I'm sure I'm not the only one. Sometimes, you come across a fictional character or pairing or dynamic that just feels liberating to contemplate and write about, though exactly what you're being liberated from is unclear. I'm not a big shipper in fandom, so it's very little wonder why my current ship obsession never crossed my mind until I saw it in a prompt a few months ago, but after writing just a few short fics featuring it, something about it just clicked with me.

I'm referring to the pairing of Quistis/Rinoa from FF8, which has been an absolute joy to write, a boon to my creativity, and had positive little ripple effects throughout other aspects of my thoughts and emotions. I've wanted to write about this for a while, but it isn't an easy subject to articulate; however, sometimes the best approach is to dive right in, and that is what I'll do here. This post will be long, and a bit personal, so fair warning. ;)

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