![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteWelcome to the latest installment of review replies for "What Doesn't Kill You." I'm thrilled that so many people are still interested in the fic and letting me know what they think! As per usual, I select which reviews I'll reply to here. If I get any future reviews for this chapter, I may add them at a later date. If your review is not here, I may have missed it, or I simply may have deemed it unsubstantial enough to include here. Sorry! I will include the actual reviews (unedited) in here, just so everyone has a frame of context...
You might uncover some secret gems about the story and its eventual sequel in here, so I highly recommend you read!
Keep in mind that I do not edit the reviews that I choose to post-- that includes most spelling, grammar, emoticons, and the like. I post everything here that I find "reply-able" even if it's a flame, a death-threat, a love note, or something inbetween.
Blue Rhapsody3 -- OMG!...ur evil...plain pue evil...lmao!! I didnt see that last part coming at all. Update again when you can! Time for me 2 hit the sack...its 1:50 in the morning...haha! ^_^Ja ne!
I had the "accident" scene written before the bulk of the chapter. I already knew I wanted to drag Konami back in- and cause more tension between Seto and Téa. How their relationship is strengthened and weakened by Seto's "accident" becomes clear in Chapter 18.
Hawkgal -- NO! That's the cliffhanger of a lifetime. How could you? Lovely! But you know, now I'll be on toes for your next update, which probably won't be for some time (sadly, yet understandably). What I really love about you is that you haven't lost interest in your longer fic like so many other fanfiction writers. They just...lost the zeel and leave readers like me to wallow. Sergeant Konami is just the literal bringer of bad news. Some day he'll have to deliver some good news. Oh, and of a matter of semi-importance. It seems I can never reach your LiveJournal thingy so I never see if there's any answers to my reviews and whatnot to my reviews. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong, but I think I'll attempt again later.
Again, immpecable work and keep at it!
I can't remember how long it was between 17 and 18, because I've started dating all my stories once I get them into the prose format (that is, they have their own dedicated HTML page, and they're not just blurbs outlined in my planner file), and sometimes the dates overlap. So did it take a long time? ^^;
I don't plan on losing interest on this if I can avoid it-- it's why I love the fact that I only have the dub and the uncut dual-format DVDs, because watching 2 episodes/week (and even less, in the uncut DVDs case) gives me plenty of time to absorb the episodes, look up what was changed from the original, compare it to the manga, and come up with more ideas for WDKY and CO7. There's just too much fun to be had! On the same token, though, I have a problem finishing my shorter series, such as the ones I planned to be no more than 15 chapters. ;_; I can never bring myself to finish them. I guess with me, it's either a oneshot or a really epic fic.
As for a future role for Konami, we'll see! ^_~
Ataea -- NO! *throttles Azurite* HOW COULD YOU?! Leave me a cliffie that is =P I'm all for Tea/Anzu torture...heehee. emotionally or physically. I think tho, that you should injure TEA next time instead of kaiba or any other close friend of hers =P Its more fun to watch Kaiba angst and suffer and torture himself. seriously ^_^
*blinks* I'm not sure if you're trying to come off as an Anzu/Téa-hater or not, but I don't have accidents or injure (whether physically or mentally) the characters just for the heck of it. It ALWAYS has a point. On that same subject, I'm hardly trying to be unfair to Kaiba by having him take the brunt of the trouble in this fic. It's just that Téa is the point-of-view character, more or less: the protagonist. She'll have her time in the "dark light," shall we say, so keep your eyes peeled. And yes, Kaiba will angst. I guarantee that.
Ice Witch101 -- All I have to say is Wah ahahahahaha! In that order...
TOTALLY AWESOME CHAPPY! U ABSOLUTLY HAVE TO UPDATE SOON!
I luv ur story and u have to update soon...U have no other choice...I won't settle for Tardy-ness!
*nods wisely*
ANYWHO! U get a cookie for a job well done!
*Hands cookie*
Its Chocolate chip...or sugar..whichever u prefer..OREOS R EVIL!
Update soon...have More romance! I need romance..a healthy supply of deep, Romance...U need a very intense romantic seen...U can write those kind really well...
*nods wisely* ~*~*~*~Ja Ne~*~*~*~
You're probably one of the few that didn't freak out about Kaiba's accident and start angsting about it. A cookie for YOU for that! I apologize if you think WDKY18 came out a bit late, but it's up now! BTW, my favorite kinds of cookies are oatmeal raisin walnut and white chip macadamia. ^_^ And as for romance, there's some serious steam worthy of the fic's R/Mature rating coming up. Be ready for it.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
winterwing3000 -- Ooh New Years! I love that time of year, I get lots of money (for manga!). I really loved the chapter, and the wait was "Sheer Torture" to answer your question.
The doubts between Seto and Tea are getting a little deeper, but I suppose that's normal for a relationship. Nothing can't be insecure. But I'm glad that he's now strong enough to allow some PDA in front of the gang. (He knows when to kiss her too!) Though... why is he scared of Tea leaving him? He should KNOW that she wouldn't cheat on him... would she?
This is the first "real" relationship for either Kaiba or Téa. It's hard to decide which is the more mature one, because like you pointed out, they both have their doubts and insecurities. Kaiba is a loner by nature, and with all that's happened with Yugi, Joey, Téa, and the others, he's slowly coming to realize that being alone isn't the most important thing anymore, and there ARE times for "friends" (or whatever he might call them). To that effect, he's afraid that once he's established a close relationship with someone, they have all the control and power over him, and they can leave him bitter and broken if they choose to abandon him. Kaiba's policy thus far has to beat people to that point: if he pushes people away, they will never get close enough to hurt him. With this perfectly realistic fear in mind, I'm going to keep threading that through the fic.
It is great to see that Mai and Joey are finally back together, I was waiting for that to happen sometime now. So... is the tournament in San Fran. in chapter 21 or somewhere near there? Cuz I wanna see Tea kick some dueling butt! Seto's probably going to give her his Ultimate Blue Eyes too... right...?
As for the fortune... can they really be that long? I mean, even the ones at the Buddhist temple aren't that descriptive and deep. But that's a great sign of foreshadowing. Now I know that Yugi... is starting to... "have ill feelings" towards Seto and Tea's relationship. So he's going to be the one who is going to try and break them? T.T He's not that evil!
The tournament is coming up in the late 20s chapters, but I can't explicitly say when/where/it is, or who will be there. But indeed, Téa will be dueling! As for what's packin' her deck, you'll have to wait for those chapters to see!
With the fortune, I based it entirely off a fortune that I got in Japan when I visited a famous temple. So, yes, they can be pretty long, and though I tweaked the fortune a bit, it is, in a sense, foreshadowing... sort of. You have to be both sensitive and have a sense of humor to get the full meaning of Téa's New Year's fortune. As for Yugi... that's another case of "wait and see."
(Phhst... Duke's all giddy... what did he get in his fortune? "True love comes to the one who waits?" XD Bwha)
Joey and Seto as friends... seeing that their background and childhood aren't as different, I'd say that soon, they'll be the best of friends. Joey might even be there for help Tea while Seto's in recovery from... the "accident".
And I can't believe... Seto got into an accident?! *bawls* (Please... don't tell me it was by Yugi's hands...)
(And to your RR on your LJ, I only watch the dub and read a couple of the manga since I don't have cable. So, my info isn't as accurate as yours.)
^^; Needless to say, I couldn't come up with an exact fortune for Duke, but I wanted to make it a good one, or one that would have him in a good mood. So you can imagine what you will.
As I'm sure you're well aware by now, WDKY18 is out, with all the answers to your comments on Seto and Joey's relationship, how Kaiba got into his accident, and so forth. Tell me what you think in a review to that chapter, okay?
PunkySessha -- ...*falls off chair* DID HE GET BADLY HURT?! IS HE GOING TO DIE?!?! IS HE GOING TO HAVE AMNESIA?!?! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!!?!?! HE IS TOO HOT TO GET HURT!! *faints* ARG! UPDATE SOONER THAN LAST TIME! UPDATE!
*Best fucking story i have ever read!
keep it up,
PunkySessha
^^;; Wow, all caps. I'm uh... flattered? Though truthfully, if hotness were a factor in whether or not people got into accidents, a lot of good people would still be with us now... *sniff* Thanks for the high praise, though.
Norykoi -- if i ever find out who u r, u r going to die slow and panifuly for that awful cliff hanger. update soon are i will find away to murder u
See, unfortunately, I don't find this kind of thing amusing. So please, if you like the story, please SAY so, don't threaten to kill me. I don't like it.
mischiefmagnet -- Wow, that was terrific!
I must say, your chapters are always worth waiting for-- even if it takes twice as long to read them, because I almost always have to go back and read the previous chapter first to make sure I've still got the thread of the story...
My favorite aspect of this chapter was definitely the Joey - Seto dynamic. The way you crafted it so subtly, pulling them into such a perfectly tentative possible friendship and carefully giving them the perfect reasons to understand each other (for once!); I loved it.
Also floating on a cloud of angry delight because of your delightfully evil cliffhanger. What more could anyone ask from a chapter? It's always a pleasure when this story gets updated.
Why thank you, thank you SO much. It's coherent, pleasant reviews like yours that I adore and look forward to. I'm glad you found the Seto/Joey dynamic pleasing, because I enjoy it a lot in the show, and I truly think that, given the right set of circumstances (not necessarily in an AU'verse) they could be friends. Like the Seto x Téa relationship, it will take developing and change. The fun is far from over!
As for my evil cliffhanger, I do try to spice the story up with those every now and then. I wish I could give advance warning when a chapter's going to have one, but where would the fun in that be? Part of me smiles with every review that has someone freaking out over how I end my chapters. ^^
Janime Lee -- You rock!
"Lucky?" Mai finally managed— and Kaiba's eyes widened.
"Violet?" Joey croaked.
'There's no way—'
LOL Oh man! I was hoping that would happen! Good job!
Joey crushed his lips against Mai's before she could even think to utter a sound.
AW! That was sweet!
Once again you've produced another wonderful chapter. Now I'm going to force myself to wait patiently for the next chapter. Till then. Happy writing/typing/proof-reading.
I think you're one of the few that's keeping up on the Joey x Mai front, but since I like the pairing (among others) and bothered to put it in my story in the first place, I am planning on resolving it through and through. There will be tension! There will be romance! There will be-- *shuts self up* You get the picture. But I have to say, I don't know if Kaiba's ever going to explain to Téa/the others that he knew Mai as "Violet" and Joey as "Lucky" because he was seeking romance advice one Christmas Eve... *smirk* Maybe MUCH, MUCH later...
Thanks for the review, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fic!
blondes-aren't-stupid-they're-misunderstood -- DAMN WOMAN AND/OR MAN! DAMN! HOW LONG DOES IT FRIGIN TAKE YOU TO FRIGIN WTIRE THESE FRIGIN CHAPPIES?!...DAMN! lol.
Woman, thank you very much. ^_~ It takes me about a month or more to fully write a chapter, and it REALLY depends on what I've planned out so far, what kind of character interactions I have, and how much of the content is strictly plot-furthering and how much is "fluff" or "accessory" to the plot, contributing only bits and pieces. I also have the patience to wait for my betas to get back to me, though now I post all my chapters for pre-reading on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
betasquad. Eventually, I will also post them at the betasquad forum, when it goes live on my domain.
yoursolastsummer -- SON OF A... That was mean, just mean as hell. I cannot even fathom that you ended it that way. Alright now that I am done trying to express my complete shock I can begin the praise. GReat chapter. I loved how it was fun and festive. It was nice to hear Kaiba's thoughts in this one and I really liked his getting along with Joey. Poor Yugi, I felt bad for him but it seems that something could come of that, I bet you have plans. OK please please please update soon, this story is friggin amazing. Please let the loyal fans know what is happeing to our beloved Seto! Keep up the great work.
I've pretty much already mentioned all I can about my evilness, the cliffhanger, Joey/Seto, and the fact that, as I write this WDKY18 is posted, so I won't say anything more on THAT subject. Re: Yugi, I haven't forgotten that he's the "title character" of the show, and as such, he will continue to have vital roles here and there. But I can't honestly see him paired off with anyone right now (as the fic is currently written) or doing anything drastic, so for now, Yugi is THERE, and that is all I can say.
Thanks for your review!
uni_chan -- That is by far the worst cliff hanger in the world. I almost died from it last night, and finally gathered up the courage to review for the first time today. (other times this story was so good I couldn't think of what to say)
;.; I don't wanna push you into working too hard to update this, but it's literally driving me insane!!
I mean...you should know that...you saw that pic I drew for you. (the one where seto and tea are standing next to each other with the stained glass background) Ok, yeah...I'm literally obsessed with this story. It's my favorite ever, I'm serious! So...UPDATE, m'lady...I'm begging you!
Speaking of that pic...where's that site you said it'd go on...o.o I think I'm looking in the wrong place.
Ooh, I can think of worse cliffhangers... *smirk* I thank you for taking the time to review, because even if you've been keeping up with the story, I really don't know what you think until you review. I do appreciate and adore the fanart you so kindly donated; it's currently hosted at my Yu-Gi-Oh fansite, Darkness Rising. WDKY has its own special page there: http://seventh-star.net/amc/yugioh/fanfics/wdky.html.
Yokaigurl-- OMG!
I LUV IT!
KAIBA!
n e way, hope Tea/anzu wins in the tournament! and what the hell is marik tlakin bout? (or is mailk? i mixed up the names again didnt i?)
well this rocks and i forgot the story cuz i was in japan for almost 3 weeks, did you no about the new series? Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. its soo kewl
keep up the kewlness!
peace
Yokaigurl
The tournament won't be occurring until the late 20s chapters, so keep your eyes peeled. I make no promises as to winners, losers, the when, the where, or the who... so keep reading! As for Marik (and since I'm using the dub names, I do call him Marik, even though his real name is and should be Malik... I might change it later on), you never know WHAT he's talking/thinking about until he says it. And you know he never says anything unless he absolutely HAS to. So again, I ask you to wait: the answers will come!
As for GX, yes, I have seen it; I have the first 13 episodes subtitled, and I expect to watch the dub version of the show once it airs in October. It doesn't quite fit my hopes as I thought when I originally saw the preview for it at the end of Yu-Gi-Oh! volume 38 (the manga), but alas, such is the way of new, merchandise-oriented shows. Nonetheless, I have a way of working certain elements from GX into fics, perhaps even WDKY.
Lady-Azura -- Wow. I must say, this is one incredible story! It's sad, it's happy, it's funny, it's angsty, it's romantic... *whistles approvingly* This is awesome! This is officially my favorite Seto/Tea story ever! I'm adding this to my Fav's... UPDATE SOON!
Wow, thank you! :) I do try to keep a good balance of everything in this story, which makes it hard to classify. I guess I'm trying to inject as much "reality" into a story as fantastic as Yu-Gi-Oh's as I possibly can, and it's apparently making for a great read... and I couldn't be happier! Thanks for your review!
Crystal Koneko -- V.V
Many bad things happen in this fic.
XD
But that's alright, how long, detailed, and interesting it is makes up for that fact.
*grin* When I read that first line about "Many bad things happen in this fic" I thought how much it sounded like a fortune! "My fortune cookie didn't predict this!" Heh. But thanks for putting up with the lengthy chapters and the unpredictable waits; I do try to stuff the fic with a great deal of plot, subplot, and so much more. Thanks for reading.
Jessica -- THATS AN EVIL CLIFFHANGER! update soon, thought i do understand if it takes some time. I'm already impressed by the complexity, and the length of this story, you're one of the best writers i've found, and i find it amazing how fast you can create and put up a very long, and good chapter. I love this story. Its so long but it never gets boring. You caused me to fall in love with Seto X Anzu! Much thanks for that ^_^
I feel an overwhelming sense of pride anytime someone says that they've begun to enjoy the pairing because of my minor contribution to the fandom and the pairing (Azureshipping). The same thing happened to me years ago, and I feel glad to spread my love of the pairing to others. I just happen to be one of the more obsessed ones, I guess... ^^; Many thanks for the compliments, though I'm baffled that you think I'm fast! Most people think I don't update nearly often enough! ^^;
Ruth -- OH MY GOSH! DON'T DO THIS TO POOR TEA! You are one of the best authors in the Yu-Gi-Oh section. Please update soon because I have been reading your fic since you started and it keeps getting better. This cliffhanger is going to kill all of us fans of your work with the waiting. PLEASE WRITE A ANOTHER CHAP SOON BECAUSE WE ALL ARE WAITING FOR YOUR NEXT MASTERPIECE!
See, some people thought I was being cruel to Kaiba, but you think I'm being cruel to Téa! I don't know what to think anymore! ^^; Thank you for the high praise though, and I hope WDKY18 (now out) came out fast enough for your tastes, and answers all your questions. I sincerely hope you keep reading and reviewing, and I hope my future chapters meet your standards!
Tyronica -- Love all of your Seto/Anzu stuff. Question what happened to dragonfaith. It disappeared! Update soon. You are evil for leaving it in such a place. I love to hate it!
Dragonfayth, the premiere Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki fanfiction archive, has relocated to http://drfa.seventh-star.net. Please change any links you have, inform anyone you know, and check out the site, which is running off brand-new software!
Starian Princess -- Battle Royale! Oh gosh, we have the movie and all, and yet I dare not watch it alone.. yet-due to erm... reasons... *laughs* And now Seto's gotten into an accident? Say it isn't so! He was getting angsty about Tea leaving but... *sighs* Why do they get themselves into these situations? Seto could just say he wants to go with her.. right? *hangs a cookie dangling off a thread* Please do continue soon, then maybe I'll let you have the cookie... *grins* Hehehe.
I think you're the only one that knows/mentioned Battle Royale. It's a pretty grim movie, an excellent novel, and a highly graphic manga, but I adore the fandom simply because of how much it makes you think. As for Seto, his accident, and his feelings for Téa... well, keep on reading. 'Nuff said. :P
Solar Kitty -- I think I feel my heart breaking! I'm really feeling bad for Seto and Téa! I think I'm dying in misery not knowing what happened to Seto. Yeah, I'm sounding melodramaitc... but it's late HaHa. Okay, I'm so hanging onto your every word too. I can't wait for more after every cliffhanger. You're amazingly talented Azurite-san!
Before I go into all my praises, I just thought I'd point out something that doesn't flow right. It happened just before Mai and Téa's duel. They're discussing Téa's deck and she meantions Isis. I was just wondering if you were keeping Isis because it sounds better than Ishizu or if maybe it was just an accidental error because you've been using all the dub names thus far. The actual line is:
"That you won't use that Fairy deck from Duelist Kingdom, maybe if you backed it up with something like Isis had back in Battle City, I could understand, but..."
I hope this helps a little. If it doesn't, feel free to just ignore it!
This is going to sound weird, but despite me using the dub names (which I'm oddly more comfortable with), I am electing to use the "proper" name of Isis. Calling her "Ishizu" is a bad call on a translator's part, taking the pronunciation (in Japanese) of the Egyptian name. Since the name is Egyptian in origin, I am writing (and hopefully emphasizing the appropriate pronunciation) of the names as such. I write Isis because it is meant to be pronounced "Eye-sis" and not "Eye-shee-zoo." Thus, it is not a mistake. Sorry if this wasn't clear. I'm thinking that to make things balanced, I should also change Marik to Malik. ^^;
Now, on with the good stuff! I really liked the bonding between Seto and Joey towards the end of the chapter. It is true that if they stopped fighting long enough they'd realize they're like, kindred spirirts! They even have their liking of Téa in common since Joey had a crush on her once and now Seto's in love with her. And of course, as mentioned in the chapter, they're both dedicated older brothers. They both have sweet siblings. I love Mokuba and Serenity! Speaking of Serenity, I laughed when she got her double kiss. I really hope you work more on developing a concrete relationship for her! And I guess Téa won't be going with Mai to San Francisco now, huh?
Something tells me Kaiba and Joey would take one look at each other and GAG if anyone called them "kindred spirits." Nonetheless, I love the interaction and banter between them, and I intend to keep it up, regardless of whatever form their relationship takes. I also like keeping secondary pairings (be they romantic or friendship) in mind for everyone, hence Serenity's double kiss. As for the tournament, I think I won't be spoiling anything by saying it's still on. The tournament isn't scheduled for a few "months" into WDKY-time, now.
Oh... a thought just hit me. Seto's accident might open up the door for Joey to stay longer... that'd be a possibility, right? Maybe? I guess I just like trying to guess about where things are heading! It gives me a little bit of hope that I know something that'll happen... or something. I'm not making much sense right now. Sorry! Oh, I'm happy that Mai and Joey are back together! And YAY! The Chat room identities were revealed! Seto, when he gets better, should use that to his advantage over Joey for like... advice or something!
Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up now because it's late and I'll probably start getting into insane ramblings! Can't wait for the next chapter! This fic is really wonderful!
~ Solar K.
Unfortunately, I didn't want to have Joey stay any longer than necessary-- you'll see exactly why in WDKY18. But that doesn't mean he won't be showing his face around the Kaiba mansion anymore... And while I can see Kaiba exploiting Joey for advice, I don't know how comfortable he'd be revealing that he was in the chat room with "Lucky" and "Violet" too!
Thanks again for your lengthy and thoughtful review!
Cassandra Viellieux -- Hey I just wanted to say your story left me riveted and ready for more! Way to go this is the first time I've sent a review before. I gotta say that your story kept me thinking everytime I had to split and couldn't finish it (you wouldn't BELIEVE how many days it took me) but I really enjoyed reading it and I can't wait for the next chapters. Thanks for your time.
Thank you very much for stopping by to review! I know the fic tends to be a lot to handle at once, and my updates aren't exactly predictable, but that means there's always a lot to read, even if I haven't caught up in a while! < /lame excuse > I hope you continue to read and review, and once again, thanks for taking the time to review!
DarkShadowFlame -- Gah, I'm slow again. My family was on vacation and I couldn't read the monster chapter there. So I eagerly read it today and, as usual, am positively flooded with emotions.
We didn't see much of Dartz, while I'm sure everyone was expecting the Leviathan to storm the mansion or something. But I liked the happy events that were taking place while he's busy plotting. The New Years celebration was brilliantly written, because it was so natural and smooth and vivid... awesome. I loved how almost everyone had a brief cameo: Serenity and Mai are definitely awesome supporting female characters; Duke and Tristan are just so hapless; Joey is absolutely awesome and who doesn't adore him (and who isn't thrilled he and Mai are back together); Yugi is... sad. He himself is sad and it's sad to read about him. But really, who hasn't felt that way? I got fed a depressing video today that reminded me of Yugi sitting on the couch watching everyone party but him. I'm rooting for you, Yugi...
*grin* The idea of Leviathan storming the mansion on Christmas Day has me giggling like mad. Giant shadowy dragon knocks over priceless Christmas tree imported from Michigan! Family flees! Hah. But yes, I did want to convey a sense of time passing. In the show, it's always BAM! action, BAM! response, and so on. There is time for evil to be lurking in the shadows, and things to be growing and taking place. I'm just fond of dropping evil hints wherever I can.
The New Year's celebration really gave me the chance to write about everyone, and give readers a bit of insight into their character, even if they aren't the stars of the fic. I have secondary pairings for a reason, and PLENTY of love polygons (whether you see them or not) throughout the fic. WDKY is chock full of subtext. I especially love Serenity and Mai, because every main female lead needs her inspiration and help-- girlfriends! Yugi is tough to write though, even if he is the title character of the show. But he's a very necessary element, and one that will continue to feature in roles (whether sad, happy, or otherwise) throughout the fic.
Of course, I have to admit, I'm rooting for loads of other people too. I'm rooting for Bakura to get in the picture again (and make a big stink while he's at it). I'm rooting for Marik to continue being as cool, yet strangely fragile, as he has been. I'm rooting for Odion to come in and maybe tap-dance a chapter for my personal entertainment (don't worry, I am kidding). And I'm rooting for Raphael to single-handedly knock out Dartz, save Tea and Seto a lot of trouble, and retire in fame and fortune to a life of ease with all his family (I would cry with happiness) (I am still kidding) (Except about the crying, I really will cry if he's evil. Again.).
Bakura WILL be coming back, and with a bang, though the when and where is not only top secret, but Bakura is being elusive right now, and he doesn't want to answer any of my questions. (This is an odd contrast to a few chapters back, when he wouldn't leave me alone.) But unlike the anime, I plan on working him in somehow in the second half and the future "arc," just to remind readers of how important he is, as both Ryou and as Yami Bakura.
Marik's going to have a startlingly large role as the story progresses, mainly because he's in the story when he wasn't in the anime. I don't want to write him in and then ignore him for large chapters. Besides, I hinted at the prophecy, his exhibit, and many other Marik-related things, for a reason. (Still, I'm contemplating fixing his name to Malik, because I stand by my belief in the usage of "Isis" for his sister's name... what do you think?)
With Raphael and anyone else affiliated with the Orichalchos, I'm keeping my lips sealed. Just wait and see.
I was, surprisingly, not overly distressed by Kaiba being in an accident. I think it's because I picture it as something physical, like a car crash, and that's probably safer than being kidnapped by Dartz (or Pegasus, or evil-Marik, or Bakura, or the Big 5, or Gozaburo, and gosh isn't Seto popular?). But who knows, Kaiba could be in a coma, or the 'accident' could have something to do with Dartz, or the 'accident' could be something entirely different than my uncreative thinking. Isn't it ironic that after all Seto's angsting about Tea leaving him, he's the one that goes and gets himself into considerable trouble, enough for police involvement (Sergeant Konami must be awfully sick of those two). Speaking of Seto's angsting, oh my goodness, he should probably see a counselor about these abandonment issues.
You're one of the few that wasn't "distressed" about Kaiba's accident. I had death threats, a variety of people calling me synonyms of evil (or just plain evil), and a good number of bribes and other threats. And you also hit the truth (car accident) dead on-- props to you! I don't think many people even tried to predict just what I had in mind for Kaiba. So your thinking isn't uncreative at all (unless mine is, in which case, we're uncreative together)! But just as Yugi seems to draw bad guys, Kaiba has a penchant of his own for being a magnet for trouble. We'll see how far it gets him and how he tries to change as the story progresses, of course. As for a counselor... ^^;; Well, he won't in this fic, but the "abandonment issues" will come up again.
Tea will do good on that San Fran cruise thing - assuming she can go, now, with Seto in who-knows-what kind of trouble. I like the idea that she's using Marik and Odion's old cards (very possibly because I like Marik and Odion, period).
Oh, and to forget for a moment that Seto is in a potentially grave accident, he did get pelted by a snowball, yay! Not by Tea, though, at least not that we saw. Maybe she can bring one to the hospital, police station, sickbed, Dartz's lair, wherever our accident-ed Kaiba happens to be - Because I'm assuming that wherever he is, it's the perfect place to be pelted by a snowball.
Yes, Téa is still going to San Francisco with Mai. I don't mind saying that, because I'm very frank about how I plot out the timeline for this fic and its sequel, and I want people to realize that if you were going to sign up for a tournament on a cruise ship, you would need advance notice of a couple of months, not a couple of days or hours. This tourney isn't Battle City 2.0, sorry to say (?). I had an extremely difficult time coming up with cards that Téa could/might use in her duels, and I happened upon these ones from the Japanese OCG which Odion used. Unfortunately, the people at Upper Deck Entertainment didn't see the need to release the cards when Battle City was new (unlike what they're doing now; pre-releasing Elemental Hero cards for the English TCG so that people know exactly what they do before the actual monsters appear in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX). Anyway, you'll see a variety of familiar and yet changing themes in Téa's deck. Needless to say, as the author, it'll go however I want, and I'm not much of an up-to-date duelist, so we'll see how it all gets written out.
^^; Seto ends up being in a pretty grouchy mood in WDKY18, so alas, no snowball pelting within hospital grounds. But that would make for a cute blooper fanart. Or heck, WDKY bloopers, period. :P
Um, I hope you enjoy / don't mind these mile-long reviews. You're the only person I regularly write more than a paragraph for. Of course, it's nothing compared to these monster-chapters you turn out. Most novels aren't even that long. My dad is a writer, he said his books are 50 thousand - 60 thousand words... you've got over three hundred thousand, and you're not even close to the end! That's amazing. I know I've expressed my admiration for your incredible story length before, but I still can't get over it, especially since you don't seem to be giving up any quality to achieve the quantity. (I've seen them, you've seen them, we've all seen them: the five-hundred word evil little one-shots with no punctuation, misspelled characters names, no plot, no dimension, painful to think about... See, that's neither quantity nor quality - Your fic is both. Funny how that works.)
Gee, and now I've expanded a ridiculously long review into a super-ridiculously long review, with a lot of extra rambles. Anyway. Keep writing (you can't STOP, so that's a laughably obvious directive), I'll keep reading eagerly... and pretty soon you'll hit a thousand reviews, wow. Oh, and don't let Kaiba die (another laughably obvious directive).
PS - I FINALLY added you to my author alerts. It always took me forever to find out you updated. Maybe now I'll read new chapters more than two weeks later.
I LOVE mile-long reviews. I LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM! As for word count... geez, I wonder if it would hinder me if I ever tried to publish something ORIGINAL FICTION with this many words. Would it be a runaway hit on the bestseller list, or would my editor (assuming I got one who accepted an initial manuscript) throw it all to the fire? *wince* I'm amazed I can say as much as I think!
But thank you for the praise, the extra rambling, and the necessary directives (even if they are obvious). Hopefully you've since been updated on the release of WDKY18, so I look forward to your review for that!
Inu Kaiba -- And so, WDKY gains another plot twist and you end it on a cliffhanger, which you seem to love doing rather often.
Now it may be just me, but I got this weird feeling you were implying something that would come up in later chapters when Tea felt rather 'faint' around holding the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
Ah yes, plot twists. Think of WDKY like a particularly long Twizzler made out of all sorts of mini-Twizzlers, some sweet, some sour, all of them different colors and all sorts of fun. Mmm, twisted! And while I do seem to enjoy the sourness of cliffhangers, I try not to overdose on them, because that might turn a lot of people off, and ruin the effect of the story at large. Life has its cliffhangers, but they don't happen all the time.
And no, it's not just you. The subtext with the BEUD was something that I've been hinting at here and there. You have to look for it-- it appears in SEVERAL chapters, and it's always pretty subtle. Only recently was I just getting serious with my implications there.
Now I'm kind of glad to know there won't be a lemon, not to offend people who like them, but I simply don't enjoy that sort of thing in fanfictions, particularily long ones, especially ones like this. Your fanfic just doesn't seem to be the type to just throw in a lemon.
No, no lemon: I can't see myself writing one, really, though I know I could if I WANTED TO. But it would also make it impossible for me to post it on FFnet, and I would have to write an alternative chapter for archives that have a Mature-rating limit. However, the chapters do occasionally contain sexual content, and I want people to be aware of that. I abide by the Rated-R/M rating, and I don't want to hear complaints or people whining because the fic is a heavy "lime" scent.
Seeing as you're saying it won't take more than 2 years, which isn't bad because the chapters are quite long, I can only hope I'll stay interested in this story for that long as will you and that I'll get to see the end, and not suddenly, years from now remember this story and wonder how it ended.
I'd also like to compliment you on the Joey/Mai relationship. Although it's a fairly popular pairing, you don't see too many fanfictions for it, and for that I'll congratulate you.
I hope you keep up the good work and update soon. (So I can spend another 2 hours sitting in front of a computer screen reading WDKY.)
Considering the second half (the half which is beginning with the release of Chapter 19, coming out "soon") is more fast-paced and action-oriented than the first half, I hope to churn out the chapters faster-- way before WDKY hits the 3 year anniversary mark. I don't intend to leave anyone hanging and then suddenly update WDKY out of the blue-- it's a continual process.
Joey/Mai is the clear secondary pairing of this fic, with other love polygons and relationships coming in a close third. I like them a great deal and see their relationship as pretty damn close to canon, so I saw no reason NOT to include it. Like Seto and Téa, they both have their own sets of problems, more of which will come to light as they come into the spotlight and they have their turn to "shine."
Thanks for your extensive review!
Crystal56 -- You cruel mean SOB! How dare you leave it like that when it's three in the morning where I live and I took all night reading this story and there's nothing more there? YOU CRUEL PUNISHER YOU!
On a thought, I think I know what the prophecy is. Actually, it's like my story, "Duel of Love" although there are a few distinct differences. Now back to the rant. YOU CRUEL UNUSUAL PERSON YOU! I HATE YOU! I WILL FORCE COFFEE DOWN YOUR THROAT AND TIE YOU TO THE CHAIR BY YOUR COMPUTER IF YOU DO NOT FINISH THIS STORY!
^^;; Oi, oi, no need for name calling... though I admit, I do love leaving people at cliffhangers where they get all steamed up and write longer reviews! ^_^ I've also had WDKY in mind for quite a while, so I'd like to think it's entirely original and stands on its own, especially with the future chapters coming out.
I mean, holy mother of all wang this kicks ass! (Pardon the French *spits*)
UPDATE THIS YOU!
Another note, I remember reading about your reviewers all being authors, but you take the cake. This is over 300,0 words! Where do you find time to write this man? I'm jealous, insanely jealous of all this!
AND I HATE YOU FOR THE CLIFFIE Bwa, Hah, Hah my arse! I'M GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND FORCE YOU TO WRITE!
Seto: I think she's going insane.
Atemu: You know what? I'd rather not ask and find out.
Seto: Agreed.
Atemu: Wanna duel?
Seto: HAve I ever said no before?
Atemu: Point taken.
^^;; Not a big fan of the script/chat-format character plays within reviews, but to each their own, I suppose.
I SWEAR UPON ALL THAT'S GOOD AND HOLY YOU BETTER NOT END IT HERE AND FORGET TO UPDATE AND LEAVE PEOPLE HANGING YOU CRUEL, CRUEL PERSON!
Yugi: *yawns* How long can she go on like this?
Jou: Are you kidding me? Let her hit the caps button and she'll rant for another half an hour.
Yugi: All she's doing is repeating what she's saying.
Jou: Don't ask, don't tell, don't get a butt whoopin'.
Yugi: What's so scary about her?
Jou: She's got a rocket launcher, sniper and grenades from Halo 2...
Yugi: *shudders* I won't get within five feet of her.
YOU HAD BETTER UPDATE THIS! WAH! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT! DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING!
Anzu: Think I should tell her to got to bed?
Shizuka: I won't get within ten feet of her.
Mai: Do you think a few drinks would calm her down?
Anzu and Shizuka: MAI!
Mai: *shrugs* Just sayin' is all...
Crystal56: *sneezes* Someone is talking about me...
Everone: RUN! *mad anime dash* AHYH!
Crystal56: *loads Rocket Launcher and then decides to use sniper instead* Who shall I pick off first... *Pulls out rocket launcher and fires*
Everyone: X_X
Crystal56: I'll snipe ya'all later. *tosses a grenade at the group* Have a nice trip into next week!
Marik: I think you need help.
Bakura: I could recomend a psychiatrist.
Marik: I don't think she needs to hear that from you.
Bakura: *shrugs* Better me than you.
Marik: Not really.
Bakura: Yeah, I see your point...and I see she's aiming a sniper at us!
Marik: Ha! *dissapears*
Bakura: *gulps* I'm dead.
Crystal56: *grins evilly* Here Baku, Here Baku...
And I'll end it there for now...just like...update please!
*favs story list*
*story alert list*
I hope you don't mind the rant...my mind is just terrible sometimes. I would find it amuzing if you took a look at Duel of Love, it does now remind me of your story, just a little different and set in the past. (With an OC rather than Tea.)
Anyways, update soon would you? I relaly wanna know!
Anyway, thank you very much for reading the story and for writing such an amusing review! I'm not big on non-Azureshipping fics (it is my OTP), but I do take fic recommendations from authors I'm familiar with. Once again, thanks, and I hope you continue to read WDKY!
LeiDeeKaiba -- Hehe, this truly is an excellent fic! (thumbs-up sign) I just finished reading chapter 2 (if you were wondering why the heck I reviewed at chapter 18, it's because I've been saving each and every chappy in my HDD, so that I can read them again and again...n_n) Chappy 2 brought tears to my eyes...I really feel sorry for Tea (sobs). I find it amazing on how you can write about their emotions...it was beautiful.(T_T)
I wish you all the luck on this fic, and I'm sure (looks at review count) that you'll reach past 1,0 reviews with this. By the time I submit this review, the count would be 930! Woot! Come, 70 more reviews! (looks around)
Ciao~!
Why, thank you! I've noticed a lot of people like to re-read the story from the earlier chapters-- maybe they just want a refresher since my updates are so sporadic, or maybe they've caught on to my hints that there is a lot of subplot and subtext hidden within the earlier chapters. Who knows? But I did enjoy those early chapters, setting up the romance, the characterization, and a great deal of charged feeling.
Thank you very much for your review and your well-wishes-- though I'm not particularly big on review count, I do appreciate every nice one that comes my way, and I am (have to admit) a bit excited about reaching 1000 reviews (though why FFnet keeps on taking away triplicates or greater of any character is beyond me). I remember back when my longest fic (then "Only 16" from the Sailor Moon fandom) had only 80 reviews! Wow, I've come such a long way... thanks to reviewers like you! =D It means a lot!
You might uncover some secret gems about the story and its eventual sequel in here, so I highly recommend you read!
Keep in mind that I do not edit the reviews that I choose to post-- that includes most spelling, grammar, emoticons, and the like. I post everything here that I find "reply-able" even if it's a flame, a death-threat, a love note, or something inbetween.
Blue Rhapsody3 -- OMG!...ur evil...plain pue evil...lmao!! I didnt see that last part coming at all. Update again when you can! Time for me 2 hit the sack...its 1:50 in the morning...haha! ^_^Ja ne!
I had the "accident" scene written before the bulk of the chapter. I already knew I wanted to drag Konami back in- and cause more tension between Seto and Téa. How their relationship is strengthened and weakened by Seto's "accident" becomes clear in Chapter 18.
Hawkgal -- NO! That's the cliffhanger of a lifetime. How could you? Lovely! But you know, now I'll be on toes for your next update, which probably won't be for some time (sadly, yet understandably). What I really love about you is that you haven't lost interest in your longer fic like so many other fanfiction writers. They just...lost the zeel and leave readers like me to wallow. Sergeant Konami is just the literal bringer of bad news. Some day he'll have to deliver some good news. Oh, and of a matter of semi-importance. It seems I can never reach your LiveJournal thingy so I never see if there's any answers to my reviews and whatnot to my reviews. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong, but I think I'll attempt again later.
Again, immpecable work and keep at it!
I can't remember how long it was between 17 and 18, because I've started dating all my stories once I get them into the prose format (that is, they have their own dedicated HTML page, and they're not just blurbs outlined in my planner file), and sometimes the dates overlap. So did it take a long time? ^^;
I don't plan on losing interest on this if I can avoid it-- it's why I love the fact that I only have the dub and the uncut dual-format DVDs, because watching 2 episodes/week (and even less, in the uncut DVDs case) gives me plenty of time to absorb the episodes, look up what was changed from the original, compare it to the manga, and come up with more ideas for WDKY and CO7. There's just too much fun to be had! On the same token, though, I have a problem finishing my shorter series, such as the ones I planned to be no more than 15 chapters. ;_; I can never bring myself to finish them. I guess with me, it's either a oneshot or a really epic fic.
As for a future role for Konami, we'll see! ^_~
Ataea -- NO! *throttles Azurite* HOW COULD YOU?! Leave me a cliffie that is =P I'm all for Tea/Anzu torture...heehee. emotionally or physically. I think tho, that you should injure TEA next time instead of kaiba or any other close friend of hers =P Its more fun to watch Kaiba angst and suffer and torture himself. seriously ^_^
*blinks* I'm not sure if you're trying to come off as an Anzu/Téa-hater or not, but I don't have accidents or injure (whether physically or mentally) the characters just for the heck of it. It ALWAYS has a point. On that same subject, I'm hardly trying to be unfair to Kaiba by having him take the brunt of the trouble in this fic. It's just that Téa is the point-of-view character, more or less: the protagonist. She'll have her time in the "dark light," shall we say, so keep your eyes peeled. And yes, Kaiba will angst. I guarantee that.
Ice Witch101 -- All I have to say is Wah ahahahahaha! In that order...
TOTALLY AWESOME CHAPPY! U ABSOLUTLY HAVE TO UPDATE SOON!
I luv ur story and u have to update soon...U have no other choice...I won't settle for Tardy-ness!
*nods wisely*
ANYWHO! U get a cookie for a job well done!
*Hands cookie*
Its Chocolate chip...or sugar..whichever u prefer..OREOS R EVIL!
Update soon...have More romance! I need romance..a healthy supply of deep, Romance...U need a very intense romantic seen...U can write those kind really well...
*nods wisely* ~*~*~*~Ja Ne~*~*~*~
You're probably one of the few that didn't freak out about Kaiba's accident and start angsting about it. A cookie for YOU for that! I apologize if you think WDKY18 came out a bit late, but it's up now! BTW, my favorite kinds of cookies are oatmeal raisin walnut and white chip macadamia. ^_^ And as for romance, there's some serious steam worthy of the fic's R/Mature rating coming up. Be ready for it.
winterwing3000 -- Ooh New Years! I love that time of year, I get lots of money (for manga!). I really loved the chapter, and the wait was "Sheer Torture" to answer your question.The doubts between Seto and Tea are getting a little deeper, but I suppose that's normal for a relationship. Nothing can't be insecure. But I'm glad that he's now strong enough to allow some PDA in front of the gang. (He knows when to kiss her too!) Though... why is he scared of Tea leaving him? He should KNOW that she wouldn't cheat on him... would she?
This is the first "real" relationship for either Kaiba or Téa. It's hard to decide which is the more mature one, because like you pointed out, they both have their doubts and insecurities. Kaiba is a loner by nature, and with all that's happened with Yugi, Joey, Téa, and the others, he's slowly coming to realize that being alone isn't the most important thing anymore, and there ARE times for "friends" (or whatever he might call them). To that effect, he's afraid that once he's established a close relationship with someone, they have all the control and power over him, and they can leave him bitter and broken if they choose to abandon him. Kaiba's policy thus far has to beat people to that point: if he pushes people away, they will never get close enough to hurt him. With this perfectly realistic fear in mind, I'm going to keep threading that through the fic.
It is great to see that Mai and Joey are finally back together, I was waiting for that to happen sometime now. So... is the tournament in San Fran. in chapter 21 or somewhere near there? Cuz I wanna see Tea kick some dueling butt! Seto's probably going to give her his Ultimate Blue Eyes too... right...?
As for the fortune... can they really be that long? I mean, even the ones at the Buddhist temple aren't that descriptive and deep. But that's a great sign of foreshadowing. Now I know that Yugi... is starting to... "have ill feelings" towards Seto and Tea's relationship. So he's going to be the one who is going to try and break them? T.T He's not that evil!
The tournament is coming up in the late 20s chapters, but I can't explicitly say when/where/it is, or who will be there. But indeed, Téa will be dueling! As for what's packin' her deck, you'll have to wait for those chapters to see!
With the fortune, I based it entirely off a fortune that I got in Japan when I visited a famous temple. So, yes, they can be pretty long, and though I tweaked the fortune a bit, it is, in a sense, foreshadowing... sort of. You have to be both sensitive and have a sense of humor to get the full meaning of Téa's New Year's fortune. As for Yugi... that's another case of "wait and see."
(Phhst... Duke's all giddy... what did he get in his fortune? "True love comes to the one who waits?" XD Bwha)
Joey and Seto as friends... seeing that their background and childhood aren't as different, I'd say that soon, they'll be the best of friends. Joey might even be there for help Tea while Seto's in recovery from... the "accident".
And I can't believe... Seto got into an accident?! *bawls* (Please... don't tell me it was by Yugi's hands...)
(And to your RR on your LJ, I only watch the dub and read a couple of the manga since I don't have cable. So, my info isn't as accurate as yours.)
^^; Needless to say, I couldn't come up with an exact fortune for Duke, but I wanted to make it a good one, or one that would have him in a good mood. So you can imagine what you will.
As I'm sure you're well aware by now, WDKY18 is out, with all the answers to your comments on Seto and Joey's relationship, how Kaiba got into his accident, and so forth. Tell me what you think in a review to that chapter, okay?
PunkySessha -- ...*falls off chair* DID HE GET BADLY HURT?! IS HE GOING TO DIE?!?! IS HE GOING TO HAVE AMNESIA?!?! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!!?!?! HE IS TOO HOT TO GET HURT!! *faints* ARG! UPDATE SOONER THAN LAST TIME! UPDATE!
*Best fucking story i have ever read!
keep it up,
PunkySessha
^^;; Wow, all caps. I'm uh... flattered? Though truthfully, if hotness were a factor in whether or not people got into accidents, a lot of good people would still be with us now... *sniff* Thanks for the high praise, though.
Norykoi -- if i ever find out who u r, u r going to die slow and panifuly for that awful cliff hanger. update soon are i will find away to murder u
See, unfortunately, I don't find this kind of thing amusing. So please, if you like the story, please SAY so, don't threaten to kill me. I don't like it.
mischiefmagnet -- Wow, that was terrific!
I must say, your chapters are always worth waiting for-- even if it takes twice as long to read them, because I almost always have to go back and read the previous chapter first to make sure I've still got the thread of the story...
My favorite aspect of this chapter was definitely the Joey - Seto dynamic. The way you crafted it so subtly, pulling them into such a perfectly tentative possible friendship and carefully giving them the perfect reasons to understand each other (for once!); I loved it.
Also floating on a cloud of angry delight because of your delightfully evil cliffhanger. What more could anyone ask from a chapter? It's always a pleasure when this story gets updated.
Why thank you, thank you SO much. It's coherent, pleasant reviews like yours that I adore and look forward to. I'm glad you found the Seto/Joey dynamic pleasing, because I enjoy it a lot in the show, and I truly think that, given the right set of circumstances (not necessarily in an AU'verse) they could be friends. Like the Seto x Téa relationship, it will take developing and change. The fun is far from over!
As for my evil cliffhanger, I do try to spice the story up with those every now and then. I wish I could give advance warning when a chapter's going to have one, but where would the fun in that be? Part of me smiles with every review that has someone freaking out over how I end my chapters. ^^
Janime Lee -- You rock!
"Lucky?" Mai finally managed— and Kaiba's eyes widened.
"Violet?" Joey croaked.
'There's no way—'
LOL Oh man! I was hoping that would happen! Good job!
Joey crushed his lips against Mai's before she could even think to utter a sound.
AW! That was sweet!
Once again you've produced another wonderful chapter. Now I'm going to force myself to wait patiently for the next chapter. Till then. Happy writing/typing/proof-reading.
I think you're one of the few that's keeping up on the Joey x Mai front, but since I like the pairing (among others) and bothered to put it in my story in the first place, I am planning on resolving it through and through. There will be tension! There will be romance! There will be-- *shuts self up* You get the picture. But I have to say, I don't know if Kaiba's ever going to explain to Téa/the others that he knew Mai as "Violet" and Joey as "Lucky" because he was seeking romance advice one Christmas Eve... *smirk* Maybe MUCH, MUCH later...
Thanks for the review, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fic!
blondes-aren't-stupid-they're-misunderstood -- DAMN WOMAN AND/OR MAN! DAMN! HOW LONG DOES IT FRIGIN TAKE YOU TO FRIGIN WTIRE THESE FRIGIN CHAPPIES?!...DAMN! lol.
Woman, thank you very much. ^_~ It takes me about a month or more to fully write a chapter, and it REALLY depends on what I've planned out so far, what kind of character interactions I have, and how much of the content is strictly plot-furthering and how much is "fluff" or "accessory" to the plot, contributing only bits and pieces. I also have the patience to wait for my betas to get back to me, though now I post all my chapters for pre-reading on
betasquad. Eventually, I will also post them at the betasquad forum, when it goes live on my domain.yoursolastsummer -- SON OF A... That was mean, just mean as hell. I cannot even fathom that you ended it that way. Alright now that I am done trying to express my complete shock I can begin the praise. GReat chapter. I loved how it was fun and festive. It was nice to hear Kaiba's thoughts in this one and I really liked his getting along with Joey. Poor Yugi, I felt bad for him but it seems that something could come of that, I bet you have plans. OK please please please update soon, this story is friggin amazing. Please let the loyal fans know what is happeing to our beloved Seto! Keep up the great work.
I've pretty much already mentioned all I can about my evilness, the cliffhanger, Joey/Seto, and the fact that, as I write this WDKY18 is posted, so I won't say anything more on THAT subject. Re: Yugi, I haven't forgotten that he's the "title character" of the show, and as such, he will continue to have vital roles here and there. But I can't honestly see him paired off with anyone right now (as the fic is currently written) or doing anything drastic, so for now, Yugi is THERE, and that is all I can say.
Thanks for your review!
uni_chan -- That is by far the worst cliff hanger in the world. I almost died from it last night, and finally gathered up the courage to review for the first time today. (other times this story was so good I couldn't think of what to say);.; I don't wanna push you into working too hard to update this, but it's literally driving me insane!!
I mean...you should know that...you saw that pic I drew for you. (the one where seto and tea are standing next to each other with the stained glass background) Ok, yeah...I'm literally obsessed with this story. It's my favorite ever, I'm serious! So...UPDATE, m'lady...I'm begging you!
Speaking of that pic...where's that site you said it'd go on...o.o I think I'm looking in the wrong place.
Ooh, I can think of worse cliffhangers... *smirk* I thank you for taking the time to review, because even if you've been keeping up with the story, I really don't know what you think until you review. I do appreciate and adore the fanart you so kindly donated; it's currently hosted at my Yu-Gi-Oh fansite, Darkness Rising. WDKY has its own special page there: http://seventh-star.net/amc/yugioh/fanfics/wdky.html.
Yokaigurl-- OMG!
I LUV IT!
KAIBA!
n e way, hope Tea/anzu wins in the tournament! and what the hell is marik tlakin bout? (or is mailk? i mixed up the names again didnt i?)
well this rocks and i forgot the story cuz i was in japan for almost 3 weeks, did you no about the new series? Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. its soo kewl
keep up the kewlness!
peace
Yokaigurl
The tournament won't be occurring until the late 20s chapters, so keep your eyes peeled. I make no promises as to winners, losers, the when, the where, or the who... so keep reading! As for Marik (and since I'm using the dub names, I do call him Marik, even though his real name is and should be Malik... I might change it later on), you never know WHAT he's talking/thinking about until he says it. And you know he never says anything unless he absolutely HAS to. So again, I ask you to wait: the answers will come!
As for GX, yes, I have seen it; I have the first 13 episodes subtitled, and I expect to watch the dub version of the show once it airs in October. It doesn't quite fit my hopes as I thought when I originally saw the preview for it at the end of Yu-Gi-Oh! volume 38 (the manga), but alas, such is the way of new, merchandise-oriented shows. Nonetheless, I have a way of working certain elements from GX into fics, perhaps even WDKY.
Lady-Azura -- Wow. I must say, this is one incredible story! It's sad, it's happy, it's funny, it's angsty, it's romantic... *whistles approvingly* This is awesome! This is officially my favorite Seto/Tea story ever! I'm adding this to my Fav's... UPDATE SOON!
Wow, thank you! :) I do try to keep a good balance of everything in this story, which makes it hard to classify. I guess I'm trying to inject as much "reality" into a story as fantastic as Yu-Gi-Oh's as I possibly can, and it's apparently making for a great read... and I couldn't be happier! Thanks for your review!
Crystal Koneko -- V.V
Many bad things happen in this fic.
XD
But that's alright, how long, detailed, and interesting it is makes up for that fact.
*grin* When I read that first line about "Many bad things happen in this fic" I thought how much it sounded like a fortune! "My fortune cookie didn't predict this!" Heh. But thanks for putting up with the lengthy chapters and the unpredictable waits; I do try to stuff the fic with a great deal of plot, subplot, and so much more. Thanks for reading.
Jessica -- THATS AN EVIL CLIFFHANGER! update soon, thought i do understand if it takes some time. I'm already impressed by the complexity, and the length of this story, you're one of the best writers i've found, and i find it amazing how fast you can create and put up a very long, and good chapter. I love this story. Its so long but it never gets boring. You caused me to fall in love with Seto X Anzu! Much thanks for that ^_^
I feel an overwhelming sense of pride anytime someone says that they've begun to enjoy the pairing because of my minor contribution to the fandom and the pairing (Azureshipping). The same thing happened to me years ago, and I feel glad to spread my love of the pairing to others. I just happen to be one of the more obsessed ones, I guess... ^^; Many thanks for the compliments, though I'm baffled that you think I'm fast! Most people think I don't update nearly often enough! ^^;
Ruth -- OH MY GOSH! DON'T DO THIS TO POOR TEA! You are one of the best authors in the Yu-Gi-Oh section. Please update soon because I have been reading your fic since you started and it keeps getting better. This cliffhanger is going to kill all of us fans of your work with the waiting. PLEASE WRITE A ANOTHER CHAP SOON BECAUSE WE ALL ARE WAITING FOR YOUR NEXT MASTERPIECE!
See, some people thought I was being cruel to Kaiba, but you think I'm being cruel to Téa! I don't know what to think anymore! ^^; Thank you for the high praise though, and I hope WDKY18 (now out) came out fast enough for your tastes, and answers all your questions. I sincerely hope you keep reading and reviewing, and I hope my future chapters meet your standards!
Tyronica -- Love all of your Seto/Anzu stuff. Question what happened to dragonfaith. It disappeared! Update soon. You are evil for leaving it in such a place. I love to hate it!
Dragonfayth, the premiere Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki fanfiction archive, has relocated to http://drfa.seventh-star.net. Please change any links you have, inform anyone you know, and check out the site, which is running off brand-new software!
Starian Princess -- Battle Royale! Oh gosh, we have the movie and all, and yet I dare not watch it alone.. yet-due to erm... reasons... *laughs* And now Seto's gotten into an accident? Say it isn't so! He was getting angsty about Tea leaving but... *sighs* Why do they get themselves into these situations? Seto could just say he wants to go with her.. right? *hangs a cookie dangling off a thread* Please do continue soon, then maybe I'll let you have the cookie... *grins* Hehehe.
I think you're the only one that knows/mentioned Battle Royale. It's a pretty grim movie, an excellent novel, and a highly graphic manga, but I adore the fandom simply because of how much it makes you think. As for Seto, his accident, and his feelings for Téa... well, keep on reading. 'Nuff said. :P
Solar Kitty -- I think I feel my heart breaking! I'm really feeling bad for Seto and Téa! I think I'm dying in misery not knowing what happened to Seto. Yeah, I'm sounding melodramaitc... but it's late HaHa. Okay, I'm so hanging onto your every word too. I can't wait for more after every cliffhanger. You're amazingly talented Azurite-san!
Before I go into all my praises, I just thought I'd point out something that doesn't flow right. It happened just before Mai and Téa's duel. They're discussing Téa's deck and she meantions Isis. I was just wondering if you were keeping Isis because it sounds better than Ishizu or if maybe it was just an accidental error because you've been using all the dub names thus far. The actual line is:
"That you won't use that Fairy deck from Duelist Kingdom, maybe if you backed it up with something like Isis had back in Battle City, I could understand, but..."
I hope this helps a little. If it doesn't, feel free to just ignore it!
This is going to sound weird, but despite me using the dub names (which I'm oddly more comfortable with), I am electing to use the "proper" name of Isis. Calling her "Ishizu" is a bad call on a translator's part, taking the pronunciation (in Japanese) of the Egyptian name. Since the name is Egyptian in origin, I am writing (and hopefully emphasizing the appropriate pronunciation) of the names as such. I write Isis because it is meant to be pronounced "Eye-sis" and not "Eye-shee-zoo." Thus, it is not a mistake. Sorry if this wasn't clear. I'm thinking that to make things balanced, I should also change Marik to Malik. ^^;
Now, on with the good stuff! I really liked the bonding between Seto and Joey towards the end of the chapter. It is true that if they stopped fighting long enough they'd realize they're like, kindred spirirts! They even have their liking of Téa in common since Joey had a crush on her once and now Seto's in love with her. And of course, as mentioned in the chapter, they're both dedicated older brothers. They both have sweet siblings. I love Mokuba and Serenity! Speaking of Serenity, I laughed when she got her double kiss. I really hope you work more on developing a concrete relationship for her! And I guess Téa won't be going with Mai to San Francisco now, huh?
Something tells me Kaiba and Joey would take one look at each other and GAG if anyone called them "kindred spirits." Nonetheless, I love the interaction and banter between them, and I intend to keep it up, regardless of whatever form their relationship takes. I also like keeping secondary pairings (be they romantic or friendship) in mind for everyone, hence Serenity's double kiss. As for the tournament, I think I won't be spoiling anything by saying it's still on. The tournament isn't scheduled for a few "months" into WDKY-time, now.
Oh... a thought just hit me. Seto's accident might open up the door for Joey to stay longer... that'd be a possibility, right? Maybe? I guess I just like trying to guess about where things are heading! It gives me a little bit of hope that I know something that'll happen... or something. I'm not making much sense right now. Sorry! Oh, I'm happy that Mai and Joey are back together! And YAY! The Chat room identities were revealed! Seto, when he gets better, should use that to his advantage over Joey for like... advice or something!
Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up now because it's late and I'll probably start getting into insane ramblings! Can't wait for the next chapter! This fic is really wonderful!
~ Solar K.
Unfortunately, I didn't want to have Joey stay any longer than necessary-- you'll see exactly why in WDKY18. But that doesn't mean he won't be showing his face around the Kaiba mansion anymore... And while I can see Kaiba exploiting Joey for advice, I don't know how comfortable he'd be revealing that he was in the chat room with "Lucky" and "Violet" too!
Thanks again for your lengthy and thoughtful review!
Cassandra Viellieux -- Hey I just wanted to say your story left me riveted and ready for more! Way to go this is the first time I've sent a review before. I gotta say that your story kept me thinking everytime I had to split and couldn't finish it (you wouldn't BELIEVE how many days it took me) but I really enjoyed reading it and I can't wait for the next chapters. Thanks for your time.
Thank you very much for stopping by to review! I know the fic tends to be a lot to handle at once, and my updates aren't exactly predictable, but that means there's always a lot to read, even if I haven't caught up in a while! < /lame excuse > I hope you continue to read and review, and once again, thanks for taking the time to review!
DarkShadowFlame -- Gah, I'm slow again. My family was on vacation and I couldn't read the monster chapter there. So I eagerly read it today and, as usual, am positively flooded with emotions.
We didn't see much of Dartz, while I'm sure everyone was expecting the Leviathan to storm the mansion or something. But I liked the happy events that were taking place while he's busy plotting. The New Years celebration was brilliantly written, because it was so natural and smooth and vivid... awesome. I loved how almost everyone had a brief cameo: Serenity and Mai are definitely awesome supporting female characters; Duke and Tristan are just so hapless; Joey is absolutely awesome and who doesn't adore him (and who isn't thrilled he and Mai are back together); Yugi is... sad. He himself is sad and it's sad to read about him. But really, who hasn't felt that way? I got fed a depressing video today that reminded me of Yugi sitting on the couch watching everyone party but him. I'm rooting for you, Yugi...
*grin* The idea of Leviathan storming the mansion on Christmas Day has me giggling like mad. Giant shadowy dragon knocks over priceless Christmas tree imported from Michigan! Family flees! Hah. But yes, I did want to convey a sense of time passing. In the show, it's always BAM! action, BAM! response, and so on. There is time for evil to be lurking in the shadows, and things to be growing and taking place. I'm just fond of dropping evil hints wherever I can.
The New Year's celebration really gave me the chance to write about everyone, and give readers a bit of insight into their character, even if they aren't the stars of the fic. I have secondary pairings for a reason, and PLENTY of love polygons (whether you see them or not) throughout the fic. WDKY is chock full of subtext. I especially love Serenity and Mai, because every main female lead needs her inspiration and help-- girlfriends! Yugi is tough to write though, even if he is the title character of the show. But he's a very necessary element, and one that will continue to feature in roles (whether sad, happy, or otherwise) throughout the fic.
Of course, I have to admit, I'm rooting for loads of other people too. I'm rooting for Bakura to get in the picture again (and make a big stink while he's at it). I'm rooting for Marik to continue being as cool, yet strangely fragile, as he has been. I'm rooting for Odion to come in and maybe tap-dance a chapter for my personal entertainment (don't worry, I am kidding). And I'm rooting for Raphael to single-handedly knock out Dartz, save Tea and Seto a lot of trouble, and retire in fame and fortune to a life of ease with all his family (I would cry with happiness) (I am still kidding) (Except about the crying, I really will cry if he's evil. Again.).
Bakura WILL be coming back, and with a bang, though the when and where is not only top secret, but Bakura is being elusive right now, and he doesn't want to answer any of my questions. (This is an odd contrast to a few chapters back, when he wouldn't leave me alone.) But unlike the anime, I plan on working him in somehow in the second half and the future "arc," just to remind readers of how important he is, as both Ryou and as Yami Bakura.
Marik's going to have a startlingly large role as the story progresses, mainly because he's in the story when he wasn't in the anime. I don't want to write him in and then ignore him for large chapters. Besides, I hinted at the prophecy, his exhibit, and many other Marik-related things, for a reason. (Still, I'm contemplating fixing his name to Malik, because I stand by my belief in the usage of "Isis" for his sister's name... what do you think?)
With Raphael and anyone else affiliated with the Orichalchos, I'm keeping my lips sealed. Just wait and see.
I was, surprisingly, not overly distressed by Kaiba being in an accident. I think it's because I picture it as something physical, like a car crash, and that's probably safer than being kidnapped by Dartz (or Pegasus, or evil-Marik, or Bakura, or the Big 5, or Gozaburo, and gosh isn't Seto popular?). But who knows, Kaiba could be in a coma, or the 'accident' could have something to do with Dartz, or the 'accident' could be something entirely different than my uncreative thinking. Isn't it ironic that after all Seto's angsting about Tea leaving him, he's the one that goes and gets himself into considerable trouble, enough for police involvement (Sergeant Konami must be awfully sick of those two). Speaking of Seto's angsting, oh my goodness, he should probably see a counselor about these abandonment issues.
You're one of the few that wasn't "distressed" about Kaiba's accident. I had death threats, a variety of people calling me synonyms of evil (or just plain evil), and a good number of bribes and other threats. And you also hit the truth (car accident) dead on-- props to you! I don't think many people even tried to predict just what I had in mind for Kaiba. So your thinking isn't uncreative at all (unless mine is, in which case, we're uncreative together)! But just as Yugi seems to draw bad guys, Kaiba has a penchant of his own for being a magnet for trouble. We'll see how far it gets him and how he tries to change as the story progresses, of course. As for a counselor... ^^;; Well, he won't in this fic, but the "abandonment issues" will come up again.
Tea will do good on that San Fran cruise thing - assuming she can go, now, with Seto in who-knows-what kind of trouble. I like the idea that she's using Marik and Odion's old cards (very possibly because I like Marik and Odion, period).
Oh, and to forget for a moment that Seto is in a potentially grave accident, he did get pelted by a snowball, yay! Not by Tea, though, at least not that we saw. Maybe she can bring one to the hospital, police station, sickbed, Dartz's lair, wherever our accident-ed Kaiba happens to be - Because I'm assuming that wherever he is, it's the perfect place to be pelted by a snowball.
Yes, Téa is still going to San Francisco with Mai. I don't mind saying that, because I'm very frank about how I plot out the timeline for this fic and its sequel, and I want people to realize that if you were going to sign up for a tournament on a cruise ship, you would need advance notice of a couple of months, not a couple of days or hours. This tourney isn't Battle City 2.0, sorry to say (?). I had an extremely difficult time coming up with cards that Téa could/might use in her duels, and I happened upon these ones from the Japanese OCG which Odion used. Unfortunately, the people at Upper Deck Entertainment didn't see the need to release the cards when Battle City was new (unlike what they're doing now; pre-releasing Elemental Hero cards for the English TCG so that people know exactly what they do before the actual monsters appear in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX). Anyway, you'll see a variety of familiar and yet changing themes in Téa's deck. Needless to say, as the author, it'll go however I want, and I'm not much of an up-to-date duelist, so we'll see how it all gets written out.
^^; Seto ends up being in a pretty grouchy mood in WDKY18, so alas, no snowball pelting within hospital grounds. But that would make for a cute blooper fanart. Or heck, WDKY bloopers, period. :P
Um, I hope you enjoy / don't mind these mile-long reviews. You're the only person I regularly write more than a paragraph for. Of course, it's nothing compared to these monster-chapters you turn out. Most novels aren't even that long. My dad is a writer, he said his books are 50 thousand - 60 thousand words... you've got over three hundred thousand, and you're not even close to the end! That's amazing. I know I've expressed my admiration for your incredible story length before, but I still can't get over it, especially since you don't seem to be giving up any quality to achieve the quantity. (I've seen them, you've seen them, we've all seen them: the five-hundred word evil little one-shots with no punctuation, misspelled characters names, no plot, no dimension, painful to think about... See, that's neither quantity nor quality - Your fic is both. Funny how that works.)
Gee, and now I've expanded a ridiculously long review into a super-ridiculously long review, with a lot of extra rambles. Anyway. Keep writing (you can't STOP, so that's a laughably obvious directive), I'll keep reading eagerly... and pretty soon you'll hit a thousand reviews, wow. Oh, and don't let Kaiba die (another laughably obvious directive).
PS - I FINALLY added you to my author alerts. It always took me forever to find out you updated. Maybe now I'll read new chapters more than two weeks later.
I LOVE mile-long reviews. I LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM! As for word count... geez, I wonder if it would hinder me if I ever tried to publish something ORIGINAL FICTION with this many words. Would it be a runaway hit on the bestseller list, or would my editor (assuming I got one who accepted an initial manuscript) throw it all to the fire? *wince* I'm amazed I can say as much as I think!
But thank you for the praise, the extra rambling, and the necessary directives (even if they are obvious). Hopefully you've since been updated on the release of WDKY18, so I look forward to your review for that!
Inu Kaiba -- And so, WDKY gains another plot twist and you end it on a cliffhanger, which you seem to love doing rather often.
Now it may be just me, but I got this weird feeling you were implying something that would come up in later chapters when Tea felt rather 'faint' around holding the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
Ah yes, plot twists. Think of WDKY like a particularly long Twizzler made out of all sorts of mini-Twizzlers, some sweet, some sour, all of them different colors and all sorts of fun. Mmm, twisted! And while I do seem to enjoy the sourness of cliffhangers, I try not to overdose on them, because that might turn a lot of people off, and ruin the effect of the story at large. Life has its cliffhangers, but they don't happen all the time.
And no, it's not just you. The subtext with the BEUD was something that I've been hinting at here and there. You have to look for it-- it appears in SEVERAL chapters, and it's always pretty subtle. Only recently was I just getting serious with my implications there.
Now I'm kind of glad to know there won't be a lemon, not to offend people who like them, but I simply don't enjoy that sort of thing in fanfictions, particularily long ones, especially ones like this. Your fanfic just doesn't seem to be the type to just throw in a lemon.
No, no lemon: I can't see myself writing one, really, though I know I could if I WANTED TO. But it would also make it impossible for me to post it on FFnet, and I would have to write an alternative chapter for archives that have a Mature-rating limit. However, the chapters do occasionally contain sexual content, and I want people to be aware of that. I abide by the Rated-R/M rating, and I don't want to hear complaints or people whining because the fic is a heavy "lime" scent.
Seeing as you're saying it won't take more than 2 years, which isn't bad because the chapters are quite long, I can only hope I'll stay interested in this story for that long as will you and that I'll get to see the end, and not suddenly, years from now remember this story and wonder how it ended.
I'd also like to compliment you on the Joey/Mai relationship. Although it's a fairly popular pairing, you don't see too many fanfictions for it, and for that I'll congratulate you.
I hope you keep up the good work and update soon. (So I can spend another 2 hours sitting in front of a computer screen reading WDKY.)
Considering the second half (the half which is beginning with the release of Chapter 19, coming out "soon") is more fast-paced and action-oriented than the first half, I hope to churn out the chapters faster-- way before WDKY hits the 3 year anniversary mark. I don't intend to leave anyone hanging and then suddenly update WDKY out of the blue-- it's a continual process.
Joey/Mai is the clear secondary pairing of this fic, with other love polygons and relationships coming in a close third. I like them a great deal and see their relationship as pretty damn close to canon, so I saw no reason NOT to include it. Like Seto and Téa, they both have their own sets of problems, more of which will come to light as they come into the spotlight and they have their turn to "shine."
Thanks for your extensive review!
Crystal56 -- You cruel mean SOB! How dare you leave it like that when it's three in the morning where I live and I took all night reading this story and there's nothing more there? YOU CRUEL PUNISHER YOU!
On a thought, I think I know what the prophecy is. Actually, it's like my story, "Duel of Love" although there are a few distinct differences. Now back to the rant. YOU CRUEL UNUSUAL PERSON YOU! I HATE YOU! I WILL FORCE COFFEE DOWN YOUR THROAT AND TIE YOU TO THE CHAIR BY YOUR COMPUTER IF YOU DO NOT FINISH THIS STORY!
^^;; Oi, oi, no need for name calling... though I admit, I do love leaving people at cliffhangers where they get all steamed up and write longer reviews! ^_^ I've also had WDKY in mind for quite a while, so I'd like to think it's entirely original and stands on its own, especially with the future chapters coming out.
I mean, holy mother of all wang this kicks ass! (Pardon the French *spits*)
UPDATE THIS YOU!
Another note, I remember reading about your reviewers all being authors, but you take the cake. This is over 300,0 words! Where do you find time to write this man? I'm jealous, insanely jealous of all this!
AND I HATE YOU FOR THE CLIFFIE Bwa, Hah, Hah my arse! I'M GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND FORCE YOU TO WRITE!
Seto: I think she's going insane.
Atemu: You know what? I'd rather not ask and find out.
Seto: Agreed.
Atemu: Wanna duel?
Seto: HAve I ever said no before?
Atemu: Point taken.
^^;; Not a big fan of the script/chat-format character plays within reviews, but to each their own, I suppose.
I SWEAR UPON ALL THAT'S GOOD AND HOLY YOU BETTER NOT END IT HERE AND FORGET TO UPDATE AND LEAVE PEOPLE HANGING YOU CRUEL, CRUEL PERSON!
Yugi: *yawns* How long can she go on like this?
Jou: Are you kidding me? Let her hit the caps button and she'll rant for another half an hour.
Yugi: All she's doing is repeating what she's saying.
Jou: Don't ask, don't tell, don't get a butt whoopin'.
Yugi: What's so scary about her?
Jou: She's got a rocket launcher, sniper and grenades from Halo 2...
Yugi: *shudders* I won't get within five feet of her.
YOU HAD BETTER UPDATE THIS! WAH! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT! DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING!
Anzu: Think I should tell her to got to bed?
Shizuka: I won't get within ten feet of her.
Mai: Do you think a few drinks would calm her down?
Anzu and Shizuka: MAI!
Mai: *shrugs* Just sayin' is all...
Crystal56: *sneezes* Someone is talking about me...
Everone: RUN! *mad anime dash* AHYH!
Crystal56: *loads Rocket Launcher and then decides to use sniper instead* Who shall I pick off first... *Pulls out rocket launcher and fires*
Everyone: X_X
Crystal56: I'll snipe ya'all later. *tosses a grenade at the group* Have a nice trip into next week!
Marik: I think you need help.
Bakura: I could recomend a psychiatrist.
Marik: I don't think she needs to hear that from you.
Bakura: *shrugs* Better me than you.
Marik: Not really.
Bakura: Yeah, I see your point...and I see she's aiming a sniper at us!
Marik: Ha! *dissapears*
Bakura: *gulps* I'm dead.
Crystal56: *grins evilly* Here Baku, Here Baku...
And I'll end it there for now...just like...update please!
*favs story list*
*story alert list*
I hope you don't mind the rant...my mind is just terrible sometimes. I would find it amuzing if you took a look at Duel of Love, it does now remind me of your story, just a little different and set in the past. (With an OC rather than Tea.)
Anyways, update soon would you? I relaly wanna know!
Anyway, thank you very much for reading the story and for writing such an amusing review! I'm not big on non-Azureshipping fics (it is my OTP), but I do take fic recommendations from authors I'm familiar with. Once again, thanks, and I hope you continue to read WDKY!
LeiDeeKaiba -- Hehe, this truly is an excellent fic! (thumbs-up sign) I just finished reading chapter 2 (if you were wondering why the heck I reviewed at chapter 18, it's because I've been saving each and every chappy in my HDD, so that I can read them again and again...n_n) Chappy 2 brought tears to my eyes...I really feel sorry for Tea (sobs). I find it amazing on how you can write about their emotions...it was beautiful.(T_T)
I wish you all the luck on this fic, and I'm sure (looks at review count) that you'll reach past 1,0 reviews with this. By the time I submit this review, the count would be 930! Woot! Come, 70 more reviews! (looks around)
Ciao~!
Why, thank you! I've noticed a lot of people like to re-read the story from the earlier chapters-- maybe they just want a refresher since my updates are so sporadic, or maybe they've caught on to my hints that there is a lot of subplot and subtext hidden within the earlier chapters. Who knows? But I did enjoy those early chapters, setting up the romance, the characterization, and a great deal of charged feeling.
Thank you very much for your review and your well-wishes-- though I'm not particularly big on review count, I do appreciate every nice one that comes my way, and I am (have to admit) a bit excited about reaching 1000 reviews (though why FFnet keeps on taking away triplicates or greater of any character is beyond me). I remember back when my longest fic (then "Only 16" from the Sailor Moon fandom) had only 80 reviews! Wow, I've come such a long way... thanks to reviewers like you! =D It means a lot!
