Cute Boys from Altea and the Peg Knights Who Love Them

Me:

NOTE: I have moved to AO3 under the name MarkoftheAsphodel and will not update anything on this site any longer.

Mark of the Asphodel, aka mark_asphodel on LJ. Started off with Ducktales and Dinosaucers fanfic at the age of 7 1/2. Veteran lurker of many fandoms (Gundam Wing, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2, Rescue Rangers, and the dread Real Person Fiction). Loves searching for gold in dungheaps, but won't complain if the day's haul is a shiny bit of fanfic pyrite. Prefers proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and something resembling canon characterization, but isn't the type to flame based on violations of the above. Generally hews to "don't like, don't read" when it comes to sensitive topics. Tends to bail on fandoms when they get too nuts (see: Gundam Wing).

Currently writing for Fire Emblem, specifically the "Akaneia" games: FE1, FE3, FE11. I have also begun to dabble in FE8 (Sacred Stones). My Deviant Art journal, which contains more extensive Author's Notes on my older fics, can be found here. Just check out "Journal" for the details-- all Author's Notes are labeled as such. I also used the DA Journal to host essays on characterization and the like. More essays, plus notes and commentary on more recent stories on FE in general are located here, which is my current "home page."

My Stories:

My Archanea fics take place in a quasi-historical setting; my main frame of reference is Western Europe circa 1300-1500 AD (Post-Crusades, Pre-Reformation). However, canonical elements from the game (like Marth's trademark Rapier) sometimes shove the frame of reference to 1600-1800, except without guns or the Industrial Revolution. This is all my personal take on things and is in no way meant to be the One True Interpretation of canon. I am enough of a "canon purist" to make my stories canon-compliant, except when they're not. I take what the games give me as the underlying skeleton, and then flesh it all out as fancy strikes me.

Update 10/13/10: Page breaks still an issue. Bear with me as this is corrected.

Update 4/4/12: All Archanea/Valencia stories on hiatus pending revelations in FE13.

Most of my stories are stand-alones, but some of them take place within a particular "fic universe" as listed below.

Curse of Artemis Universe: These are companion pieces that can be read as standalones.

"The End of Love": Because the Fire Emblem is a really lousy present. FE11 postgame fic starring Marth and Nyna. Mostly hews to FE11 canon, with some FE3 influence.

"Love is Not a Victory March": Because everyone has at least one Palla Abel fic in them. FE11 endgame fic.

Tales of the Unified Kingdom Universe:

"Sketches From Valencia": Because FE Gaiden needed to be addressed by somebody somewhere. FE2.

"Motherland": Because going off to get married is no small thing. Post FE11.

"The View From a Glass Kingdom": Because Caeda wasn't supposed to get away that time. FE3.

"No Direction Home": Because that dark night of the soul had to hit sometime. FE3.

"Another Piece of Blue": Cain's sworn duty was to protect his king and country. Building an empire should never have come into it. Postgame FE3.

"A Dark-Adapted Eye": Because the Free Knights of Archanea are too fun to resist. FE3 postgame.

"Forsaken": Because every act has consequences, especially when the act in question is treason. FE3 postgame.

"Good Neighbors": Because life is not fair and people always find a way to screw things up. FE2/3 fusion.

"Homecomings": An exile returns to his motherland to find himself a ghost in the world. A little story of Abel, Catria, sin, repentance, memory, love, and forgiveness. The alpha and omega of the "Tales of the Unified Kingdom." FE3 postgame, direct sequel to "Forsaken."

"By Any Other Name": Because Minerva and George just belong together, darn it. FE3 postgame.

Note: "Rainbow Tears and Pink-Cloud Dresses" and "Eternal Spring" may be in this continuity or might be on their own-- haven't decided 100%.

Dark Sun Universe:

"Dark Sun of Desire": Because just don't know what happened to Nyna after. FE2/3/11 fusion. (In progress)

"Trinity": Because Sirius... er, Zeke... er, Camus... is really messed up. FE2/3/11 fusion, prequel to "Dark Sun of Desire." (In progress)

Civil War Universe ('fics set in the 19th century prior to and during the actual American Civil War):

"Transcendence"

"Borderline"

"Until the Sun Cries Morning"

Pairing and meme opinions:

In terms of what I take seriously when writing for FE: Game canon Manga Anime Smash Bros. Actually, in some respects the anime is less helpful than Smash Bros. FE3 canon differs somewhat from FE11 canon, and characterization varies between the games, so I try to take that into account. I'd hoped FE12 would clarify things, but it appears to only add to the confusion.

I don't read or reject 'fic based purely on pairing, but I do have preferences that influence my reading and writing.

Things That Interest Me:

Cute boys from Altea and the Peg Knights who love them. That is, much of my work explores two of the three big love triangles from FE1/3/11: Caeda/Marth/Catria and Palla/Abel/Est. I don't really deal with Camus/Nyna/Hardin, because I can't add anything to it that "Through a Glass Darkly" by Shimizu_Hitomi doesn't already cover. My interest is not so much love per se as how love, fidelity, and integrity intersect (or not).

Issues related to myth, legend, history, art, propaganda, and the winds of public opinion.

Psychology and some degree of psychological realism, even when characters are a bit crazy. Especially when they're a bit crazy.

New! Pairing Preferences:

I am big on Eliwood/Fiora and Eirika/Saleh, and also Hector/Lyn and Hector/Farina. This doesn't mean I won't read or write other possibilities for these characters, but those are my preferred pairings for those characters. I realize that's not terribly popular, but oh well.