Goals
------------------------------
[X] Not last
[X] Top 25
[nope] Top 16
[nope] Top 12
[nope] Remove Sakamoto's red scarf. Hakase da nyan.

Blurb
------------------------------
Prologue: lol I am in D7 thank you for saving me the humiliation I would have gotten from not being able to place well in D6 and people making fun of me for it.

Round 1: Pandemonium (AAA) | 100 attempts
oh gosh I can't AAA the round 1 file what do
EDIT: Improved to a booflag after 77 plays.
10/4: Muted my flash player and instead had on a video of [E] by dj MAX STEROID and got the AAA first try of the day. deheheheheheheh

Round 2: Shippuujinrai (AAA) | 31 attempts
bmah
I let my guard down on my first playthrough and ended up with a non-FC that wasn't even an SDG. Took a few tries to improve to a blackflag, and then a few more to get the AAA (for which I had mirror on, surprisingly. The rougher sections of the file definitely felt more difficult with mirror, personally speaking). Not really a huge fan of the song or the file, but they weren't bad, either.

Round 3: Double Helix (booflag; eliminated) | 584 attempts
more bmah
Wish I could enjoy this file outside of a tournament setting. It's actually a fun kind of challenging file, despite being loaded with my weaknesses (gluts and jacks going into hands, in particular). File plays like an easier version of Storm Raid Battle + Go Beyond!!, although I enjoy Double Helix more as a song compared to those two. Had a blackflag run and a missflag run, both of which I got when FFR was down. Didn't bother to save them since the round is already AAA-or-die status and 1-0-0-4 looks cuter anyway. ^.^=
10/18:

10/22: Think I'm done. Really did try; shame mindblocks reared their ugly heads everywhere. Right from my sightread run I knew this round was going to be AAA or die, so that much wasn't a surprise. But I also thought I'd AAA this fairly easily (at least, more easily than the first two rounds). Eh, I can't be right about everything.

Will still be ghosting D6 to see if there are any sandbaggers this year see if I'd still be able to make it to the top there.

Epilogue: 23rd place, ending my 4-official streak of placing higher every time (although the 9th official was just D7 being lazy + AAA bait for the entire first half). At least me doing hilariously bad on Double Helix won't kick me out from D7 because you guys will think I'm better than I actually am as long as that La Camp booflag is in my levelranks -^^-

Round 4: MANIERA (AAA) | 35 attempts
This is pretty fun. I messed up on both the 24th streams and the 12th jacks on my sightread run, but I think I should be able to manage them with practice. I personally found the D6 song to be much more awkward
10/25: lol I AAA'd oops. It's okay, I wouldn't have gotten Double Helix even with a thousand more tries within the week.

Round 5: The Bird's Midair Heatstroke (3-0-0-2) | 55 attempts
Not much to say. It's a well-stepped file and pretty good practice for control.

==============================================

Final placement
------------------------------
D1 - 1/69
D2 - 1/82
D3 - 1/68
D4 - 1/67
D5 - 4/86
D6 - 6/61 - hey look at me I'm D7 nyah nyah (sun)
D7 - 23/34

Round Scores
------------------------------
Round 1
D1: Rainbow Road [nanobii] [15] (AAA) | Cutoff: (160-27-1-2-5)
D2: Polargeist [22] (AAA) | Cutoff: (29-2-0-2)
D3: Session (Ghost in the Machine Remix) [43] (AAA) | Cutoff: (33-2-1-2)
D4: Fill Me Up With Snacky Happiness [56] (AAA) | Cutoff: (8)
D5: Truth (xKore Remix) [61] (AAA) | Cutoff: (6-0-1-3)
D6: Lexus Cyanixs [74] (AAA) | Cutoff: (9)
D7: Pandemonium [79] (AAA) | Cutoff: (1-0-0-1)

Round 2
D1: warm sea [18] (AAA) | Cutoff: (58-2-7-9)
D2: Tomorrow Untrodden [30] (AAA) | Cutoff: (2)
D3: Rat Twist [50] (AAA) | Cutoff: (4)
D4: Flame Repellent [59] (AAA) | Cutoff: (4)
D5: A Yodeler in Texas [65] (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D6: Capoeira Sundance [76] (AAA) | Cutoff: (6-0-0-1)
D7: Shippuujinrai [82] (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die)

Round 3
D1: Torvus Clockwork [20] (AAA) | Cutoff: (16)
D2: Strength [33] (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D3: Be-Music Polyphony [52] (AAA) | Cutoff: (18-0-0-1)
D4: Plousia [61] (AAA) | Cutoff: (6)
D5: Blue [71] (AAA) | Cutoff: (5)
D6: FUSE!! [7x] (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D7: Double Helix [84] (booflag, eliminated) | Cutoff: (AAA or die)

Round 4
D1: Everfree [25] (AAA) | Cutoff: (13-1-0-0)
D2: Senorita Bonita [43] (AAA) | Cutoff: (11)
D3: Autumn Breeze [59] (AAA) | Cutoff: (13-0-0-1)
D4: Poinsettia [64] (AAA) | Cutoff: (13-0-0-3)
D5: Exclusive Utopia [74] (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die, tiebreak)
D5 Tiebreaker: Djentrap [82] (2) | Cutoff: (17-0-9-0)
D6: Poison of the Earth [82] (AAA) | Cutoff: (1-0-0-1)
D7: MANIERA [87] (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die)

Round 5
D1: Alive (Pegboard Nerds Remix) [Standard] [31] (AAA) | Cutoff: (9, tiebreak)
D1 Tiebreaker: Late Summer [42] (AAA) | Cutoff: (23)
D2: tabi shirabe [46] (AAA) | Cutoff: (2)
D3: We Met Dat Night [61] (AAA) | Cutoff: (5-0-0-1, tiebreak)
D3 Tiebreaker: Men & Machines [Redemption] [68] (AAA) | Cutoff: (8)
D4: Electric Butterfly [73] (AAA) | Cutoff: (29-1-2-5)
D5: Accelerator [79] (2) | Cutoff: (5-2-0-1)
D6: Cold Heart [84] (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag, tiebreak)
D6 Tiebreaker: You Time [90] (29-3-0-4) | Cutoff: (10-0-1-1)
D7: The Bird's Midair Heatstroke [88] (3-0-0-2) | Cutoff: (AAA or die)

Round 6
D1: White book [Standard] [37] (AAA) | Cutoff: (7)
D2: Dolphin Talk [54] (AAA) | Cutoff: (9-1-0-1)
D3: Crimson Flood [66] (AAA) | Cutoff: (5, tiebreak)
D4: Arianrhod [73] (AAA) | Cutoff: (13-0-0-4)
D5: Schur's Theorem [80] (1-0-0-1) | Cutoff: (3-0-0-2)
D6: Doppelganger [87] (6-0-0-1, eliminated) | Cutoff: (1-1-1-2)
D7: Rengoku-Purgatorium [91] (5-0-0-4) | Cutoff: (AAA or die, tiebreak)

Round 7
D1: Arsonist [Standard] [43] (AAA) | Cutoff: (5)
D2: NKS2 (Ain't No Half-Steppin' Remix) [58] (AAA) | Cutoff: (8-0-1-1)
D3: Saffron City [71] (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D4: Run Run Run [78] (1-0-0-1) | Cutoff: (5-2-0-6)
D5: Goblin [84] (blackflag) | Cutoff: (6)
D6: The Limit Does Not Exist [89] (5) | Cutoff: (2)
D7: Staple on Smile [96] (51-1-7-10) | Cutoff: (booflag)

Hooray for copy-and-pasting from my 8th Official Tourney RT \:3/

Predict my placement for credits! Simply post what you think will be my final placement in D6 (ghosting; ties at the cutoff will count as passing scores unless there is actually a tiebreaker) and in D7. For each place you are off by for D6, you get a +1. For each place you are off by for D7, you get +2. The guesser with the lowest score wins 10,000 credits. 5,000 for second, 3,000 for third. In case of a tie (or ties), the earlier guesser takes the higher prize.
Guessing over. Let's see how I do.

D6 final placement: 3rd
D7 final placement: 12th

List of guesses:
[+00] T-Force - D6: 3rd | D7: 12th - 20,000 credits (10,000 x2 bonus)
[+04] PaperclipGames - D6: 5th | D7: 13th - 5,000 credits
[+06] danceflashrevo - D6: 1st | D7: 10th - 3,000 credits
[+11] FontSize72LOL - D6: 6th | D7: 16th
[+11] dAnceguy117 - 2nd | D7: 17th
[+18] LongGone - D6: 0th | D7: 4.5th
[+19] Elite Ninja - D6: 2nd | D7: 21st
[+22] EzExZeRo7497 - D6: 5th | D7: 22nd

==========

Click here for my scores in each division.

Goals
------------------------------
[X] Top 29
[X] Top 25
[X] Top 12
[X] Remove Sakamoto's red scarf. Hakase da nyan.

Blurb
------------------------------
Prologue: This makes my sixth time participating in an official tourney. Going against some ridiculously good players in D7 this year... Never thought I would ever be placed this high—though even at my peak, I was low D7 at best. Since then I've lost a good chunk of my skill from not having played much over the last few weeks, but I'll give it my all!

Round 1: Mirage Garden (Long Version) (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | 2 attempts
Haha, got the AAA in the first 7 minutes of the round and two people had already beaten me to it. Good start.

Round 2: Ah Shwe Bah (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | 12 attempts
First full playthrough: 5-1-1-4.
Interesting song choice. There were some tricky patterns, so I'm glad I nailed the AAA somewhat quickly.

Round 3: Wraith (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | 2 attempts
Speedy, but manageable. AAA'd on my first full playthrough (2 attempts because I got a boo the first time). I'm starting to think that they should've just went with that hybrid (cumulative + elimination) tournament style for D7.

Round 4: Dishevel (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | 11 attempts
First full playthrough: 11-1-2-3.
A more control-based file this time. Overall I thought both the chart and the song were fine, albeit nothing too noteworthy. Really didn't expect to AAA this so quickly, and I'm happy I did because there were probably a bunch of mindblockable patterns.

Round 5: Extratone Pirates (7-0-1-1) | Cutoff: (booflag) | 213 attempts
First full playthrough: 24-2-4-6.
I'm out, see you guys next year.
11/23: Played more because people were telling me to keep trying (lol why?)
Improved quite a bit, but even that didn't bump me up a single place so yeah. Peace.

Epilogue: 12th place. Honestly much better than I expected (though I'm sure at least a third of D7 didn't even try this year), and I don't have big regrets since EP booflag is way out of my current skill level contrary to what some of you silly people think. That, and I'm finally getting vrofl, so whoop. The journey to actually place top 8 in my own division continues...

Round 6: Epidermis v2 (8-1-3-3) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | 9 attempts
First full playthrough: 31-4-6-6.
That colored cluster nonsense alone probably accounts for like 8 difficulty points...

Round 7: All your base are belong to ME (4-0-2-3) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | 13 attempts
First full playthrough: 17-4-3-3.
Great file. Reizoko Cj permission is awesome.
12/6: Gave it a random run on mirror and got a surprising improvement. Most of the non-perfects were from the first quarter or so of the file, haha.

Final Round: Heterochromia Iridis (39-4-9-10)
Hahahahahahahahaha no.

==========

Final placement
------------------------------
D1 - 1/84
D2 - 1/97
D3 - 1/63
D4 - 1/66
D5 - 4/99
D6 - 3/65
D7 - 12/30

Round Scores
------------------------------
Round 1
D1: Clouds from the East (AAA) | Cutoff: (45-7-7-8; 76g)
D2: Hoot [AREIA Remix] (AAA) | Cutoff: (8)
D3: Reading For Days (AAA) | Cutoff: (17-0-0-2)
D4: The Whip (AAA) | Cutoff: (21-0-0-4)
D5: Stories Can Wait (Virtual Riot Remix) (AAA) | Cutoff: (8-0-0-3)
D6: Guile of the Rime King (AAA) | Cutoff: (9-0-0-2)
D7: Mirage Garden (Long Version) (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | attempts: 2

Round 2
D1: bluebird (AAA) | Cutoff: (9-2-2-3)
D2: Time (Soular Order Remix) (AAA) | Cutoff: (6)
D3: Exogenesis (AAA) | Cutoff: (24-0-1-2)
D4: Prove Them Wrong (AAA) | Cutoff: (16-0-0-5)
D5: summerghost (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D6: Great Battleship (AAA) | Cutoff: (4)
D7: Ah Shwe Bah (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | attempts: 12

Round 3
D1: Drizzling Rain (AAA) | Cutoff: (8-1-0-0)
D2: Exodus (On vocal ver.) (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag)
D3: Aishiteru Yo Ne (AAA) | Cutoff: (33)
D4: Over the Bridge (AAA) | Cutoff: (24-1-0-3)
D5: Requiem -Dies irae- (AAA) | Cutoff: (6-0-0-4) | attempts: 26
D6: The Steel Monster Above the City (AAA) | Cutoff: (6-0-0-1) | attempts: 57
D7: Wraith (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | attempts: 2

Round 4
D1: Ame no odoriko (asha remix) (AAA) | Cutoff: (9)
D2: Clocktown (AAA) | Cutoff: (blackflag)
D3: Nintendon't (AAA) | Cutoff: (7)
D4: Dreadnought [Heavy] (AAA) | Cutoff: (16-0-1-1)
D5: HAELEQUIN (AAA) | Cutoff: (2)
D6: Love Hurts (Lonely Dance Mix) (blackflag) | Cutoff: (12-0-1-2) | attempts: 12
D7: Dishevel (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | attempts: 11

Round 5
D1: Dreadnought [Standard] (AAA) | Cutoff: (7-0-0-1)
D2: Sunshine rainy [Heavy] (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D3: ORIENTAL SEA!! (AAA) | Cutoff: (16-1-0-5)
D4: Eclipse (Luna) (AAA) | Cutoff: (13-0-2-1)
D5: Shatterscape (Bexarametric Remix) (AAA) | Cutoff: (AAA or die)
D6: to luv me i *** for u (Reprise) (AAA) | Cutoff: (3-0-2-2)
D7: Extratone Pirates (7-0-1-1) | Cutoff: (booflag) | attempts: 213

==== D5 tiebreaker ====
The party's starting! (1-0-1-0)

Round 6
D1: Pokemon battle imaging - No.3 (AAA) | Cutoff: (9-1-0-2)
D2: Railgun (AAA) | Cutoff: (3)
D3: Sonic the Hedgehog (Dubstep) (AAA) | Cutoff: (10-0-1-2)
D4: Valhalla (AAA) | Cutoff: (7)
D5: Sokuseki! Nouchoku Music System (1-0-0-2) | Cutoff: (8) | attempts: 31
D6: Rave 5 (6-0-1-2) | Cutoff: (5-1-1-4) | attempts: 23
D7: Epidermis v2 (8-1-3-3) | Cutoff: (blackflag) | attempts: 9

Round 7
D1: Sleep Tight (AAA) | Cutoff: (12-1-1-6)
D2: Bits and Bytes (Original Mix) (AAA) | Cutoff: (4)
D3: Boot (AAA) | Cutoff: (2-1-0-2)
D4: Breakcore Ein Prosit (5-1-1-2) | Cutoff: (19-1-1-2) | attempts: 16
D5: Umbral Ultimatum (7-0-0-1) | Cutoff: (7) | attempts: 23 <- top lel
D6: Japan Style Breakcore!!! (3-0-0-1) | Cutoff: (8-1-1-2) | attempts: 47
D7: All your base are belong to ME (4-0-2-3) | Cutoff: (AAA or die) | attempts: 13

Final Round
D1: I Can't Wait (AAA) | Winning Score: (64-3-2-17)
D2: A Crimson Rose and a Gin Tonic (YMCK 8bit Mix) (AAA) | Winning Score: (16)
D3: Grad Erlija (AAA) | Winning Score: (5-0-0-1)
D4: Shitsubou Choco (AAA) | Winning Score: (4)
D5: Future Invasion (15-0-0-1) | Winning Score: (4)
D6: Herbie Goes Ballistic (4-0-1-2) | Winning Score: (blackflag) | attempts: 62
D7: Heterochromia Iridis (39-4-9-10) | Winning Score: (AAA) | attempts: 9

Hooray for copy-and-pasting from my 7th Official Tourney RT \:3/

*green = AAA
*blue = above elimination line
*pink = cutoff
*orange = below elimination line
*red = eliminated
*gray = for giggles (ghosting in a division I would've already been eliminated in)

Goals
------------------------------
[X] Make it to Round 4. Can't be too hard... right? ;w;
[X] Make it to Round 5. (Top 16)
[nope] Make it to Round 6...! (Top 8) Ayappa =w=
[nope] Remove Sakamoto's red scarf. Hakase da nyan.

Final placement
------------------------------
D1 - 1/102
D2 - 1/73
D3 - 1/68
D4 - 1/100
D5 - 1/85
D6 - 15/51
D7 - 9/9

Round Scores
------------------------------
Round 1
D1: Warmish Walkin' (AAA) // attempts: 1
D2: Swaying Sunflowers (AAA) // attempts: 4 roflroflrofl
D3: Fire (AAA) // attempts: 3 lolol
D4: Touch Me (AAA) // attempts: 5
D5: Retro City (AAA) // attempts: 7
D6: Pussy Pump (AAA) // attempts: 19

Round 2
D1: Reset (AAA) // attempts: 1
D2: Wonder World! (AAA) // attempts: 1
D3: Blue Marine (AAA) // attempts: 2
D4: Walk on Water (AAA) // attempts: 2
D5: Oops (AAA) // attempts: 3
D6: Beautiful Arrhythmia (blackflag) // attempts: 35

Round 3
D1: Pembroke Walsh Corgi (AAA) / attempts: 2
D2: ice valley "beyond the searoad" (AAA) / attempts: 1
D3: Jazzman - Super Mario Bros (AAA) / attempts: 3
D4: Slam the Door (Rogue Remix) (AAA) / attempts: 1
D5: Undiscovered Colors (AAA) / attempts: 1
D6: Weapon (blackflag) / attempts: 38

Round 4
D1: DESIRE DRIVE (LLS HARDCORE REMIX) [Standard] (AAA) / attempts: 1
D2: ULTRAnumb (AAA) / attempts: 1
D3: Entry (AAA) / attempts: 6
D4: Quark (AAA) / attempts: 2
D5: Sleep (AAA) / attempts: 8
D6: 2-9 (AAA) / attempts: 98

Round 5
D1: Move It Groove It [Standard] (AAA) / attempts: 1 - fun.
D2: Futari, Hajimari (AAA) / attempts: 1 - really well stepped.
D3: Beatrice (AAA) / attempts: 1 - solid file, lots of similar patterns, tricky.
D4: Into Your Eyes (Boyinaband Remix) (4-0-0-0) / attempts: 1 - wow, tests a little bit of everything. not my type of song, but good file.
D5: Crow's Ghost (6-0-0-2) / attempts: 5 - the hands seem a bit too frequent; otherwise flows very well and is quite fun.
D6: Infinity [cosMo] (7-2-1-4) / attempts: 231

Round 6
D1: Disc Jockey MIKE (AAA) / attempts: 1
D2: Walking on a Dream (AAA) / attempts: 7
D3: ETERNAL DRAIN [Heavy] (AAA) / attempts: 3
D4: DownTemperature (blackflag) / attempts: 5
D5: 44 Edit (2-0-1-0) / attempts: 12
D6: The Ordeal Becomes Great (30-1-7-5) / attempts: 3

Round 7
D1: Enchanting Venus (AAA) / attempts: 1 - the emphasis and jump/hand usage are great. very enjoyable.
D2: LUV CAN SAVE U (AAA) / attempts: 2 - Oooh, fun.
D3: Devilz Staircase (AAA) / attempts: 3 - for a 70, this file packs a HUGE punch. song sounds familiar for some reason, haha.
D4: Cutthroat (8-0-0-2) / attempts: 3 - wowowowow, you guys are so mean to D4, rofl.
D5: Lawn Wake XI (15-0-0-5) / attempts: 5 - that ending lol
D6: Stinger (17-4-3-9) / attempts: 3 - such a hard file to a chill song haha. surprisingly fun.

Round 8
D1: Call Upon the Seaponies (EuroSHOOBEDOO Mix) (AAA) / attempts: 5
D2: The Strategy of Emperor (AAA) / attempts: 1
D3: Bloody Tears (AAA) / attempts: 1
D4: Go Beyond!! -Jazzy mix- (9-2-6-4) / attempts: 5 - what did D4 do to deserve this rofl, D2 should've gotten this instead
D5: Playing Super Mario World While Taking Mushrooms (16-1-3-3) / attempts: 3
D6: Unconnected. (negative infinity) / attempts: 0

Sakamoto's Red Scarf Removal Status
------------------------------
Hakase 359,750 - 359,785 Sakamoto
==========
Round 1: Hakase grabs and tugs on Sakamoto's red scarf. Sakamoto awakens from his catnap and holds tight onto his scarf. Neither of them budge. Thus begins an epic battle between Hakase to enjoy her cat's scarfless cuteness and Sakamoto to maintain his dignity in the "peaceful" Shinonome Laboratory.
Tie
Hakase 64,850 - 64,850 Sakamoto

Round 2: "Let go of me, kid!" Sakamoto yelled. He jumped up to a bookshelf nearby, hopping onto a book titled "Normal Lives of Normal Girls." Hakase got on her tippytoes to bring her cat back down to the floor, but the cat was about an inch away from her reach.
25 points in favor of Sakamoto
Hakase 135,575 - 135,600 Sakamoto

Round 3: "Come back down here, Sakamoto!" Hakase cried out, forgetting the honorific yet again. Her voice caught the attention of Adobe Systems Inc. Nano, who cheerfully asked, "What's wrong, Professor?"
Hakase replied, "I want to take Sakamoto's scarf off for a bit, but he's being mean to me!"
Adobe Systems Inc. Nano, playing along, reached out to Sakamoto. She swiftly removed the scarf from the cat, saying, "No problem, Professor!" Once there's no piece of red cloth to be found around him, Sakamoto tried to scold the two girls angrily, but all that came out from his mouth wass a cute "nyaaa~"...
"Hahahahahaha," both the professor and Adobe Systems Inc. the robot laughed hysterically, as the cat went on to screech in frustration. The laughfest continued for as long as the professor's attention span -- until it was finally broken by two swift feline kicks in the shins.
"Owwwwwww!!" the two girls yelped. In the midst of all the hubbub, the cat retrieved the scarf once again, which the robot had dropped in clear view on the floor, beside the short wooden table.
"Why, I oughta...!" Sakamoto growled after putting on his scarf once more. Infuriated, he barged out of the professor's room and towards the storage room of the lab, where many objects of interest such as the Super Glue was stored.
40 points in favor of Sakamoto
Hakase 295,750 - 295,790 Sakamoto

Round 4: Realizing that Sakamoto was going for the Super Glue, Hakase frantically began to chase the cat towards the storage room. The Super Glue was a Weapon that the professor herself had invented, with only two very small flaws in the prototype. Keeping the girls glued to the floor while giving them a lesson would be no problem, even for Sakamoto, with this powerful tool.
"Stop! Stop, Sakamoto!" the professor wailed, as she and the cat dashed towards Area 2-9 of the lab. The passageway to this area, where the storage room was located, was extremely narrow -- though it wasn't much of a problem for the cat to squeeze through. Hakase, doing her best not to lose sight of Sakamoto, also entered the passageway in a surprisingly brisk and graceful manner. She rushed towards the dim-lit room on the left side of the corridor, where she could faintly make out a black blob as well as many of her own inventions.
"Mmmmmyah! I have you now, Sakamoto!" Hakase jumped right on the black blob. Her eyes were set on the little red piece of cloth around the blob. She looked right at Sakamoto with a mischievous smile, which faded as she noticed the cat had a smirk on his face as well. On Sakamoto's right paw (which was free from the professor's grip) was what looked like a gallon container of Super Glue, opened and ready to be used.
35 points in favor of Sakamoto
Hakase 359,750 - 359,785 Sakamoto

Blurb
------------------------------
Prologue - D6 again. And this time, all the ridiculously good players are in the newly implemented D7. After placing 7th on AJ's recent Christmas tournament, I feel like I can get a bit farther this year compared to last year. Let's see how this turns out!

Round 1 - Pussy Pump (AAA) | Cutoff: (5-0-0-2)
Decided to play on my Vista for once, since I was already on it, and I wanted to join in on the hype. 7-3-0-3 first try (or full playthough rather), then improved to a 5 clean. A few more tries, and I was able to get myself a blackflag. Overall an enjoyable file - personally found it more fun than last year's R1 song, Spoils. Those two big 32nd rolls are really tricky >.<;
Update 1/23/13: I may be in a sticky situation here. The Win7 laptop I have (which I like to call my FFR laptop because I usually play FFR on it) is suddenly giving me random lag spikes and jump/handsplits. (That explains why I took more tries than I should've to AAA the lower division songs.) I could play FFR lag-free on this laptop just a week ago, so I have no idea what's up. I'm lucky I got a decent enough score to survive the week (hopefully), but if I don't figure something out for this issue, I may be far from being able to play at my best for the later rounds. I wouldn't be too happy about that...
Update 1/24/13: Got the AAA. On Vista. Alright. (cake) (y)
Update 1/25/13: Alleviated the choppiness issue I had while playing on my FFR laptop. It still doesn't feel like it's running 100% smooth, but I was able to get some pretty nice scores. Hopefully I can manage with this.

Round 2 - Beautiful Arrhythmia (blackflag) | Cutoff: (5-0-0-1)
Again with the "join the initial hype by playing on whatever laptop I'm on at the moment" (aka Vista). Of course, I dumped a lot of goods, but one playthrough the file and I was fairly confident I could get a decent score on it (surprisingly, because technical/bursty charts aren't really my forte). I then got on a different laptop, improving slowly and landing on a blackflag on my 15th or so attempt.
Another technical chart here -- with less focus on speed and more on control, compared to Pussy Pump. Had that authentic, fun iironiic file feel, with the consistent "back-and-forth-the-panels" patterns. YEAH BRODDA =w=
Update 1/31/13: Played the other divisions' songs. Wonder World! is my favorite of the week. Blue Marine was pretty good, too.

Round 3 - Weapon (blackflag) | Cutoff: (1-0-1-0)
Gotta say, the preview video scared me. So I was quite surprised I scored as well as I did this early in the round. First play of the whole thing, 7-0-2-1. Shortly after I improved to 4 clean, and then to 2-0-0-1. I think I'll be able to improve further if need be.
Alright song albeit being quite long. Very flowy 24ths. The minijacks/jumpgluts remind me of To Make the End of Battle, haha. Well stepped.
Update 2/7/13: Blackflagged. I'll consider the improvement as a small graduation gift to myself.

Round 4 - 2-9 (AAA) | Cutoff: (2-0-0-1)
Here it is. The round that will decide whether or not I place higher than last year. I must say, I felt pretty safe with my score last round - but at the same time, all that was separating me from the cutoff was a mere miss. I don't doubt this is where the real fun begins...
EDIT: This file hurts. Not going to lie, it played a LOT harder than I imagined it would, haha. On my very first try, I dumped many, many goods before even getting to the halfway point, so I boo'd out. My first full play net me a 21-0-1-1.
EDIT2: In about 10 more tries, I cut down many goods to a score of 3 clean, then in another 10 plays, I nabbed a blackflag. (If I keep blackflagging songs, I might place pretty well this year @@@ /sarcasm)
It's pretty neat that the songs for our division have been testing many different skillsets.
Update 2/14/13: The scores some of the D6 players have been getting made me lose a bit of confidence in my blackflag. Raging in an attempt to AAA in progress.
Update 2/16/13: (cake) (y) WHAT I AAA'd akjsdgkjadskjgfskjdaf!! This makes me score buddies with scottiena for the first 4 rounds. I'm so sorry Brandon D: please forgive me, but I understand if you don't T.T

Round 5 - Infinity [cosMo] (7-2-1-4) | Cutoff: (7-0-0-2)
Wow, kinda hard to believe I've made it this far. I'm definitely going to be struggling to stay above the cutoff now, but this is the final round I have to get past to reach my ultimate goal of top 8. I'm going to try my best...
EDIT: This chart is beyond terrifying.
Update 2/23/13: I hope those isolation files are coming soon. Not that I think they'll help me 100%. Just want to practice those jumpgluts more efficiently.
Update 2/25/13: /wrists
Update 2/26/13: Whatever. I know I'll never get top 8 anyway.

Epilogue
Yeah, I'm pretty sad. Ever since the 5th official when I've been sniped a place in the top 8 within the last couple of hours of the round, I've been trying my best to get at least 8th place in an official. Third time just wasn't the charm, and I'm beginning to lose my confidence. Now if you'll please excuse me while I get lost in my own depression...


Sequel
Second Chance Round - Ultrasounds! (3-0-1-0) | Winning score: (AAA)
Yesssssssss, a second helping of torture. I don't expect this to be an easy fight, especially with people like scottiena and TK_unreal who were completely capable of making top 8.
Update 3/8/13: Lol, called it. Grats on the AAA, TK_unreal.

Round 5 Tiebreaker - Fractured Sunshine (DNP) | Winning score: (7-0-1-3)

Round 6 - The Ordeal Becomes Great | Cutoff: (5-0-0-0)
I'm sure it does.
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Format taken from Elite Ninja's profile, and slightly edited. Skype Room represent.

*green = AAA
*blue = above elimination line
*orange = below elimination line
*red = eliminated
*gray = for giggles

Goals
--------------------------
[X] Make it to Round 3.
[X] Top 32. Can't be too hard, right? Right...? ;w;
[X] Make it to Round 4.
[nope] Top 16. Ayappa =w=
[nope] Remove Sakamoto's red scarf. Hakase da nyan.

Final placement
---------------------------------------------
D1 - ?/248
D2 - ?/141
D3 - ?/81
D4 - ?/100
D5 - ?/81
D6 - 19/59

Blurb
--------------
Round 1 - Spoils (AAA) - So here we go... I've been placed in D6 again this year, and we get a rock song with a long, technical file to start off the tourney with! Yay!
My sightread on this worried me quite a bit; I thought I'd have trouble even FC'ing the 12th/24th jumpgluts. Seems like I got lucky and improved my score to a AAA before building any major mindblocks.

Round 2 - Since 1983 (AAA) - Sunday afternoon. I get back from somewhere, somewhat worn out and sleepy, but I manage to get on my FFR lappy and start playing.
It all started with a sightread 2-0-0-1; I got excited, thinking this would be easier than Spoils. Then my good cat friend Sakamoto (~Zeta~) tells me it took 2 hours for him to fix his sightread 2 clean. I take him up on snatching the AAA within 2 hours.
The very next try I end up with a 2 clean, then I manage a blackflag within the first 10 minutes.
Then I went through three more blackflag runs. Two of which were from splitting the last jump.
I was mad. I went back and forth mirror and non-mirror, but with no luck. I was getting desperate. But just as I was starting to lose hope, it happened.
(cake)
Sakamoto-san, have a business card.
P.S. It took me 1 hour and 32 minutes.
P.P.S. Pretty cool song and file; I look forward to seeing more of your charts, DarkZtar!

Round 3 - Shotgun Surgery (2-0-0-0) - Was intimidated by my 20+ good, non-FC sightread on this. Improved quite quickly to a 2-0-0-1. An hour later: 2 clean. Hopefully this is enough to outscore 7 people, although I might try improving it even more.
Update 7/24/12: Down to a tie for 14th already. Not so confident the 2 clean will hold up for the safe zone, although it's a different story for top 32. Next time I'll be able to play this is on Friday - hoping for some luck and getting an improvement.
Update 7/27/12, part 1: The 2 clean now puts me at a three-way tie for 20th, with the cutoff close at 3-0-0-2. I saw last night that Brandon (Elite Ninja) had the determination to play the song 606 times for his 1-0-0-1, so I'm hoping I won't be giving up easily either. T-minus 6 hours or so before I get home and give this another go.
Update 7/27/12, part 2: 286 tries so far. Cue Hakase's tantrums!
Update 7/28/12, part 1: So, while some of you who should've been placed in a D7 of sorts got the AAA easily and relaxed happily in the July sunshine, I've been slipping down and down the ranks - and now I'm the cutoff! Yay! ^.^
There's only about 17 hours to go, but it's anyone's game - I honestly believe that quite a few people are waiting to snipe at the last minute. And I'm mentally preparing myself for the shock when they do. rip kjw...? (to be continued)
Update 7/28/12, part 2: Just saw that Dossar dropped out, putting me back up to a tie for 21st. You guys are killing me with this suspense, hahaha
Also, heard the news regarding several players under the cutoff... perhaps 2 clean just might be enough. (to be continued)
Update 7/29/12: I made it. *tears of joy*

Round 4 - Sleepmix Strikes Back (3-1-0-1) - Well, things are going to get really interesting for D6 from here on out. I loaded up the preview as soon as I saw the songs were up - looks like it's going to be a pretty tight cutoff once again. But who knows, it might actually be harder than it looks!
Update 7/29/12: Upon seeing the raw score right before the last note, I thought I had a 5 clean run. Guess it was a little better! See you guys on Friday when I can play again.
P.S. No, I don't expect this to get me through. And no, I don't think this is the best I can do. =P
Update 7/30/12: lmao, already below the cutoff. I feel like offering Sakamoto some more gum.
Update 8/4/12: Mindblocks in random places. rip kjw until further notice.
Update 8/5/12: Got a second run of exactly 3-1-0-1. Guess I proved to myself that it wasn't really a fluke the first time =w=
Fairly satisfied with my result this year... but next time, I'm going for top 16. Until then~ ^.^=

Epilogue - With the last minute beasting of bballa48, I slipped one spot down, putting me at a final placement of 19th in D6. I have to say, it's a little disappointing to have gotten so close to top 16, but this is definitely an improvement from last year (27th out of 54 players). I'll still be ghosting every division and posting my thoughts on some of the files here, though! Happy reading~
==========

xD

*1* Excite Bike [2]
*2* Pita [3]
*3* Power [1]
*4* Zelda Stormy [4]
*5* Sonic 1 Final Zone [4]
*6* Free Space (FFR Edit) [1]
*7*
*8*
*9*
*10*

-----Current score of yay-----
Speed Kitty (3-0-0-0)
http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/profile/Schroederlul2/replay/53345573/
Sooner or later Pachirisu's going to improve his 8bf on this... xD
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note to self: OWEP