I am a fan girl.
Yep. There it is. I said it. I’m a fan girl. I’ve been a fan girl for as long as I can remember, too. If you’re new to me or just even new to this journal, this is something I’ve mentioned quite a few times over the last several years: I was born and raised as a geek. Star Wars and Star Trek were my bread and butter as a kid. Yes, my parents watched them, but I don’t ever recall being annoyed over watching what they were. Anything to do with Tribbles? I love that about Star Trek. Between Jem and the Holograms and Transformers, Transformers was my favorite. I’m old enough to remember the slow decay of arcade-style games and the rise of Nintendo. My first actual fanfictions were for the Bangles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (not simultaneously). i remember watching Ralph Bakshi’s animated The Lord of the Rings and just completely falling in love with Tolkien. In college, I connected with like-minded individuals because I was writing Transformers fanfiction and was re-introduced back into anime. Hey, I remember watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on Showtime as a child and catching reruns of Speed Racer on MTV and, later on, Cartoon Network. I played Dungeons and Dragons with my boyfriend and my best friend in high school. Hell, my (now ex) boyfriend and I connected over talking about the X-Men cartoon and comics! There isn’t much about being a nerd and a geek that I haven’t embraced at one point or another.
Yes, I had my critics in my youth. I had people pick on me for being different. Weird Not like “other girls”, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean anymore. I was fortunate enough, though, to have a dad who told me it didn’t matter what other people thought of me, that what I thought of me was more important. I was fortunate enough to have a mom who understood she couldn’t stop me from doing the things I wanted, to pursue the various geeky aspects of life like Dungeons and Dungeons and allowed my ex-boyfriend to bring the gaming stuff over to our house to play. The only thing I ever truly felt lonely about during my teen years was being a Bangles fan. I had one person who enjoyed their music as much as I did, but, as we all know, sometimes one person just isn’t enough.
My horizons have expanded since the internet started to become a thing back in 1996. In fact, they’ve expanded quite a bit. As a fanfiction author, I’ve delved into a variety of fandoms, some of them rather hardcore, but I’ve had one just have a lot of staying power when it comes to not just writing fanfiction about but obsessing and wanting to collect everything there is about it.
Star Ocean.
For those of you who don’t know, Star Ocean is a science-fiction and fantasy RPG that premiered in Japan for the Super Ninentdo back in 1996, oddly enough. The first game, originally titled Star Ocean: A Space Odyssey, must have been met with some type of a warm reception in Japan because, three years later, Star Ocean: Second Story was released to the very first PlayStation console system, not just in Japan but to North America as well. (There are no mentions of a European release on the Star Ocean Wiki page, at least not for the first release of the second game.) Three years after that – yes, they went every three years with releases for the first three games – the game that got me hooked was released, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.
I was intrigued with Till the End of Time the moment I saw the ad appear on television. It was the first gaming ad I’d ever seen, but it took me a while to actually play the game. I started playing at a friend’s house, and they’d borrowed it from one of his brothers. It took me a tad bit longer own the game. I’ve just been enamored with this series since, so much so, I own the original Japanese SNES cartridge for Star Ocean: A Space Odyssey, Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) . . . basically, I’ve gone out of my way to collect almost all formats of the games plus whatever merchandise I’ve been able to afford over the years. I’m only missing Blue Sphere for the Gameboy Color and The Last Hope for the XBox 360. I’ve played games 3-5 through to the final bosses, Till the End of Time to all the way up to Freya (she’s constantly kicked my ass), The Last Hope beyond the Maze of Tribulations, and Integrity and Faithlessness to the first boss fight in the Maze of Tribulations. I’ve gone deep in for other fandoms before, namely Transformers and Inuyasha (some mild collecting for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Avengers, and the Lord of the Rings), but Star Ocean is the one that I currently cannot see myself parting with any of what I own any time in the near future. i’m even engrossed in Star Ocean: Ananmesis for Android phones.
I still write fanfiction for Star Ocean as well. I have ideas to novelize The Last Hope and create a backstory featuring a young Edge Maverick (in an effort to answer some questions that have popped up for me recently).
Which has also led me to watching the cutscenes for the games on YouTube. I’m currently watching The Last Hope and live tweeting about it on Twitter. It’s been a long time since I’ve played the game, since the game was released, and I’m questioning why I still love this game based on the massive plot holes that keep revealing themselves over and over again on me, but it’s still something I enjoy. The story potential there is perfect, and I intend to take full advantage.
I’m writing about the things I enjoy. Writing advice is just a bonus, but I don’t know it all when it comes to writing. That’s just how it goes.
So expect a lot of Star Ocean talk coming from me. Expect me to talk about the stories I’m writing, the books I’m enjoying, and the things I’m enjoying about my spiritual path. They all make up who I am, tell the stories of what I’ve endured, and allow me to heal on a personal and soulful level. I can’t ask for anything more than that!
~Blessed be!~
Enchanted Realms 