Direction epilogue notes

The epilogue is short. I originally had Rin and Hisao wake up much later, but that started straining reality, as they would be sleeping for well over twelve hours by that point. Perhaps Rin should’ve come after dinner instead.

This scene where Rin cooks breakfast for Hisao is definitely a favorite of mine. I felt playing on what happened before, where being with Rin was only a brief connection before things got worse, made the payoff of this scene all the sweeter. As for how Rin got into the cupboards, well, she’s nothing if not creative.

In hindsight, I would’ve liked to have Sumi hint at being interested in tabletop games before her offer to Rin, but ultimately, I imagine Rin moving in with Hisao and Misturu going across the hall to live with Sumi, so they would have ample time to work all that out.

It is fitting that Mitsuru gets to make a baseball metaphor joke, given his interests. I think having a character like him—who doesn’t necessarily have a story relevant to ours—allowed for breaks in the dramatic action. We didn’t have to worry about what problem Mitsuru might be dealing with whenever we came across him.

As I said in the notes for chapter four, I began to think I should’ve done more with Adachi, so I expanded her influence in the final scene slightly, to emphasize more her connection with Rin and how Hisao has changed things.

That Rin would paint something that has meaning only to her and Hisao is significant, I think, for it shows that she’s willing to use all available means to communicate, to share experiences with others. It really is part of her transformation, her decision to make herself into the kind of artist she can embrace for herself, so to speak.

I’d known for some time about the relationship between nonlinear dynamics and heart rhythms, so I felt all along that Hisao going into that field would be quite in line with his background, preferences, and interests. It’s the perfect thing for him, and I think his personal connection to the work only makes it better.

I greatly enjoyed writing this piece, having actually finished it properly just after Christmas. I wrote this very quickly, and I’m hoping the methods I used will enable me to get my other projects out faster, too, but I think I’ve also realized there is no substitute for enthusiasm. Again, not that I’m unenthusiastic about my other pieces, but a short, self-contained work like this one allowed me to ride the high of getting into it and to finish before that all burned off. You can do a lot in a shorter piece like this one. I built up this whole world around Toudai, with side characters to give Hisao’s experiences context and meaning. Their story has been told now, and I’m glad to have met them—but also to say that their trials are over, as they should be in any story.

Until next time.