Hi Zoe~!
Thanks for the wonderful comment on "The Shanghai Warbler" fanart~
awww, I'm so happy you love my style in drawing~ XD It means so much to me~!!

*hugs!*

I SAW THE DOUJINSHI!! It's sooooo lovely!! I don't know how else I can describe it, but as I always say on Chinese fandoms (which I am pretty active in as well)...

Tai4 you3 ai4 le4!!!! (with the numbers being the pinyin sounds) ke3 ai4 dao4 bu4 xing2~~~

LOL no worries for the slow reply, m'dear! I understand how hectic real life can get - I was practically tearing my hair out when I had exams to study for and essays to churn out, but ahhh, that's all in the past!! XD I hope your exams went well!

YAY!! Someone to discuss Bleach with me! I refrain from commenting on Bleach forums at times because it's an open forum where people like just about every different character and we often get things like 'YAY, GIN DIED. LIKE FINALLY' while I'm like, 'Noooooooo. Please, don't die!!!' HAHAHA. Speaking of Ichigo, he looks really different, and he reminded me of Kaien and Shuuhei...which might not be a good thing. As you've said, he looks more powered up, and arguably more handsome in a dark, mature way, but it's not quite Ichigo. LOL at ButterflAizen!! He's sooooo gross, really. Fluttering through the skies~ I loved the scene where Ichigo practically manhandled and shut that stupid overgrown insect up. My brother and I were saying that if Kubo made Aizen go into one of his rants again, like, "Oh, Ichigo. I have seen this coming (as always). I knew this was going to happen two hundred years ago. I have given you chances again and again but you've failed, and that has helped me transcend into levels beyond the reach of any creature on earth (as always)...BLAH BLAH BLAH."

Ooooh apparently the person who drew it is Korean, so maybe that's why it's textless. I will definitely go grab an account soon and see it for myself! GinRan is so tragic :/ But any forbidden love is always beautiful. Are there any other pairings you like? I like HitsuHina and Urahara/Yoruichi

I LOL-ed at the 'less autotune'...and fully agree. It's kinda amazing how kpop fangirls tend to really think that the boys belong to them, you know. I have this 16 year-old tuition kid whom I teach Math to, and her room is FILLED with Super Junior stuff. Like, okay, I acknowledge Donghae from SuJu is pretty cute and I like him, but her idea of 'like' and my idea of it are worlds apart. She showed me this poster which she bought, and I was like, "Oh, Donghae doesn't look too good here, does he?" and she just frowned and sulked until I asked her what was wrong. Then she told me it's because I said that her darling boy was not looking too nice in that picture. OMG. 'Can you get any crazier??' I wanted to ask. But I am glad your friend seems to have gotten better and is friendly towards you again

Thank you for catching up on Shanghai!! I hope it is going fine, because I got a little lost midway and am trying to find the direction for the story again. Chibimaru is soooooo much fun to write! XD

It's soooo sweet of you to do something for all the Dokuga friends! The lineart is...*faints* It's wonderful. You're brimming with talent, my dear!! You guys make a wonderful team, and I really hope you'd never stop drawing! As for wallpaper size, I always download the ones that say '1024 x 768'

Awww now it's turn for my ego to blow up from your kind words! I am nothing 'gorgeous' or 'lovely'!!

UNF Your art is gorgeousssss.

I'll reply to the wall post tomorrow, but OH MY GOODNESS, that's one gorgeous WIP you have there!! I absolutely adore how regal he looks there. Great job, m'dear! You're the epitome of awesomeness when it comes to fanart, methinks!

Oh dear, exams are terrible things. But jiayou, jiayou!! You can do it!

ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG YOU READ BLEACH TOO!!! Of course I read 415!! And I wanted to maim Kubo after reading it, but realized I shouldn't do so if I want to read 416 (which is coming out in 2 days, like FINALLY) Please let Kubo do it right this time...if Gin dies...I will seriously, seriously cry. I am a total Gin fangirl, and the Gin/Rangiku pairing is my second OTP (after Sess/Kag of course!). The manga was painful to read because Kubo seemed intent on making Aizen go on a world tour, meeting every single Shinigami/Vizard and slashing them down. LOL. I was reading and going HURHURHUR. What now, Kubo??

Gin speaks Kyoto dialect, while Shinji speaks the classic Kansai dialect (Osaka region). It's cute, isn't it? They always sound like they are singing/slurring at some point. The Shanghai dialect is...impossible. I have a Shanghainese friend who grew up in Singapore, and she speaks to her parents in the dialect, which leaves us

Hyde's wife is gorgeous!! Honestly, I'm not a Hyde/Gackt shipper (as in not totally) but if he wasn't married, I'd have preferred him to be gay. LOL. Weird as that sounds. But I cannot imagine him with a girl, since he is so beautiful himself.

Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the songs by DAI. Van Tomiko (the lead singer) sings so well, and her band writes lovely songs.

Oh dearie, I'm sorry to know that your friend became a little...obsessed with kpop fandoms. They are quite dangerous, really. If you know Super Junior and the drama with the 2 Chinese members who joined them later...OMG the fans were being totally ridiculous. I seriously, seriously swore to myself that I'd never step into a fandom like that. I understand the frustration, so don't feel bad for the rant. I'm just glad that rational fans still exist. We can love music and like entertainers without acting all crazed!!

Much love to Dokuga and you,
Jasmine

You can definitely catch up on your Japanese language classes after graduation! It’d actually be better than trying to squeeze time out for classes, since you can concentrate on studying without having to worry if it might jeopardize your grades. Jia you, jia you! XD

The Kansai dialect is really cute in its own way. Some of the words they use are completely different from standard Japanese, like “Nandeyanen” instead of “Nan dayo”. On the other hand, some phrases in standard Japanese sound rather similar but nonetheless different in Kansai-ben. For example, ‘Sou desu ka?’ becomes ‘Sou nan ya?’ It’s really cute. You can hear this Bleach character, Ichimaru Gin, speak in Kyoto dialect, and Shinji speak in Kansai dialect (Osaka area):

Gin (creepy smiley guy with the fox face)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGlqJYctvEU&feature=related
(Note that ‘da me’ is said as ‘akan’, and ‘-san’ is ‘-han’)

Shinji (The guy with the yellow hair)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGHDBNAuXY
(Note that ‘baka’ is said as ‘ahou’ in Kansai dialect!)

I’d definitely visit China one day! I saw some TV program which introduced the Hangzhou area, and I thought it was GORGEOUS. I have to be there LOL. I’ll take your advice and visit Shanghai as well. Since I’m writing a story set in that place, anyway.

AHHH!! I knew it!! I was totally expecting you to ask if I’ve watched Moon Child, and YES YES YES of course!!! The cover of the DVD box is amazing enough, and yes, if it wasn’t for the fact that Hyde is married with a kid, I’d totally totally totally ship them as my music fandom OTP!!! And ZOMG did Gackt really say that??? Ha, seems like we are not the only ones who think they look so awesome together.

The KISS album is a really good one, and I love many of their songs! Those that you’ve listed, and a few others like Honey…I love them all! As for D.A.I…other than the ones they’ve sang for Inuyasha (Fukai Mori, Shinjitsu no Uta, Rakuen and Kimi ga inai mirai), I would recommend you a few of their classics like 'Yesterday and Today':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePsbqvaVnMA

and 'You no ataru sakamichi':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpDK-gN_85c&feature=channel

As for K-pop OMG OMG OMG I totally know what you mean. I don’t like the fandom. I cannot believe how harsh and cruel they can be with their words, and there are people who are so hardcore in their support; they become irrational and ridiculous, and highly defensive of whatever they think is right. So all I do is listen to the music, which I still do, because I like SHINee very much. I used to love DBSK (Dong Bang Shin Ki, or Tohoshinki in Japanese), but following the great, dramatic breakup of the band, and the crap that obsessed fangirls were spouting in the forums, I decided that ‘nahhh, I don’t need this.’ This is probably why I love Dokuga. It’s my online home. XD

Awww my dear, I am sure your hair is fine! But if you want to do something about it, here’s a tip. You can use egg yolk to moisturize your hair! Beat the egg yolk and use it like how you’d use a hair mask to nourish the hair ends Wash it off after 5 minutes!

Bah! BAH I say! You are no noob! You are a VERY talented artist!

~Sakuramaru

P.S. - I added you as a connection...I hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me!

10 years is a long time, I guess...but it just came so naturally as I took Japanese as a subject for the Cambridge 'O' and 'A' levels...so I had to study for it, like it or not. I started when I was thirteen, and after high school, I continued with elective modules in university and oooooh, ten years. LOL. So it went by in a...to put it in Chinese, 'bu zhi bu jue' way. I am no sensei, though! My keigo is DISASTROUS, and the worst thing is, I picked up some Kansai dialect when I spent some time on exchange in Kobe, Japan. You most probably know this already, but the Western half of Japan speaks dialects rather than standard Tokyo Japanese.

I am sure you can learn Japanese well one day!! Gambatte ne, Zoe-chan! And yes yes you have to visit Japan!! Akihabara is real fun, and I'd recommend Kyoto because that's where you get the culture AND excellent food. I've visited Japan 5 times, and I figured I should visit other countries like Korea and China one day. It's kinda sad how I have never been to China, considering I am Chinese.

DID YOU SAY GACKT AND L'ARC?? I am obsessed with the idea of Hyde and Gackt together. Well, not TOGETHER together, but you get the point. They are sooooo gorgeous and amazing. And I love L'arc's music...my favorite song of all time would have to be Fourth Avenue Cafe. I love everything about the song *floating hearts* I like Utada Hikaru too, both her english and Japanese songs are good. Do you like B'z or Do As Infinity? I love their music! Do you listen to Chinese music? I can never get tired of the music from the golden period of the 90s

LOL Magikarp must really be a very good friend of yours!! She recommended everything! BoA's pretty good, though I can't say I'm a fan. I like Korean pop pretty much too!

Aren't we all on the Road of No Return? XDD

Awwww thank you, m'dear!! *blushes* I liked the simple one too, because it took the shortest time to complete, and I didn't have to deal with HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY eye makeup. As for hair...'shiny'?? 'Gorgeous'?? WHERE?? LOL it's not, my dear! I wish I had tips to impart, but sadly, I pretty much am in need of those tips. XDD

Awww dearie you must be too harsh on yourself! I am sure it will turn out fine After all, you answered the question on the forum perfectly! Besides, young people in Japan barely speak with proper grammar structures these days =.= Lots of strange and quirky sounds, like "shite shimau" becomes "yacchauyo~"+loads of heart emotions and glitter LOL. Anime, dorama and songs are good enough! Do you have any particular singers whom you like? I am very much in love with the song "Machiawase" by Baba Toshihide. It's a lovely song. I like to sing 'Possibility' by BoA as well.

Particle usage is difficult though...that takes a bit of getting used to! But if you do have any questions with regards to Japanese, feel free to ask me I am no expert, but I've studied Japanese for ten years... *stares at textbooks in disgust* so I might be of help in some ways

And thank you dearie!! The eye makeup there was HEAVY. At the end of the photoshoot (we had six looks and thirty-six frames in all) I was like You can see the rest here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101338&id=514984987&l=1a3b540088