Kozumi's Quote of the Week:

"I see you've met Diablo."
--Aro, to Holden as he reenters the room after being torched by Aro's summon monster.

Damn, this shirt makes me look unimaginably flat.

Lex: Its cuz you are.

(Beans Lex with rubber chicken) Shaddup. Well, I hope we're gonna get back to posting at a normal pace....Ha, like that's ever gonna happen. Well, lemme get Dea back out here and we'll finish up Friday night at Fanime, and possibly finish this ridiculous inner office war over love. And chickens. I have no idea what this chicken thing is.....

So after the swap, Ryo-chan and I went for the second cotume change for the night (3 costumes in one night, how prolific I am).

Dea: Or just indecisive.

She handed me a vest, and told me to put on my white-button down shirt and black pants and boots. I though we were aiming for a Yami no Matsuei costume, as that was 90% of my Tsuzuki costume, but she said it was more than that and headed off to the bathroom with something red. Okay, I was worried, but not worried enough to run. Eh, call it curiousity, calll it holding true to my word--

Dea: Or call it was it was--being an Uke and being too scared to defy the Seme..

(bonks Dea w/ piko piko hammer) --Call it what you will. Several minutes went by and finally out she comes in a long red coat, lacy gloves with no fingers, fishnet stockings and her hair down. Damn, like I didn't know who she was..... And here was me, without a guitar to hold.... So the secret costumes for Gakufest and the dance were Yoshiki (Ryo) and Pata from the J-rock band X-Japan. Hmmm, maybe I should have guessed that sooner, but eh, c'est la vie. Admittedly, I wasn't sure anyone would recognize us, given that not many people were into J-rock....mostly J-pop and K-pop.... But I decided that this was going to be fun anyway (as her coat was only held open by a single safety pin (mwa ha) so I set the doubts aside, took down my hair and we took to the con. She had a whole mess of roses, which I had a feeling would dwindle in number as the con progressed. They were the fake kind so no skin off our back if this became so.
After wandering the con, getting a few pics here and there, we stopped over at Gakufest, where there was a bunch of J-rock/gothic bands playing for the day. You had to pay to get in, but by the time we went, we got in for free cuz it was so late. So Ryo and I got to partake in a lil Blood, a fun little J-rock goth band with the penchant for pop-ish sounding music and spitting water at the crowed, inaddition to getting the other band members wet. Wow, it was just like all those X-Japan DVDs Ryo has, only this was live and toneed down a bit.

Dea: Toned down?? I couldn't tell if those guys were chicks or guys....damned dresses. And what about that guitarist running about and tumbling like the summer gymnastics olympics?

You haven't seen any X-Japan have you? Believe me, X-Japan makes Blood look like a Christian band.

Dea: HELL-o. O_o

Damn right. I really liked the music, kinda goth rock with a techno bass beat. It was kinda cool. We saw the last part of their run, had a break and then sat down with a band that Ryo and I knew all too well....

Lex: Secret Secret!

Right. The last band of the night was none other than the same live band from Yaoi-con '02--Secret Secret. I remember the lead singer taking off a piece of clothing every song they did back at Y-con. Well, maybe just 5 songs into thieir set, but damn was he hot.... Goth rocks. Ryo got to give the lead one of her roses during the concert, it was pretty sweet. Damn, he had nice eyes, ne?

Aro, Dio, and Kozu (dreamy-like): Ne......so desu....

Admittedly, after Blood was done, only, like, 20 people stayed, but that was okay, cuz Rob (lead singer as we learned later) wandered the thater, messing about with the audiance. It was so personal. I thought I'd died and gone to a t.a.t.u. concert.

Aro: -_-6

Anyway, after the show we hung about and Rob came out to talk to us few stagglers who were congregating outside the theater doors (inside, unless you've been to the Santa Clara convention hall, you'll have no idea of what this looks like). We all got to talk and, get this, he let us buy some of the compilation CDs for the SF goth rock community (or something like that--its Denki Tiger if you're interested) AND signed them! Wow, a cooler night could not have been better. Plus he recgnized Ryo's costume as Yoshiki from X. Damn, if this wasn't Heaven, then I don't want to go. Rob was so cute. His keyboardist came out to retrieve him for clean up so Ryo and I adjourned for the room, after checking out karaoke and joking about wanting to sing X-Japan'a "Art of Life" (which is, for those who don't know, 29 minutes long).
And that was mostly Friday night. Next post I'll give you a peak into Saturday, and learn why next time I should pack 9 packs of batteries for the camera.

*Till next time Lunies!*

And now, the (hopefully) last part of the RanLune office love affair.

When we last left out heroes, Rya was being distracted from her quest to slay Raziel for having an affair with Lolita by Lex McCloud and Dio Maxwelle, as Kozumi called Aro of Swords to warn him of the impending doom. Aro, with Raz and Lolita, was preparing to move them to a safer location while Rya was held up. Will they make it to to the Valentine Sisters' room in time? And what of this war of fowl that's slowly gaining ground?

Our players for today:
Aro, Pot Sticker
Lolita, Neo Black 6
Dio Maxwelle, Random Lunacy Comic Creator
Lex McCloud, Random Lunacy Male Side
Raz-Raziel, Neo Black 9
Rya Li St. John, Neo Black 9
Kozumi, Neo Black 9--Second Generation
Syndelin and Calliope Valentine, Random Lunacy Musician and Poet

(In the kitchen...)
Raz: We must make for the safehouse post haste.
Aro: Right, come on then. We're gonna hide out at the Valentine Sisters' place for the time being.
Lolita: I hope we won't be too much of a bother.
Aro (dialing cell phone): I hope they got their phones on....

(Meanwhile....in some undisclosed hall....)
Rya (throttling Lex): Any other confessions, dead man?
Lex (tunring blue yet still, impossibly, alive): .....................I sent out your measurments to that lemon writer in New Jersey?
(Rya beats him sensless)
Dio: What's the big deal? Lemon writers never use real measurements; they make everyone a c-cup.
Kozu: ^^;;;
Rya: You're fscking dead when I'm done with Raz.....
Kozu (exiting carefully): Well, I'm off! Gotta stop those encroaching hordes of chickens!
Rya (pausing in her beating): Yeah, what's that all about?
Kozu: How 'bout this, I go find out. See you later! (exits quickly)
Rya: That was....surreal.....
(Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of Two-Mix's "White Reflection" on a ring tone cuts through the air)
Calliope (answering phone): Hello~!
Dio: Dear God.
Calliope: Well, hello, Aro! What a surprise! What? No, Rya's right here, do you want to talk to her?
(Dio and Lex make discreet gestures to not do that. Rya, not looking at them, gives a questioning look to Cal)
Rya: Why? Did he find Raziel?
Calliope (to phone): What? You don't want too talk to her? No she's in the hall.....yeah.... Don't tell her what?
Rya (dropping Lex): Don't tell me what?
Dio (makes slashing motions across her neck)
Calliope (to phone): So you did find Raz? I just saw them in the kitchen.... What? Oh okay, hang on. (to Rya) They're not in the kitchen. (to phone) Okay, I told her....now what was....hello? Aro? Hello?? Moshi moshi? huh, musta hit a bad patch of reception. Rya---(notices Rya's gone) Huh? I wonder where she went.
Dio: Dear God....of all things planned....when the best laid plans go awry--
Lex (regaining a healthier color): --blame it on the poet.

(Meanwhile, en route to the kitchen....)
Kozu: Dear god, I hope things have gone okay.... (dials phone) Come on Tsuzuki, come on....
Aro: Moshi moshi.
Kozu: Its me, Kozumi. What's going on?
Aro: Well, Calli spilled the beans so we're tyring to hide now.
Kozu (muttering): Swell......anyway, where are you, I'll come get you.
Aro: Observation Deck.
Kozu: Stay put, I'm coming. (hangs up) Give me chickens any day.....

Will Kozu make it in time? Or will Rya find the fleeing lovers first? Is Calliope really as blond as she seems? Or does the stupidily run deeper than that? And will Random Lunacy stop sidestepping the Chicken Invasion issue, or will we never know how that all got started? Tune in next time on Random Lunacy!

*Till next time Lunies!*

And now...the rest of yesterday's post.....

When we last left our players, Rya, absolutely livid about the illicit affair between Raz-Raziel and Lolita, stalked off to locate the ..........young....lovers in an attempt to...well, kill them. Again. Fearing for their safety, the rest of the group fanned out to find them before any harm came to them. With Aro ready to lay down his unlife for the two, the trio prepare for the worst, as the rest of the group prepare for the impending doom.

Our Players this time around:
Aro of Swords, Social Drinker/Card Master
Dio Maxwelle, Cosplayer
Rya Li St. John, Anime RPG Avatar
Kozumi, Conscience
Lolita, Common Sense
Raz-Raziel, Manic Depressant
Lex McCloud: Gamer, Male Side

(Kozumi, minding his own business, is suddenly zapped while waking down a hall)
Kozu: X_X
Rya: Oh God!! Kozumi! I'm so sorry!! Are you okay??
Kozu (chared to a crisp yet still no worse for the wear): H-hai.......
Rya: I'm really sorry! I thought you were someone else.
Kozu (dusting self off): Who'd you think I was?
Rya (suddenly livid): AN ELOPING BASTARD!! (suddenly calm) Oh sorry about that.
Kozu (checking ear for damage): Really? Is someone you know running off to marry their cram school teacher or something?
Rya: What kind of messed up plot twist is that?? No, its someone else.
Kozu (to himself): So much for CLAMP solving the world's problems...... (to Rya) May I ask who?
(Dio and Lex round the corner)
Dio: Oh shit. (ducks around corner, Lex in tow by shirt)
Lex: Ach.
Kozu (noticing): ????
Dio: We'd better try to distact her.
Lex: Good idea. We'll call Aro on the cell to tell him.
(They emerge from corner)
Dio: Hello-lo-lo.
Kozu (pointing): *They're* eloping?
Lex: What?!
Dio: Nani?!
Rya: Huh?! No, not them.
Kozu: Who's eloping then?
Rya (muttering): He'd better not be....
Lex: ?
Dio: ??
Kozu: ???
Rya: This's gonna take awhile....

(Meanwhile int he kitchen...)
Raz (wrapping arms around Lolita possessively): If Rya finds us, we're toast.
Lolita: I'm sure if we explain it to her, she'll understand.
Raz: Explaining anything to her when she's like this is like reasoning with a charging bull. Its just not going to happen.
(Lolita glances at Aro, Syndelin and Calliope, whom all nod sagely)
Aro: That's why we gotta get you outta here. Somewhere safe. At least until the storm passes.
Raz: But where, there're only so many places we can go.
Syndelin: Let's go sis. Its prolly better if we try to get as far away from ground zero as possible. (Calliope nods) Ganbatte, ya'll. You'll need it.
Raz (sarcastic): Thanks Syndelin.
(Syndelin and Calliope exit. As if on cue, Lolita opens the cheesecake)
Lolita: Might as well enjoy this while I can. (She cuts a rather sizable piece) What?
Aro (grabbing bottle of whiskey sitting out on counter): How could you think of food at a time like this?! (downs bottle in one gulp)
Raz: Riiiight.....
Aro: We need to move to a safe place.
Lolita: How about the heart?
Raz: Too obvious.
Aro: The memory bank?
Raz: First place I'd look....
Lolita: Music room?
Raz: Also too obvious.
Aro: Kideney?
Raz: Are you kidding??
(Aro's cell phone rings--long pause)
Aro: Moshi moshi!
Kozu (on the line): Aro?
Aro: Hey! Hello Kozumi!
Kozu: No time for pleasantries, my uke friend. Rya's here and she's pissed as pie. Dio and Lex are distracting her but I don't know how much longer we can manage it. Lex can only take so much damage.
Aro (suddenly serious): I see. We've found the birds but we need to find their nest. Any ideas?
Kozu (equally criptic): I hear its a good season and time for twins. Try that. Call later if you find the nest is disturbed or you find another.
Aro: Understood. You call when the hawk takes flight. Ja ne. (hangs up and notices the stares he elicited) What?
Raz: Did you have to make it sound so "Mission: Impossible" like?
Aro: Oh leave me be. Let's go, Kozu's distracting Rya so we need to haul ass to catch up with the Valentine sisters. Kozu'll call us if she gets away.

Will Lolita and Raz be able to make it to their sancutary before being caught? Will Lex soon join the ranks of the hospital beds? Will Random Lunacy be prepared for the impending doom, as constant chicken dinners create a war between the Forces of Poultry and the RanLune Resistance? Is the host completely on crack or off her rocker? And what of the Gakufest at Fanime? Find out next time on Random Lunacy!


Well, well, well! Seems like you're the master of
all RPG skills! You've been a mage, a thief, a
sorcerer, .... maybe even a chocobo! XD When it
comes to slaying dragons, or just woooing all
the girls...from bargirls to princesses, YOU'RE
THE MAN! The world/planet is a safer place
becuz of you!


WHAT TYPE OF COSPLAYER ARE YOU DESTINED TO BE?
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Till next time Lunies!

In light of Blogger's shifting to a new server, yesterday's post will be posted today and normal (ha!) posting will resume today. We apologize for the inconvinience.

Well, the week's on a roll and many of my readers--

Syndelin: You mean *one*.

(Glare) Ahem, a reader, or *two*, has asked about Fanime from a cosplayer's eyes.....So I suppose Dea, my Cosplay Persona, and I can fill you in on at the very least Friday.


You are a Cosplay Wonder!


What Kind Of Cosplayer Are You?
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Dea: Boosting ego, I see.

Shaddup. Thursday night, Ryo-chan (my Koi--for the rest of the report she will be refered to as Ryo-chan) and I decided that we should meet at the con around 10-ish, as I had some last minute costume elements to pick up (and Irony will turn its head to show how I really didn't need those gloves) in the lobby. The agreed costume was Hajime Terazuma of Yami no Matsuei/ Descendants of Darkness fame.

Dea: Well, more specifically, in the manga cuz he showed up in the anime for a cumulative amount of....lessee....2 seconds, maybe?
Terazuma: Bite me.
Dea (nibbles on his kneecaps): Kay.
Terazuma: Ow!!! Damn you! (turns into beats form and wreaks havoc)

Son of a---well, anyway, the problem was, Ryo-chan, my Kannuki Wakaba--or Terazuma's analog "love interest", was late by....about three hours due to, what else, last minute costume fixing. Hey, I really didn't care, as my Kurama costume was still, as of yet, unfinished. So it was all good.....took me an hour to get my damned badge tho..... Anyway, I managed to meet up with her around....2-ish, got her badge and then headed out to paint the con red....

Dio (snorts): Bwa ha ha!!!

Oh shut up. TenTen, Penny, Aise, GrandMel (all aliases...of course), and I had checked in around 11-ish, so we all trouped up to the room, unloaded some stuff, then went for Ryo-chan's stuff, then unloaded that. It was good, moving fun.... After which, wedecided to have a costume change. The first in a long line of costume changes. Mind you, I brought something like 8 costumes and 2 sets of regular clothes. 2 costumes were for Ryo but the rest were mine.... Plus there was the "Surprise" costume that she brought....so you could say we were ready for anything.

Dea: Costume change count--1.

Ryo and I emerged from the room as Sally Po and Chang Wufei of Gundam Wing, for the Gundam Wing photo shoot that was sorta announced at the Gundam panel. The Gundam panel was fun because the host was really on the ball and had a great sense of humor. He was giving out promotional boxes for Char's Counterattack, which included the DVD, some promo materials, and I think a model. It was pretty sweet. The ways of "winning" a prize (other prizes included DVDs or tapes of G Gundam) went from answering trivia, to reinacting scenes from Gundam Wing. Prizes even went to the oldest and the youngest fans present at the panel (50 and 9, respectively). So all in all, especially with the guy who was Domon Kasshu from G Gundam, the panel was kinda cool. The Domon was the one who told us about the Gundam photo shoot so we had to change from YamiMatsu to Wing in ten minutes.

The photo shoot was okay, we got some cool pix and saw some neat costumes, including a Chibodee Crockett costume (G Gundam).

Dea: Takes guts to wear a Chibodee costume, espcially when there are some pot shots at G Gundam for its cheesyness.

Right. We got some good photos in. Then we headed off to the swap meet, and dealer's room. Or something like that...friday was kinda a blur....

Dea: Like the rest of the weekend?

Nyahh......:P Anyway, at the swap, my sis Penny had camped out with GrandMel, TenTen and Aise to do some hardcore selling. A coupla members of my school's anime club were there trying to scrape up funds (>:D), an d we shopped around for a bit, as the dealer's room was closed. I scored a few cool things, like a disturbingly tasty Yu-Gi-Oh doujinshi, some other doujins, Hikaru and Toya plushies from Hikaru no Go (I gave the Hikaru to TenTen, he was soooo plased ^_^. I'm a good Ate/big sister.), and the comlpete set of the Japanese Chobits manga for $20. YATTA!

Dea: And there was dancing such that the world's never seen before.

Damn right. As the night drew on, and the dance drew nearer, Ryo-chan decided it was time to change into the secret costumes.... And mayhaps try to catch Gakufest, the J-rock concert at the theater..... It was then I was officially inducted into J-rock fandom.....the likes of which I shall hafta go into next post.... Mwa ha..., yes, I am evil.


We'd rate you #1 at the convention above all the
others! Congratulations on being the most
helpful otaku out there!


What kind of cosplayer are you?
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Well, stay tuned for the "catch-up" post, as this thing won't let me publish long posts like before it seems..... Accursed server moving.....

*Till next time Lunies!*

Kawaii-chan's Word of the Week:

Choberu--(proper noun) The culmination of a Chobits and X/Tokyo Babelon obsession; a cosplayer wearing a Subaru costume and a pair of Chii persocom ears.

And...Kozumi's Quote of the Week:

"Sir Francis Drake circumsized the world with a 100-foot clipper."
--an answer on a sixth grader's history test

Well, as you've noticed, a con over the weekend means my week startes Tues. Tiny amounts of sleep, ramen for meals and more walking than the march of dimes can take a lot out of one, even if you're a con veteran. Like Chris Tang, who is the God of Cosplay this side of the country. Any one who can whip up a functional Epyon costume deserves major props for it.

Dio (bowing): We're not worthy......We're not worthy....

That's what I'm saying. Ironic thing is, that I finished the Kurama costume just barely on time and I didn't get to use it. My fault, due to miscommunication, but that means I can make a better one in time for Yaoi-con. Funny how things sorta kinda work out. hmmm, more than likely, the whole of my anime community of friends will give some full blown report on the con and how it was but I'm gonna pace it out (and leave out all the juicy parts) during the week....like how the swap meet went, what we all picked up, how the Masquerade went, and what costumes got their share of pix. Perhaps I'll try to find a way for all ya'll to check out the pretty costumes I took photos of.

Right now, I'm trying to choose what I'm posting today...probably the final parts of the Random Lunacy Love Affair fiasco...and mayhaps some other madness.

Kozu: That chicken's gotta grenade....
Chicken: Cluck cluck.
Aelys (w/ BFG): I feel like chicken tonight....like chicken tonight.
(Blows away the chicken, thus activating the grenade and taking out half the complex)
Kozu (witheringly): Great move, Aelys.... we just got that place fixed from the last time, you pulled something like that.
Aelys (blowing smoke from barrel of gun): Not my problem.

Jamming to the tunes of Two-Mix's Dream Tactix, we bring you Part Two of the inner office affair.....

When we last left our intrepid heroes, the were discoving that the rumored love affair was between Raz-Raziel, Manic Despressant-Undead Immortal from Neo Black 9, and Lolita, Common Sense from Neo Black 6. Our crack team included Aro of Swords from Pot Sticker (Social Drinker and Card Master), Rya Li St. John of Neo Black 9 (Anime RPG Avatar and Magic Specialist), Dio Maxwelle (Cosplay Goddess and Master of Disguise), and Diz...(Video Game and L33t enthuseist). Let's check up on them....

Rya (stomping down hall): Ooooh, I'm sooo gonna kill Raz for this....(cracks knuckles)
Aro (shepishly): Eh heh heh...Rya-san, let's calm down about this....
Dio: Forget it Tsu. She's beyond us.
Diz: I don't see the big deal...
Dio (interrupting): Other than--
Aro (at the same time as Dio): --How downright wrong it its.
(They stop to think as Rya and Aro keep going.)
Both: Ewwwwwwww.......
Diz: I still don't get it....
Dio: We'll tell you when you're older.
Diz: I'm not *getting* any older....we're all gonna be the same age till the end of time.
Dio: Exactly.

(They all reach the main Head room, where all the personas gather....)
Rya (searching): Where are they? Where are they??
Aro: Probably at a make out room or something if i know them....
Rya (stares @ Aro): .......................
Dio (clapping hand over mouth): Don't make it worse!!
Diz: Geeze, man, don't anger it.
(Rya stimps off to question the other denizens of the Head)
Dio: Great, now all Hell will break loose.
Aro: As if it hasn't already.
Diz: We're in trouble.
Aro: Someone'd better find the two before Rya does.... Let's split up and find them before she does. Agreed?
All: Go!!

(Somewhere in the kitchen....)
Lolita (w/ lage bags of groceries): Whew! These sure are heavy!
Syndelin (behind, w/ two more bags): Damn, good thing BulkMart had a sale. We buy enough to feed an army....
Lolita: And its name is Aro and Lex.
Syndelin: Good thing he only visits every now and then.
Lolita: Amen and thank the Gods.
Calliope: Lolita, what's been bothering you?
Lolita: Huh?
Syndelin: Yeah, sis's right. You've been sighing all day. Something wrong?
Calliope: You can tell us.
Lolita: It's nothing.....
(Enter Aro)
Aro: Oh there you are, Lolita! I need to talk to you!
Lolita: What is it Aro?
Aro (grabbing her arm): You gotta hide....
(Enter Raz)
Raz: Lolita, did you...(stops, seeing Aro) ......What are you doing?
Aro (dropping arm): Uhhh...nothing....
Lolita: Just the person I needed to see. (glances at Aro)
Aro: Don't worry about me, my lips are sealed. Its not like anyone else doesn't know.....
Raz (shrug): Good point.
Lolita: Dearest, there's something that's been troubling me.
Raz: What is it, Love?
Lolita (putting away groceries absently): Well, its...well, it so heard to say Sweet Heart.
Raz: You know you can tell me anything, Snugglebunnie.
Lolita: I know, Honeybun, I know...but...
Raz (claw on her hand): Try to my Dear Heart.
Lolita: Well...(sees Aro reaching for empty grocery bag) What are you doing?
Aro (looking sick): I'm gonna need this.
Raz (ignoring Aro): Whats wrong?
Lolita; My mother...she wants to have you for dinner....
Syndelin: For or as dinner?
Raz: Don't be cute.
Syndelin (grinning): Too late.
Raz (to Lolita): I don't see a problem with meeting parents...I mean, nothing can be worse than TenTen and Karaoke.....
Lolita: Well, you see, my mom's a little...well, you know....
Raz: Eccentric?
Aro: Narrow-minded?
Syndelin: Dead?
(Everyone stares at Syndelin)
Syndelin: What? Its a valid question....you're both dead anyway.....
Lolita (as if she didn't hear): .....More like over-bearing.... She doesn't really like me dating...um, other species. And what with Raz being a...well, darling, I simply don't know WHAT you are.
Raz: Its complicated.
Lolita: Regardless.... I hope things will be alright.
Aro: This relationship's like Hisui and Kokuyo from Clamp's "Wish"..... (to the pair) Um...I think you have more dire things to worry about right now.
Raz: Oh?
Aro: Rya's looking for the two of you and she's pissed.
Raz: How pissed?
Aro: Crispin Freeman at Fanime '02 pissed.
Raz: Shit, we're screwed.

Will Raz and Lolita survive not only Rya's wrath but a dinner with Lolita's mom? Can their relationship get any more sweet than "Snow Fairy Sugar"? Will the Random Lunacy complex withstand more damage as the forces of Poultry plot their next move? And will we ever find out what happened at Fanime this year? Find out on the next Random Lunacy!

*Till next time Lunies!*

Whew! Sewing takes a lot outta you! Hard to type with sore and *bleeding* fingers.....

Dea: Hey! Back to work! You haven't finished your Kurama costume *and* you're trying to finish that Takuto costume!!

Sigh....why do I always wait until the last moment?? This time it wasn't my fault! My Granny kept balking on getting the stuff for it! And now she's in Iowa!! Damn fate, damn it to hell!!! (starts weeping profusely)

Dea (yelling): Stop crying! Stop it!! Damn you! Damn you! Pull yourself together! There's no crying in COSPLAY!

Welll......that sounds like fun.....and now for something completely different: There have been rumors in the head about some love triangle going on here.....

Lex: And none have been denyied...so that means they're true.

So a crack team of personalities had been dispatched to locate the surce of the rumors. They are as follows:

Aro of Swords, top paranormal detective of the agency Pot Sticker,
Dio Maxwelle, comic creator and Master of Disguise,
and Rya Li St. John, Magic specialist and RPG avatar.

Diz: No one ever said it was the dream team.....

Aro: So, where do we start?
Dio: They say that all rumors are started somewhere with a gossiper....we must find that loud-mouth and grill him for information.
Dio: What are you, Good Cop-Bad Cop?? You're an idiot.
Rya: You need to handle this gently or you'll lose the information and the informant. You need a woman's touch.
Aro: So says the a girl who cosplays as a guy and a tomboy chick......
Rya (steely glare): ............................Dragon Slave.

(Later.......)
(Cue dimly lit room, w/ lamp and a single chair, in which is the renowned gossip and loud-mouth Lex McCloud--)
Aro (lamp in Lex's face): Where were you the night of the 32nd?
Lex (unfazed): Waxin' yo momma's fat ass.....
(Aro backhands Lex. Rya backhands Aro. Aro goes down)
Rya: Sorry about that, sweetheart. He's just a lil excitable.
Lex: No harm done. I'm used to it.
Dio: People say you got the skinny on everyone here in the Head.
Lex: People say a lot of things. People say that Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are gay lovers. (cue Aro, Dio and Rya pratfall) But what you heard was right. I'm the informant.
Dio: You're a gossiper with a big mouth and no shame.
Lex: ..............................Or that too.
Aro: If you're so smart, what is Rya's cup size?
Lex (unblinking): Double A. 34.
(Rya decks Aro and Lex and one balletic move)
Aro (suddenly fine): A woman's touch she says....... (Gets decked)
Dio: Rya, you been taking kick boxing lessons from Aelys?
Rya: How'd you guess?
Aro (to Lex as they rise): So you know anything about the rumored love triangle?
Lex: Do I? I started it.
Aro: So...?
Lex: Its not really a love triangle, see. Just some lil affair going on behind closed doors and cemetaries.
Aro: Cemetaries? If what you're saying is true, then that narrows out field down considerably.
Rya: Oh?
Aro (turning on lights): Here're the clues. I think I figured it out.
Dio (witheringly): Its not Red Herring, Aro.
Aro: Dammit...then I'm stumped.
Rya (to camera/viewers/readers): For those playing along at home, here are the clues. (cue whirling scene/flashback change) Our first clue was the positons stated for the Head---Common Sense and Manic Depressive-Undeadite.
Dio: Inha is the Intelligence, which also is a part of Common Sense, who is Lolita. Kozumi is the Conscience (though not a very good one)--
Kozu: Hey!
Rya: While the Philisophical Reasoning, also Inha, is also handled by Raz, whom is manic depressive all the time.
Aro: Okay but now we have, like,a hundred suspects.
Dio: We're not done yet, stupid. The second clue was the fact that both parties are dead.
Aro: But...there are a lot of dead people here already.
Diz: I see dead people....(looks at Lex and Aro) I see dumb people......
(Lex and Aro chase her away)
Rya: True but only a few overlap. Our dead residents are Lolita, Aro, Kozumi, Raz and Ashton.
Dio: With one new person, D, who had been recently deceased after reading Tank Cop's horrible and outright stupid and pointless pornfic.
Aro: Okay that's six, but I'm not a suspect....I have a boyfriend.
Dio: Right. The third clue was a character here without an analog love interest. We can count out Aro, Ashton and Kozumi cuz thay all have analong love interests--Kage, Effram, and Tsuzu, respectively.
Aro: Wait....how long have Effram and Ashton been dating?
Dio: Ashton doesn't date.
Aro: .............................Oh.
Rya: Which leaves Lolita, D, and Raz, as suspects left.
Lex: Discounting the fact she died, cuz I believe that love perseveres even in death---
Aro: Amen brother.
Rya (frustrated): You're missing the point.
Dio: Wanna grab a bite at the cafe? I hear the cheesecake is divine.
Aro: .......................kay. Let's get some San Miguels too.

(Much much much later.....)
Dio: Where were we?
Rya: ?? Oh yeah, the next clue. The last clue.
Dio: Cemetaries. We all know that a cemetary is where Lolita met Attikas.
Rya: And cemetaries technically have souls. And where's there's souls---
Dio: There's Raz.
Aro (munching on a croissant): Meaning...that Lolita and Raz are the ones who are having an affair.
(Long pause)
All: EWWWWWWWWWWWWW..........
Rya: No freakin' way!
Dio: That's disturbing.
Diz: I don't get it......
Aro(put off his lunch): How is that possible??
Diz (not put off her lunch): Are you going to finish that?
Lex: How'd you think I felt?
All: You came up with it!!!
Lex: Well, yeah. I just didn't think they were actually gonna hook up.....blecch....
Aro: So now what??
Dio: We better find out if this's true.....
Rya: If so, I'm gonna be kickin' a lil undead butt tonight.

What will happen next?? Will Lolita and Raziel's short-lived relationship come to a grinding halt?? Is Rya going to actaully throw down on Raz? Is there *anything* that would put Diz off her lunch?? Find out next time on Random Lunacy!!!

*Till next time, Son of Sparda!*


You are Dante!


Which Devil May Cry character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Wait.......

Kozumi's Quote of the Week:

"Oh no. Every time you show up, something monumental and terrible happens. I don't think I have the stomach for it."
--Raziel, Soul Reaver 2 [The Ruined Aerie]

Rya: You don't *have* a stomach, Raziel.
Raziel: Shaddup.

Well, posting have gotten a lot less frequent, due to the fact that we all are busily preparing for the.............what's it now...? The Sixth Coming?

Rya: Why not the Second Coming?

Cuz I'm not religious and I'm not talking about salvation of all.

Lex: Just Otaku.

Damn straight. If you guys haven't been up to par here, Fanime '03's on its way, bringing more Random Lunacy than you can shake a stick at. I'm not just talking about these lovely denizens in my head, I'm talking about a grand gathering of the best minds in cosplay, AMV/Parody editing, artists, voice acting, and general otaku in one lovely convention center. In case you can't tell, this is gonna be the biggest thing in my life next to my wedding, which I have plans for it to be at either Fanime, Yaoi-con or Anime Expo (prolly not the latter cuz we all know its getting corrupted by The BIg Evil). Or I propose at a con, whichever.

Aro: Dear God.....

Shaddup Aro. Well, the skit has officially been finalized. I'll just say it involves the great Sachmo-Louis Armstrong, a persocom, mad scientists, and (of course) Box and Chair. Mwa ha ha. And Kat's the Persocom.....Mwa ha x2. We cosplayers love Fanime. Its the only place to dress-up and not feel weird, esp. if you're too old for Halloween....but I'm never to old for that! Yes there will a Halloween party, like last year, only without the machines (inside joke, MTV movie awards). I'm thinking...the 25 (Sat) of October....or maybe the 31, which is a Fri. Still deciding. But what with my costumes NOT BEING DONE I'm a lil busy.....

My granny's back east in Iowa with my great aunt Pauline. She's real sick and the doctors don't know what's wrong. Granny was supposed to be back tw weeks ago to help w/ Fanime costumes but Aunt Pauline was really sick. I'm kinda scared that she won't pull through. I'm not real close to my great aunts (except my Aunt Mary Ann) but I don't want too many deaths in the family right now. I don't think I could deal with it. People on my mom's side die a lot but its a typical Phillipino family--I have loads of reletives anyway. What's an uncle's cousin's in-law but a drop in the ocean, right? Maybe I'm too harsh on that type of thing...I wasn't really all that close to my mom's side of the family due to the fact I wasn't really close to her. But my dad's side is very close to me so I get a little more upset when something happens to them. Dunno why...I'm also worried that something mght happen to either Granpa or Granny while they're out there. I miss them terribly. Its not a whole family down here without them. Plus, Granny's the only one who could drive with me and take me to the DMV for my driver's test. Yeah, I know, 20 years old and no driver's liscense. So sue me, I'm a busy girl, ne?

Inha: No you're just lazy and a procrastinator.

Bite me.

Kain: May I? (Boot to Kain's head) Owwee.

Well, in other news, we gotta lil office love goin' on in Random Lunacy.

Lex: Wouldn't that be narcissim? Or auto-erotica?

Aelys (boot to Lex's head): Don't be stupid!

Not sure where it started exactly but....maybe next post, I'll fill you in on how it happened. Suffice it to say that it involves my Common Sense (female) and my Manic Depressive--Soul Searching side (male). Hm......and they're both dead....though that really doesn't narrow down the field.

Raz, Ashton, Aro, and Kozu: You got that right.

Prolly one of the personas that doesn't have an analog love interest....like most of them. Well, that seems to be it....so let's have Lunis and Diz hit clean up, ne?

Lunis: Next episode of Random Lunacy will have---
Diz: The sorrid love triangle of RanLune,
Lunis: Who got what on the Soul Reaver personality quiz,
Diz: More website plugs and quiz results,
Lunis: A more detailed report on Fanimes of yore,
Diz: And the RanLune Annual Softball game.
Lunis: So don't miss it!
Diz: Hey, I wanted to say that!

*Till next time Lunies!*

Aro: Will the gang make it out of the Spontaneous Forest again? Will they succeed in saving the world and having someone else take all the credit??
Rya: ..............what the??
Lex: Find out next week on Neo Black 9!
Aro: With special guests: The Powerpuff Girls and Harry Potter!
Raz: No, I was right. Neo Black 9 has no point. Its not just me.
Rya: Well, glad to see that you asked everyone.....
Raz: No I'm in agreement with everyone.... It's more random than Azumanga Daioh.
Rya: What do you expect? We never had a plot.
Aro: S'ok. That means you don't have to deal with angst later on.
Rya: Having no plot doesn't make us immune to that.
Aro: .......................Go figure.

Well, My lil babies from high school are all graduated...... Sniff sniff....it was a lovely ceremony.....from the CAR. This year PHHS implemented a ticket system that limited the # of guests a graduate could bring (which was 7). Without that precious ticket, you couldn't go in to sit in the bleachers. The ironic thing was, there still wasn't enuff room for everyone to sit; people still had to stand and some sat in the aisles.
Also this year they sat everyone in alpha order! Wow! They didn't do that for MY graduation! They told us to sit where we wanted, and when we got to the platform/podium, we handed them a little card that had our name and hopefully it wouldn't be butchered when you got your diploma holder, which was, of course, devoid of an actual diploma. no no, my friends, you had an organized ceremony with lots of pomp and circumstance in the blazing sun, then you had to fight the mob afterwards to actually *get* the damned paper at a tiny lil tent in the corner of the football field. Mmmm, God bless the California School System.
Ah, well, despite the windy overcast weather, it was a nice graduation. Now almost all of the original generation of Neo Black 9 is all graduated...still waiting on Penny, Poe and Eve....and then subsequently Claire/Merial. Haven't decided which one Shana is yet....

Reading a good friend of mine's blog, it was meantioned that all he really wanted was to have things "back the way they were". I have the same feeling. Back in the day( that is such a Ryori phrase ^.^), my spohmore/junior years, they were full of fun fun fun. That's where NB9 got its start, from 5 sugar hocked up teens who thought about making an RPG team. Those were the days....walking home from school (when I lived a mere 2- blocks from school, give or take) in the middle of the street, wondering what would happen to Darek and the crew if a car came barreling down the street, intending to hit us. I guess my obsession with the NB9 crew is another way for me to hang onto those days of my youth. I miss 'im. I, for one of the few times in my life, was happy and truely content. I had a loving boyfriend, some of the best friends I could ever ask for (some of which, sadly, I've grown apart from), and I didn't really have any worrys about college. College was the place that one went to after you graduated. As a sophomore, that was 2 whole years away.
And after I left, I noticed that the gang wasn't the same anymore. Rather, roughly half-way through my Senior year, things started to fall apart. Mid October, my boyfriend of almost 4 years dumped me. Gassman, the unholy bitchwhore or PHHS drama, ruined my acting career and made me lose the respect she (wrongfully) gained from me and other students (Damn man, no one like her but her favorites and they're all stuck up snobs, doomed to never be actual stars cuz she can't teach. I mean, one of them is in the circus. Not Cirque du Soliel but a ghetto circus. That's nothing to brag about. Shit, ranting about her again, sorry guys.) And slowly, even before I could notice, the gang was slowly breaking up. See, a lot of drama was going on between them, some of which I never noticed, and the dissention between them was starting to push them away as I entertianed other friends. Upon retrospect, most of that was my fault anyway. As far as I could see, the gang was sticking together *because* of me; Darek wasn't getting along w/ TenTen, who was having issues with Who, with Ryori staying smartly out of things. Or maybe I missed that. I honestly can't remember what was actually wrong, mainly cuz I wasn't there. And some of the time I wasn't there because I couldn't stand the tension and petty arguements. Come 2001 and april, I was an emotional wrek that few people noticed. What with the break up of the old gang, my falling out with my female friends after senior prom (another drama filled issue that I'll get to another time), I wasn't very happy with myself. I think I fell into depression but I'm not sure. I kept badgering myself about how this was all my fault, this was because of me. Plus college was coming up, I had to apply for SJSU and I hadn't taken the SAT.
But Fanime 01 is where I met Kat so it isn't all bad. And I've grown closer to a few other people from the past, TenTen in particular. But I still long for those days of actual stability. I'm happy now...but...I live on a week to week basis....I'm not so sure of the future anymore. I don't know what's going to happen now and I can't plan for the future anymore. Does anybody? I want to move in with her but I don't have a job for the $$ support myself. Plus, she works in Sacramento and I school in SJ. Its a long commute. I work hard so i can graduate and get a job so I can move but...sometimes, I wonder if its worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. Even worse, sometimes I wonder if I really have a girlfriend.... Am I making this all up?? No, I know she exists but sometimes, its so hard to get that around my head. What if one day I wake up and she's not there, and never was? I think that would hurt the most. I just want to be happy. I want to be with her. Fanime's ccoming up...but sometimes that's not enough. Wish I could drive so I could see her more often. I always said that long distance relationships are hard and not good...but I can't help it. I guess when you're really in love, you can't help how you feel. Like Hideki sez in Chobits, you can't half ass it, you gotta go all the way on true love. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Okay, enough introspective musings.... We have less than a week before Fanime troops! I'm pretty sure I'm doing Rya and Who.... If I can get the wigs in time. Painting my hair for Kurama and I'm making Kat be the persocom for the skit. XD Myu hu hu...ph34r my l33t c0sp74y sk177z!!

Diz: Mw4 h4 h4!! We R l33t.
Syndelin: .......................
Inha: What blatent disregard for grammar! And what is this business of using numbers for letters! This is an outrage!! The English language mustn't be corrupted any further!!
(Shoves Inha into closet)
Diz: Much better. XD

Well, maybe I'm making most of it up....ah well. I'm not really l33t anyway.
Well, I'm off, gotta go get those damn costumes together and catalogued. What's up on the docket next?

Syndelin: Still getting that Rya and Aerith thing off the ground, we'll just stop making promises. More plugs from favorite websites, quiz results and hopefully a post with actaul content..... Well, we can hope!

*Till next time Lunies!*

Kawaii-chan's Word of the Week:
Decrepit--(adj) 1) Broken down or worn out, as from long use or old age. [Riverside Webster's II Dictionary, revised edition, 1996]
2) a word that's fun to say. De-Cre-Pit....

With Legacy of Kain: Defiance in development, Random Lunacy's throwing a huge LoK party tonight, with special guests Darth Vader and Mr. T. And...I guess, Raziel

Raziel: ..................You're kidding me.
Lex: Mr. T?? Shoot, that guy's so frickin' cool.
Raziel: ......Humans.....
Ashton & Aro: Hey hey...

Ne, Raziel, I just downloaded the Defiance IGN E3 video. Damn cool music. Kinda like Evanescence meets Prodigy and Linkin Park, with a lil Adema mixed in. Any ideas on who it is? It's not Kurt Harland...too techno/raver like.

Raziel: Actually its the newly formed Omen Reaver Band, put together for the game by Michael Bell. I play lead guitar while Kain mixes tracks on his 303.

................

Raziel: How the hell would I know? I wasn't at E3, Kain was.
Aro: Actually I was wondering how you could play a guitar with three claws on each finger.
Syndelin: What difference does it make? When mixing tracks like this, you don't need a lot of music; you just need a riff or two. Then you loop it. Why play a whole song when you can loop?
Raziel: The only looping here is our hostess *playing* the damned trailer on loop on Quicktime while posting.

Its a damn good song. I wonder if its ripable on iDVD....

Syndelin: Hey!! You can't do that!

Oh that's right. I meant, I wonder if the music is ripable too...

Syndelin: That's my girl!
Lex: At least she's not looping the Doll Reaver: Legacy of Turelzevir video.
Raziel: Oh God, if I have to watch that one more time....

For all you Mr. T fans (and probably Comics Crossover fans, they love the Mr. T Vs. stuff), I suggest hoppin over to The Lost Worlds
(http://www.thelostworlds.net/) and checking out the April Fool's section for the jokes pulled by the host himself and another gent who's Doll Reaver prank sent me to the floor rolling in laughter. Mr. T never looked so cool.... Plus, he runs over Moebius with his van. That's worth the price of admission alone. Mr. T rocks.

Lex: Another website plug?
Syndelin: Wouldn't be Random Lunacy without them. Or the "Of the Weeks" with Kozu and Kawaii-chan.

Damn this song rocks. Loop loop loop.... Most people don't know it, but we're pretty big Legacy of Kain fans here, original fans from the first game, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Then came Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain and that clentched it. Raz has been a permanent resident of my head since. He actually was in Neo Black 9 for a large stint but had to be replaced just recently with another due to publishing and copyright laws. With a character with nearly the same name. Of course.

Aro: Laws suck.
Lolita: Yes, but they make the country run smooth...enough....without anarchy and chaos. Excluding the most recent presidential election.
Aro: Okay, I like having roads and making sure that we're all somewhat safe and the such but the system stinks.
Lolita: All right, can't argue there.

Yeah, well, I think that Raz had some good years with us...ne?

Raziel: Not particularly.
Rya: You wanna say that again, Blue Boy?
Raziel: By Gainsborough?
Rya: She's not here, the florist, I mean.
Raziel: Damn tangents....
Rya: Hey some of our best stuff came when you were here.
Raziel: You mean the times when I "spontaneously" combusted 17 times in one episode?
Rya: 1) It was more like 15, and 2) it was in TWO episodes.
Raziel: Episode 4 doesn't exist!!
Rya: No, Episode 20 doesn't exist.
Raziel: What's episode 20?
Rya: Thats' the one where you find out why Who and TenTen hate each other, Ryori doesn't explain anything, and Darek says "excuse me" after he burps.
Raziel: But he *never* says.....oh, I get it. Never mind.

Forget Laurel and Hardy; these guys are a riot and a half. Well, since this seems to be turning into a LoK post, I'll give you the skinny on hwat I know so far about Defiance. Defiance is a noun that means bold resistence to an opposing force or authority or deliberately provacative behavior---

Raziel: The game!! The GAME!!

Oh, right, I meant the game, didn't I? From what I've heard, and seen from trailers, the models look amazing, Raz and Kain fight with their own incarnation of the Soul Reaver, and there's gonna be some crazy cool Devil May Cry-like moves going on for the battle system. No Glyph magic spells this time around, but both characters (whom are both now playable, maybe like Resident Evil, with different storylines) are equiped with telekinesis powers to do things like throw enemies off balconies or into objects like impaling implements or walls.

Inha: All those who believe in telekinesis, raise your hands.
(Many hands go up.)
Inha: All those who *really* believe, raise *my* hand.
(Raziel makes her hand raise.)
Inha: .......................Bastard.

Razi-kun's the only one who can use his Shift ability, but this time portals are not the opition, at least, from what I can tell, early on in the story. That giant squid we all know and loathe has this time abandoned Raziel. As well he should, cuz Raz's all worked up for a little calamari by the time you next encounter him (if ever). Kain isn't going to be "powered down" just cuz he's playable now; no, he's got all his God-like powers for this adventure and he's gonna need it too cuz now the battle system allows for mulitiple enemy attacks for the tried and true gangbang method of combat. The landscapes (both new and , rumored, old) are lush, huge and pretty cool. Here's to hoping that slow downs won't slow the action (even with ten enemies around) and loading screens are cut to a minimum. The old voice cast will be back so I'm squealing in anticipation to hear Michael Bell's and Simon Templeton's work, instead of watching the History Channel constantly in order to see if Bell does voiceovers for an Aztec excavation.

Rya: It drives me nuts, the constant History Channel viewings.

Either that or I fire up my PS2 for the outtakes in SR2.

Rya: ......................I'll behave.

Damn right you will. Or I'll rent "Treasure Planet" again so I can hear Tony Jay do the narrator.

Raziel: The Elder God's a narrator? Damn I gotta get in on this business.

Rya: .....................................You nimbus.

I hope Rene Auberjonois is in it. He does a good Janos. Well, I could go on but, really, check it all out foor yourself. The LoK games are a great series that has a deep, if confusing, storyline, deep characters, and damn good voice work. But of course, anything with Michael Bell's good....except GIJoe, which is more funny in the 80's sorta way than it is good. Here's to Crystal Dynamic's health and prosperity through this time of defiance! May the series gain as much prestige as....DMC? Final Fantasy? We can hope!

Diz: Next up is....well, I'm not exactly sure.....


Raziel


Who Is Thine Soul Reaver Persona?
brought to you by Quizilla

Who's your daddy?
.............Well, I guess its Kain.....




~Kain~
Evil, manipulative, powerful, determined and a
little misunderstood, you know whats best in
the long run, who are they to argue?!


What Soul Reaver creature do you most resemble?
brought to you by Quizilla


Damn straight.


You are a Razielim. Though your clan was wiped out
long ago in a mass vampire genocide, led by
your very master, you were once a noble and
peaceful vampire clan. If your clan had
flourished, you may have developed wings like
your leader, Raziel, the first lieutenant, did.


Which Legacy of Kain vampire clan are you from?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hmm...a Bishonen vampire lietenant...I could live with that.


What the?....I feel sorry for you, you're a
Slaugh...


Which Soul Reaver 1&2 character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Dumb as a paper spoon in a knife block eh? But I answered truthfully!!

*Till next time Lunies!*

Kozumi's Quote of the Week:

"The Game Master is a tory scum!"
--Cowboy Neil, Geeks in Space ep. 31 (Goodbye Geek Compound)

Dio: "I am Sega Dreamcast. I am looking into your brain."
Aro (whispers): "It's thinking...." That's the Dreamcast ad, right?
Syndelin: Yeah....
Aro (whispers): "Its out there...."
Dio: Isn't that the X-Files?
Aro: (whispers): "I see dead people...."
Syndelin: Yeah, now you got it.
Dio: Sega Dreamcast--it sees dead people.

Well, its been a while since the last post and things have just gone down the hill in some places. But we all can't let this bring us down. So Emo-Boy, get the hell away from that razor blade. There will be no slitting of the wrists on my watch.

Dio: Cuz I'm tired of cleaning up the blood you guys leave around here. And pick up all these goddamn batons!
Diz: Oookay...now we have the George Carlin quotes.
Lex: Usually we end offensive or something. Now we're starting that way.
Aro: Wow, we're having a good post.

Inha's "next episode" doesn't seem to help us all stay on track. Eventually we'll get to Rya and Aerith's anime personalities/team position list. They're done throwing objects at each other and we just need to run this by Ryori-san for his critiques. Ryo-san, if you're reading this, we're sending this along via e-mail soon. We just need to finalize things. But we will have our regularly scheduled book review. Take it away Inha.

Inha: Well, first we need to give a little background about this.
Rya: Our hostess lives in an apartment. A few months ago, Dad was taking out the trash. We're just chilling in the living room, Penny and me, reading manga (Chobits, from CLAMP, our lords and savoirs, and Paradise Kiss, by Ai Yazawa) when he comes back *in* with stuff. And not just any stuff--
Diz: But books!! Children's books!
Rya: Right, he comes in with a smack loada books. He says that someone must have just dumped their *entire* library in the trash (well, not the trash, I think they were in boxes next to the dumpster) and now we were rescuing these children's books. For the next hour, we were dumpster diving for books, most of which were in *perfect* condition. I think we scored over three hundred books. Most we packed away for the Salvation Army, elementry schools, the occasional book to get a free pin from the San Francisco Giants games. But some we kept, cuz some were blasts from the past and they still rock to this day.
Diz: "The Secret Garden", "Big Bird Goes to China"--
Lex: Oh my God.
Diz: I'm not kidding.
Inha: Among these books were two that were called "The Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine", rather, that was the title of the trilogy and the individual books are called "Griffin and Sabine" and "Sabine's Notebook" respectively. Upon first insspection, these books were very much akin to the Babysitter's Club letters special, in which the aforementioned club's members wrote to each other through letters and postcards. The postcards were printed with their backs and fronts on one page, while the letters were in envelopes glued to the page. You could open up the letters and read them, sometimes there were free little trinkets like friendship bracelets, and this gave you the rebel sense of reading someone else's mail.
The "Griffin and Sabine" books are written in the same way. Written and illustrated by Nick Bantock, the first page of the story is a picture of a postcard of a little parrot and feathers. Turning the page, a young woman writting in brown ink introduces herself as Sabine to a man named Griffin, asking for one of his handmade/drawn postcards. Griffin has never met Sabine, and yet she knows all about his pictures and drawings, including things he has sketched and erased when no one was around. It seems that Sabine can see what Griffin draws, despite her being thousands of miles away. Is Sabine a figment of Griffin's imagination--proof that his isolation is slowly driving him mad--or is she a flesh and blood woman with this amazing power? By the end of the first book ("Griffin and Sabine"), Griffin, frightened by the closeness to Sabine and his impending insanity, flees as Sabine announces that she will come to London, where he lives, to see him, telling him that he "cannot turn [her] into a phantom because [he] is frightened" and he can't simply "dismiss a muse at a whim." On the back of her final postcard is a drawing of two lines converging into a tiny cricle and then into a line off the card, and her las word: "If you will not join me--then I shall come to you."
The enigmatic ending to the book then led to the second in the series, "Sabines' Notebook", where Griffin is now traveling around the world in search of himself and courage to face Sabine, who has now taken up residence in his house. He travels to places like Egypt, Greece, Dublin, and even Japan, all the while, wondering who he is, why he ran, and who Sabine is. After a near death run in when he tries to visit Sabine's homeland, Griffin returns home to meet Sabine, promising her that he will arrive home on July 23, the same day his postcard will arrive. However, when he did, somehow, some way, Sabine is not there. And later, a postcard comes--it is Sabine, who wonders why Griffin didn't arrive on his appointed day, telling him that she waited until the 31st, and begging him to write back.
Unfortunately, I have only two of the three books. Despite searching desperately for the thrird, if there was one, in the slew of books that were rescued, but alas, it was not. I do not know what will happen next but I do hope that Griffin and Sabine do meet. What could be preventing them from meeting? It is quite obvious that they were in the same place at the same time, but were they really? Could Sabine and Griffin be operating under two *different* time continuities? Or maybe two different times? Could there be some cross-time activity going on between them? As far as I've heard, even this detail is left to the readers at the end of the final book.
I was very impressed with the story-telling and the style. Griffin's character was very vivid and clear, as were his motives for leaving at the end of the first book. Sabine was the more enigmatic of the two; she had this mysterious power to see Griffin's drawings, declined in sending a picture of herself, and had this threatening air about her when she decided to come to London. Her disturbing and macabre drawings in her postcards and sometimes background images from "Sabine's Notebook" were interesting and belied a personality darker than she let on. She knows more than she lets on; for a while, you lead yourself to believe that she really is a figment of his imagination. Griffin is more honest with his feelings, he outright tells Sabine what he feels. She is more of his support and gives him advice. Very rarely in her letters to Griffin does she express her feelings; eventually she tells him that she loves him but you never once feel that she is unstable. Almost ethereal, Sabine is the paragon example of support and serentity. She is very sure of everything she does, as opposed to Griffin, who is often uncertain and vvery unstable.
There are times when you think you understand everything but then something changes that. I took Sabine for who she was at first. Then as the first book progressed, I wondered if she was really real or if Griffin was creating her to ease his loneliness. Then, she frightened me with her last postcard. Who is this woman? Is she real? Why can't they meet? Is fate so against them?
Griffin's introspective letters are mostly thoughts that fall in the manic-depressive category. He has some real issues with who he is. At first he said he had no remorse or sadness for his parent's death but his aunt's rocked him hard. Later, he wonders if his lack of emotion is what is some of the cause for his depression. He doesn't understand himself, something most of us can relate to. The key to understanding himself lies within his journey and his trust of Sabine back home. But will his sanity hold in the third book? By missing Sabine when she was (supposedly) in the same place, Griffin may completely lose himself.
The characters are so full of life and 3-dimensional, unusual for a book told entirely in letters and postcards. But, perhaps, that is what makes Griffin and Sabine so real. You read what they are thinking, and this is only a portion of what they really are thinking. However these thoughts are all you need to understand who they are and what's going on. At the core, the story really is all about the love affair through the letters. There's a certain feeling of rebellion and secrecy reading other people's mail. You share their world, even if all you're really doing is reading their letters. It also makes you rethink how the world works, rethink your own relationships. Trust is the only thing that keeps both of them hanging on. Long distance relationships must rely on that. Not only must you trust your partner, but you must also trust yourself. You have to understand yourself. And that's a hard thing to do.
I heartily recommend the "The Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine" trilogy and any other books by Nick Bantock. His artwork is breathtaking and his writting is superb. He is a master storyteller, and draws damn well too. The books are a trip and a half, so to speak, but it is best that you read all three in one go. When I get the third and final book, I'll review it too, perhaps I may even review the sequal series as well. I give these books a 6 out of 5.
Lex: Cuz she's just that powerful.
Inha: Damn right.

Diz: Next up on the docket: a slew of quiz results and maybe even a lil poetry.

*Till next time Lunies!*

Kozumi's quote of the week:

"What kind of pervert puts mango on a taco??"
---Comander Taco, on Geeks in Space, episode 6

Well, looking back, I see that not only have I missed an update but that the SWHS ran pretty long last post. No worries, things like that will continue. After all, if I'm tortured by things like this on a daily/hourly basis, you guys should share in the pain as well.

Diz: Its cuz we luuuuuuv you.

My sister Penny (named changed to protect the evil that will destroy us all:) and TenTen's obession with the Happy Tree Friends not withstanding, I must say that if I have to either listen to the theme song or watch another violence, horror filled episode, I will gouge out my and thier eyes with a paper spoon. Forget Southpark; Happy Tree Friends will make the PTA start burning effigys of Cuddles the rabbit in the streets. For those who have suffered this horror, I feel and pray for your souls. For those who have not, thank your lucky stars for being spared.

Lex: Random Lunacy does not endorse Happy Tree Friends.

Happy birthday wishes to Witch One/Special Kitty, and GrandMel/Belldandy. Congratulations on turning the big 2-0. Thanks to Tsubasa/Ryori-san for giving me the tip on where the Bishonen Quiz went.

Next post I think Inha's gonna do her book review of "The Extraodinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine" trilogy. And when Rya and Dea sort out the kinks of their anime personalities/position debate thingy, we'll get that up. In the meantime, they're still tossing about appliances to solve their disagreements. The usual really.

*Till next time Lunies!*

Lolita: And now--The Word of the Week:
Chair
Because Fanime's almost here. God bless otakus.
FMI, if anyone can locate the original site where I took the Bishonen quiz, I'd be much obliged. Upon clicking on it later, I was taken to a "Ring" fansite. While I do admit that it was one hell of a movie, I find that it would disturb the normal everyday reader (all of, what, two?) to look for a Bishonen quiz and finding a pic of Sadako/Samara and her ripped out fingernails. For those who like that kinda stuff, all power to you and never mail me please. But for the Layman reader of Random Lunacy, this is quite disconcerning. Any info on where the old site went will be welcome.
Inha: And now--Syndelin's movie review.
Syndelin: Well, just recently, we were treated to a select viewing of the infamous Star wars Holiday Special. For additional info or reviews, the best one would be here at X-Entertainment:

http://www.x-entertainment.com/stuff/featureholiday.html

X-Entertainment being a site that we frequent constantly. For all those who have not seen or heard of the Photog/Bitner revolution should check...the May 28 post for the blog entry. I believe the heat may be dying down but sign the petition, as always. For all your 80's pop/underground culture needs, X-Entertainment is the place to go!
Back to the review...to get some of the humorous opinions and the story for this monstrosity, see Slashdot Radio's show Geeks in Space, Episode 16 found here (at the bottom):

http://www.thesync.com/geeks/archivesframe.html

Lex: Gee aren't we having a lot of shameless plugs this post.
Syndelin (beats Lex senselesswith rubber chicken): Bite me. Here's the short skinny: so back after the first (I think) Star Wars movie (Ep. 4)--'round '78--and everyone back at the Lucas farm decided to make what was a hot medium back in the late 70s-early 80s: a holiday special. This is where the horror started. After seeing how crappy this thing was, rumor has it that Lucas disowned it 5 seconds after it aired.
Diz: Probably 5 seconds *into* it.
Syndelin: Seriously. After that, the original footage was lost/disappeared. Some guy back then taped it and then it was copied/dubbed/ etc. and now it could be found in the oddest places, eBay being one. And I had the wonderful experience of watching this shlock. The "Plot" is that Chewbacca isn't gonna be home in time for the Life Day Celebration (or Lucas' PC Christmas) so his wife Mala (WTF?), his father Itchy (WTF?!) and his son Lumpy (WTF?! to the 3rd) are contacting various denizens of the SW universe, trying to locate thier breadwinner.
The whole thing has wookies. Wookies speaking Wookie. And there's no substitiles. Given that these segments with the said wookies are the *longest* segments, you can feel the pain. Most of this is just people in hairy suits jumping around grunting. It was pretty stupid. I think that the only thing that could hurt more is listening to that song "Loving You" ten decibals above my tolerance.
Diz: "Loooooving yoooooooouu....is the only thing......"
Syndelin: Diz, if you don't stop singing, I'm gonna send you to American Idol to have your dignity and integrity stripped from you like the skin from dressing a deer.
Diz: I'll be good.
Syndelin: Not only that, there's also an animated segment that features, for the first time, Boba Fett-the only bounty hunter named for an Asian drink. Personally, Boba was the *only* good thing about the animation cuz in addition it it being horrible washed out because the tape was something like a fifth generation dub, it had no point for existing. Well, so did the whole special in general but the cartoon really was off in another tangent, much like our blog. One moment, storm troopers were raiding the wookie household. The next Lumpy's watching some cartoon about his dad and Luke getting zapped by a talisman that makes them fall asleep, so that Chewbacca needs to hang 'im upside down like some sick sorta Life Day ornament. I suppose somewhere in the writers' minds this all made sense. Granted, they must have been on Speed or something, but come on! WTF is going on here?!?!? Why must we be subjected to pointless, washed out cartoons while we are tortured by grown men in suits grunting like neanderthals?! Why, God, Why?!?!?!?
The hour (or maybe it was longer but I lost track of time because 1) it was a tape and I fastforwarded past the mind-numbingly horrible parts and b) I lost all concept of time from watching the wookie segments) of stupidity was broken up by things like vid-phone calls to people like Luke or Leia and CP30, and way out tangents like 4-armed transvestite tv cooks, stupid cartoons, how-to segemtns with malfunctioning hosts and singing musical parts from talents like Bea Arthur. All of these were half a step up from the wookie parts, all happening at the drop of a hat. After some five to eight minutes, the writers would insert some random stupidity segment and go with it for ten more minutes. I fast forwarded through all of them, except Bea Arthur's seg but I'll get to that in a minute. Check X-Entertainment for the 4-armed transvestite, cooking, and irate wookie housewives. Its mindless, stupid, and so bad, its not even funny. Seriously. Itchy gets a gift that something like a holograph porno thing with some chick who looks like an anorexic Haley Barry (spell check?). First there's a kalidoscope trippy sequence that's followed by our said porno star with sequens glued to her hair and wearing a sparkly sheet. She spouts off some stuff about how cute she thinks you are (I am not kidding), and this it then followed by her singing. Well, I think it is, I got so tired of her talking like a golf announcer that I fast forwarded through it. It was like being on Valium or NyQuil or something. Dionne Warwick? I dunno, but maybe its the drugs.
Thinking back on it, any segment sans wookies were musical/singing segments. Ugh. I sat through a SW special that had SINGING? What the hell was I on? That's the last time I eat Baby Bottle Pop sugar and Pixie Sticks at 9 in the morning. But I digress. Back to Bea Arthur. I have no fscking idea why she's running the SW cantina but I do know that she can sing WAY better than Carrie Fisher. Again, i fast forwarded through the actual singing, as it was really bad and I already own the MP3 on iTunes. Upon thinking back on it , it wasn't that bad but the scene was full of her parts with her musical "talent" sanwiched between stock footage of the cantina from the first movie. Come to think of it, most of the movie was stock footage, especially the parts with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Millenium Falcon, trying to escape the empire. It was pretty bad.
FYI, Mark Hamill was in a terrible car accident just before they started filming so in order to hide the fscked up after-effects he had to wear more make-up than the tranvestive in accounting. Wow, I must have used the word "transvestite" like four times already. I'm having a good post.
Carrie Fisher/Leia has proved to all of us that she wasn't singing for a reason in the actual movies. My opinion was that she was heavily sedated with elephant darts to take some of the pain away from the torture that Lucas was running. The good thing is that she didn't have to watch it...maybe she did and that's why we haven't heard from her in ages. For some sound clips--X-Entertainment, as usual.
I could go on about this but I realize that I really shouldn''t. I've tortured/tantilized you all, with this review. When I had heard of this from both Geeks in Space and X-Entertainment and I was stoked to see something this bad. i figured I get a few laughs from it. I was wrong. Horribly wrong. Not only was the most painful thing to sit through, next to Sweet Charity (which will be reviewed as well soon). At least this time I didn't have to pay $10 to make my eyeballs bleed. But it didn't have any Magical Disco Fairies, unless you count the porno holographc chick . Well, it had a holographic Cirque du Soleil ripoff so that works just as well. I never want to see this movie ever again. Screw "The Ring"; the "Star Wars Holiday Special" is truely the tape of cursed footage. I'm now ready for Carrie Fisher and Daleigh Chase to come out of my tv and kill me. I am forever haunted by Bea Arthur's singing talents. I hope that none of you will be subjected to this...until I get my own copy and torture all of you. Mwuh ha ha.
I give the SWHS -50 stars out of 5. I would rather have my skin flayed as my head is set on fire with a bllowtorch and then put out with a sledgehammer. Sweet Dreams.

*Till next time Lunies*