so...ladies...

My bank account is near empty, less than a week after pay day. With days of scrounging for cash and running up credit card debt a head of me, I decided to stay in tonight, and I used that opportunity to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen in a while.

Yuna

Some time this morning (and when I say "morning," I mean "afternoon"), I decided that it was high-time I hanker down and complete Final Fantasy X-2. For months, the game consumed my life, of which there really wasn't much to speak of anyway.

Instead of concerning myself with the stress of the real world, I turned my attentions to more fanciful things like raising Chocobos and finding all the most powerful Garment Grids and Dresspheres, so the girls could kick ass and look good doing so.

I'd never been much for trial and error when it comes to these games, and I heard FFX-2 had multiple endings, and you couldn't see the whole ending unless you got 100% of the completion points. I never had to worry about such matters before with the Final Fantasy series, so I had no qualms about shelling out the money for the guide (cheat) book. It's more like movie than a game, anyway, and if it's going to take me upwards of 80 hours logged time to finish the thing, you can be sure that I'm only going to go through all that once; I'm certainly not going to do all that again to see the full ending.

Rikku

If this isn't geeky enough for you yet, don't worry. it gets worse.

At some point, with 92% of the game complete, and a good portion of my life pissed away for no good reason, I'd misplaced the HOLY BOOK of FFX-2 geekdom and was forced to put the game down; just for a llttle while.

That little while turned to months, as I found other ways to waste my time. I usually put Final Fantasy games on the back burner as I near their completion. When you spend so much time and effort on something, no matter how trivial, it's kinda hard to let go. When you're all locked up with a game like this for so long--with all the melodrama and character development--it really becomes difficult to say goodbye. It's kinda like the last episode of a beloved sitcom: sure all the jokes are funny, but you're going to have to fight back the misty eyes once they take their final bows. I'm really digging myself into a deep hole now, aren't I? The spiral spins ever downward...

Paine

I've spent over 100 hours with these fine and heroic ladies--over 200 with Yuna and Rikku if you count Final Fantasy X. And that's just the hours that were logged. That's not counting the times I got the girls killed, because I forgot to save and had to do it all over again. Some of you may find that ridiculous, others, sad, but while both are probably true...well, I guess there really is no "but" after all.

Even after all that time, however, the game has gone unfinished. The world of Spira is still locked in the throes of some terribly icky peril, and really, I'm the only one to blame. And Paine, Rikku and Yuna, who's already saved her homeland from a really big fishy looking monster have been unable to ascend to their rightful places as supreme heroines. Is that any way to treat friends?

Perhaps being broke was really just fate reminding me of my nerd destiny. But this morning (2pm) I vowed to make ammends, guide (lame-ass cheater) book or not, and help the girls complete their quest, return order to their world and insodoing, cementing my place in dork heaven for all eternity.

Amen.