. And the idea of portals was totally absent for KH3, but suddenly it's the way to beat the Big Bad?

And then we are magically in... Scala ad Caelum? Not sure how that would trap him because he can just Keyblade Scooter back...

Xehanort says this about it:

Master Xehanort: Of all the places to be sent.

Master Xehanort: Here, I and my other selves can be one. United…in Scala ad Caelum.

Okay? Why can he be one with his other selves? Why does he even care? He was about to win, he was opening Kingdom Hearts!

Everything that follows remains almost entirely unexplained. Like, I am bewildered that they kept any of this in because it's so bizarre. We aren't told who these creepy dudes are, we don't know why they merged, we don't know what Xehanort being a portal means or how that can be used to trap him.

But what if Riku's explanation was retroactively applied over a different, original intention? What if Sora--who believes in the light in every heart--decided to use the Power of Waking on Xehanort and rescue him as well?

Consider how Riku uses the Power of Waking in Dream Drop Distance:

He opens up a portal which is visually identical to the one Sora opened for Xehanort to dive into Sora's heart

2. He collects Soras

3. He fights the nightmare imprisoning Sora, which takes the form of armor of darkness surrounding him

4. He is suddenly in Sora's heart's Destiny Islands and gets a pop quiz on the meaning of the Power of Waking from Sora's heart & co.

Then Sora's heart wakes up.

The entire sequence is really similar to the Xehanort battle:

Sora uses a portal to trap Xehanort somehow, which ends up being in Scala ad Caelum

2. Sora sees several Xehanorts wandering around, which Xehanort identifies as his "other selves"; they morph into the creepy darkness things, which Sora defeats

3. Sora then defeats this Xehanort, whose armor shatters

4. Sora talks to Xehanort in Scala ad Caelum

Basically, all the ingredients for the Power of Waking are there. But in KH3, it's not explained that is what's happening. The whole thing makes far more sense if Sora was opening a portal to Xehanort's heart, not trapping him in the real Scala ad Caelum. That's his home world--the world that would be in his heart, just like Destiny Islands is the world in Sora's heart. It also explains how he is able to bend the physical space--it's not real. And it explains why he could be his "other selves" all together.

Okay, but WHY would he need the Power of Waking used on him? Well... what if everyone realized he was possessed by Darkness--namely, Superbia?

Sora first sees the heart-Xehanorts normally, but then they morph into the creepy darkness things: the twelve Darknesses that were released from the other just-defeated Organization XIII members. (You see the streams of darkness leaving their bodies as each is defeated.) Darknesses as in, Darknesses whose desire is to possess bodies with strong hearts, of which there are thirteen in total.

Reconsider what Xehanort says after all the Darknesses merge into him:

Master Xehanort: Here, I and my other selves can be one. United…in Scala ad Caelum.

It is somewhat weird for Master Xehanort to say (he never cared about uniting himself into one--he was about to achieve his goal after he opened Kingdom Hearts). But it's not weird for Darkness, which can act separately or as a hive mind, to say at all. And of course Xehanort would be Superbia since he actually believes he is entitled to direct everyone's fates. Sora would have learned about this if Scala hadn't been cut as a world.

So, the reason that the Xehanorts would "glitch" and turn into Darkness is because of his possession. More speculatively, it was probably a willing possession like Xigbar's which allowed him to keep his sense of self, but become half Darkness. It just got removed from the story.

With Xehanort's heart freed from the clutches of Darkness, he would now be free to converse with Sora in his heart. Sora would reawaken his heart by reminding him of his old friend Eraqus, his light and what matters most to him. Then back in the real world, he would voluntarily give Sora the χ-blade and more understandably live happily ever after with his boyfriend Eraqus.

It really sends the message that you can light the way back for any heart in the darkness out of love. It's why Xehanort has that happy ending--it was necessary for the meaning of the whole story. But with this part stripped, it ends up uncomfortable because it was unearned.

[gummi-ships]

Something I noticed is that all employees look to be around the same age as the player character. This includes the guards that are posted to keep some areas off limits. Why is that? Are there no adults in Missing Link's version of Scala?

Even if the guards were also Keyblade wielders, since we learned that they're not uncommon in this city, you'd still expect a job like that to be handled by people who are more experienced.

[lockandkeyblade]

World Order -- Excerpt Lore Drabble

Dude! 

You graduated from your apprenticeship and how do I find out? Not through a surprise visit from my favorite Keyblade Wielder. Not a PS in a letter you sent TWO WHOLE DAYS after. No, I find out when your Master waltzes in, wanting to update your registry! Does our eternal bond mean nothing to you???

Seriously though, I’m happy for you. I know you’re due to set off on twenty dozen missions throughout the Worlds, but it’s your own fault if this response doesn’t make it in time. On the plus side: since you’re not an Apprentice anymore the Head Librarian accepted your questions as official business. So I got two whole days of pay to do what I always do. Read things so you don’t have to. Next time you’ve got questions, send me about two pages worth, would you?

No one’s really explored the true nature of the World Order in the past hundred years, which I can’t blame them for. There’s the old texts about it, which say it’s anything from a sentient protector of the borders between Worlds to the World Order ate my grandma. Personally, I think the accounts about it being some kind of magical cosmic influenza have the most logic to them, but hey, it’s just a theory.

In the meantime, the Masters of yore created a list of rules to abide by that protect the World Order. Blah blah honor blah blah sacred duty blah. Don’t tell people about other worlds, don’t let on about the Keyblade’s true nature- whatever else Masters feel like telling their first year apprentices. There’s a whole subset of laws revolving around the World Order that don’t really get held up that often. The amount of times someone actually got penalized for breaking these laws can be counted on one hand, and they usually involve some moron thinking they can take over the entire universe. 

The thing is though, once you really look into the World Order, it’s pretty obvious why. These rules don’t really protect the World Order at all. They protect the dumbasses who think they can break it.

Here’s a good example. Records say that about a hundred years ago this demonic lord named Chernabog  took over his entire world through, and I quote, phenomenal powers of Darkness. He was so strong that even a group of Masters couldn’t contain him, but then one had the bright idea to say to this guy “hey, buddy pal. If you’re so great, then how come you haven’t taken over the whole universe?”

Of course, the dude was super greedy, so he goes “THANKS FOR THE IDEA, I’M GONNA STEAL IT. MWAHAHA!” They have him speak in capitals in the text, so this is historically accurate. You’re welcome.

Anyway, Chernabog goes to the next world over, and suddenly all those phenomenal powers of Darkness disappear. Like, poof. Chernabog ended up Chernadone when all those Masters followed him over and tore him several new holes. He gets tossed into the World of Darkness, the universe is saved, happy ending.

What can we learn from this story? The same thing we learn from a lot of stories that follow the exact same plot. The World Order doesn’t care what you do when you’re in your own slice of the pie, but when you step out of it, you lose everything. 

Unless you have a Keyblade. Because of course, even with possibly sentient possibly magical cosmic viruses that have it out for everyone, Keyblades are a loophole.

-A letter from an employee of the Library of Masters to an unknown Keyblade wielder, Scala ad Caelum P.W 225.

[sir-cookieton]

sora goes to scala alone for the WIP game!

This one is still in more of the idea/thought stage! The idea is that as Sora goes to Scala to defeat Xehanort, he arrives by himself and nobody in sight. No Donald and goofy, just Sora by himself. Not even Xehanort is present as he explores Scala Ad Caelum, unable to leave for some reason. Hours and hours pass and Sora still can't find anyone, and as those hours turn into days and weeks, Sora slowly uncovers the history behind Scala (such as Ephemer and daybreak town, possibly some stuff about the other union leaders too!) and the events he had no idea of taking place.

I really want him to find out about Xehanort's past in DR, as where it was written after kh3, it couldn't be implemented into the game and I think Sora should get to learn more about Xehanort and why he became the way he is.

Little bit I've written so far:

The first thing he notices is his friends are gone.

“Donald…? Goofy…?” Sora whispers as he looks behind him, noticeably creeped out by the lack of his companions presence. Weren't they here just a moment ago? The boy swears they had travelled with him, and yet, nowhere in sight they remained as he glanced around.

It’s hot, is the second thing Sora notices. It’s bright and there’s a gentle breeze that sweeps over the lower levels of the island the boy finds himself on. If it were a bit more humid, Sora could have imagined he was on the islands, and could kick up the sand as he made his way along the path.

But there was no sand. Just cobblestones that led into the town.

Each step is treaded carefully as he makes his way inwards towards the town. Market stalls remain unattended, their wares strewn about the tables as if their sellers were just taking a moment to step away. Flyers stuck to the wall fluttered in the wind, and yet there was no one to read about or attend the events they promoted. Nobody sat on the benches, watching the world go by and chatting about their days.

Absolutely no one.

Sora held his breath and waited, listening.

For something, anything, even if it was a bird flying overhead it would reassure the boy he wasn’t alone as he felt. Perhaps Donald and Goofy had simply appeared somewhere else, or maybe by chance they merely were on another island in the distance. Xehanort could be playing a trick on him, he thought as his heart reached past the cobblestones and the buildings, as far as it would allow, looking for any kind of connection at all.

It felt empty. Emptier than any other world Sora had the opportunity of exploring before.

“Hello?!” He called out to the town. “Anyone here?”

Only silence greeted him back.

[kwoojii]

why Player/Brain (Plain if u will) is already a great ship

1) its angsty

player doesnt remember anything from their previous life, but dont you think theyd be curious? Brain holds all the memories, but brain knows that the tragedy would be overwhelming for player. This could lead to some potential dilemma on how to tell player. Alternatively, brain could also be blunt (as always) but this would still overwhelm player. This would lead to potential hurt/comfort and apology scenes between the two. Additionally, brain is the sole survivor in khml Scala from the tragedy of daybreak town. I would imagine its alienating and lonely, especially without chirithy. Seeing player must give him relief, but when player tells him they dont remember anything, brain is back to square one. Players memories, though forgotten, are not lost. The more the duo spends time together, the more they can grieve what was lost. Together they can make new friends and turn a new page, for themselves and the future

2) unlikely friends (therefore its funny)

Khux player is canonically not talkative and brain is not the type to talk bc hes friendly. I doubt brain saw player as a friend and player probably did not consider brain as a close friend. But with khml, theyre probably scrutinized for being the odd ones out in scala. Two outsiders (clodleth fam youll like this) finding company with each other, though they may have different views on how to make friends. Id imagine their friendship is a clumsy one, but theyd learn that they compliment e/o quite well. With their undying loyalty, grievances for ephemer and their friends, willingness to sacrifice themselves, and openness to learn about each other, i think they would trust eo the most in khml. They can also be hilariously blunt so bickering would def be their love language

3) brain (lol) and brawn

Brain sent player to go check out grand central station while brain stayed back to do the lore lifting, must i say more? You cannot tell me brain would be fascinated with players rusted starlight and send them out for data

4) default black and white duo/light and darkness duo

Default player is shown to wear white clothes with blond hair, meanwhile brain has black hair with black attire. We love our black n white duos (ie skuld/eph, xeha/eraqus, brain/eph, bugs bunny n daffy duck). They r aesthetically pleasing!!!

5) last bit, but they wouldnt even realize theyre in love this ship lives off the foundation of complete hurt/comfort and trust, not romance

They are slow burn to the max, if anything. They protect eo in battle ferociously, but only bc they need eo for their respective goals. They sleep in the same bed to comfort eo for nightmares but they arent friends. Brain cooks breakfast, but— 🤓

Anyway as khml comes out and we may not get any plain crumbs at all, pls remember me at my grave 😚🙏 i ofc will be sticking around for the plot. Im so excited for khml AAAA

[lightandfellowship]

I feel like Eraqus goes through a sort of mini-arc when it comes to Vor's departure, but at the same time he doesn't really come to the entirely correct conclusion by the end.

At first, he's determined to bring her back, and implies that Vor leaving was an "error" she made, a mistake he needs to make her aware of and have her fix. Vor made it abundantly clear to him why she was leaving, and Xehanort even reminds him that she's strong enough to handle herself, but neither of these two things deter Eraqus from attempting to undo her decision. While it's true that Eraqus is genuinely concerned for her safety (believing Vidar's intentions with her might not be good), at the same time he's acting somewhat selfishly here and not respecting her feelings/desires (likely due to his abandonment issues that will only get worse over time.)

The next time Eraqus sees Vor is in the lamp room in Agrabah, where he learns that she's helping Vidar in his quest to defeat "true darkness". While he appears to be angry with her for choosing to risk the safety of the worlds alongside Vidar, afterwards back in Scala he fiercely defends Vor to Odin, telling him that she's simply trying to do the right thing. And at this point he seemingly abandons his independent quest to chase after her specifically, something that's rather strange for someone as stubborn and confident as Eraqus.

It's a little difficult to tell if he was being entirely truthful in that scene with Odin, since he might've just been scared that Vor would get in massive trouble for her actions if he didn't jump to her defense, but let's just assume that he genuinely believes that Vor is just trying to do the right thing, and consider why he might think that. She's trying to defeat darkness, a pursuit Eraqus can wholeheartedly agree with even if he thinks she's going about it the wrong way.

What I'm trying to say is, he doesn't seem to really respect her decision to leave when it was one she was just making for herself, prioritizing his feelings of loss and concern over her feelings of unsatisfaction and stagnation, but the minute "defeating darkness" became her newly stated motivation (something that perfectly aligns with his own beliefs), he seemingly changed his tune and let her decision to leave be. This is interesting, because when Eraqus angrily says to Xehanort "I thought you actually cared about your friends." when Xehanort argues that they shouldn't go after Vor, Xehanort shoots back that a real friend wouldn't try to manipulate your beliefs just to make those beliefs align with their own. Xehanort seems to be suggesting that Eraqus repeatedly trying to change Vor's mind and bring her back is the same as not respecting her beliefs. And wouldn't you know it, once Eraqus and Vor's "beliefs" are revealed to align, Eraqus stops all attempts to go after her and bring her back home.

The way I see it, Eraqus finally managed to accept Vor's decision to leave, which under normal circumstances should be a good thing and represent newfound maturity on his part, but because it seems like this acceptance may have been motivated by the wrong conclusion ("Vor's departure is morally justified to me now even if I don't agree with the route she's taking." instead of "Vor has the right to make decisons for herself even if they inconvenience me or make me feel bad.") this character development feels like it tragically misses the mark. Which is just kinda the story of Eraqus' life, honestly: evolving and changing as a person in small ways as time goes on, but never actually managing to learn the exact right lesson.

[colourme-feral]

What’s your favorite location from a drama?

@lurkingshan Thanks for your ask! I'm going to admit right away that I'm gonna cheat with my answers because I am simply incapable of having a singular answer for things like this!

I'll phrase my answers in terms of some things that I might want do, were I in Bangkok!

If I wanted to take a boat ride with an optional and unadvised swim in the Chao Phraya River, I'd take a ride on Banyan Tree Bangkok’s dinner cruise boat (KinnPorsche) (location)

If I wanted to take a train, I'd go to Hua Lamphong Station (Theory of Love) (location)

If I wanted to cross a bridge, I'd go to the Chao Phraya Sky Park on Phra Pokklao Bridge (Low Frequency's Official Pilot)

If I liked drinking, I'd head to Philtration (Step by Step) (location)

If I wanted a hotel room with some huge-ass windows, I'd go to COMO Metropolitan Bangkok (Step by Step) (location)

If I wanted to learn some Thai, I'd find myself at AUA Language Center (Vice Versa) (location)

If I wanted to go to a park that used to be a canal, I'd go to Chong Nonsi Canal Park (Bed Friend) (location)

If I wanted some greenery in the city, I'd walk over to Benchakitti Park (Vice Versa) (location)

If I wanted to mourn a lost movie theatre, I'd think about Scala Cinema (Why R U?) (location)

If I wanted to get on a plane that didn't go anywhere, I'd eat at Na-Oh Bangkok (Vice Versa) (location)

If I wanted to practise diving in a pool, I'd find myself at the So Heng Tai Mansion (Our Sky x Dark Blue Kiss) (location)

If I wanted to visit an aquarium, I'd go to SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World (I Promised You the Moon)

If I wanted to check out architecture, I'd love to visit the Thai Muslim Women Foundation School (Never Let Me Go, My Only 12%, Y-Destiny) (location)

[corishadowfang]

How do you generally plan out your fics? Because Fallen Stars seems to incredibly well planned I want to attempt to write something that is just as intricate 😂

Ooooh, man, I'm not sure how good my planning actually is (I say, staring at my many, many outline documents), but I'll explain things as well as I can? And hopefully at least some of it'll be useful.

(General writing advice disclaimer: What works for me might not work for everyone, so take everything with a grain of salt, and feel free to toss out anything that you don't like, haha.)

I...think I'll break this down into stages, maybe? Just to hopefully keep things more organized. (And also throw this under a cut, since I have a feeling this'll get long...)

Pre-Planning

So, uh...everything is very freeform to start off with, haha. The earliest stages are less, "What would make a good story?" and more, "What's fun about this concept?" So there's not a lot of structure to this part! I might write pages and pages of worldbuilding; I might just tinker around with a punch of different scenarios in my head; I might write snippets of concepts that I think would be fun--whatever! I tend to do this for a couple of reasons:

There are a lot of times where I get struck with an idea when I'm already working on a big project, so like...I don't really have a lot of time to actually plan out a story right at that moment, haha. So it goes on the backburner to marinate for a little while!

It kind of lets me figure out if this is something I'd actually like to write, or just something I'd like to play around with in my head.

Even with fanfic (which is generally a low-stress hobby), I can still sometimes...kind of get into "perfectionist" mode. Just messing around with things, focusing purely on what I find fun without worrying about whether it works narratively, with no expectation that I have to write the story, kind of gives me the freedom to figure out what I actually like about the idea and really hone into that. It helps fuel excitement for the project if I do decide to write it, and can give me a lot of cool ideas that I might not have given myself the freedom to think of otherwise!

Planning

So there's...no real timeline for anything, aha. Usually at some point, something will click over, and I'll go, "Yeah, okay, I do really, really want to write this story." At which point, I start taking some of the random ideas I have and trying to get them a bit more organized. This usually ends up being broken down into three broad categories.

The Characters

This is probably the biggest thing in regards to actually developing the story. Before writing, I generally like to have at least some basics down:

What is the character like at the beginning of the story, and why?

What sorts of things have caused them the most problems, and what would it take for them to resolve those problems?

What is the end goal for them in the story? (Do they get better? Worse? Learn how to live with the hand they've been dealt?)

What sorts of things would need to happen to get them to that point?

The main character(s)' arcs generally affect the direction the story goes in--essentially, I'll tailor events around what would help to push them toward their arc's end (ideally, with some interesting emotional conflicts for them to grapple with)--so I want to at least have a pretty solid idea of the main characters' overall arcs before I begin writing.

Uh, I guess just for an example, here's some of my early notes on Skuld and Brain for Fallen Stars:

Skuld: She’s still…she’s still reeling a little.  She hasn’t stopped to examine what the end meant for her, but she’s grieving the loss of her home, of people close to her, and she’s…in a lot of ways, Scala feels alien.  She wants to stay here, but she doesn’t, because it’s not home.  She’s also…just very tired of being in a position of authority that she doesn’t feel prepared for.  She was put into the position of Union Leader, and with her friends, she managed that fine, but now she…well, she’s tired.  She wants to be a kid again.  She wants someone else to worry about the world, and she’s angry over the fact that her childhood was basically stolen from her and that she’s been put into this position she didn’t want.  She’s angry because a part of her feels like if she hadn’t been put in charge, maybe she would’ve been able to make the most of her time with her friends.  (She also has very complicated feelings about Scala in general.  She wants to stay, but she also wants to leave.  It’s hard.  Mostly what she wants is just to run away for a while and not have to deal with any of this.  She’s tired.) Brain: The boy basically repressed all of his feelings about the end, but they’re all coming back baby.  As usual, he threw himself into his work—and now he’s throwing himself into this, too, working himself to the bone because the sooner he can find the others, the sooner he can stop grieving them.  (He’s totally fine!  No trauma at all, definitely.)  That said, he’s also tired.  He feels extra responsible for the end of the world because he had the Book of Prophecies; he’s trying not to think about it, but it’s the reason he won’t ask for Master’s Defender again.  He thinks he doesn’t deserve it.  He has complicated feelings about Scala, too, but tries to hide them a lot.  He also…he’s not quite as set on the ability to change fate anymore.  After his failure, he doesn’t really feel like it’s possible, so mostly he just wants to leave and spend time with his friends; worry about the things he can control.  (Skuld and him fight over it later, I think; probably after they find the Book of Prophecies and learn about Darkness.)

The World

I...quite often go overboard with worldbuilding, haha. It's a lot of fun! That said, a lot of worldbuilding ends up popping up organically during writing, too.

Before I start, though, I at least like to know the basics. I find it helps to like...sit down and go, "Okay, what sorts of things might trip me up when writing if I don't know them?" If all else fails, I'll usually take the time to sit down and think about:

Basic culture and how the society functions. What sorts of things are important to this society? What sorts of myths do they tell? How do they interact with other societies? Do they have trade? What's their governing system like? Things like that.

What sort of history does the world have? This can be very basic, but a couple of small notes can still help inform what it's like.

If there's magic--how does it function? Are there any consequences or limitations? What lets people use it?

If there are important non-human characters or creatures: how do they work? What's their basic biology like? How do they intersect with society?

For Fallen Stars, I ended up:

Determining some very basic stuff about how Scala functioned--essentially, stuff like, "They have a lot of trade," and, "they're run by a council," and, "because of the Keyblade wielder thing, they have a lot of stories focused around light/darkness."

Creating a very basic breakdown of the council--who was one it and what the individual roles did.

Getting a basic idea of what Ephemer's family's role in the society was (both previously, and in the current day).

Building up some ideas about legends--specifically, ones about the Union Leaders, and how Scalans would think about them in the modern day.

The Plot

The plot is...probably the least fleshed-out of the three, aha--for me, at least. That's because, no matter how much planning I do, the story almost always goes off the rails eventually. (Sometimes as soon as the first chapter, depending on what the characters do...)

That said, I do like to at least make sure I know two or three key things about it. Generally, these are either a) a major plot twist, or b) a major event. I generally call these "pillar points"; essentially, these will be spaced out across the story, and are the things that I'm working toward. Unlike a lot of the finer details of the story, these remain relatively stable; they're what help me stay on track, even if how we get there ends up changing.

Fallen Stars ended up having three pillar points:

Brain exploring the abandoned town and finding out about Darkness.

The whole crew going to confront Darkness, with Darkness appearing fully for the first time.

The end of chapter 39 all the way through the end of chapter 41. (Which...I can't explain exactly what some of those points are yet because of spoilers, aha.)

The pillar points are the main things, but I will sometimes do a brief outline or summary of the story--just with the knowledge that the details may change later.

Writing

And...after that, I'll usually start writing! That said, I still, like...adjust things as I work, haha. A big thing I'll do while writing is to like...think about the specific purpose of each chapter? Like, what sorts of character and plot points do I want to hit to move things along, etc. Sometimes I'll build out a general outline of chapters between the beginning and the first pillar point, then between one pillar point and another, etc. These are all really flexible, haha, but they can at least help get me thinking about what needs to happen.

And, uh...I think that covers the basics? (Don't look at the size of this post, it's fine--) Hopefully that's at least somewhat helpful--even if it's just to kickstart ideas for your writing process, haha! Good luck, and I hope you have fun with your story!

[multif0rmed]

“He chose the light. You chose power. And every choice since has been you trying to justify that mistake.”

That hurt. A visible flinch rolled onto his face even if momentarily, before hurriedly shuffled off. A hearty scowl, now.

''Are you of the same Anon, or a-another one?"

A more obvious stutter now. How embarrassing. Nails wanted to dig into his wrist ; only if he didn't always wear gloves. Was .. was this some sort of waking nightmare?

"He's .. the one who had pushed me away first. He thought darkness was something that we couldn't learn from." Yet, that felt like an excuse. He knew he had been the one to draw away, finding interest within his research. People just ..were too overwhelming. Especially after all that had happened within Scala.

"I have .. tried and tried again with him in the past ..."

He sighed. What did it matter when the Anon spoke of the truth? His Heart tugged for the other - for Eraqus to be within his arms. But no .. not even a ghost.

Silence grew ...

But, it didn't last.

".. that had been part of my regret of being impulsive with my ambition. I should have just gone with the thirteeen vessels in the beginning ..." Rawness. Soft. Weak. He hated every second of how it made him feel, but it needed to be deal with.

In some way or form.

"Why ... Why must you torture me so ..?"

@honorforged @darkheartedprince

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

Regarding the Remus speculations, I'm surprised that his voice got weirdly soft when he asked the player character if looking at the Ephemer statue "did the trick" in jogging their memories.

RIGHT RIGHT YEAH it was a very interesting choice!

Firstly, why did Remus think/assume that learning a bit about Eph would jog Player’s memories? You can interpret this as him thinking, “If this person is a citizen of Scala and/or a keyblade wielder, then they’ll definitely remember something about the founder”. Sure, that’s fair. But the way he specifically says “Oh, maybe that did the trick.” sort of makes it feel like he’s deliberately trying to jog their memory. And that’s the wishy-washy part. Is he trying to do this because he’s just a nice guy trying to be helpful? Or is he doing this because he has an ulterior motive or would somehow benefit from Player getting their memory back? And is Remus making this choice in his own, or is he following somebody’s orders?

This is why I think something could’ve happened between the two of them before Player woke up on the beach. I don’t have much evidence for it, and it might mean that Remus was gaslighting them in that introductory scene, which I don’t want to accuse him of just yet 😅 But it’s very likely to me that we’re not getting all the information about how exactly Player ended up there.

Secondly, Remus’ voice going soft…again, is this just his personality? Is he just being gentle and concerned about this amnesiac stranger’s reactions to things? Is he truly just that nice?

Or is he prodding for something, hoping for some kind of reaction, but getting disappointed that the prodding doesn’t work?

Or is it both?

I swear…I feel like there are moments throughout where Player and Remus talk as if they know each other. Like…they talk as if they didn’t just randomly meet on the beach 10 minutes ago. It might just be their personalities meshing, there may be more scenes in between the ones we got that weren’t included in the beta, it might just be me looking too deep into it, but…I don’t know. Something just feels off here.

[cq-studios]

I’m actually obsessed with the idea of Brain just ending up in Scala and having to learn about how to use the new tech (just like he had to figure out MoM’s computer), and I was bored so I wrote a little snippet of him sneaking into a kitchen (and away from Sigurd) and figuring out appliances lol

Brain entered what turned out to be the kitchen. It was cramped, at least compared to the one in the Clocktower. Hardly enough space for more than, maybe 4 people. It had a very distinct smell, not necessarily a bad one, but a strong one. This confused him considering it was alarmingly clean.

There was a counter running along the wall, strangely made of some sort of stone instead of the wood he’d expect. He couldn’t see a stove, which was strange, but even stranger was the contraption on the counter— four little metal prongs supposedly to hold something up and some knobs along the edge. At the end of the counters was an unusual cupboard also made out of metal for whatever reason. It was out of place even compared to the other cupboards in the room, which were made from a purple wood reminiscent of home.

Curiosity piqued, he walked over to investigate, the counter contraption first on his list.

He seemed to be right about the metal prongs being used to hold something. Each of them stuck out above a circular dip, which had a slightly raised cylinder in the middle, rife with tiny holes. That most likely had something to do with the knobs so he twisted one, as a test.

It took a moment but a familiar sharp smell brushed his nose. It was the same scent that came right before an explosive spell. Panic lighting up inside him, he twisted the knob back to its original position, using a swift aero spell to disperse the gas. Why would they even have that?!

Unless…

On a technical level, explosion spells were really just out of control fire spells, and it took a bit for there to be enough gas for him to smell it, so even if fire spells don’t have that smell, they must use that same gas, and if that’s the case then maybe…

He tried the knob again, only slightly twisting it this time, and shot a small fire spell at the dip underneath the prongs. The cylinder in the centre caught, controlled, consistent flames spitting out of each of the holes.

He was right, this was a stove then, just a very weird looking one.

With that mystery solved, he turned the stove off and moved on and over to the metal cupboard.

It was a similar purple to the wooden cupboards with a silver handle and as he got closer he noticed it was letting out a low hum. Interesting.

He opened the cupboard and was greeted by a variety of raw meat, some drinks, and a waft of cold air. This was a refrigerator then? He closed the door, stopping any more of the chill from escaping and gave the outside of the fridge a quick scan for the ice compartment. There wasn’t one.

Then where did the ice go in? Where did they cast blizzard?

Had they figured out a way to imbue the fridge with magic so they wouldn’t need to refill it? He couldn’t say he’d blame them if they had. It was a horrible feeling, losing all your food because it slipped your mind.

But if they had, how? He supposed he’d never really tried to imbue an object with elemental magic before. They were generally one off, quick firing spells. He just assumed it wouldn’t last long enough to work, not unless you changed the whole base of the spell. Which he thought might do it, if they could break down the magic enough to isolate the properties then combine-

“Oh, there you are,” an exasperated mutter came from the doorway, “Master Brain, you really should tell me if you’re ever going someplace”.

[aitsuheart]

Today has been a road of emotions

First I want to say I'm still very upset about Khml being cancelled. Maybe it's not that important to some people, however I was looking forward to learning about the characters in this game

I remember liking Nept and Freya designs and thought they really looked cool

Also the ancestry segments seemed interesting. Could our main cast of characters actually have ancient ties to these characters, however, now we'll never know or know for awhile because it got cancelled.

It would also be fun to play a multiplayer Kingdom Hearts game and since I entered the fandom after the 2021 when the mobile games ended, I never got to experience that.

I remember feeling bad for the devs since all their hard work is being thrown away and it sounded like they were almost done. It's so unfair that it's just cancelled. People are speculating that they will try to put this lore from this game for kh4 in another form, but can they really? Are they just going to put it in kh4 itself? It might be really out of place or make the game bigger than it needs to be. KH3 had to cut a lot out with Dream Drop Distance and 0.2 both originally going to be part of KH3. If they make it like 0.2 it could work, however, I think it will be a short summary of what it was originally planned for. What I really hope to happen is that it's just on pause for awhile where they switch gears and I guess work on KH4.

I know Khml is supposed to have more for kh4 that's why it's already a major issue. However in KH they've released things out of order before such as releasing Birth By Sleep— a prequel to KH1 and all of the mobile games are considered prequels. If they release KH4, maybe afterwards they can continue KHML once again and release it.

Now that I've said all of that, those KH4 screenshots look really cool. I am not forgiving the company for cancelling KHML nor do I believe it's the people working on the game itself at fault. However, I still do enjoy seeing these images after so long of nothing. We get to see how Strelitzia and Sora look in the new engine and they look fantastic.

There are also new looks for the heartless which again look really interesting. We also See Sora in front of some cars and it makes me think, could we drive around in a car in KH4? Speaking of Sora, I've noticed his design is mostly the same except a few differences since the new engine. I also like how in the images with the heartless it shows a chain and stars and hearts which I am led to believe is an attack Sora is doing.

Another thing is that it's in English meaning they're far enough to be designing English texts. I don't think they are voice recording yet since that is very final, however, they're probably working on some of the translation and text change for the different languages.

We see Mickey in what looks like a library in Scala and we possibly could be able to control Mickey of all characters which is incredible. I don't think anyone expected that if this is the case. At the end of Melody of Memory I remember Yen Sid had want Mickey to go to Scala ad Caelum so this could be here.

I also want to point out the dark side which looks even more different. Maybe I haven't noticed before but now it seems to have wings. The graphics look to be really good even if the image quality themselves were clearly put out last minute to satisfy all the complaints. I'm not forgiving them for what they did, however I still like getting these images.

Also in the center we have what looks like an old phone. I don't know why there's an image of that and what it means, but it all looks cool.

Again I am still disappointed and I'm not brushing it off, but today was absolutely insane how it went from dread to slightly positive on the chance we might get more information soon. I started with the cancellation because I needed to tell how important it is that this game being cancelled is and we can't just forget it.

[fantomette22]

2, 4, and 13 for Maria!!

3 for Gehrman!

1 for your smol KH boy, the mini Gehrman…BRAIN! I remembered!

Ask game from here

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Euh oh boy hmm I guess I have severals ones but I will say the fact that she really respected and had huge admiration for Gehrman. I really wanna know what happened in their goddamn life to have such a strong bond (whatever the interprets just platonically have a strong connection at least).

And I will add that I headcanon she could really do blood pyromancy for real if she really wanted to or loose control. And that's why she almost never did from her living, it terrifyed her.

4. Favorite line

Well she basically have 3 sentences of dialogue 💀 so if cut content don't count I guess so all of them? Maybe the first one.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

AH interesting! Well if the more dramatic dumb things don't count (like idk getting into fight with your family of running away!) she did a couple of very dumb things when she was younger for sure 😂 Hm I guess trying to cook something for the first times and failing. Oh Maria it's not gonna boil & get cook if you don't put it on the fire XD

Also I supposed tons of lil jokes to her family & cousins. Oh I could tell you the time she had enough of freaking raw meat and said she didn't want to eat some anymore. Oh boy... (that's your fault for the inspo) but they give her a whole ass salad 💀 with all the leaf maybe not wash. And all. And afterwards whole ass vegetables like carrot who weren't cut or peeled! She last 1-2 weeks before apologising XD

Oh and of course my fav dumb & dangerous Byrgenwerth shenanigans! (it's not just her but the entire students squad, who are like around 20y) : Hey, what if we decided to go in a restricted and forbidden area that was surprisingly open during prom night to discover dark secrets about the college! No one will know, or we'll play dumb to not get into trouble! I'm sure nothing will go wrong and we will not almost die because a werewolf show up! :)

A miracle some of them managed to live 15 more years 😑😭

3. Obscure headcanon  for Gehrman

Hmmmm... ok I got it thanks XD Well while hc about him being neurodivergent aren't unique, me projecting all my knowledge in geology into him is XD I imagined even with his very modest childhood he liked reading books, to discover and learn things about nature and the world around him.

Seeing a lil meteorite crash in the field and recovering it changed him as well! So yes besides being a strong fighter with good survival skills, having the ability to make weapons, know the materials' characteristics etc I like to imagine he did learn more on geology, geography, cartography, how to built mines and underground tunnels, and a bit of astronomy as well! Always useful on the field! He can easily recognize the 3 different irons ore as well! Everyone is confuse but it feel very easy to him to differentiate hematite from magnetite from siderite x)

1. Canon I outright reject for Brain. (we literally have another character/hero who literally have a red scarf lmao. This one is a goth with a fedora who really like data and informatics and screw up fate xD )

Euhhhhhh. Well it's still not sure if it's canon and you'll probably don't understand shit but anyway spoiler

I refuse to believe Luxu just stole Brain's body and yet his heart & soul idk where and basically kills him. I wanna believe maybe it wasn't Luxu but Brain after a time skip? Or maybe he did took Brain's body but still send his heart/souls in Scala? And so he got a new body/his body back?? Idk this game & series is making me crazy.

Like I am still so confuse. 3 YEARS AFTERWARDS huzdabdbkefz