FFXII Fic: But That Was In Another Country (Vayne/Drace, Gabranth)

[mariagoner]

Say, didn’t I just swear that I wouldn’t be putting up fic for quite a while...?

In any case, you know how fickle we psychology folk are. And here’s a short, five-drabble long exploration of just how an actual relationship between Vayne and Drace could play out that I’m using as a dress-rehearsal for a longer fic (tentatively titled “Judge Drace’s

Comments

[artemischan]

Very interesting, dear. Not necessarily a pairing I would have picked out of the blue, but somehow...it works.

[mariagoner]

Trust me, this was a pairing that took me a while to warm up to too! XD But I love how it really hasn't been written before... and how there's so much latent potential. Playing with their dynamic has been interesting as all hell.

[artemischan]

Very, very true. I'm excited to see where this kind of mess is actually going to go, because you always have such an interesting grip on the characters!

[mariagoner]

::blush:: You are always much too kind for me! And honestly-- this series is. Er. Is going to end up as a surprise to me as well. I'm not quite sure what the destination will be but I only hope getting there will be amusing!

[mariagoner]

And heh-- don't worry! No offense taken! I'm fully aware this is a pairing full of much madness and I'm just glad it... somehow kind of works here. ;)

[mariagoner]

Hee, I'm glad it works for you! I fully admit it's total crack being spun from my head... but then, so are many other things I write! ::coughKnotscough:: I'm just grateful whenever I can involve others in my lunacy. ;)

[lady_venn]

As I said on AIM, I like. ^^ I can so see this happening between the two of them.

And don't let the fandom bitches get you down.

[mariagoner]

Tch, fandom bitches? What fandom bitches? I thankfully don't see any here. ;)

And thank you so much, darling! ::hugs::

[vieralynn]

Very interesting to read!

Guess what: I officially have to reclassify you as way more than an excellent humor writer. You *are* the psychological writer. Sometime you use humor as a flashlight for exploring the weird inner workings of personality and sometimes (like this piece and the Vossler experiment you wrote back in the fall) you surgically pick people apart with a scalpel. Hotdamn is this good. I'm very curious to see what this grows into. :D

Don't let random fandom's random shit get you down. [:::long distance hugs::::]

Given what I write, I'd have never published a thing if I listened to the very vocal criticisms that some of fandom has for one of the pairings I favor....

[mariagoner]

I'm glad this was interesting! I... uh... was kind of afraid that everyone would shun me for being completely on crack for actually liking Vayne and Drace together-- for actually trying to put them in a real (albeit highly manipulated) affair. But I'm very glad that doesn't seem to be quite the case here. ;)

And I think we are both, indeed, psychological writers in both the literal and figurative sense! (If you know what I mean and I think you do...) Given what we do in our day-jobs, how can we not end up all but picking through our character's brains in search of their inner hidden oddness. And by goll, I love finding the little bits and pieces of my characters that they try to hide from the rest of the world. It makes for a fascinating writing experience.

(And there are actually criticisms AGAINST Basch/Penelo? In a fandom that's notorious for crack pairings?! What could they possibly be?!)

[vieralynn]

True crack would be Vaan/Drace. :P

I have a thing for a Vayne/Drace/Gabranth triangle (and mirroring it with Larsa/Penelo/Basch triangle. uh-oh.... O_o).

In your story, I like the way you sketch out the history of the Vayne/Drace part. It is just so wonderfully wrong. ;)

As for crits against B/P, I don't see it as much anymore now that a few variants have been established in fandom (particularly madCrush!Penelo takes "innocent" advantage of clueless!Basch, but also friends drifting into awkward kissy wuuuuuv). Yet, about a year ago I saw some pretty harsh crit against the entire idea. It was mostly over on FF.net but on rare occasion also on LJ. It didn't seem to die down until an established base of B/P fic was written. :::shrugs:::

[intradependency]

Much like for #4. Very forceful, sharp-edged writing there. Like a papercut

[mariagoner]

::beams:: I'm glad you liked lucky #4! Honestly, it was the one that game me the most trouble and the one that I had the most reservations about-- if only because it's likely also the most important one in this story. I'm interested in the before and the after in Vayne and Drace's brief love affair-- but it's how they broke up that really fascinates me.

Drace knows no gender boundries! Drace needs no gender boundries! And that's what I love best about this woman, really. ♥

Eeep, you're right about the typo. Shall fix it now. Thank you for telling me! ♥

Ooh, that's an interesting point. I didn't really get the chance to spell out exactly how the affair started so hopefully it'll be accomplished in one way or another in Drace's Last Repose. I rather picture them as being a couple that came together mostly because of the thrill and the challenge of being with each other. They're both highly dominant and assertive people who look down on wallflowers and they both mutually admired each other's competence, charisma, and cunning.