All our dreams can come true,
if we have the courage to pursue them.
-- Walter E. Disney

January 27th: Quick note - I know I was supposed to update, but I couldn't log in on or even change pictures. I see they stripped all the coding (my bio is kind of a mess!) so I'm holding off on posting until this Monday... if they get most of the kinks out. For those who are trying to find the stories I listed below few updates ago - go to Archive of Our Own and search for "Ashbear." Also, for those wanting to stay at ffnet, I did post a 'toned down' version of "Until I Fall Away" under Eterna Tiet, I think you would have to search the author name to make it easier. Grrr... I want my coding back!

January 19th: Just a quick drive-by message to say that I'm back and should be posting soon. Unfortunately, due to real-life circumstances, I had been away from the net and it was hard to keep in touch. For those who contacted me, thank you for all your support though this time, my family and I greatly appreciate it - we lost two family members over the holidays, one by blood, one by choice. Anyway, I really want to get back to writing, it's a great form of therapy. At this point, I'm hoping that After the Fall will be updated on Monday the 23rd. Hopefully, I can get all my ducks in a row by then. (That's such an odd saying, but guess I should have said 'get all my Chocobos in a row' to keep with the Final Fantasy theme!)

December 21st & 22nd:

"Until I Fall Away" has been posted at Archive of Our Own (A03). It's a standalone/rewrite of After the Fall that expands on Rinoa and Squall's first encounter in the rain. People always wanted me to go into more detail, but the rating system of Fanfiction.net wouldn't allow it. So, in my long-standing habit of updating on Squall and Rinoa's birthdays, I thought I'd broaden my horizons by posting this one on Seifer's, December 22nd. Happy Birthday Seifer, here's your present: a story about Rinoa and Squall's encounter in the rain - adult content. I'm sure he's thrilled... really, really thrilled.

The Selphie Letters. Holiday Cards, Albert Einstein, and other random things for the season. Woo hoo, again it's fun with action figures and, as always, random stuff is fun! The icon (when it switches) is a picture I used for in the story. ;)

Finally, Alessia Heartilly made a community page for me on Facebook. It started out as updates for the Italian stories but, as long as it's all right with her, I'm going to be doing drive-by updates in English there. Yes, I'm guessing with this you can figure out who I am in real life, but just don't laugh. ;)

Note: Someone asked, so I'm letting you know - no, you do not need an A03 account to comment. Also, the kudos button is the equivalent to the "Like" button on Facebook.

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Stories not found on FanFiction.net:

Balamb Garden v3.0: With Wayward Tempest - written in 2002 (Run, it's a chatroom fic, but we had so much fun!)

Things that Make you Go Hmmm: Random humorous observations that I made - again from the prehistoric era of 2001.

The Selphie Letters: Newly re-posted letters between Rinoa and Selphie about their boyfriends. With actual photographs!

Until I Fall Away: One-shot/remix from After the Fall. Rinoa and Squall's reunion in the rain. (sexual content)

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Links to other archives/journals:

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Facebook - Ashbear community page by Alessia Heartilly.

Master Fic List - Master List to all my works in all genres, links, and translations.

Ashbear and Wayward - Somewhere In Between A Rinoa and Squall 'What if' story co-authored with Wayward Tempest at ffnet.

Eternal Tiet - My account for one-shots in FFVIII and other fandoms.

Archive of Our Own Ashbear - This will be all my complete works, including those no longer allowed at ffnet.

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Pieces based off some of my works, by really wonderful authors:

Crimson Lies:
RachelWaterfly – A Moment (poem)
Robert Dogwood – Leave Tomorrow for Tomorrow
Wayward Tempest – Ad Infinitum (poem)

Somewhere In Between:
DreamScene – Insistence
Noacat – The Time In Between

Miscellaneous other links:
A fanlisting site by Alessia Heartilly (I'm still amazed someone took the time!)
An interview (in Italian) that I have no idea what I said anymore. Babblefish anyone? ;)

A huge thank you!!!
Over the years, I've had several betas and I'd like to give them a shout out! I'll probably forget someone (it's been nearly a decade!) so PM me if I left you off.
Wayward Tempest, Emerald-Latias, Carie Valentine, Robert Dogwood, Jill, Lisa, Niqsta, and Vick330

Personal (and very useless) Information - Revised on June 4th, 2010

I’m basically a (semi) normal married, mother of two, who writes fanfiction as a hobby. I'm currently residing (and/or hiding) in Indiana, somewhere in between the cornfields and the cows. My children are now fifteen and eleven, which is a horrifying thought. They have decided that arguing over random things is their new favorite hobby; trust me, they have made disagreeing into a new art form. I have my 'four legged' babies – my cats are Indy, Arizona, and Jazz. Also, I still have my psychotic dog - who hears voices in her head.

My stories usually revolve around Squall and Rinoa, as they have always been close to my heart. I was drawn to them originally, I believe, because of my own experiences - I met my husband when were sixteen, engaged at eighteen, and married at twenty. But to me, they and their relationship have evolved into something so much deeper.

I still write strictly for fun. What means the most are the small things - the letters and comments I receive. I know that if I hadn’t been doing this, I would have missed out on so many friends, experiences, and years of enjoyment. I thank you. Oh yes, I was twenty-nine when I started writing back in 2001 – let’s all just pretend I’m still that age. Please? (Begs)