Thank you for the rename token, Bee!

But don't think I'm missing the fact that you're subtly cutting me out of your life. Or yourself out of my journal.

I'm sorry, I'm at a loss for words. Maybe quite literally as I am trying to pump out 2,000 of them per hour for NaNo. I can barely type that fast, let alone think that fast, but November work hours leave me no choice.

...If only I didn't have to work, then maybe I could make ends meet.

Welcome to my fandom: five guys bound by the wrist with a red string interloping and connecting all five of them. No, it isn't BL porn authored by Watase Yuu.

Because VVV6 and Gakkou e Ikou? Back in the day, 'twas really awesome. It's no accident that I'm not overly fond of Kumagusu or even the current VVV6 format. And anyway, I just recently learned how to screencap with KMPlayer.


In this VVV6 episode, V5 are tied up and tangled in one long piece of rope, and must escape using a certain permutation of wit and serendipity. All the while, Inocchi commentates, because there's nothing more humiliating than getting your IQ insulted by Inohara freaking Yoshihiko.

( We got what you want--if what you want is fail tied up in a pretty bondage ribbon )

Sharing some songs because I am finally packed, oh yeah!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6XLLLWR4 -- 5 AAA songs (Hurricane Riri Boston Mari, Dragon Fire, Kuchiburu Kara Romantica, Soul Edge Boy, That's Right) -- J-Pop

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O2JDBBCJ -- 5 APO songs (American Junk, Awit ng Barkada, Pumapatak ang Ulan, Saan Na Nga Ba'ng Barkada, Salawikain) -- OPM

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=02IYUWMM -- 5 happy English songs + 1 extra because it never fails to make my day (Foo Fighters - Times Like These, Iggy Pop - Lust For Life, Kite Flying Society - Love and Seagulls, Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata, Modest Mouse - Fire It Up, Stars - Look Up)

( Why did Hana Yori Dango return? )

HanaDan, if you're hell bent on your love triangles, I suggest taking a page from not-half-as-annoying Hotaru no Hikari.

Others:

Himitsu no Hanazono
It's somewhat slow-paced and anti-climactic, but:
Osamu: Snake shot-o!
Hinata: Mada mada da ne.
That was the two-liner highlight of the entire drama. You can skip the rest. :D

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Abe Hiroshi as Japanese!House. (Is it a coincidence that his character happens to be an architect? I think not!) I could even make a case of Tsukamoto being Wilson, and Natsukawa Yui as Cuddy. I could, but I won't. Anyway, people would probably find this boring. It was, occasionally, but I never found it to be a waste of time.

Tentai Kansoku
Takeshi ==> Shunji with a very distracting mole
Satomi ==> Ran (from GekiRangers)
Nanae ==> Tamamori Yuta
Kyoichi ==> Takki (from JE)
Annoying #1-in-Japan student ==> Love interest from Water Boys 1/teacher from My Boss My Hero

At the very least, this drama was better than its ratings implied. I liked Yuri, exempting her wishy washy tolerance for Takeshi's abuse. Koyuki's character was almost too perfect, but she really is as beautiful as they give her credit for. *___*

Because despite the insane amount of bull crap that the fans have had to deal with it, it's impossible not to stick with it to the very end. First, what is this Echizen nonsense? His sempais have to inspire his geniosity so he could overcome Yukimura in the end? Not that I don't want to see Yukimura get beaten if only to deflate the hype surrounding him, but I'm holding out hope that Konomi gives Seigaku their three wins via Singles 2 and the doubles matches. For the love of overused plot devices, Konomi-sensei. Next. Tezuka. Sanada. Singles 3. In which universe does that make sense? PoT universe, of course. Scratch that question. Singles 2 better blow my mind, and not in an brain-asplodey way. Though I did want Sanada to win, I feel horrible for Tezuka, who has recently turned into Taka-san. Except that people respect him and cry for him (Ooishi > Fuji in the loving wife department), so Taka-san still takes the cake. Finally… Doubles 2. Above everything else, thank Konomi for Doubles 2. Data-Kouhai-Rabu-Rabu-Team, it is exactly the match up I wanted HOMG. I'm siding with InuKai on this one, because the Hyoutei arc gypped them, and it would be oh so heartbreaking for Kaidoh to lose his last match with his sempai in middle school. But if they lose, I they will cope. And at least Yanagi and Kirihara will have redeemed themselves. So it works out either way, I suppose.

Echizen is undoubtedly playing Singles 1. Or not, and, Konomi is going to pull something completely unexpected by not letting Ryoma regain his memory and letting Taka-san play Yukimura. (SPOILER! ...I wish.) Nah, I wouldn't want Seigaku to be humiliated hardcore. Taka-san, I love you. Way more than tennis does. As for Singles 2, I wouldn't mind Ooishi having it and letting the Doubles 1 slot go to Fuji and Eiji. Ooishi hasn't had the ground-breaking tennis match that Eiji and Fuji have had, and to me, that's more in need of urgent attention than the Golden Pair getting a chance to remedy their pathetic losing streak. Having them win once before they graduate would be nice, though, especially if they're against Niou and Yagyuu. *bricked by Rikkai D1 fans i.e. the rest of the world* Niou's pretty awesome in his own right and Yagyuu is… pretty, but for some reason I can't hold them in as high regard as the rest of the fanbase. I don't know, it's just me. Maybe literally. I know I'm alone in my lack of interest in Rikkai, but that's fair, since they are a solid and observably charismatic group. I just can't get into them, myself.

I'm guessing that Jackal's the one sitting out this round, which sucks for me, because he's one of my Rikkai favorites. (If my Shunji-fangirling is not enough of an indicator, let me spell out my love for baby-sitting men. They're badass.) I think Ooishi/Jackal would be better though. Fuji/Jackal is probably out of the question. Ooishi going up against Niou will have me breaking into song and dance. So, I guess this means I'm excited again. :D

To honor an unspoken pact of refraining from watching Hana Kimi episodes, I went ahead and finished three other dramas. It seemed reasonable to me, at least.

1. ( Mizuki: Nobuta wo Produce )

2. ( Sano: Densha Otoko )

3. ( Nakatsu: Akihabara@DEEP )

Purely for Taichou and maybe Mizushima Hiro, I have my eyes on Watashitachi no Kyokasho next. By my count, one of three things they were together in, by the way. :P Hero and Hiro--I'm not going there. I'm really not.

And now, RTN prepared by neither Ickle nor Fickle... but by both.

( Real Time Notes presents: Absolute King Rikkai! )

Footnotes:

1. WATANABEEEE. DOOORIII. ♥ I know lots of people give them their dues, but even with the obligatory nods they get, they're still underrated in my book. Especially Watanabe. Leading us to think that the world needs to give MORE LOVE TO YOU, YOU WONDERFUL SLICE OF DORKMEAT.
3. jump jumper jumpest
I want to know who thought of that. OMFG. XD
4. We've come to a consensus, and so far, it's:
Kanesaki = Older Kawakubo (Look at him smile!)
Baba = Fujiwara Yuuki
And, as everyone else has noted,
Yagami = Kazuki

And because Eris kept mistaking them for each other during the udon scene,
Renji = Tomo
Gasp. Inui, you sneaky sneak, you.

Gintama is comedy GOLD from Shounen Jump. With a title like that, right? XD The plot is lighthearted and the characters are CRAZY LOVE. We have...

1) Okita- superMegaHyperBishounen with a gentle smile and probably the one with the longest mean streak... He's such a Fujitype, so his is automatic love. XD Speaking of Fuji, this guy has extreme MAD SEME powers. You better believe it.

2) Kagura- the Miaka that Japanimanga REALLY REALLY needed. She's every bit the pig Miaka is PLUS she's an alien who kicks ass AND guys don't try to rape her every five seconds... or ever 'cause that's like seppuku suicide.

3) Gintoki- badass main character. Seriously, he's wicked cool. I usually hate main characters but there is nothing for me to hate. He's lazybones but abrasive and I-did-it-my-way, but somehow I still haven't seen it all before. Just sooo well done! (And, no, friends of mine, it's not only because I can relate to his need for sugar. I'm not biased. I think... XDD)

4) Hijikata- is Gintoki without the natural perm. He's smart and hotheaded and would make really gorgeous freaking babies with Okita. Just like Gintoki. *LOL* He also has his melt-the-fangirls serious side. *sigh* Imperfections are yet to be seen.

5) Shinpachi- the fanboy extraordinaire who's useless at everything except chores. He gets the best expressions in every panel. *huggles* Helps that he looks like my cutie Tsutsui, too. XDDD NO HATERS. SHINPACHI IS OTAKU LOVE.

6) Otae- an aged-up Kagura who is called a gorilla by Gintoki in the very first volume. AWESOME. She will always be The Man of the house, even if she ends up with the captain of the Shinsengumi.

7) Kondou- of course we have the skirt-chasing captain who has a cockroach's persistence when it comes to stalking Otae. The world needs more characters like this. XD Lead the way, FMA and Gintama!

8) Sadaharu- rikutsu jyanai! Best freakshow pet ever. Sorry, Elizabeth. =3

9) Kumazaki- random hot guy from Shinsengumi who totally hits on Shinpachi while they're acting referee to the rock-paper-scissors tournament. (HAND ON THE SMALL OF THE BACK. ASKING HIM TO GO FOR DRINKS. DON'T TELL ME I'M THE ONLY ONE.)

10) How could I almost forget Katsura- for he is the hottness?! Two words for the eye candy that is Zura: pirate cosplay.

So, who wins favorite character?

Yamazaki, of course!
"Nobody cares anyway. Look at Yamazaki, he's playing badminton."
XDDDDDD LOVES IT.

Really, though, nothing goes wrong in Gintama. Pirates, aliens, terrorists, xenophobia, Kappa, One Piece reference... YES PLZ. *runs off to download anime*

Remember, folks, if you give it a chance and for some reason it bores the bejeezus out of you:
Seppuku is the answer to everything.

I watched Dream Live 3 a few weeks ago, but I haven't been able to properly expel these fangirlisms inside me since. I guess this means I have to watch it for the twentieth time to be able to make proper notes. Not because I'm avoiding studying or anything. Not at all.

( Real time notes )

I? Am beat.

Ickle Fickle presents:

a fake LJ cut

( Why Can't We Be Friends )

A fan soundtrack for the manga, Battle Royale.

My entire morning was consumed by choosing which Death Note icon to fill up the three new slots that LJ has so charitably bestowed upon us. In the process, I was made to think about all the characters that had made Death Note so intriguing, and I am fan enough to to feel obliged to write about it.

( spoiler-ific! )

ASTIG MO.

Dammit, I liked so many scenes in Battle Royale. I really admire how the movie played out. Some of their strategies were just half-assed, and part of the extra ending was way too much WTF for me. A lot of the lovey subplots were damn near ridiculous, but I still kind of clutched at my sides in an obviously affected way.

Auuggghh.

Tsukamoto! (I'd recognize your face anywhere, you dweeby little heartthrob you.) Why oh why did you and your group die? Your death was... -makes grunting caveman sounds- Chigusa. And Mitsuko. And Hiroki. And... YOU STOLE MY COHERENCE, ALL YOU NON-LIVING-AT-THE-END BASTARDS.

That was awesome. I'm... er... "attaining a copy" as we speak. (Also one of Robokon, because Tsukamoto, as I relearned, is worth the computer memory loss. With Shun, especially.) I don't really like one scene in particular, but just to name one, that with the girls in the lighthouse was striking. That trigger that got them all paranoid. It was predictable how they'd react, but it was done so well. It was also character-driven: you had a basic idea of the personalities involved in it. And that worked great in the movie, since almost every death you see had so many implications. It was so fascinating.

On a lesser note, I wish they'd shown all of the weapons from the book. Coat hangers and head bands for teh win!

I think I might like Hyoutei more now. (Fudoumine has always been my favorite rival team, but Hyoutei is slowly. Creeping. Up.) TORISHISHI HOLDING HANDS LOVELOVE THANK YOU FANSERVICE. Oshitari was kind of good-looking. And the chanting was fun - since there are no girls allowed on the Tenimyu stage, they were their own cheerleaders. Atobe's hair needs to be more purple. Lavender, really.

I must say I'm beginning to really like Suzuki (New Ooishi). Because... he's... I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. Bah. I think he is the love of my new-tenimyu-cast life. He looks like a zombie but it's adorable. But I hate him for making me want to like TezuOoishi/OoishiTezu. I have a lot more appreciation for Konii/New Taka and Kaji/New Momo, too. See, I'm getter better at this name thing.

P.S. Ducky just keeps getting hotter. He must be the hottest guy in Tenimyu. It's so wrong. Not to forget Shio, who is, as always, teh shiznit. Especially for feeling up Kabaji like that.

P.P.S. KENKEN.
P.P.P.S. OH ZUKKII

Now, I ask you with complete seriousness... Are you ready for this?

Here goes. Many of us know the fundamental whyfor behind the Kingdom Hearts nomenclature, where
Sora = sky,
Kairi = sea, and
Riku = land.

Second, we get the reference of FF8's Squall to FF7's Cloud, as is emphasized further in FF9.

However, a less obvious parallelism has existed all this time, hidden under its simplicity. I present to you old, but relevant data:
Aerith = romanization of earth (or coming from a Hebrew word for flower, in which case there is still allusion to land)

What can we conclude? If Cloud = Sora, and Aerith = Riku, then...
SORA = SEME.
-happy grin-
Or Aerith = seme. Which makes sense, what with the pink and the flowers and all.

[ Disclaimer: I am neither a Cloud/Aerith or Cloud/Tifa fan. I'm a Cloud/gigantic-compensation-of-a-sword fan. ]

Okay, I've always fantasized that five years after Kingdom Hearts XX ends, Sora gets a drastic growth spurt and tops Riku. I don't always want the commonly-known-ukes to be semefied, but it does happen in a few cases. Exempli gratia:
seme!Yue x uke!Touya (YUE ARE SO HOT ASFAFJSASHA. Sorry, Yukito.)
seme!Fuji x uke!Taka-san (Taka-san is the uke-est of them all. ^___^)

Most of the time I go with the norm, though, or I don't care either way. I just like being thoroughly convinced by my Sora-or-Aerith-is-seme theory.

Griffith: I want you, Gatts.
Gatts (seriously): Are you homo?

Gatts has a very subtle gay-dar. XD

Although, it kind of bums me out that at least one of the following will happen every other chapter:
1. Girl/s being (needlessly) topless
2. Girl (usually Caska) is raped, or there is at least an attempt or expression of intention to do so
3. Orgies

Speaking of which, why are there so many lesbians in those orgies and no gay guys? (Yes, I looked for them; it can't be helped.) The Gatts/Griffith subtext is just that - subtext.

Must also have the most cases of spelling inconsistencies I've ever encountered. The Gutz/Gatz/Gattsu issue aside, sometimes the spellings of names or places are different not only in the same page but in the same PANEL.

Advent Children left me all a-sparkle. The story was told in a manner as convoluted as I remember the game being, meaning about the only things I understood were the fight scenes, but it's all good.

Final Fantasy has always been a self-referential series, and it doesn't break that trend here. Even with my senior citizen-esque memory, it wrung every sentimental flashback that it could from me. Its efforts were not protested, for once, and I willingly let myself ride the wave of reminiscence.

Most notably, it left me with a very renewed interest in Reno (redhead again! XO) and the rest of the scene-stealing Turks, and a major disdain for the translation of Vincent's elf shoes into the movie. Perhaps, thirdly, a bit of hope for Kadaj and the other two Sephiroth clones to make apperances in Kingdom Hearts-2. Since they're hot. That, and I had Loz's ringtone on my first cellphone.

I was slightly disappointed with Tifa's makeover. I guess I don't mind the breast reduction all that much, but her generic-FF-heroine-ification saddens me somewhat. In a way it's nice to see her more mature, and it's probably realistic in the situation, but it shouldn't have been done at the expense of her dynamism. Aerith was great and just the way I remember her, perhaps because her character can't develop all that much, posthumously and all. I am, for the reader's education, part of the minority in favor of both Tifa and Aerith. Although I can often understand where the animosity from both sides are coming from, barring "Tifa's a slut!" or "Aerith's a flirt!" because... riiiiight.

In the end, everybody who was alive stays alive - awesome! - because the Japanese believe in consecutive miracles. Cool.

Something Jen pointed out:
Cloud: Stay there, trapped in my memories. [Saving...]
Sephiroth: I won't become a memory. [Memory card not found.]