So, as I go back through FFN and read more stories I'd previously forgotten or never noticed, my favorites folder has been getting bigger. Not by much, mind, but that and other things gave me an idea to do something similar to what I'd unfortunately stopped keeping up with on deviantART a while back. I'd like to start doing fic features on LJ. Something like public, third-person reviews, I guess, but we'll see how things go.

The first fic I'd like to feature is Checkmate, by aviatrix8.

( Full review behind the cut. Spoilers if you haven't read the fic yet!Collapse )

In short, "Checkmate" is a gem of a piece that deftly wraps together underused characters and an unexplored setting with a new spin on a trite character; combined with a subtle, easy-handed self-referentiality and a prose style as simultaneously straightforward and deep as its two leads, it's a wholly satisfying read.

I spoke too soon! This is sort of a spur-of-the-moment meta, but hopefully it’ll be at least a little interesting.
 
( Regarding Roy and his characterizationCollapse )
That's all for now. Thanks again for reading, and I'm really sorry these have been so long...

ETA: I almost forgot, I should probably say that this is just about all headcanon. If you think of things differently regarding wyverns, or would like to add on to what I forgot to cover, I'd love to hear it. :)
( Read more...Collapse )

Dang. Pretty sad that the month's nearly over and I'm only on my third meta. I think if I didn't go so much for big comprehensive posts and instead just talked about like, characters I like, then maybe I'd post more. 'a' Also sorry that there aren't that many pictures; I was going to do more, but I kind of figured this was running too long already.
 

Fiiiinally finished... the first part of my wyvern meta. OTL

( Illustrated field guide behind the cut!Collapse )

I should have part two up within a few days. In that I'll go over domestic wyvern breeding, training, and strategy to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading!

Just got back from seeing X-Men: First Class, which was actually my first time seeing an X-Men movie! I liked it a lot and I'm looking forward to seeing the other ones. And more movies that are in the theaters now. I'd like to check out Super 8 and Kung Fu Panda 2, and I want to see if I can find a theater that's still showing Thor. and hhhghgh last harry potter movie in like 2 weeks ;~;

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I'm on a bit of a Firefly kick now, probably because I'm working on that plushie set and I read the second graphic novel last week. I actually hadn't read any fanfiction until a few nights ago, and I found a couple of really good ones. I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised that Zoe/Wash seems to be popular. I kind of thought it would be too... obvious, I guess, for fans to actively ship? I guess the show did a good job focusing just enough on the romances to still leave a lot to the viewer, so that might be why the canon pairings really hold up among fans. On the other hand, this fandom seems pretty good about focusing on stuff besides pairings (but again, we're given a lot to work with!).

But yeah. FFN Browncoats seem pretty cool. Wish I could say the same for the Pushing Daisies crowd, but last time I checked that section was just fraught with stupid.

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And now, it's time for...

( ...more AWBL stuff!! and also your FE6 headcanon question for the day.Collapse )

Had pretty decent success at the garage sale. It was mostly just the fact that we got rid of a ton of stuff, even if we ended up giving a lot of bargains. I've still got a lot of strategy guides, but I'll see if I can sell on Amazon more easily than on eBay. I promise I'm not money-brained all the time, I just want to be able to go to Comic Con without stressing about funds ;a;

I also made a little more progress on my tutorial!fic. Writing in a notebook definitely helps get words out there, even if I'm so scatterbrained I can only write about a paragraph at a time. I just have to keep telling myself to have fun with voice and hopefully the thing will write itself. I actually wouldn't mind doing some character studies/drabbles to help me get a better feel for these characters; I have a feeling writing about the kids in Ostia could be a fun substitute for going all the way to a school AU.

Dunno when the next AWBL chapter will be coming around... I'm really looking forward to writing it based on content (Carter!!), but I'm sort of unsure where to go from there. In the comic series, this chapter was the first of a two-part episode of sorts, but I never got around to writing the second episode and just ended up skipping ahead a couple chapters to the part I wanted to kick off (which I still need to finish, btw). It would probably be best to just start writing and see where it goes, but then again I already feel like I'm all over the map with this story and I need to figure out how best to ground it rather than just writing aimlessly.

While I'm thinking about it, do you guys have any ideas on how the hierarchy in Bern's military works? I was always sort of confused as to whether there were generals under the Dragon Generals. IIRC Flare (Flair? Flaire?) was a general? Also, about how many regiments are likely to be present at each battle? The chapter I'm working on just takes place during an extra non-canon battle for purposes of not messing with the plot, if that helps.

also chapter 17 in FE9!! I am already not looking forward to this chapter so much. It's only the first part and everybody keeps dying. I guess this is what I get for insisting on training up my weakest units at all times. OTL

We're having a garage sale tomorrow and it is a zillion degrees outside OTL Except for the heat I'm not complaining, though, because I need to be working out a lot and all this lifting is good for me. Hopefully I'll be able to sell most of this stuff; if not then we'll just give it to Goodwill or someplace.

I'm slowly working through this FE6 one-shot I'm writing, but I'm hitting a mental block with it. Just for a little context, it's a (pretty loose) adaptation of the tutorial segment; Roy, Lilina, and Wolt are separated at first, and the story shifts POV among them and Cecilia. I've heard that too much introspection gets stale fast, and considering this story isn't meant to have much of a contemplative tone, I'm sort of unsure of what to do with these three until they run into other characters they can talk to. On the one hand there's a lot I can reveal in the narration without dialogue, but I'm also wary of infodump and just dragging the fic on too long. (that being said, I'm sure most readers will just skip the three kids' sections and look for the parts with Cecilia and Hector because those will be the only two characters anybody likes)

Basically my question is: how much introspection is too much?

I'm letting you guys know about this before I post it on my dA!

3-Piece Fire Emblem Plushie Set - Lyn, Kent, Sain

I've knocked the price down from what it ordinarily would have been because these are a bit older. If there is any sort of demand, I'd be happy to do more, better-quality Fire Emblem plushies... any particular requests?

Also! What time would be good for Livestreaming FE6? I'm more readily available in the evenings/night, around 7-11 PST, maybe later.

*goes back to staring at blank Word document* ._.

It's kind of funny that this is my first post specifically about Fire Emblem, since now most of my friend list has that in common with me.

Anyway! I was thinking about doing a Livestream playthrough of FE6 if people are interested. I might try to pass it off as a Let's Play, but I'm not sure whether I could be witty at all times.

Also working on FE9 at the moment. I'm on chapter 13 and I'm already faced with the problem of how the hell to recruit Astrid before she dies in the first turn. Maybe if she was more like Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon then this wouldn't be so much of an issue. On the other hand, Jill has been a boss right from the get-go, which is refreshing. Any suggestions on which characters I should absolutely use, or am I pretty much good to do whatever I want? Is there a benefit to training up Sothe, since I know he doesn't promote?

oh. and did Kurthnaga look a little familiar to anybody else?

In other news, totally scored today while I was looking for costume pieces at the thrift store. They had a big bin of stuffed animals, and right away I noticed a Kyogre plushie on top... I dug around a little big more and found 5 other Pokemon plushies. Ended up buying them for about a dollar; they're all Gen. III except for a Burger King Togepi, and they look good as new now that I've washed them. My brother also managed to snag a bunch of Gen IV ones for me too, so... yay Pokemon!