Duck in the box

March 3rd, 2008

Yes, I am alive!

3/3/08 04:52 pm

Goodness, I'm lazy. I've managed to do a whole term at uni and not post anything. Maybe I should lie and say I was in a coma, or I was in rehab with problems to do with excessive eating.
As far as I know, only one of my group of friends has settled into a true student lifestyle. He now gives the impression of being dependent on alcohol, and he has the ability to drink an entire bottle of wine to himself and not get drunk. Why he wastes time sitting in classrooms between parties I'll never know.
My first term was a bit rubbish, since I was living in a shared room with a rather inconsiderate room mate, who liked to crash through the door at 2am every morning, have all of her friends over which was rather intimidating since they outnumbered me and were all speaking Chinese, and not speak to me at all. I've since moved to my own room, and things are a lot more enjoyable. It's such a relief to have one's own personal space. Also trying to slip fanfic writing and the internet (besides trawling around youtube) back into my schedule.

Mass Effect is the coolest game ever! Am a slight sucker for player insertion games; my brother says he feels oddly affronted whenever he sees someone else's Shepard and it differs so much to his. He also says my Shepard is too pretty, but I think a large part of that is I made her blonde. Strangely, just about everyone I know plays a female Shepard. Garrus is the best party member, because there's something inherently cool about turians. And vanguard ftw! But then I do have a slightly gung-ho attitude...
Apparently Dynasty Warriors 6 is out in America, little bit foggy on that one. Looks quite cool, but then I always get this excited about a new Dynasty Warriors game and it quickly fizzles out once I get the bloody thing. I like Xiao Qiao's new design and the new battle system looks quite cool, and that's all I was really worried about. The new designs are all a bit hit-and-miss; a lot of the characters all look very similar, but some of the designs are just awful. My brothe was quite annoyed about Pang Tong's new design, but my hatred for Sun Shang Xiang has deepened with this instalment. I found her really annoying to begin with, but I liked her outfits. I don't know what the hell she's wearing now, and it looks like her story mode focuses on her marriage to Liu Bei, so it's probably going to involve lots of tedious and unconvincing whinging. I would really quite like a good Zhou Yu x Xiao Qiao fic, but I've not seen any good ones that have been updated within the last three years. Dynasty Warriors' character portrayals tend to be very shallow, and there's not much to go on, so the majority of Xiao Qiao interpretations in fanfics tend to be really annoying [and shallow]. It might be fun to delve into some Dynasty Warriors fanfiction, but I'd rather avoid combat scenes, and I'm not sure how exactly I would maintain the reader's interest with drama alone.

Went to see Be Kind Rewind this weekend (also had a lovely meal with the boyfriend, which involved grilled goat's cheese and sea food *yum* and quaffing an awful lot of wine and getting very drunk and silly). 'Twas silly and funny, as one must expect of anything with Jack Black involved. However, I must say that I was impatient to see more of the sweded films; easily the best bits was the filming of various films - Ghostbusters, Robocop, Rush Hour... - and I felt a bit disappointed when we were summoned swiftly back to Plot Land: the Special Law That a Film Must Have a Coherent Storyline the Telling Of Which Must Outweigh the Silly Fun.

Have planned out chapters 20 - 30, and rewritten some earlier sections. An update around April would be nice, since I get a month off there, but I will that month's holiday to revise for my exams, avidly practice my violin and play Mass Effect.

Current Mood: awake

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September 19th, 2007

Going soon...

9/19/07 11:21 am

My parents return from holiday, by which time I should be just about packed and ready to go. Then I go on Saturday.
Slightly worried though; there are three important items I am expecting in the post. The first is a laptop; unfortunately, it's Windows Vista because that really was all we could get, though I'd quite like to have my laptop set up before I leave. The second is log-in details I need to get my student loan. The third are all the books I should have read before I go. Apparently none of them are going to arrive until after I've gone. So darn.

I noticed that teasers of Soul Calibur IV have popped into my existence without my noticing. I've always loved the 'Soul' series. Soul Calibur ranks up among my favourite games ever, and I wish I still had a Dreamcast to play it on. Then Soul Calibur II took ages to come out, didn't look or play any better than its predecessor, and featured a little too much tits and arse. Then Soul Calibur III (I like to think Soul Calibur II never happened, and they got the numbers wrong) came out as an apology. Now Soul Calibur IV is looking to have the fanserviceyness whiff of Soul Calibur II. It's like, the majority of game designers not just Soul Calibur, have been told what a woman is, had one described, but have never actually met one. Have these big game people not noticed that half the world's population are penisless? I did read a rather amusing comment regarding Soul Calibur IV, which said something along the lines of all the other characters have had their breasts enlarged to Ivy's original size, and Ivy, not to be out-done, has opted for a life of spinal problems. Although each one of Sophitia's breasts is bigger than her whole head, so...
But yes, I'm sure if you step outside, you'll notice that it is very rare that a woman has breasts that big without having a matching huge belly, and you might also notice that nobody dresses like that. Seriously, go to a gym or a martial arts tournament, and you'll notice none of the women are wearing high heels and leather thongs and tops that only just cover their nipples.

I've just finished another Austen book, and it's been affecting the way I speak (much to amusement of my boyfriend; I'd like to think he finds it endearing...). Emma was awesome. I also like that it was apparently Austen's attempt to write a character only she could ever possibly like; however, the result was not that she wrote an unlikeable character, but a believable one. She was very real, and people have loved her for it. This is really a lesson to Sue-writers. It seems to take real courage to give a character real vices; while I've been quite proud of my own characters, I think they do lack any real flaws, and I need to fix them of this shallowness. But yes, I also like the general message of the story. The main one that I managed to spot without my mother's assistance was the virtue of being open and honest. Some of the more prominent characters have secrets, and it does them no favours to conceal them, especially from themselves. The other, that my mother pointed out to me, is that Emma is self-righteous, smug and proud, but she's also very charming. People are charmed by her airs and grace, but Mr Knightley sees her for what she is... and still loves her. There is also the fact that Mr Knightley is absolutely brilliant.

I am retconning the hell out of my little bitch of a story. Unfortunately, this process does involve reading it again, which is so painful and embarassing.

September 13th, 2007

Thundercats ho!

9/13/07 12:56 pm

A while ago, I spotted a Thundercats box set in a shop in Plymouth: the first thirty or so episodes of season one. For just £15! I had to get it (unfortunately, while I was rummaging around for my wallet, my boyfriend had taken it and purchased it for me. The bastard!).
My brother adored Thundercats when he was little, and we still have the Thundercats movie on video tape. It's been watched to death, so the quality isn't stunning. I am always amused to see on the copyright notes that it came out in 1985 and still charms me to this day. But before that horrible boyfriend of mine bought me the box set of the series, I'd only seen the fim.

But yes, the series. There is a definite pattern to the early episodes:
1. The Thundercats are doing something productive at their base. One of them comments that Lion-o's wandering around on his own somewhere.
2. Cut to Lion-o wandering around on his own somewhere. Snarf's usually with him too.
3. Lion-o will encounter some kind of difficulty. He'll handle it quite well on his own (increasingly as the series progresses), then it'll get to a point where it's too tricky, and he summons the other Thundercats.
4. The other Thundercats show up and mop up the bad guys with such evident ease.
Although as it all progresses, Lion-o gets so good that by the time the Thundercats arrive, he's usually mopped everything up.
But it must the said, the other Thundercats seem to be quite cheap at the start of the series. Panthro's a big muscly guy who can fight really well (yes, that is his power, and it works really well), who built the Thundertank and apparently has some sort of precognition power, since he seems to have upgraded the Thundertank with the exact thing they need, ie. they see the cat signal, and oh no it's in the middle of the ocean! But the Thundertank is now also a submarine... Tygra's also a really good fighter, and has the added bonus of being able to turn invisible and use his bolar whip with sickening accuracy. Cheetara has a magical stick that can seemingly do just about anything, and, as her name suggests, run really fast. She also has some sort of sixth sense, which makes her voice acting go all weird.

Mumm-ra's pretty cool, and I have spent a lot of time trying to convince my boyfriend that Mumm-ra is cooler than Skeletor. I still hold to this, since it's not difficult to be cooler than Skeletor. However, Mumm-ra does come up with the really hair-brained stupid schemes that one would expect of Skeletor, such as the one where he has a robot dog infiltrate Cat's Lair and fill it with gas which shrinks the Thundercats to but a few inches tall (rather than the more sensible option of having the robot dog filling Cat's Lair with poison).

Apparently there have been lots of Who Would Win? He-Man and the masters, or the Thundercats? I think I'd definitely say the Thundercats. He-Man is powerful, but he seems to just rescue all the other masters. All the Thundercats kick arse and don't need Lion-o to rescue them continually. Plus all the characters in He-Man are really boring. In Thundercats, they're anthropomorphic cats, and have cool powers. I've heard that He-Man and Thundercats came out about the same time, and He-Man was the more popular. I feel Thundercats was more interesting a concept and executed much better as well. The animation, especially for the eighties, is really good, and I understand the studio which did the animation went on to form Studio Ghibli. Though some of the drawings do give Lion-o and some of the other more muscly characters (I guess Panthro and Mumm-ra the Everliving) enormous thighs.

There have been some rather awesome moments in this DVD set.
1. Mumm-ra has used his powers to impersonate a Thunderian and locked them all out of Cat's Lair. Tygra says it's still possible to infiltrate it and take it back. "I'll go," says Tygra, "I am the architect that designed Cat's Lair, I know it inside-out and upside down." Lion-o says, "I'll go. I have a sword." Jaga's ghost appeared and told him to not be so stupid, presumably after slapping himself on the forehead in exasperation.
2. Tygra's hilarious, unforgettable delivery of the line, "Um, I'm looking for sparkling slime."
3. The episode with unicorns beginning with the revelation that the pirate captain of the Beserkers, Hammerhand, enjoys eating unicorn, and would really like some now. "Arrrrrrrr... Yooneecorrrrrn," he declares extravagantly.
4. As Lion-o is rescuing a baby unicorn from the Beserkers' ship, he summons the other Thundercats. Panthro arrives. Lion-o shouts, "Quick, Panthro! The baby unicorn!" Panthro, who has only just arrived, shows no concern or confusion, or even bats an eyelid.

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August 26th, 2007

A series of quite miraculous events

8/26/07 01:55 pm

I passed grade 8 singing, grade 8 violin (by some really big fluke, I really don't think I played well enough to even scrape a pass...), and grade 5 piano.
I felt confident about my singing exam, though I think that had a lot to do with the examiner being the nicest examiner I've ever had. I got 127, which is a merit, but three marks from a distinction. I was really hoping for a distinction, and I'm sure I could've gotten one. The piano was alright, but returning to the incredibly simple grade 5 ear tests was a real shock. The violin, I nearly broke down in the middle; there was no way I could've passed. But somehow, I apparently got 116 (100 is a pass, 120 is a merit). I've seen the certificates, but I still can't quite believe it XD
Then, I got exactly what I expected for my A-levels: BBB. Unfortunately, Royal Holloway wanted AAB, and I was under the impression they didn't really care how well their applicants could play any musical instruments. But, for some reason, Royal Holloway had changed their offer to 'Unconditional' a few days before results day! So I'm going to Royal Holloway <3
But now it's nearly time for me to leave home, probably forever... I've always loved my papa, but Mama and I have always had a strange love-hate relationship, but now that it's nearly time for me to go, I don't want to leave them. It's quite frightening. I'm starting to agree with Peter Pan.
Though apparently I've got out of school just in time. They've stopped doing tray bakes in the canteen, because of some health thing. Because it's the school's responsibility to make sure the children know how to eat properly. Has nothing to do with the parents, does it?

Currently trying to torrent Doctor Who season 3. I'd love to be an extra on Doctor Who, one who has to hug David Tennant <3 He's so awesome. One of my best dreams was one where I was the Doctor's companion, and I was really good at it as well. Martha's actually a very good companion, thinking about it. She does a lot of cool stuff, and on her own. Although with the torrenting, I got rather confused at how long it was taking, thinking, 'It's only 5.10MB, what's it doing?' Then I realised the M was a G.

I love my kitties. However, Baku is a rather excellent hunter, and our garden has become a bit of a small fluffy animal graveyard. I'm wondering whether I should do something about that lower anatomy of a mouse lying around in the porch...

Tales of Symphonia episode 2 came out a short while ago. I feel a bit funny about the anime. The Tales of Symphonia game is possibly my favourite game ever, mainly because of the story - yes, remarkably similar to Final Fantasy X, the problem being that Final Fantasy X was rubbish. The other part of the Tales of Symphonia that stood out was the characters; all of them were well thought out and really likeable (Colette being my favourite, I believe).
But yes! Reasons why Tales of Symphonia wins:
1. The whole summoner sacrificing herself for the world was all of X's story. Symphonia's Journey of Regeneration thing was about a quarter of the game.
2. Yuna sucked. She really did. She was so flimsy and unconvincing. Colette is a strong, selfless individual, and she made you believe it.
3. Everyone knew Yuna was going to die and exactly what was entailed in her pilgrimage. Oh yeh, and she chose to do it. There were other summoners running around, and any of them could drop out. Nobody knew the true nature of the Regeneration ritual, and Colette was born into it. Her journey was also considerably more dangerous, and she did not have the option of dropping out.
4. Colette had to give up her humanity. Yuna just trotted along with her six guardians picking up aeons.
Also, the characters in X, aside Yuna, Tidus and Auron, all felt a bit neglected. Symphonia made time for all its cast.
But yes, moving back to the much anticipated Tales of Symphonia OVA~ And I have come to the conclusion that it is fanservice. The story isn't told very well, and they've very casually just dropped some rather important plot points, namely the whole episode with Marble and Lloyd and Genis having to kill her, which is a major driving force for the development of both their characters was nonchalantly thrown out the window. I won't deny it looks amazing; the drawings are nice, and the animation's stunning. But that's really all it is. It's the bare bones of the Tales of Symphonia story in a prettier setting than the game offered. Cell shading is an acquired taste, and many people don't like it; the game didn't look all that great, and the animation in events was embarassingly awkward at its worst. Also, the Lloyd and Colette relationship is played up much more, and I'm not sure I like it. They are a cute couple, but it might just be because I've gone off romance (I think the awkward Harry Potter romance may have put me off, with Harry having a snarling beast in his chest). And Kratos kicks far too much arse. When Sheena appears, she immediately wins cool points for attaching a seal to Lloyd's chest, he gets knocked back, and then the seal explodes, knocking him out. However, then Kratos steps in, and pwns her far too swiftly. It might just be that I'm used to the game's more balanced approach to the party's individual abilities.

Oh, and that story thing I'm writing, yeh. I might scan in some drawings I did in relation to it. However, I've seen the drawing skills of some of those who list 'drawing' as an interest in their profile on fanfiction.net, and I feel I may be the subject of scorn. Chapter 21 is hard =< I'm waiting until my brother comes back from shooting people before I continue with that one. I'll carry on with chapter 22...

Current Mood: contemplative

July 24th, 2007

Deathstick!

7/24/07 03:48 pm

I thought this might be a nice way to assure readers that I'm not dead.
Sooo... progress. I have had the start of chapter 21 ('Glast Heim') sitting around for a while, though admittedly I've only recently planned what's going to happen in there. I'll start writing it all out soon. Updates should, God willing, follow quite swiftly after that one, as I know essentially what's happening after that, plus I have a good portion of chapter 22 ('The Village of the Prophets') already written. It seems waiting for me to update is like an extremely diluted form of awaiting another Harry Potter book.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I have finished it. The first one came out when I was eleven, and the writing was therefore appropriate for my age; though in later years while the writing is digestable and inoffensive, it doesn't quite have the distinctive ring found in other places. It is, however, a good story, and well told, and overall I thought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be an interesting and pleasing way to end the series. Admittedly, within the story there was an awful lot of '"Voldemort's killing all these people, and we have to stop it, and he's taking over the whole world! We need to act now!" They proceeded to sit in their tent for another six months.' Also, there was a slight RPGish whiff to it, what with the get the special shiny sword to destroy all the Horcruxes so that you can kill ~~the last boss~~ Voldemort. I almost expected Voldemort to have two or three final forms.

Admittedly, I'm a little lost without school. I grew up hating it, but it meant that I definitely had somewhere to be between 9am 'til 3pm on weekdays, and now I won't be going back. Now I'm just waiting for my A-level results, which I won't get until August 16th, which sucks; this wait is quite agonising. I need AAB to get into Royal Holloway, and I am really not convinced that I've got that. Also still haven't heard back about my music exams; Trinity tells you about a week after the exam how you've done, but Associated Board takes longer, apparently because of the lengthy process of printing out certificates. I'd be perfectly happy without the certificates, I just want to know how I've done...

Current Mood: worried

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