So Much Going On...

Phew! Having got my PS Vita back from repairs (Sim card slot no longer worked and time for a new battery); and Sony actually gave me a new replacement (wow!) though keeping my limited-edition Hatsune Miku casing; I've been busy checking out some new games. 

Nobunaga Reboot edition

These include F2P Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Fortress, which looks interesting but it's an online game; Danganronpa: Another Episode, which also looks interesting but a first-person shooter; as well as Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence Power-up Kit, which I bought since it's an upgrade/reboot of an older game of the same title (minus the "power-up") that I enjoyed playing but have yet to fully explore. Have also dug up Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1, a colourful and fun game but gameplay a bit grind-y. But the big one that I'm waiting for, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, is not out until September, even though the Japanese "Disco" edition is out already. Since the wait is killing me I've been playing Persona 4 the Golden, grinding levels and ultimate weapons in three dungeons before taking on the final two bosses (if I'm ever gonna do that, since that'd start a fourth playthrough, which I rather not do). 

Meanwhile, amid all this gaming, I took a private yoga class last week to focus on my handstand practice. It was tough. Partly because my arms are yet not strong enough to support the body as I press up, and partly because hips/ hamstrings are not flexible enough to align and stablise arms and lowerback/hips while pressing up. It really is a lot harder than thought. And I think I will have to keep practising before I take the next class. Need to learn to at least stablise the legs off ground position before lifting legs up to the full pose. 

A Short Post

Here is what I just posted on the game forum re my Persona 4 the Golden playthrough #stillintoit:


 I finally customised my (four) personas that I think work very well with the rest of my team: Yukiko (fire/ heal, though I missed her bike rides so no Mind Charge); Naoto (almighty/ dark/ light/ ice spells); and Kanji (physical/ knocked down). I prefer Kanji + Naoto over Chie, Yosuke and Teddie.

Since this is my third playthru, I don't have the usual suspects: Alice, Yoshitsune, Kaguya, Black Frost etc. The personas I have are: Tam Lin (tri-auto/ debilitate/ primal force); Magatsu-Izanagi (physical + magic/ dark spell), Izanami-no-Okami (wind/ lightning/ victory cry) and, yes, Narcissus for some fun buffing. (All weaknesses covered).

This set up is mainly for fun (InO is really quite mehh) and haven't tested it out on the final two bosses yet but I think I should be fine, esp I rather use my entire team than solo-ing...

Any other alternative setups out there?
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YuGiOh/ FF VII: CC/ Dissidia/ TO/ Disgaea3/ P4G/ FF Type0/ FF IV & TAY/ One Piece2/ FF X-2/ Natural Doctrine/ SnK I & II/ Nobunaga: Souzou/ SAO/ SRWZ3

The Simple Act of Breathing

Just came back from a vinyasa (flow) class and one thing that helped carry me through the strong practice was my breathing. It's true. No breathing, no strength. No breathing with the movement, no yoga. And I used to wonder how breathing could help. The thing is, I used to have this shallow breathing (still do, but am more conscious in trying to lengthen each inhale and exhale) and that doesn't do much. However, when the breath is long and deep, it's very powerful. It becomes a source of energy that both empowers and relaxes the body and mind. It IS the source of life itself.

Headstand in front of the Sky Tower
near the Niagara Falls

In my practice, breathing is like pumping air into the body so it doesn't get deflated. That becomes quite apparent especially when I'm upside down. I was doing headstand once and after about a minute my mind began to drift and wander, and I let go of the conscious breathing ... sure enough, like a deflated float, my body started to collapse (fall down) so, snapping out of my reverie, I quickly started to consciously breathe again, pumping air and energy inside the body. And I went straight up again. And this breathing has to be present throughout. After holding the headstand for about 10 minutes, I definitely have to keep pumping air in or else the core will just give up.

Talk about the core, I will need to train it more because, while my headstand is pretty solid now, I still cannot do pincha mayurasana or handstand away from the wall. I'm hoping to take some private classes with a friend to work on building up core and arm strength. Stamina is something that I truly lack when it comes to my yoga practice, so it's something that I will continue to work on as well as learning how to do those bandha locks ... am hoping to be able to do handstand by end of 2015 ...     

An Awesome Trailer...

THIS:

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Magatsu Izanagi & Izanagi no okami

Just came back from a trip to Toronto and am glad I brought my PSVita along ... the flights there and back are quite long (around 15 hours each way) so perfect opportunity for endless hours of mindless grinding LOL. I've finally unlocked Magatsu Izanagi in Persona 4 Golden and about to unlock Izanagi no okami too. Since I'm now near the end of my third playthrough, I'll use these two versions of Izanagi to fight the final two bosses, which I look forward to. Though I don't have the "perfect" setups for my team (that's kinda arbitrary anyway), I think I will manage...

I know Yukiko can have Mind Charge (magic boosting) but I missed those bike rides so I cannot max her fire magic damages but close. My Kanji and Naoto should be close to perfect (if not perfect); Kanji's ability to confuse is great for farming those Golden Hands, and Naoto has Hamaon and Mudoon spells as well as Megidolaon. I don't use Yosuke/Chie/Teddy after first playthrough cos I really like Kanji and Naoto more. And I think Yukiko is a better offensive + healer than Teddy. 

Which leaves Yu, the protagonist. In order to clear all the persona slots to create Izanagi no okami, I have "deleted" Helel (since Magatsu Izanagi is now the Golden Hand killer); Ishtar (well, I don't need a healer with Hamaon/Mudoon spells); Black Frost (end game I can just buy items for elementary damages and to escape dungeon); Kaguya (again, no need for Hamaon/Mudoon spells); and Narcissus (for buffing/ debuffing). I might just keep the very last persona just for fun. The question is how to build the two Izanagis? At the moment, my Magatzu Izanagi deals both physical and almighty damages (have decided not to make it physical only) and I'm likely to use Izanagi no okami as magic damage dealer + healer. I'm looking forward to setting these two up...