When I Come Back to You
A PoT Fanfic by Kat (a.k.a. FallingSilver @ fanfiction.net)
Frequently Asked Questions
Hi there, everyone! If you came here through The Seven Lines, this is a FAQ for one of the fanfics in my fanfiction archive. If you came here through fanfiction.net, welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions page for When I Come Back to You (which I affectionately call 'WICBY' because I think it's a cool acronym, lol...).
I created this page because my reviewers were asking some legitimate questions about the fic, most of which I tried to answer in my Author's Notes on fanfiction.net. But the author's notes are getting really long, so I created this page as a handy reference for anyone who has a question about the fic.
Hope this helps anyone who's curious! :) You can always e-mail me a question at the following address and I will reply to you asap and post it here as well...
Glitterfluff@aol.com
Thanks and enjoy! :)
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Q: What genre is this fic, exactly? You didn't label it as angst!
A: Good point, lol... I labeled it as "Drama" and "Romance" on ff.net, which is fairly accurate. But there is definitely angst, and there's also some fluff, especially later on. But really, there's a little bit of everything. There's intrigue and suspense, and of course, like most fics, there are moments of humor. If I had to call it one thing, though, I'd call it a romance. Because at heart, that's what it is. I would caution you, however, that it is not quite a typical romance fic.
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Q: Okay, but what are the pairings in your fic?
A: Oh, dear... I'm afraid I don't like having to answer this question, but I feel bad that I have not answered it yet for all the loyal readers who have been asking. I mean, it's only fair, since I usually like to know what pairing I'm reading about too. So here's my final answer, for all you who have been wondering...
The pairings, officially, are Golden Pair, Tezu/Fuji, Momo/Ryo, Tezu/Ryo, and Inui/Kai. There are side pairings and also a great deal of suggestive hints for alternate relationships, if you look veeerrrry closely, but those are the main ones.
I know, I know, how can I have Ryoma in two pairings? -_-; I'm sorry, but if I explain more than that, it would ruin the story! (Which is why I don't like having to answer this particular question.) I will say that if you've stuck with the story so far, I don't think you'll hate the ending, no matter which Ryoma pairing you favor. So I hope this reply doesn't scare off any of my readers, but I don't blame you if it does. I can promise you one thing, though... I will make the result justifiable in the context of my story. I know, it's not the best thing you can hope for, but I promise the ending will at least make sense.
I would also like to caution readers in advance... This is not quite the typical romance fic. It won't be quite like typical fics written for these pairings, so you might be a bit surprised where I go with it. Hopefully it won't be a bad surprise, though! ^_^
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Q: Um... is this fic supposed to be in character? Because it's a little weird...
A: Yes, it is supposed to be in character, and feel free to give me constructive criticism on that point. I'd really appreciate it. :) I should mention one thing, however... Five years have passed between the start of my fic and the end of the anime series. And in that time, I have had a LOT of strange things happen to our beloved characters. I don't want them to be OOC, but I want them to be in character given what they've gone through. Still, I know that's a fine line, especially when I haven't revealed the biggest secrets of the story yet. So you can go ahead and tell me if you think it's completely off.
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Q: Why in the world is Fuji evil??? Gaaaaahhh! X_x
A: This is a reaction I get a lot, lol. Let me start by saying that I love Fuji and even though he is an antagonistic element at times in my story, he's no villian. He has a great deal of reasoning behind everything he does, and his motives are certainly not all that they seem to be. If you look very closely, you'll already see hints of that. In his own way, he wants things to change, and he is trying to make certain things happen. But there's more to it than that... Unfortunately, the biggest change in Fuji's life that happened since Ryoma left is basically the biggest secret of the fic, and I can't reveal it here. But that in particular explains why he acts the way he does. Beyond that, I can't say much more! Gomen! >_< I hope that you'll see by the end why Fuji is the way he is in my fic. Hopefully it doesn't come across as ridiculously out of character, though.
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Q: How long is this fic going to be?
A: Well, eventually this question will answer itself, but the current answer is... I'm not sure. O__o There are about 3 total climaxes within the plot, and I've already written one of them. (The first climax was in chapter 10, when the Regulars were reunited.) So, how much longer will the story be? My best guess is that I will cover it in around 20 to 25 chapters at most. My best guess so far is about 20 chapters total.
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Q: You said in the author's note that this fic would contain both slash and het. Um... where's the het?? O__o
A: Yes, I did say when I started this fic that it would contain both hetero-type romance and also slash/yaoi/shonen-ai/whatever you call it. The het part is mostly with minor pairings, including the pairing of Tomoka/Horio, lol. The story does contain one OC (Original Character), who may or may not be a Mary Sue type figure. (It's debatable, honestly, because she ends up being integral to at least two elements of the plot, but I didn't develop her character much...) The reason I included both shonen-ai and het in my warning label is because I've noticed that there are tons of passionate readers out there who vastly prefer one over the other. So, I provided the warning because I didn't want them to start the fic unprepared and then find themselves hating it because they weren't forewarned. For the most part, though, I hope my fic is enjoyable for everyone. I certainly tried to make it so. ^_^
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Q: Wow. This fic is... complicated. Where in the world did you get these ideas? O_o
A: Like most writers, I got the idea for WICBY from a variety of sources and then put them all together. But, believe it or not, it started with two things... One, I watched the subbed version of the last few episodes of the anime over the summer. I found it extremely moving, and even sad, because I am a huge PoT fan and I wished that the series would never end. Two, I saw the preview for the upcoming movie version of the musical "Rent"... (I can just hear all my readers saying, "Where in the world are you going with this one???" Lol!) See, my high school choir once did a choral version of the song "Seasons of Love," and that happens to be the song on the preview. Well, I fell in love with the song all over again, downloaded the movie version from iTunes in September, listened to it about a million times, and... somewhere in there, the combination of pondering Prince of Tennis while listening to Seasons of Love gave me the basic idea for WICBY.
That's the simple answer. PoT anime ending + "Seasons of Love" from RENT = WICBY.
There were a variety of other sources for my inspiration, though. One was the writings of Leo Tolstoy, if you can believe that, including his novel Anna Karenina, which I read last winter. (I think if you heard which idea I got from that one, you'd laugh AND cry at the same time... It's a bit amusing, if I do say so myself.) I also got some ideas from the writings of Hesiod, which I cited in the story. (I had to read it for college this semester, so I worked it in there, lol.) Beyond that, I got inspiration on everything from Louisa May Alcott novels I read when I was younger to the music of Krystal Meyers and Everlife to the artwork I've been studying in my art history class. The lesson here is, if you want to write, drown yourself in information. O__O Then you'll never run out of ideas.
Really, though, mostly the fic is just inspired by Prince of Tennis and the depth of Konomi-sensei's characters. Since the manga/anime is mostly plot-driven, I wanted to try writing a PoT fic that explored the characters in more depth and added new ideas to their already well-established personalities. Long story short? This fic is dedicated to my love for the Seigaku Regulars, and they remain my primary source of inspiration.
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Q: Okay, so there are slash pairings. But who's seme and who's uke? O__o
A: Ahahahaha.... That's a very good question. ^_^; One I don't have a great answer to. I don't tend to write along those lines with relationships, actually. There are a couple of reasons for that. One is that I have no experience, really, in picking out who is seme and who is uke in relationships. I understand the basic idea behind what motivates fanfic writers and doujinshii artists in picking one over the other, but to me it seems like a fairly arbitrary choice in most cases (i.e. I've seen almost all the pairings done both ways). So it seems like it doesn't particularly matter if I distinguish who is who in my fic, since I'm not writing any lemon scenes. (I know, I know, some of you are disappointed... ^^; But I don't really have experience writing for that kind of thing, lol.)
The other reason I don't distinguish between seme/uke in relationships has more to do with the nature of this story and the general nature of most of my fics. The reason, to put it simply, is that I tend to think of the relationships between characters in much more complicated terms. To give you an example, I suppose that my version of Fuji would technically be classfied as the 'uke' in a Tezuka/Fuji pairing. However, I think it's blatantly obvious to anyone reading it that Fuji has his own kind of dominance over Tezuka, even if he's technically the 'uke.' As my sister said, there really should be a third classfication for most of the pairings in my fic. (Our inside joke is that we call both Fuji and Tezuka 'suke.' XD) I guess the overall reason why the seme/uke thing didn't work for my first full-length PoT fic is that I've always had a tendency to blur the dominance lines in relationships. It's hard to tell who has the power in relationships, and oftentimes it's the people who think they're in control that really aren't. If you've noticed, a big theme in WICBY is that it is hard to predict just what kind of power we have over others, and how it will affect them.
So, who is pulling the strings in WICBY? Who is seme? Who is uke? Does it matter? The beauty of it, I think, is that you as the reader can feel free to decide for yourself. ^_^
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Q: Okay, cool. ^_^ So... what are you going to write after WICBY?
A: Awww, I'm flattered that I was actually asked this question! ^.^ Actually, I'm not totally sure, but I'm positive that it will be another PoT fic. And yes, I will keep writing. As a freshman in college, I fully intend to have fun this school year and take it easy and write a lot. (Unlike my senior year in high school, which was madness, let me tell you...) Anyway, I will definitely be writing more PoT fics, and I hope you all will consider reading them! I would be honored. ^___^
As for what the subject matter will be for my next PoT fic, I've been playing around with several ideas, and I'll make a decision at least by the time WICBY ends. Some possible ones are as follows...
- "A Liasion with the Gods" : I already wrote the very first scene of this fic awhile back, when I first got the idea. It's a story that centers around Seigaku and Hyoutei and was inspired by the second Hyoutei arc in the anime, although it goes beyond that plot and into brand new territory. It explores the relationship between Atobe and Tezuka, and the relationship between the captains and their teammates, and on top of it all, it repeatedly uses a very bizarre metaphor, lol. It has some challenges, but I'm looking forward to possibly giving it a shot. ^_^
- A WICBY sequel : Yes, this is a possibility! We'll see how it goes by the end of WICBY and whether or not I feel I should continue the story, but I can say with certainty that if I write a sequel it will have a much happier and fluffier tone than WICBY itself. Lol.
- A Christmas PoT fic : I am doing this, without a doubt, because I adore Christmas and I always want to write Christmas fics for all my favorite anime series. Since I am now beyond obsessed with PoT, you can expect a Christmas PoT fic this year. I don't know what it will be yet, however. It might be a kind of companion to WICBY, a stand-alone from within the time frame of the PoT anime, or even just a simple one-shot about a few of my favorite characters. We'll see, but I look forward to whatever it turns out to be! ^_^
- A Oshitari/Mukahi fic : Yes, this sounds a bit odd, but I have been dying to give this a try. I LOVE exploring the relationships between all the doubles partners in PoT. And my sister writes wonderful GP fics and my roommate has been writing an adorable ToriShisi fic and so... I really want to write a Yuushi/Gakuto fic! >.< Mainly because it would be a lot different than Golden Pair/Silver Pair, and I want to explore how Oshitari and Mukahi view doubles and their relationship. The fic would have a ton of interaction between all Hyoutei characters and at the very least, the Golden Pair would get honorable mentions within the story, however. So don't think it would be exclusively about the two of them!
-Various other crackfics and one-shots : I might do some shorter fics before I start another full-length PoT fic, but I have so many ideas for these that I won't bother listing them here, lol.
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Q: Why is there so much one-sided love in this fanfic? And I think I noticed hints of the ???/??? pairing... Am I just imagining it?
A: Nope, you're not imagining it, and you're quite right! There are TONS of pairings in my fanfic, many of which go fairly undeveloped/remain onesided. Why? Well, this has to do with the fact that I see most pairings as being plausible, and frankly, I like considering Seigaku as a unit more than sticking to a particular pairing. What this means in plain English is that the ties between the Seigaku Regulars as a team fascinate me, and I like exploring how they all feel about each other. Obviously, this leads to a ton of hints on my part about various relationships. However, the important pairings are the ones that go beyond simple hints... They just sometimes take awhile to be revealed, as I'm sure you've already seen.
(I would say that I like to consider Seigaku as one glorious incestuous ever-changing lovefest, but... err... Well, let's just say I try to refrain from being too bizarre. O___o Anyway, this is why I often say that any kind of shippers will like my fanfic if they give it a chance. Somewhere in there, your pairing will probably get some screen time, lol. XD)