leene_chan | Recent Entries

There was a really pissed-off squirrel in a mulberry tree in the backyard this morning, hissing with its tail puffed up like a bristle brush. I think it was scared of Booboo, even though he was watching from inside!

The yard is greening up all over. I don't think any of our roses died over the winter.

I got Lagi's Love Ending in Wand of Fortune R this weekend. I guess that even if the events don't happen on the exact day the FAQ calls for, you still have a bit of leeway! I'm usually divided on the Kakki characters, but I thought that Lagi was pretty cute.

In spite of my reservations and tendency to hate every game that I play that isn't by Takuyo, I actually like Wand of Fortune. Maybe it's because it's almost a decade old, but the writing seems better than it's been recently in Otomate games, even if the scenes are somewhat mundane.

I'm doing Est's route now. Est is a very popular character, and I can kind of see why, but jeez, his new recorded lines sound weird! I don't know if Irino's voice changed due to nature or nurture, but in the new lines Est sounds like so much like Todomatsu it's pretty off-putting. Maybe they shouldn't have voiced those extra lines, ha ha ha..

I got some forget-me-not seeds from Select Seeds last month, and I'm thinking really hard about planting them. We have big patches of the flowers down the bottom of our hill that spread from our neighbor's garden. I thought it would be nice to have more control over where they reseeded, and I'd like more pink ones, too. I hope the seeds work out!

Finished with Moratorium a few weeks ago, and decided to try out Wand of Fortune R in spite of my fear of the game system. I'm on week 22 with Lagi, and I actually think the game is really fun. I guess Otomate did put out some good games 10 years ago! The system reminds me of a cross between Elan Plus and Atelier Elie. Both are great if you stay glued to a FAQ, lol...I don't know how much trouble I'll have with the endings, but I at least feel motivated to try again if I screw up. This is the first time in a long time I've picked up an otome game on a whim and actually liked it. Ha!

It's just not very convenient for me to post using a desktop PC, boo hoo!

Checking in...even though Booboo has been given a clean bill of health by the vet in general, his first routine urinalysis came back with a few crystals. Not too many, the vet says. She's suggesting that we monitor him with a yearly urinalysis and maybe do an ultrasound of the bladder next year for stones. Other than that, there's not much we can do. Poor Boob. I feel awful because I know that if he has crystals it's because he eats dry food. I wish we could do all wet food, but his stomach is just too sensitive. We did manage to find a wet food he can eat 50/50 with dry as opposed to 70/30 like he used to (Earthborn Holistics). Maybe we can do more in the future, but I hate to push him. He can't eat fish at all and he seems to have a problem with xanthan gum.

He does love to drink from his fountains, at least.

I finished all the new material in Moratorium. And the Toudou brothers are...objectivists? In the Taisho Era? Even though the routes weren't bad, I honestly didn't care for either of them. Miyabi was a fairly boring guy like Cinderella in Taisho Alice but without his romantic side, and Itsuki, with his womanly looks and that raspy voice, was like a batshit crazy, aging diva. I was also annoyed that Nozomu had only a small part in Miyabi's route and didn't appear in Itsuki's route at all. Although his big scene in Miyabi's route was gold, lol...

Now I'm replaying all the old material, doing Satoya's After Story at the moment. Even though he's not my most disliked character, I've always found Satoya's white-knighting annoying...now that I know that if he can't be a white knight, saving all the ladies, he's like a rabid animal, well...what am I supposed to think of him?

Just got Lucas in for his annual wellness exam. He turns 10 in April, so even though he's been showing no signs of illness lately, we were biting our nails thinking about the What If? scenarios...

We're still waiting for the results of his routine urinalysis, but all in all he has been given a clean bill of health. No heart problems, perfect teeth (her words, not mine, lol), bloodwork is uninteresting other than a slightly elevated amylase level, which she insists is not very interesting.

We did manage to trim him down by adjusting his diet, earning him the most coveted score of 5 of 9 on the body condition scale, woo hoo!

So now Lucas can be smug as hell about being a "perfect 10." Ha ha ha... Considering that Wikipedia states that in Sweden only 60% of Ragdolls live past their 10th birthday, his health is indeed impressive. I'm assuming the bad stats in Sweden (or is it Switzerland?) are because of their limited gene pool, because most sources say that the average Ragdoll lifespan is 15-22 years!

I have to wonder about Ragdoll weight, though...it's said that the males range from 15-25 lbs, and Booboo's perfect 10 is 12.7 lbs? I think the average Ragdoll weight is too high!

Dad had his last radiation session today. Who knows what the future holds, but he doesn't need to see an oncologist for three months. I know I never mentioned what had gone on after his surgery so that he needed follow-up treatment. I just didn't feel like talking about it. All I can say is that he had a high PSA directly after surgery meaning that either the surgeon fucked up and left something behind or there was some kind of interference with the test. He's had scans and even though they showed no bone or lymph node involvement, there was a faint shadow in the former prostate area that may or may not have been scar tissue. We still don't know for sure. Still, his doctor decided that follow-up treatment was the best idea.

Needless to say I have no faith in his surgeon or the medical profession in general any more. Screw the DaVinci robot!

At least he is feeling fine and the treatment has not had terrible side effects. And now that radiation over he's off the low residue diet, which will make it much easier to prepare meals.

I'm trying to distract myself from shit by playing Secret of Mana on my iPod. I downloaded it a year and a half ago and never got much into it because I had a hard time adapting to the touch controls. It's much easier to do it if you leave the headphone jack empty. Now everyone has to listen to my enhanced MIDI folk music, ha ha!

Also still doing Hibiki's Red Light District Another Route in Moratorium. She just managed to crack, but for a while Megumi was a real bitch to Kagurazaka-san! Also, the Mamoru dream sequence where he is supposed to be haunting her from beyond the grave was like something out of the Simpsons. You kiiilllled meeee Baaarrrtt...

We're supposed to get a rippin' nor'easter today, but so far nothing has really happened.

I finished both Satoya's and Wataru's Red Light District Another routes in Moratorium, and let me tell ya...

Total character assassination on Satoya. I actually enjoyed his route quite a bit, but playing his route in the original game after this one would be like trying to do a True Pacifist Route in Undertale after completing a Genocide Run. He really was a POS...lol...even considering his circumstances. I wonder how the Mochizuki fans must feel right now? I guess some people might like that kind of thing.

Wataru's route, in contrast, was unadventurous and fairly boring. It did, however, feature some of the nicest new artwork in the game so far. It was a shame. Considering how twisted Satoya acted in his route, I had hoped they'd do something controversial in Wataru's route. Alas, no. This is why he is in last place in the character polls, last place!!!

I hope that Hibiki's route does not let me down. Both Nozomu's and Satoya's routes were very good, so I was surprised that Wataru's ended up being so crappy. Don't let me down, Kagurazaka-san!

Yesterday morning I noticed that Booboo was lying on my bed with his paw resting on the display of my iPod Touch. The previous morning he had been using the device to warm his butt, apparently, so I just laughed it off.

Then I discovered that four of my apps were now missing.

Amusingly enough, one of the deleted apps was for Lucas's mobile vet.

I managed to re-download all the apps, but dammit, I had better make sure that thing is in standby before I leave it unattended. What if he had deleted my settings? Bad, bad boy!

Well, it certainly is winter. I enjoyed that one day in the 50s, lol...

Made the frosted sugar cookie bars and devoured them. They will be sorely missed.

In spite of the frigid weather, some of our roses still have green canes. Those are the keepers! Constance Spry is now around 7 ft tall at the beginning of its third year. She will be the rose to conquer the world!

I'm still doing Satoya's AU route in Moratorium. The POV briefly switched to his perspective and man...he is really a jealous little prick in this story! Maybe I feel a tiny bit sorry for him, but when he thinks his position is threatened he's really no different from Sae in the original game. He's channeling his inner Seisuke, I think. It's nice that they gave him a dark side in this story, but it's quite a dark side. I hope they reveal something nasty about Wataru as well!

Man, Nozomu really is the sweetest one in the bunch deep down, even if he is craaaaazy!

Even if it was the only game Takuyo released this year, I'm grateful that they put a lot of work into the port of Moratorium. I hope they do a fan disk for Sweet Clown soon. I have high hopes that it will be much better than the crap that Otomate has been releasing! What's the point of releasing 20 games a year if only one of them doesn't suck?

Today was in the mid-50s, so most of last weekend's snow has melted. There's a little possum wandering around our backyard in the dark. I think possums are among the ugliest creatures out there, but they're harmless. I just can't get over those hideous maws!

Made the frosted sugar cookie bars from Sally's Baking Addiction again this week. Bad bad bad! Everybody wanted them. Just one bite will make you feel like it's your birthday!

Now that I've quit the Sims Freeplay, because I have better things to do, the game keeps begging me to come back. Promising me inspired Sims and free LP! At least I have a lot of fond memories of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. This version of the Sims was just a drag. A drag that I played for two years, dammit! Once I hit that level cap it was all over!

Playing Satoya's AU route in Moratorium. He's a lot more grim and unsociable in this universe, even though Megumi is trying hard to suck up to him. Not making me like him any more than usual, lol! I wonder what will happen in Wataru's route? If Takuyo wants to make him more interesting he should turn out to be a werewolf!

It's been pretty freaking cold lately! Last night was a low of 15 degrees! It's hard to believe at this time last year we were getting temperatures in the 60s. There's no such thing as typical seasonable weather in southern New England. We are a region of extremes!

This morning Booboo threw up his breakfast all over my bedroom floor. Thanks, Booboo! I'm still not shaving him to cut down on hairballs, despite the vet's advice. Last week he puked up a hairball the length of a commuter train, lol...We're lucky he drinks a lot of water. I read that you only really have to worry about hairball obstructions if the cat doesn't drink a lot out of habit and the hair dries out in the stomach. Still, we always keep a close eye on him. He'll be 10 in April and he's never had to have emergency medical treatment for any reason. Thank God.

Watching Galaxy Express 999 on crunchyroll lately. I've only watched through episode 4 and I swear this was the first episode where Tetsuro didn't kill anyone like he was Dirty Harry. Seriously. Do not get off the train. Nobody needs to die!

I reread Nozomu's two endings for the Red Light District Another Route in the digest for clarity and now it's time for me to move onto Satoya. Reluctantly. He's the most popular character in the series, but I never liked him much and damn I am tired of hearing Matsuoka in everything. I'm saving Hibiki for last because he's allegedly the main guy (in spite of being 39) and so mellow, his fake deep voice might help me unwind after all the misery.

I noticed that they injected some weird humor into the Pure Love Ending rather than just being sappy. I wonder if that's post-Sweet Clown Takuyo's new habit?

Damn and I had plans to go out this weekend. Guess I'll just have to cuddle Booboo instead...hope he doesn't bite me! I'm hoping we aren't completely buried by tomorrow morning. According to the NWS, the snow is fluffy powder and should be easy to shovel. For once!

Booboo is making weird noises and rolling all over my bed. Somebody wants attention!

I've been going through the Vita port of Getsuei no Kusari: Kyouran Moratorium very slowly. It actually got a review on Amazon of Japan, and it was five out of five stars! I'm glad that they added so much to this port, because the original version of Moratorium was so pathetically short. Unfortunately, the artwork has taken a hit...I still wonder if it's true that the original game had a helper artist for the event CGs, lol...granted, it's no worse than the art in Sweet Clown.

I just finished Nozomu's Red Light District Another Route. The length was satisfying. I didn't like his AU scenario better than his scenario in the original game, but I think only Hibiki really benefits from an AU scenario. For a very specific reason, lol...

Anyway, I'm glad the writers still treat the series as a literary work as well as an otome game, even if it does make it more challenging to read. Those Otomate games had crushed my spirit with their terrible stories and shallow characters, for real.

I just quit The Sims Freeplay after two years ha ha ha...

It's been pouring rain all day. Considering that we've been in a severe drought for months, this is a good thing, especially for our well! It's been a long time since it's rained hard enough to make puddles on the lawn. There were a lot of little birds out this morning splashing around, mostly dark-eyed juncos. I had hoped they would keep Booboo occupied for awhile and not begging for food, lol...no dice!

We did manage to get him to slim down quite a bit since his last vet visit. That's why he's punishing us. Also, Acana did something awful to the recipe for his usual dry food that made him poop three times a day, so we had to switch him the the breeder-recommended Royal Canin Special. Which he likes a little bit too much. I wish we could keep giving him grain free kibble or only wet food, but what good is that if it makes him sick?

We've discovered that he does well with the new Earthborn Holistics wet food, though, even more so than with Wellness. Of course, he loves all food, but it unfortunately does not love him. After almost 10 years we are wondering if he has a soy allergy.

I was drinking my morning tea when a loud sound like an explosion rocked the neighborhood. The whole house shook! It got a mention on the local news today, because apparently it affected three towns in CT. No one knows what caused it yet...the last time I heard a sound like this on a dry day a power plant in Middletown had exploded! The other time a meteorite had hit a house in Wolcott...I'm placing my bet on space junk, but who knows?

Struggling through Moratorium, ha ha ha...I'm taking my studying to the next level and jotting down a working list of vocab in a notebook as I play. Because apparently just looking the words up in the DS dictionary isn't enough! At least they got rid of that horrible 30 second auto-dimming function that has plagued all Takuyo games. There's nothing more annoying than having the game go into standby while you're writing down kanji!

I think it's unfortunate that this service doesn't have an app. It's more convenient for me to update my blog from a mobile device than to sit down at a PC and do it. Especially if someone else needs to use said PC. Oh well. I'll get over it, lol...

After several days of fumbling by the USPS, I finally received my copy of Getsuei no Kusari: Kyouran Moratorium for the Vita. Since the series is relatively unpopular in Japan and probably won't be reviewed on Amazon for a year, I'm going to be a real pioneer! Takuyo has added a ton of extra content to this version of the game. I ordered the limited edition, which means I got a lovely CD with the opening and ending theme and drama tracks of the heroine committing double suicide with each date-able character...

Yeah, you read that right! A Double-Suicide drama cd! Come on, Takuyo, I love your games, especially Getsuei, but that is really, really tasteless. Maybe I should have bought the regular edition, ha ha ha...

Anyway, I've been playing the game for a few days now and the language is hard. Very very hard. But it's worth it. I had been slacking off on my studying lately because of the holidays and most Otomate games are easy enough for me at this point to get through without a dictionary. But when you are playing a game and the voice actors involved have commented on the difficulty of the language for a native Japanese speaker...it's very challenging. Unfortunately, from my experience with visual novels, the difficult ones are almost always good and the easy ones are usually crap.

I've run out of Choice of Games novels to play for the time being. I keep deleting songs off my iPod to make room for them, lol...

I kept thinking I wanted to change my username, because it's kind of lost its meaning to me and I think it's too cutesy. But I was really stumped, so it stays. I've never been a chameleon, lol...

I suppose that showing my Clear Nendoroid without his gas mask is a spoiler, but he arrived with this face plate so it stays! I had to change his right arm to hold his umbrella. I can't remember if Clear is right or left handed...

He also comes with a gas mask face plate and another with a distressed expression. Clear is pretty cute, but I don't know why his scarf is lime green. It's supposed to be yellow!

The Koujaku Nendoroid is also nice-looking, but I'm not head-over-heels in love with his character and now that they jacked up the EMS shipping rates I really have to be selective with my purchases. I guess Orange Rouge isn't planning on doing Mink or Ren, huh...