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tj_dragonbladeI cannot find the words to express how much of an effect new Gaiden chapters have on me. How re-reading or just skimming through what exists already can affect me. How deeply I can become absorbed in the drama discs, never mind that I don't understand a word of it.
Yes, I'm still riding the high of yesterday's rfb release. *happy sigh* The plot - it's moving along in these tiny, teasing little bits, but...I don't care. It's utterly exhilarating to get that little taste every few months. There are moments within it that truly do take my breath away. The pinky-swear. The stairwell (oh, Konzen!). Tenpou's Order. Their soldiers. And Goujun. More than anything, I think, the leave-taking from Goujun just leaves me in heartfelt awe. So simple, yet so very...so much is said in the not-saying.
And that's just off the top of my head.
I love this manga. So much. When I speak of 'edge of my seat', I'm utterly serious. So much is unfolding as we barrel headlong toward what cannot be a happy ending. I am sure, somehow, that I will cry when we finally get there.
*happy sigh*
In other things. I am trying to come up with ten 'weird' things for that one meme, seeing as how I've been tagged. In the meantime, there's this one that's been building awhile. Stolen from Tav. Wherein one describes one's fandoms as if they were lovers. I don't know that anyone will really be able to guess what any of these are, seeing as how I speak very little about most of them. And to be honest, most of them are more Things I Enjoy Watching/Reading more than genuine fandoms in which I've participated. But what the heck. Drafting it out has been fun over the past couple of months.
=====
1. You...you were...goodness, I was so young! I look back on you with the utmost fondness, and laugh nostalgically at all the fun we had together. I see you've reinvented yourself for a new generation a couple years back, but I'll always love you best the way you were. You'll always be cheesy, and a little bit saucy, and you'll never really grow up. You're totally radical and totally tubular and I cherish that young, happy place in my heart where you'll always reside. Rock on, Dude - you'll always be righteously awesome in my book.
2. We go back a ways, eh? My Dad was very well-acquainted with your dad, so it's only natural I'd spend so much time with you and your siblings. While I was always reasonably fond of your whole family (aside from your youngest brother), it was somehow you, the middle child, who managed to steal my heart. Perhaps because we met on my sixteenth birthday, or perhaps because you were the odd one out in your clan. The rest - they all had a bad case of wanderlust, but you found yourself a wonderful hot-bed of political and religious unrest to settle into and let all the adventure come right to your highly strategic doorstep. I loved your personality and your character above all else. I catch sight of you every now and again, a fleeting glimpse in passing on rare early afternoons, and it always leaves me smiling fondly. You were my world back then, and you've left an indelible influence on the path of my life ever since. Thank you.
3. My Dad knew you when you were just starting out, and thought the world of you; I think he was rather proud when you and I fell into our acquaintance. I guess that makes you something of an old family friend, eh? You're quite the chameleon, forever evolving from one face to the next; but then, that's really what you're all about - evolution. Evolution, and change, and acceptance of such in the natural flow of things. You somehow manage to stay fully in touch with each new generation, never mind that you may be getting on in years. I was so proud to see you make it on the silver screen, no matter how different you turned out to be from the you that I remember. You may not be actively in my life at the moment, but rest assured that wherever you turn in the future, I'll always have an eye of my own turned your way.
4. Gods, but I do miss you! You were such fun! I adored your personality, your quirkiness, your utter disregard for mainstream coolness and popularity and your refusal to ever take yourself too seriously. You were always so down-to-earth and delightfully goofy. You made me laugh, you lifted my spirits, you left me happy. I was so sad to see you go, but even still I couldn't help loving you - even the utter anti-climax of your goodbye. So absolutely, perfectly you, which eased the pain of it some. Your little sister could have learned from your example. You had style. You had panache. You had wit and heart and grand gusto. You had Fabio-hair, and it never looked better. It never even crossed your mind to be anything other than what you were, and my life is rather a duller place for your absence.
5. I owe you an apology. For dumping you the way I did. Especially as I still love you. I'm putting my trust in your sympathetic heart and humbly asking your forgiveness for my disregard. You deserve better - you're innocent, and idealistic, and you've never stopped believing in the greater good of humanity no matter how many times it's shot you down. Someone else came along and swept me away, stole me right out from under you, and yet...you've never born me any ill will, have always remained my friend. There was long silence, yes, but...you never minded me checking in on you and you've welcomed me graciously when I've actually returned to visit. You were so very good to me, too; you bolstered my confidence and reminded me what it felt like to belong, to fit in, to exist among my own kind. You got me started on really writing, for which I'll be forever grateful. I'd never be who I am today without your kind and patient influence, even though I look back and cringe at most of the things that you let me get away with. You'll always have a special place in my heart, even if we're never again what we were. Thank you.
6. I...I don't know what to make of you, anymore. Once upon a time, I was all too eager to let you sink your teeth into me. Now, though...I look at you, and I wonder whatever happened to that You that used to be, the one I fell in love with. Fame no longer agrees with you, I'm afraid; you seem to have lost sight of all the things that made you so wonderful in the beginning. You're growing somewhat pompous, and repetitive, and god forbid anyone should point out your flaws - how dare they criticize? You are YOU, after all, and thus beyond all reproach. Your ego overshadows your charms, dear, and your conceit keeps you from seeing it. I...I don't think I really like you anymore. I'll always love you for what you were, but what you've become leaves me cold, and greatly saddened.
7. We should hook up again sometime, you and I. You're very pretty, and sassy, and you've got just the right touch of insanity to make things interesting. Not to mention I love the sexy lip-ring. ^_~ Plus. That running background obsession you've got with the bunny? That makes me grin. And reminds me - I should thank my husband for introducing me to you. He had his qualms about what I'd do if I got my hands on you, but I like to think I've behaved very well and kept them to myself. No hanky-panky for you. Unless, of course, you want me to mess around with you... ^_~ Kidding, of course. Somehow I just...don't look at you that way. You're a very platonic love, for me. But I love you all the same.
8. You...I...gods, I love you. You consume me. You have so much personality that you just bowled me over; you swept me away almost as soon as we met. I don't know where I'd be without you in my life. You've opened up all manner of doors in my mind, and offered me so much opportunity to grow. You've turned me on to so many things I never imagined I could like, and rekindled the embers of longtime loves that never reached their full potential. You inspire so very, very much in me - it's almost too much, I sometimes think. I could strive all my life to be good enough for you and I'd never even come close to giving you all that you deserve. You're forever changing - because things that never change are boring, after all - and yet ever the same, flowing, blending spirals of past and present and future into places new yet so very familiar. Trying to keep up is a daunting pursuit but so very rewarding. Fulfilling. Maturing. You're bright and yet dark, witty while delightfully acerbic, at once comfortable even as you carry me headlong into unfamiliar territory. I--you...er. You bring out my obsessiveness. I realize it can be an unattractive trait, but I simply cannot help myself where you are concerned. You leave me breathless and aching and yearning for more. I want you with me forever, and yet I know my own history with relationships. They fade, they always fade; the intensity softens, the bonds loosen, and there's never any getting back that driving magic that was there in the beginning. I dread the day that you and I will inevitably drift apart; I don't want to let you go. Ever. *clings* Don't leave me. Please don't leave me. I love you.
10. You're a delightfully deceptive piece of work, you know that? You're charming and disarming and you can somehow break all the little rules and totally get away with it. You play so well at grown-up things, with your guns and your badges and all your high-tech toys, but underneath you're just a big kid. I love that about you. I very much doubt that your take on military propriety would fly in the actual military, but I love you for it all the same. You entertain the heck out of me. We'll never have that deep connecting bond of obsession, but my life would certainly be a little duller if I couldn't spend that hour with you every week. Don't change. You're a doll.
11. I thought for a moment that you and I might have something, but...well, I just don't think it's going to happen. You've got great potential, kid. You're brilliant - but then, you already knew that, didn't you. You've got heart and wit and amazing, amazing character and such fantastic talent, and you're going to make a lot of people very happy in your lifetime. I'd really like to see you shake loose of your big brother's shadow, though. Right now, you seem to be dutifully following in his footsteps instead of thinking for yourself and blazing your own path. While he's certainly a fine mentor in his own right, it's time for you to break free of his influence. I don't think you're really going to shine, to be all that you can be, until you can find your own way. Don't do those same things that your brother's done, that everybody else does, just because it's safe and proven and expected; be your own you! Be an individual! Learn from history instead of repeating it time and again. Have faith in yourself and your own uniqueness, and you could be such a bright star. I like ya, Kid. I really do. You just need to find that confidence and initiative to stand on your own ideas. The potential burning inside you is so very intense - seize it, master it, and you can conquer the world. Or the galaxy. Heck, the next galaxy over, even. You are that good. Just a little too firmly grounded in your brother's example. It's time to let yourself fly.
12. My husband's been singing your praises for some time, now, and so has my kid, so I've finally made the time to sit down with you and get acquainted. You're a little bit off-putting, at first. You're very old-fashioned, which is not an inherently bad thing. In fact, it's rather endearing once one becomes accustomed to it. But...America has not been as kind to you as it could have been. You'd probably be a little more appealing if you were allowed to speak your native tongue, for instance. Also, you've got three very distinct personalities to you that are somehow trying to be a single, cohesive individual, and it makes you feel vaguely fractured. Fragmented. I've made an effort to get to know personality #1, but...we just don't seem to click yet. And I've overlooked personality #2 entirely thus far in favor of becoming acquainted with #3. This one I rather like. It...er, you - you've got spunk and character and a lot of heart, even if you are a little cliche now and then. I doubt that you and I will ever amount to anything together, but I'm glad to know you all the same. You've gently reminded me that the past plays to the future, and if we didn't have a There to look back to, we wouldn't be anywhere now or have anywhere to look forward to. You've also reminded me that the world needs more 80's disco music and cross-dressing gender-bending "rock" stars, but that's rather beside the point. ^_^
13. You, my friend, have a core of wonderful-ness that draws me to you like a magnet. But being around you can sometimes annoy the piss out of me. There's so much about you that feels superficial. As though you're trying so hard to be something trendy and cute, which...you just...aren't. You're beautiful. Noble. Deep, and thoughtful, and strong. You don't need to be bubbly and perky and 'Ahaha, isn't that just so funny that it's adorable?" on top of that. It just doesn't suit you. It's that core of quiet nobility and humility and integrity that draws me back to you time and again. Plus. Scars can be hot. Unmatchable mastery of swordsmanship doesn't hurt your appeal, either.And you know how I feel about redheads. ^_^; If you could truly be yourself instead of this image that somebody somewhere must have told you you're supposed to be if you're going to succeed in life...I probably would have been all over you a long time ago.
14. It's almost funny to me now that my initial impression of you, such a fabulous storyteller, was a little off-putting. I found you almost...gruesome, really, and unnecessarily so. I'm ever so glad that I looked past that, though; your wit and your insidious charm and your mysterious coquetteishness are such a delight. I adore the stories you tell. And yet you're pointing that elegant finger at all of humanity with your beguiling tales; you snare my attention so innocently and deliver a subtle chastisement on the human condition so artfully that it's often easy to overlook the fact that you've drawn me down into a well-crafted morality play. It's a talent. A beautiful talent. You are a beautiful talent, and I was quite sad to see you bow out of the business. I still hold you close in my heart.
15. I have a hard time remembering that my attraction to you is deeper than just appearances. Because. You? So very pretty. So very, very pretty, and it's so easy to get lost in the beauty of you. But beyond that. You manage to combine childish naivety with down-to-earth pragmatism with long-suffering nobility with comic egotism and...it works for you. You've got child-like charm blended with the wisdom of years; I think what I love best about you is your insistence that anyone can be anything and that established norms don't necessarily mean that things must always be that way. Change is uncomfortable, sure, but you prove that it's usually worth it. You're...you're....damn, but you're so very pretty! ^_^; Also. You're unique, and a little convoluted - where one ends up with you is not at all where one imagined one might be at the start. But you're totally allowed to change your mind and take a different path than the one you'd set out on initially. You're so damned pretty, you can get away with whatever you like. Even teasing the way you did without ever delivering. I can't hold it against you. You're just too gorgeous.
16. You. Are such a tease. A TEASE! You teased and tantalized and promised all kinds of things along the way, and at times it drove me crazy. When you fnally made good on those promises...well. I won't say it was entirely worth all the build-up, but it was certainly worth a good 95% of it and definitely more fulfilling for all the anticipation. Not that our relationship was all about the sex, no. Although...well, yeah, that really was what drew me to you. ^_^; But by the time it happened, it wasn't just empty lust, and it was so much better for the relationship that developed and led to it. There's so much more to you than just sex - you're charming, in your way. You walk a fine line between realism and idealism and somehow make plain old-fashioned sap and cuteness work. And besides...heh. I do adore your fashion sense. There's something about a well-dressed detective that I find...appealing.
17. You, my friend, are utterly unique among your kind. You, like so many westerners, share my love of anime, but you embrace it in a way that so many westerners fail to do. You honor the root and the heart of what it's all about, and make clear your respect for it. And I always found that so very appealing about you. We're kindred spirits, you and I. I love your off-kilter wit and your wry sense of humor. I mean...who else can I turn to when I'm in the mood to talk kilts and katanas and killer robots all in the same breath? You're sharp yet subtle, amusing and yet serious, contemplative and compelling and very very hard to resist. You've shown me that the journey to find the way back home is often even more important than the idea of home itself. Your penchant for gratuitous flashing of underwear doesn't hurt you at all, either, in my eyes. ^_~ You're sexy in a very understated way, and I miss having you around all the time. But. It just makes those occasional long visits every now and again that much more fun.
18. At first glance, you seem a little immature. Juvenile, even, I might say, but to dismiss you as such would be to suffer a loss. You've got so much to offer beyond your years. You're charming and bright and captivating and utterly endearing for all your youth, and...y'know, you're just irresistible. You have such a vivid sense of imagination; to spend time with you is to be drawn into your world and find it compellingly real and vibrantly alive with possibility and personality. Your journeys of self-discovery and fulfillment...sure, everyone has them, but something tells me yours are not to be missed. You keep surprising me; every time I think you're getting predictible and I'm starting to get you all figured out, you'll let some new little twist surface and throw me in new directions completely. You keep me interested, no matter that I don't see enough of you or even see you regularly at all. I really do want to get to know you better, to be there for the ride as you grow up. You're a breath of reassuringly fresh air on a relatively stagnant horizon. You're...intriguing. ^_^
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Elsewise. My Jeep? He is a sexy snow-conquering little black beast of a machine, and he is made of awesome. Winter driving is quite a lot more palatable in his company, yes. Hopefully his doors will not be falling off anytime soon. ^_^;
I'm not much of a gamer, but Super Smash Brother Melee? Currently topping my Most Awesome Game Evar list. Not that I have one. There's just something...you can't beat the wonderfully crack-tastic value of Link grabbing a random harisen and laying the smackdown Sanzo-style on Pikachu. Seriously. AJ loves this game. And so do I. ^_^
And I have four fish-babies whose apartments need cleaning today. Thus. Off to do so. But first:
This is Zakuro.
(More pics begin here.)
My parents are apparently doing the try-to-make-things-work thing. I...just...whatever. I don't think it best. But it's not my decision.
Not talking 'bout work today, 'cause I'm not working today. Thank you, Presidents' Day.
Yes, I'm still riding the high of yesterday's rfb release. *happy sigh* The plot - it's moving along in these tiny, teasing little bits, but...I don't care. It's utterly exhilarating to get that little taste every few months. There are moments within it that truly do take my breath away. The pinky-swear. The stairwell (oh, Konzen!). Tenpou's Order. Their soldiers. And Goujun. More than anything, I think, the leave-taking from Goujun just leaves me in heartfelt awe. So simple, yet so very...so much is said in the not-saying.
And that's just off the top of my head.
I love this manga. So much. When I speak of 'edge of my seat', I'm utterly serious. So much is unfolding as we barrel headlong toward what cannot be a happy ending. I am sure, somehow, that I will cry when we finally get there.
*happy sigh*
In other things. I am trying to come up with ten 'weird' things for that one meme, seeing as how I've been tagged. In the meantime, there's this one that's been building awhile. Stolen from Tav. Wherein one describes one's fandoms as if they were lovers. I don't know that anyone will really be able to guess what any of these are, seeing as how I speak very little about most of them. And to be honest, most of them are more Things I Enjoy Watching/Reading more than genuine fandoms in which I've participated. But what the heck. Drafting it out has been fun over the past couple of months.
=====
1. You...you were...goodness, I was so young! I look back on you with the utmost fondness, and laugh nostalgically at all the fun we had together. I see you've reinvented yourself for a new generation a couple years back, but I'll always love you best the way you were. You'll always be cheesy, and a little bit saucy, and you'll never really grow up. You're totally radical and totally tubular and I cherish that young, happy place in my heart where you'll always reside. Rock on, Dude - you'll always be righteously awesome in my book.
2. We go back a ways, eh? My Dad was very well-acquainted with your dad, so it's only natural I'd spend so much time with you and your siblings. While I was always reasonably fond of your whole family (aside from your youngest brother), it was somehow you, the middle child, who managed to steal my heart. Perhaps because we met on my sixteenth birthday, or perhaps because you were the odd one out in your clan. The rest - they all had a bad case of wanderlust, but you found yourself a wonderful hot-bed of political and religious unrest to settle into and let all the adventure come right to your highly strategic doorstep. I loved your personality and your character above all else. I catch sight of you every now and again, a fleeting glimpse in passing on rare early afternoons, and it always leaves me smiling fondly. You were my world back then, and you've left an indelible influence on the path of my life ever since. Thank you.
3. My Dad knew you when you were just starting out, and thought the world of you; I think he was rather proud when you and I fell into our acquaintance. I guess that makes you something of an old family friend, eh? You're quite the chameleon, forever evolving from one face to the next; but then, that's really what you're all about - evolution. Evolution, and change, and acceptance of such in the natural flow of things. You somehow manage to stay fully in touch with each new generation, never mind that you may be getting on in years. I was so proud to see you make it on the silver screen, no matter how different you turned out to be from the you that I remember. You may not be actively in my life at the moment, but rest assured that wherever you turn in the future, I'll always have an eye of my own turned your way.
4. Gods, but I do miss you! You were such fun! I adored your personality, your quirkiness, your utter disregard for mainstream coolness and popularity and your refusal to ever take yourself too seriously. You were always so down-to-earth and delightfully goofy. You made me laugh, you lifted my spirits, you left me happy. I was so sad to see you go, but even still I couldn't help loving you - even the utter anti-climax of your goodbye. So absolutely, perfectly you, which eased the pain of it some. Your little sister could have learned from your example. You had style. You had panache. You had wit and heart and grand gusto. You had Fabio-hair, and it never looked better. It never even crossed your mind to be anything other than what you were, and my life is rather a duller place for your absence.
5. I owe you an apology. For dumping you the way I did. Especially as I still love you. I'm putting my trust in your sympathetic heart and humbly asking your forgiveness for my disregard. You deserve better - you're innocent, and idealistic, and you've never stopped believing in the greater good of humanity no matter how many times it's shot you down. Someone else came along and swept me away, stole me right out from under you, and yet...you've never born me any ill will, have always remained my friend. There was long silence, yes, but...you never minded me checking in on you and you've welcomed me graciously when I've actually returned to visit. You were so very good to me, too; you bolstered my confidence and reminded me what it felt like to belong, to fit in, to exist among my own kind. You got me started on really writing, for which I'll be forever grateful. I'd never be who I am today without your kind and patient influence, even though I look back and cringe at most of the things that you let me get away with. You'll always have a special place in my heart, even if we're never again what we were. Thank you.
6. I...I don't know what to make of you, anymore. Once upon a time, I was all too eager to let you sink your teeth into me. Now, though...I look at you, and I wonder whatever happened to that You that used to be, the one I fell in love with. Fame no longer agrees with you, I'm afraid; you seem to have lost sight of all the things that made you so wonderful in the beginning. You're growing somewhat pompous, and repetitive, and god forbid anyone should point out your flaws - how dare they criticize? You are YOU, after all, and thus beyond all reproach. Your ego overshadows your charms, dear, and your conceit keeps you from seeing it. I...I don't think I really like you anymore. I'll always love you for what you were, but what you've become leaves me cold, and greatly saddened.
7. We should hook up again sometime, you and I. You're very pretty, and sassy, and you've got just the right touch of insanity to make things interesting. Not to mention I love the sexy lip-ring. ^_~ Plus. That running background obsession you've got with the bunny? That makes me grin. And reminds me - I should thank my husband for introducing me to you. He had his qualms about what I'd do if I got my hands on you, but I like to think I've behaved very well and kept them to myself. No hanky-panky for you. Unless, of course, you want me to mess around with you... ^_~ Kidding, of course. Somehow I just...don't look at you that way. You're a very platonic love, for me. But I love you all the same.
8. You...I...gods, I love you. You consume me. You have so much personality that you just bowled me over; you swept me away almost as soon as we met. I don't know where I'd be without you in my life. You've opened up all manner of doors in my mind, and offered me so much opportunity to grow. You've turned me on to so many things I never imagined I could like, and rekindled the embers of longtime loves that never reached their full potential. You inspire so very, very much in me - it's almost too much, I sometimes think. I could strive all my life to be good enough for you and I'd never even come close to giving you all that you deserve. You're forever changing - because things that never change are boring, after all - and yet ever the same, flowing, blending spirals of past and present and future into places new yet so very familiar. Trying to keep up is a daunting pursuit but so very rewarding. Fulfilling. Maturing. You're bright and yet dark, witty while delightfully acerbic, at once comfortable even as you carry me headlong into unfamiliar territory. I--you...er. You bring out my obsessiveness. I realize it can be an unattractive trait, but I simply cannot help myself where you are concerned. You leave me breathless and aching and yearning for more. I want you with me forever, and yet I know my own history with relationships. They fade, they always fade; the intensity softens, the bonds loosen, and there's never any getting back that driving magic that was there in the beginning. I dread the day that you and I will inevitably drift apart; I don't want to let you go. Ever. *clings* Don't leave me. Please don't leave me. I love you.
10. You're a delightfully deceptive piece of work, you know that? You're charming and disarming and you can somehow break all the little rules and totally get away with it. You play so well at grown-up things, with your guns and your badges and all your high-tech toys, but underneath you're just a big kid. I love that about you. I very much doubt that your take on military propriety would fly in the actual military, but I love you for it all the same. You entertain the heck out of me. We'll never have that deep connecting bond of obsession, but my life would certainly be a little duller if I couldn't spend that hour with you every week. Don't change. You're a doll.
11. I thought for a moment that you and I might have something, but...well, I just don't think it's going to happen. You've got great potential, kid. You're brilliant - but then, you already knew that, didn't you. You've got heart and wit and amazing, amazing character and such fantastic talent, and you're going to make a lot of people very happy in your lifetime. I'd really like to see you shake loose of your big brother's shadow, though. Right now, you seem to be dutifully following in his footsteps instead of thinking for yourself and blazing your own path. While he's certainly a fine mentor in his own right, it's time for you to break free of his influence. I don't think you're really going to shine, to be all that you can be, until you can find your own way. Don't do those same things that your brother's done, that everybody else does, just because it's safe and proven and expected; be your own you! Be an individual! Learn from history instead of repeating it time and again. Have faith in yourself and your own uniqueness, and you could be such a bright star. I like ya, Kid. I really do. You just need to find that confidence and initiative to stand on your own ideas. The potential burning inside you is so very intense - seize it, master it, and you can conquer the world. Or the galaxy. Heck, the next galaxy over, even. You are that good. Just a little too firmly grounded in your brother's example. It's time to let yourself fly.
12. My husband's been singing your praises for some time, now, and so has my kid, so I've finally made the time to sit down with you and get acquainted. You're a little bit off-putting, at first. You're very old-fashioned, which is not an inherently bad thing. In fact, it's rather endearing once one becomes accustomed to it. But...America has not been as kind to you as it could have been. You'd probably be a little more appealing if you were allowed to speak your native tongue, for instance. Also, you've got three very distinct personalities to you that are somehow trying to be a single, cohesive individual, and it makes you feel vaguely fractured. Fragmented. I've made an effort to get to know personality #1, but...we just don't seem to click yet. And I've overlooked personality #2 entirely thus far in favor of becoming acquainted with #3. This one I rather like. It...er, you - you've got spunk and character and a lot of heart, even if you are a little cliche now and then. I doubt that you and I will ever amount to anything together, but I'm glad to know you all the same. You've gently reminded me that the past plays to the future, and if we didn't have a There to look back to, we wouldn't be anywhere now or have anywhere to look forward to. You've also reminded me that the world needs more 80's disco music and cross-dressing gender-bending "rock" stars, but that's rather beside the point. ^_^
13. You, my friend, have a core of wonderful-ness that draws me to you like a magnet. But being around you can sometimes annoy the piss out of me. There's so much about you that feels superficial. As though you're trying so hard to be something trendy and cute, which...you just...aren't. You're beautiful. Noble. Deep, and thoughtful, and strong. You don't need to be bubbly and perky and 'Ahaha, isn't that just so funny that it's adorable?" on top of that. It just doesn't suit you. It's that core of quiet nobility and humility and integrity that draws me back to you time and again. Plus. Scars can be hot. Unmatchable mastery of swordsmanship doesn't hurt your appeal, either.
14. It's almost funny to me now that my initial impression of you, such a fabulous storyteller, was a little off-putting. I found you almost...gruesome, really, and unnecessarily so. I'm ever so glad that I looked past that, though; your wit and your insidious charm and your mysterious coquetteishness are such a delight. I adore the stories you tell. And yet you're pointing that elegant finger at all of humanity with your beguiling tales; you snare my attention so innocently and deliver a subtle chastisement on the human condition so artfully that it's often easy to overlook the fact that you've drawn me down into a well-crafted morality play. It's a talent. A beautiful talent. You are a beautiful talent, and I was quite sad to see you bow out of the business. I still hold you close in my heart.
15. I have a hard time remembering that my attraction to you is deeper than just appearances. Because. You? So very pretty. So very, very pretty, and it's so easy to get lost in the beauty of you. But beyond that. You manage to combine childish naivety with down-to-earth pragmatism with long-suffering nobility with comic egotism and...it works for you. You've got child-like charm blended with the wisdom of years; I think what I love best about you is your insistence that anyone can be anything and that established norms don't necessarily mean that things must always be that way. Change is uncomfortable, sure, but you prove that it's usually worth it. You're...you're....damn, but you're so very pretty! ^_^; Also. You're unique, and a little convoluted - where one ends up with you is not at all where one imagined one might be at the start. But you're totally allowed to change your mind and take a different path than the one you'd set out on initially. You're so damned pretty, you can get away with whatever you like. Even teasing the way you did without ever delivering. I can't hold it against you. You're just too gorgeous.
16. You. Are such a tease. A TEASE! You teased and tantalized and promised all kinds of things along the way, and at times it drove me crazy. When you fnally made good on those promises...well. I won't say it was entirely worth all the build-up, but it was certainly worth a good 95% of it and definitely more fulfilling for all the anticipation. Not that our relationship was all about the sex, no. Although...well, yeah, that really was what drew me to you. ^_^; But by the time it happened, it wasn't just empty lust, and it was so much better for the relationship that developed and led to it. There's so much more to you than just sex - you're charming, in your way. You walk a fine line between realism and idealism and somehow make plain old-fashioned sap and cuteness work. And besides...heh. I do adore your fashion sense. There's something about a well-dressed detective that I find...appealing.
17. You, my friend, are utterly unique among your kind. You, like so many westerners, share my love of anime, but you embrace it in a way that so many westerners fail to do. You honor the root and the heart of what it's all about, and make clear your respect for it. And I always found that so very appealing about you. We're kindred spirits, you and I. I love your off-kilter wit and your wry sense of humor. I mean...who else can I turn to when I'm in the mood to talk kilts and katanas and killer robots all in the same breath? You're sharp yet subtle, amusing and yet serious, contemplative and compelling and very very hard to resist. You've shown me that the journey to find the way back home is often even more important than the idea of home itself. Your penchant for gratuitous flashing of underwear doesn't hurt you at all, either, in my eyes. ^_~ You're sexy in a very understated way, and I miss having you around all the time. But. It just makes those occasional long visits every now and again that much more fun.
18. At first glance, you seem a little immature. Juvenile, even, I might say, but to dismiss you as such would be to suffer a loss. You've got so much to offer beyond your years. You're charming and bright and captivating and utterly endearing for all your youth, and...y'know, you're just irresistible. You have such a vivid sense of imagination; to spend time with you is to be drawn into your world and find it compellingly real and vibrantly alive with possibility and personality. Your journeys of self-discovery and fulfillment...sure, everyone has them, but something tells me yours are not to be missed. You keep surprising me; every time I think you're getting predictible and I'm starting to get you all figured out, you'll let some new little twist surface and throw me in new directions completely. You keep me interested, no matter that I don't see enough of you or even see you regularly at all. I really do want to get to know you better, to be there for the ride as you grow up. You're a breath of reassuringly fresh air on a relatively stagnant horizon. You're...intriguing. ^_^
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Elsewise. My Jeep? He is a sexy snow-conquering little black beast of a machine, and he is made of awesome. Winter driving is quite a lot more palatable in his company, yes. Hopefully his doors will not be falling off anytime soon. ^_^;
I'm not much of a gamer, but Super Smash Brother Melee? Currently topping my Most Awesome Game Evar list. Not that I have one. There's just something...you can't beat the wonderfully crack-tastic value of Link grabbing a random harisen and laying the smackdown Sanzo-style on Pikachu. Seriously. AJ loves this game. And so do I. ^_^
And I have four fish-babies whose apartments need cleaning today. Thus. Off to do so. But first:
This is Zakuro.
(More pics begin here.)
My parents are apparently doing the try-to-make-things-work thing. I...just...whatever. I don't think it best. But it's not my decision.
Not talking 'bout work today, 'cause I'm not working today. Thank you, Presidents' Day.
