All right, what to say...? I guess we can start with the basics:

Pen Name: AkizukiSakura (Akizuki is part of Ruby Moon's human-form name, and Sakura is, of course, Kinomoto Sakura)
Age: 19 and a half
Gender: Female, if it isn't obvious
Occupation: Currently drifting, but I'll be off to Naval boot camp January 9, 2009. In Great Lakes, Illinois. In winter. Great.
Music: I like a little bit of everything. That is to say, I like some genres more than others, though I'm mostly into Pop (Japanese and English), Classic Rock, and a bit of Hip Hop. I'm not a huge fan of Rap, though I tolerate some of it, I can listen to some Country, I love Classical music (TSO!) and New Age (David Lanz, Enya, etc). The only genre I can say I really don't like is heavy metal. I can't do the screaming people.

Fandoms read: Yuugi-ou, Cardcaptor Sakura, Harry Potter, Danny Phantom, Sailor Moon, Angelic Layer, WISH, Okane ga Nai, Inuyasha, Lawful Drug, Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin, Tsubasa Chronicles, Tamora Pierce.

Fandoms written for: Yuugi-ou, (I spell it like this on purpose. "Yuugi" is a name. "-ou" is an honorific that is no longer in use which means "king" or "ruler" (You can get an example of this in Tsubasa Chronicles where they are refered to as Yasha-ou and Ashura-ou, respectively). Apparently Yuugi-ou is supposed to mean "Game King", but to me it seems like it would be more accurate to say "King Game", with "Game" being the name that it is.) Cardcaptor Sakura, Tamora Pierce (in crossover format), Danny Phantom (Posted), Fullmetal Alchemist (not posted), and a crossover (not posted)

Favorite Pairings

Yuugi-ou: Atem/Yuugi (Puzzleshipping, or Blindshipping, I suppose, since people differentiate between Yami no Yuugi and Atem), Seto/Yuugi (Rivalshipping. Linkshipping would be Priest Set/Yuugi), and, if it's good, Seto/Atem/Yuugi (Flareshipping, Atem being, of course, Yami no Yuugi here. There's probably a different name for Seto/Atem/Yuugi, or Priest Seto/Atem/Yuugi, or Priest Seto/Yami no Yuugi/Yuugi. Fanfiction is so versatile...), and Atem/Yami no Yuugi/Yuugi (If it's done right and coherently. This would be Mobiumshipping).

Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura/Eriol, the occasional Sakura/Syaoran (I say "occasional" because it's canon, and if I want canon I'll watch the series), and even the occasional Tomoyo/Sakura. I do not like Eriol/Tomoyo. This one makes no sense whatsoever. This is the result of Sakura being paired with Syaoran and the writer needin to pair up Tomoyo and Eriol, regardless of the fact that they're rarely in the same scene together, much less conversing.

Harry Potter: Snape/Harry, Fred/George/Harry (this one is hard for me to find), and the rare Draco/Harry. Ron/Hermione I can do, but not as a main plot-driven pairing. I adore Sirius/Remus, and the occasional Remus/Harry. Not sure why.

Danny Phantom: Vlad/Danny (Pompous Pep all the way. Anything by DinKelion works here), and Phantom/Fenton (Pitchpearl), if it's done right. That one I usually prefer AU, since Fenton and Phantom are nottwo seperate people. It's usually even better to have it Dan (Dark Danny, Dan Phantom, Dark, etc)/Danny. (Narcissism. Go read it.) I've read one really good Dash/Tucker.

Others: I don't read/write enough of the others to have more than one favorite pairing, but... Usagi/Mamoru (Sailor Moon), Misaki/Ohjiro (Or Oujiro, Angelic Layer), Kohaku/Koryu (WISH), Ayase/Kanou (Okane ga Nai), Kagome/Sesshoumaru (Inuyasha), Kazahaya/Rikuo or Kazahaya/Kakei (Lawful Drug), Roy/Edward (Fullmetal Alchemist), Sanousuke/Kenshin or Kenshin/Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin), Kurogane/Fai, Syaoran/Sakura (Tsubasa), and I pretty much like all the pairings in Tamora Pierce, though I wish Kel and Dom had been a bit less implied and a bit more canon. I didn't care too much for the whole Cleon/Kel thing, though.

I ship pretty normal pairings. When I say that, of course, this is coming from a fangirl who likes Yuri, Yaoi, and Het, so I say normal in the sense that there are usually others who ship what I ship. With a few exceptions.

I'm a definite fantasy fan over most other genres (romance comes a close second), but I like a bit of paranormal and the hurt/comfort stuff. I'd say I can read just about anything that isn't horror. I'm not a big fan of horror in any version of media. Yeah, I'm a wimp. So sue me.

Pet Peeves/Reading Style/Why-The-Hell-Do-They-Do-This?!

I am a huge fan of the English language. In my opinion, this language is one that has so many synonyms, and antonyms, and various descriptive terms, that I cannot abide when people maul it. With that said, no matter how good the plot of a story, there is a limit to what I can make myself read. I can handle a few mistakes, since that's natural, but there are key things necessary in any story.

1) No l33tspeak! A story is not a chat! A story is not an IM! A story requires spelling out the entire word and punctuating it properly! Happily enough, I see this happening less the more I read.

2) Paragraphs are your friend. They are there for a reason. No one wants to read a huge wall of text, especially one that has dialogue in it. General rule of thumb: If you start a new idea, make a new paragraph. If you change speakers, start a new paragraph. And if a person is giving a long monologue, make sure you still start new paragraphs if you change ideas.

3) Punctuation is a necessity, believe it or not. If someone's talking, you need quotes. Preferably double quotes, even though single ones are technically correct. I realize punctuation is difficult, so I can overlooked skipped or dropped commas, but if your character is questioning someone, you need a question mark. If you end a sentence, you need a period. And for deity's sake, if a person is yelling, don't go all caps on us! That's what italicizing is for! If you put emphasis on a word or phrase, use italics, not the CAPS button. That's a sign of a novice writer, and really annoying.

4) Mind your words! "Already" is a word; "alright" is not a word. "All right" is two words meaning "okay", as in "everything is definitely all right". "Allot" is a word, meaning "to divide in portions and pass out", in layman's terms. "Alot" is not a word. "A lot" is two words, meaning "a great amount". Dictionaries exist for a reason. Internet dictionaries exist for a reason. Spell check devices exist for a reason. Proofreading was devised for a reason. Use the tools you're given!

OCs (Original Characters, ie: "Is-It-A-Mary/Marty-Sue/Stew?")

OCs are the bane of fanfiction existence. I read a really good essay (rant) on it under Josephine Darcy's home page link in her profile (along with a really good one on punctuation/paragraphs). Most of the time when an OC makes the scene, especially in the summary of a story, it's unecessary. Half the time it's because no one cares about the OC, we want to know what's up with the main characters (why do you think we're reading fanfiction to begin with?), and half the time it's because a new character isn't needed when you can just as easily use one that's already established. And an OC is especially bad when the story starts becoming all about them and detracts from the main characters. The emphasis on "and" was intentional. I've read some stories where there are OCs abound, and yet it never takes away from the main characters (Harry and Severus, in this case).

On Reviewing: I'm not one to moan and complain about the lack of reviews on my stories, particularly because Sakura came out years ago and I'm surprised it even still has a fan base. I don't care about flames, mostly because I tend to ignore them, which is mostly because they tend to be on how much a person doesn't like the "yaoi" pairing. Get a life and don't read it. I love constructive criticism. To me, "concrit" is worth much, much, much more than the typical "OMG great continue!" that tends to make up most reviews. That's not to say that those aren't good (ego boosting, check!) but I love when people point out things in my stories that make me think, i.e. plot holes or inexplicable OOCness.

On the flip side, if I review a story, I am more inclined to make it a good, long review. My longest, I believe, was five pages worth of MS Word typing. It's rare that I review an incomplete story, rarer still if it hasn't been updated in too long. My policy is generally that I review a story when it's complete, and make it long and comprehensive to make up for the lack of volume. If it's a short story, though, I might go back and review each chapter. The only time I review something that isn't complete is if it sucks bad enough to need someone to point it out, in which case I'm usually happy to offer my services as a beta reader - and if I offer to beta, be prepared to have the story ripped apart. I am definitely not a gentle beta. Very rarely is the chance that I see something in a story that I just have to remark upon then and there (usually a good something).

Other: Which basically means, "What about my stories?" At the moment, I'm not updating any of them, and the chances of them being finished any time soon are slim. I leave for basic training in two months. Basic training is two months, so I'll be out beginning of March. Then I go straight to "A" School/Nuclear Power School. That's another six months, though I might have computer access. After that is Prototype, which is yet another six months. I will try to write if I have free time, but it might be a while.

Updates: As of January 5, 2009, I've been sent off to start basic training so, until further notice, everything I've written should be considered on hiatus. Part of the reason is the obvious - they aren't letting me near a computer during basic training. I should have computer access during "A" School/Nuclear Power School but since the dropout rate is about 50-80 I expect to be very busy with my studies. I'll do what I can. For those that care, please wish me luck!

Kampai!
AkizukiSakura