The Star Ocean Universe

I'm certainly not a happy camper right at this moment, but, oh! The joys, the joys!

All things considered, I really can't complain too  much. After a brief few weeks of not working (but still not posting - bad me), I'm back to working again, and I feel like I just never have enough time in the day to do everything I need to do. That's nothing new, really, but a few things are that I'm hoping to overcome.

That said . . . well, it's time to get back into the groove of Star Ocean.

News:
As everyone knows, there really isn't anything new, game-wise. Sad, but not entirely unexpected, either. Other games are enjoying more popularity than the Star Ocean series. I am tempted to fire off another email to Square Enix and to find out at which conventions they'll have representatives. I can't promise I'll make it to those particular conventions, but I can promise to try. (Note: In the event that I do get to a convention where Square Enix has representatives and panels, I can't promise I'll come back with any kind of news. Their biggest selling point to keep fans interested, it seems, is the Final Fantasy series. Nothing wrong with it, but, as we all know, there are other games in addition to that.)

Cosplay:
The wig for my Fayt Leingod cosplay has long since arrived. It's still in its plastic bag and is awaiting washing. I do have the material, some thread, and a pattern to sew Fayt's white shirt. I haven't started sewing yet because, well, one, I'm feeling particularly lazy about it on my days off. Two, my sewing skills are lacking, and, three . . . I'm not quite ready yet, weight-wise, to make the shirt. The material I bought was a little on the expensive side, and I have no way to get back to Jo-Ann's for a while to get more if I screw it up. The beginnings are here! That's something!

Also, I have some cosplay photos of Leon from Star Ocean: Second Story by Brittany Peterson to post. Thanks to Brittany in advance for sending them my way. I haven't forgotten that they're in my inbox! It shames me to admit, but I just haven't been very motivated lately to  much of anything regarding any fandom I enjoy.

Merchandise:
I have added to my Star Ocean collection. I do recall saying that I'd settled on something to purchase. The figures have long since arrived and a photo of them taken. However, I'm not entirely happy with the backdrops I have (meaning, I don't have any whatsoever) to take pictures of my Star Ocean stuff. The lighting (and the walls) of my home make everything look yellow when I take pictures. Given that my collections (no matter what they be for) are very dear to me, I want to take the best photos possible. This is stuff I'm proud to own. I want my pictures to reflect that. Plus . . . I want to get more stuff.

Conventions:
Ah, the wonderful thing about plans is that they're subject to change at a moment's notice. Regarding my tentative convention schedule, I will be taking NMACon off of the list. This is mainly due to the fact that I have no idea where I'm going to be living come September, be it in Oklahoma, Washington, or Pennsylvania. YoumaCon may be off that list as well. It just depends on where I end up after the summer. Otakon, however, is still on that list. It's been a long time since I've attended a really good convention and over a year since I've attended any conventions at all. I'll keep my fellow fans posted as to which conventions I'll be attending.

Conversation Topics:
Still working on that. I wrote a lot of things last year, and I may go back to some previous ones to see if there's anything I can or change. Plus, with the working (and totally into watching The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger), I haven't played much in the way of games. Planning a weekend, though!

Ask the Star Ocean Character:
I'm going to keep this on hiatus for another month. I'm still accepting questions for Adray Lasbard, but, until I can get myself to where I can post and write in the hours before and after work, I can't promise when I'll have everything ready. Roger's segment is done. All that remains is to prepare the character facts and study.

Fanfiction:
Yeah, I haven't been doing very well wit this, either. Nothing for the birthdays or holidays or even on Destinies. I feel so horrible about that. Need to change it, and I will.

That concludes this for today. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday and drinking lots of caffeinated beverages!

~Dragonfly

I will blame Kojika for this.

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The Creator Complex

Last year, when I first started this journal, I wrote an entry about how I didn't think or believe it to be possible for Luther to be behind the Grigori in The Last Hope. In fact, I will still maintain that he wasn't behind the Grigori, that one of his competitors managed to infect the Eternal Sphere with them (a discussion for later). It's entirely possible, too, for someone to try and sabotage Luther, Sphere 211, and the Eternal Sphere. However, for this entry, I will entertain the possibility that perhaps he was behind the Grigori and the potential reason for it.

You see, this actually is inspired by a request I've made to Kojika. As I'm currently short on time in the mornings and in the evenings before and after work, I don't want to spend a lot of time searching for wigs for cosplays. My request to her was to help me find one that I could use interchangeably between Edge and Luther or at least the one her Edge cosplayer used at YoumaCon. My logic is that it would work well for either Luther or Edge, and I really would like it if I didn't have to purchase two wigs for two different characters.

There, of course, is more to the conversation, but, for the sake of brevity, I won't get into it. Suffice it to say, Kojika did send me a link for a wig that would suit my Edge Maverick cosplay very well. Sadly, I'm not so sure if it will work for Luther. My comments were one would think it would work well for Luther as well since he does have a Creator complex.

A Creator complex.

Now, as most players for Till the End of Time are aware, Luther is a megalomaniac. He's a control freak who wants everything to perform in a certain way, and when it isn't, well, he isn't a happy camper. The only way, in my mind, that Luther would ever send the Grigori into the Eternal Sphere is if he knew that a part of him, someone he created in his physical image, could destroy them. He isn't just a game designer. He's a gamer. What better way for him to play than creating an AI or two (or three) in his image, setting up the right personality parameters, and going from there? Some gamers do like to be heroes.

I know. It sounds strange that Luther would create Edge in his image. It's not as farfetched as one might, though, considering the similarities between Luther and Fayt. Luther and Fayt are polar opposites (Creator/Destruction).

Of course, I really don't believe Luther created the Grigori. They are responsible for abnormal evolution - anomalies, if you will. Luther wasn't all that fond of anomalies.

Then again, this is just my take on a potential reason for Luther being the cause of the Grigori and not one of his competitors. It's my interpretation of the character and mine alone. If others agree, that's fine. If they don't, that's fine, too. It's all about how we interpret things as individuals anyway.

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Cosplay/Merchandise Update

I finally settled on what Star Ocean merchandise I was going to buy first. I'll be ramping up for cosplaying, too. Wigs are first. I'll post pictures as soon as I have them.

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That's it for today and perhaps this week. Still not managing my time as well as I should be, but things will fall into place. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tomorrow, Ask the Star Ocean Character will debut with Reimi Saionji from The Last Hope. I'll also be revising her character study some and getting some interesting facts about her to post as well.

The next character up for Ask the Star Ocean Character is Sophia Esteed from Till the End of Time. The time in which to get all questions sent in is from now until next Wednesday, March 28, 2012.

Please send me a note, reply to this entry, or send me an email with your questions for Sophia. LIMIT ONE QUESTION PER PERSON.

For those of you who are fans of the likes of Edge, Faize, Fayt, Albel, or any other Star Ocean character, please write it down for later.
Merchandise Update

A tentative list of official merchandise has been compiled on my part after scouring eBay repeatedly. I've also contacted someone who's found more than what can be found on eBay . . . I hope to have more so I can post the list by game sometime in the summer.

For the fans who've bought Star Ocean merchandise over the last few years, please contact me with a list of what you own so I can add whatever I haven't found on eBay to the list. I'll keep checking eBay as often as possible, just to see if anything new has been added.

Part of why I'm waiting to post the list is because I do want to add pictures of what's available when I post the lists.

Note on Doujinshi: This will quite possibly be an ever ongoing list to compile. eBay doesn't even scratch the surface when it comes to doujinshi. For the most part, these are fan-creations. It'll still be very fun to compile and learn what else is out there. :)

On that note, I'll also be browsing through places like deviantArt for fan-made creations. They'll get their own section as well. My goal is to not miss a thing. :)