How did I end up here?

How did I end up here?

HOW DID I END UP HERE?!?!?

It's the end.  The END.

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

BUT I PLANNED THIS OUT FOUR YEARS AGO.

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

Because I'd only ever planned on writing two.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now for the wedding part:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Larxene Sequence (various chapters between 61 and 78)

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

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

And I'm so glad I did.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because they would.

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

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

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

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

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

Vexen Feels (Can't Escape chapter 65)

Chapter

Rar's Tumblr Event Thing

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

by halfdemondog on dA

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

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

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

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

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

Have a video!

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

Chapter Link

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

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


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

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

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

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

by forbidden siren

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

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

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

Kay.  Yeah.  Have a video now.

Crossover Continued (Can't Escape ch63)

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

Chapter

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

by veritas-project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter

Why yes.  Yes it is.

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

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

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

Things that stayed the same:

by Maulsypaulsy

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

Things that changed:
Everything else.

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

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

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

Yeah, it was a whole big thing.

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

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

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

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

Aerith and her Thoughts (ch42)

Chapter

Tumbl

So today's been interesting.  I spilled water on my computer and for a bit there, music would come out of both my headphones AND my speakers.  I put it in rice, and aside from what might be a grain of rice in one of my vents... everything's working functionally now.  *knocks on wood*

Oi, I don't have the munny for a new computer right now.

I don't really have much to say about this chapter, if I'm completely honest with myself.  I mostly just let Aerith talk and everything else came along with it.  I do think it's super adorable how she keeps wishing for Zack because she's worried about him (not that she's not worried about Leon... but Zack...) and first Cid shows up and then Zack shows up.   And then she wonders and wishes for Leon.

by Tekesuta on dA

Who, in all honestly, if I could rig that, I'd have him show up right there.  But... it just doesn't work.  For starters, this chapter would have to come later because Leon's STILL dealing with end of time stuff and... yeah... no...

But Aerith's just super worried about everyone and... yeah...

But seriously, that's all I have to say about this chapter.

Have a nice picture of Cid because Cid love!

Though, the image in my head of Zack appearing mid-air and totally being rearing to fight is super amusing and amazing.

In regards to things that relate to more than just this chapter... rar's got me cringing every time one of my characters uses Thunder-magic.  Thank you Riku.  *glares*

I think that's it though.  I won't say anything about how Leon's doing because... well... spoilers!

As usual, have a vid!

Letters for Everyone (29)

Link to the chapter: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9446325/29/What-s-all-Gone-on-Before

Link to the livetumbl: http://magiksbrain.tumblr.com/tagged/ch29/chrono

I rather like the letter chapters.  I've written quite a few more, actually.  They're pretty fun.  I think this is the only one I'll do with multiple short letters.  A lot because formatting is a pain.  However, I did make this happen:

I imagine that these would all just be sitting on her bedside table as she gets to them and responds to them.  It was fun picking out fonts for the three of them.  The handwriting for Zack is actually my own, modified for my character Tristan from my book.  So, yeah.  That's exciting.

Anyway, there's a lot going on in the chapter, though some is summary.

First we've got Zack's letter to his parents, which is modified from an actual letter he sent to his parents in the games.  Right down to the girlfriend part.  Heh.

Then there's Tifa, who's just sending a letter to every single town on the Planet, trying to get a hold of Cloud.  Unfortunately, he's not going to be getting any of these letters anytime soon.  And it's kinda depressing when you think about it.

Anyway, then there's Leon telling Quistis that he's off to find Rinoa.  Rescue Rinoa.  Whatever.  And it's oddly like Riku telling Alpha he's heading to Hollow Bastion from rar's universe.  That happened fairly recently, didn't it? Or has he been in Hollow Bastion for a while, now? Anyway, Leon at least left a note, as opposed to Riku, who just sent a Joseph.

Then there's Zack being adorable.  He's so proud that he came across that book for Aerith, because he knows she's been looking for one for a while and he's just so happy that he can help.  And he misses her, and he loves her and OH MY GOSH STOP BEING ADORABLE YOU TWO.  SHEESH.

And then there's Angeal.  And he's doing a thing.  And it's not okay.  Rar and I are in agreement on this.

Take your guesses now.

Oh, and yes, Yuffie apparently misses Leon.  I threw it in there as a bit of a random tidbit, but yes, Yuffie misses him.  Sort of.  He'll get back and she won't be too happy that he doesn't let her get away with things, but yeah, she misses him.

Another obsession:

The Fight Against Adel (22)

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

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

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

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

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

Um, yeah, so, this chapter!

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

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

by ~retamal1990 on dA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now for a video: (more VOCALOID stuff)

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

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

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

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

No livetumbl for this one though.  Sorry guys.

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

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

by =SaiyaGina

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

And so it happened.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cloud versus Everyone at Home (16)

Link to the chapter: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9446325/16/What-s-all-Gone-on-Before

I didn't livetumbl for this one, sorry guys.

Anyway, so Cloud versus everyone at home.  It's one of the main reasons why he wants to leave in the first place.  He feels conflicted regarding Tifa's mother's death versus his father's death; he doesn't fit in, partially because he doesn't want to, but the rest because everyone finds him odd; there's a part of him that thinks about getting involved in SOLDIER, but Tifa's talked him out of that one by now; and the rest of him is just craving for adventure.

by *bloodlinev on dA

So he leaves.  He tells his work, his mom, and Tifa.  He and Tifa make promises to help each other in a bind.  The caveat behind that, however, is that one has to KNOW that the other is in a bind.  And, sorry you two, but your hearts just don't have the connection for that.  SoKai can pull it off... Rokushi might be able to pull it off.  Zerith can pull it off because Aerith is special.  But CloTi? just... *sigh*.

Anyway, but this picture is adorable! It's those moments on the water tower (wow, almost typed Clocktower... Days, much?) that I find so endearing.  They're so cute and young.

And, slight spoilers, they're not going to be that way when they next see each other.  I say only slight because something similar happens in FFVII.  Granted, in my canon, Cloud's not going to try and become SOLDIER and then accidentally become involved in one of Hojo's experiments to the point where he thinks he's Zack.  But Cloud's gonna have some stuff happen to him.  Sorry, ya'll.

I used a bit of a different writing style for this chapter, as you can tell by the dialogue.  I didn't use dialogue markers, hoping that it would be obvious who was talking.  It's easier to read through if you assume that Tifa always talks first (unless otherwise noted).  Because, admit it, Tifa does that.

Review Responses:

Archsage! you're back! *hugs* Thank you so much for your kind words and compliments! I'm glad you're enjoying it! It's a blast to write.  I hope I continue to inspire you!

KKBeckett, Yes, Cloud has left.  *sigh*  As for Tifa following him, you'll see :P  (Spoilers.)

This one's shameless self-promotion.  I made this video a couple of years ago for rar's fanfic otp, Namiku.  Yup.  Check her out if you haven't :P

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2278897/rarmaster

She would tell you to start with Falling to Pieces, probably.

On Vexen’s Odd Fatherly Relationship with Riku

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

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

Do you get where I'm going with this?

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

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

The list goes on.

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

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

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

As for Xion, well, spoilers.  Sorry. 

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

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

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

and possibly why he bothers to Replicate him

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

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