"And after that, there were truly no more words."
Author's Note (I lied)
Well, it's been a long (long, long) hard journey, but I assume if you're reading this, you've made it to the end. If not, go back and read the whole thing, you lazy cheater.
The Second Voice was born from three things: A morbid fascination with the concept of "soul rooms", an earlier YGO fanfic I wrote called "All The Little Voices", and of course, Yu-Gi-Oh! itself (which actually spawned the previous two things, but, uh, disregard that for now).
This note is designed to help you further understand the world of SV and therefore the workings of my own inner mind- or maybe it's just a little rant to amuse myself while I begin my next fanfic (Bakura, do I have plans for you). Besides, a long story deserves a long rant, so here goes! (if you read all of it, I'll give you a cookie. Or a thank-you note. I think you know which is likelier).
Think of this as the DVD extra. Don't you feel special?
~Part One: It's So Dang Long!!~
Q. What's the difference between a novel, a novella and a novelette?
A. A novel is a fiction book for adults of more than 40,000 words. A novella is a short 7,500 to 40,000 work of fiction, usually written for young adults or adults. A novelette is an extended short fiction story usually between 7,500 to 20,000 words. Sometimes the terms "novella" and "novelette" are interchanged.
According to this information (SpiritLedWriters), SV must be considered a novel with approximately 65,326 words (a novel must have at least 40,000). Again, congrats to all who made it. You have made this project worthwhile, and without your support, I probably never would have made it. No, seriously. I'm a major slacker and I'm amazed I actually finished this thing.
However, this story has taken years off my life (uh, more like weeks off my homework time), so be thankful.
~Part Two: Why Yugi?~
I happen to like Yugi, thank you very much. He has his share of hate mail, of course- it's not that hard to dislike him; he is, after all, the Main Character- but he's one of my favorite characters for one simple reason: Yami.
The concept of 'soul partners' (there is no official term for them, is there?) intrigued me so much it led to a whole lot of introspect on my part about what it would be like to have a yami, a 'soul room', etc. You know, the science of it all. And because Yugi and Yami Yugi seem so much more familiar with each other than, say, Bakura and his ever-lovin' tomb- robbin' friend, I decided to write about them and them alone.
Besides... I like his hair.
~Part Three: The Lingo~
The language in SV has been carefully planned out. While the dialogue is not exactly the main focus of the story, I spent countless hours tailoring the character's speech patterns to be consistent and representative of their personalities.
One thing I do regret is that Yami's speech patterns seem to be awfully formal, but as I was caught in the middle of the story, I didn't want to lose the consistency. In fact, I'm so obsessive about consistency that I made sure there were the exact number of spaces between the top of the page and the title in every chapter, but since FF.net gets rid of all my formatting, you won't get to appreciate it.
But I digress. Badly.
As I was saying, Yami is very formal because he's the Pharaoh. I wondered after a few chapters if I should lay off a bit and allow him, just once, to say "don't" instead of the rather awkward "do not" (he tended to sound sort of like Yoda in my head, after a while), but, well, you know... Consistency.
I don't know why I'm bothering with this part, seeing as there are about three people who actually speak in this story. Yami and Yami Ni no Koe have pretty much the same speech patterns, and Yugi's were simple. I'm about his age. I should know how a fourteen / fifteen year-old speaks.
On a last note, you may notice I don't use the terms 'aibou' or 'hikari'. Personally, people who say things like "oh it's so KAWAII!" naturally, out loud, and on a regular basis kind of... uh... freak me out.
Note to people who say things like "oh it's so KAWAII!" naturally, out loud, and on a regular basis:
No offense. Please don't kill, flame or spam me.
Okay, before I dig myself a deep dark grave, there's just one thing I'd like to get straight: CONSISTENCY. I use the term 'yami' only because everyone else is familiar with it, and also because even our children's book order catologue knows it. Jeez, even the English dub uses it (out of context, perhaps, but that's irrelevant).
~Part Four: The Plot Is Twisted, Man~
The plot was so confusing that I had to jot it down repeatedly on my piano notes while I was practicing. If it was hard for you too, don't worry. You're not alone.
Dangerously enough, much of it was improvised. SV started off as some snippet of life from Yami's ancient past, and evolved (or rather, mutated) into something much darker and horrifying. Aren't you glad? As it stands, I sort of made it up along the way, and it came to meet me halfway; sort of like the bridge scene with the memory globe and suchlike. Or something.
Because of YGO, I'm no longer afraid of the dark. In fact... the dark is cool. I liked the whole 'balance' concept, and the concept of yamis (yami? yamies?), and eventually the two became one. I could probably slip another stupid analogy in there somewhere, but this is getting long so I shall resist.
~Part Five: Time Flies~
SV FF.net info: Updated: 5-19-03 - Published: 1-17-03
I started writing this when I was fourteen. I'm one year older now. That's about the time it took me to get from one end of this tale to the other- and it wasn't easy. Oh yeah, and fanfiction.net and mediaminer.org didn't help much... malfunctioning all over my nice pretty computer... grumble.
While writing this, I've been known for my speed in updating. If you want to know the secret to my success, look towards a little thing I like to call UNHEALTHY OBSESSION. That and skiving off schoolwork will do nicely, and will work wonders for your story. If'n you want to be knowing my work ethic, it be goin' like so: I usually get about a chapter up per week, two or even three if I'm lucky.
The only problem with this system is the fact that your fanfic grows at an astonishing rate, and people have no time to catch their breath. It's like, "Oh five chapters... well, I'll let it alone for a week or so and see how it's doing." A week later... "What the- THIRTY-THREE CHAPTERS?! GOOD GRIEF!!!" Collapse, faint, ignore fanfic.
There's another reason why you are all such a brave bunch. And reading all this, too. You know, if I were a reader, I would have given up long past chapter seven. I admit it- I'm a poophead that way.
~The Afterword to the Afterword~
Hey, it's been surreal. Thanks again for reading this- it was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it, and I also hope you will plug it to all your aquaintances.
Thanks especially to Amariel and Lethe, whom I met through fanfiction. And Anime Ana of MM.org, and Blue September, and all the other fine folk who stuck with me till the end. And to Him, to whom I own the pleasure and ability to write this monster.
Love y'all.
~The Animagess~
Author's Note (I lied)
Well, it's been a long (long, long) hard journey, but I assume if you're reading this, you've made it to the end. If not, go back and read the whole thing, you lazy cheater.
The Second Voice was born from three things: A morbid fascination with the concept of "soul rooms", an earlier YGO fanfic I wrote called "All The Little Voices", and of course, Yu-Gi-Oh! itself (which actually spawned the previous two things, but, uh, disregard that for now).
This note is designed to help you further understand the world of SV and therefore the workings of my own inner mind- or maybe it's just a little rant to amuse myself while I begin my next fanfic (Bakura, do I have plans for you). Besides, a long story deserves a long rant, so here goes! (if you read all of it, I'll give you a cookie. Or a thank-you note. I think you know which is likelier).
Think of this as the DVD extra. Don't you feel special?
~Part One: It's So Dang Long!!~
Q. What's the difference between a novel, a novella and a novelette?
A. A novel is a fiction book for adults of more than 40,000 words. A novella is a short 7,500 to 40,000 work of fiction, usually written for young adults or adults. A novelette is an extended short fiction story usually between 7,500 to 20,000 words. Sometimes the terms "novella" and "novelette" are interchanged.
According to this information (SpiritLedWriters), SV must be considered a novel with approximately 65,326 words (a novel must have at least 40,000). Again, congrats to all who made it. You have made this project worthwhile, and without your support, I probably never would have made it. No, seriously. I'm a major slacker and I'm amazed I actually finished this thing.
However, this story has taken years off my life (uh, more like weeks off my homework time), so be thankful.
~Part Two: Why Yugi?~
I happen to like Yugi, thank you very much. He has his share of hate mail, of course- it's not that hard to dislike him; he is, after all, the Main Character- but he's one of my favorite characters for one simple reason: Yami.
The concept of 'soul partners' (there is no official term for them, is there?) intrigued me so much it led to a whole lot of introspect on my part about what it would be like to have a yami, a 'soul room', etc. You know, the science of it all. And because Yugi and Yami Yugi seem so much more familiar with each other than, say, Bakura and his ever-lovin' tomb- robbin' friend, I decided to write about them and them alone.
Besides... I like his hair.
~Part Three: The Lingo~
The language in SV has been carefully planned out. While the dialogue is not exactly the main focus of the story, I spent countless hours tailoring the character's speech patterns to be consistent and representative of their personalities.
One thing I do regret is that Yami's speech patterns seem to be awfully formal, but as I was caught in the middle of the story, I didn't want to lose the consistency. In fact, I'm so obsessive about consistency that I made sure there were the exact number of spaces between the top of the page and the title in every chapter, but since FF.net gets rid of all my formatting, you won't get to appreciate it.
But I digress. Badly.
As I was saying, Yami is very formal because he's the Pharaoh. I wondered after a few chapters if I should lay off a bit and allow him, just once, to say "don't" instead of the rather awkward "do not" (he tended to sound sort of like Yoda in my head, after a while), but, well, you know... Consistency.
I don't know why I'm bothering with this part, seeing as there are about three people who actually speak in this story. Yami and Yami Ni no Koe have pretty much the same speech patterns, and Yugi's were simple. I'm about his age. I should know how a fourteen / fifteen year-old speaks.
On a last note, you may notice I don't use the terms 'aibou' or 'hikari'. Personally, people who say things like "oh it's so KAWAII!" naturally, out loud, and on a regular basis kind of... uh... freak me out.
Note to people who say things like "oh it's so KAWAII!" naturally, out loud, and on a regular basis:
No offense. Please don't kill, flame or spam me.
Okay, before I dig myself a deep dark grave, there's just one thing I'd like to get straight: CONSISTENCY. I use the term 'yami' only because everyone else is familiar with it, and also because even our children's book order catologue knows it. Jeez, even the English dub uses it (out of context, perhaps, but that's irrelevant).
~Part Four: The Plot Is Twisted, Man~
The plot was so confusing that I had to jot it down repeatedly on my piano notes while I was practicing. If it was hard for you too, don't worry. You're not alone.
Dangerously enough, much of it was improvised. SV started off as some snippet of life from Yami's ancient past, and evolved (or rather, mutated) into something much darker and horrifying. Aren't you glad? As it stands, I sort of made it up along the way, and it came to meet me halfway; sort of like the bridge scene with the memory globe and suchlike. Or something.
Because of YGO, I'm no longer afraid of the dark. In fact... the dark is cool. I liked the whole 'balance' concept, and the concept of yamis (yami? yamies?), and eventually the two became one. I could probably slip another stupid analogy in there somewhere, but this is getting long so I shall resist.
~Part Five: Time Flies~
SV FF.net info: Updated: 5-19-03 - Published: 1-17-03
I started writing this when I was fourteen. I'm one year older now. That's about the time it took me to get from one end of this tale to the other- and it wasn't easy. Oh yeah, and fanfiction.net and mediaminer.org didn't help much... malfunctioning all over my nice pretty computer... grumble.
While writing this, I've been known for my speed in updating. If you want to know the secret to my success, look towards a little thing I like to call UNHEALTHY OBSESSION. That and skiving off schoolwork will do nicely, and will work wonders for your story. If'n you want to be knowing my work ethic, it be goin' like so: I usually get about a chapter up per week, two or even three if I'm lucky.
The only problem with this system is the fact that your fanfic grows at an astonishing rate, and people have no time to catch their breath. It's like, "Oh five chapters... well, I'll let it alone for a week or so and see how it's doing." A week later... "What the- THIRTY-THREE CHAPTERS?! GOOD GRIEF!!!" Collapse, faint, ignore fanfic.
There's another reason why you are all such a brave bunch. And reading all this, too. You know, if I were a reader, I would have given up long past chapter seven. I admit it- I'm a poophead that way.
~The Afterword to the Afterword~
Hey, it's been surreal. Thanks again for reading this- it was fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it, and I also hope you will plug it to all your aquaintances.
Thanks especially to Amariel and Lethe, whom I met through fanfiction. And Anime Ana of MM.org, and Blue September, and all the other fine folk who stuck with me till the end. And to Him, to whom I own the pleasure and ability to write this monster.
Love y'all.
~The Animagess~