A to Z Challenge: Dagger (???) from Final Fantasy IX

**This post was created before I changed the MC of Fractured Princess's name from Ghuli to Jonnie.**

For the A to Z Challenge, I am highlighting characters from my favorite Final Fantasy games.

Today, I am also slightly cheating.

We're visiting the last Playstation Final Fantasy game, IX, to meet Garnet til Alexandros XVII.

(You're probably thinking:) Garnet? But isn't this D day?

Yes, yes it is. Now, let me explain. Garnet was a sad and troubled princess, heir to the throne of Alexandria, and in the beginning of the game during a play her crazy mother the queen is putting on, she runs away with the main character and changes her name to....

Dagger!

During the game, we also learn that Dagger is actually part of a magical race of summoners and that her REAL name is actually Sarah! (How many names does this girl have??) She and her mother were escaping a slave ship that destroyed their homeland, and only she made it out alive. The king and queen took her in and made her up to be their recently deceased daughter Garnet. She had plenty of reasons to look so down.

Here's something extra special about Dagger: she was the inspiration for the main character in my WIP, The Crystal Bearer. Without Dagger, there wouldn't be Ghuli. Meek, solemn, and proper princesses with a will in them to fight the good fight make for great characters!

Tomorrow, we visit Edgar in the highly underrated Final Fantasy VI.

Z is for Zodiac

Final letter! Z!

This one I knew a few days ago, and I decided to write it and schedule it when I wrote Y.

I'm really into the Zodiacs, not for the horoscope aspect, but because people born in certain months, sometimes even certain years, and during certain universal alignments are likely to have the same traits, ticks, and likes as well. Having a Twitter, I follow one of the Cancer (Zodiac, not the illness) Tweets, and I love being able to retweet or favorite something because it says who I am so well. If you look up Cancers, you're in for a roller coaster, but enjoy the ride anyway! We appreciate appreciation. lol

So look up your sign and see how well it describes you and others. A good thing I've found in doing this is that just when I think I'm the only one who (insert anything here), I learn there are others around the WORLD who are like me. It's comforting.

And while I'm here, I want to thank everyone who stopped by, and especially those who followed this page! I'll probably keep it up for a few more days, then absorb it into my other April page. This has been one heck of a month, and because of that, it was a bad time to want to do something this involved, but I got through it! I'm happy.

Music and Y

One more day, Jesus.

Today's letter is Y, and as an avid music lover, I thought I would suggest some of my favorite albums and songs that begin with the letter Y!

Youth and Young Manhood - Kings of Leon

It's not their best album, but it introduced us (if it was the first album you heard; it was my next-to-last) to this raw, wild Southern rock band of brothers and a cousin. Caleb has such a unique voice. It's lazy, soulful, and jagged all at once. The album itself took me a couple times to listen to before I liked it, because he does a lot of noise-making, and I don't often like noise-making. Other songs, he's just talking. lol But I do like this album.

Yuna - Yuna

This album speaks my life right now. I heard Yuna on Conan one night, and I bought her EP soon after, then her album soon after that (ironically, it came out the day after I bought the EP). Yuna is this little Malay lady with a whimsical folk voice, but she puts it up against soulful pop music. I love when people do different, and she is very different. It's a wonderful album, one of my favorites.

"You Don't Know My Name" - Alicia Keys

The first song Alicia put out on her sophomore album. The album itself is great, and up until the long talking sequence at the end of the song, I love everything about this song. The classic R&B melody, the story of a crush, the clap-along moment in the bridge. Love it.

"Yes I Will" - Backstreet Boys

People don't realize the R&B influence in BSB's music unless they're fans, but this song is the quintessential R&B love song co-written by AJ. It's still on my list of potential wedding songs whenever I get married.

"Young Blood" - Birdy

I love Birdy's version of this song. It's so young and fun and full of dreams. Birdy has a wonderfully smooth voice, and being so young herself, it adds a truthful element to the song. If my life had a soundtrack, this song would be on it.

"Your Body is a Wonderland" - John Mayer

Before he started talking, John Mayer was so sexy to me. That rasp-wispy voice, the guitar playing, the lyrics. This song is one of those playful bed ballads (I made that term up). I also love the pseudo-steal of his own lyrics from "My Stupid Mouth" incorporated in the chorus (I'm never speaking up again).

X is for X-Men

2 more to goooo!

I've mentioned this before, but X-Men is one of the catalysts that got me into writing. Not the comic books, but the cartoon that came out in 1993.

This was my first look at these mutants led by Charles Xavier, fighting against human prejudice and the mutant crime wave. I developed a love for the "other," as someone who was often the only black student in my classes, then being considered to "act white" by black peers when I finally had some.

So one of the ways I escaped was by trying to emulate and imitate the X-Men. I wrote stories for 7 years about mutants living in a similar arrangement to the X-Men but who were teenagers trying to cope with teenaged life. I'll just call them the Hearts, because my awful titles for these stories always ended with Hearts (Wild, Stone, Captive, no idea why).

Who knows. Maybe one day I'll return to my Hearts. I had some great storylines going. lol

W is for Wawa!

Today's Letter is W.

For those not part of the Eastern Shore or Orlando (I can't believe they finally got one in Florida!), Wawa is not a random sound I'm making to have a post for W. Wawa is Heaven. All of your basic food desires, coffee dreams, and snack wishes (and sometimes gas, if it's a new one) can be found in a Wawa. I'm sure each region has its own version, but NOTHING compares to a Wawa. They have hand- and pre-made subs, wraps and breakfast sandwiches, soup, sandwiches, quesadillas, frozen coffees, smoothies, salads, little fruit platters, ice cream for days, juice, soda, a milkshake machine, a cappuccino machine, a Slurpee-type machine...

THEY.

HAVE.

EVERYTHING.

And since Wednesday was Administrative Assistant Day, my Director gave me a $10 gift card to Wawa! I will be living like a queen for a day! Do you know how much I can get for $10?? Honestly, I don't either, because I never really keep track, but I think at least breakfast AND lunch with money left over. I'm very excited (probably psychotically so).

But I grew up with Wawa in my life, from tiny Yardley town to down here in Dover. When I was at FSU trying to figure out if I wanted to transfer home, these were the three things that made me make up my mind:

1. My family

2. Tallahassee is really just an awful place

3. No Wawa

I kid you not.

V is for Videos (Youtube, that is)

V Day!

So, a few V's went through my head, some of which were too personal/inappropriate, so I was about to take an L before I remembered that I have a Youtube channel. I started babbling on Youtube my junior year in college and hardly do much on it now, but I do plan on putting up more videos soon, if not covers, then original songs, too.

So, if you want to watch me ramble, sing in English, Spanish and Japanese, play the piano, be silly and/or be silly with my sister, and/or watch one of my 12 playlists, Visit my Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/Rubyjuke719.

Also, try not to judge my username. I was in college.

A Brief Rant on Unity

So I grew up in a Pollyanna sort of world where everyone liked everyone, and the struggles of the past were in the past...And then I moved and got a culture shock.

But I really wish there were no wars and hatred in the world, that people not even below the Mason-Dixon line wouldn't look at me and already have their own ideas of who I am and what I'm about because I'm black. I also wish other black people wouldn't look at me and devise their own ideas founded on ignorance that anyone striving for excellence and education and diversity wants to be anything besides black.

I'd love the world to live in unity and harmony and not suck sometimes.

T is for Time

Time is something I have not had this month, and it's starting to irritate me.

With Easter at the end of March, I had a lot of play rehearsals and Saturday events to prepare for, so I knew I'd have a chance to rest come April. WRONG. Didn't even have a week's rest. None of my weekends have been free, and deciding on jumping into the A to Z Challenge the day of was a dumb idea. I won't be doing this again.

Time is very legato otherwise. Some days go by before I even realize they've happened, and others drag to the point where I hate the day. Some days even do both at once, and that makes no sense. The next holiday that I get to have off because I temp for a state department is Memorial Day, so I'm going to try to hold on until then. I don't get vacation pay, so I really have no choice.

S is for Sabrina

So I actually have two sisters, but the other likes to think she's my mother, so I often ignore her. lol

But, she's actually the topic of the first book I ever wrote: My Sister and Me. At least, I think that was the title. The book is upstairs in a box somewhere. In the 1st grade, we were all given a blank book to write whatever we wanted, and that was the year I wanted to be like my big sister. I was a terrible illustrator, but I drew, too. The book made no sense and went from exposition to story 3/4 of the way through, but I've been writing ever since. :)

She's a really funny person, and extremely talkative (she gets that from my mom). I love her.

R is for the Romantic

I had a busy Friday night, so I didn't have time to post yesterday's letter: R!

I love romance. Not so much romantic movies, but I love to read a good story with a romantic flare.

Robert Olen Butler writes wonderful love stories which often end tragically (read The Deep Green Sea) or have a soul-gripping journey to get to the happily-ever-after (A Small Hotel). I love his writing.

The romantic movies I DO like are the quirky ones and the Disney fairy tales, my favorites being Amelie and Enchanted. The suspension of my reality lies in those movies.

Q is for Quail Man!

Today's letter is Q, and I thought of one of the most beloved and admired characters of my childhood: Doug.

For those who didn't grow up on 90s Nickelodeon, Doug was your average Joe who had a cool blue best friend who honked for some reason, had a crush on a very tan gal whose last name was Mayonnaise, and who also wrote his own comic called Quail Man.

Quail Man was a superhero who had on Doug's green sweater vest, but his belt was wrapped around his head to match that of a quail feather, and he wore his underwear over his khakis. He also had a cape. The only story I remember of Quail Man was the time he saved the world to the point that there was now an 8th day of the week where everyone could just party. I still wish for that often.

P is for Paper and Pencils

So, if you helped me clean my room right now (please come help me clean my room), you would find a hoarder-like amount of paper. I keep it around just in case I need something to write in at any given time. Several notebooks from my college years are probably still in the bin I can see in the bottom of my closet.

This might not be strange for writers. When I was younger, I used to carry extra paper and pencils so in between writing notes in class, I could write my stories. Apparently, my older sister says my little sister and I were very stingy about our paper. I'd deny it if I didn't cringe whenever my niece asks for some.

Since we got a computer in our home, I hardly used paper, but every now and then, it's all I want and need. I love paper. And pencils. Until they break, because as you can see, this isn't an entry about pencil sharpeners.

Ranting on O

Today's Letter: O!

I hate Old Navy. I don't mind the generic preppy clothing. I don't mind the extremely cheesy commercials. In fact, I love the mannequins. It's the smell. (I sound like Agent Smith.) I've only ever been in the Old Navy in my mall, but if clothes could go bad, they would smell like the smell in the store in my mall. It's a strong, nauseating smell of like moldy cardboard. I don't know where it comes from, but it always smells like that!

One Direction annoys me. They're completely flash in the pan, and girls go crazy over them. The moment Big Time Rush comes back on, no one will remember One Direction (well, they might, but you know what I mean). And whatever their newest single is, where two of them are on a motorcycle interacting the way David Bowie and Mick Jagger did in "Dancing in the Street", kills my spirit.

Olive oil is a little too versatile. I can cook with it and keep my hair moisturized. Should I be able to do both?

I briefly had a Pinterest dedicated to baby owls, but there are only so many that didn't creep me out.

Big O was a great anime that doesn't come on Cartoon Network anymore. I like dark/noir anime.

Olivia Benson is so caring (watching an SVU marathon).

Side note: This is my first post for the blogfest where I've decided to write my entry at night and schedule it next-day, so they'll be up earlier.

No Room for Doubt

Today's Secret Slime Action is...The letter N. haha

That makes no sense.

I wanted to look through the songs on my MP3 player for all the songs that start with N, but to do that, I'd have to go through all the other songs that start with the 1st 13 letters, so I nixed that, started to look through albums, but then I thought, "No Room for Doubt."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBCt5nfsZ30 <-- Official video, I believe.

This is a song by the beautiful and super talented Lianne La Havas, who my sister and I got to see in concert last Sunday! She tends to open with this song. It's a nice, sleepy love song. All of the songs on her album are wonderful. Take a listen, and fall in love!

M is for Music

Halfway to the end. I'm never doing this again. lol M!

Music is a big part of my life. I can't drive one block without turning on the radio, so here are some of my favorites.

My favorite radio station is WMGK Classic Rock, thanks to Supernatural producers making Classic Rock a big part of their soundtrack. The late 60s-70s really were the best times for music. So much diversity in the one genre.

My favorite pop group is about to celebrate their 20th Anniversary, and that is the Backstreet Boys! A big take that! To everyone who thought they wouldn't last past the "Boy Band" era (even though they were before then anyway). They've never broken up, and they've cranked out good music since 1993.

My "This is your life" album at the moment is Yuna's self-titled album. She's a very quirky signer from Malaysia, and there's not one song on the album I don't like. My favorites are "Lullabies" and "Deeper Conversation."

So what are you favorite things about music?

L is for Lying Down

This one is going to be kind of short because I have a head cold that is getting worse by the hour. But today's letter is L! Here's a poem. lol

As I lie down
Let everyone else have a good night
Let this sickness pass quickly
Like it usually does because I rarely get sick
Lying down and watching Nickelodeon
Looking forward to sleep tonight
It's the little things
(Let's pretend that line made sense in this poem)

Good night! <3

K is for Kadai!

Thank you, my little sister. lol

Welcome!

I had a long day, and also nothing for K until my sister brought home Indian food.

Kadai is the traditional cooking pot in Indian culture. I didn't have Indian food until about 3 years ago, when we had an inkling to eat from the Indian restaurant on the eastern side of town. We had lamb saagwhala, and our lives were changed. Garlic naan is awesome, too.

Tonight, I had lamb do piazza, which is seemingly a take on Italian? Tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Andi had lamb vindaloo, which has vinegar and something. It was yummy, though.

I'm a lover of most things food, so I implore you all to give something new a try (I'm pretty sure we only have the ONE Indian restaurant). I always try something once (and regret that, I do).

Jumping in a Puddle

Today's post is brought to you by the Letter J.

Welcome back!

I don't know how many began school in the late 80s/early 90s, but when I was in the first grade, we had a lot of sing-alongs. One was about Sipping Chicken Soup With Rice. The other that I still remember was Jumping in a Puddle.

Jumping in a puddle, getting all wet
Why don't you give it a try?
Jumping in a puddle, getting all wet
Bet you're wondering why I wanna be
Jumping in a puddle, getting all wet
(something that ends in a long yyyy)
Jumping in a puddle, jumping in a puddle
When it rains in the sky

And it goes on. lol

Jumping into puddles is something I don't really do anymore (don't like that wet feet feeling), but jumping is one of the luxuries of childhood. Jumping into puddles, jumping into a pool (oh my God, I want to do that right now; this is pool weather!), jumping up and down on a trampoline. Who didn't love that scene in Big?

For writers, jump into the unknown! Put yourself out there! If writing is something you want to do for more than a hobby, you have to jump. Take that big leap of faith, and just DO IT! There's nothing worse than that "What if I had..." feeling. If you get rejected, you got rejected. Dust yourself off and jump again! Writing as adults, we can still hold onto our childhood by taking that big jump. It will be as liberating as it is scary, but you can do it. :)

I am running out of Ideas

I guess it all boils down to the letter, but man.

Today's letter is I, and this is the first time in like 36 hours I've had time to be on a computer for something not work-related. I'm tired.

So what I've decided to leave you with today is a link to a beautiful Pas de Deux by Katee and Will from the 4th Season of So You Think You Can Dance to "Imagine." Katee went on to be runner-up to the amazing Joshua, and she won either $5000 or $2500 dollars. I can't remember the amount, but I remember her doubling over in shock.

Here you go. I will see you tomorrow. ;)

H is for HAIR!

Welcome to the letter H!

I actually didn't know what I could write about until I read JuliPage Morgan's entry for the day. She had the same struggle I have had since I was a kid and that is unruly kinky hair. Thank goodness I have no pictures available! lol

For some reason, this is actually a big deal in the black community. Some people forgo BILLS to pay for a weave or a relaxer, and I say, "Really, though?" I'd rather go nappy. lol But anyway, I think my little avatar up there was a year before I did "the big chop," but let's start at the beginning.

My mom never learned how to do hair. The best she could do was braid it up and send us on our way. We were often the kids whose hair was a little too tight, so our eyes would be slightly more slanted than usual. Halfway through the day, my two parallel French braids often came undone. Also, growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, I often envied my friends, who had long hair they could put up in ponytails or have it fly around in the wind like in the Pert Plus commercials.

In the 3rd grade, my mom decided to give up her "struggle" and sent us somewhere (I can't remember) to get Wave Noveaus. Also known as jheri curls. Now, to be fair, in PA, it didn't look like a jheri curl. My sister and I just had nice, fluffy, curly afros. I have no idea what happened when we moved to Delaware, but if my hair didn't look like I stepped out of an Ashford and Simpson's video, it looked like I'd come through the desert with no activator! So through the 4th grade, I was teased for having an afro (which, ironically has been ALL the rage from the time I got to high school til now!) among other things.

Right at the end of the 4th grade, bless my mother, she sent us to a professional who relaxed our hair, so I was no longer teased for at least the afro.

But here's the problem with my hair. Like Juli's it's really curly and thick in its natural state, but the moment  a chemical touches it, it's like thread, and my head is big. So, I'd be walking around with easily breakable, limp hair that for the next 20 years I would wear in a bob. I did get a pixie cut my sophomore year, so everyone called me Halle Berry (why thank you), and I had braids a few times (I was popular in Mexico lol).

Today, though, after I got tired of the life of don't-scratch-or-you'll-burn-to-death and "We have to cut off all the damage," I decided to go completely natural, which means without a relaxer to kill the curls from my hair. At the moment, I have what black people call a TWA: teeny-weeny afro, but I hope to have a slightly big one in a few years. I've come to enjoy my curly hair, as I wanted curly curly hair probably since about 14. Some days I do throw on a wig for the pixie cut I miss, and some days I want to give up and get it relaxed again, but in the end, I know it will be worth it!