I didn't hear you say you're sorry-
The fault must be mine.
I wish you all the best of luck
At finding somebody more like you.
You said you'd love me always, truly-
I must have changed.
Cause you don't need me like you used to:
I hope you find somebody more like you.
I hope you finally find someone,
Someone that you trust,
And give him everything.
I hope you meet someone your height,
So you can see eye-to-eye
With someone as small as you.
You came out of nowhere, made me smile,
Then tore me in two,
Saying, "We're very different people."
So dear, I hope you find somebody more like you.
I hope you find somebody more like you.
-Nickel Creek, "Somebody More Like You"
I just realized that most of the songs on the new album are jaded love songs. So, now that the shine has worn off (twenty nine play throughs later), I definitely think that this album is the weakest offering they've made yet. "This Side" took a completely different turn after their first album- the music was more pop/rock, with only the barest nod to their bluegrass and traditional roots. "Why Should the Fire Die" is lateral-to-backwards movement; it lacks much of the originality and edginess of "This Side," and feels more like treacley country-pop than anything truly innovative. The group feels kind of stuck, and the whole album has a softer, darker color to its sound than the previous two.
I still love it, of course- it's Nickel Creek, and I'm generally a very loyal fangirl. I like "Somebody More Like You" for those italicized lines in the middle, and because Sean sings it instead of Chris. I've always preferred the more mellow tones of his voice to Chris's abrasiveness (or maybe I'm just obsessed with "Let it Fall." Who can say?), even if I'm not as much a fan of the angsty, just-broke-up-with-my-girlfriend-and-my-dog-is-dead lyrics and melody.
But yeah, that middle verse? Lots of love. *brittle smile*
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
On House, mostly
Oh, this episode (submissive infected jaw guy) reminds me why I love Foreman. He's the only one who thinks that House and Cameron going out just might be a bad idea- aside from House himself, of course. But House's weird mixed signals make no sense, and the way the writers handled the House/Cameron dynamic really, really squicks me out.
When Cameron says "But I'm allowed to sexually harass my boss" and smiles, does no one else feel that she is being just slightly psychotic? I'm not just saying this because I think House and Wilson are ambiguously gay together
And this episode (House lectures on leg injuries), I love because so many people almost get their limbs removed. I'm not gonna lie and say that all the leg amputations going on here didn't inspire What Remains. Also, it pleases me when Foreman points out that dogs' mouths are filthy. Because they fucking are, and if one more person says to me, "But dogs have such clean mouths!" I fucking swear I will stab them.
No, I'm serious. Mouths are disgusting, disgusting things, no matter what you are- dogs are worse than people, and people are pretty fucking disgusting.
And I love this episode because it's backstory-tastic, and because House mocks Cameron quite viciously. But Stacey's eyebrows are really scarey, and I'm rather glad she and House broke up.
I think I would like to read fic that deals with the implications of drug abuse in this episode- the first time House went to the hospital for leg pain, he did it for painkillers. Why the hospital then hired him after pulling that kind of stunt, I do not know- and why he had to trick the clinic doctors into giving him painkillers instead of just getting them from wherever he was working at the time is also a mystery.
Unless, of course, it does get covered in those three or four episodes I haven't seen. -_- The detox episode was poorly handled, because a body is going to be addicted to any substance it's been ingesting for eight years on a steady basis. But if he was a drug addict before the infarcture- well, that's another matter entirely.
New season starts the 13, same week as the new OC, which seems to involve the Fantastic Four on a boat, fleeing from the authorities. I'm excited, yo.
When Cameron says "But I'm allowed to sexually harass my boss" and smiles, does no one else feel that she is being just slightly psychotic? I'm not just saying this because I think House and Wilson are ambiguously gay together
And this episode (House lectures on leg injuries), I love because so many people almost get their limbs removed. I'm not gonna lie and say that all the leg amputations going on here didn't inspire What Remains. Also, it pleases me when Foreman points out that dogs' mouths are filthy. Because they fucking are, and if one more person says to me, "But dogs have such clean mouths!" I fucking swear I will stab them.
No, I'm serious. Mouths are disgusting, disgusting things, no matter what you are- dogs are worse than people, and people are pretty fucking disgusting.
And I love this episode because it's backstory-tastic, and because House mocks Cameron quite viciously. But Stacey's eyebrows are really scarey, and I'm rather glad she and House broke up.
I think I would like to read fic that deals with the implications of drug abuse in this episode- the first time House went to the hospital for leg pain, he did it for painkillers. Why the hospital then hired him after pulling that kind of stunt, I do not know- and why he had to trick the clinic doctors into giving him painkillers instead of just getting them from wherever he was working at the time is also a mystery.
Unless, of course, it does get covered in those three or four episodes I haven't seen. -_- The detox episode was poorly handled, because a body is going to be addicted to any substance it's been ingesting for eight years on a steady basis. But if he was a drug addict before the infarcture- well, that's another matter entirely.
New season starts the 13, same week as the new OC, which seems to involve the Fantastic Four on a boat, fleeing from the authorities. I'm excited, yo.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Babbling about Bleach and some rampant silliness
I really do adore Bleach. It hasn't eaten my soul the way Naruto has, but it's got its claws sunk in rather deep. I'm feeling the urge to drabble for it, so I imagine once I get over my current fear of writing, I'll have a few fragments to post. Right now I'm just making icons like mad- I've got to have something to fill all my icon slots with when I buy a paid account again.
I like that just about any pairing in Bleach is a crack pairing; even when there's subtext between two characters, it's usually very faint. There are a few exceptions- Hitsugaya and Hinamori being the notable one- but for the most part, there's a refreshing lack of subtext. Ichigo and Rukia have this weird asexual romance thing going on that I absolutely love- I have no interest whatsoever in reading anything that pairs the two of them, but the way they work in the manga is beautiful. Bleach is just difficult to 'ship pairings in.
Mostly, I'm just an 11th Division whore, and I love Chad. But if I have to choose pairings, then by gourd, I'm going for the gold- and by gold, of course, I mean crack. Right now I'm kind of obsessed with Zaraki/Unohana (4x11! omgtheirloveissoviolentlymathematical), which is actually all kinds of wrong- but not as wrong as adult!Yachiru/Ikkaku, which is the other thing trying to eat my brain. (Owowgetitoutithurtswiththeburning) Fandom has given me a love of Shuuhei/Yumachika (that's 69-on-his-face-guy and feather-eyebrows-guy) and I like Shunsui and Ukitake in any context, romantic or otherwise. Still inlust love lust with Urahara's hat, and I kind of want to read/write Mayuri fic. I've got a thing for mad scientists.
I need to find the wacom, so I can doodle Zaraki and his badass, jingly, eyepatched self. Until then- snip!
---
The captain of the fourth division looked vaguely annoyed as she swept down the hallways of the fourth division headquarters. The bodies of medics littered the halls, all of them either unconscious or huddled in corners, whimpering.
The source of the devastation was standing at the entrance to the building, jingling slightly and glaring at something small, pink, and stuck to his shoulder.
Unohana's expression intensified another slight degree; she was almost frowning. Any of the shinigami under her command would have made themselves scarce upon seeing that face- had any of them remained conscious in the overwhelming presence of Zaraki Kenpachi's spiritual energy.
"You got us lost again!"
"Ken-chan didn't listen! We were supposed to go left!"
"Idiot! I went left! Now look at where we are!"
"Captain Zaraki." Unohana's icy voice cut through their bickering like a ban kai zanpakutou through a slice of pie- which is to say, very thoroughly.
Yachiru was staring at her with something akin to awe in her eyes. "Scary," she whispered. Zaraki had the grace to look slightly embarrased, and the utterly ridiculous strength of his spiritual presence wavered in the face of her disapproval.
"Er, we got a little lost, that's all-"
Unohana interrupted him coldly. "Captain Zaraki, please remove yourself and your ankle-biting second in command from this area. Your presence is disturbing my subordinates." She only hoped no one had hurt themselves when Zaraki's energy knocked them over. It would take days to calm everyone down after this.
"What did you just call Yachiru?" His spirit energy was dangerously subdued, and his hand was twitching towards the hilt of his nameless zanpakutou.
This man is an idiot, Unohana realized. She'd heard rumors, but hadn't believed them until now.
There were few things she hated more than dealing with idiots. Her expression darkened another degree.
--------
Not quite finished yet, but it's been stuck in my head. I love the fourth division almost as much as the eleventh (Ganjyu/Hanatarou is my other crack pairing of choice), because Unohana is just. So. Frickin. Cool.
Gah, now I'm late, must be leaving.
I like that just about any pairing in Bleach is a crack pairing; even when there's subtext between two characters, it's usually very faint. There are a few exceptions- Hitsugaya and Hinamori being the notable one- but for the most part, there's a refreshing lack of subtext. Ichigo and Rukia have this weird asexual romance thing going on that I absolutely love- I have no interest whatsoever in reading anything that pairs the two of them, but the way they work in the manga is beautiful. Bleach is just difficult to 'ship pairings in.
Mostly, I'm just an 11th Division whore, and I love Chad. But if I have to choose pairings, then by gourd, I'm going for the gold- and by gold, of course, I mean crack. Right now I'm kind of obsessed with Zaraki/Unohana (4x11! omgtheirloveissoviolentlymathematical), which is actually all kinds of wrong- but not as wrong as adult!Yachiru/Ikkaku, which is the other thing trying to eat my brain. (Owowgetitoutithurtswiththeburning) Fandom has given me a love of Shuuhei/Yumachika (that's 69-on-his-face-guy and feather-eyebrows-guy) and I like Shunsui and Ukitake in any context, romantic or otherwise. Still in
I need to find the wacom, so I can doodle Zaraki and his badass, jingly, eyepatched self. Until then- snip!
---
The captain of the fourth division looked vaguely annoyed as she swept down the hallways of the fourth division headquarters. The bodies of medics littered the halls, all of them either unconscious or huddled in corners, whimpering.
The source of the devastation was standing at the entrance to the building, jingling slightly and glaring at something small, pink, and stuck to his shoulder.
Unohana's expression intensified another slight degree; she was almost frowning. Any of the shinigami under her command would have made themselves scarce upon seeing that face- had any of them remained conscious in the overwhelming presence of Zaraki Kenpachi's spiritual energy.
"You got us lost again!"
"Ken-chan didn't listen! We were supposed to go left!"
"Idiot! I went left! Now look at where we are!"
"Captain Zaraki." Unohana's icy voice cut through their bickering like a ban kai zanpakutou through a slice of pie- which is to say, very thoroughly.
Yachiru was staring at her with something akin to awe in her eyes. "Scary," she whispered. Zaraki had the grace to look slightly embarrased, and the utterly ridiculous strength of his spiritual presence wavered in the face of her disapproval.
"Er, we got a little lost, that's all-"
Unohana interrupted him coldly. "Captain Zaraki, please remove yourself and your ankle-biting second in command from this area. Your presence is disturbing my subordinates." She only hoped no one had hurt themselves when Zaraki's energy knocked them over. It would take days to calm everyone down after this.
"What did you just call Yachiru?" His spirit energy was dangerously subdued, and his hand was twitching towards the hilt of his nameless zanpakutou.
This man is an idiot, Unohana realized. She'd heard rumors, but hadn't believed them until now.
There were few things she hated more than dealing with idiots. Her expression darkened another degree.
--------
Not quite finished yet, but it's been stuck in my head. I love the fourth division almost as much as the eleventh (Ganjyu/Hanatarou is my other crack pairing of choice), because Unohana is just. So. Frickin. Cool.
Gah, now I'm late, must be leaving.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
The words always sound so much better in my head. The rhythms are there, the beat and sway, the shapes and colors; they all match up so perfectly, so precisely.
Words on paper are dull, trapped. And you get to be so scared that these are the only things you have, these trapped, stifled, stagnating things with no life to them. Writing becomes an exercise in terror, because you know the words are there, alive, but you're too afraid to reach into the depths of that place where they reside and bring them back. Easier by far to collect the corpses of lost ideas and thoughts on the outskirts of that place, that word vault, than to brave those strange and shadowy places where words still dance.
Writing isn't a coward's profession. Artistry of any sort requires courage beyond that which most men can muster.
Words on paper are dull, trapped. And you get to be so scared that these are the only things you have, these trapped, stifled, stagnating things with no life to them. Writing becomes an exercise in terror, because you know the words are there, alive, but you're too afraid to reach into the depths of that place where they reside and bring them back. Easier by far to collect the corpses of lost ideas and thoughts on the outskirts of that place, that word vault, than to brave those strange and shadowy places where words still dance.
Writing isn't a coward's profession. Artistry of any sort requires courage beyond that which most men can muster.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Blindsided (Index entry)
The Naruto fic that ate my soul. The first chapter outlines were written in January '05; the first chapter was published at the end of February, and I'm trying to maintain an update schedule of a chapter a month, but have been rather unsuccessful thus far.
It's a Naruto/Gaara/Sasuke post-timeskip AU. When Sasuke escapes from Orochimaru, events are set in motion that will drastically change the futures of Sand, Leaf, and Sound.
That's the tagline, anyway; Blindsided is my devious, self indulgent experiment. I want to write a threesome story with political overtones that still remains true to the half-silly, half-serious, shounen, action-oriented feel of the original series while exploring my own versions of the characters and the world. I get to do horrible things to the characters, come up with silly and misleading subtitles, and shamelessly whore myself out in the author's notes. Shameless, I say.
It's experimental in that I've never done this before- never written and published a chapter length fanfic (or even very much fanfic at all), never started something with intent to finish, never known exactly how something was going to begin and end. My goal is to connect to the fandom in some way; having an audience, even if it's a fairly small one, is a powerful feeling. I'm tired of screaming in the dark, as it were- I got something to say, and now I want people to hear me.
This is an index of all the story fragments that I've posted; possibly I'll also start indexing character analyses and plot musings. Many of these contain spoilers for various plot points, but very few of them will make it into the story without excessive amounts of editing. Consider them omake drabbles, if you like.
09/05 (naruto/sasuke, not blind enough)
08/05 (naruto/gaara)
08/05 (kisame, itachi, crazy kabuto)
08/05 (beachfic)
07/05 (naruto, kankurou, nosebleeds)
06/05 (kakashi, iruka, keeping score)
06/05 (naruto, gaara/sasuke, crispy fried pr0ns)
05/05 (gaara hates his life sometimes)
It's a Naruto/Gaara/Sasuke post-timeskip AU. When Sasuke escapes from Orochimaru, events are set in motion that will drastically change the futures of Sand, Leaf, and Sound.
That's the tagline, anyway; Blindsided is my devious, self indulgent experiment. I want to write a threesome story with political overtones that still remains true to the half-silly, half-serious, shounen, action-oriented feel of the original series while exploring my own versions of the characters and the world. I get to do horrible things to the characters, come up with silly and misleading subtitles, and shamelessly whore myself out in the author's notes. Shameless, I say.
It's experimental in that I've never done this before- never written and published a chapter length fanfic (or even very much fanfic at all), never started something with intent to finish, never known exactly how something was going to begin and end. My goal is to connect to the fandom in some way; having an audience, even if it's a fairly small one, is a powerful feeling. I'm tired of screaming in the dark, as it were- I got something to say, and now I want people to hear me.
This is an index of all the story fragments that I've posted; possibly I'll also start indexing character analyses and plot musings. Many of these contain spoilers for various plot points, but very few of them will make it into the story without excessive amounts of editing. Consider them omake drabbles, if you like.
09/05 (naruto/sasuke, not blind enough)
08/05 (naruto/gaara)
08/05 (kisame, itachi, crazy kabuto)
08/05 (beachfic)
07/05 (naruto, kankurou, nosebleeds)
06/05 (kakashi, iruka, keeping score)
06/05 (naruto, gaara/sasuke, crispy fried pr0ns)
05/05 (gaara hates his life sometimes)
Spoilers! Blindsided spoilers! Spoilers like DEATH!
I adore Kisame and Itachi. I just do. I love the two of them as a pairing, but I like them even better as sort of hetero/asexual lifemates who have a deep and abiding respect for one another. Blindsided Kisame and Itachi act like an old married couple most of the time, though they're not sleeping together. The following scene, from the post-Orochimaru arc of the story, is possibly one of my favorite moments in the whole damned fic.
For those of you reading who haven't been (un)lucky enough to listen to me babble ad nauseum about the future plot points, or those who haven't been around since I posted all of my chapter outlines in January, this contains an enormous spoiler at the end of it, and a slightly less enormous spoiler running through it. Read at your own risk, whut.
---------------------
"Itachi-san. You're not keeping him." Kisame kept his voice low and spoke in their own personal theives cant, out of respect to the unexpected third wheel on their little bicycle of ne'er-do-well-ness. He was barbaric only when the occasion warranted it, he claimed, to contrast Itachi, who was a perfectly civilized brat no matter the occasion.
Itachi was just as unhappy with their current situation as his partner, but he truly disliked it when said partner told him what to do. It was a disagreeable business all around. "It's not your decision," he muttered back.
Kisame sniffed. Itachi looked up at him sharply, warning in his eyes. Itachi never bothered with facial expressions; he could say everything he needed to say with the slightest twitch of an eyelid. "I mean it. We've been considering new members, and it's not your decision."
"I know that, Itachi-san." Kisame was always respectful, even when he was being disagreeable. He managed to preserve certain formalities even in the limited vocabulary of sign language and muttered tones. "But I never said we wouldn't bring him back. I was merely remarking that you will not be keeping him."
The new inflection made the whole situation clearer; Itachi shifted his glare to the back of the topic of conversation. Kabuto's stride faltered slightly, and Itachi almost smirked. He entertained himself with the thought of Kabuto's reaction to the rest of the Akatsuki; he hadn't had this much fun since he was thirteen.
"Itachi-san." Now Kisame's voice held a warning edge to it. "It's considered polite to respond to a person."
"I don't see why I can't keep him." If Itachi sounded somewhat like a petulant child, Kisame was kind enough to overlook it. The taller missing-nin was known for his dislike of children- they were noisy, messy creatures.
Kisame sighed, a faint, irritable exhalation of breath. "Because, Itachi-san, the Akatsuki work in groups of two, and pets are discouraged."
"Jealous, Kisame?" Itachi dropped out of cant and spoke in a conversational tone.
The shark-man snorted softly and responded in kind. "Hardly. But, Itachi-san," his voice dropped slightly, "he's crazy."
At that moment, Kabuto paused in his shuffling steps to glance back at the two Akatsuki members escorting him. He smiled a brilliant, dazzling smile that showcased all of his teeth, and the light glinted blindingly off his glasses. His head tilted slightly, throwing off the glare, giving both Kisame and Itachi a perfect view of the perfect pair of mange sharingan eyes, swirling slowly in the sunlight.
Itachi returned the smile with a more focused glare, and Kisame looked smug until they stopped for food in the next town, where Itachi ate all of the dango and left Kisame with the bill.
-------------------------------------
Oh, Kabuto. Your crazy out crazies all the crazy people at the crazy house. And yes, Kisame is actually Itachi's nagging wife. (This bit was written in the pile o' rough drafts text file, hence the bicycle line. Unedited hijinx!)
On a completely unrelated note, "Kisame" apparently means something along the lines of "precipitation resulting from thick fog condensing on leaves in a forest," which I think is just an excessively pretty and poetic concept and just makes me love him even more. It's a shame he's a villain and will probably end up dead.
For those of you reading who haven't been (un)lucky enough to listen to me babble ad nauseum about the future plot points, or those who haven't been around since I posted all of my chapter outlines in January, this contains an enormous spoiler at the end of it, and a slightly less enormous spoiler running through it. Read at your own risk, whut.
---------------------
"Itachi-san. You're not keeping him." Kisame kept his voice low and spoke in their own personal theives cant, out of respect to the unexpected third wheel on their little bicycle of ne'er-do-well-ness. He was barbaric only when the occasion warranted it, he claimed, to contrast Itachi, who was a perfectly civilized brat no matter the occasion.
Itachi was just as unhappy with their current situation as his partner, but he truly disliked it when said partner told him what to do. It was a disagreeable business all around. "It's not your decision," he muttered back.
Kisame sniffed. Itachi looked up at him sharply, warning in his eyes. Itachi never bothered with facial expressions; he could say everything he needed to say with the slightest twitch of an eyelid. "I mean it. We've been considering new members, and it's not your decision."
"I know that, Itachi-san." Kisame was always respectful, even when he was being disagreeable. He managed to preserve certain formalities even in the limited vocabulary of sign language and muttered tones. "But I never said we wouldn't bring him back. I was merely remarking that you will not be keeping him."
The new inflection made the whole situation clearer; Itachi shifted his glare to the back of the topic of conversation. Kabuto's stride faltered slightly, and Itachi almost smirked. He entertained himself with the thought of Kabuto's reaction to the rest of the Akatsuki; he hadn't had this much fun since he was thirteen.
"Itachi-san." Now Kisame's voice held a warning edge to it. "It's considered polite to respond to a person."
"I don't see why I can't keep him." If Itachi sounded somewhat like a petulant child, Kisame was kind enough to overlook it. The taller missing-nin was known for his dislike of children- they were noisy, messy creatures.
Kisame sighed, a faint, irritable exhalation of breath. "Because, Itachi-san, the Akatsuki work in groups of two, and pets are discouraged."
"Jealous, Kisame?" Itachi dropped out of cant and spoke in a conversational tone.
The shark-man snorted softly and responded in kind. "Hardly. But, Itachi-san," his voice dropped slightly, "he's crazy."
At that moment, Kabuto paused in his shuffling steps to glance back at the two Akatsuki members escorting him. He smiled a brilliant, dazzling smile that showcased all of his teeth, and the light glinted blindingly off his glasses. His head tilted slightly, throwing off the glare, giving both Kisame and Itachi a perfect view of the perfect pair of mange sharingan eyes, swirling slowly in the sunlight.
Itachi returned the smile with a more focused glare, and Kisame looked smug until they stopped for food in the next town, where Itachi ate all of the dango and left Kisame with the bill.
-------------------------------------
Oh, Kabuto. Your crazy out crazies all the crazy people at the crazy house. And yes, Kisame is actually Itachi's nagging wife. (This bit was written in the pile o' rough drafts text file, hence the bicycle line. Unedited hijinx!)
On a completely unrelated note, "Kisame" apparently means something along the lines of "precipitation resulting from thick fog condensing on leaves in a forest," which I think is just an excessively pretty and poetic concept and just makes me love him even more. It's a shame he's a villain and will probably end up dead.
Naruto and Gaara babble...at each other. Possible BS continuity.
"Hey, you look a lot like your dad, you know." Like most of what Naruto said, the comment came out of nowhere.
Gaara looked up from his book and glared at the boy sitting on his windowsill. "No, I don't."
"Ch'. Don't look at me like that, it's true. When they make you Kazekage, they won't need to put a new statue up, they can just change the hair a little and add that kanji on your forehead. Bang! Instant Gaara!"
"Naruto, shut up." Gaara appreciated the way Naruto's presence tended to mute Shukaku's voice in the back of his head, but sometimes he wondered if the other boy was worth the trouble.
"Sorry, sorry!" He held up his hands placatingly, but was grinning fit to split his face in two. "Hey, when I'm Hokage, you'll have to come and visit Konoha so you can see my face on the mountain! It'll be cool! And I'll be like, "Yup, there I am!" and you'll be like, "Hey, who's your sculptor, I was thinkin' about getting my statue redone," and I'll say-"
"Naruto." Some of the ever-present sand on the floor was swirling dangerously.
"Huh?" Gaara's glare had been known to slay lesser creatures, but Naruto was completely impervious.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to remain annoyed at the blond for long, despite the fact that he was definitely one of the most annoying people Gaara had ever met. He shook his head. "I'll visit you when you become Hokage."
"Good." Naruto's voice was firm, and his silly grin had been replaced by an intense, unreadable expression. He crossed the distance between them suddenly, invading Gaara's personal space. "And when they initiate you as Kazekage, I'll be there, cheering louder than anyone."
Gaara's mouth went dry; he closed his eyes, overwhelmed by Naruto's proximity. "I'd like that," he said softly.
"I know." Naruto's hand was warm as he ruffled Gaara's hair. Then he was gone, taking his unnerving presence back to the windowsill, on the other side of the room. "I'm going to get food, you want anything?"
He shook his head, eyes still closed, and felt Naruto leave. When he was alone, he opened his eyes and touched the mark on his forehead, feeling the warmth from Naruto's touch suffusing his very being.
The inside of his head was very quiet, for once. It was peaceful.
He didn't wonder if Naruto was more trouble than he was worth very often; the answer was always so obvious it made the question irrelevant.
-------------------
...I shouldn't enjoy channeling Ninja of the Night when writing Naruto as much as I do. "Whoa, it's a ninja! Let's party!" "Yup, just throw the cake up here, please."
Also, I like WAFF, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. (That was a lie.)
Gaara looked up from his book and glared at the boy sitting on his windowsill. "No, I don't."
"Ch'. Don't look at me like that, it's true. When they make you Kazekage, they won't need to put a new statue up, they can just change the hair a little and add that kanji on your forehead. Bang! Instant Gaara!"
"Naruto, shut up." Gaara appreciated the way Naruto's presence tended to mute Shukaku's voice in the back of his head, but sometimes he wondered if the other boy was worth the trouble.
"Sorry, sorry!" He held up his hands placatingly, but was grinning fit to split his face in two. "Hey, when I'm Hokage, you'll have to come and visit Konoha so you can see my face on the mountain! It'll be cool! And I'll be like, "Yup, there I am!" and you'll be like, "Hey, who's your sculptor, I was thinkin' about getting my statue redone," and I'll say-"
"Naruto." Some of the ever-present sand on the floor was swirling dangerously.
"Huh?" Gaara's glare had been known to slay lesser creatures, but Naruto was completely impervious.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to remain annoyed at the blond for long, despite the fact that he was definitely one of the most annoying people Gaara had ever met. He shook his head. "I'll visit you when you become Hokage."
"Good." Naruto's voice was firm, and his silly grin had been replaced by an intense, unreadable expression. He crossed the distance between them suddenly, invading Gaara's personal space. "And when they initiate you as Kazekage, I'll be there, cheering louder than anyone."
Gaara's mouth went dry; he closed his eyes, overwhelmed by Naruto's proximity. "I'd like that," he said softly.
"I know." Naruto's hand was warm as he ruffled Gaara's hair. Then he was gone, taking his unnerving presence back to the windowsill, on the other side of the room. "I'm going to get food, you want anything?"
He shook his head, eyes still closed, and felt Naruto leave. When he was alone, he opened his eyes and touched the mark on his forehead, feeling the warmth from Naruto's touch suffusing his very being.
The inside of his head was very quiet, for once. It was peaceful.
He didn't wonder if Naruto was more trouble than he was worth very often; the answer was always so obvious it made the question irrelevant.
-------------------
...I shouldn't enjoy channeling Ninja of the Night when writing Naruto as much as I do. "Whoa, it's a ninja! Let's party!" "Yup, just throw the cake up here, please."
Also, I like WAFF, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. (That was a lie.)
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
In somnis veritas
Kakashi dreams.
Most nights, they are ordinary, every day dreams- just his mind regurgitating the day's events back at him in a series of nonsense segments. These dreams are filled with strange challenges from Gai and images of Jiaraiya's face superimposed on the body of a giant caterpillar. They mean nothing. These dreams are also filled with images of his students: Naruto proclaiming himself future hokage; Sakura proclaiming her love for Sasuke; Sasuke proclaiming nothing- but even in dreams his eyes speak more eloquently of his goals and ambitions than his voice ever has. Kakashi watches them run through their training exercises; in his dreams, he can gloss over the parts where their teamwork is not up to par. Those dreams always end quickly, sometimes glossed over entirely. Sometimes, he'll even find himself replaying scenes from whatever dirty novel he is currently reading; these dreams amuse him, because even in his fantasies he is nothing but a voyeur, content to watch but unwilling to participate.
He thinks, after dreaming these dreams, that he should look into acquiring a social life. In the end, he always decides it isn't worth the trouble.
Some nights, usually after returning from a mission, Kakashi dreams of death. It's always the same: he finds himself wading across battlefields lined with the accusing faces of his fallen comrades, hip deep in the blood that pours from their open wounds. There is an island on the horizon, rising above the river of blood, and there is always someone standing on it, waiting for him. He can feel hands clutching at his ankles, trying to drag him down, to drown him, as he strugles to reach higher ground. And always, just before reaching his goal, he stumbles. As the hands pull him down, the identity of the figure on the island is revealed. Usually, it is his sensei, looking on sadly as Kakashi is dragged under. Sometimes it is Rin, whose tears leave silver tracks across her face as she watches him drown. When it's Obito, he wades into the river to save Kakashi, and Kakashi drowns screaming at him to go back, to save himself. The last thing Kakashi sees then is Obito, staring back at him as they both sink down into a darkness that is colored sharingan-red.
He wakes from these dreams with his heart pounding and his chest tight, but Kakashi can't blame the dead for haunting him. He goes about his day with a little more slouch to his step and spends an extra hour at the memorial stone. He is accustomed to the guilt.
It's only when he dreams of being a child again, and the incredible warmth and strength of his father's smile, that he wakes with tears in his eyes.
----------
A bit on the awkwardly sentimental side; I liked the idea in my head, but I'm not sure how it looks on the screen. *shrug* We'll see how I like it after I clean it up, I suppose. it does count as a finished drabble, and it only took me about an hour to write. That's a new record, I think. Excitement!
Need sleep now. Sleep, not watching Cowboy Bebop. Damnit, brain!
Most nights, they are ordinary, every day dreams- just his mind regurgitating the day's events back at him in a series of nonsense segments. These dreams are filled with strange challenges from Gai and images of Jiaraiya's face superimposed on the body of a giant caterpillar. They mean nothing. These dreams are also filled with images of his students: Naruto proclaiming himself future hokage; Sakura proclaiming her love for Sasuke; Sasuke proclaiming nothing- but even in dreams his eyes speak more eloquently of his goals and ambitions than his voice ever has. Kakashi watches them run through their training exercises; in his dreams, he can gloss over the parts where their teamwork is not up to par. Those dreams always end quickly, sometimes glossed over entirely. Sometimes, he'll even find himself replaying scenes from whatever dirty novel he is currently reading; these dreams amuse him, because even in his fantasies he is nothing but a voyeur, content to watch but unwilling to participate.
He thinks, after dreaming these dreams, that he should look into acquiring a social life. In the end, he always decides it isn't worth the trouble.
Some nights, usually after returning from a mission, Kakashi dreams of death. It's always the same: he finds himself wading across battlefields lined with the accusing faces of his fallen comrades, hip deep in the blood that pours from their open wounds. There is an island on the horizon, rising above the river of blood, and there is always someone standing on it, waiting for him. He can feel hands clutching at his ankles, trying to drag him down, to drown him, as he strugles to reach higher ground. And always, just before reaching his goal, he stumbles. As the hands pull him down, the identity of the figure on the island is revealed. Usually, it is his sensei, looking on sadly as Kakashi is dragged under. Sometimes it is Rin, whose tears leave silver tracks across her face as she watches him drown. When it's Obito, he wades into the river to save Kakashi, and Kakashi drowns screaming at him to go back, to save himself. The last thing Kakashi sees then is Obito, staring back at him as they both sink down into a darkness that is colored sharingan-red.
He wakes from these dreams with his heart pounding and his chest tight, but Kakashi can't blame the dead for haunting him. He goes about his day with a little more slouch to his step and spends an extra hour at the memorial stone. He is accustomed to the guilt.
It's only when he dreams of being a child again, and the incredible warmth and strength of his father's smile, that he wakes with tears in his eyes.
----------
A bit on the awkwardly sentimental side; I liked the idea in my head, but I'm not sure how it looks on the screen. *shrug* We'll see how I like it after I clean it up, I suppose. it does count as a finished drabble, and it only took me about an hour to write. That's a new record, I think. Excitement!
Need sleep now. Sleep, not watching Cowboy Bebop. Damnit, brain!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Maggie and Millie and Molly and May
maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
millie befriended a stranded star
who's rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.
- E E Cummings
-----
"It won't come off."
Naruto rolled onto his back and sat up, rubbing sand off his cheek. "Huh? Oh, hey, you're back. How was the water?"
There was a distant, lonely look on Gaara's face, and it made Naruto want to hug him. "It was wet. And cold. And now this thing is stuck to me and it won't come off." He crossed his arms and looked down at his feet.
Naruto followed Gaara's gaze and snorted into his hand when he saw the problem. There was a bright orange growth stuck to the side of Gaara's leg. "It's just a starfish. It must've thought you were a rock, sitting out there with the tide coming in. That, or it's trying to eat you." He reached out and peeled it away carefully, feeling it go rigid in his hands. "There, see? No problem."
The redhead crouched down beside Naruto and looked at the creature in his hands. "It's a fish? Will it die out of water?"
"Not for a while yet, they can survive for a few hours before they dry out. They taste pretty good, though."
A tendril of sand crept across the blanket and snatched the starfish out of Naruto's hands. "You're not eating it." Gaara stalked off, starfish bobbing beside him on a floating handful of sand.
For a moment Naruto thought he saw it wave to him as Gaara walked away; he shook his head and lay back down, returning to his sunbathing.
-------------------------------
I had huge segments of the beachfic running through my head this morning. This isn't actually how this particular scene is supposed to go, but I can never resist the opportunity for bizarre cuteness.
The beachfic is a sequel to Blindsided, though I imagine I'll write it before I finish BS. It's an introspective-y oneshot; Naruto decides he needs a vacation and drags Sasuke and Gaara to the beach. Gaara has never seen the ocean before, and Sasuke spent some of the the best moments of his life pretending to be a pirate (though he does decide, in the end, that ninjas are better). Naturally shennanigans ensue- and by shennanigans, I mean people stare at the waves and exchange lots of meaningful glances, and eventually they have sex.
Blame Vincent Persichetti, if you need to blame someone. If he hadn't set several EE Cummings poems to music and if we hadn't had to sing them in glee club, I never would have come up with the idea. Glee club is actually responsible for several of my crazy fic ideas, now that I think about it...
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
millie befriended a stranded star
who's rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.
- E E Cummings
-----
"It won't come off."
Naruto rolled onto his back and sat up, rubbing sand off his cheek. "Huh? Oh, hey, you're back. How was the water?"
There was a distant, lonely look on Gaara's face, and it made Naruto want to hug him. "It was wet. And cold. And now this thing is stuck to me and it won't come off." He crossed his arms and looked down at his feet.
Naruto followed Gaara's gaze and snorted into his hand when he saw the problem. There was a bright orange growth stuck to the side of Gaara's leg. "It's just a starfish. It must've thought you were a rock, sitting out there with the tide coming in. That, or it's trying to eat you." He reached out and peeled it away carefully, feeling it go rigid in his hands. "There, see? No problem."
The redhead crouched down beside Naruto and looked at the creature in his hands. "It's a fish? Will it die out of water?"
"Not for a while yet, they can survive for a few hours before they dry out. They taste pretty good, though."
A tendril of sand crept across the blanket and snatched the starfish out of Naruto's hands. "You're not eating it." Gaara stalked off, starfish bobbing beside him on a floating handful of sand.
For a moment Naruto thought he saw it wave to him as Gaara walked away; he shook his head and lay back down, returning to his sunbathing.
-------------------------------
I had huge segments of the beachfic running through my head this morning. This isn't actually how this particular scene is supposed to go, but I can never resist the opportunity for bizarre cuteness.
The beachfic is a sequel to Blindsided, though I imagine I'll write it before I finish BS. It's an introspective-y oneshot; Naruto decides he needs a vacation and drags Sasuke and Gaara to the beach. Gaara has never seen the ocean before, and Sasuke spent some of the the best moments of his life pretending to be a pirate (though he does decide, in the end, that ninjas are better). Naturally shennanigans ensue- and by shennanigans, I mean people stare at the waves and exchange lots of meaningful glances, and eventually they have sex.
Blame Vincent Persichetti, if you need to blame someone. If he hadn't set several EE Cummings poems to music and if we hadn't had to sing them in glee club, I never would have come up with the idea. Glee club is actually responsible for several of my crazy fic ideas, now that I think about it...
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Blindsided 4
Victoly!
Chapter 4, aff version.
Chapter 4, ff.net version.
Yes, it took me two months to write a filler chapter OH GOD I'M SO SORRY. *cries* And some of the writing makes me twitch, but I'm too sick of it to fix it any further. If there are any typos and whatnot...well, I should care, but right now I don't. I will in the future, though, so if you find any glaring mistakes or instances of idiocy, let me know.
But! It's done. It's done and over with, frickin' huzzah.
I get to go into the Naruto/Gaara part of the story soon, and that's exciting. They're just so ogdamn cute together, and Gaara's actually quasi-sane around Naruto. ...okay, no he isn't, not at all, but shh. Must. Start. Outlining. Chapter five. *dies*
Chapter 4, aff version.
Chapter 4, ff.net version.
Yes, it took me two months to write a filler chapter OH GOD I'M SO SORRY. *cries* And some of the writing makes me twitch, but I'm too sick of it to fix it any further. If there are any typos and whatnot...well, I should care, but right now I don't. I will in the future, though, so if you find any glaring mistakes or instances of idiocy, let me know.
But! It's done. It's done and over with, frickin' huzzah.
I get to go into the Naruto/Gaara part of the story soon, and that's exciting. They're just so ogdamn cute together, and Gaara's actually quasi-sane around Naruto. ...okay, no he isn't, not at all, but shh. Must. Start. Outlining. Chapter five. *dies*
Basilisk
In the ongoing saga of my newest random manga reading...today I decided to check out Basilisk, being scanlated by Mangass. I knew nothing about the manga before hand- I chose it at random, more or less.
Basilisk is about two feuding ninja (yes, ninja) clans, Kouga's Manji Daini and Iga's Tsubagakure during the Keichou era. The current Tokugawa shogun has decided to choose his successor by choosing ten ninja from each family and having them fight to the death. This way his potential successors don't have to risk their own samurai armies in fighting over the succession; after all, ninja are easily replaced.
The clans have been at peace for 400 years because of a treaty/seal/vaguely mistranslated important thing under the jurisdiction of Hattori Hanzo, the shogun's shinobi leader. But most of the clansmen have been itching for an excuse to fight, despite the peace treaty. However, the grandaughter of the head of the Iga and the grandson of the head of the Kouga are in love, so the feuding would kind of have to stop when they finally got married. Fortunately for the dissenters, the shogun came up with this crazy scheme and gave them an excuse to fight.
The art is lovely, The backgrounds are either computer generated or derived from photographs, or a combination of both; some of the forest scenes are breathtaking, even in the middling quality of the black and white scans. The character designs are varied and detailed; the style feels a bit like a cross between Gantz and Les Bijoux, if that makes any sense at all. It's a more realistic-ish style, heavy on computer-simulated screentones for shading. The main characters (Gennosuke of Kouga, Oboro of Iga) have very pretty eyes, and there's a good balance between grotesque and pretty characters.
The characters are pretty awesome (Juube! Orochimaru, you only wish you were that cool- and Gennosuke could totally take down Itachi with both hands tied behind his back), and the plot looks like it's going to be full of crazy ninja battles and political intrigue, which is exactly what I've been craving lately (aside from doughnuts, of course). The manga has a very dark, medieval feel to it, full of gore and naked people (I know how to pick 'em, no?); I wish there were more of it out/scanlated.
...well, hell. Somebody's head just exploded. I seem to be sensing a theme, here. Ooh, make that two people with exploded heads. Delicious!
Basilisk is about two feuding ninja (yes, ninja) clans, Kouga's Manji Daini and Iga's Tsubagakure during the Keichou era. The current Tokugawa shogun has decided to choose his successor by choosing ten ninja from each family and having them fight to the death. This way his potential successors don't have to risk their own samurai armies in fighting over the succession; after all, ninja are easily replaced.
The clans have been at peace for 400 years because of a treaty/seal/vaguely mistranslated important thing under the jurisdiction of Hattori Hanzo, the shogun's shinobi leader. But most of the clansmen have been itching for an excuse to fight, despite the peace treaty. However, the grandaughter of the head of the Iga and the grandson of the head of the Kouga are in love, so the feuding would kind of have to stop when they finally got married. Fortunately for the dissenters, the shogun came up with this crazy scheme and gave them an excuse to fight.
The art is lovely, The backgrounds are either computer generated or derived from photographs, or a combination of both; some of the forest scenes are breathtaking, even in the middling quality of the black and white scans. The character designs are varied and detailed; the style feels a bit like a cross between Gantz and Les Bijoux, if that makes any sense at all. It's a more realistic-ish style, heavy on computer-simulated screentones for shading. The main characters (Gennosuke of Kouga, Oboro of Iga) have very pretty eyes, and there's a good balance between grotesque and pretty characters.
The characters are pretty awesome (Juube! Orochimaru, you only wish you were that cool- and Gennosuke could totally take down Itachi with both hands tied behind his back), and the plot looks like it's going to be full of crazy ninja battles and political intrigue, which is exactly what I've been craving lately (aside from doughnuts, of course). The manga has a very dark, medieval feel to it, full of gore and naked people (I know how to pick 'em, no?); I wish there were more of it out/scanlated.
...well, hell. Somebody's head just exploded. I seem to be sensing a theme, here. Ooh, make that two people with exploded heads. Delicious!
Friday, August 12, 2005
Gantz
I started reading Gantz today, because I figured I ought to read more random manga. Let me just say first that this series distrubs the fuck out of me. Just in terms of the explicit violence and the random naked women. I mean, I'm not normally phased by violence and gore, but this is a bit extreme even for me.
I just hit chapter 90, though, and felt the need to scream. AAAAAAHHHHHH. AAAAAHHHH, WTF NO THAT'S NOT COOL FUCKIN' HELL THAT'S NOT COOL AT ALL. AAHHHHH.
But other than the OH GOD BURNING UNFAIRNESS WHY, it's actually pretty good. A little bit more shounen than I'm accustomed to, but it's entertaining. A bunch of people get snatched away from the jaws of death (gasp, shock) and are brought to a room with a giant black ball in it. They're then sent off, armed with bizarre futuristic weapons and cybernetic body suits, to fight aliens that have infiltrated Tokyo. They get points for killing the aliens in creative or exciting ways. If they disobey any of the rules set down by the black ball (name of Gantz), their heads explode. If they die in the game, they stay dead- but if they survive, they'll go back to the room with the black ball, completely healed and free to go, until the next time they get pulled in.
The main character is a sex-obsessed asshole, but his character development is actually pretty astonishing. The standard shounen message of gaining strength and using your powers for (great) justice is still there, but it's as subtle as a kick to the shins, as opposed to most shounen manga, where it's as subtle as a very large rock to the head.
Every chapter starts off with a picture of a scantily clad, large breasted girl or three, and there's some rather startlingly explicit sex to go along with the violence; that's probably just my American bred sensibilities twitching, though. The art is pretty and the plot is on horrible amounts of crack; I'm not quite sure I'd reccommend it, but I am entertained. Mostly. People's heads explode on a regular basis, and the people whose heads don't explode usually end up disembowelled and dismembered in new and exciting ways. It's a bit...intense. And I'm not actually sure what the hell is going on with the plot.
Finally, around chapter 180, the story starts hinting at what's actually going on; by 210, I'm expecting some pretty heavy exposition soon, because it looks like there's actually a plot now. The story moves very slowly; a lot of space is taken up by the crazy fight scenes, and by people's heads exploding. It reads quickly if you just skim through the fights, though.
...and there's a panda. o_0 I...wow. Panda. Naturally, the panda follows the most cold hearted, evil bastard of the lot around. I need to make icons of this, I think.
I just hit chapter 90, though, and felt the need to scream. AAAAAAHHHHHH. AAAAAHHHH, WTF NO THAT'S NOT COOL FUCKIN' HELL THAT'S NOT COOL AT ALL. AAHHHHH.
But other than the OH GOD BURNING UNFAIRNESS WHY, it's actually pretty good. A little bit more shounen than I'm accustomed to, but it's entertaining. A bunch of people get snatched away from the jaws of death (gasp, shock) and are brought to a room with a giant black ball in it. They're then sent off, armed with bizarre futuristic weapons and cybernetic body suits, to fight aliens that have infiltrated Tokyo. They get points for killing the aliens in creative or exciting ways. If they disobey any of the rules set down by the black ball (name of Gantz), their heads explode. If they die in the game, they stay dead- but if they survive, they'll go back to the room with the black ball, completely healed and free to go, until the next time they get pulled in.
The main character is a sex-obsessed asshole, but his character development is actually pretty astonishing. The standard shounen message of gaining strength and using your powers for (great) justice is still there, but it's as subtle as a kick to the shins, as opposed to most shounen manga, where it's as subtle as a very large rock to the head.
Every chapter starts off with a picture of a scantily clad, large breasted girl or three, and there's some rather startlingly explicit sex to go along with the violence; that's probably just my American bred sensibilities twitching, though. The art is pretty and the plot is on horrible amounts of crack; I'm not quite sure I'd reccommend it, but I am entertained. Mostly. People's heads explode on a regular basis, and the people whose heads don't explode usually end up disembowelled and dismembered in new and exciting ways. It's a bit...intense. And I'm not actually sure what the hell is going on with the plot.
Finally, around chapter 180, the story starts hinting at what's actually going on; by 210, I'm expecting some pretty heavy exposition soon, because it looks like there's actually a plot now. The story moves very slowly; a lot of space is taken up by the crazy fight scenes, and by people's heads exploding. It reads quickly if you just skim through the fights, though.
...and there's a panda. o_0 I...wow. Panda. Naturally, the panda follows the most cold hearted, evil bastard of the lot around. I need to make icons of this, I think.
OTP Top 20 Meme
Because subdee gee (I miss yoouuuuu) tagged me for it, and because I want to see if I can actually come up with 20.
My top twenty OTPs! *drumroll*
Setzer/Shadow (Final Fantasy VI)*
Zack/Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Norris/Karsh (Chrono Cross)
Sydney/Hardin (Vagrant Story)
Beowulf/Reis (Final Fantasy Tactics)
Rude/Reno (Final Fantasy VII)
Jack/Elmina (Wild Arms)
Hakkai/Gojyo (Saiyuki)
Ishida/Chad (Bleach)
Ino/Chouji (Naruto)
Crawford/Schuldich (Weiss Kreuz)
Spike/Julia (Cowboy Bebop)
Link/Zelda (Any Zelda but OoT/Majora's Mask)
Kaylee/Inara (Firefly)
River/Ed (Firefly/Cowboy Bebop)
Will/Bran (The Dark is Rising)
Temari/Shikamaru (Naruto)
Mustadio/Ramza (Final Fantasy Tactics)
Jack/Daniel/Sam/Teal'c (Stargate: SG-1, in a platonic team sort of way)
Uh, yeah. Had to delve into the rare and obscure fandoms there; a few of those pairings don't exist outside of my head. (The River/Ed doesn't, though! That was someone else's idea.) These are all strict OTPs, as in I don't want to see these characters with anyone else, which is why they're kind of obscure. The exception is Team 10; I'll read them as an OT3, but otherwise I prefer them split as Ino/Chouji and Temari/Shikamaru. And yes, the order of the names is intentional. ;P
*This is a post-game OTP. Pre-game, I'm Setzer/Daryl all the way. Not that anyone ever writes either pairing, but. (And not that there are more than four Setzer/Shadow fics in existence, two of which are mine (I'm not counting the Christmas drabble), and only one of which has any sort of redeeming characteristics at all. *glares at fic*)
My top twenty OTPs! *drumroll*
Setzer/Shadow (Final Fantasy VI)*
Zack/Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Norris/Karsh (Chrono Cross)
Sydney/Hardin (Vagrant Story)
Beowulf/Reis (Final Fantasy Tactics)
Rude/Reno (Final Fantasy VII)
Jack/Elmina (Wild Arms)
Hakkai/Gojyo (Saiyuki)
Ishida/Chad (Bleach)
Ino/Chouji (Naruto)
Crawford/Schuldich (Weiss Kreuz)
Spike/Julia (Cowboy Bebop)
Link/Zelda (Any Zelda but OoT/Majora's Mask)
Kaylee/Inara (Firefly)
River/Ed (Firefly/Cowboy Bebop)
Will/Bran (The Dark is Rising)
Temari/Shikamaru (Naruto)
Mustadio/Ramza (Final Fantasy Tactics)
Jack/Daniel/Sam/Teal'c (Stargate: SG-1, in a platonic team sort of way)
Uh, yeah. Had to delve into the rare and obscure fandoms there; a few of those pairings don't exist outside of my head. (The River/Ed doesn't, though! That was someone else's idea.) These are all strict OTPs, as in I don't want to see these characters with anyone else, which is why they're kind of obscure. The exception is Team 10; I'll read them as an OT3, but otherwise I prefer them split as Ino/Chouji and Temari/Shikamaru. And yes, the order of the names is intentional. ;P
*This is a post-game OTP. Pre-game, I'm Setzer/Daryl all the way. Not that anyone ever writes either pairing, but. (And not that there are more than four Setzer/Shadow fics in existence, two of which are mine (I'm not counting the Christmas drabble), and only one of which has any sort of redeeming characteristics at all. *glares at fic*)
whining whining fic recs whining
Unfortunately, when I am surrounded by people who are so much better than I at the things I do (which isn't much, when you think about it), I do not feel the urge to better myself to meet their high standards. No, that would be the proactive, sensible, useful thing to do. Instead, I wibble over how much I suck, and then I sulk unproductively for a while. *le sigh*
My self esteem isn't that bad, of course, and it's ridiculous for me to be upset over the quality of my fanfic (far more appropriate to be upset over the quality of my originals, in all their poorly plotted, archetypal glory). But there are always those several authors who never fail to hit that resonant chord in their writing, that thing that leaves a hollow space in your chest when you read it, aching and empty and right. And then I look at my own writing, and ask myself, "What have I done here that is new or insightful? What will my readers gain by reading this?" And when I can't come up with an answer, I sulk.
Anyway. Here are a few of the things I've been reading lately. Most of 'em don't actually accomplish that resonant feeling of rightness, but I likes 'em anyway. For those of you wondering, the subtitle to this entry is actually "In which I embarass myself by admitting to actually having read some of these things." Most are humor or drama; not so much angst, because I haven't been in the mood for it lately.
Ignorance is Bliss by fujisti stytghi. Kisame/Itachi; Itachi has lost his memory and Naruto likes him better this way. (I suck at summarizing things, haha.) The premise is a little odd, but it's a neat idea, and well executed. It's written from Itachi's perspective, so the backstory is very understated, and I like that.
Limits by Marmalade Cat. Kisame/Itachi; shut up, I like the pairing. Sometimes Itachi is kind of...batshit crazy. But Kisame is okay with being the sane one; someone's got to do it, after all. Okay, I'll admit it, mostly I just like this because the idea of Itachi hiding under a rock fills me with outrageous joy. But don't worry! It's in character hiding under a rock. Sort of. (I'm such a sucker for Akatsuki shennanigans.)
Weapons Check by dilemmalicious. Naruto/Sasuke; after another afternoon of training, the boys decide to see who carries more weapons. You know, just another little extension of their rivalry. *snork* Very few authors take into account that these characters are highly trained, well armed ninja, not just a bunch of hormonal teenagers; this one does. Someone recced this story on naruto_yaoi and completely spoiled the punchline of the first chapter, but you should read it anyway, because it's awesome, and one of the most hilariously in character pieces of fic I've ever read. After the first chapter, it degenerates into chakra-tastic ninja sex with a bit of sap thrown in, but the characters stay more or less in character. Anyway, it's delicious, go read.
Self Reliance, and the unrelated to it but related to each other Teddy and Of Sandwiches and Security Blankets by Imbrium Iridium. "Self Reliance" is Naru/Sasu mpreg with sexy no jutsu abuse, and yes, I really do feel incredibly guilty for reading it- but how often do you get to see Sasuke get pregnant? It's always Naruto, and I hate that. In this case, I can forgive the incredibly sappy and wibbly Sasuke because of hormonal imbalance, and because the Naruto is absolutely kick ass and mostly spot on. This fic wins points for being well written, for keeping people mostly in character despite the situation (well, aside from Sasuke, but he starts out in character), and for hitting all of my buttons in regards to humor and sap. There's a scene involving Itachi and a bookstore, and it still cracks me up.
"Teddy" and "Of Sandwiches and Security Blankets" are part of a series of Ino/Shikamaru/Chouji ot3 fics; "Teddy" rambles a little, but so few people write Team 10, and even fewer people write Chouji in a positive light, and nobody writes Team 10 threesomes, so the slightly rambly quality of the narrative is completely inconsequential. It's a fairly thoughtful, insightful, and lovely piece of writing, if slightly angsty. "Sandwiches" is even angstier and focuses on Shikamaru and his place in the relationship, and how he copes with tragedy. There's going to be a third part to the series, and it's apparently going to tie in with "Self Reliance," which, if you've read this far and have decided that I'm not totally on crack for reccing these and have given them a try, will excite you, dear reader, as much as it excites me.
(by this time, she was gasping for air)
The Way of Things by SolipsisticFury. Introspective-y Naruto/Sasuke cursed seal smut. (Because the real reason I love Naruto so much is because it hits all of my kinks- the number three, tattoos, sharp objects, canon gender bending, porn, masks, eyeballs (okay, so it created that one, but shh), mythology abuse, demons...I could go on, but I'm sure I'd get distracted.)
My next rec post will be of non-Naruto fic. No, for serious. Because I do read other things, I swear.
In the meantime, I'm going to resist the urge to write up song calls for every song on my new Nickel Creek CD, because yes, they really are just that shiny.
My self esteem isn't that bad, of course, and it's ridiculous for me to be upset over the quality of my fanfic (far more appropriate to be upset over the quality of my originals, in all their poorly plotted, archetypal glory). But there are always those several authors who never fail to hit that resonant chord in their writing, that thing that leaves a hollow space in your chest when you read it, aching and empty and right. And then I look at my own writing, and ask myself, "What have I done here that is new or insightful? What will my readers gain by reading this?" And when I can't come up with an answer, I sulk.
Anyway. Here are a few of the things I've been reading lately. Most of 'em don't actually accomplish that resonant feeling of rightness, but I likes 'em anyway. For those of you wondering, the subtitle to this entry is actually "In which I embarass myself by admitting to actually having read some of these things." Most are humor or drama; not so much angst, because I haven't been in the mood for it lately.
Ignorance is Bliss by fujisti stytghi. Kisame/Itachi; Itachi has lost his memory and Naruto likes him better this way. (I suck at summarizing things, haha.) The premise is a little odd, but it's a neat idea, and well executed. It's written from Itachi's perspective, so the backstory is very understated, and I like that.
Limits by Marmalade Cat. Kisame/Itachi; shut up, I like the pairing. Sometimes Itachi is kind of...batshit crazy. But Kisame is okay with being the sane one; someone's got to do it, after all. Okay, I'll admit it, mostly I just like this because the idea of Itachi hiding under a rock fills me with outrageous joy. But don't worry! It's in character hiding under a rock. Sort of. (I'm such a sucker for Akatsuki shennanigans.)
Weapons Check by dilemmalicious. Naruto/Sasuke; after another afternoon of training, the boys decide to see who carries more weapons. You know, just another little extension of their rivalry. *snork* Very few authors take into account that these characters are highly trained, well armed ninja, not just a bunch of hormonal teenagers; this one does. Someone recced this story on naruto_yaoi and completely spoiled the punchline of the first chapter, but you should read it anyway, because it's awesome, and one of the most hilariously in character pieces of fic I've ever read. After the first chapter, it degenerates into chakra-tastic ninja sex with a bit of sap thrown in, but the characters stay more or less in character. Anyway, it's delicious, go read.
Self Reliance, and the unrelated to it but related to each other Teddy and Of Sandwiches and Security Blankets by Imbrium Iridium. "Self Reliance" is Naru/Sasu mpreg with sexy no jutsu abuse, and yes, I really do feel incredibly guilty for reading it- but how often do you get to see Sasuke get pregnant? It's always Naruto, and I hate that. In this case, I can forgive the incredibly sappy and wibbly Sasuke because of hormonal imbalance, and because the Naruto is absolutely kick ass and mostly spot on. This fic wins points for being well written, for keeping people mostly in character despite the situation (well, aside from Sasuke, but he starts out in character), and for hitting all of my buttons in regards to humor and sap. There's a scene involving Itachi and a bookstore, and it still cracks me up.
"Teddy" and "Of Sandwiches and Security Blankets" are part of a series of Ino/Shikamaru/Chouji ot3 fics; "Teddy" rambles a little, but so few people write Team 10, and even fewer people write Chouji in a positive light, and nobody writes Team 10 threesomes, so the slightly rambly quality of the narrative is completely inconsequential. It's a fairly thoughtful, insightful, and lovely piece of writing, if slightly angsty. "Sandwiches" is even angstier and focuses on Shikamaru and his place in the relationship, and how he copes with tragedy. There's going to be a third part to the series, and it's apparently going to tie in with "Self Reliance," which, if you've read this far and have decided that I'm not totally on crack for reccing these and have given them a try, will excite you, dear reader, as much as it excites me.
(by this time, she was gasping for air)
The Way of Things by SolipsisticFury. Introspective-y Naruto/Sasuke cursed seal smut. (Because the real reason I love Naruto so much is because it hits all of my kinks- the number three, tattoos, sharp objects, canon gender bending, porn, masks, eyeballs (okay, so it created that one, but shh), mythology abuse, demons...I could go on, but I'm sure I'd get distracted.)
My next rec post will be of non-Naruto fic. No, for serious. Because I do read other things, I swear.
In the meantime, I'm going to resist the urge to write up song calls for every song on my new Nickel Creek CD, because yes, they really are just that shiny.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
artfart
Jealous of the Moon
Spazzy doodly thing of Stella; Painter always makes me want to do more realistic things, except when it doesn't. I still can't handle light sources, shading, or anatomy without a model or a picture, but I'm pleased with how her face came out. Not as happy with the glasses, but I can't really leave them out; they're an intrinsic part of her style, along with the poncho and the cane. The leaves and the moon came out looking pretty cool, though. *sucks at backgrounds*
It wasn't intentional, but she looks a little like me in this pic...*sweatdrop*
Stella was thirty one when she died; she's 5'3 with short, slightly wavy dark hair. When she was alive, her eyes were brown; in death, they are covered over by cataracts, and are a blind blue-white. The sunglasses very rarely come off, and she ha several ponchos, each more ridiculously colored than the last. (Her excuse is that she's blind, but in reality, she sees quite a bit more than she lets on.)
Spazzy doodly thing of Stella; Painter always makes me want to do more realistic things, except when it doesn't. I still can't handle light sources, shading, or anatomy without a model or a picture, but I'm pleased with how her face came out. Not as happy with the glasses, but I can't really leave them out; they're an intrinsic part of her style, along with the poncho and the cane. The leaves and the moon came out looking pretty cool, though. *sucks at backgrounds*
It wasn't intentional, but she looks a little like me in this pic...*sweatdrop*
Stella was thirty one when she died; she's 5'3 with short, slightly wavy dark hair. When she was alive, her eyes were brown; in death, they are covered over by cataracts, and are a blind blue-white. The sunglasses very rarely come off, and she ha several ponchos, each more ridiculously colored than the last. (Her excuse is that she's blind, but in reality, she sees quite a bit more than she lets on.)
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
A brief wtf moment, and some vaguely smutty Temari/Kankurou.
So, I have this mp3 of the Gummy Bears theme song, sung a capella (I think it's by Rockapella, but don't quote me on that). At one point in the song, the lyrics go, "...along with the secret of gummy berry juice- key change!"
It's probably not that funny to anyone else, but for some reason, this cracks me the hell up. It's just stuck in there with all the "ding dingadings"s and "boing boing"s when the key changes about three quarters of the way through. I dunno. 'Tis silly.
Anyway! This needs a bit of work still- the end needs cleaning- but it's presentable enough for the blog. A bit over 200 words, proper drabble length; I want to do a set of these, from the POV of each sibling.
----
"Paint"
Temari sits outside in the shade with a whetstone and a bandolier of kunai. It is the sort of day- typical, in the desert- in which the sun burns hot enough to pull the oxygen from the air and the color from the already colorless sand. She is made lazy by the heat, stretched out contented and cat-like, sharpening her claws.
She dozes to the rhythm of her blade against the whetsone, until her eye catches on a smear of purple paint beneath her fingernail. The sight of it, bright and unexpected, causes her to remember the events that brought it there.
(The paint is thick and oily beneath her fingers as she pulls his face to hers; he kisses her back hard enough to draw blood. The sharp, coppery tang cuts through the taste of the paint, thick and familiar on her tongue, as she obliterates the lines on his face with careless passion.)
She scrapes it away, some part of her cringing at the wrongness of it, this strange, half feral, violent thing. She sharpens her weapons with a frown in her eyes, and tries to ignore the soft, slow whispers of doubt in the back of her mind.
Later, when Kankurou greets her with a smirk, the lines of paint rearranging into something fierce and beautiful on his face. Temari fingers her newly sharpened kunai and smiles back, all thoughts of doubt and wrongness forgotten.
----
I dunno why my Temari always ends up angry and violent. I think at least half of Gaara's crazy was hereditary; Kankurou's the only sane one of the lot in my head, and his siblings totally abuse him because of it. That's what he gets for being a Taurus.
*snork* Okay, so my geekiness knows no bounds, but the astrology thing is all Kristen's fault. However, none of this excuses the fact that Gaara is a Capricorn (ambitious, emotionally withdrawn but vulnerable, patient), Kankurou is a Taurus (stubborn, hedonistic, reliable), and Temari is a Virgo (uptight, analytical, overcritical). The sandsibs cover the gamut of earth signs, which totally doesn't explain why I like them so much. *gnaws on astrology*
Right. I'm taking my overly geeky self and going to bed, so I can come up with a proper ending when I am actually awake. w00t, yo.
It's probably not that funny to anyone else, but for some reason, this cracks me the hell up. It's just stuck in there with all the "ding dingadings"s and "boing boing"s when the key changes about three quarters of the way through. I dunno. 'Tis silly.
Anyway! This needs a bit of work still- the end needs cleaning- but it's presentable enough for the blog. A bit over 200 words, proper drabble length; I want to do a set of these, from the POV of each sibling.
----
"Paint"
Temari sits outside in the shade with a whetstone and a bandolier of kunai. It is the sort of day- typical, in the desert- in which the sun burns hot enough to pull the oxygen from the air and the color from the already colorless sand. She is made lazy by the heat, stretched out contented and cat-like, sharpening her claws.
She dozes to the rhythm of her blade against the whetsone, until her eye catches on a smear of purple paint beneath her fingernail. The sight of it, bright and unexpected, causes her to remember the events that brought it there.
(The paint is thick and oily beneath her fingers as she pulls his face to hers; he kisses her back hard enough to draw blood. The sharp, coppery tang cuts through the taste of the paint, thick and familiar on her tongue, as she obliterates the lines on his face with careless passion.)
She scrapes it away, some part of her cringing at the wrongness of it, this strange, half feral, violent thing. She sharpens her weapons with a frown in her eyes, and tries to ignore the soft, slow whispers of doubt in the back of her mind.
Later, when Kankurou greets her with a smirk, the lines of paint rearranging into something fierce and beautiful on his face. Temari fingers her newly sharpened kunai and smiles back, all thoughts of doubt and wrongness forgotten.
----
I dunno why my Temari always ends up angry and violent. I think at least half of Gaara's crazy was hereditary; Kankurou's the only sane one of the lot in my head, and his siblings totally abuse him because of it. That's what he gets for being a Taurus.
*snork* Okay, so my geekiness knows no bounds, but the astrology thing is all Kristen's fault. However, none of this excuses the fact that Gaara is a Capricorn (ambitious, emotionally withdrawn but vulnerable, patient), Kankurou is a Taurus (stubborn, hedonistic, reliable), and Temari is a Virgo (uptight, analytical, overcritical). The sandsibs cover the gamut of earth signs, which totally doesn't explain why I like them so much. *gnaws on astrology*
Right. I'm taking my overly geeky self and going to bed, so I can come up with a proper ending when I am actually awake. w00t, yo.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Hammer to Fall
"Well, this isn't the first time it's happened, and it certainly won't be the last." She draws a glass of water as she speaks, glancing over her shoulder at the line behind her. "We've withstood worse. Heaven knows the city can take whatever they throw at us."
She takes a drink and we amble away, through the dusty streets. There is a stillness in the air, a lurking tension; this is the taste of siege, brought in on a dead wind. But she's right- the city will not fall. The city cannot fall.
"I'm going to the barracks tomorrow, to see a recruitment officer," I say, as casually as I can. "They won't take me, of course, but I'd rather have the rejection now, than worry later that I could have done something."
She shakes her head. "They'll never let you on the Wall. You're of more use where you are."
"Probably." I shrug. It isn't worth thinking about; what will be, will be. The city won't fall, and my presence in the guard won't change our death toll by more than one, regardless.
She stops suddenly, and I turn to her, feeling her fear as a palpable thing in the air, stirring the siege tension into a war-frenzy, thrumming with terror. She is staring at the cup in her hand, knuckles white and trembling ever so slightly. A line of spittle hangs off her lower lip.
The bottom of my stomach drops out as she looks up at me, face pale.
"There's something in the water."
I'm not fast enough to catch her when she falls, paralyzed by fear as I am. The cup rolls out of her hand, spilling water onto the street. I can see the sickly tint to it, greenish-yellow against the pavement; my mouth waters, the sweet-sour precursor to vomit.
In my mind, I can hear the sound of rocks crumbling.
She takes a drink and we amble away, through the dusty streets. There is a stillness in the air, a lurking tension; this is the taste of siege, brought in on a dead wind. But she's right- the city will not fall. The city cannot fall.
"I'm going to the barracks tomorrow, to see a recruitment officer," I say, as casually as I can. "They won't take me, of course, but I'd rather have the rejection now, than worry later that I could have done something."
She shakes her head. "They'll never let you on the Wall. You're of more use where you are."
"Probably." I shrug. It isn't worth thinking about; what will be, will be. The city won't fall, and my presence in the guard won't change our death toll by more than one, regardless.
She stops suddenly, and I turn to her, feeling her fear as a palpable thing in the air, stirring the siege tension into a war-frenzy, thrumming with terror. She is staring at the cup in her hand, knuckles white and trembling ever so slightly. A line of spittle hangs off her lower lip.
The bottom of my stomach drops out as she looks up at me, face pale.
"There's something in the water."
I'm not fast enough to catch her when she falls, paralyzed by fear as I am. The cup rolls out of her hand, spilling water onto the street. I can see the sickly tint to it, greenish-yellow against the pavement; my mouth waters, the sweet-sour precursor to vomit.
In my mind, I can hear the sound of rocks crumbling.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Summer and other, similar sensations
In other news, my Windows Media Player refuses to burn CDs. Thankfully, Seph is Vaio-tastic and has other software for the purposes of messing about with audio files. Granted, the current state of my music library is scattered and sparse, but this does not stop me from attempting mix CDs.
I've been wanting to do a summer/travel themed mix all summer, and I only just got around to putting it together. I'm going to have to redo this one, but I think it was rather successful for a first attempt.
1 The Ataris, "Boys of Summer" You couldn't honestly expect me to make a vaguely upbeat, summer CD and not include this song, could you? Of course not.
2 Great Big Circles, "FFAdventure Begin at the End of the Beginning OC Remix" I love this mix. I love FFA, and I love this mix to itty bitty pieces; it combines the best parts of the soundtrack and makes them better.
3 Imogen Heap, "Hide and Seek" One of the low energy tracks on the CD. The harmonies make my spine tingle, but mostly this song gets included because one of the defining moments of the beginning of my summer was watching the season finale of The OC- they played this song three times throughout the episode. S'a good song, regardles of the associations.
4 Better than Ezra, "Extra Ordinary" This was on one of the store tapes at Eddie Bauer last year. It's also just a good, upbeat song, with the sort of vocally driven, sparse instrumental style that I think characterizes hot weather music.
5 Don Henly, "Walking in Memphis" This is an all year song, but I first realized I loved it when I heard it on the radio at the shore. That association (dancing in the living room despite the heat), as much as my absolute love for it, gets it a place on the CD.
6 Coldplay, "Clocks" This track doesn't actually belong, and I'll take it off when I redo the mix. "Clocks" is a February song for me, through and through.
7 Luna Sea, "Aurora" My first and favorite Luna Sea song. I'll have to do a song call post for it once I find the lyrics and translation for it. I don't listen to much Jrock or Jpop; Luna Sea is the only group I actually enjoy. I first downloaded "Aurora" on a whim a few summers ago, so I'm quite fond of it.
8 Filter, "Take a Picture" The music video had a sunken airplane and people swimming. It's always been one of my "refreshignly cool songs," along with being a defining song of ninth grade- and ninth grade was really just one long, arduous summer vacation for me in so many ways.
9 Sarah MacLachlan, "Possession" Technically I ought to have summer associations with this song, but most of them have been eaten by Norway (fucking Norway!). this one is also out of place, and won't make the final cut.
10 Jim's Big Ego, "Stress" High energy, vocally driven crack. I love this song so hard. "And sand fleas? Sand fleas? Yuck!"
11 Moxy Fruvous, "BJ Don't Cry" More high energy, vocally driven crack.
12 The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights" I like this version (the original) better than the Iron and Wine cover, because it's so much brighter. It's a song for traveling- long car rides especially, and journeys that take you far away and back again. Summer is all about journeys: roadtrips; vacations; self exploration just for the hell of it, because there's nothing else to do in all this heat.
13 Indigo Girls, "Galileo" Dad used to pick up very random mix CDs in San Francisco, and one of the ones he brought home had this song on it. He played it while driving down the shore a few years ago, and it's always stuck in my head as a song to associate with him, and with that stretch of the parkway outside of Forked River at night. Just pine trees and the road, and a sort of lonely hopefulness.
14 Origa, "Inner Universe" It's the opening to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which I only started watching this summer. It's also full of multilingual, transcendental, spine tingling harmonics, and the base line makes me happy.
15 Blind Melon, "No Rain" Technically this ought to be a November song, but it's a song I associate with Squeaky as well as November, and Squeaky, for some reason, is a summer association in my head.
16 Jason Mraz, "The Remedy" My ultimate happy song; I couldn't make a mix and not include it, and I spent all of the summer of 2003 listening to it.
I give everything seasonal associations; people, music, food, books- it's what I do. I may do mixes for each season, but for now I'll work on perfecting this one.
If anybody wants any of these songs, leave a comment and I'll put up a yousendit for 'em.
I've been wanting to do a summer/travel themed mix all summer, and I only just got around to putting it together. I'm going to have to redo this one, but I think it was rather successful for a first attempt.
1 The Ataris, "Boys of Summer" You couldn't honestly expect me to make a vaguely upbeat, summer CD and not include this song, could you? Of course not.
2 Great Big Circles, "FFAdventure Begin at the End of the Beginning OC Remix" I love this mix. I love FFA, and I love this mix to itty bitty pieces; it combines the best parts of the soundtrack and makes them better.
3 Imogen Heap, "Hide and Seek" One of the low energy tracks on the CD. The harmonies make my spine tingle, but mostly this song gets included because one of the defining moments of the beginning of my summer was watching the season finale of The OC- they played this song three times throughout the episode. S'a good song, regardles of the associations.
4 Better than Ezra, "Extra Ordinary" This was on one of the store tapes at Eddie Bauer last year. It's also just a good, upbeat song, with the sort of vocally driven, sparse instrumental style that I think characterizes hot weather music.
5 Don Henly, "Walking in Memphis" This is an all year song, but I first realized I loved it when I heard it on the radio at the shore. That association (dancing in the living room despite the heat), as much as my absolute love for it, gets it a place on the CD.
6 Coldplay, "Clocks" This track doesn't actually belong, and I'll take it off when I redo the mix. "Clocks" is a February song for me, through and through.
7 Luna Sea, "Aurora" My first and favorite Luna Sea song. I'll have to do a song call post for it once I find the lyrics and translation for it. I don't listen to much Jrock or Jpop; Luna Sea is the only group I actually enjoy. I first downloaded "Aurora" on a whim a few summers ago, so I'm quite fond of it.
8 Filter, "Take a Picture" The music video had a sunken airplane and people swimming. It's always been one of my "refreshignly cool songs," along with being a defining song of ninth grade- and ninth grade was really just one long, arduous summer vacation for me in so many ways.
9 Sarah MacLachlan, "Possession" Technically I ought to have summer associations with this song, but most of them have been eaten by Norway (fucking Norway!). this one is also out of place, and won't make the final cut.
10 Jim's Big Ego, "Stress" High energy, vocally driven crack. I love this song so hard. "And sand fleas? Sand fleas? Yuck!"
11 Moxy Fruvous, "BJ Don't Cry" More high energy, vocally driven crack.
12 The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights" I like this version (the original) better than the Iron and Wine cover, because it's so much brighter. It's a song for traveling- long car rides especially, and journeys that take you far away and back again. Summer is all about journeys: roadtrips; vacations; self exploration just for the hell of it, because there's nothing else to do in all this heat.
13 Indigo Girls, "Galileo" Dad used to pick up very random mix CDs in San Francisco, and one of the ones he brought home had this song on it. He played it while driving down the shore a few years ago, and it's always stuck in my head as a song to associate with him, and with that stretch of the parkway outside of Forked River at night. Just pine trees and the road, and a sort of lonely hopefulness.
14 Origa, "Inner Universe" It's the opening to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which I only started watching this summer. It's also full of multilingual, transcendental, spine tingling harmonics, and the base line makes me happy.
15 Blind Melon, "No Rain" Technically this ought to be a November song, but it's a song I associate with Squeaky as well as November, and Squeaky, for some reason, is a summer association in my head.
16 Jason Mraz, "The Remedy" My ultimate happy song; I couldn't make a mix and not include it, and I spent all of the summer of 2003 listening to it.
I give everything seasonal associations; people, music, food, books- it's what I do. I may do mixes for each season, but for now I'll work on perfecting this one.
If anybody wants any of these songs, leave a comment and I'll put up a yousendit for 'em.
Song Call- Michelle Cross, "Cold Light"
Faugh, I am le tired. And I feel as though I ought to be working on something, but I'm completely and utterly exhausted for some reason. (Also, whatever is poking my kidneys needs to stop, seriously.) I'm going to babble about music for a few entries; apologies for the spam.
These lyrics are really fairly standard fare...but the song itself is incredibly, hauntingly lovely. Most of the words are unintelligible, save for the last lines of each of the first four stanzas and the first line of the bridge. When you put those together, you end up with standard, incredibly angsty fare, but put them together on top of the really pretty, ghostly piano, and the song just gives me shivers every time I hear it.
In the cold light of day,
You decided to show your face,
And the mime dressed in black,
Said you're useless to him now.
So I turned to run away,
But there you stood in my way,
And a voice called out to me,
"Girl, you never really learned to love."
I'm still hanging on...
Now I stand in the past,
My eyes focused on the cracks,
By this time you figured out,
I'm useless to you now.
And the clock on the wall,
Says it's time for me to go,
And a voice calls out to me,
"Girl you're better off alone."
Ahh, Ahh...
And you tried to strip me of everything that's left.
In me, I still can't believe... I let you succeed.
Ahh, Ahh...
In the cool city scene,
Where I wander like a dream,
There's a mime dressed in black,
And he likes to talk a lot.
And I pass him in the street,
And a voice calls out to me,
"Girl, you're the only one you've ever got..."
Ahh, Ahh...
-Michelle Cross, "Cold Light"
It's mostly the piano that does it for me; granted, it's a little reminiscent of certain video game sound tracks, but it also conjures up images of snow, and moonless, star spattered skies. The title fits; if I ever wanted to do a soundtrack to the concept of winter light, this would be the first track.
Here, have a yousendit link: http://s52.yousendit.com/d.php?id=2252FZJSIHOG02EFYKEW0BJ6S4
These lyrics are really fairly standard fare...but the song itself is incredibly, hauntingly lovely. Most of the words are unintelligible, save for the last lines of each of the first four stanzas and the first line of the bridge. When you put those together, you end up with standard, incredibly angsty fare, but put them together on top of the really pretty, ghostly piano, and the song just gives me shivers every time I hear it.
In the cold light of day,
You decided to show your face,
And the mime dressed in black,
Said you're useless to him now.
So I turned to run away,
But there you stood in my way,
And a voice called out to me,
"Girl, you never really learned to love."
I'm still hanging on...
Now I stand in the past,
My eyes focused on the cracks,
By this time you figured out,
I'm useless to you now.
And the clock on the wall,
Says it's time for me to go,
And a voice calls out to me,
"Girl you're better off alone."
Ahh, Ahh...
And you tried to strip me of everything that's left.
In me, I still can't believe... I let you succeed.
Ahh, Ahh...
In the cool city scene,
Where I wander like a dream,
There's a mime dressed in black,
And he likes to talk a lot.
And I pass him in the street,
And a voice calls out to me,
"Girl, you're the only one you've ever got..."
Ahh, Ahh...
-Michelle Cross, "Cold Light"
It's mostly the piano that does it for me; granted, it's a little reminiscent of certain video game sound tracks, but it also conjures up images of snow, and moonless, star spattered skies. The title fits; if I ever wanted to do a soundtrack to the concept of winter light, this would be the first track.
Here, have a yousendit link: http://s52.yousendit.com/d.php?id=2252FZJSIHOG02EFYKEW0BJ6S4
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
When the last of his Horsemen fell, Nero felt their deaths like an ache in his soul- but he didn't have a soul, so he overlooked the sudden emptiness, the sudden feeling that he'd lost a limb, and continued fighting.
When an Angel took down his Prophet, Nero was deafened by the sudden, sharp silence. But then the sounds of battle returned, quieter than before, and he continued fighting.
When Nero reached Meggido and saw the Dragon die, it took a moment for his brain to follow the reality of her body hitting the ground. It was the longest moment of his life.
Nero had not been engineered to feel heartbreak, or sadness, or regret. In many ways, he was exactly what his creators had intended him to be; in lieu of feeling loss over the gaping empty space in his consciousness, he felt nothing more than pure, unadulterated fury.
He strode across the field of Meggido, gathering the powers of the fallen to himself: the Crown, the Sword, the Scales, the Skull, the Scroll with its seven seals. The Serpent's power was his own, now, released to him without restriction at her death. Nero glowed with the strength of his dead comrades; his counterpart was waiting for him, standing over Belinda's body, covered in her blood.
"Excuse me," he said politely. "The "covered in the blood of my enemies" look is just so last milennium. This is the twenty first century; the subjugation of humanity is all about style. I'm going to have to kill you before you become a terminal eyesore." He drew his scythe and opened the blade with a practiced twirl. "There's not enough room for two antichrists on this plane of existence, my friend- and I got here first. It's time to end this."
The Dark Messiah spread his hands (still dripping with her blood, black and acidic) and smiled disarmingly. "By all means, lets begin. But first, we'll need an audience." He gestured expansively to the battlefield and its carpet of corpses. "What's that old saying- you know, something to do with gladiators."
The dead rose up with a wail, dragging their pestilent and wasted bodies to surround the two of them. "That's right, now I remember. 'Morituri te salutamus.'" The weapon he drew from the air was a mirror to Nero's own. "Hail, Caesar."
Nero met his attack head on with a smile, all thoughts of death and emptiness forgotten in the face of battle.
----------
...*cough* Project: Apocalypse. It's another one of those stories that involves way too much religious wankery, and everyone ends up dead in the end. Or mostly dead. Or at least dead enough for government work, which really isn't all that dead at all. (It came out of that time in my life when I was reading Revelations far too much for my own good.) But hey, there are people with scythes running around. That makes everything better! ...sort of.
Nothing to say, really. (The dialogue bites, but Nero and Cain were weirdly socialized as small children, and they love ruining moods.) The title is Latin for "I have a catapult. Give me all your money or I'll throw an enormous rock at your head." It's a Nero sort of thing to say.
When an Angel took down his Prophet, Nero was deafened by the sudden, sharp silence. But then the sounds of battle returned, quieter than before, and he continued fighting.
When Nero reached Meggido and saw the Dragon die, it took a moment for his brain to follow the reality of her body hitting the ground. It was the longest moment of his life.
Nero had not been engineered to feel heartbreak, or sadness, or regret. In many ways, he was exactly what his creators had intended him to be; in lieu of feeling loss over the gaping empty space in his consciousness, he felt nothing more than pure, unadulterated fury.
He strode across the field of Meggido, gathering the powers of the fallen to himself: the Crown, the Sword, the Scales, the Skull, the Scroll with its seven seals. The Serpent's power was his own, now, released to him without restriction at her death. Nero glowed with the strength of his dead comrades; his counterpart was waiting for him, standing over Belinda's body, covered in her blood.
"Excuse me," he said politely. "The "covered in the blood of my enemies" look is just so last milennium. This is the twenty first century; the subjugation of humanity is all about style. I'm going to have to kill you before you become a terminal eyesore." He drew his scythe and opened the blade with a practiced twirl. "There's not enough room for two antichrists on this plane of existence, my friend- and I got here first. It's time to end this."
The Dark Messiah spread his hands (still dripping with her blood, black and acidic) and smiled disarmingly. "By all means, lets begin. But first, we'll need an audience." He gestured expansively to the battlefield and its carpet of corpses. "What's that old saying- you know, something to do with gladiators."
The dead rose up with a wail, dragging their pestilent and wasted bodies to surround the two of them. "That's right, now I remember. 'Morituri te salutamus.'" The weapon he drew from the air was a mirror to Nero's own. "Hail, Caesar."
Nero met his attack head on with a smile, all thoughts of death and emptiness forgotten in the face of battle.
----------
...*cough* Project: Apocalypse. It's another one of those stories that involves way too much religious wankery, and everyone ends up dead in the end. Or mostly dead. Or at least dead enough for government work, which really isn't all that dead at all. (It came out of that time in my life when I was reading Revelations far too much for my own good.) But hey, there are people with scythes running around. That makes everything better! ...sort of.
Nothing to say, really. (The dialogue bites, but Nero and Cain were weirdly socialized as small children, and they love ruining moods.) The title is Latin for "I have a catapult. Give me all your money or I'll throw an enormous rock at your head." It's a Nero sort of thing to say.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
art whine and ramble
Arg. I cannot draw Temari to save my sooouuul. Mostly I think this is the fault of the pose I'm trying to put her in; I suck at profiles. On the other hand, this picture has some of the best feet I've ever drawn, and I'm kind of tempted to shift the entire composition so I don't have to redo them. Then I'll just have to draw the back of her head. Hm. Because those are some really awesome feet- but the whole point of the picture depends on being able to see her hands, and I don't know if I can pull that off.
Blarg. I'll just have to erase her and start over again...for the third time. >_< Kankurou came out so well, aside from his mutated foot...*sigh*
Ahah, but now I can use caps from chapter 270 (chrisy, it's never going to end, is it?) to get a better idea of Temari's face; I really need to find the CD I stuck all of my image files on, and I need to redownload the zips of the earlier Naruto chapters, now that I have CDisplay. (d00d, this program is awesome.)
And as for 270...If I have to see another character thinking to himself "Damn, guess I have no choice but to use "that" jutsu..." I'm gonna stab something. Once I stop giggling, that is.
I'm glad we're finally seeing something other than Sakura vs Sasori; Kankurou sans hat is the sex. He's always been the sex, mind you- he's just even tastier now.
Bah. *stagnates* I want to read good fic. Preferably Naruto, with in character fluff or bittersweet angst, but I'll take anything as long as it's good. Mostly, however, I want to be elsewhere, far, far away from my mother; barring that, I'd like my creativity to work again.
Nero, of all characters, is getting restless in the back of my head, along with the other Horsemen and Belinda. It's a shame their story has no plot...maybe I'll write a snippet for them later.
Blarg. I'll just have to erase her and start over again...for the third time. >_< Kankurou came out so well, aside from his mutated foot...*sigh*
Ahah, but now I can use caps from chapter 270 (chrisy, it's never going to end, is it?) to get a better idea of Temari's face; I really need to find the CD I stuck all of my image files on, and I need to redownload the zips of the earlier Naruto chapters, now that I have CDisplay. (d00d, this program is awesome.)
And as for 270...If I have to see another character thinking to himself "Damn, guess I have no choice but to use "that" jutsu..." I'm gonna stab something. Once I stop giggling, that is.
I'm glad we're finally seeing something other than Sakura vs Sasori; Kankurou sans hat is the sex. He's always been the sex, mind you- he's just even tastier now.
Bah. *stagnates* I want to read good fic. Preferably Naruto, with in character fluff or bittersweet angst, but I'll take anything as long as it's good. Mostly, however, I want to be elsewhere, far, far away from my mother; barring that, I'd like my creativity to work again.
Nero, of all characters, is getting restless in the back of my head, along with the other Horsemen and Belinda. It's a shame their story has no plot...maybe I'll write a snippet for them later.