Affiliates

I've been loitering about the 'net for a long time, and in my travels I've made some grand friends and charming acquaintances. Listed below are a selection of their wonderful websites and work. There's some amazing artwork, design and dedications to be found, and I hope you'll be just as inspired by their work as I am.

On a more playful note, I thought it would be fun to transform them into very special versions of various game characters within the Final Fantasy series. Without further ado:

choose your fighter:

Alex of Leknaat as Kuja from Final Fantasy IX I don't think Alex has any idea of how many of her fabulous tributes I unabashedly stalk. Like her, I'm quite fond of frogs who are practically princes, am not opposed to ninjas with hearts, am pretty much in love with thieves treasure hunters, and tend to keep tabs on websites akin to my own. Recently we discovered that we'd previously been affiliates through our older domains. So it was basically preordained that we'd join forces once more. PREORDAINED, I SAY! Ahem. Alex's collective will steal you in a not let go until the wee hours are upon you. Beware. (And kudos to me for linking practically every shrine she's made. Isn't that all the proof of her awesomeness you need?) Job/Class: Time-traveling Zealot from 12,000 BC Special Ability: An unrelenting will that aids her in single-handedly keeping the Chrono Trigger shrining scene alive Element: That which fuels the Water Whirl Treasures: Ènigme • Rico Suave • Missing Piece

Alex of Valiantknife as Celes Chere from FFVI Prodigiously amusing, unquestionably talented and candidly geeky, Alex and her much-adored 9 bright shiners network have long been an inspiration (and an addiction) of mine. Alex is devoted to her various loves, and her websites are imbued with her personality. She's witty, she's charming, she's smart, and she also has imbeccable taste in men. She's a quadruple threat: an artist, a gamer, a writer and a thinker. She's my sister in verbosity, my rival in winning the hearts of various RPG should-be heroes, and my accomplice in the distinguished art of cocoa-of-the-Mohinder-variety indulgence. Now, I could go on for a few more paragraphs, but methinks at this point it would be best to simply usher you off in the direction of her domain. Job/Class: Theif Treasure hunter Special Ability: Aced Pathfinding 101—because she knows non-heroes are the way Element: The core of our smallest dwarf planet Treasures: Renaissance • Libertine • Amends

Fellanora of ArtMishap As Fran from Final Fantasy XII Fellanora is truly a darling. We've been friends almost since I first entered the vast domain of the Internet, and have collaborated and exchanged gifts a number of times. I've always considered her a source of inspiration. Her website is full of artful goodies, as well as an undying love of fantasy and Disney's Gargoyles, so make sure you check it out! Job/Class: Not always, but often and interchangeably gargoyle and demon Special Ability: Transformation Element: The shadow that falls at midnight

Ivy of Auldrant As Lucrecia Crescent of FFVII Ivy has one riveting domain. Amazingly skilled at graphic design, she's a true inspiration, and a long-standing one of mine. She also uses her own gorgeous illustrations throughout her layouts, much to my delight. Her websites are filled to the brim with content crafted in her personal, witty and oftentimes hilarious prose. What an absolute thrill it was to become affiliated with Ivy and her collective. I only wish the mighty and unavoidable beast that is school hadn't succinctly dispatched the two of us so we could rant and rave about such things as Tales of the Abyss, Final Fantasy VII and His Dark Materials more. But off to her domain with you. Endless inspiration awaits thee! Job/Class: The mysterious non-hero who yields the greatest power of all Special Ability: A graphical intuition that captivates all who behold the fruits of its endeavours Element: The flame which may or may not have originated from the head of a certain self-centered nobleman Treasures: Last Laugh • Elegy • NinjaRocker

Janice of Fenali As Ashe B'nargin Dalmasca of FFXII You won't come across a more unique and exquisite collective than Janice's Fenali.net. Her domain, with its immersive structure and beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations framing every page, is one that inherently inspires fascination. It's a treasure: just read her elegant words and wander. And if you're a Slam Dunk fan like the two of us are, you'd better make a pit stop at her dedication to Sendoh. Not only is her domain lovely, but Janice herself is a delight to talk to, and I'm happy to call her a dear friend. Now, if only we could get that secret chibi art project kick-started... Job/Class: Last savoir of the Slam Dunk fandom Special Ability: Maintains full capabilities even when brain explosion gauge +111.1111% Element: Water in its purest form Treasures: Ace of Spades • 1046 Organization • Gun's & Roses

Kayley of DeviousKitty As Rikku of Final Fantasy X Kayley was one of the first people I met in the Gargoyles online chats back in the day. She's such a sweetie—I'll never forget she taught me how to export GIFs in Photoshop! Kayley creates some top quality artwork, which you can check out at her DeviantArt archive here. She has some fantastic photos of her original dolls on her website right now, so make sure you give them a look-see. Job/Class: Thief of dreams Special Ability: Stone by day, warrior by night Element: The Aeolian wind

Meg of Lost-Fragment As Freya Crescent of FFIX Meg and I had long been affiliates through our respective Tales of the Abyss character tributes when the second version of her shrine exploded into a burst of awesome and prompted a frightfully gush-ful email from me. Through further, more engrossing emails, I discovered Meg to be a kindred spirit and a dear friend. As big a fan of TotA as she is, she's an even bigger fan of Suikoden, and has a number of wonderful tributes and fanlistings to various characters in the series. On that note, she's recently brainwashed convinced me to pick up the games, because she's heroic like that. She's always experimenting with design ideas, and her layouts are inspirational in their variety. Pure love from me! Job/Class: Ramfish Special Ability: Inspires indulgence of the variety inclined towards Colin Firth and oddly-coloured spaghetti stains that pass as trendy fashion details Element: Sparkling!water Treasures: Debonair • Philanderer • Knight's Honor

Luenna of DarkSparrow As Eiko Carol of Final Fantasy IX Luenna was one of the first people I met when I entered the vast world of the online gaming collective community. She's a dear friend and one of the most talented people I know. We share a lot of the same fandom loves: Final Fantasy VIII, Sailormoon and PotC, to name a very few. Her websites are always top quality, full of interesting, in-depth content and I'm never sad at giving up hours wandering through them all! If you're a gaming fan, and even if you're not, you should definitely check her website out. Job/Class: Part-time G.E.E.K. Special Ability: Can shuffle in and out of Pirate Mode at will Element: All that is good is holy Treasures: Precious Sting • Earth's Tear • Elfstone

Pea of PeaNutCase As Terra Branford of FFVI Way back when, I was completely immersed in the anime fandom, and so was Pea, so of course we became fast friends! Pea is another collab buddy o' mine, and I'm always excited at the prospect of collaborating with her. She has some incredible colouring skills and some lovely illustrations taboot. Her website definitely deserves a few looks. You can also check out her DeviantArt archive here. Job/Class: One of the 108 Stars of Destiny Special Ability: When it comes to hunting cheesecake, she is second to none Element: Remnants of earth-shatter

Stacey of Peach-Arrow As Tifa Lockhart of FFVII I've long and from a distance admired Stacey Anne's powerhouse of a domain and the various websites it houses. The love she has for her sites is as clear as polished gold: each is filled with such passion and creativity, you can't help but be inspired and awed. She's a brilliant analyst and her essays are often thought-provoking and always interesting. We two just so happen to share a love of both Ayumi Hamasaki and of Final Fantasy VII, and her websites dedicated to each are amazing and well worth the time visiting—heck, just go to her main collective and explore. Job/Class: Midgar rocker Special Ability: Casting taskinillusion Element: rainy day glitter Treasures: Midgar-Rock • Ayu-Vogue • Grace

Todd of Sinspawn As Squall Leonhart of FFVIII Todd is a chum of mine—my bosom buddy, fellow supporter of FFX, partner in hilariously nefarious plots..! We share a love of writing and retro games, and we have yet to come across a subject that we can't touch! (Buzz off, Hammer.) His domain has a very personal feel to it, and his fansites tend to cover unconventional topics—both of which I absolutely love. He calls me a dreamer, and to that I say we're one and the same—dreamers with passion and an ironclad will to inspire the masses ! Inspire what in the masses, you ask? It's a secret, of course. We love secrets. We harbour them blatantly. Much to the chagrin of those around us. Job/Class: Eighties music superstar Special Ability: Conjures big hair, rat tails, and mullets on all those around him with a mere flick of his diamond-studded, singularly-gloved wrist Element: Sound waves Treasures: Poltergeist • Wanderer • Solitaire

Victoria of Besaid As Yuna of Final Fantasy X Victoria's domain has long been dear to my heart. Heralding a wonderful variety of dedications, you're almost guaranteed to find your fandom of choice at her collective. Victoria's unique, vintage designs sparkle with creativity and will leave you wishing for more. She's a dear friend of mine, and I swear it's not just because of her Harry Potter fanaticism and impeccable taste in men, nor our shared love of tea and our decidedly retro methods of communication! You see, Victoria's domain is simply a gem (and so is she, masquerading as Jem!Victoria these days and all). You'll only be doing yourself a disservice if you miss her website. Job/Class: Indie-seeker Special Ability: Evokes spontaneous laughter through spontaneity Element: Water of the pure, mountain spring variety (fresh from the Alps! And otherwise known as filtered water!) Treasures: Locked Heart • On the Edge • Eden

not even a phoenix down could save these few:

become

Affiliation is currently CLOSED.

Interested in becoming affiliated with Oceanflare.net? Fabulous. I've noticed there's a few ideas floating around about what exactly affiliation means, so before I get into the specifics, I'd like to throw a definition at you: to me, affiliation isn't just a way of mutually associating similar websites—mine and (perhaps) yours—it's also a way of creating ties within the online community. I consider most of my affiliates my pals, and I like it like that. If you're not already a friend of mine, you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll become one through affiliating with me! (I'm a rabid emailer, you see. Comes from being a long-term pen pal.) This is a bit of a change from a short while ago, but after discussing the subject with my friend and affiliate Todd, I realised this was the way I wanted things to go. And so, without further ado, the Requirements of Comradeship in all their glory:

• You're the owner of a collective with an art, design or fandom-oriented (gaming, anime, what-have-you) focus. Have content similar to mine? You're likely good to go.
• The quality of your collective, particularly its content, is comparable to my own website and my other affiliates' websites. In other words, I need to see how passionate you are about your website. And believe me you, I will  see it if it's there.
• You're fond of that old song by Bill Withers—you know, Lean on Me. Well, maybe not the song, but the idea behind it. I love to help people out—a few of my affiliates can attest to this—and I also wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from you.

So, are you interested? I hope so! Let me know by way of the contact page.