Thursday, August 18, 2011

Strong Words

"... I am the strongest! That's right, I've never truly lost! I've never died! ...That's right. I want to die... I want to kill something! Kill something until it's torn into tiny pieces!"

~Satou-kun

"Look at me! Fall in love with me! Hold me gently! Become my lover and love me! And, finally, according to our wishes... We can die."

~Misaki-chan

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Broken Reality

This is a three chapter sample of a new story I'm working on. Further chapter updates can be found in OpenFeint...

This story is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from my and OFDK's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. 

* * * * * *

Prologue
* * * * * *

It was a silent, cool night. The air whispered and played with the old trees in the forest, which tapped against the hard stone of the Temple of Balance. The Temple was a large, dome-like marble structure that had one floor above ground, and four more below. Its entrance was a trapdoor a few yards away, which led to the very first floor underground. 

Now, this temple might look like any other temple, with priests that inhabit and protect it, but one object makes it different from any other temple in the world: The Balance of Life and Death. On the room above ground was a single altar, and on top of that altar was a golden scale with a fresh, ripe strawberry--The Strawberry of Life--and a rotten, darkened strawberry--The Strawberry of Death. They say the Strawberry of Life will grant you eternal life, while the Strawberry of Death killed you. If the Strawberry of Life were to be taken from the scale, making it unbalanced, all the people on the world will, one by one, drop dead, except for the person or persons who have taken a bite of the Strawberry of Life. 

Moonlight glinted off of the scale as silence caressed the room. Everything seemed in order... Or was it? 

A shadow of a man dashed through the woods, his foot falls barely audible. He broke the lock to the trapdoor entrance open and slipped in. The man was instantly in the temple, quickly assassinating the priest-guardians in his way with throwing knives and a deadly katana. Blood was splattered in the holy temple. He ran up the steps, slowing down once he reached the room with the scale. 

The shadow-man approached it slowly, his hand outstretched. Just as his fingers neared the Strawberry of Life, an arrow whistled through the air and pierced his hand. He cried out in pain and threw a knife at his opponent, straight through the skull. Cursing, he ripped the arrow out and used his unwounded hand to get the Strawberry of Life and stuff it into his knapsack. 

With a quick look around, the man disappeared from the temple. 

* * * * * *
Ch. One
* * * * * * 

Blaise couldn't believe her eyes. It was *him*. She remembered, two years ago, when they first met, and how she had had a crush on him, even when he left a few days later to return to his home dimension. He hadn't said anything that day he left--his name, his dimension, nothing. 

Yet, today! There he was, standing in front of her with those shining, gem-like eyes and ruffled, silvery hair. Blaise didn't know what to say, but it didn't matter: his face clearly said he had something to say to her. 

"Blaise," he said. How did he know her name? She felt like melting at the sound of it. "I'm here to help your planet and save mankind, and I have chosen you to accompany me in this mission." 

Blaise blinked. "S-save mankind?" she stuttered. 

His expression didn't change. "Yes. The balance between Life and Death had been tipped, thus humanity will slowly end. Every hour, a human falls dead due to this. In order to reset this problem, we must retrieve the Strawberry from those who have stolen it," he explained. 

"But w-why me?" Blaise asked. 

"Because you will be the last to die. I need some one who will last long enough to complete this mission. I know this because of what the High Priest told me," he replied coolly. 

Blaise's heart thumped. She was going to be with him again. It didn't matter if he did not share the same feeling she did for him. All that mattered was that he'd be there, with her. "I'll definitely do it. I promise I won't let you down," she said, catching his eyes. 

His lips formed a slight smile. "That is good. Rest for today; you will need a lot of energy for this," he told her. Then, he turned and started to walk away, into a portal. 

"W-wait!" Blaise called after him. 

He turned. "What is it?" 

"I didn't catch your name," she replied breathlessly. This was it. His name. She held her breath. 

"Call me OFDK," he answered and passed through the portal. 

Blaise's eyes widened. OFDK. She giggled breathlessly to herself. 

* * * * * * 
Ch. Two
* * * * * *

Morning couldn't come soon enough. Blaise could barely sleep that night due to her excitement. A mission! With OFDK! Could life get any more exciting? 

By sunrise, a knocking on the door woke her up. In her bunny pajamas, she dashed to the front door and opened it. OFDK was outside it, smoking a cigarette. He threw something black at her, and Blaise caught it unsteadily. "Wear that," he said, letting himself in and sitting on the couch. 

Blaise blinked once before coming to her senses and running back to her room. Her cheeks flushed. It was so embarrassing, meeting him face to face in *bunny* pajamas. She shook her head and put her attention to the clothing he had given her. 

It was skin-tight over all with a hard bodice and combat boots. She quickly put them on and admired herself in the mirror. With her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, she looked just like a secret agent. Blaise giggled at the though before skipping back to where OFDK was. 

"Okay, done!" she exclaimed, a smile brightening her face. 

OFDK got up and nodded, motioning her to follow him. A portal erupted in front of him and he stepped through, grasping Blaise's hand in doing so. Her heart thumped so hard, then, they were through. 

It was so fast; there was absolutely no sensation. It was just like stepping through a normal door. OFDK continued on, pulling her after him through a metal hallway with windows showcasing different rooms; some rooms looked like test labs, others conference rooms. The lights above were, amazingly, bubbles. 

"Where are we?" Blaise whispered. 

OFDK didn't slow down. "We are in the Earth branch of the organization known as OpenFeint, or OF for short. This is where we'll be briefed for our mission," he explained. 

Blaise didn't get it, but she continued after him anyway. The feel of her hands intertwined with his was lovely. She nearly swooned. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they made it to their destination. The door slid open, and OFDK and Blaise entered what looked like a conference room with a giant screen on the far wall. It was showing a map of the world. 

They each sat down before a series of men and a few women. 

"Blaise Archer, and the OpenFeint Dark Knight, welcome. We are the heads of this organization. We shall introduce ourselves, beginning on the very right," the man in the middle said. 

The two shifted their attention to the right. It was humanoid man with green scales all over his body. He wore a black suit and an eyepatch over his left eye. "Call me by the human name 'Drake'."

Beside him was a tall figure wearing a dark hooded cape, that covered almost all of her face, showing only glowing emerald eyes with a red dot in the center. "I am The Hunter." 

Next was the man who talked to us first. He looked human, except for those gray, knowing eyes that took in everything but gave away nothing. "I am The Logic." 

"My name is Milexy!" exclaimed the woman beside him. She was, literally, on fire. Her hair was a wild, burning fire, and her eyes were a blood-red. She wore a strapless red, orange, and yellow dress that made her look even more flammable. 

Then, finally, was a man with silver hair and blue eyes. "I am Tim Spac," he said in a rather mysterious voice. 

"Now that you have met the Head, we shall begin with the briefing," The Logic said, standing up and indicating to the screen. 
 

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Xerxes Break

Today, I want to talk about Xerxes Break (Another PH character. Dun dun dun!). Oh, the ever so elusive Break... 

He has white, spiky hair with bangs that cover his left eye (I'll tell you later). He has one red eye that looks like it has lots of mascara(or is it called eyeshadow? I dunno..). Anyway, he's one of the older characters of PH. He's been alive for over half a century, though he looks like he's in his early twenties. 

Where to start... He was once known as a man named Kevin. Will ripped his left eye out when they first met and gave it to Cheshire(yeah, you know the rest). He made a deal with Will so he could go back in time... YOU MUST READ PH TO FIND OUT MORE!! 

Okay, so now let's hear about his character. He's known in YouTube as "Creepy", but I think he's more than that. I think he is like a lost and abandoned child who made the wrong decisions in the past. He was misguided by the wrong beliefs but Lady Shelly found him and returned him to the right path ^_^ So, he's like the typical rising hero. He's a bit warped because of his past(I guess that's where the "creepy" comes from), but he was able to slowly redeem himself into a better person, enough for me to blog about him XD. Also, he killed Cheshire. Yes, our ever so lovable Cheshire(WAH! How could he?!! *stabs*)

Air! Air! Air! I'm air! (lulz, reference). Break has a little doll he always has on his shoulder named Emily. His chain is...? You hafta read PH to find out more!!!  

Recent Thoughts...

I'm not really a morning person. In fact, I hate (Monday XD) mornings. I'm not too fond of the sun, especially it's heat and glare. That's why I was really happy that, during my vacation in VA Beach, we never went out while the sun shone and that it was mostly cloudy/rainy whenever we went to the beach. The cool waters of the Atlantic helped, too ^_^ 

I'm more of a night person. I just love the night. I love the cold, refreshing air and the silent, eerie darkness that holds so many secrets in its depths. I love the glow of the moon, its ever changing shapes and colors. It's beautiful. There's just something so poetic about the night. The only setback is those artificial lights. I hate them. They make the night look unnatural. I also like how the gentle darkness of night makes me feel solitary yet not completely alone. It's like I'm in my own world and everyone else is my neighbor. 

I guess it's just me, but nature is beautiful just the way it is. It just arouses me artistically and mentally. I love the sounds of water dripping or birds singing, I love the feel of the wind as I run. Those things are not manmade. They are simply beautiful. That's also probably an asset to my adoration of the night. 

Okay, so that's enough wistfulness coming from me. Time to get a move on. Ciao =3 

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Yochizumi Wataru

Lately, I've been reading a lot of Yochizumi Wataru's work(author of Ultra Maniac, the first manga I ever read). Wataru-sensei's art is really beautiful, and I've yet to find a bad sketch of hers =3 Though, I'm more fond of her later works(the characters' fashion sense is more up to date and appealing). Her stories are all cute and romantic, and her characters are also very cute and likable(but they can be very straight-forward!!! XD) 

Anyway, Ultra Maniac was like a breakthrough for me. I first saw it in one of my cousins' house, laying on her computer table. I had never seen or heard of manga back then, note. So, I was very much interested in reading it(from right to left!!!) and simply marveling at Wataru-sensei's art. I was... Gripped. 

A few years later, I had a re-interest in manga due to Hunty's suggestion to PH. Of course, the next time I went to the bookstore, I instantly searched for Ultra Maniac(I had to recall the title after like three or four years) and PH. I was so happy! I finally get to finish what started my interest in manga!!! Which is why I am such a big fan of Wataru-sensei. 

More on our featured mangaka, since I'm going out of the subject. For the last few days, I started reading some of Wataru-sensei's works online. I started with PxP, a short story about a girl named Himeno. I like how Wataru-sensei always makes her main characters somewhat popular/perfect ^_^ Most shoujo mangas I read feature either a poverty-stricken or an unpopular main character. So, her works are rather unique. 

The next I read was Datte Suki Nandamon. It is a cute story, about a girl named Moka(I just love her name. Makes me think of mocha... I like mocha...). Moka looks a lot like Nina(one of the main characters from Ultra Maniac). The similarity really surprised me. But they look a bit different, too(very slightly). The leading male looks like a nerd, but the cute kind, so it's okay. I swear, Wataru-sensei makes everything work ^_^ 

Today, I just finished her other story, Random Walk. This story is sooooo cute(or maybe it's just the main character?). Anyway, the main character's name is Yuka, and her father is a famous mystery author. He tells her to fall in love many times and become an attractive woman. Well, believe or not, Yuka does exactly as her father tells her! The story is really quite unlike any other that I've read. You know how in typical shoujo mangas, the girl gets the guy? Well, this time, the girl loses three guys!!! It's very cute, and there are some funny parts when Yuka is with her friends. Wataru-sensei stays close to her habits, and Yuka sorta looks like Nina(only with noticeably longer hair) and is the bubbly, semi-popular type with pretty friends. I guess there are some ways to point out what is a Yochizumi Wataru manga and what is not! 

Well, I'll wrap it up for the day. ^_^ 

Too much Tabasco sauce

The other day, my mom cooked some shrimp in butter sauce. She usually puts hot sauce to make it spicy, but for some reason, she didn't this time. So, I took out the Tabasco sauce and just randomly put in on some shrimp. At first, the spice was bearable, but after a few more bites, my mouth was (literally) scorched!!! I swear, my lips were chapped and bleeding, and a whole water bottle couldn't quench my thirst.

Lesson of the day: Measure the hot sauce. 

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Philly Trip

Today, I went to Philadelphia with my aunt(Tita Knor), uncle(Tito Brian, other uncle(Tito Shopp), my grandmother(Lola), my girl cousin(Kaia), my boy cousin(Bleu), my mom, my dad, and my brother(Kenzoe). It was a spur-of-the-moment thing; my dad just randomly woke me up at 6:53 freaking AM, telling me we're going to Philly. I was soooo sleepy, but I don't see Kaia or Bleu often so I wanted to go. 

We first went to this church dedicated to St.Rita. It's a very special place to my family because back before Kaia was born, Tito Brian was very sick. So Lola went to that church, put her hand on this pillow that St.Rita's hand once laid on, and prayed for his health. Then, miraculously, Tito Bri got better ^_^(I'm an atheist, though...) 

Anyway, after that, we went to Reading Terminal Market and ate this really good pork and spinach sammich(Eh, I could still remember it's juiciness!!! Gaaaaah!!) and had Bassette's ice cream after(So creamy...). There were also Amish people outside the market and we got to on a hayride ^_^ We saw pigs, lamb, goat, sheep, chicken, cows, donkeys, ponies, and horseys. There were also some newly hatched chicks that we got to pick up, as well as gerbils and bunnies that we could pet. 

Then, we went off to see the Liberty Bell. We went on a tour around The Hall of Independence, the tour guide with such an intense interest on history(and an ultra loud voice*ears ring*) Then, we went for ice cream again before deciding to go home. We also had dinner at Tokyo Buffet.