KYYYAAAAAA! Its the Halloween Countdown, Day 27

So there was a party today. It was pretty cool. Food and fun. At 6 sharp, my friend climbed up on the roof and we hung out with the chilly October air, then decided that rolling off the roof was a bad idea and found a ladder. Besides an epic Cranium battle to the death, a resounding game of Zombies, and a Mario Kart RACE OF FUCKING WIN, we decided that a lil survival horror game was in order. After some Smash Bros and Halo, I hooked the Wii back up and popped in Eternal Darkness, mentioned in an earlier post. For those who missed it: Eternal Darkness is a game from Silicon Knights (who made the first Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen), a game that's soaked in Lovecraftian goodness of good, evil, and EVIL MAGIC with a K. Its never the good kind of magick, since that kind always happens on the east coast (here, its Rhode Island, but it takes place in other times and locales like Cambodia).

This game is also the best game for fucking with its gamer. It doesn't just throw sound effects and cheap scares around with monsters and cut-scenes. No, this is not your father's survival horror. Besides an innovative (if unweildy at times) battle system that allows you to choose which parts of the creature you're attacking, the game also has something called insanity effects. The creatures of ED are a lot like some of the creatures and places in Lovecraftian stories: they cause insanity in mere humans like ourselves. In ED, you must not only not die in combating creatures from beyond, but also finish them off. If you do not (or refuse to, like some hardcore gamers), your sanity drops until the game decides to make your go insane. Like tilting and jostling the camera for instance. Or having a fly crawl across your screen. Or making it look like you die, but instead faking you out and resetting your position by a minute.

With my bf's request, I decided to choose the green rune (one of the first levels has you play as a roman centurion, where you choose which dark god to serve that dictates a specific ending and path the game will take; there are 3 initial paths, and to see the true ending, you must play through all three and then a fourth time to get it). According to the information I recieved, having the green one has the better insanity effects.

With around 30+ ppl watching, I delve into the first "real" chaper (the first one where the effects would be enabled) and start by kicking ass. By avoiding to do the finishing moves, I accelerated my inasanity effects, which started with a tilting camera angle, my character hallucinating, and whispering voices. It was awsome. Evenutally, every noise we heard, even if it wasn't in the game, we said was an insanity effect. I almost got someone to believe my door slamming was an effect (until someone spoiled it for me T_T). XD

My hightlight of the night was me fighting a horde of monsters, then walking into a room, only to have a literal BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH show up. Some sort of compuer error splashes onto the screen with the usual garble of computer speak and the "press any key to continue" at the bottom, only to flash back to the game, with my character muttering that she's "ok". I didn't curse as much as when we were playing MK, and someone bullet bashed me outta 3rd to 8th. Another effect had me die a horrible death because my controller stopped working. XD Fun fun stuff. I kept healing, hoping my head woould explode, but, alas, that did not occur. I had to stop at the end of that chapter, but I can't wait til I get back to it. ^^ I love Insanity Effects. I'll prolly run late with these last few entires as I scramble for article posting goodness, but all in all, this October's been pretty great.

*I'm Ok, Lunies...I'm--BANG*

Seven Days Left on the Halloween Countdown!

We're down to the last week, lunies. I'm wrapping up the week with Silent Hill costumes (yesteday was Henry Townsend, the day before, Harry; today was Heather, and perhaps tomorrow I shall be Mary Sunderland; Friday mayhaps Alex), given their flexibility in being "normal" clothes. My mind has been frazzled by the rendering project, and with preparations for my 9th annual Halloween party underway, its hard to find time to post about the season of pumpkins and yurei. Tonight, to unwind, I popped in Fatal Frame 2: Director's Cut on the X-Box. My god, but the x-box has an unweildy controller. Add that to my experience with FPS mode (which is so much simpler in combat that it is in exploration, I've found), and we've got a night of shots, scares, and "SHIT!"'s.

Back to the countdown. What shall we talk about tonight, kiddies? I tried uploading a FF AMV to no avail, drawing produced nothing, and things are eerily quiet in my current work "Creepy and Crawley". Many people lately have been struggling over the lack of holiday spirit, given the warmer weather lately. Its been hot here in the Golden State, and I hear its hot back east too. What with midterms and all, its no surpise that even my hardcore buds at Silent Hill Talk are a bit absent. My OCtobers haven't been the best in the past few years, but strangely, I feel invigorated. Excited. Giddy, like I used to be in middle school. I remember costumes, candy, cookies, and Halloween decorations as far as the eye could see. I dunno why, but I feel young again. Perhaps it is the coming NiGHTS game that makes me happy (whenever it comes out). I hope you guys also find some way of feeling young again too before Thanksgiving rolls around.

I dunno if I'd reviewed the book The House of Leaves, but I heartily recommend it for this time of year. Its a book that not only fucks with you like a good hour of Eternal Darkness, but gives you pause. There's a thin line between reality and fiction in the book, and sometimes, you can't tell which is which after awhile. Anyone looking for an adventure should definently pick it up.

I'vve also come to notice a lot of books (ok 3-4) concerning surviving or hunting the supernatural. I'd recently paged through the Zombie Survival Handbook, and found so much of it interesting that I'm considering picking it up for my sister (whom, like myself, are deathly terrified of zombies). Also on the reading list is the Monster Hunter's Handbook which not only details certain monsters than can be hunted as game (heaven forbid) or for sport, but has suggestions on how to find many mythical weapons such as the Spear of Destiny, Sun Wukong's staff, and Mjollnir. Most of it is told completly straight-faced, as if it were a handbook on game hunting, as is another book called Monster Spotter's Guide to North America which details monsters and mythical beasts as if they were birds to be spotted. Its a bit tongue-in-cheek too, but you kinda have to look for it. If you're one of the types who give out Halloween gifts, you might wanna try one of these.

Tomorrow, If I'm lucky, I'll do a blow out review of my new favvorite book How to Survive a Horror Movie, in which I'll help tell you how to know you're in a horror movie, how to deal with different slasher villians, offer tips on killer dolls, and eventually how to defeat the devil. ^^ Can't wait.

Well, I'm off to SleepyLand; sorry for the small ramble, but its hard coming up with things I care about and have the time to review/explain/ramble about. I'll make it up to you guys on Halloween, i swear. ~.^ See you next time, Lunies!

*Shout out to Sadako, Samara, Toshio, Linh's daughter and that kid in Phone! Let's party down, Lunies!*

A Countdown of the Halloween Persuasion, Day 23

Top 10 Alternate Costumes in a Survival Horror Game:

10: Dante's Diesel outfit (DMC2)
-Ok, ok, DMC's not a survival horror game, but hot damn does this costume need honorable mention. I'm down with the leather jacket and jeans, but the zebra print ascot makes Dante look a lil more gay than he needs to. OMG, I just used the word "ascot" in a sentence with Dante. I'm going straight past his circle, all the way down to the ninth level. Do not pass Go.

9: Cindy Lennox's Bunny Girl Outfit and Alyssa Ashcroft's Lingere (REO)
-Heh, I like skimpy outfits. What other game let's you play as a Playboy bunny?

8: Miku Hinasaki's Maid Costume (FF3)
-I love maids. Miku just looks cuter in her outfit than Rei did though. Then again, Rei's not without her charms....

7: Rei Kurosawa's Office Lady Outfit (FF3)
-Meeee-yow. I love secretary outfits as much as I get kicks out of maids. Rei's cleavage ought to be a sin (that'd I go to confession for in a heartbeat).

6: Ashely Graham's Armor (RE4)
-XD There isn't anything funnier than that.

5: Eileen Galvin's Nurse Outfit (SH4)
-Helloooooo Nurse! I love Konami's alternate outfits, though Cynthia's just made her look more like a slut. ^^;;

4: Mayu Amakura's Pumpkin Head and Mio Amakura's Witch Hat (FF2)
-Matched up with the Type G (gothic lolita) outfits, its like a Halloween extravaganza all rolled into a tasty Tecmo taco...er, burrito? I guess yoou can't roll tacos....XD;;

3: Mio and Mayu Amakura's Dead or Alive Outfits (Kasumi and Ayane) (FF2)
-More than sexy, the girls look pretty cute in the DoA outfits. Except that Mayu/Ayane's bow has no collision detection and has the tendency to "break" when it comes in contact with Mayu's arm. ^^;;

2: Leon Kennedy's Gangster Outfit (RE4)
-As if he wasn't pure sex in his default outfit to begin with.... I just love a man in a suit and hat (and the tommy gun helps).

And No. 1: Heather Mason's Henshin Costume (SH3)
-SEXY BEAM! There is nothing laughably hilarious as the henshin sequence, combined with the deadly eyebeams Heather has when not equipped with an item. Sexy Beam is the best weapon ever, hands down. XD

*SEXY BEAM SHUPATSU!*

Its Time to Go Outside

Well now, it has been a long time? I half considered retiring RL...prolly becuz most blogs of reccent are like every other online diary/journal deal and I grow weary of the emo approach. Life w/o Belle Du Jour and new I am a Japanese School teacher is a very boring one indeed. I have also quit most of the forums I used to haunt when I had no summer job and was bored out of my mind. Where am I now? You can check Beyond the Camera's Lens, Silent Hill Talk, and the personal one my friend Tsubasa runs. Not online chatting as much, prolly becuz of 2 very important reasons: 1) I actually go out to do things nowadays, and 2) I play far too many video games, with my DS out at front. BTW, I got my Saturn working, so everything has been HappyHappyNiGHTSNiGHTS lately. Super whee fun.

What's new? My sis graduated from FIDM, so that means I have an ass-kickingly cool, certified fahsion designer in the house. XD My dad plays a lot of WoW. ^^ I enjoyed the Silent Hill movie, despite what naysayers and critics may say. But then...I really like Japanese Horror (yeah, I know, SH's American, but Konami made it, and they are, despite what naysayers say, Japanese...lol). I eagerly wait with baited breath for a chance to pre-order a Nintendo Wii, cuz lord knows I don't have the cash to support Sony (and the X-Box, while pretty and very powerful, still has no games I even remotely wanna play).

I started building a webpage, but its not online yet. Gotta get me an account, then my cosplay bonanza-o-rama will be gracing (or infecting...XD) the web. Speaking of cosplay, I retired last year as a performer, and Fanime '06 (which was pretty lame all things considered) was a year I was able to watch every skit and relax cuz I didn't need to reherse or anything. Not that the masq was any good, mind you. It was pretty bad, but the fortunate part was that there was a relieveing lack of any "exhibition skits" that were a billion hours long. Plus, Traveling Valentine put together a sweet cosplay video of past Fanimes that was pretty cool. But other'n that, we had hard to hear pre-recorded skits, a smattering of good ones (an Avatar skit, a dancing Guilty Gear skit, a neat lil FF11 skit w/ a Mithra, a Blue's Clues skit with Gloomy Bear), and a one really bad singer....it was like a Citibank commercial, the one w/ the chick in the big black dude. I'm being harsh, but so was the audience.....

But it was at Fanime that I met this girl.... I fell in love with her immediately. Her name is May.



XD I got you. Yeah, I'm into the super-customizable, Asian Ball-Joint Dolls fad. I bought her at the Junky Spot booth at Fanime. She's an Obitsu model (not a Volks, heaven knows I can't afford a Volks doll...tho I am eyeing that Dollfie Dream starter body), with black, rooted hair (middle part). I'd say she was a B-cup, with a skin over her whole torso, so she can wear bikinis without showing joints. I loooooove you May! XD

*You know the drill*

Um....Helloooooo??

Kozumi's Quote of the Week:
"Yes, I play the katana."
--Seen on a shirt.

Rya: Well, since our host hasn't the strength to get to the comp more regularly, we'll try to update as much as possible.
Loki: MAKEMYMONSTERGROW!!!!!
Loki-chan: WTF?
Rya: Riiiiight. What's a monster.
Aro: We've started animating. Which means hell in all forms but particulary in the 2D form. But fret not, as we have---*cue lights and angel choir*--A light table!
Angel Choir: AAAAAAAAAHHHHH-AAAAHHHHHHHH!
Loki-chan: I repeat: WTF??
Rya: So yeah. There is much homework and midterms, so we've been away for quite awhile. And unless we get both movie reviews written at school via laptop, they're not gonna make the Halloween deadline.
Aro: In the meantime we have a few updates. Silent Hill 2 makes us paranoid. So anyone who can send us tips would be very welcome.
Loki-chan: Yaoi-con preps are on the way. See previous entries on which costumes we'll be parading around in. You can bet good money that one of them's a sexy Norse God. ~_^
Rya: On the Fatal Frame front, the X-Box version of the second game, the director's cut, may or may not be coming out tomorrow, depending on whether or not the disributors are asses. I have it reserved.
Loki: Yes, we feel very dirty about preordering and buying an X-Box game, but the lure of a poster, new ending and 2 bikini outfits is sufficient drive to plunk down the $50 or so.
Aro: And while on the subject, we found this hentai movie of Fatal Frame 2. Please, if under 18 years of age, do not click. We can track you. We're Mac users.
Syndelin: No we can't.
Rya: We'd say it was the honor system, but we know you're all lying scum...I mean, loyal readers.....
Loki-chan: Ummmmm, yeah. So that's the bi-monthly update. Please join us at Thanksgiving. Thank you and goodnight Valhalla.

*Til the next time I drag myself away from work and school....*

Blaaahhhh....

Kozumi's Quote of the Week:
"I'm gonna argue w/ you naked, so I can make you hard...I mean make it...it hard for you to argue back...!"
--My sis, when talking to Tamago.

Clio's Word of the Week:
Giku (interj): (Japanese) Onomatopea for gulping.

Pleh.....rough week to say th least. A severe abdominal stomach ache since Sunday nite, weird ass KUNDIS shos up on my back....

Loki: Whatsa "kundis"?
Aro: I dunno, what's a kunids to you?
*padumpum pish*
Loki: .............You're a moron.

Saw the doctor, nothing much to report, since stomach ache's gone, and the skin thingy is under further observation. Hope its benign. Plus I gained 3 whole pounds since Sunday! Grrr....

Still obsessed w/ CSI, given that's all my sister watches now.... Love that show; its like Forensic Files w/ characters. And Daveigh Chase was on it. ^^ I love Daveigh Chase.

Played a bit of the new Silent Hill Game, The Room. Man, I love survival horror. Its creepy, its fun to play, ez, and the graphics are nice. I think I might buy it. ^^ Yeah yeah, I know, finish the other games, but what with The Room and Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut, Ju-On, and Y-con, its lookin' to be a great Halloween. ^^ YES.

What's everyone gonna be for Halloween, BTW? Annual Halloween Bash Thing at Dez's is set for the weekend before Halloween weekend, and I love it when ppl come in costume. So, as comment box homework, what's this year's costume?

Gonna finish up some homework, so all you Lunies hang tight. Ja ne.

*Till next time, Lunies!*

Summer=Sleeping in

Clio's Word of the Week:
Antithesis (n): 1. the complete or exact opposite of something; 2. a use of words or phrases that contrasts w/ each other to create a balanced effect; 3. a proposition that is the opposite of another already proposed.

What's on Dez's Desktop: Hot girls and hookahs; Nosgoth overworld map (BO1); Wet Panto; Muraki and Tsuzuki looking rather slashy ^^; 2 hot armored chicks; ad for Troubled Windows (hmm seems almost sacriligious on my comp XD).

Syndelin's Music list: Camino (IC Brain), Nami Tamaki (Greeting), Two-Mix (various), Barenaked Ladies (various); Byakko the iPod just running random ^^.

Blogging to watse time as Gaia is currently too busy right now so bear w/ the mediocre news.

Just got word of Penny Arcade's convention in August, PAX. Anyone going? Its a gamer's con so I suspect only hardcore gamers are going. Sounds fun...but I think SJSU starts school around then.....^^;;;

Beyond the Camera's Lens is back up for those who have been missing this Fatal Frame info site. There was much "sqeee-ing" when the page loaded. ^^;; I am a gamer obsessed.

Dez wants to make her own website. T_T If anyone could swing by and give me advice when I finally get webspace (which is....whenever), it would make Random Lunacy a very happy widget. Dez wants a webcomic.

I'll prolly be away after this since Tamago wants me to spend some quality time w/ him....XD I'm spending the night at the Egg's house so I'll be gone tonight into tomorrow and hopefully be back in time for PHHS grad. So, I'll catch ya all later!

*Til Next time Lunies!*

What Scares Shinigami?

Chou (n)-- Japanese for butterfly.

DDR, that's what. Dezzie no likey DDR. Well, not much has been going on besides gaming. So, here's what's up:

Fatal Frame 2: Some Mourners, Broken Neck Woman, Fallen Woman got bitch-slapped from here to the Spooge w/ my Zero lense. Too bad I had to give it back. So any further adventures in All God's Village will have to wait until after my b-day. ^^;;

Star Ocean Second Story: Had to backtrack to pick up Ashton, only to find that he's pretty weak, even with 1000 hit points. ^^;;;; Still kimda cute tho...but pieces of his costume are pink. Is that normal or is my TV all wrong??

Tales of Destiny: Had to start over....^^;; Well it happens when you don't play for a year.

Legacy of Kain Defiance: Chibi-mode r0x0rs. That is all.

Final Fantasy 1: Warrior Aro's kickin' ass, Loki the Thief's hitting almost as hard as my warrior, White Mage Rya's still hitting harder than my black mage Kozumi with her Iron Hammer of DOOM!, and I'm just getting around to the Earth Crystal's cave. Yes, I named my Light Warriors after charas from my comics, sue me.

Other'n that, nothing's been happening much. Went to SJSU to show David his new college campus and buy school books.

Sate, minna-san, soon to be forthcoming will be a list of 50 things that disturbed me as a child and still do now. Mayhaps Ryochan will be doing a similar list when we agree on a date. Be warned: I am a paranoid chickenshit. ^^;;; *cluckcluck*

So until I get something better to babble about other than hot bishi ghosts......XD Take care.

*Til next time, Butterflies!*