UNF WELL KATY SAW THIS COMMENT AND WENT BATSHIT, I am sure you heard all about our wild night. We have a Thursday tradition of getting drunk and playing FFX going on and last night was a particularly, uh, good example XD
But OMG THANK YOU FOR ALL THE RECS, I will now shamelessly load them all on my iPad and have lunchtime reading for weeeeeeeeeeeeeks.
Re: Treize and Wufei, YEAH. That entire last bit is really very heartbreaking, and afterwards Wufei probably has a lot to deal with and process... I mean, he'll, they all do, but his was a very PERSONAL fight in addition to the overall war thing.
Re: Quatre: UHHHHH YEAH when Heero just gives him the Zero System I was like. I was. There was no. That was a really awesome moment, seeing all the Gundams come together in the first place AND getting to see Quatre be a badass AND getting to see his arc with the Zero System kind of come full circle? I imagine there are a lot of pretty dark places inside Quatre (insert porn joke here) and that's really interesting to me. Like I said, I really like characters who can balance humanity with badass. I think you said somewhere you are a Turk fan? because that's something I like about the Turks too, that level of totally lethal competence mixed with personality.
Re: Trowa, Catherine... Okay, this is the point where I confess that I have. Uh. I have A Thing For Incestish pairings. I like Catherine a lot and I like Trowa in the stupid circus and I would probably ship them like hell Once I started writing that. I also love the "stoic detached character finds a home" thing and as hilarious as I find the clown pants, I am ALL OVER THAT.
RE: Dorothy and Relena, UM YOUR COMMENT IS MAKING ME SHIP DOROTHY/RELENA/ZECHS, see above disclaimer on incest, I am not sorry. I will definitely look into that rec, because Dorothy is another one i feel like I missed out on a little because I was very confused and trying to follownother story parts and OH MY GOD WHO IS THIS NEW GIRL WITH THE EYEBROWS WHAT IS ON HER FACE.
Hah, yeah, it was fun to exchange fervent LJ messages about GW, that's for sure. :) Those traditions are always the best. Hope you enjoy the recs! I hear katmillia (Katy?) reced you guys Asylum by Spooks as well. It's so damn good.
My favorite line, without a doubt, in the entire series is, "That was beautiful Wufei." I mean, you can just see Wufei's ENTIRE WORLDVIEW crack at that moment. I think you're right--in my view, Wufei takes everything very personally and every big event in his life is one that fundamentally shapes him. Again, I like the idea that part of this reason is we're dealing with a cast of characters that really aren't that old, and are already at an age where you start to discover your own "personhood." Yet it's complicated by the fact that uh...they're all kind of damaged in their own ways and FIGHTING A WAR.
The dark places in Quatre are what make me love him. And what make Trowa love his ass with the opportunity to fill them. (porn joke complete) And yeah, I cannot handle that moment between Heero and Quatre. That moment was what spawned the only 1x4 I've ever written, and it just blew my mind. Yes, I did indeed express a love of the Turks. Honestly, they're pretty much WHO I write about 99% of the time. And for the very reason you describe: doing the hardline bloody, dirty work mixed with personality. But my favorite is also this type of character(s) in the context of a web of complex, intense interpersonal relationships. Hence why I love Gundam Wing, and the Turks. I also like writing dark stuff. A lot.
Ohhh yes, incest pairings. AS personal preference, I'm not big on the incest, but I can definitely see how it's compelling. Haha, the "stupid circus"...love it. Although that mask he wears is creepy; the creepy is definitely undone BY THE CLOWN PANTS THOUGH. Yeah, I also love the stoic guy finds home...although my favorite is actually the reverse: stoic/damaged character loses home and goes insane. (Well, that's why I adore FFVII post-game.) Catherine is so great though...that moment when she punches Trowa is like, the best. His reaction of: "Holy shit, did she just punch me?" mixed with, "Holy shit, she cares if I live or die?" And Catherine is such a wonderful foil to Trowa's stoicism. She's passionate, emotional and wears her heart on her sleeve; basically the antithesis of Trowa. Love that dynamic.
Oh god, yeah...I sort of also ship Dx6 as a pairing. That is MESSED UP. Seriously though, Dorothy is totally infatuated with Zechs and his leadership...CUE WEIRDO DYNAMIC...and I think Dorothy, a character that is so resolute in her political views, is broken by the time her side bites it and Zechs loses. That part when the Zero System fails, and she's lying on the floor totally broken (added bonus for Trowa's dialog about her not being able to cry), is what made me totally love her. And think about how she must feel about Zechs, being high on power and belief, and then to have everything crushed. (Cue h/c DxR.) But yes, to be fair, that was also my initial response: DEM EYEBROWS ARE THEIR OWN CHARACTER, MS. CATALONIA.
Haha, yes: Katy = Katmillia, and Becky = Vrazdova/safety_caesars (who I am not sure you know, but is also in FF fandom and is the one I have to thank/blame for GW in the first place, it is all her fault). And whilst Katy does call me Jessy a lot, I will be honest and say that even my parents call me Sev sometimes XDD. We met through FF fandom - OLD SCHOOL fandom, in fact; I met Katy through FFIV (although we also share FFVIII and FFX) and I met Becky through FFIV and FFVI. (Becky's my roommate now and we definitely refer to ourselves as Locke and Edgar.)
And yes, I have lots of recs now. Seriously, why must I be productive this weekend? ADULTHOOD: WHY.
Yeah, the whole setup of 15-year-old boys being pilots and trained killers is interesting in a LOT of ways. Have you played FFVIII at all? Because it's a bunch of 17-year-olds in a high school... FOR HIGHLY EFFICIENT MERCENARY CHILD KILLERS, basically. I love that aspect of it, it's just so WTF at its basic foundation.
And to go back to FFVII too -- you definitely hit on a big part of what I like about characters like this, and that's their relationships with other characters. It's what makes the Turks interesting, not just that they're "real people" and "ruthless killers", but that these ruthless killers all have bonds to each other that are so important to them. That level of loyalty/devotion, plus competence: I kink on that, PRETTY HARD.
Catherine punching Trowa! It's great because it's like this big emotional moment, Trowa being all, um, does someone actually give a single shit about me, I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS. Then suddenly MOST AWKWARD ROAD TRIP HAPPENS. And that's that.
I really liked the entire scene with Dorothy, Quatre, and Trowa. Dorothy fencing with the mask on - creepy! Quatre has already decided he doesn't need the Zero System and then he gets stabbed! And then Trowa comes to get him (UNFFFFFFFFFFFF) and then there's Trowa just basically coming in and serving Dorothy a dose of wisdom and, yeah. Poor Dorothy and uh h/c D/R can pretty much go on that table, I am okay with all of that.
Ahh, I see. I've seen safety_caesars around on the FF Exchange comm since I became involved with that this fall. I also thought I recognized the name "katmillia" from somewhere, and then I realized I've seen her also on FF Exchange. So there you are. It's so great having RL friends who also do fandom. Up until this year, I really knew no one IRL that was a fandom person. Then earlier this year, my very best friend deadcellredux and I went to see Distant Worlds, and she fell hard into fandom and writing. I was very encouraging of this turn of events, which was like, "COME WITH ME TO THE DARK SIDE KTHX." It's really her that's gotten me interested in actually writing fic for FFIV and FFVI just recently. I really liked the games, but they were never my fandoms, but they've been brilliant to dabble in, and I'm becoming more interested in writing more fic, especially for FFVI. That's hilarious you refer to yourselves as Locke and Edgar, since, as I think katmillia mentioned (or as she said in her LJ message), me and deadcellredux went to NY Comic Con this year cosplaying as Locke and Edgar. (First cosplay.) So are you Locke or Edgar?
Yech yech, adulthood. My two days for non-adulthood (mostly) are Friday and Saturday, during which time I just sit and mess with fandom and play Robot Unicorn Attack. That's like, my life during my weekends which I am SO OKAY WITH. ^_^
Yeah, I'm totally familiar with VIII. I'm basically familiar with/played IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and XII. (It's totally sick I haven't played X, but it's on the roster.) And that's so funny you mention VIII when they're training for SeeD. I wasn't a huge fan of the game later on, but I freaking LOVE the beginning part when they're still in the high school Balamb Garden setting. VIII is probably my least favorite, but seriously, Seifer is one of my favorite characters. I can go on long, thesis-length diatribes about why Seifer represents the overarching, tragic loss of childhood, BUT I SHALL REFRAIN. But be assured, YES, I love that shit.
I also kink on loyalty/devotion like, a lot. It's really hard to do, but I love fics that delve into this question of interpersonal vs. duty vs. WHERE DO YOUR LOYALTIES LIE, AND WHY? Because that question answered under duress it messes up identity and one's own greater purpose. I like toying with the overall Compilation, and have a total hard-on for Before Crisis. Mostly because those issues come up over and over...and they're kind of really NOT HEARTWARMING AT ALL. Brutal to a T. Yeah though...one theme I love throughout GW is friendship vs. being a soldier/willing to die/duty. I get all verklempt at the end when Quatre finally leads them into a strategic battle formation, and they manage to actually work together BECAUSE THEY HAVE EACH OTHER. (Cannot deal.) But for real, one other reason I love Quatre: he's the only one to actually master the Zero System. BAD ASS.
Haha..."most awkward road trip happens" is a spot-on description. One of my favorite things to do when plotting (or when I used to plot for this fandom) was to imagine what Heero and Trowa talk about when they're driving. HELLO FIC FODDER. I'm also fascinated by the whole Trowa wishing he could be more like Heero, and Heero wishing he could figure out how to follow his emotions and whatnot. Personally, sometimes the "following your emotions" deal is taken as, "AWWW...HEERO, JUST REALIZE YOU HAVE FRIENDS." But I like to think of it as more like, "HEERO, YOU HAVE A WILL. IF YOUR WILL IS TO DIE, SO BE IT. THAT'S THE POINT." I love that over the duration of the series, Heero comes to know what desire is. (Um...you know...for both his own sense of self...BUT ALSO FOR TROWA'S ASS. Ahem. In my selective head canon anyway.)
Re: the end--Omg, I know...when Trowa comes to get him. I must have re-watched that scene where Quatre's all injured and stuff, leaning against Trowa when, as you say, Dorothy GET SERVED. God...ugh...the whole Trowa/Quatre thing is so intense. Another one of my favorite scenes is that CRAZY CONVERSATION that Quatre, Heero and Trowa have after Quatre blows up the civilian satellite. OMFG. I've read some interesting 1x4 fics that totally have both Quatre and Heero pining for Trowa, and they fuck. I kind of love that...although one of my HUGE kinks is the displacement/replacement of lust and desire. In fact, that's probably my biggest kink: stand-ins for who you really want. MESSED UP.
Yeah, DxR h/c...I love the idea, but the execution would be difficult. I just love Dorothy, not only as a character, but because she provides ample fodder for my propensity toward dark!fic...and her weirdo rivalry-like-thing with Relena is intense. And the idea that here she is, RUINED, and you just KNOW Relena would take her and be good to her (because although Relena's isn't a wuss, she is kind)...and Dorothy would probably hate her for it. But sort of want her. Etc. Or something. Or ... uh... maybe I have this fic half written on my computer and I kind of want to finish it now that we've been having this discussion. ^_^;;
* Oh, forgot to say: those 1x4 fics where Heero and Quatre are both pining for Trowa...I mean specifically the ones that take place directly after they think Trowa is dead.
Haha, yeah! safety_caesars even helped me mod a little this year, since both my co-mods (Nay and Ira) had very busy shitty lives on and off. And it's nice to have a real-life friend to poke you into finishing all of the fanfiction you've started over the last three years and never finished (whooooooops). I am definitely Edgar -- I'm actually an engineer in my real life XD -- and she is Locke. We hope to cosplay it together someday (actually, she has a fabulous Locke costume -- I have a Celes sprite costume from a big FFVI group, in fact, if you want proof of our utter nerdiness, here you go) but right now we just cosplay in bathrobes. Mine is purple and fabulous, hers is zebra striped. It works.
And YES, that's one of my favorite character/relationship issues -- loyalty and devotion and love and how SERIOUSLY EFFED UP it can get. I actually love FFVIII for this (honestly: it was not the greatest game to play, but I really ADORE it fannishly. It's one of my favorite canons to create for, probably because of all of the holes it leaves in its cast), and FFVII as well.
And! I find it -- ok, as Becky and I were watching GW it kind of became a joke in terms of how many times someone tried to self-destruct, or how often somebody made a move to kill themselves (TROWA THIS MIGHT MEAN YOU), but like looking back at it that's something that's absolutely FASCINATING and something I really want to explore. They are all OKAY WITH DEATH. and they're FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. And they're just like, "MEH, SELF-DESTRUCT, ITS COOL."
Like that whole scene: Trowa dies because he knows his death will wake up Quatre. Then Quatre is OK with Heero killing him (!!!) because then he can go save Trowa. THAT ENTIRE SCENE IS A HUGE HEARTFUCK and it's like they are ALL ABOUT DYING but yet not thinking about what they mean TO EACH OTHER? (THIS SCENE. MY HEART. JUST RIP IT OUT.)
And then they all come back together and work as a team and Quatre PWNS the Zero System and it's like there are echoes of all of that "No, it's okay, kill me" everywhere -- and then fighting with Dorothy and with Trowa coming to SAVE him, I mean, look how far we've all come from the death wishing?
and I KIND OF FIND THAT REALLY INTERESTING. IN MY PANTS.
I am also intrigued by the conversation in the car. Something like:
"..." "..." "..." "...so the last one didn't want to kill you either." "...nope." "..." "..."
AND ON INTO AWKWARD ETERNITY
(I am sorry, I have this huge thing for REALLY AWKWARD MAKEOUTS. I don't mean like awkward-embarrassing, but like awkward TENSION EVERYWHERE??? And that it what I see happening on that trip.)
and uhhhhhhhhhhhhh I think I could really get into a 1x4(x3) scenario. Pretty hard. I like threesomes -- not *just* like "threesome porn" but COMPLICATED relationships, stuff like that where there's projecting and muddled feelings and substitution, and lots of confusion (and then it can END HAPPILY with an actual threesome (lol)).
I can really see Dorothy's obsession with Relena becoming something that's like... dark, but also ends up being positive? In a way? I mean, mindfuck ahoy, but Dorothy would be this weird combo of appreciative and resentful and HEY MAYBE YOU SHOULD FINISH THAT *ENCOURAGES*
Okay, before I reply to this in an orderly fashion...
"SUBSTITUTION." That's the word. THAT is like, my personal NUMBER ONE KINK. (Ahem, right alongside voyeurism/command.) I agree about threesomes. I've only written one, but it wasn't actually fucked up (for once)...just like, uh, angsty/lots of position changes/AMAZING REGENERATIVE ERECTIONS LULZ. But I love the idea of physical intimacy becoming an act that is so very corporeal, and yet causes (complex) desire for others to swim even deeper in their own psychological trauma because they can't deal with desire for another person on that level. Some twisted manifestation of half-met lust and FEELINGS. Ahem. Well. ... At least in Gundam Wing. ANYWAY. Not gonna lie--I write A LOT of fucked up porn.
ANYWAY, those costumes are fantastic! Dude, I think I've actually seen that Edgar before, when I was googling Edgar cosplay images as I made my own costume. I'm hoping next year to do something better, but it was mad fun this year. We had such a good time. The general response to me was not so much, "Oh, you're Edgar!" (though [personal profile] deadcellredux got a lot of exuberant FFVI fans who recognized Locke); the response to me was, "OMG LOVE THE DAMASK YOU SEWED ONTO YOUR SHOULDER ARMOR. CAN I TAKE YOUR PICTURE? OH AND UH...WAIT, WHO ARE YOU?" LULZ. Shoulda brought that chainsaw. That's fantastic that you're Edgar AND an engineer. I don't even have the LUXURIANT TRESSES, love of SUMPTUOUS FIGARIAN FABRICS, or SMOOTH SKILLZ WITH TEH ESPER LADIES to back me up in convincing people I'm Edgar. ^_^
Yes, the Gundam Wing death wish theme is SO PREVALENT. And you have to wonder: is the willingness to self-destruct some unconscious desire to commit suicide? I feel like they each have their own approach to death: Duo, ironically, calls himself death, but he doesn't want to die; I feel like Wufei doesn't think about death so much as vengeance and honor; Quatre is just, "UM, IF I HAVE TO DIE TO DO THE RIGHT THING, THEN I WI-- HOLD UP ZERO SYSTEM!QUATRE SAYS YOU NEED STEP THE FUCK BACK;" Heero is indifferent until a certain point, but probably has an unconscious death wish since, to me, he's an emotional person who's been repressed to the point of disturbing; and Trowa is...Trowa. In some way, I almost feel like when Trowa says he wants to be more like Heero because he's strong (and this is the fangirl talking), he really means he wishes his emotions arrived as steadily as Heero's, even though Heero is so staunch and single-minded because he's been trained that way. Heero waking up to his humanity and will over the duration of the series is incredible. LOVE THIS SERIES TO AN EMBARRASSING DEGREE. And now without shame, I will continue rambling-typing about it.
Awkward make-outs. Hell yes. UST consummated. Awkward make-outs in Italy or France is what I feel IN MY PANTS. I mean, one thing that is such a major issue with the ROAD TRIP OF AWKZ is that they are basically like, totally doing this without orders, without ANYTHING directing them except Heero's (emotionally stunted) conscience and Trowa's complicity. They're not terrorists so much as...searching. And c'mon now, TURNING POINT OF HUMANITY=ASS SEX SOMEWHERE IN MARSEILLES. Okay. Kidding...ahemsortof. But really...yeah. So many dots and so much unspoken communication. CANNOT DEAL. It makes me WILDLY curious about how Trowa feels about the possibility of Heero dying...I feel like it'd be mostly confusion, but that's a fun (oft-depressing) concept to play with. I myself wrote an out of control (Depeche Mode...YEAH) songfic about that imaginary scene of them talking while driving. It's sort of painful and old, but I have a strange fondness for it. I've written a lot of weird fucking shit for this pairing; I just love it so much.
Re: DxR...Yeah. I mean, unless you're writing Dorothy as a relic of war (which can totally work, of course), she's forced to change in a post-war world. I like the idea that Relena's kindness cripples her, but she can't deny its efficacy since she's the one who's the war relic. And yeah, I'm actually working on it tonight/right now...there's a lot of obnoxious imagery to do with flower petals and blood. As is my M.O. Fail.
P.S. Nice icon. Yes, please. I attempted to write that pairing recently, and now I'm totally into it. Recs?
WOW. EPIC COMMENT CONVO. I haven't talked about GW this much in years. I am so excited. ^_^
LOLLL I do love the walking around in cosplay thing -- it's always awesome to just make friends that way. Not to be a creeper but do you guys have any photos? I love FFVI cosplay >.> Either way I look nothing like Edgar in real life but I can pretend my bathrobe is a cape. *LOSER* safety_caesars and I have plans to do Terra and Esper Terra together for possibly Otakon 2012 - but we are really good at making plans and then running the fuck out of time, lol.
EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT SEX IN THAT FIRST PARAGRAPH: YES. I mean, hey, I love porn that's just porn as much as the next person and I definitely can enjoy porn as just the physical, but for me, I love when sex is more than sex? If that makes sense? Whether it's a substitution for another person, or a an expression of something that can't be said with words, or a manifestation of other relationship problems -- ALL OF THIS IS WHAT I WANT. Sex that's just two people clinging together, sex as communication, etc etc etc. Positive OR negative, although because I am not a very sappy/romantic person I prefer the dark sides of it to the fluffy sides, but YES.
The death wish thing is! I can already tell I will be playing with that (once I stop writing embarrassing porn drabbles) because it's just fascinating. They are all more or less "okay" with death but the approaches are so different. Duo jokes about death and Shinigami in a way, and that's how he gets through it. Wufei can plaster it over with honor and justice. Quatre can rationalize it (or rationalize out of it). Trowa just isn't sure he or anyone else gives enough of a shit (which becomes even better once he starts realizing people do). And Heero just starts out with almost a HUGE death wish, I mean, we were laughing about it a lot, but it isn't as funny thinking about it realistically. And with Heero it isn't just his own attitude, it's always "I'm gonna kill you", to Relena, to Duo, to Quatre even - here's how I care about you, I'm just gonna kill you. Very interesting thoughts.
Heero waking up to his humanity IS awesome and amazing. All of them do, but Heero just comes so far from nothing to something.
YOU NEED TO WRITE THIS ROAD TRIP. JUST SAYING. >.>
also you have just extended the length of this comment INDEFINITELY by mentioning Rydia/Rosa OH MY GOD. MY PAIRING. (Disclaimer, I really do omniship in FFIV. My favorite relationship might be Edge/Kain/Rydia, which I have written ungodly amounts of already, I do not have any shame.)
I will have to look for recs! I am not sure -- it's a fairly rare pairing to come across, sadly, because it is SO AWESOME. I love Rydia and Rosa as a compare/contrast type thing, and I think even though they would have a wonderful positive friendship, there would always be a little bit of envy between them - each one wanting some of what the other one has. There's so much black/white meta in there too. UNFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Yeah, I had a great experience cosplaying because everyone was really nice. When we were in Artist's Alley, we met this girl who flipped out and was like, "ME AND MY BOYFRIEND ARE DOING GAU AND (character can't remember) TOMORROW OMG." Unfortunately we weren't able to find her again...although I did totally see a Kefka walk past me in the lobby. Then I wasn't sure if it WAS Kefka, and he was passing, and I was on the phone and it was like alsdkjfaosdfuiase ... deadcellredux totally reamed me with, "YOU SHOULD HAVE CAUGHT HIM. WE MUST FIND OUR KIND AT THIS CON." Haha...somewhere, in that convention center, our missing piece was strolling around. And it was a really good Kefka too. Pictures pictures...let me find the link. I know deadcellredux took a crapload, and they're somewhere on photobucket. I'll post it in a sec in this thread when I locate it...I am a noob and forgot my camera. I do have to say though, re: con experience, the highlight for me was sitting dressed as Edgar in a panel for my favorite childhood YA fantasy author Tamora Pierce while talking to some girl next to me about our respective D&D campaigns. WOW. Mothership, OHAI.
Re: sex--Yes, exactly to everything you said! I write a lot of porn, but I don't really like to write fluffy porn, or sex that's just sex. I find it kind of boring...I need my mind!fuck PWPs to get my jollies. Which is often why I end up writing in those types of scenarios; as you say, substitution, wordless communication, etc. I write stuff a lot of times that I'm afraid is too fluffy, and then the response is, "Uh, do they characters even LIKE each other?" Fail. But one thing I adore writing is straight up (okay, usually NOT straight) desperate/depressing/mindfuck/whatever sex. I also love playing with kinks that touch on repressed desire, or the ability to confess things that someone wouldn't be able to otherwise. I adore the idea of a sex as a confession booth, depending on which characters you're dealing with. I mean, of course there's just good, old fashioned UST or sex as a generally new concept at all...which how I sort of approach the Heero/Trowa thing. I love the idea that a kiss can potentially set off worse emotional fireworks than self-destructing or death.
The death wish is an awesome thing to play with since it's such an distinct undercurrent, but it's never really directly addressed. One thing that always interested in is that these are characters who function (mostly) on orders and approach their lives with a single-minded purpose. That being said, the idea of having a death wish is so fascinating because it also spells out desire. That they are capable of desiring something for themselves, even if it's as macabre as the simple wish to die.
I AGREE WITH YOU LIKE, 1,000% TO THE DEGREE OF INFINITY about Heero, and he seems to really come the furthest, even in comparison to the other pilots. Like, seriously...and again, I get all verklempt at the end where he basically is like, "I DO NOT WANT TO DIE." Cannot deal. I really love Heero...hah, and you're so right. Anyone he cares about is someone he claims he's going to kill. HEERO FAILS AT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. I also love the fact that the person with whom he has one of the most intimate relationships (IMHO) is Zechs. Here they are, ready to fight and kill each other, and at the same time, it's strangely organized and polite. Uh...kind of like living out Treize's ideal universe of brutal chivalry and rules of war that can no longer be followed in this new world. (Not even going there...but seriously. Oh Treize.)
Oh god, the damn road trip...I've written several one-shots for it, but never the entire duration. But there's been two LONG ASS fics (30,000 words a piece I think) I've written for 1x3 that both follow the same exact arc: Trowa and Heero find each other in the post-EW world and search for something because they're displaced. And inevitably, I end up having them basically re-trace their road trip route, whether alone or with each other. Can't help myself. I love that event so much...and another thing...I uh, guess you could say that I intellectually kink on...is the repetition of past actions to try and understand the present. I love the idea of relics, outdated people that are also cogs, being left behind, displacement and loss...IT'S LIKE MY THING. So maybe I will try to write the road trip...it'd be a different take than I've tried in the past. ALTHOUGH NOW I'M GOING TO BUSY WITH ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL PROMPTS FROM EVERYONE. (Thank you!)
Ohhh Rydia/Rosa. My interest in this pairing was ignited solely because deadcellredux and I were tipsy one night, doing fandom crap and giving each other silly prompts and random pairings just to mess with each other (which we actually do end up writing a lot of the time, ridiculously enough), and she gave me Rydia/Rosa. But then when I dabbled, I actually became really interested. I quite like Rydia because she's such an interesting character, but I also really like Rosa, because I think there's certainly more to her than, "future Queen Cecil and PURE INNOCENT White Mage." Combining them is really interesting to me; and yeah, you're so right about the contrast of the black/white, etc. I never thought about the envy aspect either. But hell yeah--fem!slash galore. More than anything else, I discovered that I freakin' ADORE THEM as a fem!slash pairing, and latched onto it way more than I thought I would, given that the idea was put into my head as very random prompt. Edge/Rydia/Kain--I'd love to hear your thoughts on that dynamic. OT3? Um...and I sort of love Kain IN ANY CONTEXT ANYWHERE EVER.
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DIVIDE THIS EPIC RESPONSE INTO TWO PARTS: GUNDAM WING AND FFIV.
First!
Everything you said about sex and porn basically. yes. I like sex with ~issues~. I love dark!porn. Because sex isn't always great and it can be used to send a lot of messages, and I find that really awesome.
Although I ALSO like it when the twisted mindfuck issues end up... being a positive, or helping people out, or making a relationship more than it was before? It isn't all about poking characters with pointy sticks (although, uh, I like that also, A LOT) -- I like when the dark places inside characters match up with each other so no matter how fucked up they are, they find they're infinitely better with their also-fucked-up partner than alone. Like? I think I am probably explaining this poorly, but an extreme example is what I like about incest-ish pairings: it isn't about the incesty sex, I don't find *that* hot -- it's about the extreme mindfuck and how two characters can twist "family issues" into something else, and assuming both are consensual, a broken relationship can be healed - IN A WAY THAT'S REALLY BROKEN ITSELF. It's the bad/good/better than the alternative/best of two shitty options mindfuck that I like. THIS PARAGRAPH HAS DERAILED. MOVING ON.
But yes -- although every now and then I find I just want fluff or PWP, what I REALLY ENJOY is sex that has BAGGAGE.
Heero and Zechs! We have not touched on them yet! WE SHOULD TOUCH THEM MORE. But yeah, I like the way that they play off of each other - the whole thing with Zechs having Wing Zero and Heero having Epyon and them fucking trading was GOD MY MIND IT IS BLOWN on so many cool levels. I was just like, I AM GAY FOR THIS AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. Not in a pairing sense, just in like - oh, that's a meaningful benchmark for both of them. Especially Heero, who has gone from HEY LETS SELF DESTRUCT NOW to this very respectful and understanding warrior. It's like when he gives Quatre the Zero System and tells him to lead the battle, because Heero knows he'll be elsewhere, off with Zechs. Because that's important. WHAT IS THIS: MY MIND.
And Treize as the weird third player in it, with all the Treize/Zechs (oh I saw it) and the Epyon and Wufei and, yeah.
OKAY ON TO FINAL FANTASY IV
I'll start by sending you my thoughts on Edge/Rydia/Kain, because here they are: Momentum, and I don't mean it as a rec in that MY STUFF IS AWESOME (mehhhhhhh), but I could try to explain why I dig it and I would basically just end up writing everything I've put into that piece right there. It's Edge-centric because there isn't enough Edge love in fandom, but it ends up being really about Kain a lot. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT KAIN DOES. Just through other people's eyes. (There is a follow-up piece too but it's mostly Kain/Cecil porn. XD)
As for Rydia and Rosa -- well, first, I am working on (stalled out, actually) a really long Rosa-centric piece. Because I really do like her, and I think she's a lot more than just "Queen" and "Cecil's honey", and she gets the short end of the stick in FFIV because she's such a static character: all of the changes that have made Rosa who she is happened before the game, and she's presented as a constant: Cecil's rock, a solid support character. Rydia, on the other hand, is so dynamic of a character her sprite actually changes: this is significant. So you have one character whose life has been turned upside down, and another who - while Rosa has been through a lot, *she* has maybe grown but hasn't changed. And I think they'd connect over that, in a friendly envious sort of way: Rydia wants some of Rosa's stability, and Rosa wants some of Rydia's freedom. If you can't tell I am also highly gay for this pairing; it's one of my favorites and I don't write it nearly enough.
Sorry it's taken me A THOUSAND YEARS to reply to this. It's Thursday night, which means "BEER FUN TIMES" and "I AM OFF TOMORROW." ^_^ Anyway...
I wholeheartedly agree with you that there needs to be a balance between "mind!fuck PRONZ CITY" and "TENDAH!MIND!FUCK PRONZ CITY." Or at least that's how I think of it. I am on the same page there; swinging too far in either direction makes it boring, at least to me. IMHO, real conflict comes from gray areas, and I guess if my favorite thing about that type of porn could be summed up in a word, "conflict" would be it. Whether mind!fuck, or whatever...I like porn, and gen!fic quite honestly, with lots of conflict. I love a relationship (preferably between stoic, impenetrable characters) that is somehow potentially very intimate, very emotional, sexual, or a unique understanding of one another. OR UM, ALL THREE KTHX...although once again, the best part of that is that it's all very unfixed and ambiguous.
It's so interesting what you said about incest, because that makes me think about it in a different way. And that totally speaks to me and makes more sense. "...a broken relationship can be healed - IN A WAY THAT'S REALLY BROKEN ITSELF." YES. And you know...um....whether incesty or just in general, that's why sequels are even more depressing than fics about broken relationships that may not be fixed, but find human connection in a mire of damage. You get that idea, "OMG, TURNING POINT, PINNACLE AT THIS MOMENT FOR A HOT SECOND," ... and then onto what? WELL...this is why fics are finite and inferring some version of happiness IS WAY MORE FUN than writing the aftermath of things. Ohhh happy endings.
OMFG...I can't even fucking talk about Heero and Zechs. God. I didn't get the 1x6 thing for ages, and then suddenly, it was like, "WAIT HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT BALLS ON A STICK... UM YES OHAI THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE AND IT'S INTENSE." Cue keyboard finger scramble of "asdj" etc.
There's this one 1x6 fic that I've loved for years, and it was one of the first things that really convinced me without even trying. And can we please JUST TALK ABOUT how it's TROWA WITH HIM in Antarctica? UM, WHAT. I know I've been plugging torch like all fuck, but seriously, this shit blows my mind. She's such a good writer it hurts; and she's such a good Gundam Wing writer, it HURTS AND STINGS AND BURNS WITH HAPPINESS. But god. Yeah, them trading...that scene is so much about a fair fight. To me, it's like, Treize is sitting there on Zechs's SUPER CONFLICTED PSYCHO SPLIT PERSONALITY shoulder.
Um. And uh. Heero using Trowa's Gundam is kind of just like, the hottest FUCKING THING EVER EVER EVER. Oh god. Maybe I'm not too tired to write fic. Shit. Gee, Heero, what does Heavyarms smell like when you commandeer it to fight your rival AFTER YOUR ROAD TRIP WITH YOUR SPECIAL FRIEND? ad;kjfadslfj ... I think I just prompted myself. Ahem.
Omg, Treize and Zechs. Yeah. Seriously. ... Seriously.
Okay, re: IV--Thank you! I will read this post-haste. And um...DID YOU JUST EFFING SAY KAIN/CECIL. ... I'm sorry. I had to breathe into a paper bag for a minute. Kthx. But in all seriousness, I will definitely read this. Thank you for the link.
Haha, "Cecil's honey." Yeah, seriously. I think that's a really interesting observation, that she's "static." I agree for sure. And the dynamic to which you refer...well shit, there ya go into my head canon. But seriously, I could totally see that. And yeah, I can definitely tell that you're highly gay for that pairing WHICH IS FANTASTIC. I mean, seriously, WHO DOES WRITE IT NEARLY ENOUGH?! There's so much you can do with it too.
Well, I look forward to your post if you ever continue the Rosa-centric fic. But I hear you--I have like, a bajilliontymillion stalled fics. ^_^;;
Sorry for response! fail - I am sure your Inbox is spammed - but basically my Mozilla decided to stop loading Gmail. At all. Like I can open my Inbox but when I click on something, there isn't anything there. After a frustrating hour of updating and swearing I just decided to use Chrome for now, but I AM STILL REALLY MAD
ANYWAY
In terms of porn, YES. I love conflict. Of all kinds. I think if I had to pick one words, it would be "complications" -- a little different angle, but same basic idea underneath, with the whole "sex is more than sex". I like stuff with layers, complicated relationships of all kinds that come into play while peoples are putting their parts on other people's parts. It gets endlessly fascinating.
And again -- okay, I am seriously don't meant to preach incesty pairings here, I realize it is really not a lot of people's bag and I am SO OKAY WITH IT, but it's a great example for what I love. Added layers of complications showing up, and people connecting to each other in a much more complicated way than "father/son" or "lover/lover". And that a complicated fit might be better for those two people than a simple one. it's funny to say "I like incest with happy endings" because jesus christ, what but I like stuff that's fucked up AND healing all in one really confusing package. GOD WHAT AM I SAYING. COCKS.
fics about broken relationships that may not be fixed, but find human connection in a mire of damage -- THIS. !!!!!!!!!!!! TO ALL OF THIS.
I still remember when we were watching the Antarctica bit the first time, and I leaned over to Becky and was like, "oooooh they're sharing Gundams" insert Edgar-like eyebrow wiggle here, I am ridiculous) because I thought it was kind of interesting, especially someone like Heero that I would think would be really, um, anal about his Gundam. But then he took Heavyarms and Trowa just took Wing to go fight and they were both alright with that. (Later on when they had the Wing Zero Swap-A-Thon (so Zero is the fandom bicycle here?) I did the same thing, too.)
P.S. Here's a few pictures I posted on my LJ in my exuberant post about Comic Con...although I know there are some better ones of both me and DCR lurking around somewhere. Heh. First cosplay, so...
OH HEY I don't mean to totally jump in and hijack this thread BUT I believe I have something you seek
Here's some more photos (yes I'm hiding my face because I can ONLY IMAGINE what would happen if anyone from my professional life somehow found out that not only do I dress up as video game characters, BUT I DRESS UP AS THE VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS WHO I ALSO WRITE GAY PORN ABOUT)
Another one of Edgar
A LOCKE ACTION SHOT with a Jayne from Firefly.
Annnnd a close-up of me and all my nerdy pins on my nerdy 3-day pass lanyard. AND BEER, OF COURSE, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY I TREASURE-HUNTED IT FROM THE COLD BEVERAGE FRIDGE AT THE CON CAFETERIA
OMG, THIS. Please find photos of that PLEASE that's awesome.
notraffic was showing me some other photos of you guys' costumes that you sent her (or someone sent her? katmillia? I don't even know, my fandom world has suddenly exploded exponentially in like the past few days) and you all looked awesome too!!!! Like seriously, I'm jealous of the fact that you guys got like, pro-looking photos WITH AN FFVI GROUP. There were like, no FFVI people at Comic Con (and not many FF people at ALL unless you count a bevy of UNFORTUNATE RENOS). We didn't even think to check, until like, the con was over, to see if anyone posted on any forums about an FF group photo or anything.
And THANK YOU about the jacket! I also have a picture of the back--
I was actually kind of proud of this, getting that fucking purple thing on took a lot of crazy double-sided iron-on stuff and like, careful cutting of silk scarves and things. The jacket itself was like, $12.00 at Rainbow. BARGAIN
I AM SEARCHING. There was also a year I was Rydia and Katy was Reno and we have a photo of me carrying shots to the table. I shall find. As soon as my Google-fu of my own stupid albums works.
XD
Yeah, I am not gonna lie, our FFVI group was MAD AWESOME. darcenciel arranged it, and I was so happy to be a part of it. I will try to dig up the "Official" photos from that too -- it was freaking AMAZING.
That jacket is awesome!! I find I don't have tons of attention to detail, although I really wish I did!
So when Katy and I reference "Reno on Reno while Reno watches", this is what we were referring to. She is the Reno on the left and I am Rydia (Reno/Rydia was basically inspired by THIS CONVENTION and we have both written porn of it).
We spend all of Ohayocon at the bar. This is proof.
OMG that Rydia costume is amazing. Did you make the whole thing??! Katy's Reno is really cool-- was she doing a steampunk version or something? Either way I like the take on it. I'm guessing this con is in Ohio... when/where?! notraffic and I are searching for MOAR CONZ to plan attending in the future. AND. There is a bar at this con?! There was no bar at comic con... just like, loose beers in the cafeteria. But a BAR at a con-- that's just like. Heaven. of all types for me
UM I ALMOST CHOKED ON MY TEA WITH LAUGHTER IN RESPONSE TO MR. BUNANSA'S EXPLOIT WITH CITRUS FRUIT
I MUST LOOK THROUGH MY ARCHIVE TO FIND ALL OF OUR SELF-INSERT PORN. IT'S LIKE THIS AND LIKE THAT.
I actually did not make much of the Rydia costume; irish_ais is the corset-maker in our group: I just modeled and got shitfaced. (Later I have EDITED the costume, namely because as I started running I changed shape and had to for my own modesty XD.) Katy's Reno was a casual steampunk thing - there's a Rude somewhere, again, MUST DIG THROUGH EPIC PHOTOS.
And I will just say this: Ohayocon is at the end of January in Columbus Ohio, and if you two feel like joining us, YOU ARE SO INVITE. Like, not to be a creeper, this is how we meet most of our friends. We usually get two adjoined rooms or a suite so it isn't too expensive, and we basically spend the entire con weekend in costume drinking at the bar. The bar in the Columbus Hyatt is right next to the Convention Center so you can get a table and sit there all day and watch beautiful people walk by in cosplay while you nurse your Winter Lager.
AND WE'LL, UH, BE COSPLAYING GUNDAM WING AT THE BAR
I'M GONNA JUMP INTO THIS CONVERSATION TOO (hey this is safety_caesars from LJ; I pretty much never use DW but apparently this is where the party's at right now)
YOUR COSTUMES ARE FRIGGEN AWESOME!! And I seriously LOL'ed really hard at the mouthface in the last one XDD
Uhhhh I just wanted to say HEY to you both and I especially love Edgar's armor and Locke's jacket there, and is that a tattoo on your arm? :D
OH HEY welcome to the comment party! I don't use my DW either... I have this account for commenting and whatnot. THANKS for your comments on the costumes!!! I was getting kind of worried because for a while I honestly thought that costume was just not gonna happen, but then it like... seriously flew together at the last minute (thanks to the dollar store. Seriously. Dare I say that LOCKE FOUND MANY TREASURES THERE).
Yes it is a tattoo... it looks really weird in these photos because of the way it's cut off, but yeah. It takes up most of my upper arm. I can't wait to get another, actually XD
Christ. Here I come back to post some SRS FANDOM BIZNIZ shit about Gundam Wing and FFIV and suddenly DER R POASTS EVERYWERE LULZ.
Okay, so for now, I'll just um, address the costume question. ^_^
Really glad you all liked it. Edgar's situation as sort of a dollar store spending spree. Well, I got some children-size hockey gear, and then sewed a bunch of crap onto it basically. The entire thing is made of a few placemats, a bathmat, and curtains. I had a really fun time trying to sew fringe to that blue shit...but the armor was hardcore. However, I personally thought the blue stuff looked cool. But that's basically what it is--a blue plastic bath mat (wow, I'm making myself sound really cool) sewed over hockey gear, which has blue fabric sewed over it to cover the annoying logo bits. The pink bits are place mat-things, the sparkly shit is like, earrings I took apart or something and sewed on, and the shoulder bits with the fabric are...fabric, that I sewed on. I sewed on a lot of shit. So that's what it was! :) Glad you liked it. Some lady at the third booth in at anime Artist's Alley was like, "IS THAT DAMASK? I LOVE YOUR DAMASK," not knowing who I was supposed to be...yet that quote was probably my favorite part of the con, except for the doujinshi girl telling me that Rufus/Tseng was "the way to go." FTW. But either way, it was fun, and as deadcellredux mentioned, we're totally going back next year. ^_^
LOL, you are talking to someone who used children's elbow- and knee-pads to craft shoulder armor for a femme!Jecht. Not that it was AWESOME armor but it more or less worked. I love creative crafting! If you go back will you wear the same costumes or try new ones?
And yeah.. . This entry exploded! HEY THIS IS FOR SERIOUS GUNDAM WING/FFIV TALK TOO, EVERYONE, FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN
(I just get excited talking about cons in my adulthood)
I will totally get back to the SRS GW/FFIV TALKZ SOON...when my brain isn't spliced into like, 50 pieces. (Generally, THIS IS WHAT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ARE FOR IN MY WORLD--the days I'm off.)
Anyway, I also love creative crafting!! I'm shit at sewing, but what I can do is make stuff if you give me materials. I actually have become really fond of making costumes, and a few times in the last couple years I've made some Halloween costumes that turned out surprisingly well. And it's fun, especially when the final product doesn't COMPLETELY suck balls. There were tons of things I could've improved on obviously, but damn, I WAS EDGAR FUCKING FIGARO FOR LIKE, THREE DAYS OKAY YEAH. Anyway, hah, next year we'll definitely go as something else. I honestly am really quite fond of the drag!Cloud and Honeybee Inn hookers in hornet costumes idea that deadcellredux's boyfriend came up with. WE'LL SEE. ^_^ I'm sure you will, BUT PLEASE POST TONSSS OF YOUR GUNDAM WING COSPLAY PICS. OMG.
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UNF WELL KATY SAW THIS COMMENT AND WENT BATSHIT, I am sure you heard all about our wild night. We have a Thursday tradition of getting drunk and playing FFX going on and last night was a particularly, uh, good example XD
But OMG THANK YOU FOR ALL THE RECS, I will now shamelessly load them all on my iPad and have lunchtime reading for weeeeeeeeeeeeeks.
Re: Treize and Wufei, YEAH. That entire last bit is really very heartbreaking, and afterwards Wufei probably has a lot to deal with and process... I mean, he'll, they all do, but his was a very PERSONAL fight in addition to the overall war thing.
Re: Quatre: UHHHHH YEAH when Heero just gives him the Zero System I was like. I was. There was no. That was a really awesome moment, seeing all the Gundams come together in the first place AND getting to see Quatre be a badass AND getting to see his arc with the Zero System kind of come full circle? I imagine there are a lot of pretty dark places inside Quatre (insert porn joke here) and that's really interesting to me. Like I said, I really like characters who can balance humanity with badass. I think you said somewhere you are a Turk fan? because that's something I like about the Turks too, that level of totally lethal competence mixed with personality.
Re: Trowa, Catherine... Okay, this is the point where I confess that I have. Uh. I have A Thing For Incestish pairings. I like Catherine a lot and I like Trowa in the stupid circus and I would probably ship them like hell Once I started writing that. I also love the "stoic detached character finds a home" thing and as hilarious as I find the clown pants, I am ALL OVER THAT.
RE: Dorothy and Relena, UM YOUR COMMENT IS MAKING ME SHIP DOROTHY/RELENA/ZECHS, see above disclaimer on incest, I am not sorry. I will definitely look into that rec, because Dorothy is another one i feel like I missed out on a little because I was very confused and trying to follownother story parts and OH MY GOD WHO IS THIS NEW GIRL WITH THE EYEBROWS WHAT IS ON HER FACE.
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My favorite line, without a doubt, in the entire series is, "That was beautiful Wufei." I mean, you can just see Wufei's ENTIRE WORLDVIEW crack at that moment. I think you're right--in my view, Wufei takes everything very personally and every big event in his life is one that fundamentally shapes him. Again, I like the idea that part of this reason is we're dealing with a cast of characters that really aren't that old, and are already at an age where you start to discover your own "personhood." Yet it's complicated by the fact that uh...they're all kind of damaged in their own ways and FIGHTING A WAR.
The dark places in Quatre are what make me love him. And what make Trowa love his ass with the opportunity to fill them. (porn joke complete) And yeah, I cannot handle that moment between Heero and Quatre. That moment was what spawned the only 1x4 I've ever written, and it just blew my mind. Yes, I did indeed express a love of the Turks. Honestly, they're pretty much WHO I write about 99% of the time. And for the very reason you describe: doing the hardline bloody, dirty work mixed with personality. But my favorite is also this type of character(s) in the context of a web of complex, intense interpersonal relationships. Hence why I love Gundam Wing, and the Turks. I also like writing dark stuff. A lot.
Ohhh yes, incest pairings. AS personal preference, I'm not big on the incest, but I can definitely see how it's compelling. Haha, the "stupid circus"...love it. Although that mask he wears is creepy; the creepy is definitely undone BY THE CLOWN PANTS THOUGH. Yeah, I also love the stoic guy finds home...although my favorite is actually the reverse: stoic/damaged character loses home and goes insane. (Well, that's why I adore FFVII post-game.) Catherine is so great though...that moment when she punches Trowa is like, the best. His reaction of: "Holy shit, did she just punch me?" mixed with, "Holy shit, she cares if I live or die?" And Catherine is such a wonderful foil to Trowa's stoicism. She's passionate, emotional and wears her heart on her sleeve; basically the antithesis of Trowa. Love that dynamic.
Oh god, yeah...I sort of also ship Dx6 as a pairing. That is MESSED UP. Seriously though, Dorothy is totally infatuated with Zechs and his leadership...CUE WEIRDO DYNAMIC...and I think Dorothy, a character that is so resolute in her political views, is broken by the time her side bites it and Zechs loses. That part when the Zero System fails, and she's lying on the floor totally broken (added bonus for Trowa's dialog about her not being able to cry), is what made me totally love her. And think about how she must feel about Zechs, being high on power and belief, and then to have everything crushed. (Cue h/c DxR.) But yes, to be fair, that was also my initial response: DEM EYEBROWS ARE THEIR OWN CHARACTER, MS. CATALONIA.
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And yes, I have lots of recs now. Seriously, why must I be productive this weekend? ADULTHOOD: WHY.
Yeah, the whole setup of 15-year-old boys being pilots and trained killers is interesting in a LOT of ways. Have you played FFVIII at all? Because it's a bunch of 17-year-olds in a high school... FOR HIGHLY EFFICIENT MERCENARY CHILD KILLERS, basically. I love that aspect of it, it's just so WTF at its basic foundation.
And to go back to FFVII too -- you definitely hit on a big part of what I like about characters like this, and that's their relationships with other characters. It's what makes the Turks interesting, not just that they're "real people" and "ruthless killers", but that these ruthless killers all have bonds to each other that are so important to them. That level of loyalty/devotion, plus competence: I kink on that, PRETTY HARD.
Catherine punching Trowa! It's great because it's like this big emotional moment, Trowa being all, um, does someone actually give a single shit about me, I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS. Then suddenly MOST AWKWARD ROAD TRIP HAPPENS. And that's that.
I really liked the entire scene with Dorothy, Quatre, and Trowa. Dorothy fencing with the mask on - creepy! Quatre has already decided he doesn't need the Zero System and then he gets stabbed! And then Trowa comes to get him (UNFFFFFFFFFFFF) and then there's Trowa just basically coming in and serving Dorothy a dose of wisdom and, yeah. Poor Dorothy and uh h/c D/R can pretty much go on that table, I am okay with all of that.
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Yech yech, adulthood. My two days for non-adulthood (mostly) are Friday and Saturday, during which time I just sit and mess with fandom and play Robot Unicorn Attack. That's like, my life during my weekends which I am SO OKAY WITH. ^_^
Yeah, I'm totally familiar with VIII. I'm basically familiar with/played IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and XII. (It's totally sick I haven't played X, but it's on the roster.) And that's so funny you mention VIII when they're training for SeeD. I wasn't a huge fan of the game later on, but I freaking LOVE the beginning part when they're still in the high school Balamb Garden setting. VIII is probably my least favorite, but seriously, Seifer is one of my favorite characters. I can go on long, thesis-length diatribes about why Seifer represents the overarching, tragic loss of childhood, BUT I SHALL REFRAIN. But be assured, YES, I love that shit.
I also kink on loyalty/devotion like, a lot. It's really hard to do, but I love fics that delve into this question of interpersonal vs. duty vs. WHERE DO YOUR LOYALTIES LIE, AND WHY? Because that question answered under duress it messes up identity and one's own greater purpose. I like toying with the overall Compilation, and have a total hard-on for Before Crisis. Mostly because those issues come up over and over...and they're kind of really NOT HEARTWARMING AT ALL. Brutal to a T. Yeah though...one theme I love throughout GW is friendship vs. being a soldier/willing to die/duty. I get all verklempt at the end when Quatre finally leads them into a strategic battle formation, and they manage to actually work together BECAUSE THEY HAVE EACH OTHER. (Cannot deal.) But for real, one other reason I love Quatre: he's the only one to actually master the Zero System. BAD ASS.
Haha..."most awkward road trip happens" is a spot-on description. One of my favorite things to do when plotting (or when I used to plot for this fandom) was to imagine what Heero and Trowa talk about when they're driving. HELLO FIC FODDER. I'm also fascinated by the whole Trowa wishing he could be more like Heero, and Heero wishing he could figure out how to follow his emotions and whatnot. Personally, sometimes the "following your emotions" deal is taken as, "AWWW...HEERO, JUST REALIZE YOU HAVE FRIENDS." But I like to think of it as more like, "HEERO, YOU HAVE A WILL. IF YOUR WILL IS TO DIE, SO BE IT. THAT'S THE POINT." I love that over the duration of the series, Heero comes to know what desire is. (Um...you know...for both his own sense of self...BUT ALSO FOR TROWA'S ASS. Ahem. In my selective head canon anyway.)
Re: the end--Omg, I know...when Trowa comes to get him. I must have re-watched that scene where Quatre's all injured and stuff, leaning against Trowa when, as you say, Dorothy GET SERVED. God...ugh...the whole Trowa/Quatre thing is so intense. Another one of my favorite scenes is that CRAZY CONVERSATION that Quatre, Heero and Trowa have after Quatre blows up the civilian satellite. OMFG. I've read some interesting 1x4 fics that totally have both Quatre and Heero pining for Trowa, and they fuck. I kind of love that...although one of my HUGE kinks is the displacement/replacement of lust and desire. In fact, that's probably my biggest kink: stand-ins for who you really want. MESSED UP.
Yeah, DxR h/c...I love the idea, but the execution would be difficult. I just love Dorothy, not only as a character, but because she provides ample fodder for my propensity toward dark!fic...and her weirdo rivalry-like-thing with Relena is intense. And the idea that here she is, RUINED, and you just KNOW Relena would take her and be good to her (because although Relena's isn't a wuss, she is kind)...and Dorothy would probably hate her for it. But sort of want her. Etc. Or something. Or ... uh... maybe I have this fic half written on my computer and I kind of want to finish it now that we've been having this discussion. ^_^;;
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And YES, that's one of my favorite character/relationship issues -- loyalty and devotion and love and how SERIOUSLY EFFED UP it can get. I actually love FFVIII for this (honestly: it was not the greatest game to play, but I really ADORE it fannishly. It's one of my favorite canons to create for, probably because of all of the holes it leaves in its cast), and FFVII as well.
And! I find it -- ok, as Becky and I were watching GW it kind of became a joke in terms of how many times someone tried to self-destruct, or how often somebody made a move to kill themselves (TROWA THIS MIGHT MEAN YOU), but like looking back at it that's something that's absolutely FASCINATING and something I really want to explore. They are all OKAY WITH DEATH. and they're FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. And they're just like, "MEH, SELF-DESTRUCT, ITS COOL."
Like that whole scene: Trowa dies because he knows his death will wake up Quatre. Then Quatre is OK with Heero killing him (!!!) because then he can go save Trowa. THAT ENTIRE SCENE IS A HUGE HEARTFUCK and it's like they are ALL ABOUT DYING but yet not thinking about what they mean TO EACH OTHER? (THIS SCENE. MY HEART. JUST RIP IT OUT.)
And then they all come back together and work as a team and Quatre PWNS the Zero System and it's like there are echoes of all of that "No, it's okay, kill me" everywhere -- and then fighting with Dorothy and with Trowa coming to SAVE him, I mean, look how far we've all come from the death wishing?
and I KIND OF FIND THAT REALLY INTERESTING. IN MY PANTS.
I am also intrigued by the conversation in the car. Something like:
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...so the last one didn't want to kill you either."
"...nope."
"..."
"..."
AND ON INTO AWKWARD ETERNITY
(I am sorry, I have this huge thing for REALLY AWKWARD MAKEOUTS. I don't mean like awkward-embarrassing, but like awkward TENSION EVERYWHERE??? And that it what I see happening on that trip.)
and uhhhhhhhhhhhhh I think I could really get into a 1x4(x3) scenario. Pretty hard. I like threesomes -- not *just* like "threesome porn" but COMPLICATED relationships, stuff like that where there's projecting and muddled feelings and substitution, and lots of confusion (and then it can END HAPPILY with an actual threesome (lol)).
I can really see Dorothy's obsession with Relena becoming something that's like... dark, but also ends up being positive? In a way? I mean, mindfuck ahoy, but Dorothy would be this weird combo of appreciative and resentful and HEY MAYBE YOU SHOULD FINISH THAT *ENCOURAGES*
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"SUBSTITUTION." That's the word. THAT is like, my personal NUMBER ONE KINK. (Ahem, right alongside voyeurism/command.) I agree about threesomes. I've only written one, but it wasn't actually fucked up (for once)...just like, uh, angsty/lots of position changes/AMAZING REGENERATIVE ERECTIONS LULZ. But I love the idea of physical intimacy becoming an act that is so very corporeal, and yet causes (complex) desire for others to swim even deeper in their own psychological trauma because they can't deal with desire for another person on that level. Some twisted manifestation of half-met lust and FEELINGS. Ahem. Well. ... At least in Gundam Wing. ANYWAY. Not gonna lie--I write A LOT of fucked up porn.
ANYWAY, those costumes are fantastic! Dude, I think I've actually seen that Edgar before, when I was googling Edgar cosplay images as I made my own costume. I'm hoping next year to do something
better, but it was mad fun this year. We had such a good time. The general response to me was not so much, "Oh, you're Edgar!" (though [personal profile] deadcellredux got a lot of exuberant FFVI fans who recognized Locke); the response to me was, "OMG LOVE THE DAMASK YOU SEWED ONTO YOUR SHOULDER ARMOR. CAN I TAKE YOUR PICTURE? OH AND UH...WAIT, WHO ARE YOU?" LULZ. Shoulda brought that chainsaw. That's fantastic that you're Edgar AND an engineer. I don't even have the LUXURIANT TRESSES, love of SUMPTUOUS FIGARIAN FABRICS, or SMOOTH SKILLZ WITH TEH ESPER LADIES to back me up in convincing people I'm Edgar. ^_^
Yes, the Gundam Wing death wish theme is SO PREVALENT. And you have to wonder: is the willingness to self-destruct some unconscious desire to commit suicide? I feel like they each have their own approach to death: Duo, ironically, calls himself death, but he doesn't want to die; I feel like Wufei doesn't think about death so much as vengeance and honor; Quatre is just, "UM, IF I HAVE TO DIE TO DO THE RIGHT THING, THEN I WI-- HOLD UP ZERO SYSTEM!QUATRE SAYS YOU NEED STEP THE FUCK BACK;" Heero is indifferent until a certain point, but probably has an unconscious death wish since, to me, he's an emotional person who's been repressed to the point of disturbing; and Trowa is...Trowa. In some way, I almost feel like when Trowa says he wants to be more like Heero because he's strong (and this is the fangirl talking), he really means he wishes his emotions arrived as steadily as Heero's, even though Heero is so staunch and single-minded because he's been trained that way. Heero waking up to his humanity and will over the duration of the series is incredible. LOVE THIS SERIES TO AN EMBARRASSING DEGREE. And now without shame, I will continue rambling-typing about it.
Awkward make-outs. Hell yes. UST consummated. Awkward make-outs in Italy or France is what I feel IN MY PANTS. I mean, one thing that is such a major issue with the ROAD TRIP OF AWKZ is that they are basically like, totally doing this without orders, without ANYTHING directing them except Heero's (emotionally stunted) conscience and Trowa's complicity. They're not terrorists so much as...searching. And c'mon now, TURNING POINT OF HUMANITY=ASS SEX SOMEWHERE IN MARSEILLES. Okay. Kidding...ahemsortof. But really...yeah. So many dots and so much unspoken communication. CANNOT DEAL. It makes me WILDLY curious about how Trowa feels about the possibility of Heero dying...I feel like it'd be mostly confusion, but that's a fun (oft-depressing) concept to play with. I myself wrote an out of control (Depeche Mode...YEAH) songfic about that imaginary scene of them talking while driving. It's sort of painful and old, but I have a strange fondness for it. I've written a lot of weird fucking shit for this pairing; I just love it so much.
Re: DxR...Yeah. I mean, unless you're writing Dorothy as a relic of war (which can totally work, of course), she's forced to change in a post-war world. I like the idea that Relena's kindness cripples her, but she can't deny its efficacy since she's the one who's the war relic. And yeah, I'm actually working on it tonight/right now...there's a lot of obnoxious imagery to do with flower petals and blood. As is my M.O. Fail.
P.S. Nice icon. Yes, please. I attempted to write that pairing recently, and now I'm totally into it. Recs?
WOW. EPIC COMMENT CONVO. I haven't talked about GW this much in years. I am so excited. ^_^
Effing typos.
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EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT SEX IN THAT FIRST PARAGRAPH: YES. I mean, hey, I love porn that's just porn as much as the next person and I definitely can enjoy porn as just the physical, but for me, I love when sex is more than sex? If that makes sense? Whether it's a substitution for another person, or a an expression of something that can't be said with words, or a manifestation of other relationship problems -- ALL OF THIS IS WHAT I WANT. Sex that's just two people clinging together, sex as communication, etc etc etc. Positive OR negative, although because I am not a very sappy/romantic person I prefer the dark sides of it to the fluffy sides, but YES.
The death wish thing is! I can already tell I will be playing with that (once I stop writing embarrassing porn drabbles) because it's just fascinating. They are all more or less "okay" with death but the approaches are so different. Duo jokes about death and Shinigami in a way, and that's how he gets through it. Wufei can plaster it over with honor and justice. Quatre can rationalize it (or rationalize out of it). Trowa just isn't sure he or anyone else gives enough of a shit (which becomes even better once he starts realizing people do). And Heero just starts out with almost a HUGE death wish, I mean, we were laughing about it a lot, but it isn't as funny thinking about it realistically. And with Heero it isn't just his own attitude, it's always "I'm gonna kill you", to Relena, to Duo, to Quatre even - here's how I care about you, I'm just gonna kill you. Very interesting thoughts.
Heero waking up to his humanity IS awesome and amazing. All of them do, but Heero just comes so far from nothing to something.
YOU NEED TO WRITE THIS ROAD TRIP. JUST SAYING. >.>
also you have just extended the length of this comment INDEFINITELY by mentioning Rydia/Rosa OH MY GOD. MY PAIRING. (Disclaimer, I really do omniship in FFIV. My favorite relationship might be Edge/Kain/Rydia, which I have written ungodly amounts of already, I do not have any shame.)
I will have to look for recs! I am not sure -- it's a fairly rare pairing to come across, sadly, because it is SO AWESOME. I love Rydia and Rosa as a compare/contrast type thing, and I think even though they would have a wonderful positive friendship, there would always be a little bit of envy between them - each one wanting some of what the other one has. There's so much black/white meta in there too. UNFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Re: sex--Yes, exactly to everything you said! I write a lot of porn, but I don't really like to write fluffy porn, or sex that's just sex. I find it kind of boring...I need my mind!fuck PWPs to get my jollies. Which is often why I end up writing in those types of scenarios; as you say, substitution, wordless communication, etc. I write stuff a lot of times that I'm afraid is too fluffy, and then the response is, "Uh, do they characters even LIKE each other?" Fail. But one thing I adore writing is straight up (okay, usually NOT straight) desperate/depressing/mindfuck/whatever sex. I also love playing with kinks that touch on repressed desire, or the ability to confess things that someone wouldn't be able to otherwise. I adore the idea of a sex as a confession booth, depending on which characters you're dealing with. I mean, of course there's just good, old fashioned UST or sex as a generally new concept at all...which how I sort of approach the Heero/Trowa thing. I love the idea that a kiss can potentially set off worse emotional fireworks than self-destructing or death.
The death wish is an awesome thing to play with since it's such an distinct undercurrent, but it's never really directly addressed. One thing that always interested in is that these are characters who function (mostly) on orders and approach their lives with a single-minded purpose. That being said, the idea of having a death wish is so fascinating because it also spells out desire. That they are capable of desiring something for themselves, even if it's as macabre as the simple wish to die.
I AGREE WITH YOU LIKE, 1,000% TO THE DEGREE OF INFINITY about Heero, and he seems to really come the furthest, even in comparison to the other pilots. Like, seriously...and again, I get all verklempt at the end where he basically is like, "I DO NOT WANT TO DIE." Cannot deal. I really love Heero...hah, and you're so right. Anyone he cares about is someone he claims he's going to kill. HEERO FAILS AT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. I also love the fact that the person with whom he has one of the most intimate relationships (IMHO) is Zechs. Here they are, ready to fight and kill each other, and at the same time, it's strangely organized and polite. Uh...kind of like living out Treize's ideal universe of brutal chivalry and rules of war that can no longer be followed in this new world. (Not even going there...but seriously. Oh Treize.)
Oh god, the damn road trip...I've written several one-shots for it, but never the entire duration. But there's been two LONG ASS fics (30,000 words a piece I think) I've written for 1x3 that both follow the same exact arc: Trowa and Heero find each other in the post-EW world and search for something because they're displaced. And inevitably, I end up having them basically re-trace their road trip route, whether alone or with each other. Can't help myself. I love that event so much...and another thing...I uh, guess you could say that I intellectually kink on...is the repetition of past actions to try and understand the present. I love the idea of relics, outdated people that are also cogs, being left behind, displacement and loss...IT'S LIKE MY THING. So maybe I will try to write the road trip...it'd be a different take than I've tried in the past. ALTHOUGH NOW I'M GOING TO BUSY WITH ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL PROMPTS FROM EVERYONE. (Thank you!)
Ohhh Rydia/Rosa. My interest in this pairing was ignited solely because
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First!
Everything you said about sex and porn basically. yes. I like sex with ~issues~. I love dark!porn. Because sex isn't always great and it can be used to send a lot of messages, and I find that really awesome.
Although I ALSO like it when the twisted mindfuck issues end up... being a positive, or helping people out, or making a relationship more than it was before? It isn't all about poking characters with pointy sticks (although, uh, I like that also, A LOT) -- I like when the dark places inside characters match up with each other so no matter how fucked up they are, they find they're infinitely better with their also-fucked-up partner than alone. Like? I think I am probably explaining this poorly, but an extreme example is what I like about incest-ish pairings: it isn't about the incesty sex, I don't find *that* hot -- it's about the extreme mindfuck and how two characters can twist "family issues" into something else, and assuming both are consensual, a broken relationship can be healed - IN A WAY THAT'S REALLY BROKEN ITSELF. It's the bad/good/better than the alternative/best of two shitty options mindfuck that I like. THIS PARAGRAPH HAS DERAILED. MOVING ON.
But yes -- although every now and then I find I just want fluff or PWP, what I REALLY ENJOY is sex that has BAGGAGE.
Heero and Zechs! We have not touched on them yet! WE SHOULD TOUCH THEM MORE. But yeah, I like the way that they play off of each other - the whole thing with Zechs having Wing Zero and Heero having Epyon and them fucking trading was GOD MY MIND IT IS BLOWN on so many cool levels. I was just like, I AM GAY FOR THIS AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. Not in a pairing sense, just in like - oh, that's a meaningful benchmark for both of them. Especially Heero, who has gone from HEY LETS SELF DESTRUCT NOW to this very respectful and understanding warrior. It's like when he gives Quatre the Zero System and tells him to lead the battle, because Heero knows he'll be elsewhere, off with Zechs. Because that's important. WHAT IS THIS: MY MIND.
And Treize as the weird third player in it, with all the Treize/Zechs (oh I saw it) and the Epyon and Wufei and, yeah.
OKAY ON TO FINAL FANTASY IV
I'll start by sending you my thoughts on Edge/Rydia/Kain, because here they are: Momentum, and I don't mean it as a rec in that MY STUFF IS AWESOME (mehhhhhhh), but I could try to explain why I dig it and I would basically just end up writing everything I've put into that piece right there. It's Edge-centric because there isn't enough Edge love in fandom, but it ends up being really about Kain a lot. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT KAIN DOES. Just through other people's eyes. (There is a follow-up piece too but it's mostly Kain/Cecil porn. XD)
As for Rydia and Rosa -- well, first, I am working on (stalled out, actually) a really long Rosa-centric piece. Because I really do like her, and I think she's a lot more than just "Queen" and "Cecil's honey", and she gets the short end of the stick in FFIV because she's such a static character: all of the changes that have made Rosa who she is happened before the game, and she's presented as a constant: Cecil's rock, a solid support character. Rydia, on the other hand, is so dynamic of a character her sprite actually changes: this is significant. So you have one character whose life has been turned upside down, and another who - while Rosa has been through a lot, *she* has maybe grown but hasn't changed. And I think they'd connect over that, in a friendly envious sort of way: Rydia wants some of Rosa's stability, and Rosa wants some of Rydia's freedom. If you can't tell I am also highly gay for this pairing; it's one of my favorites and I don't write it nearly enough.
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I wholeheartedly agree with you that there needs to be a balance between "mind!fuck PRONZ CITY" and "TENDAH!MIND!FUCK PRONZ CITY." Or at least that's how I think of it. I am on the same page there; swinging too far in either direction makes it boring, at least to me. IMHO, real conflict comes from gray areas, and I guess if my favorite thing about that type of porn could be summed up in a word, "conflict" would be it. Whether mind!fuck, or whatever...I like porn, and gen!fic quite honestly, with lots of conflict. I love a relationship (preferably between stoic, impenetrable characters) that is somehow potentially very intimate, very emotional, sexual, or a unique understanding of one another. OR UM, ALL THREE KTHX...although once again, the best part of that is that it's all very unfixed and ambiguous.
It's so interesting what you said about incest, because that makes me think about it in a different way. And that totally speaks to me and makes more sense. "...a broken relationship can be healed - IN A WAY THAT'S REALLY BROKEN ITSELF." YES. And you know...um....whether incesty or just in general, that's why sequels are even more depressing than fics about broken relationships that may not be fixed, but find human connection in a mire of damage. You get that idea, "OMG, TURNING POINT, PINNACLE AT THIS MOMENT FOR A HOT SECOND," ... and then onto what? WELL...this is why fics are finite and inferring some version of happiness IS WAY MORE FUN than writing the aftermath of things. Ohhh happy endings.
OMFG...I can't even fucking talk about Heero and Zechs. God. I didn't get the 1x6 thing for ages, and then suddenly, it was like, "WAIT HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT BALLS ON A STICK... UM YES OHAI THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE AND IT'S INTENSE." Cue keyboard finger scramble of "asdj" etc.
There's this one 1x6 fic that I've loved for years, and it was one of the first things that really convinced me without even trying. And can we please JUST TALK ABOUT how it's TROWA WITH HIM in Antarctica? UM, WHAT. I know I've been plugging torch like all fuck, but seriously, this shit blows my mind. She's such a good writer it hurts; and she's such a good Gundam Wing writer, it HURTS AND STINGS AND BURNS WITH HAPPINESS. But god. Yeah, them trading...that scene is so much about a fair fight. To me, it's like, Treize is sitting there on Zechs's SUPER CONFLICTED PSYCHO SPLIT PERSONALITY shoulder.
Um. And uh. Heero using Trowa's Gundam is kind of just like, the hottest FUCKING THING EVER EVER EVER. Oh god. Maybe I'm not too tired to write fic. Shit. Gee, Heero, what does Heavyarms smell like when you commandeer it to fight your rival AFTER YOUR ROAD TRIP WITH YOUR SPECIAL FRIEND? ad;kjfadslfj ... I think I just prompted myself. Ahem.
Omg, Treize and Zechs. Yeah. Seriously. ... Seriously.
Okay, re: IV--Thank you! I will read this post-haste. And um...DID YOU JUST EFFING SAY KAIN/CECIL. ... I'm sorry. I had to breathe into a paper bag for a minute. Kthx. But in all seriousness, I will definitely read this. Thank you for the link.
Haha, "Cecil's honey." Yeah, seriously. I think that's a really interesting observation, that she's "static." I agree for sure. And the dynamic to which you refer...well shit, there ya go into my head canon. But seriously, I could totally see that. And yeah, I can definitely tell that you're highly gay for that pairing WHICH IS FANTASTIC. I mean, seriously, WHO DOES WRITE IT NEARLY ENOUGH?! There's so much you can do with it too.
Well, I look forward to your post if you ever continue the Rosa-centric fic. But I hear you--I have like, a bajilliontymillion stalled fics. ^_^;;
OH THIS CONVERSATION ISNT OVER EITHER
ANYWAY
In terms of porn, YES. I love conflict. Of all kinds. I think if I had to pick one words, it would be "complications" -- a little different angle, but same basic idea underneath, with the whole "sex is more than sex". I like stuff with layers, complicated relationships of all kinds that come into play while peoples are putting their parts on other people's parts. It gets endlessly fascinating.
And again -- okay, I am seriously don't meant to preach incesty pairings here, I realize it is really not a lot of people's bag and I am SO OKAY WITH IT, but it's a great example for what I love. Added layers of complications showing up, and people connecting to each other in a much more complicated way than "father/son" or "lover/lover". And that a complicated fit might be better for those two people than a simple one. it's funny to say "I like incest with happy endings" because jesus christ, what but I like stuff that's fucked up AND healing all in one really confusing package. GOD WHAT AM I SAYING. COCKS.
fics about broken relationships that may not be fixed, but find human connection in a mire of damage -- THIS. !!!!!!!!!!!! TO ALL OF THIS.
I still remember when we were watching the Antarctica bit the first time, and I leaned over to Becky and was like, "oooooh they're sharing Gundams" insert Edgar-like eyebrow wiggle here, I am ridiculous) because I thought it was kind of interesting, especially someone like Heero that I would think would be really, um, anal about his Gundam. But then he took Heavyarms and Trowa just took Wing to go fight and they were both alright with that. (Later on when they had the Wing Zero Swap-A-Thon (so Zero is the fandom bicycle here?) I did the same thing, too.)
THAT FIC:
MY BRAIN JUST DIED OF YES
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Oh god, embarrassment. I can only sort of sew maybe in my dreams.
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Here's some more photos (yes I'm hiding my face because I can ONLY IMAGINE what would happen if anyone from my professional life somehow found out that not only do I dress up as video game characters, BUT I DRESS UP AS THE VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS WHO I ALSO WRITE GAY PORN ABOUT)
Another one of Edgar
A LOCKE ACTION SHOT with a Jayne from Firefly.
Annnnd a close-up of me and all my nerdy pins on my nerdy 3-day pass lanyard. AND BEER, OF COURSE, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY I TREASURE-HUNTED IT FROM THE COLD BEVERAGE FRIDGE AT THE CON CAFETERIA
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For real, though, I LOVE Edgar's armor and Locke's jacket, these are all AWESOME THINGS
ALSO BEER: APPARENTLY YOU ARE OUR PEOPLE
Example:
I am trying to find more, because there was definitely a year we were Turks Drunk At A Bar.
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OMG, THIS. Please find photos of that PLEASE that's awesome.
notraffic was showing me some other photos of you guys' costumes that you sent her (or someone sent her? katmillia? I don't even know, my fandom world has suddenly exploded exponentially in like the past few days) and you all looked awesome too!!!! Like seriously, I'm jealous of the fact that you guys got like, pro-looking photos WITH AN FFVI GROUP. There were like, no FFVI people at Comic Con (and not many FF people at ALL unless you count a bevy of UNFORTUNATE RENOS). We didn't even think to check, until like, the con was over, to see if anyone posted on any forums about an FF group photo or anything.
And THANK YOU about the jacket! I also have a picture of the back--
I was actually kind of proud of this, getting that fucking purple thing on took a lot of crazy double-sided iron-on stuff and like, careful cutting of silk scarves and things. The jacket itself was like, $12.00 at Rainbow. BARGAIN
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XD
Yeah, I am not gonna lie, our FFVI group was MAD AWESOME.
That jacket is awesome!! I find I don't have tons of attention to detail, although I really wish I did!
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I'm sure eventually I'll be putting my fandom self on blast all over the place. OH WELL!
OH HEY LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOUND
So when Katy and I reference "Reno on Reno while Reno watches", this is what we were referring to. She is the Reno on the left and I am Rydia (Reno/Rydia was basically inspired by THIS CONVENTION and we have both written porn of it).
We spend all of Ohayocon at the bar. This is proof.
This is just Balthier fucking an orange
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RENO/RYDIA PORN? WHERE
OMG that Rydia costume is amazing. Did you make the whole thing??! Katy's Reno is really cool-- was she doing a steampunk version or something? Either way I like the take on it. I'm guessing this con is in Ohio... when/where?! notraffic and I are searching for MOAR CONZ to plan attending in the future. AND. There is a bar at this con?! There was no bar at comic con... just like, loose beers in the cafeteria. But a BAR at a con-- that's just like. Heaven. of all types for me
UM I ALMOST CHOKED ON MY TEA WITH LAUGHTER IN RESPONSE TO MR. BUNANSA'S EXPLOIT WITH CITRUS FRUIT
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I actually did not make much of the Rydia costume;
And I will just say this: Ohayocon is at the end of January in Columbus Ohio, and if you two feel like joining us, YOU ARE SO INVITE. Like, not to be a creeper, this is how we meet most of our friends. We usually get two adjoined rooms or a suite so it isn't too expensive, and we basically spend the entire con weekend in costume drinking at the bar. The bar in the Columbus Hyatt is right next to the Convention Center so you can get a table and sit there all day and watch beautiful people walk by in cosplay while you nurse your Winter Lager.
AND WE'LL, UH, BE COSPLAYING GUNDAM WING AT THE BAR
Re: OH HEY LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOUND
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YOUR COSTUMES ARE FRIGGEN AWESOME!! And I seriously LOL'ed really hard at the mouthface in the last one XDD
Uhhhh I just wanted to say HEY to you both and I especially love Edgar's armor and Locke's jacket there, and is that a tattoo on your arm? :D
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Yes it is a tattoo... it looks really weird in these photos because of the way it's cut off, but yeah. It takes up most of my upper arm. I can't wait to get another, actually XD
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Okay, so for now, I'll just um, address the costume question. ^_^
Really glad you all liked it. Edgar's situation as sort of a dollar store spending spree. Well, I got some children-size hockey gear, and then sewed a bunch of crap onto it basically. The entire thing is made of a few placemats, a bathmat, and curtains. I had a really fun time trying to sew fringe to that blue shit...but the armor was hardcore. However, I personally thought the blue stuff looked cool. But that's basically what it is--a blue plastic bath mat (wow, I'm making myself sound really cool) sewed over hockey gear, which has blue fabric sewed over it to cover the annoying logo bits. The pink bits are place mat-things, the sparkly shit is like, earrings I took apart or something and sewed on, and the shoulder bits with the fabric are...fabric, that I sewed on. I sewed on a lot of shit. So that's what it was! :) Glad you liked it. Some lady at the third booth in at anime Artist's Alley was like, "IS THAT DAMASK? I LOVE YOUR DAMASK," not knowing who I was supposed to be...yet that quote was probably my favorite part of the con, except for the doujinshi girl telling me that Rufus/Tseng was "the way to go." FTW. But either way, it was fun, and as
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And yeah.. . This entry exploded! HEY THIS IS FOR SERIOUS GUNDAM WING/FFIV TALK TOO, EVERYONE, FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN
(I just get excited talking about cons in my adulthood)
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Anyway, I also love creative crafting!! I'm shit at sewing, but what I can do is make stuff if you give me materials. I actually have become really fond of making costumes, and a few times in the last couple years I've made some Halloween costumes that turned out surprisingly well. And it's fun, especially when the final product doesn't COMPLETELY suck balls. There were tons of things I could've improved on obviously, but damn, I WAS EDGAR FUCKING FIGARO FOR LIKE, THREE DAYS OKAY YEAH. Anyway, hah, next year we'll definitely go as something else. I honestly am really quite fond of the drag!Cloud and Honeybee Inn hookers in hornet costumes idea that