Freedom From the Metal (A New Age of Art).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  I actually could've posted this sometime on Friday, but since I posted on Wednesday I thought it might be a little much to write two large posts in the space of two days.  This is gonna be a long one.  (Besides, if I changed to a daily schedule I would feel guilty every time I couldn't go on the computer...I don't need the stress.)
      First things first: Thursday morning I got my braces off!  As my mom had continuously told me, if felt slimy.  I had to get a permanent lower retainer along with a nighttime upper one and the upper one hurts like heck to yank off my teeth.  They have to take a cast of my top teeth the make the retainer, which has got to be one of my top three things to avoid.  They have flavors for the pink stuff they use, but that doesn't matter because I can't taste it.  All I can taste is the icky metal tray they hold the pink stuff in.  Not only does it trigger my gag reflex, it makes my stomach sick, a combination that can come to no good.  But the braces are off and that's what matters.  I've also found out that when the lady who works on my mouth says "you're going to feel a little pressure" she means "it's going to feel like I'm yanking your teeth out of your mouth, but don't scream!" - _ -  Great.  I bet that's what they're trained in: reverse hyperboles.  
     To celebrate MC and I went to the grocery store across the street during lunch and bought sour gummy worms.  Well, I did, she bought sour gummy worms and fake tea.  Then, over the course of lunch she ate the entire bag of gummy worms and finished off the tea, and after she did, she asked if we could go back and buy another bag of candy.
     ...
     I thought I was supposed to be the hyper one?
     I only ate half the bag, and the rest's still in my lunch box.  (No, MC, you can't have any.)  That tea had a ridiculous amount of sugar in it, too.  She was pretty jumpy...
     I like drawing.  You could even say it's a hobby.  But I don't do it a lot.  Like, I'll doodle something when I have an idea or come up with something stupid when I'm bored...or I did.  Ever since I drew up the picture for Akira's and my contest I've been drawing a lot more, on full-size paper instead of in my sketchbook no less.  I even go over the drawings in softer lead to darken the lines and am considering inking a few of them.  I finish more and faster, too.  I think I may finally be on the road to actually continuing one of my comics.  I also found out part of why I don't finish a lot of my pictures; most of the time I don't like how they look because the eyes suck.  I love manga and all, but when it comes to the face the people have to be symmetrical, and that's nearly impossible with anime-style eyes.  So I've been taking a page out of Applegeeks's and Megatokyo's books and doing lazy yet expressive comic eyes, which mainly consist of a slightly curved line and a white circle.  And hey, it works!  I'm still using anime eyes every so often when what I'm drawing requires it, but mostly this comic style works great.  And I don't have to worry about changing the style too much when I go back to working on Zane's comic because their eyes are already like that, just a little bigger.  So it works.  I like it.
     Now that I have my braces off I can eat so many things I couldn't before.  Mom bought a huge bag of dark chocolate caramel pretzels from Costco.  They're DELICIOUS.  And just last night I got a caramel dessert when I went out to eat with my grandparents.  It seems that when they're here we eat out a lot.  Not that that's a bad thing, but...actually, maybe it is.  I'm stuffing my face with fattening foods every weekend, not to mention my frugality won't let me rest...  At least we're eating at sit-down restaurants.  But my mom used to make a nice dinner whenever they came to visit.  I wonder what happened to that?  Mmm, pork roast...
     I uploaded the cyborg picture to G+, so I can post it here for you guys to see, despite my being on a school computer.  Ah, the wonders of technology.  (I did promise.)  The hat and tail are based off things Piro wears in Megatokyo...I always thought they were so cute.  :3  So enjoy, and until next time, this is G-star, signing off!

Overused Cyborgs (Here Comes the Punk/I NEED That Hat).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  For once this post is being written when it's supposed to.  What a miracle.
     Before yesterday I didn't really have anything to talk about, but now that I do, let's get started.  I get my braces off tomorrow (woohoo!) and, while it's going to feel weird, I'm looking forward to be able to eat caramels again.  In celebration (and because I've been wanting to do this for a while) I'm going to get a bright blue streak in my bangs.  Mom made a hair appointment next Friday for a cut and dye.  Apparently it's my birthday present.  Happy birthday, me.  Even though it isn't for another month...
     I'm also working on a "web comic" inspired by my recent rereading of the entirety of Megatokyo and introduction to Applegeeks.  I'm still a little lost on the plot, but I have the characters pretty well pinned down and that's really what matters in a piece-by-piece comic that you can make up as you go along.  The main character, as far as I know, is a cyborg.  Robots are overused in web comics so I tried to stay away from that cliche.
     I've had an odd obsession with cyborgs recently.  It probably started with a new Minecraft skin I made last week.  It ended up as a cyborg, and it was pretty cool looking...then I updated it and found out that jackets don't work on any of the newer versions.  Now THAT was frustrating.  All that work, down the drain...
     Speaking of cyborgs, I wanted to find a picture of one to use for my G+ picture, which led to my wanting to make my own, which led to an odd little draw-off with +Akira Akiyama.  Now we're both going to draw a cyborg and see which one people judge as better.  She has a crazy realistic style that I could never live up to, and this thing is going to end up being judged on tastes; if people like stylized comic-style art they'll pick mine, if they're not into comics or anime they'll choose hers.  It's a tense situation.  Not.
     I promised Akira I'd show the picture to her first when I finished it, but as soon as I do that I'll post it here.
     ....and that's basically all I have to say.  What is this?  Has my social life decreased yet again?
     Oh!  Of course.  I've recently found an interesting website called Hogwarts is Here; it's an online version of Hogwarts, complete with classmates and homework (not that I need any more...).  I immediately shared it with MC and we are now dorm mates in Ravenclaw and both taking the Defense of the Dark Arts course.  It just started up a few months ago, so everyone's a first year, despite their age.  It's actually pretty cool.
     I just discovered the cutest ship ever: Percy Weasley + Oliver Wood.  Now, I don't normally support yaoi in any way, but...it just works so well.  They're adorable.  Check it out; I promise there are no dirty pics out there.
     There's a book/show I've been wanting to read/watch for a while that I just started: The Nine Lives of Chloe King.  I got the three-book set from the library, and it's pretty good.  MC keeps insisting it's about her.
      I really want Brian's hat...if only I could knit.  Or even sew.  I should learn.
     Speaking of kitty hats, Fred Gallagher of Megatokyo has one in the Megagear store that Piro and Miho wore sometimes in the comic.  I asked both MC (as mentioned before) and my parents for it, but my mom thought it was a slipper and when my dad saw the ears he quickly said no.  Oh well.   A girl can dream...I might ask Mom to teach me how to sew so I can make my own.  I really do like it.
     And that is all.  Next time I post I'll have my braces off and may have a blue streak in my hair; I'll post a picture if that has happened by then.  Until then, this is G-star, signing off.

The Reason Behind My L33t Sp34k (Shooting Down the Sad Kitty Hat).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  Sorry I haven't posted lately; I'm at the last bit of the curriculum in Business Class and haven't had any computer time at home.  Also, there hasn't been anything worth talking about...
     Bibbidy asked me a couple days ago how many fandoms I was a part of that weren't anime or manga.  I had to think about it surprisingly hard, only ending up with a whopping eleven, but the first one I counted was Megatokyo (I even had an omnibus in my hand at the time).  I've loved the thing for about a year now.  I found the first omnibus on display at the library and quickly became obsessed; I read the omnibus and then spent the next several months catching up to the web comic on the site.  I pitied Piro's lack of self-confidence, cheered on Kimiko's pluckiness, gasped at Erika's hidden secret (I'll never tell), and laughed at Largo's majorly self-inflicted pain.
     Miho, on the other hand, always kind of weirded me out, and by the most recent posts I gave up trying to understand what she was saying...but that didn't stop me from desperately wanting that sad kitty hat she and Piro wear so often.  <3  It's in their Megagear store, but I'm not sure how my parents would react to my wanting to order something online from a site they've never heard of.
     For some reason I always related to Sera(phim), Piro's fashionable, angelic conscience.  I don't know why.  I don't care how I look, and I definitely can't give advice about what's right and wrong.  Maybe because our names sound similar...?
     Fred Gallagher has been updating it recently, if rarely, and that makes my life so much better.  Unlike Applegeeks, which hasn't had a new comic since 2010 (thanks for ruining my life, guys T-T) this is still a continuing story, four omnibi long and then some.
     The two main characters, Piro and Largo, are gamers of different sorts: Piro is an otaku, obsessed with dating sims and who turns to shojo manga situations to solutions to his problems.  In fact, he's probably what got me really into manga in the first place.  Quite often Piro's seen wearing a really cute black hat with big cat ears folded back, sold in the website store as "Sad Kitty Hat".  Needless to say, I WANT IT.
     MC asked me just today what I wanted for my birthday and that was the first thing I named.  She shot me down faster than my cat eats her dinner.  Unfortunately, there's not much else I want...there's a t-shirt from Applegeeks that I'm pretty sure they don't sell but that I could fairly easily make for myself.  Haha, this sounds selfish.  But she asked.
     Anyway, until about chapter 3 I pronounced Piro's name as Pyro.  I was convinced that made sense until I heard (I dunno where) someone pronounce it "Pee-row".  I still think it sounds odd...
     Largo, on the other hand, specializes in first-person shooters.  He's apparently extremely paranoid...or maybe he simply sees things others don't.  To him, everyone is a zombie and they must all be eliminated.  Somehow he has constant access to destructive weapons.  That pretty much sums him up.
     This guy taught me how to speak l33t.  Sure, the only times I use it productively are when a username I want is taken, but it's kinda fun.  Sometimes I'll catch myself saying "j0" or texting "j00".  Also, doing chats with l33t-sp34k is fun too.  (Not that I do chat rooms like ever...seriously.  Just when I'm messaging with rl friends.)
     So.  There's an extremely vague description and review for Fred Gallagher's (and, technically, Rodney Caston's) Megatokyo web comic.  Check it out!  It's been in my "Check These Out" link list for a while now, so...
     I really want to make my own web comic.  Most are based off real people and completely random or unrealistic plots.  And that works for me.  I'd have myself, MC, and Patveli.  Possibly more, but I don't like having lots of characters.  I can draw well enough to maybe pull it off, but my main problem is drawing fast enough.  Like I've said before, I'm a perfectionist, and it would take forever to get it exactly how I want.  Not to mention the humor part of it would be tricky with making each strip a stand-alone.  But that doesn't change the fact that I desperately want to do it...
     If I ever manage to pull it off, this is the first place I'll post it.  I probably won't be able to post until maybe midway through next week.  Until then, this is G-star, signing off.