Lorus's Shmup Story

 To convert the masses into Touhou STG fans, I'll be setting up an exhibition table with freeplay stations for the con-go'ers to try it out. Although a lot of the people on Guam are fighting game fans, there may be a chance of people getting interested. There will be pretty signs and rewards for those who make enough progress. I do think about an incentive having a negative effect in the long-term, but getting people interested in the series seems like a good idea. Instead of having the "do it or don't even bother" mindset, I'm going with "well, at least they're doing it." After all, in my opinion, it appeals to the masses more that way.

On the Koishi cosplay, I have no idea where to start ;_;
I have the hat, but that's it. I need the dress and eye. I've never been an arts and crafts kind of person. Maybe I can get my mom to sew something, although she did say to me that cross-dressing was against the bible. I find it fun, and it doesn't seem like a serious violation against God. Personally, I don't agree with physically becoming a girl, but cross-dressing seems okay.

If anyone's out there who can help on how I'll make the costume, feel free to let me know ^_^

I also went Pixiv browsing and found a ton of good Aya photos! I don't save the lewd stuff though.

Started my day out with a glass of water and two regretful PMOs then some stage 6 practice which I soon realized was a horrible way to begin. Taking a warm-up run is a better approach, as it helps me get comfortable tracking bullets in a wider scope. I've become aware of what I need to work on; fundamental dodging. I'll list a few bad dodging habits that I've formed over the time playing.

1. The "V" dodge: Two bullets start at the top end of the V and close in towards the bottom. My instinct is to hurry zoom through the opening, even if I can dodge elsewhere. Even though I don't die in the clip, it's still a fundamental mistake.

2. Deathtracking: The need to stay under the boss, even if it means death. Shotgunning often leads to this.


Another example where shotgunning leads to my demise:


3. The Narrow Scope: Confining one's self to a small area to dodge, even if there are optimal routes outside the scope.


There were many other safer routes outside of my scope in the next one:


4. Unused Dodging Space (A variant of The Narrow Scope): Being unaware of the surrounding bullets and open space makes it less comfortable to move openly.


Here's another example where I could have moved to the bottom right:


5. Dodging at the bottom of the screen. I don't consider this one a bad habit as it increases precision due to being able to hold the down arrow while moving left and right to move at half the regular speed while focused. It does get me killed every now and then though :3 so inappropriate use and dependence is dangerous.

(This one was also because of silly dodge routing)

Become aware of these habits and don't let them form (except for maybe the 5th, which I advocate a lot). If I spot any more consistent mistakes that I can slap labels on, you can expect to see them on this blog! Have a great day and thank you for reading ;)

A few hours ago, he was streaming some agar.io and talked about a Tenshi x Hatate (lol) ship. Seeing this really helped me dispel the thought that good touhou players only play touhou, and having interest in media/other games is a waste of time. It's ironic to think this after my "No Breaks Allowed" post, but so be it.

Accompanying my posts with a picture sounds nice too.

Recently, I've set a goal to Lunatic No-Miss No-Bomb EoSD. Does it make sense as of now to keep restarting runs at my first death? This will only lead to burnout, something that constant failure causes to me. The trick to achieving a goal like this is to make it "the sum of it's parts." I'm going to start out small by...

1. Improving my Lunatic No-Bomb runs (getting 6 miss and below)
2. Consistently getting perfect stages 1-3
3. Practicing for a perfect Patchouli fight
4. Practicing green books when I'm feeling confident
5. Having fun in stage 5 and 6 practice

...and most importantly by not fapping. I've felt for the past 2 years that PMO (Porn -> Masturbation -> Orgasm) has fogged my mind, decreased my motivation to achieve, and fugged up my social skills. For the last 5 days, I've abstained a lot more than ever. All I had to do was turn off the R-18 filter on Pixiv and not visit any sites (pixiv, danbooru, r/touhou, etc) that could "get me in the mood." I'm at the point where even a suggestive image would get me searching, so by not even being tempted, I can avoid PMO on an easier route than having my (nonexistent) willpower tough it out. For all who read this, try stopping for a few days, and see what happens. For me, in the past week, I have...

• Started running for the first time in almost a year
• Started using this blog again
• Worked a bit towards organizing my Touhoucon trip
• Folded my clothes
• Been writing daily notes on paper to reflect on anything

...all because I didn't PMO for a few days.

Anyways, the title of this blog post is "No breaks allowed." From the serious shmupping Touhou community, I've been feeling pressure to have to dedicate myself to the series with no breaks, risking condemnation and being considered a "secondary." How would college be if you had to study 24/7, with no social activities or campus events? Burnt out probably. With Touhou, if I were to spend 5 hours a day playing Touhou, pressured by peers, I'd go insane (and tired). I like to play for 90 minutes, then switch on over to some osu! mania, minecraft, or datyoumugame. I even stream it to let others know that I'm proud of taking breaks. There is no shame in it. Sometimes, you just gotta unwind for a while (just not through PMO ;).