So, its been a while XD

[bard_linn]

How is life going?

Well, school is almost out. We've got five days of lunch duty left, three days of exams, and one 'fluff' day. I'm trying to get everything done I can now - but I've got projects and review packets coming in next week, blah. Other than that though, I'm basically at the 'organizing for next year' stage. Also, I'm proctoring SATs tomorrow which will give me a bit more money in the bank.

...which is a good thing since I managed to spend most of my state tax rebate today over at rightstuff.com. However, the following are all on their way to my house: AMG the soundtrack for season one, the entire series of Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Read or Die TV, Tenchi Muyo Movie 1, Tenchi Universe (I have very fond memories of this series <3), Trigun, and all but one DVD of X the TV series Remastered version - they were out of the first disk, dang it. All for less than 300 dollars, which is AWESOME in my book (little less than 8 a thing WITH shipping? Fantastic. >D)

It also takes a lot of stuff off the list of Anime I've been planning to buy for a while. I still want to get FMA (but I'd prefer to get it either used or really cheep because I don't want to fund Vic nonsense more than necessary) and Kaledio star. I'd also like to finish Ronin Warriors (I inherited a lot of the DVDs from my cousin). But that's basically it - I might give in and buy some of the Sailor Moon series at some point because those were my first 'real' anime - minus Unico when I was a kid, but I can't find THAT yet EDIT: or maybe you can as it says on Wiki and Amazon there are some? *GLEE*- besides, its SHINY and I'm lame like that (though since Geneon did those too I might have trouble with that). I'll also want to pick up X Remixed 1, of course. And maybe finish off AMG as they bring them over in thinpack sets. But that's basically it at the moment. If they come out with a new series for Slayers I'll have to get that but without an anime club anymore I'm not really getting introduced to new stuff. Not a bad thing for my wallet.

Comments

sounds good

[(Anonymous)]

Hi! I had just meandered back to your journal in the hopes of an update on Butterfly Effect - which has shot to near-top on my list of study-break material (a.k.a. self-bribery material) - when I found this post. Sounds like you have a very respectable haul of loot there; a mix of silly and serious with a liberal dose of pretty.

Good luck with examining etc. I've only ever been an examinee (unless verbally grilling the rotation students for viva-prep counts), but I can't imagine having to mark all the papers is especially pleasant.

Anyhow, hope all's well and I look forward to reading more BE.

Nik.
nchan217@hotmail.com

Re: sounds good

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

I love stuff with humor in it - stuff without any rarely makes it to my bookshelves, unless its a GREAT bargain, and then I still have to semi-like it.

A week from now I will be done! I'm very excited. There are various parts of the next couple chapters floating around on sheets of paper in my room. Sadly, we're going through ANOTHER overhaul with the next three or four chapters - this is the third or fourth major edit, but each time it gets better. :)

Re: sounds good

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm done a week from TOMORROW. Linn is occasionally an idiot, pardon me.

Re: sounds good

[(Anonymous)]

Oooh! More chapters?! Plural?! Can't wait! I have to say, at the risk of turning this post into another bout of raging-fangirlitude, that the main reason I keep reading (and, I confess, re-reading) Butterfly Effect is because of the truly stellar character development and plot evolution. It is a rarity to find a fic on the net where an actual *story* with honest-to-goodness *plot* counts for more than an apparently obligatory dose of romance/sex between two characters about whom we care only because of canon, rather than due to any effort on the fanfic writer's behalf.
Butterfly Effect is an excellent example of story-telling at its best; the characters are three-dimensional, intriguing and flawed, and they are that way because *that's how YOU wrote them* not because that's how they appeared in the game. When I read BE, I care how Seph and Zack react to Cloud discovering their relationship not because I'm pro- or anti- Seph/Zack, but because you've made these characters real for me, and I want things to work out for them. (A little character torture in the interim is, naturally, par for the course.) The quiet abundance of affection, coupled with the lack of gratuity, makes the relationship true to the characters' personalities and hence a delight to read, rather than a chore to slog through before I get to the next 'good bit' of plot development. In a muddled way, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the romance, in this instance, contributes to the plot rather than detracting from it and hence it becomes a 'good bit' of it's own right.
By the same token, I'm enjoying watching Cloud and Reno orbit around each other - their banter, through to Reno's pushiness, makes for a really interesting dynamic, and the dialogue between the two is just such an elegantly unintrusive way to add humour to the fic and prevent any staleness to tone or pacing while also demonstrating how the characters have grown and developed over the months to years that this fic takes place.

While commenting on a video game fanfic, I should probably point out that I am not a gamer. At all. (Studying towards an exam with an 80% fail rate while working full-time does not really lend itself towards copious quantities of spare time to spend playing a computer game.) I won't bore you with the details of how I fell over Final Fantasy VII as a fandom genre, but suffice it to say I've never played even a minute of it.
For Butterfly Effect, that doesn't matter.
The characters are three-dimensional, the magic and fighting and society is either well explained, or equally well elucidated by demonstration (with, might I add, a refreshing lack of anything that could be construed as patronizing to the reader) to the extent that I have no difficulties following the story despite a desperate paucity of background 'assumed knowledge'. To have written a story that works on both the 'newbie' and the 'old hand' level is very difficult, and again kudos to you and your co-author for handling it with such panache.
Your fight scenes - most notably the ones in the reactor and under the mansion - are pulse-raising episodes, executed with imagination, elegant descriptions and excellent pacing. They break up longer stretches of absorbing plot very neatly but not choppily, and all of them contribute to the ongoing development of the story. I must have re-read the chapter where Vincent and Sephiroth meet at least four times because of this: While I love a good characterisation, I'm equally enamoured of a decently inventive punch-up! Thanks for fulfilling both of my wants, especially in a manner that progresses the story.


Well, I had best toddle off and do some study. Thanks to your comment about the chapter(s) overhaul (and implied soon-to-be-posted!), I now have a 'carrot' to hang in front of my 'donkey' self while I do battle with some of the finer points of tonight's topics.

Nik.

Re: sounds good

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you so much for your in depth reply. It's always wonderful to find people who like BE, and you like a lot of the same things we like about it. Yes, we like pairing stuff - but I also like good plot, and character development. The next couple chapters are under revision (again!) because of character development and inter-character relations (partially brought on by people's comments and review, which have highlighted some things we feel need to be addressed).

We always try to stay at least five proofed/edited chapters ahead of posting, because stuff like this happens were we realize we need to fix things. Can't promise how soon the next chapter will get out, but I'm hoping by the end of the month. :)

Good luck with your studying! I know what you mean about video games - I never had time until college, and I've only played a handful. I came to FFVII myself before playing the game, actually. And as a math major, I can sympathize with having to study and self reward yourself!

Re: sounds good

[(Anonymous)]

My pleasure! I've always figured that being able to easily comment on my favourite fics and other bits of writing or artwork that make me happy is one of the undersung joys of the net. Besides, most fanfic writers don't get 'paid' per se, so I think it's important to encourage excellence as and when I find it. To hear that you're five chapters ahead just selfishly makes me even happier; that sort of self-discipline means it's much less likely that this fic will suddenly go on hiatus when real life gets acutely fractious (which is something I must confess I have certainly been guilty of)

By 'intercharacter relationships' I assume you mean the flurry of Tifa-and-Cloud, Zack-and-Sephiroth and Zack-and-Aeris comments I've spotted in response to some previous chapters. Personally, I must say I remain cheerfully unconcerned by the pervading sense of anxiety expresssed in a number of the comments concerning your intentions. While this should not be taken to mean I have no opinion on any of the pairs (your masterful handling of plot and characterisation has made me care rather a lot about the characters), it is your fic, with your character development and relationships. I have confidence that, based on past performance, you will do it justice.

I had best stop there, rather than risk another snarky Live Journal 'Your reply was too long, cut it' comment when I try to post, and I had best be trotting off to work as my shift starts soon.

Maths major, huh? All this, and I'll bet you understand Fourier analysis too. (Though to be fair, it isn't the harmonics stuff that's the current bane of my existance. Helloooooo statistics. Sigh.)

Nik.