I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But it's feeling just like every other morning before.
Now I wonder what my life is gonna mean if it's gone.

The cars are moving, like, a half a mile an hour, and I
Started staring at the passengers and waving goodbye.
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?
--From How Far We've Come, by Matchbox 20

November 23, 2009: New story alert! Ego Sum is my first dip into Kingdom Hearts writing, so be nice! = (FC in eight days OMFG!)

October 26, 2009: Okay, couple of things to address today. The first of which being... it's official. The really for-real, totally official and in no way take-backable re-release date for Full Circle is December 1st. I still have only seven chapters done, but my loyal fans (-discretely tamps down ego inflation-) have waited long enough, and I can't forsee any changes in my earliest chapters. Just keep in mind that updates will be fairly slow, as updates go. No more than once a month, and probably less. However, I do promise never to make you wait more than three months, not without notification at least.

This brings me to my second point - the next two months or so are going to be really hectic for me. Not because of exams, because those are all in surprisingly convenient places. But I do have a research paper due at the end of November (so much for NaNoWriMo...), and that comes before anything. In addition, my internship is starting up today, and it's going to take up a good half of my availavle free time. Taken together means - you guessed it: I won't be getting much writing done this semester, if any. Maybe I'm a little dumb for posting FC right near the end of this blank period, but as I said, it's been two years already! It's gotten to the point where I'm almost ashamed of my attention span! XD

Also, I'd like to appologize to MichaelDJ54, BlueBlossomGurl, and Miriku Nuva for failing to include them in my latest Society fic. I knew I had forgotten something, but it wasn't until several hours after posting that I realized what the problem was. Sorry guys! Maybe I'll get around to adding something in just for you, if college doesn't kill me first!

October 1, 2009: And there you have it - Insert Priceless Kodak Moment Here has finally arrived! Arrived late, I'll admit, but arrived. Happy Centenial, fellow agents! :U

September 17, 2009: OMGOMGOMG!! Dragon-Tooth's present for my 21st birthday just came in! (Yes, I'm an adult now. Dear God, when did this happen, and how do I make it stop?!) The link is down in Story Updates, under Full Circle, obviously. XD Give it lots of comments and faves, because my super-special-awesome friend totally deserves it! -glomps her-

September 8, 2009: WOOT! Five Fathers part 1 and it's side-fic are BOTH up! -celebrates- I worked reeeeeaaally hard on this one, so kindly leave lots and lots of reviews for both of them? Please? -looks adorable-

About Me:

INFP - "Healer". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4 of total population. --From Similar Minds, Myers-Briggs personality test.

I've decided to expand this section a bit, mostly for the benefit of the new friends I've met on this site. I've learned so much about them, so it's only fair that they learn a few things about me.

I'm a twenty-one-year-old female of Irish/German/British decent (in that order) with waist-length brown hair (mostly straight, but with a little wave where I've trained it to go that way), multi-colored hazel eyes (the color changes are subtle, but facinating. I make a study of people's eyes. =D), and excessively pale skin. I'm overweight, a couch potato, and I'm not all that fond of exercise, but I carry my weight well (I look like I weigh a lot less than my actual weight, if that makes any sense), and it's not like I get breathless when climbing the stairs or anything. I have very good endurance for someone my size. I live with my mom, my stepdad, my two little brothers, my dog, and a handful of finches.

I am very musically inclined. If you read Violin, you'd be able to tell just how musically inclined I am, as I pulled a lot of the emotions and description in that fic from myself. Much (most) of my writing is inspired by music; I even have playlists dedicated to whatever fandoms they remind me of! I see musicals, I go to orchestras, I collect showtunes from Broadway to Disney, and if my iPod ever wasn't on my person I think I'd collapse from the withdrawal. I am never without a song or tune in the back of my head, and I sing all the time. Just try getting me to stop; I'll laugh at you.

Another obsession is books. I can't live without them, and never could. As early as first grade, and probably earlier (one of my first memories was teaching myself how to read), reading was my passion. A monthly book catalog was distributed in both my elementary schools; Mom always limited me to ten books, and I always bargained her up to at least fifteen. I could spend days upon days just sitting in my room, lost in those other worlds. Death Note, Kingdom Hearts, the Young Wizards series, the Pendragon series, the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy, the Inheritance trilogy (er... Inheritance cycle), the Harry Potter septology (despite everything), the Deltora Quest series, and pretty much anything by Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, and K.A. Applegate. All were (and still are) old friends that I revisit again and again. I freely admit that I was a total escapist. And I'm proud to say that it was all those books and stories that laid the groundwork for my writing style today.

-o-o-o-o-o-

As for my writing, I've been on FFN for a total of three years now, and I couldn't be happier with my current position. My writing improves every day, and I rest assured that there is always more to learn, always a higher bar to raise up to. I mean, looking at the difference between Shadow of the Moon and Unknown Soldier, or between Tale as Old as Time and Violin... or, most especially, the mass differences between Full Circle and it's soon-to-be-released re-write... I always get a little thrill of pleasure when I think of how far I've come.

As for the exact type of my works, I seem to specialize in either short-but-cute (and surprisingly popular) ficlets that pop into my head completely randomly, or really long, reeeeeaally introspective thingamabobs that take months to finish. I also have a few long-term projects, but they have to be prioritized or nothing gets done. Otherwise, I just write whatever I feel like. Not everything I start gets finished, but everything I finish gets posted. Read, enjoy, and please, please review!

Story updates:

So here are the fruits of my over-active imagination that I can honestly call fanfiction. It's all here. Love it, or hate it, as you like. Incidentally, I love getting e-mailed, especially when it's to talk about stories and characters. If anyone wants my opinion, or my beta services, feel free to give me a buzz!

If anyone has any fanart, amvs, or oneshots of any of my stories, send them to me and I will be more than happy to post a link underneath the relevant title. (shouts for beta) Hikari-chan! How do you post a link?!

In the Works:

I have so many ideas in the works, it's not even funny. Well, Hikari-chan thinks it's funny, but I find it annoying. So, for the sake of my sanity (and your's), I'm only putting in this section long-term projects and stories that might actually make it to FFN. Thank you.

Full Circle: (Yu-Gi-Oh!) My main project at the moment. My attempt to both tie up all the loose ends left in an otherwise fantastic series, and to make sense of some strange happenings going on in my own life. In the process of a re-write, and I might be taking a leaf out of MyAibou's book and not posting anything till I'm done. As of yet, everything up to chapter 6 (including the prologue) is completely finished, and chapter 7 is about 85 percent complete.

For anyone who wants to know what the creepy shadow-wolf-thingies look like, look no further! Everyone say thank you to Hikari-Katsuya for illustrating! --> http://hikari-katsuya.deviantart.com/art/FEAR-THE-DEMON-PUPPY-97221594

This is my twentieth birthday present from the wonderful and incredibly talented Dragon-Tooth (aka LightningSorceress on dA). 'Tis a highly symbolic picture of Ryou and his guardians, meant to represent the concept of "Change of Heart." Totally spoilery, but I officially love her for doing this! --> http://lightningsorceress.deviantart.com/art/Change-of-Heart-104419159

My 21st birthday present (has it been a year already?!), once again from Dragon-Tooth (still LightningSorceress on Youtube). And guess what? It's Full Circle's first TRAILER! YAY!! Ah hearts it much. --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18YUzKa-6MY&feature=email

I'm also writing three oneshots meant to tie in to the FC timeline. Preferably these would come out before the re-premier of Full Circle, but I make it a point not to over-estimate my abilities. XD Each one focuses on a different character, pre-FC. Two of them will definitely be written in DEEP SHIT, and the third has a couple of DEEP SHIT aspects. They are: Everywhere Light (Atem-centric), All That Is (Bakura-centric), and Pure Imagination (Pegasus-centric), the last of which is already finished and posted.

a Light unto the Darkness: (Yu-Gi-Oh!) This could be considered part of the FC timeline if you want, and I'll probably insert references to such, but for the most part it stands completely on its own. Once again, a DEEP SHIT-ed fanfic (I can't get enough of these, XD), this time following Kisara as she waits in the Shadow Realm with only her memories to comfort her.

Sweet Sacrifice: (Inuyasha) Something sort of AUish I randomly came up with while listening to the Evanescence song. It's probably the darkest thing I've ever come up with for a fanfic though, so take the rating seriously when it comes up. I'll probably post the complete version - the one with song lyrics in the background - on deviantArt, if you want to see it.

Five Fathers: (Yu-Gi-Oh!) A series of five oneshots about each of the five fathers mentioned in YGO canon. Again, loosely set in the universe of Full Circle which, in turn, is loosely set in the universe of Beginning of the End. So, just to tie up any loose ends, and because I think about backstories way too much, I started this. The first installment, That Which Rises And Falls, is finally posted (side-fic and all!), and others are almost completely planned out. In addition to Gozaburo, there will also be Joey's father, Marik's father, Ryou's father, and, if I can think of something interesting enough, Yugi's father. FC spoilers abound in almost every chapter! You have been warned!

Angels in Flight: (Kingdom Hearts) Since it's my first foray into a relatively new fandom, I'm going to experiment with a oneshot made up of various ficlets, each focussing on a different main character. Though I've already got ideas for an expansion of one of said ficlets, but we'll see what kind of feedback I get from this one.

Complete:

As this section has been getting rather long, I've decided to delete it and leave you with the normal list of stories at the bottom. I'm turning out to be one of those authors who writes a lot of oneshots based on random inspiration, so as I get more and more of those, I can't add a little descriptor in my bio page for each one. Suppose I turn out to be like Scribbler, with over three hundred fics and counting? My page would be endless! XD

Collaborations/Group Projects:

Beginning of the End: (Yu-Gi-Oh!) I've had this idea in my head for almost a year, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do the action scenes justice. Then, miraculously, I met an author here on FFN, Dragon-Tooth. Long story short, we're doing a collaboration! Yay! When we have enough written to start posting chapters, I'll give a proper summary. Here's a hint though: it has to do with the events of the past.

The Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society: A C2 Community that was created a while back, headed by Mei1105 and founded by Anikathepen. It started out as an excuse to make self-inserts of ourselves while chasing a renegade Mary-Sue and indulging in fangirl love, but as it's spread it's grown into so much more! There are now over 100 stories in the series, spanning as many fandoms, and each one has been a pleasure to either read or write. I feel like I know my fellow Society members personally, and the whole ride has been such a great blast! --> http://www.fanfiction.net/community/The_Anti-Cliche_and_Mary-Sue_Elimination_Society/65729

Also, we're officially cool enough to have our own Wikia, so here's the link to that too! All Society members, please feel free to add pages, and look me up there as well! I be Valerie. --> http://acmses.wikia.com/wiki/ACMSES_Wiki

Posted Elsewhere:

Fantasy Tale: The story of the Wanderers, the handpicked messengers of the Empress. What little I have of it is posted at a freewebs site my friend Kage-chan manages for me. I actually haven't worked on this in a while. Most of my interest is in my fanfics at the moment, but I'll get back to it eventually. For now, you can look at it if you want. Just know that my writing has improved dramatically since this began... --> http://www.freewebs.com/thefantasytale/

Things I Write:
(aka favorite fandoms)

Yu-Gi-Oh!: The story of my downward spiral into Yugioh fandom is a strange tale, but (according to my brother) not an uncommon one. I fell in love with the show around middle school age, but sort of got too busy for it when high school rolled around. Then a friend turned me on to YGO: The Abridged Series (a canon unto itself), and after watching that for a while, I was overcome by a wave of nostalgia, and started watching episodes on youtube. Following that were japanese episodes, the discovery of yu-jyo dot net, and the manga. What I have now can be found roughly in the vicinity of "obsession," but I'm still having the time of my life! The characters are some of the most facinating I've ever met, the music is positively inspirational, and the plot is something that I can write and write and write about and still only scratch the surface! In short, everything I ever wanted in a fandom.

Digimon: My first real anime love. This one started back in elementary school, and I was lucky enough not to see the first episode (a corny piece of crap) before falling in love with the series. The large-ensemble cast, with all their individual personalities and changing group dynamics, was just wonderful for me, second only to a friend that was yours for life, and would never leave your side. The only thing that separates it from Yugioh is that there's less to write about. There are plenty of plotholes to be filled, yes, but each season comes with its own cast, and so any character-development is done rapid-fire: quickly and irrefutably. But even though it really is just a children's show, I loved it growing up, and still do. And maybe someday, when Yugioh loosens its grip on my mind and soul, I'll come up with something interesting to write about, but for now I'm sticking to drabbles.

Inuyasha: This story doesn't inspire me like it used to. Far from being my number one fandom, the re-discovery of childhood loves has pushed it back to third place. Because as much as I love the characters, and kept up with the manga online, the sort of relationships they have have just been done and done and overdone... it's hard to think of anything original anymore. I am determined to get Sweet Sacrifice up and running, and I hope to (someday) finish Somewhere, but for now, what I have is all I've got. I saw the last of the manga chapters online though. It was adorable! Predictable... but adorable.

DragonBall Z: After years and years of resisting the inevitable, I finally succumbed and became one of the fallen. Personally, I blame TeamFourStar. Once again, an abridged series has gotten me re-into (or just plain into, in this case) an anime. But I must admit there is a reason that this is the most popular anime out there. Even though the animation style makes it look like all the characters are pumping steroids, the kinds of personalities they have are just incredible. Vegeta, for example. He's the walking definition of a Napoleon complex, and yet something about him just begs to be written about. Piccolo, of course, is frikking amazing (though slightly neglected in later sagas), Goku always looks slightly brain-damaged after a fight (which is probably true, XD), Bulma's annoying as hell but still awesome in her own way, Goten and Trunks are adorable little troublemakers, Gohan is like the perfect hero... -sigh- I think I fell head-first without even realizing it.

Fullmetal Alchemist: (Btw, these are no longer in any particular order.) After some severe nagging from the beta, I finally got into the famous FMA. And boy, I do not regret it at all! Everything is damn near perfect in this story, from a large cast of characters who are unique, engaging, quirky, and incredibly well-developed, to a long-term plot that's so intricate and planned out that even my dad couldn't predict the outcome! Not to mention it's got action, adventure, humor, tragedy, angst, comedy, and the slightest hint of romance. And on top of all that, the voice actors are the best I've ever seen, both Japanese and English. I would recomend this fandom to absolutely anyone.

Kingdom Hearts: -sigh- Such a beautiful, beautiful fandom. Really it is. No matter what character you're looking at, it's a touching coming-of-age story that never fails to utterly amaze me with its wonderfulness. I was instantly facinated with a Final Fantasy/Disney crossover from the beginning, but even though a discinct lack of a Playstation kept me from experiencing the story fully, our recent aquisition of non-crappy internet finally made Youtube cutscenes possible - some of which are some pretty dazzling eye-candy indeed. But as I said before, it's an amazing story, full of more depth than most notice (even if Sora reminds me a bit of 4Kids sometimes, XD) and enough diverse characters to make my heart melt with delight. The possibilities are endless!

Influences/Inspirations:
(all of these people can be found on my favorite authors list)

Scribbler: (139401) Quite possibly the most brilliant writer on the whole of this site, and I do not exaggerate. I first discovered her with her fic Schadenfruede, and have been a huge fan of her work ever since. She knows her characters inside and out, and a great deal of my own characterization is owed to her, especially Tea and Tristan. She also likes to ask herself "What if?" and simply go from there. Her Variation on a Theme series is testament to her brilliance: if she can take an idea that rediculous and turn it into something that awesome, then you know she's good. This is the type of author I hope to become someday.

BlackMamba07: (766672) The first really, really good fanfic author I came across, back when I was a newbie on this site. She has some beautifully written Inuyasha fics on her site, particularly Inu/Kag parings. Everyone is 100 percent IC, and the happy endings are wonderfully written and not at all contrived. She's the one I go to when I need a good, fluffy read with just the right amount of angst and action thrown in. A more concise version of Scribbler, in other words.

AvidReaderAlso: (996468) Creater of the most interesting, well thought-out, and believable OCs in the whole of FFN. Seriously. I've seen some pretty good OCs, but these take the cake. I can completely lose myself in her stories and actually believe her characters are really part of the fandom! Not to mention her writing style totally kicks ass. The plot is incredibly well thought-out, and the OCs don't overshadow the canon characters at all. Totally worth checking out, I promise you.

esama: (1137344) She might need some time to grow on you, but it's well worth it if you have patience. Then again, I'm just a sucker for AU's, especially her AU's. They're some of the most brilliant, well thought-out pieces of literature on the whole of FFN. Not to mention that this woman is solely responsible for getting me over my yaoi prejudices (even though I'm still a canon purist at heart, I will read yaoi if it has an interesting plotline). She doesn't usually respond to reviews, and her grammar and spelling can be horrible at times, but I go back and read her stuff again and again.

MyAibou: (852008) Very famous thoughout Yugioh fandom, and it's not very hard to see why. If you're into romance and incredibly detailed plotlines, her Revival and Identity series will keep you busy reading for days on end. She's another who is very into characterization, and my JoeyxMai fluff takes after her, as well my portrayal of Serenity. She and I are very alike, in that we both look very carefully at the canon and pull from it things that will help our own plots along, if interpreted the right way.

IRL Friends:

nefelokokkygia: (1555942) Formerly Hikari-Katsuya, my beta-reader as well as one of my best friends in all the world. She will listen to me rant on the phone for hours about one plotline or another that I'm working on, point out plotholes in my thinking, break me out of one train of thought if needed, and generally make me a better writer. I'm beta-ing for her a trilogy of original novels that promises to be the next LOTR if we can get it right! She's also the inventor of the DEEP SHIT writing style that I've been using in oneshots lately. But completely aside from writing stuff, she's probably the one person I know who can match me in terms of IQ, so we can talk about really deep concepts in a way that I can't really achieve with anyone else. (hugs her) I think I'd go insane without you to talk to, Hikari-chan!

Ezra Yamada: (1410899) Also known as Oorashi Ami, or Ami-chan. Another of my best friends. Her, Hikari, and I form a trio like you wouldn't believe! We're going to take over the world, someday, you watch... Anyway, this girl is also the other reason for my recent interest in Dragonball Z - she's obsessed with it. Seriously, she lives, breathes, and freaking dreams it, and has been trying to foist it on the rest of us for years now. I worry for her sanity sometimes, but I think I'd be more worried if she didn't have such a wonderful outlet for her boundless imagination. And, as you might have guessed, her obsession is infectious. But we love her anyway! You couldn't ask for a more caring person, and she is hands down the easiest person to like and get along with in the entire world!

Hikari no Senshi: (1124035) I mostly refer to her as Tsukino Kage, or Kage-chan, in real life. Y'all can thank her for turning me onto this site, even though she seldom uses it herself. She's more of a deviantArt person, really. Still a very close friend though. She introduced me to a ton of things I now love, actually, and I thank every Power listening for that all the time. I don't get to see her as often as I'd like anymore, but we're still close. Her personal obsession is Sailor Moon, and I'm voicing one of the otaku senshi in an audio drama she's making. It promises to be tons of fun!

Mei1105: (706559) Most of what we talk about on AIM is our shared obsession: Yu-Gi-Oh! Mei is my first trans-continental AIM friend, and I have to admit I was a little awed by that fact (the first thing I asked her was what time it was in the UK, lawl), but we've been really close friends ever since! We have a ton in common and can talk about pretty much anything. I love her randomness and her constant readiness to laugh, and I really admire her extremely detailed writing style, not to mention the full-length duels she takes it upon herself to write! Normally I don't care for that sort of thing, as they can be pretty crappy if they're not done right, but these make me feel like I'm watching the show again!

Dragon-Tooth: (750990) Both inspiration and close friend, she breaks me out of my usual way of thinking and forces me to consider other posibilities. Her take on the antagonists of a story is really thought-provoking, not to mention that her style of narration is incredibly witty and full of edge-of-your-seat action. She's completely off the wall, and yet somehow makes her stories work for what it is she's trying to do. I'm beta-ing her fic A Fate Like No Other, and we're also writing a collaboration, so we e-mail each other constantly, and have grown incredibly close as friends. I feel like I can talk to her about absolutely anything, which is a rarity for me. Hopefully we'll get to actually meet sometime this summer!

Game Master Blake: (1191970) A relatively new aquisition in terms of online friends, once again met over FFN. I knew him through Mei and the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society, and was intrigued by the astonishing amount of things we had in common. It's like talking to a more serious (and slightly more pessimistic) male version of myself, which is interesting to say the least. We've done a couple of random RP's together, and it's been a lot of fun! Unfortunately, due to some personal reasons I don't pretend to comprehend (I do comprehend them, actually, but I still don't really condone them), he has decided to quit his career as a writer and delete all his stories. He's here purely as a reviewer now.

Master of the Library: (1414559) Yet another new friend of mine, once again met through the ACMSES (I seem to do this a lot, XD). Like me, he's a great listener and an awesome friend, if a little flirty. XD But no one really minds, he's such a sweetheart. I haven't read too many of his stories, but the ones I have read have been fantastic. Some focus on the purely romantic, and others dive into action with backgrounds of romance and angst. And he has a real talent for understated hilarity that I find wonderful! A really inspired writer, in other words, and one who will go far.

Shipping Opinions:

Likes...
I like CANONplzkthx pairings, yes I do. But I can also tolerate puzzleshipping, prideshipping, and other traditional slash YGO pairings if the author is good. Like esama. She's really good. Also good is DarthAnimus, though he tends to go on and on with the romance... get back to the plot already!
SesshomaruxKagome is okay but not something I prefer, and the same goes for SesshomaruxRin. SesshomaruxKagura is way better, and I can see KohakuxRin happening in the future.
JoeyxMai is fun, YugixTea is cute, KaibaxIshizu (though un-canon) is interesting, and I love SethxKisara! there aren't enough of those around, and the ones that are there generally aren't that good. And I also like IsisxMahaad, though I don't think I've seen that done.
I like EdxWinry because it's canon, but also because the pair bounce well off of each other. RoyxRiza is a beautiful love story (as much as the pair of them try to keep it under the rug, lol!), and I think I could grow rather fond of AlxMei, just because they're both very, very cute. XD Also, LingxRanFan has the potential to be something spectacular, as well as humorous!
DBZ has some very amusing pairings that I rather like thinking about, though romance really doesn't have much of a place on that show and most pairings are born of circumstance or even simple lust. However, once again, stick to the canon with this. Anything else would just be weird. O.o Although there is one pairing I might consider that I haven't seen done: PanxUub. Don't ask me why, but I like this idea for some reason. XD
I really like the dynamics between TaixSoraxMatt, as long as the ending is canon (SoraxMatt). I'm also rather fond of TKxKari, but that's kind of a given. Both MimixJoe and MimixIzzy are amusing, though I tend to lean more towards the former. I've found a new interest in KenxYolie, surprisingly. That one has a lot of unexplored possibilities. Sonfaro got me to consider CodyxNoriko, which I think would be interesting. Also good are TakatoxJeri (awkward, but genuine), RikaxRyo (wonderful dynamics!), and ZoexJP. ZoexTakuya is alright, but I really think she should go with JP. He deserves it. ;p

Dislikes...
InuyashaxKikyo - I'm not a Kikyo basher, I just think Inuyasha belongs with Kagome.
InuyashaxSango - Who the hell thought of this and why?
MimixMatt - I used to like this one. Now I can't stand it for some reason.
KenxDavis - Just because friendship rises to a new level, why do people feel the need to put a romantic spin on it?
MattxTai - See above.
PanxTrunks - Okay, how enormous is the difference in their ages? He's a working adult and she's still in elementary school! Sorry, but I just can't condone this one.
EdxAl - Elricest can go die.
EdxRoy - ...Why?? O.o
RoxasxAxel - For the last time: just because two friends are exceedingly close, does not make them homosexual!
SoraxRoxas - Does this count as incest? Narcissism? Masturbation? Yeah, I'll go with that one. -shudders-
JarredxBarda - -twitches- WHY?! Are people so desperate for yaoi that they'll throw together a pairing that doesn't make even the slightest iota of sense?!
KaibaxJoey - Also known as puppyshipping, and I never even would have understood this were it not for YGOTAS. But seriously, what the hell?!
KaibaxSerenity - The only reason I can think of for this is Serenity's slight resemblance to Kisara, and the fact that her brother has the Red Eyes. Not good enough.
KaibaxTea - He wouldn't, and neither would she. They challenge each other's beliefs, and neither can stand that.
YamixTea - I'm telling you, it just wouldn't happen. Yami has no feelings for her, and he wouldn't to that to Yugi. Tea's crush is completely unrequited, save for friendship.
AtemxMana - They're childhood friends and that's it.
MahaadxMana - Teacher-student relationship only!
KaibaxOC - Just don't do it, okay? Just don't.
YamixOC - To me, Yami has this unaproachable quality about him, distant and untouchable. Very few can get close to him, and a romantic relationship is completely out of the question.
OC's in general - Most of them just annoy me.

Other Thoughts:

People don't seem to realize that, when you pull down the tab entitled "Submit Review" at the bottom of a chapter, the option "Story Alert" does not mean "Flag story for profanity and/or other violations." It means, "FFN will send you an e-mail when the author gets off her lazy butt and finally updates this story you seem to be interested in." Said email will contain the links to both the story (at it's newest chapter) and the author's FFN profile page. The same applies to "Author Alert," except it means, "FFN will send you an e-mail when the author gets off her lazy butt and writes anything, regardless of whether you are interested in it or not."

I've seen people complain about authors using chatspeak in their dialogue or narration, but I've never even seen it. Maybe that's because if something annoys me, I just don't read the story. And really, that's the only way to deal with things. So instead of complaining about it, just don't read it! And if you absolutely have to complain, then complain to the offending author! Don't assult the forums with something that will do nothing to help the matter! Sheesh...

Okay, no matter how good the author is, male pregnancy is something I simply cannot tolerate. I mean, what the hell?! What the effing hell?! ...And now I'm scarred for life. (shakes head)

People. Atem is dead. Get over it. Seriously, I've had just about enough of these fics that bring Atem back to life. Not only is such a thing impossible, but neither party in question would ever want to. As much as Atem is their friend, as much as they love him, they know that this is what's best for everyone involved. Man, I've got to write a oneshot to better explain this...

Here's a big one: yaoi. Also known as shonen ai, which translates directly to boy love. Also its female counterpart, yuri/shojo ai. Now, anyone who knows me can tell you that I have absolutely no problem with homosexuality. If the person you love happens to be of the same sex as you, then who cares, right? Love is love! However, fanfiction writers must keep in mind that the characters we use in our stories do not belong to us. Their quirks, flaws, and overall personalities are already established, thought of and brought to life with much love by their original author. We, as fanfiction authors, do not change any of these things when we are writing about them, beyond the usual character development in a storyline, so a character's canonically established sexual orientation should be given just as much deference. If you simply must write about a homosexual pairing, then join a fandom with characters that are already so! Don't just change anything you like to suit your writing style. Respect the original author's intentions!

I have collected, as subscribers, the most wonderful people in the world! They read my stories carefully and leave thoughtful reviews that inspire me to keep writing. I consider myself so lucky to have met these people, and have chosen to thank them here. I love you all!

There are four corners of Yugioh fandom: the first corner is occupied by people like me, Scribbler, MyAibou, and others - people who love the show for its characters and character development and are very much based in canon. The second corner is much like the first - people like Dragon-Tooth, who have more fun with the personalities of antagonists and lesser-known/liked characters. The third corner is occupied by yaoi fans like DarthAnimus, and the fourth corner is for people like my little brother, who are just here for the duel action and couldn't care less about character development. People can also be sort of in between corners, or be based in one corner but lean towards another, but for the most part, this is how Yugioh fandom is categorized. Something I've noticed though, judging by comments on youtube: the fourth group on this list really disliked Doma season, really enjoyed the KC Grand Championship arc, and are now hardcore fans of Yugioh GX. Make of this whatever you will.

I've recently come across a person here on FFN who does not approve of author's notes. This person believed that unnecessary author's notes and excessive information on an author's bio-page detracted from the depth of the stories presented. I am including this here to say that I disagree. Author's notes not only add information that might be awkward to present in the actual text of the story, but they also give a feel of who the author actually is. They allow a reader to see exactly how and why this story was created, and how the author's personal leanings are present in the storyline. It does not detract from anything; rather, it heightens the entire effect, much like the bonus features on a DVD. Furthermore, author's notes that are long and friendly give the impression that the author is not one of those snob-authors who think they're too good to reply to reviews. More than once I've neglected to review on a story simply because I didn't believe the review would be replied to or even noted, simply because there were no notes to tell me otherwise. More than once, I've been mistaken in this assumption, and did my best to rectify the situation. However, the miscommunication had already taken place, simply because there wasn't enough communication at all. Notes are as much a part of the story as the text itself.

As for the Youtube debate on which DBZ dub is better, Ocean or Funimation, my opinion on the subject is mixed, but leaning mostly toward Funimation. Not only because of the lack of censorship, but because those are the voices I'm most familiar with. In my mind, those voices are the characters, no question about it. And though I will admit that some of the Ocean Group's VAs are better/more emotional in certain scenes (Piccolo's death, for example), Funimation!Goku's unmistakable battle cry will always have a place in my heart. =P

Why don't I like OCs? I would think the answer is obvious. The difference between fanfiction and original fiction is the characters. I don't want to see fanfiction characters in original stories on FictionPress, so likewise I don't want to see original characters in fanfiction. I'm not here to read about your self-insert, your Mary-Sue, or whatever other tool of fantasy-fulfillment you care to use. I'm here to read about characters that are already established and thought out in a new setting. I'm here to see the same characters deepened in personality. It's like... It's like if you bought some really expensive concert tickets, and you really really want to see that band, only to find that the band barely makes it onto the stage. They simply pull someone from the audience in a surprise twist they think will be a good publicity stunt (but isn't) and have them sing all the songs. Regardless of the musical talent of this stranger, I'm gonna be pretty pissed. I paid to see the band, not this new person! So that's why I don't like most original characters, because it takes a really skilled writer to bring in an OC and still have the canon characters as the lead singers, so to speak.

Ah, the eternal question: anime or manga? In the case of Fullmetal Alchemist, it's pretty clear that the manga!plot is superior. The anime went off on their own thing almost from the beginning, completely re-writing the canon plot. And though their re-write was interesting (and a little trippy in some places, lol), it lacked the intricacy of the original manga - not to mention the ending sucked lollipops. It was almost as if, halfway through, they decided to end with something totally different so they could stop production sooner. Smacks of Inuyasha, actually. XD But, just as Inuyasha is finally getting some new episodes animated (WOOT!), so too is FMA coming out with a new anime series, one that follows more closely to the manga!plot. I've been watching the OVAs, but I can't wait until it's dubbed!

Here's a tip, guys: if you say in your summary, "I suck at summaries," then it's a pretty good indication that you suck at writing too, and people will probably not read your story, whether or not your writing is actually any good. Saying things like "Trust me, just read it," or "It's better than it sounds," accomplish the same thing. I've also noticed that begging for reviews in a summary has its opposite intended effect, so be careful, writers! Let your writing do its own talking.

Grammar Lesson: it's = abbreviation of "it is"; its = belonging to it; there = a location that is not here; they're = they are; their = belonging to them; your = belonging to you, you're = you are; two = more than one, less than three, to = a conjunction, too = in addition to; Marcus's bicycle = good; Marcus' bicycle = tolerable, but still wrong; Marcus's steering wheel = bad; Marcus' steering wheel = good; blonde = female with yellow/gold hair; blond = male with yellow/gold hair. ;-D

Favorite Quotes
(just because everyone else is doing it...)

From Inuyasha:

Takemaru: You don't know when to give up!
Inuyasha: I just don't like giving up. There's a difference!!

Hyoga: You know you don't stand a chance and you still wish to defy me? Come at me then!
Inuyasha: You got two legs and a heartbeat. What's stoppin' you?

Miroku: (talking to Sango) There's no one I'd rather have insult me than you.

Kagome: Koga! Are you alright?
Inuyasha: Leave him alone. He won't die... too damn stubborn.

Rin: (sings) Jaken-sama... Jaken-sama... Why are you green?

From Yu-Gi-Oh:

Rebecca: Oh, I'm just your average child genius. Genius: g-e-n-i-u-s!
Joey: Very impressive, but can she spell "obnoxius?"

Kaiba: Anyone late to my tournament is automatically disqualified. Mokuba, make sure Wheeler's late.

Yami: This fight is about much more than a championship dueling title! The whole world's in danger!
Kaiba: Blah, blah, blah. Do you always make the same speech whenever you're faced with a challenge? Quit saving the world and get a hobby!

Yami: Dammit Rafael! Don't you feel any pain?! Doesn't your chest hurt? Doesn't your heart hurt? Pegasus, Weevile, Rex, Mai, Joey... and Aibou... How many people have you killed?! Even your own companions, even Valon and Allister have been taken. Don't you feel anything at all?

Tea: He spared you! Kaiba, he showed you compassion, which is more than you deserve!
Kaiba: He lost the game.
Tea: The game?! Yugi may have lost one lousy Duel Monsters game, but at least he hasn't lost his heart! Not like you - you've spent so much time with your machines, you've forgotten what being human is about! (pause) Yugi has a heart, Kaiba. Yugi has us. And what about you, Seto Kaiba? What do you have at the end of the day? Tell me. Tell me!
Kaiba: ...I have all that I need!

Mahaad: Mana, things are different now. He is the pharaoh! He does not have time to--
Mana: --He does not have time to speak for himself?

Kaiba: You better make good on your promise to restore my brother. Because if you don't, I'll take great pleasure in separating your soul from you body in my own way!

Yami: Consider this a message from the real Seto Kaiba: You lose!!

From Fullmetal Alchemist:

Sloth: Digging is... too... much... work. I want to die... but dying... is too... much... work...

Mustang: Humans are incredibly small creatures. So all I can really do is protect those beneath me, and expect those beneath me to protect those beneath them.
Hughes: A geometric progression, huh? But in order to protect everyone, you've got to be standing at the top of the pyramid.

Edward: None of us wanted to start a war, but war is what we've got, so we all share the blame.

Alphonse: I wonder... why are there only ever two choices? Save yourself and abandon everyone else, or give up on returning to normal and save the world. Why can't I choose to save the world and get our original bodies back?
Kimbly: I see. Seeking out new possibilities without regard for the rules is how we evolve. But that would mean there's also a fourth option: you lose your chance to return to normal, and fail to save the world.

Greed: There's no such thing as "no such thing."

Izumi: I'M A HOUSEWIFE!!

From Kingdom Hearts:

Kairi: ...This is real.

Riku: We can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!

Namine: I can't save you, Xion. Not even a memory of you.

Axel: Roxas... You do have a heart, don't you? While Namine and I... We don't really have hearts.
Roxas: I... I don't know. But I figure... if a heart's something you can't see, maybe it's something you can't feel either.

Xigbar: What are you talking about? Nobodies don't exist! We don't have anything to put on the line!
Luxord: Exactly. Axel put something that didn't exist on the line, and won because of it. Cheater...

Master Xehanort: (gestures) Look! The keys who took on the powers of their masters are scattered in this place, where once was fought a great battle between light and darkness - the remains of the Keyblade Wars!

Xigbar: You don't look like half the hero the others were.

Axel: What's your problem?! You both think you can do whatever you want! Well I'm sick of it. Go on, you just keep running! But I'll always be there to bring you back!

Riku: I gave in to the darkness. How am I supposed to face everyone?
Sora: (makes a funny face) Like this!

Ansem: Xehanort... foolish apprentice of a foolish man... You have surpassed nothing.

Sora: We'll go together.

From Digimon:

Gomamon: C'mon, Joe, admit it! She's charming!
Joe: She's not charming! I mean, she is! I mean... I... I'm not gonna have this conversation!!

MaloMyotismon: I'm curious to know why my mind-illusion didn't affect you. How is it that you have no fears or insecurities for it to feed off of?
Davis: What do I have to worry about? I've got my friends, my family, the digimon... Aside from some guy with a letter-opener on his face trying to kill me, I'm happy to say I don't have any problems.

Impmon: I got this stabbing pain in the back of my head - I think it's called a conscience.

Rika: You big dork, you're just doing this to impress me, aren't you?
Ryo: Well, is it working?

Takuya: We can't let them hurt the eggs!
Koji: That's a big, painful duh!

From House:

House: Guy buys a hospital, of course he wants to get laid.
Wilson: People buy baseball teams to get laid. They buy hospitals to get respect.
House: And what do they want respect for?
Wilson: To... get laid.

House: This is how medicine evolved. Sometimes people get better, but you have to come up with a reason or they won't pay you.

Wilson: I forgot. I actually need a reason to give a crap.
House: You're giving two craps.
Wilson: The metric system always confused me.

House: Good morning, Dr. Cuddy! Love that outfit. Says, "I'm a professional, but I'm still a woman." Actually, it sort of yells the second part.
Cuddy: Yeah, and your big cane is real subtle too.

House: You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell. But when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. 'Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to get you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the street, I know you look both ways.

From the Young Wizards series:

Nita: (reading from the Book of Night with Moon) I am the wind that troubles the water. I am the water, and I am the waves. I am the shore where the waves break in rainbows. I am the sunlight that shines in the spray. I am the trees that drink in the light. I am the air of the green things' breathing. I am the rocks that their roots break asunder. I am the molten heart of the world!

Esemeli: Okay, so I'm ambivalent. But pure evil isn't really giving me as much milage as it used to. It sticks out the way pure anything sticks out. When you can go in either direction, misdeeds can be conveniently explained away as good intentions and whatnot.

Ronan: I'm lying on an effing Star Wars bedspread. Will I ever be able to look myself in the eye again?
Nita: (stares, amazed that he's alive)
Ronan: By the fact that I'm not on Rashah, but instead apparently in suburban hell and in contact with this dubious cultural artifact, I take it that we won.

The Trancendent Pig: Yes, it's the spell-it-backward joke again. But what did you expect? Your dog started making universes out of nothing. Wasn't that a slight tip-off?
Nita: And not just making them. Saving them!
Kit: Or saving one person.
The Trancendent Pig: It's the same thing, I'm told.

Other Randomness:

Axel: M-A-N S-E-X. That is what the Organization is after.
Sora-tachi: ...WHAT?!
Axel: Got it memorized?
--From KH Ultimate Team Up Lost Chronicles: Saix & Deymx vs Auron & Axel. Look it up on youtube, this entire series is epic!

Hakurei Ryuu: I noticed you've gotten into Jibjab. XD
LightningSorceress: -scratches head- Ya, those guys amuse me in ways that are probably diagnosable.
--From a youtube comment convo between me and Dragon-Tooth, or LightningSorceress over there.

Yami Marik: You have no idea what you're f(bleep)ing with here, do you?
Joey: Yeah... I'm just gonna walk away now.
Yami Marik: Yeah, that's what I thought.
--From YGOTAS Episode 43, by the infamous LittleKuriboh.

"There's a fine line between a folk hero and a jackass." --One of my psych teachers, and wise words indeed. XD

If you are a dreamer, come in!
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer,
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
--a poem by Shel Silverstein