Dagger

Angels we have heard on high, laughing softly through the night. What ghostly sweetness lingers here is honey dripped to needy lips and dried, a film that clings long after tangled limbs entwine. Halves of halves. Heated remnants together lock complete the fated puzzle. Minutes pass in silence as the sweat trails from your temple to your chin. There my tongue tastes dampened skin and salt, there our rage grows manifest, the descending Word at last becoming flesh.

In terms of presents, this is nearly the best Christmas I've ever had--second only to last year, when I unexpectedly received a PS2. I got: --[b]The Da Vinci Code[/b] by Dan Brown [book] --[b]Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind: Perfect Collection[/b] by Hayao Miyazaki [set of four graphic novels] --[b]A Game of Thrones[/b] by George R. R. Martin [the first volume in a fantasy series] --[b]Traitor's Moon[/b] by Lynn Flewelling [the last volume in a fantasy series] --[b]RahXephon Bible[/b] by Yukata Izubuchi [anime artbook] --[b]The Adventures of Indiana Jones[/b] [DVD box set containing the entire trilogy, plus a separate disc of bonus material] --[b]Kiki's Delivery Service[/b] [DVD] --[b]Clicked Singles Best 13[/b] by L'Arc~En~Ciel [CD] --[b]Return of the King Soundtrack[/b] [CD] --[b]Return of the King[/b] [video game] While few of these gifts were surprising, since I had specifically asked for many of them, I'm still incredibly happy and satisfied. I can only hope that everyone's day ends up being as good as mine has been thus far. ~Dagger~

You are a secret unto yourself. Come to me and let my hands remake you, Let them form your soul into a shape familiar. We will burn the darkness from your skin, We will tear the shadows from your hair. Be light, my love. Open eyes so blue That the ocean's waters shiver, flowing cold with grief At having glimpsed your beauty. Be light, my love, golden and radiant, A travelling star, a heated touch, your face Flush against my skin. What warmth can we derive when words on paper turn to dust And my tongue tastes love like ash? I know you to be something bright and shining-- Above the knitted clouds lies a ferocity of light.

Only you could write a Christmas poem that's so wonderfully sweet--and yet not sappy in the slightest. The stanzas flow nicely; as I read it, I can almost imagine it being sung. I particularly like the third verse. Its last two lines ("To release our salty memoirs of tragedy upon/ Someone to listen to our melancholic song") are very lyrical, and the idea of tears being "salty memoirs" really stuck with me. This is an uplifting work, both bittersweet and hopeful: I enjoyed reading it more than I can say. You have a lovely way with words, my dear. ^__^ ~Dagger~

As I've already told K.K.C., I absolutely love your Pippin banner. It's cute and funny, and the font looks fantastic. All of the images you used are high-quality and impeccably cropped; my only complaint is that Pippin seems somewhat grim--a picture of him grinning in that kooky way of his might go better a bit with the humorous text. Great work! ^_^ ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B]Good literature comes through many, many revisions; many, many writers re-write entire books in the editing/publishing process. My fiction workshop professor has explained that if you have a good line, don't worry, it will come back in somewhere. So, yes. Never should we be totally satisfied with something written in the span of one minute or five. It just doesn't work that way. [/B][/QUOTE] I hope that this isn't considered getting off-topic. I just wanted to expand on what you said, because in my experiences as a writer, I've found it to be wholly true. There have been times in which I've come up with numerous pages of beautifully written crap, and been reluctant to alter them [i]because[/i] they were filled with good lines. Yet a collection of good lines won't ever amount to something more without significant revision. No matter how much I like something I've created on the spot, once the glow has faded and I sit down to seriously re-read it, I usually find a ton of things that could use some tweaking. ~Dagger~

He asked me to wrap the present in his stead. Perhaps he's inept, or perhaps those folds demand a woman's touch. I'm far from graceful--I trip and smile and come up blushing. Shame burns, no matter how slight, as do derisive stares. But now my hands are clever, delicate, swift like a surgeon's, smooth-moving as any pianist's. No matter that I quit playing years ago. I tell you this is a different music, softly crackling paper and a carefully chosen gift. He still peers over my shoulder, an anxious child at forty-six, not even trusting his own daughter to get it right, to press the paper flat and make it shimmer, graceful beneath the Christmas lights.

Well, I can't speak for the tastes of others, but I [i]can[/i] mention some of the anime DVDs that were included in my Christmas list. 1. Fruits Basket-- After several months of watching very weighty, serious shows (RahXephon, Boogiepop Phantom, and Voices of a Distant Star, to name a few), I've become eager to see some lighter fare. Since Fruits Basket is rumored to be one of anime's best romantic comedies, and since it's significantly cheaper than many twenty-six episode series, I decided that it couldn't hurt to check it out. 2. Now and Then, Here and There-- Well, as wonderful as shoujo is, I'll never grow truly tired of death, destruction, and tragedy. This thirteen episode show promises to deliver fully on all three fronts. Plus, it comes in a relatively inexpensive box set, and the reviews I've read seem to indicate that it provides plenty of food for thought. There's nothing I love more than anime that demands to be re-watched, no matter how emotionally wrenching it may be. 3. Big O-- When the first season of Big O aired on Cartoon Network, I liked its characters and style, but thought that its plot was slightly lacking. Its mind-bending second season proved me wrong, and I can't wait to watch the series on DVD and figure out just what happened in that bizarre last episode. ~Dagger~

K.K.C., I [i]love[/i] your new banner. Great stuff. [spoiler]Actually, Pippin's encounter with the palantir takes place toward the middle of The Two Towers. After the Ents finish destroying Saruman's domain, Gandalf marches up to the foot of Orthanc and demands that he reveal himself. Grima Wormtongue (Saruman's servant) scurries off to fetch him, and soon the company below (which includes Pippin, Merry, Theoden, and the dynamic trio--Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli) hears a beautiful, enchanting voice. This is, of course, Saruman attempting to persuade them that he's actually on the side of good. He nearly succeeds, but Theoden resists the wizard's arguments, and Gandalf then proceeds to kick major ***. The following passage is my favorite part of this particular scene: "'Come back, Saruman!..... I did not give you leave to go,' said Gandalf sternly. 'I have not finished. You have become a fool, Saruman, and yet pitiable. You might still have turned away from folly and evil, and have been of service. But you choose to stay and gnaw the ends of your old plots. Stay then! But I warn you, you will not easily come out again. Not unless the dark hands of the East stretch out to take you. Saruman!' he cried, and his voice grew in power and authority. 'Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no colour now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council.' He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a cold clear voice. 'Saruman, your staff is broken.' There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf's feet." As Saruman crawls away, defeated, Wormtongue spitefully hurls the palantir from an upper window, unaware of its true value. Pippin runs after it and picks it up.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

Saiyuki (which I've never actually seen) has one of the best opening themes I've ever heard. It's an upbeat song called "For Real" with fantastic guitar solos and a powerful rock-and-roll sound--which really makes it stand out, since most anime OPs are very J-poppy. "For Real," which is sung by the wonderfully talented Tokuyama Hidenori, is incredibly catchy and simply doesn't grow old, no matter how many times you hear it. I originally discovered this song because one of my RahXephon DVDs featured a Saiyuki preview as one of its extras. Although I have little interest in watching Saiyuki, I found myself playing the preview over and over again, just to listen to "For Real." ~Dagger~

I've heard of Mirage of Blaze, and although I'm interested in watching it, I'm not quite sure that the series would be worth my money. I already own one series (Descendants of Darkness) with strong shonen-ai overtones but no actual relationships; unless Mirage of Blaze is incredibly original and artistically stunning, I see no reason to go broke for its sake. Something else that concerns me are MoB's character designs--they look strikingly similar to X-TV's, and I suspect that the latter probably has better better animation. But please do describe the show's positive characteristics for me. I've heard that its reincarnation storyline is very well done, and I'd like to know more about it. ~Dagger~

Thanks for replying, G/S/B Master. This RPG is going to be awfully lonely with just the two of us.... hopefully more people will show up soon. _______________________________________ Oblivious to the fact that she had company, Miyuki whirled around to bid Mr. Black adieu. He eyed her warily and seemed ready to take refuge in his car, but she trotted toward him, grinning wickedly, and planted a resounding kiss on the old man's bald pate. "See you later!" the girl called. Her grin shifted to a rather evil smirk as she observed the way he unceremoniously dropped her luggage and scrambled back into the driver's seat, still blushing sheepishly. "That's no way to treat a lady's bags," Miyuki grumbled good-naturedly. She stood and waved as the black Mercedes sped away, then gathered her things and marched back up to the mansion's front door. Magiku raised his eyebrows. If she could carry all that on her own, the blue-haired girl must be quite a strong young woman--which was more than a little surprising. Her body seemed so slender that it threatened to snap in two at the slightest provocation. Miyuki finally sensed that she wasn't alone, and turned sharply, tilting her head to the side as she scrutinized the dark-robed figure who stood at her side. "You know," she said curiously, piling her baggage on the stoop, "Er... you know your eyes are glowing, right?"

Now for a slight change of subject. The man who plays Saruman (Christopher Lee) was apparently very upset that all his scenes--[spoiler]including the part where Grima kills him[/spoiler]--were cut. I didn't even realize this until after I walked out of the theater. I [i]was[/i] a wee bit disappointed that Peter Jackson altered one of my favorite parts of RotK: when Pippin finds the palantir and Saruman proves unable to stand up to Gandalf's challenge. It makes for a really exciting and dramatic couple of pages, and I'd been looking forward to seeing it in movie form. Ah, well--perhaps it'll show up in the extended DVD. So here's my question. In Return of the King, is the lack of Saruman's evil (albeit somewhat impotent, given that the ents have destroyed all his handiwork) presence a good thing or a bad thing? ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by JazzLady22 [/i] [B]Anyways, one of my favorite parts was [spoiler] probably when Pippin was singing. I'm just the biggest sucker for all that emotion and angst that went into it, plus he had a gorgeous tenor voice. More innapropriate laughing, I guess some idiots thought his voice was girly. I could have done without the close-up shots of Denethor eating... even though they screamed visual symbolism... [/spoiler] [/B][/QUOTE] That was by far my favorite scene in the entire movie. [spoiler]Denethor's gluttony didn't exactly whet my appetite, but then, it was better than the part when Gollum tore into a raw, hideously juicy fish. Like you mentioned, there was so much symbolism to be gleaned from the juxtaposition of Pippin's beautiful voice, Denethor eating, and Faramir riding into battle. My mom and I actually had a pretty long discussion about that after the movie--one of her first comments was that the red stuff dribbling down Denethor's chin bore a close resemblance to blood.[/spoiler] Ugh, I hate it when people laugh at inappropriate moments. Although I couldn't help chuckling myself when the movie began with a scene of two blissfully peaceful hobbits, and it became obvious that at least half the audience had no idea what was going on. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by CompletelyRando [/i] [B]--EDIT-- In retrospect I see I sound somewhat like a pompous ***. I'll kepp the post as it is anyway. [/B][/QUOTE] [i]Somewhat[/i].....? I must say, CR, that was unnecessarily vitriolic. At first, I was under the impression that you were speaking in jest, but your edit made me think otherwise. Insults are all and well, but you didn't say why you preferred the original version of "Syk3's Biatch," which ended up making your post sound almost like a personal attack. Which of course it wasn't, since I know you're a cool guy and all. Certain types of insults can be entertaining and educational. Yours weren't either. Anyway, Shin--I love it, as you already know. I think that the fact that the text is handwritten makes it funnier. It's legible, but just barely, and that adds to the "goofy, lighthearted, weird"-ness of the banner/avatar combo. ~Dagger~

Well, no one else was posting, and I got impatient. Yay for tearing people to shreds. ^_^; _____________________________ Miyuki yawned luxuriously, her hands pressing up into the roof of the car as she stretched. Relaxing, she leaned forward to peer curiously at her chauffeur: a pudgy, balding little man who tolerated her antics with a grim sort of resolution. "Mr. Black, are we there yet?" The girl insisted on calling him "mister," for no reason other than to poke fun at his sense of propriety. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead. "We've only just passed the main gate, Miss. I expect that the driveway will be rather long." She sighed heavily and unbuckled her seatbelt with a rather dramatic flourish. "I should hope so. It is a mansion, after all." The rest of their drive passed in silence, interrupted only by Miyuki's wriggling--would she [i]ever[/i] learn to keep still?--and the swaying trees outside. It was a gray, abnormally windy day, and Mr. Black occasionally worried that a tree might topple onto his precious Mercedes, crushing both it and its exasperating cargo. "Jesus!" Miyuki pressed her nose to the window, green eyes glittering. "That's one hell of a big house." "Indeed," her chauffeur muttered. A hint of relief had begun to creep into his voice. In less than fifteen minutes, he would be rid of his employer's exuberant, blue-haired daughter. He simply wasn't capable of handling her, and had nearly resigned himself to that unfortunate fact. As the car pulled to a stop, Miyuki leapt out, her skirt flying. Mr. Black turned red as a beet and mentally begged the girl to stop wearing such [i]immodest[/i] underwear. There was only so much temptation that an old man--no matter how virtuous--could take.

One of my favorite moments in RotK takes place towards the end of the Battle of Pelennor Fields, when [spoiler]Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf and everyone else are relaxing after a long and difficult fight. The area seems to be relatively calm--at least until the camera pans out. In the background, you then see Aragorn's ghost army turn a stray oliphant into a living mosh pit. They simply sweep over it, knocking it to the ground as though it weighs little more than a feather.[/spoiler] That had me laughing for about ten minutes. Peter Jackson has a sly sense of humor that shows up again and again throughout the three films, and I rarely grow tired of LotR's little jokes. ~Dagger~

Interesting indeed. Read or Die's storyline is rather quirky and over-the-top--to say the least--and I'm willing to bet that certain people would be turned off by its relative lack of realism. I personally found the OAV very amusing. Its artwork and engaging characters allowed me to suspend my disbelief and simply enjoy the ride.... humor, drama, bizarre enemies and all. Am I, by any chance, the only person who saw strong shoujo-ai hints between Yomiko Readman and Nancy Makahari (the two main characters)? ~Dagger~

Another great Yoko Kanno song is "Hemispheres," RahXephon's OP. Although the singer's breathy voice can grow slightly annoying after multiple listens, this doesn't take away from the fact that "Hemispheres" is really a lovely piece of work. Its soft vocals and energetic techno beats remind me of "Obsession" from .hack//SIGN, which also happens to be on my list of favorite theme songs. ~Dagger~

It's so late that the pages' words seem to rise and burn themselves into my eyes, but I want more. I thus wander my way through this smooth-bound book, enjoying its scent, its soft rustling sound. My hands have made the paper warm, the same sort of warmth that's found in fresh laundry and other fleeting comforts. I'm eager to know whether the worlds constructed in glass are falling down, if their ethereality will sucuumb to grimy earth. Ideals crumble unto dust. Man becomes ash, and woman too, sometimes separate, though I've seen graves adjoined like two rooms at a cheap hotel, nary a lock between them.

Ever since it was first released in North America (sometime last spring), ROD has been one of my favorite anime titles. For those of you who don't know, Read or Die is a three-episode OAV that revolves around bizarre superpowers, secret agents, and a couple of surprisingly powerful rare manuscripts. Although it's fairly violent and features quite a bit of fan service, ROD is no more inappropriate than, say, a Bond film. And despite its oddities--for example, the main character is a bookworm who fights solely by using her ability to manipulate paper--the OAV has a lighthearted, almost cute atmosphere that makes it instantly loveable. Read or Die also has the most innovative and interesting action sequences that I've ever seen. It doesn't hurt that its animation is very smooth, slick, and modern-looking; when it was first created, ROD was (and may still be) the most expensive OAV ever made. This shows in everything from its detailed backgrounds to its sheer originality. So if you've had the chance to watch this and feel like discussing it... well, you know what to do. ^_^ ~Dagger~

Hmm.... I doubt that I'll end up keeping any of these, but it's worth a try, right? 1. Actually be honest about my feelings for once, and stop avoiding confrontations. In other words, get up the nerve to have a few much-needed discussions with my on-and-off boyfriend. 2. Work harder in school--most subjects come naturally to me, but my laziness in those that don't is really starting to affect my grades. 3. As many other aspiring writers have said previously in this thread, I'd like to finish some of the stories I'm working on, rather than allow myself to become overly distracted by other things in my life. 4. Improve my split time in crew. On our team's next 2k test, I plan to do significantly better than I did last year. That's all I can think of on the spot. I'm sure I'll be able come up with more lofty goals later. ;P ~Dagger~

I've been making a lot of RahXephon-related banners lately. Although I'm close to finishing a number of them, this is the first that I feel satisfied with.... I just can't decide whether or not it would look better if I de-saturated it a bit. ~Dagger~

Cicadas' cracking shells, they rattle dry and fall to shatter in the dusk--those withered husks of summer, ground beneath an errant heel. Powder now, they bear the scent of time so thick that dust on asphalt reeks of age, and footsteps coated in cicadas' remnants blow away with winter's musty air. Think of insects when the instinct stirs within your breast to scatter, to disperse your feelings on the wind. Think of angels drifting slowly toward the soil, mayflies borne aloft by lacy wings.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Conna_da_fox [/i] [B][size=1][color=darkblue] I loved this one along with all the others. Haha [spoiler]I loved seeing Shauron(sp?) be beaten by a girl! But I thought he was beaten rather easily, I mean, he should have been more powerful.[/spoiler][color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] [spoiler]Just so you know, that wasn't Sauron himself--it was merely his head minion, the Witch-King of Angmar. The Witch-King is also, incidentally, the guy who stabbed Frodo on Weathertop. He's nowhere near as powerful as Lord Sauron, but he [i]is[/i] the leader of the Nazgul/Black Riders, so the fact that Eowyn was able to defeat him speaks volumes about her strength and courage. Sauron has no body; he can only be seen in the form of a flaming eye. The only way to destroy him is to destroy the Ring.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~