Fanfiction ► The Guardian Gaidens Scala and Wayfinder gang series draft feedback and project report

[Alexxio M.]

Hi everyone I’ve been having fun writing about the union cross gang on ao3 recently and started an anthology series focusing on them and the wayfinder gang during union cross, remind and melody of memory heavily linked to my other fanfic series the gaurdian chronicles. Kinda making it a midquel of sorts between kh3 and the guardians chronicles. There are already 3 stories two of which are songfics but I have so many ideas in the works that I just can’t keep them in the vault too much longer. They’re only drafts, some scenes I already had in mind and general outlines for the story but I’d like some feedback and I don’t want to clutter the series page with a bunch of unfinished works. Here’s the link to the series

The guardian gaiden’s Scala and Wayfinder gang - Alexx_M - Kingdom Hearts (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

archiveofourown.org

I’ll be posting scenes, outlines for the arcs, progress reports on the stories and maybe some extra backstory stuff for the union leaders like their families here so feel free to give your feedback can’t wait to see your responses both here and on ao3.

 

[Alexxio M.]

Here’s the plan for the regretful keys to Re:chained memories arc

Chapter 1- regretful keys to rechained memories & Larxene’s perspective variant

Chapter 2- In famous New Identities- Lauriam and Elrena’s first week in Scala getting shelter, clothes, and a proper meal while also slowly grappling with their apparent fame and newfound identities and working on apologies

Chapter 2.5- The light of Strelitzia’s lullaby- Lauriam takes an all-nighter to work on apologies but with the melody of a special music box he instead finds himself in a dream with his sister.

Chapter 3 - the unchained and rechained- Lauriam’s keyblade returns after he visits Ephemers statue on founders fountain

Chapter 4- Unlocking, shocking memories- Elrena’s keyblade returns after visiting a memorial reignites some more dormant memories

Chapter 5- Rocky Revelations of Larger Legacies- they want to find out more about Brain and Ephemer’s legacies but have trouble grappling with the fact that acquiring the info as quickly as possible would mean going back to their organization 13 selves.

Chapter 6- a dreaming rejection- Ven in the realm of darkness with Aqua,Terra and Chirithy starts learning about his past through a series of nightmares and encounters with a semi illusional Vanitas. They seemingly defeat him but shaken and now curious about his past Ven asks Aqua to train him once they return to the land of Departure.

Chapter 7- a game of cat and mouse- Lauriam and Elrena are found by Mickey who continuously tries and fails to catch them as they run around Scala learning new things.

Chapter 8- Found out and Ratted out- While running around Scala they are finally caught by the police. But they’re let off after Mickey bails them out and Lauriam and Elrena reveal their reasons for running around in places they shouldn’t. Luxu crashes the party at the last second though and they are forced to escape with Mickey on the gummi ship. Mickey catches the rest of the guardians up soon after and Lauriam and Elrena now await a visit with a certain witch

Chapter 9- Apologetic Petals shifting in a storm- the apologies chapter

Chapter 10- Reuniting semi completed- re uniting with Ventus

Chapter 11- Rechained Recountings- catching everybody up on the Keyblade war causes some trauma to come back

Chapter 12- Master of Monochrome Mayhem- Ven overwhelmed by the memories allows the Illusional Vanitas to become corporeal. The gaurdians fight this new Vanitas but before they can destroy him he returns to Ventus’ heart stopping the fight. Ven soon runs off to reason instead of subdue Vanitas at the place where it all began.

Chapter 13- the many shades of you and me- the guardians follow ven to the Keyblade graveyard as ven clashes with Vanitas alone soon reconciling and suggesting that Vanitas instead of being his darkness could instead be his moral grey

Chapter 14- a dreamers reflection- after letting go of his brother Ven suggests to the gaurdians that they all have a sleepover. They agree and through the night Ven’s chirithy watches over their dreams reminiscing about what the other union leaders chirithy’s did when a sleepover like this happened in the age of fairy tales.

Chapter 15- starlit Strelitzia’s and the search for a x- Lauriam and ven awake just before dawn Lauriam tells him how proud he is and how proud Ephemer and Brain must be. they then reconcile about Strelitzia and resolve to find both her and Skuld hatching a plan with the others. Lauriam finds that the Keyblade legacy lives on strong within all of them and feels the most complete he’s been since before the war.



Perspective shifting yes or no

Chapter 2- yes

Chapter 3- no

Chapter 4- no

Chapter 5- yes

Chapter 6- yes start in Ven’s perspective

Chapter 7- yes start in Mickey’s perspective

Chapter 8- yes start in Lauriam’s perspective

Chapter 9- yes

Chapter 10- yes

Chapter 11- yes start in Lauriam’s perspective end in Ven’s

Chapter 12- yes start in either Ven, Lauriam or Aqua’s perspective

Chapter 13- yes

Chapter 14- yes start in Ven’s perspective end on Chirithy’s

Chapter 15- yes start in Ven’s perspective and ends in Lauriam’s perspective

 

[Alexxio M.]

Each chapter is a story with most likely chapters of their own and The light of Strelitzia’s lullaby take place in between 2 chapters in In Famous new Identities so that’s why it’s numbered that way.

 

[Alexxio M.]

Here’s one of the Chirithy parts of chapter 14
Italics represent characters thoughts

Chirithy
One thing I know far too well as a dream eater is that even if they look peaceful when they rest their minds are not always the same and often worries bubble just beneath the surface pushing against the heart's desire to dream happily. Allowing darkness to creep through. We Chirithy keep watch over these worries and try to eat the ones that break free and become nightmares. There were a lot of worries that surfaced in the beginning of the night but soon my double checking was no longer needed. As they had the company of their dear friends to comfort them. I poof myself beside Ven to see the fruits of my hard work. Ven still sleeps like a cat, his face peaceful and innocent just like he was back during the age of fairy tales. He lays curled up between Aqua and Lauriam and welcomes both of their hands holding them close. Aqua lays semi buried in the blankets just like Skuld used to be reaching a protective hand over Ven. Terra fell asleep face first and sprawled out a little like Ephemer resting his head in a way so he'll still be facing toward Aqua and Ven. His snoring is surprisingly quieter than usual. Naminé and Kairi sleep peacefully in a mirror image of each other. While the Twilight Town gang are more sloppily set yet still oddly symmetrical leaning on each other and dreaming away. Elrena puts a distance between her and the Twilight Town gang cuddling close to Lauriam instead. Finally Lauriam sleeps so peacefully that he seems to grow younger, smiling fondly towards Ven and reaching out to meet Ven's hand grasped lightly yet not ever letting go. As for me my stomach is full from the worries I had to eat and even though us pure dream eaters don’t need to sleep when we get full like this it’s hard to ignore the urge to rest alongside our wielders. I sit beside Ven now pulling up one of the unused blankets and leaning against his chest satisfied with the work we’ve done. I remember similar nights like this with the other Chirithy belonging to the other union leaders, how we’d poof beside them and talk until we’d fall asleep as well, held and cuddled by our wielders. Brain’s Chirithy was the leader of us despite her wielder being content to not be one himself. Ephemer’s chirithy was more like Brain then with her approach to working hard and was also just as cheerful and outgoing as her wielder. Skuld’s Chirithy was also upbeat but worried just as much as her wielder, mostly about Skuld and her friends as well as us Chirithy. Similarly to her weilder Lauriam’s did the same and was much better at hiding it. She was good at reminding us to keep on track and was very much dedicated to Lauriam’s quest to reunite with his sister as that would mean her wielder would be happy and she’d get to see his sister’s Chirithy again. The way she spoke about it almost made it sound like they were siblings too. As for me, just like my wielder I was the youngest of us, the most naive and optimistic and I still value the things they taught me to this day. Ven probably doesn’t realize it but he’s becoming more like Ephemer and Lauriam everyday he learns something new and everyday he gets closer to reuniting with everyone. He still fights the same but he’s become a bit smarter and also ever more reckless like both Brain and Ephemer and just like Skuld he treasures the small things even more now. Like all of them though and I think he might be aware he holds his friends ever close, and remains loyal and true. His friend plights are his and his are his friends. It's a lovely and powerful thing and I’d say his reconciliation with Vanitas is a living proof that is etched in their hearts forever. I’m proud of him for it even though I have a bit of a sour spot for the darkness within Vanitas that drifted us apart in the beginning. But if Ven’s happy with Vanitas then so am I. At least his nightmares are gone and now all that’s left is to reunite with the rest. Speaking of which, it's time for me to do the same. Ven's free hand is calling me and as I rub against it he smiles and welcomes me as well. Stroking my fur and I swear I hear him whisper “Good work Chirithy. Thank you.” I cuddled closer “no Ven thank you.”
“for what?”
“For being a friend.”
“Of course… you’ve always been my- *yawn* friend…”
I purr with his touch still stroking as he returns to slumber
Smiling through my muzzle once more I respond “I know Ventus… Sweet dreams partner.” curling up beside him his heart and breath sharing a rhythm which slowly but surely lulls me to sleep. Daybreak will come again and you can reflect upon the darkness of your past and gain courage from the dawn to journey forward. I can't wait to reunite with them. It's not such a distant dream anymore. I thank you for that Ventus and hope through our searching that our hearts will remain our guiding keys forevermore.

 

[Alexxio M.]

Came up with this for chapter 9 after finding a good song to encapsulate the apologies Lauriam and Elrena give to Naminé and the conversation that arises from it. Here it is. The lyrics of the song are hidden in the text can you guess what song it is?
italics once again represent a characters thoughts

Lauriam
Kairi knocked on the door already but still feeling obligated I knocked again anyways asking "Naminé… May we come in?" She takes a deep breath before answering "yes… you both can come in." We enter and are met by walls lined with artwork, photos and various seashells and other trinkets. Two chairs sit in the middle of the room and she awaits us on the bed with a magic staff laying right beside her. Seeing my curiosity at the staff she states "Master Aqua and Kairi are teaching me magic. I'm gonna help as best as I can. It's the least I can do after they saved me."
"Good for you…" I say as we close the door behind us and she officially starts us off with a question "Kairi tells me you two are keyblade wielders now is that true?" We meet the question with nods "Can you prove to me that you're not lying?" We nodded again in response and obliged, summoning our keys in a flash of light. "What are they called?" She asks motioning towards me to answer first "It used to be Divine Rose but now I wield Duskless Dahlia." She perks up curious with my word choice but doesn't press allowing Elrena to give her answer "as for me I used to use Olympia and Fairy Stars but I guess my heart couldn't decide which one to stick with and now I wield Stellaris Voltaire."
"I see…" she says, still curious but putting it aside to stand and put away her staff before stating "you guys must've been on quite the journey, please take a seat and lay down your keys." We obliged again as I gave a polite smile toward her. She catches my gaze and tries to cover her face as she mouths "it's just a talk Naminé just a talk." I avert my gaze thinking she gets flustered the same way as Strelitzia. She takes a deep breath returning my smile and a polite gaze briefly before taking her seat between us again. A silence washes in as Elrena and I continue to glance around at Naminé's many drawings, each one increasingly more detailed and elegant than the last. I wonder if she got to keep her powers? I think to myself. Elrena picks up on it breaking the silence as she asks "So you continued to draw huh?" Naminé nods and answers both our questions with one stone
"Yeah I did. None of the pictures in here will mess with your memories. While you guys were journeying I figured out that I can turn my power off at will and the castle we knew as Castle Oblivion just made it more powerful and harder to turn off. Its original state still does that to an extent so I always make sure to turn it off before visiting… What about you guys, do you still have your powers?"
I answer first "I can still use nature magic with the same potency as I was born with the affinity for it…" I bite my lip regrettably before saying "but I've lost the ability to call upon my specter in the physical world and my scythe has merged with my keyblade."
Elrena follows "the darkness awakened my thunder affinity and I kept the element with me ever since."
"Ok so you guys are just like Axel then he kept his fire magic and his key has a shakram form change." We perk up and I say "that's new he kept his nobody name?"
"Yeah he did. They reclaimed the sigil after all so he had no reason to change it. Saïx still calls him by his somebody name though. Old habits die hard I guess. Saïx goes by Isa now by the way if you run into him make sure you remember that."
I nod "Noted."
Another silence comes over us and my brain and heart steel themselves for what's to come. After all she didn't let us in for idle chit chat and we didn't come for that either. Old habits do indeed die hard but we all can change like the drifting fall leaves and wind whisked petals. This isn't the castle anymore and this isn't daybreak town, this is the eye of the storm.

 

[Alexxio M.]

Here’s the beginning ven portion of chapter 14
Once again italics represent a characters thoughts
References to two fics called dandelion seeds and Trust in me I’ll trust in you respectively will appear links will be in the next post
enjoy

Ventus
We returned from the graveyard in the throne room, the chamber of waking. My mind still remaining speechless until my heart finally makes me awkwardly blurt “Hey guys can we have a sleepover? I… don’t think I want to be alone tonight.” nods and smiles embrace me. A flicker of nostalgia gleams in Lauriam’s eyes as Aqua answers “Oh, Ven… of course we can. Where do you think we should have it?”
“Well this is technically the chamber of waking and it is the biggest room of the castle… plus we already have the table set from the meeting. So doing it here seems just fine.” smiles grow wider giving me the go ahead. Chirithy poofs herself beside me now with my blankets and pillow in hand. I smile thankfully, petting her head before saying “thanks Chirithy… but we’re gonna need a lot more blankets than this.”
Chirithy seems to smile through her muzzle “Ven I think the castle’s got us covered.” pointing to the thrones which in a halo of sparkles are soon filled with pillows, blankets and one huge fluffy quilt to lay it all upon. Lauriam and Axel give an impressed whistle but Lauriam voices his reaction first “this castle never ceases to amaze huh.” I nod “Yeah just like him it's full of surprises.” A flash of light then comes from his hand and soon an aero spell lays the quilt in the middle of the room and the castle moves the furniture accordingly. Lauriam smiles “shall we get the fort started?” I nod as Axel nudges Isa and says “Haven’t built one of those in a while right Isa.” Isa nods as Roxas and Xion soon chorus “you’ve built one of these before?”
“Not good ones but yeah we have.”
“Sounds like fun we’re in.”
Kairi pipes up now “I haven’t had a sleepover in ages either. A fort sounds like a good idea but what will we do after we’re done?”
I answer with a shrug “Hmm. Good question honestly I’m kinda fine with anything as long as we have fun. What did you guys do when you had a sleepover?”
Axel answers first “Well we played pranks and stuffed ourselves with snacks. oh and played some small scale games too. Hangman, trivia, finger football and some other hand games to name a few.”
A pencil, notepad, markers and a small mat appear on the table in a flash alongside our favorite snacks.
Axel smiles “huh this castle really does have us covered.”
Kairi shares next “Sora, Riku and I played mostly board games when we had sleepovers but we played party games too like spin the paopu fruit and truth or dare. Sometimes we would have pillow fights or I’d bring arts and crafts things. Usually by the end though we’d make up stories or choose random books from the bookshelf until we went to sleep.”
Several board games, various books, a plastic bottle, some construction paper, a sketchbook, a second regular pencil as well as a box of colored pencils then show up on the table. Naminé probably conjured up the sketchbook. I wonder if the Detective Nosy books are in that stack. Brain only gave the summaries after all and although I knew I’d like em I never got around to reading them myself.

My brief reverie is then interrupted by an unexpected question from Kairi "what about you Ven what did you guys do?"
"Oh well we told stories and had snacks but we also played some card games. Skuld showed us a bunch of them…"
Cards show up on the table as Kairi asks "What was your favorite?"
"Oh, that would have to be Pass to Your Neighbor." Lauriam and I said synchronously causing the tokens to show up. “I remember that it was a fun game.” says Chirithy but we’re met with confused faces “wait none of you have heard of Pass to Your Neighbor?” I exclaimed. They shake their heads as Lauriam steps in “not even a game with a similar name?” they become pensive for a bit before Axel says “hmm well there was a game called Short Pass in Radiant Garden but I’ve never played it before. I don’t even remember if anyone told me the rules. People did give descriptions though something about not having the lowest card on the table.”
I smile and Lauriam gives a knowing nod saying “just like in Pass to Your Neighbor. Short Pass was probably a variant then 'cause that's the key to winning." Isa and Terra both perk up now saying "Interesting." Axel then heads towards the thrones saying "guess we know what we're playing but first…" he grabs a pillow and tosses it towards me I catch it "we gotta fort to build." I smile "Right, who's ready to build the best fort ever?" Cheers and smiles embrace me once more. I cherish it laying down the first pillow. Soon memories flow through these moments caught by Naminé's Gummiphone camera and they'll be framed in my heart forever. Now let the games begin just like old times.

 

[Alexxio M.]

here are those reference links with the reference chapter(s) right below them. Highly recommend reading both fics in there entirety though.
1. Dandelion seeds https://archiveofourown.org/works/31755523/chapters/78603529
chapters 5, 17 & 34
2. Trust in me I’ll trust in you https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119044/chapters/66222670
chapter 6

 

[Alexxio M.]

Hey here’s an outline for the next arc in the guardian Gaidens series called
The journey that broke us and the one that’ll bring us to dawn arc

Chapter 1- Broken memories of a long lost journey- subject x arrives in radiant garden and soon recounts her broken past to both welcomed and unwelcomed ears

Chapter 2- A Foxy Far off Visitor- a ghostly fox visits subject x in her cell giving her some answers and company as well as sowing some more doubts

Chapter 3- Nightmare Crosshairs- with a name she keeps secret subject x unlocks some more memories in a series of nightmares and convos with Xehanort and the fox

Chapter 4- a seed of escape- Skuld is broken out by Luxu the nickname dandelion sparking multiple seeds to bloom and the place she ends up isn’t much better

Chapter 5- The Dawn of the Key- recovering from her escape she summons her keyblade and journeys to the center of the Keyblade graveyard so she can remember it all

Chapter 6- The Sigil of the Harbinger- Skuld and Luxu meet in the center of the graveyard giving her a news flash about Lea and Isa and passage to a place that can give her the rest of the answers she seeks

Chapter 7- Scala ad auctores fontem et lux reunion- brought to Scala by Luxu she finds the answers she sought after and sets off on a quest to find the others

 

[Alexxio M.]

Also here’s some of the game portion of chapter 14 of the Regretful keys to Re chained memories arc

Chirithy
By suggestion of Ven and Lauriam they don't play Pass to your Neighbor first. After all, they know how long that game can last and how hard it is to stop replaying it. They split and come together throughout the dusk but soon enough they run out of things to do and the long awaited deck is laid on the table. I poof beside Ven as he and Lauriam discuss the amount of tokens they should give asking "Can I join in too?" I knew the answer already but it still made me feel warm inside when they smiled and settled on an amount putting 5 tokens in my paws. They laid the rest in the middle inviting everyone to take 5 of their own. They do and finally Lauriam takes the deck asking an age old question "ok who here is good at shuffling?"


Ven
At Lauriam's question, 5 people, I'm sorry 4 people raised their hands. Axel tried but Isa, the actual shuffler of the two, put it right back down just like Brain did to Ephemer the first time we played. Naminé raised her hand sheepishly but her eyes told me that she was confident that she could do it. Aqua raised hers too more regally than confident but still confident all the same. Elrena then was the final shuffler raising her hand the quickest. Lauriam takes note of it but knowing the ones that introduce the game shouldn't play right away he motions to Isa, Aqua and Naminé asking "do either of you want to start us off?" Naminé backs up now but before Aqua offers Isa volunteers instead asking "how many should I give each of us?"
"Just 1," Lauriam and I answer synchronously as Isa finishes shuffling and starts to deal. Lauriam leaves the floor open for me to explain the game and I smile "Once you get your card you can look but don't say a thing and don't look at your neighbors card either." I look to my card and try my best to hide my excitement thinking a 10 I never had a card this high the first drawing better hold on to this. My attempt at hiding it fails as Lauriam smiles and with a tiny chuckle picks the explanation back up "The goal as Axel predicted is to not be left with the lowest card on the table if you happen to get stuck with it then you lose a token and once you lose all your tokens your out of the game. If everyone else loses all their tokens before you do then you win. Jokers are the lowest and king's are the highest. This game has many rounds so we'll have the best of us reshuffle when the situation arises. Everyone clear?" They nod. "Good, now Isa dealt so I believe it's Xion's turn first."
"My turn?" She asks slightly flustered.
We nod and I say "Yeah you can choose to keep your card or pass it to the neighbor to the left of you and draw."
"Oh okay I guess I'll keep it then."
"Alright Elrena you're up next."
"I'm passing then." She says bringing the card to Lauriam who also passes and Chirithy who does the same passing me a 4 the passing chain continues from Aqua to Terra until Naminé keeps the four and passes her lower card to Kairi I wonder what it is. Kairi passes that card to Roxas who doesn't look too happy about it but doesn't complain, passing a different card to Axel who sheepishly passes it again to Isa saying "sorry in advance." He takes it and winces upon seeing it before asking "so what now I'm assuming this doesn't just go around again. Am I stuck with this?"
Lauriam answers "You can draw and after that we can all flip our cards ." Isa nods, flipping the top card on the deck as well as the card he received from Axel. Proceeding to give himself a semi facepalm afterwards. "I don't know why I even bothered." He saltily grumbles revealing two jokers.
Roxas turns relieved as he flips over a 2 "Honestly I thought I was gonna lose for a second there." He admits sheepishly
"Me too but check this out… boom!" Axel says revealing the 8 of hearts Isa responds dryly "your welcome." Before nudging Axel and saying "But I wouldn't start celebrating just yet."
"Huh? Why not?"
I smile "because I got myself a 10 of hearts." flipping my card. Lauriam and Terra both congratulate me but then flip their cards revealing a Jack of Hearts and a Jack of Clubs respectively.
"Aw man I'm beat again." Axel complains.
Elrena gives a slight cackle saying "Sorry to knock you boys off your high horses but I believe I'm the one who's got all of you outmatched." Flipping a Queen of Spades

 

[Alexxio M.]

and finally the beginning of the Naminé portion of chapter 9 for the Regretful keys to Re chained memories arc
The song thing from the previous preview still stands and it’s way more obvious this time.
italics represent a characters thoughts while italics in regular quotes represent something said in a flashback
enjoy

Naminé
I could tell from the moment they walked in that they had been on quite the journey; their keyblades and changes were proof of that . They still looked the same, their silhouettes hadn’t really changed at all. I still have to look up to them and I kinda hate it. What did change though was their attire and alongside that their personalities shed some of their dark connotations. They kept their piercing gazes but Larxene’s turned a bit softer and ever more playful and Marluxia’s turned surprisingly genuine and maybe a little bit like one of a long lost friend. Their air of confidence never left them but instead of a blinding suffocating smog it’s now more like a wondrous mist being hit by a new dawn. Their new outfits would suit their organization selves if they weren’t in the organization but also suited them in a way that seemed more ancient than I could wrap my head around. Their hands are now ungloved revealing them to be quite worn but still somehow soft and inviting even if Larxene still has her wickedly long nails and Marluxia’s grip clearly never wavered. Both hands are still stained red though. Finally they sit in a way both formal and casual at the same time. Marluxia sits like he’s on a throne but his hands lightly rest atop each other on his lap and Larxene sits with her legs crossed but her hands clasped together. Neither of them look particularly comfortable as she awkwardly squirms in her seat and his expression doesn’t match his posture, regretful instead of proud like a lord on a throne should be.
The silence is awkward and nerve racking for me too I’ll admit but I know what they came for and I didn't let them in just to have a chat. But I can't seem to break it. How do we begin a conversation like this? Where do we begin a conversation like this? We continue in the silence for a bit as I try to gather my courage and words flashing back to Kairi's warning. She had texted me advice in the girls group chat after telling me that King Mickey had encountered and brought them back from Scala ad Caelum. She said "Let them know that you know best. After all, you do know best and try to slip past their defense without granting innocence.”
Xion joined in too I remember her suggesting “Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've felt all along.” They both ended with this though “Then hope to Kingdom Hearts they hear you. I dearly hope that they hear you." I reach for a notepad leaning against the bottom of my bed. The first page jokingly labeled the naughty list even though what's on it is far from a joking matter. I lay the pad closed on my own lap meeting their gazes again and they've become even more regretful, seemingly already knowing the book's contents. I take a deep breath before continuing "Marluxia, Larxene you might be aware already. But here you guys are no longer a lord and a queen. Here I'm the one in control. It's my castle and this good witch has some ground rules…" they nod and I continue "First even if the heartless break in, which is highly unlikely none of us can raise our weapons again in this room. Are we clear?" They nod again and surprised by my sudden assertiveness Larxene asks "Since when did you become such a boss?"
"Since I started training."
"I see… you're owning it by the way."
"Thanks but I can't take all the credit."
"Then who does?"
"Mostly the girls, Roxas, Axel and well I may have picked up a few things from someone you already know."
Her lips curl in a small cocky smile as she says "Smart girl…"
"Thanks but back to the topic at hand. Second rule is more of a reminder but if anything fishy occurs everyone will converge here so no other things that can be considered foul play will be tolerated. Alright?"
They both chorus "understood."
"Good now my third final rule is that if I have any reason to suspect that either of you are lying I won't hesitate to hop in and take a peek at your memories to glean the truth. So be honest and don't shut me out if I do end up looking into your mind."
Larxene nods but Marluxia hesitates, taking a sigh before nodding himself and in a low sincere voice saying "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You… wouldn't want and shouldn't have to see some of the things in there."

 

[Alexxio M.]

Here’s the beginning of chapter 1 of the journey that broke us and the one that’ll bring us to dawn arc
Italics represent a characters thoughts and Skuld is subject x
translations for Skulds scattered thoughts will come after
enjoy

Unknown
A hot summer sun and the sounds of a fountain are the first things I remember.
Where am I?
Next things I remember are a throbbing headache and my lost voice. As I try to sit up but immediately lay right back down wincing before rolling off the edge of the fountain thankfully to the plaza below and not the water. I try to call for help, nothing comes out and soon I black out.
I'm so tired.
Footsteps and large creaking gates greet my ears, waking me with cloudy eyes. A young blue almost silver haired boy approaches his appearance warping fuzzily and rapidly as he comes closer. I blink hard his appearance finally stabilizing to his true form. Shaking as the boy's voice says "hey are you alright?” I try to answer but only indecipherable and whispery sputtering comes out “Eph? Br? am? Ve? Whe?” I look around “Whe?Frie?” the boy gives a strangely familiar worried look “you don’t look good I better tell Master Ansem.” I cock my head curious “he’s the sage king you're not from here are you? He’ll keep you safe, don't worry.” He stands saying “I’ll be right back.” scurrying away as I once again close my eyes.
Who is Ansem? Are we friends? Don’t leave.
I will get my answer soon enough as the footsteps return but they’re multiplied now and the boy's voice returns “She sounds like she just fell from a high place. She didn’t look much better than this when I found her.”
A man's voice soon enters booming but kind “it’s good then that you came to get me Ienzo” The man turns toward me lifting my head as he asks “Young lady what ails you? Can you speak? Tell me your name.”
I answer raspy and whispery “I…understand…you.”
“That's good but miss, can you tell me your name?”
My head throbs and a painful moan rings out as I shake my head sputtering frantic bursts “Four… of them... four friends! Where are they?!... Where am I?!” I try to sit up more and fail once again with a wince and frantic heavy breathing. His booming baritone becomes softer as he says “Easy now, easy miss your safe here in Radiant Garden. You were with others?”
I nod slowly “four friends! Four friends and… a key?”
Ienzo looks to the man, curiosity and the same oddly familiar worry shining plainly on both of their faces. The man covers it up quickly though as he searches through his lab coat for a potion. He doesn’t find it. He scans my injuries and murmurs something under his breath that I can't quite discern before turning again to Ienzo asking “Ienzo my boy can you alert the others?”
The young boy answers quickly with an eagerness that makes my heart pang as if the statement was from someone once dear to me “Yes sir! I’ll make it back in no time promise.”
The smile the man gives is fond and somehow familiar as he pats Ienzo on the head “Good make sure you and Even bring back some potions. This young lady seems to be much more than just unwell.”
“Alright Master Ansem I got it.” He responds. My heart pangs again and drives me to mutter something else before he leaves fragmented yet genuine “May… your heart… be… your guiding… key.” he gives an awkward shy smile saying “Er… thanks I guess? Save your breath though alright we’ll get you better soon.” an unnatural ring comes through my ears as Ienzo runs off again and Ansem takes off his scarf to bandage my mildly bruised left arm. It’s red, warm and soft like his…
Like who’s? I wonder in a flash. The ringing gets more intense. I can barely hear Ansem say “That phrase… I haven't heard it in a long time. Your not from here are you?” a silence soon washes over, lasting a while before he breaks it with a curious and soft baritone “that meteor shower last dusk wasn’t a coincidence was it?... Hrmm interesting.” I black out soon after and an emptiness then comes over me.
Stop it hurts. Is this a nightmare? Please stop it! Something is missing. Who… am I?

I wake again swallowing a potion given by a more shrewd looking man with long muddy blond locks. His voice fits better with a mad doctor rather than an actual scientist but still carries the prestige leaving my brain in a confused loop “The potion should work for now sir.”
“If it eases her pain a little then it’s all worth it. However, Even we should still make haste. This predicament requires more fitting quarters.”
Even nods “indeed sir.” before my vision dwindles again

It comes back soon after though with the feeling of wind in my hair. I’m being carried by Ansem “where… are you taking me?” I ask.
He answers simply “somewhere safe don’t worry.” As I look around, the environment fuzzily warping as if it was glitched. My head throbs before more big gates creak open and I faint, overwhelmed.
I’m so tired. I want to find out who I am. Can you help me?
Little did I know that their help was dangerously experimental when it came to people who fall from the sky.

 

[Alexxio M.]

I completely forgot to post this sorry about that but here are the Skuld translations for the previous post sorted by sequence and line number on iPad will put the quote for phone and pc viewers to reference.
1. “Eph? Br? am? Ve? Whe?”- line 10- Ephemer? Brain? Lauriam? Ven? Where? (As in Where am I)
2. “Whe?Frie?”- line 10- Where? Friends? Shes trying to say where are my friends but I’m imagining it coming out like we’re friends? like she’s never had one before

 

[Alexxio M.]

hey everyone here's something a little extra for you all
the family tree and name origins for Brain's entire family
PS; encountered OC's are the ones from both the guardian chronicles and Guardian Gaidens and undecided is basically for OC's that haven't been given a set life status yet.
*note* this family tree isn’t final I may switch some placements and add a few things but thats about it

 

[Alexxio M.]

most of the family members are named after square enix and their properties
skipping Eraqus we have
Miryon- named after the founder of Square as well as deriving from the word Miracle
Hiryos- named after the heroes of dragon quest as well as the founder of Enix
Nixe- Enix spelled backward and pronounced Nyx mirroring Eraqus being Square spelled backward
Lionys- is not only named after the dandelions but his name derives from the many Latin translations for the word soft as in Squaresoft and also the name Leon which is the name of FF8's protagonist who has been appearing in kingdom hearts titles since the first game
Fiona- alongside the name's actual origins in the real world Fiona was chosen due to the Latin word for shape figura and what is a square but a shape.
Draceo- Pronounced Drakayo he is named after the Dragon Quest franchise
Syfira- the English ending for Final Fantasy combined with a scrambled-up version of the Japanese pronunciation of the final in Final Fantasy. She is also named after the Saphire gemstone.
Hikaru- named after Hikaru Utada and her song Hikari which has appeared in several kingdom hearts games.

three of the women have their names because of their connections to ava they are
Vixyne- named after the word for a female fox
Evangeline or Eva- alongside the name's actual meaning I chose it to be a mix of Eve (both the character from wall-e and the concept) & Ava
Aya- Ava with a y to match her son Lionys also the Japanese meaning of the name being design or colorful mixing the fact Brain helped design Scala with the duality of light and dark and the hues in the color spectrum

Brain's parents and uncle all have names deriving from either the nighttime or what brain would end up becoming
Celene is the goddess of the moon
Tyrnon- comes from Tiernan which means little lord and is also very similar to the name Kiernan which means black or dark
And Blaize- which was chosen because stars burn and also the role of Brain and Ephemer as torchbearers for the keyblade legacy

we now have four members left also skipping over Aqua, Terra, and Ven. 2 are Latin and the other two are Japanese
starting off with Latin we have
Igneo- deriving from Igneous Rocks which come from magma earth or Terra in a liquid form like water or Aqua
Quinora- like her brother then her name mixes the Latin word for sediment with the Latin word for the coast where water meets the earth
moving on to Japanese-derived names
Yumia- comes from the Japanese word for dream which reverences the sleeping daybreak town and the importance of dreams throughout the Kingdom Hearts narrative
and finally my favorite name of the bunch
Oden- who is named after a dish often had with Sake and as well as being an homage to a character from One Piece takes further inspiration from Odin which is very fitting considering dark road.

 

[Alexxio M.]

hey heres the updated brain family tree with name origins

Krystine is named after crystals a primary element in final fantasy games and is also inspired by another OC from Corishadowfangs fic "On the Edge of Daybreak". Antonoch is named after fennec foxes with his last name also having inspirations from Fenrir. Ulric is a name that means wolf fitting with the Fenrir inspirations that his father has and Giyanni comes from Giovanni and the common final fantasy planet name of Gaia.
I will post age comparisons for each generation next

 

[Alexxio M.]

for the first generation with siblings, they are twins but Tyrnon is the younger one
for the next one with siblings, Hiryos is the oldest Krystine is in the middle and Miryon is the youngest
now going for cousins in the next generation Nixe is the oldest then Eraqus, then Giyanni then Lionys and finally Ulric. Giyanni and Eraqus are the same age with Lionys and Ulric being 2 years behind the both of them
for the penultimate generation Draceo is the oldest followed by Terra then Syfira, Aqua, Hikaru and Ven. Hikaru is 7 years older than Ven Syfira is the same age as aqua if she wasn't norted and Draceo would be the same age as terra if he wasn't norted
and finally, for the final generation, Igneo is the oldest followed by Quinora and then 5 years behind her is Oden

 

[Alexxio M.]

hey everyone got another couple of extras for you but since they can be a bit much ill be posting each one at a time
so first Ephemer's descendant list with all important members
complies with Nomura's statement of missing link happening 4 generations after Ephemer lands
PS: Baldr being a descendant of Ephemer is a head cannon of mine I mean there's got to be a reason why they look so similar to each other
*note* this family tree isn’t final I will add the name of Baldr's sister once that gets revealed and I may also add some more things regarding the skipped generations but that's about it


name origins for this tree will be coming next

 

[Alexxio M.]

most of the characters on this tree take their names from Norse mythology
skipping Skuld and Baldr we have
Annya is named after Nanna the wife of Baldr in the Norse pantheon
Valdyr takes his name from Baldr as well as the Valkyries in general many of which inspired the names of his children
Forzeti is named after two things Forseti the Norse god of justice and the son of Nanna and Baldr and the kingdom hearts song Forze de Male which was chosen because of its connection with Xehanort and Xehanort's connection to Skuld through both the player and Skuld most likely becoming Subject X
Rona is also named after two things a valkyrie with the same name and the Norns which is what Skuld in Norse myth is.
Gunthar is named after Gunnr another one of the Valkyries while also taking inspiration from another one of Corishadowfang's OC's this time from the fic "Dandelion Seeds"
Verdandi is named after the third Norn the other two already having characters named after them in kh those being Skuld and Urd I just had complete the trio myself
Kyrnavie or Kyrnie for short is the last of Skuld's siblings he like his father is also named after the Valkyries in general. However, the Navie part of his name is half a reference to the Vikings who worshipped the Norse gods and had a big sailor aspect in their lifestyle and half a reference to the musical In The Heights and it's main character Usnavi
Eira is named after Eir another one of the Valkyries
Theodoryn is named after both Thor and Odin
and his great great great grandson Odinysus is named after Odin as well
Freida takes her name from Frigg or Frigga Odin's wife
and finally Skuld's maiden name of Wellsgard takes inspiration from Asgard of course and the well of knowledge that Odin lost his eye to peer through and if I'm not mistaken the Norns guard and take water from to feed the roots of Yggdrasil
now for everything else
Odinysus also takes his name from Odysseus who is a character from an ancient fairytale
Klintepher takes his name from his father who takes his from the word ephemeral, a synonym for that same word instant, and the name Klint which also sounds like glint which is what shiny things do when light hits them
Klara is a corruption of the name Clara which means Clarity
while Caelwhin takes his name from the Latin word for sky with the whin suffix then making the whole name translate to the skys victory the name also pays homage to Scala
Carolysa is named after the same things Krystine is as well as referencing Ephemer's debut day in Japan which was Christmas and the tradition of caroling during the holiday
and finally Ephemer's last name Dantelios references 3 things Dante's Inferno, the Dandelions, and the Latin word for lion all of which I think are quite fitting.

 

[Alexxio M.]

heres Lauriam's family tree
*note* strelitzia's name is the way it is because we don't know if Lauriam will actually manage to get her out of unreality or not

since there's not a lot of names to cover i'll cover them in the same post
first the last name Clavitiros comes from the latin words for key, life and rose add some extra words and it literally translates to Key to the everlasting rose
Marian takes her name from both Mary Magdolin and the Virgin Mary quite fitting if you stretch Lauriam to be named after the laurel or wreath that Jesus wore on the cruxifix
Sylvestre is named after the silverthorn shrub a thorny plant which matches with the signature thorns of a rose which is also part of his last name
Jamie is a coruption of james a common name for royalty while also being named after blue jay's which pays homage to his moms nobody name through both referencing birds
and finally Flueritzia who takes her name from her aunt as well as the French word for flower

 

[Alexxio M.]

Heyo got some new story portions for you
first a continuation of Apologetic Petals Shifting in a Storm
starting in Naminé’s perspective

I could tell from the moment they walked in that they had been on quite the journey; their keyblades and changes were proof of that . They still looked the same, their silhouettes hadn’t really changed at all. I still have to look up to them and I kinda hate it. What did change though was their attire and alongside that their personalities shed some of their dark connotations. They kept their piercing gazes but Larxene’s turned a bit softer and ever more playful and Marluxia’s turned surprisingly genuine and maybe a little bit like one of a long lost friend. Their air of confidence never left them but instead of a blinding suffocating smog it’s now more like a wondrous mist being hit by a new dawn. Their new outfits would suit their organization selves if they weren’t in the organization but also suited them in a way that seemed more ancient than I could wrap my head around. Their hands are now ungloved revealing them to be quite worn but still somehow soft and inviting even if Larxene still has her wickedly long nails and Marluxia’s grip clearly never wavered. Both hands are still stained red though. Finally they sit in a way both formal and casual at the same time. Marluxia sits like he’s on a throne but his hands lightly rest atop each other on his lap and Larxene sits with her legs crossed but her hands clasped together. Neither of them look particularly comfortable as she awkwardly squirms in her seat and his expression doesn’t match his posture, regretful instead of proud like a lord on a throne should be.
The silence is awkward and nerve racking for me too I’ll admit but I know what they came for and I didn't let them in just to have a chat. But I can't seem to break it. How do we begin a conversation like this? Where do we begin a conversation like this? We continue in the silence for a bit as I try to gather my courage and words flashing back to Kairi's warning. She had texted me advice in the girls group chat after telling me that King Mickey had encountered and brought them back from Scala ad Caelum. She said "Let them know that you know best. After all, you do know best and try to slip past their defense without granting innocence.”
Xion joined in too I remember her suggesting “Lay down a list of what is wrong, the things you've felt all along.” They both ended with this though “Then hope to Kingdom Hearts they hear you. I dearly hope that they hear you." I reach for a notepad leaning against the bottom of my bed. The first page jokingly labeled the naughty list even though what's on it is far from a joking matter. I lay the pad closed on my own lap meeting their gazes again and they've become even more regretful, seemingly already knowing the book's contents. I take a deep breath before continuing "Marluxia, Larxene you might be aware already. But here you guys are no longer a lord and a queen. Here I'm the one in control. It's my castle and this good witch has some ground rules…" they nod and I continue "First even if the heartless break in, which is highly unlikely none of us can raise our weapons again in this room. Are we clear?" They nod again and surprised by my sudden assertiveness Larxene asks "Since when did you become such a boss?"
"Since I started training."
"I see… you're owning it by the way."
"Thanks but I can't take all the credit."
"Then who does?"
"Mostly the girls, Roxas, Axel and well I may have picked up a few things from someone you already know."
Her lips curl in a small cocky smile as she says "Smart girl…"
"Thanks but back to the topic at hand. Second rule is more of a reminder but if anything fishy occurs everyone will converge here so no other things that can be considered foul play will be tolerated. Alright?"
They both chorus "understood."
"Good now my third final rule is that if I have any reason to suspect that either of you are lying I won't hesitate to hop in and take a peek at your memories to glean the truth. So be honest and don't shut me out if I do end up looking into your mind."
Larxene nods but Marluxia hesitates, taking a sigh before nodding himself and in a low sincere voice saying "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You… wouldn't want and shouldn't have to see some of the things in there."

My curiosity grows but I push it aside again as these questions may be better suited for later soon saying “Ok then. Now with that in order ahem… Hi, my name is Naminé. I would like to know your somebody names. You guys are making it pretty obvious you’d rather be called by that rather than the names Xemnas gave you anyway.”
Marluxia turns intrigued. “Oh how so?”
“Roxas and a friend of his told me it was called cringing. It can be either positive or negative but given the context of this whole situation I assumed it was the latter.”
“Then you’d be correct and given that I’m already speaking I’ll go first… It’s nice to meet you again Naminé. I’m Lauriam.” He says with a gentleman-esque tone that I've never heard him speak before taking me aback slightly as Larxene follows suit saying “and I’m Elrena. It’s good to see you're doing well.”
At least her tone is relatively the same, calmer but still the same.
I respond in kind “Likewise to both of you…” I take a deep breath and motion to the notebook before continuing “So… you guys probably already know what's in here right?
They nod “you came here and I let you in to address the things written here one by one to leave it behind us. But to start us off light, I have some questions regarding how and why you guys joined the Organization and came to Castle Oblivion. You can answer with as much detail as you’d like. I won't hound or pry, I'm just curious. Are you ready?”
They nod and the conversation continues unknown but still very big questions lingering in the air between us.


Lauriam
She starts simple “Alright… first who recruited you?”
We answer at the same time “Xigbar ranked number two in the original organization and number five in the real one. He’s fought with Sora. Do you know about him?”
She responds “Roxas told me he had arrowguns for his weapon and ditched him in a recon mission in Agrabah. Seems like a very cryptic and puzzling sorta guy when taking Jiminy’s journal into account but that’s about all I know.” Its left unspoken but it's clear she wants to know more and responding to that I give a slightly unsure shrug saying “sadly we can’t tell you much more about him either, he is certainly puzzling though. He seemed to annoy some of the more serious among us but at least when he recruited me after I learned the ropes and got used to my weapon we kinda just ignored each other.”
Two truths and one possible lie hopefully she doesn’t catch it.
Elrena follows suit saying “Same here.” Naminé nods and moves on to my relief asking “Ok so what did he do to make you join? You two don’t seem like the types to just follow any stranger and I know about the coup so you couldn’t have joined because Xemnas sold you on his ideals.”
I hesitate slightly. “He… promised me answers to help me find something that I lost a long time ago and no it wasn’t power. I had my key back then.”
”I see… What about you?”
Elrena motions to me as she says “Xigbar recruited me with both the same thing and saying that he already joined.”
”So you guys were friends in the previous life and were looking for the same thing?”
We nod.
”I see...”