Musings of the Obsessive Kind

( Full House ep 12 spoilers )

In less hyperventilatory news, I bring you two story recs. Since From My Other Self I Turn, a Kougaiji story. Really really good.

And Let's Play Two, a gen Sam and Dean Supernatural story.

Btw, all those on my flist who are wondering if I'd abandoned my tried-and-true fandoms of Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. Nope. But this being summer and they being on hiatus, there isn't much to discuss. I promise the craziness will start again in the fall.

( Full House ep 12 spoilers )

In less hyperventilatory news, I bring you two story recs. Since From My Other Self I Turn, a Kougaiji story. Really really good.

And Let's Play Two, a gen Sam and Dean Supernatural story.

Btw, all those on my flist who are wondering if I'd abandoned my tried-and-true fandoms of Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. Nope. But this being summer and they being on hiatus, there isn't much to discuss. I promise the craziness will start again in the fall.

ETA: OMG!!!! Subs for ep four of Silence are out. I have the ep dled already so all I need to do is dl subs. Can't wait to get home. EEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Just when I got my Duncan (from Veronica Mars) dislike under control, ww614 posted exerpts from deleted scenes of NitW and poooooof. It flares up again. Buh-bye Donut!

And speaking of character dislike, I have a new most loathed non villain character: Hye-Won from Full House. Normally I don't have strong hatred reaction to fictional character because...fictional. But I have to make an exception. Precisely because she is not an evil monster twirling mustache as she offs the hero or heroine's elderly mother and uses the corpse to start a pestilence. She is just an appalingly selfish, shallow, self-centered woman.

lesbiassparrow, remember the appalingly annoying girl in Mars, Ling's ex, the one with the childish mannerisms and voice, who I hated with an abiding passion? Well, Hye-Won has replaced her.

( Spoilery though ep 7 of FH, with mentions of Mars )

We were watching more Saiyuki Reload, and the 'God' arc is interesting (Hakkai without his limiters!!!!!) but I keep wanting to know what happened to Kou.

( Hakkai centric )

As to next anime once I am finished with SR, should it be Gungrave, Harukanaru or Samurai Champloo? Are there any good romantic angsty ones (yes, Basilisk but I am going to try to save it until later as only one volume is out).

And I finish with a really random thing. Music video of Matsumoto Jun (from the Japanese band Arashi and Domyouji in jdorama Hana Yori Dango). Mainly because I love the combination of really cool dancing, really awful outfits, and really hot hotness. Basically it's Bollywood redux.

( Click behind the cut for the video )

And on completely other side of the spectrum, this clip from my favorite opera, La Boheme, has no pleather, but the most exquisite singing.

( Gorgeous singing here )

I've installed Nero and got the files ready to be burned. However, it seems my D drive doesn't handle burning DVDs (I get as far as 'you have files ready to be burned to the CD' and it doesn't mention anything about DVDs and won't allow me to burn). Do you know if they sell external DVD burners? Also, I want to buy external memory to store eps. What's a good format and amount of memory?

Also, I've been watching more Saiyuki Reload and OMG. Kou!!!. SR is breaking my heart in regards to Kou! I've posted the synopsis and artwork before (just click on the sayuki tag) but very briefly, Saiyuki is about four members of the Sanzo party who are travelling to India to prevent an evil demon king from rising. My favorite character in this show has always alternated between Hakkai (the incredibly screwed up member of the Sanzo party, who became a demon after killing a thousand demons to rescue his OTP who's been kidnapped, tortured and raped, and who, after he got to her through all those bodies, killed herself in front of his eyes because she was pregnant with the monster's child. He was kinda suicidal after that and gouges out his own eye blah blah blah if you want to read more, I've written about him in detail) and Kougaiji, the antagonist, and the most honorable character in the series. And currently it's Kougaiji, and currently the show is breaking my heart.



Kougaiji is the worst bad guy ever because he is so honorable. In fact, he is a better person than any of our heroes, hands down. He is the demon king's son, and he is the nicest, most noble person you meet on the show. So, why do I love him?

1. He is working for the bad guy (or in this case, bad girl), the mistress of the demon king, because his mother, the demon king's wife, got imprisoned in a stone form. And the mistress (I hate hate hate her) who is the one trying to revive Gymaoh (the demon king) promised Kou that if he works for her, and obtains scriptures needed for revival, she is going to break the spell and free his mother.
2. He wants to protect his half sister (offspring of Gymaoh and mistress) Lirin. Actually, he is the only loving family Lirin has, as her own mother despises her.
3. He is the best boss ever. He is always risking his neck to save his subordinates aka Dokugaku and Yaone (and I totally OTP him and Yaone, a busty apothecary, who he has saved from a fate worse than death).
4. Half the time, when the Sanzo party is in trouble, he helps them out. And he hates when he has to fight them.

( Kou-centric spoilers for SR )

( Kougaiji pics )

I've installed Nero and got the files ready to be burned. However, it seems my D drive doesn't handle burning DVDs (I get as far as 'you have files ready to be burned to the CD' and it doesn't mention anything about DVDs and won't allow me to burn). Do you know if they sell external DVD burners? Also, I want to buy external memory to store eps. What's a good format and amount of memory?

Also, I've been watching more Saiyuki Reload and OMG. Kou!!!. SR is breaking my heart in regards to Kou! I've posted the synopsis and artwork before (just click on the sayuki tag) but very briefly, Saiyuki is about four members of the Sanzo party who are travelling to India to prevent an evil demon king from rising. My favorite character in this show has always alternated between Hakkai (the incredibly screwed up member of the Sanzo party, who became a demon after killing a thousand demons to rescue his OTP who's been kidnapped, tortured and raped, and who, after he got to her through all those bodies, killed herself in front of his eyes because she was pregnant with the monster's child. He was kinda suicidal after that and gouges out his own eye blah blah blah if you want to read more, I've written about him in detail) and Kougaiji, the antagonist, and the most honorable character in the series. And currently it's Kougaiji, and currently the show is breaking my heart.



Kougaiji is the worst bad guy ever because he is so honorable. In fact, he is a better person than any of our heroes, hands down. He is the demon king's son, and he is the nicest, most noble person you meet on the show. So, why do I love him?

1. He is working for the bad guy (or in this case, bad girl), the mistress of the demon king, because his mother, the demon king's wife, got imprisoned in a stone form. And the mistress (I hate hate hate her) who is the one trying to revive Gymaoh (the demon king) promised Kou that if he works for her, and obtains scriptures needed for revival, she is going to break the spell and free his mother.
2. He wants to protect his half sister (offspring of Gymaoh and mistress) Lirin. Actually, he is the only loving family Lirin has, as her own mother despises her.
3. He is the best boss ever. He is always risking his neck to save his subordinates aka Dokugaku and Yaone (and I totally OTP him and Yaone, a busty apothecary, who he has saved from a fate worse than death).
4. Half the time, when the Sanzo party is in trouble, he helps them out. And he hates when he has to fight them.

( Kou-centric spoilers for SR )

( Kougaiji pics )

I've had a dream where Logan lost all his money and was working as a clerk in a store and had a scholarship to Hearst. My brain is very very odd.

I've also been watching Saiyuki Reload, and crumpeteer is right, it's quite good. ( SR thoughts )

I have also read the first volume of Hana Kimi, and crumpeteer is right mark 2, it's also quite good. ( Hana Kimi thoughts )

Also, watching HYD and Ouran in close succession made me think about a particular trope. Both Ouran and HYD have the structure of a poor girl and a rich guy and this set up seems to be common in anime/manga/Asian drama, with the guy giving girl status but she is the one providing love or stability, 'rescuing' him emotionally. ( Thoughts on the paradigm in anime, Bollywood and Western lit )

I also browsed some more through the Hana Yori Dango jdorama (I had to time to watch it all yet) and yes, definitely a lot of compression. ( HYD thoughts )

And now, I bring you the thing that REALLY caught my attention in the jdorama. Is it the angst? The characters? The comparison to the manga? No, it's the unbelievably bad fashion. Bollywood bad fashion has a rival. In fact, in some scenes, I know I was gasping in angst, but it wasn't from the plot developments but from thinking 'how could anyone let you out of the house in such an outfit in the morning?' It's not as bad as it could be as everyone but F4 wear uniforms in school (and after seeing F4 fashion, I wish they did too) but still...The horror. The horror.

Ummm, Rui. Why did a poodle die around your neck?



( Flower shirts, fur collars, and more atrocity that is known to man )

Happy Fourth of July to everyone on my flist who is American!

In other news, I watched Supernatural's "Bloody Mary" and OMG. Now I am in love with Sam. He feels all that guilt for Jess dying (and I think for him saving that girl is sort of a bit of a second chance) and he has nightmares and he screams her name and he is so quiet and fucked up and OMG. *fangirl fangirl fangirl* And he is nervous and afraid and still does it and I don't think he cares too much about life and it's all OMG. I never noticed the hotness before, either but ewhen he is all angry and determined and jaw-clenching? Yum. Unlike Dean, for whom I've fallen instantly, Sam's sort of grown on me gradually, but grown he has...

And then Dean finally has enough and wants to talk to him about it and convince Sam it's not his fault even if Sam will blame him instead and he is a pretty good older brother, in a very guy way. And then he goes off to Sam's rescue. And he smashes the mirror as Sam cannot look away because the phantom is saying everything Sam's ever thought about his own guilt, all the things Sam must repeat to himself night after night. And after smashing the mirror, Dean just grabs his face all uber-anxious and freaking out Sam is not OK and it's all so lovely. And I love Sam saying later, amtter of factly, that he'd die for Dean and the brief look on Dean's face. Awwww. I am all about the brotherly love in this show (platonic).

This really is anime-ish. Makes me think of Saiyuki with Dean=Sanzo and Sam=Hakkai.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone on my flist who is American!

In other news, I watched Supernatural's "Bloody Mary" and OMG. Now I am in love with Sam. He feels all that guilt for Jess dying (and I think for him saving that girl is sort of a bit of a second chance) and he has nightmares and he screams her name and he is so quiet and fucked up and OMG. *fangirl fangirl fangirl* And he is nervous and afraid and still does it and I don't think he cares too much about life and it's all OMG. I never noticed the hotness before, either but ewhen he is all angry and determined and jaw-clenching? Yum. Unlike Dean, for whom I've fallen instantly, Sam's sort of grown on me gradually, but grown he has...

And then Dean finally has enough and wants to talk to him about it and convince Sam it's not his fault even if Sam will blame him instead and he is a pretty good older brother, in a very guy way. And then he goes off to Sam's rescue. And he smashes the mirror as Sam cannot look away because the phantom is saying everything Sam's ever thought about his own guilt, all the things Sam must repeat to himself night after night. And after smashing the mirror, Dean just grabs his face all uber-anxious and freaking out Sam is not OK and it's all so lovely. And I love Sam saying later, amtter of factly, that he'd die for Dean and the brief look on Dean's face. Awwww. I am all about the brotherly love in this show (platonic).

This really is anime-ish. Makes me think of Saiyuki with Dean=Sanzo and Sam=Hakkai.

This site: http://www.saint-just.net/ makes me very happy. It makes life wonderful. The historical stuff is great and I am going to spend happy hours browsing it, but what makes it so perfect is the fanart section where we learn that in between fighting a war on multiple fronts, ruling France, instituting major governmental and societal reforms, running the Reign of Terror, and coming up with weirdness such as the Temple of Reason, Robespierre and Saint-Just apparently mended each other's shirts and embroidered little ducks on them, drooled over wigs, and basically were the cutest, fluffiest slash couple ever. Yes, even being a long-dead French revolutionary shall not stop Teh Crazy or fangirls or slash. Enjoy!

I have also been watching I Capture the Castle, movie version. crumpeteer was right. Stephen is gorgeous, but the humor and the warmth are missing. The warmth part is even more surprising. I was never in any doubt that the crazy family loved each other, or that they were brilliantly eccentric, but nothing like this comes across. I am amused at the fact that Riley Finn is playing Neil. And just like in the book, I cannot comprehend Cassandra not wanting Stephen, or preferring Simon. Just can't.

I've also decided to give Saiyuki as too dull and just skipped to Saiyuki Reload which I am enjoying a lot. The credits are also better as the s&m is gone. Heeeee.

In Bollywood news, everyone should read fivil's latest, brilliant bit of Fanaa fanfic. It's a Fanaa/Dil Se cross-over and it makes so much sense, it's scary. It's here

I've also been thinking about various dream projects I'd like to happen in Bollywood and to list them. And people could add their own. By that I mean anything you'd like that we haven't heard is happening yet.

( Wish list )

And because no post is complete without Bolly eye candy, today's is courtesy of two older Bolly movies, Kabhi Kabie and Silsila. Feast your eyes on the younger versions of Amitabh, Rishi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Jaya Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Waheeda Rehman and a bunch of others. I am not in love with either of those movies (though I do like them), but I do love the dated, stylish pictures and the fashions. And young Amitabh is HOT.

( Old time fun here )

I am watching Saiyuki and I have to say I have never yet seen a celestial realm, full of divine beings, that fills me so much with rage. Seriously, these gods and goddesses basically evoke loathing. The gods of Greek mythology were indolent and hedonistic and petty and occasionally cruel, but these ones are not only all of this, but they also surround themselves with freaky arbitrary taboos, punish the innocent, and run a 'heaven' that is more a totalitarian beaurocracy than anything else. Yay. Not.

Actually, I am rooting for Homura (the Celestial War Prince) to succeed in overthrowing heaven. He might be the story's Lucifer, but he is way better than the heaven he is trying to overthrow. I've just gotten to the point where we find out that Homura fell in love with a fully divine being, named Rinrei (he himself is a product of a taboo, a child of human and an immortal and I don't even want to contemplate as to what happened to his parents), but it's not even as if he set up a nursery with the girl. I don't think they even discussed a relationship whatever their feelings were. And what does the chief Heavenly Honcho (the Jade Emperor) do? He sends Rinrei down to earth to be reincarnated as a mortal, and he makes Homura a War Prince, a clearly highly coveted position that left its previous occupant shell-shocked enough or messed up enough that he just sits and stares blankly in a mental coma. Yay.

So far, we have a heaven that:

1. Creates bizarre and pointless taboos about cross-breeding. Humans have that too, as cross-breeding between demons and humans is taboo but it's supposed to be a stupid prejudice. One of our main characters is off-spring of just such a union, in fact, and has yet to become a homicidal maniac or an ill omen or anything of the sort. But apparently gods aren't as flexible as humans?

a. This leads to the Homura/Rinrei thing, where they punish people for not any actions, but for feelings.

b. This leads to them doing things that are more drastic: one of the gods who came down with Homura is one whose mortal wife was betrayed and killed.

2. Heaven is all about using informers, and is kinda 'watch what you say' environment. I would imagine this is how they found out about Homura, we meet the nasty informer involved in 1b, general who hangs out with Merciful Goddess tells her that her comments are dangerous when she says that heaven is more boring than the world below.

3. It's run by incompetents. Heck, a whole bunch of lower level divine beings join with Homura because they hate being ordered about by someone who is not qualified, up above.

4. It's full of boredom. The divine beings keep being bored.

5. Heaven forces the 'half-breeds' to do its dirty work, the work they don't want to do themselves.

6. Whatever it is they did to Goku. They locked him in a cave for hundreds of years, and ultimately he's a kid.

This place needs an anti-discrimination lawyer. Ugh. No wonder Sanzo argues with them and isn't too respectful. I don't think they deserve much. Kougaiji, the bad guys' leader, treats his subordinates better than the heavenly court does. Homura has a sense of nobility in his battles and ultimately accords mercy to Kou and actually gets the Sanzo-group to save Kou's soul. The 'proper' gods? Good luck trying to get them to do anything decent. Homura's point that the world is run by those with power clearly applies to heaven. The gods run the world not because of their wonderfulness or understanding but because of their powers.

Also, the Saiyuki world as a whole is really bleak, isn't it? Everyone is walking wounded held together with a mental equivalent of spellotape. And the celestial world is rigidly cruel and the real world is in chaos, and if you have anything you treasure you are going to lose it. Kinda Buddhist in a way.