Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

Someone gave me a bottle of whiskey as a gift . . .

2009-10-10T02:45:53Z

. . . and one month later I still haven't gotten rid of it.

Milk Punch
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Blended Whiskey
- 2 oz Milk
- 1 tsp Superfine Sugar
- Garnish: 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Glassware : Collins Glass

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a collins glass and garnish with nutmeg.

I think this would taste better warm. And the only reason it's called punch is because it has alcohol. And why do I still not have a cocktail icon?

Does anyone know any easy whiskey cocktails? This is taking far too long.

I should ask my coworkers. Everyone in the finance department is easy to buy for; they all love alcohol. Or rather they did love alcohol, everyone's having babies now, so they've got to stay on the wagon for a while. Of course, last year they all gave each other expensive liquor for Christmas, and wow, it's just past nine months since then-I wonder if that's significant.

This is probably the longest non-fandom post I've put up in a year. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Apparently I'm a talkative drunk. Or maybe a textative drunk, since I don't really remember rambling that much in college. I used to go online after too though. But I didn't post anything because I didn't get a Livejournal account until after college.

I keep having to go back and correct mistakes on this post. I'd blame it on the alcohol, but I was like that at work today. I think I was just tired. After work, I slept in the parking lot for half an hour before driving home. Yeah, that sounds like tired.

I hate my job. Except not really. I'm underemployed and underpaid, but I actually like my work and I definitely like my coworkers which is more important in my opinion. Except when they pile 4000 records to upload in a month. Or troubleshoot when only half of them are problems. Then I kind of hate them. Or my life. Or the tech team that can't create a program that works to save their lives. Why couldn't we stick with Excel? Or just type it in manually? I wouldn't mind that. At least we'd only be entering it once instead of having to do it in five different programs that don't talk to each other at all. And I'd like to get paid more, but wouldn't we all.

Just for the record, none of you actually have to respond to this. Except about the cocktail thing. I really am getting sick of whiskey.

I think I'm going to chug a bottle of water now before I get a headache.

For anyone who's new here, I'm really not this loopy usually. And I only am having one glass of Milk Punch. I'm a cheap drunk! Or maybe just a sleep-deprived drunk. Something like that.

But, I actually feel really good right now. Maybe it's because the weekend is coming up.

This probably doesn't need to be f-locked, but I'd better cut it just in case. Then I'll look at this tomorrow and wonder what the hell was I on. Which is exactly what happened today at work.

I started this post just after 10PM and it's 10:40 now. I'm a slow drunk too. I think I'd better stop now.

Iroha (BLEACH, #11 Gardenia)

2009-09-30T01:20:40Z

Living with Rukia was a trial. He see her walking through the garden in one of Hisana's favorite kimonos or catch a glimpse of the ribbons that she would tame her wayward hair with and it was if his wife was alive again. The same impulse that had made him give her all of Hisana's things: clothes, jewels, ornaments, also tethered him to the estate. He spent more time at home, now that he was taicho of the 6th division, discreetly watching his adopted sister, than he had when his wife was still living and he had only been a fukutaicho.

But one night she came down to dinner and things had changed. Gone was the flowery, pastel kimono and gone was the carefully wound ribbon. Instead Rukia was wearing a simple indigo yukata and her hair had been cut short to fall raggedly just below her chin. "Is something wrong?" he blurted out, then inwardly cursed his impulsive tongue.

She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Nothing is wrong, Niisama. Why do you ask?"

" . . . you changed your clothes." An inane answer, but the best he could come up with. Hopefully, his neutral face and tone would cover his confusion.

"Oh, that, I sent the maids away and chose this for myself." She looked down at her bare sleeves. "The kimonos they kept putting me in were beautiful, but I feel much more comfortable like this."

"And your hair?"

His sister smiled ruefully. "I'm not fond of long hair. It isn't practical on a battlefield." It isn't practical on the streets he heard underneath her statement.

"I see."

"If I may be so bold, how was your day, Niisama?"

That was the first conversation he had with his sister.

Byakuya liked to think that Hisana was happy with him, but he knew she was lonely when his duties called him away, which was often. So when he came back one afternoon and saw the same wistful look on Rukia's face, he immediately took steps. He already had Hisana's death on his hands, he would not let her sister pine away and die as well.

"Niisama what is it?"

"A kitten. I found it in the rain. I think it's an orphan." Actually, he had paid the taicho of the 12th Division to create the animal. His sister's health was too important to be left to the uncertain temperament of some mongrel from the streets.

"That's nice of you, to take it in. Are you going to keep it?"

"I'm not certain. Would you like to name it?" That's it, take the bait he thought.

"No thank you. But if it needs a home, the fukutaicho of the 10th Division is looking for a pet." She walked away, leaving him to deal with the animal. The cat looked at him. He looked at the cat. The cat went for his face.

"Oooh isn't he cute, he looks just like my taicho!" Matsumoto snuggled the green eyed, white furred demon into her chest, and the kitten just purred and licked her chin. "But if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your face Kuchiki-taicho?"

"It was a Menos Grande." She shot a skeptical look at the bandages, but fortunately didn't inquire further.

"Aren't you the most adorable little thing! I think I'll call you Shiro-chan!" Byakuya swore he felt the temperature drop at least ten degrees. "By the way, how did you know I wanted a pet?"

"Oh, Rukia mentioned it. I'm a little surprised that she didn't want to keep it for herself."

"Well, not everyone's a cat person. But Rukia-chan's always doodling these odd little bu-" Byakuya tuned the blonde out. Hisana had definitely been a cat person and he regretted not having got her one while she was alive. But if Rukia didn't like cats, what type of pet should he get her? Fish?

A flash of red brought his thoughts back to the present. His newest officer, the one who transferred from the 11th Division, who's name Byakuya couldn't remember, was out training the fresh graduates. Come to think of it, that hair looked somewhat familiar . . . now he had it. That was Rukia's friend, the one from the Academy. He noted the rough handling of the recruits and inwardly winced at the language the officer was using to berate one particularly clumsy member.

Still, he was Rukia's friend . . . maybe she liked dogs.

"Here." Byakuya unceremoniously dropped a leash into the hand of the pink-wearing taicho of the 8th Division.

"Ah Byakuya-bo, so glad to see you again. And while I believe sake would be a much better gift, still, I appreciate any tokens of respect that you chose to bestow upon your elders. But what is it?"

"A dog." He turned and left without anymore words.

Shunsui looked at the dog. The dog looked at Shunsui. Nanao looked at the dog. Shunsui stopped looking at the dog and leered at his fukutaicho instead. "I suppose we should have just told him that Rukia likes bunnies, instead."

The woman adjusted her glasses. "Our 15th seat, Rinko, has previously expressed a fondness for dogs. You can deliver it to her when you sneak into the women's dormitory tonight."

"Ah, what would I do without my sweet Nanao-chan!"

"And please sign these sir, before the Chamber 46 reduces our budget again!"

So Rukia doesn't like cats and she's allergic to dogs. So now what do I do? Byakuya's nightly ruminations had taken a distinctly pedestrian, but far less morbid turn. Faced with the challenge of finding a suitable pet for his sister, he had temporarily abandoned his usual self-recriminations. The head of the Kuchiki family was so deep in thought, he almost missed his sister sneaking out. Carefully hiding his reiatsu, he followed her until she reached the edge of the estate. There she set out some pieces of lettuce and carrot that she must have stolen from the kitchen. She waited a while until a white blob came out and began to feed. "There you are. Ooh, you're so white and fluffy, I could just eat you up!" He watched her snuggle the bunny, cooing and kissing it, before turning away.

At least he wouldn't have to go back to the 12th Division for a third time.

Hisana had always had the fragrance of camellias and roses about her. Camellias for the 6th Division, roses for her own tastes. Now that she was gone, he could never smell roses without remembering her long illness. When Rukia started wearing the same perfume, he again found himself drifting, holding his breath as if he could somehow stop time and suddenly she would be Hisana all over again. That heavy perfume invaded his sleep and all his dreams were about death and dying.

The change was as startling as when she had stopped wearing kimonos. One day the house had been filled with the heavy, gloomy perfume, the next had new scent, equally strong, but far more lively and sensual.

"I'm sorry, but we ran out of the old bottle, and I bought a new one while I was out. I hope you don't mind." The evening conversation gone from a rare occurrence to a daily habit.

"Not at all. But why did you choose a new scent, Rukia?"

She looked sheepish, then remembered her lessons. The fragile silhouette straightened and the pointed chin came up so that navy eyes could look into his gray ones. "I find the scent of roses morbid. Gardenias have much more pleasing connotations."

He almost smiled. "I agree."

Still, it wasn't until Rukia asked to become an officer that Byakuya finally separated the two women in his mind.

Hisana had not been a shinigami. To his family, she had been a servant in a lady's clothes; to the servants she had been a lady who couldn't manage the house. Hisana had always vacillated between the two extremes and the only time she could be herself was with him. And that time had grown less and less, between his increasing duties and her growing melancholia, until at last there had been nothing left of her.

Rukia's personality was much more forceful and adaptable than his wife's. She bent to the pressures of being the sister of the clan head, but continued to grow in her new form. She accepted what had been given her, but stamped it with her own personality. Rukia was not a hothouse debutante nor was she a mediocre peon.

And when Byakuya looked at her and realized that this terrible, wonderful, strange person who he had barely begun to know was asking for his permission to go off and die-there was only one thing he could do.

Writer's Block: Under Protest

2009-09-01T00:14:59Z

Have you ever participated in a boycott? What did you boycott and why?

View 527 Answers

I boycotted a religious symbol once. I joined because my friend asked me to (yeah, I was a very gullible high schooler, I can think of so many other things that would be more important to demonstrate against now). Ironically, I got my picture on the front page of the newspaper and I was the only one at the boycott who actually didn't care about the issue.

D Gray-Man speculation

2009-07-18T00:22:52Z

I'm starting to wonder if Kanda . . . might actually be an Akuma.

Type 1 Exorcists: Ordinary humans who are Accomadators. Failed attempts to create these produce Torngaoshi (I completely mispelled that).

Type 2 Exorcists: We don't know, but Kanda is one.

Type 3 Exorcists: Humans (Crow) that have been turned into Akuma.

We know the Black Order has ways of forcing Akuma to act against their programming. At least, Cross did and it's possible that other people can do so as well. Or Cross might have helped trying to create the Type 2s. We also know that Japan is almost entirely populated by Akuma (which raises the question of Kanda's background).

Of course, I'm probably completely wrong, and it will just turn out that Kanda's the only artificial Accomadator ever created, and he was just a human who General Tiedoll happened to rescue from Japan or something boring like that.

thetis_argent @ 2009-07-15T12:06:00

2009-07-15T16:13:45Z

Okay, I could accept that we might have missed one year when filing tax returns. But 4? Especially given how much of a big deal we make every year about this? That strikes me as suspicious. If anything, I'm more inclined to believe the MA Dept of Revenue might have deliberately 'lost' our returns. Or is trying to intimidate us into just paying without thinking. Doesn't this go under harrasement or some other crime?

It's not that we don't have the money. Or that we don't have the records to file again (they're only giving us 30 days to file 4 years of returns). But I'm seriously thinking we should have a lawyer look into this, to get them to back off.

Has anyone else ever been audited? How does this compare with your experiences?

Coincidence?

2009-07-07T23:05:03Z

So does everyone remember my accident from 6 months ago? Yeah, it happened again. Not to me, but same time, same place, same situation.

That intersection really needs some stoplights.

thetis_argent @ 2009-07-04T23:01:00

2009-07-05T03:05:27Z

You'd think it was a great 4th of July. First of all, the weather actually cleared up nicely, not too hot or cold, no rain or thunderstorms, just enough wind to clear away the smoke. And the display was spectacular; I saw two new types and there was a great variety of blues.

The music completely killed it for me. Whoever made the selections this year must have been dead drunk or with no taste at all.

Legendary (#16, invincible, unrivaled)

2009-05-18T00:43:51Z

Zabimaru knows what it means to be legendary.

He can see it in the other zanpakuto. It's the improbable, the impossible made real. Time made tangible, the sun given a voice. He sees it in the flames of Ryujin Jakka, the shadows trailing Zangetsu. The silence of Suzumushi, the beauty of Ruriiro Kujaku. Zabimaru knows what it takes to become a legend and knows very well that he has no chance of ever reaching that status.

But he's alright with that.

Well, he's alright with that now. There had been a time (such a very long time), when he had hated his status. When he had gazed at the indifferent stars above him and howled his resentment at them. When he had wandered through all their different worlds aching for a fight, thirsting to be known for something, anything. It didn't matter what, just as long as they all knew his name!

And then he met her.

She's a bit of an impossibility herself. Her beauty equaled that of Ruriiro Kujaku, her grace was unmatched. Sode no Shirayuki, dancing in the forests of ice that made up her world, like the moon given a human form. As untouchable as Ryujin Jakka, as mysterious as Zangetsu. Another legend he couldn't hope to match.

They hadn't really gotten off to a good start, and yes that was all his fault. He had jumped in, breaking off her dance, challenging her to a fight. Zabimaru had forgotten to even give her his name, so overpowering was his rage. All he wanted was to pull her down from her pedestal, grind her into the dirt like the rest of them.

The fact he had won the fight was what broke through to him. Instead of laughing, then destroying the monkey, he'd managed to catch her off guard enough that he got the first blow in, which knocked her flat. Okay, maybe he didn't really win the fight, because she got back up and half-froze him to death a second later, but that was only because he had been so startled that he had gotten a blow in, that he was momentarily paralyzed by shock. Then she flounced off and pretended that nothing had ever happened.

It went that way for quite a while. He never did get the drop on her again, but on the other hand she never crushed him the way all the others had. And when they actually started talking to each other, he found she was pretty personable too. A little arrogant, a little naive, very formal, but nice at the same time. Sode no Shirayuki loved hearing stories about his travels and for once, Zabimaru had found someone who actually looked forward to seeing him. So it was no surprise that they became friends.

It wasn't a legendary friendship, not like the one between Katen Kyokotsu and Sogyo no Kotowari, which went back to when Soul Society was first formed, or Hyouinmaru and Haineko, which went back even further. It wasn't that it was just the two of them either, there was Nejibana and Hozukimaru and Tobiume. Yet at the same time, he had always felt there was something there; that she would always wait for him and he would always return to her.

Until one day she wasn't there.

It wasn't that she hadn't gone off before, visiting Nejibana or Hyouinmaru in their own realms. It wasn't until Haineko had told him that she had left the ice fields, actually out of her comfort zone to visit Senbonzakura that he began to feel uneasy. Sode no Shirayuki was the darling of the ice-based zanpakuto and almost never left, almost never was allowed to leave without some escort, either himself or Haineko. The fact that she was taking the time to regularly visit another zanpakuto . . .

It didn't help that it was Senbonzakura. He had met the boar during his wild period, and been thoroughly trounced. Not that Senbonzakura had been the only one that Zabimaru had aggravated, but he had been the only one to hold a grudge. The boar had no sense of humor at all. So the monkey wasn't sure why he was worried; as nice as she was, he doubted Sode no Shirayuki had enough patience to become friends with the pig.

But as he watched them, Sode no Shirayuki combing out her long black hair, while Senbonzakura brought her strange flowers and rocks to examine, he felt a twinge run down his spine, up through the snake that was his tail. And when she laughed and brushed a kiss on that rough head, the ember in his heart flared to life again.

He knew he was watching the beginning of something legendary.

I should be sleeping

2009-05-07T03:48:39Z

But I want to write this down before I forget it instead.

I've been watching bits and pieces of Code Geass for a while, but I haven't seen the whole series yet. Although it never states it directly, the series implies that the Geass you receive in the contract is directly affected by your own desires. In other words, you get the Geass that you want to have. So I was trying to analyze people's personality based on their Geass.

Lelouch (Absolute Command): A power of the mind rather than his (frail) body. An ability associated with leadership. A desire to be obeyed, stemming from a time when he was powerless to resist other people's demands.

Charles (Memory Rewrite): A desire to forget, to replace one's painful memories with something else. Given the rough childhood Charles seems to have, this could be what he wants most.

Bismark (Precognition): Technically, his greatest wish is to be of use to Charles, but he does that by being the best warrior that he can. A desire to be supreme in battle, to be able to out-think, out-maneuver, out-react his opponent.

CC (Projective Empathy): I haven't watched that episode yet, but I think she states outright that she wants to be loved, and her Geass did make people love her before she got the Code.

Mao (Receptive Telepathy): This is where things get harder. Possibly a desire for the truth, or to know other people. We don't actually know all that much about Mao, so it's hard to guess.

Rolo (Freeze Time): Again, we don't know much about Rolo, but given how young he was when he first became an assassin . . . possibly that feeling you have when something good happens, how you never want that moment to end. Rolo has had very few positive experiences in his life, and the heart asks pleasure first, after all. His desire to hang on to those moments is especially clear given his interactions with Lelouch, and how he tries so hard to keep Lelouch to himself and preserve their time together (to the point of ticking off quite a bit of the audience).

Marianne (Body Surf): This one's the hardest of all. People who bodysurf tend to be driven by one of either two desires. Either the want for immortality or envy of other people. I can't really see Marianne envying other people, so probably the other one, especially given her goals with Charles.

Just for fun, I tried to apply these rules to some other characters in the series.

Rivalz (Instant Supernova!): Because, let's face it, what Rivalz wants the most is for someone *coughMillycough* to pay attention to him.

Euphemia (Poppy Fields): Something very much like Rolo; except maybe more the ability to paralyze people or put them to sleep rather than stopping their perception of time. I do like Euphemia, but sometimes she seems more anti-war than pro-peace. She does try, but it's mostly reactions rather than making up her own mind. So something that would restrain people, but not actually alter their minds.

Schneizel (Invisibility): Not real invisibility, but more the ability to divert attention from himself (the opposite of Rivalz's power). It's not that Schneizel goes out of his way to avoid attention, but I noticed whenever he's making his big moves, he allows one of his other siblings to take the credit, while he operates behind the scenes. He lets Euphemia take control over Area 11 when he would clearly be a better choice, arranges for Odysseus to marry the Tianzi rather than doing so himself, allows Lelouch's coup d'etat to take precedence over his own, he even gets poor Nunally to take the blame for the Damascus, while he prepares his and Cornelia's escape.

(By the by, if any of you read the Elenium or Tamuli by Eddings, Aphrael is where I got the idea for Schneizel's ability.)

Suzaku (Sudden Death): I get the impression that all Suzaku really wants is to die (especially during the 2nd season). It would be bitterly ironic if his Geass granted other people death. (Oh wait, that's already canon!)

Kallen (Neverending Dream): Okay, honestly this has nothing to do with Kallen's personality. But she gets stuck with all the Refrain episodes, so of course she'd have a power that mimics the drug.

Tianzi (Projective Telepathy): I think what the Tianzi wants most is to be listened to. It's a bit like Lelouch, but the Tianzi doesn't necessarily want everyone to obey her. She's a bit too timid for that. But given how the Eunuch Generals treat her, I don't think she's allowed to even hold her own opinion most of the time. (And as much as I love their dynamic, Xingke seems to do the same thing.)

I'd have given Cornelia some form of telekinesis and Diethal Reed psychometry, but those abilities (could potentially) involve inanimate objects and I'm not sure if Geass can actually effect anything outside the mind. Cornelia's ability would be like Euphemia's but more active and protective (forcefields?); Diethal's, like Mao's, would be about discovering the truth. (Diethal does care about the truth, but isn't necessarily interested in reporting it. He would horde it the way a dragon hordes gold.)

(And Xingke's Geass would be . . . to cough up blood! No, but it probably would be health related. I can't think of anything Tianzi-specific that would be a Geass. After all, Lelouch's Geass doesn't really relate to Nunally, even if she's the reason for everything he does.)

Of course, this only applies to the main series. In the Nightmare of Nunally, Geass seems to take the form of what you lack the most (Lelouch lacks physical strength; Nunally lacks sight, mobility and aggression). What you lack could be what you desire, but not always. (When's the next chapter coming out?)

Right, I'm getting loopy, going to sleep now.

To the tune of "My Bonnie"

2009-04-05T02:24:18Z

The ducks have conquered the sidewalk
The ducks have conquered the grass
The ducks have conquered the sidewalk
New England spring kiss my @$$!

Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me

*In high pitched Chipmunk voice*

The snow is falling in droves
The snow is falling in heaps
The snow is falling in droves
Let me just go back to sleep!

*Back to normal voice*

Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me

The wind has taken the oak tree
Taken Lynn and Holyoke too
The wind has taken the oak tree
And just sucked me straight up the flue!

Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back the sunshine to me

The water is up to the window
The water is up to my bed
The water is up to the window
The water is over my he-*glub, blub*

Some observations

2009-03-21T14:32:40Z

1. It's not nearly as graphic or depressing as I was told. Maybe at the time it was first written, coming off the Silver age as it were, it was shocking, but now people have been pushing the envelope for so long . . . it's not nearly as bad. It's not something I would give kids still, but things like The Sandman and Hellsing are much more likely to give me nightmares than this. And for something supposedly so dark, the ending is surprisingly open ended. Maybe Ozymandias will go mad with power, maybe that newspaper will print Rorshach's journal and people will take it seriously and it will undo all the good that was done. Maybe Ozymandias's scheme will go through completely, but still not change the world. And maybe none of the above will happen. You can interpret the ending any way you choose.

2. The Comedian. We've all seen literary ghosts before, but I'm surprised at how much of a ghost he is. There are many works centered around people who aren't technically in the story (dead, absent or otherwise), but even then, we usually get some explanation from those people. A confession in a bottle. A flashback discussion with the character. We get none of those things with the Comedian. We get a lot of flashbacks with other characters, but none of them provide any insight into the Comedian's mind, only his behavior. A lot of the characters provide analysis on his motivations, but they are all speculation, none of it actually comes from the Comedian himself. Interesting though, all their different povs of the Comedian match, but even the majority can still be wrong. We just don't know.

3. I get the feeling the psychics at the end were a failed Chekhov's gun. The islanders were a real Chekhov's gun; they were mentioned constantly throughout the book. The psychics came out of nowhere. We get the whole setup, of the masked superheroes being physically ordinary people with a lot of training and thought and mental disorders (with the exception of Dr. Manhattan), and then suddenly there are psychics in this world? Why didn't you mention that before? Was Robert Deschaines ever even mentioned in the book before Ozymandias recounts his plan? Was he the Dollar Bill and I just missed that reference? Was he the guy who killed his kids in the middle of the book? Was that guy an effect of Deschaines dying? The psychics seemed a bit Deus ex Machina to me.

4. Rorshach's psychiatrist actually did get him. The way we're presented Rorschach is that he isn't black and white, just gray and grayer. Certainly he sees himself that way, just slightly better off than the rest of the world. But when push came to shove he just couldn't compromise. He had his methods, he had his victims, but before the events in the book his actions all fell on the 'white' side of his line. His white side, admittedly covers things a lot grimmer than most of us can stomach, but he still had that distinction. That of course, might have been his downfall. Someone with more gradients might have been able to compromise. Or they could have crossed the line and redeemed themselves afterwards. He knew he needed to comprise, but could not. That's why he told Jon to kill him. In a way he kind of is like Batman. Doesn't everyone else wonder what Bats would do if he had no choice but to kill someone? I'm sure that's part of the Joker's motivation. (There's been a lot of different interpretations of Batman. I'm going with the willing to do anything but kill people theory.)

5. Failed I Am God Syndrome people: Jon, because while he has the omnipotence, he lacks the omniscience. And the motivation to do anything with it. Even when he knew that his ability to be everywhen, to know the future, was breaking down he still did not feel motivated to change what was happening to him. When he identified his major flaw, that everything else made his decisions for him, and still did not try to change him. In a way he is a disappointing character, because he never develops at all. Neither does the Comedian, but at least that guy has the excuse of being dead.
Rorshach too. Rorshach is the opposite of Jon, in that he has a much better understanding of people than Jon (he's obviously still skewed), but lacks the resources and power. It's difficult to say about the motivation. In the beginning, he imagines himself looking down at all the people and saying no to their pleas for help, but by the end he can't compromise his values enough to overlook the death of 3 million people. And for a guy who appears to hate humanity so much, he's spent the past how many years acting as a do-gooder?
Ozymandias, of course, clearly does not have these problems. He has the means, the knowledge and the will to act as God. The only difference between him and most other villains with this syndrome is that he actually succeeds. Well, succeeds in the first part of his plan. That goes back to the open-ended thing I mentioned earlier.

And for a final observation that has nothing to do with the book, I realized I do, in fact, have a Boston accent. The amazing thing isn't that I have one, it's the fact I never really noticed for years. Yeah, that was silly, but I'm still sleepy and going back to bed now. Bye everyone!

Writer's Block: Seven

2009-02-05T14:43:54Z

Which of the seven deadly sins—sloth, greed, lust, gluttony, anger, envy, and pride—are you most likely to commit?

View 501 Answers

It would be easier to say that the only one I probably wouldn't commit is lust.

Writer's Block: Spoilers Below the Cut

2009-01-30T16:47:25Z

Have you ever ruined the ending or given away plot developments in a book, movie, or tv show by telling someone who hasn't seen or read it what happens? Has anyone ever done this to you?

View 500 Answers

All the time! I'm kind of notorious in my family for doing exactly that.

TOA dream

2009-01-29T14:37:14Z

I've been watching the TOA anime (much better than the rest of the series) and I guess that inspired that dream.

It was an AU starting from when the God-Generals first capture the Tartarus, just after Jade arrests Tear and Luke. Natalia and Guy were already with them. After Jade disables the Tartarus, he, Luke, Anise and Tear escape, but Natalia, Ion and Guy remain captive.

The God-Generals then play an elaborate shell game with the free cast to prevent them from rescuing Ion and company, using Sync and Arietta as decoys. (Arietta knew that both Sync and Ion were actually replicas, not the real thing.) Asch and Largo act as their jailers on the Tartarus, going around opening the Daathic seals. The three are hindered from escaping, first because Ion is kept exhausted by using the Daathic artes and second because Guy was badly injured in the initial fight to escape. Theoretically, if all three were in good condition, they might have made it out, but as Guy recovers, Ion's condition gets worse.

This went on until Azkeriuth. Van takes Ion to the mine (this is the first time Natalia and Guy see him), and Largo goes off with Legretta somewhere. Guy and Natalia try to fight Asch, but in the middle of the fight the land falls, forcing them to stop and rescue the other party members (Tear, Jade, Luke and Anise. Van used the second griffon to get Ion away.) That's when I woke up.

FFFAAAIIILLL!!!

2009-01-27T13:56:33Z

The water main blew just down the street from us.

RL update and fanfic

2009-01-25T03:14:07Z

If any of you have been wondering where I've been, last Friday, I was in a car accident. In order, I'm fine, both cars were totaled and I really didn't want to talk about it when it occurred.

If given a choice, Senbonzakura wouldn't spend any time with his fellow zanpakuto. In general he found them to be a gossipy, shallow bunch with little to say that interested him and not enough power to make up for their banality. There were few he respected and even fewer who he wanted to talk to. He did make it a point to introduce himself to the zanpakuto of any of his partner's acquaintances, but that didn't mean he liked talking to them. (He remembered meeting Hyouinmaru. One of the oldest and most powerful zanpakuto and nearly unstoppable in battle- with the mind of a nosy mother-in-law. Sometimes he wondered if the weight of all those years had driven the ice dragon insane.)

Though to be fair, most of them didn't want to talk to him either. Younger zanpakuto hear about Senbonzakura's power and grace through their wielders; only to have their expectations shattered when they meet him. ("But your so sho-" had been Tobiume's reaction before Haineko had muffled the younger zanpakuto.) Most of his fellow plant-based zanpakuto preferred to pretend that he didn't exist.

Normally he didn't have a problem with that. He didn't concern himself with the opinions of the weak and foolish; among those who did matter his reputation was established firmly. Rather than waste time trying to converse, he preferred to spend it in contemplation or working with his partner.

But when he learned that Sode no Shirayuki was coming to visit him, he felt the first faintest tinges of unease.

Sode no Shirayuki was not the oldest nor the most powerful of the ice-based zanpakuto, but she was the most beautiful and possibly the most well-loved. Because of that, she had a sheltered life. She had never been allowed to leave the snow fields and had rarely met visitors from other places (dimensions? planes of existences?). Perhaps that explained her penchant for choosing partners from Rukongai. She lived life vicariously through their memories and experiences.

But when her partner became the sister of the Kuchiki head (and she wasn't talking about the adoption, which was only a piece of paper that meant nothing to a zanpakuto), she took it upon herself to visit Senbonzakura. It was only respectful that she pay a visit to the older and more powerful spirit. She did the same thing to Sogyo no Kotowari and Nejibana when her partner joined the Thirteenth Division.

(Okay, and maybe she was a little curious as to why Hyouinmaru had almost died laughing when she had recounted all the stories she had heard about Senbonzakura to him. She doesn't know why he was so amused, but she is grateful that he had asked Haineko to guide her. And what did he mean when he said, "I hope the old stick in the mud doesn't bore you too much!")

In any case, this is the first time she had truly left the domain of the ice-zanpakuto. Haineko had thoughtfully brought her forest where most of the plant-based zanpakuto resided then pointed out the small valley where Senbonzakura dwelt. "I'll just wait over on that peak over there." said Haineko. "Plant and fire zanpakuto don't get along very well and Senbonzakura still bears a grudge from one of the pranks Hyouinmaru and I played on him."

Sode no Shirayuki nodded. "I see," she said, making a note to ask Hyouinmaru for more stories when she got back. Listening to his and Haineko's exploits was almost as good as doing those things herself. Almost.

When she entered the valley, the first thing she saw was the enormous cherry tree. It towered over her, completely shading the grass below. It was in full bloom, with petals just a shade darker than normal. She felt the awareness of the tree and realized that this must be Senbonzakura.

She dropped into a deep bow then approached slowly. Placing her hand on the tree trunk, she tried to convey her feelings of awe and wonder. "Greetings, I am Sode no Shirayuki. Our partners have recently become siblings and I have come to pay my respects to you. I hope we can get along well together and I assure you that I will work to the best of my ability to support both of our partners." She hadn't expected an answer (Senbonzakura did have a reputation for being standoffish, quite a contrast to Hyouinmaru), so she was quite surprised to hear a voice respond to her.

"You don't have to be so formal; it's not like the tree is going to answer you." Frantically she looked left, right, then up, trying to find the speaker. Had she been so rude as to not address her statement to the real Senbonzakura?

"Lower."

She looked down to see a fat, red-eyed wild pig digging in the dirt.

His eyes weren't good for seeing much, but he could clearly pick out the her all white, slender form against the dark trunk of the tree. More importantly, he could hear the musical tones of her voice, feel bristles on his back prick with the cold she carried with her. She even smelt like snowfall, pure and crisp. It just made him even more grumpy, reminding him of what he was.

"Y-you're not," she swallowed. "This cherry tree isn't Senbonzakura?"

"That tree is as much a part of me as your sash is a part of you."

She knelt gracefully on the grass and said, "I'm very, very sorry for mistaking you."

"It's fine, plenty of others make the same mistake." And really it was fine. At least she hadn't mocked him for not living up to his reputation. It was tiring to have to keep teaching these youngsters the same old lessons.

"But still-"

"Do you mind moving?" he interrupted her. "There's a truffle under where your sitting and it should be just big enough for a meal. You can have half."

"Excuse me?" she stood up and leaned against his tree.

"It's just as you said. We will be working together from now on. So I'm trying to be a good host and provide you with a meal."

Sode no Shirayuki just stared.

"Is something wrong, Rukia? You just stopped in the middle of the incantation." Byakuya stopped his swing and raised his sword away from his sister's neck.

"I don't know." She frowned at the white blade. "Sode no Shirayuki just started laughing her head off for no reason."

In the back of his mind, Byakuya felt a familiar flush of embarrasment. "Damn it, haven't you learned how to make a good first impression yet?" he muttered.

A's moving to California

2009-01-14T13:53:56Z

Everyone in the San Diego area say hi to my little brother!

P.S. Any advice for the clueless bachelor?

My resolution

2009-01-02T15:42:37Z

Get the water heater fixed (I've got about two inches of water on the basement floor) before the month is out.

Rereading the Evil Overlord list can get really depressing . . .

2008-12-07T22:43:14Z

. . . especially when you start thinking some of that advice could have improved our current lame-duck administration.

Second Dream

2008-11-10T14:43:54Z

After the first dream I woke up. Stayed awake for about an hour, then fell back to sleep and had another weird dream.

In the dream, I was seeing through the eyes of Chigusa (who looked like Himeko from the Vampire Princess Miyu OVAs) who was the new secretary of Todou (who looked like Gendo Ikari from Evangelion), the director of the Geass Academy, which studied psychics. She meets up with Todou on the top floor of the Academy. Todou, who is bedridden, tells her that she was actually hired to find his wife, another psychic with the ability to reverse time. Todou has been looking for his wife for almost ten years at that point, but now that he was injured, he needed to hire someone else to do the grunt work for him. His first assignment for her is to bring back one of the alumna to Academy, a psychic named Alice.

Alice, as it turns out is married to Todou's old secretary, Jinnai. (Alice and Jinnai look like Makoto and Ito from W Juliet, respectively.) Alice appears to be in her late 40s (so maybe she looks more like Makoto's mother right now), while Jinnai is 33. It turns out that Alice has the ability to heal people, which explains why Todou wants her.

Unfortunately Alice doesn't want to leave her husband, who turns out to be suffering from some sort of plague or hereditary disease. She'd rather spend her time healing Jinnai.

Before resolving the issue, Jinnai has another attack from his illness. (Green moss starts growing all over his body.) Chigusa learns how Alice heals people. It's a two-part process, first she absorbs the injury or illness into her own body, then she gives the patient her own health. When Alice absorbs the damage, she can lessen and heal it in her own body, which means she isn't in danger. And then when she lends her own health, to the victim, her aging accelerates (she's actually only 21 despite her appearence). She recovers from both of these, becoming young again and healing herself, but it still takes time for her to recover.

The reason Alice doesn't want to leave her husband, is because Jinnai's illness is so advanced that she has to be there for every attack otherwise he would die. Chigusa recommends bringing Jinnai with them, but Jinnai doesn't want to go. However, he keeps urging that Alice go without him.

Chigusa spends about a week there, then Jinnai has another attack. This time, when Alice heals him, Chigusa activates her own ability, telepathy. She wants to find out why Jinnai was so obstinate, so uses her ability to learn about Alice and Jinnai's pasts.

It turns out that when Alice was younger, she had been held captive by a cult, who used her abilities to perform 'miracles'. Jinnai had been the one to rescue her (when she was 16), learning about her through his own psychometric abilities. Jinnai had fallen in love with Alice, but it turned out she wasn't in love with him. So Todou, who it also turned out to be a psychic, used his empathic abilities to make her fall in love with Jinnai. Jinnai felt guilty, but married her anyway. Now that he's dying, he felt ashamed of what he had done. He wants Alice to leave and go back to the Academy so that Todou could reverse what he had done and so she could be free. He doesn't want her to waste any more of her time on him, and he doesn't want her to watch him die either.

Alice in turn, already knows this, but she's scared. Even if it is false, she still feels as if she's in love with Jinnai and it would hurt her if he died. In addition, due to her background, Alice is horrified of being left alone, so she wants Jinnai to live for her own sake.

And then I woke up before the issue was resolved.

Weird Dreams and Other Things

2008-11-10T13:50:55Z

The first thing I dreamed was about a group of Twilight style vampires. They displayed some, but not all classical symptoms of vampirism. They needed to drink blood, would die from staking or beheading, but they could survive in the sun (but their eyes were photosensitive) and weren't allergic to garlic or silver. They were more durable than humans and each had a heightened sense and one form a psychic ability.

Rama: Indian guru, died around the time of Alexander the Great. Early 30s at time of death, but could pass for younger. Tall, thin, muscular, bronzed and bald (think Shada from Yu-Gi-Oh, except without the tattoos). After turning, spent some time pretending to be human while covertly feeding off pupils. Was eventually discovered and driven away from human community. Empathic, with a heightened sense of hearing.
Elizabet: Hungarian Nun, 19 at time of death. Died during the Black Plague. Was only survivor of a convent during the plague, was raped, killed and turned by someone she tried to help. Average height, dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, heart shaped face. After turning, spent time seducing military and political leaders into starting wars. Telekinetic, with heightened sense of touch.
James "Jack" Dawson: English Doctor, died circa 1800. Killed and turned by one of his patients. 27 at time of death. Black hair, cut messily and blue eyes. Wears glasses, but doesn't actually need them (the lenses are flat). Was originally the philanthropic director of his own charity hospital, after turning started performing sadistic experiments on patients. Healing ability, with heightened eyesight.
Solo: Male whore from New Orleans, died about 1900. Killed and turned by a client. Blonde, pale, thin, a little on the short side. Brown eyes. 17 at time of death. Became a serial killer after turning. Pyrokinetic, heightened sense of smell.
Kiyoko: Female University student from Tokyo, died 2004. Seduced, killed and turned by her professor. 22 at time of death, short and very pretty. Became a Yakuza assassin after turning. Met the others when they followed their creator to Tokyo. Another telekinetic, heightened sense of taste.
Adrian: Greek, very old. Pale, with red hair and green eyes. Created the other vampires. Originally turned by a rat. Very sadistic, picks victims who are both highly attractive physically and very fragile mentally. Believes himself to be walking force of chaos. Telepathic, heightened sense of hearing.

Vampirism, in my dream was caused by a mutagenic, blood-born virus. Humans, rodents and bats are carriers, everything else infected by the virus mutates hideously and dies, but will not spread the virus. For example, in my dream, some of Elizabet's blood falls into the feed of some cows, who get all skinny and lumpy (think Elaphent Man) and give birth to formless lumps of flesh, but no one exposed to these cows gets sick or anything.

The vampires in the groups were all more attractive than normal humans and they all went a bit nuts after turning. These weren't symptoms of the virus. They were all turned by the same person, who choose them deliberately because he found them attractive and because they all displayed personalities that would have a hard time coping with the transformation. He deliberately made each turning very traumatic to insure that. Rama, after being banished from his home, decided to turn away from that path and he helped each of them return to more normal, social behavior. Occasionally, the others backslide.

In my dream, they're traveling, looking for their creator in order to kill him. They started off in New York (where they helped raise money for an orphanage), invaded Los Alamos (where their creator had provided information to the US government to create an artificial vampire, which they killed) and ended up in Tokyo (where they found another victim of their creator). Then I woke up.

I need to get back to work. Post more later.

Politics

2008-11-05T23:17:09Z

Obama won.

Mom is bitching about it.

Gay marriage is now illegal in CA.

MA still has an income tax.

Posession of marijuana is now a misdemeanor instead of a felony in MA.

Dog-racing, however is illegal.

I'm sick. Again.

Now leave me alone for the rest of the month.

Update

2008-10-25T15:38:08Z

Am sick. All projects put on hold. Expect lurking or incoherancy, because I have a bad habit of actually replying and participating more when I'm out of my mind.

(fic-SEED)First Meetings Part 2 (Last Name)

2008-10-17T18:51:11Z

Miriallia felt just the slight bit disoriented when she woke up. Sun in eyes, check. Sheets that felt just a touch too silky to be in her budget, check. God-awful pine-scent potpourri that Athrun insisted all the rooms be frangranced with, check. Someone else's arm wrapped around her waist, check. Wait, what?

She opened her eyes. Gold ring on the fourth finger of her left hand, now we have a problem.

Very carefully she sat up and looked over who was sharing the bed. Blond hair, tanned skin and yes, another ring on his hand too. And if her state was any indicator, he was probably as naked as she was. "Oh no, what have I done?"

"You know, usually when I wake up with a beautiful woman in my bed, they usually look a bit happier than you do. Now come on, I don't look that bad do I?" She whipped her head back to meet violet eyes. With a shriek, she tumbled off the bed, just barely grabbing a sheet to preserve her modesty. She slammed her eyes shut and backed up into the wall. "Geez, what's your problem?"

"I don't even know your last name!" So she was hysterical. Anyone would be the same in her position!

He started laughing at her. He got up, moved around a bit, then some cloth hit her head. "Here, our clothes were in the dresser. And you can open your eyes now." She did so. He had tossed her a tanktop, some undies and a pair of sweatpants and had himself put on a pair of boxers.

She still hesitated before putting them on. "Turn around and close your eyes."

"Oh come on now-" but at least he followed her orders.

"And no peeking!" She got dressed at the speed of light.

"Can I look now?"

"Yes"

He looked her up and down with a leer. "Nice enough. But I think I prefered you before."

She kept her eyes steadfast on his face, not daring to look lower. "I can't believe you're taking this so well!"

"What's wrong? Got a boyfriend or something?"

She chucked a pillow at his head. "Yes, you creep, as a matter of fact I do!" Then she crumpled up and put her face in her hands. "Oh God, what's Tolle going to say?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" He put the pillow back on the bed. "Look, I don't know what you think, but nothing happened last night."

She peered at him through her fingers. "Oh yeah, and how would you know?"

"I didn't drink that much last night. I know there wasn't anyone in the room with me when I went to bed, but I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. You probably came in later."

Miriallia looked around. "I went to sleep in Cagalli's room last night. I have no idea how I ended up in here."

"Cagalli, was she the girl talking to Lacus last night." She gave him a confused stare. "Lacus is the girl with pink hair."

"Yeah. This probably is some sort of joke. Cagalli likes pulling pranks."

"So does Lacus." A few moments of mutual silent understanding followed. "So, which one of those guys was Tolle?"

"The brown haired guy. Not Kira, but you know Kira already."

"The one with glasses or the one with the lampshade for a hat?" She didn't answer him. "I see. Well just send him Lacus's way and she'll explain everything. She may like her fun, but she's always willing to clean up afterwards."

"Cagalli's more the type to try to get blackmail pictures of it." At that moment the door burst open. It was none other than Cagalli, camera in hand Miriallia noticed wrathfully.

"And here I was hoping you'd still be asleep. Lacus sent me up to tell you that breakfast is ready." She whirled away, but not before snapping a shot of the shirtless man helping Miriallia up.

"You must know her well." he said. "Maybe I can get a copy of that later."

"Eurgh," she moaned. "I suppose we'd better go down." She shot a glance at him from the corner of her eye. "You might want to put on a little more than just boxers."

The guy waved her away. Just as she was almost out the door, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "What?"

"Hey, I never got your name."

"It's Miriallia. Miriallia Haww. And you're Dearka."

He flashed her a cocky grin. "Dearka Elsman, at your service."

She waited until she had fully closed the door before smiling. Maybe that scumbag wasn't so bad after all.

Writer's Block: Comedians as Journalists

2008-10-17T12:11:47Z

Distrust of the media has grown to the point where many people only trust the news if it comes from a comedian. Who do you trust more: Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart?

View 500 Answers

Colbert