Post-Story Wrap-up
So, for those who are interested, here are all my thoughts and ideas that went into my fanfic, "When Everything is Right". Now that it's finished, I have nothing to keep secret anymore!
Feel free to ask any questions you would like. Alternatively, if you do want to ask a question, but are embarassed to do so in front of other people, feel free to send me an email! My address is available by clicking the little "Biography" sign at the top of my page.
Otherwise, onward!
So, we've come to the end. How about some statistics at the moment of completion?
Published: 01-29-04 - Completed: 04-14-06
Words: 38277
Chapters: 14
Reviews: 315
Hits: 6649
C2s: 3
Favs: 130
Alerts: 61
Now, that's out of the way. Let's continue.
I did start writing this when Beyblade was my number 1 love. Since then, my interets have changed, so it was really hard to finish this. With university and a lot of personal stuff thrown in, I ended up spending almost a year without writing a word (of anything, not just this fic). I did want to finish this though, because I had a bit of a soft spot for it.
Originally the only idea for this fic I had was Kai and Rei talking in bed about whether Rei liked Mao. That was it. From here, I built my entire story. First I had to have a reason why Rei would be in Kai's bed, thus making up the rest of the fic until that point.
My main worry was making Kai and Rei seem realistic. I'm not a fan of BL fanfics where the two main characters are thrown together right away and problems arise from there. There's nothing wrong with that idea, of course, I just wanted to work more on the notion that love takes time.
So I ask myself, am I a romance writer? I don't want to be! I want to be an adventure fantasy writer, but alas, it seems I am a romance writer. My stories revolve around relationships, not adventure. I will work on this.
Alright, how about a chapter by chapter run down?
Chapter 1: My main problem with chapter one is the way I glossed over the past events of the argument. Show, not tell. I told. The story could have been started better if I had open with the scene of the fight and moved from there. Well, live and learn. At the start of this, Rei already has feelings for Kai. They're obvious. He doesn't know that, though, and neither does Kai. Psychological play at work here, and a lot of subconscious action. In fact, most of the chapters work with subconscious action.
Chapter 2: Let's start with a question that has come up. Why do I hate it when authors answer reviews? Well, it's usually because of one of two reason. One, the author takes up so much room answering each individual review and it takes me a long time to scroll down to the actual story. The other reason is because many authors use the answer as a way to "justify" what they have done which the review mentioned. If you think a review is wrong, email the person. You might be surprised to find they were right.
Onto the chapter... Rei almost seems a little whimpy. He's not afraid of the dark, but he's afraid of other irrational things. I was trying to capture some human emotions. They're not perfect, they have stupid fears, impossible dreams... This also occurs with Kai. He can't continue being mean and rude when someone needs him, especially when that someone is a person he cares for. They may seem stupid, but they are still young and have a lot of pent up emotions ^^;;
Chapter 3: The introduction of Kai's dreams was a touchy subject for me. The whole bad dream thing is really overused and I didn't want to go down that path at first. The idea that Rei was the only one to calm Kai's dreams though, was what pulled me in at the end. Kai slept in late because Rei slept with him. He had someone close by and unconsciously that made him feel better. As it continues, Kai's bad dreams end altogether. (And maybe are replaced with much nicer ones including Rei!) Again, Kai can't bring himself to hurt Rei in any way, not even his feelings. So he forces himself to be nice, but finds thats easier than he thought.
Chapter 4: Okay! This is the real first important chapter. The first three were set up. Here we confront some of Kai's lingering fears. The fear of his grandfather and his grandfather hurting Rei especially. In turn, he's also afraid of hurting Rei. Once again, though, Rei brings comfort to something which previously scared Kai. Rei sits in the chair and it suddenly is not so evil, but just a chair.
Chapter 5: The first time Kai actually hurts Rei, he freaks out, of course. This is an important turning point. Kai realizes that to protect Rei, he has to change. He can't be jumpy or rude, because it's too easy to faulter and hurt the one he cares for. Rei also realizes that it's up to him to get through the Kai. He is the only one who Kai responds to. Kai confronts his fear, both of his grandfather, himself, and of other people. Once again, it's Rei that brings about this change.
Chapter 6: Ahh chapter six... This was a type of filler at first, but some interesting things came out of it. Kai being very overprotective. Rei had reached for him and he took the hand offered. From Chapter 5 onwards he vows to himself to protect Rei in whatever way possible, even if that's holding an umbrella for him. Perhaps from here on they are true friends. Sure, there are ups and downs, but even if it all went south they would have remained friends. You can't escape this sort of friendship, surely.
Chapter 7: Oh yes... I and many other people loved this chapter. There's just something about cooking that is exciting. Thanks to my mom, I know lots about cooking. She's a chef and I hope my demonstrations of Rei's cooking were accurate. I particularly like this chapter, just because of Rei and Kai's interaction. Frued would have a fieldday with all the unconscious action and speech! This chapter is also one of my most important "clues" to the whole story. The symbolism of the chili, lemongrass, ginger, and palm sugar (the sweet). These four ingredients point to the four members of the team. Chili is Kai, Lemongrass is Rei, Ginger is Tyson, and Sugar is Max. Also, the pairs of ingredients balance each other out. Lemongrass takes away the bite of chili, while sugar sweetens the taste of ginger. I didn't actually plan for it to happen that way, it just happened as I was writing it. Maybe a stroke of genius, I don't know. It's still probably my favorite chapter.
Chapter 8: If Rei wasn't smitten before, this chapter does it. Kai protecting him when he needs it the most... How can you not fall for a hero type? *sighs* Kai looks after him, tends to his wounds, and makes him feel comfortable. Kai is great when he's not acting like a jerk. And because Rei opened up, Kai has to as well. This is a variation on the question game. In fact, their whole relationship is. Neither wants to admit to any weakness or feeling until the other does. So they trade off secrets and feelings. Perfect for them and their stubborn egos.
Chapter 9: Okay...this chapter seemed to confuse a lot of people. It's more symbolism at work. The tree acts as a metaphor for jail bars. Kai can climb the tree and look out but never actually escape. So he does not like the tree as it acts like a gate holding him in, but teasing him with freedom at the same time. So, it's a metaphor of imprisonment. Basically, he again does not want Rei near anything he associates with a fear, and begs Rei to stay away in case he is hurt. Rei doesn't listen (of course) and Kai chases him down. Rei being there puts the whole thing in perspective. Kai is older, his own man, and can climb back down the tree to any freedom he likes, one that includes Rei. Rei's secrets aren't revealed yet, but he wasn't to stay with Kai, where he feels happy and safe instead of returning to China.
Chapter 10: The thing I like about Rei as a character is his intuition. He knows what people need and caters to it. He's not a doormat though. He's diplomatic. I love him :D The whole thing in this is, again, subconscious action. Going out for a "not date", holding hands without realizing it, and most importantly where Kai walks in on Rei changing. No, most people wouldn't care, but Rei has developed feelings for Kai and is now embarassed in whatever may seem to be a "sexual" situation (in this one, he's wearing very, very little). So he freaks out and covers himself up. Make sense? Well...I thought it did ;_; Kai also admits later on that he no longer cares what other people think when it comes to protecting Rei. All his other fears are starting to leave him. This is perhaps another of my favorite chapters, just because of the way Kai and Rei speak to each other. I wrote it and it still makes me giggle. There is some mild symbolism with the resteraunts. The snobby place wont accept a "new" Kai, where as the place he and Rei find together is perfect. Many of Rei's mannerisms, particularly what he eats and what he says about it, are based on many conversations with my Hikari~ Love you, honey!
Chapter 11: This is the chapter the entire story revolved around. My original idea. This is all I had. Except it was much shorter and just revolved around Rei saying he thought of Mao like a sister. Surprisingly, though, this chapter was really hard to write. I had to get it just right. I didn't know how to start, how to get Kai and Rei together. So I started with a dream. I tried to make it graphic without being gross, leave it up to the imagination. It took forever to get it right and in the end I still wasn't 100% happy. The dream over, Kai and Rei together, and the rest too shape easily. Kai confronts his biggest, baddest fear in his dream. Killing Rei. Kai and Rei are before each other, bare (theoretically), confronting their fears and emotions. First you have to break them before you can build them up! Mwuahaha. Okay, I'm evil. I know this. The dreams gone at least, Kai and Rei move onto another question game. They test what means the most to the other person, seeing what they really feel. I think at this time Kai and Rei knew they liked each other as more than just friends, and were questioning the other to any romantic feelings elsewhere. They would probably disagree but let's not listen to them... And the first kiss. I don't know where this came from. The way I write is...well confusing. I let the characters lead me and occasionally pull them into line. Rei kissed Kai. Don't ask me why.
As to Rei's past, it's a botch up of both the anime and the manga. I really like his manga past, as it's far more indepth and gives away a lot of Rei's character. Seriously, if you get the chance, read the manga!
Chapter 12: Rei ran away with this chapter, again. I felt like I was holding him back a lot. I see Rei as the type to just blurt out how he feels, only to get hurt. That didn't suit me too well, though, so I had to reign him in. He got away with touching Kai A LOT though... In return, Kai seemed to be doing a lot of the same, so I didn't worry much. I'm no adept hand at relationships, but touching is nice~ I know it's stupid and soppy and romantic, but it's sweet. Poor Kai though, I think it finally dawns on him that he likes touching Rei, he likes being around him, and yes, he liked the kiss. So in usual Kai manner, he freaks out and races off. Rei also comes to the realization that Kai isn't going to accept him, this is why he was really crying, not because he was afraid he upset Kai.
The match between them. Difficult to write. Kai is fighting for his sanity here. He doesn't want to admit he likes Rei, so he goes all out in attempt to fight him off. However, he ends up hurting him, and whatever delusions he had come to and end as he plays the knight in shining armor :P (And also gives little regard to destroying Dranzer.)
Rei decides to get it over with. Later than he would have liked but...y'know...I have a story here. I let him run off and he did, kissing Kai even though he knew he would not be accepted. So he doesn't wait long for an answer and rushes off. Rei is silly sometimes.
Chapter 13: Okay. Major stuff happening...because it's the end! Nevermind that, though. Let's focus on the symbolism. Throughout the whole thing the weather has been following how Rei and Kai were acting. Raining when things were rocky, sunny when it was good. Then at the end...it's raining. Well, this also ties in with Rei's main point. There IS no right time. So, even though it's raining and miserable, they can still be happy and they have broken free of all previous cliches (because yes, the weather thing, pretty cliche. But I meant it to be a fairly cliche metaphor). The other symbol is Rei's suitcase. It doesn't close when he wants to leave because now his "life" is full. (Earlier, Rei was contemplating how it was that he could still fit his entire life into just one suitcase). Only when Kai is with him can he be whole, and they close the case together. Aww...how soppy.
Then there was working the title into the story. At first, I didn't mean for this to happen at all. I don't usually title things that way. In fact, I find it annoying to choose a title to go along with the first chapter, but what am I to do? I just picked a random sentence which sounded alright and chucked it up. Turns out it fit just right and working it in at the point was perfect. I like it when things just work out.
Epilogue: Well, not much else to say except that I'm a huge Takao x Max fan. I had to work it in somewhere! Also, Max is my second favorite character. There's so much going on in that bubbly blonde head. I know he's way smarter than he seems, so it seemed fitting that he would know about Rei and Kai's crushes before even they did. And Takao...well...he's an idiot. Ignore him.
So, that's all the chapters in a nutshell. Symbolism, metaphor, story, and characters, all wrapped up.
I'm sure you all want to know what I think didn't work though, right?
What Didn't Work:
1) I was experimenting with POV. Switching back and forth is not good, no matter how you do it. Stick to one or the other or go for a generalized omnipotent point of view. I can't have everything.
2) Some of the scenes where I wanted to convey something important and it just didn't work. I stated most of them above.
3) The time it took to finish this thing XD
And that's it. At least, that's all I can think of at the moment. I might ad more later.
Questions? Comments? I'll accept anything!
Feel free to ask any questions you would like. Alternatively, if you do want to ask a question, but are embarassed to do so in front of other people, feel free to send me an email! My address is available by clicking the little "Biography" sign at the top of my page.
Otherwise, onward!
So, we've come to the end. How about some statistics at the moment of completion?
Published: 01-29-04 - Completed: 04-14-06
Words: 38277
Chapters: 14
Reviews: 315
Hits: 6649
C2s: 3
Favs: 130
Alerts: 61
Now, that's out of the way. Let's continue.
I did start writing this when Beyblade was my number 1 love. Since then, my interets have changed, so it was really hard to finish this. With university and a lot of personal stuff thrown in, I ended up spending almost a year without writing a word (of anything, not just this fic). I did want to finish this though, because I had a bit of a soft spot for it.
Originally the only idea for this fic I had was Kai and Rei talking in bed about whether Rei liked Mao. That was it. From here, I built my entire story. First I had to have a reason why Rei would be in Kai's bed, thus making up the rest of the fic until that point.
My main worry was making Kai and Rei seem realistic. I'm not a fan of BL fanfics where the two main characters are thrown together right away and problems arise from there. There's nothing wrong with that idea, of course, I just wanted to work more on the notion that love takes time.
So I ask myself, am I a romance writer? I don't want to be! I want to be an adventure fantasy writer, but alas, it seems I am a romance writer. My stories revolve around relationships, not adventure. I will work on this.
Alright, how about a chapter by chapter run down?
Chapter 1: My main problem with chapter one is the way I glossed over the past events of the argument. Show, not tell. I told. The story could have been started better if I had open with the scene of the fight and moved from there. Well, live and learn. At the start of this, Rei already has feelings for Kai. They're obvious. He doesn't know that, though, and neither does Kai. Psychological play at work here, and a lot of subconscious action. In fact, most of the chapters work with subconscious action.
Chapter 2: Let's start with a question that has come up. Why do I hate it when authors answer reviews? Well, it's usually because of one of two reason. One, the author takes up so much room answering each individual review and it takes me a long time to scroll down to the actual story. The other reason is because many authors use the answer as a way to "justify" what they have done which the review mentioned. If you think a review is wrong, email the person. You might be surprised to find they were right.
Onto the chapter... Rei almost seems a little whimpy. He's not afraid of the dark, but he's afraid of other irrational things. I was trying to capture some human emotions. They're not perfect, they have stupid fears, impossible dreams... This also occurs with Kai. He can't continue being mean and rude when someone needs him, especially when that someone is a person he cares for. They may seem stupid, but they are still young and have a lot of pent up emotions ^^;;
Chapter 3: The introduction of Kai's dreams was a touchy subject for me. The whole bad dream thing is really overused and I didn't want to go down that path at first. The idea that Rei was the only one to calm Kai's dreams though, was what pulled me in at the end. Kai slept in late because Rei slept with him. He had someone close by and unconsciously that made him feel better. As it continues, Kai's bad dreams end altogether. (And maybe are replaced with much nicer ones including Rei!) Again, Kai can't bring himself to hurt Rei in any way, not even his feelings. So he forces himself to be nice, but finds thats easier than he thought.
Chapter 4: Okay! This is the real first important chapter. The first three were set up. Here we confront some of Kai's lingering fears. The fear of his grandfather and his grandfather hurting Rei especially. In turn, he's also afraid of hurting Rei. Once again, though, Rei brings comfort to something which previously scared Kai. Rei sits in the chair and it suddenly is not so evil, but just a chair.
Chapter 5: The first time Kai actually hurts Rei, he freaks out, of course. This is an important turning point. Kai realizes that to protect Rei, he has to change. He can't be jumpy or rude, because it's too easy to faulter and hurt the one he cares for. Rei also realizes that it's up to him to get through the Kai. He is the only one who Kai responds to. Kai confronts his fear, both of his grandfather, himself, and of other people. Once again, it's Rei that brings about this change.
Chapter 6: Ahh chapter six... This was a type of filler at first, but some interesting things came out of it. Kai being very overprotective. Rei had reached for him and he took the hand offered. From Chapter 5 onwards he vows to himself to protect Rei in whatever way possible, even if that's holding an umbrella for him. Perhaps from here on they are true friends. Sure, there are ups and downs, but even if it all went south they would have remained friends. You can't escape this sort of friendship, surely.
Chapter 7: Oh yes... I and many other people loved this chapter. There's just something about cooking that is exciting. Thanks to my mom, I know lots about cooking. She's a chef and I hope my demonstrations of Rei's cooking were accurate. I particularly like this chapter, just because of Rei and Kai's interaction. Frued would have a fieldday with all the unconscious action and speech! This chapter is also one of my most important "clues" to the whole story. The symbolism of the chili, lemongrass, ginger, and palm sugar (the sweet). These four ingredients point to the four members of the team. Chili is Kai, Lemongrass is Rei, Ginger is Tyson, and Sugar is Max. Also, the pairs of ingredients balance each other out. Lemongrass takes away the bite of chili, while sugar sweetens the taste of ginger. I didn't actually plan for it to happen that way, it just happened as I was writing it. Maybe a stroke of genius, I don't know. It's still probably my favorite chapter.
Chapter 8: If Rei wasn't smitten before, this chapter does it. Kai protecting him when he needs it the most... How can you not fall for a hero type? *sighs* Kai looks after him, tends to his wounds, and makes him feel comfortable. Kai is great when he's not acting like a jerk. And because Rei opened up, Kai has to as well. This is a variation on the question game. In fact, their whole relationship is. Neither wants to admit to any weakness or feeling until the other does. So they trade off secrets and feelings. Perfect for them and their stubborn egos.
Chapter 9: Okay...this chapter seemed to confuse a lot of people. It's more symbolism at work. The tree acts as a metaphor for jail bars. Kai can climb the tree and look out but never actually escape. So he does not like the tree as it acts like a gate holding him in, but teasing him with freedom at the same time. So, it's a metaphor of imprisonment. Basically, he again does not want Rei near anything he associates with a fear, and begs Rei to stay away in case he is hurt. Rei doesn't listen (of course) and Kai chases him down. Rei being there puts the whole thing in perspective. Kai is older, his own man, and can climb back down the tree to any freedom he likes, one that includes Rei. Rei's secrets aren't revealed yet, but he wasn't to stay with Kai, where he feels happy and safe instead of returning to China.
Chapter 10: The thing I like about Rei as a character is his intuition. He knows what people need and caters to it. He's not a doormat though. He's diplomatic. I love him :D The whole thing in this is, again, subconscious action. Going out for a "not date", holding hands without realizing it, and most importantly where Kai walks in on Rei changing. No, most people wouldn't care, but Rei has developed feelings for Kai and is now embarassed in whatever may seem to be a "sexual" situation (in this one, he's wearing very, very little). So he freaks out and covers himself up. Make sense? Well...I thought it did ;_; Kai also admits later on that he no longer cares what other people think when it comes to protecting Rei. All his other fears are starting to leave him. This is perhaps another of my favorite chapters, just because of the way Kai and Rei speak to each other. I wrote it and it still makes me giggle. There is some mild symbolism with the resteraunts. The snobby place wont accept a "new" Kai, where as the place he and Rei find together is perfect. Many of Rei's mannerisms, particularly what he eats and what he says about it, are based on many conversations with my Hikari~ Love you, honey!
Chapter 11: This is the chapter the entire story revolved around. My original idea. This is all I had. Except it was much shorter and just revolved around Rei saying he thought of Mao like a sister. Surprisingly, though, this chapter was really hard to write. I had to get it just right. I didn't know how to start, how to get Kai and Rei together. So I started with a dream. I tried to make it graphic without being gross, leave it up to the imagination. It took forever to get it right and in the end I still wasn't 100% happy. The dream over, Kai and Rei together, and the rest too shape easily. Kai confronts his biggest, baddest fear in his dream. Killing Rei. Kai and Rei are before each other, bare (theoretically), confronting their fears and emotions. First you have to break them before you can build them up! Mwuahaha. Okay, I'm evil. I know this. The dreams gone at least, Kai and Rei move onto another question game. They test what means the most to the other person, seeing what they really feel. I think at this time Kai and Rei knew they liked each other as more than just friends, and were questioning the other to any romantic feelings elsewhere. They would probably disagree but let's not listen to them... And the first kiss. I don't know where this came from. The way I write is...well confusing. I let the characters lead me and occasionally pull them into line. Rei kissed Kai. Don't ask me why.
As to Rei's past, it's a botch up of both the anime and the manga. I really like his manga past, as it's far more indepth and gives away a lot of Rei's character. Seriously, if you get the chance, read the manga!
Chapter 12: Rei ran away with this chapter, again. I felt like I was holding him back a lot. I see Rei as the type to just blurt out how he feels, only to get hurt. That didn't suit me too well, though, so I had to reign him in. He got away with touching Kai A LOT though... In return, Kai seemed to be doing a lot of the same, so I didn't worry much. I'm no adept hand at relationships, but touching is nice~ I know it's stupid and soppy and romantic, but it's sweet. Poor Kai though, I think it finally dawns on him that he likes touching Rei, he likes being around him, and yes, he liked the kiss. So in usual Kai manner, he freaks out and races off. Rei also comes to the realization that Kai isn't going to accept him, this is why he was really crying, not because he was afraid he upset Kai.
The match between them. Difficult to write. Kai is fighting for his sanity here. He doesn't want to admit he likes Rei, so he goes all out in attempt to fight him off. However, he ends up hurting him, and whatever delusions he had come to and end as he plays the knight in shining armor :P (And also gives little regard to destroying Dranzer.)
Rei decides to get it over with. Later than he would have liked but...y'know...I have a story here. I let him run off and he did, kissing Kai even though he knew he would not be accepted. So he doesn't wait long for an answer and rushes off. Rei is silly sometimes.
Chapter 13: Okay. Major stuff happening...because it's the end! Nevermind that, though. Let's focus on the symbolism. Throughout the whole thing the weather has been following how Rei and Kai were acting. Raining when things were rocky, sunny when it was good. Then at the end...it's raining. Well, this also ties in with Rei's main point. There IS no right time. So, even though it's raining and miserable, they can still be happy and they have broken free of all previous cliches (because yes, the weather thing, pretty cliche. But I meant it to be a fairly cliche metaphor). The other symbol is Rei's suitcase. It doesn't close when he wants to leave because now his "life" is full. (Earlier, Rei was contemplating how it was that he could still fit his entire life into just one suitcase). Only when Kai is with him can he be whole, and they close the case together. Aww...how soppy.
Then there was working the title into the story. At first, I didn't mean for this to happen at all. I don't usually title things that way. In fact, I find it annoying to choose a title to go along with the first chapter, but what am I to do? I just picked a random sentence which sounded alright and chucked it up. Turns out it fit just right and working it in at the point was perfect. I like it when things just work out.
Epilogue: Well, not much else to say except that I'm a huge Takao x Max fan. I had to work it in somewhere! Also, Max is my second favorite character. There's so much going on in that bubbly blonde head. I know he's way smarter than he seems, so it seemed fitting that he would know about Rei and Kai's crushes before even they did. And Takao...well...he's an idiot. Ignore him.
So, that's all the chapters in a nutshell. Symbolism, metaphor, story, and characters, all wrapped up.
I'm sure you all want to know what I think didn't work though, right?
What Didn't Work:
1) I was experimenting with POV. Switching back and forth is not good, no matter how you do it. Stick to one or the other or go for a generalized omnipotent point of view. I can't have everything.
2) Some of the scenes where I wanted to convey something important and it just didn't work. I stated most of them above.
3) The time it took to finish this thing XD
And that's it. At least, that's all I can think of at the moment. I might ad more later.
Questions? Comments? I'll accept anything!