Mourningstar

Wow, this is one fun topic. I suppose I'll have to tell about my body art, too, with the count of four tattoos and five piercings. The tattoos are two small pictures on my shoulder blades, (the other being a wolf's head against a moon and the other a tribal wolf's head), a large ornamental style wolf's head on my left shoulder, and a celtic style arm band on my right upper arm. A fifth one is in the works, once I can finally get the drawing to my liking; a raven perched on a dead tree branch, against a crescent moon. I got my first tattoo when I was fifteen and I've had a new one done every other year since then. I know, getting a tat done when I was that young wasn't very responsible on my part, my mom's part, or the artist's part, but I had my reasons and I haven't regretted it even for a day. That year I had come down with a severe illness and spent several months in pain, almost withering away. I'd been asking my mom for a tattoo for a long time before that, and a couple of months after I was declared as healthy again, she agreed. It was actually a pretty liberating experience for the both of us. My piercings aren't nearly as dramatic, though. Both ear lobes pierced twice and a navel piercing. I got my belly button done the same time as my mom got her first tattoo, my present for her 50th birthday.

Thank you, redsliver. It was indeed, what I was going for.

A long, long time ago (okay, a year and a half ago) I wrote a fic, and it was vital for the plot twist ( a plot twist in a plotless story, I do so flatter myself ) that I include two lines of French in the end. I originally had the lines translated by a friend of mine, who had studied the language for three years. Since she wasn't a 100% certain of them, I added a little tidbit in the author's notes, asking, that if anyone spotted a mistake, please let me know. Unfortunately everyone and their dog rushed to offer their opinion, either to confirm that it was word perfect or that I'd written complete pig's latin. I still get those messages, and now I'd like to have those lines either confirmed to be correct or corrected once and for all. “Même sans la douleur, tu tiendrais mon amour…” You would hold my love even without the pain. “Mon chéri…” My beloved. There are some here, who I know to be completely fluent, and many who can easily put together at least a few sentences, so please, if you feel that you can help me, I'd be most grateful.

I actually began slashing before I'd ever even heard of a thing called fanfiction. This backwards development began when I started reading fantasy books. As many of you will know, supporting female characters in fantasy books tend to be godawful creatures when it comes to their depth, yet the men fall in love with them because of their fiercely shining hair, bright and mysterious eyes and exciting status and all that jazz, and most importantly, because it's the done thing. I just couldn't figure out what was supposed to be so attractive in all that, and how a relationship based on such premises could work. Then I started thinking about how minor these love objects began whenever a new quest came about. It was obvious that those men were extremely close to each other, with their deep oaths of eternal friendship and loyalty and brotherhood etc. To me, those men felt better suited for each other than to those women, who were always in need of rescuing or always overly aggresively trying to prove themselves. It definitely felt like a better base for a (romantic) relationship. Fast forward a few years, when I stumbled across fanfiction. This happened with a fandom absolutely notorious for its abundance in Mary Sues, and pairing up good, solid blokes seemed better and better. I went down that road and never looked back. Nowadays I'm a total slasher in many fandoms and numerous pairings. I'm not completely averse to het pairings, and I can even confess to actually liking a few, but they're pretty much exceptions to the rule.

The site itself centers around the comic, which is very story- and character driven. The story is set in the near future, so some sci-fi elements can be expected, but the main focus is on the action, adventure, suspense and most importantly, the friendship between the main characters. So far the site itself is pretty young, since it's an offspring of a much larger and very popular Finnish original version. I myself am the co-creator and script writer for the comic, which is intended for 16yrs+ audience. The way to the world of Jetronic While you're visiting, please feel free to drop a line or two in the guest book.

If I ever actually end up being dragged down towards the altar, I definitely expect to get taken to a strip joint for my hen night. Speaking of bachelor parties... A couple of weeks ago I went to the local amusement park with some friends and spotted no less than four bachelor parties; one guy party and three girl parties. I still haven't figured out whether July 7th will simply be a very popular wedding date or have the Heads of State stealthily snuck out a pro-polygamy law.

Sounds just like a bad slash plot to me. (Anyone want to take this? A free plot bunny, courtesy of the U.S. military) Then again, my cousin was a straight man when he joined the army and bi when he got out.

This thread is certainly a trip down the Memory Lane. When I was a kid, I used to love TNMT, He-Man, Transformers, Biker Mice from Mars and Silver Fang. But my favourite cartoon of all time? Pinky and the Brain. I used to love those two mice, especially Brain.

Sometimes there just isn't any way of stopping the old gray matter when it wants to get on the wrong tracks. I write the script for a web comic with a futuristic setting and adventure/sci-fiey/wtfey plot, and at the moment I'm supposed to be building tension to prelude the villain's betrayal and showing his true colours before the massive showdown between him and the heroes. What does my brain want to do? Write a pirate spin off.

I've always known that I was never cut out to be a girly girl, but reading that list and realizing that there are only two things I haven't done (some feats accomplished with a certain freedom of interpretation) makes me feel highly amused. Perhaps I'll make a fine husband for someone one day, provided that they aren't all that finicky about actual genders.

Maybe I'm a bit funny that way, but I don't like reviews of gushing praise because I don't feel that I deserve it. My stuff is what I'd rate slightly above average at best on my personal scale, and every time I get a review saying how someone thinks one my of my fics is the best thing ever, I feel slightly disappointed, knowing that the reader is happy with so little when there are tons of better authors out there. If I get concrit, I know that the reader liked my stuff enough to think that there's potential for more. It also shows that they really read it through with thought, instead of just glancing through and thinking 'omg my favourite pretty boys are kissing, this is soo awesome'. When I want praise, I'll go and have my stuff read by my friends. Okay, just a little confession... There have been two instances when I got a review filled with both concrit and praise, from people who are very good writers and with quite a bit of cred in the fandom (and whom I admire myself). Both times I was deliriously happy.

"OMG, ur, liek, so meen!!1111" "I don't know what a beta is/I don't like them/they steal my works." "they'res nohting wronc wiht my speling/it's too bothersome/it hinders my creative process/English isn't my first language/but everyone knows what I mean, right, so why are you being such an uptight asshole/I don't have a spellcheck, I type it in the text window/I'm not very good at spelling." Now that we have those under the way. (Hey, someone had to do it, seeing that the actual culprits aren't likely to come here. ) Honestly, just using the damn spell check takes a lot less energy and time than later on explaining and defending themselves against us horrible spelling nazis. Yeah, the occasional typo not caught by the spellcheck happens to us all, but some of those folks out there are so creative about their misspellings that the reader has to pause for five minutes to try and gauge what they might've been going for.

Draco Malfoy - 95% (Okay, I can dig that.) Fred and George Weasley - 85% Cedric Diggory - 85% ( This was unexpected...) Victor Krum - 80% Ron Weasley - 80% ( How did this happen?) Harry Potter - 45% No one, you're a prude - 30% (WHAT?!) Percy Weasley - 25% (*snerkgiggle*) Sure, a fun quiz, but there's something off with the score system. It adds up even worse than my algebra course work back in the day.

And you wasted it like this, instead of yelling THIS IS SPARTA? Nevermind my geekiness. Coolies for you, and keep going strong.

Personal Squick Level at play here, it would seem. I'm not that bothered about the concept, but I'm not about to immediately book a flight to China, either. I've eaten my share of the oddities of the world of cuisine (I like calamari, and every game season I wiggle a dinner invitation from my aunt, just to get a taste of the amazing things she does with an elk's liver, and I'm not even sure about some of the things I've downed in the Middle East) and I'm always willing to give it a try. Should I be faced with prepared reproductory organs, I'd try it, out of curiosity and politeness. As far as another point of view is concerned, a great deal of tourists coming to these parts of the world kick up a good cry, because reindeer is a fairly commonly used variety of meat here, and the thought of cooking up sweet little Rudolph is too much. (Which is odd, really, considering that more often than not, the ol' Red Nosed is depicted as a deer instead of a reindeer, but I digress...) And honestly, the amount of foreigners willing to eat the damn national delicacy, sweet oven-baked malt porridge, is microscopical. At least with bull's balls, you only have the superficial knowledge that it's disgusting. This stuff looks the part, too. (No, I don't like taste of it, myself.) *clicky* Not for the squeamish.

I have to admit, calling the police wouldn't be among the first, or even second or third thoughts on my mind, in that kind of a situation. Although one must wonder... If the guys really were that shocked, and unless they were hiding in the bathroom, what were they doing during the half an hour she spent taking care of business?

I've yet to know a dog who didn't know how to open a door, provided that a lock and key weren't involved. But I think the key question here is the training. Actually intended training, deduction through observation and mimicking, or indeed, surprising knowledge and understanding of the human anatomy. Whichever the case, the lucky woman is still alive and Toby gets spoiled rotten. OT: This rather reminds me of a case that was huge news, headlined "Man Dies of Dog Bite". In the end it turned out that the man was playing with his dog (accidentally, also a goldie), nicked the side of his thumb on the dog's tooth and got an infection, which caused his death. Goes to show you how portrayal means quite a bit...

I think they would've mentioned it if Toby was similarly trained. I don't know much about how those kinds of aid dogs are trained, since my only experience is about police/security training processes (the kennel where I got my german shepherd have two of their dogs in such work), but if I remember correctly, aid dogs are trained to seek help in case of such dire emergencies, to attract attention to their 'ward'.

I'm going to have to take the non-believer road with this one, since I think nikolatesla1 was pretty much right. Certainly he might've understood that there indeed was something wrong with his owner, but how on earth could he understand exactly what is wrong, or even further, draw the conclusions as to how pounding the chest might help? Perhaps we should have a friendly competition as to how many medical procedures our dogs can perform? I'm afraid my little lughead is only about a training nurse's level, but she can misplace papers and mishear important things with a great efficiency.

I like the US version better, myself, but we only get the UK version here. Uhm, not that I'd be bying this book, anyway. No, I'll just happen to visit the bookstore some time after it's come out, and pick myself a few, err, art books, yeah, and a few paperback whodunnits and maybe some scifi, things like that, yes. I may inadvertently pass by the Harry Potter table, but that's only because it's on the way to the checkout, and any picking up of such book will be a sheer accident, don'tyerknow... *still firmly in the HP fan closet*

So they say, but it's a bit like feeding a lion raw brussel sprouts for vitamin c. Not anywhere near their natural diet and unnecessary. Damn, I really wouldn't want to be the hapless sod who'd have to feed that big cat.

I thought that a free access to hay and fresh water was obvious? As well as the very high water content in salads/lettuce and cucumber, which causes diarrhea, and the lovely gas-building properties of cabbage. Banana is a very favoured treat among my rabbits. They'd probably do my tax reports if bribed with it. The worst that too much high quality dry food causes is your bunny slowly but surely turning spherical and females develop a fat pouch under their chin. (You should've seen my lionhead after my mom took care of my animals while I was travelling, she'd gained over a pound extra!) Genesis is a very good, Canadian made brand of pellets. Seed mixes are terrible, because they always contain high amounts of fat (this might cause the organs to fatten), not to mention that they often contain rather dubious ingredients (like one particular brand with powdered oyster shell. wtf?). Of course, some rabbits are perfectly fine without kibble, too, but then they need hay even more than the average bunny. Wow, Babs really sounds like a handful. Of course, she might be one of those proud, independent woman -individuals, but all of my rabbits have been great to handle. They turn on their backs without a fuss and clipping the nails in a quick job. The only thing I've ever lost to their chewing desires was a tv cable. Mind you, the tv was brand new.

That's good to hear. I used to work in a pet store and now every time I hear about someone getting a pet for present, I get red mist in my eyes and my hackles spring up. I'd still say that a small lop or a mix with small lop would be a good choice. They tend to weigh from 2-5 lbs, and are generally speaking the friendliest and calmest breeds. Sure, all rabbits individuals, but the ones I've owned and seen have all been great. To use an extreme example, the rescue bunny I own, a Holland lop, was a darling during a trip to the vet which included shortening his teeth and a thermometer up the back passage and he never once complained while he was on my lap on his back. I know I wouldn't have that kind of patience. They also come in a wide variety of colours. Have you tried looking up pet forums? They tend to have threads for selling/buying animals.

Even at the risk of sounding incredibly uptight, the first step is to make sure that she can actually keep it and care for it properly. After all, a rabbit isn't exactly an animal one can play with, and they require a proper diet, lots of space in which they can run free and regular care for their nails. Not to mention that rabbits are herd animals and should be kept in pairs, ideally two females from the same litter or a female and a sterilized male. I have no clue about any breeders in your area, but as far as breeds go, I can suggest a Holland lop or Mini lop, or another small lop eared breed, as they tend to have very sweet natures and are very relaxed in temper. Lionhead is another good choice, but they tend to be a bit livelier than lops(I'm not sure how popular/available they are among the regular folks, since I only know of show breeders). I can't really recommend Polish or Netherland dwarves, unless you're very familiar with the breeder and the quality of their animals, since those two breeds can be extremely temperamental, especially the females who tend to be downright aggressive with their territorial instinct. A mixed breed might be another good bet, since those are certainly available, but that does leave open the question of its backround (possible health issues?) and nature. But I wish you luck with your quest. I've had rabbits for the last 15 years and I know what great pets they can be.

I'm not sure about ending the madness, but at least those have titles. I think I just might dig my eyes out with a plastic spoon the next time I see another story titled "just another x/x" or even worse, "no title yet, tell me if you think of one". *shudders*