Mina's Random Comment Generator

Kleenex is my friend

2006-11-15T03:59:11Z

My brain is too full of *stuff*. I mean, icky stuff. I've spent more time glued to the kleenex box and randomly staring at walls then I have doing anything else. Which sucks. Because I have, like, 50+ pages of front-and-back notebook HP story to type up, but I can barely read halfway down the page before my eyes start itching, and things go blurry, and---

I fucking hate head colds. Evil bitches.

Have re-read all Harry Potter now, and have decided that it's a great fairytale and children's story, but crap for those of us that want the dark, the psychological, and the realisitc. Have re-read Mutineer's Moon/Armageddon Inheritance. Have decided that it's a great story idea, but Webber was crap at story crafting at that point. Need new Storm Constantine novel to complete second Wraeththu trilogy.

Have decided that life is odd due to this simple fact: Gundam Wing appeared 1995-1996/1998, and the pairing of Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell continues to pervade the internet. Don't get me wrong, I like them too. 'Course, after I was over my initial yaoi-fan-girl-rabidness, I enjoyed the series mostly for its philosophical and political intrigues. Honesely, I think that Gundam Seed/Gundam Seed Destiny 2002-present (in various forms) is actually deeper than GW, due to the fact that it brings in more moralities and difficulties than GW did. Okay, and while I liked Duo Maxwell, Athrun Zala totally owns my soul. Yet nobody, in the vast fandom, notices that Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato have even more...chemistry, if you'll allow the overused term, than Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. Man, the stories that you could tell...

To this day, I still don't quite understand the fan phenomena that GW is. I enjoyed my time with it, but to continue for years and years and years...GW has spawned more AUs in genres as varied as everyday-present, historical, fantasy, etc., and shows no signs of slowing down. It's as if it's spawned entire groups of "original" story writers, who simply use pre-made characters for their stories.

In divergence: Masashi Kishimoto continues to rock, even if he's not fast enough for me. LOL I just want Naruto to be finished and presented before me, nice and shiny. It's the impatience between chapters that gets me...I wiggle too much. But I love the pacing, and while I really want to see Sasuke again (and, dude, where the fuck did Sai and Sakura go during all this? O.o), I'm glad that we cotinue to shift to people like Shikamaru and Team 10. As for chapter 330...I know cigarettes shouldn't be sexy, and it's definitely not why *I* smoke, but damn, Shikamaru! And Kakashi, freaking out Naruto by saying "I've decided...that I like you!" OMGLMAO ::flails:: ::dies::

And I'm stopping now, because I can barely make out the letters, and I want my bed, dang it.

Why does Karma hate me?

2006-11-07T06:45:09Z

I don't even know how to explain how *bad* the last few months have been. I mean, every time something good happened, six things went very, *very* bad.

Did good on my GRE: 590 verbal (490 math ::dies::) and a 5.5 on the analytical writing. Good for me since I'm scraping things together to apply for gradschool. But my undergrad school is still fighting with me about grades from fall 2004, which I *have* to have fixed before I apply for gradschool. With those grades on there, I have a 2.9--with those grades off, I'll have a 3.18.

Puppy very sick. Not good.

Credit card from long ago caught up with me. Which is piss-poor timing. Because my funds are very tight, and they want it *now*. I mean, retained lawyer, civil-complaint papers served *want it now*. And my school loan repayments start in Decemeber. Doing the math, I have no left over money from my paychecks to pay them with. My savings account money is tied up in a CD, and the penalty fees if I removed it are scary. So, I'm doing my best. Someone told me that they'll probably try to garnish my wages, and if they do that, I'd have to get a second job. Don't know *how* to do that, since I don't have a static schedule, and most places in my town won't hire for 2-3 days a week.

And don't even get me started on "life." I mean, work is okay, and people are okay...I guess. Dad gets back on his feet after six weeks on cruches from knee surgery, Maman is starting to sleep better, and we're all just a bit crazy from this. Been trying to keep my dad entertained and get my own shit done--housework? What housework? Oh, you mean the *lack there of* housework!

So, money is the devil, once more. Actually, up until *this* hit on the 31st, I was starting to feel pretty good about things. I'm back to writing about 7,000 words a day, have one large fan fic completed and awaiting edit, another one about half underway, seven short stories of original fiction complete, and was finally making headway on my re-write of "Black Blade." Now I stare at the paper and write depressing poetry about killing people I don't know.

Why the fuck did I ever think I wanted to grow up? Take me back to 12, before I knew what hand-to-mouth actually was! Sure, I could save some money by cancelling the internet/phone, but that's my only real splurge in a month. I even have taken to budgeting my book expenditures. As for quitting smoking as a way to save money--not fucking likely. Trying to quit under stress would probably just lead me to end up smoking more, or taking up some other unhealthy(er) vice.

I'm going to type some more, die for the night, and hope that I've some how inherited money from someone I don't know when I wake up. Damn it, why couldn't they have waited? All I'd need is ONE student loan in gradschool to repay them! ONE!!!

...Shoot me, stuff me, mount me...

2006-07-08T05:21:51Z

My week has sucked. Seriously.

So, I'm not as allergic to things as millae, but I'm still allergic to nearly everything...except pine trees and dogs. At least this doctor is also checking into the thyroid aspect for me. My current doctor seems to think I'm insane, which is a bit disheartening. I mean...insanity or thyroiditis...gee, hard pick there.

I'm too sluggish right now to write my rant, plus I don't feel like spoiler tagging things, but ---

GORE VERBINSKI AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER!!! I hate you and love you at the same time. The third movie better fix some things and see the comeuppence of a certain character, or I'll be screaming my blackened little lungs out.

blah

2006-06-26T14:45:09Z

I'm still awake. I'm eating rice and tofu?! ...And I have twenty-two horrendously pink rollers in my hair.

Has anyone seen my brain? Because, quite obviously, it took a leave-of-absence and left no forwarding address.

Things I have learned...

2006-06-26T03:55:58Z

in the last two weeks or so.

1. Nobody drives the speed limit in Montana. Montanans go 5-10 miles over the speed limit. Out-of-staters go 15-20 miles over the speed limit. Truck drivers apparently catch up on a *lot* of missed time in our state. It's very scary. The speed limit in Montana is 75 mph. The speed limit in Montana 6 years ago was "Reasonable and Prudent." Too many out-of-staters kept having accidents and dying. ...I don't think the numbers have changed very much, though, since that time. I mean, the out-of-staters are still speeding, having accidents, and dying. ...And we really don't have enough people in this state to have an effective Highway Patrol to cover all of the Interstate/Highway areas.

2. Compared to Interstate/Highway driving, out-of-staters have a habit of driving 5-10 miles *under* the speed limit in towns. Or more.

3. Despite what men (and that one crazy chick) who come into my place of work may think, my breasts are *not* good luck charms, and staring at them won't help you to keep from losing money.

4. Masashi Kishimoto is a sadistic bastard.

5. I got my graduation gift -- and Intuos 2 tablet. I'm happy. Now if I only had the time to *use it* between feeling like I was run over, working, and trying to clean my house...

6. Buffy, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, really was quite a selfish character. Re-watching the teenage drama you used to love can be a real let down. However, early David Boreanaz (he looks good in "Bones" now, too) and James Marsters are worth a watch and reminiscent drool.

7. Writing frenzies, where you write pages after pages of *dialogue only* can be a real pain in the ass. There are characters that come and go, and view points that switch, and it takes 10x as long to figure those out as it did to write the stuff in the first place. I mean, if I could figure this stuff out, I'd have all of DAYG re-written, half of my GS/GSD ideas written, and my novel finished.

8. GenSui V is a real GenSui. It's like playing I and II combined, with much snark, TEH GAY!, and randomness. GenSui V has eaten my life. Especially given that Prince looks very much like a Princess, which makes the dialogue just...yeah. Now I just need a Viktor/Flick or a Miklotov/Camus and it would be perfect.

9. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles...CLAMP broke my brain.

10. Get Dir en grey's domestic release, "Withering to death" if you can. It comes with PMV and tour clips, and is good. Still prefer the Japanese releases better...

11. Allergies need to go to hell and DIE!!!

::blink::

2006-06-09T06:11:11Z

Yeah, so...sleep never happened. Again. And millae and I are both utterly bewildered as to why we're being dragged to this wedding-thing over the weekend. Personally, I would have loved a chance to catch some behind-eyelids viewing time, clean my kitchen and living room, work on writing, finish the picture I've been working on all year...you know, *my* stuff.

I want DSL. ::kicks ISP:: Dial up, you suck in ways that I can't even begin to describe. You suck like that thing I once had to clean out of the fridge after my last roommate moved out. You are like...the biohazard of my 'net sanity. You sap my ability to have cool stuff. Like Digimon.

...Well, hell, maybe the Benedryl is working. ^_^;; Allergies are totally owning me right now.

P.S. Kishimoto Masashi, hurry the fuck up and do something! 310, and the angst is killing me! Either give me Sasuke in Naruto's chokehold, or giving a fucking, dramatic, kick-ass death, because I'm seriously emo-ing more than the leading dynamic duo.

P.P.S. Athrun still owns my soul.

Sleeeeep...where are yoooou?

2006-06-08T09:41:18Z

Seriously, I should be tired, but I'm not. I just got off work about 45 minutes ago, and I'm freakin' wired. I'll probably try to crash in a bit...I think. But I'm bouncy, because (hopefully!) chapter 310 of Naruto should be released onto the net some time later today. Wheee! This manga seriously has me panting and fangirling like crazy. (But Athrun and GS/GSD are still my obsession right now.)

Have a wedding to attend this weekend, which will be a bit weird. My mom is friends with the bride's mother; the bride and I used to be playmates when I was a kid, but didn't really have a lot to do with each other after we moved 13 years ago. Oh, well. At least I can stock up on manga, and the newer volumes of Kyo Kara Maoh. I saved up $200 in tips this week from work, so I'll splurge a bit. Still seriously thinking about getting the imports of Cluster Edge; looks absolutely gorgeous and crack!tastic.

As an afterthought: Am I seriously the only one my age and younger (millae is the exception, being my sister and of similiar genetic/philosophical makeup) that is perfectly all right being single, alone, and fond of my own company? I mean, I'd love to have a relationship, but I don't think there's anything wrong with me for *not* having one. I don't feel like I'm missing a vital part of myself. ...Which, you know, is a good thing. Means my brain hasn't taken a hiatus.

Why...

2006-06-05T23:09:12Z

do my plans always end up in shreds around me? Hmmm?!

Yes, so, my updates are slowed due to the fact of A: a double shift at work, B: I somehow lost my ftp login...again, and C: my brain lacking the ability to focus long enough to HTML. And since I have to go back to work at 2100 hrs or so, and I won't get off unti 0230 or so, I think I'll make the attempt again tomorrow morning. ...Maybe I'm stupid because I forgot breakfast?

...Wait, that would make me stupid every day...-_-;;

OMG I LIVE!!!

2006-06-02T23:13:04Z

So, that being said...I did it! Or, at least, they're saying I did it. I won't know for sure until I get that piece of paper in my grubby little paws, but I graduated! ::tries to dance and falls fabulously into a wall:: Erm, yeah. But...

I graduated! BA Lit & Creative Writing. Means I'm qualified to continue working a minimum wage job, where I write well but talk horrendously. Actually, I have to take my GRE in July. So, once my two grades from this last year and the four from Fall 2004(!) are fixed, my GPA should be back around a 3.4. Then I have to hope that I do well on my GRE. (I refuse to take a test that I have to pay $115 for, and travel to another city to take, where I end up flunking half of it, so I'm studying my ass off on the math section. I haven't had math [outside of math for work] for six years!) Then in November, I need to gather up letters of reccommendation, so that I can put together applications for graduate school. Originally, I was going to look for an MFA program, but they are extremely competative, and though my professors are confident in my abilities, I am...not so much. -_-;; So, another professor talked me in to going MA/Ph.D, and I thought about it...and figured why the hell not? I'd be the first doctor, of any sort, on both sides of my family. Oooh, aaah. ::snrk:: So, I'm looking at the University of Montana, University of Idaho, and Washington State University for my MA. You know...keeping my options open and whatnot. I want to do comparative literature as my emphasis, but you're supposed to have at least two years of college-level language courses in at least two different languages for that. Well...my first college has absolutely no foreign languages, unless you count trying to talke to the multitudes of the Mexican/Latino population that work on the ranches around here.

Yo no hablo espanol! That's the extent of my vocabulary. Anyway, so I needed to find places to take my MA program where I could get the languages in. It means I might have to take summer/winter courses, but whatever it takes. My Japanese and French are still proficient enough that first year courses would be an easy (and needed!) refresher, and since I plan for my doctoral emphasis to be Japanese literature...

And in other news, we have horrendous weather here that can't make up it's mind. Rain, sun, cold, hot---back and forth for, like, five weeks now. It's really quite annoying!

I'm going to fix up my thesis stuff and post it on my site, probably sometime this weekend. All the fiction and poetry that I worked on this year. It's going to be hard to HTML the poetry, but it'll make for a good exercise in patience, I'm sure.

I've also been working on massive (seriously MASSIVE) re-writing of my Harry Potter stuff. Why? I suppose you could say I'm a masochist, but it comes down to a few books I was given this spring on mythology and legends. They are cool books, totally worth reading and thinking about, and they made me find quite a few major flaws in not only my story, but in dealing with J.K. Rowling's world. So, I have a lot to fix, and it's been fun to do. I've got ten parts done, since I've also been re-working the story structure and chapter cut offs. I figure I'll start posting those on Sunday. (I seriously don't have a day off for the next eight days! Ten closing shifts in a row! ::cries:: ::gets over it::)

I've also been working on a massive Gundam Seed storyline. ::ducks thrown objects:: I know, I suck. I really need to finish the stuff I've been working on (like my Orphen and HP stuff), but you don't understand! Gundam Seed ate my brain. Okay, so actually *Athrun Zala* ate my brain, but still... I seriously can't get enough of this series, and can't wait for all the GSD-SE to be released (FEBRUARY 2007 for volume 4?!), and swooned with joy when I saw Sunrise announced in Newtype and at the Sony Music Awards that they are preparing for a theatrical movie to continue the Seed saga. It will be the first completely original theatrical movie since F91 was released fifteen years ago. ::dances without falling:: I'm just hoping for some closure for Athrun, and maybe a little more insight into what was hinted at at the end of GSD-Final Plus. But, yes, I've been writing a lot for Athrun Zala, and will probably start posting some of that work Sunday or Monday.

FYI, it's been eleven years since the end of Gundam Wing in Japan, and it's still the only Gundam series that really caught on in the US. Don't get me wrong, I liked GW, but it's seriously got nothing on the storyline of some of the early Gundam series, and nothing on the Seed line.

My final note in this crazy ramble: NARUTO! Kishimoto, how you wring my brain and heartstrings. Kishimoto, how you promote TEH GAY! in your manga. Kishimoto...how you make me wish that this series would both end and never end. Between 306 to 309, I turned into a squealing teenage girl all over again. It was fun and disturbing on so many levels. And now...I really freakin' hate waiting a week for a chapter, but I'm glad that there are so many places online where you can find these chapters now, compared to when I first started reading manga ::counts:: wow, eleven years ago. Seriously though, Kishimoto, please quit stepping on Naruto's heart. I mean, you draw him wonderfully heartbroken, and it makes the guy more gorgeous than before, but I want this guy to end up happy. And given that we're on 34 tankoubon, and Naruto has stated over and over that he won't rest until Sasuke is "home," the only thing that's going to make Naruto happy is going to be hard to see. We can't kill Sasuke. We can't have Sasuke kill Naruto, or anyone close to Naruto, because that would *really* screw the blond kid up. But we keep dangling Sasuke in front of Naruto, and it's damned annoying to keep having this "happiness" be taken away from the kid.

Yes. Blah. So I think, yaddayadda. ;p

Big, Fan-squeal OMG!!!

2006-03-24T20:14:36Z

So, um, SPOILERS if you haven't read the latest chapter of 'Naruto,' but I needed to squeal/vent...

Because Sasuke is back!!! Well, sort of. I mean, all we get to see is the "shadowy figure with Sharingan eyes," but still... Sasuke is just as much of a smarmy git as he was before he left, and he doesn't seem to have fallen prey to all of the scary fandom conjecture (ie. Itachi hair, purple ass-bow of doom, crossdressing, Orochimaru's!Bitch Syndrome, etc.) And he still has Rooster Hair! (But, dammit, I want to see him in...like, light. And knowing how evil Kishimoto is, we probably won't have Naruto and Sasuke meeting again until the chapter that would end the tankoubon.)

Weirdly, for all those people that think the white-haired kid (Sai's "deceased brother") is Kabuto...wouldn't that be weird? (Sorry for double word use. ^_^;;) Because wasn't Kabuto found during a raid by Konoha shinobi and brought back by the medico-nin? I mean, Kabuto wasn't a citizen of Konoha to begin with.

And now I've completely forgot my tangent. Except...Uchiha Sasuke is back.

I broke my brain...

2006-03-24T02:15:43Z

...not that you can tell any difference between BrokenBrain!Mina and Normal!Mina. I had fun...I made ten icons today. ^_^ Mostly expressing my Athrun Obsession...because Gundam Seed/Gundam Seed Destiny are about Athrun, dammit. (Actually, it's sort of true, because the OAV movies for GSD are being done so that they're in the POV of Athrun. Because if they were in Kira's POV, then Shinn would seem like the "bad guy" and vice-versa. So, see, Athrun *is* the main character!)

...Well, now that my family is sorta back on track (please, no more crises' or hospital trips, please?), maybe I'll actually get something done. Working on finishing up my fic rec page so that I can get it posted tonight, and hopefully spend Friday afternoon working on fics. millae's birthday is on Saturday (YOU'RE GOING TO BE SO OLD!!!)(though never as old as me...) I decided to give her a rock. It's a special rock. My cat's carried it in. (I swear I'm not crazy!)

The Shishido Ryoh album, ZERO, is pretty good, but none of the songs are as good as 'Rain' from the Kiss of Prince album. Still, it was worth it to get. Though I'm a little confused...'Next Gate' is a duet with Ohtori Choutarou, which makes sense, because they're doubles partners. But 'Endless Dream' is a trio with Kikumaru Eiji and Ooishi Syuuichirou. Um...where'd that come from? Because Ooishi and Eiji are doubles partners and Shishido plays doubles too? Well, back to the recs!

Squee! ::thud::

2006-03-05T05:02:50Z

So, um, working on iconage...when I should be working on my thesis... But, my thesis is kinds of okay. It's just that...I spent so long not writing, that it's taking me awhile to get back into the swing of things again. I wrote 2500 words, then had to go back and fix my verb-tenses. O.o 'Twas baaaad.

My randomness is telling me that I need severe help. Because I've gotten "into" a lot of series and I've "liked" a lot of characters (duh, that would be why I started writing fan fiction in the first place), but I've never been obsessed before.

I am obsessed. With Athrun Zala. He is so beautiful that my heart breaks and aches and just generally thumps a lot. I'll say it over and over: Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny are not about Kira Yamato and Shinn Asuka resepctively, they are about the emotional turmoil and tug-of-war choice situations of Athrun Zala. I mean, I don't want to *marry* Athrun (I'm really not that deluded or weird), but I'm freaking *obsessed* with this kid. And he's a freaking anime/manga character! ::dies::

P.S. I beat the chocolate! And I have apple-kiwi-strawberry juice, too.

::cries::

2006-03-03T20:31:30Z

I hate Tokyopop. They pick up all of these manga titles that I like, but then only put out two volumes per year...if that. I'm scrolling through their lists for recent requirements, and feel very sad. I mean, some titles are really popular (like Get Backers or Saiyuki) so they're pretty regular about putting them out. But some of the others...

+Anima
Hands Off!
Get Backers
Saiyuki: Reload
(Candidate for Goddess)
D.N. Angel
(Lagoon Engine)
(Legal Drug)
Loveless
Samurai Deeper Kyo

Plus, they've said for awhile now that they have the rights to Bus Gamer, but there hasn't been anything else put up about it, and most sites took down their translations after that announcement. ::I actually have managed to completely forget what I was ranting about. I think the low blood sugar killed me.::

;p

2006-03-03T07:23:51Z

So, either my medication isn't working or something hates me. I've been running a fever for two days now, a weirdly swinging one at that. I've missed class four times now this block (BTW, a block schedule in college sucks like you would not believe), and my prof. isn't exactly happy. I'm going to be lucky to pull a B because of this, dammit.

My midnight randomness:

Dear Masashi Kishimoto: Still waiting for "Naruto" to go somewhere. I've spent more time going WTF?! lately then in the previous 28 tankoubon. Seriously, give me Sasuke. Please, start making sense soon. There's so many plot threads spinning that it feels like it's going to take at least another 20 tankoubon before this arc concludes.

I have many, many pretty pictures from GS/GSD. Most of my Kira, Athrun, Kira/Athrun ones are sombre/serious and sweet. Most of my Yzak, Dearka, Yzak/Dearka ones are sweet and smarmy. I have an adorable SD one that will make great iconage material. SD Yzak tottaly cracks me up. Of course, SD Kira and SD Athrun being buddy-buddy while SD Cagalli freaks out and SD Lacus smiles and stares cracked me up even more.

Yes, I'm so totally gone on GS/GSD that it's not funny. I take this show very seriously. I take the storyline very seriously. I take the characters, their backgrounds, their relationships, and their motivations very seriously. Seriously.

P.S. I bought chocolate. Apparently it's very smart chocolate, because it's very hard to open. Unless I want to peel the wrappings like a five-year-old barbarian child, that is.

I <3 My Sister...

2006-02-28T04:34:06Z

I mean, seriously, I think I'm just going to give her pics and let her do my icons for me. Because millae's moogle rox my f*cked up world at the moment. Other than that...I swear, I'm going to beta-read my fics some year and actually post them. And maybe start drawing again, since it's been almost two years since I've put pencil to paper for more than eyeball drawing.

My GS/GSD CDs showed up a day earlier than expected. I still need the singles CDs and soundtracks 1 and 2 from GS, but other than that...these soundtracks seriously rock my world. Really. And did I mention that I'm convinced that both GS and GSD are actually both about Athrun?

Doctors are weird

2006-02-27T19:24:31Z

So, it's a sinus infection. And as the doctor put it (I'm seriously quoting this): "Well, this is the loveliest sinus infection I've seen so far this year!" ...excuse my WTF?! Apparently if I'd let it go another day or two, I most likely would have had bronchitis as well, since there's fluid starting to build up in my bronchial tubes. Joy. Rapture.

The cat-that-is-not-my-cat is still here. I've let it outside about three times to far hoping it will find its way home, but it's back within an hour or so.

I've got to kick my ass in gear, as I have two papers to finish and e-mail off by five to my current professor. Maybe this being sick for a day thing will help me get some ideas straight for my thesis. Because I'm seriously behind, and could really use a fairy-something-or-other to help right about now.

Holy Randomness...

2006-02-27T07:54:19Z

I woke up this morning (technically yesterday morning, I guess) petting a cat. That wouldn't be unusual considering that I've got five of the moggies, but...this one wasn't mine. I'm not sure where he came from, but I was cuddling a cat that's not mine. And he's still here, showing no inclination to leave. He's gone in and out with my other cats, and other than a couple random spats of hissing and growling, there's been no blow ups. It's a bit strange. -_-

Other Randomness:

1. My thesis, at this moment, seems doomed.

2. I think I either have a sinus infection or the start of bronchitis.

3. Dear Masashi Kishimoto: WTF?! Seriously, please get somewhere with the plot, because I'm *dying* from all the innuendo, the political movements, and the lack of Sasuke (especially seeing as how 90% of the people I know hate the poor guy, but I really feel for him!)

4. Dear Gundam Seed/Gundam Seed Destiny fans: Please quit watching a series for romance and then bitching about the fact that your "favourite pairing" either didn't makeout/boink or broke up. Gundam is not about romance, already!

5. You know you're an old hat and a bit of a snob when you get offended by forum members who bitch about how unlikely a character's image song would sound. Examples: Sting Oakley, GSD (Suwabe Junichi), Mu La Flaga (Koyasu Takehito), Rei Za Burrel or Rau Le Creuse (Seki Toshihiko). I mean, the first one hurt, but the latter two...especially Koyasu. I can't believe how many people there are delving into anime for the "romance" aspect of things, knowing next to nothing about the origins of anime or how it's produced, and knowing even less about the shining talents who voice these characters for pay amounts that really aren't star quality. (Really amusing randomness is the people that were wondering about Heine Wesenfleuss' voice actor, Nishikawa Takanori. Um, how about the first openings for both series, "Invoke" and "Ignited," as well as the inserts "Meteor," "Zips," and "Vestige." Yes, that would be T.M. Revolution, everyone.) ::dies::

Now, Mina has a book to read, but she doesn't want to, and her eyes keep crossing (which is really annoying). If it wasn't for the fact that cramps kept me out of class on Friday, I'd sleep through Monday. ::dies again::

I find myself to be boring...

2006-02-21T11:29:56Z

I will be ever so glad to see the doctor later today. Either I'm awake for three days or sleeping for 15 or more hours. And I'm smoking too much again because of this. And I'm tired of reading freaking literature about my freaking state and about freaking frontier life because, damn it, I might live in Montana, and I might have grown up surrounded by and participating in farm/ranch life, but that doesn't mean I'm a touchy-feeling nature freak!!!

Livejournal, I find you as boring as I find myself. We are good friends, yes?

...I have seen the stupidity...

2006-02-19T23:01:54Z

And I am afraid. Seriously. Taken from Mediaminer.org:

A Shot for Happiness new [T] by: sanzo_reload
Anime: Kyou Kara Maou
Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Continuation
Latest Revision: February 18, 2006 22:52 CST | Pages: 7 | Size: 31Kb | Visits: 0
Summary: A new bodyguard was assigned to protect Yuuri when he went back to his own world. Since then, nothing has been right. Follow the chaotic experience of Yuuri and the gang. Nonyaoi. Pairing : YuurixOC WolframxOC

Hello? Not only is Kyou Kara Maou most definitely a shounen ai anime series, but it's based off of a shounen ai novel series, and the artist that did the illustrations for the novels does primarily shounen ai/yaoi manga. There truly are crazy chicks out there who will do anything to make a series straight. I think I need an icon that says something like "Don't take away my gay, I've earned it!"

Fandom (wankish) Notes for Myself...

2006-02-19T03:43:21Z

Because I have the horrible need to write down what I think of an anime/manga/whatever, whether I peruse it later or not. Though I definitely think I'll be perusing *this* later, because it means a lot to me. Yeah. So, if anyone cares to read it (WHY?!), I give to you my character/plot hashings of Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. Warnings for spoilers, and caution for my (occasional) harsh takes on characters.

Honestly, the biggest question I had to ask, was who is the main character. In GS, it was supposed to be Kira Yamato, but I felt that by the end of the series that Athrun had taken over...and it seemed to fit perfectly. In GSD, it was supposed to be Shinn Asuka, but by the middle of the series, Athrun had taken over...and, again, it seemed to fit perfectly. It wasn't really a case of upstaging any of the other characters, but Athrun's plight in both series seemed to become the dominant force of the show. How he feels about what he's doing, how the situation and his reactions to it confuses him, how his relationship with Kira has become...bleh.

To put it bluntly, I didn't think of Athrun and Kira as more than angsty longtime friends until Cagalli confronts Athrun about Kira's "death". It was at that point, with Athrun's reaction, and with his later reaction to Lacus' accusations and his decision to go to Earth and speak with Kira, that I was like: "Dude, their love is so EMO!" And, frighteningly enough, Lacus is their pimp. Seriously, this girl is all about trying to get Kira and Athrun to realize their true Coordinator-SEED love. She's brilliant, really, and if it wasn't for the fact that even in Desiny I can see her pushing for Kira to stay by Athrun's side as well (especially after Cagalli takes off the ring, doesn't talk to Athrun before he leaves, etc.) as her own.

Meh, I hate how my thoughts become all confused and rambline. So, it had been quite a while since I'd seen GS, and I hadn't gotten to see all of it (and definitely not in order!), but my GSD DVDs came before GS, so I couldn't help but watch it. It's kind of weird to get into a series backwards. Because my first impressions through GSD were:

1. Shinn Asuka is the frightening love child of Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato.
2. Kira's relationship with Lacus is incredibly sweet and sibling-like, but Lacus is definitely the brains of their friendship, because without her there, Kira turns into an idiot.
3. Athrun is so incredibly passionate about wantind to do the right thing, and so beautiful in his angst of trying to get others to see where he's coming from. Because of this, I honestly wanted to smack Cagalli for being clingy (without a brain...) and smack Kira for forgetting that Athrun is his *best friend*, they'd already *killed each other once* and had promised to talk things through every time. I think, of the two, even though Kira and Lacus are living together in the orphanage, Athrun is the one who took Lacus' words of speaking to each other to heart. Athrun is the one that attempts to set up dialogues when things seem fishy. In fact, he's the only real voice of reason at the time.
4. Cagalli was annoying and pointless. She seemed, at first, to be the love interest...but that kind of died. Especially by the point when Athrun thinks that Shinn killed Kira and the Minerva had shot down the Archangel. It's *Kira* that Athrun is screaming for, *Kira* that he's upset about. Ignoring the fact that Athrun was being used (a point that I'd love to disect more), he was very right about what it was that Cagalli should be doing, and right about the fact that Kira and the Archangel shouldn't have just jumped into the battle without information. Cagalli honestly spends about 40 episodes of the series being useless; she cries, whines, and wails that her country is being used and destroyed, but ultimately does nothing about it but sit in her Rouge Strike Gundam or onboard the Archangel and be a decoration.
5. Shinn Asuka was not in love with Stellar Loussier. Please, people, that's disgusting. I realize they're the same age, and relatively attractive people, and sadly seem doomed to tragic romance (which is attractive for some reason...), but ultimately Shinn is a fairly advanced 2nd generation Coordinator and Stellar is a genetically and pharmeceutically manipulated Natural. She can't exist without the constant medication and treatments, and her mentality seem most like that of perhaps a ten-year-old. She has a childlike tendency of speaking in third-person, and as evidenced by her lack of modesty in her nakedness (vastly different from the scene in GS with Athrun and Cagalli), she doesn't see herself as a sexual creature in any way. Shinn is embarassed by her nakedness, but Stellar is not. In closing, the very idea of Shinn and Stellar in the romantic relationship disgusts the hell out of me, because Stellar is essentially a child, and even if Shinn is only 15, the idea of sexual expression towards someone like Stellar violates the same morals as pedophilia and extreme mental retardation (into the childlike behavior).
6. It's not really surprising that Shinn has a weird complex. Everyone that he wants to protect dies, and everyone that he sets out to kill turns out to still be alive. *I'd* have a compex too.
7. I want to have Lacus' babies. She's smart, beautiful, kind...and boy does she know Athrun and Kira. I mean, this girl seriously manages to handle to angsty eighteen-year-old young men, a battleship, herself, the enemy, reality...she's really got it all together. And what I find interesting (and wish I couldn't point out to all the of KiraxLacus fans) is that Kira never kisses Lacus except on the cheek. They have friendly/familial embraces often, but never romantic ones.
8. Which, to further this in point, leads me to the fact that Athrun is not in love with Cagalli. Athrun, I think, by the end of GS, realized that he could have been in love with Lacus, but didn't see it. Combined with the fact that Cagalli seemed to need him as someone that wasn't potentially her brother yet someone she still knew, and you create a sort of dependency. Athrun *wants* to love Cagalli. When he gives her the ring, not knowing that their is a betrothal agreement for her to marry Yuna, all he says is (paraphrased) "As expected, I don't know what's going on between you and Yuna, but I find that I don't like it." The ring is supposed to be a possessive marker, to say that Cagalli is his, and while he blushes sweetly and kisses Cagalli goodbye, it's clear that Athrun doesn't mean the same to Cagalli as Cagalli meant to Athrun. I don't wish to say that they were using each other (because that's harsh, and implies a certain amount of mediatation in their actions), but they held onto each other to avoid looking outside at the real world, I think. And I also think this leads to the ending where Cagalli has taken off the ring, and when Kira and Lacus think he might be upset, he tells them that he's fine, and everything's all right now.
9. As a final, personal observation point on GSD, I don't think that Shinn's as clueless as he sometimes seems. Athrun at one point remarks that Shinn doesn't know how to respond in social situations (or to speak with others) and that it reminds him of himself. Given how much Shinn has been able to observe of Athrun, it wouldn't surprise me if after Final Plus (which I haven't seen yet, but give me time), Shinn sits down and gives Kira quite the talking to about how Kira treated Athrun. My biggest gripe about Kira cutting Athrun's Gundam to pieces and muttering about how Cagalli was crying right now and didn't Athrun care was: "Kira, you moron. *Athrun* is crying right now. *Athrun* has been crying since he came back from PLANT with Cagalli, when he came to see you. Kira, why is it that the moment Lacus disappears to take care of business in space you revert to an idiot?!"

So, yes, that was GSD for me. In a real basic nutshell. Going bacwards and watching GS afterwards was different, yet made some things glaringly interesting for me.

1. So, KiraxLacus fans...tell me how this is going to work into a healthy relationship when Lacus reminds Kira in the last part of GS of Flay? I'm not saying that things don't eventually change (obviously, Lacus doesn't remind Kira of Flay in GSD), but for those of you that make it into this mid-war torrid romance? Feh. Lacus deserves better than that. And, quite frankly, so does Kira. Watch the first GS OAV, and then *tell me* that Kira doesn't deserve better. Leading me to...
2. Okay, so Flay realized her mistakes and felt bad later on, yadayada. I don't care. I forgive her to a certain extent, but she'll never realize how badly she messed up Kira. And oh, dear god, I hope there's no way for Kira to find out why she did what she did. Kira has no notion by the end of GS, and apparently still has no clue in GSD, what Flay was about when she initiated their "relationship." But after watching OAV 1, in which there is absolutely no mistaking their sexual relations, all I could think was "Poor Kira." I mean, seriously, a sixteen-year-old emotionally manipulated and seduced by a fifteen-year-old who hates him...and he doesn't even know it. The most chilling thing for me was the fact that Kira didn't even seem to realize that he was *having sex* with Flay...like he didn't even see her or feel her. And then to hear Flay say (after she overhears that the Aegis' pilot is Kira's longtime friend) that her goal is to make Kira totally dependent on her, and to make him destroy everything he loves before he dies. This taken from the series' persepective, and then the OAV, puts an almost canonical tie to the idea that Flay's intention is to substitute a dependency on herself in Kira, thereby substituing Athrun so that Kira won't think of his friend but kill him instead. Afterwards, Flay would admit her scheme, rubbing into Kira the fact that *he* had killed what he loved, that Flay hated him, and he was nothing. ...Like I said, thank god Kira never found out. Though that could make for interesting fan fic material, I kind of want to wait and see if the third GS series is a real deal or not.
3. So I actually liked Cagalli in GS for the most part. She is definitely spoiled and willful, and she's definitely not a very good girl. I mean, really, why is she so upset everytime someone realizes that she's a girl? She's taken pains to make sure that she doesn't look womanly in the least. She also, rarely, acts like what she is called: the Princess of Aube (or Orb, whatever). However, she's very sincere in what she does and what she believes in, but isn't very good at going about things. On the one hand, it makes her endearing. By GSD, though, it just makes her annoying.
4. Marrue Ramius...rocks my world. Seriously. And so does Mu La Flaga. The two, togther, are sweet and heartbreaking, which was why I was so glad that there were some of the surprises in GSD that there were. ...Not that that sentence makes any grammatical sense whatsoever.
5. Natarle Badriguel so redeems herself in my eyes. I can't really say much about her character change throughout the show, except...man, lady, I saluted you at the end.

A small change, there were a few confusing points for me:

1. Who is the woman that is Kira and Cagalli's biological mother?
2. Except for the 2 seconds that Cagalli seems to hit SEED-mode, it's never mentioned that she's a Coordinator. In fact, she's constantly referred to as a Natural in GSD.
3. What the heck happened to Kira's (adopted) dad between GS and GSD? It's not mentioned, but he's not there in GSD at all.
4. Why wasn't there more explanation into what, exactly, SEED-mode is, and how it's acheived?
5. Assuming that the woman who carried Cagalli and was Kira's bilogical mother as well was a scientist at L-4's Mendel Colony, was Ulen Hibiki their biological father as well?

And a final brief on confusing points in fan fiction:

1. Who the heck is this (I'm assuming female) "Shiho" character than people keep pairing Yzak with? Because the only female I ever saw Yzak talk to was his mother, Ezaria Joule (who rocks, by the way).
2. Why are people freaking out over the fact that Milliaria dumped Dearka? Because it's definitely quite obvious in GSD that after everything that happened in GS, Dearka isn't going to be leaving Yzak's side ever...whether you take that as a homosexual relationship or not, seeing what happened with Kira and Athrun hit Dearka deeply, and after his own confrontation with Yzak, I don't think Dearka is comfortable with the idea of ever seeming to abandon Yzak. And, quite frankly, Milliaria deserves to have a more focused relationship than what she would have with Dearka. Yzak will always come before anyone else at this point.
3. What is up with Lacus-the-sex-pot? Ignoring Meer (Mia) Campbell, has Lacus ever come across as a sexual creature? And, quite honestly, there's nothing sexual about the "nakedness" in the openings. Nakedness can be taken many different ways, and in dreams they are rarely sexual. Nakeness promotes vulnerability, openness, etc.
4. What is up with Cagalli the shy, romantic princess? Did we all watch the same show? And Cagalli the assassin, the thief, the fiance-stand-in, the matchmaker...seriously, people. Just write your own original story, and don't twist the character and the show so much!
5. What is up with Kira the passive one? Okay, so he's pretty passive in the show, but if push comes to shove, this boy is so dominating your ass. I don't care if he cries a lot, and is kind and gentle. I think, especially after his "relationship" with Flay, Kira is going to be the one to take charge in any relationship attempts he has.
6. Athrun the doormat? Only if your an intelligent-talking adult, Kira Yamato, or Lacus Clyne. Like I said before, this boy is so passionate, that you'd better get out of the way if he gets going. He's going to do what he needs to do, even if it kills him. (Like climbing into the cockpit of Infinite Justice to save Kira's ass...)

So, I think I'm going to drink more tea and feel sorry for myself. I'm struggling with my second thesis portion and it makes me want to cry. Then again, maybe I'll just rewatch some more GS. I really want to write a longer article on Athrun and being manipulated, Athrun and being "in love," and Kira and emotional ranges. ...And then maybe tomorrow I can get some work done on the fiction I've been tapping at. Meh.

HATE!

2006-02-10T01:07:22Z

I spent an hour working on an entry, and somehow LJ clicked something randomly...and it's gone, and I'm hating at the moment! Bloodsugar crashing, anger rising...I think I'll have a Fuujin moment and shout RAGE!

and now i'm going to have a cigarette, have dinner with my mother, maybe sniffle, then come home and try and reconstruct the damn thing...

More randomness...

2006-02-08T06:42:27Z

So, I'm reflecting on ice cream. I don't really like ice cream. Well, I don't really like sweets period. (Yes, feel free to say I'm weird.) I liked them a lot until I was about fifteen or so. In fact, my favourite sweets were M&Ms and vanilla or mint choclate chip ice cream. Then I just sorta...didn't like them anymore. But I have a soft spot for Special Dark chocolate (well, semi-sweet chocolate, yanno), and recently discoverd that I like Ben&Jerry's choclate ice cream, because it doesn't taste that sweet. Of course, I think it's funny that there's "4" servings per container and it takes me about three times that to eat a pint.

Weirdly, I'm also wondering how close to India Sanzo-ikkou is by the end of Reload Gunlock, because while I adore the series, I swear they aren't going anywhere...and I really, really want the connection between the Sanzo-line and Nii-hakase explained. (Hazel was a nice detour, but, dammit...either give me more Gaiden, or give me the Hakase's motive already!)

::blink:: Why is it...

2006-02-07T23:19:33Z

...that when I finally get one portion of my life under control, another bites me in the ass? Waiting to hear back on my bloodwork, but I'll be lucky if I hear back by Friday. Meanwhile, nothing is going right on the sleeping front: I'm eaither awake for three days or sleeping for fifteen hours. It's very annoying.

Random Comments:

If the entire crew of the Minerva hasn't passed around the word yet, Athrun Zala was seen wailing and weeping over some "Kira" person---*not* Cagalli Yula Athha. GSD is so very *gay*. Justice might not be pink, but that's an awfully bold shade of...mauve? Whatever, Athrun still rocks my world.

~Passion~ is awesome. Considering that the title is already in English, I'm wondering what the *English version*, entitled ~Sanctuary~, will sound like. I'm very much crossing my fingers for the March/April release for Kingdom Hearts II.

I always knew I loved Gackt for more than the fact that Squall Leonheart from FFVIII was modelled after him. Opening song from Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus=Gackt's "Redemption"=much love of the sexy voice and images that Square/Enix made.

Seriously wanting that Ultimate FFVII guide that's supposed to have all those backstories in it. Seeing as how the US most likely will never get Before Crisis, there's no clue on Crisis Core yet, and all the tantalising hints that were dropped in Advent Children and Last Order... FFVII seriously ate my brain!

Iconoclast and Bad Sunday

2006-02-06T07:41:05Z

Okay, so technically it's Monday. Meh. Key points to remember to complain about tomorrow:

1: Pittsburgh's MVP should be the referee staff. Don't get me wrong, Pittsburgh played a good game, but that was the *worst* refereeing job I've seen in a long time. Mina was angry that her first Superbowl in four years was that pathetic.

2: If you can't follow the rules of the road in a town of 4,000 people, I pray to every deity I know of that I never meet you or your kind in a larger city. It might make me rethink my vow of no-killy-the-stupid-people.

3: Mina, do not attempt to play with your LJ when this loopy. Your colour scheme is very frightening and you're too stupid to do anything about it right now.

4: Mina, get some damn new icons already!

5: Get your stories for thesis together already. Do not forget. Whatever you do, do not *forget*, because your thesis prof this semester already hates you, remember?

6: The answer to life might be 42, but the question sure as hell isn't "Dude, do you think that guy that does "Naruto" is, like, trying to make Naruto all gay about Sasuke?" ::rants:: Who cares? If you enjoy the damn thing, just enjoy the damn thing! ::/rants::

Now I think I'm going to have a Rodney McKay moment and freak out about my bloodsugar levels and drown my sorrows in re-watching "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Conqueror of Shambala" and feeling sorry for Taisa Roy Mustang. Because feeling sorry for yourself works best when feeling sorry for fictional characters at the same time.

So there was one little mistake...

2006-02-05T07:20:07Z

Of course, in HTML-terms, one little mistake means there was no update. Well, there is now. kagekoku.net has been updated for the first time in three years! ::does happy dance:: There's not a whole lot of new content, but that's because I thought my fingers were going to fall off with all the HTMLing I was cramming in around writing.

In other random news, I've fallen in love -- with Gundam Seed Destiny, that is. I don't even have the words right now to describe how I felt when it was all over. During, though, there were some lines a bit like this:

...So...people like Cagalli why? I think I must be missing something really profound, here...

Athrun...I'm amazed by the fact that you're as cool as you are and you don't need monumental therapy. Of course, you seem rather clueless concerning women (ie how many are after you, what to do with them, etc.) and have an unusual fixation on your friend, Kira. ...Not that I'm really complaining about that fixation, mind you.

Shinn, you're cool and all, but please, fixate on something not 1, doomed to die, 2, already dead, 3, potentially freakier than you, 4, someone you might have/already have killed...

I wanted to slap Kira for focusing on his whingy sister and ignoring the fact that *Athrun* may as well have been crying for, like, the whole series! ...He's just not as loud and confused as Cagalli.

Because of the aforementioned desire to slap Kira, I was actually rooting for Shinn to take Kira out of the sky. ...Of course, then I immediately felt bad because of Athrun's heartfelt denial of Kira's death...

So, yes. Other than that, finally got my copy of "Advent Children" and "Last Order." Much drooling and squealing. Even worse, though, was the fact that "Last Order" rocked my socks off...it was only half an hour long! And the little hints (like Cloud have Mako *before* the Nibelheim incident...), the Turks mass involvment, etc... I seriously want more FFVII stuff, dammit.

So, now off to try and plug in some reccommendations to update my list. Then a good night's sleep *snrk* so I can root for my team in the Superbowl tomorrow. ^_^