I think this is the only fic where I skim paragraphs and still be able to enjoy what he is doing with it. I gave my opinions in my review above, and despite my gripes I readily enjoy it. I think its because of what the Shirou does that I think Minato should have, plus the cross with the nasu-verse is damn interesting.

 

For me it hasn't quite gotten to that point yet and its still one of my most anticipated fics, but unless he starts pushing the plot forward, I think it will fall into the same thing that Hill of Swords fell into.

 

From the Mechanics of In Flight forums;

 

Awesome. Very nice to see that he's gonna be working on it once again.

I was getting tired of the all Heartbreaker posts.

 

Now, I know this may send many of you into a rage, but this is not a report of an update. However, if you are like me, considering his previously rapid update schedule and statement that he will be back to work on 'In Flight' soon, his sudden abscense may lead you to believe he gave up his works and/or got hit by a bus. Luckily this is not the case.

He has posted up a new story, a Medaka Box/Bakemonogatari crossover two days ago, proving his continued existance. Here's the author notes at the end:

So, at the very least, I am no longer anxiously expecting a new chapter in a week or two.

 

Actually, I only have a "thank you" to say... even if I did see it elsewhere today as well.

 

GB is finally done with that Medaka Box/Bakemonogatari xover. Hopefully the wait won't be long now until the next chapter.

Edit: Apparently he had already finished that Medaka Box/Bakemonogatari xover a few days ago and merely posted the last chapter today. Thus I think it's likely that the next chapter of IF is likely to come up within this or next week.

 

My only interest in In Flight as of now is to see how he can attempt to make us care about the cardboard cutouts that are supposed to be Shirou's love interest... and of course to see the eventual redemption they are supposed to bring about in Shirou that will be a huge insult to Saber/Rin.

 

That would annoy me on so many levels, that I can't even explain.

I am actually hoping to see what will happen when that higa-or-something-guy tries to take Yukari hostage.(if it happens, of course)

 

Your post and your sig make me want to die of iron poisoning.

 

Meh, I think Gabriel really isn't to blame for our lack of caring for his harem - he had a pretty terrible base (from the anime) to start off with. I think the only characters I really liked when watching it were Miya, Uzume and Karasuba.

I do hope we see Rin and Saber later in the fic.

 

The problem I see is that while the characters are cardboard cut outs, Gabriel had over four hundred thousand words to flesh them out and characterize them way better than the canon author could. But he didn't. He spent about half that amount writing big blocks of TL; DR on stuff most readers probably already knew.

Honestly, with the amount of stuff he hashed out, Gabriel could have easily added depth to everyone and still had enough words to get where he's currently at.

 

^That. It is called fanfiction for a reason. He added surprising depth to Miya and a little to Shirou's sister. The same could have gone for the harem. Though, what he is doing with Masubi isn't a bad start.

 

Yeah, it isn't. But it was a start that happened about 250,000 words into the story.

Meh. I just want to see it update.

 

Fair enough point.

I think the ones he's really fleshed out successfully are Homura, Miya, Uzume (subtly), and Akitsu (kinda...as much as you can for her). Still leaves Musubi (who he's started on), Tsukiumi, Kuu (kinda hard to really do anything there) and Matsu (he tried to do it in the last few chapters, but I still find myself not caring about her at all).

 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6556187/28/In_Flight

 

So we finally have an update.

Wasn't too impressed with this chapter, and the author even admits to being a bit average in the author notes. This long wait and we get half random harem scenes (which don't even really do anything in the way of character development), and half yet another "Shirou explaining magecraft to his Sekirei" scene.

I actually do enjoy reading those the latter type of scenes, and seeing the reactions of his harem to details of his past. But half of the last 5 chapters of so have been focused on long lectures given by Shirou over the dinner table, it's starting to get tedious. Couldn't gabriel have put the conversation about Heroic Spirits into the one where Shirou first admits to being a Mage?

And speaking of which, I was hoping for a more interesting way of revealing the details about Heroic Spirits in the war - but then, I'm also hoping Saber and Rin will make an appearance in the future too. Oh well, it does look like the next stage has started, and the plot will begin pushing forward from now.

 

Yeah, average chapter. But I guess in the end, it was nice to bring a feel for the characters again without having to reread previous chapters. (In other words its repetitive, but since it's been so long since the last update, it gave me a background image to work with again). At the very least though, since third stage is beginning, the plot should start moving forward.

 

I know I'm playing devil's advocate here, but didn't we say the exact same thing when the second stage started? And then again when there was the plot divergence with Haruka? All that did was create build-up to a reveal we all knew was coming.

Jeez, I've never been so conflicted over one story. Ever. More and more, I'm starting to think that I only like In Flight because of what I think it could be instead of what it is now. Once again, I'll just have to wait and see, and hopefully the wait won't be as long as before.

 

I'm happy to take a wait and see approach with the rest of this fic.

It occasionally has some great character moments and fight scenes, but there are also a lot of problems which have been pointed out in this thread. What could have been frequently epic, has in reality been frequently mediocre. So, I'm kind of over this fic. I'm not eagerly waiting for new chapters anymore, though I'll still read them as they come. It feels more like a guilty pleasure fic now.