icey

Not that I have a problem with people reading yaoi, but here's my two cents. According to who? I work at a sexual education centre and in fact I just met a female porn director this weekend. You say that there are depictions of women being raped in porn. Well, guess what? There are depictions of men being raped/abused/humiliated in porn too. They're not very hard to find. Yes, I agree that the majority of porn is marketed towards men, but saying that porn is "for men by men" and then using this to DEFINE porn is a gross generalization. Saying that porn is for men by men is like someone saying "romance novels are for women by women because women enjoy reading about relationships" -- a blanket statement that does not define what the term really means. Romance novels are marketed towards women, but that does not mean a romance novel written by a man and marketed towards men is not a romance novel. Moreover, you seem to have a problem with pornography and "whores". Females and males who work in the porn industry are, in fact, real females and males. Some of them may have chosen to work in the porn industry; some may enjoy their careers. But consistently maintaining that pornography depicts "whores" (an extremely charged word, by the way), are you not perpetuating the belief that people work in porn should be dehumanized? In 2003, Playgirl's gay readership was around 30%, according to Wikipedia. Women are still the main audience of consideration of Playgirl. In addition, by citing Playgirl's more recent trends, you are ignoring the fact that in the past, before Playgirl's gay audience grew, Playgirl WAS marketed exclusively to women. ---- Moreover, you claim that yaoi does not represent gay men because the characters do not identify as gay. I would argue that yes, they do not necessarily represent men who actively identify as gay, but on the other hand, they do depict same-sex male relationships. In our culture today, you do not have to identify as gay to experience marginalization. We live in a heterosexist society - a society in which heterosexuality is generally taken to be the natural, the norm, and the superior - and men who have sex with men (MSM) are a historically marginalized group, regardless of whether they identify as gay, bi, or otherwise. Depicting MSM in yaoi IS misrepresenting MSM - characters in yaoi don't have to deal with feelings of being oppressed, marginalized, or silenced; they do not have to fear being discovered; and in real life MSM relationships there may not be a "seme and uke". Since you are so contemptuous of women being misrepresented in porn for the purpose of men in a patriarchal society, I wonder why you do not feel the same way when another type of people, MSM, is misrepresented for the purpose of women in a heterosexist society. In the same vein, women who have sex with women are a marginalized group, and depicting girls having sex with girls in porn - whether they identify as lesbian/bisexual or not - do not change the fact that same-sex female relationships are being misrepresented. Finally, if the only purpose of depicting men in yaoi was because they are "blank slates" and "cannot be whores", why are genderless beings not used? Or a third gender?

I don't really have a favourite genre... but if I had to choose, I would choose literary fiction I guess? That's a very subjective term though. But I usually enjoy books that focus on psychological depth and writing style - though that's not to say that not that other types of fiction can't be psychologically deep. I guess I also like coming-of-age novels (bildungsroman?), and novels that promote discourse about gender/sexuality (no idea what you would call that). I tend to avoid historical fiction and romance

Perhaps the little ball of energy in Nergal's hand? ........Or is that dark magic?

8

Your team will definitely shrink when you get to HHM, because you are limited to very few deployment slots per chapter. In some chapters you'll only be able to deploy like, 6-8 units. In HHM, there are going to be a lot of tough magic users starting midgame or so. Staff users with high Staff Weapon Level are very helpful, because you can use things like Physic, Restore, Barrier, Rescue, Warp, or even Torch. Pent starts with an A rank in staves, and has an auto-support with Louise if you're using her, as well as solid stats. Lucius is probably better than Canas because gets a C rank in staves when promoted, and has a fast support with Raven. Priscilla or Serra is also a good choice. Resistance becomes a lot more important of a stat in HHM, so I'd consider using more units with good resistance, such as Florina and Fiora over Heath. As a bonus, they have a super fast support with each other. Heath joins pretty late and he's hard to train in the first few chapters he's in because they're filled with archers and mages. However, I've never really used Heath on HHM so don't take my word on how good he is . I find that the Lords are pretty good units in HHM if you're not going for rankings, in part due to the fact that deployment slots are so limited already, and also because of their good support list. You might want to consider giving the Angelic Robe from LHM to Lyn though. I would recommend using Matthew only up to Chapter 20, Dragon's Gate, and then dropping him in favour of Legault. Legault gets HHM bonuses and is a better combatant in a tight spot. Make sure to steal the Silver Card in 19x with Matthew though, it'll be really helpful.

Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, e. e. cummings, JKRowling (kinda)

I think Shinon is older than Gatrie. If you read the "Records -> Characters" pages at base, and then click Gatrie, I THINK it says that Shinon treats him like a younger brother. Not 100% sure about this though. I think Titania is a lot older than Ike (by 15+ years). In her support conversation she said that when she was a Crimean knight, she saw Ike sleeping in his mother's arms. I'm pretty sure Ike was just an infant or a toddler then and that Titania was a teenager or early adult. So if Ike is 20-something I think Titania is probably around 37+.

For me, I... 1. Favor peg knights over dragonknights. In FE7, I always used Florina and Fiora; in FE9 I always used Marcia and not Jill. I did use Haar in FE10, but I also used Marcia, Elincia, and Tanith on the same run. 2. Am way too stingy with rare weapons. My Tempest Blades still had almost full uses by the time I finished FE10 ... 3. Almost never use generals as one of my main team "main team". In FE7, I would use Oswin for a while, but then afterwards I would bench him in favor of higher-movement characters. Same with Gatrie in FE10. 4. Will sometimes be anal about weapon ranks, even though I don't take advantage of them. In FE7, I always tried to get my Lyn's Bow rank up to A, Fiora's Sword rank up to A, and so on; in FE10 I got my Marcia's Sword rank up to S even though I never used the Tempest Blade, and got Sanaki's Thunder rank to S even though I didn't buy Thoron from the shop.

I think I remember in Grade 8 or something, some guy coming over for a project went on my computer while I was in the bathroom and saw the URL of one of the pages I'd visited. He asked me if I was gay. I said no, but then I discovered that I was gay one year later. And uh, I got caught by my sis once (she barged in even though the door was closed), but I know she has a folder of hentai somewhere on her comp so neither of us really cares. I think my parents used to care... but after I told them I was gay I think they stopped trying to predict what I think about sex . But I've grown pretty open about liking sex; I'm applying to do counseling on the Sexual Education Centre at university next year, etc. Two years ago I met this guy at school and we somehow started talking about sex and stuff like that, and then after we kinda became porn buddies. So we share the sites/images/videos we discover and stuff. It's fun .

I love some of the pieces you listed, particularly Beethoven's Symphony 5, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and the Bach pieces. I believe Mozart's Symph 40 is in G minor though ;).

I think it really depends on how many deployment slots are available. For instance, in FE7, it's easy to deploy both Serra and Pris on the Normal modes, but on EHM and HHM you have like 8 slots per chapter, and deploying another healer means losing a slot for a combat unit, which may be critical. (It may be necessarily to use both to bring up the experience rank though, but I usually alternate using them in different chapters...) Plus, one healer + vulneraries (or Elixirs in a pinch) usually suffice, especially in FE10 where you have amazing and common healing items.

Your sister likes her men ripped, doesn't she . She has good tastes. I got my sister to beat Sacred Stones, but she wasn't very impressed with the story. She started PoR, but stopped after her Ilyana kept dying in Chapter 11. She also started FE7 but didn't make it pass The Dread Isle. She watches me play very often though, and she thinks Radiant Dawn looks interesting and fun so I might be able to somehow get her back into the series.

Let's throw some electronica in there ;). And VODKA SHOTS! And TRUTH OR DARE!

Languid

Dixie Chicks Alison Krauss & Union Station / Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Lee Ann Womack Trisha Yearwood (these are all country people ) Madonna Rihanna Sheryl Crow Dido (okay her first two albums were kinda boring but her third one was amazing and poetic in my opinion) Lady Gaga (eh kinda... I couldn't think of anyone else to put) ... Yeah I'm stuck, I can't think of 10. But hmm, not much of a rock person and I'm probably like, the only person here that likes country . I also like classical too but I didn't know if I should include it in a favourite bands list.

Wow, I start school on September 13. You guys all start so early! My high school's enrollment was 2000. The undergraduate enrollment at my University is like, 40000 (I go to the University of Toronto). . I stayed at the dorm for first year, but I didn't like it very much. Maybe it was because my roommates and I didn't really click though . But yeah, I moved back home after that and I find that I actually enjoy school more now. Plus, there's always good food at home. I think summer is the time that you can pursue your hobbies and catch up with your interests though. I've been doing a lot of writing this summer, and I've been reading a lot of varied books from the library as well. Also been going to my school gym more, and trying to get better at chess. That said, last year I didn't have a job and I felt pretty useless and depressed for the entire (4-month) summer. This year, I made sure to get myself a job, so I've been feeling a little more occupied because I have a routine. Hmm, what about requesting some books from your local library?

FE7: I always use Fiora instead of Florina. Technically she's upper middle at the moment, so she isn't considered bad, but I always feel like she's underrated . Also, Lyn. FE9: Elincia. Handy second healer for endgame FTW! FE10: Eddie, Marcia

I'm actually reading the restored version of Ariel , which is based on Plath's original manuscript . So maybe it will be a more genuine reflection of how she wanted the collection. I have The Bell Jar on my future book list as well, we'll see if I like it or not .

Are you sure about that? Because I remember slapping celerity on my Rafiel in 1-E, and he was nowhere near Level 15. It was my first playthrough, and I didn't know he was going to leave until basically the end of the game, so I put Celerity on him. Also, I had Celerity on him in Chapter 4-4 and he was at Level 14.51 or something like that... (By the way, I've watched some of your videos and I must say, amazing stuff ) As for the topic... Best: FE10 Reyson. Honorary mention goes to Merlinus, because his superhigh avoid saved my ass several times in FE7 HHM... . Hmm, and oh yeah, Ninian, she was good too :(. Worst: FE9 Sothe. Sucks, dies to everything, only semi-useful for desert chapter really =(.

Life Admiral - ah, I've read Middlesex as well, and love it too . I'm tacking on an English minor to my degree so I've been reading a lot of varied books lately. Finished: Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood Who Do You Think You Are? - Alice Munro (yes, I am Canadian and like Canadian literature, and love Atwood ) Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic - Alison Bechdel Watchmen - Alan Moore (graphic novels. I LOVED Watchmen) The Color Purple - Alice Walker (loved this) In the middle of reading: Selected Poems - e. e. cummings Ariel - Sylvia Plath (poetry collection) Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing - Margaret Atwood Atonement - Ian McEwan Close Range - Annie Proulx (not really in love with this. I liked Brokeback Mountain though.) Want to read: His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman (read this before, but want to reread) LOTR Yeah, a long list, trying to get back into reading after spending way too much time away from books and literature!

I liked Radiant Dawn a lot better. I thought that the gameplay was superior in RD because of: -battle saves -laguz are more useful -transferable skills (allows for more tactical combinations) -better support system (from a gameplay perspective - again, it allows for many more tactical combinations.) -biorhythm actually matters (this is a personal thing. I thought it was neat that units could seemingly go through high and low moods. In FE9, biorhythm had next to no effect and I only ever remembered it when seeing it on the status screen) -difficulty RD also had much, much better graphics (call me superficial, but they're fun to watch sometimes =D), and IMO, way better music. Not to mention that some of FE9's movies were/sounded really cheesy. I wasn't really impressed by the writing in either of the games. FE9's story was not really that well executed, in my opinion. A lot of it felt very long-winded and I felt like I was scrolling through loads and loads of text just to get to the meat of the game. Yes, they had support conversations that were more than 2 lines long, unlike RD's, but a lot of them I felt were shallow and badly written anyway (like Mia's "Are you my rival?" or Ilyana's "I'm so hungry, feed me!" or Gatrie's "Oh look! A girl!"). In addition, FE9's plot had gaping holes and left me with a really unsatisfied feeling. Overall, FE10 was just a lot more epic for me. I personally loved how the game had 4 Parts and how I was forced to use different characters for each part. It gave me a chance to use a larger range of characters. In FE10, I would never have thought of using Lucia or Geoffrey or Elincia, but here they all contribute to a few chapters. In contrast, in FE9 I just constantly used the same 10-12 units over and over again. Others may disagree, but here's my two cents (Also, Ike is way hotter in FE10. And Volug's abs exist.)

I haven't played anything except for FE7-10, but... I think FE7 EHM needs to go up. For some reason, people always seem to underrate its difficulty. Right now, it is only two spots above FE7 HNM, which does not make sense to me because EHM is way, way harder than HNM. EHM has a very limited number of character slots per chapter, as well as a gigantic experience penalty, which means your tier 1 characters are probably promoting around Chapter 22x (Genesis) or later, assuming no early promotion. In contrast, in HNM you can field like 16 characters per chapter (I'm exaggerating, but still), and because there is no experience penalty, your characters will probably be able to reach 20/20 without much difficulty. EHM should go at least above FE9 HM, which is pretty easy as well: 1) Again, you can field way more characters in FE9 per chapter, on average, than in EHM. 2) Also, because CEXP gain in FE9 is still quite high, characters in FE9 promote probably around Chapter 17 (Day Breaks) or earlier, andddddd face only unpromoted enemies for a couple of chapters. And you can promote your characters even earlier with BEXP. 3) It is easier to get supports in FE9 than EHM. In FE7, you have to plan how you are going to place your units each turn if you want supports. In FE9, you just need to field the units you want to support. Not to mention that things like Titania, Canto after attacking for paladins/pegasi/wyverns, Reyson, and being able to shop at base (instead of on the chapter map) make FE9 THAT much easier. And don't forget EHM's rankings - not sure if that applies in this Tier List though.

Using .99 BExp DOES allow characters to gain a level by dodging an attack or missing their own attacks, though ... of course, this is highly situational... On a similar note though, BEXPing laguz to .99 probably helps a lot more BEXPing them to .90, because a lot of them are gaining 1 experience point per kill.

Male pegasus knights! (Down with sexism!)