Another 2DT word prompt! “Strange brains ferment sex like pickles”, he’s making us FICTION HARDER. Luckily for me, it fits perfectly as dialogue for one of the scenes in my novel that I planned for a long time (and almost reached that point in my writing too). So I guess this is a bit spoilery for the novel? For spoilery context, Megumi (20) and Aoi (28) have been dating for 2 years, but when they tried to have sex Megumi ended up in shock. The image is a drawing of Megumi that I just drew today. Please enjoy and leave a comment about what you think!

Apparently it’s mother’s day in the U.S. and some other countries. So mom, if you see this, then I guess Happy Mother’s Day from another country?

A motherly relationship, whether the characters are actually related by blood or not, is one of my favorite types of character relationships – even more so after the conception of the character Aoi in my novel. The relationship is one that I don’t really know how to define, I guess a character that takes care of another, either in raising or with emotional issues? An advice giver? It’s a relationship that just “feels” motherly to me. There aren’t really any constraints. The relationship can “feel” that way to me even if they’re not related by blood, even if the age gap between them isn’t significant, even if the “daughter” character is completely capable of taking care of herself.

(Note: Blackholeheart wrote a great article on father figures in Gundam over at Altair and Vega)

Unfortunately, parents are often missing/abroad/perpetually-at-work/dead in anime and manga, or are just furniture for the background and don’t have much involvement, likely because:

1. Most parents won’t let their children do the stupid shit we see so often, or

2. Since parents are a restraining force, stories targeted at a younger audience show a life that is free from the parents.

I’m always looking for examples to help me with accurately portraying the dynamic between Aoi and Flan, so if you have any anime/manga suggestions please send them to me!

Some examples of mother characters and/or motherly relationships from anime that I liked (imperfect list, since I have a bad memory and my anime harddrive went kaput):

Zetman – Akemi

Akemi was the reason I really liked Zetman when I first saw it. She took Jin in after his guardian died, and taught him about death, warmth and hope. The part where she took him in and the part at the end of the first episode where he found her alive in the hospital were both really emotional moments for me. Unfortunately he’s forbidden from seeing her after he decided to train to become Zet, since she might become a potential target for his enemies. Really sucks, now we rarely get to see her – and I’m pretty damn sure she’ll be targeted later anyways.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san – Yoriko

This is a show that includes a silver-haired moe cthulu god, a RED HAIRED FUNNEL-WIELDING FIRE-USING HORNY LESBIAN (!!!!!!!!!!), A SUPER CUTE TRAP (!!!!!!!!!), and my favorite character ends up being the MOTHER. WHYYYYY?!?! I dunno, though she’s pretty badass with her forks. She just started appearing, so the relationship between her and her son aren’t shown often. I guess I like her because she gives off a cute-yet-mature calming feeling?

Mouretsu Pirates – Ririka

Ririka and Marika don’t seem that close, and Marika even calls her by her name instead of as mother most of the time. It seems to me that Ririka cares a lot about Marika in her own way, but isn’t able to express them in a normal manner. I suspect that having to work to make ends meet as a single parent raising a child (I assume the father didn’t return often considering how Marika didn’t know that he was a pirate) lead to the gap in between them. She still provides guidance and advice to Marika, teaching her to fire huge beam weapons (BADASS) and watching over her from a distance.

Puella Magic Madoka Magica – Junko

The late night talk between Madoka and Junko is one of the best scenes, IMO. Junko is a strong independent woman, and she taught Madoka that the world isn’t all candy and rainbows. It sucks, and sometimes you’re gonna have to do some sucky things to get through it. It’s very evident how much she cares about Madoka, and was rather heartbreaking when she had memories of Madoka erased.

Precure Franchise

The Precure franchise has many good episodes that center around the mother, but apart from that they’re usually gone from the series. Those episodes are golden though (Smile Precure just had a mother’s day episode but I didn’t watch it yet because I… sort of dropped/put the series on hold…). Hibiki’s mother in Suite Precure spent most of her time abroad, and quickly came back to watch her daughter’s piano performance. They were able to spend some time together before she had to leave again, and Hibiki put on a strong face and smile so that she wouldn’t worry about her. Before they had to separate, Hibiki asked to be selfish for a moment to hug and cry about how much she misses her mother. It was a very touching moment, and I wish I had a screenshot but URGH STUPID HARDDRIVE.

Heartcatch Precure’s Mother’s Day episode involved a girl in the same class as Tsubomi and Erika, who lost her mother at an early age and has to take care of her younger sister. She takes on both the roles of an older sister and a mother, which really puts a strain on her since she also misses their mother but has to be strong about it. In that episode she breaks down and rampages around as a Desertarian (the monster-of-the-week), and in her tantrum her sister begins to appreciate just how much she did for her.

Now it’s nearly midnight and I have an assignment due tomorrow that I haven’t started yet. Welp. Need to collect a bunch of reliable sources about arms sales and nuclear proliferation.

It’s time for Sai Mecha again! What is Sai Mecha, you ask? It’s a tournament where we nominate our favorite mechs and they fight, and they fight, AND THEY FIGHT UNTIL THERE IS ONLY ONE LEFT STANDING! Submit your nominations of 10 mechs by following the instructions in that link! It’s due by tomorrow (April 29), but you only need to choose a few mechs and don’t have to make a whole post like me. Even if you don’t nominate your favorite mechs in time, you can still vote in the polls to advance the robots you love!

These are my AWESOME mecha nominees!

RX-78GPo3D Dendrobium (Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories)

The monster designed for AREA DOMINANCE is composed of two units, the Stamen mobile suit and the Orchis weapons platform. It has a fuckton of missiles, and when it launches all of its weapons its like Danmaku in space. Think Touhou girls have the most firepower? WRONG! Watch this short video of Gundam Evolve 4 featuring the Dendrobium, it’ll be the coolest thing you see all day.

HOW AWESOME WAS THAT!??!?!?!?!?

The Dendrobium is my favorite thing to come out of Gundam. Ever.  NOMINATE AND VOTE FOR IT!

NZ-666 Kshatriya (Gundam Unicorn)

It’s big and bulky but still BADASS. Nicknamed the quad-wing for obvious reasons, the Kshatriya has 24 mind-controlled funnels that fly around and rip apart the enemies. Any enemy lucky enough to survive the funnels will then have to deal with its Mega Particle Cannons at close range, its beam sabers, and its sheer BRUTE FORCE!

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam (Gundam Unicorn)

Think your funnels are so awesome? THINK AGAIN! The Unicorn’s Newtype-Destroyer system will take over their control and USE YOUR OWN WEAPONS AGAINST YOU! Watch this sexy red-white beast tear apart the Kshatriya in the third Gundam Unicorn movie!

So hot, I want to be her >.<

GF13-017NJII God Gundam (Mobile Fighter G Gundam)

 THESE HANDS OF MINE ARE BURNING RED! The upgrade to the Shining Gundam, the God Gundam is even more epic with its shielded hands, force multipliers and those six rods at the back that form a circle when it goes into full powered mode. It will stick its fingers into your dark places and HEAT END YOU! SEKIHA! LOVE LOVE TENKYOKEN!

RGM-96X Jesta (Gundam Unicorn)

You’ll see a lot of my entries come from Gundam Unicorn, and that’s because the series has some of the most beautiful mech designs. The Jesta is one of the most military-looking robots, and gives off a very SWAT/Special Forces feel. While the previous model Jegans (and even many mobile suits in the spotlight) had plain and boring leg parts, the Jesta’s legs have a lot of details that makes its entire design unique and menacing. It’s a part that’s often overlooked, but it’s really impressive when building the model kit. When I imagine the Devastators in my novel I tend to think of them as modified and shrunk Jestas in a way.

MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam)

BELIEVING A SIGN OF ZETA! It’s the titular suit of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, one of the best Gundam series out there. The Zeta Gundam was designed by its pilot Kamille Bidan (KAMILLE IS A MAN’S NAME!!!!) and is the first Gundam that can transform into a jet. Also it looks freakin awesome and he can LET DEAD NEWTYPES USE HIS BODY.

MSN-06S Sinanju (Gundam Unicorn)

This sexy motherfucker goes THREE TIMES AS FAST as normal mobile suits! Its head looks very menacing, and the “wings” of thrusters it has are so freakin awesome. Also, ALL THE RED! HELL YEAHHHHH!

MSN-001A1 Delta Plus (Gundam Unicorn)

This badass guy has the most awesome looking Waverider transformation mode of any Gundam ever. It actually looks like some of the modern military fighter jets.

The Master Grade model was very fun to build, though its joints are kind of weak and hard to pose without a stand. Also, unlike the ReZEL, it requires two parts to be added to turn into Waverider mode so I think of it as an imperfect transformation. It’s also sort of my “heartbreak Gunpla” since I was building it after getting rejected lol ^^”

Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. (Code Geass R2)

Say what you want about Code Geass R2, I still loved the series and think it has a lot of awesome mechs. The Energy Wings on the Guren SEITEN are the coolest flight system of any mech, ever. Its right arm is a freakin claw that melts enemy suits with radiation bursts, and since it’s red it goes THREE TIMES AS FAST!

EX-5 Devastator (Sweets & Steel [temporary name])

It’s from my still-unfinished novel so it probably doesn’t count and will never be nominated by anyone else, BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT so here it is. Huge giant mechs are unpractical and only look cool, so the novel uses mecha exoskeleton suits. Think something like Iron Man, but bulkier and less hax-overpowered. Devastators are primarily armed with an electromagnetic railgun, and its secondary weapons can be swapped between a variety of machine guns, grenade launchers and close-ranged mass-impactors. They’re as fast as tanks, can leap long distances or jump on top of buildings, and can be very agile depending on the skill of the pilot. Of course, Flan works on their development and absolutely kicks ass in them XD.

So! What did you guys nominate for Sai Mecha? AND WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?!?!?!?!

A (very late, everything I do is late nowadays) writing prompt from 2DT last week, “how the angel drowned my spark“. This time it’s using the characters from my novel again, taking place about half a year before the novel does (though the small part at the end is set during the novel). It’s told from Claribel’s point of view (though I’m not sure I’ll make it canon, not sure the mindset in this story fits with her character) and is related to a previous prompt, The Curse of the Reaper that was Flan’s backstory. 

Again, please read, enjoy, and leave some feedback!

I guess you could say I’m almost perfect.
My grades were always at the top without even trying, and my parents were always pleased with everything I did.
You can throw any sport at me and I’ll be pretty decent at it too.
I had a happy life, and whenever a little problem came up it would sort itself out somehow.
Until I joined Anaheim.

“The hell is this?! Doc said he found a good test pilot, but you’re no better than any of them.” The red haired demon yelled as she opened the hatch of my Devastator exoskeleton. She’s barely older than I am, yet I have to be her subordinate? And all these older people follow her perfectionist whims.
“It just tipped over-”
“Of course it’s gonna tip over if you land clumsily like that!”
I hated this bitch. Who the hell does she think she is? I’m in a freaking hunk of metal and she expects me to dance around like a ballerina?
“Why don’t you give it a try then?!” I wish I never said that. She quickly slid and inserted her limbs into the mecha’s slots, settling in behind the closing hatches. In a blink she had darted off across the field, unpredictably switching directions with each step. The gun roared, and a paint bullet striked the target. She jumped around a few times, painting a dot on each target. It was as if the heavy exoskeleton was all a natural extension to her body.
She had humiliated me in front of all the engineers on the field. It didn’t matter that it was my own retort, I hated her for being so damn perfect.
I hated how the angel drowned my spark.

After talking with a few engineers, it turned out that I was actually a part of a very small minority that hated her. Most of them had a lot of respect for her. The genius that took over her father’s division three years ago, completed the electromagnetic railguns and refined the Devastators to a point that they were useable on the battlefield.
She was always all about business, and demanding to the point of being called the Scarlet Reaper. I heard there was a deeper meaning behind the Reaper name, but I didn’t care. I hated her guts.
One day I became careless and let my thoughts about her slip in front of a colleague.
“She’s far from perfect.” he said. “In a way, you can say that she’s broken. Time stopped for her. You know how soldiers that saw a lot of death have a distinct aura around them? Not even the most battle worn veterans come close to hers.”
What a bunch of crap.

A few weeks later, I saw her sitting alone with a knife in her hands. She wasn’t really doing anything with it, just… rubbing it, caressing it, twirling it around. There was a long scar on her left hand and arm – was that self-inflicted?
As I looked into her eyes, I was entranced. I started to understand what the engineer said. And I wondered. What affected this person? What was hidden in her past?
She noticed me, and for a moment our eyes connected. Through some unknown reflex, I felt something well up in my chest and had to run away. I broke down crying when I was alone. I wasn’t feeling sad, but I felt sad now. But it wasn’t my sadness. It was hers. The tears that were flowing out weren’t mine, but belonged to the girl who couldn’t cry anymore.
After that day, she didn’t seem perfect anymore. I wasn’t as intimidated, and she seemed almost human – just almost. She didn’t seem to have a heart.
I took an interest in her, and stuck to her closely. I wanted to observe her. I wanted to know more about her.

.

.

.

“Hi Aoi!” I said as I skipped into the shop.
“Oh hi Claribel!” Aoi replied.
I saw her sitting at the bar. Stretching out my arms, I ran to her. “Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan-ack!” Her hand reached out to meet my face, stopping me from getting towards her.
“Why are you being so clingy again?” Flan asked.
“Aoiiiiii Flan’s being mean!”
“Come on Flan, let her cling to you once in a while.” Aoi giggled as she said so. “I know you like it!”
“What, no, I don-” Flan let her guard down, and I quickly went in to hug and cling on to her. She looked away as she resigned herself to her fate, and Aoi smiled her approval. Even if you say you’re the reaper, I’ll spark some life back into you, Flan.

Some people may laugh at Koko’s claim that she’s selling weapons for world peace as just a ridiculous quirk from our favorite psychotic arms dealer, and it does seem counter intuitive.

While Koko’s methods and true intentions are debatable, the reasoning behind the idea isn’t that ridiculous. In international politics there are a variety of paradigms for looking at the world, and each has its own method of bringing peace and stability to the international system. Here’s a brief explanation of Liberalism and Realism, the latter of which Jormungand seems to follow.

Liberalism (EXTREMELY SIMPLIFIED)

Collective security is advocated by Liberals (the liberal paradigm in international relations isn’t the same as what is commonly used with domestic politics), where if country A invades country B, every other country C D E etc will all attack A. This is how the League of Nations and its successor the United Nations is supposed to function, but oftentimes there isn’t approval to invade a country when Russia or China choose to veto it in the Security Council. In some historical UN-backed deployments like the Korean War, usually the bulk of the forces come from the United States – which raises the question of what would be done if the U.S. decides it doesn’t want anything to do with a conflict.

Realism (EXTREMELY SIMPLIFIED)

The other major paradigm is Realism, which advocates balances of power as a way to keep the international system stable.It won’t remain stable forever and there will be conflicts, but it will keep the stability for long periods of time. Realists say that it is in the state’s best interest to obtain more power, as stronger states will boss you around and you never know when another state will turn hostile. In the words of my professor, “There’s no 911 to call” in the international system. You can’t always rely on other countries to help you out of goodwill if you’re attacked or threatened into disadvantageous treaties. When there’s a balance of power, the states will be reluctant to go to war but will be likelier to cooperate and negotiate because they know that in a conflict neither will come out in good shape.

Jormungand

In the first episode of Jormungand, Koko helped create a part of the balance of power by upgrading the unknown country’s MiG-29 Fulcrum squadrons. The people who tried to stop her were likely the country’s intelligence agency or interior ministry, who probably thought that the neighboring states would become more aggressive when they see a buildup of forces. This just shows how there’s no clear cut line on these matters. Since there is no way for states to know the true intentions of another state, a buildup of power could be interpreted as a sign of aggression.

I’m merely explaining (in VERY brief terms) a few of the paradigms (there are others), and I’m not claiming that Jormungand is enitrely accurate either. The second episode had a balance of power between the Russians and the rebels, but for the Red Bear to be deterred by such a small force it would probably have to already be occupied and have their forces tied up by fighting with both the Chinese and Japanese. However, in the show’s canon and ignoring real military levels, the principle of Realism is there in how the region stabilized after a build up of forces to a comparable level. 

Personal Thoughts

What am I? I’m a realist. Liberalism sounds cute and pretty, but it’s not how humans and the world work.

(Warning: Tangential ramblings coming up.)

My ideal system is one ruled by a single Earth Federation. One where there’s a single federal government for the world, and countries are semi-autonomous sub-states that have different governments for people to choose. Ideally the federation would have a set of core universal inviolable human rights, that all the countries have to respect. There would only be one military, and disputes would be settled by the federal government. Existing states would lose their sovereignty, but as individuals we would be more free. There would be no oppression, discrimination, and we won’t be as confined by borders and problems of citizenship. Of course, that all hinges on how liberal (ideology, not paradigm) the federation government becomes. If an oppressive regime takes control then things will be even worse since there’s no place to run to.

I think we’ve seen a steady concentration of power throughout history, from the many powers of Europe, to a few strong states (U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R.) between WW1 and WW2, to the bipolar system of the Cold War. Now that the Soviet Union dissolved, the U.S. is easily the strongest state in the system. Maybe the U.S. will take over the world, or maybe some other state will rise up. It’ll take decades, maybe centuries, but I think we’re headed down this path. 

I’ll also say it’s necessary for the world to be united under one government. Issues that individual states can’t solve by themselves – or that other states won’t let them solve – could be handled better. Global warming. Space. The human population would overrun the earth, and we’ll have to expand to other planets at some point down the line. The universe is constantly trying to kill us too – at some point an asteroid will come our way, and if the current world system is in place everyone will probably be bickering about other states launching something to stop the asteroid as a pretense to put weapons in space. Or something.

Well that’s my two cents. What are your thoughts?

Article 1 of the Aniblog Tourney Regulations: An aniblogger whose head has been destroyed is disqualified- wait that’s the Gundam Fight International Regulations, my bad.

Anyways, to the visitors from the Aniblog Tourney website, welcome! To readers, please check out the tourney website to discover more blogs and vote for the ones you like!

Feel free to read some of my recommended posts on the sidebar. I mostly blog about Smile Precure (though it’s on hold, since there’s so many good shows coming out this season and I’m having trouble keeping up), Gunpla guides/reviews, and random editorial stuff that cross my mind. I also feature a few songs that I like every once and a while, and definitely check out the Intro to Touhou Music post if you’re not familiar with Touhou music!

I may not blog as often as I should, since I occasionally become busy with college stuff (and by busy I mean procrastinate and watch anime). I also spend most of my time writing my novel, which is my top priority at the moment. What’s it about? Politics, war, and a teahouse full of lesbians. With mecha. And nuclear warheads. SERIOUSLY GUYS READ IT-*cough* oops.

So why should you vote for my blog? You know how they say diversity is a good thing? I’m a psychotic yandere lesbian trap with a thing for Gundams and majoring in Political Science. YOU CAN’T GET ANY WEIRDER THAN THIS! Also, if I pass the first round, I’ll post a picture of me in a maid costume with cat ears- *sounds of a thousand people vomiting*-FINE I WON’T. Mean ;_;

So. Gundam Fighto, Readdddddyyyyyyyyyyyy GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Bang. Oh Koko you quirky psychotic batshit insane white haired arms dealer, I love you.

Jormungand 

This is probably my favorite show out of all the ones that begin this season. I mean, Koko is just fucking awesome. She’s a cold blooded arms dealer traveling with a gang of soldiers, and picked up an orphaned child soldier who lost his parents because of arms dealers. The dynamic between these two is interesting, a weird mix of sister-brother, commander-soldier, revenge-redemption relations. She’s incredibly confident in her ability to read the boy, enough to go in a car full of weapons alone with him despite knowing that he loathes arms dealers. The time she told him that she’ll teach him to love guns is interesting too. The other characters also have their own quirks, and I also like the knife wielding yandere with an eye patch who has the serious hots for Koko. There’s also the group of soldiers whose eyes went completely insane with excitement when Koko told them to go hunt… kyaaa~. There’s a lot the show has to offer, with a lot of different factions with conflicting goals and a crapton of military hardware (AN F-22 AND A MIG-29 SHOWED UP UWAAAA), but the awesome ragtag band gathered around Koko are what the show is all about.

Coincidentally, apart from her hair, Koko is very similar to my character Flan. Especially those eyes.

Zetman

Zetman is an interesting dark superhero show, and raises questions about justice and what is right. Save the children with a high chance of success and leave the mother behind, or risk them all dying for the chance that they will all survive? Prioritize catching the culprit or saving victims? The world has a very dark mood to it, and the first episode made me tear up twice. I really like the woman that took ZET in, though after the second ep I wonder what will happen to her…

Definitely following this anime, not sure if I want to read the manga now or after the anime finishes airing though.

Accel World

Stupid piece of shit pig MC. It only took a few minutes for me to hate his guts, though he does force a rather ugly look of myself. Maybe I’ll write more on that later – for the show itself, the world it builds is pretty intriguing and it caught my interest on what the details of the Accelerated World will be. Will keep watching for now.

Acchi Kochi

It’s cute and sweet, but I get bored of tsundere characters easily. It’s also very obvious to everyone, the male lead too unless he’s a stupid fuck, that the girl likes him. Makes me wonder about what exactly is their relationship, though I guess I’ll just watch the cute stuff without thinking too much about it. The show gets rather slow and boring at some parts though.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san

MOE CHTULU MYTHOS GOD! This anime had the most simultaneously bloody, badass, and MOE opening scene I’ve ever seen. Nyaruko is unbelievably cute, and does a lot of funny hyperactive things that makes this show with a weird premise incredibly awesome and FULL OF WIN.

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD

It’s stupid and funny, like the first season. However, one thing is different. WE HAVE A CUTE PINK ASYMMETRICAL HAIRED LOLI!

Kuro Majo-san ga Tooru!!

Short low-budget show about a kid that accidentally summons a black witch, and being trained by her. Very boring, not going to keep watching it.

Lupin III : Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

I never watched any of the other Lupin III stuff before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I dove in (apart from nipples. Twitter went crazy over the nipples.) The show has a very…. not sure what word to use, classic? retro? OLD-PEOPLE? feel to it. It’s a good thing, and the unique art style is a plus. It’s exciting and keeps me on edge throughout the episode, but is also very exhausting to me. It’s great, but I probably won’t watch it if I’m feeling stressed out or need to relax. Save it for times with low workloads! Though since I’m writing a story I always have stuff I need to do even when the classes start to let up…

Medaka Box

Medaka’s naivety and extreme good-ness really pisses me off. The show is stupid, but it does have a few moments that made me laugh a bit. Maybe I’ll keep watching it, it’s good for blowing up your brains and forgetting everything.

Natsuiro Kiseki

DRAMA EVERYWHERE. ARGH.

Nazo no Kanojo X

This is one hell of a weird show, and that time when the guy first tasted the girl’s drool gave me a very violent gut reaction and I nearly threw up. As in, I was coughing and heaving while trying to hold my stomach acid down from flooding up through my throat. The other times didn’t have that gag reflex though, so I guess it’s not gross if he does it with her consent? My mind is weird. Drool aside, Nazo no Kanojo X is fun. I’m not quite sure what about it makes me like it, but I do.

Saki: Achiga-hen – Episode of Side A

It’s a sidestory of Saki, which I loved, so I’ll definitely be watching it. The first was just introducing the characters so nothing really happened yet, but I’m waiting for the ton of yuri that’s sure to come.

Sankarea

Another show that I really like. The visuals are great and feel a bit SHAFT-ish, and the MC and Sanka Rea are pretty cute together. Rea has a few of the common rich girl problems of not being free, and her father takes naked pictures of her on her birthday and  molests her or something. It’s not clear from the ep and I didn’t read the manga, but something seems to have driven her to kill herself. I really want to see how she ‘lives’ after being resurrected as a zombie, and whether she’ll stay with the MC and hide from society or try to blend in. Maybe I should just read the manga, but I’m not sure if I want to spoil myself on it before the anime ends.

Sengoku Collection

This was… rather stupid, it’s a typical random-girl-from-different-universe/environment/species/whatever-adjusts-to-normal-life kind of thing. Her being Nobunaga or whatever his name was doesn’t show up most of the time. At the end they did reveal that the various trapped-in-wrong-dimension people will have to duke it out to steal energy to travel back, so it might become more interesting later. Some of the other girls’ designs were cute, so I’ll at least stick around to see that.

Shirokuma Cafe / NICHIBEARS

Boring. I really don’t see what others on twitter are seeing in this show.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

This one’s also very cute, similar to Sankarea. The ghost girl can only be seen by a few people, so it’s funny when she flirts around with the MC and the bystander only sees half of what’s going on. I will definitely keep watching it, and the ghost’s amnesia means there’s potential for a lot of mystery and adventure with this show.

Uchuu Kyoudai / SPACEBROS

I really like the execution of this show, from the premise it sounded like it would be a rather serious and heavy anime but it’s actually light-hearted and funny. I really like how it handles the older brother going from being fired and having no hope, to being accepted to JAXA’s tests and steadily regaining it. I also like how he goes to visit Sharon and reminisce about when as a kid he would try everything that is hard to stay ahead of his brother, and he gained the motivation to take the JAXA tests and try to make it to the final round.

Upotte!!

Assault rifles that are moe girls. Do I really need to say anything else?

Yurumates 3D

Another short comedy, the first ep was okay but nothing special. Probably won’t watch.

Sakamichi no Apollon

Kaoru, a nerdy looking guy transfers to a new school, and quickly befriends Sentaro, a trouble maker. Their relationship is still in the awkward stage where they can’t seem to stand each other yet, and their tastes in music (classical vs jazz) clash which makes it even more interesting. The class rep Ritsuko who Kaoru fell for on first sight is also the childhood friend of Sentaro, and acts like a glue between them. It’s cute to see the budding of a fresh pure newborn crush within Kaoru LOL. It’s really enjoyable to watch.

Tsuritama

Another shy-guy-meets-eccentric-friend show, though this time the eccentric friend is very annoying and is an alien. While watching the first episode I was either a) bored out of my mind or b) want to punch Haru (the alien) in the face. Supposedly they go on to save the world or something later, but I don’t think I’ll be watching this for much longer. I’ll give it maybe an episode or two to see if it gets better, but I doubt it will.

What about you readers, what shows are you going to follow this season?

Some of you might know Touhou as “that shooting game with all the girls and fanart everywhere”, and wonder where music fits into the picture (if you already know feel free to scroll down to where I talk about some of my favorite songs). The game has great OST for the stage and boss fights, and doujin circles take the melody and make remixes of the songs. Sometimes the remixes are with new instruments, though many of them also have vocals added to the song. The remixes sometimes stay close to the original, but sometimes they deviate a lot.

Here’s an example of an OST track:

Title: Bloom Nobly, Ink-black Cherry Blossom ~ Border of Life

Game: Perfect Cherry Blossom, Stage 6 Boss - Yuyuko Saigyouji‘s theme

Flower Flag

Circle: FELT, Album: Flower Flag, Vocalist: Maika, OST: Bloom Nobly, Ink-black Cherry Blossom ~ Border of Life (Yuyuko Saigyouji’s theme)

Flower Flag is very lovely. The vocalist has a soothing voice, and the background music is very calming. It has a sort of everyday slice of life feel to it.

If you have a character that you like or come across a theme song, you can search youtube for many videos of it. For example, I sometimes search “touhou flandre vocal” to find remixes of Flandre‘s theme. You can also randomly discover other good songs uploaded by the same person that’s based on the theme of a character you never heard of. Most of the time the description lists the circle that made the song, or you can check the touhou wiki to look up details on the album and what original track the song was based on. Most of the time someone uploaded the album to mediafire, and a google search with the album and circle will find it. It’s near impossible to buy the original CDs unless you’re in Japan, I think most circles don’t ship overseas and some only sell at Comiket.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what OST a song is based on, so usually what I do is tag it in the song title and artist. For example, in my music library Flower Flag is tagged as Title: Flower Flag (Border of Life), Artist: Maika , (Yuyuko Saigyouji). It also makes library searching easy, for example if I want to see all the songs I have that are a remix of, let’s say Patchouli’s theme.

The following are a few of my favorite songs right now, I recommend listening to the OST track too. One enjoyment I have from listening to touhou music is recognizing the melody that it comes from.

Hiiro Gekka, Hyousai No zetsu-1st Anniversary Remix- 

Circle: EastNewSound, Album: Sacred Factor, Vocalist: nayuta, OST: U.N. Owen Was Her? (Flandre Scarlet’s boss theme)

This song is has two vocal tracks singing side by side, which creates a very interesting effect. If you read the lyrics translation you’ll find that it’s a very yandere song, and creepy in a very awesome way. I really like the vocalist’s voice, she makes the song very cute yet also brings out the forceful yandere-ness.

FOUR SEASONS OF LONELINESS

Circle: TatshMusicCircle, Album: FAR EAST OF EAST II, Vocalist: Sariya Hito, OST: Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (Byakuren Hijiri’s boss theme)

FOUR SEASONS OF LONELINESS feels very adventurous. While listening it kind of makes me feel like going out on a grand journey with other people ^^”. There’s a “beta version” remix of it in the next album FAR EAST OF EAST III, which I also really like.

Kasoku Suru Koi wa Dare mo Tomerarenai

Circle: Yuuhei Satellite, Album: Iro wa Nioedo Chirinuru wo, Vocalist: senya, OST: Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye (Satori Komeiji’s boss theme)

Senya and Yuuhei Satellite make a LOT of my favorite songs, and are a group that should be checked out. Surprisingly, there are few people who translate the lyrics of their songs (at least that I know of) so there are many that I can’t sing in karaoke ;_;. This song switches between two vocal styles between lines, a creepy style as the notes go down and then an assertive style as the notes go up. I also really like how some lines are sung with a pause between syllables. Ka- so- ku- su- ru- ko-i wa- da- re- mo, tomerarenaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!

Kagura

Circle: Liz Triangle, Album: White Lotus, Vocalist: lily-an, OST: Heian Alien (Nue Houjou’s boss theme)

Kagura’s song title is also the name of a type of Shinto dance, which really shows through in the song. It has a very traditional folk feeling to it that I can’t quite describe, and some parts makes me want to jump up and dance (shhh!). It’s very fun to sing though in some parts I can’t stop my body from bouncing up and down ^^”. Some parts of the song really stick out, like keta keeeeeta keeeeta-wa~ ra~ u~. There’s also a part where there’s two fast vocal tracks in it.

Bōgakyō, Hangonchō, Sono Hana Kaika Suru Koto Atawazu

Circle: WAVE, Album: Archiv-East, Composer: MORRIGAN, OST: Border of Life

MORRIGAN’s works are holy freakin epic. Normally I only listen to songs with vocals, but this orchestral arrange is epic. Epic epic epic. There’s a harp solo in the middle that sounds really interesting too. Seriously, I don’t know how I can possibly describe the epicness of this track, so listen to it!

Another writing prompt from 2DT, this time “drink another between night & blue”! I decided to go for a different style this time. It’s a fantasy story, written in first person, which I’m not used to writing in >_< so apologies if it sounds weird! The pictures in this post are quick sketches I tried to make before the time limit of posting is up. Yes I know they suck.

Please enjoy, and tell me what you think about the story!

I took a sip of wine as I slowly climbed the stairs. This unbelievably high clock tower sat atop one of the highest mountains in the region. I could’ve flown all the way to the top, but I wanted to take my time to slowly savor the experience and bring back long forgotten memories. When I finally made it to the top, I sat on the edge of the balcony and finished my glass of wine, the clouds swirling beneath my feet.

I poured two more glasses and set one aside, taking the other in my hand.

On my left was the dark night, and on my right was the blue sky and the sunrise.

I drink another between night and blue.

She should be here any minute, I thought as I stretched my dark leathery wings to catch the breeze.

I heard a soft thump beside me, and looked up to see her and her beautiful white wings of feathers. Her eyes were closed and she had a serene smile on her face.

”Wine?” I offered as she sat down.

”Sure.” Our glasses made a light chink as we tapped them together.

”How many hundred years was it since we first fought over this very tower?”

”Quite a few. It doesn’t feel like much, considering how we can only meet each other for this brief time each day.” She said as she laid her head down on my breasts.

”It couldn’t be helped. The night is my domain, and the day, yours.” I gently stroked her hair.

”That’s going to end today.”

”I’ll really miss your soft wings though.” I ran my hand through her feathers, trying to embed the memory into my soul. ”Will we really meet each other again?”

”If the spell is cast correctly, then yes. Shall we start?”

”Might as well.” She stood up and summoned a large magic circle, a series of bright shining runes and sigils floating in midair and rotating around us. Together we summoned our weapons, my spear and her sword. ”Will we remember each other after the reincarnation?”

”Honestly, I don’t know. But,” she looked deeply into my eyes ”I want to believe that we could be together properly, and that our hearts will guide us.”

We chanted the incantation in unison. The runes shone brighter than ever before, lighting up the clock tower as if it was a beacon. We looked into each other’s eyes one last time, and I punctured her heart with my spear as she sliced mine with her sword. The torrent of energy and blood flowing out of our bodies wrapped around us in a maelstrom, and in our last moments I kissed her and wrapped our tongues around each other’s. And the world faded away.

.

.

.

As each day passed by, I felt I was missing something from my life. There was plenty to do in this village, and school was fun, but I can’t shake the feeling. The feeling of having forgotten something very important. The people of the village teased me for my unusual straight, long black hair, but that wasn’t the cause of my concern.

”Class, today we have a new student! Please welcome her!” the teacher said as she brought in a girl. As I turned to look, I saw that she had long fluffy hair that was whiter than snow. Immediately I shot up straight from my seat. The girl turned to look at me, and our eyes met. Before I realized it, I was running towards her, and her towards me. We embraced each other after a century apart.

The lesson that Peace said is to not tell lies that hurt other people, but personally I say just don’t tell any lies (unless you’re skipping class/homework, but you didn’t read that here). My April Fool’s post outright says that it’s a joke post at the bottom, though apparently people didn’t scroll down to read it. And believe it or not I actually had many points I made by writing that post, some explicit and some unwritten.

The writing for the latter half of this episode didn’t sit well with me again. The parts leading up to the battle were good, and I can easily believe someone like Yayoi being unable to tell the truth after being swept up in the momentum of the other four. The battle, however, was stupid. As previously mentioned, the Cures are crappy tacticians for falling for the misinformation, the Red Oni let them talk out the lie, and everyone becomes useless to give Yayoi a chance to shine.

Otherwise, it was pretty enjoyable (I feel like I say this every week, I don’t know why but I just really like watching Smile even when it has stupid moments) and Yayoi’s cuteness throughout the episode really made my day shine.