Here It Is! The Big One! Gulp! What Arii Saw!

This post just contains things that I want to remind myself to do in the future--not things like "Clean room" or "Take out garbage", but FUN stuff. Important stuff.

It might have other things too at some point, but for now it is just...

( The To-Do List of DoomCollapse )

Also, I've decided to start keeping a masterlist.

( My Prince of Tennis Fanfiction MasterlistCollapse )

( Rules of the LJ (read: Things To Expect From Me)Collapse )

I dunno how many of you have already heard of this, but I thought I would post about it anyway simply because of the OUTRAGE and HORROR.

http://civilinitiative.blogspot.com/2010/08/redbotton-issue-and-what-it-means-for.html

There is a faction of FF.net who have violated the ToS by creating a bot which scans stories for things that "break" the rules (mature words, script format, too many typos, etc) and then reports them automatically. Of course, it is a BOT, not a human, so a lot of innocent stories and authors get reported and removed--the example used in the article is that a 100,000 word fic might get reported because of a few typos scattered through its text. Thing is, the FF.net staff haven't done anything to stop this. Go read the article for full details.

If you think this is total bullshit and you feel like your constitutional right to freedom of misspelling is being impinged upon, I strongly encourage you to take action. Send a letter to the FF.net staff. Move your fics off, close your account, whatever you feel is best. Just don't stand by idly. I sent them a letter, applied for an open-beta account with Archive Of Our Own, and will be moving all my fics there within the next few days. I will then replace the text of all my FF.net fics with a note to that effect; I'm going to leave my account up as a historic "landmark" and as a way of informing anyone else who happens upon it about the discourtesy FF.net has been showing to its users.

So I don't have a roommate anymore.

Why is this? Because her parents submitted a roommate transfer request. Because of my sleep habits. Because she has epilepsy and needs 8 hours of sleep and I stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Don't get me wrong; I am not at all offended or angered by their reasoning. Their reasoning is completely sound and I do not question it in the slightest.

My offense stems from the fact that they did all this without talking to me about it. Without finding out if I were going to be willing to negotiate, compromise, or make concessions for the sake of her health.

I would have been more than happy to do so. I would have been DELIGHTED to help--in any way that I could--to keep her healthy and happy. She needs to sleep? Not a problem; the dorm lounge is a mere two doors down the hall! I have a nomadic laptop for a reason! Even if I didn't leave the room, I am generally quiet and I only need a small desk lamp to study.

In short, even if she asked me to clear out so she could sleep EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, I would have done so without question or hesitation, ESPECIALLY since her continued health and well-being was on the line. I would have done so HAPPILY.

But they just assumed that I was going to be a huge bitch about it.

I am only vaguely offended. However, I do kind of want to demand satisfaction on the field of honor, partly because I have always wanted to do that. I am just frustrated; it isn't the first time they've thought ill of me--did I mention that I haven't even met them yet?--and based on what my now-former-roommate told me about her family's religious beliefs, I am not entirely certain that she didn't relay to them some of what I told her about myself. I am not convinced this was not an excuse to get her with a more morally-acceptable roommate who doesn't have daring and sassy religious beliefs and premarital sex.

 

Yggdrasil
In Bottle-- Golden. very spicy. makes my nose tickle. strong woody scents--definitely pine.
Wet--Immediately begins mellowing. Becomes more balanced. Very fresh, clean scent, but not soapy like Sea of Glass. Smells very manly; would be a good cologne.
Drydown -- Whoa! Sparkly. Juniper? Still very fresh and clean; woodsy, outdoorsy. 
1 hour later -- mmm. It's rounded out a bit. Clean. Less woody, much more spice-and-foliage.
Next day--Faded version of the previous stage.

Eve
In Bottle--Clear. flowery; has this gone rancid? sickeningly sweet.
Wet -- Still rancid smelling. Am I smelling a touch of lilac? Begins smoothing out and becoming less sharp.
Drydown--There's something in it that's also in indian cuisine. Cardamom, I think? Rancid smell has nearly disappeared. Rosewater, jasmine?
1 hour later -- Not floral anymore. Smells like a lighter version of Yggdrasil. Also, baby powder. Blech.
Next day--Lasts stronger than I expected it to.

Cheshire Cat
In Bottle--pale yellow. Lemonade! and...lemon cake. and cinnamon, vaguely?
Wet-- Goes very subtle almost instantly. Yup. I have to hunt really hard to find it. Blah.
Drydown--WTF. It came back!! No more lemon at all, at that. Of course, once I start examining it, it fades away again. XP Honeysuckle?
1 hour later-- Nearly gone. Can't make out any distinguishing notes.
Next day--almost completely gone. I only have the faintest whiff left.

Kuang Shi
In Bottle--nearly clear. can't place the scent. can't identify any of the notes. Vaguely lemony.
Wet -- Gains a deeper, smokier aroma. Lemongrass. Milk tea. Some kind of candy...
Drydown -- Holy shit wtf. All spice/herb smells gone. OMG IT SMELLS LIKE PIXIE STIX. HAHHAHA. I swear to god! Cherry flavored pixie stix.
1 hour later-- Still pixie stix, lol, but slightly more subtle now.
Next day--...sandalwood. O.O Yup, sandalwood and that's about it. Man, I love sandalwood. No more pixie stix at all, just that one clear base note.

Galvanic Goggles
In Bottle--Deep golden. Metallic. Smells like a clean hotel room. Ozone. Sparkly.
Wet--Again, mellows out immediately. Very spicy; another good cologne. Incense. Mmm, manly men. Very multidimensional.
Drydown--Musky. Still has those metallic and sparkly notes; no longer smells like a hotel room. Of all the perfumes, this one stays truest to its bottle-scent. Like I said, mellows out and becomes very dusky and elegant. Woody notes?
1 hour later-- Mmmm. Still distinctive, but continues with subtle variations of elegancy.
Next day--Stays true. Changes least. Just fades gradually with time.

If you aren't fully shipping Shiraishi and Akaya by now, you need to go get high on the latest ShinPuri. Mmm, ecstasy.

In other news, I have named the Shiraishi/Akaya doubles team "Angel Pair" in the comment's of impressioniste's post on the subject. Spread the news, kids. Pass it on.

Woohoo! Dad just ordered Crowley and Aziraphale for me from BPAL as a good-grades present! *dance dance*

The wishlist has been replaced by a googledoc! Here it is!

Okay, I have three characters so far, and that's about it. They don't even have names yet, so I will refer to them as The Composer, The Brother, and The Best Friend.

Character Number 1, by far the most interesting, is a crazy, deaf composer. Due to a childhood magical mishap, he CONSTANTLY hears (what he thinks, at least, is) the Music of the Spheres. This is what drove him round the bend. He is obsessed with it and with somehow keeping a record of it. He is in a government mental institution.

(Note: I've had this idea for him for years, but when I told Carol about him, she said he reminded her of Scriabin. Having researched Scriabin and found out he's fucking BRILLIANT, I am going to model my composer slightly more after him. Scriabin had this masterwork called "Mysterium"--more a performance than a piece of music. Mysterium was to be played in the foothills of the Himalayas, and Scriabin required, among other things, "an orchestra, a mixed choir, an instrument with visual effects, dancers, a procession, incense, and rhythmic textural articulation," Some of the necessary instruments included church bells suspended from clouds. He also wrote, "The cathedral in which it will take place will not be of one single type of stone but will continually change with the atmosphere and motion of the Mysterium. This will be done with the aid of mists and lights, which will modify the architectural contours." Scriabin intended the Mysterium to be a seven-day long performance which would bring about the apocalypse. He's basically badass.)

Character Number 2 is the composer's older brother. It is his fault the Composer is there, because it was his magical mishap that caused his brother to be deaf to all but the Music. He is kind of secretive--he's not telling me much about himself--but he seems like a real sweetheart. He visits his brother as often as he can and sometimes brings him little presents (which the Composer doesn't notice). He has massive, massive guilt. I'm not sure what he does for a living, although I think he may be a scholar; in any case, it has something to do with magic.

Character Number 3 is the Brother's best friend. He's basically an onmyoji (in Japan's Heian era, onmyoji were civil servants who performed exorcisms, did geomancy, calculated auspicious days, and read fortunes). He knows what the Brother doesn't: The government mental institution where the Composer is for all intents and purposes imprisoned is actually a front for secret research about developing the ultimate magical weapon. Best Friend knows this and he knows that their highest hopes are for the Composer and his work. Best Friend of course cannot tell The Brother about this. Another thing The Brother doesn't know is that The Best Friend is in love with him.

I don't know what the plot is yet. I'd also like to have a Lord and a Loyal Retainer, but I'm not sure where to fit them in.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments?