I'm really only writing this to get rid of that horrible last post that has been up since armageddon. Hi.

Rush News!

-Voice Acting is still a hobby for me, but has proven to be very fun.
-Latest writing project involves following around a god after he is betrayed by another and forced to become mortal.
-My Thanksgiving consisted of glazed ham (my first time making one, it was the easy way out!), mashed potatoes, sweet corn, gravy, cranberry sauce, and dutch apple pie. I forgot the croissants. :(
-I've begun a knife collection. So far I've got about six pocket knives, two camping knives, two bowies, one machete, and two short swords.
-I'm typing this on my fanciful new Chromebook that I got a few weeks ago. Still getting used to the compact shape, but I LOVE the speed.

~Leo

*Knock knock* This thing still going? I honestly can't tell.

I'm still alive. And, jesus, there has been a SHITLOAD of stuff that's happened since my last post. Not that surprising, really, since it's been a year-and-a-goddamn-half since I posted about that Konurai tune. So what's the major zwiz that's happened?

Well let's see...
-I made Site Administrator on punk-o-matic. I still don't feel like I deserve it, but I'm grateful nonetheless.
-My forum contest, the Generous Generation Contests (or GGC for short), is 363 days old today. We're 28 contests in, and going strong.
-Brony, and proud. Fuck you. :D
-I've made close to zero progress on any kind of music work. Let's face it, I'm not cut out to be a composer.
-Ikusa is...growing. Exponentially. I now have FIVE stories to round out the saga, spanning two generations of characters. Fuck.
-I got a promotion at my work for the position I've wanted. Three months in, and I'm getting further training for the finest and tiniest details. I hope I can nab my own store that'll have a fraction of the volume as my current one. SO MUCH WORK...
-The last few days have seen some ACTUAL effort on my part to attempt voice acting. First time, I was commissioned, and the second time was a contest entry. Both ones are actually pretty good, if my opinion means anything to the masses. I know I still have far to go if I expect to be hired, but it's nice to get SOMETHING done for once.

All in all...I dunno if I'll be returning to NG in strength (not that I was ever well-known to begin with), because there's STILL a shitload of stuff going on at the same time. Hell, I'm supposed to be asleep right now for work, yet here I am tacking away. Damn boredom.

Rush News!: (Oh no, this shit again?)
-I can now lose my voice at will - just gotta speak like a smoker. The trouble is recovering my voice afterward!
-I bought a pair of sunglasses. Ten bucks. They're...eh, not great.
-My fanfiction is progressing, slowly. But my latest work, Rain without Rainbows, is my best yet. Confound these ponies.
-Newgrounds layout eh? Not bad. Gonna take a while to grow in to it.
-Sex.

Okay, so maybe I'm not quite so stonewalled. During a three-hour stint of me chilling at Matt's place, I was able to put together that battle loop. I love it so much, I've spent about six of the last twenty hours listening to it - including the time I've spent sleeping.

When it comes to the Konurai, I want them to be so viscious, so unrelenting, that whenever the player hears this battle theme start up, they have an fml moment. Even better will be the times that the player is surrounded by Konurai, and battles are imminent. The music will be blasting nonstop.

Okay, so this is one more theme down. Plus, it solidifies the Konurai's melody. I gotta keep going at this, and shell out more content that's even better. Let's see if i can't get Kagai's theme and Izuma's battle loop completed.

Rush News!:
-Power running.
-Power lifting.
-Power eating.
-Power laughing.
-Power spawning.

I'm stonewalled again.

After all this work on Ikusa, getting it ready, and making sure there are no loose ends - I'm stonewalled.

No computer. No resources. No contact. Nothing. Nothing to use, or create, or salvage.

What. The. Hell.

I knew it was gonna be a problem when I removed the product deadlines, but this? Having full work stoppage was exactly what I didn't want to happen. Damn it, once word gets out that I've got zero progress to show for this month, I'm gonna lose my team integrity!

It'd be GREAT is I could work on something, anything, to at least hone my skill. But, without a system, I can't do that. Now, without proper time, I can't even research and study on other systems.

Mmm...my head hurts. I hate carrying around all this IK~W paperwork everyday, but it's needed. I swear this, though - I will not settle for less just because of another obstacle. I knew the risks when I devoted the features and script. I knew all that might happen. Now that the worst has happened, I'm not going to sit here and be stunned.

There's plenty of other shit I can scrape up until IK~W progress starts flowing again.

Rush News!:
-I'm seriously considering turning voice actor for here.
-Currently addicted to Purgatory's Konurai theme. Dun...dun, duh dah, dun...dun, duoh dah, dun...
-Tired. Now. Need. Sleep.
-While planning out the core items for Wartorn's script, I started using a journal. Chapter's 1-8 all took up less that a page each, while chapter 9 nearly topped five. Good god, is this a big chapter.
-[Just.] [Accept.] [It.]

Ever since I got back in touch with Angie, I've been in a kind of inspired demeanor for the game. I bought yet another notebook to take notes in (I think I have about ten of these now...I can plant a tree in my room, for God sakes...), and I've been using it to map out the script for the game. So far, so good - I'm four chapters in, out of nine. This is helping me out SO much.

Which ultimately led to a new label-of-sorts that I'm using to tag all my Ikusa work now. IK. For Wartorn, it's IK ~ W, and for Purgatory, IK ~ P. Not only does it make things look so much cleaner, but it gives me a sense of completion, writing out every tag. Call it pride, if you want. I call it effective. Oh, wait, no, that's pride after all. Nevermind.

This will make it plenty easier marking any official media I end up releasing for the game. A little tag of[IK~W] in one corner, with the iPIMP logo in another. Oooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

In other rants, I'm getting an urge to pop back on Gaia for a bit, to read up on my old posts I made while I was active. One reason is to find a certain story I had written; another reason is...um...boredom. I don't know if I want to go on now or later, though.

Oh yeah, I also got FL back! *Dances...not really* Now I'm back to making original tracks for the game! At the moment, I'm trying my hand at the tried-and-perfected formulae for "ice caverns," since the first real dungeon in the game is an underground cavern of ice (who knew?). I'm going wild with channels and filters this time around, and with luck, I can have it finished by next week.

...I think I just jinxed myself...

Rush News!:
-I'm getting used to this new job I have. Nice and quiet, it is.
-My finger hurts.
-Been watching old anime favorites again. I'm in the middle of Clannad, and might fire up Trigun later on.
-I took a psuedo-vacation from POM.net some time ago. To date, I haven't honored it. I love the site too damn much!
-This keyboard is missing the two kickstands to give it an angle. I improvised by using one of my journals - the same journal I mentioned in this post, in fact!

Some days, I just feel like removing my spine for a while, just so I can get some real relaxation in. All this work on the game is piling up around me, and try as I might, I can't stop myself from getting a little overwhelmed. The worst part is that I'm starting to consider pushing back the release date an extra two months.

Not to say that progress isn't being made. It's just not nearly as much as I'd hoped. I almost have the final voice actress in line, which will be an absolute godsend if she agrees (please and thank you, Angie!), and I've actually got a bit of headway on the game's script. The main problem is that my schedule of events has swapped - I had meant to get mapping at least three-fifths complete before starting with scripting. While I can still make it work (it'll be simple enough to build the maps to fit my mind's eye image of everything), it's still another thorn in my side that I couldn't at least make this happen.

Who knows, I may just be fooling myself into thinking this is all working out for the best. For all I know, I could be forced to meet an all-or-nothing release date of August fifth of next year. Or, I could suddenly hit a whim, and make an early release, before even Christmas this year. Nobody can say for sure. Which is actually quite aggrivating.

After all's said and done, I still have a mountainload of work to complete before I can take it easy. *Sigh* What I wouldn't give for a desktop and a week's vacation...

Rush News!:
-Got a new cell phone finally. It's way different, but at least I get youtube on it.
-I went and got myself promoted! ...of sorts. I still need to find out what and when my raise is gonna be.
-I'm a fan of RockFish restaurants now. *Hunger*
-I feel uneasy about...something. Don't know what.
-Goddamn it, Nappa. *TFS ftw*

**In an effort to both further interest for my game from the public and promote harder work from me, myself, and I, here's a teaser scriptline from Ikusa ~ Wartorn. This begins after three characters beat back an enemy wave, and decide it best to travel to the nearby town as one group.**

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Ikusa ~ Wartorn
IK~W, Chapter I, Act I, Scene II, Part 1.1
Copyright 2004-2010 iPIMP, inc. Copyright 2010 Aaron Hernandez.

>[Izuma slowly wakes up with a pounding headache and a burning pain in his left shoulder. His vision is blurry, but as it sharpens, he sees two figures before him, talking amongst themselves.]
>Izuma: Mmm...gah, what happened...?
>[The two figures look up, and he sees that they are two women. One is in a flowing gown and has a bag of medicinal items open; the other is wearing a hooded robe, and seems in a sour mood.]
>Woman 1: Oh, you're awake! I was starting to get worried - you seemed to be in a lot of pain earlier.
>Izuma: Ugh...what...?
>Woman 1: ...you remember, don't you? ...the imps?
>[Flash three pictures of the recent battle against Demonic imps, the most likely reason behind Izuma's unconsciousness.]
>Izuma: ...oh. Yeah...sorry, I just...
>[Izuma's vision completely clears - he sees he's been pulled back inside the woodland, to avoid detection. The edge of the woodland is near, and beyond it, the Rine Plains. The glare of sunlight burns his retinas - he moves into the shade of a tree.]
>Izuma: ...why were they attacking you? Did you have something they wanted?
>[The second woman, in the hood, seems to glare, but quickly looks away. She self-consciously pulls her robe tighter, as though to hide herself.]
>Woman 1: No, nothing. At least, nothing I know of. Oh...sorry, you must be hurting after that ordeal. Here, take this.
>[She hands him a canteen with an intricate label on the side. Izuma's hand doesn't move.]
>Woman 1: It's a potion to help get your strength back, and to clear away the pounding headache I'm sure you're having. If it's anything like the one I had, you'll need this.
>[After a moment's thought, Izuma takes the jug and slowly downs its' contents. A warm sensation fills his body, and his headache almost immediately dissapates. He looks at the canteen, impressed.]
>Izuma: I...thanks. I had a guess you were a healer.
>Woman 1: Well...not quite. I know some basics, but I've never had advanced training.
>[The healer flashes him a smile. He nods, then turns his head to face the second woman, who is still looking away]
>Izuma: And you?
>[The hooded woman looks at him, but only for a second. She turns away even further, and responds barely above a whisper.]
>Woman 2: ...rian...no hea...
>Woman 1: Morianna, we can't hear you when you do that. Come on...
>[Morianna tenses up, but soon turns back toward the two. She finally faces Izuma, looking straight into his eyes.]
>Morianna: I'm Morianna. And I'm no healer...just a tracker.
>Woman 1: And I'm Meiko. Meiko Dawnson. You?
>[Izuma looks from one to the other, deciding he can trust them.
>Izuma: ...Izuma Satoan. I'm...just your ordinary traveller who happened to get caught up in a fight.
>Meiko: Well, Izuma! Thanks for coming to our aid back there. We would have been overwhelmed without your help.
>Morianna: An ordinary traveller? Is that so?
>[Meiko and Izuma both turn to look at Morianna, who chooses not to elaborate. She looks away.]
>Meiko: ...a...anyway...I was wondering...what were you doing out here, Izuma?
>[Izuma hesitates for a moment.]
>Izuma: I could ask you the same question. But I bet we'd believe each other, regardless of the answer.
>Morianna: How about "We're heading to town?"
>[Meiko grins.]
>Meiko: She's right. We were trying to get to Thurin before midday, but...well...
>Izuma: You got stopped by a one-in-a-million scenario?
>Meiko: Ah...well, yeah. Pretty much. Sorry.
>Izuma: Don't be. Happens all the time, believe it or not.
>[Izuma slowly stands, checking his equipment as he rises. He looks around. Meiko and Morianna stand up as well.]
>Izuma: Anyway, I was on my way to town as well. We're not far, but we are far enough to run into some wildlife along the hillsides. I can handle it on my own, but you're welcome to come with me if you want.
>[Morianna starts to protest, but Meiko speaks first.]
>Meiko: Really? Ah, well...sure, we can accompany you. We don't know this land too well, anyway.
>Morianna: Meiko! What good will telling him that do any of us?
>[Izuma stifles a chuckle.]
>Izuma: More than you'd think. Ever heard of the phrase "Information is power?"
>Morianna: Yes. But I heard of "Gods help those who help themselves" first, that's all.
>Izuma: But still, I'm sure you remember an even more interesting quote. It's "We're heading to town." Does it ring a bell?
>[Meiko laughs. Morianna pulls her hood down tighter.]
>Morianna: ...fine. We'll go with you. But we need to move soon. Those imps could come back at any time.
>Izuma: You've got a point there. Alright, Thurin is due South, so once we clear these trees, it's a straight shot across the Rine. Ready?
>Meiko: Mmm.
>[Morianna stares.]
>Izuma: Okay, then. Let's go.

IK~W, Chapter I, Act I, Scene II, Part 1.1 Concluded
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How long has it been since I've ranted about my work? Too long, you say? Alright, then let's fix that!

Recently (like, four-days-ago recently), the fuel station at my work finally switched over to Prepay - if someone has cash or a special card, they have to see the front window first. Most people understand, since it almost completely eliminates the chances of anyone to steal fuel. Most people understand.

Ever since we've started it, I've had about seven people shout that they're "never gonna get gas here again!" One of them even demanded the number to Corporate. Almost all of them came perilously close to cussing me out. And what did I do in response?

I stayed quiet and waited for them to fold. No matter what they chose - stay or go - they wanted to be mad. I simply stayed quiet, waited for them to leave...then chuckled.

It's amazing how high-strung some people can be about getting what they want. I am constantly amazed at what society does to people, and how people change when they let society get under their skin. Hell, one of the first people I helped today had an issue with their discount. I told them I'd be more than willing to get them reimbursed for the difference, but nooooo...they wanted to see the manager, damn what the kid who knows what he's doing says.

I'd be mad, if it wasn't so damn entertaining.

Rush News!:
-I've finally recruited another voice actress for Ikusa! Thank you, Samantha!
-I re-purchased Crisis Core FFVII a few days ago. Starting the game at level 92. Good fun.
-My arms are tormented by various bug bites when I tore out the wood in my backyard. *Scritch scratch*
-I hate paying bills. Oh, and bills hate me. Oh, and me hating bills hating me means that I hate to hate bills hating bills who love to hate me. Oh, and...
-The iPIMP site is looking better everyday.

So, I made a website for iPIMP. Never really thought I'd do that. But apparently, I did.

Just what the hell was I thinking? Haha, now I've got another responsibility to shoulder before the wedding and Ikusa's release date. Ahh, smart move there, Leo. Smart move indeed.

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen. The whole iPIMP website idea has been flitting about in my head for months now. And the main reason I made it in the first place was the "rules" list on the Get Involved subtab. Matt and I spent a long time making that pile of zwiz. I still love rules 36 and 37, though. Something about just seems funny every time I see them.

It is a good venue to have, though. This way, it'll force me to be more specific with my updates involving the game and the staff. God knows we need a good kick in the ass to get our act together...

Anyway. If you want to check it out, by all means, go ahead. It's still in limited state, but you should still get a kick out of the rules page. I've checked it out six times in the last hour, and every time, I end up laughing.

Rush News!:
-Why am I still awake? My shift starts in...just under six hours.
-How am I still hungry? I had a good meal not long ago...
-What am I thinking? I've loaded Wartorn with so many features, Purgatory is an ant compared to the monster!
-Who did I ask? I can't remember all the names of everyone whom I've asked for music usage...
-Where is my bed? It's time to put this day to a close.

Ikusa. Mimana review. Music. POM.net. Voice actor hunt. Forum bots.

There's a lot of ground to cover in this post. Let's jump right into the fray.

The Ikusa project is rolling steadily along. I'm getting some solid work done on the voice effect lines, despite my lack of required voice actresses. The mapping is underway, finally, which will make everything fifty times easier. Yet I still face the issue of not having my own machine to work on the project. Games are infinitely more difficult when you can't work on them.

I finished playing Mimana Iyar Chronicle about a week ago, and I'm getting some good ideas for my next review of it. It's hard to write out a review for this game, since it's both awesome in some regards, yet annoying in others. Still, I'm eager to write out my opinions on it - and post it once somebody posts after my last review of Lunar on the pom.net forums...

Which brings me to pom.net. Lately, Evil has been having some major site issues, resulting in the site being re-instated in a 'limited' state. It sucks...I recently did an interview for the latest "poecast", and I was so looking forward to hearing it out. On another note, the site's having to deal with asshats again. I just dealt with a bot/spammer that made a "russian hookup" topic. I can't count how many offenses the topic had - I just removed everything and got rid of the bot. That's my good deed of the day. I just hope this isn't another bot attack like we had last year.

I was really happy to be able to work on some music recently, shelling out the [Game Over] tune, Surorise's field theme, and a re-sampling of gopotter's "Cupido" piece. Oh, how I've missed FL 9...and how I wish I could have kept it. Sadly, that reprieve to work on music didn't last long enough, but at least I was able to get Walking Devil done.

I'm starting to lose hope on finding voice actresses for the game. I have only one actress, doing two parts. I have three more parts to fill. None of the effects will be too long or taxing, yet I can't seem to get any headway. I even called for help in my fanfiction forums, yet I've gotten zero responses of any kind. If I can't get any additional voices, I'll have to scrap the voice effect idea altogether. Which SUCKS - it was one of the features I was looking forward to the most.

Well, if it works or not, I've got other fish to fry in the meantime. I need to find out the area of the southern continent, and MAYBE figure out a NAME for the damn place!

Rush News!:
-Started up Spirit Tracks again. I'm lost. Again.
-The English dub of Clannad isn't nearly as good as the original Japanese. Well, at least they tried.
-Your soul now belongs to DeadDemonDude.
-Your money now belongs to StaticStigma. He needs a new computer, as well.
-Parody Rangers The Movie pt. 3 is up?!? *Rushes off*