How did I end up here?

How did I end up here?

HOW DID I END UP HERE?!?!?

It's the end.  The END.

I mean, I knew this was coming.  I knew I was going to end it with a wedding.  I've known that for five years.  Okay, maybe four.

BUT I PLANNED THIS OUT FOUR YEARS AGO.

I knew, that the end of everything, I would end it with a wedding.  And that Xigbar would crash it.  But that was all I knew.  Rar and I joked about it.  Because after AtP, when Xigbar was still alive, I joked that he'd come back and crash the wedding at the end of the next one.

Because I'd only ever planned on writing two.

Look at me now, I've written four.  Five if you include Can't Escape.  (I don't count Plan Beta as anything but drabbles and fun experiments in plot.)

When I sat down and outlined Remnants, when I had a pretty solid idea of who my main enemies were (how Xehanort was back, what was going on with Larxene and Marluxia, what Xigbar was up to), I planned it out through the end.  Yeah, I changed out a couple of worlds here and there, electing to include Corona and Arendelle instead of recycling Atlantica and Beast's Castle.  But I knew there'd be a wedding.

Initially, and I might have said this before, but I might not have, it was supposed to be Donald and Daisy's wedding.  Because they were the only couple who I figured would be getting married.  (I hadn't really considered much about the FF characters.  I had always entertained the thought of continuing on and writing FF7 as if the KH characters might be a part.  But that got scrapped sometime when I was writing the prequel and struggled to rewrite FF8 and KH1-2 and make them interesting.)

For the record, I changed the wedding-to-be-crashed to Aerith and Zack's wedding about when I realized Zack was going to propose to Aerith.  I liked the way it was going to flow.  Let's see, do I still have the original conversation with rar...

Oh look, I do! And it involves Cloud/Hades stuff as well.  Bonus!

rar: i feel like us discussing potential Cloud and Hades ideas requires something more in depth than tumblr, so I'm messaging you
magik: probably
rar: I mean i still replied to you on tumblr but idk if we need to go more in depth
rar: anyway i'm cool with you using the idea {for Hades to send hellhounds after Cloud}
magik: woo! i just think... hades is the type to hold a grudge and Cloud did blow him off
rar: yeah exactly
magik: and now that Hades doesn't have Maleficent in his hair and pretty soon, he won't have Disney Castle, either
rar: yup
magik: and especially if Cloud shows back up in Olympus, Hades will be reminded of his grudge
rar: yuuuuuuuuup especially since he's LOOKING for like something to do or someone to use now that his plans have failed, right?
magik: yeah.  i am loving this Cloud arc that i'm putting together.  Cloud'll have to deal with Heartless and hell-hounds
rar: oh yeah
magik: because while Hades may be bound to Olympus, his hell-hounds won't be
rar: nooope they won't

So that's that... and here's some stuff as to other characters that were getting included

magik: and of course, i'm going to incorporate Denzel here pretty soon
rar: OOH!
magik: which may have nothing to do with the hell-hounds
rar: of course
magik: and i may have to drag vincent in because i love this line i just got: "These ones aren't too bad, some of them have three heads."  "A three headed dog needs a three barrelled gun"
rar: that's perf, you may have to drag vincent in... just for that
magik: yeah

And now for the wedding part:

magik: i'm contemplating Zerith disappearing for a bit
rar: ye?
magik: and then coming back and they've actually eloped... and everyone's all like...
rar: AHA
magik: "And I wasn't invited?"
rar: man I feel like Aerith would've wanted a ceremony tho... tho maybe not? mabye she is the kind of person who'd wanna not make a big deal out of it?
magik: i think that's exactly it.  though at the same time... UGGGG everyone's just geting married at the same time!!! aslgdkasdgh;
rar: IDK??? WHAT TO DO
magik: what if... i could replace donald and daisy's wedding for Zack and Aerith's....
rar: you could maybe do that
magik: their wedding was technically a place-holder... i just needed a huge ceremony...
rar: mmm
magik: the thing with donald/daisy was that i wasn't going to write the ceremony... just the reception... i could do that still with zerith
rar: you could
magik: aerith would alternate between wanting everyone in the ceremony and thus she'd have no one in the audience
rar: she would
magik: or only having one person in the ceremony so that there could be an audience... and zack's just like "I don't care, I could marry you on the moon with one witness and the justice and i'd be happy"
rar: he would
magik: hmm... if i did that... and xiggy crashed it i... heh... if he actually showed up during the ceremony... i think Aerith herself would murder him
rar: uhoh... that's not a good thing?
magik: it's amusing
rar: but probably not good for your plot
magik: honestly... it's like having your riku murder larxene... just so long as there's a remnant left to vessel or not to vessel sora, i'm good

Ima pause there for a second... This was EARLY in the planning stages.  I was still writing the Disney Castle sequence.  Pretty sure Rar was still working on Dead Inside.  We hadn't begun to write the Larxene Sequence.  Rar also didn't know all of my plot yet, as you'll soon see....

magik: honestly tho, i think xiggy would just sit in the back because "why would i want to interrupt a show like that?" {which got changed to:  "Snuck in quietly and didn't want to ruin the show.  Good show, by the way! Wouldn't interrupt that for the Worlds!"}
rar: that's good. and he probably would. (everyone would notice tho) also you're norting Sora???
magik: he could cloak himself.  idk about norting him yet
rar: oh you did say "to not or not vessel"
magik: maybe there's a way xigbar could mask the smell of darkness that lingers
rar: (I missed it) yeah maybe?? he'd probably have to... tho i think canon says the org cloaks help hide your "scent" in general but whether or not that's true
magik: darn Riku and his sense of smell
rar: yeah unfortunately i can't remember if--oh yeah it wouldn't work... he definitely says "you reek of darkness" to one of the Org members (i think Vexen ha) and they were wearing the cloak so... the cloak wouldn't do it
magik: he'd have to have a special cloak
rar: yeah
magik: or something like it... some sort of spell he bought off the blackmarket labelled with "protection" so it would end up blending with the ones that Aerith and Rinoa throw up

I realize now that Xigbar totally still managed to sneak in and see the wedding and no one noticed him.  Probably because everyone was too distracted.  But I was still in the planning stages at the time of this conversation.  I also will mention that at this point, I was still anticipating that the wedding would happen and then I'd nort Sora (assuming I norted Sora, which I did end up doing obviously).  Because the plan was: wedding, Xigbar fight, Xehanort fight where Sora gets Norted.  I changed it to Sora getting Norted beforehand, then six months later wedding, Xigbar warning, and Xehanort fight.

magik: Rinoa: "you're the bride, stahp!" Aerith: I'm not letting anything happen to my wedding!"
rar: yeah this could work
magik: but anyway... i think i like this idea

I'm actually gonna stop talking/ranting/reposting convos at the moment.  This post is getting long and I have more to say about the wedding that's gonna take more than one post apparently.  I'll come back tomorrow and post more, yeah?

Larxene Sequence (various chapters between 61 and 78)

The long-awaited Larxene Sequence post.  Ah yes.  The sequence that starts in Corona and ends in Deep Space.  And while I could have talked about it a little bit at a a time in the last two posts I did, I elected not to.

Gosh, I don't even know how long ago it was now.  A year, two? But rar was talking about a crack sequence where her Riku (the Riku Replica from KH canon) comes back to the original universe (mine circa pre-3D) to take revenge on Larxene.  I saw her talking about it on Tumblr and I was like... "so what were you planning on doing with that?"  And she told me and I said "well, how about we just make that canon"

And I'm so glad I did.

I integrated it into the rough outline for Remnants when I made the outline over a year ago.  About six months ago (maybe it was eight though, time gets screwy in my head because of how many states I've lived in this year) she and I sat down and really fleshed out what happens when.  This is terribly important because we're dealing with cross-universe travel where my universe runs on average three times faster.  Which is why we've got Larxene stuff going on in my universe so back-to-back but in hers there were a couple of chapters in between parts.

We elected to each write different POVs of the same things so that way they could be integrated into Remnants and All that Remains.  That way we weren't messing with Some Things You Can't Escape and still had coherent story arcs without making you guys jump between fics.

So it starts in Corona.  The Namine Replica and the other Kairi show up in my universe.  It's decided that Namine, Kairi, and Riku are going to go.  Ironically, that makes for two Kairis, two Namines, and two Rikus in the same scene.  But hey, it's amusing.  My Namine went because I wanted the two of them to interact and her going after him as he's trying to take revenge is much more poignant than her going to rescue him from Larxene.  (Heck, that might just be insult to injury.)  Riku went because of all the darkness floating around and he's the best one for the job.  And who doesn't love two powerousing Kairi's going around?

The counting scene between Namine and the Riku Replica came from another fanfic I read about their time in Castle Oblivion.  Though it's not touched on much in either rar's or my universe... their time sucked.  It sucked a lot.  He got rewritten, a lot.  They hid from Larxene... a lot.  They came up with tricks to fight through the pain--that's one of them.  

The action went into Riku's POV because I wanted a variance of POVs and I knew I wanted Namine for the aftermath.  And Kairi was responsible for the Corona POV.  So Riku got this bit.  But it worked well because then he could see what was going on between Namine and the Riku Replica and he's pretty invested because he's been through CO too.  Anyone who remembers CO is changed.  Heck, Sora's changed and he doesn't remember it.

I don't know why I write for Larxene so well.  But I do.  And I hate myself a little.  But at the same time I bounce up and down with excitement because yay writing!

She's so messed up from the darkness, too.  It's disgusting.

Then we get Namine arguing with the Namine Replica over who should be responsible for taking blows made for Riku.  And they can really only agree on "he shouldn't" .  Namine and the Riku Replica get to reconcile a bit.  Because, she's happy he's alive.  She's happy she didn't screw him up.  She's happy he's moved on, because she didn't return his affection.  (She knew it wasn't real and she didn't really have affection for anyone at that point.)  At the same time, she tells the Riku Replica that she's moved on from being afraid of Larxene--because if there's one thing that Namine's done, even since All the Pieces, it's get stronger and less afraid.  I'm so happy with her character development.  And this scene really encapsulates it.

Then comes the next chapter, which was stuff I knew had to be discussed, but rar and I decided that it didn't need to happen in front of the Riku Replica.  And this is the stuff about Namine and shattering.  And how she doesn't want to touch Larxene's memories.  At all.  She's messed with Xehanort's a bit, but she doesn't want to touch Larxene.  She doesn't want to relive any of that.  She doesn't want to see what happened to her and the Riku Replica through Larxene's eyes.  She doesn't want to put herself through that--and I. Don't. Blame. Her.

That whole thing started when rar and I were talking about who was actually going to kill Larxene.  Naturally, the idea of Namine shattering Larxene came up.  And neither Namine nor I liked the idea.  That is why.

The next chapter of this sequence is the Larxene POV chapter.  I don't really know why I decided to do that, but Larxene was presenting me with information, so I took it.  I took her anger, her crazy, her messed up mind, and I wrote a chapter out of it.  She's scared of a couple of things (her emotions included) and angry at everything else.  And she's going to take it out on the Riku Replica.  Because he started it.

Vexen's bit was great, too.  Because Vexen at first is just like "oh, I wasn't aware that we had any Larxene Replicas left" and Riku's like "that's the actual Larxene because I may have tried to murder her in cold blood."  But then Vexen gets a golden moment and gets to protect Riku and it's great.  Not that it was terribly effective--but he tried!

Then Vexen, Aerith, and Namine show up in my universe and take Axel, Roxas, and Xion with them to go save Riku from Larxene.  Axel literally just went because he wanted to mess with Vexen.  Because Axel's on his own side.  Yup.

Axel and Larxene opposing each other is a beautiful thing.  Because they have a history.  That whole CO thing.  Axel goes into his pattern of lazy defense.  And then he goes and forms his specialty of vertical dark corridors to allow Riku to fall through and right into his arms.  Because Axel's good at that sort of thing.  Oh man, and the whole "got it memorized" thing that he does to Aerith.  Golden.  Same with him saying that he should have killed Larxene back in CO.  Any of the times.  Because the last time, he just sent her to Atlantica.  And he's probably regretting that right about now.  But hey, it's time to finish her once and for all.

I have to admit, Roxas and Xion aren't necessarily out of their league, but they really don't know what to do with Larxene.  Neither of them know her all that well.  Not like Axel or Vexen who have histories with her.   Gosh.  The history between the three of them is rich.

"Stop throwing your ice where I'm throwing my fire and we won't have this problem."

Because they would.

Then comes the big reveal of Vexen.  I don't entirely remember why I wanted him to keep that secret.  Maybe so there could be a big reveal.  Maybe because Larxene might throw less hatred in his direction. But he kept it from her and then she got to realize through his caring about Riku who he was.  Fun times.

Larxene being distressed about potentially being an experiment of his is a glorious thing.

And then Vexen's the one to kill her.  Because rar and I decided that was appropriate.  But she talked about that on her blog, so I'll just leave it at that.

And for once, Axel doesn't take all the credit.  But he demands that Vexen thank him.  And Vexen thanks him without a second thought because Vexen is indeed helpful but "Don't make me say it again, Axel."  Because yeah.

Kay, I think I'm out of juice for this, but I did talk a lot.  I hope you enjoyed what is probably one of my top three sequences in this whole fic.

Vexen Feels (Can't Escape chapter 65)

Chapter

Rar's Tumblr Event Thing

I think we all kind of feel bad for Vexen.  I, at least, do.  The poor guy doesn't really have any friends anymore (they're all mostly dead), he doesn't see eye-to-eye with Ienzo anymore, he's staying in another universe because he's afraid of his past (namely Xehanort-who isn't even around anymore) coming to haunt him.  But in that other universe, he's hardly allowed permissions for anything, he's not particularly good for anything, but he cares about Riku, and by extent Namine, and he just wants the best for them though he's terribad at showing it.

by halfdemondog on dA

However, Vexen with goggles is a thing I like.  (See the picture).  Idk, I saw it and I liked it.  Plus, in my
head, Vexen wears glasses now.  It's a thing.

But we did get a lot of character development out of Vexen and Riku.  Mostly with Vexen being reminded that Riku is not an experiment and he should be notified if Vexen is going to use him for an experiment.  It's clicked in Vexen's head now, especially after that whole stint with Xemnas.

Meanwhile, Namine's just having a meltdown and Riku's got a massive headache for it.  It totally has everything to do with their connection.

And, Vexen had a dumb and took them to the wrong Castle Oblivion, probably sending my Vexen Replicas panicking about their security (only to stop panicking when they figured out who it was.)  They probably figured if it was anything important, Master Vexen would let them know.  And since he left again, they'll leave him to his business.  (Heh, I actually didn't account for the three of them being in CO, it just like, did not occur to me until just now... but that's totally how that would have gone down.  Had they tried to interrupt Vexen and Riku, Riku would have just left...)

And, I have absolutely no notes on this chapter, so I think I'm just gonna wrap this blog up here.

Have a video!

Namine... you didn't want to do that (Can't Escape ch64)

Chapter Link

Rar made fun of me for revealing all of Vexen's passwords.  To which Xion says:

His passwords all have the word 'replica' in them.  Except the once that was 'scienceiscoolxiii.'  Vexen can just hush about that one, okay?


Sometimes, I think I have too much fun with talk sprites.

Anyway, first of all, my Namine was totally thrown for a loop when Riku showed up.  Like, we all know Riku practically had a panic attack, but it basically fried her brain, too, note how she's being super slow? I don't even remember intentionally planning that.  But this is Namine.  And Namine does things like that.

Additioanlly, she can nearly vicariously have a meltdown if she pries into Riku's memories too hard.  Like, Namine, you know that's going to hurt... she could have pried farther, but I made her stop because that's a headache (for both her and me) that I don't want to deal with.

So this conversation happened:
magik: no swearing, sheesh
rar: sorry? who's doing it?
namine: unstable memories...
repliku: no shit, sherlock
rar: ...
rar: OMG NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING

by forbidden siren

And, apparently, that conversation where Namine offers to fix Namine's meltdowns did actually happen
(how did I forget?!?!?) it just happened here instead of two chapters ago.  But instead of Riku having a panic attack when she mentions it, he actually goes and considers the possibility.  Like, wut? Charries, you ok?

And, I know that the picture there is totally NaminexRepliku, but I just... the picture is so good... and... I have to share... yeah.

Also, another random conversation that I feel like sharing:
rar: QUICK NAME ME A WORLD THAT ISN'T HALLOWEENTOWN BUT THAT ROXAS WOULD GO TO
magik: AGRABAH
rar: OKAY THEN I GUESS THAT WORKS
magik: CHINA
rar: ... we literally just had the same thought process here
magik: lol
magik: hawaii?
rar: like I was like "not halloween town ... agrabah!"
rar: "I don't like agrabah... CHINA!"
rar: yeah
rar: idk
magik: lol
magik: Xion is having none of your crap, Vexen.

Kay.  Yeah.  Have a video now.

Crossover Continued (Can't Escape ch63)

No, I'm not spamming you with chapters and posts.  not at all.  

Chapter

So, originally, the whole crossover was supposed to take place during Betwixt and Between.  It was during the whole "restoration and rebirth" kind of thing that I had going on, and the crossover was a part of that.  But then I wrapped Betwixt and Between up sooner than originally intended, so it got put after Betwixt and Between but before my Book 3.  (Like, literally, a couple of days before.)

by veritas-project

I remember using this image a long time ago (back when we were all still on Posterous) during the chapter where Namine and Riku ended up running into Shad.  Don't ask me why I used this picture then, but I did.  But now I'm using it again.  It's more appropriate, even though Riku and Repliku aren't going to be fighting each other.  Like, ever.  Alongside, maybe, against, never.

Man, I'm not quite sure where the "comparing injuries" conversation came from, it was probably Sora's idea.  Regardless, it totally happened and it flowed, so we kept it.

Eheheheh... the Larxene stuff, gets me every time! Oh, just you wait.  It's awful spoilers.

Man, does this group go off on all the tangents.  But, what can you do? It's a combination of them all talking about Xehanort/Xemnas/Ansem.  Which rar and I knew was going to happen, because there's the whole thing where Riku's like "man, I gotta deal with these guys again?!?!"

This is also the conversation that spawns Namine desiring to literally summon her sketchbook like a Keyblade.  Yup.  It's a thing.  Well, it'll be a thing.

Oh, this conversation happened:
rar: IS RIKU'S WRIST STILL BROKEN
magik: DEPENDS
magik: WHEN ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
magik: ARE WE TALKING CROSSOVER
rar: YES
magik: UGH, LOAD THE SPREADSHEET COMPUTER

Riku's wrist is still braced, actually, sometimes.  (He never actually got it set the cocky-butt, and then Xaldin did drive a lance through that same hand, so...) Heheh.  But I had to load the darn spreadsheet just to check.  By now, at least, Sora's hands are both functioning... remember Xehanort breaking his wrist during the battle of Castle Oblivion?  Anywho.

I think that's all I've got for now.  Except this.

WHAT IS THIS IS IT THE CROSSOVER? (Can't Escape ch62)

Chapter

Why yes.  Yes it is.

This is the epic crossover you've all been waiting for? (Well, one of them at least.  I think ya'll were pretty excited to see Sora and Sora, too.  But Riku and Riku was always going to happen first.)

Rar and I have had this planned since... oh... Probably since AtP, about when rar was finishing up FtP and moving into Dead Inside.  We even had it written.

Except, reading through it, we realized that we had to rewrite it.  Basically entirely.

Things that stayed the same:

by Maulsypaulsy

Vexen dragging Riku to the other universe
Riku landing face-first in the sand
Namine being the first one to see him
The cast of characters
General chit-chat about recent happenings

Things that changed:
Everything else.

See, originally, before Dead Inside turned into the huge thing that it turned into, Sora and Kairi's plotlines were significantly less... erm... expansive.  (This is the short version.)  From my understanding, Sora had some trouble with the darkness, but nothing on the level of Shad, because Shad didn't exist yet, and Dead Inside actually took place in a lot shorter of a timespan, which meant that Kairi never actually left the Islands.  This made the Riku Replica super confused when he saw Sora and Kairi BOTH on the Islands.  (I may post the original scene when we're clear of spoilers.)

Repliku was also cockier and the meltdowns were still a relatively new thing.  As in, Vexen didn't even know they existed.  And Repliku was having a conniption about them because no progress had been made (which of course had to change because of the recent experiments.) I think we were also having trouble with Namine continuing to offer to help and he kept saying no.  There was also a whole thing where they got on a tangent about Replicas being their own people (we were on a Days kick) and we were having feels about Repliku being worried that his Namine would be worried that she was a Replica and not a "real" person.  That got cut because people's focuses changed.

Plus, we had to change some of the conversation, because things we projected would happen and things that actually happen do end up being two different things.  And, some things had to get cut because at the time we first wrote the crossover, we hadn't planned on Joseph and Axel being frequenters of the other universes.  And, since Can't Escape became a huge thing, we didn't have to cover a lot of the mechanics.  The people in my universe know about where Sora and Kairi in rar's universe are, because they keep running into each other.  Plus, Axel ran into Repliku recently.

Yeah, it was a whole big thing.

And, about the time when we were going to rewrite it, Namine was dumping loads of feels on me of things that she wanted to say to Repliku.  Which is where the first half of the chapter as it currently stands comes from.  The second half being a brief sum-up of the parts of the story that my characters don't know.

And, I think that's all I'm going to say.  There are more chapters on this to be posted, and I don't want to discuss everything to death just yet!

I think I'll do review responses for this whole sequence once I'm done posting :P

And... I think this is an appropriate video; Also, it's amusing:

The Fight Against Adel (22)

Because, we needed more fights.  Actually, we did.

Link to the chapter: (I swear it's the chapter this time, not my fanfic profile) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9446325/22/What-s-all-Gone-on-Before

Link to the tumbl (it wasn't live, I basically went in and added my thoughts afterwards): http://magiksbrain.tumblr.com/tagged/ch22/chrono

I'm actually doing a thing where I'm not livetumbling what I'm writing right now because I'm so far ahead and spoilers, and it takes more effort to livetumbl what I'm writing.  However, I'll still make posts under tags for each chapter later with my thoughts.  Because little snippets of thoughts are funny.

Erm, if you didn't know, a Can't Escape chapter went up! Link in the previous post.

Um, yeah, so, this chapter!

Leon is mostly just like "oh my gosh guys, must you be all dumb-sounding!" Because, Rinoa and Zell both drive him up a wall.  Quistis is quiet, he likes Quistis.  (Shh, Squinoa shippers, that'll happen later.)  Of course, then he's super impressed with Rinoa lying her face off to get them in there.  And then when Zell starts flirting, he's all jealous.  Yup.  That happened.  He just squashed it.  (That didn't make it on the tumbl, huh...)

Anyway, I contemplated several different ways for them getting to Adel without help from the president of Esthar, because that scene happens later! (I mean, I could have moved them around... but I had already planned it out this way...) (That, and the tourist idea was super funny and amusing.)

by ~retamal1990 on dA

But yeah, Quistis and Scanning is a thing.  (I never really used the Scan spell in the game *shrug*).  Anyway, Quistis is actually super quietly badass during this whole scene because she's orchestrating what will go on, keeping track of everyone, and all that jazz.  She doesn't have to worry about Curing anyone, because that's Rinoa's job, but she does think to add things to Rinoa's barrier when Adel keeps using the Quake spell.  Anyway, yeah, minor Quistis appreciation paragraph.

So, anyway, a while ago, back in Betwixt and Between, I talked about Flexors, and how they can cast magic from all ends of the spectrum.  All Sorceresses are Flexors. Sure, Adel is basically an evil Sorceress, but that doesn't prohibit her from casting spells like Holy and Ultima.  Just like how Rinoa's a good Sorceress and that doesn't stop her from casting spells like Meteor and Flare.  Aerith, however, is not a Flexor, so while she can have a basic understanding of black magic, she is a white magic caster.  (Shh, I'm aware that elemental magic technically counts as black magic, but I say it's elemental magic.  Also, I'm not sure where Gravity fits in.  I suppose it's technically dark, but it's use in KH in general throws me off.)

Yeah, okay, so I realize now (as KKBeckett points it out) that Leon basically got knocked out during the ends of the last TWO Sorceress battles.  Granted, Edea was trying to specifically kill him.  Adel was just trying to kill them all.  Zell passed out, too.  Anyway, yeah, Rinoa saves his life the first time, and Quistis gets him with a good Curaga during the second one.  Meanwhile, Rinoa's angrily throwing magic at Adel until she dies.

And then Rinoa passes out.  Which is a thing that happens when you absorb another Sorceress' powers.  In my canon, that is.

Review Responses:
archsage from ch21, I PMed you about that one, because that answer is highly spoilerish.

archsage from ch22, go ahead and beat FFVII first since you have it on steam.  But FFVIII is pretty fun (in my opinion).  Though, I will grant the story can be a tad confusing.

KKBeckett: I'm glad you think Rinoa's sassy!

archsage from Can't Escape ch61: congrats on being review 200! And I can't really tell you who's going to meet up first.  (i mean, i know, just spoilers.)  I mean, just on rar's end, we have an emotionally unstable Riku and a darkness-ridden Sora.  Should be fun either way!

And now for a video: (more VOCALOID stuff)

Hey! There's a Can't Escape Chapter up! (61)

First of all... new blog theme.  I was getting tired of the old one.  And these colors are a nice change.  However, if it's hard for any of you to read it, just let me know, I'll make adjustments.  The blog is for you to read, after all.

Anyway, so, I posted a Can't Escape chapter yesterday.  Super fun!

Here's the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6902839/61/Some-things-you-just-can-t-Escape
(Sorry, that used to go to my ff profile, it's fixed now.)

No livetumbl for this one though.  Sorry guys.

Anyway, my thoughts, (I'm sure rar will post hers separately. or maybe she has already)

Anyway, I vaguely remember her discussing how she needs to get Riku's arm injured and then we discussed dislocating, and how he'd almost fall off a cliff and all that jazz.

by =SaiyaGina

And while he could have hauled himself back up, I remember mentioning in passing something about vertical dark corridors.  (Which, somewhere along the lines became my Axel's specialty).  So, I casually joked about sending my Axel over there.

And so it happened.

Idk, I really enjoyed this.  It was a bit strange, trying to figure out where this plays into my universe, considering I'm working on a prequel.  And it had to be believable, and there needed to be a reason for Axel to be going to ANY Hollow Bastion in the first place... (however, this didn't turn out to be very hard at all.)  Once all that was taken care of, it was really easy for the starshard to take him to the wrong universe.

And Axel's not dumb, he figured it out pretty quickly.  Mostly because he ran into Riku.  And Riku looks super different between universes.  Considering there is now close to a 2-year age gap going on.

Cue Axel saving Riku's butt and it's now super awkward.

Yes, Peach, I can guarantee you that it was awkward.  Probably for both of them.

Honestly, I'd suggest checking out rar's fic's blog (http://rarmastersftpverse.tumblr.com/) for other interesting information (including character interactions) regarding this chapter and the sequence going on in her fic in general.

And yes, KKBeckett, wouldn't it just make things so much easier if they were to meet? *laughter*

But yeah, this sequence was fun.  Axel is so much fun to write for.  I don't really get a chance with the prequel, because that's all boring Organization stuff and I'm mostly focusing on the FF cast as it is.  But getting back into the swing of Axel and making loads of references and little jabs was fun.

Rar's surprised I didn't censor them.  Please, Riku and Axel? Yeah... uh-huh.

Anyway, I think that's all I have to say on that.

As usual, have a video!  (I found this one when my roommate said that this song would be really good a capella.)

Namine Squared

I think it's time I do a post on the Namine's.

Everything here is just a conglomeration of everything that you guys already know or can know.  It's to help even out the confusion and answer some questions--maybe even for me and rar.

For starters, there's different levels of things that everyone knows.

There's the things that you guys all know.  It's been posted in a chapter, made canon, written out in a blog, whatever.  You know it.

Then there's stuff that our beta's know that the rest of the readers don't.  Cookie may fall into this category a little because he asks questions via PM and I know *I* answer ones that aren't too horribly spoilery, or I confirm theories. 

Then there are things that rar and I have written into a scene somewhere in the future (or, I suppose in the past), the scenes just haven't been posted yet.  Things inside these scenes may change, depending on what happens in the stuff we're posting currently.  The farther out it is, the more that's likely to change within it.  

Then there is stuff that rar and I just know.  It's not been written anywhere, we've just discussed it in a plot-throwing-around session.  Or it's come up and we've sat on down and figured it out.  (Blue’s Clues reference, btw).  These facts that we know may or may not actually make it into the story itself, but we know them to be true.

Then there are the things that rar and I honestly, actually don't know.  Things like Namine's meltdowns.  Rar and I legitimately don't have an answer as to what is causing them.  (I use this as an example because it's current, relevant, and this post is about Namines...) Anyway, we have our theories and speculations as to what is causing the meltdowns, but nothing is official.  And then there are things about my Namine that I find out as she tells me.  It goes something like this:

I'm writing something, and all of a sudden, Namine's doing something that she's never done before.

I ask her: "Namine, since when can you do that?"

And she replies: "Oh yeah, by the way, I can do that."

It's a ton of fun.

So, some basic facts and whatnot about our Namines.

Both Namines can see the future.  Or, certain future events.  However, this happens for different reasons for each girl.  Rar's Namine can see the future because of the paradox in her memories: she has memories of things that haven't happened yet.  Therefore, when she sees stuff that hasn't happened yet, it's because of those memories.  Will she continue to see/draw the future when all of those memories come to pass? Maybe, maybe not.  She might, considering my Namine can see future events without memories of them and rar's Namine has data from my Namine.  

My Namine can see future events because she can see past memories.  Or, it's related to that at least.  That's her current theory as to why she can see what she sees.  She takes the memories that she has access to (it used to be people just related to Sora's heart, now it's anyone if she tries hard enough.  Except Shad, he's a bit harder... but he's special.) She takes those memories and she uses them to project potential futures.  The closer the futures are, the more accurate her projected potential futures are.  She can also draw things simultaneously with them happening.  She just... does that.  

If she draws a picture of the future, it is about 93% accurate.  Some things may change here and there.  If there is blood in the picture, that is definitely going to happen.

Each Namine processes the images from the future different.  Rar's Namine generally has a meltdown because she doesn't actually know how or simply cannot process the future images.  So, rather, she doesn't process them at all.  This might have something to do with the locks that Edd put on her brain.  She may probably get to a point where she learns to control them and process them properly.  (Or she'll just get to a point where she doesn't get the future memories anymore, that's up to rar.)  (Sorry, this is still a tad confusing.  especially since rar's Namine's seeing of future memories and her meltdowns are somewhat intertwined....) However, this is assuming that the memories are what is causing the meltdowns.  But if that's what's causing them or not, rar's Namine doesn't do well in processing the future memories.  Thanks Edd.

My Namine processes the future images merely by just drawing them.  She doesn't think too much about them because any potential time difference is going to give her a headache.  She just files them away as puzzle pieces that she can't quite place yet and then she puts them in whenever she sees that an event has happened.  She's rather calm and compartmentalized about all of this, mostly because it's just been something that she has always been able to do.  She was the Nobody who could see memories, like Roxas was the Nobody who could wield a Keyblade.

My Namine can also sort of "create" a future via the images that she draws.  But that's only if she's messing with memories inside of hearts as she does so.  It's not something that she likes to do.

Fun fact, my Namine can experience a meltdown if she happens to be paying attention to rar's Namine's memories at the time of a meltdown.  If her telepathic link to Kairi happens to be strong at that moment, Kairi will experience a shadow of the meltdown as well.

Could my Namine fix rar's Namine's meltdowns? Potentially yes.  Backing up a bit, one of the main reasons why they (as in everyone in rar's universe who cares about stopping Namine's meltdowns) haven't *tried* all that hard to fix them is because they lack complete access to the Program.  They can theorize all they want as to what is causing the meltdowns, but they can't do anything to fix them until they KNOW what's causing them, and they can't do wither thing until they have complete access to the Program.

Yes, my Namine being around could potentially circumvent this, but she can't do everything single-handedly.  She'd need a fully functional Program.  Which, at the current moment, would require rar's Namine to go to my universe, which even with them meeting in that AU scene in ASAS, that wouldn't happen simply because Riku wouldn't allow it.  (Because, to be honest, he's f***ing paranoid about what would become of Namine.  He's too afraid that she'd change, she wouldn't be his Namine anymore.  He's afraid of this because every time he went into a Memory Pod, he just got rewritten.  So give him a break.  Especially because he doesn't actually admit this to anyone.)

Plus, in the canon story, the two Namine's haven't met yet.  

Things are going to happen with rar's Namine before she meets my Namine.  My Namine is not the solution to the meltdown problem.  It does make an interesting theory, however.  You're welcome to write all the fanfiction of our fanfiction you want to on it.

That's all I have to say on this subject at the moment.  And, knowing Namine, don't trust any of it to be true always.  She has a habit of retconning things herself.   

Combos/Limits/Forms

Sora + Roxas = Final Form.  Fitting and totally understandable for anyone who’s played KH2.  Final Form focuses mostly on Light magic and becomes essential for Sora to keep his darkness levels down.  Final Form also utilizes Time and Elemental magic.  Final Form boosts all forms of magic, as well as physical abilities and attacks.

Sora + Riku = Master Form.  Because, well, Riku’s a Keyblade Master (punny.)  But mostly because Riku’s just logically the next most powerful.  Regardless, Master Form is a fusion of both mostly Light and Black magic, but also increases Elemental and Green magic as well as physical abilities and attacks. 

Sora + Namine = Wisdom Form.  Namine doesn’t Wield and is therefore turning into a very magical fighter. Hence, Wisdom.  Wisdom Form is purely a magical form, therefore, all forms of magic are increased, as well as physical abilities.  Attacks are limited to magical ones. 

Sora + Kairi = Valor Form.  Because Sora is valiant in his fighting for Kairi.  Valor Form is distinctly an attack-based form.  I am contemplating getting Valor Form to actually use magic.  If so, it would probably utilize red magic.  (Lower level magic of all areas.)

Sora + Xion = Limit Form.  Xion is a representation of a younger Kairi, similar to Limit Form being a representation of a younger Sora.  Limit Form incorporates lower-level white magic as well as Time, Green, and Elemental magic. 

Anti-Form = special.  It takes two party members at random.  (Or just one other party member if there is only one to take.)  Anti-Form’s only type of magic that is ever used (and when it is, rarely) is Black magic. 

Sora and Roxas have the combo Magic Hour+, which is exactly like Magic Hour except stronger.  It is characterized by pillars of light raining down on enemies.  Currently, Roxas has more control over the pillars than Sora does, but Sora will gain that coordination.  After the combo, Sora and Roxas are both shielded by Light for a brief period of time.  Not surprisingly, this Combo’s focus is Light magic.  This combo will develop into something even more powerful as Sora and Roxas become more powerful.  As of this current moment, the only known addition to the combo will be the Finisher, which will consist of Sora and Roxas leaping high into the air and plunging down into the ground creating an even stronger pillar of light that kills or severely damages enemies. 

Kairi and Sora have their combo called “Fated Faith.”  It was introduced in AtP and surprisingly, has not made an appearance in Betwixt and Between.  (Okay, I say surprisingly, but the reason why this hasn’t happened yet is because it involves Sora fighting right-handed, and Kairi is avoiding that as much as she possibly can at the moment.)  It involves the two of them linking (left) arms and spinning/jumping about attacking enemies as they go.  I will elaborate further on it when it finally does make an appearance in Betwixt and Between.  Fated Faith is grounded in Light (and maybe some other magics as I explore more.)

Kairi and Riku are able to perform the combo, Holy Burst, taught to Riku by none other than King Mickey himself.  Holy Burst requires Kairi and Riku to link arms.  They spin about the battlefield, releasing orbs of Light as they do.  Holy Burst requires nothing but Light magic. 

Riku and Roxas’ combo is called “Light Shield.”  It’s a defensive combo grounded in (surprisingly for Riku) purely Light magic.  They send out a shield of light (kind of like dark shield ala KH2) and it knocks back just about every enemy and will damage some of them to the point of killing them.

Roxas and Xion have a combo called Event Horizon.  The two of them glow with white-hot light.  Whether they stay together or separate around the battlefield, the two of them dart among their enemies with increased strength.  Event Horizon is Light based. 

Xion and Roxas’ second combo is called Call of Light.  This combo is characterized by Xion raising her Keyblade up to the sky and charging it with light.  (I’m pretty sure I got my inspiration from Skyward Strike.)  When she swings it down, she flings the light with it.  She does this repeatedly, and Roxas darts amongst the enemies unleashing flurries of attacks.  I am thinking that as this combo progresses, Xion will be able to charge her Keyblade with more than just light (perhaps certain elemental magics). 

Roxas and Axel’s combo is called “Flaming Light.” And, well, it’s exactly that.  Rooted in both Light and Fire magic, Axel creates a ring of fire that surrounds a number of enemies, completely cutting them off from the rest of the battle.  Then, Roxas darts about the enclosure, attacking enemies left and right with plumes of Light.  (Hey! I rhymed!) Axel will contribute with flaming chakrams. 

Xion and Sora’s combo is based off of the Fever Pitch Command Style.  They are given a burst of speed and power, lashing out at their enemies.  They release rapid, four-hit combos, generally with spin-attack finishers.  Sora and Xion do not have to be physically linked for this combo, once they have activated it they can go all over the place, provided they stay within a set radius of each other.  The finisher is a massive four-hit combo a piece, both ending with light attacks.  Fever Pitch is based primarily off of speed and agility, but Light is the form of magic that is used, appropriate for Sora and Xion. 

Namine and Kairi have a combo based off of the Command Style Wingblade.  The two of them take on the form of one body (Namine) and Namine wields one glass-like Keyblade in her hands as well as telekinetically wielding six more Keyblades that function as wings behind her back.  This combo is a combination of Wingblade in BBS and Montyoum’s Namine featured in an upcoming Dead Fantasy episode.  Currently, Wingblade is mostly Light magic, but I plan to integrate certain aspects of Time magic into it as the combo strengthens. 

Kairi and Xion have a combo based off the Spell Weaver Command Style.  Light surrounds each girl, causing them to hover almost.  They do not actually hover, they just become incredibly light on their feet.  Their Keyblades do actually hover separately from the girls, allowing them to control the Keyblades telekinetically, ensuring better longer-range attacks.  After every few hits, the girls are able to release balls of light that deal heavy damage.  Kairi’s Light attacks are slightly stronger than Xion’s because of her heart of pure light.  The finisher is the two girls each becoming a pillar of light, spinning about, letting loose both light and pure magic.  Spell Weaver is primarily Light-based, but all other magics are boosted during the combo as well.

Xion and Kairi’s second combo is based off of the Blade Charge Command Style.  It is first hinted at when Aqua gives them the charms, but is not actually seen until many scenes later.  Both of their Keyblades shine greatly with Light.  This light elongates the blades, making them stronger and more powerful.  They can fight through enemies with ease.  Generally speaking, during this combo, they fight back-to-back because they are strongest this way.  The finisher involves them spinning their Keyblades in the air, creating a propeller of damage in all directions.  After the propeller effect, the two girls slam their Keyblades into the ground which emits a shockwave that can destroy many enemies and leave the rest stunned.  Blade Charge is based primarily in Light. 

Kairi and Roxas have a combo based off of the Command Style, Diamond Dust.  I don’t remember Diamond Dust making an appearance in Betwixt and Between, as it’s only briefly referenced in Can’t Escape.  However, the combo exists.  Kairi and Roxas are surrounded by an icy-blue aura and their attacks become faster as they use rapid Blizzard magic.  The finisher involves a giant glacier dropped on the head(s) of their enemy(ies).  This combo solely uses Elemental (Blizzard) magic. 

Riku and Sora still have their Limit of Eternal Session.  It works entirely like it does in KH2.  This Limit is a fusion of Sora’s light attacks and Riku’s dark ones.  The Limit is made up of a series of Combos made by the two boys.  The Limit focuses highly on Fire (Elemental) and Magnet (Time) magic, as well as simple, pure energy. 

Kairi and Namine have the Limit called Final Resort.  The two of them combine into one body (Kairi’s) and they summon a vast array of light-forms.  First come little puppet-like forms that are about the size of Shadows or Floods.  Second come two birds: a falcon and an owl, representing Kairi and Namine respectively.  Following the birds can come any array of light creatures that represent members of their party.  So far, the only other identified form is a lion for Sora.  The only other time Kairi and Namine have used this Limit was around Aerith and Rinoa, neither of whom are close enough to warrant a form.  The third type of Light forms necessitate closeness of the heart between Kairi and Namine and the other party. 

Riku and Namine have a Limit called Decompression.  The two of them join together and send out a shockwave of energy that kills all non-sentient enemies in its path.  All sentient enemies are severely damaged.  The combo is characterized by Time magic mostly, but possibly some Dark magic as well.

Riku and Namine also have a Limit called Light Aura.  Both of them are filled with Light.  Riku releases this light similar to the way his old Feint, Dark Aura, worked.  He slices through the enemy (or enemies) with his blade and slivers of light now instead of darkness.  Namine releases her light in the form of thirteen pillars that seek out the enemy to destroy it.  Essentially, this is Dark Aura + Salvation + Light.  

Namine and Sora have what will probably be a combo.  The working name is “Light Wave” but I have no idea what the combo is at this point.  It may involve Salvation as a finisher.  Not sure yet.

It has been hinted that Kairi and Riku will be able to do Inverse Burst, but this has not happened yet in-story.

Roxas and Kairi will have a combo called Feinted Flight.  I know nothing of the mechanics as of now. 

I plan to have Riku and Xion have the combo of Firestorm and also the combo of Critical Impact.

I plan for Roxas and Riku to have another combo based off of Rock Breaker.

I plan for Namine and Xion to have the combos of Ghost Drive and Thunder Bold.

I plan for Namine and Roxas to have the combos of Sky Climber and Cyclone.

On Vexen’s Odd Fatherly Relationship with Riku

So, Vexen (my Vexen) has an odd fatherly relationship with Riku (rar's Riku).  It's true, he does.  If you haven't noticed it, let me know, because that means me and rar aren't doing a good enough job.

Why does he have an odd fatherly relationship with Riku? Well, Riku was the first successful replica (sorry, Xion) that wasn't him.  Xion was sadly unstable and he barely got time to interact with her before getting shipped off to CO and then dying.  So! Riku's this great success to him.  He was made in a matter of hours (or at least overnight) and showed great potential on many levels.  Kinda like the son he never had or something.  The other Vexen Replicas are just comrades and whatnot. 

Do you get where I'm going with this?

Vexen is destroyed.  He comes back as a Somebody, hates his job and goes to a parallel universe as soon as he realizes that HIS Riku is there.  This is, in part, being interested in Riku, and everything else his want to get away from Xehanort. 

He ends up in rar's CO right before the Rebellion begins.  And he has been bugging Riku ever since.  He constantly follows Riku around, doing research on him, which is just standard Vexen behavior.  But then there are the times when he genuinely shows worry for Riku.  He worries over Riku's headaches when Namine has meltdowns.  He tries to figure out the relationship between Riku and Namine like just about any father would any son with a potential girlfriend.  He tries to understand what happened to Riku to change him.  He tries to get Riku to listen to him.  He hates Larxene (and all the Larxene Replicas) for what they've done to Riku.  He gets freakishly proud of Riku when Riku succeeds at something.  (Though this one might just be a creator thing, not a fatherly thing).  He wants to protect Riku (this one isn’t shown very well, because Riku does a good job of protecting himself, but the feelings are still there for Vexen) He freaks out over Riku's injuries...

The list goes on.

Some of this is in the name of scholarly research, some of it he disguises as fatherly research, and some of it is just plain him being fatherly. 

So, yeah, we've got an odd fatherly relationship going on.  Riku hates every minute of it.  Vexen chooses to ignore Riku's hate.

So, Vexen has the capacity to be compassionate.  Awesome.  He's also like an uncle to Joseph, as Joseph just so kindly informed me.  Vexen’s also quite nice to Toby, and very kind to Namine.  (We are NOT going to talk about Vexen and Namine’s relationship, it’s a completely different thing.) 

As for Xion, well, spoilers.  Sorry. 

Heheh, funny story.  So, the other night, Rar suggested that Vexen was the actual Riku's father (at least, as far as my canon goes.)  Riku's father left.  Vexen could have easily left Destiny Islands to go study under Ansem the Wise.  Oh, I'll just quote her, it'll be easier than trying to sum it up:

but wouldn't it be weird if Vexen (Even) was Riku's father (not suggesting that he IS, but it would be interesting...) I mean, it would make sense. He's in Hollow Bastion (Radiant Garden) WHY!? Probably to study under Ansem the Wise. Which, if he grew up on Destiny Islands, I wouldn't blame him for leaving. He would have been bored out of his mind!

it would explain why he's so interested in Riku in RR

and possibly why he bothers to Replicate him

and, by extension, why he insists on acting like Repliku's father at times...

Yeah.  It's merely a thought.  I don't think I'll actually go with it.  Besides, where did Riku get his hair from then? :P

They Were Once Organization XIII

And now quite a few of them are dead.  Or in parallel universes.  Or in exile. 

Vexen: He's in a parallel universe now.  He got out before Xehanort could either A) Make him make more Replicas or B) Kill him. 

"How easy is it to corridor between the different universes?" --Aaand, Onto Another Universe

Lexaeus: Killed in Hollow Bastion Castle. He was an unfortunate victim of Xehanort.  He was captured and the Xehanort drove a blade through him. *mutters bad words about Xehanort*

"I did not go down without a fight." --A Date With Fate

Zexion: He's alive.  Xigbar didn't have the heart to kill him.  He let Zexion go, claiming he couldn't shoot the boy "Ienzo."  He now owns a bookshop in Hollow Bastion.

"Ienzo, I go by Ienzo now." –A Forgotten Remnant

Xaldin: Killed in the Keyblade Graveyard/Badlands.  Riku shoved one of his own lances through his gut and Sora landed a finisher on his head.

"Such use of power will easily backfire here." --Old Friends, Old Rivals

Marluxia: Unfortunately still alive.  He'll probably come back and cause trouble later.  However, Axel's sent him someplace unpleasant in the meantime.

"So quick to anger..." –Up Down Adventure

Larxene: Also unfortunately still alive.  She will come back and cause trouble later. But, before she does, she's got to get away from all the water.

"I am going to pick you off one-by-one!” –Larxene the Ruthless

Xigbar: Still alive.  Roxas probably would have killed him if he'd stayed around, but he didn't.  He'll be back to cause trouble later.

"I gonna take a rain-check on this battle.  See ya, Kiddo!"  --Final Match

Saix: Killed in Castle Oblivion.  He tried to kill Xehanort with darkness but failed.  The darkness backfired on him and he was consumed. 

"Remember me as I was, before I messed up." --Final Match

Xehanort: Killed in Castle Oblivion by way of 8 Keyblades full of light as well as an additional light-attack from Namine for good measure. 

"Four masters in one place... all fighting for the same side..."  --Final Match

Demyx (Now Demetrius): Alive and well, started his own band and travels around with Luxord as his business manager. 

"Come one, come all, come see the amazing Demetrius!" --Fantasia alla Marcia

Luxord: Also alive and well.  He travels around with Demy as his business manager.  But he is always up for a good game of cards.

"Perhaps a game of cards?" --Fantasia alla marcia

Axel: Well, I'd hope he's still alive.  He's got a few more battle scars thanks to Saix, but he's alive.  *SPOILERS* He'll stay alive.

"You don’t want to fight me, I’m not worth the effort.” –Struggle Away

Roxas: He's quite alive and quite happy.  It's his new mission to go out to the worlds and keep the balance of light and darkness, and become a Keyblade master while he's at it.

"Maybe me and Xion still want to do a bonfire!" –Friends Forever

Xion: She, like Roxas and Axel, is also still alive.  She's going to stick by her friends forever if she has any say about it.  Her new mission is to achieve the rank of Master.

"Shh, I like using magic." –Friends Forever

Character Corner: Saix

I know, I know, before I start all of you are PROBABLY wondering: "out of all the people she could have done, why'd she have to go and pick Saix?" 

Well, because Xehanort's pretty self-explanatory and I feel like Saix has a better story, especially where Axel's concerned I suppose.  Yes, I’m aware that this is all back-tracking since Saix isn’t around anymore.  However, Saix is an integral part of why Axel is the way he is today, so I’m still including this.

Name: Saix

Age: Undetermined.  Probably early-to-mid twenties.

Weapon: Claymore.

Quote: "Remember me as I was."

The Conflicted Luna Diviner who goes Berserk.

I wanted Saix to still be evil.  I loathed him in Days, with how he treated Roxas and Xion.  It always seemed to me that when I was playing that game, or reading the novels or even the manga, that Saix was responsible for the decline in his friendship with Axel.  So, I played off a lot of that.  And I feel that showed during the first half of All the Pieces at least.  

Saix was bitter and angry and no-nonsense.  He wanted power.  He thought that hanging around Xehanort would get him that power.  He was brutal to Axel.  You only need to read the Novels to know just how disgusting Saix was to Axel.  As for All the Pieces, every time they fought, the battles got worse and worse.  Saix actually enjoyed Axel's pain.  Saix taunted Axel.  Yet, at the same time, Axel taunted Saix and often wished to "light his high-and-mighty cloak on fire" or make the X on his face bigger (which, he actually did.)  So, I can't really say that Saix was the only cruel one. I choose not to think about how bloodied and bruised up they got in their battles.  Especially the last one.  

Therefore, Saix was a complicated character as much as Axel was.  They established for me that their friendship was over sometime around the time that they were turned into Nobodies.  I can't remember exactly which they had decided on during the fic-writing.  However, as of now, Axel's giving me info that would imply that they had a sliver of a friendship after their Nobody-status.  Regardless, after that, it declined fast.  And though Axel was willing to try and regain it, Saix didn't want to.  

As I wrote, Saix became more and more complicated.  I soon realized that if he wanted power, then he'd want to eventually overthrow Xehanort.  Of course, he takes a while to actually come to this conclusion.  And he happens to go about "overthrowing" Xehanort in a very stupid manner.  Yes, let's kill the man so full of darkness it's disgusting with darkness.  Because THAT will work.  (Thank you for that lovely bit of sarcasm, Axel.)

All Saix ended up doing is destroying himself.  On top of that, he refused Axel's attempt to save him.  It wasn’t even that he didn’t want to make amends.  I don’t think Saix would have been able to live with himself if he was given yet another chance.  He was ready to go and if Axel would let him go peacefully, he would.  Therefore, he and Axel exchange one last bit of banter before Saix tells Axel to "remember him as he was."  Those words are full of the most sincerity I ever saw Saix muster in the fic. 

Then he is basically consumed by darkness.  The darkness tries to take Axel too, like Saix warned, but Mickey stops it.

That last line of Saix's will come to haunt Axel.  And until he gets over it, I have to deal with occasional bouts of moodiness.  

Axel, kindly get away from rar's Riku.  It's not good for your health.

On the Many Vexen Replicas

“He [Vexen] had a habit of testing out replica programs on himself, repeatedly.” –Axel, Squirming Evil

The idea for the many, many Vexen Replicas came from two places.  First, it came from the KH Mangas, both the CoM one and the KH2 one, though they are featured more heavily in the CoM one.  Secondly, it came from rarmaster, who has practically an entire storyline based off of them.  Well, replicas in general, not just Vexen. 

But anyway, so why am I doing a post for the Vexen Replicas?

Well, why the heck not?

Vexen is, currently, in another universe (rarmaster's).  He’s actually become quite the pivotal role.  And this is OUTSIDE of simply freaking out when Riku gets injured. 

The first order of Vexen Replicas (that my Vexen created) were the ones that existed in Castle Oblivion during the events of CoM.  Out of the 42 of them, 25 of them are dead/discontinued/disabled by some means.  Xigbar killed a good 7 or 8, random bit of trivia for you.  42, 34, and 27 (aka, the only ones that you should actually remember (though, 18's pretty cool, too)) are in CO, basically running the place (or just living there while it runs itself, however you wanna look at it.)  The 15 that remain are wandering about the worlds somewhere and our heroes may run into them at some point in time.  Some of them are in worlds with Princesses as an extra layer of protection for them.

Of the new order Replicas, 19 of them are still out and about.  (Pi is specifically still in Hollow Bastion, because I think it is his new mission to bother Ienzo or something, idk quite yet.  He’s just… helping with the shop…)  The other 5 were killed by Xaldin when he rampaged Hollow Bastion.  Gamma, Rho, Tau and Epsilon were all killed in the rampage.  Omega was the Replica left in Vexen’s stead and was naturally killed when Xaldin found out that he was a Replica and not actually Vexen.  I have a database with all of mine and rarmaster's replicas labeled and whatnot if anyone wants to see.  I mean, it's not entirely accurate on rarmaster's account, because some Replicas (most of them Larxene) just get killed and we don't have a number or a letter to attach to them yet.  But still, I have a database. 

Now, enjoy Repliku being bothered by Vexens.  I think it's fitting.  

Character Corner: Axel

Name: Axel (Lea)

Age: Undetermined.  Physical age: early-to-mid-twenties

Weapon: Chakrams.  Preferably flaming ones.  Also, fire.  And, if dark corridors can be considered a weapon, those as well, because he does use them.  (Much to some people’s chagrin.)

Quote: "Congratulations, Axel.  You've just found the world’s Keyhole and you are lacking a Keyblade wielder to come seal it.”

The Pyro who Wants to Leave a Legacy.

Axel has had quite the journey since becoming a Somebody again.  He had retained his ability to wield double chakrams, even after his Nobody-state’s death.  He regained his ability to both wield fire, form dark corridors, and control the Assassins after Xehanort messed with the darkness inside his heart in an attempt to win him back over to his cause.  Axel refused to side with Xehanort once again, however, choosing to remain on the side that Roxas was on: Sora’s side. 

In regards to controlling the Assassins, Axel cannot tell them to attack something with a heart because it will cause the darkness inside of his heart to rear up painfully.  Axel does not like pain.  He has also been warned many times that forming and using dark corridors will be detrimental to the state of his heart.  Since the Battle of Castle Oblivion, Axel has been doing his best to keep dark corridor use to a minimum, travelling by star shard whenever possible and dark corridor only when necessary. 

Axel has moved past almost all aspects of his “dark past” that was his time spent in the Organization.  He knows that there are still a select few members of the Organization that are alive and not at all sympathetic to him.  However, he is confident that since he has eluded death in the past, he will continue to do so in the future; he simply has no fear that anyone who used to work for the Organization could possibly harm him now. 

Axel is still as cocky as he always has been.  He has no sense of self-preservation and is often the cause of headache for people like Kairi and Riku, who worry for both his safety and the status of his heart.  He has completely reformed his friendships with Roxas and Xion and the three of them are still known to meet up on the Clocktower in Twilight Town after a long day of work.

Currently, however, most of Axel’s time is taken up by trying to track down a mysterious woman named Kuin.  Most of what Axel knows about her are things that he has had to figure out for himself.  He does know that she has quite the history with Xehanort and that she can pack quite a punch with her pistols.  He kinda likes her, but refuses to admit it. 

Axel also has a tiny obsession with trying to figure out what Saix’s last words to him meant.  “Remember me as I was,” were the words Saix had said as he was consumed by darkness during the Battle of Castle Oblivion.  Axel is now thinking quite often about his past with Saix, and before Saix, Isa.  He is on a mission to determine that Saix was not always all bad, something that he refuses to believe, despite feeling as though Saix had forsaken him at times.  Saix is easily Axel’s biggest loss. 

Generally, Axel doesn't care about what happens to other people.  He will not go out of his way to help others.  However, there are certain people whom he will answer to.  He doesn't consider himself to fight for any given side, just the side that most pleases him at the time.  He's determined to live out the rest of his existence in a way that pleases him and no one else.  Currently, that life is a life on Destiny Islands; where he spends most of his days off travelling, but he has a bed to come home to at night.