Title: Bouquet, A Blinding Whirlwind of Petals (part one)
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Angst
Characters: Louise, Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: I use this and this other site for my Victorian flower translations. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: Hopefully I'll finish the second part before the end of the year--no promises, though, because of work.
Summary: They'll blind each other with comforting lies. They have to.

Title: Bouquet, Two Blossoms Diverged From A Yellow-Green Stem
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Characters: Louise, Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: I use this and this other site for my Victorian flower translations. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: Happy Thanksgiving!
Summary: 'Two roads diverged from a yellow wood...' Robert Frost, 'The Road Not Taken'

Title: Bouquet, Sprig and Sapling II
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Characters: Louise, Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: This was supposed to be finished back in September. I'm really stressed right now.
Summary: The folly of fathers, the laments of children.

Oh man, it has been so hot here. It hasn't been below 100 degrees since Tuesday. ;_; To beat the heat, I've been indoors giving my brain a workout with translating the Fire Emblem Characters artbook because, you know, why not. This time I've been working on the most infamous single page in the entire thing--the blood relations list! The literal translation of the title is: Fuuin no Ken-Rekka no Ken--The Blood Relationships That Extend into Both Works. Wordy, right? The page is split thus: Fuuin character face shots, Rekka character face shots, and a description of their bond and the odd miscellany. Not terribly difficult to translate, but some things did trip me up a bit as I am only a novice at Japanese. Please forgive my errors! On the bottom there is a small pictoral look at the age changes of characters who appeared in both games: Marcus, Bartre, Karel, Merlinus, Zephiel, Guinevere, Eliwood, Hector, Murdock, Fir, and Sophia. It would be useless to translate this part, as you can probably tell. The next page I will be working on is the one about the heroes of The Scouring, with the most gorgeous picture of Saint Elimine; I hope to have this finished tomorrow.

And this is what I do for fun!

( FE6-FE7 Blood Relations List )

Title: Bouquet, The Thorny Road Ahead (part two)
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Drama, Romance
Characters: Louise, Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: The last of the July batch. I'll be taking a break from this series until September/October.
Summary: This is what occurred during the House Reglay scandal of AS 971.

Title: Bouquet, The Thorny Road Ahead (part one)
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Characters: Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second (ETA 7/30): Now edited!
Summary: This is what occurred during the House Reglay scandal of AS 971.

Title: Bouquet, Fields of Gold
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship/Family/Light Romance
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: Woo, junky. Shall we try for the first part of the next story on Sunday or Monday?
Summary: This is Louise's homeland. This is Louise's heart.

Title: Bouquet, Flower Tea and Salad Days
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship/Family
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: I'm on a roll, but at what price? Next story...late this week?
Summary: Pent, Louise's mother, and his own--a learning experience he won't soon forget.

Title: Bouquet, Elegant Arrangements in Priceless Vases, or, A Story Told in Six Movements (part 2)
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship/Light Romance
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Summary: With birthdays only a month apart, how could they not plan to meet for a private celebration? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as privacy when noble houses are involved, and House Reglay is the most noble of them all...

Title: Bouquet, Elegant Arrangements in Priceless Vases, or, A Story Told in Six Movements (part 1)
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship/Light Romance
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: After some more searching, I've found two sites that use sources created in the Victorian era, so I will now be referencing them. They are this and this other one. The second is more thorough than the first.
Note the Second: This will be split in half due to necessity (worry over LJ's max character limit). The FFN version will mostly likely have both parts together as one story. The second part should be out next weekend at latest. Also, even more junky than usual, haha.
Summary: With birthdays only a month apart, how could they not plan to meet for a private celebration? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as privacy when noble houses are involved, and House Reglay is the most noble of them all...

Title: Bouquet, Autumn Leaves and Overcast Skies
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship/Light Romance
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: I used to frequent a particular site for my Victorian flower meanings, but it no longer seems to exist. Therefore, I've switched to this site. From what I could tell after a cursory glance, some meanings may be different, and other flowers from the first list don't appear in this one.
Note the Second: This is the companion story to 'Like Petals in the Summer Breeze.'
Summary: "I want to get to know you." Louise follows Pent on a tour through his old academy.

Title: Bouquet, Like Petals in the Summer Breeze
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship/Family/Light Romance
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: I used to frequent a particular site for my Victorian flower meanings, but it no longer seems to exist. Therefore, I've switched to this site. From what I could tell after a cursory glance, some meanings may be different, and other flowers from the first list don't appear in this one.
Note the Second: Originally there were supposed to be two stories, but out of consideration for LJ's maximum character allowance I've elected to post them separately. The companion story will hopefully be posted within the next two weeks.
Summary: "I want to get to know you." Pent watches Louise compete at Alloway County's annual Festival d'Armements.


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BRB, need to go fail my Public Law exam so I can have a legitimate reason to drop the class! :D That leaves me with more time for jobhunting, after all! (I hate the world.)

Title: Bouquet, Flowers in Disarray
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: General
Characters: Pent/Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Summary: The one thing more difficult than to be the father of the soon-to-be bride may be the steward of the 'orphan lord' groom, particularly in prenuptial negotiation.


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Sorry, no junkfic this time (not until mid-December at best), and I'm keeping mum on my NaNo this time around. I'm just a little nervous because it seems like a couple cities in north Orange County is on fire and, uh, I live in North County too. The worst part is that houses are being burned down all over the place and the Santa Ana winds are pretty bad, so they won't be contained for at least a few days. My mom mentioned seeing an increased police presence around, so they must be preparing for it to come down here.

Someone cheer me up, please?

(There are other fires up north in Santa Barbara and Sylmar, both active for over a day and also merrily burning down houses as well. Not a great week to be in Southern California.)

ETA 1:45 PM: Smoke has completely blotted out the sky; the color inside my room is that of sunset and my apartment stinks of smoke. Far, far worse is the news I just heard from someone that one of the fires is threatening a major power source in LA.

A little rushed for time these days. I was dead-set on writing a Gerik + Tethys first meeting fic, but I can't seem to feel that much 'fun!' as of late. Maybe after the primaries on the 4th? This story, on the other hand, is...well, I have no clue what I was thinking.

Title: Bouquet, Frozen Flowers
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: PG
Genre: Family/Romance
Characters: Canas/Lily, Hugh
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Note the Second: Takes place about a year before Canas' game epilogue fate.
Note the Third: As for the title, Canas' name references the cannas, or canna lily.
Summary: Even in the quiet darkness of Ilian winters, there is always a light on at home.

I'd planned to have this done yesterday, but I was out too much this weekend. I've changed my mind on what the next story will be, just because I'd like to write something heavier in tone and theme. I almost split this part because of length, then I decided against it; according to the preview it still fits!

Title: Bouquet, The Budding Garden, part 2
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: General/Drama/Romance
Characters: Pent, Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Note the Second: This story is dedicated to Houyoku (rabidgirlbecki), whose story Lady of Violets not only introduced me to the complexities of the Pent/Louise pairing but is still what I consider to be the story about them. Though I don't know if you'll ever read this, I hope that, if you do, you'll find it to be every bit as enjoyable as I found your story to be. 
Summary: Even the most steadfast, solid love is gained through risk.

I mentioned in a comment to vestrwald that I had an idea of what junk fic will be coming up: Another Pent/Louise, then Gerik/Tethys, and I've come up with another Kent/Fiora that seemed like a lovely idea. What I didn't expect was that the Pent/Louise story would be so long. I've split it into two parts, with the second part coming in a few days--I've got Valentine's Day to celebrate first! (Haha, not really) Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Title: Bouquet, The Budding Garden, part 1
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: General/Drama
Characters: Pent, Louise
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Note the Second: This story is dedicated to Houyoku (rabidgirlbecki), whose story Lady of Violets not only introduced me to the complexities of the Pent/Louise pairing but is still what I consider to be the story about them. Though I don't know if you'll ever read this, I hope that, if you do, you'll find it to be every bit as enjoyable as I found your story to be. 
Summary: Even the most steadfast, solid love is gained through risk.

Political ETA: Oh my God.

There will be no new LoH chapter this week. Thursday is Chinese New Year, and we're preparing in a desultory way for it at my house. You'd think we'd be better about it, seeing as it's the Year of the Rat and both my mom and myself are Rats, but my mom's doing jury duty this week and I'm edgy about the results of today's primaries and it just doesn't feel very festive here. Instead, here's more junk fic.

Title: Bouquet, Sprig and Sapling
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: G
Genre: Drama/Family
Characters: Louise, Pent
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Note the Second: Normal stories. Not proofread, sorry.
Summary: There was a time when Louise and Pent had no idea the other existed. Only one of them is joking when they refer to it as the Dark Ages.

Thursday I went to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood with a friend to see the rallies--the final debate for the Democratic candidates before Super/Amazing/Tsunami/enter-superlative-here Tuesday next week. I'd already voted thanks to the acceptance of absentee ballots in California, but my friend was undecided. The rallies were interesting; lots of impromptu chants (my favorite is 'Hill-a-ry will set us free!' and the retort from an Obama supporter, 'I'm already free!'), finding out that Snoopy supports Obama (now who does Mickey Mouse support, I wonder?), and talking to a CNN security director who seemed more amused than anything else by the crowd surrounding the area blocked off for CNN's broadcast. Then we were led to an inner courtyard within the theater, where we watched the debate between Obama and Clinton. It was a good debate that really showcased their policies; Clinton seemed to be doing slightly better (though the way she answered the immigration question might have cost her California, especially in light of the various endorsements Obama is now receiving) right until the Iraq portion happened. I've never seen someone flounder and fail so hard as she did, trying to explain why she voted for the war when Obama was against it from the very beginning. Whenever there was a commercial break the Obama train of signholders and chanters would start going around. Some of the Clinton supporters near me were really rude and talked whenever Obama was talking. Overall, it was interesting and my friend seems to have found which candidate he likes, so it was well worth the trip.

For those who are further interested in the primaries, this is an excellent blog I've been reading as of late. It's more skewed towards the Democratic side, but I'm from California so what do I care about Republicans? XD It's updated multiple times a day and oddly prescient as well as full of solid analysis.

In fic news, LoH will be next week. I'd talked about having some junk fic up to help me get back into writing, but it seems that I needed to think about what I intended to do more than write. Here's a junk fic to make up for the wait, though. The paths are not meant to be read together; they are not part one and part two, but rather two distinct branches. So, please read with that in mind--separately.

Title: Bouquet, Branch I and II
Series: Fire Emblem 7: Rekka no Ken/The Blazing Sword
Rating: (Path I) G; (Path II) PG
Genre: Drama/Romance
Characters: Kent/Fiora
(C) Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
Note the First: For this I used Victorian flower language instead of hanakotoba because the one site I know that has an extensive list of hanakotoba meanings is in Japanese. This is the site I used for my titles.
Note the Second: I know it's weird to go from present to past tense from the intro to the separate parts. I laugh in the face of correct grammatical constructs!
Note the Third: Arrgh, romance.
Summary: The blink of an eye, the touch of a hand...the end might remain the same, but the events leading up to it may differ drastically. (Between B/A support)


This is how it begins: a man and a woman, together. Night surrounds them in its oppressive embrace, but it is buffeted by the light of a half-moon and the nearby fire. The ambiance is lost on the both of them, if only because these two are Kent of the Lycian canton Caelin and Fiora of Edessa province, Ilia--two knights who have taken it upon themselves to ensure that no one else may enjoy what they have now, an increasingly intimate encounter with a person of the opposite sex. Right now they are proper, principled commanders sharing ideas on a matter that has troubled the both of them, that any two people could get so carried away in each other that they forget their duty and lose everything. It is a favorite word of theirs, duty: a noun, a virtue, an honor, and they use it often and with complete sincerity.

This is not the first night they have spent on their new idea, because they both have so much to share with the other. How should we clarify this? Would this be too harsh? In Caelin, the proper punishment would be this, but how would they do it in Ilia? Like this, you see, because any harsher might store up resentment. That's true, we wouldn't want to go so far; as a new commander I've found a direct, but lenient approach to be best. I'm surprised to hear it's only been a year for you, considering what Florina has said. Your sister has been working harder than the native knights; seeing you in battle, I realize her work ethic must come from the example you have set. I thank you for the compliment, but after seeing the improvement in her skill I should be the one thanking you. Well, I'm honored by your kind words. Ah, anyway, as you were saying here...

Well, maybe they have been affected, just a little, not that either of them are able--or willing--to recognize it.

Until tonight. Together, night after night, they have worked, conversed, and expressed surprise when one or the other realized just how much of the night had trickled by, so naturally they have had to promise to meet again the next night. And again. And yet again, until all there was in their days was battle and each other.

Until tonight.

Tonight is a night like any other, they think, but this is not true. They have been around each other for too many battles, too many nights, for that to be true. It is there in the way her breath catches when he leans over her shoulder to see something she has written--she feels that she might be breathing too loud and that will annoy him, but no, the only thing louder than the crackle of the fire is the staccato beats of her heart. It's there in the way his eyes linger on the curve of her wrist as she tucks a loose lock of hair behind one small, unadorned ear--Lady Lyndis has pierced lobes from which her mother's gold earrings dangle and he does find that detail very endearing, but he finds that there is something perfectly right that the woman beside him now would eschew something as frivolously simple as jewelry. The sound of his accented, precise Elibean as it slides into her ear and reverberates in time with her heartbeat, the scatter of teal-blue hair over her ear and trickling down her shoulder as she lowers her hand--these are the things they notice, these are the things they lock within their hearts, these are the things upon which they don't react.

Then it happens. Entirely by accident their fingers nudge together in that space between them that both knights had unconsciously left barren, a borderline of propriety. Both are surprised by the breach, surprised enough that they glance at each other, apologies fattened by their unconscious guilt already reaching their lips.

Their eyes meet, and then--

Subtitle: Somewhat Jumbled Thoughts of a NaNoWriMo Entrant After It's All Said and Done.



In other news: I'll be returning to Legion of Honor in mid-December, after my finals. I'm thinking either the 12th or the 19th. I can't make any promises on finishing In the Case of Alicia before the end of the year, unfortunately. There's also something I've been wanting to write for the last year, year and a half or so, but I'm a little embarrassed even to put it up on my writing journal. If it happens it happens, right?