Your butt. You look at it, study it, poke it and even yell at it. You lament the effects of gravity, the donut you ate yesterday (the one that apparently bypassed every part of your body in favor of your butt) and even your parents for so thoughtfully passing on such a blubbery body part.

I went clothes shopping today. And on looking in the full length body mirror, my first thought was: "Shit, is that my arse? When did that happen?"

I'm not a big fan of dieting and certainly not of exercise, so the idea of growing past the recommended weight guidelines frightens me to no end. Luckily, I'm not a big eater either, but my irregular feeding hours have more than compensated for that habit. I can live without candy and snack food. I can even live without greasy pizza although the occasional craving may still strike when I least expect it. But I think, it's really time to face the facts and not hide behind the pink, sugar coated memories of yesteryear.
Yes, I finally weighed myself. And then took a long scream of horror before collapsing on the floor in despair.

Curse you, HSC! Curse you, long boring holidays perfect for gorging! Curse you, jean-stretching trips to expensive buffet restaurants!

And I haven't grown in two years. Crap. I am doomed to stay a measly 5'4" for the rest of my stinking life.

I'm so insecure. ;_;

[Edit: I do have something planned for our anniversary. Now to get off my fat, lazy arse and do it.]

[Edit's Edit: Oh what the hell, here's something I whipped up because I was bored while I was sitting on said fat, lazy arse.
It's big, so be patient while it completes its loading... and then you should probably refresh to watch it from the beginning. No, this isn't the thing I'm planning.]

[Edit's Edit's Edit: Shit, now that I'm looking at it, why the fuck is Arakasi so damn skinny? It's all that fruit, I'm telling you.]

Kam *who is currently obsessed about her weight.

Well, ok. If you're too sick then I'll just whip something up... *looks under the sink for bunnies*

Kam

I would do something, but I don't really know what to do, and I have a cold of some sort that requires many tissues. I remember reading over those early entries... I suppose we should take them as a sign of our growth in maturity~ :O (Hopefully... I don't think I could replicate the dour simplicity of earlier entries without my fingers siezing up from a lack of brain compliance. Must not regress to 15 year-old immaturity...!)

You know, sometimes I think I should give up on trying to make my characters likeable to a certain degree. Perhaps I should revel in the fact that, on occassion, I want to bitch-slap them. Because going to any extrenuous lengths to make them 'appealing' and 'likeable' is like the first step towards Sue-dom. It's like Tamahome from FY... he was midly endearing when he had his obsession with money, but then he lost that flaw and became a sickly-sweet lover-boi. Going through Rapsody's list of 'features' reminds me of prose written by kids who want their characters to have shiny swords and elemental affinities. Admittedly, however, writing characters can be problematic. I want people to like my characters because being able to identify with them is the key to any story. But while doing that you can loose sight of the fact that not everyone is meant to be perfect; we can't like everyone, and to make everyone likeable defeats the realism of characters themselves. So, even while Rika annoys me half the time because she's tactless and conceited, in many ways it makes the moments where I like her more memorable; to make her 'likeable' by removing her flaws would strip her of her personality. Every author should be compelled to dislike something about their characters, I think. Because as people we will never like everything about even our closest friends. Why should book characters be any different?

*stares at screen* ...that's about as far as my foggy train of thought will carry me at the moment ._.

~kimi

On a side note, before I start my rant, I was reading our earliest entries in the blog. My god, we were so young back then, the spelling is horrendous, and the whole thing is so damn childish that I just want to slap myself around the head a bit.
Oh yes. On the 24th of February is the Third Year Anniversary of Kleptomania! If you're too lazy to do something nice, then I'll do it. (Yeah, that's why I was back reading.)

On to the rant!

[Warning: Back-Stabbing Present]
Anais: Don't you like me, m'lady?
Kam: Of course I do, I just don't like the other aspects of your creator.
Anais: You mean like Achmed over there?

When I read fantasy, I'm not looking for cheap romance or instant gratification with some random pretty boy. What I want most out of any book is realism. I'm searching for escapism and it's hard to do that if you can spot all the flaws and plot holes at a glance. I want a world that is solid, with a history, with language, culture, economical issues, politics, and goddamn sewerage systems. Magic is fine but too much of it makes the plot seem weak, like an excuse to cover some author failing.

Furthermore, I want characters that are believable. People have flaws. In the words of a fanfictioner whose name I forgot; 'Character flaws are what makes us loveable.'

Some of you may argue with me here, along the lines of 'But Arithon is so damn perfect, are you sure you're not being hypocritical?'
To which I reply; 'Arithon is not perfect! If I met him in real life, I wouldn't like him. He's moody, quick tempered and it's so difficult to get to know him. Furthermore, even if I finally got on his highly select friends list, the man is far too much the 'puppet of pity' for me to be able to stand him for five minutes.'

Which leads me onto my real subject at last. I recently got my hands on a copy of Elizabeth Haydon's Requiem for a Lost Star and devoured it all. In reflection I realised that I've lost my fondness for her writing and for her characters somewhere along the line. The Achmed that now lives in my head is different from the one in hers. For one thing, he's not so much of a love sick puppy and more the sarcastic bastard that I believe he was born to be. But the main reason for my distaste is that she has created, although her more loyal fans deny it, a Published Mary Sue, one of the greatest horrors of the Known World.

It's subtle but it's there. She's jaw-slackingly beautiful, with hair the colour of honey and a figure to mob for. She has, get this, eyes the colour and sparkle of iridescent emeralds (I have nothing wrong with green eyes, mind you. It's common enough.) She's a brilliant sword fighter despite having only learnt it all in a year. She's an entrancing singer with a voice of an angel. She's kind, loving and adopts every second orphan she sees on the streets. She's clever and know much lore which may come in handy for the less learned of the party. She possesses the Daystar Clarion, the elemental blade of Ether and Fire, AND furthermore she has an elemental connect to Fire, which not only makes her more hypnotic to watch but gives her the ability to command it at will.
Shall I go on? Yes, there's actually more.
She is physically perfect. Yes. Perfect. She is charismatic although she does not know it, and in her ignorance she appears even more beautiful. She used to be a whore but having left all that she is now a gracious queen. Fuck this. She's a half-elf! I mean, Lirin. But we all know it's just another name for elf, for heaven's sake. Give it up already.

Yes, my friends, I am talking about Rhapsody. Even her so-called flaws are perfect: she gets emotional about children, her friends, her lover, her people (i.e., everyone.) She's always thinking about others and placing them ahead of herself but it's never really disastrous for Rhapsody because everyone just loves her so goddamn much. (Yeah, so quit attempting to steal Arithon's Compassionate Loser of the Year Award.)
Nothing terribly bad happens to her. Sure, she gets kidnapped and nearly looses her baby, but it only serves as a plot device to make others around her love her even more. Oh, Rhapsody doesn't whinge, because that would indicate that she's thinking about herself again. She just picks herself up and continues on, showing such strength of character and determination that sometimes I think she hasn't learnt anything at all.
She makes me sick.

Which is a pity because it was her character that first got me into the first few pages of /Rhapsody, Child of Blood/. I liked her back then, when she wasn't perfect and when she was just a frightened little girl down on her luck. She had a cuteness about her that didn't appear cheesy or false. But then after that baptism of fire... I dunno, the author gave her too many changes at once and turned her into the flaming goddess of love and mercy.

You know, that's not to say that I don't like all of Elizabeth's writing. Sometimes the woman is pure genius. Achmed. She claims that some of her fans like him because they've mistakenly labelled him as a "romantic hero" but I like him because he isn't. He really is an ugly son of a bitch with a nature to match his appearance. What other author could come up with a main character that was such a complete and utter jerk when he doesn't look like a fucking playboy? I mean, that was until she made him go all gooey.
She has interesting ideas, and I like the world she's created. Although I get the feeling that she hasn't completed the details of the picture yet, what little bits that she has worked out seem pretty solid. I like the religion and the musical culture behind it all, although I feel that her attempt at creating a language fails laughably short. I can speak old Cymrian! I just have to type like an AOL user!

It seems sad to me, but I think Threshold may have been her best work to date and it wasn't even about the current storyline. The style of it, the language, the characters, everything about it seems so much more sophisticated than the work she's producing now. I'm glad I read that first before I read /Rhapsody/, because I would never have liked Elizabeth Haydon if it were the other way around.

Oh yes. And I wanted to add something else. That whole crap about Ashe and Achmed? Honestly, I think Rhapsody deserves Ashe in all his fucking glory. The flawed beauty of Achmed's character would be wasted on someone so goddamn perfect as Rhapsody. Stay single, man. You don't need her even with her "calming vibrations," for heaven's sake. *rolls eyes*

Kam

Happy New Year (for 45 minutes ago)! We went to my dad's office at North Sydney to watch the 9 o'clock fireworks, although the whole thing was a bit anticlimactic anyway. Geh, how much did that techno version of the Aussie anthem suck? Geh... if they're gonna jazz it up, they should do it right.

When not working, I have been distracted of late by One Piece and Mech-building. For other forms of general laziness I blame christmas stagnation (The event of which was uneventful) Although I am quite sure there's some christmas pudding conspiracy against my brother and his girlfriend. I probably told you the tale of last years "Marriage" coin; well, this year his girlfriend got the same coin. 'tis fortuitous, I tell you~ ...in a cute, happy kind of way. I got the 'Good Luck' coin, which may or may not mean anything for future prospects.

Anyway~ About One Piece... I saw this sexeh figure of Sanji on the HLJ website, and with money in hand thought I'd add him to my collection (Because it's damn hard to find good figures of male characters. Goddamn scantily clad women!). But then I figured I should actually read the series if I was going to do that. And I did. And it's pretty cool~ And we're downloading the anime now as well. I still prefer Naruto for its characters, plot and fights, but One Piece has a certain whacky charm of its own that I can't help but like. And Luffy is cute :P. Although, I read somewhere that the U.S TV release of One Piece will be edited. Well, namely Sanji's cigarette will be changed in to (wait for it)... a lollipop. OMGWTF talk about character assasination... geez. It's not unexpected, but it just seems so... stupid. The idea of Sanji being turned from a chain-smoker to a candy addict is just... wtf-ness. The Japanese anime is already toned down from the manga, since there's a lot less blood and they cut the scene with Luffy's scar.

Anyway, I mentioned something about mechs, yes. Well, I'd had my eye of the ultra spiffeh Wing Gundam Zero Mastter Grade kit ever sice I saw it featured on the HLJ website... and then I saw it at Astro Hobby and thought "Aww feck it". And I bought the damn thing. And lets face it, no self-respecting anime model collection should be without a large robot of some kind. I couldn't give a fangirlish whit about Heero Yui and his angst (or whatever), but his mech is, for lack of a better term; pwetty. The wings, they move~ *swuee*. I stayed up till 4am building it, and nearly busted my thunb in the process (as well as going through a bunch of stanly knife blades). I'm quite surprised I didn't cut myself, actually. Oh well, now I have a spiffeh mech to add to my collection. He wobbles on his stand as I type though, and I'm running out of room for stuff (Where will I put Sanji when he arrives~? Whah~!)

I think I was going to say something else, but I can't remember what it is... oh well.

[edit] Oh~ About RO. After Telstra fecked up the ADSL I didn't come on. If the servers busted them I don't know if my interest levels right now are high enough to find another one, although I'm still keen on playing it if Kade works.

~Kimi

Happy New Years, everyone.

What have I being doing the past few days... uh, well, aside from watching Howl's Moving Castle (in Japanese with no subtitles...) and taking screenshots of Howl (which I should upload) I have also managed to get my hands on a copy of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - more screenshots which I also need to upload.
Is it just me or has the ROKade server closed? o_O

Anyway, where have you been, Kimi? I mean, I expected some work or something, and maybe some time off to do that coloring thing you were talking about, but what have you been doing aside from that?

Oh yeah, the other day I was in the bookshop and there was a set discount of all three first WoLaS book for $30. Which fucking pisses me off, because I brought two for $40. Ah well.

Kam

OH MY GOD.

Haku was cute, in a boyish, mysterious River-God sort of way. Howl is just fucking sexy. I mean it. In like, a massive nose-bleed sort of way. OH my god! Look, words simply fail me: I have to describe my current emotions with this:
^_________________________________^

On the other hand, when I'm not obsessing over just how good looking Studio Ghibli has drawn Howl, I feel that the plot of the movie deviates so far from the book that it's virtually unrecognisable. One watching it the first time, I didn't like it, but I guess that's because I was expecting an animated version of the exact story. Miyazaki has woven a different charm, instead of taking it directly from the novel. While this was disappointing the first go, re-watching it made me appreciate it far better.
The movie is very different, and I'm not just talking about it in the way that the LotR movies vary from the books. Entire chunks are taken out, other parts are introduced, the setting is different, and some characters take on alter egos. Even Howl's character is different: he's much less the heart-breaking playboy of the novel and more a misunderstood anti-hero.
However, as I said before, Miyazaki has retold this tale in his own way. It has the same beauty and innocence as Spirited Away, while dedicated fans of Diana may feel that the original humour of the novel is missing, I think that Hayao has created his own, in his unique way.

In short, if you were very fond of the Jones's book, you may not enjoy this movie as thoroughly. It's still a lovely film, as all of Studio Ghibli's works, but I think a second viewing is required. (Or third. Or fourth. But honestly, seeing Howl's naked butt is probably worth it.)

I'd agree with that person who said it wasn't as good as Spirited Away. Even though Haku can't really compete... Come back when you're a bit older, boy.

Kam

Since my comp was being a bit of a biatch I spent all of yesterday playing Warrior Within. I finally finished the first ending, only to discover that I have to play through it all again to get the second ending. Now, if it was of the same calibur as Sands of Time I wouldn't have a problem with that. But whereas Sands of Time was an engaging gaming experience punctuated by small bouts of tedium, Warrior Within falls flat as merely a game of technical achievement. It looks fantastic and plays great, but it's as if by trying to fix what was apparently wrong with Sands of Time, they forgot what made that game so amazing to play. That unique atmosphere and endearing charm isn't present. The Prince isn't even half as likeable as he was in Sands of Time. The architechture is stunning though, although in a different looking way to Sands of Time. But it's as if they're two completely unrelated games and characters. Not to mention that WW gets a little... odd towards the end, which makes it feel really wierd. It's by no means a crap game, but Sands of Time will always remain the superior gaming experience. On the technical level WW is a better game, I think, but that's not what makes a game. If anything WW is the more immature of the two, even though it's meant to appeal to an older, broader audience, because it handles its material in such a generic way. SoT was fresh and sophicticated in its execution. You wanted to finish it because you cared about the characters. I had a tendency to be more concentrated on finishing WW because that Empress of Time is a farking bitch whose attacks take of WAY too much (A simple combo takes of, like, half my life. What kind of bullshit it that?)

Above all, perhaps, it just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like a Prince of Persia game, and it didn't inspire that same level of exotic mysticism which I associate with the series. Or perhaps, which was exemplified in Sands of Time. If SoT hadn't come before it, WW would feel like a better game; it's a perfectly enjoyable action-platforming romp, but in some ways that's all it is. A sequel should inspire thoughts like "Wow, I'm glad they changed that, it's so much better this time around", instead of "Geez, if they'd done that instead of this way it would have been so much better than it is". WW, more often then not, falls into the latter category. Which is a shame, because it had the potential to up Sands of Time. Instead it somehow managed to completely alienate itself from any notion of that.

I've been playing Pikmin 2 as well. The game is so wierd, but addorably and undeniably cute. They sing and make cute noises to the point where I can't help but wail dramatically when one of them dies (Once I tried to kill this huge grub boss, which promptly rolled over all my Pikmin and killed them. The pain!). I'll probably come back to Symphonia later in the week; playing three games at once is a bit confusing.

~Kimi

If I see another copy of True Crime: Streets of L.A which is in the wrong spot, I may stab it. I started with three copies on the shelf in the store-room, and by the time I'd filtered through half the rack I had about 12 copies. Argg! Nothing's in order. But yeah, work was good. I spent half the time in the store-room cleaning up stuff on the floor and on the pre-owned rack. The PS2 section almost litterally goes from the floor to the ceiling, and it's not really in great order. Mainly because there's never enough room to put the new pre-owned games that come in, so they end up getting stacked on the front or put wherever. The store-room in general is kind of random. I found someones shoes and tie, and three wholesale boxes of roll-ups o_O. Not to mention two PS2's, a PSone, and some random controllers. And I saw the new Prince of Persia ToT (It looked so shiny and new~). But they didn't have the GC version, so I'll have to pick it up tomorrow like everyone else. Work on the floor just involved stacking boxes, re-arranging shelves and such, and asking people if they needed help. Later I had to ring people up about their pre-orders coming in. No one ever answers their phone these days! And someone asked me for the number of the store which I completely garbled up the first time. And then the phone RANG, and I was like... Eeep. Tomorrow the manager's going to show me how to use the register and stuff. And I have to find my tax number, which I have no idea where it is. I should probably look for it...

~Kimi

Urg, I have a splitting headache. And mum just gave me some herbal tea for my throat which tastes terrible. Blah. I hope it goes down by tomorrow. I start work at 10! It feels so wierd *scratches head*. Oh well... I'll write about schoolies when I'm in the mood for coherent thought.

~Kimi

Has anyone noted just how long I've been infatuated with this book?
More continuing, this is the first of my thinking-out-loud. Since this is a blog, I'll post everything here and then sort it out properly for question later.

[Theories on Davien's Motives]

Have I mentioned just how much I'm in love with this guy? He's so... passionate and opinionated compared to the rest of the Fellowship who are all just like: "meh. Let's have tea." (Exaggerated, of course)
Besides, he made Sethvir cry, the bastard.
Oh yeah, and for one entire chapter he was flirting with Arithon. I mean. Flirting. I'm a girl. I can recognise flirting when I see it.

So naturally, I'm tempted to dissect his character to smithereens.

Here goes!

Why did Davien create the Uprising? I'm guessing it's to break the Compact. He's already proved himself no friend of the whole deal: "I have no desire to labour for ages, with failure being the axe blade poised over my neck." It's not so much that he's heartless, rather he foresees the risk of humanity's leave upon Athera, since "Paravian survival is paramount" and the very presence of mankind endangers that race. He doesn't want a repeat of the incident Calum wrought.
So when outvoted by the rest of the Fellowship for both the arrival of mankind and the system of government chosen, Davien naturally would like to break free. Doesn't Asandir say something along the lines of those who are in captivity long for freedom all the more? The Uprising, I'm guessing, was probably created in the hopes of breaking the Compact.

It makes sense, or to me anyway, that this was Davien's motive. The time of it, when the Fellowship, the Kings, the Paravians and the clan born were all occupied with the invasion of the Mistwraith suggests that Davien planned to force the Fellowship hand. To make a choice between their two objectives: Paravian Survival or The Monarchy. He misjudged their response, I think. If they backed off to protect their Kingdoms, the Mistwraith would win through and threaten Paravian survival. So naturally he thought they would stay to defend the main objective. But instead, the Fellowship backed away, the Mistwraith won through and only Traithe' intervention prevented complete disaster, and the Paravians vanished. The monarchy crumbled, as Davien had planned... but the greater goal was threatened. I think this makes sense to Davien's comment about it being his own "personal version of the Havens." His main successful objective was exactly what it appeared to be: Like Arithon's massacre. But the secondary objective failed, the Fellowship would not abandon their Compact and the Paravians were endangered as well.

The so called "punishment," I think is meant to appear like that. Janny's already said that it wasn't so, but the Fellowship seem to have made no effort to discourage that mistaken impression. So I believe that this is what was planned at the outset. Davien volunteered himself for the whole transfer thing, as the scapegoat. He already knew that the the price of failure would be to take the blame: "If their choice was to stand, I had to fall. They had committed too much to revoke their position. I expected no more, and no less than the fate their hand dealt me before I chose exile." Which also brings into light the fact that Davien knew exactly what had to happen if he failed. I guess there was an augury or a scrying like Arithon's one prior to the Havens and he saw both possibilities.

But this whole deal didn't actually happen until 100 years after the Uprising. I don't really understand why they would wait so long, although I suppose they have to lick their wounds first and then cast the blame. But surely... not 100 years? Another thing would be that the length of time would mean that most of those directly involved in the Uprising would have died and the Fellowship were free to cast whatever impressed they intended upon the populace. I dunno.

After the disaster, Davien's left to clean up the mess he made, while the rest of the Fellowship re-cooperate from their loss. The Five Centuries Fountain proves this, I think. It makes sense that Davien built this fountain for one purpose: so that Arithon would have enough life span to complete his full destiny. It seems very suspicious to me that Davien would even built something like this out in the middle of nowhere and guard it, without having some interior motive. Davien's already said that his plan is to mould Arithon into a weapon (but for what...?) so yes, I'm thinking that the Fountain was purely for Arithon's sake. This also suggests to me that he had some vision prior to everything. I'm not sure if it was built before the Uprising or after it, but either way, it doesn't matter that much. Before would suggest that Davien had planned a safety net in case things went haywire. After would mean that he attempted to save the train wreck aftermath. Paravian survival depends directly on Arithon doing the same, so it seems to me that Arithon's destiny, so to speak, is to bring them back out of hiding, not to ascend the throne at Ithamon (although one probably leads to the other). So Davien's main goal is to protect the Paravians. He's already established that as his first and foremost, with or without the Drake's "oath." Arithon, then, as Davien's tool, is probably meant to break the compact/monarchy system and bring back the Paravians.

I wonder if Davien's aware of the Black Rose Prophecy. I find it amusing that Davien's trying to destroy the monarchy, yet the way Arithon's going, it seems far more likely that the Prophecy will be fulfilled and Davien will return to the Fellowship.
The words sound to me not as if Davien "wins" but rather he "sees reason" and reunites with the rest of his colleges.

Davien's pretty tough on Arithon. Since he sees him as a method of achieving his own goals, Davien simply arms him with the necessary knowledge required to survive and then sends the poor boy in. Oh, I love this passage:
Althain's Warden regarded his ringless, thin hands. 'To spare Arithon.'
'For what?' Davien's stinging mockery came back, untamed. 'Pray tell, Calum Kincaid, for what? A future that brings us mankind's execution? Armageddon, again, because the drakes chose us for the staggering task of lifting their legacy of remorse?'
We've already established that Davien hates the limitation placed upon him by the drakes. Even without the cage I believe he would still fulfil his obligation but the fact that there isn't any free choice in this irritates him.

It's kinda funny how the Law of Major Balance means that the Fellowship is not allowed to mess around with humanity directly, but yet the fact that mankind is under Fellowship guardianship sorta defeats the purpose, ne? But I assume the price of them staying is that loss of freedom, so there's the balance. I guess that's also why Davien's using Arithon to get his means across, since he still has to obey the Law.

I've always wondered, do the Fellowship long for death?

Kam

Since his absence during the reading of TK, angst-boi returns back again to the Harem. Here, his friends are astounded with some of the changes...

Kam

I have waited two years to read this book. And now it's over. I'd like the next one, of course, but right now I think I just want to sit here in euphoric bliss.

And the joy at simply holding the book meant that I virtually understood nothing of what I was reading.
Well, nothing deep anyway. I'll go back and dissect it properly with the Knife of Inquistion. Although, forget about Arithon for the moment, I think I've been traumatised.

Kam

OH MY GOD.

I am so in love with Davien. He's such a enigmatic bugger and he's so... well... mean in a individualised sort of way. He made Sethvir cry, the bastard!
And this un-angsty, confident Arithon delights me to no end! He's such a cheeky little devil! But now I've got this mental image of him commanding objects to fly around the room ala Disney's Fantasia
But I really think Janny is too tough on her characters. I mean, ouch. Really. Ouch. The indignity is too much for me to bear let alone half the characters involved.
Seldie, you evil bitch.

And that ending is so- !!!! I mean! What. Has. Arithon. Become. Damnit.

Wow, she's opened a whole new avenue of intrigue... (Hurrah for Ellaine!)

Kam

OH MY GOD!!!

Kam

Because next morning will be dedicated to the arrival of Traitor's Knot, I thought I better put in a rough summary of Cassie's Party while it was still fresh.

Typing is difficult for me. But this I shall explain.

I arrived at 7pm outside her house, and noticed the Bento Box walking up the same lane. This was good because I had conveniently brought the present we got for said party inviter.
To be completely honest... I'm not very good with parties. Especially not Cassie's parties because hers are normally a hip sort of affair with funky music, people who are greatly witty and wild and whom I only generally half know. I like Steven and gang. They're cool. But talking to them requires a little too much mental effort and simply listerning, while amusing like hell, seems a little antisocial to me.

Cassie was very stressed out with the effort of keeping everyone entertained and I was immediately placed in mind of The Sims 2. Damnit, I hate having to throw parties in that game.

I think the Bento Box felt the same way* and we gathered together in the manner of sheep, smiling politly, injecting the occasional comment and making odd faces when Libby suddenly yells out: "exploring my sexuality"** for no apparent reason.

But what began as a sort of Should-Have-Made-Up-Some-Excuse ended in a relatively social and interesting manner. Because while we were huddled on the fringes of the table, eating far too much candy for our own good, we noticed one of Cassie's friends doing much the same. He wasn't from our school, and he didn't know anyone there, aside from Cassie and Julia, who was occupied with her boyfriend. Actually, he sorta reminds me of Ohnny, because he has that geeky, skinny Asian look that comes from too much computer games and too much time spent in a all-boys private school.

So anyway, upon striking up a conversation with Justin, we discovered that there is a similar line of interest among all Asians.
1. Study.
2. Foreign Languages.
3. Anime and then proceeding onto Manga.

I have also learnt never to pillow fight when one has semi-long fingernails. Hence the typing comment. It was just an accident though, but it still hurts like hell. So this is how he treats a girl he just met... Breaks her fucking fingernail! Ah, it's ok. It's funny how BB has nail clippers in her bag though.

And a darker note; never go to a party after one has been to the dentist. *sniffs*
And damnit; my right eye won't stop twitching!!! It's been like this ever since Monday!

*About Cassie's Party. Not the game.
**She wasn't talking about herself... Or was she...?

Kam

OH MY GOD!!!

It's in! It's in! I've waited two years to finally be able to type that and have it actually true!
But due to Cassie's party I won't be able to go today to go and pick it up from the Galaxy Bookstore. Which means I'll be running down there in the early hours of the morning to grab it! W00TAGE!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!

Kam

In case anyone's wondering, the reason why Kimi hasn't been posting is because she's away on schoolies and is probably, at this very moment, pigging out on pizza and watching Orlando Bloom prance around on snow. Stupid Legolas.

[Rant Warning]

While it's true that I am deathly afraid of hairy spiders, cockroaches and cannibalism my greatest fear has always been the breakdown of family relations. I've always wondered, while watching tv or talking to my friends, why their bonds don't seem to stretch as deep. My family means everything to me. Real arguments, the door-slamming, screaming-at-top-of-lungs sort are rare in my family... but when it happens it's like someone's taken my heart and put it through the wringer.

I reckon the Chinese keep long grudges. Not with the little daily disagreements but with subconscious finger pointing. It begins small and unspoken: "Ever since you came..." but these thoughts piled up and the tension builds until one day everything just snaps. And then things are spoken which should never have been and no one forgets because, well, you can't. And then you just try to ignore it but it sits there, floating just below the surface like a drowned corpse waiting to rise.

About five years ago, my mum was sick. I didn't tell anyone about it because it's not really something you can share easily. She wasn't physically ill, although she would've liked to think so. But it was really tough on the rest of us, and I see it as the source of everything that's happened up today. Like, the reason why Ohnny barely comes home anymore and why Moku spends half his time endorsed in gaming.
And me? I've been thinking about that, ever since that dream. Because some dreams don't mean a thing, while others are so clearly symbolic you just have to stop and wonder what your subconscious is actually trying to tell you.
In my dream, it was mum who pushed me away but in real life I have to wonder if that's so true. I do recall trying to reach out to her when she was ill, but her response was erratic and too irrational for me to comprehend. So maybe I just gave up.

Scars run deep and I've never really forgiven her, even though she's technically better now. Atleast, I've acknowledged that much. I've always wondered how much would it take before I finally accept her again.

Am I really such a bitch? When she was ill, I would wish for her to show some emotion, you know, to cry, because atleast then I would know that she felt the same kind of pain that we did. But afterwards, the medication changed something or maybe we changed something, and she never stopped crying at odd moments, for no particular reason that we were aware of. And it annoyed me greatly because I didn't understand how someone could be so /weak/.
When did that happen? Once I would've been so upset at the sight of my mum crying, but now, I only get irritated by it.

Kam

And if you mouse over him, he'll break into a run! Isn't that cute?
Images are property of Squaresoft.

Kam

That's what you get from spending too much time websurfing. You get affected by the hype.

But sod, Riku in a blindfold? What gives? *rolls around on the floor in anticipation*

And it looks like that blurry thing moving at super sonic speeds /is/ Mickey delievering his royal justice to the Heartless ala MidgetNinja!Yoda style.

Oh and the music! It sends shivers up my spine. In a good way, of course.

Kam

This guy is a genius. He's said pretty much everything I've always wanted to except he's done it in a witty mini-film flash crossover. With humourous music, too!

Kam

About 24 hours in now. Kimi has a job at EB now! W00t! Although, obviously, I can't start until we get back from schoolies. I had to do that old pen test in the interview. You know, the one where they test your retail skills by suddenly giving you a pen and asking you to 'sell' it to them? Why, look at the marvelous rubber grip on this pen! And a full ink tank too! Don't you just want to buy it? ....hrmmm, yeah, anyway. I'm beginng to wonder if the world of Tethe'alla is similar to the one in Phantasia. I mean, it has some of teh old technology like the stuff you find in Thor, and it even has the mines of Moria... or was that the Morlia gallery. Anyway. The map looks similar. I'll have to find out later. Zelos continues to crack me up. I spent a good minute giggling during a battle when he suddenly spouted "Watch the face!". Ahahahaha! *cough*. We're getting a contract with Volt at the moment. I have a headache from all those flashing lightening strikes. Hrmmm....

Oh yeah, I saw those screenshots of Sora from the new KH's as well. He looks... different. Like he suddenly went trippy on the black grungy attire. On the subject of screenshots, they released some new ones for Prince of Persia 2. Now, as appealing as it may be for a guy, I don't really want to see Shadhee's ass on too many occasions. Not to mention that she just looks so goddamn uncomfortable. And now there's some new shots of the other female character, Kaileena (or however you spell it). Enough with the skanky ho outfits already! Argggg! Get some proper clothes, people! I mean, look at what Farah was wearing in Sands of Time. That was perfectly reasonable but she was still an attractive and interesting character. She had an allure that didn't involve wearing the least amount of clothing possible while getting a major wedgie. This game is so obviously being targeted at the male teenage demographic *sigh*. Oh well... At least I get to look at the Prince during the entire game. That's my eye-candy consollation~!

Oh yeah. I found this. It cracks me up. And it has some Robbin Hobb books there too~ I found the Wheel of Time ones bloody funny. And the Interview with the Vampire one. Yar, the Ultra-Condensed version of Crossroads of Twilight~!

(Rand BROODS and DREAMS about his THREE WOMEN.)
Minor Characters: There is a large use of the One Power over there. (repeat indefinitely)
Perrin: I was going to save my wife, but that will have to wait for the next book.
Egwene: I was going to attack Tar Valon, but I won't finish it until the next book.
Mat: I might flirt with Tuon in the next book.

.....that pretty much sums up the whole book actually. It's SAD but TRUE. Yay.

~Kimi

I was planning on completing the thing properly, you know, get Sora's Ultimate Keyclub as well as the good gear for Donald and Goofy. But I thought, yeah, I might as well train first, you know? But where do you always go to train? Well, yeah, the last area, of course.
And while I was down there I thought: "Well, I've saved, let's see how far we can go." So I went... all the way.

Damnit, I hate how you can never set a firm conception for Riku. One minute it's all: "Sod, die you bastard!" and the next I'm crying over the fact that he stayed behind.

He stayed behind, damnit!!!

Which makes no sense, because surely the door would've been easier to push shut rather than pull shut? You'd get your fingers caught in the gap and wotnot.

Hmm, King Mickey was kinda cute, though. In a huggable sort of way. How many Keyblade masters are there? I thought they were rare, but it seems like there's more of them than there are Mystery Goos.
Kairi's always adorable, she has the cutest way of biting her lip, but one can't help but feel a little aggressive towards her seeing as it's indirectly her fault.

He stayed behind, damnit!!!

I'm no longer certain which person that pronoun is directed towards.

But that trailer for Kingdom Hearts 2 looks so damn delicious... they look older... and is that Riku in the blindfold? What happened to his eyes? And... why is Sora Dressed In Black? Atleast, I think that's Sora. He does look awfully angsty.

Maybe I'll go kill that boss again. He's such a pushover. Of course, after defeating Riku everything is.

Kam

After 20 hours of playing I finally got up to the bit with Zelos. His voice actor isn't too bad; a little lower than what I would have expected given I've heard his japanese one before. But.. he cracks me up so much. He's so shameless~! When you set him as your active character while walking around, he flirts with every woman you talk to. And they give me stuff! For free! I'll never need to buy stuff from shops ever again. I could tell from the art that he was a flirtatious pretty-boi, but he just takes the cake. He spouts some of the corniest lovey-dovey lines ever. It's just... ack! *falls over into hysterical fits of fangirl giggling*. In some ways he's actually kind of annoying... He's rather arrogant, and he only joined our group to keep an eye on us, as it were. It's so whacked up that he's the Chosen from his country. Colette's all "Oh, I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble" with her regard for the position. And then there's "Everyone love me~! <3" Zelos... Yes, he uses love-hearts in his speech. One of his battle-cries is actually "Don't have me because I'm beautiful".... *dies*. Admittedly I still leech onto him despite the fact that his personality doesn't match up exactly with what I imagined. It'll be interesting to see his progression through the story.

I'll recount some of the formal later, although there isn't really that much to tell... The most interesting parts were those that were removed from the formal itself, as sad as that sounds. I only drank one bottle too, and got home at 3am, so tales of drunken woe are somewhat lacking. The food was nice though... And the location was spiffy. But yeah. On that later. My EB interview awaits me tomorrow~ And I have to get ready for Sunday too.

~Kimi