Dissidia 012 Duodecim made me realise how officially cool Lightning was. Square allowed Lightning to lead yet another group of characters, some of whom were more popular and well-established than she was. And Lightning pulled it off!

When I heard this dialogue, I had to chuckle. DOES THIS GIRL KNOW NO FEAR?? Then I saw some pretty, pretty scenes, and this random idea popped up. I would’ve saved myself the trouble and used the awesome screenshot, but it was too blurry, so I redrew it. I figured out the painting technique this time! Am so happy. Again, Ididn’tavoiddrawingLightning’soutfit, itjustturnedoutthatway.

Art © Yosane
Dissidia 012 Duodecim / Final Fantasy 13 and all the genius © Square Enix

I caught this bit of in-game snippet that seemed to go by too quickly for Lanille fans. So I did a cut & paste job to get these two together in that scene, for those who don’t have a rewind button. It’s from early-ish in the game, at Vile Peaks. Vanille is really something, she’s not just a cute face! And for the record, I luv both Lightning and Vanille’s English voices. I was impressed with the International version. We’ve come a long way since Rocky-the-squirrel style dubbing.

I couldn’t grasp the last stage of the painting technique I was trying out, so they got gothed up. I shall keep trying! And no, I didn’t intentionally avoid drawing Lightning’s outfit this time. It just turned out that way.

Art © Yosane
Final Fantasy 13 references and awesome quote © Square Enix

Lightning how I imagined her to be — BADASS. Thanks to Alasse Tasatir who directed me to JiffyLube6’s fanfic, I’m now a Lanille fan. At first, I thought Lightning x Vanille, wut? (Vanille belongs with Fang thankyouverymuch… or Lightning belongs with Fang.. or Fang belongs with Fang) And crossover fic, wut? I’ve seen Lightning as poster girl, ice queen, robot, sleaze, pedobear, pushover, OMGsheneedsbiggerboobays (Tifa, I’m lookin’ at you) that I fell out of the FF13 fandom almost as quickly as I fell into it. So I’m thinking, surprise me.

And surprise me, the fanfic did.

[rave]
Here was Lightning who could hold her own in a fight. Who showed the subtle difference between stoic and cold. Who was strong but acknowledged her own weakness. I had thought that Fang was the one who could bring out the fire in Lightning; this fic showed me that it’s Vanille who could bring out the light. Something clicked, and I think this pairing is adorable. Must draw!
[/rave]

I drew this ficpic as a gift to JiffyLube6 for her wonderful effort. However, I soon discovered what a pain it was to draw Lightning’s gunblade and outfit. I shall keep trying!

Inspired by merrymaking and elves in the world of LotRO.

It’s getting chilly as Christmas approaches and Santa prepares his sleigh. Here’s a lil Sei x Youko (from Maria-sama ga Miteru) to warm up your day.

I had fun halloweening with some online friends. It’s past now, but here’s a lil something I did as a commemoration. Is it spooky? I tried, but spooky’s not my forte.

Welp! I’ve been painting with SAI, but I really needed something that could draw horizontal lines. If SAI could do it, I couldn’t figure out how to. And it seems like SAI will never get updated. So! I found IllustStudio, and it’s been A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Someone made me watch the entire Gundam Seed series. Check out how awesome Athrun is x’D

… or thereabouts. An art trade with my lil Thai sis, Barbozari, who drew me a yummilicious Fang x Light fanart. Haran is her very cool character.

On our visit to Thailand in March, my parents decided on a whim to buy a house and retire there. The living expenses are much cheaper than in Australia, so they’d be able to have a comfy time. I decided to accompany my parents, so here I am in Bangkok, Thailand. The house isn’t built yet, so we’re staying at various relative’s places.

In Australia, my parents collected many books, and we found ourselves packing endlessly before the move. Even after painting and preparing the apartment for sale, there were still -more- things lying around. Luckily some family friends helped out and we managed to rush out to the airport an hour after we had planned. We caught the plane okay though.

Arriving at Bangkok airport, my uncle took us through customs. Had a bit of a glitch with my passport. In Thailand, I will have 3 different family names to deal with: my Thai name, my Ausralian name, and my Australian maiden name > _ <

Anyway, I got through passport control, and my uncle introduced us to his customs officer friends along the way. “This is my elder sister from Australia…” “Oh, hello! How do you do?” “… and her husband…” “Hello! Ah, and this must be their son?” “… daughter…” “Oh, daughter, hello!” … G’day to you too, gramps! X o

On going out of the airport, I felt the humid heat of the Rainy Season. I could hardly breathe, the air was so thick. The thought of a new life was also overwhelming. I haven’t lived in Thailand for 25 years. I still feel like a tourist, but tell myself to behave like a local.

The first week and a half in Bangkok was busy with settling in. My mother had trouble getting clearance for the shipment we sent, because — like me — she also has 3 family names to juggle, and the shipment name didn’t match her Thai name. Luckily, my customs uncle did more paperwork and got the shipment through without extra fees. Another uncle also arranged for the delivery of our things to one of his properties for temporary storage.

I’m realising that it’d be hard to get anything done in Thailand without knowing someone. If you know the right people, things can be done express, and with little or no expenses. This is in contrast to Australia, where people generally keep to themselves, and everyone gets treated more or less the same.

I wonder how my parents will be able to keep to their plan of a quiet retirement. I’m starting to worry that my t-shirt and jeans aren’t gonna cut it in image-conscious Bangkok. My parents have to dress well, because my mother’s relatives are quite high profile. I tend to stand a bit farther away, and they probably wonder if I’m the maid/carryboy. Right now, I’m gonna try and keep a low profile.

I miss the internet… Our new house won’t be finished until around December, so we’ll probably be like nomads until then. I’ll try to update when I can. Take care nows.

-Yose

Vanille: Come play with us, Light-san *calmly unbuttons Lightning’s shirt*
Lightning: … H-hey–
Fang: *gropes* It’ll be fun~ I promise

And then there were three.