Monday, May 29, 2006

More on Fakir/Ahiru
First off, my Princess Tutu article was posted yesterday, and as I've said a bajillion times now, I'm very proud of how it turned out.

I actually posted it on LJ before submitting it to theO. Check out the comments! I got a couple very, very insightful responses; one actually convinced me to reword a short section of my article draft.

Also, browsing through the Princess Tutu community, I stumbled upon this equally well-written and even longer Fakir/Ahiru analysis. In it, the author makes a very intriguing point on how Fakir and Ahiru's relationship reflects the courtly love seen in Medieval times:

"The knight serves his courtly lady (love service) with the same obedience and loyalty which he owes to his liege lord. She is in complete control of the love relationship, while he owes her obedience and submission... The knight's love for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of her love or to win her favor."

Okay, I'll stop now. XD

EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention, I now have Comcast cable. Which means only one thing to me: I can now watch Samurai 7.
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Sunday, May 28, 2006

Just got back from the Video Game Symphony, and it was SWEEEEEEEEEEET.

I'll write more in-depth about it later, but for now, I strongly recommend that anyone who can go to one of these concerts should, even if you're not familiar with the games. In fact, I didn't recognize many of the songs played, but I still had a hell of a good time.

EDIT: I'll save most of it for the concert report. For now, I'll list from memory which video game music was featured. (I put asterisks next to the performances I especially enjoyed.)

FFXI (Fanfare)
FFVIII (Liberi Fatali)*
Mario
Shenmue*
Sonic
Battlefield 1942*
FFVII (Aeris' Theme)*
Metal Gear Solid*
Kingdom Hearts
FFXII (Kiss me Goodbye)
FFVIII (Eyes on Me)
Elder Scrolls Morrowind
Elder Scrolls Oblivion*
FF (Chocobo Theme)
Chrono Trigger*
Silent Hill 2 (Laura's Theme)*
World of Warcraft (Legends of Azeroth)*
Halo
Zelda*
Blue Dragon
FFVII (One Winged Angel)*
ENCORE: FFVII (One Winged Angel)*

..Which makes it a total of three times I've heard One Winged Angel performed live. *BRAG BRAG*

I actually liked this concert quite a bit more than the Dear Friends concert, and that's saying a lot, considering that the Dear Friends concert was the highlight event for me last year. (Yes, that's including ACen 2005.)

As I said before, attend if you can! (And yes, Kastom, they ARE coming to Canada! They'll be in Toronto in September.)

EDIT #2: ...I am now officially a fan of World of Warcraft music. I'm not a big fan of MMORPGs, but I honestly think I may start playing the games just for the music. Seriously.

EDIT #3: WHY, LOOK, MY PROFILE MUSIC INEXPLICABLY CHANGED.
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Friday, May 26, 2006

*BRAG BRAG BRAG*
My wanky digital camera is preventing me from showing you all two things:

First, the catbus I made using Sara's guide.

Second, my mini-poster of Final Fantasy X-2, now autographed by Nobuo Uematsu and company. (HAH, SUCK IT.)

EDIT: Is anyone else having problems accessing ANN, or is it just my computer?

EDIT #2:


L: Bang bang!

OMGSOCUTEIWANNAHUGHIM.
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Update on the Princess Tutu article:

At over 1,800 words, it's about 75% complete. I'll probably finish it sometime within the next two days. (Though, even then, it will still have to go through SOAP's newly implemented editing system. Otherwise known as Taltos. :P)

The second half of the series is packed with MUCH more info than the first half, so when I stated I was halfway finished a couple weeks back, what I wrote was really more like a third of the whole article.

And yes, I had to rewatch the whole series to write the article, and I'm honestly surprised with how much I missed. Some of it seems so obvious now.

Though it's not completed yet, I'm very pleased with how it's turning out; it's easily shaping up to be the favorite of my articles. Because it's about Fakir.

EDIT: Now more than 90% done at more than 2,400 words. Holy shit, my analysis of Episode 25 can be an article in itself.

EDIT #2: FINISHED! At over 2,700 words. :D
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Saturday, May 20, 2006

A few things:

First, today's my birthday. Give me money. :D

Second, it's now officially a week until the PLAY! concert.

Lastly, the current Otaku Attraction features my favorite Naruto AMV, so go watch it if you haven't already!
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

itsudemo musubaretakutomo kimi wa meno mae de Last Smile
FANDOM DUMP! First off, three LJ icons I find very amusing:



...For some ODD reason, I now feel inspired to finally watch the rest of Samurai Champloo.

Second, fanfic recc! (And it's a crack/humor fic, for once.) This one's from the DN fandom; basically, Light decides to jump into various anime worlds and kill off anime villains in order to boost Kira's popularity. It makes absolutely no sense, and that's why it's so great. Besides, it features Ouran HS Host Club, so go read it!

Raito's Annihilation of Animation Adversaries

“Start with Sensui,” he commanded her. “We have no time to waste. And then Koenma. I never really liked him.”
“Hey!” Koenma objected.
The girl began to write in her notebook.
“Have no fear, Koenma,” Sensui said idly. “It's just the delusions of a terribly psychologically damaged couple from seeing such a terrifying apparition. After all, what could writing in a notebook possibly do to you-”
He stopped, choked, and fell over, dead.
“Oh, I don't know,” Raito said, musing. “That, perhaps?”

This last bit of fandom crack is actually one of mine. It's a thumbnail theater of the Escaflowne anime; basically, a humorous rewrite of a series in script format with accompanying thumbnail pics. I started this way back last summer, and only made it up to episode 4 before I got lazy. Though, now that I'm re-reading it, I wish I continued it, as it actually is rather funny. (Fun Fact About Me: Back when I was super active on LJ, I wasn't so much known for my writing as I was for being funny, especially for making funny icons; you wouldn't believe how popular some of my Naruto icons got.)

Escaflowne Thumbnail Theatre - Episode III: The Gallant Swordsman

"Never fear! Allen is here! Prep the Schezerade!"

Escaflowne Thumbnail Theatre - Episode IV: The Diabolical Adonis

"Damn, I'm ugly."
"It's only the wrinkles, sir. There's cream for that now."

(I'm only linking to episodes 3 & 4 because they're vastly funnier than the first two. Probably has something to do with Allen and Dilandau.)

EDIT: Also, the previously posted drabble was LiveJournal'd.
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Monday, May 15, 2006

Some see nothing more than life and death. They are dead, for they have no dreams.

The boy warily looks around the area as his shadow twists oddly on the walls of the dimly lit tunnels. Sasuke greets his new home coldly.

His clothes are uncomfortable; the bow feels like weights around his waist--but he would bear it.

He quickly eases into his daily routine of small meals and exhaustive training. At first, Orochimaru's constant presence unnerves him, but like all other things, it eventually seems entirely normal.

He doesn't know whether it's caused by the training sessions or simple frustration, but Sasuke begins to dream of that distant, glorious moment in which his blood flows between his fingers--when he destroys the one most painful reminder of the brother he lost.

But the relentless sting of the cursed seal serves as a bitter reminder of the reality of his world.

Stubbornly, he burns the scene into his memory, until it eventually becomes the constant fuel of which he trains, grows, and lives by.

And when Sasuke screams in his sleep, and Kabuto is forced to awaken him, and his opened eyes immediately bleed the rage of Sharingan red, both silently know of whom he was dreaming.

For now, Sasuke dwells in his fantasies, and most of all, his memories.

Because no matter how ugly, they're all he has left.

---

It's been a really long time since I last wrote one of these. Obviously inspired by Saucekay-kin's recent manga appearance.

Now, to lighten the mood, the ever hilarious biztheinsane wrote an LJ post on NaruSasu and the recent manga chapters:

I'VE REALLY BEEN READING BL MANGA ALL THIS TIME???
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Sunday, May 14, 2006

no coherent posts for you!
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

NARUTO. CHAPTER 206. OMG OMG.

In other words, Sasuke finally appeared, which means I have a reason to start reading the manga again. So the fandom imploded on itself. (And of course, I only realize this now.)

I don't care what anyone else says, I think he looks awesome. And way too built. (What the hell kind of fifteen-year old is he?)

My views on all this are nicely summarized in this comment:

My BIGGEST concern over the last MONTH has been that he wouldn't be wearing shorts anymore. Y'know, 'cause I'm a fangirl and I'd of missed his legs.

*stares at that lovely expanse of chest*

...YEAH I CAN WORK WITH THAT.

EDIT: OMG GAYPIRATE!SASUKE JOKES GALORE.
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

even if they aren't alive, you are. you care because you're alive--because you have a heart.
If dolls freak you out, you may want to skip this post. :3

Since I'm planning to finally order my BJD in a couple months from now (after saving up for almost an entire year!), I've begun looking for clothes and accessories to order for him. Since he's a Luts doll, I've mainly been checking the Luts website. The BJD I'm planning on buying is Dreaming El, who also comes with normal El. Pic spam! Dreaming El on the left and normal El on the right:



Since I'm getting two Els, I figure I should make an effort to differentiate the two. Clothes-wise, I'm planning for Dreaming El to be in Gothic Aristocrat gear pretty much all of the time, whereas normal El will be more punk. For Dreaming El, I plan to buy the shirt shown in the second pic above. For normal El, I'm planning to get these pants:



*is very excited over this* :3

I've begun working on the Princess Tutu article, and man, this thing is going to be packed. There are so many analogies in this series, and there's so much to cover in the second half. I'm already almost halfway finished, though, so it'll hopefully be ready for submission sometime next week.
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006

I'm already planning for ACen 2007, and there are two things in particular that I have a very strong urge to do:

First, cosplay for the first time. I'm planning to cosplay as... Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls Z. (I kid you not.) Also, my BJD will most likely be ready for his public debut at that time, and I'll have him cosplay as Alucard from Castlevania. :3

Second, I really want to host a discussion panel, specifically a Death Note fan panel, since there was a complete lack of DN-related panels this year.

Con stuff aside, I've thought of a new article idea, and assuming I don't totally screw it up, this one may very well become my favorite of my articles. (More for the subject matter than anything, though.) All I'll say for now is the article involves Fakir from Princess Tutu, who I very quickly fell in love with. *squishes him*

And since everyone else is talking about it, E3! I highly recommend that all FF fans go watch the FFXIII trailer right now. It's just a 1-minute video, yet I'm already way more excited over this than FFXII.

On that note, here's a very fair review of Advent Children over at ANN. The forum discussion is interesting as well, though I think the majority of the conversation can be summarized with this:

The "fan" in me loves this thing, warts and all, because it's just nostalgia. The critic in me knows it's a load of crap with impressive CG work.

And now, I'm off to watch the MGS4 trailer, and impatiently wait for news on DMC4.

EDIT: Went over to the FFXIII messageboard on GameFAQs, and most posts are filled with mysogynistic rants against the female protagonist. I swear, FF fanboys are so full of shit.
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