Okay. In Neopets game/site plots, there is usually a family or two shown to some extent. Normally, I guess they would only show one parent and it would be another species. Then people assumed the other parent was the same species as the child. Or it was adopted. But one of the somewhat recent plots showed a family of five... two parents and three children. All completely different species. None of them were the same species. At all. It's possible they adopted... but I have a theory.

There are Neopets, adopted by people who go to the website, and then there are story/game/etc. only Neopets... The former all have a similar and more animal-like design, naturally. The latter are generally more anthropomorphic (which is very noticeable when viewing a species that is typically a quadruped.) Even more so as years have gone by, it would seem.

One could say this is purely a matter of "it's more interesting/edgy/etc. if the Neopets in the plots/games are humanoid!" However... secondary characters in these same plots/games, alongside the anthro heroes/villains, are sometimes relatively more standard. Some examples include the Nightsteed (a quadruped when normal and when cursed) and the green Neovian Kacheek (from the Tale of Woe. When he turned back to normal, he is roughly the size and overall design of a standard green Kacheek, with the exception of his clothing.)

My theory is based around explaining this too.

Now, there are many species of Neopet. But I figure they work a bit more like breed than true species, for this theory to work.

Basically, if you pair one individual of a species with another individual of the same species of Neopet, you get the exact same species. This would be how you get the standard Neopets. It's a matter of being purebred. Skeith+Skeith=Skeith

But, if you pair one individual of a species with another individual of a species of Neopet, you get an individual who is a completely different species from either of them. It gains the traits of its parents, overall, but it is outwardly another species (perhaps one based on a prior ancestor's divergent species.)

So, Skeith+Zafara=Ixi, Skeith+Zafara=Gelert, and Skeith+Zafara=Lupe... and all three children are taller and more anthropomorphic. When I say anthropomorphic, I mean things such as being bipedal, despite the fact an Ixi, a Gelert, and a Lupe would all typically be quadrupeds. At least in this example, it could sort of make sense, because Skeiths (after Version 2.0 anyway) and Zafaras are naturally bipedal. It is, in essence, a weird form of hybrid vigor, perhaps.

However, this would mean if two smaller species breed, such as a Kacheek and an Usul, they won't necessarily have taller offspring, unless perhaps their parents were larger or two completely different species as well, meaning the Kacheek and/or the Usul are also hybrids.

I find this theory fascinating. It's a bit like breeding a Dachshund with an Irish Setter, except you might end up with a mutt that resembles a Corgi instead of a mutt that resembles a Spaniel.

I wonder, if given enough time, if cross-breeding every single Neopet at least once, within one family line, culminates in the birth of a Faerie as offspring. That could explain how Faeries come into being (but not why they are all female...) This could also explain why the females of hybrid vigor gain breasts and full heads of hair, like Faeries have, even though no standard Neopets (beyond those painted to be Royal) have such traits.

Perhaps the breasts and hair come from lines bred from Neopets painted Royal?

Last Minute Add: Incidentally, I converted the centimeters on random Neopets while browsing the Best-Dressed gallery... Usuls are about 3 feet tall, Kacheeks are barely a foot tall, Xweetoks are barely a foot tall, Unis are about 4 feet tall, Elephantes are about 2 feet tall, and Jetsams are about 2 feet tall (if memory serves me right.)

This frightens me. The squirrel (Usul) is about as big as the pegasus but the elephant, the fox/dog/cat-thing, the chipmunk, and the shark are significantly smaller than it is. I can't recall if I checked the Skeiths (dragons) or Grarrls (T-rex) but I think they may have been about the size of the Usul. ... It's just weird. (And the only thing I consider a definite mistake, as all the rest could be remotely plausible, since some sharks are small and the elephant has wings and a powderpuff for a tail, so odd fantasy details could apply as an explanation for its size.)

Make a list of all the characters in your icons. (Although you may have more than one icon of a single character, they only go on the list once.) Alphabetize it. Take the first two people on the list; that's your first pairing. Second two people; second pairing. Etc. Then write your reaction to each pairing (or a snippet of a hypothetical fic featuring each pairing)

Without the tofu, it wouldn't be an even number, but tofu doesn't qualify as a character of any fandom that I know of. I guess I could drop the centaur too, since she is a really undeveloped one, but she still qualifies. So I have a problem. But here's what it looks like as such.  :D

Female Centaur (Disney's Fantasia) & Gantz (Klonoa)

Janga (Klonoa) & Klonoa (Klonoa)

Lilo (Lilo & Stitch) & Nosy (Lilo & Stitch)

Otaru (Sabre Marionette J) & Pleakley (Lilo & Stitch)

Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) & Tofu (... Reality?)

I could take liberties and include Gantu since part of his hand is there? But then I'd have to include Jumba as well... which puts us back with a conundrum, since the tofu is still needed to make an even number.

Female Centaur (Disney's Fantasia) & Gantu (Lilo & Stitch)

Gantz (Klonoa) & Janga (Klonoa)
I already know that this pairing doesn't work. I've tried writing it once... hee hee. They would literally kill each other or risk becoming very OOC. And it would have to be an alternate universe too.

Jumba (Lilo & Stitch) & Klonoa (Klonoa)

Lilo (Lilo & Stitch) & Nosy (Lilo & Stitch)

Otaru (Sabre Marionette J) & Pleakley (Lilo & Stitch)

Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) & Tofu (reality...)

Won't say anything about the other pairings though... not sure how to proceed (with which list.)

I have become hopelessly addicted to Neopets. I updated my info page to reflect this. Hee hee.

And I'm still intending to finish writing that Mary Sue essay, if you're reading this, Kippur. I just... have been very distracted lately. I need to drop by your LJ and see where you are in the Da Vinci Code. I know it's been several chapters now... You must be insanely drunk by now with all the drinks the drinking game has imposed on you. Incidentally, I really think you should sign up to spork a chapter at Silver_Sporks. :D

To my shame, I still haven't finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I am very near the end. I haven't been reading much lately. Sorry, Loafy. I swear we'll talk about it for awhile once I'm done. :D

And... Culdcept is one of the most awesome games around... but it's such a mood killer when you fail the "mission" you're on. Your game saves and gives you more cards to play the next time you try to defeat the NPC opponent but you almost never feel like fighting them again right afterwards. (I'm at the bridges level with the guy who thinks that you've killed his sister and who is out for revenge. Guh. He keeps buffing his creatures and I always seem to land on those right around the end, when he's already managed to thrash my score pretty bad.)

Also, tomorrow I will play a campaign of Mutants and Masterminds for the first time. It's loosely based on Hellboy. (My character is going to be a more traditionally inspired genie/djinni.) Usually my character is the bland everyman who holds our group of very different characters together. Since someone else commented on this after the last D&D campaign ended, I decided to make my next character a prick and let someone else try holding the group together.

Well, that's all. I'm still alive. I just haven't been using IM type programs much lately. :)

I'm not usually fond of proper memes (though some of my much older posts went on a picture-test-taking spree) but I really like this one. And I said I'd repost it. XD

(Btw, sorry if anyone has replied to me and still hasn't received an answer to any prior posts. If I don't respond to something immediately, I usually forget about it. And even if I flag my email, sometimes I get enough to where it goes off the first page and onto the second. Which definitely doesn't help me remember it.)


1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
5. Favorite Song or Album:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favorite memory of us?
14. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarkey) - what are they?
17. Can we get together and bake a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favorite subject at school?
22. Describe your accent
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Trousers or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together? (If you have no idea, just say something crazy, it'll entertain me!)
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?

Damn you, LJ! Let me post comments again! Stupid internet programs... >_<;

Yet somehow amusing. A fanfic parody of the Cat in the Hat, where Janga is the cat and the High Priestess is perhaps the mother figure (or you could have Pango, with a father figure instead.) Klonoa and Lolo (or Chipple or Tat...) could be the two kids. Heart Moo and Joka can be Thing 1 and Thing 2 (or just two Moos in general, with numbers on their chests.) Gantz/Guntz or Popka (or King of Sorrow!) could take the role of the fish... I mean, Karl is just too sweet. Though his mother could maybe do it, hrmm. (It'd be seriously interesting to see a fight between Janga and her, particularly if she was in crazy mode at the time. Would he eat her if he won? Would SHE eat him if she won?)

I wonder what other Dr. Seuss fanfic parodies/homages could be done utilizing the Klonoa characters? :3

Hrmmm. Where to begin? For the hell of it, I decided to write my own little essay on how to redeem a Mary Sue, based on the worst problems that Mary Sues create. Much of this was probably stolen indirectly from limyaael but I felt like doing this anyway. I wanted to come up with a list of things to go over that didn't just indicate potential Sue-status but which suggested ways to fix the problem.

( Here's how to give Mary Sue an Original Character makeover. )

In essence, the character should live, breathe, and serve a purpose. They should seem real enough to say what they want and be held at enough of a distance from favoritism that it will seem as if a neutral, realistic universe is pushing their lives along. Once the true function is understood, then the real original character can take form.

I'm gonna be gone until Monday. Going to Kentucky. :D

Why the hell do people take really cutesy fandoms and write about dark and brooding stuff? Some of them I can sort of understand, where there is some underlying stuff in the original theme that could be made more violent or frightening. And these are usually the fandoms that get that kind of treatment. But I get tired of seeing the "OCs with a bitter, evil past/present" (most often a male OC) about as much as I'm tired of the "OC is gonna save you all/is from the REAL WORLD!!!!1111one" and "This character is evil, therefore they must have raped someone at some point!" (The more obvious, utterly generic Mary Sues/Marty Stus are still fairly amusing.)

I realize a lot of the crap is written by people who are kinda new to fan fiction. I wrote really horrible junk along those lines when I was a youngin' too. It still annoys me though. Why? Because it's mostly senseless and gratuitous violence to make their character more amazing than the original characters (or because they believe the original series/game/whatever would be improved by making things really dreary and nasty. They also seem to think the death-toll needs to rise significantly.) :P

Also... people need to stop making boring experiments! Most notably, boring experiment offspring. (Though I have seen a number of boring experiments that weren't offspring; generally ones with a really moot capability or no clear personality.) That really pisses me off the most. I know most of the offspring characters come from Angel and Stitch... but that shouldn't limit things any! C'mon... there is an INSANE amount of weird DNA that went into these things. I wanna see some wild and unusual stuff come out of them too, once two of them start pairing up. You also don't have to limit them to all of Stitch's traits (with mild variance) or anything else.

They also don't need to be sweet. If nothing else, they should be born with destructive, semi-malicious, and mischievous instincts (per their genetics, thanks to Jumba) and will probably have to be taught how to play nice and how to handle the strange powers they've been born with. Would they be born very young and incapable of caring for themselves for awhile or would Jumba's genetic engineering result in very fast-growing babies, offspring who are quite aware upon birth, or offspring who are practically adults, the way their parents were once Jumba was finished creating them? Will the offspring get some form of homeschooling?

They also don't need to be little replicas of Stitch or Angel. (Stitch and Angel aren't as freaking boring as they're written once they're a married couple. Their personalities don't change too much just because of that. Of course they'll be more nurturing but there's so much more that goes into it than that.)

And what about some experiments who don't or can't conceive? Do they try to adopt something? What about experiments who get pregnant but don't want to have offspring? What about some experiment/alien pairings? Do you know how awkward it's going to be to socialize any of these experiments enough to get to the point of actually mating and then rearing offspring? Stitch is ahead of the game because of his interaction and life in Lilo's household but even though they're all reformed now (or only some, depending on when you set your stories), that doesn't mean all of the experiments know how to make friends outside the Ohana (or even within it) or how to attract a mate. Do most of them even have the drive to reproduce? (I would imagine it's still a somewhat innate thing.) How do Jumba, Pleakley, Lilo, Nani, and the Galactic Council feel about the idea of their reproduction? Those are all a lot of fun to explore, in my opinion. :)

Of note, I hate when I get ideas for something in the middle of writing something else. I have since halted teh original novel-sized idea for now (though I also had discussed doing a NANO sort of deal out of it, in different month from the official one, alongside my waterloafy.) ^_^;

So now I'm writing a fanfic involving Gantu and 625/Reuben/Ruben aboard the BRB-9000... it's set after the Leroy & Stitch movie. It's a lot of fun but the crew makes it kind of hard because I'm not used to writing scenes with more than two or three people (plus most of the crew had very little screentime, so I'm having to make personalities, specific jobs, and lives for them all out of my own piss-poor imagination and what little was shown.) And of course I had to go and throw in Nosy (and later I plan on briefly adding that cute student from GACC.) Nosy is fantastic when you're working with plot (as was proved in the Snafu episode) but he also makes things a little harder, since I have to think of stuff for him to uncover about other characters when he's not furthering the story specifically. c_c;

... And quite randomly, Popka rules. ^_~

It's funny. I've been reading a lot of Limyaael's Fantasy Rants over the past few months. She has a ton of great stuff. Anyhow, I have since been developing a handful of little stories into one larger whole that could be a novel or novella. I'm trying to write it but still can't decide what scene to start the actual story with so I keep writing later scenes and random bits to keep my bearings straight. (I also have several text files of world-building notes, just so I can refer back to anything I may forget later and of course I keep getting more and more as time goes by.)

Anyway, sometime recently I realized most of the ideas I came up with as a kid and a teenager weren't really fantasy. (Most of it was fanfiction and if it was fantasy, it was simply because it was based on some cartoon or movie that was already fantasy.) Especially not original fantasy. But there was one time I tried to write an original fantasy of the more typical sort. It started out with a pretty typical princess type character with lots of magical animal friends or something like that and a map that I drew up on the spot. I had no other characters besides her, really, and my original plan was just to have her turn into different animals and wander around. I remember that I stopped partway through the beginning of it because I ended up listing a bunch of random magical items I had created just then, as gifts from the unicorns and pheonixs and whatever she had. And I started scratching my head because I hadn't quite realized that was boring me but I also couldn't think of as many artifacts to create as I suddenly realized I needed. I then looked at my map, which I then put roads into, and tried to simply plot out where she'd go and what would be there. (Weirdly enough, I guess because she was turning into animals, I focused on climate types, like swamps and forests, rather than cities as much.) I then quickly realized how huge the map was and wondered how I could possibly send her all over it, what she would really do in these places, and why in the world she was traveling so much. I quit the story then (which was probably good because I imagine it would've ended up so very bad.) I also sort of realized I needed more characters but I hadn't given her any real backstory or family and completely uncertain what to do to make it a proper story as I had no plot. She didn't really have any personality either.

My second attempt was probably better. It was awhile later, though I'm not sure how much later. Maybe a few years but I know it was in high school because I wrote it for a creative writing class. (I wrote a lot of partially finished fanfiction then also but tried some semi-original stuff as well.) It was me trying to stand one of the fantasy tropes on it's head. I was actually rather proud of it at the time (though now I'm a tad embarrassed, as it seems like forced feminism, which wasn't quite what I was after at the time.) Essentially, a knight hears of a princess being held captive by a dragon and he rides off to rescue her, as it is something very knightly and significant to do. (Of note, this was before Shrek came out.) He came off as being not very well liked by teh peasents as I recall, though. Or whoever he asked. Then he slays the dragon and the princess arrives, being very angry because that was her friend and/or guardian. She sends him away and wanders off to find her other friend, a fairytale style witch, to see if she can do anything about reviving her dragon. I didn't finish it but it was still probably one of my better stories during that time. One of my other nice original attempts, was a brief mythos/folktale style story (strongly inspired by Whitewolf's Werewolf game) involving Wolf, Panther, and the Moon. I never finished that story either but it inspired "How Wolf took Star" (which I've also left unfinished, but that's because I'm planning on adding it into the Laurel and Mikhail story). I've taken a lot of my other fantasy ideas, which were good but not quite complete stories or ones I never finished or began, as well as several OOC fanfic ideas, and used them to help craft the world that Laurel and Mikhail Garland are from (they're a married couple.) :3

I'm very excited about that. I intend to try and at least write up the Garland story. Once that is complete, maybe I can devote a story or two proper to some of the characters who are incidental to their story but who happen to have reasonably full histories in their own right. Faust and Lamia, Wrath and Baby, all of who need to be renamed, as well as Manling, Cadaver, Illume, and Malanitte. Weirdly enough, Jester, Jibe, and Fitz, who all have a bit more backstory than I initially anticipated, certainly seem up for future adventures. And there's just no stopping Wrath and Baby, if you want a more typical fantasy story with heros who run around doing nifty feats of daring do. (Baby is the male of that duo, amusingly enough. He was named that because he's half-human and I frankly don't like to think about how it happened because the other half is a crocodile/fish type dragon person. NASTY JAWS.) Heck, there's just no stopping Fitz, so if he were to find himself at odds with those two... oh my. Though, if he was relying on Jester and Jibe, he'd be screwed because she's a sentient catnip plant-person (with exceptional martial weapon skills.) Given that those two are feline... (Yes, yes, I have names for Wrath and Baby's respective humanoid fantasy species. Just figured explaining in more depth would be best.)

... Off to bed now. ^_^;

Okay, look. I have nothing against the idea of taking a character from a fandom and switching around their gender for your own amusement. I'm not talking about cross-dressing or a character who's gender is hard to determine to begin with, I mean an actual sex-change in some character that has been established as being male or female. But whether it's a sudden sex-change or a change treated as if the character had always been of that particular gender, almost no one has really done anything of true interest with the idea. Fanart can get away with the lack of ingenuity a little better, because art can be less substantial and, as long as it remains well-done, can still be enjoyed. But fanfics in particular suffer a lot from this random idea syndrome that is used in an effort to make their story 'unique'.

The problem is, they make it boring. I admit, it isn't easy to determine how the change in gender would really affect the characters. Sometimes it wouldn't change much. Sometimes it would change a lot. One of the key problems is when it doesn't change much but then the person also doesn't do anything to explain why there was a change to begin with. Again, fanart can get away with this a lot better but even there, they often-times don't do much with it. The character looks almost exactly the same... they just have boobs or balls instead. Can't you at least consider how their hair or clothing style might change a bit? How they might change their poise? Would the change make them nervous? Or delighted? Some characters really wouldn't change that much but often-times, especially in group pictures of the entire cast (sometimes with everyone in the cast gender-switched), some effort at considering this should really be done. (After all, if you were going to draw them as a cat, when they aren't normally a cat, you would try to make their body look cat-like, right? You would put them in a feline pose, possibly with a toy mouse or some other cat standard, and maybe a collar too. Unless you're drawing them as a furry, but even then you're going to most likely alter the ears and add a tail, right? Though the latter kind of falls more into the 'I suddenly have boobs!' angle involving a lack of true distinction. Okay, so this whole line of thought doesn't work as well as I wanted for explaining my point of view but uh... yeah.)

If you're going to do it for an actual story, you REALLY need to put some thought into it. If I read the story and I go "... Nothing actually changed" that isn't a good sign. If I read it and go "... Misogynist" that isn't a good sign. (Unless it's a part of the character's personality, in which case it still might be done poorly but at least then it's in character and would hopefully inspire something interesting beyond trying to teach some character a lesson about feminism.) If I can tell you did it just for a 'unique' lemon, that's probably not a good sign. (Hentai, yaoi, and yuri work well enough for random, possibly OOC PWP sex scenes, without any sort of transformation involved. And some of those scenes can be good, if well-written, even if they are OOC. But only if they go beyond the naive sex cliches, have good spelling, good grammar, good punctuation, and actual passion will they hold my interest, even if there's nothing exceedingly unusual going on.) If I can tell that you're doing this purely for humor... it probably isn't really that funny.

Now, I will say that Ranma 1/2 does this well, mostly because that's actually a PART of the original manga and anime. Many fanfics from the Ranma fandom probably suck but at least they have a pre-made reason for writing this idea in. And I've seen some people parody Ranma with another fandom, using the same idea. But anything that does not have this in the original story, like Ranma does, will require a lot more thought being put into explaining why the change has happened at all and what you intend to do with it. And if you would notice, though Ranma doesn't change a whole lot in looks, he does get shorter, his hair is a different color (though this is because of the dead girl he's supposed to resemble when he transforms) and sometimes he wears women's clothing. He also sometimes plays up the feminine angle when he has a scheme that requires he pretend all-out to be a girl. Not saying that these notions are necessary or important. Just giving some mild examples.

Anyway, I've seen this plot device show up a lot more than I'd like. It could be made interesting... if only people bothered to think about, it in more depth, before they used it!

Hey, I promised something... this is the ONLY fanfic I've ever completed. I confess, it needs a beta-reader but I doubt I'll find anyone to do that for me. So here it is, in all it's unbridled self-editedness. The plot was inspired by some of the other Sly Cooper fanfics I've seen out there. One or two dealt with the notion of flipping character positions (and genders, the why of which was never explained in the summary or in the stories themselves.) Anyhow, this fanfic is set after Sly Cooper 3 (there be spoilers in them there hills), based on my weak knowledge of that game. It's been awhile since playing the first game, though I did write this sometime shortly after the second was completed (for me... I'm so lazy, I just get my boyfriend to play through these things for me, mwahahaha. He doesn't mind as long as the game is actually fun and he's interested in it too.)

I fear my attempts at making Sly charming probably came off poorly. I realize there's probably more telling than showing in this story too. I need to get better at that. I also adore Murray but he was apparently shy about appearing in this fanfic. Not that I blame him. I also think I captured some good sensuality regarding Carmelita but I can never be entirely sure. Oh and... well, I'd spoil more if I explained it. Hope you enjoy! :3

I am the kind of person who typically represses her own emotions. I simply try to avoid people online if they start to bother me or just whatever else you can imagine happening when it comes to interacting with people. I kind of dropped off the overall face of the internet for about a year or more. I mean, I sometimes left a message on a board or a review. I was still looking at websites. Sometimes I would favorite things or respond to the rare email that required a response. (This was actually more because of WoW and because I was trying to write a very ambitious fanfic but I may be leaving that in shambles now. I've kind of moved on to another fanfic, not quite as large but equally ambitious. If only I was better at coming up with actual plots though...)

I realize that in the grand scheme of things this doesn't matter. I'm not that egotistical. I mean, writing in this livejournal is rare because I feel putting up something that someone else might read should be worth the read, yah know? Even if almost no one but the friends I have (and not even most of them, as I don't share the link to my livejournal much) would ever read it, there's always the chance someone else might stumble upon it and I'd like to feel there should be at least something... eh, I dunno, not utterly sucky, emotion-driven, and pointless in here somewhere. So I only end up babbling on the rare occasions when I have some misbegotten urge that doesn't fade away before I actually get around to it.

In truth, I don't have a lot to add to the internet. I fancy myself something of an artist and a writer but I almost never settle down and put actual effort into this. I distract myself with the easier things (like video games, roleplaying, music, or TV though I don't actually read much these days; not sure why but I just can't settle down for long with a book anymore before becoming distracted) or at most, doodle a character or write a story about something I'm currently a fan of (when the urge strikes and it won't let me go or I'm bored at work.) Not necessarily a bad thing, mind you (though one of these days I really should pump more effort into my semi-original stuff.) I make no bones about it, though. I mostly just cannibalize older stuff (mostly fantasy-style things) that wasn't too great to begin with, try to throw a fresh spin on it or pull it away from it's fannish roots, and sometimes get something is okay. (In my opinion, http://limyaael.livejournal.com/ is an excellent source of inspiration for something truly good.)

But anyway... ugh. I dunno. See, when I do finally react to people, I think I tend to overreact. And that tends to make me feel worse. That's what really makes me want to kick myself. I just don't feel like I have the right to be angry or frustrated (even if I just tried putting a lot of sweat and blood into something and don't feel as if I'm being recognized for it or even ending up mostly successful. I mean, even with things they said they enjoyed but then they turn right around an penalize me for some small mistake on my part. I don't care if the latter was done playfully. I get tired of it after awhile. Admittedly, I was being something of a bitch for a week or so there but once they laid out the ground rules, I tried to more or less curb my infantile actions. I even apologized when I overreacted the first time.)

I didn't really write this to... umm, explain things though. I just felt like venting.

So, how do I make up for sounding so pathetic? Hrmm... eh, I dunno.

No, I meant with content, silly. I'll come up with something. *shrugs* If not, who's really going to hold me to that? Not very many people. Hell, if they DO then I'll be kind of amused and delighted that I garnered that much attention and interest on my part.

I guess I'm not as angry now though... which is really all that matters in the long run. I just wish I wasn't so easily frustrated. :P

I also have no idea why I keep trying to sound noble. O_o

Dude. I just wanted to say (although no one who would actually be affected by this will ever read my journal) that while EVERY RAPIST IS A VILLAIN... not every villain is a rapist. I'm just so tired of seeing popular, and unpopular villains alike, raping heroes, heroines, and author-created characters in just about every fandom. I once wrote that kind of stuff too, when I was a teenager. But rape is only 'sensational and/or sexy' if you're young, dumb and want to write smut (but also want to keep the villain in a violently villainous role or want the hero to have something to angst about.)

One of the key problems with the whole thing is that it usually turns out pathetic because the writer/artist/what-have-you is working with vague information about rape in the first place (which makes it seem much less credible.) The characters are still twisted in the process because the writer/etc. still wants to try and throw True Wuv into the mix somehow. And even when all of this isn't the case, the victim often ends up helpless even though they normally shouldn't be. Unless the character in question is a freaking rapist in the original material (and even then) I don't really want to see it.

You could say "If you don't like it, then don't read it."

But I say you shouldn't write it to begin with because it is usually unoriginal and badly done. Unless you are truly talented, please avoid this cliche like the goddamn plague, thank you very much! Even if you are, can't you think of something much more awe-inspiring to write? Surely there is something else you can do with this villain! Or at least try to work out the pairing without using rape as the intermediate. Even vicious, violent, nasty, unloving villains might give in to pure lust (depending on the situation, the other person in the pairing, and the level of commitment required.) Some villains just don't take to sex very well period, for various reasons.

Plus, the King of Sorrow would make a lousy rapist. He emos too much.

...That is all. e_e

I know almost no one actually reads my journal (such is the case with many of them, I'm sure) but hey, I have it for some odd reason so I might as well use it for something. If anyone wants to join an StH RPG MUCK... lemmie know. :)

...Wow. It's been forever since I've really tried interacting with anyone on a blog, chat room, or message board. I've left random reviews on art/fan-fiction to some extent and used email sparingly. That's about it, other than whatever conversations I've had on World of Warcraft (which don't tend to be conversations, really.) I initially had some illuminating vision when I first got it into my head to make an entry again. I'd been skittering away from the urge for months now, rather successfully as anyone can tell. But now that I'm typing up one, I find my anxiety growing again.

The truth is, I've becoming increasingly more reclusive over the past year or so. Well, I've always been more or less reclusive. But I've skimmed some intriguing books recently, and actually the content of another person's live-journal, that have kind of pushed me to reconsider how considerate this is to other people (since what I tend to do is be sociable for a year and then drop off the face of the Earth for the next couple of months after that.)

And really, all of the people I have considered as my friends on-line, past and present, deserve better. They are all wonderful, delightful people and I truly am sorry for how I've been. I yo-yo around for months at a time and then often never return. Admittedly, I think this is how much of the internet community works. But I do this with people I have felt close to and that's a different story. Someone who has spoken to you a few times isn't going to feel as let down and confused as someone you've spoken to nightly for a year or more (or lived with as a room-mate or, in all honesty, my own family whom I love very much. I'm terrible about keeping contact in RL.)

I can never really apologize enough for my actions (especially since it is going to be incredibly hard for me to change how pathetically anti-social I am in the long-run.) I suppose this is an attempt to make peace with myself and to try and explain things.

I still think fondly of all the people I have befriended. I never stopped liking them. They're too wonderful not to like! I just happen to be an insensitive jerk, unfortunately.

I guess the point is that I don't have anything to say. I usually don't.

Heehee... the only truly original piece I have worked on semi-recently. I will continue it sometime, I will. I'm also thinking of making Wolf female... I'll decide that when I have a more concrete idea of where the story is going, I think. :)

~~~~

Wolf Took Star


Wolf met the stars one evening and he thought them to be very full of themselves. The night sky was dark blue and crisp velvet. Moon, Wolf's best friend, had hidden himself among some cheeky clouds, as if further stating his opinion that this was a very bad idea. When Wolf had howled his delight at dusk, Moon had told him that he should just give up ahead of time, go home, and enjoy his dinner by firelight.

Wolf was determined. His answer to that was that he would take one of the stars home with him and use *that* for his fire. Moon grew silent then.

"Now you," Wolf asked a small star to his right, after getting nowhere with the others, "Don't you burn ever so brightly? You'd do more than light up my house! You'd light the whole meadow with your brilliance."

The star coughed as politely as she could, "You must understand, Wolf. No one here finds your life very interesting."

Wolf took such an ignorant apology as being unintentionally cruel and smiled with all his teeth gleaming.

"How would you know that if you hadn't come to live with me yet?"

"We see you often enough from here. And your conversations with Moon are very loud," the star said.

Wolf felt a little embarrassed, never thinking about them overhearing him as he howled, but pressed on.

"Then why have you watched me at all if I bore you?" Wolf asked.

The star shrugged in a pulse of light, "If it is there to be watched, then we watch."

"That's a lot of people," Wolf said, feeling clever, "What makes you so sure you're thinking of me and not someone else instead?"

The star sighed, realizing how hard it would be to make Wolf give up his strange ideas.

"I suppose that IS possible... but unlikely. We always notice and we always remember."

Surprisingly, Wolf looked very pleased at this comment.

"Well! I certainly must take you home and then forever will you be able to tell the stories of my life, to any who ask!"

"I am capable and convincing enough at spinning ballads but..." the star paused, "What do you mean by forever?"

"Don't you live forever?" Wolf asked.

The star was silent awhile.

"I am long-lived but I am not forever. I am sorry, Wolf."

Wolf was silent for a moment as well and then nodded to himself.

"All right, then it's settled. I will take you home with me and show you things no other star has ever seen."

The star scoffed at this, "That is impossible. We see everything!"

"No you don't," Wolf said, "Not when the wind and the clouds get in the way. Not when World blocks you and your sweet light. Not when Monkey lights his house and town as if he had all the stars in the sky with him."

The star did not correct him and Wolf knew he was right. He smiled again with all his teeth gleaming and continued.

"Come with me and I will show you many things. You will tell the others of your kind about what you've seen, in soft lyrics, and they won't know what to believe. Then you will be famous! Am I not right?" Wolf asked.

"I already am," the star tried to say with modesty, but her eyes sparkled brighter than ever before.

Wolf knew he had touched her deeply and was amused at such a pretty display.

"And I will make you even more so! Now dim your fires a little and I will carry you in the Marvelous Bag that Fox made."

That was how Wolf gained a star in his bag. He was surprised at how cool she felt once she was in the bag but was pleased nonetheless.

"Good lady?"

The stars words were muffled, "Star."

"Yes, Star. Might I ask if you are comfortable there?"

"I am very comfortable," Star admitted, "This feels just like home. You must thank Fox for me."

Wolf laughed, "Oh, I intend to!"

Then Wolf left the night sky for all it was worth with his long, strong legs. By and by, at the reddish, golden break of dawn, he found himself standing upon a hill. To his surprise, Fox was waiting there to meet him. Fox thought Wolf had come back empty-handed, until he noticed the way Wolf's bag glowed pale under Sun's increasingly fierce light.

"So you took a star from the sky?" Fox asked conversationally.

"Yes, I did," Wolf said with pride, "Thank you for the bag! I could not have carried her otherwise."

Fox laughed, "You'll pay for it in the end, keeping my bag to have a star in it, when I could have carried so many important things tonight. ...But why is she so faint?"

"When Star is sleeping, she's more like ice than fire," Wolf explained, "Besides, she'd burn even your Marvelous Bag if she didn't dim herself somehow."

Fox nodded at this, "Just as well then. But Wolf, I really didn't come here to get even. I told you if you had a star in the bag, you could keep it as long as you did. I wanted to warn you about your ambition. Don't become like Monkey. He wants too many things that are beyond him and I'm afraid that you do too."

"But I have a star!" Wolf cried, "That wasn't beyond me! You see? I did it."

And to make sure Fox knew for certain this was true, Wolf opened the bag. Fox peeked inside and winced before shutting his eyes quickly.

"What?" Wolf asked impatiently.

"Don't look directly into the bag. I have no idea how you looked at them at all but she's too bright to be seen properly."

Wolf considered this and peered into the bag next. His vision was not impaired in any way. He could see her lustrous form and her steady breathing quite clearly.

"It must be I can see her fine because I have stars in my eyes," Wolf joked.

Fox was not pleased, "It must be the bag. I made it so that the one holding it would never be harmed by what was in it. I just assumed that would always be me! Still, you are amazing to see the stars for what they are and up close. Don't forget that and don't tell it lightly. There are thieves like me and then there are thieves like Monkey."

"What about Panther?" Wolf asked lightly.

"Oh, Panther I don't know about. As always, tread lightly. Now go home. Your countless brothers and sisters must be waiting for you."
~~~

This is kind of the bare bones of it but tell me what you think. XD (And of course, Loaf, you've already seen it, heh heh. :)