Norma and Norma

This is a very short and quick blog post about the similarities between Norma from Suikoden V and Norma Beatty from Tales of Legendia.

Norma Beatty from Tales of Legendia

Norma on the Tales Wiki

Norma from Suikoden V.

Her black shoes don't appear in my current black background on the site, so it looks like she has not feet. lol

Norma on the Suikoden wiki

These two girls have a few similarities, the most interesting part is that the games they are in, came out six months apart from each other! This also means there was no intention, to duplicate one of the characters. 

I noticed they had a few similarities due to someone bringing it to my attention.

1. Both girls are conveniently named Norma.

2. They both have brown hair up to their neck, in a bowl shape fashion.

3. They are both eccentric, happy go lucky characters.

4. They're both good magicians.

5. They both have wand type weapons, Norma Beatty having a straw wand that shoots bubbles, and Norma having a Bo-staff.

6. They're both wearing a skirt (Although this could be a rather generic one.)

7. They both conveniently have a hair-piece, on the left of their head.

Why I'm not a fan of strict policies..

I'm sure many people on the Internet are loosey goosies (Yes, I'm pretty sure "Goosies" is not a word. Actually, that kind of works with this topic...). But there are definitely plenty of stubborn strict people on the Internet, who just need to lighten up!

Let me tell you, when I was 16, I frequented Wikipedia and half of the stuff I edited either got fixed or deleted. Now, I'll understand for a good portion that I was an idiot who didn't know how to spell, use proper grammar and punctuation, (In fact, I still don't always do proper punctuation, but I try!). But there were so many things that I put in, that were useful facts, and info that were just deleted! For the most part, I am talking about the page for the game, Kya Dark Lineage. The Wikipedia page that I started! As you can see Here.
Wikipedia goes by a very strict set of rules, and I'll understand to a degree that a clean up must be done. But I feel like some people are just sticklers, and they want the least amount of info for a Wikipedia page possible. It has to be so by the book, that in the end, lot's of useful information is deleted at the drop of a hat This will actually discourage people to not even bother with it, such as myself, who doesn't bother with editing on Wikipedia anymore.
I had recently edited the Kya page back in 2012, and I found out that my edit was removed completely a few years later! If you ask me, finding out that the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender, were going to name the female lead "Kya", but chose not to due to a video game character with the same name. I'd say that's a very interesting bit of info! A hidden gem of a game that no one knows about, actually influenced a character's name from a popular show! That's just great! Yet, it was removed a while back.
As I look back to the Wikipedia page for Kya, I noticed in the history, that lot's of information was deleted and then someone goes around and puts a tag saying it needs to be re-written! Well yeah, if someone else didn't delete everything!
It's just very aggravating in my opinion, that's why I don't even bother anymore, because anything I put down gets deleted in the long run. Meanwhile, I'm like the only person that cares enough to write about Kya in the first place!

This is also why I enjoy Wiki's better, because they tend to be less strict and more free. However, sticklers can still abound and it really depends on who the administrators of the wiki are.
Wiki's, like the Kya Dark Lineage wiki, which I created. I'm very carefree and I'll allow many things, and since I'm the admin, I can do whatever I want (As long as it doesn't go against Wikia's rules, of course.). I've even added a few non Kya related articles in there, but usually pertaining to a few similar games. This is to create more activity, and views, and interest in similar things.
I also edit on the Suikoden Wiki, which also has breezy admins and it's fun to be on (I've also been made an admin on there as well).

Picture by me

I was disappointed to find out that my edit on the Tales of Legendia wiki was deleted, as there is a character named Norma, who is very similar to the Norma in Suikoden. Apparently, It's not good enough because the characters aren't made by the same company. which in my opinion is silly, but I find these character similarities interesting, and someone else was the one that pointed it out to me!

Another instance as to strict policies, are particular people at my job. There are certain higher ups who will get you in trouble just because you took two extra minutes on your break, or because you talked to someone for two minutes. Yes because if I talk to my friend for 2 minutes, the world will explode, all is lost, and no work will ever be able to get done! Because that two minutes, out of the 8 hours I am there was the most time consuming, and wasteful two minutes of the entire existence of the planet! Not to mention, if I don't talk to anyone interesting and I have to deal with one more douche bag customer, I'll punch them (Customer) in the face and walk out! Talking to friends allows me not to cut a bitch! It would also put me in a better mood!

(Please realize, I am exaggerating with the violence though...)

The irony, is this manager had to talk to my friend for 5-10 minutes about how you shouldn't be talking to people at work and how you should be working...... what.... (Oh, the irony!)

In 2018, I worked for a company that would have your head if you were a minute late coming in, or even if you were on break. One minute is not going to ruin the business, I promise. Which is funny because, the manual even said you were allowed a 4 minute grace period. Which they didn't care about their own rules.
I told my friend Stephanie about this, she said they needed to calm their tits, it's only a minute! I said, that's something  I would say! She said "See, this is why we're friends!". lol

What I'm trying to say is, I dislike strict policies and sometimes everyone should take things less seriously and take them in between silly and serious. Some rules are good and some are good to be mended. You can't take things too seriously, or you'll have a dull life. 

 Keywords: Why retail is the worst job, Who are retail customers?, Why retail jobs are bad, Retail is hard, Retail Experience, Retail Examples, Retail Industry, Retail Sector, Retail Times, Retail Workers.

Boomerangs!

I love Boomerangs! They are my favorite weapon of all time in games, and shows. I've been in love with them ever since Millie from the second Suikoden game! I've always thought they were cool. You throw the boomerang, so you never get close to your enemies, and then it comes back so you never have to refill your weapon either. Of course there are many flaws, like it would never work in real life because it would hit the target and fall. But, I do theorize that if the boomerang is either going faster, or is stronger than the object to hit, it can actually knock the target down. As an example, if you threw a boomerang, at a "wanky" little tree branch (about 2 inches thick), the boomerang would be going fast enough, and strong enough to fling into the tree branch, probably bend the branch, or even break it, and continue to fly. now, if you did this to a tree, it would just "boop", the tree and fall.

 What I really like is, Sango from the anime Inuyasha, does something similar. She uses a giant boomerang, that's probably 6 feet tall, and every time she uses it on a giant monster, it's used in a way that makes sense. She doesn't hit the enemy directly, but to the side of the enemy, where it would still have enough speed and power to come back. (Like in the anime, one time, she throws it at a giant serpent, or snake monster [I don't remember what it was], and it only attacked the very outside of the creature, somewhat bruising, it, if you will. Because it's so big, and heavy, I believe she easily knocks down human sized foes rather quickly.)

Millie

 In the show The Arrow, Captain Boomerang appears, and he actually has many boomerangs under his coat, he uses them like sharp knives, and some of them come back in certain circumstances. I think this was the most realistic way to bring Boomerangs as an actual weapon, in the modern day.
I like that people are starting to give them a realistic aspect to them. I've always been fascinated by them and I wish they would be used more in video games, and other media. One of my favorite anime, Shangri La, has Kuniko Hojo. She uses a giant metal boomerang, and it's strong enough to cut through a tank turret! Kuniko uses her metal boots to kick the boomerang, in order to stop it. (If she grabbed it with her hand, it would probably tear her arm off. The metal on her boots, would probably soak the damage, so it would stop the boomerang) Shangri-La is one of my favorite anime, but not only because Kuniko has an awesome weapon, but also because it's an awesome anime!

Although in real life Boomerangs are not used as weapons, but actually for sport, or an item to scare away birds and other animals, usually in the means of hunting. The aborigines actually used a weapon called the "Throwing Stick", which was used to attack prey, and this weapon inspired the boomerang. They've never had a throwing stick in a game before, from my knowledge. Which would be very interesting!

I think it's funny, because my three favorite game series, Suikoden ,Chrono Cross and Kya Dark Lineage. All of my favorite characters, or one of my favorite characters have a boomerang. I always thought it was funny that my three favorite series always had a character with a boomerang. 

Faylen

 

As mentioned earlier, my favorite Suikoden II character is Millie, and uses boomerang as her weapon. She was the one that introduced me to the wild world of boomerangs as a weapon! Check out one of my earlier posts, which is also one of the most viewed on the blog, that I made about her! "Who is Suikoden's Millie?"
Then you also have Faylen, another character from the Suikoden franchise, that appears in Suikoden V. Who has a big metal boomerang. The interesting thing about Faylen, is that she has a metal glove on her right hand, which adds the realistic element, of her having to catch it, without cutting her whole hand/arm off. (Similar to Kuniko's boots). There is also the addition of Sialeeds, and Sharmista, in Suikoden V Whom have Chakrams, a circular weapon that is thrown. In many games such as Suikoden, or Tales of the Abyss, characters that have chakrams, have the capability of having the chakram come back to them, like a boomerang. Interestingly enough, Suikoden V allows characters to use skills to buff themselves in battle. Sharmista, and Sialeeds have a "Long Throw" ability (Which is the rare chance to attack all enemies because of it's boomerang like qualities, similar attacks can be seen in Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy 13), Faylen does not have this. (I theorize it's because she has a Treasure Hunt ability, that cannot be removed, since she's a bandit character.)
In it's spiritual successor, Suikoden Tierkreis, various characters can use a boomerang as their weapon, including the main character. Unlike the original Suikoden games, where the characters keep their weapon and upgrade it by going to a blacksmith. Tierkreis has the characters swap out weapons for stronger upgrades, the Chakram, is one of the upgrades. The character Taj, starts with one.
A few of the Boomerang upgrades look similarly to previous installment's weapons, there is one that looks like Millie's, Faylen's, and Sialeeds/Sharmista. The rest are all original, and one even looks like a Ninja Shuriken, which has been used as a normal long range weapon by Sasuke, in Suikoden II. (For images of the Boomerangs in Suikoden Tierkreis, check out the Weapon gallery on the wiki!)

Drawing by me.

Van from Chrono Cross

In Chrono Cross, there is Van, a painter who wields a boomerang. His first special ability, has him throwing all of his boomerangs at the enemies. (Van is one of my two favorite characters in CC, and not only does he have a Boomerang, but he is also a painter! I thought it was funny because I also like art.).
There is another character, Mel who I like too and uses a boomerang.

Funny thing I noticed as I'm editing this post, Millie, Faylen, and Van, are all the same age, they are 14.
Suikoden V takes place much earlier (9 years earlier) than the second game, so technically, Faylen & Millie are different ages. But in their games, they are both 14. at that moment in time. When I first played Suikoden II, and Chrono Cross, I was about 10 years old. I also related to them due to being a similar age to them at the time.

Kya Dark Lineage, the main character Kya, uses a boomerang like weapon to defeat monsters. She uses the Boomy, which she conveniently also uses as a hair clip when not in use (In the picture, it's the yellow item she has in her hand.). She can also use it as a close range weapon, similar to a knife. However, she can only use it against small creatures, larger enemies she cannot hurt them with it (She can however hit them with it, and if far away, if there is another enemy nearby, they'll fight each other, it can be rather funny!).

So, now you know why I love boomerangs so much! Plus some extra info! I even have a book I purchased called how to make a boomerang, apparently there's a way to make a boomerang out of a rectangle type stick!! What!!! I bought it like three years ago, I haven't made any boomerangs yet. (I'm very lazy.....)

Wiki's!

Wiki's are encyclopedia's about a certain item, game, show, book or other. The most you can ever find out about something is through a wiki! As long as it has a dedicated person making edits of course!

I've been working on two wiki's recently, the Suikoden Wiki a wiki about the Video Game Series Suikoden! As well as the wiki I made, for the game Kya Dark Lineage. The Kya Dark Lineage Wiki!

I also helped out the Saint October wiki, and the Goulart Knights wiki as well!

Check them out!