Birthday • 1986-03-21 Gender •
Male Location • Texas Member Since • 2006-06-27 Occupation • lonely desk jockey Real Name • Sam
Personal
Achievements • Eagle Scout, watched Excel Saga and Eva and didn't go insane (well... more insane) Anime Fan Since • ...not entirely sure... (I do remember speed racer on Cartoon Network) Favorite Anime • Last Exile (drama) / Naruto (action)/ Magical Shoppong Arcade Abenobashi or FLCL (comedy)/ BECK (awesome) Goals • Make my mark(s), I would love to be a manga artist someday Hobbies • Drawing / DnD Talents • Jack of some trades (not all)
myOtaku.com: Krustyknuckles
Welcome to my site archives. 10 posts are listed per page.
Wow, Thursday?
It seems half of everyone is on MyO hiatus. No prob, I'll just keep writing on and on. I set up a facebook account that is merely to contain my story. I put the current extent of the story on it and I welcome you to read it. Maybe I'll put up a picture of myself... And no, I don't believe cameras steal the soul, so if I dont put up a picture, I probably didn't get permission to use my sister's computer. Here I am at my computer feeling utterly devoid of creative thoughts. I want to start chapter three, but the story hasn't prgressed to this point in my mind... ARGH! I probably should have gotten more than five hours of sleep last night, It really messes with my writing ability...
Hungry... Need food... Hmm, lots of paper... Ooh, a radio... No, I'm off to the vending machine... No, I'm going to the restaurant I used to work at, yeah. I'm gonna get some chicken on a bun... A chicken fried chicken sandwich... Mmmmmmm.
Before I start oozing away,
goodbye for today!
Krusty K
Was Sunday Really Easter?
Well, Sunday was kind of a drag, and I'm not going to blame the unusually cold Easter weather. I woke up in the morning to go to church - alone, whereas I normally go at night (No night services on Easter). I show up, and I can’t find anybody I know. I can't stand attending services if I can’t sit next to anybody I know, so instead I just helped out the ushers. It was pretty uneventful, except I might have escaped a parking ticket by not parking at the business next to the church. I normally have ushering duties at night, so they said that I'd expect to see my paycheck double - of course zero times two is still zero. I went to a barbeque later on, because my college group can't just meet in a closed and locked church building. We watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Independence Day. Near the end of Independence Day, we started speculating about the feasibility of a sequel, perhaps not even being in the same time period where the humans - finally having the aliens' technology, go out to destroy the aliens themselves. Independence Day 2: Ratify THIS, I think it should be called.
Ah well, Sunday was fun, but it didn't feel like Easter.
What 100 visits?
Well, this past weekend gave me my 100th visit. As I started this blog it remained at 100. After this blog is finished it may even be at 101 and dare I say perhaps 102. Sometimes I amaze myself at the amount of attention I can get. To some 100 may be a small-insignificant number, but when you think about it, it’s a hundred times better than one. I'm happy enough with 100; I don’t require a lot of attention. It seems that the season is ripe for people to be offline and too busy to post comments, so I shall not complain where I've had an accomplishment.
Chapter 2: part 6
Kai walked back toward town.
"Why, when I'm ready, won't he teach me? This is too frustrating... I guess I have to wait."
"You're awfully noisy for someone who shouldn't even need to whisper to talk to himself."
Kai spun around just in time to meet Konsetsuo face to face.
"Jumpy too... You really aren't cut out for this, are you?" Konsetsuo mocked.
"Why don’t you go off to your own tree?"
Konsetsuo merely stood there smirking. Kai only then noticed the sword Konsetsuo carried on his back.
Kai nodded toward the sword, "you didn't have that back at the academy."
"That would be objectionable. My family entrusted me with this sword, and it is my greatest skill. Another thing is that my family would never let me live such meager housing as a tree. You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since you came to my village. I think I should cut you off..."
"What would it prove? That you can’t handle change? I'm not proficient with a sword, and you using one against an unarmed opponent would only prove that you were scared of fighting me hand to hand.
"Now you are just saying that I have no honor."
With that said, Konsetsuo let his anger take him into a barbaric rage. Kai easily sidestepped the lunge, and jumped back for the expected swing.
Kai started focusing on his breathing, trying to feel how the oxygen affected him. As Kai continued to dodge away from Konsetsuo further into the forest, he started to feel the current of the flow of energy in his body. The slight shifts were altogether unnoticeable before he knew about them. He had to use this power if he had any chance to beat anyone adept with a sword, and he was starting to run out of strength and fall to the blade. The energy flowed slowly up his spine, made the circuit around his arms and finally started to fall toward his navel. The only way he could think of to focus this energy was to hold his hand over his stomach as he breathed.
His hand started to tingle, which was proof enough to Kai that it was working. Kai stopped running.
"You finally give up? Your life is mine!" Konsetsuo cried as he rushed through the trees.
Kai continued to focus on his hand until he felt somewhat faint. This time when Konsetsuo swung at Kai, he did not dodge. Kai put his hands together just as Booshi had done before, when he showed his fire technique. A thin strip of metal was between his hands.
He looked up to see an astonished Konsetsuo, gripping the hilt of his sword. The blade rested in Kai's hands, broken off of the relic.
"You're a monster! Bakemono!"
Konsetsuo dropped the useless sword and ran off.
Sometimes when I write, I'm in suspense. I know that sounds either strange or conceited, but my heart was pounding while I wrote that scene. Maybe I'm just hungry...
I guess I'll supply some Questions:
1) Will you be going to an Anime convention this summer? Which one?
2) Do you follow any traditions that you think are 'silly' and do them anyway?
Writing
I purchased one of the finest collections of Science fiction shorts available yesterday, and its shown me several things about writing. Along with learning new aspects of the writing style, I also became so inspired that I had more trouble sleeping. I just wish I had my spiral with me so I could have written down all the what ifs and then whats I came up with. At the end of my lucid thoughtfulness, I had some ideas to put on paper for Kai to finally put some structure to it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Gold by Isaac Asimov has shown me several things I didn't know about writing in only the first novelette - Cal. Its one of the stories that you identify with a robot in. A robot who wants - yes its apparently possible to "want" with a positronc brain - to become a writer, struggles against the three laws of robotics to see his aspiration realized.
I'm not into writing spoilers even for short stories, so to know the end you ought to read it yourself. There's something special about finding something you would think about killing anyone who would stop you.
Chapter 2: Part 5
[Its time to get organized, so each chapter so far covers a day, and each part covers what I write in a post]
Booshi was waiting for Kai at his treehouse.
He said, "Are you ready for training?"
"Alright, lets get this over with..."
"You sound anxoius, Kai. What could ever be distracting my brilliant pupil?"
"You heard about my day at school, I take it?"
"Your victory over Konsetsuo was flawed, my apprentice. However, you should not think of it as less of a victory because of it. You merely took a chance and it worked. We don't train our students to take risks, we train them to perfect themselves."
A long silence. Kai fidgeted as they walked.
"Your form of combat was impressive for a beginner. Who taught you? Was it your parents?"
"My parents wouldn't teach a pig to pass gas. I wanted to learn, so I found some books. I would practice it whenever I could get away from my parents for a weekend."
Booshi raised his eyebrow a little. "You have run from your family a great number of times then?"
"Whenever I could. Those two don't know anything about the feelings of others."
"They were claimed by evil before you were born, but they surely would have shown you the benefits of their ways?"
Kai stopped walking. "They have never had a mind to let me in on their secrets, but I've been good at gathering information since I was little. I learned their secret on my own. What its made of them made me sick, so I ran away again and again. I didn't stop going to school for the sake of my old friends. That is where they caught me and took me back home."
"Sorry to interrupt, but we have trainiing to do."
Kai looked up and saw a field of long uncut grass. They had walked outside the forest. Off in the distance grew an enormous tree all by itself.
"Do you know what this village's prized possesion is, Kai?"
"Ummm, no."
"This land, the very ground you are standing on. The village - our village - is the one thing we'd just as soon die before it gets taken away from us. This field you are standing in is the precious jewel of our village. The air is so saturated with power, it gives us heightened senses and greater abilities."
"How does it work like that? I thought it was just a field."
Booshi looked at the ground for a moment and then back at Kai. "Do you know the one thing a human body cannot do without?"
"Food? Water? ..."
"Oxygen. If a man has his nose and mouth clamped shut, he will perish much faster than a man who has gone without food and water."
"But oxygen is naturally there... Doesn't it just provide the cells of the body some kind of metabolic effect to keep working?"
"Oxygen does more than you might think. Our most ancient ancestors discovered the ability to manipulate the energy given to the body by oxygen. What happens, then, when you have too much oxygen?"
"It gets exhaled like normal, right?"
"Not if you have trained your body to store that energy. Human beings are capable of so many things, but just lack the willpower to train themselves to achieve those abilities."
"What kind of abilities, Booshi?"
"No, not Booshi. I will only answer to 'master' as long as you are my pupil."
"Alright, master, what kind of abilities?"
"You know of prestidigitation?"
"Yeah, magic tricks its also called."
"Good, then you'll know not to think this is a trick."
Booshi put out his palm facing toward the sky at an angle. His other hand soon was next to it. He brought his hands together and murmured some words. His hands started to glow and ripple in the heat coming from them. He then almost immediately sent his hands palm-out to where he had aimed, launching a line of fire into the afternoon sky. Kai stood there speechless, not sure of what he saw. A smile grew across his face, he was excited now. After so much time, he thought he knew the limits of a human body (though not personally) and didn't expect to ever see anything like this.
"This is your curriculum, Kai, and I am your teacher. Now, If you will come with me."
Kai followed, dumbstruck at the implications of what he had seen.
They arrived at the tree that sat in the field of grass. Kai noticed that it was even more monstrous than he anticipated. Its gnarled lower branches were nearly the height of the entire forest. "You realize how this power can be abused, but now you'll see how it can help you grow. This tree was brought from Japan by my Great Grandfather as a sapling. He kept it alive through the trip by using his energy. When they found this land, he planted this great tree and helped it grow to the monstrous size you see before you. This is no ordinary tree though, it woke up the dormant power of our forest. To phrase it more correctly, it channeled the energy of the forest to itself and releases it as a purer form of oxygen. We breathe it and it is more than enough, so our bodies learn to store its energy more efficiently."
"Its a ninja battery?"
"I suppose you could downgrade it to that status, but it shows a great lack of respect for our ways, Kai. We don't rely on it entirely, but it is our symbol of power."
Kai felt the bark. A pulse went down his spine, but it wasn't pain and it didn't cause Kai to jump in alarm, he merely felt like he had taken a refreshing bath after a long night's sleep and jogged half a city block to get his blood pumping.
"You might have guessed that everyone has an elemental affiliation in this village, those who make it out of academy realize this. My great grandfather was naturebound and gained power over wood and plants of many kinds. I have the ability to control fire. I'll have to train you more before you will know your own element."
"Anything else, master?" Kai was practically begging to be shown more.
"You may rest for today, but be ready for tomorrow's training. I will not go easy on you just because you were not trained in our academy."
I'll try to make a habit of writing twice a week and no more so nobody misses anything, and I can keep up with work.
Woah! Step back - the future's so bright for you it's blinding me! You are the coolest of the cool. Everyone looks up to you as the benchmark for being coooool. The fonze was your grandfather. Any cooler and you'd freeze! WOO it's chilly in here.
Kai stood in the ring now hoping what he knew was good enough to best this younger boy in a martial art Kai had only read about. After bowing to each other to indicate a fair fight, Konsetsuo immediately rushed Kai. Luckily, Kai was able to maneuver quickly enough to get out of the way.
The crowd surrounding the ring was silent - a good thing too, because any distraction could mean Kai's defeat. Konsetsuo dodged in and out of Kai's reach and appeared to have complete control of the match.
Kai had to have his concentration set on Konsetsuo's movements entirely or he would misread one step and be defeated. Patience was his only chance at defeating this hothead. His only hope was that a simple mistake would give him an opening to end the match. Kai kept an appropriate distance and noticed Konsetsuo had taken a step incorrectly and his foot's position put him off balance. Kai saw this immediately. Kai sweeped his foot out from under him and caught his arms in a hold. He then pushed as hard as he could to send Konsetsuo hurtling over the ropes.
The crowd was silent. Kai knew then that some people couldn't maintain control of their anger and shuddered at the thought of fighting a berserker.
"Good fight!" Konsetsuo dusted himself off. "Here I was thinking civilians had no fighting abilities."
"Surprise," Kai offered.
"Well, you did have to wait for my fatal mistake. I can grapple for hours against some of the others here who fight the same as you. What if I tell you that I've never made the same mistake twice?"
"I'd have to say that you must have been struck by lighning twice too. Your gloating right now is undeserved, so I'm leaving. I've got training to do."
"Who is your master, then? No doubt he is one of the more pathetic and useless graduates."
"Sure, if you think Booshi is a pathetic and useless graduate."
The practice grounds went silent. The wind fell silent, and the eyes of all the students there turned to find him.
"Hahaha! You ARE kidding with me! Nobody has ever been a pupil to Booshi!"
Kai didn't even respond, he just walked off towards his treehouse.
Questions:
1) Would you rather hear a mix of anime music or a mix of old and new rock? or both? (like now)
The Hills are alive!
Well, maybe it is the sound of music that keeps them alive, but if Mary Poppins gets anywhere near some of these songs I'll be thoroughly surprised. What with my love of synthesized music and their connection to video games, you'll see artists like the minibosses frequenting my playlist. And I have all the love of anime theme songs. Classical music is also ever worthy of being listened to.
Kikaider as Free as a Bird
This is my favorite Lynard Skynard song. The one thing that surprised me most was the clips
from Chrono Trigger the anime by Akira Toriyama. I was a fan of the game, but now I know there is an anime and its driving me nuts! Its nearly as bad if I found out that there was an anime for DragonQuestVIII! GAH!!!
I Like to Read
I know there's some people out there who dont like to read. And there's no doubt that none of them will be reading this. I'm finally at the end of the Ender Quartet, and it only took me this past weekend. My favorite thing about the story is that it challenges me to think beyond the outside of the box - to think about the world around the box than about the box itself. We all sit here on this little planet in space and fight our little wars and give our lives to causes. What some never do is find the ability to understand others. The connections we all share are important to us, but we find things that dont concern us. There is much about the unverse we dont know intelectually. So many things that we take for granted based on speculations of scientists. Many of them are brilliant, but they only understand the applications of other scientists and see new things because of revelation in their own minds.
To speak plainly its hard to get out of this box, we cant just cut the tape that's sealing it and step out. Perhaps I'm just distracted too much to think more on this, but I find that my most chaotic thoughts lead to something.
The theory in Orson Scott Card's books follows the thought that there is a single indivisable particle that follows a principle of bonds. Where bonds were strong, matter existed and where bonds were strongest, it took the form of life. The strongest of the philotes - the indivisable particles - make the core of intelligent life. The will of our being. Its a lovely idea, and I'd love to say its more than believeable because it explains so much about the mysteries of the universe - one being 'how is there intelligent life if it isn't necessary for balance in the universe?'. The thought of a hierarchy of will power makes sense on several levels. You can give me your own thoughts on this in a comment if you want, I'd like to hear what others have to say.
Naruto Shippuden 6&7
Well, now that Shippuden eps. 6&7 are out, I'll have something to preoccupy me while at work. I'll be sure to have another installment of Ninja Kai later this week too!
Questions:
1) What is your favorite Sci-fi story? (novel/movie/short)
2) What do you get when you split a meson? (10 pts to a correct answer!)
I guess this will be my new MO. I'll find some lame music videos and post them on my site before I go on about whats happening with me. I had first heard of this a couple years ago, and I had only seen a stage performance of it, but the music video ties up all that I missed about it. Enjoy!
Books, books, books
Well, I've continued reading all of the books from the Ender's Game saga and I just can't put it down... except maybe to type a blog. Right now, I'm at the end of the third book, Xenocide. I can't help but feel that I'm advertising for Orson Scott Card whenever I talk about his books, but when something is truly worthwhile in one person's eyes that person wont speak badly of it. If you have the time, and I know you definitely could, pick these up and read them. It's for your own sake that I'm telling you these books are a masterwork from a fan of the original Sci-Fi writer Issac Asimov.
School...
Well, I found out yesterday that physics thinks little of the person who can do the math, but can't memorize the formulas himself. I got word of my failure in the abhorrent test we had on electronics - the one concept I struggle with even though I've passed a course in electronics. I can't rationally drop the course, because I need it to graduate this spring. However, I need to pass it to graduate this spring... I'm glad now that physics with light is our new topic and I should be sooo much better at that.
What! A Joke?
a couple of muffins were sitting in an oven when one looks over and asks,"Hey! What do you think is gonna happen to us in this oven?"
The other turns in surprise,"Holy crap! A talking muffin!"
Your Icecream Flavour is...Chocolate!
You are the all time favorite, chocolate! Turning white kids black since the 1800s. Staining carpets, car seats, and bed sheets for centuries. One thing is for sure, you will never go out of style. You can't go wrong with chocolate!
THIS IS IRON MAN! I WILL NOT HIT HIM WITH A FRY-ING PAN!
I'm not sure if this will work, but I wanted to add music to my site and couldn't find a midi url for it, but I did find a video on youtube:
Its an oldie but one of the best songs if not best already, and to put it with Eva is great.
I NEED Creative Time
I cant believe there's so much work to do... I work part-time as the cad specialist in my college's facilities and for the first month I had nothing to do aside from draw and photoshop my own creations. I had the added benefit of being able to update my blog daily between Monday and Friday as well as being able to read and comment on many sites. I've probably even been over-bearing on the remarks of frustration that my computer at home doesn't work. Its perhaps more frustrating than the amount of work these people give out at the same time. For one, I'm definitely not being paid enough, and another thing is they never tell me a due date for these things, so I can't do them in any particular order. I have my classes to worry about, and I can't get to my internship projects. What's more is I'm missing time to watch Naruto Shippuden (which is completely off task and I know it).
Plans for A-kon
Once again the time of sping has come to north Texas. A time where things grow - a time when we dont need air conditioning or heaters to keep from extreme cold (not bad by northern standards) and extreme heat (WTF? by northern standards) - a time when young adult otaku put in their blogs their plans for summer's biggest event. Yep, A-kon's gonna be good this year too. I just might be all ninja'd out by the time it gets here, though - what with "Pirates of the Caribbean [End of Worlds]" coming out beforehand.
Yep, I've gotta wear my ninja costume again... its a new tradition and it can only end when the movies stop (its not public humiliation if they never see your face, although it might be for your friends...). Even though that's really unlikely that I'll not have the will to ninja, I'll try to get together a costume that is more of a non-ninja kind of theme. Say a future rock star, a kid whose crazy dad owns a store that sells a rogue publication and crystal Pepsi. Thats right, Naota from FLCL! Its so simple and I'll be such a badass with my wireless guitar controller in the gameroom... playing mad hard level songs until my fingers burn. Its not the accurate guitar type if you've seen the redoctane wireless controller, but it's still cool and I'm not gonna worry about it. I'll probably dye my hair black for the weekend (I've not done that before) and I'll have to get a bottle of hair gel (not to mention shave the lower half of my legs). So much work goes into a costume that I sometimes take the easy way out, My ninja costume at A-Kon last year seemed to have spawned a line of shoddily fabricated ninja costumes, because at A-Fest last fall I noticed that half of the generic ninjas' costumes were made out of t-shirts. Then again, I could be making myself sound narcissistic, but I say I didn't see any others at last A-kon. Time to save my money now, to go to Goodwill and buy some gently-heavily used clothes to convert into my new costume, and to plan deviously what I'll do.
I guess this is part nine?
Yoshi led the way to the wrestling ring where many younger teenagers stood around watching a young grappler throw another out of the ring.
"That's Konsetsuo, he's one of the better fighters of his class."
"Who's the best?"
"That would be me, until you put a weapon in my hands."
"What? You dont like sharp objects?"
"No, its the speed you have to move to use them properly. I just can't get around quick enough with my large size."
"But you can throw almost anybody," Kai guessed aloud.
"Anybody except my father."
"Well, when's my turn?"
"You want to fight him?"
"Captain Kirk never backs away from a challenge!"
"Who is Captain Kirk?"
"Nevermind." Kai realized that this culture was devoid of all the television that had brought him up. All of the dramas, comedies, and movies he knew all too well didn't shape this village's history and culture even slightly.
"Still, you think you're ready to grapple against him?"
"Why should'nt I? We are nearly the same size."
"He's no weakling, Kai."
Konsetsuo, now recovered from removing the other boy from the ring was overhearing Yoshi's conversation with Kai.
"Are you afraid to let me initiate the new kid, Yoshi?"
"Yoshi was merely giving me some worthwhile advice before I challenged you."
"Really? What could that sack of lard teach you about how to defeat me?"
"You underestimate him even more than you underestimate me, Konsetsuo. Now fight me, and we'll see who gets initiated."
Questions:
1) Is it entertaining to you when you find out the sexual orientation of a character goes against the grain? (any other than hetero)
2) Would you prefer to die in a fit of insanity or to protect someone who hired you?
3) Why do I dress as a ninja to go to a pirate movie (too bad its not rated Arr)? (I know the answer, but seeing if you can guess is worth it.)
Arigatoo gozaimasu (thats the formal proper of thank you in Japanese in case you're still wondering),
Krusty K Comments (1) |
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Work: More work - Less work
Well, I should begin by explaining the title of this post. I have been getting more real work to do lately (perhaps I should think of it as a birthday present?), and there's been little time to spend on MyO other than posting comments, so I'll have to cut down on my posts to maybe once or twice a week. If my own home computer was working, I'd keep up the posts and proliferate from my mind many more pictures that are all pretty and photoshopped for your viewing pleasure. I'm also constantly being bugged to use my 1337 5|<1|_|_Z to beat Guitar Hero after work, and thus shortening my time at work (where I have the time and comfort to write everyday).
Valet Parking
Now that I'm 21 years of age, I'll be a quick hire for a valet parking agency I've had my eye on for several months now. I drive a standard, and they need all the skills that I happen to have. The pay may be meager, but the tips are not. I really either need to take this second job, or begin a budget for myself and I'm not the type to keep myself in between a noose and a Ziploc bag.
The Story I Want to Hear
Kai was dragging his feet on the way to school, expecting everything to be wrong with him. He was still angry about Booshi's test on the night before. His face was sullen and expressionless, though he didn't intend it to be. His life at home was nothing to be happy about, and his face never showed it either. At the academy gate just ahead, a small group of teenagers suddenly stopped talking and turned around to look at Kai. Their clothes were somwhat strange and mostly black. A couple of them carried katanas on their backs. Kai trudged on, knowing they could'nt decide whether he was afraid or not. When Kai was about to step through the gate, someone's foot stepped on his and he almost lost his balance.
"Just where do you think you're going?"
A larger, but definitely younger boy continued to put his weight on Kai's foot.
"Oh, so you're here to give me the friendly welcome? Booshi, told me I might ask you to show me around when you stopped me at the gate."
That was a lie, of course, but Kai really needed to see just how much influence Booshi had in the village. Kai's ruse worked to his pleasure as the large boy's foot immediately was lifted away.
"B-Booshi, you say... I did'nt expect him to be your tutor. He hasn't even taken a student before. I was beginning to think he never would."
The boy was obviously not too bright by the way he spoke, and the surprise on his face told Kai just how much respect he had for Booshi.
"So, is there a tour, or should I find someone else?"
The other boys all stood by silently eyeing the larger one. The boy felt that the others were not thinking of treating the new kid nicely, and Kai also noticed the intense staring.
"I don't know..." replied the boy.
"How about I tell Booshi what a big help you were to me today?"
"Fine..." he finally gave in.
The eyes of the other boys followed them until they entered the building and they did'nt say a word.
"My name's Kai, by the way."
"Oh, mine is Yoshi. Hey, how did you Booshi know that I would be stopping you at the gate?"
Kai was considering telling the truth when he realized that he had just taken this boy away from a group of thugs that were using him to pick on other people.
"What if I tell you that he didn't?"
"You tricked me? Why I..."
"Hold on there! What were those guys to you?"
"They're my friends."
"What are you to them then?"
Yoshi stopped walking altogether and thought for a second about it.
"They only like me for my muscles," he said regrettably.
"See, you don't need them to make you feel strong. What you need is a friend, okay?"
"Yeah, alright."
Yoshi showed Kai around the school until class had finally started.
The homeroom was large and setup quite like a lecture hall. The teacher walked through the door and set his books on the table.
"Today, we will talk about the theory of..."
Kai was sleeping already. Time passed quickly, and very soon Kai was being shaken awake by Yoshi.
"Class is over, it's time for recess."
"Recess? That's for little kids."
"You've never been to a recess in a ninja village."
As they walked through the doors to the yard, and what Kai saw was not slides and swingsets, but a slew of adolescents wielding quarterstaves and wooden swords. Some of the younger ones using nunchaku like blackbelts in Kung-fu.
"Different than you expected, huh?"
"Probably what I should have expected."
"You dont seem to be trained in any weapons, so I'll take you to the wrestling ring."
Well, since noone commented last time, I figure I'll just ask again.
1) What is your name?
2) What is your quest?
3) What is your favorite color?
IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!
Well, I've had twenty-one of these, and they stopped being exciting about ten years ago...
I'm now trapped in my little office, whiling away on the internet until my brain falls out. I've posted comments on people's sites and made apologies for things I have and haven't done, and now I'm at my post where the only thing exciting going on is my birthday (wait, thats not exciting either...). I've been in a really crappy way lately, and I haven't thought of anything I really wanted to draw. I've been drawing frames for my idea of turning Ender's Game into a graphic novel (that's gonna take a looooong time) and also reading the series of books that came out of it. Now I want to draw the story of Bean too, but that's an entirely different story that just happens to tie into Ender's Game, but it's too much work for one person. I'd love to be able, just for the rest of my life, know that I can depend on my art to support me. Now I know it could, but I've met artists, and sometimes they really do starve themselves when their work doesn't make a profit... I couldn't do that. For now, I'll stick to a low profit margin concerning my art (zero profit), and work toward my intended career - architecture.
Lately, nothings been going on and, frankly, it's getting on my nerves. I'm not the type to go stir things up, so instead I read or reread a book or four. I'm currently reading Speaker for the Dead - second book out of his four part series that starts with Ender's Game.
Sorry for the short post, but I have a class to attend and a book to read. Tomorrow will bring new things, I'm only afraid it will be more work...
A Weekend's worth
Well, I wrote three parts to my story this weekend, so here you go:
As Booshi led Kai into the village, Booshi looked over his shoulder at Kai.
“Gaijinkage-sama sees a lot of potential in you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He is always kept terribly busy with village finances and organizing work crews for outsource laboring.”
“Outsource… why are you telling me this?”
“Perhaps you should know we can’t pay land taxes unless we earn money, and a village hidden from the rest of the world isn’t exactly the best picture of American commerce.”
“Ok, then, I guess that tells me something…”
“I’m just helping you learn to trust this village. We are good people willing to do anything to protect our way of life.”
Kai nodded silently as he thought through what all had happened so far. He had run from home, no, from his controlling parents who could never trust him to have anything he desired without benefit to themselves. He ran with no intent of ever returning, and now he had a place to stay, fate had given him the option to choose. Even if this village accepted him as its own, that would only be another shackle – another set of controls.
“I’ll have you know wont be anybody’s puppet,” Kai said aloud without thinking.
“It’s always better to be useful to someone rather than a burden to yourself,” Booshi replied kindly.
The words stuck with Kai, He realized that he was being selfish. “Master Yoda would be disappointed,” he muttered quietly to himself.
The path led Booshi and Kai into some dense forest. At first the trees barely overpowered the underbrush, but the change was almost immediate as they continued to walk. Very soon after the trees became as wide as compact cars, Booshi leaned against one that was particularly knot-covered one and looked up. Kai also looked up to see about 100 feet above, just below the canopy, sat a small house fitted around the trunk of the tree.
“Is THAT where I’m staying tonight?”
“And every night your in our village.”
“Didn’t you tell me my car would be here?”
“It IS.”
“No way is it in the dang treehouse!”
“It’s not so difficult as you think for us ninja to put it there…”
“Completely unfair, I don’t suppose you’ll tell me how you go it up there?”
“While there’s a number of ways my men could have done it, I am not entirely sure which one they used…”
“How about ‘how do I get up there?’” Kai asked as he turned to look up the tree.
That’s for you to figure out before sunrise, trainee.”
Kai turned back to look at Booshi, maybe to ask another question, but he was gone.
The next morning, an alarm clock went off. Kai climbed out of bed bleary eyed and karate chopped the clock into silence. On the way into his apartment’s kitchen, he bumped into his car. “Ow,” Kai tripped and rolled off of his car’s hood onto the floor.
“Having fun?” Booshi asked when he found Kai rolling on the floor clutching his knee.
“It took me Five freakin’ hours to get up here last night, and you people apparently haven’t heard of electricity. Because of the pitch black darkness in here, I spent half an hour looking for a light switch – I see there are none.”
“Hmm, more often other students take longer to get in. They get the idea they cant use tools to get inside, because we confiscate their equipment right before we leave them to climb their own trees – good job using the ground vines to make a rope.”
“When does training start?”
“Right after you’re done at school.”
“But its late June, schools aren’t open! I already have my diploma anyway!”
“You’ll find out very soon that your diploma doesn’t mean squat to us, Kai. Our ninja training involves the mind even more than the body, so we take education very seriously. You will learn something today, but not just from me.”
Pictures:
I hope you enjoyed my story, and here are some pictures (I know you like pictures):
I can probably say that these are two different ways to look at my computer and what it did to itself/me. "I died a little inside when It wouldn't turn on..."
If I hadn't been lying down, this one would've made me fall over:
This is nobody I know, but, the character was there in my head and I've watched many cartoons in my lifetime, so don't hold it against me.
And that she's holding is a butterknife.
Questions:
1) What is your name?
2) What is your quest?
3) What is your favorite color?
You are the all time favorite, chocolate! Turning white kids black since the 1800s. Staining carpets, car seats, and bed sheets for centuries. One thing is for sure, you will never go out of style. You can't go wrong with chocolate!
Work: More work - Less work 
