Mini-Ramble: In a Rush, But Please Enjoy (Zane Art)!

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  Sorry, I would've liked to post yesterday or even Thursday, but my brother has been on the computer almost nonstop since Christmas.  I don't know how he manages this since he's also been playing his new Pokemon Y game nonstop, but...
     I had a great Christmas, and I hope you did, too.  (Now here comes the New Year....)  What'd you get?  (Rhetorical question; I know that no one comments on my blog. T-T)  I received a new computer drawing tablet, and I spent the entirety of Christmas day working on a picture of Zane (the main character of my comic).  It turned out great!  The one problem I'm having is that I drew it on a manga software, and it cuts the picture off at the borders of where the comic would regularly be.  Also there's a page number on it.  Other than that, however, I'm happy with it, and I hope you will be as well.  Yes, I'm actually posting a promised drawing!  (I never did put up that angel drawing, did I...?)  Please enjoy.
     I have a lot else to say, but not enough time, so I will tell the rest this coming week.  (Since it's not like anything else interesting will happen any time soon.)  Until then, G-star out.

And there's that page number....^          
And there.^                                                                          

Mini-Ramble: No Getting Around the Name; It's That Short (Say Hello To Roo).

     Hello, all.  Yes, I know I had promised to post one of the past few days, and I fully intended to, but unfortunately I was inconvenienced both of those days; Thursday I had my brother's school's Christmas program, which I had forgotten about, and yesterday I had to go Christmas shopping.
     Speaking of which, I still need to buy a couple more presents, because even though I've finished off my immediate family, I have too many friends to buy something for all of them without either running out of money, feeling guilty about not getting someone something, or possibly both.  So I'm just going to focus on MC, Patveli, and Stulte (the third member of our "private, unofficial club"), even though I have a couple other people who got me small things whom I'm going to feel extremely guilty about not getting anything.  What can I say?  Oh, I know.  I HATE SHOPPING.  Especially for presents.
     Now then, I had some small things I wanted to talk about.  Firstly, I've heard a lot of studies about how people are more stressed around the holiday season than any other time of year, and I definitely agree.  Last night the rest of my family was freaking out because of an incident involving salsa, some presents, and a $50 poetry book.  I won't go further into detail, but my mom was spazzing, my brother was crying, and my dad was yelling.  Meanwhile, I was standing in the kitchen, feeding the cat, cool as a cucumber.  If I had thought about what was going on a little more, I would've broken down as well, but I tried not to think about it because I am an opposer of stress.  I hate stress because it makes my life harder, so I simply avoid it when possible.
     Now on to another topic.  At the aforementioned Christmas program I saw my friend Roo (yes, that's a nickname) for the first time in...um...I guess two months?  He's the only one of my middle school classmates whom I still keep up with, and while I DO keep up with him, I haven't Skyped him for a while.  He has a backstory, but I won't go into detail right now.  Anyway, he's the one who introduced me to Minecraft.  It was good to see him again face-to-face.
     I had more to talk about, but I'm half-asleep and can't remember any of it, so it'll have to wait...oh!  That's right.  I'm signing up for the school talent show with Patveli.  We're going to do a song, with me singing and him doing bass/guitar.  Of course, our choices are limited because it needs to be a song I can sing, with a bass line he can record and loop, and a cool-sounding guitar bit.  All of this needs to be decided by the end of winter break.  This will be difficult.
     Until Wednesday, when I hopefully remember more of the stuff I had to say, this is G-star, signing off.

This Was Not Intentional (A Penny Spent is a Penny Wasted/Another Dating Sim).

     Hello, all.  G-star here, after going through a long, LONG day.  Christmas is a week away, but Cool FM has been playing Christmas music for the last month.
     Sorry, I'm completely distracted by yet another "dating sim" that Ducis just introduced me to.  Or maybe I should say Patveli, because I told him his name and he forced me to change it.  Anyway, it's by the creator of Homestuck, which Patveli also tried to get me to read, but it seemed a little too dirty for me.  This one, however, seems good... it's called Namco High, and I'll put a link up just as soon as I clarify its nature.  Thing is, you have to buy "datelines" to get to know characters.  There are only a couple of free ones, and most of them are girls, so I obviously can't use those (well, I could, just so I have friends in the game, but who knows what could happen...my character's gender is kind of ambiguous.)  He says he's going to buy me the premium pack of datelines as a (early) Christmas gift, which he is doing as I type.  (How downloading something like that could take half an hour, however, I'll never understand.)
     I'm very grateful, ^_^ but I am, as always, nervous about "wasting" money.  This happens often either when someone's getting me something or I'm using my own money to buy something I found on a whim; am I going to use it?  Will it be worth it?  What if they (I) were (was) going to use that money for something else and now it's going to waste?!  (Needless to say, this causes me endless amounts of stress when shopping...)  So I find gift-giving awkward, and I try not to carry unnecessary cash around with me lest I squander it on useless things...like bracelets...and more bracelets...and necklaces...and stuff.....;-;  This is why I have no money to buy things like say Christmas gifts for friends say Patveli like the autographed CD he wants that's 12 dollars including shipping and every other person at school would be able to afford it but I can't because I "wasted" all my money on crud ahh...ahh..*deep breath*  Sorry.  That went on longer than it should've.  I already finished the dating sim Patveli suggested and bought the premium pack for me for and now I feel, just like I previously explained, like that was wasted. T-T  I hate this.
     I know, I know, I didn't post anything all weekend, and that was both because it was a really busy weekend and I really didn't have anything to post.  I've figured out the characters and setting for that comic I mentioned but haven't done anything beside that, so I have nothing to put up.  All of my roleplays died off in the last week and I have no other story ideas that I'm willing to reveal to the world (at least not quite yet).  I had a bunch more to say, including stuff about The Voice (mainly about James, the family favorite), but I spent all my computer time doing the aforementioned dating sim and now my mom wants me to get off.  As in RIGHT THIS SECOND.  Sorry this was so short and pointless; I'll try to put up a Mini-Ramble with what I really wanted to say sometime in the next two days.  Until then, this is G-star, signing off.

Let it Snow...and Snow...and...MAKE IT STOP (Creepers and Pikachus/Addictive Yet Useless)!!!

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  Sorry I didn't post earlier; I was playing Wii with my little brother, and though I had this nagging feeling there was something I needed to do on the computer, I couldn't pin it down.  I'm sorry for forgetting all you amazing readers out there. u.u  I forgot it was Wednesday mainly because I depend on school to keep me up-to-date on what day it is.  Why dodn't I have school, you ask?  That would be because the local roads have been blocked with ice and snow since Friday.  Yes, it is normally my city's duty to clear the roads with their ginormous street-sweepers, but although they cleared out the intersection leading to several stores and a couple schools, for some reason they (the ever-present, all-powerful "they") decided that the long street that leads down to my house, with over a hundred homes on it altogether, didn't deserve sweeping.  This, of course, basically nullified the purpose of clearing the big intersection of ice and snow, as no one could get to it to visit stores.  Being unable to leave the house has driven my mom to the brink of insanity.
     Of course, all this snow has its good sides, too.  On Friday it was too powdery to build anything with, so MC and I just walked around the neighborhood.  We found some icicles hanging off a car, and I broke one off and licked it...yes, I understand the health hazards of licking something you broke off a car, but it looked clean and I was thirsty.  (I was also kind of hoping it might stick to my tongue, but nothing happened.)  The next day we just stayed inside reading and playing video games (that's when MC and Ducis came over) and Sunday my family went outside and had a huge snowball fight, made an unsuccessful snowman,  tried to make the dog drag us around on a sled (which, unfortunately, didn't work), and made Dad drag us around on a sled (which, unfortunately for Dad, did work).  (I mentioned this in a comment after posting on Sunday.)
     Since "they" never cleared out the neighborhood and the snow is taking forever to melt, I haven't had school all week.  I'm not sure if I'll have it tomorrow; my extremely indecisive school says they're going to wait until tomorrow to make anything official.
     Most people would take full advantage of all this, but I'm personally kind of hoping that we'll have school tomorrow.  Why?  Well, remember that Gaming Club tournament I mentioned before?  It was supposed to have started yesterday and go on until, at least I think, the beginning of January (taking into account the two-week Christmas break), but since we missed the first day of the tournament and maybe the second day as well, I'm not sure what will happen.  Also, (and I don't think I've mentioned this before, and even though it's not relevant, I don't care because it's interesting,) the prize for the winner of the tournament is a quarter of the total profits from sign-ups (it costs $2 to sign up), while the other 3/4 will be going to new games, controllers, and overall equipment for the club.
     This is unrelated, but this entry has been slow going thanks to a website I just discovered called My Candy Love.  Well, I say 'just discovered', but I've actually been seeing ads for it for months now and only today decided to check it out.  So far it's interesting, but I can't go very many places...  Well, looks like Ken wants to go on a date with me.
     This really is an odd game.  Yet so addicting....  (Mostly because one of the characters looks like Tamaki Suoh. <-<)
     Speaking of computer simulation, MC has gotten me addicted to one called "Little Alchemist".  You're provided with four elements and have to combine them in all sorts of ways to create new ones.  It was fun at first, but now that I have a ton, it's sort of a pain to find two elements that might do something.  That wasn't really important, I just felt like I needed to make this entry longer.
      It's strange; when I first started blogging, every post was short, and I was fine with it.  But now that I've had so much to talk about (sort of) and they've been getting longer, I feel an obligation to make every post just as long, regardless of whether I actually have something to talk about.  Interesting.  Hopefully, at some point, I'll actually have a need instead of an urge because of my interesting social life.  (Yeah, like THAT'LL ever happen.  Why do you think I spend my time playing dating sims and roleplaying?)
     I just remembered something.  My little brother recently downloaded the Minecraft mod "Pixelmon", and I felt an immediate pull.  We're both Pokeheads and, though we only have two of the actual games (counting the Wii Battle Stadium game), collect the cards with wild abandon.  He with his ridiculously strong EX and Stage 3 cards; I with my strategic cards possessing only attack effects.  Oddly enough, I always beat him.  (I wonder why that is?  -v-)  Anyway, he went the "honest way" with his Pixelmon game, starting from scratch in Survival, cheats off, with nothing but a starter, living in Pokemon Centers and desperately scrounging for Apricorns, and guessing when it came to crafting Pokeballs.  While I, ever the logical one, started in Creative with cheats on and took the "reasonable way"; providing myself with a home, the essentials (crafting table, furnace, chests) and Pokemon Center supplies (as I was unable to find one, no matter how far I flew), and catching one Pokemon over level one with a Master Ball.  After that, though, I went Survival, actually bothering to LOOK UP Pokeball crafting recipes as I played.  And what was the result?  My brother still only has his starter (as he was unable to make any Pokeballs), no home, and is desperately trying to get along with no cheat abilities.  I, on the other hand, have a full team (and then some), plenty of self-crafted Dusk Balls and Level Balls, and manage to heal my Pokemon between battles.  Let's take a second and think about which one was the better idea.
     Now then, I need to go level up my recently acquired Miltank and track down an Abra that's been giving me the slip.  Until Saturday, this is G-star, signing off.

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (Evil Static/The Endless Reading Cycle)

     Hello, all.  I'm sorry this is a day late; MC and Ducis (the aforementioned "private club's" fearless leader) came over yesterday to help me practice for the Gaming Club's upcoming "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournament.
     I don't think I mentioned this before; see, oddly enough, my school's video game club is really more serious than any of the others.  Last year's club president did absolutely nothing for the club, but this year's president (well, more like the second-in-command is doing all the work) is putting on a fundraiser to buy more games, remotes, and overall better equipment in the form of a tournament.  There's a two-dollar entry fee, and I was the first to sign up.  I plan on using Ike, because, although I've been using Pokemon Trainer the most during club meetings, Ike is my best character.
     Anyway, there's been something slightly concerning going on in my bedroom.  I've been sleeping with 3-5 blankets on top of my comforter since October, and now, whenever I shift any of them, you can hear crackling static.  I've been shocked a few times just getting out of bed.  And at night, when I sit up to fix the blankets at the bottom of the bed, you can see flashing sparks.
     It's kind of cool, but I'm a little scared I'll get a bad shock one of these days.  I already have static problems with my hair.
     Speaking of night, last night I sat down in bed at about 9:30 to read volume 4. of Loveless.  I had intended to read maybe two chapters, do a little drawing, and then get up, say goodnight to my parents, and go to bed so I could listen to an audiobook.  Next thing I knew, I looked up and it was 11.
     I had been reading like this: every couple of chapters I would decide to read another, since it wasn't that late yet and I was a fast reader, and I'd do that again, and again, and so forth, until I realized I had finished the book.  I didn't think it would take an hour and a half to read a manga, but I guess it did (and it makes sense since Loveless is longer than most).  By the time I got up the lights were off and I wasn't planning on crossing the house in the dark to see if they were awake -- I've been reading a reeeeaaaally good ghost novel by Jonathon Stroud, one of my favorite authors -- so I just went to bed, wondering if they would think I was mad at them.
     "Oh, one more chapter won't hurt....hm, I can't stop here, so I'll keep reading until I find a good cut-off spot...I'm almost done, so why stop now?...oh."  That pretty much describes my reading patterns.  Once I start, I can't stop, no matter what I promise myself.
     This leads to a lot of prematurely finished books and a lengthy period of boredom between me finishing every book to the next library visit.
     I need help.
     In any case, here are the last two chapters of my story, unparalleled in lack of perseverance.  I'm doing two at once because the last one is very short and it would be pointless to post it by itself.  Next week, if at all possible, I'll start posting bits and pieces of the comic instead, and if not, bits of roleplays I did or fan art, which will go along faster from now on since I finally have a drawing style I can work with quickly and well.  Until Wednesday, G-star out.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei

Geesh, maybe I should take that guy out shopping for people skills, thought Zane, when suddenly a petite, dark-haired girl came out of the other room (how there could be another room in a warehouse, Zane couldn’t guess) carrying a pile of boxes.  Even sweaty with effort and wearing a baggy hoodie that was rolled up to the elbows, Zane couldn’t stop gaping.  She flicked her short bangs out of her eyes (Zane could have sworn it was in slow motion with little flowers) and glanced up at Zane.  “As long as you’re doing nothing other than gaping open-mouthed at my forehead, could you give me a hand, newby?”  Zane nodded, still slightly jaw-dropped, and took a box off the top of the stack.  

“Oh, Zane, that’s my niece, Kenna.  She’s living here until her parents make up, and she’s a pretty skilled martial artist herself.”  No kidding, thought Zane, at the risk of sounding cheesy, she’s already karate chopped my heart for sure.  And then he dropped the cardboard box on his foot, emitting a yelp of pain.

The Cats Are Conspiring Against Me (An Alternate Route To Publication)...

     Hello, all.  G-star here, a little worried about the future of this blog...but I'm getting ahead of myself.  See, the entire first trimester at my school I had (well, have) Business and Financing for third period, and it's in the computer lab (if you haven't figured that much out by now, you need to see a psychiatrist).  Every Wednesday I would spend maybe twenty minutes of my 70-minute class writing my blog, and a lot of the time that would be the only time I would get on the computer that day.  For a while I've been depending on third period for my internet and typing allowance for the day, but next term I have Mechanics Science third period, which is obviously not in a computer lab.  Thus, my posts will probably be up later (like after dinner) and most likely be shorter.  This will have no effect on my Saturday story updates, but since I'm bad at keeping up with those anyway, that's not really a good thing.
     Speaking of my story updates, they will be ending soon.  While I did finish the first chapter after re-typing it from a printout I wrote on a computer in middle school, I never started chapter 2.  Heck, I didn't even type the chapter heading!  I simply lost interest, and now am interested in another story involving Zane, the main character.  After going over my weaknesses in writing, I realized that I'm just not cut out to write a novel and so came up with the idea to do it in comic book form.  I'll have more creative freedom and can put in more humor.  I've already drawn three of the major characters (including Zane) and they turned out very well.  This one I just know will get done.
     I've never talked about my "writing weaknesses", I know, and I will put them in a list in this entry, but now I'm going to talk about some interesting things that have been happening recently (I mean, that is the whole point of this blog -_-).  My family has two cats, an old, cranky grandma cat and a teenager cat who's as cute and timid as a kitten (it's pathetic, really).  Whenever I see the cute teenager, Spike (his name is so inaccurate it's funny) I want to just pick him up and cuddle him; he doesn't resist much, either (I think he's part ragdoll -- yes, that's a real breed) but if I get too close he'll sprint up the stairs and I give up.  Once I persisted because I REALLY wanted to pet him, but he ran back and forth from the upstairs exercise room (that my family never uses) to the upstairs play room (with a Foosball, an air-hockey, and a basketball setup that my family also never uses) and no matter what I did if I got close he'd sprint past me and into the other room.  It was exhausting.
     Last night, though, he ran away from me up the stairs, but kept stopping to see if I was there and then running away again when I got close.  If I went back downstairs he'd sit on the bottom step and stare at me until I followed him again.  Once I got upstairs he stood there until I picked him up, purred and kneaded his claws while I rubbed his belly, and when I put him down and went downstairs he followed me, standing still so I could pet him and then following me again.  He would've followed me into my room if I hadn't changed courses, which caused him to stare at me with a look of abandonment and confusion.  Him going into my room isn't abnormal, because he loves sleeping on my blanket, but normally he only runs into there trying to get away from me.  When I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, it took after I turned on the light and closed the door to notice that my other cat, Abigail, was curled up on the shower mat.  This itself was extremely odd, as for some reason none of my pets ever go in the bathroom (even though they hang out in the oddest places like the laundry room and Dad's office) but what was even stranger was the fact that she didn't look at me until I started petting her.  She normally looks toward even the slightest noise, but didn't respond to the door closing...
     I also tripped over her sitting in the middle of the laundry room in the dark four and running in front of me in the kitchen four times each yesterday.
     Spike came up to her while I was getting their food and randomly started licking her back.
     I swear, they're conspiring to drive me mad.
     Anyway, here's that list some of the ways I write, and I think you'll see why doing a chapter book just won't work for me.  I haven't written a list in a while, have I?  I hope I'll be able to post again next week, but until Saturday, this is G-star, signing off.

      Notes on My Writing

• I always start with either an explanation or by jumping right into the action in some way.
• I prefer to write from the view of my most developed character.
• I try to never use the same verb, adverb, or adjective twice in one paragraph.
• I have a habit of only writing interactions and details necessary to advancing the plot.
• My stories never really have an end goal.
• I don't like doing research.
• I find it difficult to write for more than three characters at once because I have to repetitively use "he", "she", and "they", without explanation of who's talking.

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (Another Kooky Dream/It Was Mine First!)

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I had another strange dream a couple nights ago; some parts of it were clear as real life, but others I hardly remember, so I'll just say what I can.  From what I gathered, it was about a camp for young superpowered individuals.  I'm really not sure what my power was, but I distinctly remember flying at one point.  I was also wearing my fluffy pink Cheshire Cat hat during most of the dream.  Anyway, the whole place was sort of...well, you know those play structures at McDonalds or Papa's Pizza?  It was kinda like one of those.  The first part of the dream was spent fighting random supervillains.  That part wasn't very clear, but I do recall fighting a guy who kind of looked like a Haunter and another guy who seemed to be wearing a diving suit.  One of the old ones with the big helmet.  (If my writing seems a bit monotone, which even I'm catching, that's because I don't normally post this early in the morning without sugar in my system.  Yes, 11:30 is early for me.)  I saw one of my friends from youth group (a lot of them were there, actually) but for some reason I couldn't remember his name, so I just blushed and turned away.  Next thing I knew I was asleep, and having the oddest dream -- within a dream.  (First time I've had one of those.)  I was some sort of sheep, and I was trying to escape from my captors.  I found two tunnels, one leading down and one leading up, and I got this weird idea in my head of "hey!  I can get away if I go into the one they don't want to follow me into!"  So I went down, and, after falling off a dilapidated minecart track thing into lava, was suddenly transported into this white room with two...erm...I think they were elves.  Anyway, they told me that the choices I had made in my dream-within-a-dream showed whether I was going to Heaven or Hell, and that I was going to Heaven.  That in itself was weird, but then I jolted awake into my other dream (the one with the superheroes), still wearing my cat hat, and suddenly this guy on the bunk above mine was grabbing my head.  Some sort of authority said that we were paired for a project, and that he was being protective, so I tried to smile in gratefulness but in all honesty was just freaking out.  Soon enough we were trying to make tea outside someone's garage from a book of magic.  My "partner" was a taller boy with close-cropped brown hair and wearing a unitard printed with scales.  In a way, he looked like a boy I used to know, and he was, I have to admit, kind of cute.  In any case, the front door of the house belonging to the garage we were next to opened and a boy with horns and dragon wings was pushed out by a teacher, protesting that he didn't know he was a drake, it just happened.  (I find it odd that every relatively clear dream I've had lately involves someone being part-dragon.)  Then these red, smoldering lines traced over the garage door, which bulged out, then went back to normal, glittering.  The snake-scale boy looked at it at awe and said "that was beautiful," to which I responded, for some odd reason, "magic".  Then I woke up.  Odd, isn't it?

     And that was my dream.  Yes, I actually have something relevant to talk about as well.  Yesterday I heard a song called "Chocolate" on the radio (you might've heard it; if not, you should) and it annoyed me beyond belief.  You see, I had found that song for free on iTunes a few months ago and downloaded it, and it was my favorite song for a while.  But then it showed up on the radio and now it's a million other peoples' favorite song!  I need to add to my list of things that bug me "people stealing my favorite songs".  It makes the fact that it's also my favorite song cliche, since a ton of other people like it as well, simply because it's played a lot on the radio.  This happened with another song I found as well, "Wings" by Little Mix, except in a slightly different way.  I was watching TV with my mom (that seems to be the only time I ever watch TV) when this trailer for a blechy-looking R-rated movie came on, and in the background they were playing, of all things, "Wings".  Now whenever I sing that song people will say "oh, that's the song from that movie trailer!"  NO!  I HAD IT FIRST!  MC had this problem too, once.  She found a song called "Pompeii" by Bastille for free on iTunes once (she checks it regularly) and she showed me.  We both loved it, and I think it was MC's favorite song for a good while.  Then, about two months ago, I heard it on the radio and immediately told MC.  I think she was okay with it, but I was ticked.  Yes, I should add that to my "things that bug me" list.  "When I find an obscure song/band that I love, and it's mine, and it's special, AND THEN THEY PLAY IT ON THE RADIO."

     Sorry, I've been rambling on for paragraphs, and you've been waiting to read my story; that is the title of this post, after all.  Here you are.  Enjoy, and I'll see you Wednesday.  For now, G-star out.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei

On the other hand, Brenton, a tall, equally muscular guy whose brown hair could only realistically exist in an anime (Zane thought he used too much gel), looked perpetually angry, and didn’t even bother to shake Zane’s hand.  “Brenton Gilmore,” he mumbled, and walked over to a sandbag, nearly blowing it apart with his first angry blow.  

DON'T TOUCH THE WAAAAAAAALL ("Fitz-Simmons" Liars, Perhaps).

     Hello, all.  G-star here, slightly annoyed (as I have been for quite a while now) at the fact that Blogger doesn't seem to acknowledge that tab = paragraph indent key, along with several other websites.  Nnn.  Blatant disrespect for obvious writing rules like that one on the internet just bug me.  Just like people putting an apostrophe in a possessive "its" on, of all things, a writing website!!!  Not only that, but incorrect uses of "to" and "too".  Gosh, if you're going to write, do it right... (pun not intended.)

     Anyway, after ranting about laws of writing, let's get to the actual subject of this post, which, to be honest, isn't really anything in particular.  The one thing I've been wanting to talk about is something I watched with my parents a few days ago; I walked into the room and they were playing some sort of action movie, so I sat down, interested.  Within five minutes (of movie, not counting commercials) of me getting there, three people died in violent, horrible, extremely morbid deaths.  You know those horror movies where you can see the murderer around the corner, but the character can't, and you're shouting like a madman at the TV, "DON'T GO IN THERE!!!  HE'S RIGHT TH...NOOOOO!!!"  (I probably shouldn't have talked about horror films, now I'm afraid there's a guy with a knife behind me. -_-)  Well, this was the same thing.  The characters were in this office building that kept being struck by lightning while at the same time being chased by this really bad CGI ball of pink electricity, and the buff, handsome, evidently genius main action guy was telling everyone not to touch the walls or railing of the staircase, because if they did, they'd be electrocuted, but it was really tight, and this one lady kept sort of stumbling toward the wall, so you just knew something bad was going to happen, and I was yelling "Stupid!  Stop tripping!  BE CAREFUL MORON!!!"  (Dag, that was a REALLY long sentence.)  ...Then the lady fell down the stairs, got electrocuted, and when another guy, noticing she was still breathing, tried to help her, he died too.  It was HORRID.  At that point my parents gave up on it and when they went to the guide to turn something else on, I noticed the name of the movie was "Ice Twister", and the description said that it was about some scientist guy who somehow puts shards of ice into a tornado.  That had absolutely NOTHING  to do with the movie.  I don't know why they even try.  Oh, remember how I mentioned the "really bad CGI ball of pink electricity"?  Well, I wasn't kidding.  It was pathetic how bad the special effects were.  The ball wobbled around with the camera instead of with the background, so the fact that it was edited in was plain for all to see, not that anyone would want to.
     Speaking of horror, I was watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. again last night.  This one was akin to a scary movie, as it was about a girl the team was keeping in the plane who was being haunted.  This guy with a monkey wrench kept appearing and disappearing before and after beating people up and/or locking them in closets.  He took out the power, but the lights kept flickering, and when the lights would be on you'd see him in a doorway, then they'd flicker and he'd be gone.  It was almost like Slenderman the way he disappeared.
     This doesn't have to do with the ghost guy, but it does have to do with the show.  I believe on one of my "culture updates" (they're beginning to have less to do with manga and more to do with stories in general, so I'm going to call them that instead) I talked about how much I love the fact that Fitz and Simmons seem more like siblings than coworkers.  Well, recently I've noticed a lot of the other characters referring to them as "Fitz-Simmons" like they're one person, and I think that's funny.  That's just me, though, and just because they're my favorite characters. ._.
     I just went web-surfing and discovered that someone made a fan video of the amazing tech duo's origins, appropriately named "Fitz-Simmons".  Apparently they had the idea in May, which I don't understand since the series started this fall.  (What...?)  Anyway, they said they were going to have it out by early summer (again, don't understand the timing) but I did a little searching (when I say a little, I mean five minute's worth) and I couldn't find the video itself anywhere, even though they had a Kickstarter for it and everything.  (*nose randomly explodes*  Guh...sorry, someone must be talking about me.)  Needless to say, it's a little concerning, not to mention disappointing.  (Speaking of noses, mine has been hurting on one side [on the outside] whenever I touch or accidentally press on it.  There's a sort of lump...maybe I was stung by a bee or something, although I think I would've noticed.)  Anyway, I'll see what I can find out about that video, but until Saturday, this is G-star, signing out.

P.S.
Have any of you seen FLCL (Fooly Cooly)?  If so, is it good?  The club I introduced a while back reeeeaaally wants me to watch it.  Apparently they've all seen it several times.  Also, the way this country is going by way of education, I'm a little concerned that most kids my age may not even know what P.S. means.  Put a comment below with the definition if you know, but NO GOOGLING.  Yes, I already know, I just want to know if you do.

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (Offensive Referrals).

     Hello, all.  For the first time in several weeks, I've actually remembered to post this on Saturday!  And, though it's too late for this now, I have something to talk about.  I was watching "Oprah: Where are They Now?" last night with my mom (for the simple reason of her bed is comfortable and that's what she had on) and I saw two very interesting commercials.  First, you know those toilet paper commercials where they take one of theirs and one of the "nameless competitor's", get them wet, put a roll of quarters on them, and drag them across a table to show which one's stronger?  Well, I always thought that not naming the product you're better than was sort of an unwritten rule of advertising, but that seems to be changing.  There was a commercial for the new Window's Tablet and, at the end of the commercial, the actor specifically said "it's better than an iPad." (Quote not exact.)  If my life were a cartoon, I would've paused it right there, turned toward the camera, and said "Woah, woah, woah, did he just say what I think he said??  Did he just diss Apple??"  About twenty minutes later there was an ad for a truck (forgot the brand) where, after getting inside the truck that magically seemed to block out the noise of the neighboring busy interstate, said "It's so much better than those other brands like, say, Ram and Ford."  (Again, quote not exact.)  That last sentence was completely unnecessary, but they still had to name off brand names they're better than (or think they are).  It's a sad day for the advertisement industry.  Anyway, here's the next part of the story.  I'll see you on Wednesday.  Until then, G-star out.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei

He was greeted by the sight of two boys practice fighting on a gymnastics mat.  The woman was standing in the corner by the mat, correcting the boys’ stances every so often.  “Adam!  Raise your arms higher when you punch!  Brenton, you need to watch for his attacks, not stand there waiting for them to hit you in the face!  I can’t afford another hospital bill because you weren't paying attention.”  When the battle ended with Brenton on the floor and Adam with his foot on Brenton’s chest in triumph (the boy got the feeling that this had happened many times before), the woman clapped her hands, causing everyone’s heads to snap towards her.  “We have a new student today.  Adam, Brenton, say hello to Zane Hart.  And make sure you have his attention before bothering to say anything,” She said, rolling her eyes and beginning to roll up the mat.  Adam came over to Zane while Brenton stood up, grumbling and brushing himself off.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m Adam Smith,” he said, shaking Zane’s hand.  He was thickset in a muscular kind of way and tan, with wavy black hair.  He sort of emanated a friendly vibe, hippy-wise, and Zane liked him.

A Ton of Stuff You SHOULDN'T READ (As I Argue With My Conscience).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.
     Even though I tried my hardest not to use up anything I had to talk about, I still don't know what to write.  Nothing interesting has happened the past week aside from a lot of large assignments to do over Thanksgiving break.
     Simply put, I still need a social life.  Help me.  (Help yourself!  Go talk to people!  No wonder MC calls you anti-social.)
     I guess one vaguely relevant thing has happened...whenever I go to the library I check out a few audiobooks to listen to in bed before I go to sleep, and I recently found one interesting-sounding "authorized sequel" to the original Peter Pan story called Peter Pan in Scarlet.  I was a little confused at first because I've read a lot of "Peter and the Starcatchers" books lately and the characters, strangely enough, are completely different.  Anyway, I thought it would be a nice, refreshing return to Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys and their adventures in Neverland.  NOPE.  As soon as the kids (I guess you could call them that) got there, the book described the creepy fog and stuff all over the island.  Soon one of them found a bunch of mermaid skeletons.  MERMAID.  SKELETONS.  I caught on there that something was off about this so-called "sequel", but, oh, it got even worse from there.  About fifteen minutes later, the whole group got together to observe...of all things....the corpse (well, I guess more like a skeleton at that point) of the ticking crocodile that plagued Hook for all those years.  That's HORRIBLE!!  Immediately afterward they were attacked by man-eating lions, mad bears, and talked to by this guy I'm SURE was a demon.  Needless to say, I turned the audiobook off after that.  Why the heck would that be in the children's section of a library (where I get my audiobooks), much less be read to a bunch of children in a hospital?!  That was the most morbid fairytale I ever heard!  Gosh, that's simply psychotic....  (Why did you tell all that to a general audience that may include children?  Idiot.  Now you'll be sued.)  They can't sue minors.  Can they?  (Well, there was the girl whose cat killed a squirrel.  She was sued.)  Dangit.
     Good, I got that out of my system.  Now, to talk about manga.  Ha!  (Haha...no, I don't know why that's funny either.)  Yesterday I started reading Naruto, for the simple reason of it being the longest series present at my school library.  I really wasn't very interested beforehand because, at risk of sounding biased, I don't like reading popular manga.  (A brother of a friend whom I told this to said there was a name for it...I've forgotten, though.)  If you've been keeping up with my blog you'll understand that I prefer to avoid being cliche, and this will make sense.  If not, go read the rest of my blog.  Now.  Anyway, I'm not allowed to read graphic novels rated Older Teen (16+) for obvious reasons.  (At least I hope they are.  How old do you think I am, 18?)  The thing is, the Asian seem to have a different sense of what's appropriate for different age groups than Americans. (they do, right?  If not, I'm concerned for our nation's ethics system.)  Remember that Korean comic I mentioned I was reading, Very! Very! Sweet?  Well, that's teen-rated, yet has a ton of unnecessary cussing (I think I may have said this before).  Naruto, though without cussing, is dirty in another way.  In the first volume it showed a nearly naked woman.  Needless to say this manga is not recommended for children (especially boys) thirteen or younger.  (Great, now they're all going to want to read it.  Why did you mention this at all?)  I write what I write.  Go away.  In fact, burn it!  Burn it all!!!  (She says as she's reading volume 2.)  That's because it's still...entertaining, though....  Well, that was only in the first volume, and it has a cool plot...I'll update you if it gets any worse, though.  (Hypocrit.)  Interrupter.  Well, I'll see you on Saturday, but until then, G-star out.  (Yeah, go read more of the manga you just told everyone to avoid.  Niiiice.)

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (A Day Late; My Apologies)

  Hello, all. G-star here, posting the next paragraph a day late. I'm sorry; I was on yesterday, but I spent the whole time filling out a character form for a roleplay (I'm very proud of how he turned out, though, so no regrets). This is unrelated, but I got another question about my "accidental haircut" this morning. A boy in my youth group whom I haven't seen in while had this conversation with me: Boy- "Didn't you use to have long hair?" Me- "Yes..." Boy- "Why'd you get it all cut off?" Me- "Because I wanted to..." Boy- "Are you going to grow it out again?" Me- "No, probably not, I like this style..." Apparently most guys I know thought that my hair looked better longer...or maybe they just got so used to it that now they think someone forced me to cut it all off. I don't understand why, I think my hair looks better now than it did before...anyway, here's the next part of my story.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei

He stared at her blankly for a moment before the woman rapped smartly on his skull.  “Hello?  Anyone home?”  The boy blinked and rubbed his head, then put his fist against his opposite palm, fingers pointing skyward and bent his waist in a traditional Chinese bow.  “Oh, sorry...I’m here to redeem a certificate for one free lesson,” he said, moving back into a casual position and looking around.  “This is the Four Fires Dojo, correct?”  The woman nodded and held out a hand, which the boy stared at blankly.  “You’re good at that, aren’t you?”  The woman asked, and the boy kept staring at her.  “What?”  He said, shrugging.  The woman rolled her eyes and said “Just give it to me.”  Receiving another empty stare, she thrust her hand out further, causing the boy to flinch.  “The signup sheet!  With your information!  Don’t tell me you simply wandered here by accident…”  Realizing what she meant, he hurriedly pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jeans pocket and relinquished it to the woman, who looked it over and nodded in satisfaction.  “Alright, come in.  The lesson starts in a few minutes.”  After opening the door wider, she disappeared inside with the boy following surprisingly promptly behind.  

I Think That Square-Shaped Blob Above Nevada is....Alaska (Don't Do This At Home/Public Rambling)?

     Hello, all.  G-star here...realizing that it probably would've made things easier for everyone if I had just waited a day to talk about my weird dream.  Because now I have nothing to talk about...or do I?  (I'm just confusing myself.  This Quicken program I'm using in BC does nothing to help the matter.)  Let me see...oh!  I think I might have something.
     Firstly, to introduce this random topic, how knowledgeable should a teacher be in their subject?  Should they have a college degree?  Had all A+'s in high school in their subject?  Well, I don't know about that, but I think they should at least be able to spell a word essential to their specialty....  Yes, I'm going somewhere with this, be patient.  My health teacher was giving a lecture (well, sort of) and was writing on the board while he did so.  I'm a grammar/spelling Nazi (as MC well knows; I am her editor, after all) and I was watching his writing carefully, when he spelled "hygiene" wrong (like "hygene" -.-).  He also spelled "tetanus" wrong (without the "a").  I feel I should be concerned, especially since he's an IHS (International High School) teacher.  I originally thought IHS would just be a really advanced version of high school, but it turns out that it's no such thing (at least not yet); instead, we just learn about what we normally would, except about other countries more than ours.  Of course, in Geography, it doesn't make a difference, as I bet they're studying other countries in the regular geography classes as well.  It actually sort of annoys me that we're not studying America's geography, as I never did that to begin with.  All through middle school, we studied the Middle East, and that was it.  Even in American History, we didn't do any maps (or even capitals).  Heck, I can't even name all the states, much less all fifty capitals!  Apparently, in 4th grade at that school (the year before I started attending), they spend the whole year studying American history and geography.  The class does state reports and everything.  The closest I've gotten to learning the states was when I was home schooled (sometime in 3rd or 4th grade, I think) when we spent maybe a week learning about the states, one at a time.  Neither my brother nor I could focus, though, so we stopped after Alaska (they were alphabetized).  So I know maybe four state capitals, but that's my limit.  I think during Thanksgiving break I may do some personal study, because, if I want to get a college scholarship, they're going to expect me to be able point out North Dakota on a map.
    I just spent a giant paragraph ranting about how I'm completely useless in American geography.  (Well, no dur, Captain Obvious. -3-) Even I think that was boring.  I'm sorry.  I'll try to do better.
     Speaking of talking aimlessly, in IHS Health we're working on public speaking.  At first I thought that was completely un-health-related, but apparently the topic on the twenty-minute speeches we'll be writing (at least, I think that's how long they're supposed to be; I passed out when the teacher said "twenty minutes") will have to do with what we've been learning recently -- that would be vaccines and antibiotics -- or simply be something health-related.  The only one I can think of that's even slightly interesting-sounding to me is "why anime limits are completely unrealistic and you should never try those situations at home".  I'm going to ask the teacher, but he'll probably say no.  It'd be fun, though...I was going to use Hayate the Combat Butler as examples; it would work well, considering how much Hayate can withstand.  He would be the "don't do this at home, kids" guy who ends up in the hospital.  Thing is, it's supposed to be a formal speech, and I don't think talking like I'm writing a blog is very formal...oh well.  I'll try.  I'm sorry I never posted the next part of my story on Saturday; it never crossed my mind in the midst of the excitement on going to the library.  Maybe sometime I'll talk about my library trips...they're definitely more interesting than geography.  Until Saturday, G-star out.

Mini-Ramble: Dreams are Directly Related to Reality (If it's a Nightmare, Get Some Help).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I know it's Tuesday, and that normally a Mini-Ramble could wait until tomorrow, (wait, it is Tuesday, right?) but I had the oddest (and most realistic) dream last night, and I wanted to write it down before I forgot.  This is unrelated, but the post title is strange, isn't it?  Gonen'nasai.  I've been reading too much Hayate the Combat Butler lately, and the names of the episodes seem to be based off of popular Japanese sayings, so I thought I'd do something similar with a saying I made up (no, that is not a quote from Plato, I know, it's so deep it's difficult to believe -_-).  Thing is, since I'm not Japanese, for the longest time I had trouble correlating each title with the actual topic of the episode (I had this same problem with Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei), but I think I'm beginning to understand them now.
     (There was something else unrelated I wanted to mention, but I've forgotten....)  Now to the point of this entry; my dream.  It really was the strangest thing; the earliest part I remember was where my dad and I were at the mall (specifically in a clothing store) and this weird guy was pulling out a bunch of clothes for me to try on.  For some reason all the outfits he picked were boys' clothes (but they still looked good on me; I look like a guy anyway, so I guess it just worked), and, even though my dad kept protesting and telling him I was a girl, he kept doing it...  (I went to the movies last night with my dad, so that part makes sense, and I was writing a story yesterday where I was mixed up for a boy, so that makes sense too, but what was with the creepy guy...?  Well, there WAS a similar character in an audiobook I was listening to, so...maybe?...)  Eventually we got away, and the first thing I remember after that was yelling in some guy's face...and I was breathing fire.  (Yeah, like the creepy guy dressing me up like a doll wasn't enough.)  It was actually kinda cool, actually.  Next thing I knew, I had cool scaly wings (still breathing fire here; my guess is I was turning into a dragon girl.  Isn't there a movie like that [Dragonborn]?) and was wearing goggles for some reason (it looked weird with glasses -_-), and I was fighting off Garfield lookalikes with two friends from school, Perk and Lee (nicknames, of course).  Then I was suddenly at my youth group (or somewhere similar), and when I went to say hi to the worship team (still a dragon, by the way), one of the girl singers, the one I'm the least close to, gave me a cold look and sarcastically said "Thanks, Sara," and slammed the door shut (they were meeting in one of the side rooms).  My best guess is she was mad at the fact that I didn't do worship anymore; I tried to protest, telling her that I never got an email, but the door wouldn't open.  I went and cried under a table, and Perk showed up to comfort me.  I woke up sometime around then, but the whole dream I had wings, fire breath, goggles, and, possibly, horns.
     It sounded cooler in my head.
     So now I'm considering doing a comic about that...with the weird guy at the beginning being the cause of me growing wings (not to mention breathing fire).  Hey, it could be fun.  Sorry for wasting your time, but this entry did have one important function: now I can talk more about Perk and Lee, the comedy duo (at least I think so) from my school!  Though I don't know if that was worth three giant paragraphs.  Anyway, until tomorrow, G-star out.

This is Nonsense, But Video Games Come Up the Most (Smores are Delicious).

     Hello, all.  G-star here, with not much to talk about...  Well, firstly, here's a shoutout (no, I don't know what that is) to my friend Bianca (AKA Smore) at justmehighschool.blogspot.com!  I haven't checked it out yet (she won't let me open the page at school -3-) but you should!  I bet it's great!  Other than that, I don't know what to say.  Well, in that unofficial club I mentioned a few posts ago, we've finally decided what we're doing.  We've decided to make a video game; specifically, a dating sim.  We had two different versions; one where there's one protagonist and one main character, designed to make you like her.  The other was one customizable protagonist and a bunch of different main characters, each one with a different path should you choose them.  I think the latter would be too difficult, as it involves programming more paths and choices (not to mention characters), while the former would be simple and fun.  I made a survey and I'll edit this post and insert the link as soon as I can access it.  (Which I can't from the school computers.)  Anyway, so far my idea has been outvoted 8 to 2, but I think it has a better chance than the more complicated one.  Once the survey is up, please vote!  It's only one question; I'm sure you can find the time.  Please, blow their overconfidence in our collective abilities out of the water.
     Speaking of video games, my little brother bought a paintball Wii game.  (I didn't even know they had those.)  As he was taking the tutorial he could shoot the guide character in the face without it saying anything.  That's one resilient NPC.  Yes, I know, that was completely pointless, not to mention irrelevant.
     I'll see if I can talk about something more interesting.  Lessee... that book MC and I were working on maybe three months ago is finally being continued.  FINALLY.  I had written the second chapter and was waiting for her to continue the story, because I couldn't do anything more without her character doing something, but she took forever getting to Google Drive.  But now chapter three is on its way to being completed, so everything's okay!  And now I'm out of things to talk about again.
     UURRRGH.  This is like the problem I had with another blog website I attempted, trythistopic.weebly.com.  It was a complete and utter fail, mostly because I couldn't advertise it anywhere.  The biggest website I had presence on had a nasty habit of changing any link you posted to connect to said big website, so you couldn't advertise other websites.  The problem was, even worse than the fact I had no visitors, was that I needed comments to run the site.  People were supposed to comment with ideas about what the next entry would be on, and I would comply with my opinions.  Needless to say, it died after a week, though it is still active.  Comment on the latest post and I'll see if I can bring it back to life.
     This has to be the worst blog entry I've EVER written.  Normally, the night before I come up with a topic and outline for the next day's post but I fell asleep fairly quickly last night, and it doesn't help that hardly anything happened this week.  Seriously, all the things I just talked about were the most interesting happenings this week.  That seriously sucked.  In apology I'll do an update on my most recent reads.  Until Saturday, G-star out.  Gonen'nasai.

Recent Manga/Book/TV Update
Ouran Host Club (Bisco Hatori)- I actually watched the entire anime two months ago, but I'll count this as a recent read because I only just started reading the manga version, starting with volume 15 (I think?).  It's just as amazing as the anime, though the art is very different.  I've already read some of her series Millenium Snow, and that was definitely amazing, but this is even better.  Volume 16 contained a short story about when Haruhi's mother and father met...is it messed up that I'm now hopelessly obsessed now over Haruhi's father (pre-crossdress) and that I relate to her mother about how amazingly adorable he is?  ......
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.- I just love Fitz and Simmons.  LOVE LOVE LOVE XXX OOO {3{3.  Fitz is the best, of course, but the sibling-like duo's relationship is just so fun to watch!  The most recent episode was all about them, and I was sobbing like a small child when her goldfish dies when Simmons was about to die.  Ayaw........

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (Last-Minute Blogging)

     Hahah....I was on the computer for a good five hours and yet I completely forgot to post.  I'm sorry.  I need to get off in a sec, so I'll cut to the chase.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei (Par. 2)

 

A tall, slim boy stood in front of the dirty glass door, rocking back and forth on his heels as he nervously ran his hand through his spiky blonde hair.  The building before him resembled nothing more than a warehouse, its only means of identification being a poster glued up on the wall, announcing in faded letters that it was the home of the “Four Fires Fighting School Dojo”.  The boy knocked on the rusty metal door, and after waiting a few tense moments, he turned to leave, but was stopped in his tracks by the sound of creaking hinges.  Looking behind him, he found himself staring into the weather-worn face of a middle-aged woman in a plain white yukata.  Her wispy brown hair framed a face that seemed wiser than its years.

Mini-Ramble: I Am the One Hiding Under Your Bed -v- (7r|ck-0|9-|_337ing)

     Hello, all, G-star here, and a happy Halloween to you all.  I don't really know what I'm going to say here, I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that it's all hallows' eve.  The title of this post, by the way, is from the song "This is Halloween", which I'm listening to right now.  (I prefer the version by Panic! At the Disco.)  Most people would just think this is weird, but I felt it appropriate to listen to any and every song I could think of that has the word "monster" in it or is about Halloween.  Those would be "Monster" by Skillet, "Calling All the Monsters" from A.N.T. Farm, the "Addams Family" theme, and, of course, "This is Halloween". 
     I'll see if I can find any more, but for now, what about trick-or-treating?  I know, I'm a freshman in high school, but I'm still planning on going trick-or-treating tonight with an old friend: who remembers Red, whom I went sandboarding with this past summer??  Well, for those who do, she's coming with me tonight (I hate trick-or-treating alone '^').  Every year I get freaked out by all the scary costumes and haunted houses, especially the ones of zombies, which, for future reference, are, in my opinion, the scariest things EVER (write that down; there will be a test).  I wonder how long it takes for people to set up those super-complicated haunted houses in their front yards, garages, etc.?  In that way, Halloween is like Christmas; a time for techies to show of how l33t they are with flashing light displays, simulated haunted houses, and motion-sensor automatons.  Yeah... 7r|ck-0|9-|_337ing!  I like that.  (Can you even read that?)  As soon as I understand programming, I'm making the scariest haunted house ever!  Then they'll pay...they'll all pay...ESPECIALLY YOU, MISS CAPPUCCINO!!!!  (Won't just putting it together scare me half to death? -_-') 
    Speaking of costumes (a little late for that, huh?), I'm being Little (oh, hardy-har) Red Riding Hood.  Originally I was going to be the Cheshire Cat (I was the White Rabbit last year, and I have a striped cat hat and tail), but when I was putting it together I realized it looked like something I would wear normally.  That says something for my fashion sense.  Anyway, I went out to several thrift shops with my mom, and this is what I found: my first pick was an awesome geisha outfit (like the girl Lau always has with him), but it was shot down. u.u  Yeah, it had a relatively short skirt, but it was for a woman and on me it would be longer... *sigh* Anyway, my second pick was an angel, but I couldn't find a good white dress or cool wings.  So, as I had already discovered an awesome red cloak and gloves, I went with my third choice: Red Riding Hood.  And it's not half bad.  I'm wearing the cloak now with a red tee, a simpler version of the costume that I'm wearing to school.  Yes, we're allowed to wear our costumes to school today.  So far I've seen a devil, a nun, an apocalyptic prophet, Olive from Popeye, a Mickey Mouse fanatic, Dorothy, and an evil gnome.  Oh, and then there are the lazy people who just wore cat or rabbit ears (namely MC -.-). 
     Probably the best part of today is the fact that, so far, I have absolutely no homework!  *cheer*  In geometry it's because we have a test tomorrow, in French it's because we had a test today and she let us do the hw when we finished, and...actually, I'm not positive about business, because it's not over yet, and we still may get some.  Hope not...
     Haha...I just wrote a blog longer than my weekly update all about Halloween.  (Stating the obvious.)  It would have been longer had I started talking about the history of the holiday and the religious aspects.  Be grateful I didn't.  What did you dress up as?  Well, in any case, until Saturday, G-star out.  Oh, and remember to check under your bed before you turn out the light.-vv-

P.S.
I just finished the Black Butler series (both seasons one and two) and it was very upsetting.  So this is a dedication picture, as well as for your enjoyment.

P.P.S.
...and this is for MC.

P.P.P.S.
And this one...is all me.  I'm sorry there are so many pictures; I couldn't help it.

Click Update, Got t3h Power (Stupid Parasites/BC Commentary)!

     Hello, all.  G-star here, frustrated and itchy.  Frustrated because I've been sitting outside the school library for half an hour, waiting for someone to unlock it so I could check out a book and start this week's entry.  (The same thing happened last week; Wednesdays are late starts so I come early to watch anime and start blogging, but it always ends up opening at a stupid late time.  Even now, I only have five minutes to type.)  Itchy because, as is every fall here, this is the season of mosquitoes, and those parasitic little vampires seem to love the taste of my blood.  I have bites all over the place, on my arms, my face, my back (I don't even), and they take weeks to go away.  It's worse when I forget about them, because then I scratch at them absently, remember they're there, but by then it's too late; they itch even more.  I'm sorry, I just spent a good paragraph complaining about trivial things.  Some interesting (good interesting) things have happened this past week.  Firstly, (and this happened a couple weeks ago; it's just that it's only now relevant,) I recently saw a poster hanging on the cork strip serving as the bulletin board that goes down one of the hallways.  (Not that seeing a poster there is weird, but...)  It said "Please don't cut yourself today.  I love you. -- Jesus".  I thought that that was really sweet and a testament to the Christian belief that someone would put that up.  I'm mentioning this now because, yesterday, I saw a girl with a bright red t-shirt that said "Keep Calm, Jesus Loves You".  These are brave people to express their love for God in a public high school.
     I wonder, have your missed (or noticed, for that matter) the business class running commentary?  Yeah, I know, I stopped after the first one, but that's because my seat was moved.  It wasn't even official; one day, a boy was sitting in my seat and told me that I moved across the aisle.  It was pretty obvious that he was just sitting there so he could talk with his friend (who sat next to me), but I didn't complain.  In fact, my life is pretty blissful now.  No more T-dog trying to copy my homework, no more Ginger insulting me with dirty words, just pure, unlimited focus...which I use, of course, to write my blog entries.  (Maybe I should use it to focus on the business curriculum instead?)
     Once again, I've gone off on a tangent (and an irrelevant one, at that).  I'm sorry.  At this point, I'm just trying to make this post as long as possible before I start to complain about the fact that no one but MC has posted on the forums I spent a week working on.  Oops.  Anyway, at least check them out, please!!!  (I feel this will not help any, as all my requests for comments were completely ignored as well. T-T)
     One thing I wanted to start this week is a regular update on the manga I'm reading.  It would be monthly, as that's about the same frequency as my visits to the library (I wish they were more often), and I would only talk about manga I've begun to read recently.  If I talked about my old favorites, I would never stop.  The first one will be in this post; I'll write them like lists and, once I accumulate enough, will make a separate page to organize them on.  (Speaking of which, I think I have an idea for how to organize the list page.  I'll try it as soon as I'm done with this.)  Other than that, until Saturday, this is G-star, signing out.

Recent Manga Update:
Loveless (Yun Koga)- I've been curious about this one for a while, and on my last visit to the local library, I checked out the volumes 1-2 omnibus and have been reading a chapter per night.  (It's incredibly difficult to keep from reading more, it's that good.)  The only thing is, about two chapters in, its well, "yaoi-ness" was revealed.  Since it has a teen rating, I seriously doubted that it would have yaoi content despite the cover illustration (which wasn't disgusting, just one guy character touching the others' face).  It appears I was wrong.  Also, the characters live in a world where, apparently, everyone has cat/dog ears and a tail...at least, until they lose their virginity, in which case the ears...fall off?  I'm not sure.  It hasn't shown that yet, and I hope it never will.  It has sparse cussing, not major words, but overall it has interesting characters and a good plot.  Even so, I'm glad I didn't buy it when I saw it at Barnes and Noble, or I may have gotten in trouble if my mother had seen it.  The writing and art is great, and one minor character in particular, Kio, has already grown on me. ^-^
Fairy Tail (Hiro Mashima)- I'll count this as a recent read, since I'm only 4 volumes in.  I've always liked fantasy stories, manga or otherwise, and this series does the genre pride.  I admit, the main character's outfit could be a bit more modest (heck, PLEASE MAKE IT MORE MODEST, HIRO-SAN!!) and there's one character who will randomly take off his shirt (and to think he's my favorite character. T-T  NO!  That's not the reason!), but there's good humor, great plots, extremely sparse cussing (and little words, too), and interesting characters.  I'm currently waiting with bated breath to check out volume 5.
Very! Very! Sweet (Jisang Shin and Geo)- A Korean manga (can I even call it manga?) about...well, I'm still trying to figure it out.  I'm on volume...3?  4?  I've forgotten, that's how little it matters in my life.  So far, I think it's about a boy from Japan who's forced to move to Korea, a Korean girl who's extremely frugal, her sister, the boy who rooms with them, and...their cats?  The characters cuss too often for a teen-rated comic, the characters all look the same (especially if it zooms in on their faces), and the plot throws me off.  And yet...I'm still reading it.  Why?  Well, I don't know.  Maybe that question will be answered if I read another volume....

Mini-Ramble: Chapter 1 (Still No Fan Art)

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I don't have anything to talk about, so I'll just go straight to the excerpt...except...I'm sorry, but that picture I mentioned I'd put up two weeks ago is still not scanned.  I was going to post it today, but I was not allowed on the computer (at home, at least) today, and so I am typing this from MC's house.  (Thank you, MC.)  Her scanner does not work, so I'll see if I can scan it a little later today if I manage to get computer permission.  For now, though, settle for this.  It shall be torturous fun.  Until Wednesday, (or maybe later,) G-star out.

Chapter 1 -- Sensei

[Hello there.  In case you were wondering, I’m Zane Jacques Hart, and, yes, sorry to ruin the suspense, but that figure on the cliff edge was me.  I thought that sort of introduction might be dramatic, although I suppose that it’s also a bit too much.  But it got you interested, right?  Well, anyway, this is the story of how I came to be what I am, and when I say that, I mean how I became the sort of person who would have white hair and something to write a book about.  I bet you’re curious as to why I have white hair.  You see, it all started when I was just a lad...er, boy of 16...]

The Gender Rant/Stories of G-star the HeShe (Forums Are Up!/My "Accidental" Haircut).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I got my hair cut short (like, my blog background short [it used to be a bob, like in my Google+ avatar]) last Thursday (was it really only Thursday?  How the time flies).  I think it looks nice, though it takes a bit of hairspray and product to keep it so.  The thing is, I hate hair products of any type, because I think they make my hair greasy.  Soft, natural hair is better.  Anyway, a few minutes ago at my locker, a boy from the gaming club (all we do is play Super Smash Bros. Brawl) came over and noted that I had gotten a haircut.  After that, he immediately inquired "why did you let them cut it that short?"  ||-=-  What do you mean, "why did I let them?"  I ASKED them to... (or more like her) That's the whole point of haircuts, to get the style you want...  Needless to say, I don't think he like my haircut.  Or maybe he thought it made me look too much like a boy.  See, I have a naturally boyish face; my brother's Nintendo3DS took a picture of me and identified me as a young boy. o_o  I've actually been mistaken for a guy several times.  Once, when MC and I went to a movie, I decided to wear a boy tee advertising a school play I had been and a baseball cap (my hair had still been in a bob).  After the movie, when we were waiting for MC's mom to come pick us up, we were screwing around in the arcade (we didn't have any tokens, though).  This older teenage couple came in (this happened sometime this spring), played a few games, then left.  Before they did, though, they gave us their remaining tokens (maybe 8) and told us to have fun.  Later, MC and I laughed about and agreed, that by the way they were acting when they gave us the tokens (their faces cried "oh, that's so cute!") that they had mistaken us for a couple.  Well, I was wearing boys' clothing and all, but I thought it was funny beyond belief.  (Thinking back on it, though, it wasn't that funny, just a little weird.)  MC will probably be a little annoyed by me telling this story, but it was relevant, and, yes, kind of funny.  Also, more recently, (after I decided to start riding my bike to school) something a little similar happened.  I stopped at the corner of this big intersection right by my school, waiting for the light, when this random boy showed up (he was young; maybe middle school age?) and we just started chatting, since the light was taking forever.  Right before it turned green, though, and after the main conversation was over, he awkwardly said "I can't really pin down a gender....you are...?"  I was laughing about it all day.  I suppose it was understandable, though; that day I had been wearing a baggy hoodie I got in DC, and my hair had been short enough to pass for a boys'.  I still think it was funny, though, how, after a few minutes of chatting, he couldn't tell whether I was a guy or a girl.
     ...I just spent half the blog talking about my gender.  That was not intentional, I promise.  The haircut deal was originally going to be just a passing comment, but I guess I got more into it than I had meant to.  Now, to what you've all been waiting for: the forums are done!  (You have been waiting for that, right?)  I'll put up the page and link right after I'm done with this.  I hope you enjoy the various roleplays and chat areas!  Until Saturday, this is G-star, signing off.

*I'm sorry!!  Something screwed up and the majority of the blog was turned into coding!!  This entry will be a little late, as will the forum page.  Gonen'nasai.*

Mini-Ramble: Prologue (Stupid Fact of Time Machines Not Existing Yet v_v)

     Hello, all.  G-star here, with some annoying news.  Firstly, I'm sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday, but the computer was off-limits, no matter how much I begged and told Mom that I had a blog (and a reputation) to uphold.  Also, I didn't have time to scan the picture I finished recently (urrrgh) so I'll have to do that tomorrow.  It will be up soon, I promise.  And, lastly, the forums are not done yet.  *loud booing from readers*  GONEN'NASAI!!  I'm actually working on it as I write (don't ask how that's possible), but I only had about half an hour on the computer and that, sadly, was not enough time to finish putting up all the roleplay boards, not to mention all the chat/OOC categories.  I hope to have that finished by tomorrow as well.  For now, you'll have to settle for the prologue (aka first chapter) of that book I mentioned.  Remember...copyright.  Until Wednesday, G-star out.

Prologue

    A tall, pale figure stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down on the crashing waves.  Large, glistening wings suddenly spread out behind it, intimidating away anything that might have been watching.  After it was assured that there wasn’t a living creature for miles around, it stepped off into the night and glided over the shimmering water.  The moon came out from behind a cloud to reveal a young man, wearing metal wings.  Stranger than this, however, was the fact that his shaggy bedhead was as white as the moon itself.

The Devil's Band Club (Trick-or-Treat Shopping List/Nothing Up Yet).

     Hello, all.  G-star here, with not much to talk about.  I suppose this is the downside of posting as often as I have lately.  Today was a half-day, where the freshmen spent two hours watching videos and taking notes, after which we sat through an hour-long seminar about college decisions...it's the second month of our freshman year.  WHY do we need to know that right now???  Anyway, I'll just apologize ahead of time.  I'm sorry.  For what, you may ask?  Well, I had planned to do two things in this entry: post a picture I finished a couple days ago and finish up some forums I'm setting up for this blog, neither of which has happened.  I kept putting off scanning the picture, and I don't understand coding, so I can't put the title on the forum. -.-||  So that may happen this weekend.  Again, gonen'nasai.  I guess the one major thing that's happened since my last post is that a boy in my IHS (International High School) group has started a...club?  Band?  Satanic cult?  One of those.  I'll keep the name confidential, but it's all the people in the group who can (and are willing to) do a certain handshake.  I won't go any further than that, except that we plan to have fruit punch at all our meetings.  ^=^  The thing is, it's private without invitation, but to use a classroom it needs to be an official club, and anyone can join an official club.  So Jeeves (my codename for the founder of the club) suggested the brilliant idea of making it an official club, but not putting up any posters or even talking about with our other friends.  It's like this weird "game" I keep hear about; if you think about the game, you lose.  If you know the reason for this thing's existence, please tell me.  One more thing; I'm working on my Halloween costume.  My last resort was a really lame Cheshire Cat costume, only for use if I couldn't find one.  I found this awesome Geisha costume at a thrift shop, but Mom said no... (the girl who's always following Lau from Black Butler is a geisha)  So now I'm in between an angel or Red Riding Hood, two classics.  I couldn't pick before, but now that I've done a little window shopping, I've found many more choices for RRH than an angel, and so I'm going with that, I think.  There's a red velvet cloak and these red sleeve-let things at Wal-Mart, so now I just need to find a red dress....that wasn't very interesting at all, was it?  More like a shopping list than a blog...gonen'nasai.  I'll have the forums and picture up by Saturday at the very latest, okay, everybody?  Well, then, see you Saturday.  G-star out.

Mini-Ramble: A Little Bit of Sentimental.

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  It's not often that I write two mini-rambles in one week (which is understandable, since I only started writing them at the beginning of the school year), but I thought this was blog-worthy.  I'm a nostalgic kind of gal. and there are some things I promised myself I'd do when I arrived at certain points in life.  Most of these things I forget about and later pout over missing, but this one in particular I wanted to talk about.  I'm a fan of Taylor Swift (mainly her lyrics, but her voice is decent too) and the first of her albums I found and fell in love with was Fearless.  The songs on that album hold more meaning for me than any of her other CDs, especially Fearless and Fifteen.  I decided sometime in 8th grade that I would sing Fifteen as I entered the school on the first day of high school.  Predictably, I forgot, but just now (yes, I'm still at school) I was listening to my mp3 player and that song came on.  Before I had planned on singing it just for fun, as a sort of background music, but now I realize just how much it actually fits in with my school life.  Therefore, I sang it at the top of my lungs in the empty classroom and on the way to my locker.  See you Wednesday, and be sure to listen for the songs in your life.  G-star out.

Mini (Not)-Ramble: Everything's New (Except My Old Story)!

     Hello, all.  G-star here, with a special mini-ramble!  The one club at school I've permanently dedicated myself to so far is the Battle of the Books club.  I just finished reading on of the BOB picks, Every Day by David Levithan, and I just had to write a review for it!  Of course, the part I REALLY want to rant about would be a gigantic spoiler, so I'll just have to fume silently...  Anyway, Every Day is about a.......heshe named A.  A doesn't have his/her own body, but "possesses" someone new every day, all around the same age in in the same area.  While possessing a boy named Justin A meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon, and falls in love with her.  I can't really go further than that, but it's a great book and you should read it!!  Except, it has a really sucky ending....*sigh*  Wow, that was supposed to be most of the entry, but I guess it'll only be about half.  Yes, I have more; two more topics, to be specific.  Firstly, as this is the one I'm less likely to get off on a tangent on, I've been having trouble finding a decent roleplay website.  To quote what I said in my introduction on a recent attempt... "The first one I tried was overly addictive and took the characters/plot way too seriously. The second one (I'm not naming any names here, you'll notice) was extremely active and I had to visit it several times a day (which I can't) just to keep up with one thread. The third one, that I started just a few days ago, has some great stories, but the best ones are pretty much dead. In other words, I make a character but no one responds or okays it."  The new rp I tried recently is making things difficult as well, though this may have something to do with the fact that I never try to join a thread with more than fifteen posts so I can catch up easily.  The thing is, most of the roleplays I find that fit that criteria have so few replies because they died off early on, so no one accepts my character anyway.  It drives me nuts... 

     Next topic: I was looking for a picture I drew of the characters in a comic I had been working on, considering continuing it, when I found the first two pages of a story I wrote last year in school; not as a school project, just in my free time.  I re-read it and was surprised how much better it was than most of my other short stories.  It had even me hooked; and I wrote it!  So I decided to continue the story.  It's based off a roleplay I used to do and means a lot to me.  The thing is, though, that said roleplay was based off a tv show, but it got off-track.  I have to create new names and relationships, but fortunately, some of the characters never showed up and others didn't have the same personalities as the originals, so it probably won't be recognizable.  I'll be posting a paragraph of my book and one book review/suggestion (I read a lot, so I should be able to deal with that) every Saturday from here on out, so please enjoy, and remember, this website is copyrighted to Sara G., A.K.A. me, so don't repost it or claim it as your own...or I'll find you.  I know it's Friday, but I just really wanted to post today. 

     Wow, this was a lot longer than I intended...even longer than a regular post.  There was one more thing I wanted to talk about; something strange happened the other day and it brought an interesting thought to mind.  I'll tell you as soon as I can remember what it was.  For now, G-star out.  See you Wednesday.