One thing that often comes up when discussing long term relationships and marriages is how do you do it? I am often amazed that my grandparents have been together for over fifty years and my mum and step dad will be celebrating their own 20 year anniversary this year. I think the best think you can do to keep your relationship alive is communication. I think right now everyone is feeling a bit overwhelmed and on top of each other so communication in these times is key.
Making each other laugh every day. A good sense of humour, someone that makes you belly laugh until it hurts, the same as they did when you first met, is a great way of connecting. Adam and I still laugh together and even in an argument he can say something so rediculous that it stops any confrontation in it’s tracks. Having funny memories to talk about is a great way to remember good times.
Discussing each other’s interests and passions. Even though we might disagree from time to time with the bigger issues talking about them really strengthens your connection with another person. Adam will patiently sit there whilst I rabbit on about the books and worldbuilding I love whilst I’ll nod along when Adam talks about his university assignments – although actually I love talking about those too because most of the subjects are really interesting. I think it’s important to have these passionate, sometimes a bit heated, discussions because you learn so much about the other person.
Having hobbies or interests outside of the relationship. This is important because it gives you a little bit of yourself. We both love to read but I’ve taken this a bit to the extreme with giving my instagram a strong bookish focus and wanting to write my own novel. We both love video games but different types which gives us something to talk about, show each other and sometimes play together. As we have similar interests it means we give each other equal time to persue those. Outside of the home I love to swim and it’s something I want to do more of when I’m able to again. Adam has work and university so has more to focus on, university particularly has kept him busy and researching topics important to him.
If you’re having trouble with communication than there are therapy options you can explore. These range from current online therapy, talk therapy, and face-to-face. These options would encourage you to both attend together and have someone help you to work through any issues, particularly communication issues that you might be having. You can find out more about marriage counselling here.
Though it may not be the ideal situation, there are also times when you have to learn that you are not the right person to be doing the communicating and that you should have someone stand in as your proxy. This includes hiring family lawyers if you are going through a separation and you are looking to solve things as amicably as possible. When it comes to the future of the marriage and especially the custody of any children involved, you don’t want to go in without the support you need.
Ultimately, everything comes down to communication and if you’re with someone you love and trust, nothing should be off the table or veteod for discussion.
in january i signed up for a special edition book box of chain of gold: the last hours, a new shadowhunter series by cassandra clare. the book officially launched at the start of march but my copy took a little longer to get here, understandably, with everything going on right now. however, i am thrilled to say the collectors edition book box was worth the wait.
i have avoided all spoilers of chain of gold and just finished the infernal devices series so have become much more familiar with the shadowhunters world and it’s one i really enjoy reading about. the fairyloot edition is an exclusive, has a stamp sign, artwork, sprayed and stenciled edges. it’s a naked hardback with foiled detail and i’m sure you’ll agree it’s absolutely beautiful.
unboxing fairyloot collectors edition – chain of gold
items included were: chain of gold: the last hours cordelia and james tapestry reflecting a scene in the book a booksleeve featuring james and a quote on the back a wooden book mark a mortal cup replica a print of the male characters in the book
i am really looking forward to reading chain of gold, however, with everything going on at the moment i’m enjoying a change of pace and have started aurora rising for a bit of sci-fi. i’m pretty new to jay kristoff’s work and this is the first i’ve read by a collaborative author pair (with amie kaufman) in a long time. i’ve got a copy of aurora burning on preorder to look forward to next month too. i just felt like i needed something a bit different. after this i’m going to move onto hold back the tide as i’ve heard it’s quite dark and i think that will help get me out of my reading slump.
the box has plenty of lovely items in. i love the tapestry, it’s huge and beautifully done. it has surpassed all my expectations. the mortal cup replica is much bigger than i thought which is really cool. the exclusive book is so pretty and i love the stencil sprayed edge. i’ve never had a book sleeve either so it’s really lovely to finally own one and it looks lovely. the book fits nice and snug in there too – had to test it out of course!
as soon as i’ve read chain of gold i’ll write up a review. fairyloot have a blood and honey special editions box coming too which sounds amazing and is something i have my eye on, mainly because it comes with a blanket! fairyloot have lovely monthly boxes and i’m so happy to be a subscriber. i am yet to receive my march and april boxes but these should be with me soon and i’ll be doing an unboxing of those when i get them. there’s also a darker shade of magic box coming to illumicrate which is another i have my eye on!
It’s time for another bookish unboxing, this time from Book Box Club who now offer tracked postage and therefore have had a slight price increase to £32 a month for a box, book only subscriptions are a thing too. My favourite thing about this box is how the books are wrapped each month, the paper is gorgeous and I try and unwrap gently and reuse the wrapping paper. The theme for April’s book box club was ‘Cursed Kingdoms’ and there’s a video for this one which you can watch on my youtube channel.
unboxing the cursed kingdoms april book box from book box club.
The items included in the box were: a beauty and the beast cookie from gardners cookies sleeping beauty eye mask 2 hard backed prints tales by mail leaflet for 8-12 year olds 2 books – Thorn and Seven Endless Forests The Book of Longing sample by Sue Monk Kidd Rule the World iron on patch Zellie soap bar
The cookie was my absolute favourite item from this box as it was delicious. I am absolutely going to use these cookie providers in the future as it is the perfect biscuit. A shortbread type biscuit base and icing on top, the ones I constantly crave. The Zellie soap is lovely too and in time where we all need new hand soap. The prints are stunning and I love the patch. I won’t use the sleep mask because I can’t sleep with anything on my face but the design is so pretty.
seven endless forests and thorn; the two books included in the april book box club book box
I’m looking forward to reading the books. The March book, Hold Back the Tide was one of my favourite reads in April and these two books sound really good. They are ones I wouldn’t have picked up for myself but if last month is anything to go by I think I’m in for a great read. Each month there is a book club chat talking about the book and usually includes the author. It’s good fun and a nice way to stay social.
This post is going to talk about my thoughts playing the Final Fantasy 7 Remake as well as my predictions and hopes for the next installments. If you want a spoiler free read this is not the place because I have no chill. This review/thought experience is quite old now so read at your own peril…
affiliate link for FF7R
Playing final fantasy 7 as a kid and waiting for the remake
FF7 wasn’t the first of the final fantasy games I played, Final Fantasy 10 was. So that game will always have a soft spot in my heart. In fact it was a fair few years later that i began playing FF7 in my mid teens and I loved it. There’s a lot of charm about the game, a group of eco terrorists wanting to save the planet, the lack of speech and the amazing soundtrack. Despite the lack of speech and relying on text bubbles to get the story you still felt character growth and emotion. It was a really well done game. it was lengthy, challenging and emotionally driven. The original game had so much to offer.
We are living in the time for remakes right now with remasters galore and full on remakes coming out in all sorts of genres. The people seem to like these games being remade with quality 3D graphics. Resident Evil 2 was such a remake in 2019. It was amazing seeing resi get a fresh lease of life and yet I patiently sat here waiting for the remake I’d wanted since that PS3 tech demo over ten years ago.
Since the seed was planted about a final fantasy 7 remake there’s been the release of 13 and it’s two subsequent games, world of final fantasy, 14 online and final fantasy 15 which I enjoyed a few years ago. Then in 2015 at E3 the announcement came for a remake on the ps4 and i was thrilled although i didn’t quite expect it to take almost five years to get the game. So that’s the back story. I have waited for this game, like so many others for a very long time now and i was pretty apprehensive about how it would turn out.
Firstly, i didn’t think much of kingdom hearts three, it disappointed me in quite a few ways and that made me nervous for FF7R. secondly, it was only going to be based in Midgar, which is the starting city of the game. It was promised to feel like a full game (and it does, in terms of length and challenge) but the first time around you travel the entire world. The starting city is just a few hours in of gameplay. I questioned how this would be stretched out to the 40-50 hours i was expecting for a final fantasy game. The decision to come out in episodic format really annoyed me, I wasn’t sure if it was money making or just because the game is too big to remake all in one go without cutting huge chunks of the story. (Note – considering I’m editing this post in 2023 with Rebirth just around the corner and the mobile game, crisis core, intermission, PS5 version all related to FF7R – it’s def about the money)
First Playthrough
I’ve now completed the game in full with all the end credits, restarted because a second play is always fun, and done the majority, if not all the sidequests. I am actually really impressed with the game. The design is beautiful. It’s amazing revisiting a city that you didn’t really see much of in the original and having it so much more to scale. It felt really immersive. Sure the rendering of the background details is a little off but not enough to deter from the actual gameplay.
Most of the game, like the original, is played through sectors 7, 6 and 5 but you also go top side, underground and the Shinra building is so far above my expectations. Honestly, I didn’t expect the game to play the way it has at all, and I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do.
There’s plenty of throwbacks to the original and it basically follows the same plot. Blow up reactor, help out in the slums, blow up another reactor, meet Aerith, deal with Don Corneo, try to stop the plate falling, deal with Shinra. All this and more takes place in 18 chapters with beefed up boss fights, new npc’s and a fair few chances to just stop and take a look around the place.
Having dialogue has enhanced the game for me and really helped drive a bit of emotion and empathy for the characters in a way I didn’t expect. There were some beautiful animations and cutscenes throughout the game. There were some wonderfully cheesy one liners in the script which had me laughing out loud. I love Aerith so much more now, her kindness for everyone compliments her strength of will to protect that which is vulnerable. Aerith’s house is the most picturesque part of the game for me.
FF7R downsides?
Mostly having to wait for the next installment (Note – still waiting, but just a couple of months to go now with the release in 2024). As much as I think i can go back over the game and replay a bit for some extra challenges, the game is really linear and you can’t just freely roam all of Midgar. Not that you ever could of course but it did feel restrictive knowing that when I leave the city the game ends and knowing all that would usually happen after. It’s a little bit buggy but it’s days old and future patches will help fix that. Three areas of the game felt a little longer than i would have liked; the sewers, the train grave yard and the drum with hojo which is a completely new area to the game and pretty good but long winded.
The ending of ff7 remake – The Spoilers Part
It confused me a bit. Throughout the game you’re chased by what is eventually revealed as whispers who seem to be linked with fate and destiny. An easy escape for the developers to change the play of the game maybe? It was all a bit strange for me and left me with questions. I am guessing the game is still going to be about finding, hunting, stopping and eventually destroying sephiroth because he escaped. Is zack alive? That’s probably what is on my mind the most and how will that affect the game later on? will the game still have the same scenes of sadness? What changes do the developers have in store and more importantly what will they be keeping the same?
Hopes and personal predictions for the next installment of FF7R
From the way this game has played out i think there are a few events that are going to remain in the game
Visiting Wutai will not be a side quest. Wutai were talked about a lot, from the war, and being against Shinra. I think it’s already been said that optional characters will become mandatory for the game play, which includes Yuffie and i think Wutai is going to be a place we visit to learn a bit more on the truth of the war between them and Midgar.
The Gold Saucer is going to be all about the VR. From the game play so far there are the shinra vr domes, a collesium for match fighting, there’s been two motor bike chase type rides so i can see how that would be simulated again too. We’ve also heard that Jessie went to perform at the gold saucer. I’m expecting some sort of big VR vegas style place really with shows. Chocobo racing I can see being a thing, possibly chocobo breeding, but i don’t think we will be on a quest for a golden chocobo this time. This will include Barrets side quest for his backstory.
We will visit cloud’s hometown to get the whole truth of the event that happened with tifa and Sephiroth, particularly if cloud is still getting his flash backs and headaches each time an apparition of Sephiroth/clone/Jenova turns up.
We will hunt for some of the huge materia. In the remake game we saw a cutscene with Scarlett and her minions trying to manipulate huge materia so i think this will be explored again in the game at a later stage.
I think the weapons are going to be a part of the game but i’m not sure how. it wouldn’t be a final fantasy game without an obscenely hard boss and/or dungeon.
I’m hoping for knights of the round, but I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. I think it needs to be a decent quest to obtain it considering all the work you had to put into it before. I think we will be battling all summons like in FF7R combat simulation but i think in order to unlock knights of the round it will be a fair amount of grinding to meet the battle intel request. (Note – as it looks like chocobo breeding is going to be a thing, perhaps we will collected KOTR the same way as before but I think this will be in the final part of the now, trilogy?)
I think we’re going to see a map somewhat similar of ff15 in terms of transporting from place to place by road with towns and stop offs along the way. This would allow for loads of exploration, level grinding and stuff like that. I’d love to see the camp fires with attack and stat boosts come back as a place to refresh in the open world, and vending machines and benches a chance to replenish hp/mp in towns. I really loved the map of ff15, it was huge and has a lot of potential of acting as a world map for the next installment of the remake. This would mean there is probably another few games on the horizon, maybe 4 or five, but that hasn’t been confirmed and is all speculation. This would probably mean the second game could end after Juno (thankfully, no) when the gang set sail for the next continent. Perhaps a shorter second installment and then a really gritty, in depth, full of story third installment focusing on the biggest continent.
During the original gameplay of final fantasy seven, disc one was actually pretty massive in terms of story and locations and i just don’t think we are going to reach the end of that part of the story in the next installment. Not a lot of the game happens between midgar and the end of Juno but if they’ve expanded Midgar the way they did, they could very much do this when entering other towns and villages, not quite as huge perhaps, but absolutely extending this part of the game. Perhaps this part of the game will be pretty linear and short, a quick stop off at the chocobo farm before heading to juno and then the map really opening up after costa del sol? who knows. I’m hoping we will find out more in the summer but it’s likely with covid-19 development is probably a little slower.
I do hope the plot still follows the black materia, summoning of meteor and trying to save the planet and as long as that’s the key theme, the other things I’m happy to experience in a different way. I’m sure it will, developers have said they aren’t hugely changing the original story of the game and they’ll want to delight fans with favourite moments but done in a new way.
Ultimately, here’s what we do know. The game is going to differ in some ways from the original, the engine is done, the fighting system is done, the way summons are handled is done and the first part of the game was an excellent introduction into what is to come. I’m excited about what comes next.
aurora rising is a sci fi book cowritten by jay kristoff and amie kaufman. sci fi isn’t usually a go to genre of mine. i perhaps read one or two books a year in the genre, a handful of horror, and firmly a lot of fantasy. however, i was really impressed with aurora rising and it certainly helped me get out of the reading slump i’ve been feeling lately.
the kindle cover for the book aurora rising by jay kristoff and amie kaufman
aurora rising is told from the perspective of several characters throughout the course of the story. they each have a vital role within the squad and a valid input into what is going on so it’s hard to say who the main protagonist is. usually i struggle when books flip perspectives but as this pretty much keeps within the same timeline, bar a little back story, it’s really easy to follow and keep up with. aurora rising is incredibly well written and flows seemlessly from character to character. this is impressive for a collaboration piece. i can’t help but think the two authors just work amazingly well together.
the book is really fast paced which i loved but nothing feels out of place. everything is explained properly and appropriately. i loved the factfiles throughout the book too as a little addition, i felt they worked really well. you get a lot of insight into the world around you depending on what character you play. having the alien races in the book with customs and cultural differences showed a different inner dialogue when reading from that perspective so you learned more about the character.
i’ve also found it really enjoyable to readalong with the authors and that’s what inspired me to get the book. it’s so great hearing about them talking about the book (over on instagram) and sharing a bit more insight into the characters. it made me feel a bit more immersed in the story having some behind the scenes snippets too.
affiliate link to purchase aurora rising
there are lots of great characters in the book but i think my two favourite are finian and zila. zila i’d love to know why she is the way she is. she’s the brains in the squad and is the go to for facts, medical and scientific knowledge. she’s got a good hand with her weapon too. her chapters are really short and few and far between but her lines are brilliant. i can’t help but feel there’s going to be some sadness to this back story. fin is a great character and you already know his back story at the start of the book when he’s introduced. his interactions with scarlett are really moving and reading these from his perspective just shows what it means to him.
the rest of the squad are great too. i really like auri, she’s interesting and you can feel her grief throughout the book at what has happened but she kind of keeps on keeping on. i think the dynamics of all the characters make a really good team and they go through a lot in this book, it requires a good deal of character to be able to survive it all.
the sequel, aurora burning, will be available 5th may. i have an illumicrate special edition preordered which looks amazing and i can’t wait to jump back in and see what happens next. i purchased the first book aurora rising on kindle when it was on offer.
affiliate link for aurora burning
One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.
