There's a trailer up for the new live-action Sukeban Deka movie:

http://www.sukeban.jp/

Cheers,

Erica

I found this most ammusing, is a list of whats happened to many female
comic book charecters. No wonder more women are reading manga.

http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html

At 01:38 AM 6/27/2006 +0000, you wrote:
> > Bit Torrent version 4.0.4
>
>And you can open  - specifically - the eien-acg Simoun raw? Are you
>on a Windows system?


Have not tried the RAW files yet.  Downloading Eps 5 of the
subtitled.  24.09 minutes to go.

I found this most ammusing, is a list of whats happened to many female
comic book charecters. No wonder more women are reading manga.

http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html

At 03:29 AM 6/27/2006 +0000, you wrote:
>I found this most ammusing, is a list of whats happened to many female
>comic book charecters. No wonder more women are reading manga.
>
>http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html




Oh Goddess some of those were my favorite heroines in the past.

There are limits.













		 "Those who cast the votes decide nothing.
           	 Those who count the votes decide everything."


                                        Joseph Stalin

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Reese Dorrycott <rhys@...> wrote:
>
> At 01:38 AM 6/27/2006 +0000, you wrote:
> > > Bit Torrent version 4.0.4
> >
> >And you can open  - specifically - the eien-acg Simoun raw? Are you
> >on a Windows system?
>
>
> Have not tried the RAW files yet.  Downloading Eps 5 of the
> subtitled.  24.09 minutes to go.
>

I was *specifically* referring to a *specific* raw torrent. I really
appreciate everyone jumping in with advice, but the answers weren't
terribly useful, since y'all didn't actually read what I was asking
about...

Cheers,

Erica

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:
> >I found this most ammusing, is a list of whats happened to many female
> >comic book charecters. No wonder more women are reading manga.
> >
> >http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html
> Oh Goddess some of those were my favorite heroines in the past.
>
> There are limits.

The list is a little misleading:
-- It isn't up to date.  Many of the changes in the list have since been
reversed.  (Triplicate Girl was *over ten years ago* and right now there
are not only three of her, there are thousands.)
-- It tries to imply that female characters are particularly mistreated in
comparison to male ones, but fails to give any basis for comparison.  To give
just one example, the original Superboy was killed, the clone Superboy was
killed, and the Earth-Prime version of Superboy became an insane psychopath,
but you'd never know it from reading this list.  But hey, who cares about
Superboy?
-- Sometimes the items on the list fail to mention male characters affected
*as part of the very same change*.  Don and Dawn Allen were killed at the same
time, during the same battle, but only Dawn is on the list (since Don isn't
female), thus inflating the count of mistreated women as opposed to mistreated
characters.  Likewise, Huntress I and Earth-2 Robin were both killed as part of
Crisis.

> Me <thethespi@...> wrote:
   >   Anyway, I was wodnering.... Anyone heading over to Anime Expo
next week?
>   It would be fun to maybe actually meet people with similiar
interests at a Con...
>   (A Con that's on the WEST Coast)

I'm going with a friend of mine, not cosplaying. We're too cheap for
that. It'd be nice to see some kind of a yuri/shoujo-ai booth but I
haven't seen or heard anything about it.

-ashko

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:21:39 -0000, "atheniag"
<anilesbocon01@...> wrote:

> I was *specifically* referring to a *specific* raw torrent.

I was going to try and help with that specific torrent, but since it was
downloading quite happily for me when you posted, there wasn't a lot I
could do to find a problem...

Meanwhile, on Simoun episode 13 itself:






SPOILER











SPACE









HERE





Yow.  Aaeru manages to be both startlingly naive and quite
mind-bogglingly insensitive in this episode, doesn't she?
Of course, it would help if the others actually bothered to tell her
*why* her faux pas was staggeringly worse than it might ordinarily have
been.

Still, bonus marks to her for the reappearance of her window-finding
abilities.  The girl clearly has no fear of heights whatsoever.  That
said, most of us would probably have started that particular
conversation with an apology and a bunch of questions rather than
diving straight for a make-out session...

Oh, and Floe sucks at explanations, clearly.
--
Adam Jones (adam@...)(http://www.yggdrasl.demon.co.uk/)
.oO("you need to get out of the house more."                           )
PGP public key: http://www.yggdrasl.demon.co.uk/pubkey.asc

At 11:06 AM 6/27/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:
>-- Sometimes the items on the list fail to mention male characters affected
>*as part of the very same change*.  Don and Dawn Allen were killed at the same
>time, during the same battle, but only Dawn is on the list (since Don isn't
>female), thus inflating the count of mistreated women as opposed to mistreated
>characters.  Likewise, Huntress I and Earth-2 Robin were both killed as
>part of
>Crisis.


Death is death, enslavement and rape are a whole nother ball oh wax.  I
cannot find any indication on this world wide web of deceit of a male
character having been raped, outside of the independent comics.  Certainly
not a main/major character.

There was a pretty recent storyline in Nightwing where he got pretty
much raped, though I forget who the perpetrator was.  There was also
an old (disgustingly homophobic) issue of Incredible Hulk where Bruce
Banner was *almost* raped.

But you're right, it is very rare for it to happen to male heroes,
it's largely something inflicted on women in comics.  Heck, people
still argue about whether or not Dick was really "raped," which just
goes to show you how resistant many people are to the idea of the male
heroes having that happen (FWIW he sure as hell didn't seem to be
cogent and consenting so I'm calling it rape).

On 6/27/06, Reese Dorrycott <rhys@...> wrote:
> At 11:06 AM 6/27/2006 -0700, you wrote:
> >On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:
> >-- Sometimes the items on the list fail to mention male characters affected
> >*as part of the very same change*.  Don and Dawn Allen were killed at the
same
> >time, during the same battle, but only Dawn is on the list (since Don isn't
> >female), thus inflating the count of mistreated women as opposed to
mistreated
> >characters.  Likewise, Huntress I and Earth-2 Robin were both killed as
> >part of
> >Crisis.
>
>
> Death is death, enslavement and rape are a whole nother ball oh wax.  I
> cannot find any indication on this world wide web of deceit of a male
> character having been raped, outside of the independent comics.  Certainly
> not a main/major character.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Kylandra

http://www.livejournal.com/users/kylandra

Anime World Order: a podcast covering all things anime and manga, for
the discerning (or maybe just bitter) otaku.  Give us a listen, and
don't be afraid to rant back!

http://www.animeworldorder.com

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Adam Jones <adam@...> wrote:

Now THAT was a great episode. Best of show so far.

It had "meh" art, but there were some fantastic expressions, and a
few "suck in your breath" moments.


> Meanwhile, on Simoun episode 13 itself:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> SPOILER
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> SPACE
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> HERE
>
>
>
>
>
> Yow.  Aaeru manages to be both startlingly naive and quite
> mind-bogglingly insensitive in this episode, doesn't she?

Indeed. One of the most breathtaking moments has to be when she slams
into the mess hall and is so utterly brutal...with a ditzariffic
smile on her face.


> Of course, it would help if the others actually bothered to tell her
> *why* her faux pas was staggeringly worse than it might ordinarily
have
> been.

True, but if someone reacted that way to me, I'd at least have a hint
that I'd just stepped in it.

How did Aeru manage to pass all this time on a ship with lots of
other people without ever hearing rumors, at least, I wonder?



> Still, bonus marks to her for the reappearance of her window-finding
> abilities.

lol


  The girl clearly has no fear of heights whatsoever.
That
> said, most of us would probably have started that particular
> conversation with an apology and a bunch of questions rather than
> diving straight for a make-out session...

I think she was just sharing new-found knowledge. :-)


> Oh, and Floe sucks at explanations, clearly.

And sewing. But there's nothing like an ugly doll to make everyone
laugh.

Things I personally thought were brilliant in this episode:

Finally, the sexual tension is starting to take a toll on them. It
would have to - even if we were only dealing with Alti and Kaimu, or
Morinasu and Wahporifu, or any other pair - or possible pair. They
are all now living in close quarters and it's got to be wearing on
them. The scene where we see them all sitting on their beds facing
away from one another was top-notch.

Great expressions 1: The look on Dominura's face after Rimone kissed
her. It was definitely an "awww" moment and even Dominura and her
evil eyebrows, ringlets, polished nails and fishnet socking went all
mushball. I thought it was too cute.

Great expressions 2: The look on Neviriru's face after Parietta
kicked Aeru out and she kicked Parietta out.

Great expressions 3: The look on Neviriru's face in the last scene.
In fact, the whole last bit with her in the Simoun with Aeru was da
bomb. That was great theater - especially the last line of the
episode. I really, really liked that.

I'm really hoping Morinasu and Wahporifu finally get together next
ep. Morinasu is clearly only a Sibylla for the sex. She hit on nearly
everyone when she first arrived. She deserves some return on
investment...

I also suggest that Alti needs to be in another Chor away from her
freaky broken sibling. She'd be such a nice girl. Until she was a
nice guy. :-)

This episode gets 9 out of 10 for me.

Cheers,

Erica

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:
> Death is death, enslavement and rape are a whole nother ball oh wax.

But if you're going to include only the enslavements and rapes, the list gets
smaller.  A *lot* smaller.  The whole point of the list is "look, I have
pages and pages of this stuff.  You can't take two steps without running
into some female character who's been horribly mistreated".  Sure, just
because 90% of the list is worthless doesn't mean the rest can't still be a
problem, but the whole spin of the list is *very* misleading.

(And are you seriously suggesting male characters don't get enslaved?)

> I
> cannot find any indication on this world wide web of deceit of a male
> character having been raped, outside of the independent comics.  Certainly
> not a main/major character.

What, aside from Nightwing and Starman?

(I might also add that sometimes the reason male characters don't get raped
is actually misandrist--the writer assumes that men always enjoy it and that
men therefore can't be raped.)

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:53:16 -0000, "atheniag"
<anilesbocon01@...> wrote:
> --- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Adam Jones <adam@...> wrote:

> Now THAT was a great episode. Best of show so far.

> > Meanwhile, on Simoun episode 13 itself:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > SPOILER
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > SPACE
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > HERE
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Of course, it would help if the others actually bothered to tell her
> > *why* her faux pas was staggeringly worse than it might ordinarily
> > have been.
> True, but if someone reacted that way to me, I'd at least have a hint
> that I'd just stepped in it.

Indeed...  Most humans would stop around the time everyone else in the
room starts gasping in shock and staring.

> > most of us would probably have started that particular
> > conversation with an apology and a bunch of questions rather than
> > diving straight for a make-out session...
> I think she was just sharing new-found knowledge. :-)

Ah, the joy of discovery. ;)

> Things I personally thought were brilliant in this episode:

> Great expressions 1: The look on Dominura's face after Rimone kissed
> her.

Absolutely.  Nice to see her soften up a bit.

> Great expressions 3: The look on Neviriru's face in the last scene.
> In fact, the whole last bit with her in the Simoun with Aeru was da
> bomb. That was great theater - especially the last line of the
> episode. I really, really liked that.

Mmm.  We like our Neville extra-angsty, don't we?

> I'm really hoping Morinasu and Wahporifu finally get together next
> ep.

Amen.  Morinas is clearly the sanest and most grounded one of the lot,
despite being a flirty ditz.

I'm still rooting for that obvious Guragief/Anubituf pairing myself.
(They're *so* get-a-room-y in episode 6, aren't they?)
--
Adam Jones (adam@...)(http://www.yggdrasl.demon.co.uk/)
.oO("I'll see your Dukes of Hazard and raise you a Manimal."           )
PGP public key: http://www.yggdrasl.demon.co.uk/pubkey.asc

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:
> Death is death, enslavement and rape are a whole nother ball oh wax.

But if you're going to include only the enslavements and rapes, the list gets
smaller. A *lot* smaller. The whole point of the list is "look, I have
pages and pages of this stuff. You can't take two steps without running
into some female character who's been horribly mistreated". Sure, just
because 90% of the list is worthless doesn't mean the rest can't still be a
problem, but the whole spin of the list is *very* misleading.

(And are you seriously suggesting male characters don't get enslaved?)

> I
> cannot find any indication on this world wide web of deceit of a male
> character having been raped, outside of the independent comics. Certainly
> not a main/major character.

What, aside from Nightwing and Starman?

(I might also add that sometimes the reason male characters don't get raped
is actually misandrist--the writer assumes that men always enjoy it and that
men therefore can't be raped.)

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006, Shane wrote:
> I think you're missing the whole point of the list. Im sure if you want
>to make a list like that for the male comic book characters you can, but
>the point was to produce a list of the kind of treatment Common for female
>comic book characters

That treatment is only common for female comic book characters because
it's common for comic book characters, period.  Perhaps being chopped up
and put in refrigerators isn't, but being chopped and put in refrigerators
is only a small portion of the list.  Most of the list is not really about
female comic book characters, it's about all comic book characters and just
uses female examples.

(And by the way, Rachel's family in X-Men was massacred a few months ago, by
Shi'ar.  And it included men.)

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Adam Jones <adam@...> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:53:16 -0000, "atheniag"
> <anilesbocon01@...> wrote:
> > --- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Adam Jones <adam@> wrote:
>
> > Now THAT was a great episode. Best of show so far.
>
> > > Meanwhile, on Simoun episode 13 itself:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > SPOILER
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > SPACE
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > HERE
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >

> > True, but if someone reacted that way to me, I'd at least have a hint
> > that I'd just stepped in it.
>
> Indeed...  Most humans would stop around the time everyone else in the
> room starts gasping in shock and staring.

And when the person you're adressing looks like they've been stabbed,
and are watching their life's blood seeping out onto the ground, it's
usually a dead giveaway. :-)

Although I think that Neviriru's expression after Aeru and Parietta
left her alone in the "infirmary" was better. She looked just so
completely *awful.*


>
>
> > Things I personally thought were brilliant in this episode:
>
> > Great expressions 1: The look on Dominura's face after Rimone kissed
> > her.
>
> Absolutely.  Nice to see her soften up a bit.

It was - and in such a human way. Not unnatural at all.



> > Great expressions 3: The look on Neviriru's face in the last scene.
> > In fact, the whole last bit with her in the Simoun with Aeru was da
> > bomb. That was great theater - especially the last line of the
> > episode. I really, really liked that.
>
> Mmm.  We like our Neville extra-angsty, don't we?

Not really. I just like her being honest for a change. I think that
now that she's admitted that, she can start to figure out what to do
with herself.

She never really did deal in any structured way with her grief for
Amuria. She just pushed it aside when forced to. Now she's GOT to
figure out what she thinks and feels about everything. Or she'll be
swept away in Aeru's wake.


>
> > I'm really hoping Morinasu and Wahporifu finally get together next
> > ep.
>
> Amen.  Morinas is clearly the sanest and most grounded one of the lot,
> despite being a flirty ditz.

Agreed. She and Yun seem pretty normal. Maybe that's just compared to
the rest of them. :-)

>
> I'm still rooting for that obvious Guragief/Anubituf pairing myself.
> (They're *so* get-a-room-y in episode 6, aren't they?)

I think they're kind of obvious, don't you? As Susan put in her
relationship chart (and yes I know she's busy these days, but it's
time for an update, don't you think?) "Only their hairdresser knows." LOL

For an episode 13 - the halfway point, barring any extensions - this
was really a strong episode. I likened it to the 13th ep of ROD the
TV, in which I began screaming at the computer on a weekly basis. lol

Cheers,

Erica

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Shane <haruka_clone@...> wrote:
>
>  Either way it was just something that caught the intrest of someone
on the  list and was forwarded because it was about women and this is
a list of yuri so it may have (and probably was) interesting to some
other members. Maybe  if you made a similar list for male character's
a yaoi group might find it interesting or not who knows.

Let me also remind everyone that this list is an all-ages list, so if
you're going to be detailing brutal atrocities, maybe this list is not
the place to do it.

Cheers,

Erica

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Ken Arromdee <arromdee@...> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, Reese Dorrycott wrote:

> (I might also add that sometimes the reason male characters don't
get raped
> is actually misandrist--the writer assumes that men always enjoy it
and that
> men therefore can't be raped.)

This is really quite inappropraite for this list. It's also a
ridiculous assumption. I think it's time that we return to discusing
yuri and let this drop.

Thanks.

Cheers,

Erica

And this week's stolen meme from "Strawberry Panic" is from...

<trumpet fanfare>

Kannazuki no Miko.

Hikari returns from the beach after clearly having beaten Himeko to
death and stealing her shell. :-)

Also extra points to Kaname and Momomi for stealing the "you'll
realize you love me after I harrass you endlessly" theme from every
yaoi story ever.

In a partially related thought, I just received several new doujinshi
last night, one of which contains a rather amusing gag about the
entire Yamayurikai trying to determine whether Rei or Yoshino is the
seme of that relationship. The consensus is that Rei would look cooler
as seme, but its obviously Yoshino. :-)

Cheers,

Erica

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, "atheniag" <anilesbocon01@...> wrote:
>
> I think they're kind of obvious, don't you? As Susan put in her
> relationship chart (and yes I know she's busy these days, but it's
> time for an update, don't you think?)

Hai, hai.  And I owe synopses for 11, 12, and 13, too.  I'll take a
poke at it tonight, after I get episode 13 into QC.

--
Susan Davis <futabachan@...>

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, "Susan Davis" <futabachan@...> wrote:
>

> > I think they're kind of obvious, don't you? As Susan put in her
> > relationship chart (and yes I know she's busy these days, but it's
> > time for an update, don't you think?)
>
> Hai, hai.  And I owe synopses for 11, 12, and 13, too.  I'll take a
> poke at it tonight, after I get episode 13 into QC.

Yes, yes, work harder, because you're not doing enough to promote
Simoun. LOL

You *don't* owe us anything, but your efforts (and those of all the
folks at Simoun-Fans) are definitely greatly appreciated by many,
including myself.

Cheers,

Erica

And this week's stolen meme from "Strawberry Panic" is from...

<trumpet fanfare>

Kannazuki no Miko.

Hikari returns from the beach after clearly having beaten Himeko to
death and stealing her shell. :-)

Also extra points to Kaname and Momomi for stealing the "you'll
realize you love me after I harrass you endlessly" theme from every
yaoi story ever.

In a partially related thought, I just received several new doujinshi
last night, one of which contains a rather amusing gag about the
entire Yamayurikai trying to determine whether Rei or Yoshino is the
seme of that relationship. The consensus is that Rei would look cooler
as seme, but its obviously Yoshino. :-)

Cheers,

Erica

--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Eui Heo <eheo@...> wrote:
>
> Well, that should be Yoshino without doubt.^^
>
>   spoiler     comes...

yes


>   spoiler     waits....


uh-huh


>   spoiler,     be cautious....


I'm ready.



>   BTW, Kaname was hilarious with her global warming theory.
>   I think I like her -_-.
>

Me too! LOL I thought that was possibly the most unromantic and
bizarre pickup line ever.

Kaname and Momomi have now officially been entered on the list of EPLs
(Evil Pychotic Lesbians (TM)) that I keep.

Cheers,

Erica

I'll continue with the spoiler...







...now.




I also have wondered whether Hiakri will accept Yaya's kiss or not.
(Even though I am a fan of the underdog, in this case Yaya) I still
don't like the way Yaya did things. It's a million times better than
what happend last episode but still. Immediately I thought that Hikari
got tramatized too since she did have tears in her eyes. However, when
you saw her feet shot she was on her toes. I don't know about you all
but when someone shorter is being unexpectantly kissed they don't lean
into it (by standing on their toes) unless they are giving something
back. Then again, Hikari could just be odd or the writers didn't think
about that. Also, it is a bit weird because in earlier episodes it
looked like Hikari had a little clue that Yaya liked her. She would
ask questions like "do you like someone" or at times pull away from
Yaya when she gets too serious. (Besides what friend would pin another
down like Yaya did on a bed...and not get up. We know Hikari doesn't
like this type of things after several pindowns. Did Yaya get away
with it because she is her friend or something else?) But then, Hikari
was shocked by the kiss making all those previous interactions seem
one-sided. This is one conflict I would like to see resolved. Whether
Yaya will get Hikari is unclear but I would hope at least by the end
of things they'll be on some friend level.

I don't think you can quite say Yaya's following Chikane's example. I
think Shizuma is more closer to that as far as physical things. ^_^*




--- In Yuricon@yahoogroups.com, Eui Heo <eheo@...> wrote:
>
> Well, that should be Yoshino without doubt.^^
>
>   spoiler     comes...
>   spoiler     waits....
>   spoiler,     be cautious....
>
>
>
>   There has been going on a discussion about whether Hikari accepted
Yaya's kiss as Himeko did or not.
>   This seems to so important to Yaya supporters because it might
decide Yaya's fate, who is apparently following Chikane's example.
>
>   BTW, Kaname was hilarious with her global warming theory.
>   I think I like her -_-.

Late again. I suck.

[For Issue 1-36: http://www.yuricon.org/snb/
For Issue 37: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yuricon/message/19631
For Issue 38: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yuricon/message/19879
For Issue 39:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yuricon/message/20311
For Issue 40: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yuricon/message/20564
For Issue 41: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yuricon/message/20757]


Saiyuu no Ryouko: The Continuing Adventures of Yuriko

The Story So Far: Yuriko has had a full day of repentance for her
excesses of the day before. She's too busy to be unhappy, but not too
busy to note the irony.


Volume 3, Issue 6

"Stars at Night"


Yuriko pressed the button and sighed, as the smooth notes of a solo
cello filled the room. The song was simple, sweet, and slightly
melancholic, as cello pieces often are; she smiled with pleasure and
sighed again, remembering the day she first heard a cello played like
that.

Her parents had wanted their children to be "exposed to culture,"
something she had later realized meant, "We don't enjoy or understand
this, but we think it ought to be taught." As a child, she had been
taken to Kabuki, to a Shakespeare play, to museums, and several
classical concerts. Her parents had watched, not really touched by
anything they saw, but awed by the importance and class of it all.
Yuriko, who tended to live more in her heart than they, had been moved
from time to time, but nothing ever spoke to her directly until one
particular concert.

It had been one of Bach’s Cello Suites. The concert had been good, but
the cello player had been sublime. Yuriko had felt herself stirred
with each movement of the woman's hands. Her gaze had locked on the
woman's face, searching it for the message hidden in her music. When
the solo had finished, Yuriko had not been at all surprised to find
tears in her eyes. She had asked her parents if she could stay to get
the cello player's autograph, but they had only wanted to get home.
She had never seen that particular soloist again; now she silently
thanked the woman for awakening within her a love of music that had
never wavered.

Her hand lifted to brush the curtains aside, but she found that in
order to do so, she had to move a potted plant, a pile of notebooks
and a picture. She removed the offending items, then pulled the
curtain aside to look out over a sporadically lit landscape. Her
apartment building was no taller than the others nearby, and the view
was nothing special. But if she let her mind wander, and her eyes
squint, she could imagine the lights to be festival lights strung out
over a street, or reflected in water below.

  "Maybe I should have been a musician," she said out loud, to the
empty apartment.

"You are a musician," Mariko said, from inside her head. Yuri smiled
at the memory of the conversation. Mariko had been over one afternoon
and she insisted that Yuriko's voice *was* her instrument.

"But," Yuri argued out loud with the Mariko in her memory, "I mean
something like an actual instrument, like piano," she held her hands
up and splayed her fingers, "or maybe saxophone." Or maybe, she
thought as she contemplated the night, cello.

Yuriko let the curtains go with a sigh. They fell heavily, once again
blocking the view out â€" and in. She sat in her chair with the vague
idea of relaxing. Today had been a long day, and it didn’t look like
the week was going to get any easier.

She felt irritable. Nervous energy forced her out of her chair and
into the kitchen. Out of habit, she made herself cup of tea, but she
wasn’t really in the mood for it. She paced back and forth, covering
the distance of the living room in a few steps, then turning and
heading back to the kitchen area.

Yuriko stretched, but her back and arms hurt, so she stopped. After a
moment of confusion, she realized that her personal trainer was
already leaving a mark on her life. She grimaced at the idea that such
light weights could cause such great discomfort.

The track on the album switched. The cello was no longer alone, but
its strong tone fronted the orchestra. The other instruments were
there simply to punctuate the cello's statement. Yuriko watched the
blinking light on the CD player as the song continued, staccato and
strong.

In a way, she was like the cello - or at least, her persona was. All
the other instruments, all the staff of the tour and the studio worked
hard to make her shine. And she knew that it was her job to shine more
brightly than anyone else, just to make their efforts worth it. The
question she had was; was she the cello, or the cello player?

It was more than a rhetorical question, Yuriko thought, as she resumed
her pacing. If she was the cello player, then it was due to a certain
measure of skill and effort that she had become a star.

…But what if she was no more than the instrument? What if her stardom
was just the product of other people’s skill and design?

Yuriko gazed across the room at her reflection in the mirror. She
smiled, then frowned, then sneered, then gave herself a longing,
bedroom-eyed look. Her clothes, her music, her words, even the way she
moved were crafted by other people. How much of was really her at all?

Once again, Yuriko resumed pacing. Looking back, Yuri could hardly
tell when her life had left her own control. One day, she had been a
homeless waif…the next, a pop idol. It all seemed so sudden and unreal.

Yuriko stopped where she stood, half a pace in front of the kitchen
counter. She picked up her cup of tea and sipped from it. Walking over
to the chair, she placed her saucer on the table and her butt firmly
in the chair.

“It’s a little early to be having a mid-life crisis, “she laughed at
herself. She knew that she was just stressed, and that her feeling of
unease came from that stress…but she felt that if she did not do
*something* she might explode.

“Well,” she drank some more tea and considered. “I can’t sew. I can’t
write music.” Something to think about â€" why hadn’t she ever tried to
learn? She could read it, she could sing it â€" her pitch was excellent
â€" why not? She put that aside for the moment. “I could choreograph,”
she admitted. But somehow it never held much appeal for her.

“You *are* a musician,” Mariko’s voice echoed in her mind.

She bounced out of the chair, grabbing her cup of tea as she did so,
took a mouthful, then threw herself onto the sofa with a frustrated
sigh. She drank the rest of the tea, laid the cup on the table next to
its saucer and leaned back, closing her eyes. She pulled her glasses
off and tossed them on the table; they skidded across the surface and
fell onto the floor on the other side.

Yuriko’s eyes wandered around the room, searching for something to
grab on to, something that would wash the sense of uselessness from
her. It wasn’t like she didn’t have good reason to stress, after all.
But she didn’t *want* to sit here, alone and full of restless,
unproductive energy. She considered calling Mari, but remembered that
she and Hachi had a business dinner that night.

She lifted an address book from the table next to the phone and paged
through it haphazardly. Most of the names were female; she realized
with a start that she had far fewer friends than she had had lovers.
The book went flying across the table and landed next to the glasses
on the floor.

Her eyes continued to roam. Shelves of CDs, books, photos. The plant
from the window, perched awkwardly on a pile of notebooks.

Notebooks?

Yuriko stood, retrieved her glasses from the floor, and walked over to
the shelves by the window. She lifted the plant once more and set it
back in its position in front of the window, then carried the
notebooks to the table.

She opened one at random, smiling at the contents. The page was filled
with notes from a high school science class, some poorly executed
doodles and a cheerful little drawing of a catgirl with the caption,
“Cheer up!” She remembered the day her “sempai” Sayaka had drawn that
for her - and she thanked the young woman mentally, as the image did
indeed cheer her up.

With an foolish grin, Yuriko began to read the journal of her second
high school career, remembering time spent with young people who knew
her as a person, not just a star. Far happier times, she acknowledged,
than her first stint in high school.

***

The kitchen clock proclaimed that it was just slightly after midnight
when Midori entered the apartment. The author dropped her bag and coat
on the back of the sofa, knowing that it would drive Yuriko crazy if
she found it there in the morning. She smiled at the thought - the
singer was so adorable when she was being prissy.

Midori glanced around the apartment, jumping at the site of the blonde
slumped over her table.

Irrationally, her heart quickened as she crossed the room. There was
nothing to be worried about, Yuriko had obviously fallen asleep
reading. But in the dark, late at night, in the silence of the
apartment, the writer's imagination ran wild.

‘Yuri?” Midori called softly, reaching out to shake her lover. There
was no immediate response, and Midori's heart gave another leap. She
found herself panting a little, so she spent a moment breathing
deeply, trying to wrest control of her body from her limbic system.

By the time she had calmed herself, it was apparent to Midori that
Yuri has simply fallen asleep at the table. The blonde's face rested
against her crossed arms, her cheeks scrunched up against her eyes.
Yuri’s hair covered her face, moving slightly with her breathing.

Midori took a long moment to enjoy this unguarded moment, to watch
Yuriko's back move up and down as she breathed. Her lover's face
wasn't "angelic" Midori thought, at all. Yuriko's face was red where
it pressed against her arms and pale where it didn't. Her mouth was
slack. In fact, if anything, as Midori considered it, if anything,
Yuriko looked sort of slow or retarded. She made a mental notation to
never describe anyone as "angelic" when they slept, in her writing,
since it was so patently untrue. Perhaps, "simple" or "child-like"
might be more realistic.

Having made this note, the writer now noticed that Yuri was surrounded
by several school notebooks.  Most lay closed, but directly in front
of her one lay open. Midori slid it closer and read the words
scribbled across the page, wondering what Yuriko could have been
working on, now that her days in high school were once again behind her.

The notes were all in Yuriko’s handwriting, some obviously writing
assignments from her time at Mitsukawa High. But a second page was
freshly inscribed. A few musical notations were scattered around the
page, but mostly, it was filled with short lines of poetry. Many were
of indifferent quality, but one or two were interesting. Midori smiled
with pleasure at them, taking the pen from the table and starring the
better lines, jotting a note or two under a few of the ideas that were
solid, but where the execution was weak. She may not know anything
about being a pop singer, but *this* she knew.

She laid pen and notebook back on the table, and ran her hand lightly
through the singer’s blonde hair.

“Let’s go to bed,” she spoke quietly into Yuriko’s ear. She grinned
with utter delight as the singer awoke and sleepily looked around.

“Welcome home,” Yuri muttered, rubbing her eyes like a child. Midori
had the singular sensation that her chest might explode, as she
watched Yuri drowsily search for her glasses.

"Come on," the writer commanded gently, "Let's get you to bed. You're
exhausted."

Yuri yawned and shuffled off obediently. Midori cast another glance
across the table, and followed the blonde into the bedroom.

To Be Continued

"Saiyuu no Ryokou: The Continuing Adventures of Yuriko" copyright E.
Friedman. All right reserved.

You know how you're trawliing through image boards and fanfics looking
for something good to look at/read, and you come across some bizarro
world coupling that someone drew or wrote about and you think, "What
were they on?"

Okay, maybe that's me.

But I thought it might be fun to share some really whacked out
pairings that you've come across swimming through the murky depths of
fandumb.

Having proposed this, I now can't think of a single good example. LOL
So you'll have to suggest a few to get my brain going again.

I have read several Anthy x Nanami doujinshi stories which hurt my
brain for a lot of reasons. That has to be one of the worst pairings I
can come up with on the spot.

Another WTF moment I can think of was another doujinshi story in which
Haruka and Michiru go on a double date with Motoki and Mamoru and they
all <explicit reference>. But that one wasn't yuri.

(Now that I think about it, doujinshi are always the worst offenders.
  When I was at Comiket, I really, really wanted a decent Azumanga
Daioh doujinsh, but the adult ones I saw seemed to be confined to
Sakaki and Chiyo, which I found repulsive and Sakaki and the Otou-san
Cat, which I found bizarre and repulsive.)

Any funny or strange fanart/fanfic/doujinshi pairings you want to share?

Cheers,

Erica

Hi all!

Some of you may know that in between running Yuricon events, I can't
stop myself from staffing other cons as well.

My local con, AnimeNext, is planning a manga-oriented event, of which
ALC Publishing will a sponsor. Manganext will be held October 6-9,
2006 in Secaucus, NJ (Hence the Semi in the subject line)

I am looking for people who live or can stay in the Northern NJ area
and who would like to have their hides run off for a couple of days.

If you have panels experience, or would like to gain panels
experience, that's a bonus.

You MUST have daily access to email, check and respond to it
regularly; have good language and *people* skills; and be prepared to
send email to people you have never heard of on behalf of an
organization you know little about. No one under 18, please.

If you are interested, please email me at erica@.... Not
this ML.

Responses to this ML (which would be not the right place to respond)
will be ignored or made fun of, depending on my mood. :-)

Cheers,

Erica

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