I have to write a research paper for my Intro to Linguistics class and being the tremendous geek that I am, I decided to write on the proliferation of Japanese loanwords on the internet. And to do so, I need to do a bit of research. Would any of you loverly folks on my list mind answering a few questions for me? It's all anonymous, I just need a bit of data. If you could, answer the following questions for me in a reply to this post?

Thanks so much and know that your help gets me just a bit closer to graduating in May! *grins*

1. Do you now, or at any point in the past, use Japanese words/terms in the course of your daily internet usage?
2. If so, how often.
3. What Japanese words do you use most often? Please list word(s) and meaning(s).
4. When did you begin to use these Japanese words and why?
5. How did you first become exposed to the Japanese language?
6. Do you own an English/Japanese dictionary or do you go to a website/translator to learn Japanese vocabulary?
7. Do you have any screennames in Japanese? If so, what does the name mean and why did you choose it?

Yeeep, Dania and I have taken the plunge and started our very own little webcomic. ^^ It's called Synchronicity and can be found on the spiffy lil official site. It will include yaoi and mature content, not limited to and including violence, some material that some may consider offensive and other fun stuffs. If you're curious, pop on over and check it out. We think you'll find it interesting. *grins* We've also created an LJ account for the comic, a place for update announcements, general information and... >.> secret info. The link to that can be found on the site as well. ^^

Be sure to sign the guestbook and let us know what you think!

Okay, here's the deal... I responded to some friends' journals who had posted the whole "first x amount of ppl who reply to this get a free drawing BUT you have to post this on your journal if you respond". Well, I can't draw... not unless you want some craptastic stick figures.... but I figure I can do my own little spin on it...

SO... how about this? I'll write a ficlet for the first five that respond to this. You have to tell me what you want and who you want it about... and no, I don't really have any qualms about writing smut (Yaoi, het, or yuri). It'll not be anything TOO terribly involved... five pages or so. And it might take me a while to get it done... as I'm busy with classes, kids and house stuffs. But I'll sure give it a try! ^__^

Here we go...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Let me know what you want when you claim your space!

*runs off to check on dinner in the oven*

Yes, I'm about to rant.

No, I don't do it that often.

In fact, I don't think I've ever done it at all. I'm usually a pretty easy going person. Buuuuut... something has happened that has seriously ticked me off. I run a site that is devoted to the fancommunity of a particular anime character. It's an older anime and the fanbase is pretty much dying out like the dinosaurs. But, I am determined that even if all the other sites go belly up, mine is staying on the internet, goshdarnit!

Which brings me to my rant...

I was recently informed that it "sucks ass" that I don't have a lot of pictures in the gallery on my website. Well, GUESS WHAT??? I can only put up the stuff that people send me. Evidently people find plenty of time to load fanart here on DA, but they can't spend fifteen seconds to upload art onto the fansite???? WTF is up with that?? It's an automated system, much like the one here on DA. You log in, upload your picture, give it a title and description. Oooooh, SO hard, isn't it? The fanfiction archives work the SAME DAMNED WAY. So if there's not much material there, it's not MY DAMNED FAULT. I've given you people the means and methods to create a really decent fansite. It's not MY fault if no one can be bothered to contribute.

And SPEAKING of contributions... I've poured a lot of time, effort and MONEY into running my site. I don't constantly mention this. In fact, I don't mention it at all. I run a corresponding club here on DA and give subscriptions as prizes when we have a contest. And I do this out of my own pocket. Guess what folks? I don't have a job. I have two small children. But I do the best I can to make things fun and try to build up the community. And I have NEVER asked for donations or anything else. I did one time ask if we had merchandice of any sort, if people would be interested in helping out that way. Y'know what I got?? A bunch of excuses why no one COULD.

I'm tired of being chipper and cheerful and a doormat. No, I'm not shutting down the club or the website. But I'm tired of being told what sucks, or doesn't work, or what nobody likes. How about some suggestions as to what you'd like to see? I'm not a mindreader. If a link doesn't work, I need to be told. If there's something you DO like, I'd also like to be told about that too. Throw me a damned bone, okay? The occasional "gee, thanks, glad this is here" wouldn't hurt either.

*deep breath*

I'm sure I'll probably get a lot of "oh, well *I* put stuff up... sometimes" replies to this. If so, thanks. But the way I'm seeing it, I can't carry it all by myself. A bit of help now and then would be really nice.

Hell, maybe I'm just feeling unappreciated. I don't know.

Maybe nobody will reply to this at all. Right now, I actually don't really care. -.-

Welp, and I are collaborating on what promises to be a HUGE fic. I'll be posting it on my account at AFF.net since it will have a LOT of violence and seriously mature content. If you're interested, it's called Fate's Crucible and it's about my favorate sadomasochistic sociopath, Zankoku Satsujin. The link to my AFF account is [link]

If you're interested, check it out, and please, feed us comments! ^^

>.>

<.<

And just because I'm SO nice... here's a bit of a teaser. ^^

~ ~ ~ ~

It had been almost three hundred years since he last saw his elder brother. They had kept in contact though, exchanging communications regularly for the purposes of dealing with matters both familial and financial. He’d seen to it that his brother’s portfolio was in order and well managed, making sure that his modest personal fortune continued to grow. He had become worried when his brother missed their last scheduled meeting via comlink and when no contact had been forthcoming, he had taken the unusual step of sending a representative to the ship. It had been then that, to his dismay, he had learned that his brother was presumed dead. Though he did have to admit, some of their very last meetings had set him on edge. There had been something about his sibling that was starting to frighten him, which was saying something considering he nearly held his brother up to idol status. He didn’t care for the edge that had been creeping into his sibling’s voice over the past few years, and to his chagrin, he had always been rather glad when they would end their conversations, so he could go take a shower.



Just to feel clean.



He shook his head slightly, glancing over at his companion. Things would have been much easier if she had gotten into touch with him immediately following the loss of his brother, but it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t known how or even whom to contact. Zankoku’s overwhelming paranoia had assured that. Thus, two years passed while he’d gotten the appropriate paperwork and transportation arranged to meet with her. It was rather nice, he had to admit, to find someone as worried about his brother as himself.



What had followed was an intergalactic game of hopscotch as they attempted to track down his brother’s body. As an unidentified murder victim, it seemed that his body had been shuffled from the hospital to the morgue, and then to the disposal unit. Fortunately, the disposal unit had been severely backed up, so they sent a large cargo of bodies out to other storage facilities. Two years turned to three, then five, then ten and still they were always a step behind.



Until now.

~ ~ ~ ~

Go check it out! ^___^