Yu-Gi-Oh! 24 - Finished

[Aerion Brightflame]

I think the duel would have kinda killed the feel myself. So yeah, I agree less is more.

 

Now that the official reply is over with, let's do the important thing.

 

I've not been here a very long time. I mean, it's not even been a year yet, and yet somehow I've gained some respect from some people. And a bizzare amount of very spontaneous game logic. Now, like most I started out by lurking. And I lurked in this section mostly, given that I didn't fully understand everything about the TCG section, and Chris scared me away at first. So I came into this section, and started reading. I read 3 truely amazing fics, one by either Umbra or Saber, I can't remember which, The Wanderer by Agro, and this one. In fact, if it hadn't been for this fic, I'd have left this sight behind. Instead I had well a sort of home, and a place where I could just forget about the annoyingness of the past 14 months of my life, and be at one with my inner nerd.

 

So it's sad to see you leaving. But in the same vein, it's inspiring me to try and follow in your footsteps, and be the 6th person to finish a fic here.

 

Now, I can also say without a doubt you've actually been the only real friend I've made here, with the possible exception of Kenji. You've been so helpful, both for my fic, and for just life stuff in general. And I hope I've returned the favor at times. You are an interesting, bright, funny and entertaining guy, and I say without shame one of my only two real guy crushes. I'll miss ya for certain when you are gone. Needless to say though, you do stand as one of the greatest writers on the site, and I would still kill to get even some of your talent, and the section will never be the same without you.

 

Sorry to anyone's fic I've offended here, but it's kinda true.

[Canopy Star - Eon Sphere]

I'm gonna have to be boring and agree with the guys above on this. I can say that you are one of the only writers to have not only finished 2 stories, but to have done both of them to a very reasonable standard. Your two fics are half of the fanfiction I have read on YCM (with Dead Zone and D-Accel making up the other half), and so you have very much set a standard that I judge by. This, as you might guess, makes reviewing your work slightly problematic, but I do the best I can. After my review of 24 seeming maybe like a list of things you did wrong, I want to say that this is the top standard which I would mark any other Yu-gi-oh fiction against (even the show itself, sometimes).

 

I realise that this is not going to change your mind about leaving, nor did I write this with that intention in mind. I simply wanted to say that whatever you think of your writing, no matter what...

 

I will never forget this.

 

[URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcL3kAtbcYE[/URL]

 

Goodbye, Matt.

[~Tico~]

Finally got a chance to sit my butt down and write out a proper response to YGO 24 (and a farewell to you, at that.) Well, no time like the present, so let's get this going. 

[Spoiler= It's all in here]

 

So let's get to breaking this story down. As is obvious, the story itself was, for the most part, good, especially since it pretty much had to be centered around card games. I was originally rather skeptical when it turned out that the "terrorists" were centered on getting all the Number cards. Given that numerous stories out there (not to mention RPs) had a similar form of Number gathering quest at the time of its release, I honestly had to try not to roll my eyes in exasperation. I reasoned however that it couldn't really be as bad as I thought. And as the next few chapters came out, it turns out I was right. What originally began as a terrorist plot quickly evolved far beyond its initial form into a sweeping story of betrayal, heroism, and most importantly, the darkness hidden away within the hearts of man. There were a few holes here or there, but nothing groundbreaking that ruined the story. 

 

Some stories have characters who are completely over-the-top and some stories have characters whom we quickly grow tired of and couldn't care less about. That was not so here. As I read this tale, I felt myself drawn in to the turmoil our heroes faced; cheering at their successes, watching anxiously at moments where the tide's flow was unclear, and of course, mourning those who didn't live to see the end. To be honest however, I was put off by the sudden appearance of the Horsemen within the story. It wasn't too bad at their initial appearance (I assumed they were Murtagh's flunkies or some other form of obstacle set up by him, although such a feeling faded after I thought more on the subject.) However, they took over the role of the main baddies, I just felt it was too quick of a transition without much buildup. Coupled with the fact that Death's motivation was weak at best, it just didn't sit well with me. Don't take this badly, though, as I eventually grew to live with the idea and it took no enjoyment out of my reading of the story. 

 

And of course, being a YGO fic, it wouldn't be half as good as it was without the duels. And they were (lemme emphasize) awesome. Other than terribly thought out plots, the one thing that kills a YGO fic is having badly written duels. Your writing was nowhere near that. Save the one between Daiki and Garvan in Chapter 1 (if I recall correctly) no duel was without reason, and you made each duel distinct and descriptive, to the point where I could picture the raging clash going back and forth. Each battle on the page went from a cluster of words to a pulse-pounding battle of life and death. I really admire you for your skill in making it so, for it was one of the best parts of reading the fic. 

 

All in all, this fic left me with a great reading experience. It was not amazing beyond belief, but it was certainly as good as Armageddon, if not more so. I'm glad you managed to pull through to the end, as I understand that you had rough times throughout the process of this fic's completion. But you did, and it was glorious. Of course, the end this time comes with a bitter price: that is to say, your leaving of this forum in a few days. I won't try to stop you; that wouldn't be fair and I doubt I'd be able to convince you otherwise anyway. But for what it's worth, I'm glad I was able to become an acquaintance of yours, if not a friend. There was, of course, that stretch of six or so months where I was absent from the forum, but you were among the first to greet me on my return, and I'm thankful for that. I still remember as well those instances where I'd ask you questions for writing my own fic, and despite myself being practically a no-namer then (and now, most likely), you were patient and not only gave me answers, but encouraged me. That really heartened me, seeing as you were and still are, among the best writers this forum has. More than that, you were a great person in general, and you'll be sorely missed by many, I'm sure. 

 

Farewell, Matt. May your life in the future be bright and prosperous. Let not the darkest of days nor anything else bar your way, for you are Matt Bahamut. With the might of a raging dragon, may adversity tremble in your wake. And may happiness be yours, now and forever. 

/hopefully, that ^ wasn't too mushy seeming. 

[/spoiler]

 

Well, that's there and done. And one last time, goodbye Matt. Know that you will be missed, and may only fair fortune and success lie in the path ahead you have yet to walk. This has been Corona Ray's message. Peace out.

[AGATHODAIMON BANGTAIL COW]

Before I forget and then cannot, I should probably post a response that I feel warrants a post rather than a comment to one of your statuses.

 

First of all, while I'm on the internet, I tend to get distracted by a myriad of things, and if this was able to keep my attention long enough to read it, then it is by default worth its weight. I think I've mentioned this to you before, but as this is the internet, it also didn't feel the same reading a story on here than it would be in a book. That said, I had this habit of skipping over the meat of the story to get to the action-packed duels, but fortunately, I stopped doing that as the story came closer and closer to its finish. I should, one day, read the entire thing over again without skipping over what I had skipped.

 

My favorites characters of the story would have to be Wilhelm, Evos, the Ghosts, and oddly, Tei (the kid in Chapter 2:1) who I kept an eye out for to see if he made a surprise appearance. I feel like mentioning that my first evar rep on YCM came from me naming Chimeratech's attack in the duel against the Ghost who had Vennominaga. I definitely loved the Ghost who used Zombies and how that turned out.

 

The story has also been the cause of me doing a few things, such as finally trying out Steelswarms on Tagforce 5 and trying to make my own. However, it probably won't ever make an appearance on the forums thanks to a combination of distractions and my own doubts of my writing skills. It isn't exactly something that I can just decide to focus fully on and eventually get started on. Hell, I've started on a Dynasty Warriors fanfic back in 2008 and it still is nowhere near done. It just won't happen. Seriously. :/

 

It would have been nice to see even more of this than there is, but I have to remember that you aren't some program designed to infinitely entertain us with this. It's a shame that you have to leave this community, and I'm sorry for all of the countless times I've shied out of responding to you.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Wow, thank you guys. I know I haven't replied until now, but all these responses have been really overwhelming. Some have made me cry they're so sweet.

 

First off I wish to apologise to Accel and Umbra. Sorry I didn't keep up with your fics. I've been decided on leaving for a while and knew I wouldn't see the end of them, so I didn't want to get sucked into half a story I could not finish. You're both great writers and thank you for all your advice. :)

 

Thank you all of you for the lovely and heartfelt messages. I'd never heard it before, but I love that song Eon. Thank you. Background Character, it's okay, it's really touching you got one in at the end and you had been letting me know by status :) I'd forgetten about Tei, but Wilhelm was amazing though and I loved writing him as a character. I'm really happy that I've helped people out and maybe inspired them to do stuff.

 

Thank you Corona and Guu for those honest and comprehensive summaries, I'm glad that the story was good for the most part. And I feel honoured that you've quoted me in your sig Guu :) Sim, yeah I originally planned to finish with Clarissa and Kaneko, but it didn't seem necessary. They've had their time in the sun and the likes of Hideo, Mai, Garvan, Dai and Natsumi needed the conclusion more. Their scene would have just been fanservice, but I couldn't leave them in limbo forever. Just a suggestion to you and Dai and Nat that they are out there somewhere, alive well and happy. Who knows when they'll be seen again...

 

Wish I could draw. I'd love to have been able to draw them and other characters that I can picture.

 

Pac, I'm stopping writing because I don't think I have another good story idea in me, and I want to focus on other parts of my life. Writing has been very time consuming and stressful over the last year, and I want to spend more time on martial arts and with a certain special person I've met recently and other aspects of life, and getting better and more happy with myself. Barty, you've been brilliant, and I'm touched and flattered. As for everyone else who has commented from start to finish, thank you all.

 

Well, that's it. My last post here. In this section, and on this forum. It's been great guys. I'm truly humbled and overwhelmed. I'm happy you all enjoyed my stories, and thank you for following them until the end and giving me support to keep writing. They've been two incredible adventures. I will never forget these experiences, these characters, or you readers.

 

Goodbye.

 

(Lock please)

[AsianGuy1137]

I want you to know that I finally plan on actually going through this, chapter by chapter now that I have the time. I probably won't be able to give you the much-deserved praise that something of such an epic scale deserves, but I felt that I had to say something. So here it is. Also, good luck on any future endeavors you may have in writing other stories.