“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.” – Oscar Wilde

Hello my darlings (hahaha, I've always wanted to say that sometime, somewhere, to someone XD),

I am an official alien, a self-proclaimed genius at doing nothing, and a proud GACKT fangirl! I find writing very therapeutic; whenever I have something on my mind, I always need to rant to stop thinking about it and writing is just the written form of ranting. Having said that, I have to admit that I am more of an artist-wannabe than a writer, and when I pick up a pencil, it is more likely to doodle or draw than to pen some awesome lucubration. Having read a ton of fanfiction over too many years to admit honestly, I have finally decided to try and write some of my own. Et voila. I am extremely slow so I apologize in advance for anyone who is (or will potentially be) disappointed at the slow updates.

Current Obsessions:

Love: Benedict Cumberbatch
Music: Maroon 5
Video Game: Lego Harry Potter
Theatre: Frankenstein (2011)

All-time Favourites

Anime: One Piece!
Manga: One Piece, Skip Beat!, Rurouni Kenshin, In the Walnut
Movie: Nightmare Before Christmas
Musicians/Bands: GACKT, X Japan
Actors: Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Sean Connery, Daniel Craig
TV: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Nodame Cantabile, Galileo (Jdrama), Liar Game
Video Games: Final Fantasy
Fiction: Harry Potter, Howl's Moving Castle
Non-fiction: Hitching Rides with Buddha, Wild Swans

Japanese Language Tips

Since most of the fics under the "anime/manga" section are based off Japanese works, I really love it when I come across those little bits of Japanese in someone's masterpiece because it really links it back to the original work. When the Japanese is slightly wrong, I chuckle a little and applaud the author for his/her efforts. HOWEVER, there are a few errors that I see over and over again, to the point where they get really annoying. So for anyone who cares, here's a list of them, why they're wrong, and suggestions on how it could be better/what could be used instead. I'll be adding to this list as I think of/come across them.

The use of the words "-koi" and "-ai" as endearments.
In English, people often use the word "love" as an endearment, and while the words "koi" and "-ai" do mean "love," Japanese people neither attach it to the end of a name ("Asuka-koi") nor use it to substitute for the whole name ("dinner is ready, ai"). For girls calling guys, "Anata" would be a better choice for married couples, and "darling" and "honey" have become popular since English is "cool." As for guys, endearments are not manly, so most of them don't do it. Calling a girl by her first name will usually have her simpering already.

The different ways of saying "I"
- Ore (pronounced "au-reh") - very informal way for guys, used between friends, etc.
- Boku - informalpolite'ish for guys, used between friends, classmates, acquaintances, when talking to a teacher, etc.
- Watashi - neutralpolite for both genders...but from experience, most guys will only use it in formal situations cuz it's less "manly" than the two above.
- Atashi - informal for girls, used between friends, etc.
- Watakushi - very stiff and formal for both genders, usually not used unless you're aristocracy or in a VERY formal situation. People who use this on a normal basis to refer to themselves are usually seen as snobby (aka. Doumyouji's mother in HYD always used "watakushi")

Speaking of snobby, if you want to express arrogance and/or conceit, "ore-sama" is one comical way of self reference usually used in a joking way, kind of like "the great me" or something. Also, a less frequently used one is having "kono" (literally "this") in front of one's own name. Yes, that would mean your character is referring to themselves in third person. For example, Sesshoumaru in Inuyasha always refers to himself as "kono Sesshoumaru" like "who dares disturb this Sesshoumaru?" It's kind of amusing.

Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) vs. Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)
This one is a little technical, but for anyone who wants to write a full Japanese sentence, English is a SVO language, meaning the subject (person doing the thing) comes first, followed by the verb (what they're doing), and the object (the thing/person that the action is done to) is last. So, for example, in the English sentence

"I kicked the puppy."
Subject - "I"
Verb - "kicked"
Object - "the puppy"
(no puppies were harmed in the creation of this example)

Japanese, on the other hand, is a SOV language, where sentences almost ALWAYS end with a verb and everything, including what/who the action is being done to, comes before the actual action. So the same sentence above, in Japanese, would be

"watashi wa koinu wo ketta.(literally, "I the puppy kicked.")
Subject - "watashi" (I)
Object - "koinu" (puppy)
Verb - "ketta" (kicked)
(no puppies were harmed in the translation of the above example into Japanese)

So, in other words, the quick and dirty tip is to ALWAYS HAVE THE VERB LAST. Do that, and you should be good.