http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_re_au_an/rice_student_arrest

And knowing my University, someone will give it a go. Should be interesting.

University starts back on Monday. Yay/boo?

1) The Dragon Knights fic exchange has renewed my love for high school/University AUs. I think every fandom I’ve been I’ve had high school AU’s that play out in my head but I never write. I think the weirdest one was the Yu-Gi-Oh/Final Fantasy 7 crossover, which centered around Vincent/Ruuji, and Cloud/Reno. I often through them into the university setting because then I can have one of the characters sleeping with one of the lecturers without it seeming too skeevy.

Anyway, so the DK exchange reminded me of my DK high school/University AU (it shifted between the two depending on what plot points I went with) that I had plotted in my head years ago. Mainly Tetheus/Kai-stern of course ^_^. Tetheus’ father was distant and formal, and of course there were his naughty younger twin brother and sister who wreaked havoc wherever they went. The newer version of Tetheus might also be quite popular at school as the strong, silent star of a sports team. I was initially thinking basketball but that’s so American. That said, every time I try and imagine Tetheus playing cricket I burst out laughing. His father has very set plans for Tetheus’ future, which Tetheus isn’t completely on board about.

The school believes that Kai-stern is living with his grandmother as legally he’s too young at 16 to live on his own, however this is just a cover and Kai-stern actually has his own studio. His parents left the area when they divorced , but Kai-stern decided to stay where he was, in part because he had no intention of going with either of his parents, in part because he considers this his home, but largely because he wants to be near his young cousin Rath and help him through the tough times he’s going through. Because Kai-stern’s supporting himself without any assistance from anyone, he’s always working several jobs – usually one at the local supermarket, the other stocking up the alcohol etc at the local bar (although he sometimes ends up serving even though he’s underage). Because of his odd hours he has a habit of catching up on sleep while at school, which pisses Alfeegi off to no end. Alfeegi probably has a better handle on Kai-stern than anyone, as they went to primary school together.

The problem with any high school AU I’ve plotted out in my head is that there is never an actual plot to center the story around, just random scenes ^_^. This high school AU was vaguely set around some group project Kai-stern, Tetheus, Alfeegi and Ruwalk had to do together, but other than that? Random scenes.

2) The Saiunkoku challenge for the seven virtues of the bushido.

This story somehow developed a plot, which is why it’s far too late to enter it officially for the contest. It’s almost 7,000 words long at the moment (which for me is huge) and is only about a third done. I doubt it will ever be finished; I’m notoriously bad at finishing this sort of thing. It’s set during the period Kouyuu is assigned to work with You Shuu and details how their relationship (platonic) develops. There are three other characters who are assigned to You Shuu as well and they’re all really quite fun to write – I feel sorry for You Shuu, to be honest ^_^. I don’t think any of his students are the least bit sane. As always with me, the biggest problem with the story is that nothing happens. I’m terrible at plot, and it really shows in this piece.

Title: Hell in High Heels.
Fandom: Dragon Knights
Pairing: Tetheus/Kai-stern.
Request: Toriko’s request for Tetheus/Kai-stern fic during the cross dressing festival.
Notes: It’s almost 4am. I’m very tired and there’s probably a gazillion mistakes. If we were at least doing well in the cricket I might not feel so foolish for staying up so long writing fan fiction when I’m so tired. However, when you start it’s very difficult to stop ^_^

( Hell in High Heels )

Title: Crossing the Line.
Pairing: Kijin/Kouyuu.
Rating: PG-13
Reuqest: From jain back in April 2007. The request was for the NC-17 challenge, and the prompt was Koujuu wanting experience before he approaches Shuuei. I totally chickened out on the rating (and it's very, very obvious that I did so).
Notes: three meme fics down, only a hundred or so to go!

( FIC: Crossing the Line )

Can anyone remember if I've writen/requested this before? I can sort of remember writing OR requesting a crossover fic where Reishin adopts Kouyuu from D's shop, although I can't seem to find it anywhere. This could be due to a couple of things:

1) I did not, in fact, write it and I simply remember thinking about writing about.
2) I started to write it at some stage, but lost it one of my computer crashes.
3) I did write AND post it, I just can't find it.
4) I didn't write it all but DID request someone else write it, which they did. And I just can't find it.

Help? Does this sound familiar to anyone else? The more I think about it the more I remember it being written down in some form, but I honestly can't remember if I ever finished it or posted it, or if it was actually written for me by someone else.

Tatsumi/Watari, for elihice, request from 2005

Notes: The second ficlet for today, although this one was requested waaaay back in 2005. I'm a little bit worried exactly how far back I might owe fics ...
Notes, part two: It's been a looong time since I've been in the YnM fandom, so there is a lot here that is probably very wrong. Oops?

( fic: interests )

Title: Press.
Fandom: Vampire Game.
Characters:Darres/Yujinn.
Situation: Sequel to Crush. Darres has always hated after work drinks. For sarasusa *hugs*.
Notes: I've got a little bit of time on my hands, so instead of issuing a new fanfic meme I thought I'd answer some of the ones I haven't previously filled! About bloody time, right?

( Press )

I really shouldn't be thinking about University and fandom at the same time, although they seem to cross over quite a bit at the moment. I was thinking about Kinsey's Reports on human sexual behavior (basically two huge surveys done in the 40s and 50s on sexual practices in the US) while also musing about how frustrating it is when people try and say people write slash/yaoi/het/gen for one particular reason, when suddenly the two separate threads of thought collided.

Wouldn't it be seriously awesome if there was a slash/yaoi version of Kinsey's report? Not an exact replication of course, because the true purpose wouldn't be to record people's sexual histories. However, just imagine a huge, multi-fandom survey that asked questions such as why an individual wrote slash/yaoi, what percentage of their works were yaoi/slash, where about on Kinsey's scale did they rate their own sexuality, what aspects of fandom they considered acceptable/unacceptable, thoughts on heterosexual pairings, etc. Instead of sexual histories, we’d have a collection of fandom histories. It might end up presenting a totally different view of slash and yaoi, or it might actually confirm beliefs that people already have about those who write/read it. It could then be followed up with one heterosexual one. They should really be combined into one to get a much better view of fandom on a whole, because they're more interconnected (I think) than people sometimes think.

Back to my boring Communication Disorders assignment. Boo.

I don't think it's exactly uncommon knowledge that I am terribly scatterbrained, to the point where I can actually be quite rude. I never intend to be, but that doesn't change the fact that forgetting to reply to emails for months on end isn't rude just because I don't intend it to be. Same with reviewing fic. I've always been notorious for going on 'review sprees', where I'll finally review a dozen or so fics that I read a while back, madly adored, and thought 'I'll review that next time I'm on'.

It's a shitty personality flaw, made worse by the fact it impacts negatively on others. It's one I was determined to curve at the beginning of the year, but I've failed absolutely miserably. I'm going to spend the next couple of hours sorting this out, but I just wanted to give a blanket apology as well.

I don’t think I actually mentioned this here, oops! Sign up, everyone!

The Dragon Knights fanfic exchange challenges will be going out sometime tomorrow, so this is everyone’s last chance to sign up if they haven’t already! We’ve already got 8 people signed up; it would be absolutely fabulous if we could get it up to 10! All the sign–up and community info can be found here: http://community.livejournal.com/dk_fic/402.html

Remember, this is your perfect opportunity to get that fic you’re dying to read written for you!

New translation snippets have gone up. Yay! I would seriously pay to have the novel completely translated, although I don't think any fan would be insane enough to do it for the little amount I could afford.

( cut for Saiunkoku spoilers )

Very quick update from university, will reply to previous comments when I get home/during next break ^_^

Junior doctors are striking here in New Zealand, and they really don't get why a large proportion of the population is totally unsympathetic to their cause, especially as we come out in full support of the nurses. To give some sort of context, the average wage in New Zealand is about $32,000 per year. The average wage for a first year doctor is $88,000.

And oh, the belly-aching. We have huge student loans from seven years of study. We've had to dedicate so much of our lives to just get our qualifications. Suck it up. If I end up as a clinical psychologist then I would have done just as many years study to get my doctorate as you did. I would have just as big a student loan, and my starting wage would be about $50,000 IF I get into a really good position, and it doesn't skyrocket like yours does.

You do a fabulous, difficult job. No-one doubts that. However, the amount you get paid is completely disproportionate to other people who do just as important jobs, and to see 25-26 year olds whining because in their first year they're earning only twice as much as someone who has been teaching/in the police force/serving in the army overseas etc for 20 years makes most of us want to slap you. Just a little.

Right! Off to class!

My life for the next five weeks, as dictated by when my assignments are due:

Week One.
Wdnesday 7th: Obesity: nature of nurture essay.
Friday 9th: The impact of communication disorders on quality of life following traumatic brain injury

Week Two
Monday 12th: 'Sexual resistance: Queen histories' esasy/literature review.

Week Three
Monday 19th: Unknown Communication Disorder essay.
Wednesday 21st: 'The fundamental shift in understandings of sexuality from Late Roman era to early medieval' essay.

Week Four
Monday 26th: Fictional Character Identity project.

Week Five
Exams.

I feel sorry for our Social Psych tutors, as the last assignment on that list is supposed to be an identity project for a real (famous) person or a fictional person from a book or movie. I think they were expecting us all to choose people like Nelson Mandela, however so far Harry Potter has been the most populat choice in my tutorial class, followed closely by the penguin in Happy Feet. I think we're all going to have far too much fun with this project, although it sucks that it is due right before our exams.

This is somewhat inspired by/related to the most recent entry over at Fandom Wank. I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to do for my research project if ever manage get that far these last couple of months. My problem is that I love so much about Psychology that it’s really difficult to narrow it down to a particular area to specialize in. It doesn’t help that none of the lecturers at my University are interested in internet psychology, as we’re basically told to branch off from one of their areas of expertise.

One area I’m seriously starting to look into is the role the internet place in individuals’ perception of self. We have our ‘actual self’ and our ‘ideal self’, and the smaller the gap is between these two the happier and more content we’re supposed to be. What’s interesting about the internet is how we have this ability to manipulate our selves with far more ease than we do in real life. If my ideal self is someone who is more proactive in politics, for instance, I can join online political communities and write politically charged articles in my blog. I might not have the courage/time/knowledge to do that in real life. Similarly, if my ideal self is someone who is kind and helpful and nice, then that’s much easier to present online than it is on real life, and it’s also likely to be reinforced and rewarded more than in real life. However, whether we actually present ourselves in a more ‘ideal self’ way is really up for debate (at least it is in my mind ^_^)

I’d really be interested in exploring the whole actual/ideal self online in four parts:

1) Is the gap between actual/ideal self any wider/smaller when an individual is interacting online in comparison to when they are offline?
2) Do individuals online ‘ideal self’ differ from their offline ‘ideal self’?
3) Are there any changes to the gap between a person’s actual self/ought self when online in comparison to when they are offline?
4) Do individuals online ‘ought self’ differ from their offline ‘ought self’?

I’m a little anxious about becoming interested in internet psychology, because it’s not something that is really touched on much in New Zealand. It’s certainly not incorporated into any of the papers at my university, and that may be because they believe that any aspect of social psychology can be stretched across different areas such as the internet.

Please, please, please let there be an OVA made of this novel.

The translations for the second half of the novel are up. They are made of absolute awesome. I'm probably going to spend weeks commenting on this and sorting my thoughts out ^_^

( cut for novel 13 spoilers )

The first half of the novel has been summarised, and so have my thoughts ^_^. Dear lord, the novel sounds completely awesome, doesn't it? I'm holding out for a Saiunkoku OVA, because this novel HAS to be animated. There's a decent chance of that happening, right? Most fairly long series tack on an OVA or two at the end somewhere ...

Anyway! Novel thoughts! Kouyuu thoughts! Eee!

( Saiunkoku novel 13 discussion and spoilers )

*went book shopping today*

Why, oh why, is Helenus always ignored in novels dealing with the Trojan War? If he's even mentioned at all it's a huge shock, but often he's simply written out. He's such a fascinating character (not to mention completely vital to the story), and yet all of his little plots and character points are usually given to either Cassandra or Paris.

I really need to hunt down my copy of 'The Mouse God'. It's an awesome (and sadly out of print) novel, and her Helenus is absolutely fabulous. He's only a supporting character in the novel, but he steals all the scenes he is in.

Arg. You would think historical novelists would pay at least some attention to the historical details. Wait, who am I kidding?

title: The Great Chibi Adventure, Part three.
Rating: G.
Characters: Ryuuki, Shuuei, Kouyuu (Saiunkoku), Alfeegi, Kai-stern, Tetheus, Ruwalk (Dragon Knights), Charon, Pain, Max (Faeries Landing). Mainly focusses on the Saiunkoku crew at the moment, however.
Summary: Absolute crack. Chibi!Ryuuki attempts to follow his brother to school one day, but ends up at Cherry Blossom Elementary by accident. Now, with the help of the other chibis that he meets, he somehow has to find Big Brother before anyone gets into trouble.
Previous Chapters: Part One, Part Two.

( 3) The Great Pen Conspiracy. )

title: The Great Chibi Adventure, Part two.
Rating: G.
Characters: Ryuuki, Shuuei, Kouyuu (Saiunkoku), Alfeegi, Kai-stern, Tetheus, Ruwalk (Dragon Knights), Charon, Pain, Max (Faeries Landing). Mainly focusses on the Saiunkoku crew at the moment, however.
Summary: Absolute crack. Chibi!Ryuuki attempts to follow his brother to school one day, but ends up at Cherry Blossom Elementary by accident. Now, with the help of the other chibis that he meets, he somehow has to find Big Brother before anyone gets into trouble.
Previous Chapters: Part One.

2) The Lost and Found section is visited.

“I think this one belongs to you,” the caretaker said as he dropped the squirming, babbling (Ani! San!) child in front of the teacher. She frowned down uncertainly at him. Ryuuki was certainly the right height for her class, and he possessed the exact amount of wetness she’d came to expect from children. She couldn’t really remember having a kid in the class with such long blond hair, but then she had a habit of forgetting she had any children in the class at all if she happened to be reading a smutty enough book at the time.

Besides, it was time for her cigarette break. It was just as easy to ignore 13 children as it was 12.

“Fine, he can come in.” She waved him off in the direction of one of the far tables. “Go sit where … you usually sit.”

“But … I …”

“Over there will do for now,” she gave him a slight push. It had to have been at least an hour since she’d last inhaled nicotine. As the child scurried over to the desk she’d ushered him towards, she awarded the rest of the class with a brilliant smile. “Now class, I’m sure you are all big enough to look after yourselves while I go and talk to the headmaster about how wonderful you all are.” She ignored the quiet snort that came from the table behind her. Children didn’t snort anything but crayons, they most certainly did not have the ability to discern whether or not she was lying.

Just to make sure, however, she locked the door behind her when she left.

title: The Great Chibi Adventure.
Rating: G.
Characters: Ryuuki, Shuuei, Kouyuu (Saiunkoku), Alfeegi, Kai-stern, Tetheus, Ruwalk (Dragon Knights), Charon, Pain, Max (Faeries Landing). Mainly focusses on the Saiunkoku crew at the moment, however.
Summary: Absolute crack. Chibi!Ryuuki attempts to follow his brother to school one day, but ends up at Cherry Blossom Elementary by accident. Now, with the help of the other chibis that he meets, he somehow has to find Big Brother before anyone gets into trouble.

1) In Which Ryuuki manages to annoy the narrator of Cherry Blossom Elementary.

“Ani-san? Aaaaaani-san?”

The corridors of Cherry Blossom Elementary were whitewashed in silence. Only moments before, the pitter of running feet and the patter of bags being thrown quickly into lockers had flooded the stretches of hallway in a claustrophobic clatter. There had been so much screaming and crying and laughing and complaining that there hadn’t been enough air let for the corridors themselves to breathe, but now that the children were all safely locked inside each of the rooms -

“Ani-san?”

Now that ALL of the children were locked safely and silently inside each of the rooms –

“ANI-san!”

Ehem!

…

Right. Yes. Where were we? That’s right. With all the children blissfully locked away, the corridors were able to let out a collective sigh of-

“Ani-san.”

Would someone come and get rid of this damn child already?