ATR ch60 - In which we have... chapter titles??? WHAT

Yup, yup, yup we do.

I hadn't wanted to do chapter titles for All that Remains because coming up with ~meaningful~ or ~symbolic~ ones like TTH/FtP/DI used is haaard. But, it occurred to me as the chapter numbers got higher, well, it's gotta be pretty difficult to navigate at will.

So, inspired by the chapter labels I already used for myself, and Patrica C. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons' style of chapter naming, I came up with these chapter titles.

Of course, they aren't what my own labels were (in part to fit with the "in which" theme, in part to avoid spoilers) but they're titles, they aren't cryptic, and I like them.

UNFORTUNATELY, character limit was a problem I had to deal with, so some of my best ideas couldn't be used because they were too long. ("in which Kairi is not as kind as she should be" "in which Ven is further disgruntled" and right after it "in which Ven is even FURTHER disgruntled, and Kairi... makes a discovery???").

You can view the original chapter title ideas here!

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Hiatus news???

I was worried some people might be worried by the title of the last post on this blog! So!

You won't have to worry about a hiatus on ATR for at least a few months. 

The hiatus is coming after part 3 ends, whenever that may be! We've got a bit less than ten chapters to go. I don't know the number exactly, I just.... I know it's less than ten! Er, probably!!

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Here's where I normally put a playlist or something but NAH, not today!

~CHAPTER TIME~

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This chapter was a lot of work but, hoo! I'm better off having done it, probably. There are a lot of little things I like in it, too, so that's nice!

I was on the fence about doing this whole, Thing, because it’s some pretty heavy stuff, but…. this “monster” business is something that’s been bugging Riku for a while. And, even though Sora only ever had that small bit in ch4, and a vague hint in ch10, well. he kind of needed this too.

It’s Heavy Stuff, but, it wraps up plotlines I’ve had going for a while, and doesn’t just “yeah lol they’re fixed even though I never mentioned it” and, that’s probably for the best. I didn’t get to dig deep into Riku’s healing, in story, just showed him healed. And that’s great, but. we gotta touch some of the other stuff, eventually, right? So here we are.

I can’t tell you how bad I would’ve liked to start this in Sora’s pov w/ just a short, him and Aqua training scene. But, I gotta be in Riku’s pov.

This is Heavy Stuff I was honestly pretty hyped for when I first plotted it (well, I was having Large Feels about it, at any rate, and thought it was Pretty Good though still, heavy,,,) but now that I have to write it for real this just feels like Angst which I haven’t really written in years and, hhhhhhhhhh

Maybe it was bc I sat down to write this right after editing a bit of Dead Inside so I feel like, I dunno, ch130 zone. It Stinks A Little.

You bet your bottom I changed the included count from six/seven/eight to seven/eight/nine just so I could put Demyx as number 9

Part of the swap in coping methods is because I think Riku doing times tables (or even, like, basic algebra) to distract himself instead of counting is a Really Good Thought I'm super fond of, plus because Replica and, well....

It seemed logical that “counting” would turn into “listing the number of people I killed” and, hmmmmmmm

((Even then Riku’s counting methods before were usually a quick 1-10, and then if we really wanted to take what I wished it was—he’d swap to another language, 1-10 again, another language, 1-10. Usually English>Japanese>Spanish>German, but he’d usually have taken long enough by Spanish. GRANTED, THIS WAS QUICK ONE OFF “I NEED TO CONTROL MY TEMPER”, NEVER “I NEED TO STOP A FUCKING PANIC ATTACK" SO, THERE'S THE DIFFERENCE))

I understand that, according to a lot of people, counting w/ breathing is like the best way to calm panic attacks but. Listen. Times tables is perfect for Riku. It's been perfect since I first thought of it ages ago, and, here's them slipping into it For Real.

((THINKS ABOUT RIKU DOING THIS W/ NAMINE AND MELTS!!!!!!))

Also, like, I guess I should have this out there too. Times tables and Replicas go together because, since they're basically a computer, they don't have to think too hard about this stuff. This is why simple algebra would work too. For a Replica, it's not hard to work out, and it's, I dunno. One of those simple repetitive familiar calming acts that just... works. I can't say that a computer running through basic stuff is comforting because lol computers don't feel but, it's. It's that concept.

Sora had this pretty neat dialogue planned about how he doesn’t know how to help, aren’t they kind of just fucked up kids, like, "honestly, we’re 15 and we’ve been through a lot of shit what is this" BUUUUT, it ended up not flowing that well into Leon and Aerith arriving, so it had to go!

“rar Sora and Riku are still holding hands” YEAH!!!! AND!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK I HAVE ALL MY SHIPS SET OUT BUT I WILL HINT AT SORIKAI TO THE DEATH

Important Notes

Aerith and/or Leon ask if Riku’s ok. He says he is, though there is a hesitance in the answer, because things are still a little shaky (though, less shaky with Sora right here, somehow, with them holding hands and Sora serving as an anchor, rip) (Shad definitely calls Sora out on being gay for holding Riku’s hand so long and Sora tells him to fuck off. lovingly)

It’s hard, to fully capture what Aerith is Feeling now, what is displayed on her face, and while I could have pegged it to worry or concern or compassion or love—listen, describing it this way (comparing it to how she looked in DIch174/175) is better, because it conveys the no one should have to hurt as much as you did and I wish I could make it better but there’s nothing I can do that will erase the pain of your past and sometimes I’m not sure the love I offer you in the present is enough. I can’t put that into words so easily.

Aerith and Leon finish each other’s sentences all the time now and I’m so glad but also laughing because they didn’t used to do this, they didn’t do this until I decided they were siblings, and it’s not like!! I’m intentionally having them finish each other’s sentences, they just kind of started doing that and, why make them stop? it’s natural

I'm hesitant to put stuff like this on the blog, anymore, because if I have to say it here then I didn't do my story-telling that well, but....

This is probably the most undertouched thing in this chapter, it’s so subtle, it’s so minor that maybe you missed it, and, you shouldn't ignore it.

Riku’s regretting what he did to Larxene.

He’s looking back on it and going actually yeah that was fucked up, yeah that kind of bothers me, I can’t believe I did??? the????

He went from “my only regret is it didn’t work” to “I really am a monster like her”, and, well, admitting what’s wrong is the first step to healing. Or, whatever it is they say.

YEAH, THAT'S!!! THAT'S IT!!!!!! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a real tough one to write, and I'm super glad it's over.