InsaneJournal

Meme!
Crossposted from my LJ in an attempt at meme initiation. Read mine, then post yours!

Ten Series/Games/Whatever I Love to Bits

1. Loveless

I adore this series. I can't even explain what it is about this series that makes me so happy. I will say that the first summary I heard of it ("It's about a world were people have cats ears and tails until they lose their virginity") does not do it justice, and gives rather the wrong impression. I think maybe one of the things I like about it, though, is the fact that it carries a very strong undercurrent of sexual themes, but is not at it's core about sex. Plus, there's a hell of a lot of interesting psychology to explore.

2. FFXII

Great world, interesting characters, overlying political conflicts, and a fantastic fanfiction community. What else could I ask for?

3. X/1999

I wish CLAMP had actually finished the manga. Admittedly you could read the manga and get quite a satisfactory conclusion to the story by watching the last couple of anime episodes, but still.

4. Prince of Tennis

This is... not that great of a series actually. The characters are fun but most consist of a single exaggerated personality trait, and the tennis abandons all rules of physics after the first couple of tournaments. That said, it has one of the best fan communities I've ever been a part of. Granted, there is a portion of said fan community that just goes "Hey there's a bunch of boys and they must all be having sex with each other!" and randomly decide certain aesthetically pleasing pairings are "canon," but they aren't the ones I'm taking about. It's more the fact that the characters not being completely defined leaves a lot of room for fan interpretation, and I've seen a lot of cases where very interesting things have come out of this.

5. Lost Odyssey

Lost Odyssey really should have more of a fandom. It's a great game, and I have to applaud the writers for putting together a story that holds together and that I really enjoy when I didn't like most of the characters or the settings when they were first introduced. I do have to laugh at the similarities it keeps to the Final Fantasy games, though. I'm still not sure if it was an intentional fuck-you at Square, or if the writer just has habits that are hard to break.

6. Revolutionary Girl Utena

I don't write for it much, and I actually don't have too much of an interest in fanfic here, but my lord is it fun to analyze. I know it's been said that the writer was just on drugs or something, but there are a couple of layers of symbolism that actually remain comprehensible, and trying to sort through them is a fun project

7. .hack

I really need to finish playing the games and move on to the manga so that I will have completed the original trilogy. The concept of the .hack project still blows my mind, in that it set up three different stories in three different media that nevertheless overlap and contain ongoing mysteries that can only be solved via knowledge of all three. It's brilliant.

8. Ever 17

Ah, the fandom in which I can say there is such a thing as a fandom only because someone recognized the picture I drew of Sora and was happy to find someone else who had played the game. That said, I think everybody who likes the kind of meta-puzzle stories that I groove on (see the two entries above this) should play it, because it is very well put-together and the true ending will blow your mind.

9. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Because trippy as it gets, it really is a classic. I still think that the end of the original movie makes more sense than the movie meant to make sense of it, though. I mean, good lord... orange goo...

10. Firefly

I would have liked to see what happened with this series if it had continued. On the other hand it only became popular because it got cancelled, and I only really know about it because it got popular. But great set of characters, and a world that has a lot of possibilities.

Ten Pairings I Love to Bits

1. Rufus/Reno (FFVII)

My newfound love. Both are characters that are exceptionally fun to write on their own, and they interact so well together. Neither is precisely what the other wants him to be, and somehow that's what makes it work. Rufus could really use someone to make him loosen up, and Reno serves that function quite nicely. Reno, likewise, could benefit from a bit of order being imposed.

2. Mizuki/Yuuta (Prince of Tennis)

An interesting comparison to the above, since very-image-conscious and much-enjoys-bothering-the-other are still there, except both in the same person this time. This mostly boils down to I find Mizuki fascinating and Yuuta is an exceptionally good compliment to him.

3. Jansen/Ming (Lost Odyssey)

Canon and adorable. When I think of this relationship, I tend to think of a yin-yang. They are very opposite in a lot of ways, but never quite completely. Jansen seems like a sneak, but is actually more trustworthy than he appears. Ming seems pretty straight-laced and morally concerned, but she has her moments of guile. Etc, etc. And you have to appreciate Jansen's massive freak-out when Ming decides to make the first move in this relationship.

4. Kanone/Eyes (Spiral)

When I watched the anime, I thought this might have potential, but gave up the idea because Kanone was too much of a flat jerk. Then I picked up the manga, and while I haven't actually read most of it, the couple scattered volumes I've poked at in Japanese have included a couple of really nice Kanone scenes that have potentially dragged him up to favorite character status. It's not so much that he's a jerk as much as he's really, really twisted (how many people do you know that shoot their cell phone because the person on the other end -- who happened to be Eyes -- said something they didn't like? O.o) What really sold me was the first bit I read in Japanese, in which Eyes was in a coma, and you get a page or two that cuts to Kanone being privately very depressed about this. At which point I realized the kid does actually have emotions, and is therefore actually an interesting character.

5. Balthier/Fran (FFXII)

A more or less perfect relationship, as I see it. Moreover, both characters are particularly interesting on their own, and they end up being a somewhat unlikely pair despite the end result of a well-developed and stable relationship. And you know, sky pirates are fun in general.

6. Ashe/Penelo (FFXII)

This is my personal crack pairing. I'm sure part of the reason I love it so much is precisely because nobody else writes it. But it's a really interesting one from a theoretical standpoint. Either Penelo helps settle out some of Ashe's mental issues with power and responsibility, or she inflates them through juxtaposition. Ashe is a princess/queen, Penelo is a street kid -- Ashe is trapped by her duties, Penelo is free. I could see a scenario in which each might find themselves desperately wishing to be the other. It's also a nice framework for social commentary, since apparently the Queen would have chosen as her partner not only some nobody from the streets, but another woman.

7. Fuji/Taka (Prince of Tennis)

This is my main reason for getting mad at the numerous people who claim that Tezuka/Fuji is "canon," because frankly this pairing has much more evidence behind it, and it doesn't get to be much more than tenuous. That said, this is a relationship that has a lot of potential based on what little evidence there is. On some level, I find it hard to think of Fuji as a particularly interesting character simply because he never drops the mask. In the actual series, he's a genius, he's mysterious, and the one thing we really know about his character is that he's extremely protective of people he cares about. Moreover, Taka seems to be one of those people. What I see here is a chance to make Fuji into an interesting character, because maybe Taka can actually get through that thick layer of mask Fuji seems to constantly wear.

8. Kaim/Sarah (Lost Odyssey)

Canon, and one of very few established relationships that's basically explicitly shown as perfect. Not a whole lot to say, but it's very cute, and it made the romantic in me very, very happy.

9. Kio/Soubi (Loveless)

Very one-sided, and I feel bad for Kio. They would go well together on some level, but Soubi is too committed to Ritsuka (and Seimei before that) to pay much attention. Kio just... tries so hard, though. It's cute.

10. Annnnnd I'm not sure what else I want to list. I have other pairings I like, but I'm not feeling any of them strongly enough to put here.



Ten Characters I Love to Bits

1. Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa (FFXII)

An evil genius character that manages to also be very human? I mean, that might be a first. There is no question that Dr. Cid is insane, but the reasons and the methods of his insanity make perfect sense to me.

2. His son

Balthier is a character I greatly enjoy dissecting. I waver as to how mentally stable I think he is, and that makes him fun. Plus there is no other character that gives me the same joy of making full use of my vocabulary.

3. Mizuki Hajime (Prince of Tennis)

From the canon, we know he is mildly evil, likes to be right about everything, and has a wardrobe that consists of much purple. He's the kind of person that would be happiest if everything in the world could be calculated. Failing that, he would at least prefer to give the impression that he has a better grasp of how everything in the world works than anyone else does. He's extremely manipulative and actually very smart, but he's also very easy to break, at least in my conception of him. The reason Yuuta ends up being such a good match for him is that the outward infallable image doesn't matter so much to him. Mizuki can makes mistakes and Yuuta would shrug it off. That is, if Mizuki could get over it himself.

4. Rufus Shinra (FFVII)

Actually, two days ago I couldn't remember much of anything about him. This shrine managed to give me a nice refresher on what he was like in the game and a concept of his underlying psychology and, just, damn. I love him. It ends up being a slightly different form of what I said about Mizuki -- Rufus is very much about keeping an image and making other people respect him. Looking over this list thus far, I am noticing that I am apparently fascinated by people with outward masks covering inward insecurities.

5. Reno (FFVII)

And here we break the mold, since I doubt Reno cares too much about what other people think about him. As I observed in a recent fanfic, Reno seems to have exactly two priorities: keeping his job, and beyond that doing whatever he happens to feel like doing. He was my favorite character when I was playing through the game, and it's because he ends up being largely comic relief, but at the same time he has a dark and serious edge that shows on rare occasion. I don't think you can have the kind of job Reno does and not have that dark edge somewhere.

6. Nataku (X/1999)

Manga version only. I feel that saying why I like him would be pretty spoilerific, but I'll summarize to say his mommy and daddy issues are cute, if not more than a little sad.

7. Freya (FFIX)

I admire a character who can keep going on a nearly impossible task, keep have shit happening, and keep picking up the pieces. Freya is a really strong character in so many ways. I would dearly love to write her in fanfic, but I've never figured out what to write.

8. Vincent (FFVII)

Because, you know, he's an interesting angst bucket. I would kill Dirge of Cerberus though, were it a living being, and choose to keep some of the more interesting fan speculations about his past. I've just seen so many things done with this character that were absolutely brilliant.

9. Kaim (Lost Odyssey)

I knew there was a reason I spent the beginning of the game holding out for him to develop a personality. At this point, I basically find him flat-out inspiring. I posted a blurb on this before, so I don't really feel the need to do so here.

10. Jansen (Lost Odyssey)

I hated him at first, but he grew on me. He is a magnificent spazz and a sort of odd character, but actually a very human one. He strikes a nice balance between flirty spazz, cunning thief, and well-meaning moron. And he actually develops over the course of the game, which is always a plus.