Chapter 245 Commentary: Epilogue part 1

I could post like a playlist with this but I can't think of anything that's relevant to the end of Dead Inside that I don't want posted with ch246 so

No to a playlist this time

If you're curious, I went ahead and wrote the Riku vs Maleficent scene that happened back during Falling to Pieces--you can read it here

I actually had a lot of fun with the scene. It was written as if to be a file viewed from CO/TWTNW's computers, which allowed me a lot of freedom with the format.
It allowed me not only write Riku vs Maleficent and "parallel" it to Larxene, linking the whole lightning thing, but also play with the fact that it is not just a memory, but an unstable memory, like all of those in Riku's head.

I considered putting it in Falling to Pieces itself, but the difference in writing style + special format eventually made me decide against it. At least for now anyway. Maybe at a later point I'll put it (or perhaps a modified version without the memory formatting) in Falling to Pieces anyway. I wanted to. Hmm.

ALSO I'M REALLY UPSET FFNET WON'T LET ME DO BRACKETS SO I COULDN'T FORMAT THE COMPUTER COMMANDS AS LIKE. ACTUAL COMMANDS.

y'know like
 > command here
that's what I wanted to do

anyway

"It was never too far for her."

 Here's the first (of three) Book 5 teasers. And on that note...

Chapter Time
read ch245 here

ch245 tag

Kairi’s having a huuuuuuuuuuge conniption about Namine not coming back and that’s largely because she and Namine were actually living in the same house. Same room actually.

"Since when?"

Since the ch87 rewrite

SoKai insisted on hugging Riku and I didn’t want to tell them no. Riku wanted to tell them no. but. No. I mean… yes?

Oh gosh in my head Sora looking at Kairi and going “you ready?” while they’re standing there arms linked was like really intimate in my head like the way he looked at her and their eyes met and the look she gave him in return and

I was also thinking she’d maybe put a hand on the star shard and then they’d go

Amazing. Sixty chapters and I’m STILL not used to being able to let Namiku be all close and cute and cuddly and touchy and stuff

(I thought about Namine kissing Riku on the cheek but it didn’t happen do you see my problem)

Sighs deeply I got to touch on my future headcanons where Namine and Riku get a house and just paint all the walls and ceilings—not that it’s like a problem or anything because they have soooooo little furniture so it’s plain anyway and the walls just make it look really pretty ‘n stuff

I hate Roxas omf

There’s a chance that’s the same exact couch SoKai sat at when Roxas interrupted them earlier. (but it might not be. Unless it makes you happy. Then by all means. It can be the same couch.)

I didn’t feel like copying this to my extra document so

“well, congrats on getting back to normal, first off” Roxas says but he hardly lingers on it and before Namine can even open her mouth to say thanks he turns to riku “you got any idea when Axel’s gonna be back, Reeks?”

Riku goes red but not of a good kind

Also:

                “do you?” Roxas pesters

(his mouth twitches into a smirk I swear he’s Draco Malfoy)

Oh wait this bit’s good too

                “you think he’d stop by like twtnw or twilight town or” namine says

“but he could show up anywhere” Roxas cuts off

That’s the second time Namine’s been interrupted and she doesn’t look very happy

Roxas walks off

Namine starts to call after him

But Riku’s just

“no. don’t. he’s not worth it”

29 visited HB in ch195 for anyone curious

“or you could gather our things” “what things” “my sketchbooks and anything from your room you want. Like. I dunno. That horde of munny.”

My memory’s so good and sometimes I have to remind myself that other people can’t quote conversations near word for word and are most likely to get some details from a recounted story wrong

First I was gonna be like “Namine doesn’t’ know about Riku’s skin being purple” but then I remembered that Riku’s shirt probably doesn’t even cover it—not due to being torn but just due to being too damn short

However she’s not going to say anything about it that no one else hasn’t already said so I didn’t feel the need to take the time to have her ask him about it—she can ask him later and it can happen off screen

“everyone handles grief differently” is the general rule here

AND THEN HERE'S A FUN STORY!!

I anticipated having to tell my grandparents about this since I was writing while at their house, and I knew that since I was almost done I’d have to come up with a reason as to why they couldn’t read it (outside of it being fic bc they have no clue what that is) and I ended up describing Dead Inside to myself as:

“On the outside it’s a great story about family and friendship and people who are apparently evil having good qualities and the heroes having some bad qualities but on the inside it’s honestly just a lot of violence”

Which is like

Exactly why I went “EEEEEHHHHH” when my lil sis went “can I read it?” when I told her I was finished because. I mean. It’s. violence. There’s a lot of violence, all cussing and and other worrying material aside (like, y'know, everything concerning Riku and Larxene/all of his feelings towards CoM)