Entry tags:
Random Squee
*Squee!*
I was just poking around the prompts for ![[info]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
springkink and noticed that some unclaimed prompts of mine from the November round have been claimed for June. It was my first time prompting, and I didn't realize that they carried over! Can't wait to see what comes of it. :) At least one of them is a bit quirky, so I'm not sure what to expect.
I'm wishing now that I'd submitted a few new prompts this time. I've been playing Fallout 3 like a madwoman lately, and it would be an interesting fandom to toss out a prompt or two and see what came of it. My only complaint about the game is how useless the characters become after they've served their one plot purpose. They establish some cool characters, but as soon as you get to "mission accomplished" for their section of game, they become braindead automatons. It'd be nice to see fanfic remedy that. :)
And Unrelated:
I watched the anime series Generator Gawl the other day, and am deeply smitten. It's the first series in a while that has really pushed all my fangirl buttons at once - angst, hurt/comfort, unwaivering self-sacrifice to protect one's friends. Sooooo pretty. :) Yet another addition for the grand high list of awesome shows that no one else has ever thought to fic. :)
Jen
Rent final cast DVD
Oh, this does make me happy. The Sony "Hot Ticket" Rent performance that was shown in movie theaters on limited nights (which I missed =P) is going to get a DVD release.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20081124/en_playbill/123645
I think this movie-theater/dvd-release combo has so much potential to give theater-goers outside of the major theater hubs a chance to make Broadway a part of their lives again, so I hope it does well enough that it eventually trickles down to shows that aren't the big phenoms like Rent.
( In other news... )
http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20081124/en_playbill/123645
I think this movie-theater/dvd-release combo has so much potential to give theater-goers outside of the major theater hubs a chance to make Broadway a part of their lives again, so I hope it does well enough that it eventually trickles down to shows that aren't the big phenoms like Rent.
( In other news... )
FFXIII to be cross-platform!
I'm a bit late hearing this, but with the announcement that FFXIII is going to be available on XBox 360, the console war is officially over for me. I've held off buying any of the new generation of consoles because there weren't any RPG's that I was super-excited about on any of them (and I still have a sizeable backlog of PS2 RPG's to keep me occupied).
With FFXIII not being exclusive to Playstation anymore, though, the PS3 doesn't really have any leverage over XBox for me anymore. The only thing that might change that would be if they announce a PS3-exclusive Suikoden game sometime before FFXIII comes out. It's my only other must-have franchise at this point, but I'm not holding my breath for an announcement any time soon, unfortunately. :(
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In other news: I am absolutely *squiggly* with joy at having won an auction on![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
livelongnmarryfor a fic from chichiri_no_da. It's like pre-Christmas fever... only BETTER, because the blenders and gift certificates and *useful crap* that I usually get for Christmas cannot hold a *candle* to yummy Weiss Kreuz fic. :) We exchanged a few emails about it last night, and it sounds like we're on the same page with the big things, so I can't wait to see how it plays out!!!
Unfortunately, I lost out on the only other bid that I made. It's especially disappointing because, if I'd won, I was going to use that item as a gift for someone else, and I liked the double-whammy of getting a perfect gift while also donating to charity... but no dice. Boo.
With FFXIII not being exclusive to Playstation anymore, though, the PS3 doesn't really have any leverage over XBox for me anymore. The only thing that might change that would be if they announce a PS3-exclusive Suikoden game sometime before FFXIII comes out. It's my only other must-have franchise at this point, but I'm not holding my breath for an announcement any time soon, unfortunately. :(
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In other news: I am absolutely *squiggly* with joy at having won an auction on
livelongnmarryfor a fic from chichiri_no_da. It's like pre-Christmas fever... only BETTER, because the blenders and gift certificates and *useful crap* that I usually get for Christmas cannot hold a *candle* to yummy Weiss Kreuz fic. :) We exchanged a few emails about it last night, and it sounds like we're on the same page with the big things, so I can't wait to see how it plays out!!!Unfortunately, I lost out on the only other bid that I made. It's especially disappointing because, if I'd won, I was going to use that item as a gift for someone else, and I liked the double-whammy of getting a perfect gift while also donating to charity... but no dice. Boo.
Entry tags:
(no subject)
As part of an ongoing project to play/replay all the Suikoden games, I've started Suiko IV recently. The first time I started playing it, I lasted about an hour. Literally. I got to the ship the first first time, floated aimlessly around the ocean for a while (fighting monsters every 1.3 seconds), and gave up in disgust.
It's amazing what a difference knowing the controls can make.
This time around, I realized that there's a *map*! And a "go faster" button that's actually effective! And a way to turn the boat without those giant swinging turns that require 2 or 3 fights just to change course! Wow.
Long story short, I managed to get through the first couple tasks... and found that the story actually gets really, really good. It still feels a little dumbed down compared to the rest of the Suikoden universe, and there are still plenty of gameplay issues to nitpick over... but the storyline is involving and ficcable, which makes my little Suiko-fangirl-heart glad. :)
Oh, and Dave Wittenberg? Needs to come and marry me, just so I can have the pleasure of listening to his voice for the rest of my life. When I look over his credits, I don't think I've actually heard that many of his roles, but every time I do hear him, I just want his character to stay on-screen forever. :) (He's Troy in Suiko IV, for the record. Also Kakashi in Naruto.)
It's amazing what a difference knowing the controls can make.
This time around, I realized that there's a *map*! And a "go faster" button that's actually effective! And a way to turn the boat without those giant swinging turns that require 2 or 3 fights just to change course! Wow.
Long story short, I managed to get through the first couple tasks... and found that the story actually gets really, really good. It still feels a little dumbed down compared to the rest of the Suikoden universe, and there are still plenty of gameplay issues to nitpick over... but the storyline is involving and ficcable, which makes my little Suiko-fangirl-heart glad. :)
Oh, and Dave Wittenberg? Needs to come and marry me, just so I can have the pleasure of listening to his voice for the rest of my life. When I look over his credits, I don't think I've actually heard that many of his roles, but every time I do hear him, I just want his character to stay on-screen forever. :) (He's Troy in Suiko IV, for the record. Also Kakashi in Naruto.)
Entry tags:
FF XII
Well, I've been playing Final Fantasy for more than a week now, and I have to say... not terribly impressed. It's not horrible by any means. There are some aspects that I thought I would loathe that have proven to be no big deal. But there are equally several aspects that I expected *love* that have left me a bit cold. So far, we're solidly in "Meh." territory on all fronts, with a general sense that it could've used a few more months of development to polish things up and give them the usual Final Fantasy shine.
(no subject)
General Fannish
It took me all season, but I'm certifiably hooked on "Supernatural" now. My only regret about last night's ep. was the promise of Dean owwies in the trailer doesn't seem to happen until next week. The bastards. ;-) Still, the lovely angsty family stuff was well worth the price of admission. That scene with John finding out about Sam's visions, and that last scene with Dean finally expressing exactly how much he needs to keep his family together. *melty goo puddle* Wish I could find a gen-centric hub for the fandom. The Wincest I'm finding everywhere is just not my thing.
Finished up "Kingdom Hearts 2" (well, technically, I'm sitting at the last save point deciding whether to try for the perfect ending...all the stuff with Riku near the end has me not wanting it to end so soon.) Overall, the game was enjoyable but not really one for the ages or anything. The individual Disney worlds had a lot less charm to them this time around, and the game was way too short. The overall plot arc, though, was very very good. Gawd, could Axel/Roxas be more hot? Playing Suikoden V right now. It's living up to expectations, but still not quite in the same league as the first two of the series. (Or I may just still be bitter that my personal favorites don't seem to have made the recurring-character cut.
Anime
Almost finished with Final Fantasy: Unlimited. This is gonna be a tricky review. It's the first title I've watched for AOD that I really have not enjoyed at all. Even "D.I.C.E." was entertaining in its own way, but FF:U has just been a slog. However, it *has* gotten better toward the end, so if I'm being objective, I can't give it an utter pan. But then again, I want to knock it down a few grades just for trading on the "Final Fantasy" name without coming anywhere near the quality of storytelling that that name should imply.
Watched the second volume of "Memory of Oblivion" last night. I can't really pin down why I like this series just now, but it's pleasantly surreal and creepy.
Doing ACen next weekend. My first con of the year, and my first time at this particular con. Looking forward to it. :)
Reading
*FINALLY* finished Memories of Ice. Man, what an ordeal - but in a good way! I feel like this book just chewed me up and spit me out. It was so involving and engrossing that I was right there with the characters...but the characters went through such horrific times that it was also very draining.
SPOILERS HO! (Heh...not that anyone's reading this who'd give a fig.)
People talk a lot about the high tragedy of Deadhouse Gates, but I have to say that, for me, the decimation of the Bridge Burners in MoI topped it by several degrees. I was utterly sobbing at several points in the last hundred pages, and actually found myself setting the book aside to give myself a bit of a breather from the sadness. I can't remember the last time a book made me *hurt* this much. And yet I loved every minute of it. I wish all the people who hopped on the fantasy-movie bandwagon after LOTR and Harry Potter would tackle something big and dirty and grown-up like this. The scale of these battles, the sheer scope of the story...I'd love to see it tackled by a serious director with WETA behind him.
Anyway, it was quite exciting to pick a new book to read after all these months. I need something a bit of a lighter next, I think, so I'm going into the next "Myth" book (Robert Asprin) in my queue. First thing I notice off the bat: NO CHAPTER QUOTES! *tsk, tsk, tsk* Where's the logic in that, I wonder. Those quotes are so much a trademark of the series...
(no subject)
Hmmmm...haven't posted here in a while. Here's another long ramble to make up for it.
Life in General
The last few weeks, I've had my first guilt-free veg out time after probably six months of nothing but work stress. At first, it felt really weird...like my brain had forgotten how to just relax. I've started making up for it with some heavy gaming, though... primarily Dragon Quest VIII and Sims 2. DQ VIII was a great game! I wasn't expecting much, because I was badly bored by the last one, but VIII has reaffirmed my faith in the franchise. I just started Sims 2 for the first time last week, and that's owning my soul right now. I think it's going to have some heavy competition from Kingdom Hearts 2, though.
(Ack! Just found out that Suikoden V came out recently, too! It never rains but it pours.)
Con on the Cob is ramping up for Year 2, and it looks like we're going to be staking our claim as a serious convention with this one. Big name guests and a "Savage Worlds" gathering that's being hyped in some big places. I'm a little overwhelmed personally, but luckily I'm just one little cog. :)
Otaku Stuff
Got some cool goodies in recently that I'm very happy with. A ceramic Totoro music-box for my little collection, and my first ever order from Amazon.co.jp. I got two Spiral artbooks (very pretty!), Salty Dog 4 (drop-dead gorgeous), a three-volume manga adaptation of "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" (my favorite book ever), and a book of Hirashi Hirai illustrations. The latter was of interest to me because I liked his work in Infinite Ryvius and Scr-y-ed, and there's good representation of those series in addition to Gundam Seed...but the book itself is a little lightweight, both physically and aesthetically. The artwork is mostly of a fairly generic "collage-y" sort of look from DVD covers, magazine spreads, etc. A few are pretty good, but it just doesn't feel as polished and appealling as the other three artbooks I got. Also, the book itself is quite floppy and the pages are a MUCH lighter stock than I usually expect in an artbook...more like a magazine sort of stock than an illustration book. Still, it was also a less-expensive book price-wise, so I guess it makes sense that the quality would be a little less.
Anime viewing has slowed down a bit lately. I was way behind in AOD reviewing, so I've been focused on that. Got Kino, Happy Lesson, DICE Season 1, and 2 volumes of Macross reviewed in the space of about 6 weeks. Working on "Final Fantasy: Unlimited" now. This'll be my first 20+ episode series to review in a while (DICE doesn't count), so it should be a challenge. :)
V. excited for the Saiyuki OVA that was announced recently. And very bummed that my subscription to ZeroSum is running out just when the Reload manga is getting so good. I can't afford to renew my subscription right now, and I was mainly getting it for Side B anyway. Saiyuki was just a fringe benefit. Still, at least I got my hard-copy of that hottie youkai Hakkai closeup before my time ran out. :)
Reading
My current reading is *STILL* Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, which I started sometime before Christmas. This book is just unending! Not in a bad way...I'm actually enjoying it a lot. Erikson is just awesome at this epic, larger-than-life storytelling, albeit with a strong side of rather gruesome imagery. It's just that his books are such dense reads that I keep picking up manga or other lighter fare at times when I have a quick ten minutes to kill (which seems to be most of my reading time lately).
Theater
Went to the Reduced Shakespeare Company's new show, Completely Hollywood, last weekend. This makes my 11th time seeing the RSC ( + 1 local theater group's performance of the Shakespeare show notable for me getting dragged up on stage to be Ophelia in the audience participation segment). The show was great as usual, and I picked up the DVD of their Complete History of America (abridged) while I was there, so score. :)
This weekend I have tickets for "Four Bitchin' Babes", which is most exciting for me because Dierdre Flint is part of the group now, and she's a real favorite of mine. One thing I'm worried about is that my dad is coming, too. I'm fretful that he'll have a bad time, since the whole point of this show is a kind of estrogen-heavy girl-centric humor thing. But he was the one who expressed interest when I invited my mom, so it's his own fault. :)