I've just had Sarah join my party (though I'm taking one or two detours before getting on with the plot) and I think she's my favourite character now. Do I have a thing for dippy girls now? >> But she's adorable! Also, when she casts Wind Blade: "I'm going to cut you to pieces~!" Haha, this girl's related to Erys alright. XD

And because I haven't posted my Pokeymans for a while:



Murkrow~ ♥

SO4's version of the Purgatorium is another dungeon that could do with at least one more savepoint.

That said, the statue-and-urn puzzles seem to take up most of the time I'm in there, and the place isn't too bad for backtracking to the entrance and back to where I last got to once I've unlocked a few doors. Makes it a bit more forgivable than the bloody Cardianon ship, in that respect.

ETA: Okay, so at the point I'd reached when I first made this entry, there wasn't very much dungeon left to go. ^^; The boss was really freakin' hard, though.

I haven't had this much of an urge to jump into a game and hit the protagonist since Kalas from Baten Kaitos, and that is really saying something.

( Spoilers referenced, but I haven't got much further, so... )

For better or worse, my current beef with Edge is making me appreciate Fayt more. Yeah, Fayt was really annoying at times, but at least he was capable of making smart decisions (like using a planet's own resources to help them) and not taking his wangst out on innocent bystanders.

Now I'm close to the end of the first disc of SO4! And I gotta say, I really, really like the planet I'm on now. ♥

( More bulletpointed babble, with definite SPOILERS )

The further I can get in this game, the sooner I can start making edits on the SO TV Tropes page again... which I've been itching to do for a while, because there's some things on there that really bother me. Aside from some blatant natter, two of the most irritating bits are that a) we should not need two large paragraphs to establish that Edge is an Accidental Pervert, and b) Rena is not a subversion of a Staff Chick because she never uses staves in the first place! You're looking at The Medic (played straight) for her, guys. ~.~

TV Tropes seems to be down at the moment, though. Anyone else getting withdrawal symptoms? oh wait, it seems to be behaving itself again now.

Well, I got a new copy of SO4, and now I've finally got out of the Cardianon mothership! God, that place was getting annoying. I really wish it had at least another savepoint or two... but that's all out of the way now.

The boss took forever to beat. ~.~ I couldn't figure out where its weak spot was (though I definitely hit it at least once, as Faize got a battle trophy out of it) so by the end of it I just resorted to chucking a few bombs at it with Reimi. The battle's also reminded me that I ought to level up my healing spells.

Now might be a good time to get out my thoughts on the game at long last, so without further ado...

( Various thoughts on SO4. Spoilers for early parts, but nothing huge )

While I still think Estelle > any of the SO4 cast I've met so far, it's nice to be enjoying this game again problem-free.

Could someone please throw a glacier or something on top of me? It's been so unbearably hot these last few days, I can barely stand to go outside! T.T

Tales of Vesperia has finally been released in the UK, and I've been playing it over the weekend. :3

I haven't got too far in yet (I've only just gotten Karol in my party and left the Quoi Woods) but I'm really loving it so far. I already like Estelle a lot - she's utterly adorable, and her dippiness makes for some amusing skits. Yuri's a pretty good protagonist, too... not to mention the prettiest bloke I've played as in an RPG since forever. >> I'm amused that one random NPC in the first inn mistook him for a girl.

I'd like to say a lot more about the game, but first I need to make more progress. ^^; By the way, guys, I heard there's some sidequests that are really easy to miss? I'm looking for a bit of advance warning. No spoilers, of course.

It's gotta be said, it's really nice to see a Tales game actually get a UK release. I was bummed out by us never getting Abyss, and it looks like we're not getting the Symphonia sequel either... so being able to enjoy Vesperia like the Japanese and American fans is quite a blessing, in a way.

Moving away from Tales... I never did write up my early impressions of Star Ocean 4, did I? Well, that's partly down to the problems I've had with my copy. I've had to send it back for a refund because after a certain point, it just kept locking up so much it was a total chore to play anymore (and yes, I do think the disc got damaged at some point). =/ Anyway, I got as far the Cardianon mothership - more specifically, the tower part just after getting Bacchus - and I'm hoping that when I get another copy, I'll be able to pick it up again without any problems.

All that said, while I did like what I played of SO4, I'm already enjoying Vesperia more. I just love Estelle more than any of the SO4 cast I got to meet. ^^;

I've just been reading some old comments and entries of mine, and damn, some of them are really embarrassing to read now! It's like... was I really that much of a bitch about certain characters before? Not to mention the silly stereotypical yaoi fangirl crap I used to come out with...

Let it be said that I don't hate Fayt or Sophia, at least not anymore. Besides the fact that staying out of the fandom for a while has made me mellow out, I think it was the idiocy of the fandom itself that drove me against the poor buggers in the first place. Sure, I did find Fayt annoying and Sophia did irk me at times, but now I feel sorry I was so harsh on them before. =/

Actually, I'm surprised the fandom never drove me to hate Albel. Not only did the majority of the fics have him way OOC, but he also had (and, I'm guessing, still has) a terrible DILP status, and the double standards regarding fangirls worshipping him and trashing Maria for similar character traits really pissed me off. How did I ever hold on to my love for him when similar fandom bullshit gave me such an irrational hatred for Fayt?

I'm really headdesking at myself now. Just as well I'm thinking of friendlocking my journal, because at least then my past idiocy won't be exposed to every Tom, Dick and Harry online anymore.

Another meme, nicked from... quite a few people.

List 10 of your favorite characters from different fandoms, and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, and if they're so inclined, to draw conclusions about you based on the patterns they've spotted.

It's a slightly skewed list since I was trying to get in an equal number of male and female favourites, but here it is, ordered alphabetically by fandom:

*Gren (Cowboy Bebop)
*Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)
*Nakago (Fushigi Yuugi)
*Millia Rage (Guilty Gear)
*Tieria Erde (Gundam 00)
*Lacus Clyne (Gundam Seed)
*Shiina Tamai (NaruTaru)
*Ioshua Jerand (Star Ocean 1)
*Albel Nox (Star Ocean 3)
*Colette Brunel (Tales of Symphonia)

It's a little embarrassing to admit I still like Nakago. Well, no matter how big a writing hiccup there was with what happened with him in the end, I still think he was an interesting character, and I'm sure that doesn't mean I'm sticking leather pants on him, either. Dammit, it's not like I'm pretending he isn't a sadistic bastard or anything. It's possible to find an evil character interesting without downplaying said evil, after all. =/

And now for a bit of a tangent! It's not a pattern you can pick out from the meme, but I've noticed that when it comes to main characters, I'm more likely to actually like them (as opposed to simply thinking they're okay at best) if they're female. That's not to say there aren't male protagonists I like, of course, but it's something I've noticed all the same.

I'm not going to spam these guys too much, but Norio (Natu) and Trilly (Kabuto) want all the cuddles they can get.

On an unrelated note, the other night, I had a dream involving an alternate version of Gundam 00 S2, and it had Lyle in a relationship with Linda. What the hell, subconsciousness.

As for SO4, I'm only just over an hour into it because I've had so little opportunity to play it, so I'll have to go a bit further before I can give substantial first impressions.

Star Ocean 4 arrived in the mail today. Sadly, I've been out for most of the day, so I haven't had the chance to play it yet. =/

(If anyone cares as to whether I've beaten SO2 yet: No, I haven't. I got stuck on one of the last bosses, and I'm wishing I had more than two anti-petrification accessories. Best get to crafting, then.)

Collectormania is in my town this weekend, so I went to it this morning and ended up coming home with more stuff than I thought I would. ^^;

( My loot, along with the reason for this entry's title )

After last week's heat wave, the temperature here has gone straight back to being cold. Somehow, I think I'm doomed to never be happy with the weather.

Augh, it's been so hot these last few days - and to make it worse, I've had to be busy with housework and stuff during this heat. *melts*

I don't feel like doing much~, but since I ganked this off relmneiko, I might as well get this meme done at least.

Comment to this entry and I'll pick three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:

01: What got you into this fandom in the first place?
02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.?
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?

I was given Star Ocean 3, Gundam 00, and Soul Calibur. Let's go!

( Cut for length, naturally )

Now to try and beat SO2 before my preordered copy of SO4 arrives in about a week's time. But before that, I need to sleep.

Pokey the Weedle has been moved to the daycare since I wanted to raise another new egg. *waits patiently for Natu in particular to hatch*

Argh, stupid Field of Might. Does anyone else find those gorillas by the switches a massive pain, or do I just suck? I can't beat them fast enough. T.T

*grinds some more*

ETA: Gorillas dead! Field of Might beaten! Problem solved! \o/

I see there's a meme going around that goes like this:

Name your 15 absolutely favorite couples (het/slash/canon/fanon) and ask people to see what trends they notice about your couples. Try to pick different fandoms.

The thing is... I've only got about two pairings I feel strongly enough about to call absolute favourites, and even if I included my not-so-absolute favourites, I can't see myself making 15. In fact, I'd probably struggle to make ten without either abusing the same few fandoms or reaching into pairings I'm not all that fangirly about. Shipping just isn't my #1 priority in fandom. I'm weird like that, I guess, but whatever. Might also be the time of night - watch me come back to this tomorrow morning and wonder what the hell I was on.

That said... if we only go with my "absolute favourites", then what do you suppose Nel/Clair and Lockon/Tieria have in common? ^^;

Also, one of these days I'm going to make a big ol' fandom spam post with all my preferences on it.

Click click?

ETA: Cuddle the new Natu egg too? D:

Seems like Bokurano was just licensed in the US by Viz.

On one hand: YIPPEE! It's good to see a series I love - and a fairly obscure one at that - get an official release so I can (hopefully, assuming it does well enough on the new IKKI site) pay money for it and own a hard copy and support it.

On the other: To put it shortly, it's Viz.

Two things I'll point out here. One: it's pretty obvious that if Bokurano were to be licensed, it would be by Viz, because they pretty much have a monopoly on Shogakukan stuff. Two: unlike the vast majority of manga fandom, I don't hate Viz at all, nor do I spit and snarl at every single little thing they do with their titles. (Guys, they have to change brand names for legal reasons, and I'm sure Naruto isn't ruined forever just because the main character's waving a fist instead of flipping the bird. Take it easy sometimes!)

With that out of the way, Bokurano does have some very contraversial content in places. I'm just wondering how Viz is likely to cope with that, though if all their IKKI titles are planned to go on their Signature label, I think I can be cautiously optimistic.

Well, if a few bits end up on the cutting room floor (I'd know which bits, and I probably wouldn't blame Viz for it, considering) I think I'd still buy it anyway. I bought all the volume releases Dark Horse put out for NaruTaru, after all. Speaking of which, I am laughing at the peeps on the forums who think DH would've done so much of a better job with Bokurano. Did they forget that they never finished NaruTaru? Never mind that, to my knowledge, they put out most of their new stuff at a snail's pace these days. XD

I'll have to check out the new IKKI site later, as Children of the Sea seems intriguing and I recall hearing good things about it. Oh, and I've got the raw of Bokurano chapter 62 to look at, too.

Before anyone wonders, no, I haven't buggered off to Dreamwidth. In fact, I don't even have an account there, nor am I all that interested. I just think it's a little pointless for me; I hardly use my JournalFen or Inksome accounts, so I bet I'd hardly use a Dreamwidth account either.

Not really very much to report, unless you want to hear me whine about the increasing cost of public transport. All I'll say is, I'm damn glad I've booked my car theory test, so that hopefully I'll be able to have a full driving licence and be done with buses soon.

Oh, but in a rare case of UK gamers getting a nice deal, Star Ocean 4's PAL release is going to have a limited collector's edition, with a little soundtrack CD and other stuff thrown in. I've preordered it, and I'll see if there's anything worth scanning once I get it in early June. :3

I'm also trying to get through a big backlog of anime DVDs I still haven't watched yet. How I'm going to find time to do that is beyond me, especially with my brother back home, but I suppose I'll find a way.

Ganked from relmneiko:

The first TEN people to comment in this post get to request a drabble or a sketch of any pairing/character (from one of my usual fandoms). In return, those ten people have to may post this in their journals, regardless of their ability level.

I was looking for another excuse to write anyway. ^^;

Boohoo! I thought Star Ocean 4 was going to be out here today, but it isn't! ;_____;

A quick check of Amazon and play.com tells me the release date's been pushed back to June 5th, but I'm not even sure how concrete that is. Speaking of June, Tales of Vesperia is meant to get its UK release later that same month - which, incidentally, is at least close to a whole year after its US release!

Living in the UK sure sucks sometimes.

I've been trying to get back into the Fire Emblem series. I just tend to get stuck on certain maps of every game I own, and I hate screwing up and getting any of my units killed. D: (Chapter 19 of Blazing Sword, you're a particularly big bastard. I know I beat you before a few years back, but that doesn't make you any less of a sod.)

I thought Blazing Sword or The Sacred Stones would be the first ones where I'd finally start making progress again, but instead the lucky game has been... Shadow Dragon. Where I've only just finished chapter... TWO. Yeah, even though I've owned the game since Christmas time. >>; Then again, games like SO1 were taking up my time back then. Ah well. Fun times, fun times... and Ogma is such a badass. And looking at the manual, Linde is super hot and I must know which chapter I get her in.

... On a random note, the name Shadow Dragon keeps making me think of NaruTaru. Um. >___>

It might've been for the better that I've been lazy with updating again, as otherwise I'd probably have whined about the end of 00 S2 some more. I'd much rather spare you guys from that.

Bah, I've found my ways of being content in the fandom without letting that bother me. There's that AU community to hang out in, and I've got another Lockon/Tieria doujinshi on its way to me in the post. That's just fine and dandy for me.

Putting that to one side, though... I bought Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume the other day, and while I've only played the introductory battle so far, I like what I've seen - plus I like Ancel just for being a relatively cheerful character in a VP game. XD

The only reason I haven't played that much VP:CotP is that I've managed to get myself hooked on... Zelda: Wind Waker. Yeah, yeah, slowpoke.jpg and all, get off my case already. ^^; It's a pretty fun game, thought I could've done with a little less sailing and a little more dry land to play on, not to mention that the third pearl felt like... I hadn't done enough to earn it (being deliberately vague here, for the sake of any fellow slowpokes out there). Where I'm at now, I've just gotten the bow, and I think it's the first time in any Zelda game I've felt so glad to have it. XD

Right, enough waffling there... time for a meme, because I never get tired of doing this meme.

NAME A FANDOM AND I'LL TELL YOU:
1. The first character I fell in love with:
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:
3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:
4. The character I love that everyone else hates:
5. The character I would shag anytime:
6. The character I'd want to be like:
7. The character I'd slap:
8. A pairing that I love:
9. A pairing that I despise:
10. Favorite character:
11. What are my five favorite things about the fandom.
12. What are my five least favorite things about the fandom.
13. Who are my five favorite characters.
14. Who are my five least favorite characters.
15. What are my five favorite pairings.
16. What are my five least favorite pairings.
17. Which character are you most like.
18. What is my deep, dark fandom secret.

And with that, I'm off.

I was wondering, what would happen if Gundam 00 had ended with the first season, with no further installments?

( Spoilers for the whole first season, of course, but also a few for season two. Not wholly serious. )

Anyone got other ideas? Better ones? Or should I shut up and stay in my corner?

I got some much speedier broadband the other day. To illustrate: Before, downloading a 200MB file used to take me about an hour at best, but now I can do that in under ten minutes. TEN MINUTES.

With that out of the way, some brief and non-spoilery thoughts on the end of 00, since I've already watched the raw. Since I hated ep24, I didn't have very high expectations at all, and I think I was right to keep them low; the finale wasn't awful, but it wasn't very satisfying either. There was one scene from the epilogue that was awesome (not hard to guess which, considering it seems to be the whole fandom's favourite part XD) but other than that...

Boy, I liked the first season so much better overall. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd personally much rather take a series that's slow to begin with but keeps getting better and better, over one that starts out well but ends up going downhill.

Not sure how I feel about next year's upcoming movie, either. I know I'm bound to at least be interested in it by the time it comes out, but for now, I think I'd rather hole myself up in my own little delusional corner of the fandom. =/