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star_ocean_fanThis is a fairly recent theory on my part - try like in the evening hours of last night while playing Till the End of Time. I did something that I hadn't done in previous play-throughs. I got the message from "B" that I had access to Sphere 211, and I could go there anytime I wished. This, of course, after taking my time on Elicoor II, going to Styx, playing in the arena, and then going back to Styx. I finally decided to progress this particular play-through, but, instead of heading to Sphere 211 right away, I returned to Arkives. I wanted that Smithy Hammer for Item Creation.
Upon my return to Arkives and reaching the second "level" of the city, I spoke with a guard who was, oddly enough, spooked, for lack of a better term. He started to ask questions about how to analyze something that was there - that he could see and touch (and perhaps even smell) - but wasn't there at the same time - his scanner read it as air, basically. The piece of fabric he held in his hand, something he could see and touch, wasn't registering for analysis.
This has me thinking about a couple of different things. One is that this guard's words are proof that, without Maria there initially, the group wouldn't exist. It's something that we already knew as well, but I don't ever remember speaking to him before so it's like . . . wow. I didn't know that! Two, it would make proving their existence is viable to someone like Luther, who's certain of himself and his place in his world, almost impossible. Because of his job, not only as the Owner of Sphere 211 but also because he's one of the lead programmers. Luther therefore is stuck in his Workspace however many hours a day (giving his control-freakishness, I'd say he's at Sphere at least sixteen hours a day), as many days in a row as possible (which, if it's like our seven days a week thing, it'd be seven . . . yes, I do envision Luther as a workaholic). Because of this, Luther has begun to rely more on a computer screen to tell him what is and isn't real over his senses. He could stand there, look at Fayt and his friends all he wants, fight them in battle and feel the sting of their weapons, but his mind would still refuse to register it as real. He said it himself - the Eternal Sphere is a fabrication. It's how he's meant for it to be, and for it to adapt and become more isn't unacceptable. It's simply unthinkable.
Likewise, Fayt wouldn't be able to convince Luther that he and his friends are real and not just mindless AI programs. Not just be standing in front of him, slapping him on the arm, or anything else like that and definitely not while Luther's allegedly projected into the Eternal Sphere, as Blair thinks. I think that if there had been some sort of a confrontation between Fayt and Luther alone in Sphere 211, before the final battle, it might have made a slight difference, but that isn't the case we see in the game. Luther escaped to the Eternal Sphere. He used Belzeber and Berial as distractions. So long as Luther relies on a computer to tell him what's real when it comes to the Eternal Sphere and not his senses, it will always be an uphill (and potentially losing) battle for Fayt.
Still, the existence of 3D beings in 4D space is baffling for someone like Luther. He would want answers. Whether his computers could give him those answers, since they're unable to actually analyze something as simple as cloth. What would they say about something like tissue and blood? Would they even be able to scan Fayt and his friends from head to toe and have the computers tell them anything?
It's interesting to consider.
* * * *
Not to be a grammar Nazi - and, yes, they do exist - but if there's one thing that could turn me off from a fanfiction quicker than a person turning a light switch on or off is it's poor spelling, sloppy grammar, and little to no punctuation in a sentence. I realize that a lot of people write fanfiction for fun. It's meant to be fun, but even something written for fun should follow the rules that have been applied to writing since the inception, writing, and translation of the scriptures found in the Bible. Even cavemen followed some form of logic when leaving behind cave paintings, same as the ancient Egyptians. All professional authors follow these rules, be it on their own as they write or in the form of their editors.
And readability isn't subject to personal preferences or opinions. If you're someone who wants to go with the "only 2% of the population reads everything word for word", understand that's a good chunk of the population. I wrote once, in another journal, that, if the world's population was somewhere in the ballpark of 2 trillion people, that's 40 billion people who read everything word for word. Those numbers include authors, editors, and agents. And please don't be fooled into thinking that because authors, editors, and agents fall into the realm of paid professionals they don't read fanfiction. I can guarantee that there are some out there who do. J.K. Rowling reads fanfiction based off of her Harry Potter series. If she reads, you can be sure she isn't the only one. I've also had a friend tell me that one of her other friends was discovered through her DragonBall Z fanfiction. This woman now writes professionally. (If asked, I will provide the author's name and her titles.) Utilizing proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation matters almost as much as coming up great story ideas. If you don't care that your story is riddled with misspelled words, sloppy punctuation and sentence structure, I can tell you right now that no one who is of worth in the writing world will care to read your story.
Here's another way that I can put it: Fanfiction is a form of creative expression. In fact, all writing is a form of expression, be it to relay facts or to invent new worlds. The clearer you can convey your ideas, the better others will understand what you're trying to say, why you're trying to say it, and the more they will enjoy your works. If you're coming across as a five-year-old on a perpetual sugar high, the only ones who will enjoy your works are your friends that you beg to read your stories and leave glowing praise on something that could otherwise be construed as a piece of garbage.
Here are some examples:
(not from any particular works - just something I came up with for demonstration purposes)
"Die, data!" Luther yelled as he ran towards Fayt with his spear pointed at the other mans heart "You won't ruin my pefect pardise!" Before Fayt could react Jalayla his girlfriend and best lover in the world jumped in front of him and deflected the Creator's spear with effortless ease and smiled smugly as the blondhaired sputtered and howled in rage and tried again but kept deflecting him because like FAyt she'd grown stronger thruout her journey to this point.
Bad, yeah?
(from Chapter Two of Wizards, Warriors, and Rogues)
This time, Luther did spit the blood from out of his mouth. The watery red substance landed just below the strange angel’s feet, but he seemed to either not notice or not care about such an action. Instead, the man backed away a few feet, a smirk on his face. Luther’s hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Once their battle began, his spear had proven useless, heavy, and unwieldy so, as quickly as he could, he created a sword for himself. Oddly enough, it looked very much the Divine Avenger blade the data known as Fayt Leingod had wielded in their battle. He rose so that he could face his opponent one final time, his footing unsteady, but Luther fought his weariness. He leveled his gaze at the stranger and pointed his blade at the man.
Much better. :)
Writing for fun can be fun, but remember, when posting in a public domain, writers are subject to the opinions and thoughts of others. Following the rules to convey their ideas clearly will garner more positive reaction than something that looks like a five-year-old wrote. Write properly so that the only complaints a reader has are the subject matter, not your intelligence.
* * * *
Last week, I displayed pictures of Star Ocean cosplays created and worn by my friend Kojika. For the most part, the cosplays were created and worn for conventions. Cosplays aren't just worn for conventions but for other reasons as well, but today, I'm talking about conventions.
My first convention was BotCon 2000, which took place in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was a very fandom-specific convention, a bit on the boring side, but it was also fun. My friends and I, while I don't remember seeing much in terms of cosplay, still had fun. We missed a couple of the panels, lived off of fast food, and wandered the Dealer Room and Artist Alley for a while, and simply hung out with each other. We didn't know very many people there, either, though one friend and I would later learn a couple of people we would meet in the months following BotCon were at the convention itself. Still, we invented some of our own fun and enjoyed ourselves. It was in the following years, 2002-2004 as well as a few Cybercons tossed in for good measure, that I saw anyone dressing up as favorite characters from the show. Cosplay, though, was still at a minimum, quite possibly due to the fact creating a Transformers cosplay (unless it's for a human) is going to be quite extensive, expensive, and time-consuming. The two guys I saw dressed as Rumble and Frenzy at BotCon 2004 were talking, at the time, of having to do a little bit more in order for them to be complete for the next convention they were heading to after that event. If I remember correctly, it was their feet that needed to be finished. I digress.
However, this isn't likely to be the case for a generalized convention like Comic Con, Anime Expo, and Otakon. When it comes to cosplay for a more generalized convention, the attendee is going to see a great variety, especially at the more popular of said conventions. When it comes to cosplay for such events, you'll find everything from comic books and movies to video games, manga, and anime. Heck, you'll even find cosplayers dressed up as their favorite JPop and JRock artists. There will also be a larger variety events scheduled - voice actors, gaming rooms, writers' panels as well as events for cosplayers, just to name a few. When my sister and I attended NMACon last fall, they played Anime Truth or Dare, which was quite interesting.
Also, when it comes to the larger conventions, the dealer rooms will be larger, filled with a variety of merchandise from the insanely popular to the obscure and rare. The Artists' Alleys will be larger, too. You could spend two hours alone just wandering from table to table. As I've not yet been to events like Anime Expo, Comic Con, or Otakon, it's my guess that it could take two hours to cover just the dealer room. I would dearly love to go to these events at least once or twice and also hit up some of the smaller conventions (when compared to the likes of Comic Con and Otakon) like OhayoCon, ShutoCon, and YoumaCon or any of the smaller Comic Cons, like the Emerald City Comic Con held in Seattle, Washington, or the Motor City Comic Con, held in Detroit.
I feel that the fun in these conventions not only comes from being able to travel - because, well, I love to travel and I'd love to be able to travel more than what I currently can right now - to different places or the same places, whichever may be the case, but also in the people we meet at such conventions. It could be meeting new people, it could be the people we've known for years and years, or the ones we just met a few months prior and just wish to gather. It's the people who make the conventions, and it's the fan events, like Anime Truth or Dare and Human Anime Chess, that also make the times memorable. I feel fortunate that I've been to the slightly major convention of BotCon and the smaller Cybercons and NMACon, but each convention is a new experience. If you've never been to a convention but would like to, I definitely recommend that you find the one that will best suit you in what you want to see and experience.
To conclude this, I'm including a list of upcoming conventions from the end of this month to the end of July. Some of these will be local conventions for specific areas as well as some of the major players. I'll be writing at least one more Convention Talk segment with a conventions list from the beginning of August until the end of the year. I'm also going to provide a link to a website dedicated to listing conventions worldwide.
For that, go to animecons.com . You can search by region and country.
Here are some upcoming anime conventions, their dates and locations. Remember, you don't always have to be pre-registered to attend these conventions, and you don't have to attend every day, especially if they're in your local area. Pre-registration simply gets you in the door faster and is cheaper if you plan to be there for every day of the event.
Hyatt Regency O'Hare/Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Rosemont, Illinois
PariahCon
April 27-29
Imperial Swan Hotel and Suites
Lakeland, Florida
ShinbokuCon
April 27-29
Ramada Elyria, Ohio
Elyria, Ohio
Eastern Shore Fan Con
April 28
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, Maryland
Quinni-Con
April 28 and 29
Quinnipiac University York Hill Campus
Hamden, Connecticut
BAMCon
May 4-6
Crowne-Plaza Pittsfield-Berkshire
Pittsfield, MA
CoreCon
May 4-6
AmericInn of Moorhead, MN
Moorhead, MN
No Brand Con
May 4-6
Plaza Hotel and Suites
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Zenkaikon
May 11-12
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks
Oaks, Pennsylvania
Anime Park
May 12
Canton High School
Canton, MI
Atlanta Anime Day
May 12
Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter NW
Atlanta, Georgia
LouisiANIME
May 18-20
Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Lousiana
Motor City Comic Con*
May 18
Detroit, Michigan
* - not in the anime conventions list at animecons.com . . . if anyone has more information on this, please let me know, and I'll update this as soon as possible.
MobiCon
May 18-20
Ashbury Hotel and Suites
Mobile, Alabama
Nauticon
May 18-20
Provincetown Inn
Provincetown, MA
OkamiCon
May 19
CasaBlanca Resort and Casino
Mesquite, Nevada
Animazement
May 24-27
Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh, North Caroline
Anime Oasis
May 24-27
Grove Hotel/Quest Arena
Boise, Idaho
Phoenix Comicon
May 24-27
Phoenix Convention Center
Phoenix, AZ
Comicpalooza
May 25-27
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, TX
Florida Anime Experience
May 25-27
International Palms Resort & Conference Center
Orlando, FL
Ultima Con
May 25-27
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
New Orleans, LA
FanimeCon
May 25-28
San Jose McEnery Convention Center
San Jose, CA
A-Kon
June 1-3
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
Dallas, TX
HamaCon
June 1-3
Von Braun Center
Huntsville, AL
QC Anime-zing!
June 1-3
Clarion Hotel Conference Center
Davenport, IA
Colossalcon
June 7-10
Kalahari Resort and Convention Center
Sandusky, OH
AnimeNEXT
June 8-10
Garden State Exhibit Center
Somerset, NJ
OMGcon
June 8-10
Julian Carroll Convention Center
Paducah, KY
Sugoku Con
June 8-10
Red Lion Colonial Hotel
Helena, MT
Knoxville Comic & Anime Con
June 9-10
Falls Cedar Bluff Convention Center
Knoxville, TN
AM2
June 15-17
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, CA
Anime Blues Con
June 15-17
Hilton Memphis
Memphis, TN
Anime Mid-Atlantic
June 15-17
Chesapeake Conference Center
Chesapeake, VA
Delta H Con
June 15-17
Crowne Plaza Houston Northwest Brookhollow
Houston, TX
Metrocon
June 15-17
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, FL
SoDak Anime Convention
June 15-17
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
Rapid City, SD
PortConMaine
June 21-24
DoubleTree by Hilton (formerly Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel)
South Portland, ME
Seishun-Con
June 22-24
Doubletree Hotel Atlanta NW/Marietta
Atlanta, GA
JAFAX
June 23-24
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, MI
Anime Festival Wichita
June 29 - July 1
Hyatt Regency Wichita
Wichita, KS
AniMinneapolis
June 29 - July 1
Ramada Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
FandomFest
June 29 - July 1
Galt House
Louisville, KY
Anime Expo
June 29 - July 2
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA
Florida Supercon
June 29 - July 2
Miami Airport Convention Center
Miami, FL
CONvergence
July 5-8
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington - Minneapolis South
Minneapolis, MN
Omnicon
July 6-7
McAllen Convention Center
McAllen, TX
Anime Midwest
July 6-8
Wyndham Lisle-Chicago Hotel & Executive Meeting Center
Lisle, IL
Anime Overload
July 6-8
Holiday Inn Austin Midtown
Austin, TX
Anime Punch: Fieldcon
July 6-8
AEP ReCreation Lands
Morgan County, OH
AnimeWorld Indianapolis
July 6-8
Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel at Keystone Crossing
Indianapolis, IN
Chiisaicon
July 6-8
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
Shepherdsville, KY
SummerCon
July 12
Camino Real Hotel
El Paso, TX
Comic-Con International: San Diego
July 12-15
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Anime SouthEast
July 13-15
Sevierville Events Center
Sevierville, TN
ConnectiCon
July 13-15
Connecticut Convention Center
Hartford, CT
Ikasucon
July 13-15
Grand Wayne Convention Center
Fort Wayne, IN
Sukoshicon: Athens
July 14
Holiday Inn Hotel Athens
Athens, GA
Ancient City Con
July 20-22
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront
Jacksonville, FL
N.A.P.P.A. Con
July 20-22
Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Decatur
Decatur, AL
Sogen Con
July 20-22
Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center
Sioux Falls, SD
Tokyo in Tulsa
July 20-22
Tulsa Convention Center
Tulsa, OK
AnimeIowa
July 27-29
Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
Coralville, IA
Animeland Tucon
July 27-29
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Tucson Airport-North
Tucson, AZ
Otakon
July 27-29
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MD
Convention Talk, Part Two will discuss the costs of attending a convention - not including what it would take to find a cosplay outfit, either by commission or by creating it yourself.
* * * *
Fanfic: Goodbye
World: Till the End of Time
Characters/Pairings: Luther Lansfeld, mentioned Fayt Leingod, implied eventual Luther Lansfeld x Fayt Leingod
Rating: PG
Warnings: implied m/m situations
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Till the End of Time or the characters of Fayt Leingod and Luther Lansfeld. They belong to Square Enix and Tri-Ace respectively. I don't profit financially from writing or posting this story.
Fayt Leingod was now a free man. Luther knew as much, had seen as much. The entire scenario had played out for everyone in 4D space to see. His counterpart's heart had been broken, thanks to one drunken night, and it had done by the two people Fayt had trusted most.
A part of Luther, upon seeing everything play out, had been overjoyed. It meant, to Luther, that he could entice Fayt to do whatever he wanted and how he wanted. Fayt was vulnerable, after all.
However, overall, Luther was disgusted with what he had witnessed. Fayt had risked everything for everyone in his universe, and his friends had been gutless to tell him the truth. Luther absolutely despised dishonesty.
He typed a few things into the Eternal Sphere program, tracking the progress of Fayt's small shuttlecraft as the twenty-year-old fled from his life. There were a few things he had to take care of first, but he would be waiting for Fayt wherever the young man went. Luther would always be there, whether the his counterpart liked it or not. Fayt would not be able to escape the destiny Luther had in mind for him. He simply would not.
********
Next Monday: Convention Talk, Part Two - The Costs of Attending Conventions
Tomorrow: All About Arumat - Happy Birthday to the Captain of the 13th Armored Division
