"Superior" and "Superior Cross" by Ichtys

Date: April 13, 2015

Weather: Sunshiny and summery but it smells like rain so idk

Song: "La La Lainey" by Forever the Sickest Kids

Lyrics: "I love her like hate, I love her like pain / I need her like a forest needs a flame / I love her like rage, I love her like shame / I need her like a victim needs the plague."

Hi! So I've really gotten into manga lately (I've loved it since like fifth grade but it's an on-and-off sort of affair) and I just finished "Superior" and its sequel, "Superior Cross," by Ichtys. It's a shounen manga, which I don't really read, but I took a chance on this one and found I really enjoyed it. 

First off, the art is amazing. I really love the way the characters look. I also really like the way that they act. However, one fault I found with the characters is that the main characters, Sheila and the Hero, are often shoved to the background at different times. If there's an arc with Sheila as the main protagonist or even antagonist (she IS the demon queen, after all), then the Hero is only mentioned in passing. If the Hero is brooding over something, Sheila can be seen in the background or he thinks about her a little bit. I found this a little frustrating, but it was a unique way to portray their roles, so whatever, I guess.

Superior begins really quickly, with Sheila falling in love with Hero right away. I was kind of put off by this, but having her struggle with how much she already loves him was a lot easier for me than watching her struggle with falling in love with him. I also really liked her character design. She's eccentric and fun without being annoying. She's ignorant of the world, so her first question whenever she sees something new, alive or inanimate, is, "Can I eat it?" She's sexy, I guess, but she's not drawn like a sexual object. I find a large number of shounen manga has the "ecchi" tag, and as a female, I gag whenever I see some slut bouncing around in a mini skirt with boobs waaaay too large for her body. I was almost expecting that from Superior, but only one character had breasts large enough to make me cringe when they flashed her cleavage, and she wasn't hardly an MC. I liked how Sheila was sensual, but not sexual, and her childish antics made her more laughable than anything. It was easier for me to like her when I saw that only one male (Lakshri) made sexual advances towards her and he was treated like an idiot for it haha.

I found myself falling for Exa (the Hero) along the way, as well. He's kind, compassionate, and stubborn in his righteousness. Not to mention gorgeously drawn. One issue I had, however, was that whenever he wasn't in his armor or didn't have the weird things in his hair, I couldn't recognize him until someone said his name. His face is just forgettable and unoriginal. He's still handsome, but one's eyes are drawn more to his clothing than his face, even in the chapter opening page posted above.

The conclusion for the series is shown in Superior Cross, the equally-long sequel that concludes the group's adventure to defeat the demon lord. I didn't like the last few chapters, and I hated the time skip, but there were several aspects I liked.

SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

My favorite bit was when Sheila finally had to tell Exa who she is. She lied to him about not being the demon lord, but when her friends lives are at stake, she protects them from harm and exposes herself. I loved this. She didn't want to lose them, but when she realized that if she didn't make them go away, they would die, she sacrificed herself and their relationships to save them.

Of course, Lakshri and Angelica (two other companions who follow the Hero), didn't allow this. I would have been annoyed if only Rocci (the girl with the huge breasts I mentioned before) were to be the only one to follow through on the we-hate-the-demon-lord mentality. But then... 

EXA TO THE OFFENSIVE! I was so pleased by this. He hated the demon lord so passionately that he swore she would be the only living thing he ever killed, and it would have been insane for him to easily accept that Sheila, who he'd fallen in love with, was the one who'd destroyed his village and killed his family. That he had a bit of a mental break made me really happy, but also sad at the same time.

I LOVED THE KISS SCENE!!! Exa is still wrapped up in his hurt and anger at her for betraying him, and Sheila knows it. So, when a rock ledge crumbles and they all (Sheila, Angelica, Exa, and Lakshri) begin to fall into the volcano, Sheila uses her magic to save the other three. She apologizes to them as she falls and tells them that she'll disappear now, so that the pain will, too. Exa snaps out of it at the last minute and saves her. The kiss was perfectly timed, just as Exa was coming to terms with who Sheila is and Sheila coming to terms with who she was and who she wants to be. It made me happy haha.

Another thing that got me was that the original demon lord, the very first Sheila (who isn't the Sheila we love), is MALE. See that chest? Flat. Those shoulders? Broad. I don't know why he's a dude and Sheila is a girl, considering that Sheila was created by Kagami from the spilled blood of the original lord when he was killed as a child. Well, who knows? Original Sheila was hot as hell, but cray-cray.

I really liked this series. Please, read it and get back to me on your thoughts! I love intelligent/educated discussion!! <3 :) :*

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by JK Rowling Review

Date: March 28, 2015
Weather: I looked and I can see the stars, so who cares?
Song: Paint, "Harry Potter in 99 Seconds"
Lyrics: There once was a boy named Harry, destined to be a star / His parents were killed by Voldemort, who gave him a lightning scar


And so begins our first book review together. <3 Well, let's get on with it!

So, I'm currently rereading the Harry Potter series by the eternally lovely JK Rowling. Lately, I've suffered through so many lame books (I had to drop way too many of them halfway through out of sheer boredom or annoyance), so I decided to fall back on a well-loved classic to pull me from this rut.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first book in a series that defines my generation. I was born in 1996, so I grew up with Harry Potter as a constant companion. I have distant memories of sitting around a campfire, listening to my mom read about Christmas at Hogwarts and the movies were a constant source of background noise clear up until the sixth book came out and my dad decided he hates them. He has daddy issues, so when what happened with Dumbledore happened, he slammed the book shut and said "never again." I'm amazed he read all but the newest Game of Thrones books.

But I digress.

Harry Potter is timeless and a world-wide beloved story. More people than JK Rowling probably ever thought possible enjoy immersing themselves in the world of magic and imagining themselves to be students at Hogwarts. This series has a serious following by all age groups. When people say that Harry Potter is a series for kids, there's usually a large number of people throwing shade over them and their ignorance. While it is indeed written for a younger audience, Harry Potter grew alongside its readers, culminating in a generation of youth sobbing their eyes out in a theater while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 came to a melancholic end. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the Philosopher's Stone in countries other than America because apparently Americans aren't cool enough to know what that is -- rude) was the beginning to this phenomena and there are many reasons why. 

(I'm going to assume you know about this series already and skip the summaries of everything.)

1. The Characters

First of all, what is a good book without an awesome lead? In my opinion, eleven-year-old Harry is pretty cool. We all know that he gets a touch angsty later, but for now, he's still a pretty chill boy. I enjoy his wit and sarcasm, but I also love how he is there for his friends and how they're there for him. He's a good kid, I think, and I'd love to hang out with eleven-year-old HP.

Ron is perhaps the best friend I could imagine for Harry. He's sarcastic, as well, and provides just enough comic relief that you can't help but want to be friends with him. It helps that he's tall, gangly, and a redhead. I used to picture Ron as my brother (tall, a bit rotund, and redhaired, like myself and my whole family) until I saw Rupert Grint in the role. My family really identifies with the Weasleys, mainly because we're redheads and from a prestigious family in our community, not unlike how the purebloods are held in esteem by wizarding families. 

Hermione is still obnoxious in this book, but you can't hate her. Well, I can't, at least. It probably helps that I know what she'll accomplish later, but I also feel that she displays early signs of her badassness in this book. She's incredibly intelligent, resourceful, and great at magic. "The smartest witch of her age" or something along those lines. Go Hermy-oh-ninny! (Reference to Viktor Krum in book four)

I'll just touch on the side characters, otherwise I'll be here forever.

Hagrid is always a favorite as a father figure for Harry and a friend to the others. He's strange and doesn't have a "normal" view of the world, but I think that's why I like him so much.

Fred and George are my favorite characters in the whole series. In every book, I grin when their names appear, just because I love them so much. Also, they hit Voldy in the face with snowballs during their first year. "One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban" (page 194, chapter 12, "The Mirror of Erised").

I hate Draco Malfoy in this book. He's so snotty and bratty and I just want to slap him upside the head. Knowing what he'll endure later, however, I feel a sort of protectiveness for his annoying personality. While I want him to change, I also feel a deep instinctive need to preserve this Draco, to cuddle him close and let him be as annoying as he wants just so he knows he's loved by someone outside his crap family.

Dumbledore, we don't know much about in this book, so we'll save him for another one.

2. The Story

I love the story. I'll skip the summary, but I really like how Harry is given such a wonderful new life after the one he'd endured before. I especially like how the fame doesn't go to his head and how he chooses Gryffindor over Slytherin, which are really very similar houses if you just alter motives a little bit. I'm a Ravenclaw, so I haven't struggled over courage vs power before and can't really explain the difference without using dictionary-type words.

3. The Concept

I WANT TO GO TO HOGWARTS. I'm too attached to my mother, who has medical issues, (I can barely stand going to college four and a half hours away because I'm so worried about her all the time), so I doubt I could leave the country for school. But Hogwarts... I'd be there in a flash if I could. (With my mom, of course.)



I think I'll wrap this up now and say that I give this book...

5/5 stars.

Yep.

That'll do.

I look forward to giving my next review, whenever that will be! <3

- Laura


Harry goes to Hogwarts
He meets Ron and Hermione
McGonagall requires he play for Gryffindor
Draco is a daddy's boy
Quirrell becomes unemployed
The Sorcerer's Stone is destroyed by Dumbledore
-PAINT

Defining My Mission Statement

Day: March 28, 2015
Weather: I honestly don't know
Song: Sia, "Elastic Heart"
Lyrics: You did not break me / I'm still fighting for peace / Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart / But your blade, it might be too sharp / I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard / I may snap and I move fast / But you won't see me fall apart / Cuz I've got an elastic heart

Hi! It's been a long time since I last wrote. I have no excuse other than that I forgot. :)

So, today, I thought I'd define something for this blog to actually be about. I'd start a new one but I like the setup and colors and don't remember how to change everything, so I thought I'd just jump right on in and get to it.

Book reviews.

Now, hear me out. I know you're probably like "Oh, gosh, another book review blog, please no." But I'm being for real. My last two posts were about things I had to scrounge around for. I'm a creative person, but I don't get obsessed with things. I can't write fourteen posts on how much I love "Merlin" or "American Horror Story" or even "Harry Potter." I'll still write random things every now and then, but let's be real: I'm better at writing about what I know, and sometimes what I know, I forget when pressured to think about.

So, I figured we'd start nice and happy: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Like I said, I don't get obsessed, so expect a somewhat impartial review, 'kay? :)

I'll devote my next post to that, so look forward to it, babes <3

Netflix Is My Friend :)

Day: Feb 3, 2015
Weather: Raining cats and dogs
Song: Fall Out Boy, "Irresistible"
Lyrics of the Day: You're second hand smoke, second hand smoke/I breathe you in, but honey I don't know/What you're doing to me, Mon Cheri,/But the truth catches up with us eventually.


Hiya!

Today, I thought I'd talk about television shows I like. I don't get obsessed with TV like most of my peers. I can't marathon episode after episode like it's nothing. However, it is nice to just sit down, relax, and enjoy and episode or two every now and then. I figured today, I'd just focus on American/BBC shows and save the other things for another day.

The following shows are in no particular order, just the one I thought of them in.

I thought I'd start with something most people are already familiar with: Merlin. I designed a sort of breakdown so I could review the show without rambling, haha.

• Episodes Watched: Consecutively from the beginning? 9 1/2. Total? Almost all of them, out of order, from the far side of the room.
• Favorite Episode: No clue haha
• Favorite Character: Morgana
• Why I Like It: Arthur is Hot, Morgana is beautiful, and Merlin is a badass. Nuff said.
• Fun Fact: Last semester, I took Introduction to the Study of History at school and my final was a long essay on the historical King Arthur. While I spent hours pouring over old documents and thinking out loud about all the various potential Arts (I'm on nickname basis with him because I studied him SO FREAKING MUCH), my older sister -- who was also my roommate -- sat on the couch near me watching Merlin. Which, ya know, is about King Arthur.

American Horror Story. The erotic, horrific American TV series that has taken the States by storm. Loved by many for inexplicable reasons, this show wonderfully exposes the insanity in all of us. 

• Episodes Watched: All but the last two episodes of Murder House, all of Asylum, ten of Coven, and about half of episode one of Freak Show (not available on Netflix yet but I caught a bit of the premiere at a friend's apartment).
• Favorite Episode: Either the episode of Asylum where Jessica Lange sings "The Name Game" or the one where Lana gets kidnapped by the killer.
• Favorite Character: 
• Murder House: Tate Langdon or Addie
• Asylum: Sister Jude or Lana or even Dr. Thredson (not sure why...)
• Coven: Queenie, Kyle, or Misty Day
• Why I Like It: I don't know, honestly. I don't think anyone really does. It's twisted and weird, but it's also awesome. I don't know.
• Fun Fact: My mom and I fangirl over Evan Peters together.

Firefly is one of those shows where you've known about it for so long that it seems weird that it doesn't have a much larger fandom.

• Episodes Watched: All of them, as well as the movie and the "How we did it" documentary thing on Netflix
• Favorite Episode: You name it, I love it.
• Favorite Character: Kaylee! :D Or Jayne. Or Mal.
• Why I Like It: We've had "Serenity" since it came out and have watched it so many times I could quote it word-for-word. Firefly is just like extended Serenity, and it's amazing.
• Fun Fact: My whole family cried during the documentary thingy because we didn't want to accept that it would never be continued. Also, I consider Joss Whedon to be the King of Nerds.

I also enjoy Supernatural, Salem, and several others I can't think of right now. Maybe I'll make a part-two and go over some more later. :)

Well, that's all for today. What's your favorite TV show and why? Let me know in the comments! :)

Greetings, Earthlings

Day: Feb 2, 2014 2015 (still getting used to it)
Weather: Rainy
Song: Imagine Dragons, "Monster"
Lyrics of the Day: Ever since I could remember,/Everything inside of me/Just wanted to fit in./I was never one for pretenders.
Everything I tried to be/Just wouldn't settle in.

Hi, there!

My name is Laura. I've been wanting to have a blog, but I don't have enough experience in any given field to devote more than a few posts to it. Therefore, I decided to just begin from scratch and write about whatever comes to mind. I think for my first post, I'll just talk about myself a little, to get me warmed up.

First off, my name: Laura Jean (first and middle)

• My given name wasn't inspired by anybody; my mom just liked it. It's kind of old fashioned and outdated, according to media and name websites, but I think it's fine. I've met only one other Laura in my life and she spelled it Lora. 
• My nickname since birth has been YaYa. It was supposed to be LaLa, but my older sister was unable to say the letter 'l' at the time, so it became YaYa and has stuck since. I prefer YaYa to my real name in family settings, but nothing irritates me more than a stranger calling me that, mostly because they typically make fun of me. 
• In high school, I went by many things that weren't Laura or YaYa: Lola, Laurie, Lala, Ginger, Red, Waggy (my last name starts with "Wag") and more. It seemed like everyone had a nickname for me. Even most of the teachers used something else. I had one teacher who jokingly called me Little Sister because he had taught both of my older siblings.
• My middle name, Jean, is a family name on both of my parents' sides. Both my mom's mom and my dad's mom had the middle name Jean, as well as many of my cousins on Dad's side and a long list of women dating back on both family trees. It comes and goes with the generations, but it's been around for a long time.

Secondly, my age: 18

• I was born March 7, 1996, and graduated high school in May of 2014. I am now a freshman between her first and second semesters in college.

Thirdly, my hobbies: uhh...

• I've never liked sports
• I don't watch a lot of TV
• I was in a LOT of art classes in high school, but I haven't spent much time doing any painting or drawing since I graduated
• I crochet, but I'm not very good at it and lose interest quickly when I can't figure it out
• Everyone in my family quilts but me, excluding Dad and my big brother
• I ADORE history, but I don't think that counts as a hobby...
• Video games are fun, but I played Tomb Raider 2013 and it kind of raised my standards to impossible heights for the male-oriented industry to satisfy. I'm dying for the second Tomb Raider to come out so I can play another game with a non-sexualized female lead who kicks butt and knows a ton about history and culture. Love <3
• I'm a writer but that's more of a lifestyle choice than a hobby (more on that later)
• I love sleep but I'm a swing-shift person, so I stay up late and wake up later.

Fourthly, my favorites:

• Food: Spaghetti with eggplant Parmesan, ravioli, basically anything Italian and covered in tomato sauce and seasonings. Also jalapeno cheddar Cheetos.
• Drink: Mango smoothies, mango Gatorade, mango anything, really; also, Diet Pepsi/Coke, but I can't drink it past 6 PM or I'm buzzing all night.
• Color: Okay, this is strange, but it's this color I've never actually seen before. It's incredibly blue but sort of teal, and it's backlit. Like, it's illuminated or has sunlight shining through it. The closest color I've ever found to compare it to was the blue paint pot at Yellowstone (went there last August, loved it) but even that color is very wrong -- pictured above. Also this gorgeous yellow-orange I once mixed with watercolors and held up to the light. Never seen it again since that day, but I'm always looking for it.
• Book: The "Shatter Me" series by Tahereh Mafi. I still swoon about Warner every time I think about him. I've only read them as e-books on Oyster so a lot of the formatting was lost (like the crossed-out words, ugh), but I just bought hardcover copies of "Shatter Me" and "Unravel Me" so I can write in them and underline all of the most poetic parts that really hit me the first two times I read them.
• TV Show: Okay, I have a hard time getting into TV. Like, no television shows make me want to sit and watch them episode after episode until I run out. I do like a few shows, but I think I'll make that a post of its own. I like K-Dramas, but not anime, though InuYasha was a large part of my childhood. I just roll like like.
• Place: The Oregon Coast. Lincoln City, to be specific, right on one of the lesser-used beaches my family calls Shell Beach. That's not what it's actually called, but it's the only place I've ever found a full sea dollar. If I lived on the beach, I'd be awake at 4:00 AM every day. Not a California beach, though. Cali's nice (I love the sand further north, and I've been through the redwood forest like seven times since I was six), but I love the grayness of Oregon and Washington. Wearing heavy sweaters and holding hands despite how cold your fingers are is so much more romantic to me than seeing blonde beach bunnies in too-small bikinis everywhere you look and knowing deep down that you, a five-foot-three redhead on the heavy side with jeans and a t-shirt could never compare. Not that I care what I look like, but standing next to a hot girl when a guy you're into is watching is like saying, "Hey, look how frumpy I am!" and is humiliating no matter what. My best friend for all of middle and high school was gorgeous and stole all the guys from me (not on purpose, bless her), so I am speaking from experience.
• Band: FALL OUT BOY!!!! And Imagine Dragons. And Lorde, but she's not a band. And Lana Del Rey, also not a band. Whatevs haha :)

I think that's it for introductions on my side. What's your name? What's your favorite color and have you ever actually seen it in real life? Do you like Fall Out Boy? Why or why not? Haha, let me know in the comments. Let's be friends! :)