So here I am, sitting before my laptop, trying in vain to take in the contents of the stack of histology notes before me. Well it's not like I'm studying because there's this test coming up tomorrow, but more like because it's for the sake of myself (tsundere reaction ftw!).
These few recent days have been pretty bad for me, I must say. Our hostel commandant, a total bitch, decided to change every single window in the hostel. And she didn't even have to common sense to have had them changed over summer. Brainless bitch... is brainless.
That's the least of my worries though. Somehow, I strained the muscles in my waist. Which means excruciating pain when I try to bend it. Total torture. Not to mention, I sleep on the top bunk of a double decker bed. Which makes matters worse. Obviously. Climbing up is a problem within itself, but so is climbing down!
Due to the above stated reason, I decided to not attend Russian class (which I thought would definitely be A-OK because I rarely, if not never skipped class) and stay home to rest my ripped waist. Turned out that my teacher wasn't pleased, for she thought I was taking advantage of her kindness, and I'm in for a serious berating on Saturday.
Furthermore, I accidentally scorched my lip with a pincer drenched with sizzling oil. Now I have a patch of blackened skin on my lower lip. And it hurts. Really badly. Also, it looks terribly out of place. Horrible.
And due to THAT, I got in a row with a friend of mine. Well of course I wouldn't elaborate much on the details, but that's that.
My remedy though, to cure even the worst of days, is this awesome song.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Random Thoughts, I Suppose?
So, I decided to take a break from writing (well that's not exactly true, it's the case of slacking off and Melty Blood-ing or Facebook-ing every possible moment I get)
Putting that aside, I stated a few months ago that this place was going to the place I dump random figments of my mind, and wow, have I been through a lot of shizzle in these past few weeks.
Well anyways, this friend of mine celebrated his birthday last night, at 12am. His roommates panned together and decided to trick him into believing there wasn't going to be CAKE for his birthday celebration, which produced pretty epic lulz. I never knew having no cake for a birthday celebration would be so disappointing. More like, I wouldn't know, having passed so many birthdays without nothing as much as a drop of wax to commemorate them. (Presents, however are still obligatory under such circumstances, I insist!)
As I lay lazily on the top bunk watching him receive congratulatory wishes and stuff, I have to admit, I actually felt a spike of loneliness. Random thoughts crossed my mind, like Ahh, wouldn't it be good if I had a celebration like this too; Wouldn't it be good if people actually started remembering my birthday for real, instead of relying on tools such as Facebook; Wouldn't it be good if I could actually celebrate a real birthday surrounded by friends... Yeah, totally random thoughts as such. By the way, the farce I had for this year couldn't be considered a celebration. Totally.
To be honest, the only thing that made me really happy this birthday was a present from a friend of mine. I DO, however, appreciate the presents from my mum and dad and other friends, but I promise, this is really special.
I heard pictures speak a thousand words, so, well, let me hunt for one in my computer...
So, really, I mean, it was, as you can see, a handmade little booklet, inside depicting random moments of our lives since we met each other. Now, how would anything, ANYTHING, be better than for you to know that someone actually cares and treasures your very existence in her life?
As I look back at what I typed, my admiration for my ability to totally derail topics growed by another notch.
This, however, is not a shoutout to all people to read this saying "HAY GUYZ I'M FEELING REALLY BAD FOR MYSELF BECAUSE NO ONE CELEBRATES MY BIRTHDAY." It's more like, something is REALLY wrong, when you receive more Happy Birthday wishes on a forum you moderate, rather than you receive on Facebook (which doesn't really count, by the way) or on your mobile, or in real life.
I do not ask for a lavish birthday celebration. Neither do I ask for expensive unaffordable presents. What I seek, is a heartfelt wish from those I hold dear to me.
Either that, or in a rougher tone, if I take the damn effort to remember yours, I would expect the same of you to goddamn remember mine.
Peace.
Putting that aside, I stated a few months ago that this place was going to the place I dump random figments of my mind, and wow, have I been through a lot of shizzle in these past few weeks.
Well anyways, this friend of mine celebrated his birthday last night, at 12am. His roommates panned together and decided to trick him into believing there wasn't going to be CAKE for his birthday celebration, which produced pretty epic lulz. I never knew having no cake for a birthday celebration would be so disappointing. More like, I wouldn't know, having passed so many birthdays without nothing as much as a drop of wax to commemorate them. (Presents, however are still obligatory under such circumstances, I insist!)
As I lay lazily on the top bunk watching him receive congratulatory wishes and stuff, I have to admit, I actually felt a spike of loneliness. Random thoughts crossed my mind, like Ahh, wouldn't it be good if I had a celebration like this too; Wouldn't it be good if people actually started remembering my birthday for real, instead of relying on tools such as Facebook; Wouldn't it be good if I could actually celebrate a real birthday surrounded by friends... Yeah, totally random thoughts as such. By the way, the farce I had for this year couldn't be considered a celebration. Totally.
To be honest, the only thing that made me really happy this birthday was a present from a friend of mine. I DO, however, appreciate the presents from my mum and dad and other friends, but I promise, this is really special.
I heard pictures speak a thousand words, so, well, let me hunt for one in my computer...
So, really, I mean, it was, as you can see, a handmade little booklet, inside depicting random moments of our lives since we met each other. Now, how would anything, ANYTHING, be better than for you to know that someone actually cares and treasures your very existence in her life?
As I look back at what I typed, my admiration for my ability to totally derail topics growed by another notch.
This, however, is not a shoutout to all people to read this saying "HAY GUYZ I'M FEELING REALLY BAD FOR MYSELF BECAUSE NO ONE CELEBRATES MY BIRTHDAY." It's more like, something is REALLY wrong, when you receive more Happy Birthday wishes on a forum you moderate, rather than you receive on Facebook (which doesn't really count, by the way) or on your mobile, or in real life.
I do not ask for a lavish birthday celebration. Neither do I ask for expensive unaffordable presents. What I seek, is a heartfelt wish from those I hold dear to me.
Either that, or in a rougher tone, if I take the damn effort to remember yours, I would expect the same of you to goddamn remember mine.
Peace.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Gake no Ue no Ponyo
Well, I guess I did attend the screening of Ponyo on the Cliff in the Russian cinema near my hostel after all.
First, let me start off with a question. Have any of you ever went to a movie where there're only 4 people in the cinema? Quite right, a mum, her 2 kids, and me. Literally 4.
But then again, it's little wonder. You can't really expect Hayao Miyazaki's works to actually sell like hot cakes in an uncouth place like Russia. russians would just go "shrug, it's just one of those cartoons, I guess I'd better be off watching Final Destination with my girlfriend/boyfriend blah blah blah."
Which. Is obviously wrong.
If you haven't watched Ponyo yet, I strongly recommend that you do it. Oh, obviously not in the Russian cinema near your house. I'll let you in one something. Dubs of anime generally suck. They really do. I was technically gnawing at the straw plunging into my Pepsi with frustration when the movie started in Russian audio. (I was actually naive enough to expect Japanese audio with Russian subs!)
But scratch that. I forked out what, 5USD, and I was not gonna waste that, so I figured I'd just sit there, sip on my Pepsi and keep watching.
The story of Ponyo on a Cliff tells about a little goldfish named Ponyo who befriends a human boy named Sousuke and aspires to be a human girl. This film has won several awards too, including the Japan Academy Prize for animation of The Year (which, technically makes it on par with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and puts it at a better place than Evangelion 1.0), was released in US and Canada on 14th august 2009, where it promptly hit #9 in the box office on its opening weekend.
Plot was simple to understand, and quite heartwarming.
Well... if you've reached this part, I think it's actually high time you got to watching this show. Seriously.
On another thought though, would Kara no Kyoukai sell if it actually made its way into Russian cinemas? With its dark background, violence and gore, I'm pretty sure those young little Russian pricks would love it. Period.
First, let me start off with a question. Have any of you ever went to a movie where there're only 4 people in the cinema? Quite right, a mum, her 2 kids, and me. Literally 4.
But then again, it's little wonder. You can't really expect Hayao Miyazaki's works to actually sell like hot cakes in an uncouth place like Russia. russians would just go "shrug, it's just one of those cartoons, I guess I'd better be off watching Final Destination with my girlfriend/boyfriend blah blah blah."
Which. Is obviously wrong.
If you haven't watched Ponyo yet, I strongly recommend that you do it. Oh, obviously not in the Russian cinema near your house. I'll let you in one something. Dubs of anime generally suck. They really do. I was technically gnawing at the straw plunging into my Pepsi with frustration when the movie started in Russian audio. (I was actually naive enough to expect Japanese audio with Russian subs!)
But scratch that. I forked out what, 5USD, and I was not gonna waste that, so I figured I'd just sit there, sip on my Pepsi and keep watching.
The story of Ponyo on a Cliff tells about a little goldfish named Ponyo who befriends a human boy named Sousuke and aspires to be a human girl. This film has won several awards too, including the Japan Academy Prize for animation of The Year (which, technically makes it on par with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and puts it at a better place than Evangelion 1.0), was released in US and Canada on 14th august 2009, where it promptly hit #9 in the box office on its opening weekend.
Plot was simple to understand, and quite heartwarming.
Well... if you've reached this part, I think it's actually high time you got to watching this show. Seriously.
On another thought though, would Kara no Kyoukai sell if it actually made its way into Russian cinemas? With its dark background, violence and gore, I'm pretty sure those young little Russian pricks would love it. Period.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Something I whipped up on a whim
Well, on a whim, I decided that I would do a joint fan fic with Scarlet, a friend of mine on the forums. Figured I'd post it here as I didn't really have anything better to post.
Without further ado, I present:
The moon shining down upon the field tonight was a sickly shade of white. Faint rays of light scattered themselves about, reflecting off the blades of grass. A soft whisper of wind graced the meadow and the blades of grass lowered their heads, as if afraid to witness what was going to happen.
In the middle of the field stood two stationary figures, one taller than the other. As the moonlight danced across them, it was seen that the taller one was a red-haired girl, her long sideburns neatly braided, clad in Chinese attire, a cap embroidered with the Chinese word “Long” symbolizing the dragon on her head. The shorter one was wearing a lacy dress, with a lacy bonnet on her head, and doll-like little shoes. Had it not been for the two bat-like wings sprouting on her back, she would’ve appeared to be a harmless doll-like existence.
“So, Balanar, are you ready to return that body to my mistress?” The taller of the duo spoke, her tone emotionless, revealing her misgivings about killing the parasite inhibiting her mistress’ body.
A smile flitted across the innocent face of her quarry. “And how are you going to do that, you lowly gatekeeper? Even your superior, the maid of the mansion failed to stop my intrusion. And as a result she lies now, in that glorious crimson pool that is her blood.” She grinned, her lips sliding apart to reveal a pair of fangs glinting in the moonlight.
The gatekeeper gritted her teeth. Had she not fallen asleep on her job, the vampire would not have penetrated her mistress’ mansion this easily. The break-in, the possession, all would not have happened if she had been able to stop the intruder.
“The only way I can atone for my mistake would be to rip you, Balanar, from that body that isn’t yours.” Her gaze cold, her fists clenched, the gatekeeper regarded her adversary.
“Oh? Can you do that? Even though I am in control, she still sleeps here, you know.” Her foe slowly replied, putting a hand on her mistress’ chest. “Inside this heart, your mistress sleeps. Will you be able to kill this body, kill your mistress?”
“Such charisma as that of my mistress is unbefitting of you, Balanar. I shall drag you from that body that is not yours, and crush you like I would a fly.” She charged, her red locks of hair billowing behind her.
Her foe calmly drifted aside, dodging her cleanly. Her agile movements clean, she changed direction mid-air, her clenched fist going forth in a powerful punch.
Swift as the coursing river! She exhaled as her fist was blocked by a forearm, immediately she released her fist, her palm sliding smoothly over the obstacle, digging through the air toward her opponent’s eyes.
Her foe ducked, slid forward and ground a knee into her stomach. With her other hand, she blocked the knee, her palm not slowing its trajectory.
With all the force of a raging typhoon! Her palm connected with her mistress’ body, a solid slam to the chest, knocking all the air out from the struck lungs.
Drawing back her palm, she immediately delivered a kick, and gaining drive from it, leapt backward from her enemy. As she focused her energy for another charge, her possessed mistress lunged toward her, wings flapping, her left arm struck forth, the hand curled up in an unmistakable attempt to pierce the gatekeeper’s chest and tear out her beating heart.
The gatekeeper arranged her legs in a sturdy position and cocked a fist. Readying herself, the fist shimmered with the colors of the rainbow as she channeled magical energy into it. As her foe closed in, her legs dug into the ground with immense strength…
With all the strength of a raging fire! She launched herself from the ground and threw a robust punch which collided with her mistress’ face.
She might just as well have hit her with a steel club. The impact of the blow sent its target sliding backwards.
“You are weak, Balanar. I most certainly overestimated you. But… it is over now.”
“Over, yes… FOR YOU!”
Her enemy stood up. With a wave of her hand, clouds enveloped the sky at an alarming rate, darkening their surroundings.
No stranger to night combat, the gatekeeper took a deep breath and concentrated solely on defense. She could hear the faint breathing of her adversary prowling around her, looking for a chance to strike.
As the clouds began to clear, a weak beam of moonlight streamed through the seam and shone upon her. That moment, time seemed to stand still for the gatekeeper as she watched her possessed mistress charge toward her, a string of mirages trailing behind her.
Just before her mistress reached her, the gatekeeper could’ve swore for a moment that her possessed mistress literally disappeared from her sight.
“Choubi Hassen, mujyou ni fukusu!” A cry was heard, followed by the sound of two simultaneous slashes.
When the gatekeeper regained her sense of time, she was arcing through the air, geysers of blood erupting from the three pairs of crossed slashes on her chest. She mustered enough energy to swivel her head toward the left, just in time to catch sight of her mistress looking at her disdainfully with both of her hands covered in blood.
“I guess that’s it for you, Meirin. A lowly Chinese Tea-mistress cannot defeat me after all.” She snickered as she flapped her wings and took flight into the night.
The gatekeeper landed with a soft thump on the ground, her blood spilling out, tainting the grass a violent tone of vermilion, her life slowly ebbing away.
The night continued, oblivious of what just happened…
Think up a title for THAT, and win my favor.
Without further ado, I present:
The moon shining down upon the field tonight was a sickly shade of white. Faint rays of light scattered themselves about, reflecting off the blades of grass. A soft whisper of wind graced the meadow and the blades of grass lowered their heads, as if afraid to witness what was going to happen.
In the middle of the field stood two stationary figures, one taller than the other. As the moonlight danced across them, it was seen that the taller one was a red-haired girl, her long sideburns neatly braided, clad in Chinese attire, a cap embroidered with the Chinese word “Long” symbolizing the dragon on her head. The shorter one was wearing a lacy dress, with a lacy bonnet on her head, and doll-like little shoes. Had it not been for the two bat-like wings sprouting on her back, she would’ve appeared to be a harmless doll-like existence.
“So, Balanar, are you ready to return that body to my mistress?” The taller of the duo spoke, her tone emotionless, revealing her misgivings about killing the parasite inhibiting her mistress’ body.
A smile flitted across the innocent face of her quarry. “And how are you going to do that, you lowly gatekeeper? Even your superior, the maid of the mansion failed to stop my intrusion. And as a result she lies now, in that glorious crimson pool that is her blood.” She grinned, her lips sliding apart to reveal a pair of fangs glinting in the moonlight.
The gatekeeper gritted her teeth. Had she not fallen asleep on her job, the vampire would not have penetrated her mistress’ mansion this easily. The break-in, the possession, all would not have happened if she had been able to stop the intruder.
“The only way I can atone for my mistake would be to rip you, Balanar, from that body that isn’t yours.” Her gaze cold, her fists clenched, the gatekeeper regarded her adversary.
“Oh? Can you do that? Even though I am in control, she still sleeps here, you know.” Her foe slowly replied, putting a hand on her mistress’ chest. “Inside this heart, your mistress sleeps. Will you be able to kill this body, kill your mistress?”
“Such charisma as that of my mistress is unbefitting of you, Balanar. I shall drag you from that body that is not yours, and crush you like I would a fly.” She charged, her red locks of hair billowing behind her.
Her foe calmly drifted aside, dodging her cleanly. Her agile movements clean, she changed direction mid-air, her clenched fist going forth in a powerful punch.
Swift as the coursing river! She exhaled as her fist was blocked by a forearm, immediately she released her fist, her palm sliding smoothly over the obstacle, digging through the air toward her opponent’s eyes.
Her foe ducked, slid forward and ground a knee into her stomach. With her other hand, she blocked the knee, her palm not slowing its trajectory.
With all the force of a raging typhoon! Her palm connected with her mistress’ body, a solid slam to the chest, knocking all the air out from the struck lungs.
Drawing back her palm, she immediately delivered a kick, and gaining drive from it, leapt backward from her enemy. As she focused her energy for another charge, her possessed mistress lunged toward her, wings flapping, her left arm struck forth, the hand curled up in an unmistakable attempt to pierce the gatekeeper’s chest and tear out her beating heart.
The gatekeeper arranged her legs in a sturdy position and cocked a fist. Readying herself, the fist shimmered with the colors of the rainbow as she channeled magical energy into it. As her foe closed in, her legs dug into the ground with immense strength…
With all the strength of a raging fire! She launched herself from the ground and threw a robust punch which collided with her mistress’ face.
She might just as well have hit her with a steel club. The impact of the blow sent its target sliding backwards.
“You are weak, Balanar. I most certainly overestimated you. But… it is over now.”
“Over, yes… FOR YOU!”
Her enemy stood up. With a wave of her hand, clouds enveloped the sky at an alarming rate, darkening their surroundings.
No stranger to night combat, the gatekeeper took a deep breath and concentrated solely on defense. She could hear the faint breathing of her adversary prowling around her, looking for a chance to strike.
As the clouds began to clear, a weak beam of moonlight streamed through the seam and shone upon her. That moment, time seemed to stand still for the gatekeeper as she watched her possessed mistress charge toward her, a string of mirages trailing behind her.
Just before her mistress reached her, the gatekeeper could’ve swore for a moment that her possessed mistress literally disappeared from her sight.
“Choubi Hassen, mujyou ni fukusu!” A cry was heard, followed by the sound of two simultaneous slashes.
When the gatekeeper regained her sense of time, she was arcing through the air, geysers of blood erupting from the three pairs of crossed slashes on her chest. She mustered enough energy to swivel her head toward the left, just in time to catch sight of her mistress looking at her disdainfully with both of her hands covered in blood.
“I guess that’s it for you, Meirin. A lowly Chinese Tea-mistress cannot defeat me after all.” She snickered as she flapped her wings and took flight into the night.
The gatekeeper landed with a soft thump on the ground, her blood spilling out, tainting the grass a violent tone of vermilion, her life slowly ebbing away.
The night continued, oblivious of what just happened…
Think up a title for THAT, and win my favor.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Touhou
When I first heard of Touhou, let's see... when was it again? Somewhere in May 2008, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, I remember Yume a.k.a. Justin Sy bring it up in one of our conversations.
Let's see... so I went back to Malaysia for my summer holidays in August 2008, and since I really had nothing better to do than watch moeblob animu like Strike Witches and (God forbid) two seasons of Zero no Tsukaima, I figured I'd just torrent the whole Shanghai Alice pack.
And so...
What's Touhou? Well, Touhou, also known as Touhou Project is a series of bullet hell (danmaku) games, made by, as Encyclopaedia Dramatica puts it, an alcoholic Japanese pedophile called ZUN.
Here's a picture of ZUN
OBLIGATORY TOUHOU ON EASY MODO:
And Touhou in Lunatic Mode, no, this is more of a Last Word screenshot:
Well, Touhou has been around since the 90s, hell, even the first 5 games were playable on the PC-98 system (whatever the hell that is)
And so Yume said, "start with PCB, it's the easiest."
Touhou PCB - Perfect Cherry Blossom. Supposedly this is the easiest one in the series of 1 to 9.5, eh?
So I extracted the package, cut and pasted it where appropriate blahblahblah, and started it up.
5 minutes later, I had restarted the game 3 times. And on Easy Mode too.
So I thought : Screw Yume, there has to be easier than this!
And thus, I started playing Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night, the 8th game of the series.
Okay, this was easier, I did manage to finish the game on my third try on Easy Mode.
But enough of my babbling of my Touhou gameplay.
Let's get to the mainpoint. Touhou, in short, is a bullet hell game where you control a girl, and shoot the clothes off other girls who will in turn, try to shoot your clothes off.
Don't take me wrong though, in as drunk as ZUN may be, he doesn't actually draw them naked, which actually is a good thing, as it really saves us a lot of mindfucks.
You see...
A girl drawn by ZUN:
The only Chinese girl in Touhou - Hong Meiling.
A girl drawn by anyone except ZUN:
That's a Sakuya btw.
Another awesome side of Touhou is its music. As if ZUN wasn't an awesome composer already, many fans have also produced various remixes of Touhou tracks, like Demetori, IOSYS, South of Heaven, Darh Phoenix, WAVE, etc etc.
And thus I present my favourite remix of my favourite track : Flowering Night!
Another of my favourites : Border of Life
As a conclusion, I have to insist that you try this out if you haven't because if you don't, well, let's just say you're missing out on a really big thing.
Let's see... so I went back to Malaysia for my summer holidays in August 2008, and since I really had nothing better to do than watch moeblob animu like Strike Witches and (God forbid) two seasons of Zero no Tsukaima, I figured I'd just torrent the whole Shanghai Alice pack.
And so...
What's Touhou? Well, Touhou, also known as Touhou Project is a series of bullet hell (danmaku) games, made by, as Encyclopaedia Dramatica puts it, an alcoholic Japanese pedophile called ZUN.
Here's a picture of ZUN
OBLIGATORY TOUHOU ON EASY MODO:
And Touhou in Lunatic Mode, no, this is more of a Last Word screenshot:
Well, Touhou has been around since the 90s, hell, even the first 5 games were playable on the PC-98 system (whatever the hell that is)
And so Yume said, "start with PCB, it's the easiest."
Touhou PCB - Perfect Cherry Blossom. Supposedly this is the easiest one in the series of 1 to 9.5, eh?
So I extracted the package, cut and pasted it where appropriate blahblahblah, and started it up.
5 minutes later, I had restarted the game 3 times. And on Easy Mode too.
So I thought : Screw Yume, there has to be easier than this!
And thus, I started playing Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night, the 8th game of the series.
Okay, this was easier, I did manage to finish the game on my third try on Easy Mode.
But enough of my babbling of my Touhou gameplay.
Let's get to the mainpoint. Touhou, in short, is a bullet hell game where you control a girl, and shoot the clothes off other girls who will in turn, try to shoot your clothes off.
Don't take me wrong though, in as drunk as ZUN may be, he doesn't actually draw them naked, which actually is a good thing, as it really saves us a lot of mindfucks.
You see...
A girl drawn by ZUN:
The only Chinese girl in Touhou - Hong Meiling.
A girl drawn by anyone except ZUN:
That's a Sakuya btw.
Another awesome side of Touhou is its music. As if ZUN wasn't an awesome composer already, many fans have also produced various remixes of Touhou tracks, like Demetori, IOSYS, South of Heaven, Darh Phoenix, WAVE, etc etc.
And thus I present my favourite remix of my favourite track : Flowering Night!
Another of my favourites : Border of Life
As a conclusion, I have to insist that you try this out if you haven't because if you don't, well, let's just say you're missing out on a really big thing.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Holidays =/
Awesome. I'm only back for about 2 weeks, and I'm already bored to the core.
So, let's see what I did:
1) Met up with a couple of old friends.
2) Went on a date.
3) Breakfast with friends.
4) Lunch with friends.
5) Dinner with a friend.
6) Went to cinema for Hairy Pothead, and a re-watch of Transformers.
7) Finished Tales of the Abyss at last.
8) Finished Fate Arc and Unlimited Blade Works arcs of Fate/Stay Night
9) Downloaded Melty Blood, Melty Blood ReACT, Melty Blood Act Cadenza.... and only finished Act Cadenza.
10) Got promoted to Moderator position at Dota-Allstars forums (lol self promotion ftw)
11) Got ready to host my first ever contest on the DA forums.
12) Had a couple of meals with family.
13) Got started on Princess Lover, Bakemonogatari, Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou (notice the elitist animefag in me).
14) Studied some chemistry.
15) Got stuck in 5-6 traffic jams.
16) Nearly killed 20-30 motorbikers.
Yep, 16 major things, all over the course of 2 weeks.
And what do I do next, I wonder?
1) Finish RosenKreuzStilette (>:3)
2) Finish Touhou 7 Perfect Cherry Blossom.
3) Renew my IC?
4) Update my Touhou Roleplay, perhaps?
5) Finish Heaven's Feel Arc on Fate/Stay Night, and then start on Tsukihime.
6) Actually start reading Planetarian and Clannad?
7) FIND A PARTNER OMFGWTFBBQ.
8) Get some matters sorted out.
9) Be the host to certain people coming for a visit.
10) Host my very first birthday party.
11) Finish studying chemistry?
12) More dates and more meet-ups.
13) Karaoke? LOL I can't sing anything other than Cruel Angel's Thesis!
Well, guess that's the basic list of it for now =/
Damn Sokolova for ruining my holidays with chemistry >_<
So, let's see what I did:
1) Met up with a couple of old friends.
2) Went on a date.
3) Breakfast with friends.
4) Lunch with friends.
5) Dinner with a friend.
6) Went to cinema for Hairy Pothead, and a re-watch of Transformers.
7) Finished Tales of the Abyss at last.
8) Finished Fate Arc and Unlimited Blade Works arcs of Fate/Stay Night
9) Downloaded Melty Blood, Melty Blood ReACT, Melty Blood Act Cadenza.... and only finished Act Cadenza.
10) Got promoted to Moderator position at Dota-Allstars forums (lol self promotion ftw)
11) Got ready to host my first ever contest on the DA forums.
12) Had a couple of meals with family.
13) Got started on Princess Lover, Bakemonogatari, Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou (notice the elitist animefag in me).
14) Studied some chemistry.
15) Got stuck in 5-6 traffic jams.
16) Nearly killed 20-30 motorbikers.
Yep, 16 major things, all over the course of 2 weeks.
And what do I do next, I wonder?
1) Finish RosenKreuzStilette (>:3)
2) Finish Touhou 7 Perfect Cherry Blossom.
3) Renew my IC?
4) Update my Touhou Roleplay, perhaps?
5) Finish Heaven's Feel Arc on Fate/Stay Night, and then start on Tsukihime.
6) Actually start reading Planetarian and Clannad?
7) FIND A PARTNER OMFGWTFBBQ.
8) Get some matters sorted out.
9) Be the host to certain people coming for a visit.
10) Host my very first birthday party.
11) Finish studying chemistry?
12) More dates and more meet-ups.
13) Karaoke? LOL I can't sing anything other than Cruel Angel's Thesis!
Well, guess that's the basic list of it for now =/
Damn Sokolova for ruining my holidays with chemistry >_<
Thursday, 25 June 2009
RosenKreuzStilette and the One Night Before The Exam
I was reading this blog of this dude called Kev-chan's, and I happened to come across an interesting post. "
RosenKreuzStilette... roughly translates to Rose Cross Stiletto in English. Pretty nice name." I thought to myself. I continued reading, and I found that it was none other than a loli version of MegaMan.
LOLWUT I was in #D-A asking for side-scrolling shooter games like MegaMan five minutes ago, and suddenly I find this? What am I waiting for? Google up the torrent! LIKE RIGHT NOW!
As I waited pretty impatiently for the torrent to load, I had a look at the description of the game.
The"RosenKreuzStilette is the first, and currently only, game created by up-and-coming doujin developer, [erka:es]. Like MegaMari, this game is played exactly like the Mega Man games, however, its setting and cast is completely original."
Hey, that isn't too bad, you know! It's original, yet it has such awesome art. Right, I'm looking forward more to it!
The story as I read: "Thousands of years ago, humans possessed the ability to wield the power of magic, know as "Magi." Since then, however, they had mostly lost that power and only a few were born with such a gift. Those with the power to use Magi, however, were doomed to a life of being feared, hated, and persecuted by the Holy Empire and Orthodox Church. Finally, the Magi users decided to stand up against their opposes and fought a great battle, which ultimately resulted with the Magi users being accepted as part of the Holy Empire's fighting force, known as erka:es (yes, the same name as the doujin group). The persecution of Magi users seemed like a thing of the past, but, to erka:es, it was not forgotten. A few decades later, the game's heroine, a Magi user named Spiritia Rosenberg, returns home to find that all of her friends are waging a "holy war" of sorts, believing that it is their right to use their power to claim dominance and end their persecution once and for all. Spiritia doesn't agree with their way of doing things, and decides to get to the bottom of their sudden madness. Hmm.. apparently this might differ a bit from MegaMan, or at least I think. Well at least I don't recall the player being able to swap weapons in game, lest say switch color themes for every different weapons.
Depending on which weapon you're wielding you get a different sprite. Random fact here : If my friends know I'm actually downloading another bishoujo game like this again, I know for a fact that my best friend will be like, "eii, don't play games like this la...." like what happened when he caught me playing Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. But seriously, I can't help it. DATTE, KAWAII DESHO?! Checking out a few of the screen shots, I guess I did feel a chill up my spine. This definitely wasn't your average MegaMan game. It was a total monster. A monster, rivalable only by Touhou on Lunatic Mode. It was bullet hell at time, and when it wasn't bullet hell, it was intellect hell. Let me show you a sample of bullet hell moments.
You gotta be fast!
And this is when it's not bullet hell.
egaMan, this game comes with its share of awesome bosses.
Freudia Neuwahl
Zorne Sepperin
Trauare Wrede
Luste Teuber
Grolla Seyfarth
Sichte Meister
Liebea Palesch
Schwer-Muta Casasola Merkle
Graf Michael Sepperin
You know... I really don't remember going through such projectiles in MegaMan.
Writing on crazy stuff, listening to crazy music (Tomatsu Haruka - motto ni hade ne!). Wow, way to kill a night before an exam. If anything, I blame Kev-chan!
RosenKreuzStilette... roughly translates to Rose Cross Stiletto in English. Pretty nice name." I thought to myself. I continued reading, and I found that it was none other than a loli version of MegaMan.
LOLWUT I was in #D-A asking for side-scrolling shooter games like MegaMan five minutes ago, and suddenly I find this? What am I waiting for? Google up the torrent! LIKE RIGHT NOW!
As I waited pretty impatiently for the torrent to load, I had a look at the description of the game.
The"RosenKreuzStilette is the first, and currently only, game created by up-and-coming doujin developer, [erka:es]. Like MegaMari, this game is played exactly like the Mega Man games, however, its setting and cast is completely original."
Hey, that isn't too bad, you know! It's original, yet it has such awesome art. Right, I'm looking forward more to it!
The story as I read: "Thousands of years ago, humans possessed the ability to wield the power of magic, know as "Magi." Since then, however, they had mostly lost that power and only a few were born with such a gift. Those with the power to use Magi, however, were doomed to a life of being feared, hated, and persecuted by the Holy Empire and Orthodox Church. Finally, the Magi users decided to stand up against their opposes and fought a great battle, which ultimately resulted with the Magi users being accepted as part of the Holy Empire's fighting force, known as erka:es (yes, the same name as the doujin group). The persecution of Magi users seemed like a thing of the past, but, to erka:es, it was not forgotten. A few decades later, the game's heroine, a Magi user named Spiritia Rosenberg, returns home to find that all of her friends are waging a "holy war" of sorts, believing that it is their right to use their power to claim dominance and end their persecution once and for all. Spiritia doesn't agree with their way of doing things, and decides to get to the bottom of their sudden madness. Hmm.. apparently this might differ a bit from MegaMan, or at least I think. Well at least I don't recall the player being able to swap weapons in game, lest say switch color themes for every different weapons.
Depending on which weapon you're wielding you get a different sprite. Random fact here : If my friends know I'm actually downloading another bishoujo game like this again, I know for a fact that my best friend will be like, "eii, don't play games like this la...." like what happened when he caught me playing Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. But seriously, I can't help it. DATTE, KAWAII DESHO?! Checking out a few of the screen shots, I guess I did feel a chill up my spine. This definitely wasn't your average MegaMan game. It was a total monster. A monster, rivalable only by Touhou on Lunatic Mode. It was bullet hell at time, and when it wasn't bullet hell, it was intellect hell. Let me show you a sample of bullet hell moments.
You gotta be fast!
And this is when it's not bullet hell.
Guess wut, those platforms Spiritia is jumping on are placed by the player, and they won't stop rising. You have to be fast, and place the platforms at the right timing, for your weapon enrgy (yes, those platforms count as weapons too) is very limited, and is symbolized by the red bar next to the yellow bar.
Like M
egaMan, this game comes with its share of awesome bosses.
Freudia Neuwahl
Zorne Sepperin
Trauare Wrede
Luste Teuber
Grolla Seyfarth
Sichte Meister
Liebea Palesch
Schwer-Muta Casasola Merkle
Graf Michael Sepperin
It all ends with a male boss. Quite a perfect way to end it, huh?
Within 2 hours, the torrent is complete, due to bad seeds and various reasons. Right... extract, patch... DONE. Run!
All right. Within 2 minutes into game, I lost all three lives. Bullet hell wasn't terrible, the fact that bullets actually knocked you back a short distance was. Numerous times I found myself shot down in the air, right into an endless fall, losing a life in the process.
The boss fights are just as bad. At least in Touhou you get a hitbox, which means your sprite can be grazed for points, just as long as you don't let any bullet connect with the ominous red dot in the middle of the sprite. In RosenKreuzStilette, you don't. Your whole character sprite is your hitbox, a graze knocks you back a small distance, and takes a healthy chunk off your already short health. It's worse if you're using Grolly instead of Spiritia, I don't know what the game makers were thinking when they made melee characters take more damage than ranged characters. I mean, in any game, the melee heroes will almost be beefier and can tank much more damage than the ranged ones, isn't it?
Within 2 hours, the torrent is complete, due to bad seeds and various reasons. Right... extract, patch... DONE. Run!
All right. Within 2 minutes into game, I lost all three lives. Bullet hell wasn't terrible, the fact that bullets actually knocked you back a short distance was. Numerous times I found myself shot down in the air, right into an endless fall, losing a life in the process.
The boss fights are just as bad. At least in Touhou you get a hitbox, which means your sprite can be grazed for points, just as long as you don't let any bullet connect with the ominous red dot in the middle of the sprite. In RosenKreuzStilette, you don't. Your whole character sprite is your hitbox, a graze knocks you back a small distance, and takes a healthy chunk off your already short health. It's worse if you're using Grolly instead of Spiritia, I don't know what the game makers were thinking when they made melee characters take more damage than ranged characters. I mean, in any game, the melee heroes will almost be beefier and can tank much more damage than the ranged ones, isn't it?
You know... I really don't remember going through such projectiles in MegaMan.
Writing on crazy stuff, listening to crazy music (Tomatsu Haruka - motto ni hade ne!). Wow, way to kill a night before an exam. If anything, I blame Kev-chan!
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Cosplay
I'm sure everyone would know what's cosplay. Ok, perhaps not everyone (if you don't, go HEREand come back once you've read the first sentence, and seen the first picture, you do not need further knowledge on the topic anymore). OR, if you're just too lazy, I have prepared a motivator for you RIGHT here, which I shall present RIGHT NOW:
So, that was a photo of people cosplaying as dolls from Rozen Maiden. I have to admit, I do not have an original picture of the dolls at the moment though.Either way, another motivator:
Right, you get the point.
So anyways, I recently came across this cosplay of one of my favourite characters from K-ON! (yes I'm one of them KyoAni fa[s]g[/s]ns) Azusa Nakano, and I was like WHAT? COSPLAY? OF MY AZUSA?
Well, of course I clicked on the pictures, and I literally screamed, "MINDFUCK!"
Here's a comparison
Azusa in nekomimi was supposedly one of the selling points of the show. BUT this girl who DARED to defile Azusa's honor, put on nekomimi too, and I could only watch as the next-generation-anime-faggots all swoon and say KAWAII DESU~.Random relevant fact here : Japanese government banned nekomimi and pregnancy in eroge games. Well what I personally think they should do, if they want to ban nekomimi, is ban the usage of nekomimi in this defiling of their culture called COSPLAY.
C'mon, folks, does this girl seriously think she can match Azusa in terms of moe?
If anything, cosplay like this should be erased from this world. The 2D world, in my humble opinion, isn't a place for the 3D world to interfere.
A fine example of what I'm saying would be:
Learn your lesson, folks.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Exams
Exams. Coming soon. Next Friday.
Wow, Next Friday. 26th of June. K that's really fast. I'm pretty much running out of time here. Let's see... we start with Parasitology a.k.a. Biology. Coming next is Chemistry, tailed by Physics, and finally to round it off, Latin.
4 papers. Sounds easy, isn't it? Okay, well, let's see... the Biology department, well it's stuffed with teachers who don't really speak English, there's also this fella who gives you a good mark in the following scenario : You get the topic "Fish", AND you teach him how to make fish curry. Yes I kid you not. So there really isn't much to worry about. Make sure you hit the keywords right, and you're out with an awesome grade. I might start studying for it 4 days before the actual paper.
Chemistry. Wow. Now that's one tough nut. All right, we do get the actual questions to prepare before the exam. 50+ questions, in fact. All written. Length is random, spanning from at least 2 pages to 4-5 pages. K it wouldn't be this hard, but the fact that my chemistry teacher loves me so much is making it really really hard. I've heard from seniors that for 95% of them, their marks in the 2nd semester exam are exactly the same as their marks in the 1st semseter. Which means I'll get a borderline mark. Gee, I hate chemistry.
Physics. Well, managable I guess. Not exactly a subject I'd be confident in, but if I answer directly to my teacher, I'm pretty sure he'll do his best to help me. Or so I hope.
Latin. Probably the only subject I'm 100% confident in. I've been practicing this subject all year, no thanks to Mrs. Martinson who never fails to give us tests every week.
I sit here even now, typing out my thoughts for this upcoming exam, and I remember : I have 30+ questions left for chemistry.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Help
Help, what is it? According to the concise Oxford Dictionary, help would be defined as" make it easier for (someone) to do something. O improve (a situation or problem); be of benefit to. O assist (someone) to move in a specified direction."
See the astonishing amount of definitions of it. I daresay myself, that I'm a pretty helpful person. My definition of help would be the first one, for sure : to make it easier to do something. I do not know why, but I really do enjoy helping people. I can't put into words how much it pleasures me when I see their smiles when they can accomplish something because I helped them out.
Yet, as one of the definitions puts it, "to be of benefit to." It's little wonder that people acknowledge my existence only when they need help. When they need the benefits. Without benefits, I can easily be said as nothing to them. Yes, I know that this world may be harsh, people like this DO exist. However, this doesn't mean people can use me till I dry up and throw me away like a ragged cloth. What I implore of them is but the simple act of acknowledging my presence, be it as a friend, or as a regular acquantaince, it matters not.
Why is it so? I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep, thinking of what I mean to myself, and to the others around me. You might say I choose those around me. Yet it's not how it appears. I'm pretty much a loner at times. There are quite a number of people (though I shall be courteous enough to not mention specifically) who only come to me if they have any problems, that they think I can solve. Be it coincidence or my impeccable versatility, I somehow end up having the abilities to put an end to their troubles. And what happens? They come to me only if they need help, or so-called "benefits". My usual existence is lower than that of a flea's, but when trouble, I skyrocket into an MVP in the blink of an eye.
If I may pose just one question : How exactly would you feel if people you considered to be your friends actually treated you like a packet of condoms?
As the Chinese proverb speaks, "助人?快?之本" or "helping people is the base of happiness", I find myself already doubting it. Of course, there're times when I'm happy when helping certain people, yet there are also times when thoughts like "people like this, why am I even striving to help them out?" cross my mind. Yet, I'm too much of a kind person to turn down every request coming my way. Why did I choose to walk the path of studying medicine in the first place? Because I wanted to help people. Growing up in a family of doctors, I can comfortably say I've seen much suffering. All through the eyes of a child, and moving on.
When I first started medicine, I wanted to be a cardiologist, or perhaps a paediatrician. Yet disturbing thoughts I've mentioned above constantly trouble me. Childish as I may be, I now think that I should just specialize in forensic sciences next time. Why? Well, of course the dead do not know you, yet if you help them speak, it would be an utterly different matter. Perhaps this may be a childish thought sparked by HK dramas (no thanks to a certain Madam Loh), but I just have this feeling that, just as the dead tell no tales, neither would they treat you like a box of condoms.
Either way, I stand at crossroads. No, I have been standing at crossroads, from four to five weeks ago. Left says to maintain this way of life, accept everything that comes my way, help everyone regardless of whether they appreciate it or not. Right says to put everything to a stop.
Perhaps this shall be a problem that haunts me for the rest of my days, I know not. For now, I stand up again, ready for a batter tomorrow. ('sif that day would ever come, eh?)
Now to you, the reader of this blog : 私の存在は何の物?
See the astonishing amount of definitions of it. I daresay myself, that I'm a pretty helpful person. My definition of help would be the first one, for sure : to make it easier to do something. I do not know why, but I really do enjoy helping people. I can't put into words how much it pleasures me when I see their smiles when they can accomplish something because I helped them out.
Yet, as one of the definitions puts it, "to be of benefit to." It's little wonder that people acknowledge my existence only when they need help. When they need the benefits. Without benefits, I can easily be said as nothing to them. Yes, I know that this world may be harsh, people like this DO exist. However, this doesn't mean people can use me till I dry up and throw me away like a ragged cloth. What I implore of them is but the simple act of acknowledging my presence, be it as a friend, or as a regular acquantaince, it matters not.
Why is it so? I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep, thinking of what I mean to myself, and to the others around me. You might say I choose those around me. Yet it's not how it appears. I'm pretty much a loner at times. There are quite a number of people (though I shall be courteous enough to not mention specifically) who only come to me if they have any problems, that they think I can solve. Be it coincidence or my impeccable versatility, I somehow end up having the abilities to put an end to their troubles. And what happens? They come to me only if they need help, or so-called "benefits". My usual existence is lower than that of a flea's, but when trouble, I skyrocket into an MVP in the blink of an eye.
If I may pose just one question : How exactly would you feel if people you considered to be your friends actually treated you like a packet of condoms?
As the Chinese proverb speaks, "助人?快?之本" or "helping people is the base of happiness", I find myself already doubting it. Of course, there're times when I'm happy when helping certain people, yet there are also times when thoughts like "people like this, why am I even striving to help them out?" cross my mind. Yet, I'm too much of a kind person to turn down every request coming my way. Why did I choose to walk the path of studying medicine in the first place? Because I wanted to help people. Growing up in a family of doctors, I can comfortably say I've seen much suffering. All through the eyes of a child, and moving on.
When I first started medicine, I wanted to be a cardiologist, or perhaps a paediatrician. Yet disturbing thoughts I've mentioned above constantly trouble me. Childish as I may be, I now think that I should just specialize in forensic sciences next time. Why? Well, of course the dead do not know you, yet if you help them speak, it would be an utterly different matter. Perhaps this may be a childish thought sparked by HK dramas (no thanks to a certain Madam Loh), but I just have this feeling that, just as the dead tell no tales, neither would they treat you like a box of condoms.
Either way, I stand at crossroads. No, I have been standing at crossroads, from four to five weeks ago. Left says to maintain this way of life, accept everything that comes my way, help everyone regardless of whether they appreciate it or not. Right says to put everything to a stop.
Perhaps this shall be a problem that haunts me for the rest of my days, I know not. For now, I stand up again, ready for a batter tomorrow. ('sif that day would ever come, eh?)
Now to you, the reader of this blog : 私の存在は何の物?
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Writing - My Story
WARNING : CHAOTIC WRITING AHEAD.
Let's see.... *goes all the way back in nostalgia*.... When did I start writing? Ah! I know now. Back then in high school. I can remember clearly, 2002. I was only a 12 year old back then, studying in the first grade of high school. Seven years may have passed, but I remember that day as vividly as though it was just yesterday.
My teacher, Ms. Theshila (yes I remember her name) came to me with a proposal : to write for the school magazine. To a student who had spent barely 8 months in the school, writing in the school magazine was like... WOW REALLY? ME? WRITE? FOR SCHOOL MAGAZINE?
And so, I went home, sat down at my desk and began churning out a story. It wasn't too bad, in 40 minutes or so I had the first rough draft of it. The problem was naming it. I vaguely remember considering naming it "Galaztic Wars" or something pretty badass for a 12 year old. However it turned out that I named the composition a simple "Good vs. Evil". Don't ask why, I do not know the reason back then, neither do I know it now.
And so, writing became quite fun. I started the first 2 years of my writing by continuing where I left off in "Good vs. Evil". Looking back at what I wrote then now, I can't help but stifle my laughter. I still have the three notebooks I filled with words back at home even now.
In 2006, I joined the DotA-Allstars forums : http://forums.dota-allstars.com. Of course, I was a total DotA rookie back then. But what interested me wasn't DotA itself, but rather the Fan Fiction subforum. There I met some of the greatest writers I had ever known in my life. First was DeathKnight6034. Then came Paul_V, PrettyPinkPawny, Col. Sharpeye and -madeener etc. Encouraged by them, I started my first ever fan fiction : The Sword Saga - a parodical story about the heroes of DotA. It now lies deep in the abyss of the sub-forum, uncompleted, as I ran into writer's block after the end of Chapter 23.
With my activity in the forums, soon I was given the position of Forum Crew to hold. Then I started writing again in a new style, in a novel entitled The DotA Epic. That I managed to complete, and I still feel pretty proud of myself for that.
When I came to Russia, I promised the people at the forums I would write a sequel to my epic in my summer holidays. However, various things came up, and I was able to start it before the promised time. And then, once again, I ran into the dreaded writer's block. I think my epic is probably rotting away with my saga somewhere in the murky depths of the forum.
And now, I chose to start my own blog, of all things.
As I gaze at the cursor blinking on the screen now, I decided: Screw it, I have another Touhou Roleplay to write out.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Introduction
First and foremost, I would bid you, the reader of this short composition, a warm welcome to my little corner. For reasons I shall no speak of, I shall be known as none other, but Alice. The name "Alice" has been a particular favourite of mine for as long as I have known time itself, and I am pleased to be using it as an alias of myself.
Well, personally, I have little or almost none experience blogging, so please do not expect to see other stuff beside walls of text in this little humble sanctuary of mine. Real life constantly calls out for me, and I have close to little time to learn the manipulation of these blogging widgets, so I ask of you to kindly be satisfied with the future texts I might be posting.
Without further ado, I shall put forth a short introduction of myself. I am but a student, studying medicine in Russia (yes I know, it's not exactly a matter to be proud of), and I'm pretty much what you might call a "hikkikomori" in Japanese. It is due to times like this, when I'm spending my time idly clicking on random spots in Google Chrome, my mind overflows with various stuff. It gets really frustrating some times, thus the reason I created this : as a dump of figments of my imagination, as well as somewhere I can sit and write whatever I think over a nice cup of tea.
If I still have your attention, I would like to name 2 of my friends who'd ignited the spark of desire within myself to start blogging, a certain Ms. Chew, and Mr. Yim.
Well, I guess that would be enough for an introduction, I most certainly didn't plan to speak much. Till the next post then. Pax vobiscum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)