My email address is crazy8s43@yahoo.com. I welcome emails, whether it's a review or a question, or just a random thought.

Ranting on reviews:

Out of hundreds of reviews, only a handful have ever annoyed me. Most reviews are very supportive and put a smile on my face. I don’t expect high praise for everything. A lot of reviews are more critical in tone, and I’m glad for it. There are a lot of smart people out there who know more than I do, and who can see my story from a more objective standpoint.

I welcome reviews and constructive criticism. I do not welcome reviews that clearly show the reviewer hasn’t read my author’s note. I try to keep my author’s notes short, just a small update on what I have in mind for the story and usually an apology about how long it’s taken to update. I also ask that readers overlook grammatical errors and other miner issues such as mixing homonyms.

If there are major errors, like writing “discrepancy” instead of “discretion,” then I would like the reader to let me know. But do NOT assume I made the error because I don’t know better. And if the assumption is that my proofreading skills need work, then my assumption is that you’ve never written a story before.

I don’t mind criticism, but there are tones to criticism that I don’t like. Condescension and assumptions strike a nerve with me.

Expect imperfection:

I’ve read my share of cringe worthy fanfiction and know what it’s like to have a good story ruined by bad grammar. These mistakes do not mean that I don’t know the difference between “their” and “they’re.” What these mistakes mean is that when I finished writing 12,000 words, my eyes are unlikely to catch the errors. Anyone who writes know that what your eyes see on the page is often what your brain knows should be there. I read through at least twice, the second time aloud. Still, many mistakes slip through the cracks. That’s what beta-readers are for.

My stories are not beta-read. With the exception of Defining Love, which Takayu is combing through chapter by chapter, my stories are rough and unpolished.

Yes, I’m an English major about to graduate. No, that doesn’t mean my fanfiction reads perfectly. There are typos, run on sentences, abuse of commas, verb tenses that might make your eyes bleed, etc. I go through phases where I’m a verb whore, or an adjective and adverb whore even though I know better.

Food for thought

Okay, so I've had this theory for a while. Feedback is welcome, since I may be totally off base and making up evidence simply because I want to find it. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so if you haven’t played the game and plan on it, then don’t continue reading. I doubt I'm the first person to consider this.

I think Rinoa is Squall’s half-sister, and that Laguna is their mutual father. 0_o

Their character profiles place their birth dates just about six months apart, but give no year. They’re both 17. It isn’t specified what month or time of year the game takes place. Rinoa, born March 3, could be older than Squall, born August 23.

Laguna was once in love with Rinoa’s mother, Julia. Laguna spent a night with Julia in a hotel, and then took off. Even if there's no evidence they had sex, there isn't any evidence that Laguna slept with Raine either. It's all implied. Who’s to say that Julia wasn’t knocked up with Rinoa from her night with Laguna, only to have a shotgun wedding with General Caraway?

There’s no exact timeframe given for Laguna’s escapades, so he could very well have slept with Julia and met Raine months later. If the circumstances seem too farfetched, at least consider the suspicious timing. Rinoa and Squall are only a few months apart in age, and Laguna slept with both their mothers only a few months apart. It doesn't seem like a small-world coincidence to me, but rather an intentional plant by the creators to later reveal some blood relation between two characters.

I would also add that Rinoa has Laguna’s hair and a strikingly similar personality. She’s politically active, upbeat, and emotionally expressive. Laguna is president of a country (it doesn’t get much more politically active than that), a perpetual optimist, and emotional enough to fall in love twice in a single year.

Oh, I just thought of this. In the game, Squall is only attracted to Rinoa in a Freudian sort of way. It's not romantic, so it's not incest, but a subconscious desire for a family connection. As a boy, Squall was devastated when his Sis/Ellone left him. He was always crying out for his Sis. After seventeen years of remaining a lone wolf from this childhood trauma, he meets his half-sister Rinoa and slowly opens up again. He's drawn to her because she is exactly what he once lost, his half-sister. _

If anyone can disprove me, please do.

A little about me:

For anyone interested, I’m 22 and have been writing fanfiction for about three and half years. I’m an English major set to graduate in a couple semesters… hopefully. As much as I enjoy writing fanfiction, most of my time is devoted elsewhere, which means I’m horrible at updating in a timely manner.

I started with Harry Potter fic (non-slash), and then moved on to FFVIII. The majority of my stories are yaoi/slash fics for FFVIII. My favorite couple is Seifer/Squall.

FFVIII was the first RPG I ever played. I think I was in the sixth or seventh grade when I borrowed the game from my older brother. I went on to play other games in the Final Fantasy series, but VIII remained my favorite. I’m still waiting for a CG movie, but I suspect any more major productions will feature the golden child FFVII.

Thus far all my stories are have not been beta read, so there are errors. I do my best to proof read, but it’s a faulty system. Eventually, I’ll seek a beta reader to slug through my stories and pick out the weeds.

If there are any questions or comments, feel free to email me. I love reviews, so please leave one if you read my work. I welcome constructive criticism, since I’m always looking to improve my writing.