School Rumble

I know this might not be super interesting to some of you, but I have to write a post about School Rumble. It's an anime/manga dedicated to making fun of shoujo anime/manga. So, if you're not familiar with that genre, you probably won't think it's funny. It would be like making someone watch Space Balls who never saw Star Wars.

Basically, everything about this manga is intentionally written to make fun of shoujo, and the characters are so brilliantly crafted that it's almost unbearably funny. So, I'm going to list the characters and explain why they are hilarious.

Harima

He's our main male lead. He's a delinquent who's in love with Tenma. The thing that's the funnest about him is the way he's drawn. Normally, the main male lead from a shoujo manga is unbelievably cool and is drawn slim, beautiful, and completely apathetic. Harima is drawn tall and heavy with a beard and muscles in places that most guys don't have places. The style with which he's drawn is different too. He's seriously drawn like Berzerk (which is serious shounen - lots of lines). He's also extremely passionate about Tenma and draws manga on the side - all of which make him almost the most ridiculous cast as the male lead. The only thing he does that's normal for a male lead is he has regular fights with other delinquents. Also - no one is in love with him (really weird).

Tenma

She's our main girl. Harima is in love with her, but she's in love with Karasuma (I'll explain him next). She's a complete space cadet. The only person who sees her as a woman is Harima. Everyone else thinks that her friends and younger sister are the cool ones. Don't get me wrong, lots of shoujo heriones are flat-chested. The thing about Tenma is that she is a total and complete space cadet. She's forgetful and has completely forgotten the 'alley scenario' (see Ghost Mist Blog for explaination thereof) with which she met Harima.

Karasuma

Karasuma-kun is drawn using as few lines as possible. He is a 100% flat character and he does absolutely none of the things that usually draw a female character into liking him. He's not good at sports (he never even participates) , not good at school, never pays attention to Tenma or anyone else. It's a mystery why she likes him, but it doesn't stop it from being funny. He also sometimes dresses up like a demon turtle (a play off the Japanese word 'kappa' which also means raincoat)

Yakumo

Yakumo is Tenma's younger sister and a 100% perfect candidate for becoming a shoujo herione. The problem is that she can read men's minds when they are thinking about her. Naturally, this is freaky beyond all reason, because who would actually want to know about the sort of filth that exists in a man's mind? Ew! So, she is always disinterested in guys.

Anyway - this is way harder to explain than I thought it was going to be. It's just funny if you can take it as a parody.

Feminine Wiles

Lately, I've been thinking about feminine charm. Maybe it's because I'm about to write from a man's perspective for my next book, or maybe it's something far less complex. Anyway, lately, I've been thinking about my own femininity.

Last week, I was sitting next to my aunt whilst in a social situation where all females are expected to wear dresses. It wasn't a formal, meaning that the type of skirt/dress you wanted to wear was entirely up to your own descretion, as long as you were wearing one. I was sitting next to my aunt who was wearing a creamy floral blouse with flounces and flares. She was also wearing creamy high heels, a purple skirt, and soft transparant pantihose. Me? Oh, I was wearing a dark blue jean skirt with intentional stitches up the side (not unlike Lulu in Final Fantasy X). Put simply, the stitching is intended to remove any femininity that the skirt may have possessed without it. It's there to add a badass edge. I was wearing a long sleeved black sweater with the only oriniment on it being a tiny tie at the top. Pantihose? No, nononononono. I was wearing the nastiest of thick leggings that are thick enough to keep a women toasty in a snow storm. The last word you would use to describe them is 'transparent'. Then to top off this winning combination, I was wearing black, knee-high, laced-up boots (mostly so that no one would be able to see the stockings) (when I think of these stockings I always use the word 'rubbers' in my head - yeah - don't ask why), and sitting beside my lovely lipstick wearing aunt wondering if I'd left my panties at home because I was looking almost like a gaunt teenage boy beside her. Lucky for the skirt - saving my gender and all.

On the way out, I happened to make a comment that I looked exactly like Daniel Radcliffe when I got my hair cut short. My uncle denied that I could ever look like a boy, while my aunt said calmly, "But we didn't see her." I promise, my eyebrow didn't twitch. I was thinking the exact same thing. Am I a bleeding boy after all?

When I was in my earilier teens, I was reading this book about how to catch men (a sickeningly insightful book that will make all men fall to their knees begging to be your man) and there is a chapter about the importance of being a feminine woman. You see, the more feminine you appear, the more masculine the man who's with you feels - and honestly - men like that. In my early teens, I really made the effort to dress in girly colours, girly patterns, girly cuts and all that, and I can promise you - it makes a difference. I just don't like that it does, because I don't like wearing any of that. If you open my closet, you will see that almost all of my clothes are black and white. There isn't much else.

Hmmm .... I don't know that I really have a conclusion to this post. I'm absolutely adorable in so many other ways. Why should what I wear make such a big difference? But it does. I know it does. My boss used to comment on how manish I was. She asked me why I never wore skirts. My answer? Cause I have to take transit and what if there's a up draft?

Korean Manhwa

Did you guys know that I love Korean manga (manhwa)? I am totally not kidding. Seriously. I have seriously enjoyed almost every one of them that I've got my fingers on. I'm going do a little review for the best titles.

Red Lion

That's the pick I've got for today. Seriously! This is a smashing manga about a girl street fighter who has three guys who are in love with her. It's seriously great fun. One of them is a player, and another one is a yakuza heir, and the last one is a male model. But don't let that throw you - he's also into motorcycles and has a tragic past. HAHA! Seriously - I am SO amused whenever I read this. I've even read it more than once. So fun!

Goong

This one is a fictional story pretending that Korea has a monarchy and our heroine has been invited to marry the prince. However, this is not your average holiday game and is actually a really intense drama. I stayed up until 4 a.m. reading it because I couldn't put it down. I haven't done that for years, because my sleep time is extremely precious - so count that as my giant stamp of approval and read it before it gets licenced.

My Girl

This one is about a teenage girl who is leading a double life. She's a model who goes by the name of Jinny on one side and a regular teenage girl on the other side. Now, I know you'd think that this would be ordinary, but it's totally not. Her real self is almost boyish and her hair is cut very short - she always wears a wig when she goes modelling. I love wigs - they are amazing. When I wear my wig, sometimes people don't even recognize me as the same person. It's hillarious! And I can't wait for the next chapter to come out. I check it almost every day.

Love Comic

This one is about a shy girl who has somehow managed to catch the attention of the two most popular guys in school. Normally, I would overlook this, because it looks like it might be boring and ordinary, but I started reading it because I love the Korean stuff and it has turned out to be an extremely enjoyable read. So, I'd recommend it.

Okay, that's it for now. Go to this website to get your fix - or to get addicted
http://koreanmovies.free.fr/index.html

All I Want for Christmas

I know we haven't even had Halloween yet, so it's a little early to be making noise about Christmas yet. However! However, since the malls have decided that there's no reason to wait for Halloween to finish before putting out Christmas decorations - I have decided that there is no reason for me not to write my Christmas list. Then you will all discover how boring I truly am! Mwahahahaha!

1. A dishwasher

I want a full sized dishwasher, none of this countertop stuff. I want one that I can wheel into my kitchen from my dining room. I'm sick of doing my dishes in shifts and having to come back over and over again. I have to go back to reload the dishwasher, because I couldn't fit all the dishes from even one meal in at once. I have to go back to do the dishes in the sink, because you can't do both of them at the same time. Granted, I'll have the same problem if I get the dishwasher I want. I won't be able to do dishes in the sink (the BIG ones) at the same time as run the dishwasher, but if I have a full sized dishwasher then I can put ALL the dishes in at once. YES! This is my ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS WISH!

2. Hangers

This is 100% as lame as it sounds. I want the kind of clippy hangers that hold up pants. I also want to replace the utlra crappy wire hangers in my closets with plastic ones. I only have wire hangers because people keep leaving them in their old places before we move into them. GARBAGE! It's like that old Simpson's episode where Homer's next door neighbours are moving and they've left old newspapers, old medicine and wire hangers on the curb for the garbage men to pick up. Homer sees them and he's like, 'Must get this stuff into your house as quickly as possible'. The sad thing is that I didn't throw them away either. What's wrong with me? I'm using them!

3. A Treasure Chest

Call me weird, but I want a gigantic chest at the foot of my bed. I want it to have a lock on it too. Why? Because I want to hide things from my kids. Right now, I don't have kids that are getting into stuff like that, but I want to be a mom who has her secrets. I have things that I'm putting away for my kids now - not lots of stuff, but some things and I don't want my kids to know about their existance until I pull them out and give them to them. So, I want a treasure chest.

4. A Dressing Table

I have wanted one of these my whole life. I want a traditional place where I perch my daughter to do her hair every morning. Luckily, I don't need it yet, but someday I will and I really want one.

Those are all the things that I would like to have for Christmas. I'm not sure if I'm being greedy or what, because those are all relatively large ticket items - except for the hangers. Anyway, to counter my four fondest desires. I'm going to write a list of four things that I would be extremely miserable without.

1. My Driver's License

This may very well be my most prized possession. It was so hard for me to get it. I didn't get my license until I was 21, and even when I haven't been driving, I still make sure it is kept current and I take it out and look at it happily sometimes. I failed my driver's test twice before I got it.

2. My Car

I always remember to get the oil changed on time. I remember to fill it up with gas, and I know how the tires are doing. I named it 'Little Red' and I love it with a passion. I go vacuum it out and make sure the air freshener is fresh, because I love it so. But don't get the wrong idea. I am not a car snob. I have just taken the bus for so long that having the freedom to JUST GO is incredible to me. I don't care what she looks like as long as she runs reliably. I love that car!

3. My Laptop

I'm using it right now. I love how portible it is. I love how many features it has. I could make a disgustingly huge list about all the things I love about this computer, but the thing I love best of all about it is that it is the fifth computer given to me by a man who understands that I love to write. He breaks his neck for it to be as comfortable for me as possible.

4. My Washer and Dryer

I know that's two, but I always hated - absolutely hated - having to walk down flights and flights of stairs in order to do laundry. It's a relatively new thing that I have gotten in-suite laundry, and I never take it for granted for one second. It's fantastic.

Now my carma should be about equal. Cheers!

X Means?

Okay, so I really liked the first two X-Men movies. When I was a kid my brother had X-Men posters up on the basement wall, and even now - I know so many people who have a serious passion for X-Men. So, even though I haven't really gone out of my way to see any new movies (besides Jet Li's Fearless, which I would recomend to EVERYONE - it was AMAZING), I did go out of my way to make sure I saw the last X-Men movie. And I was really disappointed. Really disappointed.

Actually, I think I was crushed.

WARNING - Spoilers ahead.

I couldn't believe that it ended in exactly the same way as Van Helsing (which was a sick and sorry excuse for a vampire movie ... sigh ... at least Kate Beckinsale looked so good she could have stopped traffic). But, there was Hugh Jackman holding a woman flopping over his arm (a woman he had just stabbed with his claws) while she died. They were in love, he killed her, she gave the audience a great look at her chest ... and? I was horrified that they used the same resolution in two Hugh Jackman movies. Poor man - he had to act it out twice. Anyway, I think that the similarities between the way the two movies ended was ... unmistakable.

That wasn't all, but I was bitterly crushed by the ending with Rogue. How could they do that? She would have been the better solution to the problem with Jean than what actually happened (which seemed far too simplistic for me given the unruly circomstances). Having Rogue give up her powers might have seemed like the happy ending, but I felt that instead it gave out a really weird message. Did anyone else notice the similarities of what she was doing to a young woman going to an abortion clinic back when it was new and people used to picket outside of them? The make sure you're doing it for you instead of for him line made it seem worse to me.

Agh - I'm probably just making stuff up, but I still found the movie really ... unspectacular. I guess they wanted to end the films with a bang, but a lot of it seemed like it hadn't been well planned, but when I look at how much time and money was put into it ... then I don't understand why it couldn't have been planned properly.

I guess I'm just becoming more and more disenchanted with the style of story telling we see in movies these days. Why even bother going to the theatre? I can have a better time with my brain.

I'm Not in Love

I'm not in Love

By Sapphirefly

I'm not in love with you
I just feel that if you leave tonight
I will be hollowed
Like a pumpkin cut and carved
There will be nothing inside my chest
No, I'm not in love with you
I'm not the type to love
But you can't leave me like this
Not when you know my blood will burst
And I will be empty
I feel my brain breaking with each of your footfalls
I'm not in love with you
I couldn't be
Our friendship was never like that
But I feel something else
Like the ball chain of my inner workings somehow
Curled itself around your belt loop
If you keep walking
You pull the plug on me
Not just us.
And no, I'm not in love with you
I couldn't be
It's just that somehow
You're the only hope for me.

My Webpage

Hiya! So two years ago (almost three) I started a webpage dedicated to my Slayers fanfiction (there's a link to the site on the side bar). It was basically because I was too afraid to post on fanfiction net. Needless to say, I got over my jitters and it's been a good relationship since, but it's been awhile since my last update my webpage and the honest truth is that - I DON'T WRITE SLAYERS FANFIC ANYMORE! So, I'm not sure what to do with the site. I thought of making an Escaflowne corner, or something along those lines, but there's very little point to that. After I finish 'Mark of a Goddess' then I have very little intention of ever writing anything Escaflowne oriented again. I might once I finish my other projects, but that won't be for years - who knows what'll be tickling my fancy by then? So I haven't been making any promises that I'll hang around. Plus, ya know - I've been hanging out with Van and Hitomi for a long time now and I think I'm ready to say hello to some new characters. However, I did have an idea for a book after 'Mark of a Goddess', but it wasn't very good. I doubt it'll get to the production stage, plus by the time I got around to it - everyone who was enjoying the series will be long gone.

Anyway, the point is - I'm basically through writing fanfiction. Truthfully, I haven't read very much fanfiction that was good. The thing that motivated me to write fanfiction was that I read some that really sucked and I was positive that I could do a better job. That was my whole motivation.

But my Escaflowne series was original fiction that I made into fanfiction so that someone would read it.

I really like the feedback and reviews that I get on fanfiction.net and I'm positive that I'm going to a much colder place when I start writing original fiction again. I'll have to write for three or four sites and you know what that means - I'll have to change the story's format for each friggin' one. *sigh* Only when you've spent an entire evening messing around with this crap and getting zero reviews can you understand my frustration. Most of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. But even though it's may seem like I'm not being loyal to the craft - THE REVIEWS AND COMMENTS ACT AS GREAT MOTIVATORS - so when I stop getting them, it'll really hurt my feelings. But at the same time, I can't keep writing about Van and Hitomi indefinitely. I have to grow too!

So this all amounts to the final question.

What the heck should I do with my website? ARGH!