F&L Chapter 61: Backseat posted

A cheesy and sad chapter, but answers the latter bunch of questions: What's the complete decoy plan? How did Ayane come to replace Aya eventually? Why are there replicas of her Circa Constellation? How did Crosse truly feel about Ayane?

Here are the links:

F&L 61 in Fictionpress

F&L 61 in Soompi Forums

And for sure you guys miss Kosuke and the rest of the gang. Well, welcome them back next chapter ^_^

-hiro

Concluding Reminiscence Chapter for F&L Released

This is the longest chapter for F&L. Brace your self for a 20-page chapter which contains major revelations regarding Aya's past.

Chapter 60 in Fictionpress

Chapter 60 in Soompi

The chapter originally spanned 25 pages. To maintain its readability, I decided to cut down on superfluous descriptions that may just confuse the readers. It took me three days (and roughly 12 hours) to create the scenes as they appear. I decided to keep individual details for later (like details of what transpired in the court trial).

The original plan was to include here the flashback scene where Ayane decides to take Aya's place, how she tricked the Spectra by making herself the lure, the rationale behind the thousands of Circa Constellation replicas, how she met her gang (Ruri, Kaede, and the others...) how she ended up in Tsuzuya Academy, which marked the start of the story. But then, given the amount of pages, I decided to stop here for now. I devised a better plan of how to retell that particular parts.

I feel good being able to finish the Reminiscence chapters at last.

But as I've said, this is only the beginning. Lots of things are still bound to happen... now that Kosuke has entered the picture.

I'd like to thank the readers for taking the time to read this really long chapter. I apologize if it strained your eyes (hehe...). I guess it just can't be helped.

^_^

- hiro

"100 Goodbyes" Wins April's Soompi Short Story Battle

I was snoring in the middle of my peaceful sleep, dreaming about... (nevermind... *grins*) when my mobile phone suddenly rang. On the other line was Meia, my girlfriend. She was literally screaming (as in 'fan girl' screaming).

She told me that Ben Faraday won in the Soompi SSB!

Read 100 Goodbyes in Soompi Forums

Read 100 Goodbyes (unabridged version) in Fictionpress (soon - currently editing grammar errs...)

Haha, it was totally unexpected. With all the good entries, when the 18 stories were first posted, I initially felt that my entry was a little out of place with all its 'silliness'... To be honest, I haven't gone online recently because of some projects for school which I had to finish with my group so I really haven't dropped by to check the forums to see if there were people voting for #3, and I feel kinda guilty of not being able to vote too. But I've finished reading the submitted stories, which I have downloaded into my Palm.

Wow, brilliant people with amazing talents and thoughts... God surely is giving.

During the writing process, I had difficulty cutting down the piece to 2500 words.

First thing was a huge amount of deletion in the first part. Ben should have been further described as a "dumb, fat guy who separates himself from the world because he feels that everyone dislikes him ... a guy that would lock himself everyday in his apartment, if not making/executing suicide plans, caught with food and popcorn, slouching on a sofa, and preoccupied the whole day with watching DVDs - hence, his movie-like monologues like the part where he says - - "To the tides of Death, I shall submerge myself..." which pretty much sounds like Sailor Moon preparing to make a magic attack". (LOL... but you get the idea...).

The initial plan was to present 5 scenes depicting the last 5 needle pricks, but I ended up deleting the other two - -

The deleted scenes were the following:

5) A train station scene, where Ben meets a run-away teen, crying and guilty from running away from home (like the Bible story - the Prodigal Son... but this one's a Prodigal Daughter bound for home). The female teen wanted to go home already, but she has no money left. Ben helped her by lending her money and sending for a cab to take her back to her home. As she rides the cab, she thanks Ben for his help and told him "to stay if you could stay rather than leave with uncertainty and regret it in the last hour..." and waves goodbye.

4) Where Ben helps an old man cross the street - and the old man will say that he hopes that more people should be as kind as he was, then says goodbye to him.

I also deleted some of his suicide attempts like the voodoo doll scene, drinking expired poison, jumping to a snake pit in a zoo, but the snake goes to him and acted all friendly like Puss in Boots of Shrek...

About the inspiration, it all came from a crazy mixture of ideas. A reviewer actually mentioned about reminding her of 'Death Note'. Actually, that's where the idea of 'Death' first occurred to me (I was reading the manga the night before I started 100 Goodbyes). I'm glad that someone pointed it out. Then, the evening when I worked on the piece, Meia & I were watching Brad Pitt's movie 'Troy' on DVD. After watching the movie, we went to dinner and mentioned it during our conversation. I mistakenly said '300' instead of 'Troy'. So yeah, part of Ben was me... okay, fine. I'm dumb sometimes, but I'm not a mermaid and I have an original Lacoste! *grins*

And the briefs?

Uh... nevermind that... I'll leave it to your imagination *grins*.

And there's something I need to apologize about, BTW. I made a mistake about the dinosaur. I actually found out that there IS a dinosaur that floats! (LOL!)

Okay guys, I'd like you to meet Mr. tPod. Nah, kidding. Above is a non-avian therapod dinosaur.

And yeah, it floats...

But the T-rex definitely does NOT float (lol...)

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070524091023.htm

To those who voted for 100 Goodbyes, namely:

T w e e !
kc_chua
PsstChii
Orange Ogre
SoompiSnoopi
lenaaa._
rootless. (although the vote was not counted...)

And to everyone who made comments for my work, I greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope that in one way or another, my piece inspired you to think positively of life. Every hour of this life may be difficult. Problems may wound you, but don't let these wounds kill you in the end by giving up on everything. Remember that every person has a purpose, even those who are not blessed with physical features of that of Kwon Boa or Brad Pitt. All we have to do is bring out our goodness to inspire others, and you'll be surprised that one way or another, people will come to love you naturally.

Ahhh, what a beautiful world.

Kudos to all the writers of the other stories. You all made me happy today ^_^.

-hiro

Second to the last Reminiscence Chapter Posted

Much much more revealed in this installment.

FL 59 in Fictionpress

FL 59 in Soompi

I'm updating really fast recently. It's because I'm excited to get to the bottom of things once and for all!

And it's because I'm ready to throw in some new batch of questions hehe...

I'm in such a good writing mood recently. I dunno... The ideas just continued to drill in unceasingly as I type. I just had to put it to Word before it disappears in my head.

The next chapter will tie several loose ends up - How Aya went into a coma, how Yoshida Akira was sent to jail, & how Ayane came to double for Aya.

But then again, this is just the beginning...

Bigger things are bound to come...

~hiro

Fists and Lipsticks CH 58 posted

Lots of questions answered in this installment:

1. Who are the original members of the Miyazawa Gang?
2. How did Miyazawa Aya learn how to fight?
3. Who is Tanaka Seiichi's (a member of Yoshida Ayane's fake Miyazawa Gang) older brother? How is he related to Miyazawa Aya?
4. How did Ayane and his father, Yoshida Akira, come to Japan?


It's getting to the big part... And I already feel the climb of this story towards its climax ^_^

Thanks to the readers - especially to KittyKaiya & Kaiyako Kagami from Fictionpress and the bunch of kind reviewers from Soompi Forums, non-silent & silent readers alike.

BTW, here are the links:

58 in Fictionpress

58 in Soompi

Thanks everyone!

~hiro

F&L Summary has been changed

I realized that the summary really sounded lame... It didn't reflect what F&L truly is. It sounded more like a love-story-cutey-cutey story when it is far from that. Hehe.

Here's the new summary:

The prestigious Tsuzuya Academy is home to Tokyo’s most fearsome high school gang,
led by the famous, arrogant, yet exceptionally attractive Yamazaki Kosuke, who gets away with all his trouble-makings, being the only son of Japan’s most respected judge. And so, he, along with his four other colleagues bounded by their strong influences to the school administration, vowed to drive out anyone who attempts to claim their reign.

One day, however, a transfer student arrives in Tsuzuya.

Her hair is perfect,

her eyes are sapphire,

and her lips are pink - - -

VERY pink.

Turns out that this girl is no other than the infamous Miyazawa Aya – who is a gang leader herself !

Rumors have swept every corner of the campus. The news of Aya’s rising popularity
did not fail to alarm Kosuke's gang.

Now, they have a new mission:

Drive Miyazawa out of Tsuzuya Academy after making her life a living hell!

However, what if things do not turn out as planned?

What if Miyazawa Aya happens to be much more than a high school gangster?

That she rides fast bikes and is wanted by the world's biggest mafia?

That everything would go beyond matters of school 'kingship' - -


To a struggle to keep oneself alive...


This is a story of nasty bullies,

powerful punches,

fast bikes,

very pink lips,

and... love.

F&L Reminiscence 7 & 8 has been uploaded

I realized that I forgot to write a blog entry regarding the Reminiscence 7 (hahaha...)

Anyhow, here they are:

Reminiscence 7 (Chapter 56) in Fictionpress
Reminiscence 7 (Chapter 56) in Soompi Forums

Reminiscence 8 (Chapter 57) in Fictionpress
Reminiscence 8 (Chapter 57) in Soompi Forums

These chapters will reveal how Miyazawa Aya and Crosse Williams were involved in the underground motorcycle racing. It would also tell about the secret of the Williams Motors Corporation.

Secrets are now unfolding one by one, like finding the matching puzzle pieces to fit in their right places. I hope you do enjoy reading these flashback chapters. After these Reminiscences, there would be a little drama left and right, then the end of F&L will be near...

Wow, it has been a long journey, hasn't it? I'm pretty happy that you're all still here to give me your support.

~hiro

FL55 - Reminiscence Part 6 now up

A long chapter (see, I warned you...) 11 pages in MS word.

FL 55 at Fictionpress

FL 55 at Soompi

This chapter unveils how Aya got into motorcycle racing in Japan. Don't kill me for more questions presented here (especially regarding Keiko's blindness).

And yeah, things will get more serious from here on...

Thank you for reading F&L! --hiro

New Fists and Lipsticks Cast Chart

Made by Meia - - here it is:


Cool huh?

Chapter 54: Okaa-san - F&L posted

This is a very short chapter. Second to the shortest, by the way (next to Date? No Way)

Here are the links:

Fictionpress 54

Soompi 54


This is short because the next chapters are going to be long (hehe). Yes, the remaining half of the Reminiscences will be next. Stay tuned until then.

Thank you again for reading F&L. --hiro

Fists and Lipsticks PDF Version 1.1 out

Finished 5 more chapters.

This PDF version 1.1 has Chapter 1 - 30:

http://www.mediafire.com/?wtmda0lgdj3


To the old readers of F&L - - Sorry if the next chapter is taking so long. Right now, I'm making revisions to my previous chapters, specifically grammar errors and inconsistency checks.

You would also notice that Meia has revised the first 25 chapters of F&L in Soompi Forums. Now, each chapter has the cute emoticons care of Onionclub. Feel free to re-read the first chapters. You'll notice some changes AND some additions (especially the staircase scene and Miyazawa and Kosuke's post-auction ball date). After reading them, I realized that the bonding between Miyazawa and Kosuke just WEREN'T enough. There MUST be something deeper, and the progression of how Kosuke has come to like Miyazawa should be drawn clearer and more dramatically. I realized that it came too dense and too fast. I don't like it that way. I'm pretty happy with the new one though. And yeah, the emoticons were really funny. Credits to Onion-club ^_^

Fists and Lipsticks PDF Version 1.0 Up ^_^

Good news to new readers (and old readers as well).

I have completed almost half of the revisions to Fists and Lipsticks. This time, it is available as a one-click download in PDF-version.

Here is the link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?vmwtewtwt3n

http://www.mediafire.com/?vmwtewtwt3n

If for some reason the link does not work, you can e-mail me and I can send it to you personally.

Version 1.0 only includes Chapter 1 - 25. You will also notice that I have added, changed, and revised some conversation lines, events, and names.

Revisions included the following:

1. Removed the excessive usage of honorifics. I heard from a Japanese friend that these honorifics are not always used in typical conversations, especially among male friends. So you may notice that some -kuns are omitted, but the -chans remain.

2. Hidemi's coffee shop - I named it this time as 'Concorde'. I just liked the name ^_^

3. As for the conversation lines, I've done some revisions to correct several inconsistencies (like the fact that only Yuken should call Kosuke as 'Kosuke', while others should refer to him as 'Yamazaki' instead). I can't give the complete details of the changes I made since they were MASSIVE. I realized that there were really many grammar and spelling errors, especially in the first ten chapters. It took me a long time to edit them. I feel good that I finally finished them. But if I happen to miss some parts, I would really appreciate it if you could point them out to me so that I can change them in the next version release.

In addition, I also added some conversation lines that weren't present before.

4. I changed the staircase scene. Yup, that sweet staircase scene. You're free to re-read it if you want.

5. I made some minor detail revisions too. Like the 'speeding ticket' for instance. Instead of having that law where "in incessant over-speeding, all people in the vehicle gets a ticket too" - I scrapped that one and changed it to something else (since I realize that it is really unrealistic and stupid, hehe...) . Feel free to check out that revision too.




The revisions for the remaining 28 chapters will be release probably in three days.

I'll post the link as soon as I'm done.

Thank you for reading F&L ^_^

Fists and Lipsticks PDF version - Soon

Due to the great number of chapters F&L has involved into, a lot of people has been requesting for a 1-click download version (or what they call the .doc version) of Fists and Lipsticks to facilitate easier off-line reading (especially for new readers who would like to catch up).

Currently, I'm starting to do massive revisions to Fists and Lipsticks (including grammar and spelling checks and correcting some inconsistencies as noted by the helpful replies from Fictionpress.com). I'm targeting next week for the release of the 1st part of the PDF version (Chapter 1 to __... depends on what I can finish). I prefer uploading a PDF version rather than a Microsoft Word document version so that the format and the text would not be easily altered.

F&L Chapter 53: Herbivore Now up in FP and Soompi

Here's a light chapter. Some humor and yeah, some cheesy ones too.

Chapter 53 in FP

Chapter 53 in Soompi

As you may have noticed, the previous chapters and this one has been a little bit like 'filler chapters' (well, not really. These chapters are necessary, but compared to the other ones, they don't contribute much to the plot). This is because I am establishing a smooth transition from drama to heavy emotional drama to a little comedy (like this one) then later to heavy action. I'm just doing a little 'building-up' as far as the characters are concerned.

And while things are getting a little too romantic around these past few chapters, I'd say they would be really necessary. As much as possible, the bond between the characters (Ayane to Kosuke, Kosuke to his friends, Kosuke to his father and mother, Ayane to Crosse... Ayane to Aya.. and the list goes on...) must be stressed in preparation for the later chaps. There are still pending scenes like the second half of the 'Reminiscences' and the big 'heavy action' transition I was talking about. I don't want to 'shock' my readers by putting those scenes right away.

As you might have expected from the very first time you opened this story, this is a "gangster" fic... and with the present chapters, there hasn't been a "full-blow" of "gangster-ness" in the story - up to this point, just little fights here and there, puny school brawls, nothing much, eh? However, this would be reserved for later. Lots of things are still bound to happen, lots of secrets to be revealed, and yeah... Ayane's gonna go "mad" at some point. That's the "heavy action" part I'm talking about. I hope that you, the reader, will still be there to give it a read ^_^.

Thanks again to all the readers ~ hiro

F&L Chapter 52: On Emergency Kits and Refuge now up!

No Kosuke-Aya scenes... but is a must read for Shizuki-Yuken Fans ^_^

And also, we get to know more about Tomo too.

52 Fictionpress

52 Soompi

So there, I'm too lazy to put up some good author notes... so till then!

Fists and Lipsticks Trailer - New and Improved

Meia bragged me for almost a week, asking me to teach her some more about video editing.

We started with a few of our personal videos, but then later she had this crazy idea to come up with another video for F&L - this time, not a promotional video but a TRAILER.

I guess the bragging-sessions were worth it. It came out... Wow... ^_^



Kinda pixelated though (since the videos were only downloaded randomly via YouTube)

F&L 51 - Confessions - - - Up in FP & Soompi

A must read for Kosuke x Aya fans ^_^

It feels kinda weird to revert back to 3rd person writing after 5 long chapters of 1st person narrations. This chapter tells what happens during their confinement in the hospital after the Tsuzuya brawl, which (if you recall) left the two of them with the most injuries.

I've made a plot sequence change too, in case you have noticed. I stopped in Reminiscence Part 5, so I haven't revealed the flashback which would narrate how Aya Miyazawa ended in a coma. Well, to unveil that part, I came up with a better plan. So let's keep that suspense for now (*grins*)

I realized that even though some people requested to be taken off from the PM list in Soompi, the number of readers has been growing through the months, both in FP and Soompi. To this reason, I've become more inspired to write and finish this story.

Thank you very much to everyone who has been with me all throughout the ride.

`hiro

F&L Reminiscence Part 5 Chapter 50 posted

Haaaaa.... Chapter 50...

Man, I suddenly realized how long this story is now. I just hope I'm not starting to bore the readers. But anyway, here it is:

Chapter 50 in Fictionpress

Chapter 50 in Soompi

I could say that this chapter, by far, is one of the best (if not the best) chapter ever posted for F&L. There are lots of emotions poured out here, specifically by Yoshida Ayane. This chapter is long btw (13 pages in MS word) and centers on Yoshida Aya and Crosse Williams' untold relationship in the past. This will stress how deep their relationship was, and how it will be upturned with Miyazawa Aya's entry to the scene.

Aside from this, the origin of how the Circa Constellation got it name will be briefly noted here, but not detailedly. I'm leaving the flashback for that in another separate chapter.

I've realized that I cannot actually fit in all the reminiscences in 4 chapters just as planned. Now, I think I'm going to exceed 7 now that I look at it... But I'll weigh things probably according to my judgment of the plot from here on.

An option is to stop here in Part 5 and resume the reminiscence after the hospital scene of Aya and Kosuke... Or probably continue until part 7 and reveal about the 'accident' that left Aya in a coma before I present the Aya-Kosuke scene after the school incident.

Right now I'm still deciding on that... and so - - -

Any suggestions are welcomed ^_^

Thanks ~ hiro

F&L Reminiscence Part 4 CH49 Posted - Hardship in 1st person writing!

Wow, it actually took me a while before I finished this one - -


F&L 49 in FP

F&L 49 in Soompi


Actually I have two reasons why it took me a while to post the next chapter. One is that I just came from Mexico for an English conference (which was pretty cool btw. Mexicans are really nice people!).

Second reason was that I personally had difficulty in writing this chapter. I had to ask Meia's help, since this chapter was written in first person and was meant to be 'filled with emotions'. This is the chapter where I unfold the true relationship between Crosse and Yoshida Ayane and how the tides turned for them when Miyazawa Aya came in the picture. This is a pretty long chapter too (9 pages in MS Word) and a lot of things happened and were revealed here.

Thanks for reading F&L, especially to the new readers both in FP and Soompi. ~hiro

Reminiscences

F&L has been updated again for this week.

48 in FP

48 in Soompi

I'm actually getting the hang of this 1st-person narration. Although sometimes I still sound 'mechanical' (which I'm trying my best to avoid doing), so far everything is going smoothly as far as the narration is concerned.

Now that I look at it, I think I won't be able to compress the 'Reminiscences' into 4 parts. Probably it would reach up to 5. I'm avoiding uploading chapters that are too long too, since it may end up tad boring for the readers.

The secrets are slowly coming into the open, huh? Well, there's more coming... and I really hope you will be there until this story comes into an end (which wouldn't be anytime soon I guess - lots of pending scenes has not yet been written to this moment. You could imagine them swirling around my head, crazy to break free and reveal themselves! Man, that's difficult, mind you!)

I'm actually happy of the direction of my fic, and happy because of the feedback I've been receiving. Thanks a lot everyone!