Update news!!

OKAY, REAL QUICK

I'm going to go visit my sister (magik) all the way across the country in a week, and there's a Namine appreciation thing coming up, and between wanting to get a Namine fic done for it, and needing to get prepared for my trip, and also needing to get stuff ready for the Anniversary, I'M GONNA,,, PUT OFF UPDATING FOR THIS WEEK!!!!

Just so!! you know!!!!




~ ~ ~

And, uh, since I got a review about it, a note about Shad's new name, Kano:

I'm pretty sure Kano doesn't mean flower (花 hana) or music (音on/ne). the Official Translation for Kano, 鹿野 is deer field, and, well, let me just say I obviously didn't choose this name for it's meaning.

UPDATES AT THE SPEED OF SOUND: 音 MEANS SOUND, NOT MUSIC,,,, it is used in the word music (音楽 ongaku) but 音 by itself just means sound. (Namine means sound of the waves, for an example, if you wanted one)

ANYWAY Kano was the name of a certain other character (from a vocaloid series/manga/anime) and I just really REALLY liked the sound of it (plus, the character reminded me of Shad) and it just kinda,,, stuck.

I looked through a ton of other Japanese names and tried to pick one on meaning but I didn't like the sound of.... any of them....

Also (cough) Kano is technically a surname (cough) not a first name, so, seeing it in a manga for a girl is probably completely legit, I just, shhhhhhhh


AND FUN TRANSLATION NOTE: THERE'S A GOOD POSSIBILITY THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER KANO USING DIFFERENT KANJI THAT MEANS SOMETHING ELSE COMPLETELY, SINCE JAPANESE HAS A TON OF HOMOPHONES, BUUUUT THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER DAY

Nothing's Fair Chapters 6-9

Whoops I really only meant to go every three chapters without a commentary, but I suppose only having four chapters to cover isn't so bad.


Nothing's Fair Chapters

Chapter 6 (tag)

Chapter 7 (tag)

Chapter 8 (tag)

Chapter 9 (tag)


In other news: Please watch this Ocarina of Time video.



Chapter Commentary

All that Remains ch21 and a "hiatus"

I suppose I should start with business.

This is the last chapter of All that Remains I currently have written, because I stopped here to rewrite Nothing's Fair. As such, All that Remains will be on a hiatus for about a month while I upload the Nothing's Fair Rewrite.

Good news? The Nothing's Fair Rewrite is literally two chapters from being finished, so I have basically all of it ready to upload. I'll be uploading a chapter a day, which will take a month, seeing as there are thirty chapters. I'd considered uploading the Nothing's Fair Rewrite all in one go, but I decided against it. I do need time to work up a buffer for All that Remains, after all.

Aren't interested in the Nothing's Fair Rewrite? Well, I can't say I'm sorry, but I will "say tough it out for a month". I would've probably needed a month to work up a comfortable buffer for All that Remains, anyway.

So, this is less of a hiatus in the fact I won't be active, because I still will be posting Nothing's Fair, but it is a hiatus for All that Remains.

I will most likely begin uploading the Nothing's Fair Rewrite on February 1st. I suppose that means it will take me a little more than a month to upload Nothing's Fair, since February is a short month, but, oh well.

Keep an eye out on the Character Resource blog, by the way! I'm hoping to do a Nothing's Fair special on it, and even if I don't get that, I will at least try and upload character pages for Axel and... some of the Vexen Replicas I have pages planned for.


I'm sure you've all heard Imagine Dragon's "I Bet My Life", seeing as it's apparently popular. (I don't listen to the radio, seeing as I never really drive anywhere and that'd be the only time I would listen to it, so I wouldn't know.)

I was looking to reblog the song on tumblr because it was giving me a lot of Riku feels (KH canon/Real Thing feels) and stumbled on a Bastille remix of the song, which is 100% legit and all that other jazz. Truth be told, I saw it, and I screamed aloud, because Bastille is my favorite band and their remixes are really good.

Like, if you've listened to any of the "Other People's Heartache" albums you would know. They're good. 

And this remix is also really really good. The original song is great, too! Of course! But I probably like this Bastille Remix better and that's just how it is.


Review Replies! Wait, what?

I know, I haven't done these in ages, and, we are still operating on a Dead Inside Endgame policy for reviews, aka "I won't reply to them unless they really stick out to me because I either don't have anything to say or spoilers." I will probably operate like this for the rest of All that Remains, (though I may reply to some reviews privately).

On Ch20 from Luna Lillith Annie

Sigh, it's one thing after another for them. Great interpretation of mental conflicts though. :)

Hey, thanks a lot, I'm glad to hear that!


Ch20 from Peach aka Timpani Bleck

Is Riku finally starting to see Vexen as a dad? Because if that is the case then yes because I love that dynamic so much of Repliku being Vexen's child and it's happening here. :D

I wouldn't quite say Riku's gonna start seeing Vexen as a "father", but he's certainly going to start being a little kinder to the man, that's for sure.


Chapter Time!

Read ATRch21

ATRch21 tag with it's glorious one post


There's actually very little to say about the chapter, so I'm not going to bother with a cut. This chapter wasn't initially in the outline for "Part 1", but I figured it should go here rather than later, for a few reasons.

1) I wanted the Roxas scene somewhere in part 1, to establish what he's been up to, but had not had a good place to put it. I kept considering interspacing it with any bit of the Revenge/Larxene sequence, but no where seemed to be the right spot.

2) While the Namiku argument was planned to go at the start of Part 2, as a kinda "drop you in hot water hey yeah this is where we left off, remember?" but I then decided it was better here, if only for timing.

3) Chapter 20 was set up to be something of an ending, so that you wouldn't be too agitated to know what was going to happen next while I posted Nothing's Fair, but it didn't feel complete enough. Carrying Namine's unease into this chapter, and having the Namiku argument here, made it feel quite a bit better.

Of course, Chapter 21 probably comes off as more of a cliffhanger, but it's a sort of resolved cliffhanger. And, like I said, I wanted the Roxas scene in part 1, and the Namiku argument works better here because timing. So. Yay.

Ch231/SoShad reviews

I'm going to put the reviews under a break because spoilers

but

I'm. Thank you. Thank you so so so much. Just. Thank you.  

I can't tell you how much hate I was going to get for these chapters. How much hate I was going to get over Shad's true intentions and feelings and everything. I expected so so so much of it and while I'd made peace with that ("fics are supposed to be self indulgent I can do what I want") it's still really nice to get the exact opposite of what I expected. 

Thank you.

I didn't want to write so I'm replying to reviews even though I said I wouldn't

However, I did get a couple of really interesting reviews/questions/compliments recently!!
Note that these are only the reviews I could think of interesting replies too, though. There were still a few that I couldn't provide a good/not spoiler-y response for


Ch210 from Peach

I'm actually pretty sad that Sora didn't get to travel with Donald and Goofy, it would have been nice to see the trio become closer through the journey, but him interacting with Minnie is cool too.

I know I replied to this privately but I thought other people might be interested!! Ahhhh I sorta regret not considering that and how interesting their interactions could possibly be! Like I went well out of my way to pull this sequence off without having to touch Timeless River. Because that was one of my least favorite parts of KH2--sorta?? Idk it's not that I didn't like it it's that I wasn't sure how to write it
Except I hadn't taken into account how interesting the Sora/Donald/Goofy interactions would be (and had forgotten how fun/interesting their relationship actually is until well after writing the sequence. A lot of that comes from the fact they only have an interesting relationship in CoM and besides that it's Not Addressed Ever and I went like three months without playing CoM so)

Anyway I think I mentioned it when I messaged you but I actually considered sending Sora to HB with them and having the Maleficent fight go there, instead of in Disney Castle, but then I decided the Timeless River plotline still needed to HAPPEN even if Sora wasn't THERE

Because I'm pretty sure I mentioned it--Donald and Goofy are totally in Timeless River keeping Pete from ruining the Cornerstone. I wasn't sure how else Maleficent was threatening the Cornerstone without the Timeless River plotline?? Did I mention this?? I feel like I did but I'm too lazy to check so just
If I didn't explain it
I figured she couldn't alone--or even when her forces were combined with Hades'--she shouldn't have been able to affect the Cornerstone because otherwise she'd have done it before?? I'm not sure and there's a lot of little details like how Pete found the door this time and whatnot but maybe he didn't maybe Maleficent did and just sent him to deal with the cornerstone and stuff who knows

Moving on


Ch202 from Archsage

I don't know why, but I always get a kick out of seeing Hades and Sora's Shadow interact. It's hard to put into words, but I just find so interesting to read. And House of Mouse...too many shows for me to get around to watching and rewatching. *sigh*

I may have also?? replied to this one privately but I don't remember. I think I meant to but never did. Ahhhh

Anyway writing Sora's Shadow and Hades has actually been a lot of fun!! Writing Hades in general has been a lot of fun. I'm sure it's a lot of fun to read, too. There's something about Hades' that's fun to write and putting Shad in a situation interacting with Hades has been fun.
Idk I'm rambling I guess but
It has been fun to write, and I just wanted to point that out!!

Ahhh and no rush to rewatch House of Mouse or anything--I'm sure you didn't think I was pushing you to. But if you did. I'm not. I'd recommend it if you're writing KH fanfic I guess because it is a great way to get a nice refresher of the main Disney Cast?
Like because their roles in KH itself are so.... different and stuff I found it hard to connect them and write for them for a long while but once I watched House of Mouse I got more familiar with their characters. And maybe there was something about watching them doing something so absurd as running a dinner theater night club thing that made it easier to like,,,, believe them in a setting like KH's.

I'm not sure and it's probably just the fact that I got more familiar with their characters that made them easy to write
But still if you write KH fanfic on a frequent basis and need/want your Mickey to be believable just watch House of Mouse and it might help??
(I'm too lazy to get you a link but justanimedubbed has all the episodes)

But I know the feeling of having too many shows to watch I got behind on anime as in never watched it ever until recently and apparently there are a lot of classics I missed out on. Plus I need to watch Being Human maybe and RWBY among other stuff

LET'S MOVE ON I'M RAMBLING


ch210 from archsage again!

I'm caught up already? Yahoo! And you've discovered Portal, eh? The humor in that game is incredible!

It is incredible! Portal is incredible!! Like, forget watching House of Mouse go play Portal or watch a playthrough of it (if you search walkthrough with no commentary on youtube you'll get something and there should be a "Portal all in One" playlist with both games in it)

Portal's amazing. And hilarious. Go play it. Or watch someone play it. Read the FtPcast liveblogging it if you want but that's really only gonna make sense if you played the game--though if you wanna read through and piece things together by all means and don't think that "liveblog" will ruin the game for you because it won't
I watched someone play it twice through and enjoyed it while they played it and enjoyed it when I played it for myself.

Portal's great

moving on


Ch211 from Peach

Sora talking to Shad...I didn't realize how much I missed their interactions.

I knnnoooooowww!!! I missed their interactions so much and that's why I had a conniption on tumblr and stuff about how long it'd been since they last properly interacted--it's been like 80+ chapters and nearly two years--and
ah
They're great I love Sora and his Shadow and their interactions soooooo muuuuuuuuch

And as another note I think I had the same sort of feelings after writing the Shipping Riku to HB sequence with Namiku bc it'd been so long since they'd interacted and I was just laskdfjslfjsldfjk about it bc I'd missed it


Ch212 from Archsage

I have a really close friend who's working towards that same goal in Sunshine. I myself am somewhere in the 90s...and have been there for quite some time...platformers aren't generally one of my strongsuits. But if I do have anything to brag about, it's that I finally got all of the Secret Reports in 358/2 Days on the DS a few months ago! Dustflier and Leechgrave are quite frankly two of the most infuriatingly difficult bosses...at least on Proud Mode.

 Ahhh yes! 120 Shine Sprites is not an easy goal to reach (and, frankly, not even worth it since the only real reward you get is the pride of doing it. I mean I guess that is reward in of itself but you don't get anything in game and I was a little bummed about that)
Anyway! I was stuck in the 90s for a long while on that game, before losing the file and having to start over. I spent the last year or so working to get myself back up to where I was then all 120

Mmmm, I don't remember if I unlocked all the Secret Reports or not! I was never consciously setting out to unlock them all, though I was going through to 100% every mission to get Sora in Mission Mode--which, unfortunately, isn't going to do me much good seeing as magik lost her copy of Days and DS online mode is going offline or has gone offline
But the Dustflier is a hard boss!! So is the Leechgrave, but I'm fairly certain that one wasn't optional. Regardless, I remember I finally beat the Dustflier while I was out somewhere, and my DS nearly died. The rush to end the mission was even more nervewracking than the fight itself!!

You've always had a knack for writing dialogue during a battle and this chapter is no exception. The interaction between Sora and his Shadow, along with the banter between them and Maleficent, was a lot of fun to read.

And thank you!! It's really nice to hear that!
It's been a while since I wrote the chapter, but I think I had a lot of fun writing it, too. I sorta remember having a lot of fun plotting the dialogue, if anything!


Ch213 from Peach

This is the most interesting Shad/Sora interaction we've gotten. I've been waiting forever to see how Sora would react to what's happening to Shad.

I can assure you there's more interesting Sora/Shad interactions to come!! And maybe a more fulfilling reaction from Sora concerning Shad's.... position....

Heh

AND SUDDENLY REVIEW REPLIES @ Flightfoot

Ahh you left like seven or so and I figured I'd do 'em all in one post!
Actually, I didn't do all of them, since a few required simple "yup" affirmations and those are boring

IN THE ORDER I RECEIVED THEM

Ch175

Does Aerith not realize that the other Namine is the one who visited with Kairi and Xion awhile ago?

Actually, she did realize it! Right after Riku mentioned the Namine he was talking about could manipulate memories, Aerith said "mm!"--a little noise of recognition.
She didn't mention it, however, because a) Riku didn't give her a chance to, b) she probably figured saying "oh yeah I met this Namine" wasn't going to help
And I thought I had a c but I can't remember it
Besides, like, flow and stuff. There wasn't room to include it? I don't remember, but I feel like it's largely Riku didn't give her a chance to mention it along with figuring mentioning it wasn't going to help and there were more important things to discuss

And also I think Aerith sort of assumed before hand, that these two Namine's were one in the same (especially since magik's Namine explicitly mentioned potentially knowing my Riku). The memory manipulation sort of clinched it.

Again, she just didn't mention it because at the time it wouldn't have helped Riku and she was more focused on keeping him from hurting himself, actually.


ch184

Oooh, I didn't expect this! A third party's involved, eh? Should be interesting.

*excited handclapping* I didn't think I'd surprise anyone on this!! Good to know I did!


ch185 aka THAT

About time!

so said everyone in my fandom


ch186

Did Riku feel Roxas's pain?

Nope! Roxas hit him on the shoulder. The mechanics for this were a little skewed, I'll be honest, but I'm pretty sure Riku's block was extremely delayed, meaning Roxas hit him first and then Riku attempted to block. And since Roxas wasn't where he expected, his blade went through Roxas's stomach instead of thin air.


ch189

Ok, so it WAS the wolf.
I like the wolf. He always entertaining. Plus he's a wolf, which is both cool and cute.

Yeah, it was! I'm sorry that wasn't clearer....
Heh, and I don't think he'd appreciate being called "cute", but, y'know!

Potatoes aka I should just start typing "commentary for this chapter" in these subjects (ch194)

Review Replies

Peach and Flightfoot I ended up replying to your reviews over on the fic's blog because I enjoy answering reviews in character? *shrug*

Flightfoot's -- which was a comment about Roxas teaching Sora to fight for anyone else interested -- was answered here

Peach's -- which commented on Namine learning magik I MEAN MAGIC GOSH DARN and Riku being rich -- was answered here (we mainly talked about Riku being rich)

Both can be found under the review replies tag yay


Things going on round the blog

Skintone headcanons WITH PICTURES

And in case you missed it ASASch60--which is Roxas and Aqua and Ven--also it's commentary


Things goin on in my life

I FINISHED A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS

IT WAS REALLY GOOD

I CRIED

YOU SHOULD BUY IT MAYBE

THAT IS ALL


FANMIX TIME

do you like the person you've become? from aerora on 8tracks Radio.

(hdandy link) (tracklist) (art)

THIS MIX IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE TUMBLR USER WOLS AKA AMBRETTES HAS BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR LIKE THREE MONTHS NOW AND IT'S EXCITING THAT IT'S FINISHED
Also it's really really fitting for canon!Riku I think. *nod*


Chapter time!!

reaaaaading liiinky

tumblr notes link which only has a couple posts whoops

I IMAGINE THAT. CID YELLED AT AERITH/NAMINE

“YER GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!!”

And Yuffie just kind of looks at him

“like you havent’ nearly done that before!”

Everyone sort of cleared the room after namine nearly set the couch on fire because. Hazardous to our health.

There was supposed to be this thing about Aero and it's KH1 mechanics and Namine learned it but Aerith told her y'know "it doesn't prevent damage it just reduces it" (making it ineffective against lightning)

but Namine was like "well you can cast it on other people right?"

"yeah"

"okay then i wanna learn it"

because at the very least extra defense for Riku is nice

of course the mechanics of Aero changed and then I remembered Aqua used Reflect to protect Terra in the KH2FM secret ending but

Y'know

Aqua is a skilled mage

GHHH OKAY SO LIKE MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS CHAPTER IS THAT BIT where Riku's like "no I don't need cure" and it's not even just Namine telling him that's stupid it's Aerith being very persistent "you should learn Cure"

Because hmm what happens when you're alone and you can't heal yourself? Oh that's right. You die.

And I mean Zack wasn't alone but Cloud was in no condition to help him and Zack himself was too worn down for Cure to do him any good because he couldn't himself cast it

But still

"It only needs to happen once."

And like... ch110 (ish?) comes to mind. Where Sora and Riku fought and Sora stabbed Riku in the chest and then they kept fighting but Riku was bleeding profusely and eventually he just collapsed in a pool of his own blood on the ground

Because oh guess what

He had no means of Curing himself

And I think thinking about that really shakes Aerith up sometimes because he nearly died.

Riku nearly died.

If Tifa hadn't been smart enough to go look for him he would've died because everyone just assumed he was okay and Aerith is kicking herself for not thinking of checking on him for a million reasons.

She tries not to think about it but when she does it really scares her because she's already lost someone really important in her life and she still loves Riku--even if it's not fucking romantically and it disgusts me to have to clarify--because he is family and now that she thinks about it

Now that they're talking about it

She couldn't bear losing him.

She couldn't.

*deep breath*

LOOK AT RIKU. RUNNING AWAY FROM HIS PROBLEMS. HMMM I WONDER WHO HE GOT THAT FROM

(he got it  from Vexen oh)

Technically he should’ve heard a bit of their conversation because super sensitive hearing but. I didn’t know which part of the conversation he should hear so

Idk he was probably trying his best not to eavesdrop? (besides it’s not like it’d make any difference if he was at the top of the stairs or in his room I mean. He can usually hear them just fine even when he’s in his room but then again what he heard then was probably spoken more casually and I bet this conversation between Namine and Aerith is a little hushed)

The thing is with family. You don’t close your bedroom door unless you really need the privacy

For the most part you just leave your door open.

(at least that’s how it worked in my house and I’d imagine it’s the same for a lot of other houses y’know???)

But in CO no one is family everyone wants privacy everyone shuts their door

It’s just 50 thousand munny is about 500 US dollars

What would you do if someone was like very casually “here have 500 bucks”

You’d be grateful but you’d be like ??? ?? because people don’t normally just hand out 500 bucks. Family or no.

The sketchbook is like a security blanket tbh

HMM I WONDER. IF SOMETIME DURING THAT WEEK probably while she was full-throttle in a meltdown

I wonder if. She suddenly got a sharp pain. In her left shoulder.

There were too many other things going on for her to notice

But

IN THE ORIGINAL DRAFT FOR THIS SCENE NAMINE ENDED UP HITTING HERSELF (doing the “stupid stupid stupid” while kind of hitting your head thing) AND AERITH WAS JUST LIKE

WHOA THERE

WHOA

NO

NO DON’T

And then she spent the next few minutes stuttering in confusion because how the frik do you two have the exact same tick??

(it’s because Namine was made from Riku’s data and unfortunately that was one of the thigns that. slipped through and carried over to her)

Anyway yeah

It wasn’t flowing right with the conversation

Well it felt unnecessary

So I just

Didn’t

VAGUE GESTURING IN THE DIRECTION OF “A WIZARD’S DILEMA”

(there was that one thing Nita said about “you spend so much time with someone that you just… stop seeing them” OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES it was about how she hadn’t noticed her mother was getting sick I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT I JUST DON’T REMEMBER THE EXACT LINE AND EVEN IF I DID I’M NOT SURE HOW MUCH SENSE IT’D MAKE WITHOUT CONTEXT)

Riku does count but unfortunately it’s not very distracting so it only works so well

ABBA (ch188)

YOOOOO I MADE AN AMV Y'ALL MAYBE WANN A GO WATCH IT? idk

Also it was Joseph's birthday on December 6th and I sort of forgot about it but there was an event over on my fic's tumblr! (and if you want to wish him a late happy birthday feel free he'll be more than happy)

PLEASE NOTE that all birthdays technically happen in out of story context or "offset" because in-story we're still in April so uh yeah no birthday's coming up for a while.
(We've only passed Sora's birthday in-story. Tho technically Joseph had one in-story during Nothing's Fair but it wasn't covered. Neither was Sora's but he was with Maleficent and I don't see Maleficent as a party-person so. Chances are he doesn't even know what month it is so I doubt he remembered it was his birthday?? Kairi might've remembered...)

But regardless I think Review Replies are in order whoohoo

Peach ch187:

Why did they choose to use the rebellion if they could have used the repair they have?

 Axel assumed the Repair Program was broken, seeing as Vexen retrieved the external and the Repair Program can't work without the data on it.
Except, of course, Roxas's data wasn't on the external and could be accessed from any computer, meaning the Repair Program would've worked for him, but Axel didn't know that.


KKBeckett, ch183:

It occurred to me that i never inquired about Peter. I'm assuming he's okay? No Disney Character ever dies (that isn't meant to die) in the KHverse.

He's alright. A little banged up and might have a headache for the rest of the day, but he's alright.
Trust me, if I kill anyone--Disney characters included--off, you'll know.


And that's all the important reviews

between your heart and mine from derazzed on 8tracks Radio.

(handy link)
is this relevant? not in the slightest.

but chapter time!

reaaaaaaaaaad

tuuuubmlrrrrrrrrr

"The wolf moves between worlds like Ponch does"

Idk how many of you have read the So You want to Be a Wizard books (I have recommended them before and will always recommend them) but Ponch is the pet dog of one of the main characters and he can move between worlds and I based what the wolf does off of that.

I mean it's not exactly the same Ponch has this whole extra netherworld thing that he goes through and I don't think the wolf does but definitely the actions of the between-world-traveling is the same. You can't just vanish you have to take a step. The wolf has knocked people over and between worlds which is exactly how Ponch takes Kit between worlds the first time.

Yeah.

Also the setting for this chapter isn't exactly important but they are most likely in Deep Jungle. Cloud and Sora anyway. Nooooot so sure where Tifa and Kairi are there are like so few worlds it's ridiculous.

(Total there are maybe?? 20?? ??? of which only 15 that people can actually visit? So. Yeah)

I JUST HAD A THOUGHT THO WHAT IF I DROPPED THEM OFF IN A WORLD LIKE DELFINO ISLAND LIKE in Pianta Village or something and like you're out of the way of the few locals perhaps idk? but wow what if they all took a vacation to Isle Delfino har har okay we're good I'm done heh

I’m laughing both Cloud and Tifa’s phones are super loud hashdhahahah

KAIRI MISSED SORA BY LIKE FIVE MINUTES DO YOU KNOW HOW UPSETING THAT IS?

SHE ALWAYS MISSES HIM BY LIKE FIVE MINUES IT’S SO SAD

IT'S VERY SAD

Kairi. What are you? Five?

ACTUALLY NO THIS GOT SAAD SHE’S ACTING LIKE THIS BECAUSE SHE’S TRYING TO HIDE THE FACT THAT SORA NOT WANTING TO SEE HER LIKE. SCARES HER. IT’S NOT JUST UPSETTING IT’S DOWNRIGHT SCARY FOR HER

Because why? Would? her best friend? Not want to see her? Like it's not a pleasant thought even in real life let alone in their world where he's been missing and she's finally found a way to contact him but blows her off?

He avoids her, makes a conscious decision to put off seeing her

It's scary.

Because she doesn't know why he's doing it. And all the possibilities and potential explanations are just as scary if not scarier.

Meaaaaaaaaaanwhile Sora's just... having trouble adjusting to the fact that Kairi's been searching for him, that she wants to see him because for so long he's thought that she wanted nothing to do with him for so long the darkness has told him and convinced him that she hated him.

And he doesn't remember Agrabah so he doesn't remember what happened there he doesn't remember that she told him otherwise, doesn't remember that she said it was okay.

In his head it's not okay and he's done a lot of cruddy things and he's not... ready to face that. Not ready to face her. Isn't sure how to apologize, isn't sure if he can apologize--

And if he can put it off for a week to gather his thoughts and maybe sort that out than he'll gladly put it off. It's not like this was a one time chance--he can contact her whenever he wants if he so wishes because Cloud can just call Tifa and. The option is there. There is no urgency he can take a little time.

And of course Cloud understands that feeling because he's Cloud.
*cough*the entirety of AC*coughycoughhack*

I can't believe this makes it's own post (review reply and timey-whimey of Neverland vs Crossover and junk)

YOOOOOOOOOOOO MINOR SPOILERS FOR DEAD INSIDE like ch186 but i'm literally going to upload that chapter within the next two days and I'm sure most of you saw this coming so it's not too huge

BUT I WILL WARN YOU SO YOU DON'T GET SPOILED WITHOUT 

Y'KNOW

CONSENT AND JUNK??

anyway you have been warned


KKBeckett said on ch182

I kinda feel bad for Peter... not being able to remember and all...But also... like... I know where Roxas and Axel are going and this excites me. Things must sure be timey-whimey...

 As for Peter... I think he's used to it? I'm not sure. But his terrible memory would, theoretically, be something he's always had and I'd assume you'd get used to that sort of thing after 50 or so years? If he hasn't been around longer than that....

And for any of you curious here is where it says Peter Pan forgets things. First paragraph. Second sentence.
It says: "In Peter and Wendy, it is explained that Peter must forget his own adventures and what he learns about the world in order to stay childlike."
Which, y'know, makes sense.

And things are actually not as timey-whimey as you may think? There's a lot going on on this day (trust me the calandar is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay full for it)

like actually here
(the calendar has minor spoilers so if you haven't backed out now you still can)

Riku returns to CO why the frik does that say "home" on the calandar he doesn't think of it as home early in the morning (probably by HB's time standards?? Idk)

the conversations that continue to happen on Riku's side really really don't take too long and the thing with Namine and Riku and the pictures and near-kissing literally happend right after they talked to Alpha about her meltdowns I mean

It was discussion--she had nine!!--SHE FORCED NINE!?!?--hey let's head to HB if Alpha okays it?--Riku pssstttt I wanna look at pictures

it all happened right on top of each other

Sora is definitely in Neverland for a while tho I suppose he can't be there too long because Roxas wouldn't take too much time on his mission

Even so, the timing for Sora in Neverland is really flexible because I gave you snippets instead of a play-by-play so there could've been more time between them or no time between them and it wouldn't matter

It probably took Roxas 20 minutes total to defeat the Ruler of the Skies Heartless, and even then, he purposefully went out and started working overtime and killing extra heartless he didn't need to kill so he's there for a little longer

I'd imagine 20-ish minutes is enough time for Sora to run into Peter and then have everything happen up to being shoved off the cliff?

even then he probably has more like 30 or so minutes??? ??? idk but like that's the only thing that's tight here

the conversation between Axel and Saix where Saix was like "YO WHY HAVEN'T YOU GONE AFTER VEXEN YET??" definitely happened after Vexen'd dragged Riku off since Vexen wasn't in CO

meaning the converastion probably happened while Roxas had just left for Neverland or was planning on heading there

Technically I'm not even sure if Riku's gone an hour given time difference I mean. They spend three hours talking most likely?? And that's one hour in my universe so I mean if Axel and Saix had that conversation before Roxas left...

(Which they could've really. Axel is just like "I don't want to pull Roxas away from any missions" and that doesn't necessarily mean "he's on one right now" it just means "I know he's got a ton of them and a ton of heartless killing to do in general". Theoretically Roxas could be on a mission it just wasn't the neverland mission. This is literally very very very flexible from all sides)

And the assassins report to Axel that Vexen was in CO within ten minutes of his and Riku's return. Within the next five minutes Axel has grabbed Roxas, headed to CO, probably just found Vexen

(Five minutes is more time than you think but it's also not a lot of time. Time is so funny like that.)

But I imagine he would've found Vexen and within the five minutes after that Joseph finds the scene unless he was already tehre which is potential and goes to tell Riku and then Riku finds out and like

Like it doesn't even matter at this point Vexen can probably sit and stall Axel for a very long while just by talking because it's not like Axel is 100% sure about doing this because he's not.

Roxas is the one pushing to get the mission over with but Axel can ignore him for a few minutes while he thinks things through

y'know?

Anyway long explanation short, while there is a LOT of stuff happening on this day, it's not exactly too far-fetched timing wise, especially after you take into account that worlds sort of run at different rates and junk

Ahhhhh....????? (ch182)

ACTUALLY REVIEW REPLIES THIS TIME

Idk if these came in after my last "review reply" post or not (well, one of them did), but they're important ish so. Replying

From KKBeckett on ch179

Question, though I can't remember if I've asked this before (if I have, I surely don't remember the answer). But can your Namine predict the future? Sort of, ish?
Because if she can... then that picture of magik's Namine...

Actually, yeah, she sorta can. It's not an ability she tends to use often, but, she is capable of it.
And, yeah. That picture of magik's Namine. That. That would be not only her looking up shocked because she was interrupted from drawing but her looking up shocked because oh look who was just dropped at the edge of the beach

(maybe some of you need to read this if you haven't yet? I'm trying to wait to make a big official announcement on it until the sequence is finished so those who don't exactly enjoy Can't Escape can read it in one go.)

And also from KKBeckett on ch180

Have I mentioned that I love the interactions between Saix and Axel there at the end? And Axel and his Assassins? And... yeah. Basically. That. All of that.

You can actually thank magik for all of that?? I think the idea of Saix and Axel talking was her idea (it might not have been...) but I know the thing with the Assassins I took from her. Or... was inspired by her. This chapter, specifically.

yeah.




What's this video, you may ask? It's a) super awesome and you really should give it a watch and b) I've determined Roxas is more than capable of pulling something like this off

Ahh it's technically a headcanon I've borrowed from tumblr user snoipahkat (kat for short) who basically decided that Roxas is a super good singer because Jesse McCartney
She talks about it here (I know her blog is super hard to read. I have it zoomed in by like 125% but that's only so I don't mess up the page formatting you can make the text even bigger if you need to)

Aah also I talked about Roxas's music tastes
Because I'd never talked about his
THO I'LL HAVE TO TALK ABOUT EVERYONE'S MUSIC TASTES SEPARATELY BECAUSE IT JUST. KEEPS BUILDING. AND I COME UP WITH MORE AND MORE for each of htem and yeah I'll talk about it all eventually
(Unfortunately I can't talk about Shad's until after Dead Inside because spoilers LONG SIGH his music tastes are my favorite oh well)

ANYWAY SO CHAPTER

link

tumblr tag

I mentioned that Peter’s memory is kinda terrible, right? Yeah. Yeah this is it. He knows Roxas looks like Ven but Roxas isn’t acting like he knows him and looks a liiitle different and swears he doesn’t know him

So he can’t exactly remember

If Ven had shown up he would’ve said hello to Peter and Peter would play along because he knows his memory’s whacko and over time he’d remember about Ven

Or if he asked Ven who he was Ven would answer and then it’d click

But he hasn’t seen Ven in seven years

(Ven and Aqua have been in Neverland, but they’ve probably just kept missing Peter. So.)

Also Roxas hasn’t met Aqua and Ven yet, so he wouldn’t be able to tell Peter that he’s got them confused because he doesn’t know that there’s someone to get him confused with

Peter no

(he wants to get jeaaaaaaalous that Tink knows Roxas ahahhaha which is funny because she gets jealous when he’s anywhere near a girl so)

Ahhhhh I don’t think Sora knows about Roxas being a Replica?? ?

Hggg I’m still 1000 words short someone shoot me

I JUST AM PLODDING THROUGH IT and I’ve run out of things and idek what they were supposed to discuss?? Magik wanted Sora to get a chance to apologize to Roxas and I figured they could just run into each other in Neverland so I gave Sora a chance

Y’know?

Ahhh Ven’s the one who twirls his Keyblade in his hand when he’s bored and standing still and it’s an absentminded twitch and Roxas hasn’t met him yet

BUT TECHNICALLY HE HAS VEN’S DATA SO

It’s because Roxas is programmed to kill heartless. He’s a very efficient heartless-killing machine. He’s intended to be a weapon to use against Riku, but he isn’t programmed specifically for that. He’s programmed specifically to kill heartless. Of course it’s easy.

(and even if he was programmed to fight Riku, it’s only Riku. Sora’s different. Sora’s a challenge.)

Whoops I watched Stupid Mario bros recently. *drags in a few of their ideas about the darkness*

Maaaiinllyyyy just that the darkness—when using Sora—used Sora to his full potential, which means he was actually very strong and could bust some pretty cool moves

I’m beeeing suuuuuppppeer technical about the difference between strike raid and what axel does. Unfortunately I can’t pull up an Axel battle (or play days) so I’m not 100% positive how he thorws his chakrams, but strike raid is like an over the shoulder thing. In my head Roxas is throwing it underhand. So.

Actually I hunted down a video of Axel fighting and Roxas is doing p much what he is which is good

Roxas is doing it a little closer to his body in my head but I’d need a form of weapon to actually test it out with and not just pretend I’m holding one

But really the action is 100% the same and it makes me happy

and then there was this:

Axel: Where’s Roxas?
26: He hasn’t rtc’d yet. He should’ve been back 15 minutes ago, though…
Axel: oh, 15 minutes isn’t too late! But- (he glares down at the Assassin who’s still bugging him) But I’m not sure if I can’t wait that long. Permission to go get him?
26: What for?
Axel: I have orders from Xemnas himself! He wants me to take Roxas on a special mission, and we kind of have to go now. Oh nevermind, I don’t need your permission! (and he’s gone)

yeah

I don’t think Sora knows who Axel is?? They maybe ran into each other once and I don’t think they were introduced so uhm

YUP

THAT'S IT!

Now for something important!!

I plan to compile chapter commentary posts and make them eassier to navigate because there are 70 posts that are chapter commentary and it's hard for new readers or readers who are behind to find specific chapters.
I'm hoping to have this up soon but it looks like I have to compile a link for every single post! Oh dear... Ah... updates on this as time goes on!

CROSSSOOOVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR also review replies whoops it's been ages (Can't Escape ch62-63)

I wasn't sure if I could scrounge up enough for a blog, but I think between two chapters and a bajillion review replies we should be fine

not in your story from aerora on 8tracks Radio.

(extra handy link)

I felt a Namine mix was appropriate between the Crossover and CoM feels. Also it's very good. 

ye

SO WE'LL DO CHAPTERS FIRST

link to the first chapter and you can get to the second chapter from there

here is my tumblr thing (but only page one has notes relevant to these two chapters from what I'm aware of)

my lack of notes in general stems from only writing for half of this so I only have like liveblog notes for half of it obviously

Like magik mentioned we've been teeeeeeechnically planning this for two years (it's the whole reasons Can't Escape exists ha) 

whiiiiich in the long run meant a loooooooot of editing because there's a VERY BIG difference between what Riku acted like in the beginning of Dead Inside (the attitude he had when this was first written) and his attitude now.

I mean it's been two years real time, and five months in-story time. There's been. yeah. A lot of changes.

We also cut a lot of stuff…

A lot…

Like there was more in depth discussions about what was going on but then we were basically recounting everything and I felt it'd probably be a little boring to readers, not to mention conversations don't always tend to work like that.

(The second chapter of this is actually a very very good example of what real conversations look like actually. I'm so proud.)

Also another interesting thought is that the Original Draft completely didn't talk about magik's universe. Ever. It all focused on mine. Whoops?

anyway so some of my liveblog notes

Haha yeah he was having a really nice day. He’d been given a family, he’d reunited with Namine, there’d been a bit of alskdjfas about her meltdowns but it was all good. They were still good. And then, of course, they nearly—

HE’S LAUGHING BECAUSE HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO

I FEEL LIKE VEXEN JUST WANTS TO JUMP OUT AND TELL RIKU NO NO YOU SHOULDN’T GO AFTER LARXENE GOSHALDARNIT DON’T YOU DARE

(but Vexen also doesn't want to blow his cover ha)

Sora is so optimistic—and I don’t get why he’s explaining everything, really!

In which Sora does all the talking and Namine’s really quiet for some reason

NO BECAUSE KAIRI’S USED TO GETTING LEFT BEHIND AND SHE KNOWS HOW MUCH IT SUCKS AND KNOWS HOW WORRIED NAMINE PROBABLY IS ESPECIALLY IF HE LEFT WITHOUT WARNING WHICH HE’S SORT OF IMPLIED

I THOUGHT NAMIKU WAS BAD BUT GOSH DARNIT SOKAI

Like holy shoo Namiku has the market on awkward cuteses covered but Sokai’s in charge on the Cuddle Corner

It’s not like SoKai KISSED

I think

(They totally could've and we'd NEVER KNOW because Riku wasn't looking ha)

Anyway that's all my notes have and I can't think of anything else so REVIEW REPLIES

ACTUALLY HAHA I REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE DOING REVIEW REPLIES?? it takes so much thought lately and half the reviews ask questions that are answered in story at a later-ish point

And a lot of the other reviews are praise and wow! Praise! Is really! Nice! And I love all your positive reactions to ch174 (along with 175 and 176) and they're great to read I just don't know how to respond largely because. Idk. It'll either be awkward thank yous or reaffirming what you've said because FEELS.

Like a general overall thank you to all the things you've said because it makes me really really really happy that you guys enjoyed ch174 and such because those were my favorite favorite chapters and they were a lot of fun to write.

It is more than awesome that I managed to give y'all the same feels I had while writing them. Because. Feels. And. Junk.

I dooo want to do a quick reply(ish) to the reviews on the crossover so far? Actually just on the last chapter--ch62

It just made me laugh that Peach was like "yay focus on conversation" and then KKBeckett immediately honed in on the "OH SHIT LARXENE" bit

It just. Made me laugh. Haha

Also KKbeckett you should be both scared and disturbed. Trust me on this one. Both emotions are good.

Review Replies? yes good.

it's literally been ages whoops

These are sorted by the order they arrived to me in my email, not by chapter or anything--well, it's roughly by chapter but not exactly by chapter

(also I'm only gonna reply to the ones that I can think of something for yeah? Good?)

Oh and I hope this isn't too confusing the bold is the label, the italics is the review itself is in italics, and then my response is regular text JUST IN CASE YOU MIGHT'VE BEEN CONFUSED


ch166 from archsage

Oh dear...of all the opponents for Sora to fight NOW, you just HAD to pick Leechgrave, didn't you? How about you throw in a Dustflier while you're at it?

Aw come on! The Leechgrave wasn't too bad! And at least Roxas was there! xD

With all the abuse and rotten luck Sora has lately, something tells me that when (not if. WHEN) he finally comes to his senses, the payoff is gonna be HUGE!

I cannot confirm or deny this statement because spoilers tho good grief that's a lot of pressure you're throwing at me alskdfjasdf

ch167 from Peach

Riku needs a lot of hugs right now, doesn't he?

yes. Yes he does. RIKU HUG SQUAD ASSEMBLE!! 

No but really I have a headcanon (tho it's technically canon??) going where Joseph starts just hugging him at the most inconvenient times and one time ends in a tickle fight because Joseph won't let go so Riku tickles him under the armpits and he collapses. Then Namine points out that Riku's in fact ticklish and Joseph tries tickling him but that dooooesssn't exactly end well because Riku just pins Joseph to the ground and.

And yeah.

I never thought about Leechgrave that way, but it is sort if cannibalistic...

It really is... but we probably shouldn't  think to much about it??

ch165 from KKBeckett

Oh, Riku, don't ask about Aerith, she'll drop whatever it is she's holding...

yeah.....

Aw, but I love the third book! Morwen and all of her cats!

I do too! actually I love all of them you know how I am with favorites But I figured that it'd be better to have him already reading the second book just in case I needed him to have thoughts on it. He ended up not needing to have thoughts, but, y'know. Better safe than sorry?

How is Namine doing, anyway?

Good.

ch168 from Peach

What? Why would you do that? I wasn't prepared for this.
That was painful and amazing.

Which part? Aha.

ch169 from Peach

Hades can see Shad. Oh my god. That's amazing...and slightly bad...

It's his Underworld. Did you really expect anything different?

And Sora's finally starting to beat his darkness and heal his heart, but that means Shad will be gone, right?

Ahhh.... I think Shad still has to be actually defeated first, though the more Sora heals, the easier he will be defeat, so...

But I don't think he's just gonna completely vanish out of nowhere or anything.

ch169 from archsage

Vexen's actually taking a stand. Interesting. Depending on how this plays out, Riku might very well faint from shock were he to learn of this.

Yup.

ch166 from KKBeckett

You know, I'm starting to like the Riku and Aerith dynamic. They get along well.

THE RIKU AND AERITH DYNAMIC IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE DYNAMIC IN THIS ENTIRE FIC TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST I COULD GO ON FOR AAAAAAAAAAAAGES ABOUT IT BUT technically all the things I have the most feels about happen in ch175 so uhm yeah that'll have to wait

ch171 from archsage

Oh crud. Vexen really is gonna be in so much trouble. I really hope someone rescues him. 

*shrugs* we shall see

And now Riku's hate of lightning is out of the bag. Come to think of it, RiKKu from Final Fantasy X was also afraid of lightning. Was that intentional?

Ahhhhh.... nope. I haven't even played FFX. 

let's reply to some reviews, shall we?

Yup.

Sounds fun.

starting in what order they are in my email~

ASASch51 from KKBeckett
(also since I feel it might be useful I'm just gonna start copy-pasta-ing the reviews over kay?)

I'm assuming the first one is what ended up happening and Demyx just didn't catch all of it. That's intense though. Axel's care for his friend. Very real to Axel's character. And I feel a tad bad for 26, poor guy. Anyway, good chapter! (like-substance)

Actually, I think I adapted the second draft into Demyx's POV--that or I took elements of both. I happen to like the first draft better, so I wouldn't be surprised. *shrug*

And then yay I'm being accurate to Axel's character!!

DIch161 from KKBeckett

So who wins the bet? Joseph, or Sora?

I dunno. Do the math. xD

DIch161 from Peach

Which Riku replied to here~

(again idk why the charries end up replying to your reviews but it's mainly because they come up with something in response so)

DIch160 from KKBeckett and Peach

I had Riku and Namine respond to them here~ ehehee (I couldn't resist)

ASASch50 from KKbeckett

*sobs grossly*
29, you are the bestest Vexen Replica ever! You're also not very Vexen-y, but that might be why Joseph survived!
And, I mean, I know Toby lives, too... but 29... you just... FEEEELS.
*sniffle*
No wonder Joseph's so mopey [in] the first chapter of this story. With the Cookie Dough.
But he tries...

AGH

I DON'T EVEN HAVE A PROPER REPLY I JUST

FEEEEeeeEEEELS

TO

THAT CHAPPTER

DIch159 from KKBeckett

Oh. This plot arc. *wrinkles nose* Not a fan of it. Not that it's badly written... just that I don't like the idea of Namine and Riku being separated! *sniffle*
I do appreciate Vexen at the end there, if I haven't said that before.

I'm not a fan of it either. And neither are any of the characters. (I could've sworn I had a tumblr post on that but apparently not)

yay Vexen! (And he appreciates the fact that you appreciate him and stuff I'm sure)

DIch159 from Organization Number 15

I ended up having Riku and Namine reply to this, over heeere~

DIch156 from Peach

I actually had Riku reply to this one, too! Aquii!

Aaaaand, I can't think of anything else to say! I mean there are a few more reviews but I can't think of anything to say in response sooooo

ALSO HEY if you haven't listened to my LET'S TALK TIMELINE videos yet, you can find the first of the nine here and links to the rest of the videos are there, too! (at least the link to video two is which links to video three and so on)

Anyway yeah just making sure you didn't miss those!

ALlllrighty! (ch158)

things you probably missed but most likely want to see

Namiku blog

and that's it

First order of business!



A video?

Yeah, well, it's a promo video for a FF7 web series that actually doesn't look half bad! It's going to be live action--which threw me for a pause--but the costumes are spot-on, and the acting doesn't look too bad, either. (Plus, you literally have professionals running this project as a hobby. Yeah. Yeah it's going to be at least semi-decent quality.)

Anyway, the video's 12 minutes long, but only the first 5 minutes or so are important. The project has a kickstarter page--since this is a hobby, they'll need money from somewhere--which is right here. (I'm not saying you have to help fund the project, I'm just putting it there in case you want to and can. I would but I don't have money and even if i did there's other stuff that money would be going towards so)

Second order of business!!

Review replies

ch156 from KKBeckett

Get in line, haha. You're not the first to be pissed that Roxas was forced to forget Xion.

As for the charm? Well... it could. It certainly could speak again


VERY IMPORTANT REVIEW REPLY HERE

ch157 from Organization Number 15

That would be Oblivion. I can't mention it by name because it's not my style (plus idk who actually knows the names of any Keyblade in my universe. If there was someone it'd be a different story). And then, of course, Axel decided to be lame on describing it, but it was a tossup between "inform readers that Roxas now has Oblivion" or "keep Axel in character". I leaned more towards keeping Axel in character (which means describing the basic aspects of Roxas's new Keyblade and nothing more) but hopefully a few of you readers got the hint.

Plus, how would you even explain Oblivion? I mean, the hilt is one thing, and of course it's black, but the teeth of the blade? Look like a Japanese Kanji. And, uhm, I don't think I have a character who would notice that. I mean, it's really only a joking canon that Riku can speak five different languages including Japanese, but still, I don't think he'd take the time to point out "hey that looks like the kanji for darkness huh" even if he did notice it.

So. Yeah. Over-explantion time over.


ch157 from Peach

Like I said, there's a line forming for everyone who wants take a swing at 26.


ch155 from KKBeckett

Teehee. Feels. Totally not sorry

As for Riku and Namine ever discussing the fact that Riku sort of feels like he's a failure... well... that gets swept under the rug, sadly. They should talk about it. Like, this is totally something Riku should talk about because Namine could totally help him, but...
Idk if I'll have time to squeeze a conversation like that into what's left of Dead Inside. It might come up. It might not. I'm fairly certain I don't have the time to dedicate an entire sequence to it.


ASASch49 from KKBeckett

I think Vexen's POV was my favorite out of all them. I think. (Idk 26's was nice and Roxas's was Roxas and Rooxass) But, regardless, I really like Vexen and his POV of this chapter.


ch156 from Peach

the voice was Terra. He has Terra's wayfinder.


third order of business!!

The chapter and it's commentary (which I meant to do an hour ago but my dad was watching Doctor Who and it's distraaaacting)

So, convenient link~~

And commentary:

eeee I open this chapter with Namiku being cute

ALSO I MADE UNINTENTIONAL FORESHADOWING BACK IN CH155 AND IT MAKES ME REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE I LOVE WHEN I DO THAT
I mean intentional foreshadowing is nice but unintentional is even better

7 isn’t here because he doesn’t usually participate in these sorts of conversations (as much as I’d love for him to be here and antsy about not having the database/repair program). Neither do 19 or 29, really, but 29’s paying more attention to Joseph, and I might need 19 there and I’d rather have him there and not need him than need him and not have him there and have to rewrite. You get me?

Shhh Riku doesn’t know Joseph and Toby learned that from Tifa (he wasn’t coherent then) but you do and it was important (okay not really but I wanted to mention it geeze)

Wow that’s a large block  of text maybe I should break it up….

Instant headcanon: Alpha has Main Computer functions on his laptop. (He didn’t put the database on there because wow let’s just give them EVERYTHING if they find this laptop. There’s a reason the database was only on one external…)

Alpha’s exaggerating a bit: they can’t rewrite them on a whim. Edit, probably, and change minor bits of coding that could cause problems. But an entire rewrite would need a Replica to be disabled and be hooked up to a computer and all this other stuff. Oh and yes now they can just be disabled with a press of a button, really. From the computer. At long range. Because they have Main Computer functions. (Saix’s snap-and-disable-a-Replica thing is still in effect, but we know it doesn’t work on anyone that isn’t in a fifty foot radius of him, soooo)

Alpha, you're still being a jerk.

R COULD DO THAT (hack the security cameras) BUT SHE’S DEAD

Haha I make an extremely useful character but then I kill her off

I considered having someone comment on Namine’s meltdown but I think they all know by now when one’s happening and that you shouldn’t bother Riku when it does

She’s trying to hold it back. Trying so hard. trying so very very hard to just hold it back. She’s just like “no. No. I will not scream thank you. I will not let this get to me.”

She’s not going to scream guys. Not in pain nope. She is very insistent on it not happening and I think I’ll let it not happen.

It’s actually only been a week (and a half-ish) since her last in-story meltdown, and provided she didn’t have one over that week gap, then, yes, it has been a week since her last meltdown. That’s not too exciting but any time when she doesn’t have them is good (also it’s been over 30 chapters since the last one SOOOO)

No really the only reason Riku’s in his room is because his ceiling looks like the sky and he loves it and Namine so much and he just really loves his room now because his ceiling looks like the sky

It goes no deeper than that

His ceiling looks like the sky and Namine painted it for him and that’s all that matters.

YES OKAY WE CAN TOUCH ON THE TELEPATHICNESS THIS IS FUN

OHMYGOSH IF THEY CONNECT IN THEIR BRAINS FOR EVEN A SECOND RIKU’S GONNA GET WHIPLASH FROM THAT MELTDOWN too late he already did

THe pARalleLS are kILLIng mE

rIKU STAHP (I would let you if I could but it’s just too soon) I think he was trying to kiss her on the forehead and it's just too soon for that 

(also Riku got really sappy at the end ahahah oh weell)

THAT'S IT!

YEAH

Oh wait here my notes on tumblr, too

Now we're done

Ahhh.... (ch156)

Well,

ah

not much to

say

on this chapter

(have your convenient link though)

All there really is is that, originally, I'd intended to actually write Terra's dialogue purely out of words he'd said during BBS. Mainly so I could splice together an audio file of what this chapter sounded like and all that other fun stuff

but then he didn't say any words that I needed him to say for a line I really liked to work, so, well, yeah. Yeah that got scrapped pretty quickly.

heheh my notes:

"Whoop look at the darkness talking. Look at it. yowzah"

and yeah

yeah that's REALLY it

mm...

check my ch156 tag on tumblr?

WHY NOT WE DO SOME REVIEW REPLIES!?!?!!

DIch152 from KkBeckett

Yes, Amaryllis could really use some more credit


DIch153 from KKBeckett

I actually went and replied to that on my fic's tumblr
(actually Riku and Namine answered it)


ASASch47/48 from KKBeckett
(this was DIch154 from 26's POV and then Roxas's POV)

There was a lot of new/important information in this chapter, I felt! I almost posted it and ch154 at the same time, but backed out of that at the last second.

And you should totally play Days again. xD
(I'm not sorry about giving you feels. I about drowned in them when Roxas first showed up, so....)


DIch122 from Ultimate-Sky

I doubt you'll see this, but I am really glad to know I got the shopkeeper accurate and stuff! It's really nice to know that happened, especially since I wasn't trying very hard to make it work. Heheh.


DIch155 from Peach

I got to this one on my fic's tumblr, too! (Well, Riku and Namine did again, idk why it's them today)


That's it!

clever title here

Things you may have missed

That post about Sora I still want you to read if you haven't

Roxas's updated character corner

The blog on ch154 which includes links to the chapter from 26's POV and Roxas's POV


And now the review replies I want to do

DIch154 from Exodin
(I did reply to this privately, but for those of you interested:)

No, the final showdown between Sora and Shad won't happen until Endgame. Which we are still a few major plotpoints away from.

As for Roxas, I was pretty adamant about not bringing him back. Ever. So, a lot of you thought I wasn't going to. Then I changed my mind. But it was a good idea and I enjoy writing him and that's all that really matters.

And concerning whether or not Sora and Roxas will meet... I won't say anything, but if you want an answer, try browsing through my tumblr.

(Those weren't all the questions asked, but I did reply to all of them privately and these are just the ones I felt other people might be curious about. If I missed one you'd like answered, lemme know and I'll answer it. It's not a problem.)


DIch154 from Flightfoot
Roxas has a few basic fighting protocols pre-programmed into him, but besides basic hack-and-slash, I'm not sure if he'd be able to do much else right now.
(He really didn't do anything when attacking Riku, after all)


DIch151 from KKBeckett
It's what Vexen does :P

As for the other question--concerning Riku and Namine being telepathic--it got its own blog post


DIch153 from Flightfoot
Yup! (Riku's not too happy though)


ASASch46 from KKBeckett
Riku and Namine are cute when they're being telepathic. And they get worse, too.

I don't think Vexen's happy you're laughing at him, btw xD


ASASch46 from archsage
Yup :D
And, no, you're definitely not the only person who thinks Riku and Namine need to kiss soon. Pretty sure the "fanbase" has been waiting for over a year now. (I'm just taking forever I'm sorry. I can't pour myself into writing without draining myself and I'd rather this be enjoyable than finished quicker and finished quicker than including stuff I don't need to)


DIch149 from KKBeckett
It won't work. Riku is always mopey. Always.


DIch154 from Peach
Aww, but I love Xigbar! :P

I get that he's annoying, though


OH LOOK BIG RESPONSE TIME
OH BOY
HERE WE GO

DIch148 from KKbeckett

KKBeckett asked:
Question, what's the difference between Rebuilding a Replica and simply
constructing a new one? Why Rebuild Roxas as opposed to simply creating
another? I mean, forget morals for a second, these are logical replicas we're
talking about. (And a very illogical but still logical Xemnas).

Ooh... okay. Actually, there isn't much of a difference. When you Rebuild a Replica, you are basically constructing a new one, and then copying over all the data/memories/etc. of the dead Replica you wish to Rebuild.

As for why they ended up Rebuilding Roxas and not just creating a new Replica capable of using the Keyblade, well, Axel was probably very insistent on it being Roxas and refused to help if it was anyone else. Since they needed his help--he knew where the external is and was probably careful not to tell anyone--they couldn't really say no.

I mean, they could've just built a new Replica instead of Roxas once they had the external, but I don't see why it would've mattered much to Xemnas. He'd get a Keyblade wielder no matter who it looked like.

Also, the only data they have of a Keyblade wielder--besides Roxas--is Sora. And Sora's data... with all the darkness... would create a very unpredictable Replica. Because, y'know, Sora was fairly unpredictable back during Falling to Pieces (when they gathered the data) so you really couldn't avoid making an exact Replica of him just as unstable.

Roxas was a very stable Replica, so they probably figured they might as well just reuse his data. 

Because, removing the instabilities from Sora's data--removing the darkness--leaves you with very little and trying to create a Replica out of that results in unstable Replica, like Xion. 

Odd, yes, that removing instabilities just results in unstable Replica, but Sora's instabilities are in his attitude and resulted from his darkness, and that would carry over to a perfect Replica of him and you don't want a Replica with an attitude and darkness problems. Xion's instabilities, however, were caused mainly because there wasn't enough data inside her to keep her running. (That, and they didn't even finish processing her, because they figured she was just a full-on mistake and not worth it.)

Roxas was created through the same methods as Xion--though he had a bit less data removed so he'd hopefully turn out better--and it was a miracle he even worked. 

So, I can see why Xemnas is perfectly okay with just reusing Roxas's data--which is stable and guaranteed to work--rather than try and create a new Replica through the same methods Roxas and Xion were created and risk the chance that the new Replica comes out like Xion and not like Roxas. They really did believe they only had one shot at building a Replica, and they weren't going to blow it by wasting their time building a mistake like Xion.

Yeah. That was long and a bit round-about, but I hope that covered it. Whew.


ALRIGHT, THAT'S ALL

Just thought I'd let you know that I am now done replying to reviews in bold and caps yeah

Ooh yay let's talk some more about Riku and Namine being telepathic!

Alright, so KKBeckett asked:

Why are Riku and Namine telepathic? I feel like it's always been something
that just IS, but it's not, because they're just now coming to realize it now.
What changed? Why now? Why ever?

~

As for the why, I do believe I sorta answered that here (in my first post about them being telepathic).

technically, that post would sort of get into why it's just now coming up, but I have another reason

I suppose it technically is something that just... has always been there between them, because they've been at least semi-telepathic since the Truth Hurts. However, it hasn't been until about now (I think ch130 was when it first came up?) that they started being telepathic to this extent.

Because, yeah, they couldn't sense what was on each other's minds (or Namine could sense what was on Riku's), and there's always been that little connection between them, but they've never been able to actually hear each other's thoughts before. 

And, it certainly is new for Riku. His side of the connection has always been weaker, so he's experienced the telepathy to only a minor extent, while Namine's been hearing Riku's thoughts off and on for at least the past two weeks.

(Also Riku's probably a little flustered because, uhm, wow I'm really close to Namine :P)

So, yeah, they've always been a little telepathic, but never before have they actually communicated telepathically, which is why it throws Riku for a loop.

As for what changed and why now?

Well, my first post discussing them being telepathic gets into that. The current theory is that Edd ended up blocking that ability from Namine back in the Truth Hurts, and it's only just now slipping through the blocks. The other explanation I can think of is that it, like all other magical abilities, just takes some time to develop and flesh out fully, so while you may know the basics of it, over time you learn more about it and other things you can do with it.

(I only really have two theories because I am very apprehensive about making anything involving Edd canon for some reason)

And then, why ever?

Well, I'm assuming you want the out-of-story explanation... (the in-story one was given in the first post discussing this).

I just... there's always been a connection between them. Ever since Falling to Pieces. So them being flat out telepathic was something that came easily, and something that felt completely natural. For the life of me, I can't even remember when or why I decided to go with it, because they've been telepathic in my head for a long time now--it's only just showing up in-story.

To be honest, the telepathy wasn't supposed to even show up until book 5 (or post book 5. One of those two) but, I figured, if they were going to be full-out telepathic in book 5, then they'd need to discover the ability (considering it's not something that's been always there--or at least they weren't aware of it before, if it was) and they'd need to develop the ability and learn how it worked. Why shouldn't I cover it in Dead Inside?

we are getting close to the end, after all. It takes only another month of in-story time.

So, yeah.

I think that's everything.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

This is clever title I swear

Just going to reply to a few reviews

(I left out a few that I couldn't think of how to respond to. If I left one of your reviews out, and you would like a response to it, just lemme know and I'll get to it!)

First off, though, if you haven't read this post yet, please do so now!

Anyway

Oh! Wow, before I get to reviews, I need to mention something that I forgot to mention a while back! So, in ch144 (Chapter Three of the sequence, and the chapter where Xemnas shows up), I'd fully intended for Thistle to get injured, instead of Snapdragon.

However, I decided to change it, because Snapdragon was very set on attempting to attack Xemnas in my head, and why should I have that Lexaeus Replica distract him just to hurt Thistle for no reason? So, I had Snapdragon get hurt, instead, seeing as it made more sense...

Thought I'd share!

Anyhoo

KKBecket's review on ch144

Actually... I can't think of anything fancy to say  in response to this, so...


KKBecket's review on ch145 (this chapter)

You're not crazy! I do have special titles for the sequence! They are the chapter titles that I've already assigned them. (And, of course, the titles being numbers, it should be fairly obvious why I needed 13 chapters, yeah?)
I'm not sure who all's caught onto the title trend, (maybe two of you) but seeing as we're 12 chapters into the sequence, I suppose now is as good of a time as any to explain it!

Each chapter actually has a reference to the Organization member which shares the same number as the chapter (I considered doing roman numerals for a bit, but that'd be a bit obvious, wouldn't it?)

Don't believe me?

Ch142 - One: "Besides," [Axel] laughed slightly, "I couldn't say no to the boss, now I could I?"
(Vexen also mentions Xemnas by name in his mini panic attack/rant thing later in this chapter)

Ch143 - Two: The Xigbar battle is in this chapter

Ch144 - Three: 41 had just been stabbed by a Dragoon—that was the lesser Nobody that Xaldin controlled, right?

Ch145 - Four: "This room has no security," 26 explained, still smiling to himself. . . . "It's not like it's needed, when few people know Master Vexen's passwords, and even fewer know how to use his Program."
(Also, Vexen's in this chapter, but that's cheating...)

Ch146 - Five: There's... a Lexaeus Replica... I'll admit it's a stretch, but I wasn't planning the references until the next chapter or so, and the first four fell into place.
(Besides, it's not like it's easy to bring up Lexaeus in a conversation)

Ch147 - Six: [Vexen] meant what he'd said, even though he regretted saying it—he wouldn't have said it at all, but after going and seeing Ienzo… he'd been having trouble keeping a hold of his emotions for some reason. . .
Yeah, it's Ienzo and not Zexion and technically it's magik's Ienzo on top of that, but... it's also hard to bring up Zexion in conversation? (And the fact that Alpha is a Zexion Replica does not count.)

Ch148 - Seven: "It's… more of what it descended into," Amaryllis confessed. "To be honest, I think most of us were just trying to stay away from Saix, at the beginning."
(Saix is brought up four other times in this chapter)

Ch149 - Eight: Axel battle

Ch150 - Nine: "I bet I couldn't even take Demyx." (Riku thinks)

Ch151 - Ten: [Alpha] shook his head. "It's too risky a gamble. Not even Luxord would attempt it. We have to let them have Roxas."

Ch152 - Eleven: "Riku, Marluxia did not put you through that," Vexen said, sternly.
(Marluxia is brought up three more times after that)

Ch153 - Twelve: "Did Larxene tell you that?" Vexen said, finally, his voice quiet. "That because you failed one little mission you aren't good for anything?"

Ch154 - Thirteen: Isn't posted yet, but, I'm pretty sure if you think about it you'll figure out how it involves Roxas without much problem

Yup.
(I wonder if it would've been more fun if I'd just let the rest of you figure this out for yourselves. Oh well....)

And, for the rest of the review! (still on ch145)

You don't like 26? Heh, I think he's one of my favorites! Then again, I can pick out at least one reason why I like each Vexen. Or any character. (With the exception of the Larxenes... but even then...)
Like, even 37 I'm not a huge fan of, but I do have a soft spot for him. (Not for any particular reason, that I can remember anyway... but I know I have a soft spot for him)

I WISH ALPHA'D STOP BEING A JERK BUT WE KNOW HE DOESN'T LISTEN. (If anything he gets worse ugh)


KKBeckett's review on ch146 (linky link)

To be honest, I'm surprised Riku didn't die of boredom. He has enough trouble sitting still, and blocking bullets is only slightly better. Then again, it's repetitive and he's doing something so maybe he doesn't mind too much.

Eep! You're the second person to have mentioned that I've managed to give all the Replicas different characterizations and that it's actually possible to tell them all apart! (This is literally the best compliment ever thank you)
And thanks again to Cookie who was the first to bring this up. I've thanked you before but I'm doing it again.


KKBeckett's review on ch147 (link)

I wouldn't be surprised if Replicas thought faster than the average human, due to them being basically computers. (At least in my universe.)
I mean, really, it makes more than sense.


archsage's review on ch45 of ASAS (this chapter)

I'm sure they will go clothes shopping, at some point! (I have a snippet in my head of Sora and Riku looking for clothes post Dead Inside, but whether or not it gets written/becomes canon is up in the air)


Cookie's review on ch45 of ASAS

Those are pretty much the reasons I cut this draft. It was amusing, definitely one of the things I've had the most fun writing, but... yeah.

I'm not sure which draft I like better, though... I am slightly partial to this draft rather than the final. I think. I'm not sure.


KKBeckett's review on ch45 of ASAS

It did make for nice character development, huh? Still, I think I needed plot-forwarding elements more. At least for this sequence, anyway. I am slightly upset about having to cut Riku and Namine being cute, though... maybe I'll have that conversation come up in another chapter. (Idk where to put it but I'm sure I could find a place.)


And... that's it! I don't feel like replying to anymore reviews right now. Again, if I didn't get one of yours that you'd like me to get, just lemme know!