Right. Now that I’m done fangirling my head off, I’m pretty darn pleased with the next development. I’m glad to see that we’re all done with Valentines and we’re ready to get serious (as serious as Lory can be) but I’m getting that Nakamura vibe again, the one where she’s beginning to pull herself in a ton of crazy directions for better or for worse–saw that coming in Tokyo Crazy Paradise; seeing it happening now.

:P The last year of developments was enough to drive me bonkers, so I’m wondering if I can hold off on reading Skip Beat until the end of the quarter so I can read five or six chapters all at once.  It’s not an entirely crazy idea.  I’ve done it with Bleach and Naruto.  It does make me a little sad to think about doing it but the benefits of waiting might be worth it.

– I do hate spoilers though. I’m the type of person that will go out of the way to avoid watching a movie preview if I can help it :P Only with movies that I’m really, really anticipating, though. We’ll see!

Operation blackout, start!

http://www.onemanga.com/Skip_Beat/149

It’s a really good (first?) effort, but I’m always waiting for Franky-House’s release (hee) They do such a great job.  Either way, it was still a pleasure to read Momoko’s.  Keep up the good work!

Happy holidays, everyone :)

Send Mo all of your cookies!  I’m totally amazed at how fast the newest chapter translation of Skip Beat came out!  Amazed and grateful!  Follow @unrelatedwaffle on Twitter (http://twitter.com/unrelatedwaffle) to get the newest translation updates!  And send her/him(?) lots of love!!  Brownies and cake to the raw provider, too!

Link to Skip Beat! Chapter 150 raws:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/jg5sz4

Link to Skip Beat! Chapter 150 Translation:
http://www.faceorama.com/pizza/skipbeat/skipbeat150.html

Rants and spoilers after the jump :)

*Bashes head on table* OMG. I had a happy, fluffy version of “Breathe” on my hard drive, but I wasn’t really in the mood to edit it and publish it. Now, I feel like I should delete it completely.  After reading chapter 150, whatever “progress” that was made in last chapter is GONE. Completely, utterly, MEANINGLESS.

Ok, I’m sure it’ll work into the next few chapters and grow as a little seed, somewhere in Kyoko’s unrepentant heart, but HEY, NAKAMURA. ARE YOU PLANNING ON ENDING THIS ANY TIME, EVER?  Forget seeing the “end” of Skip Beat (like I did last week). This week, I’m totally overwhelmed with the feeling of “OMG. SKIP BEAT IS NEVER GOING TO END.”  And somehow, that feels pretty good.  Anyone else with me here? :)

The Kanae and Hio scene was really cute–I’m pretty shocked/flabberghasted that Nakamura actually wrote “I’m going to call you a pedophile! Pedophile!” LOL! I mean, I like their relationship, and it’s the stuff that FanFics are made of (my preference would be when Hio’s older. Much older. Cough) but now we all see that’s exactly what Nakamura’s intended us to think >.> And THEN she pulls the same thing with Hio/Kanae as Ren/Kyoko, that is: “I respect you!  You’re my senpai!  *Lights shining in Kanae’s eyes* You inspire me to act better!”  In other words, poor Hio.  He’s never going to catch a break.

According to Tangerine Dreams and Comics 212, a ton of titles, including popular Beck, Ciel, Fruits Baskets and many more titles (check out Comics 212 for a full list) are on hold, indefinitely, because talks are not going well for TokyoPop.  They’re not going well at all.

At this point, I’m starting to tear my hair out because I bought all of Little Queen (volumes 1-7) and Little Queen 8 is the last volume that I need to complete my collection.  I’m currently looking to buy some copy at Amazon.co.uk for twice the price… But even then, that won’t complete my collection.

The terrifying thing for me is that I’m really thinking about scanslating it.  If I can find a Korean translator to do the real work for me, I’ll clean, edit and typeset the whole thing.  It’s frightening how determined I am, in part because I’m so outraged that we’re here again.  This series is technically licensed, but TokyoPop put scanslators back in the same situation we were in before.  If they’re incapable of making the series that we’re interested in available to us, there’s gotta be something that we can do, licensed or not.

I support Skip Beat! scanslations despite being licensed because at the rate that they’re releasing official American releases of Skip Beat!, they’ll never catch up to the Japanese releases of Skip Beat!.  Little Queen should’ve been finished a year ago.

Oops, I did bad.  I wasn’t supposed to be writing FanFiction this morning, but I did.  For whatever reason, I couldn’t sleep and I ended up thinking of Skip Beat (hee) and, out of the blue, I became really, really sad.  The chapter was wonderful – - I’m sure it was everything a lot of fans were hoping for – - and more.  But, with the sudden turn of events, I felt like Skip Beat! has finally reached a point where one of the main conflicts can finally head to a close.  I’m not saying that it’s there yet.  I’m not saying that it’s the end, but I am saying that it’s a beginning to an end.

So, out of the many wonderful pages in Skip Beat! chapter 149, there’s this one panel of Ren, where he looks hopelessly at an unsuspecting Kyōko.  It’s a picture that says everything about what he wants from her, what he doesn’t, and how all of his hopes and all of his fears that he has for her have already happened, and that he was the one that caused it.

I wrote a short, 900 word piece on that image.  I’ll wait a few weeks before putting it up (it shall be probably one of my favorites, as it really does say so much), and since I hate spoilers, I won’t say anymore.  Take a looksee, after you read the chapter, and drop me a line if you so desire.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5556468/1/Breathe

Ironically, while I wasn’t supposed to be writing FanFiction, this is a great set up for one of the Skip Beat! stories that’ve bumbling about in my mind for that Skip Beat! FanFiction challenge, way back when. (Shifty eyes//Looks away) I have three really great stories that I want to write, but… Real life, real writing takes precedence.  I think my friend would butcher me if she found out that I’ve been slacking off instead of real writing, but then again, she’s also (now) a huge fan of Skip Beat!, so I don’t care!

Ah, funny thing, it’s only been a day or so since the raws popped up, but mine is not the only FanFiction piece inspired by Skip Beat! chapter 149! Glad to know, that I’m not the only crazy crazy (in a good way, of course).

And lastly, boy, I am so not looking forward to hearing/responding to all of the “Second Chance” inquiries. (Shifty eyes//Looks away!) I changed the status to on Hiatus/Indefinitely because I have a ton of really gorgeous scenes that I’ve actually already written, but the rest of the story isn’t.  I should just write a series of “Second Chance” one-shots and leave it to someone else to fill in the blanks.  Is that cheating?

Skip Beat! 149 Translation: http://www.faceorama.com/pizza/skipbeat/skipbeat149.html

I’ve been following @unrelatedwaffle on Twitter, so when I got up this morning, I woke up to the wonderful bliss that is Mo’s translations ♥ Merry Christmas everyone!  Follow @unrelatedwaffle (http://twitter.com/unrelatedwaffle) to get the lastest translation updates from Blue Light Translations!  Aren’t they great?

Also, special thanks to the raw provider :)

Read it online at http://haven-reader.net or you can download your very own digital copy from the Franky-House forum download links.  Make sure to say thanks and spread the love!  They deserve a little worship and admiration for the great work *hee*

But my guiltiest of guilty pleasures occurs at the flogging of another fanfic.  I don’t mean flames or cruel comments.  I mean “Silly author” moments.  Like, in “Unexpected Happy Happy Dippy Do Day! XOXOXXX,” written by BlueMoonSSR.

One of the things that I detest as a writer is a “hot off the press” fanfiction.  Let’s face it.  Fanfiction has a pretty bad rep as it is, and the perfect fanfiction is more precious… than… hot pink gold.  Well, not really, but I know you know what I mean.  “Hot off the press” fanfics haven’t been reviewed, they haven’t been beta’d–heck–sometimes, they haven’t even been thought out entirely, so chances of a plot are entirely up to fate.

The logical reason why anyone would want to post like this is because most of us are eager to share.  There’s a whole world filled with people who love the same fandom you do, so posting a fanfic to share your common interests and obsessions, to connect with someone else who gets excited just as much as you do, is entirely logical to me.  Unfortunately, for a quality snob such as I, hot-off-the-press, spelling and grammar-error-riddled  fanfics just isn’t something I want to connect over.

So, when I came across a thread entry where this author bitch-slapped her reader for an honest albeit cruel review, I laughed.  I laughed really hard.  It was much easier to agree with the critic than the author, especially since the author wrote an “in-chapter-dedication” flaming the original reviewer.

Spelling’s made a little easier these days with a built-in spell checker, so “I don’t know how to spell” isn’t going to hack it with me.  Grammar?  Most fanfic writers have it, but a good number of them don’t, and yet grammar errors can be avoided with some help.  With FanFiction.net, there’s an abundance of Beta-Readers demanding more fanfictions.  You just gotta reach out and ask for some help.  But this writer, claimed that she wasn’t smart enough, that English wasn’t her native language, etc., etc.

I laughed…

Until I read the reviews.  Out of the 113 reviews, 7 out of the 8 pages are riddled with heckling comments on her grammar.  Lyriko, the reviewer who was singled out by the author, was the 7th reviewer.  So, a good 90% of these reviews are sharp, one-liner comments about BlueMoonSSR’s grammar.  It was probably written or posted by the same person, or the same group of people who banded together with similar heckling goals.

What happened to be a good laugh at first, turned into a dreadful, nauseating experience.  Before I knew it, I was in the writer’s shoes, imagining what it would be like to receive 100 emails along these lines.  It might be funny the first three times, but it gets irritating after seeing it more than a few times.  Irritating, upsetting, maddening.  Justifiably made angry.  And then… sad.  Just… sad.  Depressing.

“Please consult and use your dictionary more frequently. I think it’s lonely.”  “I can’t tell if you are a genius in your use of misplaced words, or just really bad in figuring out how to write in english.”  “This is so wrong. Just so wrong. You really need a beta.”  “I am going say something worth repeating. Your grammar sucks.”

Something worth repeating, yes.  But not like this.

Did the author deserve a few take-me-down comments?  Maybe.  Maybe.  But 100?  Isn’t this the kind of bullying that parents hope their children would never have to go through in real life?  The kind of bully that parents fear for their children, and pray that they wouldn’t commit social or physical suicide over?

That’s what it feels like to me.

I can’t imagine this author wanting to write any more stories because of this.  If I hadn’t dug a little deeper, I might’ve been glad that there’s one less “stupid fanfic writer” on the internet.  But I’m not.  I’d rather see ten harsh, but honest, well-written critiques on this person’s fanfiction review page than 100 bad ones that amount to no help whatsoever.   I don’t have anything against Lyriko’s original review because it was honest and self-reflective.  I might’ve just laughed at it and ignored it if it was written about one of my FanFics, to tell you the truth.  But it’s the other 100 reviews/reviewers that piss me off.

People need encouragement.  All of us.  When we’re good, when we’re bad, when we’re down, when we’re up.  We all need encouragement.  There’s something so wrong about seeing a 100+ comments that are so unhelpful, cruel, and downright petty.

Also, there’s something that needs to be said about fanfiction and grammar.  When I was in high school, I was a straight-A student and grammar was boring.  I could draw diagrams upside-down and write essays in my sleep.  The summer before my senior year, our sister school had decided to close its doors permanently, so those students were integrated into our private school.  What I had never realized before that year was that our privileged, private school education was truly and honestly much better than theirs.  It shocked me that these new students had a very mediocre understanding of grammar.  Grammar was hard to grasp, despite how much effort that they put into it.  It wasn’t a matter of private-school versus public-school education.  We were both all from private schools!  But some of these kids just couldn’t do it as quickly or as easily.

It does matter where and when you get your education.  Grammar is just like everything else.  Some people get it easier than others.  Some people have to work for it.  Does it make you smarter, stupider, stronger, or weaker?  I don’t know.  But perhaps for this person, it’s like me and art.  It comes slowly, gradually, and sometimes, I don’t always get it, but when I do and when I do make it, it’s rewarding and I want to share it with others.

For this particular case, native languages and secondary-languages learners are amazing.  I’ve taken three-plus years of Japanese and it’s still difficult for me to even want to write or read in Japanese to someone else.  But I like doing it, and if I have someone to read or write to, I will.  But there’s always a sense of fear that I’ll be mocked for my mediocre grammar skills or for my terrible, terrible accent.  Personally, everytime I get mocked, it makes me want to speak less, and that’s a horrible feeling to have.  To have invested three-plus years in learning a difficult language and being bullied into not-wanting to use it?  It sucks.  I want to have that constant “Aja-aja fighting!” attitude, but when you keep hitting a wall over and over again, you fall down, and sometimes you need someone else to pick you up.

We all need encouragement.  All of us.  Each and every one us.

I know it’s not my business, but if I could, gently, honestly, earnestly: please, be kind to one another.  I love writing.  I love Skip Beat! and its crazy fans and fandom, and I love writing.  If I could, I’d tell everyone to help each other out.  Sure, for some of you, you can keep writing mean critiques because it’s funny, but also give encouragement and tell the author how they can get better, instead of being just plain mean.  But for the rest of you, keep bringing your wonderful, sun-shiny selves to the FanFiction pages and forums and share the love, give encouragement, and be happy!  For authors, write and write well.  You’ll get your readers and your kind critiquers if you put a little bit of effort into your writing–and trust me, readers know when effort is being made.

It might be all about Darwin-ism out in the real world, but here, in our own little corner of fandom, couldn’t we please be just a little bit nicer?

[Postscript: Now that I'm actually reading this fanfic, I've realized that there's actually "no" spelling mistakes.  That is, she relies too heavily on the spell check in her word-processor, so all of the spelling is correct (minus the Japanese names, which is often spelled wrong LOL), but these "correct spellings" totally throw off her grammar.  It's actually not as terrible as I'd thought it would be.  Ironic, isn't it?  A copy of her chapter, with the correct grammar revisions can be seen on the review page here.  If she updates it accordingly, it still won't be the very best fanfics out there in the interwebs, but it certainly isn't among the worst.  That's all.  Thanks for listening to my rant.]

This entry is dedicated to my favorite Skip Beat! artist on the net!  I believe her name is Acy; her blog is located at qianguixu.blog61.fc2.com and she regularly blogs about Skip Beat and Chinese dramas.  I have no idea what she writes about half the time (hee) but I love her artwork and her humor.  What I really need is a Chinese translator so I can finally find out what Kyoko is saying in some of these comic strips Acy’s drawn up!

You can see all of her artwork and musings of the days at her Photobucket Album, but please be aware that there are a few pictures that should be labeled NC-17.  I think they’re on pages 7-8 of the Photobucket Account, but I’m not completely sure (sweatdrop). In any case, I’ve thumbnailed and linked some of my favorites in this thread, but all of the credit goes to Acy!  If you’re interested, stop by Acy’s blog and check out all of her Skip Beat! entries.

Have a favorite Skip Beat! artist?  Share them!

The two pictures below are from Acy’s portraiture of Sho’s music video, “Prisoner.”  I’m guessing from her previous artwork, the first picture is of Kyoko and Ren. It looks gorgeous! I could totally write a FanFiction for this FanArt. I could, I totally could!

Hi-resolution pictures are available at Acy’s blog.

These “Torture Sho!” comics below are my favorite!
They’re so reminiscent of the first few volumes when Skip Beat was
just pure fun, fun, fun.