Chapters 1 - 15

Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In - Will Wood & The Tapeworms

So I’ll bookmark my DSM, ‘cause I need to remember my place. This is not enough. This is not enough to prove it yet, no I need to hit the bottom. […] Gotta get to the bottom of this.

Looking up, we see the point of entry between where we are and we’ve been; looking up, I could say heaven sent me, hand me my shovel, I’m going in.

Admittedly, this didn’t come across very well in the final draft, and part of that is down to the framing and variety I wanted to give it. I was initially going to give Ingo a more frenetic energy as he was trying to complete the pokedex, which lessened as he got to know the Pokemon and people in Hisui– and then picked back up once he realized he was getting distracted.

The second portion would actually correspond to chapter 33, and is fairly self explanatory.


Chapter 16

Cosmic Love - Florence & The Machine

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out. You left me in the dark. No dawn, no day, I’m always in this twilight in the shadow of your heart.

I took the stars from my eyes and then I made a map. I knew that somehow, I could find my way back.

A little dramatic, but it fit the feeling of being stranded and abandoned in a way I really liked. The second portion was also relevant for later… and another piece is relevant to something else that I’m not going to spoil yet.


Chapter 17

Ghost (Fred Falke Remix) - Mystery Skulls

No particular lines to highlight for this one, though I suppose 3:43-4:10 would fit. It was more the tone of it, and, to be honest, my own personal associations with this version of Ghost.


Chapter 18 - 25

Hidden Highlands - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness & Sky

The word 'highlands’ is purely coincidental. I had this on a character playlist, and it stuck out to me for this project, too. It just has a heaviness to it that I really liked for day to day life with the rift and then the red sky hanging overhead.


Chapters 25 - 26

Close Encounters - No Delivery

It’s just got a weirdness factor to it that I like for the trek across the Highlands, building up to the primary conflict at the Temple of Sinnoh. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can really describe it better than that. Sorry!


Chapter 27

Battle Against Origin Form Dialga and Palkia - Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Sticking with vanilla on this, both because I think it still fits, and it’s a really nice track imo. I wasn’t initially going to add it here, since that seems redundant, but it felt like leaving a conspicuous empty spot at the story’s climax.


Chapter 29

Jowd ~ A Captive of Fate - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

I liked this one for being a little more upbeat without being a happy song; it strikes me as having a sense of 'let’s see this through’ in some parts, which I think works very well as we’re warming up to the final arc. While I don’t think it fits this chapter’s content perfectly, I did realize in hindsight that it plays during a coat-related scene in Ghost Trick, and I subconsciously connected the dots.


Chapters 30 - 32

Crossing a Line - Mike Shinoda

You’re not gonna like where this goes. They’ll tell you I don’t care anymore, and I hope you’ll know that’s a lie, 'cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for, but to get there means crossing a line. So I’m crossing a line.

It’s not about status, we know it never was, 'cause what good is the kingdom when you’re missing the love? This is not a goodbye now, I’m not going away. No, I don’t have the answers, but I do have the faith.

This is probably one of my favorites to apply to this story, because I can see it working from at least two different perspectives. For one, I would put it firmly in this range of chapters just based on who/what we’re dealing with. For the second (which is the POV that the second stanza would also be relevant to) I would also add 33 to that range. I feel like one POV is obvious, but the other might be a little more out in the weeds.


Chapters 33

Arms Outstretched - Griffin McElroy

This one was baked in from the early chapters. I knew the call on the mountaintop was going to happen basically from the beginning, and felt like this encompassed the range of emotions really well. Maybe it doesn’t match up perfectly with the final product, but it’s still inextricably linked in my mind. xD

It’s also something of a bridge in and of itself, but we’ll save that for later.


General

I Lived - OneRepublic

Coming soon.

Coming Soon.