Lack of Updates

Had a few more ideas about the last few chs of DS. The events surrounding their romance is going to be awesome. V+H will be true to character down to the last bits.

Which, of course, is totally useless for anything I can publish for ch6 on ff.net ; ; In my only defense, I can only say that when pressed with looming thunder overhead, I tend to become an ostrich and bury my sight as far underground as it would go.

But seriously, I've been mired in fixing my computer and thinking really hard about the last two years to write interview responses. I'm contemplating a job making cappuccinos, so I can at least have an income while I look for something more career-while.

To celebrate my 100th post on DS, I opened a random thoughts blog, Jomiel Says. It's just for fun and giggles.

Progress Update 14

I'm having trouble thinking about and finishing ch6. This makes me wonder if it's because I'm subconsciously sensing failure even if I work it to completion. But there's nothing obviously wrong. Hitomi meets Van in the library and they have a conversation. Am I intimidated by their dialogue, the subject, or perhaps what might happen if I let them speak freely? I'm not sure.

I do, however, think a lot about the middle and the end of DS. This week has been very cold, and fitting cold into Hitomi's capture would especially highlight the whole miserable experience. You fist your hands to spark some feeling into them, your toes tingle with hurt when they're in tepid water, the feeling that your hands would never be warm even if they burrow underneath your arms because your whole body has become cold--but of course I have to careful, because descriptions are just words. Actions elicit feelings.

Although, I suppose cold is sort of a strange thing for me to put in, considering that the Esca crew traveled from Fanelia to Zaibach to Asgard, and they never seem to feel cold. In particular, Van and Hitomi regularly traveled at airship altitudes but never seem to feel the subzero temperature. *shiver* (Ironically, the only one with enough sense to wear a coat was Leon, the labeled madman.)


Chibi Hitomi and Van:

Dryden

One idea of mine for a long time is to make Asturia the Gaean equivalent of "the West". Its power amid the Alliance countries, its foreign policy attitude that influences country relationships with each other, possible colonialization, its reception as threat and obstacle among other countries, etc.

Of course, to make that happen, King Grava Aston cannot remain ruler of Asturia. His actions during the Gaea War was self-preservation. But if Dryden becomes king...

Dryden is certainly my favorite secondary character. His brash confidence, his understanding of wealth as a powerful tool, his charismatic and decisive leadership, his bookish nature--all these make him an appealing, complex character.

And I think given the opportunity, he could become someone who'd understand Hitomi the best (after Van, of course--and Van's case is evident in ep24 when he answered where Hitomi went).

I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dryden :D

Goong

From Sapphirefly's post and link, this weekend I read Goong up to vol 10. It is surprisingly romantic, despite the gender inequality. (Even though the manhwa explained the women's lack of independence and power as court culture, inequality is much more prevalent in East Asia, as can be seen from the public censure of Hyo-Rin and Chae-Gyeong's feelings of inadequacy when Shin is absent.) Some page had said Goong was made in the wake of Hana Yori Dango's popularity (which spawned anime, movies, tv series, as well as Taiwan drama series Meteor Garden), but I see Goong as a cross between manhwa and traditional twists on Cinderella like My Fair Lady--the transformation into a swan is just the beginning, and Chae-Gyeong doesn't change things by reversing traditions and values, but by following them in her own way.

Since Goong is now licensed for the US and fan translations hard to get, I tried out the drama in an effort to finish the story, but seeing Shin change from SoHee Park's beautiful art into a real boy is a total crush of hopes. I find her art similar in style to Kaori Yuki's Angel Sanctuary and Godchild--elaborate hair, beautiful men, women with a gothic romance feel. Now that I'm back in the Bay Area, perhaps I'll go to the rental manga store again and finish the series in Chinese.

As for how this all relates to Esca... It does give me shivers on a new AU story (just imagining Van dressed up in the fashionable male ideal of East Asia like Shin makes me excited), but most of all, the romance in Goong is fantastically self-deprived and slow. And then when it does come, the romance blooms into this dramatic satisfaction. Gives me ideas.

Almost all of my favorite authors updated during the holiday break. I should get going, too.

New Year

During vacation, I read The Name of the Rose--it was brilliant in its languages, not only in its English construction (originally written in Italian), but also its Middle Ages structure and its use of foreign languages (mostly Latin, but also Greek, French, German, dialects of Italian, and references to Arabic). The PS section from the author was also interesting. Eco talked about how he conceived the idea and how he worked to its completion. I should find Poe's "Philosophy of Composition" again and reread it.

Again, no updates on DS; I'm sorry ._. I'm trying to find a job and live as much free time as possible, as contradictory as the two sound...