Saturday, December 29, 2018

List of shows I'm watching in 2018

J-dramas I'm watching:

  • Gakeppuchi no Hotel / 懸崖邊的飯店
Online stream: ChinaqQdrama |
Online stream: Playq | Qdrama |

  • Funouhan /
Online stream: 

Anime I'm watching

  • Persona 5
  • B: The Beginning *completed*

Manga I'm reading

  • Online: The Comic
  • Tenkuu Shinpan

Monday, July 09, 2018

#Fantastics9

Today, I drew the second eye of my daruma.

July 6 will be quite a day, because so many things happened, not just for me, but also for my beloved fandom.

On July 6, 7:23am, Fantastics member Nakao Shouta left this world for his journey to paradise.

It was announced on 8 July.

LDH fam mourned.

Shouta had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in March and had to stop activities to concentrate on his treatment.

Exile also created Turn Back Time for him, with get well soon messages.



Now I can't watch the video without thinking of his passing. But I am strong. He fought a good fight. He will always be remembered.

His strength will be with LDH, with his fans, with the rest of us who believed in him.

Twitter user Pengu translated entries from Fantastics and LDH staff.

You can read it here.

LDH fam, stay strong. Let your tears flow, but remember him. Remember his struggles, his willpower to fight to the end. Remember his strength.

Fantastics will always be 9 members.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Sandaime X Elle Japon

Message from Sandaime for Elle, translated by Retsuya

Naoto: I would like to give a shout out to you hardworking ladies, respect! It gives me motivation and courage!

Naoki: You should make life the best you want it to be. There will always be those who will support you.

Elly: It's fine to take a break or even feel down at times. That makes men work harder!

Kenchan: Working hard at the job and things you want to do is really something charming

Gunchan: Everyone is doing their best to hide their weaknesses and anxiety. I truly understand what it means to feel weak too.

Ryuji: Not everyone might be doing a job they like, but you only live once. Don't fear and chase your dreams.

Omi: I would like women to be satisfied even in their private life, so treasure your me time.

Tuesday, May 08, 2018

Naoki's Hollywood debut in The Earthquake Bird


Naoki will star in a Netflix original movie titled The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones. He plays Teiji, the enigmatic photographer in a tumultuous love triangle.

Congrats on your Hollywood debut, Naoki! I'll sit through the mature scenes, if any, because nothing is better than seeing his excellent body on screen. XD

I love how all the Sandaime members posted their congratulatory messages and tagged Naoki in their InstaStory too. In order of Elly - Gun - Omi - Ryuji - Naoto - Kenjirou

I want to read the book to find out more about the storyline. It doesn't sound like an investigative, mystery-solving novel, more like a character study. But if it's well-written and captivating, I'll read.

Source:
http://m.tribe-m.jp/news/detail?news_id=16319
http://deadline.com/2018/05/naoki-kobayashi-alicia-vikander-riley-keough-the-earthquake-bird-netflix-1202384090/

Monday, April 30, 2018

GranBlue Fantasy

I just started playing GranBlue Fantasy a week ago. There are many characters and classes.

So far, my favourite characters are Black Knight and Seox. I have an eye for all the cool, powerful emotionally-constipated characters with another side to them.

Seox

So.Cool.

I played this game to collect dragon summons, but getting these Eternals, the most powerful characters in the game? Alright mate, I'm gunning for it, along with my dragons.

To get him, I need to farm for the materials and get a Six-Ruin Fist.

Guide: https://gbf.wiki/Revenant_Weapons

And in the meantime, level up enough so that I can get my dragons.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Turning the tides

And then I hear that everyone in the team is planning to leave.

Which is why I knew I had more things to concern myself with than trivial matters.

I have no time to sit and think too much about the unknown. Gotta do what I can do to turn the tides and achieve my goals.

A Farewell

Last year, I made a new friend in the fandom. Because of circumstances, she's no longer getting herself involved in the fandom and has distanced herself.

I'm not as close to her, but I've tried reaching out. The responses are lukewarm and distant.

I know my friendship isn't easily won. People find it difficult to talk to me, either because they think I'm too cool, or I'm a force to be reckoned with. The only way to make me open up is through constant chatting, having meaningful discussions, and nothing one-sided either. This is why I usually talk a lot in chat groups.

I won't make the effort to continue trying to strike up a conversation especially if the other party thinks it isn't worth it, or maybe I'm a painful reminder of what could have been something wonderful.

I'm good at letting things go and moving on, so this is a farewell. Thank you for the past year. It was really nice knowing you, and thank you for listening to my troubles. Now you had close friends you can confide in, which you met through this fandom, so I hope you have a good life.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Another Step Towards My Personal Goals

I bought 5 scores.
  1. Southside: https://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/303721
  2. The Red Rain: https://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/448867
  3. Jounetsu no Hana: https://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/301273
  4. Black Rain: https://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/319907
  5. Love You More: https://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/306297
I'm doing my best to keep to my New Year resolution and planned goals. In fact, I'm having fun. I'm having more fun this year than last year. The feeling of freedom when you are released from your shackles is exhilarating.

Recently, I feel more accomplished. Things are turning around at work, I made crafts and upcycled some of my belongings, and I cleared an old cosplay plan from 2011.

I've finished 2 anime (Garo: Vanishing Line and B the Beginning), watching a new one (Persona 5) and read at least 5 manga. This is more than last year, but I feel a greater sense of calm.

Now if I can write 5 new fanfics, I can check off another goal on my list. I've yet to check the biggest box on my list, but I can do it.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

EXILE ATSUSHI、引退も考えていた “活動休止”の真相を告白

(Source: https://mdpr.jp/news/detail/1748795)

Atsushi had thought of retiring from Exile.

「怖さはなかった」

「ほぼ毎年ツアーをやって、毎年アルバムを出して、というペースを崩さずに来たので、色々なものがすり減っていると実感していた。自分の歌に自信がない、思うように歌えない。歌が嫌いになりそう、逃げ出したい思いもありました」

「留学して本当にダメだったら引退もあり得るのかなということも頭をよぎっていた」

He was scared. The yearly tours, the album releases, the pace he was going at didn't break, didn't change. It was wearing him out. He lost confidence in his songs because he couldn't sing the way he wanted. He hated the songs, he wanted to escape.

He took to studying abroad and therefore Exile had a hiatus of 2 years.

I believe the break cleared his mind, helped him to refocus on what he really wanted. I know that feeling. It's something we experience, doing the same thing again and again. We try to improve but we're stuck. That depressed feeling doesn't go away. It's a terrible feeling.

I'm glad Atsushi didn't quit Exile. It won't be the same without him. Exile just reached its fourth chapter, with new members, and they only had one concert with Makidai, Usa and Matsu.

It's a bittersweet feeling.

If anything, I want to catch another Exile concert before more performers retire. I want to catch a Sandaime concert at least once in my life. If it's possible, I want to attend an Exile The Second concert too. I want to continue walking the journey until I bid them farewell, and thank them for being part of my life.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

One step closer

This year, I aim to change my life for the better, to take steps towards fulfilling my goals.

I aim to be more organised, to lead a more minimalistic lifestyle, to get rid of things I no longer want.

I want to gain passive income to fund myself, so I've been looking at ways I can earn money, to pick up the necessary skills to achieve my goals. Having a full-time job is one, having a part-time job is another, but it's not enough to be sustainable. I want to achieve financial sustainability in the long run.

I will face all my demons and fight them. I will live to see another day, one step closer to my dreams.

Believe it.

Online: The Comic

Online: The Comic is awesome. It's been awhile since I last read any manga, and this blew me away. Barring the crazy ties to the real world (no way will I play an actual game where my body parts will cease to function when my character dies and revives in the game), I might consider playing it with my friends.

It's a horror RPG game. It makes hacking and slashing monsters more fun, especially when you go to haunted maps to train and level up. I don't do too well with consoles, so PC is easier for me. I have a fascination with the supernatural, I like reading supernatural, I want to write supernatural fanfics.

When I first started, I took three days to catch up (in between work obviously). Can't wait for the next chapter!

Friday, January 05, 2018

LDH vs Johnny's

This topic came out when Gun-chan highlighted some rules that were brought up during a variety show ミヤネ屋 and so a lovely discussion can be read here (months later I must add).

I knew this would come up some day. Who would resist an LDH vs Johnny's considering how LDH is breaking the status quo.

According to ミヤネ屋

1) Don't drive on your own
2) No drinking or smoking
3) Use keigo with fans
4) For yakitori eat the tenders
5) Always hightouch

Gun-chan clarified some of the rules. He debunked no 4, and said no 3 is not a hardbound rule, just something Atsushi did with fans. Especially because Sandaime's vocalists didn't follow it at all XD

Here's my view regarding the article:

The "LDH claims their acts aren't idols" part is justified because they do things so differently from the Johnny's and the 48 idols that to be labelled an idol, based on the common definition in the Japanese context, feels like an insult. It's not because we as fans blindly take their word for it. You'll need to find a nicer term, a better term to describe them, and merely calling them idols is undermining what they do and how they function. Artistes describe them better.

I know about their exercise regime. It's to build stamina for their high energy concerts and keep in shape. Naoto once said its intensity feels like training for the Olympics. And I think Hiro once talked about high-risk sports too (although this applies more to performers). But I don't blame them. They can get injured when they dance and it's easy to pinpoint those who've already been hospitalised or fractured some bone etc.

I don't know about monitoring fat percentage because obviously, not everyone can hit the same target. My interpretation is, each member would have their personal goals to achieve. Naoto's best is 8%. Gun-chan you are way too thin. 4% is not good for you. That's Naoki's fat percentage too and I worry for him.....

They don't have a no-dating rule, for one. Especially to them, who love kids and want families, to have such a restriction placed on them will be very suffocating. They are also responsible enough to put their careers first so I admire them for being role models.

Retsuya brought up what she read from Hiro's bibliography. "Remember when I said something about schedule life? Hiro seems to put it as a paradox, making your schedule your own, but not letting others determine your goals and what you want to do with it, hence releasing yourself from being controlled by other circumstances. In the same way, Hiro is encouraging his performers and vocalists to pursue and work towards their own goals aside from exile activities, which proved to be hard for some ppl as they got swamped. Which Hiro says it's not a good thing."

LDH artists are given the freedom to chase their dreams outside of their main activities in their respective groups. If that's not respecting their artistes' decisions, I don't know what is.

I'm LDH-biased, only for one reason - I don't like the music Johnny's idol groups produce. I tried listening to them before I stumbled upon Sandaime. It didn't work out.

Monday, January 01, 2018

Happy New Year 2018!

New year, new goals!

I'm going to shift my LDH posts back here. Managing so many blogs is difficult and time-consuming. Since this blog has always been one for my fandoms, I'll continue using it. I will have to find a good day to clean up all my tags.

One day I will create a blog for my music, with paid hosting and all. Now is not the time.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Things I've Done for the Year 2017

My accomplishments and new skills picked up in 2017
  1. Self-learning Photoshop
  2. Journalling
  3. Upcycle clothes into bags
  4. Upcycled old poker cards to be used for teaching music theory
  5. Made GIFs from videos
  6. Learn stab bookbinding
  7. Building a $100k website from scratch
  8. Putting the cranky old site on page one of Google using months of SEO
  9. Survived months of unfair treatment and work depression and rekindled the fire.
  10. Rediscovered what I really want in life.
  11. Met new friends in LDH fandom


Sunday, December 10, 2017

About Nidaime J Soul Brothers: A discussion with Retsuya

Discussion with Retsuya needs to be a regular headline for posts where she tells us what she learnt from the books she read and translated.

I will kick off the tag and share what she said about Hiro and Nidaime, from Hiro's bibliography.

So he was talking that as a leader/ceo there are times it weighs heavily and painfully on him E.g. he would get anon fanmail saying a load of nasty shit, such as protests during nidaime's absorption. Hiro says that (nidaime) was really pumped to be joining exile's ranks, even if it meant dissolving nidaime.

He goes on to say that nidaime members are still able to stand as nidaime on stage while having activities as Exile, which also leads to the reason why 2jsb vs 3jsb was done.

Hiro believes nidaime members were able to further polish their quality and shine within Exile. He doesn't believe that that spirit has disappeared.

He understands the pain the fans are going through and recognises their love for exile. He's well appreciative that people are able to be upset because they love the group.

He wrote that at that time he was afraid that he'll continue to be hated for what he did. He then ends off with saying that initially he was a bit overwhelmed with 14 members, but knew that if he wanted to make his dreams come true, it was an unavoidable path to take.

Interesting insight. Thank you Hiro. I love Nidaime and I'm sad they had such a short debut but I still respect your decision. Those anon hate mail is unnecessary and it speaks ill of the type of fans who need to stop being so entitled.

2JSB vs 3JSB and Survival were great concerts and very nostalgic. I enjoyed seeing how much they improved over the years, and till date it is my biggest regret to have rejected watching Survival when I was in Japan, especially when there were available tickets.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

DIY projects

DIY projects that caught my eye when browsing Pinterest



In the end, I followed the page.

I really want to make those folders using all the spare PVC I own. They could hold my files and documents better.

The best part is, I can give them away.

Friday, November 17, 2017

LJ revive!

I'm reviving my LJ.

It's been more than a year since I last posted a fic.

This time, I will post WIPs, headcanons, what-ifs and scenario prompts, and also crosslink from my AO3 and my friends' works. Traffic is important wwww

There aren't enough English Exile Tribe fics and I agree. There aren't enough NaoNao and Yokosuka fics and this must be rectified. Kwun can write OmiRyu.

I'll also be posting High&Low fics.

Time to get back in the writing groove. I've been stagnant for far too long.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Bitter Blood

http://kissasian.ch/Drama/Bitter-Blood

Featuring Keiji.

How have I not watched it yet?? I mean, I like detective series. I'll start on it soon...

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

I have a Rabb.it account!

Recently, I created a Rabb.it account to watch and share videos.

And here's what I found to share other videos.

https://letsrabbit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003545688-Can-I-screen-share-or-share-my-desktop-

Instructions:
https://letsrabbit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002433048-What-s-the-Share-on-Rabbit-Chrome-extension-

I watch videos from bilibili too, so this is definitely useful.

On to more video streaming sessions with friends!


Monday, September 04, 2017

Nendoroid Cobra

http://mikatan.goodsmile.info/en/2017/09/04/nendoroid-cobra-highlow-g-sword/

This is too cute! I want a Cobra nendo! It supposedly costs $50 but it's a pre-order. The shipment will arrive in February 2018. Awesome. I can wait. This year I didn't spend much because there were unexpected circumstances and I want to save up for next year.

Yeah, I know how my future house will look like. One room for Exile, one room for crafting, a bedroom to sleep in.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Tokyo Vampire Hotel drama


Summary: https://jdramas.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/tokyo-vampire-hotel/

It's a strangely bizarre drama and a new take on vampires. I like the Romanian touch because that was cool. Going to Romania to film part of the series was awesome.