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Updates of the very late kind ^^;
ack. I'm not sure if I like this nudging thing. But I guess it lets me know how long it's been since I last updated and how horribly I've been neglecting lj. ^^;
So anyhow, the move went pretty well, and the drive was more fun than I expected. I haven't had much time to do anything online since though, mainly because my commute now totals 2 and a half hours a day. >_< ...this is vs the 5-10 minutes from before. It's totally worth it though, because the new company and neighborhood both rock. The whole public transportation thing though, still trying to get used to it. :/
Hobby-wise I haven't been watching anime at all, and even prior to moving, gaming had slowed to a trickle. So books it is again! ...especially since I'm doing so much commuting now. I've finally gotten around to reading all the Robin Hobb books, courtesy of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
litl_iruka, or at least all the complete ones. I hear she has a new series out, but I probably wait until all of it is out first. I grabbed the rest of Monster, but I'm still a good 10 or so eps away from the end. Other than that I haven't really been following anything else.
I'd kept myself pretty free of spoilers although I vaguely remember seeing some entries online about how Fitz gets tortured a lot in the 3rd trilogy. I also vaguely remember someone mentioning that they thought Fitz was annoying?
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the Farseer trilogy - it's definitely a page-turner and the characters are grab you right from the start. I was at first a bit puzzled as to whylil_iruka's favorite character is the Fool, since there are so many other more sympathetic and interesting characters, and the Fool doesn't really get much screen time at in the beginning. He gets more interesting towards the end of the Farseer trilogy, and of course in the Tawny Man one too. I didn't really have a favorite character since I really liked so many of them, but it's funny how easily I fell into the same kind of thought-patterns and feelings Fitz did even if I could see he had his biases. I think it's the first time I've so sympathized or identified with a character while still being able to see his faults and blundering mistakes as he is making them.
She really focuses a lot on the Fitz/Fool relationship in the Tawny man, and it's done well - it's not just slashiness for the sake of slashiness. It's complex enough to be interesting and it doesn't take away from the story or replace the plot (thank god). Even though I'd heard people talk about slash pairings for this, I was still kind of surprised to see just how almost text it is. o_O The was this bit where the fool tries to merge with Fitz the first time, that I just had to re-read because I couldn't believe how slashy it sounded. o_O I really liked the way she analogized the Fool and Fitz's relationship with Fitz and Nighteyes' relationship at the end, but at the same time, I feel that it was a bit rushed or forced or something. Oh and whoever said it, I completely agree that there was much torturing of the characters. ^^;; And for once in my life a character coming back to life at the end doesn't put me off. I think mainly because the ending still stays bittersweet. It would have been intolerable on principle (although secretly I may have rejoiced) for the Fitz/Fool to have ridden off into the sunset in a happy/cheesy end.
I thought I'd be more disappointed that they didn't go into more details about the "new era" that seemed to be starting at the end of the Liveship Traders series, but I ended up not caring because the other stuff going on was so interesting. XD; Other than that, it amuses me that the Fool named his horse Malta. :P
I also really enjoyed the Liveship Traders, although the experience is much different. It's not gripping immediately, and the characters are more complex in that their motivations and personalities are much less clear cut good or bad. While people make mistakes/errors or are selfish and lapse into bad decisions, etc motivations of the main characters are clearly good in the Farseer & Tawny man series. For the whole first part of the first book, I kept wondering whether we were supposed to like the characters or not. XD; They really grow on you though. She also does wonders with characters changing/growing throughout the series. That and she incorporates her twists with enough hints that when you do realize something, it comes with a bit of a shocked enlightened feel and makes you feel like you just discovered something on your own. Very cool. :P the twist with Amber being the Fool? I completely missed it until the part where she mentions Amber carving the earring into Paragon. Heh. I was thinking that she might be of the same race as the Fool - it didn't even occur to me that she might BE the Fool. XD;
The ending was a nice wrap-up leaving you feeling like there's a promised fresh new era in the making. Really liked Reyn a lot for some unknown reason. ^^; Even though he's a sort of weak ineffectual kind of a character. The Althea/Brashen thing was enjoyable too, although I get the feeling she tried to milk it a bit at the end - same with the Malta and Reyn thing. Seldon's sudden importance at the end was also a bit sudden, but not in a bothersome way. Kennit is definitely one of the more interesting characters, and it's odd because he's one of the least sympathetic main characters I've ever come across, and yet he's not annoying or anything. It's almost a complete opposite reaction to Fitz and the other series. Anyways I'd better cut it short.
Other than that, I'm in love with my cable box. :P I've never had a cable box before, and this whole on Demand thing is the best thing since sliced bread. Now if only everything could be on Demand. (why yes, I have comcast) Oh and the tv here has asian channels <3 So far, noteworthy shows are the kdrama Full House, which luckily I caught just as it was starting and I think there are some fairly interesting jdoramas on the weekend, like Egao no Housoku(subbed), and Kiken na Aneki(unsubbed) - but I'm not able to catch them regularly enough. Thankfully Full House airs either Monday or Wednesday nights. :D
I'm not at all used to waiting patiently for my dramas to air though. I'd forgotten how painful it is. >_< It looks like they're pretty loosely based off the manga, but they still manage to capture the bickeriness between the two main characters just right. That and it's just hilarious and wacky enough to work for me. San Kye Kyo is just adorable and although I personally find Bi/Rain/etc kind of fugly, he's great at doing comedy. The gratuitous shots of him kind of crack me up too. ^^; The newly added "friends" of Ji-Eun are annoying though, and they make Ji-Eun look stupider.
So anyhow, the move went pretty well, and the drive was more fun than I expected. I haven't had much time to do anything online since though, mainly because my commute now totals 2 and a half hours a day. >_< ...this is vs the 5-10 minutes from before. It's totally worth it though, because the new company and neighborhood both rock. The whole public transportation thing though, still trying to get used to it. :/
Hobby-wise I haven't been watching anime at all, and even prior to moving, gaming had slowed to a trickle. So books it is again! ...especially since I'm doing so much commuting now. I've finally gotten around to reading all the Robin Hobb books, courtesy of
litl_iruka, or at least all the complete ones. I hear she has a new series out, but I probably wait until all of it is out first. I grabbed the rest of Monster, but I'm still a good 10 or so eps away from the end. Other than that I haven't really been following anything else.I'd kept myself pretty free of spoilers although I vaguely remember seeing some entries online about how Fitz gets tortured a lot in the 3rd trilogy. I also vaguely remember someone mentioning that they thought Fitz was annoying?
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the Farseer trilogy - it's definitely a page-turner and the characters are grab you right from the start. I was at first a bit puzzled as to why
lil_iruka's favorite character is the Fool, since there are so many other more sympathetic and interesting characters, and the Fool doesn't really get much screen time at in the beginning. He gets more interesting towards the end of the Farseer trilogy, and of course in the Tawny Man one too. I didn't really have a favorite character since I really liked so many of them, but it's funny how easily I fell into the same kind of thought-patterns and feelings Fitz did even if I could see he had his biases. I think it's the first time I've so sympathized or identified with a character while still being able to see his faults and blundering mistakes as he is making them. She really focuses a lot on the Fitz/Fool relationship in the Tawny man, and it's done well - it's not just slashiness for the sake of slashiness. It's complex enough to be interesting and it doesn't take away from the story or replace the plot (thank god). Even though I'd heard people talk about slash pairings for this, I was still kind of surprised to see just how almost text it is. o_O The was this bit where the fool tries to merge with Fitz the first time, that I just had to re-read because I couldn't believe how slashy it sounded. o_O I really liked the way she analogized the Fool and Fitz's relationship with Fitz and Nighteyes' relationship at the end, but at the same time, I feel that it was a bit rushed or forced or something. Oh and whoever said it, I completely agree that there was much torturing of the characters. ^^;; And for once in my life a character coming back to life at the end doesn't put me off. I think mainly because the ending still stays bittersweet. It would have been intolerable on principle (although secretly I may have rejoiced) for the Fitz/Fool to have ridden off into the sunset in a happy/cheesy end.
I thought I'd be more disappointed that they didn't go into more details about the "new era" that seemed to be starting at the end of the Liveship Traders series, but I ended up not caring because the other stuff going on was so interesting. XD; Other than that, it amuses me that the Fool named his horse Malta. :P
I also really enjoyed the Liveship Traders, although the experience is much different. It's not gripping immediately, and the characters are more complex in that their motivations and personalities are much less clear cut good or bad. While people make mistakes/errors or are selfish and lapse into bad decisions, etc motivations of the main characters are clearly good in the Farseer & Tawny man series. For the whole first part of the first book, I kept wondering whether we were supposed to like the characters or not. XD; They really grow on you though. She also does wonders with characters changing/growing throughout the series. That and she incorporates her twists with enough hints that when you do realize something, it comes with a bit of a shocked enlightened feel and makes you feel like you just discovered something on your own. Very cool. :P the twist with Amber being the Fool? I completely missed it until the part where she mentions Amber carving the earring into Paragon. Heh. I was thinking that she might be of the same race as the Fool - it didn't even occur to me that she might BE the Fool. XD;
The ending was a nice wrap-up leaving you feeling like there's a promised fresh new era in the making. Really liked Reyn a lot for some unknown reason. ^^; Even though he's a sort of weak ineffectual kind of a character. The Althea/Brashen thing was enjoyable too, although I get the feeling she tried to milk it a bit at the end - same with the Malta and Reyn thing. Seldon's sudden importance at the end was also a bit sudden, but not in a bothersome way. Kennit is definitely one of the more interesting characters, and it's odd because he's one of the least sympathetic main characters I've ever come across, and yet he's not annoying or anything. It's almost a complete opposite reaction to Fitz and the other series. Anyways I'd better cut it short.
Other than that, I'm in love with my cable box. :P I've never had a cable box before, and this whole on Demand thing is the best thing since sliced bread. Now if only everything could be on Demand. (why yes, I have comcast) Oh and the tv here has asian channels <3 So far, noteworthy shows are the kdrama Full House, which luckily I caught just as it was starting and I think there are some fairly interesting jdoramas on the weekend, like Egao no Housoku(subbed), and Kiken na Aneki(unsubbed) - but I'm not able to catch them regularly enough. Thankfully Full House airs either Monday or Wednesday nights. :D
I'm not at all used to waiting patiently for my dramas to air though. I'd forgotten how painful it is. >_< It looks like they're pretty loosely based off the manga, but they still manage to capture the bickeriness between the two main characters just right. That and it's just hilarious and wacky enough to work for me. San Kye Kyo is just adorable and although I personally find Bi/Rain/etc kind of fugly, he's great at doing comedy. The gratuitous shots of him kind of crack me up too. ^^; The newly added "friends" of Ji-Eun are annoying though, and they make Ji-Eun look stupider.