A Safe Space for Moogles

Can I just take a moment to mention what a huge writerly-girlcrush on Sharon Shinn I have right now?

The woman has penned an amazing fantasy series (Novels of the Twelve Houses, starting with Mystic and Rider, if you're interested, and you are) that encompasses politics, romance, war, and magic in ways that make me fall in love with all of them all over again. -Rather, for the first time in the case of romance. I found her Reader and Raelynx in paperback a few months ago and devoured it in the space of about a day, even though I tried to make it last because I thought it was the end of the series.

And then. And then. A few days ago I discovered Fortune and Fate. Do you know what Ms. Shinn has done, flist? I'll tell you: she took a very minor character, one that appeared only briefly in the previous novel, and spun an entire book off of her. And damn my eyes, I read it all in the space of a few hours.

Now that is talent.

...Also, I have finally made the Internet work on my Wii. Immediately downloaded LostWinds. It is criminally adorable.

That is all.

It's no secret that the video game industry is heavily skewed towards Those With Peens. Men are the main characters in the vast majority of games; when women show up, they are inevitably the Damsel in Distress, the Girlfriend, the White Mage, the Object at the end of the level, the support and foil for the male lead.* Sometimes I lie awake at night, languishing for want of a Strong Female Role Model and wishing to high heaven that the video game industry would just try making a female lead once in a while.

...And then I find stuff like this, and wish they'd just go back to making prettyboy male leads. -_-

*I know there are exceptions, but anyone holding up Lara Croft as a shining example of feminine empowerment will be kicked in the polygons.

I got a FireRed game. Put it in my DS and played it, then switched to Diamond for a bit. When I went back to FR, my save file had been deleted. This happened twice. And apparently this is a pretty common problem. No Bulbasaur in Diamond for me. Foo! *sulks*

Saw Up with my mom last night. It was adorable and tearjerking and funny, which, y'know, Pixar. ;P ...After the movie we shared some ice cream and talked about how we needed to lose weight. Girl bonding, LOL. XD

I'm sort of playing with the seed of an idea of a duo of fics and/or drabble sets in the Pokemon world, Pokemon: Magic and Pokemon: Science. Science would focus on the network of Pokemon researchers and Pokedex trainers, and their quest to discover How It All Works. Magic would focus on the mythology surrounding the Legendaries, and how that translates to a near reverence for nature in general among humans and their relationships with Pokemon. ...Naturally, since there's a third game in each generation that comes out a little later, I'd have to come out with a third fic-set called, I don't know, Culture or some such.

...Dear god, someone please pry these games out of my hands. XD

So, I leave my Empoleon and my Ditto at the Day Care ('cause I wanna breed some Piplups to trade), and the old man outside tells me "They don't seem to like each other much."

Now, I have gotten this message once before. My Onix and my Graveler needed some levels to go up against the Electric gym, and being told that they hated each other's faces made me think it was pretty safe to leave them there together without risking an unwanted pregnancy (because Pokemon birth control has not been invented yet). But, lo and behold, ten minutes later I had a brand-new Onix egg. Which is currently languishing in storage, because Pokemon stem cell research is also a thing of the future. I figured I had the weird luck to have the only grudgefucking Rock-types in the game.

Fast-forward to now. This time I actually do want an egg, so I paraded all five of my Dittos in front of Empoleon (uncomfortably, I seem to have become a Ditto pimp). None of them met Empy's exacting standards. So I gave up and left him with a random Ditto for the time being, fully expecting their relationship to be a barren one.

Yep, you guessed it. Ten minutes later I had an egg. Twelve minutes later I had two.

What the hell are they putting in the food at that place!?

Despite being a Ditto pimp, I really don't want to contemplate the mechanics of reproducing with what amounts to a wad of Silly Putty with a face.

On impulse, I bought this magazine titled 'Girls of Gaming.' It had Faith from Mirror's Edge (first game to make me wish I had an XB360) on the front cover, sitting looking all contemplative and cool. I picked it up, thinking I was in for a rare and valuable treat: a gaming magazine aimed at women, celebrating the rise of the powerful female in a male-dominated world.

What I got was gaming-themed softcore. -_- Pretty pictures, yes, but don't read the blurbs waxing rhapsodic about Chun Li's thighs.

It kind of makes me want to start a blog, actually. This kind of thing is something I'm passionate about anyway. I could identify strong females in gaming and ways in which the industry falls short; deconstruct games specifically aimed at girls (with lots of fun Ranting, of course), even interview women in the industry. It'd be awesome and fantastic and fill a gaping hole in the market that should have been filled long ago.

...And then my brain comes to a screeching halt. "Bitch," it says, "you've got fourteen springkink prompts, two long fanfics and a novel, two robot-gurumis to crochet, and you're still looking for a job. And you haven't updated your website in ages. You're BUSY."

Sometimes I hate my brain. Still, it's a project to consider.

And now, speaking of springkink, I have to go watch me some Saiunkoku Monogatari. Oh, what a cruel world is mine.

I dreamed there was a new FF7-compilation game released called After Crisis (of course), which seemed to focus a lot on Sephiroth. There was lots of white and pretty wings and swords - you know, fangirl bait. I'd almost say it was a game version of my Fluffiroth fic, but I read the back of the box - the blurb there was from Seph's point of view and he didn't sound quite sane.

The game came with an art book and jewelry. Dear Squeenix: you know you want to!

So, Transformers: The Game.

It does not make extensive use of menus. Therefore, I suck at it.

It's the driving, man. The controls are wacky. I can't go anywhere without massive property damage. And property damage means police cars following me around, which means they get in the way when I inevitably run into Decepticons which means more stuff gets blowed up. I'd give up and walk everywhere, except that doesn't seem to discourage the police cars. Meanwhile there's people screaming, craters in the ground - makes me want to curl up with a mug of tea and Rhapsody.

Maybe I should've been a Decepticon. I bet you get points for tearing up the landscape. But then I wouldn't get to listen to Optimus Prime's voice. Mmmm. ^_^

I've been playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure lately. It's very, very cute. ^_^ ...Awfully easy though. I'm on chapter 5 already and I've only been playing about five hours. But dude, such badass dolls! I see cosplay opportunities. ^_^

BUT. Lest you think I've been slacking off - behold, a Mythbusters/TFs snippet! I actually wrote stuff over the weekend. *is proud of self*

( Another expensive camera was spattered with mud... )

...so, there's not much point to that snippet, but still. XD

But, but, I can't resist this one:

Give me a character from any fandom or original work of mine, and I will talk about what he or she or it is like in bed.

(Blame (lj)vani_nessa.)

In other news, I picked up two games for ten bucks each at Kmart yesterday (gimme a break, I've spent like zero of my Christmas money so far). One is Geometry Wars Galaxies, which I suck at but it's oddly soothing anyway. XD Maybe I'll make a habit of playing it before bed. And the other is DDR Supernova. I finally dragged out my dance pad after about a six-month hiatus this weekend. I suck at that too (just need to get back into practice!) but at least I'm getting some exercise. Gee, all I need is a job and a Place of my own and it'll be almost like I'm socially acceptable. ;P

I also picked up Classics Hound and Ironhide. I have to admit, the major draw was that Hound came with Ravage. XD

Because goals are something you work towards, not something you lay around and feel guilty that you're not doing. And I'm having one of those fat-ugly-worthless lives days, so I have to do something to snap me out of it. So. Lists. Lists of Things. Things to Do. Yes. *nods.*

Crochet
- Corset: get it done this month, in a fashion that doesn't leave me scrambling for my camera at 2359 hours Jan 31. -_- (Shouldn't be hard, the pieces work up pretty quickly, but I need to leave some wiggle room in case the experimental bits don't work out like I want.)
- Naked Ultra Magnus (x2) for Ravyn: will probably take longer, but my goal is March 1. Even though there's two, it shouldn't take as long as Perceptor did because I have a little better idea of what I'm doing.
- At least three pieces for when I debut my Etsy shop, goal April 1. Considering how many half-finished projects I have floating around, that shouldn't be too hard.

Writing
- Five Myths Jamie and Adam Never Busted: get it done by summer, dammit. It's been floating around way too long. I don't know if the fic itself deserves better, but the concept certainly does.
- The Rose Bearer: mostly finished by the end of the year. Of course, I said that last year too and I wrote about, uh, one chapter. All year. It's completely ridiculous when I already know basically how it's going to go. *headdesk*
- On Broken Wings: ...I don't like the name anymore. Also, finish the new chapter.
- At least one short story/comic: published by the end of the year.

Video Games
- Final Fantasy 9: best game I never finished.
- Final Fantasy 12: or by the time I beat it, all the good fanfic authors will have moved on.
- Transformers: both the DS game and the Wii game by the time the new movie comes out

Health
- Join that tai chi place I keep driving by; Mom's promised to pay for it already, it's just on me to get off my ass.
- Some kind of regular aerobic exercise (DDR Hottest Party if I can get it or con my parents into getting it, for preference)

Life
- Get a frakkin' job


.....I may be setting myself up for failure, here. *staaaaaares at list* o_o

I know I'm spamming, but I have to write this down before it disappears again. I think I have a theory as to what happened to FF7's world in Kingdom Hearts.

So, when Cloud gives Sephiroth the Black Materia in the Crater? That right there is when their world went to The Darkness. Rather than summon Meteor, Sephiroth summoned the Heartless and Cloud was right in the middle of it with his mind shattered: hence the wing, the meeting up with Hades, and the constant 'guilt guilt angst angst' mode he's in. (More so than he usually is, I mean.)

The problem with this, of course, is that Aeris was already an ex-Aeris by then, so here's where my theory skews a little AU: at the Temple of the Ancients, when Cloud freaks out and hands over the Black Materia and then attacks Aeris? I think Sephiroth was already half-gone to the Heartless by then, because basically Cloud keeps Aeris from running off on her own by injuring her too badly to travel. Guilt guilt, angst angst.

This is a fine note to be going to bed on. *headdesk*

I'm not sure I approve of this blitzball business. I signed up for a menu combat RPG, not a sports sim. Besides, it took me something like six tries to do the Jecht Shot. Six times watching that damn ball smack into Cheetor Tidus's stupid face. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail hard at this.

And another thing - why don't these people need to breathe!?

Gah. I'm going back to Okami. Things make much more sense when you can just pee on the demons and have done with it.

(Srsly, we've got two dogs and two cats to look after. When it gets busy, it'll be a relief.)

Okay. Virginia? Don't get me wrong, that was some very impressive flurry action on the drive home and I gotta give you props for not making the roadways all messy, but, really, snow? Now? It's not even Thanksgiving yet. ...This better mean we get a white Christmas.

Also, body? It's really not necessary to wake me up around two-thirty AM for no particular reason. I need that sleep.

Also also, I picked up FFX for cheap the other day (oh my god, another RPG, why do I do this to myself) and my only salient observation so far is that Tidus is so Cheetor it's not even funny. Other than that, I have no idea what's going on. I figure if I keep playing until something makes sense, I'll have finished the game in a couple of weeks.

While I was out driving today, I saw a tree with a white ribbon tied around it and my first thought was to Bloom it.

*head->steering column*

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

:D

I was a bad, bad girl today and picked up a video game while I was out being Corporate Whore Moogle. But, but, but, it's Okami! It's really hard to find used, you guys. But, um, I've only been playing for about an hour and already it is so worth it, zomg. Pretty wolf and brush and eee! ^___^

...And then I came home and found a DVD full of Okami and Vagrant Story footage from ciceqi. So that's reason number two to feel all Warm and Fuzzy. ...And anticipate a couple of new fandoms, most likely. Halp! XD

......Awooooo! :D

Well, my graduation ceremony went off without a hitch on Friday - well, as non-hitchy as could be expected. It ran a bit long, and the guest speaker they had was some former coach from not-even-our-school-for-heaven's-sake, and he seemed to have forgotten that we were not a) his grandkids or b) football players. It was either screaming in our faces or "When I was your age blah blah poverty blah blah mastodon for breakfast." Oh, and he did a magic trick with a newspaper. I passed the time by contemplating Rodimus/Starscream ghost porn.

But in the end, it was worth it to walk across the stage. And dance off it. (I told you I would.) And toss my hat up in the air. ^_______^

And now? Now, ladies and gentlemechs, I am taking a nice long well-earned rest. My therapist told me today that I look much more relaxed, and yes, lifting that weight from one's shoulders will do that to a person. I spent a little of my graduation money today, and squeed over presents, and now there's just an Extended Family visit to get through before we officially move. Once I'm settled there I'll start looking for Jobs.

Speaking of Family, the day after I graduated, my grandmother (the one in Poor Health) fell and broke her ankle. Like, through-the-skin break. She was going to come down for Dad's retirement ceremony, but now it's a toss-up whether she'll be out of the hospital by the time we come up to see her in a couple of weeks. So, there's that going on.

Also, I just beat Magical Starsign, which is really good for me considering I only bought it a couple months ago. I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of quirky RPGs. *checks off list* One down, seven million and three to go.

I just beat Kingdom Hearts II! *boomshakaboomshakaboomshaka*

It seems to be becoming a tradition - I stay up waaaaay too late to beat games on nights where I have to get up early. XD

Also, I need the opening/ending songs. Homigod. *flail*

Also, will probably be drawing a self-insert at some point, just because I really do adore this world. *sigh*