![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A Few Everything Updates
Nov. 25th, 2021 08:59 pmAt the time I'm writing this, it's Thanksgiving Day in the US. It's been a while since I've updated my blog and a LOT has happened. Back in late October, I finally finished the FFVII Compilation and have started playing FFVIII. I also started replaying Animal Crossing again since I heard word about the new updates and DLC, and I've also decided to start up Ori and the Will of Wisps. In the mean time, I haven't really done much else except restarting my drawing class, reading more non-game related novels, and brainstorming new ideas for my comic(s).
The FFVII novels are pretty decent and I highly recommend them if you want a solid background for the events of Advent Children. The Turk Side Story book could basically be skipped, as if gives only a scant bit of information on the origins of Kadaj, but On the Way to a Smile gives a lot of good context for all the characters following the events of the first game. Each of them are very quick to read and have expansion on certain characters' personalities and development. I think I appreciated the backstory fleshed out for Denzel - honestly, watching the original iteration of Advent Children, it was difficult to really appreciate him as a character as he's just plopped into the story without any explanation. Luckily, the Complete version of Advent Children does show a little bit of how he's introduced to Cloud and the others, but without the details leading up to that point, it's still difficult to emotionally connect with him.
Anyway, after wrapping up the whole FFVII saga, I took my week-long vacation to my family's house. I was in a bit of a mental health slump, so sadly, I didn't really do much "productive" except for a tiny bit of brainstorming and drawing practice. Sadly, I still haven't managed to break out of this inspiration slump and lack of motivation for my creative work. I haven't figured out how to address this yet, but I'm trying to get back on a regular schedule and push myself to do some work - it's just hard when I'm in my depression lull and thinking/feeling emotionally in touch with my work is super difficult. I will talk a little bit about the ideas I've come up with in another entry when I feel more up for writing again.
In the mean time, since it was Halloween season, I read the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley. I have seen iterations of Frankenstein from film, but I've never read the book nor was I aware of the premise. It was surprisingly to learn that the book was less of a horror and more of a tragedy. As much as I hate to say it, the depressing self-loathing of both Frankenstein and the monster he created both resonated with me in different ways.
After Frankenstein, I took a week long break from reading, then moved on to The Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I bought the book a couple years ago after I grew somewhat interested in the NBC Hannibal TV series and wanted to know a bit about the general Hannibal source material. I never watched much of the show, but I had seen a lot of fandom content and I had seen the Jody Foster Silence of the Lambs film years earlier. I finished the book yesterday and I was very satisfied with the conclusion! The writing is solid and I enjoyed the twists and build up of the mystery. I am very much a fan of the type of crime novel where the mystery isn't the identity of the killer, but the build up of how they are tracked down by the protagonist, their inner psychic world/motives, and the complex clues they leave behind. I honestly expected Hannibal to have more prominent "page time," but I think his role in the story was fitting for shaping Will Graham's character.
Books aside, I have really enjoyed playing Ori and the Will of Wisps. It is an absolutely fantastic sequel to "Blind Forest," which was already an amazing platformer-puzzle game. I will say more about Ori, and the other game I started - Tokyo Mirage Sessions - once I finish them both. FFVIII has also been interesting, but it's been slow-going because I did have to start over when I realized I had accidentally skipped some missable content. Whoops.
Anyway, I've enjoyed my day off and mostly just took a long nap, ate a ton, and chilled out. Starting tomorrow, I go into my month-long hideaway phase as my city gets ready to explode for the Christmas season. Making a promise to myself that once the chaos dies down, I will work on that ol' social life and getting in touch with a therapist of some sort. Life's too short to feel shitty like this constantly.
The FFVII novels are pretty decent and I highly recommend them if you want a solid background for the events of Advent Children. The Turk Side Story book could basically be skipped, as if gives only a scant bit of information on the origins of Kadaj, but On the Way to a Smile gives a lot of good context for all the characters following the events of the first game. Each of them are very quick to read and have expansion on certain characters' personalities and development. I think I appreciated the backstory fleshed out for Denzel - honestly, watching the original iteration of Advent Children, it was difficult to really appreciate him as a character as he's just plopped into the story without any explanation. Luckily, the Complete version of Advent Children does show a little bit of how he's introduced to Cloud and the others, but without the details leading up to that point, it's still difficult to emotionally connect with him.
Anyway, after wrapping up the whole FFVII saga, I took my week-long vacation to my family's house. I was in a bit of a mental health slump, so sadly, I didn't really do much "productive" except for a tiny bit of brainstorming and drawing practice. Sadly, I still haven't managed to break out of this inspiration slump and lack of motivation for my creative work. I haven't figured out how to address this yet, but I'm trying to get back on a regular schedule and push myself to do some work - it's just hard when I'm in my depression lull and thinking/feeling emotionally in touch with my work is super difficult. I will talk a little bit about the ideas I've come up with in another entry when I feel more up for writing again.
In the mean time, since it was Halloween season, I read the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley. I have seen iterations of Frankenstein from film, but I've never read the book nor was I aware of the premise. It was surprisingly to learn that the book was less of a horror and more of a tragedy. As much as I hate to say it, the depressing self-loathing of both Frankenstein and the monster he created both resonated with me in different ways.
After Frankenstein, I took a week long break from reading, then moved on to The Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I bought the book a couple years ago after I grew somewhat interested in the NBC Hannibal TV series and wanted to know a bit about the general Hannibal source material. I never watched much of the show, but I had seen a lot of fandom content and I had seen the Jody Foster Silence of the Lambs film years earlier. I finished the book yesterday and I was very satisfied with the conclusion! The writing is solid and I enjoyed the twists and build up of the mystery. I am very much a fan of the type of crime novel where the mystery isn't the identity of the killer, but the build up of how they are tracked down by the protagonist, their inner psychic world/motives, and the complex clues they leave behind. I honestly expected Hannibal to have more prominent "page time," but I think his role in the story was fitting for shaping Will Graham's character.
Books aside, I have really enjoyed playing Ori and the Will of Wisps. It is an absolutely fantastic sequel to "Blind Forest," which was already an amazing platformer-puzzle game. I will say more about Ori, and the other game I started - Tokyo Mirage Sessions - once I finish them both. FFVIII has also been interesting, but it's been slow-going because I did have to start over when I realized I had accidentally skipped some missable content. Whoops.
Anyway, I've enjoyed my day off and mostly just took a long nap, ate a ton, and chilled out. Starting tomorrow, I go into my month-long hideaway phase as my city gets ready to explode for the Christmas season. Making a promise to myself that once the chaos dies down, I will work on that ol' social life and getting in touch with a therapist of some sort. Life's too short to feel shitty like this constantly.
