frog princess

Rafa won in Rome today, making it his 15th Masters 1000 series win, which is the biggest title to win outside a slam. Roger has won 14, Agassi holds the record at 17. I think beating Roger in this meant an awful lot to him. It's been some while since he celebrated the winning moment with such abandon, maybe not since getting that giant erection after winning the Australian Open.



Clicky for hi-res on some of these: ( Rafa face )

Further proof that tennis players are all descended from puppies:

( Rafa and Novak during the trophy ceremony )

Roger lost in the semis, but at least he got to them, which is what he said his goal was. He pretty much blew it during the match with Novak though, so it was not a great performance at all. Roger's post match interview, from the Rome Masters website:

( Things were going well for me )

Feliciano Lopez, aka the man with the most indecent shorts in tennis, has done the world a massive favour this Christmas and posed for some glamour shots for a Spanish gay magazine, and omg he is hot. Thanks to best_of_five for the heads up!

Photos and the interview are here, on Shangay.com, with such gems as 'what sort of underwear do you prefer? Although it's all in Spanish and I can't read it too well. I think it's briefs. Also, I think he waxed his torso. And they put him in eyeliner.

eta: a translation of the interview, thanks to lauand and kaoticwords!

( this way to gay masturbatory fantasy and way too tight red trousers )

Connotations was so much fun. Spending time with like minded people is one of the best pick me ups. I got there late Friday, sat in the bar till even later, then got up at 8 for a run on the beach! new_kate and daegaer got up with me and came down to the beach and watched from a safe distance. Running on beaches is my new favourite thing, it was just awesome and, yes, BRACING.

I caught a couple of panels, one on rps, then we braved the rain and went to spend money in the fleshpots of Tynemouth, and eat cake. Saturday night was the moderately tidy dinner, then the vid show that included the truly frightening Shatner 'interpretation' of Rocket Man. We all got up for another run on Sunday, then mostly hung around chatting until it was time to for me and new_kate to haul ourselves away in the afternoon.

I've been a bit poorly since I got back, with something the doctor suspects is a urinary tract infection. Joy. So I've been drinking lots of water and have also taken a couple of days off work.

Anyway, I have photos:


( The Haunted Lido )

( The 'ironing board' )

( Cake remains )

( Satan's dressing table )

( Daegaer's feet )

( On the beach )

( Surf's up )

( Squinting at the camera )

rachelmanija has declared it International Saiyuki week and who am I to argue? In honour of this I have temporarily changed my default icon and am posting something Saiyuki related... so, nothing new there then. Pass it on.

The beauty of Minekura's art is absolutely bound up in my enjoyment of the story (or do I mean that the other way round?). It doesn't hurt that her characters are incredibly hot (technical term) and also that Minekura's skill in representing facial expressions is quite astounding. I did want to talk about some of the panels or pages that I find most affecting, but I'm at work and don't have any scans with me: Sanzo crawling past an unmoving Gojyo, Gojyo's terrified face as a child and his hopeful, loving smile, Kinkaku's skeleton, Seitan Tasei's expression of malevolent cunning, Hakkai on the brink of murder, the way Sanzo's expression changes from desolation to stony acceptance over two pages in the Snowdrop arc and wow, these are all intensely painful images, aren't they? These are the pages that instantly occur to me, but there would be far more, I am sure. And perhaps of happy things too, even.

Because Saiyuki, with its story of death, bloody murder, loss and mental and physical pain, is actually life affirming. Underneath the mayhem is the quieter story of four desperately lonely people who find each other and become friends, who in fact becomes each other's family. Also, you can guess that they might be more than simply friends. Minekura never takes it that far, but she is happy to throw her readers clues, and she trusts her readers to spot them. One of the most addicting aspects of her work, and one of my favourites, is how she draws parallels between past and present events and these parallels sometimes only reveal themselves on close reading-- trusting the reader again. As an aside-- coffeeandink's close readings (1, 2, 3) are wonderfully informative and helped me see things in new ways.

That's is something else that makes reading Saiyuki so hugely enjoyable: the story is only half the story. Her artwork gives you the missing half, the story of domesticity and acceptance and coming to terms with yourself and perhaps it's this balance between the story we are told and the story we are shown that gives her characters so much depth.



On a final note, here's that picture of Hakkai and the orange. ( Just because. )

Erk. So much nose blowing. My cold is at the stage now where I am making tiny whistling noises through my nostrils. Just STOP.

Hurray, daegaer wrote me a very wonderful Saiyuki/Good Omens fic: Dinnertime

Also, here's Ian Somerhalder in eyeliner: ( random pretty )

Gratuitous colour pic under the cut of a seductive-looking Sanzo chewing beads and clutching his left nipple. I scanned it from vol 9, because I haven't seen it before.

( He never did like that necklace anyway )

Because I can stay up late tonight. Don't know what this site is called, but lots of things on it are amazingly pretty.

Gorgeous Hazel

Pretty stylised Gojyo and Hakkai

Hakkai and Gojyo kissing. Had to keep going back to look at this one

Tenpou and Kenren noir!

Tenpou and Kenren and Gojyo and Hakkai going down

Hakkai at the window in red and green

Gojyo and mystery hand

Rainy city street