Saitochan

Well, I don't know about the rest of you people, but when I say "Organized Religion", what I really mean is any system of beliefs which dogmatizes their practices and rules. We are all different, and if I happen to find a way of connecting to my spiritual self, the minute I dogmatize my beliefs to pass them on to somebody else, they lose all spiritual value, simply because what works for me might not (and probably will not) help somebody else reach inner peace. I believe everyone should look for their own way instead of following a preacher like a herd of sheep. Oh well. I hope that helps clear the confusion. Well... I actually see 'faith' more like a mental discipline than a spiritual capacity. I like to think that, with the proper training, if you believe in something hard enough, you can make it happen. But... maybe I'm just mental...

Wow. That must be nice. How about a hot shower in a cold night?

I'm reading Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse. Cool book, I devoured Twilight and New Moon in like a week. But now, I wonder, what am I going to read once I'm done with Eclipse?

Organised religion can (and probably will) be hazardous to your health. XD

Well, honestly, I haven't read your fics, or any of your writings, for that matter, but if I were writing something of that sort, I'd have... Koranad say something along the lines of: "Come now, Aries. We've known each other long enough to drop the formalities" in a tone that's between annoyance and affection. Though... I don't have a clue of the relationship between the characters, if they are affectionate between them or if they have indeed known each other for long. So I might be wrong, but I hope it helps

Have you spoken to her abouth this yet? if you have, what did she say? I have to agree with shinigamiinochi about how difficult it is for a person to change. But maybe she'll give it a shot if she really loves you. Like hell its nasty. If I remember correctly, this situation of yours has lasted more than two or three months, am I right? So, what kind of girl could possibly want to test you for THAT long? My opinion? I think she's just mean.

Thanks for the advice! I'll give it a try. Another secret of mine... neither my friends nor my family know I write fanfiction (errr..., no wait. Only one person knows. He's my cousin and my best friend, but I don't think he's into reading fanfiction).

So am I! But that hardly counts as a secret... everyone in my house knows pretty much everything there is in my computer (80% hentai, 10% porn, 10% non-sexual content). As for a dirty little secret... I think I might be Bisexual. Is there any way of confirming that without me having to make out with another man?

Complaining about fan-girl made pairings? Believe me, I know what that`s like. I write in the Naruto Fandom and it`s unbelievably hard to find stories about the pairings I like. There`s like 4 or 5 yaoi stories for every het fic (and I don`t think there are THAT much gay writers in there, but rather a bunch of yaoi-crazed fangirls obsessed with the Naruto-Sasuke pairing in high school), and while I`m not homophobic at all, I feel someone should tell them `ENOUGH ALREADY! How about you write something new we haven`t seen yet? But, on a different note, maybe I should start writing in the Inuyasha fandom. I know I never really saw the anime through, but that can be changed. At least I know I`d write about Sango (don`t know much about her, but she`s so HOT!) rather than Kagome. Yeah, she`s the main character and all, but I can`t stand her.

I finally remembered! I used to get this great irrational fear wash over me whenever I heard Bach`s Minuet. I really can`t figure out why, since it sounds really nice and cheerful.

Well, I'm not too sure about my current fears, but when I was little I was absolutely TERRIFIED to hear Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and other classical piece I can't quite remember right now (call it repression). Other than that, I once saw a Freddy Krueger's movie when I was like 7 or 8 years old, and had the worst of nightmares the whole following month. The strange thing is, even though I was pretty scared of Freddy when I saw the movie, He wasn't in my nightmares. I just dreamed of something so utterly bizzarre that it freaked me out. Anybody knows how to interpret dreams around here? Well, what happens to me is the total opposite. Sometimes I like to bathe at night with the lights turned off. I think the lack of light and being unable to see enhances my other senses, so the warmth of the water, along with the aroma of the soap and shampoo make a bath in the dark a really pleasurable experience (at least for me).

Man, that sucks! It's one of the reasons I don't feel like learning to drive just yet. I'm a little short on money as it is, so the idea of spending my hard-earned (Ha! hard-earned... yeah, right) money on gas just doesn't appeal to me. If gas prices are so damn high, maybe you should try a different way to move around. Public transport can't be THAT bad, can it? or maybe you could move around in a bike or skates or whatever. I find the Nascar thing completely ridiculous as well, but hey, it's a way to keep the masses entertained, and it seems to be working just fine. Over here, it's football for the same purpose. At least it's not as expensive. And for heating your house... this might sound extremely obvious but, why not buy wood for the chimney? I bet it's a lot cheaper than oil... Anyway, good luck with that. Let's hope someone does clean Bush's mess instead of starting a new one.

Well, I admit I used to be one mayor review whore... but when people stopped commenting on my stories, something unexpected happened to me. I was perfectly able to write without any kind of feedback, and finished some rather decent chapters without caring for the lack of reviews. But as soon as the reviews began coming again, all my inspiration just died. Just like that. Weren't reviews supposed to work the other way around? But anyway, I still enjoy every little single comment I get on my stories, whether it's concrit or just the "OMG PLEASE UPDATE SOON!" kind of reviews. I consider myself lucky for never getting a flame, but then again, I'm also kind of new in here. I also try to review the stories that I like (but since lately I have been busy with my final exams, I haven't really had much time to read fics) so, I'm still hoping karma will reward me one of these days. And as for reviews in another language... I doubt people can tell what my mother language is just by looking at my writing, and if they do, well no problem there. As long as I don't get a review in L33T, I'm just fine.

Good advice. Actually, when I tried reading BDSM stories to get a general idea of what to write, I got even more confused. You're totally right, some people don't have a clue of what they're talking about, though I'm sure a few writers grasp the concepts just right. Now the problem is... how do I tell one from another? Oh well... I guess I'll just keep writing good ol' fashioned Het, at least until some perverted muse feels like whispering in my ear.

Hey people! I was wondering the other day if imagination was enough to write about something totally new. I began wondering because I was trying to write an BDSM story in the naruto fandom, but stopped dead in my tracks when I had absolutely no idea of what I was writing about, and my imagination just wasn't enough for me to pull it off. Not only had I never had experience in that field, but I have never even read a BDSM fic. Why did I even think of a story like that in the foirst place? No idea. But anyway, I want to hear about you guys. Do you think one must know first-hand about what you're writing, or is your imagination enough for you to create something decent? Maybe I'm just lacking in creativity...

Well, as for myself, I don't have that much of a problem with titles, except when the fic title is 'no title yet' or 'just another ____ fic'. That's really REALLY annoying, and when by chance or boredom I do read one of those stories, the title is not even the worse part. And summaries... you guys are totally right. What kind of writer writes 'I'm not good at summaries...'? I kind of have some trouble myself when coming up with summaries, so most of the time, I find myself changing them more than once. I'm just not convinced with the way they end up. But anyway, reading this thread got me wondering... do my titles suck? I know I've only got 4 fics, only one of them finished, so that makes me rather new at writing fanfiction. At least my titles are related to what happens in my stories. But still... the doubt remains.

Well, if it's something that must be in a racing stable, I have to agree with melrick on the Dry ice thing. But I was also thinking some sort of acid or even liquid nitrogen could cause the burn marks. Of course, you'd have to specify it was a chemical burn or a burn caused by extreme cold, and think of a way for such a thing to be in the stable in the first place (I can't really think of anything right now). As for a cigarrette, that depends on whether the burn mark is only slightly oval (which might work with a cigar or cigarrette), or if it's really oval-shaped. And, when you say the burn marks are on the horse's rump... do you mean it like the horse sat down on something hot? Is it's tail burnt as well?

Hmm... rewards from writing? Well, as almost everybody said, I love the feeling of being able to create something, wether it's a character, a situation or whatever. Reviews are also important, but seeing as I don't get that many, I've learned to get by without them (up to the point where I got a writer's block when some people sent me reviews... how strange is that? ) Another aspect of writing I enjoy is being able to see myself in the characters I write about. You know, finally being able to write those words I couldn't say, or have the characters do or feel what I couldn't kind of lets out some steam... Finally, as NinjaGaijin said, I do enjoy being able to fill blank spaces left by the canon and doing the appropriate research to make it believable. But as of reading my own stories... I don't know how you guys can do that! If I begin reading one of my stories, I'll probably find a thousand details I don't like, so that'll lead me either to rewrite the chapter I'm reading (which can't be so bad) or rewriting the whole story. That's why I seldom check my own fics, and I only do so when I need to see some detail from a previous chapter.

Well, I do tend to stay in my room (or at least within my house) all day during weekends, given my friends don't abduct me and drag me out for a drink. The rest of the week? Classes, work (though not everyday. Freelance jobs are the best!) and hanging out with my pals from the University. I know I'm kind of a hermit, but not THAT much.

What do I do? Hmm... between watch anime, read mangas, write fanfiction, and kill time with those online RPGs, I don't get time to do much more. But when my brother (that monopolizing bastard) kicks me out of his computer, I go to my own (which sadly, has no internet connection). Once there it's music, books, and offline games. Other than that, I'm just the same as you guys. Argue with my family about not leaving my room is kind of a lost cause, but...

I'm in sort of a similar situation now. I work as a freelance translator for various places, but it's been almost five whole months since I had my last job. I call my employers every once in a while, but they say they don't have any work for me until another two or three months. Damn it! What am I supposed to do until then?

Well, fitting that description, there's Luffy's brother, Ace. The problem is he only appears until around episode 100, and only sticks around for like 6 ot 7 episodes. Too bad.

Sorry to hear that. I really enjoyed debating with you. Oh, and by the way, I took that intelligence test, and got 91.7% as a result, but I still feel you're smarter. Either I got lucky, or my education did manage to span the gap between us, but just barely. Nah... I just got lucky.

Say Greenwizard, you never really told me what was it you did to have God scream at you? A friend of mine once dreamed that god kicked me in the face. What did I do wrong? (LOL)

Neither have I. Oh, and I have never been to the USA.