*clings sadly*

Okay, so, I get the concept of real life, I do. Sometimes other stuff is much more important than onlineness, and that's how it should be. And sometimes stuff just happens, sure. I get all of that.

All of the above not withstanding, is it the universe's idea of a really funny joke to make lynnmonster, nifra_idril, and fox1013 away from online stuff all in the same weekend?

*twitches a little already* Eeeeeeeep.

random writing query

lyra_sena: well, the truth is that as much as it makes us uncomfortable? the distinction is very real.

Okay, so I'm taking the above sentence completely out of context from the conversation lyra_sena and I were having earlier, because it's a perfect example of a kind of style I've been wondering about a lot lately.

Basically, that questioning intonation/statements that are not statements thing -- that's how I talk, really a lot of the time. I know quite a few people who do the same thing, even; it's not something I notice in everyday conversation.

On the other hand, though, it's something that can suddenly become *really* noticeable in writing. There's been a couple of stories I've read lately (though, dammit, I apparently cannot *locate* any of them again) that had this kind of construction in them. And for, say, Gretchen in Mean Girls it comes across as perfectly natural, whether in dialogue or narration, but for Ray Kowalski, it seems odd. It makes me think of the author, rather than the character a lot of the time.

Is this true for others?

I'm trying to think of what it is that makes it read that way to me. The first thing that comes to my mind is that is sounds "feminine" -- except that word is no end of troublesome, and even just that description kind of gets my rankles up. Especially when I try and figure out what I mean by that, and the next word I come up with is "uncertain".

Is it something along those lines? There are male characters whom I can picture such dialogue working with -- Dan Rydell, perhaps, comes to mind. Is it simpler than that -- just another matter of character voice? Am I just on crack? Am I on crack but have a point in this instance? I don't know.

Things That Are Dirty and Russian

A. I have already mentioned, in a previous entry, that the word for "how" in Russian is approximately "KAK", and thus pronounced similarly to "cock." You can imagine the amusement as I practice my vocabulary.

B. The word for "juice" is approximately "COK". The C is an "s" sound, and the O is longer, so it doesn't sound even vaguely similar. But still.

C. Today the professor started to try and explain to us the complexities of soft and hard consonants. One of the points she made had to do with what kind of vowels came after which categories of consonants -- which vowels, in fact, worked to "preserve the hardness" of the preceding consonants. She did in fact use this phrase several times. I did not giggle at any of them.

D. lyra_sena, I hate you. So much.

Also, on a note that is neither Russian nor dirty -- can anyone confirm or deny the connection between the phrase "I'm like Jesus, in a way" and the big Firefly vid kerfuffle? Because I was talking with tzikeh earlier, and she had no idea what I was talking about, and I find myself completely unable to bring up anything through google or selected ljs. Am I making this up or getting things confused?

ETA: Okay, geekturnedvamp helped me find the post in question -- it's about halfway down the page, here.

Succotash: How am I being selfish? What do I get out of it? I am PAYING for the bandwidth. It's a gift, I'm like Jesus, in a way. You remind me of Satan's little midget helper.

Yay for me not being insane!