#we finally got round to watching this it was dead interesting btw check it out!!!!! <3 lots of good talks and surprise peeworld >:3

[tomorrowillbeyou]

x

[incarnateirony]

Hello! :)

This is another question about Walker ratings.

Last week was original series finale, full on Wild West, and the finals came back at 1.028 and .15.

This week finals aren't in, but the prelims 0.971 and .10. That's the third time it's dipped under a million in 5 weeks. it's had prelims at .10 before but they went up to .15 with the finals. Funnily enough the prelims were .20 last week and dropped to .15.

With four weeks left to go, how low is likely?

I can't think this is a cheap show to make, it's got an expensive lead who eats rolex's for breakfast and a large, reasonably known, regular cast. It's not like the normal cast of CW teenage unknowns.

It really is a rubbish show but, will a million keep tuning in to see Jared tic and grimace his way through a shitty script, or can it fall lower?

It's so fucking arrogant of the CW to put this shit out and expect a hit.

The thing about 0.15 is it depends on the thousandths column. 0.15 flat (or like 0.146 that rounds up to 0.15) rounds down to 0.1. 0.151 rounds up to 0.2. To explain that phenomenon with the fast track nationals that are rounded in prelims. (Also, sometimes prelims are off by a few thousandths so read like 0.151 and then may drop to 0.149, or vice verse, so it can shuffle that in finals. That's why they're fast track, not finals)

I already said, when the first episode aired and they rejoiced at the 0.4 rounded up (about 0.35X if I remember in fast track), to enjoy it while it lasted, because "It would be lucky if it didn't round down to 0.1 in its first season"). Not because of typical decline. Typical decline would be about 25%. 33% tops. Not like 66%. Just because I saw it in the cards. And guess what, it happened, and it's not over yet.

The final episode or two may receive a boost just by the nature of promos and push, but between here and there, expect it to continue to fight and fight and fight to round up to 0.2 again. I doubt it will drop BELOW 0.1 flat, but we could all be pleasantly surprised. Expect it to hover in the 0.1-0.15 zone for the rest of the first season run, maybe pulling a few 0.16 if it's lucky depending on what the media weatherdome is like around it on a good day.

It's fall season you'll want to keep an eye on. Premieres tend to launch about where the previous season left off but within a few episodes it's likely to have a minimum 15% decline just from standard annual. And then any further decline from general loss of interest, since this show seems to have a hole in its hull. So basically expect walker to--if it's very lucky--premiere at about 0.13 in fall and then drift down to 0.11 within a few episodes and, from there, do the standard leaky ship effect and probably be airing around 0.08 by spring.

Or it could take a worse track and launch around 0.1 after the first ep or two and then dwindle to something like 0.066, round up to 0.07 by spring.

So basically, where we're at is our current zone to look out for, for most of the rest of the season, with some wobble--down for several, up for end of season. Next season it'll premiere between 0.12-0.14, drift to 0.10-0.11 within a few eps and then drain anywhere to 0.08-0.066/0.07 by spring. If it does any worse than that, god bless its little cowboy spittin' heart.

But this is also what I mean about CW decline in general and its inevitable heat death. Spring and Fall 2020, shows were airing at 0.3 still--SPN, the Flash (~0.4), All American, Batwoman--hell, even Riverdale and Legacies were in zone to round up. to 0.3. Now, everything has crashed through the floor in less than what's considered a full season and is lucky to round up to 0.2, most are in 0.1 range. Their top hits are lucky to hit 0.15x to round up to 0.2. We're talking about a 50% crash on the network which just magically happened to hit around, oh, december, for reasons we'll pretend not to understand.

This is why boycotting all forms of products that ever passed through their hands, even if they're technically licensed to the parent companies now, is important. Live watching, streaming, even watching on syndication networks like TNT, whatever. Cut out it being profitable, quarantine anyone from wanting to do business with them or buy any products cranked through them, cut out the entire reason for it to exist. It's essentially bankrolled by CBS/WB right now as a content vehicle and if it's failing and nobody is buying their stuff, that bankrolling will end, especially with the netflix deal shattered.

I know it doesn't look like it's doing anything at a glance--but say, SPN's franchiseability being cut in more than 1/3 (77-23) lowers how much or how hard streamers barter for it. Same for all their products having dropping value. It makes it dead in the water even for digital distribution profit. Their ad space is barely worth shit these days. Hell, check out their advertisers, find 10 people that all use their products and call bomb them over half a day threatening to cancel service/use and raise their flags. They'll move to greener pastures. Geico, tmobile, sprint, and so on. (Btw liberty and some others also advertise but fun fact, geico manages liberty to some extent so if you bombard both of them it'll cross share--literally geico agents handle liberty accounts for customer service, don't ask how I know this)

The further people spread the word to cut CW out as a shit network for its handling of *all* shows--both live and digital-- the more its heat death will be expedited.

Do you really think it'll live long when its "hit" shows are running 0.07 and its others are running a nice 0.05 that MIGHT round up to 0.1? MIGHT??? how many will start rounding to 0.0 by next year alone even by classic decline, and how many can you expedite into doing so--

Even at its current trajectory unless the CW MAJORLY changes something, there is no way on planet earth it will make it past fall 2023. And that's being generous. So pedal to the metal, kids. Keep it up, don't go "oh it's been long enough", KEEP spreading the word, KEEP turning it off if you see it on friend/family/work TV, KEEP making sure your friends aren't streaming it, KEEP blasting it without giving them free PR, KEEP them off the digital trends as much as you can. There's a slim chance that one could make them close shop after spring 2022. And I definitely see a decent chance of killing it by Spring 2023.

[imbellarosa]

1989 things that keep me up at night

Or, that one Taylor Swift album that I ADORE while it confuses the fuck out of me. I’m doing the thing that I listen to the album as I write this, because I have so much to say and want to get it all right. This isn’t a cold read, I’ve heard it before, and I love it, but I did want to do a deeper analysis. If you want to read the last one that I did, it’s here. It’s about an accidental love song and it was tons of fun to do. The rest of this analysis is under the cut, because it might be the longest one yet. I’m a big fan of hers. 

As always, I’m going to go back to posting more political content in the morning, but I am very happy that all four officers in the murder of George Floyd have been charged with murder, and that Derek Chauvin in particular is being charged with second degree murder. If you’re looking for next steps: consider participating in activism on Breonna Taylor’s birthday (June 5th) or donating to Tony McDade’s memorial fund. 

So, on to the album! There are a few stand out songs, for me, in the album, including “I Wish You Would”, “Clean”, “This Love”, “Out of the Woods”, and “You Are In Love”. I don’t know if any of these were singles - the album is older at this point and I could go check but, eh. I don’t really think it matters anymore? I think if I stretch my memory to 2014, it was “Bad Blood”, “Blank Space”, “Style”, “Out of the Woods”, and “Shake it Off” that were singles. I don’t know if there were more, but I do remember those. Something that I find interesting is that the only crossover between the singles (that I remember) and my favorites is “Out of the Woods”, but that’s a phenomenal song. 

I think the first question I have to address is why this album confuses me. And the more I think of it, the more I realize that this album more sounds like two albums, telling two stories. The first story is that of a whirlwind romance in the public eye, filled with late night hook ups, seeing other people (publicly), and a superficial connection that will invariably go down in flames. This story features dramatic fall outs with contemporary artists, wild parties, and whispering voices. The second story is about a harder love, and a deeper one: it’s a story of fighting and fixing things, and letting go and coming together. It’s sweet, and beautiful, and tragic, and worth it. And these stories are fundamentally incompatible, at first glance. Your relationship is not simultaneously ephemeral and ethereal, and if you think it is, it’s time to reevaluate how honest you are being with yourself and what you want in your partner. (Spoiler alert: the song “Style” isn’t it. And neither is “Wildest Dreams”. No offense to either song or the people they were written about.)

The more I thought about it, the more this bugged me - until I dug deeper into her discography, and I noticed something interesting: Taylor Swift is a storyteller. She primarily tells her own stories, especially in Lover and Reputation, but that wasn’t always the case: “Mary’s Song” is sung in first person, and is about her neighbors’ love story. “Starlight” was written about someone in the Kennedy family's relationship with her husband Bobby (Bobby’s name is in the song). It is also sung in first person. “Ronan” is a song she wrote for charity, about a little boy who lost his battle to cancer, from the perspective of his mother. I always cry when I hear it, but it is, also, written in first person. I think those are enough for now, but I definitely can keep going.

Anyways, my point is this - I realized very quickly there were two ways I could read the album. The first is completely autobiographically: she is publicly one person and privately another. Her public persona is (at the time of 1989′s release) someone who parties, dates many people on and off, and fights with artists loudly. The private story she is offering is of someone who is deeply in love with one person, who wants to be successful, who wants to be themselves and safe with themselves and their partner, and is afraid of showing this side of themselves to the industry and the world. “Out of the Woods” highlights that anxiety well, as does “I Know Places”, and so does the line “you two are in a snow globe spinning round and round” (in “You Are In Love”), but that’s because I always imagine a snow globe like a sort of transparent show that is being obscured by the flurries, you know? Like everyone is watching, but if you move, the truth gets harder to see. 

The second way to read this - and I think the way I’m leaning - is that these are two different stories. The first one is still about that media image, and she’s playing off of her media image - one that has been proven to be demonstrably false at this point, and that she has admitted was almost forced on her at a really young age (and we’re gonna have a whole ass conversation about how the media treats children one of these days, you just watch). And the second story is still a love story: it’s just not hers. To me, this makes the most sense because of her switch between first and second person pronouns in these softer, gentler songs, as she gently steps in and out of the role of narrator. The other thing is that I don’t know a whole lot of her dating history? I never really cared. But I don’t remember her being in a really serious long term relationship at this point. I remember a lot of stories of short relationships with famous people, but nothing concrete or long lasting, in the way the song “I Wish You Would” or “This Love” or “You’re In Love” suggests. 

This perspective is fortified by “I Know Places”, in which she is literally talking about a secret relationship. She’s describing something that is hiding in plain sight, but can’t be honest, because “something happens when everybody finds out/ love’s a fragile little flame/it can burn out...”. So they (the people involved) go hide in these secret places (look, let’s be real. every celebrity has a secret place). What I think is interesting is that this isn’t the first time in the album that she talks about sneaking around and hiding. The first time this comes up is in “Style”, where she mentions that the dude comes searching for her with “no headlights”. She is clearly referencing herself in that song, as she describes her “red lips” and her “good girl thing/in a tight little skirt”. But the context is super different. She describes “Style” as a song that calls out trends - how people never get tired of listening about this kind of relationship. It’s always in style, so to speak. When she talks about “I Know Places”, she says its “about...everybody’s like trying to get in to it and ruin a love or whatever and it’s like...whatever. You know....” and then she goes on to keep talking about what she wants it to sound like. I got this from her voice memo in the preliminary conversation with her producer. 

She also describes I know places as “dark”, and she wanted that to carry over into the bridge, and it definitely does. However, I can definitively tell you that this story (and relationship) is different than the one in “Style”, because of the end. By the end of the song, she says: “They take their shots, but we're bulletproof (I know places)/And you know for me, it's always you (I know places)/In the dead of night, your eyes so green (I know places)/And I know for you, it's always me (I know places)”.  (Look I usually remove the hyperlinks for the lyrics but I really need y’all to click that because it freaked me out when I saw it. Very uncomfy). In Style, her bridge says “Take me home”, or some variation of that, and she doesn’t have an outro for the song, she repeats her chorus again, which reads: “Oh, you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye/And I got that red lip classic thing that you like/And when we go crashing down (And when we go)/We come back every time/'Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style”. So rather than being something private, this is something that everyone will be talking about for a while. 

SIDE NOTE: If you like “Style”, I think you’d really like the song “Sun Queen” by Gerry Cinnamon . It’s also about the expectation of the industry and how the art affects the artist. The difference in this song is that the relationship is the real part of his life, and his art is what he feels is fake. 

ANYWAYS. I think she did a really clever thing by playing on her image. She kind of “became” the person they wanted her to be, while making it very clear that there was something else she wanted: the kind of love - the kind of life - she’s singing about. My favorite song on the album is “I Wish You Would”, which is about “remembering what we’re fighting for” in a relationship, and it’s also a song which she mentions is written about “two people”, and not herself (voice memo, delux album). I think that’s probably true. I think it is probably the case that she was not in the middle of a Great Love Story at this point in her life, and so she was borrowing material. The same thing happens in “You are in Love” - there, she can’t be any clearer - that it’s about someone that is not her. (It’s actually about her co-producer and writer Jack Antonoff’s relationship. Btw, he is a brilliant lyricist in his own right and his music is *chef’s kiss*).

The song that I think happens to be the crossover song between the real story and the carefully presented narrative is “Out Of The Woods”. She’s said that this song was about a relationship she had where the primary feeling was anxiety, and it makes sense (at least with the lyrics)! But at the end of the song, the relationship is stronger than ever: “...I walked out, I said, ‘I’m setting you free’/ But the monsters turned out to be just trees/ And when the sun came up/ You were looking at me”. And then she repeats her chorus again, where she seems to be relieved to finally be “out of the woods”. 

So here’s where I get stuck: I stand by my theory that her gentle love songs on this album aren’t about her own romances. But I don’t think she’s lying. I think this song is about something that was anxiety inducing to her. However, I don’t think that this means that she is the narrator of the song. And I know that the question then is: what is her role in the situation? I don’t know. A close friendship with someone who’s going through it, maybe? That can be really rough, and I know that I’ve gotten sucked into people’s drama. But I think that it’s someone else’s perspective, especially because this fits into the “hard, worth fighting for, intense and long term” category, rather than something like “Blank Space”, in which she literally does not know who she is talking about ( “I’ve got a blank space/ And I’ll write your name”). 

And there is SO MUCH MORE I can say, but that was really my main point: I think she’s telling two different stories, and that it creates an environment that you don’t really know what’s going on or where to turn to understand the story. I listened to the full album a bunch of times before I came up with this read of it. Do I know who the other people I think she’s talking about are? Nope. And I don’t super think it matters. The songs and words are hers, and they’re gorgeous. Do I know what people think this album is about? Yup. Does it change my read of it? Not at all. I think my analysis stands, even - and especially - in context. 

So I still love this album. And I’m beyond thrilled that she has the kind of love she’s always been singing about. And I really hope that the other people she was hanging out with/dating/writing about are all doing amazing as well, particularly the human(s) in “I Know Places” and “I Wish You Would”.  I hope that they are still fighting for each other, and that they still feel like it’s “Always You” (/Always me but that sounds more narcissistic haha). If they are different relationships (like, if rather than her just focusing on one couple, she’s talking about many), I hope that they are all happy, successful, and in love. I hope that they don’t hang out in “Wonderland” anymore (although I think that song’s about a fake relationship, I’m just saying). I hope that they have long nights with fairy lights and soft songs. I hope she does, too. 

[sol1056]

hey im the anon who asked about how you knew the stuff, sorry i wasn't too clear on what. i just read the post explaining EPs and how the behind the scene stuff worked and i wanted to know how you knew all that, like are you involved in the industry? or just a nerd?

gotcha! Well, remember how back in S1/S2, people kept pointing out Hunk could be… awfully nosy? always getting into things, asking questions?

I was over here going, YES HUNK IS MY PEOPLE. 

It’s a hallmark of a certain type of engineer: insatiable curiosity, and never satisfied with only one answer, always sure there’s more to discover. Okay, we’re not all engineers — a lot of us are Russian Lit majors — but the key is our drive to discover. We take apart, put back together, connect dots close and far, turn things around and study them from a new direction. We’re those people who randomly show up in your part of the building, poke our heads in the room and say, “so, what do all y’all do here? what’s this do? hey, what’s that?”

Despite the fact that most of us seem to be (strangely) strong introverts, that doesn’t stop us. We’ve got questions for everyone. We’ll talk to total strangers all day if we’re on the trail of a particularly interesting idea. In a nutshell, we’re utterly shameless.

I did post-production back when NLE was relatively new and the compositing applications required massive nearly-mainframe computing power. I was mostly in the sfx/cg areas, but I weaseled my way into the color suite pretty regularly. I sat in on editing sessions and was a happy lunch-fetching lackey if it got me a chance to watch the compositing team. Any lull meant a chance to chat up directors, cinematographers, producers, etc. I totally took advantage. 

It’s been awhile since I did that – and since then I’ve been a roady, a mental health & substance abuse admin,��a doorman, and even owned a bookstore, before going corporate. But for every wacky thing I’ve done, I’ve also kept in touch with people I met. Frex: the friend who got me the post-production job is now an executive producer. Yes, I do call him with questions. He’s used to it. If he doesn’t know an answer, he sends me to someone who does. (Another reason we’ve been friends for so long.) One answer is never sufficient, never a reason to stop there.

Meet one novelist, get introduced to six more, and three of them write for TV. Oh, that’s handy. Should save that contact, could be useful someday. It’s actually rare for someone to say no, come to think of it. idk, as long as I can get access, I can usually get the person to tell me something I can use. 

However, since my actual area of expertise applies across many industries, I’ve worked all kinds of places. A lot of it’s client-facing, and if you think that means I’m not wandering around the client site poking my head into rooms and cheerfully interviewing people on the spot, then you haven’t been paying attention.

Now that I work at a multinational corporation, I have literally thousands of people in my network, including everyone who’s moved on to a new place. You might be surprised how many people are fine with, “hey, I work at X with Y, and Y told me you’d know this.” Of course, everyone has a bias and a view limited to their own experience, so you can’t stop there. You can’t really understand a situation without knowing the agendas of all the players. You gotta ask a bunch of people, make sure you’re getting the most rounded sense of things. 

Not really a hardship for me. It’s kinda the whole point. 

People are people everywhere (outside cultural quirks), and it’s rare I’m ever researching a single person (I’m not an investigative journalist, if you were wondering). Most of the time, I’m looking for the industry-based cultural expectations. As in, “given X and Y, what would someone who does A generally think is a reasonable action, in this situation?”  

The key is to have a believable reason for asking, and being a writer definitely qualifies. “I’m researching for a story, and I have a character who do X. I wanted to know if it’s realistic for them to know Y. Who do you think would be the best person to ask?” I frequently cold-call, and I never ask “is there someone there,” I ask who they think is the best person. A lot of times it ends up being someone that the phone operator knows (personally or by reputation) who’s full of bizarre trivia and enjoys a chance to show it off. (Plus, it’s amazing what you can learn about a person from all the other subtle cues people are unaware they’re telling, when they’re focused on their area of expertise.)

That’s how I ended up interviewing the Director of the DEA about whether a non-US-university degree would satisfy the education requirement. His letter of introduction got me monthly lunches for awhile with the DEA director in my city. (Oh, the stories I heard.) It’s how I learned about sheep subsidies from one of the top execs at the USDA, and that there’s a single surviving Civil War widow still getting a VA pension. Going in person is even more fun. You could wind up talking to one of the very few artists in the world whose speciality is touching up pre-Renaissance books so the repairs aren’t visible. Or the art historian whose job is going through the nation’s attic and identifying century-old fakes. 

I’ve talked to embassy officials from five different countries, NASA biophysicists and astrophysicists, OSHA inspectors, Nobel prize-winning economists, police detectives, celebrity chefs, environmental lawyers, arena-level sound-people, race-car drivers, potters, opera singers, patent examiners, train mechanics, fire marshals, foley artists, and club DJs. I’ve interviewed fashion photographers, farriers, puppeteers, lighting designers, Catholic bishops, bioethicists, rabbis, fighter pilots, public radio personalities, newspaper editors, chemists, club organizers, war correspondents, Episcopalian nuns (yes they exist), textile artists, prison architects, midwives, cabinetmakers, tall ship sailors, haute couture seamstresses, and civil engineers. On and on and on. 

Don’t neglect official avenues, either. The Department of Labor, the International Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the Screen Writers’ Guild, the list is nearly endless — any organization, union, or federal/state dept that sets or guides policy. Everyone has a bias, so what people consider normal is sometimes… not. Or they just didn’t know (or saw no need to know, the fools) the reason for A over B. You have to check the rules, because a discrepancy between what you’re told should be done versus what people tell you is actually done… is also useful to know. 

(Labor practices are definitely one of those areas, since federal labor policy is something every company must observe. It’s the law. So when a workplace seems to be violating the law, it raises a lot of interesting questions.) 

And finally, of course, there’s traditional research. Textbooks written by people in an industry can be particularly interesting, especially if it’s a book meant for readers outside that industry (which usually means a lot of firsthand anecdotes to round out the gaps). Popular articles, academic essays, post-mortem white papers, TED talks, interviews. You need to do your basic homework, because there’s no waste of someone’s time quite like asking them a question that’s patently absurd once you get past common assumptions. 

I once explained the plot of a popular SF show to a NASA astrophysicist, and his response was simply, “Every word you used was English, but those words in that order make absolutely no sense at all.” Kind of a dead-end, there. You can’t come at a top-level expert with intro-level questions. 

Since I don’t always know who I’ll stumble over next, being an information sponge means I at least have a whole encyclopedia of analogies. If I can find  common ground (cars and houses are two of the best), I can at least get a basic idea of the person’s meaning. “Oh, so it’s like when you turn the key in the ignition, and the lights don’t come on because the battery is dead?” 

It’s asking the right questions, using an open and friendly approach, and having the right timing. Remember: there is no such thing as unskilled labor; there is only undervalued labor. That is, their time is also valuable, so be brief, open, and sincere. Treat every person as if they’re an authority in something, even if you haven’t figured out what that is. 

The world is a massively complex place, and contains more things than are dreamt of in our philosophies, all of it waiting to be discovered.

Or, the shorter version:

btw: I don’t actually recommend going in person to the Dept of the Interior, though. You’ll get lost. Like, instantly. That place is MASSIVE.

[queenmercurys]

hey love :') ALL the odd numbers for the ff asks??

NOTE: I realize now that this said all the ODD numbers, but me being an idiot, I just read “all numbers” and went for it. oh, well. here’s answers no one asked for :P and the ones you asked for, thanks, ems ;))

this is why you’re the greatest friend in the entire world ;D okay, here we go!! i’m gonna skip the ones i already got asked, but there’s still plenty to do ;P thank you so, so much, I love you!

2. Least favorite game?

well, out of the ones i’ve played, i’m gonna have to go with type-0, at least for now. it’s pretty good, i like the story, but the gameplay is crazy hard (and this is coming from someone who has played final fantasy since she was 8) and i’m not like crazy in love with any of the characters. they’re all good, but there’s not that thing that i have with basically every other final fantasy. but i’ve not finished it yet, it has plenty of time to change my mind!

3. Which games have you played?

i have played vii, viii, ix, x, x-2, xii, xiii, xiii-2, lightning returns, xv, world of final fantasy, type-0 and dissidia nt. however, i would like to note that i’ve watched crisis core so many times that i have basically played that, too. and i would, if i had a psp. anyway, i recently bought vi, so i’ll be playing that next, and then going backwards. the only ones i am not actively trying to play are xi and xiv. i’m not into multiplayers. but anyway, i also know the stories of the dissidia games, and i know the stories from i to vi, so nothing is really unfamiliar to me. it’s an amazing franchise and i love it.

4. Most underrated game?

i have to say x-2. it gets so much hate and for no reason whatsoever. it’s such a joyous, beautiful game with wonderful characters, the best turn-based gameplay and surprisingly fun minigames and sidequests. i stan x-2 100%.

5. Most overrated game?

if i were less biased, i’d say vii, but i’m not perfect, so i’m gonna go with my other pick: vi. i am sure it’s absolutely wonderful, and everything seems great based on what i have heard, read and watched. however, the fact that the cast is literally cramped with 20 million different characters throws me off a tiny bit. i can’t see it being that easy to give good character development to all of them, and i guess that hasn’t happened. but yeah, i honestly can’t say much before actually playing it. but i suppose part of the praise is largely due to nostalgia - as it is with vii, too. 

6. Favorite protagonist?

that would be my perfect darling, cloud strife.

7. Favorite antagonist?

this was a bit of a tough one, but i’m gonna go with ardyn izunia. 

12. Best looking male?

cloud strife for sure. he’s really, really handsome, okay.

14. Character you would most like to marry?

well, this may come as a shocker, but cloud strife.

15. Character you hate the most?

i appreciate him for everything that he is, i think he’s a totally epic villain, but after everything he’s done to cloud, to aerith and to everyone else, i am definitely gonna have to go with sephiroth. but he is iconic and the franchise wouldn’t be the same without him.

16. Which game had the best cast of characters?

even though it’s not my favorite game, i’m gonna go with vii. it has such a large, engaging multiverse to itself that it’s had a lot of time to develop the characters and make them more interesting and fleshed out. and i love so many of them so much. like my darling cloud, or sunshine boy zack, or aerith, or tifa, vincent, yuffie, cid etc etc. i think the cast of characters is really awesome. but that’s not to say i don’t love the other casts, because i do, very much so.

17. Which game was the saddest?

crisis core. what made it worst was knowing from the start that zack was going to die, and then living through it all, seeing how happy he was. watching him fall in love with aerith, befriend cloud, and even hang out with sephiroth and genesis. it’s so heartbreaking watching that boy try so hard, and then eventually die protecting his best friend a few miles away from his goal. it’s really not fair, and watching the ending always breaks me. that’s not even counting the pain that cloud had to go through in crisis core, but if i take that into consideration, it just strengthens my argument: crisis core is definitely the saddest game.

18. Which game was the funniest?

x-2. i know it’s a bit cliche and maybe even a bit cringe, but i love every bit of it. it’s pure joy, and watching yuna be happy and carefree even for a bit warms my heart. and personally, what i think makes it even better is that the game also has so many heartbreaking, sad moments. it balances itself out very nicely.

19. Which game had the best love story?

i am definitely gonna go with x. the story of yuna and tidus is well fleshed out, it’s romantic, it’s tragic, it’s sweet and above all (because i love this aspect in couples) it’s angsty as fuck, and that is exactly what i want from any fictional couple. they are a big part of why i love x as much as i do.

21. Which game would you sooner die before doing the above ^?

since i picked x-2 for the game i’d like to insert myself into, i am gonna go with… xiii for the game i would not like to be in. the world is gorgeous, but the divide between the people of cocoon and the people of pulse, and the dictatorship-like way the world is ruled, yeah, no thank you. besides, i could never replace lightning, i have literally none of her good qualities.

22. Which game’s world would you most like to live in?

this was really hard for me to pick, but i think i would actually go with the world in viii. it’s a world that has technology (which, as a child of the 90′s, i do need), and it still has many fantasy elements to it, not to mention some really, really gorgeous locations, like fisherman’s horizon, balamb town etc. 

23. Which specific location (e.g. Besaid Island) would you most like to live in?

if we’re going with specific locations, i think i would like to live in tenebrae from xv. it seems like such a gorgeous, peaceful place, i think i would be very happy there.

24. What’s your favorite job/class? Is this the same class you would want to be if you entered a class-based Final Fantasy game, or would you rather be a different one? If so, which one?

my favorite class is probably summoner, but i also have a fondness for the white magic, the black mage and the knight/any other variation of that job class. i think i would probably be a white mage myself.

25. What is your favorite ability?

summoning is always something i find very useful, obviously, but i also like noctis’ warp strike in xv. using weapons with abilities like stone strike is also really satisfying in x, too.

26. Favorite boss fight?

i really love the final boss battle against ardyn in xv. the main reason for this is because in the fight, ardyn doesn’t have an elaborate second form (tho i don’t mind those either), it’s literally just two men fighting each other. and the end, how ardyn loses because he can’t summon up the sword of the father, i think that’s really meaningful and i’ve always liked it a lot.

28. Your favorite spell?

well, i sure have grown very fond of curaga over the years, but in terms of something that i just consider really cool… i’ve always liked holy quite a bit, not really sure why.

29. Favorite summon?

the knights of the round from vii. other than that, probably shiva. i also really like alexander and bahamut.

30. Least favorite battle/boss fight?

i am not a huge fan of the fight against cid raines in xiii. i don’t know why, but that fight took me forever, and multiple tries. just… nope.

31. Do you have any theories or headcanons you swear by (e.g. Rinoa as Sorceress)?

i used to swear by the “squall is dead” theory just because it seemed super interesting, but nah, i love squall too much. he ain’t dead. i think the theory i am very fond of is that vii and x are connected. the theory that the kid shinra in x-2 eventually started developing a technology that would eventually lead to the shinra company in vii. it’s grim, but it’s entirely possible. 

32. Are there any fanon theories/headcanons you just can’t believe?

i mean, there are a lot of weird ones that i don’t buy into, but i guess one that i don’t believe is that cloud actually killed aerith (aka he killed her by drowning her because sephiroth’s sword didn’t actually kill her, but paralyzed her instead, or something). i am pretty sure he checked if she was breathing, give him some credit. 

34. Which canon couple do you think is most likely to break up sometime after the credits roll?

umm… well, considering that they weren’t really even together, ever, i guess it doesn’t qualify, but i’m gonna say cloud and tifa. i just don’t see how it would work, romantically. i get that there are feelings there, but actually as a functioning couple? idk about that. everyone can think what they want, though, what do i know? my second pick would probably be snow and serah. i find them very cute, but that’s another ship where i can’t see how they would actually work in everyday life.

36. And your least favorite non-canon couple?

please don’t throw cloud and sephiroth at me, i really can’t. i have literally nothing against m/m ships, my favorite non-canon ship is strifehart. i just don’t ship these two and i think cloud deserves soooooo much better. again, just my opinion though. 

37. What do you think makes a game a “quintessential” Final Fantasy game? (In other words… some people say the new games don’t feel like Final Fantasy games to them. What FEELS like a Final Fantasy game, to you?)

well, since my first final fantasy was x, i might not be the best one to answer this because my first one wasn’t one of the “classics”, really, but… to me, they all feel like final fantasy. the games don’t have to all be same, nor should they be. but for the sake of the question (which is a very interesting question btw), i think that there needs to be a big bad, and a group of mismatched, troubled heroes who do what they can to defeat that big bad. that’s literally all i need from a final fantasy game for it to feel like a final fantasy. plus, at least one engaging character who i can root for.

38. What things did/would bother you when/if they were put in the games (i.e. what things DON’T belong in Final Fantasy games)?

nothing’s bothered me much yet, but i guess what i don’t really care about are those weird collabs, like xv + assassin’s creed or something. i get why they do it, but ehh. i think those rather “pointless” dlc additions are just that: pointless. i am, however, on board useful and important dlc additions, like story additions or new fighting arenas, like with dissidia nt.

39. What is your favorite prequel or sequel?

my favorite prequel is definitely crisis core, and my favorite sequel is x-2 (does advent children count? if it does, then ac, too). 

40. Square-Enix hands over the reins to you, to make a prequel or sequel for any game of your choice, even ones that already have those things. What do you make?

first i make a sequel to vii to see what happened to cloud after advent children, then i make x-3, and then i make a sequel to viii. it absolutely doesn’t need a sequel, but i want it in glorious hd.

42. Worst character design?

no one looks bad, to me anyway, but i guess some characters are pretty weird, like cloud of darkness’ design for dissidia nt. i get that she didn’t really have any clothes on in the original, either, but that crap must be very impractical in battle.

43. What is your favorite weapon?

cloud’s buster sword, and cloud’s fusion sword.

44. What cutscene do you wish you could cut out of any of the games?

the date scene with iris and noctis in xv. why did they do that???

45. What creature do you most wish was real? (Chocobo’s, moogles, etc.)

oh, moogles would be so adorable. so would moombas.

46. Best soundtrack?

i think all the soundtracks are freaking fantastic, final fantasy music is the best music ever created, but i am gonna go with final fantasy xv. my close second pick would be final fantasy viii.

47. Favorite overworld song?

the one from viii, just because it brings back memories of me wandering around for hours, grinding for magic spells and items.

48. Which game had the best opening cutscene?

they are all freaking amazing, honestly. like honestly, all the games are so beautiful and perfect in this aspect, but i guess if i have to choose… probably x. the destruction of zanarkand is pretty powerful stuff, especially for an opening cutscene.

49. Which game had the best ending?

i’ve always said this, and i will always say it: final fantasy x-2. it’s called the perfect ending for a reason. and yes, i mean the ending where tidus comes back and he and yuna are reunited. 

51. Favorite non-vocal song?

somnus and somnus ultima from xv. honestly the most gorgeous song i have ever heard in my life.

52. Favorite limit break/overdrive/trance/you-get-the-picture mode and/or ability?

cloud’s omnislash for sure. can’t wait to see that in the remake.

53. Are there any plot-holes or questions you have about any of the games that you wish would be resolved?

nothing that bugs me too much. i guess the one that bothers me the most is that, why was ultimecia’s summon called griever?? has anyone ever explained this? if ultimecia isn’t rinoa, then why?? it worries me. i don’t know why, but it worries me.

54. What scene had the most impact on you?

there are plenty, but here is the top 5: yuna and tidus’ goodbye at the end of x, aerith and zack saying their final farewells to cloud in ac, noctis calling the kings of lucis to help him bring back the dawn and they all proceed to kill him in xv, luna and noctis getting married in the afterlife in xv and that scene at the end of viii when rinoa is pointing to the sky, we think she’s alone and then she turns and squall’s there, smiling for the first time in the entire game. okay, no, i’m cheating. also the ending of crisis core, for sure. 

55. Which game did you play first, and when (how old were you, etc.)?

i played final fantasy x when i was around 8 or 9. i got introduced to it by my friend’s sister. we watched her play for days and weeks until i finally asked my dad if i could have the game, too. and i got it, and i loved it. i still do. what a game. 

57. What game that has yet to be released are you most looking forward to?

*laughs nervously* final fantasy vii remake. square… please? 

58. What do you think of the Final Fantasy fandom in general? Do you think it is a good one? Any complaints?

oh, i think it’s a very good one! i’m not one to get too involved in fandoms anyway, so if there is bad blood, i don’t know about it. but everyone i’ve met has been super friendly, very talented and just genuinely wonderful. no complaints :) ok, maybe one. it doesn’t matter if you ship clerith, zerith, cloti or whatever you want. everyone can ship in peace. it’s all good.

59. Do you have any favorite works of art or fanfiction that you always go back to, and/or basically accept as canon?

i have no shame in admitting that i basically consider it as canon (tho this goes into the kh story, too) that squall and cloud are basically the fathers of roxas and sora, and they’re the best, happiest family ever. i go back to a lot of strifehart fanfiction, and plenty of awesome fanarts i’ve seen.

60. If you got the chance to work at Square Enix making Final Fantasy games, at any job, regardless of your skill set (they offer you paid training), what would you most like to work on or do?

hmm, i think i would like to be a character designer, but i would also really, really love to be involved in the story creation and writing, too. maybe i could do both?

thanks so much again, hon, you’re the greatest and i had the best time answering these :D talking about final fantasy makes me so happy! love you

[mybravesong]

Week 4

DAY 24 Monday (30th July) We started the day with morning exercise. Here’s a picture of what it’s like in the morning.

Everyone’s half dead. We power walked with Leonie on the bridge under the bridge towards Optus stadium. During quiet time, I asked God for a word and I had the word 'tu' which means you in Spanish and the word dance. 

Jeremiah 31:13 NIV Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

I thanked God for who he is, He brought to mind the lady we walked past on the way to bbt on Sunday and another lady I saw sitting on a bench, downcast. I prayed for healing and for her to personally encounter breakthrough. We went into morning chores, this week for me that is checking fridge for expired food. We’ve started on the weekly topic which is, “Worship and Intercession”.

I had Lunch and lunch duties and straight into band practice! 

^ This is my band! Tavita, Joshua David, Iel, Leonie, Sam, Randi and Sarah!  We finally played the song once through. It was fantastic!! :D Then we had dinner and showered and went to bed. Also handed in my first book report.

 DAY 25 Tuesday (31th July) We started with a fun morning exercise which was Dance Dance Revolution! It was super fun cause we got to dance together and be wacky with one another. I had quiet time and I asked God what He thinks of me and he says kind and gentle. Are u always affirming? He said yes. He also gave me this verse.

Jeremiah 19:3 - about a stiff neck people that did not listen and put foreign gods and idols.

Isaiah 6:10 - about a seedling coming up from a stump.. I RMB praying about it before but I forgot who it was and God says I love you with an everlasting love. He pat my head and said have a good day today.

We went for Morning chores and I asked Kari to be my staff of the week (it’s part of the journal that you have to introduce yourself to a staff and find out their story. After that, we went into Intercession class. Tess was taking about the history and this is what she mentioned:

First wave - 15 century ships Europeans 2nd wave - main land 3rd wave - rise of airlines, unreached places 4th wave - more Christians growing in Asia going into other nations. Focus on ppl on all nations going to nations The theme was to pray for God to send people from nations.

We broke off into groups and I got this verse: Hebrews 12:26‭-‬29 NIV At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” There were a couple of words about fire and about people coming from libra and going into america to preach the gospel. After that, we had lecture, lunch and lunch duties. After that, we had a class on  songwriting. These are the principles they explained.

Principles of song writing 1. Partnering discipline and inspiration together What's God talking about to us, to the nation or the school 2. Hear from God 3. Finish your songs 4. Use the Bible 5. Record your bits 6. Songs from encounters

I finished my 2nd book and went for dinner. Right after, I did my 2nd book report and finished it. Then at 7:30pm we had small group. Sam Hakes spoke on the goodness of God. Definition of goodness - goodness in its truest form is right. Goodness - beneficial, nourishing, a general quality recognised in others. After that we had to do application. 

Application 1. Where are you at with being good I honestly wouldn't say I'm good hahaha just cause we're all not good after the fall but it is through Jesus that we received that righteousness. In loving wise, I think I can be loving haha, providing wise, not as good as I would like.. I try to contribute to my family where I can. Faithful wise, I still have room to grow for that haha. 2. How can u grow more in this character God gave this to me which is to think good thoughts of people. 3. 1 application that u can actually do Write down the person's name and what qualities you love about them 

We did the 5 languages test as well and then went off to bed.

DAY 26 Wednesday (1st Aug) We had no exercise that day but I had quiet time and God was saying to me that I was taking too much time doing and not expounding on relationship. So I asked God to give me the godly grieve for things that break His heart, whether it's unforgivenness, pride, etc. God was talking to me about enjoying relationship rather than doing more things because I had finished my second book report already. I had pride in my heart - look what I have achieved and that's not the way of God. We had morning chores and then we had Missions Morning. It was really interesting cause we got to see what ministries YWAM ran. 

Then we had lecture, lunch, lunch dishes. Then I had a one on one with Abigail and the question I had to think about was - why am I having pride? And how to overcome it? God said to think good thoughts of others and write them down. She also got me to think about strategies to resist temptation. We had dinner and then song and dress rehearsal - Never getting back together and He’s got the power in his hands. I went back to shower and got sick. Started shivering badly, had a fever. My fever broke and I woke up at 1ish. Went to toliets and came back to sleep.

DAY 27 Thursday (2nd Aug) Woke up at 6.30am. Feeling really groggy. Kate gave me cereal and Katie gave me almond milk to go with my cereal for breakfast. Really thankful for them! I had morning chores after. We then had class. We broke into our small groups and talked about where we were for outreach, financially. The verse I got from God was Luke 6:38 give and it shall be given to you. I had the impression to sow into someone’s outreach fees and also an amount for the wireless mic (faith project). We had lectures and after our lunch duties we went to class. We were introduced to Destiny who was teaching us how to prep for our Mexican food fundraiser. After that we went for dinner. After dinner, Matt and I worked on collecting data and finalising the order list while a couple of them were playing jackinthebox(which is really fun btw! everyone should try). I asked Matt to walk me home, went to shower and went to sleep. I woke up at 4am, went to the toliets and sneezed (mucus came out - right side) and I went back to bed again. DAY 28 Friday (3rd Aug) Woke up at 6am and felt like God wanted me to go to base at 6.30 for quiet time. During quiet time, God said I am righteous and holy. But I don't feel that way. I asked if I should give towards someone’s outreach fees that He had laid in my heart the day before and.. he gave the verse Zachariah 6:3 - Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.” That was a confirmation for me as the person is going North. On top of that, I also asked Him to heal me! And I coughed up thick flam. Took a photo of it in the toliets. Praise God! 

After that we had Music DTS worship, lecture, lunch. During lunch, Cristine approached me about doing a testimony about what we’ve been learning throughout the DTS and I said YES o-o! Had lunch duties and I went to accounts to submit my funds into the person’s outreach fees and faith project. I had wanted to go during lunch duties but Alex rebuked me (thank you Alex). I had to come to terms with my reaction and I asked God to forgive me and rebuked the spirit of pride. I decided to send in my funds via bank transfer instead and got them sent out. 

After that, they spread out a map across the auditorium and got us to intercede in prayer over the whole earth.

After that, Matt and I started prepping for the Deliveroo with Destiny (Mexican food) and Karen (a girl I had met previously in the school of arts gave me a sneakers bar (so sweeet!) We had the burrito run. 

It went well, I think we managed to raise a good amount. But right after that, we had service and I felt like I didn’t quite prepare well for it. But lol God gave me the courage and I spoke. It seemed like a lot of people found it funny haha Praise God for that. Went back to the dorm after and started doing my weekly journal! My bunk mate, Sarah encouraged me about genuineness and boldness of authority in prayer that I’ve been having! God is so good!

DAY 29 Saturday (4th Aug) Leonie, Iel and I spent the morning on our journals. We finished them and went for lunch. After lunch, my baby sisters came to pick me up for a sister outing. We went to the pharmacy to get me some meds and then we hung out at yagan square and had a long chat! <3 It was fun!

We then went to Cristine’s place for the pizza party. 

It was a lot of fun but I was so tired! xD After that, we went back to 228, showered and the girls had a movie night thing. We watched 10 things I hate about it. Brings back so many memories!

DAY 30 Sunday (5th Aug) I woke up at 1.57am cause God was speaking to me and I wanted to write it down. 

God reminded me that His love covers a multitude of sin. I had a picture of Leonie holding tea and stating a different view. Someone who had a very different opinion and then everyone still gathered  round them I think I got the bible verse Isaiah 53 something... I’m not quite sure I couldn’t rmb it. He also gave me a revelation. His love is enough. God celebrates our differences. God loves therefore we must love too. Prayed for unity.

I went to sleep and woke up at 7ish to visit Riverview Church. Low and behold. The pastor was preaching about having the right posture or heart and He was talking about James 4:8 (which so happens to be the jumper I was wearing today! And at the end, he mentioned that He is enough! And it was totally crazy cause that was what God was speaking to me about this morning! I loved that confirmation! Praise God for that. Draw near, less talking, more doing. His presence is enough, God is enough!

I came back after and just chilled on my bed for a bit. Feeling extremely tired today! Ate lunch and just worked on getting this journal up! :D