Recently, something big happened in America. Namely, the Great American Sale. Some accused the Democrats of trying to sell out American liberty. Others pointed out that the NRA is out to sell American lives and that the Republicans should be seen as culpable. We have Alabama and Pennsylvania sold to the Democrats (legally).
We have the first Asian dude to say "I wanna run for the White House!" since Bobby Jindal pulled off the same stunt. We have the first black #POTUS and, some would say, the first female #POTUS had not Russia pulled a few daring stunts which have now gotten its chief beneficiary in... well, maybe this meme can lighten up the dark mood surrounding this post so far.
And yeah, we now have someone from the CIA taking over Rex.T while another guy from CNBC took over from Gary Cohn. Regardless of whatever strategic intent, you can be very sure a socialist Asian won't be impressed.
I won't be surprised if the next series of elections spanning from 2018 to 2022 will define whether America can retain its check-and-balance political system instead of one party pulling off a full house (i.e. White House and both Houses of the Congress) on a (legally) prolonged basis. Either that or whether the people will eventually get sick and tired of the politicians from both sides. But before that, the law enforcement system needs a Total Recall and it's not just Florida.
An idea suddenly flashed in my head on what to do for this post. Okay, it's not really an idea. Now if only Mr Bill will run for president come 2024. I'm not talking about Bill Clinton or Bill Gates, but Bill Haslam.
Disclaimer!
This post is not meant to puff up the pride of any Asian people. It's just that I've yet to see Taylor Swift writing a song extolling the virtues of Abraham Lincoln. In other words, this post is just something not meant to be taken seriously beyond enjoying the tune (and lyrics if you understand Chinese/Cantonese). Any inspiration granted to the Republicans and/or Democrats is purely accidental and deeply regretable.
Above song seems to indicate my love life as a constant rejected goods individual.
Just now, I came across an article panning Mediacorp's latest attempt to do a countdown party (not that it's the only time they did that). As a result, I wanted to do something illogical, absurd, and anti-common sense. And because I decided to do a post that is... well, illogical, absurd, and anti-common sense, I'm not gonna spare my sister if she really did attend that countdown party. After all, I'm sure someone will accuse me of making fun of my sister's taste. Not that I care about the typical local Disney fare anyway.
Again, I repeat: This post will be illogical, absurd, and anti-common sense. Because Kuok Minghui says so like Stone Cold and... well, do you think I really care? A/N: I realised that as a man of creativity, there's always a need to unwind and be... well, crazy. Something like this below.
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Okay... everyone ready? Good. Thanks, Alleycat. Send my regards to uncle Freddycat and auntie Felicat. Ahem. Welcome to the coverage of this year's Countdown 2018. As you can see... okay, we're actually past midnight. This is Stevia Sweetleaf reporting from the kingdom of Procrastinatea. As always, the king of this ethereal realm ruling over the fae, dwarves, and every gnomish kid is preparing to throw a countdown party. Well, sorta since it's already that point of time where Cinderella has to go home lest her stepsisters Barbarella and Primadonna start asking damning questions. What? Wait... are you crazy? Lance, I swear I'm going to kill you for this joke. Why would the king of some hermit forest nation fall in love with me? Shut up, Lance. Or I will kill you like your favourite character who always dies. Okay... my apologies for this impromptu moment. So now we should be waiting for the king to make a statement. Sadly, we received word that his cat had just accidentally offed his laptop while it was installing the latest Microsoft update patch. As it turned out, he needs to write the latest chapter of his only dark fantasy novel and his cat was actually too smart to be ignored. I really feel sorry for him. I mean the king himself, not his cat. After all, I happen to own a cat as well. Oh... the screen is now switched on! Wait... what am I seeing here?
Credits
(before the show starts)
Coordinator: Chancellor Salted Fish
Security: General N.G Ryan
List of guests and performers: Chief Negotiator Wifi Lim
Miscellaneous stuff since His Royal Lobo Majesty is too lazy like a bear: Head Steward Bear
"Well, it's the credits roll. Apparently, the king enjoys doing things like a rebel since the world is never kind to him."
Wait... Lance! Alleycat! What in the Sapphire Pavilion of Siloso Beach is going on here? Why are we having an intruder? Is he going to sexually harass me?
Lance: Erm, actually he's not going to do that. I know he looks creepy, but rest assured he's a better guy than those you see in Hollywood.
Alleycat: Yeah, Lance is right. We're trying to... erm, prevent your parents from asking when are you getting a boyfriend.
Alleycat, you want to 气死我 is it? Wait... something's not ri... AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
"Relax, we're not gonna die."
Of course we're not gonna die, you perv!
Unknown humongous creature: Hey boss, High enough for you?
"Yeah, high enough to see the stage. Thanks, Supersolid Snake."
What is going on here? Why are the three of us stuck with this super weird perv?
Supersolid Snake: He ain't a perv. He is His Royal Lobo Majesty! My boss, understand?
Wait, this is a joke, right?
Lance: Erm no. He's the real deal.
Alleycat: The two of you actually met each other during 2012. And to think you're actually asking me back then why he never even glance at your cleavage where in fact every guy would do that.
This is...
"Oh, the party is now starting. Please accept my apology if the party turns out falling short of your standard. I know the average duration of any televised party would be... like two hours or so?"
So why are you doing all this?
"For fun. Oh, it's starting now. Hey, 黑妹. Please make sure nothing happens to your camera, okay? The first act is gonna start anytime soon!"
Alleycat: My name is Alleycat, not 黑妹! And I'm not a Malay, Indian, Hispanic, or even an African!
Lance: Siao... this one fierce man!
Supersolid Snake: I wonder how this would sound if Fei Yu-ching sings this song. I don't care whether that guy is gay or no gay.
Supersolid Snake: Okay, I may have spoken too soon. Make that two songs instead of one. I'm gonna hum this song whenever out on duty against those terrorists.
Lance: You make yourself sound like some kind of big shot.
Supersolid Snake: Please, even N.G Ryan needs to listen to me. He may be the General, but I'm the Head of Stealth Ops. Also, N.G Ryan is actually scared of my chief sniper Boh'Siah for some reason ever since that changing room incident.
Can the two of you stay quiet until this is over?
Lance: Eh? I think I saw Wubai just now.
Supersolid Snake: As a snake of stealth ops and perception, I can assure you that you might have gone a bit 二百五.
Lance: Siao liao... I'm starting to feel really 二百五.
Supersolid Snake: Don't worry. Wubai will be here to shock you back to normal.
Lance: That one really shocked me back to normal. Supersolid Snake: Reality and Wubai. Best partnership ever. And China Blue as well. You ready something English? And I don't mean the Brits.
"Wait, I don't remembering requesting for these two acts especially the second one... Supersolid Snake, I assume you're responsible for this."
Supersolid Snake: Well, I do have my dad's DNA after all. To be a master of stealth ops coordination means to improvise like a boss. Like Big Boss to be exact. And besides, Wifi Lim and N.G Ryan were in this together with me.
Wow... this song is quite unique. I wonder whether that's a reference to your life all the while.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Hmmm... seems that this song is about a common life shared by Saber and Archer.
"Yep."
"Supersolid Snake..."
Supersolid Snake: Don't worry. I'll take the bullet for this. Together with Wifi Lim and N.G Ryan. I'll make sure of it, trust me.
Years after the countdown in the royal bedroom of Procastinatea...
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I'll just add a few things before ending this insane post.
1. Heracles gone mad is now officially a label used for crazy stuff I do on this blog.
3. Supersolid Snake is a parody of Solid Snake of the Metal Gear Solid series. Seriously, you don't need to be Kojima Hideo to know that.
4. Boh'Siah means quiet in Singlish. In other words, this is another parody of Metal Gear Solid, this time round a reference to the real bohsiah girl in the series.
5. The Chinese word 二百五 means crazy.
6. The names in the credits list are actually parodies of real-life people whom I know personally. In other words, either they know the real me or they have never understood me all the while. Either way, I'm used to being a Jon Snow instead of just another wolf in the pack. *shrugs*
7. Any other similarities to real-life people should be seen as a case of pure coincidence. Either that or these people actually know who I am since like... years ago, I guess.
The correct term should be man with a mission. Or rather MAN WITH A MISSION. Since I have two days to myself (no) thanks to my left shoulder blade area hitting a muscle tweak, I have the chance to mess around when it comes to things I like to do. Just now, I've written a bit on the next chapter of A Requiem From Winter Past. While the fire of focus is currently extinguished, at least getting a start is a good thing rather than a bad one.
Before I start, however, allow me to congratulate the next Nathan Hartono. After all, it's Singapore! China.
Let's see if my super mignonne legal housebreaker will click a like on Facebook... Also, I can see Eason Chan's #sianhalf laugh somewhere in the middle. Disclaimer!
Despite my cynical view on American politics, I must state here that there's nothing belligerent intended towards a nation across the Atlantic (or even any for that matter since North and South Americas are lined at the same end of the Atlantic). This is because there will be one song which I'm gonna upload and the city of Las Vegas has recently become known for more than just Nicolas Cage leaving Las Vegas. I don't have to up any links. You all should know what I'm talking about in the same way every Marvel fan knows who is the Ghost Rider.
Note of Warning!
The nature of the lyrics and vids can be too much for your kids to handle. And by that, I mean stuff commonly associated with NC16 content (e.g. swearing and boobs). After all, the five wolves have to live it true to their heads (quite literally). Interestingly enough, they actually reminded me of Aeravor. And perhaps the world of Crucible so as to speak.
Note: Because I feel like trying to do my own MAN WITH A MISSION lineup, I decided to stick five characters from A Requiem From Winter Past into the roster. At the same time, I'd also include their A Song of Ice and Fire parallel so as to speak. Basically, it'd most likely look something like this...
Vocals: Aeravor/Jon
Vocals and guitar: Lars Alterfate/Bran
Bass: Gael Kodr/Robb
Drums: Arondight/Rickon
DJ: Tristan Aias/Tony
Just last night, a friend of mine shared this article. Suffice to say, it's extremely gutting that this isn't a monster of one man's making (pardon the pun). Rather, it is a monster reared, fed, and endorsed by the society. We all know every nation is imperfect, that every government is flawed. To say "Screw it, I'm not gonna do anything because of that", however, is an irresponsible thing to say. Not to mention the laziest way to run a nation.
Then I suddenly recalled something. Namely, Archer. I really like him for a reason. Likewise, the character of Emiya Shirou resonates with me as well. Despite Heaven's Feel being the concluding act to Fate/stay night, it must be stated that the individual routes (i.e. Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven's Feel) took place in their respective parallel universe. I know it sounds confusing, but I'm sure Marvel fans would understand what Nasuverse is all about. And speaking of Marvel...
I'm pretty sure Sir Ian McKellen was more than a tad confused over the whole request. After all, he was just being nice like Gandalf being nice to Hobbit Town (not to be confused with another town named Jewtown made famous by Borat and his Four by Two). Therefore, I decided to select a number of vids highlighting what the knight himself was talking about. Hopefully, the cultured knight himself will also how screwed up reality really is. Also, it's preferable that you first go through this article.
The outcome was a tragedy. The only solution was the cruelest lie, a broken man could only further break himself. He was like the blade of a katana. Sharp, yet so brittle. His actions destroyed a city, many souls burnt to ashes.
Then there was a boy. A boy who used to have a family. A boy who lost everything due to the actions of one whom he would eventually call "father". Like Natalia who was a mother to him, Kiritsugu became a father to that orphaned child. Like Emiya Kiritsugu of the yore, Emiya Shirou would soon begin the same journey. It would prove to be a path of falsehood and hypocrisy, an ideal incapable of differentiating one person saved and the salvation of countless lives. Unlimited Blade Works, this was the inner world of a hero whom no one has ever understood. Atop the hill littered with swords, a lone knight stood tall and broken. He was like that king whom the whole of Britain couldn't understand. As a child, he was saved by the sword. As a boy, he was merged with the sword. As a hero, he lived as a sword. Destined to fight an eternal battle all by himself, no one was with him. No one was with the heroic spirit named EMIYA. Atop the hill littered with swords, the boy called Emiya was doomed to live alone.
Battles come and go, the boy fought against a hero and a king respectively. The hero was himself, the king representing a world cut adrift from that hill of swords.
The battle at last won, yet the price remained waiting to be paid. The war continued for a hero still unsaved, yet at last finding his salvation. Yes, perhaps even unto now.
Note: Suddenly remembered someone saying "a picture paints a thousand words, hopefully, my drawings can speak more than a thousand pictures." Or something like that...
Okay, now for the songs. It's already bad enough to foresee YouTube entertaining yet another round of copyright claims being filed.
P.S: Can you actually believe this post took me two days? Apparently, it's better for me not to push my focus like Shirou. Then again, I still got the tendency to go Emiya mode.
I blame Mr Chou. No, not Mr Chow unless you can't differentiate alphabets in the same way you're too dumb to differentiate an American Korean from a Taiwanese.
A/N: Can't think up of any wisecracking statement for the Joanna Dong vid. The reason why? Below vid explains my situation best.
~冬の鎮魂曲 OST~ -ガンドの鋼-
Obvious note: The songs are quite obviously taken from YouTube. 0% permission, 100% taste. You can't blame me for having the class of a connoisseur.
I blame the ppl in the (Singaporean)Mothership for this. In case you've yet to know it, Nathan Hartono was the protégé of Jay Chou in the first season of Sing! China. Since I'm pretty sure the whole Mandarin format is already a done deal, I suddenly asked myself one question: What if my super mignonne legal housebreaker cum stickwoman asks me which songs I'd like to hear Nathan croon? Not that I'm a fan of his (actually, I'm neutral to plenty of stuff when it comes to entertainment) ofc.
Before that, let me just say Mr Chou's style is not just about hip-hop. His songs can either be a standalone or any mixture of hip-hop, R&B, and traditional Chinese music. When it comes to lyrics, I find the songs can range from the Bruce Lee style to something like All-4-One's I Can Love You Like That. On the melancholic end, he can be a bit of Steve Perry's Foolish Heart.
A/N: Pls note that I nvr say Mr Chow instead of Mr Chou in case my super mignonne legal housebreaker cum stickwoman decides to kill me in advance since she alrdy knew where I live.
A/N to Salted Fish: Don't you dare laugh. I know you will eventually read this post.
~Because I need to use a song to kick things off...~
Because all the songs in this post will be Mandarin songs, I might as well add a couple of non-Mandarin songs first. If you think my selection will be random, you're oh-so-terribly wrong. ;)
Yesterday, I received another wedding invitation. My friend (let's just call him Salted Fish) is finally getting hitched. Funnily enough, the name of the bride was different from the name he mentioned before. And when I say mentioned, I mean in front of everyone in the room. So what does this mean?
Quite obviously, it means that he threw a smoke bomb. Problem was, I was pretty sure everyone in the room knew who the bride was. In other words, the smoke bomb wasn't directed at the rest, but rather that one fellow. Namely, yours truly.
So why did he do that? There can only be one reason: He knew the identity of my super mignonne legal housebreaker cum stickwoman. And he's using this method to tell me that... well, there's this stupid girl waiting for me since 2013 and that my guess on her actual identity is spot on.
~Thanks, Salted Fish. You have told me the real identity of my super mignonne Lady Rowena~ ~Also, may you have a blessed marriage~
Tonight (because it's alrdy 11+ at night), I decided to be my very own Guy Fawkes. Two days ago, I chose to be a jerk. Two days later, I decided to concoct my very own Gunpowder Plot.
Also, I'll be tagging the usual suspects since they need to know what manner of a connoisseur yours truly am.
~Pretty sure my super mignonne legal housebreaker and her given BFF are fans~ ~Yep, brace yourself, my super mignonne legal housebreaker~
Add P.S: Okay, call it a lie if you want to. I blame Deadpool. NSFW CONTENT BELOW!!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!
Final P.S: My prediction for Boro's first season in the top flight after N years in the 2nd tier wilderness? We're gonna get relegated, Newcastle and Sunderland are gonna laugh at us. The only catch? Deadpool will be joining Cable at the Riverside next season.
If this Weasel above resembles a certain German Merseysider, it's not my problem. As for Liverpool's current problem, I can't be sure.
I know I may risk the anger of my beautiful legal housebreaker by upping this type of title. After all, she's most likely the type who enjoy a nice romantic tale sans the dark stuff. Perhaps that's why she prefers songs like this below.
~Tsukihime~
Above vid is fan-made stuff. Therefore, we shouldn't be dumb enough to think this was something official from Nasu Kinoko and his guano loco crew at TYPE-MOON (and no, Urobuchi Gen isn't one of them. He's too crazy to fit in anyway...).
Mr Randy Tan and Mrs Lydia Quek-Tan, I'm gonna tag the two of you in this post. The reason why being that I'm interested in seeing any response from the real Land of Far Far East.
If ufotable can do it... well, then can't the rest...
I apologise for the horrible Engrish above which sounds more Singaporean than angmoh. Anyway, the blokes and ladies at ufotable may have given every Nasuit a glimmer of hope. Before it was made official, it seems that plenty of people were dismissing the likelihood of Unlimited Blade Works being part of ufotable's plans where the Fate/stay night anime was concerned. Out of the three routes, only Heaven's Feel remains untouched. Fate and Unlimited Blade Works, on the other hand, have been covered by the blokes and ladies at Studio Deen. I think it may have something to do with the details in copyright or whatever. Don't we all hate the devil at times, if not always?
Firstly, let me just say chances are that Xiaxue would have known what Heaven's Feel is like. You got Matou Shinji the rapist son. Then you have Matou Sakura the slut daughter (okay, the former is literally true while the latter case is flamebaiting). Secondly, am I the only one who sees Heaven's Feel as a real sequel to Fate/Zero in ways more than one?
Introduction
This post can be seen as some sort of free-of-charge endorsement for the Heaven's Feel anime adaptation for Fate/stay night come next year (unless ufotable decide to do a Mahou Tsukai no Yoru). We all know in Fate/Zero, there are seven Masters and seven Servants. Plot-wise, Urobuchi Gen's personal creativity was truly the prequel to Nasu Kinoko's personal creativity. But it's very easy for us to stop at how Emiya Shirou was saved. Period.
Out of the seven chosen ones and their respective... well, chosen ones, three of them had minimal impact on the next generation with four others having a big say on the same matter.
The three Masters who didn't matter much when comes to the future list as below:
Le Psychopathe, Uryuu Ryuunosuke
An Uasal, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald
The Elitist, Tohsaka Tokiyomi
The four others who mattered in ways more than one list as below:
The Hero, Emiya Kiritsugu
The Killer, Kotomine Kirei
ο ήρωας, Waver Velvet
The Betrayed, Matou Kariya
Because I tend to be very long-winded when it comes to self-expressing, I decide to use this entire space for Matou Kariya. Come the next part, I will touch on the three Masters who never mattered much. Finally, I will go back to the last three of the list.
Heaven's Feel and the Holy Grail: Both a Curse and Legacy
More than the other two routes, HF is more Grail-centric than what we'd otherwise think. In the Fate route, the Grail was used as a plot device to develop Saber from a tragic heroine to a flawed heroine coming to terms with herself. In UBW, the Grail was merely used as a secondary plot device meant to conclude the story (despite being a jerk by abandoning Rin to Shinji's lust, Archer did save her from the Grail come the end. Ironically, Shinji was also saved because of this).
As for HF, we get to know the evil nature behind the whole wishing fountain. Ultimately, Urobuchi-san merely let us see more of the monster rather than the monster itself.
Case in point? Self-explanatory.
Heaven's Feel has more than one purpose so as to speak. If Fate/stay night is to be an analogy of reality when it comes to life itself, then Heaven's Feel is basically the end where idealism is proven to be nothing more than a farce. When it comes to anomaly named Emiya Shirou, however, it must be stated that Heaven's Feel is the only way to conclude a contradiction.
Ending wise, HF actually has the best true ending out. In Fate, Shirou was left to his own devices. Which was possibly why Realta Nua version has to add in that hidden ending. In UBW, we don't have to think twice on what will happen to Shirou.
In fact, the 2015 anime went one step further and showed us this vid below.
Unfortunately, I can't find the English sub. However, you can switch to French translation. Just don't ask me how my super mignone legal housebreaker and her BFFs will feel over this.
If the Grail has always been the biggest lie, it's because we're talking about reality. Our expectations on reality has always been like how the Grail was seen. Ultimately, understanding what the Grail was all about is basically the same as understanding reality for what it is. In this sense, the Grail is definitely something personal to Shirou. On the first glance, Fate/stay night looks like your standard shounen work. In reality, it's more of a seinen work sans the excessive blood, violence, and... well, sex (last part depends on which version you play).
In HF, we have two dead men walking. The first would be Emiya Shirou. We all know that. What about the second?
Shirou was a dead man walking physically, Kariya was a dead man walking in the sense that there's not much difference between him and his future "son in-law". Sounds confusing? Let's just see this as a dead man made alive by his legacy.
If we're to see Heaven's Feel as a form of legacy plot-wise, whose legacy should it belong to? Matou Zouken? Yes, we all know his backstory by time we finished the playthrough. To him, the Grail was a legacy to his unresolved feelings towards Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern (ironically, the original aim of the Grail was all about creating a utopia where everyone could live happily ever after. Sucks to be Zouken, not so much if your surname is Emiya). In the same way reality has corrupted the Grail, Zouken began being corrupted by time itself. Mayhap more than anything else, 'tis the real curse of the Grail.
In the same way we can easily become the monsters we professed to hate, there's nothing much separating Kariya from the man he hated most. Not in a bad way, but in a humane way. If Zouken's unresolved feelings was towards the head of House Einzbern back then, surely Kariya did have unresolved feelings towards Tohsaka Aoi. In the same way Zouken lost the woman he loved (or at least that how I see it) to the Grail, Kariya lost the woman he loved to Tokiyomi. Both did so willingly, both did so with their blessings given to the other party. Unfortunately, shit will always happen because people will always enjoy stirring up shit.
Spoiler: It was Kirei and Gilgamesh who double teamed Tokiyomi. Kariya was merely that fall guy.
Years later, the curse of Matou never showed any signs of abating. In fact, it got worse. Shinji was extremely bitter and a misogynist. In fact, we can just put the two together like 2+2=4. He's bitter because of a girl. He's a misogynist for the same reason as well. He wanted Tohsaka Rin, he couldn't get her. He wanted the leadership of the Matou family, Sakura was seen as a better alternative. To make things even more dramatic (definitely more dramatic than the Monday Couple of Gary and his Song), Rin and Sakura are sisters in blood (if not for the tragic circumstances, I'd have called Tokiyomi's fate a verdict by death and karma).
Then enter our not-so-heroic hero. Unlike the Fate route, Shirou chose to forsake his foolish idealism of being an ally of justice (i.e. 正義の味方). Unlike UBW, Shirou chose to embrace reality over a dream he knew was never meant to be. In HF, Shirou would go on to make decisions to save one person instead of billions. It was like what Archer said during his showdown with Shirou in the UBW route, that the ally of justice can only save those whom he sides with. Shirou chose not to side with Zouken, he chose to side with Sakura. This has got nothing to do with altruism even though we know who that big bad ah-kong is. And neither did Shirou use it as an excuse. As an individual, we have to admit the boy has matured into an honest man.
Make no mistakes about it, Shirou's feelings towards Sakura was the same thing when it comes to Kariya's feelings towards Aoi. In the same way Tokiyomi ruined the life of a wife he may not have truly loved, likewise Sakura was running the risk of being ruined. Not by Zouken per se, but the Grail itself. Which is why we have this super badass scene.
Shirou may not know the real Kariya, but I can say he's basically the same type of guy as his "uncle in-law". In reality, many local Singaporean guys will complain about how local girls being the high upkeep type. Which leads to the SPG culture so as to speak. To Kariya, sacrificing everything was never about high upkeep. To Shirou, protecting that one girl he loved was never about high upkeep. As a man, you can boast about earning your first one million SGD or even USD by time you hit 30. But so what? What's the use of earning the entire world at the cost of being a dead man walking? You have money, but you don't have peace. You have status, but you don't have someone to love. Even if you have a Hollywood A-lister as your girlfriend, there's a difference between bragging rights and being right.
At the end of the day, Shirou stepped on the same path as Kariya and Zouken. It's a path of no return since all three were being afflicted by corruption of their own making. Zouken corrupted himself because he couldn't withstand the torture of time. Kariya corrupted himself because he gave himself over to madness. As for Shirou, he corrupted himself knowing full well that the cost may be bigger than death itself. If we're to die without regrets, it's because we know the reason why. For Shirou, forgetting the girl he loved before dying was a fate worse than death. It was exactly the curse Zouken inflicted upon himself, the same kind of demon Shirou risked becoming and the same monster Kirya truly hated. Yet, the only way for him to save Sakura was to risk getting corrupted by that absolute power called his left arm. It was virtually a case of losing himself versus losing his loved one. In terms of having such a mind of steel, there's not much difference between him and Archer. Shirou didn't want to surpass Archer based on his former belief. Rather, he's out to surpass Archer via a new set of standards. And that standard is a selfish one. But so long an ally of justice can save one soul he chose to side with, it's good enough.
Recently (more specifically for the past few weeks), I realised my emotions are coming back. For many years (read: around a decade or even longer), I noticed I'm losing grip with this aspect of my life. 90% of the time, I couldn't experience emotions fully. 10% of the time, my emotions ended up going to one extreme end or another. I'm not sure whether it's a case of having a narrow range of emotions like Ben Affleck's latest heroic character, but I'm pretty sure Anna Kendrick won't be my girlfriend as a result of this.
Either way, I'll need to adapt one way or another. If I end up having a girlfriend in the near future, then maybe not that bad (and I say maybe because dealing with someone emotionally unhinged can be a challenge). I'm starting to feel like Drizzt Do'Urden in the third book of the Dark Elf trilogy. Period.
Seriously, it's been a roller-coaster ride for the past few days especially. Looking at the American churches entering the dark ages is already bad enough (do you think Trump is really better than Clinton? Just smell the coffee before someone else does it for you). On top of that, some of the dramas ended up making me even more emotionally unhinged. I really hate that evil mama grizzly character in the weekend Taiwanese soap opera, I blame my dad. I really hate that despicable Huang Yuanhao in the local drama Peace and Prosperity, it doesn't really help that taking away the Yuan makes him a Huang Hao (to the culturally unschooled, let this ITE graduate tell you that Huang Hao was the main culprit behind the demise of Shu Han together with Liu Bei's useless son).
And lastly (but perhaps the most impactful), I need to blame my sis' boyfriend for recommending her this drama below.
To be more specific, I blame Dr Park Hoon's character struggles more than anything else (including his romance with Song Jae-hee/Dr Han Seung-hee).
A/N: If Descendants of the Sun deserved an A, then Doctor Stranger deserves an A+. Okay, I admit I never watched the former. Have to give it to the Koreans for trying out new things on drama creativity though. Not every day this happens.
Maybe I should start a song to kick off this post
Basically a random playlist reflecting the emotional future to come (?)
Note: I actually prefer this version to the 2016 version. The melody is more haunting, the feel is more... well, Guts.
Okay, it's getting late now. Need to sleep soon. I know this post is really damn short.
P.S: Started the editing of the second chapter of A Requiem from Winter Past. Apparently, there are too many emotional distractions. Maybe I should do a bit more here.
A stinging slap greeted Arylos' cheek, a faint smile drawn across mocking Cyrea's ire. This was a war, the battlefield has never been merciful. But needlessly sacrificing a bunch of lives in the name of victory was nothing short of sacrilege to the sun elf.
"What's wrong?"
Goaded further by a question devoid of feelings, Cyrea raised her hand. once more Grabbing her wrist before the blow could reach his face, Arylos locked his stare at the Ar-tel-quessir maiden.
"You sent a good number of innocent lives to their end, knave."
"You're right."
With those words, Arylos released his grip. Only to be slapped the second time.
"Have you ever tried crying for another person? Or perhaps you see this as an act beneath yourself," snapped Cyrea, her eyes flashing like embers burning bright.
"Neither," shrugged the wood elf.
"That's all?"
"Yes, that's all."
"You don't deserve a home," Cyrea's stomach turned at the notion of the wood elf never valuing a life before. Surely he must have tasted loss before. Yet if that was the case...
"These brave souls shared the same level ground as me. Namely, the battlefield," answered Arylos nonchalantly, his tone betraying neither shame nor guilt, "Sooner or later, they will be warped into plaguechanged creatures doing battle with those they used to call friends."
"So you're being merciful?" whispered Sheallyn as she stood at one side.
"Merciful? I don't play the hypocrite here or anywhere else," replied Arylos, "I merely chose the best method of winning. As it turned out, we don't have to worry about aberrants marching north. At least for now."
Lives were at stake, Sheallyn Melarn knew the cold hard truth behind such a sacrifice. It was never the fact of lives lost which grated on Cyrea. It was how things were done at the end of the day. Elminster only gave them the one thing capable of creating a massive anti-aberrant field. How to trigger it should be down to the user, for her mentor never said anything else. Arylos, in turn, amplified the power via his link to the Feywild. Never a good idea to mix magic with a huge dose of chaotic power at such a manner of terrain, the drow cautioned herself.
"You fiend," growled Cyrea, her visage twisted into one of unbridled anger and contempt.
"The real fiend is out there, not me."
For a brief moment, Cyrea thought she saw a flicker of simmering rage in Arylos' amber orbs. If this was truly so, then Arylos opted not to expose his emotion as his finger pointed out towards the exit of Fort Precipice.
"The hell we are now fighting against right now, do you think it stands alone?"
A rebuttal from the hero of Neverwinter threw Cyrea off her guard. Damning memories of her only lover invaded her mind, the pain of loss and betrayal piercing her like a thousand arrows. Mourners declared Ilyath Le'Quella a hero dead for a worthy cause, but she knew better. Her family had never approved of their relationship, their promise of giving her hand in marriage was merely a ploy to get rid of him. Even now after countless years, she still wore the necklace given to her as a pledge of love.
"Silent now, aren't we?" smirked Arylos, "I don't deserve a home because there's none waiting for me. It's that simple."
With those words, the hero of Neverwinter turned his back and walked away. The lives snuffed out by his decision knew their time was near, that Arylos had never lied to them by preaching optimism. It's one thing to bluff the enemy, quite another to deceive those undeserving of a lie.
Then there was that annoying princess accusing him. For a brief moment, it seemed as if Arylos was taken back to a peaceful past. That Cyrea Durothil reminded him of the one person he forever had lost.
