do you follow me?

mmm attention whoring

2009-12-01T16:28:03Z

I have shame, I'm just putting it away somewhere for now because I could really use the ego boost lately.

THE FANFICTION LOVE MEME

Mai-Otome, through episode 5.

2009-11-19T23:50:55Z

"Becoming an Otome means giving up on love, giving up on female happiness...unless you become a lesbian like we did. We encourage it!"

I think I might be paraphrasing a bit. Just a bit. Okay, a lot.

My favorite part so far is seeing what Shizuru, Natsuki, Haruka, and Yukino become once they're given a less messed-up background (in Shizuru and Natsuki's cases) and several years to mature (in the case of all four). As I predicted, they take over the world. I still prefer them in HiME because I like the messed-up-ness of HiME!Shizuru/Natsuki and have less interest in them as an admittedly hot settled-down couple, but it's nice to see.

I also like the expressions the main characters make. There will be icons. So far, though, I prefer HiME. If Arika gets the kind of depth Mai did, I may change my mind, but, well...HiME has psycho Shizuru, and I'm one of those horrible fans who loves her best.

Oh, yeah, and Shiho reimagined is glorious Especially with Nao. And I love her, Akane, and Chie as a trio.

annwyd @ 2009-11-12T15:34:00

2009-11-12T20:33:09Z

Name a fandom and I'll tell you three pairings I love, two pairings I consider shipping, and one pairing I hate.

That's the fun part of this entry. Not that it'll tell most of you anything you don't already know, but I don't seem to have the energy to RP or write at length, so here, a useless meme.

Here, have a couple of useless lists.

Annoying Things
* A peg on my 1/100 Dynames broke. Now I have to go look for model glue to put that arm together, and I'm not sure how I'll go about doing that once I get it.
* Grim Grimoire's gameplay is bugging the fuck out of me. It's probably great if you love tactics games, but good lord, the battles take forever and they're frustrating. I am deeply intrigued by the story and the fact that the main pairing is lesbian (and adorable), but I cannot stomach these battles. I just want to run around exploring, hitting things, and getting points for hitting things. Maybe after I finish this stupid battle which never seems to end, I'll take out Grim Grimoire and put in Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories.
* Still no progress on getting the gym/"wellness center" to say whether I can join.
* I'd like to go outside because that might make me feel better, but the weather sucks.

Things I Might Do Today
* Work on cleaning my room.
* Make more clay runes.
* Try to get the next scene in the moonfic done. But that is unlikely to happen because I am still having writer's block.
* Read more.

spam, and some awesome.

2009-11-07T18:59:42Z

Mom and I went on a walk to the library/community center, where we discovered a small but well-equipped and cheap gym. Its hours are pretty terrible for her, but they're great for me. Plus, half a mile away, therefore, easy walking distance! Hopefully I will get signed up soon.

Then, as we were walking back, I spied a sign for an estate sale. We eventually found it. Antique dealers had picked most of it over the day before, but there was a lot of stuff left for fans.

Show of hands, who appreciates how awesome it is that I got a twenty-five-year-old Bruce Springsteen 45" single with "Jersey Girl" on the back for seven bucks.

I am going to have a new userinfo header shortly.

a new prompt

2009-11-07T15:33:34Z

I am temporarily burnt out on writing on account of passing 40,000 words on That Fic and finishing my Sheryl application for edensphere. But I still feel like doing fannish stuff, and I've been gathering a lot of music lately.

So give me a character or pairing and I'll make a short fanmix for them, or at least try. Some characters kind of stump me.

...characters and pairings I have already done fan soundtracks for are not necessarily out, as I may well have additional music for them. Or I might reuse some old and some new. Whatever. This is a spur-of-the-moment meme. Your results may vary.

My Thoughts On Fanart Icons: Let The Wank Begin.

2009-11-05T19:58:08Z

Wrote this a while back, reminded to post it by a post linked on metafandom. Time to get this out of the way so I don't feel the desperate urge to rant about it every time I see the subject come up in the future. Instead I can just link here! Note: this refers primarily to anime fandom's practices. I can't speak for other parts of fandom, as the post I just linked is clearly talking about.

MY THOUGHTS ON FANART ICONS.

I feel that it is rather douchey to take art that you know full well the artists would prefer not be iconed/otherwise modified and icon it/otherwise modify it. You can come up with all kinds of rationalizations and justifications for it (it's no different than using official art! It's just icons! They're making unrealistic demands! AND SO ON) but in the end there's really no getting around what it comes down to...

Which is more important, your need to use that icon or the artist's desire that their work not be used in that way?

It kind of bugs the fuck out of me sometimes that so many people in fandom get so intensely defensive about their belief that their need to use that icon trumps the artist's desires. That's what I'm talking about when I complain about "entitlement complexes" in regards to icons in fandom.

At this point a lot of people will bring up the fact that the creators of official art might not like it if you icon their art, either, so what's the difference between that and fanart? I have three main lines of thinking on this:

1) It's easier to find credit for official artists. Look them up on IMDB or AnimeNewsNetwork, or find the full version of the iconed image that has the artist's name in the corner.
2) Official artists get paid for their work. They've already received compensation for it. Fanartists share their work for free, and all they get in return is recognition. Grabbing their art and making uncredited icons for it is rude.
3) Fandom is a community, even across language borders. As a fellow fan, it's only courteous to respect the artists' simple wishes in regards to their own work. You can make noises about how they should loosen up all you want, but in the end that comes down to the entitlement complex again. It's kind of rude to decide that your personal feelings about the use of fanart trump the feelings of the person who made that fanart and shared it with other fans in the first place.

After all other arguments have been exhausted (or sometimes before), people will say, "It's just icons! It's no big deal. It doesn't really matter!" To which I say: yeah, I'm not exploding in white-hot rage or anything. But being douchey over a small thing is still being douchey, and it still bugs me.

As a side note: somewhere along the line I started classifying fanart use in icons into a Scale Of Douchitude. "This version of my character barely has any official art, and I try to credit the artists in comments" is on the acceptable end of the scale, "I really like this image and wanted to use it sometimes in my personal LJ" is in the largely inoffensive middle, and "Why shouldn't I make and share icons of every image I pull off 4chan? They're pretty, and I refuse to limit myself!" breaks the Scale Of Icon Douchery for me.

tl;dr summarized: the use of fanart icons boils down to a simple decision. "Which matters more: using this icon or being polite to the fan who made the image?" Most of the time, I think people who decide that using the icon matters more are being rude. It wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't so aggressive about defending their choice.

And no, just to be clear, I don't really care if you use some fanart icons on your personal LJ (although I mostly avoid it myself). What gets my hackles up is a) the people who make them in huge batches, especially when they just grab the images off 4chan and then demand credit for the resulting icons (although I could make a whole new rant about that practice), and b) the people who use tons of fanart icons for RP accounts when there's plenty of appropriate official material available.

Obligatory disclaimer about how I am a hypocrite and repost Japanese fanart all the time goes here. But I will point out that I usually only do it under friendslock.

TRICK #2

2009-10-31T04:36:08Z

From precto: Write a 250 word prompt about Lockon and the Fat Blonde Commander from Gundam 00 uuu~ It has to be about the two fighting over using the same urinal in the bathroom, uuu~ Post it to your LJ uuu~

It's set in the afterlife bakery, of course. If you don't know what that is, then you haven't watched this. Go ahead; I'll wait.

This is actually 333 words. Live with it.

* * *

There was no doubt that this Goodman fellow was a great baker. His new bakery made such delicious pastries that people came to Heaven from the living world to try them out. Okay, so that was just because Lockon had gotten excited and brought them all in to try them out. But the point stood.

However, he had a major flaw: he'd made the bathrooms in the bakery way too small, and now, out of his stubborn baker's pride, he refused to upgrade them. Even in the men's bathroom, there were exactly two stalls and two urinals. That was it. And this time, when Lockon needed to go, that presented a problem.

Both of the stalls were occupied: Alejandro was in one and Ribbons in the other, and they were playing footsie under the divider. One of the urinals was occupied by Sergei, and no one tried to take a urinal from the Wild Bear of Russia, not even Lockon Stratos. But the other...Goodman was headed for it now.

Lockon hurried over to stop him. "Hey, step back from there!" he said. He'd be more considerate normally, but he really had to go. He'd always thought that sort of thing would go away in Heaven, but it didn't.

"I was here first," Goodman insisted. "And it's my bakery!"

"That means you should take care of the customers' needs," Lockon said, "and build a better bathroom!" He tried to shove Goodman out of the way, but the man's bulk was just too much. Locko realized he would need help.

And that was when a familiar face--or rather, a familiar round robot body--bounded in through the bathroom door. "Lockon needs help! Lockon needs help!" Haro cried, and he launched himself at Goodman's head, sending him toppling to the floor.

"Great job, Haro," Lockon said as he unzipped his pants.

"Sniping the targets? Sniping the targets?" Haro asked curiously as he watched.

"That's right," Lockon said. "Sniping the targets!"

TRICK #1

2009-10-31T04:09:11Z

syaokura gave me this dare:

Write some drabble porn about Lockon and a character of your choice ~ desu!

This is not much of a dare for me. Nevertheless, I failed it: this isn't a drabble (it's over eight hundred words) and it isn't porn. But I think it is kind of sexy? Yeah. Lockon (Neil)/Tieria, S2 episode 8 WTF.

* * *

This was the furthest thing from what Tieria had expected when he'd come to the party. He went with it anyway. He could do nothing but.

He and Lockon danced.

* * *

Ribbons had introduced the two of them with too smug of a smile. Tieria had known immediately that it was not the new Lockon, not his brother as a part of Tieria's brain still thought of the Lockon Stratos who piloted Cherudim Gundam. This was the first one, as impossible as it seemed. The man he'd once heard called Neil Dylandy, although the name was alien to Tieria's brain.

Tieria was too dazed at first to notice anything but this: Lockon was alive. Lockon was alive, and smiling, and reaching for him.

They danced.

* * *

It was as they danced that Tieria began to notice that even if this one thing was extraordinarily right--Lockon was alive--many other things were wrong.

Lockon did not move with his usual easy charm, that careless grace that made Tieria marvel at his ease and confidence. He was a little too loose at one moment and a little too stiff at another. A metaphor supplied itself: Lockon was like a puppet. It was a terrible thought.

The thought alone, however, was not so terrible as the look in Lockon's eyes (both of them intact, as if nothing had ever happened): something dazed and distant, as if he was quite empty inside.

Although Lockon moved stragely, still they danced.

* * *

Every time Tieria tried to get Lockon's attention, tried to speak to him, Lockon merely shifted his grip on Tieria's waist. Warmth ran through Tieria at that. They kept dancing.

* * *

Finally, the dancing stopped, as Tieria managed to pull Lockon aside. But Lockon refused to let him keep the ground he'd gained. Just when Tieria thought he'd steadied himself, Lockon did something utterly unexpected: he bent down to kiss Tieria.

Tieria did not, could not protest, not even when Lockon's tongue flicked between his lips. It was a strange and un-Lockon thing to do, but when Lockon pulled back and smiled at him, it was a very Lockon smile...save for those strange eyes, beautifully, brilliantly blue-green but somehow blank.

"We danced like a couple, right, Tieria?" Lockon said. He pointed to a door leading to an alcove off the main ballroom. "Let's do some more things like a couple."

Tieria did not, could not understand. But it was Lockon suggesting it, so he couldn't entirely resist. He could only shift the flow of events a little bit. "No," he said. "Let's go out into that garden instead. No one else is there." It would be easier to escape with Lockon from outside.

"I didn't know you were into that," Lockon teased, and something about the intonation in his voice was all wrong. Lockon should be teasing him about different things, not this.

But they were done dancing. Lockon led Tieria outside.

* * *

So much of Tieria, right now, was fake: his voice, his breasts, his entire demeanor. But Lockon found the parts of him that were real and touched them so gently. The curve of his neck meeting his shoulders, his thighs beneath the slit of the dress--

That he was doing this touching at all was wrong, was not Lockon at all, but how gently he did it was perfectly Lockon.

"Lockon," Tieria murmured even as Lockon dropped to his knees in front of him and pushed aside the dress. "We can't afford to waste time on this. We must leave."

"But the party's only just started. Tieria--" And there Lockon stopped, freezing in place. His hands had found the gun strapped to Tieria's leg.

Tieria looked down sharply and cried out at what he saw. "Lockon--!" It was his eyes again, but this time they were not blank. They glowed rainbow iridescent, just as Tieria's once had when he connected with Veda. He had been changed--no doubt against his will. And now he was a tool of people working against Celestial Being. It was unacceptable. But he seemed so amenable to their control; Tieria had no idea how to break it.

Lockon's fingers slid over the gun until they rested on the trigger. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes snapped back to normal. And this time they were truly normal--the blankness was gone. "Tieria," he said. "Tieria, I'm sorry. What I've been doing to you--" His free hand rested for a moment on Tieria's thigh again, so warm.

"I liked it," Tieria whispered. "But now--" His voice rose to a firm murmur. "We have to leave, Lockon."

"You have to leave," Lockon said. "I'm their tool. They were going to use me to kill you, Tieria. They still will. Get out of here."

Could Lockon possibly understand how absurd and impossible what he asked was? Tieria decided that he could not. He took Lockon by the shoulders and pulled him up. "We'll leave together," he said. "I won't leave you alone again."

* * *

Next: precto, I will do yours. Although it will be decidedly less sexy.

trick or treat?

2009-10-30T23:53:08Z

ONE Create a graphic (200 x 200 maximum size) to represent your personal "candy". It should have your username on it, but otherwise can feature whatever you want. Make it something special since it's self-representative.

TWO Make a post with the subject "trick or treat?". Put your "candy" somewhere in it, and be sure to repost these instructions.

THREE Then, go around other people's LJs and reply to them with either "trick" or "treat." If you reply with "trick," they will give you an e-dare that you have to perform before taking their candy. If you're too wimpy for that, simply say "treat" and take their candy.

FOUR List all your collected candies in your original "trick or treat?" post to show off your collection, being sure not to direct-link!

It's from the cover of one of my doujinshi okay.

jewelry and miscellanea.

2009-10-24T20:37:51Z

The necklace problem has been solved. Behold:

That is my father's old tie rack. Not pictured: all my other necklaces and pendants that it doesn't have space for. Fortunately, most of them are unlikely to tangle.

I have been productive in the most vague of fashions lately, applying for a temporary job canvassing around election time, but I haven't been contacted back about it yet. Applying was good practice, I guess. I'll keep poking around Craigslist.

I've also been to the library a lot; I picked up a couple of Diana Wynne Jones books (Cart & Cwidder, Charmed Life) and some Ursula K. Le Guin as well (The Left Hand of Darkness, Four Ways to Forgiveness, The Word for World Is Forest). I finished The Left Hand of Darkness yesterday and liked it quite a lot, so after I've caught up a bit on my reread/finishing of Monster I'll probably read some more Le Guin--either that, or read Howl's Moving Castle, which I own. I'm trying to read more lately.

I still have a ton of fic-writing to do, but I inch forward on it, bit by bit. Not sure if I'll get my Oktoberfest done for damned, but at least I have the idea. Here's hoping I can make enough of it.

I really want to get back to video games, too. I've been trying to play Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, but I think I'm burnt out on Persona for the time being. I love the characters and setting in all of the games I've played so far, but the gameplay in Innocent Sin drove me crazy, and it's not really any better in Eternal Punishment. So I might put it on the backburner for a while and dive into something else. I was hoping that something else would be Okami, but the Wii version is kind of a pain in the ass with controls; I'm stuck trying to slice through things with the paintbrush at an early point. It's just not happening.

So that leads me back to the PS2 and the computer. I'm looking for something with fun, different gameplay right now, mostly, since Innocent Sin drove me kind of crazy.

View Poll: My Video Game Options

annwyd @ 2009-10-18T18:01:00

2009-10-18T22:10:44Z

I just defeated a very high-level gestalt jewelry elemental.¹ I would prefer not to fight it again; it was a difficult battle.

What's a good way to store easily-tangled necklaces? I tried making a jewelry tree to hold them out of household materials, but it'll only hold a few. Maybe I should buy a decent one. But, moneys.

¹ I untangled a giant knot of necklaces.

The Reveal of the Infinitely Returning Musics Meme

2009-10-06T23:32:13Z

And now, finally, the answers to the last lyrics meme. This time I've uploaded all the songs and shared them, because I can. I make no guarantees for quality, since these were just what came up on shuffle.

#1
Question Existing [Rihanna]

Who am I living for?
Is this my limit? Can I endure some more?
Chances are given, question existing
Who am I living for?

#2
Learn Today, Earn Tomorrow [Iron On]

All you care about is the bottom line.
I guess you tell yourself that that'll be fine,
But I'll be waiting here just to pass the time
Till this night,
As long as I never care.

#3
Unstoppable [The Calling]

If we had this night together,
If we had a moment to ourselves,
If we had this night together, then we'd be
Unstoppable.

#4
I Keep a Close Watch [John Cale]

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine,
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.

#5
[BONUS TIME]
I Remember [Evening Primrose]

I remember sky.
It was blue as ink.
Or at least I think
I remember sky.

notes: Evening Primrose was an obscure made-for-TV musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It's about a pretentious poet who goes to live secretly in a department store, finds that there are already a bunch of weird people secretly living there, and falls in love with one of them. In the version I have (sung by Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, aw yeah), the songs are all woven together, so you kind of need to listen to all of them. So here they are.

If You Can Find Me, I'm Here
I Remember
When
Take Me to the World

Feel free to pretend it ends there with a happy ending. It doesn't, because it's Sondheim, but it's nice to pretend!

#6
The Best Is Yet to Come [SR-71]

If you could lock the past away,
Step back through the doorway,
This ride has just begun.
If I could change your point of view,
Is there some way I can show you
The best is yet to come.

#7
Don't Let the Devil Ruin It All [Timo Räisänen]

So come on! Let's not
Let just one night
Fuck it all up.
Don't let the devil ruin it all.

notes: This is possibly the perkiest song of the lot.

#8
Another Hundred People [Original Broadway Cast of Company]

Another hundred people just got off of the train
And came up through the ground,
While another hundred people just got off of the bus
And are looking around
At another hundred people who got off of the plane
And are looking at us
Who got off of the train
And the plane and the bus
Maybe yesterday.

#9
Imogen Heap, "Sleep"
Sleep [Imogen Heap]

Sleep...
I think I will
Go back to sleep.

#10
My Body May Die [Pulp vs. The Swingle Sisters]

My body may die but my heart will keep loving you, baby.
Oh, our love will survive the passing of time,
Believe me, believe me.

#11
Holding On [VNV Nation]

I'll believe in you if you believe in me,
But I have no trust in anything.
Somehow I'm always, always falling over me.

#12
If I Were a Weapon [Suzanne Vega]

Oooh, if I were a weapon,
You said I'd be a gun,
Lethal at close range, I guess,
With silencer and stun.

notes: I love Suzanne Vega. I'm not sure if this is something I should be ashamed of or not.

#13
Acoustic #3 [Goo Goo Dolls] (guessed by sapphire_hime)

And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world gets in your way.
What's the point in all this screaming?
No one's listening anyway.

#14
Don't Drag Me Down [Social Distortion]

I begin to watch things change and see them turn around.
Turn around, they'll try to keep you down,
Turn around, turn around,
Don't drag me down.

notes: If I recall correctly, this was in my musics folder from way back when on account of being Isshin's official character song in Bleach.

#15
Furious Angels [Rob Dougan] (guessed by tiassa)

'Cause love, like an invisible bullet, has shot me down and I'm bleeding--yeah, I'm bleeding,
And if you go, furious angels will bring you back to me.

#16
Dance: Ten; Looks: Three [Original Broadway Cast of A Chorus Line] (guessed by fatimaner)

Dance: ten; looks; three.
And I'm still on unemployment,
Dancing for my own enjoyment.
That ain't it, kid. That ain't it, kid.

notes: Less officially known as "Tits and Ass."

#17
Green Finch and Linnet Bird [Original Broadway Cast of Sweeney Todd]

Green finch and linnet bird,
Nightingale, blackbird,
How is it you sing?
How can you jubilate,
Sitting in cages,
Never taking wing?

#18
Missed My Chance [Griffin House]

All those tables I'd written on
Were vanished as if I had never been there,
Like the poets and prophets who can't find the words so they stare,
And all that made sense has somehow turned askew.
I missed my chance with you.

#19
Indoor Fireworks [Elvis Costello and the Attractions]

Indoor fireworks--
We swore we were safe as houses.
They're not so spectacular,
They don't burn up in the sky,
But they can dazzle or delight
Or bring a tear,
When the smoke gets in your eyes.

#20
A Case of You [Joni Mitchell] (guessed by joiedecombat)

Oh, you are in my blood like holy wine,
Oh, and you taste so bitter but you taste so sweet.
Oh, I could drink a case of you,
I could drink a case of you, darling,
And I would still be on my feet.
Oh, I'd still be on my feet.

#21
Damaged [Queensrÿche]

Psychoanalyze the chapters
On the path to my darkest day.
Searching for the answers,
All I see is damage through the haze.

#22
Wear My Face [Cats Laughing] (guessed by infinitepryde)

Wear my face--
You can have it for a week.
Wear my face--
Aren't the cheekbones chic?

#23
Over the Wall [Splashdown]

Oh, but what they don't know,
That something's been leading me on,
Over the wall,
At night.

#24
Transmetropolitan [The Pogues] (guessed by infinitepryde)

Going transmetropolitan,
From the dear old streets of King's Cross
To the doors of the ICA.
Going transmetropolitan,
We'll drink the rat's piss, kick the shite,
And I'm not going home tonight.

notes: This is a great song for establishing the cultural context of the Pogues and explaining why I only use their music as character songs for Londoners and Irishmen. (And drunken Baltimore cops, but that's canon.)

#25
Just Close Your Eyes [Waterproof Blonde]

If you close your eyes, your life, a naked truth revealed.
Dreams you never lived, and scars never healed.
In the darkness, light will take you to the other side
And find me waiting there, you'll see, if you just close your eyes.

notes: This is probably the soundtrack to something embarrassing (or so I have a faint recollection), but I really love the song anyway.

like soldiers on a winter's night with a vow to defend

2009-10-03T07:06:07Z

Concert was awesome. Bruce Springsteen has the energy of ten mortal men half his age. No one gives a show like he does.

Now, before I chicken out, a fic prompt. Pick one of the lyrical prompts and give me a character/pairing and, optionally, a more concrete prompt (e.g. "first kiss" or "after the season finale"). I will attempt to write something short for you.

1) I'll shake this world off my shoulders
2) the line where dreams are found and lost
3) everybody needs a place to rest
4) with that wild open country in our eyes
5) "We cannot undo these things we've done."
6) in the darkness there'll be hidden worlds that shine
7) sometimes I feel so weak I just wanna explode
8) our love will make it real someday
9) everybody has a reason to begin again
10) I want to guard your dreams and visions

Primary fandoms (most likely to get written): Gundam 00, Mai-HiME, Gurren Lagann
Secondary fandoms (probably get written but who knows): Fruits Basket, Persona 3, Macross Frontier, Odin Sphere, maybe Avatar, maybe Final Fantasy
Tertiary fandoms (least likely to get written but don't rule it out): Everything else.

After I've slept I'll do the prompts and upload some music instead of just grabbing lyrics for fic prompts. A novel idea, I know.

the company I keep

2009-10-01T20:31:51Z

scattersane says, "I am nailed to the bed by Kitten."
annwyd says, "Awwww."
annwyd says, "...It occurs to me I don't know whether you mean an actual kitten, or a new sex slave called Kitten."
scattersane says, "She will have to be moved at some point, though, because I have D&D today."
scattersane says, "No, actual kitten."
annwyd says, "Yay!"
scattersane says, "A sex slave I could toss around without guilt."

scattersane says, "Aw, I think Nyar has a wound on her cheek. Those fights with her sister might be getting a little too vicious."
scattersane says, "The kittens love to fight. They'll just rampage across the room trying to fit each other's faces into their mouths."
annwyd says, "........."
annwyd says, "Did you name a kitten Nyarlathotep."
scattersane says, "Yes."
scattersane says, "Her sister is Yog-Sothoth."

annwyd @ 2009-09-28T19:56:00

2009-09-28T23:57:21Z

Name a fandom I will tell you:

♦ OTP
♦ Runner-up
♦ Honorable mention(s)
♦ Crack pairing(s)
♦ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't

I still have other memes sitting unfinished, but those are more complicated. This one is simple.

I am far too exhausted to do anything productive right now, but maybe if I can gather a little more energy before bed I'll work on finishing some fic.

Privilege 101

2009-09-24T01:16:23Z

This guide may seem directed mostly at fandom in some places, because that's how it started. But I'd like to think it could be useful for everybody.

One of the things that becomes clear if you spend enough time around the internet is that there are people who are versed in anti-oppression discourse and people who are not. To the latter category of people, the former can seem like capricious, pretentious, self-righteous, arbitrary judges, eager to exercise their powers to declare you Unfit As A Human Being. To the former, the latter category of people can seem ignorant, rude, and selfish.

(I've found that the best way to find out what category of person you're talking to is to drop the word "privilege" and see how they react. But that's a subject for later.)

Here's the thing: everyone in Category A was once in Category B. Yes, even if they are a queer woman of color--they were probably once kind of douchey to disabled people, before they grew up and realized how society at large fucks up everybody's heads in some way or another. So, this guide is for the Category B people who don't want to be douchebags, but who don't really get what the big deal is about "privilege" and "kyriarchy" and are tired of being accused of being bigots.

You aren't Unfit As Human Beings. You just need to adjust your goggles a bit.

The Situation

In our society, there is a thing I like to call the kyriarchy. That basically boils down to this: "People like to use any excuse to have power over other people." It's a fancy word for all the different oppressions that go on in the world.

One of those oppressions is sexism. In a sexist society, men are people, and women are not quite as much people. That's the crux of it. I don't deny that men have to pay a price to be considered Proper People. It's not nice. It benefits some men by privileging (there's that word) their needs and desires over those of women, and arranging society so that those needs and desires can be easily filled, but in the end it's not really good for anyone. But men still get to be people in ways that women do not. The patriarchy harms men and oppresses women.

This is the way all oppressions work: by designating one class of people as human, full people, normal, and everyone else as Other.

Men are civilized, rational, intelligent people. Women are overemotional, irrational, flighty beings designed primarily to fill the sexual needs of men.

Then there's racism. White people are civilized, intelligent, benevolent people. Everyone with differently-colored skin or differently-shaped eyes is savage, animal, untrustworthy, lazy, shifty, or backwards, or maybe all of the above and some more.

Of course most people don't openly believe this, at least not anymore. But it's been passed down in society for generations, and it lingers. If you're not in the oppressed group, it's easy not to notice how, but if you are, it's easier to see those little messages everywhere, telling you that you're of lesser value because of something beyond your control. Some people, even of oppressed groups, get by fine, it's true. But just because some women don't feel they have any trouble with sexism doesn't mean it doesn't exist, or the messages aren't there.

People who read up on anti-oppression work learn a lot of terms to describe these situations. One of them is "privilege." If you can go about your life without worrying that the shape of your body, color of your skin, configuration of your mind, or anything like that (the list goes on and on) will cause you regular problems, will regularly make people think about you as different and lesser, you have privilege. Privilege is being able to dismiss an argument about sexism or racism or ableism or homophobia or sizeism or and so on as simply an argument, and not relevant to your day to day life.

Obviously, from a list like that, everyone has some privilege. So "you have privilege" is absolutely not a way of saying that you're a bad person. It also doesn't mean you have an easy life. All it means is that in some ways, and only some ways, society is biased in your favor.

Society is biased in favor of men, white people, able-bodied people, heterosexuals, neurotypical people, cissexuals, upper-middle-class people, and more. When you're in one of those groups, and you start to see the privileges you have over other groups disappearing, it's easy to feel like it's unfair or things are changing too fast, because you're so used to things being in your favor that it seems like any change rearranges things to be biased against you.

An example: I am upper-middle-class. If my family's taxes were increased in order to take the burden off lower classes, it would suck for me, and it might feel like poor people suddenly had an advantage over me. But they don't; I had an advantage over them before, and now it's been addressed a little bit.

Affirmative action (regardless of whether or not you think it's a good idea) doesn't mean that people of color and women have privilege over white men. It means an attempt (whether good or bad) has been made to address existing inequality.

The important thing to note is that this system of privileges and disadvantages is ingrained in society after many generations of building the kyriarchy, and we have only just begun to try to tear it down. Passing situations where disadvantaged groups have momentary advantages do not reverse thousands of years of oppression instantly. Many things that seem like advantages are manifestations of oppression. Men will buy women drinks in bars; this isn't "female privilege," but rather an example of the way women are sexualized (often a man buying a woman a drink thinks of it as a sexual gesture, even if they aren't consciously thinking "I will now buy this woman's sex with a drink"). White people will assume that black people are better at athletics; this isn't "black privilege," but an example of how society teaches that black people are more animal-like and less intelligent.

Here's the most important thing: the more you learn about the language of anti-oppression activism and privilege, the easier it is to talk about without everyone blowing up in a giant ball of hurt and anger.

The Advice

There are lots of detailed guides on how to have a polite conversation about these topics. I don't have links to any of them at the moment, but if anyone wants to link in comments, I'll edit this to include them. However, that's for later. Here I want to just list really basic stuff that everyone should know and everyone (myself included) forgets sometimes.

1) Have some common courtesy. It is absolutely amazing how much sexist/racist/homophobic/what-have-you behavior comes down to simply not being polite and courteous. I would much rather deal with a conservative Southern gentleman who has been raised with old-fashioned and possibly bigoted ideals, but also understands that you need to be polite to everyone, than with a 4chan addict who has gay friends but still thinks it's hilarious to toss around the word "faggot" as a generic insult.

Society teaches us that there are some classes of people who are less than people, to whom we don't have to be polite. The first key to not being a privilege-fettered ass is shedding this idea. Whatever non-"PC" thoughts might come into your head about a person or situation, you don't have to say them. You just have to remember common courtesy.

2) Be humble. I don't mean be falsely modest and self-effacing. You can take praise! You can admit that you're a good writer or RPer! What you shouldn't do is act like the world revolves around you and your word is law. If someone disagrees with you, whether it's about characterization in a fanfic or the nature of racism, it's not the end of the world. No one is required to adhere to your opinion.

This seems kind of obvious, just like the last point. But it's really important. Just as society teaches us that some people are less than people, it teaches us that some people are more than people, and their statements and opinions are worth more than those of others. Shedding that idea and acknowledging that you are no more and no less a special snowflake than everyone else is crucial.

3) Don't get defensive. When someone points out that you just did something sexist, say that you're sorry, remember it so you won't do it next time, and then move on. If you think they're being unfair, you can go complain a bit to a friend in private. Throwing a fit publicly makes everyone involved look bad and muddies the waters for the next time someone wants to discuss this sort of thing. Apologizing and moving on costs you nothing. And you've learned something, too: doing that particular thing is a bad idea.

4) Remember that other people have different perspectives, and this is okay. A woman is going to see sexism in places that a man doesn't. One woman will see sexism in a place that another woman doesn't. That's okay. It doesn't mean that they're crazy and you need to lecture them about why that sexism doesn't exist. Just nod, politely mention that you disagree if you'd like to, and then move on.

5) Don't place too much stock in your objectivity. Just because you can keep your cool in a discussion of sexism with a woman and she can't doesn't mean you're right and she's a crazy irrational harpy. Just because you can stay calm in a discussion of racism with a person of color doesn't mean you're right and they're scary and angry. It means the subject hits closer to home for them, and it hurts more. Instead of dismissing their concerns because they're overly emotional and too close to the topic, consider that maybe their closeness to the topic comes from experience.

6) Don't do these things to please the PC police or earn cookies from your minority friends. Do it because it'll make your interactions with other people more pleasant for everyone involved. You might even make more friends.

Fruits Basket: afterthoughts.

2009-09-16T22:07:18Z

So, finished Fruits Basket. All in all, it was excruciatingly adorable and I teared up in several places (although my heart is somewhat stony, so I never actually cried).

Let's do the usual round-up of the good, the bad, and the in-between.

The Bad
As usual, getting this out of the way first.

♦ I grow weary of series where absolutely everyone winds up paired up (with someone of the opposite sex, of course) in the end. In this case, it's especially grating at times because Takaya piled on so much yaoi fanservice stuff early on (and even somewhat later), then turned around and had everyone hook up in approved heterosexual relationships anyway. But you can bet I won't be talking about this much, because 99.9% of the people who complain about it are not heterosexism-conscious queers but whiny fangirls who hate the girls for getting in the way of their yaoi.

♦ The ending was somewhat anticlimactic. Of course, there were almost two volumes of epilogue, which didn't help with that, but still: it felt a little like Takaya had built the ending up and up and then realized she had no idea what she was actually going to do. It wasn't terrible, though, and anticlimactic or not, I still found a lot of the conversations that made up the climax to be really moving.

♦ Takaya could be more than a little self-indulgent. For the most part, I don't mind; what she indulged was mostly what I wanted to see indulged, too (I recall being pained that we would never find out why Kyoko said "I won't forgive you" to Kyo, although I could guess at that point, only to be shortly rewarded with a flashback of her thought process). But at times, it got over the top (note to Takaya: not all of your favorite pairings were good ideas. Really). I can see why other people would be turned off entirely by it.

♦ I was way too lazy about reading it. It took me almost nine months to get through the whole series. So now I barely remember the early volumes. Whoops?

The In-Between
This will get more tl;dr, unsurprisingly.

♦ The fact is, someone could have written an entire manga about the character development that would have been truly needed for what Akito went through. She had some fascinating moments towards the end, and I found myself quite intrigued by some of her premise, but she suffered from being the distant villain for too long. I don't begrudge the series for focusing on Tohru, as I loved her, but to really get the development she needed to make her arc work, Akito should have had more focus early on. But that wouldn't have worked, either. Takaya kind of wrote herself into a corner there. It's too bad I have no desire to write fix-it fanfic, although I guess someone could prompt me to at some point (right now my only real fanfic idea is Momiji deciding that he'd like to continue to wear girls' clothing on occasion as an adult because he aspires to be as cute as Tohru). Still, there were parts that I liked. I loved that even at the end, her relationship with Shigure was kind of messed-up, and that she still had awkward temper issues. More on that later.

♦ The way Yuki's feelings for Tohru were handled. I didn't go into the rage that much of fandom did over this, actually, because for the most part I thought they were handled decently. As Kakeru pointed out, the mother thing wasn't really the issue; lots of guys marry women like their mothers, after all. I liked Yuki's realization that his relationship with Tohru was based on his need to be taken care of rather than mutual companionship, and knew that he was mature enough to see that he could do better for both Tohru and himself. But I wish Takaya hadn't stressed the mother issue so much; that made it a little too neat and easy. I also wish it had happened earlier, so there could have been more time to develop Yuki/Machi. More on that later.

The Good
I am a little ashamed to admit that I found there to be so much of it.

♦ Favorite characters: Tohru, Momiji, Rin, Machi, with a side order of interest in Akito-as-she-could-have-been.

♦ Favorite pairings: let it be said I loved most of the canon pairings and have trouble deciding on favorites (with the exception of Shishou/Hana, of course, and a meh on Ayame/Mine and Ritsu/Mitsuru and probably a few others I've forgotten). But let's see: Haru/Rin because the gender reversal stuff was pretty cool and Rin is sex on legs (whyyyy are they supposed to be the younger ones? Augh), Yuki/Machi despite the pacing issues because they were just so adorable and good for each other, Kyoko/Katsuya because they were perfect for each other and that whole arc made me bawww. Kyou/Tohru seesawed back and forth between making me fall in love with it and just being a part of the story that I enjoyed. My favorite part about it, I think, is the way it was presented as both of them being freaks together, not just Tohru saving Kyou from his monstrousness. Speaking of which...

♦ Tohru. I know the perky, kind, messianic-archetype heroine is a staple of shoujo and indeed of a lot of anime and manga, but Tohru makes it work so well. Takaya shows us how she fights every step of the way to be the person she wants to be--she isn't just naturally a perfect lovable wonder who is cruelly outcast for no reason. She's a strange, insecure, ditzy girl who is in her own way as much of a freak as the people she befriends. She clings to the past and devalues herself until it genuinely upsets those around her instead of just serving as an endearing not-flaw. But she works hard to be the sort of person everyone who gets to know her loves, the sort of person he mother would have been proud of, and it shows through every step of the story. I understand why people wouldn't like her--the perky messianic heroine does get old after a while, and not everyone is up for such a straight playthrough of the trope. Okay. But I will need to stay clear of anyone who calls her a Mary Sue lest I attempt to reach through my computer screen and punch them.

♦ I've already talked about why I love Haru/Rin before, but it bears saying again. They are crazy and messed-up and still perfect and hot.

♦ Machi is a weird and wonderful space case and I love that she got Yuki in the end.

♦ Oh, screw it. It may have been cheesy and trite as hell, but all the characters' stories were so heartfelt that I sympathized with every one of them. I love when an author can make me do that, and Takaya did it so well, somehow. Everyone had a reason for acting as they did, and learning the reasons made me feel for them. Maybe it's not that simple in real life, but it's nice when a story can make you believe it could be, for a little while.

♦ I loved that the ending acknowledged that despite all the sweetness and light, it would take years and years for everyone to get better. I love that Rin was still upset and angry and most of the Sohma NPCs were still struggling with the changes.

♦ I know some people didn't like the flashbacks, but I loved Katsuya and Kyoko's relationship, and getting to read that arc made me very happy. In general, flashbacks might be cheap plot devices, but every time one cropped up in this series, I ate it up. Actually, I ate up cheap plot devices in general in this series.

♦ I have thought before that no matter what an author's skill, if they dislike their characters, I will feel dirty reading the book, and if they love their characters, I will enjoy it. It's very, very clear that Takaya loved her characters, and that made Fruits Basket a very enjoyable read.

The Infinitely Returning Song Meme

2009-09-08T01:27:14Z

It's that time again. Guess the song from the lyrics. No cheating.

I barely even knew I had some of these. I know I could only identify about nine of them from the given lyrics alone. Outdo me, friendslist.

#1
Take the abuse, sometimes it feels like they want me to lose
It's entertainment, is that an excuse?

#2
Oh, I know
That it doesn't seem that much
To you or this town.
Just let me get down.

#3
Now, we can both learn.
Somehow, you'll see it's all we have.
Love, it keeps us together,
And I need love.

#4
Never win and never lose,
There's nothing much to choose
Between the right and wrong.

#5
And ice like vinyl on the streets,
Cold as silver, white as sheets,
Rain like strings,
And changing things like leaves.

#6
Above the flood of emotion,
It's all about forward motion
To find your place in the sun.

#7
Last night might well have been pure hell.
But as we're both half crazy,
We'll treat it with laughs.

#8
"Do I pick you up or do I meet you there or shall we let it go?"
"Did you get my message? 'Cause I looked in vain."

#9
I think I've been somewhere special.
I want to go back there.

#10
The nights are cold
Without you to hold.
I can't see you,
I can't see you in the dark.

#11
In this prison made of lies,
We see what it is we want to see
And find comfort in this broken hall of dreams.

#12
But I feel more like a needle,
Always pulling on the thread.

#13
They press their lips against you,
And you love the lies they say.
Goo Goo Dolls, "Acoustic #3." Guessed by sapphire_hime.

#14
Ignorance like a gun in hand,
Reach out to the promised land.

#15
You're a cold piece of steel between my ribs and there's no saving me,
And I can't get up from this wet crimson bed that you made for me.
Rob Dougan, "Furious Angels." Guessed by tiassa.

#16
It's a gas!
Just a dash of silicone.
Shake your new maracas and you're fine!
A Chorus Line, "Dance, Ten; Looks, Three (Tits and Ass)". Guessed by fatimaner.

#17
How can you remain,
Staring at the rain,
Maddened by the stars?

#18
Now I've bartered and begged for what I believed,
And I saw that the name engraved was my own.

#19
You were the spice of life,
The gin in my vermouth.

#20
I'm frightened by the devil,
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid.
Joni Mitchell, "A Case of You." Guessed by joiedecombat.

#21
The one that lays beside me
Is sharing scars of my broken yesterdays.
Will tomorrow find me hypnotized? Crying?

#22
You say I scare you silly--
That's reacting sensibly.
Cats Laughing, "Wear My Face." Guessed by infinitepryde.

#23
I feel like my words have died,
Under the heel of time.

#24
When you haven't got a penny, boys,
It's all the bloody same.
The Pogues, "Transmetropolitan."

#25
But the fever has broken, and the river has run to the sea,
Washed to the ocean, and saved by a voice inside me.

conclusion: mai-hime.

2009-09-02T21:34:55Z

Required for Sunrise endings: explosions, tears, sparkles.

Not required: logic.

Actually, I thought it was pretty good.

They kind of glossed over it in exchange for More Sparkle Time, but I'm assuming that the reason Mashiro was able to resurrect all the HiMEs' Childs and precious ones was the Power Of Miyu And Alyssa's Love And Sacrifice. I wish that to underscore that, Miyu and Alyssa had at least remained dead, but oh well. For the most part, an ending where everyone gets to come back and be happy is exactly what I wanted for this show. I went through a short period after Takumi's death where I wasn't sure if we'd get one and I was slightly panicky over it.

I still feel like most of the male characters reek of fanboy self-inserts, but Yuuichi, at least, has some redeeming traits as well. Once they quit with the annoying quadrangle stuff towards the end and just focused on his and Mai's feelings for each other, that relationship wasn't that bad, although I still felt like with all the fanservice and generic cheap romance crap they put it through, the main love quadrangle was one of the weaker parts of the show.

Favorite characters: Shizuru, Midori, Takumi, Haruka. I have my application for Shizuru at amatomnes mostly written; I've almost certainly made my decision on where to apply for Midori (although it depends on timing and how I'm feeling then); and once I feel up to it, I may apply for Takumi at polychromatic.

Favorite pairings: Shizuru/Natsuki, Akira/Takumi, Haruka/Yukino. I also enjoy me some Midori/Nao and Midori/Mai on the side, as well as Haruka/Shizuru, a dash of crazy Shizuru/Natsuki/Nao threesome, Akane/Kazu, a bit of Chie/Mai, and...well, I could probably be convinced by just about any combination of the girls, really. For platonic relationships I love Mai/Mikoto and Mai/Takumi. I like the friendship stuff that goes on with Mai/Yuuichi and can even tolerate it as romance towards the end as well. As I said, the other aspects of the quadrangle were still annoying (although Shiho had some decent moments), but nothing quite compares to the sheer wrongness of Ishigami/Yukariko. He fucked her over way more than Shizuru fucked Natsuki over. Hell, he did at the very least mind-rape her. I am just going to pretend that that pairing and its horrifying happy ending doesn't exist.

However, Sister Nao is the most hilarious thing ever.

I'm not sure what I'll do for fanworks. Roleplay may be enough for me, or I might write some fic. I'd like to get back to my Gundam 00 stuff first, since I have so much in progress and refuse to let it die out just because other stuff has my interest.

I know for sure I'm not touching fandom (ha ha, watch me totally not stick to this promise). I don't want to deal with the moronic fanboys, and I definitely don't want to deal with the haters going on about how I'm a rape apologist who proves that yuri fans are evil. So, staying in my safe corner like I try to do with Gurren Lagann fandom.

annwyd @ 2009-08-30T00:45:00

2009-08-30T04:48:13Z

I was going to write a review of Inglourious Basterds, but then I realized that it can be summed up pretty easily.

The acting was great. The cinematography was great. If you like Tarantino films, you'll love it. If you hate Tarantino films, you'll hate it. If you can tolerate Tarantino films for the sake of awesome ladies, you'll at least like it.

In lieu of more detail, have a picture of Cordelia hiding under a chair I am attempting to construct.

teevees

2009-08-29T21:40:40Z

I have acquired the first season of True Blood. After I finish Mai-HiME, that will be my next watching project.

I am up through episode 18 of Mai-HiME. Current status: my favorites are Midori (by far) and Takumi (surprise! Well, not such a surprise considering the stuff he admits in episode 17, but it was a surprise to me, at least). I am shipping Akira/Takumi like burning, loving Haruka/Yukino, highly intrigued by Midori/Nao (for no good reason, since it's not like they particularly interact much, but I really want to RP Midori against a Nao), and looking forward to seeing the crazy that goes down with Shizuru/Natsuki.

After True Blood, I will probably go back to anime lesbians with Ga-Rei Zero, since it's short.

After that, I may return to live-action TV for Nurse Jackie, because while just from what I've heard some things about it will irritate me (the usual half-assed handling of pills and addiction, in particular), I really like the idea of a show about a nurse instead of a doctor getting to be a compelling antihero for once.

However, I have four other options for either before or after that: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Full Metal Panic (at least the first season), Terra e... (so that I can watch a genuinely good anime for once instead of a cheesy but compelling one), and Mai-Otome. So we'll see.

No Penises In My Lesbians, Part 2

2009-08-25T23:22:07Z

I have other stuff to post, including figurine/gunpla pictures and yet another rant about sexism on the internets. But for now...

Bullet point thoughts on Mai-HiME, up through episode 13, with episode 14 waiting for me downstairs. Yeah, I know: shit's about to get real.

The Bad Stuff
Let's get this out of the way first.

♦ Most of the male characters. Good Lord, could they be any more obvious about how blatantly self-insert they are? Some of them have some redeeming character traits (see below), but a lot...do not. And when it cuts into the screentime of the stuff I actually like about the show, I get impatient. No doubt I will be told that taking issue with the male characters in this series is just as bad as hating on female characters in any series because sexism goes both ways omg!! but you know what, I don't care. I don't think most of them have much character.

♦ Most of the canon romance. Akane/Kazuya was adorable and heart-wrenching, even though I was spoiled for the Most Important Person thing; Akira/Takumi is awesome (see below). But when they do straightforward, screentime-eating het, it gets agonizing. It's so very pasted on. Specifically: the Reito/Mai/Yuuichi/Shiho love quadrangle. Kill it with fire. There is some depth to one or two of the relationships there (again, see below), but the actual romance is generic and shallow.

♦ The impending shadow of Sunrise Series Fail. Okay, this is just me being cynical, but I know I can't escape it.

The Maybe Good Maybe Bad Stuff
I can't decide just yet.

♦ Yuuichi and Yuuichi/Mai. As I've already said, I hate the romance aspect of it; it's shallow and tacked-on. But while Yuuichi himself is an obvious fanboy self-insert, he's also a fairly solid character. I like the dynamic he has with Mai when it's not generic tsundere romance. He cuts through her crap better than anyone. I just wish they hadn't buried his character and the meat of the relationship underneath a big steaming mound of fanservice. Speaking of which...

♦ The fanservice. It's hilarious and occasionally kind of sexy (insofar as anime characters are ever sexy, which as far as I'm concerned, ehhhh), but it's also aggravatingly over the top. I don't mind the fanservice in the DVD extras so much--that's practically what they're there for. But that combined with the fanservice in the show itself gets old sometimes.

♦ Shizuru. She's fairly boring to me now--it's funny to see her top everybody except Natsuki, and she's hot, but she doesn't have a whole lot of personality. But I just know she'll be my type when she snaps. Unfortunately, that'll put me in the camp of Those Horrible People Who Prove That Yuri Fans Have Sick Warped Standards For Relationships, and I'm cranky enough from dealing with Gundam 00 fandom. I don't want to be bitter about Mai-HiME fandom too.

♦ On the one hand, Mikoto so far is a fairly generic feral-girl character type, like if Ed from Cowboy Bebop had her hacking abilities and genius stripped out and replaced by badass. On the other hand, she's beloved by kittens! And so cute! And her relationship with Mai is adorable!

♦ Oh yeah, forgot to mention Nagi here. I was annoyed by him at first, but I like that he's supposed to be annoying (unlike most of the other male characters, who are supposed to be convenient self-identification targets for fanboys). And the way he's constantly sitting or standing in high places so that he can feel superior despite being short is hilarious.

The Awesome
Fuck yeah.

♦ The girls! I love all the focus on their friendships. I love seeing them get to kick ass, even if it's in a fanservice-laden way. They're awesome.

♦ I don't usually like main characters, and Mai isn't really my type, but I can still recognize that she's awesome. Aside from the annoying canon romance, her writing is also nicely gender-blind in a lot of ways; her issues and character flaws are the sort of thing a male character might deal with and display too. Plus she has the greatest expressions.

♦ Takumi and Akira/Takumi. So cute. The best canon pairing (and yeah, I can tell it's headed that way) in the whole series. I shipped it before I knew Akira was a girl, and I ship it even harder now. Takumi is also the most moe character in the series. Everything else is targeted at fanboys, but he's snuck in there for fangirls to coo over. Well, them and male shota fans, but we won't talk about that.

♦ My favorite character so far: Midori. She is totally a subtype of mine. Plus, she's like Kati and Patrick rolled into a single character. I love her so hard, and once counselors rolls around again, I'm apping her at campfuckudie. I know you want her at polychromatic, spellcoats, but she's so my CFUD type it hurts. I'm just a bit anxious about being able to write her application--not to mention do her justice.

♦ Also, I will rope ew_younerd into applying for Nao during the nearest camper cycle so we can have sexy threads. Yeah, I ship it.

♦ I am down with the way Miyu and Alyssa booted out the generic Sunrise villain who was giving them orders and became the villains themselves, while still being adorable with each other. I'm sure another generic Sunrise villain will eventually show up from behind the scenes, but for now I'm enjoying those two.

♦ Haruka. Haruka/Yukino. Haruka/Shizuru, for that matter. Need I say more?

Note: I still have three slots left open on my last fic prompt! Claim one here. So far I've written Gundam 00 (of course), Gurren Lagann (Simon/Nia, naturally), and Final Fantasy VIII. I finally remembered to add Persona 3 and 4 to the list of canons I can probably write for, too. Hopefully by the time I finish Baccano! and Mai-HiME and do the next prompt, I'll have finished Persona 2 and be able to write for that too.

annwyd @ 2009-08-24T03:13:00

2009-08-24T07:38:33Z

I will get my medicine tomorrow. Also, I have been finding it fairly easy to write short fic lately. So, for the first time in a long time, let's try a fic prompt.

Fandoms I can write for at the drop of a hat: Gundam 00 (obviously), Gurren Lagann, possibly Macross Frontier.

Fandoms I can give a shot: Roleplay-based stuff, Persona 3 (maybe 4?), Fruits Basket, Avatar, Deep Space 9, Babylon 5, The Wire, Gundam SEED (probably not Mwu, alas, since I still get static from having him and Lockon both in my head), Final Fantasy in general, Hellblazer, possibly Berserk. I'll do another prompt sometime after I've watched/read up on more Baccano! and finished Mai-HiME.

Ten slots are open! Pick a lyric (all taken from my shiny new musical obsessions):

1) these rules are made to break us all
2) if my heart was a compass, you'd be north
3) the purple sky, making jokes about my condition
4) you were a child who was made of glass
5) oh, I tend to disappear here and there
6) and then love pulled out the heavy artillery
7) and there is discord in the garden tonight
8) if you cut me I suppose I would bleed the colors of the evening stars
~~9) transfiguration's gonna come for me at last~~
10) and remember what we had here when there was something left to save

Give me a character, group, or pairing, plus a more concrete prompt (e.g. "dinner for three") and after I've slept, I'll see what I can do with it.

annwyd @ 2009-08-15T03:49:00

2009-08-15T07:53:51Z

Late tonight (as in, only a few minutes ago), I finally felt better enough to finish a section of the fic I was working on. We'll see how much more I can do tomorrow. Er, today after I've slept. Of course, I will also finally pick up tags, apologizing profusely all the while.

Mostly I am posting again because of a meme.

Name a fandom and I will fill out the following for it.

Favorite character:
Least favorite character:
Character with the best hair:
Character with the best eyes:
Character with the best smile:
Character I'd most want to kiss:
Character I'd most likely have sex with:
Character I'd make lunch for:
Character I'd go singing in the rain with:
Character I'd go shopping with:
Character I'd go dancing with:
Character I'd take over the world with:
Character I most want to see more of:
Favorite pairing:
Least favorite pairing:

Give me fandoms to answer it for! But they may have to wait until after I've picked up my much-delayed tags.

Now I go to sleep.

wat.

2009-08-10T20:04:27Z

The panty thief monster is trying to tentacle rape Natsuki.

I'm not sure whether I should love this show or hate it. Oh, Sunrise.

(As of episode 4, I can totally tell that Shizuru is my type of character, so if you're one of those Sane Fans Who Wishes Those Horrible ShizNat Fans Would Shut The Fuck Up, you might want to stop reading my posts now.)