KaeruBlog

Farthest Ends: Chapter 1

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:54:00 +0000

HELLO!!! I shall be posting my novel. Chapter a day! (It's 50k words. total, not for this chapter alone. ^_^ Enjoy!!)

   -Part One: Transform-
   -One: Encounter-
   -Kaeru-
   My first day of school. Why was I being forced to do this?
   "Kaeru, we live in the High Ring, and can get you the best education in the world. Don't pass up this opportunity!" I really wanted to pass up the opportunity. Oh, I bet you're wondering how we know that we have the best education in the world. Well... that's pretty easy. You see... we live in the High Ring in The Metropolis. The Metropolis is the most advanced place in our society, and in The Metropolis, the High Ring is the most high class, high tech area of the place. So why am I not happy with this huge education? I'm treated like total crap. Yup... I've been in the school system since kindergarten and they either don't know me at all... or they just tease me to no end. Hopefully today was a new year. It's finally high school. I'm finally older. I'm hoping the other kids/teens all matured.
   Of course, I had to get into my uniform. The school administration sent me an email telling me to go and buy one, since 'It's high school! Time for change, so time for a uniform!' of course, as soon as I got that email, mom ran out and got a uniform for me. It was a style that screamed 'Japanese School Girl', but it was administration, so I didn't want to argue. Strangely, it was also the summer version. Because it was a day after my birthday, (January 1) It was absolutely no time to be wearing it. Oh well, the school was able to change it's climate, so I guess they felt like summer in winter. I slowly tied back my jet black hair, it went down to my shoulder, and it felt too short. Next, I put the shirt on. The sleeves were short, they only went a little higher than my elbow, and it wasn't my favorite color. (I don't look good in white.) At least the skirt was blue, but it was all pleated and higher than my knees. (To me, this is one of the most skimpy things I've ever worn. I'm beyond modest.)
   "Kaeru! Get to school! The teleport is ready!" believe it or not, this time is not super-far into the future. It's only 2013! (Yes, 2012 is a myth... but a fun myth!)
   "Yes, mom! Getting there!" I grabbed my bag with all my books and my lunch. School was in 5 minutes, and the teleport had a weird 5 minute lag, so I was JUST going to make it.
   "Wait! You forgot the tie!" I ran back, thankful that my mom reminded me, put it on, and mentally prepared for a scolding at school.
   "OK, I'm going now!" I stepped in, and turned into a silvery mass.
   "Have fun!" The only fun part about school was coming and going. During the teleportation, you could see the entire city as you whizzed past buildings and people. It was pretty much flying around without wings. During this time, I thought about my schedule. Science first, then math, English, history, culture, technology, and physical education. All my classes were AP except for science, which I had to share with the annoying populars. After contemplating my goals for the year other than 'Don't get beat up', I saw the school, which meant my trip was over. Of course, everything must come to an end eventually, and I got down to the school teleport, materialized, and ran into the room.
   "I'm so sorry I'm late! I forgot about my uniform, and I didn't set my alarm-"
   "Miss... Ranawa? I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for being late in my class. Please take a seat." I sat in one of the two seats they left in front for me."Also... what's this about uniforms? This is a public high school for the High Ring. We don't have uniforms!" She looked at me like I was crazy, and I finally found out why I got that email. Some of the populars looked at me and giggled. Apparently one of them hacked into the school system (who knew they had the mental capacity? Oh wait, they must've bribed a nerd.) and got an administrator email, then used it against me. Not that I was surprised. At all."I'll repeat for Kaeru, we have a new student this year. He came from the world below," Which is likely your home now."to study here." She motioned towards the mystery boy, who was nonchalantly gazing out of the window."Why don't you introduce yourself?" He snapped back into reality, and walked to the board, grabbed a marker on our compboard, (It's basically our main classroom board projected onto the wal l that you could interact with.) and wrote his name in English and another language... that certainly was NOT English. He sounded out his name as he wrote.
   "Sa-su-ke Sa-ru-to-bi." He placed the marker on the ledge provided, and started his intro."My name is Sasuke Sarutobi. I'm named after a famous ninja, but I don't expect myself to live up to my name." He had a unique look, his hair was all messy, but it looked cool at the same time."I don't like much, but I don't hate much." His clothes were the same style as mine, but a boys' uniform version, and somehow looking messier and more formal at the same time."I'm not here for a better education or because I was kicked out of my former school." His deep voice rang and reverberated through the classroom."I'm here to complete a simple mission." He looked straight at me. He looked at me with clear black eyes, full of resolve that could pierce your soul."I'm looking..." Eyes full of resolve, insight, and... loneliness and sadness?"for my Destined One."
   Laughter burst from the boys side, and from the other side, the application of lip gloss. I, being in the middle, just put my head down to avoid the chaos. The teacher attempted to quiet us down with a shout, but her voice was swallowed in the craziness. The new kid who was more popular and well know than me called out for silence, and the teacher assigned him a seat. The only free seat. That seat was next to me.
   "Okay class, now that you've met Sasuke, please show him around the school and answer any questions he may have. On another note," She erased Sasuke's name and opened syllabus for the quarter. "For this first quarter, we will be studying far east culture and legends." Everyone groaned. "This is Freshman History!" She paused to make sure everyone was quiet. "A legend we will be looking at carefully is the Legend of the Guardians. Since we have a little time left, we will have a quick intro on tomorrows lesson." She pulled up a power point and started the lesson preview. "The Legend of the Guardians emerged in a small village in China called Heibai." She advanced the slide. "These Guardians were said to have magic powers from something called 'Saineng', or, energy. To use these powers, they've been said to use 'Kima', or actual words, and 'Zhooyuu', or magic stones that could change shape in any way." She advanced the slide. "These warriors could use a maximum of 15 spells, since they were aligned to a special element." She advanced the slide to reveal the picture of an octagonal chart with lines that were complete and incomplete. What the heck was that? "This is the chart they used to track who had which power. We don't know how they knew, but they did somehow!" She looked at the clock. "Since periods are shortened today, this is all the time we have. Class dismissed!" Needless to say, everyone swarmed around the new guy, so I made a quick escape to the door. When I got to math class, I got the same surprise.
   "We have a new student today!" Sasuke repeated his same intro with the same reaction, and the same sort of seat next to me. During the teacher's explanation of this-is-this and that-is-that, I decided to pass him a note.
   'Hi, my name is Kaeru. Are you in all my classes?' I slid it to his desk, and he looked at it, and took his pencil out to write a reply.
   'No clue. Are you one of those quiet types?'
   'I guess. People tease me a lot, so I don't bother talking. Anything you say can be turned against you.'
   'Smart, but you forgot the part about whatever you do as well.'
   'Yeah, you're right.'
   'Are you a nerd of sorts?'
   'Why would you say that!?'
   'There's no problem with it. You just write notes with such correct grammar and spelling.'
   'No problem? Where are you from? And you do too!' The teacher stopped the class, it was time to switch. Like last time, the crowd swarmed Sasuke while I shrinked away. I ran to history. This same rince-wash-repeat continued until lunch, where I sat in the usual area: alone. But not this year. A bunch of populars rushed to my table immediately as I sat down. what were they going to tease me about this time? The fact I don't know my real parents? The fact that I've been searching for several years but have turned up empty every time? The fact that I'm an outsider from The Metropolis (I'm only here because my adoptive parents lived here.)?
   "Hey, Ranawa. Heard you're with that new kid." They kept chiming in. It wasn't the usual... but it was still hurtful.
   "Why bother with him? He's out of your league!"
   "Just leave him with us, okay honey?" I just sat there and ate my ramen. Ignore. That's my game. Unfortunately, they didn't like it.
   "Hey! Listen to us!" I ignored.
   "You..." I ignored.
   "Ugh... how do you like THIS?" A foot that was originally connected with the floor connected to my stomach, and despite coming from a girly-girl, it actually hurt. I felt the need to throw up, but I held it in. If I got up, I'd get another foot. But if I stayed down, I would lose more of the honor I didn't have. So, I struck back with a witty comment.
   "It was a great gift..." I stood up."Thank you." She lunged forward, attempting to punch me. I tried to step back, but my stomach pain prevented me from doing so."Urk..." At that moment, I felt an arm behind my back, gently keeping me off the floor. When I opened my eyes, I could see Sasuke's messy-but-cool hair and the populars fist in Sasuke's hand.
   "Pick on someone else." His deep voice made him that much more intimidating. When he delivered the message, he let go of her hand, and the populars all ran away. He then picked me up, and carried me to the nurse's office."Miss Ranawa... don't worry." The pain faded, I felt like my mind was fading with it, while words were feeding, ringing into my mind.
   'We are Destined.' This was the last time I saw him for a long time. The one who started everything, Sasuke Sarutobi.

   -Sasuke-

   An obligation. Haven't I had enough already?
   "Sasuke, after Hio left, you have no one as a partner. You can't continue like this."
   "I can and will." They narrowed their eyes, and proposed an idea.
   "We know a solution. Just go there for one day and see if you can find anyone. If not, you may continue solo. But if you lie to us... you already know the consequences." It was a fair deal. I wouldn't find anyone like Hio. She was my Destined. I would find no other.
   It was set, tomorrow I'd go to that dimension again to find a new partner in my father's 'Metropolis'.

---

   I woke up, and got dressed in my usual school outfit.
   "Transport: Metropolis." I imagined the school I was to go to, and used my saineng to get there, much easier than those silly teleports. The next instant, I opened my eyes and stood before the school. I hate this city. Nothing is different, it's all perfected tech to rot the brain. I looked around to see if anything changed since I went here to find Hio, all that was different was the age. I stepped in, hearing my feet echo in the dusty hallway. Clearly, the front door had long since been devoid of purpose. After stopping in the main office and picking up my schedule, I went to find my first classroom, science. I entered the room, and found everyone, including the teacher, enter by teleports. She looked at me, and then suddenly seemed to remember an email from staff.
   "Oh! You must be the new student! Welcome, please stand right there," she pointed to a spot next to the window."And we'll figure out where you sit later." I stared outside. To the place with an artificial sky. Nature had been driven out, only to let the flow of 'knowledge' in. The whole class seemed to be in now, with the exception of two seats. One was probably for me. But the other?"It looks like we're missing a student, so class, please welcome the new student-" She was cut off by the teleporter and a girl wearing a sailor fuku came running in.
   "I'm so sorry I'm late! I forgot about my uniform, and I didn't set my alarm-"
   "Miss... Ranawa? I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for being late in my class. Please take a seat." She sat in the right-most seat that was empty, and looked in the crowd behind her, then puffed her cheeks and stared at the front while fidgeting."I'll repeat for Kaeru, we have a new student this year. He came from the world below to study here." She motioned towards me, so I quickly snapped back into reality."Why don't you introduce yourself?" I walked to the board, grabbed a marker on the compboard, and wrote my name in English and Japanese, the country I'm from. I sounded out his name as I wrote.
   "Sa-su-ke Sa-ru-to-bi." I placed my marker on a ledge, and started on the intro I kinda prepared."My name is Sasuke Sarutobi. I'm named after a famous ninja, but I don't expect myself to live up to my name." I saw everyone in the class looking at me."I don't like much, but I don't hate much." Boys, out of envy?"I'm not here for a better education or because I was kicked out of my former school." Girls, out of physical attraction?"I'm here to complete a simple mission." Somehow, I looked at that girl, who was the latecomer."I'm looking..." Her eyes were full of loneliness, longing, want for purpose, and... love?"for my Destined One." The instant I finished and put the marker down, I heard stifled laughter and the rustle of papers in bags. I turned around, and the boys burst in laughter while the girls were busy putting on lip gloss. Ew. For one thing, my first impressions were telling me my Destined was not one of these girls. But that one in the front, the one taking cover from chaos, actually looked a bit promising.
   "Okay, class. Calm down!" Nobody heard her. So I decided to help out.
   "QUIET PLEASE!" It worked.
   "Thank you, Sasuke. Now for your seat..." She looked at the only seat available."You may sit next to Kaeru. Kaeru, please raise your hand so Sasuke knows where to sit." The girl who did nothing before did as told. I sat in the last empty seat in the classroom, the empty seat next to her.

   "Okay class, now that you've met Sasuke, please show him around the school and answer any questions he may have. On another note," She erased my name and found the syllabus for the quarter. "For this first quarter, we will be studying far east culture and legends." Everyone groaned. I was intrigued. "This is Freshman History!" She paused to make sure everyone was quiet. "A legend we will be looking at carefully is the Legend of the Guardians. Since we have a little time left, we will have a quick intro on tomorrows lesson." She pulled up a power point and started the lesson preview. My only question, how were they going to screw this up? "The Legend of the Guardians emerged in a small village in China called Heibai." She advanced the slide. She passed this part. "These Guardians were said to have magic powers from something called 'Saineng', or, energy. To use these powers, they've been said to use 'Kima', or actual words, and 'Zhooyuu', or magic stones that could change shape in any way." She advanced the slide. I heard too much 'been said to' do this or that, did she know this enough to teach or not? "These warriors could use a maximum of 15 spells, since they were aligned to a special element." She was wrong. The slide revealed the picture of an octagonal chart with lines that were complete and incomplete. The Early Heaven Ba Gua. "This is the chart they used to track who had which power. We don't know how they knew, but they did somehow!" She looked at the clock. My question? How the hell was she going to teach this and teach it the right way!? "Due to the shortened periods of the first day, class is dismissed. Please go to your next class, and see you tomorrow!" Random chimes of 'thank you' and 'goodbye' were said, and I was suddenly swarmed with the jealousy of those boys and the curiosity of those girls. But the other one, the one I was sitting next to, was gone.
   After 2 minutes of kicking, screaming, and attempted escaping, I got out of the crowd. I was named after a ninja, but I certainly never felt like one. My next class was math, so I followed the map they had to take half-an-hour to find to get to the room. The map was a bit out dated, but that was only expected. Luckily, I'm an expert navigator, and got to the class just as the bell rang. Surprisingly, the girl was there too. she looked at me, and blushed. Then puffed her cheeks. Was it a habit? I decided to sit next to her, since she was the only one I knew. The teacher noticed me, and I gave my same intro, like this place, it was the same. Each time. No difference. Same with the reactions. No difference what-so-ever. After 5 minutes into the teacher's this-that rant, I found a small post-it on my desk. The handwriting on it was elaborate, yet simple. Easy to read, too.
   'Hi, my name is Kaeru. Are you in all my classes?'I saw it, and wrote a reply.
   'No clue. Are you one of those quiet types?'
   'I guess. People tease me a lot, so I don't bother talking. Anything you say can be turned against you.'
   'Smart, but you forgot the part about whatever you do as well.'
   'Yeah, you're right.'
   'Are you a nerd of sorts?'
   'Why would you say that!?'
   'There's no problem with it. You just write notes with such correct grammar and spelling.'
   'No problem? Where are you from? And you do too!' She shouldn't... she never should know where I'm from. She would get sucked into the war. I mean, if I told her, I could be her Destined, she could be my Destined, but is it worth it? No... it wouldn't be. Luckily, the class bell rang, she escaped, and I got swarmed. Again. This process of escaping, running, meeting, and passing went on. At least, until lunch. I ran to the bathroom, splashed water in my face, and thought. Was she my Destined? What about Hio? Was this all... real? My mind wandered until I heard a scream from the lunchroom. It activated something in me, something I never knew I had. And I used it.
Running faster than I ever have, I spotted Kaeru being bullied by some popular girls and rushed to the spot, grabbing Kaeru while she fell, and stopping the girl's fist in the process.
   "Pick on someone else." Was my simple message. I let go of her hand, and she ran away. Kaeru saw me. I couldn't let her know my secret, let her know my world. I saw her begin to mouth my name and I ran with her. To the one place I knew about, her home (which I had seen her come out of earlier). I saw it, snuck in,and placed her on her bed."Heal." I waved my hand over her, and she looked more at ease. Her peaceful face was something worth fighting for, something I could fight for. After admiring her for another chunk of time, I whispered into her ear,"We are Destined." and left her room. To my surprise, her mom was waiting right outside."A-ah! I'm..." she put her finger to her lips, 'silence' and motioned for me to follow her.
   "You're finally here!" Did her mother know anything about me?
   "W-what do you mean?"
   "You're Kaeru's Guardian, right?" She knew.
   "H-how could you say that? I'm not a guardian, I can't even live up to my name!" She narrowed her eyes.
   "Don't even think about lying. I knew a girl who was a guardian once. What are you planning to do with my daughter?"
   "I'm not planning anything other than planning to go away."
   "So you plan on just leaving her?" I didn't think of it like that, but I guess I was.
   "I... am."
   "How irresponsible. A man isn't a man if he leaves his woman by herself." Was she telling me I wasn't mature enough!? Well...
   "You're right." There was an awkward pause.
   "Well how are you going to man up to this?"
   "...I'll return." If I wanted to protect her, maybe I'd do it by staying away from her for now."On her sixteenth birthday, I'll come back. I swear..." I put my hands in a Guardian Seal formation,"I will return to this very spot on Kaeru Kawazu Ranawa's sixteenth birthday." Her mom smiled slightly.
   "What was all that for?" I started to go outside, so I could return to the other world. This Destiny... could I ever change it? I stopped outside once I could face the house and see it all. The outside... it was a bit cold. And it was... snowing. In a 'perfect' world where nothing changed.
   "It was... a promise." I raised my hand,"Transport: Heibai." and disappeared. Flickering from this world, I saw my last glance of Kaeru, who was waking up and rubbing her eyes. I smiled. Someday... I'll see her again.

Soon to Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:01:00 +0000

[Note, my grandma's computer keyboard is funny, some letters may be missing...]

Okay... so... I haven't done much on this blog, have I? Well, that shall change! I'll be posting my writing more often, and just stuff on the blog in general. Please enjoy!! [Posting will begin tody or something.]

London Travel Log

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Over the family trip to London, my little sister took rediculously detailed notes. Guess what? They're all here! Each is typed directly as is, spelling and grammar mistakes untouched. A comment from me will be in italics.

DAY 1: Thursday - 9/15/2010
We've just arrived at London!
Eastern time: 4:35 AM
London time: 10:35 AM
Long plane ride, didn't get too much sleep.
Airplane food - NOT the best. (She even acknowledges that stuff as food!? =_=)
I see lots of puffy clouds.

[Westminister]
We are going to Abby (Abbey) Street [>_-]
11:46 AM
We are in car [cab] on our way to May Fair Hotel
12:46 PM
We are at Mayfair Hotel. It's so sleek and modern! Grabbin' a bite at a deli.
1:11 PM
We are having a bite at a cafe in the hotel, it is very modern, and business-like.
3:31
Finished Museum, heading to "The Eye". (The museum was actually Westminister Abbey. The Eye is the London Eye, by the way.)
4:15
Made it to the "Eye" my feet are KILLING ME... UHHH (She had no idea that foot killing wasn't even half of it. XD)

MORE TO COME!!!

Universal Orlando Florida Vacation!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:42:00 +0000

My Advice:
Get the Express Pass. Since we stayed at a hotel, we had the Express Pass built into the price of our visit. However, if you are not staying at one of the on-property hotels... get the Express Pass anyway! It cuts all the lines into easy, less than 10 minute pieces! (Some rides, like Harry Potter, don't have Express lines.)
Don't even think about comparing the Universal Express Pass to the Disney FastPass. The FastPasses have a seperate line... but they tell you when to go to the ride and the times aren't distributed evenly. (My sister and great aunt got a FastPass... but there were so many 4:30 FastPasses that the lines were all of equal length!)

Top 3 Rides:

1) Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The latest ride from Universal... with no disappointments! Great simulation... and it's a plus if you've seen all of the movies and read all of the books.

2) The Simpsons Ride. Finally! A ride that combines excellent simulation techs with good ol' Simpson humor!

3) The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. More simulation... with a 3-D twist!

More to come...

Facebook Help: How to add an admin

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:06:00 +0000

Here is my picture tutorial on how to add admins to your pages on Facebook.
Step 1: Click on the Ads and Pages item on the left menu.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q303/froggirl003/416748b8.jpg

Step 2: Scroll down and find the "Admins" section of your page. (if neccessary... Select which page you're adding the admin to and click "edit settings". )
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q303/froggirl003/7ba5e9e4.jpg

Step 3: Click on the friend(s) you'd like to extend admin privilages to.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q303/froggirl003/3bf96188.jpg

I hope this quick tutorial helps!!

Day 7: 2nd Most Awaited Element! The Pokewalker!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:06:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }
So one of the things I'm most excited for in the new game is... the Pokewalker! It's a pedometer... It's a pokemon extension... It's something that will actually make me do something! Here are the main features I'm waiting for:

You can level-up your pokemon!
By walking around in the real world, your pokemon gain experience points. Useful for leveling up a back up pokemon in case your main one just isn't enough.

You can find items!
Get 3 watts (1 watt per every 20 steps), and you can look for items in the pokewalker. Items differ among the course you're walking on.

You can get pokemon!
Get three watts and try your hand at capturing a pokemon!

I know the entry today wasn't very descriptive... but you'll be happy to know this: After the Most Awaited Element is done, I'm going to talk about my pokemon experiences on Monday! Yes, get a peek into my insane mind!

Day 6: 3rd Most Awaited Element: Legendary Pokemon!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:05:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }
Every Pokemon game always has its trademark legendary pokemon. Here's a list of pokemon you can find in HeartGold and SoulSilver:

The three legendary dog pokemon: Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. They roam around Johto randomly appearing to battle. Suicune, however, must be chased, but doesn't roam around the region.

Lugia is the trademark pokemon for SoulSilver, but can also be captured in HeartGold after the Elite Four is beaten.

Ho-Oh is the trademark pokemon for HeartGold. Like Lugia, it can be also be captured in SoulSilver, but after the Elite Four is beaten.

Articuno can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.

Zapdos can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.

Moltres can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.

Moltres can be captured after obtaining 16 badges.

Kyogre can only be captured if you have a Red Orb in HeartGold.

Groudon can only be captured if you have a Blue Orb in Soul Silver.

Rayquaza only appears after you have Kyogre and Groudon. This means you need to trade with SoulSilver or HeartGold depending on your version.

Pictures from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/ and http://www.serebii.net/ !

Day 5: 4th Most Awaited Element: Kanto Gyms!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:04:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }
Even though they were visited in generation 3, (The game boy advanced games.) it's still interesting to see all of the aesthetic differences when comparing the oldest region with the newest version. All of the old gym images are from Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Pewter city gym.
Like most supposed-to-be-first gyms... two trainers. Battle them or walk around them. Design definately got an upgrade.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Cerulean city gym.
The gym is still a swimming pool of avoidable trainers.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Vermillion city gym.
Like other games, there are switches you need to trigger to challenge the leader, Lt. Surge.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Celadon city gym.
A small "maze" to the gym leader. Different in design, but not in concept.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Fuchsia city gym.
As annoying as always in the way that it's fun. There are invisable walls, and all of the trainers are disguised as the leader, so you never know what's about to hit you in the face.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Saffron city gym.
Same warp panel puzzle, completely revamped design.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Seafoam Islands gym.
In Gold, the whole thing was wiped out and you only had the leader. Now, there's a maze of trainers who either make new paths or block some.

/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/

The Viridian city gym.
More moving paths. Blue has taken charge here, so beat him and you get the GB Player! Looks a bit different from before...

Images from http://vgmaps.com/ and http://www.serebii.net/

Day 4: 5th Most Awaited Element: Johto Gyms!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:46:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }

The fifth most awaited element is the newly revamped Johto gyms! It's interesting to see how the developers have changed since 2000, so you can use gyms to see the aesthetic differences.

/\Gold and HeartGold \/

The Violet city gym.
The gym now has a lift instead of just getting to the "S" on the floor.

/\Gold and HeartGold \/

The Azalea town gym.
Instead of a simple flower maze, the Azalea town gym has been completely revamped with karts that take you from section to section.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Goldenrod city gym.
The clefairy design has been elevated so the gym is a little more... sophisticated? Definately more complicated.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Ecruteak city gym.
As expected from an ancient town, the local gym is based on ghosts. This time, the gym is completely dark except with lights from trainers.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Cianwood city gym.
This place now is a maze of ledges instead of just a maze of trainers and rocks.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Olivine city gym.
The place is just prettied up. No extra trainers, just Jasmine.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Mahogany town gym.
The gym now has several rooms filled with ice puzzles. The ice also isn't just little white-silver panels, just plain ice.

/\Gold and HeartGold\/

The Blackthorn city gym.
Instead of a rock puzzle, there's a floor puzzle similar to the Distortion world. Step on something, the floor whizzes somewhere else.

Images are from the following websites: http://pokedream.com/, http://www.serebii.net/,
http://www.strategywiki.org/, http://www.vgmaps.com/, and http://bulbapedia.bulbagardens.net/.

Day 3: 6th Most Awaited Element: Pokemon Bonding!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:09:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }
Yes, I did say the sixth Most Awaited Element is bonding with digital "magical" creatures, but you can do so many more things other than battle with your pokemon!

/\ Gold walking around with Typhlosion.
Your pokemon don't stay in their pokemon forever. With Gold, it's like Yellow; except not only Pikachu, but any of your pokemon can travel with you, any time and most anywhere!

There are different stations set up in Johto and Kanto for you to take pictures with you and your team of pokemon. sometimes you can even take pictures with gym leaders!

Pictures from http://www.serebii.net/

Day 2: 7th Most Awaited Element: Opening Sequences!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:57:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com/ }
So the seventh most awaited element for me is the opening sequences.

Pokemon Gold:

Pokemon Silver:

Pokemon HeartGold:

Pokemon SoulSilver:

The two openings have drastically improved. Ho-oh and Lugia both do something other than float around in silhouette, and the "movie" itself is more like Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum with the overview of the towns.

Day 1: 8th Most Awaited Element: Graphics!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:31:00 +0000

{ http://kaeruranawa.blogspot.com }
I feel so inspired! I pre-ordered a copy of Pokemon HeartGold, and the release date is in 8 days! (So I'll probably get it in 9.) For the next 8 days, I'll highlight the aspects of the game that I'm most awaiting.

Graphics
The graphics transition from Pokemon Emerald to Pokemon Diamond were amazing, but Pokemon Platinum to Pokemon HeartGold looks awesome as well! Of course, since it's a remake of an old game, the graphic jump is incredible.
Here are some examples:

/\ Gold and HeartGold \/

Going to the Tin Tower to face off with Ho-oh. In the original version, Ho-oh was just a small, innocent sprite. In the new version, Ho-oh looks much more powerful with a background to match.
Image 1 from: http://pokedream.com/, Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/

/\ Gold and SoulSilver \/

Going inside the Whirlwind Islands to find Lugia. Same comment as my Ho-oh comment.
Image 1 from: http://pokedream.com/, Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/

/\ Gold and HeartGold \/

These pics are both the interior of the Tin Tower where the 3 legendary dog pokemon (Raiko, Suicune and Entei) sleep. In the new version, you can actually see the pokemon in the basement. In the old one... well... there isn't even a hole. Just a laddar.
Image 1 from: http://strategywiki.org/ Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/

/\ Gold and HeartGold \/

This is the starting town in the Johto region, New Bark Town. The old version had generic "house sprites", but the new version has shadows, even down to the mailbox! Lots of extra embellishment was well, fences and a windmill. The trees are also attractive.
Image 1 from http://www.pokemonaus24.com/ Image 2 from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/

/\ Red and HeartGold\/

Ah, Pallet Town. The first city in Pokemon history [Begin the nostalgia] ! I compared HeartGold and Red this time to show you the first game in Pokemon history and the latest. The layout has changed, but the aesthetics have improved greatly! The trees make the place much more friendly, and the water looks good enough to surf in.
Images 1 and 2 from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/

/\ Gold and HeartGold \/

Here is a cover art comparison. On the left, you can see the different system identification. The Nintendo logo has seemed to change, or at least just morph for the cover. For Gold, we still have the "Gotta catch 'em all!" slogan, but in the new version, it's been replaced by "HeartGold Verion". The new versions of both games both have their trademark legendary pokemon facing to the side.
Image 1 from http://downloadpokemongames.com/ Image 2 from http://image3.examiner.com/

/\ Silver and SoulSilver \/

Other than that this game is Pokemon Silver and Soul Silver, I have no different comments from the ones above.
Image 1 from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/ Image 2 from http://www.kotowari.org/

So that's the 8th Most Awaited Element in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver! Stay tuned tomorrow to find out #7!

What's Happened Recently

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:36:00 +0000

Hello, guys!
Sorry I haven't updated recently, but I was busy showing my website off at Tech Night and prepping (Tech Night is like an expo for tech related projects at my school). Anyways, I added alot of new things to the site. First of all, there's been a song increase... by 50! I also updated the anime section, so all video links should be working by now. Plus the addition of several new animes. So please enjoy the site!

In Memoriam... with a Side Helping of Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:16:00 +0000

IN MEMORIAM!
I say this because my frog died. Exactly 6 days ago, Lilypad the frog died. Most knew her as her nickname; Lily. She was always the fattest frog in the tank, and always the least active one. My favorite memories of her include trees, jumping on others, and Lily just being Lily.

THE TREE
When she was a young, youthful frog, she used to be a bit more active. This included running (hopping) from my hand, hopping to the water bowl, and jumping into trees. The first time this happened was after I woke up. I went down to my frogs' tank and looked in. Surprise! Lily was not in sight. I looked around, called my sister, and she saw Lily sitting in the tree. It was a load of shock and fun in one frog-sized package.

THE JUMPING
She used to always jump, being a frog. Sometimes she liked to jump on other frogs in the tank! She'd see someone, look where she was going, and hop. The other frogs weren't a fan of it, but she was really cute. Plus, the other frogs had a chance to get crushed by Lily's stomach.

THE LILY
Lily was always just Lily. Always her froggy self. Always will be remembered, always fat.

THE FUN (NON RELEVANT TO FROGS)
On the other side... 2 days ago, my mom found a GBA (GameBoy Advanced) game that was under the couch. Guess what? I lost it 2 years ago (Who knows how I lost it)! Thanks, mom!

AnimeAMAZE on iTunes

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:22:00 +0000

OK, in this post, I will talk about how to get to the AnimeAmaze radio station on iTunes. Since I only know how to use a PC, that's who this is going to help. (Well, at least for step 1-2)

STEP 1:

Click on the start button.

STEP 2:

Find where the program iTunes is and click on it.

STEP 3:

Locate the Radio button on the left sidebar.

STEP 4:

Find the category labled, "International".

STEP 5:

Find the radio station AnimeAMAZE and play it!

Hope this helps all of you Otaku out there! さよなら!

NOTICE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:11:00 +0000

I am adding entries from June from my trip to China. Look back at June!

KaeruReview: Fun Virtual Community Websites.

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Looking for some fun websites to meet new people, but don't want to go to Facebook or MySpace (Well, certainly not MySpace. That's evil) ? Here are some fun websites to go to, and they're all free (to an extent)!

NEOPETS
The website literally everyone's heard of, at least, if they're a kid. The original virtual pet website. Play games, earn neopoints, get a house, plot Neopian dominartion... (forget that last part...) The point is, it's more fun than a pile of Kadoaties!

Features:

Play games to earn Neopoints to spend things on.
Participate in fights at the battledome.
Spend time in the forums. *
Join a guild relating to your own interests. *
Own a shop to sell items.
Own a gallery to display items.
Dress up your own Neopet. **
Own a Petpet.
Own a Petpetpet.
Participate in the Book club.
Explore numerous maps.
Own a Neohome set in the location of your choosing! **
Join the MMO Petpet Park. ***
Play Key Quest: A multiplayer game with great prizes! ***

* Must be identified as a player 13+
** May involve Neocash, the stuff you get with real $$$
*** Not good for old computers or those who can't handle flash.

_{LINK: +Neopets}

GAIA ONLINE
Known mostly by fans of Anime and Manga, Gaia's prominent feature is the MMO, zOMG! Where players battle against the Animated. Who or what is that? Find out by signing up!

Features:

Own your own shop to earn Gold!
Have a mini-shop in the forums to sell your art, or other services.
Completely customizable avatar.
Rally with others using your own car.
Get your own house and decorate it with a variety of objects.
Play numerous games.
Buy Gaia Cash and get exclusive collectors items. *
Play zOMG and sell your loot for some quick Gold.
Special community-wide events for the holidays and other special occasions.
Own your own fish tank. *
Edit your profile totally freestyle. Also using HTML and CSS for you computer nerds.

*May involve real $$$

_{LINK: +Gaiaonline}

CLUB PENGUIN
The game from Disney that lets all penguins roam free and to do what they want... if they have the money. Be prepared to spend that money if you want to use the full extent of this site!

Features:

Create your very own penguin to waddle around.
Become a tour guide to help out the newbies.
Train in Card-Jitsu and become a ninja.
Participate in Club Penguin only events like Music Jam, and Medival Fest.
Dress up your penguin in limitless fashions and show off your personal style. *
Many games to play with upgrades! *
Customize your player card with pins and backgrounds. *

*May involve that yearly/monthly subscription. $$$

_{LINK: +Club Penguin}

FANTAGE
A cute game that you might take for a little kids site, but don't be fooled. It's actually somewhat sophisticated.

Host or star in a Fashion Show. Match a theme and earn Stars.
Cute chibi-like graphics.
Buy items to use in your house, or avatar. *
Buddy up for more fun.
Cute animations.
Fun games.
Large world to explore.

*Some instances may require yearly/monthly membership.

_{LINK: +Fantage}

Which Stands Above and Beyond???

Rank 1: Gaia Online and Neopets.

Rank 2: Fantage
Rank 3: Club Penguin

WHY!?

Gaia and Neopets don't restrict any of their site to the non-paying audience while Fantage does somewhat and Club Penguin does completely!

ChinaLog: Day 1: USA -> Beijing

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:34:00 +0000

FLIGHT:
Our flight was delayed 2 hours, but we were inbusiness class, so we were waiting in business class, so we were waiting in a really nice lounge. When we got onto the plane, we were really surprised! It was really wide seat, space to lean all the way back, and an entertainment center! Each entertainmet center was a touchscreen TV/panel thingy and it was equipped with free movies, free TV shows, free music to listen to, and free games. Another cool thing is that some of the games were multiplayer. I beat my mom and sister in reversi. My dad beat me in chess. As food goes, I had pork. Even though I'm a really picky eater, it was pretty good! (I don't like meat and certain vegetables.) Yes... the airplane food was... better than my cafeteria food! The flight ended with me glued to the window looking out onto China. Along with masked people checking all of us with temperature guns. Luckily, no one in our section gave them a reason to quarentine anyone. We met our guide, Huang at the airport and then we drove to the hotel.

HOTEL:
We arrived at the hotel and said goodbye to our guide for the day, then had beef ramen for dinner. (Ramen, Noun. A bowl of clear soup containing noodles, vegetables, and often pieces of meat.) It's funny because my favorite meal is ramen. We finished dinner and then went up to our rooms to catch some Z's. Oh, and by the way, when we were on the way to the hotel, we saw a tollbooth... but it was no ordinary tollbooth... it was Asian-style!!!

Programming

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:39:00 +0000

I have begun to learn PHP and CSS. I already know HTML. My summer goal this year is to fully memorize/learn CSS and to get a pretty good grasp on PHP. To clarify all of this:

HTML:
Stands for: Hypertext Markup Language.
Uses: Website building, helps with customization.
Other forms: XML, Extended Markup Language.
Version: 4.0

CSS:
Stands for: Cascading Style Sheets.
Uses: Formats everything on a webpage in one place do you don't have to repeat tags (commands) over and over again.
Other forms: None
Version: 2.0

PHP:
Stands for: PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.
Uses: Databases.
Other forms: SQL (Structured Query Language)is like PHP.
Version: 5.1

Hopefully this can help all of you with your programming/scripting languages!

Sick!

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I. Am. Sick.

Positives

I just got Sims 3 for my iPod literally 30 minutes ago.
I can rub it, Sims 3, in people's face's.
I am the first to play it, Sims 3, in my house.
I stay home regardless of if I feel good or not. (And play Sims 3)
I can study for a Chinese exam. (After playing Sims 3)
I can go on the computer and iPod from 10AM to 8PM! (And play ~~Sims 3~~ Age of Mythology)
I bet for the above, you expected to see Sims 3, but no, my family does not yet have Sims 3)

Negatives:

If I touch my frogs, they will likely die. (And be as green as the plumbbob in Sims 3)
MORE homework (When the kids in Sims 3 have more)
.......this is pretty convenient, actually. (Because I can play Sims 3)

.....

♦SIMS 3!!!♦

Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:46:00 +0000

I read the book The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. It's just what I expected from the guy. Sarcastic first person fantasy novel. Definately worth reading.

Yu-Gi-Oh! .... and stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Huh... YuGiOh!... once you actually look at it from an open mind, it's a pretty good anime/manga series. In other words.... "Congrats - Your site with username ranawastory is in the Top 1% of all sites created this week!" Came in my inbox yesterday! OOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!! Was my predictable response. I also got a haircut. Hapiness and stuff.

Froggy the 17th

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:11:00 +0000

I got a new frog. Named it her Speckles. She has a lip problem. Bat bit her. We're keeping her until she's healed. Poor frog.

Let there be flaming pizza.... (in my oven)

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:35:00 +0000

I was having dinner, and the pizza caught a flame. We had to go get more after mom extinguished (did I spell that right?) the fire thing.... (if you didn't know... I'm alive and injuries = 0)

She doesn't like that...

noreply@blogger.com (Kaeru Ranawa) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:15:00 +0000

OK, so my dad was in my room, and he was pointing to the froggy and making a clicky like sound. Anyways, I told him, "Lily doesn't like that!" He did it again, and Lily turned away from him! Haha, cute frog...