FicWad

This is a really remarkable premise, the way that simple decision in the beginning virtually swapped the game's antagonist for its protagonist. What I'm most impressed with is that, despite the shuffled roles, everyone is still perfectly in character, and the general plot STILL follows the same course despite (or because of?) this. Even though FF8's plot is virtually untouched (for now--I wonder how long that will last?), this fic is fun for the "what if" factor of such-and-such being in so-and-so's shoes. I never liked Seifer because he's a jerk, but now somehow I'm prefer him and the "Disciplinary Squad" for the main party, heh. It's been really difficult to determine who's working for the greater good anymore, and that's good suspense.

I also like your pacing. It's very fast, but considering the material being covered, that's good for a change. We don't need a rehash of the game, brick for brick--we wouldn't be reading FF8 fanfic if we didn't know the setting already. The parts that do need elaborate description (notably the opening sequence) are beautifully done, besides.

Well, can't wait to see how it all turns out.



Author\'s Response: You're probably the first reader who really touched on the most difficult aspect of writing this story. The general plot basically IS the same. It's a little easier because I know basically what has to happen, and harder because some things in the game are frankly boring and stupid. The parts that are the most interesting to me are the ones where we see drastically different characters handling familiar scenes. This story is basically character-driven, even though the game really wasn't. I was worried for a while about how closely it does follow the plot, and reader reaction. A lot of AUs seem to spin wildly out of the gameplot arena, and I wasn't planning to do that at all. Final Fantasy believes in destiny, and that's a large part of what confines this story to the gameplot. Anyway, thanks for noticing.I also enjoyed spinning out the conflict between the two sides. With Squall in charge of Galbadia, it's a lot more difficult to tell who's right and who's wrong, and a lot of what he thinks about Garden makes perfect sense but is not explored much in the game. Thanks for the comment on the pacing. I see novelizations of the game that are 300K words long, but quite a bit of what happens in the game is simply for the benefit of gameplay, and is irrelevant. Anyway, thank you, that was a very kind and insightful review.