:: Pirates in Petticoats ::

:: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 ::

Mother of suck! I hate you, stupid computer. Let me try this again - the short snappy version.

Bored? Wanna read stuff? Nami stories. Sanji Vivi story. I ate the fic fic fruit. I have more to write. And plenty to read. ja na.
:: 9:09 AM [+] ::

Books on the NYTimes Bestsellers list and Stephen King playing bass...this is what all fan fic writers should aspire to.
:: 1:44 AM [+] ::

Happiness! Doujin came! But I`m at work! I have to keep reminding myself that its contents are not work appropriate.

I sneaked a peek at lunch but got only halfway through the box before my boss came into the office. This shipment has Yukiriko, RSK, Tcell, some Nami and Sanji doujin I probably bid on after a long night of karaoke which is why I don`t remember it, and other stuff. The covers are overwhelming full of girls; lots o` Tashigi, Vivi, and Nami. There also appears to be lots of sand (whee! Alabasta! WHEE!). I`m curious to see if I won the Duobrand auction; I can`t remember! That was a Mihawk/Kuro doujin! But my proclivity for strange pairings will be sated by the book that I saw resting on top (evil leer) the tang-infamous Kohza x Sanji. How`s it go? Sanji uke de GO! That`s how it goes. oh yeah. ;9
:: 12:58 AM [+] ::

Updated. Soon there will be a Sanami fic. It'll be up once she, the queen of Sanami writing-ness, gives it the AOK. No, don't be modest. You are the queen of romantic Sanami writing-ness - unless the three of you plan on challenging her? (did you fall for my lame attempt at coercing more fic-writing? did ya?)

Comments are on the fritz. Gomen yo.
:: 7:24 AM [+] ::

Movie Update:
The week’s Jump cover has a Dead End Bouken shot of the crew. It includes the new villains, Nami and Nico in their outfits from the cover of OP: Blue, and Zoro licking his sword. No doubt, she’s wishing she was someone’s sword. And I could make a lot more sword jokes, but I won’t.

The Dead End Bouken Music Collection is out 3/5. Japan Rail has a special Straw Hat Pirate train car that is running from 3/3 to 3/29.

Short movie summary taken from Jump: There’s a race with prize money at the end – the Straw Hat Crew join up. No rules, winner takes all, and they haven’t the slightest clue of the danger…(so says the dramatic story summary). There are a few characters mentioned (forgive me on the katakana butchering – I suck at it): Needles, an old associate of Nico’s, Shogun Gaspode, a powerful enemy whose Devil Fruit power is unknown, the Pirate Executioner Shuraiya (oooh, pink hair), and Giant Pirates.

To say that I’m excited about this would be a very big understatement. The animation cuts they showed last night were frickin’ awesome. Whee! YEAH! And you know what? I’m gonna be the only obviously foreign person in the theatre. And I’ll be about fifteen years older than the average person there. Finding someone as obsessed as I am to join me on my jaunt to the movies has been fruitless. Ah, fellow friendlies, if only you were here in Japan. We could all go together! What fun that would be! Guess I’ll have to be a fangrrly force of nuisance by my lonesome.

Weekly Anime Update: Bellamy’s seiyuu sounds suspiciously like the guy who did Onizuka for GTO. The animators cut out the part where Bellamy pins his card playing opponent’s hand to the table with his knife which leads me to wonder why? They’ve shown much more gruesome things in OP; Croc impaling Luffy is one example I can think of. Dorry puking up buckets of blood is another (the sound effects of that one…yeesh.) This episode got up to where Bellamy starts the fight that Luffy isn’t going to buy. Yeah, violence…

Weekly Jump Chapter Update:Pirate Chopper vs. Priest Ohm: Nico wanders through the ruins and speculates that the force that blew the city upwards into the sky may have blown it to pieces. It should be the city of gold, but the way its spread out and its physical features makes it appear to be something different. And that’s when she sees the giant beanstalk.

Chopper is climbing the beanstalk, singing to himself how he is going to be the one to find the treasure first. He arrives on another level and finds more ruins – as well as another priest . Ohm is up there with his giant dog. Ohm already knows about Chopper defeating Gedatsu and congratulates Chopper for it, since he never liked the guy really anyway. Chopper trips over the body of a guerilla and starts screaming – Ohm tells him to shut up and begins to weep for the fragility of humans and how they refuse to understand that the priests are protecting them from themselves. He can’t understand why they persist in fighting Eneru when it will only lead to ruin. So Ohm concludes that in order to save them, he must kill them all. Chopper protests that he’s not there to fight, just to find the gold, but Ohm doesn’t care.

Zoro is so lost that he ends up back where he began. (This looks familiar, he muses…) The Jo bird he’s been traveling with finally gets fed up with the whole ordeal and steals Zoro’s backpack because he thinks there’s food in it. Zoro grabs on to it and carried up into the air.

Lucky, the Shandia guerilla, finds Kamukari, one of the new toasty guerillas. He tells her to warn Wiper because it is no use. Lucky wonders if Wiper can stand up to the power of the Goro Goro fruit. ‘Goro Goro’ is the sound thunder makes, or so my trusty dictionary tells me.

Luffy reaches a dead end in the tunnel he’s been traveling in. He doesn’t want to walk all the way back, so he tries to break through the wall. It doesn’t work, but there’s a rumbling and then explosion.

Ohm stalks Chopper through the ruins and gets a hit in with his sword – even though he’s far away. As Chopper falls to the ground, Ohm declares that the survival rate for the Ordeal of Iron is zero percent.

(Pats her on the shoulder) – don’t worry, I’m sure Chopper will be okay.

Stacey’s Weekly Merchandise Rant: Two supplements to the chara can collection are coming out – one is Pirates of East Blue, which features Arlong, Krieg, and Hachan. (Stacey ponders what she will do to the Arlong one and gets an evil grin.) There will also be an Alabasta one. You can own Pell, Chaka, or Matsuge figures. (long pause) Yup. (longer pause) Not bitter even though they made a figure of a camel AND NOT KOHZA. (takes a deep breath) Really. I’m okay. In all truth, Matsuge is darn cute because Chopper is sleeping next to him. Bandai promised another secret figure too. I hope that the secret figure will be the One. My hopes will probably be crushed again, but that is the life of a rabid fangrrl. Oh – Luffy and Zoro get new poses. Good for them.




:: 5:08 AM [+] ::

The nature of the FAFSA beast is this. It is an insanely long and complicated form used to beg money for school from the government. Every university uses this form to decide if they want to give you any money too, and it's required to fill it out even if you know you're ineligible for any kind of free money, loans, whatever. It's such a pain in the ass - though since I'm an independent, I may get money this year. (laughs at the sarcasm)

I know it looks like I posted twice - but the computer was being a kono onna yesterday - so the Nana post that was supposed to be up yesterday is up today instead. Speaking of - I got the Nana calendar for 700 yen yesterday! Pretty shoujo pictures...

I finally got Vol. 27 so I thought I would share. Fum mentioned that the SBS had info on Hina and Smoker when they were in Marine training and I have the lowdown.

Smoker is 34 and his birthday is 3/14 (White Day). Hina is 32 and her birthday is 3/3 (Hina Matsuri). It seems that Hina was a natural student and really good at being all things Marine. On the other hand, Smoker was more of a problem - he would speak before thinking, act before asking, etc. Whenever he was in danger of getting kicked out, Hina’s defense of Smoker would satisfy the higher ranks and let him be. Then the two of them got Devil Fruit powers. The powers are really needed by the Marines so they were promoted. That’s why they’re so young but at the level of Taisa.

Hina jumped ten notches in my Book of Cool when I read that. :)

And in other SBS’s – someone pointed out that marimo grows ten cm a year (4 in) – so in ten years, it would be one meter. To illustrate this point, Oda drew a picture of a one meter thick afro on Zoro’s head. Plus, though Oda really isn’t sure why, he thinks Sanji calls Nami ‘san’ because she carries herself like a queen. ;)

Stacey’s Ick of the Day – Eneru’s floppy Buddha ears. EW, MID-TORSO! ICK!

:: 11:22 PM [+] ::

Not OP. Just wanted to plug, plug, plug my second favorite manga - NANA. I love it (see clique below). It`s about two girls named `Nana` who meet on the shinkansen. Both are travelling to Tokyo to start new phases in their life (a beautiful dreamy life...) Through quirks of fate, they get an apartment together and so begins their adventures. It wouldn`t be a shoujo manga if there weren`t a few cliches - the girls are complete opposites. Nana Oosaki is a rocker trying to break into the music industry and Nana `Hachi` Komatsu is a ganbatte artiste who is more intent on finding love than a good job to pay her half of the rent. The first volumes follow their love trials and tribulations - too many to name, but there are plenty of angsty moments. The manga is filled out by the members of Nana`s band, artist friends of Hachi, and people they meet while together.

I haven`t gotten this into shoujo since Utena. I think it`s because this manga has an edge (and unlike Utena, it has nothing to do with swords.) There are real problems mixed in with the fantasy "I`m dating a rock star, oh the angst" situations. Money, friendship, miscommunication, enjou kosai (where high school kids pimp themselves to older men and women), career versus love - of all it is covered. And the secondary characters are just as interesting as the main ones. My favorite is Yasu. He`s a shades wearing, shaved head drummer in Nana`s band - and a lawyer. :)

NANA is written and drawn by Ai Yazawa. This is the first of her works that I`ve read and I love the art style - it`s not just pretty, it`s soulful. Yup. I`m stuck on this manga. I don`t know if it`s been picked up by any other translators than in Italy, but it should be. So check it out! Here's a good website I found. It's all in Italian, but it has purty pictures.
:: 11:46 PM [+] ::

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement! I really appreciate it. Gaman and ganbaremasu yo.

Animenation has a review of OP. Other than the name mispells, it's pretty well thought out. I never realized Crocodile symbolizes the fear of the unknown and amphorous.
:: 8:51 AM [+] ::

This is not OP-related, but I already bitched and moaned on Womit and I got no sympathy from those readers. Perhaps the fangrrls and boys will pity me.

I have decided that the grad school application process is meant to weed out the weakminded. I guess they figure that if you can survive the hell that is the application process, actually studying will be a breeze. Grad school hates me. HATES ME. First off, one of my recommendations was not filed correctly so I humbly had to return to a prof and request another one. Like the guy doesn`t have a day job or anything, yet here I come along asking for him to take time out to fill out the same form because of my own idiocy. IDIOT!

And I am entering as a spring termer. Let me give you a piece of advice. Do not enter during spring term because no scholarship applies to you. Ever. Campus housing? Yeah, fat chance of me getting that in the middle of January. Wow. No money AND no place to live. Joy. Rapture.

Here`s some more advice. If you`re in a field, stay in that field because no one wants to give you money for a master`s program unless you graduated with a bachelor`s in it. (bastards, haven`t they heard of broadening your horizons?)

More observations. FAFSA is a word in an eldritch Cthullian tongue that means `sanity sucking ritual of the Elder Gawds`. It is used to drive one mad. Mad I tell you! (grumbles) Stupid government forms.

I don`t enter grad school for another ten months and I am already stressed! What am I going to do when I`m working full time and studying?
:: 2:45 AM [+] ::

Would you like some water...mark? Or would you rather stay sober?

Something kind of different - look! I`m quoted!

Dev, I would love to go to Shoujocon, but it will be right on the tail end of my great American return. I`ll probably still have jet lag! However, if you and Jen are thinking about trying Sugoicon in Cincinnati...yeah, I thought not. :)


:: 11:25 PM [+] ::

Addendum: Happy Thought of the Day = Rubber is an insulator.


:: 4:22 AM [+] ::

I have something for Nami and Zoro fans. (dodges rocks thrown by Sanami fans.) Anyway. It`s a Zoro Nami fanlisting and it`s here. I plug this because the owner is an Italian biochem major with a love for Kohza and RENT. No, I`m not partial. :)

Anime Update: I weep at how wonderful it is to be back on track. To recap: The boys were not eaten by the giant turtle and giant monsters came out of nowhere. Our pirates escaped and kicked Masira off their ship. Segue to the scene with Buggy, Alvida, and Ace. Segue back to the GMG. The group decides to go to Jaya to find information about Sky Island. What blew me away about this episode was the scene with the monsters. The view panned back and back and back and back and back - it was insane. And the looks on everyone`s faces! So cool.

Weekly Jump Update:
I recommend Nico fans to buy this weeks jump, as she majorly kicks derriere and my poor prose cannot begin to describe her coolness. (end nico fan rant)

Nami receives a waverunner from Konisu’s dad (man, I have got to learn his name.) The dial that powers it is stronger than other ones and is very rare because it became extinct over 100 years ago. Apparently Wiper had kept it in reserve. Aisa is still frightened by the four enemy voices that are left.

Luffy can’t find his way out of the underground ruins. Zoro – still lost. Is now threatening a Jo Toucan for ‘looking at him.’

Hi, I’m Eneru – with my hammer pants and bare manly chest – and look! Found ya! (cue ‘bacon in the frying pan’ sizzling noise.) Minus one more guerilla.

Nico leads Yama away from the ruins, but he destroys some anyway. Nico takes off her hat…(KOWAI!) and tells him that there is no point in talking – she will never forgive him for what he’s done. Yama does the move “Drop Mountain” – telling her that he will crush her to death. She replies that he is going to be destroyed by the ‘weight of history.’ Limbs sprout from a vine, catch Yama in mid-air, and slam him into the tree. ‘How much does he weigh?’ she wonders as her arms strain. Yama tries another attack – but Nico covers his eyes, takes his dial belt, and flips it around. He runs into another tree – boom goes Yama.

“You destroyed a great treasure. Now history will do the same to your bones.” Yama begs for another chance at forgiveness but Nico refuses. Yama tries to get Nico once more and grabs her around the waist – with a flick of her wrist, she yanks his arms back. (break ‘em, Nico. Break his arms!) Then she does Cien Fleurs Delphinium – this is hard to describe. It’s like a path of arms coming out of the ground that passes Yama along – until the cliff ends. He begs for mercy before he’s tossed over, but Nico says, “Too late.” Bye bye Yama. “Hidoi koto suru wa.” Then she puts on her hat. (so cool, so scary...)

======================
And now for something completely different

Nico as a History Teacher

(Nico Robin-sensee is reading from the textbook. A group of boys are being rowdy in the back. She looks up from the reading.)
Nico: Masao-kun, are you paying attention?
Masao (with typical ‘cool boy’ insolence): No.
Nico: Why not?
Masao: History is stupid. It doesn’t mean anything.
(Masao-kun is thrown out the window by disembodied arms.)
Nico: Would anyone else care to share their opinion on the relevance of history in their lives?
(Frightened students shake their heads ‘No.’)
Nico: Good. Now who would like to tell me about the hegemony of the French aristocratic system and how it precipitated the Revolution?

:: 7:43 PM [+] ::

I got this from googlism which I found in her blog. Omoshiree! I only did the names of a few OP people; I left other names for the rest of you fangirls and boys. Oh, and I cut down the lists - just to make it all shorter.

kuro is sitting in his chair
kuro is intelligent
kuro is still winning
kuro is your idol and you want to be just like him
kuro is actually a kind hearted
kuro is no longer answering questions at the moment
kuro is now doing absolutely excellent
kuro is in conference with the king about the escaped prince
kuro is not really a vampire (phew...)
kuro is female (WTF?!)
kuro is a little bit naughty
kuro is charming
kuro is much more violent than his "other half"
kuro is doing something very important right now
kuro is a wildcat
kuro is a goody
kuro is vivid
kuro is cool maaan
kuro is infamous for two aspects
kuro is a tough guy who is sometimes harsh even to those he cares about (understatement of the year)
kuro is able
kuro is my friend
kuro is there to add a laugh or two to what might otherwise be an overly dull day
kuro is dead (NOOOOO!)
kuro is the japanese word for black
kuro is a great guy
kuro is the resident pretty (hmm...)
kuro is skilled (and skilled? My my...)

kohza is reading books by famous writers of political theory
kohza is cool
kohza is zoro with glasses
kohza is starting to get my attention (no, he always has my attention)

ace is loose
ace is in place
ace is 90 years 'young' and still on a mission
ace is wild
ace is highest on your list?
ace is a biter (I'll keep that in mind.)
ace is the best
ace is at another level
ace is great
ace is en route
ace is god
ace is it
ace is a success
ace is asia's new 'tiger'
ace is working towards the goal of getting every single child in the kohat district enrolled in school ( I thought he was trying to find Blackbeard...)
ace is relatively simple and straightforward
ace is a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (sorry, had to keep the chem reference)
ace is a genius
ace is hiding in the isotoner box inside the janitors closet (found ya!)
ace is behind most diseases (ACE! Didn't you learn anything in Sex Ed.?)
ace is greased lightning
ace is awesome
ace is still flying high
ace is feeling lonely (is that supposed to be a pick up line?)
:: 8:55 AM [+] ::

Updated. I've got this split personality when it comes to St. V-Day. I think it sucks and yet I love it too. I think I like the corny elementary school Valentine's Day cards best of all - with cheap chocolate covered cherries and strawberries coming in a close second. Yet, due to a traumatic high school event, St. V-Day has given me a knee-jerk reaction to Marilyn Manson; i.e., I hear Marilyn Manson and I feel the desire to knee a jerk in the groin. So on this day I am equal parts Sanji and...hmm...yeah Mihawk. The thought of him kills all romantic thoughts instantly.

However I did get cake from the students today. They are really starting to panic about grades. Cheesecake is definitely a way to add a few points on! Yum, cheesecake.

And I was going to upload Sobriety here, but I can't. *pouts* After all, who doesn't want to read the imagined ramblings of a psychopath with a cat fetish? ESPECIALLY on Valentine's Day. Speaking of fic, if you check out the update, there's a new one with Sanji and Vivi. And this cheesy poem. Um, could you comment? I know Shiru said it didn't suck (*nervously* it didn't right?)t, but I'm still kind of worried because these are my first Sanji POV kind of things. They're a prelude to some Sanami-ness.

Plug. It's a fun forum, plus a lot of them are rabid OP fans. That's a good thing.

Quick subject change - I am already planning my homecoming and guess what I'm doing when I'm coming home? Going to a con. I have never been to an anime convention and I want to go to the Toronto Fiesta del Anime (not the actual name). And I want to cosplay. The question that has been burning in my mind while I should have been is lesson planning is: WHO do I cosplay? I really want to do Miss All Sunday. I've got a black version of her outfit (coat, hat, and boots...ah, the boots...) but I've found it very difficult to find the lace up purple PVC halter top and matching skirt with white fringe. :) Suggestions anyone? I figured if I wanted to cop out, I could do Makino. She's sugoi easy.

BTW - I can't get your comments to work. Is it me?
:: 4:40 AM [+] ::

TaNUki will be updated in t-minus 8.5 hours. That`s right. At 0:01, 14/2/03, there will be an update. Synchronize your watches. Not that it`s a big deal - I just feel like making it seem like one. :)

I won`t hurt anyone that thinks I look like her. Just don`t expect an automatic A. You have to earn it. :)

You said HOOAH! XDDDDDD Lawd that brings back memories. I`m so excited to hear about your new fic ideas. Be prepared for me to annoy you constantly now. (Are you done yet? Are you done yet? Are you done yet?) You post, you pay.;)

So your thoughts of me and kuro are impossibly tangled like a ball of yarn a kitten has been playing with? XD Oh wait. Maybe that`s not so funny - he`s a mental case.

A fun new game at tang. I`ve got my entry ready. How about yours?

Dev, that would be a very roundabout way to give a death threat. Especially since she viewed it on her own. (grins) subtle AND effective. j/k

Hey you - you show me yours ( Y x Z ) and I`ll show you mine (my corruption of Tashigi that is.)

WAAAAAAHHHHHH - VIVI!
:: 2:16 AM [+] ::

Sylph - here`s a picture of the deer. Minna, Rising Sun has been updated so if you wanna see pictures of me around the world, go here. Shame, what`s that? :)

In other news, the 9th grade boys are all obsessed with the movie, Resident Evil aka Biohazard. They insist that I look like her. Let`s do that again. Me. Milla. Me. Milla. Aha. I think some people are looking for a better grade come next week`s finals.
:: 10:26 PM [+] ::

Stacey’s Giant OP Update
Merchandise – For a mere 3500 yen, you too can have a 56 cm Zoro, Luffy, Chopper or Sanji pillow. It’s got them in their sugoi sekushii black clothes from the summer sticker set, also modeled off of what they’re wearing on the cover of Red (but different poses). There’s a Nico plushie! It’s so cute! And the Luffy one is adorable too! He’s got his eyes all squinched up – it’s his shishishshi face. One Piece 27 is out in March too.

Future of Anime – up until March we have Jaya Island Arc. The anime pics they’ve put in Jump of Bellamy really highlights how frickin’ insane the guy is.

Movie - Coming out March 1st. Music done by Bump of Chicken "sailing days" (I think. I can't find the advert.) Guess who's gonna go see it? Guess who's gonna go see it? Muwahahahahaha!

Sunday’s episode – Now that we’ve safely navigated past filler land, we can GET ON WITH IT! The crew almost was capsized by a giant fallin’ boat. The boys went deep sea diving. Masira’s came to salvage. The boys and Masira got eaten by a giant sea turtle. Opinion - I think Masira’s voice should be much deeper since he’s a giant monkey. Next week’s ep – Nanja?! What’s this? Buggy?! ACE DA!! Be still my beating heart. That’s right. It appears that (skipaheadskipaheadskipahead) and we get to see our beloved crazy clown and older brother sooner rather than later. Omoshiree na!

The “Don’t Quote Me on This” Jump Review – Konisu, her dad, and Aisa are all on the Milky Road. Aisa can hear the voices of the people in the forest and is using her ‘power’ to help navigate towards the voices she hears – but there are fewer and fewer voices for her to follow and it’s scaring her.
The Sky Knight leaves the GMG. Nami is none too pleased and just as the Sky Knight disappears there is a big noise. Nami freaks and hides behind the unconscious bodies of Usopp and Sanji (^_^;;). It’s Konisu and everyone. Aisa tells everyone to keep their voices down and that she wants to leave this place right now. She threatens Nami, who calmly puts the impact dial gauntlet in the kid’s face and tells her to try it (Nami's going to be an excellent mother...). Konisu’s dad says that they were trying to get there before enemies found them, but it seems they were a bit late.
Cut to Yama and Nico – The reason Nico is taking a beating is because she’s trying to protect the ruins that she found. She admonishes him saying that he doesn’t understand the damage even a footprint could do to the ruins. She’s getting kind of angry and says that he has no idea what he’s started (she’s gonna hurt ya, Yama!)
Cut to Eneru – who’s doing the “I’m too cool to care if people are attacking me, look at me be bored, look at me yawn, look at my manly chest” evil overlord shtick. Neither a stake through the head nor vivisection phases Eneru – he shows off his lightning powers and a la a certain Sandman we knew, can’t really be hurt by silly things like ‘weapons.’ How can ‘lightning’ or acts of nature be injured by a human, Eneru asks his attacker. The guerilla flees. He hopes to warn Wiper that his attack will never succeed against Eneru, but Eneru cuts him off, asking him how he could hope to outrun lightning. Eneru uses a million volts and crispy fries the poor guy. It’s overkill and the bolt passes down the milky road, frying a few of Eneru’s priests and some guerillas as well. Eneru says that he can hear voices throughout the area. In two hours fifty six people have been eliminated from the ‘running.’ There are now only twenty five people left to battle each other – five pirates, seven warriors of Shandia, and a remaining 13 on the god’s side.

In other news - No, Dev, you have nothing to do with it. Assume automatically that when I am being a snob, I am not directing it to any small friendlies. Just to random strangers I know nothing about. :) I want you to keep writing! That's an order!

I am contemplating a Valentine's Day Update here. We'll see. I'll be sure to announce it on da blog if I do.
:: 1:34 AM [+] ::

In other exciting fic news, I put up another chapter of An Officer and a Gentleman on ff.net. I'll get around to uploading it to Tanuki later.

I've been browsing the selections on ff. net for the OP fic category, and maybe I'm a big old snob, but has the quality of new fics deteriorated as of late? I'm not referring to the old stuff that gets updated, but the brand spanking new ones. Opinions? Feel free to call me a snob. I can take it.
:: 5:40 AM [+] ::

Dev wrote an OP fic. It's at his site - Tangerine Daydreams. Go! Go!
:: 2:09 AM [+] ::

What's Your One Piece Doujinshi Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

:: 3:23 AM [+] ::

Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. "It is time," he said, "for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything."

Harry exploded. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN `TELL ME EVERYTHING`? WHAT LIFE-ALTERING PIECE OF INFORMATION HAVE YOU CONVENIENTLY OMITTED THIS TIME AROUND?"

Dumbledore was at a loss.

"WELL?!"

Dumbledore tried to calm the boy. "Harry, I realize you`re upset - "

Harry glared at the headmaster darkly. "You have no idea."

The Boy Who Lived stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Dumbledore asked.

"To go take over the world. It should be easy since I`ve defeated Voldemort about a billion and one times." The door shut with a dull thud and then it was silent.

"That didn`t go so well," Dumbledore mused aloud.

:: 3:04 AM [+] ::

Stacey gets an F

I got back my Japanese test today. I haven`t been studying the text whatsoever so I can`t blame anyone but myself. I was informed that my translation of "In the future, I hope to become a doctor" is not Isha ni watashi wa naru. I didn`t really believe it was the correct answer but I wanted to put down something. I was hoping to get half points. The really funny part though was that the test grader wrote in the margin: Please refrain from using pulp comics as a source of study material. Thank you. There was a smiley face too. Someone has a sense of humor.
:: 7:58 PM [+] ::

If once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny. Consume you it will... - Yoda`s observation on writing spam

I`m glad everyone liked the klone-age. I know it was, totally obvious, but I cannot keep my hands off that joke. I was torn between Cho-bacca and Choppa, Jen, and ultimately went with the latter. Dev - YEAH!

Just so you all know, I`m not exactly "taking a break" on the Smut, but I`m going to hold off for a bit. If you remember correctly, the original Smut publication schedule went like this - Stacey writes an arc, Stacey puts up an arc. Stacey writes another arc during a period of three to five months, Stacey puts up another arc. Contrary to popular belief, that wasn`t to torture anyone but to let me lace the story with plenty of re-occuring jokes, bad puns, and in general "plot" it out. Kohza: I like how you put plot in quotes. I don`t want to rush the the AU arc. It`s ripe for exploitation but if I`m pushing myself to get a chapter up a week, then the only people losing out are you, true believers.

WJ Synopsis:
Chopper begins this chapter screaming at the top of his lungs. "I'M A PIRATE!" Gedatsu lands in his own fog bog, but he's still alive and (assuming I understand this correctly) he escapes by going underneath the fog. Chopper thinks he's gone for good and gets ready to search for his friends and the gold. In the meantime, two of the guerillas have almost made it to the Giant Jack, a twisty beanstalk that leads to Eneru's Bachelor Pad of Doom (my expression, not Oda's.) Eneru has been waitin' for them. To paraphrase his final comment - "You're going to cook, you're going to burn and then you'll see...you'll believe in God."

Back to the GMG. Hotori and Kotori are still beating up on the very pulpy bodies of Usopp and Sanji. One of the brothers catches Nami and says "Impact" but instead of a blast, there's a horrible smell. That brother has a flavor dial with the 'flavor' of a fart on one hand. The two brothers have four different dials between them, Flame, Impact, Flavor, and Axe? They do a little dance, sing a little song and mix themselves up so that neither the Knight nor Nami know which is which. Nami throws a 'typhoon' at them, but misses. One of the brothers uses the "fart" dial again, but this time the gas is lit on fire, creating an explosion that blows the Sky Knight off. Or so they think. The wily old coot hung onto the side of the GMG. He executes a 10 point flip and guts Kotori. Then Hotori gets hit in the back of the head with the Cyclone Tempo. There's no rest for the weary - the Sky Knight predicts that Hotori will be up in a minute and tells Nami to put on his hand armor. It has an impact dial in it. Hotori comes back and Nami tricks him into using his flame, which she combines with a 'cool ball' to make a "fog tempo." This hides her long enough to get in Hotori's face (literally) and use the impact dial. Down goes another brother. Nami's final thoughts - "My arm was almost torn off, you stupid knight! But...I protected the ship and the crew!" Nami = the winner!

In the forest - Yama, the evil priest looms over Nico, who appears to be the worse for wear...

To Sylph - Where you going on vacation? huh huh? You bringing us back omiyage? huh huh? :) For the record, my kids think I'm insane. I cultivate that impression by offering automatic As to anyone who gives me OP/Miroku/Conan/Taki goods.

I'm proud too. I know I've been going through the "Comfort me and tell me I'm normal" stage, but if there was one thing I learned from Utena it was this. When Utena starts acting like everyone else, her best friend gets angry and tells her to stop. She says to Utena, "My normal is not YOUR normal." And that's what I hold onto. Normal is not a definition - it's a state of mind. If you got the moxy to carry it off, often you can expand another person's defintion of "normal." I'm a Lost Girl and I'm proud of it! (sticks out her tongue a la Shanks - the original Lost Boy!)

In other news, there is one less strike against my immortal soul. If only I can get the Vatican to say something about doujin...

:: 9:19 PM [+] ::

Lessee - the evil filler eps have passed and next week a ship falls on the Going Merry Go. Yeah! This week's chapter in Jump features Eneru (shudder) and Nami CLEANING UP! This is a highlight of Nami's general awesome-ness. Chapter summary will be up soon.

Speaking of stuff that's up - a new chapter of the ongoing Smut Saga is finished. The Star Wars alternate universe continues! Reins, your honey appears this time around.

Dev - if you could, I would love to see Chopper as who he portrays in the new chapter. I am also much intrigued by the fic you have coming up! Others bear with me as I make a quick digression for a fellow Lupin fan - How do I imagine him? Hmm. Well, I don`t imagine him as David Thewlis. And I don't imagine him as you do (though I don't think you need help.) I get the overpowering vision of tweed when I conjure Lupin in my head. That and really clipped brown hair tinged with grey. Genteel, well-groomed, and a little shabby - not shaggy though. That's all-Black (a joke for the rugby fans).

Sugoi na! Drunken Monkey is great! I don't know why you don't think it's impressive. I love Shanks - both of them! Scribble Shanks looks especially ferocious. (RAWR!) I'll keep an eye out for more physically disabled anime boys. There's got to be some more limbless wonders out there somewhere... I wasn't planning on another appearance of evil Tashigi, but since you asked so nicely I'll see what I can do. Do you want an evil Kuro/Tashigi or her doing an impression of someone else?

Another new layout! I like 'meditating Luffy' because it's so not him! As if he could sit down for three seconds like that. If your sister doesn't want to be your anime goods supplier of doom, I'll jump in. We could incorporate - I'll be the overseas buyer, you can be the distributor; between the two of us we will be rich! Rich I tell you! Muwahahahahaha! No - what would happen is that I would buy the stuff and then keep it. Sorry. Though I do dream of the day when I put all my anthologies (25+ O_o;;) up for sale. ($_$) - American Nami no mane!



:: 12:55 AM [+] ::

Look - the edit function worked again. And I added comments. Somehow. I think they work. Tell me if they work, minna. Sylph, shall we try a commenty ~tang? I imagine most of the comments will be along the line of OMG...WTF...what crack are these people smoking...etc. But hey, why not, right?
:: 12:13 AM [+] ::

I really shouldn't complain, but I'm gonna - today I found the One Piece World 2 Collection - it's SD charas. The 2nd Collection focuses on the Alabasta Arc. Yet who is missing from the SD lineup? That's right. My rebel. I see no justice in this. Why in gawd's name would someone want an SD Crocodile or Bon Clay or even (shudders) Arlong yet not want a cute lil Kohza? Heck - even a Pell or Chaka would make me happy. But no. I am forced to remain without any little figures of the revoluntionary. Sadness... But there is hope again. I finally got that Kohza keychain! YES! Happiness! (I'm taking pills for the the bi-polarity, promise.)

So yer a vodka girl, are ya? Ah, the nasty run-ins I've had with that stuff. No more screwdrivers for me, thank ye very much. Pass me a bottle of Olmeca any day - there ain't nothing like a Tequila Sunrise. Though if I'm remembering correctly you don't like that, do you?

I like both of your CNY doodles. I've never really celebrated it, but I'm marking it down because hey, the more holidays the better! I've officially adopted all the Japanese ones just because I'm living here so next year when I'm back in Amerika, I'll be sitting outside under the trees getting besotted during hanami though I don't think there are any cherry trees in Ohio. But who cares about that right? It's the thought that counts.

By the way, I want to tug on his braid too.

Speaking of obscure holidays - I get to teach about Groundhogs Day this week at school and my adult conversation class. I love introducing that holiday. It makes absolutely no sense and it's so much fun. Cuddly lil groundhogs! My JTE asked me what was the meaning behind it and I retorted, "What's the meaning behind Umi no Hi?" That startled him a bit though he rallied with, "At least the ocean's beautiful!" "But you can't make plushies out of the ocean!" I cried. I won. I usually do though.

And um when you put this up - trust me, I don't mind watching the face. Not a bit.
Sylph understands.

Has anyone heard of Gloomy the Bear? It's this little bear that has blood dripping from it's mouth and constantly ravages it's owner. It's sick but strangely amusing. Especially if you mix your button in with a bunch of cutesy other buttons. Then it's camoflagued and other people ooh and aah over all the cute ones and then they get to this bear covered in blood, eviscerating a little boy. Yes, I'm sick. I've realized this and moved on.

More random fangrrl stuff. I just finished the audiotapes to the Prisoner of Azkaban and that means we have a new INAPPROPRIATE GLOMP OF THE WEEK:

Today Stacey glomps on Remus Lupin! (care will be taken not to ruin any important plot points for those who haven't read PoA)

(Stacey knocks Remus Lupin on the ground in a particularly enthusiastic glomp.)
Lupin (in his dead sexy civil English accent): Excuse me. That was unnecessary.
Me: Lupin, you make me moony!
Lupin (dryly): Really.
:: 7:05 AM [+] ::