SuzumeInspiration

Foreword

Like the other "Inspiration"-type pages I might have accidentally caused to appear, I want ot put up some things that have influenced me and my opinions, not just about Exalted, but about life in general. Who knows, this might just provide some background for understanding where I'm coming from in my comments elsewhere.

People

• Number one, first and always, is my Su. If you don't know, don't ask. If you do, then you know why.
• My parents have always been a massive influence on me, for good and ill. I don't always agree with them, and that is sometimes returned in spades, but I've always known that they love me, and I've never stopped loving them, even when we don't speak for extended periods of time... ^^;
• My Baa-chan, without whom I'd probably have gone mad long ago.
• My Grampa Yuri, without whom I'd probably have turned out much more normal. Thank any and all gods he was there after all. I still miss him.
• Kas, without whom I'd have far fewer, and conciderably poorer ideas.
• Any of a hundred other people that I'm just not good enough to remember here individually. Everyone has a horde of those behind her. If she didn't, she wouldn't be someone worth knowing.

Anime

This is a major love of my life. One that I've imposed on friends and family with greater and lesser levels of success. Some major titles include:

• Haibane Renmei -- This is still my favorite series, and it will take a miracle to displace it. ^_^ In this story based on a then-incomplete manga by ABe Yoshitoshi, I found a study in self-forgivness, and in redemption, that pulled me through a very dark time, and provides me with great comfort now. This is not a happy or easy story, but it's worth sticking through it. In a little town sealed behind a tall wall, occasionally children are born with ash-grey wings. Some say that they are there to repent some sin. Many say that the town is there to protect these children as they learn whatever it is that brought them, with no memory of their life before, until they are ready for their "Day of Flight", to go over the walls.
• Master Keaton -- I love the work of Urasawa Naoki, one of the creators of the manga on which this series is based. There are a lot of characters in anime that I wouldn't mind knowing, if they were real people. I wouldn't mind being like Taichi Hiraga-Keaton. Urasawa's main characters are like that. Keaton wanted to be an archeologist, and he does occasionally find temporary teaching positions. He served with distinction in the SAS in the Faulklands Conflict, then helped to teach their survival course. He works as an indepenent insurance investigator for Lloyds of London, traveling throughout Europe and the rest of the world, evaluating whether claims are fraudulent or not, sometimes to the (very dangerous) frustration of people who would like to collect on a policy they have "arranged" for. Indiana Jones meets the characters of Jeffrey Deaver. ^_^
• Monster -- Another Urasawa series, this time his alone, that has me thoroughly convinced, if nothing else ever did, that true evil CAN exist, and probably does. A Japanese-born, genius neurosurgeon working in Germany saves the life of a boy with a gunshot wound to his head, at the expense of his career. Years later, he discovers that the boy, now grown, is a horrible killer, who is thankful to the doctor who saved him.
• Uchuu no Stellvia -- I just finished watching this one through, not having been able to get the fansubs back when it was airing (thank you, Rice-Box!). If you ever want a sense of the meaning of looking forward to the future, this is the series to watch. Nearly two centuries before the story begins, the Earth was nearly wiped out by the first wave of the supernova of a nearby star. Now, at the end of the 24-th century, a girl has decided to go and see the stars for herself, not looking up, but straight ahead.

More to Come

Check back as I add more material. Planned sections include: Manga, Fiction, Philosophy, Technical, Art, Music. お楽しみに! ^_^ - 27 March 2005, -Suzume