Round 16: Startleshipping Mazaki Anzu x Bandit Keith
This is a blog about the YuGiOh! Fanfiction Contest run on ffnet by the godmotherly Ryou_VeRua. You can sign up for its friendly, short and summery Season 8.5 here.
I didn't know what to expect. I don't think any other reader knew what to expect either from Higuchimon, My Misguided Fairytale and Higurazel. They managed to make us smile, grin and sometimes pout with their completely different, refreshing pieces on the surprisingly plausible Anzu x Keith duo.
Keith licked the outside of her ear and she kicked forward, meeting only air. He chuckled. "You're kinda tough, little girl. I like that."
Anzu wasn't certain what kept her stomach from unloading itself on the floor. Perhaps it was just the fact that none of it would've hit Keith.
That clever economy of words has become Higuchimon's trademark for me. Anzu lovers and snark amateurs will rejoice at the girl's rich inner dialogue: it's like Kaiba's contempt was distilled and served on a silver platter with a side of well seasonned first-wave feminism outrage. This fic reads like a stern warning to all the Anzu-bashers out there, a reminder that the leader of the friendship squad does more than wet her panties at Yami's sight and deliver friendship speeches. She can also fight, and unidimensionnal villains are her target of choice.
Dangers of the Dance caught me having one of those "why on Earth did I skip the disclaimers I wasn't mentally prepared for this" moments, and I love the author all the more for it. An efficient piece to shake the most jaded readers off their lethargic state.
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"Well, it always leaves me guessing. I mean, the fact that you never let me pay for anything means you're alright for money, yet you never tell me where it is you work. Plus it's only since we met that you started... y'know, looking after yourself..." She trailed off.
"Cogs in motion?" He asked.
"I'm thinking you're either a drug dealer, a gigolo or Batman." She stated, her voice low. Keith laughed loud enough to get stared at by a few of the diner's other customers.
This might be the closest that Higurazel's ever written to romance. It's rough around the edges. It's elliptical at its best. It has this dirty feeling but manages to remain classy, gentlemanly at all times. I'm talking about the fic of course, but Keith is indeed a much nicer guy in Click Numer Five than he is the previous entry. The usual gore and grit actually serves the fic rather than the other way around. The ending is deliciously Darren Aronofskiesque. The piece feels solid, whole, tightknit. I'm going to call it a 'full blown understated romance' and thank Higurazel for it.
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Keith separates the pasta onto two separate plates, wondering the whole time why he's even doing it in the first place. He can't remember the last time he's used a real plate-real plates mean he has to wash them-but he does, and sets it on the small table. For good measure, he adds a fork, and a spoon, and before that a knife joins it, all set out in the proper plating arrangement.
My Misguided Fairytale cooked up something akin to a peaceful still life this time. Closer to real life, to these little everyday details that make even extraordinary destinies ordinary. The tales of a pro children's card game slash gambler and that of an expatriate Japanese ballet student on a scholarship never felt so relatable and realistic.
Cause and Affection, a heavily researched tale of dance, budding romance and mythology, does not disappoint. It is sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, sometimes delirious. Anzu, like a minor, indie Oracle, seeks thrills and wrestles homesickness. Keith is a good sport about not being the big shot he once was or could have been. And Yuugi... well, misses his best female friend, crush or girlfriend - it is up to the reader to choose.
In the spirit of establishing a fun tradition here in this blog, a hint on the Season 8 Finale Pairing, courtesy of our hostess Ryou VeRua: it's a 100% human pairing, in contrast to Season 7's finale previously unnamed, DuelMonster-only Kashipping (BEWD x Diabound).