Ramble: Games I Play

*revives blog from the dead*

In all honesty, though, I'm probably lying. Thing is, I don't have the time to maintain this blog - and I really ought to be doing more important stuff right now, but I'm a procrastinator by heart, so I shall write a blog post then (partly since it's something I always wanted to do but kept putting in the back burner).

Something that's pretty off-tangent from my post but related to the previous paragraph: http://freelanceswitch.com/productivity/10-ways-to-make-laziness-work-for-you/
I think you can tell by the url what this website is about, and one of the ways is what I'm doing now: "Structured Procrastination", which basically means doing something less important but still is something to be done sooner or later in avoidance of doing something more important. Since I figured I'll be procrastinating in the end, why not do something I always wanted to do? So here I am~

I actually have a draft blog post on Shakugan no Shana but I wanted to do a good job for that post, so I haven't posted it up until now. And I started writing that in March. *bangs head on wall*

Anyway, enough of my rambling and get on to the 'actual' ramble: games.

Those who know me should know that I like to play games - a lot. Yeah, this is a real problem sometimes, but well... This is a post that I figure should be quite irrelevant to a lot of people I know, but this is MY blog after all, and besides these kinds of posts let you understand me more, no?

To start off, here's a partial list of the games I currently play: (by alphabetical order)
- Be My Princess for GREE
- Cause of Death
- Ninja Love for GREE
- UNO with Friends

^ Those are the games I play more often than others. The following are games I play once in a while:
- Fun Run
- Subway Surfers
- Wind Runner for both LINE and KakaoTalk

On to the games itself:
Be My Princess (BMP): skip this whole part if you are a guy/don't like romance simulation games/don't like anything related to Japanese/don't like Japanese anime/manga
This is known as an Otome game (basically, a game targeted at the female demographic, usually in the 'visual novel' style or also known as 'Choose Your Own Adventure'. Think of it as the Japanese game version of chick lit. The word 'otome' is actually Japanese, so games like this are obviously developed in Japan), so most guys won't actually play it - honestly, I would question a guy's orientation if he plays this kind of game. As mentioned, this is an otome game, so I guess I should cover some of the usual aspects of otome games:

- They almost always contain romance, and usually that's the main theme.
- Often the games are 'reverse harem' - one girl, many guys. (Nope, you don't date all of them at once. It's one at a time. Makes me feel disloyal sometimes LOL)
- The games are told in story mode, where you are the guys' love interest.
- They often provide choices which you can make throughout the course of the game and which will influence the ending of the story.

I think the main reason I like such games is because I like reading and I like gaming, and if you put them together? You get a visual novel-ish game. It's like the best of both worlds LOL. I'm actually also a romantic, so that's why otome games appeal to me.

For BMP, the story goes as this: you are a fashion designer, who was working in the world's top fashion design company until it had a scandal, and then you receive an invitation to work as an exclusive designer for a prince (yes, princes exist in this game, and the story is set in the modern world). Then you choose which prince you want to work for, and your love story progresses from there. There are six princes to choose from, and each prince has a different personality (duh!).

In clockwise from top left corner: Prince Joshua Lieben of DresVan Kingdom (purple hair), Prince Keith Alford from Liberty Kingdom (the one with blue sash), Prince Edward Levaincois of Charles Kingdom (silver-white hair), Prince Wilfred A. Spencer of Philip Kingdom (blond hair), Prince Roberto Button of Altaria Kingdom (red coat and white pants), Prince Glenn J. Casiraghi of Oriens Kingdom (in the middle).

This game apparently became quite a big hit, I heard it's the most popular otome game in overseas countries. Guess the fairytale-like marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton helped to revive fantasies of marrying princes, thus making this game really appealing?

So far I've completed Edward, Roberto and Glenn's Super Happy Endings (in that order), and am currently on Joshua's route. Some thoughts on them so far:

Edward: The kind of Prince Charming every little girl (and some not-so-little girls) dreams of. He's sweet, he's kind, he's nice, he treats you with respect like you're some noble's daughter (you are a commoner), he's basically perfect. This is why some gamers don't like him, they feel that he's TOO perfect. But this is the reason why I started with him: I played this game to have a fairytale experience that I'll not experience in real life. And really, if you get a Happy Ending, it's the perfect happily-ever-after to a perfect fairytale story. (I heard the Normal Endings for all the princes are quite sad :X)

Roberto: He's actually my favourite prince for now, LOL. After playing his route I realise he's the kind of guy I'll love to date: the cheery, fun kind (but who may have a serious and somewhat sad side in private....?). Playing his route after Edward also made me realise something: Edward is TOO polite. To the point I feel distant from him. (I mean that in Roberto's route, you eventually get to call him just Roberto without the Prince in front - like you're so close to him that you don't have to address him politely, a closeness few will get to have. As far as I know, you only get to do that for 3 princes: Roberto, Glenn and Keith.) I really adore Roberto; he's really fun and quite the jokester, which makes him look immature at times, but when he's dealing with important issues regarding his country (only when he's not procrastinating, LOL. We're alike in that way, Robbie!), his serious side shows - he knows his duties and he loves his country enough to be serious. Again, I love the Super Happy Ending, it's awesome!

Glenn: I had my reservations about him (one of it being his age - he's younger than the main character. I don't like stories where the guy is younger than you, haha), and in the end, I chose to play his route not for him, but for his adorable younger brother Alan and his butler Yu (there are event stories in BMP, and in past events you get to play short stories with butlers and I really adore Yu). Poor Glenny-poo (Roberto's ridiculous nickname for him, but it's damn cute at the same time lol).

That's Alan. Isn't he adorable?! I want him as a younger brother! And nope dear Alan, you look way too cute to be a bullfighter. Not that you asked for my opinion. *sad face*

But after I played Glenn's route, I realise I really like his route (probably more than Roberto's route, but in terms of prince, I still like Roberto more). The storyline's kind of cliche (actually, it really is very cliche), but then, you ARE dating a prince in the first place! Cliche kind of comes with the territory, right?

I can't remember if I did for the other princes, but I cried so many times near the end of Glenn's route. Maybe the developers spent more time on Glenn, because his route is done so that you gotta like him, and then BAM! Out comes a (couple of) heartwrenching moments (and LOTS of moments where you want to punch the other characters in the route). It's a rollercoaster ride through this one. If I ever get around to playing his Normal Ending, I think the waterworks won't stop.

Joshua: I just started his route not so long ago, so I don't have much on him. Heard some rumours on his route though, seems like there might SOME similarities between his butler, Jan, and Glenn's butler, Yu (in terms of what they did in the stories) :O and Joshua's apparently one of the most popular princes. Not sure if I'll like him though, he's part of the 'tsundere trio' with Glenn and Keith (tsundere means a person with a cold appearance, sometimes even rude, but later when you get to know him/her, you'll find that person caring a lot for you - and they're almost always very sweet then), and I like my guys to treat me nicely from the start. To sum up his route so far: that (the story) escalated quickly. XD (Yay, I get to use this phrase!)

Wilfred: Upcoming prince after Joshua. I'm terrified of his butler, Claude, though, since he seems so evil to me... D: I know what you will do to me, Claude! And it's illegal! But damn, you're a royal butler, so you aren't getting prosecuted! Grrrrr. (And just in case, he's not raping her. But it is still rather horrible!)

Keith: Upcoming prince after Wilfred. Also one of the most popular princes among gamers. He seems the most tsundere of the trio, so I'm wary. But sigh, my idea of eye-candy is guys with brown hair and green eyes, which is Keith! This is not making me feel better, since I don't really like tsundere guys.

And just for fun, I tried to match each prince's kingdom to a corresponding country in real life:
Oriens - Japan (the name implies oriental anyway)
Philip - some European country, possibly England/France/Germany
Altaria - Spain/Italy
Charles - likely another European country as well
Liberty - if America had a royal family, Liberty would be it. (As its name implies, the people enjoy a lot of freedom - and America's famous for freedom)
DresVan - if England is not already taken, this would be it. They're such a stickler for rules.

Ending off BMP, this is apparently the princes available in the second season (only released in Japan so far): the new princes make me wonder what happened to the royal families in season 1. Did their position get usurped???

Who are Princes Ivan and Aslan and what did they do to the previous royal families????

Cause of Death (CoD): skip this if you don't like mystery/crime/visual novel games

This is the only game I've continued playing until now ever since I got my iPhone in 2010. I. LOVE. THIS. GAME. Again, it's a visual novel-ish game, only it has a much smaller romance focus, focusing on crime-solving instead. Some plot twists are really awesome, and the longer cases are really entertaining to play. Given that this game can be played entirely for free (the main story that is, some side stories are only available if you buy them, but they are not necessary to play the story) and the plots are well done, it's no surprise it'll be one of my favourite games. I actually like the crime/mystery/thriller feel to it (quite an interesting fact considering I went on and on about BMP, which is as girly as it gets), it makes the story feel much more significant and 'meaty' (I do like BMP, but most of the story is propelled forward by the romance, and real life doesn't consist of merely romance, making the stories seem even more unrealistic). I like the romance aspect as well - it's there, but not a very important plot device; the main focus is still on crime, which I really appreciate.

The main characters of CoD, and despite its orientation, the leftmost 2 are the MAIN characters. From left to right: Detective Mal Fallon. Special Agent Natara Williams, Data Analyst Amy Chen (yes, they have a Chinese girl in it), Detective Jeremy Redbird, Detective Blaise Corso and Forensic Technician Kai Kalaba (it's a he).

I like Mal, I really do. He's the kind of guy who believes in justice, and would do almost anything for real justice to be served (he knows the system can be abused by the rich and powerful). Too bad he's in the police force, I think he can better carry out justice as a vigilante. (I'm thinking of Iljimae and City Hunter now lol) Natara's the girl every girl wants to be: rich (her father's a businessman), smart, capable (she's a freaking FBI agent) and pretty. I almost stopped liking her in the Oscar arc, but hey, every girl makes mistakes. The extent she's willing to go for Mal speaks volumes of the depth of their relationship. (Yes, they're a couple, and the fan-dubbed name is Maltara - cute.)

Amy wasn't one of the more prominent characters at first - she kinda fit the Asian stereotype of 'genius'. But after the Ken incident she's really grown a backbone. I love her sassy attitude. But with the current plot development with Jeremy, errr... I'm not totally in favour of it yet. Developers, you gotta work harder to convince me. Azrael was perfect and you guys killed him. Sheesh.

I didn't like Jeremy at first. They initially portrayed him as a goody-two-shoes, but when he listened to his instinct and did what was right, he won me over. And when his sweet side was portrayed repeatedly (towards Blaise, generally) I adored him. Though he's in a healing process right now, I don't like how it's turning out... Seriously, developers???

If Mal was a cop that really seeked for justice, then Blaise is a superhero. You know, the vigilantes that save the world with their superpowers, except Blaise's a human. She's not above beating guys up for information to catch bad guys (those who got beaten deserve it, believe me) and is what you'll call unconventional, but I love her passionate side when it comes to catching criminals. She's a passionate person, and I thought she and Jeremy fit each other well by being each other's opposite (unfortunately, the BlaiseBird ship has sunk... for now, I hope). She's definitely somebody who deserves a happy ending.

Kai's the goofball, LOL. I don't really have much to say about him, but Kara brings out his serious side... Though sometimes I wonder if he actually HAS a serious side. He and Boone were explosive, LOL. Loved the scenes where they drove Amy nuts.

I would love to do in-depth ramble on CoD, but remember I started playing since 2010 - I've forgotten most of the stories! Genevieve Collins is an interesting antagonist, though. So darn curious to know what will happen to her and the Firstborn in the end. Argh, give me the next chapter already!!!

Ninja Love for GREE (NL): skip this whole part if you are a guy/don't like romance simulation games/don't like anything related to Japanese/don't like Japanese anime/manga/don't like traditional Japanese setting

If BMP was unrealistic, this takes it to the next level. There's magic and ninjas and samurais in this game. Makes me feel like I'm reading a storybook, though.

For this, the story is like this: You're living as the adopted granddaughter of the chief priest of the village temple, when one day a group of ninjas come into town and you learn of your true parentage: you're the (only, I think) daughter of this clan (forgot the name) who began the art of ninjutsu. Basically, you're the princess of ninjas. A war is about to break out between ninjas and samurais + turncoat ninjas (led by Nobunaga Oda, this evil guy who's trying to wipe out all ninjas and take over the world), and you have to go the town of Iga and rally the ninjas for war. But you can only travel with one ninja to avoid notice, and the chosen ninja will be your love interest.

From top to bottom, left to right: Sasuke Sarutobi, Saizo Kirigakure, Rennoshin, Musashi Miyamoto, Munenori Yagyu, Goemon Ishikawa, Kotaro Fuma (first name followed by family name)

Couldn't help but include a chibi version of them too. SO FREAKING CUTE, I LOVE THE ARTIST!
(BTW, 2nd guy, bottom row is Hanzo Hattori, another ninja available but not reflected in the first picture)

Main thought: this game really should have a NC16 rating. Some stuff that went on are, erm, descriptive. *coughs* The stories are good, just wish they didn't have that... But I guess they have to cater to the 20-something women players as well.

I've only played Kotaro's route so far, and I'm surprised how much I love his character - he's a tsundere, for crying out loud! But his past is really sad, and that won me over. GREE really makes it hard to play the characters with their stupid barrier system which tries to force players to spend real money. Please, as if you guys haven't earned enough.

Characters I'm interested in playing: Sasuke, Munenori and Hanzo (in that order)
Characters I'm neutral (so far): Saizo, Rennoshin
Characters I don't want to play: Musashi (some gamers love him though)
Characters I can't decide if I want to play: Goemon

Quite a number of NL players also play BMP, so some tried to compare them:
Kotaro - Wilfred (seriously? I'm more or less neutral about Wilfred, and if my beloved Kotaro is like him - though I heard Kotaro's more lovable, that means Wilfred's story might still be at least okay? O.O)
Goemon - seems like a mix between Keith and Roberto (more Keith, IMO)
Saizo - ??? I have no idea.
Sasuke - So. Roberto. Same fun-loving, slightly immature personality. And cute. I think it's obvious why he's next on my to-play list.
Rennoshin - Joshua, I suppose? He seems to not want romance interfering with his life, like Joshy-poo.
Hanzo - Also Joshua, but it's because he doesn't seem to know about romance.
Munenori - seems like a mix between Keith and Joshua. Oh dear, two tsunderes?
Musashi - ??? I have no idea, but he appears to be a tsundere as well.

I see a lot of tsundere characters. Wow. Okay. Funny how I seem to like NL's storylines more than BMP though. O.o

The stories are also pretty far-fetched, but then remember its premises: this has a fantasy setting. Anything's possible. And like I said, I like the stories (look at them objectively).

One major point is that NL has music (BGM). Certainly enhances the mood while playing! One thing I noticed though: the battle theme music sounds 99.9% similar to Immortalis' (a role-playing card simulation game that targets male players generally, but I'm a cross-genre player HAHA) crystal battle music. Or should I say it the other way around, I'm pretty sure Immortalis came out later. Three possibilities:

1) It's actually a generic music for battle
2) Immortalis bought rights from NTT Solmare (the company that produced NL) to play the music
3) Immortalis ripped the music without NTT Solmare's permission.

I'll be quite sad if it's was 1, I think the battle music was quite nice and for it to be a generic music would disappoint me. I have nothing to say about 2, but if 3's the reality I'll be angry at Immortalis. It's a pretty great game that I enjoyed playing while I still played, but hey, copyright! If they thought nobody would find out because of the great contrast between the game genres, then sorry, you guys met me. I'm that girl who plays almost all kinds of games, from horror to car racing to fluffy romance simulation. And I found out.



The battle theme music I was talking about in the previous paragraph. It's only 32 seconds long, try listening!

Overall though, I'm glad Weilin recommended this game to me. It's a pretty enjoyable ride so far!

UNO with Friends: skip this if you don't like social games/you already know this game

I really have nothing much to say about this game, except:

1) Play this if you like UNO.
2) Play this if you like UNO but cannot carry the cards around.
3) Play this if you like UNO but don't have the cards on you when you want to play.
4) Play this if you want to play UNO with your friends, anywhere.
5) Play this if you like social games.

The tokens thing can be a pain if you want to play a lot of rounds at one go, but overall I think it's a relatively good app that allows you to play UNO when you want. Hate the crashing though, especially when I lose my tokens without even finishing one round of UNO. And it's too unstable recently for me to play anymore.

Anyway, that's it! I might do a post on the games I play once in a while, but no guarantees. I definitely recommend playing Wind Runner though, if you're a Ovenbreak fanatic.

Ahh, I'm tired. *yawns* Goodnight then! Time for me to get back to otome gaming~

.// &&CALZ

Music!

From the title of this post I think some people might go "there she goes about Big Bang again..." which is NOT true. One of my reasons for making this blog post is to show my diverse tastes in music (LOL) as well as updating what kind of music I listen to recently.

English: Don't really keep up with the current music trends. I do know the existence of The Wanted and One Direction, for example, as well as heard some of their hit singles, but I don't listen to them. (I think the difference between hearing and listening to songs is pretty big, doncha think so?) The only artists I really bother (sort of) to keep up with are Charice (and she isn't even a native English speaker... This is kinda sad lol), whose songs I have almost all of them, and Avril Lavigne. I also listen to English songs that were popular a few years back (think Westlife and some love songs that almost everyone knows, and you'll know the songs I listen to).

Chinese: This is even sadder. I barely know any new Chinese songs; most groups/solo artists don't appeal to me nowadays. (I'm aware I have a Mayday fan in my class; and I apologise, but I'm not a Mayday fan - I don't dislike them, just that their songs aren't my cup of tea. Also apologising to all Lollipop F and etc fans, for the same reason.) The only artists I more or less listen to are Jay Chou, S.H.E and Ming Bridges (surprised?); and even so, I only listen to Jay's past hits and didn't even listen to his newer works, and while I do listen to S.H.E's new works I honestly prefer their older works. (I do like JJ Lin, but somehow my computer has a lack of his songs... Think I lost most of it and was too lazy to download again.)

Kpop: Of course I still listen to Big Bang and 2NE1. But I find myself listening to their songs lesser and lesser nowadays, especially 2NE1... It's not that I'm starting to dislike them, but rather I replayed their songs too much resulting in me being a little sick of their songs right now. In fact, if I said I currently listen to NU'EST's Face, Boyfriend's Janus and Secret's Poison, I bet Kpop fans who know me are hugely surprised since these songs are quite different from BB and 21 (which is kind of the point; I mean if I'm sick of BB and 21's songs, I won't be listening to songs that are like theirs right?) so let me drop another bombshell: I actually like Boyfriend. From their debut song. And I'm aware of how cutesy it is, but somehow I still like it for some weird reason. In addition, while I generally dislike cutesy songs from girl groups (often leading to me not caring of said girl groups too), I like Orange Caramel's songs. YES, YOU SAW RIGHT. Hands up to anyone who's surprised.

Before I go on to Jpop, let me reserve a spot for Daesung's solo Japanese album. (Technically it's Jpop, but since he's a Kpop artist, the lines are blurred.) His solo album reminded me why he's my ultimate kpop bias; his voice is heart-melting and listening to the album is just pure joy. Hopefully one day he can release a solo album (preferably in Korean or English; I do love the Japanese language but I'll rather he release something in his native language or in a language I understand) with lyrics penned by him. A fan can always dream ^_^

Jpop: I don't listen to mainstream Jpop music, just so you're warned. (So don't expect me to talk about AKB48 and all their other 48 groups and subgroups, nor Arashi/Exile/Kat-Tun/L'Arc-whatever-the-rest-of-their-name-is nor whatever groups popular right now with one exception.) My taste strongly runs in the realm of anime music, and even so it's not all types of anime music either; I'm not a hard rock/heavy metal/screamo type of person, so even though I do know Death Note's music, I don't like any of them simply because they aren't my cup of tea. Basically, I'm a huge Mami Kawada fan because of Shakugan no Shana, and while I haven't checked out her other works besides SnS, I do intend to... Someday. Altima has piqued my interest, though their songs tend to take several listens from me before I really like them (and I'm still divided on my opinion when it comes to their rapper). I'm also a SCANDAL fan (not sure if they're popular enough but I think they're somewhat popular, so they're the exception I mentioned earlier)... Too bad I missed both times SCANDAL's been to Singapore so far T.T And if Vocaloid counts as Jpop, I do listen to them from time to time... But I do notice that quite a number of Vocaloid songs are pretty dark (which I blame on some individuals who made them); I'm not opposed to dark songs but even some of Vocaloid's songs are too dark in my opinion... I'm also divided on whether Kaito's voice is nice (but I do agree on his voice being unique).

Instrumental: I'll like to sound cultured and say I listen to classical music but fact is, I'm too lazy to even search for classical music :P but I do certainly like listening to classical music. After all, words aren't always needed to convey thoughts and emotions (more so of the latter obviously). I'm a huge fan of instrumental versions of songs though! Some songs, in my opinion, are better off as instrumentals rather than having vocals. (For example 2PM's Without You; the piano covers are fantastic and this one cover with piano and the basic beat is absolutely amazing. Hottests, don't shoot me.) Sometimes when I listen to an instrumental song, I'll think that the instrumental conveys quite a different feel than with vocals; often they bring out a stronger feeling (like sadness) than with vocals, so instrumentals have their beauty too. I'm not opposed to any instruments when it comes to instrumental music, though I do tend to listen to piano most. To name names, I'm a fan of Yiruma, Sungha Jung and Jun Sung Ahn (somewhat in that particular order, and they're a pianist, guitarist and violinist respectively). I do realise they're all Koreans... I didn't even make a special effort to find Koreans but it just happens. Koreans are amazing when it comes to instrumental music.

Special mentions? Nigahiga's songs aren't too bad actually LOL, just don't take them seriously (DUH). His friends in general too. As well as Pixie Lott, Tata Young, 2AM (I don't think anyone can really hate their songs, just find them not to their taste), Ali Project, Clazziquai, Rainie Yang, Fish Leong, Gummy, Ina, Kanon Wakeshima, M2M and miss A, not in any particular order but just by who popped into my head first. That's about it I guess...

Wonder if I made anyone go 'huh, seriously?' when they see this list of mine... I do imagine so. What I listen to depends on my current mood and whims.

.// &&CALZ

By the way, if anyone actually wondered... The './/' in '.// &&CALZ' is actually from a manga series which is './/' (it really is called that!) though I can't remember all the titles, only this one '.// HACK'. Thought it was cool so I incorporated that into my name. Nope, I've never read the manga series before. Might get around to it if I'm bored enough. The '&&' doesn't have any particular meaning, just put it there 'cos I thought it looked cool as well. This is the lame explanation to my (hopefully) cool-sounding name...

While I did mention Kanon Wakeshima, don't listen to her songs too late at night (especially if you're listening for the first time), you might get freaked out. Her songs are what I'll describe as gothic I guess... But I do like her songs. Just a heads up.

I just realised that I've yet to hit 300 posts despite having this blog for years... I've really slacked off in blogging sigh.

Oh yeah, this has nothing to do with this post, but I realised I never mentioned it... I'M IN NANYANG JUNIOR COLLEGE NOW. Since this blog acts like a diary for me as well, I figure I should add this not-so-little tidbit in.

Stolen

Those who've seen my twitter posts should know that my bag was recently stolen. I was dining at the hawker centre near Eminent Plaza with my mum and my bag which was placed beside me was stolen just like that... Despite the fact that there was always somebody at the table but our negligence caused the bag to be stolen anyway. The most troublesome thing was that my IC was in my bag so things got troublesome, with me having to make a police report and make a replacement card and all. To be honest though, it's the so-called unimportant things that matter most to me because they have sentimental value.

I guess the old adage "you never know what's important until you lose it" is quite true seeing as how those stuff that were always in my bag was overlooked by me until I lost them. But no matter how important those items were, they're lost already and not everything can be replaced. It's the price that I have to pay for my negligence I suppose (besides the $100 replacement fee for the IC, that is).

While of course I hope that my bag with its contents will be replaced, I honestly think the chances of that happening are pretty low. All I can say now is, low crime doesn't mean no crime. Here's reminding all who (still) read my blog to be always on alert and not forget that crime can always happen wherever you are. Have a safe and happy year ahead!

.// &&CALZ

Ramble: Matched Trilogy

Okay. So. I just finished this young adult (YA) dystopian romance trilogy and I just had to write something about it, considering it's one of my favourite dystopian trilogies so far. (In fact, it's practically THE trilogy that led me into the world of YA dystopian fiction.) But before I continue, I guess I should provide an idea of how the books look like and a short summary of all 3 books because I bet my usual readers won't have read this trilogy.

The books go as follows: first book - Matched, second book - Crossed, third book - Reached.

All summaries are provided by publisher, since I'm too lazy to type my own.

Summary of Matched:
Cassia (the protagonist/main character) has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Summary of Crossed:
In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. 

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Summary of Reached:
After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestsellingMatched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.

Back to my post!

I was actually hoping to reread Matched (I reread Crossed before reading Reached) before writing this blog post, but I just couldn't wait XD so yeah, this is written after reading Matched twice (yeah, I read it twice already), Crossed twice, and Reached once. (I plan to reread it again though.) A warning though, this post ISN'T a book review but more of a post about my feelings on this trilogy. And it's going to be spoiler-filled. Also, all insights provided by me are from my personal point of view, and definitely do not represent the thoughts of Ally Condie - unless we are on the same wavelength.

Hmm, maybe I will start off with a summary of my own to cover what the publishers didn't (and to provide more of an insight into the world where our main characters Cassia, Ky and Xander live in).

Imagine a world where...
... what you eat is controlled...
... what you wear is controlled...
... what you do is controlled...
... what you study is controlled...
... what your job will be is controlled...
... who you date (and marry) is controlled...
... when you die is controlled.
Imagine a world where freedom exists only in your dreams and choice is non-existent.
That is the world that our main characters live in.
(And if you don't know what a dystopian novel is, that is roughly the gist - a world set in the future where people are generally oppressed by the ruling government.)

To be fair, the Matched trilogy is set in a world where freedom is more controlled than in other dystopian novels (like the famous The Hunger Games, or even George Orwell's novels and Lois Lowry's The Giver), so someone new to this genre should not assume the world described above is true for other dystopian novels though there will be some similarities.

Now, finally on to the trilogy. To be honest, I didn't know this was going to be a dystopian romance story when I first picked Matched up. I was browsing in Popular one day when I came across the book in a shelf and intrigued by the cover (come on, you gotta admit that's a pretty cover and represents the book well), began reading a few pages. I soon understood that this was a dystopian novel but the writing is so fantastic (props be given to Ally Condie, her prose is awesome) I couldn't put it down. So I haunted the library and was super frustrated when I couldn't borrow the book simply because I couldn't find the book in the system. (Turns out while the book had the author's name as Ally Condie, the library saved it as Allyson Condie. Rawr.) When I finally found it, it's crazy how happy I was - and the fact that I can still remember all these details, years down the road, shows how much I like this trilogy. (FYI, it's printed in November 2010, and I found the series in early 2011 - around March?)

Maybe it's because I haven't really been reading much dystopian novels before stumbling across Matched (I'm not entirely sure if Animal Farm can be considered dystopian, and while I've seen The Giver, I haven't read it - okay, dystopian lovers can shoot me for not reading dystopian classics) but I thought it was really well-written, especially the prose. Ally Condie writes in such a way that when you read Matched (and the subsequent titles in the trilogy), it seems that almost every phrase has a deeper meaning than what is on the surface. I swear, when I first started reading Matched, I almost wanted to do the usual literature analysis taught in literature class on the book - so that I could understand the book better. The usage of poems written way before the Society was formed also made it a more 'literature' book than usual, because you had to look at how and why the poems were used in the book, and their links with the story and theme(s). Simply put, the Matched trilogy is certainly not a book you can read 'passively' - it has to be read with a clear mind in order to decipher the author's meaning behind the words she chooses.

Another thing about the trilogy is that, like many dystopian novels, chooses to employ the present tense - seeing as how this story is set in the future. I don't know about other readers, but I personally like the idea of using present tense - to me, it reminds the reader that the story, while fiction now, can become reality in future, not to mention the totalitarian governments of the past. And it also allows the reader to feel that they're in the same situation alongside the characters right then, too. What's interesting is the titles are in the past tense instead of the present tense, but I think this makes the story more 'impactful' (for lack of a better term) than having the titles in present tense.

On to the covers. I must say whoever designed the covers was brilliant - the designs are simple, yet pretty (especially so for the first novel) and encompasses what the book is about. For Matched, it shows a girl - Cassia - in her Match Banquet dress (a ceremony where sixteen-year-old guys and girls attend and find out who is to be their future spouse) and trapped in a bubble. The Match Banquet dress highlights who Cassia is - a normal, loyal, obedient Citizen (at the point where she is attending the Match Banquet) who follows what Society decrees loyally and is unaware of how life is for others who aren't like her (loyal Citizens, I mean). The fact that she's trapped in a bubble shows that she's been, essentially, living in a bubble throughout her whole life, oblivious to the suffering that non-Citizens (Aberrations, Anomalies as well as people who don't live within Society). It also shows that she's trapped in her life - forced to live in a life where she will never get to choose.

For Crossed, Cassia's dressed in a blue shirt and blue pants, symbolising her awaiting her final work assignment (which is her permanent job until she retires). Why blue? Think of this, blue-collared workers, white-collared workers... Does it ring a bell? Yes, terms we apply in our everyday lives. Cassia's currently working in the Outer Provinces as a labour worker, not in a cushy environment - but this is by choice. (Yes, she finally gets a chance to choose!) FYI, the Officials and Officers who work in the Society's government, they wear white... Another allusion to the blue/white-collared reference? I think so. Also, the cover shows Cassia breaking the bubble she's trapped in - symbolising her change from an obedient Citizen girl to a rebel, to wanting the freedom to choose. She's also exposed to hardship and finally learns how people who aren't Citizens are treated in Crossed, much like how a spoilt rich kid learns hardship except Cassia isn't spoilt, and rich doesn't technically apply in their world - they don't have money and what they have (except artifacts, which are left by their ancestors) are what everyone else has (reminds of Communism much?) so no one is technically 'rich'. The only differences are across status, between Citizens, Aberrations and Anomalies and people who don't live in Society, and what privileges are accorded to these people. I also envision the fact that Cassia's not wearing a pretty dress but clothes that are more practical to be symbolising the change in her life - that it's not going to be comfortable since she chose to abandon her pre-decided life in Society and go after a life that she wouldn't otherwise have.

For Reached, Cassia's in a red dress (perhaps because Ky drew her wearing a red dress to the Match Banquet in Crossed even though he knew Cassia wore green, and Xander's favourite colour is red) and exiting the bubble, which is seen to be cracked. This, obviously showing that Cassia's breaking free of the hold the Society has over her, and showing that the Society is 'cracking' (since the bubble represents Society).

What is interesting is the colour theme of the covers - green, blue and red; the three colours of the tablets that the Citizens have. (FYI, green tablet is for calming purposes, blue tablet is to sustain the consumer without food - though it has a more sinister purpose as seen in Crossed and Reached - and the red tablet is to make people forget.) Throughout the three books, these three colours are more often mentioned than any other colour in different situations with different objects, too.

There are little things throughout the books that make it a worthwhile read too, most importantly the way Ally Condie writes that makes you think deeper to understand the meaning of each phrase she uses. She's great in writing twists too, incorporating many twists that readers won't expect (though the general ending in Reached is expected), although some reviewers have mentioned that she could have fleshed out some of the twists more. When I was reading the books, my expectations don't often become reality because of the twists that Condie provides. In addition, the points of view are rather interesting, with Cassia as the only narrator in Matched, Cassia and Ky narrating in Crossed and our three mains narrating in Reached. I did expect Xander to be narrating in Reached seeing as he was practically non-existent in Crossed, and I'm glad Condie did so; Xander's not just the 'second lead' but is a very important character in the story. By doing so the reader is provided with more of an insight into Xander's mind.

I must say though, one of the lowlights of Matched trilogy is that the switch between POVs is not very clear; the "voices" of the main characters are not uniquely distinct enough to know exactly who's speaking at which part. I would find myself wondering who's narrating at times in both Crossed and Reached, so it's a good idea that in Reached, the top of the page indicates the narrator of the chapter.

One thing that struck me as memorable in Reached was the blank page for Ky. Instead of using words to tell us that Ky is unconscious and very close to dying, Condie gives us a blank page during Ky's narration to show that he's no longer conscious because we can't see his thoughts. While Condie has an amazing way with words, sometimes the best way to convey something is not through words. Props to her for such a unique yet powerful way of conveying the story to us.

Anyway, if anyone is bored, I highly recommend this trilogy to you. It's one great trilogy.

Finishing off with some great quotes from the trilogy:

“Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs.”

“Now that I’ve found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?”

“Cassia.
I know which life is my real one now, no matter what happens. It’s the one with you. For some reason, knowing that even one person knows my story makes things different. Maybe it’s like the poem says. Maybe this is my way of not going gentle.
I love you. (Ky Markham)”

“I think of how perhaps the best way to fly would be with hands full of earth, so you always remember where you came from.”

“But if you were Matched,” I say softly, “what do you think she’d be life?” “You,” he says, almost before I’ve finished. “You.” We do not kiss. We do nothing but hold on and breathe, but still I know. I cannot go gently now.”

“They are giving us pieces of a real life instead of the whole thing. They have perfected the art of giving us just enought freedom; just enough that when we are ready to snap, a little bone is offered and we roll over, belly up, comfortable and placated like a dog… – Cassia”

Merry Christmas everyone!

.// &&CALZ

(Unexpected) Life Lessons

Ah, I should've posted something yesterday on 12/12/12... But oh well. Am posting this post because I know I haven't been blogging for a while (sorry!) so I guess this is sort of a catch-up post...?

What's happened in my life recently (other than the fact that O levels is over - yay!)? Hmm... I guess things like going out with friends? This may seem mundane but in this world one cannot be without friends or at the very least without somebody, because humans can't thrive being alone. So I went out with various groups of friends (which somehow often end up at Marina Square LOL). We went to watch movies, play at arcades, and even win a soft toy or two... :) it's little things like this that get easily forgotten but provide some of the purest happy moments throughout our lives.

The toys we won:
http://instagram.com/p/SUzPnxvM_q/

Watched Breaking Dawn part 2 with Wei Lin and Dinah (on the first day no less!):
http://instagram.com/p/SU0gDNp7mW/

And as if that wasn't enough, we followed up with another movie, Rise of the Guardians (which I want to watch again!):
http://instagram.com/p/SVG3AdJ7s6/

(done on 22 November)

And etc... Too many outings to recount haha.

Oh yes, and how could I have forgotten about The Prom? Maybe to some it wouldn't be too much of a deal but to me it's like another step towards adulthood (which I'm not ready for). And in some regards it makes me truly realise that my secondary school life is almost over... A sort of rude awakening in a way. While I can't say I've had the best or most interesting experience in school, it has had given me some memories and experiences that I probably wouldn't otherwise had anyway. One thing I've definitely learnt throughout these four years is that whatever decisions I make, even if I regret them I should make the best out of it, because who knows it might give me something more than I have expected. And even if that doesn't happen, at least I would have learnt something from it, even if it's not the thing others would expect me to learn LOL. (Now I sound like I'm the world's most optimistic person from making the best out of everything hahaha.) As somebody once said (credits to that person, which I don't know who - if anyone knows feel free to let me know):

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything."

So instead of moping around regretting whatever decision I made, I might as well look forward to whatever may await me at the end of the route that I've chosen to embark on. Perhaps I won't enjoy it as much as if I'd chosen another route, but since this is the route I chose I should grit my teeth and bravely move on, taking on whatever that comes. What's said has been said, what's done has been done, what's chosen has been chosen, there's no point in regretting it unless I plan on changing my choice.

I suppose then that another lesson I've learnt is to live life according to the way I truly want. That means no shying away from the things that I truly want because I'm afraid. As cliche as it may sound, You Only Live Once (aka the famous - or infamous now - YOLO), so if I constantly don't dare to do the things I want to then I'll probably die of regrets when my time comes. Again, maybe I won't obtain the results that I desire, but at least I can say that I mustered up enough courage to try - and even if I fail I would at least know that I'm not up to it instead of wondering my whole life "could I do it?".

After my long rant, now I realise that most of the things I wrote are actually nowhere near Prom itself LOL but instead more like what I've learnt through reflecting on my secondary school life. So yeah, while others are celebrating about the end of secondary school and the start of something else (be it JC/Poly/ITE or even other choices) I'm here writing about my "deep reflections" about my life for the past 4 years. Anyway it's my blog so I'm entitled to what I wanna write here~

There's little I want to say about prom itself... I mean it's my first prom so I can't exactly say whether I'm disappointed since there's no point of reference anyhow. And I can't say that I've had a night of bonding with my classmates and schoolmates since I'm not close to most of them (I'm aware of how much that makes me sound like a loser but whatever. One of my strengths and also weaknesses is that I'm independent (in terms of friendship or should I say interpersonal relationships)... Which can be my obstacle sometimes) - in fact I think the night served to make me realise just how much I'm NOT close to them. Can I say I regret it? In some ways, no. Yes, there was external pressure to enter Anderson 4 years ago but I'm the one who made the ultimate choice. Yes, I did find it hard to get along with most people in Anderson due to our different personalities but I'm the one who could have made more effort as well. I'm not saying that I'm to be blame for everything either but I'm definitely not faultless. Still, it's almost the end now and it's too late for regrets.

This holiday is shaping up to be one unique one too. Obviously the biggest difference is that it's my first time working (officially). I would say that I've learnt quite a bit too, with how the society works and all. But one of my biggest lessons is to admit that sometimes, one can be wrong too. It's still hard for me to say I'm sorry and all (I do have some pride after all) but it's easier for me to admit my mistakes now. I guess I'm really growing up after all, huh?

Back to my secondary school experience. If there's one thing I wouldn't change, it's definitely the friends I've made. True, some of us haven't had the smoothest friendships but I still wouldn't change the friends I've made. In its way I've learnt lessons from there too, and at the same time I've gotten more of an idea of just how much friendship means to me and the people whom I truly treasure (I think you guys know who you are). So to those who are really my friends, thank you for being my friend. :)

I'm just gonna end off with a quote that I read recently (it's gonna be posted on Instagram soon too).

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

.//&& CALZ