Mmm. And I’m thinking I should change the name of this blog to something more descriptive, like confessions of a book whore.. but maybe I’ll just stick with the generic.

But saying that reminds me I need to find all those books in Hardcover.

Ugh. I am way too tired. Must nap after work.

Why am I tired? Because I’m an idiot who resolves to go to bed at 10 and then stays up until 3am going through the archives of an ml that I’ve been on for some time, reading and rereading fic. But it’s all JK Rowling’s fault, because if she hadn’t written those books, there would a) have been no fic and thus no mailing list and b) there would have been no game that I was busy making a character for and thus didn’t get to the archives until around 11.

I don’t know why I’ve been such an HP fangirl lately. I feel like I want to read the books again, and I did reread 1, but I just read them in August! I know I’d get bored if I read them. But… it’s like what happened with me and Eddings 3 years ago. It was like a horrible addiction. I’d read through the books and then start again at 1. I don’t think I really read anything else (aside from the occasional Agatha Christie) the entire year I was in grad school. And then, as abruptly as it came, the mania ended and I haven’t been able to touch one of the books since. It’s very odd.

I sense I’m in danger though, with HP. It’s happened to me with other series (notably, Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain books and Madeleine L’Engle’s Kairos books) where I’ll read them and just obsess over 2 or 3 of the characters to the point where they’re mine. And then I can’t read the book again for years because sometimes I’ve remembered things wrong and it pains me to have whatever other plotlines I’ve come up with involving these characters contradicted. I’m not really good with AUs. I am not going to go that route with HP. I keep telling myself that.

Kenpi, if you’re going to claim there’s inconsistencies in something, you need to back it up with evidence. I want quotes, page numbers and reasoning! Otherwise how can it be discussed?

Now for some comments not related to FFT. Work was boring today, but that’s no surprise. It almost always is. At least it’s not painful and likely to give me a stress attack — I used to be so wound up when I got home from that damn CSR job that I couldn’t concentrate on anything, I could hardly sleep at night, and I could hardly get out of bed in the morning without feeling sick. I will NEVER EVER have a job where I have to deal with the general public again. I -still- can’t hear the phone ring without wanting to fling it across the room cursing.

Last night I reread _The Blue Castle_ by LM Montgomery. It’s a one shot, but I have to say that it’s my favorite book of hers. I can’t believe I never read it until last year! Anne is charming, but she is kind of a non-entity as an adult. Valancy is just.. more interesting. I wish there had been more books or that it had been longer, just because I don’t like things I like to end, but as a whole, the plot was very well put together and moved at exactly the right pace.

I need to actually finish watching the anime that’s come in lately. I’ve got a pile of DVDs here and I’m behind again. I can’t buy any more until I’ve watched them all. I got halfway through the Tylor OVAs last week *pause to stare at Harry Potter commercial* but I haven’t picked them up since. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just my problem with letting things actually get finished. I do this with games, I do it with books.. I do it with a lot of things. I’ll get -almost- all the way up to the end, and then… I’ll lose interest. Or I’ll get distracted by something else. I’m not sure what it is exactly that compels me not to finish. I like to finish… there’s sort of a euphoria to get done. But it’s also a let down, like Christmas morning around 11am. I don’t like it when things are over.

Now I need to read more Black/Lupin fic. Damn. I managed to avoid HP fanfic for 2 years, not counting that random dj I picked up because the artwork was cute. But the movie hype, and the fact that there hasn’t been a new book for a whole year… sigh. In other news, there’s a new Miles book out in May! Yay! But May… boooo. Christmas would be better.

The gang meets up with Dycedarg at Igros and he informs them that Zalbag is on the case. Algus tries to get some troops to take action on his own, but no dice. Later, outside, Algus confides his sad story to Ron and Delita: During the war, his grandfather was captured by the enemy and sang like a bird to save his own skin. The story got out and soon his family was in disgrace. They’re all digesting that information when Zalbag, Alma and Teta appear. Zalbag tips the boys off that the spy the Hokuten managed to plant in the Death Corps hasn’t been heard from recently, but may be in a town nearby. He then comments that guarding a castle is probably pretty boring. *wink wink*. After some chatter with Teta and Alma, Delita and Algus leave, followed by Ron. Before he can go, Alma admits to him that Teta isn’t getting on well at the convent because she’s just a peasant and people have been teasing her.

On our way to Igros Castle, we come across a young man being attacked by Death Eaters.. er, the Death Corps. After rescuing him, we find out that his name is Algus and he’s a cadet knight like us. [Comment: This is a very odd society. Ovelia, Alma and Teta have been raised in convents like good little noblewomen, yet the military academy is open to women as well as men. And /not/ to commoners. So if it's not noblewomen at the academy, who is it? Why don't we have a warrior princess, huh?!] He informs us that the Marquis of Elmdor has been kidnapped, and after some discussion, Ron, Delita and he decide to go report at Igros and get further instructions.

After the fight at Gariland is over, we shift scene to a period several months earlier at the Beoulve (Ron’s family) castle, where his father Balbanes is about to kick the bucket. His older half-brothers, Zalbag and Dycedarg are in attendance, along with his sister Alma. Balbanes is trying to bring an end to the 50 Years war before he dies. Ron comes busting in, much to the displeasure of his half-brothers (someone’s jealous…). Balbanes informs Ron that he’s requested Delita (a mere peasant) be allowed to attend the military academy as well.

Comments: This game is SO unevenly translated. Various jobs are referred to by two or three different names, commands are talked about in the tutorial which don’t exist, and as far as I can tell, several of the characters and places in the plot have two names as well. Regarding the plot, I can’t tell if this was by design or just poor editting, but with all the other mistakes, I’m inclined to believe the latter.

Started Final Fantasy Tactics again. I really liked the battle system of this game. This time through I’m going to try and manage to do everything, unlike the last time when I got tired of it, leveled up Orlandu and blasted my way through to the end really fast.

I’m gonna try and do a bit of game blogging to see if I can keep all of the characters straight. There -is- a very nice history feature in this game, one which I wish was available in other games (FF8 had a bit of it), but it’s not always as detailed as I would want it to be.

So, anyway, the story opens with Princess Ovelia angsting over the war, her fate, etc. Our Hero(tm), named Ramza by Square, but we shall call him Ron for the duration [Why? Because he spends most of the story angsting over his sister and in the end, all of what he does is completely overshadowed by the legend of his best friend.] — anyway, Ron has gone mercenary and is hired to protect Ovelia from the Evil Baddies trying to kidnap her. Gafgarion, the head of the mercenaries hired by the Hokuten (one of the orders of Knights), is getting impatient with Ovelia’s stalling in the church. He comes in, Ron and another guy in tow, demanding to know what the delay is. Agrias, the head of Ovelia’s guard, doesn’t appreciate this and is about to give him a piece of her mind when the news comes that the church is being attacked by Prince Goltana’s men. Everyone rushes outside except Ovelia and Simon, the priest. After fighting and defeating the knights sent by Goltana, the group hears Ovelia scream: She’s being kidnapped by Delita.

Chapter 1:
A year before. Delita and Ron are cadets with the Hokuten knights, apparently the main enforcer arm of the royal family of Ivalice. Currently the legitimate regent, Prince Larg, the Queen’s brother, is trying to keep unrest in check by using his knights to put out fires. He’s currently expected to arrive at the military academy in Gariland for some sort of surprise inspection. The cadets are told they’ll be sent to Igros Castle to help guard it while the other Knights are out dealing with problems in the rest of the country. But in the middle of this, someone comes and informs them that a band of theives is attacking the town. The gang of cadets are sent out to fight them.

Realized I hadn’t updated this for a while! If I get off my butt and get the main FG site up again, I’ll move it there. But until then:

The Official Archer Pants Count
1. Broken Bow - YES: Archer is shot in the thigh, ripping open his pants and requiring several long camera shots of his backside.
2. Fight or Flight - NO
3. Strange New World - NO
4. Unexpected - YES: The opening scene features a highly pants-less (and everything else-less) Archer in the shower. When the artificial gravity goes out, he gets to bounce all around while we watch.
4. Terra Nova - NO