![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
northwind_gale) wrote2009-10-12 11:14 pm
Martyrverse fic part five
What? You thought I was done? Bah. Seeing Icey's fic made me want to keep writing. So there. :P
This is a fic that won't be on FFNet for some time, seeing as I'm debating how far I want to take the series, and if I take it farther, this part would be MASSIVE SPOILERS. So you LJ-ers get a special treat!. :3
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Characters: Yuusei, Godwin, some Ushio, and...Ccpac Apu and the Crimson Dragon? Bwuh?
Genre: Friendship/Angst
Rating: T
Warnings: Martyr!verse. So you get all that is angsty. :D :D :D :D
Summary: He was so weak to wish to come back...and now he had to pay the price. Martyr!verse. Oneshot. Companionfic to Icey's fic.
And Yet Change Continues to Occur...
Yuusei felt like he was falling. Everything around him was black. His hand was stretched to its utmost limit, straining to reach back to the world of light, where everyone was.
Where Kiryuu was.
His eyes darted about in a panic. This sudden loss of control, this nothing, this endless falling, not knowing what would happen if he hit bottom-or even if he hit bottom-it was all frightening, all overwhelming. He thought he had been prepared to die...had been prepared for this. But that last doubt, that seed of doubt that had never really been eradicated, had only festered unnoticed until it was too late-that fear that Kiryuu had never changed, would never change, that all he had done had been for nothing-that fear that his life had been nothing; it had sprouted, its roots deeply embedded into him. Now, he was scared, he was scared...
...he didn't want to die...not like this...
It was at that thought that everything seemed to freeze. Everything was still black, still nothing...but it didn't feel like he was falling, anymore. Now he was...floating...
You don't want to die, do you...?
Yuusei froze. He knew that voice. That voice. The one that had caused his mind to whirl in confusion at the very last moment, had dragged him, here...
I know why that is.
Yuusei tried to speak, to put some force into his voice. However, it came out as a weak crackle, one that was far unlike the stoic mask he had developed. He cursed himself for the weakness.
"What...what do you want?"
I...? Nothing. I am merely an observer of death...and you have taken my interest, little wayward soul.
Yuusei growled internally. He didn't want to have anything to do with that voice, that...thing, that had caused him such unrest. It had made him doubt his brother...doubt Kiryuu...
I did nothing of the sort. I merely showed you what already existed inside your heart...
"Liar!"
I do not lie. Lying is pointless when you merely observe the happenings of the souls that cross over.
Yuusei had no response to that.
Your soul caught my interest when it began to cross over…and then stopped. It never crossed over completely, not even now, nearly three years later. It was an unusual phenomenon. Most human souls don’t last longer than six months. By that time, they’d either have completely crossed over or returned to the world of the living…
You cannot blame me for being curious about this anomaly, can you?
Yuusei said nothing. He still was wary…but he had no grounds to accuse the voice.
So, I took a closer look at you, little wayward soul. And, ah! What an interesting anomaly you were! A soul that refused to acknowledge its own true self, ignoring its true self for the sake of the greater good! How…selfless of you, little soul.
Yuusei bristled.
“What are you-I don’t…I’m not ignoring-“
Ah, but you are, little wayward one. Ignoring the resentment you feel against that so-called friend of yours…Kiryuu, I believe his name was?
“You-! Leave Kiryuu out of this!”
I will not. That is an impossibility in itself. How, indeed, can he be left out when he plays such a vital role in your current dilemma?
“Di…dilemma? What are you-“
Ah, how tragic, little soul! You cannot cross over in this state. Not when your soul is so conflicted. You will be restricted to wandering this vertigo forever, never being able to rest…
Yuusei remained silent. So he would be falling like this…forever…? In this state of…nothing?
The solution is simple. You must eradicate this resentment, this hatred inside you.
But…hadn’t he done that? Hadn’t he quelled himself of his own doubts? It was this voice that had brought them up, had created them, he was sure..
I did not create them, as I said. I only am an observer. And I observe that you, little lost one, must accept this hatred if you wish to continue…you must accept it as who you are, accept your true self, and then seek to quell yourself.
Accept…?
“No-I…I’m not…”
You are. You must calm your hatred by fulfilling its need, its hunger. Your resentment against this Kiryuu for bringing you here, your doubt that he hasn’t learned a single thing, that he has made your sacrifice worthless…that your existence will have been nothing…you must release that on him and make him understand. Your hatred, your desire to inflict all that he has caused to you, to make him suffer until he understands…that is what you must do.
Yuusei’s eyes widened. No…he couldn’t do that…he…
“No! Even if I-if I keep wandering forever I…I won’t-!”
Do not deny yourself, child. Do you truly wish to wander eternally, never being able to go to neither the world you know nor the afterlife you know nothing of? To never see the known or unknown, neither alive nor dead?
Yuusei shook visibly. No, he didn’t want…but he’d find his way. He had to…he couldn’t take his revenge on Kiryuu...not after…
“You know what awaits me in the afterlife, then?”
I do not. I merely observe the goings-on in between the two. I have no knowledge of Death, nor do I wish to.
Yuusei narrowed his eyes.
“I…I…I can’t…”
If you worry about not being able to act on your desires, the solution to that is simple. I can lend you my power. Using it, you can cross back into the world you once walked…
Yuusei wanted to step backwards, but couldn’t. There was nothing holding him down…so why didn’t he move…? Did he…did he really want to…
“Why…why are you helping me? You said you were only an observer!”
This is an anomaly that must be corrected. It is an imbalance. Having wandering souls is unnatural and beneficial to neither the environment nor the soul itself. As interesting as it is to observe such a phenomenon, I must resign myself to the fact that it is something that should be remedied…
“I…I…”
You want this. Do not deny this gift.
Yuusei tried to come up with reasons to refuse. But why, why did nothing but memories of the past surface? Why did he remember nothing but what happened to him in the prisons? Why, when he tried to remember the times of Team Satisfaction, when they had been all together, as brothers, that he came up with blank stretches of memory and a bitter aftertaste, as if the thought had made bile rise up into his mouth?
“Who…who are you…?”
I…? I am the one who will help you.
Yuusei’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw that eye; the one that haunted his dreams, the black eye with a ghastly blue rim, suddenly open before him. A large hand nearly as black as the nothingness reached for him.
I am Ccapac Apu. And you…? You are mine.
He closed his eyes, shaking, rooted to the spot by his own unwillingness to move.
No.
The hand stopped, then retreated. Yuusei opened his eyes by a crack, and saw a flare of crimson red and gold, the colors nearly blinding in the darkness.
Crimson Dragon…
Yuusei turned his head.
Crimson Dragon certainly seemed like a correct name for what was in front of him. The body was nothing but a flurry of red and gold flames, curled into a long, sinuous body that was poised for attack.
“What…?”
Do not let yourself be swayed by his deceitful words, child. You have a strong will.
Yuusei only watched blearily. He had been subjected to so much doubt…how could he trust these two creatures before him if he couldn’t even trust himself? He didn’t know…
I would not have come to you if I did not sense the will to protect in you. You, going so far to keep those you care for safe…that, indeed, puts you above petty revenge.
…did he really have that will? He wanted to believe so…he wanted to believe that so much. He knew he had done what he done to protect Kiryuu, but…did he want that now? Or was saying that he wanted that, even now, was a lie…all a lie…? Was that will to protect really there…?
…he didn’t know anymore…
He looked at the Crimson Dragon, trying to discern if the thing really was telling the truth.
“Do…do I really hate him?”
The dragon was silent for what seemed like an eternity.
That is irrelevant. What matters is that you have the will to protect.
Yuusei felt hurt. What did it mean by “irrelevant”? It meant everything…
“I…I don’t…know…”
Simply say what…
…you truly desire.
Say it, and it will become true.
What did he want? He didn’t know…he didn’t know. Did he want to stay here? Did he want to die? Did he want to protect Kiryuu? Did he want to kill him?
“I…I…”
Kiryuu. He needed to know about Kiryuu. Did he…did he make that promise? Was he keeping it? He had never heard the answer…he needed to know the answer. Knowing that would make things clear.
What is it that you want?
I…I…I want…
…what he wanted…
“I…I want to go back!”
~*~*~
Yuusei sat up, a hoarse scream dying on his lips. The surface under him was cold-metal? A white sheet lay on his lap, having fallen off his face as he lifted himself up. It was huge-huge enough to cover his whole body, and then some (which was a good thing-he seemed to have been stripped down to absolutely nothing).
Looking around, he saw he was in a darkened room. There was enough light to see steel stretchers, all with something lying on them, covered in a white sheet. Looking closer-those figures were still, immobile bodies.
Yuusei had woken up inside the prison’s morgue.
It took him several moments to catch his breath-but oddly enough, even though he went through the motions of breathing-it seemed to serve more of a purpose to steady him, not to give him air. The air itself didn’t seem to affect him at all…
What was happening…?
He slowly went through the situation in his mind. He had died, yes. Finding himself in the morgue was evidence of that. And he had…come back, somehow?
At that thought, a multicolored glow seemed to light up around him. A soft red and a violent purple filled his vision, nearly overwhelming him. Looking down, he saw that the source of light was his arms, the left arm bearing a red mark that was angularly shaped, the right bearing a purple mark shaped almost like a man.
His eyes widened.
Ccapac Apu and the Crimson Dragon…they did this…?
He looked up, not wanting to see those marks again, as if by not looking they would stop being real…the light seemed to die out in response..
Yuusei almost screamed again. It was only what little self control he had left that kept him from crying out at the reflection he saw in the metal cabinet a ways in front of him.
His marker had turned red. And his right eye…was it black just then? It seemed to have been…but then it was like the black had just bled itself out of his sclera, leaving the normal shade of white.
“Halt! Who’s there?!”
The door to the morgue had slammed open, an officer holding a flashlight straight in Yuusei’s direction. The very next second, the same flashlight dropped to the floor-the holder had dropped it in pure shock.
“Y…Yuusei…”
“A…aaa…it’s me, Ushio…” Yuusei himself looked as frightened as Ushio did. That in itself seemed to convince him that it was indeed Yuusei who was before him and not some impostor playing a cruel trick(that and the morgue was locked down tightly. Only those with clearance could get in).
“What…what’s happening…?”
“I…I don’t know…” Yuusei looked down to his arms, his hand brushing over the mark left by Ccapac Apu. “But…it doesn’t feel…right…”
Ushio could only look helplessly. If the person who had been apparently resurrected from the dead didn’t even know what was happening, then who would…? His communicator rung and Ushio answered halfheartedly, not wanting to be distracted.
“Oi, Ushio! You know about the disturbance in your sector? The morgue, right?”
“Yes!” Ushio exclaimed. “I’m investigating, and-“
“Well, stop it. We’ve got orders from up top not to look into it.”
“What-?! Not to look into something like this-what-“
“Apparently it’s something big enough that the Director himself is investigating. Might be international secret material we have on our hands here.”
“I’ll say…” Ushio muttered. If dead people coming back to life hours after they had been declared deceased weren’t a national secret, he didn’t know what was.
“So, don’t look into it, alright? You could get your ass fired if you do.” The transmission was cut off, and Ushio looked at Yuusei. True to character, he seemed to have caught every word.
“You should go.” He looked steady enough-seemed to be bolstering himself for the meeting, at least. It was comforting, at the very least, to see Yuusei try to act strong, as he always did.
“Yeah. I don’t like this, though. Don’t trust what Godwin says.”
“I won’t have any trouble doing that.” Of course he wouldn’t. He had doubted too much to suddenly trust again…
Ushio smirked back, unaware of the conflict Yuusei hid from him.
“Good. Oh, and by the way, I met Martha.”
“You did, did you…?”
~*~*~
Yuusei glared stonily at the man before him.
So this man was the Director. He had seen him occasionally, when the man came to give lectures to those in the “Re-education Program” that was intended for those who had tried to sneak into Neo Domino. Yuusei had never actually been in one of those lectures, being one of those that was sentenced to life imprisonment and execution, but he had heard from some of the other inmates that the man was one who had his way with words.
That was certainly a truth. There was an ambiguity in his manner that unnerved the young man. Yuusei had the feeling that he wasn’t being told everything.
However, what he was told fit startlingly with what he had experienced. The myth about the Crimson Dragon and the Earthbound Gods, the marks that their chosen wore, the war that was soon to come…it all seemed to fit.
Yuusei, according to Godwin, was an anomaly, an unusual and unexpected occurrence. He was an abnormality. No person could be marked as both for long-the war would destroy their body and mind from the inside out. He had to pick one or the other to bond to-there was no other choice.
“So, what will your choice be…?”
Yuusei kept silent. His position was a vital one in the war, one that could give either side an advantage. However, this war…it hadn’t started yet, if he had deduced things correctly. Neither groups on either side had banded together yet, the sides weren’t clearly defined. Godwin had no information on the Dark Signers at all, only that there was at least one of them in existence by this point-the one that had split the city. If…if Dark Signers had that power, then…
Yuusei clenched his arm. He couldn’t become another one of those (despite another part of him that crooned at the idea of that power, the ability to grind those he wanted into the ground), but…if he tried to choose one over the other, the war would begin. He was sure of it.
Godwin had said that he knew the locations of the all the Signers-Yuusei was one himself (along with being a Dark Signer), Jack was another (he had been devastated to learn from Crow that Jack had left behind everyone after the incident and fled to the city soon afterwards-apparently Godwin had lured him there under the premise of power), and two other girls residing in the city. There was a fifth that Godwin refused to name, saying simply that he would come when the time was needed.
It was safe to assume there were more Dark Signers out there-if near all the Signers were in the world, it didn’t matter whether they were together or not-the Dark Signers would probably match them in numbers. If he was the trigger…he didn’t want to lead to a war that the Signers were unprepared to fight.
Choosing one side over the other was simply not an option for him. It felt like two beings of equal strength were constantly struggling inside him, each trying to overpower the other, but failing. One action, one thing to set the balance off-kilter, and everything would be left out of control; unable to stop…Yuusei didn’t want that. That would put everything into needless danger.
“I won’t ally myself with you, Godwin.”
Godwin’s expression seemed to harden.
“So you ally yourself with the Dark Signers then? Even after all I have told you?”
“No. I said I won’t ally myself with you. I’m taking no side in this.”
Godwin seemed surprised, almost unsettled. It gave Yuusei no small amount of satisfaction to see the stoic man unbalanced like this.
“I have already told you that this was impossible for you.”
It was supposed to be impossible for me to remain in limbo. That was a lie, wasn’t it? What’s to say that you aren’t lying to me, too?
“I don’t care. I’ll make it possible. My existence is a timed bomb because of this. If that’s the case, I’ll be sure to blow up at a time and place that will cause the least amount of damage.”
“And that would be…?”
“When the Signers are prepared to stop me. When the other Dark Signers are defeated. At least this way, they can all face me down, hopefully.”
Godwin seemed incredulous.
“So you are saying you will not aid the Signers?”
“I won’t be a hindrance to them. That’s the most I can do without putting them in danger.”
Godwin gave him an indiscernible look before looking away.
“If that is your decision, I cannot stop you. However, like you said, you are a ticking time bomb. It is only a matter of time before your self control snaps. One cannot walk such a fine line forever. You must be monitored.”
Yuusei’s expression gave away nothing.
“Why would I let you monitor me, keep myself under your control? I can’t trust you.”
“Have I given you a reason to distrust me?”
Not telling me everything, for one.
“I can’t trust anyone.” I can’t even trust myself. Not anymore.
Godwin seemed to understand. His expression seemed to contort, before relaxing. It was if he was preparing to do something he didn’t want.
“I will promise you something in exchange. Anything you wish, I will do my utmost power to grant. As you know, I have the power to do much.”
Yuusei was silent, giving him a skeptical look. It was unclear what his answer would be-or even if he would refuse to submit to the terms and call an end to the discussion then and there. As much as Godwin hated to admit it, he was forced to resort giving the power to this child in this discussion. It was in his power to accept or refuse the terms.
“…Build the bridge.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You said Satellite was isolated because the Dark Signers are making their base there. When this war is over, there’s no reason not to connect the two cities. Build the bridge afterwards.”
Yuusei was surprised when Godwin almost seemed to smile at that.
“Fine then. The deal is made.”
“Your word?”
“You have it.”
~*~*~
Yuusei felt tears sting his eyes as the knife cut into his wrist. The blood, a darker shade than normal from being deprived of oxygen for so long, flowed into the bucket set between his legs. No, there was no pain in the process, none at all. He couldn’t feel it.
A scan of his body had shown results that had shocked the group before them. His body’s organs were non-functional (save for the lungs, vocal cords, ears, and eyes)-as expected of someone who was dead. However, all the internal viscera of his body were perfectly preserved. Not one bit had been subjected to the normal stages of bloating or decay that was common for his time of death-nearly a day and a half prior. Godwin reasoned that the power of the gods had been keeping his body as well as they could, needing him for their vessel of power.
However, there was a catch. Yuusei hadn’t actually accepted either of the god’s power. Neither of the god could forcibly induce their complete control of him because the other’s power stopped them from proceeding any further. Unless Yuusei chose one over the other, their resurrection would be incomplete.
As it was, his body was only preserved partially-his internal organs, his muscles, and minimal sensation were all fine. But his outer body, his skin, was still susceptible to decay (and he had, in fact, started to smell a little).
The only solution that anyone could come up with was to embalm him, make him into, literally, a living mummy. To begin that, he had to drain his body of all the internal fluids, no matter how well they were preserved. There were more modern methods of doing this, but Yuusei needed time to himself.
He stared at the bucket as the dark glutinous liquid as it spattered the bottom of the bucket, let the tears fall as they mixed with the blood.
This was the last time he could show emotion. After this, if he showed any inclination, any hatred, any joy…it would set his delicate balance off-kilter. He had to steady himself to walk the fine line that lay before him. So, he prepared to drain himself of any and all emotion, to keep feeling until he couldn’t feel any more, until he had exhausted himself from feeling too much emotion.
Yuusei was still crying long after the tears had stopped falling.
~*~*~
“Are all preparations complete for departure?”
“Aaa, Mikage. There is no need to worry. I’ve accompanied Godwin on enough of these Re-education sessions at the facility to know what is required.”
“Director, Tail-san. Why don’t you ever address him by his title like the rest of us? You’re just as bad as Atlas-sama…”
“Tail” was silent, opting instead to look out the large window situated next to them. Mikage sighed in frustration and left.
The new personal attendant of the Director had frustrated many of the employees with his blunt ways, having no respect for any sort of rank or prestige, instead addressing all employees equally. He was a virtual unknown, how he had gotten to a lofty position was a mystery to all but the Director and a few others.
No one knew what Tail looked like. It was unnerving to meet with him-he was dressed like some occult cultist. His whole body was obscured with some sort of black cloak and hood, and whatever was visible was covered in bandages. When someone managed to discover that his eyes were covered with a black bandanna, it became a flurry of conversation. Was he blind? Or was he hiding something?
Rumors abounded about him. Some speculated that he was a robot programmed for such purposes, due to his unemotional nature and odd voice. Others thought that he had somehow manipulated the Director into hiring him, had bribed him or threatened him; and was now using his resources for his own use.
That second rumor had some truth to it.
Tail had been working for nearly six months now, and throughout that time, his silent and steady presence had woven its way into the information network. Though few knew it, Tail was silently watching Satellite-more specifically, certain Satellite residents. He had a well-placed network that managed to give him information on various residents of his own choosing-and to even lessen some of the overly harsh punishments bestowed on several of them.
Tail was currently meeting up with one of his correspondents, an officer that monitored the goings-on in Satellite coming in under the guise of giving a report.
“A theft, Ushio?”
“Yeah. Little kid, barely thirteen. He stole something high maintenance, too. A fresh D-Wheel chip straight off the factory belt. And since he was already marked for a previous felony, it was easy to track him. Number AWX-86007.”
“Was he caught?”
“Nah. Signal got screwed over. Some cheeky bastard in a D-Wheel managed to lure us away. Dueled me on the condition that if he won, I’d leave ‘em alone.”
“And you lost.”
“Hate to admit it. Kept my word, too. Duelist’s honor and all that.”
Tail appeared to shake his head, then thought better of himself and straightened out.
“I shouldn’t be surprised at that, Ushio.”
“Of course you shouldn’t. You taught me that, Yuusei.”
Tail seemed to stiffen, casting unnecessary wary glances around the empty room. He then fixated Ushio with a steady glare-which should have been impossible given that his eyes were covered with a dual layer of bandages and cloth, but the sheer intensity of it was enough to freeze Ushio on the spot.
“Don’t call me that, Officer. We’ve gone over this. Fudou Yuusei is dead.”
“He shouldn’t be.”
The two gave each other steady glares, a glance that lasted only a brief second (but seemed so eternally long), before Tail turned away, towards the window.
“Who was the perpetrator on the D-Wheel that aided escape?”
Ushio looked as if he wanted to continue arguing his point further, but seemed to be unusually subdued by that question.
“…It was him, sir.”
This seemed to unbalance Tail’s stoic demeanor enough to make him whirl around to face Ushio again, his cloak tails flying.
“...what?”
Ushio only nodded.
“If you’ll allow me to take my leave, I need to prepare for my next duel with him.”
“Actively seeking him out, officer? Careful, that could cost you your career.”
“I won’t seek him out unless he causes trouble. But I want to fight him again. I need to know if he really has changed the way he says he has.”
Tail only gave a brief nod.
“You are dismissed.”
After Ushio had gone, Tail turned to the window again. He did this often, simply staring out the window. No one had caught on that he was actually staring out at Satellite-no one that didn’t know him, that is.
So many things had changed, himself most of all.
The bandages were only there to help preserve the embalming that had been done, but he still had to re-apply the chemicals used after a set point, injecting himself with some and rubbing others on his skin like lotion. The bandanna covering his eyes was useless considering that the bandages already did their job in covering them-but it was symbolic to him. The bandages were blinding him by necessity. By putting the bandanna on, it felt more like he was choosing to blind himself. He knew it was a poor way of deluding himself, but he needed some way to keep himself sane…putting as much of the situation as he could under his own control was his only way of coping.
He had limited ways to interact with the world around him. He had hearing and touch, yes, but those were muted to a point because of his limited resurrection. Tail had forced himself to memorize every twist and turn of the building over the course of six months (and he still found himself bumping into walls at times). He had to wait for someone to address him so that he could turn to them.
His voice had grown-if it was even possible-softer and more hoarse over time. Soon, it was near impossible to hear him, and he was given a headset to speak into to help magnify his voice (it also had the added benefit of altering it somewhat, which fueled the rumors about him). Even then, he didn't talk unless someone addressed him.
He couldn’t feel emotion, had to repress his reactions, his emotions in an effort to not trigger hatred or joy. He had to keep himself balanced. He wasn’t human any more, at least, not in terms of emotional ability.
Hell, he wasn’t even alive any more. Fudo Yuusei and the memories that came with him died that day, leaked out with the blood and tears in the bucket, or so he told himself. He couldn’t look at the past. To look in the past would dredge up old memories of despair and hatred. He couldn’t look to the future, either. To look to the future would bring up fear of what could happen, of what danger would befall those he could no longer care for.
Tail was a man of the present, and only the present. He couldn’t act. He couldn’t run.
He could only watch. And watch he did.
~*~FIN~*~
afasfasfdsafdasfdsfsdffff fourteen fucking pages on Word. I went overboard. :D
EDIT: forgot a teeny part. As if it wasn't large enough asdffsfsdfdfkkk.
no subject
I'll be back to fap over it properly later, gotta get to class D:
no subject
See you after class. :D Good luck!
no subject
He's gonna smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell.
no subject
I was eating, dammit
no subject
I... I think I love you. haha DAMN that was good. And here I thought you were going to just turn Yusei into a Dark Signer. The... the combination of him taking on both marks, and ALMOST but not quite walking the path that Godwin tried... and with the code name, covered face, and trying to eradicate emotions from his being, it's almost like he's slowly turning into Zone. The physical decay was a nice touch too. The blood-draining scene was heartwrenching. It was both nauseating to read about the texture of the blood, and tragic how the action was symbolic of what Yusei was doing to himself emotionally.
"Yuusei was still crying long after the tears had stopped falling."
Oh man. Never stop breaking my heart, ok? Because you do it so well. I liked Godwin's chessire cat grin at Yusei's demand that he build the bridge between Satellite and Neo Domino City if this all goes well. Knowing that Godwin was the man who originally tried to build the Daedalus Bridge adds a nice bit of... "Why yes, thank you for twisting my arm here o ho ho" and "Making selfless demands to improve other people's lives, how unexpectedly expected of you Fudo Yusei." It is late. My eloquence is failing. But really, fantastic chapter. I'm glad you linked this to me, because this went WAY beyond what I was expecting, in all the best ways. <3
no subject
Here's the problem I saw with simply reversing the roles-I had to take Yuusei's difference in personality into account, so it took a while to figure out how he would fall to the dark side, if ever. Also I wrote this before the character of Z-ONE was introduced, so the similarities didn't occur to me until now, but now that they're there, it makes me go fffffffffffffffffffff dammit that is true.
Either way, I'm glad I met/surpassed any expectations you had about this fic haaaaah. lD
no subject
I was thinking of the difference in personalities too, but you had taken him so close to the edge already, I was SURE you were going to make him fall. The fact that you didn't... and let Yusei keep that essential part of him that always puts others before his own well being... it was lovely. I'm sure you could have written him as a Dark Signer too, but the way you had done it is so much more poetic.
That's hilarious that you wrote this before Zone was introduced. It all fit so well, I was sure it was intentional. haha I never could decide whether I was sad or not that Zone WASN'T actually Yusei. I felt the potential for that level of despair was always in him, and it would have been interesting to explore how he would deal with it. (Also, seeing Yusei duel the remnants of his own deck would have been badass. I cannot lie.)
btw. I have a question. Which Signer mark did Yusei get in your fic anyway? Is it still the mask/tail he started off with in the series? The dragon-head? Or something else entirely?
no subject
Yep, I didn't just want it to be a carbon copy of the plot with everything reversed, since what happens is so character driven.
Well, I've already written my share of Z-ONE-is-Yuusei fic, so I admit it's a fun idea to play with. But we all know the story would have ended the same anyway sob ;-;
It's the Tail, which, well is the "hidden" reason for his codename. The one that everyone associates with his meaning is the fact that he always tails behind Godwin like a shadow.
no subject
And yeah, the story really would have ended the same. It's tragic.
no subject
Although, I believe AxJFan also has a brilliant Z-ONE is Yuusei story on her profile as well, you should take a look at that too for a potential way as to how it might be different. 8D
showering with you with tons of recs today yes yes 83no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject