Page 44 of Redemption
( Chapter 2 - Viva la Vida )

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So here we have chapter 2.

I wasn't sure if I should continue the same chapter-naming convention that I started with chapter 1 (which was to use the title of the quoted song as the chapter name) since I already have the name of a future chapter in mind that isn't from any song. I had a few other ideas for this chapter title, including "The Cycle of Power," "How the Mighty Fall," or "When the Mighty Fall," but this song suits the theme of it so well. And, well, "Viva la Vida" apparently means "living life," and if I have to combine the next two parts then that suits both of them equally well, so I guess it fits.

I know it's a little kitschy to quote a real-life song at the opening of every chapter of a fanfic that exists in a world where our pop music does not, but hey. Allow me a little kitsch. I've at least gone to every length to remove real-world references to things such as Roman soldiers, but I in no way imagine that these songs exist in Gaia. For that matter, they aren't necessarily songs that I like or think you should listen to while reading their designated chapters. They're simply lyrics that I feel are relevant to the chapter's theme. (It does bother me a bit that the title is in Spanish, since I imagine that Spanish doesn't exist on Gaia. Meh.)

I struggled with the same problem that I had on page 7, which is that the text isn't as readable as it should be against the background. I tried to address that somewhat by figuring out where the text would land first and then drawing the image around that, so that I could strengthen the opacity of the text without detracting from the image, and then utilizing strokes, shadows, and glows, but it's still not as legible as it should be and for that I apologize. I think this font is an improvement, although strictly speaking it should be consistent. Unfortunately I can't go back to change the font on page 7 to match this one because I lost the PSD files in a computer crash and only have the flattened JPGs of pages 1-18.

My art teachers would tell me to never point out mistakes and apologize for them, but I do feel guilty since the graphic design aspects are supposed to be my forté. And this is a poor representative of my abilities.

Oh yeah, and remember when I said I wanted to never draw another cityscape? I traced a photograph of some marketplace in Japan and then added in Edge-like elements (such as pipes, metal chutes, scaffolding, etc.) and changed stuff. (Thanks to *Victolia for suggesting the technique. Sort of.) Cityscapes can still kiss my ass.


Fonts: Dumbledor Italic, Scriptina


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Redemption is a Final Fantasy VII fanfiction.
All characters, locations, etc. belong to Square-Enix.