I'm a British fan writer studying English, so would love any criticism about my writing that anyone is kind enough to give. Also, I ramble.

At the moment I'm playing with Kishimoto's characters from the manga/anime series Naruto, pretty much like half the world at this point. Like half of that half of the world, I have a fascination for the badass jounin and their pretty, pretty flaws, thus the somewhat intensive Kakashi torture. The only story I'm writing that isn't a one-shot is Butterly in Reverse. It's still ongoing, has turned into a monster, and is based around a series of experiments to see what I can pull off as a writer and what I can't. Real Life's been a little hectic in the last few months - and is getting even more so, actually - so please forgive the time it's taking to update!

UPDATED: 19/1/08 Butterfly in Reverse readers: Please Read!

Butterfly in Reverse, that monster of mine, is officially on hiatus. I don't want to say that it's abandoned, but in all honesty the likelihood is that it will never be finished.

There are a few reasons for this; the first being a quite intense period of writer's block around the time of the last update, that stuck until very recently. I was also ill in myself for a while early on, and as I got through that there was a serious lull in my interest for the Naruto series. I found myself determined then to at least get one more chapter out, but was unable soon after that to afford the internet while at school, and so have been relying on campus internet, which blocks all non-academic sites for some stupid reason. Thus my Livejournal account being dead for almost a year now.

I am currently reworking some of the old fic of mine that hasn't been published on ffn, as well as a few Naruto-centric stories that might find their way on here. Other drabbles and unrelated fic is slowly finding its way onto my LJ, but it's still very hit in miss as to when I can find time/motivation to jump back in.

My sincerest apologies go to my friends, who I have been unable to get in touch with for the most part and miss very very dearly; readers of Butterfly who have been patient and supportive beyond my deserving and those who've commented on my livejournal account, and recieved no answer. I hate to seem that rude, so I owe you all a huge apology.

I want to take a minute to just thank all the readers of Butterfly who have waited patiently and encouraged me throughout, especially to the dear friends I made within the fandom, who I haven't managed to speak with in so long, but still think the world of.

x dragon_bite x

Catalyst Review Response

Way back in October I received a review of Catalyst that I found quite upsetting, and while, judging from other reviews, I feel that many people probably understood my intentions, I feel that the review deserves a reply, and I wanted to take the chance to defend and explain my choices with the fic. I would’ve emailed more privately, but the reviewer didn’t leave a contact, and that’s what public space is for I guess!

The reviewer basically felt that I had been promoting what s/he called a 'disgusting piece of anti femaleism', such as the enslavement of women and use of the term 'slut'. However, although I wrote Catalyst in the third person, the narrative is entirely from Crazy!Itachi's point of view. I tried to make sure that it was clear through his actions, thoughts and perspective that Itachi’s authority was fully undermined so that by the time he mistreats Hinata it’s clear that, in this story (let alone what we already know from Kishimoto’s work), that Itachi is the bad guy. As for Hinata, I have to point out that this story was built on a fifteen minute challenge with the wonderfully talented hey-diddle-diddle, so due to the time restraints, I chose to use simple metaphors for effect. I chose the virgin/whore dichotomy because of how simple it is, and how surprising it would (hopefully) be when applied to Itachi and Hinata (because I think of Itachi the same way; he is incredibly blind and innocent in hey-diddle-diddle's characterisation of him, and hers was the most influential on this fic).

I didn't want to imply that Itachi's viewpoint was either good, or right, or sane. I feel I made it clear that he was none of these things, but please understand that I write fanfiction to practice writing, and can't get everything right. Of course, I'll never get anything right if I don't try new things; such as writing from an uncomfortable moral position (like Itachi's, who isn't just nuts in this fic, he's also from a very elite and snobbish ninja family).

I'm not saying that I manage to pull all of this off, but these were my intentions, and I tried to make my position as clear as possible. I had hoped it was clear that, as a writer, I do not share the opinions of either my characters or my choice of narrator. I don't call it as I see it; if I wanted to do that I wouldn't write fiction, but in future I will try to highlight this kind of conflict more clearly - if only so that I can't be accused of damning my own.

Fic List
A (long) while ago someone asked about timelines, and how my fics were related to each other. Maybe this'll help?

The 'Awesome Adventures of Jiraiya and Sakumo' Series
Frostbite (to be ffn'd)
Positive Tension
Escape by Penetration (to be ffn'd)
Reckoning

Team Yellow Flash
(and other Back in the Day) fics
Butter Side Up
Cheating Skills
Near Death Experiences (to be ffn'd)
Splinter
Frogs and Snails (to be ffn'd)
Boy's Club
Downpour (to be ffn'd)
Practice Makes Perfect
Digging Under Roots
Standing to Ceremony (to be ffn'd, can be found on LJ comm four_by_four)

Akatsuki Crack
New Blood
Focus

And that's what informs how I write them, intentions and the rest of it.

x dragon bite x