Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Seventeen

It was obviously the purpose of the Shadow to set up for the confrontation between John and Karen so that I could force a big progression of their relationship. Here we finally get to see the other reason for it's existence. That's right, so that John can get a Big Damn Hero moment!



Chapter Seventeen

The Darkness Returns

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Sixteen

And now we have a chapter that includes a time jump! Wow, me, you are good at this whole writing thing.



Chapter Sixteen

What Happened Next

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Fifteen

Hurray, domestic stuff! And yelling! And characters acting out of character out of anger!



Chapter Fifteen

Confrontations

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Fourteen

Oh, so that's the real source of conflict here...hmm.

Whenever I go back and re read this chapter to check for needed corrections and the like, I feel like I'm being mean to my characters. I let John achieve a big, dramatic victory with a card that Karen made for him at his side, and give Karen an active role in the fight through that card, cementing their relationship, and then I throw a wrench in my own efforts. But I feel I needed to. I wanted these characters to at the very least acknowledge the flaws in their relationship: that John is lackadaisical, and that Karen is too afraid of hurting people to speak about how much this bothers her. This event forces them to address these things, and they end up stronger for it in the end.



Chapter Fourteen

Omegacyber

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Thirteen

We get to meet the villain properly now. It's powerful, and has hostages, but still we don't really ever get the impression that John will lose against it, so what is going to be the real source of conflict here?



Chapter Thirteen

The Shadow

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Twelve

And finally we have something resembling a villain in this book. The Card Takers were jerks, but not really bad guys. This thing is obviously malicious in intention. Also we get some foreshadowing that John is going to be saved by a card that Karen made for him. With her being into card design, I think it's really about time.



Chapter Twelve

The Poltergeist

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Eleven

Hey look, a chapter where none of my main characters play a major part. Fantastic!



Chapter Eleven

Advancing Darkness

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Ten

Remember this duel for the special that follows this book. I might copy myself there and basically reuse this premise with a different pair of characters, though neither of them is quite as angry as either of these guys.

Oh, yeah, and it's worth noting that Karen's new ace monster, "Allure Queen LV10", was created by me for the character. She's a beautiful woman with a control deck, and "Allure Queen" is a beautiful woman with mind control powers. The fit seems obvious, but the actual most powerful card in the line, "Allure Queen LV7", just isn't very great, so I upgraded her while still keeping her balanced.



Chapter Ten

Karen vs. Ria

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Nine

Ria. Oh jeez, Ria. I planned on Ria being a one-time character, here just to represent crazy fan girls, and to address the fact that I keep saying that John is pretty famous, and yet we've never met anyone who sees themselves as his fan, but I liked her so much that I actually replaced another half-developed fourth cast member with her for the rest of this story. She's crazy, and opinionated, and strong, and Latina, and eventually gets kinda deep, and I just love her.



Chapter Nine

Ria, the Eccentric Girl

Yu-Gi-Oh! DA: The Phantom Seal - Chapter Eight

Later on in the story, we see one of the Card Takers return when I need a minion for one of the villains. It isn't this one. It's the first one, with the Lightsworns, but he doesn't use them anymore. His deck is completely different. Clever continuity or an attempt at the illusion of such? You decide!



Chapter Eight

Endymion, and the Truth of the Card Takers