My upcoming birthday haul (hopefully) ^^;

Games:
- Mana Khemia (PS2)
- Baroque (PS2)
- The World Ends With You (DS)

Music:
- Diamanda Galas, Guilty Guilty Guilty
- Portishead, Third (Ltd. Edition Boxed Set)
- Thrice, The Alchemy Index Vols I & II

Any cash I get will contribute to my computer upgrade, which *hopefully* I will be able to pay. Apparently my inlaws want to help with it, too, since they didn't know what else to give me for my birthday. Well, that works. I need all the money I can get! n.n

Also, I MAY get a Hosting Matters account as a treat to myself. Most likely the B500 package, which is $8 a month or $24 quarterly.

Details on the games/music/other stuff:

Games

Well, b-day's coming up and I already have 3 games I want. n.n God, I'm glad I don't have any next gen systems yet. Admittedly, though, there really aren't any games I *want* for them yet.

- Mana Khemia (PS2): Mmm, alchemist academy! High school gameplay (attending classes, taking tests), open-ended (levelless, skill-based) character training, cute anime-style chara designs... Oh yeah and alchemy. :D This is the next of the "Atelier" games, except within an academic institution. So it has all the item gathering and combining I love. Woohoo~!
- Baroque (PS2): I intend to snatch this one as quickly as I can because I'm pretty sure it's going to be niche and hard to find. (Darn Atlus games!) This game is something like a hardcore dungeon crawling RPG with bishy angels and parasites. XD Playing Etrian Odyssey has made me such a sucker for dungeon crawlers, I LOVE them. It'd be better if I could create my whole party, though (but I'm waiting on Etrian Odyssey 2 for that!)
- The World Ends With You (DS): I didn't even know this game existed until I saw a review of it in the Gamepro mag Jon bought while at the airport. Tetsuya Nomura's buckles and spiky hair designs actually fits well with the theme and setting of the game, I think (modern RPG in Shibuya? Wha! Yeah.) This game just looks so totally unique and interesting, particularly the combat system and graphical style. I really want it! Also, +++ for the title, which itself is unconventional. :D

Some other games I want, but probably won't get for b-day...
- FFXII: Revenant Wings (DS), which I've really only been holding back on because I've not finished FFXII yet.
- Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (more for Jon than for me, actually, but it's a dungeon crawler, too! Wants!)
- Puyo Pop Fever / Tetris DS / some sorta puzzle game for DS or PSP.

Music

- Diamanda Galas, Guilty Guilty Guilty: Driving myself nuts reading reviews on the Diamanda ML. Want it! Now! ;.; I've read that it's a rather short album and some people seem disappointed by that, as well as the quality of the recording, and some song nitpicks. (There's apparently some sort of siren -- as in an air raid siren -- sound in one of the songs that all the elitists keep saying is jarring.) But, I've also heard it's one of Diamanda's most deeply emotional recordings yet, it's moved people to tears, her voice / piano playing are in top form and so forth. Gwah! I just want to hear it for myself. ^^;
- Portishead, Third (Ltd. Edition Boxed Set): I wants it! Jon has said he is going to order it for me as my birthday present. ^^; But, I would also like to own the CD version of the album, too. (Hint hint.) I'm just so amazed Third is actually coming OUT... Portishead fans like myself have waited ten long years for this to come together. And from what I've heard of live recordings I think it is REALLY going to be worth it. Definitely different from their previous recordings, but so long as it's got Gibbons, Barrow and Utley, I could care less!
- Thrice, The Alchemy Index, Vols I & II: I JUST found out about this, actually. It's funny, too, because Jon happened upon the existence of this album while trying to look for a theme song for my Lacryma character. The concept for The Alchemy Index is a series of four EPs themed around the four alchemical elements (Fire, Air, Earth, Water). So Vols I & II refer to Fire and Air, I believe. Thrice is going back to its indie roots, and I'm glad for that -- they aren't going to compromise their musical direction in the slightest. That makes them heroes, in my book!

(Oh, and concerning Leah's theme song, the one I'm thinking of choosing is a favorite of mine from Thrice's Vheissu, "Between The End and Where We Lie". I kinda wish I could find something with a female vocalist though. The original song that I took Leah's name from is unfortunately too angsty for the way I wrote her for Lacryma. *sigh* I really do hate coming up with theme songs... I always come up with the character before the song. Same with pictures, too. I'd be better off just writing my own, I swear! =_=)

Other stuff

I know that between what birthday money I receive and what Jon will pay for, I should be able to get my 3 games and albums, and my computer upgrade. The rest... I'll have to think about. ^^;

If I have the money to spare, I'd like to grab myself a copy of the Exalted 2nd Edition Abyssal book, too. And the two Compass of Celestial Direction books I don't have (Yu-Shan, Underworld), but Ex2: Abyssals comes first. I need it for Soul Collectors, after all.

Also, needs moar Ruby books. Psst, Kraken... something Ruby related (a good hardcopy reference?) would be a nice present, IF you wanted to get one. >.> <.<

...other than that, maybe I'd like some new clothes, but that can probably wait!