Misadventures and Mishaps

Moving Time!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:38:32 GMT

Kind of. I'm incredibly sick of "jenriv89" because it's not the least bit creative and I originally made that email address so that colleges wouldn't see my 12 year old email address (choirfanatic, which is also not that creative). I don't know why I made EVERYTHING jenriv89 after that...

Anyway, the point is that I've finally made a penname that I actually like: ChilombiLite
Isn't it cute? Here's how you pronounce it (just in case) chee-LOHM-bee-lite
Since I love everyone dearly, please add chilombilite to your F-List as I proceed to add all of you!

ChilombiLite is now my penname on FictionPress and my display name on TMB Fellow authors, if you are not already signed up, please do... (cycatryx we need more Metalocalypse fans on there. I just might be the only one)

here was my runner-up penname
CopiliLite
pronounced: co-PEE-lee-lite

I still wanted to incorporate my rave name DeeLite somehow... hence the "Lite" in both options

So... here's what I did...

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:39:22 GMT

Today I did something both wonderful and horrible at the SAME TIME... I bought the following:
Dethalbum
Metalocalypse Season 1
Metalocalypse Season 2
Pre-order Dethalbum II

OH GOD. :D :D :D

Um... That means I can't: go to Hard Haunted, Yaoi-con, or buy new clothes.

Oh well. I get lots of TOKIIIIIIIIIIII I <3 him very very much.

Take THAT, you silly intangible! HA!

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:40:19 GMT

Crossing Paths is now no longer on hiatus. Because I found me a better muse that doesn't confuse my characters.

Yesterday I had a feeling that that night was gonna be a good night. And I was right. But now I have a feeling that tonight is going to suck. And I'm probably right because I have to go to stupid job for a two hour meeting. But I get Jack-in-the-Bocks tonight. :D

ALSO! This goes to

emmadaiou28 AND teenelizabeth :

Please view my icon and read the Wasted Talent comic #290
:D :D :D :D :D

C wut ai meen?

And now for something completely different-- A QUIZ!

OH, baby baby, who is YOUR vampire dream prince who is ancient and still loves women a fraction of his age and sparkles and--

Beware, #5 might make you puke in your mouth a little.

Who's Your Vampire Soulmate?

Jasper Hale

Your soulmate is Jasper. Jasper is sweet, loyal, kind and cautious. Jaspers a good pick congrats! Enjoy an eternity of Jasper.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

Last Post of The Day?

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:19:39 GMT

Yaoi-con. Who's going?

Writer's Block: Home Remedies

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:58:00 GMT

When you get sick or have a cold, what's your favorite remedy to make you feel better?

View 1663 Answers

Nyquil. And.... wait. nope. that's it. I love Nyquil.

Writer's Block: Multilingual

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:14:29 GMT

How many languages do you speak?

Submitted By 40alatariel

View 502 Answers

3.
English
Spanish
Japanese.
I speak a little French, German, Italian, and Chinese but not enough to carry a conversation.

Gee whiz, what a wonderful question. So thought provoking!

Dan Brown, stop following me.

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:47:50 GMT

I've never read the DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, or anything else this man has written... And yet he still follows me everywhere! All through The Code Years, I avoided talking about it, but no! Water polo teammates, English classes, even my father (who doesn't read anything but computer manuals) talked incessantly about the damn book. I have absolutely no interest in reading it. I don't know why, otherwise I'd be able to explain, in any case, after The Code Years, Angels and Demons came out. Then it was: water polo teammates, English classes, my father, my mother, my cousin who came to vist from Australia.... all of THEM chasing me around with their ceaseless rambling and raving (u c wut ai did dere?) And I still had no interest. Finally the hype died down and I thought I'd FINALLY lived Dan Brown down, but I was wrong. Now my email is chasing me with Dan Brown crap. Apparently he has a new book coming out... and Barnes and Noble wants to tell me all about it because somehow, I've purchased books that are similar................. I sincerely doubt it. Unless you count Dan Brown books as actual history... Barnes and Noble must be dumb.

So this is a message to Dan Brown: stop following me please. I don't appreciate it very much. I mean no disrespect to you, because you see, I think you gave historical fiction a new twist. And that's rather wonderful. But I still don't want to read your books. Sorry.

Vogue getting serious...

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:13:41 GMT

Just kidding. When the roommate handed me this month's issue of Vogue that she'd gotten in the mail earlier, I grabbed at it immediately, already hungry for fashion. Can you imagine my surprise when I saw the cover? "You're Fired!: Surviving and Thriving after the Pink Slip" (We'll leave "The Real Lives of Models" for later) I nearly had a coronary I was so excited to see that Vogue was actually starting to care about something other than fashion. Something that actually mattered. Don't get me wrong, I love fashion - those of you who have talked to me or seen my shoe blog don't have any doubts about that - but it makes me really happy to see some fashion magazines take their subjects to the next level. Seventeen was a decent example for awhile: it had your regular teen girl fashion crap, but it also had some serious articles about self-image, drug use, etc. Then, when it became really superficial, I shook my head when my dad asked me if I wanted him to renew the subscription.

So I read the article.

I was so disappointed. Yeah, it was about someone who had been laid off. Lynn Yadegar, a former columnist for Village Voice, got laid off right before 2009 began. This is, of course, extremely sad because not only is it another American losing her job, it's also another sign that newspapers and non-internet media forms are on the decline. But I was so disappointed to see that Yadegar is not your regular columnist living on a regular salary... Nope. Yadegar starts off the article with: "The last thing I bought before I was laid off was a Victorian diamond-and-sapphire snake ring." Are you kidding me? You have the kind of salary to buy antique jewelry? The last thing I purchased was a reindeer man-sweater for myself at a thrift shoppe for $3 (it's a LOT cuter than it sounds, trust me). How could I possibly feel sorry for someone who buys those kinds of things? More importantly, how could I possibly empathize with her when she "thought $900 was a typical price for a sweater"? That's just disgusting. I understand that she's probably exaggerating her ridiculous airhead ways, but honestly, can you blame me for being upset? The article was all about how she couldn't stop shopping (yes, she made references to Confessions of a Shopaholic), thanks Bloomswood, I stopped reading your books once you got married to Luke Brandon. Let me compare our experiences, granted I still rely a lot on my parents, the second I knew I would be living in my apartment, I started buying $0.75 shampoo instead of the salon shampoo I liked so much. She couldn't limit her spending to $50/day and giving up her ridiculous "Rene Futerer Okara" shampoo.... whatever the hell that is.

Why not have a real person instead? She had to buy a printer (she didn't have one before) because she just couldn't see herself standing in line with Plain Jane and Normal Norman in line at the copy shop. Why not get someone who was relatively successful, but couldnn't afford constant luxury like Yadegar? I understand that Vogue is marketed towards wealthy women, but there's definitely a not-filthy-stinking-rich demographic (aka the roommate and I) that Vogue could try and appeal to.

Also... Vogue is taking itself too seriously.

Home Now Music Meme (I like this one!)

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:47:05 GMT

1. Put your music player on shuffle (ALL MUSIC).
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK" YOU SAY:
The Best Man - Nat King Cole

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Till We Run Out of Road - Jewel

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
If Only She Knew - Michelle Branch

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE
Knock-Down-Drag-Out - Weezer

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Ilusionado - Reik

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
별빛눈물 - 김유경

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Secret - The Pierces

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
The Party Song - Blink 182

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Only Got One - Frou Frou

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sexo - Los Prisioneros (BAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Tapioca Tundra - The Monkees

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Final Solution - Pere Ubu (why yes, i DO want to be a dictator!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Angel - Jimi Hendrix (yeah... that's pretty accurate, he's a total angel)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Millionaire Waltz - Queen

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Leave Me Breathless - The Corrs (Cor. i really hope not. so SAPPY. lol)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
She's Red - Buck Brothers

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Freedom - Jimi Hendrix

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Cold, The Dark & The Silence - Sea Wolf

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (bahahaha)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Hit Me with your Best Shot - Pat Benatar

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Out the Sand - Foot Foot

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Tempted to Touch rmx - Kevin Lyttle

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Sydney Australia - Kobayashi (I suppose, I mean... Australians are pretty fun to laugh at)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
The End - Fear of Fred

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
for good - Original Broadway Cast (Wicked)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
I Want to Break Free - Queen

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Where Have you Been? - Reel Big Fish

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
You Don't Know I Love You - U (oh. SO TRUE!! T_T)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Home Now - No Doubt

100 things meme to waste a little more time.

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:24:36 GMT

Boldize the things you've done.
Italicize the things you want to do.

I blame you Tara and Zenny....

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa Certain parts of the continent.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted by your mother.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
55. Been in a movie .
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Oh giiiirrllllsssss!

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:03:25 GMT

And boys... I have brilliant news.

I have started yet another blog. Another serious blog. But this one is in English! And that means all of you can read ittttt! Not only that, but... since the majority (if not all) of my F-list consists of females, this is one blog that all of you can/will enjoy.

I present to you: May They Take You Somewhere Special...

It's a blog all about shoes. Here's where I will post all good things, bad things, and exciting news about shoes. I do plan on getting some men's shoes posts in there, but the majority will be about women's shoes.

Please go take a look! And tell your friends!!!! please please~!!

Honestly, Bluesgirly has an excellent blog.

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:28:01 GMT

And Rush Limbaugh is retarded. Please view the following:

Fake cut!

Silly Poems

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:16:56 GMT

Bucket List by JLRivera

I have a bucket
in which I put all of my lists.
Lists of favorites,
Of things to do,
And people too.

People to kill,
People to love,
People to be.

I have a bucket,
For when ideas hit.
And when I'm feeling in the pits,
I grab my bucket and I sit.

Knitting Needles by JLRivera

Knitting needles made of wood,
You make me smile so.
With your smooth aesthetic,
You easily double as refined chopsticks.

Knitting needles made of metal,
You are not so much fun.
I like to gnaw on many things,
But you always hurt my teeth.

Knitting needles made of plastic,
Your bright colors bring me joy.
Every time I knit with you,
Your warmth kindles my heart.

Knitting needles of all kinds,
You serve your purpose well.
But while circulars confuse me so,
"In the round" becomes my new friend.
Knitting needles you always stay with me,
Until I reach the end.

~~~ End of Silliness~~~

Feel free to comment on the ridiculousness! I like doing silly things like this from time to time. And it was time again. ^_^.

It is time

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:30:42 GMT

Yes, the weather has taken a turn for the winter, so it was TIME to CHAAAANNNNNGE the LJ theme. Besides... awwww the winter one is so much cuter. Don't even try to deny it.

Vanity Searches are the Best

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:07:49 GMT

So I'm currently awake. Obviously. And I needed a break from Japanese SUPER BIG PROJECT... So I did a Google search on my PenName: JLRivera. HAHAHA SO MUCH FUN. First I searched: JLRivera and all of my pages were within the first 30, my LJ page and FF.net within the first 5. Then I was like, wow there are a lot of other J.L. Riveras and JLRiveras... So I searched: "JLRivera" and all of my stuff came up within the first 2. That was AWESOME. Even Ironic Bliss That was awesome.

It has finally happened

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:14:36 GMT

I have turned full fangirl of Metalocalypse. I have as of a few hours ago, started my VERY FIRST Metalocalypse fanfic. *shakes a fist at roommate* damn you for turning me towards yet another thing that I love to fangirl/fap about. I will threaten you with a trip to the moon, as I always do, in reference to that one sitcom that I can never remember the name of. It'll happen the second I get back to IV. I will walk up to you and say, "Do you wanna go to tha moon, Kori? Do ya wanna go to tha moon?!" And then I'll shake my Fist at you. And then we will quote Toki and Skwisgaar endlessly until your boyfriend that I hate shows up and then we'll add Murderface to the mix. Then if Lauren comes over, we'll add her as Nathan... even though she can't really do any impressions of any of the characters yet. Then all of us will switch in and out of Pickles for awhile until we all fall onto the floor laughing in a heap (figuratively) and decide to try and decode Toki vs Skwisgaar differences beyond these following observations: Toki just has a weird phrasing method, whereas Skwisgaar just can't formulate a proper sentence.

/ramble

I really hope I don't mangle their speech patterns too horribly.

The Job Offer

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:28:03 GMT

Title: The Job Offer
Author: jenriv89 aka JLRivera
Fandom: Yellow
Rating: M
Warning: Sexual situations; as of yet, still a draft.
Summary: currently unavailable (i.e. I still have to write a decent one)

The Job Offer
It had already been a couple of months since Goh had had to step in one evening at Zebra and mix drinks, talk to women, and actually work. So when the owner of Zebra, Madeleine Morikawa, called Taki to her office to “discuss something of importance,” Taki was confused as to what it could be about. He’d been on time to all of his shifts and had done all of his work impeccably. In fact, the only thing that his boss could complain about was that Taki had always calmly rejected all the women that pursued him. Of course, that was a personal thing; there was no way that Madeleine, or Maddie as she’d asked him to call her, would consider “something of importance.” Nor would she bring it up as a negative since he knew she had her eye on him romantically as well.
Taki sat down in the slightly uncomfortable chair in front of “Maddie’s” desk and watched her curiously as she glided over to her leather desk chair. Taki tried not to notice the lustful look she gave him before she “accidentally” dropped the pen she was holding and bent over to pick it up. Hmm…interesting choice of underwear with such a short skirt…
“Taki,” she started as she tucked a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear, “I’ve been meaning to talk about this for about a month now…”
“Really?” he smiled kindly.
“Yes, we’ve been getting a lot of feedback from customers about our bartenders here…”
“Oh,” he murmured. Have customers been complaining about me? “Is that so?”
“Mmhmm, you are the unanimous favorite,” she licked her lips before she continued, “We’ve actually been getting a lot of requests about someone you brought in to help with a rush a couple of months ago. What was his name again?”
“Oh, you mean Goh? People…liked him?”
“Very much so! The ladies loved his attentiveness, his charisma, and his willingness to learn to make drinks. Very similar to what they said about you, actually…”
“I’ll be sure to pass these compliments on to Goh when I see him,” he replied politely.
“I thought you would do that. Also, be sure to tell him to give me a call. I’d like to offer him a job here.”
Taki was a little horrified by the idea. He could already imagine what would happen if they worked together daily and then went home together daily. Goh would get possessive and start being rude to the customers. And then both of them would be out of a job. “Um, I would Madeleine, but he would decline on the spot. He hates working long hours…” Taki winced inwardly. He’d just made Goh sound like a lazy ass who could only handle working part-time jobs.
“Well…” ‘Maddie’ hesitated and lightly scratched at her temple with one of her long, painted fingernails, “…please, give him my phone number anyway.”
“Will do…” Taki replied glumly.
“Oh, and you have the rest of today off,” ‘Maddie’ smiled sweetly.
“…I do?”
“Yeah, you’ve had to pull a lot of overtime this week, you deserve a break. We’ve already called someone to cover your shift.”
“Wow…thank you, that’s very nice of you.” He got up slowly, held out his hand to shake Madeleine’s, and, after doing so, took his leave.
Taki mused to himself as he stepped out of her office and walked past the row of bamboo plants against the black walls and ducked into the employee locker room. He sat down on one of the benches dejectedly and put his head in his hands.
There was another reason he was so unwilling to pass along the job offer to Goh. The last time he came, Goh had won the attention of all the young ladies on their barhopping journey and Taki had realized exactly how possessive he’d become of his partner. It was embarrassing because he’d never been so jealously protective of anyone, nor had he ever kept anyone around for this long. Seeing the way women fawned over Goh had been infuriating, but Taki had had to school his features, pretend that he had no vested interest in the man, and make drinks for the customers who’d come his way.
Taki decided that being perpetually jealous wasn’t worth having Goh provide for them. Goh’s role as ‘kept man’ was tiring, for sure, but in all honesty, Taki didn’t mind it enough to tell him about the job offer at Zebra. I won’t tell him… he decided.
Guilt swept over him. He’d sworn to Goh that after what happened with Sandfish, there would be no more secrets between them. And now he was going to break that promise? But it was such a tiny secret, Goh wouldn’t mind… Would he?
He would. There was no doubt. Goh would mind. Or was there?
Taki made his way home, still debating with himself about the significance of keeping The Job Offer secret. But if there was one way to mend things, in the event of a screw-up, Taki could always give him amazing sex. If there was one thing that could solve their problems, it was sex. Whoever said that communication was the key to any relationship was with someone whose sex served the purpose of procreation and nothing else.
Before Taki knew it, he was home. He continued on auto-pilot as he retreated into his head, promising that he would deliver a pre-emptive strike and do anything sexual that Goh wanted to. Not that it was such a bad punishment, but usually he resisted some of Goh’s advances.
He lingered at the door a moment longer, convincing himself that he was making the right decision. Upon walking inside, he called out, “Goh! You here?”
Goh replied, “Yeah, I’m in the bedroom!”
Taki took off his shoes and put them on the rack near the door, then proceeded to take off all of his clothes, and walked –clothes in hand– the short distance past the TV area into the bedroom. He leaned against the doorframe and murmured, “Surprise.” He tossed his ball of clothes into Goh’s lap.
Goh looked over and his jaw dropped but quickly closed his mouth and swallowed. He stared at the clothes in his lap and tossed them on the floor before swallowing again.
Taki smiled upon seeing Goh’s reaction and slowly walked toward the bed where he was sitting with papers spread out around him. Taki felt his lover’s eyes on him as he picked up all of the papers and set them on the nightstand right next to the bed. Goh watched Taki sit down at the edge of the bed and lean in for a kiss.
“Is it my birthday?” Goh asked, still in shock.
“Something like that…” he trailed off, kissing Goh ardently.
    Goh, still in shock, didn’t respond for a moment, but noticed that Taki’s kisses were forced and somewhat hesitant. He tried to shake the observations from his mind, but as soon as he rid himself of these details –as well as his clothes–, he began noticing other strange deviations from their foreplay routine. Nevertheless, Goh found his rhythm and Taki began loosening up…that is, until Kanji’s loud and obnoxious voice interrupted the moment.
    “GOH! TAKI! IT’S ME, KANJI!” The door slammed shut. Why hadn’t Taki locked the door on his way in?
    “Yeah, we can tell! Now, PIPE DOWN,” both men called out in response as they reluctantly pulled on boxers, then jeans, and finally their shirts. As they walked out to the living room to meet Kanji, Goh tentatively put his arm around Taki’s shoulders, hoping that the small gesture of affection wouldn’t be enough to earn him a reprimand…or a punch to the face. Instead of protesting, however, Taki responded by sliding his arm around Goh’s waist and slipping his hand in Goh’s back pocket.
    “Sorry,” Kanji began sheepishly, “I was just so excited to see your new place!”
    “Kanji. Voice,” Goh interjected.
    “Right,” he said quietly. “I just wanted to let you know that Tsunuga is back from his long vacation and needs some snatchers…”
    Goh and Taki looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Taki merely watched Goh as he answered, “We’re not too sure about going back to that job…”
    “Oh…w-well…” Kanji stammered nervously, evidently realizing he’d interrupted something. “I’m still working at the Roost if you want to drop by once you’ve…erm… talked it out,” he finished loudly.
    He quickly let himself out while Goh and Taki stared curiously at each other.
    “Well? What do you think?” Goh said bluntly, breaking the silence.
    Taki merely shrugged.
    Goh nodded and sat down on the couch, sinking into the cushions as he tested the waters with, “It could be interesting…”
    Taki walked into the small kitchen and asked what Goh wanted for dinner.
    “Anything you make will be fine, Honey,” Goh goaded.
    Taki replied with a slam of the refrigerator door, the glass bottles inside clinking together. Both men stayed quiet as Goh listened to Taki’s actions in the kitchen. The silence between the men grew louder as Taki rattled silverware, pots, and pans around. Finally Goh sighed, got up, and made his way toward the kitchen.
    “What’s going on? You’ve been acting weird since you got home…”
    “Nothing’s wrong, everything’s fine,” Taki replied, accentuating it with another refrigerator slam as he pulled out a plastic bag full of onions.
    Goh inched towards Taki and pried the bag of onions from Taki’s fingers, pulled out a knife and began chopping. “How much of this do you need?” Goh murmured.
    “Half…” Taki watched Goh chopping and smiled. However, the smiled turned to a frown as he started feeling guilty for how he’d been acting. Now Goh thought that it was his fault that Taki was mad… Perhaps it was the onions, but tears began stinging at Taki’s eyes and he sighed. He’d never wanted Goh to be the one who felt guilty… Taki found himself aching for closeness, for forgiveness, as he crossed the kitchen wordlessly and crept up behind Goh. Taki hugged Goh tightly and scattered kisses affectionately up and down Goh’s neck.
    Goh put down the knife and onion, and turned to face his lover, only to find a tear rolling down Taki’s cheek. Goh cleaned his onion-juiced hand on his pants and wiped the tear off of Taki’s face; he asked again, “What’s going on?”
    Taki merely grunted, “Onions.”
    Goh nodded, skeptical, and pulled Taki in for another embrace. They stay entwined around each other until he felt Taki pull away and sniff, muttering something along the lines of, “Freaking onions…”
    “Goh, can you finish chopping? ….Bathroom…” he finished noncommittally.
    Goh watched Taki walk out of the kitchen as though every step pained him and he wondered again how he could get Taki to open up. However, Taki usually responded more when left alone, so instead of going and trying to talk to the stubborn blonde, Goh finished chopping onions silently and headed back to the living room.
    He headed over to the small bookcase by the window, pulled out his selection, and plopped back down onto the couch, leafing through the pages.
    Taki, meanwhile, pondered the prospect of going back to snatching with a glum expression as he stared into the mirror. Snatching was certainly his most interesting occupation to date, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle going back to it. The aspect that had made it so perfect was that they were just partners before and sleeping with numerous partners was more or less insignificant. Taki would always take care of the women while Goh would handle the men; there had never been a conflict of interests. But now… Now they were committed to each other and no doubt Goh’s jealousy would get in the way of things. Of course, Taki’s own jealousy was sure to create conflicts between them too. Was there any way that they could go back to snatching without all of the sex that the job carried as baggage?
    There had to be a way, he thought as he left the bathroom. He passed by Goh on the couch and noticed that he was intently reading something. Taki was mildly horrified after a closer look revealed that Goh was reading, evidently researching, about martinis. Perhaps he was already planning to work somewhere, where women and men could ogle him! Taki pushed the thought from his mind and went back to the kitchen to finish cooking.
    After dinner, Taki excused himself, mumbling, “I’m going to bed.” Goh merely nodded and watched him go, still careful of saying the wrong thing and incurring Taki’s wrath.
    Later that night, after Goh had gone through another of Taki’s cocktail volumes, Goh got into bed and immediately pressed his warm body against Taki. Goh spooned Taki and intertwined his fingers with the blonde’s, hoping that even in his sleep, Taki would be able to feel Goh’s love. Taki, in his sleep, tightened his grip on Goh’s hand mumbling something about how he’d better not try that in public.
    When Goh woke up the following morning he snuck out of bed, got dressed and left the apartment. He took the train to downtown Tokyo and got off at the stop nearest to Zebra. He had planned to talk to the owner of Zebra directly, but by the time he arrived at the bar, Madeleine had already left to run errands and would not return before Taki had to start his shift.
    “You’re the guy who helped out a couple of months ago!” one of the present workers exclaimed as he came out from the liquor walk-in.
    Goh nodded, scratching his head. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t remember your name…”
    “I’m Naohito. You’re…Goh, right?”
    “Yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you… Listen, I have a question. Did something happen with Taki here yesterday? I talked to him after he finished his shift and he seemed kind of bummed out about something…”
    “Hmm…” Naohito scratched his head as if that would make the memories come back more vividly. “He did get called into the boss’s office for a talk. I have no idea what it was about, though.”
    “You don’t think he got fired, do you?”
    Naohito shrugged and replied, “It’s possible…usually the boss will let someone finish the pay period if they get fired. And the pay period doesn’t end for two weeks. So if he did get fired, he’ll have time to find a new job”
    Goh nodded. So that’s what happened… Out loud he said, “Well, thanks. When you see Taki, don’t tell him I came by, okay? I don’t want him to think I’m worried at all.”
    “Sure…no problem.”
    Goh left with a somber look on his face. After a moment, it was as if a light bulb had turned on in his head. I know! I’ll help find Taki a new bartending job! And so he set off down the street, ducking into every bar or club and asking for applications to be a bartender.
    Applications in hand, Goh arrived home a couple of hours later to find Taki still in bed, with one arm stretched out, as though it was supposed to be around someone. Goh smiled proud of himself for having been able to help the current situation although he didn’t quite understand some of the question he’d seen. He stared at one application to a place called Provence… “Please describe your cocktail creating philosophy.” Goh just didn’t understand the idea of having a philosophy for bartending. Good thing the applications weren’t for him he thought as he tiptoed back to the bedroom. He undressed again and positioned himself under Taki’s outstretched arm.
    Taki’s eyes fluttered open upon feeling Goh’s movements, he yawned and smiled. “Morning…”
    Goh smiled lazily and replied, “Go back to sleep, it’s still before 2.”
    Taki, noticing his own clinginess, frowned slightly at his arm, as though it had moved of his own accord, and pulled his arm back onto his side of the bed. “You make it sound like 2 in the afternoon is early…” he replied drowsily.
    Goh raised an eyebrow, “You mean it isn’t?” he said ironically. “You don’t have to work tonight until 7, why get up now? You’ll need your strength.”
    Taki play-punched him in response, rolled over, and tried to fall asleep again. But his mind betrayed his good mood and recalled images of Madeleine’s face and voice asking to pass on the message.
    He still couldn’t understand why he was being so jealous; where was the reasoning behind it? But even more disturbing was his mind’s constant reminding of the fact that he was starting to keep secrets from Goh. The man was homosexual; Taki had never seen any deviations from the pattern of young boys that Goh brought home. More like they followed him home; those poor lost puppies had needed him so badly… He was clearly devoted to his own gender, so there was no reason for Taki to worry about women coming on to Goh; but still, the lingering frustrations were there. And they were beginning to gnaw away at him…
    Taki stopped mid-thought as he felt the bed give a little shift as Goh got out of bed. He stayed still and feigned sleep while Goh carefully got up and slipped out of the room, the door making a slight creaking noise as he closed the door.
    His thoughts returned to the stupid frustrations he’d been feeling lately and he sighed. Was this how relationships really functioned? Even lying about a small thing that potentially, could have no effect on the relationship, bothered him so much? That he, Taki the lone wolf, would get jealous and possessive even when women were after Goh? He groaned into his pillow out of frustration. His jealousy was unnecessary and unreasonable, he knew that, at least. His new tendencies towards being possessive? Well, those were new, but he had a feeling that this whole “love” thing had something to do with it. Who did he have to compare it to?
    There had been Mizuki’s obsessive possessiveness towards Taki, but did that count as normal? Mizuki was, after all, a person who killed for a living… and also had a sex change in hopes of being more appealing in Taki’s eyes… Perhaps he…she…that was a bad example.
    There was also Yukiya and Hatozaki…well…they hardly counted as normal, since they were an incestuous couple, right? Yukiya had also been fiercely possessive of Hatozaki, threatening to kill himself if his older brother married.
    There had even been an incident with Goh before him and Taki had gotten together. Ah, the “bunny boy,” Taki thought. The Bunny Boy had been extremely possessive; Taki remembered that incident well. It was hard to forget the part where he’d been drugged and very nearly raped as a result of Rei’s possessiveness and jealousy. But Rei was also an insatiable little snot who was simultaneously Goh’s girlfriend and mistress to the Kumagai-gumi boss. There was the jealousy talking again…
    Taki rethought his dismissal of the two unorthodox couples. He and Goh hardly counted as a “normal” relationship either. They had been snatchers, had been serial polygamists, and were homosexual. They hardly counted as normal in Taki’s book. But yet, they were… right…together. Without each other, Taki knew that they were incredibly dysfunctional human beings.
    Alright, so being possessive worked…sort of? In Mizuki’s and Taki’s case, they were never an actual couple so he could see why that didn’t work very well. In Rei’s case, it wasn’t really a relationship per se, seeing as how Goh had been sleeping with the snot so he could get information for the case. Well, Taki guessed that Yukiya and Hatozaki would have to serve as reference. Perhaps talking to Hatozaki would solve this whole issue of Taki’s new acquaintances with petty, green monster feelings.
    Now the problem was going to be actually voicing these still-foreign emotions aloud. Would he actually be able to speak to someone about this without even being able to admit them to Goh?
    Taki steeled himself for an undoubtedly unpleasant phone call. He dialed Hatozaki’s phone number that he had stored in his phone and waited for the detective to pick up.
    “Hello?”
    Taki cleared his throat, “Detective? This is Taki.”
    “Hi, Taki,” Hatozaki replied in a surprised and slightly anguished tone, “Is something the matter?” he finished hurriedly.
    “Oh, no nothing’s the matter…”
    “I see,” his voice relaxed a bit, “how can I help you?”
    Taki grit his teeth and asked, “Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?”
    The second that the words tumbled out of Taki’s mouth, he realized that there was a very likely possibility that Hatozaki would interpret that as a come-on. But to his relief, the potential interpretation was not addressed. Instead, Hatozaki replied, “Sure… you sound angry, are you sure something isn’t the matter?”
    Taki sighed, “Something’s bothering me, yes, but it’s not a life or death situation… Do you want to meet at the Roost?”
    “When, now?”
    “If it’s not too much trouble…”
    Hatozaki replied that it was no problem and that he would meet Taki at HQ in half an hour before hanging up. Taki’s fears were neither assuaged, nor had they increased at the prospect of confessing his emotions.
    He just had to do it. Just blurt out that he was experiencing uncharacteristic jealousy, that he didn’t know how to handle it, and that he wanted reassurances that he wasn’t being crazy.
    30 minutes later, Taki was sitting at a small inconspicuous table near the back of Tsunuga’s café. Hatozaki walked in and acknowledged Tsunuga with a very slight nod. Immediately, Tsunuga made sure that Kanji was out for a while so as not to draw attention to the presence of the detective. Hatozaki sat down across from Taki at the small, two-person table. He smiled at the familiarity of the humble art hanging around him, looked at Taki and asked why he had wanted to meet him.
    Taki took his time collecting his thoughts and stayed silent. “It’s a little embarrassing…”
    Hatozaki thought he understood, but he wanted Taki to say it for himself, “Well, think of it this way: even if this is really embarrassing, you rarely, if ever see me. And I certainly won’t tell anyone, because that would connect me to you, and we both know that that can’t happen…”
    Taki smiled at the almost absurd tone Hatozaki was using to make his point. He sighed and said, “I know… It’s about Goh…” He had been staring at his hands, but as he finished his sentence, he looked up.
    “Ah…I had surmised as much,” Hatozaki smiled understandingly. “What’s so embarrassing?”
    He sighed again. “I have…jealousy issues.”
    “Jealousy issues? Can you elaborate?”
    “I am… jealous to the point of keeping secrets from him.” Telling the detective all of this personal information was rather excruciating, but Hatozaki had not even scoffed at him. He decided to keep going and explained everything as quickly as he could before he could change his mind.
    Finally the reaction that Taki had been expecting happened. A rumbling laughter burst out of Hatozaki as Taki sighed for a third time. “Taki…” the detective began, suppressing more giggles, “what you’re feeling is normal! I’d be more worried if you weren’t jealous at all!”
    Taki kept his mouth shut and waited for Hatozaki to continue.
    “Goh loves you and he would never cheat on you with anyone… He was even willing to take his own life to keep you with him!” Hatozaki reasoned.
    Taki nodded silently, absorbing the words, knowing that he’d been silly to be jealous.
    “I think what you really need to worry about is being able to control this green monster you have. You have to ask yourself: do I really need to worry about this? If the answer is ‘no,’ then let it go, remind yourself that Goh loves you.”
    It wasn’t really anything that Taki hadn’t thought of himself before, but somehow it was more gratifying to hear those sentiments echoed from someone else, rather than his own mind. He thanked Hatozaki for his help and apologized for wasting his time with something so trivial.
    “Taki, this isn’t something trivial… Your work has always required you to stay commitment free, but now you are faced with a commitment that is new and completely foreign to you. It’s more than a little scary and I’m happy you were able to tell me.” Hatozaki checked his watch and apologized, “Unfortunately, I’m due back at the office soon…”
    Taki nodded vigorously and replied, “Oh, yes, of course.” He stood up and once the detective was standing as well, he bowed slightly and thanked him once again.
    “No worries…” Hatozaki trailed off, suddenly remembering something, “I know it is difficult to come back to snatching…considering the circumstances…but we really need you.”
    “We’ll see. I can’t guarantee anything,” and with a deep nod, Taki excused himself, avoiding Tsunuga’s curious gaze as he walked out of the café.
    As Taki unlocked the apartment door and walked through the doorway, he noticed that there was a space where Goh’s favorite boots usually sat, which meant that Goh was out.
    “Hm,” Taki thought aloud, “Maybe he’s gone to become an active member of society.” He snorted in response to himself, “Yeah, right. More likely he’s buying food.”
    He took his black sneakers off and placed them on the shoe rack before ambling over to the old couch that they’d brought over from the old place. He sank into his usual dip in the couch as he sat down and leaned over the coffee table as he saw a stack of papers almost an inch thick. Each one read some form of, “Bartender Application for Employment.” Taki was mildly horrified once again at the thought of Goh becoming a bartender and his mouth dropped open in shock. Goh?! Becoming a bartender?! Taki leafed through the stack more slowly this time, looking at the name and address of every application. Even more horrifying than the applications themselves, was the fact that not a single one was for employment at Zebra. Why on Earth would Goh apply to work at every other bar in town, but not the one that his supposed love worked at?
    Taki didn’t move for a moment while he tried to calm himself down. There had to be a very logical explanation for the absence of a Zebra application. He had yet to find an acceptable explanation by the time Goh walked in the door 10 minutes later. By this time, Taki had worked himself into a hysterical frenzy, but instead of displaying it, he hardened his features and merely raised an eyebrow at Goh.
    “So you saw the applications, I see,” Goh started.
    “Yeah…I never expected you to go out and get them on your own,” Taki’s was tone rather stinging.
    “Well, I just thought it’d be a good idea,” his tone was defensive.
    “You didn’t have to, you know…” he trailed off icily.
    Goh finally took off his boots and closed the door behind him as he joined Taki on the sunken couch. He tried to put his arm around Taki in hopes of loosening his partner up.
    “Don’t touch me!” Taki pushed away Goh’s arm and stalked off and into the bedroom, very nearly slamming the door behind him.
    Goh knew better than to barge in and ask what the hell the other was talking about, so instead he went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
    Taki, on the other hand, was fuming. He almost wished he were a snatcher again so he could go out and fight. How could that son of a bitch be so calm about everything! And why had he thought it was a good idea to take applications from everywhere but Zebra! Granted, Taki had immediately jumped down Goh’s throat and not even let him explain, but still. Looking back, even though he still was angry, he knew he’d been too rash.
    Goh finished making dinner –meat again– and took a small bowl of rice and a plate of chicken skewers to the bedroom. He placed the small bowl on top of the plate in his left hand, and knocked lightly with his right before turning the handle.
    “Taki?” he asked timidly as he crossed the threshold, plate in hand.
    Taki was sitting on the edge of the bed his elbows resting on his knees and holding his head up to look at Goh. He sighed. This time, when Goh sat down, Taki maintained his cool. Goh offered up dinner as a peace offering and Taki, against his will, smiled.
    “Do you want a beer?” Goh asked, still rather timid.
    He nodded silently. Goh kissed his temple lightly and left the room. To Taki’s surprise, he found the gesture extremely touching and sincere. However, Goh still hadn’t explained why he had those applications…But then, neither had Taki explained why he was angry… Once again they were caught in a communication predicament.
    Goh came back with the last beer in the fridge, and as he sat down, he popped the tab and took a gulp.
    “Hey-!” Taki couldn’t finish as Goh kissed him. Goh tangled his fingers in Taki’s hair and deepened the kiss, the sip of beer spilling into his lover’s mouth.
    Goh gently forced Taki backwards onto the bed while he put the unfinished beer on the nightstand. Poor Taki, left to trust Goh’s maneuvering, bumped his head on the headboard,
    “Mmf!” he let out, mid kiss. The bump, though, knocked some rationality back into Taki, who had been swept away by the surprise attack and passion of Goh’s kiss.
    Unfortunately for Taki, Goh was not about to relinquish his position of control and grabbed a little more tightly on Taki’s hair. He straddled Taki and skillfully stripped himself of his, as well as Taki’s, clothes. But as he reached for the condom and lube, Taki flipped Goh on his back and lubed two of his fingers up.
    Goh, who had, up until this point, been the dominant one in the bedroom, now marveled at the complete change of scenery. So this is what Taki sees. Before he could say anything about the angle or make any quips, Taki tentatively poked a slick finger into Goh’s awaiting ass.
    However, Goh didn’t expect the odd sensation that followed. He invariably let out a “Woah!” and tightened around Taki’s finger. Taki laughed a bit as Goh added, “So this is what it feels like?”
    “Is that a serious question?” he mocked Goh’s tone. “If you relax, it’ll start to feel better…” His words were familiar to Goh; Goh had said something along those lines when they had had their first time together.
    As soon Goh finally relaxed, Taki was able to use his own experiences to make the awkward experience for Goh, a little less awkward. Taki made sure he used a lot of lube as he inserted his second and third fingers before finally deciding that Goh was ready.
    Taki slipped on the condom with ease and applied lube to his erection, rubbing the excess lightly into Goh’s stretched sphincter. As he pushed into his partner, he took advantage of the newfound closeness and leaned over to kiss the nape of Goh’s neck. “Does it hurt?” he uttered softly into Goh’s ear.
    Goh shook his head lightly, “Keep going,” he begged slightly.
    Taki nodded and smirked as he began to pull out slowly and thrust forward faster.
    Goh turned his head and caught the look on Taki’s face. Seeing Taki’s smirk was almost more arousing to Goh than the actual sex. That is, until Taki hit Goh’s sweet spot. Goh let out a cry, which immediately spurred Taki on until both men were grunting and moving in unison.
    As the bed frame shook, Taki and Goh reaching their climax, Goh found himself needing release sooner and grabbed at the lube and then at himself. Before Goh could even get the lube slathered on himself, Taki had already reasserted his control. It was Taki’s responsibility to induce orgasm, not Goh’s.
    After Taki got a hold on Goh, orgasm’s coming was swift and loud. Goh spurt into Taki’s hand with a groan and Taki followed soon after.

    They lay together for a few moments, relishing their rather adventurous sexcapade in a sheen-covered stupor. Goh looked down at Taki for a moment, wondering if he should press the subject that had led to their angry, yet amazing sex.
    He ran his fingers through Taki’s blond hair and murmured “Taki… you know you can tell me when something’s bothering you, right?”
    Taki hesitated for a moment, and: “Why didn’t you tell me about applying to be a bartender?” dropped between them heavily.
    “Well… I figured it was only natural that you’d want to be a bartender somewhere else even if it hadn’t worked out at Zebra…”
    Taki stared at Goh for a moment. “Things at Zebra are fine, actually.”
    “Then why did you get called into the office? Naohito told me about that.”
    “She wants you to work there,” he blurted out finally.
    Now it was Goh’s turn to stare. “What?”
    “Yeah. The customers have been asking when you’re going to come back, so she wants to hire you.” Taki cringed inwardly.
    “Okay… so why didn’t you want to tell me this earlie—“ he stopped mid-sentence as he discovered the answer to his question on his own. “You’re jealous!” he burst out, a huge grin spreading across his face.
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Yes! Yes you are!” Goh exclaimed as he pulled a struggling Taki in for a closer embrace.
    “…So… are you going to take the job?”
    “As much fun as I think it would be seeing you holding in your anger when all the women are ogling me, I really don't like them at all. I’ll leave the women to you, just don’t ogle them.”
    “I’ll control myself,” Taki smiled.

Book Quote Meme

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:11:32 GMT

Ganked from my friend on Facebook. She shall remain nameless since this is a public entry.

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall, and post your sentence in a comment here as well.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The verbs used in such qualifier sentences are in their short forms, either in the present (as in examples 3 and 4) or the past tense (1 and 2), and either in the affirmative (1-3) or in the negative (4).

It's amazing I swear

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:07:35 GMT

seriously.

Can't. resist. pull. of.... NaNo

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:04:24 GMT

Yes, yes. I have done it... I have joined the craze... crap. BUT I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO IT'S ALLURING POWERS FOR I MUST GET GOOD GRADES.
*runs off to bed to get at least 9 hours of sleep*

These things quite frighten me....

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:02:12 GMT

Friends committing suicide/friends having suicidal thoughts

Pickles

Clowns

The idea of failing out of college

The idea of failing at life.

Yep... these things quite frighten me. So please don't...............................

Because I TOTALLY don't have enough memes on my LJ

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:48:02 GMT

1. Post a list of up to 20 books/movies/anime/TV shows/video games/etc. that you've had an obsessive fannish love or interest in at some time in your life.

2. Have your f-list guess your favorite character from each item.

1. Yellow
2. Hana Kimi (Japanese drama)
3. Princess Princess
4. Lies & Kisses (manga)
5. House
6. Metalocalypse
7. Grey's Anatomy
8. Bety la Fea (colombian version)
9. Presentiment/Omen
10. Kurosagi (Japanese drama)
11. Puroposaru Daisakusen (J-drama)
12. 1st Shop of Coffee Princes (K-drama)
13. 17 (Chilean Drama)
14. Ouran
15. Star Wars
16. V for Vendetta (movie)
17. Destinos Cruzados (Chilean Drama)
18. 200 Pound Beauty (K-movie)
19. Machuca (Chilean Movie)
20. Versus (Chilean Drama)

Heh. Good luck guessing characters that I like...

You make me want to die.

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:53:36 GMT

I'm creating a forum for slash readers/writers. Essentially like TMB except without the bad writers. "myself" will not be invited. ^_^.
codes are SO annoying. Why can't things be simple?

Which Ouran Host are You?

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:04:48 GMT

Bored.
What Host Are You?
Hosted By theOtaku.com: Anime

Divisions Within a Culture

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:44:11 GMT

I wrote this on a whim and I think it's an actual essay in-training. I present it to you for your perusal.

As a Latina, I frequently get asked why I don’t go for a minor in Chicano Studies. And I mean frequently. Something like this always happens whenever I start talking about my majors. I have a high aptitude for languages and Spanish, is, in fact, one of my best. So I suppose it’s only natural that people get curious. But when it comes to asking about Chicano Studies, that I get irked.
My immediate reply is: “Because I don’t believe in Chicanos.” That’s the point where I start getting strange looks. Why? Because my tone is usually, if not always, curt and harsh. Along with the strange looks, I get a skeptical look or an indignant look if the person I’m talking to identifies as Chicano. Naturally they get defensive.
I have always been a very prideful Latina. I love my culture dearly and I love learning more about it. But I refuse to believe in the subsect of “Chicano.” I absolutely refuse to even acknowledge the term unless forced. My reasons are mostly regarding the semantics of the word.
“Chicano” is an extremely loaded word, whether you believe in it or not. What the word refers to is a small population of Latinos: Mexican-Americans. That’s it. Not Latin American or even Hispanic American! Chicano refers to this exclusive group of 1st-generation Latinos and onward in the USA.
What this does is perpetuate the stereotype that exists in America: that all Hispanics are Mexican. Of course, we all know that the stereotype is false, but some semblance of it still exists in our culture. It exists whenever you automatically assume that the brown person in front of you is Mexican. It’s an unconscious judgment that a good number of us make on a daily basis. However, while it is true that we make these judgments daily, that doesn’t make it a legitimate assumption. Instead of making that judgment, you could ask the person: “You’re Hispanic, right?” Pardon the slight digression. This stereotype remains a daily occurrence because if “Chicano” is legitimate enough to exist as its own department on a university campus, then so can these assumptions.
More importantly than that living stereotype, is the division it creates within that Latino and Hispanic community. The word is offensive. That’s right. Offensive. Offensive because it makes Mexican-Americans a different breed of Hispanic. Offensive because it has the potential to create an elitist community of Hispanics. And this elitist community would be supported by the mere fact that universities have entire departments devoted to Mexican-American studies. The word creates elitism because while Mexican-Americans have earned themselves their own special word, where does that leave the Puerto-Rican Americans, the Cuban-Americans, the El Salvadorean-Americans, etc? There are so many different types of Latino, of Hispanic, that it is detrimental to Hispanic morale that there lack the existence of a special term for the thousands of factions of Hispanic that exist.
The Hispanic community already has so many divisions, but this one can create a defeatist attitude simply because of the legitimacy that academia gives the word. Nationalism will always have its place in society, but the nationalism that “Chicano” instills in a small portion of a larger culture has no place in academia.
And if it has no place in academia, this term should have no place in society, unless we plan on giving every subsect of Hispanic a new and separate label.