I’m doing a re read of your locked series and I was wondering if you’d ever put it on ao3 or is it just strictly on tumblr? And I really like that sora is drawing bits of his memories, is that a nod to Namine since she won’t exist here? And how deep is ven and soras connection? I would imagine they never would truly be disconnected because of how long ven took refuge I soras heart.
Hi Nonnie! I’m glad you’re enjoying my series enough to re-read it. :)
Sora getting bits of memories is indeed a nod to the fact that Naminé doesn’t exist in this universe. I have a love/hate relationship with how canon dealt with the memory loss/recovery issues and as a result often slightly mutate or draw inferences from canon to reconcile these issues.
It’s made clear in Chain of Memories that Sora’s memories weren’t destroyed, just disconnected/forgotten. And although we only see it on a very small scale, we do find Sora able to break through this disconnection and regain his memories of Kairi (at least, a little bit). I extrapolate from that, that had Naminé not put Sora back the way he was, he would have begun to remember bits and pieces on his own if/when triggered. He wouldn’t be the same, but he wouldn’t be a completely blank slate either. That’s the direction I’m taking his recovery in Locked Out.
As for how deep Ven & Sora’s connection is, well you’ll have to read to see! I’ve played with their connection in other ideas I’ve written but never published. I had an idea where Ventus is restored forcibly from a distance, and this had long-lasting trauma for both he and Sora. Thankfully, it was a much smoother restoration in this ‘verse. (Their trauma gets to come from other sources!)
In regards to putting it up on AO3, the answer is a little complicated.
Back when I was a baby fic writer, I had this idea for a fic that was going to be epic and amazing. I started writing and had a lot of enthusiasm and energy.
And then I stopped. Went back, revised stuff I’d already done. Stopped. Revised. Over and over, making zero forward progress. My idea was beyond my skill level, and as my skill level increased, the idea evolved until it eventually became something I didn’t really want to write anymore.
But I’d already posted it. And there were people who liked it. And I felt really, really guilty about that.
Eventually I broke down and admitted it would never be finished. Because of this experience, I promised myself I would never again post a WIP; that I would have at least one full draft completed before I started posting something.
Then, a few years back, I started doing NaNoWriMo. And as a way to keep myself on task and accountable, I posted my daily writing accomplishments. This conflicted with my promise to myself not to post any WIPs, but I excused myself by putting prominent at-your-own-risk warnings at the beginning of every update. Despite this compromise, I’m still not willing to break my promise to myself to post a WIP on any official archival sites like AO3.
I’m still very enthusiastic about this story, and I have high hopes for completing it eventually. Once it is done, I absolutely will clean it up and start posting it on AO3. But only once it is done.
I’m a slow writer. I manage to pump out my 50,000 words during NaNo, but for the other 11 months of the year I’m lucky to get out a couple of 2000 word updates. I tend to write in intense bursts and then need significant breaks. I envy writers who manage a regular, consistent schedule.
Locked Out should be finished by the end of the next NaNo, and I’m hoping that the everyone-comes-together/KH2 finale “Unlocked” will be finished by the end of the one after that. It could be sooner if I manage to do some significant in-between updates, it could be longer if the characters get chatty.
I guess the short answer to your question is: it will eventually be on AO3, but not until it’s done.
netara replied to your post: KH: Locked Out update [Ventus]
Do you have a “completed” body of work somewhere because I haven’t read this in AGES so while I was a bit lost his was enough to make me want to get unlost. Help? <3
There isn’t a single consolidated post, but there is a Masterpost that links all of the parts!
It was the kh anniversary and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated your fic. I came across it last year at a time where I was really down. So the fact that I had this wonderful story to read as a distraction meant so much to me. Especially the troubles that sora is going through and the fact that he had ven stand up for him really hit home for me. I just want to really thank you and look forward to more in the future. Hopefully we’ll have kh3 soon! Thanks :)))
Awwww. Thank you! It’s amazingly inspiring to hear that my story made such an impact on you. Sora and Ven’s relationship is one of the key aspects of the story, despite it being introduced so late, and I’m trying my best not to rush its development.
*fingers crossed for KH3*
(This is a long-weekend, and I’m hoping to get some time to write, so keep on the look-out for an update soon!)
1. Just finished your series and omg I’m in love. I loved that you gave sora and ven this strong connection and acknowledge how unhealthy it was and are letting them find themselves before they come together. And that ven realizes that the way he recovered his memory lost wasn’t right and made sure sora didn’t get the same treatment. I really just love the ven-sora dynamic and been wanting to read fic about it. I’m excited to read what else you have for them and hope that they can reunite soon
2. Also I can’t wait to see how Riku and kairi connect to this like you really messed with cannon and it’s so refreshing to see how each character will take and change the journey by reversing the roles a bit. I also like that sora is a magic user and won’t be mad if he doesn’t use the keyblade. I admit my favorite bit is the fact that sora gets hurt a lot, I love my favorite characters getting hurt both physically and emotionally. I’m just glad I found this series and thank you for writing it!
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Wow! This is the most indepth response I’ve gotten to this monster since I started writing it. Not gonna lie, I teared up a little. :) Thank you for taking the time to comment! I’m glad that you’re enjoying it so much, despite how rough it is! I’m going to blather on for quite a while, so I’ll put the rest of my response behind the cut.
Having Sora and Ventus go their separate ways in Traverse Town wasn’t in the original plan, but when I was writing the post-Oblivion stuff, I realized how dangerously co-dependent they were due to Sora’s lack of memory and Ventus’ feelings of indebtedness. If they’d stayed together, neither would have gone out and and formed (/reformed) the other relationships they’re now getting in their lives.
Luckily, a big thing of my head-canon is that the difference between capturing a Heart (like Xehanort) and sheltering a Heart (like Sora), is the ability to let the Heart go when it’s ready. This easily translates to Sora noticing Ventus being restless and pushing him out into the wider world again, even without his memories.
Poor Ventus has a lot of issues and internal conflict. He loves Sora, and wants to save him from the pain that Ventus himself has experienced. That being said, despite the similarities in their situations, there are also differences, so Ventus doesn’t always know best, even though he’s trying. I loved writing the conflict between Ventus and Mako, two people who want only the best for Sora but have different ideas about how to go about it.
I’m happy you’re enjoying how I’m writing their dynamic!
Riku and Kairi were another thing that came out of nowhere for me. My original plan for Riku’s story was just little paragraph-long vignettes that would be inserted in the appropriate points of the timeline to show what he was doing. There’s still evidence for that in how little detail there is in Riku’s story at the beginning--I just glossed over and summarized a lot of his early events.
But the more Riku caused the canon timeline to diverge--because his path is very different from canon!Sora’s--the more I needed to write, until suddenly he had his own whole arc. Then Kairi woke up, and she had thoughts and opinions on what RIku was doing.
It’s nice not to plot things too closely sometimes, because then when the story takes you on a tangent you can follow it. I’m a little more locked in now with Riku’s story completed, but I have my vague outline and 100 days to play with, so there’s still room for going off the rails a little.
Taking the Keyblade away from Sora was the core premise of this series. Canon likes to bring up how he was the second-choice “Keyblade Master”, and Birth by Sleep made it clear in the passing of power speech(es) “if you have the makings”. What if that’s not personality/character? What if that is some physical/spiritual/magical attribute? What if Sora didn’t have the makings and the Kingdom Key had to stay with Riku?
What happens to Sora then?
Everything in this fic snowballed from that one question.
So, no, Sora won’t get jealous over not having a Keyblade--for him it’s never been an option. And after the “defence lessons” debacle he has some hang-ups over using weapons. Instead, he’s learned magic, which canonically he was quite good at (if you go by game mechanics, anyway). And yes, he gets hurt. A lot. Especially at the beginning. He doesn’t have any extra protection granted by the Keyblade, or comrades with magic and potions to help him heal. For all that I’ve made “the town provide” in Traverse, they are still strapped for resources.
The emotional turmoil is something they hint at in canon (Donald and Goofy forcing him to smile and not dwell on his grief), but there’s no time to deal with the real ramifications of your entire home being destroyed when you’re on a quest to save the world. Here, Sora’s not on a quest, so his trauma has time to be explored. (And expanded, because I’m really mean and refuse to give the poor guy a break.) Things will get better, though!
Just, thank you again for taking the time to comment. It really made my day to come online and find your asks sitting in my in-box. :)
infernal-fox replied to your post: NaNo Update - Day 11a - KH: Locked Out
*Mock glare* must you always end this in a cliffhanger? (It wasn’t this time, but I just wanted to say it)
Haha... wish I could say I’d try to fix that, but I’ve come to be honest with myself about this over time, and it’s definitely how I roll. Whoops!
There will be another update tonight/in a few hours, and I’m hoping to write enough tomorrow to clue up the Riku&Kairi storyline (Locked In) and get back to Sora&Ven.
I feel like I should warn you: there is likely to be a KH1-esque cliffhanger then. ^^;
Hope you’re enjoying things, even with all my cliffhangers. :)
