#113 – The Ramble Room Mafia

Posted on July 9, 2011 by L.J.
Shadow: “I like black stuff that covers my face.”

Originally Published: 1/14/02 . 32 pages

Synopsis
Rufus and Algus start a club called MAFIA for short. They include only the richest people in the ramble room, and their job is to make as much money as possible! Will they scheme their way to more riches?”

Ramble Milestones
-First appearance of the Mafia.

Not only is this one of my favorite rambles, it’s also kind of an important one, because the MAFIA remains an important organization for the rest of the rambles. This one is funny and consistently so, which can be rare, especially in these earlier ramble days. When I was a kid snap bracelets were a fad, but they ended up banned from a lot of schools because the fabric would fray, revealing the metal underneath. Later they made a small reemergence in plastic, but it just wasn’t the same. It’s impossible for me to choose a favorite moment from this ramble, but if I had to pick right now I’d be torn between Laguna trying to get his son and pals to buy some bracelets, and Algus assuring Seph that he’ll soon be feeling rich and girly, so no worries there.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#112 – It’s Possible To Sink Even Lower

Posted on July 9, 2011 by L.J.
Heidegger: “Gya haa haa! Clowns are funny!”

Originally Published: 1/9/02 . 25 pages

Synopsis
New characters come to stay in the ramble room, and Lark makes a vow Sephiroth’s sure she’ll break. Meanwhile, in Loser Land, they’re getting new roommates too, and it looks like Kuja’s about to meet his match.

Ramble Milestones
First appearance of: Edgar, Locke, Shadow, Setzer, Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Kefka and Seymour.

After playing Final Fantasy 6 and 10, the only natural thing to do was shove all the characters I liked in the rambles, and the characters I hated in loser land. Having said that, I don’t regret adding the characters from 6 at all – the four of them turned out to be decent supporting players (poor Locke was the least seen). But aside from Auron (and not counting Seymour), the rest of the characters from 10 never found their place. I went in thinking Kimahri could be a good companion to Red, but the fact was the rambles didn’t need another Red. This was the last major influx of Final Fantasy characters the rambles ever saw.

Continue reading →
Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#111 – A Scooby Dooby Christmas (part two)

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Vincent: “I gave him a book of fifteen minute mysteries as an early Christmas present. That may have something to do with it.”

Originally Published: 12/29/01 . 19 pages

Synopsis
Will Sephiroth, Vincent and Zidane be able to solve the mystery before Christmas is over?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

  In this part, Sephiroth acts even zanier, Seifer opens presents not meant for him, Rude is staring at the sun until he can smear his Christmas gift on his girlfriend, and Zell turns up on a gay cruise. For the food. I have to admit these turned out pretty funny despite my struggle with it. I think the cruise ship gang definitely steals the show. Also I was finally jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon by this point, as you can tell by my gift in this ramble.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#110 – A Scooby Dooby Christmas

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Zidane: “This is a retarded waste of time. There’s not going to be anything weird going on out here. We could be nestled all snug in our beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.”

Originally Published: 12/24/01 . 15 pages

Synopsis
The gang heads down to Irvine’s family farm for Christmas, but there seems to be a ghost on the loose! Sephiroth is on the case!

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

This ramble was never supposed to be two parts. But I felt it was kind of dragging and I wanted to put something on the site, so that’s how it became a 2 parter. You might think that I’m a big Scooby Doo fan, with the van and the lame mysteries, but no. I do appreciate the campiness of it though.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#109 – Mr. Valentine Tells a Rufus Carol

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Zelle: *pouts* “No. I won’t. I’m tired of this. That’s your answer to everything. Snort a little opium. Snort a little opium. Well snorting a little opium didn’t enhance your performance last night, did it?!”

Originally Published: 12/13/01 . 32 pages

Synopsis
Rufus isn’t really keeping the Christmas spirit. Will a dream where he lives out the story of A Christmas Carol change his mind?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

Of all the parody rambles I’ve done, this one remains my favorite. I just love “A Christmas Carol” – even the book, and I am no Dickens fan. For this parody I drew inspiration from the classic movies (some of the classic lines are word for word. ), the Muppet version, and 2 different musical versions, including the one that used to come to Broadway every year. That production actually wasn’t bad, but it had the longest dance sequence during the Fezziwig party that just never seemed to end. And yes, it featured a grandmother suddenly able to do back handsprings. Two things happened with this one that I didn’t intend going into it – Vincent was supposed to have a bigger role (hence the title), but I just kind of rolled along, not really even realizing he was gone until I got to the end. And I also didn’t intend to use so many opium jokes, it started with one and then just snowballed from there.

Continue reading →
Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#108 – They Don’t Call It Turkey Day For Nothin’

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Twilight: “Suit yourselves. May the better team win! Me!”

Originally Published: 11/28/01 . 16 pages

Synopsis
Reeve and Tseng are going to host Thanksgiving dinner this year, but no one but Lark is interested in going – until they hear there’ll be a best turkey contest! Who will win the ‘fantastic’ prize?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

I like all the Thanksgiving rambles, and this one is no exception. The moral here is, make sure you know the prize before you enter a contest.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#107 – Rufus’ Heir

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Sephiroth: “It would have been so easy. ‘It’s not possible, Rufus’…”

Originally Published: 11/28/01 . 18 pages

Synopsis
Rufus is convinced he’ll never have a child of his own, so he decides to adopt one instead. But Rufus finds himself overwhelmed and passes the baby off onto others. Will he be able to become the father he wished he had as a child?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

Welcome to the most depressing ramble I ever wrote. I don’t think I intended for it come out this sad when I came up with the idea of Rufus wanting an heir. Algus is actually seen here talking some sense into Rufus about family, which is interesting considering his own dysfunctional family. But at least he had family, unlike Rufus. At the time I had no intention of bringing Max back, but I think the fact that he does return makes this one a bit easier to handle.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#106 – Gya haa haa! Candy!

Posted on July 2, 2011 by L.J.
Barret: “Yo! Why dat be, cat costume rat? You actually look like somethin’ for a change! Well, kinda anyway!”

Originally Published: 10/30/01 . 16 pages

Synopsis
It’s Halloween time again at the ramble room, and Heidegger wants candy! So he sends out Stinky to do some trick or treating! What’s everyone in the ramble room up to this Halloween?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

You can tell how dated this ramble is by the Mr. T 1-800 collect ads reference. This was Shell’s idea, and I think the concept was better than my execution. Best costume award probably goes to Tseng as Minnie Mouse. And it’s pretty ironic that Seph dresses up as a vampire. He also gets some of the best jokes of the ramble in there at Vincent’s expense.

Continue reading →

Posted in End of an Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

(Still) In Progress!

Posted on June 26, 2011 by L.J.

Well, “The Golden Era” is all done! (Also “An End of an Era”! That was a quickie!) Finally! It’s been a lot of work, but I’m glad I’ve gotten this far! We’re almost to the halfway mark. Also, and more importantly, the best of the rambles is still yet to come.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their comments! I was soooo close to just dumping the whole site and just letting it go, because I thought for sure no one read these or cared anymore. Glad I was wrong, and I really appreciate everyone who took the time to write a comment. They really mean a lot to me!

Anyway, if you want to subscribe to this blog when I post new updates, you can check out the side bar and enter your email over there. I usually update on the weekend when I have a an hour or two to sit down and put everything I’ve done over the week.

Finally, if you’re interested into what I’m up to these days, you can check out my video game humor blog, Sephiroth’s Tutu. Or you can follow me on Twitter. I am also working on some other stuff that I hope to get out there someday. In the meantime, enjoy the rambles! And if you’re new here, it’s best to check out the ABOUT page and then start at the beginning.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

#105 – Splash From the Past (part two)

Posted on June 26, 2011 by L.J.
Kuja: “You could steal him from that skank in fluorescent lighting, bargain bin make-up and head to toe in the K-mart special.” *grins* “So, quite obviously, there’s not a chance you won’t.”

Originally Published: 10/25/01 . 21 pages

Synopsis
While Algus makes himself at home, Noelle wonders if she will be able to win Reno back after all. Has she lost him forever?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

Some important character growth in this one, besides the obvious. Kuja actually makes friends with Tseng, beginning his progression as more of a member of the ramble gang, and less of a “loser”. When I first played FF9 I despised Kuja, but on subsequent playings he started to grow on me. That’s why you see this slow change begin to happen.

Continue reading →

Posted in The Golden Era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment