Notes and Errata of Mark of the Asphodel

Ephraim is totally a basketball guy. ~~And that's not just because I play[ed] basketball either. I promise.~~

Uh. Um. Let's go with...

Innes. /predictable

From:

1) I love Innes. Adore him. Am grateful he exists, because his existence secured FE8 a place in my affections.

2) Innes/Vanessa was my initial favorite, because it's cute and sweet and a little disturbing (power imbalance + Vanessa ain't ever gonna be his conscience). But penandpaper71 made a good defense of Innes/Eirika that sold me on it (Eirika as Innes's better half, basically), and Innes/L'Arachel offers all kinds of potential- again, slightly disturbing, 'cause I don't see it as good solid companionate love. ~~Could be good sex, though~~. Also, Innes/Gerik = smokin'.

3) Non-romantic OTP? Um... well, I think his obsession with Ephraim (which I do not see as sexual attraction) pretty much guarantees that they're forever linked in some fashion-- friends, rivals, enemies, in-laws, all of the above.

4) Unpopular opinion? He's a well-written and severely under-appreciated character who is not a psycho, not a one-dimensional jerkass, and not simply trying to get into Eph's white britches. Also, he will be an excellent king once Hayden rides off into the sunset-- arguably the best of his generation.

5) I wish he showed up earlier in Ephraim's route.

From:

AGREED SO HARD. Especially #4.

(Though I'd really like to hear this explanation for Eirika as Innes' "better half"--I kind of see it, but at the same time I'm just. "Meh.")

From:

Well, basically, out of his three marital options, Eirika is the only one capable of really influencing him.

I love Vanessa, but she's his cheerleader. When you're the cheerleader to a smart, ambitious, and complicated man who just so happens to be a head of state in a post-war era... the pitfalls are pretty obvious. Hell, I'm still not convinced he marries her.

As for L'Arachel... well, I think that Mary Sue story Raphi wrote gives a pretty good idea of their relationship. Give L'Arachel some crusade to ~~amuse~~ distract herself, and Innes could probably carpet-bomb Jehanna and get away with it. Oh, L'Arachel might "reform" him in some superficial ways, but is she going to genuinely impact his personality? I doubt it.

But Eirika has the best potential, IMO, for being able to meet Innes head-to-head and have some real influence on him as a man and a ruler. (Granted, their supports throw up a red flag in that direction, but this is taking what we see of them overall in the game.)

From:

I don't think Innes/Vanessa as a pairing is happy at all. Like, even with my tendency to just warp things to make them super depressing (like I was initially with Eliwood/Fiora, but now I can actually see it working out and it's not totally depressing in Only Human and I hope what I envisioned it being ends up working out and now I'm rambling so) Vanessa doesn't have the type of personality to go along with Innes in a happy marital relationship. Or any type of marital relationship with him, really.

Innes/L'Arachel could work, I guess, just given her "strong" personality, but she's also flighty at the same time. (Then again, every time I think about this pairing, I think of the story where Innes ends up killing Rennac, and... Yeah.)

I just. Don't like the Innes/Eirika supports. At all. So. XD Maybe I'm just being biased, but it does make sense that Eirika has the best potential. Hmm.

Now I need to ponder this. xD

From:

I don't think Innes/Vanessa as a pairing is happy at all.

I think part of my initial delight with Innes/Vanessa needs some context to be explicable. Some people have a knight/lady thing. I have a Peg Knight/Prince thing. So, context:

Valencia gives us Claire's unrequited crush on Alm. This is played for lulz and can resolve happily for everyone.

Archanea gives us Catria's unrequited love for Marth. This is NOT played for laughs and is NOT resolved happily. (Yes, and Caeda.)

Jugdral provides, among other pairings, Fury's relationship with Levin, which doesn't exactly get a happy ending but at least involves love, marriage, children, and then the bad stuff coming down.

And of course, Elibe offers Roy/Little Peg Sis (whut) and Klein/Middle Peg Sis, plus whichever one of the Peg Sisters you want to pair with Eliwood and/or Hector. YMMV, and I wasn't into Elibe then.

And Magvel gives us Innes/Vanessa (and Ephraim/Tana)-- a case of a little humble pegasus knight who adores her prince waaaaaaay too much, and unlike Claire and Catria, can actually land him! Score! Even if it arguably serves as an example of why these extreme power-balance relationships are not such a good idea...

Then again, every time I think about this pairing, I think of the story where Innes ends up killing Rennac, and...

I've noticed that 'fics where Rennac cuckolds Ephraim tend to end happily, and ones where Innes is involved in any fashion tend not to. This says something about the perception of Ephraim and Innes, IMO.

From:

raphiael

Yeah, if a piece is really insisting on being written? No point putting it off to work on something that isn't singing to you, you know?
I actually wish I hadn't entered at all this time. I feel iffy entering my own prompt, and I don't particularly like what I came out with, so. :x

MIKAGE~
what, me? I don't have favorites!

Edited Date: 2011-04-18 11:04 pm (UTC)

From:

1) <3 <3 <3

He won me over immediately with that "bribe" scene in his office coupled with the attempt to recruit Miki. And it just got better from there. Also, I like that he's short for an anime dude. I really am tickled by that.

2) NO ONE. He fails at romance. Completely.

3) No. Not gonna say "Mamiya." My head hurts now. Now, if we're speaking what-ifs... if he'd managed to recruit Miki, that would have been way interesting. And if he and Utena would have been able to join forces in some fashion instead of being like matter and anti-matter, that might have been interesting too.

4) Mikage is awesome as a character, but the "Nemuro" side of his being gives him necessary depth and context, IMO, and I don't feel that gets properly appreciated. That's who he actually IS. Or was. Or...

5) No follow-through elsewhere in the series, dammit. And I still don't know how I feel about his manga sidestory.

From:

raphiael

We seem to find him interesting for most of the same reasons, ha. (Which isn't terribly surprising, since we seem to be drawn to the same sorts of character. . . things.)

From:

My biggest disappointment was that he was only there for the Black Rose arc and then...we never see him again! Sadness. Also we don't get to see his Nemuro side until the end and that could've been this whole interesting thing...

From:

Clearly the budget could afford a season of Koyasu or a season of Midorikawa but not both.

From:

Maybe one of them should have used another name, worn a disguise, and been paid less because they were "some n00b".

meanwhile we would still know it was them because they have very distinctive voices.

From:

RAPHI'S DOING IT AND SO AM I even if I'm waiting for summer vacation to watch Utena.

So. Akio. 8D?

From:

Akio. Huh.

Wait. You haven't seen the series yet. Won't everything I say be kind of nonsensical?

From:

Uhhh. I DON'T MIND. Really, though, it's up to you.

(XD I've been giving myself rewards of "snippets" of spoilers as I get lengthy amounts of homework and projects out of the way. It works to get stuff done, and even though I'm not *too* familiar with stuff, it should be fine. Roflmao.)

From:

1) I don't know what the hell to think about the anime... though I THINK I like the anime take on him better than the manga take on him. My "favorite" Akio is the one from the movie, though. Ha ha ha.

2) I ship no one with him romantically. Ugh. He may be screwing half the characters (or not, who the hell knows), but romance?

3) His non-romantic OTP is Anthy for sure. No question AT ALL.

4) Unpopular opinion? Huh. What's the popular opinion again? I guess I'm not bowled over by his sexiness or enthralled by his whole shtick or anything like that. I guess I kind of see the movie incarnation of Akio as a distillation of the flaws in anime!Akio that the car, hair, and chest kind of camouflage? But the flaws are very much there.

5) God damn, his theme song from the movie is irritating.

From:

XD And now I really wish this semester was over.

From:

myaru.livejournal.com

A similar problem hit me with this month's theme. Giving an idea like that only half-treatment would suck, especially when you're so into Starchild right now. Following your heart (so to speak) seems the best course of action in a situation like that.

For what it's worth, the Innes-L'Arachel idea sounds like it'd be an amazing AU - lots of work, like you said, but so worth it. At least to read. XD

From:

For what it's worth, the Innes-L'Arachel idea sounds like it'd be an amazing AU - lots of work, like you said, but so worth it

Thanks. :)

There were just so many hurdles as I sketched it out-- what kind of a mood to maintain (didn't want too screwball), how exactly to characterize L'Arachel (she kept veering in odd directions) and the whole ball of wax with the dialogue. I thought about watching some 1930s comedies for atmosphere, and then I kind of slapped myself with a "WTF are you DOING?"

One of these days it'll probably surface... in some form.

From:

sarajayechan.livejournal.com

George! Or Duo. Or both. Whichever you prefer!

Edited Date: 2011-04-19 12:58 am (UTC)

From:

I never touched G Gundam. My main exposure to it was the "Domon W" comics at the back of the Gundam Wing manga. :)

So, Duo.

1) He's cute, he's funny, he's badass... and his fans generally destroyed him. Canon kind of destroyed him too... by the Ground Zero manga, he was pretty much comic relief. He was never my favorite pilot. Actually, of the five pilots, I liked him least-- Heero was hot and funny and had THAT GUY as his voice actor, Trowa was fantastically competent with that dry sense of humor, Quatre was so sweet and tragic (and is their field leader, dammit!), and Wufei... well, I always had a soft spot for Wufei. Duo was kind of the butt monkey and definitely at his best reacting instead of acting in a situation.

2) I ship Duo/Hilde... though I read at least one awesome Duo/Relena story back in the day.

3) Non-romantic OTP? Huh. Even if Duo and Hilde didn't become a couple (let's leave Frozen Teardrop out of this), they'd make a fabulous pair of bro-n-sis partners. Also, Duo/Deathscythe. Obviously! I just don't see him as super-connected to Heero.

4) God damn, where do I begin? He's not a femme-boy, not a seductress, not a vampire or a vampire hunter, not an undercover sexual agent, not everyone's favorite rentboy, and not Heero's love interest. I don't buy 1X2... for crying out loud, Heero had stronger positive reactions to Trowa! Fandom twisted Duo into this... thing... that had fuck-all to do with any permutation of canon.

5) I wish Duo hadn't been diluted into a girlish comic sidekick. I dunno if the mangaka were playing to fan expectations, or what, but it's not very dignified.

From:

sarajayechan.livejournal.com

I meant FE3 George, lol.

re 4: I think Duo Maxwell just may be the most fanon-mangled character in all of fandom history. =/ The emo, the girly ukeishness, the cutting, the wangst, the man-sluttiness, the shallow comic relief...what, did these fangirls just see the braid and think "omg girly funnyboy!!"?

From:

Oh, THAT George.

1) He's got to be the smartest guy left standing in FE3. Seriously. Smart, funny, cool-headed, pragmatic, competent, and able to manage other people. A force to be reckoned with.

2) I'd love an AU where Nyna sticks around with George as her supporter and eventually marries him. But I'd probably have to write it myself. Do like George/Linde, too. And I maintain a soft spot for pairing him with Minerva, dammit.

3) Non-romantic? Oh, he is SO OT3 with Midia and Astram.

4) I don't care if his stats suck, he's awesome.

5) Well, he doesn't get a life partner in canon, but it's Archanea and most characters are hosed on that front. I wish more (any?) of his good qualities had come through in FE11, because I overlooked him there. And I'm kind of ambivalent about the way Marth can recruit him in FE12 instead of just Gordin, because his standoffishness from Marth's "cult of personality" is one of the things I love about George. I guess he joined the Kool-Aid line after all. :/

I think Duo Maxwell just may be the most fanon-mangled character in all of fandom history

WORD.

From:

shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

I'd love an AU where Nyna sticks around with George as her supporter and eventually marries him.

I am a sucker for 1920s/30s so I'd love to see your take on that AU, but I totally get the "too much work" feeling.

From:

That... was kind of a plot point in the fic that remains unfinished

Oooh.

but I totally get the "too much work" feeling

There are only so many "research projects" masquerading as fanfics I can take on at one time... but the dialogue was the real sticking point for this one. It would have to sparkle. SPARKLE. And that's faaaaar more work than brushing up on 1930s fashion. :/

From:

sarajayechan.livejournal.com

George/Nyna would be EPIC HOT. And he'd make a great king and husband, too...his people skills and pragmatism would make him a good match for Nyna, who needs someone to support her but also to help her overcome some of her issues.

From:

Yeah. I see it as George first propping Nyna up as her loyal knight (and he's the heir to a major noble house, too-- gotta have some clout on name alone), then going "oh shit" when she gloms onto him as her latest idealized savior, then realizing Nyna's grown up and it's for real this time...

And they live happily ever after? Maybe?

He'd be a great king... but he pretty obviously doesn't want to be. But as a power behind the throne? Yeah. George rocks.

From:

hooves.livejournal.com

L'Arachel! Sorry, not familiar with those other fandoms. :/ /fails

Write whatever you want! Gotta say, though...your AUs are always so well put together. Hell, maybe the 1930s idea can be used for a later contest entry. It sure does sound like a smashing idea. IMO. :D

From:

Aw, thanks. I do want to write the Innes/L'Ara thing some time... I just didn't have the energy.

L'Arachel....

1) I like her. She's more endearing than I expected her to be; she's not as well-written as Serra, IMO, but she does have that poignant side lurking underneath the shouting. She could only "work" in Magvel, though. Magvel's kind of weird.

2) Rennac/L'Arachel. Ooh, I like it. He seems aware of her faults (and kind of revels in his own) but he's drawn to her nonetheless. She's my favorite marriage option for Ephraim ('cause the other option's Tana[*]) and I think she goes well enough with Innes. I'm pretty flexible with Magvel pairings, and she's no exception.

3) Lovely friendship with Eirika... and I do like her connection to Dozla.

4) Huh. There are popular opinions about L'Arachel? I don't think there's a prevailing stereotype about her that I disagree with; it's not like bitch!Serra where she's horribly written 50% of the time. I guess I disagree that she's a really horny sex priestess? I mean, that's fun crack, but I don't see that for reasonable interpretation of canon.

5) Paired ending with Rennac. No question.

* Nothing against Tana, but I have not changed my view that Ephraim/Tana is basically Marth/Caeda without any of the GOOD parts of M/C's relationship.

Edited Date: 2011-04-19 02:49 am (UTC)

From:

hooves.livejournal.com

Agreed with everything (especially paired ending with Rennac! and the sex!priestess bit), but I now of course feel the sudden slight urge to play FE8 so that I can write Ephraim/Tana in a way that you would approve of. As in. Nothing like Marth/Caeda. aka How I See It. Which is probably an unpopular opinion in and of itself. :O

From:

aka How I See It

That'd be very cool if you ever did it.

From:

writerawakened.livejournal.com

I guess I disagree that she's a really horny sex priestess?

This exists? ~~Where have I been all this time? I must find this!!! :O~~

I don't know, given her upbringing in such a sheltered environment, I could see her, while "out in the world," having some sort of fling in a fit of weakness. (cf. her reactions in her supports with Eph) Maybe not "sex priestess" level though :P

From:

samuraiter.livejournal.com

A certain Chiba Mamoru comes to mind.

(And, yeah, my Eliwood / Rebecca story is going to be quite a bit more demanding than the Contest allowed, this time.)

From:

1) Manga!Mamoru is... well, I liked him, though I can't recall why exactly. I remember liking fanfiction that made him a bit of a bastard (not to Usagi-- just more of a warrior/future king dude instead of Prince Charming). Anime!Mamoru I always found pretty ridiculous... especially in R. But he "trades up" to be Endymion, so what's not to like about that?

2) Mamo/Usa, because why the hell not? But I totally got off on Mamoru/Fiore from the R movie... and I have a major, major weakness for Endymion/Pluto. Yesssssss.

3) Non-romantic OTP? Uh, Endymion and Pluto can also be special friends, right? Maybe?

4) Unpopular opinion? Oooh, boy. I remember the "Mamo sux! Usagi would be so much better with Seiya!" wars like they were yesterday, and I did not agree. Still don't.

5) Dammit, I wish he'd been less ridiculous in the anime. Also, Tuxedo Mask is a damned stupid alter ego. Also, the Moonlight Knight is an even worse one. Yeah... there's just a lot that could've been more... dignified about the entire thing.

From:

writerawakened.livejournal.com

I'm gonna say...Tethys!

From:

Huh.

1) I don't think a lot about Tethys. Don't hate her, find her reasonably appealing as a character, but I feel no compulsion to get into her.

2) Like her with Gerik, or in a Gerik/Marisa polyamory setup. Not passionate about either option, though, and IMO they can all just be comrades and I'm cool with that.

3) See above. She and Gerik and friends make a good team and there doesn't have to be sex goin' on. I mean, there probably IS, but still...

4) I don't find her terribly sexy in terms of character design. Not my type.

5) No clue. Like I said... I just don't feel the need to get under her skin. She's there, I'm cool with that, and she doesn't piss me off like some of the dancers do.

From:

shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

Hmmmmm actually now I'm curious what you think of Trowa.

From:

Trowa!

1) I admit to "meeting" him through the dub, but I think Kirby Morrow did a good job with him, and from his introductory scene he really got to me. Just taking the animated side of the franchise into account...

Honestly? He comes across as the most competent of the pilots by far. "Perfect Soldier" Heero keeps botching his missions, but Trowa gets the job done with a lot less fuss and noise. Saves Heero? Check. Infiltrates OZ? Check. Talks Quatre out of insanity? Check. Deals with that satellite destabilization issue in Endless Waltz? Check. Trowa: he gets shit accomplished.

2) I 'ship him with Quatre, I admit. Not passionately in the OTP!!! sense, but I do see the potential and dammit I think it works. And I still think Trowa is a better match for Heero than Duo is, fandom be damned.

3) Both of the above still make a hell of a team in a non-romantic sense. Also, Cathy.

4) Have all the crazies gone away? Can I say that the "rape victim uke Trowa" stuff was complete and utter bullshit and that his totally deranged fans ruined everything I value about his characterization (level-headed competence, ability to Get Shit Done... hell, they even got his sense of humor wrong).

5) His muscles in Endless Waltz were kind of gross. Also, the woobie factor when he had amnesia is kind of off-putting in retrospect. Also... why the @#$% did Heavyarms have a clown mask in EW?

From:

shimizu-hitomi.livejournal.com

Ha! I'm amused as those are pretty much my thoughts (though Heero/Trowa was my main Trowa ship of choice after one too many bad Quatre/Trowa fics, and I admit to also dabbling in a bit of Midi/Trowa, except I never did come across a fic that really pulled it off and I found that subsection of fandom to be generally very strange... even compared to the rest of fandom).

At some point all the various canon spinoffs and fanon crap muddled the whole fandom for me though. @_@

From:

socraticwaffles.livejournal.com

Ephraim :D. (Besides the fact that he's a sexy BAMF. We all know that already.)

From:

Ooh. Now I need to disengage my original views on him from the post-Raphi-meta ones.

Keeping in mind that I played Eirika's route first...

1) I think he's great. I think he's a fine balance of the "princely" type of FE protagonist and the "badass" type (Alm-->Hector-->Ike), which makes sense... given he's born a prince but thinks he wants to be a mercenary. I like that he's an adult, I like that he takes the initiative and is a capable commander... but he's far from perfect with his "don't need books" attitude and general recklessness... which means he needs foils like Seth and Innes, which just adds to the fun. And a lot of his dialogue makes me go "right on!" I think he's likely to make a fine king, and frankly I'd rather have Ephraim leading my nation than almost any other FE main character (Eliwood's fine, too). On the negative side, his personal life is pretty sketchy.

2) Based off canon, Ephraim/L'Arachel. Eph/Tana is one of my major Do Not Like pairings because I think their supports are ghastly. I have a fairly well-advertised fondness for Ephraim/Kyle, though.

3) Oh, his non-romantic OTP has got to be Eirika. And if not her, then Myrrh.

4) Unpopular opinions... what's the popular opinion on him at present? I take issue with the stance that he's bland and generic. He looks like he came off the FE Lord cookie-cutter conveyor belt... at first glance, anyway... but IS did some pretty interesting things with Ephraim in his route for the game, and unless someone shows me notes from IS that prove otherwise, I think Ephraim was used as a template for the massive retconning that Marth got in FE11.

5) The Tana supports. Oh, god, the Tana supports. When I feel a game is shoving a pairing at me and the "courtship" is that horrible... no. No. NO!

From:

Heero!

From:

1) I have a far more moderate view of him now than I did ten years ago, when my reaction was SQUEEEEE!!!. I mean... he's so cute, he's got the hidden gun and the deadpan funny lines (the hacking scene in Ep 1, man...), and of course he has THAT VOICE. But seriously? He's a major screw-up. Kid's too human for the role assigned him, and he just fucks up on thing after another after another... and yet comes up the hero. But I like flawed fuck-up heroes, especially when they come with competent sidekicks. :/

2) Heero/Relena. I make no apologies for this. And some Heero/Trowa if I'm feeling edgy.

3) Uh... I wish his buddy act with Trowa had blossomed into a real friendship... or something. Ditto his relationship with Quatre after the Wing Zero fiasco. But even if he never gets with Relena, she's always going to be his Special Person. :)

4) Unpopular opinion? He is not a Perfect Soldier. He is not The Perfect Soldier. Perfect soldiers do not lose their Gundams on day one, get their cover blown by schoolgirls, destroy jets filled with innocent peace-loving people, fail at their own self-destruction, or knock over apartment buildings filled with little girls and puppies. Trowa runs circles around Heero, and there's a REASON Quatre becomes their default leader in the field. Quatre can LEAD. Heero's an inspiring figurehead. He looks the part. But his great moments in Endless Waltz? A suicide plunge into the sea after not defeating Wufei and collapsing into Relena's arms after not killing Mariemaia. Are we seeing a pattern?

5) Man... I wish they'd left canon well enough alone, and you know exactly what I'm talking about here.

From: