justira

@ff_press: [FFXII/Tactics] justira: Dark Knight Gabranth (G)

Daily Doodle: Of course he's a Dark Knight. Of course.

So.

The thing is, Tactics style is apparently fabulous for displaying shapely male posterior (hint: bottom left). And APPARENTLY I now have some kind of Noah FETISH (courtesy of chaosraven NO DOUBT) and got it into my head at some point, or maybe renay gave me the idea, to thus showcase Noah. We never see his ass, but I am willing to bet it is pretty damn fine. His calves came out pretty well turned, too.

The design is meant to be more or less in the spirit of previous job class porn entries. The design is obviously taken from Gabranth's armour, with simplification inspiration (and ideas for how to simplify Noah's face) from the Revenant Wings Gabranth art. Modified to look a little closer to the standard War of the Lions Dark Knight — the... things... on Noah's legs (tassets? cuisses? what the hell are they?) were transformed into the flary tassets of the male Dark Knight (though I kept a simplified version of the design from Gabranth's). The ridiculous crowny things on his poleyns are now the (embroidered) boot cuffs of the female Knight. (I have something of a habit of borrowing from both genders' outfits indiscriminately, though I apparently particularly enjoy putting little touches from lady costumes on the gentlemen.) I tried to work in bitty spikes on his pauldrons (quite bitty).

I had the damnedest time trying to get any kind of resemblance in the Tactics style — the faces consist of a generic-across-characters eye style, NO nose, and minimal mouth. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Ah, I tried. He rather resembles a Beoulve, though — I smell an AU.

This did turn out more than a little busy without the colours I was too lazy to apply — those would have delineated the shapes and muted the lines. But overall, quite fun, definitely going in the queue to clean up and colour someday.

Time: 1.5ish hours, not counting the time I spent staring off into space.

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( Daily Doodle: FFXII/FF Tactics - Dark Knight Gabranth )

@ff_press: [FFXII:OGC] justira: Vaan portrait (G)

Daily Doodle: Quickie portrait. I must have gotten quite a bit faster — and maybe a little better? I drew him rather surly, but it's a much closer resemblance in that little time than I've manged before, I think... who knew drawing every day for a year would work >.>

... actually, holy crap guys. It HAS been a year, almost! This is doodle #354, I think. Dang.
Time: ~15 mins

( Daily Doodle: [Daily Doodle]  )

@ff_press: [Recs] justira: 5 fics, 2 arts (FFI, FFIV, FFVI, FFVIII, FFX-2, FFXII)

I'm having a terrible week and DOINK! signups are on! SO what time is it? That's right! FFEX reccing time! Behold the amazing things FFEX has brought forth! DOES IT MAKE YOU WANT TO JOIN THE PARTY OR WHAT. You can learn about the exchange at ff_exchange or ff_exchange /shameless plug

But seriously, I never cease to be delighted by the amazing things people have made. Have some recs =)


[Art] FFI - Sunset hobbies (Red Mage, Black Mage, White Mage) by tlc010
Rating | Warnings: G, no warnings
Notes: FFEX 2007 Gift for admiral_j — Red Mage/Black Mage/White Mage. Mixed genders, please, and avoid 8-Bit Theater as inspiration. Beyond that, go nuts
Squee: Straight up: One of my favourite pieces of FF art EVER. And it's for an early, underloved game, no less! This thing has probably been recced all over the place and seen by everyone but I DON'T CARE because it deserves the attention and if anyone missed it they need to see it immediately. Besides the incredible quality of the art, I love that the artist flipped the usual genders for white and black mages — male white mage! female black mage! LITTLE BABY CHICOBO. The costume designs are excellent; they really feel like something people might actually wear and travel and go adventuring in. The lighting is amazing, and I adore the red mage doing his wood-carvy thing in the background. Not enough hearts in the world.


[Fic] FFIV - Under Fire (Rydia) by stealth_noodle
Rating | Warnings: PG, spoilers through the Feymarch
Notes: FFEX 2009 Gift for sister_coyote — Rydia. Rydia delights me with her strength, her courage and her spirit. Anything that highlights her personality would make me very happy, whether it was Rydia on an adventure or just a slice-of-life piece. I'm a sucker for Rydia/Edge, but pairing is not necessary; gen would also be fine, or friendship-fic with just about anyone. 6,940 words
Summary: With the aid of her Eidolons, Rydia makes a perilous journey across the Underworld to reunite with her friends.
Squee: This is all Rydia, Rydia and eidolons, and the Rydia is perfect; exactly as I could imagine her being at this point in her life. Young but full of arcane knowledge, a little uncertain but endlessly brave, stubborn and smart and surer of the eidolons than she is of people. The prose here rolls comfortably along with a great voice and really amazing little pearls of simile and imagery; there are individual personalities and quirks for each of the eidolons; and as a bonus there is even some meta! But mostly it is the story of Rydia re-emerging, and it is wonderful.


[Fic] FFVI - Dissolution (Edgar/Sabin) by seventhe
Rating | Warnings: NC17. Spoilers for Figaro and twin storyline. Twincest, questionable consent, sex between minors (they're 17). As the aithor says, this story rolled in a pile of wrong. And it's glorious.
Notes: FFEX 2009 Gift for wounded_melody — Edgar x Sabin; first time, perhaps a bit of dub con or very heavy persuasion. 27,000 words
Summary: The death of a king, the future of a country, and the bond between two brothers: the story of how Edgar let Sabin go.
Squee: Okay, uh. I am pretty much guaranteed to re-rec this thing a million times because it's JUST THAT AWESOME. The author has done an AMAZING job fleshing out these characters and their history. This is undoubtedly a shipping story, but it's also a story about grief, and growing up, and it's one of those rare shiptastic stories that I'd happily push on anyone (who's not squicked by the warnings) because it stands on its own as an amazing story, period. Both Edgar and Sabin are handled excellently here, complex and whole and so painfully young and angry. They both feel real and three-dimensional and complicated — and funny. Watching Edgar try to logic his way out of the mess is... kind of heartbreaking and hilarious at once. The various warned-for things are handled so well, too — the twincest is some of the finest I've read, ever, with all the wrong wrong wrong intact and delicious. The punch at the end is satisfying and sad and a perfect ending-that's-also-a-beginning.


[Art] FFVIII - Sunset (Quistis) by darthneko
Rating | Warnings: G, no warnings or spoilers.
Notes: FFEX 2009 Chocobo Down — FFVIII: Quistis, and the ocean, with her feet in the sand. Happy, calm and still, with or without company (Xu, Seifer, Irvine or, perhaps, Rinoa) in the background. Either alone or being watched, from her perspective or the watcher's. Additional Prompts: Coral shells, homecoming, wind in her hair, seeing the dawn and/or seeing sunsets (figurative or literal in either case).
Summary: Surf, sand, wind and the scent of home
Squee: There are so many things I love about this! The mood, atmosphere, colours — peaceful without being delicate; serene and lovely and strong. The strength is really what gets me here — Quistis looks tough and competent just standing there; I love her powerful shoulders and the gently emphasized musculature — she's a soldier and it shows. And yet there's something slightly vulnerable and far-away in her stance, her face. I love it.


[Fic] FFVIII - Colour Coded (Ellone/Quistis, Ellone/Rinoa) by temples
Rating | Warnings: PG for dark imagery, spoilers through late in the game
Notes: FFEX 2009 Moogle Fluff — FFVIII, Ellone, Rinoa, and/or Quistis, meta about magic, blue magic, and their connection to each other in the grand scheme. 670 words
Summary: She'd never admit it, but darkness calls louder than light.
Squee: I love the quiet intensity here, the strength of the imagery and how much comes across in such a short piece. It's dark and I love it, how Quistis and Rinoa's magics are presented differently, how each is viewed through the lens of Ellone's own abilities. The meta here is great, too, without overwhelming Ellone's presence. And, of course, I will love a story if it's Bechdel Central. This is rich without being overpowering, short but substantial.


[Fic] FFX-2 - Persistence of Memory (Paine/Nooj) by renay
Rating | Warnings: G, spoilers left right and centre
Notes: FFEX 2009 Gift for owlmoose — Paine/Nooj, their first kiss. Funny and awkward, or thoughtful and angsty, or leaping on each other like crazed voles, or a little bit of all three: it's all good. 24,000 words
Summary: Paine and Nooj went their separate ways, but when a mutual friend and shared industry bring them back together, they must work side by side and face their respective truths of an unfriendly parting.
Squee: Okay so, I don't really care if you like the main pairing (Paine/Nooj) at all — this needs to be read for the meta alone. Spheres! Spheres spheres spheres, pyrefly meta everywhere. This is possibly the most unique take on spheres I've yet seen. Well, okay, I lied earlier — there is also excellently drawn-out UST, and politics— politics aplenty. I really love Paine here, prickly but vulnerable, smart and capable and slowly opening up. I love how everyone was affected by Shuyin, what traces that leaves for all of them, how Nooj deals with it, how Paine deals with Nooj dealing with it. And man, when all of it comes to a head in the end, Paine and Nooj's conversation/encounter just kind of took my breath away. Hearts.


[Fic] FFXII - Necrohol (Basch, Fran) by alimond
Rating | Warnings: G, many many spoilers
Notes: FFEX 2009 Gift for gunshou — Fran and Basch. Outsiders, running away, sibling issues. Maybe awkward campfire conversations - both tend to be silent if not spoken to or offering guidance. Definitely a fascination with physical appearance. 1,181 words
Summary: We all carry secrets in our hearts. In some cases, those secrets are other people.
Squee: I love this series of short vignettes — the imagery here, the writing is powerful without being flowery or overwhelming. It's a kind of very direct and unadorned poetry; there are a number of phrases here that just punched me right in the gut. Simple but so, so effective. I love the insights into Fran and Basch here, their similarities, their differences. The mention of Fran and consumption versus discovery hit me especially hard, but I love all such moments in this story. Possibly one of my favourite takes on the two of them together.




=D

@ff_press: [FFXII:OGC] justira: Vaan and Famfrit (G)

Daily Doodle: Like yesterday's Penelo and Hashmal, this is another esper/hume match from Alchemies. Espers are so damn complicated.
Backdated 1 hr
Time: 30 mins or so

( Daily Doodle: FFXII - Vaan and Famfrit )

@ff_press: [FFXII:OGC] justira: Half a Breath Away (Vaan/Gabranth) (PG)

Daily Doodle: This is at renay's request, as a pick-me-up after Black Friday. Congrats on surviving! ♥ And to everyone else in retail — congrats! Thanks to first_seventhe and owlmoose for advice and quick once-over =)

Uhhh I don't actually have much to say. If you have no idea why Vaan/Gabranth of all things, the pairings comes from a story I wrote for ff_exchange, These Unending Alchemies of Honour.

Also, Noah's leathers can go die in a fire.

I think I'm due for some goats soon, though, I can't keep drawing big things every day XD
Backdated 3 hours
Time: 3 hours or so

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( Daily Doodle: Final Fantaxy XII - Half a Breath Away (Vaan/Gabranth) (PG) )

@ff_press: [FFXII:RW] justira: Penelo Dancing (Penelo) (G)

PSA: THIS POST WAS INITIALLY TYPO-TITLED AS: [Daily Doodle] FFXII: Revenant Wangs - Penelo (G)

Daily Doodle: I do not seem to have much commentary in me lately! The pose is reffed, with modifications as usual. Penelo actually has like armlet thingers but I got rid of those because I liked her hand positions here too much to obscure them (mainly the left one; her right turned out kinda blah). I will eternally resent XII and its spawn for their crazy complicated outfits >(

Also, I realized belatedly that I was committing that foul I am so unfond of, the tits+ass shot... but I don't think it's too forced here. She's dancing, not trying to wield a sword twice her height =\ Still, now I owe Penelo an action girl shot =)

Time: 1.5 hours, I think. Me and my messy lines that need cleaning!

ETA: Thumbnail:




( Daily Doodle: FFXII:RW - Penelo Dancing (G) )

@ff_press: [FFXII:OGC] justira: Dark in the Middle of Him (Basch) (G)

Hey so, I've been posting these Daily Word Count things underneath my Daily Doodles for the whole week and every day I promise I'll explain "tomorrow". A whole week later, it's tomorrow! Gosh, I wish my boss took this approach with deadlines.

Anyway. SO. I've successfully been daily doodling for about two and a half months, with 77 days and 77 doodles (counting today's, to be posted right after this). While I haven't magically become super duper awesome, I do feel like I've improved a lot, both in terms of skill and in terms of confidence. So I want to thank renay again for nagging me into that, because I count that as a great act of friendship: pushing me to improve myself and reach for my goals. Nay, if there are any further ways I can embarrass you publicly, just let me know =D

I'm hoping to do the same thing with words.

Now, I don't really believe in word quotas as goals. I have a lot of very tl;dr on that subject. So why am I doing quotas? Well, for me it's about habits and confidence. I angst a lot about my writing, and I need to maybe angst a little less. SOME angst is good. But I'm terribly ashamed of most of my writing, just like I used to be terribly ashamed of most of my art. So I'm trying to make myself write every day, just to get into the habit first. And to do that, I, personally, need something concrete. If I don't have a concrete goal I know I will fail. One drawing start to finish every day is concrete, and it's worked great for me. So I'm hoping word quotas can get me towards a daily habit of writing. Once I build a habit of just write, stupid, I can start refining it. Work on specific things. I'm already starting to do that with my doodles, and I have many more plans, like for theme weeks where I focus on movement, or backgrounds, or particular styles.

So here are the rules. I have to write at least 300 words every day. If I had to post words every day I would get hives and die, so for now I only post word counts (and do a tweet). But every week, I do have to actually publish something of at least 100 words — it can be something totally new I wrote that week (or that hour), or it can be something I've been working on forever and just now got edited and beta'd and polished. The important thing is to get over my fear of showing my writing.

renay is doing her own version of this project and she's been keeping it up all week too and I am super proud of her and also this is my revenge >P

I'm starting with nice, low quotas because again, the key is habit. I need something I can definitely do, no exceptions. Also it feels way better to raise a quota after consistent success than to lower one after consistent failure >.> And I've tried macho high quotas before. I've tried the "write 1,000 words every morning after you jog and before you have your very nutritious breakfast". (For the record, that lasted a whole week.) I'll increase my quotas in the future, just like I've been branching out with my doodles.

All of this, of course, is a very tl;dr way of saying "I'm sorry if the following drabble is balls, but I had to publish something tonight."



Title: Dark in the Middle of Him
Fandom/Chars/Ships: FFXII:OGC, Basch
Rating/Warnings/Spoilers: G, spoilers through end of game
Feedback: Always welcome, or what would be the point of making myself post >.>
Word Count: 100
Summary: There is, he tells himself, no reason to fear this darkness.

( Weekly Words: FFXII:OGC - Dark in the Middle of Him )
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x-post: ... no thanks. Maybe next week. Confidence!

@ff_press: [FFXII:OGC] justira: Vaan portrait doodle (Vaan) (G)

Daily Doodle: Hey so, I don't know why I keep trying to draw portraits in MS Paint? It's probably not smart? I reffed this off a single screencap, which I hate doing, but I was too tired to come up with something original. I guess it's... okay? I'm kind of proud of it, maybe. I'm hoping it's at least recognizable.
Time: 25-30 mins? it was off and on, I didn't keep track

( Daily Doodle: Vaan from Final Fantasy XII )

Title: These Unending Alchemies of Honour
Fandom(s): FFXII:OGC
Characters/Pairings: Vaan/Gabranth, Basch, Larsa, Penelo
Rating: PG13
Spoilers/Warnings: Spoilers through the end of the game. Full disclosure: canonically, Vaan is 17 and Gabranth is 36 so. Uh. Yeah. Pedobear seal of approval.

Feedback: Holy sweet jesus, yes please. For anyone who wants to give me some serious crit, I've put together some notes/concerns at the very end of the story.
Word Count: 38,500 WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN

Summary: Gabranth lives, and there is nothing simple about it— not for him, nor Basch, and most especially not Vaan.

Notes: Written for ff_exchange as a backup gift for chaosraven/chaosraven's prompt Vaan/Gabranth. Post-game, Gabranth lives to tell the tale and Vaan is stuck with conflicting feelings.

OKAY UH. I have a lot of people to thank here, and also a few notes on canon, not to mention my crit notes.

A huge thanks to first_seventhe/seventhe for the gamma read, the beta read, the cheerleading. This story could not have happened with you and your awesome suggestions. Another huge thanks to bottle_of_shine/renay, for beta reading, putting up with my woe and whining, and staving off my panic attacks for the past week. Thanks also go to lassarina/lassarina for help in the early stages of plotting and also for listening to my endless moaning. Finally, thanks to mithrigil/mithrigil for the advice on language; though I didn't have time to ask for a full language beta, the advice you gave me was very helpful.

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( These Unending Alchemies of Honour )

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( Story Notes )

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( Crit Notes )

x-post: ff_exchange [here] (link goes to first part), my LJ justira [here] (not actually archived there, since I am tired of breaking this fic up across multiple entries; it just links back here), fanfiction.net, my DW.