Television Extravaganza
[added 9:51 pm]
Well, my brother's fixed the computer but he's still a grade A jack-ass. Grudgingly I'm thanking but I'm not liking the experience.
Just came off watching the Season ender of CSI, that show just continues to blow me away. Everyone is likeable, and a great actor, the mystery was typical CSI with an emotional twist at the end. Grissom finally admits his hearing loss but only to Catherine and Dr. Ross.
Am I the only person rooting for a Grissom-Catherine relationship? The friendship between the two is strong and unshakeable, they're bestfriends and the appeal for them to say as such works for me too. But I admit they look good together, and there is chemistry. Sure a Grissom-Sara could work and there is obvious chemistry in Grissom-Madam but Grissom-Catherine works for me because... They remind me of Harry and Sally ^___^
I like the continuity with Greg, he's not fully recovered from the blast, and Grissom is sympathetic to him.
In regards to style? I don't think there's any show, save for Farscape that can beat CSI in use of contrasts, colors and just pure style.
Despite my true devotion to CSI, Alias is pulling me in because lets face it: Irina is cool and heck, the Bristow family's got to be crossing the borders of every dysfunctional family in TV land. Jack and Sydney are CIA, Irina's evil spy.
Time and again Irina tells Jack to trust her, and he couldn't bring himself to because he knows he could fall in love with her all over again, and that's just something he doesn't need. Poor Jack.
Oh, and Sark? Nummmy....
Written Works
Well, I'm in Glorietta since my sister went on a rampage and finally conked out my last hope for internet freedom. The whole morning I was out with friends searching for jobs and along the way we met up with friends who have jobs:)
I've been corresponding with Mr. Twoflower, the esteemed fanwriter of, what I deem as the best epic Slayers around Slayers Trilogy. And he gave sound advice on work-in-progress fiction:
Well, my stories are all unfinished until I finish 'em. :) I post them anyway.
It's a good way to get some feedback and make revisions as you go along.
And, since I'm working on my Sailor Moon epic, with a lousy working title Sailor Moon: Futures I'm gonna post the prologue here and when my brother finally fixes the computers I'll put up my writing site:)
Comments are welcome, oh, this is largely un-beta'ed so read with caution:)
Prologue - Prelude to Recurrence
Neo Queen Serenity, High Queen, Empress of the Nine realms. Usagi tasted the name and the titles associated with it. A small shudder passed through her, was she ready to be Serenity and all that implies?
A queen?
Granted, she was already the Queen of the long dead Silver Millennium but was she ready to be a Queen not only in name but a ruler to a whole planet? She had only one dream, to keep safe and protect the Earth beside Mamoru in whatever incarnation.
Usagi instinctively knew that the moment Crystal Tokyo will be established, the Double Thrones installed and she Ascends to fully enact the title ‘Neo-Queen’; Usagi Tsukino will cease to exist. And only the calm, composed Serenity will remain. That she feared above all else, to lose herself to the Past and the Future.
But how would she become ‘calm and composed, Serenity’? When the only group she ever lead was the senshi. The glaring gaps in her memory of the Old Silver Millennium, frighteningly real. Panic overwhelmed her.
Was she over reacting? Ruler of Billions. No, she wasn’t. Usagi looked up to the Moon for guidance. The pearly-white orb shone magnificently over the night sky, grounding her for a moment, enough to let her panic attack waver into nothing. A wistful smile curved her mouth. One memory, though, stuck clear in her mind, of herself, observing the Strongest and Bravest warrior on Earth, High Prince Endymion.
--Escape—
Usagi staggered back, and almost fell. What was that? A voice, filled with unparalleled hate and venom. She looked back inside Rei’s temple and saw her friends going about their business. They hadn’t heard it. You’re just paranoid, might just be part of your panic attack, then again...
“Uh, Rei…” She called, moving forward.
“What?” Snapped the Priestess, two bowls were carefully balanced in each hand.
“You didn’t hear anything did you?” Usagi crossed her fingers.
“What are you talking about? And why aren’t you helping?!” Rei narrowed her eyes. “Is Mamoru doing your chores for the party?”
“What? No!” Then she guiltily flushed, “Well, yes! But he suggested it!”
“Mamoru always suggests it!”
Usagi flushed bright red, her own temper flaring. “Oh, oh yeah! Well… well, it’s not his fault!”
“Exactly.” Rei said smugly.
Usagi’s mouth fell open, she had gotten turned around. “You’re- You’re mean!”
The priestess walked away, laughing, the two bowls still balanced.
A crazy idea marched through Usagi’s head, she ran to Rei and grabbed one of the bowls. A series of squeals, shouts and eventually laughter followed for the moment, the mysterious, venomous voice forgotten.
That night, asleep in the arms of Mamoru, Usagi dreamed of long, milky hallways. They were familiar to her in some ways she could not name, but she progressed along the way hoping for the proverbial light in the end of the tunnel. She was Serenity here, garbed in her long white gown but she was barefooted and the floor was chilly, she increased her pace and as she rounded the corner and was astonished to see an entryway not far off, a white light emanated from the entryway.
Serenity passed through the light and was welcomed to a garden, spring, green and beautiful. Laughter rang clear, and off in the distance she could see her friends, far away over the crest of the hill. She looked at them longingly but some force compelled her to move forward until she found herself back in the austere hallways. Twice this happened, until she realized why the hallways were so familiar. It was the hallways of the Moon Castle.
Just as she was about to cross the juncture between the entryway of the Garden and the hallway a door magically appeared the wall beside her. Serenity blinked at it and pulled the door open, revealing her classroom, and at the center was herself, sleeping on the desk. It would be actively strange had it not been a dream but somehow she discarded the bizarre and instantly switched her gaze to two men. One, in actuality.
Endymion and Mamoru stood side-by-side behind her sleeping self. Serenity opened her mouth to speak, suddenly her perspective changed, altered and she realized she was sleeping on her desk, in her classroom dreaming and seeing herself as Serenity standing by the door and Mamoru and Endymion behind her. She was happy for that but she was also getting hungry, she wondered when the food will come.
“Princess,” a voice called, waking her from her dream sleep, Usagi raised her head from the desk and found the scene different. There were no desks but she was in the garden and Mamoru’s arms around her.
“Was that you, Mamo-chan?”
“No, Usa,” he began to kiss her lightly on her neck, like air and strawberries. Usagi sighed, she liked this dream better than eating dreams.
“Princess,” the mysterious voice called again. This time she recognized the voice as Setsuna’s. Usagi reluctantly focused at the edge of her dream, and there was Setsuna, garbed as Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time.
“Pluto?”
“Time is a stream, the outcome may never be the same.”
“Setsuna-san, I know this.” She said not unkindly.
“History will repeat, the past must be remembered. Create your own destiny.” As sudden as Pluto had appeared, she faded. Usagi frowned but let it pass she relaxed into Mamoru’s embrace but the garden began to blur and darken. She was waking-up, Usagi realized, she was reluctant to wake-up it was so lovely and peaceful in her dream. Besides she was so tired after the battle with Galaxia and she had just gotten Mamoru back—
Oh.
Of course she wanted to wake, she coasted freely into consciousness, loving the feel of sleep and wakefulness and the warmth of the real Mamoru’s touch. She had missed him so, and in the back of her mind a thought (Too long, too close, much missed) but her mind never ran to the dark place in her thoughts, of the chilling fear and emptiness when he was gone (died).
Usagi buried further into his embrace, and soon blinked away her sleepiness. She smiled at the reflection of herself, Mamoru mumbled, his chest vibrating beneath her ears— Wait. Her reflection had not smiled back.
Her hazy mind registered her reflection moving of its own volition, raising a hand over that should not have been so pale over her own chest then plunged.
A scream tore from her throat, pain bloomed in her chest, inflaming parts Usagi did not know she had. She bucked up, writhing, trying to escape the pain. Pain. Pain. But it was there, singular, present, moving inside, holding, gripping. Tormenting. Agonizing.
“Usa!”
Then, Gone.
Usagi gasped and gasped, the state of not pain, also a shock, a relief.
Mamoru, stood before the bed a tower of rage and threatened to advanced on her attacker had she not whimpered. And he was there, holding her to him, soothing her. “Usa, It’s alright, it’s alright. Shh…”
But she couldn’t focus on his words she hurt so much.
The shadow of the woman stood behind Mamoru, glint of steel in the darkness. Mamoru turned, sensing something amiss, he would have been able to evade the attack had he not been holding her close but it was too late, and the blade sunk on his back with a meaty chunk.
Usagi remembers that moment, clearly, remembers the disbelief in his eyes, quickly draining of light. She also remembers the thick, wet blood in her hands.
No no no no no no.
“Marked words, forgotten words. I’ll destroy your perfect future, Serenity.”
No no no no no no. Usagi wanted to clutch her head and scream but she would not let go of Mamoru, coated in his own blood and his hand still reaching for her, touching her skin, brushing coarse fingers against her own. No no no no no no.
“I’m sor-sorry—“ The hands fall, nerveless, without life. The scene played so regularly in her nightmares, reality in two lifetimes and come alive again.
No no no no no no.
Her mouth opened a silent scream emanating from inside, can’t stand death. Can’t abide death. She held the scream in, she won’t let it go past her throat, won’t let it reach the outside, won’t allow the sound of her own voice make it real, make real his dying, again.
Usagi touches him, shaking, shivering, cold and dead herself. Her mouth still open, the soundless scream building and building in her throat until a keening wail finally breaks through.[note: find out Japanese version of banshee] A banshee mourning for death. She was on the edge and sanity was a thin line to cross especially when her fallen love is in her arms.
She took no notice, nor did she care that she was now wearing flowing robes or that the Holy Silver Crystal floated above her flooding the room with pure white. Because sanity is so fragile Usagi did not take notice of the shadow moving forward, grabbing hold of the Crystal, diminishing its luminescence.
“Didn’t I promise you this? Marked in stone, my words. Shh… Don’t fret it’s going to get worse.” And then a white, soundless explosion filled the room.
And Usagi, cradling Mamoru in her arms couldn’t care less…
[edit] A little background on SMF. It was inspired from Frank Herbert's Dune; I wondered if I could transport Usagi in the kind of world where she loses everyone she loves. It's basically a survival story, because in a sense she's never had to survive before, really survive by her own means. Am I making anysense? [/edit]
So, what you think?
[add] Is it me, is it everytime I post the blogger Posting Interface changes because I go, hey I need to edit-- whoa, my eyes changed! Not that it's a bad thing ;> [/add]
