Greetings, everyone! (:

As much as I'd like to go around all day and have people call me fluffy pantoufle, that simply is not the case. My real name is Ashley - rather boring in comparison, eh?

I've been a member of Fanfiction.net since 2000. I was in 8th grade back then, and have since written under a myriad of different pen names and whatnot, but I feel that now is as good a time as any to start fresh. I'm a recent graduate of Syracuse University (class of 2009!!) and an aspiring novelist/magazine journalist/general writer of greatness. :) At the moment, I'm just living the dream. The dream - for me, anyway - consists of spending quality time with my brand new roomies (better known as my parents), working at the local Pier 1 Imports, and moonlighting as a novelist that merely pretends to know what the fuck she's talking about.

When I go about my daily routine, there's a whole bunch of things that I like. I couldn't exist without music and usually have some form of it on via radio, Pandora, my iPod, etc... I'm pretty tight with my parents, so much so that they're not making me pay rent yet! Yay! My group of friends is small yet undeniably faithful - not small because I'm unfriendly (which isn't the case at all!) but more so because I'm just tired of people nowadays. People suck. They're idiots. Call me misanthropic, but it's true. If you're not a moron then I have no doubt that we would be fast friends.

Hmm, what else... I love my pets. I have two dogs and a cat and they're pretty much my soulmates. Sushi is delicious. And edamame. I love me a good, stiff drink every now and then - preferably one that's heavy on the whiskey. I teach high school marching band (colorguard), and thus far it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I'm super tall (six feet, two inches...if you were wondering) and I was on a Division 1 women's rowing team in college. I adored it and miss it every single day.

I'm not a scary person. Srsly. Feel free to send me a message, because that makes my day!

Although I do dabble in many genres of fanfiction, my Final Fantasy 8 fanfics are usually what make it to this site. I'm a huge Zell/Rinoa fan. I don't care if you don't like it - I think it rules. I'm rather unapologetic about the pairings that I enjoy, and most of them can be found off the beaten path that is FanFiction.net. It isn't that I dislike the canon pairings. As a matter of fact, I do respect the canon. But after ten years, it's gotten so goddamn stale. I respect canon, but I respect people that experiment and succeed even more than that.

I feel like Tim Gunn, hahaha. "Make it work!"

With that being said, there's a couple things that I don't particularly like. Yaoi/yuri, unless it's stated clearly in the original work, just seems ridiculous to me. I'm sorry, but I don't think that Squall Leonhart or Seifer Almasy would wake up one morning and decide that they're more into each other than they are girls. I also don't like AU fanfiction - especially the ones that turn the Gardens into cheesy little high schools. Lame.

And for all my FF8 stories, I have a confession to make: Final Fantasy 7 is my favorite in the series, by far. Final Fantasy Tactics would be a close second - mainly for gameplay, as the story to that game is such a cluster fuck I don't even know where to begin. Interestingly enough, I never felt compelled to write FF7 fanfiction, especially now with the sequels and spin-offs that I haven't played... There's just something I find to be extremely accessible about the Final Fantasy 8 characters. They're fun to write about, and they're all 17 and 18 - so much room to grow as individuals! Plus, like most girls, I'm a big fan of Seifer... :) And Zell, of course! Couldn't choose between them.

Anyway, I think that I'm a friendly enough person! :) Don't be afraid to drop me a line, 'cause I'd probably give you a novel-length response...much like this profile is turning out to be... Hah! If you'd like, shoot me an IM at xxcrajeenekoqtxx (God, don't ask. I've had that AIM name since about 8th grade and I'm too lazy for change. Ugh) or amtabor8725

As of December 2009: Finishing up Splendor. I hope. _