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 Ven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ven. 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.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Halloweentown (Chapters 89-93)
So this whole section starts with Axel sitting in the Gummi ship as they're all on their way to Halloween Town. Yes, they're totally on their way to Halloween Town to go to Christmas Town so that Sora can prove to Riku that Santa exists. That whole thing started as something that I honestly think was suggested in a review in AtP and I literally did not get around to it until now. (Yet again a thing that was supposed to go in Betwixt and Between but didn't.)
The arc obviously expanded out after that. It got placed this far into the fic because it wasn't a huge major plot point that needed to happen any specific time, and especially after I decided that this was where Marlynort was going down, that influenced my decision to put it here.
So, Axel on the gummi ship. I think one of the most interesting things that came out of this chapter was Axel contemplating what time had done to him versus Leon. Leon's still on everyone's minds after almost getting Norted in Traverse Town. This gets the wheels in Axel's brain turning a lot because he's had several close calls with Xehanort as it is already. Plus, he knew Leon from when they were kids on Radiant Garden. So that's gotta be trippy.
Giving everyone new outfits for Halloween Town was interesting. I wish I could draw better to do those... but it literally takes too much effort for me to do that right now. Sad day. If only I had more time. If you want to do that though, feel free.
Anyway, then the HB gang talking about going and getting kids for the school. Denzel is adorable. Just saying. Also, sticking Yuffie on a team with Leon is just amusing. Because Rinoa's obviously not going to go because her arm hasn't quite healed yet. Plus, Yuffie deserves to go places, I've been writing this whole thing so long where she always gets told no. Denzel knows she gets told no a lot. But here we go, Yuffie getting told yes. Yay!
And then, Aerith and Zack discussing wedding plans. And Yuffie just quietly listening in, kind of grossed out by the whole thing but at the same time rooting so hard for them it's not even funny. And Denzel's just so surprised at how many Worlds there are. And I actually think Yuffie does go and travel the Worlds a bit after Hollow Bastion is restored. Not that I'm going to write that far.... (I say that now... and then we'll see where I am in two years.)
And then MINNIE AND MICKEY FLUFF which is honestly what I live for sometimes oh my gosh.
And then we've got Terra, Aqua, and Ven getting a nice break and a vacation. With Ven all like "This isn't quite the life that I dreamed of... but this is basically the life I dreamed of." Beautiful. I love giving them a break because they've had such a hard time. My babby's oh goodness.
And then we're in Christmas Town. With new outfits again (though these one's you've probably seen examples of all over the interwebs.) And then, they don't see Santa for long when Marlynort shows up. And then things get real. The line "Well, Santa, either we destroy your entire office, or we break a window" is probably one of my favorite lines. And Santa's just like "Oh break the window."
Cue fight sequence. It surprisingly wasn't a long one. I could have probably made it longer, but I always struggle with whether or not it's good to write long battles with loads of detail, or shorter ones with a comparable amount of detail. I don't want you guys to be reading battle forever. So, I settled on a shorter one with a few Combo name drops and the whole focus being on whether or not Namine was going to be able to Shatter Marlynort.
But she was.
A++++++++ to Namine. Overcome girl!
Then, switch gears to Cid and Shera talking about rebuilding his workshop. Bringing back loads of things. Woot. Tifa and Aerith talking some more about the wedding because that's what happens when there's a wedding on the horizon.
Ah yes, then Kuin running into a Remnant. That obviously wasn't going to be a big huge deal because the Remnant knows he can't get Kuin because of who she is--flexor, perfect balance of light and darkness--so he doesn't try. He honestly just wants to stay clear of her because he knows she wants him dead. But they have a little battle and then he disappears. I wasn't super clear on whether or not she killed him--but you can assume she didn't. Because the Remnant's a jerk. Not that it'd matter, because he'd just respawn.
And then Marlene's first day of school and running into the Moogle Girl! I couldn't resist!
Then we have aftermath of Namine shattering Marlynort. And I tried to do a good job showing what it would have been like for her... but honestly... *I* don't know what that would have been like. It's not like I have those powers or anything. So I (like every other writer) made my best guess. Based on what I've described Namine's powers as... it did require her to be picking and prying through the memories enough to have a good grasp to shatter.
I decided that Namine shattering him was an appropriate way for him to go. After their history in Castle Oblivion and what Marluxia has become and who Namine has grown into. It was fitting. So hey, Marlynort is gone.
And I know I'm halfway through a chapter here... but the next bit goes straight into Castle Oblivion. Which is the next arc and thus next blog post. So I'll see you for the next blog.
The arc obviously expanded out after that. It got placed this far into the fic because it wasn't a huge major plot point that needed to happen any specific time, and especially after I decided that this was where Marlynort was going down, that influenced my decision to put it here.
So, Axel on the gummi ship. I think one of the most interesting things that came out of this chapter was Axel contemplating what time had done to him versus Leon. Leon's still on everyone's minds after almost getting Norted in Traverse Town. This gets the wheels in Axel's brain turning a lot because he's had several close calls with Xehanort as it is already. Plus, he knew Leon from when they were kids on Radiant Garden. So that's gotta be trippy.
Giving everyone new outfits for Halloween Town was interesting. I wish I could draw better to do those... but it literally takes too much effort for me to do that right now. Sad day. If only I had more time. If you want to do that though, feel free.
Anyway, then the HB gang talking about going and getting kids for the school. Denzel is adorable. Just saying. Also, sticking Yuffie on a team with Leon is just amusing. Because Rinoa's obviously not going to go because her arm hasn't quite healed yet. Plus, Yuffie deserves to go places, I've been writing this whole thing so long where she always gets told no. Denzel knows she gets told no a lot. But here we go, Yuffie getting told yes. Yay!
And then, Aerith and Zack discussing wedding plans. And Yuffie just quietly listening in, kind of grossed out by the whole thing but at the same time rooting so hard for them it's not even funny. And Denzel's just so surprised at how many Worlds there are. And I actually think Yuffie does go and travel the Worlds a bit after Hollow Bastion is restored. Not that I'm going to write that far.... (I say that now... and then we'll see where I am in two years.)
And then MINNIE AND MICKEY FLUFF which is honestly what I live for sometimes oh my gosh.
And then we've got Terra, Aqua, and Ven getting a nice break and a vacation. With Ven all like "This isn't quite the life that I dreamed of... but this is basically the life I dreamed of." Beautiful. I love giving them a break because they've had such a hard time. My babby's oh goodness.
And then we're in Christmas Town. With new outfits again (though these one's you've probably seen examples of all over the interwebs.) And then, they don't see Santa for long when Marlynort shows up. And then things get real. The line "Well, Santa, either we destroy your entire office, or we break a window" is probably one of my favorite lines. And Santa's just like "Oh break the window."
Cue fight sequence. It surprisingly wasn't a long one. I could have probably made it longer, but I always struggle with whether or not it's good to write long battles with loads of detail, or shorter ones with a comparable amount of detail. I don't want you guys to be reading battle forever. So, I settled on a shorter one with a few Combo name drops and the whole focus being on whether or not Namine was going to be able to Shatter Marlynort.
But she was.
A++++++++ to Namine. Overcome girl!
Then, switch gears to Cid and Shera talking about rebuilding his workshop. Bringing back loads of things. Woot. Tifa and Aerith talking some more about the wedding because that's what happens when there's a wedding on the horizon.
Ah yes, then Kuin running into a Remnant. That obviously wasn't going to be a big huge deal because the Remnant knows he can't get Kuin because of who she is--flexor, perfect balance of light and darkness--so he doesn't try. He honestly just wants to stay clear of her because he knows she wants him dead. But they have a little battle and then he disappears. I wasn't super clear on whether or not she killed him--but you can assume she didn't. Because the Remnant's a jerk. Not that it'd matter, because he'd just respawn.
And then Marlene's first day of school and running into the Moogle Girl! I couldn't resist!
Then we have aftermath of Namine shattering Marlynort. And I tried to do a good job showing what it would have been like for her... but honestly... *I* don't know what that would have been like. It's not like I have those powers or anything. So I (like every other writer) made my best guess. Based on what I've described Namine's powers as... it did require her to be picking and prying through the memories enough to have a good grasp to shatter.
I decided that Namine shattering him was an appropriate way for him to go. After their history in Castle Oblivion and what Marluxia has become and who Namine has grown into. It was fitting. So hey, Marlynort is gone.
And I know I'm halfway through a chapter here... but the next bit goes straight into Castle Oblivion. Which is the next arc and thus next blog post. So I'll see you for the next blog.
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.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Corona etc (58-68)
I know that the Larxene Sequence happens in here as well, but I'm saving that for another post because it deserves its own post, not to be lumped in with this one.
Granted, the Corona arc isn't a major arc. The main event is certainly what's going on with Larxene at the same time. However, Corona is important.
But, before I talk about that, let's talk about Zack and Aerith getting engaged!
It seems like so long ago that Zack ran off to get a symbol for their relationship. (Who all guess it was going to be an engagement ring?) I left it open originally partially because I wasn't sure what the trinket was going to be. I thought of other things he could get her that would effectively be the same thing. But I decided that the small ring was perfect anyway.
I wrote chapters 56 (the end of the last arc) and 57 back-to-back within the same day. The aftermath of Marluxia--excuse me, Marlynort--was exhilarating (regardless of how depressing it was) to write. And then there was chapter 57 which was all the happy Zerith feels. I didn't even have to work to hard at it. The words just flew onto the page. And now they're happily engaged and all is right with the Worlds. Or something cheesy like that.
Chapter 58 was a pain to write because after chapter 57, nothing was interesting. But I managed. Granted, nothing terribly exciting happens in that chapter, much of it is just Sora's thoughts, but hey, they get to Corona.
I don't remember, but I think chapter 59 was a quickish one to write. The ones where I split up the POVs tend to happen that way. Granted, it was all mostly filler: Kuin looking for Xigbar but not actually finding him, Marlene and Barret arriving in Hollow Bastion, Yuffie blowing up something in Cid's workshop and having to deal with it. Nothing terribly plot important, but did allow for character development. Mostly for Yuffie though, honestly. She's been growing up a lot this fic. And her actually taking responsibility for something without being coerced is good.
Then there's the events of Corona, or at least the first part anyway. Corona's not a place that's been having a lot of problems. Things are quiet. Rapunzel and Flynn are away at the coronation ceremony preceding Elsa's outburst that froze the place. The King and Queen of Corona are just going about their business when Marlynort shows up and starts to cause trouble. Naturally, Sora and his friends sign themselves up to take care of the problem. They take time finding Marlynort because he's a true Chaotic Evil and is enjoying causing a ruckus. This is where the Namine Replica shows up and those shenanigans begin.
The Cloud chapter makes me really happy. Because the first bit of it is him trying to figure out what's going on with Zack and Aerith--because they haven't told anybody yet. (Too much thought of elopement to say anything yet.) And then Sephiroth shows up and Leon and Cloud fight him and win. It's great.
And just when you thought I wasn't going to throw a Remnant at you because of Marlynort and Larxene and everything, a wild Remnant appears in Disney Town and tries to go after none other than Demyx. Poor Demyx. Not that that's going to happen if Terra, Ven, and Aqua have a say. And when the going got tough, Mickey and Minnie both showed up and were BAMF. I love writing for the two of them. They are amazing and wonderful and my forevership. I don't remember rar's exact reaction upon reading it, but it was definitely like "YOUREGIVING ME MICKEYXMINNIE FEELS AND I JUST>>> AAAAAAHHHHH...."
Cue battle with Marlynort that's really hard when your forces are cut in half. (Like seriously, imagine game mechanics where you're FORCED to do that battle halved because the other half of your party is off fighting Larxene.) (I'd like to think that you could choose the party that went, but for that battle with Larxene (and what follows it) it's kind of necessary that the people that went went.) And after the battle, cue everyone being uneasy because Marlynort talks a good show.
Then, HAVE SOME MORE FLUFF (which I'm sure is what I said to rar when I sent her the chapter) with Zack and Aerith announcing their engagement and upcoming wedding.
And Corona is quietly wrapped up and the others return and they head off to Deep Space for the next adventure.
Larxene stuff to come.
Granted, the Corona arc isn't a major arc. The main event is certainly what's going on with Larxene at the same time. However, Corona is important.
But, before I talk about that, let's talk about Zack and Aerith getting engaged!
It seems like so long ago that Zack ran off to get a symbol for their relationship. (Who all guess it was going to be an engagement ring?) I left it open originally partially because I wasn't sure what the trinket was going to be. I thought of other things he could get her that would effectively be the same thing. But I decided that the small ring was perfect anyway.
I wrote chapters 56 (the end of the last arc) and 57 back-to-back within the same day. The aftermath of Marluxia--excuse me, Marlynort--was exhilarating (regardless of how depressing it was) to write. And then there was chapter 57 which was all the happy Zerith feels. I didn't even have to work to hard at it. The words just flew onto the page. And now they're happily engaged and all is right with the Worlds. Or something cheesy like that.
Chapter 58 was a pain to write because after chapter 57, nothing was interesting. But I managed. Granted, nothing terribly exciting happens in that chapter, much of it is just Sora's thoughts, but hey, they get to Corona.
I don't remember, but I think chapter 59 was a quickish one to write. The ones where I split up the POVs tend to happen that way. Granted, it was all mostly filler: Kuin looking for Xigbar but not actually finding him, Marlene and Barret arriving in Hollow Bastion, Yuffie blowing up something in Cid's workshop and having to deal with it. Nothing terribly plot important, but did allow for character development. Mostly for Yuffie though, honestly. She's been growing up a lot this fic. And her actually taking responsibility for something without being coerced is good.
Then there's the events of Corona, or at least the first part anyway. Corona's not a place that's been having a lot of problems. Things are quiet. Rapunzel and Flynn are away at the coronation ceremony preceding Elsa's outburst that froze the place. The King and Queen of Corona are just going about their business when Marlynort shows up and starts to cause trouble. Naturally, Sora and his friends sign themselves up to take care of the problem. They take time finding Marlynort because he's a true Chaotic Evil and is enjoying causing a ruckus. This is where the Namine Replica shows up and those shenanigans begin.
The Cloud chapter makes me really happy. Because the first bit of it is him trying to figure out what's going on with Zack and Aerith--because they haven't told anybody yet. (Too much thought of elopement to say anything yet.) And then Sephiroth shows up and Leon and Cloud fight him and win. It's great.
And just when you thought I wasn't going to throw a Remnant at you because of Marlynort and Larxene and everything, a wild Remnant appears in Disney Town and tries to go after none other than Demyx. Poor Demyx. Not that that's going to happen if Terra, Ven, and Aqua have a say. And when the going got tough, Mickey and Minnie both showed up and were BAMF. I love writing for the two of them. They are amazing and wonderful and my forevership. I don't remember rar's exact reaction upon reading it, but it was definitely like "YOUREGIVING ME MICKEYXMINNIE FEELS AND I JUST>>> AAAAAAHHHHH...."
Cue battle with Marlynort that's really hard when your forces are cut in half. (Like seriously, imagine game mechanics where you're FORCED to do that battle halved because the other half of your party is off fighting Larxene.) (I'd like to think that you could choose the party that went, but for that battle with Larxene (and what follows it) it's kind of necessary that the people that went went.) And after the battle, cue everyone being uneasy because Marlynort talks a good show.
Then, HAVE SOME MORE FLUFF (which I'm sure is what I said to rar when I sent her the chapter) with Zack and Aerith announcing their engagement and upcoming wedding.
And Corona is quietly wrapped up and the others return and they head off to Deep Space for the next adventure.
Larxene stuff to come.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Arendelle (aka Frozen) (Chapter 41-52)
My longest sequence yet, pretty much entirely because I split the group in two and did alternating POVs within the main group to get more story. I had story with Elsa and also one with Anna. I split the group firstly in the most logical way I could think: Kairi, Namine, and Roxas with Anna; Sora, Riku, Xion, Axel with Elsa.
First I wanted to split up the couples because there always is someone who freaks that their counterpart is not there. I wanted to send Axel to Elsa because of the contrast in ice and fire. I also wanted Riku to have the opportunity to talk to Elsa about dark pasts. Sora's great at bringing even the most stubborn person to a place where they'll talk. And I couldn't just have all the boys go one place and the girls another, so Xion went with them. Plus, that enabled me to have fun with the Xion-Axel dynamic. I love their friendship. It's fantastic. This split allowed Namine and Kairi to become suspicious of Anna's "I just met him but I want to marry him" antics, and also allowed them to be terribly suspicious of Hans, but Roxas, who misses those social cues, would be rather oblivious to it. It also allowed for Roxas and Kristoff to kind of bond in a weird way over how women behave weirdly.
Of course, after they all meet up in Elsa's ice castle, everyone gets to talk to everyone. Namine and Elsa talking is particularly a necessity. (That and Namine fixes Anna's memory issue--something that I didn't think solved in the movie.) Then, when the guards come in and everyone gets split up again, it doesn't stick with the original splits, because I thought that would be weird. Granted, Namine and Xion were the only two that swapped, but that's how the battle ended up lining up.
Me doing a Frozen story was in part because I knew Frozen was popular and it fit well into the Kingdom Hearts universe. The other reason I did it was because I thought that the original story of Frozen had a lot of plot holes in it that putting it into the bounds of Kingdom Hearts could fix (granted, the movie itself could just have parts rewritten to be better, but this was my golden opportunity so I took it.) And I stuck pretty close to a story that Kingdom Hearts got a hold of. The most major difference I think was Hans' ability to use Fire. Something that I added because I saw a tumblr most months ago postulating that Hans might have fire powers, due to him always wearing gloves and how that would make for an interesting plot twist.
The biggest things that I chose to "fix" were Anna and Elsa's relationship to each other, the events in the ice castle, and Anna's trip to the trolls. I wanted some real stuff to be solved in the trip to the ice castle, not a whole bunch of people not listening to each other. Namine fixing Anna's memory and informing Elsa about it was also part of it and obviously something that can only happen in my canon. Even without that, some sort of explanation about why Anna can be told now would have been nice as far as the actual movie went. I took out everything unnecessary regarding the trolls (which was most of it as far as the middle of the movie was concerned.) All that needed to happen was the bit about true love--no obnoxious shipping songs, no bunny trails, just straight-to-the-point moving the plot forward. Fluff is nice, obnoxious shipping songs are not.
And I'm sure ya'll hate me now because I've critiqued Frozen. But I don't care. I rewrote this to make myself feel better about some SERIOUS issues with the writing. Come on, Disney, you're better than that.
And during all that I also have Cloud being more of a reasonable human being instead of his broody self. I'm not sure why he started acting happier, but he did. He started taking blows as they came instead of worrying about the next sixteen of them. Even Hades' hellhounds didn't put a damper on his mood.
Then I also have Terra, Aqua, and Ven poking around on Kuin's homeworld. I was thinking of a place that they could go to learn something about Xehanort and I remembered that he'd taken particular offense to Kuin's people so there was as good a place as any. They also had the overlaid negative feelings because negativity was a motif for this part of the fic. And Terra being able to recognize them was great. And then they run into Kuin--they run into Kuin more than anyone else this fic, go figure--and they talk some sense into her. Kuin's not been doing so hot because the events of the past 20 years are catching up to her. And the three of them are so great, they convince her that working together is better than not working together.
Ima take a moment and talk about Axel's relationship with Xion. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again anyway. I love their friendship. It reminds me of me and a friend of mine actually. The age difference (his and mine and the apparent age difference between Xion and Axel) is definitely something fun to play with. It's almost brother-sisterly, but at the same time it's very much friendship based. And they just poke so much fun at each other it's great.
I also love Xion's reactions to the World around her. Because her time in the Organization didn't really give her a good idea of what any of that was. And then she went to Riku's place and spent all the time that anyone else would be sleeping reading books and so she has a bit of a skewed sense of reality and it shows up in funny moments. Like when the trolls started mentioning true love.
And just when you thought we weren't going to deal with a Remnant for a while, I throw one at you and he tries to Nort Aqua. Obviously it's not effective because Aqua's heart is strong and she puts up a great struggle (and Kuin very nearly becomes a huge coward) but Aqua now has a bit of Xehanort's memories to paw through and a lot to think about.
Then I've got quiet expansions in Hollow Bastion. Not taking too much time out of the story to go over minutia, but the school foundation has been found, Space Paranoids is being expanded (I half wanted it to include something like int he world of Wreck it Ralph, but I didn't have the time to do that in the fic as a whole.) Additionally, the magic is returning to the place, and everyone's quietly taking bets as to what Zack is up to. Oh, and Cloud's perkier.
Things I'm down with:
-The idea that there are some Worlds not touched by Heartless
-Sora channeling Goofy
-Riku insisting to Elsa that he's seen worse
-Xion being blunt
-Sora, Riku, Xion, and Axel helping Elsa get control of her powers
-Cloud getting better
-Cloud trying to get rid of the hellhounds by stopping random places inside and outside the Betwixt and Between
-Kristoff being shocked that Roxas, Namine, and Kairi have seen worse and weirder than his current situation
-Terra's ability to recognize that negative feelings were probably a result of external forces
-The line "butt singed through the ice yet?"
-Axel flipping Xion off
-Namine downing an ether before she gets down to business
-Axel setting fire to a staircase
-Aerith just casually saying Denzel can stay (but meaning it very seriously)
-Yuffie telling Denzel that "they'll tell you when you're older"
-Sora somehow managing never to wake up in prison until Arendelle and Riku's bafflement about that
-Xion wondering why Kairi uses "perhapsy" words
-Xion expecting Anna and Kristoff to kiss because that's what happens in the books
-Kuin deciding to go after Xigbar with utmost determination
-Xion correctly assuming that the others are in prison though having no way of proving it until later
-The line "Hey Sora, how about you come find me and save me the trouble of finding you."
-Axel telling Elsa that not feeling is not cool, because he would know
-Them all poking fun at Hades
First I wanted to split up the couples because there always is someone who freaks that their counterpart is not there. I wanted to send Axel to Elsa because of the contrast in ice and fire. I also wanted Riku to have the opportunity to talk to Elsa about dark pasts. Sora's great at bringing even the most stubborn person to a place where they'll talk. And I couldn't just have all the boys go one place and the girls another, so Xion went with them. Plus, that enabled me to have fun with the Xion-Axel dynamic. I love their friendship. It's fantastic. This split allowed Namine and Kairi to become suspicious of Anna's "I just met him but I want to marry him" antics, and also allowed them to be terribly suspicious of Hans, but Roxas, who misses those social cues, would be rather oblivious to it. It also allowed for Roxas and Kristoff to kind of bond in a weird way over how women behave weirdly.
Of course, after they all meet up in Elsa's ice castle, everyone gets to talk to everyone. Namine and Elsa talking is particularly a necessity. (That and Namine fixes Anna's memory issue--something that I didn't think solved in the movie.) Then, when the guards come in and everyone gets split up again, it doesn't stick with the original splits, because I thought that would be weird. Granted, Namine and Xion were the only two that swapped, but that's how the battle ended up lining up.
Me doing a Frozen story was in part because I knew Frozen was popular and it fit well into the Kingdom Hearts universe. The other reason I did it was because I thought that the original story of Frozen had a lot of plot holes in it that putting it into the bounds of Kingdom Hearts could fix (granted, the movie itself could just have parts rewritten to be better, but this was my golden opportunity so I took it.) And I stuck pretty close to a story that Kingdom Hearts got a hold of. The most major difference I think was Hans' ability to use Fire. Something that I added because I saw a tumblr most months ago postulating that Hans might have fire powers, due to him always wearing gloves and how that would make for an interesting plot twist.
The biggest things that I chose to "fix" were Anna and Elsa's relationship to each other, the events in the ice castle, and Anna's trip to the trolls. I wanted some real stuff to be solved in the trip to the ice castle, not a whole bunch of people not listening to each other. Namine fixing Anna's memory and informing Elsa about it was also part of it and obviously something that can only happen in my canon. Even without that, some sort of explanation about why Anna can be told now would have been nice as far as the actual movie went. I took out everything unnecessary regarding the trolls (which was most of it as far as the middle of the movie was concerned.) All that needed to happen was the bit about true love--no obnoxious shipping songs, no bunny trails, just straight-to-the-point moving the plot forward. Fluff is nice, obnoxious shipping songs are not.
And I'm sure ya'll hate me now because I've critiqued Frozen. But I don't care. I rewrote this to make myself feel better about some SERIOUS issues with the writing. Come on, Disney, you're better than that.
And during all that I also have Cloud being more of a reasonable human being instead of his broody self. I'm not sure why he started acting happier, but he did. He started taking blows as they came instead of worrying about the next sixteen of them. Even Hades' hellhounds didn't put a damper on his mood.
Then I also have Terra, Aqua, and Ven poking around on Kuin's homeworld. I was thinking of a place that they could go to learn something about Xehanort and I remembered that he'd taken particular offense to Kuin's people so there was as good a place as any. They also had the overlaid negative feelings because negativity was a motif for this part of the fic. And Terra being able to recognize them was great. And then they run into Kuin--they run into Kuin more than anyone else this fic, go figure--and they talk some sense into her. Kuin's not been doing so hot because the events of the past 20 years are catching up to her. And the three of them are so great, they convince her that working together is better than not working together.
Ima take a moment and talk about Axel's relationship with Xion. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again anyway. I love their friendship. It reminds me of me and a friend of mine actually. The age difference (his and mine and the apparent age difference between Xion and Axel) is definitely something fun to play with. It's almost brother-sisterly, but at the same time it's very much friendship based. And they just poke so much fun at each other it's great.
I also love Xion's reactions to the World around her. Because her time in the Organization didn't really give her a good idea of what any of that was. And then she went to Riku's place and spent all the time that anyone else would be sleeping reading books and so she has a bit of a skewed sense of reality and it shows up in funny moments. Like when the trolls started mentioning true love.
And just when you thought we weren't going to deal with a Remnant for a while, I throw one at you and he tries to Nort Aqua. Obviously it's not effective because Aqua's heart is strong and she puts up a great struggle (and Kuin very nearly becomes a huge coward) but Aqua now has a bit of Xehanort's memories to paw through and a lot to think about.
Then I've got quiet expansions in Hollow Bastion. Not taking too much time out of the story to go over minutia, but the school foundation has been found, Space Paranoids is being expanded (I half wanted it to include something like int he world of Wreck it Ralph, but I didn't have the time to do that in the fic as a whole.) Additionally, the magic is returning to the place, and everyone's quietly taking bets as to what Zack is up to. Oh, and Cloud's perkier.
Things I'm down with:
-The idea that there are some Worlds not touched by Heartless
-Sora channeling Goofy
-Riku insisting to Elsa that he's seen worse
-Xion being blunt
-Sora, Riku, Xion, and Axel helping Elsa get control of her powers
-Cloud getting better
-Cloud trying to get rid of the hellhounds by stopping random places inside and outside the Betwixt and Between
-Kristoff being shocked that Roxas, Namine, and Kairi have seen worse and weirder than his current situation
-Terra's ability to recognize that negative feelings were probably a result of external forces
-The line "butt singed through the ice yet?"
-Axel flipping Xion off
-Namine downing an ether before she gets down to business
-Axel setting fire to a staircase
-Aerith just casually saying Denzel can stay (but meaning it very seriously)
-Yuffie telling Denzel that "they'll tell you when you're older"
-Sora somehow managing never to wake up in prison until Arendelle and Riku's bafflement about that
-Xion wondering why Kairi uses "perhapsy" words
-Xion expecting Anna and Kristoff to kiss because that's what happens in the books
-Kuin deciding to go after Xigbar with utmost determination
-Xion correctly assuming that the others are in prison though having no way of proving it until later
-The line "Hey Sora, how about you come find me and save me the trouble of finding you."
-Axel telling Elsa that not feeling is not cool, because he would know
-Them all poking fun at Hades
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
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Disney Castle Arc (Chapters 10-17)
Interesting, the first arc took 8 chapters, so did the second arc. Anyway.
The Disney Castle arc was a combination of several things that I had set up for myself in Betwixt and Between and due to horrible planning, wasn't able to complete until Remnants.
First of all, I had this desire for Hades to attack Disney Castle. It stemmed from a game called "Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom" in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It's basically where Hades decides that he wants a new summer home and the castle in Magic Kingdom is going to be it. So he contacts his favorite villain friends (Maleficent, Doctor Facillier, Ursula, Jafar, etc) to rampage around until he can claim the castle for his own.
I fell in love with the idea and wanted to included it, replacing Cinderella's Castle with Disney Castle itself. Plus, it gives me more of a chance to play with Mickey, who's always a fun character to write for. I set it up in Betwixt and Between with Namine, Kairi, and Aerith learning of Hades' plot, but I never enacted it because I stopped Betwixt and Between before I wrapped up all of my plotlines (with the full intention of I'd wrapping it up in Remnants.)
The next thing included (at least in chapters 8 and 9) is the idea that Sora and the gang would all be chilling on Destiny Islands, and then be summoned promptly elsewhere. Granted, given my canon, I'm sure that sort of thing happened all the time, with Cid or Mickey calling one of them up and being like "Hey, can you take care of such-and-such Heartless problem for me" and them being like "Yeah, sure, totally on it!" But I wanted to write it out, so here it was.
Though, as a side-note, originally it was that Aerith was in trouble that pulled them all away, back when I was still trying to incorporate FF7 into my fic like I incorporated FF8 back in the prequel. I scrapped that idea because it's a fic in and of itself practically (or at least a huge chunk of one) and I didn't want to do it. (Mostly because I didn't want to kill Zack or Aerith.)
Oh yes, and then comes Axel starting to read through Saix's journal. Which will have important information in it.
Of course, as all of that's going on, I have Cloud and Tifa off on their little adventures (which happen periodically through half the fic). Because they're in Agrabah at the moment because Cloud thinks Sephiroth's going to show up there. Spoiler alert, he does. I think I stuck them in Agrabah because I liked Cloud's dynamics in Agrabah from rar's fic. But ignore me.
Tifa using corridors of light is just something so neat. Since I gave her that ability in the prequel, of course she'd still be able to use it now. And Cloud's just now learning about it, because she's kept it secret for so long. But Cloud should know. And meanwhile, Rinoa's just like, if Sephiroth comes after me, I will fight him. Okay, kay?
I love Mickey fighting. He only does it when he feels he has to, but Hades attacking Disney Castle kind of gives Mickey reason to fight. And Hades going after Minnie was just dumb, because the whole "let go of my wife" thing is just beautiful. MickeyxMinnie is my forever ship.
Oh look, ZackxAerith in chapter 14. Shameless and I don't care. But gotta include life in Hollow Bastion even when the action is elsewhere.
And of course, even after they've dealt with Hades, I'm going to also make them deal with a Xehanort Remnant. (Hint, they'll do that a lot.) And I loved being in Xion's POV for this because Xion thinks faster than everyone else because she's got a computer for a brain and so she strategizes and then spends the remaining time figuring out how she's going to enact said strategies--in the same time everyone else is still figuring part a out.
Riku is officially the first person that the Xehanort Remnant tries to go after. And of course that fails miserably because Riku has actually built up a tolerance to that sort of thing. And then he's just an ass and he makes everyone believe for three seconds that Xehanort might have done something, before just being like JK NOPE SUCKERS!
Cid and Shera love. This is me, reintroducing her to the story, because she wasn't around in AtP or in BB. And now she's back. And I'm totes cool with that. I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I did actually intend on killing Shera in that massive cannon blast in Traverse Town, all that time ago. She was supposed to die and it was going to freak Aerith and Cid both out. It would also solve the "where has she been" problem. But then I decided I didn't want to kill her (especially since she survives in the FF7 timeline--she and Cid quietly get married, even!) So I decided that she went back to work for the King. But anyway.
Things I'm really okay with:
-Everyone on Destiny Islands being ready to help
-Xion reading upside-down
-Xion giving absolutely zero cares regarding walking in on Axel
-Aerith's hunches and sending the appropriate people to help
-Ven using shotlocks
-Tifa being able to use corridors of light
-Rinoa being like "ima punch Sephiroth if he comes after me"
-Rinoa's dynamic with Cloud and Sephiroth in general, I guess
-Mickey fighting Hades
-Hades out-hotting Axel
-Xion's computer-like battle planning because she's a Replica
-Everyone protecting Ven from Neoshadows
-Namine shattering things and then conveniently not talking about it
The Disney Castle arc was a combination of several things that I had set up for myself in Betwixt and Between and due to horrible planning, wasn't able to complete until Remnants.
 |
| from the Disney Wiki |
I fell in love with the idea and wanted to included it, replacing Cinderella's Castle with Disney Castle itself. Plus, it gives me more of a chance to play with Mickey, who's always a fun character to write for. I set it up in Betwixt and Between with Namine, Kairi, and Aerith learning of Hades' plot, but I never enacted it because I stopped Betwixt and Between before I wrapped up all of my plotlines (with the full intention of I'd wrapping it up in Remnants.)
The next thing included (at least in chapters 8 and 9) is the idea that Sora and the gang would all be chilling on Destiny Islands, and then be summoned promptly elsewhere. Granted, given my canon, I'm sure that sort of thing happened all the time, with Cid or Mickey calling one of them up and being like "Hey, can you take care of such-and-such Heartless problem for me" and them being like "Yeah, sure, totally on it!" But I wanted to write it out, so here it was.
Though, as a side-note, originally it was that Aerith was in trouble that pulled them all away, back when I was still trying to incorporate FF7 into my fic like I incorporated FF8 back in the prequel. I scrapped that idea because it's a fic in and of itself practically (or at least a huge chunk of one) and I didn't want to do it. (Mostly because I didn't want to kill Zack or Aerith.)
Oh yes, and then comes Axel starting to read through Saix's journal. Which will have important information in it.
Of course, as all of that's going on, I have Cloud and Tifa off on their little adventures (which happen periodically through half the fic). Because they're in Agrabah at the moment because Cloud thinks Sephiroth's going to show up there. Spoiler alert, he does. I think I stuck them in Agrabah because I liked Cloud's dynamics in Agrabah from rar's fic. But ignore me.
Tifa using corridors of light is just something so neat. Since I gave her that ability in the prequel, of course she'd still be able to use it now. And Cloud's just now learning about it, because she's kept it secret for so long. But Cloud should know. And meanwhile, Rinoa's just like, if Sephiroth comes after me, I will fight him. Okay, kay?
 |
| by rongs1234 on dA |
Oh look, ZackxAerith in chapter 14. Shameless and I don't care. But gotta include life in Hollow Bastion even when the action is elsewhere.
And of course, even after they've dealt with Hades, I'm going to also make them deal with a Xehanort Remnant. (Hint, they'll do that a lot.) And I loved being in Xion's POV for this because Xion thinks faster than everyone else because she's got a computer for a brain and so she strategizes and then spends the remaining time figuring out how she's going to enact said strategies--in the same time everyone else is still figuring part a out.
Riku is officially the first person that the Xehanort Remnant tries to go after. And of course that fails miserably because Riku has actually built up a tolerance to that sort of thing. And then he's just an ass and he makes everyone believe for three seconds that Xehanort might have done something, before just being like JK NOPE SUCKERS!
Cid and Shera love. This is me, reintroducing her to the story, because she wasn't around in AtP or in BB. And now she's back. And I'm totes cool with that. I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I did actually intend on killing Shera in that massive cannon blast in Traverse Town, all that time ago. She was supposed to die and it was going to freak Aerith and Cid both out. It would also solve the "where has she been" problem. But then I decided I didn't want to kill her (especially since she survives in the FF7 timeline--she and Cid quietly get married, even!) So I decided that she went back to work for the King. But anyway.
Things I'm really okay with:
-Everyone on Destiny Islands being ready to help
-Xion reading upside-down
-Xion giving absolutely zero cares regarding walking in on Axel
-Aerith's hunches and sending the appropriate people to help
-Ven using shotlocks
-Tifa being able to use corridors of light
-Rinoa being like "ima punch Sephiroth if he comes after me"
-Rinoa's dynamic with Cloud and Sephiroth in general, I guess
-Mickey fighting Hades
-Hades out-hotting Axel
-Xion's computer-like battle planning because she's a Replica
-Everyone protecting Ven from Neoshadows
-Namine shattering things and then conveniently not talking about it
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.
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| 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.
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| 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
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Proof of Omega (ch37)
Link to Chapter
Link to the tumbl
I wanted to include a battle against the Omega Weapon for two reasons, one because I made reference to it here. And there is just so funny, because everyone's talking to Aqua, Terra, and Ven, about how Rinoa and Squall are just so epic fighting together. And Rinoa makes mention of the "Ultima Weapon", though that is an error, it should have been "Omega Weapon" because that's the one in the game that has the attacks that I'm talking about.
Because this ugly dude is... well... ugly.
The second reason is that I had such an interesting experience fighting the Omega Weapon myself, that I thought to include it in my writing.
So, sidetrack for a second, while I mention a random factoid... It was established in AtP and BtE that everyone called Leon "Leon" except Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell. My original reasoning being that they all originate from FFVIII, so that name would stick. However, as I wrote the prequel, it became established that the only person who called Leon "Squall" was Rinoa, because she liked the name better and was too stubborn to listen to him telling her to call him Leon. Quistis and Zell would respect his decision to be called Leon. So, my options now are to either retcon that, or just say that after years of Rinoa referring to him as "Squall" they picked it up and he didn't feel like correcting them.
Anyway, moving on from that. So while I was fighting Omega Weapon in FFVIII, I didn't happen to kill him before he started his epic-beam-of-light-that-deals-9999-damage-so-you-die attack. I'm plugging along, using a ton of Life's and Full-Life's and trying to keep Squall in a state where he can use his Limit because Renzokuken! At some point during the battle, epic-attack-of-doom kills Rinoa. Literally, as soon as it works its way back to Squall, I get a limit and for the first (and sadly only) time in the game, I get the finisher of Lion Heart (as opposed to any of the other finishers). Naturally, the Omega Weapon didn't survive that. So, yeah, the experience was so amusing in my head, that I ended up including it here for you guys. Sorry about that lol.
I think mostly everything else was explained in the tumbl. So perhaps I'll leave it at that.
Have a Vocaloid video. Technically, it's an Akiakane and Yuyoyuppe cover. Because well, they're amazing.
Link to the tumbl
I wanted to include a battle against the Omega Weapon for two reasons, one because I made reference to it here. And there is just so funny, because everyone's talking to Aqua, Terra, and Ven, about how Rinoa and Squall are just so epic fighting together. And Rinoa makes mention of the "Ultima Weapon", though that is an error, it should have been "Omega Weapon" because that's the one in the game that has the attacks that I'm talking about.
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| official render from ff.wiki |
The second reason is that I had such an interesting experience fighting the Omega Weapon myself, that I thought to include it in my writing.
So, sidetrack for a second, while I mention a random factoid... It was established in AtP and BtE that everyone called Leon "Leon" except Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell. My original reasoning being that they all originate from FFVIII, so that name would stick. However, as I wrote the prequel, it became established that the only person who called Leon "Squall" was Rinoa, because she liked the name better and was too stubborn to listen to him telling her to call him Leon. Quistis and Zell would respect his decision to be called Leon. So, my options now are to either retcon that, or just say that after years of Rinoa referring to him as "Squall" they picked it up and he didn't feel like correcting them.
Anyway, moving on from that. So while I was fighting Omega Weapon in FFVIII, I didn't happen to kill him before he started his epic-beam-of-light-that-deals-9999-damage-so-you-die attack. I'm plugging along, using a ton of Life's and Full-Life's and trying to keep Squall in a state where he can use his Limit because Renzokuken! At some point during the battle, epic-attack-of-doom kills Rinoa. Literally, as soon as it works its way back to Squall, I get a limit and for the first (and sadly only) time in the game, I get the finisher of Lion Heart (as opposed to any of the other finishers). Naturally, the Omega Weapon didn't survive that. So, yeah, the experience was so amusing in my head, that I ended up including it here for you guys. Sorry about that lol.
I think mostly everything else was explained in the tumbl. So perhaps I'll leave it at that.
Have a Vocaloid video. Technically, it's an Akiakane and Yuyoyuppe cover. Because well, they're amazing.
Monday, November 26, 2012
A Whole Lot of Ice Cream... Oh wait! This is the end!! (ch70)
So, I was almost all the way done with Axel’s Million Dreams Festival scene (like, ice cream winners were being announced and I was totally going to try and work in some MickeyxMinnie fluff) when I realized that this was the last scene I was going to write for Betwixt and Between.
I mean, sure I had an epilogue planned... but this was the END. And it came up so quickly that I barely even noticed it. I mean, yes, it was a rather recent decision to split Betwixt and Between up... but... I was at the END. And here I was thinking I’d have a tough time making my deadline, and I’m reaching it with a few days to spare! (okay, to clarify, I've had Betwixt and Between finished written since before November started, I've just been spacing out posts (and then I have to find time to post, and port, and blog, and etc).
Anyway, rar and I are talking on messenger and she's like "scene? scene?" and I just told her she’d have to wait a bit longer for the scene because I was going to go back and add stuff so that everything was just perfect. It only added a little over a page more than what my usual chapter length is, and is still under 3000 words, but I feel it’s complete. And that’s what I wanted.
In hindsight, or, rather, as archsage mentioned, I could have included the FF characters in the Million Dreams Festival. I completely... forgot, honestly. I’m sure Mickey would have invited at least some of them! The ones he was more acquainted with like Aerith and Leon. Maybe they all were there and none of us see them. I challenge one of you to write a scene with some of them at the Million Dreams Festival!
Anyway, I am aware that there was four chapters of no real action. But, at the same time, I am really okay with Riku and Namine’s battle with CO being the last really big battle and then just having a really nice, happy time for the ending. The Million Dreams Festival was a milestone for this story, to be completely honest. No, I am not done. There will be another sequel that will deal with the enemies hinted at and whatnot. But, that isn’t the next thing on the writer’s tablet for me. (More on that later. Like, later post, later.)
So, with all that nostalgia out of the way, how about some review responses!
Flightfoot, yes, Sora knows how to skateboard from the memories inside of Roxas. And, yes, Terra still has yellow eyes. They are going back to blue, but it's taking time for the residual darkness to completely dissipate. Also, for that chapter title... whoops. I thought it had Rumble Racing in it so I named it thus. I completely didn't even think about how it was just kinda summary. And, I see what you mean about the Queen! (rereading it myself proved your point.)
archsage, I totally love your idea of Axel and Ven trying to matchmake Aqua and Terra. I mentioned it to rar and she basically said how she could totally see it happening. Anyway, so, I have shenanigans for the next sequel when I get to it.
No, I have not played Dream Drop yet. I have the game but not the system. *crosses fingers* Come on, Christmas!
KKBeckett, yes, Saix is who Axel was missing.
Erm...
I think that's all.
It's not complete yet because there will be an epilogue up soon. Then, it's a matter of staying tuned. Keep tuned here, I'm sure to post random blogs every now and then.
I love you all.
~magik
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| chico-100 on dA |
I mean, sure I had an epilogue planned... but this was the END. And it came up so quickly that I barely even noticed it. I mean, yes, it was a rather recent decision to split Betwixt and Between up... but... I was at the END. And here I was thinking I’d have a tough time making my deadline, and I’m reaching it with a few days to spare! (okay, to clarify, I've had Betwixt and Between finished written since before November started, I've just been spacing out posts (and then I have to find time to post, and port, and blog, and etc).
Anyway, rar and I are talking on messenger and she's like "scene? scene?" and I just told her she’d have to wait a bit longer for the scene because I was going to go back and add stuff so that everything was just perfect. It only added a little over a page more than what my usual chapter length is, and is still under 3000 words, but I feel it’s complete. And that’s what I wanted.
In hindsight, or, rather, as archsage mentioned, I could have included the FF characters in the Million Dreams Festival. I completely... forgot, honestly. I’m sure Mickey would have invited at least some of them! The ones he was more acquainted with like Aerith and Leon. Maybe they all were there and none of us see them. I challenge one of you to write a scene with some of them at the Million Dreams Festival!
Anyway, I am aware that there was four chapters of no real action. But, at the same time, I am really okay with Riku and Namine’s battle with CO being the last really big battle and then just having a really nice, happy time for the ending. The Million Dreams Festival was a milestone for this story, to be completely honest. No, I am not done. There will be another sequel that will deal with the enemies hinted at and whatnot. But, that isn’t the next thing on the writer’s tablet for me. (More on that later. Like, later post, later.)
So, with all that nostalgia out of the way, how about some review responses!
Flightfoot, yes, Sora knows how to skateboard from the memories inside of Roxas. And, yes, Terra still has yellow eyes. They are going back to blue, but it's taking time for the residual darkness to completely dissipate. Also, for that chapter title... whoops. I thought it had Rumble Racing in it so I named it thus. I completely didn't even think about how it was just kinda summary. And, I see what you mean about the Queen! (rereading it myself proved your point.)
archsage, I totally love your idea of Axel and Ven trying to matchmake Aqua and Terra. I mentioned it to rar and she basically said how she could totally see it happening. Anyway, so, I have shenanigans for the next sequel when I get to it.
No, I have not played Dream Drop yet. I have the game but not the system. *crosses fingers* Come on, Christmas!
KKBeckett, yes, Saix is who Axel was missing.
Erm...
I think that's all.
It's not complete yet because there will be an epilogue up soon. Then, it's a matter of staying tuned. Keep tuned here, I'm sure to post random blogs every now and then.
I love you all.
~magik
Monday, November 19, 2012
Rumble Racing and more Fruitball (69)
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| LightSilverStar on dA |
Of course it would be the scene with Terra, Aqua and Ven that gave me trouble.
The one with Sora, Kairi, Riku and Namine was very easy. I knew they were going to get ice cream and that they were going to run into Max. Everything after that just seemed to fall into place.
Roxas and Xion’s scene gave me a little bit of trouble at the beginning for whatever reason (I think I was trying too hard to get them to be cute, but once I hit the cotton candy bit it seemed to flow just fine.)
But, naturally, the scene with Terra, Aqua and Ven just didn’t want to work it’s way onto the page. :( Whether this is because I got sick (like, with head cold) while I was in the middle of it or what... I don’t know. It got easier once Roxas and Xion entered the scene though. (Probably because I already had written what happened...)
Regardless, I'm rather pleased with how it all turned out.
A few of you have asked if you'll see more Axel/more of that trio. The answer is yes. Soon :)
That's really all I have to say. *is totally wrapped up in novel*
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Taking Roxas to Meet Kuin (66)
I don't have particularly very much to say about this chapter. Chapters with Axel have that effect. I either have nothing to say, or I have to say ALL THE THINGS.
And this is a chapter where I effectively have nothing to say..... so... yeah...
I like writing chapters with Axel because Axel is just rather fun to write.
Archsage said I nailed Roxas' character. Why thank you! I am honored by that comment! I think I wrote it in light of rar squeeing a thousand miles an hour about Days. (She's replaying it.) So that might have had something to do with it.
Dear Guest, Axel likes clothes. He just likes cloaks better!
KKBeckett, yes, I suppose Roxas could use the Keyblade on Sora's locked house. However, Sora's parents probably don't think like that because they are only slightly acquainted with the idea of the whole Keyblade thing in the first place. So... yeah. And yes, Axel has a deadline to his bed.
EDITS! (Because Blogger makes them easy!) Flightfoot asked if Roxas knew that Ven went through a zombie-like experience. I would say, probably not consciously, since it's never been talked about. Ven hardly remembers said zombie state himself, only Terra and Aqua would remember that. However, Roxas might just inherently know because both him and Ven share the link of Sora's heart.
Erm... I could be cool like rar and give commentary on something that I've been doing lately... but that's pretty much already contained in this blog:
http://writingformylives.blogspot.com/
Rewrites! Check it out!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Angry Darkness (63)
I tried to make it look all angry and mechanized... *shrug*
Anyway...
Ohmygoshcompletelynewbloginterfaceyay!
Now that THAT spazz is over with...
Um, yeah, new blog. Finishing up this fic to work on my novel... fun times... fun times...
So, about that chapter!
I was talking with rar randomly about what levels each of the characters would be like. (It all started with deciding if I was going to integrate abilities like “scan” in.) Regardless, I joked that Sora and Riku would be at like 300 something. Then I decided if Sora was at 300 something, Riku’s probably closer to 400 something maybe even pushing 500. Roxas is probably at like 150 ish. Xion’s gotta be at like 80, close to 90. Kairi’s probably only at like... 12 or 13 (just far enough to have the Scan ability, actually, based on the fact that she picked the Shield). And Namine is at 8 (Just under Scan, based on the fact that if she’d HAD a Dive, she would have picked the staff.) Yeah. I’m weird.
Hrm, Axel would be at like... hmm, this has got me thinking. Is he more powerful than Riku? (That’s what this comes down to, doesn’t it?) Well, I wanna say, given how long he’s been around and how long he’s been fighting, he’s probably at like, level 500 something. Maybe even 600. *shrug* Whatever the heck level he is, he doesn’t always choose to show it. Why would he?
Aqua is probably close to 400 herself. She just lost all that time when she was wandering around the Realm of Darkness. Terra’s... okay, I’ve decided I don’t want to try and figure out if Xehanort had an influence. So Terra’s level is unknown. Ven’s probably close to 200. He just lost ALL of that time while he was asleep.
I’m not going to even bother with the FF charrie’s levels. Too much effort.
Heheh... all of my notes were in regards to that... well... you know... *shrug*
Review Responses:
Peach, you wondered why the room could Cure Riku when Cure's couldn't. To my understanding, Save Points in KH heal you as well as get rid of status effects (if you get any lasting ones, can't really remember, I've been playing too much Crisis Core where that DOESN'T happen... stupid Genesis.... ANYWAY!). In my canon, then, Save Points, or rather, Healing Circles, heal status effects. Riku had some leftover poison from the... oh... what did I call them... Poisonous Poolers! but when he stepped into the Healing Circle, that was cleared. The potion may or may not have worked by that logic, he may have needed an Elixir or an Esuna. However, my original theory was what Namine had mentioned, that the Cures couldn't get through the Darkness all the way (not a new problem) in a way that a potion would.
K.O.D. Lazarus, sadly, I am not (regularly) an artist. You can find a link to my dA in my profile. However, I haven't posted new art on there in a while... sorry.... However, I'm glad you're enjoying!!
Guest, I'm rather surprised you read the whole thing twice, it's rather long! (though, some people would say it's a short read) more power to you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it that much to read it again! I shall consider a shattering Limit for Namine. However, there's another Limit coming up with her and Riku so I may not create anything new for her for a while.
KKBeckett, yes. Cliffie. Sorry. I'll have another chapter up soon. (Saturday? Sunday?)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
On Keyblades
Sora's got Oathkeeper--the physical representation of his
bond to Kairi. (And they haven't even
shared a Paopu yet...) Oathkeeper's form may change a little if I feel like
editing how that would look like as they grow older and closer and the bond
between them strengthens.
Riku's got Way to Dawn--the representation of a heart that
once fell into darkness, but redeemed itself.
His Keyblade probably won't change until he gets over his dark
past. It's not like he still dwells on
it regularly, but it's still there in the back of his mind haunting him.
Roxas has got Oblivion--representing missing memories. Yes, Roxas has all of his memories back
now. If someone else gets a change in
Keyblade, it will probably be Roxas, because there will come a point in time
where Roxas no longer is connected to all of those lost memories.
Kairi has Destiny's Embrace.
This represents her taking on the Destiny set out for her. If she gets a Keyblade change, it will
probably be around the time she takes her Mark.
I don't know, I'm working on ideas for that.
Xion wields the Kingdom Key because, at first, I just wanted
someone to wield the Kingdom Key. However,
now I believe we are moving past that.
So why isn't Xion wielding any of the blades seen in Days instead? Well,
those are more of representations of Roxas, not Xion. She's not a copy of him anymore. She's her own person. Currently, the Kingdom Key represents the
blank slate that Xion was given when she was rebuilt. As her heart--now free of the entanglements
and complications she had as an unstable replica--grows into whatever it will
become, her Keyblade will change into something stronger.
SIDETRACK! If you want to see some really cool Keyblade
designs, check out CBJ3 on deviantArt.
Some of the weapons that they design are AWESOME.
Okay, back on track.... Ven's going to get a new Keyblade as
well, about the time he goes for his Mark.
Same with Terra. (When he redoes
his Mark.)
Aqua will probably get a new Keyblade as well, while I'm at
it.
Funny story about Aqua and Terra though... they have a spare
Keyblade--Master Eraqus' Master Keeper between them. I'm not entirely sure the semantics of that
just yet. But, they have it between the
two of them. Aqua rightfully inherited
it, but Terra has just a bit of Master Eraqus himself inside of him. So... yeah... happy fun confidingness. Thank you Master Eraqus.
Oh, and on the subject of Keyblades, I believe Mickey's the
only Wielder/Master I haven't talked about.
He still has Star Seeker, though he can switch to the Kingdom Key-D
whenever he wants because he has both Keychains. He's also the King and can do
whatever he wants. His standard Keyblade
is Star Seeker though and I'm not messing with that.
Okay, enough about Keyblades now...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Everyone's Ages
The ages of our heroes! (These were quite fun to
extrapolate.)
So, let's start with Sora.
He's 15 in KH2. He's 16 by the
end of AtP. He won't be turning 17 until
Book 3, if I get that far.
Kairi: See above.
She's 16 at the end of AtP and won't be turning 17 until Book 3. (Yeah,
I know, it's weird me talking about the next book with this one not even being
finished written. Technically, I have a
vague plot for something after that, but I'm curbing Namine at all costs.)
Riku: He's 16 in KH2, making him 17 by the end of AtP and 18
in a potential Book 3.
Namine: Assuming that
she's 14 in Chain of Memories and 15 in KH2 using that weird logic that she and
Roxas aged because they had Somebodies during their existence. That makes her 16 along with Kairi at the end
of AtP and potentially 17 in that potentially next book.
Roxas: See above. 15
in KH2, 16 by the end of AtP and then 17 in B3.
Xion: Here's a fun one.
So, assume that she's 14 in Days, because that's how old Kairi was in
Sora's memories when Xion took on that form.
Also, Sora/Roxas were kinda 14 at that time. Then, she spends all of KH2 not really
existing. (Sorry, Xion.) So, when Roxas uses his memories of her to
bring her back, she's still pretty much that 14 year old self. Assume she took on some characteristics of
the Kairi that Roxas was getting input from giving her a small boost and you
have a 15-year-old Xion by the end of AtP.
So, that makes her a year younger than everyone else. (Well, Riku being the exception.) And, you guessed it, she'll be 16 in B3.
Ven: Another fun one.
So, rar and I spent SO MUCH time trying to figure out Aqua/Terra/Ven's
ages in BBS. I finally came to the
conclusion that for the purposes of my fic, Ven was 16 in BBS. He doesn't age at all when he's sleeping in
the Chamber of Waking (ironic, that statement is, yes.) So, he's still 16 at
the end of AtP--the same age as Sora for those of you who are keeping close
track. Congrats Ven, you just shaved
twelve years off your life somehow.
Aqua: Assume that she's 19 in BBS when she goes to take her
Mark of Mastery. (rar and I figured that
you'd probably have to be at least 18 to take it back then, the prime age being
early 20s, but Terra and Aqua were young prospects.) Assume that time in the Realm of Darkness
moves at a tenth of the pace as it does everywhere else. That means Aqua gains a year and some change
to her age. That makes her 20 at the end
of AtP.
Terra: Assume he's 19, too, when he takes the Mark of
Mastery exam in BBS. Then, assume that
he didn't age at all when he was in Xemnas' heart because Xemnas was a Nobody
without a Somebody. Say Xehanort aged a
good 2 years between the time he was around BEFORE he turned himself into a
Heartless and then AFTER he reformed.
So, Terra's 21 by the end of AtP.
Axel: Yeah, I spent loads of time figuring this one out
too. Darn them not aging as Nobodies,
but still have ridiculously long hair growth.
(Xigbar, Zexion, Saix, Axel).
Assume he's 17 in BBS when he meets Ven.
About the same age, but a bit older.
Say 5 years after BBS, he's turned into a Nobody at the ripe old age of
22. By the time he gets himself reformed
and starts aging again, he wouldn't be 23 until B3 most like. (And I've just given him a really skewed
concept of his own age, because he's been around for nearly 30 years by that
point.)
Kuin: She's 9 in BBS, I have determined. Thankfully, she hasn't been in or out of
Nobody status, so that makes her an easy 21 at the end of AtP.
Disclaimer: Betwixt and Between takes place over the course
of several months (I think. So far I've
written about three weeks’ worth of information. (okay, that is disgusting,
based on that… it’s taken me nearly a YEAR almost to write one more weeks’
worth of information…. That is…. That has to just be timey whimey. Granted, the 7 months in Disney hardly counts
because I hardly wrote… MOVING ON)
This time span is not enough for anyone to have aged
significantly, like the difference in ages between KH1 and KH2.
And, that is all I have for you tonight my dearies :)
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