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the catch-up post
alright, so here's what i was going to talk about in the two posts that got lost in freezins. *death glare at the comp*
mom, joe, and i watched "the ring" the other night while erik was away at a friend's house. i don't get scared by movies very often, but that one did manage to creep me; hell, my mom asked joe to scoot closer because she was so scared. anyway, the basic premise of the movie is that people watch this movie, and immediately afterwards get a phone call in which a voice simply says "seven days." they then die exactly seven days later.
so the movie ends, credits begin to roll, and lo and behold, the phone rings. i laughed, close to hysterics, and mom started screaming. joe, being the "strong man" answered it and promptly told derek (who was on the other end) to say "seven days" when i got it. thankfully, he didn't, or i probably would have hung up and started crying.
anyway, it all ended with mom still freaked, me cracking up, and joe and derek just thinking we were both crazy. 'twas fun. got the adrenaline pumping, at least.
and now, for the other topic:
note: this is not as long as the one i had originally written. that was an inspired work, whereas this is... well... just a tribute. it contains the same ideas, but not as developed and with fewer examples. sorry; if that really bugs anyone, or if the curiosity threatens to kill, let me know and i'll write it all out again.
it may sound conceited, but i consider myself somewhat of an expert of ff8. i have played the game through 4 full times, plus replays of important parts from double saves dozen of times more. i have studied, analyzed, examined, and reanalyzed all of the main characters many times.
this is the reason that i cannot read ff8 fanfics. characterization, for the most part, is simply not correct, and the most misrepresented character happens to be my favorite and my namesake: rinoa.
to begin with, it is a common theory that rinoa is not intelligent. this could not be further from the truth. rinoa may appear brightly ignorant, but in reality she just behaves optimistically when it is most needed. when the odds seem impossible, someone must keep hope alive, and squall is no great ray of light for his colleagues to be reassured by. rinoa takes on the task of cheering up people who she's just met, even working to get squall to open up so that they can depend on one of their own rather than her for courage and reassurance. she behaves the way she does because it aids the most in situations. this shows great insight on her part, which is an unmistakable sign of intelligence. she may not be trained in military procedures as all the rest of them are, but she comes up with decent plans without any of that. they may not be of the same caliber as those of the seeds, but then she has not had training at a garden. rinoa has a natural knack for strategy and telling what is needed in any situation, making her a valuable source of intelligence for the group.
also, the part where she yells "meany!" at squall is a mistranslation. in the japanese version, she calls him a "cold-hearted bastard." changes the tone, doesn't it?
next, rinoa is often portrayed as helpless and weak. this goes alongside the "idiot" theory quite nicely; just because she doesn't have the battle training of the seeds does not make her weak. in fact, rinoa's statistics are among the strongest of the characters, topped only by squall. this shows that even though she lacks formal training, she naturally has great strength and is a skilled fighter. mentally, she is also strong. it is not her fault that she is born a descendent of hyne and as such is a target of possession by ultimecia. she may be victimized by what ultimecia does to her and makes her do, but she still does not behave like a helpless victim. when the decision arises, rinoa chooses to peacefully give up her life to suspended animation to ensure the safety of the people. it is squall that needs her and decides to save her, not the reverse. rinoa is strong enough to give up her life, her freedom, and her growing love for squall to better people she has never even met and that would hate her for her sorceress blood. if that's not true strength of spirit, then i don't know what is.
finally, authors seem to find that killing rinoa makes a good plot point, especially in transitioning squall to another love, most often quistis. i'm sorry, but squall flat out rejects quistis' flirtations in the actual game, in addition to quistis coming to the verbally stated conclusion that what she once thought were romantic feelings for squall she has now realized are just a brother-sister type affection.
on the opposite side, rinoa and squall are not just a good couple but a *destined* one. that may sound corny, but keep in mind the plot of the game; everything revolves around destiny and events that were fated to happen. this extends to the squall and rinoa relationship. yes, he falls for her much more quickly than is common, but that is because they are intended for one another. they are, in all senses, soulmates (see my avatar. hee.). if rinoa must die in a fanfic, squall would not just move on to another love. they are perfect for each other, destined to be together, and such an action would be blatantly ooc. if you feel the compulsion to write such a thing, at least label it as such. there is no way around it if one is going to stick to confirmed, real characterization: squall and rinoa love each other and each other alone. period.
don't get me wrong; i'm all for freedom in pairing if you want to do so. just label it as ooc or mark what the pairings are in the warnings to give me a heads-up. other fandoms do so; ff8 should as well.
anyway... that's about it. this turned out longer than i thought it would... i guess it's just a topic i can't keep from getting passionate about. still not as long as the first draft, though. huh.
and one current event: upon climbing out of the shower this morning, i was greeted by odie trotting into the bathroom. apparently, he had managed to push the plexiglass blocking off their playpen open and had not only crossed the living room, but had also climbed the stairs and navigated to my bathroom. kind of a cute thing to wake up to, little ferret head peeking in the door. even if he was being a bad escapee. yus. *nods*
*and*... an ad just popped up for christian single web. too funny.
anyways, this post is way too long all ready. going to go talk to him now. then sleep. oh yeah.
mom, joe, and i watched "the ring" the other night while erik was away at a friend's house. i don't get scared by movies very often, but that one did manage to creep me; hell, my mom asked joe to scoot closer because she was so scared. anyway, the basic premise of the movie is that people watch this movie, and immediately afterwards get a phone call in which a voice simply says "seven days." they then die exactly seven days later.
so the movie ends, credits begin to roll, and lo and behold, the phone rings. i laughed, close to hysterics, and mom started screaming. joe, being the "strong man" answered it and promptly told derek (who was on the other end) to say "seven days" when i got it. thankfully, he didn't, or i probably would have hung up and started crying.
anyway, it all ended with mom still freaked, me cracking up, and joe and derek just thinking we were both crazy. 'twas fun. got the adrenaline pumping, at least.
and now, for the other topic:
note: this is not as long as the one i had originally written. that was an inspired work, whereas this is... well... just a tribute. it contains the same ideas, but not as developed and with fewer examples. sorry; if that really bugs anyone, or if the curiosity threatens to kill, let me know and i'll write it all out again.
it may sound conceited, but i consider myself somewhat of an expert of ff8. i have played the game through 4 full times, plus replays of important parts from double saves dozen of times more. i have studied, analyzed, examined, and reanalyzed all of the main characters many times.
this is the reason that i cannot read ff8 fanfics. characterization, for the most part, is simply not correct, and the most misrepresented character happens to be my favorite and my namesake: rinoa.
to begin with, it is a common theory that rinoa is not intelligent. this could not be further from the truth. rinoa may appear brightly ignorant, but in reality she just behaves optimistically when it is most needed. when the odds seem impossible, someone must keep hope alive, and squall is no great ray of light for his colleagues to be reassured by. rinoa takes on the task of cheering up people who she's just met, even working to get squall to open up so that they can depend on one of their own rather than her for courage and reassurance. she behaves the way she does because it aids the most in situations. this shows great insight on her part, which is an unmistakable sign of intelligence. she may not be trained in military procedures as all the rest of them are, but she comes up with decent plans without any of that. they may not be of the same caliber as those of the seeds, but then she has not had training at a garden. rinoa has a natural knack for strategy and telling what is needed in any situation, making her a valuable source of intelligence for the group.
also, the part where she yells "meany!" at squall is a mistranslation. in the japanese version, she calls him a "cold-hearted bastard." changes the tone, doesn't it?
next, rinoa is often portrayed as helpless and weak. this goes alongside the "idiot" theory quite nicely; just because she doesn't have the battle training of the seeds does not make her weak. in fact, rinoa's statistics are among the strongest of the characters, topped only by squall. this shows that even though she lacks formal training, she naturally has great strength and is a skilled fighter. mentally, she is also strong. it is not her fault that she is born a descendent of hyne and as such is a target of possession by ultimecia. she may be victimized by what ultimecia does to her and makes her do, but she still does not behave like a helpless victim. when the decision arises, rinoa chooses to peacefully give up her life to suspended animation to ensure the safety of the people. it is squall that needs her and decides to save her, not the reverse. rinoa is strong enough to give up her life, her freedom, and her growing love for squall to better people she has never even met and that would hate her for her sorceress blood. if that's not true strength of spirit, then i don't know what is.
finally, authors seem to find that killing rinoa makes a good plot point, especially in transitioning squall to another love, most often quistis. i'm sorry, but squall flat out rejects quistis' flirtations in the actual game, in addition to quistis coming to the verbally stated conclusion that what she once thought were romantic feelings for squall she has now realized are just a brother-sister type affection.
on the opposite side, rinoa and squall are not just a good couple but a *destined* one. that may sound corny, but keep in mind the plot of the game; everything revolves around destiny and events that were fated to happen. this extends to the squall and rinoa relationship. yes, he falls for her much more quickly than is common, but that is because they are intended for one another. they are, in all senses, soulmates (see my avatar. hee.). if rinoa must die in a fanfic, squall would not just move on to another love. they are perfect for each other, destined to be together, and such an action would be blatantly ooc. if you feel the compulsion to write such a thing, at least label it as such. there is no way around it if one is going to stick to confirmed, real characterization: squall and rinoa love each other and each other alone. period.
don't get me wrong; i'm all for freedom in pairing if you want to do so. just label it as ooc or mark what the pairings are in the warnings to give me a heads-up. other fandoms do so; ff8 should as well.
anyway... that's about it. this turned out longer than i thought it would... i guess it's just a topic i can't keep from getting passionate about. still not as long as the first draft, though. huh.
and one current event: upon climbing out of the shower this morning, i was greeted by odie trotting into the bathroom. apparently, he had managed to push the plexiglass blocking off their playpen open and had not only crossed the living room, but had also climbed the stairs and navigated to my bathroom. kind of a cute thing to wake up to, little ferret head peeking in the door. even if he was being a bad escapee. yus. *nods*
*and*... an ad just popped up for christian single web. too funny.
anyways, this post is way too long all ready. going to go talk to him now. then sleep. oh yeah.
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Re:
and, you're not safe. you're supposed to die seven days after you watch the movie, and so it's not like you can go "well look at me, no psycho killers, no walking dead; i made it!" you have seven more days to stress through before you know that the movie was just that - a movie; fiction and nothing more.
that, and the last death in the movie was so well done, it was chilling. the entire scene leading up to it was... god, i can't even put words to it. you know what i'm talking about. 'twas very scary.