Three cheers for Hetalia!

I'm so happy that I couldn't resist writing! Ah, Hetalia: Paint It White was shown just now at around 9am! Italy!!!!!!!!!

If you know Hetalia, you'd know it is about countries personified as their national stereotypes. Granted, it might offend people (which is why we didn't get to see S. Korea in all his awesomeness) but if your sense of humour is anything like mine, you'll like it. The plot isn't much, faceless aliens invade our world and steal the colours on Earth. Yeah, sounds like one of America's B-grade movies gone wrong. Personally, I think it should be called Hetalia: Break The Fourth Wall To Smithereens, because really, stealing colours and the faces of people?

Interspersed with the alien invasion plot are clips from the series proper and I loved those the most! A pity that they didn't translate the notes about the intended France-UK union due to the Suez crisis. It'd explain why France was forcing Britain to marry him...... and teach Malaysian's more world history than their textbooks. I'll add it here, because I can.

In September 1956, during the Suez Crisis due to a common foe an Anglo-French Task Force was created. French Prime Minister Guy Mollet proposed a union between the United Kingdom and the French Union with Elizabeth II as head of state and a common citizenship. As an alternative, Mollet proposed that France join the British Commonwealth of Nations. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden rejected both proposals and France went on to join the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community and strengthened the Franco-German cooperation.

The only "world" history we learn is about the rise of Islamic empires. Not that I have anything against that, the Ottoman Empire is just AWESOME! But why in the world would I want to know about the spread of Islam in Malaysia? 

I think the Malay dub voices were ok. Which came as a surprise to me as I usually don't like (read: absolutely hate) dub voices. The only ones I didn't like were Liechtenstein, Prussia, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Thankfully, they were only side characters. I think the rest of the cast did decent jobs, though I must state my love for America, England, France, Hungary, Austria and Canada's voice actor, especially Canada! But then again, I'm biased.

Now for the screw ups, China's voice actor is good except that he got a female voice actor. Yeah, She's a Man in Japan, thank you tvtropes. And Hungary got Austria's name wrong. She called him Australia *facepalm. Though I'm pretty sure there was a strip about people getting Austria's name wrong somewhere. Um..... look through here? What surprises me is that Germany got it correct. Wasn't Hungary considered married to Austria in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? Its rather strange if your ex-wife can't get your name right.

Despite all that, I am still incredibly happy!!!! Hetalia on national television, yeah!!!!!!!! Oh, has anyone seen the character design for the Principality of Wy? She's just so adorable!!! And I like her going all huffy at Sealand, just because she's recognized. Still, whysoadorableWyandSeborga~ <3 Hetalia will make me a history nerd, its evil in that way.

Why do I do this to myself?!

Oh crap, history just makes you tear up, when done properly. To comfort myself for having missed the movie and having to go to school soon, I dabbled in the world of Hetalia. Let's just say there are things I have to remember from now on about Hetalia fanworks.

1. Don't go looking for Lithuania/Belarus stuff
2. I will feel despair from the small amount of fanwork available
3. And if I do manage to find it, I am going to feel really bad for Lithuania
4. Belarus will make me feel bad for her too, because she is too damn obsessed with Russia
5. Refrain from reading "America's cleaning of the storeroom" strip too much
6. Or watching that particular clip on youtube
7. Because I will start tearing up
8. Even if its just the dub
9. Don't read anything that has to do with the dissolution of Prussia
10. Hetalia will cause me to be unreasonably attached to his awesomeness
11. And I will start bawling
12. Which means I must not read "Choking" and "20 Photographs"
13. Or watch the "CROSS" video on youtube
14. Because tears will fall
15. Keep a box of Kleenex within reach if I insist on torturing myself
16. I must keep a box of Kleenex within reach

I guess I'll just stick to the webcomic and the anime episodes. They're usually funny enough and a great thing to relax with. As long as I stay away from the rare sad strips *cough Bloody Sunday *cough. It amazes me actually, how every country can inspire such darker and edgier work. I guess there is just no country in the world who has completely no blood on their hands. Ack! No reading Zikaron, I'll have to remember that too. Even if its just so good, and chilling...... Why do I do this to myself?!?!

Lets update before school starts!

I figured I should do one of those random posts where I just write what I've been doing lately to satisfy some juvenile urge to reveal all. So nothing will make sense, there will be no theme, nothing will be coherent and topics will jump around for no rhyme or reason. Hmmm..... this could be fun.

I'm sitting at home, with laryngitis. It sucks to speak in a ridiculously hoarse voice and I have resorted to sign language in public, just to annoy my family. Though they're probably glad that I'm quiet, goodness knows how high I raise the decibel levels in the house. I hate not being able to sing, I've never gone so long without singing before. It's awful!

There's a Barbie and Twelve dancing princesses fanfic that I want to update but my plot bunnies aren't translating well on paper... or on my word processor. I'm not sure I want to write about each princess in turn or just write random one-shots. It's a problem..... Gah!

I don't know where to go after Form 5. Should I take Cambridge A levels? South Australian Matriculation? Foundation? Do they even have a Foundation Course for those who want to take medicine? Damn! Why in the world does Malaysian education stop at 17?! And I am not considering Form 6 because it is 2 years and it's longer then all the other courses. Ugghh...... and the icing on the cake is that university costs and arm and a leg. I am so SCREWED!!!!!!!

I've been seeing High School Musical a lot lately. My brother downloaded all three of 'em and we've been watching. I think the songs are nice, but my music preferences are rather varied anyway. Also helps that I'm a teen. Watching all 3 of them rekindled my liking for the Ryan/Kelsi pairing. What can I say, when everyone out there was screaming that "NO! Ryan should have been gay!" I was happily squeeing away. I have a penchant for minor and unusual pairings (Ryan is campy so this IS unusual). It helps that I find Olesya Rulin cute as Kelsi Neilsen and I saw HSM 3 before HSM 2 therefore missing out on the Chad, Ryan baseball game. Not that I don't agree with the folks on tv tropes that it was a rather...... fangirl squeeing moment? But, everyone has their preferences *shrugs. At least Ryelsi (portmanteau couple name, hehe.....) has a decent sized fan following. I've practically been devouring fanfiction on them these couple of days. No real person fics though, to me they are kinda like you're trying to tell actual people how to run their lives and it gets disturbing.

Speaking about campy, the other campy guy that I like is Ruby from Pokemon Special. He's just so interesting! Not to mention that his interactions with Sapphire are just so hilarious!! She is a wild child with complete disregard for social norms. He is a prissy guy who has more interest in making sure his Pokemon are pretty. She doesn't mind getting poop on her nose and goes around in a grass bikini with matching skirt. He can't stand even a little dirt on his clothes and he sews. I am a total sadist for wanting them to be together when they are older. Ehehehe........ it goes right up there next to Lithuania/Belarus. Yeah, yeah I'm a hypocrite but somehow Hetalia makes everything justifiable. And when exactly is the Hetalia: Paint It White movie showing in Malaysia. 8th December or 29th December?

I don't want to go back to school. I am dreading it with all my heart! I've been going online almost everyday for the past month and a half and have yet to be bored. Sleeping late, waking up late, access to the internet (endless entertainment), can you blame me for not wanting to go back to a routine of homework and co-curricular activities and tuition. Besides, Mi-chan and Chi-chan wouldn't be there now that they've graduated. I'll miss eating lunch with Mi-chan...... TT^TT It's my last year in secondary school and I just feel like time is going so fast. Oops! Did I just reveal my age? Oh pooey.......

Do I have to write and ending? I don't wanna write an ending! How do you write an ending for a piece that has no rhyme or reason for anything that is written. I hate endings. Everything should go on and on and on. Pfft.... open endings are awesome, except for in books. Then they just drive you mad with the "what ifs". Urh... I'll be shutting up now.

I like stuff others don't know/don't like

This makes me totally frustrated because there is no fan material on the pairings or characters I like! I can't write them by myself, I often don't have any ideas and I prefer reading about them, discovering new insights on them through someone else's eyes but damn it because my pairings/characters are obscure/rarely known/unloved/side characters!!!!! They get no love. Except NejiXHinata, I'm so glad that Japan doesn't mind cousin marriages.

Now before anybody accuses me of being a sicko (all you yaoi fangirls out there are sickos in someone else's eyes too), might I add that in my culture its perfectly alright to marry cousins. Yes, even your father's brother's children. Yes, there are people who do marry their cousins. As a result, I really have no qualms about this, so it amuses me to see comments like "Incest! Eww......" and "Won't they have mutated babies?". It doesn't amuse me to see comments like "Neji and Hinata wouldn't do that! Neji belongs to Tenten and Hinata to Naruto/anyone else! You should go to hell for writing this!!!!!"

In a fandom as big as Naruto's, you kiddies should learn to respect others preferences and just plain don't read a fic that doesn't agree with you. The right to not read is a basic readers right. Besides, the sooner you learn tolerance without compromising your own beliefs the sooner you will be on your way to a decent adult.  To make it clear, I don't mean that you condone it and sacrifice your beliefs. Everyone has their own beliefs and opinions and if you respect that people are more likely to respect yours. Yeah I'm a digressing hypocrite but this is only a suggestion. You don't have to take it.

It seems like my tendency for obscurity is going into manga. For instance has anyone seen this:

I really want it but I can't seem to find the official Malay translation anymore. The truth is I really want to see the 2nd story, That Sweet Organ Song, again. I borrowed it from a friend a long time ago and the story was so good that it stuck in my mind. So I want it! And I will buy it, even if my miser image cracks a bit.

That Sweet Organ Song  is a period piece set in the 1920s between a the son of a rich merchant, Shotaro and a girl who works in a bookstore, Setsu. Setsu wants to be a teacher, despite the fact that poverty has stopped her from continuing her education and Shotaro wants to be a composer, even if he is the only heir to his father's business. The story builds up their relationship nicely and the bittersweet ending caught me by surprise! I really thought it would be one of those "love conquers all stories" where the protagonists will be poor but happy and everyone lives happily ever after. Not a chance. Which is why I love it so, because the ending makes it so memorable. When Setsu, now an old woman, hears Shotaro's song being played on tv, I was so touched. She got her wish to be a witness when Shotaro's song was passed on to the future generation!

Gah, the bloody problem is that very few people have read it and I can find little to no information on it! Nobody can tell me where I can buy it in my area and nobody writes their opinion on it either, something I like to read too. Sigh, my poor under-appreciated interests.  

I've been crying more than usual, I wonder why.......

So I've been reading stuff that made me cry lately (but that was obvious), too touching/sad and whatever other reasons that make my over sensitive tear ducts work overtime. Yeah, I cry easily.

First one would be Cat Street. It's a really sweet slice of life manga revolving around the life of 4 friends who study at the El Liston free school. I admit the art took some time to get used to, but I fell in love with the story so it ceased to matter after some time.

Aoyama Keito was a child actress who, after embarassing herself during a stage performance, lives the life of a recluse for 7 years. Bizarre and a rather flimsy plot excuse because we've all embarassed ourselves and not wanted to face the world afterward yet we still do. Then again Keito's stubbornness  and her lack of knowledge concerning social conventions, due to being busy working during her childhood, could make this poor excuse stretch. 

Despite that, this story has got to be one of those stories that touch the heart. It is one of those slow, peaceful stories that really shows its characters growth, so its not for those searching for an action packed or even a romantic story. There is romance, it is a shoujo manga after all (by the author of Hana Yori Dango no less), but the highlight to me was Keito coming out of her shell. I was so invested in Keito's growth, in her change from that lifeless, anti-social girl into a confident , mature and talented actress. I was just touched...... and ridiculously happy to see her change. I cried tears of happiness here.

The other story was Anatolia Story/ Red River/ Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori. The truth is, I really have no patience with this story. Its your typical run of the mill, girl from the future ends up in the past/alternate world story and all the other tropes that you would associate with it, with added smut. Granted, I'm a bit biased since Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden upped the standard for me.  My pace through it is laughably slow, 18 chapters in 3-4 days! That's longer than I took with Cat Street or even Sailor Moon. Its not a bad story per se, I like it more than Fushigi Yuugi (its redeeming point was bishies and nice art.....and being a pioneer of the reverse harem, you gotta give it credit for daring to do that), its just that it is a bit old and other people have copied most of its ideas. Also I have come to a stage in my life where romance stories are beginning to seem cliche.

 To tell you the truth the only reason I'm sticking to it is to get to the Ramses part, whom the fandom seems to consider hot stuff (well I am in search of bishies) and the villains' love story. Somebody said it was the most poignant romance they'd read. Yes, Nakia is horrible, they are pure evulz but the way an author handles the bad guys is a mark of how good their storytelling ability is to me. Ok, I also can enjoy stories where the bad guys are evil just because they are such deprave individuals, so I can hate their guts out. Yul's mother in Goong is an example. I respect her cunning though. 

Why did I cry over this? I cheated and jumped straight to Urhi's past. The poor guy has been through so much! I cried because of how much of a waste it was and well, I pitied them terribly. And Nakia, what was her story? The manga doesn't really address that I think, I don't know, I haven't finish. How was she raised? I'm intrigued by her background, I want to know her reasons. Was the Babylonian court as dangerous and deceitful as the Chinese court? If yes, then I can come up with dozens of theories and possible scenarios that can shape Nakia into who she became. For instance, did Nakia grow up among jealous court women who poisoned each other and caused miscarriages to prevent someone from gaining favour?

Last thing is a Narnia fanfiction about Susan. I'd wondered why she wasn't with the Pevensies at the end in Aslan's country just because of lipsticks and nylons. Then I realized that I'd been somewhat influenced by a publication I read and on closer inspection of the story I found out it wasn't solely because of that. This fanfic addresses that issue perfectly and is such a heartwarming story. Susan's redemption is done beautifully and I really recommend it for all those who had wished that Susan had gotten a better ending. The author deals with the Christian symbolism tastefully and it meshes well with the story without seeming too heavy handed. Don't believe me? Read it for yourself, yeah, its that good.  http://honorh.livejournal.com/226358.html