Line #184 Fanfic/DecksFallEveryoneDies


1	"What happens when a world based on card games falls? And what happens when the characters, tired of the tyranny of dice games, decide to literally stage a revolution?"
2
3	[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6474469/1/Decks_Fall_Everyone_Dies Decks Fall, Everyone Dies]] is a parody FanFic by [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/479298/Kalarin Kalarin]] that adapts the plot of ''Film/MoulinRouge'' for the cast of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''. It takes place [[FlashForwardFic six years after the canon]].
4
5	Tristan returns to Domino City, only to find it a hollowed-out shell after the fall of dueling and the rise of dice games. It's up to him and the former great duelists to return Duel Monsters to its former glory through pro-dueling propaganda spread by musical theater and Filk songs. Oh, and he falls in love in the process.
6
7	The story seems to focus more on the play and revolution than the romance aspect.
8
9	The title appears to be inspired by the trope RocksFallEveryoneDies, likely due to the fact that they based their lives around their decks, and when they fell, life as everyone knew it ended. There also seems to be a lesson about not basing your government on something so frivolous, somewhere in there.
10
11	----
12	!!This FanFic provides examples of:
13
14	* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: In this case, it's a game and a play. If the play is a success, the players get the money, and possibly credibility, to start their "Card Game Revolution" in a world ruled by dice games. Also, there's the fact that their political system is based on a game.
15	* AcceptableBreaksFromCanon: Because it uses the abridged series characterization. Also, in one of the musical numbers, it gives Seto and Mokuba a last name (from before they were Kaibas) and it is definitely very unlikely that they would have that name.
16	** Also, like in other Yu-Gi-Oh fanfictions, Yami has his own body, but it is explained right in the first chapter (unlike other fanfictions).
17	* ADayInTheLimeLight Fic: This was supposed to be one for Tristan, but he seems to have gotten overshadowed. In the source material, Tristan is routinely mocked for being a supporting character.
18	* AnachronismStew: The characters write a propaganda play (to revive card games as a form of government) set in ancient Egypt. The play, according to the scenes depicting the rehearsals, involves thrift shops at which the penniless duelist buys the Pharaoh's old clothes, Riverdance, and Rap music.
19	* AuthorAppeal: The ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' fandom and the ''Moulin Rouge'' fandom don't have much overlap. Add in the fact that the songs seem to be a mish-mash of genres, ranging from obscure to mainstream, seemingly because the author likes them.
20	* BetaCouple: Kaiba and Yugi.
21	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Hints have been given that the other characters may want to watch out for Bakura (though he no longer has the Millennium Ring Spirit).
22	** Also, Yugi sprays ''tear gas'' in a mugger's eyes in Chapter Eleven.
23	* BigFancyHouse: Duke's manor.
24	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The revolution is implied to have been a success, but Joey is dead.]]
25	* BizarreGamblingWinnings: The government is based around dice games. The characters plan a coup d'état to bring back the old card-based government.
26	* BoastfulRap: In Chapter Nine, Bandit Keith does one about how easily he can read Kaiba after spending so much time with him.
27	* BreakingTheFourthWall: It happened in Chapter Eleven.
28	* ConflictingLoyalty: Noah's situation.
29	* ConvenientTerminalIllness: [[spoiler: Joey]] will most likely not have to face the Duke's wrath when the duelists carry out their "Card Game Revolution."
30	* CostumePorn / ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Played straight: despite the author's attempts to hide the descriptions in the action, if you add up all the details you end up with a fairly detailed outfit.
31	* CrazyEnoughToWork: The play they're planning to put on to bring dueling (and the government based on it) back is this.
32	* CrazyJealousGuy: Duke. See the end of Chapter Four, and anything after that.
33	* CrowdSong: Uses and lampshades this.
34	* DancesAndBalls: Before and after they become a theater.
35	* DesolationShot: Whenever Domino City outside of the club and Duke's manor is described.
36	* DespairEventHorizon: The plot happens after this has been crossed.
37	* DiedInYourArmsTonight
38	* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler: Duke wants to ''kill'' Tristan if the show doesn't end his way.]]
39	* DoNotGoGentle: [[spoiler: Joey]] in Chapter Nine plans to go out fighting with their card game revolution.
40	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Kaiba and Yugi, possibly.
41	* EasyImpersonation / WigDressAccent: All Bakura has to do to get Duke excited is put a yellow napkin on his head and imitate Joey's accent.
42	** Kaiba mockingly offers to do this for Tristan.
43	*** He does it to Duke in a song in Chapter Ten.
44	* EndOfAnAge: Takes place after an age where card games ruled, replaced by dice games.
45	* FallOfTheHouseOfCards: Metaphorically speaking.
46	* FaustianRebellion: The Black Dragon Theater gets its funding from Duke Devlin. He orders the players to use their play to promote dice games as a way of running the country over card games, but the players, most of whom are duelists, don't agree with this. Apparently, once he signed the contract, he can't take his money back. Though, if he tried, he'd have to deal with Kaiba.
47	* FictionalCountry: It takes place in Jamerica (fictional Japan-America fusion mentioned in the Abridged Series), in a crumbling Domino City, which borders the fictional territory of "Diceland."
48	* FilmFic: Meant to be an adaptation of ''Moulin Rouge'', only the author attempts to write it so it makes sense. It's somewhat faithful, but there are extra songs and scenes that don't correspond to any of the ones in the movie (likely, to flesh the plot out more) and it seems to focus more on the revolution than the romance. The fact that it's a musical and the "Star Crossed Lovers" theme of the main plot is basically intact.
49	* FixFic: In adapting the story, the author seems to have changed a few things about the plot of ''Moulin Rouge''. For one, the Duke has more of a reason for why he wants the theater to fail (more substantial than "I want the leading lady and I can't have her"). Another small detail is that Duke comes to the conclusion that the play is imitating real life all on his own (instead of having one of the others endanger their career to make a catty FreudianSlip). Another is that since Joey and Tristan knew each other before the plot, they have more of a foundation for their romance. It may not necessarily make the story better, but it might eliminate some of the questions that might have been asked if it had stuck closer to the original.
50	* FunetikAksent: The author has chosen to write out Joey's accent.
51	** Also, whenever another character imitates Joey.
52	* FusionFic: Character Conversion List:
53	** Satine: Joey
54	** Christian: Tristan
55	** Toulouse-Lautrec: Yugi (Toulouse was the main character of the novel of the same name, just as Yugi was the main character of the source material)
56	** Zidler: Turned into two characters: Bakura, the less money-hungry side; and Kaiba, the more business-oriented side.
57	** The Duke: Duke Devlin
58	** Warner (the Duke's manservant): Noah (who plays a bigger role in this adaptation than Warner did in the original)
59	** Narcoleptic Argentinian: Yami, the Narcoleptic Egyptian Pharaoh
60	** Satie (the guy on piano): Mokuba
61	** Audrey (the guy originally writing the Bohemians' play): Pegasus
62	** Green Fairy: Kaiba, the Blue-Eyed White Fairy (an Abysmalinth hallucination)
63	* GenreSavvy: The characters have occasional moments of lucidity:
64	-->'''Mokuba''': Sounds like someone's drug-induced fanfiction.
65	* GloryDays: What everyone except Duke is trying to bring back.
66	* GoalInLife: Everyone's goal seems to be bringing back/continuing the game of their choice and bringing down the popularity and power of the opponent's game.
67	* GratuitousSpanish: In Chapter Nine's "Josephino."
68	** GratuitousLatin: One of the shorter song bits is just a bunch of Latin phrases strung together into a non-sequitur.
69	* GreenEyedMonster: Duke, figuratively and literally.
70	* HeyLetsPutOnAShow: The show is meant to be the vehicle to bring dueling back.
71	* [[HighClassCallGirl High Class Rent Boy]]: [[spoiler: Kaiba only seems to service former high-status businessmen and top duelists.]]
72	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Joey, and [[spoiler: possibly Kaiba (but only to Mokuba)]].
73	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: They tend to be parts of the chapter's plot mashed together with puns and look as if they are meant to set the mood of the chapter. Examples:
74	** Chapter One: "A Very Strange Enchanted Tristan" - A reference to the way ''Film/MoulinRouge'' started: "A very strange, enchanted boy."
75	** Chapter Two: "Heigh Ho, Black Dragon Top Dog!"-Stating the name of the club and Joey's stage name, in a CrackFic-ish way.
76	** Chapter Three: "Hellacious Fallaciousness"-A reference to the show from the movie, "Spectacular, Spectacular" and the fact that they're lying to Duke about having the script to the play already written.
77	** Chapter Four: "Desperately Seeking Duke's Dollars"-Patterned after the name of the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan." Also refers to Bakura and Kaiba's goal for the chapter.
78	** Chapter Five: "Love Is Like Oxygen Laced With SARS"-A reference to the line from the movie, "Love is like oxygen." Also the comparison of love to a disease foreshadows [[spoiler: Joey's eventual demise, though, not due to SARS]]. It's also a bit of cynicism on the author's part.
79	** Chapter Six: "Defibrillating the Heart of the Cards"-An PunBasedTitle.
80	** Chapter Seven: "Coyote Bakura and Doctor Duke"-A reference to Film/CoyoteUgly, particularly, the bar-dancing scene.
81	** Chapter Eight: "Harmony, Harmony, Card Love!"-A reference to the song parodied. Also (posted on chapter seven, as a teaser):
82	-->"In the next chapter comes the 'Robot Unicorn Dance Number' and 'Secret Song of Secretive Secrets.'"
83	** Chapter Nine: "Don't Say His Name, Just Play Card Games"-Probably a rejected lyric from the song used in the chapter.
84	** Chapter Ten: "The Hoedown Must Go on for Lover Puppy"-Refers to the two songs in the chapter.
85	** Chapter Eleven: "Putting the Yugi back in the Yu-Gi-Oh fic"-The author gives Yugi a bigger role in the story.
86	* IDoNotOwn: The author has written that they didn't even own any of the products spoofed in the story.
87	* IKnowYourTrueName: Bandit Keith pulls this on Kaiba in a musical number. It's [[spoiler: O'Brien]], but the author writes that's only because it was the only name that rhymed with the previous line.
88	* ImpoverishedPatrician: All three Kaiba brothers. And in a way, Yugi, since he doesn't have his "King of Games" title under the new dice-game-based government.
89	* IncurableCoughOfDeath / BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler: Joey]].
90	* InvisibleAliens: We never see the aliens that abducted Kaiba and there is no flashback to the abduction (so far).
91	* ItsProbablyNothing: [[spoiler: Joey]] thinks this about his spells of coughing up blood and fainting.
92	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Every time anyone wonders about the impromptu musical numbers.
93	* LighterAndSofter: Duke Devlin is markedly less evil than the Duke from ''Moulin Rouge''.
94	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Tristan, regarding [[spoiler: Joey's tuberculosis]]. Duke ends up being this, but only because he doesn't believe that [[spoiler: Joey really has tuberculosis]].
95	* MacGyvering: Must have happened for Kaiba to build the hologram-emitting fingerless gloves.
96	** Yugi plans to do it to build an Egyptian laser.
97	* ManInAKilt: Yami wears a Scottish kilt, then a shendyt kilt.
98	* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Happens a lot, especially since the author seems to be using the "card games as intercourse" metaphor jokes from the abridged series.
99	* MissingStepsPlan: Step one: Put on play that contains propaganda about a revolution. Step Two: ??? Step Three: Profit and Revolution!
100	* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Noah.]]
101	* MundaneLuxury: Domino City is in such bad shape, Tristan considers having his own toilet (as opposed to using the communal one on the roof) a bonus.
102	* MurderTheHypotenuse: Because dice games are Serious Business.
103	* MusicalWorldHypothesis: Played with a lot. Seems to be mostly the AlternateUniverse variety. The only songs that are justified are the Robot Unicorn Dance Number and the numbers from Chapter Two.
104	* NeverRecycleABuilding: Inverted. Instead of setting the Heigh-Ho-Good-Bi-Black-Dragon Palace in a completely different building, this fic puts it in a heavily renovated Kaibaland. Also, the apartment block where the characters live is the Kaiba mansion, converted into apartments, with the brothers as landlords.
105	* NeverSayDie: Inverted, just like in the abridged series.
106	-->'''Bakura''': Um, Joey, you're not going to the Shadow Realm. You're actually going to die.
107	-->'''Joey''': Come again?
108	-->'''Bakura''': [[spoiler: You have tuberculosis.]]
109	-->'''Joey''': Oh. Crap.
110	* NoIndoorVoice: There is no way the characters aren't disturbing the peace with their constant singing.
111	-->From Chapter Nine: The hip-hop synth waltz faded into the sound of one of the neighbors yelling at them to "Shut off that racket and stop disgracing rap songs!"
112	* NoSympathy: Most anyone who is not a main character gets this (at one point, Yami is throwing bottle glass at a down-and-out Rex for attempted deck theft). Kaiba also falls victim to this trope. Not to mention the fact that everyone's situation (mass economic depression due to the fall of card games) is played for laughs.
113	* NoTellMotel: The Mastodon.
114	* OutOfCharacter: Serenity, to the point where after Kaiba implies that Joey is stupid for [[spoiler: not going to the doctor for tuberculosis]], she snaps at him.
115	** Possibly Kaiba in Chapter Ten, but only because he's lost his mind.
116	* ParodyNames: Fracdonalds, Abysmalinth, Lolmart, Eau de Douche, Pizza Shack.
117	* PerfectHealth: Everyone, no matter what their income bracket and despite the fact that they can't get proper health care. Even Joey has this, except for his IncurableCoughOfDeath.
118	* PleaseIWillDoAnything: Kaiba tries this on Duke in Chapter Ten, hoping to get [[spoiler: his approval of the holographic elements in the show]]. It fails miserably.
119	* [[PlotArmor Plot Surgical Mask]]: Tristan is constantly around [[spoiler: Joey]], and even shares a drink with him, yet doesn't contract tuberculosis. Same with Serenity, minus the drink sharing.
120	** Also, if Duke's comment at the end of Chapter Ten is to be believed, Kaiba's lucky he's still alive, if it's advanced that far. (He probably doesn't have a disease, though.)
121	* PowerIsSexy: Duke's appeal.
122	* PressurePoint: Keith uses this on Kaiba to further his argument that he knows him too well.
123	* RecycledInSpace: It's ''Moulin Rouge'' with CARD GAMES!
124	** ...In Jamerica!
125	* RedLightDistrict: Domino is written as the liberal version.
126	** And in Chapter Eleven, it turns into something between the pitiful version and the hostile version.
127	* ReferenceOverdosed: There are many references to jokes used in ''Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series'', in an attempt to capture the tone of it:
128	** In Chapter Six, Joey uses Duke's ImageSong, "Sexy Back" as propaganda for the card game revolution (to get Tristan to join the movement).
129	** There are lots of references to Duke's sexiness and jokes about him falling under his own spell (with the exception of being able to look into his own eyes).
130	--> "He had no tissue. He'd used the last one while he was looking at his own reflection in the restroom. Thank god nobody but him had been in there at the time."
131	** One of Tristan's lines in a song in Chapter Three: "My voice gives me strength!"
132	** When Joey tries to distract Duke from finding out about Tristan: "Brooklyn lust! Brooklyn lust!"
133	** Bakura's stereotypical Britishness is emphasized:
134	--> "Joey just melted into his (Duke's) arms like cheese on a hot plate of [[StockBritishPhrases chips]]."
135	--> '''Bakura:''' (upon realizing Joey's meeting with the Duke has gone terribly wrong) "What the [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch bloody]] hell is all that?"
136	*** One of the songs has Bakura singing about the subway being derailed, calling it the Tube (London's underground railway).
137	** A reference to the original dub in a song from Chapter Seven:
138	--> "I better check your pulse."
139	** Kaiba's catchphrase gets mangled a lot:
140	--> "Like the rules, the Black Dragon is screwed."
141	--> "Why is it so hard to screw my conscience, I have money?"
142	--> "Screw dis date, he has no rhythm!"
143	--> "We're endin' it our way and if Duke doesn't like it, he can screw himself because we have a revolution."
144	--> "We may win; we may lose! But I was born to screw the rules!"
145	** Possible meta-reference: The fact that everyone gets to screw Kaiba because they have money (and he doesn't).
146	*** Stated outright in Chapter Eleven.
147	-->(while trying to pay Yugi back for getting his cards back) "Please…I don't have money. Screw me."
148	** The "card games as sex" analogy is used:
149	--> "Someone told me that love is like playing card games," Yami began. "I hope you used protection, both on the field and off because nearly everyone here is an experienced duelist, especially Joey."
150	** From Chapter Nine:
151	--> '''Duke:''' "How do you feel about dice games on motorcycles?"
152	*** Also:
153	--> '''Bakura''': "Because dice games are serious business." (regarding why Duke will [[spoiler: kill Tristan if the play doesn't end his way]].
154	** From Chapter Eleven: [[Film/{{Showgirls}} "Everybody's got TB and shit."]]
155	** Also, see below.
156	* RightfulKingReturns: Presumably, after Duke loses power, Yugi will go back to being the King of Games.
157	* ShoutOut: The entire story shows the author must be a big fan of ''Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series''. Also:
158	** From one of the songs: "I was so blind, before/My heart was so broken/What do I find, but your/''Reverse card open''." A reference to either the original and/or the MAD anime music videos on Youtube.
159	*** From the same song: [[Film/SuburbanCommando "Today, I was frozen."]]
160	** Lines about "rolling/heel bones" are references to something Yami said in the manga about astragali (dice bones).
161	** The Music/{{Kesha}} parody Kaiba does in Chapter Two sounds like a reference to Mega-Ultra Chicken (Winged Dragon of Ra).
162	** From Chapter Two: [[Film/WaynesWorld "Schwing!"]]
163	** The windmills on the Heigh-Ho-Good-Bi-Black-Dragon Palace are a reference to the giant windmill on the Moulin Rouge in the movie.
164	** In a musical number, Joey imitates ''Film/{{Flashdance}}'', complete with bicycle riding through a puddle to soak him.
165	** Tristan's angsting ("Angst, angst, angst") references a line from ''WebVideo/PotterPuppetPals''.
166	** The "Unicorn Dance Number" was a reference to both ''VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack'' and [[Music/KatyPerry "Firework"]].
167	** A lyric from the Doctor Duke song (probably only censored because the rest of the quote couldn't fit in the meter):
168	--> [[Film/DieHard "Yippie ki yay, mutha!"]]
169	** This whole story seems to be reference overdosed, like its source material.
170	* SlidingScaleOfFourthWallHardness
171	* SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty: Descriptions alternate between the tacky splendor of the club/theater and the ghetto around it.
172	* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Starting with Chapter Five, there is some serious MoodWhiplash.
173	* SoiledCityOnAHill: This is what Domino gets for basing their whole life on a children's card game.
174	* SomewhereSong: To the tune of the Numa Numa song (Dragostea Din Tei by Ozone).
175	* SongParody: Most of the dialogue is this.
176	* SpontaneousChoreography: To the point where it's Lampshaded in Chapter Five.
177	* SpotlightStealingSquad: Bakura, Duke, and ''all three'' Kaiba brothers. The author writes more about their situations than Tristan's. Of course, they may just be trying to capture the feel of the source material by having the other characters overshadow Tristan.
178	* STDImmunity: Averted, the characters must "take proper precautions."
179	* StoryWithinAStory: The main story, then the play the characters are working on. It differs from ''Moulin Rouge'' because it's not solely Tristan's flashback.
180	* TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed: Inverted, because it's named.
181	** Played straight, too, because the author never says what Joey supposedly got tested for in Chapter Seven.
182	* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: Either the hoedown in Chapter Ten, or Kaiba's negotiation with Duke.
183	* ToiletHumor: The toilets on the roof flushing become musical accompaniment.
184	* TookALevelInBadass: Serenity. It's explained that off-screen she'd been modeling Téa and Mai's behavior.
185	* UnequalPairing: Joey and Duke. Also Bandit Keith and Kaiba.
186	* UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: The Heigh-Ho-Good-Bi-Black-Dragon Palace/Theater is this, but that may be because it used to be Kaibaland.
187	* UnproblematicProstitution: Apparently, the protection they use is 100% reliable, the customers [[spoiler: (even the bums that Kaiba solicits)]] always pay their bill and never get unruly, and there is no social stigma. Of course, it could just be that the main characters are lucky and only the non-speaking characters have problems, and it is stated that they do odd jobs as well.
188	** In Chapter Eleven, [[spoiler: Kaiba]] has problems with it.
189	** And of course, none of the customers mind the impromptu musical numbers.
190	* UrbanSegregation: Averted. Duke has hobos camping out on his front lawn.
191	* VillainBall: Duke gets it in this story.
192	* VillainSong: "Dukey," in which Duke sings about his sexiness and involvement in the death of dueling, to the tune of Britney Spears's Lucky.
193	* WaxingLyrical: In addition to parody lyrics, there are single lines from actual songs mixed in with the dialogue (sometimes mangled):
194	-->'''Tristan''': [[Music/{{U2}} Is this good for your mind?]]
195	-->'''Joey''': Let's say we could [[Music/LadyGaga write more den just a sub-par romance.]]
196	-->'''Joey''': [[Music/TheBeatles I came in thru da bathroom window.]]
197	-->'''Bakura''': [[Music/BlackEyedPeas Where is the love?]]
198	--> '''Kaiba''': [[Music/{{Kesha}} "Don't be a little bitch."]]
199	-->'''Kaiba''': [[Music/PanicAtTheDisco Haven't you ever heard of closing your goshdarned mouth?]]
200	** There is a definite "Music/{{Friday}}" theme in the beginning of Chapter Eleven.
201	* WeAREStrugglingTogether: If only the duelists could stop stealing each other's cards and throwing bottle glass at each other long enough to fight for card games together....A sort of summary of this can be seen in how Noah and Kaiba fight over whether or not Noah should stop working for Duke and trying to bring dice games down from the inside (that last bit may be implied).
202	* WealthyEverAfter: Implied in Chapter Thirteen.
203	-->'''Kaiba''': I'm back, bitch.
204	* WholePlotReference: Right down to the placement of some of the songs:
205	** Nature Boy=American Pie Parody
206	** Lady Marmalade=Blah Blah Blah Parody
207	** Diamonds are a Girl's best friend=Wannabe Parody
208	** Your Song=Your Song Parody
209	** So Exciting (The pitch)=Walk Like an Egyptian parody
210	** Fly Away=Numa Numa Parody
211	** Elephant Love Medley=Witch in the Ditch Parody
212	** Like a Virgin=Doctor Jones Parody
213	** Secret Song=Always Parody/Robot Unicorn Dance Number
214	** El Tango de Roxanne=Alejandro parody
215	** The Show Must go on=Jesse Hold On parody
216	* WisdomFromTheGutter
217	* WorldHalfFull: Domino City, after the fall of card games.
218	* WritersBlock: The fic starts with Tristan's writers block, and will probably end that way, too, based on the whole plot reference.
219	* WrongSideOfTheTracks: This is what Domino has turned into after the fall of card games.

Context Fanfic / DecksFallEveryoneDies