For update notifications and character profiles of my original works, scroll down to just about past one-third of the profile onward. Yes, I relish writing quite a bit about myself!

I have an account on Wattpad, also as Boomerkid. There's nothing posted there though.

I also have an account on fanfiction, again as Boomerkid. Nothing there too. (Why I bother writing this, I must be so random)

Some fan art for my original fiction: Vermillion. The drawings were done by Teru Kisuke and the credit for the illustrations go to her:

1. Vermillion & Alice shoulders up. Vermillion's not a bishounen in the rewrite though.

2. Vermillion's eyes first sketch.

For those looking for a terrific forum under the manga section, check out the RAOSC! Tourneys, weekly story discussions, chat threads and much more fun is in store!

Hello there! Right now, I'm a 20-year-old guy studying in university. And I'm someone who always has stuff running around in my head, and can be quite a laze at times. Ah, but when I set my mind to do something, I guess I'll put the effort to see it get done and hopefully done well. But I'm not one to make promises.

Hobbies and passions?

Playing the piano and writing, amongst an assortment of games and visuals novels and the usual watching TV/reading manga and stuff at the side. I like writing, though I always write with an anime/manga theme in mind. And being quite the dreamer, it's no surprise that I'd be very happy to get a work of mine published or turned into a visual novel some day! Ah, but dreams are dreams because you'll eventually have to wake up from them. So I guess I've got to work to put dream into reality then! I am quite a fan of classical music as well.

I admit that I don't follow new mangas and anime now, and only read visual novels for the time being... until White Album 2's anime was announced! *Goes into visual novel/anime fanboy jig* Oooooooh! Hnnngh! Yesh! The highest rated VN in erogamescape supposed to have delicious love triangular melodrama and hawt(?) 2D chicks that I haven't played ye- (WARNING If you want to preserve your innocence and purity do not go to that site as it advertizes 18plus stuff all over the place!) Oh... darn... I'm promoting nasty things of the world... (Hopes that the White Album 2 anime won't be a flop like... Majikoi... *touches wood*)

Anything to say about your writing?

I look forward to continue improving as I go along, taking into consideration all the tips I get. My stories are intended to be character-driven, and occasionally present themes that are supposed to be a bit more dark and/or mature. Putting a touch of realism in my stories is something I'm learning to do well. Realism is definitely not the most important aspect in a story of course. It's what is told in the text and how it is told that's more important. But I try not to portray things excessively deeper or way more dramatic than it really is, as I'm learning to reduce the dose of melodrama as much as possible (melodrama in a healthy dose can be delicious still). Most of all, I will do my best to put imagination first and foremost in my writing. Art is an expression of creativity and imagination.

One of the recipes for my main protagonists are a bucket of flaws. So yes, sometimes they'll be jerks, sometimes they'll be cowards, sometimes they'll go mope at a corner (yay angst), but they will still have moments where they get their crap right. And damn I will make sure they do get their crap right!

I especially love writing antagonists. After all, what's a hero if there is nothing for them to face off against? Though since I relish in gray morality, a certain number of antagonists I've got in store may not be too different from my protagonists.

I do my best not to put too much author tract in my stories, especially since I'm an agnostic atheist (Ah, there's no harm with faith if it's kept in moderation though). Writing a variety of characters that are different in many ways is a pleasurable challenge.

And as for inspiration, I take a majority of it from visual novels/eroge, and of course, manga and anime. I don't read light novels.

Peeves in stories and writing?

None too serious for me to get overly riled up. Considering the things I've watched and read, I guess I am open to whatever comes in a story, but I could feel a bit more uneasy if it's very very explicit guy-on-guy or Yaoi. Yes, I've seen Yaoi before. I can read and watch everything! Bwahahahagaha! But, that doesn't mean I can write everything unfortunately... *tries not to think about a past expedition, fails, and then facedesks before replaying some of his favorite 'special' eroge scenes* I am not a good role model.

If there are slight peeves, it's probably dry stuff like:

1. Too much fanservice (Too much of something healthy makes it unhealthy, gehe *gets hit by an eroge game box*)

2. Too much portrayal of females as stupid (There could be a number of... unintelligent moeblobs in eroge especially, but it's worth it at times *spreads a sinister smirk*)

3. Too much portrayal of males as stupid (Welp)

4. And well, generally, too many cardboard characters and too much exploitative melodrama, with resident plot holes as its icing (Why do I still read Key's works, I wonder...) *Gets killed by Clannad, Little Busters!, Angel Beats!, Air, Kanon, Rewrite, and whatever Studio Key game/anime fans*. *Revives instantly and coughs toward the top of his fist* "Lik dis if u cry avr time u whatch! If u no cry, u no hart!" - said a good chunk of Key fans (Note: This is an exaggeration). *Gets killed again by Key fans* Okay okay! I cried avr tim, it too moving. I have hart I tell you! Hart! I love Clannad.

What do you like in a story?

Just enjoy the good aspects of a story as much as possible, that's the best.

If I were to give reviews however, I tend to look at fiction from a more critical perspective, sometimes too strict and critical, befitting of my evilness, gahaha! Nah, I've grown to be kinder now, I won't forget to give praise and compliments, and I do leave more casual reviews from time to time.

My favorite stories tend to be those not necessarily with the most originality or thorough world building, but those that exhibit a tad more realism and/or believability no matter what the genre and succeed. But even more than that, I'm a sucker for thorough psychological details in characters and/or complete characterizations. This is why Cross†Channel is one of my two favorite stories despite its convoluted writing and a few unexplained things with the plot (minor things though). I love character-driven stories with tremendous amounts of plot and subplot surrounding the characters, even better when you can relate to the characters. Of course, no matter what I read or watch, I'll do my best to find enjoyment in them regardless of what it is!

What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses?

I admit that I'm not a very good proofreader (this is probably one of my gravest weaknesses), so don't hesitate to PM or comment regarding even the smallest mistakes and typos. Yes, my greatest weakness is probably my proofreading. So bad that back when I wrote Vermillion's first edition, I once mentioned Vermillion as a girl. *Imagines hawt action chick with katana instead of brooding Vermillion* Ahehe. Come to think of it, maybe I should change his gender! *Vermillion releases his katana at Boomerkid* Guack! Guha- Save me-! I'm cut in hal-

If I were to boast what I believe to be my greatest strength, I would say it's my characters (though it definitely wasn't a couple years back). Protagonists, side characters, antagonists, even the little extras on the side. It's something I actually take pride in, and still something I want to improve on.

Criticism actually motivates me greatly, and I mean very greatly. I prefer getting constructive criticism and suggestions above all else, as I'm here to learn and improve first and foremost. It's nice to get clarified on the many things that could be done better. I regularly edit my active works, and respond immediately to any criticisms. But of course, knowing the impressions and feelings that viewers receive from reading my works brings a smile to my face.

And once again, feel free to PM me. Don't worry, I may act half evil but I'm quite friendly, I think. *gives a beaming grin*

Your three favorite words?

1. Alive

2. Posterior

3. Posterior (XD)

Your three favorite genres?

1. Sexy ladies *Gets bashed up by all his female characters* Entire female cast: THAT IS NOT A GENRE!

Okays! Fine... *sobs at a corner*

1. Se- I mean, drama.

2. Drama (With sexy ladies!)

3. Action (With sexy ladies!)

4. Comedy, Horror, Sugary happy lovey romance, Melodramatic love triangle rectangle pentagon hexagon depression betrayal cheating sadness crying sexy romance, and anything with sexy ladies.

See? I can produce a proper list. *Grins wide with two sparkling thumbs up* Entire female cast: *Wraps their heads in their hands*

All music, pictures and videos belong to their respective owners and affiliates.

Some of my favorite characters from visual novels/anime/manga: (Can be for lulz like a certain red-haired tsundere from Muv-Luv, or for more drama, awesomeness, or realism. Doesn't matter, as long as I like them despite whatever shamboola they do!)

Important for the sake of innocence!: Careful when browsing any visual novels I've mentioned in my profile page, as all of them except Clannad and Steins;Gate are eroge, as in, 18plus games with sexual content, 'special' eroge scenes are aplenty. Some also include very, very disturbing content like Subarashiki Hibi, and to a much much lesser extent, Cross†Channel and arguably Muv-Luv Alternative, which is not that bad because it's just grotesque gore. Yes, 'just' grotesque gore for Muv-Luv Alternative, says very much of what to expect in Subarashiki Hibi. But its peaceful scenes are just, beautiful, blissful *super fanboy mode level zillion* Hah. The first chapter was such a breeze.

Little Busters! was initially released for all ages, but came out with an 18plus version later on. Don't ask me what happened there, Key probably wants moar $$$.

Even when filtering explicit results using Google image search, I still get the, you know, 18plus stuff in my face for eroge. So careful there.

And please always remember that Youtube comments are capable of reducing intelligence levels and igniting fury levels. Read Youtube comments at your own risk. *Gives a thumbs-up with a star on his grin*

Alright, random list of characters (Western order - first name followed by family name):

Taichi Kurosu (Cross†Channel visual novel. Has a non-eroge version.) A self-proclaimed love aristocrat who enters the female restroom habitually. Boo, cliche perverted main protagonist in the first few hours of the game! Suddenly, plot twist #1 out of (censored)... okay, I'll sit back down now.

Still, I really couldn't tolerate him in those first few hours, sooo...

Go here to hit him with a bike. Yeah, he's probably my favorite character. But still, he deserves all of it!

Miki Yamanobe(Cross†Channel) Genki girl and pettanko. Nothing wrong here, just your cute, innocent moe. Yes.

VN's opening theme. A story about a group of eight rather dysfunctional high-schoolers returning from a failed summer vacation, to a world where humanity has vanished. A peculiar young man wants to bring these estranged friends back together, to help the broadcasting club president build an antenna in order to contact possible survivors. A desire to reconcile, in a world of only eight people. Deconstructs a whole bunch of anime notions, even character stereotypes.

Also, the most misleading promotional video for a visual novel I've ever seen. (Contains pervy stuff)

Sora Minaduki (Baldr Sky visual novels) Your run-of-the mill tsundere with twintails, with a pinch of airhead and... oh wait.

Watch her nap to this soothing piano music. Damn, it sounds like I'm promoting stalking.

Baldr Sky Dive 1 opening.

Dive 2 opening. Kou Kadokura wakes up in a virtual battlefield with no idea what's going on or why he's there, and his direct subordinate concludes that he has lost his memories due him getting caught up in a blast. In a cyberpunk world of nanomachines and virtual reality, he soon remembers that he's searching for someone. Everyone's telling him that he can live a peaceful live now that he doesn't remember. Remember what exactly? Those lost memories may be- no, are obviously the key.

Yuki Minakami (Subarashiki Hibi visual novel) A cool girl who loves her frilly dresses, cigarettes, and classical literature. Ah, ordinary days like these, what could go wrong...

First soundtrack that plays in the game, accompanying the picture linked to Yuki's name above.

SubaHibi's opening. (Has one shoujo-ai shot) A girl commits suicide, and an apocalyptic prediction is made, stating that her death was just the beginning. Amid all the insanity, terror, mindscrew and philosophy (and at times pacing issues like the VN series just below), is a simple story about seeking and cherishing those happy everydays.

Sumika Kagami(Muv-Luv & Muv-Luv Alternative visual novels) Her ahoge, her hair is alive, that red-haired tsundere... Wait, why am I mentioning Sumika out of all people? *Freezes as he senses ominous glares from all Sumika fans who want Sumika as their waifu*

Muv-Luv's opening. Generic cliche harem, which is actually funny.

Yuuko Kouzuki (Muv-Luv & Muv-Luv Alternative) A crazy scientist who once ran out of a class she was teaching to write a thesis on some revolutionary discovery, which she found out in class. Also drives like crazy. One of her favorite quotes is probably: "I'm a genius".

Opening theme to the #1 ranked visual novel at vndb.org, this is Studio Age's flagship work. The dense, whiny protagonist namedTakeru Shirogane, at one point even reminding me of Shinji Ikari, is thrust into an alternate reality where an alien race named BETA has invaded Earth, reducing its population to just a billion (And these aliens are super tough.) Add a semi-realistic military setting, battle tactics (since this is mecha) and politics, and a whole lot of infodump since it's hard science fiction, and moral dump since... morals are a good thing (they spend more time on it than the plot though. Actually, so much that I nearly forgot it had a plot once). Anyway, you get one hell of a bizarre genre shift, and questionable pacing (Since Takeru likes to 'think deep' after every couple lines of dialogue), but a great (and tad bit controversial) story. Takeru actually has character development though, and becomes badass worthy of tears of badass.

Still, don't put too much trust in rankings anywhere! *Gets killed by hardcore Muv-Luv fans* Hey, I luv Muv-Luv too! (Don't think too much about the title. It makes no sense.)

Kenichi Morita (Sharin no Kuni visual novel) Arrogant badass and successful businessman. He smokes something though, and talks to himself.

Him walking with his eyes closed to synthesized orchestra music.

This next soundtrack, probably his badass march.

Masaomi Houzuki(Sharin no Kuni) Old, stern dude who knows how to put you in your place. Badass and successful businessman? Not enough.

Sharin no Kuni's op. A society where criminals are assigned "obligations" deemed fitting for their crimes. Kenichi aspires to be one who has authority over these criminals, a Special High Class Individual (We know one source of his arrogance now. Flashy title.) His final test involves coming back to his hometown, to people who don't recognize him, but people he knows he left behind.

Kyousuke Azai (G-Senjou no Maou visual novel) He has power over yakuza people. Don't mess with him, or his precious money or his J.S Bach CDs.

Haru Usami (G-Senjou no Maou) An awkward girl who looks like she hasn't cut her hair in ten years. Likes penguins and once intended on using them as part of a political motto (What). All of a sudden, detective.

Gao penguin? Click to waste two minutes of your time *grins*.

Her theme when she's doing serious business.

VN's opening theme. Enter the world of yakuza, seen in the eyes of the protagonist who believes that money is the sole most important thing in the world. Add a notorious international gangster named Maou and an woman in pursuit of him, and we get caught up in a convoluted battle of wits.

Kojiro Sasaki(Vagabond manga) Depicted in this manga as a deaf swordsman. Favorite word is "Aauh". Manga doesn't come with music. *Cries*

Musashi Miyamoto (Vagabond) "Oh, another errant swordsman?" *Instead of drawing his katana or wakizashi, draws a wooden stick*

Fictional retelling of the most famous kensei or sword saint in Japan, Musashi Miyamoto. Boasts gorgeous artwork.

Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin manga/OVAs) Wanderer swordsman with a simple, somewhat happy-go-lucky attitude. When he's in battousai mode though, expect the picture linked to his name. Both OVAs have some of my favorite soundtracks. Of course, I like Trust and Betrayal much more than the other one.

Rintarou Okabe(Steins;Gate visual novel) Mad scientist chased by the organization, likes to make fun of Kurisutina. El Psy Congroo.

He misses his banana.

Visual novel's opening theme. A group of friends discover a way to send messages to the past through modifying their microwave. They begin performing different experiments, each altering the happenings and state of the world bit by bit. There lurks an organization named SERN that seemingly desires world domination through monopolizing the use of time travel. They have information about the phone microwave.

Chihaya Ayase (Chihayafuru manga/anime) Going to have three characters from Josei and Shoujo on this list. Starting off, we'll have this karuta-loving tomboy. Eccentric enough to earn her the title 'Beauty in vain'.

A story about competitive karuta. I didn't know what the heck that was and why the heck would I watch it. Then came the characters and story. Aah, joy. A good break from exploitative- I mean, dark stuff.

Nana Osaki (Nana manga/anime) Husky punk rocker. Punk rocker. Awesome punk rocker. I can't find the words...

Chiaki Shinichi (Nodame Cantabile anime) Arrogant conductor/pianist/musician whose main desire is... perfection. Afraid of flying and drowning, and is chased by the crazy titular character in love with him.

Opening theme for the anime's first season. Classical music. With laughs, a pinch of drama, and, great classical music. The director is crazy enough to even let one piece roll for a whole eight minutes.

Lucy (Elfen Lied manga) Scary lady. No vids here. Don't be fooled by the moe...

Guts (Berserk manga) Byronic hero/dark hero who wields a sword longer than him and almost as large, made of iron and weighing over 200 pounds.

Anime's Engrish opening. Quarity! So much quarity!

Griffith(Berserk) Oh, a super evil fellow, moving on now.

Johan Liebert (Monster manga) Oops, another super evil fellow... *tiptoes away from his dangerous smile*

Anime's opening.

Rance(Rance visual novel series by Alicesoft) This main protagonist... he is almost everything that's wrong with a human being (He is very... openly promiscuous to say the very least). Yet, this series of games are parodies and tongue-in-cheek anyway, and he's just hilarious.

Opening theme for Sengoku Rance, surprisingly a very good turn-based strategy game with addictive battle tactics despite being an eroge. Damn it Rance, stop having so many 'special' eroge scenes for me to skip! Too much of something healthy makes it unhealthy! Another Sengoku Rance video with awesome in-game rock music, but loaded with spoilers!

Still, this is the game I have spent most of my hours on, 'cuz Rance wants me to control him as a psycho badass warmonger and take all of them gorgeous beautiful princesses as prisoners of war! Bwahagahahahahah!

Once again, I am not a good role model.

By the way, Rance's worst nightmare...

Favorite Key visual novel?

Ah, the studio that made the Nakige subgenre famous *grins timidly as he faces the ominous glares from all Studio Key fans*. I'd go for Clannad first and then Little Busters! (The exclamation mark is in its name, can't do anything about it) Actually, I'll put them in a tie for first. But my favorite opening theme from a Key game would have to be Tori no Uta from Air.

Clannad's VN opening.

Little Busters! EX opening.

TYPE-MOON?

Fate/Stay Night. As for my favorite route, definitely Heaven's Feel. Just feel that it's the most probable and believable one, and it fits as the continuation to Fate/Zero. Kirei Kotomine and Shirou Emiya at their finest.

Updates:

For my story update intervals, I have been very inconsistent. But I'll do my best to put together a more regular schedule, we'll see how it goes.

Vermillion:

5 May 2013: Act One Part Two is finally rewritten, combining events of both the old Act One Part Two and Act One Part Three, cutting about just less than 2500 words. Act One Part Four (now Part Three) is mostly left as before. There is more focus on the boy and the White Witch, which will play a very minor plot point in Act Three. The combat scenes are shorter, with the melee duels being a bit more realistic (and violent) to match the realism of later fights, and also for my amusement. Featured techniques include beating, binding and grappling.

8 May 2013: Prologue is heavily edited and merged with Act One Part One. All mention of muskets have been changed to arquebuses. Yes, firearms are sort of important in Vermillion, took me a while to get them accurate for the story's time period!

16 May 2012: Will perform edits on Act 2 Part 1 and Act 2 Part 3 to see if I can trim the word count even more, especially for Act 2 Part 1. Has started writing Act 3 Part 3.

Story ideas and drafts (all have an anime/manga theme in mind)

1. Stars and Missiles

Main genres: Action. Drama. Sci-Fi. Alternate history. (Also includes Romance, Psychological, Comedy etc.)

Notable themes: Aircraft. Military. Virtual reality.

Notable traits of main protagonist (Felix Leopold): Villainous/pragmatic protagonist(?). Soldier. Tactician.

Objectionable content: Graphic violence. Sexual themes (infrequent).

POV: First-person (Felix Leopold). Third-person.

Summary:

2024. An Earth where the majority of a powerful union is able to live in virtual reality, as opposed to the fewer urbanization that is left on Earth due to an ongoing world war that involved nuclear weaponry. Felix Leopold, a prodigious eighteen-year old captain and fighter pilot, is constantly at the battlefield of the skies. The only consolation being that a relatively recent treaty states that no more weapons of mass destruction are to be launched in fear of plunging humanity into extinction. Yet, an agreement through mere paper can only restrain so much anxiety and enmity.

Felix serves in the air force under the flag of the democratic United States of Quies (USQ), notable for a part of its civilization that resides in the virtual reality world named Elisium, and he is more than willing to respond to the call of duty.

They are poised for an assault against the hostile Hanyue Federacy; the initiators of the Mass Arcology Project. Both are sworn enemies long since the outbreak of the Third World War, one that led to the shock near-collapse of the USA amid the expansion of these two great powers. One is a unitary state and the other a federacy, both having annexed many countries as their constituents. The United States of America however, is the only known country with a military base on the moon, and remains a federation.

Felix's home houses his single mother, and a few roommates whom he barely attempts to break the ice with. A roof built in virtual reality.

After a series of routine operations, Felix enters virtual reality once more to come home for the first time in a couple of months, and along the way, stumbles upon a girl sitting alone under little cover from the rain. Something registers in his senses as he looks upon her, and he approaches the girl. Slender, doe-eyed, quiet with a delicate face. She looks not much older than him, yet when he tries to converse with her, she doesn't seem to understand him and occasionally repeats what he says in broken sentences and words, at times looking at him with a smile and gleaming eyes.

Felix contemplates for a moment, then decides to have her take shelter in his abode. He finds himself interested in her somewhat. It's, not bad, just hanging out with her. But, she could be just what I need. Another thing he has assumed about her so far, is that she seems to exist only in virtual reality.

An Earth where people find joy and purpose in an artificial world, where each star above marks each citizen living in the virtual universe named Elisium. An Earth where our first home is suffering catastrophic damage as a result of humanity's self-destruction, where a few dwellers of reality spend their days looking upon the flares of missiles whizzing through the dark, smoky sky. The global effects of massive nuclear warfare are present at first glance, a dim and snowy nuclear winter.

Theme songs:

Meteor sang by Miku Hatsune Append English subtitles and video (lower quality)I own a Vocaloid CD with this song. The sound quality of the videos doesn't really resemble the disk version, but it's still an enjoyable listen. IA's version (Higher sound quality video).

Unfragment sang by Miku Hatsune

Hah, music makes for a great inspiration.

When I finally get to writing this, I want it to be better than Vermillion, simple as that. I'd probably want to write more of Vermillion first before actually writing Stars and Missiles though.

I've wanted to write a story with fighter aircraft in it for too long. For some reason, I got into them sometime after getting a liking to sword clanging and magic blasting. All of my ideas of a fighter aircraft story ended up having a rather demented top ace fighter pilot being a pivotal supporting character. My first few ideas were wars in space, not against aliens, but humans versus humans, with lasers and all that crazy science fiction stuff. With Stars and Missiles I'm going for a fictional World War Three with more down-to-earth technologies (Unfortunately, no mecha in this story, sorry to mecha lovers. There will be fictional technology though). My idea of a demented top ace fighter pilot, culminated into a sane but very highly skilled one still, in the form of Akim Nitzani.

Having real countries wage war against one another could be controversial, but it's what I've chosen. So I've decided to have fictional great powers, and I'm wary of making any changes to existing countries. I will however, avoid dumping loads of nationalism and politics all over the place. Especially since once again, this will be a character-driven story.

Main inspirations: Baldr Sky, Muv-Luv Alternative (Both are eroge, so careful when browsing them, even when explicit results are filtered)

"Some of us fighter pilots are, a little different from soldiers on the land, sea, so on. Those people, on the field, they have their comrades within arm's reach. Able to see each other's faces, there to attend each other. When you are in a single-seater airplane cockpit, thousands of feet up in the air, you are alone. You don't see your comrades' faces. You don't get to feel them. Only their voices come through the earpiece."

Draft of CHARACTER PROFILES for Stars and Missiles

Protagonist:

1. Felix Leopold

Sex: Male

Age: 19

Character summary: With his native country Germany now a constituent nation within the USQ, Felix is a ruthless captain and fighter aircraft pilot serving in the USQ Air Force. He seems to have an interest for knowledge regarding the universe at the side, owning books written by Carl Sagan. Though seemingly an aloof person, he gets along reasonably fine with his closest acquaintances. When alone, however, he looks upon the world with cold, distant eyes.

Squadron and position: USQAF 9th Special Fighter Squadron (Nickname: Aquila). Commander of Winter Flight. Call sign: Winter One. Personal call sign: Polar.

Designated fighter aircraft: PAK FA T-50 (Single seat stealth multirole fighter)

A majority of aircraft in this story will be based on real-life counterparts, whether they be in service, or still in research and development or testing etc. during present time. Names of such fighter aircraft might be altered from its real-life counterparts if I decide to mention them, such as how Steins;Gate replaced IBM with IBN. An example in this story is Sukhoi being changed to Suhkoi. Changes, additions, and improvements in fighter aircraft will be present throughout the story. Fictional aircraft, and fictional strategic weaponry, may also be present. Of course, drones will have a most worthy presence. Proliferated unmanned and smaller aircraft, ah, so fun.

Draft of some altered aircraft manufacturer company names:

United States of America: Boeing (F-15SE Silent Eagle etc.) to Boening. Lockheed Martin (F-22 Raptor etc.) to Lockhead Mardin.

China: Chengdu (J-20 etc.) to Cheng. Shenyang (J-31 etc.) to Shenyan.

Russia: Mikoyan (MiG-35 etc.) to Mikoyun. Sukhoi (Su-35, Su-47, T-50 etc.) to Suhkoi.

Boomerkid says: I predict that Felix will be one of the harder characters to write, maybe. The biggest challenge is simple, making him likable. The jerk aura could be strong with this one. *Freezes as he senses a chilling glare from Felix. All of a sudden, things start to literally freeze with snow falling from beyond his room window, despite Malaysia being a hot and humid tropical country incapable of having snow.* Yeah, I have to watch out for his emo too. *Gets Isabelle to jump and cling onto Felix, to which Felix yelps while blushing fervently.* Ah, better, I hope...

Main inspiration: N/A

Battle theme: Release by Keiki Kobayashi and the Project ACES team

Some of the supporting cast:

1. Akim Nitzani

Sex: Male

Age: 24

Character summary: Another captain within the USQ Air Force, Akim is an Israeli fighter pilot who has an ongoing friendly rivalry with Felix. Known as an outgoing man and reputed as a womanizer, he nevertheless still manages to get his duties done, albeit almost always in a flashy manner. He is nicknamed The Demon, a lesser used alternative being Heaven's Demon, presumably due to his aggressiveness and willingness to engage in thrilling dogfights.

One of his aims is to become the "Ace of the Aces of Aces", a title said to belong to the fighter pilot with the most aerial victories of all time. He will need to beat the current benchmark of 352 aerial victories, earned by German WWII pilot Erich Hartmann (real person) who was nicknamed The Black Devil by his then Soviet adversaries. Akim is currently the top ace of the USQAF 9th Special Fighter Squadron, having amassed a tally of over one hundred victories.

Squadron and position: USQAF 9th Special Fighter Squadron. Commander of Diablo Flight. Call sign: Diablo One. Personal call sign: Deuce.

Designated fighter aircraft: Su-47 Berkut (An experimental/technology demonstrator considered to be under development as of current, the Su-47 may also be depicted in this story as a single seat stealth air superiority fighter unique to the 9th Special Fighter Squadron, with stealth being one of the improvements in this story. It's unique forward-swept wing among other technologies allow this aircraft to be capable of very excellent agility and maneuverability in combat, essential for combat superiority in the air especially for getting an edge in the event of a dogfight. Sounds like the fighter aircraft perfect for Akim.)

Main inspiration: Akane Takeda (Hanachirasu eroge) Akane is the villainous protagonist of aforementioned eroge. Both are good with women, both have crooked grins at times during the heat of battle, but Akim has to wear an oxygen mask in his fighter jet *Sobs sadly since he won't be able to show his valuable grin often* Other than those, they don't have that much in common come to think of it. Akim's a character I'm eager to write.

Akane from Hanachirasu doesn't give a thought about going against battle/warfare ethics, and loves doing things his way. A man of chaos, shown here in this violent scene with a vulgarity. He doesn't even care about his boss. Nowhere near the best visual novels, nowhere even near getting a bayesian rating of 8 at vndb.org, but at least it has a memorable protagonist.

Hanachirasu's opening movie. Katanas go clang clang and whoosh! Full opening song without the clang clang.

Yes, Akane's definitely among my favorite characters.

-o-

2. Isabelle Booker

Sex: Female

Age: 19

Character summary: An American and childhood friend of Felix, Isabelle is a first lieutenant and fighter pilot who regularly serves as a direct subordinate to Felix, considered a prodigy alongside him. A quiet woman with a gentle disposition to many, she has a crush on Felix, and is quite forward and open in her occasional playful advances on him. Many see it as fun teasing, but at times Felix seems not just uneasy or bashful, but genuinely disturbed by her.

Squadron and position: USQAF 9th Special Fighter Squadron. Second-in-command and pilot in Winter Flight. Call sign: Winter Two. Personal call sign: Izzy.

Designated fighter aircraft: PAK FA T-50

Main inspiration: Miyako Shiina (Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! eroge) Like Miyako, Isabelle has a very open crush on the main protagonist, and is resilient in her pursuit. I'll definitely not make her over the top though. Miyako scares me sometimes in the eroge, in an amusing way.

Majikoi's eroge opening. Hell yeah, moe rom com with action chicks kicking posteriors. Why is this recipe so tempting! Hnnngh! Keep a very safe distance away from the anime though... (a few scenes weren't that bad I admit, but still... Why you turn legendary rom com into mediocre harem! Why! Wai!)

-o-

3. Kiyomi Hamasaki

Sex: Female

Age: 21

Character summary: Despite Japan now being a constituent country in the Hanyue Federacy, Kiyomi works as an engineer for the USQ, and has a hand in the workings of the Elisium Project. An acquaintance of Felix and gang, she holds positions such as a maintenance engineer for Elisium, with another stint as a researcher for the USQ Air Force. She is known to be rather cool and distant, and prefers to be addressed formally as Miss Hamasaki. Lately, she is seen to have a greater interest in the affairs of the Air Force, and has access to their command centers even when the Air Force is in the middle of their operations.

Main inspiration: Kurisu Makise (Steins;Gate visual novel) They have quite a number of achievements as scientists at a young age. Though Kiyomi is meant to be somewhat aloof, I don't intend to portray her as a tsundere like Kurisutina.

Steins;Gate anime opening 1. The visual novel's much much better in my opinion, but a great anime nonetheless.

-o-

4. Unnamed girl

Sex: Female

Age: ??? (Implied to be around Felix's)

Character summary: A young woman Felix finds under a overhang during a rainy evening, within the virtual reality universe; Elisium. She doesn't seem to be able to communicate properly with words, and carries the character of an innocent child.

Main inspiration: Sora Minaduki (Baldr Sky eroge)

Main menu theme of Baldr Sky Dive 2.

Vermillion

(Extended summary in planning)

The first thing I ever wrote lengthily (remember writing) was a few-thousand word anime-fantasy quickie for the heck of it back when I was thirteen. Been the fan of sword clanging and magic blasting, so it's no surprise that my first story on fictionpress is one inspired by said quickie. Growing up, watching all of those darker and edgier stuff led me to change up that one shot to Vermillion.

Only two characters from the original one shot made it to Vermillion, the first being Alice vi Wolfgang, and the other being Amaron vio Wolfgang. Was planning on turning that old story into some epic with the big bad and plot planned out, but then I scraped the lead protagonist because I didn't like him that much, and the big bad because I didn't like him even more, so I was going to have to start from scratch. I went back to my old list of villains (in my head), and came back upon this cold-blooded, katana-wielding manslayer. Then I don't know what got into me, but I thought, "Hey, why don't I put this minor villain back in, and turn him into one of the protagonists for the heck of it?" All of a sudden, Vermillion became the titular character.

This is a character-driven story centering mostly on the two protagonists; Alice vi Wolfgang and Vermillion, set in a simple low fantasy world in its last days of what we would call the middle ages, that is constantly at war and impending war. I first intended a fantasy story that pokes fun and attempts to avert some stereotypical Shounen anime notions, but Vermillion is now drama in addition to the action, fantasy, and light-hearted scenes amongst others, leaning more towards Seinen. Some themes in this story will probably recur in Stars and Missiles, which will also lean more into Seinen.

The combat scenes are aimed to be a bit more realistic, semi-realistic at least. The characters don't jump high up against walls, teleport, do flashy jumping and fast-spinning attacks etcetera. This applies to magi as well.

This is quite an experimental work, with switches between the two protagonists' perspectives per Act and not back and forth in every chapter.

Main genres: Action. Drama. Low fantasy. Medieval/Renaissance fantasy. (Also includes Psychological, Romance, Comedy etc.)

Notable themes: Sword combat. Magecraft.

POV: First-person (Alice vi Wolfgang, Vermillion [only in first chapter]). Third-person.

Objectionable content: Graphic violence. Sexual themes (infrequent).

Credit for the cover of Vermillion goes to wallpaperist.com and dreamstime.com.

Theme songs:

Desert Rose by Abingdon Boys School

Quiet Life by Taku Iwasaki

Main inspirations: Rurouni Kenshin, Vagabond, Fate/Stay Night (originally an eroge).

Teaser: The two protagonists will meet by Act Five.

CHARACTER PROFILES for Vermillion

Protagonists:

1. Alice vi Wolfgang

Sex: Female

Age: 18

Character summary: One of the princesses of the Imperial Wolfgang Empire. She is the second daughter of the viceroys of Iris Bay; belonging to the Vivian branch family. Quite reserved yet friendly and cheeky at times, she gives off the appearance of a delicate princess. All seems fine, if not for the fact that she is plagued by sinister dreams in her sleep.

Boomerkid says: She's mine! *Attempts to forcefully snuggle a bewildered Alice, but gets his poor little posterior done in by Jeanne.*

Main inspiration: Taichi Kurosu (Cross†Channel eroge) Yeah, she's inspired by this guy a little, at least her current character is. Let's just say some parts of her personality faintly resemble Taichi's. She doesn't borrow many traits from other characters in the first place, so I guess I won't have to worry about her resembling other characters too much.

One of my favorite soundtracks in Cross†Channel.

-o-

2. Vermillion

Sex: Male

Age: ???

Character summary: Formerly a child mercenary highly adept with the sword, the name Vermillion is of undisputed notoriety in Serra. His name is referred in terror to some degree by the Imperial Wolfgang Empire and its people, but his current whereabouts are unknown. Accounts depict him as a cold, silent, and emotionless manslayer. Knowledge of his birth name is uncertain.

Preferred weapon: Katana

Boomerkid says: Can be a little tough to write at times. *Looks dully at Vermillion, who merely stares back at him with a blank gaze.* Sometimes even I can't get along with him.

Main inspiration: Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin) Manslayers when they were children, and both wield katanas, though Vermillion's not meant to be the more idealistic hero Kenshin is.

Battle themes:

1. Day after Day by Taku Iwasaki

2. One More Red Nightmare by Taku Iwasaki

Rurouni Kenshin's anime opening 2. My favorite opening theme from the anime, probably because it played during my favorite arc in the show. Ah, the cartoon of my childhood, and the one that made me really like and become interested in villains/antagonists in fiction. This song really doesn't suit Vermy, hehe (It also somewhat does not fit with the arc it plays in).

Some of the supporting cast:

1. The White Witch

Sex: Female

Age: ???

Character summary: An enigmatic woman. At times appearing at places where one usually doesn't, or shouldn't, or at least where people think she should not appear. Seems to know Vermillion from some time back.

Boomerkid says: Hell yeah, sinister and shady hot chicks. *Grins with an exuberant thumbs up, then yelps as he looks at the White Witch silently creeping up on him with a vicious smile. Droplets of sweat form on his forehead as he timidly backs away.* I once intended for her to be a yandere, but dropped the idea since it would jeopardize her character development, and she would've become a cardboard character. Ah- Hey, White Witch, drop that mock yandere smirk! *Runs*

-o-

2. Jeanne Marianne Villeneuve

Sex: Female

Age: 21

Character summary: A young woman of the noble Villeneuve family, she is a loyal knight serving the Wolfgang Empire's Viola Branch Family, more specifically under Prince Amaron vio Wolfgang's command. A renowned and highly adept swordswoman, she is also capable of magecraft, and has yet to lose a sword duel. Having a firm and quiet disposition, she is closely acquainted with Alice. She does not speak often of herself.

Preferred weapon: Longsword

Boomerkid says: Hooray for classy sword ladies! *Grins lopsidedly at Jeanne, who looks back with nonchalant and half-lidded eyes, and turns away. Slumps his shoulders as he sniffles with a pout.*

Main inspiration: Saber (Fate/Stay Night) Ah, dignified and beautiful ladies wielding longswords. There's just something about them... ehehe...

The first PC opening theme of arguably the most famous visual novel.

-o-

3. Harold don Wolfgang

Sex: Male

Age: 22

Character summary: A prince of the Wolfgang Empire's Donworth Branch Family, he is the younger brother of the famous Heathcliff don Wolfgang. Though a rather fine man with gentle mannerisms, he seems to be overshadowed by more noteworthy members of the Wolfgang Royal Family, virtually living in the shadow of his brother.

Boomerkid says: Really turned up his character from the near-complete douchebag he was when I first wrote Vermillion. I'm sure my bro Harry will be much more pleased with his new character portrayal, no? *Gives two thumbs up to Harry, but receives a dull frown as Harry shows Boomerkid an excerpt of his former character* Come on, I'm helping your image here! *Harry points to a lavish portrait of his more famous and successful brother; Heathcliff, and points to another place exhibiting a two-story tall statue of said brother made of pure gold.* Don't ask for too much, buddy.

Main inspiration: Can't really think of a notable inspiration for him, he just popped up when I needed a character to fill in the place he fills. His brother Heathcliff though, is inspired by Lelouch vi Britannia of Code Geass.

First opening theme of Code Geass. The most entertaining anime I've ever watched by far, hands down. I've rewatched it three times, all fifty episodes. Also the most expensive set of anime DVDs I've ever bought.

-o-

4. Jeremiah Stuarthall

Sex: Male

Age: ???

Character summary: Quite a talkative middle-aged man who doesn't mind intruding into other people's space for his amusement. He is a notorious ringleader of pirates, and is a self-proclaimed genius, at times complimenting himself in public. And while most of his underlings will do well to not take him too seriously, he always has handsome material remunerations on his sleeves, even more for the people he wants to keep, and acquire.

Preferred weapon(s): Rapier. Matchlock pistol.

Boomerkid says: I was blackmailed by Mister, I mean- Lord Jeremiah Stuarthall, to proclaim to all you readers how lovably awesome he is! *Smiles nervously as he timidly looks up at the towering and bulky Jeremiah, who gives him a thumbs up complete with a wide sparkly grin.* Ahaha-

Main inspiration: Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) Ah. Doesn't hurt to have a dose of loud free spirits in the cast. I don't have too many of them unfortunately, so it's really fun to write characters like these. Jerry probably won't be as loud as Kamina though, impulsive maybe, we'll see.

TTGL's first opening. GAR overload!

Other notable supporting characters (not including children) introduced so far (Wondering whether to do a profile for a few of them):

1. Amaron vio Wolfgang

Prince belonging to the Viola Branch Family of the Imperial Wolfgang Empire. Emanates a firm sense of duty just like his knight, Jeanne. Seems to be skilled at archery.

Preferred weapon: Composite recurve bow

2. Ariel vi Wolfgang

Alice's older sister. A rather quiet young woman.

3. Heathcliff don Wolfgang

Prince belonging to the Donworth Branch Family of the Wolfgang Empire. Harold's older brother. Said to have the potential to become one of the most influential statesmen among the current generation.

Preferred weapon(s): Matchlock arquebus. Crossbow.

4. Havoc Alas Caelum

A swordsman who flaunts a long spear strapped along his back. Seems like a laid-back guy.

Preferred weapon(s): Spear. Jian.

5. Tomoko Ueno (Rewrite of Trix Ferris from the first edition)

Ninja. Has heard of Vermillion.

Preferred weapon: Chain, sickle and weight (Kusarigama). How a kusarigama looks like when it's wielded. It is a more than capable weapon for defeating swordsmen.

6. Invincible Under the Heavens(?)

Flashy title.

Preferred weapon(s):???

Weird that I get inspiration for some of Vermillion's cast from mecha anime, whilst I get inspiration for S&M's cast from VNs with martial arts. Well, one of the tips I've gotten for coming up with plot outlines, is to get as much inspiration as possible. I guess from anywhere possible counts.

More random stuff from this point forth:

I like collecting quotes. Here's a bunch of them, from visual novels, anime and stuff, *grins broadly:

I exist, if I believe. Existence through belief, it's as if I'm God. (Subarashiki Hibi eroge)

"Are you happy with this world?" Shouldn't you be saying, "Are you happy to be in this world?" (Subarashiki Hibi)

Without belief in something, a person couldn't even muster the will to walk.
Your feet will falter the moment you doubt whether the next step will plunge you into an abyss. (Subarashiki Hibi)

Why do kids nowadays have to do the stupid things adults do? (Baldr Sky eroge)

A sword is a weapon, swordsmanship is a method of murder. You may decorate it with all sorts of pretty words, but that is what it is. (Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen OVA)

New eras don't come about because of swords, they're created by the people who wield them. (Rurouni Kenshin anime)

The dead don't desire revenge, but the happiness of the living. (Rurouni Kenshin manga)

A true warrior would never be so desperate to show off his strength. (Vagabond manga)

Everything is new to you. But do not rush ahead with your schedule, otherwise it will bore you easily. (Vagabond)

Rather than being on top, it is better to work your way uphill. (Vagabond)

If I could soar high in the clouds like an eagle, I wouldn't be able to see the ants crawling on the ground.
But they are there. There are ants crawling on the ground. Step by step, they move forward with joy. (Vagabond)

Our objectives may be the same. However, as long as we value different things, we will choose different methods.
But what if these different values keep us from achieving the mutual objective? (Muv-Luv Alternative eroge/visual novel)

I never gave any thought about the future. Make change happen so that you'll be better off.
Give thought about how you want things to end.
Don't just wait for it to end, make it end. (Muv-Luv eroge)

You want to meet us again, don't you? Then do not say "good bye", instead, it's "see you". (Muv-Luv)

See you next week. (Cross†Channel eroge/visual novel)

Not everything about humans is correct. It's a question of whether you accept them or not. (Cross†Channel)

I'm fine with getting hurt. It's better than hurting others. (Cross†Channel)

Communication exists because we want to connect with other people.
We cannot become one with another, but we can temporarily cross and feel each other. An exchange of hearts. (Cross†Channel)

Aren't people precious? Aren't family and friends precious? Even though we hurt each other, we can remain as two people who can face each other. (Cross†Channel)

Hah. Now for some lighter ones:

Well, everyone... Even though I'm usually depressed, please be friendly towards me. Then maybe you'll get to see my cute side... (G-Senjou no Maou visual novel) *Almost everything Haru Usami says could be put here*

I want to go on a date! We'll play MMORPGs all night long! And then I want you to confess your love to me by saying, "Let's grind together baby!" (Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo visual novel)

"Oh, you have good taste, this is a rare brand."
"No, it's not rare. You can find it in the convenience store all the time."
"Then, it is the convenience store that is rare." (Subarashiki Hibi)

My body may look as strong as steel, but my heart is as soft as a tissue. Can't you wrap your words in Saran wrap just a little? (Little Busters! visual novel)

Yes... the strongest girl sewing my clothes... that would make them... the strongest clothes...! (Clannad visual novel)

My goal is to make one-hundred friends! I only need to make one-hundred more! (Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! visual novel)

Fireflies glow like that, because they are signals sent by the males and females to attract one another. However, there are certain times when a male will attempt to call out to another male. *dude in hot spring gives Jin a naughty smirk and leer* (Samurai Champloo anime)

People die if they are killed. (Fate/Stay Night)

He wouldn't die even if we killed him! (Slayers)

Well, even if somebody killed you, you probably wouldn't die. (Bleach)

I wouldn't die even if they killed me! (Rurouni Kenshin)

A true man never dies! Even when he is killed! (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

Shoot her to death! Without killing her! (One Piece)

The thing you have to do is, die before getting killed. (Death Note)

Shirou explodes. The above exchange can be found here.Ah, fansubs.

And finally, Taichi Kurosu's super special secret recipe on how to cook super delicious rice: (Cross†Channel)

The best way to cook delicious meals:
1. Believe in yourself.
2. Weigh the rice.
3. Each and every grain of rice contains a precious life.
4. With those innumerable lives, people can keep living.
5. But every life will eventually return to the earth.
6. The Earth is Life, just as Life is the Earth.
7. In order to someday bring about new life.
8. Long Sci-fi novel “Gaia’s Journey” – Fin
9. Polish the rice and wash it for twenty minutes.
10. The summertime makes me want to eat some incredibly spicy curry.
11. Cook.
12. Stare long and hard at the fire, letting dangerous thoughts soak into your body OR remembering comrades-in-arms who gave their lives to protect you. (Two choices)
13. Once cooked, steam upside down for ten minutes.
14. Super delicious rice is born.

I tried it. Failed. You try it. I couldn't get past step 4.