Summary of my replies to reviews for "Return to Romance" Chapter 28
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it and it was so encouraging to hear from people!
Kaiba’s entrance: I was thinking of Kaiba’s entrance in the Grand Prix as well as his penchant for hanging from helicopters - and in Yu-Gi-Oh! R there’s a frame where he’s standing on top of his BEWD plane. So I really wanted to have some fun thinking of what over-the-top, ridiculous way Kaiba would come up with to open his tournament.
And, like Kaiba, I couldn’t resist the lure of holographic dragons.
Tag-team Duel: I love the way the way the duels reflect the emotions and themes of the story and how cards played and the conclusions the characters draw from them is an integral part. And the way the gang stands on the side like some kind of Greek (or to Kaiba, geek) chorus really cracks me up. I wanted to try to duplicate all of that here.
I was trying to duplicate Kaiba and Yami’s relationship through the duel - both the problems and its strengths. I think Yami does think in terms of protecting people, but I really wanted this to be about trust - and that includes Yami trusting Kaiba to make the right decisions and to be able to grow. This is something that Yami does in the series - he often will state his opinion but then give Kaiba the space to consider it.
And since I wanted the duel to be about their relationship, I wanted it to feel intimate, a bit flirty… and at times, snarky, of course!
Spectators: I often wonder what the spectators make over all the really personal things the characters *cough*Kaiba*cough shout through their duels!
Yami reclaiming the name, “Atem” I wanted Yami’s rejection of his ancient name to be something he did out of bitterness because he’d felt that he’d been cheated out of destiny. And I think at the moment he was too angry and hurt to realize that he was also trashing Anzu’s efforts to help. But now that he has come to accept living in this world, and has recovered his balance, I think he would be more likely to realize that he had made a mistake and also to understand that he had hurt Anzu.
Prideshipping: One thing that I love about their dynamic in canon is that it’s such a complex mixture of anger and rivalry and frustration and concern and a fragile friendship and trust. I couldn’t resist throwing a little romance into the mix, but I wanted to keep that layered feel.
After the duel: Kaiba and Yami have taken an enormous step forward, but it’s one thing to come to and acknowledge a realization, another to live it on a daily basis. Having met one challenge doesn’t end the game.
Pegasus and nicknames: I spend (possibly too much) time trying to include little details in the characters’ actions, like what nickname Pegasus would come up with for Yami, because I think details help make the story feel more real and make it more solid, if that makes sense. And I could see Pegasus, in the middle of this heavy conversation getting distracted by needing to find the perfect patronizing nickname to piss Yami off!
Yami and Mokuba: In the manga, Yami doesn’t exactly pull any punches in their first two penalty games and at Duelists Kingdom, while sympathetic to Mokuba and pledging to help, he also doesn’t sugarcoat things. Mokuba is a pretty tough kid and I think Yami respects that (not to mention, it’s hard to think of Yami coddling anyone!)
The link to Chapter 29 at FFNet is here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11040748/29/Return-to-Romance
The link to Chapter 28 at AO3 is here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3341984/chapters/23174232
This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html There are
comments on the original post.
Kaiba’s entrance: I was thinking of Kaiba’s entrance in the Grand Prix as well as his penchant for hanging from helicopters - and in Yu-Gi-Oh! R there’s a frame where he’s standing on top of his BEWD plane. So I really wanted to have some fun thinking of what over-the-top, ridiculous way Kaiba would come up with to open his tournament.
And, like Kaiba, I couldn’t resist the lure of holographic dragons.
Tag-team Duel: I love the way the way the duels reflect the emotions and themes of the story and how cards played and the conclusions the characters draw from them is an integral part. And the way the gang stands on the side like some kind of Greek (or to Kaiba, geek) chorus really cracks me up. I wanted to try to duplicate all of that here.
I was trying to duplicate Kaiba and Yami’s relationship through the duel - both the problems and its strengths. I think Yami does think in terms of protecting people, but I really wanted this to be about trust - and that includes Yami trusting Kaiba to make the right decisions and to be able to grow. This is something that Yami does in the series - he often will state his opinion but then give Kaiba the space to consider it.
And since I wanted the duel to be about their relationship, I wanted it to feel intimate, a bit flirty… and at times, snarky, of course!
Spectators: I often wonder what the spectators make over all the really personal things the characters *cough*Kaiba*cough shout through their duels!
Yami reclaiming the name, “Atem” I wanted Yami’s rejection of his ancient name to be something he did out of bitterness because he’d felt that he’d been cheated out of destiny. And I think at the moment he was too angry and hurt to realize that he was also trashing Anzu’s efforts to help. But now that he has come to accept living in this world, and has recovered his balance, I think he would be more likely to realize that he had made a mistake and also to understand that he had hurt Anzu.
Prideshipping: One thing that I love about their dynamic in canon is that it’s such a complex mixture of anger and rivalry and frustration and concern and a fragile friendship and trust. I couldn’t resist throwing a little romance into the mix, but I wanted to keep that layered feel.
After the duel: Kaiba and Yami have taken an enormous step forward, but it’s one thing to come to and acknowledge a realization, another to live it on a daily basis. Having met one challenge doesn’t end the game.
Pegasus and nicknames: I spend (possibly too much) time trying to include little details in the characters’ actions, like what nickname Pegasus would come up with for Yami, because I think details help make the story feel more real and make it more solid, if that makes sense. And I could see Pegasus, in the middle of this heavy conversation getting distracted by needing to find the perfect patronizing nickname to piss Yami off!
Yami and Mokuba: In the manga, Yami doesn’t exactly pull any punches in their first two penalty games and at Duelists Kingdom, while sympathetic to Mokuba and pledging to help, he also doesn’t sugarcoat things. Mokuba is a pretty tough kid and I think Yami respects that (not to mention, it’s hard to think of Yami coddling anyone!)
The link to Chapter 29 at FFNet is here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11040748/29/Return-to-Romance
The link to Chapter 28 at AO3 is here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3341984/chapters/23174232
This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html There are
comments on the original post.