A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That

I've finally gotten around to playing Final Fantasy VI again, though I'm still finishing up on Alisa's scenario in Front Mission 3. I know I loved Front Mission 3 the first time around but I never realized just how much depth the game had until this, my second run through. Much fun to be had, especially since you get the chance to rig the Miss Teihoku contest bit so she wins. Though, I have to admit, Hodaka's a lot cuter than Alisa is. As for Final Fantasy VI, I finished it once but I never got around to getting everything and completing every little detail of it. I certainly wasn't as thorough with that game as I was with...Final Fantasy VIII or Legend of Dragoon, for example.

XI is proceeding sluggishly, but it is being worked on. I get to write bits and pieces at a time, so I'm not sure how the pacing is going to come out. I'm still on the second scene of the story, where I introduce an old friend from Yuki's Diary - the only major character of that story to have actually survived. I'm not entirely sure to go with the original plan and make XI a direct sequel to Yuki's Diary or to go in an entirely new direction and only make the YD character a presence in the overall plot (or lack of plot) of XI. In any case, I have plenty of time to settle on that.

I recently read about the love-themed fanfic writing contest on Tuxy's forums and, frankly, I'm tempted to join, even if I know that I can't win and that even if I somehow do, I won't get my hands on the prizes. Tempting because, well, for the Hell of it, really. But then, I realize that would be tantamount to both spitting in the face of the original author of whatever show I pick from and turning my back on my own convictions on the matter. Vae Victis is an exception, as it was started before I made my decision and I have to finish it - even if what everyone else gets is merely a rough outline of what's supposed to happen and how it was supposed to end. I'll consider biting into the contest, if only to see how things go before I get sick of myself.

I realized that, in my life, nothing ever seems to go according to plan. Nothing. Is that wrong? I guess some would say its a sign of my being a random figure, or something like that. The accurate term escapes me at the moment. For example, when I wrote Shinjo No Aijo, against the logical flow of the story, the final pairing for the main character was not what is seen in the story. It was supposed to be one of the androids. When I wrote the Love Hina shoujo-ai fanfic Black and White, Kanako and Motoko were not supposed to have a happy ending. Kanako was slated to die in her duel with Shinja and Motoko would leave Hinata Sou, never to return there or to her home in Kyoto. The final scene was supposed to be one where Keitaro thinks he spots someone near his sister's grave that looks vaguely like Motoko. It also would have opened up the way for a sequel, where Shinobu and Motoko meet again after a decade has passed. That idea got...modified into my Shinobu/Kanako fic, Angel Light, Angel Dark. I had planned to stay in Ambergris Solutions until my contract was up and beyond, but I changed my mind because, frankly, the company didn't pay me enough to put up with the bullshit that Dell was making me put up with. I wasn't a fool and I wasn't going to hang around long enough for Dell to turn me into one.

So, the question now becomes "why can't I stick to a plan?" I honestly don't know. I hardly ever manage to accomplish a plan, unless it involves buying something, in which case, it happens regularly enough. Of course, I don't really plan on buying anything - most of my purchases are spur of the moment, or brought about by a last-minute realized need. Funny, that. Maybe I just need to be more organized or something. I mean, even this entry (and all other entries) in the blog are unplanned, random bits of chaos. Maybe this all stems from my belief that the ultimate, underlying principle of existence is chaos, that everything (even the laws of nature and science) stems from it.

In other thoughts, I don't know whether to be happy or not with the news that only 5 people from Dell ABU Batch 5 remain in Ambergris Solutions. I should be happy because, if I recall correctly, none of us really felt like we were cut out for the job, or liked the job, or were being paid enough to put up with the job. Of course, my recollection of that is a little hazy since I spent most of my time either adjusting to my teammates or with Grace. Then again, I tend to do that everywhere I go - except for my current workplace, Intelligraph, but that's a different situation. I think I should be sad about the Dell ABU situation because, well, I think it must get lonely for the last 5 sometimes. Even in the short time we knew each other, we bonded really well. I've never felt like I belonged in any group more than I did there, so it does seem a bit of a downer for me to hear that we've all been scattered across the call center/outsourcing world.

I guess, at the very least, I still have contact with them. And the old album at Photobucket. Always a good place. I also still have access to Grace's Photobucket account (because I set it up for her) and her e-mail. I also have cell #s for most of them, though contacting them can be a little difficult since I'm a daywalker now but most of them are still nocturnal. I'll find a way around that.

Well, I really should get back to work now. Wasted enough time already, not that I actually need that time, though.