Musings in Ironyland

Been working extensively on some pictures lately... Thought I'd post them up here and ask for tips, since I'm not a good judge of my own drawings... xDDD



Random Lolita-inspired picture. I think it looks a bit like Elizabeth. Heheh. THe hands aren't there... I'm too lazy to work on them (they're a pain to draw).



Reina Maria's sister. Kana Meredith. She's one of those people with a prepetually tragic/pained face. Her hair and eyes are supposed to be black, but they temporarily changed colour due to chemical poisoning (improvised plot). She's supposed to be a fighter (fights for a living, like a boxer, but is allowed to use all forms of hand-to-hand combat, unlike a boxer). Doesn't look like it, huh.

For some reason it's hard to tell what colour her hair is supposed to be. It looks like it could be pink, orange, or even light brown. Even I can't tell. -.-;; I coloured it with orange, yellow and pink colour pencils and blended all the colours together. A bit of brown used too.

My mum says it looks orange, but my sister says pink. Personally I feel it looks like copper metal. xDD

THE SUMMER DRESS IS DONE.

Autarky is possible! Actually, Mum did most of the work, but it was really fun! We had a really basic design (since it's a summer dress) and some instructions from a video on Youtube (Threadbanger, How to Make a Summer Dress). The link is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsSZTHyCLyU&feature=fvst

Very good instructions, although we had difficulties shirring the fabric for Yuuhi's dress. The sewing machine we have works differently, I suppose. We used a zigzag stitch instead of a straight one, because stitching straight didn't seem to work.

Other than the slightly different shirring and the pattern of the fabric, Yuuhi's summer dress is exactly like the one they made in the video.


Something's changed; I wonder what? 8DD

Perhaps in the cold of Inverno, there is hope just yet.

An early morning Yuuhi photo! Pretty, ain't she?



WHEE..... chop.

...


I hope none of you flipped over in your chair, which isn't likely, since I've played this trick before. We're thinking of asking Mum (The Great) to buy us a black bobbed wig for Yuuhi next year, as a B'day present, since we're technically not supposed to buy any more doll stuff. Well. I am greedy.

A black straight wig will be nice too. ;DDD

The wonders of Photostudios helped me create that black bob for Yuuhi. One side of her yukata is cloned out with the cloning tool, so it's a little screwed, but let's ignore that, shall we?

/xDDD

Went to Cosfest today~ It was really fun, there were so many cosplayers walking about! (I saw Naruto, Bleach, D.Gray-man, TeniPuri, Kuroshitsuji and Hetalia characters, and many other characters from anime or manga I don't watch/read.)

I was very tempted to splurge. There were a few pairs of very pretty SD sized Mary Janes for sale. Yuuhi needs some Lolita stuff! But my mum has already put her foot down, so... T^T There's no way I can manage to hide a pair of BJD shoes from her, because she's deeply interested in Yuuhi too (Mum's a doll-loving girl at heart, I knew it~).

Well. I'd thought I'd get away with looking at nice stuff while at the same time keeping my wallet fat. Wrong. Couldn't resist and bought a Kuroshitsuji artbook. (KYAAA) At least I can hide that from my mum. I think. Stuffed it into a obscure cupboard in my room. Wheeheheheheh. <-- Whee (whoop of joy) + Heheheh (shady laughter).

I have mixed feelings about the artbook though, because it's mostly footage from the anime and has no spreads from the manga. (No Circus Arc stuff too! TT^TT) BUT it has lovely scenes from the anime, interviews with the seiyuus (Whee! But it's in Chinese! @_@), and best of all, character and costume design sketches. Very detailed and lovely, which means that I can copy the designs for Yuuhi's wardrobe. I hope. :DDD

And it has a lovely front and back cover. Black. :DDD I removed the wrapping (with Ciel and Sebastian on it) so that if my mum accidentally looks at it she won't know it's something to do with manga/anime and spending money. I hope she'd think it's an old book (we have tons of old books) and ignore it.

Because if she flips it open the truth will be clear. And then mum's expression: :D --> DDDD<

:O "HEL-" *fast-moving shadow flies across the room* >.< *dead* Dx Dx

No time to blink! D:

I'm going off at a tangent, but Rigel is such a dear:

http://doll.luts.co.kr/item-imgs/DAC-BR-20090619-1.jpg

I love you, Rigel-sama~ <333

And I also like the NOIRET set (for SD Girl) from LUTS. When I saw it, an image of Yuuhi wearing it (with her black wig) popped into my mind and I think it would look really lovely! I can't wait to blueprint it for Yuuhi~ But first, of course, we'll work on the Summer Dress.

I also plan on making Queen Victoria's dress for Yuuhi (from the Kuroshitsuji anime, of course). She's apparently dressed for mourning, but the dress is really pretty. I think with a change of colour it'll look less solemn. (The artbook has a sketch of it. WHEEEHEHEH.)

Pictures of Hokkaido and DHTP and stuff tonight, I think. :DD

/blah-ing.

The pictures are out as promised! Yuuhi's new wig is beautiful. Black really suits her, I guess. Ureshii~

All the products we purchased are in good condition and are really lovely - but (there's always a but with LUTS) LUTS still screwed up our order. They gave us SD boy hand-parts instead of the heel-parts we ordered. We only just found out. -.- We were too caught up with the wig and other stuff I guess.

Anyway, we sent them an email already. Hope they can fix things. (If we get to keep the hands... heheheh. *evil cackles*) Enjoy the pictures, as always, they took a lifetime to upload. D:



Hayla is hoarding somethin'! What could it be?



It's a LUTS box! What treasures lay within?



Why let's open it! 8DDDD



Bootsies! <333



Yuuhi: Hmm, they fit well. Me like. <333



Naisu na kutsu, ne?



Classy heels!



Night shoes, I think.



As usual, they fit really well.



A whole new look.



Yuuhi smiles.



One can't help but wonder, what is in that faraway glance?



What does her eyes see... that ours don't?



Sunset. She seems troubled.



Her eyes give away nothing...



... Forever shrouded by a veil of mystery.



She fades.



Away.



But with every parting...



There is a final farewell.



Anti-climax here, introducing TANPOPO! Stuffed rabbit from Hokkaido. She's trying to wear Yuuhi's shoes, but unfortunately her feet are too fat and too short. Ha.

Tanpopo: (-__-)+ ARGHHHHHHH! *stuffs foot into shoe* (TnT)+++

Hope you enjoy the pictures! We're set on making a summer dress now, hopefully Yuuhi will have some new clothes soon~ I'll try to upload more Hokkaido pics (the flowers are a must-see, I tell you) from tomorrow onwards, so keep updated, mata ashita! *waves like a crazy person*

P.S. I forgot to ask: Is anyone ordering soon from LUTS? I might want to buy the new silicone cap thing. It looks useful. (Argh, LUTS! Why didn't you release that one month ago!) Please tell me by commenting here if any of you guys are. ;DDDD

/picspam.

Style by Nishino Kana

Chorus

カミサマ　いるなら聞いてよ　

いついつまでもこの瞬間

リピートできない毎日を

見送らなくちゃ

 

Kamisama irunara kiite yo

itsu itsumade mo kono shunkan

REPEAT dekinai mainichi wo

miokuranakucha

Tokutemo feat. WISE by Nishino Kana

Just some piccys... LJ is killing me! The pictures take a lifetimeto upload. I don't have so much lives. Nine at most? xDDD Anyway, just wanted to post pics like I said I would, so today I present you with: Yuuhi's Wig Comparisons! From brown to silver to black! Her eyes are lovely, I must say, especially against dark hair.

Maybe I'd get some light-coloured ones for variation? Though my Mum has specifically stated that our latest order is going to be the last. (Actually, I have to agree - money is precious). We are full autarky on clothes now, her second set of eyes are a thing of the further future as of now. Well. Anyway, enjoy.



Yuuhi with her old brown wig! She looks sweet.



Why is this in exactly the same pose as the previous one? Her next wig, straight silver locks!



Now in her new one! She looks like a Japanese doll. (Though she's a Korean doll, strictly speaking.)

Good night now. As you can see, although the timing says 9.32, it's exactly 12.00 now as I type. Well. -.-

/late-night posting.

I haven't posted in a long time! (Apparently, two days of not posting is long to me! I'm a daily poster. Not the stick-on-the-wall kind.)

Nothing much to say, except that I'm in the middle of spartan math practice and that I suck at Area Under Curve. :((( I hate curves. DDDDD<

I wish I could post some pictures, but unfortunately I'm on my sister's commie and I have no time to get to mine to upload the piccys. Well.

MATH KILLS. 8D <-- Crazed already. Put in asylum asap.

Clickies? (:

Chorus
心を何にたとえよう
鷹のようなこの心
心を何にたとえよう
空を舞うよな悲しさを

Kokoro wo nani ni tatoe you
Taka no you na kono kokoro
Kokoro wo nani ni tatoe you
Sora wo mau yo na kanashi sa wo

*Disclaimer*
Credits to the website (Youtube) and the uploader of the video, as well as the artiste featured and the makers of the pv and movie. I do not own the video, the artiste featured, the song, nor the visuals shown nor am I profiting from this.

THE GOODS ARE HERE. xDDDDDD

Yuuhi's new black wig, Reiko's brown wig, boots and heels for Yuuhi, heel-parts for Yuuhi, and string. :)))))))

The black wig is absolutely gorgeous, I can't believe how silky and smooth it is! Yuuhi looks like a real Japanese beauty in her new wig~ <333

And the shoes are lovely, I can't wait to bring her out in them!!

Pictures later. <3333

Hmm. Kuroshitsuji Chapter 34 was an interesting read. A bit shorter than expected, but interesting nevertheless.

( Spoilers Behind. Click at your own risk. xDDD )

Well. I hope you people had fun reading it too. One mind-blowing chapter. I can imagine my cousin screaming at me already. "Why the hell do you read that kind of WTF manga?!" <-- I don't think he is very open-minded. But he thinks it's good (but he's only gotten to Chp 5).

Going off at a tangent... I might start working on another Reina M drawing. This time it's going to give more details of her story. Expect lots of Mary-Sue-esque drama and tragedy. Hmm.

I might even throw in a machine gun or two! Hmmmmm.......

Yuuhi's new wig, heels, boots, heel-parts and Reiko's wig are almost here! They're at Changi Airport currently~ Anytime, and they'll turn up on our doorstep. Wheee.

The shipping is really fast! Yesterday it was at Incheon. KYAAAA can't wait! Yuuhi wants her hair. She doesn't want to be a Japanese ghost. xDDD

Today we watched a movie during LA. :)))) About technology. It's called Gattaca, and it's about a society in which all humans are customized by their parents at birth, due to superior genetic technology. The people who aren't customized by their parents are naturally disadvantaged and discriminated against.

It's quite a nice movie. Shows that you don't have to be the best to be, well, the best.

Actually it's possible to customize babies now, because of in-vitro and stuff like that. Hmm. I wonder.

I toggled around with some Photoshopping tips I found on the internet on how to bring colour and light into doll's eyes. Well, this is the result:



Not bad at all, I would say. Personally I feel I overdid it a bit, it looks shopped to hell and back again, but shopped in a way that makes things better.

The only drawback of this method is that the doll's eyes in the photo have to have at least a smidge of colour in them - it won't work if you use it on a photo in which your doll's eyes are black pits. And the picture used has to be really sharp - film grain is an absolute no-no here, because this method will make those grainy spots white and even more obvious.

DHTP pictures for today:



Nellas! He looks sweet here.



(From back) Long, Xar and Lysander!



Lysander looks grumpy. Need some tea?



Sana! So sweet as usual! <333



Last of all, Yuuhi! Her pictures are all in repetitive angles, unfortunately. :(

And for your daily dose of Hokkaido (More piccys up this time!):



Mountains at Shikotsuko again.



AHHHH people are walking on water!!!



Nahh, it's just water bicycles!



A romantic swan-boat. For couples?



Madara the cat. Once a stray until he was kindly taken in by the museum at Shikotsuko. We got to pat him a little, he's quite nice cat. But his claws are really sharp.

Well. I hope the pictures were nice. Please enlarge to see! Especially the ones about Hokkaido, if you ever want to go there. More lovely pictures tomorrow, I hope.

On a side note, Ichigo is a freaking genius dog. I think we have stimulated his brain a little too much (using classical music, mostly Beethoven's 4th and 7th Symphony. I heard Baroque music works the best for little kiddies' brains). He understands a little of English now, even though he's a dog. Don't ever underestimate dogs!

Here's a list of words he recognizes:

"Let's chase him out (of the house)." He'll make a dash for the slippers to distract us. Or bite.
My maid's name. <-- Ichigo knows. Too smart!
Our names. <-- I think he knows.
"Out!" He'll run for it.
"Let him in." To Ichigo this means good news.

He can also associate things: For example, whenever he hears the crackling of plastic, he gets excited, because most of his dog snacks come in plastic packs. He also gets quite mad indeed when we pick up the leash, because that means that he can go for a walk.

One thing's for sure. Ichigo is well on his way to rule the world. xDDDDD

Off to read Kuroshitsuji Chapter 34 now. Ciel clad in military-style garb is so freaking cool. I got my cousin hooked on this. Yay for Kuroshitsuji fans!

Funny Japanese Inventions

There's innovation, and then there's madness. In some ways, technology is just designed for us to become absolute slobs. xDDD Especially Japanese innovations. Expect to laugh to death.

My personal favourite is the sleep stand. Pretty far-fetched, even for a lazy slob, if you ask me.

Had to eat out with relatives today, so I'm afraid I can't post pictures, because there's no time to fix them up nicely . We ate till 11 today, how ridiculous. -.-

There was all sorts of nice teas there, and you could refill your teapot as many times as you wanted. I tried two teapots of tea; Lapsang Souchong and Afternoon Darjeeling Tea. Despite the names, these teas are drunk in Western countries too (with milk). Darjeeling tea was once mentioned in Kuroshitsuji also, I think.

I tried my best to drink tea like Ciel.



Squeee. There was Earl Grey tea there too, but I went for the exotic ones.

Tea is good for the mind~~~

REINA M. IS BACK. For another review/critic.



I hand to draw her hand with a mouse. :( I tell you, it ain't easy drawing fingers. I want a tablet. DDx

Also: I edited and updated the previous post, because I'd left it undone yesterday. Pictures added in too. :))

I guess I should have a Back to School post, to sweep away the miseries of returning to the dreaded institution. Reflect and forget, eh?

I'm sitting in front this term~ A good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that my concentration is phenomenally better, and that I can see everything on the board and projector very clearly, no need for spectacles anymore. Bad thing is that I can't catch a snooze during a pointless/boring lesson, and that I can't do stuff like SMSing, copying homework, last-minute cramming, etc. But it sure beats sitting at the back, where you're so out of everything it seems like the Twilight Zone. xDDDD

Today when I was rushing out of class (during dismissal) like a mad hog with its butt on fire (I'm always very motivated to leave class) I caught someone playing One Summer's Day on the piano. KYAAAA SPIRITED AWAY was my mental reaction. Well. It didn't show. Or people'll be dragging a new patient into Woodbridge today.



Awww... So sweet.

Itsumo Nando Demo is still my favourite out of the Spirited Away soundtrack though... I wish I'd bought the music box with its tune! Instead of Over the Rainbow... I saw one with Itsumo Nando Demo and was quite thrilled (even though I hadn't watched Spirited Away yet at that time) but the design of the box was very simplistic (just a glass dome over the music box mechanism). I guess it's designed that way for people who want to look at the mechanism... (Very intriguing.) We wanted to buy a nicely designed one, because it's a waste if you don't. So...

And... as I've promised to post stuff, here's TWO teaser pics. I'll post a few everyday, to be sure.



Argh, so small! Please Clicky!



Sana is absolutely glowing! :)



Lovely mountains! This was taken while on a boat on Shikotsuko (Shikotsu Lake).



"Castles" formed by volcanic eruptions.

EDIT: I'll post FOUR pics, because I left off posting halfway yesterday. :)))

Yay, back to livejournal-ing (the term should be blogging, but this ain't no blog). If any of you wondered why I was missing for the past week or so, it's because I was at homework boot camp, self-organised, working hours 8.30am to 11.00, OT everyday without pay (there's no pay whatsoever anyway) with minimal time for mealtimes and a daily bath. xDDD Pity me, because even though we worked extra hours the homework is still undone. T^T

Still, you have to respect my determination and discipline. This spartan regime was self-imposed. Parents had no hand in it, in fact they keep distracting me, saying that I should exercise and take a break and eat and eat (did I say that twice?) and sleep early, blah blah more blah.

Anyway, I've been starved of blogging these few days, so I feel a need to blog. I must upkeep this place, you know? I don't want it to die, or less it'll be another lame collection of my mundane life experiences (wait, it already is). Basically, blogging is my hobby and I WON'T be deprived of it.

Some updates:

1) I've finally got down to watching Spirited Away! Always have wanted to watch it, but haven't found the time to sit down, relax and watch without a care in mind. Well. I watched it after working hours, mind you.

It was a really good movie - better than expectations, even though my expectations were high, since it's been called a Miyazaki classic. HAKU IS CUTE. <333 <-- Expected, huh? Everyone loves the Dragon boy. <333 I'm all for a sequel and Chihiro x Haku. Such a CUTEEEEE pairing! It's kinda sad that Haku turned out to be a river Chihiro nearly drowned in... Instead of a regular spirited away human...

My sister reckons that he should've been made her guardian angel or something. -.- Too bad Miyazaki doesn't do sequels. :(((

Watched it in dub at first (okay-ish, surprisingly) then switched to subbed (didn't know how to at first!). The voices are beautiful in Japanese. :) I could watch it 50 times without getting sick of it.

2) DHTP. I've yet to do a follow-up. I'm itching to post those pictures! Stupid spartan boot camp thingy! I WILL post soon. Keep watching. Hasta la vista, baby. I'll be back.

3) As you can see from the lines above, watching Terminator in Japanese IS possible, even though you're still at intermediate level. Because it's so easy to comprehend, and even more so if you watch anime and know common connotations. And all the action is universally understandable. I watched it in my hotel at Hokkaido.

I WILL post the Hokkaido picturesss! GRRRRR. Keep watching. *growls*

4) Do a photoshoot with Yuuhi in a summer dress? We planned to make one for her, but haven't got down to it yet, except for drawing it and deciding on the colours. Yuuhi hasn't seen the light of day for 7 days or so. Must be hard down there in that crypt.

Yuuhi: *shakes resin fist* And you say! +(-___-)

5) Kuroshitsuji's second anime season is officially confirmed. We are going to see it. d(^___^)b

I wonder how they'll start off... Knowing that Ciel had already died in the first season and the series ended with Sebastian about to take his soul... Hmmm, tangly. xDDD Animators, you suffer for the tragic ending you thought up. xDDDD <-- Sadistic me.

I haven't got down to reading the latest chapter of Kuroshitsuji yet, because I've been bogged down by Calculus (this name is better than Trigonometry. It sounds more cheem). I'll save it for Friday, so don't tell me spoilers or I WILL slaughter you to death and hang you upside down like a butcher does. No kidding.

/musings.

Wheee! I'm back from Hokkaido! It was a very fun trip, and I've bought goodies for you guys! (Shiroi Koibito and Mochi!) Stuff will be exchanged at the DHTP, which is tomorrow, of course.

I'll post the details of my trip later! (I'm lazy to upload the pictures we took right now). We took quite a lot of pictures, 700++ if I'm not wrong, because Hokkaido is really a beautiful place. If we had gone during July it would have been best (the flowers bloom during July), but in June it's just as great.

The temperatures in Hokkaido were around 14 degrees Celsius typically (even though it's summer!). Very cold! I wore two jackets. xDD (If this is the school's staff room temperature, I wonder how the teachers survive it! They must be freaks! ...)

... And... I went to Tenshi no Sumika! Whee! We were given some free time (to shop) and so we went to the Alta tower to find the shop. Tenshi no Sumika is tucked away in a corner on the B2 floor, behind sections selling anime and game fodder as well as Lolita and punk fashion (for humans). We knew at once we were in the right place. The whole floor was practically dedicated to Japanese subculture.

Unfortunately I have to pictures to show for my visit to Tenshi no Sumika, because they don't allow pictures. :( There were lots of lovely things, though. They had albums of Volks' dolls meets and shelves displaying their dolls in dresses and stuff and lots of eyeballs staring from below their glass counters... Best of all, there was a photography corner, where there was a lovely BJD-sized armchair and other pretty stuff like a small grandfather clock and flowers. I suppose doll owners are allowed to pose their doll there and take pictures, but we didn't bring Yuuhi...

We bought a simple kimono for her (because she needs to wear something for the DHTP, and I don't want to carry a half-naked doll around). :)))

It was quite a arduous and hilarious process. Language barrier! After much fussing and gesturing we managed to decide upon a blue one... But we couldn't get shoes to match, so Yuuhi might be going barefoot. Never mind. I suppose the kimono is long enough to hide the feet (I hope). And then the following conversation was carried out:

Staff: *quotes the price*
Dad: *takes out credit card*
Staff: One pay?
Us: ... Huh?
Staff: *distressed* One pay? *holds one finger up*
Us: ... Huh? *talks among ourselves* What's one pay? (To staff) Write it down.
Staff: *Writes "One Pay on a piece of paper*
Us: No, no. Write Japanese.
Staff: *Writes* (He wrote something like 一回.)

Us: ~moment of enlightenment~ Oh, installments!~ One pay, yes!
Staff: *phew*

I didn't know Volks allowed payment in installments for their physical shops. And even for foreigners like us! I thought they wouldn't offer installments for tourists (because they can run away!). But installments are troublesome stuff, anyway. I prefer cold hard cash all at one go. Money that comes in fast is better than money that comes in slow, that is what... they taught during Financial Literacy. <-- random.

There were two other doll owners sitting at the counters with their dolls, but we didn't approach them because they seemed to be in the middle of a purchase (a very long one). Of course, there were also a few people looking at the anime and game stuff (I wouldn't say Otaku, but...). And some high school girls came in and looked at the doll meet albums (I think they were doll owners, or maybe considering the hobby). But the shop was very quiet in general.

In fact, the whole of the B2 floor was rather quiet. A lovely place to stroll around in and relax, if you ask me. No shopping crowds, no loud pop music, not much noise.

On the whole we did much shopping. :) A kimono for Yuuhi, lots of food, a new addition to my soft toy family (a rabbit called Tanpopo), pajamas for me (who buys pajamas during a holiday?), small items (radiation-absorber, lavender pillows, perfume, blah)...

!DHTP is confirmed!

Third week Friday morning, 11am, meet at Bugis MRT station. We will meet and discuss where to go. We can go to multiple places if you guys want to.

Steffi, please invite THREE PEOPLE MAX. Confirm if you can make it, and when I get back, you can message my LJ with the list of new invited people, or you can SMS me while I'm in Hokkaido. :)

Rene, please confirm if this will get in the way of your dental appointment or not. You're entitled to come late, but just make sure you're able to come. :)

Above all, please RSVP by today by commenting here! In case I need to make changes if you can't come...

I chose Friday because I'm only back by Wednesday night, and might oversleep if the meet's on Thursday morning. On the weekends virtually everyone is busy. And meets are better in the morning.

Is Bugis MRT a decent place to meet for you guys (Is it too far or troublesome)? You can suggest an alternative meeting place, but please don't say things like "Meet at Pasir Ris" or "Meet at Jurong" because I will kill you for joking like that.

P.S. Steffi: We're not ordering from the G.O. The stuff is cheap, but Mum's golden rule is: Don't spend just to save. We have no rebuttal. m(_ _)m

Some movies are really deep. Not deep in a artsy, not-appealing-to-masses kind of way, but meaningfully deep.

I just watched Hinokio this holidays. There was a really deep quote.

"If there was someone telling me "Ganbatte", it would probably make it harder for me to recover."

The speaker in question was referring to a period of time in her childhood when she absented herself from school, most probably because she was bullied or had emotional problems.

If someone had told her to "try harder", she would probably sink deeper into her depression. It's not always easy for a well-meaning person to see that some well-meaning words can't be spoken.

If the speaker had tried harder, she'd still be bullied. Her source of depression would remain. By telling her "try harder", one would be implying that if she'd tried harder, her problems would go away.

And hence implying that everything was her fault in the first place.

Some things are not meant to be solved by trying harder; some things are meant to be accepted.

Not many people can understand that!