X Never Marks the Spot

This was interesting -- I don't think I've ever seen anything that looks at the physical effects of having been in a coma for so long -- and I liked how Kaiba was sort of cataloging his weaknesses (and you can see how they bother him -- especially when he says: he's good, above average, but not perfect) And then the ending -- when he says that all he's lost is worth it to regain Mokuba -- awwwwww perfection.

I'm not sure I'd call it fluff, but whatever it is, I agree the fandom could use more of it ^ _ ^

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I ♥ Seto at the firing range -- there are far too fics that discuss his ~~omg!canon!XD~~ knowledge about guns ^_^

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and there really should've been a "few" between "far" and "too" hahaha....studying has ruined my ability to write in English! XDDDDDD

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And that's still wrong....hahaah

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lady-karasu.livejournal.com

Have I mentioned lately that I love you? Seriously- this was so cute, in a Seto kind of way. ^_~ Nice tone for him, too.

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Thank you! ^__^
And fluff...erm, well, I don't know what else to call it. It's Kaiba-fluff, he doesn't do the really treacly sweet stuff, this is about as close as he can get? ^^

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if it makes you feel any better, I didn't notice you'd missed the word until I read your following comment ^_^

and yes, there should be more with Kaiba and ~~sexy~~ guns! ~~omg I am the worst pacifist ever~~

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gnine.livejournal.com

Squeee! So Sooo cute! but...um...neechan, where's everything ELSE you're working on, *cough cough*

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hee, glad you liked! ^^

and I joined the op fic comm! though I feel a little embarrassed about doing so because I'm being so bad about OP fic'ing now. Thanks to Kaiba, damn him.

(also, regarding YGO fic recs, have you seen

ygo_goodfic - it's not very active, unfortunately (keep meaning to post there myself), but there's some good recs on it. I love Madame Hydra's few stories. and the two who commented above are a couple of my other favorites -

midwest_tales is

praiseofshadow's writing journal, warnings for incest and very-not-fluffy massive mindfuckery, but damn it hurts so good; and

nenya85 writes Yami/Kaiba with a delicious and in-char Kaiba and a simply awesome Mokuba. And meanwhile

immicolia has been making me fall for Kaiba/Yugi - check out her memories, "Destruction by Degrees" is the good (angst) crack. But there's still a sad lack of gen fluff...*sigh*)

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~~omg I am the worst pacifist ever~~

Heh...there should be a club....right? Then we could all band together & discuss ~~sexy~~ guns and how we hate war....o.O;; ~~And then Kaiba could laugh maniacally 'cos he's so good at that~~

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I know, I've been struggling with this forever. guns = bad, but hip holster = too damn hot. and Kaiba breaking into Duelist Kingdom in the manga, gaaah...
...given Kaiba's propensity for violently antisocial behavior, contrasted with his proven hatred for weapons of war, he's actually be the perfect posterboy for our club ^^; ~~and we can let him cackle all he likes. mmm.~~

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zimarra.livejournal.com

I liked this. You write really well. Great imagery. Thanks for making me want to "try" to like Kaiba..

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hungry-worm.livejournal.com

Nice. I'm not following the series besides getting a coincidental glimpse every now and then, but I really liked the atmosphere of this ficlet. :)

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...given Kaiba's propensity for violently antisocial behavior, contrasted with his proven hatred for weapons of war, he's actually be the perfect posterboy for our club ^^; Oh so true! XD

I've always wanted to write Kaiba angsting over how his weapon designs are the reason so many people died in Sierra Leon or Congo or something because angst!Kaiba is just so delightful...and it'd be great if he had to threaten someone with a handgun for good measure in the story XD ~~*going to hell*~~

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tawnykit.livejournal.com

Do you mind me replying to this? You don't know me, but... wow. That was very good. Very touching. You're right; YGO needs more fluff. *grin*

I love the descriptions of, well, everything. You gave some great mental images.

Very well done!

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Only "try" to like him? But it's Kaiba! How can you not adore? XD but glad you enjoyed the story, all the same. ^^ If you're bored, I have written more fic...a lot more... ^^;;;

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~~going to hell with you~~ oh please please do it - I've been wanting to play more with all the indirect blood on his hands myself, and Kaiba!angst is always such fun ~~especially when it puts a handgun in his oh-so-close-to-suicidal-and/or-homicidal hands~~.

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thank you! it's especially cool to know a fic 'works' even if you don't know all the details.

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well, as I just joined your comm, I do know you a little - and happily you're contributing to the YGO fluff cause as well ^__^
regardless, it would be a bizarre alternate universe indeed that I minded someone replying with such nice comments - glad you enjoyed the story! ^^

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zimarra.livejournal.com

I am very bored. I am a boring person.

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~~Well, at least I know I won't be alone now XD~~ I'm thinking "new fic challenge" on the omgsoguiltycosofallthebloodonhishands!Kaiba XDDDDDD ~~in which he can have some handgun!action of the self defense kind...'cos logically he could know that he did nothing wrong and still....oh! the angst would (almost) kill him!~~

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tawnykit.livejournal.com

*chuckle* Well said!

And I meant that we hadn't spoken at all. Now we have. Now I can say that I know you. Kinda. *offers hand* Pleased to meet you. Name's Tawnykit; but call me Kalasin. *smile*

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twhitesakura.livejournal.com

Hi. I got directed here by

praiseofshadows. I'm also from

locketpair.

I think you've got a gem of a story. It's about an unusual subject matter. Miracles happen in anime-verses so often, we never think about the "what if everything wasn't perfect?" The ending was also very sweet and unexpected.

You need to cross-post and share the ficcy goodness. *Glomps story*

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*grins, shakes hands* Pleased to meetcha, call me, er - X!

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tawnykit.livejournal.com

That makes sense. *grin*

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Yes, I've seen you around, have enjoyed your fic! (I also adore that icon of yours, it's simply classic.) and I got recc'ed? *blush* Thank you for reading, glad you liked the ficlet! I was actually working on another fic when I started thinking about the usual medical implications of comas that so rarely come up in fiction, but since the thought didn't quite fit there I ended up spinning it off into this...

And crossposting...er, well, if you insist! ...I just worry about spamming the comm with my not-really-incest fic ^^;;;

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*shivers happily at the potential Kaiba!angst* ~~...and then Mokuba would hug him and make it all better, because it's apparently a rule with me that all my fic must end thusly.~~
Have you read Madame Hydra's "Moving Forward"? It's one of the few fics I know of that brings up the weapons-making at all *generally luffs the story anyway but especially that bit <333*

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If that's the one where Seto is making his case for keeping Kaiba Corp and Mokuba to his adopted cousin...then yes, and two summers ago when I first got into YGO fic ~~well, Seto really XD~~ I read it over and over and over XDDD That's still the best Seto story ever. Hands down.

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*nods nods* that's the one. and I've only read it...umm...half a dozen times? or so? ^^;;; I adore 3rd party POV insights on chars...though for 'best Seto ever' I think her "Mighty Wings" gives it a run for its money *too much love for pre-Death-T totally!nucking!futs!Kaiba*

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...given Kaiba's propensity for violently antisocial behavior, contrasted with his proven hatred for weapons of war, he's actually be the perfect posterboy for our club ^^;

Possibly individual killings are okay, it's only when done en masse that he has objections? (lol) Yeah I love that contrast too!

Actually I've always thought that's one of his twin motivations his obvious guilt over designing weapons, and desire to change. In a way it's ironic, becuae his desire to protect Mokuba and find a home for them *as well as his desire to show off by getting them adopted by a billionaire (lol) led to his designing the weapons that quite clearly haunt him.

Yeah I like Moving Forward too...

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immicolia.livejournal.com

Gah, I ment to comment on this like... yesterday. Or whenever. I can't remember, the night shift messes your head up, yo.

*ahem* Anyway, so much love for this. And I concour on the fact that this fandom so very much needs more fluff. I swear, One day I have attempt to write something squishy and adorable. ~~although I get the feeling that it'll probably never happen~~

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sankyuu~! ^_^
and yo, I am so gonna make a fluff challenge. Or something. All these fantastic authors and it's all aaangst. ._. I want a few happy warm fuzzies! smiles! cuddles! furry big-eyed kittens snuggling up with kuriboh! FEEEEEED ME!

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We haven't actually seen Kaiba kill anyone personally in canon, have we? Indirectly, possibly - Gozaburo, driving someone to suicide when collecting the Blue Eyes, maybe the guys he makes jump out of the helicoptor flying to Duelist Kingdom - and he's threatened murder convincingly more than once, but he's never actually carried it out, has he? Or am I forgetting something? I have no doubts that he could & would without flinching, if circumstances required it, but I think it would hit him pretty hard (probably harder than he'd anticipate)...and...*beats back plotbunnies with large stick*

What exactly are the circumstances of the weapons designing in the manga, anyway? In the anime it says a game design of his (or possible the VR technology?) was converted to weapons use, implying Seto didn't really know what he was doing at the time; I believe you as well as Mme Hydra have written that he was more aware than that, but is that conjecture or is there canon support? Has anyone translated those manga bits? (and Kaiba is nothing if not a walking mass of irony. ^^ I love the idea of what he did and is doing with KaibaCorp, because such altruism contrasts so splendidly with his whole seeming megalomaniacally egotistical nature).

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I was actually joking regarding the individual murders being okay thing ^ _ ^;;;; And I agree, if he thought it was necessary he would do it wothout flinching -- and deal with (or try to repress more likely) any emotional fall out later.

The manga is very vague on the weapons designing thing (such fertile ground for plot bunnies) When the crew arrives at Alcatraz, everyone kind of looks around and says what is this dump -- and Kaiba talks about how it is the ruins of Gozaburo's weapons plants. He talks about how Gozaburo designed weapons, and how his (Kaiba's) designs were used to kill, but he doesn't say how. He also talks about his determination to stop KC as a weapons corporation. Then he yells that his adoptive father sold his soul to the military.

It really has an impact because he says it so passionately, and it's the first time he has ever said anything that revealing. And of course nobody really gets it. Yugi is shocked and looks at his duel disk thinking he can't believe it had that kind of an ugly history, and Jou immediately reminds Kaiba that since he created Death-T that proves he's just as bad as Gozaburo.

I've never quite believe in the anime version that he thought he was designing a game that got turned into a wapon. Madam Hydra portrays Kaiba as having deliberately designed weapons because he felt that protecting Mokuba meant complying with Gozaburo's demand. I like that theory, but my own take is slightly different -- given that part of his motivation to take over KC was to stop the production of weapons, I've gone with the therory in both Cards and Deja Vu that he was probably asked to design things as part of his training -- and might not have considered anything further than proving himself to Gozaburo by completing the tasks on time... just not have had the luxury of considering the implications. Both thoeories of why he designed weapons are conjecture, and either are suitably angsty (lol).

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Hmm, have you read the original manga, or translations? Because I'm a little suspicious of some translations (some of the fan ones I've seen have been somewhat inaccurate)...I glanced at it last night, now am wanting to whack at several pages with my dictionaries until meaning falls out. From the little time I had, Kaiba says something about how the virtual reality system he designed was used by 'a certain country's military' (as a simulator?), and they made an enormous profit, and then he has the line about how his adopted father sold out his soul to the military. Which is such a great line!

I prefer your version of events, Seto's willfull blindness, to Mme Hydra's (which is slightly too cold-blooded for the younger Seto for me, though, ahh, the guilt!!) but I actually rather like the anime version myself - my interpretation was that it wasn't a specific game, but the VR technology. Seto designed it intending to use in KaibaLand, but such fantastic tech would obviously have applications in all sorts of fields. A younger, more idealistic Seto might not have realized what his tech could be used for (or more likely realized it but thought he could prevent it). The reason I'm thinking that selling out to the military wasn't his decision (even a forced choice as Mme Hydra writes) is because he does have that line about Gozaburo selling his soul - Seto is not one to blame others for his own sins; he'd accept the responsibility if he had been the one to do it.

Besides, I love the cruel irony of it, that tech Seto designed to bring people joy ended up killing instead. Maybe if Gozaburo gave him a private little project to work on in the games division, something Seto actually enjoyed doing, he might have even been a little grateful to his stepfather, finally getting the chance to do what he always wanted - and then his creation was taken from him and twisted, and Seto started handling the guilt by thinking of war as just another game, the way he talks about it in Duelist Kingdom...

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--just got the alert on your latest chapter - I'm not quite caught up yet (short on time, plus I'm drawing out the reading of it because I'm enjoying it too much to want it to end!) but I had to peek at the chapter anyway, and awww. and also ow, for the last scene (though I love the understanding of Kaiba that Sugoroku has reached.) Will leave a real review when I get there, but, yeah, much love. ^^

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I'm honored to be part of our mutual admiration society!

I can't read Japanese in any form or manner -- a lack I never realized before! (lol). I was going by the translations on Janine and Jenniyah's sites, mainly. From what I remember -- I printed out the episode, which is now buried, it was really vague -- he just says his designs were used but doesn't say how or why they were created in the first place. And I agree -- if he had intentionally created the weapons, knowing they would be deployed he would have said that HE had sold his soul to the military.

I think the only reason I don't quite use the anime explanation, or quite believe in it, is a little hard to explain, but it goes to the guilt Kaiba feels. Admitedly he could feel guilty simple because he realizes in retrospect that he SHOULD have realized how his design could be used, or even more simply feels that the reasons don't matter -- he designed something that was used to kill people therefore he's guilty of mass muder and the whys don't matter -- I think that has a simplicity that really fits his personality, and definitely think it's a large part of it.

But I think there's more to it. I think everything he designs -- from his deck to his holograms is an extension of his personality -- that a piece of himself is embedded in every program (I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this...) So I think that those weapons were an expression of his rage and hatred -- and then he would feel both shock and guilt (and anger at himself) that the object of his hatred used the expression of the anger in his soul to increase profits by making Kaiba (as he would see it) a murderer. I think this is why, even if he was unaware of the fact that his designs would be used, he would feel not just guilty, but complicit in Gozaburo's actions, because in a real way, those weapons are a part of him. I get into that a little in ch 36 ^ _ ^;;; and in 38 and some of the upcoming ones. I would apologize for bringing my writing into it, because I know that's tacky, but I actually express myself better when I'm putting words into my characters' mouths. ^ _ ^;;;;; <--- infinite sweat drops. Thanks -- don't worry take your time -- the story will still be there (lol).

I thought that was a wonderful point earlier (continuing the mutual admiration society) -- that Kaiba tries to handle his guilt by convincing himself (or trying to) that war is just another game at Duelist's Kingdom. I always love that for such a guarded person, so much of what he says is so intensely personal and really comes from the heart.

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