A/N1: BEFORE READING: I've waited to post this final chapter until I uploaded the first chapter of Yesterday. You can find it by going to my page or by searching for it on this website! Also by the time you're reading this, I've uploaded another trailer of Yesterday. You can find it on my youtube channel "April C Blue" (why? because I can! :) )
A/N2:Hey guys! I know, the story is over (yay!), but I figured that some of you may have missed clues through the story and might be curious about why I chose to do several things. I thought it would be nice to give you a general analysis about the story from the writer's p.o.v. like some sort of SparkNotes article.
About this story in general
This story has 37 chapters and counts (this chapter excluded) 84.646 words, which is 7702 words longer than Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone (76,944 words).
This story has at this moment 344 reviews! This ranks this story on no. 30 of most reviewed Pitch Perfect fanfictions (!).
This story has at the moment of writing 110 favorites and 217 follows.
This story caused me to be on the favorites lists of 33 users and to be on the author alert list of 49 members.
This story has a total of 72462 views!
The last chapter (37) got 230 individual views over January.
Most of those viewers are from US, followed by UK, Malaysia, Australia, Philippines and Canada.
This story started on 6th of April, 2015 and is now finished on 4th of March 2017, after 1 year and 334 days.
Notes about the story
Chapter 1: Crying lightning
"Chapter 1: Crying lightning"
The chapter is named after a song from Arctic Monkeys, but is pun intended for the lighting that strikes the plane in this chapter. Crying lightning is in this case a very upbeat but mysterious song and the guitar riffs which suited the chapter very good.
"little Alice fel the hOle, bumped her head and bruised her soul"
This is, as you might know, an Alice in Wonderland quote. The girls fell down the rabbit hole, just as Alice did and had crazy adventures in a place called Wonderland. Chloe's assault and Beca getting on those seeds, but also their behaviour sometimes are similar to the weird events in Wonderland. Also, I knew from the beginning that there would be a beautiful place they would be staying in with a waterfall and I called that place Wonderland in my head when I thought of the plot. This is also the first time I mention the motif "difference between heaven and hell". The place is, as we will find out, both heaven and hell.
"Beca used to visit her mom, who had moved to the other side of the country after divorcing her dad."
The thought of Beca having a divorced mom who lived on the other side of the country was maybe not the most clever decision, but it worked. I wanted the four main girls all to have a different family.
Chapter 2: Praecipitium
"Chapter 2: Praecipitium"
I have had 6 years of Latin language and culture courses and I had to translate some text from a philosopher, which contained the word praecipitium. I loved the word and it's meaning "jump or fall into an abyss" or, when used as a metaphor, "devastation". Jump into an abyss, literally, as they were falling into the deep ocean. But we can also see that the metaphor "devastation" is also a very good translation of this chapter title.
"Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling, but nobody paid attention to them."
During the crash I said that no people paid attention to the oxygen masks falling from the ceiling, but I think that would be a very stupid thing to do, noticing the fact that they were falling so fast. I honestly don't know if more people would have survived if they did.
"Due to the blow, the plane had cracked in the middle of the cabin and a wide gap was now separating the front and the rear of the plane"
Do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with a physical correct way the plane would eventually sink? I thought that the blow would probably break the plane in half or something and that the heaviest part would sink first. Since the front of the back half would have its wings attached, the tail part would sink first, as the plane sort of floats on the wings in the front. I'm not sure if it's correct.
"The silence was deafening. Earsplitting. She couldn't bear it and started to swim faster and faster."
Chloe swimming with Beca to the surface and being scared of the silence is a reference to the silence she will be afraid of the whole story. She's happy when she hears the rain again.
Chapter 3: The State We're In
"Chapter 3: The State We're In"
Chapter title is a song from the Chemical Brothers.
"Beca folded her hands and laid them on Aubrey's chest, just above her sternum."
I looked that up in my survival guide, but there might be some mistakes.
"Beca settled herself on Aubrey's legs and pinned her arms next to her head…"
Beca sitting on top of Aubrey to stop her from panicking is a very bad idea and would probably result in more panicking, but I thought it looked very cute.
"My back hurts so much. I can't bare it any longer. It burns like hell."
This would be the understatement of the year. 10 points to team Stacie.
"Unzipping her charred vest and sliding it off Stacie's slender shoulders"
The burn on Stacie's back was noticed after they removed her top in a early bèta. But fortunately, a thoughtful reader noticed that it would be very weird if her top was intact if the burning was so severe, so I changed that (I think?). In real life, Stacie probably wouldn't have survived her injury, but where's the fun in that?
"... releasing about half a gallon of seawater on the burn."
It was very weird to calculate the liters I wrote first to gallons. I wanted to apply the US scaling system but damn, yards, miles, gallons, cups… It's so hard… Damn you, US.
Chapter 4: Your Hour
"Chapter 4: Your Hour"
Chapter title is the translated title of a poem we discussed in class that time. The poem is about a man who walks down a street and the inhabitants of the town he walks through hold their breath as he walks there and reflect on life. Your hour is also in my language, or when translated in French a military expression of the moment of truth or the moment something important is about to happen. In English there is about the same word h-hour.
"She looked into Chloe's eyes, but the redhead didn't seem to see her. She had a vacant look on her face, her eyes were focussed on a point far behind Beca (...) She screamed again at the top of her lungs, while she tugged at her locks as hard as she could."
I didn't imagine any sound for this part of the chapter when I imagined it, despite the fact that Beca is actually talking. I imagined there was just a beep, just like you hear after a bomb goes off (or after one goes off in a movie). I didn't imagine hear anyone talk, I just saw them moving and saw Chloe breaking down and screaming, without actually hearing her. I couldn't write that, so I changed it to a monologue from Beca.
"M-My name is Chloe Beale, I'm from Tampa, Florida (…)"
When Chloe tells something about herself, she mentions she is from Tampa, Florida, the place Brittany Snow originally comes from.
Chapter 5: Up In Flames
"Chapter 5: Up in Flames"
The chapter title is named after the song from Coldplay. The same song is used in the chapter in between the lines.
"At least, for everyone who is alive."
This part is pretty vague, but he talks about the comment of Donald, who said that it could have been worse, as it cannot be worse for you if you're dead.
Chapter 6: Diamonds are forever
"Chapter 6: Diamonds are forever"
Chapter title is from a song from the Arctic Monkeys. Diamond symbolizes the memory of Cynthia.
"And the heart is hard to translate (...)"
This song is called All this and Heaven too by Florence and the Machine and is my all time favorite song.
"I love you, Stacie."
Stacie and Cynthia were never in a relationship. Cynthia was in love with Stacie, but Stacie never returned her love. I got this idea while reading Corpse Party: Blood Covered, where Naomi and Seiko are in the same situation. This is further explained in chapter 21.
"(...) nobody moved, except for the earth, that kept turning."
Title reference.
I wrote this whole chapter during Spanish one day.
Chapter 7: For Crying Out Loud
"Chapter 7: For Crying Out Loud"
The chapter is named after the song from Meat Loaf. The title is also a reference to the reaction of the Bella's on what is about to happen.
The song used in this chapter is called Broken Inside by Broken Iris.
"I'm raised as a proper Christian and I know Cynthia Rose was a Christian (...)"
This is the first mention of Aubrey being raised a Christian.
Chapter 8: Disconnected
The song sung by the Bella's is called Goodbye Until Tomorrow and is from the musical The last five years with Anna Kendrick, which I saw around that time.
"When I look back on the Bellas, I won't remember performing and competing. I'll remember you weirdos. (...) "Me too."
Reference to the second Pitch Perfect movie where Beca says something similar.
"Finally she can cut through these strings, and open my wings."
Originally, the lyrics are HE can cut through these strings, but I changed that.
Chapter 9: Fade Out
"Chapter 9: Fade Out"
Chapter title is based on Street Spirit by Radiohead.
It remains vague if Aubrey's dream was just her imagination or based on what she had actually seen during the crash.
The song cited in this chapter is For Crying Out Loud by Meatloaf.
Chapter 10: Cold Water
"Chapter 10: Cold Water"
Chapter title is named after the song by Damien Rice. The same song is used in the chapter.
"The color of the bag matched the color of the sea, (...). The handles and sides of the suitcase, however, were gray, which caused the two girls to notice the object."
The suitcase described is actually my own suitcase.
Chapter 11: Fingerprints
"On the side of the case, they noticed that a name was spelled with colorful stickers: Ellie."
As this is my suitcase, I changed my name on the side of the suitcase to Ellie.
"There were about 5 t-shirts in pretty colors. (...) but also colorful shorts in mint and ink blue. (...)"
I actually own colorful shorts in mentioned colors.
"It was a photograph. (...) On the front of the picture, stood two girls, who were about her age. Both they were wearing deep blue graduation gowns. (...) The picture was made in front of a large building, which Chloe assumed to be their school."
This is a photograph from Ellie (me) and Johanna (my proof reader and best friend. At the time I wrote this, we hadn't graduated from high school yet. But when we did, we made sure we got this exact picture taken as described.
"On the back of the picture, was a stamp displayed with the date and time of the picture. 26th of June, 2012."
We didn't actually graduate in 2012, but I had to make it 2012 for the story's time frame. The date, however, is correct.
"She had seen the blonde one, while boarding."
My character died in the same plane crash the Bellas was in.
Chapter 12: Comfort the Disturbed
"Chapter 12: Comfort the Disturbed"
The first part of the album title from Aroth.
"It was faint blue, checkered with black and pearl white buttons."
Again, I got the exact piece of clothing.
"She stopped at the third one, as it appeared to be missing."
This again is also true.
"The socks were size 9's (...)"
Still true.
"She put on the shoes as well, denim shoes, made of gray jeans material, with white shoelaces."
Currently wearing them actually :)
"The four Trebles now stood in front of a very small cabin a few feet inside the jungle."
The island they are staying on was used by Japan in the second world war but was abandoned after.
Chapter 13: Disturb the Comfortable
"Chapter 13: Disturb the Comfortable"
The second part of the album title from Aroth.
"WE STOPPED BEING A TEAM UNTIL LAST YEAR."
The first mention of what happened to John and the fight that came after.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT INSANITY IS (...)"
Based on the conversation Jason and Vaas had in Far Cry 3.
Chapter 14: Howl
"Chapter 14: Howl"
Chapter title is named after the song by Florence and the Machine.
The words spelled out during the spelling bee refer to the story.
The song cited in the story is Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses.
Chapter 15: Below my Feet
"Chapter 15: Below my Feet"
The chapter is named after the song by Mumford and Sons. Refers to Chloe hiding in the tree.
"Thunder strikes before it starts raining, doesn't it?"
The thunder struck the plane before they landed in hell.
Chapter 16: Everlasting Night
"Chapter 16: Everlasting Night"
The chapter is named after the song by Vocaloid.
Chapter 17: A Mirror Has Two Faces
"Chapter 17: A Mirror Has Two Faces"
One person can have two different personalities, just like a mirror has two sides: one is the real side, the other one is not real. This one is the person's dark and/or unpredictable side.
Consider the following list as the steps of preparing an animal sacrifice.
Cover the animal with flowers.
A hug. Cuddling. Nothing more.
This step refers to the peaceful moment Chloe and Beca had before the crash.
Dip a torch in the water.
Boom. Crash. End of story.
This step refers to the crash itself.
Hide the knife below the grain in the basket.
Why did it happen?
This step refers to the Trebles threatening them with a knife.
Burn hair of the animal.
Crying, screaming, healing and hurting.
Refers to Chloe being raped.
When the animal nods in agreement, slice the throat of the animal and make sure it looks up to the heaven.
This is exactly what happened.
This refers to the part where the Bella's build their home inside the cave (they agree with the situation). Their throat is being sliced is symbolic for all the bad things they went and will go through. They look up to heaven, though, because they are hoping life will get better.
Let the music play. When using pre-recorded music, make sure you've got a spare pair of batteries.
Why does it have to be so difficult?
Stacie and Aubrey dancing in the forest. One of the happy parts of the story. The last part of the sentence refers to that their happiness will end.
Let women scream repeatedly.
Let them find me.
This refers to Lily's death and everyone being upset.
Collect the blood in a suitable basket. Stainless steel is recommended.
Let them find me.
The Bella's are recovering from Lily's death.
Skin the animal.
Let them find me already.
Aubey shooting down Beca when she is on drugs/possessed in chapter 35. "Aubey's old skin popped of her new one and she spread it around her like a cat losing its fur. Or more accurate, like a snake losing its skin and showing off the new one." This is a very important point in the story as it is a turning point. (see "Chapter 35")
Burn the thigh bones for the gods.
Find me, shoot me through the head.
This refers to the fire that burns down the forest in the last chapter of the story.
Pour a little wine on the fire.
Find me, shoot me in the stomach, let me bleed to death.
Make everything just a bit worse by shooting Bumper at the very end of the story.
Eat what is left.
That's exactly why it happened.
This is a nod to the oncoming story "Yesterday", where the Bella's have to cope with (digest; eat) the consequences and remains of what happened.
"On the next page, you see the instructions of sacrificing humans. Take a moment to study the images. Read the question carefully before answering."
The question Chloe needed to handle was "How are you going to deal with what happened?"
"Your answer must include three of the following words: (...)"
Chloe had to answer the earlier noted question with three words, which described how she was going to deal with it. She chose faith, denial, and insanity.
"Your answer may not include more than fifteen hundred words."
A nod that (at that time) the average amount of one chapter is around 1500 words.
The song at the end of the chapter is called Carmen sang by Lana del Ray.
"When you completed the test, leave your sheet at your desk and leave the room in silence, so the other participants can complete the test."
Everyone answers the question about coping in their own way.
"Take all your belongings with you don't leave anything behind."
One cannot influence the way someone copes with something.
Chapter 18: Between Five and Six
"Chapter 18: Between Five and Six"
This chapter takes place in between step 5 and 6 mentioned in the previous chapter.
"When a voice interrupted my thoughts."
I got this idea that Chloe might hear voices in her head in a reaction of what happened to her. (But not necessarily schizophrenic voices)
Chapter 19: The Cave (Song for Someone)
The song used in this chapter is called Song for Someone.
"I can't swim"
Actually, one of the main ideas before I started writing this story.
Chapter 20: Little Flame
Chapter 21: I Hate It When You See Me Cry
"Chapter 21: I Hate It When You See Me Cry"
Song by Halestorm.
"Did you… and Cynthia…?"
Here we finally get to know more about Cynthia and Stacie.
"What's that?"
The Bellas will find a stationary point used in the second world war with supplies.
Chapter 21: Baku-san, come eat my dream
"Chapter 21: Baku-san, come eat my dream"
Baku are Japanese supernatural beings that devour dreams and nightmares. According to legend, they were created by the spare pieces that were left over when the gods finished creating all other animals. Legend has it, that a person who wakes up from a bad dream can call out to baku. A child having a nightmare in Japan will wake up and repeat three times, "Baku-san, come eat my dream." Legends say that the baku will come into the child's room and devour the bad dream, allowing the child to go back to sleep peacefully. However, calling to the baku must be done sparingly, because if he remains hungry after eating one's nightmare, he may also devour their hopes and desires as well, leaving them to live an empty life. The baku can also be summoned for protection from bad dreams prior to falling asleep at night. To this day, it remains common for Japanese children to keep a baku talisman at their bedside.
In this case, not only Chloe is calling out to baku, but also Stacie and Aubrey, so he can eat the nightmare they are living in. But the baku also takes a bite in their hopes and desires, leaving them empty and broken.
"The nightmares, like the one she had the first night on the island, had continued to haunt her, waking her up several times every night."
Reference to what I said before about the chapter title.
"Tapirs!" Chloe whispered as she grabbed Beca's arm."
Of all animals they could encounter, I picked Tapirs because the Japanese word Baku might also refer to the Malayan tapir.
Chapter 22: Friends
"Beca emptied her cup again and tossed it aside."
Beca getting drunk on some party and hooking up with Stacie, actually, creates an image of a very vulnerable Beca. It also explains the relationship Stacie and Beca have with each other.
"So let's decide to talk when we're home, okay? I don't have this figured out yet. But I don't want this to ruin our holiday, so please, let's just act like it didn't happen and talk about it when we're home."
They never really talked this out, so they eventually will in the upcoming story.
Chapter 22: Strangeness and Charm
"Chapter 22: Strangeness and Charm"
Song by Florence and the Machine.
The song used in this chapter is called Moonshine, sung by Oscar and the Wolf.
"I can't take care of her."
Beca here refers to Chloe. She is now taking over the leadership of the Bellas, instead of by the failure during the semi-finals in the movie.
Chapter 25: The Heart Won't Lie
"She threw her body forwards so she fell into the water and stuck her head below the surface, trying to drown out the voices. Laughter. There was laughter everywhere. Her lungs screamed for air but she only put her head deeper in the water, somewhat mumbling the sound in her head. The laughter still continued mocking her. Her lungs were burning. Her mouth was filled with water as her body gasped for air. She choked on it and tried to breathe but there was still water everywhere."
Chloe had killed herself here if Stacie hadn't intervened.
"This is insomnia, she thought. All night your thoughts are on the air. All night long are you thinking, am I asleep? Have I slept? Is this a dream? (...) "I thought you were dead." Beca had said one morning when she opened her eyes. "Yes," she had replied, "me too.""
Based on the book Fight club.
Chapter 26: Honesty
"I'm gonna kill the fucker, I swear to God-"
First mention that Beca will kill Bumper. Beca's furious reaction scares Chloe so much she runs away.
Chapter 27: Loud and Clear
The mention of the senses in the beginning of the chapter references that the things she senses are loud and clear, like the chapter title.
"How could you not have told us about what she was going through?!"
The girls get into another big argument.
Chapter 28: The Second Face
"Chapter 28: The Second Face"
Chloe in this chapter shows her second face, the face on the other side of the mirror, her dark side. She tries to kill herself before she was stopped.
"She looked like Chloe, but she knew for certain that the Chloe standing in front of her wasn't her."
In her dream, Beca meets up with this dark side of Chloe. The person looked like Chloe, but she wasn't it. Her skin is darker, like grayer than Chloe's. Also she doesn't have a belly button, because this dark side is not born with Chloe, it is created through events.
"Twelve (...)"
Refers to the twelve steps this story consists of as mentioned earlier.
Chapter 29: Drill Sergeant
"Chapter 29: Drill Sergeant"
Song by Muse. Also, refers to Aubrey's dad.
Chapter 30: And Bruised her soul
"Chapter 30: And Bruised Her Soul"
"little Alice fel the hOle, bumped her head and bruised her soul" reference to this first sentence in the story.
About this chapter: this is one of my most favorite chapters in this story.
"They knew that this island, the island where so many beautiful things had happened, had more horrors to reveal before they would leave"
Refers to a difference between heaven and hell motif.
Chapter 31: I Do
"If there was a heaven on earth, she was sure it must look like this"
Refers to the difference between heaven and hell motif.
"Her eyes fell on a 6 feet tall bush, covered with pretty chalice-like white flowers."
She found a kind of nightshade.
"There was an odd looking fruit, with a green shell, like a chestnut."
Datura (nightshade) seeds. They contain a high dose of scopolamine, a very dangerous drug.
"You're going to hurt her feelings when this thing blows up in your face."
This promises good things for the upcoming story *wink wink*.
The song sang by the Bellas in this chapter is called You'll never be alone by Anastacia.
Chapter 32: Crash, Crash, Burn
"Chapter 32: Crash, Crash, Burn"
A line of the song Hurricane by 30 seconds to mars.
The hallucination in this chapter is really strange, but not implying anything but the parts I will explain later on.
"She found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well. Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly"
This part of the story came literally from Alice in wonderland and is another reference to the story.
"Somewhere on this forsaken plains, there's a gate. A gate to the place where you want to be."
There's no hell without the hope that it might get better, in my opinion.
"Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n."
One of the devil's lines in Paradise Lost by the 17th century English poet John Milton. The poem is about the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
"I hear her voice in the sounds around me, Aubrey. I see her face in the water when I drink." She cried. "I hear her scream everytime I close my eyes…"
This is the turning point in Stacie's character. She will never be the same.
Chapter 33: Never Let Me Go
"Chapter 33: Never Let Me Go"
Song by Florence and the Machine.
"I'll never let her go, Aubrey. I love her too much."
Chapter title reference.
"Her eye was pierced by a large piece of glass"
Reference to Aubrey's dream, where she had also a shard in her eye.
"Never let me go, Beca."
Chapter title reference.
Chapter 34: Dust To Dust
"Chapter 34: Dust To Dust"
Song by The Civil Wars.
"Beca looked next to her and saw her naked self standing on the same sand as her. But there was something different about this Beca standing in front. She somehow seemed… Darker than she remembered herself, like there was a black glow overshadowing her."
Beca here meets with the darker side of herself, like she had met the Dark Chloe. This version of herself only exists in the Hell inside her head.
"Holy shit, are you serious? I'm you dumbass. Or I'm the you that feeds on your misery."
Because Beca had been so miserable, she is having this hallucination. Her misery is the only reason Dark Beca exists.
"... and at that very moment, Beca felt their bodies melt together and form one."
Dark Beca takes over Beca's body in the real world in her hallucination.
Chapter 35: The Sight of Change is Darkness
"Chapter 35: The Sight of Change is Darkness"
Refers to the turning point in the story. The Bella's are leaving the cave for good and everything will change.
"She's alive…" she stammered as she stared at her head where there must have been a hole caused by a bullet."
As Aubrey shot Dark Beca, the real Beca remains unhurt. The bullet is not to be found, because it's inside Dark Beca.
"'Looking for heaven' was written in black, slightly crooked. 'Found the Devil in me' was written below in a different handwriting, that Aubrey found very familiar but didn't recognize it."
From Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine. Top line is written by Chloe. Bottom line is written by Beca.
"Beca looked at her (Chloe) as if she saw the devil. "Beca… Please…" the devil begged."
Play of perspectives here.
Chapter 36: Heartbeat
"Something happened to a Treble, John."
John was Bumper's brother. I first thought this flashback to be a standalone story, but eventually included this in this one, because I didn't know where I was going with this if this part was standing on his own.
"Her eyes fell on a pair of candles standing on the stand in the hallway, that spread their fiery glow across the walls."
The candles are mentioned here from Chloe's point of view. We, however, don't know if she tipped them over (and if she did, if it was on purpose) as we jump back to Aubrey's point of view.
"She's getting away!"
Not very clear as we make a jump in time, but Joseph and Donald helped her escape.
"This is what darkness felt like. This is what dying feels like."
Reference to chapter 27, where the senses are described explicitly as well.
Chapter 37: A Sound of Thunder
"Chapter 37: A Sound of Thunder"
Chapter is called after my favorite film when I was younger. It's also a reference to the lightning that hits and lights the forest on fire. It's also referring to the first chapter "Crying lightning".
This chapter starts off with hints of conversations held earlier this story.
"Please… talk to us." she tried again.
Aubrey refuses to talk after what happened. This is called selective mutism.
The song mentioned in this chapter is called Stella XIV and is sung by Aafke Romeijn.
"March 9th, 1995"
The date (not the year obviously) is Brittany Snow's birthday.
"October 15th, 2016"
October 15th is my birthday.
"Chloe, the jungle is on fire!"
My initial thought was that someone lit the forest on purpose, but I couldn't make that work on paper.
"That you've become everything you fear about me."
This was actually the main idea of this story. The Bella's are now the ones that are threatening the other group.
"The world had stopped turning"
Reference to the story title, but the opposite.
Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Let me know what your favorite chapter/part was! I'm also open for PM's!
See you in Yesterday!
~April