Yozora: Chapter 14 Notes
Part one of major milestones!!
I would figure now that the flashback makes a lot more sense with this chapter. The chapter title is drawn specifically from chapter 13. And Hei’s premonition comes from back when he was trapped in Miyabita. I almost wrote it so that Hei was supposed to recognize Inga’s voice, but I shifted around powers between the three Contractors and decided that I did not want glaringly obvious recognitions to be possible. It’s also why I shifted the shape of the other Contractor, and consequently gave my Batman-inspired power to the third Contractor (will touch more on that later) since he was a character yet to make an appearance until then. So that gets that out of the way.
Initially I had planned for Inga to be the manipulator of the venomous insects but changed my mind as the writing began and things shifted around. I had spoken of a Contractor power being influenced by Batman, yes? The killer insects are that very thing. If any of you are at all familiar with the movie Batman Begins, (as this is the only one in the trilogy in which the following happens, and it kinda bums me out) Batman does call in special backup of his own while more or less trapped at Arkham Asylum. And I have a clip, so...
I’m easily motivated by Batman, haha.
I also wanted to deal with deep emotional issues that were left unresolved in Masked Memories. If I was going to write a sequel then really, all the loose ends should be woven in, don’t you think? So that was part of the reason why both Ichiro and Mrs. Kanbimura make such stark appearances. Well, Ichiro, whether he said a word or not, was bound to make an impression since I know the incest bit really floored you guys in MM. Anyway, Sora hadn’t really had a serious conversation with the woman up to this point, and mother-daughter relationships are always so, so complicated. I peeled back Kanbimura’s hardened exterior in MM, but I knew it would be too happy-ending for both parents to be magically transformed into loving and considerate people out of nowhere. So cancel that. And yes, the stubborn rich-lady is archetypal at this point, but Mrs. Kanbimura’s character was committed. So let’s just talk about Sora’s eyes.
Truth is, when I first began writing Masked Memories, I was totally sold on Sora having blue eyes, even in light of the fact that Hei had blue eyes (fun fact: I hate my pairings to have same hair/eye colors. I never do it.) It’s just the way I pictured her, and I don’t like to be influenced by what other people might consider to be “too perfect” or a “Mary-Sue”. People in the real world can have black hair and blue eyes. Why should that be too unrealistic for a female lead? (I have actually had readers challenge me on this subject, much to my frustration.) However, toward the end of the story, the idea of colored contacts came to me and stuck with me. There was never really an appropriate place in MM for the concept to come to fruition, and then I found I didn’t want to strip Sora of the only positive thing to come from her mother. It was kind of a big deal. With this story though, it was perfect. Too perfect to avoid. And you guys, Sora is as ordinary as a character in an adventure can possibly be! Dumb things like physical traits should not be so damn distracting. She’s human. I never wanted her to be a goddess. Attractive, of course, but the idea was to highlight how ordinary she was in a family business that demanded more.
Suffice it to say, Sora is really the star of this story. She played a major but still supportive role in Masked Memories, but there’s a reason I gave her so much responsibility in Yozora. It should have been obvious from the start that it would pan out that way, or at the very least from chapter three when she takes on the alias Yozora the Night Reaper. The story is called Yozora after all, right?
Sora is really the glue that binds together all of the different characters. This chapter sets up an obvious war between the Anti-Contractor faction and all of the characters from Darker than Black what we are familiar with and love. Never would Misaki and November 11 be leading an entire force to the aid of the Black Reaper unless they were doing so entirely unwittingly (which they are not). While still being opponents, they are allied here in this cause. Sora is the one with the connections. MI-6 and Hei’s team are generally familiar with each other, sure. But not as pals. And I’m not trying to go out of my way to drop hints but there is a chemistry between November 11 and Sora... or at least, November 11 can’t resist his own charm. Plus Sora is still tied to Misaki in that she has been allowed to keep her memories and the privilege of direct communication with her (though obviously it’s not something she takes advantage of often).
So really, what is the price to be paid? I have (what I think is) a really big climax planned, as well as a concluding chapter. I wanted to share the title of chapter 16 but... I don’t know, I think it would erode much of the anticipation, and that kills all my fun. But it will be meaningful. And romantic because I’m a sucker for that.
I would figure now that the flashback makes a lot more sense with this chapter. The chapter title is drawn specifically from chapter 13. And Hei’s premonition comes from back when he was trapped in Miyabita. I almost wrote it so that Hei was supposed to recognize Inga’s voice, but I shifted around powers between the three Contractors and decided that I did not want glaringly obvious recognitions to be possible. It’s also why I shifted the shape of the other Contractor, and consequently gave my Batman-inspired power to the third Contractor (will touch more on that later) since he was a character yet to make an appearance until then. So that gets that out of the way.
Initially I had planned for Inga to be the manipulator of the venomous insects but changed my mind as the writing began and things shifted around. I had spoken of a Contractor power being influenced by Batman, yes? The killer insects are that very thing. If any of you are at all familiar with the movie Batman Begins, (as this is the only one in the trilogy in which the following happens, and it kinda bums me out) Batman does call in special backup of his own while more or less trapped at Arkham Asylum. And I have a clip, so...
Click to viewI’m easily motivated by Batman, haha.
I also wanted to deal with deep emotional issues that were left unresolved in Masked Memories. If I was going to write a sequel then really, all the loose ends should be woven in, don’t you think? So that was part of the reason why both Ichiro and Mrs. Kanbimura make such stark appearances. Well, Ichiro, whether he said a word or not, was bound to make an impression since I know the incest bit really floored you guys in MM. Anyway, Sora hadn’t really had a serious conversation with the woman up to this point, and mother-daughter relationships are always so, so complicated. I peeled back Kanbimura’s hardened exterior in MM, but I knew it would be too happy-ending for both parents to be magically transformed into loving and considerate people out of nowhere. So cancel that. And yes, the stubborn rich-lady is archetypal at this point, but Mrs. Kanbimura’s character was committed. So let’s just talk about Sora’s eyes.
Truth is, when I first began writing Masked Memories, I was totally sold on Sora having blue eyes, even in light of the fact that Hei had blue eyes (fun fact: I hate my pairings to have same hair/eye colors. I never do it.) It’s just the way I pictured her, and I don’t like to be influenced by what other people might consider to be “too perfect” or a “Mary-Sue”. People in the real world can have black hair and blue eyes. Why should that be too unrealistic for a female lead? (I have actually had readers challenge me on this subject, much to my frustration.) However, toward the end of the story, the idea of colored contacts came to me and stuck with me. There was never really an appropriate place in MM for the concept to come to fruition, and then I found I didn’t want to strip Sora of the only positive thing to come from her mother. It was kind of a big deal. With this story though, it was perfect. Too perfect to avoid. And you guys, Sora is as ordinary as a character in an adventure can possibly be! Dumb things like physical traits should not be so damn distracting. She’s human. I never wanted her to be a goddess. Attractive, of course, but the idea was to highlight how ordinary she was in a family business that demanded more.
Suffice it to say, Sora is really the star of this story. She played a major but still supportive role in Masked Memories, but there’s a reason I gave her so much responsibility in Yozora. It should have been obvious from the start that it would pan out that way, or at the very least from chapter three when she takes on the alias Yozora the Night Reaper. The story is called Yozora after all, right?
Sora is really the glue that binds together all of the different characters. This chapter sets up an obvious war between the Anti-Contractor faction and all of the characters from Darker than Black what we are familiar with and love. Never would Misaki and November 11 be leading an entire force to the aid of the Black Reaper unless they were doing so entirely unwittingly (which they are not). While still being opponents, they are allied here in this cause. Sora is the one with the connections. MI-6 and Hei’s team are generally familiar with each other, sure. But not as pals. And I’m not trying to go out of my way to drop hints but there is a chemistry between November 11 and Sora... or at least, November 11 can’t resist his own charm. Plus Sora is still tied to Misaki in that she has been allowed to keep her memories and the privilege of direct communication with her (though obviously it’s not something she takes advantage of often).
So really, what is the price to be paid? I have (what I think is) a really big climax planned, as well as a concluding chapter. I wanted to share the title of chapter 16 but... I don’t know, I think it would erode much of the anticipation, and that kills all my fun. But it will be meaningful. And romantic because I’m a sucker for that.