Journal - "FF7 Thoughts"

[leskuh]

So I just finished going through the Temple of the Ancients. Also, I think I'm horrifically overleveled, which is pretty rad, because I'm always like: "THIS BOSS WILL SURELY KILL ME OH WAIT HE'S DEAD ALREADY LOL."




Anyway, I'm all heartbroken about playing, because Aerith is gone now and I have to stick stinky Cid in my party instead (I...I play with an all KH-inclusive party, because I have ROOTS goddamn it) and it HURTS me. And I don't want her to die, because she is spunky and fun and I adore her to pieces and it isn't fair, dudes. :(

I ship Aerith/Cloud hardcore. It's not even funny. I think he loves her, really and truly loves her and it kills me, because he's not altogether Cloud right now, but bits of the real Cloud keep popping up and he's not really Zack either and urgh. URGH. I don't know. I guess it just breaks my heart that Aerith doesn't get to be alive when Cloud finds himself again.

And one day I'm going to play a game with Tifa and Barret in my party, because of THE LOOOOOOOOVE and how she teases him and how he is probably completely head over heels for her (who wouldn't be?). I wish that the team didn't split up all the time, because I want to get everyone's reactions ALL THE TIME and I never do, because I'm a creature of habit and YUFFIE OR BUST.

Also, Yuffie is hilarious and wonderfully bratty and basically says everything that I am thinking (like "Wow, this is boring." and "GROSSNESS!") and she's totally coming with me to the end of Disc 1, because her reaction to Aerith's death KILLS me. I also did the Wutai sidequest with Cid and Aerith this time and was kind of bummed, because I think it's funnier with Vincent and Cid, who I took along the last time I played, probably because I waited until Disc 2, because Aerith is almost ALWAYS in my party during the first Disc, because I LOVE HER OKAY?

(And also because I am a healer type deep in my soul and Healing Wind is the love of my life.)

I reread But That Was in Another Country today. I HAD to. It pretty much defines Yuffie as a character for me and made me realize that Barret/Tifa was AWESOME and it has this totally-jarring-but-also-perfectly-natural way of blending serious with funny and Final Fantasy with Disney. The author is amazing at weaving THREE DIFFERENT CANONS together and it kills me. I also highly recommend The Lion in the Meadow, because it's Squall/Yuffie and many references to the people they used to love and how they have to keep living and move forward and she's so young and tiny, but mature and clever all at the same time.

Anyway, a snippet from But That Was in Another Country:



It's kind of funny - I tried to talk about it to Tifa later, a lot later, and she tried to tell me why Barret broke down and shot out all the windows in the comm room - what the Turks had meant, really meant. I mean, there they were to me: King Silence, Queen Retard and Princess Got A Gun. Rude, Reno, Elena, three parts snazzy suit and one part bullet. Anyone from Midgar had this crazy little portion of their head that was scared of the Turks, and really scared of the Turks, apparently even when Reno stuck cigarettes up his nose. It was probably a holdover from the days when Vincent tied up his stylish tie, or something, but - Aerith, you'd understand, wouldn't you? The Turks dying was not just an end of an era, it was the end of some kind of steadfast belief that Turks got the job done. The sign of the end when even the cockroaches die. I hadn't been there when they blew up chunks of Midgar, or kidnapped you, and I admit that I wasn't even sperm back when the Turks were probably totally scary and I didn't know Tseng from a bar of soap, but Turks dying was a sign. A sign that wasn't Turks dying.

And Reno was all over the helicopter. I remember that. I remember that. He was all over the helicopter.

It's kind of funny and it's kind of retarded: because I don't even feel like I have the right to mourn them, it's just - people say "Oh, that was the way they wanted to go!" and like hell it was. That assumes any of them wanted to go. The Turks would have lived forever.

I feel stupid for writing all that. Also my pen that writes in three colours is running out, and I should go steal another from Huey. I feel it is not a crime to steal from three giant baby ducks. No jury would convict me. Hell, even Leon just says, - okay, Leon says "Pay them," but I can tell that inside his heart he supports me. Gawd, anyway, what would he know? His fiancee used to fire dogs from her arms and he doesn't know how many belts he needs to hold up his pants, he probably thinks that's normal.

Anyway, I need to take a breath.

Goodnight, Blade Kisaragi. Goodnight, goodnight. Goodnight.

Comments

[poisonivory.livejournal.com]

*pounce* I am up for iScribbling for a little while if you are!

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Woo! See you there!

[alison-swift.livejournal.com]

Awh, Cid's not stinky. D: Him and Shera are megacute.

I've never even THOUGHT about Barret/Tifa before, but now thinking about it... I like. Gosh, you renewed my love of Harold/Rhonda, and now I'll be up all night scouring for FFVI fic.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Lol, I actually love Cid very much, but I'm just mad at the world, because I HAVE to use someone else since Aerith is going to die. ;_;

Good luck with finding Barret/Tifa stuff! From what I hear, there's next to nothing in the way of fic for them, which is a shame.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

I haven't finished reading The Lion in the Meadow yet, but I did just got to this part, and it made me laugh and die all at the same time.

"Yeah," she says again, completely unperturbed, "yeah. He was a lot like you. Not like Cloud even. I bet you two woulda been in love, in fact. You would've met and he would've been all '...' and you would've been all '...' and then the violins and you would have fallen passionately in love and I could've been main bridesmaid and you could've changed your last name to Leonhart-Valentine and it would've been awesome, imagine the sex."

Leon does not look the least bit titillated. "Whatever."

Oh Yuffie. Don't ever change, bb. ♥

I always have a hard time playing after Aerith dies. I never had her in my party a lot, but it makes me sad whenever the team talks about Aerith on disc 2 and 3. :(

I usually play with Cid and Barret in my party, but I used Cid and Vincent for the Wutai plot. Not only because they were the strongest characters on my team at the time, but because Vincent's suspicions of Yuffie before she steals their materia gets me every time. I think he says something like "Unforgivable" or something along those lines. I am such a shameless shipper.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I freaking LOVE The Lion in the Meadow. It's basically Squall/Yuffie in the way I like it done (wherein they are still hung up on their first loves, but they have to move forward or they'll drown in regret) and Guardian1 is a fanfuckingtastic writer.

I know that most people don't stick Aerith in their party, because she's going to die and what's the point of leveling her up really, but not me! I abuse the hell out of her on Disc 1 and it's awesome. She's a mediocre fighter, but SO MUCH MAGIC AND HEALING YES!

I also always put Yuffie in, because YUUUUUUUUFFIE! She is my favorite and TOUGH AS HELL and kills shit good. Plus, she is hilarious in all cutscenes, because most of the time she's like: "WHY ISN'T THIS OVER YET I AM SO BORED AND BOOOOOOOOO."

I don't really see Yuffie/Vincent in the game, but then they don't really get to react to one another very much in the game anyway. My thoughts on Vincent/Yuffie are like... I like it! But I do not love it! But I do think that she ends up developing a big crush on him and that probably he would be drawn to her, because she is life and he would find that fascinating what with being kind-of-not-really-dead.

And I have a post brewing in the back of my mind about Vincent/Yuffie and Squall/Yuffie and how they are similar and different and why S/Y wins in my eyes and also maybe a discussion about KH canon and how the FF characters fit into that (because I am very much of the opinion that KH is a totally AU world from the FF games, but am very drawn to stories that say that FF7/8/etc DID happen and KH is what happened when the FF worlds died).

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

Man, I was just going to bitch about how much I can't stand the hate that Yuffie gets in the game. Every time I go on YouTube or even read a video game magazine article about the game, people are complaining about Yuffie and how annoying she is and how she stole the materia and apparently this is unforgivable, and if there's any remakes of the game, she should be left out. And it's like, "THAT'S WHY WE LOVE HER, YOU IDIOTS. She is not Aerith and she is not Tifa, but she's awesome just for that reason. What is wrong with you people?!" Buuuut I'm going way off topic here. 6_6;

Guardian1 is one of my favorite fanfiction authors. She really has a great handle on Yuffie's voice. Anyone can write Yuffie, but she really owns it. And Sunshine In Winter makes me cry every time I read it, which I've never experienced with a fanfic before.

I'm such a sucker for Vincent/Yuffie so any interaction pleases me. There's barely any in the actual canon, but there's that, and she'll freak out and call him a vampire if she's in your party when you find him. I really loved what you said about what Vincent would see in Yuffie, because that's why I've always imagined how the ship would work and why he would have an interest in her to begin with.

You should totally write that post. I like Squall/Yuffie, but I don't quite love it yet and I think I need some convincing? The discussion of Final Fantasy and KH and how those universes intertwine would be great, too. I've always wondered about it, because a lot of the characters and their ages came off as odd to me (hell, five of the Final Fantasy 10 don't co-exist in the same world; two live on Destiny Island and three of them exist in Hollow Baston and they're fairies), and I wonder how much of the canon in Final Fantasy VII and the other games occurred before their worlds were destroyed.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I can't stand Yuffie-hate even though, I kind of see the basis for it, because Yuffie IS a brat and probably if I had played the game with no forewarning of the materia stealing I would have been PISSED AS FUCK, because I probably wouldn't have been prepared for it. But to me she is just WONDERFUL and I completely identify with her (better than a lot of other characters actually) and I love how she's basically too big for her boots and she steals your materia out of DEEP AND EPIC LOVE for her country! How many sixteen year olds are willing to run away from home in order to steal from enemy nations for no other reason then to help their own country back to it's former glory? NONE EVER.

And, I know I've said it before and I'll probably say it a MILLION BILLION times again, but she KISSES Cloud and CRIES for Aerith and is so much younger than the others, but she still fits in their group as if she was always meant to be there. She's light! And youth! And still hopeful and fearless and that has that feeling of invincibility that comes with being a stupid teenager. I WILL LOVE HER ALWAYS.

I should probably read Sunshine In Winter, but I feel about Vincent/Yuffie the same way you feel about Squall/Yuffie. Just... not quite sold on it.

She calls him a vampire? I thought she just said that his story was boring? Hmmm, I had her in my party when I got him, but wasn't paying all that much attention. XD

Vincent loving Yuffie makes total sense to me, even if most people wouldn't really think so or just think that the only reason to ship them is as a self-insert type thing, Yuffie is LIFE more than anyone else in the group. She's young and fragile and strong and emotional and as human as one can get. She hasn't steeled parts of herself and she's says everything that she thinks. And I think that's what someone like Vincent would need after living in darkness and secrets for years.

I am definitely having thinky thoughts about Squall/Yuffie and Vincent/Yuffie and KH's funky canon, so it's likely that I'll eventually manage to string together something semi-coherent on the matter.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

I was mad when it happened to me, but whatever, I laugh over it now, especially now that I adore Yuffie. (And I make sure I'm leveled up enough ahead of time for the plot. Y'know, so I don't die or something. And I depend on materia way too much.)

I completely understand; it's hard to get into a ship when you're not completely sold on it. If you ever do want to read a Vincent/Yuffie fic, that's the one you should read. I could be biased, though, because the story hasn't failed to make me cry yet and I've read it a bunch of times already.

I'm probably wrong, since it's been awhile, but I kinda remember her freaking out at him because he was in a coffin and calling his story boring. I tried to get the scene again to see how much of it I remembered, but no matter how many times I changed up the party with Yuffie in it, I got ... everyone else's reactions (even Caith Sith, I think), except Yuffie. It was weird.

Can't wait to read it! I should probably replay Kingdom Hearts, or get around to beating it again. I started a new game a couple months ago, but I got stuck in Neverland because Captain Hook kept killing me.

By the way, I finally found something related to Barret/Tifa! It's here, and it's for the 1sentence challenge. I kinda made it my mission to find all the Barret/Tifa fics in the universe. I will probably fail miserably.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I don't think I was ever caught off guard by it, because I was pretty well spoiled for FF7 as I played KH first and then went crazy looking up back stories and game info. So I never felt any ill will for Yuffie, since I knew it was coming and chalk it up to her charm.

I should read it and maybe I will. Like I said, I fucking love Guardian1 so I know it's bound to be both awesome and heartbreaking at the same time.

I know she called his story boring, but I can't remember the freakout. :\

I think sometimes it depends on what position in the queue the character is? Maybe? IDK. Anyway, if they do remake FF7, I hope they get rid of the 'party is always split up' bull shit, because I like GROUP SCENES DAMMIT.

I am a PRO at the first KH. I know where almost EVERYTHING is in all the worlds (there's two boxes in Hollow Bastion that I just cannot figure out how to get to for the LIFE of me) and have strategies for every single boss that I have refined over time and basically me and the first Kingdom Hearts are SOULMATES.

I just finished reading them! SO CUTE! I also completely approve of this mission as it reminds me of my own desperate attempt to gather all Rhonda/Harold fanart into one post so that I can look at it all lovingly now and then and to hopefully inspire MOOOOOOORE.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

I want to marry Guardian1's stories and have its children. Er, what?

Hmm. Maybe I imagined the freak out? It's been at least ten years since I've seen the actual scene. I wouldn't be surprised if I did. I'm infamous for making scenes up.

I thought about the position in the queue, as well, so I switched them up and nope, still didn't get it. :\ I hope they get rid of it, too. I always hated that we never got to see the entire group react to important scenes and situations and characters and ... all sorts of stuff, and it's a pain in the ass to replay the game just to see everybody's reactions.

Haha, I <3 KH, but I really don't know where anything is half the time. I have to constantly remember. I know how to beat the worlds and how to get munny, but that's about it. I'm still trying to figure out how to find all the baby dalmations, because missing puppies makes Leon me sad. (UGH, HALLOW BASTON, HOW I LOATHE THEE. I had a hard time getting anywhere, even with the strategy guide. I almost gave up, but Sora's mission to find Kairi and Riku owned my soul.)

YES, HAROLD/RHONDA FTW. I love them.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

NOT IF I MARRY THEM FIRST.

Hmm, that's so weird. I was also wondering about what it is that makes certain characters speak at certain times and others stay silent, so it's weird that nothing you tried worked. Maybe it's completely random? IDK.

Haha, I like that we're basically assuming they're going to remake FF7, even though there's never really been any real response on the matter. But I think they stand to make OODLES OF CASH if they did remake, so I figure it'll happen sooner or later. Which is awesome, because I dig the idea of remakes very much.

And yeah, I would really love to see the characters develop equally, but I am so biased towards which characters I do and don't use and I'm pretty sure I'd kill myself if I had to play with like... Red XIII and Cait Sith just so I could see their responses - BORING.

I am so good at it. If I could put it on a resume I would. KH is basically the one game I KNOW I'm good at. I suck at pretty much everything else, though I fair better in RPG games, because it's strategy for a lot of it.

I know my way around HB pretty well actually, but it has a ton of secret little areas and it's hard to keep track of things a lot of times.

OH GOSH SQUALL AND THE PUPPIES AND YUFFIE THINKS HE IS CUTE!

I find my UNDYING AND ETERNAL love for Harold/Rhonda to be... really random and surprising actually! I always knew that I liked them, but somewhere along the way I basically realized that I LOOOOVED them almost as much as I did Helga/Arnold.