THIS IS MY RAPE FACE ♥

Also, I don't think Helen and Deneve can get any more adorable.

Helen: AM I GONNA HAVE TO CHOKE A BITCH?!

Deneve: *sigh* Yeah, yeah, stop posing and let's go already.

Okay, so I just took my stew out of the microwave and it seriously just... exploded. Twice!

...it's not even all that hot...

Um. I was trying to delete the private version of this post that I had posted earlier because I was adding a little at the time as I did other things, and instead deleted the public one. Well, at least I only deleted one comment? OOPS.

---

A List of Things:

- Okay, so, Japan, this is what I want from you: a manga/anime with a bad-ass, sexy lady-boss of a criminal organization (ala Benika of Kurenai or Balalaika of Black Lagoon) who has an unquestioningly loyal lady NINJA BUTLER who is dark and cold and stoic, + tons of subtext. Is this really so hard? It doesn't even have to be explicitly girl-love! Just give me the goddamn lady ninja butler, okay. Why does this not already exist, why.

I, I need a lady ninja butler. In a crisp suit. With a cravat. Serving tea and bashing people's heads in. Being all cold and emotionless until something dire happens involving lady-boss and her stony veneer cracks and she becomes DISTRAUGHT and ANGRY and unbearably hot. Ffffnggg please give me this I beg of you.


- l-lol UDDUP ch. 69. Could we maybe have the ladies' motivational angst occasionally relate to something other than childbearing and child-rearing? I mean, you know, ladies sometimes want other things out of their lives. Shocking, I know.


- Re: Melancholy of Haruhi S2 ep 3: lol Koizumi, you will never not be gay.






- Pandora Hearts ep 14! FLAILING FOREVER BRB.

So, as usual, they left out some details that irritated me. I was okay with them leaving out Vincent playing with the corpses, because really, is it any surprise they weren't willing to show a little boy playing with intestines and stabbing out the eyes of corpses on TV. I was irritated that they left out Raven passing out into Jack's arms, but that was mainly just my fangirl talking. (Come on, that was slkf;jals adorable.)

But what really annoyed me was a much tinier omission; Raven's hurt/shocked expression when Oz is talking about how important Alice is to him. Instead he just gives this vaguely surprised sounding, "Oz..." I mean, that might be a tiny thing, but I felt like that expression was important! It really told you a lot about what was going on in Raven's head! It tells you beyond any doubt that his anger at Alice is about more than just protecting Oz! There's the angle that he probably wants to be that special to Oz, and the realization that he can't protect Oz in this situation because Oz isn't going to let him, and if he can't protect Oz, then what's he supposed to do? And also probably the realization that if he does anything to get rid of Alice at this point, Oz is probably going to hate him. And maybe I'm nitpicking here but I just feel like it was... important, okay.

But EVEN SO, this episode. Nearly made me explode. O god.

Yuki Kajiura, why is your music so gorgeous? And Break, why is your sadomasochism so appealing? And Daisuke Ono, why is your voice so irresistible? And Jack, why -



Okay, you're right, no need to ask. It's Jack.

Next week! Oz goes nuts! I AM SO STOKED.


- I wrote things! Gasp. For the PH kink meme.

Title: The Drunken Cliche Fic of Ridiculous Length
Fandom: Pandora Hearts
Pairing: Oz/Raven
Rating: NC-17 (for sexual content)
Comments: Quite possibly contains as many cliches as can fit into one single fic.

>> 'Gil, stop, there's no fire! You can't take off your clothes here!'


Title: Gunplay
Fandom: Pandora Hearts
Pairing: Oz/Raven
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Contains flagrant molestation mishandling of a gun.

>> Boys liked guns, he reasoned, but wasn't this a little excessive?

halcyonjazz neatly sums up everything that is wrong with the upcoming live-action Avatar movie:

The whitewashing in the upcoming live-action adaptation, The Last Airbender, is nothing but offensive. Period. It's pissing on everything Avatar was trying to change by introducing that oriental fantasy doesn't have to be subjected to orientalism for it to work for the American audience. The fact that they claimed they made the changes BECAUSE American audiences would better relate is offensive.

The fact that they can’t acknowledge that Aang is modeled to be Tibetan, not white, is offensive.

The fact that they made all three heroes white--including characters Sokka and Katara who were anything but--is offensive.

The fact that in response to this criticism, Jackson Rathbone (who is slated to play Sokka) said that all he needs to do to play the part is get a tan is offensive.

The fact that they made the Fire Nation--the ENEMY nation--as the lone nation to have dark-skinned people by making it a faux-India is offensive.

The fact the casting director said "If you're Korean, bring a kimono" for auditioning extras is offensive.

The fact that they’re progressively uprooting any Pacific-Asian influence that makes Avatar--going so far as to get rid of the Chinese writings--is offensive.

It is offensive. It is offensive. There is no defence for this.

It shows that Asians are still considered less than other ethnic minorities in Hollywood. It shows that Asians aren't allowed to play Asians in a show made FOR Asians in America. It shows that the only way for Asians to play the lead characters is to make movies outside of America.

That is offensive.

There is no difference between a white man wearing bootblack for Othello and a white man getting a tan to play an Inuit. I don't even know how someone can think there is, but there isn't. No amount of special effects, high-budgeted art-direction and cool kung-fu moves The Last Airbender will undoubtedly have will mask the fact it's racist bullshit and an abortion of the original show.

The strangest thing to me is that Hollywood is pulling their typical "if it ain't white, white people won't watch it" bullshit even when they have the proof right there in front of them that white people will, in fact, watch it. This movie is being made because Avatar was such a wildly successful cartoon - and it was a cartoon populated by Asian characters.

If you're not angry about this, you should be. It's irrelevant whether you're an Avatar fan or not; the implications and repercussions of this joke of a movie go far past the boundaries of fandom. If you somehow hadn't seen the links yet, you can get news and info from aang_aint_white and racebending.

Ffff. So instead of filling other people's prompts like a reasonable person, I got a ridiculous branewurm from one of my own prompts and had to write it right away.

Title: Big Bad Red Riding Hood
Fandom: Pandora Hearts
Pairing: Lottie/Oz
Rating: PG-13
Comments: Oh dear god I'm going to hell.

>> Little Red Riding Hood (is a wolf)

Right. Now let me get down to to actually filling some prompts.

So I... I took matters into my own hands...

The Pandora Hearts Kink(-ish) Meme

DUR HUR HUR

Rather than a true kink meme, it's anything goes, from gen to nasty weirdo requests.

So Micheal Jackson is dead! And this apparently briefly took down livejournal oh my god what. In fact, maybe this is just on my end or something, but half of the ENTIRE INTERNET seems to be going really farking slow.

I really had no idea Micheal Jackson dying was such a big deal. I should think the business in Iran might have a bit of priority?

...Wait, what am I saying. When has the public ever cared more about real news than about celebrities.

...

ANYWAY! Pandora Hearts episode 13!

...Wait, um, guys, I think... this isn't really the time to be giving into your lustful urges... um... You know what, never mind. ( NSFW. Sort of. Ahaha. )

ASIDE FROM THAT. Animation quality took another nosedive, unfortunately, but it's still not as bad as it was in the beginning. Also, at least they animated Jack half-decently there at the end! Cheshire himself could have been better, but also could have been worse. Also, I am excited by the preview - I was totally worried they were going to leave out Jack being all touchy like they did before. (I'd call it "bad-touchy", but somehow it just never comes off as skeevy when it's Jack invading people's personal space. I don't know how he does it. Maybe Vincent got the habit from him. VINCENT, IT DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU, HONEY.)

Three things left out that annoyed me:

1) Vincent molesting Liam/Reim/whatever-the-hell-his-name-is in his sleep. The only thing Vincent is good for in my book is the humor resulting from the way everyone goes "D: D: D:!!!" at his antics, so why take that out?! :< (Well, I suppose he's also good for making Break go ":E" a lot.)

2) Oscar flipping over the table. I ♥ Oscar adorableness. Whyfore you take it away? Sadface.

3) Raven attempting to use Raven and discovering that's a bad idea. He didn't even attempt to use his chain! I wanted to see that animated. :<<< (For that matter, when are we going to get to see him use it for real, Mochizuki?!)

...

eta: Stoned wallabies make crop circles!

The gas alarm started going off again. I can't deal with this right now. The sound of that thing just. My nerves can't take it. Acid just boiled right up in my stomach.

Christ, people, when you come to fix a gas leak, you fucking fix it. Gas leaks are SERIOUS BUSINESS, okay. You do not half-ass that kind of job.

...

Anyway, I randomly wrote this. Pandora Hearts, ~700 words. I am totally asking to get jossed on the first part.

Title: Breaking Point
Fandom: Pandora Hearts
Rating: PG/PG-13
Pairing: Raven/Oz-ish, but no more so than the actual manga

>> It hadn't mattered what he'd had to do, if it could help him save Oz; but he'd thought killing would be so much harder.

I lolled.



sauce

Over the past few months I've been collecting some incense samples here and there from Mermade Magickal Arts, and I keep meaning to review a few. Now, you'll notice that the site is very pagan-oriented, but you don't need to have pagan leanings to enjoy the incense - it's all top notch quality, equally enjoyable with or without any spiritual applications.

I'm going to review three scents from the Nature Spirits line, which are all self-combusting (that is, you just light them up and go, as with stick incense, rather than using charcoal or a heater to heat them). However, here is my disclaimer - these are pretty smokey scents, and as I've mentioned before, I have an intensely sensitive nose and can't handle a lot of smoke, so I break off pieces of them and heat them on my heater. I have in fact tried them all the way they were intended, and the scents are similar between the heater and burning, but with more of a smokey edge (obviously) from the latter; also, on the heater the oils come out a little more quickly, making the scent change a bit throughout heating it, while burning produces a more even and woody scent.

Pan's Earth (Aloeswood, Patchouli, Vetivert, Vanilla, Labdanum, Hougary Frankincense, and Himalayan Juniper wood): This is a "does what it says on the label" incense in that you open it up and smell dirt. Very strong vetiver and patchouli are the most apparent notes in this. I was surprised by it, however - I usually take issue with most of the "earth element" type scents I come across for going a bit overboard with the concept, resulting in a somewhat unbalanced scent, but this one neatly sidesteps that issue with a really nice balance of sweet and woody notes. The mellowness of the aloeswood and labdanum give it a really luxurious feel, and while you don't notice the juniper so much at first, when you pay attention you realize it really lifts the whole overall scent up and brightens it. I almost think I detect a hint of rose in this, too; maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to give it a softness that's really pleasing.

This one is a must-have for lovers of "earthy" scents; and if you think you're one of those people that hate things like vetiver, you might consider giving this one a try, as it's beautifully balanced and smooth.

Spirit Temple (Eastern Aromatics, Aloeswood and Sandalwood and Hougary Frankincense, Borneol Camphor from Japan): Now, my sample packet is labeled "Spirit" rather than "Spirit Temple", but I'm going to assume it's just a name change, especially since it smells... pretty much like the ingredients listed. This one is definitely reminiscent of a Japanese joss stick, although it has much more of a resinous component than you'll usually find in any Japanese scent. It has a very soft, almost powdery wood base, with more of a sandalwood scent than aloeswood. The generous dose of frankincense and camphor gives it a sweet, luminous effect. (Mermade is known for the amazing frankincense in its blends, and for good reason.) There's a subtle touch of spices that I can't really identify, although I think I'm detecting some star anise and possibly a hint of cinnamon.

This one is very soft, soothing and lovely, although it scorches unusually easily on my heater; on the other hand, this is the only one of the self-combusting samples I've tried that I think I could actually burn the way it was intended to be burned - when I tried lighting it the smoke was unusually gentle to my nose for the amount produced. (Probably the camphor - opens up the nose a bit.)

Sacred Grove (Hougary and Oman Frankincense, Turkish Storax or Liquidambar Orientalis, Labdanum, Canadian Spruce Essential Oil, Western Red Cedar Wood, Powdered Grand Fir Tips, Himalayan Juniper Wood, Pinon Pine Resin, Copal Elemi Resin): This is my favorite Mermade scent that I've tried so far. (Probably at least in part due to the rather whopping dose of labdanum - I do adore labdanum.) It gives off a glowing emerald green effect, very wet and resinous and full of clean evergreen scents that just can't fail to lift your mood. To tell the truth, it's really impressive how resin-heavy Katlyn can make a self-combusting incense smell.

It's actually surprising that I like this so much, because I'm usually not so into very "forest-y" scents; I may find them pleasant enough, and occasionally a nice change of pace, but they just don't really grab me. I think in this case it may well be that the storax and labdanum are giving it that really rich, exotic and luxurious edge that always appeals to me. If you're fond of woodsy, forest-type scents, you're sure to like this one, and if you're not, you might like it anyway, because it's a bit different than the norm.

I was thinking, y'know, all I do is gush about Pandora Hearts, but it's not like I don't have problems with it. Because really, Pandora Hearts has some gender issues that really bug me. Not that this is any different than the vast majority of anime/manga out there, of course. But it's somehow even more irritating when you really, really love a series than when you're just casually interested.

( tl;dr, and spoilers (though fairly minor ones, I think) )

Jesus, that was the most tl;dr post I've written in ages. I didn't know I had this much to say about it!

Okay, second PH post in a row, sorry! But episode 12 is out! Unfortunately not on tokyotosho yet for some reason, but here's an online copy. I have been dying for this episode!







Ffff, final round totally wins. Emily is so hot.

I was disappointed they took out Oz's magnificent kick to Raven's head, but getting hilarious imitating of Raven in its place wasn't so bad. Otherwise, pretty much everything about this episode was the most adorable thing EVER. Man, I am so easy. Too bad they'll probably never get to the drunken revelry chapter.

It seems like the animation quality keeps going up a little each episode. Maybe by the end of the series, it will actually be kind of reasonable! ...A little too late, I guess.

I am disturbed by how much of Gil's thought process I postulated in this fic was actually laid out in the new chapter. (Spoilers, obvsly.)

Other thoughts: DSKJFL;kdfjlsakdfjSD Dkfljs adk fffgh OH MY GOD, THIS CHAPTER. Oz! What! Gil! You are what?! JACK, WHY ARE YOU SO AWESOME. AHHHHHHHH CAN'T TAKE IT.

I, I don't think I can manage anything more coherent than that.

...

As for the new Kuroshitsuji, I am becoming increasingly disturbed by Toboso Yana's use of vomiting as an excuse for fanservice. This month really pushed it to new heights! Ciel raepface = actually vomitface = Ew. I AM NOT SO INTO VOMIT, KTHX. :X

So I'm wearing a heart monitor! Until 5:30 tomorrow afternoon! And it is the most obnoxious thing ever! And I had no idea they meant to put it on me today and oh my god do you know how awkward I felt leaving covered in wires?! And I have to go out again tomorrow for my ultrasound! While still wearing this thing! laskdjf;aljsd;fl don't look at meeeeee

Also, how am I supposed to sleep tonight! Jesus god this is so uncomfortable!

(disclaimer: This test is not for any dire reason or anything. I've just been having trouble with heart palpitations for a long time, so the doc wanted to make sure there was nothing going on there.)

...

In other news, I kept thinking my strawberry-kiwi Vitamin Water tasted disconcertingly of incense. Then it hit me that it smelled and tasted (?!!) incredibly strongly of labdanum. In fact, it smelled/tasted of labdanum much more strongly than it smelled/tasted of strawberry or kiwi. I was like, there is seriously labdanum in my drink oh my god this cannot possibly be normal.

...But apparently it is. Apparently it's commonly used by the commercial food industry for things like soft drinks. Go figure. It still kind of freaks me out. Especially since it might as well be called "labdanum" instead of "strawberry-kiwi". I'm not sure I want this flavor again, um.

...

In OTHER other news, Catherynne Valente and her husband have fallen on hard times financially. She has decided to write a YA story - a particular YA story.



She is writing The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making, a book within a book: it was the character November's favorite book from childhood in Palimpsest.

She is going to be posting chapters weekly, for free, but with the request for people to donate what they can, if they can, in exchange. (Needless to say, this book will involve quite a lot less sex than Palimpsest, being YA lit. Also, presumably it will be able to stand on its own without the need to read the other.)

Just wanted to put that out there, in case any fans on the list hadn't heard - and if you haven't read Cat before, this is a good chance to check out her stuff!

I have never done one of these before; my dreamwidth profile is still blank so why not? Please come up with the most ridiculous and absurd testimonials you can think of. Like, idk, I crap unicorns or something.

THE TESTIMONIALS OF AWESOME MEME! // ME!!

---

Links!

Upon realizing that I've had some tabs open for 6 months+ (I am totally serious, what the hell) I started combing through them. One tab was alankria's short story Tattoos of the Sky, Tattoos of the Days, published in Sybil's Garage, which I had apparently opened god knows how long ago and forgotten to ever read (and apparently that it was, you know, there). So. I uh, read it! And it was awesome, so you should read it too.

(...Actually, I think that one might have even been a year+. I don't know.)

And this is not a 6 month+ old link, but one that popped up on the f-list recently - awesome collection of photos from around the turn of the century, (er, the 20th century), mostly from Japan but many from other locales as well.

So apparently there's going to be a season 2 of Kuroshitsuji.


...WAT.

So the GI doc thinks I probably have gastroparesis for some godforsaken reason, meaning my stomach muscles have suddenly decided to be even lazier than I am. It seems a reasonable theory. I suppose I should be glad my case isn't worse than it is, since apparently it can get really really bad. However, all I can think is "doesn't this piece of shit body have enough wrong with it already?"

I have never been a glass-half-full type of person...

I go for an ultrasound on Tues. to rule out gallbladder dysfunction. (There was talk of the possibility of doing a HIDA scan if nothing showed up, but I don't know if they actually plan to or not...) I cannot eat or drink after midnight on Mon. Considering that I get nauseated if I don't put something plain in my stomach every couple of hours (one symptom that doesn't seem to fit the gastroparesis diagnosis) I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to do this. Also considering I am ridiculously thirsty all the time. (Which is nothing new; I've always been like that.) Seriously, I wake up several times a night needing water every. single. night. I do not go to bed without a glass of water beside me. This is going to suck.

...

In other news! Somebody did fanart for my Alice/Raven fanfic. *sparkles* I think this is a first! For fanfic, I mean.

I am trying to write Break/Raven now. (Why yes, I do love making Raven suffer, why do you ask?) It is not going so well. Mostly because it is difficult for me to imagine Raven not shooting Break in the fucking head if he tried anything, u-um.

...

eta: Right after I posted this I just heard that we've had the first confirmed case of swine flu in our county. ZOMG!!!11eleventy

List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- Don't take too long to think about it. The first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes.

1. The Etched City, KJ Bishop
2. The Orphan's Tales (series), Catherynne Valente
3. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
4. The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
5. The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
6. His Dark Materials (series), Phillip Pullman
7. The Neverending Story, Micheal Ende
8. Harry Potter (series), JK Rowling
9. The Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner
10. Dragon of the Lost Sea, Lawrence Yep (I haven't read this since I was a child, and it still sticks with me)
11. Breath, Donna Jo Napoli
12. Viriconium (series), M. John Harrison
13. Grendel, John Gardner
14. The Icarus Girl, Helen Oyeyemi
15. Larklight, Philip Reeve

Re: Pandora Hearts ep 11 - dot dot dot...





W.
T.
F.

Break's bad-touch levels are suddenly OVER 9000!!! Except. Playing with someone's hair and then... licking... your fingers???... That isn't simply bad-touch, it's just plain weird.

I think the whole bit with Alice being EXTRA naked in these past couple of episodes was an attempt to counterbalance the sheer gay flying around. I... I'm not sure that it worked.

This episode seemed unusually short for some reason. Sadface.

eta: Also, why do I suspect that's the first time Raven's ever seen a mostly naked girl? Oh, honey.

Two short PH fics! First one was written for the Porn Battle going on on Dreamwidth.

Title: Nostalgia (Prompt: "Different")
Pairing: Raven/Oz
Rating: R-ish
Comment: Spoilers if you haven't read past ch. 7, but that pretty much goes for any Raven/Oz fic...

>>They are thirteen years old.


Title: How to Tame a Raven
Pairing: Alice/Raven (yes, you read that right, don't judge me)
Rating: PG

>>'I already said it, didn't I?' she said, smirking. 'You don't have a choice.'

---

So yesterday there was this big storm. The sky turned green. For about 10 minutes before it hit, there was this... noise. This terrifying noise like nothing I've ever heard before. It sounded sort of like a jet was passing over, but it just... never... stopped. I went outside and it was loud enough to make the ground rumble a little. A dude walking by on the street saw me and yelled, "Have you ever heard a sound like that?!"

Seriously, it made my hair stand on end. I wondered if it was a tornado but I couldn't see one anywhere. Does anyone know what phenomenon created that freaky sound?