LadyKF Writes

An old friend of mine called me that once, because I couldn’t seem to stay fixed on anything. So, as an introductory post, I'd like to talk about the fandoms that have made the most impact on me.

Dragonball Z

I’m not sure if this was my first fandom, but it was most definitely my first to really suck me in and demand I do something with it. I did fanart, I did fanfic - the first thing I ever posted was DBZ, somewhere out on the webs under a different name. No I’m not bringing it back. I wrote a massive, never-posted trilogy chock full of OCs and looking back there were a couple by-real-definition Mary Sues but it really had a huge, formative place in my life.

This was way before I went onto FFN, in the start of it, before Ao3 even existed. This was dial-up and private archives, my first tentative forays into slash (and oh, it was… educational) and where I truly became enamored with fanworks. I did a lot of shipping and OOC and NOPE things that I cringe a little at, and some I’m proud of, some of both I don’t really go along with anymore. I count it as my first love. To this day, I get a stupid grin over Vegeta and Goku. (I also appreciate their respective wives much, much more.)

I suspect it is to blame for my love of tails, time travel fic, and definitely my flexibility on whether or not characters stay dead. It’s where I learned to draw (and boy, that’s a lot to learn to tweak for my style now) and where I started to really write.

 

Sailor Moon

Probably next on the list, it was close to the same time - I dearly loved it, and watched it on Toonami too. Almost all of it, actually, a couple times. I missed Stars season because it wasn’t in English and I didn’t have the patience for subs back then (I regret that.) To this day, I periodically slip into the fandom, usually seeking some of the things with the more manga-heavy backgrounds because Senshi/Shittenou is my favorite thing. It made me laugh and cry and will forever hold a place in my heart.

I think it’s also at least part of why I became so fond of reincarnation fic and soulmates, definitely the first time I started really appreciating femslash, too.

Star Wars

I was a prequels fanatic for so long. Some of that was dial-up too, AOL screaming in my ears before I could get on and go seek Qui/Obi in as many places as possible. I was definitely the type to trawl through archives, most fondly remembering the MA archives. *happy sigh*

I’ve fairly recently decided that had to be where I first read

thedeadcat

Star Wars really got me into looking back into backstories, doing tremendous amounts of research everywhere I could get it. I have literal pages of dialogue and fan dictionaries in other languages - mostly Huttese and Mando’a - and notes on food and culture. All printed out, mind you - hard copy. To this day, I have several of the encyclopedias/reference books on various subjects and would love more if I just had the space. *desperately needs a taller bookshelf, the poor things are on their sides*

Then I got into KotOR and TSL, and I was sucked into the Old Republic era, and oh my god, it has made such a deep impression. Time travel became a big thing to me again, and redemption fics too. I also had a big kick on drawing in “obscure” characters and speculations on all the minute details - that hasn’t stopped, of course.

For several years, I spent a lot of time with a close friend playing The Old Republic MMO and it’s brought OCs to life for me with a power and depth even DBZ hadn’t given me. I really feel part of the universe, and while I’m most active in my last-to-be-listed fandom, Star Wars will forever own a piece of my heart and was tremendous in shaping me.

The Compilation of FFVII

Ye gods, this is the beast. I started reading before I played anything, back in the days when Cloud and Sephiroth and Zax were peers and the OT4 of Cloud/Sephiroth/Zack/Aeris was my thing. (If it’s written back that way, not counting Crisis Core, I still love it.) I lurked on Livejournal and was all over on FFN before I ever settled into my current ID as LadyKF. OCs were a huge deal again (still are!) and I read… so, so much. Some things maybe I shouldn’t have and some things I have no regrets and also no courage to post my tries on like mpreg and tentacles and anthro and but it’s where I really started flexing my fandom muscles again. And I think it’s also where I really started being a presence in fandom, my little corner of people who seem to really like what I do.

Time travel, relationships - and not all ships are sex or even romance and I get that now, more than ever - and all the worldbuilding and backstory because things are so richly done, but not all the details. Not all the fiddly bits I want and keep trying to write. I went through the stage where I was a fan via fandom and oh I had so many misconceptions and then I started digging into canon, I played a little bit of the OG on my friend’s PS1 and then there was PSP and Crisis Core and somewhere in there an emulator (trying OG again) and finally doing it on the PSP (which I did, finally, finish) and I’ve watched the vids for what I haven’t played, namely Dirge of Cerberus and Before Crisis.

Research research research, and I’ve written so much - over nearly 400K posted and my longfic is 230K+ of that - with so much support, and it’s where I’ve met most of my dearest friends. Three RP blogs over on Tumblr (directorlazard ,applesandashes andmultifandommuseroulette ) and a fansite - ff7central (also ff7central ) - trying to gather everybody together on a level I never dared before because I have so much love for fandom.

I have other fandoms I linger on the edge of - Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Threads of Fate, MCU (mostly Avengers) - but these four are the ones that have truly shaped me into the writer and artist I am now.