baby, be my mafia boss, I'll be your right-hand man

if you go down to the tropical rainforest tonight...

2009-10-04T09:10:50Z

I am posting this from little_ribbon's hostel - she is REFUSING to allow me to watch Merlin until I finish this post. SO I WILL MAKE THIS QUICK. ... for a given value of quick.

Last year lacewood, cynic_in_charge and I went to visit the Night Safari's Halloween Horrors, and that was FUN. This year, the both of them having ABANDONED ME this country for CANADA, I went with rei_kurasaki, little_ribbon and Kimberly.

BEFORE the trip they had all been over my house and I had HAPPILY INFECTED THEM WITH MY NEW OBSESSION: TALES OF SYMPHONIA 2: DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD / KNIGHTS OF RATATOSK. I love Emil, and to my great surprise and shock, I really really really like Richter. Richter looks like the love-child of Jade and Asch with Dist's fashion sense, and Richter is my hero ♥ He's smart and really cool and distant and TOTALLY NOT AT ALL THE KIND OF CHARACTER I NORMALLY GO FOR (cough cough Emil: small and blond and cute and with the biggest puppy eyes ever). BUT YES. It was especially to show rei_kurasaki all the Richter/Emil moments, and Lin was, "... did they make this game gay on purpose?"

ANYWAY THAT WAS SUPER FUN, because then we went for dinner and SO MANY THINGS BECAME ALL RATATOSK-ESQUE'D - we were talking about having oyako-don and then Kimberly said, "ARE YOU A DOG OR A MAN", and Sam said, "I DESPISE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T THINK FOR THEMSELVES" and... and then Kimberly pushed up NONEXISTENT glasses and said, "COURAGE IS THE MAGIC THAT TURNS DREAMS INTO REALITY". oh god and then I laughed SO HARD ROFL. Even when we were waiting for the tram, I leaned on a different side of the railings from the others and was, "LOOK I'M DIFFERENT FROM ALL OF YOU" and it turned into YET ANOTHER "WE DESPISE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T THINK FOR THEMSELVES" moment. We were standing at another long-tailed bush rat exhibit and somehow the conversation turned into, "You let your Uncle Alba push you around" and more COURAGE BEING THE MAGIC happiness.

oh but the part that made me laugh so much is that now when we're apologising, we're channelling Emil. And right at the end of the night when we were having Ben & Jerry's, this SUPER CREEPY (but very pretty!) freaky extra-mouthed gothic Lolita girl came up to Kimberly, and STOOD THERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME JUST STARING AT KIMBERLY WITH REALLY HUUUGE EYES (Lin can still see her when she closes her eyes)... and Kimberly hunched over and went, "... I'm sorry..."

... oh god and then Lin and Sam and me burst out laughing.

ANYWAY BACK TO THE ORIGINAL STORY BEFORE IT WAS DERAILED BY RATATOSK: Night Safari's having a Return of the Halloween Horrors, and it is AMAZING. IT IS SCARIER THAN IT LOOKS ON THE VIDEO OKAY, because, it is AT NIGHT, and it is IN THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST. Which ALWAYS makes the Malayan horror aspect REALLY REALLY TERRIFYING. ANYWAY! I thought the Night Safari had been done up really beautifully: they had a giant animatronic horror pumpkin-head tree at the visitors' entrance, which would rise up and roar with unholy laughter, and they had LOADS of costumed horrors wandering around: the Tin Man who'd taken his quest for a heart to the extreme lengths of looking for REAL human hearts, bloody!Cinderella with a very real-looking glass slipper in her forehead, a creepy, creepy dim-sum seller with... REALLY SPECIAL FRESH DIM SUM, a psycho farmland Ronald McDonald, Nightmare Before Christmas-esque gothic horrors... together with the usual suspects: Scream!masked caped mysteries, creepy crones, butcher-knife wielding maniacs, caped vampires (DO WE DAZZLE YOU)... and MORE.

We went for the scary-fied Forest Giants Trail - the suspension bridge had been turned into the Bridge of No Return, complete with freaky people and freakier props. And the rest is cut (in case you want to go and be surprised) for the

TERRORS OF THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST.

There was a GIANT CAULDRON of bubbling human remains at the entrance of the Bridge of No Return, complete with a bloodied butcher man and a cackling witch. ... as usual my response to FEAR is to be Very Nice to the nice people who are dressed up in scary clothes to freak me out and are standing there in the muggy tropical night WORKING while we are having fun, so I smiled a lot and told them how lovely their costumes were, and we took pictures! They were very obliging. :D

... and there was a SCARY HUNG-BODY DROP at the end of the suspension bridge. There is NO BODY OPERATING IT (so one of our fellow trailgoers was saying it must be automatic).

There was a SCARY CHINESE VAMPIRE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE (while the forest echoed with screams and cries), and when the flash of (someone else's) camera went off, it picked out this really pretty multicoloured satin decorations on his collar, so I went, "Oh, your costume is so pretty!" (then to the rest) "Does anyone want a picture?" and our happy fellow trailgoers were, "Oh oh oh! Can I get a picture of you strangling me? :D" And the vampire was very obliging. :D

Oh and the sweeeeeetest moment of the night was when we got to the end of this suspension bridge, and there was this adorable little three-year old girl gazing up at a scary PUMPKINHEAD man and giggling and giggling with UTTER JOY AND HAPPINESS. We could hear her laughing from the bridge, and it was the HAPPY LAUGHTER of a SMALL CHILD HAVING THE TIME OF HER LIFE. It was the cutest thing ever. I wanted to take pictures but felt I would be accused of being PEDO. So I did not, BUT I WILL REMEMBER THE CUTENESS OF IT ALL.

Also, the ride that's REALLY worth your money? It's the Train of Terror and Gate to Neverland. It's just three dollars extra to get onto that train, and in all our opinions, it was MORE THAN WORTH THREE DOLLARS. On the train of terror, you get taken through the Night Safari with CREEPY COMMENTARY. Such as when the ordinary guide would tell you, "A pelican's beak can hold up to 30 gallons of water", the Terror Train guide would cackle and tell you in a veeeeerrry witchy voice, "A pelican's beak is big enough to hold a human head... or two." There would be SPECIAL EMPHASIS on the bite strengths of various predators and just what would be lurking in the looong grass.

BUT THE REALLY FREAKY PART is the Gate to Neverland. (BAD ENOUGH THAT IT MAKES YOU THINK OF ENTERING MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOMAIN). This year's theme was TWISTED FAIRYTALES.

THE TRAIN OF TERROR

The GATES OF NEVERLAND actually open to an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT AREA OF THE PARK. :D And it's ... REALLY FREAKY. (to me. I am a gutless wonder, therefore I get the most scares and hence satisfaction!)

It opened with this FREAKY MAN IN A SACKCLOTH MASK BANGING AWAY WITH A KNIFE ON THE METAL FENCES. And there was SMOKE/MIST, and then we went into the land of TWISTED FAIRYTALES. There were Beauty & the Beast wandering bloodied and quite insane in a grove of destroyed bookshelves (books in coffins!!!), there was Snow White and the Evil Queen cursed by the Mirror, there was wailing!little Red Riding Hood terrorised by HUGE ANIMATRONIC WOLVES and the deranged Huntsman who strode past the train banging his machete on the siding, a Pan-like creature who crept up to the train, GORE GALORE, a creepy lady with a baby wrapped up in her arms, MORE...

and the part that scared me the most was their take on the Little Mermaid, because the twist was that a demented butcher had gotten his hands on Ariel and the rest of her sisters, and that area was set up like a BUTCHERY OF A FISHERY, with huge mermaid tails hanging from wooden supports...

and the butcher with the Little Mermaid on a bloodied chopping block. The Little Mermaid was SCREAMING and thrashing and calling for help from the train passengers, and her TAIL was (quite frighteningly) flapping away despite being severed from her body, and the butcher was screaming, "DIE DIE DIE!!!" intespersed with HACKING AND CHOPPING, and then he would stare up at the train and yell, "PRETTY GIRL OVER THERE, YOU'RE NEXT!"

AND NOW I MAY HAVE MY MERLIN.

THE POWER OF AMAZING COMMANDS YOU!!!

2009-05-23T06:23:32Z

Caught Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds with Kura & family yesterday (it was great to see everybody!! :), and it was SMOKIN' HOT AWESOME PURE AURAL AMAZING. Nobuo Uematsu got on stage at the end to sing with the chorus for One-Winged Angel, and he was adorable. Totally into the music (and bouncing up and down, beaming beatifically, in a way that made me realise I didn't realise older men could be so endearing). hackney_ed wrote an amazing (and friends-locked) review here. ♥

AND NOW! ON THE AVATAR FRONT...

DUN DUN DUN DUN

ALL HAIL ZUKO, EX-PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION!!!

The Avatar First Look photos are up on USA Today for Aang and Zuko.

My thoughts on racefail can be summarised as: "Please go watch Ember Island Players." (spoilers) I'm not dismissing the Very Real Cultural and Racial Stereotyping Issues At Stake Here, but I do think that a movie is a commercial enterprise just like any other, and like every commercial enterprise, it will come with commercial constraints.

If you want to RAEG at racefail, go on ahead to this post at racebending. The reaction post at avatarfans is over here. There is an interesting post by glockgal over here.

My personal (Zuko-centric) views, by contrast, are quite simple.

Dearly Beloved Zuko, I would love you regardless of the colour of the skin of the actor playing you. I fell in love with your character because you were 200% FLAMING EPIC LAME, EMO, ANGST AND FAIL in the manner I consider Deeply, Intensely Amusing. I would love you whether you were played by the (blond! and blue-eyed!) Jesse McCartney, whether you were played by Dev Patel, or any other Culturally Correct Casting Choice.

And that is all.

and boy have I got something to say

2009-02-25T09:50:39Z

So on Monday I turned up at work, and after feeling progressively worse, went off to a clinic, where I was told by a very sweet elderly doctor that I had a fever I wasn't aware I was running. He greeted my surprise with a disapproving, "You mean you didn't know?" At which I recalled this instance last year when the country was hit by a shock following an earthquake in a neighbouring region, and at which several of us young pupils felt ill. Which we responded to by thinking 'We must be working too hard' and went right back to work.

ANYWAY! I WANT TO SAY A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO firestorm717 for the lovely gift, which had me beaming from ear to ear, and also, ONE DAY I HAVE TO TAKE YOU OUT FOR DINNER AND DRINKS, YOU BEING ONE OF THE PEOPLE ON LIVEJOURNAL WHICH I AM UTTERLY CONVINCED I WILL MEET ONE DAY. ♥ :D :D :D BEST WISHES IN YOUR CHOICES - I can actually imagine you as this amazing Professor Emeritus one day, and that'd be just ONE of your stellar academic achievements. :D

Also! The Supreme Court is throwing a massive open house next weekend, from the 14 - 15th of March. Check out the Website Here. It's called The Living Courthouse. This is pretty cool because the Court is never open on weekends, ordinarily, so it is a FUN TIME TO GO AND TAKE A LOOK. There will apparently be a series of short, informative and light-hearted court enactments, but honey I have got to object to that description because you're re-enacting bankruptcy, personal injury claims, seizure of property, and breach of contract. There is absolutely nothing light-hearted about that.

And now I simply must pass on the link that anyasy gave me:

★★★ The Live-Action All-Female Phoenix Wright Musical, as performed by the Takarazuka Revue. You remember the Zuka Club in Ouran High School Host Club? Well, the Takarazuka Revue was the Zuka Club's inspiration!

I've never made a secret of how I feel about Phoenix Wright, but even I have to say that the ten-minute preview here is utterly compelling. Phoenix and Edgeworth are especially noteworthy. You are never in doubt that they are played by women, but both their actresses are incredibly charismatic, and they are amazingly good at being masculine. Watch it, you'll see what I mean.

Greetings from Japan

2009-01-08T22:31:59Z

Hello from Kansai International Airport! Yes, Tenth, I'm stalking you again.

There are only two things better than discovering Japan, and that is discovering Japan with others, and watching others discover Japan. Watching someone giggle with delight over tiny instant noodles may be one of the best things ever!

Baseball twit, all the postcard shops are closed. But I found some anyway.

El, I wish you were here!

I AM NOT YAMAMOTO TAKESHI

2009-01-07T14:43:49Z

So arrch put up this personality test that I absolutely could not not do, clearly: go have fun with it!

I DON'T WANT TO HEAR WHAT REBORN CHARACTER THIS IS MOST LIKE LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING.

Laid-back Doers are friendly, happy persons. They enjoy being together with other people. Smart, eloquent, witty and charming, they like to be the centre of attraction. They do not like to be alone. Their zest for life ensures that others feel well in their company and that they quickly get to know people. Laid-back Doers get the best out of every moment - many people of this type have a gift for making their whole life one big party. Boredom is unknown in their presence because they are very good at carrying others away with their enthusiasm, their good mood and their optimism.

Abstract thinking and profound philosophising about the meaning of life appeal less to Laid-back Doers. They are pragmatic, realistic and live completely in the here and now. At work too, they prefer it when it’s all go and they can act out their purposeful manner to the full. They have no problem handling several tasks at once and they blossom out in crisis situations! A varied field of activity with a lot of social contacts is just the right thing for them. One will also seldom find them inactive in their spare time; due to their open, curious nature, they mostly have many hobbies and interests. They are not afraid of the unknown: as they are flexible and creative, they quickly adjust to new situations and make the best of them. They sometimes come into conflict with strict rules or hierarchies by which they quickly feel constrained and against which they rebel.

As friends, Laid-back Doers are generous, helpful persons who attach great importance to harmonious relationships and a good atmosphere. Their sociable manner means that they have a large circle of friends and they love having the house full of many different types of guests. They are happy to give in to their spontaneous moods and fancies in the just one or two important things. This makes them appear somewhat unpredictable to those with a quieter nature. When it really matters, you can rely on them one hundred percent. As partners, they are creative, impetuous and imaginative - as long as their partner knows how to fascinate them. They can hardly stand boredom or routine in a relationship. They do not like conflicts at all; if a relationship becomes too strenuous or involves too much effort, they tend to withdraw from the partnership and start to look for a new partner. However, if one manages to keep their curiosity alive in the long term and surprise them again and again, one has a loyal and loving partner.

THE SECTION ON LOVE?

THIS MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD

Your type’s trademark is “easygoing.” That applies to love just as to the rest of your life. For you, it is important that your partnership is a source of fun, excitement and inspiration. With a sentence like: “I think it is time for us to be working on our relationship again”, you can be chased out of the house in a hurry. You want to enjoy and not strain yourself, preferably with a partner who feels exactly the same way - someone who is as similar as possible, and with whom you have the least sources of friction.

Your disposition is warm, generous, and passionate. No wonder many people fall hopelessly in love with your charisma! Contrary to some other Doers, you have no problem expressing your feelings verbally, as well. Vivacious as you are, you are also capable of falling in love head over heels, with an unrivaled intensity. Whoever becomes the object of your love is showered with attention, declarations of love, and tenderness. You are not fond of boundaries, and your affection for someone is boundless and boisterous - as long as it lasts - because (and that is the flipside of the coin) only very few types manage to fascinate you and keep your interest in the long term.

[does this sound like this to you:

incidentally that is Tsuna entirely unimpressed by Gokudera's effusive declarations of L ~ O ~ V ~ E ~. ]

For you, there always has to be a little of the “magic,” a little of the enchantment of your relationship’s beginning. Otherwise, you quickly get bored and begin looking for a new challenge. Literature describes you as the type who is most likely to flirt with an affair if the titillation of love is not fresh any longer. Consequently, your partner is well advised to accept your passionate protestations about your eternal love with a certain skepticism: Even if you know that everything is going to stay that way for the rest of your life, for people of your type “forever” is better interpreted as “for now.” However, as long as you are happy with him/her your partner can literally bathe in your love and will in all likelihood have problems catching his/her breath, sexually as well. Your charisma and tendency for being extravagant turn you into an almost irresistible seducer.

[LAUGHING SO HARD]

a blast from the past that's coming up FAST

2008-10-27T16:16:00Z

A very early Happy Halloween post, everybody (look, Livejournal's already switched the viewing in anticipation), as the next four days are quite literally going to be hell for me, and I don't expect to be able to be on very much, if at all:

Last night, lacewood, cynic_in_charge and I celebrated Halloween by venturing into the Night Safari for the special Halloween event (so scary, people wrote in to the national newspapers to complain). Jack-o-lanterns and skeletons greeted us at the entrance, and the Forest Giants trail had been decorated in suitably macabre fashion with dismembered limbs, bloodstained ghouls, and all manner of the dead and departed. We were not greeted with the more extreme and interactive forms of terror worthy of writing in to the newspapers for, but I will freely admit I am very easily terrified and did actually consider the Malayan jungle horror walk unnerving on some level. However, I was not afraid, as I was with lacewood, who was concerned that she would accidentally punch anyone leaping out of the bushes to scare her, and cynic_in_charge, who rightly paid more attention to the flying squirrels and absent giraffes than the forest freakshow.

Then after a while it started to remind me of Bon Festival, as written by Akira Amano. It was also immensely amusing to me to wander about and be able to say things like, "It looks like Uri!" when looking at the fishing cat, and "Hibari" when staring at the porcupines, and have people understand. (This was like when I went to the zoo with rukia the last time [I really missed having your brother's sharp eyes for wildlife around, Airy], and we were both looking at the kangaroos and simultaneously had... I was going to say Extreme thoughts, but that really sounds wrong now, doesn't it?) Also, I like bats, having grown up in my grandparents' house, which always had at least three in the rafters at any given time (it was very fun to go and watch them sleeping soundly in the daytime, they were tropical fruit bats, and I always felt that they were extremely cute).

However, the three of us were the only ones in the tram-safari ride pulling out from the main station, and as we had decided to sit right at the very back - well, I must admit I felt incredibly spoilt and happy and privileged as the tram did in the event move off with just three of us, so the guide gave us a very personalised tour and commentary. ♥

ANYWAY! ON TO THE REAL SHOW:

download

note: The actual cover does not actually look like that, it looks like this.
But I think 'my' version captures the look of timeskip!Darren better XD)
Darren Shan Manga Volume 8 preview scans
(13 pages (Happy Halloween!), 5.37 MB, 200 dpi)
[ps! manga + extras = 188 pages, this is just but ~~what I bought it for~~ a little of it.]

The most important thing you need to know
about Volume 8 of the Darren Shan manga is:
WARNING: EXTENSIVE IMAGE-INTENSIVE PREVIEWS

STEVE'S BAAAAACK (and so DAMN pretty)

And Darren doesn't look half-bad either.

The first shot you get of Steve. Moonlight! Looking down from the top of a tall building with the wind in his hair!

WHERE ARE THE SAKURA PETALS, AGAIN?!

Darren's reaction looks so shoujo manga:

Uh, until you realise that expression is because Steve has a crossbow bolt pointed at his heart.

BUT LOOK!

ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD:

... I must admit I was so excited about scanning this picture that I utterly failed to scan it straight.

Well, Photoshop is for wonderful things XDDD

... I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY, STEVE.
Especially since the context of that picture is that Darren just had this intense conversation with Debbie on the phone.
(Debbie's really pretty, by the way. I wanted to scan her too! BUT THEN THIS POST WOULD'VE BEEN ANOTHER HOUR LATE)

HIGHLY dubious bonus

This is how I saw the Darren and Steve shots.

Other Amazing Things About Darren Shan

☠ Did you know that we're getting a Darren Shan Movie in 2009? Here's the IMDB cast list! VERY NOTABLE MENTIONS:
★ Ken Watanabe as MR. TALL
★ WILLEM DAFOE as Gavner Purl
(The Green Goblin in Spider-man, the voice of Gil in Finding Nemo, I COULD GO ON AND ON)
★John C. Reilly as Mr Crepsley (WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING)
★ Selma Hayek as Madame Truska
I'm kinda blinking a lot in shock here, guys. Excuse the incoherency. This really is official, you can see it on the Darren Shan website.

☠ The Darren Shan manga has been licensed, and is to be released by Yen Press, in 2009, in time for the movie's release. The author himself was proofreading the US adaptation of the manga as of September 2008.

☠ You can still read the first five chapters of the Darren Shan manga scanlated on onemanga right here, though. (omg. reading this while reading Volume 8 is a real headtrip)

☠ Check out the (fanart) by the scanlators of Darren as Spider-man and Steve as Venom. ♥ (must re-read Volume 1, I swear I have seen it before)

give me 24 hours and I will FANGIRL THE WORLD

2008-10-26T03:56:06Z

... oh god I haven't posted in forever. Have been literally eaten by life: on the highly dubious upside I finally got the Millefiore/Spanner case I always wanted, in early August -

And it has, true to form, kept me chained and handcuffed in the basement for the past two and a half months. And looks set to keep me there for more! I took 70 megabytes of documents home to work with over the weekend, am trying very hard not to think about them now (and obviously, failing equally hard). (Had to turn down morning with adorable dogs today because I am genuinely exhausted and need to conserve energy T___T)

That said! tinted_glass linked this hilarious It's Always Sunny video, and it made me laugh so hard because it contains a great deal of hysteria about not reading contracts before you sign them. *still laughing*

you are deeppink
#FF1493

Your dominant hues are red and magenta. You love doing your own thing and going on your own adventures, but there are close friends you know you just can't leave behind. You can influence others on days when you're patient, but most times you just want to go out, have fun, and do your own thing.

Your saturation level is high - you get into life and have a strong personality. Everyone you meet will either love you or hate you - either way, your goal is to get them to change the world with you. You are very hard working and don't have much patience for people without your initiative.

Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

mangy_mongrel is travelling Europe and is very sweet and sending postcards from all over (much love!) ♥ - also this is probably a measure of how used my family is to me; my Dad was going through the mail, found a postcard from Italy addressed to 'Gokudera Hayato', and without blinking passed it to me with an unconcerned, "This is yours".

maiki! The Rolo doujinshi arrived! ♥ IT MADE ME SO SO SO HAPPY. ♥ Thank you for the gorgeous and lovely Rolo stickers! They are making me smile in a most disturbing manner! ♥ It is so clear which your art is (I want to take your Rolo home and love him forever)! milk_of_lime's artwork is also incredibly distinctive and also makes me smile like anything. Thank you so much for putting the book together, every single page and word and line of it is made of pure love. ♥

Had an immensely fun time yesterday with hemera_oneiroi (BEST SHIFU EVER), julineci (♥!!!), snowykiss (thank you so much for everything, and I really hope your feet feel better~), kateriya (pretty lady! ♥ *is shot*), chiiyo (omg why are you so cute when you look so sad), haruko_o (AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER), and aslah (THANK YOU SO MUCH for MAGICALLY FINDING THE book! ♥)

Amazing Things of Note
☆ TALES OF THE ABYSS ANIME: I really need to make a separate post for this BUT WHERE IS THE TIME? D: Suffice to say it is amazing and lovely and is gradually giving me the culmulative WANT to replay the game (oh god no, I gave up 100 hours of my life to this game and I don't want it back; but I ALSO do not wish to give up any more)
☆ TALES OF THE ABYSS MANGA VOLUME 5: why so cute and so excruciatingly adorable GUY/LUKE LOVE UP 100%.
☆ DARREN SHAN MANGA: FINALLY! FINALLY! ADULT!STEVE AND DARREN MEET AGAIN in the September '08 release of Darren Shan! ♥ I have only been waiting since December 2006 for this (... wow. In comparison I have only been waiting for Gokudera and Tsuna to reunite since February this year). Adult!Steve looks AMAZING. ♥

HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY!

2008-08-28T15:34:18Z

First things first:

To every wonderful teacher on my list:

HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY!

artwork by kuromai, here
used with permission from the artist
from her post, Grab the spanner, the shark is eating the pineapple.

Her introductory words? "I introduce you the 3 teachers from Hitoman Rep0rn school."

IS IT NOT AWESOME. ♥ I thought it would make the PERFECT HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY THING TO SAY, especially for the teachers on my flist into Reborn, so I asked permission to do this and she said yes. ♥
</b>
haha. And it's kind of really silly, but I felt like saying this: so this week has been a real nightmare on every imaginable front, and I really do mean every imaginable front. I was staggering out from the office tonight and thought I should ring one of my teachers to wish him Happy Teachers' Day (I've got my teachers' home numbers on my cellphone, and now I've started working I wonder why on earth would they give their home numbers to me, when I was in school I assumed it was something all teachers did). This was my previous form teacher, who taught me history. So I called, and I happened to get his voice mail, and there was something in just hearing that familiar voice, so unthinkably clear as if time had never passed at all, saying,

"This is [HIS NAME]. I think I've finally fixed this thing so you can actually leave a message after the beep.
that made me feel instantly, completely, better.

It's not only around Teachers' Day that I think about my teachers and how I simply wouldn't be here without them. I think my time with them, although it was just two years, as, simply, a time in my life where my intellect made the greatest advances and developments. Crazily enough, even university didn't measure up to that. And you could argue that I learned the most in university, but dear God, for sheer PSYCHIC TORTURE BREAKING YOU IN THROUGH TO NEW AND AMAZING HORIZONS YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WERE CAPABLE OF, and making you so much FASTER BETTER STRONGER SMARTER MORE THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT YOU COULD BE, nothing could beat my junior college; nothing.

Except maybe my job.

In other words, torture is essential to effective learning.

SO TO ALL TEACHERS ON MY FLIST! HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY.
lots of love to those of you working @ 萌え. < / iamsolame.>

Words cannot express my extreme sadness at being unable to attend Teacher's Day at my old school this year. Since I left in 2002, I've attended it and/or visited the school around that time every year until... now. And it is such great irony that I can't attend this year because - guess what? I'M BEING EDUCATED. There's a seminar on the use of and new trends in expert evidence testimony which I simply cannot miss, which is a great tragedy because, work, you know, I could take leave for, but a one-and-only-seminar? Can't be missed. The timing clashes BEAUTIFULLY with the teachers' day celebrations, too. HENCE MY EPIC HEARTBREAK.

also in stupid news:

Q: "What is that sound?"
A+Q: ... "Silence. Why?"
A: "It's the sound of someone no longer paddling up that old Egyptian river."

Behind the cut is the most pathetic thing you will ever see in your entire life.

I'm listening to take me out to the ballgame, by david cook. I am not going to promise that it is awesome and mind-blowing music.

ANYWAY. Inoue Suguru's blog is named SUGU TORNADO, WTF LOL. I kind of HATE how I loved it AT FIRST SIGHT, because oh my God. It's just - so charming and completely natural, and it's basically the way I see the world. LOOK at the things he finds worthy of blogging (I won't dignify his entries by calling them 'writing') about:

((゜ロ゜;)) RUN & GUN. HE LIKES RUN & GUN! With complete indifference to how this comes across as Screaming Mindless Fangirl, OH MY GOD!!! (Niisan loves Run & Gun, and therefore they get AUTOMATIC LOVE from me!)They did the Air Gear musical, and that really should explain Nearly everything. ;)

(ʘ_ʘ) THIS. Is a photograph of him and 松山さん, whom I take to mean Takashi Matsuyama, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi's seiyuu. ♥ HE IS SO SWEET IN THIS ENTRY OMG. PHOTO OF YAMAPAPA'S SEIYUU, HOW COULD THIS BE WRONG? ❤

\(ﾟ∀ﾟ)/━━!!! HE. THINKS. (haha! he thinks!) Newtype ROMANCE (what the hell Suguru are you even a boy) is worth making an entire post about. OKAY FINE it was because Reborn was mentioned. But STILL. THAT IS NEWTYPE ROMANCE. A.K.A. that publication whose distribution is primarily 99% Yaoi Fangirl.

（￣▽￣）Not only that, he also thinks PASH (seiyuu magazine) is WORTH MAKING AN ENTIRE ENTRY ABOUT. (oh my god so much STUPID LOVE. ❤)

\（＾▽＾)＼ He thinks fireworks are worth posting about. Just fireworks.

... ❤

（＾∀＾）fluffy white cats and brown dogs. Household Pet Ranking ROFL, also the caption on the dog picture?" お犬様(ミロ)は、エアコンがあるリビングで寛いでいやがります。" You -sama your dog (Milo?)? ... aircon!?!?!?! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD. *DIES LAUGHING* (lol my Japanese could be TOTALLY WRONG PLEASE KICK ME IF SO)

\(ﾟ∀ﾟ)/━━━━━━ !!!!! CHOCOLATE DESERVES A POST OF ITS OWN?!

... I really could get to love this guy. ~ ❤

... He's so cute.

(￣へ￣ ) What the hell did I just say.

The Entry That Was Supposed to Be [Abyss, Boys with Spanners, and GEASS LOVE.]

2008-08-18T15:22:18Z

Warning: THIS POST IS 屑, 屑 and THEN SOME MORE 屑:

ahahahaha today I created a document chronology until I made myself quite sick from all the document-to-screen-to-document, and I brought more of them home. BUT I was going to say something:

There was this story my Mom told me which I found hilariously funny. My mom was talking to her technician one day, and her technican was telling her about how she despaired of her little boy, who was about five or six years old, and according to his mother, demonstrated (in her opinion) negligible conversational skills, especially when talking to other people. But that wasn't all. "I hope he'll be all right," she said, to my Mom, "He wants to be a mechanic when he grows up. He's already wandering around the house with a spanner trying to fix things."

And all this at the age of five or six.

Younger inclinations don't always lead to the child's future profession, but sometimes, it is said, you can just tell. I am not entirely sure this sort of career prediction-based-on-childhood-predilictions worked with me, but just maybe...

(1) read a lot

(2) thought a lot
Imagine, if you will, that my given name was Tsunayoshi. This is what would happen when my Mom caught me doing nothing at the age of five.

Mom: "What's Tsuna doing?"
Me: *looks at her* "Tsuna's thinking."

I have absolutely no recollection of this and absolutely no idea of what I could have been thinking about. BUT THERE YOU HAVE IT.

(3) corrected people a lot
THIS sometimes DISTURBED PEOPLE (unless they were my mom, in which case, it amused her), i.e. because all this happened when I was three:

Uncle, trying to get me to talk: *points at fish on plate* "Fish! Fish!"
Me: *stares at him in mild disgust* "Pomfret."
Uncle: D:

(or this one)

*after an accident with some food that had landed, via human accident, on the couch*
Mom: "Oh. The jelly dropped."
Me: *eyes her* "Fell."

(4) was terribly opinionated, despite small size
(this, when I was four)

A family friend's sister, a fascinating chain-smoking lady, had come to visit. She lit up in the house, at which I'd stared at her, and promptly come over.

Me (at four, to my parents' horror and subsequent shushing and apologising): "Don't you know smoking is bad for you?!"
(what an obnoxious brat)
Cigarette-Smoking Lady: *took one look at me* *laughed and laughed* "I certainly have all the evidence before me!"

(5) fought. a lot.
Had two brothers, enough said.

ANYWAY. I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT contrary to my beliefs, NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT ABYSS IS NOW AN ANIME, SO I MUST SAY SO NOW. SO HERE GOES:
- The Abyss anime will have 26 episodes.
- Go check out the Abyss teaser trailer: it has FLAILING SCREAMING GUY RECOILING from the Fabre maids. And PRETTY LUKE. ♥ (but then I am weak to Luke like Rolo is weak to Niisan)
- The Abyss anime PV: which has baby!Luke (goddamn you Sunrise, my heart wrenched), a really handsome Guy ♥, and all the amazing stuff you only saw in game CG coming to life in anime.
- Also raethes made this awesome Mieu icon for this OH-SO-ADORABLE scene in the PV where he's BREATHING FIIIIIRE at Luke's enemies, and doing it in such an adorable YAY!!! MIEU IS BEING USEFUL TO MASTER!! fashion. I-want-to-eat-him-all-up. (I have even more love for the icon and Rae's icon-making skills than Mieu is emitting in this icon, which is saying. A LOT.)
- eternal_rena put up these lovely Tales of the Abyss anime character sketches/previews from the Tales Magazine on the community. It's public, so accessible by all, and so pretty. The Luke character sketches and the Guy character sketches made me laugh the hardest. Oh Guy. You and your priceless expressions.
- Tales of the Abyss scanlated on OneManga! ♥ It's by the Wings of an Angel group (they have always been incredibly sweet when asking permission to use scans, and I would TOTALLY scan more if only I had the time T_T)
- Tales of the Abyss Chapter 13 is up, which makes me so happy, because it's one of my favourite chapters. It's the Asch-and-Luke MEMORIES IN THE RAIN chapter. ♥

Also, milk_of_lime did this ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS ROLO ARTWORK OVER HERE. No spoilers. But omg, so pretty I COULD CRY WITH JOY.

AH, AND, speaking of which, maiki, your Brave Story doujinshi got here! ♥ I've given Kura her copy, and omg. ♥ The cover is gorgeous, and my favourite story is, um, yours, actually. Because Mitsuru totally needed that. ♥ AHAHAHAHAHA. I kind of grinned like a maniac when reading it, so YEAH. ♥ I'm so happy to be able to own doujin drawn by you. ♥

this post is a typical example of 'once you get her started about law, she won't stop.'

2008-08-18T14:39:25Z

As I wade through forests of paperwork for this new case, I can't help but think about words, and the meanings thereof. It's quite amazing how you can see one letter, and the world will take three different views of it (yours, mine, and the judge's).

But then again, the first let's-prepare-them-for-adversarial-practice and let's-play-at-lawyering exercise we were given in the bar course was one conducted by an actual lawyer, setting you up against a fellow student who'd play counsel for the opposing party. And basically what would happen in the fight for damages would be this. Your lawyer would tell you, "I want nothing less than $8,059." Then he or she would go and tell your opposing counsel, "I refuse to pay anything more than $59,27."

Then you go in for the mock hearing, not realising that the both of you have entirely different figures to fight for. (This happens in practice, only that this time, you know)

And then the judge (played by the same lawyer who gave you the Figures Whose Twain Shall Never Meet) goes :D :D :D, "I AWARD YOU $6,927." (Which means nobody is happy, so the case goes on appeal.)

Speaking of two different views of the same thing: I used to analyse literature in school; it was the kind of arrangement whereby they give you a sixteen-line poem and want you to write a four-page essay on authorial intent and what you think the poem is saying. I suspect that this is why I'm a particular way with commenting on fic; any of you whose stories I've left comments on would probably know.

annotate happened to mention literary analysis (they called it practical criticism where I came from), which made me recall what happened during my first lesson with one of my Literature teachers. He was teaching us how to analyse a poem, and I will always remember what he told us.

"Every poem is about drugs, or sex. Just make sure you get a reference to drugs or sex in, and you'll be just fine. When I say drugs or sex, it doesn't have to be drugs or sex. It can be, preferably, both."

(I can't help but think, now, If Reborn's Shamal was a Literature teacher)

So! Three poems, For Your Consideration:

Pied Beauty

GLORY be to God for dappled things,
For skies of couple-color as a brinded cow,
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls, finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced, fold, fallow and plough,
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange,
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim.
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change;
Praise him.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

And this is the stuff I got:

'anyone lived in a pretty how town'

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did.

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hoe and then)they
said their nevers and they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt for forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

-- E. E. Cummings

Poetry is never one thing to two people. I leave you now with a poem Niisan loves, but one which, back then, I did the mental equivalent of softly scribbling a question mark. I read it differently now, of course (and would totally post it uncut, but it is ten stanzas and approximately fifty lines long.

Law Like Love
W. H. Auden

Law, say the gardeners, is the sun,
Law is the one
All gardeners obey
To-morrow, yesterday, to-day.

Law is the wisdom of the old,
The impotent grandfathers feebly scold;
The grandchildren put out a treble tongue,
Law is the senses of the young.

Law, says the priest with a priestly look,
Expounding to an unpriestly people,
Law is the words in my priestly book,
Law is my pulpit and my steeple.

Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose,
Speaking clearly and most severely,
Law is as I’ve told you before,
Law is as you know I suppose,
Law is but let me explain it once more,
Law is The Law.

Yet law-abiding scholars write:
Law is neither wrong nor right,
Law is only crimes
Punished by places and by times,
Law is the clothes men wear
Anytime, anywhere,
Law is Good morning and Good night.

Others say, Law is our Fate;
Others say, Law is our State;
Others say, others say
Law is no more,
Law has gone away.

And always the loud angry crowd,
Very angry and very loud,
Law is We,
And always the soft idiot softly Me.

If we, dear, know we know no more
Than they about the Law,
If I no more than you
Know what we should and should not do
Except that all agree
Gladly or miserably
That the Law is
And that all know this
If therefore thinking it absurd
To identify Law with some other word,
Unlike so many men
I cannot say Law is again,

No more than they can we suppress
The universal wish to guess
Or slip out of our own position
Into an unconcerned condition.
Although I can at least confine
Your vanity and mine
To stating timidly
A timid similarity,
We shall boast anyway:
Like love I say.

Like love we don’t know where or why,
Like love we can’t compel or fly,
Like love we often weep,
Like love we seldom keep.

saw it coming but I'd do it all over again.

2008-08-17T14:55:37Z

I started following Code Geass R2 back in June, when Reborn was going too slowly for my liking. And it just so happens that Geass belongs in the category of, "The viewers are but toys in the hands of Sunrise, and Goro plays with us all for sport". Geass should come with a warning that says: Cliffhanger, Playing-Mind-Games-With-Viewers, Constant Heart-Breakage Expected.

I still don't regret it.

I have several very specific character Types I like (they usually come in two categories: the Cute Idiot, and the Cute Overprotective Obsessively-Loyal Character), but the other one I tend to have Instant Love for is the Small, Cute Thing with the Nii-san Complex (see FFAC's Kadaj and GunXSword's Joshua Lundgren). So my Geass favouriite was not only completely unexpected, but also entirely predictable.

Spoilers for Episodes 1 - 19 of Code Geass
Warning for an avalanche of screencaps

So Lelouch Lamperouge woke up from the events of Season 1 minus several important memories, but with a little brother. Lelouch has been unfortunately Geass'd by his father into believing that Rolo is his brother, so he's been living a very happy Nunnally-free life without being aware that anything's wrong.

And in Episode 1, Lelouch falls off a platform, and Rolo tried to save him:

One thing I like about Geass reviewers is that the men tend to be very aware of the kind of alternate-viewership a series like this attracts. The four main anime reviewers that I follow for Geass are all men (for the episode summaries and the future speculation), but the funny thing is that even they can see the hints, and will crack me up with comments like, "In before the Lelouch/Guilford doujin at Comiket", "Oh no, not another gay partner" (that was for Gino/Lelouch, by the way), and, "Sunrise seeme to be saying, 'Aren’t they just the cutest couple? Please go and create hordes of yaoi doujin after watching this episode.'"

Speaking of "that episode", let me show you what inspired the last comment:

The build-up:

I thought this was a cute picture.

AND CUE THE SAPPY FLASHBACKS:

It gets to the point where Lelouch has to Geass a teacher to get him to forget all the "irregularities" with him and Rolo.

One poster, in particular, expressly wondered, "Why do the memories of Lelouch and Rolo seem rather... gay?" in one of the best set-out flashback-analysis posts I've ever seen. And this is particularly surprising because the poster is a guy! I've yet to find a girl who'd set out those scenes in such detail and wonder why Lelouch and Rolo seemed so close.

For my record, though, it is unusual. I have two brothers, and they don't act like that.

So Lelouch's new little brother has a special magic trick: he can stop time. It unfortunately makes me think of Hayley Westernra songs with lyrics such as, "If I could stop this moment forever", and that line in Big Fish where Ewan McGregor's voiceover says that when you meet the one you love, time stops.

Rolo can stop time, but there's a catch:

His heart stops every time he uses his powers.

So I reversed the order for this set of screencaps:

Code Geass R2 Episode 19 Spoilers

The level of audience emo was spectacular and, because I am cruel, highly amusing. HEY I LOVED THE KID, okay, but he was no angel, although he was very very sweet. (Shirley might disagree, but, knowing her, she... might not)

THAT SCENE FROM EPISODE 19 (youtube), titled by its poster as, "Rolo Loves His Niisan".

You can DL Rolo's locket song from this post here (locked to the Geass community). The Japanse text and translation for Rolo's song, though, isn't locked.

Episode 20 preview, where Lelouch's voiceover says, if the translations are correct, "Rolo, you were not Lelouch vi Britannia´s brother. You're Lelouch Lamperouge´s brother."

My favourite moments are actually when Lelouch is in the Shinkirou cockpit with Rolo, and he's yelling at Rolo to stop because he (Lelouch) has no more reason to live, and he tells Rolo stop using his Geass (because Rolo's told him before that when he uses his Geass his heart stops). Rolo doesn't listen and keeps Geassing the opposing pilots (and Lelouch, because he's in range), anyway.

I loved how worried Lelouch looked. Although it was probably more along the lines of, "Damn! If he collapses the Shinkirou's going to fall and we're both going to die!"

Someone described it as, "STOP I-" /timestop/ "Rolo-" /timestop/ "Your Geass -" /timestop/.

This kind of looks really creepy if you don't know the context:

But you know, back in Episode 4 when Lelouch told Rolo that the time they'd spent together wasn't a lie? And then Rolo comes back in this episode and tells Lelouch the same thing. Funny that, Lelouch's lies becoming Rolo's truth.

The quick impressions translation on the Geass community isn't entirely correct, though, the dialogue between Lelouch and Rolo when they are in the forest should be saying, as per aestalitz's comment here, goes more like this:

Lelouch asks Rolo, "Why did you save me? You -"

And Rolo answers by saying, "Because Niisan is a liar. It was a lie, wasn't it? (When you said) that you wanted to kill me, that you hated me."

Lelouch, "I see. [I can't hear what he's saying here.] As expected of my little brother."

The quick translation had it in this order:

# ¨As expected of my little brother¨ ;__;
# ¨If it´s for Niisan, anything is okay¨ ;__;
# ¨That´s right. Your brother is a liar¨ T______T

(although understandably the writer could have been distressed and not put it in the correct order, which, um. Would change something.)

Uh but I think Lelouch hated Rolo when he said that! It was nice of Lelouch to lie, though.

Last thing Rolo sees. (Not too bad, I think.)

8D

2008-08-01T18:25:29Z

to the people I heart, a lot:

★dorkodile: WELCOME HOME! ♥ ~ AT LAST! ♥

☆ farfello: Do you know I kind of stared at the LJ coding and could think of nothing to type but KAASAN ♥ ♥ ♥ I, HAVE BOOKMARKED DATES OF YOUR RETURN, AND WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN!! ♥

♥ rukia and lacewood: I NEVER THOUGHT THE DAY WOULD COME WHEN I WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THE BOTH OF YOU FORCING ME TO SIT THROUGH TMNT, but GUESS WHAT. It helped me HELP MY FIRM get into the top five for the Society Quiz.

The Law Society Quiz? It tested the following five categories:
(1) Computer animation
(2) Cartoons
WHEN I SAW THE FIRST TWO CATEGORIES I LAUGHED SO HARD BECAUSE I WAS AHAHAHAHAHAHA AT LAST ALL THIS GEEKING AROUND IS GOING TO PAY OFF, AND BOY DID IT PAY OFF.
(3) + (5): The 2008 Olympics
(4): God I wish I had two of you (you know who you are) with me when we had to do this. Seeing as how, you know, you designed the damn website and everything.

☆ warmperky: CONGRATULATIONS ~ AND CELEBRATIONS! ♥ *THROWS CONFETTI!!* ♥

♡ cynic_in_charge: DINNER SOON OKAY. ♥

★ seki_yumizu FOR THE MOST AMAZING SPANNER-TSUNA COMICS AND CHIBI TSUNA IN A JUMPSUIT EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WILL USE ICON FOREVER.

♥ risax: I MISS YOU! ♥

♡ little_ribbon, SEE YOU VERY, IMPOSSIBLY, INCREDIBLY, AND I-CAN'T-BELIEVE-IT'S-ALREADY, SOON ~ ♥

TO THE REST OF YOU: PLEASE MODERATE ALL THIS FILLING MY FRIENDS-LIST WITH SPANNER SPANNER AND MORE SPANNER AND THEN SOME MORE JUMPSUITS, IT MAKES ME KIND OF SIT HERE LIKE AN IDIOT GRINNING AWAY AT THE COMPUTER LIKE A MANIAC AND I CANNOT STOP OR WIPE THE STUPID SMILE OFF MY FACE.

... more QUIZ EVENTS ROFL! So basically, it was WHOLE BUNCH OF HILARITY AND MORE HILARITY, especially where people DID NOT KNOW THE ANSWERS and therefore started MAKING UP THEIR OWN. HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST:

All names involved have all been changed to protect the identities of those involved.

MC: "On which day and where is the Society Dinner and Dance Held?"
Famiglia X: "Friday, at Gokudera Hayato's house."
Millefiore Conglomerate's answer: "Irie Shouichi will sleep with anyone to win this question. Just say the name."
The Poor Victim, I assume, to the General Uproarious Laughter and Universal Mockage: "WHO WROTE THAT?!"

[In the Cartoon Category]: MC: "The next question... I know some of you are of A Certain Vintage and may not be watching these cartoons, but you may have children who do."
An Eminent Lawyer: *STANDS UP* *points to one of the lawyers at his table* "THIS IS MY SON!"
MC: ".... Name all the eight official Disney Princesses."

And when the answers for the Disney Princess question came around:
MC: "No, 'S.P.G.' is not the right answer; 'Aladdin's girlfriend' is not her name; ... and... who is this Gokudera Hayato person whose name keeps appearing all over the place?"

Question: "Please name these following animals from Winnie the Pooh, with the correct spelling: The tiger, the piglet, the donkey, the rabbit, the kangaroo."
Answer: [verbatim] "tiggah, eeyor, and their friends, who are too unimportant to remember."

Question: "What are the colours of the ~~Vongola god I was genuinely going to type that~~ Olympic Rings, from left to right?"
Answer: "White..."
Answer 2: "ORANGE."
MC: "Sorry, I know we have a lot of Dutch lawyers here."

Question: "Name the four pampered animals who escaped from the zoo in Madagascar."
Answers: "Cockroach, Rat, Pig, Chicken." And various answers including, "Penguin, Monkey, Rhino."

Question: "What is the slogan for the Beijing Olympics?"
Answer: "Pandas for Peace!"

Question: "Name the five apparatus used in the Olympics' rhythmic gymnastics event."
MC read this answer: "1. Handcuffs. 2. Whip. 3. ... I think I'd better not read the rest."
Unnamed lawyer: "COME JOIN OUR FIRM!"

REFEREE KAYUUUUUUUUUUU

2008-08-01T17:23:23Z

So, okay, I got ABRUPTLY VOLUNTEERED FOR this legal clinic on Wednesday. It was on Thursday night, and then they were HERE YOU GO THE CASELIST ♥ and that's when I realised I had to prepare seven entirely new cases between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening. I went into PANIC LOCKDOWN and then I thought Hell, if I can do this, there is going to be so little that is going to scare me after that.

oh God, last night I got back past 10pm (volunteering at a legal clinic), and tonight I got back near midnight (... LAWSOC EVENT)- and the crazy thing is that I'm really starting to realise that you can actually wake up thinking about your job, go to sleep thinking about your job, dream about your job, and if you wanted to you could CHOOSE to hang with only people from or associated with your job, and the saddest part of the whole deal is part of me thinks it can't get much better than this.

BUT PLEASE I MUST ADVISE YOU. If you are ever attacked by someone with a can of insecticide, please do not under any circumstances open your mouth.

Ladies and gentlemen,

WELCOME TO MY JOB

oh god. On the Thursday morning I was feeling so smashed by the clinic stressout that before going to work (ALL BEFORE OFFICE HOURS AT 9AM, OKAY) I curled up in Starbucks and had coffee and did my case preparation, and happened to pick up a paper lying on the sofa. I think it was one of those incredibly pretentious and wordy foreign newspapers in the line of the Wall Street Journal (I AM SORRY. I READ CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR THE LAW. I SUCK.) AND IT HAD THIS CARTOON. And I was so tired and such a nervous wreck, but it made me grin (as did the incredibly cheerful guy who was behind the counter at Starbucks. Made my morning, I tell you. And I tell you, service staff make a difference.

also I am one of those really freaky people that always play this secret game with service staff, especially if they look really tired and grouchy: I always have this private competition with myself to see if I can make them smile. So, say I go to a subway counter to get a top-up and the person looks really grouchy, I always smile my brightest smile and thank them and tell them to have a good day. AND SOMETIMES IT WORKS AMAZINGLY. ♥ There was this reallllly cranky-looking guy who was behind the counter at the train station, and I did the smile thing, and HE SMILED BACK. And it was doubly incredibly because I was SO SUPERSURE THAT HE WOULD NOT SMILE BACK BUT WANTED TO TRY ANYWAY.

... I think this last one is probably a joke only lawyers find funny :(((

I DON'T KNOW WHY ALL THE COMICS ARE GOING ON TO LEGAL/COURTROOM THEMES THIS WEEK. ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING. Even Peanuts has Snoopy as a "World Famous Attorney" defending Peter Rabbit and Trying To Prove to Your Honour that "My client never had any intention of going into Mr. Mcgregor's garden."

Also I got these amazing quizzes from adayume:

GUYS YOU HAVE TO TRY Wordle.

It is bloody embarrassing how much SPANNER is splashed all over the place. SHOUICHI TOO.

And you can make your results look different, too:

lolololol mafia persona:

So once I wrote this fic, which had, essentially, Spanner as the boss, and Gokudera as his right-hand man, with the both of them raising chibi!Tsuna. THEN I CHANGED ALL THE NAMES, but anyway,

ALSO THE NEXT ONE. I am always of the opinion that these seme/uke classifications never put me in the right place, ever, but in particular I demand a retrial for HIS ONE Seme/Uke quiz. I tied so perfectly in my result that the quiz had to give me a tiebreaker question to settle it once and for all, and EVEN THOUGH MY PERCENTAGES STILL WERE PERFECTLY EVEN, AND STILL I GOT:

THIS MISERABLE EXCUSE OF A RESULT

My percentages tie perfectly for Gentle Seme and Optimistic Uke, GODDAMIT.

ROFL. I'm both the most loving seme and the lowest of the ukes. RETRIAL.

The SEME or UKE Quiz
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Optimistic UKE

You are the kindest, most sweet, and cutest of all UKE kind. This is not really a bad thing, actually it's very good. You may be the lowest level of UKE but you are also the happiest and most adorable. You are often a fan of things you can snuggle with and cartoons will never grow boring for you. You smile a lot and nothing ever seems to get you down which makes you a great match for the Gentle SEME. Be warned, though, my Uke-friend.. rough times await you if a Homicidal SEME lingers too close. You would do well to befriend a Sorrowful UKE as I'm sure your happy-go-lucky attitude will balance out their depression. On my last note I will say that ropes, whips, and chains aren't your fancies even if they are tempting - I'd stick to just the simple stuff if I were you.

The Gentle SEME

75%

The Optimistic UKE

75%

The Breaker SEME

60%

The Homicidal SEME

45%

The Devilish UKE

35%

The Sorrowful UKE

25%

BABY YOU'RE MY ONE TRUE PAIRING

2008-07-26T04:35:42Z

From narugami, That OTP Meme:

Name a series and I'll tell you the character(s) I would:

1. Bake cupcakes for:
2. Trust with the keys to my car:
3. Put thumbtacks on the chair thereof:
4. Have a crush on:
5. Pack up and leave if they moved next door:
6. Vote for President:
7. Pick as my partner in a buddy movie:
8. Pair up:
9. Vote off the island and into the volcano:
10. Wheedle into fixing my MP3 player:

Adi asked me about

1. Bake cupcakes for: MURPHY. ♥ She's amazing and she needs cupcakes. Like Adi, I'd bake cupcakes for Ivy, too, but I'd bake cupcakes WITH Ivy, because she NEEDS THE FUN and the semblance of a normal life, and I do think she'd think it'd fun. Oh, and Harry. Of course.

2. Trust with the keys to my car: Michael. No doubt about it. I would say Harry, but then he'd probably use my car as a getaway vehicle in an emergency, and I would never see it again.

3. Put thumbtacks on the chair thereof: ... I can't think of anyone at the moment. In this series, there is no one whose chair I'd put thumbtacks on who'd let me escape alive from it.

4. Have a crush on: THOMAS. ♥ WAS THERE ANY DOUBT.

5. Pack up and leave if they moved next door: Uh. WHAT ABOUT EVERYBODY IN THIS SERIES. THEY ARE WALKING DESTRUCTION.

6. Vote for President: Adi's right, it has to be Murphy. ♥ Except I don't think she'd want to be President, but SHE WOULD BE GOOD AT IT.

7. Pick as my partner in a buddy movie: MURPHY AGAIN. ♥ MY GOD I ACTUALLY PICKED A GIRL.

8. Pair up: Harry/Everybody, Everybody/Harry. THE GUY NEEDS LOVE, OKAY.

9. Vote off the island and into the volcano: I can't actually identify anybody in the series I have a BLINDING HATE for, but it'd probably be the Denarians.

10. Wheedle into fixing my MP3 player: NOT HARRY (He'd break it). I DON'T KNOW, WHO'S GOOD AT FIXING THINGS IN THIS SERIES?

AND JUST BECAUSE:

MY FIRST: RATAL

1. Bake cupcakes for: Serry. Even though they would probably have to have mushrooms in them. I'd also bake cupcakes for Isilme! I WOULD ALSO BAKE THEM FOR DAE, REALLY.

2. Trust with the keys to my car: Amarus, actually, even if he'd probably give me one hell of a tongue-lashing before he'd take them. And Eran.

3. Put thumbtacks on the chair thereof: I LOVE EVERYBODY ~ ♥ Okay, if I were the Naughty Devil With A Death Wish Type, I'd put them on Amarus's chair. NOT THAT HE WOULD SIT ON THEM.

4. Have a crush on: ... you want me to answer this in-character, or objectively? Canonically, it would probably be Dae, objectively, it would totally be Serry. Blond, pretty - WHAT ELSE COULD I ASK FOR.

5. Pack up and leave if they moved next door: ... EVERYBODY IN THIS SERIES. I WOULD MOVE REALLY FAST IF ELERIS CAME TO LIVE NEXT TO ME.

6. Vote for President: Isilme and Amarus. I BELIEVE IN THEM.

7. Pick as my partner in a buddy movie: I keep wanting to answer GUY FROM TALES OF THE ABYSS in this one. UHHHHHH. OBJECTIVELY it would be Amarus, I would have the best chance of survival with him. Eran would be a really nice guy to hang out with, too.

8. Pair up: LEVIZT AND SERRY. ♥ ♥ ♥ DID YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK.

Also Elear and Isilme, and Dae and Eleris.

9. Vote off the island and into the volcano: I SAID I LOVE EVERYBODY

10. Wheedle into fixing my MP3 player: WOULDN'T HAVE MP3 PLAYER IN THAT ERA. ;) But it'd probably be Amarus, who'd then tell me it was all my fault for it having spoiled on me in the first place.

Of course, there's the other OTP Meme that everyone's done:

Tell me a canon and I shall respond with my...

1. One True Pairing Ship: LEVIZT/SERRY ALL THE WAY. ♥
~~Dae/Eleris, strikeout for the denial~~.
(Also in my later years I'm beginning to gain a new appreciation for Elear/Isilme.)

2. Canon Ship: SEE ABOVE.

3. "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship: ~~Serry/Anybody Else but Levizt~~ ... YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO KNOW.

4. "You are one sick bastard" Ship: I don't know, I ACCEPT ALL SHIPS IN THIS SERIES so nothing seems particularly sick to me.

5. "I dabble a little" Ship: ~~Elear/Dae~~

6. "It's like a car crash" Ship: SEE ABOVE

7. "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship: Hyanda/Serry (Never been quite convinced on this one: I always like explosions in my pairings).

8. "Makes no canon sense but why the Hell not" Ship: ... ... .... ELDIOR/SERRY ROFL+LMAO.

9. "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship: I don't think there's anything that fits this! I LOVE EVERYTHING.

In case you wanna do it:

Tell me a canon and I shall respond with my...

1. One True Pairing Ship:
2. Canon Ship:
3. "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship:
4. "You are one sick bastard" Ship:
5. "I dabble a little" Ship:
6. "It's like a car crash" Ship:
7. "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship:
8. "Makes no canon sense but why the Hell not" Ship:
9. "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship:

Coherence doesn't live here anymore. [AKA HEAD MEET SPANNER]

2008-07-20T07:05:56Z

I'd come home from One of Those Days that lead into One of Those Late Nights, and my father happened to call from overseas. So I told him, "Dad, if I ever want to become a lawyer in another life, please have somebody hit me over the head. Hard."

My father laughed, which only goes to show how well he understands my pain, and then he said, "I doubt it'll work."

And then I realised that if I began that way the ENTIRE POST would be all about law and it was VERY VERY SCARY and there really, really is something else I would rather talk about.

Reborn Chapter 202
...oh, my God. Amano hasn't made me this happy since Chapter 187.

ohgod, world. You can keep your Hibari, I only have eyes for Spanner.

the one 山本 comment:

I DARE YOU TO MOVE
I DARE YOU TO LIFT YOURSELF UP FROM THE FLOOR
I DARE YOU TO MOVE
I DARE YOU TO MOVE
LIKE TODAY NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

THE END

so where was I - oh yes.

Tsuna you are my hero

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I WAS, OH, MAN. RIGHT FROM THE MOMENT THE translation hit the community, I was so in love, LET ME COUNT THE WAYS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SORT-OF UNCOUNTABLE:

1. Tsuna called him Spanner-san ♥

2. I LAUGHED SO HARD FOR ENTIRELY INAPPROPRIATE REASONS AT THIS:

ス「………………　何を言われても完成時間は変わらない　ウチのポリシー」
Su: What are you talking about, we can not change the time of completion, that is my personal policy.

Binktopia's translation here:

but oh god the original was SO FUNNY TO ME -

... Spanner
Y-y-you sounded just like a conveyancing lawyer right there
no I AM NOT JOKING
that, or a disgruntled property agent
DYING NOW
Wait I must explain: in the practice of the law of conveyancing, that is to say, the buying and selling of properties, the date of FINAL SALE and transfer of title to the property is more commonly known as the completion date, and in the days leading up to the completion date there is A LOT, A LOT AND A LOT of work to be done, so lawyers on both sides will be DYING GETTING ALL THE PAPERWORK in order, and also, IF YOU DELAY THE COMPLETION DATE, the party responsible for the delay will HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERY DAY THAT THE COMPLETION DATE IS DELAYED.

one day I will learn to stop seeing law in everything
...
BUT I SURE HOPE NOT

3. TSUNA PROTECTED HIM
WOW TSUNA THAT WAS QUICK
you made me one very very very happy person

also HOW ARE YOU SURE HE'S NOT GOING TO SHOOT YOU IN THE BACK OR SOMETHING
but damn, how is Spanner ever going to go back into the Millefiore like this?
IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN SO -
I DON'T KNOW what's going to happen next week, so I'LL JUST BE HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING I'VE GOT

I don't need the Varia or Xanxus or DINO (no, guys, why. I DON'T NEED AAAAAAAANYBODY ELSE, THIS, JUST THIS, IS AWESOME ENOUGH) or Hibari or ANYTHING ELSE BUT
WHAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. ♥

also. while I'm on the topic.
Why did no one see fit to inform me that Graham Spectre (or Spektor) of Baccano
IS, BASICALLY, SPANNER -
AS A RAVING PSYCOPATH

Okay, fine: this is probably because not many people watched Baccano, to begin with, and Graham only turned up in Episodes 14 - 16, which were released on the DVDs, and therefore not part of the 1 - 13 arc that was Baccano proper. BUT STILL.
Listen, does this sound familiar?

wow image explosion in here, guys

blond Mafia mechanic in a jumpsuit with a wrench

You see, his jumpsuit is meant to be blue, but he spends a LOT OF TIME IN DIM WAREHOUSES and the light makes it look GREEN.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN:

also god that is one huge-@$$ wrench

HE CAN STOP BULLETS WITH HIS WRENCH, GUYS
and DISMANTLE ENTIRE CARS WITH THEM
before they hit the ground

Also when he really likes someone, he shows his love by telling them that THEY CAN USE HIS WAREHOUSE ANYTIME. He's like my visual Spanner until Spanner gets animated, but I don't know if Spanner will get animated as PRETTILY as Graham did.

... the red-eyed guy is ANOTHER PSYCHOPATH NAMED CHRIS(topher)

what the hell guys it looks like some SPIDER-MAN moment

you're walking on sunshine

2008-07-06T16:58:03Z

AHAHAHA. I SHOULD, YOU KNOW. SLEEP. So that I won't be Largely Unconscious Tomorrow. But THIS COMPLETELY HAS TO BE WRITTEN DOWN otherwise I will never write it. If I even thought that Day 1 couldn't be topped by Day 2, I was so wrong.

COMPLETELY AWESOME THINGS ABOUT COSFEST

1. There was a really awesome Spanner.
With everything! Discovered said Spanner (dani3lr), another Shouichi (♥ - sagaraice) and a Leonardo Lippi (xiaobai7988), all with lollipops, minutes after changing into costume. I grinned like a maniac and thereafter was Made Happy by everything in olive green that I saw thereafter, whether they be waitresses at the sushi restaurant we went to for dinner, people who just happened to be wearing clothes in that shade of green, and, yeah. ♥

ALSO. Everybody who turned up as Spanner for this event was a Spanner/Tsuna fan. XDDDDDDDDDDD I GUESS IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY?!

AHAHAHA I WAS SO DAMN HAPPY I CHOSE TO DO WHAT I DID YESTERDAY, because if I had seen her first I would be "OH GOD I NO LONGER NEED TO BOTHER".

Also I was mortified by the fact that they managed to recognise me (I AM SLOW) despite me being unable to return the favour immediately ( :( I SUCK, I always see costume first) this will HOPEFULLY NOT HAPPEN NEXT TIME.

So we were talking and it always turns out that this country and the KHR community = always smaller than they seem, because when we were exchanging LJ usernames:

Me, upon hearing that the Leonardo Lippi was xiaobai7988: "Hey, I know you! You're the one doing the [... Top Secret Project XD] with seki_yumizu!"
xiaobai7988: 0_0 "How did you know?"

The ordinary answer to this would have been, "I spend too much time online", but this was a special exception.

2. atorii and ariesdraco, who were COMPLETELY WONDERFUL, even atorii WHO SOMEHOW MANAGED TO GET ME ON STAGE for the closing Caramelldansen despite my constant protests of NO I CANNOT DANCE, NO I DON'T WANT TO GO ON STAGE, AND NO I REFUSE, because I cannot say no to her, and also it turned out that it was VERY VERY FUN and I was happy I did it (especially since I managed to wedge self three rows deep and therefore virtually invisible).

3. THE. REBORN. EVERYTHING.

MY GOD. Towards the end of the event, Nia and Viral and I sat at the tables next to sarahcoldheart and just watched the event, and I was fed ENDLESS HAPPINESS by the constant stream of Reborn passing by. THERE WERE SO MANY CHARACTERS THERE I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE COSPLAYED. There was a Gola Mosca (MY GOD ♥) with a TINY HAND-SIZED CHIBI MAMMON, a Lancia complete will ball and chain, a Chikusa, a Chrome with a Muku-owl, a Lal and a Colonello, BASIL ♥, Byakuran and Shouichi, Spanner and Leonardo Lippi and Shouchi as mentioned above, MORE LAMBOS THAN I EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE (WHAT THE HELL, REALLY, WHAT THE HELL), and a Gokudera and Tsuna I never saw apart (♥). And of course there was a TYL!Tsuna, Hibari with a tiny tiny Hibird, Mukuro, and, and - SORRY TOO HAPPY TO REMEMBER THE REST.

Oh oh oh and one of the best parts was the MASS CARAMELLDANSEN at the end of the event, and Gola Mosca being on stage to participate. ELIZABETH FROM GINTAMA WAS ONSTAGE TO DO THE SAME THING DEAR GOD I DO NOT KNOW HOW IT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE. And then there was the HILARIOUS CONSTANT CONGA LINES (led today by Anon from 4chan what the hell XD), and my favourite lineup included Lancia (WITH BALL AND CHAIN), Belphegor, and Lambo BACK-TO-BACK.

4. FOR SHEER WTF: that. that. onstage skit where Ichigo was the HORRIFIED RECIPIENT of a personal serenade of When You Tell Me That You Love Me from one of the lesser Soul Society arc's enemies. Ichigo reacted by beating the guy up, and I reacted by suffering a horrific attack of SHUDDERS DOWN MY SPINE and HELP MY EARS ARE BLEEDING. STILL WORTHY OF A HONOURABLE MENTION FOR BEST BRAINBREAK-INDUCING MOMENT. (They also got a hell of a lot of applause).

5. AHAHAHA saw mushrooms in Eyeshield! ♥ And despite SEEING THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE COSTUMES as 80 + 21 shirts, I stared at them for MINUTES before looking away and thinking that I must have had the wrong people, because I was SO DAMNED SURE THAT THE NUMBERS I SHOULD'VE BEEN LOOKING AT WERE 80 and 27. When I told mushrooms this I was conclusively eyerolled and told that she'd just known I would do that. (ohcomeon I love the pairing!)

Had dinner with amarukei, sarahcoldheart, ariesdraco, atorii and kiellne after, and then we went for bubble tea and sketching and laughing at this hilarious OTT Korean drama that was being shown there. On the way home we rickrolled the entire train we were on and OHNOES'd them too.

ALSO dorkodile I MISSED YOU SO MUCH. :((((( We were talking at the table about Gintama cosplay and it's just that there are so many people I saw today that know you BUT YOU WERE NOT THERE. SO WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK FROM GERMANY, OKAY, I MISS YOU. ♥

THAT WAS AWESOME WOULD DO AGAIN. ♥

this is ONLY one of the most ridiculous tales you will ever hear.

2008-07-05T18:34:13Z

SO. COSFEST.

Kicked off with me going to change and finding Byakuran and Shouichi in the toilet.

So, being the mature, dignified adult that I am, I went ///////////////////////////// - and ran away immediately.

... it was all QUITE INNOCENT, really, and SO SUE ME it was only because I am always pathologically nervous about dressing up, and for some bizarre reason this is only magnified when I am around people I don't know. (... or think I don't know, as later events would prove)

I waited outside for a suitable period of time and went back in, only to find them still there. So I ran even further and hid on the second level until they left and the coast was clear. Then I raced into the washroom and INTIATED TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE, and then -

Shouichi walked in.

... God I sound like I'm writing bad fanfiction. I WISH I WAS MAKING THIS UP.

UNFORTUNATELY I AM NOT.

If I could have crawled down the sink right then, I would have happily done it. As it was, I stood there quite frozen, which was only exacerbated by the fact that Shouichi took one look at me and identified me instantly.

Shouichi was very nice, though, and told me that there were two sets of Byakuran and Shouichis there today, although I clearly worked myself into such a state that Shouichi had to ask me, "Why are you laughing every time you see me?" - to which I apologised and, IT WAS NERVES, I TELL YOU.

Later I ran into the other Byakuran and Shouichi and realised that they were dodgerscrubs and natsu_yuki. HI. ♥ IT WAS FUN MEETING THE BOTH OF YOU! We kept. getting. interrupted.by. photographers, but this was clearly because the both of them were very awesome and needed to be completely paparazzi'd.

.... WHY ARE ALL THE SHOUICHIS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, SO CUTE.
Iwillstopbeingdisturbingnow.

I surfaced and met sarahcoldheart and amarukei, who told me that I'd missed out on a Reborn karaoke event featuring Sakura Addiction, which had Hibari and Mukuro fighting over Tsuna while Reborn rained confetti on them. Hibari, apparently, was also in possession of pineapples.

Incidentally, Rojak Labs has a gorgeous new doujinshi out. Check out the COVER:

... Rojak members, does your cover artist have a website? Because I want to visit it.
(hope you don't mind me uploading the doujin cover to my LJ gallery: didn't want to exhaust your bandwidth: YOU CAN TOTALLY USE MINE IF YOU WANT)

The official site has a lovely wallpaper of the image, too!

ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL. ♥ Grab a copy at Cosfest tomorrow, if you're so minded: if you need directions, it'll be at table 22: call me if you need help! ;)

Also managed to grab a copy of snowyuzuki's beautiful FF7 doujinshi. ♥ A+ ALL THE WAY, and I'll be looking out for her later works!

I think the Most Wrong Dialogue of the Day goes to me and mangy_mongrel.

This, before you get any Wrong Ideas, was a commentary on props, okay.

mangy_mongrel: How long have you been sucking that thing?

Me: .... D< SINCE I CAME.

It was just this, okay? And the only two flavours I like are cherry and cola. ~~everything else sucks~~

IF IT EVER GETS INTO MY HEAD TO DO THIS AGAIN (SOMEBODY PLEASE HIT ME OVER THE HEAD BEFORE I DO, OKAY) - I WILL BRING A TOOTHBRUSH, because to do this properly involves a HIGH RISK OF CAVITIES.

Shouichi united me with the rest of the Reborn group (Hibari's favourite pairing, it turns out, is Hibari/Tsuna/Mukuro, to which I said, "THAT EXPLAINS WHAT WENT ON ONSTAGE").

There was a Tsuna.

Who looked at me and said, ":D MY PAIRING!"

Me: "ME TOO!"

IT MAKES ME GO ALL KINDS OF D: THAT SOME OF MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS CANNOT BE TRANSCRIBED ON TO PAPER BUT IT WAS. FUN.

NO I HAVE TO SAY THIS ONE: Hibari asking, "WHERE HAVE I PUT MY NAPPOS."

Then I ran off with mangy_mongrel to McCafe, where we sat with atorii + 59 + 27 + friend and had ice chocolate and stared at Reborn doujin. 59 is a GOKUTSUNA FAN LIKE ME EXCEPT EVEN MORE EXTREME SO THIS WAS 2X FUN.

HI TO EVERYONE I MET TODAY: (OH, YESTERDAY): greatcucurbita, snowykiss (thank you for the wig omg! ♥), hackney_ed, miharukuroda, ariesdraco, atorii, kreznick, dodgerscrubs, natsu_yuki, sarahcoldheart, amarukei, mangy_mongrel (there are more I think but names elude me now omg) AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO DOESN'T HAVE LJ. *grin*

Conversations with the Sibling on Cosfest

Sibling: "What are you going as?"
Me: "An AIR-CON REPAIRMAN."

(when discussing appropriate guns)
Sibling: "A MECHANIC DOESN'T NEED A GUN!"
Me: "THIS ONE DOES!"

And when this brother first set eyes on me in full costume (at the end of the day), he yelled, "YOU LOOK MORE LIKE A BOY THAN A GIRL", and then, because he was Not Quite Done Yet, yelled, "Look at you! Blond! And sitting there in your jumpsuit like the first word out of your mouth was 'TRUCK'!"
This will be the lamest thing you hear all year, probably, but d'you know when I knew that jumpsuit was perfect? When I found out that the only size they had that would fit me was Size 38.

THEN I WENT and had dinner with the family (which was extremely GOOD) and then went to meet lacewood, risax and cynic_in_charge to watch Wanted. IT IS. A BLOW-YOU-AWAY awesome movie that will have you ROLLING IN THE AISLES because dear GOD it breaks all the laws of physics, logic, and YOUR BRAIN. lacewood says it is like Dragon Tiger Gate for the Western world and Eve agrees, but of COURSE Eve would agree, for they are Borg.

Then we went for karaoke and IT WAS HILARIOUSLY FUN (except I AM SURE EVERYONE WOULD DISAGREE because they were not able to force me to sing for as long as they would have liked (because I had to go), but NEXT TIME, FOR SURE. ♥

Having a lovely time, WISH YOU WERE HERE

2008-06-07T01:10:27Z

HI WORLD

HELLO FROM JAPAN XD

Also, Yamamoto: Tenth says I can officially tell the world that I won the right-hand man fight. :D (if this does not make any sense, it is because Tenth said first to Japan gets to be the right-hand man. That means I WIN.)

Also if I had had my way we would ALL have been in Japan together. WHY ARE YOU NOT HERE PEI YI. ... also, because wherever I go THERE THE RAIN GOES TOO, the very day we arrived in Japan, the tsuyu season started. This means it rains cats, leopards, and kangaroos, ETC ETC ETC, FOR two whole weeks. (This also means that you will get perfect weather, Yi, because life is just unfair that way) This also means that I can now write a fic entitled 80 Kinds of Rain because that's how much I've seen over here.

... but here's the crazy thing. Day after I came here, I went up from Kyoto to Tokyo to meet Tenth (because my leave schedule and Tenth's leave were completely not in love with each other and this was so heartbreaking for the both of us, because it meant that when she was in my home country, I would be in Japan). And then I was GODDAMIT AM NOT MISSING TENTH BOTH IN JAPAN AND HOME COUNTRY, so I was TENTH I COME DOWN AND SEE YOU. (this is why the JR pass is MAGIC).

Tenth said it was crazy! Tenth said I was crazy!

Tenth did not, however, say no.

Tenth was very sweet and encouraging! SO I WENT! And we got to go doujin shopping together, which was AWESOME. I cry that I can pick good YamaGoku doujin for her (it was a NALIS cover how can you go wrong), and she found this really sweet GokuTsuna doujin anthology for me.

ALSO I GOT TO BRING HER YATSUHASHI.

AND IT TURNS OUT SHE LIKES YATSHUHASHI, so that made me about 27 times happier. Apparently you can't get it in Tokyo, you have to go all the way down to Kyoto for it - WHICH WAS WHERE I WAS COMING FROM. (lol it was so amazing. Tenth called later to make sure I was safe back in the hotel and I was apologising for bringing it in a plastic bag, and she was, 'Gokudera did that too!' XDDDD

And the weird thing is, since I met Tenth: the weather has been blue skies and sunshine ever since.

Incidentally, lacewood: June appears to be Yamamoto Doujin Event month. I actually really do wish you were here, you would love it. Or at least you would find it very funny. The YamaGoku doujin event is on the 8th of June, and there is a Yamamoto/Tsuna doujin event in late June.

... also, WHY AM I COMPLETELY COINCIDENTALLY IN JAPAN FOR THE GAKUSAI YAMAMOTO-GOKUDERA EVENT. WHY. (some evil and also masochistic part of me thinks it would be fun to watch from a distance)

(happiness except for the part where the first thing I did upon getting Internet access was check my work email to discover that I've been given several new files, one of which is Client Disputing Bill. NOW THAT SHOULD BE FUN)

So risax and I are in Tokyo at last! It has been a whirlwind week: we landed in Kansai on Monday morning, took the train to Kyoto, and were based in Kyoto for the past few days. On Thursday we went up to Nara (save your senbei [deer crackers] money! we went on a day when HORDES of Japanese schoolchildren were visiting Nara, and watching the tourists feed themselves to the deer was even funnier (and FREE) than the actual deer-feeding. The screams of YADA!!! and ITAI!!! (oh come on, the deer is only pulling at your clothes, not gnawing at you) are - excruciatingly funny. Clearly we also are sadists but that is a story for another day). And then after Nara, we went up to Osaka and walked the Shinsaibashi. And then we took the train back to Kyoto. All in the same day.

And then the next day, we came up to Tokyo, which is where we are now.

GOD I'VE GOT TO RUN BUT I WISH YOU WERE ALL WITH ME.

a time of change.

2008-05-25T16:03:51Z

It feels really strange and crazy if I think about it too long, but:

I'm a lawyer now.
Over two hundred of us were called to the bar yesterday morning (the Victoria Concert Hall was specifically designated as a court yesterday for that purpose, because apparently, we all cannot fit into the Supreme Court).

And the judge who presided over our call quoted Shakespeare. ♥

The night before we were called, on our last day as trainee lawyers, some of the associates took us out for drinks by the river (which was really great of them, and I hope to be able to do this for the new lawyers when they come in next year!). And then all of a sudden this artistic spectacular with fireworks, fire, and theatrical artists suddenly happened on the river right by us. We had no clue what was going on (see, lawyers in the abyss of work - turned out it was the arts festival), but the surprise made it even more magical.

One of the senior associates yelled, "WELCOME TO THE BAR!" as the fireworks exploded overhead, and I really can't think of any other way I'd want my time as a trainee lawyer to come to an end.

Just in case you think it's always a fairytale, though: while the emails were being sent around asking if we were free for drinks, one of the associates asked if we weren't very excited about being called. And one of us wrote, in reply, "With great power comes great responsibility."

I cracked up, and then I realised that the lawyer's version of that would probably be, "With great power comes great liability."

I am so sorry I haven't been around much: I know I owe several people things, fic and coding and mail and comments among them, I think. There is an insane amount of paperwork and bureaucracy involved in the business of making lawyers out of people, and it is completely exhausting.

So, what I'd say to anyone who's thinking about becoming a lawyer, on my thoughts on the whole becoming-a-lawyer business?

... It's insane. It's crazy. It will eat up your head and nearly all your free time, your work-life balance will occasionally (if not frequently) consist of work = life, (... although, this does depend on what kind of work you choose to do and where you choose to work, so this is not a given).

It will change the way you look at the world and the people you meet. It will make you aware of so many things you never knew existed before, and it will make you care about so much you never even gave a thought about before. It will drive you up the wall and through the roof, and it will be fun in ways you never would have imagined.

DO IT ANYWAY. +

It will change your life. It's still changing mine.
+ I do have to warn you that this is coming from the person who insists on giving the law interns a honest answer when they ask about the horror stories about the long hours. My take on it is that if they're thinking about it, they might as well BE PREPARED. And from the person who used to force herself to go for mock advocacy trials even though they intimidated her to no end because she thought they would be good for her. (It turns out they were).

man topped by legislation.

2008-05-05T14:51:01Z

Full-day hearing tomorrow, so full-time stress-meter on today, much helped by meeting elvaron and M for lunch. ♥

Today is a special day, because it marks my time as a trainee lawyer finally and unbelievably coming to an end. Also noteworthy for the fact that Hibari's birthday fell at some point in the past few days when I was staring non-stop at injunction research. ONE DAY WHEN I GROW UP will I be able to bite people to death all by myself? ♥ One day, too, I will make a post about how my EPIC EMO at my occasionally not being able to do what the boss wants rivals Gokudera's in laughability, but then I tell myself to stop being internally hysterical and to stop kicking myself dammit and to take a deep breath, because I'm still learning and I will have to learn to forgive myself for making mistakes once in a while and not beat myself up viciously about it.

So anyway! All trainee lawyers have to complete this checklist of To-Do Things that are supposed to give us the right grounding and adequate experience in the profession (the checklist annoys me to no end because A LOT of what I do was never covered by the checklist. WHAT KIND OF CHECKLIST leaves out discovery and keeps due diligence in, for godssakes?! A CHECKLIST DRAFTED BY A CORPORATE LAWYER, OBVIOUSLY). So this checklist is supposed to remind you that you need to learn about court etiquette and how to dress and conduct yourself in court and I am: You know, I CAN THINK OF MORE FUN WAYS IN WHICH TO LEARN THAT. LIKE:

which of these people won't get kicked out of court?

Highlight for answers:

Yamamoto, Tsuna and Lambo get kicked out of court. Reborn and Colonello can stay if they take off their hats.

But of course, if they're not actually appearing in court they can wear whatever they want. ♥ THAT IS TO SAY IF THEY have only come along for the show, they're okay.

And ohgod today I laughed so hard at THIS, in America's Sweethearts:

Narrator: Justice never tasted so sweet...
...as in The Bench.

Catherine Zeta Jones, as a wide-eyed defendant: I didn't do it. I'm innocent. Why won't anyone believe me?!

John Cusack (as her attorney): I object!

Judge: You're out of order!

John Cusack: No, you're out of order!
I object to the way my client has been treated.
I object that I've let my professional judgment...
...become clouded by my feelings for her.
I object to the way the room spins when she walks in.
I object, Your Honor, because I love this woman!

Aaaand then the attorney and the witness share a passionate kiss on the witness stand.

... AND THEN I LAUGHED SO DAMN HARD.

and because I HAD TO SAY it:

your fantasy, my reality: or, why you shouldn't try this in court

There was, in fact, a lawyer in my jurisdiction who developed a less-than-professional relationship with his client in exactly this manner, and it led to him being disbarred. Didn't help that this was a divorce case and her husband was attempting to reconcile with her. In other words, you can and do get kicked out of the profession for antics like these.

One of the nightmare cases I worked on recently resurrected in a most horrifying manner. When I picked up the printouts at the common printer my blood ran cold AND:

WE FOUGHT SO HARD TO BRING AN END TO YOU

WHY WON'T YOU JUST STAY DEAD ALREADY

Also and when I came home and dazedly told my mom, "One of our cases resurrected." ... she thought I was talking about a patient.

MAYDAY! MAYDAY!!! BIRTHDAY IN THE HOUSE!!!

2008-05-01T10:29:16Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY nescienx!

MAY IT BE A HAPPY MAY DAY FOR YOU ~ ♥

my head hurts from all the information I've absorbed over the past two days:

{for own reference: work done over the past two days}

1. arbitration - practice and procedure

2. vicarious liability

3. contributory negligence

4. the use of affidavits in evidence

5. drawing adverse inferences

and preliminary work on

6. default judgments

7. assessment of damages

my head is a box full of legislation. aaaand case law.

O WOW NOW I SO SMART

... then why do I feel so stupid

GOOD THING I live for the moment confusion turns into comprehension.

KITTY TIME NOW:

anyasy has a new adorable blue-point Birman kitten. It's the loveliest thing in all the world (this and this are my favourite pictures), except maybe for little_ribbon's Milo. Also, youtube video of kitten antics here. I COULD STARE AT IT FOREVER. lolcat here.

I HAVE WANTED TO LINK THIS PICTURE OF little_ribbon's cat forever: SEE HERE. I swear that the cat should be a model.

because true love never dies.

2008-04-27T07:25:30Z

Up to my eyeballs in solicitor-ethics lectures this week, which also marks the one month + one week anniversary of my being put intensively on this case which has eaten my mind with its closing arguments. I obsess as badly about work as I do about the series I love, except that I do not obsess about the series I love thirteen hours a day, five days (and sometimes more!) a week. I can't actually seem to shut off about work even when I leave the office, so I could be waiting at a traffic light and find myself thinking, How can I work that case in, How am I going to handle that point, Did I address that issue adequately?

SO! WITNESS THE REBELLION OF MY MIND AGAINST THE CORPORATE MAFIA MINDSET.

★ So, a while back, tinted_glass and I agreed that Franz Ferdinand's Michael would be a great song for Ryan on crack. Except that I am endlessly optimistic and thought he wouldn't need crack for the song to be perfect. And this week, in a perfect timeless moment of What You Do In Fandom Echoes in Reality, check out this post of hers on Michael-Ryan songs. She also has this awesome review of the latest Office episode up here.

☆ shaorankun is drawing for both Reborn AND KKM. ♥ ♥ ♥ BOTH the fandoms I love deeply at the same time.

★ Reborn Chapter 191. Gokudera, I love you very much, but you are topped by Cat, and also eminently mockable. ♥ Also, Ryohei, I LOVE YOU FOREVER FOR NOT BEING YAMAMOTO, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me one more person to ship with Gokudera. More electrical bondage, please. HA! Official Tsuna-Reborn, Reborn-Tsuna cosplay. *SNERK*

MANGA RECS
WARNING: Everything behind the cut was written by a deranged Gokudera/Tsuna fan who can see 5927 everywhere. And I mean everywhere. You have been warned. Please read the manga, do not let what is behind the cut disturb you.

☆ MANGA REC #1: Mirai Nikki: diaries that tell the future and the battle for them.

To my complete shock, I managed to really like the main female lead despite her looking like this and being Generally The Sort of Annoying Manga Girl I Thought I Loved To Hate. I think she's kickass and obsessive, and a large part of this I blame on reading morphaileffect's The Tenth Diary - a Gokudera/Tsuna slanted crossover between Mirai Nikki and Reborn. I'm not sure if I love the female lead because I equate her with Gokudera, but:

I've not read Mirai Nikki before, but I went to check it out so I'd appreciate the fic more. Yuno (the girl Gokudera's based on in the crossover) shares the same USE ME TENTH attitude as Gokudera (and reminds me a little bit of Yuko-chan from Loveless). She has the same I WILL PROTECT YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! quality, as well. Not to mention the Tenth, Tenth, depend on me, Tenth complex. Also, whoa, she has AMAZING PROTECT THE TENTH (in this case, the First) AS IF I WERE TO DIE intensity. Plus extra obsessive clinginess! And both Yuno and Gokudera want to be in the object of their devotion's family - though Gokudera is by the way of the RIGHT-HAND MAN, and Yuno's is by becoming Yuki's bride.

... Gokudera wanting to become Tsuna's bride would kind of crack me up a lot.

And this is how the series' Gokudera reacts to the series' Chrome.

The main character is wonderfully dame!Tsuna, in the I'm just a failure! sense.

Though this girl (from a chapter titled, appropriately enough, Heart's Bomb), reminded me most of Gokudera in his LET'S BLOW THE SCHOOL UP! WITH DYNAMITE! incarnation. She, like Gokudera, is a terrorist, and IS a human bomb.

And that was hardly straight, guys.

★ MANGA REC #2: ULTIMO, the manga lovechild of Hiroyuki Takei (responsible for Shaman King) and Stan Lee. Rec'd by lacewood, here (read for more series information and the creative process behind this manga). I fell in love with it upon sighting the first panel. Imagine it as an Eternal Battle between Sync from Tales of the Abyss and the lovechild of Luke from Abyss and Tsuna from Reborn. If you think this is insane, go read the manga. ♥ Come scream at me if you need to ♥

☆ MANGA REC #3: That Neon Genesis Evangelion ~~MAFIA SCHOOL AU~~ AU. First rec'd to me by lacewood, series explanation by kotomine here. Read this if you are a Shinji/Kaoru fan, and

lacewood linked this NGE AU manga and I cannot stop thinking of Kaworu as a cross between Gokudera and Mukuro, and Asuka as a cross between Gokudera, Xanxus and Squalo, and Shinji as just straight-out TSUNA.

SEE: it is described as "Shinji Ikari spends his days at the NERV Foundation Academy (A Catholic school) in a peaceful yet bored stupor, when one night, after witnessing the figures of Rei Ayanami, the object of his affection, and a boy he’s never seen before running from the scene of a violent explosion, he happens to find an odd gem. Soon after, he meets the transfer student Kaworu Nagisa, the fleeing boy he’d seen with Ayanami, and is forcibly recruited to assist Rei, Kaworu, and Asuka Soryuu Langely in fighting the “Angels”, beings who wish to destroy the Earth."

Kaoru's Mukuro moment.
And more Mukuro moments on body-possession! What with invading others' bodies!
... - that pose is so Mukuro/Tsuna, if Mukuro was a lot cruder.

Eyepatch!Rei = Eyepatch!Yamamoto?

Why Kaoru = Gokudera
Silver-haired foreigner in a Mafia suit with the TRANSFER STUDENT SYNDROME.
Although this smile better befits Byakuran.
Plus, the cool foreigner whom every girl in class goes insane over syndrome.
Despite the interest, he's far more interested in the wimpy main character.
Who wonders how he got into this mess. And really doesn't want to be in that mess. REALLY REALLY REALLY.
Like I said, Mafia suit.
Like I said, silver-haired foreigner who's really INTERESTED in you.
Cue MAIN CHARACTER'S SHOCK + HORROR.
Kaoru and Gokudera even have the same kind of angst.
I swear Gokudera has worn that exact expression at SOME point in time.
Protective moment, maybe?
... AHAHAHAHA! Tsuna and Gokudera should have a moment like THIS!

AND MY FAVOURITE: TAG-TEAM BOYFRIENDS!

Ahahaha, Touji and Shinji are SO Jounouchi and Yuugi. Heh. Agaaaain. WOW, GUYS, NEVER STOP, KEEP BRINGING IT ON. ♥

... if someone says YamaGoku, I will explode. The line's more GokuTsuna, though! ;)

AND THIS IS Asuka's Wolfram face! XD

★ bitterwork, whose Reborn icons I love, has made AMAZING KKM ICONS. I'm using one right now. ♥ (THAT SLAP SCENE WILL NEVER. EVER. GET OLD WITH ME.)

☆ Summary and Screencaps for KKM Season 3 Episode 82. This episode involves Greta acquiring a pet bearbee she names, of all things, Yuuram. This episode is basically Gremlins Does KKM. Right down to DON'T TOUCH THE WATER IT MAKES CUTE THINGS GO BAAAAD. Every week, no matter how silly the plot, no matter what other people think of the episode, no matter what, period: this series FORCIBLY reminds me of why I fell in love with it, why I still love it, and why I will love it forever. BECAUSE LOVE LIKE THIS NEVER DIES.

★ anyasy linked THE LAMBO STORE. IT WAS AWESOME AND I LAUGHED SO HARD.

layout REBORN!

2008-04-20T16:06:29Z

In a move that will probably surprise no one:

new layout!
because Amano's art can be so awesome, and I'll take every chance I get to share it with the world.
with a separate friends-page header, too

Layout coding's by way of cartonage, here.
tinted_glass has a truly awesome Ryan!fied version of this here, along with a whole lot of the latest Michael-Ryan news.

Icon meme from kotomine (hers here!)

by yours truly

! Klaus Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I like every icon of mine to be capable of saying something, and this one says "I Miss You!"

So you sailed away is a line from Vertical Horizon's Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning), and lyrics go this way:

So you sailed away
Into a grey sky morning
Now I'm here to stay
Love can be so boring

[this bridge reminds me of Asch]

So you stole my world
Now I'm just a phony
Remembering the girl
Leaves me down and lonely

The only person who was able to guess the lyrics when I first made this icon was tinted_glass, who, coincidentally, is the maker of the next icon!

by tinted_glass

Made for me by by tinted_glass! ♥ IT'S ONE OF THOSE ICONS I WILL NEVER DELETE.
This is Tim from Jurassic Park. Huge dinosaur and Dr. Grant fanboy. ♥
I love the sparkles and the wide-eyed enthusiasm.

I use this icon when I want to say ILU AND I LOVE WHAT YOU JUST DID. ♥

[by logophobia]

This! ♥ I love this icon because it's House and a bunch of flowers! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN!
This is another of my ILU ♥ icons, which is ironic, because in the context of that scene, House was giving out flowers to tell the Numbers who he wasn't keeping.

It also reminds me of this song:

sister hazel, hopeless

A hopeless romantic but nothing feels right
A ship full of lovers that sails out of sight
I wait for the answers to fall from the sky - to fall from the sky
A perfect beginning but why does it end
And when will I learn to let someone in
I wait for the answers to fall from the sky

by tsunayoshi!

This is one of my all-time favourite Reborn! icons! ♥
It is also My Answer to all the Gokudera/Tsuna - Yamamoto/Gokudera potential conflict-of-interest that can be COMPLETELY AND EASILY RESOLVED BY THE SIMPLE ADOPTION OF AN OT3.

(also I am horrible and love the way that Tenth MAKES IT ALL BETTER here)

by ambiance!

Because I always need a WORK icon, and THIS is what I do at the office all day! ;)

... well, certainly, 4 relates to 5 in what I do. ♥

My keywords for this icon are, incidentally, I COMMENCE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

chibimazoku and inarticulate have set up an English Kuroshitsuji site here, and it's pretty awesome, so check it out!

Also: Kyou Kara Maou. DEAR GOD I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING THIS SERIES. Also, if I ever had a sister, I would want her to be like llamrei's: THIS IS WHY.

conrad_wolfram and kingsaralegui were opened in the last five days, how awesome is the love for this series?! THIS IS WHY I CAN NEVER LEAVE.

And the most recent episodes of KKM? Episodes 80 and 81 (summary spoilers)? ... WHY is this series always ALWAYS ALWAYS giving the lie to my idea that I can't possibly love Wolfram any more than I already do?

ready-set-EXPLODE

2008-04-11T17:29:21Z

I have a folder in my Reborn manga stash titled: "THIS MANGA IS AWESOME", and I was talking to narugami and thought it was an AMAZING opportunity to unleash it. SO:

" this manga is awesome "
a Reborn! manga-only special
(spoilers up to the end of the Ring Battles)

welcome to the family

three's company

it's the things that you say

they'll never take our sky

my boss, my hero

Note: If you belong to the Vongola Family, it is totally O.K. to sexually harrass your boss.

It's not that trainee lawyers are crazy, but that the practice makes them so.

2008-04-08T16:13:46Z

This song goes out to my Opposing Counsel, because it perfectly describes one of the cases I've been on since last December:

First you say you won't, then you say you will.
You keep me hanging on, and we're not moving on
I"m standing still, Jenny, you got me on my knees
Jenny, it's killing me
The Click Five, Jenny

CAN WE GO TO TRIAL ALREADY

It's funny that I was talking to elvaron about just this situation, because today I had a major heart attack when the client called and wanted to talk to me because everyone else coincidentally wasn't in the country.

Also, today I recorded the most billable hours for any day I've worked so far, so this CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!

Also the way I unwind after an entire day with law in my head is with a lot of pictures.

altor discovery of capslock worthy proportions

I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT RIGHT-CLICKING ON THE ALTOR GAME TAKES AWAY THE TEXT BOX AND LETS YOU SCREENCAP THE ARTWORK DIRECTLY.

Incidentally, Altor is EVIL. EVIL. Just three hours with the Mukuro path and still uncompleted, mind you, and already taking the Gokudera path BREAKS MY HEART.

GOKUDERA MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.

OH BE QUIET I'M OBSESSIVE

LOOK HOW MANY EXPRESSIONS HE HAS

THE COMPLETELY BORED AND LOOKING AT BASEBALL IDIOT AND UTTERLY UNIMPRESSED EXPRESSION

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE EXPRESSION. IT'S THE I'M LOOKING AT JYUUDAIME AND I LIKE WHAT I SEE expression.

TENTH IS MY HAPPY PLACE

Clearly related to Xanxus. Even the ANGSTRAGE is hereditary.

Giotto and his Mist Guardian

HEY I WOULDN'T SAY NO TO THAT WAKING ME UP BUT THIS IS CLEARLY WHY I'M NOT THE MIST GUARDIAN.

My instinctual caption to this picture should NOT be "TENTH I LOVE YOUR SMILE".
The OBJECTIVE caption is "Giotto has a beautiful smile."

Tsuna + Mukuro

I LOVE MUKURO WHEN HE LOOKS LIKE THIS.

AND I CAN'T SAY NO TO A FACE LIKE THIS

LOVED this picture. And this moment. IT WAS SO ADORABLE.