yuuago | Contact/Spam post

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Anonymous commenting is on and IP logging is off. (This goes for the rest of my journal too). If you have something you want to say to me that's unrelated to other posts in my journal, this is the place for it. I love talking to people, so just comment away!

Note: My journal has a permanent "reverse friends-cut" policy. If you find yourself tired of reading my daily nonsense, just remove - no worries!

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Happy Birthday, Bro!

SUP BRO

♥ Eeee, your message made me laugh out loud. Thank you darlin'. (And it's good to hear from you, ahhhh~)

♪ Happy Birthday to Yuu
Happy Birthday to Yuu
I wonder how many times are you going to get this same joke today, also the tempo is off,
Happy Birthday to Yuu! ♪

---Aaaahhhhhhh, I suck at birthday wishes! ;_; I’m not bringing any presents now, but if everything goes as planned, you’ll receive something in some weeks’ time, and I’ll try to write something better than this thing :D

And now I’m going back to bed, I don’t think I can function properly on an hour and a half of sleep. ~~Can’t handre it.~~

Fffffff why am I so embarrassed

(Per molts anys ♥)

At the airport. Navigating On itouch is a pain in the ass. Plane is late. Bugger. Do not understand why someone would wear stilettos while travelling; so uncomfortable. Tired. Overslept and nearly missed bus. Think I forgot camera charger. Gdi.

Happy birthday!

IDK if this is what you're supposed to do on a "spam post", but in any case I wanted to tell you that. C:

<33333

(deleted comment)

ASLKJFDF

This made me laugh so hard, you hoser.

Clearly I am secretly 12.

....FEEL BETTER SOON, HOSER
~♥
*crawls under a rock*..can't believe I'm doing this

FFFFFFFFF

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Estonia, why do you taunt me? You show up on the visitorlog, but not the counter itself! What kind of fuckery is this? Same with you, Malaysia. :|

Also, who is this random person in Estonia, anyway... IS IT YOU,

nunu_p? Most likely, but -- IF NOT, COME HERE AND LET ME LOVE YOU

Not de-anoning because I don't think my connection can handle it at the moment. Feel free to not snoop around my LJ, it's pretty dead now.

Hi, I'm the sole(?) visitor from Malaysia /waves.
I realised that my flag was not turning up on the counter, which made me feel like a ~ninja~ for all of five minutes until I realised it was turning up on the visitor log. And I could see how much I had been stalking you a few weeks back orz.

I, uh, also read that long convo about Sweden and Finland in the thread below this and, uh, well... speaking as the person who translated that strip where Finland asked for his own space, uh... I actually had misgivings when I did that cos I thought that part might spark unpleasant discussions about Finland not being happy with Sweden. I waffled over the wording for awhile and in the end decided to just go with a more literal translation than paraphrasing it to something more natural but potentially wrong or misleading.
Anyway, evidently my paranoia was unjustified but I have to say that seeing the comments made me a bit... idk... it gave me mixed feelings? I mean, I like that pairing but I don't see them as being totally lovey dovey all the time.

I'm also fail!anon and maths!anon hahaha. But I haven't been commenting on the meme recently because work is eating my life and, well, I kinda went through an emotional rough patch recently.

AHA. YOU. I was wondering who the ninja in Malaysia was that was stalkin' me. Come, let me love on you! Imean wat.

Anyway, that was you who translated that one? I see. I think I can understand having mixed feelings after seeing those comments. The way some people react is... rather strange. But I think that no matter which way a person phrases a translation, there will be people who take from it things that aren't necessarily actually there.

Fail!Anon and Maths!Anon, you say~ Ah, I remember. To be honest I haven't been commenting at the meme as much as usual either - real life interfering, and it's so hard to keep up, because it moves so fast!

♥ Wat, wat? Malaysia is pretty much totally unrelated to the Nordics and Baltics, in terms of both geography and culture so there wasn't any reason to bring it up :).

About people reading things that may not be there... I have came to realise that it is so true. And sometimes no matter how many warnings, disclaimers or other possible interpretations I include, people will just read what they want and take it as the one and only true interpretation.
But to be fair, not everyone's like that and I have had lovely discussions with people over interpretation issues.

Yes, it is moving faster nowadays, is it not? Or maybe it's just me not having the time to stalk it 24/7 now.

Oh, I read your Norway and Iceland fic, and I must say that I enjoyed it very much despite not being overly fond of those two characters. It's very... hmm... soothing, I would say. It's like a snapshot of their lives, rather calm and a bit sweet.
Man, that sounds like a review for a cup of tea rather than a fic.

Also, I've been meaning to ask you but I always forget to, is that icon of yours from a Clamp series? It looks familiar.

PFFFFF. I'm capable of talking about things other than Nordics and Baltics! I swear! (Well, maybe. ;p )

Interpretation - this is true. It's just how people are, and I'm glad you realize it. As for me, I encountered it the most when I was teaching, and some of my students came up with very... interesting... misinterpretations of the source material. But anyway.

The meme is moving so fast nowadays that it's pretty much maxing within 48 hours. It's CRAZY. I can barely keep up. If I wasn't on vacation, I don't think I would be able to at all.

Anyway. I'm glad you enjoyed it, even though you aren't usually into those characters! Hearing stuff like that makes me very very happy~ ♥

And yes, my icon is from a Clamp series - Card Captor Sakura, to be exact! I actually haven't been interested in it for many years, but I don't have the heart to get rid of my adorable icons.

O RLY?
Kidding, you're fun to talk too, and if you ever gain a deep and intense curiosity about this corner of the world I'll gladly talk to you about it.

48 hours? No wonder I missed pretty much two whole parts this week. Aah~ I want to go on vacation too, why did I take up this job offer. Oh yeah, to fund my other vacations orz.

Keep it up and you might just turn me into a fan of those two. And then I'll be a true Nordic fan.

Ah, Card Captor Sakura! Wait, those two.... Touya and Yukito right? Man, that was so many years ago, it used to be part of my Saturday morning cartoons routine. Do you read the more recent Clamp series like Tsubasa and xxxHolic?

YES RLY.
I'm glad you don't mind my babbling. ♥ And all this makes me think maybe I should really read up on more stuff about various different parts of the world, as (for example) I know very little about where you are, except that it's... there. And that the various people I've spoken with from there are nice.

Pff, jobs get in the way of everything, don't they? But I do hope you'll be able to go on vacation soon. ♥ Me, I'm going to be without computer access for almost a week soon, and I have a feeling I'm going to miss a lot xD Oh well, I'll live.

Anyway. IS THAT SO. Well, I fully intend to keep going, so watch out! Hah. It seems I have a rather strange habit of writing fic that turns people into fans.

Touya and Yukito, yes. Ah, CCS~ Those were the days. I think I still have my VHS fansubs somewhere. Such a long time ago. I haven't read the more recent Clamp series - I actually haven't really read any manga series at all recently; I dropped out of interest sometime in 2005 and it's only recently with Hetalia that I started getting sort of interested again.

Ah, I have to say that it's amazing enough that you know it's there. Not many people I've meet overseas do although they tend to know our more well-known neighbours. Ah well, the world is a wide, wide place and there are plenty of countries I know next to nothing about.

Oh, I do have plans for visits to authentic German Christmas markets come this December which is why I'm slaving away now. I don't have much freedom when I'm home for the summer anyway so I'm saving up for when I get back to the UK.

Enjoy your computer-free week~

Well, when I read fics, it doesn't matter so much whether the fic is about characters I like written in the way I want it or not. Most of the time, a well-written fic can have me hooked on it regardless of the content. Normally I start off by looking for fics of the character or pairing that I like, then when I find an author whose style I like, I read everything else the author has written and sometimes end up liking another character or pairing. You are already responsible for making me like Estonia ♥

I used to be a huge manga and anime fan too. Now, not so much but I still have a few favourites I keep up with and I occasionally try out series that look interesting to me. It actually took me a some time to get into Hetalia... but I think having a flatmate who is a fan and thus is able to rec me strips and help me identify the characters helped a lot.

I can even find it on a map! Gasp and egads. But that's pretty much all I know about it. D:

Ooh~ That sounds like an excellent vacation! Good luck with saving up for that, then.

Ahh, I see. I'm much the same way, I suppose - when I do go out and read things, that is. Haven't been doing that much lately. Anyway, I guess if I make you like things, I'm guilty as charged. ;p

As for manga/anime, I never got as into it as I wanted to be. Of course here, when I was younger, it wasn't really on tv or anything, and I grew up in a small town five hours from the nearest city, so getting tapes and comics was difficult. I had to rely on my friends sending me copies of fansub tapes, sigh. Even after I acquired a computer that could handle video, it was still difficult, as I didn't know where to look. Sigh. Oh well~

/applauds
Well for starters, the weather here is hot (32C all year round), the food spicy, the people generally friendly, and nature-wise we're known for our rainforests and beaches. And orang utans. It's a multiracial country being a Malaysian doesn't necessarily means being a Malay. History-wise, the early kingdoms prospered on the spice trade, we were colonised for a long time by the British and shortly by Japan during WWII, then we went back to the British before gaining independence. And that's probably more than you ever need to know about Malaysia hahaha.

I admit I don't know much about Canada either. I've never been to that side of the world. I know it's cold, and there are prairies... and... uh.... pancakes and maple syrup. And that there is a pretty big Chinese population in Vancouver.

I haven't been reading much fics in the Hetalia fandom either- most of the time I have no idea where to start. I mostly follow the kink meme indexes, but since most of the authors are anonymous, it makes finding more fics a bit tricky.

Pfffft you're using the Estonia icon on purpose, aren't you? ♥

Ah, I did get some anime on tv when I was younger. Then I found a bunch of friends with similar interest so we used to swap series and all. And I live practically in the capital, so it's easier to get my hands on the goods. In a way, I've been a fan for so long I can't completely quit it but it's not the only thing I read so I guess it's okay.

Thank you for that brief overview <3 It's a good place for me to start anyway 8D

Man. Canada. I could babble about Canada FOREVER. But I shall instead restrain myself and just say that it's a pretty groovy place and that, er, we don't really put maple syrup on everything. Really.

For fic, I used to read the main comm, but... most of it is not to my taste, so I don't any more. I've found one or two writers I like, so I keep track of them, and that's it. Sigh.

And of COURSE I was using it on purpose. Fff, I'm not as sneaky as I thought I was, I guess~

Anime/Manga - sometimes I find myself wanting to get back into it, but then I remember that it can kind of be an expensive hobby (here, at least) and I don't really know anybody in real life that I could geek out about it with, and that's half the fun. Plus I wouldn't know where to start. I hear people talking about all these new series and I just feel like I'm stuck in 2004 'cause I don't know wtf they're talking about. Oh man. xD

ASFKFDJSKJHJKSD HOW DID I NOT NOTICE BEFORE THAT YOU LISTED GLAY AS ONE OF YOUR INTERESTS.

I mean, Glay! My first Jpop crush! I used to have their songs on cassette! (I still play the cassette when I drive since the car I drive doesn't have a CD player.) It so rare to find Glay fans outside of the comm ♥ I don't keep up with their newer stuff but I love love love their older songs like Yuuwaku, Winter again, However, Survival and stuff from that time.

Okay, I will now address the other issues in order ;p I know you're on a roadtrip, here's a tl;dr comment for you to read when you return.

Malaysia- one more thing before I shut up on this topic; if you ever meet a Malaysian and have trouble starting or continuing the conversation, talk about food :3

You mean I won't find noodles with maple syrup in Canada? D: I am devastated.

I won't mind you talking about Canada. No, seriously, I know very little about it anyway. Hmm, if you don't mind me giving you a topic, how about you tell me about a festival or any cultural aspect that you like and is unique to Canada, or the part of Canada where you stay? Or if you want to talk about something else or if you don't want to at all it's fine too hahaha, no pressure :)

Re: fics, brb, raiding your delicious bookmarks.

Ah, I always have someone to geek out with IRL and I used to go for cons so it was pretty easy for me to get into new series and all. I was going through your interests to see what anime/manga you have listed there and then I got distracted by Glay hahaha.
Let's se... ah, Saiyuki, I think I mentioned that to you before as anon. I'm guessing you like Hakkai? It's proving to be one of the few series I still like after so many years and I really like the artist's other works too.
Weiss Kreuz, another childhood gem! Florists by day, assassins by night hahaha. Oh god, I really can't remember much about this series, except that it had its fair share of ridiculous drama and I had a soft spot for Omi.
Also, Pratchett and Good Omens ♥

GLAYYYYYYY
I am completely in love with them. I think I first started to like them in 2000; someone in the Digimon fandom who I very much respected at the time (though I can't remember their name now) mentioned they liked them, so I sought it out. The first song I listened to was "Rain" and I fell completely in love. I don't keep up with the new stuff either (at the moment) but oh, the old stuff is so wonderful~ especially the songs you mentioned (those are some of my favourites)

<3 They're the only Japanese band that I own CDs for. Getting stuff like that is very difficult and expensive here, so I try to be satisfied with the 4 that I own. Gah, can't remember how much it cost, but it was a lot - and they were used, too. Completely worth it though.

Anyway! I will keep that in mind <3 Food is, after all, a good thing to talk about. And NO we don't put maple syrup on noodles ;p I don't think that would turn out well. Just on pancakes and French toast really, and those are not things that people eat frequently. Or sometimes on supperfood - I know how to make a nice glaze for meat using maple syrup. And it can also go in ice cream too. But really, we don't eat it all that much. I tend to find the stereotype a bit silly, because I hardly even know anyone who likes maple, really.

asdkjf you've opened a big can of worms here. I can babble about Canada for even longer than I can babble about Estonia, and that's the truth.

Okay. Well, to start out talking about culture and festivals and so on. This is very difficult for two reasons: firstly, Canada is so big, and secondly, the population is so unevenly distributed. Consider in comparison to Malaysia: our population is only about five million more than yours but our area is thirty times the size of yours. For this reason, things tend to be narrowed down to not only provincial culture but also regions within the provinces. The northern portion of my home province, Alberta, isn't really much like the southern part. Pretty much the only thing that is the same across the country are the holidays - Canada Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, Easter.

On the whole, I would say that the only other thing we have here that applies throughout the entire country is the cold. We're constantly either waiting for winter or complaining about winter. During summer we complain because everything is too hot. But if it does snow, as it did in June, we complain about that. Then in autumn we're constantly counting down the days until the first snow, not because we want it to come, because we don't, but because after it is here we can stop fussing over when it will come. Then all throughout winter it's grumble, grumble, grumble, even when it's not so bad. Essentially, this is a national sport: complaining about the weather, especially cold weather. It's strange, because many of us don't really mind so much; I guess we just need something to grumble about.

... Fff, reading over that, it all sounds very silly. I'll think of something better when I am not so sleepy.

Anyway. Bookmarks? RAID AWAY. Bah, I need to update those, though. I don't have much at all, woe is me.

asjdf Saiyuki and Weiss Kreuz. Oh my god, I love them both, though it's been a while since I re-watched either of them. Man, blast from the past - getting my hands on those fansub tapes was such a pain in the ass. Totally worth it, though.

Oh my god. It's 4:45 AM. WHY AM I STILL AWAKE. Mmph. I should wrap this up... and sleep. Yes.

I first heard their songs back in 1999 (I think); a friend loaned me a CD and I fell in love with Yuuwaku ♥ I didn't know a word of Japanese back then, so for some time I referred to that song as Morning Moon since those two of the English words I could make out in the song. Then amazingly and randomly, there was a special program about them on tv late one night and the sight of the vocalist in a black shirt and hot pink pants sealed my love for them :D.
Kidding, but I really loved their energy, enthusiasm and the joy they showed when performing.

I can actually find their stuff pretty easily here and at pretty reasonable prices to boot. They're not that popular here though... well, mainly cos they've been around for a long long time.

Ah well, aren't most stereotypes a little silly anyway? I actually didn't know of this stereotype before. I mean, maple syrup reminds me of pancakes, which brings to mind Canada (actually, it brings to mind a silly manga I've read before first), but Canada doesn't immediately make me think of maple syrup. Ah whatever, it still tastes good with pancakes, that's the most important bit.

I've never thought of how culture and festivals can vary so much in a country due to their size but that's very true. (...I was trying to think if this applies to Malaysia and then I realise that I can't say much on the variance in culture but I know quite a bit on the variance in food and the signature dishes in each region orz.) Anyway, you mentioned that the northen province isn't much like the southern part; how so? Or is that another can of worms? ;p

Ahahahaha, over here we complain about the heat. I wonder if it's a worldwide thing, complaining about the weather. I... constantly grumble about the weather in the UK too. Except for that two lovely days in February when it snowed ♥ My first time ever seeing snow actually piling up! My first snowball! Though I'm pretty sure people in countries with more snow were mostly laughing at how 6 inches of snow crippled London's transportation system.

lol one of the links in your bookmarks leads to a post I made anonymously. It's really obvious which one it is if you're curious so I won't tell you.

Saiyuki- READ THE MANGA. I know I sound like a manga elitist, but seriously, the manga is so good. I love how it can make me just crack up laughing at some parts, and other parts will make me stop and think and reread the entire part.
...you know, I actually have VHS tapes of the Saiyuki anime too. Not quite official ones; I recorded them when they were showing on tv many years back.

When it comes to music, I always find myself flailing a little, because I keep falling in love with things that are difficult to get. SOB. WHY DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE? Goddamnit, Canada. *facedesk*

As for stereotypes, you're probably right, though I do find that in many cases there is a reason for it, and it actually makes some semblance of sense (in a weird way). Not always though. Anyway, I SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT. (Though really, forget the syrup. Maple sugar candy is where it's at, yo! Oh my god, it's so delicious, but so so so sweet)

Anyway. It is indeed very varied and regionalized here, especially considering how our population is so spread out. So, what happens is you get pockets of population out in the middle of nowhere, and while they're similar in some ways to the rest of the province (and country), they're still quite different.

As for the differences between northern and southern Alberta, it's because of a variety of factors. Firstly, people are shaped by the land they live in, and the land in both parts of the province is different. In the south it's wheat fields and rolling hills, barely a tree in sight. The northern half, however, is thick pine and poplar forest, with lots of lakes (kind of similar to Finland, really, which is part of why I'm attached to that country - it's geographically similar to my home. But, anyway).

So, to go with the land, there is kind of a, hmm, cultural difference between north and south. The south has a lot of "cowboy culture" going on, very farming-oriented, very community-oriented, very tightly-knit. The south is where the major cities are, and it seems everyone is closer together, interacting more. The north, on the other hand, is very isolated and cut off from everything - for example, I grew up five hours from the nearest city. So, everything is contained within itself. It's like we're at the end of the universe or something.

At the same time, even though we're isolated geographically, culturally we're very mixed with people from other parts of Canada, because the North is an industrial area. So, even though we're cut off, there is a very eastern influence, from places like Newfoundland and such. Sometimes it seems like the north is more like Newfoundland (in terms of culture) than it is like the rest of Alberta. It's very strange.

Snow - yes, we would be laughing about how London shut down after six inches of snow. The thing is, where I am from, snow isn't exactly exciting. It isn't just because we are used to it, though there is that. It's also because you can't do anything with our snow! It's the wrong kind for playing with - you can't make snowballs with it because it's so dry. It just falls apart. In other parts of Canada you can do that, but not out west where I am. So instead we just complain about it, pfft.

! I ACTUALLY HAVE READ THE SAIYUKI MANGA. Well, part of it. Not the whole thing. After a while they stopped selling it, and I can't get a hold of it any more. But someone who goes to my school says that she has the whole thing, so I might try to borrow it from her. I really want to read the rest ;~;
As for the anime, I think I've only seen up to episode 6, maybe. D: Sob. Oh anime, why are you such a pain in the ass.....

Ahahahaha when it comes to buying things online, especially from sellers on LJ, I have the same problem too as most sellers live in the US and shipping from the US is so freaking expensive. If I factor in shipping costs, I might as well buy a brand new copy from Yesasia or something. Also, thanks to LJ, I've found people who are willing to help me get fanclub editions of some CDs, although shipping is still a bitch.

Maple sugar candy? I'll keep that in mind :) I have a sweet tooth, though my cravings are normally for chocolate. I don't remember seeing them sold anywhere I've been though, hmm.

Thanks for all that info about Canada! All I can think of to say now is man, I really didn't know all that before. I've pretty much lived in capital cities all my life and while I've never been geographically cut off from everything, it's not all about tightly-knitted communities either.

(It's somewhat embarrassing but I've not heard of Canada being similar to Finland until I got into Hetalia /hides)

I've heard of how some types of snow aren't suitable for fooling around with but I have no idea which is which, and I think no one in London cared either at that time :). I trekked to the nearest park on that day and it was full of people throwing snowballs, making snowmen and generally just playing around. Snow is exciting to me just because I've never seen it before at that time. The first time it snowed it took me awhile to realise that the white stuff falling down was snow hahaha.

DO IT. I love love love the manga and I have almost all except for the newest volumes and I'm slowly picking up the artist's other works too and man, I can't shut up when I'm talking about this ;_;
I actually picked up the manga before there was an anime; I bought the first few volumes in Chinese (and probably bootlegged, oops) and then I stopped because I didn't like the art and I couldn't understand much of it back then. Then the anime came along and I was like wow this series is great and wait, don't I have the manga? And then I dug out the manga and fell in love with the story and art and went on a mad hunt for the rest of the series ♥

Exactly! I suppose we're not much different in that case. Either way, we get screwed.

Yesss, maple sugar candy. Most delicious ever. There is a hard candy, but I like the soft one better. You break off a little bit, and let it melt on your tongue, and oh my god is it ever delicious.

As for Canada, no problem. I love talking my country and could babble for hours about it. As for living in places, I've been stuck in relatively small and isolated areas all my life. Now I live in a major city, but even so it's a rather small one compared to others, and it's in the middle of nowhere - about three hours from the next major city, or something like that. So the isolation is still there, in a way. A lot of places in Canada are like this.

And Canada being like Finland - to be honest I didn't really think about it in that way and start making the comparison until a few months ago, when I started reading about Finland more in-depth. Most of the similarities are rather superficial, but even so, they're there. For example, much of it has to do with geography (similar in the northern areas, though Finland is flatter) and isolation - both have small populations compared to their size, and outside the major areas/southern parts, everything seems a bit... cut off. There are other things, but those are the two big ones that I see.
I do so love the thought of us being a bit alike. Maybe it's just because I'm so irrationally obsessed with that country, pffft.

Man. The thought of never seeing snow before, then not knowing what it is at first when you do see it... It just boggles my mind! I can't fathom it at all!

And OKAY FINE I will bug her about it and read it. I do love the parts that I did read very very much, and I like that artist's style (visual) very much, so there we are.
In my case, I watched the anime first, because I obtained it through fansubs. At the time, the manga was either not available in Canada, or it was available but not in my city (like most things, I would have had to drive five hours to get it). I tihnk I have half the volumes, maybe - some day I will get the rest, even if I have to go to EBay to do it, hah.

H-Hi. I, uh, don't really have anything to say, especially when I online come online at night when my brain's half-dead but I thought it would be rude for me to not respond at all to your comment and uh *flails*

ON the subject of snow though, oh god thinking back on my first year in UK there were so many instances of me being a total idiot in matters concerning the weather there. I mean, like, radiators. What is this alien contraption. Something like that anyway.

...I evidently can't write properly when I'm sleepy. And I will not get started on Saiyuki again or this thing will be twice the length it is now.

Fffflate

THAT IS OKAY. I mean, if you're braindead and tired and so on, I certainly understand not being able to formulate a reply. I don't really mind if people write short ones, or if they take a while - really!

Radiators. RADIATORS. Gaaaaahhhhh they confuse me ;~; There is one in my house, and it is ANCIENT, and there is no way to control it. And when it turns on, you can hear the liquid sloshing in it, and it makes REALLY REALLY LOUD AND WEIRD NOISES OMG. ;~; It scares me.

I can't write properly when sleepy - I typo the hell out of everything and my english kind of fails, sob. But anyway. <3 That's all for now.

~~Once upon a time~~ a few days ago I said I'd draw you a picture. So, I did!
and, err, I'm so so sorry for it being all rushed/boring/crappy because life is keeping me a bit busy (summer school fuck yeah) but I still wanted to draw this for you sooner rather than later and this is awkward and these excuses are probably annoying sorry

here's hoping this doesn't cause disappointed frown to appear upon your face (http://i29.tinypic.com/117xv15.jpg)

alsdkjfkdf

Anon, you just made my crappy day a whole lot brighter. I LOVE YOU and omg, stop fussing about it taking a while - clearly you were busy (I know how summerschool is, trust me), and anyway, you didn't have to do it in the first place, and alksjdf YOU ARE WONDERFUL!

Effin' saved. Yesss. ♥

... I love that you draw Finland lookin' like, you know. A man. So many people draw him all girly and stuff, and it kind of makes me facedesk. He might be cute, but goddamn, he's still a guy~

Anyway. Just gonna say it again. I love you! You are ttally ace! I'm serious~

ahaha aww. i'm glad to hear that!
really, drawing this was a very (very) welcome break from finding net gravitational forces and all that which I should be doing right now. 'sides, I really like drawing obscure pairings for people who love them. Not so much the case with this fandom as opposed to other ones, but I know how it's like for one's favourite pairing to be dreadfully rare.

aeiotjaoietj You saying that how I draw Finland looking like a guy = best compliment ever. For serious.
He's without a doubt, the hardest character in the series to draw, for me at least. He ends up looking different almost every time I draw him because he's so damn difficult. It's hard for me to make him look like a twenty year old(?) guy, but at the same time, a really cute looking one. I don't know. Hetalia fandom rant #345346235: people forgetting that Finland is a guy. Or not eleven (actually Finland looking young isn't that much of a problem unless he's with someone who actually looks their age and then it's kind of creepy). BUT I RAMBLE.

i love you too buddy :')
♥

Eeew, net gravitational forces. I'm... not sure what that is precisely, but it sounds difficult and science-y. I might have been a science wannabe back in the day, but biology was more my thing... Anyway, if you should be studying it, go do it, you! *boots* (That's my inner prof talking)

Anyway. I'm glad you like doing it, because clearly we both benefit in some way. Eeee~~

Guyish Finland = Win. I've heard from more than one person that he's pretty hard to draw, but he looks great here, I think. Like a (cute) guy, and like his age. Girly!Finland is just... gahhhh, such a peeve of mine, I could write a big tl;dr thing on it and I'd probably still have stuff to say. And OMG, as you mentioned, when people draw him looking like, 12, I don't even -- what the fuck is up with that. He's not a kid, he's just SHORT, goddamn. Mind, I don't mind him looking a little bit younger than 20 or so, because some people just don't look their age (I keep getting mistaken for a high school student, for example. Ugh!) but jesus, there's a limit.

Fff- I don't mind your rambling; ramble all you like, that's what this post is for---

Anyway. I LOVE YOU TOO and you are made of win and wonderful things. Yes!

It's physics, the death science.. I'm actually good at it usually, but if I have to learn an entire chapter in one day cause of a test first thing next morning? Not so much, especially since studying and sleep is clearly against my religion or something D: i'm making progress on it i swear

you can tl;dr anytime you want at me, bro. reading long rants that i am likely to agree with brings me great joy. You can tell me all about how you just loooove seeing Finland looking like the prettiest little underaged blushing bride in those wedding gowns~*

I don't mind him looking a bit younger cause, well, usually he's drawn in some kind of manga/anime style which occasionally tends to make people look younger anyways. It's okay if everyone looks young cause it's the artists style, but what mostly bothers me when you see different extremes in the same picture, like SUPER SEME alongside the little uke. Like, damnit you guys, just because someone isn't the GARest thing to have ever GAR'd, doesn't mean they're small and delicate flower. why can't people be average looking ;___;
This goes for characterization too though, I think. People need to know there is a lot of area between, say, stoic and obnoxiously loud.

aoietjeaoitjaaeiotja rambling is embarassing online, sometimes. In real life I can tell when it's okay to ramble cause I see people's expressions but on the internet, the other person can be sitting at their desk rolling their eyes and being very annoyed and I wouldn't even know.
I have already deleted two paragraphs off this reply ho ho. i could tl;dr ayn rand right out of town. IF YOU'RE A FAN I'M SORRY AND I TAKE IT BACK

UGH. PHYSICS. Don't even talk to me about Physics, man. When I was in high school my mum suggested I take it, and I just looked at her like, "What the hell are you thinking?". Me, the person that failed math every year, always having to re-take it in summer school? No way.

Anyway, UGH, tests. Well, you'd BETTER make progress, else I shall be disappointed! ♥

I am SO GLAD you don't mind my tl;dr, because sometimes I just can't stop it. As for underaged blushing bride Finland, ughhhhhh, GAG ME. PLEASE. WITH A SPOON. I just. Oh my god. (Er, not very articulate right now - blame the cold meds). I'd swear, you'd think these people don't read the strips or something. Finland doesn't act that way, and he doesn't seem all too pleased with being r'ferred to as th'wife, either (seriously, Sweden, what the hell is wrong with you), and that aside, WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THE CROSSDRESSING. I've seen it, am baffled by it. He doesn't seem like the type. Must go along with the girly kawaii waifu thing I guess, but even so, makes little sense, and I don't like it.

just because someone isn't the GARest thing to have ever GAR'd, doesn't mean they're small and delicate flower

THIS EXACTLY. Oh my god. I just don't understand it. Okay, so a person isn't hardcore every minute - so what? Doesn't mean they're a drip. A person can be, you know, cute and cheerful while at the same time being perfectly capable of taking action when necessary.

I don't like that many people don't seem to see that there is a space between, as you said, stoic and obnoxiously loud. There is a happy medium, of course! Real people aren't like that at all; they tend to be a mix of things. If people were just, you know, one thing, then they'd be just flat, and that's really boring.

Anyway - I kind of know what you mean, with the rambling being embarrassing online bit. Sometimes I feel that way too. But generally, people reassure me that it's okay if I tl;dr, so I feel better about it. It's a little odd - in real life, I don't talk much at all, but online I just can't shut up, and sometimes it's awkward. But anyway, I love talking to people, so if you have stuff to say, just g'wan!

As for Ayn Rand, I can't say I've read her stuff, but it's hella long, and the only person who rec'd her stuff to me has horrendous taste in novels, so I decided to stay away, hah.

The math in physics is pretty simple, my friend who failed applied math at school and summer school even did alright on it (of course, he took it the entire year). It's just that they twist around the easiest stuff so much that 2 + 2 = 4 would seem like calculus. It appears my morning coffee has no effect on me anymore though, so I'm left thinking that 2 + 2 = 5.

Not going to lie, the first time I read that strip with Sweden making the wife joke, I ended up spitting my tea all over my keyboard. And I liked that Finland was all FML. But since Finland's cute and cute obviously translates to girly, fandom decides to run with it :| I think it's pretty likely that Sweden would've given up on calling him "wife" to his face at least if it upset him that much. What's worse is when I'm reading fic and the narration actually uses the word "wife." It's one thing for Sweden to call him wife again but then to read "and then so the wife sat down. . ." or what have you. And yet, Sweden acted more domestic in the strips. So no, I don't think these kids are reading the strips very well at all D:

I just find what this kind of fandom does to characters so weird. I've been in fandom for years and years, but I never really saw much of this stuff in my western fandoms (western fandom not as in where the fans are from, but where the source material is).

oh oh hey you saw that one recent-ish scanlation, right? It was probably the most recent one with Finland and Sweden, and it had Finland being all "heeeey could I get some free space?" aeoijaeot I don't know I wanted people to pick up on that bit and maybe have some think something along the lines of "oh hey, Finland wants some independence! wouldn't it make sense for a nation to want to be a bit more autonomous/independent*?" but alas, the comments were filled with "xDD lawl su-san is perfect husband~!!1! der luv is so kawaii desu desu" i don't even know what desu means.
then again i'm the person who seriously over-analyzes a gag strip so maybe i need to chill out. and it's not like I wouldn't object to having Sweden as my husband, either. /dreamy sigh
*i have ranted this kind of thing so much it's not even funny. rant can be summed up as "love of own people > love of another nation personification"

I see how you're speaking against flat and boring characters, it's almost as if you are suggesting there might be something to characters other than pairing them together for buttsex! Unbelievable.

That's neat. I think it's pretty interesting how our online-selves can differ from our real life selves.

err, I'll admit, I never read any of her stuff myself. Thing is, there's a chance to win a scholarship if you write an essay about one of her books. I took a look at what they were about and all to see if it was worth my time, and I decided not to bother because I'm not going to read a bajillion pages about some philosophy I don't even agree with (that is, objectivism).

Ahhh, I see. Even so, 's probably I didn't take it. Numbers and me don't get along. Buuuut I can do the basic stuff, and I guess that's all I need for what I'm going to do. Though I must admit, I'm still kind of bitter that math is the reason I gave up on a science major. It'd be one thing if I just decided it wasn't for me, but realizing I can't do it? Ouch. Total ouch.

Struth, I laughed too at the time, but the way other people react to it just makes me go, "what?", and I wonder if they really, really read it at all. Mind, I analyze things closely all the time, because I've been trained to do that, but it seemed obvious to me that there was something not quite right there.

The unease illustrated in the strips + the actual historical situation is what makes me unable to see those two as having a completely functional relationship pre-20th century. So, when I see people going on about the husband-and-wife thing (as in the comments to the scanlation you mentioned), or (gods forbid) using those words un-ironically in narration, it kind of makes me feel a little creepy-crawly. I find it strange that people can't see that there's something not quite right there.

"love of own people > love of another nation personification"

I think I like the way you think. This is how I see things too - and it's actually an idea I'm going to use in fic sometime in the future. Then again, I've always been very interested in the difference between what someone wants and what someone needs, and the internal conflicts that can result from this difference.

Oh, and I nearly forgot - And yet, Sweden acted more domestic in the strips. This is true, but from what I recall, that's drawing on a stereotype of Swedish culture; that the husband in the family is very domestic and so on, at least compared to, say, North American culture. Can't remember where I read about that, though.

Anyway. What? There might be something to characters other than pairing them for buttsex? GASP AND EGADS. Wonders never cease. In fact, that is that I'm suggesting, my dear! Who would have thought. But in all seriousness, the flatness does bother me - especially when the characters actually aren't flat at all. And furthermore, I find it frustrating when, say, people latch onto one side and don't really see anything else. Going back to Sweden and Finland for example, it seems like people act as if they're constantly handcuffed together. In fic and so on, I hardly ever see Finland doing his own thing, or interacting with anyone other than Sweden; and I hardly see Sweden around anyone else, unless he's getting his ass kicked by Denmark. I just -- I don't get it. People do other things, people have friends, people interact with others than just their lover, really. I don't see why people seem to forget that.

Anyway. I think you made the right move with not reading Rand. Scholarships are good, but sometimes it's just Too. Much. Effort. Especially if it requires reading a squillion pages of nonsense.

oh jeez, I'm sorry to hear that D: D: let me give you an internet hug or even just cause those are always nice, right? ♥

It just goes to show that people will interpret things to mean what they want. Whether you're talking about Hetalia or some holy religious text. blah. Maybe it's a bit presumptuous of me, but I'm kind of getting the feeling that a lot of the stuff that squicks me out is so popular because at least a decent chunk of this fandom don't really know how relationships work at all. Or how people work, for that matter.

I actually really adore reading about their relationship pre-20th century when it's actually portrayed realistically. Okay, maybe not to so much reading it as imagining it cause so the closet I've seen is maybe like two kink meme fills but damnit I think it could be so interesting.

I read you mentioning that on the meme. err, it was for your sweden/norway fic, right? i'm just glad you're using it. i'd use it myself but i can't write to save my life and i was seriously this close to requesting it on the kink meme. perhaps one day i shall gain back my writing mojo and spam lj full of stories with unconventional opinions. until then, uh, i don't know. i'll draw art of it pff. i want to make a doujin thing so bad

Oh man, really? As if I didn't already have five hundred reasons for wanting to go to Sweden already. i love domestic guys pff

That bugs me too man. And it happens everywhere! With so many ships (just throwing it out there, but Spain/Romano has got a terrible case of this as well). I mean, I get that most of these stories are short-ish romance stories and revolve around a relationship (really, 90% of all fic is usually about a pairing) but it wouldn't hurt to see more of them outside of who they're paired with. I just want more character building. I think that if you take the time to really establish and build on a character outside of the relationship, then reading them while they're actually in the relationship will be that much better just because you'll care more about whose involved, and what's going to happen to them.
but again, most fic is about two characters getting together or getting it on. writers might think that there's no enough room to show character A leaving character B's side.

The funniest thing about the scholarship is that you need to write like, a 500 word essay for such a huge book. For 500 words, I might as well just sparknotes that sucker. ~~the idea of a 500 word essay is a foreign concept to me~~

! Internet hugs are always wonderful, yes. ♥! Eeeee~

I tihnk you do have a point - about people interpreting things the way they do because they don't know the way relationships work. Don't forget, a lot of people in this fandom are still in high school, and haven't really had many serious relationships. So, many people tend to have a rather skewed, possibly idealized, possibly strange view of how relationship dynamics should be.

Pre-20th-century -- well, I do like reading about it when it's written realistically, because it's interesting. Oh the other hand, it's the sort of thing I have to be in a particular mood for. Not the sort of thing I would read every day. Which kink meme fills are you thinking of, by the way? I might have read them already, but then again maybe not.

Anyway - yes, yes, the internal conflict thing is something I was going to use in the Union fic. I really wish more people did things with it, as I find it just so interesting (as I mentioned before). I do hope you eventually get back your writing mojo! Or at least draw more, because your art is lovely 8D

Hmm. I do think you have some good points. The length of most fic makes including parts with the characters interacting with someone else rather difficult. Slight tangent here - I remember once telling someone I'd written something short, and mentioned it was only four pages, to which they replied, "'Only' four pages? That's not short!". ... I think I have a rather skewed impression of fic-length.

I think that if you take the time to really establish and build on a character outside of the relationship, then reading them while they're actually in the relationship will be that much better

Yes, this. Precisely this. It shows a different side of the character, as people act differently with their friends or colleagues than when they are with their lover. Seeing that makes a person that much more interesting to me. Gives them more depth, makes them seem more real. When I think of it, some of the best fics I've read (and written) had a variety of types of relations and interactions. It's difficult to write that kind of thing though, especially if you want to keep it short.

500 words? That isn't an essay, that's... Dude, that's not even a drabble. WTF are these people thinking?

(It seems our responses keep getting more and more tl;dr... I LOVE IT)

It's so much easier to give love in the internet~ I swear in real life I'm not capable of even just attempting a hug without freezing up. It makes me feel like a dick sometimes, 'specially when someone is clearly upset.

You know, most of those kids have probably had more experience with relationships than I have (hell, most twelve year olds have too orz). I don't know the first thing about relationships, but I'm just thinking that this kind of stuff is common sense mind you, it does explain Twilight's popularity. I agree with you, though!

It might not just be because of lack of experience though, because even published yaoi is written by adults, right? (of course most of that stuff is just fap-fodder, and isn't meant to be realistic or ground breaking) I think it's the whole not knowing how relationships work maaaaybe also because some people still have this weird fantasy image of how gay people are like. I don't know.

Well, as to whether you'd want to read it or not (or how often), I think that's entering into the fantastic world of ~personal taste~. (The only thing I'm really up for 24/7 is genfic. . . ) I just care mostly about it being some what historically accurate. For instance, I don't like Russia/Lithuania, nor do I have any intention of reading it, but I'd probably be more peeved to see a fic that had Liet following Russia around like a little love-struck puppy than I would a darker one.
Um, the fics which might apply are as followed (I'm just listing the ones I can remember off the top of my head here): there's a fic about them meeting and it's showing that Sweden is pretty much taking him over. Then there's that one with bitter!Finland. And there's that recent-ish one with Sweden's diary and though it was set in present-day it acknowledged their past and how they weren't a happy couple. Then there's that one really dark one where Finland is tied to a bed or something. that's a lot more serious and disturbing than what I think it'd be really like and I wouldn't like seeing it very often but I did like it (this might go to show how fed up I am with ~su-san~-esque stories because usually I don't go anywhere near those stories. i'm too vanilla and I like real deal love too much, sigh).
That paragraph was a mess. I really need to update my bookmarks.

Reading well written internal conflict is like opening a Christmas present for me, you have no idea. How long is that Union fic of yours gonna be? Like, is it going to be a multi-chaptered epic or just a long one shot or what?
I swear I'm never going to get around to posting art because it's so impossible for me to finish :| I don't have the patience to colour or even do over line art to make it clean.

as people act differently with their friends or colleagues than when they are with their lover.
I want to high five you for this!
kind of off topic, but we are talking about different kinds of interactions so here we go: I would do dirty, dirty things to see nations interacting with their own people more. I'm not talking about just political leaders or national figures, but just regular day to day people. Once I read a fic and it said that the nations didn't interact with humans and it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Hey man, I've seen SRS BZNS INTERNET DISCUSSION about what drabble actually means (it's even more ridiculous than most srs bzns internet discussions). The "real" definition is a story that's exactly 100 words, but people stretch it. It's funny that you think 500 isn't even a drabble when there are people there who will be personally offended that you said that. So, yes, I do think you have a skewed impression of fic-length, Mr. Four-Pages-Is-A-Short-Fic (although four pages I would think is average fic length?)

(hahaha that's what I like to hear! it sure looks that way though. but I will always feel fear when posting a long comment. but really, I have nowhere else to talk about stuff like what I want to see in fic. I have no fandom friends irl and well, as far as hetalia is concerned, 95% of my flist doesn't even like/know what it is. so you're stuck with it )

Whooo, long comment, yes!

Giving love in the internet is excellent. It's a lot less complicated than in real life. I mean, I love hugs and cuddling and physical contact in real life - but the problem is that I'm not close enough to most people to warrant such contact, so touching of any sort makes me feel really really weird. Fortunately, I appear kind of... stand-offish I guess, because I'm so non-social, so people don't try to touch me much.

Relationships - it's true when you say a lot of them might be experienced with relationships, but the key word I used when I was talking about it was serious relationships. Most high school stuff is stuff 'n nonsense, I'd say. It's one thing to be dating around, you know, and getting all upset when your boyfriend dups you or whatever, but it's another thing entirely to be committed to someone for several years. ... Gawd, saying that made me feel like an old fogey. Sometimes the young'ns in this fandom make me feel so ancient, even though I'm most certainly NOT. Maybe I'm just a little uptight.

As for published yaoi, I think that just falls into the realm of porn. Like straight porn, and romance novels by extension (for example), real-life rules don't apply, nor does real-life logic. It's kind of a different thing. Still bloody ridiculous though.

Fics: Yes. Historical accuracy is important. Unfortunately I don't know anywhere near as much as I should - but I do know enough that I can spot when something is way off. Sometimes I'll read something that doesn't really appeal to me if it illustrates it in a logical and historical way.

Anyway, the fics you've mentioned sound familiar; I think I might have read them at some point, except for the Sweden diary one, which I haven't gotten around to yet. I do know for a fact that I've read the tied-to-a-bed one (need to find it again so I can bookmark it, hmmm...). It was so dark and disturbing, gahhhh, but I did like it. I don't think I could ever write that kind of thing, nor could I read it much because it would give me nightmares (I prefer happy stories), but it was so good. I do like the serious stuff so very much, especially when it illustrates medieval Sweden and Finland in a way that makes sense.

That's one thing that bothers me so much. I mean - fortunately I haven't seen it much, but that's because I actively avoid it, but - stuff that illustrates their early years as... being something other than a conqueror and conquered relationship. It's as if people forget that Finland was taken by force. I can't see him going willingly. I keep trying to picture it, and it's anything but this happy relationship. Goddamn, I just -- I don't know.

As for the length of the Union fic, I have absolutely no idea. Considering the amount of time I plan to cover, and the progression of events, I think that it'll be about the same length as "Starry Night", which was eighteen handwritten pages and something like 11,000 words. It's really, really hard to say at this point though, as I've only written 5 pages so far and I'm still in 1810, haven't moved yet. It'll just be one long thing, unless I end up breaking it up into two parts like I did with Small Hours/Starry Night.

Once I read a fic and it said that the nations didn't interact with humans

What is this nonsense? Hmph. I don't see that at all. Maybe that's because of the way I set my fics, though. In my mind, the nations live (for the most part) as ordinary people, so their day-to-day interactions are also, for a large part, with ordinary people. They go to cafes, they talk to the mailman, they chat with their neighbours over the fence. This reminds me of a Can/Pol fic that I haven't gotten around to writing yet; I was going to have a scene where they both go to visit his neighbour, an old lady who has a crabapple tree in her back yard. She always lets Matthew pick as many as he likes from it, as she's getting on a bit and can't climb a ladder like she used to... Er, anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I think the thought of nations not interacting with humans is rather silly. I love stuff where they interact with ordinary people.

Anyway - People would be offended when I say 500 words is a drabble? Pfft, crazy. People care too much about silly things. Anyway, I guess I do have a skewed impression of fic-length. It might be because I write everything by hand. To me, a drabble is whatever I can fit on one (sometimes both) sides of a sheet of paper, while a short fic is about four handwritten pages, and a medium one is six pages or so. Clearly I am insane.

I don't mind being stuck with your comments. ♥ I love having long discussions with people, as you might have noticed. I've had some on the meme, but not quite this in-depth as it moves so quickly.

Also, OMG I didn't realize it got that long!

let's see if I can beat that
These comments have gotten long enough to the point where I'm typing them up in a word document so I don't have t scroll up and down to read what I'm replying to.

I don't like being touched very much in real life, regardless of how well I know them, but sometimes people just really look as if they need a hug, you know? So I'll want to give hugs because I think people need them, not so much because I like the act. As far as not knowing people well enough to hug them and all, I guess it's a lot easier for girls, cause most of mine would be willing to give people they hardly know hugs. sometimes it gets to the point where it's just silly

What do you mean high school love isn't the real thing?!?! YOU JUST DON'T REMEMBER HOW IT'S LIKE TO BE YOUNG ANYMORE.
kidding~
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think that the average age on the anon meme is a lot higher than that of the main comm? The average age of the main comm is probably 15 or so and for the anon meme I think it's, err, at least out of high-school age. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to your age, I get so freaked out by seeing people younger than me, especially since I started going on the internet since I was, crazy young. ~~I'm so afraid of growing up sob~~ BUT ANYWAYS.

Yeah, I noticed the yaoi comment didn't make sense right as I wrote it. I've never even read an actual one, even. Half the time I feel like laughing just by looking at the cover. Eh, I don't know. For the most part the only kind of porn I'm interested in is the written kind. To each their own, but I can't watch porn.

I think the ~feel~ of the time is what matters most, as far as your average fic is concerned. And if we're still talking on this thing, tell me when you get around to reading that diary fic. It was a lot better than I expected it to be.

Didn't the strip show Finland willingly going away with Sweden? Cause Denmark was a top-of-the-line asshole, or something. I can hardly wrap my head around what happened around that time period, Hetalia-canon wise. That strip is probably part of the reason why people write them the way they do. I wish people would research a bit more but I've found that it's a bit hard to get information on it. I mean, I haven't found any books that go over their history in general (in real life anyways, I'm not going to order from Amazon). The only history books I've found for those guys are, well, books about vikings. And while vikings are awesome, it's not what I'm looking for. Trying to find information on Finland under Sweden is even more difficult, especially if you want to find mentions of Finland being, err, can I say oppressed? One of the sites I found that did talk quite a bit on Finland's second-rate status happened to be very anti-Sweden. A lot of what they say is very general and broad, so go figure.

I could just suck at researching, though.

Speaking of researching history, I'm just going to complain right now and say the selection I have around me is ridiculous. There are more books on Maire Antoinette than the French Revolution itself, and there are more books on Princess Diana than English history. Really, library/chapters/used bookstore? Really?

Well. I'm just going to repeat myself and say I'm looking forward to it! :D

That's how it should be, though. Why wouldn't they want to spend time around the people who fought wars for them and created them and kept them alive? Also: that story idea is the sweetest thing I've ever heard ♥

It's those same people who probably have nothing going for them in real life and are desperate to feel ~superior~ over anything. Ich. It's like fighting with a grammar nazi who will call you out on writing "you're" instead of "your" (a simple typo, honestly) and act as if it completely refutes your entire argument.

WAIT. Did you mean four handwritten pages = a short fic? Cause in that case, I agree with you. Four typed up pages? Not so much. Cause for me, both sides of a piece of paper = maybe one full typed page.

Buddy, if we were to have this conversation on the meme, we would've already hit five maxings by now. I remember when maxing out in five days used to be considered fast.

HAH. I always type up my tl;dr comments in notepad, with the window set alongside the comment thread in Firefox, so that I can check what I'm replying to easily. Totally ace.

Real-life people... well, I guess that's true. Maybe I'm just out of touch. Nowadays I don't really talk to anyone except for my colleagues from the university, and even though we're all students I do try to keep myself at a professional distance. Now that I think of it, maybe that's just me being stuffy, but it seems the mature thing to do.

High school love is BLARRRRGH NONSENSE and that's all I have to say on the matter. However, I do feel better when I realize that many of the people at the meme are somewhat older. There are still several people who are quite young, mind, but on the whole they're at least somewhat mature... most of the time. Even so, it can be kind of freaky at times, like if I realize I just spent an hour talking about smut with a 15-year-old (fortunately this doesn't happen often)

Didn't the strip show Finland willingly going away with Sweden?

I think you're a bit mixed up here. When I said he wouldn't have gone willingly, I was talking about the conquering of Finland by Sweden in the 13th century. The strip you're talking about is about when Sweden (and Finland, which was part of Sweden's territory) broke away from the Kalmar Union in the 15th(?) century. Different periods. But anyway, you're right, that's probably why people write them the way they do, though of course in history Finland didn't have much choice in the matter.

As for books, you're completely right. It's very difficult to find books on any of the Nordic countries (the Baltic countries too), and I've resorted to scouring the used book stores and Amazon. Since I have an interest in this outside of Hetalia, I don't feel too bad about it. Anyway, so far I have one book on Sweden and one book on Finland. I haven't gotten very far into the Finland book due to lacking the time to sit down and read, but it does go into some of the problems that were experienced (as far as we know about them, anyway - I'm still reading about the medieval period right now; not many records for that time). Unfortunately, it's just not enough.

The problem with good history books is that many of them are horrendously expensive. I've looked through my university library, but they don't have much either. It figures. Argh, if only I wanted to know about Ukraine - we have tons of stuff on Ukraine! (of course, because this is Saskatchewan). But nothing on the Nordic countries, really.

Your book situation - UGH. Just UGH. I'm fortunate that most of the time I live in Saskatoon, as they have some excellent book stores and the university library. They don't have the stuff I need, mind you, but at least they have a nice variety otherwise and sometimes I can find some gems (like that one Baltic history book I managed to get my hands on). Where I am right now though, in Fort McMurray, the resources are pretty much like yours - in fact, probably worse; we don't even have a Chapters, we just have a Coles, and one teeny-tiny used bookstore that mostly has Stephen King and trashy romance novels.

Anyway. The whole nations interacting with people thing... you're perfectly right, and I won't say anything more on it as you phrased it best. But argh, it keeps reminding me of things I need to write, or things I started then stopped, like one fic I started a few months back with Poland and Władysław Szpilman. I didn't like it so I scrapped it. Maybe I should go back and rework it....

People who nitpick and squabble over things of no substance bother me. It really makes me wonder - can't they find anything better to do with their time than argue over trifles? Mind, I must admit that I get a bit twitchy with grammar, but my own is pretty fail at times, and people do make typos, and sometimes the person I'm speaking to doesn't have English as a first language, so by now I've learned to just deal with it. (When my students hand me an essay full of horrible errors, though - that's when I throw up my hands and weep for humanity. But, er, anyway)

In terms of length, four handwritten pages generally equals four typed pages. This is because after I type it up, I go back and rework it three times, and usually it ends up a page or so longer than it was with just the typed text. If I recall, the specific fic I was talking about at the time was indeed four double-sided handwritten, and four typed.

As for the meme, you're perfectly right. To be honest, I kind of miss when it moved a bit slow. Not hugely slow, but a bit. I remember back in part three I carried on a five-day conversation with an anon, which was excellent and filled with Est/Fin and tl;dr (and somehow I was anon and managed not to be outed). That was excellent. But now, it moves so fast, and even if I say "if you reply to this I'll reply back even if the page moves on", people generally don't. Maybe they don't see it, I don't know.

And akjdf the length of these things is getting ridiculous!

your comment of 5022 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

You are the god of tl;dr comments. My respect for you has increased tenfold.
you have also probably lost interest in this conversation because life has kept me too busy to reply. but i reply anyways, hmm

I'm actually surprised when I hear the ages for most people on the meme. I'm terrible at judging age. For instance, until recently I thought Odi was like, 22 or something. Apparently not.
Has that seriously ever happened? Hah. I suppose it doesn't matter whether you were into that kind of stuff at that age or not, it's creepy all the same. It reminds me of how I don't like to swear around eleven year olds even though I did that at their age. I've run into six year olds who swear more frequently than I do. It's a shame.

But that's why it messes me up. I know the difference between the two and I reckon that he wouldn't have gone willingly in the conquest, but the strip read as if they had just met. . .? Or, at least, I think it did. /goes to check -----> aaaaaand, it does read as if they really never got to know each other before. Finland says it's good to be free. hahaha. he also calls it an alliance. Eh, whatever. I hope that Hidekaz keeps focusing on the Nordics for awhile, just because I'm hoping that maybe he can make a strip about life in the Kalmar Union. And then fandom can see if they got Denmark's and Norway's characterizations right after all this time~ I'm kind of impressed with how far we've been able to run with it, considering how little information we've really got on them.

While I can say that I have an interest in history outside of Hetalia, I don't really know if it's going to last (my interest in history was actually sparked because of what we were learning in school, and then after awhile I decided to finally cave in and get into Hetalia). I plow through different obsessions like crazy. Just a few months ago I was reading books by Michio Kaku and getting out books about astronomy and all that jazz. A few months before that, 60s/70s culture. I think everything is interesting D: So, yeah. I don't think it'd make much sense for me to spend so much on a big history textbook. I haven't checked the big library downtown though, so I might luck out there.

I must have not searched enough (in the last few months I've been to three different chapters, an indigo, the same library I visit every few days, and a few bookstores I don't know the names of), because I shouldn't be having this much difficulty with books, it's not like I live in a small town. I mean, I live in Calgary :| The Chapters and Indigos seem to have the same selection, and smaller bookstores have an even smaller collection. The closest thing my school library has is a big book on the Sami people.
~~I've never read a Stephen King book. He's got too many out and I have no idea which one to chose.~~

Since you mentioned those trashy romance novels, I think all smutfics need to start having titles like those Harlequin Presents books, cause those ones are absolute gold. I mean, The Playboy Sheikh's Virgin Stable-Girl? Virgin Mistress, Scandalous Love-Child? I'm sure there's a fill on the kink meme that could easily be renamed The Spaniard's Virgin Housekeeper. the names are surprisingly repetitive. I think they must use a prompt generator, or something

I don't want you to be the person to tells you should write everything (unless I was to be your writing cheerleader, or something) but uh, that fic would be really relevant to my interests. Fandom needs more serious Poland, and I've never seen WW2/Holocaust Poland fic with Szpilman. . . but what I mean to say is just write whatever gets your creative juices flowing! :D

I think a lot of the English as a second language kids have more impressive grammar than native speakers. I am usually surprised to hear someone say that English isn't their second language. Everyone's ability to speak English so well makes me feel with such a failure in my own attempts at other languages. Damnit.

Maybe they knew who you were, but they were just being nice?
I remember when you had your deanon post saying that you're too easy to pick out when anon and then everyone was all "who?" And thus, you went from having a few people being able to out you to the entire meme. Good job, bud :)

awstgsopriuast AAAH SORRY D:

Haha, oh, character limits. ♥! Well, as I've said before, sometimes I just don't know when to shut up. In most cases - especially wonderful discussions like this one - I could go on and on and on (and on and on). And what makes you think I'd have lost interest in this conversation? Of course not, silly thing. I love long conversations that go on for days~ It's very difficult to get me to lose interest in a thing.

Anyway! Yes, the age of some meme-goers surprises me too. I keep thinking that most of them are around my age; the ones I talk to on a regular basis, anyway. I tend to forget the real ages. I guess it's mostly that a lot of the ones I talk with are relatively mature, and many of them are in college or university, so I guess I subconsciously think "Oh, they must be like me". Hah, no. And yes, the talking about smut with 15 year olds thing has happened. D: I was... rather disturbed at the time, because when I was that age I didn't actually have much to do with that sort of thing.

OHHHH derp, now I understand what you were getting at. Clearly I should not reply to comments when I'm exhausted. Yeah, I've read conversations about that strip, and most people are just like, "wat. WTF u doin, Hidekaz". Oh, well. Much like you I do hope that he does more with the Nordics. I want to see more on their characterization, and more history stuff, and just -- you know. I mean, running with it is all right, but I tend to be kind of nervous because it's like, okay, will I have to completely revise my characterization of them when more info comes out? So the sooner it does, the better.

History - Ahhh, I see. Yeah, when one hops obsessions so quickly, it probably wouldn't be worth it to invest in books, especially since many of them are expensive (though I have been lucky - thus far I haven't paid more than around $20 for any of my history books). In my case, I've had a keen interest in Estonia since I was fifteen, and a general interest in the Nordic countries since around the same time, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to get into the history as well.

But as for history in general, you know... it's only in recent years that I've gained an interest in it. In high school and such we didn't have much focus on history at all, no actual history classes whatsoever, so I pretty much didn't know anything until I took a medieval history class in university. That and Classics courses - you know, ancient history stuff - that's what got it started. Now I'm branching out a little, but it's still so strange and wonderful, as it's really a new thing for me to be learning about history.

As for books, well. Try the big library - they might have something. Also, try used book stores if you haven't already. In such a big city they're bound to have something. And even if you don't find any history books per se, you might want to turn to literature, as by reading the literature you can learn more about the historical context, the people, and so on. (As for Stephen King, yes, he's written a lot - if you want to read him, I suggest starting with Firestarter, Salem's Lot or The Dead Zone. All older novels, I enjoyed them very much, and the movies are pretty good too).

Pfff. PFFFFFF. Trashy romance novels! I know precisely the kind you're talking about, with the ridiculous titles and cheesy covers and everything. Anecdote: When I worked at Superstore, I was usually the one to take care of the books - unpacking orders and stocking and counting the returns and so on. Naturally a huge chunk of the stuff was made up of those trashy novels. I'd read the back, flip through them, laugh. A couple times I sat down over break to read them and my gods I could hardly get through them, they were so awful! Anyway. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they used a generator for those things, considering.

So, anyway. You could be my writing cheerleader if you want, hah! But as for the Szpilman fic, I'll consider it. If I recall correctly, it was about 3/4 of the way drafted. I think there were two reasons I scrapped it: 1. I was worried about Doing It Wrong, and 2. It was a little overly dramatic. But, I could always fix that. It was one of the very first Hetalia fics I wrote, I think, and I guess I just wasn't very confident at that time. Hmm, I should go looking for that draft now... need to re-read The Pianist, too.

You're right that people who have English as a second (or third) language tend to have better grammar and such than native speakers. I do find, though, that occasionally it has certain patterns that are unusual, and in such cases I can detect it - but it really depends on the person and their proficiency, of course. But the very fact that they can speak (or rather, read/write) it so well is impressive. I fail at languages, too. Eight years of French, and nothing to show for it, ahhhh. I've tried to learn others, but it's just not something I'm good at. I'm going to have to take French and Latin at the university level in order to get my phD, and the thought of being in those classes makes me facedesk so badly. Argh, maybe I shouldn't worry, but it's definitely not one of my strengths.

As for the anon, I don't think they recognized me. Then again, who knows. Maybe I really was that obvious even back in the day. D:

PFFFF The whole reason beyond the de-anon post is because people kept outing meeeeee *flail* Well, okay. To be fair, it was mostly

fyretoppaaa. But sometimes it was other people. And eventually I just got so frustrated and gave up. I didn't think that eventually everyone would be able to figure out when it's me! Arrrrrgh

Anyway, don't be sorry~ As I said before, I love long conversations.

brb sitting being amazed at you almost breaking 6000. HIGH FIVE.

Maybe I've said it before, but I'm in a constant state of worry because I immediately tend to assume that everyone is annoyed with me. Especially after I leave a tl;dr comment. Or a comment in general. Hah, the main reason why I end up not replying to them is because I think someone is annoyed with me (even though I know in my head that getting replies back tends to leave a nice warm and fuzzy feeling in almost everyone's stomach)
What would make you lose interest in a conversation, anyways? Or is that just going to be one of those answers along the lines of "oh, it depends, I can't really say because it varies."

People are getting into smut really young now :| I remember sitting in the waiting room one day, and I ended up reading an article in Times/Macleans/one of those things that went on about how early kids are starting to get into porn. You've got sixth graders addicted to watching it online. I don't even want to think about how that's warping their view on relationships and sex and the opposite gender, good lord. I mean, some of my friend's minds are warped enough when it comes to this stuff already, but it'd only be worse if you start that young.

oh pff, it was my fault for wording it strangely.
I don't think there's a reason to be too nervous about the characterizations, really. I really doubt that he's going to be giving an in depth personality for each of them. We've got the little profiles/descriptions of their characters, and that's probably as deep as he's going to get (if we see a Nordic strip, I don't' think we're going to see Norway suddenly bursting into song in a lineup because he was bored or something). Even characters like England, who are in a ton of strips, aren't fully fleshed out (well, go figure, this is a gag strip after all). In the end, fandom's still going to run with what little information we have and do most of the characterization work. Here is where I'm just going to go off on a bit of a tangent and say that I love that quality in this fandom. It's probably my favourite fandom not because I like the source material the best, but because it's the greatest creative playground for a fandom I've ever seen. I want to draw art and write fic for this series more than I would for my favourite show, it's nuts. And plus, researching "canon" = reading up about history, which is both fun and educational~!

How big are those books? Did you get them from used book stores or. . .? A good sized history book here is like $30. As if I'm not spending enough money on books already, sob. I need to learn to start using my library better but there's just something I love about having a huge bookshelf filled with books. . .

I wish we had history in school! Social studies only teaches you so much (we had lot more history this year than we did in previous years, which was nice.). A few years ago my school had offered a World History course for grade 12 students who did good in Social Studies, and I was hoping to take it but last year they went and replaced it with Forensics. Seriously, what good is that going to do, unless you wanted to be one of those CSI people? Hardly anyone takes it either, which makes it even more pointless.

The only history I really knew anything about was Poland, cause for a long time my parents sent me to Polish school, and they taught us history there (it was actually the only subject I paid attention to, pff). I always did have good vibes from the Nordics, though. Before I knew anything about them they just kind of reminded me of Canada, but with a history of vikings and matching flags (which I still think is so cute, don't even get me started).

I really need to get around to going to that library. I get home from summer school and then unless I have plans with people, I just sort of dick around and do nothing. I need the motivation to get off my ass. I always just end up angry at myself at the end of the day if I ended up doing nothing (unless it was one day of doing nothing in the midst of a lot of busy days, but that's different).
aaaand thank you for the recs!

I kind of feel bad for trash-talking those books because, you know, everyone has their guilty pleasures* and everything, but sometimes I just get a bit embarrassed looking at the cover and being near them. I know I've gone and looked through them, and just read through some of the dirty bits. Then I have to cry because all those jokes people make about romance stories, from the dialogue to the weird euphemisms, are true. So now I'm left getting my entire romance fix from fic, it seems. Which is okay, because at least I can read enough which is better than the trashy romance novel stuff (though some fic is pretty indistinguishable from it) and at least I'll actually care about the characters being together but I'd like to support my claim of liking romance with actual books instead of fic (which I wouldn't admit to reading).
*i will say that I'm okay with people admitting them as being guilty pleasures. I'd have a bit of trouble taking anyone who argues that these are great pieces of literature seriously.

sweet deal! I'll buy pompoms and I'll even get around to writing cheers~
1) If you're worried about doing it wrong, you're probably not going to. I think most people who end up "doing it wrong" are people who don't take much consideration into what they're writing.
2) overly dramatic? well, considering the subject matter I'd be quite curious to know what "overly dramatic" would mean!

I don't usually pick up on patterns, as I usually tend to skim when I read what people write on the internet and I really only get the general idea (same reason why I never, ever catch other people's typos or grammar problems, I guess?).
The French curriculum in Alberta is such a joke :| I don't know how it was where you were, but for us you'd start in grade four, only to have to start from the beginning in grade seven. If you went on and did french after that, you'd have to start from the beginning in grade ten as well. Half the time the teacher wouldn't even be able to speak french themselves, and they certainly weren't teaching you with the intent of making sure you can hold a conversation in French. I wish they treated it like a real subject, like they would treat math or science.

I can really, really relate on foreign languages not being a strength though. My parents sent me to polish school for several years and even talked to me in polish since I was a baby. I've been to Poland a few times but I still can't speak it fluently whatsoever. My writing is dreadful. I'm fine at understanding it, actually, but I can never ever find the words I want to use. Maybe I need to practice more, I don't know. And, uh, I'm not going to get started on how bad I was at french. I dropped that sucker as soon as I could (now I really wish I didn't.)

I'm sure you'll manage to get through whatever language you do, though! Are you leaning more towards French or Latin?

A week or so ago I needed to find something from the earlier parts of the meme, and I ended up going through the first few parts. And err, I'm pretty sure I could point you out at points. Sorry bud. I don't know how you do it. It's probably a good thing, the fact that we can tell you apart from others. I would say why but my brain doesn't feel like putting these random thoughts in my head into actual sentences so. . . figure it out yourself :D

I tend to assume everyone is annoyed with me in real life. Very inconvenient, that. Online, not so much - even when it seems that a lot of people are annoyed with me, hah. I don't know, maybe it's because of the internet environment that I just don't give a crap any more.
As for what would make me lose interest in a conversation - it does vary, and it does depend, hah. But really, it's mostly hard to say because other people tend to lose interest before I do, and stop replying before I do. For the most part, I can only think of two things. 1. If they're being douchey, or 2. They give a statement that doesn't leave much room for a response. In those cases I might want to babble on, but I don't have a lot to work with. That's pretty much it though.

I feel kind of like an old fogey for saying this, but I'm kind of concerned about the younger generation. It seems a lot of people have really warped views on everything, and it's just like... how the hell did this happen. I see young people talking (on the meme, for example) about stuff I had no clue about at their age, and I'm left feeling like -- I don't know! Like I should protect them or something. Which is ridiculous, and just poking my nose in where it doesn't belong, but there we go.

Characterization: You're right about that. I'm just one who worries about anything and everything, no matter if there is a good reason to do so or not. Fff.
As for your little tangent, YES. I love that too. The fact that it's so open for stuff - it's the very reason I've been able to stick with it for as long as I have, and the reason I've been so prolific with my writing. I swear, I haven't written this much in ages. It's wonderful~

My history books are reasonably-sized and softcover. I ordered the Sweden and Finland books from Amazon, and they were both about $20; I got my Baltic book from a used book store, though (it's about $30 online). I wish I could find more, though. Argh, I wish it wasn't so difficult to get stuff. I don't mind ordering stuff off Amazon, as I love having a shelf full of books (or, er, floor full of books. I don't have a bookshelf). But so much of it isn't in stock, or I'd have to wait a month, and I just. alksjdf I'm too impatient, I don't want to wait.

When I was in high school, we barely covered any history whatsoever. It was basically just "Nazis are bad. Commies are bad too. Mmhmmyep". As far as I know there was never a history option in my school at all, sigh. It's frustrating, because I feel like I don't know anything at all about what I should know. My school did suck - when I went down east I felt like I was so way behind everyone in my education - and it's like... I don't know. I feel like I was cheated out of a proper education.

they just kind of reminded me of Canada
YES. YES. SOMEONE ELSE WHO THINKS THIS WAY. Okay, well, for me it's mostly Finland that reminds me of Canada (doesn't help that I've heard it called "The Canada of Europe" on occasion) but, anyway. alskdjfkdf yessss. I think that's why I'm so attracted to that particular country - the parallels I see, and the further parallels I draw from reading about it, ahhh... (And I do think their matching flags are just too cute, as well. Eeeeeee, especially like, the fact that Norway's and Iceland's are inverse of each other, alskdjf)

GET THEE TO A LIBRARY. I will be gone for almost a week so clearly you will need something to read during that time aside from my tl;dr. Consider this your motivation. ;p

Mehhhh, I don't feel bad at all; the stuff is horrible. As long as people realize it's horrble - and most people do - then it's all good. Seriously, that stuff is just hilarious. But the fact that it's published gives me hope that maybe I can get published someday. I mean, if dreck like that makes it into print, then... who knows.
Much like you, I'd never admit to liking fic in real life. Buuuuut I can get away with saying I like romance because I read medieval romance. Of course, it mostly consists of manly men riding around the woods whacking each other with big sticks... or swords... but you know. Whatever. SAME DIFFERENCE only not xD

AND YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT. As usual. I just, alskdjf, you know. With my sucky education and my tendency to fret over writing, it tends to result in those feelings. BUT I WILL TRY NOT TO WORRY SO MUCH

ESL speakers and patterns: Ah, I see. Well, in my case, last year I worked at the writing centre at my university, and most of the people who came in for help were international students. So after a time I started to notice patterns in the kind of errors that ESL writers make. Not perfect, but enough that I can usually tell now. That's why.

Anyway. Yeah, what you described sounds pretty much like what my French classes were like. I'm trying to re-learn it now, but it's so hard because I didn't really learn it in the first place. Add to that, when I was taking the classes, I was the only student who took the subject seriously. Everyone else pissed around and didn't do their work and the teacher just let it slide, so I couldn't concentrate, and... yeah. Majorly sucky.

As for French and Latin, I'm going to need to take both of them. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, I need two languages in order to get my phD. Secondly, those languages are relevant to my area of study; medieval literature in England was generally written in Middle English, Old French or Latin. So having those two languages is best for me. I'd like to learn something else, like... I dunno, Finnish or something (pfff) but it just isn't practical.

......KSAJDFK why am I so obvious. *sobs* Well, I guess it isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you said. Someone said that it's because I'm verbose, and because I tend to say more than just random fannish comments. That seems okay. But even so, I wish I could be a sneaky ninja!

Anyway. Feel free to reply to this, but I won't be able to reply back aftere I return from my hiatus.

THIS IS CRAZY LATE, BUT LIKE I SAID, REAL LIFE HAPPENED SO PLEASE BE A DEAR AND DO NOT BURN ME AT THE STAKE THANK YOU.

We now return to our scheduled daily dose of tl;dr.

You should tell me how your trip went. Or I could wait for you to make an entry and I could go and read that despite not being on your flist . Tlell me though, did you get to see the Dinosaurs? 8D

Ah, I think everyone feels like that. Think of it this way though, you'd admit that your a more, err, "enlightened" generation than the previous one, right? At the very least, kids on the whole are getting more liberal, less sexist, less racist. Older generations learn from mistakes and then they teach the lessons to us. Your worry and care improves us!
One thing I am worried about though, is kids doing stuff like playing video games all day. I didn't even notice this until I was at a friends house. I like video games well enough, but I want to tell these kids to go outside anyways because i feel like they're wasting their youth away. You don't gain childhood memories from achieving this many kills on xbox, you know? Of course, my own worry may be a result of my own views towards how my youth's been.

This is most fun I've ever had in fandom, honest to god. I've been in big, important fandoms and they're nothing compared to this. Too bad the wank scared me off at first and I used to take every opportunity to get discouraged from joining. Now I wish I had leaped on board earlier now, instead of waiting until March.

(what books on sweden and finland did you get?)
Iiichh I wish with the whole COMMIES ARE BAD argument, they'd also teach us that communism =/= socialism. Or at least go more in depth with this, cause some people I know believe in a kind of capitalism that is more idealistic than any kind of socialism I've ever seen.
Oooh, I just got reminded, on the news there was a story about how some PSA was being broadcast in America, talking about how Canada's free health care was an evil, evil thing (you keep thinking that, America). They even got this Canadian woman, who had surgery in America, talking about how the Canadian health care system was about to leave her for dead, because she had to wait to get a surgery. The anchorman ended the report by saying "in the end, she did it the american way, by borrowing money from her friends and getting a second mortgage on her home." I don't know, I laughed.

Explain to me these parallels you see between Finland and Canada. Not that I'm doubting you, I'd just like to hear about 'em.
I wish i could explain better why I like the Nordics so much. JUST A FEELIN, YOU KNOW? (well, it's more than that, but it ~all starts with a feeling~ anyways). Oh and even in the comics they are so the best designed group, even if one was to acknowledge Denmark's funny little hat.

I ACTUALLY WENT TO THE LIBRARY! IT WAS BIGGER AND MORE BEAUITFUL THAN I COULD'VE EVER HOPED AND I GOT WHAT I WANTED ♥ i got so excited omg it was like euphoria and ecstasy and joy a-and you don't even know. Just sitting there and trying to pick out what book I want probably pleasures me in ways a man never could. When I got home, my sister got weirded out by the books I took out (she read through a book I got on Switzerland and was all, "do you actually enjoy this?" Then my dad, who loves history, rags on her and tells her she needs to get some cultured hobbies/interests instead of looking on Perez all day. okay okay sorry for tl;dr on the story of my life).

here is where i will be very uncheerleader like and tell you that you can be the best writer in the world but they'll only publish your stuff if they think it'll sell :( :( :( of course, it depends on what you're writing. i don't think anyone writing a book on the history of toe clippers is expecting to make a fortune. I hope you'll write about something at least a bit more interesting than that.

D'aww, look at you, only wanting to post quality stuff. While I think that's a fantastic quality that I think more people (here's look at you, main comm~!) should have, I want to encourage you to go and post stuff more often merely because it brings some people, such as myself, great joy. And because you're probably too harsh of a critic on yourself anyways. Really though, I mean, half the stuff you've written is about pairings I have no interest in at all, but I read them anyways and I adored the hell out of them because I love the way you write so much. Your style of writing can be so pretty sometimes I can't even handle it D: D: D: (or should I say, :D :D :D?). And I mean the good pretty, as in, pretty with meaning. As in, not just a bunch of emotionless, empty adjectives that have been strung together.

I wish they'd start us early on french, and treat it like real subject but can you imagine the complaining? Most people would be thinking "we'll never need to use it! We don't need to learn a second language! ALL WE NEED IS ENGLISH." Native english-speakers have the biggest ego ever.

Oooh I see. Good with that, for serious! I see you mentioned Finnish aka cutest language ever. I can't even listen to Finnish without wanting to repeat it right away cause it sounds so net. I swear to god I'm not even joking. ff even Finnish names are amazing. When I was younger and watched a lot more hockey than I do now, I always wanted the Flames to draft some of the Finnish players just because I liked their names orz

I like it when posters are recognizable! You know, when you've got a persona kind of thing going on. i don't know, it seems that with a lot of the newer namefags, I just don't know how they're like? I see a name but I can't figure out their personalities (though I guess I could exclude the few that are on my flist, hah). Not to say I dislike them, not at all, I think it's lovely that we have so many great namefags on the meme. I actually cringe when someone targets a namefag, or says mean things about them even if I never really had any opinion of the said namefag before. I get more offended by people insulting other people than people insulting me, how about that.

Though, I think it's the way you write, too. You're the only person I've seen actually say shan't when replying. I actually did a double take first time I saw you write it somewhere. You need to change you're style of writing when you anon. Stop calling people darlin', and maybe start writing in all lower case
pressing enter for the hell of it
maybe
right in the
middle of a sentence

Now I'm off to finish the eighteen questions I still have left despite doing six hours of physics today, not including what i did this morning in summer school. ughhh i am not in the mood for thissss

toodles. or something.
:)

IT IS OKAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT REAL LIFE HAPPENS. Hell, it even happens to me occasionally. So, no worries! And yesssss tl;dr, I'm so excited.

As for the trip, I'll be making an entry about it, but for summary: it went REALLY NICE, but my parents were a pain in the ass. But the scenery is gorgeous and I saw lots of deer and a grizzly bear and BIGHORN SHEEP, AHHHH (I've always wanted to see one). Here, have a photo, because I feel like teasing you:

It was SO GORGEOUS OMG. But you'll have to wait until the post for the rest. Anyway, no, we didn't go see the dinosaurs. When we pulled into Drumheller, it was too late for that - and since my grandmother lived there, well, we've seen the museum several times, so we don't go every time we're in the area. I'd like to see it again, though - it's been a few years since I was last there.

As for education - I guess you're right about learning from mistakes and so on. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way, considering my current location, but when I really think about it, you're right.
As for the whole going outside thing, ehh... well, I don't know. I tend to feel awkward about that, because when I was younger I wasn't really allowed outside. Well, okay, I could go outside, but I had to stay in the yard. There was a park right across the street but I wasn't allowed to go anywhere or do anything, even up until I was 13. I did have a bicycle, but I was expected to ride it in the driveway. Er. Sooo I spent a lot of time inside playing Sonic and reading novels. On the whole, I think childhood memories are a bit overrated anyway, so I don't particularly care.

Anyway. Hetalia fandom. I've never been in big fandoms or anything, really, and my last big involvement was so long ago that it doesn't really matter (years and years and years) so this is all new to me. I actually became involved in it because of the wank - I saw mention of it on

sf_drama and thought the idea was interesting. I'm glad that I became involved when I did (early January), though I do wish I had jumped in even earlier, because it's just so much fun.

Oh derp, history books - I've been mentioning and never bothered with titles. My entire European history collection is very small. It is thus -
*A Concise History of Finland by David Kirby
*A Concise History of Sweden by Neil Kent
*The Baltic Revolution by Anatol Lieven
I'm also slowly acquiring a collection of literature (because I feel you can't really learn about history without reading the literature as well). Thus far I have a mishmash of Icelandic sagas, Norwegian plays (Ibsennnnn), Baltic poetry, aaand also a copy of the Kalevala is on its way to me. But that's all so far.

When it comes to school (high school, at least) I've given up on trying to hope that anyone will learn anything. My mother is a teacher up in Fort Mcmurray, and the state of the public school system there right now is even worse than when I left it. I'm told it's much the same in the rest of the province. Ugh, I'm so glad that I graduated when I did, else I'd be going crazy.

I did hear about that PSA in the states; in fact, an acquaintance of mine, who lives in Georgia, asked me if it was true that our system is exactly as they say. Ugh. Ugh! Stuff and nonsense. It just makes me want to throw up my hands in despair. People are so ridiculous.

Anyway. Parallels between Finland and Canada, eh. Well, this is going to be REALLY GENERAL because it is early in the morning and I have not had my coffee yet and it's been a little while since I have read my history book. But anyway. A lot of the similarities I see are actually kind of superficial and limited, but... I see them regardless (maybe I just want to see them)
Firstly, geography. Okay, so, the whole of Canada isn't much like Finland - Canada is a pretty big place, after all. But the part that I'm most familiar with is very much like it. Northern Alberta. Pine forests filled with lakes. Seeing photos my friends take, I swear, it looks like Alberta. It's just that Finland is flatter.
Secondly, isolation. This partly goes along with geography. Canada = big place with lots of snow and trees and nobody lives there. Finland = smaller place with lots of snow and trees and nobody lives there. Fff. But in all seriousness, both have populations that are small (for their size) and spread out and kind of isolated. True for the past, less so for the present but still there.
Thirdly, just kind of a general thing - both were colonized, and that had a very significant effect on the development in terms of culture/identity/etc. But that's speaking very generally.
And fourth, just a bit of silliness that reminded me of Canada - I've seen Finns complain about having to learn Swedish, particularly if they don't live in an area with Swedish-speaking population. "Arrrgh, why do we have to learn this, I'm never going to use it!" Reminds me very much of having to learn French when living in Alberta. ;p Same deal. "OH MY GAWD, why do we have to learn French, we'll never use it!".

Anyway, there is more, and certainly more specific things, but I can't remember them at the moment. Ffffff anyway.

I AM GLAD YOU WENT TO THE LIBRARY. AND I AM GLAD YOU FOUND WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR. Best feeling ever, when that happens. (Oops, this reminds me that I need to go to the library too. I need to take back a bunch of textbooks from last year. Gaahhhh I am so lazy. Luckily, as a graduate student, my sign-outs are good until September...) Anyway. I understand the feeling. My family, well - they unfortunately don't. So I have to talk to people online about it. Sob sob but WHATEVER. IT'S GOOD.

Anyway, gahhh. Yeah. I realize that getting published can be very difficult, that publishers will only pick up certain things. But there's always the chance that I'll write something good that will sell.
Or maybe I'll just write something crappy and Twilight-ish ffor the money, and publish it under a pseudonym, so I can get rich. Hah.
But in all seriousness, I dunno... most of the stuff I write isn't very publishable. I mean, fanfiction aside, I mostly write poetry, and everyone knows that nobody reads poetry. Sigh.
Of course, I'll have to write academic books too, but those don't make any money and they don't count.

And. askldjf. OKAY I will try to post more frequently... when I write something worth posting. 8D Your kind words make me all a-flutter. Feels excellent hearing those things. <3
For the most part, I try to only post things that I am satisfied with, and that have something resembling a plot, because I think it makes the best impression. But I've decided that I might try to post a bit more, just because a lot of people seem to like reading what I write, and because I write unusual things that people might be looking for but can't find (I remember someone saying a short while ago that there's no Est/Fin around... well, no, there is, I just only post it to my journal, sob D: )
But. Yes. I'm going to get off my butt and do some edits to some old things and post them up to the main comm, or maybe kalmarunionen I guess (now that they have non-Nordic tags. Perfect for me, considering)

Anyway. Languages. UGH. I wish they taught French properly. But as you said, everyone would be whining about it. And fffffu one of my friends is trying to persuade me to learn Finnish and I'm like... aksdfj. But I kind of want to try. And at least I would have them to practice with (and they wouldn't tease me about my horrible Finnish too much... I think). But I don't know if I will have the time.

In some ways, I like being able to recognize people too. I like being able to identify who I'm talking to, even if it's by an alias (tl;dr draw-anon, Salmiakki anon, etc). But anyway, yes, a lot of the newer people who post under their name - I'm not sure what to think of them. But, that might be because I don't know them very well yet, thus don't know anything about their personalities. Maybe.

It does upset me too when someone targets a person who is posting under their name. For me, it's because when someone targets an anonymous poster, they don't really know who they're directing it toward. But when it's someone with a name, they know precisely who they are aiming their hate at, and it seems more personal that way. That's what bothers me most.

Anyway. People being able to identify me - yeah, it's probably the way I write. The word choice and sentence structure and so on. I realize that some parts of my vocabulary are, er, a little bit archaic (shan't/shall, remarkable/unremarkable, etc). Sob, I do try to make my writing a little less notable when anon, but a lot of the time it doesn't work. And I don't think I could ever bring myself to mutilate my grammar. Fff.

Oh well. I WILL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. Yes. 8D

... Also, holy shit. Teal deer is really really really teal today.

why would you crash on me like this, computer. why. ~~it's a good idea i had half this reply saved, at least~~

I remember back in the day, when I was just a young little thing, I was amazed by you having a reply of 5022 characters. Oh, how times have changed :') It's strange cause your reply doesn't even really seem all that long. You should get a prize or something for it, though. I got such a kick out of it.

/feels teased. Aah, that picture is so lovely. The mountains are the greatest, though I think they're even more gorgeous in the winter, right after a fresh, heavy snowfall (I'm a winter-sort of person anyways, so I might be speaking with a bias). But I swear, I have been to the mountains way too much to see as few animals as I have. I've actually seen bighorn sheep a few times ( Back in my Harry Potter days I would like to imagine that my ~patronus~ would've been one of those. ) but I've never seen a bear in real life, hell, I've never even see a moose outside of the zoo before. It seems like the only time they ever appear is when my dad isn't taking me out to the wilderness with him.

I haven't been to Drumheller in, wow, ten years? Last time I went our car broke down on the way home and we were stuck on the side of the rode in thirty degrees for a long time. Fun stuff!

. . . And I thought my parents were over-protective. I just wasn't allowed to go to other people's houses very often, though either way I wouldn't get to do that much as most kids thought I was too weird to talk to, pff. Far as childhood memories are concerned though, uh, I'm putting a large emphasis on them at the moment because I fail at focusing on ~now~ and I look to the past too much (the future too, now that I think about it)? Which is nuts, cause at my age I hardly have anything to look back on :|

I think. . . I think I might have forgotten what it's like to not be in fandom. Darn. Was it more productive? I do not know.

Your view on how you should read the literature to better understand the history is so hardcore /high fives. Then again, you've already said you've got an interest in that kind of thing and most research I hear about is just a quick wiki search. I'd be a bit reluctant to try out reading those old pieces of literature, even if I ever decided that I did want my knowledge of a country/history to get so in depth. Ah, sorry, I know you love and adore old literature but I'm so intimidated by it because I'm not sure if I'll be able to understand what I'm reading and just not getting something is the worst feeling in the world for me. It was a pain for me to get through any Shakespeare in school (yes yes I know that not all old stuff are written the same but the fear shall always be there, regardless of what I'm reading). though it'd also depend on the time it was written? and if it's a poem/story/play/etc etc etc and I really don't know anything about this kind of stuff to be honest so I'm going to shut up

People who want to learn will learn. I like to learn. Hell, I should just spend the rest of my life in a university or something. Learning is just super.

ikr. I mean, I'm pretty sure that if we were in the states, my dad wouldn't have gotten the surgery he needed last week (cause while it was a big problem, it wasn't life threatening). I guess we Canadians can just sit over here with our shiny higher standard of living and point and laugh (or feel sympathy) at the people supporting those PSAs.

's cool, general is fine.
Re: Isolation.
You know how you say the population is small for its size? Man, I used to think that 30mil for Canada was really, really small, and I suppose that with regards to how much land we have it is, but it's sad, I was really surprised when I learned about how small of populations some countries have. I even used to think that Calgary, having a population of one million people, would make it a "small" city. Then I realized it's just because we're beside the third most populated place on the planet (ten Americans for every Canadian, i think?)
Re: Bilingualism.
That made me laugh out loud.

I am so terrible when it comes to returning books or movies or anything on time. I make sure to bring money every time I go return stuff because I know it's going to be overdue. Can you seriously take stuff out for a year?

I wish you luck~ after all, Twilight's probably the exception. Also, it's one of "those" YA books so it's not like it's expected to be brilliant. 'sides, if you go and try to publish something like Twilight, I swear that you will become dead inside. Your dignity and will to live will be reduced to nothing. Do you think you could even write something like that if you tried? Maybe if you made it a goal to use every synonym for "pretty" that's listed in the thesaurus, you could. Hurr, I don't know. It's not like the only successful books are crap, so again, here I am wishing you luck. And even if academic books don't make you money, you'll at least get a ton of intellectual cred. And publishing poetry will give you that artsy cred and all the hipsters will want to be friends with you (okay, that last part may be a bad thing)

Things you're satisfied with, eh? Well, what happens when you are your own worst critic? I don't know if you are, I'm just sayin. I guess if you're worried about writing too much random drabbles/porn you can just fit all of them into one post? Really though man, a lot of people probably don't ship those things you like not because they don't like the dynamic, but because they haven't considered it before. By posting you are converting people to your crazy obscure ways.

If you want to learn Finnish,err, try to see if Pimsleur has a course for it. They're terribly good CDs and you can even just listen to them while going on walks. They don't tell you how to read and write it but out of all the language learning products I've seen this is probably the best (It's really long and repetitive but it does a good at teaching you pronunciation and drilling everything into your head). I don't know if they have one, though (I'm googling it but my google-fu is week today). I wouldn't recommend anything from the Teach It Yourself books, those are. . . pretty subpar when it comes to learning languages.
So, what would you learn Finnish for? I mean, anything else than perhaps talking with Finnish anons/users on lj.
:)

You can't really tell anons apart, so it's not like you can really direct it at anyone specific either. Who knows if an angry!anon today was really the same anon, or three different anons. Being an angry!anon is a troublesome ordeal anyways. You don't feel any better by being bitchy to people (well, any happiness you get from that isn't going to be real happiness).

You know what else you say a lot? Anyway. Haha, I don't know, you said it quite a lot just right now. Or maybe that's only when you're rambling. of course I've been known to use "though" twice in a sentence so I'm not one talk.
I always change the way I type depending on my mood (and sometimes because I end up posting like, five itt threads a day and I don't want people to assume that it's all the same person --not that they'd be able to tell anyways). I couldn't even pay attention to my grammar for the life of me. I'll look over what I've just typed and not notice entire words missing, or ends of words (like "ing") or what have you. I would be the worst beta in the world.

. . . It took me maybe five hours to know what you meant by teal deer. I even googled it. Clearly, today is an off day.

Computers choose to screw up at the worst moments. (Fortunately, mine doesn't crash often, but I do type up my responses in a document for that purpose, just in case). They just never seem to do what you want them to. Come to think of it, I still haven't seen about fixing what is wrong with my laptop battery, ahhhh ;~;

To be honest, the over-9000 character comment was quite a surprise to me, too. Clearly I really do never know when to shut up. I'm very glad that you didn't get bored, though!

The last time I was in the mountains, I was 10 or so, and it was Banff. I don't really remember much about it, so this trip was a real treat. So gorgeous, ahhhhhh. But I wish I had been able to enjoy it better. Wish I could have gone hiking. Maybe another time.

Since I grew up basically in the middle of the bush, we'd get deer and moose and bears and stuff in town all the time, so seeing them wasn't too unusual (though seeing deer so close was awesome). I always find it kind of startling when people say they haven't seen much for animals, but I guess if you live in a big-ass city it makes sense.

I kind of miss Drumheller. We would go down at least twice per year - for Christmas, and for Canada Day. I spent most of my childhood summers there, and I really miss going. Not all that fond of the roadtrip, mind you. On the other hand, I've only been to Calgary once, and that was so long ago that I can't remember it. (I've been at the airport a squillion times, but that doesn't count).

Part of the reason I try not to focus on my own past is because there's nothing much to think about. I went to school. I came home from school. I read novels of dubious quality. I wrote really awful stories (and had fun doing it). Aaaand that's it. Not much to think about. I'd rather look to the future. And the present is okay too, I guess.

Fandom: I think that when I was not in fandom, I was more productive in terms of creative output. By that I mean I wrote original things. Fanfiction is all well and good, but... it's fanfiction. So, when I wasn't in fandom, I just wrote other things... which I feel is a (slightly) better use of my time. On the other hand, I tend to get involved in a fandom when I have absolutely no original ideas whatsoever, so I guess it kind of works out in the end. I still have an idea or two filed away, but I don't know if I'm going to write them. One involved a pair of brothers who worked at a haunted restaurant. Was going to have lots of scary poltergeist activity and such. I'm not particularly good at writing horror though - maybe that's why I was never really able to get into the groove for that one. Guess I need to read more ghost stories.

The thing about reading the literature to understand the history is something that I take from my background in both classics and medieval literature. In these cases, we know what happened, but reading the literature is the best way to find out what society - or at least, the educated classes - felt about what was going on, what had happened previously, and how things should be. The literature produced by a society - novels and poetry, but also things like fairytales and epics - says quite a bit about the ideals, aspirations, thoughts of people in ways that historical records do not - because, after all, the literature is produced during that people's own time. That's why when studying Rome, for example, one shouldn't just read history books written in the 20th century - we should also read histories written by Romans, as it comments on what they thought, as well as poetry like The Aeneid, as it speaks to the ways that the powerful classes thought things should be - and similarly, but a bit differently, Catullus's love poems say more about relationships between the sexes in his time than any history book ever could.

This is part of why I want to read the Kalevala. There are two things about it - firstly, the stories themselves, the old consciousness of Finland. It could, I think, say so much about the culture itself, expressing the... hmm.. sense, upon which everything is now based. Secondly, the compilation itself. National epic. Put together at a time when Finland was experiencing much change. Not too long afterward, the nation gained independence. So, its very existence speaks volumes, too. But ahh, I wish I didn't just have to read translations. It would be so much better to read it in Finnish.

... Whoa, uh, I got off track there. Sorry. Anyway, when it comes to reading old literature, part of the thing is that when one does it for something other than an assignment in school, it is done for pleasure - and many of these things really are interesting to read. Take Ibsen, for example. His plays are taught in schools (You may have had to study A Doll's House, possibly Ghosts as well) but the stories themselves are quite good, and thought-provoking. These were written in the 1800s, and of course, when we read them we are reading them in translation, so the languagae itself isn't difficult. And of course, there are Andersen's works as well, which were also written in the 19th century, and the language used for translations tend to be relatively modern, if a little nostalgic. As for the sagas and such, I haven't started reading them yet, but I expect them to be much like Welsh tales: weird, and with a sort of logic that makes sense, but bizarre sense. Fairy-tale logic.

The thing about Shakespeare VS the sort of thing we're talking about here is that Shakespeare is not read in translation. Well, some of it is, but it should not be. On the otherhand, with Nordic literature, of course people like myself have no choice but to read it in translation. Generally, the language used is quite easy, so even if it was written in the medieval period, or in the 19th century, it isn't that much different from reading something written in the 20th century, except for content.

Anyway. Those PSAs... man. I just don't understand it. I can always tell that I'm watching American television when I see a ridiculous PSA of that nature. The sad thing is, people seem to actually fall for it. How is it that people can be so... so... Ach, I can't even think of the word now.

About countries and population: It's kind of crazy, isn't it. I always get rather startled when I find out just how small some places are. I mean, Calgary - that's a city, but it has a population nearly as large or larger than some small countries (Estonia, for example, is only about 1.3 million, for the entire place). And I tend to think that Saskatoon is quite a small city, but compared to other places, it's pretty decently sized. So strange to think of.

I'm terrible at returning books on time too, which is why I'm very glad to be able to check them out for so long. And yes, I can keep them for an entire year, unless a professor recalls them. As far as I know, that's the standard for graduate students. Considering most of us need the books for thesis research and so on, it makes perfect sense.

When it comes to publishing, I could always write something for the lulz. Then again, that would be out of character for me and I doubt I could actually do it, hah. But anyway, eventually I'll come up with an idea that is good enough for me to want to finish it, annnnd then hopefully it will get picked up. First I'll have to find a good idea though....

Hmm. I know that some people are their own worst critic, but I like to think that I'm not quite that bad. Generally I can at least find a few things that I like about something - if I don't like it at all, I scrap it, and that has only happened to three fics out of thirty-ish so far. Sometimes I write something that's pretty okay, and I realize that it's pretty okay. So, there we are. Mostly when I post something to a community, I do so because I feel there's something of substance there. Not necessarily for length, mind, because I've posted prose-poetry before - but something of higher quality than my usual work.

Anyway. Yeahhh, I realize that a lot of the time, people just haven't considered the pairing. That's a comment I get a lot, especially when it comes to the really unusual stuff lik Can/Pol, Can/Nor, Pol/Est... I like converting people to weird stuff.

Pimsleur? Haven't heard of that, but I'll take a look. I was considering snooping about to see if I could find it for Rosetta Stone, considering I have the main program. Mostly I'm concerned about reading, as I'm text-oriented, but being able to understand spoken Finnish would be pretty cool. As for what I'd use it for - aside from ~~flirting with~~ talking to Finnish users, I'd probably use it for literature. As I already mentioned, I'd love to be able to read the Kalevala in the original form, and now that I've been reading some Finnish poetry, I really wish I could also read that in the original, because really - when it comes to poetry in particular, translations never do it justice, due to things like rhythm and internal rhyme and so on that are extremely difficult to imitate when going from one language to another. Right now I have LJ set to Finnish. I feel like a huge nerd.

~~Ffff, I only realized how much I said 'anyway' in that previous one, just now. I think I was very tired at the time~~
I hardly ever start threads, but I guess if I did I would try (very very hard!) to change my typing style. Though it's difficult. Gawd, even with the RP thread I started the other day, I was internally panicking. But, couldn't be helped. Finland wanted to play, and it was my turn to start topic. I don't even know why I get so nervous about starting topics... blah.

adsf. This is long and I am tired. And now, to bed.

My computer doesn't screw up often, but I suppose that when you've a word document, five firefox browsers open with twenty or so tabs in each, along with itunes, photoshop, SAI, and two folders open one should probably expect it. (what's wrong with your battery?)

I just went and looked at a map of Alberta (I knew where Fort McMurray was about, but just to get a clearer idea and all), and christ, how long does it take to drive to the mountains from there? The distance is even longer than I thought it was! As for me, err, I don't think there's ever been a year when I haven't visited the mountains. A few years ago, practically every weekend in winter was spent at the mountains cause we'd go skiing (oi, does this mean you've never been skiing/snowboarding? D:) Did you get to do anything in the mountains, or were you just passing them by?

Hey now. Don't think we don't get any animals in Calgary. Okay, so, maybe we don't get moose or bear wandering about but we do get deer in the suburbs every so often. (this is a picture i took a few months ago or so: http://i31.tinypic.com/af8qyb.jpg there were like six deer on our front lawn. My sister and I spent like, half an hour watching them.) Aaaaand, I'll admit, maybe having deer everywhere isn't that big of an accomplishment. Now if there was a tiger wandering about. . .

There's probably not much to remember, honestly. I feel compelled to sell the wonders of the city to you, but I've got nothing. If someone was visiting Calgary, I don't think I could even advise them on what to do here. I could just be a poor salesman, though.

Ah, I see. Now I'm just reminded of that saying, time you enjoyed wasting isn't wasted time. If I could drill that philosophy into my brain, I'd be good to go.

I'm just wondering, when you'd go about writing original stories, do you write all of them with the intent of having them published? Or do you just mostly write for kicks, and just every so often there might end up being one you'd want to publish?

I'm not huge into the horror thing, honestly. I remember in elementary everyone would go around buying books about "real" ghost stories but after that I kind of grew out of it (I'm not much into horror movies anymore either, though that's because 97% of them are absolutely terrible as they don't really rely on suspense or story telling or anything). I don't know if I've ever read a fictional book that could be classified as "horror." Well, I mean, other than Interview With The Vampire, which according to Chapters is horror. Oh, I remember when I thought vampires were the coolest things ever. . . For a year or two I was one of those teenagers.

It'd be hard writing horror, I'd imagine. I don't think I could take myself seriously while doing. I'd write a bit and then I'd have to ask myself "pff, who am I kidding?" How many good horror writers get genuinely freaked out by what they're writing, even?

i just stared at that paragraph for like ten minutes and I have no idea how to reply to it with anything other than YOU ARE SO RIGHT, MAN. /BROFIST and it's a shame because it's a very nice paragraph and I happen to like it quite a bit but I have no insights of my own to share. hahaha this is embarrassing.
I hope that smalltext didn't kill your eyes. I assure you that the small text was necessary, as to hide my shame. I'm afraid that kind of thing applies to the next paragraph as well, for the most part D:
Can I just say I want national awakening fic with Finland? Man, that would be super. . . and probably really hard to write. Actually, I'd love that kind of idea for any nation.

Mm, even if the language in Kalevala isn't all that hard, you'd still have to learn Finnish for quite awhile just to make it through. Even if only because it's, well, I'm just going to guess here and say that it's long. Translations are a scary thing, not just cause as you said later in reply, stuff gets lost, but, i dunno, sometimes they can be so different from each other. I've seen comparisons of some old stuff, the same passage, translated by two different people and the difference is insane. I mean, they talk about the same thing, but just the style/words/everything else seem different from one another. how are you ever supposed to know which one to chose? :o

(I sort of figured but like I said, the fear's still there.)

By the language being easy, you mean it gets translated into fairly easy to understand English, then? I don't know why that surprises me. Maybe it's because (I apologize if I offend your very being by saying this) the only piece of medieval literature I know about is Beowulf sorry! and the people I know who had to read it for school seemed to complain about it a lot, though I suppose they can find a lot of reasons to complain other than how hard the words are.

Suddenly, I feel compelled to visit a Renaissance fair.

Well, seeing how free health care is only for communists. . .
People just like the idea of capitalism too much? And there were government people and news stations influencing their opinions and saying why they shouldn't want it. [insert deleted rambling here]. . . I shouldn't even be rambling about that stuff cause it's irrelevant and I don't even have any real solid opinions on government and the economy and social welfare cause I don't know enough about life to have an intelligent opinion. and i'm worried about sounding like one of those naive young hippies even though it's not like I think capitalism is ~EVIL~ cause I don't but I think America might be a bit too big of a country to not at least get a bit of help? idk idk idk i'm tired and embarrassed to even talk about this
and I have no idea what word you were trying to think of. i am no help whatsoever 8D

Not as bad as Iceland, which is like in the 300,000s. It's pretty exciting to see someone on the internet from a country with such a small population, though! A few years ago a few people from Iceland added me on msn because they liked the fic I wrote (sadly, they only wanted to talk about a7x and how much they hated iceland D:). I've actually seen more people from Iceland than Estonia, I just saw my first Estonian yesterday after they commented on some picture of mine on devart.

When was the last time you posted to a comm, anyways?

We need more love for the rarepairs~ Especially ones that can make sense, hah. It's a shame going to the kinkmeme or something and seeing the same three ships/prompts being filled out over and over again. I remembering requesting a rarepairing on there once, only to realize that it was probably useless to do so.

Ohhh, I didn't consider that. I guess it was designed more for people who were going to be going to the said country. Finnish kind of looks like keyboard smashing, to me. Keyboard smashing with lots of umlauts :) I probably get too much of a kick at going on wikipedia and seeing how every page looks in a different language. Arabic!wiki's even got a whole different page layout! Hell, even simple english is interesting and useful, sometimes. All I know about the string theory is from what I read on it's simple english translation page hah
Sigh, wiki, why can't I ever quit you.
maybe my eyesight is bad but I can't tell the letters apart in the அரபு_மொழி pages. What is அரபு_மொழி anyways?)

Aww. I wish I could give some advice for that but alas, I do not RP, nor have I ever RP'd. I don't think it matters much on what topic you start, cause as long as you start talking it's bound to turn into something interesting eventually.

so much for waking up feeling rested blahh :|

Uh... yeah. When you have that much open at the same time, you should probably expect it to work like shite, bro. Mine runs pretty well, but then again I usually just have AIM, MSN, Firefox with ~5 tabs, Notepad, maybe itunes. I guess I'm accustomed to trying to only run stuff in minimal amounts because the computer I had to use back home - before I moved out and everything - was a total piece of shite. We got it in like, 2001 or something like that. Runs Windows ME (still runs it, matter of fact). Slow as molasses. Blue screen 'o doom is far too familiar. So... there we are.

To be honest, I have no idea wtf is wrong with my laptop battery. For some reason, the computer can't detect it (I get an error saying "no battery detected" when I turn on the computer, and if I unplug the cord the laptop turns off). I've been told that sometimes batteries crap out, but I don't know if it's it. I mean, I've only had this computer for about a year. So I really need to sit down and see what's what, but I haven't gotten around to it yet because I'm lazy and I actually don't use it without the cord very frequently anyway.

Fort McMurray is wayyyy far from everything, swear to gods. It took us about 16 hours total driving time to get from there to Waterton, if I recall correctly - and that's why we split the drive into two days. Otherwise it would have been just too much. I'm used to distance - it takes something like five hours to get to Edmonton - but even so, that was pretty bad. When we got there, we uh... we didn't really do much. I mean, we were right in the middle of the mountains, but we didn't really do anything. We just kind of looked at them, 'cause they were pretty. Er. And Dad went fishing in one of the lakes, but I didn't get to because mum decided that was the perfect time to drag me around to souveneer shops and.... yeah. Argh. Parents. If I'd been there on my own, surely I would have done quite a bit, or at least would have enjoyed it more.

does this mean you've never been skiing/snowboarding? D:
Haha, no! Fort McMurray has a lot of steep hills; it's in the middle of a valley, so it isn't flat like, say, Saskatoon. I mean, our ski hills aren't anywhere near as impressive as skiing in the mountains, but we still have it. I haven't done it recently, but back in high school I used to go out and do it. But I kind of stopped after I had an accident. Nothing broken, but my nose was banged up pretty badly and I was really shaken up and after that I didn't really want to do it any more.

HOLY SHIT. DEER. Usually up in Fort Mac they don't come out and wander around in the residential areas like that - we haven't had that sort of mixing. You're more likely to see them on the side of the road (same goes for the bears and elk and such). But we do get little red foxes coming in and wandering around our yard.

While it's true that in general time that is enjoyed is not wasted, I would say this only applies provided one isn't supposed to be doing something in particular - because then you don't really have time to waste.

When it comes to original stories, mostly I just write them for fun - and also because it sucks having an idea in my head and not doing anything about it. When I want to write, I really really want to write, soooo might as well do that. Usually the "stories" turn out to be novel-length, and usually after a while I start thinking, "Man, if this turns out to be good, maybe I could get it published". I think the desire to be published, for me, is mostly out of a desire to share it with people. I want people to be able to read it. But a little money would be good too. I figure if I wrote something and actually finished it, but didn't manage to get published at all, I'd probably just put it on the internet or something.

To be honest, I'm not big into the horror thing either. Stephen King's old work is okay though. A lot of the stuff I have read in the genre falls short, and I think that the reason is, as you mentioned with the movies, it falls short when it comes to both suspense and storytelling. ...Fff, Chapters labels IWTV as horrow? Gawdno. What are they thinking, I don't even-- ahh, well. As for me, I do like Rice's novels, even though they're terrible, but... yes. Definitely not horror. Stoker's Dracula comes closer, though it's not quite there. To be honest, I still like vampires - and did try to write a vampire novel once - but man, most of the novels out there suck.

The "pff, who am I kidding?" this is partly why I was never really able to do this ghost story. I try to write scary scenes and they just turn out so... well... not-scary. But there must be some way to figure out how to do it, because I really like this idea, it just... Argh! Can't do it! D:

Anyway. Hah, no, the smalltext didn't kill my vision. ♥ I dunno where that big long paragraph came from, man. I guess I just tend to get carried away when talking about literature.

National awakening fic with Finland
Oh. Fuck. Do want. DO WANT DO WANT YES. ... Unfortunately I'd never be able to write it. Sob. I've come to the conclusion that when I want something in this fandoml, I usually have to write it myself, so frustrating... but argh. No, someone who knows more about Finland than I do would have to write that one. (I am going to file the idea in my pocket though. Ff.)

Speaking realistically, I know I'll probably never be able to read the Kalevala in the original. But ah, I can dream~ You're correct that it's long - I received the volume yesterday, and in this translation it's like, 650 pages - 50 cantos, averaging about 400 lines per canto, coming out to 20,000 lines (probably more like 21,000). Pretty hefty book - lucky that it's a paperback. What I would love to have is an edition that has the original on one side of the page, and the translation on the other - I used to have an edition of Beowulf like that, as well as a copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that was much the same (because though it's in Middle English, it's a very difficult dialect) and it was just excellent to have.

You're correct about translations being scary. Though personally, when it comes to differences in translation, I'd say it's more frustrating than frightening. Personally, I've determined that when it comes to translations, at least of old literature, the best way to go about it is thus. Firstly, try to read current, scholarly editions - ones put out by university presses etc. In these cases, usually the translator is more concerned about getting the meaning across than translating in a way that results in a pretty sentence. Avoid old translations - from the 19th and early 20th century, etc, for this reason. Secondly, read multiple translations of the same work. Since, as you mentioned, two translators will translate things quite differently, I find it's helpful (as well as interesting) to read different versions to get a feel of what differences there might be, and then determine for myself what sort of meaning might be gathered from a passage. But this can be time-consuming. ... Basically, though, just stick with scholarly versions. Yep.

You mean it gets translated into fairly easy to understand English, then?
Yes. This is generally the case. The language is not usually complicated, because there is no need for complication, if you understand what I mean. Since you mentioned Beowulf, I'll talk about that one a while. When I was teaching it, my students complained about it quite a bit too. The reason was not the language itself, but various factors. Many of the names are weird and often hard to pronounce. Also, the style is very circular, very repetitive. This is typical of epic literature, because it started off as oral literature. It was not written down. So the same thing might be repeated three different times in the same sentence, and the same tale might be relayed twice or three or more times, in different ways. Those are some of the reasons my students didn't like it...

Here's an example from one of my copies of Beowulf, so you can see what the language is like:
I will tell the truth -
I had greater strength on the sea,
more ordeals on the waves than any other man.
When we were just boys we two agreed
and boasted - we were both still
in our youth - that out on the great ocean
we would risk our lives, and we did just that.
We had bare swords, when we swam in the sea,
hard in our hands; we thought to protect
ourselves from whales. Nor for anything
could he swim far from me on the sea-waves,
more swiftly on the water, nor would I go from him

And as another example, this time translated into prose, here is a bit from the Irish epic, the Tain bo Cualigne:

Three times fifty warriors went out to meet them, and they all fell at one another's hands at Lia Toll, the Pierced Standing-Stone. Not a soul came out alive of all those choice children except Follamain mac Conchoboir. Follamain swore he would never go back to Emain while he grew breath, unless he tool Ailill's heat with him, with the gold crown on top. But that was no easy thing to swear: the two sons of Berthe mac Bain, sons of Ailill's foster-mother and foster-father, went out and attacked him, and he died at their hands.

Relatively modern language. The names are what trip most people up. Anyway - you say you don't know much about medieval literature, and I guess I can't really blame you for that, as most places don't teach it in high school any more, except for Beowulf. Back in the day they used to teach it a bit, not so much any more. And it seems that people have a funny idea of what 'medieval' is. If I say it, people ask, "Like Shakespeare?" Well, no. The medieval period was over by about 1500 (when people ask, I usually give 1492 as the cut-off date, though it's much more complicated than that). So, with this period, we need to think about King Arthur, not King Lear. I generally name titles like Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur and Chretien's Lancelot, though also Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as well. Those are the ones most people have heard of, aside from Beowulf.

...Er. Well. Moving on.
The thing with the whole capitalism bit... I just don't understand it. We're similar up here, yes, but not as extreme of course, and I find that when I think of the system that y'all down south have in place I get kind of disturbed. I don't consider myself much of a hippy, but at the same time I feel that some people are just in unfortunate situations, and when they're unable to get help (especially when it comes to things I feel should be available to everyone, like health care) it just seems so... not right. Ah, well.

Iceland VS Estonia - it's the opposite for me; I've run into several Estonians over the years (and I'm glad for it, as otherwise I wouldn't have become interested) but only know of one Icelander - and we haven't spoken directly. I find it kind of interesting how some people have a tendency to run into people from certain areas, and others, different areas entirely.

The last time I posted to a comm was May 19, when I posted my Eurovision fic. I haven't really written much since then. Gahhhhhh.

The kink meme is frustrating indeed. So few fills for things that are unusual - or even not all that unusual, but not like, you know. The usual three pairs. Nn. Sometimes I would request things, but mostly I've given up on that now. I'll just try to fill the occasional rarepair request instead. I have a couple that I am working on, but editing them is going slowly - I'm just so frustrated with everything right now, bahhh. (And thinking about it now reminds me that I need to update the index. Ooops.)

I suppose Finnish does look like keymash - but I think Polish looks more like keymash. At least wish Finnish I can look at it and say, "Oh, yes, that looks like a word". But Polish... fff, no. Just keymash. Or sometimes it looks like a sneeze.

Anyway. I guess you're right about RP. I'm just... not comfortable with it yet, I guess. I suppose things will change, eventually. <3

Okay, was LJ down two nights ago, all of yesterday and this entire morning up until like, now or was my computer just being a massive dick by saying that it can’t connect to livejournal (from the looks of the meme, it looks like it was up for everyone else?) Maybe I can get only get on right now because I’m not on my computer, I’m typing this at the library and good lord is it awkward going on livejournal in the library. But I don’t feel like donig the schoolwork I took home from the summer so pff. For some raeson spellcheck isn’t even working on this Microsoft Word so be prepared for some nasty typos. Let’s see if I can remember how to spell embarrassing right today (it’s one of those words that aren’t hard but always throw me off :|) OKAY MOVING ON.

Oh god. The blue screen. That alone probably scarred me more than anything else growing up.
Windows ME is Windows 2000, right? I've always heard it called Windows 2000. Man, I totally forgot that even existed. Awhile ago I came across some computer running Windows 95 and it weirded me out. I'm starting to feel like the kids of today, the kind that wouldn't know what the hell a walkmen was if you showed them. Aah, I kind of wish it was still common to see people carrying them around, some people I know think I'm weird for still buying CDs from time to time.

Here is the part where I wish I was tech savy enough to help you, but alas ~~I just my cousin to come over when I have a problem~~. Maybe there's a troubleshooting thing for it? You know, in the Windows Help/Troubleshooting area part of computer. I've usually found it to be surprisingly helpful. I sure wouldn't rule out your battery just crapping out, as you said, cause those sorts of things don't require a set amount of time to pass in order to happen. If anything, it’d be strange to own a laptop you never unplugged. What are laptops for, really .

I don't think I'd be able to handle that (well, okay, I can seeing how I've had to go through it before. Though we spaced it out a lot more and had a lot more stops along the way). Unless I'm asleep, which rarely happens because I find it near impossible to fall asleep in vechicles, I start to feel uncomfortable after being in a car for just thirty minutes. Oddly enough I find myself pretty comfortable in planes. As long as the person in front of my hasn’t gone and tilted their seat all the way back)

Souvenier shops, you say? Tell me, is your mother one of those. . . tourist-y type people? Cause I find that there's rarely anything special to see in Souvenier shops but that might be just me. If it's of any comfort to you, you'd need a permit to go fishing anyways. If you have one, err, pardon me for assuming that you don't. You should maybe find a buddy to go with you next time. I do think that enjoying the great outdoors is better if you've got someone else with you, and I'm saying this as someone who is accused of liking their alone time a bit too much. Though I guess it's a matter of finding the right person to go with, you know, someone who can accept you being alone and checking stuff out by yourself instead of dragging you to little shops which are probably very similar to most other little shops you've been in).
Then again, I'm thinking of camping more than just dicking around so (I really wouldn't recommend someone to go camping by themselves unless they were like, Surviorman or something. And in that case they would be the coolest person alive).

/facepalm RIGHT. You can skill on hills oh man how did I forget that when I’ve gone skiing on hills too brb feeling dumb forever>
How'd you manage to get into that accident? I remember that I used to be this reckless, flying beast of death when I skiied. I'd flip over flimsy fences all the time and come back the next week to find that they'd be replaced with wooden ones and once time I got a dent in my helmet that was an inch or two deep from sliding on ice and hitting a tree. Now, my wild youth is behind me, and I value keeping my bones in tact. I wonder how I ever managed to avoid breaking any in the first place, when people tell me stories of breaking their arm by just falling down .

Most of the deer live in this park, which eventually branches out into the wilderness. We won't usually see them grazing on school fields or anything though. I couldn't imagine seeing a bear without, well, shitting my pants. The entire news crew would be on it in five seconds here, and they'd probably close down the area.

But of course.

It’s nice to see you have that kind of attitude towards writing. I don’t know, it’s refreshing to hear someone say that they want what they write to be published for the sake of sharing it cause most of the reasons I’ve heard are, err, a bit different. Oh man, every once in awhile on F!S you get a secret and someone says that they hoped to be published so they can have a hugeass fandom and they like thinking about who the readers will end up shipping and everything. And then I read those secrets and I laugh because, I don’t know, I think wishing/expecting a fandom for what you publish is stretching it. I know most books I’ve read, even bestsellers, don’t have fandoms. I don’t even think that’s a bad thing, honsetly.

It was labelled horror when I bought it years ago, hah. Sometimes I don’t understand the way Chapters labels things at all. I never had any interest in reading Dracula, I remember the one civil conversation I ever had with my grade nine English teacher, and he told me that he thought Dracula was a bit “dry” and not very interesting. I figured I could trust him on that, cause dsepite the fact that we didn’tget along our taste in books and comics and movies were pretty much 100% the same. As far as vampires are concerned in general, I’m just tired of them. Especially that ~sexy hot vampire~ trope. The YA vampire books are even worse, my friend tried to get me to read one so she could have someone to fangirl over it with and. . . I couldn’t bring myself to read it. Especially after she explained it to me. It had everything from funny coloured blood to different vampire clans (the good righteous vampires, the selfish evil vampires, the usual).

Get someone else to read it! Maybe you just can’t get scared by what you yourself think up. Knowing what’s going on must kill a lot of the suspense, after all.

I think the proper solution is to get a Finn to write it. I’m sure you’ve got connections. Bribe them into doing it with dirty personal favours or something. I’d be scary to write, I imagine, especially considerring how many Finns there are in the fandom (I’m always too afraid to say anything post something in say, kalmarunionen because so many people there actually come from those countries. If I got the wrong impression of a country or just get anything wrong. . . hooo boy, that’d be humiliating.)

Well, I won’t crush your dreams then. DREAM ON, YUU. (and I mean that in a positive/hopeful way, I swear!)
I like having big books like that in hardcover, honestly. Then agani, I like having everything in hardcover. I always ruin paperbacks. Too bad hardcovers are always twice the price.

Hey hey, does this mean you can read/understand Middle English? Or did you just have a copy like that cause, as you said, it’s excellent to have?

That’s a lot of steps to just read a book, though. The few translated books I’ve read were newer translations, though (my reasoning wasn’t the same as yours though, pff). And, err, sorry to say this buddy, but I think I’ll skip out on reading multiple translations of say, a 700 page book. That would take a year! Though I guess you’re talking more about poetry?

Ooh, I see what you mean. Reading that Beowulf excerpt kept throwing me off simply cause I kept on going, whoa, didn’t I just read that? I feel like I should probably try reading them outloud (you did say it started off al ~oral literature~ afterall), but err, the library’s probably not the best place to do that.

~~I thought the medieval perioud ended before that.~~

Wait, is that how you got interested in Estonia? By meeting Estonians? Did you perhaps meet them and ask yourself, “my my, what is this mysterious place named Estonia~?”

If I recall correctly, there’s a really good fanartist from Iceland in this fandom. I think.

Speaking of your fic, you totally need a “fic” tag on your journal. Everyone will be very glad for it because tags are simply that wonderful. You don’t even need to limit yourself to just that, think of the possibilities. . .

When looking at the kinkmeme aid I curse myself that I don’t ship us/uk (I really did try to like it but I really can’t). What’s just as bad is how repetitive some of the requests are. Or how some of the requests are ideas that you can probably find in 10 fics posted to the main comm.

Haha I think Finnish looks like a keysmash cause it’s just a lot of really long words strung together. Poland really does too, now that you mention it. Probably never occured to me cause I could read it, which probably affects how key-smash-y something looks.

Everytime your Estonia posts in one of those confession/secret/letter threads I cry a bit inside ;___; this is your cruel and heartbreaking way of converting people into shipping it, isn’t it? you sly bastard.

It was down? For me, it was down for a short while, but not that long. Maybe just a couple of hours. I think it was that was for most people. Comment notifications, on the other hand, haven't really been working properly for days, and it's starting to annoy me quite a bit. It seems that they might be fixed now... maybe. (As for your lack of spell check, don't worry about it; I usually forget to check my comments before I send them to you, and then when I look back I keep catching all these errors and it's like, askdjf. Yes.)

The blue screen of doom is an awful, awful thing, but after having to put up with it for so long I eventually got used to it. There was nothing else. As for ME VS 2000, they were released in the same year, but ME came later. 2000 was made for business, whereas ME was intended to be more of a personal system. Unfortunately for me, IIRC, 2000 was the more stable system. Argh.

I feel so weird using new systems. I've spent so long using archaic ones that getting used to Vista is... troubling. I can find my way around ME and Win 95 pretty well, even Win 3.1 too (ahh, I remember using 3.1, good times~) but these new systems just baffle me. Nothing is ever where I expect it to be, seems there's no logic at all to the way things are set out. But maybe I'm just cranky.

People think you're weird for buying CDs? People think that of me, too. I don't understand it. Sure, I have a fancy ipod, but I also have an excellent sound system, and I fully intend to use it. Besides that, I love having the cover art, the case, and holding the actual CD in my hand. Unwrapping a new CD gives me a most delightful feeling - I can hardly even explain it.

Anyway. Back to my computer problem. I know you can't really help me, but it's the thought that counts. I'll probably poke at it a while, run some troubleshooting things, and if I can't fix it, I'll call the company. I do have a warranty, after all. It's just so frustrating. I wish I knew more about computers than I do. People are always coming to me, expecting me to be able to help them with their computer problems, but I can't because I don't know anything about computers. I just kind of fiddle with things and poke at them until either they work or I give up, whichever comes first. Nobody listens to meeeeeeee.

As for road trips, I don't mind long ones so much, provided I can get out from time to time. I frequently read in the car, and I've trained myself to write in moving vehicles too, so it's not really a big deal for me. I hate flying, though. I find airports so, so stressful, and seats in airplanes are uncomfortable, and overall it's just so unpleasant. That sucked for me, when I went to school at one end of the country and my parents lived at the other. Coming home for Christmas was such a pain in the ass.

You would be correct - my mum is one of those tourist-y type of people. She spends ungodly amounts of time in little shops, and occasionally will drag me to tourist traps (though we don't spend much time at those, fortunately) and we barely spend any time actually enjoying the place that we went to. On our Waterton trip I would have loved to go hiking, or fishing with my father, or even have just spent time relaxing by the lake and enjoying the fresh air... but no, no. Can't be having anything of the sort. On the subject of fishing, you do need a permit, yes, but at parks like Waterton you can buy day-permits if you do not already have a fishing liscense, and those only cost about $15 or so.

I'd love to find someone to go hang out with me on national park trips/camping/etc. Unfortunately, I... well. I don't really have anyone who I could go with. I mean, I do have a lot of friends who would love to come, but they're all far away... Ah. Well, this is what I get for being shy and non-social offline, I guess. Not that I can help it, I suppose.

Skiing on hills = all I've done, though I wish I could try it in the mountains sometime. As for how I got into the accident, well... I was a bit reckless, going down like a "flying beast of death" as you described yourself. There was a snowboarder coming, and he tried to cross in front of me, but he wasn't quick enough - or rather, I was going too quickly - and we collided. He was perfectly fine, thankfully, but I was pretty banged up. Bruises everywhere, and my jaw hurt like a bitch, and my nose bleeding like hell (I was so terrified that it was broken). I think I was maybe 14 at the time, can't really remember... Anyway, after that, skiing wasn't really the same again. Didn't enjoy it as much. I could probably do it now though - now that I'm not as reckless.

I couldn't imagine seeing a bear without, well, shitting my pants.
I just find that so funny - maybe it's just because bears aren't all that usual around Fort Mac. I mean, they don't often come into the city, and when they do things have to be done about them of course, but... I don't know, I just don't find them all that frightening. Maybe it's because we mostly get black bears, which are relatively small. Moose are what I'm afraid of. Those things are bloody huge, and if one is standing on the side of the highway when we pass by, I get so terrified because I'm worried it'll spook and run across the road and hit us.

I think wishing/expecting a fandom for what you publish is stretching it.
I agree. I've seen the type of F!Ss that you're describing, and I don't understand it much. I mean, okay, if a series has a large fandom, that usually means it's pretty popular, and it sells well. So, people are reading it and you're getting money from it. However, at the same time, I can't really understand writing with the desire that it will result in fandom. I think it is more logical/realistic to desire success. In my case, ultimately, what I desire for my work - in the event that I do finish something and get it published - is that it will be widely read and widely enjoyed. Fandom doesn't matter all that much to me.

... Though I do admit that I have had the "I wonder what pairings people would make up" conversation in relation to my original work, hah. Though in one case, that was with a friend who had read my work, and in another case, with someone who (upon me mentioning the ghost story idea) compared it to Supernatural, and said that people would probably pair the brothers up. *facepalm*

Anyway. When it comes to Dracula, you're right, it is a little bit dry. However, I do enjoy literature from that time period, and I found it very interesting to go to the source material, then look at modern versions of the vampire idea and see how things have changed ... But then again, I'm a nerd like that. To be honest, I agree with you on the matter of being tired of the 'sexy hot vampire' thing, as much of it can b pretty ridiculous, though I admit that one of my failed vampire novels was pretty ridiculous as well. Sigh. (It was like... the mafia. With vampires. And alchemy was involved somehow, too. Pfft.)

On the matter of the national awakening fic idea, I do think you're right. A Finn, and specifically a person well-versed in history, would probably have to write it. Unfortunately for me I'm not well-acquainted with anyone who would be able to do it (most of the Finns I know don't write fic). Though of the ones I know of (rather than the ones I know), Kainoliero does come to mind... ah, I'd love to see her handle something like that. She knows her stuff, from what I've seen, or at least isn't afraid of doing research when necessary - and by the gods, can she ever turn out the most lovely sentences. (This reminds me that I need to find the time to read her latest fic - I tend to save them for when I have a quiet moment, so that I can savour them).

...Er. Sorry about that - never mind me, slipped into fanboy mode for a moment there. Anyway, this:

I’m always too afraid to say anything post something in say, kalmarunionen because so many people there actually come from those countries. If I got the wrong impression of a country or just get anything wrong. . . hooo boy, that’d be humiliating.

Oh. My. Gods. THIS. Just... THIS. There is a reason I haven't posted any fic there yet, and also a reason that I rarely comment there. That would be it. I find it so intimidating, and I'm constantly terrified of saying something wrong - or in the case of fic, Doing It Wrong. It's a similar problem with this Swe/Nor Union fic I've been working on - it's intended to be a giftfic for a Swede, and gods, I'm so afraid of getting something wrong. I wish I could relax a little when it comes to those anxieties, because people keep assuring me that it's unnecessary, and yet... yet... Well, I don't know.

I SHALL CONTINUE TO DREAM. Though I realize that in this case, it's probably just a dream. But at least it's a good one. <3 As for hardcover VS paperback, I agree with you - hardcovers are so much nicer, and occasionally they're very beautiful. However, paperbacks are less expensive, take up less room, and they are easier to replace if you are, say, moving across the country and have to leave much of your collection behind. *cough*

Anyway, yes, I can read/understand Middle English. Most people can, actually, as it isn't that much different from modern English, except that the spelling is rather phonetic (but not in accordance with modern pronunciation) and nonstandardized. In most cases, translations for Middle English works are unneeded. However, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an exception. Though this work was written at about the same time as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, it was written in a northern dialect that was, at that time, less modernized, and was very close to Old English. So, it's much more difficult to read than works written close to London, and though I did read the original I would often find myself having to glance at the translation as well, just to ensure that I fully understood the passage. In most cases, though, the works I read are only in Middle English, with no translation whatsoever.

I'm not sure if you've read anything in Middle English before, so here's an excerpt as an example. This is from the poem "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell", dating to around 1450:

Of alle kynges Arthure beryth the flowyr,
And of alle knyghtod he bare away the honour
Wheresoever he wentt.
In his contrey was nothyng butt chyvalry
And knyghtes were belovid by that doughty,
For cowardes were evermore shent.

Nowe, wyll ye lyst a whyle to my talkyng,
I shall you tell of Arthoure the Kyng,
Howe ones hym befell-
On huntyng he was in Ingleswod
With alle his bold knyghtes good-
Nowe herken to my spell!

As you can see, most of the words are familiar, but the spelling is different. Some phrases are archaic ('beareth the flower', instead of saying 'was the best') and some of the words have fallen out of use ('doughty' for man, 'shent' for ruined) but on the whole it's not too different. After a while of reading this stuff, it isn't difficult to read at all - especially if one is used to deciphering netspeak. Though I do find that after reading or studying something in Middle English, my speech patterns tend to be more old-fashioned than usual, and my spelling worse than normal.

These factors - phonetic spelling and archaic vocabulary - are the reason that translations should be avoided when reading Middle English literature. When it comes to poetry, if the words are translated or the spelling modernized, it throws the rhythm and rhyme off (as some words are pronounced differently - "Nowe" and "Alle", though they mean Now and All, have a slightly different sound than the modern and the ending E would be pronounced). And words that are no longer used have particular means that sometimes can't be translated, of course.

Edited 2009-08-09 03:10 (UTC)

I guess going to so much effort as to read several translatons of a thing is a bit much. I just tend to be obsessive, and I like reading different translations of things because in some ways, it's like reading an entirely new story (I've gone through three different versions of The Iliad, for example). And yes, when it comes to 700-page books, I generally mean poetry. Usually prose translations are about the same length as a modern novel, though the text is sometimes denser and harder to follow (I love my prose translation of The Iliad, for example, but fuck me if I can ever find a specific passage in it...)

When it comes to literature that was originally oral, reading it aloud is best. This applies for Middle English too; though that literature was written down, reading was as much a public act as it was a private one, and often books would be read out-loud to several listeners, much like story time for children. Though yes, doing it in the library would probably not be the best thing. ;p (... I hope that some day I find a lover, or at least a friend, who won't mind me reading out loud to them. I love doing that.)

I thought the medieval perioud ended before that.
Well, yes and no. It's a tricky thing, and it depends on who you ask. Basically, there are three main things that helped the western world move from the Middle Ages to the Rennaissance. 1. the Reformation, 2. the Italian Renaissance, 3. European overseas exploration. However, these are all different time periods. Martin Luther didn't write his Ninety-Five Theses until 1517, and the Italian Rennaissance began at around the 1300s - and during the Italian renaissance, much of the western world (I.E. the British Isles) were still very medieval. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur, for example, wasn't printed until 1485. So, that's why I decide to go with exploration and use Columbus/1492 as a cut-off.

Now, moving on to Estonia - Yes, running into Estonians online was how I got interested in Estonia. Here's the story. When I was 15 or so, I played an online dog breeding game (Furry Paws was the name of it - don't know if you've heard it before. Kind of like Neopets I guess). There weren't many people who specialized in my breed, and when I was looking for fellow breeders I came across a certain person who specialized in them, as I did. When we were discussing things, she apologized for her difficulty with English, and mentioned that she was from Estonia. I had no idea where that is, had never even heard of that country before. Thought it was down near Bulgaria or something. So, I immediately started googling things, because I didn't want to seem ignorant. I quickly found out that it is not near Bulgaria, and I found out many other things as well. We hit it off, and spent a lot of time talking to each other about where we are from, and it was just... excellent. I loved hearing about Estonia, and seeing her photos (she was a photographer). And... yes. That's how it started.

If I recall correctly, there’s a really good fanartist from Iceland in this fandom.
Hmm, I wonder if you're thinking of Fukkafyla? They're the Icelander I knew of, but hadn't spoken directly to. I love his style - it's different from the sort of thing I usually see in fanart; quite unique. (He's excellent at cosplay as well. Makes an A+ Iceland, wow)

Nnngeh. I've been reluctant to tag things because I'm old and stuffy and they seem so newfangled. Love them on communities, mind you, but I can't be bothered to do them in my journal (especially since my entries are all the same....). I have all my fic in memories (and this is mentioned in my profile), and I figure that's enough... though who knows, maybe one of these days I will get with the program and tag everything.

Edited 2009-08-09 03:11 (UTC)

As for the kink meme, I am completely apathetic toward US/UK, and can't be bothered to read or write it, and... I don't know. It bothers me that so many of the prompts are repetitive (though this should not concern me) and it also bothers me that occasionally there is a prompt that would be very very good for an anyone/anyone, but of course, it's US/UK. Sigh. Sometimes I figure I'll just steal the prompt idea and write the story with whoever I like, just for myself. On the whole, though, many of the requests are just lame. Or... I don't know. I was working on the Baltic Index the other day, and arrrgh. So much rape. *facedeskx10* Oh, well.

Everytime your Estonia posts in one of those confession/secret/letter threads I cry a bit inside
IS THAT SO. BRB, breakin' hearts 8D Though I think I'll be toning that whole thing down a little bit now. I've been doing an awful lot of that recently.

Aaaand that's all for now. Holy shit, this was long!

!!!
askfsaodfjaskfaspdfjasdjfasf
asdjfoaisjdf16000charactersholyshitiosjdfioasjfioaj!!!
how.
you don't even know it but my day was made :')

Now I cry because my tl;dr-fu will never come close to that. So, if my tl;dr will be lacking, I might as well compensate for it, yeah? Or maybe this is an attempt to put the "draw" back in "tl;dr draw anon." Well, either way, here you go man: http://i32.tinypic.com/24pxmac.jpg. . . but yeah, you know, I was just thinking about how it's a time period that isn't really explored a lot in this fandom and how awesome it would be if someone got around to writing it.
:D
consider this my mediocre cheerleading for your fic.

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html was posted on the meme today. Maybe you should try that? On kamikaze mode.

I am in a strange strange state of being in which I want to reply to this but I don't feel like typing so half of this might sound like nonsense.

My LJ's working again~! I just realized that most of what I do on the internet happens to be LJ related. From the looks of it, 4/5 tabs will always be on LJ. What would I do without this beautiful site, really.

I thought the blue screen of doom was one of those things you could never really get used to. Though maybe you can get used to everything /shrugs.

Pff, even if you could usually easily feel at home with new systems, using Vista will always be troubling. Vista is, to be blunt, a piece of shit. It made me reinstall my old tablet (which I only had for a short period of time a year ago, which explains my lack of tablet skills now) at least once a week. And for some reason it keeps on turning on the french keyboard, despite the fact that I've gone and changed it so it shouldn't about four times now.

How was 3.1 like? I don't think I've even seen one of those. I do know I've used those really really old Apple ones. My grade five classroom had a ton of them and we'd go around playing old school Oregon Trail on them :)

I love having the cover art and the little lyrics booklet and everything too. I really don't want to buy songs off of itunes or something. If something happened to your computer or ipod, the music you paid for would just disappear. And it's very damn likely that something would happen to your ipod, because those things aren't even that good of quality. I swear that they build them to die after a few years so you'd be forced to get another one. My one friend has the worst luck with ipods, he's gone through five (luckily he managed to score some of his friends' old ones for free, cause paying for five ipods would hurt). Even yesterday, I found out that my ipod is corrupted and it doesn't want to charge or play anything D:

I find that kind of funny. Maybe you give off a computer-genius kind of vibe? I used to be a whiz for my age regarding computers when I was younger, so people still have that impression of me. Except the questions people ask me are, "how do you download this file?" I tried to guide a friend through opening and extracting a .zip file. It was beyond him :(
hey man ,even if they listened to you, it doesn't mean they'd be able to help you.

I've never found airports stressful, but I usually have quite a bit of time to spare at them? I just don't like having to spend five hours at one, which I had to do once. And I don't feel as stuffy in a plane as I do a car, so. . . different strokes for different folks, eh?

I've never found airports stressful, but I usually have quite a bit of time to spare at them? I just don't like having to spend five hours at one, which I had to do once. And I don't feel as stuffy in a plane as I do a car, so. . . different strokes for different folks, eh?

Ahh, does that mean she puts more effort into showing she went somewhere than actually visiting that place? Or is she not that bad?
I'm not sure what exactly counts as a tourist trap. Cause I'm thinking of some wildly popular tourist spots, but I don't know if I'd call it a trap if it'd really be worth seeing. I mean, I don't know, if I went to Paris I would damn well like to check out the Eiffel Tower among all those other typical places.

There, there. /pats on back. How long have you been living in Saskatchewan anyways? Surely you'll find someone sooner or later.

When you're on top of the mountain, I don't think you feel as high as you really are. For me, anyways. BUT HEY, YOU'RE ALIVE, AREN'T YOU? (I don't know if it's just me but I'd feel worse if the other person was hurt, than myself). You should try doing it again when you're able to, it's a nice hobby. It's the only sport I enjoy, really.
It's okay, you can blame the snowboarder. It's always okay to blame the snowboarder :| I got into that kind of crash with three other people (who I knew, oi), but nothing happened. I must've not been going as fast, obviously. My dad (and my friend's dad) saw it from the chair lift and made fun of us, though.

Touche, touche. And at the very least, you can fight bears off with. . . bear spray or something. But there is no moose spray. I've also heard the stories of people fighting off bears and all, but never a moose. So I guess that the moose is nature's deadliest killer? It just had to be a goofy looking animal, didn't it.

Planning on becoming a bestselling author is just about as silly as wishing to become a rockstar or something. Having a fandom is an even stranger request because bestselling =/= fandom. Idk, I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to dream of getting that kind of success but when you write it as a goal I'm always kind of skeptical about if they're writing for the sake of writing (though some people could just be overly ambitious, but really, the typical life of a writer is hardly glamourous).

Oh man, they so totally would! I was going to try and get into Supernatural back in the day, and then I learned about the fandom. And then I stayed away, knowing that the show didn't seem thaaaat interesting to me.

So, how have the versions of vampires changed?
GOOD GOD MAN WHAT ARE YOU ON THE MAFIA IS ALWAYS THE GOOD KIND OF RIDICULOUS. Well, okay, maybe I have a soft spot for ridiculous mafias. We're allowed to have our guilty pleasures, alright?

She was the person I was thinking of, then again she's the only Finnish author I know. I would've thought that you'd be the first person to read that sucker (I don't even know how I know this, you admit too much on the meme). I should probably save a bunch of fics I should read when I'm actually in the mood for it. Usually I just try and search for some when I'm in the mood, and that doesn't usually turn out as well as I'd like to D:

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but if you're worried about that kind of thing, then you're probably careful enough not to go and make too glaring a mistake. Those people (including myself) who are telling you to relax about all of it probably do mean it too. At some point there was this really big discussion post on the characterizations of the characters or something, and you had a bunch of people from the area taking. While it was intimidating it was a pretty good read, I'd say. You read it, right?
lucky I'd just probably post art there so I have less to worry about \o/ all i have to worry about is offending people with eyes due to my less-than-perfect on anatomy (hello, understatement).

Do you have to leave all those books behind? Couldn't you get someone to send all those books to where you are now? Then again, I don't think I'd trust the post enough. I don't trust the post at all, ich.

Well in that case, my former impression of Middle English was completely wrong. I thought it'd be more like Old English, or something, to get a special ~name~ for it.

SAYING THAT OUTLOUD IS SO MUCH FUN. I keep picturing myself as this crazy bearded guy from back in the day, with leaves in his beard and all, telling my story to a bunch of village people while drinking some ale that tastes like piss. I'm probably pronouncing everything wrong.

When I hear the word "doughty" the last thing I'm going to think of is "man." So thanks for those translations. I'd probably have to print out a little mini dictionary if I was to read any of these.

I used to re-read things a lot, but now my main goal is just to try and read as many different books as I can. I've got a ton of really important books to read, argh. You know that meme/survey thing, and it lists a bunch of books and you bold which ones you read, which ones you hated, which ones you're planning on reading soon . . . And I just feel like I haven't read enough of them.

ajdslfoiasj;gj what the hell man that is adorable (and not surprising at all). I hope you find someone :')

Ooh, I see. ~~the things you say make me smarter but I have no response to them pff~~

Was this before neopets got popular? The only dog/dog breeding thing I played was Dogz when I was like, seven but you had to download that so. . .
That's a nice little story! Please tell me you haven't lost contact with her :(
I sometimes feel like getting back in touch with people I talked with yeaaaaars ago. I actually stumbled upon the myspace of a girl I used to talk with all the time but I'm unsure if I should even just say hello. I don't know if she even remembers me or has any interest in talking to me or anything.

. . . he's a dude? Aw damnit, I hate it when I assume someone's a girl and then I realize it was a guy. I must have missed the memo or something, idk. But yes, that's who I was talking about. I haven't seen him as Iceland, maybe I should go lurkin for a picture one day.

TAGS ARE YOUR FRIEND. Seriously, about a year ago I went and tagged all the entries in my lj from it's first year, back when I didn't use it. It was surprisingly fun, let me tell you.
I thought I read your profile, but as usual, it appears I missed some things. aioejaoeijtaet you wrote more than I thought you did. One day I am going to get myself some tea and a bowl of fruit and I'll put on a robe and I'll go on a reading spree through all of your fics and it will be awesome.

Those repetitive prompts just take up space though, you know? People are requesting what they want, so I guess if they want to just have it as us/uk, then fine. It'd be nice if they could list a few pairs they might like to see the prompt with, but then it's likely that the one being filled would be, you guessed it, us/uk.

Let me guess, a lot of those Baltic fics involved Russia too. It must be tough being a Baltic fan, I can't even imagine. The things you do for the characters you love.

hey hey does this mean we get more ~sparkly~ Estonia. (I don't even know what that means, I've just heard other anons refer to him as such).

IT'S OKAY MAN. I ENJOYED IT.

Haha, I have no idea how that happened, mate. How it got so long, I mean. Even reading over, it doesn't look like that much to me, even though it tookup so many comment parts. It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of substance in what I was saying. Well, that's just how it is, I suppose! At any rate, I'm glad it made you happy.

... That picture. Oh. My. God. Congratulations, you managed to make Norway look like a man (a hot one, at that). So many people fail at making him look like a guy - it's the same problem as with Finland, really. (I see your white-text flailing, and I say, don't worry about it. Looks fine to me. I imagine getting the hang of a tablet is difficult - you seem to be doing pretty well, at any rate!)

You're right that it's a period that isn't explored in fandom a lot. Come to think of it, even when it comes to certain characters that you'd expect to have lots of stuff written with them dealing with that period, you don't see it. Take Canada fic, for example - he's a very popular character, and you'd expect a ton of stuff dealing with the War of 1812, but I haven't really run into a lot of that, nor anything that deals with the Riel Rebellion either (though that was more mid-1800s, hmm). Really, it's kind of surprising.

how awesome it would be if someone got around to writing it
Workin' on it, darlin'. I actually wrote a whole page of it today! -- Though most of it just involved Denmark being a jackass. But, er, at least I was working on it. I've had such a hard time motivating myself to write, but I think it's slowly coming back. This is good! Now, if only I could get the will to edit the two kink meme drafts and five anonmeme drabbles that have been sitting around for over a month, I'd definitely be in business.

I saw the write-or-die thing, and I love the idea, but unfortunately for me I can only write well when I'm doing it by hand. I can't write on a computer at all. I need to be able to scratch things out, and use arrows and there's something about physically seeing the pages that really helps me out. I might try the write-or-die thing for when I'm typing up fic, though. Usually I get distracted and it takes me about fifty million years to type something up (this may be an exaggeration).

I'm glad LJ is working for you again. <3 Most of the things I do online nowadays are LJ related. In previous years I had online games that I'd play as well, but not as much any more. In fact... now that I think of it, except for Wiki research and geeking out while reading medieval blogs, pretty much the entirety of what I do when I'm on the internet is LJ. I don't know where I'd be without it. Been on this site since 2002, and I really can't imagine not having it.

Now, when it comes to computers, in my defence I wasn't the one who bought this thing. If I had, it likely wouldn't have had Vista, and it likely wouldn't have been a Dell. Sigh. Though thus far I haven't really had any problems with the system not working. Mostly my issue has been not knowing how to do stuff. ...Well. Except for this whole battery thing, which I still haven't gotten around to fixing.

3.1 was... wow, that was so long ago. It's hard to remember. I recall that going back to using 3.1 (on an old computer) after using Windows 95 for a while was really jarring. The windows for various folders were always open; you didn't open them yourself, they stayed on the desktop like that. There wasn't a start-bar. If I closed the windows I didn't know how to get it back. To be honest, I've always been more comfortable with DOS than with Windows 3.1; DOS is a pain in the ass, but as long as I knew the commands to run my games, I was good. Easy-peasy.

Now, as far as digital music goes, I fully agree with this: If something happened to your computer or ipod, the music you paid for would just disappear. I've had so many issues with computers that I just can't trust them to not fail. For example, back when I was doing my undergraduate years, everyone was required to use laptops that were rented from the school. These laptops were cheap Dells, and it wasn't unusual for the hard drives to fail. Fortunately it only happened to me once. If it wasn't for the fact that I backed up everything on CDs, I would have lost a ton of stuff. I absolutely, completely, do not trust electronics.

I duno if I give off a computer genius vibe, but if I do, I wish I didn't. I mean, I know how to do basic stuff with a computer - and that's usually the sort of thing people ask me to do. But sometimes I get comments like, "THE INTERNET IS BROKEN" when the router isn't working right for some reason, and they expect me to magically fix it even though I don't know what's wrong in the first place. Sometimes my parents even call me and expect me to do tech-support over the phone, argh. I AM NOT QUALLIFIED FOR THIS. Sob.

Anyway. Moving on to tourism and stuff. I don't think she gets sucked in to souvenier places and tourist traps out of a desire to show that she went somewhere rather than actually visiting the place. I think she genuinely enjoys that sort of thing, ugh. She really isn't the sort to enjoy the outdoors... or historical sites... or any of the things I like, really. SIGH. Comparing it to Paris, it we went there, she'd spend hours at the Eiffel Tower, but bypass the Louvre.

I've been living in Saskatchewan for about a year now - it was around this time last year that I set up in my apartment. I sort of get along with my colleagues from the English department, but they aren't really friends per se... it's more like an odd combination of a coworker relationship and a rival relationship. So, we're not really close. I guess I'll meet someone who I'll be able to hang out with eventually, but gods, is this frustrating. It took me four years to make friends back in Nova Scotia, and then I had to leave it all behind.

Anyway. You're right about never hearing about anyone fighting off a moose. It's always bears. I think part of it is that bears are more likely to come into a city or camp, whereas moose tend to mind their own business. So, bears are more troublesome. However, you generally don't have to worry about a bear the size of a small pickup truck hurtling through your windshield at 100 km/hr. They're also dangerous outside of cars too, of course, but since they generally mind their own business it's usually just hunters that have to worry about them, I guess. They might be delicious, but man, I would never want to piss one off.

On the subject of writing, you're right - planning to be a bestselling author rarely ends well. I mean, okay, it's a nice thing to dream about, but so few people are as successful as, say, Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, and it's entirely unrealistic to expect that kind of result. It seems strange - perhaps also egotistical - to think, right before the novel is even finished, that one will have that kind of success. I just don't understand what motivates this sort of behaviour.

Since I'm not big into fandom (I normally don't care at all), the Supernatural fandom didn't really scare me away from watching the series. As far as television goes, it's pretty okay. I gave up about 1/4 of the way through the second season - not because it was bad, but because I don't have the patience to sit there and watch television episodes. It's just this 'thing' I have. Can't stand it. I can usually sit still long enough to watch a movie, but I watch them rarely - so watching episode after episode of television, even if I only watched one per evening, was just a bit much for me.

So, how have the versions of vampires changed?
On the whole, it boils down to this: Modern vampires are humanized, whereas with old vampires such as Stoker's Dracula, there is absolutely no question that the vampire is a monster, and there is little effort made to portray them as a being with human emotions or human morals. There are some similarities, though; for instance, both "old-style" vampires and modern vampires are sexualized. On the other hand, the divide is very strong. Rice's vampires, as well as Twilight vampires (as example) are illustrated as persons, are given emotions and (usually) logical forms of reasoning, and moral codes that at least somewhat resemble human patterns. They are people who happen to suck blood and occasionally have somewhat animalistic tendencies. This is not present in Dracula at all; there is no question of him being a monster. The same thing goes for Nosferatu, as an example -- have you seen that movie? It's excellent.

The vampires in my mafia story were closer to the Rice variety than they were to Dracula, though I tried to avoid doing the whole whiney emo thing. In some ways, though, I'm rather glad I never finished that novel, as I started when I was about halfway through highschool and it probably was not anywhere near as good as I wanted to think it was at the time.

Now, on the subject of fic - Ahh, yes, that's the one. She isn't the only Finnish fic writer I've come across, but of the ones I've read, she's the best, and has written the most (thus far). And, saaa. I wanted to read her latest right when it was posted, but I didn't have the time... I've learned that with her writing, at least, I like to read it when I can savour it, and afterward think up something resembling an insightful comment. I'll probably get to it sometime today....

In any case, I've taken to saving up bookmarks of fics that I need to read as well, though my list is kind of scattered. Sometimes when I'm looking for something to read I head over to Fyretoppaaa's bookmarks and browse through to see if there's anything of interest.

Anyway. When it comes to the worry thing... yeah, you've probably said it before, and you're definitely right. I try not to worry, and yet... well. There it is. I do work on it, though. I can't recall reading the post that you mentioned, though. I might have to go and look for it. Maybe I did read it, but just don't remember. One of these days I'll get around to posting fic, though. Originally I wanted to go in with a bang and post the Union fic, but it'll be a really long time before that one is finished. I think the most likly candidate is 'Tea and Memories', that short Nor&Ice brotherly thing I did a little while back. Not much of a plot, but I do like it. Needs some cleaning up first though.

My books - yes. When I moved back home from Nova Scotia to Fort Mac, we were flying. I sent some packages ahead on greyhound, but I was limited in what I could send because of money, and a lot of the space in those boxes were taken up by things like winter clothes and stuff. Books were low priority. Then when flying back, of course I was limited only to things that could be taken on the plane, and there wasn't anyone who could mail my things to me, so I did have to leave them behind. But I managed to keep the few rare books that I had, so at least there is that. Epics like The Iliad are easy to replace.

Now, to Middle English. Well, when you think of it, the special name is rather fitting, isn't it? As it's a transition period between Old English, which is absolutely nothing like what we speak now, and Modern English ('modern' being Shakespeare and afterward). Now, I keep harping on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but in this case I think it's fitting to mention it again. The text for that is much unlike the ones I gave examples for previous examples. Take a look:

þen commaunded þe kyng þe kny3t for to ryse
and he ful radly vpros and ruchched hym fayre
kneled doun bifore þe kyng and cachez þat weppen
and he luflyly hit hym laft and lyfte vp his honde
and gef hym goddez blessyng and gladly hym biddes
þat his hert and his honde schulde hardi be boþe

Much more difficult, that one, because it's closer to Old English. It takes quite a bit of effort for me to plough through that, because some of the words are completely removed from anything familiar to modern English. It reads something like this (and this translation took more than a few seconds, I dare say) :

Then commanded the king the knight for to rise
and he full readily uprose and readied himself well;
kneeled down before the king, who received that weapon
and he gave a sound of joy and lifted his hand
and gave him god's blessing and gladly bid him
that his heart and his hand should hardy be both.

Old English, on the other hand, is absolutely impossible for me to read or translate, because it's farther removed again from Middle English. The opening lines of Beowulf:

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum

FFFF. I can't make any sense of that whatsoever, except that "Hwæt!" is a call to attention (like "Hark" or "Listen"), and that Scyld Scefing is the king's name (though if I didn't know the story, I wouldn't know that). ... Er.

Anyway. Yes. Middle English is interesting but sometimes very difficult. I can't actually speak it yet, but hearing it speak it properly (or, er, the way we think it was spoken) is just so awesome. Same thing with Old English. As for reading and vocabulary and so on, generally the really difficult words have translations alongside the passage, and there are generally notes at the bottom for passages that have meanings that are not immediately apparent, or parts where we don't really know wtf is meant.

Those list you mentioned - the ones with really important books - yes, I've read it, and you know... I feel that I haven't read enough of them either. It doesn't help that people are always saying to me, "Oh my god, You've never read Lord of the Flies? Or Animal Farm? Or Farenheit 451? Or Of Mice and Men? Or The Crucible?" etc, etc, repeat for many many novels generally taught in American high schools. Sigh. The world is big, and people have been writing for a long time, and I find myself thinking that I can't possibly read everything. Though sometimes I get so annoyed, as occasionally people assume you're ignorant if you haven't read those books. I think to myself... really? Really, now. Okay, I might not have read Animal Farm or The Crucible, but have you read The Aeneid? Or Chaereas and Callirhoe? What about The Song of Roland or The Revenger's Tragedy or The History of Rasselas or --- well, you understand what I mean, surely. ... Er. Sorry for rambling on that matter. It's just that I got this feeling recently, in regard to a remark someone made on the meme - someone didn't catch a reference, and someone else said, "Do you read books? Or go to school?" I guess I've just been letting my reaction stew a while. Er.

Moving on! Ahh, online pet games. No, actually, the one I'm thinking of was made after Neopets was popular, around 2003 or so. It's called "Furry Paws", and it has a pretty steady following, though it's nowhere near as well-known as Neopets or Webkinz. It's precisely the same idea as Neopets, being online and everything. Unfortunately for me, I lost contact with my Estonian friend a year or so after I got to know her. She just sort of dropped off the face of the planet - probably lost interest in the game, I guess. Sigh. I wish I could get in touch with her again, but I really have no way to do so, as that was my only way of contacting her.

Ah, so I was right, that's the one you were thinking of (not a huge surprise, as there aren't many Icelanders in this fandom. Or in general. Heh.) Don't feel too bad, I mean a lot of people default to thinking someone is female, mostly because that's the majority of the populace at LJ. As for him as Iceland, hmm, I think Seaster made a con photopost recently -- aha, here we go, with bonus Kainoliero as Norway (though I feel she makes a better Finland). The actual post is here, though it's comm-locked so you'll have to log in. I always get excited about con photoposts like this, as I've never been to one myself, and I would love to go and enjoy it and cosplay and everything (I love anything relating to costuming, oh my god), but I probably won't be able to do so for a long, long time.

...Anyway. OKAYFINE. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to tagging everything. SIGHHHH. ;p And yes. For writing, I'm rather prolific. Though the memory system does have its limits. My fics are also bookmarked here, complete with summaries and ratings, so it will be easier to see what each one is about without clicking around. I like the delicious system better than regular LJ tags because you can narrow it down according to several different qualifiers. I often get frustrated with, say, the main Hetalia comm because I can only go through one tag, not two at the same time....

On the subject of the kink meme, yes, I guess the repetitive stuff takes up space - especially when it's the exact same thing, almost word for word. Very frustrating. I guess I don't mind the volume of US/UK stuff as.... the fact that, as you mentioned, other stuff doesn't get filled. It bugs me. Not much, mind, but enough that it's kind of "Argh". I try my best to fill unusual things when the occasion arises, but it isn't enough. And it would be nice if I had something I could read. You're right on the money about most of the Baltic prompts involving Russia in some way. Argh. Though fortunately for me, the majority of Estonia prompts do not. The main reason I got the idea to make the index was so that I could keep track of the Estonia stuff, heh. It's too bad that stuff relating to him hardly ever gets filled, though....

~*~Sparkly~*~ Estonia, you say? Well, maybe. Mostly I intend to tone down the whole Finland thing a little, just because I've been doing a lot of that lately and I don't want there to be too much of it, as there's certainly a lot more to Eesti than his infatuation. But when people ask for the sparkles, I dunno man... In some ways, it seems what they're asking for is a slightly more flashy, more dynamic portrayal - at least compared to what I do now. While I can see where they'd get that from, I really don't know... I have difficulty seeing him being that way in such a public space (I see him as being slightly reserved in public and more open when in private - though definitely not to the same extent as, say, Norway). It's a difficult thing to untangle and I guess I'm just going to have to fiddle with it a little.

And that's all for now. <3 Cheers.

[edit] Holy shit, the page is finally stretched on my huge-ass screen. Took us long enough! ;D

Edited 2009-08-10 11:38 (UTC)

My page isn't stretched yet! It even looks like it could take a few more (having this wide of a screen is great when it comes to page stretching, but it's a nightmare for getting desktop wallpapers). And I only noticed my major html fail now. Why is it that I only desperately need to edit comments when I'm anon, I do not know.

I suppose it's best just not to think too hard about how much you end up going over the limit then. We'll all be saner for it, I'm sure.

can i ramble a bit on how it confuses me how girly fandom makes Norway? well, I suppose I can. You can skip over it if you don't want to read it cause this is practically a repeat of what I said with Finland (oh god, it is a total repeat)~
IT'S NORWAYYYY. I don't know, but, as far as these sorts of things, that country just strikes me as being manly. . .? Okay, you can't really measure the "manliness" of a nation, but err, before Hetalia, if I thought of a Norwegian, I would think of one of those really really intense fishermen (the kind who worked at catching fish in arctic waters, those freezing waters with huge gigantic waves crashing everywhere) who can wear shorts in the winter and whose hands are so rough and calloused you could probably rub sandpaper against the skin and they won't bleed. Also: beards. So I suppose that's probably an influence, and maybe a reason why I can't imagine him looking, well, soft? And this is without even needing to bring up lolvikings.

Hidekaz doesn't even draw him that girly, or small either. He's the third tallest Nordic, doesn't look too willowy or soft or anything. The guy draws him with an average build. So uh, I guess it's probably the hairpin that makes people assume = girly? The hairpin seems more ironic to me than girly. Maybe he's just got wild hair and it gets in the way of him doing things (who knows, maybe this Norway fellow is a practical kind of guy who doesn't want hair getting in his eyes when the wind is blowing).

I think if Norway did look girly, then he'd have to look more like one would imagine a Valkyrie to look like? Wait what am I talking about, you can't look feminine unless you look small and delicate, pardon me. And since people were already so set on pairing him with Denmark, he must become short because people with romantic interest in each other must have a height difference of at least two feet. although i kind of really like size difference despite how grating this entire thing gets

Maybe I only want to draw everyone manly because I've read too many American comic books so I expect guys to look like guys. but those guys in comic books can get a bit too manly sometimes. I know I would probably barf seeing some of those guys in real life. Hah, when I'm in the grocery store, every so often there'll be a weight lifting/body building magazine that'll succeed in making me feel absolutely nauseous. There is such a thing as too much. Oh, is there ever.

I mean, I like seeing some manry men, but there's nothing wrong with me thinking that this is a bit of an excess, eh?

okay, back to the point --- > why do i bother rambling about this when I am the only person who thinks like this orz orz orz everyone thinks he's girly and now I must learn to live with it. It's not that I want him to be GAR or anything just, yeah.

AND TO END ALL OF THIS: his jawline was totes wrong. And drawing on a tablet is hard cause it's all. . . I can't explain it. My sister can't even write her own name down properly with it. Nor can some of my friends.

The only historical event that is ever written about is the American Evolution. Or the fall of the Berlin Wall. Or the Cold War in general (though that doesn't really count, cause they don't go over events, it's more of just raaaaah i hate you hatesexhatesexhatesex. Someone go write about the space race goddamnit :|).

I'm most irritated with how repetitive the historical stuff is, than the lack of some of it. I get that it's hard to do, to find a way to write a story in a specific time frame, managing to acknowledge the events that happened but also making sure the story doesn't turn into a lecture (and that's not even getting into the whole research/getting your facts straight part and making sure you don't offend anyone). People should just be more creative with what they write about, I mean, there's seriously an endless amount of source material to chose from. every once in awhile I want to just shake some of these people by the shoulders and explain to them that there's probably nothing new they can bring to that kind of event but then I realize I'm being petty and irrational and it's their choice to write whatever the hell they want and it's just my loss for not being interested in it. And maybe they can bring something new to it cause you can always brings something new. I'd love to see some 1812 stuff too (bonus if it's not America/Canada or America/England, though that's just me). I'd want to see 1812 regarding France and Russia too, though. I saw a MAD for the French invasion of Russia, it was neat. Of course, I think all MADs are pretty neat.

♥♥♥! THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR.
I could use some more Denmark being a jackass in my life. I could use more Denmark in my life in general, though.
I heard that if you've got a block you should try and write every day anyways? Hurr, I wouldn't know. I'm just going to say that when you finish all those things, everything will be great and it will be beautiful and everyone will be celebrating and a blind man will learn to see.

You could just use brackets and caps and all? Haha, I dunno, I'd explain what I mean but I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind to do so (sleeeeep sounds so good right now, I just woke up and took a shower but I'm still drowsy as god knows what Okay, not anymore. It's been three hours since I started typing this, christ). No harm in using it just for typing the fic up though, I suppose.

At least it makes sense to spend a good fraction of your time on LJ, it's got practically everything on it. Not to mention it's got everyone as well. Kids try to move to their Dreamwidth, but they'll just be back (they're always back). Most people I know pretty much spend most of their internet time on Facebook but slkdfjskdfj Facebook just makes me want to punch things. Every time I go on it I just want to delete my account, but I can't cause it's the only way some people can reach me.

FIX IT. WHAT IF IT GETS WORSE WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO THEN? YOU ARE GOING TO WALLOW IN DESPAIR.

Aw man, DOS is so hardcore. If anyone opens that up they automatically look like a computer whiz these days. wait this is pretty much the same thing as MS DOS right. For like, three days I knew how to remove viruses from my computer with just MS DOS but then, of course, I completely forgot how to do it. Such is life.

I think electronics just aren't too fond of you, buddy.
I should really start backing stuff up on CDs. It's one of those things I'm going to keep saying I'll get around to doing until BAM-- my computer kills itself. Looking at it, I don't think there's that much stuff which is all that important anyways. Lots of stuff I'd like to keep, but yeah. Of course, it's not like I'm in the middle of typing some big report right now so maybe this will change.

Haha I am a master at fixing the internet connection because we used to have problems with it every week. If you don't know, just say something's weird is going on at Telus (or whatever internet provider). Get your parents a computer how-to book for Christmas. Better yet, get yourself one. I can't imagine helping someone over the phone though, you'd have to know everything by heart. Arr.

I was just asking that cause my sister's like that. Just asking for the sake of asking. I can't imagine not going somewhere and not trying to get the ~~full experience~~ of the place. Especially somewhere in Europe, I mean, we just don't have things so old around here. We don't have buildings/art/everything so beautiful here. My sister would probably rather go shopping if we go somewhere new than check the place out (even though clothes are practically the same everywhere arghh she has done this before. My entire family was very disappointed, at least.)

It takes me a long time to make friends too. Are you going to be staying in Saskatchewan, as far as you can see? This is totally the obvious thing to say, but maybe you can go and see if there are any clubs/groups about things you're interested in if you're feeling daring enough. And just cause it took four years there, it doesn't mean it'll be the same this way. Maybe you'll just be lucky like me and just befriend one person, and that person will just do all the trouble of introducing you to a bunch of other people (I can never meet people myself, I've got to meet them through someone it seems).

I don't even think I've seen moose meat anywhere, though I'm sure people probably eat it, somewhere. Everything is eaten.

What motivates it? I dunno, desire for recognition? Can't deny it, recognition for doing something is a pretty appealing idea. ~~I'm probably more desperate for recognition than I'd be willing to admit.~~

I'm so terrible with watching television. Granted, there are a few shows I watch, but I usually watch them only when I really really feel like it, cause most of the time I'd rather not watch tv at all. just last night I was watching a few shows on HGTV with my parents. Halfway through the first show I just wanted to leave, but I stuck it out for another hour and a half for the sake of quality family time, hah. I ended up feeling pretty brain dead and maybe a bit anxious after it.

Now it's bad to have characters just be "monsters" isn't it? Haha, would it be wrong if I said that this actually probably suggests something quite good, in the way our society has changed/progressed?
I've heard of that movie, and I've probably looked at the cover at Blockbuster (speaking of Blockbuster I Have some movies that are like a week late slkdfjoasljf). Though, Wikipedia tells me there are two versions, a silent film from the 20s and then another one from '79. Which one did you watch?

Do you still have that mafia-vampire story lying around anywhere? I love how it you try and create something, even if you're somewhat pleased with it, you can go back to it after awhile, after your skills have improved, and be horrified by it. I still have old fics of mine posted up somewhere, I remember looking back at them and suddenly it was all WHOOSH NOSTALGIA.

read it yet? looks like she updated yet again, too.
I used to try and leave ~meaningful comments~ (though I could be wrong about what I think you mean by this) until I realized I really had no idea what I was talking about. A lot of the time it's enough just to have someone know that you like something. though it is extra nice having something point out specific things they like pffhaha

I usually keep stories I'm meaning to get around to reading in different tabs. Bad idea, I think even right now I've got eight tabs open for just stories.

I believe I said it when you were talking about that Poland fic you wanted to write. It was maybe 40,000 words ago so it's no wonder if you forgot a mere sentence I just said.

For Christmas, get your parents to send all your books to you~! If they'd be willing. I don't even know how much that kind of thing would cost (at all. Watch as you tell me it'd be several hundred dollars). And if you don't think they'd get lost (which is what I always assume cause the first thing I ever tried to send with them got lost, so ever since then I've been really hesitant about sending anything.)

I managed to guess what the first sentence would mean :D And a few other really obvious words. I take it that funny love child between a "p" and a "b" = "th"? yes okay that's a bit obvious Now I resemble those kids who spell Preuben when referring to Preußen just a little bit less. That 3 in knight throws me off, still. What's that supposed to sound like?

Now, in regards to Old English : what the hell.. Hurr, well, if anything at least now I see how English is a Germanic language?? (I mean, now that I see what it originated from? i would explain myself as to how it's reminding me of it but I don't know enough about language to explain myself here and I would end up looking like more of an idiot than this very long run on sentence is already making me look as this is seriously not my area of expertise orz) That æ has always thrown me off, it looks like two letters smushed together, not just one word. ð looks a bit like dynamite. Ahh I'm trivializing this, aren't I? Sorry D: Anything involving the way language works was never, ever my forte. And I'm not even talking about just learning about them.

How does it sound spoken? Accent, pronunciation and all. I mean, if you're able to explain it.

Hah, we read Animal Farm for school in grade nine, same year we learned about the Soviet Union (this was actually pretty cool). And then I read Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year it's a really short read, I don't think it's even 200 pages?) It's strange for people to look down on others for not having read those things though, when whole lot of those people wouldn't have ever read those books themselves if it wasn't for the English curriculum during their school years.

AND I THINK I KNOW WHAT COMMENT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? I remmeber someone saying that to someone who didn't know who Giles Corey (?) was, and apparently he's from this movie and I saw that and I was a bit ticked because I'm pretty sure he had to do something with America's early days. In other words, you probably would have never heard of him unless you're American. We make fun of that kind of attitude a lot on the meme, but apparently there are still some people who assume America = the world :| Okay, most of the people on the meme are from there but still.
. . .maybe you were talking about something else.

Aww, that sucks :( Maybe one day you'll find her again, you never know~ maybe she's got a devart or a domain that you'll just magically stumble upon.

alsdjflsakjf they're so adorable. Why are all foreign fans so adorable, I don't even --
buddy I'm always logged in. Like the fifth reply I gave to you on here was almost a deanon aah.

I don't think I could cosplay? I don't know, I like reading about costuming and looking at it and designing it but I'm not so into the actual dressing up (and I hate having my picture taken, I cannot emphasize this enough). Not to mention my sewing skills are pathetic, if not nonexistent (in CTS class we had to make a pair of pajama pants. Simple enough, everyone could do it but I managed to turn mine in some giant big tube. I can't even sew two pieces of cloth together right). It is really tempting though, especially when you're looking through all those photo shoots. My one friend went to one a few days ago and she wrote this huge post about it and she sounded like she had the time of her life (it was in Edmonton, so close, but so far. . .) I don't know who I'd play as though, the last look-alike thread everyone told me I'd be Hungary but arghh that's so obvious and everyone goes as her anyways. deep in my heart I would want to go as Denmark or Turkey or something.

I should add that if I wanted to cosplay I couldn't do it at the regular old comic con over here cause I'd be going with my buddy and he would shake his head in shame if he saw what my ~secret internet life~ brought me too :') That and the cosplay thing isn't so big at that one. Maybe at the anime con, here.

Is there a place you can request ideas to LJ? Cause I hate not being able to browse more than one tag at a time, too. I'm thinking about how much easier life would be if we could do that, and I now find myself in a state of pure dreamy bliss.

And it would be nice if I had something I could read.
You know, it bugs me when people, after hearing others complain about how there's not enough such and such, say "then write it yourself!" Reading a story someone else wrote is a different experience than writing something you yourself wrote.
Not to mention, some of us can't write :/

Maybeeee they're going to get a bit more popularity considering episode 29 of the anime (an episode which, honestly, I really enjoyed because it was so ridiculous. I think I actually had tears from laughing, I don't. . . I don't even know. Though maybe those tears were there because everyone else in the house was sleeping and I was trying hard not to laugh out loud.)

I think the meme is just waiting for you to come in and yell LATVIAAAAAA! once he starts getting into something fishy. Maybe you don't even have to even change the way you play him, other than giving him (regular sized) sparkly text, that could be ~*sparkly Estonia*~ enough. Maybe when he's to trying to convince someone/assure someone/show something off? Hell, just saying hi?

Ah, well, you know him better than I do. And you even know about RP'ing better than I do. But you compelled me to re-read some Estonia strips anddd

http://community.livejournal.com/hetalia/1722263.html
kuhiuahtoiawt I totally forgot that he actually sparkled like that ♥ he and Edward Cullen need a face off asap. (for some reason I thought that sparkly Estonia was a fandom invention, hurm)
Someone needs to finish scanlating that strip. I'm looking at the original and the rest of it looks glorious.

if your friend is still visiting you, I say hi.

hahaha well okay then, adios ~

OH HEY I THINK I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO YOU IN WORD COUNT :D
Cause I ranted about Norway not being girly. /headdesking forever

OF COURSE I CARE. I really look forward to your comments, you know. I get really excited when I find that there is a new one.

Holy shit, it seems your screen is even larger than mine. Craaazy. I do so love having a big screen, though. It might make the laptop-size a pain in the ass, and finding wallpapers is a pain (I've resorted to just making my own) but it's nice to be able to see things.

I enjoy your Norway rambling. Like many people, I like reading things I happen to agree with. ;p Anyway. I like your description of your impression of a Norwegian. Not something I'd really considered before. The image of the tough cold-water fisherman actually makes me think of a Newfoundlander, and now that I'm thinking on that subject, it seems fitting, almost coincidentally fitting - as I tend to associate Norway with Newfoundland (ff, obvious) and in my head, when writing his dialogue, I tend to imagine his accent as a Newfoundlander accent (a very clipped, townie version of it, but a Newfoundlander accent nontheless). But, er, that's all tangental. Moving on~

You do have a point that Hidekaz doesn't draw him looking all girly and stuff. Looking back through what I have saved, he seems pretty sturdy to me. Not soft. And he just looks short 'cause he's in a lineup with Denmark and Sweden, who would make almost anyone look short. But I guess people just tend to run with it. On the subject of the hairpin, I think it's partly practicality; not wanting his hair to end up sticking in all directions like Denmark's (fff) and also just a remnant of viking vanity (they were very focused on appearance, after all, and certainly had an eye for shiny things).

CLEARLY one can't be feminine without being a little damnsel, as there are no hardcore females evarrrr (gods, that hurt to type). Sigh. Y'know, sometimes I wish Nor had been a girl instead, just because it'd be totally awesome to have another totally badass chica in the series (like Hungary, only in this case an ex-viking. Yessssss). Ah, well. Wasn't meant to be. And people would probably like, run with it in an entirely different direction anyway.... Sigh.

Anyway, on the subject of style - yeah, I guess American comic influence would have something to do with expecting men to look like men. Though of course, as you mentioned, sometimes things are a little too much. I'd say even frequently. That's part of what turned me off from American comic stuff early on I guess. Though part of me thinks now that I just wasn't reading the right stuff.

I used to want a tablet, back in the day, but I realized quite shortly that I'm such a whore for real media work that surely I would never use it. Mmmmmcolouredpencils.

RARGH RARGH RARGH NOBODY EVER WRITES ABOUT HISTORY well, uh, I'm going to try soon, but that doesn't count. Er. Anyway. YES. PEOPLE NEED TO WRITE SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I'm getting bored with seeing the American Revolution over and over and over again. I mean, okay, big thing, but... fgs there's other things to write about. Sometimes I think that maybe people just haven't thought about it yet. I hope so.

MORE DENMARK BEING A JACKASS YES. I'm not a huge fan of the guy actually, but geeze is he ever fun to write. Considering most of the people I tend to write about, it isn't often that I get the opportunity to write someone being a lovable douche (or just a douche, period). But gahhh, writing. SO MANY LITTLE THINGS. And what with this past week when I couldn't take the time to write, they're just sitting. WELL I'll try to get it done now, I guess. Hack away at them until they're all done.

LJ = my one true love. Well, maybe not, but close. Gah, I could never leave. I got an account at Dreamwidth and thought about crossposting but I dunno, man. Can't be bothered. (And you know, I think 'Dreamwidth' is a ridiculous name). And I can't stand Facebook. A lot of people at my school/my previous school use it, so I have an account so they can contact me, but I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF THAT SITE. It just seems so... mindless and inane, much like Myspace.

On the subject of electronics... ahhhh they just hate me in general. Always breaking down and never doing what I want. I've gotten good about backing up my shit. The important stuff gets backed up on thumbdrive every time I alter it, of course. 'cause I can't afford to lose even my old school stuff. SIGH. Anyway, I might steal your idea of saying something is going weird with the ISP, because that explains everything and keeps her from whining at me.

Long-term plans... hmm. Well, I'm probably going to stay here for my PhD, just because it will be easier to get in here than anywhere else (dunno if they'd want to put up with me for four more years though. Hah). Unfortunately for me there isn't really anything at the school for social stuff, but maybe I'll get off my butt and see if there's anything in the town that I could get involved in. Maybe I could just get a real job... might not make me any friends, but at least it'll get me out of th house.

Meeting people is just... argh, so difficult. I am a complete awkward loser. When Sab met me at the airport, apparently she found me really intimidating (though I thought I was doing rather well, shit) and several days later, when we were finally a bit less awkward, she compared me to Sweden. Now that I think of it the comparison totally fits. ;~; I'm so... gruff and my default expression is :| and people used to say that about me when I was in high school, but I'd hoped to grow out of it, arrrrrgh. ...Anyway. Enough whining from me.

"I don't even think I've seen moose meat anywhere"
Ffff. In the city? No way. Y'can't buy that stuff, mate. 8D Have to know a hunter in order to get it, really. I'm glad my dad is into that kind of thing, else we probably wouldn't get as much as we do. And occasionally we'd receive deer saussage and such from his hunting buddies. SO GOOD. Mmmm now I want some.

But anyway, about the desire for recognition and so on - yes, you're probably right about that. A lot of the time when people do things, it's because of that... To be honest, I look for it a lot too. I wouldn't post things (writing etc) publicly if I didn't. But I try to be realistic about it, which is something I feel is not a characteristic shared by those who set out with the intention of becoming big in such-and-such (be it writing or acting or whatever). There are so many factors in it, that it's hard to determine what will work. The only factors I've taken note of are 1. visibility and 2. moderate quality, at least. So, I try to steer myself in that direction. Not doing so hot with the original stuff right now, but as far as fic goes it's working, though I'm kind of failing in the visibility department at the moment.

Television... fff. My parents watch it every night, and I just can't be bothered, but when I was living with them I'd get nagged at if I didn't come down to the living room. Generally what I'd end up doing is I'd work on embroidery or knit or something while half-watching whatever crime drama they were staring at that night. I just can't sit there with a television. I get bored, even if it's something good. SIGH.

As for Nosferatu, I was refering to the silent film from the '20s, yes. SCARY SHIT, oh my god. Well, at least, I found it frightening. I haven't seen the other one, though. But anyway, as for monsters... hmm, I don't know. I suppose the change does suggest something good. On the other hand, the shift has produced literature etc featuring villains who are rather... wishy-washy. I don't know, I suppose it's just that sometimes, I want to read about something evil - rather, good triumphing over something that is undeniably evil and monstrous. While the real world is of course rarely so clean-cut, it's so nice to read about evil when it is done well (and unfortunately this rarely happens, especially nowadays).

Of the mafia vampire story, I never managed to write it out beyond several scattered attempts at drafts. On the other hand, I still have the huge-ass unfinished novel project that I started way back that featured Jesus as a rock star who hung out with a crossdressing vampire in Montreal. ... Uh. Yes. I don't think I'll ever try writing that one again, hah. Though I might drag out the mafia vampire story and try to make it work one of these days.

Moving on. No, alas, I wasn't able to read the new part she put up yet, because I got distracted with cleaning (and later with my guest).SIGH. But I'll get around to it soon. When I say I try my best to leave insightful comments, I mean like... something beyond keysmash and squee. I mean, that is good, but I also like to say things like, "I liked (general thing about style/progression/pacing/whatever) and especially such-and-such part because (it made me feel X/ the imagery is beautiful/ strong use of metaphor/ etc)". And sometimes I'll pick out specific sentences, if I find them particularly lovely. I think it's mostly because, it's one thing to know that someone likes it, but it's even better to know why. So when I make comments like that, it's my way of saying, "This is good, so keep doing it".

Books, ahhhhhlaksdjf. I would get my parents to send them to me, but it would be so expensive - and I wouldn't have anywhere to put them! I just got some nice new storage boxes, but even though they're rather large, it's still not enough to hold all the books I already have in my apartment and the pile keeps on growing!

Middle English... Eeeee. Sometimes it's easier to figure out, sometimes not. Anyway, the þ (or Thorn, as the letter is called) is indeed pronounced kind of like "th"; it can be pronounced two ways, as in "thick" or as in "the". As for the 3 in knight, er, that's my mistake. It's supposed to be a ȝ, called "yogh". Sometimes websites use a 3 instead of ȝ because in some places the character won't show up (as it is completely out of use everywhere; Thorn, on the other hand, is still used in Icelandic) and I didn't notice until you pointed that out. In this case, it serves as a "gh" sound; but the pronunciation of the whole word wouldn't be modern - it would be pronounced more like "kn-eeght", according to my prof.

Old English is indeed WTF and I want to learn it so badly, aslkdfj. Anyway. "Ash", or æ is its own letter, rather than two stuck together (though in many modern things it's written as two letters), and it always throws me off because it's pronounced differently in Latin (where I have more familiarity with it) than in Old English and other things. In Latin it's a long I sound, like the word "eye", whereas in Old English it's more like... a soft A with a hint of E (like in the word 'cat' I guess). And Eth (ð) always looked like a tree to me, which seems somehow fitting (it's pronounced th as in "them", btw). Gah, I find this all fascinating, but it's so hard to learn....

When the whole thing is spoken, it sounds like... very throaty and rough and sounds like a mishmash of German and Swedish and maybe Gaelic and somethin' else. That's what Old English sounds like when spoken. ;p I don't know it myself, but I had the pleasure of listening to my professor read us the introduction in the original. Aha, found some of it on youtube, here. Sometimes I can kind of pick out stuff that sounds like a sentence, but mostly it's like... wat.

Anyway. Moving on to more modern things. I do, too, think it's ridiculous for people to look down on others for not reading things when it's likely they wouldn't have read those things themselves if not for school. ARGH. So frustrating. And with the differences in curriculums and such, well, it's impossible to read everything. And the comment you refer to is precisely the one I was refering to, so we're definitely on th esame page there. Yeah, I figured it was an American thing, but argh... it just pissed me off so much. Why would I know everything that they teach/refer to down there? I'm not American. This is not America. Some people refer to it as the 51st state, but we haven't been annexed yet! ARGH. RAGE. AMERICA IS NOT THE WORLD.

... Er. Sorry. I'm just a little touchy about stuff like this. I'm not anti-American per se, but I spent most of my life with everyone around me acting as though everything Canadian was inferior to American (literature/music/culture/everything) so I'm just a little bitter and angry.

But on a more positive note. YES. ADORABLE FOREIGN FANS. I don't know what it is, but so many of the ones I've run in to on my internet wanderings just seem so nice. And cute. And willing to talk to me about where they live. And stuff. And... I'm going to stop now before I get too hand-flappy.

I dunno about cosplay - I mean, I'd love to do it, but practically speaking, I'm not sure I could! When it comes to sewing, I'm only good at hand-sewing (though I'm sure I could do machine with practice) and I don't own a machine, so... I dunno. I'd probably want to go as Poland or maybe Lithuania, but considering how awkward I am, Sweden might be a better choice. ;p Ah, but it'll be quite a while before I'm even able to go to a con, so I should probably not linger on it too much. I'll just get sulky and envious of everyone who does get to go.

Anyway, back to LJ. And tags. You know, there probably is a place for suggestions, though I can't recall at the moment. I think I might go looking later on and see if I can find it. 'cause having a multi-browsing system would be excellent. Would probably take thm a long time to put it in, but it would be so worth it.

Back to fic again. This:

Reading a story someone else wrote is a different experience than writing something you yourself wrote.

That's precisely my feeling on the matter. I mean, yes, I do like writing the things I have ideas for, and I even like re-reading my own writing (when it is good). But reading things other people have written is so much more fun. Other people will always interpret the same characters in a slightly different way, so it's nice to see a different take on it. Sometimes they come up with things I never would imagine. And sometimes the writing is better. And you know, it's just... It's nice to read something new, something that hasn't been stewing in my own head. And it's just... ARGH. I WANT TO READ SOMETHING. GODDAMNIT. *FLAIL* ffffff

I do hope that the Baltics will get a bit more popularity as a result of episode 29, but at the same time, I'm a little uncertain. Call me a pessimist, but most Balticfic is rather raperific, and I don't see that changing. However, I am holding out hope for some genfic to pop up, especially since the Baltic Way anniversary is right around the corner.

LATVIAAAAAAAAA oh, lawd. Yeah, I guess I should just get around to doing that, at least once. SIGH. I probably won't change much in the way I play. I mean, people say do this or do that, but ehhhhh. Half of it I can't be bothered. But I'm considering ways to adjust things slightly.

Anyway. Yes! He SPARKLES. At one point, someone suggested that I write an Estonia/Belgium Twilight crossover (Eduard and Bella, get it? fff) but, er, that wasn't something I was quite willing to roll with. Still, I must admit that an Estonia VS Edward sparkly faceoff sounds bloody hilarious.

I think... I think I should wrap this up. And go to bed. And I'm sorry my response was slow this time. Visitor and all. Yes.

My screen didn't actually stretch until your last comment there. My screen isn't even in a size that tends to come with computers, so I've maybe only seen wallpapers that come in this size like, once. Then again it's hard to find wallpapers I like in general so the size of my screen probably doesn't matter that much. It sure makes posting pictures on the meme and everything confusing, because I'm not sure what's going to stretch most browsers.

I still don't think that a little screen stretching ever hurt anyone anyways. Maybe posting something that's 5000px in width, but little bit of scroll on the bottom is really no harm done.

That's pretty much what I used to think of Norway/Norwegians. That and fjords. Lots and lots of fjords (that has to be one of my favourite words. The "fj" makes it an absolute delight to say). Err, when you say a Newfie accent, you're just talking about the way they clip words? Or do you mean like he totally sounds like the guy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgYJ-Q-pzxE ?
cause i don't know if i can handre that

I think that if you looked short standing next to Denmark and Sweden, it's very likely you'd still be average height. In my head those two are pretty much behemoths (Sweden's second tallest after Russia, I think. Headcanon, yeahh.). Were they focused so much on, err, shiny things (well, I'd imagine that they were, everyone must have liked finding and picking up nice things. Hell, it's probably human nature to like shiny things.)? I remember reading two artciles that went on about vikings caring a lot about about their personal matienence and how Danes were made fun of for being "too clean." I'm not sure why I find the idea of the most badass people who ever lived being overly invested in smelling nice adorable and maybe a bit endearing, but there you go.

I know right. Like that Greek woman who set a plumber's dick on fire when he tried to rape her, what a pansy (that story is actually the greatest thing I have ever heard in my life and it's exactly the kind of badass thing I want to do at least once before I die. The fact that I won't die happy unless I do something that can earn me a mention in a cracked.com article is probably not a good thing) I wouldn't immediately assume that people would run it in a different direction though, this fandom treats the female characters very well. In a lot of other fandoms you'll see a lot of hate towards female characters, usually a result of them getting in the way of the gay or something ridiculous like that, but here they all seem to be loved. 's such a relief. Out of all the countries, I would've expected that France and Italy be made into girls (Hungary too, actually, but looks like she's already a girl). I am going off topic, yes.

I dunno when you would've ever even considerred them, but comics have a terrible rep when it comes to that stuff for a reason. Most of the art in the 90s was just dreadful, back in the day when EXTREMEEE was the way to go. Especially Rob Liefeld (http://progressiveboink.com/archive/robliefeld.html), aejihiaouethaoth. I was originally really turned off of superhero comics in general. It wasn't until I ended up reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman series (if you haven't read it, by all means, please do) and that got me into comics which later got me into superhero stuff and etc etc etc story of my life. I wish more people would give the non-mainstream superhero comics a chance, there is some incredible stuff there.

I love pencil crayons! ♥ Too bad most people still associate them with little pictures of houses that six year olds drew. THEY'RE A LEGIT ART TOOL, GUYS. I'm mostly a pencil/pencil crayon/markers kind of person. I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to watercolours, not gonna lie. Posting traditional media stuff is harder, because you either need to get yourself a good scanner (which might not always fit your work) and then you have to go through the trouble of adjusting the stuff in photoshop but not matter what you do it'll never look as good as it does in real life. Stuff drawn in photoshop is just, I don't know, cleaner, I guess? It looks better on a screen than a scan does. Not to mention there's a lot of "cheating" involved (what I'd do for ctrl + z in real life).

It's crazy, man. All this time, I thought variety was a good thing. I don't know how popular those fics are, in terms of how many people are writing them. this might just be my inner whiny canadian talking but I'd love to see some more interaction with England and Canada. I mean, we still with them for a damn long time. I know it's a joke that England forgets Canada and all but come onnn.

aww man, I love Denmark. He's just. . . I don't know. Delightfully over the top in regards to everything? Or so I see him (damn you, lack of canon personality). I don't think I've told you this before, but I like the way you make him talk. That accent you give him, anyways.

Whenever I hear dreamwidth, I think of dreamweaver or whatever that website making program is called. It just doesn't sound like a journal site. I thought the point of facebook/myspace is pretty obvious, mostly for keeping in contact with people. It wouldn't be too bad if I didn't have a bunch of people I couldn't care less about on it. People whose lives I don't care about at all and it just feels weird seeing all these status updates and photo uploads and whatever for them when, really, I can't emphasize it enough, I don't give a damn about them.

You could also tell her just to plug it in and unplug it. Too many times have I tried to fix something in fancy, complex ways only to find out it was just a little bit unplugged. orz

Why wouldn't they want to put up with you? Do you bug the teachers or something? Pff. I'm sure there's some social stuff at the school. Even volunteering might be alright, if you've got time? And you should be getting a job anyways, buddy. FRIENDS ARE ALWAYS UNEXPECTED. Well, sometimes.

I'm trying to imagine you as intimidating in real life.
It's not working.
You're too. . . pleasant. Though I guess it might be a thing I'd have to experience in real life, eh? Maybe you are a total Sweden. Now, every time I meet someone intimidating, I'm going to start wondering if they're like that. But Sweden's maybe a bit more >:^| than :| but that's irrelevant (I just really like using ">:^|". And "щ(ಠ益ೃщ) " aoeijtiaoejt kids are getting damn creative with emoticons, these days).

I was totally going to bet I could find some moose meat in the city (my city dwelling heart was offending at the thought of not being able to find something in here) but then, thanks to the mighty power of google, you can't buy it legally in stores D: Maybe one of my dad's buddies can get some, I don't know. I AM SO WITH YOU ON THE DEER SAUSAGE. I don't usually like sausage even, but I don't know, the stuff that comes from a deer is so much better than the stuff that comes from a pig or whatever.

Haha, anyone would be lying if they said that they didn't want any recognition. Man, I used to be an absolute whore for recognition back in the day. You wouldn't have caught me dead drawing stuff for people while being anon, at the very least. Egads, am I growing up

Like 90% of the shows they play these days are crime dramas. I don't get it. Sometimes people post how much tv they watch on their journals, and they go and watch like 20+ seasons in a year! Okay, maybe spending all this time on a computer isn't much butter, but that's crazy.
Since my dad's got the surgery, and has been staying home, he's just been watching movies with me every other day. He's been on a history kick lately. Two days ago we watched a video about Norse America :D

I shall take your word for it, and I'll rent it if I ever see it. Hopefully it doesn't end up with me and my friends taking the piss out it, as we do with most horrors. comic books are the only place I still see that happen sometimes. Sometimes. Not often, but the good vs evil thing's still there. I'm not just talking superhero, here. In all seriousness, I've got such a soft spot for the whole good triumphs evil kind of thing. sigh.

Tell me, was that Jesus as a rock star that hangs out with a cross dressing vampire in Montreal also a product of your teenage years? Dear oh dear, you've got some crazy things going on in that head of yours. Not that I don't think it's awesome or anything, it's pretty grand, but now I want to bug you about writing cracky AU fic. I adore cracky AU fic. ~~back in the day after awhile the only thing i ever ended up writing was cracky au fic. the fandom was in desperate need of originality, that is my exuse.~~

Getting distracted by cleaning? Crazy talk. I'm going to tell you what my mother tells me: fix your mess as soon as you make it and clean everything right away so you don't have to do a whole bunch of it later. (why don't you understand how hard this is, mom ;___;). Of course, maybe you already do that. I would not know, for obvious reasons.
I certainly do see the logic behind that, and sometimes I do it as well. It's just that. . . after reading a fic I think is really quite good I'm sometimes too excited and hyped up to write anything coherent. And I want to write the comment right away, or chances are that I'll forget to. Now that I think of it, I probably should ease up on the keysmashes when I write comments (or anything, really). but "asdlfjosapithpashgasgr omgomg eeeehurrdurr aoejtaipetjiaojt ♥♥♥!!! x5000" just gets so much across or not?.

Storage boxes? Dude, man up and build yourself a shelf. Or buy one. Well, how do you put them in those boxes anyways? You put them in so you can still see the spines, right?

aww yeah now I'm that much smarter 8D
the best way to learn a language is to emerge yourself in the culture, and surround yourself with it, right? So what you need is a time machine. I will build you one. Just give me a year and some $$$ and I'll be good to go.

if only.

I looked at that video (and some other ones and was really wtf-ing over the Canterbury tales too) and. . .what. what. To think that somewhere along the line that accent turned into (one of) the incredibly sexy British Accent(s) we know today. That's almost scary, to me, to think that a language can change so much give a few hundred years. Of course, maybe it's not too bad as long as we aren't speaking newspeak in the future.

Well, isn't Canada's annexation by America already approved in their constitution or whatever?
This is the burden of being located right next to a superpower, I guess. It's a shame, some people need to realize that just because a Canadian product(ion) doesn't achieve the same amount of success as an American one, it doesn't mean it's crap. People in Europe aren't so preoccupied with that, I take it? It looks like people are fine with German singers being popular in mostly just Germany and French shows being popular in mostly just France. That's the impression I've gotten, at least.

and the only reason why Americans may seem like they have better stuff is because they make so much more of it (which means more good stuff being produced, but at the same time, more crap too). I don't know, if Canadian media is inferior to America's because we didn't produce The Jonas Brothers. . . well, I'm fine with being inferior then. (not that we have a perfect record with what we've produced, ohh no).

At the same time, I don't really like having stuff shoved in my face just because it's Canadian. I'll like things on it's own merits. The fact that I like Kids In The Hall and Rush has nothing to do with them being Canadian. And I'm not going to start watching Degrassi and listening to Simple Plan just because said things are Canadian.

I love it when they go on about where they're from. Then they usually apologize for going on about it and I have to urge them on to tell me more cause I'm actually genuinely interested. Like, come on you guys, it's not like I've ever been there before! /HANDFLAPS FOREVER

If I could sew, I'd go as Turkey. In his intense Ottoman gear outfit. It would look so awesome, all that pretty fabric. Man, it wouldn't' even matter how I looked like because half my face would be covered anyways. Cons are still plenty of fun even without the whole cosplay thing. They're like a nerd's Las Vegas, I go visit them with the intent of becoming that much poorer.

It doesn't even matter if I don't completely agree with the way a author writes something, if it's done well it's always neat just seeing how someone else views a relationship/historical event. I love reading something and being all "oh, I never thought of that before!" It's nice to read a fic that's more of a "treat" than a "reward" (as in, something you can read but only after putting in hours of your time into it). I actually don't think there's that much fic being written for this fandom in general, considering the size of it (if you were to ignore the kinkmeme, at least). Compared to the amount of fanart, anyways.

I think the Baltic Way's gonna bring up an increase in threesomes, if you're lucky. The amount of rapefic for them is depressing, I think, and I'm not even a big fan of them. And am I going crazy or is there a lot of yandere!Latvia going around?

THERE WAS AN INVASION OF VAMPIRES AND EDWARD CULLENS ON THE MEME. WHERE WAS ESTONIA, MISTER >:^|
let's pretend that for the next ten seconds that this is a truth or dare thread and I'm daring your Estonia right now to challenge Edward Cullen to a sparkle off next time he starts a thread. okay i can't force you to do this but i can dream, can't i. If you can't write fic of it, maybe you can RP it ~

don't even worry about itttt. I replied knowing very well you probably won't going to get back for awhile. Also, with how long it takes me to reply sometimes, I'd be such a dick to expect a reply asap pff

I can always support whitetexting for the sake of whitetexting, because it is made of awesome and win. Yes. I approve.

When it comes to page stretching, I try to avoid doing it too much, at least in public (at the meme, I mean) just because so many people complain. Also, because surely some people are running slow, old computers, so I try to be kind and post resized images. Of course, when it comes to RP sometimes I just plain can' avoid a stretch (especially those few amazing times I've RP'd with Duplodanish, oh my god) but luckily the page has usually moved on by the time the thread gets long enough to stretch. That's one good thing about the speed of the meme nowadays - it moves quickly, so people still doing threads can be left to continue without any whining, as only those stalking them will notice things are getting long.

... On the other hand, sometimes it moves a bit too fast, and good topics die before people get the chance to respond to them, but I guess that's how it is. I do hope it will slow down by the time everyone is in school, though.

Anyway. HAH. No, no - when I say a Newfie accent, I don't mean quite like the guy in the video. That's more like how I imagine Canada would speak, fff. No, when I think of the way I try to write out Norway, it'd be more like... someone from St John's who has spent time away from the province. So, lighter accent to begin with, then lighter still. But the words are still clipped and vowels and consonants are dropped. And sometimes in fic I've had him use Newfoundlander phrases, though I try to keep that on the down-low (example, once I had him say "B'lay that" instead of "let it be". That sort of thing). But even with the accent, he still speaks more clearly than some others - it's something he does consciously.

About the height thing, you're probably right. Recently, someone on the meme posted a fanmade chart they had come across, and it had Norway at kind of medium, whereas Denmark and Sweden were quite a bit taller (though I think there should have been a few extra inches more, myself). But back to vikings - from what I remember reading about them, they did have a thing for bling. Gold this, silver that, blah blah blah. Then again, I guess most ancient peoples did, all things considered. But somehow my mind translates this into magpieish, fff. Anyway, yes, I did read those same articles you mentioned - Sab linked them to me actually (Scandinavian archaeology = her area of academic interest).

Hmm, I guess you're right on the thing about female characters doing well in this fandom. I've heard that a lot of other fandoms get a lot of female hate, and to be honest I don't understand that. I'd think that female characters would be more likely to be misinterpreted, rather than hated. Then again, I'm kind of out of the loop. The last time I was active in a fandom, it was one where for the most part the female characters didn't have a lot of screen time, and for the most part people didn't hate them, but they didn't write about them either. Eh.

So anyway, comics. The "when" is back in the mid/late 90s, and I can't remember what series it was. Probably just, you know, mainstream Marvel stuff. 's proooobably why I wasn't able to get into it, why I was turned off from it. I've heard of Gaiman's Sandman, and I've wanted to read it for a while, but it's one of those (many ) things that I just haven't gotten around to doing yet. There's far too much stuff out there, ach.

Moving on to art - pencil crayons are wonderful; I love how much detail a person can get in with them. I didn't really think about them much until I started stalking Tracy Butler's work back in '99 and saw the amazing things she could do with colour pencil. I started trying to imitate that and, ehhhh, I didn't really come close, but I managed to get pretty good at it I think. Watercolours are another thing I do like to use, though I'm not too great at it.

Photoshop is all right (though I've never actually used it for my stuff, when I did draw; I've always used Paint Shop Pro) but I really don't like colouring electronically at all. It takes much longer for me to do, and it never turns out the way I want it to, and somehow my real-life colouring always looks better. And I used to get a lot of people who, when commenting to me, would act as if Photoshop was "better" than real media, when it... really isn't. Gehhh. I don't know, I guess I'm just really biased toward the tangible. Though I guess it doesn't really matter much any more, because I don't draw any more (I actually hate drawing... no matter what I do, I never like the way it looks. I love colouring, hate drawing. I wish I could just colour other people's work forevarrrr).

Back to fic. CLEARLY variety is not a good thing! GASP what are you thinking~ But nah, you already know I agree with you. More England and Canada interacting would be a very good thing, I agree. Considering how many Canadians (and Canada-fans) there are in the fandom, you'd think there would be more stuff with Canada and England than there is. Ah, well. I do like France with Canada too, and there is a nice chunk of that, sooo... at least I have that. (Though now that I think of it, there might be more Fr&Can than Eng&Can because of all the US/UK stuff... sigh)

Denmaaaark~ Yeah, I duno how I feel about him. Sometimes I find myself loving him, sometimes I'm more "meh" toward him. It flip-flops. Evidently, I just can't decide. Maybe I need to read more fic or something. But anyway, the over-the-top part is definitely fun. I wish there was more canon, argh... Anyway, voice, no I don't think you mentioned it before. But I'm glad you liked it! I actually try to base his way of speaking on a southern Albertan accent, hah. And when I write Sweden, I aim for northern Albertan. It's easier to get a voice when I can think of something that I've actually heard before.

Now, Dreamwidth - the name makes me imagine some kind of photohosting site or something, because the "width" part makes me think of bandwidth. "Unlimited bandwidth! The host of your dreams! 8D" You're right that it doesn't really sound like a journalsite at all. Sigh. But anyway. Facebook/Myspace, I don't know. I mean, yes, the photo uploads and multi-person PMs are good sometimes but like... there's no text. The status updates people make are inane, and the messages people leave are equally inane, and -- oh, I don't know. I just plain don't like it. Maybe I'm just used to stuff with more detail/thought put into communication. I can see how a person would spend hours on LJ, but I absolutely cannot see how someone (such as my colleagues at the department) could spend hours on Facebook.

Argh. Computers. You know what my mum did today? Phoned me an expected me to play tech support, then got all pissy when I didn't know how to fix it. What the fuck, man. And this wasn't something where "unplug it then plug it in again" would apply. Maybe if I was there I could poke around and figure it out (I doubt it) but over the phone? No way. Why the hell is it that people always expect me to know what I'm doing? THIS REALLY SUCKS.

Anyway. School. Well, I was mostly kidding when I said I don't know if they'd want to put up with me for another four years. Though I imagine the department heads must be a little frustrated with me. I was quite a thorn in their side last semester when I kind of went into a reclusive stage. But, er, I'm better now, so things should probably be okay this year, I think. As for social stuff, it's weird, man. My tiny undergrad school had so many things to be involved in, but now that I've changed schools, this one hardly has anything. All the student organizations are either sports or religious-centric, no arts organizations at all. So I'm going to take a look at the town theatre organizations and see what I can get involved with... I might have to wait a while though. Oh yeah, and when I say I might get a job, I mean a real job, haha. I'm probably going to do something with the school library or writing centre, but I want a real job too at the grocery store or something. Something labour-intensive. The pay is shit, but I find that it's difficult for me to be happy unless I'm working with my hands.

I'm trying to imagine you as intimidating in real life.
It's not working.
Hah, well, you'll have to try harder, I guess. ;p I find it easier to see how people would find me intimidating in real life than online. Plenty of people seem to find me scary online, and I'm not sure why, as I always try to be friendly, or at least civil. But in real life I guess it makes sense enough, because I'm very quiet and I don't smile and I always look like I'm glaring (I don't do it on purpose - maybe my face is stuck like that) and I can't hold a conversation at all. I'm getting a little better, in that I can speak when I need to, and approach people when I need to, but for the most part I guess I seem stand-offish and rather formal, and then people find that intimidating. In summary: I am Sweden. Or maybe Norway (someone said I'm a Norway). Sigh.

Television - well. I must admit, I do love crime dramas, even if they're all over the place nowadays. Some of my fondest memories are of watching Law&Order with my parents when I was very young. Most of the new stuff isn't as good as the original L&O, though (or maybe I'm just biased). I don't like how some of this new stuff seems to be less about solving the mystery + the drama of the trial and more about the shiny, flashy special-effects and technology.
Anyway, yeah, it's pretty crazy how much tv some people watch. I would argue, though, that spending a lot of time on the computer is marginally better than staring at a television all the time. It mostly depends on what you're doing on it. Most of the time when I'm on it, I'm either communicating with someone or doing something creative, and even if that creativity is just fanfiction or, er, pretending to be a country, well... at least I'm doing something.

Regarding Nosferatu: Ehhh, well, you might end up taking the piss out of it. Possibly. I think part of the reason I found it so scary is because I was watching it alone, in the dark, during a storm. Heh. But I do hope you find it interesting, at least.

...Er. Yeah, the Jesus as a rock star with his crossdressing vampire BFF in Montreal story was from my teenage years, but I didn't stop working on it until 3/4 of the way through undergrad. *facedesk* So it... technically went on longer than that. The reason I took so long to scrap it is because I loved the characters so much, and writing them was so much fun, that even though the story was ridiculous, I wanted to continue. After I finally admitted that it was silly, I considered trying to figure out a way to salvage the characters, start over, write a story that actually made sense. But I couldn't come up with anything. I might turn back to it one day, see if I can try again.

I guess I do have weird things going on in my head. BUT I SHAN'T BE WRITING CRACKY AU FIC. ... Well, okay, I'm going to be writing AU pretty soon, but not too cracky, I hope. Mostly just light romance with some minor shenanigans. To be honest, I'm not good with crack at all. I get ridiculous ideas, lik the Jesus and the vampire thing, but the thing is that I take them too seriously, and while the situation is very silly indeed, I write as though it's Very Serious Business. Not sure why, just can't. Can't do crack RP, either. (Someone mentioned today that I'm too serious in RP situations... hah, maybe they're right. Oh well.)

Anyway. YES. I GET DISTRACTED BY CLEANING. I do my best to clean up messes as soon as they are made, but it's more than just that; no matter what I do, there is always something else that needs to be cleaned. That's the most frustrating thing about living in my apartment. There's always something that needs to be washed or scrubbed or vacuumed or fixed up. Arrrrgh.
And I want to get a bookshelf, but it's not the most practical. I'll just get another box. I put them with the spine facing upward. I can fit maybe 22-ish books in there, if they are all paperback.

You gonna build me a time machine, eh? Better hop to it, bro. 8D I have some cash saved up, all ready to go! (It's for my trip to Finland but mayyyyybe I could be convinced to change my mind~) Wellll actually no. I wouldn't want to go back in time. That would just end badly, I'm sure. Pfft. Such things are only good in novels~

As for the video, yeah, it's pretty incredibly, isn't it? The Canterbury Talesone - I'm assuming you're refering to this one, right? It's pretty amazing how that - that is, Middle English - sounds similar to English, but so different. But it isn't as if the change from Old English to Middle English, then Middle English to Modern English just happened. The change from Old to Middle English happened around/after the Norman conquest, with the influence of the French langage. Then the change from Middle to Modern happened toward the end of the medieval period, and I can't quite remember what the cause was (something to do wtih the black death I think), but for some reason the pronunciation of vowels (among other things) shifted. So while it happens it isn't spontaneous.

Anyway. As far as America goes, you've hit the nail right on the head. The reason it seems like they have more good things about them is because they have more people, so they produce a greater volume of media - I was actually talking about precisely this, the other day. Sure, we produce a good amount of crap, but we turn out some awesome things too.
In my case... I admit, I'm more likely to give something a try if it's Canadian, mostly when it comes to literature. It's mostly because I find I can more readily identify/gain interest in something that's set in my own country. So if someone mentions to me "I read this book, such and such, by this Canadian author so-and-so" I'd be more likely to pick it up than if it was just another American author. But I've met a fair bit of disappointment when it comes to Canadian literature. A lot of the stuff I've had to read for school is crap (I can't stand Joseph Boyden's novels, for instance).

Moving on - Foreign fans. Oh gods, yes, I love that. When they go on about where they're from, I mean. Or when I manage to persuade them to take photos of their city, and they just go around snapping everything, and then in the entry talk about it... gahhh, I could read those entries and talk with them about it forever. And to them it's nothing, but to me it's so amazing. Some of them seem to find my reaction funny. Ahhh, well. And then there are others who say, "Come visit me! We can hang out and visit all these historical sites that are just down the road from me!" OMG. I WISH. Saving up for that, yes indeed.
I still feel as if I won't get to go anywhere. But I AM DETERMINED. Saving my pennies. And people say they want me to come see them. So it looks like it'll either be Sweden or Finland next year, woooo. I can't wait. (Sometimes having friends in far-flung places is convenient...)

Back to fic. I guess you're right that there isn't that much fic being written. I mean, okay. I don't know much about modern fandom, so I can't judge. But for example when I look at say the hetalia_daily updates for the main comm, there isn't really a lot of fic listed compared to the fanart. And there's rarely something relevant to my interests. It's kind of discouraging. I guess the only thing I can do is keep writing stuff that I like and hope other people will get the same idea.

The kink meme... don't even get me started on the kink meme. I posted something there the other day, and I swear, I spent half an hour just figuring out how to do it. The system seems so much more complicated now than it used to be. I mean, back when I posted there regularly, it was very simple, and no big deal. But then again... that was back in part two and three. Sigh. It seems like so long ago. Now the place is such a mess, and it seems like the mods might have jumped ship, and kasjdf. I don't even know now. And a lot of the fic that gets put out there is such crap nowadays, argh! ... Er. Sorry about that. Just had to get it out, I guess.

Heh. When you sent this, it was before the 23rd... and now it's come and gone, and no Balticfic for me. Sigh. Such a disappointment. On the other hand, there hasn't been a rise in Balticcest nor in rapefic, so at least I can be thankful for that. Agreed on the amount of rape being depressing (and for me, disturbing). As for yandere!Latvia, there is a lot that is going around - maybe not more than usual, but maybe more visible now. To be honest, I don't really see it. Even going by what we see in canon, I don't see him as being... yandere. Then again I'm not entirely sure what that is (bloody newfangled terms) though I get the general idea.

I SAW THE INVASION. AND I CONSIDERED PARTICIPATING. But I didn't feel lik playing, sooooo I didn't. Ffff. I'm a huge stick in the mud, I know. Aaaand now the vampires are gone. Mostly. However, I know one of the Edward RPers, so maybe some day if I feel particularly ridiculous I shall rope them in to having a sparkle-off with me. Just for you. ;p
I've been playing a little more in general, or trying to. I'm so flighty with when I feel about doing things, bahhhh. But it's nice to be able to do it, especially when my usual partners get involved, because I know it makes them happy. (And vice versa... a good long thread just makes me feel, omg, so good.)

Anyway. That's it for now. <3 Hope to hear from you soon.

ho ho looks like you caught me in the WIP thread. And then I had to leave to be with my sister for a few hours. Just want to say /brofist for comfortable sweaters. I figured Norway to be the type to like them, but then I like seeing everyone in comfy sweaters. My love of them knows no bounds. I'd wear those big comfy sweaters in the summer if I could (as in, if I wouldn't get yelled at for it).

I think just having real big threads destroys a computer more than one conversation that went and stretched the page. You remember the first World Conference thread? Now that was deadly. I never checked back to see if it stretched the thread horizontally though, as I just wanted to get off that page as soon as possible. Best thing to do is start big threads close to the bottom of the page, I think.

Duplodanish has only posted once to the meme, right? Or am I just behind on my RP? ~~is it the same person who plays two other characters that I'm thinking about?~~ Their camera thread was a riot and a half.

Has the meme started to go any slower? A fair amount of people have gone back to school, but I guess we all won't be rounded up until mid-September. Personally I think it's just going to be slower during school hours, but then once everyone's more or less out of school it's gonna be crazy fast again. I'm not even going to factor in kids not going on the meme after school because they're doing homework or whatever, cause who are we kidding, most people probably go on the meme and ignore doing their homework. 's a good thing I've already been forcing myself to go to the library to study for almost two years now or the place would've ~destroyed my future~

That comes as some what of a relief, I was startin' to think that you're crazy (of course, after hearing about mafia vampires and rock star Jesus. . . jk jk jk). I don't even know what "B'lay that" meant until reading this response. Ah, I don't think I really have a set idea of how most characters talk. All I know is that when I read fic with them I just like having a fuzzy impression of how that language would sound like. That's more of the sound of their voice though, I guess. Getting their actual voice, as in speech mannerisms and stuff. . . That's hard for me to figure out.

That thing was going off of national averages? Eh, I dunno. I don't really like being restricted by national averages when it comes to height (and I don't care what anyone says, the heights Hidekaz listed are way too short. Sure, 5'8 might seem massive for the Japanese, but then even I'm taller than some of these SUPER TALL nations). Anyways, well, let Norway be magpie-ish. Nothing wrong with liking pretty things.

Ich, well, I dunno. Not going to lie, it's rare for a girl to be my favourite character in a series (though that's usually because my favourite always ends up being "the old guy"). I can probably think of a few reasons why girl characters are hated on by girls. For one, they're usually poorly written. Second might be because some girls will be intimated/threatened by them for whatever reason. Third reason, and a horrifying reason it is, is because it gets in the way of the slash. It's a bit sad, seeing a female character being treated rather well by a fandom, only to be attacked after the creators decide to pair her up with one half of a popular ship. as if your slash otp ever had a chance, really now.

. . . this kind of thing really does vary, fandom to fandom though. What's the last fandom were you active in anyways, I mean, once upon a time, before Hetalia?

Mainstream superhero stuff is a niche market, but outside of that, there really is something for everyone, hah (Y The Last Man is also incredible, just sayin. Or Fables. I think you might like Fables. Hell, you should read anything published under Vertigo, seriously). And comics do take less time to read, even though there's no way you'll just be skimming the Sandman. That reminds me that I still have like, three trades of the entire series left to buy argh.

I know! People are always surprised when they hear that this really beautiful piece of art was made with pencil crayon too, they just assume it's paint or digital. It's been a long time since I've tried doing something with pencil crayons. Last thing was. . . err, maybe five months ago? It was a portrait of Indiana Jones hehe. I got inspired because earlier the announcements at school got all mixed up with names and called Harrison Ford down to the office. But yeah, pencil crayons are fun, and the fact that out of all art media, I'm probably the best with them hurr

(psst SAI is actually better than Photoshop for colouring) I remember Paint Shop Pro! I think I used that in '03 or around there. Strange that you say it takes you longer, though. I think doing it digitally is usually faster (it really depends). It's sad, unless you're dealing with an absolute master, digital art will usually be looked upon more highly than traditional. I do think a lot of it has to do with digital art just looking cleaner when on a computer screen. I'm pretty sure that in real life, you would probably get more praises for showing an oil painting you did than something you printed out.

And then you have those people who are incredible at digital and traditional stuff. Man, those multi-talented people. I swear.

Dude. You could be the greatest drawer in the world and you'd still only like the way something looks 1/1000 of the time. I've heard that most artists are almost never satisfied with their work. Makes enough sense, no wonder artists are such a depressing bunch.

I feel bad for people who really like England/Canada. Not just cause it's rare, but I've heard the horror stories of how some England/Canada stories actually end up being US/UK because England just mistook Canada for America yet again.

hurr, that's just a matter of characters clicking with you or not, right? You can't help who you like. I'm kind of like that with Iceland, I think. Actually, I'm a lot like that with Iceland. More canon would be nice, yes, especially for quirks. Oi, awhile ago I was wondering about the characterizations of the characters and our first impressions about them, and it never actually occurred to me that, say, if we were given a picture, just one frame and a little description for Sweden, there's no way fandom could've figured him out to be the way he is now. But he might be an extreme example, for other characters it's just quirks I guess (Finland's horrible taste in names and his, err, hidden bloodthirsty side for example). Not sure why I'm mentioning that, as it may not do anything other than make you worry about your characterizations (which are fine, man).

. . . You write Denmark as south Albertan? Oh god, does this mean I talk like Denmark? Now I'm trying to remember if I ever read your Denmark and found there to be something eerily familiar about his voice.

I've had some tl;dr conversations on myspace and facebook, excuse me. Haha, no, I get what you mean. People do post a lot on other people's walls, send messages, or even go on facebook chat, but, ich. I dunno. Personally I don't like going through everyone's new gallery to see how drunk they were at a party. I also don't care about someone being OMG SO EXCITED FOR TOMORROW! <33 Different strokes for different folks, I guess. You and I are just not like the others.

Say, if you sent her a Computers for Dummies book, or just something along those lines, do you think she'd read it? Or will she give up on it and return to calling you?

atjkaetj were you? Damnit, I hate not knowing when people are kidding on the internet (this is probably why I joke a lot less/am less sarcastic on the internet. It's hard to tell). I don't know know what you mean by your reclusive stage, and err, I'm not even sure if I should even inquire on it. But it's good that you're better now! ♥ Can I ask how hard it is to juggle a job and university?

I find it easier to see how people would find me intimidating in real life than online...
Hah, you always seem a bit lost when someone on the meme admits to finding you intimidating. I think I might be able to come with a few reasons as to why they might. . .

As for if you're a Norway or a Sweden: err, neither of them are talkative, but for different reasons. If you a Norway, then you would chose to be that quiet because you don't find words necessary at a particular moment, or cause you'd rather be rather to the point instead of loquacious. If you're a Sweden then you wouldn't be as quiet as you are cause you want to be. Like, you know, with Sweden it's clear that he wants to say more than he does but he's just too awkward/embarrassed to (I don't think he wants to be loud though). Now, which one are you more like? And honestly I think both of them really like their coffee and comfortable sweaters. What if you're an EGYPT?

character comparisons aside, I wish I could wish people's awkwardness away just because I know it's such a bother. I guess I'm lucky because my social awkwardness is covered up pretty well by the fact that I'm good at talking. I do think I'm more awkward socially online than offline, for some things at least.

Oh, I do think they're actually worse now, and I don't even watch them. I've heard that CSI (which I've never actually watched an entire episode of) had to dumb down its stuff because it's script was too good, too close to what actually went on. So from there we went straight to shiny technology and finding semen on everything I have no idea how CSI compared to Law & Order though. I prefer other stuff, tv-wise.
I'd argue that too, but most people wouldn't take that argument seriously. Usually when I'm on computer I'm also learning/drawing/reading about something, not playing games. What's there to learn on tv these days, documentaries are rare and half the time Discovery Channel is just playing some show about pimping motorcycles D: and then there's the history channel. . .
I think I could live without tv easily, now that I think of it.

It's gonna take me awhile to watch it either way. I, err, really am not in the mood for anything scary right now. Haven't been in months, still won't be for a long while. But I shall keep it in mind.

Haha, aww. Maybe you can just transplant their personalities into something else one day. I've got to ask though, was Jesus one of the ones with a fully fleshed out personality?

That's probably why learning that you wrote those kinds of crazy things was so surprising. You tend to think that those kinds of story ideas are going to translate into something really cracky, which I know that you don't write. I don't think there's anything wrong with writing something silly in a more serious style (I'm sure I've read something like that but looking over my bookshelf nothing really comes to mind). Tons of people have written about real mundane things in a humorous way, dunno why it can't be the other way around.

Too serious in meme RP, maybe. It's mostly crack there, but there are other places that do the whole srs bzns RP stuff. It's not like one is better than the other.

Maybe you're just a neat freak? I don't hear most people your age complaining about cleaning so much, you sound like my mother. I don't even know how neat I am. For me there are only a few places that need to be clean 24/7. Like forgetting to vacuum the living room or make your bed is forgiveable, but places like the bathroom and kitchen need to be spotless at all times. Have you seen that one show, it's on W network or something, and it stars two British ladies going into people's dirty houses and cleaning it up? Except that these houses are absolutely filthy, I can't even tell you how disgusting some of the stuff has been on there. There's mold, dirt, everything everywhere. If you haven't seen it, look at a bit of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuEhwCbo0po&feature=related D: doesn't even cover it.

And I want to get a bookshelf, but it's not the most practical.
Wait, how?

We can go to Finland easy on a time machine! In books and movies time machines have a magical ability to not only travel in time but in space as well. We can go back five minutes and land up right in a corner in Helsinki or wherever it is that you'd like to go. You aren't afraid of some silly butterfly effect, are you? to be honest I really don't have an opinion as to whether time travel could actually be possible.

Yup yup, that's one of the ones I watched. Something to do with the Black Death you say? Interestingg.

I know a few people that kind of already have a prejudice against Canadian stuff, assuming that they're going to be "lame" or something before they even give it a try. It makes me sad :( They aren't people I like talking to much anyways so I guess there's that.
I don't really like it when Canadian Lit is considered it's own section. Ah, I don't know how to explain it. I probably haven't got a good reason for it, but I was at a used book store and there was a section for Fiction, and then there was a section for stuff by Canadians. It just threw me off, can't I look at all the books in one place ;____; I don't think the origin of the book is enough to give it it's own section (though I guess some places are known for producing certain kinds of books). What's wrong with Boyden? I haven't read any of his stuff but from the looks of it he's pretty well liked.

I don't get how it could be nothing. "Yeah, this place was built in the 1600s and a king got murdered there it's nothing." aektjoaet does not compute. At least you'll have more fun with friends than most tour guides, hah. I might as well just say that I like it when people take pictures of where they're from, regardless of where it actually is. Even if it's someone posting pictures from their small town in the middle of Wyoming, it's always neat to see. That reminds me. . . did you ever post those pictures from your trip awhile back?

Oh, and one other thing about foreign fans: I think Engrish is adorable. Especially when they apologize for it. I guess messing up the English language is only cute when the person doesn't intend to do it, as opposed to typin lyk dis u no?

See, I want to say that there isn't much fic being written (in comparison to the art, at least) but at the same time it's got more fic being written than a lot of other fandoms. It's disappointing that despite the main comm having THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of members, and the fact that I think my interests are fairly well rounded, most days I won't find anything that interests me at all. hetalia_daily isn't much help when it comes to art, either. Even if it's just for the fact that they don't have the art previews and stuff. I'd rather look at and comment a well done picture of a character I don't care for much than a not-so-good picture of one of my favourites (this doesn't apply with fic, though).

How did you used to have to post on it? I've never posted to the kink meme, I wouldn't know. I don't even really go on there unless the aphkink_aid posts an update and she hasn't for awhile. Just yesterday I decided to go and read all the latest Sweden/Finland fics on there, and in a dramatic break from tradition I actually found myself liking what I saw. I'm pretty sure the same person wrote a lot of them, though. I hope she deanons one day ;3;

SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FIC AND ALL I SHOULD PROBABLY TELL YOU NOW THAT YOUR BALTIC WAY FIC WAS SUPER DUPER AND BEAUTIFUL and it made me want to tear up at the end and goddamnit man i don't do that kind of stuff. I tell you this now because I'm way too paranoid to post under my own name on one of your fics now orz

(I don't get those terms either, really. arrgh those terms kind of just destroy characters for me. I used to really like England until I got sick of how much focus his ~TSUNTSUN~ side got. And Russia would probably be written better if it wasn't always for LOLYANDERE. These terms irritate me almost as much as the seme/uke terms, sometimes)

It would make my life. Oh god the vampires should gang up against the Estonias and it should go down as a Bulgaria invasion style event. . . okay, that might be too much but if you ever just have a sparkle face off against Edward I will literally fist pump into the air.

hurr best that I be replyin' now cause I'll be busy soon. school started on thursday and I've got a district exam on Tuesday and then after that I'm going to be volunteering at Worldskills Calgary :o Getting downtown at 7:30 in the morning, FUN TIMES
Good luck for whenever you go back to your studies~

Well if you're going to start secretly whitetexting, then in that case I'm going to ctrl+A everything you send me. EVERYTHING. EVER. It's true.

I DID CATCH YOU. And that's actually surprising, because normally I'm not good at catching similarity in style. But now that I've seen your stuff a bit I can recognize it. This makes me happy~ Anyway. FUCK YES COMFY SWEATERS. They are wonderful and warm which is helpful when you don't have heat. ... Er.

(You get yelled at for wearing sweaters in summer too? So do I. Or at least, I did, when I lived with my parents. But it's like... dude, I'm in the basement, and you have the AC going full-blast. OF COURSE I AM COLD.)

Your point about really big threads being harder on the computer than long ones makes perfect sense now that I think about it. Since I don't get involved in a lot of that kind, I hadn't really considered it before. Geeeze, that World Conference thread was HUGE.

Duplo's posted at the meme a few times, actually; but when we've threaded together, it has always been in sub-threads, not ones that he started. We've threaded twice at the meme, according to my log, but I think they've posted a few other times since their first thread as well. aklsdjf Normally I'm not one who says "they should post more", because of course I support people playing according to whenever they feel like it, but mannnn... I wish he'd post more. ~~And this person does play two other characters - rather quirky ones, really~~

I find that the meme has started to get a teeny tiny bit slower, but not much. I figure by the time September is over things will be slower, but... Gah, I don't know. You know, with so much RP nowadays, and a higher population of users, I don't see it slowing all that much. It's kind of frustrating. Just a little bit. It would be nice not to miss fifty million things just because I went and had a life for an hour or two. Ah, well. I'm generally pretty good at forcing myself to do work when there is no other option, so I think I'm good.

Anyway. I AM CRAZY. I certainly am. But there is a sort of logic to my madness. I think. In any case, you've now been educated regarding a small (and probably useless to you) piece of Newfie slang. Now, you say you like being able to have the voice when you read it... In my case, I need to have the voice when I write it. Since I rely so much on dialogue (both internal and external) I need to know exactly how they would speak. Though it doesn't always make things easier to write (gods know, I certainly know how Sweden and Norway speak, but they're a pain in the ass to write). But without the voice I can't do it.

It's rare for girls to be my favourite character in a series - at least a visual series; often it's different in literature. I guess the reasons you suspect for girl characters being disliked make sense, though I'd say the "feeling threatened" and "getting in the way" bits are pretty ridiculous, even if it makes sense that people would feel that way (people do not always follow earth-logic). I find it very strange that people spazz out if their OTP, be it slash or otherwise, doesn't become canon. I mean, who cares? Realistically, it probably never had a chance - especially slash, I mean really, talk about unrealistic expectations - and why does it matter so much, anyway? I mean, there's nothing to keep a person from writing fic or doing art about other pairings, regardless of whether it's canon or not. Then again, I've never understood this whole thing about holding hard-and-fast to canon, because departures can be done in fic, but they have to be done well, and logically.

Female characters being written badly though... yes, that's something I definitely understand, and I can definitely see that. I've certainly seen a lot of stuff with female characters who were just... very difficult to like. It's especially easy to notice when there are very few women in a series (like Fushigi Yuugi, for example). Now that I think of it, there was some of this problem in my last fandom as well. Since you asked, that was Weiss Kreuz, 2001-2003 or so (man, has it been that long? I had to go check my ancient fanfiction.net account to find out. Thought it was more recent). Anyway, that was the last fandom I was actually active in, aside from My Little Pony but that was focused on collection/restoration rather than the, er, show and fic and stuff... where am I going with this. OH RIGHT. Weiss Kreuz. It had some female characters that were pretty awesome, but most of them didn't have a lot of screen time compared to the main male charaters, and they tended to get ignored a lot in fic. Though
I was only involved in the fanfiction writing side, so maybe things were different in other ways. Hard to tell.

Fables, you say? I've heard of it. At one point I considered picking it up, but my ex was a fan, and... eh... well, you probably know how it is. But I'm sure after a while all that bitterness will have worn off and I'll be able to read it.
I used to be really big into comics, but man, they're expensive, and it isn't like you ever run into them at the used book store. So I've kind of slowed down what I've been reading. I still need to get through Maus, and I haven't read all my volumes of Moomins, but that's all I have at the moment. I really want to read more, though. In my 4th year of undergrad I took a course on comics as literature, and ahhhhh so much good stuff to read (though we didn't touch any Gaiman). Though the analysis bit wasn't as fun, hah.

As far as art goes, pencil crayons are really the only thing that I've had consistent access to, and they're the only thing that I've become really, really good at. I use them for pretty much everything (when I do draw). And normally people end up thinking it's photoshop if they see it online, or pastel if they see it in real life - because the colours are so smooth and the texture does not look the way they would normally expect it to look. I sometimes feel kind of... smug, I guess, when they get all wide-eyed and like, "What? Pencil crayon? No way!". Hah.

Paint Shop Pro is kind of archaic I guess, but it gets the job done. I bought my copy - this was way back and I'm pretty sure torrents didn't exist - and I haven't really bothered to move on, I just keep using PSP7. I think part of the reason that digital colouring takes me longer than physical colouring is partly because I'm just better at real media, and more used to it, so I can blend colours more quickly, get them to look exactly the way I want them to. Also, when doing digital, I have to use my non-dominant hand, which slows things up a bit. Well, whatever the reason, coloured pencils take me a couple days, whereas digital takes a week or more, and that's if I constantly sit there and do it.

It really, really bothers me that digital is looked at more highly than traditional, at least in the online world. I know that digital art looks better on a computer, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with traditional - and yet, I've gotten so many comments saying "Oh, this is okay, but you'd do so much better with photoshop". I DON'T WANT TO USE PHOTOSHOP. And I know they think they mean it as a compliment, but it really, really comes off as if they're putting down my medium, and arghhhh. Nooooo. (Now I just feel like whining).

Multi-talented people are just like, wow. Fortunately a lot of the ones that I know about/follow/etc are so good that I can't even bother being envious of their skill; I just sit back and enjoy the pretty. Like Ursula Vernon, oh my god, so good. *flails* The things she can do with paint, good lord. Or a few hours with a tablet. alksdfj.

...Anyway. You do make a good point about how artists are hardly ever satisfied with what they do. And I know this. Hell, I know some people who are excellent, but they feel everything they do is crap... But generally, I realize when I do something that's pretty good. The problem is that drawing anything at all, even something simple, takes me forever (days/weeks), and in the end it still doesn't look anything like what I was trying to do, and it doesn't look all that good, either. There was a point several years back where it wasn't so bad, and I think it's because I wasn't as concerned about things looking like what they were supposed to be. I dunno. Maybe someday I'll start trying to draw again, even if it's just so I'll have something to colour. I still have all these Prismas sitting around, after all.

Moving on to fic now. It's funny that you mention England/Canada and that whole thing where those stories actually end up being US/UK in disguise - considering there was a thread today about precisely that thing. A buddy of mine really likes UK/Can, and apparently like, half the stuff out there that claims to be UK/Can actually isn't. It's a damn shame, and I really should get around to writing more with them, just to try and even it out a little. Fff.

I guess you're right when you say that some characters click or not. Denmark for me - and also Iceland for me. I''m still not sure what to think about the guy. No matter how much fic I read about him, he doesn't stick. I follow a certain Icy RPer, too, and even though I love the way they play, I can't find myself seeing Iceland as being the way they play him - but I also can hardly see him at all. (I don't know if that sentence made sense). There's so little that I can see in my head, but what I can see isn't really the same as the other stuff I run across, and in the end I'm left thinking, "Okay, what the hell do I do with this guy?". But I guess when I start writing him more, I'll figure it out.

(And don't worry, you didn't make me worry, ff. I actually don't really fret all that much, except sometimes when it comes to the people who are very difficult to write. And even then it's more like, "ARGH. I can see you, and I can hear you, why can't I write you?!")

Ffff. Maybe you do sound like Denmark! Or maybe not. <3 Mostly I based it off how my family from the Drumheller area speaks. Kind of a lazy drawl. MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING FAMILIAR. MAYBE NOT. 8D

So anyway, on the computer front - no, I'm definitely stuck playing tech support. Even if I sent her a book on the subject, she wouldn't read it, and if she did read it, she wouldn't understand it. *facedesk* Lovely. Alas, I must endure calls of "THE INTERNET IS BROKEN".

Moving on. Yeahhh, I was kidding. But considering it wasn't totally obvious, you get a pass there. ;p Er, by explanation about the whole recluse thing... it's kind of a long story, but basically there was a period from maybe late Feburary until July when I went into this huge depressive episode and gradually withdrew from everything completely. After a while I stopped going to classes completely (though I still showed up to teach my class - I can fuck up my own life, but I wouldn't let my students down) and I didn't finish my essays, and I missed my exams. There were various contributing factors, including the fact that my furnace was broken for at least two months during this time, and there were relationship things I was upset about, etc. Eventually I also stopped answering my parents' phone calls and I stopped checking my school e-mail, and I only went outside to go to the grocery store and occasionally the cafe. Most of my time was spent in bed.

So basically, it was this huge downward spiral, but luckily I've managed to pull myself out of it. I've settled everything with the department, and I'm allowed to come back for another year, and I won't suffer academic penalty. (The only reason I'm going into this is because, well, all the entries about it are public anyway, and I don't really mind talking about it, because somehow talking about it helps). Now that I'm no longer pretending to be Emily Dickinson (so to speak), I can get on with things.

I haven't had a "real" job during university, so I'm not really sure how difficult it will be. Last year I had two jobs, but they were at the school. One was at the writing centre, and I taught there in a three-hour block every Friday. That didn't take up a lot of time, and sometimes it was very slow so I was able to read my textbooks or write stories. My other job was a bit more difficult; I was a TA for a professor who taught first-year English. So I had to go to the lectures for those first-year courses (so I would know what he was teaching). Then I had to teach 20 of the students for an hour every Friday. These sessions were mostly discussion, and it was difficult because it was at 8:30 AM and a lot of the time the students didn't want to talk because they were sleepy, or they didn't want to talk because they hated the book. Sigh. I also had to mark and grade their essays (except for the final exams, which the professor marked). The actual time in the classroom wasn't much, but preparing for teaching (and reading all the novels they were studying) as well as marking the stuff took quite a while.

...Anyway. Moving on. If you could enlighten me as to why people on the meme might find me intimidating, I'd really appreciate it. This goes double if it's anything that I might be able to change. I want to be approachable, both online and offline. I don't want people to think I'm scary. So if it's something about my behaviour that can be adjusted, then I'm fully willing to work on that. As for me being a Norway or a Sweden offline, I still say I'm closer to Sweden - but with an enormous dose of derp. I want to speak, but I have to think it over 2093483 times before I can say it - not because I'm concerned about getting it right, like Sweden is, but because it takes me ages to think of a response beyond "hurr durr derp". So like, I'm civil and stuff, but I don't talk much because I can't... think of anything to say, at all. This is a real pain in the ass in class situations, let me tell you. By the time I manage to think of something to contribute to the discussion, someone else has already said it.

Now, as for television, yeah... you basically hit it right on the head. I mean, with the old stuff, it's more about solving the mystery through logic + evidence, then the courtroom drama that followed. Now it's all just SHINY SHINY SHINY. And it has become more about the personal lives of the detectives/CSI people/whatever than about the crime. Ah, well. I don't really find myself interested in anything on television except crime stuff, news, and the occasional documentary, so... as you can probably guess, I hardly ever watch televisionm, though I own one. (Mum keeps saying I should upgrade my cable package. Pfft, can't be bothered...)

Now, back to writing stuff - yeah, I guess I might be able to transplant the personalities into something else. Right now I'm kind of burnt out on original fiction I guess (which is why I'm writing fanfiction), but when I get back in the groove I might try. When I was trying to salvage things before I gave up, I figured that maybe what I could do is start over, strip it of all the mystical stuff, and make it some sort of story about a kid who aspires to be a star and the music teacher who's trying to help him make it big.

Julian (the Jesus kid) was one of the ones with a fully fleshed-out personality. This is partly because I had been fiddling with him for longer than most of the others. Same thing goes for Francois, the vampire. Man, do I ever miss writing him. He was so much fun. The kind of person I would really want to know, you kow? (And now I realize that I'm starting to talk about them as if they're real people, but... In a way, they really are like old friends)

I guess you're right about ridiculous things being capable of being written seriously. It's just one of the things that turned me off from my original ideas, though. Everything was so... grand, and so ridiculous, but I wrote it so seriously. My ex once asked me (about the Jesus story) "Isn't this supposed to be satire?" Well... no. Actually, no. And after a time I came to find it all so frustrating, like things didn't match up. And I can't really think of a "real" (Published) thing that is like that - ridiculous, but handled seriously. Discworld serious maybe, but that's very obviously satirical. Sigh. I don't know. I guess that's why I really wish I could latch on to that ghost story idea and write it; it's like, the only thing I've ever come up with that isn't totally huge and ridiculous. It actually makes a lick of sense.

Anyway. Moving on to real life. I am, indeed, a neat freak. If things are out of place, it really stresses me out. This is partly because I like things to be in their place, but also (I guess) because I was raised in a way that kind of drilled into my head... well, if you don't keep things completely neat and tidy, you're a bad person, basically. I know it's not true, but I guess my subconscious or whatever is stuck on that, because I'm always cleaning. Sigh. Anyway, yeah, I have seen that show - my mum watches it all the time. Crazy shit, that. ... And every time she watches it, she flips out afterward and starts cleaning everything. Ffffff.

Oh, and the thing about bookshelves not being practical - well, what I mean is, having a bookshelf is practical. Good storage. But getting it there is... difficult. I don't have any transportation, and there isn't a place within walking distance where I could get the materials to slap something together. Hell, the bus doesn't even go to wal-mart, so getting something that folds down would be difficult. So while I like the idea, it's not as easy as it might seem.

Travelling through time and spaaaace~ Why didn't I think of that? Fff. This kind of reminds me of conversations I've had with a friend of mine, a classics major. Occasionally we have these wailing and gnashing of teeth moments in which we lament the loss of so many manuscripts and scrolls and pieces of literature etc over the years. Then we make up grand plans to build a time machine and go way back to save all the stuff from the library at Alexandria and so on. Ahhh, I wish!

I've run into similar people who have a prejudice against Canadian stuff, especially the literature. I think part of the reason for this is a tendency toward thinking that Canadian literature is all about, you know, people freezing to death on the prairies and so on. I try to stress the difference between that and the kind of thing I study by saying "No, not Canadian literature. Literature by Canadians." And then they tend to go "Ohhhh okay". Sigh. I wish that wasn't necessary.

I only get annoyed with Canadian lit being considered its own section if it's the only division. Like, general lit section, then Canadian off to the side. I don't like that. It should all be together. But the used book store I really like, the reall big one, it has all literature divided into author-location. Canadian, American, English, Scandinavian, Eastern European, African etc. It's helpful for when I'm trying to find something specific, especially with old stuff where I can remember origin but can't quite remember the author (or there is no author, in case of anonymous work) such as with some medieval stuff.

...As for what's wrong with Boyden, I just can't stand his work. I had to read Through Black Spruce for a class last year and I just found it So. Incredibly. DULL. Oh my god. Normally I don't dislike books, but eh... no. His work is just so blech. (Whoa, real articulate thar, Yuu)

Yeah, I don't get how it could be nothing either. I mean, all this history in one place... it's incredible. Then again, any history at all, I find fascinating. Even just living in Nova Scotia for a while was amazing, because everything's so old there compared to back home in Fort Mac. Fort Mac, that place has no history. It's like it just sprung up out of the valley one day. So to think of things that have been around for ages... wow.

Oh, and no, I never got around to posting the photos. I'm still editing them, actually. Derp. I'm so horrible about that. Really need to get that done... That as well as a graffiti photodump of the stuff I took pictures of a few weeks ago. Sigh, I'm so lazy.

Fic again - yeah, it's strange. I mean, there's a lot, but there's not a lot that interests me. Sooo I guess, to me, it seems like nothing, when really there is something, just not what I'm looking for (doesn't help that my interests are so narrow, but I guess that's my own fault). Argh, if only I liked US/UK. :| This would all be easier.

As for the kink meme, I don't check it much either nowadays. Though I really should be updating the Baltic index soon... anyway. Posting used to be very simple. There would be the part (which moved slowly in those days). Someone would request such-and-such. I'd see it, write it, then post directly in reply to the request, no problem. Then there would be a masterlist on the first page of the part, and you'd reply to that with the pairing + scenario in subject and link to the fill in the reply. Very simple. Now it's like, askdfh. You have to find the request, and keep track of where it is (because it moves so quickly). Then post it in the fill-post with link to the request. Then post a link to that in the fill-report post. It all seems very convoluted to me. Also, with the previous system, if one had a paid account then they could comment-track the replies to their request, and that way easily tell when/if it is filled without constantly checking. Or they could just check the fill-report thread on the first page of the part, and since it was subjects, just a glance would work. But with the new system it requires checking a separate post, and of course comment tracking for your request does no good any more, and I just don't like it. (Bah, ranting again).

Saaaay, the most recent Swe/Fin ones are good, eh? Thanks for the mention, I'll have to check them out. I love that stuff when it's well written. Problem is that a lot of it.... isn't. And man, I love it when people deanon. 'cause then I'm like, "OMG, that was you?!" I've made some excellent friends that way. Well, mostly Tikula, but anyway...

OH SO YOU GOT AROUND TO READING IT. AND YOU LIKED IT. THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY why am I capslocking fffff it is too late in the evening for me to be replying, I'm sorry. What I really mean is, I'm so happy that you liked it. I honestly was not expecting it to have such a good reception; man... all those comments, such a pleasant surprise.

And -- Paranoid to comment to me? Why? ... Er, well, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to... But anyway, you can always comment anonymously on anything that you want, if you feel that way. Anonymous commenting is enabled on all of my entries, always. It's actually always been that way; never really felt the need to require people to be logged in (and I'm pretty sure for a while I had some friends who didn't have LJ, which might also be why I kept it on. But that's neither here nor there.)

Anyway. All those terms like yandere and tsundere and so on, argh, I don't understand them at all. I guess part of it is because I've been out of fandom for so long, maybe. Argh, stuff like this makes me feel so old and out of the loop! But also I guess some of them are just untranslatable and you either get it or you don't. But I really don't like it that characters are reduced to those terms, when there is so much more to them than that. I love England, but the focus on the tsundere nonsense drives me up the wall and now I can hardly ever read England fic any more. Argh, it's enough to make me want to throw up my hands and just write some England/Canada to get all this anger out of my system. Something like what I did with "The Sun Rising" or, argh, I DON'T KNOW. *facedesk* Trying to be an example again. I don't even know if any of that ever actually works out, but I still try, because I know that people have considered pairings they wouldn't consider before, because of my stuff, so why not ways to portray characters -- Oh, I don't know, it's late and I'm babbling. I'm sorry. On to something different.

A Bulgaria-style invasion would be interesting, but myself and my buddy are totally not capable of something that epic. And to be honest -- at this point in the meme, I don't think it would go over very well, if you understand what I mean.
But possibly we will have a thread someday. I'll have to practise my sparkletext. The person I'd be going up against is a sparkletexter/spammer of epic proprotions, so I'd totally get creamed either way, but even so, one must put in an effort!

Ack, school. Good luck with that, darlin'! My first class is on Thursday and I'm a little bit freaked out, but I think it will be okay. I hope. At least this year I'll be doing something relevant to my interests (editing medieval texts, yessssss)

I look forward to hearing from you whenever you have a spare moment. <3

PS: Holy shit. I. Uh. I think I broke my own brain with how long this thing is. Just, WAT. (Good gods, I hope you never get bored with my babbling...)

That's probably just cause you've seen my Norway before, I bet. You think you'd be able to catch me if I had posted a picture of Canada or Poland? And as far as comfy sweaters are concerned, I'm inside most of the time anyways so I like to think that I can get away with wearing them in the summer, but alas, it's just not meant to be. Making sure I wear summer appropriate clothing is one of the few things my mother is ridiculously uptight about. She usually makes me go out and get a few groceries from Safeway every day anyways, so I guess that's more reason for me not to be wearing a sweater. I dunno, I might be weird, but not being covered up for the most part makes me feel more uncomfortable than heat does :| I dress nicer when I get the chance to put on layers and cardigans and scarves anyways

I hardly read any of that beast. It got to the point where my computer just didn't want to (Expand) it anymore. Then again I don't usually read a lot of the big RP threads anymore, and by that I'm refering mostly to godmod/truth or dare/ooc/whatever else. Their novelty has worn off big time, especially since, err, I'm sure you know how most of the dares and such on there are like now. A lot of the bigger RP threads also end up being about stuff I don't really care enough to stalk, but then again, I don't think any harm is done in me reading those threads.

Aw man, really? I really haven't seen them around, other than in that camera thread. I will have to put on my duplodanish detecting goggles on then. Keep in mind saying "should post more" and "wish they'd post more" are different things :) (even if they may sometimes be used interchangeably pff). ~~well I'm not going to be sharing my hypothesis on the subject because I hate being wrong, and there's a damn good chance I could be wrong.~~

Part 50's been really fast, but then again, it's part 50. I won't say it's slower until it takes us three days to max something. I wonder what's making the bigger difference in regards to the speed of the meme, whether it's people having time to post, or if it's that more people have come by. I think

aphanon_meme should put up a flag counter on one of the new parts, I'd really like to see how many people actually go on the meme.

Oh, but I do recall going out for most of the day once, and coming back to only three new pages. It was pretty damn cool, not gonna lie.

~~You know there's a problem when you try to justify and excuse madness~~
I guess I can see what you mean? It's nice that you're finding distinct voices for each character. Tis a pity, when all characters sound the same.

I dunno. That whole spewing hate towards female characters because they're intimidated by usually comes from insecure girls, who still haven't realized that it's their own issues that are making them dislike the character, and not the actual personality traits of the character. Maybe I'm overly generalizing on this next statement, but from what I've seen, well, I've never seen that kind of thing coming from a girl whose happy enough with herself, or at least recognizes her insecurity as the source of her discomfort towards a character. Not saying every insecure girl will do this, I'm just trying to figure out why it might happen. I should probably spend less time making sense of crazy things fangirls do ichh

I do not get the fuss over a pairing being canon. I mean, it is nice to see subtext in a series, but I think that if a canon actually becomes canon, then most of the fun is gone. You'll have to write your fic around what happened in canon, and unless you go the AU root the amount of story possibilities = cut in half (if not more). You've got more freedom when the ship isn't canon. The only plus side would be that you could act unbearably smug about it, I guess? Ah, I dunno. I've never really been able to ship anything canon. Hell, I've never really been one to ship anything popular, this fandom is probably the first fandom I've been in in which my favourite pairing actually has a good amount of fanworks (even if I have issues with some of it)

And it's always irritating to hear someone rag on about how people shouldn't ship so and so because it's not "canon." Hello, what's fandom for again? Even if you write a fic about an established couple, what you're writing isn't canon. Let people have fun playing in the sandbox, goddamnit. Writing about a noncanon ship isn't a sin or anything.

Weiss Kreuz. . . is that the one that's. Actually, no. I'll just wiki it. /wikis and yup, it's what I thought it was. Saaay, it wouldn't be possible to just stumble upon your old fanfiction account, would it? Or do you keep it hidden from everyone, ashamed of it's contents? Ah, I'm just asking cause I think it's neat, seeing how someone's progressed. Whether that's with art or writing (I love love love it when people post comparisons, or "through the years").

My Little Pony fic? I'm not even surprised that it exists, I've seen worse. I've seen R-rated Brave Little Toaster fic, I think. Be honest, you read any of it?

hurr, actually, I don't. Here's hoping that bitterness wears off soon, the first few trades are really worth it. Here's where my comic nerd cred drops a bit, cause I've never gotten around to reading Maus either. I'm pretty sure it's available at the library though, I should probably get it out sometime after I'm done reading these five books I've bought that I haven't touched.

Comics as literature you say? That sounds like a hell of a class, actually! Would you be a pal and mind telling me a bit of what you looked over? If you don't mind, I mean.

Haha I can't blame you for feeling smug. I love misleading people for this kind of stuff, among other things. It's one of the nice little pleasures in life, methinks.

I just remember that when I was nine or so, I'd go about browsing neopets and forums and you'd get people arguing over PSP vs PS all the time. Oh god, I could go over pretty much every graphic design trend (for personal use, like icons or personal blog layouts) since 2001. This is slighlty frightening D:
anyways.

Torrents have existed for a long time, I thought? Wiki tells me BitTorrent's been up since 2001. Maybe they just weren't as possible, I guess. How much did that sucker cost you, anyways? I recall it being a cheaper than Photoshop, but then again, everything's cheaper than Photoshop (with the exception of like, 3d studio max, which was $1000 or something if I recall correctly).

Ahh, I dunno. The actual act of blending is easy on computer, but it seems harder because I don't know what I'm doing as much? I mean, it's just. . . you move your mouse and WHA LAA, BLENDED IN ONE STEP. You don't have to go over it again and again to get it how you want. So, uh, I guess the problem with me lies in it never blending it how I want it to blend, partially because I don't know what I'm doing, and also because I'm not really sure how I want it to look like in the first place. With pencil crayons I'm usually more sure of what I want. Er, you do mention the whole non-dominant hand bit, and now that you mention it, I can see where you're coming from. You wouldn't have the problem if you had a tablet, but it'd be a terrible waste of money to get a tablet unless you were, you know, devoted (if that's the right word).

What the hell, what that person(s?) said was just rude :| Have you really got that many people telling you that? I haven't even seen it being said all that often, I'm, uh, I'm pretty stunned. People are clueless, sometimes. THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT TRUE ART.

Hahaha well, now that you mention it I guess that there does come a point where someone can be so talented that you can't help but just observe the pretty. And I just looked up this Ursula Vernon woman, who sounded familiar despite me not knowing her work, and jesus christ is she the person who drew that pear. I mean, http://www.redwombatstudio.com/blog/wpg2?g2_itemId=423
man, why do I want a print of that. I want a print of everything from her weird fruit gallery, it's so delightfully bizarre ♥

Well, actually, if I understood what you said correctly, then I'll just say that if you want something you draw to look the way you want it to, it's best to not just only a few things and spend lots of time on them. Getting things to look how you want comes more with having an understanding of how what you're drawing works, and less to do with spending time on it. You improve a lot faster by just doing tons of quick sketches (it's even better if you do it in pen, cause you can't erase and where the lines should go becomes a lot more ingrained in your head). After having done dozens and dozens of drawings of something, you'll know how to draw it better and it'll take a lot less time to draw to boot. ~~I wish I had learnt this years ago~~ Hurr, I'm not even sure if you're interested in this advice though! I talked about this with another anon awhile back, and she said she'd post something in a few months for me (I hope she does). I don't know how this method compares with improving your writing, though.

I think you should, too. I don't even ship it, but you know, I'm here to tell you to write stuff. You'd be doing the world a favour, posting more stuff anyways. ho ho

ooh, well in that case. I guess I should expand on what I said before. I suppose I think of Norway the way you think of Denmark, and we both see Iceland the same way. I sometimes love Norway and sometimes I don't, but his character doesn't exactly elude me. Iceland though, I have no idea what to think of him either! I swear for two weeks, I loved him and I just "got" him and I have no idea what happened with that. I see a lot of people's portrayals of him, and while I can like them, it's not exactly how I think he'd be? I don't even know if I should be saying that because aelkjfaoe I don't have a clear idea either. I just know I don't like him being an exact duplicate of Norway, which I see sometimes.

Iceland's still a fine lookin character, though. Snappy dresser. He and I should totally go shopping one day. Poland can join. France too, simply cause it's France, ooh la la fashion capital of the world.

Okay, and pardon this irrelevant interlude of sorts, but I remember once we talked on the meme and I joked and said that you could make Australia/Estonia work. I just saw someone request that very pairing on the meme, pfff. I'm sorry I just thought of yuu

Well, I probably have a drawl of somesorts. I'm far too lazy to say words as they should be, sometimes. Why say Toronto when I can just say Tronno (I heard that's common in Canada, though). I wouldn't be surprised if it's been a long time since I pronounced the "g" in "-ing" and I do probably say "yer" more than your and. . . I really need to check how you wrote him. If it turns out I'm Denmark I am going to be pleased as punch in the most bizarre way.

Maybe she's just misses you and is desperate to hear the sound of your voice~ hence all the tech support calls.

!!!
Um, even if you're better and all now, and this might be redundant and even if I'm making too big a deal over it. . . /hugs ♥ I'm not big on the whole human contact thing in real life but I'm rather sure I'd give you a real hug for that. I'm glad you're better. I don't really know what to say because you say it's done and over with but still. kajetoaejt it's odd that you mention it because i've always been afraid of it happening to me and even my parents have talked it over with me orz orz orz okay moving on

Still, I'd take it that it involved the same amount of time that a "real" job would? If you're lucky you might score a job that doesn't make you do much at all and you can still have time to read textbooks or write stories, like a secretary. Unless you want to be kept busy, I guess. I'd hate to teach kids at 8:30 in the morning, oi. I know I'd probably be falling alseep if I had no interest in what we were doing. Did you have to go through that whole scenario of asking what everyone's thoughts were, only to have no one raise their hand?

D'aww, buddy, you aren't doing anything wrong at all :') You don't even need to change anything it's just. . . One of the reasons might be being, you, um, you tend to come off as pretty smart. and occasionally tl;dr-y. Now this is all part of your charm so if you decide to cut back on the tl;dr replies I might have to beat you senseless, but people might be afraid of saying something wrong around you or sounding dumb, especially if they've come to respect your opinions on certain matters. Ahh I dunno, I know it was like that for me, I really wanted to have a discussion with you about stuff and sometimes you'd reply to something I wrote and you'd say you agree or whatever but then I'd get too scared to actually reply back and get a conversation going cause I thought I'd get something totally wrong. still kind of am afraid sometimes, err. only a bit though!
It could also be cause you're a nice guy too, that bit may go over some people's heads. You certainly don't have to worry about being intimidating because you're acting like a dick or something.

Just wondering, does it take less time for you to think of something to say online? By online I don't mean so much replying to comments, but more of on instant messengers or something. Or is it the same amount of time, it's just seems worse offline because, well, you sort of need a reply faster online. Do you even have troubles finding something to say to people you know pretty well? ~~I ask way too many questions~~

Ahh, I don't even see the point in cable anymore. Most of the shows I watch I watch online anyways. I don't see why I should go pay for a bunch of channels I will never watch, and even on those channels I do watch from time to time, I'll only be interested in one program. Usually I only watch actual tv during breakfast, and that's because where we eat faces the tv in the living room. Even then, it's only the news. Though a few shows are starting up again and I'll probably be watching them on tv for a bit so I can fangasm over them with my buddy as we watch hehe

. . . does this mean if you get in the grove of writing original fiction again, you'll stop writing fanfic? :( I mean, do what you want buddy but :( we shall miss you. I don't see a problem with keeping any of the mystical elements in, though. It's nice to see mythical things with a twist done well, it really is.

I'm pretty interested in what "Julian's" personality would really be like. I always imagine a Jesus character go around acting like Buddy Christ or something, though. I really can't blame you for becoming attached to your characters like that, that kind of thing tends to happen. My friend and I actually created a character years ago, and we've written stories about him, and sometimes I bummed out that he's not even real.

Arrrgh, you know, first time I read this reply I swear I was able to think of an example of "silly idea done seriously" but now it's slipped my mind. If I remember I'll remember to tell you. Err, there's another book, not the one I originally thought of, and it's sort of like that. The Gone-Away World. It's not that silly and it is written to be funny at parts, but there are some crazy things that happen at the end of the book which are written about in all seriousness (something about mimes and ninjas fighting this big corporation, I don't remember exactly). Again, as far as I'm concerned, there's no harm in writing ridiculous stories. Do you think yourself incapable of writing in a more lighthearted/humour style?

My parents always told me that the biggest way to offend them and sort of piss on everything they've done for me is to keep my room messy. I think I'm messy, when I'm at home and I'm feeling too lazy to clean, but then when I go over to a friend's house that is, well, not as neat as mine, and i end up making a bit of a mess I'll always clean up what I did and even just the area around it so it's neater than what it was originally. Blah, I dunno. I guess we'll have to see when I move out. Which I'm not really planning on doing so soon (thank you, conveniently placed university).

Hell, the bus doesn't even go to wal-mart,
egads, what? You, err, you guys don't have a Staples or Grand N Toy or anything there either? Or maybe just a mall? Well, I dunno, you've probably looked over all the possibilities available to you so I suppose I can't say.

I wouldn't be surprised if you had nightmares of scrolls and ancient texts burning in fires, honestly.
Ooh, this is kind of off topic, but I haven't heard of anyone mention Alexandria in ages. Suddenly, I find myself wanting to buy the newest version of Civilization and build all the seven wonders for myself (I played those games all the time, when I was younger. Oh man).

Truthfully, I don't even know where half the authors I read come from (unless it's really obvious). They sell medieval stuff at your used book store? I hear you going on about this used book store of yours and man, it sounds like a party. The one I've been to doesn't have a great selection but it's pretty alright, I can't hate a place that lets me buy Crime & Punishment for $4 (my copy of The Brothers Karamazov was like. . . $30+ which, is, well. Yeah :| why oh why do I do these things )

Blech as in he only focuses on the boring bits or nothing interesting happens or he rambles on about mundane things like doorknobs? Oi, the fact that you had to read it for a class probably only made it worse, eh? (though if I had picked up a book that I didn't even like I'd probably make myself finish it. I can't bring myself to just quit a book, even if it makes me want to punch cute things).

How old is Fort Mac, even? My only impression of it has ever been "people who work in the oil industry live here," more or less (sorry!). Calgary's damn young too, and I don't even know when people started to move here (I'm not sure how we got one million people in here when not even one hundred years ago it could've still been called "the middle of nowhere"). I should probably go and learn about my own city a bit, ff.
Oh, and I should also add that all those old things just look real damn nice, too. I mean, maybe not so much buildings have been standing since 100 BC, but all those buildings say, err, after the Renaissance (I could be wrong with my time periods) are just so ridiculously ornate and pretty. Sure, modern architecture can be nice and all, but I still don't think it's quite as breath taking as seeing a ceiling painted with the angels and saints (or whatever). Ah, just me.

Well, you posted them now~ so many deer aetjoiatje SO ADORABLE. You got some real gorgeous photos too, it kind of makes me want to post my own dump for whenever I end up going to the mountains next (though that would probably be when there's snow everywhere).

I guess my problem is that even if I'm pretty well rounded, most of my ships are pretty rare. Actually, I don't even think they're that rare, it's just that only US/UK, Prussia/Austria, and Spain/Romano are posted. Yet when you ask people from the meme their favourite ships or their favourite rare ships, a lot of people will bring up the same ship that isn't being posted. Come on guys, stop avoiding the main comm and post there so I can have something to enjoy ;___;

Oooh, I remember them posting all that to the front. I never really paid attention to what it was all about cause I got everything from the kink aid. You guys have got it tough. I kind of feel compelled to post something there now, what with all the requests and stuff. Shame that people just keep bitching about it, the kink meme should be a happy place. A happy place not filled with requests that are five paragraphs long (I can forgive someone elaborating if they think their request will be misunderstand but having a story already that you just want someone to put into words is weak).

I enjoyed them, at least. And by recent I mean after the last post the kink aid made. I don't think my expectations are all that high for fic sometimes because I care much more about the ideas/characterization more than the actual story writing, but I still think they were genuinely good fills. I swear the writer is the same for a lot of them, judging by the way she writes "Sweden-Speak" and she keeps mentioning certain attributes or using certain descriptions that I don't hear often elsewhere. ahhh I don't usually try and friend people whose work I admire. I dunno, not because I think their intimidating (not usually) but I'm too worried I'll come off as. .. I'm not sure. Just something not good.

HOHOHO YES I DID YES I DID.
I think all those comments were a sign that there are quite a lot of Baltic fans around, but they just don't make themselves known because all that there is is, of course, Russiarape.

Well, I could explain. It's just me being silly and awkward. For all I know I could comment, under my user name on here and you could go a-lurkin on my lj and find out it's me. You finding out my user would probably cause me to run under a bridge in embarrassment and shame and would also result in me saying sorry a lot and a bunch of really stupid stuff aeiotjaeoitj orz doesn't even cover it. Ah, I dunno, I'm probably worried that you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore or I've done something somewhere that gave you a bad impression of me (which is probably absurd, I know, but my paranoia knows no bounds).

I've been in fandom, but these things are really only common in Japanese based fandoms (not so much in other ones, I don't think you're going to hear anyone calling a Doctor Who character tsundere). England used to be one of my favourites but the fandom keeps on focusing on his tsundere side and his Britannia Angel side and his Pirate side and his drunken waiter side (all of which I tihnk are fine as long as they aren't the focus, they're fun sides to the character because they're typically OOC) and I'm just all, "where is my stuffy, stiff upper-lipped British gentlemen?!" It's probably wrong to wish that I wish he was portrayed as more stereotypically British by the fandom, isn't it? I just can't see someone's version of England as "England" unless I can see him in a typical British comedy (and truth be told, I could easily see the canonstrips!England like that so I guess it's not too bad of a judgment)?
dude, there is no harm in you babbling here. I thought we established this.
:D

I was just getting my imagination get to the best of me, really. Maybe I'll draw the epic showdown between Edward and Estonia one day, after I'm done drawing 5000 other things.

Your lj tells me that today was your first day of class. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

I'M REALLY SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG. arghhh I was barely home last week (I couldn't stay up to type a reply either, I had to get off at like, nine thirty because of how early I had to wake up) and, err, I could only type bits of this reply up at a time. Okay, excuse excuses I know but I'm sorry nevertheless.

I will never get bored of your babbling, just so you know ♥

I JUST REALIZED I GOT THE SUBJECT WRONG (WHAT IS THIS "SORRY, BUT" DOING THERE)

FORGIVE ME ;____;

Well, I frequently do check for white text, because a lot of people use it. But if you use whitetext, I'll probably mistake you for whitetext binary anon, especially because nowadays she doesn't always use binary *flail* But I guess that's all part of talking to anonymouses. Anonymi. Whatever.

You're probably right - Iiii probably wouldn't have caught you under any other condition. Or maybe I would have. I'll have you know, I'm going to be stalking wip threads from now on, trying to find you. :| It's a game, in a way. Hah. <3 Anyway, you know, that thing you mention about how not being covered up makes you more uncomfortable - yes, yes, I'm much like that as well. It drives my parents nuts. Unless I'm out running, I refuse to wear shorts, and I generally prefer to wear long sleeves as well. "AREN'T YOU TOO WARM?!" Well, sometimes, but I'd be warm regardless, and anyway, lightweight cotton even with long sleeves is much better than the short-sleeved polyester nonsense that my parents are always buying me. And I feel very uncomfortable when I'm exposed. I just need to cover up. Maybe it's weird, but I don't care much, so people should just stfu about it, far as I'm concerned.

When it comes to RP, to be honest I don't read much of it at all, and especially not the big ones like - as you mentioned - truth or dare etc. For the most part they're just dull now, and the dares are certainly er, not the sort of thing I'm interested in. Sometimes I'll participate with Truth if I'm really bored, but that's about it. A lot of the RP that goes on now just... doesn't interest me, at all. So I'm just kind of floating around, thinking, "... Righto, then. Whatever".

Hah, Duplo popped up again recently, not sure if you saw that. Anyway, I tend to miss him too - wouldn't have known about his recent appearance at all if Icy hadn't messaged me all, "Dude, he showed up, GO GO GO". Nngh, if only he showed up more. That's really the only times I play nowadays, is when he's around. I just -- I don't know. Guess I'm in some sort of slump.

Holy shit, it was part 50 when you were writing this... man, am I ever slow. And lazy. Then again, school has been stressing me out, so there we are. But anyway, I guess you're right, it's still hard to tell when it will slow down. It's quite active during the evenings, but for much of the day it is not - the "dead hour" is getting extended, because of the periods when the North Americans are at school. Mind, a lot of the time I'm home during that hour, but at least the Euroanons are around then, and that suits me fine. And it's nice to be able to go to school and come back and not have a zillion new pages to read. Maybe just one or two. And a lot of the content is actually just spam anyway, so catching up doesn't take a lot of effort.

~~There's nothing wrong with a little madness. Shush, you.~~

Anyway, yeah. I'd suggest trying to spend less time trying to make sense of the crazy things fangirls do, because really, you ain't gonna come to any logical conclusion, darlin'. People are just plain weird. However, when you put it that way, it does seem logical that people would have such feelings toward fictional women (or real women for that matter) due to their own insecurities. Otherwise, well - what logical reason would there be for someone to express such hate toward someone or something that doesn't actually matter?

Of course, this goes for things related to fiction and fandom in general, too. I don't know how many times I've run into, say, Harry Potter shipping-related nonsense on fandomsecrets and found myself thinking that these people must be crazy in some way because of all the absolute hate that they toss at each other. Sometimes it gets absolutely venomous, and I can't see why someone would put the effort into all that hate (I do feel that actively hating something does take effort) unless they themselves had unresolved issues/insecurities of some sort.

Edited 2009-09-25 09:50 (UTC)

"You've got more freedom when the ship isn't canon"
You know, for a while, I was unable to figure out why I prefer non-canon pairings. You just hit the nail right on the head. It might also be why I like minor characters. There is just so much freedom there in terms of what has happened to them previously and what can happen to them in the future, and as far as pairings go, the options are wide open - if you're skilled, you can make almost anything work, and in almost any circumstance that you want. I guess I just don't like being tied down or wedged in by someone else's rules. This might be because I'm so used to writing original fiction; I'm used to being the one who decides what's what. (Hmm, maybe this is why I find characters like the Nordics so appealing - not a lot to go on there).

.. Anyway. I do agree with you, that it's so friggin' annoying when people say non-canon stuff shouldn't be shipped. As far as I'm concerned, not-canon stuff is part of the point of fan-anything, but particularly fanfic. It's taking something and then expanding on it. Canon isn't a jigsaw puzzle; it's more like building blocks.

Moving on. o Weiss Kreuz. Pfft. That series is SO TERRIBLE, but I love it any way, even now. There were some parts that were really awesome, in a ridiculous sort of way. As for my fanfiction, well, since it's still up and all, I guess I'll just link it. Here. Ohgods. SO BAD. And some of it is just... oh god. But in my defense, I was pretty young, and it was a really long time ago. The earliest stuff - some of the Digimon fic - some of that was written almost ten years ago. Shit, now I feel old. Looking back on it, I find that sometimes it actually wasn't too bad, or sometimes the idea was okay but just executed very badly (badly written). One thing that does please me, though, is that I was pretty damn prolific. Looks like nothing has changed in that regard.

You definitely shouldn't be surprised that MLP fic exists, though I can't say how active the fandom actually is with regards to fic (fanart, on the other hand... there's a lot of it). The vast majority is low-rated, from what I've seen. Anyway, I'm friends with some fellow collectors who write fic, and I've read a little bit. It was all right. Most of it is based on the 80s cartoon, so if you aren't familiar with it or can't remember exactly what went on, stuff is a little bit hard to follow. As far as MLPFandom goes, I'm definitely more into the collecting and restoring part than the other stuff - as are, it seems, the majority of people involved.

Anyway. Fables, well - I'll get around to it eventually, as with a squillion other things. Now that you mention you haven't read Maus, I don't feel as bad about not having read Maus yet. I mean, I know it's one of the major important works in western comics, but man... I just don't have the time! But it is on my bookshelf for when I do have the time. Argh, I have so many things that I haven't gotten around to. Most of the library that I have in my apartment is unread stuff! I just don't have time during the school year.

The comics as literature class was AWESOME. The professor was a bit of a wingnut, but the class itself was great. We covered... hmm, let's see. Here are the titles: Satrapi's "Persepolis", Jansson's "Moomins", Oakley's "Thieves and Kings", Bechdel's "Fun Home", Barry's "One Hundred Demons", Tezuka's "Buddha", and probably some other things that I can't remember. For the ones that were a series (Buddha, Thieves&Kings etc) we usually only covered one volume. Mostly we just studied them the same way that we would any other literature, though we also took a close look at the artwork and the role it played - for example panel arrangement, or the use of dialogue or no dialogue, etc. The professor actually didn't know a whole lot about comics; she specialized in children's literature, especially picture books.

...Oh gods. Arguments of PSP vs PS. I remember all that nonsense. The arguments could get quite ridiculous (I remember them at Deviantart and such) and it's just... whatever. People insisting that PSP couldn't be any good, that PS was far better, what kind of idiot would use PSP, pfft. And people would try to use photomanipulations and such to prove their point that PS was superior, and I find myself thinking... how does that even work? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Photoshop by its very design more suited to manipulating photographs? And I just -- honestly. The only tools I use on the rare occasions that I do digital colouring are layers and the paintbrush at various opacity. Why bother pirating some huge program when I can use something smaller and simpler? But ahhh, sometimes the internet is just one big pissing contest. Whatever.

I'm pretty sure that when I started getting interested in digital stuff, I was running a computer that couldn't handre torrents. And/or I didn't know that they existed (entirely possible). I was 14/15 or so, and not very computer literate. Anyway, IIRC, at the time that we bought PSP it was around $80 CAD, whereas Photoshop was... gods, I don't even know. Some ridiculous price. My mum looked at the PS price and was like "HELL NO" but I didn't care much because I knew that PSP was okay too, haa.

Hmm, I dunno. In my case, I switch colours so often when I'm blending that it's just a pain in the ass - moving back and forth between layers and colours in the program, whereas in real life I can just grab another pencil. And issues with precision as well - though I guess that would be easier with a tablet. As with the dominant hand thing, yes. Sigh, at one point, I did want a tablet, but... even when I did draw a lot, I never felt like using the computer often enough to justify it, and now I hardly do it at all, so there we are. Though I must admit having one to piss around with would be pretty ace.

And yes, I have gotten people saying that sort of thing regarding photoshop and my colouring, etc. Pisses me off so much. Most of these comments came from back when I still posted stuff at Deviantart and Elfwood, IIRC. Argh, people don't know anything, but thinking about it still pisses me off. (And don't even get me started on the dude that said my art looked "amateurish" because I like to use bright colours...)

Anyway. YES. URSULA VERNON. Eee~ Yeah, she's the one who drew the pear (I remember the pear from before it was a meme. Go me!). Her weird fruit is awesome and when I have the money (someday) I want to get prints of all of it. Right now I only have one print, this one - one of the limited edition sizes, huge, signed and everything. I'm hugely fascinated with plague doctors so when I saw that she painted that one, I just had to have it. I've been following her work for years, and man, it keeps getting better.

With drawing... mostly it's the finished things that take forever. The ones I want to colour, I mean. With those ones I set out intending to start something and finish it. But no matter what I do it never turns out right. Way back I either didn't notice when things looked wrong, or I didn't care, but now I notice and it bothers me. I do scribble and stuff when I have time, but it seems nothing changes much, and in the end I still hate everything. Aaa, at this point, I'm just ready to stop with it, because it does nothing but make me discouraged.

With writing, it's hard to say. People do say "just write, write about anything" but I find that difficult because it's extremely hard for me to write some throw-away paragraph with no point to it. I need some sort of end to work to. But when I do have an idea, I write it, and I keep it even if it turns out to be crap. The thing is that even if something is crap, sometimes you can salvage it by editing the hell out of it. Mediocre prose can be minimalized into prose-poetry and sometimes the effect is great. Or with poetry, one can take the lines, rework them, change it into something that's okay. It's a lot easier with shorter stuff - if I had to try to salvage a long story or a novel I think I would rather stab my eyes out with a fork - but it's all right.

... I also find that writing when you feel like it, and not writing when you don't feel like it, helps. Forcing oneself to write just turns out awful stuff.

Anyway, okay, I think I get you now. And mnh, Iceland as a duplicate of Norway? You've seen that in fic? Mann. I wonder where people got that idea. Looking at the source material, I can't see it at all. Ah, well, no matter. Speaking of source material - now that we have more of it (OMG YAY) I think I might be able to get a better handle on everyone's character, though I do need to re-read it a few more times. Eeeee, so excited about this~

(Sidenote, pfft. I CAN MAKE ANYTHING WORK or, well, almost anything. It pleases me that you thought of me. <3 )

Moving on. *squeeze* Saa, well. I really appreciate the thought, anyway. Things are better now, but I really need to keep my eye on myself and make sure I don't slip into any more bad habits. I can't afford to have that happen again. ...If you ever need someone to talk to about this issue, like if you're having a similar problem or something, we would talk about it maybe. Just putting that out there.

About jobs - well, the amount of work was maybe the same, but the thing with the school jobs is that aside from maybe 4 hours, all of the hours per week were not set. So with set hours, it might interfere with my studying, depending on various factors. I tend to prefer stuff that is very labour-intensive with little time to sit around and do work, so I dunno. Next semester I might be able to do something of that kind, but we'll see.

Teaching was both wonderful and awful. I didn't really mind the 8:30 AM part, even though it meant I had to get up early. Mostly the thing that bothered me was that whenever I tried to get them to discuss things - because part of the point of this thing was that they would engage in discussion, you see - I was met with a class full of slack-jawed black-stares. Like cows. And of course, all the whining about how they hated everything we had to read. And many of them couldn't write a sentence to save their lives. But some of them were okay. I remember one time, toward the end of the year, a student approached me about his work. He'd gotten off to a rocky start, but had improved steadily over the year, both in terms of English (it wasn't his first language) and actually writing the papers. The final paper he handed in to me, I graded as an A, and he was just so happy and said he'd really enjoyed being in my class and that he wanted to go on and take more literature courses in the future and I just. ;~; Ahhhh I was so happy.

So. I'm not doing anything wrong? That's good to know. I still wish people wouldn't be all intimidated by me, but at least I know that it isn't because I'm a douche or something. I mean, occasionally I was a douche (usually just in chat though) but now I've learned to step away from the meme on days when I've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed so to speak, so... there we are. Sigh. Tl;dr is right, but oh man, if only they knew I ain't as smart as I seem. Oh, well. (You? Still afraid? Oh come on, darlin', don't be scared!)

When it comes to instant messengers, I do have similar problems, though it's not quite as bad because the expectation is not for something as instantaneous as real life. It does take me a while to think of something to say though. Occasionally people interpret this as me ignoring them, when really I just have no idea what to say. (Not to mention that I have a habit of wandering off during extended pauses to go do other things, like laundry, or occasionally I'll go flop on my bed while waiting for a response, and end up falling asleep while waiting for a reply, so then people again think I'm ignoring them...) Even with people I know pretty well, I have trouble thinking of something to say. In some ways though, this is partly because I have very little to talk about. Pretty much every day is exactly the same, so if I'm talking to the same person every day, I run out of things to talk about very quickly. It's frustrating, because people get pissed at me about it, act like I don't want to talk to them (had this problem with an ex, ugh) when really I literally don't have anything to talk about. Sigh. So there we are.

Original fiction - yeah. Sorry to say, if I do manage to start writing it again, I'll probably stop writing fanfiction, because I'll be distracted by another project. I can only handle so many things at once! But I do think that it will be a very long time before I'm able to start writing original fiction again, so at least I'll be sticking around for quite a while. The thing about fanfiction, I find, is that it takes a lot less effort than original fiction. Maybe it's mostly because the source material is there, and the source material is ridiculous, so I don't have to worry if my plot/characters are dumb.

Thinking back on the story with Julian now, in some ways I'm tempted to put it up somewhere, but I'm reluctant because it's dumb, unfinished, and really fucking long. Sigh. Even though I haven't worked on it for a few years, I'm still attached to it. Maybe I shouldn't be, I dunno'. Anyway, stylistically, I really don't think I can do something lighthearted/humourous. When y'get right down to it, I'm not very funny at all. I'm a serious person by nature, and when I try to write something that isn't, it falls flat. I can do romance and pathos pretty well, but some other stuff, deeeefinitely not so much.

Ugh. Mess. MESS. MY HOUSE. RIGHT NOW IT IS A MESS. You've reminded me that I need to clean up tomorrow. :| Or sometime in the next few days, anyway. There is mess all over the place, and I feel like a bum. If my mum could see this, she'd be flipping out. "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR LIVING SPACE" etc etc. Sigh. Ah, well.

Nightmares about scrolls and texts burning? Honey, you are spot on. Seriously, when I read about what happened to the Beowulf manuscript, I CRIED. I really did. ... Now that I think of it, that's kind of pathetic, but there it is. I guess it's just that I love dusty old things so much, and I wish we could preserve them forever, and alas, no. And to think that a part of them might be lost forever, ahhhhh. It's so sad.

They do sell medieval stuff at the used bookstore here! Well, there are actually two that I go to - the White Cat, which is downtown, and Westgate, which is bigger but more difficult to get to. They both have rather sizeable medieval sections probably because medieval literature and history is taught at the university, right, so that's where (I would guess) the vast majority of it comes from. The prices aren't always ace, but for the most part I don't care so much; I'm just happy to be able to find it. I mean, the only place I can usually get this stuff is online, and sometimes I can't even find it online... so there we are. I'm not used to living somewhere where things are so easily available; Fort Mac is Fort Mac, and Wolfville was so tiny that you couldn't really find anything at all.

Boyden - If I recall correctly (it has been a year, so I might remember wrong) I think the main problem is that stylistically, he was trying to be artsy, and failed at it, instead coming out rather bland. It was like biting into a sandwich that looked pretty good, but really just tasted like sawdust.

Anyway, Fort Mac - the place has been around since the early 1900s, but it wasn't until the 80s that it became a city. It didn't start to get big until 2000, and after I left in 2004, that's when it really started to explode. Don't feel bad about the whole "people who work in the oil industry live here" thing, because it's completely true. Either you're there because you work in oil or you're there because your parents work in oil. At the first opportunity, people get out. That's how it is.

I agree with you on the matter of architecture. Old stuff is so beautiful. Even things that have been around since the medieval period, which isn't exactly known for being gorgeous, have a quiet beauty about them. And the thing about modern stuff is, it might look pretty slick, but it just doesn't seem built to last. It doesn't even look solid. Seems like everything is made of glass and clapboard. 'specially when you compare it to stuff like the Old Town in Tallinn or the medieval buildings at Visby or whatever (these ones, just on my mind because I was looking at photos today, ahh). Feh, maybe I'm just biased, I don't know.

Aha, so you did see my Waterton photos~ good thing I finally got them up. I think I might go take more photos when the leaves start to turn a bit more. The residential streets are gorgeous here, 'cause the streets are all lined with elm trees, right. Totally beautiful. Of course, I wouldn't want to clean up after that, because the leaves litter people's lawns thick as a '70s shag carpet, but whatever. It's pretty.

Main comm. alskdfj. You mentioning that reminds me that I should do a post there this month. I just feel like I should. Get some of my weird stuff out there. I have enough stuff that I'm satisfied with, that I could probably do one post per month, hah.

About the kink meme, yeah, that's how it was done. New system is... convoluted. But I can't think of a better way to do it, so there it is. In all, even though it has plenty of problems, I'm still happy it's there, because my writing didn't really take off until I started doing fills. It's just that the requests - both format and volume - frustrate me sometimes. Little things. Argh, I really wish they would at least put pairing + kink in the subject line; it would make updating the Baltic index so much easier. I have to go through manually because the kink-aid hasn't been updating, and having to read through requests to see if it's relevant is just... alskdfj. Would rather not. :|

I read one or two of the ones you were referring to, and you're right, pretty good. Stylistically, there are so many similarities that I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same person. Now I really wonder who it is, and if I wasn't so lazy (and if it wouldn't be creepy) I'd go about comparing and trying to figure it out, oho. But, I am very lazy, so there we are. I still like knowing, though. Ahhh... Mostly when I friend someone whose work I love, it's because we have other things in common too, or because we've had awesome comment threads that have gotten way off-topic. I dunno, I just like getting to know people.

You're probably right about the Baltic fans + Russiarape thing. Though the kink index requests indicate a tendency toward a preference for that, I do know (certainly) that a lot of Baltic fans won't touch that, eugh. It's just that they tend to be rather quiet. It all makes me want to write more genfic, to be honest. Baltic genfic is like candy to me, and there's never enough of it. (And come to think of it, a loooong time ago I had an idea for a genfic featuring both the Nordics and the Baltics, and never ended up writing it... maybe I should)

Whoa. Paranoid is right. Well, if you feel that way, allrighty then. But I'd like to stress that I don't judge, and rarely have bad impressions of people (and if I do have one, it only lasts five minutes before I forget it. Gods know I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, how could I remember something like that...) <3

Right now I'm so tired that I cannot brain at all so I will just say that I agree with everything you said about England and people being dumb with regards to the portrayal of his character, and shall leave it at that. And I realize that we established that babbling is good, but I guess it's instinctual to apologize for it, because I've had instances in the past where people have told me to STFU or have given off vibes that indicate they wish that I would STFU and for this reason I tend to feel that I should just... STFU.

after I'm done drawing 5000 other things
Seems your list of things to do is as long as mine. Gods know I don't even want to think of how many things I need to write, especially since many of them will be longfic. Sigh. Where am I going to find time for this with school going on, I do not know...

Hah, here you are apologizing for taking a long time, and I'm going to apologize for that as well. Gahhh. I didn't mean to let it go for so long, but I kept running into homework, and then there was the presentation I had to do and -- well. I'm sure you know how it is. I'm always so exhausted nowadays, ahhhh. Well, I'd best get used to it.

By the way, I spellchecked this because I love you. ;p (And because I realize how bad my spelling is sometimes and was getting a bit embarrassed about it, but that is not the point)

's kind of weird, though. I don't want to point myself out every time i talk to you in whatever way cause it almost seems obnoxious, but at the same time there is something very aggravating about talking to someone you've become acquainted with and just not having the other person recognize you. Is this how it feels to be Canada? D:
I won't be appearing in lots of WIP threads for the next little while cause like I said, school. (I'm not on the meme on most days, meaning, if I want to get to bed at a respectable time that night I don't go on it at all that day. sob ;___; i think that actually not going on the meme is a lot easier than getting off it once you're on it, but I digress). Maybe I'll start making it harder for you and start posting WIPs of the Asians. If I ever figure out how the hell you draw them, anyways.

I can't blame people for thinking it's weird, I suppose it is, but really now, it's a quirk that's not weird enough to actually call attention to. The weather's getting colder now, so I at least have an excuse haha (it was so warm over here for way too long, last week it got up to 30 degrees!). With the weather getting colder I find my overall mood improving which is a bit contrary to how everyone else tends to feel, but hey. I can't help being painfully Canadian (or would it be more Canadian to bitch about the cold?)

Indeed, indeed. I feel a bit bad complaining about it, cause I know that lots of anons are still really into it but ahh. I miss plots to the RP. There's so much influence over the RPers now, it's hard for them to stick to, err, a sort of natural progression with their RP, I guess? Not to mention there's just sometimes too much of it and I don't know what to follow and what to not follow and, well, you know.

Maybe I did, my memory of the meme is getting pretty hazy, haha. pfff you're always in one slump, or another.

I've given up on thinking that the meme may slow down to maybe, I don't know, four day maxings. It probably won't slow down until the "next big thing" fandom-wise comes around. Till then, dead hour will be my favourite hour ♥ (cause even that isn't painfully slow or anything, it's a nice pace. Not to mention, it's when the Euroanons are on! ♥). I don't really want the next big thing to come around just yet, cause even if I can't handre how the fandom is now, it's still better than it being dead methinks.

~~It would be terribly hypocritical of me to argue. we're all a bit mad, here~~

But but maybe I've got some crazy complex in me that's telling me I can ~help them~? and that i can't do that unless I understand them?? Ah, well, I probably wouldn't be able to help them anyways. They'll either grow up and grow out of it or end up being miserable for the rest of their lives. You never feel better after spewing hate.

WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL ARGUING OVER HARRY POTTER SHIPS ARGHH IT'S SO REDUNDANT AND DUMB AND CAPSLOCK CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH IT BEWILDERS ME SO. Well, probably because all the R/Hr and G/H shippers are being as smug as hell, but seriously. I will never understand why people want to bring so much negativity to something that should be uniting people together. I mean, if I'm shipping something you don't like, it's not like I'm insulting you. Ich, craziness. I don't think I've even seen those kinds of shipping rivalries in the Hetalia fandom, though I'll admit I've seen people get put down for shipping something. I'm not talking about being put down because you think Russia/Lithuania is truluv<3 ^___^, but more of. . . UK/Japan shippers minding their own business, and then getting a few mean comments from others (luckily the insulted members were mature about it and were just all "whatever")

Yesss, there's more fun in the subtext. Not to mention, if a ship becomes canon, then you can say goodbye to all those fun "getting together" stories~ (which I'm totally a sucker for, I think I love the tension in getting two people together more than what they might be feeling while in an actual relationship. Of course, to each their own, that's just me haha). I do like having lots of canon for characters, though. I like it when a relationship between two people is touched upon more (I'm probably talking platonic canon relationships, though) or when you just get more info on any character. The author sometimes comes up with things about said characters that most fans wouldn't think of, so then to tie those little things along with your own fanon is ahhh so fun. and makes for a more fully fleshed out character! (which is, idk, what makes hetalia even more fun if you don't mind me saying so haha. You've got canon characterization + other stereotypes of said nation already + history + fanon. funfunfun) IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE. I'm tired, alright? D:
My whole love of the Nordics probably isn't determined by how much (or little) characterization they've gotten. I mean, at first I wasn't even very into them. Ohh boy, I even remember asking myself what could be the appeal of characters that had little to no characterization :| How things change.

Canon isn't a jigsaw puzzle; it's more like building blocks.
Can I high-five you for that? Simply because it's so ridiculously true. Man, maybe I shouldn't say this, but I think it's weird when someone lists all their ships, and all of those said ships are canon ships.
(I don't think I could make a list of what I shipped, though. I swear what I ship changes every day, and not to mention I'm pretty sure I like a good deal of those pairs more when there's no romance involves, that is, I'd rather the characters be friends or frenemies or whatever).

I have moved on to bigger and better things
That. . . that sounds so mean! pff but you're writing fanfic again so where's your ~bigger and better~ now? But daaamn, you wrote all the way back in '00! That's crazy! . . . Please don't tell me that times flies. I couldn't really get to read any of it, simply because I had no idea what the hell was going on. The only thing I could maybe sort of recognize was Digimon, but I watched that when I was like, seven and eight and I don't remember anything from it. I think there was a dude with goggles?

The My Little Pony fandom's got to be a fandom of many extremes. I can imagine there being innocent, pure and fluffy fanart and then, well, err, let's move on away from that subject.
I didn't even really think collecting counted as being into a fandom (and what do you mean by "restoring" if you don't mind me asking?) I've got someone else on my flist, and she posted some of her MLP collection and jesus christ, forgive my ignorance, but I didn't even know there were that many different My Little Pony figures in the world!

You know what I hate about actually getting around to reading stuff? It's that whenever I do have time to go and read a book or a comic or what have you, I completely forget that I've got stuff to read. So what happens is that I end up dicking around on the computer for a few hours and then when I look to the books on the nightstand by my bed I want to smack myself. Luckily I haven't got that many unread books lying around at the moment, but the unread books I've got lying around are pretty long, and that's a bit intimidating. I find longer books intimidating, during the times when I find myself not reading so much. For the first four or five months of '09 I had a ton of reading mojo and found myself just plowing through a ton of books, and long books weren't nearly as scary then. Then my reading spree came to an end while reading The Picture of Dorian Grey which somehow took me twice as long to read as most books thrice it's size. Ahh I dunno. Have you ever read that book? I was expecting to enjoy it more than I actually did :(

ahhh now you're going and making me all jealous with that class ;___; don't tempt me into doing English, man. Well, you probably won't be able to, but iaojaotej whata class.

But but Paint Shop Pro wasn't even made for photo editting?? Not in the way Photoshop was, at least. And I mean, it all depends on what you're using it for. I can't diss SAI or something with regards to how well the watercolour tool blends colours by saying "you can't do photo manips with i!!!" cause dude, that doesn't even have anything to do with what you're using it for.

I remember checking the price for Photoshop around '02, '03 or something, and I think it was well around six hundred dollars. I think SAI goes for about $40 though and I should probably shut up about that program already but it is the love of my life, if you can't tell already. SAI/Photoshop is my otp.

that's why you make palettes and use the eyedropper tool buddy :)
Having a tablet to piss around with is really nice too. Just to doodle whatever the hell. And you know what's also great about tablets? You don't get the materials all over the side of your hands. Man, sometimes when I start doodling in school, I find myself at the end of the day and the entire side of my hand has gotten all grey from the graphite rubbing off on to my skin, from the paper. Well, this happens when I'm alone at home drawing something nice too, but sometimes having half of your hand shaded in really confuses people.

And don't even get me started on the dude that said my art looked "amateurish" because I like to use bright colours...
WHAT. WHAT. WHAT THE HELL. DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT, EITHER. He didn't even say that to me and I find myself ~raging on the inside~ because goddamn, that is one hell of a stupid thing to say. As if people who've been making a living of art for decades don't use bright colours, ever, nope.
(. . .seriously ???????)

hahah aww. did you meet her when you got it signed, or was there some kind of deal at her site going on? I'd bet that a house that had her work all over it would be quite an, err, eccentric kind of house indeed. Does she have any prints bigger than 13x19? Cause that's not overly huge, I think. Or maybe my mental-ruler is failing me and I should go use the ruler that's right in front of me to figure it out. . . I'm just thinkin' it'd be nice to have a HUGE picture of a smiling pear up on my wall, 's all. Or maybe the bighorned pear, because for some reason that actually made me go buhyooo. Mind you, I don't buhyoo too often ~~because I have no soul~~

Well it makes me wonder, how often do you draw anyways? Like, every day just a little thing every few days or. . .? Don't be discouraged ;___; the only road you're on is the road of IMPROVEMENT, which might be a rocky road with lots of bumps and cracks but I assure you that you'll see some wonderful scenery on the waaaaaaayyyyyohhh god remind me never to be a motivational coach /headdesk seriously though quitting is just not cool. not that i'm telling you to make it your number one priority but ah, well, don't stop ~~believing~~ yeah? :)

you know who else I just sounded like up there? those annoying kids who try to make you go out for school sports even when you tell them you don't want to :|

Touche, I guess. Maybe all the people who live by that advice are just 50 years old and they've gotten so into the habit or writing every day that to not do it anymore would be like forgetting to breath or whatever. Or maybe missing breakfast.
aotjaoijt make it into prose poetry? Goddamn man, it's not like poetric language is easy for all of us! The very notion of writing such a thing makes me grip at my heart in fear. I would say that the grass is a bit dry and it is giving good old man Bob a rash as he sits on it (okay, I might phrase it better than that but you know what I mean). You, on the other hand, would find a way to make that sound pretty and flower-y and I will be left scratching my head, baffled and asking, how the hell did you manage that.

His characterization certainly read like that, sometimes. I don't really know if I've seen him portrayed like that in art, because at times him and Norway having the same expression might just be for the sake of symmetry. and IOAJRHIAOJROAW NEW SOURCE MATERIAL ♥ Oh, god, when that I was posted I swear to you that I was having the worst day ever, and then that gets posted (I think that all of the recent Nordic posts have been on my bad days, if I recall correctly? Hidekaz, how do you do this). Ahhh they're so wonderful together. Finland wore a sweater vest eeee. you can't convince me that the sweater vest wasn't salmiakki-patterned, nope.

Hurr, you know, I mean. . . say you start slipping into bad habits again, would you mind people (such as myself, who knows) ~~demanding~~ telling you to take a step outside or whatever? Just. . .trying to slap some sense into you, to phrase it poorly. I am terrible about talking about my problems. I don't' know if it's because of embarrassment or pride or a mix of 400 things just, yeah.

The good thing about labour intensive work is that it at least tires you out, increasing the chances of someone going to bed at a proper time. Not that it's a guaranteed thing, but it's nice to actually feel tired at night, I think.

These classes, were they first year university students? You know, people who paid god knows how much to be taking those courses? Or were they highschool or something. That little story of the student is adorable, though. It sort of reminds me of how much we usually forget how much that kind of stuff might mean to teachers. Its hard thinking of ways to show teachers that you appreciate them, or at least it is to me. Just talking to them, maybe? Ahh, I know I probably talk enough with say, the Social Studies teachers at my school. Seriously though, the Social teachers at my school are just ajetoiajet wonderful.
I don't think I'd mind teaching, though probably not as a job. Just maybe every so often, or just come and teach a class. I'm good with the whole public speaking thing and I usually end up making people laugh when speaking in front of others, which is a good sign I think? That's how it's been with presenting projects though I guess there'd be a difference in actually giving a lecture or what have you.

I don't even know what you mean by being a douche other than you using :|
Can't say about the chat thing cause I dont' go in there that often and I've maybe seen you --HAHAHA NEVERMIND THAT I GUESS YOU FIGURED OUT ME OUT AFTER ALL. ahh hopefully I don't come off as, um, someone you don't want to talk to on there orz orz orz I'm almost tempted to rename my journal to xldoubledouble or doubledouble or something like that, I've been aching for a new lj handle for well over a year now pff

Okay, even if you insist that you're not as smart as you may seem, there's no reason they should know that~

Falling asleep while waiting for a reply? Oh god, I'm sorry, but that made me laugh i'm laughing with you, not at you, I swear. That's oddly endearing, 's all. I guess if it comes down to it, you can just blame a reply on a slow typing speed, but then again I'm pretty sure most people in fandom have a typing speed of at least 60 WPM, unless they're 13. Far as finding stuff to talk about, oh man, I think online I sort of resort to talking about myself, and I worry I might do it too much? To be honest I don't like talking about myself, but I find that doing so helps make conversation (cause unlike in real life, I can't just point at something and be all "ohohoh why is that old lady jumping over a seven foot fence" which actually happened as I was getting a ride home this week). I do totally get what you mean by having nothing to talk about, it's why I don't message my good friends every day (err, I mean, not that I message them much anyways seeing how I can still worry about being a bother to people I've been friends with since kindergarten but whatever).

Alright, so, err, say you get your original fiction mojo back in about a month and three days (don't argue that it can't happen, for who knows what the future has in store), does that mean you'll be quitting fandom in general? I'm not talking about the fic writing part, but the whole talking about it and spazzing over new Nordic strips and and and _{please don't' leave us ;___;}. At the very least, fandom does provide you with practice? It's better than being in an original fiction slump and not writing anything at all for months on end.

When you say that it's really fucking long, you must tell me: how long is really fucking long? Hurr, I think I have the opposite problem. I find lighthearted/whimsical sort of writing comes so much more easier than serious. Or, well, maybe not serious but if I'm doing something seriously it won't ever be flowery. Then again, I'm a pretty silly person. Though I'm a strange silly person in that I'm not playful at all. You're probably more playful than I am, pff. :| :| :| :| :| :|

I'd tell you to clean your mess but I don't think you're home right now. Because you're in Edmonton lol. Tell me, was it snow-y there? I went to Okotoks for thanksgiving and aoetjaot they've got a ton of snow there! I mean, for this time of year. It looks like late November.

:') We've all got things we get sensitive about, illogical as it may be.
Mm, I don't care about those medieval manuscripts, certainly not in the way you do, but I still find that to be a depressing thought nevertheless. Something just being lost forever doesn't sit well with me.

Oh, so I take it that stuff like medival literature and all isn't something that is taught at most universities (is this why you decided to go to the university of Saskatoon?) Ahh, did either Fort Mac or Wolfville have a decent sized library (or a few?). Or is it like this one little library here in Calgary, which has less square feet than my house (and I don't live in a big house).

I was going to ask you what was so, well, trying-to-be-artsy about his writing, but then I realized that could really mean anything and that it's probably more of a you'll-know-it-when-you-see-it sort of deal. You know though, I don't even know how similar our tastes are ahaha (I do respect your opinion for this stuff though, most certainly). Also! Well, we have a choice to read either The Wars by Timothy Findley or The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart for English this year, and I was wondering if you had read either novel, or at least something from either author?

You say the buildings now aren't build to last? I'm pretty sure they're more likely to last than the old stuff, I mean, considering the advancements in science and engineering and hell, architecture. They certainly look less sturdy though, seeing how people have decided that we don't need brick and stone anymore, as we've now got super duper metals with super duper strength! Ah, what on earth will those scientists think of next. It's really all just changing trends though, I mean, at one point those old buildings were considered cutting-edge and modern. Pff, maybe I just want more, I don't know, elaborate buildings? Man, maybe it's just that I'd just love for every building to be a work of art, not just the important business offices and fancy hotels. That is much too much to expect, I know.

Yes, yes, you should take more pictures, but let's hope that the snow doesn't get in the way of your fall (pff). The lot my house is on has probably a few too many trees on it, but they're mostly pine trees so not much cleaning to do there, thank god. My one friend gets a ton of leaves though, so last year another friend and I went over to rake leaves with her and went jumping in the leaves :D ajetojae tI don't even care if it's childish, it was a frolicking good time. We're doing it again this year, 's all I know.

I think you should post more than once a month eh eh. Maybe every time you write something.
. . . I am so totally the last person who should be urging others to post to comms consider how I still happen to be mortified at just the thought of posting :|

I don't think she's deanoned, I'm pretty sure I would've noticed. Nah, I surely would've noticed. Unless she has deanoned, but never posted to a comm before. I mean, I look over all the fics posted to kalmar and I always keep my eye on the fic section on hetalia_daily.

Nordic + Baltic genfic? Why are you even asking this of course you should write it. Otherwise I will stare at your username with a very solemn :|

I think I should go look through a bunch of your posts, or on here, and find how many times you use :|. It would be for science, of course.

Well it can't be that paranoid I mean, unless you don't go journal-lurking and click on links to where art may possibly be posted and and oiejatoajt maybe I am too paranoid hurr durr. I find it hard that others wouldn't go journal-lurking though, I like seeing other people's layouts and profiles and usericons and, well, it brings me joy, okay? I don't like real-life journal lurking, though. Was at a friend's house yesterday, and I found the most gorgeous notebook ever (I'm a total sucker for pretty notebooks, you don't even know) so naturally I wanted to look through it. My friend said it was her brother's poetry/diary journal, so I opened it and I couldn't even read two lines without getting weirded out. I don't like snooping through other people's stuff, you know? Maybe it's because I value my own privacy too much.

. . . also, I always had difficulties understanding how people couldn't remember what they had for breakfast but that's probably because I always have the same thing in the morning orz

School, while I find it delightful (wait, what?), is more or less an artistic cockblock, isn't it? ahh it's worse when you have requests to fill out, I hate leaving all those people hanging. I actually went and wrote a list of what I've been planning to draw and I was left feeling rather horrified. If you haven't made a list of what you need to write yet, err, please don't. I say this because I am concerned about your mental well being.

ahah well, I'm not expecting you to be replying right away! I'm actually surprised that I'm finished replying to this already, though that's probably because of me having a lot of days off of school for whatever reason, hence me being able to stay up later and write something (for instance, right now I'm in the middle of a five day weekend. Which I'm not pleased about because whoo I'm behind in school :| brb going to library). But, uh, yeah man, don't even worry about it~ least it's not like back in the day, when I worried if you'd respond after every reply I sent pff orz
Don't even worry about your spelling, I doubt mine's any better. I'm certain it's worse, actually.
Bad spelling is a lot worse than what I do, which is either constantly missing entire words/phrases or using the completely wrong word (I had to read back on my own reply to see what we were talking about a few times, and I don't know how, but I sometimes end up using the word which is the opposite to what I actually want. orz orz orz)

aaand that's all ♥

PS. I SEE THAT YOU TAG YOUR POSTS NOW.

I'm friends with one or two people who use it constantly, while RPing or spamming me especially, so I've gotten used to checking almost every comment for some bit of whitetext or other. But sometimes it's disappointing when I don't find anything.

Hah, I would say more than ellipses, it would be more of a problem if you started using ;w; et cetera, because that's the way that I generally recognize her now. Though it's been a while since she last showed up... probably busy.

I do talk to anonymous users a lot, but there are only a few that I talk to off the meme on a regular basis while they stay anonymous. You, and Binary. Then there is Malaysianon, who sometimes posts to me anonymous even though I know her username and have her friended, and also Sab, who does the same thing. So in summary, the anons who really talk to me while staying anon aren't that many; just two.

As for you, don't get down on yourself, man. It's not a matter of competition, I'd say. I do consider you a good friend, even though our "letters" come less frequently now due to school taking up time. One can't be interesting all the time, eh?

I can understand not wanting to identify yourself every time. But then there is the thing with wanting to be recognized. It's an interesting problem. On my end, if I'm talking to someone that I know well and speak with regularly, I do want to know who it is - mostly if we get into a long conversation, otherwise it doesn't matter as much - partly because I want the familiarity, and partly so I don't repeat myself, saying things that they already know because I said it to them earlier that day or whatever. I like knowing when I'm having a conversation with my friends. I want that closeness.

Anyway, yes, I kind of noticed that you dropped off the face of the earth a bit. I should do that too, moreso than I have been, at least. The "not going on in the first place" thing is a good idea, and I think I'll try it. Gods know I'll have a lot of essay writing coming up and I really shouldn't be spending so much time there.
(And you plan to make things harder for me? You horrible, horrible thing~ Not that I mind at all. And yes, you should draw some Azns. Hop to it. When you have a moment, I mean. *boots*)

About the clothing quirk - you'd think that it would be not weird enough to call attention to, but people do notice. It's so strange. I don't understand at all. Mostly get the comments from family though. Thankfully, as you mentioned, cold weather is a good excuse to cover up - though it seems that when I go out and about to the school and so on, I keep seeing people dressed in very small, chilly clothes, as if they're trying to rebel against the weather. Sorry, I doubt Old Man Winter will get the message. ;p But, anyway. I think you're a bit of a weirdo, if your mood improves when cold comes... but then again, another friend of mine is the same. I was complaining about the snow and she mentioned she wanted it, haa. I'm used to hearing things like that from people who don't receive snow, but this person is from Norway, and so I was just, "Wat." Just be patient, you'll get it eventually, pffff. Aa, me, I used to not like sunlight and heat and such, and to a degree I still don't, but... I'm starting to really appreciate warm weather when we do have it. I'm sick of the winters being so long and cold and dark. I spent so much of my life up north and I just... I'm sick of it. If I had warm winters like Calgary, maybe I'd feel different.

Personally, I feel it'd be more Canadian to bitch about the cold. Or at least, the weather in general. Or life in general. It seems we're always complaining about something - but mostly the weather. It's either too hot or too cold or too windy or too dry or too wet or too whatever. Nobody's ever satisfied. <3

Regarding RP, yes on all your points. Especially the missing plot + natural progression. To be honest, I don't like the influence over RPers at all, especially regarding what will or will not happen. I was speaking to Iceland today, and our conversation made me remember back when the whole thing with the Nordic soap opera started, with horny_viking and iceandheather and the abstinence plot. I found myself thinking about how everything progressed rather organically, not too forced or anything, and it just went really well and it was so -- fun. That's all. ~~And then Kongeriketnorge stepped in and I stepped out and then other things happened and then the mood of RP changed and now I don't know what to do with myself, but anyway~~

At that point plots were worked out almost completely between the RPers themselves, and the planning was minimal (usually I didn't even know when h_v would post his thread), and there was very little backseat driving by anonymous users, if any. I preferred it that way. Now, it seems I can't find any points where I want to jump in, and everything is so controlled anyway (stifling?) so I just... haven't been doing it at all. Sigh.

I've given up on the meme slowing down. At this point, I don't think it will - especially on weekends. But I've come to really appreciate the dead hour - not the extremely dead hour, but when it's active, just slowish. A lot of my favourite people are around then - mostly Euroanons and Asianons - and it's great talking to these people, having conversations with them. I do prefer this to a dead fandom, though I'm not sure how "dead" something has to be in order for it to be considered dead, considering I'm not really used to the way fandoms come and go.

Re: ~helping~ people, it's great to want to give help and orchestrate positive change, but generally, when it comes to things, you can discuss with someone until you're blue in the face, but they won't change a bit. With this sort of thing, it's better if they do it on their own, because they usually won't change with assistance. I find that modeling what you feel is the best direction works well, in comparison.

I SEE YOUR RAGE AND I LOVE IT. LET US RAGE TOGETHER. To be honest, I don't understand the smugness at all. I can understand being happy that your favourite pairing became canon, but I do not understand being smug about it. To me, liking something is about you, and what other people like should have nothing to do with you if you do not like or are not interested in that match. I just can't fathom caring about it at all. I'm quite glad that I don't see much of this idiocy in Hetalia fandom. I mean, okay, sometimes we run into people grumbling about US/UK and whatnot, but for the most part people just ignore it if they don't like it, and even if they do grumble about it, half the time they're really grumbling about the dearth of fanwork for their own favourite pairing, rather than the existence of US/UK.

I find that even when I do like canon matches, it's the non-canon ones, just touched upon, that really intrigue me. I'm not sure why that is. Probably just the openness, the possibility. Today I was thinking back to Homeric legend, and the various matches I like with that, and found that even while I feel very strongly about the canon and my preferred canon matches (Odysseus/Penelope, Hektor/Andromache), it is the characters/pairings with less "canon" material, less screen time, that really draw me (Sarpedon/Glaukos - I even wrote "fanfiction" about them, once, for a school assignment).

But as far as Hetalia goes, I do like having some canon, and filling in the extra bits with history. I don't view history as canon, just as another option to draw from, because it can be interpreted in several different ways. Nor is it required. So it's a nice extra thing, something I love to work with. (and at this point now I'm just babbling, but anyway)

As you mentioned, I do agree that it's odd when someone only likes canon pairings. I just don't get it - there's something I find so appealing about possibility, that I can't imagine thinking about, and liking some of it. I mean, one doesn't have to "break up a canon pairing" if that is an issue; there are always unattached persons that could have some thought turned toward them and the possibility of relationships (be they romantic or otherwise). Except when it comes to ancient literature, sometimes, because there are so few options (only thing I pair from Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh/Enkidu... which is not canon but might as well be). I could probably make a list of my major pairs, at least for Hetalia, but the minor list keeps getting added to every day, and things go in cycles, and it's all scattered all over the place. And sometimes I like something only as a friends pair, but other times I want so-and-so to get fucked by anyone and everyone. I dunno, man.

"That sounds so mean!" Hah, well. At that time, I was feeling a bit snooty regarding my old fanfiction. Also, at that time, I still had people bothering me to continue fic, even though it was 2005 and I hadn't written anything in ages. So, I was frustrated. And you might not want me to say that time flies, but IT DOES, because in some ways it feels as though ninth grade was just last year (though other times it seems to long ago, especially when I hear young people talking about school now. Sigh.) To be honest, if I tried to read any of my old fic, I wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on either - except for the Weiss Kreuz stuff, because I re-watched that two years ago or so, and enjoyed it in all its wonderful horribleness.

Re: MLP fandom - Yeah, you pretty much have it. The stuff that I encountered was rather G for the most part, but that's because the forum that I frequented was very strict about the sort of things that were posted. But I've encountered things on DA that... well.. Anyway. Ordinarily, I would not consider collecting to be part of a fandom, but MLP is connected so closely with the cartoon (and comics, in the UK) that I feel that they can't be separated and, for this reason, I feel that the collecting is close enough to the media that it can be considered part of that fandom.

Anyway, by "restoring", I mean taking old ponies and making them look new again. Unless a pony is in the box or comes to you after being taken directly out of the box, then it is in played-with condition, and even ones that have been played with very gently tend to be a little bit dirty and have hair that needs to be treated in order to look nice again. Generally some washing will get rid of the dirt, and some conditioner will make the hair look good, but sometimes there are problems such as mould and rust that need to be taken care of. A while back I did a series of photoposts regarding a pony that I was restoring; here, here and here.

Sometimes restoration involves not just cleaning, but more detailed restoring. For example, if the hair is chopped, or so completely matted that it can not be detangled even with conditioner, then some people prefer to replace the hair. Or, if the hair has faded from pink to white (a common problem), the collector will dye it pink again. Occasionally people will touch up damage in symbols too, though this is not as common, and is in fact rather discouraged. The about hair restoration is, there's actually quite a bit of debate about it, because some people would argue that replacing the hair decreases the value, unless the condition is absolutely horrible. There's also argument that one should not sell a pony that has the hair replaced, or if one does, one should explicitly say in the description that it has been rehaired - again, because it is not the original condition, and rehairing decreases value. So, there we are.

Also, because you mentioned your friend, I feel the need to link to my own collection photos, here. This is only a fraction of my collection, though. 8D A lot of my ponies are at my parents' house in storage because I don't have anywhere to put them here.

About reading books - I have the same problem, with wanting to smack myself if I read something then realize that I have all this work to do. For this reason, I end up not doing any leisure reading at all during the school year, except at Christmas; most of my reading gets done during the summer. So, I have all these books around, and I want to read them, but I can't. Sigh. Anyway, I do tend to find large books a tiny bit intimidating. However, this is because I read very slowly, and I generally do not know if I will have the time to commit to a long novel and finish it in a reasonable time. The Count of Monte Cristo took me a month, for example. As for Dorian Grey, I haven't read it, though I have wanted to do so for a while.

Tempt you to English, you say? <3 Come to the dark side, my dear~ We have cookies, and coffee. Yes. Or, well. Maybe not taking classes, but I bet you would have found it at least somewhat interesting to sit in on.

Re: PSP. Yes, it isn't designed for photo editing, and that's what I told the person who tried comparing PS and PSP, but of course what I said went in one ear and out the other. Sigh. People are just dumb. Anyway, as for SAI, I'll keep it in mind in case my PSP disc craps out on me and I need to go looking for something to replace it with. ;p

Anyway. Yes, I'm serious about the amateurish thing, and I seethed about it for months, and it actually had a rather negative effect on my drawings. I changed the way I shaded and started to make everything darker, a bit more drab-looking, and looking back on it now, nothing from that point of time looked anywhere near as nice as the part that came before it. Fortunately for me I went back to brightness after a few years. To be honest, it still really bothers me. Bright colours in cartoon drawings? Gasp and egads. C'est impossible!

As for UrsulaV - Unfortunately I wasn't there (I don't think she's come to Canada before). It was a special deal kind of thing, and I managed to get in on it. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have prints larger than 13x19, and while I realize that isn't huge, it's rather large compared to her regular size. It looks pretty good up on my mantle, anyway. I'd love to have bigger prints, but she produces them all at home, and her printer can only handle so many sizes.

Drawing... eh. I used to scribble a lot. Every few days or so. But after a while, I did it less - didn't have time to sit down and draw - and now, hardly ever. Usually the only time I scribble now is when I'm at parties. I tend to take my sketchbook and scribble portraits of the people in the room. I'm not very good at carrying a conversation, but I like being around people, so it gives me something to do, keeps me from getting bored. I don't know. Maybe I should change what I draw. Start drawing animals or landscapes instead, or something. I always did like doing backgrounds, if buildings were not involved.

YES WELL. Prose-poetry (and poetry in general) is, in some ways, a skill that can be learned. Partly. At least, editing something that already has been scribbled out, is. I realized this when I was working on my honour thesis. Part of what I had to do was take my poetry and make it not suck, and a lot of that involved breaking the lines down (or sentences, for prose), changing things around, finding precisely the right word. It isn't so much about making something sound pretty or flowery as it is about exactness, I would say.

NEW SOURCE MATERIAL IS YAY. But it is not enough. I need moar Nordics. And such. I can dream, anyway. Oh man, Noon and I were partying on AIM that night, let me tell you. It was just... I was so happy. It was much like the explosion the first time we got a strip with Norway and Denmark in it, really. Aaa~ (On, and I definitely agree with you on the matter of Finland's sweater vest. One of my friends even coloured it with salmiakki-pattern - I just haven't gotten around to iconing it yet).

Anyway. Regarding slipping into bad habits - I suppose I would not object to a push in the right direction. There's always the chance I wouldn't listen, but on the other hand, sometimes nudges can be useful. It's a whole difficult thing. And I can understand having difficulty talking about your problems; I usually do, too. It's getting easier, but it generally depends on the context, and I really cannot do it in instant form. Sigh.

The class I taught was indeed composed of first-year undergrads. They paid a ridiculous amount of money for it - rather, their parents did. To be honest, I have never understood students, even first-years, who don't take their classes seriously. Fortunately, usually those people flunk out in their first year, so we don't have to put up with them much more after that. As far as showing appreciation goes, I do think that just talking with teachers does a lot. And participating in class, if you do have something to say. Other than that, it's hard to say, really.

As for what I mean by being a douche - well, sometimes when I'm talking to people, and I'm in a bad mood, I come off as... well. Visibly grumpy. It tends to make people upset, I guess. So, I try to avoid doing that. Sigh. Anyway. YES I DID FIGURE YOU OUT. THIS IS HOW AWESOME I AM. <3 And don't worry about me not wanting to talk to you. I do want to talk to you! I love talking to you! So, there we are.

Yes, yes, I fall asleep while waiting for replies. NOT FUNNY. Sob. Sometimes it happens when I'm talking to one of my close friends, and it's a pain in the ass. And once it happened when I was RPing with Kongeriketnorge, ahhhhshit I forgot about that, I should apologize - though she'll understand, surely. But anyway. Nah, I can't blame it on slow typing - but all things considered, those who speak to me regularly know that I'm constantly tired, and they should be used to me falling asleep by now. Anyway, yeah, sometimes talking about yourself helps. I do that too. But it really depends on the situation. Usually I can't think of anything at all, so I don't message people. Usually I wait for other people to message me. Thankfully, it seems they realize this is the condition, and they do message me when they want to talk to me. I appreciate that.

If I got my writing mojo back, I wouldn't quit fandom in general. I would probably stop writing fic, but I'd still read the writers I follow, and I would still spazz out over the Nordics and so on. I just wouldn't be writing! Or if I did still write, I wouldn't write much. I love having something to talk with people about and squee over, so I really have no intention of ending this any time soon.

When I say that my original&failed novel was really fucking long, what I mean is that it is 94 pages in Word, and just over 60,000 words. This doesn't count all the short little one-shots relating to the novel that dealt with ideas I liked but wouldn't be able to fit them in there because they related to the backstory of minor characters. Anyway, I most certainly am not playful :| get that thought out of your head, you :| Because struth, I am not. :| :| :| :| :| So there.

Yes, I was in Edmonton, or rather the Edmonton area, which is entirely unlike Edmonton proper and WHY ARE YOU LOL'ING AT ME, YOU. :| THIS IS NOT FUNNY. And yes there was snow, more than we have in Saskatoon at the moment. And it was very cold.

Re: Medieval lit. Many universities teach it, but frequently it will just be a couple undergrad courses, nothing in-depth. At Saskatoon, however, there are three specialists; one in Arthurian romance, another in Old English, and another in Icelandic literature. The Arthurian scholar is quite reputable, and that's the reason I decided to go here (aside from cheap tuition and good location). As for libraries - well... the Fort McMurray one was okay, I suppose, considering it's not a town with a very literary atmosphere. The Wolfville had a public library, but it was tiny; the university's library was decent-sized, however, considering the size of the university itself (which was tiny). But ahhh, one thing I was so happy to have when I moved to Saskatoon was a big university library.

Regarding your assignment, I've read The Wars, but I have not read The Stone Carvers. I cannot recall much about Findley's novel, except that I found that it wasn't bad - but many of the people in my class (I studied it in first-year university). Aaaand that's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Ehhhh, I don't know. Maybe modern architecture is meant to last, but then I take a look at stuff like the buildings at Mycenae or whatever, which were built so many squillion years ago but are still in such good state, and I find myself thinking... will the new stuff hold up like that? I don't know, man.

I plan to go out and take photos, but I want to wait until it's a sunny day. Gods know when we'll get one of those. But it's better for taking pictures, though shooping can help with a lot. I just wish that all the trees weren't covered with snow. Yes, I'm going to keep grumbling about this. Forever. Sigh. WELL AT LEAST THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO SYMPATHIZE WITH ME. I can curl up with my Finnish friends and we can complain about it and share in each other's sulking about snow. Yes.

I would post more than once per month at the main comm, but I just plain don't often have something that I'm pleased enough with to share that widely. I'd rather keep a reputation as someone who posts there infrequently, but always with quality work. I was working on editing a fic, a rather old Can/Pol that I wrote for the kink meme back in the late spring. Wanted to post it at the main comm. But now, I can hardly stand to look at it, as I no longer like it any more. I had considered it one of my best fics, but now... I'm not sure, something about the style, I just can't stand it. It's possible that I'm just going through an "I hate everything I write!" phase, but man, feeling this way is such a downer and I can't bring myself to post anything.

And DON'T STARE AT ME WITH :| because that is my job. Well, the idea for the Nordic and Baltic story doesn't have a deadline - though it would be set in winter, so I would have to write it sometime before the snow melts - so maybe I'll be able to get to it sometime over Christmas. It wouldn't be overly plotty, but it would have a story/progression of events, and that kind of thing takes time.

To be honest, I don't journal-lurk. I don't really see any need to. Sometimes I check out a person's icons, but that's mostly so I can steal them for my collection, nothing else. I figure, if I was really interested in what they'd had to say, I would friend them. Anyway, real life journals creep me out, a bit. If I see one that a person has been keeping, I have such strong "do not touch" feelings, it's ridiculous. As if it was laced with plague. Definitely a privacy issue, I think. I don't want to snoop.

And I exaggerate with the whole "I don't remember what I had for breakfast thing". I eat the same thing every day, so it's hard to forget. ;p But I really am rather flighty and scatterbrained and while I remember useless details, I can never seem to remember anything important.

School is an absolute pain in the ass when it comes to art of any kind. I enjoy it sometimes, and it is a necessary thing, but it prevents me from writing, and this is annoying. You saw my to-do list today, so you certainly know the current state of affairs. Fortunately, most things on that list are low priority. Right now I want to concentrate on the Union fic, as well as a short Swe/Fin intended to be a gift for someone, which will be sent to them in manuscript format first. I'm actually kind of considering folding the pages in either folio or quarto format, laying out everything properly, and then binding it in cloth when I'm finished - but it will depend on how long the thing is, for one thing, and how much time I will have. But, I digress.

You were surprised that you finished your reply, and here I am, being surprised that I finished it. But I figure, it's good to get things through before school slams me against the wall and assrapes me, so to speak. Things are going to get pretty hectic soon, and I'm not looking forward to it.

In any case, I'm really glad that you no longer worry that I won't respond at all. <3 That does mean a lot.

Think that's all for now. Yes.

PS: AND YES I TAG MY POSTS NOW. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?

eeeeh I've had enough of this white text. Screw white text. It feels blasphemous every time I have to type "color" instead of "colour." I can feel my fingers aching to type a u that just doesn't exist.

I don't think I've ever used ;w;. honestly. That one looks almost sinister to me, but then again, I'm terribly old fashioned when it comes to emoticons. I'm going to start putting noses in mine, even. :-P (back when I was ten years old or so, and everyone started dropping the "noses" from emoticons, I kept them in because I thought it made me ~unique~ Really, kids feel unique and nonconformist for the dumbest things).

So in summary, the anons who really talk to me while staying anon aren't that many; just two.
Well. Due to recent developments I do believe that number has. er. dropped. In a sad little way I feel almost bitter (I say almost bitter because bitter is not the word that I want to use at all, but my lack of proper functioning tonight is preventing me from finding a more appropriate word) that you found out my user name. In a really petty sort of gasp how dare you go and search dA and happen to stumble upon my user by TOTAL ACCIDENT. Not cause I don't like that you know my user, it's more because I was just really embarrassed ahahah. But that's over and done with now. You haven't by any chance found out Binary anon, have you?

This whole identifying yourself bit would be easier if I was a very obvious anon, other than "aioejaioefjioajf" and ". . ." (and maybe the fact that my replies tend to get really long?? idk) I have no clue how obvious I am, really. You, on the other hand. But you already know all about that all too well so lets not touch on that.

I realized that after not going on the meme for so long, I've found it a lot easier to get off when I need to. Maybe it's because I ended up missing like, five parts but as it turned out, I didn't really miss anything at all. It doesn't balance out as well though, because then I find that other sites become even more tempting. But god, I wish I had a lot of essay writing coming up. Granted, your essay-writing certainly entails a lot more than mine would but I've just got a lot of math to do. ojeatoaet I've always been good at math but all of a sudden, right when my marks actually mattered, it decided to get real hard and arghh. The most annoying thing about math is that half the time you have to wait for it to ~click~ in your head. Which reminds me that I should be doing math right now but I'm not exactly awake enough to do math. The problem with staying home is that it takes me an hour longer to actually feel awake, usually because I'm just sitting and not moving around.

Yeahh, most of those comments do come from family members. What are families for, after all? Most people I don't know too well probably wouldn't find it appropriate to comment and my friends are already too used to my other eccentricities to even bother. I don't understand people who go around wearing summer clothes either. I'm still seeing girls walking around in skirts and dresses and all. Admittedly, I'd wear skirts in the winter, but at the very least I'd put on some tights as well and I wouldn't wear them when I have to stand outside for god knows how long every day while waiting for the bus to come. These girls aren't even trying, they're wearing minis without tights and flats. You won't be able to catch any boys when your legs fall off from frostbite, ladies :|

AND CALGARY DOES NOT HAVE WARM WINTERS. WE ARE NOT VANCOUVER. The fact that you grew up in THE GREAT WHITE NORTH does not make Calgary warm iaojtoatoi The only time it's warm in our winters is when we have chinooks, which are actually a lovely thing despite the fact that they give everyone headaches (myself included). I might be getting defensive about this, yes, but dare I say you're making me sound like a pansy and I won't stand for such a thing! I can't be a pansy, y'see, I must work hard to be rough and tough and pretty much be the son my father never had.

Oh, Canadians. I do think the "always complaining about something" could probably go for a lot of cultures though, haha.

I remember the abstinence plot! And how Denmark started going crazy and began knitting a lot. I remember I tried knitting once, I couldn't get it. I am so terrible with crafts/working with my hands, I don't even know what to tell you. But anyways, RPing! Well, actually, I don't have much to say on RPing cause I don't do it myself, so I don't know much about it being "controlled" and how that feels. It doesn't seem as bad now. . .?

Things are so nice and calm when the Euroanons are on. You notice there's never any wank when they're on, eh? I really prefer when those "Ask A ____ Anon" topics come up when the Euro/Asiananons are on, cause you usually end up learning quite a bit from them. eaojoeato I nearly fell out of my seat when I saw that we had a Swiss anon ♥ I still have yet to find anyone from Austria on the internet, though.

Oh, I know that. Talking doesn't always do much, change pretty much always comes from the person, and I think most people can attest to that. Not to mention that you're right when you say that modelling what you think is the best works a lot better than blabbering on about it. Half the time when you are lectured, you're being lectured by someone who doesn't actually live by what they're saying (sup, a large amount of religious people?), and in such cases, it's hard to see why you should bother listening to them. Also, usually the folks that people look up to for inspiration aren't people who lectured them either so. . . there we have it.

I don't get being smug about it either. It's sort of petty and I just want to be all. . . really, have you got nothing else to be proud about? :| (rude as that may be) Most of the hostility towards US/UK, I do think, comes from the fact that there's just an overwhelming amount of it, and less because people think that FrUK or America/Russia is ~the truth and the way~ Oi, not sure if I've said this before or not, but you know what irritates me? When people say to stop grumbling over the popularity of one pairing, and they say that if you want more for another pairing, you just have to go and write/draw some of it yourself, and it's as simple as that. That's. . . not even the same thing. By saying that it's practically implying that the people who ship a popular pairing are the only people who are going and making fan works for their pairing. Ahh I dunno, I think the percentage of fans who actually go and contribute US/UK or FrUK is probably not all that much different from people who contribute to France/Russia or America/Lithuania.

(Sarpedon/Glaukos - I even wrote "fanfiction" about them, once, for a school assignment)
Not going to lie, I adore those "fanfiction" assignments. Was this something you did during undergrad?

Usually, I just feel less need to go and search out stuff for canon-ships, even if I like the said ship, cause chances are I already get enough of it in canon. I noticed that's probably why I also have problems shipping popular ships as well, just because there's already so much of it I don't feel the need to look for it, think about it, all that. I'm just so used to having to break my neck to find fic, I guess. (oddly enough, even the "popular" nordic ships don't even have that much fic going for them. I mean, given the size of the fandom and all. The main comm has over 20,000 members, for crying out loud. Though with the influx of crap going through there, I don't think most people are that active of watchers, cause in other big fandoms I've been in with not as many members, posts tended to get a lot more comments)

To ask someone to continue writing fic, especially when the last update came a few years ago, it's just silly. I mean, it's logical to assume that they've moved on. I've come across wonderful fics that stopped being updated years ago a few too many times, but I don't see why I should bother the writer about something they're not interested in anymore. It's a bummer, yeah, but life moves on. I'm always sort of worried when I comment to someone's fic, cause I'm not exactly sure where the line between putting pressure on the writer to continue, and encouraging the writer to continue actually is.

I found out at a very early age that searching for an innocent and cherished childhood show on dA will corrupt your soul and send you into tears. Sure, to each their own, but, err, I did not need to see Scooby Doo and Shaggy doing that. It's only made worse because some kids don't know when the mature filters are necessary. I mean, whether some things should be labeled mature can be debatable, but that's just a given. A GIVEN. Oh, the days when the Internet could still shock and astound me. Not so much anymore.

Oi, man, that seems like a lot of work. I'm not even interested in the My Little Ponies whatsoever, but yet for some reason I kind of. . . get it. It's that universal understanding nerds have, for when it comes to spazzing over something most people aren't interested in, or like in this case, putting a lot of effort into something most people wouldn't be interested in, you know? I don't know if MLP is nerdy or not, I'm just defining "nerdy" here as liking non-mainstream stuff (actually, I've heard that nerd relates to intelligence and geek refers to being overly interested in stuff, but I figure there's no harm in using these terms interchangeably and besides, I like the word "nerd" more than I like "geek" but I digress). Or maybe this universal ways of nerds is just totally a figment of my imagination ;___;

I do really love it when people have a collection of something. It doesn't even matter what it is, whether it's ordinary like rocks or something a bit more quirky. Especially when they have their collection out, it gives you something to look at. I think it makes the person more interesting too, haha. Then again I can usually find something interesting about anyone (though it might take awhile, especially if you're talking to someone who doesn't want to admit to liking something uncommon).

I'm a pretty fast reader myself, but it sometimes takes me awhile to read books just because I get distracted easily. I'll read half a page and then my mind will wander off thinking of something else. This of course, isn't so bad when I finally get my reading mojo on, but it's still annoying. Ich, I have a feeling that reading too much fic might have skewed what my brain expects to see when I'm reading. If you know what I mean coughcough I hardly got any reading done over the summer. I finished one and managed to get half-way down a tl;dr one, but that's about it sob. Speaking of long novels, there's one I've been all notsureifiwant.gif about, Infinite Jest or something. I picked that sucker up and realized that you could probably use two of them and start weight lifting with them. Though, I'm probably not ready for that so I'll just stick to. . . Lincoln's Briefs or something which is a very silly book I found in Chapters the other day. Something about Lincoln staging his own assassination and then running off to Canada to live a life of high fashion. Somewhere along the line, he adopts an albino moose. The back also reads, "Honest Abe? More like HONEST BABE!' and you're probably thinking "that sounds stupid and you have terrible taste in books" but it's not my fault if I enjoy reading silly things every so often ;___; The bastardization of history is something I hold dear to my heart.

Too late, I have already resisted the tempting ways of English! I mean, I was thinking about going into English once, back in the day~! When I was like, in grade nine or something. Not that it matters much because you're speaking to someone who has probably wanted to go into every goddamn field at some point. The English thing wouldn't work out anyways, I hardly pay attention to grammar. Most of what I write probably sounds terrible because I don't fret too much how I'm writing unless it's being marked. I write how I talk, more or less. Minus those silly/dorky mannerisms/voices/expressions you can't translate into text.

I remember in art, some people were talking about what they use to colour their digital art. It really is hard convincing people that Photoshop is not the end all be all for colouring digital art. I think I may have convinced them though, especially when I told them about the prices for the others. And when it became sort of obvious that I knew more about these programs than they did hoho

Who was the guy who told you this, anyways? I mean, did you look at his page and find an artist of extremely high calibre or was it just some guy who wasn't all that great at art himself? While a comment coming from either is bound to make you bound, the effect of how hard it hit you might be affected by who was saying it, I guess? Either way, don't let a douche bag get to you. He's probably just desperate to sound intelligent in that area cause he's got nothing else going for him.

I scribble every day. Multiple times. When I'm trying to wake up at school and when my brain is melting from schoolwork and in my bed when I'm trying to sleep so I can just draw instead of being left alone with my thoughts.
But, err, you scribble at parties, you say? Aaah I couldn't imagine drawing at parties D: D: D: I don't know what it is, I have public drawing anxiety or something. No one can see what I draw in real life ever You should've seen me at this one crowded art class, my hands were shaking real bad and I was so nervous and I ended up just acting like a total idiot and orz orz orz I don't even get that nervous before exams arghh BUT ANYWAYS. If your at a party, doesn't that mean that you get a lot of people coming up to you and asking you about what you're drawing? Maybe you could try sketching at a cafe or something! And draw whatever feels right for you, buddy. I totally hear you on not liking to draw buildings though. Especially pictures of cities, that stuff is just death. You've got to put in all those perspective lines too. Buildings just require too much ruler-action, which sucks, because half the time I can't even draw straight lines with rulers anyways. They always end up diagonal :(

I'm still not convinced on how not-deathly-hard pretty poetry (or prose poetry) can be. It is an area that will forever be a mystery to me.

New source material is always a beautiful thing, since it comes so scarcely. I'm of the mind that I don't really care about getting new characters as much as I do getting strips about character that haven't been featured yet. Despite this, I will admit that Australia's character design was pretty over-due. I mean, it's Australia! No place quite like Australia. Well, maybe New Zealand, but I'm sure some of them would resent me saying that. Also, this never really occurred to me before, but I have met a surprising amount of people who went to live in Australia for a little while. It's almost as if it's the number one study-abroad spot here (I don't think I could handre it, though. Too hot. Also: deadly animals).

Yeah. There's always the chance you might be vague about what's going on and we'd have no idea as to how bad it is with you, though :(

I don't get not taking university classes seriously either. I mean, even if someone else was paying for you, whether it's parents or scholarships, it's still worth thousands of dollars. I couldn't even imagine flunking out of university either. Maybe it's because I always sort of knew I'd be going to university? Truth be told, I pretty much spent my childhood assuming that most people went to university. As for showing appreciation towards teachers, ah, well, the whole speaking up in class bit might be hard cause we don't really have classes in the traditional sense, but at least I bother them fairly often? I enjoy asking them things unrelated to the course more than I do looking them up, at least. They tend to get very. . . excited. One of them, depending on what you ask, sometimes has to end up standing and just practically jumping everywhere when he explains stuff, it's so precious :')

Please tell me that at the very least, you aren't falling asleep at four in the afternoon? One in the morning I can understand, but otherwise I think that's maybe a sign that you should get more of a little something-something, yeah? /motherly tone.

Ah, so you wouldn't leave fandom then? Listen, as the Hetalia fandom lets out a relieved sigh.

Jesus, 60,000 words? That's more than NaNo requires you do! Then you say you have more than that. Would you be bummed if you happened to all of it?

I WAS LOL'ING BECAUSE I AM CALGARIAN AND BY DEFAULT WE ARE ALL "LOL EDMONTON." PERHAPS THEY ARE THE SAME, OR PERHAPS WE'RE JUST ASSHOLES DOWN HERE. YEE FUCKING HAW. oh god can they please stop promoting this cowboy image IT IS A LIE I still went and bought cowboy boots though cause for as long as i am in Calgary i will be able to wear them. Super investment of life.

Hohoho, you've got an expert in Icelandic literature? Have you got anything with them? At the very least, have you been bothering them? I don't recall you bringing that up, though that could be my fault.

but many of the people in my class (I studied it in first-year university). Aaaand that's pretty much all I have to say about that.

. . . I take it that they didn't like it? Way to leave me hanging there, bro.

Well, nowadays I think lots of modern buildings get torn down once they're out of style and deemed ugly, or when someone else wants to move there. The only stuff that isn't torn down is the stuff that has already been there for god knows how long, and it's for the sake of preserving history and culture. So while they might be safer, they probably aren't being built to last thousands of years because they know it'll get torn down. And, well, it goes without saying that they didn't have such means of building like that whenever they liked back in the day. Or that philosophy. Ohh, which makes me wonder, how did people back in the day see the future? Did they just imagine things being exactly the same for as long as humanity lived? You probably wouldn't think that kind of thing if you had even just the most rudimentary understanding of how history's panned out, but, err I have no idea how much historical knowledge people a thousand years ago had (and the changes weren't as great as they are now but still). ahh, I dunno, I'm not expecting them to be imaging a Star Trek-esque world, of course not, but I just wonder how much people thought we'd change.
DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS SUBJECT.

I think it's probably too late to get pictures of leaves and the fall now :( I wish we had a nice looking fall here, and by that I mean not so dry and not so yellow. I want some nice orange and red leaves, like they have out in the east. Then again, it's sort of yellow-ish here for most of the year anyways. Yellow-er than most, anyways. It gets green pretty late either late, and stops being green pretty early because it's so damn dry. It's hard to complain about rain when you rarely get it, or so I think. Though sometimes it does get annoying if it rains for a week straight, because while I like the rain, no one wants to get out during it, so you're stuck at home.

Ohhh, I know that feeling. You probably dislike that Can/Pol fic because you know how much you might've improved, or you know you could do better. Thing is, no one else really knows if you can "do a better job" or if it's "not your best work," for everyone else good is good. And since it was written last year, I don't think you should use it to judge how good you think your work is now. Personally, I think the greatest self-esteem booster in this whole creative business is to look at something you did a year or few ago, cringe at how bad it is, and then feel good that you've improved. Even if it's just little things. If that's making any sense.

To me it seems like you've said that you've got a lot you're planning to do during Christmas. Fic-wise, anyways. Do you guys not get lots of work over Christmas?

Pity that not everyone can regard journals as "DO NOT TOUCH" objects. I'm terribly paranoid about where I leave my stuff, cause rest be assured someone's going to end up looking through it. People say they don't snoop, but I don't know if I should trust them on that.

I'm surprised you finished yours so soon too! Two days man. And here I am, taking nearly a goddamn month to write it ;___; I said I'd have it done by the weekend but, I don't know. aieojtoaiejt. couldn't brain. . And I went off on a lot of tangets. And aren't you not supposed to start sentances with "and," cause I swear I've heard that somewhere and I usually try to avoid it.

okay well
adios amigos

I hope you got a poppy for today.

. . .HAHAH CAPTCHA IS OCTOBER CRISIS

I'm posting as anon cause IT JUST FEELS RIGHT.
and i'm posting it here because. . . I dunno . IT JUST FEELS RIGHT. and i'm too afraid to post it elsewhere :|

I'm tired so thoughts are coming in pretty slowly, and they are coming in pretty jumbled too. Not to mention I held off writing this for a bit, ahaha cause I wasn't in the mood to tl;dr but yeah. and then there's the fact that when I'm tired I have a non existent attention span

This is all nonsense. Really. I went off on a tangent, I don't even think what I'm talking about is even relevant to what I was supposed to be talking about. so this is more or less some random rambly bits on my thoughts on these two. For taking so long this should probably sound a great deal more intelligent, but whatever. Such is life.

also I don't know if the fact that I ship these two like FedEx has any, err, influence on what I wrote. I think it's pretty easy to assume that this can be mostly platonic, for all your Est/Fin lovin' needs

okay the bit where I actually started typing is here:

I mean, maybe it's not because I'm thinking coherently, but I don't even know where to start with the matter you gave me! I see that kind of thing and I'm just, well, totally boggled.

It's not like Sweden's a great deal more powerful than him anymore, they're fairly even now, I think. Certainly comparable. I don't really want to make too many assumptions as far as that concerned, as I'd probably have to dig up some information and statistics and all, but the bottom line is that Sweden isn't this powerful empire looming right beside a small little ethnic group anymore.

I don't think lots of people even bothered giving thought as to why Finland would be afraid of Sweden in the first place (back in the day), though it doesn't take much thinking as to figure out why he would be. Sweden had enough power back in the day to totally own Finland, if he so wanted to. Finland just didn't have the means to protect himself. I mean, if I recall correctly, Finland didn't even have it's own army or anything, cause all Finns went to fight for Sweden and not Finland (I could totally be wrong, though). We all know that Sweden fails at expressing his benign intentions, so thanks to that you got a Finland who was continuously afraid of him because he didn't know that Sweden just simply wouldn't harm him like that.

Actually, Sweden being powerful and all would probably explain a lot as to why Finland seemed to latch on to him in the comic. I'd assume that that would imply some kind of self-awareness in Finland. He must've known real well that as a nation, he was pretty weak so it's best he appears likable to Sweden. Independence would be ace and all, but being as weak as he was, being under control a more powerful nation was certainly better than having to fight against one, you know? And being under a powerful nation would probably be easier if you were on good terms with them, which is probably were you get endearing nicknames such as su-san :| (though I personally would prefer Finland calling Sweden like, oh, Sve or something. Ruosti's/Ruo's cute, but considering the Swedish attitude towards the Finnish language back in the day, I don't think that'd be wise).

Ooh, that reminds me: it's really strange to hear people refer to these two as married. I mean, in the sense that say, Austria-Hungary was "married" (or Sweden-Norway, cause I know you'd like that more. THough, err, I dunno if they're even the same sort of deal because truth be told, I don't know anything about the Sweden-Norway union. Speaking of that, how's the fic going? ) Sure, you could maybe argue that Finland was sort of playing a more traditional role of a "wife" in that he was with someone and his voice didn't matter so much (though you'd have to make your argument pretty carefully) but I mean, even though Finland played a big part, especially in fighting wars and all, there wasn't a real union of governments, was there? Finland was a province of Sweden. I don't think they were married any more than Estonia was married to Sweden, you know? OKAY BUT MOVING ON TO HOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP NOW ISN'T LIKE IT WAS BACK IN THE DAY

I mean, it's obvious that there'd be lots of differences depending on the year. Getting close to the end of the eighteenth century, for example. That's a time period I'd love to find more good fic on with these two, because I think it'd be so neat to see Finland really conflicted about his relationship with Sweden. You had people thinking that he should stay with Sweden for various reasons, some were opting for Russia for various reasons, and some didn't really care as long as Finland would end up being treated better than he was at the time and etc etc etc. Alas, pretty most of all Sweden/Finland + Russia fanworks can be summed up as "ohh no evil Russia-chan takes me away from precious su-san T__T *is whipped and raped and hurt by russia*" cause, you know, it's not like Russia treated Finland a lot better (prior to Russification) than Sweden did or anything. Ahh man, can you just imagine what that whole bit would do to their relationship dynamics? There's no doubt Finland would seriously start re-evaluating his relationship with Sweden Sure, he'd still feel loyal to Sweden to some extent (I remember my book saying something. . . something about not putting really putting Finns against Swedes in battle, cause the loyalty was still there? idk, brb going to the library), but, well, it'd be different. I'd think that by that time Finland wouldn't be in the whole "okay-lets-try-to-get-sweden-to-like-me-cause-he's-scary" sort of mindset anymore (I dunno when that'd end, really), but it'd just go further. I can see Finland being more confident before Sweden now, and probably before everyone else, what with the national awakening that was going on. Sweden would probably start feeling guilty, even prior to Finland being annexed by Russia, especially since Sweden appeared to care for him a lot, but his government did subjugate Finland pretty bad over the last few centuries ( I do think that to some extent even Sweden-the-character did view Finland as, I'm not sure how to say this, but beneath him culturally?) Err, I dunno about you but I can see Sweden starting to doubt the idea of Finland still staying with him, even prior to Finland actually being turned over to Russia. Ah, well, there's certainly no doubt that by the end of a century with Russia, Sweden thought of Finland of its own nation considering how it recognized Finland as a nation like, half an hour after Russia did :' ) (and I mean, really, that's a huge difference to how it was before)

Speaking of Finnish independence, you know what I don't get? Why some people think that the first thing Finland would do is run back to Sweden. Err, shouldn't Finland maybe spend some time with his own people, drinking vodka and celebrating and all? Maybe he could go out for a drink with Estonia or something, I don't know. Point is, by then, Finland doesn't have that same kind of dependency on Sweden anymore. They're always going to be dependant on each other to some extent, I mean, they're right next to each other but it's different. Shit's changed, and I'm too tired to recall what I know about that time period (not much).

ughh the annoying thing with trying to figure these guys out is that there's the character, the government and the people. especially when you take into consideration the not-so-nice way the Swedish crown treated Finland, sometimes. I mean, if Sweden (the character) had it his way, I certainly don't think a third of Finland's population would've died in famine back. . . back whenever it was, end of the 17th century. (and then you get weird facts like the fact that the famine didn't really hinder Finland's loyalty to the crown that much. which makes no bloody sense. Seriously, why can't the relationship between these two be straightforward ;___;)
and then there's stuff like in the Winter War, I guess. Government couldn't do anything, but Sweden (character) surely wanted to help and I heard that there was sizeable support for Finland among the public to. I hear there were posters put up that said stuff like "Finland's cause is our cause" and stuff like that ;3;

I'm getting verryyy tired now but er, as far as relations today go, ahh I'd love it if people could make do a bit with the attitude some Finns have towards Sweden today. I think I've only really seen it done once, but it was pretty neat to see. I mean, especially since you had Finland being a bit of a dick to Sweden while still being oh so adorable at the same time. I want to see Finland being all competitive towards Sweden with Sweden not really being that into it himself (he's too busy making fun of Norway and Denmark, clearly).
I really need to learn more about the actual relations between these two countries though. I like those little tidbits you even get from people at the meme, people from Finland and Sweden when people ask them what the countries think of each other.

TL;DR LIKE I SAID, THE WHOLE LITTLE ETHNIC GROUP VS KINGDOM/EMPIRE? NOT IN TODAY'S WORLD PAL, NOT IN TODAY'S WORLD.

maybe it's lame that i'm thinking too much about a gag comic
but at this point i don't know if i'm thinking about the comic anymore ahah pff
BUT AT THE SAME TIME I FEEL LIKE I TYPED UP A WHOLE BUNCH OF NOTHING, SO IT'S LIKE I'M NOT REALLY THINKING AT ALL _{i just haven't tl;dr'd about these guys in awhile. i needed to get it out I'M SORRY I'M SORRY}
also, you'd cry if you saw how many spelling errors were in this

Posting anon BECAUSE IT FEELS RIGHT is a-okay by me, bro. And it makes sense enough to post it here. It's like page 3 is our ~special place~. Though I kind of find it hilar, the way it's stretched all to hell.

Anyway, I would think the degree to shipping would have an effect on the way one thinks about it, yes. ;p As for me, I do like these two, so it's all good. But they're complicated, which makes them a pain in the ass for me to write - but, anyway.

I certainly agree with you on the matter of time + power. The dynamic is (should be) different in modern period, compared to pre-1809 stuff, and even in the different periods before that, the dynamic would change as well (though not as drastically).

I like your explanation as to why Finland latched on to Sweden. I have the impression that even though he might not always seem it, he's very self-aware, and very conscious as to the condition of his people, and what's needed. I've heard people offer the explanation of something along the lines that "Anything else but being with Sweden didn't really occur to him" but I don't buy that.

(Also, I agree with you on the matter of nicknames, of course. In his head, he'd call him Ruotsi, but I don't think he would say it, definitely not. Sve, maybe.
... At this point I must admit that I'm warming up to the idea of modern Finland calling Sweden 'su-san', BUT that is only because of my new headcanon that Finland is a bit of a weeaboo. Fffff.)

I don't like it when people refer to Sweden and Finland as married, or as having been married. If we're speaking in past-tense, it's very problematic. The modern view of marriage implies an equal relationship, and I'd say that is very much not what the situation was for them in earlier times. Finland was a province of Sweden. It wasn't a Union. Finland's territory was more like property, really.
If we're going to talk marriage, I'd say Sweden/Norway is slightly more compatible with the idea, and it was a union, with separate governments and everything, though one was ultimately subject to the other. And Norway wasn't entirely thrilled about the whole thing, didn't really want it, but... that's old-fashioned marriage for you. (Let's not talk about the fic. I haven't worked on t for ages)

Anyway, I pretty much agree entirely with your Big Long Paragraph of tl;dr. Actually, it bothers me quite a bit when the whole thing with Russia is portrayed as a cut-and-try case of RapistRussia considering, as you noted, at first things were pretty okay between Russia and Finland. Certainly not bad, not at first. And I also agree completely with the matter of Sweden's attitude toward Finland changing quite a bit of time before the 1809 loss. You put it in a way that I had considered before, but couldn't really articulate.

I don't get why some people think that Finland would go directly back to Sweden immediately after gaining independence, either. All things considered, there would be a lot that he'd need to take care of before even thinking about igniting old flames. There was trouble brewing; Finland's civil war happened only a year after independence. He'd have to take care of that shit before worrying about anything else. Pick up the pieces.

The problem of character & government & people is indeed what makes it frustrating, but it's also what I find so interesting about this group (and also Hetalia in general). But when trying to distinguish between them all, it's hard. That's actually one of the few cases when I do think that the human names can be useful; when referring only to the person that is Finland or Sweden, as separate but also connected to all that other stuff.

Anyway. I enjoyed your tl;dr, as usual. <3 <3 Aaaa. I love it when people babble about stuff I agree with. And DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING IT OUT. I LIKE HEARING IT. Seriously!

Edited 2009-11-06 07:09 (UTC)

No seriously this is spam why do i feel embarrassed spamming you
but i must let out this fangirl-y ness

So I was aimlessly browing pixiv and I came across this picture

YESSSSSS FINLAND AND REINDEER DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I JUST-- aeiotjaoietjoiaetj I'm sorry this has got to be one of my favourite pictures of the guy ever. I mean, reindeer (and moose and deer and all those other delightful animals of that sort) are cute and Finland is cute, so then you put them together and you get me melting into this puddle of warm fuzzy feelings. I MEAN THAT REINDEER IS BLUSHING. LOOK AT IT.

I swear I don't like cute things :| :| :| but this is an exception. oh hey sunday is going to be a good day to save Finland art aww yess

Also, slightly related: where my friend works, they brought in reindeer (or caribou as we say it, but hey, it's that time of year) for Christmas. Not just reindeer, but, well, you know how there are like miniature/dwarf horses/ponies? Apparently these are little dwarf reindeer. Or so she says, I'm still doubtful and I have a feeling that they're just young (or not that small) but still! Also, they were just letting them walk around free and they're domesticated and aaaah as soon as the weather calms the hell down a bit, I'm going to go and see them ♥♥♥

+ I figure i should maybe reply to that little tl;dr thing from below, next time i am in a rambly mood.

okay that is all

toodles

AHHHHHHHH

CUUUUUUUTE

SO CUTE

LSKDJFLKSDJF

*dies from cute*

Thank you for this, brah :V

Fscking counter, whatever did I do to you?!

I tried everything but it's not showing up, I'm sorry! If I have the chance I'll try the computer room in the university building. Meanwhile, since you said

IF NOT, COME HERE AND LET ME LOVE YOU

IF NOT

I'll just stay here crying quietly in the corner ;_;

(I read you were ill, I hope you're feeling better by the time you read this!)

Are you using a computer that belongs to you (like a laptop or something)? That might be why it's not showing up. Buuuut I'm not sure.

Anyway, 'If Not' -- YOU SILLY THING. You already have my love, you know that! *ruffles* I just want to love on someone else, too 8D

And as a matter of fact, I'm actually feeling a bit better today! Eee~~

I'm getting adverts in Russian. I don't know why I find it funny, but I do.

Yup, I'm using my laptop, maybe that's the cause. I don't know, it was weird, when I went to register that guy got my IP and put it on that list and... no idea how that list works, exactly... So yeah, I'll have to find the computer room someday!

T-that's good to know ♥ /sob

And that's good to know too! I know how horrible sinusitis is, I wouldn't even make my worst enemies go through it D: ~~ok maybe I would~~

BY THE WAY I'll ask you again: what kind of present should I get you? There's so many things and yet nothing has caught my eye especially, and since it's not like I can come here as often as I'd like to, I'd prefer to send you something you really want instead of just guessing. So give me some hints? ;_;

♥ Well, at least you tried. 's the thought that counts.

'Sinusitis'? Never heard it called that, but I like it. 's perfect. FORTUNATELY I'm feeling pretty good; getting outside (on my own) really helped.

As for what kind of ting - gahhh, I'm not sure. But here are some things to consider. Since you're sending it a long way, it should be rather small, lightweight, and not breakable. All things considered, I want to keep it forever (and ever and ever), so not something that would be used up or worn down. I like colourful things (especially yellow, also blue), also things that are wooden or old-looking. Ehh... scarves and well-made notebooks/journals are two things I really like but never buy for myself.

aksdjf I don't know if that will help any. ;~; But oh well. ANYWAY, I hope you're having a good time <3 I wish I could be there with you!

IT WORKED YESSSSS

I have to go now, I´ll reply properly later! For now, enjoy the new flag on your counter :D

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Nunu, I'm so happy, I could kiss you. 8D

Edited 2009-07-17 14:52 (UTC)

The part maxed. B| Ah, well, the unwritten laws of Internet etiquette probably says that two days is too long to reply to a conversation anyway. *sob* rl *sob*

Anywho~ Have a non-div'd picture:

It was actually supposed to be NorFin but somewhere along the way, it turned into FinEst. Nothing wrong with that, I'm sure you'd say and I must also agree. But still, something about Finland looked kinda off and, well...

Apparently, Finland + re-colored hair = a perfectly OOC smiling!Iceland

I--I'm sorry, I have no idea what to do with these anymore. Here you go; do whatever you want with them. (Like giving Iceland a frowny B( face or something.)

Oh, and just in case it wasn't ~totally obvious~ I'm that anon from the meme who liked NorFin and EstIce and made you tl;dr about them. Hello~ Lovely weather we're having?

Ahhh, you! ♥ Good to see you again! (A pox on the rules of internet etiquette - two days might be slow for the meme, but I'll reply to anything at any time...)

Anyway. Eeeeee, you drew them! And holy crap, Ice+Est, yesss~! I love you for this!
He does look awfully smiley though. Hah, well, either he's drunk or -- well, I don't know. Seems to me, he can't be all "...." ALL the time, you know? So, there! (While I'm thinking of it, have you seen this? Smiley Iceland AND Norway! Gasp!)

Maybe this is the push I need in order to start writing something, eh? We'll see ;p I'm glad you stopped by - It's easier to talk to people here, I find, as it doesn't move so quickly.

♥! I'm glad you feel that way since, well...here I am, three days later. And have fun on your trip, apparently. :D

Eeeeee (Haha, you're so cute.) I can't help it; I love drawing them! Probably because they're the easiest for me to draw. ~~Norway's a bitch, though; can't figure out how his hairpin works. >B( Also, coloring--I will learn to do that well someday. Along with doing quality outlining.~~ It also helps that I love them lots. Have another?:

Fun fact: That image file with smiling Iceland was called Hey, Estonia, wanna skyr Denmark's lawn or something Oh boy, do I ever. (And the one with Finland was called Obligatory comment about where Estonia's hand's at or something.) Pretty much sums up my thoughts on what was going on in that picture, though he does look pretty drunk now that you mention it, pffthaha-- and now I can't look at that picture without thinking of drunk Iceland hitting on everyone and Estonia going along with it. "Everyone" because my thoughts just run out of control like that sometimes.

But, as much as I'd like to believe there's more to Iceland's personality than just )B|, I still imagine he's not very expressive. Perhaps he'll let slip a smirky grin once in a while, but mostly I think he's pretty awkward and doesn't usually know how to interact with people, and thus, )B| (Ah~ And, yes, I've seen that picture before, but I totally forgot about it until now. Makes me feel all fuzzy inside, much like how that little Denmark in the picture must feel. ♥ )

Well, I wouldn't purposely force you to do anything. Personally, I find it's more fun to do things for yourself. But if you feel the push you need, who am I to stop you?~ Just tell me to stop any time or I might end up spamming you with every IceEst pic I draw. I seriously have nothing else to do with them otherwise. :|

Er, make that four days later (I'm so sorry. I spent my precious little Internet time reading books of all things.) and I so didn't mean to div that. Anon habits are hard to break.

THE TRIP WAS EXCELLENT. Aaaand now I'm back and I have 2039948 pages of the meme to catch up on. FFFFFFFF

If you love drawing them, you should draw them mooooore, and show it all to meeeeeee. As for Norway's hairpin, I don't understand it either. Pbbbt. I love it though, and I'm actually trying to make one, because I am a huge nerd. Clearly I need something better to do with my time.

(Colouring is difficult - takes so much practise! I'm much better at that than drawing though...)

Anyway. Excuse me while I keymash. LKASJDKF THEY ARE SO CUTE AHHHHHHH. Don't ever stop ♥!

Drunk Icy hitting on everyone and Estonia going along with it = yes. I like the way you think. Clearly we share a brain - or something. At least, in some ways.

I still imagine he's not very expressive.

You're probably right. It's part of what makes him difficult for me - hard to figure out how to write somebody like that. Pfft, he's a pain in the butt, just like his brother. But that's all right. When I get it right, the feeling is so good. ♥ Anyway, I think 'awkward' would describe him pretty well. When I think about it, I mean - for much time, he was quite isolated, right? So he wouldn't really know how to get on with people, aside from Norway and I guess Denmark. So there is that. I guess when I get around to writing some Ice/Est (aside from just porn) I'll just have to run with that and see how it goes.

Anyway, I never implied you'd force me~ Though encouragement and/or planting ideas in my head is always good. Ultimately I do things for myself, as it makes me happy... though sometimes (at the same time) I do things for other people, and occasionally those things turn out to be my best (thinking of Small Hours/Starry Night here). Not always though.

AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD EVER OBJECT TO ICE/EST SPAM. Pfft, you crazy thing!

Gahhhh~
You and your creepy icons.

Creepy~?

Well, okay, that one isn't creepy. Fff. <3

There we are, then. Fff, you're a silly thing, but I love it.

It's difficult to channel the crazy.

HEY GUESS WHAT. SEX. IN ICELAND FORM.

Oooooh. SEX IS RIGHT. Why hello there, Icy....

Dun Dun Dun! Your ICELAND has evolved into SEXBOMB.

SEXBOMB is trying to learn the move WHORE SELF FOR LOANS. But SEXBOMB can only learn four moves at once! Delete a more to learn WHORE SELF FOR LOANS?

Why the hell does this make me laugh every time I see it? FFF. Noon, you bloody hoser, I love you so much. ♥!

I LOVE DONUTS.

Haha, Pan's is still best, somehow:

ilu too you bloody wanker. ♥ ~~hahaha what i'm totally not british.~~

AKJHASKJDH. YOU.

I just wrote the most horrifyingly lame and embarrassing note to go in your nowhere-fucking-near-your-birthday-anymore card. I hope you're happy. :| 'Course, there's no telling when I'll mail it. Ha. /fail

Also, I am enjoying the company of your cookies in your absence. Our conversations are simple and mostly consist of me making pleased noises. I just nommed this adorable, baby-sized cookie. Oh yes~ You might have been right about the ~only for your baked goods~ bit. *smirk*

HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME~!! ♥

:| YOU ONLY LOVE ME FOR MY COOKING. SOB.

Last night I though cursed was you (http://aphanon-meme.livejournal.com/8923.html?thread=73799131#t73799131) (also it was a picspam thread so there are pics and it loads slow okay).

Then...

[22:59] alreadycursed: oh, pff
[22:59] alreadycursed: just the way you had the question mark, *facedesk*
[22:59] alreadycursed: just bad character tracks and really cheesy opening and ending themes
[23:00] noonesque: oh
[23:00] noonesque: yeah
[23:00] noonesque: FACEDESK
[23:00] noonesque: ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE NOT YUU
[23:00] noonesque: HE FACEDESKS ALL THE TIME
[23:01] alreadycursed: AGH. I'm not! :|
[23:01] alreadycursed: akjsdhf, that face doesn't fit my argument...
[23:02] alreadycursed: how about >| instead....
[23:02] noonesque: :|
[23:02] noonesque: hi yuu
[23:02] noonesque: how is estonia
[23:02] alreadycursed: agh. and my reaction to that is to facedesk, gdi

LOOK AT WHAT YUU HAVE DONE YUU. LOOK.

HE'S HORRIBLE. HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED. EXCEPT I KNOW HE WON'T BE. EVER. WHAT A PUNK.

IKR. GOSH YUU STOP INFECTING PEOPLE WITH YOUR YUUNESS.

IA.

YES WHY ARE YOU ANONING.

GET OVER HERE AND USE YOUR NAME YOUNG LADY. |

CUZ HE'S TOTALLY A BULLY TOO.

I'M CUTER.

WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS ANON ON HERE. ffff I don't even know.

MANWAY. YESSSSSSSSS. Thankyou for this.

Musu sent me this. I felt the need to share.

Also omg Yuu I am apping as Iceland in this new RP and I reeeeally want to get though and I hope I do. ;A; I'm a bit nervous though, really nervous. I hope I get in.

m;ldskfl;kdsl

But my new RP account is so shiny and cute, too, ahhh. *A*

But my new RP account is so shiny and cute, too, ahhh. *A*

I WILL BACK THIS STATEMENT UP. IT'S FUCKING ADORABLE.

fkdlskf';l;'d

DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD THAT MAKES ME FEEL. I JUST EXPLODED. ILU BBE. &HEARTS; ;A;

COME ON. WHITE LASHES? I SWOONED, BABY. AND THAT WAS JUST THE NAME. ♥♥♥

*MAD HUGS* ILU2

O HAY BBY. WANNA SWOON AGAIN.

WELL IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE VIOLET_EYES BUT THAT WAS TAKEN. (I know inb4 bawww blue eyes but his purple are growing on my like in that icon up there where they match his suit.)

/hugs like a frenzy of feeding sharks or something

ICELAND, YOU SEX MACHINE.

:o SHARK ATTACK! *noms*

Oh, Iceland. I love bad techno~♥

HE'S JUST LOOKING FOR MONEY BABY. I love this song. UNS UNS UNS BABY~♥

WHY AM I SO ENTRANCED!?!?

...IDK EITHER. BUT DAYYYYUM WHAT I WOULD--

WHY AM I PEDO FOR ALL THESE CHARACTERS?

щ⌾д⌾щ

Why?

BECAUSE THEY'RE DELICIOUS.

(Pfff, I totally disregard the ages, as most of them make no sense....)

MMMMM DELICIOUS LITTLE NORDICS YESSSSSSSS.

I cannot help it, somehow.

(http://madame-orz.livejournal.com/5385.html?style=mine)

P.S. MAKE SURE YOU CLICK IT.

I AM DISTURBED

BY THE FIC OR THE ITEM ITSELF.

...

Are you reading this backwards or something.

BY EVERYTHING

And yes, as a matter of fact, I am.

WELL YOU KNOW WHAT.
AT LEAST ICELAND THINKS TO USE PROTECTION.

UNLIKE THAT SCAMP DENMARK.

THIS IS TRUE

He's considerate that way.

Such a nice boy. I bet big bro Norway is so proud.

I... I suppose you could put it that way. *cough*

He is considerate. Good little Iceland cares for hurt puffins and helps little old ladies across the street and wears condoms. We are all so proud. Unlike you...DENMARK.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 3 of 34

Contact/Spam post

Oh God, so lame...

FUCK YEAH PAGE THREE

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*tucks into bed and kisses on the forehead*

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Estonia's sparkles do not work on France

Re: Estonia's sparkles do not work on France

I didn't expect you to reply so fast <3

Re: I didn't expect you to reply so fast <3

Re: I didn't expect you to reply so fast <3

Slow this time. Travel + unpacking = tired

Re: Slow this time. Travel + unpacking = tired

Re: Slow this time. Travel + unpacking = tired

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WTF MY COMMENT EXCEEDED THE MAX BY 29 CHARACTERS D:

"Your comment of 4821 characters exceeds the maximum length of 4300"

Re: "Your comment of 4821 characters exceeds the maximum length of 4300"

Sorry, but your comment of 4391 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300. Please

your comment of 5022 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: your comment of 5022 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Sorry, but your comment of 4685 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300. Please try

Re: Sorry, but your comment of 4685 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300. Please

Sorry, but your comment of 5945 characters exceeds the maximum character length

Re: Sorry, but your comment of 5945 characters exceeds the maximum character length

Sorry, but your comment of 7560 characters <--- what have i done

if you don't want to reply to most of this i seriously cannot blame you.

your comment of 6061 characters exceeds the maximum character length

Re: your comment of 6061 characters exceeds the maximum character length

Your comment of 6789 characters exceeds the maximum character length

Re: Your comment of 6789 characters exceeds the maximum character length

your comment of 9007 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: your comment of 9007 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: your comment of 9007 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

your comment of 7923 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: your comment of 7923 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Your comment of 9820 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 9820 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 9820 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Your comment of 8205 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 8205 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Your comment of 12148 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 12148 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 12148 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Your comment of 9565 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 9565 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 9565 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Your comment of 16693 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 16693 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 16693 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 16693 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 16693 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Your comment of 11176 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 11176 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Re: Your comment of 11176 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300

Your comment of 18764 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 18764 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

Re: Your comment of 18764 characters exceeds the maximum character length of 4300.

tucks into bed and kisses on the forehead