Shaman Warrior, vols. 1-5 (Park Joong-Ki)

[chomiji]

Shaman warriors have the ability to transform their bodies in various ways, making them formidable war machines. As this series opens, a legendary shaman, Yarong, meets his death under circumstances that seem highly suspicious to his servant, the massive fighter Batu. Batu swears to defend his master's child, Yaki, but he soon finds this far more difficult than he expected: shaman warriors are being hunted down and killed, with the circumstances of Yarong's death being twisted to provide an excuse. Batu at last decides he must take desperate measures to ensure that little Yaki survives and becomes able to defend herself.

Thus far, this is playing out like an almost gender-blind shounen/seinen adventure. There are more male characters than female characters (especially in the first volume), but the female characters we've encountered thus far are fighting, doing magic, and adventuring along with the men. These female characters are also generally drawn with reasonable bustlines and amazingly modest clothing. The story includes betrayal, loyalty beyond the grave, a variety of non-romantic attachments (siblings, master-servant, parent-child, team mates, etc.), and complex politics. The artwork is gorgeous, illustration rather than cartoon, along the lines of Inoue's work on Vagabond and Samura's work on Blade of the Immortal (and when we do encounter grotesques, they're all the more unnerving because they're so well-drawn).

Oh, and telophase? Batu the Destroyer traveling with little Yaki is just your kind of thing!

Shaman Warrior, vols. 1-5 (review)

(FYI - that's teenaged Yaki in the icon.)

OK ... wild theories time. The Mr. and I don't think Yarong was Yaki's father. We think Yarong was Yaki's mother.

This may sound like total crack - after all, we have a number of pictures of bare-chested Yarong in vol. 1, and that's a totally masculine-looking torso, very much in the realistic mode: not tapered and bishie-ish, but compactly muscled and slightly stocky. But think about how Yarong has a tiny baby, and Batu keeps urging him to take it easy because "you can't fight anymore. Your body can't take it" and the General who sends Yarong off on his fatal mission apologizes that he had to "inform you of this while your body is still changing," and then later this same General thinks of Yarong with this statement:"I have plucked the most beautiful flower in all Kugai ... ."

I guess only time will tell.

Park gets a little weird with names: there is a character called Genji (female, and supposedly Batu's sister) and another called Aragorn (the tattooed warlord of a clan that's being forced out by the General). Genji is a lot of fun - frankly outspoken, a skilled fighter, and a master of disguise. Aragorn's a pretty good character too, but I keep twitching every time I read that name ... .

Yaki's experiences in the Butcher Camps are all too realistic, except in one area, and I think Park is actually to be commended for not going for the sexual angle in most of what happens to her. I also like how Yatilla gives her a reason to go on and be strong. He's a very promising character, and I hope we'll see more of him.

My only regret thus far is that Yarong was killed off so soon. He was just my sort of character.

Comments

[chomiji]

Well, I'm relieved! I spoke very much from the gut, without thinking what it might sound like, and then I was mad at myself.

Yeah ... I wanted to have a kid (kids, actually, originally) because I like kids - not for the usual reasons, I guess. And I found out that it isn't quite like taking care of someone else's - I didn't quite count on the conflicting emotional crap (or the post-partum depression). But even the way most women talk about their kids drives me nuts.

(And let's not talk about the hypocrisy inherent in my talking about anyone's makeup as a mask and an obfuscation when I'm dying my hair to hide the grey ... .)

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[avierra.livejournal.com]

It's funny, there was a thread on Fanfic_rants yesterday about mpreg fics, and a number of the writers there said pregnancy squicked them (not just mpreg). I never thought about women feeling that way. I don't mean anything by saying that, or to suggest that it is somehow women's destiny, I just didn't realize that some women were squicked, per se, by it. I just never thought about it, I guess.

I knew some men did though... I remember when I was pregnant I was sitting at the local music store waiting for my lesson, because towards the end Victoria would hook her foot under my ribs and kick the shit out of me (she thinks that she did that is totally awesome today, the little sadist ;P), and it hurt like hell for a few minutes, anyway, one of the guys there was watching my face, and he had the weirdest expression and he said "Is it kicking? I can't imagine what it's that's like, something moving inside of me like that" and I could tell he was totally repulsed.

I loved being pregnant though, and I loved how I felt. I had a number of problems with the pregnancy (and ended up with a c-section), but overall it was a very enjoyable experience for me. But, I was very motivated to have a child, and in fact went to extreme lengths to have one. I felt that it was something I needed and wanted to do.

So, I can totally understand that there is a converse to my own feelings, and I applaud people who make the decision that they are not parent material and who stick to their guns. I know there is tons of pressure from society and relatives to pump out kids; I would imagine it is difficult to resist. I know it from personal experience, and in our case it wasn't even because we didn't want kids (thereby adding to the pressure). There are too many people who aren't parent material, who have kids anyway, and I admire those who know they aren't and who decide to be the Fun Aunt or Uncle rather than a parent.

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

So I'm guessing the Kink Mem fic where Hakkai gave birth to a family of little plants didn't do much for you, huh?

XD

(I actually sort of liked that one, but it was Gojyo's reactions that did it for me!)

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

That one (and the sequel even more so) actually made me feel sad and wistful for Gojyo, once I'd finished laughing my head off. He was having such a tough time dealing with the idea that what his love for Hakkai had produced was so different and had such a short lifespan. Hakkai, with his philosophical/scientific mind, was able to take the broader view. (And man, she did an awfully good job on what was basically a piece of crack, given how thoughtful it made me feel! You know that was andmydog, right?)

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[avierra.livejournal.com]

I thought that one was pretty funny, and I generally dislike mpreg. I think partly because the author didn't make it about being "assbabies." (LOL, I heard that term for the first time the other day on the fanfic_rants thread I mentioned :D) And basically, it seemed to be some sort of plant thing rather than a birth, per se (so it at least made more sense in context than most mpreg. ;P ) But yeah, Gojyo was awesome in that. I liked the followup too.

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

I've got a strange/sweet image in mind of Gojyo coming upon one of his great-great-grandplants at some point, looking around to make sure no one's watching, and then giving it a gentle hug and kiss. I love the fact that they had red flowers.

Yeah, that term made me very exasperated the first time I heard it (in which sanada helps me come to grips with fangirldom, about a year and a half ago).

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

Oh, please, giggle all you want to! It was pretty funny! (Re-reading that made me miss sanada ... I think she's gone shy now that so many people are posting here, she rarely sticks aroiund to chat anymore ... >sigh!< ... I want all my friends to get along and be together and play nice, dammit!)

Somehow, there is something impossibly poignant, for me, about that statement about Hakkai's being pleased that they got some of Gojyo's coloring! I keep going back to re-read it! Yeah, I'm sure Gojyo feels a little sad that there isn't much he can do to fuss over them. I can imagine that strange little conversation ... .

"Hey, Hakkai, guess who I saw today, up by the road to Chenlun?

"Why, I'm sure I can't guess, Gojyo."

"One of the grandplants! Or ... I dunno, maybe one of the great-great-grandplants ... by now?"

"Oh Gojyo, don't worry about details like that - how did he look?"

XD

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

When I interviewed with the agency, it was for the Filer Technical Support group, which did Tier 2 telephone support for the electronic filing system. We had a bunch of roleplaying as part of the interview, including hysterical and/or abusive people. The branch chief was, very intelligently, looking for people with the right temperament as well as basic technical ability for troubleshooting.

I'm not sure how practical I meant him to be ... he's just trying to calm Gojyo down on the issue of how weirdly different his offspring are, and get him to focus on what he can appreciate! Yes, I think that's what Hakkai was doing in the blooming scene... and also, they were just so pretty, and no on but Gojyo was going to understand how much they meant to him.

(Of course, I start wondering about the biology/ecology of Hakkai's type of youkai .... .)

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

Re the tech support folks - exactly. Even if they never get tons of technical chops, they can still learn to ask the right questions in a reassuring manner, and write down a case history.

I don't know if I go for the count of the leaves - why vines? Too airy-fairy. I can certainly go with his being unique. Of course that still begs the question - why vines? Most of the other youkai seem to be animals, although we only see spider and centipede youkai, and can assume that Gyomaoh, from his name, is a (wild) cattle youkai. I wonder about the youkai in the village there - are they all of one tribe?

Yes, good question about Jien and water youkai abilities ... unless we want to count the fact that he really looks like a Marine! I'm guessing, from the fact that most of the youkai we meet seem to have no magical abilities to speak of, that it's not a given, anymore than it is with humans.

I have such a fluffy brain when it comes to fic. I'm beginning to think it's a problem - the better stuff has an edge that I don't seem to have. I was drabbling in my head, because of our conversation about the plant-babies and because vom_marlowe mentioned that it was Mpreg Week, about Hakkai daydreaming about wouldn't it be great if he and Gojyo had kids, and the fact that they'd be 3/4 youkai, and what that might mean.

(warning: preggers & delivery stuff)

[chomiji]

Caroline was 9 lbs 7 oz, and toward the end there, I was sort of rectangular, even though I'm a decent size myself (5 ft 6 in.) ... I had a knee bumping out just below my ribs on one side, and a shoulder just above my hip on the opposite side. I was a mess ... the middle stage of pregnancy was OK, once the early worries were over, but the end just got tedious because I was so enormous.

I had a vaginal birth, no epidural - the idea of an epidural (sticking something in my spine??) grossed me out more than the idea of pain. I went into labor almost exactly on my due date. It was supposed to be natural childbirth, but labor wasn't proceeding, so they gave me some morphine and phenergan, which was supposed to relax me enough to sleep (it was about 2 am at that point). Well, I went to full dilation in the course of 90 minutes after that. I had a small episiotomy, and that was the only part Karl couldn't watch - which is amazing for him, because blood makes him woozy.

I always say I whined my way through labor. They'd say "push!" and I'd whine "I can't!" - but clearly I must have ... .

We had an Rh incompatibility issue (I'm A neg), but that really only would have affected a subsequent child ... I did have a Rhogam injection, though.

Re: (warning: preggers & delivery stuff)

[chomiji]

Well, I tried to warn you!

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

I like people, and I like animals ... for me, kids (including babies) are just somewhere on that same spectrum. I make eye contact and interact with babies and tiny kids the same way I chirp at birds and try to communicate with dogs and cats and squirrels and ... .

But the intense dependence and neediness of a very young child - particularly when I am the mother - was very exhausting and disturbing to me. I am extremely reactive to the moods and actions of people around me, and when I hear a crying baby or child, I can't ignore it at all. Care's babyhood was very rough on me ... .

It does not bother me that you don't want to have kids. The only thing that bothers me is what I sometimes see in childless adults, a complete dislike of children and an antagonism toward the idea that society should be spending any resources on them. A proper society has children, folks. And unless you're planning on instantly dropping dead the minute you start to show signs of the infirmity of age, you're going to want today's kids around, transformed into decent adults and feeling compassionate and like dealing with you, 20 or 30 years from now ... so better be preapred to make the investment, as a member of society.

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

I feel very tender and protective toward children, but also in a fierce way. I sometimes feel like cuddling a child, but not a helpless, oblivious newborn - I want a critter with whom I can have an interaction - and my desire to do so is tempered by the idea that it's a child, not a teddy bear (the same is true of animals, of course). Little Katy at our game group likes to give hugs, so that's mutually satisfying.

Children need to be properly socialized. If Care acted up in a restaurant, I took her out. The threat was that I would rather take her home in a cab and leave Daddy to have fun with our friends if she couldn't behave. It seems to have worked - I never had to actually do more than take her out and remind her of that.

Kids & other animals

[chomiji]

My ideal ages for kid interactions are about 4 to 11, I think, with 10 or so being the optimal - before all the angst of adolescence, but capable of rational and imaginative thought. So my sister's twins and Miss Katy are in the zone right now, and the Bens and Miss Becky have recently become a bit too old (although - props to their folks - I can still talk to them somewhat ... let's see what happens as they get into their teens ...).

Yes ... many people don't want to give the time necessary for a dog, in particular - which is why I don't have one. It's like having another child, and I just don't have the energy right now (like I said earlier somewhere, I used to think I wanted three children ... man, do I know better now). If you want a pet you only have to interact with once or twice a day, get fish or a gerbil.

And with kids, although relatively few don't want to spend the necessary time, many parents have no sense about what's reasonable to expect: you get the parents who whack tiny kids for just being tiny kids - whining when they get tired, for example, because the parent insists on dragging them along on 4 errands end-to-end - and other parents who don't bother to expect decent, considerate public behavior from kids who are more than old enough. I find it darkly funny, for example, that Care, who has relatively little use for most other people beyond her family and closest friends, is careful not to block aisles in stores or hallways at school, because I've carried on for years about how inconsiderate and stupid that is, while other people's children - much more social and friendly - will do so constantly.

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Children need to be properly socialized. If Care acted up in a restaurant, I took her out. The threat was that I would rather take her home in a cab and leave Daddy to have fun with our friends if she couldn't behave. It seems to have worked - I never had to actually do more than take her out and remind her of that.

Haha yes, that's what we do!

Re: "Quick, someone call the Girl Police and file a report"

[chomiji]

> thumbs up! <