#172 – My Cousin Hughy

Hugh: “The constant fires are a reminder of the hell that overshadows this place.”

Originally Published: 4/28/06 . 35 pages

Synopsis
Franswa’s cousin Hugh comes to live with the Belmonts, and he has the crazy idea that Franswa is a great vampire hunter! As if things at the Belmont house weren’t crazy enough!

Ramble Milestones
-Hugh’s first appearance.

Hugh is a character in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. I think Hugh brings a fresh dynamic to the Belmont household, and I like how he and Franswa interact.

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#171 – Reno’s ‘Special’ Brownies

Rufus: *staring at the microwave* “Whoa. That clock is blinking.” *eyes widen* “The world must be coming to an end…”

Synopsis
When Rufus eats some of Reno’s ‘special’ brownies by accident, it’s up to the Turks to play baby-sitter.

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

I loved this idea and I love how it came out, especially the whole part with the pool. The “herbs” that Chris is selling are based on actual herbs you can find playing the Resident Evil games.

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#170 – Final Fairy Tales III – Ever After

King Sephiroth: “…I suppose no matter how hard you try, you can’t avoid your destiny.”

Originally Published: 4/14/06 . 49 pages

Synopsis
The girls go back to the book one more time to finally get their happy endings…or will they?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

I’m a big fan of these rambles, so it was a no brainer to do another one. Some of the stories are a little weak – you can tell I was making things up as I went, but it’s still my favorite. I especially love the stuff with the prophecy.

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#169 – How Irvine Got His Groove Back

Irvine: “I’d rather finish the maze myself and fail, than follow your stupid, lazy ass through the bushes!”

Originally Published: 4/5/06 . 35 pages

Synopsis
Irvine’s not a SeeD, and he refuses to take the test – again. Can his friends convince him he can do it?

Ramble Milestones
-Irvine becomes a SeeD.

Other title ideas for this ramble? “Irvine Plants His SeeD.” I vetoed it for being too sexual, but still enjoy it. Anyway, it always bothered me that Irvine wasn’t a SeeD, so I decided to do something about it. The back story of him failing all comes from a fanfic I wrote many years ago.

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#168 – Mr. T. Jangles

Tseng: “Okay, you shouldn’t have to think this long about which Care Bear is your favorite!”

Originally Published: 3/27/06 . 21 pages

Synopsis
When Rufus is away, Tseng and Rude decide to make a Mr. Jingles knockoff to earn some extra cash. But once he returns, can they keep him from finding out about it? Meanwhile at Dracula’s, Alcuard is having some bear issues of his own.

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

This ramble, like many others, was not my idea. But I do own an actual Mr. Jingles that I created at the Build-a-Bear Workshop. (And I’m embarassed to admit he has quite a wardrobe) Anyway, my favorite part of this one is Tseng following Rufus around – money hungry Tseng is in full swing at this point, and he’s even willing to put on a bonnet and join a fake tea party for a couple of bucks.

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#167 – Asexual Algus

Seifer: “Asexual? Don’t they reproduce with spores or something?”

Originally Published: 3/22/06 . 28 pages

Synopsis
Zidane is convinced Algus is asexual, but can he manage to prove it?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

I’m particularly fond of this ramble – I had been silently pondering Algus’ sexuality situation for awhile before realizing he didn’t have one, so I decided to write a ramble about it. Zidane shines in this ramble, although Seifer’s lines of cluelessness kind of steal the show. I also enjoy all the spying that goes on in this one.

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#166 – I Still STILL Hate St. Patrick’s Day!

Reno: *snorts* “I don’t think I’ll need teddy bear fashion advice anytime soon. And if I do, shoot me Irvine.”

Originally Published: 3/17/06 . 16 pages

Synopsis
Everyone’s going to Reno and Irvine’s bar for the St. Patrick’s Day party. Will the party be ruined once they run out of booze?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

Other than the first St. Patrick’s Day ramble, I can kind of take or leave the rest. I do think this one has its charms, though.

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#165 – Quit Playing Games With My Head

Hanpan: “Hey… What’s this burning?!” *looks at himself under the covers* “What did you do to me, bitch?!”

Originally Published: 3/10/06 . 11 pages

Synopsis
Rudy’s riding high in the saddle during the old west…kind of.

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

This bit of insanity was kicking around for awhile – I wish I came up with the line quoted above because I laughed for like 20 minutes when I first heard it. This ramble says a lot about what Rudy thinks of himself…and those around him.

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#164 – Growing Up Shinra

Sephiroth: *looks at him* “That’s what it was like growing up Shinra.”

Originally Published: 3/4/06 . 36 pages

Synopsis
Rufus and Sunshine go to Hojo for the answers they’re seeking. Will the old Shinra security footage show them what they’re looking for?

Ramble Milestones
Nothing this time.

I’m obsessed with Shinra and thusly obsessed with the pasts of the characters associated with the company. Most of the stuff referenced in this ramble was lifted from my fanfiction.

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#163 – Somewhere In My Memory (part two)

Cloud: “……Zack?”

Originally Published: 2/28/06 . 18 pages

Synopsis
Will Zack ever get his memory back? Meanwhile, Rufus wants answers now that he knows he was injected with Jenova.

Ramble Milestones
-Zack gets his memory back.

Ah, Zack and Cloud. That pair was a very long time coming. I had made hints about it before, but once Zack got his memory back it was finally out in the open. Actually I’m not in love with the scene where Zack gets his memory back. I wanted something to trigger it, but he didn’t have much dialogue in the game to draw from. (This was before Crisis Core, remember!) I’m a big fan of the last scene between Zack and Cloud. It’s very sweet.

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