#this is how he lands in scala

[goldensunset]

P34CH

has brain family guy death pose been done

[mickyschumacher]

[I THINK HE KNOWS!]

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: a fake and curated date in italy on valentine's day is no one's idea of fun except a publicist’s. but all it does is take a walk around monza to know the difference between what's real and what's fake.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: fluff, poor humour, fake dating trope, reader is a graduate uni student, lando being a dream boyfriend, kinda suggestive at the end, mentions of horrible fans and privacy invaded, me knowing nothing about italy let alone lombardy at the end as well.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: lando norris x fem!reader

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 3.3k

𝐀/𝐍: third fic of my series! i really loved writing this one! fake dating is always such a hit or miss to write about but in this case, it was a lot easier. hope you enjoyed it!♡︎ // as usual, poorly proofread

𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 | 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Life’s a funny thing really. Full of mistakes leaving you wondering how you ever got there.  

And as you sat on a bench, looking over at the view of Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy, with ‘hidden’ paparazzi down the street, you began wondering the exact same thing.  

“How long do you think they’ll be here?” You queried, turning your body to face Lando.  

Lando tilted his head, resting his cheek in his hand as he leaned on the top of the bench. His blue eyes briefly raked over you and then where the paparazzi hid. He looked over at his watch. “Give or take twenty minutes. They’ll probably be hungry for actual food soon.”  

You withheld your sigh. How did you get here? Time sure had flown as seven months ago you were just a graduating university student with loan after loan on her shoulders. The very student who still decided to have a sweet treat after handing in her assignment and headed to your favourite cafe. The very student who bumped into Lando Norris and had her bracelet snag on the sleeve of his jacket, landing you in a compromising position as you tried to take it out.  

The very student who woke up the next day with her entire privacy invaded as ‘fans’ hunted you online and seemingly decided not only were you Lando’s girlfriend but the ‘perfect match’. 

That was you.  

Mere hours later, you had Lando’s publicist and underlings knocking at your door with a comprehensive contract and a promise to pay your student loans and pay you. You didn’t think it would last this long. Three months tops... surely. 

So, you signed it. A contract declaring that you were fake dating Lando Norris.  

They said it would help Lando’s image. And help it did. Lando had never looked better to his sponsors. Apparently dating a university graduate makes you look more polished and mature, enough to at least secure a dozen contracts. Most fans seemed to love you. Even the driver’s had taken a liking to you.  

But to you, Lando, and a handful of selectively picked people, this was all fake.  

Every decision was carefully made. The matching jewellery, what he said, what you posted, where you met, the hugs, the arms around the waist, the staring, the kisses... 

And six months later, here you were. On a curated date with the Lando Norris at Lake Como on Valentine’s Day – the third day of your trip. You had both compromised, agreeing to each make a list of things so do in Lombardy, two of which had to be a couple’s activity for the sake of it.  

You had completed most of both of your lists. A visit to Teatro Alla Scala, an opera theatre (your idea, obviously). A guided tour Villa Del Balbianello because Lando needed to see some more real-life scenes of Star Wars (mostly ended up taking photos of you the entire time). An agreed night out from the both of you to Navigli to consume ‘local food.’  

Lando, who desperately wanted to have walk around Lake Como, was sorely disappointed when he spotted the paparazzi hiding around the corner. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, watching your fingers trail the cracks in the wooden bench.  

“It’s okay,” you assured. “It’ll be over soon anyways.” 

Lando knew you were talking about the paparazzi. But he couldn’t help but think about your relationship with him.  

That day at the cafe... the only reason people thought you two were in a relationship wasn’t just because you were barely a centimetre apart trying to remove your bracelet but in all the photos people had captured, Lando was staring at you like it was love at first sight.  

And before he knew it, everything had gone down. The fans, his publicist, the media... it was a shitshow. And then you showed up two days later having signed a contract to be his fake girlfriend.  

Lando hated it. Fuck, he hated it so much. He hated that he dragged you into this. He hated that every moment with you was planned. And he especially hated that he couldn’t like you openly. Not with you thinking it was fake.  

Lando looked down back at his watch. He sighed, leg beginning to shake out of impatience. 

You raised a brow. Naturally, you put a hand on his arm. “Lando... is everything okay?” 

Lando flickered his eyes to your hand and back to your face. He moved his arm from your grasp, grabbing your hand instead. “Come on. We’re leaving,” he stated.  

Your eyes widened as he stood up, bringing you up with him. “W-What? Lan–we’re supposed to leave in thirty minutes,” you murmured quietly, leaving only him to hear your voice.  

“I don’t care,” he started, increasing his walking pace. “Whatever you do... just hold on to me, okay?” 

You furrowed your brows. “Lando, what are-” 

Abruptly Lando paused in his steps. He turned to you, blue eyes staring hard back at you. “Do you trust me?” 

“I–” 

“Do you trust me? Yes, or no?” He repeated softly. 

You gulped nervously, unable to look away from him. “Yes.” 

A look of relief washed over his face as he nodded. “Good. Then hold on. And don’t let go.” 

“Lando, I still don’t get what you–MEAN!” You yelped as Lando began running in no particular direction. You tightened your grasp on his hand while your legs struggled to catch up to him. The problems of having an athlete boyfriend.  

The wind felt serene. The sun was oddly warm despite it being the winter season. It was as though spring was trying to come a little early. All the early architecture you had seen on the way here was beginning to blur into one uniform colour. You weren’t sure where you were going or why but all you knew was that you were going way too fast.  

“Lando! I swear to God, if you get us killed–” 

“You said you trusted me,” Lando yelled back, cautiously looking over his shoulder. He could see the paparazzi struggling to follow the both of you.  

You panted, pushing your legs to keep up. “I do! Breaking into a sprint all of a sudden with no idea in mind, however, begs a slightly different answer.” 

Lando couldn’t help but laugh over the air and God, did you love it. You had heard of people saying that a laugh could sound like music to one’s ears. You never understood it. It was a laugh. A reaction. How could it be musical? But in that moment, you understood. It wasn’t just the laugh. It required the context, the smile, the thought... and only then did it become an orchestrated musical masterpiece.  

Another yelp left your mouth as Lando pulled you to the side, situating yourselves in an empty shaded alleyway. You rested your back as comfortably as you could against the stone while Lando stood in front of you, hand still wrapped around yours.  

You both waited quietly. Turning your head slightly, you could see a small flock of black clothed paparazzi walk by, all ushering and yelling, mystified to how you both had disappeared.  

“Okay,” you swallowed hard, turning back to Lando. “I think they’re...” You seem to have lost your ability to speak as you found Lando staring at you. It had been a common occurrence within the past few months and it never got any easier. “They’re gone,” you confirmed, chest heaving.  

“You should probably start joining me on my workouts,” he mumbled, eyes flickering over you again, absorbing the sight of the thin sheet of sweat across your skin.  

You narrowed your eyes, moving your hand from his grasp to hit him with the side of your bag. A groan fell from his lips. “Ow!” He yelled, making you clasp a hand over his mouth. Your head darted to the side, checking whether anyone heard him.  

“What was that for?” He queried after you removed your hand from his mouth.  

“For being an asshole. And for making me run. Which reminds me... why did you make us run?” You queried with a more than unhappy tone.  

Lando grinned. “We still have one thing on your list to do.” 

You furrowed your brows. “I didn’t add anything else.” 

Lando’s hand rummaged through the pocket of his shorts, taking out a familiar piece of paper – the very one you had written all your activities on. And right at the bottom was an activity you thought you tore off.  

Your eyes widened, hand darting out to grab the piece of paper but Lando was too quick. “Nuh-uh,” he tutted, holding the paper close to him. “I’m getting this framed.” 

You skin burned at his words. You clearly remembered what you wrote.  

Walk the Monza track with Lando (and preferably some gelato). 

“I was supposed to take that off,” you mumbled.  

Lando frowned. “You don’t want to do it? Or did you not want to do it with me?” 

You blinked blankly at Lando. “Are you stupid? Did you read the same thing I did? Obviously with you. I just... we’ll probably get mobbed so it’s a stupid idea.” 

Lando understood what you meant. Visiting in Italy for two days now had proven to be incredibly difficult with a fan asking for a photo every other minute. He was appreciative that you were so understanding but he felt awful. 

“Yeah... I mean it would be crazy if you had a boyfriend who could rent out the entire track for a couple of hours,” Lando yawned, stretching his arms nonchalantly.  

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see your mouth fall open. “Lando... you didn’t.” 

Lando rolled his eyes, grabbing your hand once again. “I did. Now come on. We’re going to be late!”  

━━━━━━━━━━━ 

You blinked blankly once you arrived to the empty Monza track. You had preoccupied yourself in the car ride here, pointing out all the interesting things you were seeing as Lando drove to the track. You were going to fall asleep if you hadn’t arrived there any earlier. But now that you were... you didn’t think your eyes could get any wider.  

“Is that a...” You turned to Lando with twinkling eyes.  

“Just go pick your flavour,” he narrowed his eyes.  

A squeal fell from your lips and before you knew it, you were hugging Lando tightly. You could feel his arms wrap around your waist, happily accepting your hug. “Thank you,” you murmured next to his ear.  

Lando smiled calmly despite his heart beat pounding in his ears. He was sure he could stay like this forever if he could. “You’re welcome. I... It’s so much less than what you deserve, but it’s all I could think to do given the... circumstances.”  

You stared at the pavement of the track heavily, Lando’s words swirling around your head. Right... the circumstances. You cleared your throat, pulling away from him even though you could’ve sworn you felt him tighten his grasp momentarily.  

“Come on. Pick your flavour or I’m just going to get you all chocolate,” you called out, waking over to the gelato cart he had hired. 

Lando sighed, briefly making a disgusted expression. He followed after you with a small smile. Despite the wind, he could still smell you on him.  

You greeted the cart owner, excitedly eyeing all the gelato flavours. There were so many to choose from... how were you ever going to pick? “Can I get...” 

“She’ll get mango, chocolate, raspberry, and lemon in a cup,” Lando finished, hovering behind you.  

You gaped, snapping your head to Lando. “How did you know?” 

“Better question is,” Lando started, resting his mouth right above your shoulder and near your ear, “why wouldn’t I?” 

You shivered at his words, cheeks burning at the small grin playing on his lips. “I’m not sharing any of mine,” you muttered, moving your eyes to the gelato.  

Lando pouted teasingly. “Please,” he sung, tilting his head so you could see him blink his eyes rapidly. 

You gulped, taking a step away before you succumbed to his wishes. “I think I’m going to throw up.” 

Lando gasped. “So rude!” 

You chuckled taking the cup of gelato while thanking the owner. Lando narrowed his eyes at you, ordering his own combination of pistachio, melon, and orange.  

You made a face at his cup as he walked towards you. “There is something so wrong with you.” 

Lando rolled his eyes, nudging you forwards to the entrance of the track. “Just be quiet and walk.” 

━━━━━━━━━━━ 

You and Lando walked comfortably at your own pace around the track, eating your gelato while he explained parts of the track or its history.  

“I’m not gonna lie,” you started, finishing your spoonful of raspberry, “Curva Parabolica makes me feel sick. Every time it came on the TV, I thought I was going to throw up.” 

Lando raised a brow, resting his spoon in his cup. “I thought you didn’t watch them?” 

It was always Lando’s assumption you didn’t watch the races. Even when you came to them, if there was a camera, you’d flash a smile, otherwise there was no other reason to be there. You were at the podiums because you had to be, not because you wanted to be. 

You snorted, looking at him incredulously. “Of course, I watch them. Why wouldn’t I? You’re freaking racing! I’m always so proud of you, no matter where or how you finish. You don’t see me next your mum and dad, cheering you on at the end of the race?” 

Of course he did. You were the first person he would look for at a race. And if you weren’t there, he’d look at the camera in hopes you were watching. And all this time... you had been.  

Lando’s mouth dried. “I just thought...” 

You looked at his face and you could read his mind. “You thought it was fake.” 

He blinked, regret washing over his face. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it,” he apologised.  

You took a spoonful of your mango gelato and eyeing his mournful expression. “It’s okay. If there’s one thing you should know, my proudness and happiness for you isn’t fake. Even if this whole thing is.” 

And there it was again. The bitter reminder that this entire relationship was fake. That perhaps the only real thing in your relationship was how you met.  

But this was real. 

This – the track, the gelato, the conversation – this was real.  

Lando sucked in a sharp breath, moving his eyes to the rest of the track as he ate large soon of his melon gelato. He exhaled slowly, trying to remember where he was once again. “Okay... pop quiz! Who was Variante Ascari named after?” 

You cleared your throat, pulling on a thoughtful expression. “Um Al.. Alberto Ascari? The Italian driver, right?” 

“Thank God someone’s been paying attention,” he joked as you neared the named turn.  

You rolled your eyes. “I should thank Fewtrell for that one. Remember that stream he made us join?” 

“Yeah,” Lando laughed softly, all the memories hitting him at once. It was really sweet of Max actually. It was a time when some ‘fans’ were being particularly awful to you. Saying you were using Lando for fame because you barely knew anything about the sport.  

Max then created a poorly made quiz about Formula 1 and got you and Lando to join. Max and Lando pretended not to know much so you were all in the same boat. And any time the right answer was mention, Lando would occasionally squeeze your leg to give you a clue. The stream was flooded with some of the kindest comments, telling you to ignore everyone else and just focus on your health and your relationship with Lando.  

It was one of the moments where you realised how good of a friend Max was. Lando was lucky to have someone who cared for him that much.  

Lando looked down at his cup and let out a dramatic sigh. 

You didn’t even need to bat an eye towards. “I told you I'm not sharing,” you reminded, quickening your pace.  

It didn’t take long for him to catch up. “Please, please. I can see you have like two spoons of mango and lemon. Come on. Sharing is caring.” 

“No–Lando! Stop following me!”  

All of a sudden, you and Lando were running again. But this time, you weren’t worried about some paparazzi or the destination. It was just you and Lando.  

“No offense, but you are not outrunning me,” Lando called out from behind you, running with what you were pretty sure was a smug grin. 

You huffed, trying to push your legs further but you could feel him hovering. You came to an abrupt halt. “You’re right. I can’t outrun you,” you smiled, turning to him. “But I can out-eat you.” 

Lando’s grin dropped as you combined the two flavours of gelato and plopped them in your mouth. He stood there, dumbfounded while you happily ate the rest.  

You replicated his smug grin from earlier and poked your tongue out. “All finished. Sorry,” you shrugged with no sound of an apology hidden in your voice.  

Lando swallowed hard, eyes fixated on your mouth. A step closer to you, his body was pressed on yours. His hand travelled up your neck, the other hand resting on your waist to pull you closer.  

You inhaled slowly, hairs on your body standing straight. You tried meeting his eyes but all you could see was him focus on your lips. Instinctively, your hand fell to his arm around your waist, fastening yourself to him.  

“I... I think I can still taste it,” he said, voice hoarse and dry. He wasn’t sure if he could even recognise himself. 

“Lando... I–we're not on the clock,” you whispered, unwilling to untangle yourself from his grasp.  

“I don’t care.” 

In the blink of an eye, Lando’s lips were smashed against yours and fuck, his lips were soft and pillowy as usual. Your stomach churned upon feeling Lando pushing you closer to him, if that were possible. His fingers were cold against your skin, creeping under the hem of your shirt to rub tingling circles onto your skin.  

A breathy gasp fell from your lips while goosebumps littered your skin. Lando took advantage of this, groaning against your lips as he darted his tongue to explore your mouth. He could feel himself press into you, rubbing his hard-on against you.  

You think now would be an appropriate time to self-implode. You had all the signs. Burning skin, dizziness, and the lost ability to breathe. 

Lando almost buckled under your touch as your fingers scoured his taut torso, lingering dangerously close to his v-line. 

“Holy fuck,” he gasped, pulling away to rest his forehead on yours. His hands had found themselves holding yours, preventing you from undoing him any further. His chest heaved, rising up and down while he stared at your swollen lips and moved his eyes to meet yours.  

“I want this to be real,” he pleaded, moving your hand to his face. “Please.” 

“Lando,” you started but he didn’t want to hear it.  

He shook his head. “I think I’m falling in love with you. I think I have been since we first met,” he sighed out, collecting himself. “I don’t want to do this when it’s fake. I want to be with you because what I feel is real. Because you drive me crazy and I can’t imagine a future without you.” 

You blinked, feeling his hand trail over yours as you caressed his face. Your heart raced loudly in your ears. How were you supposed to respond to that? “I...” 

“Please say something. Anything,” he begged, blue eyes heavily staring down at you. 

“As long as you promise to walk with me on every track. Oh, and get me gelato.” 

Lando let out the biggest sigh of relief, almost collapsing against your hand. His head dipped down, pressing his lips against you once again, taking you into a long kiss. He sighed, pulling away.  

His arms fell around your waist as he grinned at you. “I promise.” 

© 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 

[databoyreekoo]

lost masters arc predictions (in no particular order)

!find original post here!

some ideas/predictions for the lost masters arc, i'll update this post whenever i think of anything else ✨

mickey recovers "daybreak town era" data from within scala ad caelum, he finds evidence of different layers/divisions within scala

the appearance of scala can be changed with the same (or similar) trick used with the land of departure/castle oblivion, it depends what guild/faction/person is in control and/or whoever wields master defender

sora connecting with strelitzia will allow namine to establish a link to ava, ava's potential return

lea and isa explore the castle in radiant garden, retracing their steps in order to find more clues about subject x, isa recounts how he got his scar

kairi stays with terra, aqua and ventus in the land of departure while training under aqua, the three of them help build up kairi's confidence and combat skills

kairi's desire and determination to become stronger, not just for herself but for her friends too, feels familiar to ven and resonates with him, chirithy reminds ven of the past which jump-starts a flood of memories returning to ven, he passes out again (lol) and Darkness confronts kairi, aqua and terra

like i speculated before, Darkness may take this opportunity to move to another host (kairi), since that's how darkness spreads

lauriam and elrena reunite and set off to aid the guardians, as well as relearn how to summon their keyblades

sora meets luxord, now human, in quadratum -- the wild card serves as proof that they've met before (it would be really funny if the wild card turned into luxord's business card lmfao)

aegis, magia and strelitzia become sora's party members

yozora and riku meet, but instead of fighting they partner up instead

black box will be opened, revealing what's inside

maleficent dragon form but in ue5, pete gets his "big moment" and/or gets turned into a heartless

luxu and the foretellers travel to quadratum

MoM face reveal 🥰

foretellers' face reveal and/or new outfits

true dandelion and child of destiny reveal

"riku isn't human"

new worlds (not all but i feel like these have a good chance); star wars, treasure planet, atlantis, coco, brave, moana, princess and the frog, soul, the incredibles, turning red, inside out, zootopia, enchanted

returning worlds; hercules, frozen, wreck-it-ralph, cinderella (cinderella 3 would be PERFECT for this)

riku, donald and goofy end up adventuring together for a bit, while mickey ends up with sora

subject x has the same scar isa does, or something similar -- it's revealed that the scar on isa would've originally ended up on subject x's face had isa not stepped in

kairi gives up her princess of heart powers, reflecting her growth as a person and as a keyblade wielder

sora recovers his lost memories and his true memories (perhaps riku does too...), with namine's help ("thank namine")

vanitas...separates himself from the collective Darkness and joins the guardians as well

playable characters (other than sora, obvs); riku, mickey, yozora

other characters may have smaller playable segments, like kairi training with aqua, or the guardians fighting together as a group (like in remind)

at least one more movie (like khx back cover)

khx/khux/khml player character is connected to sora (so like, sora is the reincarnation or descendant of player, something along those lines)

riku is a descendant of ephemera OR related to the master of masters

EDIT (additions)

skuld or strelitzia has ava's heart within them, like a kh1 sora and kairi situation, kairi's restoration in remind was foreshadowing ava's restoration

[katy-133]

The Other Teams of Team Fortress 2: An Essay

(Spoilers for issue 7 of the TF2 comics)

I wanted to talk more about this statue.

This scene infers that Team Fortress (which consists of the 9 mercs) is not the only team orchestrated by the Administrator.

I would say that this statue is meant to show off 6 different teams. I've written already about how the letter F (for Team Fortress) has been ripped of the statue. The reblogs in the thread of that post also point out that the TF logo is meant to be straight, but TF2's logo is crooked, visually showing that they are the scrappy team (thank you to hatoholic for this additional observation!).

This makes be believe that there is a ranking system, where the A team (aha, we see what they did there!) is considered the best, and F would be considered the worst.

Additional evidence of this is Classic Heavy's dialogue here:

Classic Heavy: "We spent six months huntin' down her best. Echelon. Citadel. Team Ajax, for god's sake. We got 'em all. We beat her. All she had left was you rejects."

(Image from issue 6 of the TF2 comic, The Naked and the Dead.)

Classic Heavy's words imply that he thinks that 1) Ajax was the team most unlikely for him to beat (his emphasis of, "For god's sake"). And, 2) That Team Fortress were so low in the hierarchy, that beating them was meant to be a mere formality.

Also, Valve retcon edited Classic Heavy's dialogue here when they released issue 7 of the comic. Before December 2024, the word Ajax had previously been Vanguard.

Below are the before and after edits of the panels. Image sources are the History page of the TF2 Wiki.

So Valve thought this detail to be so important that they edited previously-established canon (which is what a retcon is).

I also think Classic Heavy's dialogue also means that the Administrator had 6 teams, and no more. Team Fortress was her worse one, which means there were no lower ranked teams (no Team G, H, I, etc).

So the teams are:

Ajax

B?

Citadel

D?

Echelon

Fortress

We see glimpses of how the other teams look. We don't know who is from which team, but each team appears to use the same class system as Team Fortress:

On the statue, we see a man as Heavy with a big gun, an armoured figure with grenades as Soldier, a woman with a scoped rifle as Sniper, a man with I think a megaphone which I think makes him Scout, and woman Spy with a silencer.

Below, Pyro spots a poster of another Pyro, surrounded by flames, and Demoman sees what I think is another Demoman with rockets and I think explosives.

These other mercs also seem to have more advanced weaponry that Team Fortress, adding to their "rejects" image. They don't have as high of a budget for items.

Also, the Administrator (I'm assuming) removed Team Fortress from documentation. Either because she was so ashamed of them, thought them useless, or wanted to keep them hidden for some other purpose.

Back to the team names. Looking up dictionary definitions of each of them (Ajax, Citadel, Echelon, Fortress, and even the edited out Vanguard), I would describe each of these names having links to Latin and invoking war imagery:

AJAX: In Greek mythology, Ajax was the name of a hero from the Trojan War, as told in Homer's Iliad, renowned for his large stature and bravery. (Ajax means "mourner," "earth," or "land").

CITADEL: Fortified structure that is often located within a city or town. The word is from the Latin civitas ("citizenship" or "city").

ECHELON: A level or category within an organisation or group of people. Echelon comes from scala, a Latin word meaning "ladder."

FORTRESS: A strong place, a fortification.

VANGUARD: The troops that marched at the head of the army (van = "before," guard = "protect").

So, if I were asked to come up with a good B and D team name for a TF2 fanfic, I would open up a Latin dictionary and choose something that invokes war in my mind when I read the word's definition.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

"let's talk about how daybreak's beach had white sand and scala's has black. This is evidence that ephemer constructed scala out of a different land mass altog-"

*Pulls a chair up* I'm listening :3c

WELL YOU SEE…it doesn’t make a huge difference either way, and I’m not discrediting the possibility that Scala is indeed just exactly where Daybreak Town was, built right atop its rubble, because that’s fair game and it’s pretty straightforward. BUT!! I believe that Scala is a completely different place from DT altogether, geographically at least

This gets a bit long…

Evidence:

DT is shown to be located adjacent to a range of mountains in some Back Cover scenes, particularly the opening scene. dr/kh3 Scala is located in the middle of the sea, with no mountain ranges in sight. I’m not entirely sure about ml Scala, but I assume it’s also out in the middle of the sea. I made this map that lays out what this world might look like using different khux cutscenes and my vague memories of where things are located as base references (disclaimer: this is from my ficverse, but draws from canon)

As mentioned, the sands are completely different. I’m no sand expert but I would assume that that would mean they’re in two different geographical areas, even if they’re not that far off

After the fall of DT, Ephemer’s lifeboat is cast into the sea towards the west, and we’re given this shot of a different land mass in the distance, with all the DT wreckage in the foreground. It might not mean anything, but I took it as something they were deliberately showing us

Logistics

It makes sense to me that Ephemer would need to have a place to land after the fall, presumably with people? Although I’ve seen some iterations where he’s alone from the very beginning and people come after he’s managed to build Scala. Just as a personal preference, I like the thought of him arriving in an established place, getting back on his feet again with help from others, and building Scala alongside them. It gives him a solid foundation to work from that isn’t just a crater or wasteland or whatever would theoretically be left of DT

sorta continuing from the previous point, yes this is premise of Overmorrow 😄 a nice dance between canon compliant and speculation. I have Ephemer arrive in a rundown town across the sea from DT called Cable Town. He eventually uses Master’s Defender to meld the broken pieces of DT into CT, turning it into the earliest version of Scala. Therefore, it’s a different land mass altogether, but it’s also made up of DT’s bare bones, so to speak.

This is what makes sense to me, and makes for a good story, but at the end of the day, the actual formation of Scala could really happen in numerous ways. It might happen instantaneously, like how Aqua transforms the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion and vice versa. It might happen over time, like how the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee works on Radiant Garden manually. Or it could be some crazy third kh-y thing. I just find it fun to think about the origins of Scala, a very important world in the kh universe. I’d like to think ml canon will tell us about it, but even if it doesn’t, I’m happy with my own speculations 😊

[apricotopera]

there’s an interesting trend in kh of worlds and the way they change mirroring characters and the way they change that i really love - destiny islands which tends to be in and out of danger depending on how sora, riku, and kairi are doing, hollow bastion’s revival happening as riku gets away from ansem’s influence and starts slowly doing better, castle oblivion being a blank slate until aqua comes home (which there’s a mechanical reason for, sure, but the land of departure returning alongside the wayfinder trio also has a real thematic resonance), aquas exploration of the castle of dreams in 0.2 mirroring her view of the things that just happened to her, daybreak town not destroyed when its group is scattered but instead becoming the invisible scaffolding that the future is built on…etc etc! there’s a lot of cool examples of this! and the thing i’ve been thinking of all morning is that it makes the vision of scala in kh3 kind of devastatingly sad.

it’s…unclear at best if the scala we visit in kh3 is the real city, or some sort of dream or memory projection from xehanort (being literally inside the generally-not-well-understood kingdom hearts makes it a bit complicated) but it’s so strikingly empty and quiet. again this is partially mechanical - it’s a boss arena - but still. all the little details of life in the environment design, the little market you visit in remind, the chairs and cafes and posters make it feel lived in, but there’s no one there. it’s just xehanort. this final, terrible reflection of his childhood home, preserved perfectly, and he is the solitary person in it. it’s so fucking sad!

i think the end of kh3 does a decent job of humanizing xehanort even before we know him in dark road and even while he’s at his most villainous, and i think scala is a big part of that. like that intro cutscene of him just walking slowly through the streets…..gah. peepaw :(

[corishadowfang]

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link Fanfic Recs

Hi, hello, I'm back with these since we got some more Missing-Link news. And I mean...there aren't a lot of ML fics, but they are there.

Psianabel (@psianabel) - A little secret and Too much Light

Psianabel honestly writes some amazing stuff, and these are no exception. The first fic is a really bittersweet story of Player 2 sending a letter to Ephemer; the second is about a fun theory where Brain's corrupted by light. Both are quick but fun reads, so check them out!

sixwingedbee (@sixwingedbee) - The Night's Sky

sixwingedbee honestly has a TON of ML fics (they are the official ML fic writer in my mind haha), so I just stick with the first, which is a really emotional look at Brain's first night in Scala. Their AO3 has a ton of other fics, though, so check them out!

Starlight_Wayfinder (@starlightwayfinder) - Disconnection and Chain Reaction

Disconnection's another awesome fic about Brain's arrival in Scala--though this time, it focuses a lot on a letter Ephemer wrote to Brain. Chain Reaction happens a bit later, and goes over Brain figuring out the defense mechanism for the Land of Departure. Starlight also writes some awesome stuff, haha, so definitely check them out!

Reyn_XIII (@reynxiii) - Feelings of realization

Another take on Brain's early days in Scala, this one focuses a lot on Brain's internal struggles with how he left Daybreak Town--as well as some comfort he gets from his new-found friends. Very nice hurt-comfort fic.

Blue_Eli (@blue-eli) - Rest Your Brain

This one takes place a bit in the future, haha, but it's a sweet fic with interactions between Brain and Player 2. Just a very good feel-good fic with some of our favorite characters!

roxasthatsastick (@roxasthatisastick) - promises written into stone

This is...technically only like, half an ML fic, haha, but it's really good and I had to include it. It basically focuses on why Ephemer had the founder's statue built--with a little section from Player 2 at the end. It's very good and just...makes me feel all sorts of things.

[lightandfellowship]

I’m still thinking about your post where Xehanort acknowledges Eraqus as a ‘true’ Keyblade Master… I would’ve loved to see more moments from that period of time and how Eraqus handled the aftermath of their fight. As well as when exactly Odin left the picture, leaving them to start figuring things out on their own…

For real. While I'm happy with what KHDR gave us, and I think the game conveys why Xehanort went down his dark path very well even if we don't really get to see that journey ourselves, there's nonetheless so much potential to be had in covering Xehanort and Eraqus' life from young adulthood to old age...

When exactly did Eraqus get the Land of Departure? What even is the Land of Departure? What happened to Scala and the rest of the people who lived there? Where did Odin retire to? When did Xehanort and Eraqus meet Yen Sid? When and how did Yen Sid become a master? What kind of things did Xehanort learn on his various trips around the world? Did he consider any other plans besides Kingdom Hearts? Why did Eraqus avoid teaching apprentices for so long despite being Odin's heir and teaching the next generation ostensibly being one of his responsibilities? Just how many fights and disagreements did Eraqus and Xehanort get into over the years? Did Eraqus help Xehanort with any of his endeavors/research early on before Xehanort made it clear again that he was pursuing Kingdom Hearts once more? How long after the events of KHDR were the Emblem Heartless still running around before disappearing again until Apprenticenort's experiments? Etc.

Obviously all of these things could be explored in fan material quite easily, and I can't really say that getting answers to any of these questions is required for the story, but sometimes it's just nice to have canon answers, y'know.

[tina-nina]

Ok so you know how Skuld and Urd are both named after the Norns from Norse myth, and the third is called Verdandi.

in the fix it dark road AU, Skuld lands in Scala like a year after the Baldr incident with no memories and is adopted by Urd’s mom, making her the big sis of Urd and her little sister Verdandi, I’m a fucking genius right?

Also means Ansem the dumbass never scoops up a random amnesiac and lets his extremely sus apprentice experiment on her.

My opinion of Ansem the Wise was cemented once we learned about subject x because EVEN THOUGH he had no part in the heartless experiments THERE WAS CLEARLY SOMETHING SUS HAPPENING BEFORE TERRANORT GOT THERE and I have never felt so validated in my LIFE.

Also you are a genius yes. I’d definitely read it.

[kh-daybreak-cult-au]

I’m not sure if we’re allowed to ask ooc stuff. If so, what made you choose the last names you did for the Union Leaders?

You are, if you’re curious about some meta stuff (as long as it’s not a spoiler). Any excuse to talk about this AU lol

So most of the last names are only semi deliberate. Like, I said in the tags of the post that I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep them, and that was because I was sick and tired of trying to find perfect names for them so I settled.

Brain and Skuld were the ones I wasn’t sure about.

I landed on Marshall for Brain because it means ‘horse servant’ or something along those lines, and I was like “hahahahah horse”. I could pretend it’s something deeper like him being a servant of the people and practically working himself to death (work like a horse is a saying, right?) or whatever but that wasn’t what I was thinking when I chose it lol

I want you to know though, that I was trying to find a list of common last names in 1920s Texas, but just could not find one. No matter what I looked up, nothing.

For Skuld I definitely had more of a direction than with Brain. I wanted it to be Nordic… and, uh, that was it… you would not believe how much easier it was to find options though. By the time I got to Skuld, I will say, I was a bit exhausted from looking for Brain’s last name, so when I was looking through a list (which didn’t have the meanings next to them) I was kinda just clicking on ones I though looked interesting. The first one that semi-fit was Westergaard. And so I went with it.

It means West Farm and Daybreak Town in this AU is in Oregon (which is something I’m not sure will come up in any way other than my research, so fun fact lol), which is on the west coast, and Daybreak Town is kinda a farm??? Also when I read it, I read the end like “guard”, and felt that fit. Like I said loose.

Someone pointed out it’s the same last name that Hans has in Frozen. I had no idea when I used it. It’s just a coincidence… though I do headcannon Skuld as being from Arendelle in actual canon KH maybe they’re very incredibly distantly related lol

Ventus doesn’t get a last name because he doesn’t remember.

Lauriam Belrose is just me robbing @/Rosie-Kairi and pretending it’s a reference (/j).

(I said in the tags of my other post, Rosie, but if you’re not comfortable with that just let me know and I’ll change it)

And Ephemer’s last name is Caelum as a reference to Scala ad Caelum.

[synergysilhouette]

Making a tracklist for a Kingdom Hearts musical

If you haven't seen my previous post about pitching a Kingdom Hearts musical film made by Walt Disney Animation, please check it out; you'll probably be confused if you don't, as I've changed some things. As the title suggests, this post is an idea for the songs that would go with this musical. I haven't really established if in my mind there's a different voice cast for this movie, or if it's the same speaking voices but mostly different voice actors doing the singing. NGL, this was difficult to make since I only had the concept; now I gotta iron out the plot! I may edit this later.

"Scaela Ad Caelum" By Xehanort, Eraqus, the Foretellers, and chorus--I like the idea that this is an epic opening track in a similar vein to "The Emperor's Dream," an alternate musical opening to 1998's "Mulan," as well as "Prologue" from Raya and the Last Dragon. I'd like it to explore how the kingdom was created by the foretellers--though in my mind, the design is widely different to incorporate The Land of Departure, Radiant Garden, and Destiny Islands, with SAC would as the capital. It'd be a long song, since it would cover Xehanort's childhood and friendship with Eraqus, as well as how he descended into darkness.

2. "Destiny" By Kairi, Sora, and Riku--This song would mainly concern their dreams of traveling, visiting Scala Ad Caelum, as well as concerns of drifting apart as they have different dreams. Kairi wants to visit her hometown where she lived with her grandmother, Riku wants to find adventure, and Sora, despite wanting to visit different places himself, tries to find a compromise so that they don't have to separate, at least not yet. As such, Kairi gives them a paopu fruit to share, telling them that her grandmother used to say that the people who share it will always be a part of each other's lives. (I'm also fine if they sing a revised version of Hikaru Utada's "Sanctuary.")

3. "Something Greater" by Riku, Ansem the Wise, and Xehanort--Following a fallout with his parents about traveling, an insecure Riku is invited by Xehanort (in his younger form to appear more inviting; essentially Ansem, seeker of Darkness) to come to Scala Ad Caelum and allow him to learn under Ansem the Wise and learn magic (since Ansem the Wise is conflated with Yen Sid here and is thus a mage or mage-like scientist). Riku reveals that he's afraid of losing his friends as well, and while Ansem consoles him, Xehanort privately stokes his fears, telling him to forget them because they'll forget about him as they travel. This starts his own descent into darkness as Xehanort begins to manipulate him. When he's not there, Xehanort convinces Ansem the Wise to appoint Terra (one of his assistants) to supervise Riku and monitor the darkness taking over his heart.

4. "Chasing the Sunset" By Kairi, Sora, and Chorus--Believing that Riku has left them, Sora encourages Kairi's dream of returning to her childhood home and goes with her. They enjoy their time traveling, but both of them worry about Riku; Sora is worried that he abandoned them, while Kairi is concerned that something much darker occurred. Their romance also grows at this point, while Xehanort shows this to Riku to convince him that they don't care about him. Xehanort also uses his powers of shapeshifting (again, read my previous post) to pose as Riku and make Kairi and Sora believe that he is annoyed at them leaving him behind and abandoning their friendship, making the two feel guilty over giving up on looking for him so soon.

5. "The Master" By Ansem the Wise, Sora, and Kairi--Eventually the duo makes their way to Scala Ad Caelum, where their appearence makes Ansem suspicious of Xehanort, and sees the kindness in Sora and Kairi's hearts. Posing as DiZ, he teaches them limited magic, where Sora manages to summon a key-shaped weapon. Kairi, inspired by him, summons one as well, which Ansem dubs "Keyblades." He tasks them with using them to get rid of Vanitas' unversed that lurk around the city and spy on the citizens, and promises to help them find Riku, not revealing that Xehanort has corrupted him. He also keeps his assistants in the dark, worried about what Xehanort may do if he found out they knew.

5. "Nobody" By O10 (excluding Xehanort, Terra, and Vanitas) and Kairi--By this point, Kairi has been kidnapped by Axel because of her pure heart that Xehanort intends to exploit in order to bring balance to the world and bring it into a golden age and rid the world of its impurities. (Saix is the only one who knows that this means she'll likely die, but Luxord has his suspicions). Kairi manages to befriend Axel and Demyx, as well as somewhat amusing Luxord, but Saix, Xigbar, Larxene, and Marluxia are all about business. It's explained to Kairi that by using her light, she will be restoring their hearts, as they are creatures called Nobodies. The backstories of Axel, Saix, Marluxia, and Larxene are explained here, while the rest are left enigmatic.

6. "Wayfinder" by Vanitas (featuring the Wayfinder Trio, Eraqus, and Sora)--While Sora attempts to find Ventus and restore his heart, he is intercepted by Vanitas, who wants to kidnap Ventus once he awakens and returns him to Xehanort. In this particular universe, I imagine Vanitas has a soaring, amazing voice, and he's essentially telling Sora the story of how the Wayfinder Trio and Eraqus stood against Xehanort, only to be defeated. Terra was one of them, and believed that his friends died against Xehanort, so it was easy for Xehanort to break him and recruit him into their ranks. One of them--Vanitas' "brother" Ventus--so strongly resisted Xehanort's attempts to control his light that his heart fled to Sora's, resulting in Vanitas looking like Sora. Sora attempts to appeal to Vanitas and tells him that he could be his own person. Vanitas says that he doesn't know who he is without Ventus (and now Sora), and tells Sora that he needs to abide by his "older brother." During this, Xehanort summons Aqua from the depths of the Realm of Darkness, tricking Aqua into battling him Spoiler: He does indeed defeat Sora and capture a restored Ventus.

7. "Don't Think Twice" by Axel, Saix, Vanitas, Xehanort (featuring Riku, Ventus, Terra, and Kairi)--This is an emotional song where Axel and Vanitas attempt to convince the Kairi and Ventus that trying to fight Xehanort and the organization is futile. At this point, Axel's allegiance is failing, at which point Saix is telling him not to think twice, and to think about their childhood friendship instead of his new friendships with Kairi and Ventus. Meanwhile, Xehanort attempts to continue to have Terra and Riku embrace their darkness while Aqua and Sora appeal to them.

8. "One Sky" by Ensemble--This song is a bit of a two-parter, with some during the battle and then a reprise at the end (elements of "Face My Fears" could be thrown in there). As Sora, Riku, Terra, Axel and Aqua battle against the organization, they show Xehanort that they represent light and darkness, while he and his group simply embody darkness, having casted a pall on Ventus and Kairi's light. As such, he realizes that his goal of harmony was achieved--just not by himself. As he is defeated, Ventus and Vanitas become one person, while Sora ventures to rescue Kairi and disappears, and he gives his life to restore hers after Xehanort seemingly shatters her body (but her heart was intact). In the end, the people of the kingdom marvel at the concept of light and darkness, and that selfish deeds eventually led to peace. The nobodies are restored to their original bodies, and Elrena and Laurium tell Riku and Kairi that Sora is out there somewhere: "Sora didn't die. He just went somewhere else. Wherever he is, he's watching the same sky we are." Maybe tie it into the wishing star Disney motif by having Kairi wish on it, and the star begins to fall...

In the end, we'd hear that iconic KH1 quote.

Lemme know what you think! I may add or change a song based on how I feel later; I'm still on the fence about having removed Namine.

(Note: This is UNRELATED to the full post I later made about Disney making a Kingdom Hearts movie)

[themattress]

The story of Xehanort in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Convoluted and stupidly written, but honestly not that terrible when taken on its own.

....But it's not on its own, is it?

Let's go red line by red line, shall we?

1 - From Xehanort's Report in BBS: Upon reflection, my life underwent the most considerable sea-change when I arrived at that place. Yes, it began when I found a Master, and another I would later call my brother—when I found a new home. And then later, to dispel any notion that he is talking about Scala ad Caelum, this is what he writes when mentioning bringing Ventus to the Land of Departure: I had not visited this second home of mine for some time, and discovered Eraqus had already found two pupils of his own. BBS established that the Land of Departure, not Scala ad Caelum, is where he received his training and met Eraqus.

2 - Let's look at Xehanort's Report again: I believe a balance of light and darkness is what sustains our World, but too much of the darkness has been stamped out, disrupting that balance. Someone must tear down this tyranny of light and reorganize the World around the darkness which then creeps back in. That's literally the opposite of saying an endless pollution of darkness is a problem. It's saying that an endless flow of darkness is good!

3 - First off, it's never explained how in blazes Young Xehanort can extract hearts when he's just a disembodied heart himself. More importantly, note that Xemnas, Xigbar, Saix, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene are on that list, plus as we later learn Vexen and Demyx were brought in as reserves. If Nomura hadn't decided to pander and bring Xion back, Xaldin would have been there too! And yet in DDD, Xemnas says "most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate" for the "true" Organization XIII!

4 - Why is Master Xehanort the one recompleted when it was Terra-Xehanort who actually split into a Heartless and a Nobody? Master Xehanort's original body was not in any way a part of Xemnas, so why does he get it back after Xemnas' death?

5 - How and why is the Master of Masters even here? Why does he need to give Xehanort his black coat when he should have already gotten it for his time traveling venture earlier? Why does Xehanort need to tour the worlds and come to this conclusion when he basically already did in Dark Road? How many excuses to become evil does this asshole need?

6 - See Point 1 again.

7 - What Xehanort spoke and wrote about, and was even shown attempting to do in BBS, was to forge the X-Blade to destroy the worlds' barriers and start another Keyblade War among the masses of the universe so that the darkness in their hearts engulfs the universe and then from there he can create a new one. So why, by KH3, is his plan suddenly to have a small-scale Keyblade War to forge the X-Blade and then just use the X-Blade's power to engulf the universe in darkness all by himself?

8 - Except that it's later said that Vanitas did NOT actually come from the darkness of Ven's heart and was a dark entity hiding inside his heart. Dark Road then shows that Xehanort became aware of this fact! So why even still call him Vanitas, and why do Xehanort and Vanitas himself still act as though he's a part of Ven?

9 - Calling himself Ansem might have made sense had he never recovered his original memories and went back to pursuing his original goal. But as this then goes on to say, he did! So why even pretend to be Ansem at all? What does he gain by that?

10 - So then why did he specifically write in a report that he was discarding his body in order to communicate with the Heartless and fully utilize the powers of darkness? Why did he say he'd "come to see the door" to Destiny Islands' heart if he was actually just on Destiny Islands the whole time? Why did he have such a dismissive attitude toward Sora as though he were insignificant if he knew he was important enough to mark with a Recusant's Sigil? And if his goal was the Seven Princesses themselves, why did he tell Kairi "The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose, but now it's over"? And yeah, why enter the Final Keyhole at all? Again, whatever he did as Ansem's apprentice shouldn't really matter anymore if he fully remembers that he's Master Xehanort!

11 - For that matter, how did he not know that Kingdom Hearts was light!? It being light is a fundamental part of both the Keyblade War legend and Master Xehanort's grand objective!

12 - All right, let's go back to Xehanort's report in BBS: It is only forged when two hearts of equal power intersect—one heart of pure darkness, one heart of pure light. Why write this as an absolute fact if it's not, in fact, the proper way to forge the X-Blade and you're supposed to have 7 hearts of light and 13 hearts of darkness?

13 - Xemnas himself writes in a secret report in Days: We embarked upon the Replica Program to ensure our new power stays ours. So the Replica Program was only started after Roxas was found as a means to copy the power of the Keyblade, not to have extra vessels for Xehanort. There is no reason for Xemnas to lie about that in his own private writing.

14 - See Point 10 again.

15 - See Point 4 again.

16 - See Point 7 again.

17 - So after all of this, depicting a villain so omnipotent that he transcended space and time, built flawless contingencies for failure, predicted his enemies' every move, amassed a veritable army of dark pawns and followers including multiple versions of himself, and was perceptive enough to notice things like Vanitas not being what he presented himself to be....you're really saying someone like that never noticed that Xigbar was playing an angle far beyond just obtaining his Keyblade? Or that the weird guy he met that one time as a teenager might be more than he let on and manipulating him for something that differed from his own objectives? Or, heck, that such a person who went through such lengths would just easily give up because the best friend he murdered and thought nothing of it told him to!?

Worst-written video game villain EVER. It's hilarious that this series' blind stans will say "oh, the story isn't really that confusing, you just need to really pay attention to all the games" when this one character proves that paying attention to all the games is part of what makes the story so confusing due to all the damn contradictions, inconsistencies and retcons!

[snowflake-of-destruction]

For the 1 Like=1 Fic I Want to Write Game (the post is pinned if you want to join) and @13-5-18-3-25

Let's bring back another ancient idea. Canon divergence because when is it not with me?

Post KH3 when young Xehanort goes back to “fulfill his destiny” after seeing the future, he refuses. He was supposed to forget most of what he experienced and just remember impressions and flashes of what he’s supposed to do, and that's exactly what happens, but, in this universe, when those flashes come, he isn’t lost in the thought of  "look what I accomplish in the future!“ but rather "look at the ruin and destruction it ends in” and, more importantly, he remembers learning Eraqus is dead…and Xehanort is definitely not about losing the person he cares most about. His selfishness in that regard is greater than his ambition or conviction that the only way to improve the universe is to give it a fresh start.

So instead of going further down the path of darkness, Xehanort returns to Scala to Eraqus that night and asks Era to run away with him. Eraqus says no at first, even when Xehanort starts talking about his troubling visions. First, Eraqus thinks he’s crazy, and then, when he indulges Xehanort’s madness, he reasons that Xehanort should just come back to the fold of the keybearers and stay with him and fulfill the path of a Guardian of Light. Xehanort insists that in the future he glimpsed Eraqus died teaching students (technically true) and that they are doing this “properly” and running out on it all.

They settle back on Destiny Islands and Xehanort becomes a fisherman while Eraqus whittles wooden crafts and swords. It should feel small and suffocating to Xehanort, it should feel like he's disappointed his former caretaker and the universe at large by rejecting being the "child of destiny," but all he was missing was Eraqus to be happy it turns out. His universe improves all on its own, this the only fresh start that was needed. They live a long and happy life together and “make up” tall tales for island kids, and repel any attempt there is to drag them back to the lives they once knew.

Meanwhile, Ventus lands fresh from the time of fairytales. No Xehanort apprenticeship and separation into Ventus and Vanitas that causes his heart to be bonded with Sora’s at the island boy’s birth this time, which you would think would be a good thing, but that means that whatever darkness is in him, whether you believe it’s his own sometimes manipulated by greater forces or is fully some otherworldly dark passenger Darkness with a capital D is still there and ready to strike.  He’d adopted by Ansem the Wise and Even, an older brother for Ienzo, and recovers very little of his past life, falling into the role of prince, fond of his new family, especially little Kairi. He doesn’t have very many friends outside his family, but the few he makes, Lea and Isa, he becomes extremely close to.

A few years later, Aqua and Terra’s (now Yensid students in this universe) Mark of Mastery  task is finding the “old, lost keybearers and convincing them to return” and thus Riku and possibly Sora too are bequeathed anyway, Riku by Terra when he visits the island and Sora by Aqua on her visit, without Xehanort and Eraqus’s knowledge. Aqua presses too hard, demanding and ordering with Xehanort and Eraqus when she finds them, fails her task, and returns to Yensid’s tower to tell him of her new plan of how to force Xehanort and Eraqus to comply. Terra agrees to let them be and travels elsewhere, guided by his heart and finding a time displaced amnesiac Skuld that he brings back with him, thus passing his Mark of Mastery by creative technicality while Aqua fails.

Ventus fulfills the role of amnesiac apprentice to Ansem the Wise that turns on him. His intentions are good. As he regains his memories, he needs experiments to continue so he can eliminate and/or control the Darkness in his heart so another Strelizia murder doesn’t happen, and instead he falls down a path that takes him far worse places. Ventus betrays Ansem like Ienzo does and feels guilty about it…for about five seconds before he loses his heart. Radiant Garden falls as it always was meant to. Ventus planned to “free” Kairi like the apprentices, but she gets caught up in the Heartless attack and ends up in Traverse Town with the Final Fantasy characters.

Ventus is technically Superior in the Org but keeps Xigbar as a close advisor. Braig befriended Ventus early because he recognizes him and Luxu needs to see how things play out. Outwardly he complains about how Ansem’s eldest charge is a handful and always underfoot but indulges him when he wants combat training and pretends to be all confused and concerned when that triggers memories. He listens to Ventus tell his “wild tales” and encourages him certain ways and looks the other way when Ventus is a little older and sneaking out to meet Lea because he’s the cool guard. Second in command of the Organization Xigbar is the payoff, though Axel and Saix have their claws pretty deep in Ventus as well, considering their relationship (Axel/Venitas/Saix evil power throuple may bump up our rating, but we’ll see)

This brings us to a modified KH1 timeline with Riku opening the door and the island falling, but Xehanort and Eraqus fighting for their home and when that fails, hopping a portal to Traverse Town with Sora because “Now we need to take the long way and save the whole damn universe in order to save the islands.” Sora has the kingdom key but Era and Xeha have the knowledge. The Duck and the Dog are allowed to come me along too, but there should be no mistake of who is in charge (Duck and Grumpy Old Bald Man both say “me”).

Donald tries to pull his “gummi ship only holds so many”  nonsense and is told that it’s so sad he has to stay behind but thanks for volunteering. A second gummi ship is commissioned from Cid. The KH1 timeline goes further off the rails the first time they see Riku and Soriku's Two Cool Grandpas neither let Donald chase him away, nor let him run away. Big happy family closes keyholes and saves princesses and then tangles with the Org, never got much further planning.

[missingmywing]

Oh this one is fun - it’s amazing how making one different decision can so strongly alter someone’s whole course.

@khoc-week Day 6: One Choice, New Life

Etheria:

Etheria is really hard because her entire character is based around the choices she makes, especially as the protag Keykid, and while she could make different choices she probably wouldn’t. Not for the major things. So what if, instead, it was a minor thing that wouldn’t normally have much effect - but in this case changes everything. Because what Gula told them was… a lot, and Skuld has to leave, and Etheria really needs time to process. So she and Skuld say goodbye there, and Skuld leaves, and rather than wandering off and running into Dark Chirithy Etheria instead stays, sitting in the house trying to wrap her head around everything she’s found out.

So when Strelitzia shows up, she’s there. And Ven is as well, controlled by Darkness, and suddenly some very rapid decisions must needs be made when the Darkness attacks them. Etheria defends Strelitzia of course, but Strel fights back too, and Darkness is strong but so are they and Etheria manages to break its hold over Ven and drag both him and Strel away into the streets. She knows there’s a very limited amount of time before the Dandelions leave - they’re already in the process of leaving, so she drags them directly to Ava (and if she gets any strange looks for being a Unicornis member with an Ursus and Leopardis member in tow in the Vulpes headquarters - well, Vulpes knows the most about the Dandelions, it shouldn’t be hard to piece together.)

Ava is extremely alarmed at the information she brings, because of how close it was, and that someone is trying to alter the future that isn’t her - she asks Etheria to go with them and watch over them. Etheria is hesitant - she’d planned to stay, this wasn’t - but Strel begs her to come along, and Ven is terrified and unsure now that even he should go if he’s going to be a puppet of darkness -

Ava tells him very firmly that he is a Dandelion, and that the fact that Etheria managed to pull him away was proof that Darkness didn’t have a hold of his heart. They’ll just need to protect both he and Strel, and who better than Etheria?

Etheria caves, keeps her memories, and she, Ven, and Strel form their own Dandelion trio even once they meet up with the others. Strel is technically the only one who’s a leader, but Etheria’s playing bodyguard to both her and Ven so the three of them are always together, so… they kind of end up accidentally having their own input into stuff (mostly because she keeps getting asked and is just like guys pls I’m not even supposed to be here, you’re supposed to be unbiased.

Brain, Ephemera, Skuld, and Strel: lol, unbiased.

Lauriam: I was until you saved my sister.)

Not that it ultimately stops everything or changes Etheria’s ultimate fate, but Strel survives and is sent forward alongside Lauriam, Elrena, and Ven.

Yiskah:

If Yiskah had accepted Ava’s invitation to join the Dandelions, he would have been at the finale right alongside Brain, firmly at his side. He would have taken the final unused pod to return with him to the real world, and send Lauriam and Elrena on their way, and would have been there for that conversation with Luxu, likely participated in whatever deal it is that they struck. He’d have made the jump forward along with Brain - or Brain’s heart as it may be - and they’d have landed in Scala ad Caelum together to find Sigurd waiting.

From there… well who knows, we’ll find out in Missing Link, but it will either be very different thanks to the time jump or Yiskah will end up in the same role as he would have even if he’d died and reincarnated haha.

Aella and Vale:

If Aella had decided not to switch Unions and had stayed in Vulpes with Vale, both of their fates would have been very different. They would have been a lot closer, been there to support each other, and would have agreed to Ava’s offer to become Dandelions because it made more sense than staying and fighting a losing war. Vale wouldn’t fall to darkness and betray her, and she wouldn’t die dueling him in the Keyblade Graveyard.

One could argue that the fates of the Dream Eaters aren’t much better - except as a demigod of death himself Vale can take certain liberties with his and others’ hearts and souls. And as Chirithy pointed out, death and sleep share a boundary. Vale can pull them both into the Underworld in the aftermath of Daybreak Town falling, then bargain their way free. From there… well, the world is open to them. Perhaps they go join Ephemera in creating Scala, or perhaps they stay in Olympus and mark their names in the stars as heroes. This time, that’s a choice they have to make.

Solis:

Ahh Solis my sweet sunshine idiot… I’m afraid to say that you are… very doomed. The best I can do to say that his fate would be altered with his choices are if he also joins the Dandelions, but unfortunately that doesn’t save him because unlike Etheria, Yiskah, and Vale he doesn’t have friends in high places. Even if he survives the keyblade war, he’s stuck as a dream eater. He can help Sora out in DDD, though, so there’s that!

Rosalia:

Rosalia is much the same as Solis in she’s somewhat doomed no matter what she does as a Keykid, so why don’t we go earlier? If she hadn’t jumped aboard that particular pirate vessel, had instead grabbed the next one leaving port, perhaps she’d have instead landed on Captain Teague's ship, and found herself shadowing one Jack Sparrow as they worked aboard his father’s ship.

A particularly notorious pirate duo, they may go their separate ways for a time when he tries to leave the pirate life behind, but she rejoins his crew aboard the Black Pearl after Beckett brands him a pirate and burns his ship. Perhaps she dies in Barbossa’s coup, or perhaps she escapes and later - much later, once the world dies and is rebuilt over centuries - she stumbles over a boy with a brilliant smile and an endless will to help people with the strange key shaped blade of his. The adventure to defeat Barbossa, save Miss Swan, and reclaim the Pearl is a short one, but she finds him endearing nonetheless. Perhaps she’s even the one to give him the keychain, wishing him well on his long journey ahead.

[beckleysbooks]

Happy Waitangi Day

Yes, once again, it’s (Wai – Tang – Ee) Day in Aotearoa (New Zealand). For those who are unfamiliar, it’s kind of like New Zealand’s equivalent of Independence Day in the U.S, but not quite.  

Here are some shared commonalities: 1) It was about evading rule by tyranny 2) It was important to our ancestors to stand up for what was considered “right” or at least common decency 3) The memorialization of the day was too important for its celebration to be simply tacked on to the following Monday to create an extended holiday weekend for modern-day workers. Both national days are recognized on either 6th Feb or 4th July, regardless of the day of the week. 

Captain William Hobson, as Consul for Queen Victoria, negotiated a “peace agreement” with chiefs representing many iwi (tribes), effectively promising Māori protection from French ambitions, for in his plan, they would become equal partners and subjects of the British Crown. The intention was not for the indigenous Māori to lose their right to their land, but that the English would be given the sole right to purchase the land. Missionaries played a huge part in the proceedings. They had begun to convert the indigenous people and they reminded their converts that the Queen was not only the head of State, but head of the Church too. They relayed to the Māori that Queen Victoria sent these explorers as “an act of love” and that her desire was that the Māori retain their property, their rights, and their privileges. These appeals went a long way to cementing the initial trust of the local chiefs. It is assumed they viewed the benefits of British protection to outweigh their fears of what others might do to them otherwise. However, all the good intentions written, bilingually, into The Treaty, were not subsequently followed through. Māori, as recognized British subjects or not, lost the legal right of much of their land either via unfair deals with the settlers or outright confiscation. What transpired next was an uncommon sequel of events, whereby without a war or conflict, a “peace treaty” had been signed, which only then thereafter, resulted in a war. The New Zealand Wars took place between 1845-1872. 

I am blessed to have lived twenty-six years in New Zealand and have had a close association with the Bay of Islands, the home of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the treaty was signed. I have so many great memories of this historic region of the country. It’s where I sat on the grass that surrounds the Paihia beachfront and opened my first newspaper-wrapped bundle of piping hot fish and chips. It's that same beach where I learned how there is no need for changing rooms when you already have an over-sized beach towel! It takes practice, but it is definitely possible to completely change out of your street clothes and into your togs, right there on the beach, just try not to drop your towel as you drop your drawers! 

Our wedding rehearsal dinner was superbly prepared and served at the Paihia beachfront La Scala restaurant. However, my father-in-law, in his capacity as the local milk vendor, made it a point of never dining at any of the eating establishments, for he visited their kitchens on a daily basis. And yet, there was something very special about the Waitangi Hotel. The Trust who owned the Waitangi restaurant and hotel during those years covering the 1980’s, made ones visit an unforgettable experience. First, there are the pristine grounds which overlook the majestic bay, the upmarket hotel and restaurant, and then the awe-inspiring marae, or meeting house, and the wakas (canoes) used by the local iwi. Even my initial crossing of the one-lane bridge, that one must use to get to the Waitangi grounds, was a memorable experience. What do I do, half way across this elongated, but narrow bridge when there is a car approaching me? “No problem”, my passenger assured me. “Just go toward the car coming at you and pull into the passing bay.” Ok ... and hope I get to the passing bay first? Thankfully, I was less nervous the more I used this unique bridge. 

Most of the times when crossing that bridge, I was the passenger; a passenger in my father-in-law's milk truck. A witty friend of mine from Ohio penned the situation up best, “Ole Beckley had many hopes and dreams; And he ended up in New Zealand delivering milk and cream.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute working on that milk truck. We would stop at the residences along the way first. I would hop out and collect the empty bottles and milk tokens out of the letterbox whilst my “boss” would be rearranging the milk crates at the back of his unrefrigerated truck, before finding just the bottles intended for that stop, then hand them to me to replace the empty ones that I had just taken from the bottom of the letterbox. Our next stop would often be the dairy/convenience store located at the Opua Wharf, where the ferry carrying passengers back and forth all day, and from all over the bay, would dock temporarily. It was an unexpected pregnancy of this dairy’s owner, one in which also resulted in a red-headed child, that started up the fun-loving rumor that the child’s father was “the milkman” seeing how his wife had red hair. Our milk truck would then rumble along the shoreline before stopping to service all of the milk-carrying businesses in the center of a town called Pahia. After this stop, we would go to the summer campground supplying milk to all of the campers before ending our day/night at the Waitangi Hotel. 

I would be terribly remiss if I concluded my description of the Paihia/Bay of Islands milk run without mentioning how my father-in-law first met a young local lad, who oddly enough, the family came to deeply respect, and a person who so kindly befriended me, and this Ole Yank will forever be grateful for his friendship. The initial meeting of “Martin” and my father-in-law was a bit of an inauspicious start, though. What I have neglected to mention up to this point is that the road from Kawakawa (home town of my in-laws) to Paihia is hilly and winding and not without its own one-lane bridges to navigate. Loaded-down milk trucks struggle with speed on the flat let alone the hills and curves, and understandably this frustrates drivers. My father-in-law always pulled to the side of the road to allow the traffic to pass him, but gearing down his diesel-powered engine to get around the sharp bends and up and over the hills usually meant there was no choice but to gut it out. There was one afternoon when my friend “Martin” came flying around one of these bends in his car and in the opposite direction, but directly toward the milk truck. A spin out on his part, and my father-in-law nearly placing his truck’s left wheels over the cliff, is the only thing that avoided what would’ve been an ugly collision. My father-in-law saw his life pass before him, but not before getting a good look of who the errant driver was. Being the close-knit community it was then, and is now, I need not mention any more of the aftermath of this meeting of the pair that day, other than to say that it has become a note of legend throughout the community. 

My father-in-law really despised visiting Paihia unless it was on business. And yet, his wide-eyed American son-in-law who only saw sun and surf along the touristy Paihia beach, was always pestering him to take the family for a swim. I got my wish, kind of. We set off one Sunday, with boat in tow, for the bay, but it wasn’t toward the Paihia beach, which was only a twenty-minute drive. We were heading for the Rawhiti beach, where no “loopies” IE: tourist – would know how to get to. It took us three hours on winding metal (loose gravel) roads; roads I learned afterwards are ones the rental car companies forbid their customers to travel upon. We did finally arrive on this fine summer day and I for one had a queasy stomach from the drive and nothing in the packed picnic basket looked appetizing. Time soon came for “the men” to depart to collect fresh scallops and crayfish. My father-in-law was at the back of the dinghy in charge of the motor. His son, who was a hulking specimen of a young man, sat at the bow with all of his dive gear; tanks, spears, knife etc. This left a small bit of room between two of them for me to sit in this metal row boat. My attendance was important, though. My being there meant a larger haul could be legally brought back to shore. The trip out to near the middle of the bay was mostly uneventful. Both knew where they wanted to go to get the best results from our venture. Within an hour of our anchoring, though, the winds picked up and began to blow inward creating a choppy surf. It was determined that our fishing was down for the afternoon and all was brought aboard and the boat was turned toward the shore. We weren’t long in our return before the waves began to crash over our weighted-down dinghy. I was instructed to bale water like my life depended upon it. Even with two of us baling madly, it seemed to make little difference. My father-in-law determined that if he asked the engine for “all it had”, the boat would then sit more on top of the waves. In him doing so, we all ended up being thrown from the boat, which now was upturned in the water. I was wearing a wetsuit, and only a wetsuit. I had a natural built-in buoyancy, but my father-in-law, who couldn’t swim, was clinging precariously to his upturned dinghy watching his boat’s motor totally submerse itself in salt water. Meanwhile, the young lad was feverishly free diving in an attempt to rescue his gear which was sinking fast to the thirty-meter depths below us. I actually had a fear that we would be spending the night bobbing up and down in this cold water and the possible outcome if this would become a reality. To our eternal good fortune, a pleasure yacht came cruising within sight and motored over to rescue us. Much to do was made of the fact that whilst we had lost everything in this tragedy, I still had my “sunnies” clinging to my head. Also, the wife of the yacht’s skipper was insistent that I peel off my wetsuit and get dry whilst their returning us to the shore. I was just as adamant the zipper of the suit wasn’t going down. This was no time to be seen in the nutty. 

While my time in and around the Bay of Islands provide many stories to retell, where I spent most of my time in the area was at Ruapekapeka Pa, “pa” meaning Māori village. It is an historic Māori village. It was this village twelve miles out from Kawakawa that the British could not conquest during the New Zealand Wars. The Treaty of Waitangi turned to custard, as it would be said in the local vernacular. The Māori Chiefs who had no more declared the signing of the treaty – He iwi tahi tatou - “we are one people” before bad blood developed with Māori realizing that they were being ripped off by the British who were supposed to be their protectors. Ruapekapeka sits on elevated land and the Māori had created one of the most complex fortifications here; one the British couldn’t penetrate even with their 32 and 18 pounder cannons, 12-pound howitzers and 6-pound brass guns. The British began a cannonade of the hill on December 27, 1845 – the middle of their summer. And, even with the siege, the attack was unsuccessful due to the fortifications and the fact and that the village was all underground. My father-in-law first worked the Ruapekapeka farm land that surrounds this historic pa site for his friend, and when his friend, Bert, who was the last remaining indigenous owner passed away, the farm land was then bequeathed to our family. This is what had me on the site, mostly baling hay and feeding out. It was hard for me, the historian, to reconcile these once interconnected holes in the ground, ones which I was jumping into to above my waist, were once the entry way to the famous Māori village. Then there was Bert, one hundred fifty years later, still digging up cannon balls from the battle. It is a place where one should be filled with awe. 

I looked from this elevated site in the direction of the Bay of Islands to visualize the approach of the British, and mentally re-enact the two-week siege and battle that took place. No battle plan could effectively roust the Māori warriors of the Ngāpuhi iwi, who were led by Hone Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti, off this prime defensive post. However, it was on the Sunday morning, January 11, 1846, when the British sent scouts to assess whether the Māori were at their pa site. Determining that the Māori were absent and attending their European-inspired church service, the British decided to attack the pa. The Māori were indeed not at their pa because they assumed the missionary-driven British would be at church as well. The British ended up burning Ruapekapeka Pa to an unrecognizable Māori village.  

The New Zealand Wars were eventually won by the British and an uneasy “truce” has existed ever since within the country. This is why Waitangi Day ceremonies traditionally are a platform for Māori protestors, despite an overarching effort to foster an atmosphere of “we are one people”, to voice their opposition to The Treaty. This year’s Waitangi Day ceremony being no different as protesters collectively turned their back toward the government’s elected representative as he began to speech.  

Whether they be in peaceful protest, or enjoying a relaxing day on the beach, I’m remembering all of my kiwi family and friends here and abroad – Happy Waitangi Day!   

[myfanfictiongarden]

My thoughts on s2ep5 “Halls of Stone”

wait, the Dwarven rings are already made? (they look pretty sick, love the “dwarwish” sharp edges on their design)

uff, the sound design sounding like whispers coming from them!

king Durin taking things into his hands! sun-light is there again!

“Pity those who dwell above. Slaves to the sun. Chained to its ceaseless rhythm of waking and sleep. In Khazad-dum, we are free of its tyranny. Here, we bring the sun to us!”… yeah, i think this kind of sentiments might soon bring you to eternal nightfall

the door of Narvi and Celabrimbor!!!!!!!!

“Mirandia” better don´t be so close to handsome Blondie

love Celabrimbor so much <3

seriously, love they don´t present Celabrimbor as utterly stupid, he does push back on Annatar, he does have enough integrety to not follow his every word blindly, only… its Sauron he has to deal with, so…

Earendil, Tuor and Beren are mentioned! OMG!!!!!!

love the explaination that 9 is the trifold perfection of 3

Eressea is mentioned! but also Pharazon is king now, already talks with envy of the Undying Lands, and is an absolute a**h*** towards his son

Elendil´s vision is somehow chilling, and oh, i unerstand why Miriel believes the need to stay low, a sword is not always the best weapon, but… oh, poor Miriel

dang do i hate Kemen now. i know he is doing all this only to find approval from his father, but urgh. 

also, Earien better be practicing her swimming, she´ll need it (i wouldn´t take her upon my ship)

the “Thank you Captain. The Valar bless you.” 😢

Celebrimbor realising his “fake” letter to Gil-Galad might backfire

love how they adress Disa kinda “switching sides” often, but its made clear that she is very much going by intuition- sometimes one way seems right, sometimes the other

wait… is that the lake where Gandalf fought the Balrog?! omg! (also, rip Gerda´s birthday present)

work on new rings continues, “Mirdania” expiriences the Unseen World!- got chills when she mentions a being of flame with deep eyes (Sauron got chills too, probably thinking “Dang, she saw me.”)

Durin is still suspiccious of Annatar (as he should)

the scene between Annatar and “Mirdania” made me feel so uncomfortable, like 1.) he is all charming and friendly, already twisting what she expirienced in the direction he wants (painting Celebrimbor as the one who is “ill” and needs healing), and 2.) when he touches her hair its 10/10 on the creep-scala

is this actually actual confirmation that “Mirandia” is just an alias of Celebrien…? Not only does mirandia simply translate as “smith”, but the way he compares her likeness to Galadriel, the fact that she absolutley looks like Celeborn & Galadriel´s daughter, and the way she blushess at this compliment/comparisment… (it also makes this whole interaction even more creepy on his part)

its awful when any religion is prosecuted (thinking of the Comunist-era), but man, as a Catholic i had flashbacks to early Christians being hunted by the Romans…

Nienna mention? omg, yes! 

Kemen, i hate you so much! Destroying Nienna´s statue, and then killing Valandil? NOT MY MAN VALANDIL!!! how dare you Kemen!

Sauron continues to torture Celebrimbor with his mind-games (did i already mention that i want to strangle him?)

poor Celebrimbor! 😭

Annatar has charmed “Mirandia” completly

not that one orc trying to cut Galadiel´s hair! its literary one of the most precious things in this world!

Adar coming to “the recque”- i guess the Barbossa-Elisabeth-style scene will be next episode?