Final Fantasy Friday

Final Fantasy Friday: The Crossover

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Final Fantasy Friday

I have been playing a lot of video games lately.  I know…I abandon you all for a month, say I’m going to be writing a novel, but instead I play all the games.  I didn’t plan it that way, but when you suddenly come into four new systems in less than six months, you have the need to use them (plus Super Mario Odyssey though).

An indie creator and the Big N gave us Mario + Rabbids, and the wedding of Disney and Squeenix gave us Kingdom Hearts with a variety of ever confusing numbers and excruciating waits for the third one (?).  I apologize; I’ve actually never played KH (action RPG and whatnot), but I certainly loved watching my husband get his ass kicked by Sephiroth in the Radiant Garden.

No, but that outfit suits you ♥

This brings me to this week’s question…

What other game or franchise would you crossover with Final Fantasy?

This is one of those questions I didn’t have an answer to before I post it, but for some reason all I can think about is Assassin’s Creed.  You’ll have to forgive me since the only one I’ve ever played is Origins, so I only know the most minimum of details; however, I think a guild of assassins would be quite enriched with the addition of my one-winged obsession up there.   Assassin’s Fantasy or Final Creed would work for different but acceptable reasons.  Final Creed is growing on me more though.  It’s kind of like “final oath,” and it could have to do with the oaths the assassins take that could have some magical factor/geis involved with them, and possibly the plot is the main character attempting to do something that breaks the oath, but for a good reason, and hey, we may have a story here!

I wonder how a Legend of Zelda crossover would work.  Final Legend is a kick ass name, too.  What about Metroid?  Mother Brain and Jenova certainly have that creep, hive-mind factor going on, and don’t the metroids themselves suck out life energy?

I haven’t really worked out the semantics of gameplay or anything like that since none of the others are RPGs, but I like the narrative options and would love to hear your suggestions in the comments.  Fanfiction anyone?

What games (or any other media) would you cross over with Final Fantasy, or let me know any other crossovers you think are cohesive!  Also, since Disney owns Marvel, it’s possible that my two favorite characters could technically end up in the same game 😀

The End of Hiatus

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I have returned, dear friends, though I obviously didn’t physically go anywhere.  No…I just spent the month attempting to write my next novel, but instead of doing NaNo, I did a NoNo (have you missed my puns?) insofar as novel writing was concerned.

NaNoWriMo 2017

I’d planned to physically write 50k words by hand, which is around 1667 words a day, but I didn’t count on arthritis being a greater factor than it was back when I wrote my first novel (by hand).  The pen, which rested right against the joint of my thumb, caused excruciating pain to the digit, and it just became harder and harder to accomplish much at all.  The first day I probably did around 1800 words, which is more than the target, but each day following, I wrote less and less.  I finally decided I’d switch to Word, but then the second problem arose…

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Status Suspension and Final Preptober Things for NaNoWriMo 2017

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I’ve mentioned it here and there specifically in my State posts, but since it’s the last day of the month, I wanted to put up the “official” notice of my pseudo-hermitage for the month of November/NaNoWriMo.   I am going to attempt to write at least 50k words of a new story (the official NaNo stipulations), which means I need to make time to get out an average of 1667 words a day, though I’ll be writing by hand, so it’s going to be a more rough estimate.  I decided on handwritten because the last two stories were entirely on Word, and I was neurotic to the point of paranoia about losing my work.  Oddly enough, handwriting stories doesn’t take any longer than not.  It’s just a different initial stage of the writing process.

Since my three State and Final Fantasy Friday posts take hours to draft, review, and complete, they’re going on the chopping block for this month.  I’m also going to potentially cut down my reading or at the very least not pick up anything new (except for my lunchtime Kindle breaks).  I’ll still be checking comments and reading what blog subs I can on the weekend, though I’ve turned off nearly all of my notifications or attempted to…WordPress makes that so damn difficult.

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Final Fantasy Friday: Fashion Faux Pas

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Final Fantasy Friday

Longer ago than I’d like to admit, I posted a Final Fantasy Friday about Fashionistas and Fancy Fellows, in which I detailed whom I thought was the dapperest dresser of them all.  It was one half of a pair of questions, and I promised to fulfill the other side of the promise the following week.  I didn’t do it then, but I didn’t quite forget and figured I’d pull the question out a week when I was too busy or too tired to think up something more complicated.  I’m feeling a little under the weather.  The past two days have been extra stressful, and my throat is a bit sore, which could mean this asthmatic is about to develop a chest cold, so now is the perfect time to pose an easily answered question.

Who is the worst dressed Final Fantasy character?

Before I answer this, let me quote from the site I also linked in the
Fashionista” post, because it’ll give you a major clue about whom I’m about to lay the fashion smack down upon (FYI – don’t click that until you’ve seen my answer if you don’t want it spoiled).

“This outfit is preposterous.  It’s a send up of ’90s urban fashion, scrubbed clean for an appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show.  [They] look like [they’re] ready to deliver a sanitized performance of “I Left My Wallet in El  Segundo,” complete with clarinet accompaniment and bubbles floating by. “

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The State of the Writer: 9/17/17

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<–The State of the Writer: 9/10/17          The State of the Writer: 9/24/17–>

A weekly post updated every Sunday discussing my current writing projects and where I stand with them.  This will include (but not be limited to) any and all work(s) in progress (WIPs) be they creative writing, essays/analyses, and reviews.  Additionally, this post will showcase what writing projects I’ve completed in the past week as a sort of weekly roundup, as I’ve seen other cooler bloggers do.

Finished This Week: 3

Project: Book Review
Title: Gaslight Hades
Author: Grace Draven
Date Posted: September 11, 2017

One book review finished out of many needed this past week, but I’m starting to look at the reviews as yet another long term project, especially if I’m going to finish three or so books a week.  This novel is in the running for my Book of the Year, and Grace Draven may very well be my new/current favorite author.

Project: Award
Title: Not Really Another Liebster Award
Author: Inkbiotic

As the title states, it’s not really another Liebster award, but rather one I scooped up on Ms. Inkbiotic’s blog as it was so offered.  It was a great deal of fun, and it roused her out of hiding to answer my questions in turn.  I call that a win 😀

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Final Fantasy Friday: Character Crush

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Final Fantasy Friday

One of the best things about being a fangirl or fanboy (though they apparently have nuanced differences beyond suspected gender, which I’ll explain momentarily) is our ability to crush on anyone (and sometimes anything).  Hell, the term “fangirl” is now a verb meaning (among other things) to flail wildly, crush, and/or obsess over a character, and this is one of the areas the two terms have slight differences.

While fanboy and fangirl should only denote the gender that the particular person identifies as, their meanings go a bit beyond.  Fanboys are usually the ones who nitpick, weed out, and formulate theories about their favorite works and characters.  They argue over what’s canon, what’s head canon, what’s non-canonical, and what’s just plain crackpottery/tinfoil.  Fangirls stereotypically freak out and flail over their crushes, write fanfiction, swoon over pictures, and create and disseminate gifs and fore mentioned pictures.  Both fanboys and fangirls cosplay, and fanboys seem to be more connected with fanart as fangirls are connected to fanfiction (this could also be why fanart is held in higher regard than fanfiction, something I continually critique and that you can read more about here).

By these definitions, I am both a fanboy and a fangirl.  The difference is pretty sexist if you ask me, where fanboys are implied to be more interested in the narrative, characters, and foundation whereas fangirls are portrayed as more vapid and insipid.  This is sadly common where things girls and even women like are viewed as less valuable (e.g. fanfiction, romance novels, boy bands, etc.), and they’re often mocked for it.  If they try to be more “fanboyish,” they’re accused of being “fake geek girls,” *rolls eyes* and the accusers will then force them to prove their devotion in ways that would never be demanded if they were male.

So…I got a little bit ranty and venty.

Enough venty to hold all the coffee

My point was being a fan of any type usually means you have at least one crush, and Final Fantasy plays host to so many beautiful people, you have the crème de la crème from which to choose.

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Final Fantasy Friday: A Cid in Every Sequel

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A Final Fantasy (et al) post to welcome you to the glory of Friday (if you don’t have weekends off then may this hopefully brighten the midst of your work week) with more located here!

Final Fantasy has quite a few universal themes running throughout the series, and it pretty plainly has character archetypes (I’ll have more to say on that in later essays), but it also has a recurring character who’s first appearance was in Final Fantasy II, though per the FF Wiki he was retconned to be in the original.  I’m talking about non other than the ubiquitous Cid.

Who is your favorite Cid?

My Cid.

Yes, I named my cat after the ubiquitous Final Fantasy character; fight me.  He’s my favorite real life Cid ♥

For Final Fantasy, hm, this is a tough question.  I don’t just want to pick Cid Highwind because he’s from VII, but I do love his crusty, brusque demeanor that’s hiding a true heart of gold.  No one in VII is one-dimensional, and I can understand Cid using that gruff exterior to cover up how much he truly cares.

I’m a little annoyed he doesn’t smoke anymore in Advent.  I mean of course smoking is bad for you, but it kind of reminded me of the Solid Snake in the Metal Gear loading screens, and it was Cid’s signature thing.. If I were going to pick a voice actor for Cid, it would probably be Hugh Laurie, but I don’t know if I’d want him to use his typical English accent or the American one he has for House.  I’m learning towards the latter though.

But…I also like Regent Cid Fabool from Final Fantasy IX. He’s kind of the Edgar/Edge archetype due his philandering and position of power.  I know what that sounds like, but surprisingly none of these characters are really assholes (even though I don’t like Edge very much).  They’d never abuse their position in order to get a woman into their bed; they’d just use their charms.

Also IX’s Cid certainly gets his comeuppance when his wife Lady Hildegarde finally tires of his lecherous ways and turns him into an oglop, a little bug-like creature.

He then winds up as a frog when he tries to reverse the spell, and it takes a kiss from Lady Hilda to return him to a man again.  It’s a cute little side story.

Despite his adulterous ways, I liked that Cid was the first person Garnet thought to turn to when her mother’s erratic behavior reached critical levels, and the princess was willing to do anything, even get herself “kidnapped” in order to reach Lindblum.  The fact that Garnet was willing to risk all said a lot for how much she trusted her uncle.  He was also integral to Zidane and company’s quest, and like most Cids, was mechanically minded and able to *spoiler* adapt to a world without Mist, their primary energy source.  Like VII, IX had the “runs on souls” paradigm, and *end spoiler* craft airships despite this.

Who’s your favorite Cid?  Let’s discuss in the comments!

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Final Fantasy Friday: Fashionistas and Fancy Fellows

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Final Fantasy Friday

A few days ago an article popped up in my Facebook memories, concerning the garb of a certain Final Fantasy hero and how utterly outlandish it was.  Regardless what you think of this character, it’s hard to argue with that logic, nor am I against calling out fashion faux pas wherever they might happen to fall.

Also, just to note, I’m extremely picky about my parody.  If you’re going to make fun of something, do it in a way that isn’t just bashing it.  Good parody will poke at the known ridiculous aspects of a work without vilifying its value.  I’ve seen too many parody/satire sites that miss the mark and go overboard with it.  They’re not poking fun, they’re making fun, and while it can be nuanced, there is a difference.  The linked above does the former and is quite amusing.

Anyway, the article put me in the mind of a pair of questions, the first of which I’ll post this week, and the second, which will be posted next (you will never guess what the second question is…)

Who is best dressed Final Fantasy character?

I need to think about this one for a moment, because I don’t just want automatically go with my default

*checks Pinterest and the Google*

Alright, I have a winner, but there were more runners up than I’d thought, and like so many of my posts, this became far more involved than I’d planned it to be.

Final Fantasy IV

Rosa

She has spikes on her epaulets, which are usually reserved for villains, yet it doesn’t take away from her white mage aesthetic.  The one question/uncertainty I do have concerns whether or not that’s her underwear we’re seeing…

Rydia

She looks like a fairy princess and kind of is, considering the king and queen of the Feymarch pretty much adopted her.

Final Fantasy VI

Celes

Her general’s garb is so elegant, and yes, she could still lay you to waste and not muss her outfit for the evening.

Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth

I’m a goth myself, so my hot general running around in leather bondage gear looking like a runway model is what my dreams are made of ♥♥♥  Plus, you just can’t go wrong with black and silver.

Final Fantasy VIII

Squall

A leather jacket lined in wolf’s (?) fur is never going to go out of style (so long as the fur is faux in real life).

Seifer

The long coat with the Templar crosses is some fashionable foreshadowing to his romantic dream of becoming the Sorceress’s Knight.

Final Fantasy IX

Beatrix

Everyone’s outfit in FFIX is pretty freaking ridiculous.  Zidane is wearing cuffs with no sleeves, Kuja is rocking a thong, I don’t know what the fuck Eiko is wearing, and we’re not even going to talk about Quina, but Beatrix once again shows that generals know how to dress.

Final Fantasy X

Lulu

Belts for a skirt in a fur lined dress paired with pale skin, that hair, purple lips, and the attitude make for one bad ass combination.

Yuna

Her outfit is almost the polar opposite of Lulu’s: modest where the mage is revealing, youthful where Lulu is mature.

Final Fantasy XII

Balthier

The most Han Solo character of the Final Fantasy universe, he’s kicking ass and taking names with that vest (the story should’ve focused on him and Fran, speaking of…)

Fran

Fran pretty much allowed us to see bunnies as sexy, though I suppose arguably Playboy did that already.  Fran did it better, and more literally.  Have  you fucking seen her shoes??

And the winner is…

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Final Fantasy Friday: The System Is Down

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A Final Fantasy (et al) post to welcome you to the glory of Friday (if you don’t have weekends off then may this hopefully brighten the midst of your work week) with more located here!

The system isn’t really down, rather I want to know which system you’re down with.  Which Final Fantasy has your favorite magic/leveling/battle system?  Are you a Materia hunter?  Do you prefer to have a specific Job?  Or would you rather Junction your way through random battles?Since this is a bit of a three part question, a three part answer with potentially different games is more than acceptable.

Hm, well, it’s hard for me to separate the systems from the story.  FFIV’s job system fits with its story line (especially considering the main character’s job changes as part of the plot) just like FFVII’s Materia system fits with its.  I’m going to try to stay objective and look at the systems outside of their respective narratives.

For leveling, the only system I absolutely abhorred was Final Fantasy II’s.  Having to fight with a weapon, shield, or magic spell a hundred times in order to make progress was one of the worst decisions Square ever made, and I’m happy the company didn’t suffer for it.  All of the other Final Fantasies I’ve played level in the way the video game gods intended, and I’m perfectly fine with that.

To be honest, I like VIII’s Junction system.  I like the versatility of it.  I like how you can switch around GFs to make your characters tanks.  I like how you can add/take away abilities, and I think the system gets much more hate than it deserves.  When I first played the game, I didn’t quite understand how it worked, so I spent a lot of time summoning my GFs, but once I figured it out, it was a simple matter of drawing a hundred of applicable spells and junctioning them to the appropriate spots.  I also liked how you would make a specific salary depending on your sEED rank, not that I mind beating up monsters for gil.  FFVIII just had this organization to it (maybe because it was about a military organization that was trying to do good as opposed to VII’s…) that fit well with my Taurus mind.  It was a very well organized game in terms of its systems.

I know magic and battle systems are intertwined, but there are some slight nuances.  Going back to the Jobs systems, I like how IX handles it.  I could say similar things about VIII, but I feel like they updated where they were going in the prior game with IX.  I like that each character has a specialty, which is the opposite to VIII’s Junction system where anyone can be customized for anything, and then switched around at a moment’s notice (barring their Limit Breaks).  The only thing I don’t like about IX’s battle system is if you go into Trance at the end of a fight, you lose it regardless of if you use it.  I wish they’d kept the same system used in FFVII and revived in X where the Limit Break was available until you decided to unleash it.

I think Steiner’s was my favorite.  He looked like an actual knight instead of a grumpy, old man in rusty armor.

Let’s discuss favorite systems in the comments!

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Final Fantasy Friday: Villainous Intent

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A Final Fantasy (et al) post to welcome you to the glory of Friday (if you don’t have weekends off then may this hopefully brighten the midst of your work week) with more located here!

Last week I asked for everyone’s favorite main character, but you all know where my heart truly lies.  Nor did this start with Final Fantasy; I’ve always been a lover of the villainous and fluffy.

fluffy-destroyer-of-worlds

Remembering back to my Disney days (not that I don’t still like Disney, but back when I was a kid and Disney was a major influence), I always had this strange affinity for the villains.  I always thought their songs were the best (a trait that has not left me in my current Final Fantasy state), and even though I didn’t have the abstract thinking skills at the time to rationalize or explain this (I didn’t learn villainous sympathy until much, much later), I still always though characters like Maleficent and Scar were cool (the latter also had the “British accent” going for him).  Graduating to the Final Fantasy school of villainy was an easy step (especially considering Squeenix and Disney work so well together).

You all already know my favorite Final Fantasy villain or “villain” for reasons expanded on and explain here, here, and really everywhere on this blog (the quotes are also explained in the links.  Spoiler alert: I don’t think Sephiroth is the real villain of FFVII)..

For those who are new here

For those who are new here

I’m not going to do an actual poll; one, it’s nearly 11:00 here, and since I took a longer nap than expected, I’m getting a much later start on all I need to accomplish tonight; two, I don’t know the names of the villains for some of the Final Fantasies I haven’t played (like the latter ones.  I know about Exdeath in V); and three, many of the games have multiple villains.

Let’s have an awesome comment discussion about your favorite Final Fantasy villain!

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