Friday, October 7, 2016

League of Legends Star Guardians theme - Burning Bright (Full Version) Lyrics



Video via Vax

(Vocalizing)

We were born from light before there even was a dawn
So pure, so bright
Falling from the skies above into our darkened fate
The time has come
Walking through this world we bear the secret of our lives
The light we share
Caught in destiny we shine for we are meant to be
The Star Guardians!

Gone in a flash before our time
Up in the skies together
The vow we have made has kept us strong
Don’t fade away, it’s time to shine!

Burning bright
As we reach out for the same horizon
Burning brighter
Running out of time, we’re chasing the light

(Vocalizing)

Gone in a flash before our time
Up in the skies together
The vow we have made has kept us strong
Don’t fade away, it’s time to shine!

Burning bright
As we reach out for the same horizon
Burning brighter
Piercing through the dawn, we burn on and on, and on

The thought of us stuck in my mind
I long for the days when we were young
The song in my heart, the light in your eyes
But now I drown in tears I’ve cried
Yelling your name into the wind
Don’t push me away, let’s head for the sky!

Gone in a flash before our time
Up in the skies together
The vow we have made has kept us strong
Don’t fade away, it’s time to shine!

Burning bright
As we reach out for the same horizon
Burning brighter
Running out of time, we’re chasing the light

Burning bright
As we reach out for the same horizon
Burning brighter
Piercing through the dawn, we burn on and on, and on

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Japan Series! - Fushimi Inari Taisha

     Now that I've explained my extended leave of absence, let's jump right back into the Japan series!

     Of all the shrines we visited on our trip to Japan, Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto was my personal favorite.

The torii gate at the entrance.

     Upon approaching this beautiful shrine, we could immediately see the color palette used throughout a lot of the site - red and white complemented by the green of large bamboo trees as well as other plants I couldn't identify. The huge red torii gate that greets visitors at the entrance was far from being the last one we would see there. In fact, the entire shrine is home to thousands of torii gates, many funded by donations from the patrons of the shrine.

View of one set of torii gates from above.

     The multitudes of torii gates are in several areas lined up one after the other, creating an experience almost like walking through a tunnel of red painted wood or, in some places, grey stone, with glimpses of the surrounding forest showing through the gaps between the gates. The entire path winding through all the gates can take hours to traverse, but we were limited to only one hour. Peek-sensei advised us to walk as far as we could in 30 minutes, then turn around and retrace our steps in order to meet at the front torii gate at the designated time. I wanted to take my time, see the sights, and snap some pictures, so Billy and I didn't manage to make it very far before our time was up. (Billy is determined to go back on our next trip to Japan and walk all the way through, no matter how long it takes!)

This is about the farthest point we reached.

     Another notable aspect of Fushimi Inari Taisha was the fox statues that were located throughout the shrine's ground. As I understand, these represent fox spirits, or kitsune, which are one of the many types of animals considered "messengers of gods" in Shinto beliefs. The kitsune in particular are closely associated with Fushimi Inari Taisha itself. The various fox statues we found there were all beautifully made and looked a little imposing.

I like how this one seems to be looking right at you!

     Billy and I also stopped for a moment to sample some dried fruit at a vendor's stand in an open square. It was delicious, but with our limited budget, we couldn't find a package small enough for us to afford. -_-'

When people come to pray at the shrine, they pull on the red and white ribbons to ring the bells at the top.
 
At this fountain near the shrine entrance, visitors wash their hands and mouths as a purification ritual.

Some of the smaller shrine structures.

     On the way back towards the entrance, we noticed that the backs of many of the smaller red wooden torii gates were inscribed with kanji and hiragana. Peek-sensei later explained that they listed donors who paid for each gate to be erected.

Here you can see the inscriptions on the backs of the torii gates.

     When Billy and I arrived back at the front torii gate, some of the others from our group had already made it back, and were saying goodbye to a group of Japanese people we'd never met before. One of our friends turned around and pushed a small, warm object into my hand, saying something along the lines of "You've gotta try this!" After tasting the food, I recognized it as takoyaki, which I had tried before in the States, when my other Japanese teacher, Miho-sensei, had made it for us to try in class. Takoyaki tastes kind of like gooey bread with chunks of cooked octopus inside, and it was delicious both times I tried it. Only after I had eaten it did my friends inform me that they had been given the food by the group of strangers they had just been talking to. Of course, I wouldn't normally recommend eating food received from strangers, but we all turned out okay. ^_~

A Shinto priest.

A miko, or shrine maiden.

     And that pretty much sums up my experience at my favorite shrine in Japan, Fushimi Inari Taisha. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for some more of my favorite shrines and temples!

P.S. - Click here for the full list of Japan series posts!

Monday, November 4, 2013

For the Organized DM: Using Info Cards to Increase Roleplaying and Decrease Metagaming

     Hey fellow dungeon masters! I know it's been a while since I promised more tips on organizing your campaign, but here at last is another one!

My D&D binder and my beloved dice. <3

     Imagine this: you're in the middle of a gaming session, and the party comes across some information that only one character would know/understand. For example, Draconic runes on the dungeon wall, a symbol that requires a Knowledge (Religion) check to know what it means, or a vital detail that only a high Gather Information roll could uncover. Whatever it is, only one of your characters has the appropriate knowledge, skill, or language, so that character would in essence have an important bit of information that the rest of the party wouldn't have. The problem is, as a DM, how do you convey that information to that character's player without the other players also finding out?

     Most DM's I've gamed with had the same solution: they would just outright tell the player in front of the others, trusting the rest of us not to metagame and act like our characters knew the information too. But this usually resulted in the exact opposite response. Often we all role-played it out as if the well-informed character had already filled the rest of us in. We didn't intentionally metagame, but in that situation, it's sometimes hard not to.

     Another solution I've seen used is to take the one player into a different room to tell them the information. This leaves the other players bored and in a bit of a limbo, waiting for the DM to get back. It usually works fine for the bigger, more important secrets, but it  would be too inconvenient to use all the time.

     So are you ready for my solution yet?

     Info cards!

An example of some info cards my group received while playing through the "Dark and Stormy Knight" module.

     Here's how it works: When you're preparing for your next session, take a look at the material you expect to be covering (whether it's a pre-made adventure module or one you created yourself). Figure out what information might end up being revealed to only one character. Usually this would include things found out through Knowledge checks, speaking certain languages, and sometimes Gather Information checks. (I even like to include Spot/Listen checks sometimes, when I want the specific monster or villain's big reveal to be more dramatic.)

     When you find a bit of information that fits the bill, write it down on an index card. Then flip the card over and on the back write the method of obtaining the information - skill check, language, whatever. On skill checks, make sure you note the minimum DC for obtaining the information. You can also write what room number or event number the card corresponds to, just to make it easier to find the relevant card at the right time.

Back of info cards. I used abbreviations for Bardic Knowledge and the Knowledge checks, but write it out if it makes more sense to you. The number beside those is the DC. The "S" in the square stands for "start," because this info was before the characters made it in to the actual dungeon. But normally I would write the room number in the square.

     During the session, have your characters make the required rolls as normal. If someone rolls high enough (or knows the necessary language), you just hand them the card. It's all mysterious. ;) Seriously though, the player who got the information feels important, and the other players are in suspense waiting to find out what's on the card.

     As an added bonus, the player who has the information then gets to decide whether or not to share the information, depending on what his/her character would really do. In some cases the character really wouldn't share the information, would share only part of it, or would twist it to suit his/her own purposes. Giving the player a chance to do that really makes for some good opportunities for interesting role-play. And even if the player decided to tell all the information, just letting the character tell it his/her own way, and having the other characters react in-character, presents more great opportunities for role-play.

     Got two different DCs for different amounts of information? No problem! Just write the lower DC info on one card and the higher DC on a different card. If the player beats the lower DC but misses the higher one, give the player only the lower DC card. If he/she beats both, hand over both! (Just make sure the cards are read in the correct order, if it matters.)

For example, if Aster the bard had rolled a 12 on his Bardic Knowledge check, he would've only gotten the information on the first card.

     It's as simple as that! Of course, if you're the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, make-it-up-as-you-go, spontaneous type of DM, this probably won't work for you. But if that were the case, you probably wouldn't be reading tips for being an organized DM to begin with, now would you? ;)

     If you missed my first tip, for using highlighters to organize campaign information, you can check it out here. Stay tuned for more tips soon, and leave a comment letting me know any tips of your own! Thanks for reading!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Japan Series! - Japanese Temples and Shrines

     We're finally getting around to the sight-seeing portion of my Japan trip series! One thing we saw a lot of were sites of religious significance to the Japanese people. Japan's two major religions are Shinto and Buddhism, so that means lots of shrines and temples!
 
Byodoin, a temple in Kyoto.

     The major difference between the two types of sites is what religion each is related to. Temples are devoted to Buddhism, a religion revering Buddha and his teachings, which is popular in many Asian countries. Shrines are instead associated with Shinto, a polytheistic religion is which followers worship many gods, spirits, and ancestors. Shinto is a native Japanese religion which has mostly stayed unique to Japan.

Itsukushima, a shrine on the island of Miyajima.

     For me, it was a bit difficult to tell the temples and shrines apart. However, certain clues sometimes made it easier. For example, if there were statues of Buddha, it was obviously a temple.

Buddha and other statues at Nanzenji, a temple in Kyoto.

     Although both types of sites sometimes had statues of humans or animals as guardians.

Kitsune (fox) statue at Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine in Kyoto.

Phoenix on the roof of the Phoenix Hall of Byodoin.

     Pagodas usually meant temples...

Pagoda at Koofukuji, a temple in Nara.

     ...while torii gates often indicated shrines.

Huge torii gate in front of Fushimi Inari Taisha.

     Both had beautiful architecture and gorgeous gardens.

Building and garden of Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion), a temple in Kyoto.

     The sites were all really beautiful in their own unique ways. But for me, my visits to these sites were about more than just sight-seeing. Because I don't follow either of these religions, I did not participate in religious rituals or worship at these places. But I found it fascinating to learn more about these belief systems and religious sites through direct observation. I feel that learning more about another person's religious beliefs (or any beliefs, for that matter) makes it easier to relate to and understand them. Just making the effort to learn shows that you're not ethnocentric and bigoted, which is a major stereotype of Christians that I believe we need to overcome. And if one is secure in one's own beliefs, exposure to other belief systems should strengthen that faith, not weaken it.

Couple praying at Kasuga Taisha, a shrine in Nara.

     Over the course of the two-week trip, our group visited six shrines and eleven temples, in addition to some other sight-seeing. Yes, we were basically speed-walking a lot of the time, trying to keep up with Peek-sensei. XD I actually would've like to take it a little slower and have time to take more pictures. But I still have a ton of pictures and experiences to share, so look forward to the next several posts covering some of my favorite temples and shrines!

     P.S. A complete list of posts in my Japan series can be found in the Intro post.

     PPS. For a more detailed explanation of the differences between shrines and temples, check out this post from The Japan Guy.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Adventure Time Giveaway Winner!

     As promised, it's time to announce the winner of the Adventure Time Shape-Shifting Jake Puzzle Game!


     I said I would determine the winner randomly from everyone who commented on my last post. There were three commenters: Cedric, Justin, and Rikian.

     Because I'm a D&D player, my favorite way to randomly determine something is through rolling the dice. :D And since I don't own a 3-sided die, I used a d6 and assigned each commenter two numbers:

                    Cedric = 1 and 2
                    Justin = 3 and 4
                    Rikian = 5 and 6

     And the winner is... *drumroll*


     Cedric! Congratulations! I know for us gamers a 1 is usually bad, but this time it's a good thing for you!

     Thanks to all three of my commenters! Check back next month - maybe I'll have another Nerd Block-related giveaway! :)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Nerd Block October 2013 Review

     So... I know I'm due for a Japan series post, but I just got something exciting in the mail and I wanted to write about it!


     This is called a Nerd Block. You subscribe ($19.99 a month plus shipping and handling), and every month they send you a box full of geeky goodies. It's like the Cheese-of-the-Month Club, only cooler. ^_^ (BTW, just so you know, Nerd Block didn't pay me to write this review, or send me free stuff or anything... Although that would be cool.)

     The Nerd Block service just started up last month, and we missed the September box. But the October box just came in tonight and we were super excited to open it!

     The box always comes with a t-shirt plus around 4 to 6 other items like figures, stickers, etc. Here's what we got this month:

DC Universe Mystery Minis Vinyl Figure...

...Which turned out to be one of the six Joker designs.

Another blind box figure, a turret from Portal.

There were lots of different colors, but we ended up with the plain white one.


Bonus: Hilarious warnings on the box!

The Spawn figure wasn't blind boxed...

...We got Skullsplitter! (I actually don't know anything about Spawn, but this guy looks
pretty cool.)

This wasn't labeled, but we're guessing it's a TMNT coaster...?

A cute and tiny Iron Man eraser. ^_^

The t-shirt design. It's like... Darth Vader as Death, skeletal Storm Trooper, and the Death Star.

     There was only one thing I didn't like all that much. I'm not a fan of Adventure Time, so I thought, what better time to do my first ever blog giveaway? :)

Adventure Time Shape-Shifting Jake Puzzle Game.
     For all you Adventure Time fans out there (in the continental US, that is), you can win this little puzzle game. All you have to do is comment on this blog post. Next Wednesday (October 23rd, 2013), I'll choose a winner randomly and announce it in another post. After that, the winner will have a week to email me with his/her mailing address. If not, I'll choose another winner, so keep an eye out for the announcement!

     Okay, one more shot of our loot pile...

Yes, I like to make a loot pile whenever I get new things. I think I might be part dragon.

     Oh, and BTW, when you subscribe to Nerd Block you get to choose your t-shirt size and style. Billy and I used our "fun money" and split the cost, so we chose the regular style (rather than fitted men's or fitted women's) and a size we could both wear.

This is my "Nerd Block, YEAH!" face.

     Thanks for reading!

Monday, October 14, 2013

"Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" Debuts on ABC

     Thursday, October 10th, ABC premiered their new Once Upon a Time spinoff, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (#OUATWonderland or #OnceWonderland for short on Twitter). Alice has been a popular trend lately, so I wasn't a bit surprised to learn that ABC was cashing in on it. Not to mention, we've seen Wonderland before on the original OUAT, and it was pretty awesome. So I was super-excited a week or two ago when I realized how close the premiere was.

     Spoiler Alert! If you didn't catch the premiere, don't worry; you can go watch it on ABC's website before reading this. Or not. Your call.

Alice


      First off, there's Alice (of course). In the original novel by Lewis Carroll, Alice is a child, but in OUATIW, she's only a child for the first visit to Wonderland (presumably). The opening scene shows her climbing out of the rabbit hole and running to tell her father all about the magical realm she visited. But when we next see her, Alice is grown-up (well, a teenager anyway) and locked away in an asylum for continuing to believe in Wonderland. In flashbacks, we get the CliffNotes version of a romance between Alice and a genie named Cyrus, whom she met and traveled with in Wonderland. (The asylum doctor's statement that Alice claimed they had been "fighting pirates [and] swimming with mermaids" also hinted that she and Cyrus may have traveled to Neverland at some point.

     Played by Sophie Lowe, Alice herself is adorable but spunky, stubborn (but in a good way), with much more fire than the traditional Alice character. The show's creators have stated that they didn't want to do the "damsel in distress" thing with her, and they avoided it fairly well, although some fight scenes ended in one male character or another helping her out of a tight spot. But Alice does fend for herself fairly well, with some pretty sweet martial arts moves and swordplay. It just makes me wonder, where did she learn how to fight?

     I've been wondering other things about Alice too, such as: When was she first admitted to asylum? How did she get back to Wonderland when she decided to get proof? What's her history with the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat (since both "friendships" seem shaky at best)? I'm hoping these and more will be answered over the course of the series through backstory flashbacks.

Cyrus
 

     Cyrus is a genie - and given his connection to Jafar, I'd venture to guess he's The Genie. But - as with many characters in the OUAT universe, he's very different from his Disney-animation counterpart. Instead of blue and funny, he's handsome and charming (although he did seem to come on a little strong upon his first meeting with Alice).

     But more importantly (to me anyway) is the question of how a genie came to be in Wonderland to begin with. He and Jafar are both natives of the land of Agrabah (the same land where OUAT's previous genie/magic mirror, a.k.a. Sidney Glass, hailed from). And if they made it to Wonderland, where are Jasmine and Aladdin?

     Cyrus has the power to grant wishes, and he gives Alice three of them - in their physical form, looking like rubies (which I thought was actually a really neat touch). What other powers could he have? When he proposes to Alice, he says, "I think the people in your world do this on one knee." How does he know what the people in her world do? I doubt that topic just happened to come up in conversation with Alice, which leads me to believe that either he's traveled to other worlds or he has some magical knowledge of other worlds. That actually would be in keeping with the animated Disney Genie, since he was a bit of a "meta-gamer," so to speak.

Knave


     The Knave of Hearts is also handsome and charming, as well as clever and funny. You can bet there are going to be a lot of Knave/Alice (Knalice?) shippers, despite the billing of the show as an epic love story between Alice and Cyrus.

     The first scene shows the Knave in Storybrooke, before meeting up with the White Rabbit and traveling to Victorian England to break Alice out of the asylum. For me this brings up a lot of questions about his backstory, which I'm itching to see revealed. For example, if he's originally from Wonderland, how did he end up in Storybrooke? He would've had to be in the Enchanted Forest when the curse hit, wouldn't he? (Also, how do all these different worlds' timelines line up? 'Cause that's really been confusing me.) He also keeps going on about the new life he's been building in Storybrooke, so I'd like to find out what's in Storybrooke that he's so keen on.


     Bonus: Was that Emma's yellow Beetle that almost ran over him in the street? Making me wonder, was that scene supposed to have happened before Emma and the gang left for Neverland? 

     Given the name "Knave of Hearts," I can almost guarantee he has some connection to the Queen of Hearts - a.k.a. Cora from OUAT. But what connection? Alice tells him, "Once long ago I helped you get back your heart." That has Cora written all over it, what with her MO of ripping out people's hearts to control them, and I can't wait to hear that story.

     Oh, and the Knave may be charming and witty and all that, but he's also a little devious. In one scene, Alice carelessly leaves her shoes (with wishes hidden in the heel) with him while she climbs a tree to have a look aroud. The wishes prove too much temptation for him, and he attempts to steal them, casting doubt as to whether he will be a friend or foe to Alice in the future. "But can we focus on the part where I came back and saved your life?" Oh, okay, Knave... but only because you asked with that adorable accent.

White Rabbit


     The time has come for me to address the bad CGI on this show. Yes, it's bad. But personally I didn't think it was bad enough to be distracting, most of the time. Then again, I have a very low threshold for suspension of disbelief. And for me, the CGI faults in the White Rabbit were more than made up for by his voice - John Lithgow!

     But the really interesting part about the Rabbit is how he "digs a hole." Instead of an ordinary looking rabbit hole, the White Rabbit seems to have the ability to create a vortex that allows not only travel between worlds (like the magic beans of OUAT) but also time/space travel within a particular world. For example, he meets the Knave in present-day Storybrooke, Maine, and takes him to pick up Alice in Victorian England, and then together they travel to Wonderland.

     The White Rabbit also has a dark side: He's secretly working for the Red Queen, one of the villains. But he does seem legitimately concerned about Cyrus during his conversation with her. Where do his loyalties really lie? How is the Red Queen coercing him into betraying Alice and the Knave?

Red Queen


      Not to be confused with the Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts is associated with playing cards, while the Red Queen is associated with chess. I loved the idea of her castle being shaped like chess pieces, as well as the chess analogy she uses with the White Rabbit: "I said we'd settle up when the game was complete; we are still setting up the board." She also has some really great outfits!

     However, she hasn't been well-developed as a character just yet. We don't know her background or motivation. We know she has magic, but we don't know how much. When/how did she come to power? What does she have against Alice? Why is she working with Jafar? So many questions that only have one solution: backstory!

Jafar


     Like I've mentioned already, it's a little odd to see the inhabitants of Agrabah in Wonderland. But Jafar is powerful enough to make himself right at home. We don't yet know just how powerful, but it's been made clear that he's more powerful than the Red Queen, considering how scared and helpless she seemed when he threatened her.

      Also, why does Jafar have the magic carpet? In the animated movie, the Carpet was sentient, and a friend of Aladdin's. Is this a different carpet, or the same one? Is it sentient? Am I weird for wondering about the personality of a (traditionally) inanimate object? XD

My Three Wishes


     Alice is wisely careful about using the wishes Cyrus granted her. I know from experience (well... D&D experience) that carelessly worded wishes can be turned against the wisher. However, since my wishes aren't being granted by a genie (or a vindictive DM), I think I can safely lay out my top three wishes for the future of this show:

1) I wish for lots and lots of character backstory! (As if anyone couldn't have guessed that'd be the first one!)
2) I wish for the Mad Hatter (played by the same actor, of course) to enter the story and become a regular character.
3) I wish for Jasmine and Aladdin to become part of the story somehow as well.

     How about you? If you could have three wishes about this show, what would they be?