【ANOTHER ANON MEME】


Also, quick question -- am I the only person who ends up irritated to the point of physically twitching when faced with things such as 'I can't stand Americans who hate the United States'? Especially when said hate is usually criticism that any rational citizen should generally offer to their state, when he or she considers that there are problems in some area or other. I honestly don't get it. -_-

I really should be getting back into the hang of RP one of these days -- probably after most of the mid-terms are over, since the pile of research projects sitting on my desk is enough to drive me completely crazy. A few muses are being particularly insistent (and one of them needs to have a significant canon update which I've been putting off since forever given that the alternate history is a pain to trace out properly in certain sections ^^;;)

Meanwhile, here's a bit of advertising I snagged -- because heaven knows that ygodressing has been far too quiet lately.



( Many small steps at a time. )

Yes, another meme -- because I'm on a roll. Snagged from koyuki_azumaya.

As usual, a pretty comprehensive list of my fandoms can be found in the introduction post (which I kind of need to update a little).


Pick a fandom, any fandom I'm in. I will tell you:

.01 One True Pairing Ship.
.02 Canon Ship.
.03 "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship.
.04 "You are one sick puppy" Ship.
.05 "I dabble a little" Ship.
.06 "It's like a car crash" Ship.
.07 "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship.
.08 "Makes no canon sense but why the heck not" Ship.
.09 "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship.

Yet another silly little meme -- this one stolen from saft, because I've become a bit bogged-down in the translation of a book and need to do something else for a while, just to keep myself from becoming too frustrated (I swear, if I hear about anything related to feng-shui in this lifetime, I will scream :p)

Reply to this with the line "What are you doing here, Dr. Facilier? Besides frighting women, children, and harmless alligators." and I'll give you five random questions.


Questions from saft

.01 Besides from what I know of your fandoms is there any other shows you've neglected to tell anyone you like?

Hmm... well, there is Thomas the Tank Engine (for which I harbor a secret fondness, since it was one of the most prevalent cartoons during my childhood), ReBoot, the Japanese/Finnish Moomin series from the 1980s-1990s, Salamander (an anime from the 1980s), Tabaluga and Wildfire (two other 1980s cartoons that were broadcast on Cartoon Network when I was young).

.02 What were your favourite moments whilst playing with any of my old YGO muses?

Definitely that 'meeting again' thread between AU!Judai and Leonie. It was very cute -- and one of the few opportunities where I could properly explore his more human side, since a good number of the people he was familiar with in the DR either didn't elicit much of an emotional response from him or they got the raw end of the deal by going over his taboo lines one way or the other.

.03 Imagine someone decided to write a Gankutsuou/YGO GX crossover fanfiction, Who would play who and why?

I'm not certain at all -- mostly since I generally don't find myself drawn to writing crossovers (with the notable exception of the crazy idea I had once for a Morrowind/Star Wars crossover, but let's not talk about that.... ^^;)

If someone wanted to write the basic plot of the Count of Monte Cristo in the setting of GX... well, I could somewhat see Manjoume in the position of Edmond Dantes, but he'd have to be framed by someone else, not by his brothers (as is the most common assumption -- they're jerks, yes, but they're not complete monsters). I'm not certain about anyone else, because these aren't the type of characters who easily lend themselves to pre-written roles, without forcing the story to alter itself beyond recognition.

.04 If I randomly showed up on your doorstep one day how would you react?

I'd probably be very surprised... and then I'd invite you in for a nice talk and a traditional meal, because that's the custom over here, in regards to guests -- one of the most underlined traits in this part of the world has always been the ability to be a gracious and welcoming host.

.05 Truthfully, How do you think The Supreme King would spend his Christmas holidays?

Honestly, I don't think he'd even care that it's Christmas. To him, it would be a completely superfluous, irrelevant thing -- and a hindrance, if any of those comprising his army would seek to enjoy the holidays and not do his bidding, as per usual. All in all, he quite likely wouldn't care one whit -- Christmas would bring him no closer to his goal, so it would be useless to him

However, I do have a friend who is writing a story that, at one point, started from the following idea: what would Christmas in Dark World be like? From that, it evolved into dub-con (Yubel-Johan seducing Haou by addling his perceptions) and the back-story of how Yubel performed grand theft body on Johan. XD

★ I'm currently watching 'Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo' -- which is basically an anime adaptation of the Dumas novel, that takes several marked liberties with the setting -- namely, the whole thing takes place in a future blending both space-travel and the anachronisms of the nineteenth-century French bourgeoisie and nobility. It's been surprisingly similar to the book up until this point and I find myself curious as to how the next set of turns and plot-twists will be pulled off.

I admit, my first reaction was something along the lines of 'Space sailors and (probably) vampires? In an adaptation of such a book? BLASPHEMY!!!' I generally take a rather dim view of literary works that are basically re-written classical tales with some modernizing touches added to them. To me this has always seemed to be something akin to the equivalent of hopping on the train of literary fame and success, while paying less than a quarter of the usual fare (and sometimes even less than that).

Gankutsuou, however, has managed to earn a very large amount of goodwill from me -- quite likely because I hold productions meant for TV broadcasting to less stricter standards than written materials (in other words, I would have probably disliked this interpretation of Dumas' tale had it been a book and not an anime -- because in the case of an anime, one comes to expect the addition of elements that will make everything all the more interesting for the viewer).

Also, it has to be said that this show is pulling all the old, willy tricks in order to make me ship Dantes x Albert. Oy vey.

★ My head hurts as if an entire procession of percussionists are having a free-for-all in there -- though I'm hesitating to take any painkillers, because I'm already stuffed full of of meds as it is. Added to this is also some amount of dizziness -- probably due to the fact that I didn't sleep last night, coupled with the larger than usual dose of heart medication that I've shoved down my throat. It's not quite as bad as to make me completely lose my balance when I get up (as was the case several months ago), but the room does have a somewhat annoying tendency to sway from side to side, at times.

★ I swear, this fic makes me want to cry hysterically. It's so melancholic and subtly bitter and uncertain -- just as Fakir would have probably seen things at times, even after he attempted to start a story filled with hope. To all of those who have seen Princess Tutu -- go ahead and read it, because it's short and powerful like a punch in the gut.

★ This icon.... it kills me -- and the funny thing is that it's a real advertising logo! I honestly wonder what the fellows at the Marketing department would say if they knew precisely what meanings have been given by fandom to these terms. ^^

I don't recall where I found this meme -- only that I saved it because it seemed very interesting and a good opportunity for discussion to boot.

★ anon commenting is on and IP tracking turned off
★ just about anything that comes to your mind is appreciated

What has surprised you the most about me (if anything) since joining my flist/"friending me"? Was anything completely unexpected or have I always fit the picture of me you have in your head?

Post this in your own journal and see how you have surprised people!

☆recommend a friend!☆

Please to be ignoring the sparkles -- I couldn't really figure out how to get rid of them. ^^;

So. Thanks to souslalune, I think I've figured out another way to jump-start the creative writing process (other than abusing 'Write or Die'). What does it entail? This:

► leave me a comment here filling out the requested fields in the text-box and I will try to write a short story based on what you've given me. The rules can be found in that post as well.

Just about anything goes, as long as I've watched that particular canon and feel that I have a sufficiently solid grasp on it in order to attempt writing in its universe.

ANON MEME

You know the drill -- lay it on me.

I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT...

Have at it. Criticism is fondly accepted, because I know that I've been far too much of an angstbucket lately.

I am dead-tired. Dead. Dead and buried -- to the point where I probably wouldn't notice anything amiss even if this whole building started to sink into a sea of pink molasses -- or something else along those lines.

I spent my entire day on an impromptu road-trip, given that my uncle had to retrieve the graduating diploma from his alma mater -- situated in the mining town of Petrosani, Hunedoara county, all the way in western Romania. It was a long trip -- thirteen hours all-around, especially since we stopped at the Horezu Monastery as well, up in the mountains, for a bit of sight-seeing and a frugal lunch. Still, it was worth it, because the scenery was absolutely stunning (the mountain-sides were covered with trees whose foliage was every shade imaginable, due to the onset of autumn, while Horezu was every bit as clean, well-kept and impressive as one would expect from an UNESCO World Heritage Site).

It was tiring, but the trip did good all-around -- it allowed me and my uncle to talk more freely with each other and approach some issues we had been skirting around for a while (since there's not much that one can do to stave off potential boredom while in the middle of the road) and it took my mind off of the latest issues, that had darkened my mood to the point where I felt close to an emotional breakdown of some sort (if a ridiculous article from a Hollywood actor with absolutely no credentials in matters of political science could make me want to just burst into tears of frustration, shame and sheer fury at my fellow human beings, it was clear that I wasn't doing very good).

Plus it was a nice twenty-first birthday gift (even though I'm still secretly hoping for an XBox 360)

The amendment overturning Maine's new same-sex marriage law was apparently passed, if I'm to judge by the vote-counts I've seen both here and here. Additionally, the Good As You blog has good coverage of the entire process, since the writer was present in Maine, alongside the leaders of the 'No on 1' effort.

I just... I'm too exhausted in order to even be angry right now, even though I want to either punch something until my hand hurts or yell a string of obscenities at no one in particular. Gods -- and I stayed up as late as I could just to follow the live results, hoping that this wouldn't turn out in the same manner that Proposition 8 did. I was wrong, in the end -- and I should have clearly expected this, because nothing good will ever come when rights of any kind are subjected to a popular vote. The bottom line is that we're all mean-spirited, narrow-sighted, spiteful little creatures -- not the agents of logic and rationalization that so many theories of democracy expressly rely upon.

In this sense, at least, Schopenhauer was right -- don't trust fools to do the right thing, because you'll be wasting your time. If a win couldn't be pulled even with more funding than the other side and far more logical arguments (given that 'Yes on 1' resorted to what was basically religiously-endorsed bigotry and the disgustingly crude scare-tactic of threatening parents with the possibility of their children being 'indoctrinated' in school) then I have to say that I don't harbor much faith in the discerning power of the ordinary voter.

If I didn't have to head off to classes in around ten minutes or so, I'd be sorely tempted to open one of my uncle's palinca bottles and get myself summarily smashed -- if only to get rid of this feeling of bitter, crushing disappointment at my fellow human beings for a while.

Long and rather rambling post ahead. Read at your own risk.

( And I wonder why everything moves as if it were a roller-coaster )

I'm home again. Fucking finally. That entire trip was one big disaster from beginning to end. Expect a long rant on the subject when I'll be somewhat more awake and coherent.

Meanwhile, this is one of the first things I found when I got back. The idiocy and lack of respect that some people display so proudly has ceased to faze me, but that doesn't mean that I can't get annoyed anymore -- and I'm not a vegan in the slightest. I think it says something about your degree of appeal when someone who otherwise agrees with your basic tenets doesn't want to be associated with you in the slightest, because you express them in a hostile, offensive and 'look at me, aren't I so edgy and counter-culture?' manner. Good job, nimrods.

I'm off to bed, otherwise I'll start bitching about everything that gets on my nerves.

My Internet has been very fickle lately, for some reason or other (and decided to completely die on me today, much to my chagrin). Still, it seems to be working now and that's all that matters.

I'll be away for the duration of the weekend -- one of my maternal cousins is getting married and I'm going to take part in the celebrations, along with the rest of my extended family. The happy event will take place in Chisinau, Moldova (something that would have irritated me quite a bit around one month ago, when a strict visa requirement was still in place for any Romanian citizen who sought to cross the border). It's very doubtful if I'll be able to connect to the Internet, since my current wireless signal covers only a rather limited area around the central router -- hence why I'm putting up a hiatus notice.

Since there will quite likely be a lull in the proceedings, at times (as is quite often the case when it comes to weddings) I'm going to try getting some fic planning done, since this writer's block is already getting ridiculous. I've got some ideas for Judai x Yubel fics floating around in my head, but it remains to be seen if I'll be able to express any concept with the proper words (and this also reminds me that I need to finish that Ship Manifesto I started writing for the two of them).

See you all when I see you. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. :p

Man, I feel as if an entire conga line trampled over me. Twice. :p

I can't really figure out why on earth I've been feeling so exhausted lately, but I suspect that it's related to health issues again -- since I'm having some difficulty sleeping due to my heart deciding that nighttime is the ideal moment for going berserk. It has my thanks for that brilliant decision.

Nothing new on any other front. University courses are going steady, as always (until mid-terms will kill and bury me), this city is still insufferably crowded and the political debate for this year's presidential elections stands just shy of absolutely cringe-inducing, as I expected.

In other news, I'm rather tempted to start writing fan-fiction again -- heaven knows that I've got an ass-ton of ideas vying for supremacy in this head of mine, if nothing else. The problem is the same as always -- no matter what I do, the words can't come out (or won't come out). This amuses me, because I can churn out a fifty-page academic research paper well before the set deadline.... but I seem utterly incapable of stringing together even two sentences when it comes to fic writing. It's been this way for more than a year and a half -- and sometimes, I find myself wondering if I should just give up on any further attempts, given that the universe seems to be conspiring against my attempts at poignant prose.

I suppose that part of the problem is the fact that my style (or what I tend to aim for when it comes to a set writing style) is vastly different from the aesthetic of modern writing. It's a heady, smoky, rich thing -- filled with metaphors and similes and sensations translated into sounds or images -- more common to the penmanship of XIX^th century writers. It's not the sharp, precise and to-the-point writing of the new millennium, steel and glass entwined together -- something which makes it appear rather jarring when compared to other works (especially with the criticism being levele against what is called 'purple prose').

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what stands as the precise cause of this writer's block that has plagued me for so long, but it seems that almost no writing exercise I engage in will do the trick and at least partially unclog things in my head. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them, no matter how odd or silly they might be. At this point, I'm rather desperate. ^^;;

A good deal of people probably already know this about me, but I will endeavor to make it clear, in order to not risk any confusions: I absolutely abhor gender norms.

There are many things in this world that I cannot stand, but that I will choose to tolerate, in particular circumstances (such as general ignorance raised to the rank of virtue, shallowness and nothing else filling the void between one's ears, a self-inflated sense of moral superiority and so forth). However, this is the point where I put my foot down. If someone says something ridiculous about a political system (you and your bizarre conspiracy theories, Uncle, pfft...) I will rarely intervene and correct them -- mostly because I don't like butting into other people's affairs.

However, say something to the point of 'a woman/man shouldn't do such and such because of some rule and other' and I will not only intervene, but I will logically and systematically tear down your argument until it is reduced to little more than a smoldering wreck. And I'll only use historical or sociological data in order to do so, which will make it an amusing thing to watch you squirm around for an effective counter, given that academics will grant you little support, unless you'll rely on the generally debunked subjects (such as evolutionary biology applied word-for-word to the modern setting. Pssst -- it doesn't work that way).

What's gotten me so riled up? This -- the particular comment I've linked to. I couldn't help answering, because that kind of stupidity coupled with sexism inevitably makes my blood-pressure shoot straight for the stratosphere. I've already debunked their claim there, so I won't insist more here.


I'll only add the fact that the boys themselves look cute and are indeed daring in doing this -- but they would have probably benefited from some advice in terms of more suitable fabrics, models and cuts for the skirts (since most of these models aren't particularly flattering for their figures. Still, as long as they like the end result, that's pretty much all that matters).