Notes and Errata of Mark of the Asphodel

*not-so-innocent whistle*

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shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

I think I know who that Merric/Elice fan IS... which makes it kinda more awkward. Unfortunately there are only a handful of us who are really vocal in LJ Archanea fandom...

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Well...whoever it is, I bet they wouldn't want you to feel awkward. Maybe they just thought their opinion was unpopular because they've never actually SEEN any opinion on Maric/Elice before the negative one? Considering how small-to-nonexistent Monshou fandom was.

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shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

Yeah, I think the issue is that the fandom is SO SMALL, so it's always like, the same four or five of us yapping on about stuff. I'm willing to bet the opinions are much more balanced outside of LJ. XD

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*nod* The fandom is definitely bigger than the LJ circles, but from what I've seen the only other places for Monshou chat are the forums (which are mainly for stat!wanking as far as I can see) and Japanese fansites. Maybe the jfen won't seem as intimidating now that I can, er, read the sites. XD; (Google Chrome's translator option is love)

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myaru.livejournal.com

I can't keep up with this thing! But I admit, the broking thread had me laughing. I... I want to see fic for it.

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hooves.livejournal.com

I was laughing, too, and I want to see 'fic.

crimsonmorgan I think requested some broking from me for Christmas, but my idea is totally different and/or ridiculous and may or may not make people question my sanity.

Uhm. Yes.

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hooves.livejournal.com

Yeaaaaah I think I've seen your posts there, and I might have even had a discussion with you ~~on the first page~~? I also think I had a discussion with

sarajayechan, but I could be totally wrong on all counts and I'm just talking to lurkers I've never met.

I don't see much IkeSoren bashing, but then again...I'm on LJ. I stay the hell away from FFN and Deviant ART, and places like GameFaqs, FESS, SF, and so on. Forget those people, no drama thanks.

I was intrigued by the Merric/Elice fan ~~and considered filling the worksafe-meme prompt concerning them just because~~.

It makes me sad that people think we're an elite circle at FE Contest, too. We're totally not. I understand where the idea comes from, but all a new person has to do is actually POST, y'know? You can't expect fandom to all clamor to be your friend if you don't participate in fandom at all, if that makes any sense. Of course we'd all seem like an elite circle of besties-- to someone who didn't bother to join or post. Making friends in any fandom takes participation. :/

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(Setting aside that many of us in the circle have been acquainted for a long time.)

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myaru.livejournal.com

And yet, not. I only talk to a few of our number regularly, and the rest I barely know. I've also been in fandom a much shorter time, most of that time was spent on Tellius - so I feel weird venturing into fic for the other games - and have had to make myself jump in and participate because otherwise I'd get nowhere.

Some of the onus for fitting in has to fall on the newcomer. They have to at least try before deciding we're a clique that nobody can break into.

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*hat tip*

You know me well enough to share recipes. B-) I take that as a vote of confidence.

I can see how coming to the other games from Tellius can be difficult, though. But I would say that you have carved a fine space for yourself.

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The fact that FE Contest is seen as elitists saddens me.

Especially because no one really realizes what complete goofballs we are. XD

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Me too. :/ I wouldn't have JOINED if it were a blatantly elitist group!

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Also, as one of the younger members of FE Contest, I must say that I was a bit... I don't know, taken aback, I suppose, when someone said there was an age gap.

I mean, I'm pretty sure that I'm considerably younger than most of you, and I've never felt anything resembling an age barrier.

Or this is me being young and naive--in which case, I don't really care. XD

From:

shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

Hm. Well, I do know we have a higher proportion of older folks at fe_contest compared to the rest of fandom. So there may very well be a perceived age gap, at least. Whether or not that actually applies though, dunno. Both you and kittykatloren are younger but you're both excellent writers.

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Perhaps. But still.

<3

Many, many thanks--I'm still a kid, I like hearing praise from my elders. C:

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I'm sure you've seen my posts there. I suspected at one point that I was talking with you but wasn't 100% sure.

As a non-Elibe fanatic, I do find it funny the way that the game breakdown works regardless of topic:

Elibe>>>Tellius>>Magvel>>>>> Archanea>>Judgral>>Valencia

Which is a little :/ if Elibe is not your thing. It's overwhelming at times.

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The threads like the headcanon and the conspiracy ones were/are really good 'fic fodder. And I've been reading the unpopular opinions one (and may or may have not commented on it), and that's also given me a crapton of ideas for 'fic.

But yeah, some of the stuff is... Undesirable, to say the least. But it's to be expected from an anon meme.

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thenicochan.livejournal.com

I guess I kinda count as someone who sees FE Contest a bit elitist, but it's probably more of a reflection of my confidence in my own writing abilities when compared to other excellent authors (like yourself or Manna, of course) and it seems that though I am friends with a number of people who are the "Fire Emblem fandom" on LJ, I don't really know too many of them that well and am a little intimidated by their excellent writing styles.

Not going with the fan favorite can be difficult. I personally don't really care for Elice/Merric, even though I really like Elice, and vastly prefer Merric/Linde.

EDIT: And I don't mean that as Elice/Merric is popular, I know it's actually quite unpopular. It's just a completely unrelated subject in the same paragraph. :)

Edited Date: 2010-12-02 02:47 am (UTC)

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(Thanks!)

If rejecting Merric/Elice were simply a matter of rejecting Elice in favor of younger/sexier Linde, I'd feel less ambivalent about it. But I think a lot of just just find Merric/Elice really disturbing, hence the widespread rejection. Which is a little bit different than "We ship Merric/Linde because they're SO cute!"

From:

wolfraven80.livejournal.com

fe_contest is elitist? I'm amused. Very amused.

That discussion is so huge that it rather terrifies me. I wonder, though, if people aren't also intimidated by the skill level since it is, after all, a contest (though a pretty laid back one, I grant you). We have a lot of really top notch fanfic authors in the group, though.

From:

penandpaper71.livejournal.com

Obvious anon reporting in. :P

The anon meme has been amusing to read for the most part. The headcanon posts have been my favorite to read so far. So many interesting ideas.

I'm always distressed to see people feel like they're unwelcome because of their taste in pairings. I know that I've felt that way myself before (Not in the FE fandom yet fortunately, but in another fandom, definitely) and it's not a fun feeling. :(

I can kind of see why people might view

fe_contest as being difficult to join because that was my first impression as well. I lurked through a couple of challenges to read the incredible entries before I convinced myself to finally post a fic myself. It turned out that I was worried for nothing as everyone was so friendly and helpful that I felt welcome immediately, even if my writing doesn't compare to most of the rest of you (I try though ^_^), but I can understand the initial concern. I'm just not sure how to change this impression because it'd sad that people feel as though they aren't welcome when they certainly are. The more, the better.

Not much a fan of Marth/Nagi myself. I doubt that it would have even occurred to me if I hadn't seen it on the kink meme.

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I doubt that it would have even occurred to me if I hadn't seen it on the kink meme.

*ninja* :-)

From:

sailorvfan10.livejournal.com

Is it bad that I totally read 'Marth/Nagi' and went, "Well that is a suck crossover pairing if I've ever seen one."?

Anyway. I am enjoying the FE anon meme and I've even participated in it a few times.

I also have to agree with Nico's comment. Particularly these bits: "[it's] more of a reflection of my confidence in my own writing abilities when compared to other excellent authors," and the fact that I "am a little intimidated by their excellent writing styles."

And then I realised that it's pointless for me to think any of it anyway since I don't write for Fire Emblem, but even when I did, I looked at fe_contest, looked at all the entries, saw who they were written by, looked at my own crap, and decided to not bother, because I can't write anyway. I'm sure Nico and I are not the only ones who feel this way, and that might be why others are reluctant to join in. You have a circle of writers, a lot of who are relatively prolific in FE fandom, and they're all participating, and if you're someone who is new to the fandom, it's... It's intimidating. Very intimidating.

But that's just my own hang ups with my writing speaking; I haven othing against fe_contest and I think it's a great idea, but it needs more people, and really, it doesn't exactly look 'new member friendly'. At least to me.

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if you're someone who is new to the fandom, it's... It's intimidating. Very intimidating.

I understand where people would feel this way, but I find it kind of amusing in that, compared with Samu and Manna and Hitomi and others, I'm a FE n00b. And at least one other regular participant on fe_contest began publishing 'fic for Fire Emblem after I did.

but it needs more people, and really, it doesn't exactly look 'new member friendly'. At least to me.

It sucks that it looks that way, because in a year is HAS expanded from like, five or six writers the first time to having so many participants in one challenge that we needed an extension just for people to read them all!

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All the more so in that they voiced a defense of FE3!Marth. When a fandom is as tiny as LJ Archanea fandom, making people feel unwelcome for preferring a canon pairing over the fan-favorite thing is probably a bad idea.

...well, I don't think they felt unwelcome so much as they felt kinda "eugh some people mentioned unfortunate implications about that pairing, I hope I'm not a bad person for still shipping it!". But like I said to Hitomi, maybe they feel unpopular because until recently there's never been much opinion PERIOD on Maric/Elice?

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Ah. Well, that makes me feel kind of bad anyway. I mean, it IS canon.. so fans are supposed to find it cute/sweet/romantic (not that Fire Emblem canon can't be disturbing), right?

It just misfires so horribly for me. I mean... I find Ephraim/Eirika and Celice/Yuria more wholesome than Merric/Elice, which probably says more about me than it does about them. @_@

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Not necessarily, canon doesn't always mean sweet and wholesome. Alvis/Deirdre is canon and the Bad Implications behind that are through the roof (incest is only the TIP of the iceberg for those two!).

I guess it just depends on how you see it? The biggest point of contention people seem to have is over the "oh, save me from Garnef!" line, unless there's something I missed?

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Yeah, but Alvis/Diadora is part of the plot mechanics that lead to tragedy, not a part of the grand happy ending. :/

unless there's something I missed?

Didn't care for that, but I didn't really get repelled by Merric/Elice until their dialogue in FE11 where Elice gives Merric the brush-off. Yeah, it's cute, but it struck me as essentially condescending-- she views Merric as a little kid, and likes him that way. Put that with what FE12 does to the dynamic between Elice and Marth, and it all seems very creepy, like she's taking the surrogate mommy business WAY too far. And then, to have her only turn to Merric as her (adult) hero after she's been spiritually/metaphorically raped... yeah, it all leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

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