Team Gai (Guy)

Top : An older Team Gai in Shippuden - l-r Rock Lee, Maito Gai, Tenten, Hyuuga Neji. Below : Pre Chuunin exams

Was watching Naruto the past few days. While Naruto is similar somewhat to Bleach, unlike Bleach where I like/fangirl Ichigo, here in Naruto I prefer the side characters. Particularly Team Gai. And Sasuke as well, but that's a given fact coz I always do like brooding, handsome anti-heroes.

So.... What is Team Gai actually? They're a team of three ninjas, under the tutelage of the most hilarious jounin tutor ever - Maito Gai (supposed to mean Might Guy, if I'm not mistaken.

Team Gai consists of Konoha's Prideful Green Beast, the over-exuberant leader, Maito Guy, his equally enthusiastic and favourite pupil who hangs onto his every (ridiculous) word, Rock Lee, the weapon's mistress Tenten and the silent, brooding genius of the famed Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Neji.

The character dynamics of this team is hilarious, yet touching at the same time, especially that of the almost father-son dynamics between Gai and Lee, both who look rather similar to each other, thanks to Lee's steadfast admiration of his mentor. Lee, being practically useless at any form of ninjutsu or genjutsu, is Gai's favourite pupil due to his steadfast belief that hard work can surpass geniuses as he resembles Gai when younger. Hence, Gai takes it to heart to train Lee completely in tajijutsu, in order to help him attain his goal of being a powerful ninja despite being labelled as a "hot-blooded loser" back in his academy days. Indeed, Gai really took this task seriously, as was portrayed when Lee was deliberating on undergoing a risky operation with only 50% chance of survival, which without it he can no longer be a ninja anymore. Gai encouraged him to take the risk and reassured him that it will go well. However, if the operation fails (i.e. Lee dies) Gai will also die with him, as Gai's purpose would then be no more. This scenes (together with the scenes when Lee was fighting against Gaara during the Chuunin exams) gave a different view to both Gai and Lee, and make them seem more "balanced" and not just forever spouting ridiculous phrases.

Hyuuga Neji, also has an interesting back story to his name. When first introduced to him, he comes across as a horrible person - cold, unfeeling, fatalistic and bubbling with resentment underneath. All these appears to be due to being a member of the side branch of the family, which prioritises the main branch, of which his less talented cousins, Hinata and Hanabi are of. Having been led to believe that all is done to protect the main branch (even his father was sacrificed to protect his uncle), it is no wonder that Neji is what he is. However, once this misunderstanding is cleared up, he seems to be a much nicer person. Neji is talented in fighting and is the top rookie of his year. He also displays much leadership qualities though he has an ability to be too stoic for his own good. But that's what we all love about him. =)

The final member of Team Gai is not very well defined. Tenten is a weapon's mistress who's ability is in long range combat. She is always seen training with Neji and agreeing with him on how ridiculous both their teammate and leader are acting. However, nothing much is known of her past, though, if reflected by her personality, it seems that she is the most normal one of them all as she is bubbly, friendly and sweet.

Team Gai is indeed my favourite team in this series, though they receive quite little screen time. To compensate for that, here are some nice Team Gai-centric fanfics:

A Portrait of Youth
Snapshots from the life of Team Gai. If you don't have friends, you don't have anything...
A wonderful collection of one-shots of Team Gai. Full of their exuberant humour, the sarcasm, and the ridiculousness of it all... Definitely a must-read for any Team Gai fan!

Twenty Truths About Team Gai
As per title.
A lovely one-shot about the hidden facts of Team Guy, of which even some of its members are unaware.

Funny Facts And Not So Silly Stories
Team Gai was created under the influence of nostalgia, malice and some level of intoxication on the part of the people present. For some reason this wasn't viewed as a problem.
Another story full of Team Gai love.

Of Naming Team 13
They've amassed quite a few names over the years. But in the end, they are Team Gai.
Another 20 truths about Team Gai.

37 Facts About Team Gai
A number of short moments in the history of Team Gai, from them meeting each other to the present. A little humour, a little angst and lots of love.

What can I say? Team Gai rocks! Go Team Gai!

The Effect Of Too Much RPGs and Fantasy Story Books

Thanks to a dream I had the night before last night, I am inspired to write a short fantasy ficlet. Dedicated to both Lydia and Yi Lyn. Haha. This reminds me of those times Stef and I used to discuss and write fantasy stories together... Gosh, I miss those times.

Oh and I've chosen not to include Lydia's and Yi Lyn's "helpful" suggestions into my ficlet since I do not think they're actually suitable. My blog is accessible even to little children and I do not want them to be too scarred by reading it.

Anyway here it is.

DISCLAIMER: If anything seems familiar to anyone, it would be due to the fact that I read a lot of fantasy books and play lots of computer games such as Warcraft and Eye of the Beholder. So naturally, my writing would be slightly influenced by all this.

It was evening once again. After a day of continuous walking, Fiona was glad it was almost time to set up camp. Honestly, all those shopping expeditions with Lydia and Yi Lyn had not prepared her for *this*. Her legs felt as if they were about to fall off.

"Hey guys, let's take a break. I can't see in the dark anyways."

"Yeah, this looks like a nice place to set up camp for the night," Lydia assented, looking as travel weary.

The three of them stopped at the fringe of trees shading a small stream. With a sigh of relief, Fiona immediately flopped down onto the ground, not caring whether the ground was wet and would stain her robes at that moment.

Yi Lyn, the de facto leader of the group, sat down quietly. Her eyes scanned the dark forest warily, and her hand rested on the head of her sword.

"Are you ok, Yi Lyn? You seem a little tense there." Perceptive Lydia noted that their friend looked wary.

"Shhh... Don't you think that the forest is unnaturally quiet?"

Her question made both Lydia and Fiona sit up immediately. Suddenly..

"LOOK OUT LYDIA! BEHIND YOU!" Yi Lyn bellowed as she unsheathed her broadsword and ran towards her friends, crying out the ancient battle cry of the Amazonians.

On instinct, Lydia ducked and swung her mace around. The goblin's sword whistled harmlessly over her head. The impact of her mace on the goblin's legs effectively crippled him, and with a cringe, she swung her mace on his head, crushing his skull.

"Pyr thalàssion incendiary pyrophilus" Fiona chanted with her hands directed to a group of goblins running towards her. Almost immediately, a fireball lit up the otherwise dark night and the smell of burnt goblins filled the air.

"Great job," Yi Lyn complimented from nearby. She was locking swords with a goblin general. With a grunt, she kicked him in the groin and when he faltered, with deadly efficiency born out of those days chopping chicken for dinner, she disemboweled the hapless goblin.

However, despite their best efforts, more enemies were pouring out of the forest. And unfortunately those enemies included undead minions.

"Oh my..." Fiona murmured, as she raised her hands again, prepared to cast another spell. "Pyr thalàssion incendiary pyrophilus"

Some of the goblins fell but most were unaffected as the trees shielded most of the effects of the spell.

"Lydia! Cast 'Destroy Undead' or something! Usually clerics have that spell don't they?" With her battle cry Yi Lyn charged at the incoming enemies.

"It destroys individual undead, not masses of them! I think we'd better retreat, Yi Lyn, sharp weapons are ineffective against skeletons!" Lydia frantically told her friend.

Horror flitted across the Amazonian warrior's face as she realised the impact of her friend's words. "RETREAT!" She hollered out.

All three ran helter skelter into the forest in the opposite direction, chased unmercifully by the advancing enemy.

Confessions Of A Silent Stalker

The recent brouhaha surrounding K opened my eyes to the fact that stalking people online is a common thing to do. The only difference is the extent to which they actually stalk other people, and how much damage do they actually intend to do to the person they stalk.

Like everyone else, I also stalk people. I check their Friendster everytime I check my Friendster, I search for their blogs existence, I read their blogs and sometimes I post anonymous comments (of course, nothing of an inflammatory nature, rather they're comments which are relevant to the topics of the blogs and completely non-identifiable). I prefer Friendster in this sense as compared to Facebook since Facebook does not permit one to check other's profiles unless they are friends, and it's pretty suspicious if suddenly I request to befriend the people I stalk right? Especially since they probably have no idea at all who I am.

The people I stalk normally are related to only one person. His family, his immediate circle of friends (that I could discern), girls who used to comment excessively on his Friendster, his (ex)girlfriend, girls who like him, girls whom he like... Well, you get the idea. And it's freaky how much info I could actually get... Info on their family (how many siblings etc), on their choice of words, on interests, etc etc.

My favourite person to stalk would be someone who's very expressive online, who changes her profile to reflect her mood, who blogs excessively on her life, who posts up lots and lots of pictures of herself etc. I've stalked Number 1, Number 2 and Number 3 to varying degrees, and I can actually say that I know them - their mannerisms etc such that it would actually be interesting to meet them really - face to face. Surely it would at least be a surreal experience right?

But of course, I do not hack their accounts or disturb them in any way. Stalking to me is basically a measure of self defense. It helps me prepare for the eventuality that I'm expecting, and not to show any expression when that happens. It keeps me updated on the going-ons in his life, that he doesn't share with me anymore. And most of all... It helps me to destress. Don't ask me why, but it actually does. And probably helps me waste more time online. LOL.

On the ethicality of stalking people online, well, I'm not doing any harm nor am I impinging on their privacy - to quote Gobi, it's all online anyway. It's only a matter of being able to find all the relevant info. Now, if only I can apply my stalking skills to helping me look for journals online. Heh.

And why I stalk would be pretty obvious. Only one thing which confuses me on my persistence on stalking to this very day. I'm quite sure I'm over him already, but yet I still continue stalking. Ah well, it must be a habit already.. So, remember... most stalkers don't stop stalking. Heh.

A New Blog

Okays... Looks like I've got me a new blog here. Previously I was on xanga which kinda sucks since they always obscure my posts with weird looking adverts which kinda make things complicated. So... here I am on blogspot, ready to begin a new blogging life. To anyone who actually reads this, sorry, I don't do deep introspective pieces, I'm afraid I'm nothing more than a shallow person. Seriously. If you want meaningfully deep entries, go read someone else's blogs, for example Brandon's blog (he's my brother, and he's the thinker in the family). My humour sucks too, if you want funny posts go to Just Sewjin (a recommendation of Alfred's - seriously funny weih, this guy's humour, really highly recommended especially if you have a sakai sense of humour like yours truly) or try Gobi's blog (his humour is a bit more difficult to understand as you have to be his batchmate to fully comprehend it). Basically here is where I rant stuff.. could be about my life, my interests etc. Most likely to contain Bleach too. You have been warned.

And so, we shall begin charting a new territory here on blogspot!