And so this is Christmas / And what have you done / The old year is over / A new one begun...
Aside from seeing my first year with my girlfriend, I can say nothing much. I 'm thankful that I'm alive - despite all the misery and unexpected that comes with living, it sure beats being dead. Living dead, perhaps, but still alive - and being alive is what counts.
My prospects for the future look grim. It's not that I'll go insane once my girlfriend leaves the country to study abroad - never fear - but I ponder on what will become of me once I fail my family once more. I've no desire to test how tenuous the string called family ties are - in my case, it's almost a certainty, though.
No thesis = no place in the family and house. I could point out that neither my mother nor my aunt-godmother had college diplomas, but then I'm not exactly cooking meals or cleaning the house or washing laundry or being helpful to the family in anyway. Put that way, why would anyone want another mouth to feed, another source of dirty clothes, a non-deductable from the income tax return?
I could find work, I guess - though the chances of a college dropout finding decent jobs is slimmer than for college graduates finding decent jobs in today's market.
Staying to run with the computer shop isn't an option - we close down this coming October, thanks to the greedy bloodsucking landlord who doesn't do anything about spark-spewing wall outlets, faulty toilets, and water and electrical outages. AND HE STILL HAS THE NERVE TO RAISE THE RENT! Madness!
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Saturday, December 25, 2004
I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've been here. Merry Christmas.
Fanfiction.net has done something very bad to me: they've taken my pen name out of their search function. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how. A friend of mine was witness to this. I logged in, as if trying to add a new chapter. It worked, confirming I was still an author in ff.net. Then I try searching using the site's search function for all variations of Jemu Nekketsu - NOTHING CAME UP.
Nothing came up. I'm serious. I was logged in, I have the document manager and the works, but I could not find my name in the search Author by Pen Name thingy.
I'm thinking of putting up my future stories spun off copyrighted material here, but I can't recall if the Terms of Agreement allows me to do so. Heck, I have faulty memory, and I didn't care to print the stuff.
Fanfiction.net has done something very bad to me: they've taken my pen name out of their search function. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how. A friend of mine was witness to this. I logged in, as if trying to add a new chapter. It worked, confirming I was still an author in ff.net. Then I try searching using the site's search function for all variations of Jemu Nekketsu - NOTHING CAME UP.
Nothing came up. I'm serious. I was logged in, I have the document manager and the works, but I could not find my name in the search Author by Pen Name thingy.
I'm thinking of putting up my future stories spun off copyrighted material here, but I can't recall if the Terms of Agreement allows me to do so. Heck, I have faulty memory, and I didn't care to print the stuff.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
I'm ready to throw in the towel with this blog. The spacing between paragraphs (or lack of it - see my previous post) is counter-intuitive. What I see I do not get. What I want to see I can't make happen. Fudge.
Why does it work sometimes, and botch on all others? I checked the HTML code, and there is a lot of formatting tags enclosing... nothing. It's allwith no text inside. It confounds me. I'm pretty sure I didn't want that to happen.
So much for WYSIWYG, I guess. It's back to Edit HTML for me. Boy, this sure brings back high school sophomore days.
Why does it work sometimes, and botch on all others? I checked the HTML code, and there is a lot of formatting tags enclosing... nothing. It's all
So much for WYSIWYG, I guess. It's back to Edit HTML for me.
Back to Basics. I hope the bold and italic tags are up to par with the message boards I'm a part of.
This will be my workbook post. Here, I'll try to play around with the text controls. Notice that the fonts here are of different sizes. The rule, I think, is to put down all the text first before performing doodads.
I shall rectify that error now.
This will be my workbook post. Here, I'll try to play around with the text controls. Notice that the fonts here are of different sizes. The rule, I think, is to put down all the text first before performing doodads.
If anyone has noticed, I've deleted my previous post - it's got too much endemic errors to make me let it live longer. The presentation of the topic is also botched - I was explaining the features of a particular side of an RTS game to a reader who probably hasn't played it yet.
I shall rectify that error now.
Dawn of War Basics
Controls and Gameplay
Dawn of War is a real-time strategy (RTS) game. Unlike chess, where each side takes turns, one after the other, in RTS games the sides perform their actions simultaneously, thus creating a sense of excitement as to who can outsmart who faster.
DoW is a point and click game - you select units and structures with your mouse, and click on some buttons on the game screen to give them commands, or on the map to give them orders. No keyboard-pounding action here, I'm afraid. :)
It's a war simulation - you gather resources, build up the necessary production facilities, gather an army, and try to conquer your opponent with it. All in all, a regular RTS pattern - gather, build, and attack.
Distinguishing Features
There are two resources involved in creating an army - Requisition points and Power. Requisition points are gathered by capturing Strategic Points, Critical Points and Relics. Power can be obtained from Generators. Capturing key areas and building Generators increase the rate at which these resources trickle into your reserves.
DoW offers a twist in army management - squads. Infantry are requisitioned in squads of 1-5 units to start with, and can be commanded to recruit more members to increase a squad's capability. This recruitment can be done even in the middle of combat! Squads need not be monotonous - some members of a squad may be assigned different weapons from their comrades (as in a real-life army), and squad leaders may be assigned to them to improve their performance. Lastly, there are some infantry units that do not come in squads when they are created, but may join a squad, increasing their survival chances.
This is because squads take damage as a whole - the damage is distributed evenly to all members, as opposed to direct damage when attacking a unit that is acting alone, i.e., a vehicle. In the crudest terms, a squad is a meat shield for special infantry units, who more often than not are support units like medics or powerful attack units. The more members the meat shield has, the better.
Vehicles also can be tweaked - a Predator tank, for example, may exchange its main artillery gun for a laser cannon, in the same manner that a squad may be assigned weapons to deal with various situations. This customization to the point of twinkiness is a direct translation of the War Hammer 40,000 tabletop miniature game into the PC-RTS format (The minis game is turn-based.). The point-value limit of the tabletop game has been replaced with a Squad and Vehicle cap, which prevents massive rushes of generic troops to drown the enemy. Quantity is good, but quality is too. A 16-Ork attack force equipped only with axes and pistols is going to flounder when faced with an Eldar hovertank. An 8-strong Space Marine Squad, half of which are carrying Missile Launchers, with an Apothecary to heal wounds and a Sergeant with a Plasma Gun will take said hovertank down with only minor casualties.
It seems that researching upgrades for your units is a must for any strategy game that wishes to score in the market. It stands to reason - it is easier to maintain a small body of well-armed troops than a horde of spear-wielding peasants. DoW is not without this requisite, which is a trend that Blizzard's games started - if you don't research and upgrade, you die. Upgrades come in the form of extra weapons, special abilities, or in passive bonuses (say, to each unit's health).
My task here is done. Hopefully, I can move on to the wonderfully biased unit descriptions in my next posts.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
I didn't mean to allow so many days to pass after my last post, but I got sidetracked by Dawn of War. Dawn of War is a/an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game taking its elements from Games Workshop's WarHammer universe. The game has a campaign, skirmish mode (where you fight against AI), and multiplayer is supported (though I haven't tried it yet).
The WarHammer universe is big, and its different races are always at war with each other. The campaign puts you behind the reins of the Space Marines, Blood Ravens Chapter. They're pretty much your run-of-the-mill people in power suits that have high-tech weapons and gear, except that they have cybernetic implants. Space Marines have no sense of humor - you might get bored of hearing the same old "For the Emperor!" "The enemies of the Emperor will be crushed!" lines. I was wondering idly if there's a chapter (kinda like monks, their organization is) that has white power armor, and only its commanders wear black. The Space Marines have the nasty habits of hardwiring their crippled/maimed/disabled soldiers into humanoid weapons platforms (read: SUPAA ROBOTTO!), binding a protective spirit in each one of their super tanks, and dropping firepower, troopers, and aforementioned robots from their orbiting battleships. Crazy humans.
The first race you meet and massacre in the campaign are the Orks. Yes folks, that's Orks, not orcs, due to some wish to not be identified with Tolkien perhaps. Green-skinned people with a love of battle, no I'm not talking about the Hulk. Orks do not possess high levels of technology, preferring weapons that go bang, chop, boom, or burn. Only the smartest of them get the stuff that go zap and blink. Still, when it comes to close combat, they are a match with Space Marines and their strength-increasing armor. Their accuracy has a lot to be improved on, but when a full gang of Orks outnumbers a Space Marine squad 2:1, well, now... Their nasty habits include equipping every gang in the field with explosives of all sorts, strapping some huge guns on a big, BIG lizard, and using goblins as spies and workers. The Ork side is full of laughs - one of their heroes says "Where's my trukk? Why am I WALKING?!!!" The other hero says upon entering the field "I'ze the biggest, so I'ze DA BOSS!"
Next up on your plate are the fast yet frail Eldar. For those not in the know, 'Eldar' is WarHammer-speak for 'Elves.' They look tame and lame compared to Orks - none of them have siege capable infantry, i.e. soldiers that can deal significant damage to structures oustside of hand-to-hand combat. They make up for it with their vehicles - three are highly maneuverable hovertanks, and the other one is a humanoid weapon similar to what the Space Marines use. What Eldar infantry are best at is appearing suddenly and disappearing quickly - they run really fast, and they have teleportation gates. Did I mention that some Eldar structures also teleport? Talk about cheating. In fact, they so need to cheat badly, they can summon their war god to fight on the ground with them.
The last race / faction included in the game are the Chaos Marines. They're basically D3V1L W0RSH1PP1NG Space Marines, and its reflected in their structures' and units' look. Their version of the Space Marines' SUPAA ROBOTTO has four legs, two arms ending in pincers, and a horned helemet complete with glowing eyes perched on top of its hull. They can also summon daemons - in fact, one of their big plays is to sneak a squad in, undetected, to your HQ, then transform the squad leader into a Bloodthirster, one of Baphomet's meaner cousins. Oh yeah, summoning the big horned, winged guy doesn't kill the other members of the squad, so they can stick around and provide fire support for the big, strong and ugly guy. They're funny that way.
There is a 5th group, the Imperial Guard, who are in the campaign - you can't play as them in the skirmish and multiplayer modes. They're plot devices, literally. All they have going for them are their 15-man squads armed with grenade launchers, laser rifles, and plasma guns, and their cute tanks.
Graphics-wise and game-wise, Dawm of War has been described as a Warcraft killer. It's so easy to learn - the Space Marines that is, as the in-game tutorial puts you in command once again of a Space Marine force. It has camera controls that allow a player to zoom in and pan the view as they wish to really get up close to the action.
I'll discuss units in-depth on my next post.
The WarHammer universe is big, and its different races are always at war with each other. The campaign puts you behind the reins of the Space Marines, Blood Ravens Chapter. They're pretty much your run-of-the-mill people in power suits that have high-tech weapons and gear, except that they have cybernetic implants. Space Marines have no sense of humor - you might get bored of hearing the same old "For the Emperor!" "The enemies of the Emperor will be crushed!" lines. I was wondering idly if there's a chapter (kinda like monks, their organization is) that has white power armor, and only its commanders wear black. The Space Marines have the nasty habits of hardwiring their crippled/maimed/disabled soldiers into humanoid weapons platforms (read: SUPAA ROBOTTO!), binding a protective spirit in each one of their super tanks, and dropping firepower, troopers, and aforementioned robots from their orbiting battleships. Crazy humans.
The first race you meet and massacre in the campaign are the Orks. Yes folks, that's Orks, not orcs, due to some wish to not be identified with Tolkien perhaps. Green-skinned people with a love of battle, no I'm not talking about the Hulk. Orks do not possess high levels of technology, preferring weapons that go bang, chop, boom, or burn. Only the smartest of them get the stuff that go zap and blink. Still, when it comes to close combat, they are a match with Space Marines and their strength-increasing armor. Their accuracy has a lot to be improved on, but when a full gang of Orks outnumbers a Space Marine squad 2:1, well, now... Their nasty habits include equipping every gang in the field with explosives of all sorts, strapping some huge guns on a big, BIG lizard, and using goblins as spies and workers. The Ork side is full of laughs - one of their heroes says "Where's my trukk? Why am I WALKING?!!!" The other hero says upon entering the field "I'ze the biggest, so I'ze DA BOSS!"
Next up on your plate are the fast yet frail Eldar. For those not in the know, 'Eldar' is WarHammer-speak for 'Elves.' They look tame and lame compared to Orks - none of them have siege capable infantry, i.e. soldiers that can deal significant damage to structures oustside of hand-to-hand combat. They make up for it with their vehicles - three are highly maneuverable hovertanks, and the other one is a humanoid weapon similar to what the Space Marines use. What Eldar infantry are best at is appearing suddenly and disappearing quickly - they run really fast, and they have teleportation gates. Did I mention that some Eldar structures also teleport? Talk about cheating. In fact, they so need to cheat badly, they can summon their war god to fight on the ground with them.
The last race / faction included in the game are the Chaos Marines. They're basically D3V1L W0RSH1PP1NG Space Marines, and its reflected in their structures' and units' look. Their version of the Space Marines' SUPAA ROBOTTO has four legs, two arms ending in pincers, and a horned helemet complete with glowing eyes perched on top of its hull. They can also summon daemons - in fact, one of their big plays is to sneak a squad in, undetected, to your HQ, then transform the squad leader into a Bloodthirster, one of Baphomet's meaner cousins. Oh yeah, summoning the big horned, winged guy doesn't kill the other members of the squad, so they can stick around and provide fire support for the big, strong and ugly guy. They're funny that way.
There is a 5th group, the Imperial Guard, who are in the campaign - you can't play as them in the skirmish and multiplayer modes. They're plot devices, literally. All they have going for them are their 15-man squads armed with grenade launchers, laser rifles, and plasma guns, and their cute tanks.
Graphics-wise and game-wise, Dawm of War has been described as a Warcraft killer. It's so easy to learn - the Space Marines that is, as the in-game tutorial puts you in command once again of a Space Marine force. It has camera controls that allow a player to zoom in and pan the view as they wish to really get up close to the action.
I'll discuss units in-depth on my next post.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Mahou Senshi Louie
Fun crazy sh!t. Arguably one of a local channel's better moves, but then again, it has this penchant for showing magical, fantasy anime - heck, it's biggest primetime draw is a soap opera about bird-men with human problems.
My friend says that we're slowly retrograding back into the '80s. I can't say I don't like it, but if it means coming up with more soaps, I'll just go back to my old-school Japanese robots, thank you very much. But I digress.
This is supposed to be a Mahou Senshi, or Rune Soldier post. So it shall be. My expectations for this show were met, and more. After all, the commercial teasers promised one guy, and at least two girls (one for teenagers to gawk at, and the other one's lolicon bait) in a fantasy setting - reminiscent of Bakuretsu / Sorceror Hunters.
Louie is the adopted son of a mage academy's Head Wizard or somesuch (I didn't catch his title). You'd expect him to be a regular wimpy Merlin-wannabe, but no: he's got a lot of brawn, height, hair, and ignorance. Not "I'm-gonna-fireball-that-pile-of-orcs-pinning-down-my-buddy" but "I'm-gonna-skip-magic-school-and-just-booze-and-brawl-and-babe-around " ignorant. Reminds me a lot of myself, which is maybe why I love the show already. Or it could be the fact that he gets to travel with a lolicon bait thief, a sin-inspiring nun, and an Amazon swordswoman who prefers to fight in swim suits.
It's great to see anime that offers pantyshots during the opening to middle minutes of the first episode. I mean, big, hulking novice mage trips drunkenly on his feet, and snags thief-girl's skirt, exposing white cotton unmentionables? I bow. As far as first episodes go, Mahou Senshi's is a masterpiece - you get fanservice AND a lot of explanations without a feeling a lecture is going on.
Quick and dirty ep 1 summary -
SCENE 1: Merril (thief), Genie (fighter), and Melissa (cleric) find a trapdoor in some ruins. Thief skills won't open it though - they need a mage's magic! (A Knock spell, in Dungeons and Dragons parlance. Note that the character classes are old D&D as well.) They decide to call it a day and head back to town - the sudden appearance of regenerating monsters spurs them on.
SCENE 2: Merril wanders around town, looking for mage hangouts. She is suddenly ambushed by a bunch of women who demand if she has seen a tall, muscular guy with long hair. She tells them "he went that way" and points to where she came from, and the mob heads off. She sighs, and hears a man's voice thanking her for getting rid of those women. She turns around, and out of a fruit crate a tall, muscular guy with long hair stands up. He tries to buy her dinner in gratitude; refuses and turns away, he tries to stop her, trips drunkenly on his feet, and snags thief-girl's skirt - well, you pretty much know what happens after that. For those who can't tell, no they did not DO IT , she beat him silly and stalked off, muttering "Pervert" or something like it.
SCENE 3: Genie is confronting 3 punks with swords. Punks announce the extortion attempt; she says she'll just whip their asses. Suddenly, a new voice is heard (oh, really?) and says that if there's a fight going to happen, he wants in. A few seconds later the fight ensues, and the seemingly drunk brawler with long hair wipes the floor with the punks. One of them draws a sword, and is immediately dispatched by Genie. (She reminds me a lot of Kanna from Sakura Taisen - tall, buff, tanned, sexy in a scary way.) She harangues the brawler for fighting fist to sword, and the participants in the brief spat scatter as a watchman runs over to investigate the ruckus.
SCENE 4: Bar scene. Genie and Merill meet up in another bar with Melissa, a traveling cleric for the god of War. Talk of a divination ritual, ditzy nun jokes, then Merill says she heard that there's a tavern in the northern part of the city where the mages chill out at the end of the day, and the three decide to head there to recruit a female magic-user for their party.
SCENE 5: Another tavern. The three approach a woman drinking alone - yes, she's a mage, no, I don't do adventures, but a friend of mine might be able to help you. Said friend walks in - it's the drunk, long-haired pervert brawler from before! Ila introduces her friend Louie to the three adventurers. Melissa asks dazedly where they knew the guy from. Louie is brought up to speed, and says he'll gladly join the three. BZZZZT!!! Sorry, no men allowed. Tempers flare, Genie draws her sword, and Louie shows her a glowing red pearl (it's a delayed blast fireball) and tells her he's been ready for this fight, and not to come closer or the red gem will paralyze her. As he gloats about how good he is, he notices Ila and the other tavern patrons have taken cover.
Louie: Hey, Ila...
Ila: Louie, don't you pay attention to class? Red isn't paralysis, it's blue!
Louie: Ok, so what's this for?
Ila: Explosive....
Louie tries to get rid of the gem ASAP, but he trips again and drops the sucker. BOOOOMM!!!!
FAST FORWARD: Louie is bailed out of jail by the faithfuk Ila. They talk, and Louie tells her he's joining the three - their talk of not wanting to take him means that they think they are not fit company for one as him. He decides to sell his pitch to the cleric girl, who is preparing for a divination ritual. She wants to see the hero she will dedicate her life to, as adventuring members of her order are wont to do, becoming heroines in the process. Louie tries repeatedly to enter the cloister, but is defeated by staff-wielding nuns at each turn. He does get beyond the gate, and onto the roof of the cloister - only to be met by Genie and Merill, who are still pissed off at him and aren't willing to give him a chance to talk to Melissa. As they battle on the domed roof, Melissa is underneath, oblivious, as she stands naked in hip-deep water praying - nay, communing with her deity. Her deity tells her that the next person she lays eyes on will be the one whom she must dedicate herself to. On the roof, Louie pulls of a powerful desperation spell, meaning to finish the fight then and there. The spell looks good, there's a circle of light on the roof centered on him - when suddenly the spell goes haywire and the circle explodes, sending Louie up into the air and down the hole - yep. Straight into Melissa's prayer pool. Remember what the deity said? Yep. Mr. Tall, Brawny, and Bumbling. Her reaction? "NOOOOOOOO!!!"
There goes her dreams of offering herself to a brave and noble paladin. She gets stuck with a mage initiate who's better with his fists than with his spells.
The second episode makes his description worse - a perverted novice mage whose sword skills are on par with his magic skills, who nonetheless is still very deadly with his fists, especially if he flies into a white-eyed rage. Seriously. His irises go white, and he can take out those regenerating monsters from episode 1 with just his bare hands. Focusing mana in his fists? Maybe this guy should have been a monk. Or a martial artist. But perhaps they've already an overload of those in the Aniverse, which is why they used a guy like Louie instead.
Fun crazy sh!t. Arguably one of a local channel's better moves, but then again, it has this penchant for showing magical, fantasy anime - heck, it's biggest primetime draw is a soap opera about bird-men with human problems.
My friend says that we're slowly retrograding back into the '80s. I can't say I don't like it, but if it means coming up with more soaps, I'll just go back to my old-school Japanese robots, thank you very much. But I digress.
This is supposed to be a Mahou Senshi, or Rune Soldier post. So it shall be. My expectations for this show were met, and more. After all, the commercial teasers promised one guy, and at least two girls (one for teenagers to gawk at, and the other one's lolicon bait) in a fantasy setting - reminiscent of Bakuretsu / Sorceror Hunters.
Louie is the adopted son of a mage academy's Head Wizard or somesuch (I didn't catch his title). You'd expect him to be a regular wimpy Merlin-wannabe, but no: he's got a lot of brawn, height, hair, and ignorance. Not "I'm-gonna-fireball-that-pile-of-orcs-pinning-down-my-buddy" but "I'm-gonna-skip-magic-school-and-just-booze-and-brawl-and-babe-around " ignorant. Reminds me a lot of myself, which is maybe why I love the show already. Or it could be the fact that he gets to travel with a lolicon bait thief, a sin-inspiring nun, and an Amazon swordswoman who prefers to fight in swim suits.
It's great to see anime that offers pantyshots during the opening to middle minutes of the first episode. I mean, big, hulking novice mage trips drunkenly on his feet, and snags thief-girl's skirt, exposing white cotton unmentionables? I bow. As far as first episodes go, Mahou Senshi's is a masterpiece - you get fanservice AND a lot of explanations without a feeling a lecture is going on.
Quick and dirty ep 1 summary -
SCENE 1: Merril (thief), Genie (fighter), and Melissa (cleric) find a trapdoor in some ruins. Thief skills won't open it though - they need a mage's magic! (A Knock spell, in Dungeons and Dragons parlance. Note that the character classes are old D&D as well.) They decide to call it a day and head back to town - the sudden appearance of regenerating monsters spurs them on.
SCENE 2: Merril wanders around town, looking for mage hangouts. She is suddenly ambushed by a bunch of women who demand if she has seen a tall, muscular guy with long hair. She tells them "he went that way" and points to where she came from, and the mob heads off. She sighs, and hears a man's voice thanking her for getting rid of those women. She turns around, and out of a fruit crate a tall, muscular guy with long hair stands up. He tries to buy her dinner in gratitude; refuses and turns away, he tries to stop her, trips drunkenly on his feet, and snags thief-girl's skirt - well, you pretty much know what happens after that. For those who can't tell, no they did not DO IT , she beat him silly and stalked off, muttering "Pervert" or something like it.
SCENE 3: Genie is confronting 3 punks with swords. Punks announce the extortion attempt; she says she'll just whip their asses. Suddenly, a new voice is heard (oh, really?) and says that if there's a fight going to happen, he wants in. A few seconds later the fight ensues, and the seemingly drunk brawler with long hair wipes the floor with the punks. One of them draws a sword, and is immediately dispatched by Genie. (She reminds me a lot of Kanna from Sakura Taisen - tall, buff, tanned, sexy in a scary way.) She harangues the brawler for fighting fist to sword, and the participants in the brief spat scatter as a watchman runs over to investigate the ruckus.
SCENE 4: Bar scene. Genie and Merill meet up in another bar with Melissa, a traveling cleric for the god of War. Talk of a divination ritual, ditzy nun jokes, then Merill says she heard that there's a tavern in the northern part of the city where the mages chill out at the end of the day, and the three decide to head there to recruit a female magic-user for their party.
SCENE 5: Another tavern. The three approach a woman drinking alone - yes, she's a mage, no, I don't do adventures, but a friend of mine might be able to help you. Said friend walks in - it's the drunk, long-haired pervert brawler from before! Ila introduces her friend Louie to the three adventurers. Melissa asks dazedly where they knew the guy from. Louie is brought up to speed, and says he'll gladly join the three. BZZZZT!!! Sorry, no men allowed. Tempers flare, Genie draws her sword, and Louie shows her a glowing red pearl (it's a delayed blast fireball) and tells her he's been ready for this fight, and not to come closer or the red gem will paralyze her. As he gloats about how good he is, he notices Ila and the other tavern patrons have taken cover.
Louie: Hey, Ila...
Ila: Louie, don't you pay attention to class? Red isn't paralysis, it's blue!
Louie: Ok, so what's this for?
Ila: Explosive....
Louie tries to get rid of the gem ASAP, but he trips again and drops the sucker. BOOOOMM!!!!
FAST FORWARD: Louie is bailed out of jail by the faithfuk Ila. They talk, and Louie tells her he's joining the three - their talk of not wanting to take him means that they think they are not fit company for one as him. He decides to sell his pitch to the cleric girl, who is preparing for a divination ritual. She wants to see the hero she will dedicate her life to, as adventuring members of her order are wont to do, becoming heroines in the process. Louie tries repeatedly to enter the cloister, but is defeated by staff-wielding nuns at each turn. He does get beyond the gate, and onto the roof of the cloister - only to be met by Genie and Merill, who are still pissed off at him and aren't willing to give him a chance to talk to Melissa. As they battle on the domed roof, Melissa is underneath, oblivious, as she stands naked in hip-deep water praying - nay, communing with her deity. Her deity tells her that the next person she lays eyes on will be the one whom she must dedicate herself to. On the roof, Louie pulls of a powerful desperation spell, meaning to finish the fight then and there. The spell looks good, there's a circle of light on the roof centered on him - when suddenly the spell goes haywire and the circle explodes, sending Louie up into the air and down the hole - yep. Straight into Melissa's prayer pool. Remember what the deity said? Yep. Mr. Tall, Brawny, and Bumbling. Her reaction? "NOOOOOOOO!!!"
There goes her dreams of offering herself to a brave and noble paladin. She gets stuck with a mage initiate who's better with his fists than with his spells.
The second episode makes his description worse - a perverted novice mage whose sword skills are on par with his magic skills, who nonetheless is still very deadly with his fists, especially if he flies into a white-eyed rage. Seriously. His irises go white, and he can take out those regenerating monsters from episode 1 with just his bare hands. Focusing mana in his fists? Maybe this guy should have been a monk. Or a martial artist. But perhaps they've already an overload of those in the Aniverse, which is why they used a guy like Louie instead.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
My 1st post got erased. Sigh. You'll have to settle for the abbreviated version below:
8:00 AM - Ensuring the ATX team and their friends didn't die prematurely.
9:30 AM - The Call. (Listen baby I’m sorry. Just wanna tell you don’t worry. I will be late, don’t stay up and wait for me. Say again, you’re dropping out, my battery is low. Just so you know, we’re going to a place nearby.Gotta go!) Dammit, where did that come from?!?! It was my dad calling for assistance with a spreadsheet.
10:00 AM - I go, I go, I go, I go, I go.
11:00 AM - The cavalry AKA me, has arrived. Off I go then.
12:00 AM - Lunch at a chicken restaurant, where my meal which cost PhP 120 was charged against a government agency's budget. Sweet! I feel so evil!!!
I spent the afternoon at the shop, getting information and data from the Net.
I hope these guys make it into SRW OG 2. This baby is confirmed in, as is its drool-worthy pilot.
8:00 AM - Ensuring the ATX team and their friends didn't die prematurely.
9:30 AM - The Call. (Listen baby I’m sorry. Just wanna tell you don’t worry. I will be late, don’t stay up and wait for me. Say again, you’re dropping out, my battery is low. Just so you know, we’re going to a place nearby.Gotta go!) Dammit, where did that come from?!?! It was my dad calling for assistance with a spreadsheet.
10:00 AM - I go, I go, I go, I go, I go.
11:00 AM - The cavalry AKA me, has arrived. Off I go then.
12:00 AM - Lunch at a chicken restaurant, where my meal which cost PhP 120 was charged against a government agency's budget. Sweet! I feel so evil!!!
I spent the afternoon at the shop, getting information and data from the Net.
I hope these guys make it into SRW OG 2. This baby is confirmed in, as is its drool-worthy pilot.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
My head hurts. Pressure is mounting.
Today the shop was visited by a couple frat tools.
Up till now, I still don't get it. Why people need to be paddled a dozen times or more so that they can be considered as members of an institution of dubious repute. And why some people believe that they need it.
Baka baka.
The frat tools wanted to print out their initiation rites programme - y'know, like the one for graduations, or weddings, or plays - they had a programme for hazing.
That's right - hazing. Part of the document that I remembered, which of course any members of the so-called fraternity will deny, follows:
I LOVE TAU ................................................... 1 PADDLE
I LOVE TAU GAMMA .................................. 1 PADDLE
Of course, if my organization had some stuff like this written down in its rules , I'd purge the Recent Documents folder of the document I had to print, too. Just like what those frat scum did.
Today the shop was visited by a couple frat tools.
Up till now, I still don't get it. Why people need to be paddled a dozen times or more so that they can be considered as members of an institution of dubious repute. And why some people believe that they need it.
Baka baka.
The frat tools wanted to print out their initiation rites programme - y'know, like the one for graduations, or weddings, or plays - they had a programme for hazing.
That's right - hazing. Part of the document that I remembered, which of course any members of the so-called fraternity will deny, follows:
I LOVE TAU ................................................... 1 PADDLE
I LOVE TAU GAMMA .................................. 1 PADDLE
Of course, if my organization had some stuff like this written down in its rules , I'd purge the Recent Documents folder of the document I had to print, too. Just like what those frat scum did.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Sunday, September 19, 2004
It's Saturday again. Which means that I'm imprisoned once more in our PC rental shop, trying not to go psychotic as I deal with a neurotic Epson Stylus Color printer and electronic escape junkies. Doing absoultely 0% work on my thesis, as a result.
Today is a cloudy day. I just checked the window after hearing a boom of thunder - there goes another one. Sigh.
If I told my mother that I hated watching the shop, she'll probably banish me from it until it closes down. It's not the watching per se that I detest, but the people.
Topping my list are those gaming addicts that don't even bother letting you know that they're gonna sit down and escape for a few minutes (or hours) from reality. Whenever this happens, I just glare at them, but when they make it so that they slip in behind a console while I'm dealing with the neurotic Epson, I lose it and let loose some some of my frustration.
Next on my list are those kids that I hear for the whole school week don't go to their classes and spend their allowances on us instead. Now, that may sound hypocritical, seeing as they're giving us they're money instead of those evil school canteens that make evil food, (food that doesn't taste good, or tastes good but still leaves you hungry after finishing it) but I really want to ask them point-blank: Hindi ka pa ba nagsasawa? Araw-araw na may pasok na ginawa ng Diyos nandito ka, tapos ngayon andito ka na naman? (Every God-forsaken school day, you're here, and now, Saturday, you're here again?)
Following a close third are those kids that like to aim the industrial fans steady at themselves and not let the fans sweep the room. I'm like, "Did you learn nothing from kindergarten, or first grade?" Those kids tick me off.
I take a good look out the window - what the heck, it's sunny again! It's hot as blazes, it's humid, clouds cover the skies in the distance, but the sun is shining! I'll go take another look.
(Leaves computer to peer out the window.)
(Returns to computer to write some more.)
It's your typical 2:30 afternoon in Quezon City - hot, sunny, bright. No more thunderclaps and dark clouds in the vicinity. As I type, a small break in my skin (courtesy of punching the side of the Epson) sends out little stingers of pain. It's not bleeding anymore.
Today is a cloudy day. I just checked the window after hearing a boom of thunder - there goes another one. Sigh.
If I told my mother that I hated watching the shop, she'll probably banish me from it until it closes down. It's not the watching per se that I detest, but the people.
Topping my list are those gaming addicts that don't even bother letting you know that they're gonna sit down and escape for a few minutes (or hours) from reality. Whenever this happens, I just glare at them, but when they make it so that they slip in behind a console while I'm dealing with the neurotic Epson, I lose it and let loose some some of my frustration.
Next on my list are those kids that I hear for the whole school week don't go to their classes and spend their allowances on us instead. Now, that may sound hypocritical, seeing as they're giving us they're money instead of those evil school canteens that make evil food, (food that doesn't taste good, or tastes good but still leaves you hungry after finishing it) but I really want to ask them point-blank: Hindi ka pa ba nagsasawa? Araw-araw na may pasok na ginawa ng Diyos nandito ka, tapos ngayon andito ka na naman? (Every God-forsaken school day, you're here, and now, Saturday, you're here again?)
Following a close third are those kids that like to aim the industrial fans steady at themselves and not let the fans sweep the room. I'm like, "Did you learn nothing from kindergarten, or first grade?" Those kids tick me off.
I take a good look out the window - what the heck, it's sunny again! It's hot as blazes, it's humid, clouds cover the skies in the distance, but the sun is shining! I'll go take another look.
(Leaves computer to peer out the window.)
(Returns to computer to write some more.)
It's your typical 2:30 afternoon in Quezon City - hot, sunny, bright. No more thunderclaps and dark clouds in the vicinity. As I type, a small break in my skin (courtesy of punching the side of the Epson) sends out little stingers of pain. It's not bleeding anymore.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
I'm writing again. No, that's not totally true - I'm back to writing in my blog again. Not that there's anything earth-shaking to write about, in my point of view.
During my absence, I seem to have gotten myself a girlfriend along the way, muddled through a change in majors, and have landed in graduating class.
I've been addicted to online gaming, MMORPGs in particular. Especially the ones that are free. Free is good. As my brother would say, free is beer.
I don't drink beer. It doesn't agree with me - no sort of drinking alcohol does. Sadly, the same could be said to those MMORPGs that I've recently discovered.
I am vehemently anti-PK, no matter how much the bastard deserves it. (For those not in the know, PK stands for Player Killing - instead of hunting down monsters, PKers prey on weak and weak-looking players. This sub-race of gamers really makes me wish I was a hacker - I'd have wiped them guys out but good.) Too often, Pking and PKers abound in those games that are free - which is a sick sorta thing. Cases in point - Mu Online, Conquest Online, and from the look of the control panel, Sky Blade.
I mean, what the fuck is up with those sickos? I can understand wanting revenge for some guy bad-mouthing you, or killing monsters you've worked so hard to bring to near death (known as Kill-Stealing or KS), or stealing the items that your kill dropped (known as Looting), but damn it all, lashing out against bystanders?
I guess one could look at MMORPGs as a medium for those immature individuals to let loose their psychotic, anti-social, sociopathic, and homicidal tendencies. If viewed that way, the RPG in MMORPG for them then translates to "let's go kill other people online because I can't get away with it in the real world."
Sucm-of-the-earth PKers might argue that they ARE playing a role, that of a bad guy. A villain. After all, what fantasy world would be complete without them, right? If that's their case, why don't they just sit in a corner and stick their thumbs into their noses? Kahit sila ang tanungin mo, they would not like the idea of some other person sitting by a keyboard over-killing them just for the sheer hell of it. So, why do they persist?
Power-tripping? Perhaps. Most likely. In a way, it's saying, "Nya, nya, I can do whatever I want, like kill you, so hah." Wow, that's so mature, Pointdexter, now it's time for you to go back to watching Sesame Street.
What it seems to me is, it smacks of noobery (the practice of being a noob, a newb = newbie, aka first-time player) not just in the gaming world but in the real one as well. Ultimately, no matter how many other players PKers send to their Maker, sadly, it won't make their penises grow. Not even an inch.
During my absence, I seem to have gotten myself a girlfriend along the way, muddled through a change in majors, and have landed in graduating class.
I've been addicted to online gaming, MMORPGs in particular. Especially the ones that are free. Free is good. As my brother would say, free is beer.
I don't drink beer. It doesn't agree with me - no sort of drinking alcohol does. Sadly, the same could be said to those MMORPGs that I've recently discovered.
I am vehemently anti-PK, no matter how much the bastard deserves it. (For those not in the know, PK stands for Player Killing - instead of hunting down monsters, PKers prey on weak and weak-looking players. This sub-race of gamers really makes me wish I was a hacker - I'd have wiped them guys out but good.) Too often, Pking and PKers abound in those games that are free - which is a sick sorta thing. Cases in point - Mu Online, Conquest Online, and from the look of the control panel, Sky Blade.
I mean, what the fuck is up with those sickos? I can understand wanting revenge for some guy bad-mouthing you, or killing monsters you've worked so hard to bring to near death (known as Kill-Stealing or KS), or stealing the items that your kill dropped (known as Looting), but damn it all, lashing out against bystanders?
I guess one could look at MMORPGs as a medium for those immature individuals to let loose their psychotic, anti-social, sociopathic, and homicidal tendencies. If viewed that way, the RPG in MMORPG for them then translates to "let's go kill other people online because I can't get away with it in the real world."
Sucm-of-the-earth PKers might argue that they ARE playing a role, that of a bad guy. A villain. After all, what fantasy world would be complete without them, right? If that's their case, why don't they just sit in a corner and stick their thumbs into their noses? Kahit sila ang tanungin mo, they would not like the idea of some other person sitting by a keyboard over-killing them just for the sheer hell of it. So, why do they persist?
Power-tripping? Perhaps. Most likely. In a way, it's saying, "Nya, nya, I can do whatever I want, like kill you, so hah." Wow, that's so mature, Pointdexter, now it's time for you to go back to watching Sesame Street.
What it seems to me is, it smacks of noobery (the practice of being a noob, a newb = newbie, aka first-time player) not just in the gaming world but in the real one as well. Ultimately, no matter how many other players PKers send to their Maker, sadly, it won't make their penises grow. Not even an inch.
Monday, March 01, 2004
I've been playing a lot of Gun Bound lately. I'm already a Double Wood Hammer, with 1530+ GP (Gun Points, or experience for rpg palyers). The weird shit is, according to the ranking system, I should be a Stone Axe/Hammer by now, and should be eligible for a free gift of a Space Marine Helmet and Jacket. It's been 2 days since I hit 1500 GP, and still no equipment.
On the plus side, this last Sunday I picked random 3 times, and in one I got the Dragon, after that a Turtle (ugh) and then, I got the Knight! Never mind the Turtle, the Dragon and and Knight can only appear with a 1 in 16 chance for either one of them, bringing the grand probability of getting them secret mobiles a 1 in 32!
I enjoyed playing with both secret mobiles. The Dragon was simply awesome. Sure, I got killed by a Boomer Machine and a J.D. who teamed up on me, but I killed both of them after I respawned. Tactics? Get up close, use a Dual and not a Dual+, and let them have it full force in the face with the second weapon. The first time I did it, the Boomer Machine got a red lifebar and the J.D. was half-melted. Next turn they both fire on me, bringing me to critical as well, but I managed to knock off the J.D. before getting shot in the back by a Grub. One of my allies KSed the Boomer from me. (KS=kill steal, AKA sawsaw) Not that I minded much, though. My plan was to damage them all ASAP and have my buddies kill them in rapid succession, preferably within 3-4 turns.
Ally1 Ally 2 Grub Me(DRAGON) Boomer J.D. [Melee, anyone?]
This was the setup. So I died, respawned in the same spot, and with my second Dual fire breath I killed the J.D. in one turn. Probably due to the fact that the J.D. is vulnerable to Hit-class weapons, which the Dragon's breath weapons are. I received an Excellent shot bonus, a 1000 damage bonus, and a Finish bonus for that game-winning fire blast. The reactions of the 3 enemies in the preparation room when they saw my mobile were priceless, as were the other people playing near my console. OMG, OMFG, WOW, among other things.
Playing the Knight was weird. I really looked like a Knight, because the mobile was a white horse with gold highlights and a sword floating over it. Downside was, it plays like the A. Sate. The A. Sate attacks by dropping beacons near you; lasers from the satellite above it home in on the beacons. In the Knight's case, it fires mini-swords. The Knight's SS (that's Special Skill/ Super Shot) also looks like the A. Sate's; a huge beacon is thrown, and a lot of swords rain straight down on the spot where the beacon lands. I managed to do 500+ damage with it, which makes me want to try and practice with A. Sate some more. Also, the Knight has astounding armor and/or life. Being a Machine-type, it's supposed to be vulnerable to electricity, but 150+ pts of damage from the J.D. I was fighting (who cursed every time my sword missiles hit) didn't look like much on my lifebar.
Oh well, la. Not everyday is a Sunday, leh.
On the plus side, this last Sunday I picked random 3 times, and in one I got the Dragon, after that a Turtle (ugh) and then, I got the Knight! Never mind the Turtle, the Dragon and and Knight can only appear with a 1 in 16 chance for either one of them, bringing the grand probability of getting them secret mobiles a 1 in 32!
I enjoyed playing with both secret mobiles. The Dragon was simply awesome. Sure, I got killed by a Boomer Machine and a J.D. who teamed up on me, but I killed both of them after I respawned. Tactics? Get up close, use a Dual and not a Dual+, and let them have it full force in the face with the second weapon. The first time I did it, the Boomer Machine got a red lifebar and the J.D. was half-melted. Next turn they both fire on me, bringing me to critical as well, but I managed to knock off the J.D. before getting shot in the back by a Grub. One of my allies KSed the Boomer from me. (KS=kill steal, AKA sawsaw) Not that I minded much, though. My plan was to damage them all ASAP and have my buddies kill them in rapid succession, preferably within 3-4 turns.
Ally1 Ally 2 Grub Me(DRAGON) Boomer J.D. [Melee, anyone?]
This was the setup. So I died, respawned in the same spot, and with my second Dual fire breath I killed the J.D. in one turn. Probably due to the fact that the J.D. is vulnerable to Hit-class weapons, which the Dragon's breath weapons are. I received an Excellent shot bonus, a 1000 damage bonus, and a Finish bonus for that game-winning fire blast. The reactions of the 3 enemies in the preparation room when they saw my mobile were priceless, as were the other people playing near my console. OMG, OMFG, WOW, among other things.
Playing the Knight was weird. I really looked like a Knight, because the mobile was a white horse with gold highlights and a sword floating over it. Downside was, it plays like the A. Sate. The A. Sate attacks by dropping beacons near you; lasers from the satellite above it home in on the beacons. In the Knight's case, it fires mini-swords. The Knight's SS (that's Special Skill/ Super Shot) also looks like the A. Sate's; a huge beacon is thrown, and a lot of swords rain straight down on the spot where the beacon lands. I managed to do 500+ damage with it, which makes me want to try and practice with A. Sate some more. Also, the Knight has astounding armor and/or life. Being a Machine-type, it's supposed to be vulnerable to electricity, but 150+ pts of damage from the J.D. I was fighting (who cursed every time my sword missiles hit) didn't look like much on my lifebar.
Oh well, la. Not everyday is a Sunday, leh.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
I've decided to stop playing Ragnarok Online. I've gotten a new online addiction: Gunbound. At wrst, it could be described as Worms or Scorched Earth online. The gameplay is the same, mostly. Your choice of "Mobile" (as your units are called), as well as the stuff your avatar is wearing affect the gameplay. Basically, you enter a waiting room, select your mobile, take some consumable items for the match and you're set. Outside of a game lobby, you can purchase stuff like helmets and armor to increase your stats. Sounds wonderful? It is. If you have the gold for them that is, which can be gotten by winning matches inside the rooms. Matches can be up to 4v4, with 3 fun common variants. Tag makes you choose a "spare" Mobile which you can switch to in the middle of a match, which come sinto play with only 50% of its total life. Still, better than dead the next enemy turn! Solo is single death elimination, and Score gives a team a limited number of respawns or lives. That is, say in a 5 score match, if you number of deaths a team receives equals five or more (I've seen double-kills happen) they lose, despite say they all have healthy Mobiles left. The quickest way to score a kill? Blow up the terrain below them to send them plummeting to death. You don't get a gold bonus for the kill, but in team games, it's better to set personal gains aside for a while.
Gameplay? Up and down raise and lower your angle of attack, left and right makes you move over the terrain, and holding down the spacebar makes a slider move, which corresponds to the force your projectile is thrown. Each Mobile has 2 normal shots and a Super shot. Given 15 Mobiles, plus a load of items make each opponent unique. At okey lang sumawsaw, in fact it's encouraged. Unless may mayabang na naghamon ng 1v1 sa gitna ng battlefield. And yes, buhay pa rin ang walang kamatayang trashtalking. Hay!
Gameplay? Up and down raise and lower your angle of attack, left and right makes you move over the terrain, and holding down the spacebar makes a slider move, which corresponds to the force your projectile is thrown. Each Mobile has 2 normal shots and a Super shot. Given 15 Mobiles, plus a load of items make each opponent unique. At okey lang sumawsaw, in fact it's encouraged. Unless may mayabang na naghamon ng 1v1 sa gitna ng battlefield. And yes, buhay pa rin ang walang kamatayang trashtalking. Hay!
Monday, February 16, 2004
I need a computer of my own. Specs? Preferably Pentium 4, 1.6 GHz speed, 20 GB+ HD space, 16 MB video card, and running Windows 95. 48x CD drive, or maybe a DVD drive. Modem. Gotta have a modem, and the necessary etceteras for Internet surfing. And right now, a printer. What am I gonna use it for? Hentai, non-hentai, and maybe write up some fan fiction and print out my thesis. There. Not too much to ask for is it? Yet the gods do not answer my prayers.
There is a Nantuko teaching that says, "Unanswered prayers are answers themselves." The question I suppose, is what are you going to do about it, young grasshopper?
There is a Nantuko teaching that says, "Unanswered prayers are answers themselves." The question I suppose, is what are you going to do about it, young grasshopper?
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Back from the dead again. I'm glad I still remember my account details. I'm glad I'm still alive.
What do I tell you? I've recently been to an anime showing, where I saw Full Metal Panic 2 (Ep 1), Ai Yori Aoshi (Ep 1), an Inu-Yasha movie, and Meitantei Loki Ragnarok. Did I leave something out? Well, I got a peek at Last Exile, but I didn't like the art [translation: no stereotypical cute babes] so I skipped out on it. I know: I'll give you a few-liner about each one!
Full Metal Panic 2: I loved the first, and I think I'm gonna love the sequel, no matter what my friend James says. Not liking a show just because of one character is stupid and is a mark of narrow-mindedness, but I guess that 3-pt Flaw balances the 2-pt Merit Tinker and the 1-pt Merit Trained Memory. Back to the series. :) SPOILER WARNING!!! The story takes place after 17-y.o. Sousuke Sagara defeats the terrorrist Gaul in a climatic battle on the deck of the Mithril HQ /submarine amid a raging storm. He is now enrolled in the same school as Kaname Chidori, the girl he was assigned to protect while serving under Mithril. There are rumors of the school being bribed just to admit our teenage super soldier with no civilian skills except playing basketball. In FMP 2, no terrorist hunting for a while, just the crew being normal students for once. Kaname for the moment forgets that she's a Whispered, and resumes the life she had before Mithril. I expect the other cast members of season 1 to make an appearance soon, judging from the opening and closing clips. The 99% assured enrollment of Tessa Testarossa, Sousuke's CO who confessed love for him to Kaname back in season 1(!!) has made me and my friend call FMP2 as "Seasons of the Sagara," a play on a classic JAST dating/ecchi game. Incidentally, according to my friend Ian, GONZO's pool of artists had some former JAST people...
Ai Yori Aoshi: Known as AYA worldwide, this is, as my friend puts it, mush. Good mush. I like good mush. The set-up: childhood sweethearts living under the same roof, with a bunch of other women in the household who aren't relatives. Sounds like Love Hina? It sure does. I mean, what other series has the lead female taking her clothes off in front of the camera in just the first episode? No wonder I like it. :) Not as sexually overloaded as Love Hina, but as I've seen on some sites on the net, the sex is still there, just buried beneath the rather serious storyline.
Inu-Yasha movie: Has the gang fighting two powerful fiends, Naraku, the main villain of the series, and another demon named Kaguya, who is masquerading as a celestial princess. Basically, a three-part TV episode. You have the usual Kagome-Inuyasha fights, the usual Sango-Miroku groping scenes, the usual cowardly Shippo...
Meitantei Loki Ragnarok: think Card Captor Sakura with a boy instead. Instead of a key that turns into a staff, Loki just conjures his using the time that Sakura would spend morphing her key. Instead of cards, throw in Norse characters, like thunder-god Thor masquerading as a fastfood cook, his mighty hammer Mjolnir transformed into a bokken. And yes, Loki gets a cute sidekick/pet, which he summoned by himself, and this pet has already been under a girl's nightgown. Lucky little cute bugger... :) Judging from the ending sequence, Loki will pull of a Yukito/Yue in the future, growing tall and sprouting wings.
That's it for now. I'm going to gloat about having foud some interesting AYA pics on the net and some H-game images now. Until then...
What do I tell you? I've recently been to an anime showing, where I saw Full Metal Panic 2 (Ep 1), Ai Yori Aoshi (Ep 1), an Inu-Yasha movie, and Meitantei Loki Ragnarok. Did I leave something out? Well, I got a peek at Last Exile, but I didn't like the art [translation: no stereotypical cute babes] so I skipped out on it. I know: I'll give you a few-liner about each one!
Full Metal Panic 2: I loved the first, and I think I'm gonna love the sequel, no matter what my friend James says. Not liking a show just because of one character is stupid and is a mark of narrow-mindedness, but I guess that 3-pt Flaw balances the 2-pt Merit Tinker and the 1-pt Merit Trained Memory. Back to the series. :) SPOILER WARNING!!! The story takes place after 17-y.o. Sousuke Sagara defeats the terrorrist Gaul in a climatic battle on the deck of the Mithril HQ /submarine amid a raging storm. He is now enrolled in the same school as Kaname Chidori, the girl he was assigned to protect while serving under Mithril. There are rumors of the school being bribed just to admit our teenage super soldier with no civilian skills except playing basketball. In FMP 2, no terrorist hunting for a while, just the crew being normal students for once. Kaname for the moment forgets that she's a Whispered, and resumes the life she had before Mithril. I expect the other cast members of season 1 to make an appearance soon, judging from the opening and closing clips. The 99% assured enrollment of Tessa Testarossa, Sousuke's CO who confessed love for him to Kaname back in season 1(!!) has made me and my friend call FMP2 as "Seasons of the Sagara," a play on a classic JAST dating/ecchi game. Incidentally, according to my friend Ian, GONZO's pool of artists had some former JAST people...
Ai Yori Aoshi: Known as AYA worldwide, this is, as my friend puts it, mush. Good mush. I like good mush. The set-up: childhood sweethearts living under the same roof, with a bunch of other women in the household who aren't relatives. Sounds like Love Hina? It sure does. I mean, what other series has the lead female taking her clothes off in front of the camera in just the first episode? No wonder I like it. :) Not as sexually overloaded as Love Hina, but as I've seen on some sites on the net, the sex is still there, just buried beneath the rather serious storyline.
Inu-Yasha movie: Has the gang fighting two powerful fiends, Naraku, the main villain of the series, and another demon named Kaguya, who is masquerading as a celestial princess. Basically, a three-part TV episode. You have the usual Kagome-Inuyasha fights, the usual Sango-Miroku groping scenes, the usual cowardly Shippo...
Meitantei Loki Ragnarok: think Card Captor Sakura with a boy instead. Instead of a key that turns into a staff, Loki just conjures his using the time that Sakura would spend morphing her key. Instead of cards, throw in Norse characters, like thunder-god Thor masquerading as a fastfood cook, his mighty hammer Mjolnir transformed into a bokken. And yes, Loki gets a cute sidekick/pet, which he summoned by himself, and this pet has already been under a girl's nightgown. Lucky little cute bugger... :) Judging from the ending sequence, Loki will pull of a Yukito/Yue in the future, growing tall and sprouting wings.
That's it for now. I'm going to gloat about having foud some interesting AYA pics on the net and some H-game images now. Until then...
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