Can I Stay By Your Side? - Chapter 10

Fun Fact 2: I've read somewhere that the character profile of Yamamoto Takeshi was written out to be the typical Japanese stereotype. Firstly, "Yamamoto" and "Takeshi" were very common Japanese names. He wields a katana, likes sushi, father owns a sushi shop, likes to play baseball etc. He even named his Vongola Box Weapon, the Akita dog and the swallow, Jirou and Kojirou. "Jirou" is one of those common names of the old.

So in that line of thought, I made Tanaka Sana's name a stereotypical one. "Tanaka" is a common Japanese family name. The name "Sana" is quite common; however; not extremely common. I like names like "Yuki" or "Haruka" may be more common. I just couldn't place these names on my OC. Only "Sana" fit, in my opinion. Thus, Tanaka Sana was the name of my main character.

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So, it's Chapter 10! It is probably my longest chapter so far at about 3900 words. I couldn't break the chapter into two parts. Then again, if you have read my other stories, you would know that 3900 words is not much. However, I wasn't expecting that length coming from a story as simple as "Can I Stay By Your Side?"


If you've read my previous author's notes, you would realise that I found "Can I Stay By Your Side?" a story without too much complication to the plot. Also, the nature of what it should be (a shoujo manga-esque book) makes some of the details lacking. The average chapter length for each chapter was estimated to be about 2500-3000 words, a far cry from the 3500-4500 word behemoth chapters that I usually write for the other fics. Well, I'll take it as a good thing because it means that I'm finally becoming more serious in this fic.

Yes, it's intentional that this chapter ties back to a couple of things, namely the first line in Chapter 1 and obviously, the title of the story. Doing things like that make me happy.

If I've not said it once, I'll say it again: It's really difficult to write a serious fic about a gag manga! The nature of the first half "Katekyo Hitman Reborn" is that it is a gag manga, so the events in the story are of course filled with sensational actions with oblivious characters coupled with the poor main character who is the knowing one in the midst of it all. It's actually difficult to write a normal fanfic about a gag manga without making the characters OOC.

Yet with that, I'm excited at the prospect of a challenge. Back when I was writing “I Want To Be A Turk!”, I had two goals:

1.) Write a story with minimal loopholes
2.) Insert OC into the canon storyline in a way that does not require me to retcon anything.

That was why whenever Meia is around during an event that happened in the actual Final Fantasy 7 game, she would be in a position where the average gamer wouldn't see her (thanks to fixed camera angles!), like in a corner or far away from the player’s point of view. As it turned out, it became easier to to write as I got used to the limitations that I had given myself.

I guess in this fic, the challenge that I should give myself is to write a serious fanfic from a gag manga! But yeah I know, halfway through the manga in the Kokuyo arc, things start to become real action-packed and less gag manga. But... by then, who knows where my story would take me?

Moving on, I'm shell-shocked by the number of people who still faved and followed me in the 3 years that I was away. And yes, the fanfiction site thought that I was spamming and eventually, I had to stop. I’ll slowly take my time to thank all who faved and followed me, even for the other titles. But you readers always make me feel that what I've done is not meaningless. You really push me to write more each day :)

Anyway, one of the reviewers said that she found Sana’s love troubles super relatable. It gives me much satisfaction that someone could relate to her. Sana’s feelings carried a lot of what I felt when I was her age. Umm, minus the shy and quiet parts - I'm as noisy as any crow on the street. However, a lot of the feelings and reactions Sana felt were a product of my own experience and exposure to shoujo manga.

If you are wondering, I'm always playing the unrequited love role, so I was hardly the protagonist female who gets her feelings reciprocated. In fact, I once had the idea of writing out a whole compilation of love stories that end in unrequited feelings! That was many years ago and once in a while, I still think about that plot bunny! Also, I started writing fanfiction when I was just a little older than Sana. If I had such a fantastic and successful relationship rate like that of my friends, I doubt I'll ever come across fanfiction, much less write one, but that is a story for another time. :)

Okay, so I thought I was quite bad at describing that place where Sana and Yamamoto had their conversation. I realised that there wasn't quite a good description for the place that I had in mind, except for outdoor amphitheatre. However, the park that they were in is a small one and, calling that an outdoor amphitheatre is quite ambitious.

So I’ve found a picture online to better illustrate myself. Just imagine it without the grass and that railing. The place is full-on concrete - exactly the kind of place that you would play recklessly and get a fracture from a bad fall. Hope it is clearer now! Also, if you actually know what this kind of design is called, do let me know!

Finally, to those who are not sure how Yamamoto managed to get hot drinks in the middle of nowhere, there are tons of vending machines littered everywhere in Japan. Almost all of them sell hot and cold canned drinks. Many visitors (like me) would enjoy choosing a different drink each time, but honestly, using the can as a hand-warmer is a splendid reason to buy the hot canned drink, I'm not even gonna pretend.

Once again, thank you for reading my fic and to those who actually made their way here to read my long long long author notes, thank you very much!

Pictures taken from:
Washington Park Amphitheatre: http://ronandmarysummerinportland.tumblr.com/ (Photo Credit: Timothy Grundvig)

It's been a while, so I shall quote verbatim from another page of my blog on the usage of pictures: Pictures are taken through Google Search and will be credited to the website accordingly. Usage of deviantart pictures will not be used unless permission has been granted.

Days of Exile: Chapter 51

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to yet another rambling of my chapter in Days of Exile. By the way, do you know that if you click on the "Fanfiction Profile and Stories", you can go to my fanfiction page? The more you know...

Okay, enough with the sarcasm.

We have to start off first by clarifying what I've mentioned in Chapter 51. Yes, the main plot for "Days of Exile" is over. Remember how I mentioned in this post that I've got this "brilliant plan" of writing Meia's story starting from the time that Reno found her, to the events after Dirge of the Cerberus? 

Well, more than three years later, I must admit. I'm tired. My brain juices are dry from expecting this same plot chicken to lay eggs... excuse my metaphor. I kinda regret that after three years, my readers just stopped reading. It's really... sad and weird at the same time. I never stopped updating. Yes, I delayed the schedule pretty often, but I tried my best to upload one every two months, at least. Then again, I can't exactly fault my readers. I was reading some fics on my own too. Then, life got busier and I gave up reading the fanfiction of others in order to keep up with my own update schedule.

So seriously? It's sad that many of my readers would never have finished this story. Not any that have told me about. Lesson learnt. From now on, never make any stories more than 40 chapters, because nobody's got that kind of stamina, huh? But like what Veld said in the coming Chapter 52, I could not done it any better. Honestly, I’ve delivered all that I've wanted for the main plot and I’m ready for a new start.

So again, what now? Where am I going with this?

The final plan that I had in mind but did not tell you (refer to the post once again) was to finish up Days of Exile (including the chapters that you are going to see). Then, I'll start a brand new story in the same world that I've created, but with different OC as protagonists. Meia and all that has happened to her will be the 'fact' in the new story, but I will write assuming that none of my readers have read "I Want To Be A Turk" or "Days of Exile". It's not needed because it's a brand new story.

However, as I continued to write, I decided that even with a brand new story, it won't be good. I’ve hankered around this world long enough. I mean, it's been close to 3 and a half years since I started "I Want To Be A Turk!" It is high time for me to write something completely different. So… unfortunately, the story of Meia will really end once Days of Exile reaches the end that I want.

The purpose of continuing after Chapter 51 with random chapters is because I want to show you the snippets and plans that I initially had after Days of Exile, if it had continued. I do not want to make up new plots just to arrive at the ideas that I had. So... timeskips are going to be used.

I hope that my final answer is the answer that everyone is looking for. It has been one of the most epic stories I've written, and I won't ever forget the joy and satisfaction I get from writing this beauty. However, enough is enough. I do not want to keep riding on this past glory that I had. I want to continue to explore my writing capacities and improve.

Will I ever want to write that brand new story that I initially planned? Of course I want to. However, I doubt it will happen. I said before that I will continue some of my older stories, but I never did. I will not make empty promises like that anymore.

Meia is not the only one who has grown up.

Alrighty, I hope that your doubts are clear with this. I wanted to post this at a later date but oh well... I decided to spare you the suspense.

All I ask is to be with me and support me until this story's final breath.

Book Review (8): Fire and Thorns

I realise that I have not posted a book review for a long time. Therefore, in the interest and the convenience that I've just finished a book, I shall post a review as soon as I can.

Here it is.



Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Sixteen year-old Elisa was marked by birth to be God's chosen one. However, she was definitely not looking like it and no one seemed to see her like it. An arranged marriage led her to discovering that her fate was more than what she had expected.

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I picked up this book by a very sheer random process of running my finger through the book spines until I found a title intriguing enough. Apparently, this book had a longer title called "A Girl of Fire and Thorns" but my book is just titled "Fire and Thorns". The story is the same.

1.  I was hooked onto the book really quickly.
When I was in the bookstore, I flipped through the first chapter and quickly found myself wanting to know more about the arranged wedding that Elisa got herself into. That was exactly what happened after I bought the book and read it properly again. Basically, I started on Saturday morning and just finished it half an hour before midnight. I did think about the book during the hours that I wasn't reading. (It took me a total of 5-6 hours or so to finish... If I'm not wrong.)

The book picked up a pretty good pace and kept at the pace throughout the entire book. I had no problems sustaining my interest over the 400 odd pages. Quite surprising, actually. It was almost too easy for me to be hooked like that. Maybe it's because it has been such a long time since I read a novel.

2. Elisa as a protagonist... together with a plethora of colourful characters.
As usual, characters make or break the story for me. You can have a cool story plot but if the characters can't deliver, the story can't shine.

Elisa is one of those unconventional heroines. Not the sort in Eon/Eona. Elisa is a fat, insecure and naive heroine who falls in love with people who give her attention because she had yearned for attention and acknowledgement all her life. She binges when she's upset and she is constantly going on about how fat she is.

I had no idea how fat she was. I mean, people were saying 'fat' in her face, she was complaining about how fat she was but it did not register in my mind. I was still thinking that she's just chubby. It was when she talked about prying breasts away in order to see her navel that I realise, "Good Lord, she is fat!" She shoves pastries in her mouth and thinks about scones. I love it.

That flaw in her was so stark, so apparent, so constant throughout the book. This really breaks all stigma about heroines needing to be beautiful and skinny. Although inexperienced, clumsy and naive, Elisa has a rather sharp acumen when it comes to reading people and gathering intelligence. She has read scriptures that makes her not only an educated princess, but one that is well-versed in war, even though she had never physically been in one.

The other characters do not pale in comparison either. Each one has some kind of quirk, a particular way of description that is so signature.

3. Twists.... Golly, I had NOT expected that!
There were SO many things that I DID NOT expect in this book. I had started the book not knowing what to expect. All my predictions came through... and then veered off into oh-my-gosh-how-did-that-happen revelations. I do not want to reveal any spoilers so I can't say more nor give examples.

I had mentioned in the Throne of Glass review that so far, the love triangles had no twists. I have to take my words back now. At the end of the book, I was quite at loss. "What now?" I ask myself.

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1. First person narrative.
I shouldn't really put this as a dislike because many, MANY young adult fiction are written in first person narrative. Eon/Eona (review here), Fifty Shades (review here), Twilight, Hunger Games and many, many chick-literature. Really, people. Is it so easy to write in the first person narrative?

Personally, it was hard for me to write in first person. I used to do it in my first serious fanfiction, which was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "KISS Me!", but when I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", something pushes me in the direction of a third person narrative. I eventually grow so used to it that now it's a little weird to write in first person. I feel that I lack perspective. Hurhur.

There aren't many stories that portrays a third person perspective, but they were all good novels. Harry Potter, Eragon, Throne of Glass (review here)...

Just saying.

2. I was apprehensive at the end.
Despite being hooked from beginning to the end, I was not blown away by the ending of the book. I did not have a strong urge to buy the sequel. In fact, I even considered borrowing from the library. Perhaps the reason was because the book ended itself quite well. There was obviously a hook for the sequel, but I'm pretty contented with how the book turned out enough to not pursue the sequel. What a weird thing to say, I know.

3. Too much reference to her Godstone.
Every few pages, Elisa HAD to refer to the mark of the chosen one, a gemstone embedded in her navel called the Godstone. She uses it for prayer, for reassurance, for warning, for clue finding... It's too much for me. It reminded me of Anastasia Steele and her limited vocabulary of "Oh my"s and "Holy cow"s. However, this may just be my personal thing, since the Godstone is the main plot trigger.

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Rating: Consider it.

It's in between Consider It and Love It, but I've placed this book under "Consider It" because as compared to the other books that I've labelled "Love It", this book does not quite make the cut. However, I do value this title very highly and will consider reading the rest of the trilogy and novellas.

Pictures taken from:
Book Cover

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Days of Exile: Chapter 42... and crossroads.

I've been posting on my blog for the last two Mondays. Hmm, I see a trend...

Anyway, here's the long-awaited chapter for Days of Exile! And while I've got nothing much to talk about the chapter, let's talk about the STORY.

You see, once upon a time, when "I Want To Be A Turk!" was just a mere idea in my head, I had wonderful ideas and storylines on what I want the story to turn out to be. My plan was to write Meia's entire life, from the moment she became a Turk in 1999, to being exiled in Year 0007, to her return during the events of FF7 in Year 0008, all the way through Advent Children events in Year 0009 and possibly up to Dirge of Ceberus in Year 0012. Yeah people, we are talking about a full 13 years of Meia's life before I end the story.

The naive person that I am, seriously thought that I could finish the story within 200 chapters (glancing at the pile of files in my folder? Nope.) and I even thought I could finish this in 2012 (I started writing "I Want To Be A Turk!" in 2011). So long story short, at 63 chapters into "I Want To Be A Turk!" and 42 chapters into "Days of Exile", I came at the crossroads of my writing life.

Should I continue the way I wanted it to be? 

Or should I stop?

(Cue random free picture, because yes, I have to add pictures to make my blog pretty! Someday I should just draw my own pictures for the blog so that I don't have to worry about copyright!)

Truth is, I have a lot of plot bunnies jumping at the back of my mind, wanting to be unleashed. However, "Days of Exile" has been taking up all my creative juices and spirit. Not that I dislike writing Meia, but I really would appreciate the change.

So I contemplated.

"Let's stick to what I've planned!"

If I continued the way I wanted it to be (all the way to Advent Children at least), I would first complete my original dream of what "I Want To Be A Turk!" was supposed to be. Furthermore, there would be a more complete ending to Meia's story in Shinra. That sense of accomplishment of doing what I started out to do would be tremendous.

The negative consequences would be that I may end up feeling so drained and so tired beating around the same things and same nonsense, and I won't deny it. My writing may not be as good, because after all, people are used to what I can come up with. I may end up delaying the updates longer and longer... until one day I pull that stunt again and just not appear on FF.net anymore.

"Let's just stop here and focus on something else."

If I end "Days of Exile" at the part after Aerith's Holy saved the Planet, technically I have finished what I wanted to write. The main bulk of my original story covers the BC, CC and FF7 events. Honestly, I don't have much planned for what Meia would do after Meteorfall. So technically, I have written my story and I am not THAT guilty. Then, I can take a break from this world and immerse myself in writing out FF7 fics. I mean, don't YOU want to know what I have in store? (Okay, let's not get excited about it... it's not THAT great a plot bunny anyway...)

The negatives. I know I have many loopholes now. I've not explained how Meia is handling her moral ambiguity, I have not answered whether Reno and Meia will end up happy, I barely made interactions between Meia and the other canon characters in the series. Neither have I finished explaining the backstories of the other Turks, nor how Randy and Heidi are going to face Meia. I can definitely say this now. I can't explain all of those so quickly. Maybe I would disappoint some of you because you were expecting something super epic. And the truth is simple, you may not know what Meia really is going to do after Meteorfall.

Sucks, doesn't it?

That was the main question in my head since December. I could not concentrate on my writing because I was so afraid of throwing ideas out that will force me to commit. Believe me, people. I really want to bring out my best to you, but I'm scared that either choice may not turn out well.

In case you're wondering and worrying for me, I've decided on my solution already... Yes, there is a route that we are going now. Just that I won't tell you yet. Sorry! I will definitely let you know when the time draws near (at least another 14-16 weeks!). So for now... let's just enjoy Chapter 42!

Nevertheless, I thank you for being with me through my rantings and doubts. Hope you have a great week ahead!

The general plot

If some of you are wondering, when is this story going to end, if it ever ends... Here's the answer for you... it will NEVER!!!

Nah, just being lame right now.

But I thought I'll put in a mid-week entry to try and warm up my mind to write Chapter 29 (Yup, it's almost done! One more scene to finish...)

The entire 'saga' of "I Want To Be A Turk!" is divided into three parts.

Part 1: The finding of Meia and the events of Before Crisis and Crisis Core. As you have already read, the story ends at the end of Before Crisis and it leads on to the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.

Part 2: The story of Meia and the exiled Turks during the events of Final Fantasy VII. Here, the main proponents are still AVALANCHE and the Shinra Turks since they are the driving force behind the canon storyline. Meia and the exiled Turks actually take a backseat, but everything that they do is a build-up to Part 3.

(P.S: If my story is not THAT clear enough, we are currently in Part 2.)

Part 3: The last part of this entire journey would begin at the end of Final Fantasy VII, and it will last... for quite some time. Unfortunately, I will not reveal much, but you can be sure that Meia and (some of) the others will be back in full force again.

Obviously, Part 1 is the one labelled "I Want To Be A Turk!" and Part 2 and 3 will be under "Days of Exile". I won't torture my readers on a wild goosechase with a new sequel!

Now that we got your heads a little clearer, let's get back with the programme and down to business. I hope that I can get the chapter out by this weekend, which gives me about three to four more days to work it. Now it's up to my brain to crank its gears and forget all about my other duties (which are actually more important... opps.)

Book Review (5): Eon/Eona

I admit.

When I first saw the two books side by side each other last year, I sniggered to my friend. "Can they get more boring with their sequel books?"

But with encouragement from a friend, I finally got the book, "Eon".

Eon/Eon Duology
Alison Goodman

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Eona was a candidate to be a dragoneye, key leaders who held powers of the 12 dragons in their world. Problem is that Eona is actually posing as a boy, Eon. When the Mirror Dragon, missing from 500 years, chose Eona to be its Dragoneye, Eona faced many difficulties trying to cover up her true identity.

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I wasn't expecting much from this book, so I only bought Eon. Truth be told, as a child I would buy the entire series but as I grew up, I realised that I began to be quite choosy with my books. I admit that I have some series in my bookshelf that weren't touched because I wasn't impressed with their first book (*cough* Anne of Green Gables... sorry for not liking such a classic!) So nowadays, I realised that I'd rather spend another time to go to the bookstore to get the sequel. It's better than to get the entire series in one go, only to find out that I didn't like the first book in the first place.

So the fact that I've read both Eon and its sequel Eona, you'd expect that I like it?

Well... yes, and no.

In general, I must say that I didn't love this book. It wasn't a bad read, but it's not really a book that I'll read again. So maybe borrow it from the library or something, but it's not necessary to own one copy.

The setting of the book was a fusion of the Chinese and Japanese culture. The land was ruled under an emperor. As a Chinese, I identified many, many oriental elements in this book. The 12 Dragons are from the Chinese Zodiac and the imperial court was very similar to that of the Eastern countries. Not a problem for me, but Westerners may take a while to take it all in, I suppose?

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Now, there were some annoying parts of the entire reading experience, and some parts that were simply great. So... I'm gonna start off with the good.

1. Amazing Protagonist

Meet Eona. She had the typical background - orphaned to unknown parents, rescued by her master to be a Dragoneye candidate. Just when I thought it was getting really normal-going... surprise surprise. I discovered her to be really... flawed. She lied constantly... and lied about lying. She had the biggest doubts of her ability and she lived in constant fear of having her true identity discovered.

In the sequel, more of her flaws surfaced (can't say more in case I spoil the story). You find that she is actually inching on Mary Sue at times, but ultimately, the author really brings Eona's character down. It's one of those books where you put down the book in the middle of it and go, "Dang, Eona, that was a dumb move." It's one of those moments that you think to yourself that protagonists aren't goody goody as you thought.

Do I like Eona? No, I don't. I really dislike her (and I have people who agree with me!), but I salute the author for making her so... different from a typical protagonist. There's a certain quality about Eona that is very different from other girls.



This is the best picture I can get of Eona, poor thing :P It's pretty accurate as how my mind sees it, all the way down to her twin swords.

2. Asian culture research, I give you props

As mentioned, the book was set in a fusion of Chinese and Japanese culture. From the clothing that people wear, to the rituals that people have, to the customs (such as bowing towards the senior) and the setting of the imperial court and the emperor's monarchy... you know this author really did enough research. As a Chinese I don't go all, "Pooh! This is all crap!", so you know it's not that ridiculous.

3. Conflicts of beliefs

This book played the dangerous card of conflicting beliefs. The theme of power versus compassion was dominant in the book, and Eona constantly struggles at the fine line between both. That means, this book is kinda philosophical and all. Not everything is as black-and-white as we like.

Well, seeing how similar this is with "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile", I gotta say, I'm quite intrigued with how the author deals with the conflicting beliefs. And she did it quite well. I really suck at writing philosophical chapters, so I wonder how did I survive explaining why Meia could be a Turk even though she disliked what they did...

Alas, that's all the goodies I have for this book, so let the baddies begin :X

4. Love Triangles... AGAIN?

First it was Twilight. Then it was Hunger Games. Now this. And in all three series, the female protagonist was deeply swayed by the third party. Okay, maybe not so in Eon/Eona but still there is! I doubt I really need to explain more about love triangles. I mean it's great, but I've been reading too many of those. This is just a personal complaint.

5. Yes, Eona does get annoying.

Another personal complaint of mine. She lies and she harps too much about her lying, her unworthiness and her flaws. Honestly, I quite liked the experience of disliking Eona. This book gave me my first - I've never disliked a protagonist till now. Previously, I had absolutely no issues with any protagonists. Now I know. It was quite a novel experience.

In fact, I liked it so much I kinda incorporated it into my own story. As some of you have commented, my recent chapter, Chapter 20 of Days of Exile, Meia did some things that you are not fully agreeable with. Well, that's great. Enjoy the feeling of 'Oh man, why did you do that you nincompoop!!"

So... I disliked Eona, yet I liked the experience. Is that a compliment for the book? You decide.

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Rating: Consider It

Yeah, it's not a book that'll change your life, but it's not too bad if you are willing to read it in an unbiased manner.

Have you read the book before? What do you think?

The pictures above were shamelessly taken from these websites:
- http://www.thereadventurer.com/1/post/2012/7/three-heads-are-better-than-one-or-two-is-there-hope-for-ya-fantasy.html
- http://veari.deviantart.com/art/Eona-257692864


Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

China: A Writing Inspiration + The Birth of "I Want To Be A Turk!"

And hello again!

From the beginning of this blog's birth, I've been wanting to talk about my China trip. And so I shall!

Back in early 2011, I promised my father that I'll visit him in the June holidays (yeah, our holidays are in June). He is working in China and he suggested that I fly over to find him alone. So to keep my promise, I dropped my schedule in June (which was full of dance rehearsals and the like) and flew to China to visit him.

I thought I'll be more sulky about it because I'm missing out almost a month of rehearsals, but I wasn't. It was really because I was getting really tired and worn out from the daily practice. The trip did me some good; a short getaway. Most of all, I brought my laptop along because I thought it would be a great opportunity to write.

At that time, I was beginning to write again. If you remember, I mentioned in my writing history that I went on a very long hiatus in the middle of writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High". When I wanted to continue the story again, my old readers have left already. Still, I continued to write. I knew that I had one reader who was still waiting for me to finish that story and I knew that I can't let her down until that story is finished.

So anyway, I thought it was a good time to clear my head from the busy day-to-day schedule and write instead.

I've been to Nanjing a few times. However, in this trip I did not have many pictures (because my dear father accidentally deleted them all). All pictures below are taken from good ol' Google. Here, let me show you some pictures of Nanjing and the places I was in. I've been in other places while I was there but I thought I'll just show you the place I was in most of the time.



This is Hunan Road, Nanjing. It is one of the most popular eating streets in the city. Yup, you've heard me. I reside in a hotel that is filled with FOOD. (I was obviously in heaven.) Food prices ranging from USD 1.60 for a large bowl of noodles, to USD 100 for a highclass restaurant, you have your variety right here! This is one end of the street, of which it is right next to a departmental store...




This is the other end of the Hunan street. See that huge-ass hotel on the left? Nope, I didn't stay there. I stayed in a small motel on the right. It was opened by a friend of my father's, over the last 15 years it had been a place of accomodation for my father whenever he's in China for business.



While I was there, he brought me to this tower above, which boasts of one of the nicest daytime cityviews of Nanjing. Indeed, Yuejiang Tower was gorgeous.

Okay, so that's how my four weeks were like. In the weekdays, I'll follow my dad to his company, where he works and I sit by his table and write. In the evening we would return and have dinner. Then I would return to my room and continue writing. Did I mention that I was writing like a mad woman, as if I don't have much time to live and I wanted to write everything? Thinking back I felt kinda bad for leaving my father alone sometimes. Sometimes he hangs out with his friends, but sometimes he leaves me be and watches TV.

On the weekends, if I'm game for it, he'd bring me to tourist attractions, like the tower. I went to the zoo to look at pandas and then we took a train to our ancestral hometown, Hunan, to attend my cousin's wedding.

Honestly? That's A LOT of time to write. So there I was, writing my "Their Memories of Fukinara High" happily. Blogspot and Facebook are banned in China, by the way, leaving me with nothing to muse about. So apart from writing, I was reading fanfiction. I was reading some Final Fantasy VIII fics and then suddenly, I was reading Final Fantasy VII.

Truth is, I knew nothing about FF7 then. I remembered playing it in secondary school, but I can't remember much, except that Aerith died and that my freaking chocobo wouldn't turn gold. So guess what? I spent my time on finalfantasy.wikia, reading up on FF7. Yup, dear readers, that was how I eventually became the expert on FF7 :P The formula is just 'lots of time' and 'finalfantasy.wikia'.

While reading one of the FF7 fics, "From Slum to SOLDIER" by UnchainedMelody94, there was a sudden thought in my head: Yeah, this story looks cool. Maybe I should have an OC like this, but she'll fall in love with Reno instead. (I fell in love with Reno after watching Advent Children... yes, it's 'cause he moved from hooligan-looking to smexy!)

The idea was profound to me. After FF8, I've never ventured into anything apart from Samurai Deeper Kyo. Do I dare to take the plunge? What if my characters were out of character?

Then, as I was reading Samantha Sheffield's "Storm", I was paranoid that our stories will be too similar, and I shared my doubts with her. Thankfully, she encouraged me to give it a try. So, even while finishing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", I began my first chapter of "I Want To Be A Turk!"

And the rest is history.

Of course, I had two weeks to play with, when I began "I Want To Be A Turk!". I was writing like a madwoman who had a burning secret to share. I would eat, sleep, dream and wake up thinking of the story. There was once that I wrote until 11 PM and I was so tired I fell asleep. But my brain was still thinking... I automatically woke up at 5.30 AM, with the only thought in my head: I must get that into the story. Now.

Gee whiz.

Amazingly, it was the fact that I had nothing. Absolutely nothing on my schedule, no facebook or blog to wander around, that my mind cleared and plot ideas just couldn't stop coming. I could focus on writing and enjoying the beautiful China. It was one of the happiest four weeks of my life. I've accomplished a lot, in my opinion.

The stories I've written while in China were:

- Their Memories of Fukinara High (Chapter 41-44)
- Dress Off!
- Brotherhood
- I Want To Be A Turk! (Chapter 1-5)

It was quite a feat for four weeks.

So guess what? Perhaps someday I'll run to another country for four more weeks to write and write only. Alas! My job is not going to let me have that luxury...

Taken from:
- http://www.visitourchina.com/guide/hunan_road.htm
- http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/482597031_7caabb5a6d.jpg
- http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59861499

Days of Exile: Chapter 13, 14

And I'm back with random authors' notes.

5th December was my birthday, what better way than to upload chapters and get an ego boost with reviews? WAHAHA! Amazingly, Chapter 13 was also the chapter where the Turks celebrated Meia's birthday, which was definitely not planned for. All the more, I need to upload that chapter.

The week has been really hectic due to all the different celebrations, but I'm glad that I still found time to upload and write more... maybe except today. I'm really tired out from a week of celebrations and I need some rest, for sure.

Alright, back to the story!

Chapter 13:

I particularly liked the scene with Reno and Rude. When I first decided to retell this scene, it was because I was writing in "I Want To Be A Turk!" how Rude found himself liking Tifa. Well, I'm just finding a big joy to finally be able to write scenes that I had planned a long time ago. Although... it is a huge reminder that my story (both parts) has passed the halfway mark and is reaching the ending ever so slowly.

As of Chapter 13, I assure you the story is nowhere near ending yet. I can't even give a prediction which chapter is the last chapter.

Chapter 14:

This chapter had another title initially, called "Home". In the end I decided that "Confession" would be much more suitable. Oh well.

Yes, Meia met Kunsel again, but their interactions will not be recorded anymore. Basically there are many more scenes parallel with the canon that are -more important- than scenes with Kunsel. So... sorry Kunsel-fans, not Kunsel scenes for you.

So you've noticed that I let loose my fangirling a little when Meia was thinking of Reno. My apologies. I haven't been making their feelings any explicit, right? I better start on it before it looks too weird to see them together :P 

That being said, I totally giggled when I wrote that, I sounded like some lovesick highschool girl. I don't really have lots of experience describing sexiness, and no experience in sexy scenes. Let's just say I've tried my best. Though... I found it very funny to explore how Meia can be so knowledgeable and naive at the same time. Yes, she knew about the birds and the bees, but always viewed them in an objective manner. Having Rod and Cassie in the same room at night definitely triggered some suspicion and embarrassing thoughts in her head. 

What KK said about 'leaving us girls, Rod included' is an intentional jab at Rod, in case you didn't notice that :P

While editing this chapter, I came across some plotholes. Not that they'll affect the story, it's just a conflict on how old Rod was when he joined the Turks. I guess that one can never do too much research, huh? I can't do much about it, because it's too much trouble! X__x

Same goes for Chapter 13, when my friend pointed out that because the Enemy Skill Materia doesn't gain AP, there isn't such a thing as mastered Enemy Skill Materia. Opps.

Okay, enough about that. I'm going to answer some of your review replies now :D These replies will cover from Chapter 12, by the way :)

Regarding seawater: Haven't got a chance to find out why the sea is blue. I doubt I will find out soon, I want my rest today!

TWA: Hi TWA, I fangirl when I see Reno. Period. So it's perfectly fine to fangirl about Reno!

Rachel: Yup! I didn't manage to explain that Tseng pushed her hair away not out of affection, but just a instinctive response. He is always trying to correct Reno's attire, after all! Poor Elena, to have fallen for something so small. But we'll see how things turn out for her *wink*

Kadajclone100: I perceive that you have played ff7 and all its installments, that's awesome! I was worried that nobody actually played ff7 :P Your observation of Hojo is rather spot on. I also agree that there are many unrealistic plot points in FF7. Honey Bee Inn and crossdressing were just some of the madness in the game, so maybe deciding not to kill Hojo in Costa del Sol was not so crazy as it may sound. I too also wonder why they didn't just kill him there and then. But I guess you don't wanna scare those bikini girls away, huh?

IceQueen69: I love how Reno changed his mind too, he looks so adorable! To answer your question, Shalua Rui was mentioned once in "I Want To Be A Turk!" Chapter 57. Sadly, she will not appear anymore. Full stop. I have no intentions of bringing her into "Days of Exile", for various reasons. But like what Lenny Kravitz sang, "it ain't over till it's over", I may change my mind in the future! (gosh, did I just reveal my age?)

Takara: Yup, mutual romance! I'm sorry if it's worded so funnily. Reno and Meia likes each other, woohoo! :D And yeah, as you've seen in Chapter 14, he did regret it!

Dontgotaclue88: Hope you got your answer! Thanks for your review!

Jefri: Ha, you mean that their feelings were not expressed clear enough? Go read again! Besides, the romance will be gone if they explicitly said, "I like you!" And of course Meia wouldn't ask Reno so outrightly! That's the fun (on my part, that is). Thanks for letting me know about Enemy Skill not gaining AP, but Alana does have other Materia so she can still battle ^^

Alrighty people, see you next Saturday for Chapter 15. It's a very interesting chapter, so don't miss it!

Days of Exile: Chapter 12

I had almost forgotten to upload the chapter this week! Thank goodness I somehow remembered...

Chapter 12 was a product that was created out of the need to expand my story to include more details of FF7. Those scenes were not canon, yet I felt that I should spend some time working on some leisurely scenes instead of always zooming along the storyline. Both the Elena and Aerith scenes were created specially for a reason.

Elena's scene being a follow up of her conversation with Alana in Chapter 11. There are many POVs that I would play with throughout the story, and I thought I would like to use Elena more. But honestly, I doubt I will. So perhaps this scene would be the last Elena POV scene, but we'll never know :)

Aerith's scene in Costa del Sol is also a follow up, but to something much further back. It happened when I first wrote Chapter 44 in "I Want To Be a Turk!". If you remember, Meia met an old friend, Aerith the flower girl, in Midgar. They've discussed the possibilities of traveling outside Midgar and Aerith had said that she wanted to go look at the sea. That scene then was actually to justify the reason why in the Before Crisis canon, Aerith was seen running away from home to travel the world. However, after writing my scene, I made a note to myself that I need to follow up with what happened when Aerith REALLY saw the sea this time. Hence, I was pretty happy with this portion.

As for Legend and Mason, the decision to make them friends was never planned. I created it out of a whim and I thought it shouldn't be too bad. I didn't highlight their relationship in particular during "I Want To Be a Turk!" so there's no major loopholes there.

Just so you know, I'm equally confused as to why the water in the sea is blue when the water we drink has no colour :P

Reviews

Part of my job involves reading scripts and scripts of stories (Well, in my line of job they aren't called 'stories' but let's just keep it as that!). This time round, I'm required to give my comments for every script I read through.

As I was reading through my 6th one, I found myself having to come up with new words and phrases to show some variation in my critique. Suddenly, the feeling was all too familiar. And I'm sure many fanfic readers know what I'm talking about.

Reviews.

I've mentioned this in a previous blog post, but we can never rant enough about reviews :P

Here's my stand: I almost always give a review to every fanfic I read.

Coming from a writer who returned after a two-year hiatus, I understood the misery of spending all that time on a chapter only to receive one review (and I still am grateful to the reviewer to this day). When I was a younger fanfic reader, I didn't really review as actively because I didn't think that my comments were going to be constructive or valuable to the writer. I soon found out that if not constructive, every review is valuable to the writer. Since then, I told myself not to shortchange my fellow writers of the joy of receiving a review, even if it was only to say thanks.

There are only a few instances why I don't review nowadays (starting with the most common reason):

1. I'm catching up on a multi-chapter and I seriously don't want to bog the author down with an influx of reviews (I seriously can give 40 reviews if I'm catching up on a 40-chapter story, but I just don't. I don't see the point because that author might have improved since the earlier chapters).

2. I opened the story, but I did not finish reading even the first chapter, due to being called away for household chores and work.

3. The fanfic writer has not been around since 3 years ago. Yep. Once the author's last update on his profile is 2008-2009, I think twice about reviewing. That doesn't mean that I don't review anymore. I would if it's still a good fic, and hope somewhere out there the writer can see it.

4. I've read it from start to finish, read it twice and the third time. And I still don't know what is happening. This reason only occurs because the writer lacks grammar structure and the sentence did not bring its intended message across. In this case it's not fair to review because you know you didn't get the story at all. Let me give you an example:

one day boys welk in the park... and They saw kitte... and They thaik long stick owner.

You get what I mean, right? You aren't too sure what the writer is saying so it's best to leave it alone. Hurhur. So mostly it's reason 1 and 2, heheh!

Yes, I'm very proud to say that I review about 90% of the fics that I opened. Bad fics, unrelated fics, incoherent fics, OOC fics... As long as I understand what's happening and I've finished it? I review.

I know, I know. When you've ploughed through 20 fics in a day, you run out of what you want to say (I rhyme!). But think of a different perspective - how much you'll make a writer smile to receive a note of encouragement, a friendly feedback, even a small 'thank you'. We writers don't always need the 'OH MY GOSH YOU SO AWESOME I LOVE YOU KTHNXBYE' kinda stuff. How about 'I can see you're working hard!', or 'good job!', or 'i enjoyed reading that!'. If anything, a simple 'thank you for your efforts' warms the heart anytime.

Now it sounds like I'm complaining about my lack of reviews, but I assure you, I'm not! Honestly, I'm so content with my current state. Who would complain, receiving 4-8 reviews per chapter?

Also, please don't go all righteous on me and argue that if you like to write, even the absence of reviews will not stop you. True, BUT. Over the months, I discovered one thing: Many things that my reviewers write really makes me feel like writing all this is worth while. That kept me going longer than the desire to write Meia and Reno.

So you never know how you impact your writers :)

Back to my work. Yes, I look through many scripts and yes, since I have to comment on every one of them, it really takes a toll on me to come up with new things to 'review'.

Inking out,
aichioluv

I Want To Be A Turk!: Chapter 62

It. Is. Finished.

Sorry about the Jesus reference, I couldn't resist :P

Yes, good-looking people! I Want To Be A Turk is COMPLETE!!! Let me get all the mumbo-jumbo administration done first before I talk about my feelings... and credits! You can't end a movie without credits, isn't it? :)

1. Please look out for my new story! It is the sequel that I've been talking about. The story is called 'Days of Exile'. It will be published on 7th July 2012. Reason being I am beginning my full-time job this coming Monday. I would like to have a good grasp of how my workload will be before I schedule my writing properly.

2. Please watch the blog still, I'm considering releasing a secret Chapter 63 :) (no, you won't know this information unless you've read it from my blog :P)

3. I'm sure you've enjoyed the last chapter. Please do me a favour and write me a review? I would be most glad to know how you find the story. I welcome anonymous reviews too :)

Now THAT is out of the way.. here comes my feelings.

Wow.

And really, 'wow' just cannot describe it all. Even though this is part 1 of my entire story, it is STILL a 62 chapter story. I didn't think I would have the stamina to write all the way. Perhaps it is because I've always had inspiration and just-in-time ideas to make the story extra enjoyable. I think I can probably explain my feelings better in my thanks so let's move on.

Easter eggs! :D Here are some of the little things that you probably didn't know :)

1. Every letter in the alphabet is used in the titles, except. What do I mean?

A - Acceptance

B - Blood Everywhere

C - Club Duel

...

U - Under Orders

V - Vendetta

W - Wall Market

X - Xylophonic Events

Z - Zirconiade

Yep... They are all titles in my story. I missed out 'Y'... I just found out. Damn.

2. 45 out of 62 chapters are actually said/thought by Meia during the chapter.

3. Chapter 1-4 were rewritten and reuploaded.

4. One of the plans that I was considering was to make Meia a long-lost sister of Aerith, thus making her a Cetra.

5. My favourite chapters as a reader are Chapter 1, 31, 34, 36, 39, 45, 56, 62

6. I mused about making Alana fall in love with Tseng, but that would be totally weird, considering there's Elena :P

7. Rod has been in love with Cassie awhile. However, the story only hints of his feelings for her beginning in Chapter 43.

8. The christmas party (chapter 13 and 14) was a great acheivement because it was unplanned and yet I could link it to Wutai spies. Another unplanned chapter was Chapter 53.

9. The largest gap between the uploaded chapter and the chapter that I've started writing is 12 chapters. 

10. I Want To Be A Turk is my longest story yet. The initial target is to finish the entire story (including my coming sequel) within 100 chapters.

Of course there are more interesting ones, but I don't remember them :P

And now, the full list of people and things that I want to thank:

I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has contributed to this story. Be it a review, a favourite, an alert, a research material, a suggestion, a criticism… without these things, this story will not be what it is. I will list down the names of everyone who has helped in some way or another… I’ll write down as much as I can remember.

Thank Gaia for these websites and resources, without them I’ll never be the FF7 expert :P I'll list the website here as well so that others can use as their own research material!

Final Fantasy Wiki (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Wiki) - I swear, this is the Final Fantasy BIBLE! You need any information on anything, it has it! Everything that I know and write about in this story uses FF wiki as reference! In fact, before I embarked on writing this story, I ensured that I am clear about the storyline. The timeline was also provided by FFwiki as well :)

Gunshotromance (http://freewebs.com/gunshotromance/) - The website that provides a transcript of the gameplay. Although it wasn't complete, most of the script were taken there. Basically anyone using BeforeCrisis will credit gunshotromance :P

HcloudXIII, FFVIIExcavation, VincentValentineFVII (via Youtube) – They are youtube users who have uploaded Before Crisis and Dirge of the Cerberus playthrough. I kind of swap in between their translations to get the best representation. I also cross-refer with gunshot romance cos youtube gameplays are played using shotgun (female)/Cassie in my story. For gunshot romance, they use handgun (female)/Alana in my story. For Dirge of Cerberus, I watched only to enjoy the extension of the FF7 world. But when I saw Shelke Rui I thought I should use her in my story. Thus... Shelke was in the early parts of the story and will never appear till the events of Dirge of the Cerberus.

Sorumian (http://www.sorumian.com/) - My main resource to look at Crisis Core gameplay. The only other time I look at other people's Crisis Core gameplay is to look at the original Japanese version. Gotta give props to Sorumian, he happen to always control Zack in a way that I can see everything that I want to see (of course he didn't play with that kind of intention :P)

Thelifestream (http://thelifestream.net/) - They were the ones who explained the special episodes of Tseng and Reno for my reference. The rather interesting site as they also explored other areas that aren't as mainstream :D

SilentTweak (http://www.silenttweak.net/) - He translated the Japanese version of Crisis Core. As requested, I've linked the main website, though this is not where I got my translations from!

Finalfantasy Neo Wiki (http://finalfantasy.neoseeker.com/wiki/Main_Page) - This is where I get my monsters from. In Chapter 26, I needed to find what the robots' names were in Crisis Core. Thank goodness neo wiki had pictures for me to look at. :)

FFVII Web Novel (http://ffviinovels.lhyeung.net/) - For those who are not aware, there is a novella written by one of the staff who was part of the FF7 team. On the way to a smile is a novella that focuses on what happened to some of the people in the two years after Meteor, before Advent Children. Worth reading for those who need something to read :)
Okay, I need to thank these people. Their work and encouragements have inspired me to be a better person. Yes, PLEASE read their stories if possible!!

Ancientbruises (Author of “Sticks, Stones and Broken Bones”) – One of the Turk stories that provided inspiration for my story. I love how devoted Reno was to Annie :) I hope she quickly finishes the story though :P

Scribbler (Author of “A Triangle of Many Sides – Book One”, “Photograph”… just to name a few) – One of the rare authors that write with not only colour, but depth. Hahaha, honestly I've been practically worshiping her works and raving about it on my blog. Do I really need to convince you just how much I love her works? XD She remains as one of my favourite authors and I, for one, know that if she ever became a real author, I'll support her book :D

Redcherryamber (Author of “Advent Children Told in Limericks”, “Elena vs Team Yaoi”) – I read her stories whenever my own are starting to bore me. Her light-hearted stories are fun to read, and her serious ones make you curl up and ponder on life, heheh. She is also extra nice in person because she spends time to talk to a silly goose like me when she is busy with her own life. I was very amused when I realised that we both had same names for two of our characters, Rod and Cassie. Rod is quite a common name for Rod (Male), even Scribbler uses Rod. But Cassie? Absolutely unplanned. Simply amused when I saw that her shotgun (female) is also called Cassie :) Anyway, Chapter 31 is inspired by her story "Unspoilt" and in the coming sequel, I'll use another of her story as reference too!

Vietta (Author of “Don’t Follow”) – That story brought a very dark perspective of how the Turks’ life were, I do use her story as reference to how I can make my Turks more… serious and dark. Of course that never happened because somehow my Turks become goofy and homey again *groan*. Nevertheless, a good inspiration :)

Vix3.16 (Author of “The Result Was A Storm”) – Despite it being yaoi, I couldn’t help but be so attracted to how rich and colourful her description was! I remember the first time I read her words I was hugging the computer squealing at the wonderful imagery (NOT because of the yaoi!) Her story is a breakthrough for me, it was the first yaoi I've ever read. It is still the first yaoi I've ever read. Amazing description. The writing is so rich I can almost smell the air that she was describing. It's one thing to describe sight and sound. If you can make an environment so real using taste and smell... *thumbs up*

WriterzRC (Author of “Dying to Live”) – I often enjoyed their writings on how the Turks are very serious in what they do. I gotta say, they come in second after Scribbler, though others may not agree so. Their story was a story based on realistic views. Veld scolds Tseng for his mistakes, people are mean or apathetic to the main protagonists... It's a terrible pity that they've stopped writing, but their impact won't be forgotten.

Inu-shinai-kirara (Author of “What’s This?”) – Thank you for reminding me (through your story) that Reno needs to be lively and not too emo! She was an interesting author whose story ending was unusual and refreshing :)

UnchainedMelody94 (Author of "From slum to SOLDIER) – I first read her story, I thought "Hey, I could do something like that" and tada! this was born. The very very first inspiration that started everything.

Samantha Sheffield (Author of “Storm”) – Even after the inspiration from UnchainedMelody94, I was hesitant on beginning the story because I was FULLY aware of the journey I’m embarking. I knew that this was going to be a project that might take years if I'm not committed to it (yes, I knew the ending right before I began the story :P). Then I came across "Storm". I was amused because I thought Sam Sheffield's story was very similar to mine and I wrote to her telling her of my issues that we might have overlapping ideas. Not only did she assure me that she was fine with the eerily similar storylines, she encouraged me to start writing it. I thank the lovely author who (in her words) encouraged me to “WRITE IT!”

The Writing Artist - What a good friend she is. She tries her best to review every chapter and tries even harder to point out places that she thinks that I can do better in. She also drew a picture of Meia! *hearts* Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! (Note: The Writing Artist has an original story in FictionPress.com that is really worth reading, but maybe you should ask her to give you the details instead of I :P)

XXTakaraXX - Another gem. She really reviews every chapter that I upload. I really treasure her efforts to encourage me. In fact, she once pointed out a loophole in my story and as thanks, I placed her as a mini character. That is in Chapter 37.

TifaRokkuhato - She has been supportive and excited about my story. In fact, she first asked if she could draw Meia. She did such a great job that her Meia was my display picture for a long while :P

To the other reviewers: I really, really, really appreciate each and everyone of you. I didn't single you out to thank you because my word of thanks are all the same. I know that you are busy but I'm so glad that you bothered to review my chapters once in a while. Your compliments are specific and it made me so special actually, to hear some of you say that it's the best FF7 story you've read, or how much you love Meia, or how spot on the characters were described, or how close you feel the characters are. 

I can never never express how important these words are to me. it made me feel at times that i really have something that others appreciate and enjoy. I love the fact that I've made someone's weekend more enjoyable. I cherish the idea that someone is anticipating excitedly for my new chapter. I'm excited to see that my readers are attached to the characters that I've written. I know that all my time researching and writing and editing and rephrasing and watching (gameplay) and thinking and thinking and thinking has been all worth while when you guys comment.

Thank you guys. I really love you. I wish I can hug each and everyone of you :( 

Last few things to thank:

I want to thank that one month away from Singapore. In May 2011, I spent one entire month in China, accompanying my dad. I remember I wasn't so enthusiastic about it because I was still preparing for a dance performance in school, but I had promised my dad to go to China to accompany him. Anyway, in my free time there (which was basically almost 20 out of 24 hours), I was writing. Non stop. China didn't allow facebook nor blogger. Thank goodness fanfiction was accessible. I decided to read FF7 fics and everything else is history :) Looking back, I doubt this story would have been birthed if not for that month of nothing but planning and dreaming. Sometimes things happen in our life for a reason.

How can we forget? SquareEnix. Enough said. 

Since this is the credits, I should place my disclaimers.

Characters and places are not created by me, but the work of SquareEnix. The only main character that is original is Meia. Please seek permission before using any work in this story.

Alrighty folks, time to move on and I only wish that the sequel will be as entertaining as the original :)

Update: I Want To Be A Turk!

Note: Due to some things in my life, I'm delaying one week of uploading. Please forgive me. Chapter 61 will be uploaded on the 14th of June earliest. Thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am ever so honoured and privileged to reveal that...

I Want To Be A Turk! is finally complete.

Well, at least part 1. It was a heavy burden lifted. :3 Now, to finish uploading the remaining chapters. I think maybe I should take a small break or something in the meantime.

Looking back

Okay, I'm not going to reminisce about "I Want To Be A Turk!"

I was reading my very first fanfiction, "Romeo and Juliet, FF8 style!" and I was quite amused at my own writing. Sadly, I was so embarrassed with my own writing that I revamped ALL my stories (forgetting to backup the older copies for laughs). As such, my oldest writing is dated 2008, which... isn't THAT old (considering that I've started in 2004).

Yes, lesson to learn (forever). Keep your old drafts for fun and laughter. I'm quite sad to say that none of my old writings are around, especially the one with "Be My Knight!" The first draft was absolutely hilarious and I was terribly ashamed to show it to anyone.

Anyway... regarding old fics? I plan to use them, but I have no idea when I will have the time to. If you remember, I have a dozen of plot bunnies waiting to be birthed and nurtured. Besides, in order for me to go back into the old fics, I probably would have to watch FF8 again. Researching on FF7 took me a (pardon my french) hell lot of time, and it was time I could spare because I was on a month-long getaway in China.

... Writing about all these makes me wish that I have more time to write. Oh well, I guess that I am a pretty disorganised person by nature. If I'm that determined to write, then I jolly well make time for my writing (instead of complaining).

Anyway, I've yet to post another chapter because I'm... ah... lazy :P It's really funny how slowly I'm writing when I was on my internship. When I was uploading Chapter 46 on the 20th of February, I was writing Chapter 57 or 58 (Yes, I am THAT ahead of my schedule). At the beginning of my 10-week internship I realised that if I were to stop writing and upload every week, I've enough chapters to cover. By the end of the 10 weeks, and now that I (should be) uploading Chapter 57, I'm still writing Chapter 60. From a 12 chapter gap, I'm back to a 4 chapter gap.

Well, my habit is that I'd like to keep a 3-5 chapter gap between my writing schedule and my uploading schedule (i.e. if I'm uploading Chapter 1, it should be because I'm already writing Chapter 3). It keeps me far-sighted in case my future plans can't be executed because of something that I've already published. Also, for new stories, it helps me assess if the story has potential to continue. For new stories, once I'm done with Chapter 2, I'll upload Chapter 1. Yeah, just an idiosyncrasy of mine.

Anyway, I'll like to complete Chapter 60 first before I upload Chapter 57. I should be done with Chapter 60, just that there are many fight scenes, and I dread them so much :( But I. Shall. Prevail!!

So be patient with me :))

In other news, I'm so excited that Diablo 3 is coming out! I never played Diablo 1 and 2, but the trailer for 3 looks nice, and seeing how everyone has been waiting for this game for YEARS, I guess it should be awesome :D

I Want To Be A Turk!: Chapter 55

Finally, we're getting on with the show!

Zirconiade is a major part of Before Crisis. I mean, duh, it is the primary antagonist in the game. Therefore, I suggest you play close attention to the Turk meeting!

So this chapter had tons of references from not only BC and CC, but also the OVA: Last Order. Therefore, if there are scenes that looked funny, you need to watch the OVA!

About that, there was a scene in the Last Order OVA that always struck me as funny. In the chapter it is the last scene where the Turks are leaving on their helicopters to find Zack. Even watching the original scene where the camera pans on the Turks commenting on Zack Fair, the literal meaning doesn't make sense still. Therefore, I had to kinda squeeze in the idea that they were not being truthful in their words. If you don't get how confusing it was, the video below is the actual clip. Please watch from 2:00 - 2:36.

I must say, this was the best I could do to fit this scene in with everything that I've created so far. And must I boast again how proud I am of hiding Meia in the smallest corners? :)

As for Cait Sith's fortune telling, I know that he doesn't really rhyme... but it was fun, so I stuck to it (the stubborn person that I am >.<). Well, Cait Sith does have his accurate and inaccurate fortunes so... heheh. No more rhyming from him anymore XD

Ahhh, I dread the next chapter.

I Want to Be a Turk!: Chapter 53

So... I haven't been using my blog for a long time, so I might as well, right? :) I'm writing this beforehand (like, on Tuesday) so I better write this before I realise that I have too much work to do to be hobnobbing here :X

So... Chapter 53. Amazing how time just goes and chapters fly out my head as if they are alive. anyway, i wrote this in January... with the idea and words being so fresh in my head. However, I edited and rearranged and tweaked the chapter for about another month or so before I was satisfied with it. Hope you are too :)

You know me. From the earlier stages of the story, I've been complaining that I suck at writing philosophical talks. The things my poor characters say make them so shallow :P Fortunately, (i think) this chapter turned out pretty well. Yes, I'm referring to the chat between Reno and Meia. :) On a side note, you DO know that the Banora place I was writing about was referring to the Banora right before Zack Fair fought Genesis for the last time?

this one!!

anyway, i thought that it'll be cool to have one final scene here before Zack plummets its existence into nothingness. Isn't it funny that no one ever discovered the place anymore after the events of FF7? (feels a plot bunny creeping behind my mind)

As I was saying, this chapter is jam-packed with information, but I hope you guys liked it :D Also, I hope that all of you are catching the storyline so far. It tends to be a little confusing especially if you don't have BC background. I do hope that most of you have Crisis Core background? Or FF7?

Now, review replies! (because I'm too lazy to reply everyone)

TWA: There you go, I hope this chapter is nostalgia explosion for ya, especially the earrings part. In my opinion, the gift scene tops the one in Chapter 13 now :P

Queen-of-Twilights: Thanks for reviewing once again :D

Takara: Oh dear, you're lost already? I suggest you... reread the story!!! Bwahaahah!! that really is my remedy. Unless I'm terribly mistaken, the story is going on a choo choo train direction. I am definitely not wasting my chapters with fillers, that's for sure. :P

rukoyokunefan: hello! thank you for your review! it is a pleasure knowing that you enjoy the story! i am enjoying the writing process too :) yeah, it'll be cool if Meia is a canon character too, but that would mean that I'm not the original creator :P when I wrote Meia I was hoping for a more normal character with humanly flaws, so it was fun trying to balance her awesomeness and mundaneness... so you know... she won't be too awesome and not too boring :P

Tifa: ZOMG you're back!! you mean girl, you made me wonder if you've been recaptured by Hojo. i miss hearing from you!

Dontgotaclue: thank you for your enthusiasm! I'll keep working hard and ensure that you'll not be (too) disappointed :P

also, many thanks to Lady-Bloody-Rose and Dontgotaclue88 for faving/alerting :D

in addition, on a completely unrelated note, i'm very happy to see that there are people who are still reading stories that have been long-published, like 'moves like jagger' and 'dress off!' thank you for your massive support!

Thank you for the many reviews! It really made my day (esp from Tifa and Dontgotaclue since they are... rare visitors :D) It is a huge joy to read your reviews, I'm not lying!

So I was going down memory lane...

I was reading Chapter 1 of "I Want To Be A Turk!"

I find it amazing that soon, it'll be one full year since I've started this fic. Thank you, lovely readers, for hanging on with me so far. Amazing. Simply amazing. I find myself still thinking, "How did I even come up with such things?" Heheh.

As the new chapter is coming soon, I hope all of you will enjoy it :) Chapter 50 is based heavily on BC again, but soon, there will be a time skip and you'll see things picking up a lot faster :)

Until then!

P.S: Welcome aboard my new readers, if you have not entered this blog before :D Thank you for the lovely reviews and faves/alerts! I'll continue to work hard!

P.P.S: I'm currently reading "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini. I simply. cannot. believe. that he was 15 when he wrote this. i mean, when i was 15 i came up with childish stories like "KISS Me!" and he... well, i'm just in total awe. I can't wait to finish the whole quadrilogy :DDD

I Want to Be a Turk!: Chapter 49

Quick author's notes before i go back to work.

finally, it's the new year, 0003!

it has been some time since Zack and Cloud were dragged into Nibelheim for research,

but life still goes on in Shinra, and so the story says :)

i hope that many of you can still catch the things happening in the story,

truthfully, it gets a little dizzy!

but from now on, most of the events are BC-driven so if you are familiar with the story of Before Crisis, good for you!

if not, you can just accept things the way they are, wahahaha!

So... some cameos, Yuffie and Cid. They appear because of BC, so if not for BC, i wouldn't have wanted to include them too :P

Now, the Modeoheim obliteration was one of my favourite scenes in the chapter.

firstly, because it's original (heheh!) and also because i enjoyed how Meia took some time to think about Zack. to those who didn't get the part, she walked past the facility where Zack was at. (you remember? the place where Zack had to sneak into the factory without being seen by like, 6 guards or something)

now that it's more familiar to you, it makes sense, huh? XD

i would love to write more about Modeoheim but time is pressing me to continue.

nevertheless, i'm happy with how it came out.

i mean, Modeoheim didn't appear in FF7 so something MUST'VE happened to it to completely erase off its existence, right? :)

i still love writing Reno, even after 49 chapters. writing him is quite a challenge, because i'm always fearful that he'll come out too ditsy, or too aloof, or too 'emo'. so far you guys have been saying that he's fine, so i'm trusting your judgement on that!! ^^

as usual, read and review!