Sparing the details, I've been doing some streamlining of the friends list. Apologies go out to those who've been surprised at the changes, or feel offended that I no longer count you "friended".

Then again, some explanation is in order, so here goes...

Some of you have empty journals. Some seem to have interests I don't find myself sharing. Another apology here to torrrn - I understand not one word of what you write, and the language barrier is overwhelming...

And I find myself looking at a screen name and wondering, "WHO IS THIS?"

The bottom line is, ikka's decided that it's quite disrespectful to consider a person a friend if she barely knows them, which is the case for some of you guys. This may be what kept me from the social services "mingling" sites, since those are places where people can friend potatoes (as in, the food) and get away with it...which, when one thinks about it, may not be fully sensible behaviour either.

The policy ←what policy? will be different from now on - friend ahead, you are always welcome, but please don't be chagrined if I don't do the same.

ikka is also shy.

Yes. Also, it's the Heimlich maneuver.

Now I think that this artist's work is like an inferior version of Fujieda Miyabi's. :\

-the process of how Vivio became Nanoha's daughter
(Fate: *tears up* I was the one who told her... ;^;)

-turning adult-sized <> Kaiserification
Seriously? The previous chapter was really misleading...purpose-wise, all ikka can say is that she's her mother's daughter indeed.

-"So I heard that mamas were like me(ry
The legend of the amazingly incredible 9-year-olds seems to be a staple that has to be brought up ever since they stopped being, well, 9.

-a vow, complete with pinky swear
OI, WHY DO THESE TWO LOOK LIKE THEY'RE CHALLENGING EACH OTHER TO A FIGHT *snerrrrk*

-after upsizing, Vivio is taller
Ga-rei chapter 42, the MSLN doujin 右眼と左眼に映る景色...
If it wasn't for these two things, I would have been significantly less touched. Just sayin'.

-hotpot time at the Nakajimas'
Eh, they're eating remarkably little. Compare with this. The later refill kinda explains it, but heh.
"That was a long time ago already." Genya is becoming more and more senile...j/k
WHY DOES CINQUE-NEE HAVE ARTHUR KIRKLAND EYEBROWS?!
Deredere Subaru is cute.
...this family practically treats Church HQ as a playground-slash-hangout spot, lol.

-cliffhanger
This picture says all I had to.

This is, surprisingly, the first time ikka has drawn so many characters in one image. But the focus is on the brown one the middle, really.

My excuse for the "interesting" proportions and relative heights is that this was intended to come out cutesy-looking anyway.

I suspect this has been covered already by certain bloggers, but am too lazy and uninitiated to check. Anyway, this falls within ikka's scope of interest, so 's all good. However, this post is probably not too interesting if you don't follow K-ON or care about headphones, lol.

The AKG K701, a model that's more high-end than your average (both price-wise and, according to reviews I've read, performance-wise), has recently garnered more attention after it was shown to be used by Mio in K-ON episode 5. According to one Taiwanese blogger who wrote about this, its sales ranking on price comparison site kakaku.com astonishingly rose from 41 to 6. Whoa.
...as to be expected, the price has also rose accordingly. Akiba shops have also been spotted promoting it with the Mio connection, calling it 澪ヘッドフィン (Mio Headphone) K701, as this image shows.





This phenomenon has found its way to gigazine, among other news-oriented (?) sites.

Admittedly, I've never had the chance to actually use the K701 - for one thing, it costs about $600 or so in SGD. The specs and manufacturing details are appealing, though. But this piece of news was pretty interesting, not to mention funny. Who's with me in saying that some of the people who bought it wouldn't know the difference in quality between the K701 and a more lower-end pair of cans?

Fujino and Yuuki
As some (many? idk) already know, ikka goes for this more than Yuuki and Kuga - never saw the appeal of, or was interested in, the latter. I admit to having completely no inkling as to why there are so many people who like/ship that. It probably stemmed from Kuga comparing Yuuki and herself. My point of view, roughly speaking, is like this - if Fujino could fall in love with Kuga, what's stopping her from being attracted to someone that's a lot like the one she loves?

"Are you an idiot? Love, attraction, affection...the only person you can trust is yourself!"

But not Viola and Zhang, because that takes far more mental acrobatics, despite the fact that they look exactly the same as their AU counterparts. aslkdljf

Reiri and Riza
Yeah, the natural enemies thing. Who was it that first came up with that idea? I don't know why I like this vampire-werewolf pair so much as compared to the 9387524 others out there. Maybe it has to do with how ikka is also a Riza fan. And volume 4, oh volume 4. I think I started seeing the possibility of these two together from then on. There are plenty of moments scattered here and there that can be used to construct a subtext-filled argument as well.

"Would you believe it? I've been banished from vampire society because of you, Riza."

Kaguya and Mokou
In ikka's mind, this works out more as Kaguya→Mokou, lol. Forgot who it was that brought up a point I agree with totally - Mokou stands out because she sees Kaguya as Kaguya, rather than a pretty object to be claimed (as in the suitors who'd wanted her hand in marriage in Taketori Monogatari) or a princess (as in...basically the whole of Eientei?) - Muffin-san, iirc? That also explains why NEET-hime would even step out of her manor just to provoke and fight somebody that she can never kill. Note, of course, that the opposite also applies, and Mokou has obsessed about a grudge that, as many fans have pointed out, should have been gotten over long ago. My interpretation of Cage in Lunatic Runagate 4 is that Kaguya had been her raison d'être for over a millennium already...how else would she even have made it?

"For the first three hundred years, other people hated me, and I was a sad creature who only caused trouble to myself and those around me if I didn't stay in hiding.

The next three hundred years I spent harboring a grudge against this world, and was able to preserve the faintest sense of identity by immediately dispatching anything that crossed my path, youkai or otherwise.

For the next three hundred years the youkai in the area couldn't hold my interest anymore, and I lost all motivation towards anything, living out a boring existence.

But during the next three hundred years, I was finally reunited with my immortal archrival, and we discovered the joys of killing each other over and over."

Either scanlations aren't out yet, or no one has uploaded them to where I usually read mine. Either way, this chapter is remarkable because it actually has Konoka and Setsuna following through with that intended Pactio mentioned...how many chapters ago? Shippers everywhere must be screaming and clutching their noses in bliss.







(thank you Finestela-san for uploading the raw chapter)

Definitely the most canon support for this pair yet, it's already crossed the line from subtext into overtext IMO. Sure, the anime gave us moments like Secchan nosebleeding at being flashed (iirc) in one opening sequence, among other notable instances, but ikka saw them more as lulzy moments than anything too serious. Acknowledging that Akamatsu had a certain degree of say in what was written, and that there were staff members, including Kobayashi-gahaku and Aipon who professed their liking these two as a couple, that is. It still is nice to have scenes like this to cement their closeness.

Ah, a translation can be found here, for anyone interested.

I WANT A LIFESTYLE LIKE THIS.

On an unrelated note, Hime Yuzuriha appears to be making its way into canon (if those 660 henshin pictures are for real). Guess someone on the MSLN staff roll decided to take a leaf from ZUN's book or something.

Hint: the cover is a lie. To some extent. This does not refer to the rating, or the pairing.

Doujin info:
Circle/artist: くりころ。/tokoharu; homepage
Fandom: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
Size: B5 offset, 28 pages
Available from toranoana.jp etc at 1155 yen (inclusive of tax)

( some NSFWness )

 Was reading dimon-san's blog and saw this post on the upcoming Mahou Senki(ry. The protagonist this time is Tohma, a mysterious girl encountered within the depths of ruins...if I'd read the text correctly?

The part about how Hayate doesn't look like a tanuki anymore (literally, "Tanuki doesn't look like Tanuki anymore (because everyone looks so alike)")  made me laugh, then worry for the quality of this sequel OTL 
But hey, human-sized Rein-chan gets a thumbs-up. Since she wasn't 30cm in the group shot for Sound Stage Vocal Best Collection either, maybe Hayate's magic rose to such a high level that she'd be able to maintain that form? *headscratch*

Have some Chiba icons over at exhikki .

This is one of those (I sure hope not the only) times where the icon-ing process was so easy. I completed coloring over 10 icons in the space of an afternoon, inclusive of distractions. Sure, part of the preparatory work was done earlier on, but I hadn't expected this to be finished so fast...

I will...do a post about Yankee-kun to Megane-chan someday. Perhaps. Don't think of this as a promise.

The PV for the Nanoha movie was shown at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, and someone put it up here. 

Looks as though there's a big chance that the novel's plot would be incorporated somehow. I certainly hope so, if only to get the people complaining about the Testarossas Precia-kaasan being a flat villian to rethink. And because there's LINITH-SHISHOU, YOU SAW THAT TOO RIGHT MOMMY? I MEAN, SHE'S ONLY LIKE THE REASON WHY THE FANS HAVE THE AWESOMENESS OF BARDICHE. SINCE SHE'S WIN AND ALL THAT.

</capslock> (heh, haven't had spazzing like that in a while)

By the way, the Gundamization of MSLN can be seen in the movie preview too. ^^; Is it stupid for the first thing to pop into ikka's mind at the bit with the traffic crossing to be the Kannazuki no Miko epilogue? |||OTL

Even though they boosted your age by 6 (3?) years with the recent announcement

Even though I suspect the only reason F is being drawn is to remove the possibility of Mizuhashi-san talking to herself, thereby making it legit for you to commit bestiality or rather, the other way round

Even though hardly anyone in the English-medium fandom knows about this

Even though the day is almost over and is already over in Japan

Happy birthday, Nanoha-san! \o/

Not much news yet aside from a small announcement, but it's something to look forward to I guess. Wrote a little bit on it over here.

Can't help but wonder just how the legacy of the Gundam in a girl's woman's body is going to be extended. By the way, were there still hopes out there that they would actually go into the lost years of A's to StrikerS? I had instead been wondering if there would be something about Mahou Shoujo Vivio, or even a story where X woke up, if there were to be a fourth season...hmm.

Weddingweddingweddingweddingwedding(ry

It should not be that much of a surprise for anyone reading this, if I were to say that a lot of depictions regarding the use of CPR on TV and in movies (especially Hollywood) are inaccurate...to different degrees, admittedly. But seeing it done properly is a huge rarity, and that isn't just because ikka doesn't like watching TV. I'm exposed to the idiot box on a daily basis due to the presence of TV addict/s in the household.

One common use of this is the "Kiss of Life" thing in which Person A does something (usually not very intelligent) in an attempt to get a "kiss" from Person B (usually the love interest). Outcomes are usually one of the following:
1) A not getting CPR done on him/her by B, but some other person, who might also be repulsive-looking/have bad breath/is another love interest
2) B performing CPR on A, where it is handled as if it is equivalent to a real kiss (which, as anyone who's done it before will say, is as far from the truth as you can get)
3) A's attempt gets him/her in trouble or danger, due to the circumstances that would cause him/her to need CPR in the first place.

Off the top of my head, the only instance of CPR being done properly I can recall is in Lost...because the person performing it was a doctor. And yet, a lot of shows/movies that focus on doctors/medicine seem to prefer showing the *GREAT DRAMA!*, *POWER STRUGGLES!* and what-have-you, instead of doing just that smidgen of research to not make people that know what's going on cringe horribly. Non-medical characters who can be expected to have relevant skills fall prey to it as well - even 007's CPR in a recent movie wasn't performed properly. Isn't it sad?

It occurs in animation as well. Watches of Mai HiME might recall Mai's "CPR" on Mikoto at the start of the series, or the rather...unsavory (?) idea that popped into Nina's head during the tentacle monster episode in Mai Otome. I'm pretty sure Western animation brings it in too, but have limited knowledge in that field. TV Tropes has a Code Lyoko instance on it, but don't expect me to have seen that show in the past, present or future ☆

There are many how-tos on the Web with regard to the correct way in which one goes about performing CPR, which may have slight differences but generally will involve the use of removing any possible blocks to the airway; head-tilt-chin-lift; rescue breathing and chest compressions. These are also the areas in which I have seen CPR being done wrongly: the casualty may still have water/liquid in their mouth, the head has been tilted too far back or not enough, rescue breaths are too long/short/spaced inaccurately, and my biggest personal peeve: incorrect chest compressions due to not "locking" the elbows or "pressing" on the chest with the hands' strength alone, rather than accurate positioning of the upper body.

Of course, one might look at this from a producer's point of view. The fact remains that there is a sizable part of audiences who have not undergone CPR training before, and that most people would get the idea that CPR is going on when the "appropriate" visual cues are provided. As such, the actors doing "CPR" (note the quotation marks) need not have the necessary skills to actually perform it onscreen, and the people in charge of artwork do not have to draw it to absolute accuracy if they don't know exactly what to depict. Of course, there's also the extra costs incurred if the actor would have to go for CPR training or if extra footage/animation would be needed, especially if the whole process (which can be much longer than usually depicted) is shown. Factor in the suspension of disbelief that goes into watching any fictional show, and you have a situation in which correct CPR isn't always needed.

Nevertheless, ikka can't help but wonder if there might be a lower mortality rate for the big and small screens if the characters involved actually knew just what they were doing (though they might be thought of as such, but that's another story). Has there actually been any instance in which a character fails to save a casualty because he/she lacked the appropriate skills? The only one that comes close, in my limited knowledge, is the Spielberg film Empire of the Sun...and even for that, also not quite.

Or more literally, "Madame President, you've got prospects to worry about!"

A song most unrecommended while you see this would be Kajiura Yuki's Materialize. lol

( Madame President's Worrisome Prospects (part 1 of 2) )

Found this thing today and thought, why not try it out. The basic idea is to use a sorting algorithm that gives you a choice between 2 characters. Choosing either of them; or 引き分け (draw); or どっちも知らない (don't know either), will give a new choice. This is repeated until you get "100% sorted". There are similar choicemakers for other fandoms and one for seiyuu that I've seen.

So here goes ikka's Sorting Order for HCB, the top few were more or less expected. How Wanko ended up so near the bottom is a mystery, though...I think she's adorable.

SEMPAI~~IKKA <3 YOU~~xD

 

( looooong )

Oh yeah, find it here.

Went out yesterday, and had a pretty nice lunch. Due to my bad habit of not bringing tissues or handkerchiefs along most of the time, coupled with being something of a stickler for hygiene (well...in only some cases), I decided to head over to a nearby fast food place to use the washroom for cleaning up.

Upon entry, the first thing that registered was one middle-aged lady, who appeared to be a member of the (cleaning?) staff. From the look of it, she was someone that one had to use "excuse me" towards when reaching for the soap dispenser, rather than just allowing you to sidle over by moving away for you to pass...note that this washroom in question has, as far as ikka can recall, always been incredibly cramped to the extent of having more than 3 people waiting in line being the equivalent of a need to open the door for space.

Only after a few moments did she tell me that she'd thought I was in the wrong toilet because of the hairstyle and dressing. What could one do in this situation, but attempt to smile and get out asap - made difficult by there being 2 other people choking up the area?


tl;dr: WTF AUNTIE, JUST BECAUSE IKKA PLAYS ERICA HARTMANN DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD MISTAKE HER AS MALE SO EASILY.

OK, so I'm a bit lacking in the overall figure department, but this is the first time since puberty that something like this has happened... )'^´(

I wonder if it's a little late for new year resolutions...and if it isn't, ikka will start doing something about remembering the birthdays of people important to her, like the squad; family and etc OTZ

Rather by accident, a celebratory (?) message on a certain forum reminded me that tomorrow, 21 January, is Mizuki Nana's birthday. I only remembered the date as being the official street release date for her next single...so darned fail, no?

Umm, yeah, so happy birthday, Curator/Head/77-chan(ry :DDD?

( Shin Ai )

For reference purposes. I plan on making another list for how the characters address each other, but that will take quite a bit of time.

Will be updated when ikka gets her hands on volume 9.

Junior high classes are labeled "jh" followed by class, same applies for senior high but with "sh".

( junior high )

( senior high )