I suppose I knew from the beginning that at some point I was going to try and Nort Sora. And I had to wonder where the best place for that showdown--the penultimate showdown--to take place. I eventually decided that Destiny Islands would be perfect for so many reasons. Destiny Islands is home and Xehanort is really hitting close to home here. Plus, it ruins their vacation because I'm mean like that.
I started out the arc calmly enough, with Riku and Namine talking to Riku's mom about what was going to happen next, and then comes the word from Kairi that something's going on. And, at this point, Sora is still fine. Because you don't necessarily know yet that he is who Xehanort is going after. But you can probably guess through process of elimination.
Riku, Roxas, Axel, Xion, and Namine have already been attempted. Kairi is untouchable. That leaves Sora. Sora, who Riku explains does not have the immunities to darkness that other people like Riku himself and Axel have had time to build. And poor Sora is so oblivious to it all, because to him, the Remnant is going to go after Riku again, because that's who he's always gone after. But not this time. But as soon as he realizes that it's him the Remnant is after, he's still fired-up to protect himself because he's not stupid.
So how do you start the norting process of the most fun-loving and optimistic kid ever? You start planting seeds of despair in his friends, who he relies on for power. And then you give them despair, and you do it better than Sephiroth.
I goofed a little, because right after that chapter, I had some daily life going on in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden. And it wasn't even that whole contrast thing, it was legit I wasn't thinking about the overall flow, I was just braiding arcs together and I sort of goofed that one. So, after that whole crushing despair you've got Rinoa and Squall fluff, Denzel life, and Yuffie stream of consciousness. The chapter was there to symbolize a little bit that life in HB/RG is getting better and their all planning for their futures. And it gives a background to the following chapter from their arc when they all realize that something horrible is going on, I just feel that I might have placed it wrong and it should have gone before the chapter on Destiny Islands.
Because now, back to Destiny Islands and that crushing despair. I chose Kairi's POV because I felt that she would give the best portrayal of literally how awful it is that Sora's about to be norted. Riku was good for the first chapter, and now it's Kairi's turn. Because those three. Are amazing. And so interconnected.
Some of Kairi's Princess of Heart perks come into play as well, with her being light in the darkness. And then she has the task of convincing everyone else that Sora is worth saving and dismantling the lies that the Xehanort Remnant is feeding them.
Then Kairi faces Norted Sora. And it's disgusting and horrifying, but she stands her ground.
Kudos a bit to me for the whole "stopping" thing, because that's a bit of a reference to Rinoa in the Prequel. And funnily enough, Kairi had just been thinking about Rinoa. I have a thing. Sorry. Moving on.
I am also completely a fan of the line "I suppose I should help, little shit did save my life once or twice" from Axel.
And then, instead of doing the whole they fight Nort in Sora's body on the outside while Sora fights Nort on the inside, I decided to go for them all just fighting Nort on the inside for something different. It's not like they're not all connected or anything.
Switch gears to HB/RG again. The first bit is a bit awkward again with Shera and Cid. That probably should have gone in the previous chapter with the HB gang. I like seriously wasn't thinking very hard on that. But for the moment, enjoy all of that Cid/Shera fluff. Because they're cute.
Then we get into Cloud's healing, followed very closely by everyone feeling Xehanort Norting Sora. And how much a person was affected is directly correlated to their connection with Sora. So someone like Rinoa or Zack, who has minimal connection with Sora, only feels it a little bit, where people like Aerith and Squall feel it a lot more. And someone like Ven practically collapses with it.
Then, Roxas' POV for the rest of the battle. Brief mention of Xigbar being allowed to escape the battle of Castle Oblivion, because had he been killed they theoretically wouldn't be in their current predicament. Riku and Xehanort bantering like old rivals is a disgustingly beautiful thing. And yeah, they kind of are still fighting Xehanort in Sora's body in Sora's heart, but it's another layer still.
They knock Xehanort out by reminding Sora who his friends are. Terra, Aqua, and Ven join them.
And, I don't really know what to say about Sora casually having a Keyblade through his chest. It's a wonderful thing. But how I wrote it is probably the best explanation you're going to get. And so they banish him from having a Keyblade and Sora surrenders him to the darkness pretty much.
And then Xigbar shows up. I don't remember exactly if I had planned on Xigbar showing up from the beginning, but I definitely decided somewhere in there that having Xigbar showing up and shooting Xehanort in the face was a really satisfying way of doing things. There's some other stuff that went into this, but I can't talk about it just yet. But it has to do with Xigbar.
And, I'll think I'll leave it at that for now. Not very many chapters left anymore. It's weird.
Showing posts with label It's all Xehanort's fault. Show all posts
Showing posts with label It's all Xehanort's fault. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Castle Oblivion (Chapters 94-101)
The Castle Oblivion arc was a rough one in a couple of ways. Namine's head is always a fun place to be is one of them. The fact that Castle Oblivion is just an awful place is another. Granted, my CO has changed a lot since its original in-game incarnation, things are still rough there. Also, during the stuff at CO, I've also got the Sephiroth battle going on alongside of that. So, fun times.
Of course, I didn't even start us in CO during this sequence. I have us in Port Royal with the Wayfinder Trio. I liked discussing that perhaps Port Royal had forgotten about its magic. Because Pirates of the Caribbean is a much more realistic movie than the other included Disney movies. While yes, there are curses and some magic, it's not anywhere near the level that we see in say Cinderella, Aladdin, or Frozen. So, the "dried up magic/people forgetting about it" was an interesting thing to kind of allude to. And Aqua would think about those sorts of things, being so much of a heavy magic user.
But, of course, the tranquil ponderings can't last forever. Let me just dump a Remnant on them. And then they can fight for a bit, and then Kuin, whose glider is taking her all over the place, can show up and she can help them for a bit. Perhaps I made you think for a second that he was going to get Ven. Probably not. I've made it pretty clear that Ven's about as untouchable as Kairi. But that doesn't mean the Remnant still can't hurt Ven.
Then we've got Sephiroth showing up. Well, not quite at the beginning of the chapter, but it's alluded to. Cid can tell. Barret's POV is fun to be in though. Because he's never run into Sephiroth before, so he has no idea what's coming. Because, when Cid announces it, he really has no idea what to expect. And whatever he does expect, is not what he gets.
Oh, for the record, that teleportation block? That was Cloud doing things when I wasn't looking again. That's why Leon had no idea what it was but Rinoa did.
Let the battle with Sephiroth begin. Of course Cloud and Zack would be in the middle of it all. Tifa won't stay back forever. And neither will Leon. He just gets too itchy about not fighting. Man though, that battle was hard writing, trying to keep track of everyone. Because literally, everyone was there. Except Denzel, Marlene, and Merlin.
And then I've got Namine's feelings about something bad going to happen. The reason why she's not seeing any images, for the record, is because she couldn't see an image of Xehanort getting into her head. That's why her mind's drawing a blank. Fun times. I think it's completely legit, it also meant that none of you knew that he was going to go for her. Or maybe you did. I really just loved Namine's thoughts about talking to Leon about what he experienced inside of his head. Because, honestly, the two of them would have had the most similar experiences. (Them and Marluxia.) Riku and Terra had different experiences because it wasn't a Remnant who originally went after them. Terra had full-on Master Xehanort and Riku dealt with Ansem. Also, Namine banishing Xehanort from her heart with a combination of memory prowess and light=beautiful. I love Namine.
Ah, yes, Cloud regaining light attacks. Okay, more just like his limits again. I think that first one he used was Braver. And he's all like "Aerith, was that you?" and she's just like *shakes head* Because she knows that Cloud is regaining his power again and growing strong. Because, as far as my canon goes, Cloud had the ability to do light attacks and stuff. He just slowly lost them as Sephiroth drained on him. Of course, then the battle gets hairier as Sephiroth literally starts causing despair and Aerith is out of Megalixirs so she has a harder time combating darkness. (Which causes her to swear. Yup.) And then Zackgets skewered. And Aerith is having none of that. Absolutely none. I love the image of her jabbing her staff at Sephiroth. It's beautiful. So is Cloud beating Sephiroth into nothingness.
Then back to Castle Oblivion. Where everyone else realizes that Namine's in trouble and they end up relying on Riku's sense of smell to find him. I love poking at Riku's sense of smell and Xehanort's stench. Riku making up swears that Axel doesn't recognize is also a beautiful thing. Because while I hardly ever use actual swear words in my KH fics to keep ratings down, I can leave that up to your imagination. Riku and Axel are my biggest swearers. Namine fighting the Remnant in that form is also gorgeous.
Side note... while I initially wrote that chapter before Monty Oum's passing, it is certainly my tribute to him. I loved the concept of Namine with all those Keyblades and I loved Dead Fantasy and I'm sad to see that the story will not continue. RIP Monty Oum.
Now for some timey-whimey stuff. The Remnant in Port Royal could very well be the same Remnant that showed up in Castle Oblivion. Could be. It could also not be, depending on how many Remnants you believe are walking around at the same time. Kuin, of course, went straight from Port Royal to Castle Oblivion, where she gets momentarily stopped by Axel (really got attached to that lol) and then can't fight the Remnant until Namine gives the go-ahead.
Then we get to do clean-up in Hollow Bastion. Aerith and her massive need to heal everyone. Cloud of course, has got it the worst, having just killed his own shadow. Though, Zack is also not in too great of shape. Aerith expelling darkness with Rinoa, Tifa, and Yuffie's help was definitely a thing that was fun to write. Just, the concept of what rar and I figured darkness can and cannot do and it's reactions to different healing magic. Yup. And then it's raining, because it's always raining. But then Cloud wakes up and he's feeling lighter and happier, which is good. Very, very good.
Then we've got a transitioning chapter out of Castle Oblivion. This was my chapter 100. My fluff chapter. My chapter of: everything's fine at Castle Oblivion, we're all gonna go back to the islands now. Namine has a chance to recoup from what she just went through, everyone else gets a chance to splash around at the beach, which was just fun and cute to write. Writing SoRiKai derping around in the water because they're all such Island brats was also great. *nods*
Then closing off with more of the Wayfinder Trio. This time, instead of running into a Remnant though, they're on a beach and they run into Xigbar. Well, not before they have some fun playing with the beach ball. I had a lot of fun writing Xigbar's dialogue though, because he really just wants to live, but he's slowly coming to the realization that a world with him in it also means a world with Xehanort. And he's got too much pride to ask the Keyblade Wielders if they can destroy just a part of his heart. (There's also a good portion of him that thinks his heart is too far gone to Xehanort for that to even be an option.) Sure, he'll taunt them about it, but he'll do it while he's shooting at them, not during a pleasant conversation.
I remember having a hard time deciding how to wrap this scene up, so I wrote in the two boys with the beach ball (and then also the boomerang) interrupting and Xigbar being like "Nope, not gonna fight a couple of actual kids" and then he leaves. The kids, btw, are like unofficially my universe's Joseph and Toby.
That's all for now.
Of course, I didn't even start us in CO during this sequence. I have us in Port Royal with the Wayfinder Trio. I liked discussing that perhaps Port Royal had forgotten about its magic. Because Pirates of the Caribbean is a much more realistic movie than the other included Disney movies. While yes, there are curses and some magic, it's not anywhere near the level that we see in say Cinderella, Aladdin, or Frozen. So, the "dried up magic/people forgetting about it" was an interesting thing to kind of allude to. And Aqua would think about those sorts of things, being so much of a heavy magic user.
But, of course, the tranquil ponderings can't last forever. Let me just dump a Remnant on them. And then they can fight for a bit, and then Kuin, whose glider is taking her all over the place, can show up and she can help them for a bit. Perhaps I made you think for a second that he was going to get Ven. Probably not. I've made it pretty clear that Ven's about as untouchable as Kairi. But that doesn't mean the Remnant still can't hurt Ven.
Then we've got Sephiroth showing up. Well, not quite at the beginning of the chapter, but it's alluded to. Cid can tell. Barret's POV is fun to be in though. Because he's never run into Sephiroth before, so he has no idea what's coming. Because, when Cid announces it, he really has no idea what to expect. And whatever he does expect, is not what he gets.
Oh, for the record, that teleportation block? That was Cloud doing things when I wasn't looking again. That's why Leon had no idea what it was but Rinoa did.
Let the battle with Sephiroth begin. Of course Cloud and Zack would be in the middle of it all. Tifa won't stay back forever. And neither will Leon. He just gets too itchy about not fighting. Man though, that battle was hard writing, trying to keep track of everyone. Because literally, everyone was there. Except Denzel, Marlene, and Merlin.
And then I've got Namine's feelings about something bad going to happen. The reason why she's not seeing any images, for the record, is because she couldn't see an image of Xehanort getting into her head. That's why her mind's drawing a blank. Fun times. I think it's completely legit, it also meant that none of you knew that he was going to go for her. Or maybe you did. I really just loved Namine's thoughts about talking to Leon about what he experienced inside of his head. Because, honestly, the two of them would have had the most similar experiences. (Them and Marluxia.) Riku and Terra had different experiences because it wasn't a Remnant who originally went after them. Terra had full-on Master Xehanort and Riku dealt with Ansem. Also, Namine banishing Xehanort from her heart with a combination of memory prowess and light=beautiful. I love Namine.
Ah, yes, Cloud regaining light attacks. Okay, more just like his limits again. I think that first one he used was Braver. And he's all like "Aerith, was that you?" and she's just like *shakes head* Because she knows that Cloud is regaining his power again and growing strong. Because, as far as my canon goes, Cloud had the ability to do light attacks and stuff. He just slowly lost them as Sephiroth drained on him. Of course, then the battle gets hairier as Sephiroth literally starts causing despair and Aerith is out of Megalixirs so she has a harder time combating darkness. (Which causes her to swear. Yup.) And then Zackgets skewered. And Aerith is having none of that. Absolutely none. I love the image of her jabbing her staff at Sephiroth. It's beautiful. So is Cloud beating Sephiroth into nothingness.
Then back to Castle Oblivion. Where everyone else realizes that Namine's in trouble and they end up relying on Riku's sense of smell to find him. I love poking at Riku's sense of smell and Xehanort's stench. Riku making up swears that Axel doesn't recognize is also a beautiful thing. Because while I hardly ever use actual swear words in my KH fics to keep ratings down, I can leave that up to your imagination. Riku and Axel are my biggest swearers. Namine fighting the Remnant in that form is also gorgeous.
Side note... while I initially wrote that chapter before Monty Oum's passing, it is certainly my tribute to him. I loved the concept of Namine with all those Keyblades and I loved Dead Fantasy and I'm sad to see that the story will not continue. RIP Monty Oum.
Now for some timey-whimey stuff. The Remnant in Port Royal could very well be the same Remnant that showed up in Castle Oblivion. Could be. It could also not be, depending on how many Remnants you believe are walking around at the same time. Kuin, of course, went straight from Port Royal to Castle Oblivion, where she gets momentarily stopped by Axel (really got attached to that lol) and then can't fight the Remnant until Namine gives the go-ahead.
Then we get to do clean-up in Hollow Bastion. Aerith and her massive need to heal everyone. Cloud of course, has got it the worst, having just killed his own shadow. Though, Zack is also not in too great of shape. Aerith expelling darkness with Rinoa, Tifa, and Yuffie's help was definitely a thing that was fun to write. Just, the concept of what rar and I figured darkness can and cannot do and it's reactions to different healing magic. Yup. And then it's raining, because it's always raining. But then Cloud wakes up and he's feeling lighter and happier, which is good. Very, very good.
Then we've got a transitioning chapter out of Castle Oblivion. This was my chapter 100. My fluff chapter. My chapter of: everything's fine at Castle Oblivion, we're all gonna go back to the islands now. Namine has a chance to recoup from what she just went through, everyone else gets a chance to splash around at the beach, which was just fun and cute to write. Writing SoRiKai derping around in the water because they're all such Island brats was also great. *nods*
Then closing off with more of the Wayfinder Trio. This time, instead of running into a Remnant though, they're on a beach and they run into Xigbar. Well, not before they have some fun playing with the beach ball. I had a lot of fun writing Xigbar's dialogue though, because he really just wants to live, but he's slowly coming to the realization that a world with him in it also means a world with Xehanort. And he's got too much pride to ask the Keyblade Wielders if they can destroy just a part of his heart. (There's also a good portion of him that thinks his heart is too far gone to Xehanort for that to even be an option.) Sure, he'll taunt them about it, but he'll do it while he's shooting at them, not during a pleasant conversation.
I remember having a hard time deciding how to wrap this scene up, so I wrote in the two boys with the beach ball (and then also the boomerang) interrupting and Xigbar being like "Nope, not gonna fight a couple of actual kids" and then he leaves. The kids, btw, are like unofficially my universe's Joseph and Toby.
That's all for now.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Traverse Town AKA Mark of Mastery (Chapters 79-88)
This sequence started out more as a concept than anything else. I wanted there to be another Mark of Mastery (ever since Betwixt and Between). But I never got around to writing it because of how epically Betwixt and Between failed in so many ways.
But I still wanted to do the Mark of Mastery exam. Traverse Town seemed to be as good of a setting as any, so I went with it. The biggest question for me I suppose then was when I was going to put it. The sequence as a whole got moved around several times for various reasons. I didn't want to have it too early, to give the characters more reasonable time to be prepping for the exam (even if they didn't know it.) But I also didn't want it to be the last thing because, for me, it didn't really seem like an end-game sort of plot arc. So I wanted it in the middle. I do know it got pushed back a little because when rar and I cemented the Larxene sequence of events, it was happening right in the middle, and I couldn't have half my cast go gallivanting off while they were supposed to be taking their Marks of Mastery. So it got pushed back in that regard.
But overall, I'm fairly happy where it takes place.
I struggled a bit with pacing and POV. I wanted to keep things interesting and do a mixture of POVs from the scenes, but I also didn't want anything to come off as repetitive. There were a couple of near-entire chapter rewrites I think. But you all seem to like it, which is good!
The first stage of the exam was very much like Aqua and Terra's first stage. Yay element balls. And since that was overall self-explanitory and not much more interesting than comments on particular fighting styles, I was able to have Riku, Sora, and Namine catch everyone else up with what else had been going on.
Then, to break up the narrative, I stuck in the scenes with Mickey and Xigbar, and Marlene in Hollow Bastion. I wanted Mickey to run into Xigbar ever since the whole Xigbar arc got put in place. And I'm really happy with how that turned out.
The bit with Marlene was more because I wanted to include something from Marlene's POV than anything else. Because her and Denzel are such cuties.
But back to the exam... The second part was Master against student. Kind of like how Aqua and Terra fought each other, but at the same time, not really. I paired who I paired very intentionally, trying (obviously) not to pair couples or close friends.
Aqua versus Kairi was very much me experimenting with different fighting styles. I know I somewhat fell into the "Kairi as magic user" trope, and I should have had her do more power-house moves. And I kind of regret that. I don't regret Kairi just unleashing light when she feels like it though. It really was an exercise in fighting styles.
Riku versus Ven was also fun. Even more so because I told the whole thing from Aqua's POV. Riku's tank versus Ven's lightweight almost Airbender attitude.
Then came Marlynort bothering Hollow Bastion. That scene pretty much speaks for itself. Things I'm super in love with is Denzel and Marlene's attitudes toward everything, Pi standing up to Marlynort, and Barret calling Zack impulsive.
So Terra versus Sora. I wanted these two to spar because Sora brings out the best of everyone. And Terra could use that. (Sure, he's already gotten rid of some pretty nasty parts of his heart, but a little extra boost can't hurt.) Sora's thought process through that entire thing was great to write as well. Sometimes, Sora's hard to write for because he's so dang nice. Sometimes, he's super easy to write for--because he's so dang nice.
Then we got Ven and Kairi's thoughts thinking back on the exams, because I wanted to get more rounded scenarios. (I think these were some of the parts I had to rewrite, but maybe not. I honestly can't remember.) Through Kairi's POV we also get to see Aqua sparring with Xion and Kairi feeling a little like she's not all that great. But then Sora reminds her that she is fantastic and he's such a cutie.
Then Riku versus Roxas. And I couldn't resist a "Roxas-breaking-Riku's-hand" reference. Because I just love that whole exchange at the end of Days.
Ah yes, then the Leon chapter. This was one that I definitely rewrote a lot of to prevent being repetitive. The first part not so much because it was stuff before the exam even took place. Because the HB gang was at one point a Traverse Town gang and them wandering around seemed necessary. But then I refined and condensed things from the exam that Leon could gloss over because you all had already read it.
And then comes the final portion of the exam. I took inspiration from KH3D and had a little bit of a "dream-drop" sort of thing where they all fight something inside of their hearts. Sora and Riku pretty much take it in stride but then Aerith gets super antsy. So Namine starts delving to check. And then... well... Xehanort.
Because when else would he show up.
Ah yes. Then it was the chapter of Cloud doing things that I didn't plan on. Which is fine... I just... didn't plan them. Like the whole thing with the Hero's Medallion taken from Zack. I didn't plan that. Cloud went and did that on his own. Like I wasn't watching or something. But yeah, Cloud's done dealing with Hades. Did Herc help him? Yeah. But half of Cloud's character development right now is Cloud accepting that he can't do everything on his own.
Then comes Rinoa during the Xehanort fight. One of my favorite lines is "Was that a pattern they were in? How many times had they done this?" Because, Sora and Riku have done this. A lot.
Mmmmm. Ah. Yes. Leon almost getting Norted. That one surprised everyone. Including I think rar. Because it's just so unexpected. I wanted there to be one that came out of nowhere. Because Nort going after Cloud almost makes sense. In my notes, the Remnant tried to go after Rinoa first, but she's got so much power and even levels of light and darkness that he decided it wasn't worth it. So then he goes after Leon instead. And he gets close.
Then Rinoa is forced to fight Leon possessed by Xehanort much like Squall had to fight Rinoa possessed by Adel... and Ultimecia...
Then I switched gears and went backwards a bit into Namine's POV. Namine drawing stuff going on in everyone's hearts. And then Namine and Aerith coming to the same conclusion at the same time. Aerith needed to be in Traverse Town. And Aerith standing up to Yen Sid is a beautiful thing. Because Yen Sid's such this aloof character that nearly everyone in all of Disney reveres and Aerith's just like "not taking your BS, send me where I need to go"
But then Namine is just like "take my star shard, it'll be fine."
Okay, granted, I was jumping around all over the place as far as time is concerned... but Leon and Rinoa proposing to each other. Because Leon's been thinking about doing it for some time now, but he doesn't even get the chance to get all of the words out and Rinoa actually proposes first. It's great. And Aerith knows what's going on, but she just quietly gives them space.
Then we've got some wrap-up on Hollow Bastion's end. But that's pretty much it.
But I still wanted to do the Mark of Mastery exam. Traverse Town seemed to be as good of a setting as any, so I went with it. The biggest question for me I suppose then was when I was going to put it. The sequence as a whole got moved around several times for various reasons. I didn't want to have it too early, to give the characters more reasonable time to be prepping for the exam (even if they didn't know it.) But I also didn't want it to be the last thing because, for me, it didn't really seem like an end-game sort of plot arc. So I wanted it in the middle. I do know it got pushed back a little because when rar and I cemented the Larxene sequence of events, it was happening right in the middle, and I couldn't have half my cast go gallivanting off while they were supposed to be taking their Marks of Mastery. So it got pushed back in that regard.
But overall, I'm fairly happy where it takes place.
I struggled a bit with pacing and POV. I wanted to keep things interesting and do a mixture of POVs from the scenes, but I also didn't want anything to come off as repetitive. There were a couple of near-entire chapter rewrites I think. But you all seem to like it, which is good!
The first stage of the exam was very much like Aqua and Terra's first stage. Yay element balls. And since that was overall self-explanitory and not much more interesting than comments on particular fighting styles, I was able to have Riku, Sora, and Namine catch everyone else up with what else had been going on.
Then, to break up the narrative, I stuck in the scenes with Mickey and Xigbar, and Marlene in Hollow Bastion. I wanted Mickey to run into Xigbar ever since the whole Xigbar arc got put in place. And I'm really happy with how that turned out.
The bit with Marlene was more because I wanted to include something from Marlene's POV than anything else. Because her and Denzel are such cuties.
But back to the exam... The second part was Master against student. Kind of like how Aqua and Terra fought each other, but at the same time, not really. I paired who I paired very intentionally, trying (obviously) not to pair couples or close friends.
Aqua versus Kairi was very much me experimenting with different fighting styles. I know I somewhat fell into the "Kairi as magic user" trope, and I should have had her do more power-house moves. And I kind of regret that. I don't regret Kairi just unleashing light when she feels like it though. It really was an exercise in fighting styles.
Riku versus Ven was also fun. Even more so because I told the whole thing from Aqua's POV. Riku's tank versus Ven's lightweight almost Airbender attitude.
Then came Marlynort bothering Hollow Bastion. That scene pretty much speaks for itself. Things I'm super in love with is Denzel and Marlene's attitudes toward everything, Pi standing up to Marlynort, and Barret calling Zack impulsive.
So Terra versus Sora. I wanted these two to spar because Sora brings out the best of everyone. And Terra could use that. (Sure, he's already gotten rid of some pretty nasty parts of his heart, but a little extra boost can't hurt.) Sora's thought process through that entire thing was great to write as well. Sometimes, Sora's hard to write for because he's so dang nice. Sometimes, he's super easy to write for--because he's so dang nice.
Then we got Ven and Kairi's thoughts thinking back on the exams, because I wanted to get more rounded scenarios. (I think these were some of the parts I had to rewrite, but maybe not. I honestly can't remember.) Through Kairi's POV we also get to see Aqua sparring with Xion and Kairi feeling a little like she's not all that great. But then Sora reminds her that she is fantastic and he's such a cutie.
Then Riku versus Roxas. And I couldn't resist a "Roxas-breaking-Riku's-hand" reference. Because I just love that whole exchange at the end of Days.
Ah yes, then the Leon chapter. This was one that I definitely rewrote a lot of to prevent being repetitive. The first part not so much because it was stuff before the exam even took place. Because the HB gang was at one point a Traverse Town gang and them wandering around seemed necessary. But then I refined and condensed things from the exam that Leon could gloss over because you all had already read it.
And then comes the final portion of the exam. I took inspiration from KH3D and had a little bit of a "dream-drop" sort of thing where they all fight something inside of their hearts. Sora and Riku pretty much take it in stride but then Aerith gets super antsy. So Namine starts delving to check. And then... well... Xehanort.
Because when else would he show up.
Ah yes. Then it was the chapter of Cloud doing things that I didn't plan on. Which is fine... I just... didn't plan them. Like the whole thing with the Hero's Medallion taken from Zack. I didn't plan that. Cloud went and did that on his own. Like I wasn't watching or something. But yeah, Cloud's done dealing with Hades. Did Herc help him? Yeah. But half of Cloud's character development right now is Cloud accepting that he can't do everything on his own.
Then comes Rinoa during the Xehanort fight. One of my favorite lines is "Was that a pattern they were in? How many times had they done this?" Because, Sora and Riku have done this. A lot.
Mmmmm. Ah. Yes. Leon almost getting Norted. That one surprised everyone. Including I think rar. Because it's just so unexpected. I wanted there to be one that came out of nowhere. Because Nort going after Cloud almost makes sense. In my notes, the Remnant tried to go after Rinoa first, but she's got so much power and even levels of light and darkness that he decided it wasn't worth it. So then he goes after Leon instead. And he gets close.
Then Rinoa is forced to fight Leon possessed by Xehanort much like Squall had to fight Rinoa possessed by Adel... and Ultimecia...
Then I switched gears and went backwards a bit into Namine's POV. Namine drawing stuff going on in everyone's hearts. And then Namine and Aerith coming to the same conclusion at the same time. Aerith needed to be in Traverse Town. And Aerith standing up to Yen Sid is a beautiful thing. Because Yen Sid's such this aloof character that nearly everyone in all of Disney reveres and Aerith's just like "not taking your BS, send me where I need to go"
But then Namine is just like "take my star shard, it'll be fine."
Okay, granted, I was jumping around all over the place as far as time is concerned... but Leon and Rinoa proposing to each other. Because Leon's been thinking about doing it for some time now, but he doesn't even get the chance to get all of the words out and Rinoa actually proposes first. It's great. And Aerith knows what's going on, but she just quietly gives them space.
Then we've got some wrap-up on Hollow Bastion's end. But that's pretty much it.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Twilight Town Feels (Chapters 53-57)
I'm breaking off this arc at 56 and not 58 because of what 57 is. Jsyk.
I think originally, the Twilight Town arc wasn't going to be anything big. Like, it was initially just going to be amusing because Cloud and Tifa are there on business with Barret and Marlene and Sora and the gang end up interrupting. And it would all be fun and games.
And then I was putting in the Remnant's side of the story and placing important bits of the Larxene Sequence that I'm sure you're all dying to hear my thoughts about but I won't say anything about yet (I have things to catch up on!)... When I started placing the villains' sides of the story I realized that Twilight Town was going to be so much more.
Because that is where the Remnant successfully norts Marluxia.
And I don't care if you saw it coming or didn't see it coming. I like the way it all played out.
Because first we've got the funsies of Cid building them a new ship. (not initially planned, but then that blizzard in Arendelle happened and it just sort of went from there.) This is then followed by the mundane act of clothes shopping and then food and chatting with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
Then we have Cloud and Tifa going to talk to Barret and Marlene. I almost forgot to include Denzel in this scene, and had to go back and rewrite the first half of the chapter to include him! I felt so bad! But he needed to be there and the scene certainly benefited from it. Denzel and Marlene's interactions!
And then we've got Axel's POV with a really blase attitude towards the Remnant battle. That is, until the Remnant goes for his heart. And this isn't the first time that Axel's had his heart played with by Xehanort. Xehanort played with Axel's darkness levels back in AtP. Axel knows what's going on, but he doesn't even have room to be scared.
But Axel is saved because Larxene and Marluxia show up and the Remnant picks a new target. Axel's a stubborn target for a plethora of reasons. And Marluxia proves to be an easy target. And the success of the norting gives everyone else a feeling of hopelessness.
Then, we interrupt that programming to see Aqua, Terra, and Ven in the Pride Lands. This chapter was literally designed to give Aqua some time to think about what Xehanort had done. That, and suggest that Xehanort is the reason why Scar turned into the person (lion) he did well before the fic's events. 'Cause it was fun.
Then I switch to Xion and the aftermath of Marlynort's existence. I don't know where the name Marlynort came from, but I probably coined it in a conversation with rar and then it stuck. Then Xion got to be the one to name him.
And then we get into the seriousness that is basically them all saying if they're nort, they need to die. Like in a zombie film or something. There's not much to say about that. I think it speaks for itself.
A+ tooting my own horn:
-Riku saying they have enough munny to buy a house
-Kairi keeping everyone on track
-Roxas worrying about weird things because he's trying to be all normal when he knows he's not
-Roxas knowing more about Twilight Town than anyone else because he has data memories of growing up there that while aren't real, give him a pretty nice layout of the place in his head
-Tifa and Cloud being intentionally vague about their relationship
-Barret yelling at Sora and friends because they're "annoying teenagers"
-Barret saying that Leon's got a bad business model
-The line "The reason for Hollow Bastion's problems and at least thirteen other ones"
-Roxas being protective over the residential district and Cloud being protective over his bike
-Marlynort
-Larxene calling Marlynort a bastard
-Marlynort monologuing
I think originally, the Twilight Town arc wasn't going to be anything big. Like, it was initially just going to be amusing because Cloud and Tifa are there on business with Barret and Marlene and Sora and the gang end up interrupting. And it would all be fun and games.
And then I was putting in the Remnant's side of the story and placing important bits of the Larxene Sequence that I'm sure you're all dying to hear my thoughts about but I won't say anything about yet (I have things to catch up on!)... When I started placing the villains' sides of the story I realized that Twilight Town was going to be so much more.
Because that is where the Remnant successfully norts Marluxia.
And I don't care if you saw it coming or didn't see it coming. I like the way it all played out.
Because first we've got the funsies of Cid building them a new ship. (not initially planned, but then that blizzard in Arendelle happened and it just sort of went from there.) This is then followed by the mundane act of clothes shopping and then food and chatting with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
Then we have Cloud and Tifa going to talk to Barret and Marlene. I almost forgot to include Denzel in this scene, and had to go back and rewrite the first half of the chapter to include him! I felt so bad! But he needed to be there and the scene certainly benefited from it. Denzel and Marlene's interactions!
And then we've got Axel's POV with a really blase attitude towards the Remnant battle. That is, until the Remnant goes for his heart. And this isn't the first time that Axel's had his heart played with by Xehanort. Xehanort played with Axel's darkness levels back in AtP. Axel knows what's going on, but he doesn't even have room to be scared.
But Axel is saved because Larxene and Marluxia show up and the Remnant picks a new target. Axel's a stubborn target for a plethora of reasons. And Marluxia proves to be an easy target. And the success of the norting gives everyone else a feeling of hopelessness.
Then, we interrupt that programming to see Aqua, Terra, and Ven in the Pride Lands. This chapter was literally designed to give Aqua some time to think about what Xehanort had done. That, and suggest that Xehanort is the reason why Scar turned into the person (lion) he did well before the fic's events. 'Cause it was fun.
Then I switch to Xion and the aftermath of Marlynort's existence. I don't know where the name Marlynort came from, but I probably coined it in a conversation with rar and then it stuck. Then Xion got to be the one to name him.
And then we get into the seriousness that is basically them all saying if they're nort, they need to die. Like in a zombie film or something. There's not much to say about that. I think it speaks for itself.
A+ tooting my own horn:
-Riku saying they have enough munny to buy a house
-Kairi keeping everyone on track
-Roxas worrying about weird things because he's trying to be all normal when he knows he's not
-Roxas knowing more about Twilight Town than anyone else because he has data memories of growing up there that while aren't real, give him a pretty nice layout of the place in his head
-Tifa and Cloud being intentionally vague about their relationship
-Barret yelling at Sora and friends because they're "annoying teenagers"
-Barret saying that Leon's got a bad business model
-The line "The reason for Hollow Bastion's problems and at least thirteen other ones"
-Roxas being protective over the residential district and Cloud being protective over his bike
-Marlynort
-Larxene calling Marlynort a bastard
-Marlynort monologuing
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Space Paranoids Arc (Chapters 34-40)
This arc was me fixing a lack of continuity between everything else I'd written. Because I hadn't been terribly clear about what had actually happened to Tron post-AtP. Especially since I'd done the whole "Tron's been kidnapped by CLU" thing and then I thought I said Cid fixed it, but I was overall really unclear and... yeah. So here, lemme straighten some things up.
Also, I wanted to play with the idea of Xion in Space Paranoids because of programming stuff and whatnot. I mean, I didn't do much besides a few glitches here and there due to less-than-100%-compatible programming, but hey, I had a Remnant in need of showing up. Also, biggest difference between Xion and another program: Xion bleeds.
Meanwhile, I've got some Mickey and Minnie fluff (because any scene with the two of them is some sort of fluff... even if they're beating the crap out of enemies.) And Mickey gets to do some behind-the-scenes work. Fun times!
Meanwhile meanwhile, Terra, Aqua, and Ven are in the Badlands. This is when Ven gets to have some temper problems. Because, face it, everyone at some point or another is super pissed about Xehanort's existence. And, it's gotta be annoying since he keeps coming back. And then he freaking does, right before their eyes. Like, Sephiroth kills him and he respawns. And Ven gets to get out some feels, which is good.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Remnant trying to nort Xion sequence. Because he really thinks he has it here, what with Xion being his puppet in the past. And he goes for it, and she just stares at him (meanwhile, Roxas is panicking because he thinks that Xion's lack of movement is a bad thing). But Xion's just like... "dude, what are you even doing? are you trying to take my heart because it's not working." (Granted, her body did go into stasis as a failsafe, but still) Because Namine freaking put in a failsafe! Muahahaha.
Oh yes, and then I have Leon taking Zack aside and being like "look man, if you love Aerith, then you need to let her know, okay? Because she doesn't want to believe it for fear of getting hurt, and I can't have you hurting my sister-like-person, kay?" And then Zack's like... I need to get Aerith something that is a symbol of our love. And so that arc begins.
Things I am 100% okay with:
-Denzel learning about the HB family
-Ven, Aqua, Terra working together to fight Xehanort and their command styles blending and recognizing when someone is going to go into a particular style
-Anything Mickey and Minnie
-Motorcycles/light cycles
-Vincent trying to figure out Cloud and Tifa's lives for no other reason than his own curiosity
-Cloud visiting his mother
-Xion casually talking about how Kairi thinks she's going crazy because Xion keeps flickering
-Xion and Roxas fighting with the discs like Axel fights with chakrams
-Roxas using Xion's blade (that whole concept of them being able to summon each other's blades is amazing to me)
-Namine smirking
-The line "Oh please, it doesn't take Riku's sense of smell to recognize your stench."
-The Leon-Zack-Aerith dynamic
-Zerith
Also, I wanted to play with the idea of Xion in Space Paranoids because of programming stuff and whatnot. I mean, I didn't do much besides a few glitches here and there due to less-than-100%-compatible programming, but hey, I had a Remnant in need of showing up. Also, biggest difference between Xion and another program: Xion bleeds.
Meanwhile, I've got some Mickey and Minnie fluff (because any scene with the two of them is some sort of fluff... even if they're beating the crap out of enemies.) And Mickey gets to do some behind-the-scenes work. Fun times!
Meanwhile meanwhile, Terra, Aqua, and Ven are in the Badlands. This is when Ven gets to have some temper problems. Because, face it, everyone at some point or another is super pissed about Xehanort's existence. And, it's gotta be annoying since he keeps coming back. And then he freaking does, right before their eyes. Like, Sephiroth kills him and he respawns. And Ven gets to get out some feels, which is good.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Remnant trying to nort Xion sequence. Because he really thinks he has it here, what with Xion being his puppet in the past. And he goes for it, and she just stares at him (meanwhile, Roxas is panicking because he thinks that Xion's lack of movement is a bad thing). But Xion's just like... "dude, what are you even doing? are you trying to take my heart because it's not working." (Granted, her body did go into stasis as a failsafe, but still) Because Namine freaking put in a failsafe! Muahahaha.
Oh yes, and then I have Leon taking Zack aside and being like "look man, if you love Aerith, then you need to let her know, okay? Because she doesn't want to believe it for fear of getting hurt, and I can't have you hurting my sister-like-person, kay?" And then Zack's like... I need to get Aerith something that is a symbol of our love. And so that arc begins.
Things I am 100% okay with:
-Denzel learning about the HB family
-Ven, Aqua, Terra working together to fight Xehanort and their command styles blending and recognizing when someone is going to go into a particular style
-Anything Mickey and Minnie
-Motorcycles/light cycles
-Vincent trying to figure out Cloud and Tifa's lives for no other reason than his own curiosity
-Cloud visiting his mother
-Xion casually talking about how Kairi thinks she's going crazy because Xion keeps flickering
-Xion and Roxas fighting with the discs like Axel fights with chakrams
-Roxas using Xion's blade (that whole concept of them being able to summon each other's blades is amazing to me)
-Namine smirking
-The line "Oh please, it doesn't take Riku's sense of smell to recognize your stench."
-The Leon-Zack-Aerith dynamic
-Zerith
Sunday, December 14, 2014
The World that Never Was (Chapters 18-24)
Darn, broke the 8 chapter an arc thing. (It wasn't going to last anyway.)
The World That Never Was arc was to wrap up a few more things started in Betwixt and Between (and referenced in Can't Escape) that (again) didn't get finished. Mostly it was the large amount of darkness that was running rampant around, and the fact that TWTNW also had a DCP running. That Larxene managed to stop. Go her. Except, don't root for her.
Plus, I had to have somewhere that Larxene and Marluxia had been camping out that no one's noticed. And they're still around and need to be dealt with. Unlike Luxord and Demyx, who have basically turned good and can just continue doing what they're doing.
Organization XIII roll-call!
-Xemnas (Xehanort): Oh look, blasted little Remnants running around.
-Xigbar: Location unknown
-Xaldin: Deceased as of the Badlands in AtP by Sora's hand
-Vexen: MIA--currently running around rar's universe
-Lexaeus: Killed by Xehanort in Hollow Bastion when the Org had control of the castle
-Zexion (Ienzo): Running a shop in Hollow Bastion town
-Saix: Ruined by his own darkness (not helped by Xehanort's) at the end of AtP in Castle Oblivion
-Axel: With Roxas and Xion. Get it memorized.
-Demyx (The Great Demetrius): Running around doing concerts on his sitar
-Luxord: He's Demyx's manager
-Marluxia: Causing trouble
-Larxene: Causing trouble
-Roxas: Does this even count?
-Xion: See above.
Meanwhile, Aqua, Terra, and Ven are trying to track down pieces of Xehanort's past. Starting in Castle Oblivion clearly wasn't a bad idea. Especially because Aqua at this point knows that it was once the Land of Departure and it's a pretty safe bet that even if I didn't write it in (I can't find it, but I'm also not looking terribly hard) that she told Terra and Ven that they're walking around their home. Oh wait, she did. Because Ven wouldn't be asking about their rooms otherwise. This particular mission is them getting the remainder of the journals. And then determining that they need to go to TWTNW because Terra thinks he can get into Xemnas' bedroom.
And them of course they run into a Remnant. But the Remnant didn't bother them. (This won't be the first time that the Remnant's like... eh, I'll bother you later.) He wants to be ready to make a vessel. And when he ran into the three of them, he really was just messing with them. And trying to plant seeds of hopelessness. Because those are important.
Besides, then he went to go and try and make a vessel out of Roxas. Not that that worked. Roxas was a little winded, but no major damage was done.
Meanwhile, Cloud and Tifa are in Midgar, getting maintenance done on Cloud's bike. I love the whole scene of Cloud and Tifa in the diner. With Zack calling them and everything. And then they find Denzel. Because I wanted so bad to include Denzel (I hinted to it in the Prequel.) And I just love how Cloud and Tifa just pick Denzel up and are like "nope, keeping you." I kind of modeled it after how Cloud finds Denzel in Advent Children, but obviously this isn't Aerith's church (Aerith doesn't really have a church in KH canon, the one in Traverse Town is probably the closest, but hey.)
Then we've got the journals. In which Xigbar's journal is actually the most useful. Because he's the one that remembers everything. I believe that Xehanort's brain is a bit holey. But Xehanort was really good at starting to make clones. He was super successful with Xigbar and Saix--especially after Saix was marked as a recursant.
And then we get Cloud and Tifa returning to Hollow Bastion with Denzel and everyone being like "no one wants to call Aerith, so let's deal with this without her here because she needs a vacation gosh darnit" But it's cool, they managed. Plus, because it's mako-poisoning, Aerith actually has less experience with that because she didn't grow up anywhere near Shinra. Cloud, Tifa, and Zack did. Fun fact.
Things I'm super okay with:
-Xion flipping the lights on and off in the gummi ship to wake people up
-How everyone wakes everyone up in general
-Riku's fierce protectiveness of Namine regarding Larxene
-Xion knowing how to break into nearly everyone's rooms
-Demyx's door
-Finding Larxene's journal in a book about torture
-Roxas showing off against Neoshadows
-Xion and Roxas using each other's Keyblades periodically
-Axel saying that Xehanort was rude for going after Roxas' heart
-The FF7 Character's interactions with each other.
-Xigbar realizing that he's part Xehanort
-Saix's behavior after being marked as a recursant
The World That Never Was arc was to wrap up a few more things started in Betwixt and Between (and referenced in Can't Escape) that (again) didn't get finished. Mostly it was the large amount of darkness that was running rampant around, and the fact that TWTNW also had a DCP running. That Larxene managed to stop. Go her. Except, don't root for her.
 |
| pretty sure this is from the novelizations |
Organization XIII roll-call!
-Xemnas (Xehanort): Oh look, blasted little Remnants running around.
-Xigbar: Location unknown
-Xaldin: Deceased as of the Badlands in AtP by Sora's hand
-Vexen: MIA--currently running around rar's universe
-Lexaeus: Killed by Xehanort in Hollow Bastion when the Org had control of the castle
-Zexion (Ienzo): Running a shop in Hollow Bastion town
-Saix: Ruined by his own darkness (not helped by Xehanort's) at the end of AtP in Castle Oblivion
-Axel: With Roxas and Xion. Get it memorized.
-Demyx (The Great Demetrius): Running around doing concerts on his sitar
-Luxord: He's Demyx's manager
-Marluxia: Causing trouble
-Larxene: Causing trouble
-Roxas: Does this even count?
-Xion: See above.
Meanwhile, Aqua, Terra, and Ven are trying to track down pieces of Xehanort's past. Starting in Castle Oblivion clearly wasn't a bad idea. Especially because Aqua at this point knows that it was once the Land of Departure and it's a pretty safe bet that even if I didn't write it in (I can't find it, but I'm also not looking terribly hard) that she told Terra and Ven that they're walking around their home. Oh wait, she did. Because Ven wouldn't be asking about their rooms otherwise. This particular mission is them getting the remainder of the journals. And then determining that they need to go to TWTNW because Terra thinks he can get into Xemnas' bedroom.
And them of course they run into a Remnant. But the Remnant didn't bother them. (This won't be the first time that the Remnant's like... eh, I'll bother you later.) He wants to be ready to make a vessel. And when he ran into the three of them, he really was just messing with them. And trying to plant seeds of hopelessness. Because those are important.
Besides, then he went to go and try and make a vessel out of Roxas. Not that that worked. Roxas was a little winded, but no major damage was done.
 |
| from Advent Children Compete |
Then we've got the journals. In which Xigbar's journal is actually the most useful. Because he's the one that remembers everything. I believe that Xehanort's brain is a bit holey. But Xehanort was really good at starting to make clones. He was super successful with Xigbar and Saix--especially after Saix was marked as a recursant.
And then we get Cloud and Tifa returning to Hollow Bastion with Denzel and everyone being like "no one wants to call Aerith, so let's deal with this without her here because she needs a vacation gosh darnit" But it's cool, they managed. Plus, because it's mako-poisoning, Aerith actually has less experience with that because she didn't grow up anywhere near Shinra. Cloud, Tifa, and Zack did. Fun fact.
Things I'm super okay with:
-Xion flipping the lights on and off in the gummi ship to wake people up
-How everyone wakes everyone up in general
-Riku's fierce protectiveness of Namine regarding Larxene
-Xion knowing how to break into nearly everyone's rooms
-Demyx's door
-Finding Larxene's journal in a book about torture
-Roxas showing off against Neoshadows
-Xion and Roxas using each other's Keyblades periodically
-Axel saying that Xehanort was rude for going after Roxas' heart
-The FF7 Character's interactions with each other.
-Xigbar realizing that he's part Xehanort
-Saix's behavior after being marked as a recursant
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Hollow Bastion Arc (Chapters 2-9)
So everything led up to a giant battle in Hollow Bastion. And rather than postpone it any longer and have it be some sort of climactic event, I just decided I'd start with it. And I think it really set the stage for what all was to come. And I was going to continue there, but I realized that it's spoilers for stuff I haven't even posted yet. So nevermind on that one.
I actually had it pretty worked out in my head (and on several diagrams) what all happened and who all was where. The strategy for the characters of course being to get someone into the computer in Hollow Bastion castle that could start the DTP (darkness termination program.) People would have to hang back places to literally fight endless streams of Heartless to prevent those ahead from getting swamped from behind. But hey, I have a huge cast to play with and plenty of heavy hitters.
As a side note, I remember Aerith's house giving me so much trouble because I could never remember just how many bedrooms it had. I'll argue it again some more later in the fic. Until eventually they're just done expanding it.
I also tried to get a good balance of different POVs for this whole sequence.
Roxas' was fun because he's generally pretty practical and it's not unusual for him to just know what Sora's up to, so I'm not losing anything there. Roxas also just sees lots of other things and I can do Xion and Axel dynamics as well.
Rinoa's POV is amazing because I love Rinoa omg. Especially with her in the first chapter and all of the "oh just leave my dog alone she's old" and then her huge arsenal of magic that she'll cast. And her good observations. Yes. Rinoa is amazing. She also flies, which means she can see a lot of everything that's going on and it's completely reasonable.
And then what's a huge Hollow Bastion battle without Riku? I love him and Namine fighting alongside each other. Riku getting shanked by Master Form is also something that I will never not be amused by. Especially because Sora remembers to ask Sora, Kairi, and Xion. And Roxas just basically already knows.
Riku was also a good POV to be in when they got into the castle and ran into the leftover data memories that bothered everyone who's even the smallest bit Replica. Because then Riku can see what's going on and be strong for Namine and all that and yeah, that was fun to write.
And then back to Kairi's POV, even though I was in her POV for the prologue. But Kairi also was one of the group to make it farther. Though, because of everything that happened during this chapter, it wasn't so much of Kairi's thoughts, but Kairi seeing shtuff hit the fan--like a Xehanort Remnant showing up. But hinting at Sora's anger problems was certainly easier from Kairi's POV than Sora's. Because Sora would deny them and you know it.
I love Aerith. I just love Aerith. Aerith feels when the Remnant shows up, but she can't put her finger on what exactly it is. Aerith has connections like Namine has connections. She just has them for different reasons. And she wants to be everywhere to help, but she can't. But she tries and it's amazing.
Namine's POV is another POV that I have a really easy time with. Namine's really cerebral... she thinks a level or two higher than everyone else because she can just see those parts of the pictures, like Aerith. And neither of them hold it above anyone else, because then it wouldn't be cool. Something I am sad about is that I didn't necessarily keep Namine using her knife as a magic wand. I like, added that in, and then forgot about it until literally just now as I'm writing this up. And that's sad, because I'm not going to get a chance to include it really. *frowny face* Oh well, it's still canon. She'll do it.
Tifa is a fun POV to be in just because Tifa is so no-nonsense that there aren't any unnecessary tangents. It was also good to be in her POV for this chapter because as everyone learns about the Xehanort Remnant, Tifa doesn't get all shouting angry. In fact, she's the one to tell them all to stop. Tifa's the one telling them to shut up and pay attention to what really matters.
Chapter 8 was a mixture of POVs because I had lots of little snippets of conversation that needed to happen but I couldn't necessarily devote individual chapter to them. But I think it turned out okay. Aqua, Terra, and Ven were naturally all shaken up about it and Mickey is the perfect person to tal about it. Zack is so determined to KILL ALL THE DANGER. Kuin and Axel fighting is something that needed to happen. Rinoa and Squall planning out courses of action is great. Sora talking with Riku and Kairi about his potential darkness problem. Also Cloud and Zack arguing how about how much they care about friends.
Dynamics I'm really happy with:
-Leon attempting to be a leader and not being all that bad at it
-Roxas and Xion taking this whole thing as part of their training to become Keyblade Masters
-Sora getting to fight with Donald and Goofy
-Sora periodically calling out Drive Forms
-Namine quietly being seemingly everywhere in the battle
-People being weirded out by Sora, Roxas, and Ven
-Aerith just healing everyone she can reach on the battlefield
-Namine and Riku talking casually about crisis levels
-Experimenting with data and memories
-Xion hacking computers
-Xion picking up new words and phrases from people she meets
-Mickey insisting on being called... just Mickey
-Aerith knowing things
-Rinoa showing Namine how to use her knife like a magic wand to channel magic
-Tifa and Cloud.
-Breaking the no battle planning at the table rule because Xehanort Remnants are Very Important Problems
-Zack insisting that he will kill a Remnant
-Kuin and Axel fighting
-Casually talking about how Xehanort smells
-Rinoa and Squall having a history they can refer to
-The friendship of SoRiKai
-The Cloud and Zack friendship
I actually had it pretty worked out in my head (and on several diagrams) what all happened and who all was where. The strategy for the characters of course being to get someone into the computer in Hollow Bastion castle that could start the DTP (darkness termination program.) People would have to hang back places to literally fight endless streams of Heartless to prevent those ahead from getting swamped from behind. But hey, I have a huge cast to play with and plenty of heavy hitters.
As a side note, I remember Aerith's house giving me so much trouble because I could never remember just how many bedrooms it had. I'll argue it again some more later in the fic. Until eventually they're just done expanding it.
I also tried to get a good balance of different POVs for this whole sequence.
Roxas' was fun because he's generally pretty practical and it's not unusual for him to just know what Sora's up to, so I'm not losing anything there. Roxas also just sees lots of other things and I can do Xion and Axel dynamics as well.
 |
| by Hikaru-Ryuuen on dA |
Rinoa's POV is amazing because I love Rinoa omg. Especially with her in the first chapter and all of the "oh just leave my dog alone she's old" and then her huge arsenal of magic that she'll cast. And her good observations. Yes. Rinoa is amazing. She also flies, which means she can see a lot of everything that's going on and it's completely reasonable.
And then what's a huge Hollow Bastion battle without Riku? I love him and Namine fighting alongside each other. Riku getting shanked by Master Form is also something that I will never not be amused by. Especially because Sora remembers to ask Sora, Kairi, and Xion. And Roxas just basically already knows.
Riku was also a good POV to be in when they got into the castle and ran into the leftover data memories that bothered everyone who's even the smallest bit Replica. Because then Riku can see what's going on and be strong for Namine and all that and yeah, that was fun to write.
 |
| by Risachantag on dA |
I love Aerith. I just love Aerith. Aerith feels when the Remnant shows up, but she can't put her finger on what exactly it is. Aerith has connections like Namine has connections. She just has them for different reasons. And she wants to be everywhere to help, but she can't. But she tries and it's amazing.
Namine's POV is another POV that I have a really easy time with. Namine's really cerebral... she thinks a level or two higher than everyone else because she can just see those parts of the pictures, like Aerith. And neither of them hold it above anyone else, because then it wouldn't be cool. Something I am sad about is that I didn't necessarily keep Namine using her knife as a magic wand. I like, added that in, and then forgot about it until literally just now as I'm writing this up. And that's sad, because I'm not going to get a chance to include it really. *frowny face* Oh well, it's still canon. She'll do it.
Tifa is a fun POV to be in just because Tifa is so no-nonsense that there aren't any unnecessary tangents. It was also good to be in her POV for this chapter because as everyone learns about the Xehanort Remnant, Tifa doesn't get all shouting angry. In fact, she's the one to tell them all to stop. Tifa's the one telling them to shut up and pay attention to what really matters.
Chapter 8 was a mixture of POVs because I had lots of little snippets of conversation that needed to happen but I couldn't necessarily devote individual chapter to them. But I think it turned out okay. Aqua, Terra, and Ven were naturally all shaken up about it and Mickey is the perfect person to tal about it. Zack is so determined to KILL ALL THE DANGER. Kuin and Axel fighting is something that needed to happen. Rinoa and Squall planning out courses of action is great. Sora talking with Riku and Kairi about his potential darkness problem. Also Cloud and Zack arguing how about how much they care about friends.
Dynamics I'm really happy with:
-Leon attempting to be a leader and not being all that bad at it
-Roxas and Xion taking this whole thing as part of their training to become Keyblade Masters
-Sora getting to fight with Donald and Goofy
-Sora periodically calling out Drive Forms
-Namine quietly being seemingly everywhere in the battle
-People being weirded out by Sora, Roxas, and Ven
-Aerith just healing everyone she can reach on the battlefield
-Namine and Riku talking casually about crisis levels
-Experimenting with data and memories
-Xion hacking computers
-Xion picking up new words and phrases from people she meets
-Mickey insisting on being called... just Mickey
-Aerith knowing things
-Rinoa showing Namine how to use her knife like a magic wand to channel magic
-Tifa and Cloud.
-Breaking the no battle planning at the table rule because Xehanort Remnants are Very Important Problems
-Zack insisting that he will kill a Remnant
-Kuin and Axel fighting
-Casually talking about how Xehanort smells
-Rinoa and Squall having a history they can refer to
-The friendship of SoRiKai
-The Cloud and Zack friendship
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Beginning of the Hollow Bastion Arc (ch67)
So,
things I knew: It is into the new year before Cloud, Zack, and Aerith head to
Hollow Bastion. Leon and Cid tell them
that even if Hollow Bastion (Radiant Garden) is still there, it would be
greatly changed and Aerith may not like what she sees. Aerith wants to see new sights, craving
adventure. Leon decides not to mention
that Hollow Bastion really isn’t all that new.
They get there and the world is greatly changed. Aerith is devastated by this. She is angry at herself because she knows
that Leon and Cid had been right. Yuffie
wants to go as well, but she isn’t allowed.
Things
that got added: Aerith being apprehensive about the whole thing. She’s also drastically in denial because
she’s convinced that it will be okay.
Ish. Even though she knows it’s not.
Yup, it’s a psychological thing that happens.
Meanwhile,
Zack’s using this as a way to see what happened to his own world. And Cloud’s just going along for the
ride.
Feels
regarding Leon and Rinoa’s presents! I wanted to include a bit about the rings,
because it’s like a major plot point in the game and also incredibly adorable.
So I decided the two of them exchanged rings as tokens or foci for knowing when
the other one was in danger. And they’d
always know if it were true, and then they could always come to the other’s
aid. I’m not kidding when I say they’ve
literally pledged their lives to each other and not even marriage is going to
change it all that much. Well, they
think so anyway, marriage is to some another great adventure, but that’s not
what I’m talking about here. But yeah,
that’s what went down when he visited her.
 |
| by neoangelwink on dA |
Everything
following Aerith getting to her house is just a bucket load of feels. I got to explore what a world falling into
darkness could look like. I knew that
Hollow Bastion did survive, because, well, KH1.
But, like, what happened to Aerith’s house? So I explored it. Aerith got lucky that her house was mostly
undamaged. Good thing, too, because
it’ll get remodeled later and be used as base for the HB Restoration Committee
HQ. *nods vigorously*
But
the books, the quilt, the clothes, the pictures…
And
then I throw Heartless at them.
Just
wait until you see what’s coming next!
Muahahaha!
Teaser
Quotes:
“Wanna
help with a science experiment?”
“So
what are we doing?”
“Interested
in making some exploding green goop?”
“Oh,
absolutely!”
“How
about I drop you off at Disney Castle and then head out?”
“I
wouldn’t want to keep you from…”
“I just need to go do some mercenary work. The last few places we’ve been have been pretty quiet. But I can take you to Disney Castle! Besides, Disney Town’s got a better stock than this place.”
“I just need to go do some mercenary work. The last few places we’ve been have been pretty quiet. But I can take you to Disney Castle! Besides, Disney Town’s got a better stock than this place.”
“If
you’re sure…”
“’Course
I’m sure!”
“Kay,
I’m really leaving this time.”
“I’m
gonna see if I can catch up with him.”
“Tifa
said she hasn’t been able to talk any sense into him.”
Anywho, I"m having a thing with holiday music still. Feel free to ignore me. But the Piano Guys are still awesome.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Darkness Falls (64)
Yay for a lack of original titles.
Chapter
Tumbl
Look at these adorable boys!
And I'm so awful to them :(
Granted, I knew I was going to drop their homeworld into darkness. Because I'm an evil author like that. Plus, it makes it easier for me to do things like that because I know that the minute Sora comes around (though, it'll be a few years) He'll restore all the Worlds. (Remember that I don't follow 3D where there are sleeping worlds.)
So the outline looked like this: Zack (20) and Cloud (18) had been in Zack's hometown, just visiting. Zack had been bragging about his achievements. Heartless in large amounts begin appearing. The world is being swallowed by darkness. Cloud recognizes this and tells Zack what is about to happen. Zack wants to save everyone he can but Cloud tells him that there isn't time. Cloud is becoming frantic at the influx of darkness. Zack hastily takes the two of them to Traverse Town--to safety.
Though, I did add in that Zack wanted to save his parents, because Zack would want to save his parents. But then I made him choose between them or Cloud. And Cloud passed out. And Zack is just like "Grarg! you're making my life difficult!"
Also, this was supposed to be the event that actually got Cloud and Zack to Traverse Town the first time. The materia sub-plot got added in later. Zack and Cloud would have been avoiding Traverse Town before that point because Cloud was being touchy. (Though, how Zack would have managed to get Cloud to Gongaga before Traverse Town is beyond me, good thing I didn't go with that plotline.) Anyway, clearly things changed.
Review Responses:
KKBeckett: No, Cloud's darkness is not happy. Just you wait a few chapters. I'll have another one posted in a couple of days. And shhh! Everyone's mostly fine, you know that! :P
Teaser Quotes:
"I'm so sorry."
"The cannon's overheating!"
"@#%)(&@#%^(()!@"
"Stop talking! You'll only hurt yourself."
"Curaga, Curaga. Curaga! Curaga!"
"Stay awake. Stay with me. I need you awake."
Muahahaha!
I'd give you a Christmas Video... but I love this TSFH song too much...
Chapter
Tumbl
 |
| by gyokuto |
And I'm so awful to them :(
Granted, I knew I was going to drop their homeworld into darkness. Because I'm an evil author like that. Plus, it makes it easier for me to do things like that because I know that the minute Sora comes around (though, it'll be a few years) He'll restore all the Worlds. (Remember that I don't follow 3D where there are sleeping worlds.)
So the outline looked like this: Zack (20) and Cloud (18) had been in Zack's hometown, just visiting. Zack had been bragging about his achievements. Heartless in large amounts begin appearing. The world is being swallowed by darkness. Cloud recognizes this and tells Zack what is about to happen. Zack wants to save everyone he can but Cloud tells him that there isn't time. Cloud is becoming frantic at the influx of darkness. Zack hastily takes the two of them to Traverse Town--to safety.
Though, I did add in that Zack wanted to save his parents, because Zack would want to save his parents. But then I made him choose between them or Cloud. And Cloud passed out. And Zack is just like "Grarg! you're making my life difficult!"
Also, this was supposed to be the event that actually got Cloud and Zack to Traverse Town the first time. The materia sub-plot got added in later. Zack and Cloud would have been avoiding Traverse Town before that point because Cloud was being touchy. (Though, how Zack would have managed to get Cloud to Gongaga before Traverse Town is beyond me, good thing I didn't go with that plotline.) Anyway, clearly things changed.
Review Responses:
KKBeckett: No, Cloud's darkness is not happy. Just you wait a few chapters. I'll have another one posted in a couple of days. And shhh! Everyone's mostly fine, you know that! :P
Teaser Quotes:
"I'm so sorry."
"The cannon's overheating!"
"@#%)(&@#%^(()!@"
"Stop talking! You'll only hurt yourself."
"Curaga, Curaga. Curaga! Curaga!"
"Stay awake. Stay with me. I need you awake."
Muahahaha!
I'd give you a Christmas Video... but I love this TSFH song too much...
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Developments (62)
Chapter
Tumbl
See, first there's the addition of Demyx to the Organization. It's been a while since any new recruits. The last person anyone found was Cloud, and he was totally still a somebody. Still is. Always will be. But really, the last two recruits added were Saix and Axel. It's been a while. Not that it matters, Xemnas has a crapton of plans in place. *rolls eyes*
Then there's the development in Rinoa's training. Which is going well, I suppose. She just doesn't like fighting everything that's in her memories.
Then there's Leon trying to make that second entrance to the Secret Waterway--an entrance which Merlin puts there for him. And we've now entered the wonderful relationship that is Merlin and Cid not ever getting along. It's so amusing.
And then there's Tifa, who's getting closer to Cloud, but she's still a while behind him. However, I enjoyed making references to all of the people. Though, it's so weird, that Tifa knows none of them. I mean, she will eventually, but she has no clue who any of them are as of yet. And Yuffie's just so incredibly rude.
Anyway, review responses.
KKBeckett: Is Xigbar up to something? Oh, I probably suppose so. I think he's always up to something. :P Why was Master Yen Sid making Rinoa fight out of her memories? Well, I suppose it's because he sees the value of learning from past experiences, and he has the ability to literally make something like that happen. Rinoa, however, does not believe that she will gain anything by fighting Squall, and Master Yen Sid decides he's not going to argue her on that one, because that's not really his place. Rinoa, honestly, should learn to fight alongside him. Which, she already knows, so whatever. Yes, Tifa did see Aerith, but she really doesn't recognize her, which, as I mentioned before, is so picking weird!
*sigh* Another short blog post. I suppose they'll get longer in a bit though :P
Teaser Quotes:
"What's causing all of this?"
"If I knew, I would tell you."
"Stand back, I'm going to call a summon."
"If you haven't noticed, I can't move."
"I'm not going to aim it at you!"
"Do you have a Blizzard materia?"
"No! I can only carry four. And between my Cura, the Steal, and Bahamut, I've only got room for one more. You're lucky I didn't have the Fire equipped!"
"Summoning again!"
"But I want to!"
"Fine!"
"What are those green ones?"
"Focus on those! They can Cure the others."
"On it!"
More Christmas Videos!
Tumbl
 |
| by fortisisimo on dA |
Then there's the development in Rinoa's training. Which is going well, I suppose. She just doesn't like fighting everything that's in her memories.
Then there's Leon trying to make that second entrance to the Secret Waterway--an entrance which Merlin puts there for him. And we've now entered the wonderful relationship that is Merlin and Cid not ever getting along. It's so amusing.
And then there's Tifa, who's getting closer to Cloud, but she's still a while behind him. However, I enjoyed making references to all of the people. Though, it's so weird, that Tifa knows none of them. I mean, she will eventually, but she has no clue who any of them are as of yet. And Yuffie's just so incredibly rude.
Anyway, review responses.
KKBeckett: Is Xigbar up to something? Oh, I probably suppose so. I think he's always up to something. :P Why was Master Yen Sid making Rinoa fight out of her memories? Well, I suppose it's because he sees the value of learning from past experiences, and he has the ability to literally make something like that happen. Rinoa, however, does not believe that she will gain anything by fighting Squall, and Master Yen Sid decides he's not going to argue her on that one, because that's not really his place. Rinoa, honestly, should learn to fight alongside him. Which, she already knows, so whatever. Yes, Tifa did see Aerith, but she really doesn't recognize her, which, as I mentioned before, is so picking weird!
*sigh* Another short blog post. I suppose they'll get longer in a bit though :P
Teaser Quotes:
"What's causing all of this?"
"If I knew, I would tell you."
"Stand back, I'm going to call a summon."
"If you haven't noticed, I can't move."
"I'm not going to aim it at you!"
"Do you have a Blizzard materia?"
"No! I can only carry four. And between my Cura, the Steal, and Bahamut, I've only got room for one more. You're lucky I didn't have the Fire equipped!"
"Summoning again!"
"But I want to!"
"Fine!"
"What are those green ones?"
"Focus on those! They can Cure the others."
"On it!"
More Christmas Videos!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
What is it like? (61)
Chapter
Tumbl (this one's also got multiple pages)
So, a bit of info, I have basically finished the Prequel. Basically. However, I am nowhere near finishing posting all of it. I've got nearly 50 chapters left to post. Which is both scary and exciting at the same time. I'm trying to keep to a -fairly- regular schedule when it comes to posting, as in, every other day, but even that's a bit timey whimey. So, don't be surprised if there's a new chapter or two! And I know that because I'm posting so fast, I might lose some of you reviewing on every single chapter, but do still leave reviews!
Also, I have 30 chapters of Book 3, but I won't start posting that yet because I want to wait until the Prequel's all posted. However, I haven't written anything else for that since after Nano ended (literally, I got 30 chapters in 30 days--61K words, guys!!). I've been working on essays for class and stuff, though I hope that once I get into the break I can start writing again. Or maybe making AMVs or drawings and designs or something. Never fear, I'm still immersed in this universe!
Now that that business information is out of the way, let's start talking about the chapter!
We are basically halfway between BBS and KH1. (Fun fact, we are LESS than halfway through the TIMELINE of the Prequel, because I'm covering up THROUGH things, not up TO things. However, we are technically more than halfway through chapter-wise because the second half of the 12ish years goes faster than the first half for whatever reason.)
So anyway, having been 5 years since the plunge of Radiant Garden into darkness, Aerith now wants to go back and see what it's like. Leon and Cid both insist that this is a bad idea, but Aerith wants an adventure. They argue, she insists, but they won't go with her. So she decides that she'll wait for Zack and Rinoa.
And that's basically the chapter, once I've included the parts about them not wanting Yuffie to know what they're planning because while Aerith wants to go see what's left of Radiant Garden, she doesn't want to bring Yuffie along.
Insert slightly unrelated picture of Aerith here. But it's so adorable! So I wanted to include it!
The part at the end where Aerith starts writing not just letters to Zack, but stories to him? Yeah, that wasn't planned. She just decided it would be a good idea, so I let her. It's really cute, actually. As for Yuffie writing Cloud? Idk. Yuffie likes Cloud. I'm beginning to wonder if she actually has a crush on him and I just didn't notice. Idk...
But no, I'm excited about the Hollow Bastion arc (as I'm affectionately calling it at the moment. It actually jump-starts another arc with a much more interesting name, but I can't tell you because that's riddled with spoilers!)
The other interesting thing is all the misinformation floating around about the Keyblade. It exists in canon, too. Mostly because I think Square wasn't super sure what all they were doing with the Keyblade lore at the time when KH1 came out, so by the time KH2 came out, they were retconning some stuff because the lore expanded and got tweaked. Anyway, but it's not a huge retcon because it actually would make sense for the FF Gang to simply be missing parts of information because the Keyblade Wielders have all but disappeared! By the time Sora shows up, most of them figure he's the only one around. Mickey's been hiding it! (I totally blew rar's brain when I told her that!) Anyway, that's fun stuff.
Hmm, I think that's all I've really got for all of you.
Teaser Quotes:
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"To be honest, I'm looking for someone."
"Humor me, who are you looking for?"
"For someone who knows every face in town, why do you live in a hotel?"
"Long story."
"But the letters don't matter now."
"That would be leaving my job."
I think this video is slightly appropriate :P
Tumbl (this one's also got multiple pages)
So, a bit of info, I have basically finished the Prequel. Basically. However, I am nowhere near finishing posting all of it. I've got nearly 50 chapters left to post. Which is both scary and exciting at the same time. I'm trying to keep to a -fairly- regular schedule when it comes to posting, as in, every other day, but even that's a bit timey whimey. So, don't be surprised if there's a new chapter or two! And I know that because I'm posting so fast, I might lose some of you reviewing on every single chapter, but do still leave reviews!
Also, I have 30 chapters of Book 3, but I won't start posting that yet because I want to wait until the Prequel's all posted. However, I haven't written anything else for that since after Nano ended (literally, I got 30 chapters in 30 days--61K words, guys!!). I've been working on essays for class and stuff, though I hope that once I get into the break I can start writing again. Or maybe making AMVs or drawings and designs or something. Never fear, I'm still immersed in this universe!
Now that that business information is out of the way, let's start talking about the chapter!
We are basically halfway between BBS and KH1. (Fun fact, we are LESS than halfway through the TIMELINE of the Prequel, because I'm covering up THROUGH things, not up TO things. However, we are technically more than halfway through chapter-wise because the second half of the 12ish years goes faster than the first half for whatever reason.)
So anyway, having been 5 years since the plunge of Radiant Garden into darkness, Aerith now wants to go back and see what it's like. Leon and Cid both insist that this is a bad idea, but Aerith wants an adventure. They argue, she insists, but they won't go with her. So she decides that she'll wait for Zack and Rinoa.
And that's basically the chapter, once I've included the parts about them not wanting Yuffie to know what they're planning because while Aerith wants to go see what's left of Radiant Garden, she doesn't want to bring Yuffie along.
 |
| by ninappe |
The part at the end where Aerith starts writing not just letters to Zack, but stories to him? Yeah, that wasn't planned. She just decided it would be a good idea, so I let her. It's really cute, actually. As for Yuffie writing Cloud? Idk. Yuffie likes Cloud. I'm beginning to wonder if she actually has a crush on him and I just didn't notice. Idk...
But no, I'm excited about the Hollow Bastion arc (as I'm affectionately calling it at the moment. It actually jump-starts another arc with a much more interesting name, but I can't tell you because that's riddled with spoilers!)
The other interesting thing is all the misinformation floating around about the Keyblade. It exists in canon, too. Mostly because I think Square wasn't super sure what all they were doing with the Keyblade lore at the time when KH1 came out, so by the time KH2 came out, they were retconning some stuff because the lore expanded and got tweaked. Anyway, but it's not a huge retcon because it actually would make sense for the FF Gang to simply be missing parts of information because the Keyblade Wielders have all but disappeared! By the time Sora shows up, most of them figure he's the only one around. Mickey's been hiding it! (I totally blew rar's brain when I told her that!) Anyway, that's fun stuff.
Hmm, I think that's all I've really got for all of you.
Teaser Quotes:
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"To be honest, I'm looking for someone."
"Humor me, who are you looking for?"
"For someone who knows every face in town, why do you live in a hotel?"
"Long story."
"But the letters don't matter now."
"That would be leaving my job."
I think this video is slightly appropriate :P
Friday, November 8, 2013
Crossover Continued (Can't Escape ch63)
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 |
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.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Zack and Cloud (Prequel Ch49)
Chapter
Tumblr
Wow, my original outline for this is completely unhelpful for this. Literally, it's like "they're both loners who want to travel" "Zack remembers Aerith telling him to find a travelling buddy" "Cloud agrees hoping that a buddy will keep his darkness in check"
Which, while yes, all of those things happen... my original notes are super unhelpful.
Writing the chapter itself was very fun. I love these two goofballs.
I was having a conniption a while ago because Zack and Cloud hadn't met each other yet... but now they have! And I felt like throwing in all the Crisis Core references that I could as I wrote it. The bit where Cloud saves Zack from a monster (granted, he does this with a gun in the game) is something I'm fairly certain comes from the DMW. But the scene technically happens in Modeoheim. The scene where Cloud lacks money (munny) and Zack agrees to cover originates from a similar scene in Junon (except in that scene in the game, Cloud is also super airsick. Good thing he gets over that.) And then the third one, where they're talking about being country boys, that comes from the Modeoheim trip, too. But yeah, all the brotp Zack/Cloud feels.
Plus, Cloud's just giving me feels because he's freaking haunted right now and it's all the darkness' fault. Sigh. I could say it's Xehanort's fault... but that is a very very indirect thing. Heheh.
But yeah, now they can be friends and it's awesome!!
Okay, now for some more teaser quotes because I super like doing that at the moment:
"Why would you bring me here? Why would you ever bring me back here?"
"It's all Shinra's fault, too!"
"Hey, that's my sword."
"Does he have super strength or something?"
"Writing to Zack?"
"No. Rinoa."
"Uh..."
"I wrote a letter to Zack this morning ... Now I'm writing a letter to Rinoa. You said that I could."
"Well, yeah, I just..."
"You writing one too?"
"Yeah..."
"Rinoa should be happy she's getting so much mail!"
And because of my obsession with VOCALOID videos...
Tumblr
Wow, my original outline for this is completely unhelpful for this. Literally, it's like "they're both loners who want to travel" "Zack remembers Aerith telling him to find a travelling buddy" "Cloud agrees hoping that a buddy will keep his darkness in check"
 |
| by SantaFung on dA |
Writing the chapter itself was very fun. I love these two goofballs.
I was having a conniption a while ago because Zack and Cloud hadn't met each other yet... but now they have! And I felt like throwing in all the Crisis Core references that I could as I wrote it. The bit where Cloud saves Zack from a monster (granted, he does this with a gun in the game) is something I'm fairly certain comes from the DMW. But the scene technically happens in Modeoheim. The scene where Cloud lacks money (munny) and Zack agrees to cover originates from a similar scene in Junon (except in that scene in the game, Cloud is also super airsick. Good thing he gets over that.) And then the third one, where they're talking about being country boys, that comes from the Modeoheim trip, too. But yeah, all the brotp Zack/Cloud feels.
Plus, Cloud's just giving me feels because he's freaking haunted right now and it's all the darkness' fault. Sigh. I could say it's Xehanort's fault... but that is a very very indirect thing. Heheh.
But yeah, now they can be friends and it's awesome!!
Okay, now for some more teaser quotes because I super like doing that at the moment:
"Why would you bring me here? Why would you ever bring me back here?"
"It's all Shinra's fault, too!"
"Hey, that's my sword."
"Does he have super strength or something?"
"Writing to Zack?"
"No. Rinoa."
"Uh..."
"I wrote a letter to Zack this morning ... Now I'm writing a letter to Rinoa. You said that I could."
"Well, yeah, I just..."
"You writing one too?"
"Yeah..."
"Rinoa should be happy she's getting so much mail!"
And because of my obsession with VOCALOID videos...
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