Z is Dr Zhivfago, Zell & Zidan

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Final day! Final day! Z my pall here we go, and don’t panic and run away the post may seem long but it’s light)

Wait a minute! Am I advertising here or something?

Omar Al Sharif? Funny man, even in his eighties.

He is VERY celebrated in the Middle East.

With his x-wife Faten Hamama they were a force of nature, a duo unlike any other.

The last Tv series he starred at years ago had my name in its title!

“Haneen wa Hanan” (yearning and kindness)

I grew up watching his movies. I remember the first time I saw him was in a black & white film called ‘Fi baytina Rajul’ ((there is) A man in our house)

It was a beautifully tragic film.

He pretty much looked like this

Now Dr Zhivago is one of those films that

1) I never get to see from the beginning.

2) Too long that it makes no big deal where you begin watching, you will still have plenty of time to see. (Lord of The Rings, The Godfather, etc, got the idea?)

It was years ago that I sat for this film for the first and last time, I didn’t even knew what was it about, but I loved the names; Yuri, Sasha and Tonya and how the name Tonya itself becomes a lead for the uncle to find the doctor’s long lost daughter (because it was Yuri’s wife’s name). The final scene made me smile, so hopeful in face of all the hardship.

But what honestly affected me was his death scene, how he played the heart attack! Feeling so helpless and exhausted and yet continued to limp his way to catch up with the women he loved. And then …..he collapses and the entire street runs to him while Lara still unaware of his existence walks out of camera range. The way he choked and fell, God knows how much I cried and till today I fear stumbling upon this scene again. Never have I saw anything like it, painful, shocking and unforgettable. The man is a genius what can I say.

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Final fantasy 8 was a great game except it made me somewhat sick, why?

I literary hated the two main characters Squall & Rinoa.

So boring, so self indulgent, and a very undeveloped, incredibly clichéd forced in your face romance.

The stunning lonely depressed boy who wouldn’t let anyone in and the attractive cute and enthusiastic girl that everybody liked

They were destined for each other, I mean who else will get him out of his shell but her?

For cry out loud!

(okay so I got a bet used to Squall’s constant whining after a while, Rinoa I still hate)

Square darling

after Cloud and Irise and Tifa I trust you and you give me this!

What made me keep moving forward with this game was the amazing cast of secondary characters. Loved them all, good and evil.

The one that stole my heart though was

Zell Dincht

 Over energetic (like Loonyboy) brave, loyal, goofy, funny, confident and an unapologetic nerd. 

he was crazy about hot dogs and surprisingly leadership! 

I loved Zell so much I brainstormed a whole separate game for him.

 Don’t you feel like this sometimes? That a secondary character is so much more than the main and the book should be about him/her? That was Zell.

I was extremely protective of him, my friends were all crushing on Squall (except my best friend Hiba, she loved Laguna and I can’t blame her) they saw Zell as a silly boy but I wouldn’t take any of it. To me he was special, I learned all his moves, took him with me (as companion to Squall) everywhere in the world, collected his images, quoted him and even did his (boxing) moves in front of everyone in school. I couldn’t care less what they thought of me back then Zell was my guy.

Besides, his name is amazing.

There were many similarities between me and Zell (just realized that). We were both bullied when young, we are very sensitive and had enough as we grew up therefore developed this self-defense mechanism, this shell around us that we are tough and loud and not easily broken.

The truth is Zell is sweet, kind and the best friend you can find and I loved how regardless of all their screaming differences he and Squall managed to build a solid friendship that lasted through fire and water. It was a strong reason why I slightly warmed up to the unlikable Squall.

A really brilliant example that my picky writer memory kept of their friendship was how both had trouble saying the name of the enormous building that came flying over Esthar city

Lunatic Pandora

the two, far away from each other at the time, one would say “lunatic whatever”

while the other says “whatever Pandora”

ridiculously cute and again brilliant.

I admired how Zell led the first group of kids to defend their school from the attack of their enemy the (other school) Galbadia Garden.

Till this day I keep thinking what would Zell be doing years after the end of 8? what will he look like? And his profession, what will it be?

And that ladies and gentlemen is how you know you have created great and everlasting characters.

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Final Fantasy 9 came and ZidaneTribal was a fresh start after the overly troubled Squall

Zidan has a tail people. 

He was a playboy and a thief (disguising as a stage actor) but he had a heart of gold. Really he wasn’t bad boy material. 

The question of what is he exactly was the one shared in the story by his little friend Vivi and the answer was terrible. But Zidane bounced back. And he did it with style.

I liked him, and I loved his Arabic name, we were joyfully surprised when that came out. Again courageous but what I loved about him is that he was ready to help whoever was in need, he didn’t over think it when that was the case, didn’t care about people’s backgrounds or what creatures were they, and he always found a solution to complicated problems, always optimistic, humorous and resourceful, he was a true leader putting the safety of his group over his.

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An addition. Zell was the reason I fell for the letter Z but I couldn’t find enough words that started with it to use. Anyway, I always adored names containing it (rare also)

Other than the names of witches in cartoons (hello! Zenda, anyone!)

Enzo for instance, I still like it

(Spotted. a Chilean player back in 1998…World Cup magazine, ya’ll know about my fixation by now)

And yes The Prisoner of Zenda is one of my favorite books

You know, I always thought that Z names sounded more suitable for aliens, elvs, imps and magical creatures.

Maybe that’s why the name Zoe relates to a witch in my head

Hmmm

No, No

The only reason for this is the Leo Messi fan fiction I encountered on Quizilla, where a girl writes a story about Leo having a witch for girlfriend who happens to be called Zoe!

Ta da! Busted red handed!

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And now with tears and smiles

I say to you my friends thank you for this opportunity

For the great time I had

And the challenge that regardless of the setbacks I completed with the help of all of you

It has been a pleasure and every blog I visited was amazing

My laptop was formatted, my files were gone, I had (and still) troubles with internet connection but today I am here with you and that is all I will ever need

Creators of the A to Z challenge You Rock *\o/*

Illa al liqaa’ (see you)