(no subject)

[oyceter]

I am bored to death. Naturally, this is because I have too many things to do, none of which I actually want to do. Also, I think my brain has been mathed out, since I've been staring blankly at Fibonacci sequence problems for a good hour straight.

So, entertain me by making me entertain you!

I was going to make a poll, but I am so brain dead that I can't even think of good poll items. Tell me what to post about or posts/comments that you'd like to see!

(And for the knitters out there, new Knitty, new Magknits and the spring/summer Vogue Knitting preview are all up, yay! I am dying for the white lace things in VK already. And Elann currently has Rowan Tapestry on sale, which I've coveted for a while but don't know what to do with. Must go home to consult patterns.)

ETA: fixed link

Comments

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Yu Watase's manga. I bookmooched Alice 19th. Should I read it or sell it to Half Price unread? (I got sucked in by the pretty cover--I didn't realize it was the mangaka that did Absolute Boyfriend).

Your top ten favorite manga story kinks. (Could be novel story kinks, too, of course.)

Stories you read despite the awful art; stories you read because of the awesome art and in spite of the lousy story.

Your favorite vegetables. Mmm, food.

Any of these or none of these! :)

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

oyceter should totally post on novel story kinks, and then I could try using some of them. =^)

[oyceter]

Let's see... Yuu Watase. I don't mind her, but there's only so much of her I can read at a time, because she tends to reuse character types and plot elements. I liked how Alice 19th shifts her usually antagonistic relationships between best friends or sisters; it's still there, but there's more of an external reason and isn't "Girls are bitchy."

Top story kinks definitely needs its own post!

Veggies... hrm. I eat pretty much all of them, including the ones that are actually fruit! I like darker greens with a bit of a kick to them; generally I like lighter greens like cabbage or Napa lettuce or the like in casseroles or stir-fried. But the dark ones I like pretty much any which way.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Okay, I will give Alice 19th a try then. I really disliked Absolute Boyfriend, though now I do not remember why, just the sensation of gritting my teeth.

Mmm, darker greens. Here's that crazy Mizuna I was telling you about:
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=PS15475

My family is wild about it, and my mom says salads taste too bland now with anything else. It makes a great salad with just some olives and a bit of dressing. Mmm.

[oyceter]

Oh, hrm. Maybe not? Though Alice 19th has much less very obvious fanservice. There is a scene in the latter volumes that drove me insane though.

Mmmm, those look good! I love the really light salads with just a little olive oil and salt, where you can still taste the flavor of the leaves.

[oyceter]

Stories I read despite awful art: Naruto. Ok, the art's not awful, but it really bugged me in the first few volumes. It's better and cleaner now, but I still don't have that much love for it. Um. Probably some of the older, more classic stuff like Rose of Versailles. It's not ugly art, but it's an entirely different style that takes me a while to get used to. Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, because the beginning art was really just awful. Usually I do a quick scan of the art before I read, and if I don't like, I don't read unless it's highly recced.

Stories I read because of the awesome art, despite the story: Oh wow, now is when I realize how picky I am! I don't read much if I don't like the story at all, particularly if it has story squicks that drive me away (non-con, chan, bad power differentials that end up being squicky instead of hot, random pregnancy). But stuff that I've definitely enjoyed out of proportion to the story quality: early xxxHolic, when it was all the one offs. It wasn't bad, but it didn't suck me in, and yet, I kept shelling out money because it was so gorgeous! Tsubasa, despite some of the endless fight scenes. Bleach, despite some of the endless fight scenes and continual sidelining of the female characters. Um.. Rikara in scans -- this one even hit a few squicks at times, but it was so pretty.

And now I can't think of anything else! I guess one shots tend to slip my mind pretty fast...

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I couldn't get into Naruto because of the art and the story seemed too simple.

I'm with you on xxxHolic. So pretty, but so shallow in the first volumes. Now it's got me though. Yuko is one of my favorite characters. I confess I just look at Tsubasa and never read the story, heh. Bleach...I have a real love/hate thing going with Bleach. The art is so awesome, but the fighting is so damn boring.

I'm almost afraid to ask what 'chan' is. Fortunately I have not run across any random pregnancy. I did nearly sear my eyes out with a Harlequin manga printed in pink ink at the Half Price this morning though.

[oyceter]

Oooo! Naruto is really good!

I know, it took me a while to read it too, and I only did because rachelmanija and rilina kept reccing it. I'm not sure if it's to your taste; it is pretty shounen. But Kishimoto is really good at repeating visual themes and imagery and layering significance, kind of like Minekura, and the story gets better and better as it goes on. It doesn't really get interesting until vol. 5 (!!) though, and it doesn't hit my absolute favorite parts until around vol. 30 or so (!!!).

Ah Bleach. I love you so much, and yet... I tolerated a lot of it, just because I liked Kubo's art that much.

I am so glad xxxHolic is excellent all around now! I adore what they've been doing with Watanuki, and the art is of course still gorgeous.

"Chan" is basically underaged stuff, yay? Um... yes.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't make it to volume 5! I will have to try it again and keep going past 5. I do love ninjas, it just wasn't doing much for me at the time.

Kubo's art is something else. I am just in awe of his inks. But the story, meh. I just get attached to a character and they go spend time on someone else, whacking at things.

"Chan." Oh, ick. I couldn't make it through MeruPuri even though the art was freaking amazing. That'll show me for grabbing random stuff from the YA shelves.

[octopedingenue]

I cling to the faint hope that since Aram in Merupuri apparently had his heart directly underneath the center of his sternum(!), his wacky other-dimensional species means he is legally an adult at age 7. Um.

I'll just be over here with the pretty art, not writing fanfic.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Wacky other-dimensional species, yup. His parents had a hundred-year age difference, ne?

[octopedingenue]

YES!

his suspicious sudden onset of puberty-hormone-driven behavior = totally legitimate


Poor Merupuri, all worldbuilt up and nowhere to go.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

If I were ever to write MeruPuri fanfic WHICH I AM NOT, it would be about how they are all Sekritly Elves. Because? They are.

[oyceter]

Almost you make me want to read it! Almost....

[octopedingenue]

It has sexy angsty amnesia! [/pimp]

[oyceter]

And yet! The underage-ness!

[oyceter]

Five is the start of the chuunin exams, which are pretty funny and good. I was really confused at first, because Kishimoto introduces a boatload of new characters and I suck suck suck at remembering them, much less what their names are, what teams they are on, what their super secret ninja skills are, and what they look like. Thankfully, you don't actually need to know anything about the new characters; Kishimoto will reintroduce all of them later and much more memorably, and now I love all of them, which is a little scary because there are over ten!

And on the plus side, it makes me want to reread because now I know who everone is.

Kubo's inks! Gaaaah. Also, Kubo's grumpy chibis! But yeah, I have found it is bad to be attached to any characters, as he will introduce boatloads more and (unlike Kishimoto) often forget to make you care about them.

[octopedingenue]

I've found it a lot easier to keep track of the characters in Naruto who I DON'T love, only that goes when to hell when they get all complex and sympathetic!