Stars Above Discussion Thread

Both the armor and the body it covers are solid lead.

As for his weakness... you'll see in the next chapter. :D

HOLY CRAP, THEY ACTUALLY USED MY "FRINGE BENEFITS" JOKE ON TONIGHT'S FRINGE. NOW I CAN DIE HAPPY.

SLIGHTLY RELATED:

I won a special prize in a friend's MamiKyo contest, which was a short fanfic drabble of my choice. I asked for a sort of recursive fanfic of Stars Above, naturally, but the author didn't feel like our styles would mesh well... she did like the idea for said scene, though, so you guys can consider this to be inspired by SA, if not actually taking place in continuity. Needless to say, I like it a lot.

http://fav.me/d4r3z3t

Speaking of SA, I'm planning on starting Chapter 11 tomorrow, now that the latest Tasakeru entry is done. [/shameless plug]

edited 26th Feb '12 6:40:35 PM by FringeBenefits

Chapter 11 is done! Just need to wait on Forz's input.

Aaaand since it looks like Forz is temporarily dead, I'm going ahead and posting Chapter 11 anyway. If this chapter fails to live up to expectations... BLAME HIM.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7371211/11/

The link is either borked or the chapter hasn't been accepted yet.

FF.net Y U NO BE FASTER?

edited 4th Mar '12 8:05:12 PM by Rareitor

It's the site, it was giving me hell earlier when I was trying to log into my doc manager. I fired off a message to tech support about it.

Anyway, the link's working now.

EDIT: In the all-too-likely event that FF.net gets further borked, you can also read Chapter 11 on my DA page here.

edited 4th Mar '12 9:25:13 PM by FringeBenefits

Well that was interesting, you did do better here than on chapter 10, at least now that I compare them.

Yo dawg I herd u liek spears so we speared your golden spear so you can realize you're dieing while you die ohgodwhydididothat... Spearception -shot-

I think I see something about Homura I didn't quite realize before, especially in her exchange with Desideria. When you look at it objectively, she is capable of keeping herself very level headed (that is, in a certain sense), despite all that happened. As you portrayed her I saw someone who wasn't losing it, but someone desperate yet still analytical enough to grasp what is happening around her; it is a curious little thing.

I have to say I really like how this time there are quite a few viewpoints, that while simultaneous or clustered when arranged in a timeline, do not overpower or seem more important than the others. They flowed very well together, no sudden jumps to disrupt the readers attention.

Since I do not completely understand Konata's character I can't say if her thought were correct or not. What I can say regarding them, except maybe for the selective yet very fleeting attraction towards her she mentions, is that they seem logical enough when they refer to the possible distancing or loss of Kagami as a friend.

About the Kyubagami (I r maek dumb naems hurr) scene, I can only say it serves its purpose of getting Kagami to understand the Incubator's nature further.

I'd say, about the last scene, that Kagami "thanking" Homura is the most genuine demonstration of the Hiiragi's feelings so far, within the scope of the shipping intended. To be completely honest with you, I can't really say what about it makes me say this considering all the other signs presented in the story up to this point, aside from how the scene begins and ends, Kagami's reaction, and Homura's fatigue and extremely strained mental state.

.... holy chocolate covered artichokes! WHY IN THE EVERLOVING FUCK AM I SO AWAKE AND CAPABLE OF EXPRESSING OPINIONS THIS EARLY!?

edited 4th Mar '12 10:39:06 PM by Rareitor

• Homura: Interesting interpretation. I'm trying to portray Homura as showing more emotions than she typically did in the anime, but still closed off and guarded most of the time. Obviously, though, trying to fight someone who knows your every memory and how to exploit it can shatter the facade, and that's immensely disturbing for her... without the emotional firewall, she knows she's far more vulnerable. We'll begin to see the repercussions of that in the next chapter.

• Transitions: I made more of a conscious effort this time to relate the last line of one section with the first line of the next. I think that helped the chapter flow a lot better.

• Konata: The scene from Konata's perspective was intended to show that there's more to her feelings than just her perversity and desire to give Kagami a hard time. The anime always made it clear that she's smarter and more perceptive than she lets on from acting like a midget otaku troll most of the time... I wanted to explore that a bit.

• Kyubey and Kagami: I don't know if it's clear yet, but Kyubey is deliberately avoiding mentioning exactly what he is and his lack of human emotions. I figure Homura has told him that that kind of information would be needlessly disturbing to people (just look at what happened to poor Madoka in eps. 10 and 11)

• The kiss: It was somewhat of a Sailor Moon reference, I admit. XD I've always been on the side of Mamoru and Usagi's first kiss being romantic in the infamous Dude, She's Like in a Coma debate. But anyway, the kiss is going to mark a major turning point. I'd go so far as to say that Chapter 12 will begin "part 2" of the story... you'll see what I mean soon enough.

Good news, everyone! Forz isn't dead!

He's Only Mostly Dead, apparently.

Oh yeah, and I'm four pages into Chapter 12, so I guess that's good too. There's going to be a very epic scene and a very depressing scene in this chapter, and they may happen very close to one another, so brace yourselves.

Both of those are good news. This means I can still stalk Forz from time to time!

That's good to hear.

I'm curious, though... is this "very depressing" by our usual "NEEDS MOAR GRIMDARK LOL" standards, or by the typical Clannad viewer's "OMG DANGO MAKES ME CRY" standards?

...don't answer that. Probably better to just wait and see.

edited 12th Mar '12 7:08:40 PM by Enthryn

I started posting slightly expanded versions of the Demon profiles as a separate story on my FF.net account. I'm going to be updating them in between chapters when I have the time.

CHAPTER 12 FINISHED, WAITING ON FORZ, HE'S NOT DEAD, ETC.

Also...

OH HO HO! WHAT COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE, I WONDER.

Also, Forz says you should totally go leave reviews on Nil, because he needs his ego stroked.

edited 17th Mar '12 8:03:24 PM by FringeBenefits

i said no such thing

LIAR

amirite fringe

edited 17th Mar '12 8:55:00 PM by Forzare

Oh don't worry, I will stroke it eventually... you will like it

sweet jesus no

yes

Well, with that bit of horrifying homoeroticism over with, let's go back to a slightly less nightmarish kind:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7371211/12/

Ready your eyeballs for tears.

HAY GUYZ, UN-DIE, PLZ.

I suggest you get your thoughts on Ch. 12 on here now... I had a burst of inspiration today and finished 13. I may have it up as early as tonight, pending Forz's approval.

It's up.

Nothing much really happens in this chapter, which is why it's kinda short. I hope you'll like it anyway.

I think I might be able to give you my impressions tonight or tomorrow morning, on both chapters.

Sounds good.

HUNDREDTH POST, WOO