If any of you have ever had a desire to hear Lorem ipsum set to music and performed by a strikingly well-synthesized choir and out of fucking nowhere it's Hatsune Miku, here you go. I'm pretty sure placeholder text has never been this epic before.

(I got 2600 words down between midnight and 1:20 AM, so I'm in good shape words-wise, but my goal for today is to get to where my protagonist, um, actually shows up, which isn't until the very end of the first chapter, haha. But I've got an exam to take at the mo, so I'll just... use this extra hour from the end of DST! Yes.)

There is nothing like catching a bird with your bare hands to start your day off feeling like a badass.

(I'm supposed to be feeding my neighbor's three pet button quail over the weekend while she's gone. The male is quite the escape artist, though fortunately not bright enough to fly very far. BUT HE'S SO CUTE AND HIS FEATHERS ARE SO SOFT I COULD JUST STEAL HIM)

...Anyway, I finished Doors (Essio's canon) today, proving yet again that I have no sense of scale whatsoever. I intended for it to be about 40k words and wrap up before summer break ended, and now here I am and it's done at almost 107k. I can cut out a lot of that, mind you, and I'm sure I will, but. 107k in 78 days comes out to about 1300 words a day, so I'm not even going to have to ramp up that much for NaNoWriMo. Also my average is skewed by the fact that in August I was writing about 4000 words a day, I hit a massive dry spell in late September, and the last 10k were written over the course of 36 hours.

Also for NaNoWriMo I'll theoretically know where I'm going ahead of time (though all that attention to Doors means my outline isn't as outline-y as I planned, haha), and there will be none of that romantic nonsense with which I have so much difficulty, so I'm on much sounder footing in terms of actually coming up with stuff to write every day.

So yeah, all in all I'm pretty confident that the month of November will never know what hit it. To everyone else who's thrown their hat in: good luck, and also we are all clearly insane.

OKAY SO CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW TO TAG STUFF ON TEGAKI? Alternately: what is the difference between "group" and "tag" or why am I, in other words, too dumb for the internet? I saved tags but it says I didn't and then... um... explosions.

Eversion. Holy shit, Eversion. It is... so beautiful. I'm on world 5 now and aghfja;

I SEE YOU

Aaaand I need to beat Cave Story one of these days. If I start bitching about not having enough video games again, remind me of this. I'm also gonna see if I can trade in Shadow Dragon for something because... I just do not care about that game at all. I tried. But I don't. On the other hand, I have never sold/traded in/given away any of my games (unless you count lending them to people who then run off cackling into the sunset, which is a whole different story) and it's like... HOW DO I EVEN DO THIS.

Also I decided to make brownies and couldn't get any fewer than 8 eggs in a package so I bought a bunch more crap so I could use up all my eggs inside of a week and have commenced baking like crazy. I did advertise this fact, but apparently no one likes food, as I've had no takers. Pfft, I say. Pfffffft.

Also, that story I randomly started writing in August? 55000 words and still going. I DON'T NEED YOU, NANOWRIMO.

...Actually, this is making me kind of uneasy, because if all goes according to plan, inside of three months I'll be able to say "OH YEAH, I'VE WRITTEN FOUR STORIES OF APPROXIMATELY NOVEL LENGTH." My friends and acquaintances seem divided on this issue into the camps of "if you feel that strongly about writing, might as well get published" and "YOU ARE A BUSINESS STUDENT, WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT? STOP WASTING TIME" and... hurrrrr yeah, (standard-issue ramble about my inexplicable inability to commit to either course). Idek, I can only see this getting worse as I get more prolific. I am in a love triangle with MY DREAMS and MONEY, and everyone I ask about it keeps suggesting a THREESOME but I just don't see how that's practical.

My friend Steffi is trying to finish her first playthrough of FE10 before returning to college. She's in Part 3 somewhere. She objects to the fact that Pelleas doesn't go into battle.

Steffi: pelleas needs to do something with his life
me: he's too busy having terrible things happen to him
Steffi: why has no one bombed the senate...
me: and having Almedha be like PELLEAS DON'T DO ANYTHING EVER IT'S BAD FOR YOU.
AND
MICAIAH IS A BITCH.
like that.
Steffi: yah
i'm tired of him being king though
me: ?
Steffi: he is annoying
me: well
...
he's not going to be annoying for much longer, let's put it that way
Steffi: good times
me: oh, you have no idea.

My stepmom's cat hates everything. The universe is conspiring to keep her from getting all the attention she deserves, and she deserves everyone's undivided attention. She bites people while they're petting her, as punishment for not petting her earlier, and then gets pissy when they don't continue. The only individual she doesn't want attention from is my cat, whom she hated from the moment she arrived. It's been two years, and to this day her immediate reaction on seeing him anywhere, doing anything (or, as is more frequently the case, nothing), is to smack him in the face and run off yowling.

There's been talk about giving her away and getting another cat - she clearly wants to be the only animal in her household, and my cat just as clearly wants another cat to pal around with. I didn't think it was really going to happen, though, because Miss Crazyface used to belong to my stepmom's niece and said niece would not give her to anyone else ever because Aunt Terri is the only one who can be trusted with this cat. But, uh. New cat is showing up this evening, apparently.

And psycho kitty is still around.

This will be... interesting.

I now have the necessary equipment to hook my Wii up to my laptop, meaning my lack of a television is no longer an issue and I won't have to give up console gaming for the school year. The power, I am mad with it. I also managed to get my copy of FE9 back, though I lent 10 to the party in question in exchange, and since she's deemed Pelleas "adorable" and is also fond of Sephiran, I suppose I'll have to insist that she beat it twice before returning it to me. Ah, what a trial is this existence. Such suffering I have known.

I do, of course, still need to beat ToS 2, but the battle with Alice and Decus in the Ginnungagap is mocking me. Honestly, Namco, do you have to pull that Derris Emblem bullshit every time? It's not like I'm terrible at balancing the monster half of the party and use the nerfed travesties of the original characters for everything, but... oh wait, yeah it is.

Erk is also mocking me. Canas destroys all that lives and takes hits better than a magic user has any right to, Serra's bizarrely lethal and never gets hit, and Erk... dies when anyone glances at him sideways. You're on notice, sonny boy. You may be level 18, but I can still save that guiding ring for Nino. Maybe I will. Try me.

...For all that I named my cat after Lucius, I never seem to actually use him.

At the lake, which means yard work and bonfires, and also my computer's being used as the TV here, so I don't expect I'll be around much for the rest of the week. But the other thing the lake means is that for whatever reason, I remember my dreams almost every night. And last night I dreamed I was playing Phantom Hourglass, and somehow unlocked some cutscene I'd never seen before, and was like "HEY how did that happen I thought I had like 98% completion" only just as things started getting really interesting, all the text switched to French. I was irate, because how was I going to get my Linebeck muse back if I didn't know what he was saying? And then I woke up and decided to get my Linebeck muse back.

Note to Nintendo: unless I'm very much mistaken, the point of portable gaming systems is that you're able to take them anywhere. Requiring people to shout at the DS to advance sort of hinders that.

And now, courtesy of qieru...

It's that meme again. Post snippets of your Works in Progress on your journal.

( Original fic x1 )

( Tellius x3 )

( Nonsense about L'Arachel's zeppelin... I mean, FE8 AU x1 )

Too short to excerpt at the mo: Pelleas-centric gen, gratuitous Izuka-related creepiness, Fiora-centric where is this going I don't even.

So, for reasons unknown to me and by means I cannot comprehend, the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother have suddenly materialized inside my house in DVD form.

...Yes.

New AIM: a tree of bags

Also, the VCR was broken for the longest time so I wasn't able to play the Wii, but we've got an RF modulator now so I no longer have need of it! Now I have to make various people give back my copies of FE9, FE10, and Super Mario Galaxy... But in the meantime I guess I can beat ToS 2.

It's weird, because I actually like Colette this time around. She seriously irked me in the first game - it was like "oh look at this cute girl, watch her go through all manner of terrible things unflinchingly look at her having flaws and by flaws I mean endearing quirks oh god isn't she so moe with her clumsiness and spaceyness and selflessness to the point of idiocy." It's hard to explain, but I guess it seemed like the game was trying to force me to like her because she's the leading lady, prostrate yourself before her cuteness... whereas in this game NO ONE IS RELEVANT BUT THE NEW CHARACTERS AND LLOYD. Which is also disappointing. But when the spotlight isn't on her and she crops up in skits saying ridiculous things, I'm far more inclined to go "oh, Colette, you are ever-so-endearingly out of touch with reality!" Which is quite a change from "GAH IT IS SO SACCHARINE KILL IT DEAD."

...There may have been a point in there somewhere. I am hardly a reliable witness.

Also also: I'm four episodes from the end of Kaiji, and I've been spoiler'd to know that this ends badly so on the one hand I'm tempted to stop right now where he actually won something and on the other hand who am I kidding I am a total slut for downer endings why do I do this.

You all kinda need this in your lives.

Getting some minor oral surgery tomorrow. If I don't show up for a few days, assume I'm off taking over the world for completely unrelated reasons, because why would having screws stuck into my jaw slow me down at all?

Title: Luck
Fandom: Fire Emblem: the Sacred Stones
Characters: Joshua, Natasha
Word count: 352
Warnings: MASSIVE PRETENTIOUSNESS
Notes: fe_drabble challenge 21 - "In encircled ground, devise stratagems." It took me forever to come up with anything, and then I... yeah. I apologize.

( Tails it is - fancy that. )

The interview meme reminded me. Speaking of which...

( Answers for Lazuli )

It seems like every time I get close to unequivocally declaring FE9 my favorite game, I go play FE7 again. I mean, Tellius is far and away my favorite universe to write fanfic about in the history of anything ever and I honestly couldn't tell you why, but Rekka... just... I don't even know. Has Hector in it? And the RNG god is smiling on Eliwood for this particular playthrough? And Canas is still the linchpin of every strategy ever because I'm lame like that but why have I never used generals before, Oswin is so great

...On a different note (and to return to Tellius for a moment): remix of Caineghis's theme. I know I've never once managed to get a comment on my terrible midi-mongering, but either hope springs eternal or I just like to be a nuisance, take your pick. There are two phrases from the original that never made it in here at all but I'm too tired of fiddling with it to fix that yet

Unfortunately, unnaturalist, maladroit, bagatelle, amerebagatelle, and pipewrenchfight were taken, but I was determined to rename anyway.

And Star Trek was highly entertaining.

-the artist formerly known as T-A-V-keyboardsmash

I survived last semester and somehow pulled off a 3.7 and I'm gonna see Star Trek tonight. I have returned, and returned with a vengeance. So much vengeance. Soon you will all wish you'd never heard of me.

...But seriously, if I hear that Snow Patrol song one more time, I am going to cut someone.

It is not at all an exaggeration to say I have been stalking Summoning of Spirits waiting for a release for years. Four, actually.

AND IT IS HERE.

Holy shit.

In other news: Ogma is a god among men, spring break starts in 5 days, and I still think Okage is a lot like what would happen if Tim Burton tried to make Paper Mario.

ETA: okay, so SOS finally downloaded and HOW ABOUT THIS REMIX OF KRATOS'S THEME actually I don't know how it is cause it just started but I have popcorn :spazzflail:

Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

From misheard:
( Read more... )

Q: What has it got in its pocketses?
A: Ten million cough drops, four keys, a university ID card and SHADOW DRAGON OSHI-

But yeah, not playing it yet. It's going to be my reward for not flipping out and killing anyone this week. I just... I just had to buy it NO THIS IS NOTHING LIKE THE TIME I WENT OUT FOR MILK AND CAME BACK WITH PHANTOM HOURGLASS, THAT HAPPENED IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MONTH

On a different note, I'm having a problem with my original stuff that I've never had before. I've written the rough draft, I've made notes on what needs fixing, and I've cut two chapters wholesale. Now all I have to do is implement my changes and pay reparations to everyone who's seen the original for the rest of our lives. Simple enough, right? But I'm starting to wonder what the point is. No amount of revision is going to fix what's fundamentally borked about it: it's a character-driven story, and the characters, well...

The protagonist starts out a selfish, whiny, immature twit with a persecution complex. Bad things happen to him, some of which he deserves and more of which he doesn't. He gets better, but not a lot, and even when his intentions are good he's too incompetent to pull it off and then too busy wallowing in self-pity to bother becoming competent. It takes him a stupidly long time to get his act together. Granted, no one in-story likes him too much or takes him too seriously, and the rest of the main cast is way cooler than he is, but this is still his story, told mostly from his perspective. Most of the big moments are his. Now, I love the kid to death (see: my previously-established weird taste in fictitious people), which in a sense makes it a lot worse. He has some scenes that I intended as completely woobie-tacular, but if he hasn't managed to secure some measure of the reader's good will before then, it's game over faster than you can say "Wesley Crusher" (although tbqh I always had much more animosity toward Riker, personally. DIAF, scuzzbag).

And this is, as I say, a problem I've never had before. I wrote mainly fanfic for a long time. In fanfic, you don't have to say "look, this character is worthy of your sympathy and here's why." The characters are already established, and presumably you've got it labeled so people know what to expect. When I say a fic is Shinon-centric, that pretty much lays it out: "in this story, the PoV character is a complete prick. Well, maybe not a complete prick, but mostly." So people who aren't interested are warned off. F'rinstance, I wrote Makalov fic last month. For all the hate Makalov gets, all the forces of FFN gave me exactly one comment on how useless/dumb/ugly he is. Could I have pulled that off with an original character? I sort of doubt it; at any rate, more people who aren't amused by that kind of shenanigans would have seen it and hated it and decided never to read anything of mine again.

In writing someone else's characters, you have that character's whole history of dog-petting, -kicking, or -shooting to play off. Whatever aspect or interpretation of a character you emphasize in any particular fic, all the other stuff is still there, and I think I've been taking that for granted in a big way.

I guess what I'm wondering is, to what extent are you (general "you") willing to give a story the benefit of the doubt if you can't stand the main character at all? Does the protag get any more or less latitude for being such? As someone with both an antihero fetish and a tendency to read/watch/play stuff just for Those Two Guys (or Team Rocket), I... am out of ways to rephrase what is essentially the same question.