(Seriously Frank, wires aren't tasty)
Second time's the charm, no need for alarm.
The Basics:
Name: Railenthe
Age: 26
Location: SPACE. ...oh wait, you need more specifics. Midwest America.
Occupation: Maid Housekeeper.
How did you find out about this community? (Specify usernames if you remember them.) One word: toffeethesnob.
Personality Questions:
1) List and expand upon your three best traits / strengths. (These should be personality-related, not physical.)
1) Even if it looks impossible, I keep going. It comes from a lifetime of being told what I wanted to do and not wanting to do that because that wasn't what I wanted to do--it was what THEY wanted me to do and like hell was I going to deal with that all of my life. (TAKE THAT, FAMILY).
2) I consider myself incredibly tolerant. If I notice that something is off somehow, I have to understand what is going on before I can take a side--otherwise it feels fake.
3) I stick to my guns. If I've made a decision about something, I will stick to it. No waffling for me.
2) List and expand upon your three worst traits / weaknesses.
1) I can be ludicrously vindictive. I don't like it when people slight me and I don't let it slide. Whether it comes through karma or active pushing on my part, people who slight me WILL wind up getting called out on it and punished--even if it's detrimental to other things. I will NOT be dishonored. I get kind of ...aggressive when I'm angry.
2) I spook a bit easily. If something hurts me once it takes forever for me to work up the cojones to deal with it again.
3) I am constitutionally incapable of focusing on on one thing at a time.
3) Rate yourself on the following traits by putting an 'X' in the box you think fits best. (E.g. if you are slightly more introverted than extroverted, put an 'X' in the second box.) Explain your choice as well.
Introverted [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] Extroverted
Explain: Given the choice, I'd usually rather stay in. I'm into creative things and some things are hard to do when there are other people around/nearby. I can't do crowds--less so now than in the past--and I have a very hard time making friends because I can't tell if people are being serious when they say things about me, and I don't know how to react to it. Frankly, having to read other people spooks me.
Cheerful [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] [ ] Gloomy
Explain: I am right in the middle--I swing from "DUDE EVERYTHING IS AWESOME THIS IS AWESOME YOU ARE AWESOME" to "Seriously why am I supposed to give a f@#$?" in the same day. Most of the day I just feel 'meh.' But when I go up or down...it's ALL THE WAY up or down.
Reserved [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] Impulsive
Explain: Most people ask "why." I on the other hand ask "Why the hell not?" when it comes to doing things, trying things, or, really, doing much of anything. It often takes me a bit of working up to asking other people about it, but if I don't have anyone else to think of and there's something I want to do right there--of course I'm going to go for it.
Energetic [ ] [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] Calm
Explain: I'm going to admit that I don't like this question. My energy level is WILDLY erratic. I begin the day in a state of "meh, there are things to do blah blah hrgh," but something could come up and I'll be bouncing off the walls because I like the idea so much. Then again something else could come up and I don't have the same reaction to it. I'm either straight zen on things or it seems like I've been eating coffee beans. Sprayed with caffeine. Stuffed in chocolate. Laced with speed. Which is further laced with MORE speed.
Logical/Thinking [ ] [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] Emotional/Feeling
Explain: Another one that doesn't seem so cut and dried. I like to think things through, but at the same time if I don't get the right feeling in my gut, I will usually go straight on the other side of the scale and go with what feels right. I don't like running on logic to the complete exclusions of my instincts--especially since most of the time, my instincts turn out to be right.
Grudge-holding [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] Forgiving
Explain: I don't like to be slighted. Anyone who slights me will probably never be on my good side again. There have been exceptions to this rule, however--if the situation goes through the metamorphosis so that the situation is bigger than me, I will drop (most of) the animosity. ...there are, however, certain things that can never be forgiven, and I've had to drop people who I've thought of as friends because they went past the point of decency. I've an incredibly hard time forgiving people, because I can put up with a lot before they lose me--usually to the point where legality becomes blurred and I can't even make sense of why I've dealt with them for so long. Honestly, it's easier for me to avoid getting to know people than risk the possibility of them hurting me so badly that I can't forgive them.
4) Describe how you typically work in teams. Is it generally a good experience, or do you prefer working by yourself? Do you like to lead and make decisions or do you prefer to let others make decisions so that you can do the legwork? You may find it helpful to give an example of a team you worked on recently and how that went.
I don't usually ike to work in teams, mainly because I'm often not heard when I'm in the team. This probably has something to do with the fact that I wasn't the kid picked last--I was the kid who wasn't picked at all, and then was basically forced to work on a team where I either had no say or my ideas weren't given the proper credit. I tend not to speak up in those situations.
On the rare occasions where I am in a team that I like, I will push hard for my ideas to be heard--I will make the same suggestion as many times as it takes to be acknowledged, even if it involves me standing on a chair and going "HEY! LISTEN!" Most of the time, however, I prefer to listen to the rest of the team make ideas, and then see if there is anyway to poke a hole in the suggestion. My strength lies in finding the flaws in plans before they are executed. Well...that, and thinking outside the box.
I remember a D&D game where the party was attacked by a--let me get this right--Cthluhoid undead gelatinous cube. I had NO idea what to do and started throwing ideas around. Eventually I landed on the most ludicrous idea I think I've ever seen in a tabletop: douse the tank in the holy water and have him work on it.
So I douse the tank in holy water and help shove him into the room--which is literally FILLED by the cube.
It worked--but it also got a lot of weird looks. "Hey, if we can't kill it from outside, we can kill it from inside! Inside IT! =D"
...maybe it's more like thinking outside the cube.
5) Spider-Man Decision: If you had to choose between saving two dozen innocent children and saving your best friend/significant other/person closest to you, which would you pick and why?
I'd save the person closest to me. I have no attatchment to the innocents--in fact if we're being perfectly honest, I'm not good with children (zero patience with kids, even when I WAS one). But I don't get close to many people, and so saving the person closest to me actually is a little bit selfish--I wouldn't hold together with them gone.
6) Your friend has had their feelings hurt and comes to you for consolation. What do you do? Let's say, two days later they come to you again still upset over the same issue. What would you do in that case?
On the first day I'll play the mirroring role, but keep it realistic. There are certain things that I have little patience for and watching a friend in pain is one of them.
The other is watching them in pain for LONGER because they haven't even thought about what I've said and have gotten stuck in the cycle of endless self-bashing in the process. That is a time when I'll pull out all the stops and be blunt with them--any time it's clear that they're just not moving on from something that shouldn't be such a big deal, I will point all the reasons why they're being illogical about it--but, I WILL wrap it in some niceness. No reason to be a dick about it.
7) What interests/hobbies do you have? How do you like to spend your free time?
Hoo boy, that's a loaded question. You question, I LOAD you down with answers.
I write. A lot. I'd like to make a living out of it. That's why I've got so many projects open. That, and as I mentioned before I am constitutionally incapable of focusing on only one thing at a time. If we're being candid, actually, I'm having three conversations while I work on this application right now, making tea, planning tomorrow's supper, planning tomorrow's strategy at work, and deciding which book to buy next.
When I'm not writing, I'm either gaming or reading most of the time.
I'm a foodie, as well. If I see food and it looks interesting, I will probably find a way to try it. And once I've tried it I will learn how to cook it. I LOVE to eat, and I LOVE to cook. Nothing will stop me if I want something specific to eat. No resturants local that serve the dish? Learn to cook it. Favorite box dinner too expensive? Learn to cook it. Favorite food deadly? Learn to cook it, and then learn how to cheat it into being healthy. (I make a WICKED tuna roll.)
I play a few instruments--ocarina, flute, autoharp. I like tabletop RPGs. I LOVE tea. I enjoy the occasional bit of poking around in the guts of an Android device.
I am a music junkie. My library contains well over 9000 tracks (This is NOT hyperbole; I had my PC inventory it) of almost every genre out there. I have two iPods, one for work and one for after work (it's on all the time. If I don't carry two, I won't have music the entire time I'm out of the house).
8) Describe one to three careers you would find ideal, with a little explanation of why it appeals to you.
1) (PAID) author. I'm working on it. I have drafts being cleaned up, I have drafts starting, I have applications for contests, and I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head that MUST be told in story form. I love to tell stories and if I could make a living wage telling my favorite stories that pop out of my head, that would be blissful..
2) Café/Lounge owner. I love to cook and I love coffee. I would set up a place with the best food I could make and the coolest ambience, and I'd design the perfect place to unwind after a rough day.
FF Questions:
9) List one to three favorite Final Fantasy games and why you like them. Sequels/spin-offs/non-numbered/KH/Dissidia games are okay.
Oh boy. I love 6, 5, and 1, but 6 perfectly captures why Final Fantasy itself is so prominent in my heart.
FF VI: My second FF (first was Mystic Quest, which is technically outside the canon), the game tackles surprisingly mature fare for a title that was allowed on a Nintendo platform--death, war, genocide, questions of what truly makes a person human, defiance of the natural order, usurping of said natural order to remake the world in the manner one sees fit--SUCCEEDING at the former.
Though the game features an ensemble cast that gets largely equal plot time post-Zozo, the theme of what makes one human is the strongest overarcing theme. A green-haired girl who is only half-human drives this point home.
The game opens with a suspicious moment as two soldiers, the usually-doomed Vicks and Wedge though we would be led to believe that there IS no Vicks, only Biggs spend some time setting up the marching order so that this girl they have captured and under mental enslavement will take the brunt of the assault as they march into Narshe. The girl is barely thought of as human, but as she is their weapon of the day, she is useful. Very soon after that, the control is reversed but her memories are ripped away from her as she struggles to make sense of the fact that she's different, and doesn't understand why. Her normal is very much alien to the rest of the world.
As she escapes the risk of being enslaved a second time, the girl we now know as Terra meets a noble (?) thief and a lecherous young king who see in her the salvation of the occupied regions, a new designation that confuses her still--but as time goes by, she loses a great deal of her timidity and even eagerly agrees to be the Returners' "ray of hope."
Later, after the Returners' effort is...let's be real, it's thwarted the moment Kefka lays his hands on the Statues, she doesn't think she can fight anymore--she has to take care of the orphans of Mobliz, and this on the heels of the death of the man who seemed to be ready to answer her question. (I'll admit it: I kind of ship General Leo/Terra. Had Kefka not stepped in, I think they would be an item.) Humbaba attacks, and as she thought, she can't hold her own in that fight. As the others try to convince her to come back, she mentions that she MUST protect the children, and can't keep fighting.
...of course, then Humbaba rears his ugly smelly ugly (did I mention ugly?) head again and Terra...well, Terra is most certainly NOT amused. She pulls the only time I've ever seen her do the >=O face and kicks into Trance.
It doesn't wear off. Half the party gets blown away, and Terra and the one remaining member of the party take him out on their own (and let's be real, Terra can take Humbaba on her own in this state. YIKES) and Mobliz--or what's left of it--is saved.
A kid walks up. Terra wheels around. There is a growl. The kid flees. At this point, I think that Terra is more aware of the fact that she isn't quite human than she ever has been. It doesn't render well in the sprites, but you don't need it--you can tell two things: a) the kids are terrified of her, and b) Terra knows it. It's right there. There's this bright...glowing...PINK fuzzy thing standing in the middle of (what's left of) Mobliz, looking at the children.
Then, it happens.
"...Mama?"
Recognition. Underneath all that wild hair and bright pink fluff, it's Mama. Nothing has changed. After all this, the other kids realize it, too, and they surround her as the fear evaporates. In that moment, Terra has two things: the answer to a question that she asked a year ago, and a reason to fight. She becomes the ray of hope in that moment. Above the obvious "Save the world" plot, VI is driven by the simple desire to understand what is to be human--and the drive to keep going in the face of countless obstacles.
While Terra's journey through this is the most obvious, the entire cast--well, excepting Umaro and depending on your theories, Gogo--goes through this very transformation as well.
I've heard VI criticized for having too many characters and not enough of a focus on any of them, but this criticism misses the entire point. There is a world, and it is peopled, and each of these people must go through their own journeys. Such is life. Such is Final Fantasy VI.
___
Another character who goes through a similar arc is one of the few you MUST find in the World of Ruin before you can face Kefka: Setzer Gabbiani.
First off, his original translation altered his characterization at one point: "The Empire has made me a wealthy man" easily goes from "unabashed scoundrel" (the apparent original intention, as the Empire ruined his business) to a Han Solo-type. (Setzer would probably have shot first.) One gets the immediate sensation that though the Empire has made him very wealthy but at the cost of his integrity (I'll wait for you to recover fron laughing. Alive again? Good), and so when you hustle him not once but TWICE, he seems to regain a bit of inner light as you jet around to put the salvation of the world together.
Then the world goes to hell.
You find Setzer again in a Kohlingen bar, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He's given up at this point, but then Celes launches what ALMOST winds up turning into a "The Reason You Suck" speech, which lights a fire underneath him, reminding him WHY he loves life (and at this point, he probably is quite fond of Celes too =D) and we enter a tomb belong to someone named Daryl. You don't get much other information before you get in there, open the passageways with aquatic transport tricks and restoring a grave epitaph ("The World Is Square" takes on different meanings: an inside joke, a meata joke on the map, and the way that the tomb's occupant, Daryl, suddenly rounded the wrong 'corner' and lost her life.)
Once you descend the final stairs, Setzer becomes oddly talkative. You find out who this Daryl is--and what she meant to him; their shared dream; their wild lifestyle--and the accident that took her life, not long after the ominous-in-hindsight comment that if anything were to happen to her, the Falcon would be his.
...pay close attention to the cliff he waits on for Daryl. The only difference between his and Celes's time on this cliff (provided you couldn't save Cid) is that Setzer didn't jump. He restored the Falcon, once the wreck was found, and entombed it with Daryl's body. It was her last gift to him...
...and then it became a gift to the world, an instrumental tool in its ultimate salvation.
___
Part of my love for VI is in the fact that, at its core, it's all about the triumph of the human spirit over all. It's one of the things that keeps me going on rough days--hey, if a Ragtag Band of Misfits can survive an apocalypse, I can survive what I'm going through.
10) List one to three of your favorite Final Fantasy characters and why:
I only have three slots? OK, fine, here we go.
1) Yuna--aside from her development in X and X-2, I first got into her because...well, she's adorable and hot. Playing the games cemented this assessment by adding REAL development to her character.
As if I needed more convincing, in DDFF, she's a freakin' human WMD.
2) Gabranth. First, the biggest reason.
The plot of FFXII is heavily grey-and-grey morality. In his mind, he is the White Knight. In the party's mind, he is the Black Knight. Everyone fights for their own reason that they think is right--even the Big Bad is an example of a Well-Intentioned Extremist--until he goes bagonzo, at least. Between the struggle in the game's conflict, the party learns just how screwed up the world is, all thanks to the madness and mundanity of...political intrigue. Politics is the START of the problem, and it just escalates. Gabranth frames Basch for the execution of Vaan's brother, Basch eventually explains that it was just a guy who happens to ALSO have his face, Vaan eventually forgives Basch (for technically something he didn't do), and the wheels of the political machine continue to spin. Gabranth becomes Larsa's shield, the party starts dismantling House Solidor's plans--and then it goes down that Magister Drace moves against Vayne when she discovers why the emperor has died.
He's forced to execute her to prove his loyalty.
Her last words: to tell him to protect Larsa. She holds no ill will toward him.
(On a related note, the way this went down has me firmly convinced that if they weren't an item then, they had been an item at some point.)
Eventually, it comes out that all parties involved in the main conflict each felt they were on the side of good--in the most extreme of the cases, it ends up with Gabranth pulling a last-ditch Heel Face Turn--aiding the party and (possibly, the jury's out) losing his life in the process.
Of course I do have another reason for him being a favorite: I LOVE to listen to that man fight in Dissidia. But the above is the main reason.
3) ONION NAITO KNIGHT.
He's cute, perky, spunky, a snarky little bastard, a know it all, SHORT...and an alarming amount of fun to play as in Dissidia. Frankly I got into him because he's ADORABLE. His fighting style is largely hilarious (don't believe me? Miss with Blade Torrent). But he's the type of kid I don't mind.
11) One to three characters you relate to (you may reuse answers from #8 if applicable) and why:
1) Onion Knight--he's new at this but he knows what he's doing--he thinks--and if he doesn't he can BS it. Story of my life.
2) Bartz Klauser--so very convinced he knows what's he's doing--but then he gets it wrong. And then he gets it worse wrong. ...not to mention a certain Bridget that got dropped on him. (How many Bridgets have I had dropped on me this year...too many to count.)
12) The FF game you liked playing least:
The EasyType translation of FFIV. The translation was SO bad...not to mention that there was so much nerfing that parts of the game were just...TOO easy and therefore not as fun. (What? I like the games to be kinda hard.) That and...YE GODS. The only worse translation I think I've seen is Resident Evil 1 and its "Stop! Don't open that...DOOR???"
13) One to three FF characters you dislike and why:
1) Borghen: MAN, I could go on a five-minute rant about how much I hate this guy. He's slimy, a creep, DEFINITELY hard on the eyes, probably doesn't smell particularly nice, a traitor, AND HE KILLED JOSEF, THE BASTARD.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A ZOMBIE AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
2) Argath: I am convinced he MIGHT be a higher-class expy of Borghen. He's easier on the eyes, and probably smells nicer, but he's a creep, slimy, a traitor, AND HE KILLED TIETRA, THE BASTARD.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A MOB OF ZOMBIES AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
3) Scarmiglione: The first boss in IV I ran into where I was woefully underleveled. He's a fiend, hits hard, is poison-happy, and all around in general rough fight if you did what I did in the DS remake and went in super!underleveled.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A ZOMBIE WITH WEIRD TENTACLE THINGS AND BACK ATTACKS YOU AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
14) Favorite weapon in a Final Fantasy game (either the name if you liked the name, or a picture if you liked the look of it, or a description if it had awesome stats/abilities):
Doom Dice, for Setzer. RANDOM as heck (as rolling dice tends to be) but often lethal.
15) Your favorite Final Fantasy summon (e.g. Ifrit, Carbuncle, Bahamut, etc.):
Carbuncle--Also known as CHERNOBYL SQUIRREL!
16) Your favorite spell/ability/technique that can be learned in a Final Fantasy game (e.g. Esuna, Steal, special finishes/overdrives such as Tifa's Final Heaven limit break, etc.):
Mog's Dance. Especially when he botches it and stumbles. Burns a turn but it's cute.
17) A Final Fantasy mini-game/sidequest you invested entirely too much time into:
…I think I'm STILL stuck in the Golden Saucer.
18) Your favorite Cid:
HIGHWIND. 'Nuff said.
19) Optional: Up to one class you think does not fit you, with reasoning why.
White Mage. I don't think I have the temperament. Or the skills with a hammer.
The Basics:
Name: Railenthe
Age: 26
Location: SPACE. ...oh wait, you need more specifics. Midwest America.
Occupation: Maid Housekeeper.
How did you find out about this community? (Specify usernames if you remember them.) One word: toffeethesnob.
Personality Questions:
1) List and expand upon your three best traits / strengths. (These should be personality-related, not physical.)
1) Even if it looks impossible, I keep going. It comes from a lifetime of being told what I wanted to do and not wanting to do that because that wasn't what I wanted to do--it was what THEY wanted me to do and like hell was I going to deal with that all of my life. (TAKE THAT, FAMILY).
2) I consider myself incredibly tolerant. If I notice that something is off somehow, I have to understand what is going on before I can take a side--otherwise it feels fake.
3) I stick to my guns. If I've made a decision about something, I will stick to it. No waffling for me.
2) List and expand upon your three worst traits / weaknesses.
1) I can be ludicrously vindictive. I don't like it when people slight me and I don't let it slide. Whether it comes through karma or active pushing on my part, people who slight me WILL wind up getting called out on it and punished--even if it's detrimental to other things. I will NOT be dishonored. I get kind of ...aggressive when I'm angry.
2) I spook a bit easily. If something hurts me once it takes forever for me to work up the cojones to deal with it again.
3) I am constitutionally incapable of focusing on on one thing at a time.
3) Rate yourself on the following traits by putting an 'X' in the box you think fits best. (E.g. if you are slightly more introverted than extroverted, put an 'X' in the second box.) Explain your choice as well.
Introverted [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] Extroverted
Explain: Given the choice, I'd usually rather stay in. I'm into creative things and some things are hard to do when there are other people around/nearby. I can't do crowds--less so now than in the past--and I have a very hard time making friends because I can't tell if people are being serious when they say things about me, and I don't know how to react to it. Frankly, having to read other people spooks me.
Cheerful [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] [ ] Gloomy
Explain: I am right in the middle--I swing from "DUDE EVERYTHING IS AWESOME THIS IS AWESOME YOU ARE AWESOME" to "Seriously why am I supposed to give a f@#$?" in the same day. Most of the day I just feel 'meh.' But when I go up or down...it's ALL THE WAY up or down.
Reserved [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] Impulsive
Explain: Most people ask "why." I on the other hand ask "Why the hell not?" when it comes to doing things, trying things, or, really, doing much of anything. It often takes me a bit of working up to asking other people about it, but if I don't have anyone else to think of and there's something I want to do right there--of course I'm going to go for it.
Energetic [ ] [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] Calm
Explain: I'm going to admit that I don't like this question. My energy level is WILDLY erratic. I begin the day in a state of "meh, there are things to do blah blah hrgh," but something could come up and I'll be bouncing off the walls because I like the idea so much. Then again something else could come up and I don't have the same reaction to it. I'm either straight zen on things or it seems like I've been eating coffee beans. Sprayed with caffeine. Stuffed in chocolate. Laced with speed. Which is further laced with MORE speed.
Logical/Thinking [ ] [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] Emotional/Feeling
Explain: Another one that doesn't seem so cut and dried. I like to think things through, but at the same time if I don't get the right feeling in my gut, I will usually go straight on the other side of the scale and go with what feels right. I don't like running on logic to the complete exclusions of my instincts--especially since most of the time, my instincts turn out to be right.
Grudge-holding [ ] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] Forgiving
Explain: I don't like to be slighted. Anyone who slights me will probably never be on my good side again. There have been exceptions to this rule, however--if the situation goes through the metamorphosis so that the situation is bigger than me, I will drop (most of) the animosity. ...there are, however, certain things that can never be forgiven, and I've had to drop people who I've thought of as friends because they went past the point of decency. I've an incredibly hard time forgiving people, because I can put up with a lot before they lose me--usually to the point where legality becomes blurred and I can't even make sense of why I've dealt with them for so long. Honestly, it's easier for me to avoid getting to know people than risk the possibility of them hurting me so badly that I can't forgive them.
4) Describe how you typically work in teams. Is it generally a good experience, or do you prefer working by yourself? Do you like to lead and make decisions or do you prefer to let others make decisions so that you can do the legwork? You may find it helpful to give an example of a team you worked on recently and how that went.
I don't usually ike to work in teams, mainly because I'm often not heard when I'm in the team. This probably has something to do with the fact that I wasn't the kid picked last--I was the kid who wasn't picked at all, and then was basically forced to work on a team where I either had no say or my ideas weren't given the proper credit. I tend not to speak up in those situations.
On the rare occasions where I am in a team that I like, I will push hard for my ideas to be heard--I will make the same suggestion as many times as it takes to be acknowledged, even if it involves me standing on a chair and going "HEY! LISTEN!" Most of the time, however, I prefer to listen to the rest of the team make ideas, and then see if there is anyway to poke a hole in the suggestion. My strength lies in finding the flaws in plans before they are executed. Well...that, and thinking outside the box.
I remember a D&D game where the party was attacked by a--let me get this right--Cthluhoid undead gelatinous cube. I had NO idea what to do and started throwing ideas around. Eventually I landed on the most ludicrous idea I think I've ever seen in a tabletop: douse the tank in the holy water and have him work on it.
So I douse the tank in holy water and help shove him into the room--which is literally FILLED by the cube.
It worked--but it also got a lot of weird looks. "Hey, if we can't kill it from outside, we can kill it from inside! Inside IT! =D"
...maybe it's more like thinking outside the cube.
5) Spider-Man Decision: If you had to choose between saving two dozen innocent children and saving your best friend/significant other/person closest to you, which would you pick and why?
I'd save the person closest to me. I have no attatchment to the innocents--in fact if we're being perfectly honest, I'm not good with children (zero patience with kids, even when I WAS one). But I don't get close to many people, and so saving the person closest to me actually is a little bit selfish--I wouldn't hold together with them gone.
6) Your friend has had their feelings hurt and comes to you for consolation. What do you do? Let's say, two days later they come to you again still upset over the same issue. What would you do in that case?
On the first day I'll play the mirroring role, but keep it realistic. There are certain things that I have little patience for and watching a friend in pain is one of them.
The other is watching them in pain for LONGER because they haven't even thought about what I've said and have gotten stuck in the cycle of endless self-bashing in the process. That is a time when I'll pull out all the stops and be blunt with them--any time it's clear that they're just not moving on from something that shouldn't be such a big deal, I will point all the reasons why they're being illogical about it--but, I WILL wrap it in some niceness. No reason to be a dick about it.
7) What interests/hobbies do you have? How do you like to spend your free time?
Hoo boy, that's a loaded question. You question, I LOAD you down with answers.
I write. A lot. I'd like to make a living out of it. That's why I've got so many projects open. That, and as I mentioned before I am constitutionally incapable of focusing on only one thing at a time. If we're being candid, actually, I'm having three conversations while I work on this application right now, making tea, planning tomorrow's supper, planning tomorrow's strategy at work, and deciding which book to buy next.
When I'm not writing, I'm either gaming or reading most of the time.
I'm a foodie, as well. If I see food and it looks interesting, I will probably find a way to try it. And once I've tried it I will learn how to cook it. I LOVE to eat, and I LOVE to cook. Nothing will stop me if I want something specific to eat. No resturants local that serve the dish? Learn to cook it. Favorite box dinner too expensive? Learn to cook it. Favorite food deadly? Learn to cook it, and then learn how to cheat it into being healthy. (I make a WICKED tuna roll.)
I play a few instruments--ocarina, flute, autoharp. I like tabletop RPGs. I LOVE tea. I enjoy the occasional bit of poking around in the guts of an Android device.
I am a music junkie. My library contains well over 9000 tracks (This is NOT hyperbole; I had my PC inventory it) of almost every genre out there. I have two iPods, one for work and one for after work (it's on all the time. If I don't carry two, I won't have music the entire time I'm out of the house).
8) Describe one to three careers you would find ideal, with a little explanation of why it appeals to you.
1) (PAID) author. I'm working on it. I have drafts being cleaned up, I have drafts starting, I have applications for contests, and I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head that MUST be told in story form. I love to tell stories and if I could make a living wage telling my favorite stories that pop out of my head, that would be blissful..
2) Café/Lounge owner. I love to cook and I love coffee. I would set up a place with the best food I could make and the coolest ambience, and I'd design the perfect place to unwind after a rough day.
FF Questions:
9) List one to three favorite Final Fantasy games and why you like them. Sequels/spin-offs/non-numbered/KH/Dissidia games are okay.
Oh boy. I love 6, 5, and 1, but 6 perfectly captures why Final Fantasy itself is so prominent in my heart.
FF VI: My second FF (first was Mystic Quest, which is technically outside the canon), the game tackles surprisingly mature fare for a title that was allowed on a Nintendo platform--death, war, genocide, questions of what truly makes a person human, defiance of the natural order, usurping of said natural order to remake the world in the manner one sees fit--SUCCEEDING at the former.
Though the game features an ensemble cast that gets largely equal plot time post-Zozo, the theme of what makes one human is the strongest overarcing theme. A green-haired girl who is only half-human drives this point home.
The game opens with a suspicious moment as two soldiers, the usually-doomed Vicks and Wedge though we would be led to believe that there IS no Vicks, only Biggs spend some time setting up the marching order so that this girl they have captured and under mental enslavement will take the brunt of the assault as they march into Narshe. The girl is barely thought of as human, but as she is their weapon of the day, she is useful. Very soon after that, the control is reversed but her memories are ripped away from her as she struggles to make sense of the fact that she's different, and doesn't understand why. Her normal is very much alien to the rest of the world.
As she escapes the risk of being enslaved a second time, the girl we now know as Terra meets a noble (?) thief and a lecherous young king who see in her the salvation of the occupied regions, a new designation that confuses her still--but as time goes by, she loses a great deal of her timidity and even eagerly agrees to be the Returners' "ray of hope."
Later, after the Returners' effort is...let's be real, it's thwarted the moment Kefka lays his hands on the Statues, she doesn't think she can fight anymore--she has to take care of the orphans of Mobliz, and this on the heels of the death of the man who seemed to be ready to answer her question. (I'll admit it: I kind of ship General Leo/Terra. Had Kefka not stepped in, I think they would be an item.) Humbaba attacks, and as she thought, she can't hold her own in that fight. As the others try to convince her to come back, she mentions that she MUST protect the children, and can't keep fighting.
...of course, then Humbaba rears his ugly smelly ugly (did I mention ugly?) head again and Terra...well, Terra is most certainly NOT amused. She pulls the only time I've ever seen her do the >=O face and kicks into Trance.
It doesn't wear off. Half the party gets blown away, and Terra and the one remaining member of the party take him out on their own (and let's be real, Terra can take Humbaba on her own in this state. YIKES) and Mobliz--or what's left of it--is saved.
A kid walks up. Terra wheels around. There is a growl. The kid flees. At this point, I think that Terra is more aware of the fact that she isn't quite human than she ever has been. It doesn't render well in the sprites, but you don't need it--you can tell two things: a) the kids are terrified of her, and b) Terra knows it. It's right there. There's this bright...glowing...PINK fuzzy thing standing in the middle of (what's left of) Mobliz, looking at the children.
Then, it happens.
"...Mama?"
Recognition. Underneath all that wild hair and bright pink fluff, it's Mama. Nothing has changed. After all this, the other kids realize it, too, and they surround her as the fear evaporates. In that moment, Terra has two things: the answer to a question that she asked a year ago, and a reason to fight. She becomes the ray of hope in that moment. Above the obvious "Save the world" plot, VI is driven by the simple desire to understand what is to be human--and the drive to keep going in the face of countless obstacles.
While Terra's journey through this is the most obvious, the entire cast--well, excepting Umaro and depending on your theories, Gogo--goes through this very transformation as well.
I've heard VI criticized for having too many characters and not enough of a focus on any of them, but this criticism misses the entire point. There is a world, and it is peopled, and each of these people must go through their own journeys. Such is life. Such is Final Fantasy VI.
___
Another character who goes through a similar arc is one of the few you MUST find in the World of Ruin before you can face Kefka: Setzer Gabbiani.
First off, his original translation altered his characterization at one point: "The Empire has made me a wealthy man" easily goes from "unabashed scoundrel" (the apparent original intention, as the Empire ruined his business) to a Han Solo-type. (Setzer would probably have shot first.) One gets the immediate sensation that though the Empire has made him very wealthy but at the cost of his integrity (I'll wait for you to recover fron laughing. Alive again? Good), and so when you hustle him not once but TWICE, he seems to regain a bit of inner light as you jet around to put the salvation of the world together.
Then the world goes to hell.
You find Setzer again in a Kohlingen bar, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He's given up at this point, but then Celes launches what ALMOST winds up turning into a "The Reason You Suck" speech, which lights a fire underneath him, reminding him WHY he loves life (and at this point, he probably is quite fond of Celes too =D) and we enter a tomb belong to someone named Daryl. You don't get much other information before you get in there, open the passageways with aquatic transport tricks and restoring a grave epitaph ("The World Is Square" takes on different meanings: an inside joke, a meata joke on the map, and the way that the tomb's occupant, Daryl, suddenly rounded the wrong 'corner' and lost her life.)
Once you descend the final stairs, Setzer becomes oddly talkative. You find out who this Daryl is--and what she meant to him; their shared dream; their wild lifestyle--and the accident that took her life, not long after the ominous-in-hindsight comment that if anything were to happen to her, the Falcon would be his.
...pay close attention to the cliff he waits on for Daryl. The only difference between his and Celes's time on this cliff (provided you couldn't save Cid) is that Setzer didn't jump. He restored the Falcon, once the wreck was found, and entombed it with Daryl's body. It was her last gift to him...
...and then it became a gift to the world, an instrumental tool in its ultimate salvation.
___
Part of my love for VI is in the fact that, at its core, it's all about the triumph of the human spirit over all. It's one of the things that keeps me going on rough days--hey, if a Ragtag Band of Misfits can survive an apocalypse, I can survive what I'm going through.
10) List one to three of your favorite Final Fantasy characters and why:
I only have three slots? OK, fine, here we go.
1) Yuna--aside from her development in X and X-2, I first got into her because...well, she's adorable and hot. Playing the games cemented this assessment by adding REAL development to her character.
As if I needed more convincing, in DDFF, she's a freakin' human WMD.
2) Gabranth. First, the biggest reason.
The plot of FFXII is heavily grey-and-grey morality. In his mind, he is the White Knight. In the party's mind, he is the Black Knight. Everyone fights for their own reason that they think is right--even the Big Bad is an example of a Well-Intentioned Extremist--until he goes bagonzo, at least. Between the struggle in the game's conflict, the party learns just how screwed up the world is, all thanks to the madness and mundanity of...political intrigue. Politics is the START of the problem, and it just escalates. Gabranth frames Basch for the execution of Vaan's brother, Basch eventually explains that it was just a guy who happens to ALSO have his face, Vaan eventually forgives Basch (for technically something he didn't do), and the wheels of the political machine continue to spin. Gabranth becomes Larsa's shield, the party starts dismantling House Solidor's plans--and then it goes down that Magister Drace moves against Vayne when she discovers why the emperor has died.
He's forced to execute her to prove his loyalty.
Her last words: to tell him to protect Larsa. She holds no ill will toward him.
(On a related note, the way this went down has me firmly convinced that if they weren't an item then, they had been an item at some point.)
Eventually, it comes out that all parties involved in the main conflict each felt they were on the side of good--in the most extreme of the cases, it ends up with Gabranth pulling a last-ditch Heel Face Turn--aiding the party and (possibly, the jury's out) losing his life in the process.
Of course I do have another reason for him being a favorite: I LOVE to listen to that man fight in Dissidia. But the above is the main reason.
3) ONION NAITO KNIGHT.
He's cute, perky, spunky, a snarky little bastard, a know it all, SHORT...and an alarming amount of fun to play as in Dissidia. Frankly I got into him because he's ADORABLE. His fighting style is largely hilarious (don't believe me? Miss with Blade Torrent). But he's the type of kid I don't mind.
11) One to three characters you relate to (you may reuse answers from #8 if applicable) and why:
1) Onion Knight--he's new at this but he knows what he's doing--he thinks--and if he doesn't he can BS it. Story of my life.
2) Bartz Klauser--so very convinced he knows what's he's doing--but then he gets it wrong. And then he gets it worse wrong. ...not to mention a certain Bridget that got dropped on him. (How many Bridgets have I had dropped on me this year...too many to count.)
12) The FF game you liked playing least:
The EasyType translation of FFIV. The translation was SO bad...not to mention that there was so much nerfing that parts of the game were just...TOO easy and therefore not as fun. (What? I like the games to be kinda hard.) That and...YE GODS. The only worse translation I think I've seen is Resident Evil 1 and its "Stop! Don't open that...DOOR???"
13) One to three FF characters you dislike and why:
1) Borghen: MAN, I could go on a five-minute rant about how much I hate this guy. He's slimy, a creep, DEFINITELY hard on the eyes, probably doesn't smell particularly nice, a traitor, AND HE KILLED JOSEF, THE BASTARD.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A ZOMBIE AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
2) Argath: I am convinced he MIGHT be a higher-class expy of Borghen. He's easier on the eyes, and probably smells nicer, but he's a creep, slimy, a traitor, AND HE KILLED TIETRA, THE BASTARD.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A MOB OF ZOMBIES AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
3) Scarmiglione: The first boss in IV I ran into where I was woefully underleveled. He's a fiend, hits hard, is poison-happy, and all around in general rough fight if you did what I did in the DS remake and went in super!underleveled.
AND THEN HE COMES BACK AS A ZOMBIE WITH WEIRD TENTACLE THINGS AND BACK ATTACKS YOU AND IT'S EVEN WORSE.
14) Favorite weapon in a Final Fantasy game (either the name if you liked the name, or a picture if you liked the look of it, or a description if it had awesome stats/abilities):
Doom Dice, for Setzer. RANDOM as heck (as rolling dice tends to be) but often lethal.
15) Your favorite Final Fantasy summon (e.g. Ifrit, Carbuncle, Bahamut, etc.):
Carbuncle--Also known as CHERNOBYL SQUIRREL!
16) Your favorite spell/ability/technique that can be learned in a Final Fantasy game (e.g. Esuna, Steal, special finishes/overdrives such as Tifa's Final Heaven limit break, etc.):
Mog's Dance. Especially when he botches it and stumbles. Burns a turn but it's cute.
17) A Final Fantasy mini-game/sidequest you invested entirely too much time into:
…I think I'm STILL stuck in the Golden Saucer.
18) Your favorite Cid:
HIGHWIND. 'Nuff said.
19) Optional: Up to one class you think does not fit you, with reasoning why.
White Mage. I don't think I have the temperament. Or the skills with a hammer.