And so it begins... (and Black Lagoon questions at the end)
... another three day descent into madness, sleep deprivation (well, more than usual), and walking around dressed up like fictional characters. Yes, my friends, convention season is upon us, and I am about to go down to Sakuracon tomorrow. It should be fun. It helps my mood immensely that I have lately, almost by coincidence, been getting back into watching AMVs. And Hellsing Ultimate. Gotta love it.
But most of all, there is my touchstone, my all time favorite, the thing that surpasses and outdays practically everything in my book.
Black Lagoon.
I love Revy so damn much. She's amazingly hot, of course, and the fact that she's incredibly dangerous and could kick my ass eighty-five ways to Sunday makes her even more hot. But it's more than that. She has a way about her, a don't-give-a-damn attitude, a free spiritedness, a willingness to take whatever life throws at her and persevere in spite of it. I admire that. At the same time she has a tragic air about her as well, the air of someone who has suffered immensely and endured far more than I ever likely will. And yet she rejects pity. She doesn't usually make a habit of pitying herself, and doesn't take it from others.
Her and Rock are an awesome couple. At least, they are in my head. Rei Hiroe (the author) has been making hints in that direction for some time now, but it's all been kept very quiet, which rather frustrates me. I don't want to see them being all lovey-dovey; that would defeat the point of the show, and in any case would break character in all kinds of ways. At the same time though I'd like to see a little bit more than a hint every chapter or two. Ultimately, I guess, I'd like to know if I'm just imagining things, or if I and everyone else who noticed this really were right all along. And her childhood. Revy's youth is a great mystery. Again we've had little hints here and there. We know she grew up poor in Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown. We know she committed her first murder at 14. We know that she racked up quite a record with the NYPD before she skipped the country and relocated to warmer climates. We know people at the NYC 27th Precinct still remember her (crossover with Law and Order anyone? I'd like to see what Goren thought of her, lol...). We're pretty sure that while she taught herself how to shoot, it was Boss Chang who taught her the two-fisted gun fu that she uses with such beautiful deadliness. I, for one, would like to know what the hell went on with her in her younger years. Was she always an orphan, or did she have parents once? Who is that man with the pillow over his face, the first man she ever killed? Was it just a random killing or was there a dark purpose to it, or was it vengeance for something? What did she do to make the hardbitten cops of the 27th precinct remember a teenage hoodlum from Chinatown? Teenage hoodlums from Chinatown are usually a dime a dozen. Which leads one to believe that she must have done something more, something to distinguish herself from your run of the mill, garden variety punk. And how the hell did she meet Boss Chang anyway, and how did she come to learn gun fu from him? So many questions...
... which, I suppose, is what fan fiction is for. XD I'd rather not write it out, but at the same time I don't know that Hiroe will ever actually get around to it. So in the meantime that he doesn't, I'll probably end up writing my own speculations. That is, when I'm not working on my own creative projects :D
And now, I'm freaking tired. I should be sleeping. I've gotta get up at 7pm if I'm gonna catch the train tomorrow, and if I don't catch the train I'm, well, kinda boned. Not badly, I suppose, but it would be a pain.
Black Lagoon euphoria keeps me awake. It always does. Maybe I can persuade my body that it needs to sleep, and my mind can be filled with dreams of a glorious, violent heroine, drenched in blood and sweat and gunsmoke, a hurricane of passion and fury and sorrow and pathos. It was my housemate who once said that if I met her I would kiss her, even if she wound up shooting me afterwards. Thinking back on it, I'd have to agree with him. It's one of those things that demands to be done, even if it looks as crazy as jumping off a cliff.
Now, for the Black Lagoon question, to all the people who read this who have seen/cared about Black Lagoon, a completely hypothetical question for you:
Casting call for a live action Black Lagoon movie, with John Woo and Quentin Tarantino to direct! If you were to pick the cast, who would you pick?
My own answer: I think it'd probably have to be mostly a cast of unknowns, like Star Wars was back in the 70s. I'd probably have to go to New York City and wander around Chinatown to find someone who could play Revy... the closest I can think of among established actresses is Zhang Ziyi. As my housemates have said many a time, she seems to be really good at playing crazy sluts, and while Revy isn't exactly a slut (at least not anymore... she did work for Rowan "Jackpot" Pigeon, heheh) she definitely has a fairly large helping of crazy. The only problem with Zhang Ziyi is her English. Revy speaks English as her native tongue. It would take a hell of a lot of voice training to get Zhang Ziyi to sound like a New Yorker. Anyway, tell me what you think!
But most of all, there is my touchstone, my all time favorite, the thing that surpasses and outdays practically everything in my book.
Black Lagoon.
I love Revy so damn much. She's amazingly hot, of course, and the fact that she's incredibly dangerous and could kick my ass eighty-five ways to Sunday makes her even more hot. But it's more than that. She has a way about her, a don't-give-a-damn attitude, a free spiritedness, a willingness to take whatever life throws at her and persevere in spite of it. I admire that. At the same time she has a tragic air about her as well, the air of someone who has suffered immensely and endured far more than I ever likely will. And yet she rejects pity. She doesn't usually make a habit of pitying herself, and doesn't take it from others.
Her and Rock are an awesome couple. At least, they are in my head. Rei Hiroe (the author) has been making hints in that direction for some time now, but it's all been kept very quiet, which rather frustrates me. I don't want to see them being all lovey-dovey; that would defeat the point of the show, and in any case would break character in all kinds of ways. At the same time though I'd like to see a little bit more than a hint every chapter or two. Ultimately, I guess, I'd like to know if I'm just imagining things, or if I and everyone else who noticed this really were right all along. And her childhood. Revy's youth is a great mystery. Again we've had little hints here and there. We know she grew up poor in Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown. We know she committed her first murder at 14. We know that she racked up quite a record with the NYPD before she skipped the country and relocated to warmer climates. We know people at the NYC 27th Precinct still remember her (crossover with Law and Order anyone? I'd like to see what Goren thought of her, lol...). We're pretty sure that while she taught herself how to shoot, it was Boss Chang who taught her the two-fisted gun fu that she uses with such beautiful deadliness. I, for one, would like to know what the hell went on with her in her younger years. Was she always an orphan, or did she have parents once? Who is that man with the pillow over his face, the first man she ever killed? Was it just a random killing or was there a dark purpose to it, or was it vengeance for something? What did she do to make the hardbitten cops of the 27th precinct remember a teenage hoodlum from Chinatown? Teenage hoodlums from Chinatown are usually a dime a dozen. Which leads one to believe that she must have done something more, something to distinguish herself from your run of the mill, garden variety punk. And how the hell did she meet Boss Chang anyway, and how did she come to learn gun fu from him? So many questions...
... which, I suppose, is what fan fiction is for. XD I'd rather not write it out, but at the same time I don't know that Hiroe will ever actually get around to it. So in the meantime that he doesn't, I'll probably end up writing my own speculations. That is, when I'm not working on my own creative projects :D
And now, I'm freaking tired. I should be sleeping. I've gotta get up at 7pm if I'm gonna catch the train tomorrow, and if I don't catch the train I'm, well, kinda boned. Not badly, I suppose, but it would be a pain.
Black Lagoon euphoria keeps me awake. It always does. Maybe I can persuade my body that it needs to sleep, and my mind can be filled with dreams of a glorious, violent heroine, drenched in blood and sweat and gunsmoke, a hurricane of passion and fury and sorrow and pathos. It was my housemate who once said that if I met her I would kiss her, even if she wound up shooting me afterwards. Thinking back on it, I'd have to agree with him. It's one of those things that demands to be done, even if it looks as crazy as jumping off a cliff.
Now, for the Black Lagoon question, to all the people who read this who have seen/cared about Black Lagoon, a completely hypothetical question for you:
Casting call for a live action Black Lagoon movie, with John Woo and Quentin Tarantino to direct! If you were to pick the cast, who would you pick?
My own answer: I think it'd probably have to be mostly a cast of unknowns, like Star Wars was back in the 70s. I'd probably have to go to New York City and wander around Chinatown to find someone who could play Revy... the closest I can think of among established actresses is Zhang Ziyi. As my housemates have said many a time, she seems to be really good at playing crazy sluts, and while Revy isn't exactly a slut (at least not anymore... she did work for Rowan "Jackpot" Pigeon, heheh) she definitely has a fairly large helping of crazy. The only problem with Zhang Ziyi is her English. Revy speaks English as her native tongue. It would take a hell of a lot of voice training to get Zhang Ziyi to sound like a New Yorker. Anyway, tell me what you think!