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 Squall (Leon). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Squall (Leon). 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.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Deep Space (various chapters between 70 and 78)
Let's talk about Deep Space and not about Larxene, kay? Because I want to give the Larxene post a ton of justice and Ima put it off for one more post, kay?
Deep Space kind of got overshadowed by the Larxene sequence, but it's still just as vitally important. It's not like Corona, which was kind of just there because the whole plot of that was Marlynort causing trouble while action was elsewhere. There's a major plot point in Deep Space which is Xehanort attempting to Nort Terra. Which is a Big Deal.
But unrelated to even that at the moment, is how in Hollow Bastion, Aerith's house is FINALLY done expanding. For once, I actually know how many bedrooms she's got there because I redid the entire top floor and just added more bedrooms because I knew they were going to need them. (Simultaneously, Zack's changed the plans so that one of the bedrooms can become his and Aerith's room when they eventually get married. Yup. That happened.) Also, Cid and Shera are adorable and it's great. They'll be together working on crazy projects forever and I love them.
ALSO ALSO is Leon asking Cid for relationship advice because he doesn't have anyone else to ask and he just wants to know what to do with Rinoa. And it makes me think back to in the Prequel where Cid's watching Zack and Aerith be all lovey-dovey and he has a passing thought that Leon'll never get a girlfriend and then Rinoa shows up and BAM, Leon doesn't know it yet, but she's gonna be his girlfriend.
And Cid as everyone's father figure even though he didn't want to be is just another level of great.
Anyway, so Deep Space. More like, LILO AS A SPACE PILOT. I read a headcanon on Tumblr a while ago that included that and I was just like... I NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. So, uh, I did. Her age is really something that I never ironed out, but whatever, she's still the youngest pilot ever amongst a whole ton of aliens and it's Super Cool.
And then Namine, Vexen, and Aerith show up and Axel's like: "Heheh, you're the real Vexen, I'm coming along to mess with you!" And then he volunteers Roxas and Xion while he's at it for maximized amazingness.
And THEN we have Ven, Aqua, and Terra showing up, which is just all sorts of beautiful because of their previous relationship with Deep Space and all that went on there. And the glorious reunion that gets to happen (as a couple of you have mentioned.)
Stitch's language was fun, because I actually went to Disney's website for Tantalog: http://stitchdatabase.wikia.com/wiki/Tantalog_language and got all of my information from there. It was a bit interesting working on sentences with structure that had all the appropriate words in them. But it was a fun experiment.
And mixed in with all of this is Tifa trying to figure out what's up with Zack and Aerith but also a great fight with Hades. I love integrating Tifa's future plans, because now that Aerith's house is done, everyone gets to think of the next projects and I'm setting things up for the end here. Also, small commitment apples are something that my Hapkido instructor called small apples (or pears) and I just had to use the phrase.
I really loved the image of Cloud and Tifa barreling through the Betwixt and Between trying to get rid of Hades' hounds. I think I got the idea from rar... But anyway... I realized that I couldn't really do it justice because I couldn't think of a way to write it that wouldn't be boring. So instead I just had Cloud blame it on being old and then impulsively go and fight Hades. Granted, he ended up with the Hero's Medallion on his own. I remember writing that sequence and Cloud's like, yup, got it from Zack and I'm like "WHEN?!? I didn't write that!!!"
But anyway, back to the Remnant trying to destroy Terra's life. I wanted a Remnant to try and Nort Terra from the very beginning, just not AT the beginning. Because I wanted it to be one of the stronger ones... I wanted Terra to be stronger and I wanted the Remnant to be stronger. The Remnant was probably banking on Terra's being successful, so he didn't try initially. Terra, meanwhile, had more time for his heart to grow and recuperate. And so then we get the really epic conversation in Terra's heart where he's trying to banish Xehanort.
But the line "How many times have you reincarnated yourself?" is just so amazing, because it's followed by "Only the one boy. If it had been more, rest assured you wouldn't be here right now." "You'd better not be lying!" "I assure you, if I had more practice, you would have remained a vessel."
Xehanort is just so dang cocky! But he's also matter-of-fact and that whole scene just gave me shivers.
And then we've got Kuin actually running into Xigbar. Xigbar who, before this, has literally just been beach-hopping and staying under everyone's radar. He managed because most people forgot that he didn't survive the battle of Castle Oblivion. I loved putting Kuin up against him because we've got two gunners who are full of themselves in different ways clashing and it leads to beautiful things.
Then we've also got Mickey going up against Marlynort. Because Mickey's been up to a lot of things, which is what this chapter was supposed to address from the beginning, but then I figured that Marlynort should also be up to something, so hey, why not make a few things line up. So Mickey fights Marlynort and gets an idea of what everyone's up against.
And then Xion, Axel, and Roxas return just in time for Terra to finish off his inner Xehanort. And he's rid of Xehanort for good. And all is well for Terra.
I feel like I should have more to say and I know I've done more in the past, but that's all I've got for right now. Prepare for a Larxene Sequence post in the next few days.
Deep Space kind of got overshadowed by the Larxene sequence, but it's still just as vitally important. It's not like Corona, which was kind of just there because the whole plot of that was Marlynort causing trouble while action was elsewhere. There's a major plot point in Deep Space which is Xehanort attempting to Nort Terra. Which is a Big Deal.
But unrelated to even that at the moment, is how in Hollow Bastion, Aerith's house is FINALLY done expanding. For once, I actually know how many bedrooms she's got there because I redid the entire top floor and just added more bedrooms because I knew they were going to need them. (Simultaneously, Zack's changed the plans so that one of the bedrooms can become his and Aerith's room when they eventually get married. Yup. That happened.) Also, Cid and Shera are adorable and it's great. They'll be together working on crazy projects forever and I love them.
ALSO ALSO is Leon asking Cid for relationship advice because he doesn't have anyone else to ask and he just wants to know what to do with Rinoa. And it makes me think back to in the Prequel where Cid's watching Zack and Aerith be all lovey-dovey and he has a passing thought that Leon'll never get a girlfriend and then Rinoa shows up and BAM, Leon doesn't know it yet, but she's gonna be his girlfriend.
And Cid as everyone's father figure even though he didn't want to be is just another level of great.
Anyway, so Deep Space. More like, LILO AS A SPACE PILOT. I read a headcanon on Tumblr a while ago that included that and I was just like... I NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. So, uh, I did. Her age is really something that I never ironed out, but whatever, she's still the youngest pilot ever amongst a whole ton of aliens and it's Super Cool.
And then Namine, Vexen, and Aerith show up and Axel's like: "Heheh, you're the real Vexen, I'm coming along to mess with you!" And then he volunteers Roxas and Xion while he's at it for maximized amazingness.
And THEN we have Ven, Aqua, and Terra showing up, which is just all sorts of beautiful because of their previous relationship with Deep Space and all that went on there. And the glorious reunion that gets to happen (as a couple of you have mentioned.)
Stitch's language was fun, because I actually went to Disney's website for Tantalog: http://stitchdatabase.wikia.com/wiki/Tantalog_language and got all of my information from there. It was a bit interesting working on sentences with structure that had all the appropriate words in them. But it was a fun experiment.
And mixed in with all of this is Tifa trying to figure out what's up with Zack and Aerith but also a great fight with Hades. I love integrating Tifa's future plans, because now that Aerith's house is done, everyone gets to think of the next projects and I'm setting things up for the end here. Also, small commitment apples are something that my Hapkido instructor called small apples (or pears) and I just had to use the phrase.
I really loved the image of Cloud and Tifa barreling through the Betwixt and Between trying to get rid of Hades' hounds. I think I got the idea from rar... But anyway... I realized that I couldn't really do it justice because I couldn't think of a way to write it that wouldn't be boring. So instead I just had Cloud blame it on being old and then impulsively go and fight Hades. Granted, he ended up with the Hero's Medallion on his own. I remember writing that sequence and Cloud's like, yup, got it from Zack and I'm like "WHEN?!? I didn't write that!!!"
But anyway, back to the Remnant trying to destroy Terra's life. I wanted a Remnant to try and Nort Terra from the very beginning, just not AT the beginning. Because I wanted it to be one of the stronger ones... I wanted Terra to be stronger and I wanted the Remnant to be stronger. The Remnant was probably banking on Terra's being successful, so he didn't try initially. Terra, meanwhile, had more time for his heart to grow and recuperate. And so then we get the really epic conversation in Terra's heart where he's trying to banish Xehanort.
But the line "How many times have you reincarnated yourself?" is just so amazing, because it's followed by "Only the one boy. If it had been more, rest assured you wouldn't be here right now." "You'd better not be lying!" "I assure you, if I had more practice, you would have remained a vessel."
Xehanort is just so dang cocky! But he's also matter-of-fact and that whole scene just gave me shivers.
And then we've got Kuin actually running into Xigbar. Xigbar who, before this, has literally just been beach-hopping and staying under everyone's radar. He managed because most people forgot that he didn't survive the battle of Castle Oblivion. I loved putting Kuin up against him because we've got two gunners who are full of themselves in different ways clashing and it leads to beautiful things.
Then we've also got Mickey going up against Marlynort. Because Mickey's been up to a lot of things, which is what this chapter was supposed to address from the beginning, but then I figured that Marlynort should also be up to something, so hey, why not make a few things line up. So Mickey fights Marlynort and gets an idea of what everyone's up against.
And then Xion, Axel, and Roxas return just in time for Terra to finish off his inner Xehanort. And he's rid of Xehanort for good. And all is well for Terra.
I feel like I should have more to say and I know I've done more in the past, but that's all I've got for right now. Prepare for a Larxene Sequence post in the next few days.
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.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Twilight Town Feels (Chapters 53-57)
I'm breaking off this arc at 56 and not 58 because of what 57 is. Jsyk.
I think originally, the Twilight Town arc wasn't going to be anything big. Like, it was initially just going to be amusing because Cloud and Tifa are there on business with Barret and Marlene and Sora and the gang end up interrupting. And it would all be fun and games.
And then I was putting in the Remnant's side of the story and placing important bits of the Larxene Sequence that I'm sure you're all dying to hear my thoughts about but I won't say anything about yet (I have things to catch up on!)... When I started placing the villains' sides of the story I realized that Twilight Town was going to be so much more.
Because that is where the Remnant successfully norts Marluxia.
And I don't care if you saw it coming or didn't see it coming. I like the way it all played out.
Because first we've got the funsies of Cid building them a new ship. (not initially planned, but then that blizzard in Arendelle happened and it just sort of went from there.) This is then followed by the mundane act of clothes shopping and then food and chatting with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
Then we have Cloud and Tifa going to talk to Barret and Marlene. I almost forgot to include Denzel in this scene, and had to go back and rewrite the first half of the chapter to include him! I felt so bad! But he needed to be there and the scene certainly benefited from it. Denzel and Marlene's interactions!
And then we've got Axel's POV with a really blase attitude towards the Remnant battle. That is, until the Remnant goes for his heart. And this isn't the first time that Axel's had his heart played with by Xehanort. Xehanort played with Axel's darkness levels back in AtP. Axel knows what's going on, but he doesn't even have room to be scared.
But Axel is saved because Larxene and Marluxia show up and the Remnant picks a new target. Axel's a stubborn target for a plethora of reasons. And Marluxia proves to be an easy target. And the success of the norting gives everyone else a feeling of hopelessness.
Then, we interrupt that programming to see Aqua, Terra, and Ven in the Pride Lands. This chapter was literally designed to give Aqua some time to think about what Xehanort had done. That, and suggest that Xehanort is the reason why Scar turned into the person (lion) he did well before the fic's events. 'Cause it was fun.
Then I switch to Xion and the aftermath of Marlynort's existence. I don't know where the name Marlynort came from, but I probably coined it in a conversation with rar and then it stuck. Then Xion got to be the one to name him.
And then we get into the seriousness that is basically them all saying if they're nort, they need to die. Like in a zombie film or something. There's not much to say about that. I think it speaks for itself.
A+ tooting my own horn:
-Riku saying they have enough munny to buy a house
-Kairi keeping everyone on track
-Roxas worrying about weird things because he's trying to be all normal when he knows he's not
-Roxas knowing more about Twilight Town than anyone else because he has data memories of growing up there that while aren't real, give him a pretty nice layout of the place in his head
-Tifa and Cloud being intentionally vague about their relationship
-Barret yelling at Sora and friends because they're "annoying teenagers"
-Barret saying that Leon's got a bad business model
-The line "The reason for Hollow Bastion's problems and at least thirteen other ones"
-Roxas being protective over the residential district and Cloud being protective over his bike
-Marlynort
-Larxene calling Marlynort a bastard
-Marlynort monologuing
I think originally, the Twilight Town arc wasn't going to be anything big. Like, it was initially just going to be amusing because Cloud and Tifa are there on business with Barret and Marlene and Sora and the gang end up interrupting. And it would all be fun and games.
And then I was putting in the Remnant's side of the story and placing important bits of the Larxene Sequence that I'm sure you're all dying to hear my thoughts about but I won't say anything about yet (I have things to catch up on!)... When I started placing the villains' sides of the story I realized that Twilight Town was going to be so much more.
Because that is where the Remnant successfully norts Marluxia.
And I don't care if you saw it coming or didn't see it coming. I like the way it all played out.
Because first we've got the funsies of Cid building them a new ship. (not initially planned, but then that blizzard in Arendelle happened and it just sort of went from there.) This is then followed by the mundane act of clothes shopping and then food and chatting with Hayner, Pence, and Olette.
Then we have Cloud and Tifa going to talk to Barret and Marlene. I almost forgot to include Denzel in this scene, and had to go back and rewrite the first half of the chapter to include him! I felt so bad! But he needed to be there and the scene certainly benefited from it. Denzel and Marlene's interactions!
And then we've got Axel's POV with a really blase attitude towards the Remnant battle. That is, until the Remnant goes for his heart. And this isn't the first time that Axel's had his heart played with by Xehanort. Xehanort played with Axel's darkness levels back in AtP. Axel knows what's going on, but he doesn't even have room to be scared.
But Axel is saved because Larxene and Marluxia show up and the Remnant picks a new target. Axel's a stubborn target for a plethora of reasons. And Marluxia proves to be an easy target. And the success of the norting gives everyone else a feeling of hopelessness.
Then, we interrupt that programming to see Aqua, Terra, and Ven in the Pride Lands. This chapter was literally designed to give Aqua some time to think about what Xehanort had done. That, and suggest that Xehanort is the reason why Scar turned into the person (lion) he did well before the fic's events. 'Cause it was fun.
Then I switch to Xion and the aftermath of Marlynort's existence. I don't know where the name Marlynort came from, but I probably coined it in a conversation with rar and then it stuck. Then Xion got to be the one to name him.
And then we get into the seriousness that is basically them all saying if they're nort, they need to die. Like in a zombie film or something. There's not much to say about that. I think it speaks for itself.
A+ tooting my own horn:
-Riku saying they have enough munny to buy a house
-Kairi keeping everyone on track
-Roxas worrying about weird things because he's trying to be all normal when he knows he's not
-Roxas knowing more about Twilight Town than anyone else because he has data memories of growing up there that while aren't real, give him a pretty nice layout of the place in his head
-Tifa and Cloud being intentionally vague about their relationship
-Barret yelling at Sora and friends because they're "annoying teenagers"
-Barret saying that Leon's got a bad business model
-The line "The reason for Hollow Bastion's problems and at least thirteen other ones"
-Roxas being protective over the residential district and Cloud being protective over his bike
-Marlynort
-Larxene calling Marlynort a bastard
-Marlynort monologuing
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Space Paranoids Arc (Chapters 34-40)
This arc was me fixing a lack of continuity between everything else I'd written. Because I hadn't been terribly clear about what had actually happened to Tron post-AtP. Especially since I'd done the whole "Tron's been kidnapped by CLU" thing and then I thought I said Cid fixed it, but I was overall really unclear and... yeah. So here, lemme straighten some things up.
Also, I wanted to play with the idea of Xion in Space Paranoids because of programming stuff and whatnot. I mean, I didn't do much besides a few glitches here and there due to less-than-100%-compatible programming, but hey, I had a Remnant in need of showing up. Also, biggest difference between Xion and another program: Xion bleeds.
Meanwhile, I've got some Mickey and Minnie fluff (because any scene with the two of them is some sort of fluff... even if they're beating the crap out of enemies.) And Mickey gets to do some behind-the-scenes work. Fun times!
Meanwhile meanwhile, Terra, Aqua, and Ven are in the Badlands. This is when Ven gets to have some temper problems. Because, face it, everyone at some point or another is super pissed about Xehanort's existence. And, it's gotta be annoying since he keeps coming back. And then he freaking does, right before their eyes. Like, Sephiroth kills him and he respawns. And Ven gets to get out some feels, which is good.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Remnant trying to nort Xion sequence. Because he really thinks he has it here, what with Xion being his puppet in the past. And he goes for it, and she just stares at him (meanwhile, Roxas is panicking because he thinks that Xion's lack of movement is a bad thing). But Xion's just like... "dude, what are you even doing? are you trying to take my heart because it's not working." (Granted, her body did go into stasis as a failsafe, but still) Because Namine freaking put in a failsafe! Muahahaha.
Oh yes, and then I have Leon taking Zack aside and being like "look man, if you love Aerith, then you need to let her know, okay? Because she doesn't want to believe it for fear of getting hurt, and I can't have you hurting my sister-like-person, kay?" And then Zack's like... I need to get Aerith something that is a symbol of our love. And so that arc begins.
Things I am 100% okay with:
-Denzel learning about the HB family
-Ven, Aqua, Terra working together to fight Xehanort and their command styles blending and recognizing when someone is going to go into a particular style
-Anything Mickey and Minnie
-Motorcycles/light cycles
-Vincent trying to figure out Cloud and Tifa's lives for no other reason than his own curiosity
-Cloud visiting his mother
-Xion casually talking about how Kairi thinks she's going crazy because Xion keeps flickering
-Xion and Roxas fighting with the discs like Axel fights with chakrams
-Roxas using Xion's blade (that whole concept of them being able to summon each other's blades is amazing to me)
-Namine smirking
-The line "Oh please, it doesn't take Riku's sense of smell to recognize your stench."
-The Leon-Zack-Aerith dynamic
-Zerith
Also, I wanted to play with the idea of Xion in Space Paranoids because of programming stuff and whatnot. I mean, I didn't do much besides a few glitches here and there due to less-than-100%-compatible programming, but hey, I had a Remnant in need of showing up. Also, biggest difference between Xion and another program: Xion bleeds.
Meanwhile, I've got some Mickey and Minnie fluff (because any scene with the two of them is some sort of fluff... even if they're beating the crap out of enemies.) And Mickey gets to do some behind-the-scenes work. Fun times!
Meanwhile meanwhile, Terra, Aqua, and Ven are in the Badlands. This is when Ven gets to have some temper problems. Because, face it, everyone at some point or another is super pissed about Xehanort's existence. And, it's gotta be annoying since he keeps coming back. And then he freaking does, right before their eyes. Like, Sephiroth kills him and he respawns. And Ven gets to get out some feels, which is good.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Remnant trying to nort Xion sequence. Because he really thinks he has it here, what with Xion being his puppet in the past. And he goes for it, and she just stares at him (meanwhile, Roxas is panicking because he thinks that Xion's lack of movement is a bad thing). But Xion's just like... "dude, what are you even doing? are you trying to take my heart because it's not working." (Granted, her body did go into stasis as a failsafe, but still) Because Namine freaking put in a failsafe! Muahahaha.
Oh yes, and then I have Leon taking Zack aside and being like "look man, if you love Aerith, then you need to let her know, okay? Because she doesn't want to believe it for fear of getting hurt, and I can't have you hurting my sister-like-person, kay?" And then Zack's like... I need to get Aerith something that is a symbol of our love. And so that arc begins.
Things I am 100% okay with:
-Denzel learning about the HB family
-Ven, Aqua, Terra working together to fight Xehanort and their command styles blending and recognizing when someone is going to go into a particular style
-Anything Mickey and Minnie
-Motorcycles/light cycles
-Vincent trying to figure out Cloud and Tifa's lives for no other reason than his own curiosity
-Cloud visiting his mother
-Xion casually talking about how Kairi thinks she's going crazy because Xion keeps flickering
-Xion and Roxas fighting with the discs like Axel fights with chakrams
-Roxas using Xion's blade (that whole concept of them being able to summon each other's blades is amazing to me)
-Namine smirking
-The line "Oh please, it doesn't take Riku's sense of smell to recognize your stench."
-The Leon-Zack-Aerith dynamic
-Zerith
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Hollow Bastion Arc (Chapters 2-9)
So everything led up to a giant battle in Hollow Bastion. And rather than postpone it any longer and have it be some sort of climactic event, I just decided I'd start with it. And I think it really set the stage for what all was to come. And I was going to continue there, but I realized that it's spoilers for stuff I haven't even posted yet. So nevermind on that one.
I actually had it pretty worked out in my head (and on several diagrams) what all happened and who all was where. The strategy for the characters of course being to get someone into the computer in Hollow Bastion castle that could start the DTP (darkness termination program.) People would have to hang back places to literally fight endless streams of Heartless to prevent those ahead from getting swamped from behind. But hey, I have a huge cast to play with and plenty of heavy hitters.
As a side note, I remember Aerith's house giving me so much trouble because I could never remember just how many bedrooms it had. I'll argue it again some more later in the fic. Until eventually they're just done expanding it.
I also tried to get a good balance of different POVs for this whole sequence.
Roxas' was fun because he's generally pretty practical and it's not unusual for him to just know what Sora's up to, so I'm not losing anything there. Roxas also just sees lots of other things and I can do Xion and Axel dynamics as well.
Rinoa's POV is amazing because I love Rinoa omg. Especially with her in the first chapter and all of the "oh just leave my dog alone she's old" and then her huge arsenal of magic that she'll cast. And her good observations. Yes. Rinoa is amazing. She also flies, which means she can see a lot of everything that's going on and it's completely reasonable.
And then what's a huge Hollow Bastion battle without Riku? I love him and Namine fighting alongside each other. Riku getting shanked by Master Form is also something that I will never not be amused by. Especially because Sora remembers to ask Sora, Kairi, and Xion. And Roxas just basically already knows.
Riku was also a good POV to be in when they got into the castle and ran into the leftover data memories that bothered everyone who's even the smallest bit Replica. Because then Riku can see what's going on and be strong for Namine and all that and yeah, that was fun to write.
And then back to Kairi's POV, even though I was in her POV for the prologue. But Kairi also was one of the group to make it farther. Though, because of everything that happened during this chapter, it wasn't so much of Kairi's thoughts, but Kairi seeing shtuff hit the fan--like a Xehanort Remnant showing up. But hinting at Sora's anger problems was certainly easier from Kairi's POV than Sora's. Because Sora would deny them and you know it.
I love Aerith. I just love Aerith. Aerith feels when the Remnant shows up, but she can't put her finger on what exactly it is. Aerith has connections like Namine has connections. She just has them for different reasons. And she wants to be everywhere to help, but she can't. But she tries and it's amazing.
Namine's POV is another POV that I have a really easy time with. Namine's really cerebral... she thinks a level or two higher than everyone else because she can just see those parts of the pictures, like Aerith. And neither of them hold it above anyone else, because then it wouldn't be cool. Something I am sad about is that I didn't necessarily keep Namine using her knife as a magic wand. I like, added that in, and then forgot about it until literally just now as I'm writing this up. And that's sad, because I'm not going to get a chance to include it really. *frowny face* Oh well, it's still canon. She'll do it.
Tifa is a fun POV to be in just because Tifa is so no-nonsense that there aren't any unnecessary tangents. It was also good to be in her POV for this chapter because as everyone learns about the Xehanort Remnant, Tifa doesn't get all shouting angry. In fact, she's the one to tell them all to stop. Tifa's the one telling them to shut up and pay attention to what really matters.
Chapter 8 was a mixture of POVs because I had lots of little snippets of conversation that needed to happen but I couldn't necessarily devote individual chapter to them. But I think it turned out okay. Aqua, Terra, and Ven were naturally all shaken up about it and Mickey is the perfect person to tal about it. Zack is so determined to KILL ALL THE DANGER. Kuin and Axel fighting is something that needed to happen. Rinoa and Squall planning out courses of action is great. Sora talking with Riku and Kairi about his potential darkness problem. Also Cloud and Zack arguing how about how much they care about friends.
Dynamics I'm really happy with:
-Leon attempting to be a leader and not being all that bad at it
-Roxas and Xion taking this whole thing as part of their training to become Keyblade Masters
-Sora getting to fight with Donald and Goofy
-Sora periodically calling out Drive Forms
-Namine quietly being seemingly everywhere in the battle
-People being weirded out by Sora, Roxas, and Ven
-Aerith just healing everyone she can reach on the battlefield
-Namine and Riku talking casually about crisis levels
-Experimenting with data and memories
-Xion hacking computers
-Xion picking up new words and phrases from people she meets
-Mickey insisting on being called... just Mickey
-Aerith knowing things
-Rinoa showing Namine how to use her knife like a magic wand to channel magic
-Tifa and Cloud.
-Breaking the no battle planning at the table rule because Xehanort Remnants are Very Important Problems
-Zack insisting that he will kill a Remnant
-Kuin and Axel fighting
-Casually talking about how Xehanort smells
-Rinoa and Squall having a history they can refer to
-The friendship of SoRiKai
-The Cloud and Zack friendship
I actually had it pretty worked out in my head (and on several diagrams) what all happened and who all was where. The strategy for the characters of course being to get someone into the computer in Hollow Bastion castle that could start the DTP (darkness termination program.) People would have to hang back places to literally fight endless streams of Heartless to prevent those ahead from getting swamped from behind. But hey, I have a huge cast to play with and plenty of heavy hitters.
As a side note, I remember Aerith's house giving me so much trouble because I could never remember just how many bedrooms it had. I'll argue it again some more later in the fic. Until eventually they're just done expanding it.
I also tried to get a good balance of different POVs for this whole sequence.
Roxas' was fun because he's generally pretty practical and it's not unusual for him to just know what Sora's up to, so I'm not losing anything there. Roxas also just sees lots of other things and I can do Xion and Axel dynamics as well.
 |
| by Hikaru-Ryuuen on dA |
Rinoa's POV is amazing because I love Rinoa omg. Especially with her in the first chapter and all of the "oh just leave my dog alone she's old" and then her huge arsenal of magic that she'll cast. And her good observations. Yes. Rinoa is amazing. She also flies, which means she can see a lot of everything that's going on and it's completely reasonable.
And then what's a huge Hollow Bastion battle without Riku? I love him and Namine fighting alongside each other. Riku getting shanked by Master Form is also something that I will never not be amused by. Especially because Sora remembers to ask Sora, Kairi, and Xion. And Roxas just basically already knows.
Riku was also a good POV to be in when they got into the castle and ran into the leftover data memories that bothered everyone who's even the smallest bit Replica. Because then Riku can see what's going on and be strong for Namine and all that and yeah, that was fun to write.
 |
| by Risachantag on dA |
I love Aerith. I just love Aerith. Aerith feels when the Remnant shows up, but she can't put her finger on what exactly it is. Aerith has connections like Namine has connections. She just has them for different reasons. And she wants to be everywhere to help, but she can't. But she tries and it's amazing.
Namine's POV is another POV that I have a really easy time with. Namine's really cerebral... she thinks a level or two higher than everyone else because she can just see those parts of the pictures, like Aerith. And neither of them hold it above anyone else, because then it wouldn't be cool. Something I am sad about is that I didn't necessarily keep Namine using her knife as a magic wand. I like, added that in, and then forgot about it until literally just now as I'm writing this up. And that's sad, because I'm not going to get a chance to include it really. *frowny face* Oh well, it's still canon. She'll do it.
Tifa is a fun POV to be in just because Tifa is so no-nonsense that there aren't any unnecessary tangents. It was also good to be in her POV for this chapter because as everyone learns about the Xehanort Remnant, Tifa doesn't get all shouting angry. In fact, she's the one to tell them all to stop. Tifa's the one telling them to shut up and pay attention to what really matters.
Chapter 8 was a mixture of POVs because I had lots of little snippets of conversation that needed to happen but I couldn't necessarily devote individual chapter to them. But I think it turned out okay. Aqua, Terra, and Ven were naturally all shaken up about it and Mickey is the perfect person to tal about it. Zack is so determined to KILL ALL THE DANGER. Kuin and Axel fighting is something that needed to happen. Rinoa and Squall planning out courses of action is great. Sora talking with Riku and Kairi about his potential darkness problem. Also Cloud and Zack arguing how about how much they care about friends.
Dynamics I'm really happy with:
-Leon attempting to be a leader and not being all that bad at it
-Roxas and Xion taking this whole thing as part of their training to become Keyblade Masters
-Sora getting to fight with Donald and Goofy
-Sora periodically calling out Drive Forms
-Namine quietly being seemingly everywhere in the battle
-People being weirded out by Sora, Roxas, and Ven
-Aerith just healing everyone she can reach on the battlefield
-Namine and Riku talking casually about crisis levels
-Experimenting with data and memories
-Xion hacking computers
-Xion picking up new words and phrases from people she meets
-Mickey insisting on being called... just Mickey
-Aerith knowing things
-Rinoa showing Namine how to use her knife like a magic wand to channel magic
-Tifa and Cloud.
-Breaking the no battle planning at the table rule because Xehanort Remnants are Very Important Problems
-Zack insisting that he will kill a Remnant
-Kuin and Axel fighting
-Casually talking about how Xehanort smells
-Rinoa and Squall having a history they can refer to
-The friendship of SoRiKai
-The Cloud and Zack friendship
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Overall Post about the Prequel
Yeah, I know, no one's seen me in nearly a year. Because my life got really crazy this time last year only beginning with my last semester college and deciding to move across the country after graduation. So, what ended up happening, is I didn't do posts for the last third of the Prequel.
But these are my thoughts (six months after officially completing it.)
The Prequel was actually really fun to write. I wish I had as much time as rar has to make character pages and all that stuff for all of her characters. But I don't have the time. (So enough of your lamenting magik, get on with it!) So yeah, the Prequel was really fun to write. It was fun getting to play with the cast as they grew up and became the characters they are in AtP etc. The Prequel made me really get a handle on the Squinoa and Zerith relationships for sure. It also made me fall in love with Shera and really have an idea of how Sephiroth was related to Cloud.
The last chapter (or epilogue) of the Prequel that I posted back in June is (as you've probably already noticed) nearly the same as the first chapter (or prologue) of Remnants. That was intentional and not because I was being lazy. I wanted there to be a very specific tie between the two. It brings together the FF and KH casts beautifully. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Kairi, and Axel are all looking over a place that all of them had called home at one point or another (intentional.) Not that the latter two refer to it as home anymore. But Kairi and Axel still want to help restore Hollow Bastion just as much as the others.
The chapter was short and a preview of what was to come, the giant battle of Hollow Bastion that I'd been hinting at since Betwixt and Between but had yet to follow through with. And I also got in a cute line of Leon telling Aerith that she needs to sleep. Like the brother he is to her. *snickers*
I think those are all my thoughts at the moment. I hope everyone is having a great time of year! I know this time of year can be stressful to students. So, hang in there!
I'll have a few more posts over the next few weeks and as I finish up Remnants. I won't do a post every chapter, but every major World I suppose.
Have a good day everyone!
But these are my thoughts (six months after officially completing it.)
The Prequel was actually really fun to write. I wish I had as much time as rar has to make character pages and all that stuff for all of her characters. But I don't have the time. (So enough of your lamenting magik, get on with it!) So yeah, the Prequel was really fun to write. It was fun getting to play with the cast as they grew up and became the characters they are in AtP etc. The Prequel made me really get a handle on the Squinoa and Zerith relationships for sure. It also made me fall in love with Shera and really have an idea of how Sephiroth was related to Cloud.
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| cosplay by CanisPanthera on dA |
The chapter was short and a preview of what was to come, the giant battle of Hollow Bastion that I'd been hinting at since Betwixt and Between but had yet to follow through with. And I also got in a cute line of Leon telling Aerith that she needs to sleep. Like the brother he is to her. *snickers*
I think those are all my thoughts at the moment. I hope everyone is having a great time of year! I know this time of year can be stressful to students. So, hang in there!
I'll have a few more posts over the next few weeks and as I finish up Remnants. I won't do a post every chapter, but every major World I suppose.
Have a good day everyone!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
And then there’s this arc (Prequel ch71)
Heheh,
this part. Yup. I’m evil and awful and I know it.
Because,
I knew from the moment I outlined this that Aerith, Zack, Cloud, and Tifa would
return to Traverse Town in Trouble. (I
love alliteration!)
Also,
the below freaking picture is freaking perfect, and I’ve been saving it for this
chapter since long before I even wrote the darn chapter!
My
outline:
“Upon
arriving in Traverse Town, it is apparent that a large bunch of Heartless have
come to the world. Everyone is
fighting. The four of them join the
others in the battle. Things get
nasty. A canon explodes and in the
blast, Shera is massively wounded.”
Yup. Because I’m evil and awful. But I love it.
I
won’t say much more though, because this chapter is a two-parter,
technically. And everything else is
spoilers. So I might just leave you at
that. Yup.
 |
| by Risachantag on dA |
BUT THEN THIS PIC! THIS PIC! I've been SAVING this pic FOR THIS PURPOSE. UGH FEELS.
Legit though, I modeled some of the Heartless in the chapter after the ones int his pic. Yup.
Anyway...
Teaser
Quotes:
“My
World fell into darkness.”
“Mine
too.”
“Had
one once, lost it to the darkness.”
“Something’s
wrong. Don’t ask me how I know that.”
“Okay.”
“Right, you live with Aerith.”
“Right, you live with Aerith.”
“Promise
that if you’re in over your head and need a hand, you’ll let me know?”
“I
won’t have to. We have a spell for
that.”
“Don’t doubt that I’ll come.”
“Don’t doubt that I’ll come.”
“I
won’t.”
“What
even…? Leon! We’ve been over this!”
“I
made a promise to the King and… I can’t go back on that promise.”
And then there's this video, which I love.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Tifa is Cloud’s light, you can’t tell me otherwise (Prequel ch 70)
Okay,
so I generally hate having to do separate chapters from different PoV’s, but I
figured that this would benefit from it, so I backtracked a tad.
This
chapter starts out before Tifa even arrives in Hollow Bastion, but rather her
showing up in Traverse Town and running into Leon. I decided it was a good idea, as you can tell
from my Tumbl.
You
can also tell from my Tumbl that Tifa and Leon were talking all over the place
and I had a hard time keeping up. *rolls
eyes* I hate it (and love it) when characters do that.
I
really love the dynamic between Leon and Tifa.
Leon just decides that day that he likes Tifa for whatever reason and
he’s gonna help her. And Tifa doesn’t
complain. It’s great, because this turns
into a friendship where Tifa can look at Leon in the heat of battle, say “I
need a lift” and he uses his gunblade to get her into the air. I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC. Like, they’re a brotp. End of story.
I
also just made a crapton of references (radiant, shrouding dark cloud, and a
SoKai reference, all for the win!)
 |
| by B-AGT on dA |
Then
a bit of duplication, except I abbreviated some stuff so it wasn’t a direct
duplication.
Then
the end of that sequence, which was already set to be Sephiroth leaving, saying
he’ll never be truly gone. Then Tifa
embraces Cloud and demands that he tell her what all has happened, but Cloud is
too weak to respond at the moment.
Aerith decides that they should just go back to Traverse Town and deal
with things there.
Well,
that’s the plan anyway. But I shan’t say
more because spoilers. Muahahaha.
Teaser Quotes:
“I
mean, my teleportation spells sometimes have glitches, but I’m getting pretty
good.”
“That’s
highly effective.”
“Not
my most favorite spell, but yes, effective.”
“Odds
Leon managed to cook something?”
“Slim,
but possible.”
“Daddy’s
gotta take care of these Heartless!”
“Who
are you?”
“Nobody in particular.”
“Nobody in particular.”
Have I mentioned that I love the Piano Guys, seriously... check them out!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Beginning of the Hollow Bastion Arc (ch67)
So,
things I knew: It is into the new year before Cloud, Zack, and Aerith head to
Hollow Bastion. Leon and Cid tell them
that even if Hollow Bastion (Radiant Garden) is still there, it would be
greatly changed and Aerith may not like what she sees. Aerith wants to see new sights, craving
adventure. Leon decides not to mention
that Hollow Bastion really isn’t all that new.
They get there and the world is greatly changed. Aerith is devastated by this. She is angry at herself because she knows
that Leon and Cid had been right. Yuffie
wants to go as well, but she isn’t allowed.
Things
that got added: Aerith being apprehensive about the whole thing. She’s also drastically in denial because
she’s convinced that it will be okay.
Ish. Even though she knows it’s not.
Yup, it’s a psychological thing that happens.
Meanwhile,
Zack’s using this as a way to see what happened to his own world. And Cloud’s just going along for the
ride.
Feels
regarding Leon and Rinoa’s presents! I wanted to include a bit about the rings,
because it’s like a major plot point in the game and also incredibly adorable.
So I decided the two of them exchanged rings as tokens or foci for knowing when
the other one was in danger. And they’d
always know if it were true, and then they could always come to the other’s
aid. I’m not kidding when I say they’ve
literally pledged their lives to each other and not even marriage is going to
change it all that much. Well, they
think so anyway, marriage is to some another great adventure, but that’s not
what I’m talking about here. But yeah,
that’s what went down when he visited her.
 |
| by neoangelwink on dA |
Everything
following Aerith getting to her house is just a bucket load of feels. I got to explore what a world falling into
darkness could look like. I knew that
Hollow Bastion did survive, because, well, KH1.
But, like, what happened to Aerith’s house? So I explored it. Aerith got lucky that her house was mostly
undamaged. Good thing, too, because
it’ll get remodeled later and be used as base for the HB Restoration Committee
HQ. *nods vigorously*
But
the books, the quilt, the clothes, the pictures…
And
then I throw Heartless at them.
Just
wait until you see what’s coming next!
Muahahaha!
Teaser
Quotes:
“Wanna
help with a science experiment?”
“So
what are we doing?”
“Interested
in making some exploding green goop?”
“Oh,
absolutely!”
“How
about I drop you off at Disney Castle and then head out?”
“I
wouldn’t want to keep you from…”
“I just need to go do some mercenary work. The last few places we’ve been have been pretty quiet. But I can take you to Disney Castle! Besides, Disney Town’s got a better stock than this place.”
“I just need to go do some mercenary work. The last few places we’ve been have been pretty quiet. But I can take you to Disney Castle! Besides, Disney Town’s got a better stock than this place.”
“If
you’re sure…”
“’Course
I’m sure!”
“Kay,
I’m really leaving this time.”
“I’m
gonna see if I can catch up with him.”
“Tifa
said she hasn’t been able to talk any sense into him.”
Anywho, I"m having a thing with holiday music still. Feel free to ignore me. But the Piano Guys are still awesome.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
ANOTHER SHAMELESS CHRISTMAS POST!
 |
| by LynxGriffin |
I know no one's reviewed this one yet, but I don't really expect you to have because holidays and all that stuff, but I hope this is some more holiday cheer for you as the holidays come to an end.
I also know that the picture over there has hardly anything to do with the chapter, but OT3 forever feels!
I got really excited about the holidays, okay? I did a holiday chapter in the Prequel, but I wanted to do another one in line with AtP and BB. The only person who didn’t get included this time around was Shera, and that’s because Sora and his friends don’t meet her until later, like it’s set for B3 and everything, and there’s a part of me that while I know that this is AU, I want the ability for it to be canon if I get around to declaring it canon. Because, I’m the author and I can do that.
I got really excited about the holidays, okay? I did a holiday chapter in the Prequel, but I wanted to do another one in line with AtP and BB. The only person who didn’t get included this time around was Shera, and that’s because Sora and his friends don’t meet her until later, like it’s set for B3 and everything, and there’s a part of me that while I know that this is AU, I want the ability for it to be canon if I get around to declaring it canon. Because, I’m the author and I can do that.
I
wrote the chapter the other day because I really didn’t have plot for it until
then. Mostly I was busy with school
work, those of you who have been following any of my progress (or, simply
reading this blog) know that I’ve been superbusy and it’s kinda
disgusting. Regardless, I finally got
onto break and I wrote this little one-shot up.
Things
I love about this chapter: Tifa telling Aerith to go to bed because otherwise
Santa won’t come. Because Santa’s real
in the KH universe and that makes me really happy.
I
also made it a thing about how everyone’s trying to give Aerith a day off and
all Aerith wants to do is help.
Yup. Aerith wants to cook and
help clean. Because she just does.
Aerith’s
favorite song? Probably “Na Hu O Ho” by Fiona Kennedy. Rar I think said something about that. But, yeah.
Aerith likes Irish music. *nods
vigorously*
There
was a part of me that wanted to do this whole tangential thing where Sora takes
Riku to see Santa. But then I didn’t,
because I was already set on the Aerith plot and the Riku meeting Santa thing
just didn’t flow. Also, Namine’s got a
point, he’s probably on vacation. I can
do a little snippet in B3!
And,
good news! Sephiroth didn’t crash the
party! Yup yup! I did reference the
Spring Dance (or whatever it was called) that was put into Plan Beta. Because Sephiroth did crash that and no one’s forgotten about it.
Then
there’s the whole thing where Zack gives Aerith a ring. Rar threw a fit about it. It was cute.
No, he’s not proposing. Zack honestly just saw a beautiful piece of
jewelry and bought it for Aerith because it matched her eyes.
Though,
off-scene, Leon’s thinking about needing to talk to Zack. I should probably do a post about that. Oh wait, I did. {link}
Anywho,
that post basically was all the rest of the feels, so I guess I’m done.
Teaser
Quotes!
“Then
what?”
“I
hadn’t thought that far. Whatever it is,
I want to do it with you.”
“I
miss you already.”
“Don’t. Wait ‘till you’re gone to miss me.”
“Were
you expecting a letter?”
“Um,
I suppose so…”
“I
see you’ve met my Knight already.”
“Who’s
powers did you inherit?”
“It’s
a bit of a complicated story.”
Also, I'm going to a Lindsey Stirling concert in May and I'm so excited because I've basically gotten all my friends to go, too :P
Monday, December 23, 2013
SHAMELESSLY POSTING CHRISTMAS (Ch66)
Chapter
Tumbl
Yup. Shamelessly posting about Christmas. Basically, all I knew was that I was going to have a holiday chapter here. I knew it from the very beginning of outlining that I was going to write and post one. So I did.
Also, ignore the fact that the pic to the left is completely unrelated. I saw it and laughed. Because Squall. I had a better one, but I couldn't find a proper source, so I won't dare put it on here.
Anywho, moving on.
I got really excited when the holiday chapter lined up with actual Christmas. Despite the fact that I wrote it forever ago. :P I partially delayed posting because of that. (The other part was totally still because school was killing me.) But yeah, holiday chapter. Also, I'm aware that I'm using "holiday" and "Christmas" fairly interchangeably. Because, "holiday" is the general term, but like... it's technically the commercial Christmas holiday, there's a tree and presents under it and stuff. *shrug* So yeah... don't hate me.
Zack being able to make eggs got established a couple of chapters ago. And Aerith not being good at bacon just showed up about now. I mean, everyone's got something they're not good at, right? But Leon can make bacon, so it worked out :P
I knew someone was going to be getting Yuffie a shuriken. Despite Cloud being the one thinking about it several chapters ago, I thought it made the most sense for him to give her one. But yeah, everyone else getting Yuffie materia was also just funny.
Anyway, I never did write the bit with Leon going and visiting Rinoa. I mean, the feather is definitely something she gave him to get to her, but he will still use a star shard. I'll talk more about what they exchanged after next chapter though, just so I don't spoil anything.
Teaser Quotes:
"I don't know, but I'm going after him."
"They left."
"Together?"
"No, he left by himself. She followed him."
"Relax a little! You've been brewing potions all day! She's turning you into a witch!"
"But back to the aliens... look at that one!"
"Think of it as a vacation."
"While you're learning, though?"
"Do more squats."
"Heh. Yeah, I guess so."
And another Christmas Video!
Tumbl
 |
| by jsheaisaninja on dA |
Also, ignore the fact that the pic to the left is completely unrelated. I saw it and laughed. Because Squall. I had a better one, but I couldn't find a proper source, so I won't dare put it on here.
Anywho, moving on.
I got really excited when the holiday chapter lined up with actual Christmas. Despite the fact that I wrote it forever ago. :P I partially delayed posting because of that. (The other part was totally still because school was killing me.) But yeah, holiday chapter. Also, I'm aware that I'm using "holiday" and "Christmas" fairly interchangeably. Because, "holiday" is the general term, but like... it's technically the commercial Christmas holiday, there's a tree and presents under it and stuff. *shrug* So yeah... don't hate me.
Zack being able to make eggs got established a couple of chapters ago. And Aerith not being good at bacon just showed up about now. I mean, everyone's got something they're not good at, right? But Leon can make bacon, so it worked out :P
I knew someone was going to be getting Yuffie a shuriken. Despite Cloud being the one thinking about it several chapters ago, I thought it made the most sense for him to give her one. But yeah, everyone else getting Yuffie materia was also just funny.
Anyway, I never did write the bit with Leon going and visiting Rinoa. I mean, the feather is definitely something she gave him to get to her, but he will still use a star shard. I'll talk more about what they exchanged after next chapter though, just so I don't spoil anything.
Teaser Quotes:
"I don't know, but I'm going after him."
"They left."
"Together?"
"No, he left by himself. She followed him."
"Relax a little! You've been brewing potions all day! She's turning you into a witch!"
"But back to the aliens... look at that one!"
"Think of it as a vacation."
"While you're learning, though?"
"Do more squats."
"Heh. Yeah, I guess so."
And another Christmas Video!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Letters from the Girls (63)
Chapter
Tumbl
I'm trying to remember if it was a conscious decision to have the letters be written only by the girls on the cast, or if that is just what happened. And I can't remember in the slightest.
I knew I needed another letter from Tifa, because it had been a while since I'd done one of those and Tifa basically sends a letter to Cloud from every world she stops on that has post (which is pretty much all of them). Plus, it was just fun to have her write one from Traverse Town where he totally was recently. And then make references to everything.
The letter from Aerith was just about necessary. It's furthering the plot where Aerith wants to go see Radiant Garden and has asked Zack for help. I think originally, she was just going to ask him when he swung by next, but that was before I started doing the letters, and it didn't make sense for her to wait, so that got changed. Meanwhile, as I'm writing that, I can make casual references to the holidays. Which I'm doing again, now. Teehee!
Then there's Rinoa's letter, which was also somewhat necessary because I knew Rinoa wasn't going to be able to swing by Traverse Town for a bit because of training. She's got lots to do and she feels she only has so much time to do it, (we've gotten past the point where she's going to burn up from the inside with power, but anyway). Yeah, so there's that letter.
And then, I decided to do a letter from Kairi. Apparently, I have a thing assigning letters to students. I guess it's cause I had pen-pals when I was a kid? Probably something like that. Only because Yuffie had to do one too, but she wrote to Cloud. Kairi wrote to Sora, and was adorable. And I did a picture of her letter, because look at that adorable handwriting! Kairi, in general, is just so darn adorable, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself.
Anyway, so a deeper explanation about how come there hasn't been one big holiday bash together. Lemme take down some current ages in here so I don't have to keep flopping around... Rinoa and Leon are 21, making Aerith 19. Kay. The two major couples at this point, Zerith and Squinoa basically met 4 years ago. For those first two years, Squall and Rinoa were away saving Rinoa's world. Zack was dealing with Genesis during that time. He dropped by to see his parents one year, and ended up spending the other with Angeal. The following holiday is after Angeal's death, and Zack probably forgot about the whole thing entirely. Aerith didn't want to drag him back for the holidays because he was clearing his mind, so the gang in Traverse Town had a quiet one with the addition of Leon now that he was back. Rinoa was busy dealing with excess Sorceress power. And, the next holiday is actually the one that's coming up. Ha! I knew I could figure this all out.
So, if you haven't noticed, I'm going to have a holiday sequence in the Prequel. We're a few chapters away from it right now. I'll post it closer (wow, I almost said close it poster) to Christmas. If I have time (read: when I'm done with the next 6 essays, 1 short story, and 2 finals), I'll do a somewhat AU holiday sequence with Sora and the gang set sometime during Betwixt and Between, probably.
I'm kinda in a super holiday mood, if you haven't noticed from my Axel icon with a Santa hat on Tumblr.
Oh my gosh, my holiday sequence could involve Sora dragging Riku to Christmas Town. I've been meaning to do that. Oooh! That's exciting.
But back to my holiday mood, even my D&D group is doing a Christmas special this coming Friday. (Of course, given how the group is south of the equator, it's totally going to be Christmas in July in Pleasantville (Pleasantville has nothing to do with being south of the equator, just the town we're in...) Anyway, but yeah. This is exciting. It keeps me sane during the last push of school.
I'll be posting a little slower, like every 4 days instead of every 2, only because I just can't keep up with everything I want to do for any given chapter. But, I'll probably pick back up again once the break starts. Though, I'll be wanting to catch up on writing, too, so I'm not entirely sure.
Well, enough of me jabbering.
No spoilers on what's gonna happen for the holiday sequence. :P
Teaser Quotes:
"Fire in the hole!"
"You have got to be kidding me."
"You can say that again."
"Stick close. We can watch each other's backs."
"How did it go?"
"It went."
"Can people have darkness?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can someone's darkness manifest into its own separate person?"
AND A CHRISTMAS VIDEO!
Tumbl
I'm trying to remember if it was a conscious decision to have the letters be written only by the girls on the cast, or if that is just what happened. And I can't remember in the slightest.
I knew I needed another letter from Tifa, because it had been a while since I'd done one of those and Tifa basically sends a letter to Cloud from every world she stops on that has post (which is pretty much all of them). Plus, it was just fun to have her write one from Traverse Town where he totally was recently. And then make references to everything.
The letter from Aerith was just about necessary. It's furthering the plot where Aerith wants to go see Radiant Garden and has asked Zack for help. I think originally, she was just going to ask him when he swung by next, but that was before I started doing the letters, and it didn't make sense for her to wait, so that got changed. Meanwhile, as I'm writing that, I can make casual references to the holidays. Which I'm doing again, now. Teehee!
Then there's Rinoa's letter, which was also somewhat necessary because I knew Rinoa wasn't going to be able to swing by Traverse Town for a bit because of training. She's got lots to do and she feels she only has so much time to do it, (we've gotten past the point where she's going to burn up from the inside with power, but anyway). Yeah, so there's that letter.
And then, I decided to do a letter from Kairi. Apparently, I have a thing assigning letters to students. I guess it's cause I had pen-pals when I was a kid? Probably something like that. Only because Yuffie had to do one too, but she wrote to Cloud. Kairi wrote to Sora, and was adorable. And I did a picture of her letter, because look at that adorable handwriting! Kairi, in general, is just so darn adorable, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. Anyway, so a deeper explanation about how come there hasn't been one big holiday bash together. Lemme take down some current ages in here so I don't have to keep flopping around... Rinoa and Leon are 21, making Aerith 19. Kay. The two major couples at this point, Zerith and Squinoa basically met 4 years ago. For those first two years, Squall and Rinoa were away saving Rinoa's world. Zack was dealing with Genesis during that time. He dropped by to see his parents one year, and ended up spending the other with Angeal. The following holiday is after Angeal's death, and Zack probably forgot about the whole thing entirely. Aerith didn't want to drag him back for the holidays because he was clearing his mind, so the gang in Traverse Town had a quiet one with the addition of Leon now that he was back. Rinoa was busy dealing with excess Sorceress power. And, the next holiday is actually the one that's coming up. Ha! I knew I could figure this all out.
So, if you haven't noticed, I'm going to have a holiday sequence in the Prequel. We're a few chapters away from it right now. I'll post it closer (wow, I almost said close it poster) to Christmas. If I have time (read: when I'm done with the next 6 essays, 1 short story, and 2 finals), I'll do a somewhat AU holiday sequence with Sora and the gang set sometime during Betwixt and Between, probably.
I'm kinda in a super holiday mood, if you haven't noticed from my Axel icon with a Santa hat on Tumblr.
Oh my gosh, my holiday sequence could involve Sora dragging Riku to Christmas Town. I've been meaning to do that. Oooh! That's exciting.
But back to my holiday mood, even my D&D group is doing a Christmas special this coming Friday. (Of course, given how the group is south of the equator, it's totally going to be Christmas in July in Pleasantville (Pleasantville has nothing to do with being south of the equator, just the town we're in...) Anyway, but yeah. This is exciting. It keeps me sane during the last push of school.
I'll be posting a little slower, like every 4 days instead of every 2, only because I just can't keep up with everything I want to do for any given chapter. But, I'll probably pick back up again once the break starts. Though, I'll be wanting to catch up on writing, too, so I'm not entirely sure.
Well, enough of me jabbering.
No spoilers on what's gonna happen for the holiday sequence. :P
Teaser Quotes:
"Fire in the hole!"
"You have got to be kidding me."
"You can say that again."
"Stick close. We can watch each other's backs."
"How did it go?"
"It went."
"Can people have darkness?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can someone's darkness manifest into its own separate person?"
AND A CHRISTMAS VIDEO!
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