This holiday special contains several side stories (that aren't really stories and more like odd ramblings from an insane author). These are cannons, but I couldn't fit them into the main story because of logistical reasons, I thought they were not important enough, or I was simply too bored to put it…and some of it I just now made up. Enjoy.
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How Gehrman affected the Cohort Post Forgotten Shore
Fate remains an all powerful aspect of this universe AT THE MOMENT, it trapped even the Gods after all. And yet, Gehrman has been able to make slight alterations to the original timeline due to him just being himself.
Sunny has given more time into thinking of crafting and sorcery due to Gehrman's encouragement and his workshop in the Forgotten Shore. At this point in the story, the current Sunny is better at weaving than the original timeline Sunny. He was also able to pick up weaving faster, and escaped the Red Coliseum faster (though the events of their 2nd Nightmare played out the same.)
Kai's sanity is even more fragile in this timeline since his Flaw confirms every truth Gehrman has told. However, unlike Sunny, Gehrman has lied several times in Kai's presence, either to mask his true abilities, experiences, or any other number of things. Kai considered Gehrman's work ethic and drive incredibly admirable, and due to his personality, he worked harder during the Forgotten Shore, pushed by the thought of not letting the youth be burdened like Gehrman was. In other words, he builds up a bit of a savior complex (though it is by no means unhealthy, and instead only serves to make him more heroic). Inspired by Gehrman, he has become better at close combat in this timeline, though his skills are otherwise identical.
Effie has not been affected by Gehrman nearly as much as the others. To her, he is just another oddity. Her skills or priorities have also not changed.
Cassie's "fate-fearing" crisis starts a lot earlier in this timeline. As soon as she realized the prophecy she visited Gehrman to try to forestall it (as depicted in chapter 20 something). But Gehrman's dismissal made her start to spiral even earlier. She has also grown more mature, though all major decisions remain the same, her experiences with Gehrman forced her to put things in perspective.
Nephis hasn't changed much as all he managed to do was expedite her arc that occurred during her 2nd Nightmare (IE the whole I'm way too weak for this shit right now.) Otherwise all motivations and strengths remain the same.
Cohort's Thoughts on Gehrman
Sunny: Lots of mixed feelings. First considered him to be a lunatic, then realized the hypocrisy and started to try and shadow him during the Hollow Mountains trip to learn more about him. Ever since then he has gained a growing respect and fear of him. After Gehrman stays in his house for a bit after he comes back, Sunny grows more fond of him since he is a decent house guest (at least compared to Effie).
Kai: Feels bad for him. Still isn't 100% if this whole alien/reincarnation thing is true due to the fact he sometimes thinks his Flaw is broken and he doesn't fully trust it anymore (thanks Sunny). He feels that there should be less weight on his shoulders.
Effie: "Weird kid. Kinda funny though."
Cassie: Holds a deep respect, but also an extreme amount of fear of him. Consider him an anomaly of the most absurd caliber due to his strange interactions with Fate and him seemingly being distanced from it a bit. Despite this, still considers him too much of an unknown, which is why her plan of the original timeline is playing out the same.
Nephis: While she thinks Sunny is the one of the only ones who can become her equal, she already considers Gehrman an equal. Objectively speaking she recognizes he is stronger than her, but due to her nature and personality she decides to avoid that thought as much as possible.
Cohorts Thoughts on Caster
Sunny: "I want to kill him."
Kai: Confused. He thought he was a good guy during the Forgotten Shore even if he did seem a little distrustful. Only after the fact did he realize how bad of a person he was, but still holds less resentment than the others.
Effie: Did a complete 180 once she found out what he tried to do. If Sunny told her he was heading out to kill him she would 100% come with to hide the body.
Cassie: Finds him to be dangerous, but trusts that whatever Gehrman is doing with him will be a good thing, and that he will one day be a benefit to humanity.
Nephis: Due to many, MANY people trying to kill her over the years, she doesn't hold a specific grudge against Caster due to her being so desensitized. Still, she is not fond of him, and is not confident in Gehrman's attempt to rehabilitate him.
P.S. all of their opinions will eventually change.
Yharnam Crew's Thoughts on Gehrman (specifically how he was in the 2nd Nightmare)
Laurence: Immediately noticed something was off, but wanted to wait and see what would happen. He still held many of the tendencies that his old friend had, so he was fairly certain that everything would sort itself out. (Though he did still set precautions, and if Gehrman had not disappeared into Cainhurst for most of the Nightmare Laurence probably would have had him brought in.)
Maria: Was greatly concerned about Gehrman's antics in the Nightmare. Figured that he was plotting something serious and didn't want to intervene, so after the initial trip to Ailing Loran she returned and focused on the Astral Clocktower and the patients there.
Gairm: Due to being distracted by other things, he did not immediately notice an oddity with Gehrman's condition. But after he appeared at Cainhurst he launched a mini investigation and concluded Gehrman was trying to employ subterfuge against the Vilebloods.
Willem: Was far too concerned about the shifting Arcane (due to his reality being a Nightmare from the Spell) to notice Gehrman's change. For that Nightmare he remained amicable toward Gehrman, though he never did treat him with the same respect as the scholars.
Micolash: Head too far up his ass to notice anything off about Gehrman. Similarly distracted by the shift in reality. Holds a haughty distaste for Gehrman in particular, though he does recognize the uses of his Hunters. (I still hate this guy).
Caryll: Delighted by the new change in Gehrman. Finds him much more of an appealing person. Greatly enjoys this "changed Gehrman's" company.
MISC Things about The New Workshop & Grave Citadel
The naming of major buildings being named after locations in Yharnam is a big conspiracy theory in the New Workshop. Many try to emulate the odd tradition by giving old-timey names to the smaller stuff too such as "Henry's Bar" or "Viviana's Apartments"
The Government looked up the type of Architecture of the New Workshop and found it to be most similar to Gothic and Victorian styles of the ancient past. When confronted about this, Gehrman called it a coincidence.
The Grave Citadel is considered a scary place by many Awakened. From the outside, it looks like a place where only members/powerful servants of The Great Clans, high ranking Vassals, and Government employees are allowed entry. (Gehrman tries to extinguish these false rumors and makes sure that every new Awakened is informed that it is a place of great potential growth. For now though, very few new Awakened have elected to be anchored there.
There are still a large number of Nightmare Creatures around the Grave Citadel. However the area is not considered a Death Zone. During the initial conquest of the Citadel and immediately following it, Gehrman and the Princesses of Song took out all Corrupted and Great Ranked Nightmare Creatures. There are still plenty of Fallen and Awakened creatures further out.
Fun Lil' Secrets
Laurence was the reason why the Executioners arrived early at Cainhurst in this timeline. His growing concern for Gehrman's condition as well as his suspicions of Gairm caused him to launch the attack before everything was certain, as he was fearful of both Gairm and Gehrman siding with Cainhurst and both trying to take down the Healing Church.
Rumors about "The Red Judge" are numerous and creepy, but they are mixed with odd stories such as seeing him interacting kindly with a random small child (who was Milo) and theorizing he is secretly not that bad of a guy.
Rumors about Caster were initially spread a bit, but were shut down by the man himself. Now there is a taboo about talking about the handsome right-hand of the Red Judge.
Rumors about Oskar and his involvement in this whole thing range wildly, but – with Gehrman's permission – he stoked the ones that made the whole situation seem
outlandish or bizarre. In this way, he also developed a similar mystique to The Red Judge.
The young Awakened (the kids) have a very tight-knit relationship after going through Gehrman's hellish training together. They speak often of forming their own Cohorts.
Milo's Flaw makes things difficult, but after Oskar heard about it he suggested to Bitz to take advantage of the situations and form a close bond with the younger kid due to his closeness with Gehrman.
Despite the initial meetings being awkward, Bitz eventually developed something of a rapport with Milo. Eventually figuring out a sort of pseudo-language through art. Though no direct words or ideas could be expressed, Bitz and the others could pick up on the general emotions he put into his Art, and thus draw conclusions from there.
Milo is struggling deeply with his new Flaw. He regrets not talking during the time beforehand and wishes more than anything he could thank Gehrman, but now is not able to. He hopes he can express this feeling through his Art if he gets good enough.
Oskar's relationship with Gehrman became a bit strained due to the dealings with the Great Clans. Though he now fully trusts Gehrman and feels he has a good handle on the type of person he truly is, he still often thinks about scenarios in which he would backstab Gehrman in case he started becoming more like the Legacy Awakened. This fear is lingering, but not strong enough for him to act on it in any way.
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Q&A
Q (u/WonderworldReaper & u/ael_roc): Will/when do Gehrman's other personalities come out?
A: In times of great Madness his personality will come out in a fractured state. So you might get a few lines from Old Gehrman (most of the time) and some from Johann or Dorian. Otherwise he is stable enough to where they all kind of blend together.
Q (u/WonderworldReaper): Will Gehrman remember Sunny after he becomes Fateless?
A: This is something I have been thinking about from the start and am very conflicted. I would ordinarily just say that since the gods couldn't break Fate then Sunny's whole situation shouldn't make anyone, even a Void Creature like the Moon Presence immune to the memory loss. However, the Moon Presence is special, and the nature of the Void and Fate is likely contradictory (Fate can't exist within Void). I'm still not sure on how I'll write it, but I'll probably have Gehrman at least remember a little after some shenanigans.
Q (u/Not_a_Deadra): Will there be any side content for this story?
A: Ordinarily I would say yes. But like I've mentioned I am focusing a lot on my original novel at this moment in time and this book (though I am still very committed to finishing it) is taking a bit of a back seat. In all likelihood I will do some more "chapters" like this. I will probably do an informal summary/explanation of Caster's Nightmare(s) when/if he becomes a Saint.
Q (u/HereForGoodRead): Are you an ass or boob guy?
A: That's inappropriate!
…ass
Q (u/lostfromsanit): What is Gehrman's favorite snack?
A: Really spicy or flavorful snacks since they are so different from Yharnam's bland cuisine.
Q (u/lostfromsanit): Who is Gehrman's favorite person in the cohort?
A: Sunny. He finds him to be the most promising out of all of them while also just enjoying his personality.
Q (u/lostfromsanit): Do you have a plan for Gehrman's 3rd Nightmare?
A: I do. In fact, I have plans for Gehrman's 4th and 5th as well. However, the ideas aren't as in depth as the conflict of the 2nd Nightmare, so I think those arcs will be shorter. Still, they should be quite fun.
Q (u/lostfromsanit): How did you make Gehrman's character so good?
A: Awww, that's very sweet of you. In all honesty though, I don't think Gehrman's character is that good writing-wise. He develops a bit (becoming more brutal and willing to kill humans while also becoming more charitable). But it isn't anything special. If anything, I think he is a satisfying character – which is different. He has fun dialogue, interactions, and is exceedingly competent, using everything at his disposal. Someone like that runs the risk of being a Mary Sue, but given his nature it becomes valid.