atma | Entries tagged with !life

Recently celebrated two years together with

catzero and feel great. Love ya, dear.

I re-did all my personal journal icons and think I'll take up iconning more often. I made a comm to dump them in at

shaifang if only because I work too damn hard on my RP icons and want to share, as well as start doing whatever catches my eye. Maybe I'll do icon sets for characters that nobody else icons, like Queen's Blade anything. Oddly proud of my own work for once.

Queen's Blade: Rebellion started airing on Tuesday. It'll be subbed by a reliable group that did the original series. Maybe I'll collect links to them as they're subbed and make just one big QB download resource post. People have been asking for one for a while. I saw the RAW, it's really good so far. It's definitely itself, even in sequel/new cast land, which is a good thing. This will be the main show I'm following this season, of course.

I've been playing this translation of an old, obscure SNES JRPG called Mystic Ark. It's a pseudo-sequel to the game The 7th Saga, if you've ever played that mess. It's really good and quite surreal so far. First I helped cat pirates, then people who lived in produce, then a kingdom of kids, and now I'm almost done helping a world that's 1/3 without sound and 1/3 without color and 1/3 rapidly aging. No idea what will happen next but it's all pretty amusing to watch unfold and has some great dialogue.

I'm probably going to help my school perform at a Japanese festival at the end of the month, which means demonstrating martial arts and swords in public. I hope I can do this. Sword classes also increase to twice a week next month.

About ready to start my own self-employment career of choice. Some of you already know what it is, and once I start, I'll make a locked post about it. I'd prefer all talk about it be done in private for personal reasons. If I can just make enough money for equipment and supplementary classes and maybe a treat like a fancy beer now and again, I'd be happy until I found steady work.

-I got my yellow belt in karate on Wednesday. The test included me going through the twelve basics and naming them (4 stances, 4 blocks, 4 strikes and the transitioning between all of them), completing Fukyugata-Ichi, performing the strikes on a pad, doing jab-cross-kick drills on pads, and then doing a round of free-form sparring with teacher, which included all manners of kicks, strikes, dodging, and footwork. Lastly, I had to claim my belt from him in a tug-of-war and flailed about hard but kept up and strong and never once fell over. I only messed up on two things; named one strike backwards and hit right when I should have hit left. Very very minor and I wound up being the one who screwed up the least despite being nervous all night Tuesday with stomach issues. Otherwise, sensei says I have a very solid foundation and he says he expects good things of me, especially with my past martial arts experience. I notice he went hardest on me, probably because the others were young teens and I do have that prior work in my name. He may have photos of this up on the site, I'll check eventually and post links if I see any.

-I beat Dragon Quest 8 the other week. Jessica + Gringham Whip + Oomph + Twin Dragon Lash + Yangus using Helm Splitter to lower his defense = dead way too easy. Jessica wound up far outclassing everyone else in damage output once I won her that whip at the Baccarat casino. Good job, I broke the game with the black mage. I think she nary cast an offensive spell once she owned it. Shit was insane.

-I've been struggling with small episodes of depression the past week or so, and it's given me RP burnout. I plan on fighting it and forcing myself back in starting this week because I know if I dropped and didn't try I'd regret it. Besides, Alleyne's first year anniversary in Para is on Monday. And I got too many ideas. Most of the depression is related to family stress, helping friends cope, sympathy pains from my girlfriend, and dealing with my own insecurities about my religion. Or rather, insecurities about having faith in a world becoming rapidly more secular and closed-minded to such things. (Not that I think that being secular or without faith is bad. Far, far from it. It's the elitism and shunning of me just based on the fact I've any faith at all that's doing me in. This bullying and othering trend has got to stop.)

-Speaking of, convenient segue! I'm replaying Okami. I'm Shinto, and once I beat it again, I'm going to do a post about my faith and my struggles with it and my identity in general. I don't think I can ever lose my faith; I think it's something too ingrained in me and a huge deal to me, and that's okay. It's accepting it despite people's prejudices and educating others on tolerance that I constantly struggle with, and I think replaying this is helping me sort my thoughts out a lot. My girlfriend is enjoying the playthrough and uses it to ask me questions about Shinto and how it relates to me, both out of curiosity and to better me, as she knows how important this is to me, and for that I'm really grateful and lucky to have her. We're using it as a mass educating tool despite the fact it's not exactly a perfect representation of Shinto and a game more about old Japanese culture and faith in general, but the ideals of it and personalities of the gods are spot on, but that can wait for my post. I'm not too far in; I'm just now back at Kusa Village and Sasa Sanctuary. This may take a while but I think I need that time to sort my thoughts out well enough anyways.

Not much has been going on recently. Which is good, slow and easy is always nice.

-Pretty sure I passed a surprise yellow belt test last week in karate. Should be getting it next week. Only one who passed, too.

-Finally ordering an iaito today or tomorrow. It will be that nice red one.

-Learned how to meditate properly in karate, brushed up on my warrior philosophy, and practiced my execution orders in swordsmanship. Way too many ways to split someone in twain.

-I may be doing a weekend of intensive training by April. Teacher just said he does this a couple times a year and will flesh out details whenever everyone attends again (class was small this week) and it'll be a weekend of 8 hours each of intense martial arts and sword work along with weapons maintenance work and such. Only breaking for food type deal. Get sunburned and pushed to your limit. Sounds like heaven to me. Hope I can get the money.

-Been slowly watching My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. It's not bad at all. Only up through like episode 11 of season 1 but Applejack pretty much owns.

-Also been replaying Dragon Quest 8. I never actually have beat it and just now got past the furthest point I've been, which is getting to the Godbird Isle/Empycchu. In Dark Empycchu now. Making sure to keep my mini medals up and I abused the fuck outta Baccarat's casino for a Gringham Whip and 4 Liquid Metal Armors. See also: Atma's huge dumb crush on Jessica, she's pretty much perfect, marry me already you vaguely Birtish and saucy sorceress. I love how witty and take no shit she is. Average party level is 36.

-I want to write a bunch of small fics. Mostly shameless femmeslash, but some more angst/serious. I have an idea for a fic about Alleyne and Aradia talking about life and death. One's a girl dead too many times and the other is technically immortal. Should be good and sad. I should probably do this.

Let's have a happier, more public entry now!

I will be tested for my yellow belt in two weeks in karate. This is the second belt on the rung and the first rank advancement. It means I am well drilled in the basics and have a solid, strong foundation in me. I know how to form my fists and feet, I know how to block, I know all the basic stances and attacks and how to transition between them, I have mastered Fukyugata-Ichi and know what it's for, and I know all the historical/educational/philosophical stuff given to me so far. Basically, do I have what it takes to actually take my learning further? I know I'll pass, but it's time for me to drill those basics in anyways. Especially the kata, understanding it and form is a huge part of this test, as well as understanding why we counter attacks they way we do.

You can see a video of the kata I'm refining here. It's even one of the two styles I'm learning, Matsubayashi. We tend to use a bit deeper stances but otherwise that's what I get to do about a billion times before testing. Honestly, it's basic looking, but it's mentally taxing to keep form the whole time. It's designed to teach us how to deflect and counter kicks. If I can keep up with this I can keep up with other, more intricate kata.

Still no iaito yet. I need to test out some swords sensei will bring in next week before making a commitment. He's rather proud of me choosing to wait and make sure this is going to work than eagerly diving in and possibly wasting money. It will come to me, I know it. It sucks being the only one in class without one yet but sensei knows it's because I'm so damn short. It's excused for now. Better to wait for the perfect weapon than to hurt yourself on an unfit one now.

Hey you guys it's like I like martial arts and swords a lot! Swordblog 2012.

Also

sushiflop I got your card. It was under the door when I woke up and cats pawing at it. Thank you, I'll look at it after I go out to eat and run some errands here in a bit.

EDIT: Two dreams I had earlier were I was on a local highway and a car in front of me kept launching soda cans at me I would catch and one where Kotetsu from Tiger + Bunny came by telling me he knew all the cool hero girls go hang out at this one lesbian wine bar and he could get me a discount as the hero team worked with this company on the down low. Okay dude.

My quest for an iaito (unsharpened metal katana used in swordsmanship practice) continues. Turns out my small size means regulation blades that sensei usually recommends are a tad too much for me to use; I can do everything with it just fine save for re-sheathing it. My small size means I often have to do a bit extra work and steps in all my classes to make up for how fucking short and skinny I am. We may have found one at last, and I hope I can use it. He knows sword quality and is pretty much on the mark with judging how I can adjust my techniques/use equipment to better suit my size but still wants me to try an adjustable wooden sword with scabbard first and see if I can manage an inch shorter than regulation; he's sure that's all I need and could use a 27inch blade with a bit of extra training just fine. I don't have this problem with basic bokken and suburito regardless of size because lol what scabbard.

Anyways. I hope I can use this sword. I mean come on, one of the two he picked out for me in this size is red. Look at it. Unf. It was made for me. Here's hoping. I'll find out during class tomorrow.

In other news, I made char siu broiled pork ribs for dinner tonight. Was my first attempt. Turned out pretty good, though I think mixing up the base sauce would make it even better. You can see some shots of my food here. Miyamoto Musashi himself advocated warriors being more well-rounded skill wise, including things like writing, the arts, appreciating tea, so this is one way I can round myself out as a knight/samurai is by providing others with food. Only Atma would relate cooking to warrior philosophy.

Last but not least, Queen's Blade: Rebellion is getting an anime adaptation this year, which means I'll probably app one of them somewhere eventually in RP, or at least meme them. Most likely Inquisitor Siggy, dominant women seem to be my type. That and I already made a journal for her; I just know she'll mesh well with me.

This post sums up my life pretty well; swords, food, boobs. Such is my existence. See also: being unashamed.

"You see that girl over there with a sword acting all heroic and chasing windmills and women? I don't know if I can ever understand her or agree with her anachronistic ways all of the time, but if it came down to relying on someone to save us all, to make good her word and call her own bluffs, to write a thousand books or feed a starving nation, no matter what it is she claims she can or will do, it would be her that would do it.

She's crazy, but she's honest and reliable. Chivalry isn't dead after all, so long as she breathes."

What I aspire to be and have others see me as.

Atma go back to sleep this is dumb.

So, class is canceled today, since it's the day after Christmas and the whole sports center I take lessons at is closed down for holiday renovations. I'm sick as hell anyways, so it's not like it matters much. So instead of practice on my own, I'll be starting my series of posts relating to what I do in class and why. I've had some people ask me about this and wouldn't mind expounding in the least.

( The who, what, when, where, why, and how )

If anyone has any other questions or comments, feel free to ask and I'll field them as I can!