This sounded like a good plan.

Hum. Not any snake, Suwako.

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A recurring theme in my livejournal was the Alphabet with random images, one a month.

So let’s begin the one for October 2008:

A like

Alice Caroll from the Aria series. Just because everyone woud like to have her as Junior. And I still like her better than Hinagiku.

B like

Bunny girl. I have written a small article trying to grasp their appeal. Maybe you’d need to dig it to read it.

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It opened the 30th of October. So, it was yesterday for us Europeans, as I post.

Today, Tuesday September 30, the Valkyrie server officially takes flight with its Grand Opening!

The Free to access Valkyrie server is now the base International Ragnarok Online server. With Valkyrie`s rates for Experience and Drops set to 100% normal RO values, we welcome all those heroes that may have hung up their adventuring cloak due to monetary issues in making a month to month subscription.

In addition to our Valkyrie server opening, our Premium servers, Chaos, Loki, and Iris, also have received an update today. All Premium servers will enjoy a permanent rates update to 125% Experience and Drops from the normal RO values.

Today marks the begining of a new era for Ragnarok Online, `Thank You` to all of you that have always made RO your home, and `Welcome` to all you who are just starting our your journey with us!

Take Flight in our world!
Gravity Interactive, Inc.

Link

Here, they changed the nerfs that would turn off the kiddies. It’s a 100% drop/exp server, for free. It’s pretty much the old servers, only you don’t have to pay. Instead, you get *1.25 increase for playing on Chaos/Loki/Iris.

Of course, this new have not come without the huge amount of moaning, whining and bitching. “Oh noes, RO is old, WoW gonna eat it whole and the RO servers gonna close!”
Guess what? the game did not close. It did not stop the fanboys from coming in the RO players turf to take a piss on them. This mentality is quite similar to the Tekken or Soul Calibur fanboys, coming to see the 2D fighting games players to tell them “y du u play dis? it sux itz twodee!!! it muss sux! plz soulcalibur better gals has big bewbz!!”

Let’s not talk about the RO players themselves, never satisfied with any decision ever. First with the kafra shop:

- “oh noes fucking kiddies going to buy fuckload of manual and gums to get more exp and drop!!!” QQ

- “Oh noes, my hats I so long sought!” QQ

Guess what? The kafra shop is occasionally used by the same little hypocritical bitches.

Then, the Renewal test server on kRO:

- “Oh noes, they r killing mah imba Acid Bomb and Soul Breaker! I want to one-button-spam to own forever!!!”

- “Oh noes they are adding a fixed cast time!!! No more insta SG!! *whine*”

And when it comes to the free server:

- “It better be x1.0 or something like that because 0.75% is retarded!”

And here it comes and it is unnerfed:

- “Oh noes!!! It is x1.0!! Oh noes!!! RO IS DYIIIIING ;___;”

I guess you cant please ungrateful little one-button-spamming skill and commish whoring bitches?!? :D

Yup, you heard it right.

International Ragnarok Online server, known under the acronym “iRO”, have opened a free server.

However, a lot of things in this free server are nerfed. Halved EXP (not really a problem for the veterans), more severe penalty on death. BUT, if one is willing to pay, they gain access to exclusive kafra shop item, alterated exp rate and monster drop, and many more. Gravity is aiming to attract more players, but they also expect some people to pay for the extras. This was already tested on Korea Ragnorok Online “Baphomet” server. And last time I heard about it, it scored a nice success.

Now, with the Ragnarok Online Renewal that aim to remake the game mechanisms and rebalance things, one can hope a renewed life in an outdated game. And no, I don’t like WoW.

Original and textless is here

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While I was browsing Clausewitz’s livejournal, to research a bit about the ever underrated medieval european swordmanship, I clicked on one link that broadened my horizon as I started to read its many rants. No, those are not “LOL U SUCK I AM RIGTH URE WRONG!!!” sort of rants and advices on writing, it is all the contrary. Anyone aspiring to write, seriously or for the lolz, should humble himself or herself, put his or her pride down and open this link. There you will find a lot of sound advices about worldcrafting, characters and characterization and plot writing, a lot of them are very wise and pinpoint the many pitfalls that too many aspiring writers tend to fall in, especially angst. If you are too proud and turn down everything with a “fuck these advices, I roll as I wish and I do it for fun, RULE OF COOL FOREVER!!!!”, maybe you need to take a pause and rethink the reasons you are writing. I mean, it’s easy to handwave flaws with “I do it for fun” or “rule of cool and epic first!”, but even “cool” and “epic” stories had to have a given plot, world and character logic behind it to make it believable and acceptable. That’s how I perceive it.

Japan kicked it to the curb!

I mean, come on, a table-top role playing game where you rolepay maids. I like them, but I am just so used to play brainless brutes (mercenary or barbarian) or cowardly rogues that I cannot mentally picture my near-30 self calling one of my fellow rolepayers “Ojou-sama”.

I am frankly doubting the maturity of the players. From my personal experience, the majority of the gaming tables can’t properly role play court intrigues like in Legend of the Five Rings or police investigations like in The Call of Cthuluh. Not to say it is a bad thing tho. It’s only bad if you are one of these “SERIOUS BUSINESS” game masters.

As far as my personal scope goes, I can’t see how a game can go nice and dandy without my players joking about “office affairs” or “cigars”. Maybe it is one of these games you would properly enjoy with a boatload of whisky, coca cola, beer and weed. Maybe that is it, the secret of happiness in a tabletop rpg, loose expectations and lot of “artificial paradises” devices.

EDIT:

krisslanza, the girl who showed me the link, had gotten her hands on a pdf of the book and rolled Sheba meido for the lol:

Sheba meido is:

- A pure lolita
- Nekomimi Mermaid
- Low athletic and affection stats.
- Kinda low in Cunning stat.
- Kinda low in Luck.
- Average Will
- Had a tragic love story where lover have died.
- Have learnt Necromancy.
- Act like a spoiled brat when under stress.
- Have a hammer as a signature weapon.
- Her dress is a hammer space as long as she is in the mansion.
- Can be tenacious.
- is a part of a shadow clan.

If I spin it well, she is a loli with poor battle skills, but compensate it with necromancy and hammer space. And she can be right at home in Gensokyo or Seto no Hanayome.

Touhou fans doesn’t think so!

The result of five years of futanari doujins

One point that draw fans into Touhou, the many bishoujos and the resulting lesbian love polygons that would put Strawberry Panic or Marimite to shame.

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According to one guy on the animesuki forums, Strike Witches are the most moe thing ever. Apparently, it will trample its competition w/o breaking a sweat. I, and a couple of regular reader of Asuki’s Saimoe thread, loled over it. But we were also facepalming because that guy was adamant in his conviction, and he really think that pantless, this part alone makes me cringe, lolis with random animal ears and pants would stand a chance against the Nanoha, Hayate no Gotoku and Higurashi blocks.

I’ll say it again out loud, pantless lolis is a fucking bad idea.

I didn’t get swallowed by a black hole, I didn’t killed myself either.
Instead, I have been very busy, writing up something, fiction related, as a form of mental challenge.

Before going in the topic, here a little story of my life. Before I was like ten, I used to not give two shit about music in movies. However, tunes had stuck in my mind. Especially, this one. It was actually the year I watched “Predator” that I actually started to pay attention to the music. Because, Predator would not be as awesome in my eyes without Alan Silvestri’s score.

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