A Lady and Her Butler

I've had some creepy dreams about Kuroshitsuji after the first season of the anime ended… In fact, Sebastian generally creeps me out, even though I find this character to be quite “handsome”. I mean, who would want to have their souls eaten, right?

Well, the other night… rather, Sunday afternoon, I took a nap because I barely slept the night before, trying to fix my printer. I wanted to print some test panels for my independent comics for Komikon, but one of the gears cracked and I had to have it fixed the next morning (my only chance of getting out of the house, if you know what I mean).

Afternoon naps generally give me vivid dreams, but this one is still stuck on my mind.

In the dream, Sebastian was my butler. I wasn’t Ciel, because he called me “my lady” and I’m pretty sure… Ciel wasn’t there at all. It started out… familiar, because I told him I was tired- because of the same reasons that I was tired in the real world. He basically let me sleep and carried me to my room.

But in the next instance, I was going to meet my father for dinner. Now, I generally do this in the real world too, every Sunday, but it’s usually with the entire family. In the dream, Dad looked much older than his real self, and mom wasn’t with him. But it didn’t feel as unnatural as it should have been. I had the distinct feeling about a divorce of some sort, but I didn’t talk about it and neither did he.

I sat down, but refused to eat and let him finish whatever it was that was on his plate, when we overheard the people from the table beside us talking about some wealthy bachelor from a prestigious family marrying someone. My Dad, as usual, wanted to hear the details even though he couldn’t hear well anymore, so Sebastian whispered to me what it was about. It turned out that the bachelor wouldn’t refuse the arranged marriage because the girl was quite beautiful.

Dinner ended, and I left. I didn’t leave with my Dad, and went home to my own manor. I went to the garden that evening and felt like dancing in the moonlight. And who else would be my dancing partner but Sebastian himself. Smiling, like he does in that icon.

All of these details in a matter of a little less than 2 hours of sleep. It was rather intriguing. Nothing felt unnatural, even my being very emotionless. Hm…

Now I think I’ll make it a habit to write up about these. :3

Nendroid Crazy

Admittedly, I never thought I would get into Nendroids from Good Smile Company. For one thing, there are rather large for chibi figures, and having changeable parts isn’t really a good incentive in my opinion…

I say this while owning 3 Nendroids already… and I’m still searching for other characters I might like to add to my collection. It’s all Sebastian’s fault. Him and his cute cat.

Oh, and I did find a reason to like interchangeable parts:

Saber Lily looks like she stepped out of Fate/Zero when she’s in Sebastian’s body. Roflmao~ xD Guess I can go without buying that figure anymore!

The Manor at Baguio

My siblings decided to go to Baguio this weekend while the parents are away. :3 It's just an overnight stay, but I have to say, Camp John Hay is really quite something.

The Manor makes you feel like a million bucks. xD All of the staff wear white gloves and the gardens are amazing. :3 I could just stay in this hotel and I'd be satisfied, but of course, my siblings get bored easily, so we'll be heading out in a few minutes to see Ibays for some silver then off to the market for some fresh fruits and vegetables.

Speaking of vegetables, I've never tasted vegetables so sweet. I guess what they say about Baguio having the freshest vegetables is quite true. :3

We ate a lot of good food at the most unlikely places too. I wish I brought along my bluetooth dongle for my laptop, but I doubt I'd have time to edit the photos.

I'll post more later... for now, I'm going to go get some strawberries and fondue~ ♥

Fangirling Over Kuroshitsuji Things

I'm finally completing my episodes of Kuroshitsuji and stumbled upon the OVA the other day... Now I'm just totally confused. The series was pretty vindictive in showing that revenge is everything in this world, and then the OVA dictates the exact opposite. It seems that Ciel learned this lesson from the children in the audience... in a way, Sebastian also taught him that. If that were the case, then why did Ciel end up dying in the end of the anime series?

Too many questions left unanswered... but despite the OVA being an overall disappointment, their depiction of Hamlet was pretty hilarious~! I'm guessing they wanted to do something different for the OVA.

That also reminded me that I haven't even posted this yet:

I like this and I don't like it at the same time. ~_~ I'm not sure... maybe it's because it looks too typical of Ciel to look like... well, Ciel? xDDD;;; It just seems like I copied it from an original piece or something. =.=;;;

I need to draw him and Sebas-chan together~ ♥ I wonder what season 2 will hold in store for us? New master, now butler (even if the new butler sounds like Sebas-chan); this should prove to be very interesting indeed. >3

Happy April Fools~ xD!!!

Artist for Hire

Because I am now a starving artist, I've decided to put up commissions. For now, these are the services offered, but I will update my Deviant Art Commissions Information if I think I can handle any more.

Yes, I'm serious... even if it is April Fools today. xD;;;

Portrait Commissions: US$15 ($7 for each additional character)

* waist up
* full color
* minimal to no BG only

Samples:

Chibi Commissions: US$10 ($5 for each additional character)

* full body
* full color
* minimal to no BG only

Samples:

Color Commissions: US$10-20

* price depending on difficulty
* lineart must be provided in high resolution
* minimal to no BG only

Sample:

If interested, please send me an email with the following information:

Name:
E-mail: (your PayPal email)
Commission Type:
Description of character:
Art style: (you can choose any style from my gallery)
Link for reference of character:

RULES

- I reserve the right to post commissions on my websites.
- Sketching will begin only after the commission has been paid either in 50% down payment of preferably paid in full (PAYPAL ONLY).
- Please give at least 15 days before issuing a follow-up.
- Corrections will only be entertained during sketching stage.
- The final artwork in its highest resolution will be emailed to the commissioner in JPEG format (unless requested otherwise).
- No hentai, yaoi, or yuri.
- Allowing the artist a bit of leeway for the poses is preferred.

If you have any questions, comments, requests, and suggestions, please do let me know~ ^_^ Thank you very much!

Kuroshitsuji The Musical: Part 2

I never thought I’d see the day…

Kuroshitsuji The Musical: Part 2 Announced!
Kuroshitsuji – The Most Beautiful DEATH in The World – The Shinigami that fell with a 1000 souls

The Story - England, the 19th Century. The almighty butler Sebastian of the Phantomhive House: the “evil nobles” that are contracted to perform the Queen Victoria’s “underground” work. His true form is that of a demon. According to his contract with his young Master Ciel, a proudly independent boy who faces his cursed fate head-on, he becomes Ciel’s shadow and cleans up the incidents that occur in the underground society.

One day, the two set out to investigate an outbreak of random killings in London on the Queen’s orders. At the same time, the shinigami dispatch association, which is burdened with the task of “collecting souls”, has been troubled with a plague of “non-collectable souls”. The shinigami William knocks his subordinate Grelle, who does nothing but play hooky, over the head and leads the investigation with honor-student shinigami Allan and his friend Eric.

Demons, Shinigami, an incurable disease, a cursed past. The incident will entwine each of their destinies, as well as uncover the sad truth. Amongst all that, the curtain rises on the grand opera performance the viscount of Druitt is holding.

Can death visit on shinigami? Why can’t the souls be collected? Alongside the sad and painful investigation is a Noir Fantasy in which the strings are pulled by the Black Butler.

Official Site: Kuroshitsuji Stage
Translated by: Ann chan
From: otouto ja nai!

Someone tell me there's an English Subtitled version on that DVD! What is this unhealthy obsession of mine over demon-like bishounens? =_=;;; First Kaname and now Sebastian! Even though I still think Sebastian is going to eat me. –.-;;;

The Devil’s Trill Sonata

The Devil's Trill by ~kurohiko on deviantART

"…so inferior to what I had heard, that if I could have subsisted on other means, I would have broken my violin and abandoned music forever." - Giuseppe Tartini

I think it would be interesting to hear Sebastian play the Devil’s Trill Sonata, don’t you agree?

Please, Sebastian, don’t eat me. ;x;

After watching the final episode for season 1 of Kuroshitsuji, it made me have nightmares about Sebastian deciding to eat me. Dx Ciel wasn’t exactly helping much either since he told Sebastian to make his final moments as painful as possible. Meep… Proof of life? >.<;;;

This is a simple illustration that I did for about 4 hours last night. My nephew was drawing chibis on his Shakey’s placemat during dinner and it kinda inspired me to do something simple and elegant. I’m not really sure why I decided to draw Sebastian Michaelis since we were drawing chibi Bleach together, but I’m not really complaining.

It has everything I love in it… Glasses, a violin, and a window. So truthfully, this is just eye candy for myself. >.<;;;

Hope you guys like it! x3

Kuroshitsuji: the Musical

Oh, come on... A Kuroshitsuji Musical? To be released on DVD on December 2nd of this year? I mean really, who would-

...

*looks for a place to pre-order* ♥

Found this news on Pie Power.

Yes, "Mistress"~! ♥

Normally, I'm not the type who would agree to making a guy dress up like a girl.

Normally.

But as you can see, I'm not a proud owner of Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive PVC... the girl version.

Isn't he just the most adorable thing you're ever laid eyes on? *_* I got her him at SM last week for only P80 (less that US$2) since he's made in China. It's probably an imitation PVC as the others in the series were not that well made. Ciel in his girly attire was the only one who looked absolutely gorgeous. And just look at that snarky pose. x3

He's glaring at me from the top of my CPU. ._.;;; Charming, really.

I need a good looking Sebastian to take care of the young master. I hope I can find one soon~! ♥

The Earl of Turnabout Café

I've never been one to finish an artwork in one sitting. I like to take my time with things, keep it cool... Make sure things look perfect, and such.

I think something came over me last in the early morning hours of July 2 though... Probably because I don't have work on Pasig Day, yes?

Earl Cain Hargreaves by ~kurohiko on deviantART

I think the mere thought of drawing Cain Hargreaves from Godchild in Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive's clothing excited me too much that I felt the need to finish this. It was also a good escuse to draw a human skull, which I had been meaning to try for a while now, but feared my mommy dear might disown me if I did. xD

The more I look at this, the more Cain seems like Ciel. Hrm... They're both Earls too.

It's funny how well the background works with this. I wonder if it's bad to use your own stock photo for backgrounds? I didn't want to submit something with a blank background again... x.x;;;

I really enjoyed coloring this. Burn/Dodge methods are hard to replicate, but stand alone pieces like this make it look so... soft and yummy. x3 And it looks like one of those maid/butler café cards you get to buy when you visit a café. Not sure how true the rumor is, but apparently you get to buy a card of your favorite maid/butler and get them to sign it or something.

Maybe Turnabout Café should do that too... With Konata's help, of course~ ♥

Goodbye, Michael…

Michael Jackson has passed away earlier today at the age of 50 due to cardiac arrest.

Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to the hospital, Ruda told the newspaper.

- excerpt from Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50

His life was placed under a microscope being the “King of Pop”. I always felt sorry for him feeling the need to change his appearance because he was said to have been verbally abused by his dad. I’m not sure if he really is a pedophile, gay, or whatever else he was accused of… As much as we know how bizarre he was, he made good music.

I suppose this will affect the amount of downloads his mp3s will be getting in the next couple of days… I wonder why it’s always only when someone passes away that people remember them and say good things about them?

But I digress… He often said he wanted to be Peter Pan… May he finally find the Neverland he was seeking for while he was here among us.

On a non-related topic, Kuroshitsuji will apparently be having a second season. I have no idea how that will be playing out with the first season killing off the main character, but I suppose we will have to wait and see.

The Royal Mint of England and Hello Kitty

I don't like Hello Kitty very much... in fact, I adore Kuromi more than Hello Kitty.

However, I do have a fascination of coins. Limited edition coins are always lovely to look at, and I think out of all the limited edition coins set to be released for Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary celebration, this takes the cake.

I keep thinking it looks as if they've walked into the lang of Kuroshitsuji. And for one, Mimmy's dress looks better that Hello Kitty's (which pretty much reminds me of Baro't Saya, the Philippine's National costume/dress for women).

For people who can't tell who's who, Mimmy on the left, with the bow on her right ear, and Hello Kitty's on the right, with the bow on her left ear.

Why do I have the feeling that I will end up buying these some day? *_*;;;

In other news, flying cockroach at 2 in the morning is no fun and games in the Kho household. =.=;;; I lack sleep thanks to the hovering, disgusting... asjdhasda!!! I'm disinfecting everything in my room again later, pfft.

One Icon Spam

I don't know if people here in blogspot are interested in this sort of thing, but I owe a lot of people when it comes to icons, and I thought it'd be nice to share this with the world. :D

*steals knuxieness' format*

Preview:


View the entire set here

List:

Kuroshitsuji / Black Butler:
Ciel Phantomhive: 4
Ciel Phantomhive (girl version): 5
Sebastian Michaelis: 10
Meirin: 1

Onegai My Melody:
Yumeno Uta: 3
Yumeno Uta (chibi version): 8
Hiiragi Keiichi: 8
Hiiragi Keiichi (chibi version): 1
Kuromi: 1
Kurumi Nui: 6

Lucky Star:
Hiiragi Tsukasa: 3
Hiiragi Kagami: 1
Izumi Konata: 4

Kuroshitsuji "Black Butler"

I've finally finished watching Kuroshitsuji last night, around 2am. Shinsen was taking a while to sub their episodes, so upon recommendation, I tried Ronery. Not exactly the best, but I can make do since I can now understand some Japanese. I'm still hoping Shinsen will finish subbing Kuroshitsuji, and I will be waiting loyaly for the episodes to come out~

Anyhow, it wasn't as anti-climatic as I expected. In fact, it scared the living daylights out of me.

As it turns out, a fallen angel who takes the form of 2 different people, Angela and Ash, was behind the murder of Ciel's parents... behind the visage of the Queen Victoria. The Fallen Angel seemingly wished only for Ciel's happiness and wanted to rewrite his past into a purer one without hatred. Ciel denies this happiness and refused to let go of his hatred towards the people who have wronged and humiliated him.

Ciel also began to realize that his chess pieces did not always act as he planned. Fred Abberline gave his life for Ciel's in the hopes that he would realize he is not alone in this world and that he could rely on others to be his ally. His death began changing Ciel, much to Sebastian annoyance, making Ciel more compassionate to innocent people. Sebastian abandons Ciel temporarily, until Ciel was nearly killed by the Queen's guards.

Eventually, Sebastian declines the Fallen Angel's offer for a place beside her in her desire for world domination and kills her in his true form in only 10 seconds.

Having fulfilled his revenge, Ciel seems to have committed suicide in the end of the anime adaptation. It is later shown that Sebastian is guiding the boat in what I assume to be the River of Acheron (the river of sorrows in Greek Mythology, a river you cross when you die). They come to an island where Ciel must fulfill his end of the bargain and give his soul to Sebastian. He has accepted his fate and orders Sebastian to make the process as painful as possible in order to etch his life into his soul.

To be honest, the ending gave me the creeps. Partly because I felt sorry for Ciel... he was beginning to learn that not everyone is his enemy, and maybe, he had some sort of chance to get away from Sebastian's clutches. And why is it that Sebastian bears a striking resemblance to Ciel's father?!

There was also the seemingly untold reality that revenge cannot fully satisfy hatred. When Ciel was on the boat with Sebastian, and he was given Tanaka's journal, it reveals that Ciel's father already knew that the Queen was after his life. He also thought about the people he had killed to satisfy his need for revenge, and thought nothing of it since he himself was also dead.

We all die some day, and when that day comes, will everything we have done during the time we are living seem pointless as well? What if there is no afterlife and you simply... disappear? Would you rather be devoured by a demon too, so long as you fulfill every desire you have on earth?

..this is probably the most disturbing anime series I've ever seen. Not for the weak of heart... but it did make me think a lot.

Kokoro wo Yasumeru Otona no Nurie DS 2

I got myself a layout change for the coming Christmas season... :D I'll be sure to change the header image to something more Christmas-y later tonight... if I find any that is.

And if you want a new blogspot layout, you might want to check out Free Blogger Templates. They got great layouts that need no XML/CSS editing unlike some templates available on the net. Just download, upload, and you're done! And don't forget to backup your widgets! xD

Anyhow, good news to all those aspiring artists who own an NDS out there! I stumbled upon this new game now available in Japan. It's apparently a picture painting game where you can draw better quality paintings than "Colors!".

From the screen shots of sample art pieces made by a group called "The Vippers", you get to choose the medium you prefer (oils, watercolor, or color pencil) and zoom in to add all those extra details.

I would give you the site where I got these images, but since I got them from a friend's plurk, the site is... not safe for work. >.<;;; So I took a few to post here that are safe.

I'd prefer very much to keep my blog kid-friendly, but if you really want the site, leave me a comment or something and I can direct you to the plurk post.

Some of the images you really can't believe that they were drawn on the NDS. I mean, why would anyone want to strain their eyes detailing on such a tiny screen? So says the one who draws using Colors!

Gotta love the cute white tiger! What awesome hair detailing! *o*

And for those of us who can't afford to buy this game and/or can't understand Japanese, there's always the Pic-to-Chat alternative.

..those guys are good. ;.;

..I Phail as a Web Mangaka, I Kid You Not!

So the updates have gone back to PHAIL lately, but I'm telling you, this time, it's not my fault! There was just a lot of stuff that needed to be done in the house before the parents came home a few days ago, so the busy schedule was busy.

I'm planning to set up the gallery section for A.illusions soon. I'd also like to set up the Chinese version of Karma for online reading, but I'll have to ask Renka for that. :)

Similarly, work has been crazier than usual... Why do the right people tend to hide at the times you need them the most? :( But at least we got some progress done. I'm just sad they won't hold off 24/7 operations for the holidays. Oh well...

I made a Kuroshitsuji Fanart over at Colors! (also available in dA) I won't be posting it here since I'm lazy and I'm not too happy with how it turned out, you can view it for yourself by clicking on the links above. :D

I need more time for sketching practice.

I also edited page 71's script thanks to some awesome comments from the A.I. community. The forums are back online by the way, so feel free to visit whenever you can!

And now for some manga quotes that I find to be incredibly insightful:

"You know what? I was really uncertain. I honestly didn't know if it was smart to turn the thing I love into a 'job'. If I made it my work, then I'd have to do it even when I was tired... when I didn't feel like it... Would I still love it then? Would I be able to keep that love alive? I wondered it... I dunno... Maybe I should save what I love best. Keep it like a hobby..." - Keiichi Morisato

"It'll be fine! Maybe loving something isn't always fun... but if it's something you feel for deeply, you'll never hate it. Not ever." - Belldandy

Goodnight all~ ^^

Kuroshitsuji

A young boy is suddenly orphaned at the age of 12 and takes over the Phantomhive family business; that is the fate of the young master, Ciel Phantomhive. In order to survive, he makes a contract with the demon Sebastian Michaelis to serve as his butler and bodyguard.

I've picked up this series recently, and I have to say, the animation is very impressive. I haven't been too happy about the animation I've been seeing recently, but Kuroshitsuji looks very well-made so far. Even the action scenes are a welcome sight, after the decline in Bleach's and Vampire Knight's animation quality.

..and besides, Sebastian is very bishie material. I suppose Ciel would be qualified for Shota, or something of the like, but hm~ a bishie demon butler serving you tea and making dinner... not to mention keeping you safe from harm, sounds like a dream come true.

Aside from the demon part that is. ^_~

I'm looking forward to future episodes of this series. I'm considering on picking up the manga too. It makes me wonder if there's a way for Ciel to break his contract-

AHA! Episode 3 finished downloading~ Yatta! *goes to watch* (~'.')~