Nothing like red meat in winter

[petronia]

Spicy Uighur hotpot with Ced, Tania and Henk last evening - along with lamb skewers, juicy steamed meat buns and pilaf. :D As well as meat are provided Chinese cabbage; tofu cubes; fresh ramen noodles; mung bean glass noodles; and several sauces.

Tania thinks of this cuisine as S. Russian, I think of it as N. Chinese. But mmm, SPICED MUTTON.

***

Note to self: I think zanpakutou are called into being by their owner, but this is obviously not the only form taken by undifferentiated spiritual energy. Humans don't take on shinigami powers normally, regardless of how strong they are, because they're not dead and that's not their job. (BUT I am extrapolating because I don't actually know this. I mean, when Chad or Orihime blasts a hollow, does it go where a zanpakutou would send it normally? The series would seem to indicate yes, or at least no one's kicked up a fuss about it. But then why are Quincys "doing it wrong"? It can't only be a matter of intent.) Whether Ichigo's powers being shinigami powers are due to genetic inheritance or because temporarily taking on Rukia's abilities created the "shape" within him into which his spiritual energy flowed like batter into a muffin cup - well, it's not so pivotal a question that I think canon will ever bother answering it. ^^;

But one does tend to think the zanpakutou are manifestations of the very deep subconscious - the basic stuff of the personality/soul as it were - because of the various ways in which the shinigami relate to them. But I wonder if their form actually reflects the waking ego more closely than that would indicate. I don't know - if the conscious desire were strong enough? Could Rukia's shikai be beautiful white ice because she wants to be an ideal Kuchiki like her brother? Renji's disjointed bankai because he needs to be able to dodge Senbonzakura? Every bit of Ichigo's power compressed down to the need for speed, because in the 48 hours it took him to train for bankai the one thought uppermost in his mind was I must hurry?

***

Could I have lived a contented life without ever seeing dollfie!Ikkaku? Almost certainly. (Then again, correct me if I'm wrong but it's easier not to attach hair to the things, no?) I do admire the effort, let alone the people who hand-modded all of Renji's tattoos. And where are the Prince of Tennis dollfies? I will laugh if you claim they don't exist.

Comments

[akatonbo.livejournal.com]

I think I have seen a site that has some. Along with PoT Sims skins, natch.

[silvermuse89.livejournal.com]

That's an intriguing theory, about how the zanpakutou embody the traits a specific shinigami wants. Perhaps it is a combination of the two, the initial zanpakuto is picked by the subconscious but then it modifies it according to what it's wielder needs? Since there are various levels and even alternate bankais as Byakuya demonstrates.

[tokkitsu.livejournal.com]

Mm, that's interesting, that the zanpakutou is a manifestation of what they want. Perhaps the zanpakutou grows as the weilder grows? Because you have Tousen's bankai which is a literal representation of the darkness of his world, but then there's Izuru's Wabisuke which forces his opponent to bow down and look up at him. I think it's both, perhaps, a representation of both who the weilder is and what the weilder wants, since both qualities make up a person (or rather, shinigami), anyway.

Mmm... about Chad and Orihime's powers - maybe because they were affected by Ichigo's shinigami powers that the spirits are sent to wherever the zanpakutou sends souls normally? Or perhaps it's the Quincy weapon itself? Since Quincies draw in their power from the spiritrons in the environment around them, whereas shinigami draw their power from within themselves (I think?). Orihime's and Chad's powers both seem to identify more with that shinigami-type of power-wielding than with the Quincy-type.

[naanima.livejournal.com]

OK, disclaimer; I am reaching here, so bear with me. First off; doesn't Chad, Ichigo, Orihime & ala Shinigami powers come from 'within' and the Qincy's powers come from 'outside'. That is, Ishida draws power from the environment, while Ichigo's powers are a manifestation of his, um, 'inner' spiritual ability. Maybe that's the difference; environmental powers kill Hollows in a bad way, while spiritual powers (that's what I'm going to call the 'inner' power) kills Hollows in a good way.

Hmm, I really should type up that 3 hour rant I had with a friend once about the nature of the different sort of powers exhibited in CLAMP universe(s).

*walks off*

[astrael-nyx.livejournal.com]

Was the Uighur hotpot at the fairly new resto down in Chinatown on St. Laurent? My friends and I are considering trying the place out sometime this winter and if it's good, we'll definitely try it out.

[smurfmatic.livejournal.com]

Yes it is! 14$ per hotpot, and despite what the ad on the door says (it says "per person"), you can just order 1 per group, and add plates of meat, noodles, and whatnot. The noodles are handmade and 2$. Good shit. That restaurant deserves a long life just for being non-Canto-generic-Chinese.

-Ced

[subaru-san.livejournal.com]

Sounds good. Do you have the address to that place? I'd love to try it sometime. ^_^

Cynthia

[subaru-san.livejournal.com]

I realize that I don't know you, but I was seriously asking you about the address of that place. I'm really interested in trying out new Asian places. ^_^

Cynthia

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Well, I can tell you - not the exact address, but it's on the corner of Gauchetière and Saint Laurent, in Chinatown. Second storey of a building.

[subaru-san.livejournal.com]

No exact address, huh... Well, guess I'll try to find it sometime anyway. We could always go there sometime. I like to try new stuff anyway. ^_^

Cynthia

P.S.: Just looking at your icon is making my mouth water. Is that from any place nearby? :P