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.