The bunny is bouncing

[azurite]

obabscribbler, this is all your fault. That little ficlet you requested of Anzu and Zell (a Final Fantasy VIII and Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover) started out... somewhat simply enough. Zell reminded me of Jounouchi, so I wanted to channel that early scene from Vol. 1 of the manga, except Anzu's reasons for telling Zell (via ketchup on a hot dog, rather than a burger) to "TELL AND YOU DIE!!" would be vastly different than Jounouchi's.

And then an idea started to grow. I like the idea of "mashing universes" that are coming apart at the seams, the way Kingdom Hearts does, the way xxxHolic/Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, and a few other canons hint at. It's always fun to do massive crossovers, especially in universes that would generally be "incompatible" or "impossible" to put together (without bringing in another canon that might act as the bridge).

I've already got one idea of this sort in my "Dead Fantasy: Last Mission" crossover, which is based off Monty Oum's "Dead Fantasy" I and II videos, but I haven't written a word of that (yet), just sketched out a planner file. And now THIS!

This would be Anzu, strangely in the FF8 world. Zell and Irvine are the ones to find/rescue her off the Rinaul Coast near Balamb, and after dropping her off in the town to get her bearings, go about their lives-- until one day Zell spots her working in the Balamb Garden cafeteria. Turns out she "isn't from around here" but has heard enough about Squall and the others to think that maybe hanging around Balamb Garden could lead her to a trip home. Where "home" is, though, is the big mystery. She's not so sure, and what she does remember doesn't sound like anything on THEIR planet.

Zell finds himself pretty curious about her and the half-things she says to him (she "knows a bit about magic and time-twisting"), so they start to talk more. When it turns out there might be a mission, but she can't go on account of her being a civilian, Anzu makes up her mind to try for the next upcoming SeeD exam. Zell is surprised-- it takes years and years to ready for the exam, and Anzu doesn't know very much about SeeD or the Gardens other than what she's heard second-hand or witnessed since she started work. But he still promises to help her study, and they end up spending more and more time together in the library.

The others start noticing Zell spending so much time with her, and start making up their own theories-- and Rinoa's got one of her own that she doesn't share with the others.

The exam gets closer, and Anzu shows a surprising aptitude for rote memorization of the written exam, but it's the practical exam that's got her and Zell worried, especially now that GFs aren't part of the prerequisites anymore (until they can figure out a way to junction with GFs without damaging the hippocampus/memory center of the brain, no one has access to magic except Rinoa, the last Sorceress). He asks if she's got a "specialty" the way Squall's a gunblade specialist and the way he's a martial artist. Anzu says she's only ever been good at one thing: dancing. Zell doesn't know what to make of that until she demonstrates a variety of different dances, and he says she's perfect for martial arts (or so he says... maybe he just wants to spend more time with her?). They end up training in the Training Center, and in between sessions, she reveals a bit about what she meant by her original comment of knowing about "magic and time-twisting."

She clearly misses her friends, and Zell realizes, she decided on doing the SeeD exam because she's finally willing to do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING to get back to them, and ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING to protect them.

She also joins Selphie's Festival Committee (along with a reluctant Squall and a mischievous Rinoa), and even makes a concentrated effort to help out whenever and wherever she can-- which earns her the respect of Quistis.

When it's time for the practical exam, students arrive from Trabia and Galbadia, though it isn't until they're at the mission site in Deling City that there's any interaction between the Garden cadets. Turns out the mission isn't just "practice" -- someone managed to kidnap both President Laguna Loire and General Caraway in an effort to lure Rinoa out to trap her and get her Sorceress powers for themselves (who are "they," though...?) It's revealed just how Squall knows Laguna is his father, and whether he feels obligated to help him or actually WANTS to.

When a threat is made against Anzu's newfound friends (namely Zell and Selphie, whom Anzu feels closest to, maybe because they remind her of Jounouchi and Shizuka) right after she's helped rescue Laguna, she gets furious-- and starts to display some strange abilities and changes. She defies Squall's direct order against doing something that ends up saving Zell's life (not that Squall wanted Zell to die, it's more like he's all about protocol) and ends up doing something that looks like she's junctioned a GF that no one has ever seen before: a mysterious blue-white dragon...

When all is said and done, the changed!Anzu, now with long white hair and even paler skin, collapses. No one will go near her (Zell's too busy coughing up dust) except one Galbadian cadet-- Seto Kaiba. Did they both pass the SeeD exam? Is Anzu really a "Sorceress from another world"? Are Seto Kaiba and Zell even in the same league!? How did Seto and Anzu end up in the FF world (the planet is unnamed, so I'd probably need to come up with something), anyway-- and is there really a way for them to get back? And will Anzu "junctioning" with the BEWD cause her to lose her memories... of "her" real world, of a past that Seto Kaiba denies is true, or of the present world she's come to know and maybe even love?

Comments

[winterwing3000.livejournal.com]

0.0 I really want to read this now. The details and storyline thus far is amazingly intriguing and I am so ready for more of your SxA fics, even if it is in the FF world. Especially since changed!Anzu turns in to Kisara look-alike. It'd be particularly interesting to see what comes after they found each other.

I always thought that the FF world made things a lot more interesting and fun to write mainly because half the stuff doesn't exist and reality and allows more freedom for the author to explore and create. Hope to see this out in production soon. =]

[azurite]

See, this is what I get when I stop working on something that I should have finished ages ago. I want to finish WDKY, but then I get hit with ideas like this, and I wonder, "should I take a break and do something new, or should I stick to my guns and try to finish what I've started?"

I'm also in love with the idea of Anzu being Kisara reincarnated, or whatever, but mainly because it's hard for me to come up with some realm of "power" for her that would otherwise make sense (and make for conflict in various ways in the FF-verse).

Thing is, unlike WDKY, where I came up with the ending pretty soon after I started it, I have no possible ending in mind for this. I can't honestly say who would end up with who, whether Seto and Anzu would remember/get back to their world, or what! Makes for some scary ficcing.

[guardian-kysra.livejournal.com]

I'm not a gamer so I had to some surface research to really understand your plot but dang if I ain't intrigued. Your ideas - even at the initial stages - are so detailed and complex.

(And since you went ahead and teased, now you have to give us at LEAST a full blown chapter ;P)

[azurite]

*grin* I think one or two posts back, I did that meme for ficlets that were crossovers, and the one obabscribbler requested that turned into this idea is in there. It may not be a full chapter, but it's certainly the skeleton of one, if you're interested.

Now how weird would it be if I ended up 'shipping a crossover pairing because of that!?