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petroniaActually I write more essay-type verbiage than fic-type verbiage for Viewfinder (I keep harping on the topic, sorry - I think discussing it has made me self-conscious, not in a bad way, but now I can't help paying attention to what I'm doing XD), because much of it is straight-up canon interpretation - not "given what happens in this chapter, I think X", but "I think X is what's really taking place on page 12." I mean, it's weird because one wouldn't think the storytelling was that deep, and it's not that deep, but I have to read each new chapter myself and in the original Japanese or I just don't feel like I've understood. There are unstated visual cues, possibly.
Anyway, a few points:
* You has something for Feilong, clearly. It doesn't ping as sexual, though it might be romantic in the sense that the loyalists in Baishe all think of Feilong as Their Princess - it just seems like, he's been working simultaneously for Asami and Feilong in trusted positions for a number of years and not really faking his loyalty either way, so while Asami takes technical precedence he doesn't want to see them screw each other over. It's not his best-case scenario. He would probably be ecstatic if they made up and he no longer had to pick a side. As much as anything I think he has sympathy for Takaba because he's also caught in the middle of other people's problems threatening to ruin his life. xD
* OTOH I think Feilong knows You is the mole, or at least the circle of suspects is getting fairly narrow. He knows You's been running his mouth off to Takaba, anyway, half that conversation was him pumping Takaba as to who said what. (Takaba also leapt to his own conclusions; unluckily for You - who was careful not to state anything he has no reason to know for fact - they consisted of performing a sanity check on the statement "Asami would so hit that if he could," and thus are both stupid and largely correct. XD) Given which asking Takaba to stick around seems like a reasonable proposition, or almost: Feilong can't trust anyone in his inner circle, and Tao is in the hospital. At bare minimum he needs to be able to get a cup of tea without worrying there's arsenic in it. There's no mystery as to where Takaba stands, he's too dumb/straightforward to play the game, and he has an advantage over Tao insofar as a) he's fuckable and b) he can pour whisky as well as tea, and it's not going to break his adorable shota heart to see Feilong at his drunken and self-destructive worst. It's relaxing, is what it is. XD
* Speaking of which Feilong clearly has the worst hangover in that scene when he's on the phone with Asami, you can tell because his hair is messy.
* The dynamic shift between Feilong and Takaba interests me because I can manage to believe it despite how improbable it is. XD Um. And also how Feilong thinks the whole hotel deed bit is typical of Asami i.e. he is being a mean bully as usual, because he just likes to take away things that are important to Feilong and hold them over his head until he cries. For kicks. And you're sitting there going, Well... not... the way you're putting it, no.
* Is that one of Asami's henchmen reporting to Arbatov? Is it good or bad that this series expects me to keep track of nameless henchmen?
* It ends with Feilong making a reasoned, practical choice, so you know the next chapter is going to be a disaster. (Actually, it's pretty clear at this point. Arbatov will fall prey to the common fallacy that if other people are fighting over it, it must be valuable; he will be unpleasantly surprised; Asami and Feilong will snipe at each other a lot; You will be either long-suffering or heroically dead; and Takaba will need rescuing. If she makes it so that Asami and Feilong have to team up to rescue Takaba I'm going to laugh and laugh and laugh. And laugh some more. And then laugh.)
Basically the thing with this series is, I constantly expect it to jump the shark and it never does. :D
Anyway, a few points:
* You has something for Feilong, clearly. It doesn't ping as sexual, though it might be romantic in the sense that the loyalists in Baishe all think of Feilong as Their Princess - it just seems like, he's been working simultaneously for Asami and Feilong in trusted positions for a number of years and not really faking his loyalty either way, so while Asami takes technical precedence he doesn't want to see them screw each other over. It's not his best-case scenario. He would probably be ecstatic if they made up and he no longer had to pick a side. As much as anything I think he has sympathy for Takaba because he's also caught in the middle of other people's problems threatening to ruin his life. xD
* OTOH I think Feilong knows You is the mole, or at least the circle of suspects is getting fairly narrow. He knows You's been running his mouth off to Takaba, anyway, half that conversation was him pumping Takaba as to who said what. (Takaba also leapt to his own conclusions; unluckily for You - who was careful not to state anything he has no reason to know for fact - they consisted of performing a sanity check on the statement "Asami would so hit that if he could," and thus are both stupid and largely correct. XD) Given which asking Takaba to stick around seems like a reasonable proposition, or almost: Feilong can't trust anyone in his inner circle, and Tao is in the hospital. At bare minimum he needs to be able to get a cup of tea without worrying there's arsenic in it. There's no mystery as to where Takaba stands, he's too dumb/straightforward to play the game, and he has an advantage over Tao insofar as a) he's fuckable and b) he can pour whisky as well as tea, and it's not going to break his adorable shota heart to see Feilong at his drunken and self-destructive worst. It's relaxing, is what it is. XD
* Speaking of which Feilong clearly has the worst hangover in that scene when he's on the phone with Asami, you can tell because his hair is messy.
* The dynamic shift between Feilong and Takaba interests me because I can manage to believe it despite how improbable it is. XD Um. And also how Feilong thinks the whole hotel deed bit is typical of Asami i.e. he is being a mean bully as usual, because he just likes to take away things that are important to Feilong and hold them over his head until he cries. For kicks. And you're sitting there going, Well... not... the way you're putting it, no.
* Is that one of Asami's henchmen reporting to Arbatov? Is it good or bad that this series expects me to keep track of nameless henchmen?
* It ends with Feilong making a reasoned, practical choice, so you know the next chapter is going to be a disaster. (Actually, it's pretty clear at this point. Arbatov will fall prey to the common fallacy that if other people are fighting over it, it must be valuable; he will be unpleasantly surprised; Asami and Feilong will snipe at each other a lot; You will be either long-suffering or heroically dead; and Takaba will need rescuing. If she makes it so that Asami and Feilong have to team up to rescue Takaba I'm going to laugh and laugh and laugh. And laugh some more. And then laugh.)
Basically the thing with this series is, I constantly expect it to jump the shark and it never does. :D
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-01 11:59 pm (UTC)Oh gawd. With the eventual result being one big goopy yakuza 3-way? Or Asami and Feilong share uke custody, like divorced parents? It burrrrns.
I continue to hate this series but keep reading it anyway, out of spite or something. Maybe if You hooked up with Tao there'd be something in it for me. XD;
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 12:03 am (UTC)that's it, i'm going to put you in a box and keep you. because you say things that make me giggle like a giggly 13yo girl i never ever was.
Asami i.e. he is being a mean bully as usual, because he just likes to take away things that are important to Feilong and hold them over his head until he cries. For kicks. And you're sitting there going, Well... not... the way you're putting it, no.
exactly. which is to say that Asami does like all those things, but not in a ... well, the way feilong things he likes them. um, which is what you said.
If she makes it so that Asami and Feilong have to team up to rescue Takaba I'm going to laugh and laugh and laugh. And laugh some more. And then laugh.
ha! which is *exactly* what i said to chrissie, after reading the cans, except that i promised maiming and destruction instead of manic laughter. or, possibly, in addition.
PS. where's my traffic?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 12:22 am (UTC)I also have three chapters of Crimson Spell backlogged.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 12:38 am (UTC)Latest chapter of Crimson Spell was sporfle (but when isn't it). Poor Val-beast, he'll take it any way he can get it. XD;; What's going to happen when Havi doesn't want to break the curse because he's too attached to Val-beast as well as Val?! But I suppose if they fixed it so Val could control his transformations, there'd be no problem, bestial sex at will 4FR, happi endo.
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Date: 2006-12-02 01:56 am (UTC)*dies* I suppose this is why You's loyalties slowly started dividing. seriously it is impossible read Viewfinder and watch a normal HK triad movie within an hour of each other, I don't think even Cheng Ekin uses that much conditioner/shampoo.
so while Asami takes technical precedence he doesn't want to see them screw each other
the sentence ended there on my screen and I didn't see the 'over' on the next line for quite a while. xD
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 02:23 am (UTC)(Also! I hear that you hate City of Diamond?)
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 04:19 am (UTC)I don't hate it, I liked the end considerably more than the beginning (and expected to). Her characters are great. I even like Keylinn. I take issue with her writing - a slew of technical issues I don't honestly imagine a normal reader would care about. XD I've been sort of incubating an essay re: what those issues are but have not yet beaten my laziness into submission on that count.
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Date: 2006-12-02 04:27 am (UTC)Traffic will have to wait until January! The next scene is action-y and since I'm poor at planning action sequences and hate writing them with hatred like unto the flame of a thousand suns anyway, I procrastinate and write other stuff. XD (This is currently also true of the JoJo epic that occupied all of October/November.) Basically I have to get SSBB out, then I have to get the Christmas cards out. But there is VF stuff in with the latter. :)
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Date: 2006-12-02 04:31 am (UTC)Is the second volume of CS out yet? I fell off the announcements wagon for everything in late August and am only now clambering back on. ^^;
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Date: 2006-12-02 04:42 am (UTC)I bought a whole batch of triad movies I haven't watched yet, I should do that before I try to fic again. XD
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Date: 2006-12-02 05:10 am (UTC)Did you see this? (http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/karakuri-nezumi/bl-sinsaku/blsinsaku.html) Color coded, v. handy.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 12:24 pm (UTC)My thoughts exactly! Well, except for the princess part, that just cracked me up...XD
I'm so going to join you there! But Mikhail is confusing me (in a good way) and he appeals to my inner villain fangirl, so i'm really looking forward to his next move!
She's pretty good at not giving the readers what they want and i love her for that! Though i don't really know if the level of 'When will Asami finally jump on his white horse and rescue the damsel in distress?!' whining is as high in the Japanese as it is in the western fandom...