grrr and poll

There was no "attempted delivery" slip in my mailbox. I am going to be generous and say that he did not realize he missed my stop for packages, and will bring it tomorrow. If it's my normal mailman, that probably IS what happened. But there's been a different guy a few times lately, so who knows. I REALLY hope I don't have to print of the USPS webpage tomorrow and go haggle and beg for info and a box despite my lack of slip.

ANYWAY!!!!

After I finish the Pierce quartet, I think I will read another Patricia McKillip and then a brick or two. "Brick," though, is really overstating it, as, while I few really ARE bricks, they're more books that will at least take me two or three solid sittings, and a few are omnibuses. ANYWAY! The f-list knows all, and is a wondrous thing for a person with too many options to have, and so:

[Poll #1206123]

grrr and poll

There was no "attempted delivery" slip in my mailbox. I am going to be generous and say that he did not realize he missed my stop for packages, and will bring it tomorrow. If it's my normal mailman, that probably IS what happened. But there's been a different guy a few times lately, so who knows. I REALLY hope I don't have to print of the USPS webpage tomorrow and go haggle and beg for info and a box despite my lack of slip.

ANYWAY!!!!

After I finish the Pierce quartet, I think I will read another Patricia McKillip and then a brick or two. "Brick," though, is really overstating it, as, while I few really ARE bricks, they're more books that will at least take me two or three solid sittings, and a few are omnibuses. ANYWAY! The f-list knows all, and is a wondrous thing for a person with too many options to have, and so:

[Poll #1206123]

I'll keep him...we already know he likes short girls.

The Best Bleach Boyfriend for You Your Result: Abarai Renji   You want a man from the wrong side of the tracks who has clawed his way to get where he is now -- on top of the world. Don't let his tattoos and his wild hair fool you -- he's a softie at heart even if he's a fierce warrior. If you give him a chance, he will be your best friend and your lover, all rolled into one hot package. Trying to give his wardrobe a makeover will never work, though, so simply accept his wacky sense of style -- including the yellow Chappy shirt paired with bellbottoms.
Kurosaki Ichigo
Ukitake Jushiro
Hitsugaya Toshiro
Yasutora Chad
Kisuke Urahara
Kuchiki Byakuya
Ishida Uryu
The Best Bleach Boyfriend for You See All Our Quizzes

I'll keep him...we already know he likes short girls.

The Best Bleach Boyfriend for You Your Result: Abarai Renji   You want a man from the wrong side of the tracks who has clawed his way to get where he is now -- on top of the world. Don't let his tattoos and his wild hair fool you -- he's a softie at heart even if he's a fierce warrior. If you give him a chance, he will be your best friend and your lover, all rolled into one hot package. Trying to give his wardrobe a makeover will never work, though, so simply accept his wacky sense of style -- including the yellow Chappy shirt paired with bellbottoms.
Kurosaki Ichigo
Ukitake Jushiro
Hitsugaya Toshiro
Yasutora Chad
Kisuke Urahara
Kuchiki Byakuya
Ishida Uryu
The Best Bleach Boyfriend for You See All Our Quizzes

my new manga/anime tower, let me show it to you

The mailman showed up with my box.  Apparently, he is new.  At least, he looks about 20 and scurried away quickly.  ANYWAY!  MY TOWER!  LET ME DESCRIBE IT TO YOU!

(No, the last tower of Things Megan Has Nowhere To Put is not gone yet.  Shush.   She will be good for a while after this.)

( clicky! )

my new manga/anime tower, let me show it to you

The mailman showed up with my box.  Apparently, he is new.  At least, he looks about 20 and scurried away quickly.  ANYWAY!  MY TOWER!  LET ME DESCRIBE IT TO YOU!

(No, the last tower of Things Megan Has Nowhere To Put is not gone yet.  Shush.   She will be good for a while after this.)

( clicky! )

*watches first episode of Claymore anime*

 Random thoughts:

1.  The manga's art style transfers surprisingly well to anime.

2.  Am in love with how they do the gold and silver eyes:



3.  Raki seems to be drawn older in the anime than he i in the manga, at least early on.  (Though it's never actually said, I got the impression a couple years passed in the first arc of the manga...at least, he looked a lot older in Pieta than he did at the beginning.)

( 4. SPOILERISH FOR CURRENT MANGA CHAPTER )

5. THINGS MOVE TOO FREAKING FAST TO CAP HALF THE TIME!

Not sure how much I'll blog on it*, as I think I've done fairly detailed blogging on the entire manga this year, but we'll see.  There'll probably be anime-original stories mixed in.

*Except for Clare's origin.  I am totally detailing out Clare's origin just o everyone can properly understand the sheer levels of epic shounen angst.  Off the top of my head, very few can match Clare for Origin Angst.  Also, all bets are kinda off once Miria, Helen and Deneve show up...

*watches first episode of Claymore anime*

 Random thoughts:

1.  The manga's art style transfers surprisingly well to anime.

2.  Am in love with how they do the gold and silver eyes:



3.  Raki seems to be drawn older in the anime than he i in the manga, at least early on.  (Though it's never actually said, I got the impression a couple years passed in the first arc of the manga...at least, he looked a lot older in Pieta than he did at the beginning.)

( 4. SPOILERISH FOR CURRENT MANGA CHAPTER )

5. THINGS MOVE TOO FREAKING FAST TO CAP HALF THE TIME!

Not sure how much I'll blog on it*, as I think I've done fairly detailed blogging on the entire manga this year, but we'll see.  There'll probably be anime-original stories mixed in.

*Except for Clare's origin.  I am totally detailing out Clare's origin just o everyone can properly understand the sheer levels of epic shounen angst.  Off the top of my head, very few can match Clare for Origin Angst.  Also, all bets are kinda off once Miria, Helen and Deneve show up...

new xxxHolic chapter?

Guys, is there an new xxxHolic chapter out that I've missed?  I keep seeing references to one, but haven't seen it anywhere. 

new xxxHolic chapter?

Guys, is there an new xxxHolic chapter out that I've missed?  I keep seeing references to one, but haven't seen it anywhere. 

Circle of Magic: Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce

The final book of the quartet is, as I was told, more about the title character and less of an ensemble than the other books were. This actually makes good narrative sense, as separating Briar from the girls serves to emphasize the bond between the four, but it was a bit jarring after the first three books. I do really like Briar, though, and even though it’s very much a cliché, I tend to like the trope of the street rat being told to pick a birthday by his new friends. The plague aspect was interesting, and I liked that we also got to see more of the teachers, and learn about their pasts.

The quartet didn’t quite live up to how much Pierce has been built up to me, but I’m also told it isn’t one of her best. I liked the friendship aspect, and the magic bond between the four and how it was explored, as well as the different types of magic, and how they were directly tied to commonplace things. I have to ask, though: does Pierce always have a character like Tris, who she pushes really, really hard? Not so much Tris herself, but a character that’s pushed so hard. Because, while it’s probably a bit hypocritical of me, I probably would have liked Tris a lot more if I wasn’t expected to like her so much.

Circle of Magic: Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce

The final book of the quartet is, as I was told, more about the title character and less of an ensemble than the other books were. This actually makes good narrative sense, as separating Briar from the girls serves to emphasize the bond between the four, but it was a bit jarring after the first three books. I do really like Briar, though, and even though it’s very much a cliché, I tend to like the trope of the street rat being told to pick a birthday by his new friends. The plague aspect was interesting, and I liked that we also got to see more of the teachers, and learn about their pasts.

The quartet didn’t quite live up to how much Pierce has been built up to me, but I’m also told it isn’t one of her best. I liked the friendship aspect, and the magic bond between the four and how it was explored, as well as the different types of magic, and how they were directly tied to commonplace things. I have to ask, though: does Pierce always have a character like Tris, who she pushes really, really hard? Not so much Tris herself, but a character that’s pushed so hard. Because, while it’s probably a bit hypocritical of me, I probably would have liked Tris a lot more if I wasn’t expected to like her so much.

Kingdom of the Winds Vol 1

Man, that manhwa was dense.

KotW is a fantasy retelling of the life of Muhyul, the grandson of Jumong and the third emperor of Goguryeo (ancient Korea.) His father, King Yuri, is cruel and hateful and suspicious of his children, constantly belittling and accusing them. On the same night Muhyul’s wife, Yeon, goes into labor with their first child, his older brother, Haemyung (also called Yeojin…it flip flops back and forth between names) disappears. Muhyul leaves Yeon in the care of his older sister, Seryu, a warrior hated by their father for her ability to control birds, to find Haemyung, but a tortiose spirit named Sagu, and Enemy of Jumong’s, steals Haemyung away and drowns him. This catapults Muhyul’s life into a new level of political intrigue, as his father now has a new weapon to use against him, and he’s now short one ally. There’s also his father’s concubine, who rules him, and Goeyu, Haemyung’s general who is now loyal to Muhyul and seems to have formed a partnership with Seryu.

The book seems to be amazingly researched and historically researched, but between that and the mythology, there are mass infodumps that take up a lot of the book. Sometimes, it was hard to keep up and keep everything straight, especially given how quickly the plot is moving so far. The infodumps were daunting, but then there are things like the fact that Seryu seems to be able to bend any mystic force to her will (maybe the king is right to be afraid…) Haemyung’s ghost apparently binding itself to Hodong (Muhyul’s son) as a guardian spirit, vengeful ancient spirits, and all sorts of mythic beasts. Not to mention the mass collisions of cute that are the flashbacks of Muhyul and Yeon’s pre-angsty-crown-prince-and-his-true-love days.

I wish the mangaka (manhwaka?) wasn’t cramming so much into the book at once, but I’m very curious to see where the story goes. Even if I could probably get the gist of it just by looking Muhyul up on wikipedia. 

Kingdom of the Winds Vol 1

Man, that manhwa was dense.

KotW is a fantasy retelling of the life of Muhyul, the grandson of Jumong and the third emperor of Goguryeo (ancient Korea.) His father, King Yuri, is cruel and hateful and suspicious of his children, constantly belittling and accusing them. On the same night Muhyul’s wife, Yeon, goes into labor with their first child, his older brother, Haemyung (also called Yeojin…it flip flops back and forth between names) disappears. Muhyul leaves Yeon in the care of his older sister, Seryu, a warrior hated by their father for her ability to control birds, to find Haemyung, but a tortiose spirit named Sagu, and Enemy of Jumong’s, steals Haemyung away and drowns him. This catapults Muhyul’s life into a new level of political intrigue, as his father now has a new weapon to use against him, and he’s now short one ally. There’s also his father’s concubine, who rules him, and Goeyu, Haemyung’s general who is now loyal to Muhyul and seems to have formed a partnership with Seryu.

The book seems to be amazingly researched and historically researched, but between that and the mythology, there are mass infodumps that take up a lot of the book. Sometimes, it was hard to keep up and keep everything straight, especially given how quickly the plot is moving so far. The infodumps were daunting, but then there are things like the fact that Seryu seems to be able to bend any mystic force to her will (maybe the king is right to be afraid…) Haemyung’s ghost apparently binding itself to Hodong (Muhyul’s son) as a guardian spirit, vengeful ancient spirits, and all sorts of mythic beasts. Not to mention the mass collisions of cute that are the flashbacks of Muhyul and Yeon’s pre-angsty-crown-prince-and-his-true-love days.

I wish the mangaka (manhwaka?) wasn’t cramming so much into the book at once, but I’m very curious to see where the story goes. Even if I could probably get the gist of it just by looking Muhyul up on wikipedia.