(Kuroya is still alive and kicking as of 09/05/11.)

I will be continuing DEM for the time being as a completely AU just-for-fun project. I will probably not post any new chapters until after I have played the new Golden Sun game, Dark Dawn (out of my desire to adhere to canon as much as possible, keep the quality up, and avoid spoilers). However, I will consider privately PMing/emailing new chapters as they become available, upon request. :) Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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My current obsessions:

Severus Snape/Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy/ Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)

Jareth/Sarah (Labyrinth)

Vincent Valentine/Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII)

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I apologize to the lovely authors of my favorite 'fics for the fact that I am not a very diligent reviewer. I like to leave long, thorough reviews on things I really like, which means that I often never get around to writing one. But rest assured, I do love and appreciate my fellow writers. If I've added you to my favorite authors list, or added any of your work to my favorite stories list, but have never left a review, consider it a compliment, and be patient with me please. :) It just means that I find your writing to be so amazing that no review I can leave, no matter how long-winded, can ever do it justice. I do apologize for this, since I myself love getting reviews. I will try to be a better reviewer, I promise.

In the meantime...

To every author who has ever posted anything on the 'net for others to view freely:

THANK YOU!

The act of putting something out there for others to read (and judge) is courageous. It's important to write because you want to, and not because others want you to. The best writing is done when you forget the rest of the world: forget your critics, forget publishing, forget making a profit- just shut everything out, and write only for yourself. Of course, almost every writer longs for feedback, to know that others have read their words and enjoyed them. But that's not what's important. Even if only one person will ever read your work, it justifies all the time, effort, and heartbreak you put into it. Put your blood, sweat, and tears into your writing, and don't listen to anyone who says that you don't have talent or imagination or proper grammar. Writing is its own reward; what happens after you release your writing for others to read doesn't really matter. By all means, accept constructive criticism gracefully, and try to improve; but only do it if you want to, not because someone else said you should.

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About me, if you care:

I usually go by Rae (IRL and online), but I have used various handles and identities over the years. I most frequently use the names Raelynn Minamino, Raven Minamino, Kuroya, ObsidianRose, and Luemi.

I'm 23 years old, female, and a social work major in college. I currently live in Washington state with my mother, her boyfriend, two dogs, and two cats.

I have an autoimmune disorder called SLE or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, which causes me to be frequently ill and prone to random disappearances (online and in real life). If I am slow to update, slow to review, and/or slow to reply to PMs/emails, it may be due to health problems- not laziness, apathy, etc. :)

My current musical obsessions are Emilie Autumn and Thrice. I love music and have extremely diverse tastes, ranging from metal to classical, and everything in between.

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I love: reading, writing, music, poetry, video games, animals (esp. cats), art, traveling, foreign languages, social sciences (esp. psychology), history, mythology, satire/parody, learning new things, feminism, the internet, peppermint ice cream, cherries, Hershey's cookies and cream chocolate bars, autumn, snow, rain, theater, musicals, fashion, shopping, sudoku, aromatherapy, fuzzy socks, soft blankets, my mother, friends, love, and the various other things that make life worth living.

I hate: anything that starts with "i" and was made by Apple, spiders, nightmares, ignorance, bigotry, intolerance, excessive rudeness, people who feel the need to CONSTANTLY bring up God and/or proselytize at every conceivable opportunity (it's inexcusably rude and intolerant), racism, homophobia, misogyny, drunk driving, the Twilight series (ugh!), spicy food, fire, centipedes, dead things, illness, economics, math, war, hatred, and various other things.

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About my fanfiction:

My stories are character-driven, not plot-driven. I get plot bunnies like everyone else, but for the most part, I write because the characters have something they desperately want to say. They clamor around in my head until I can get to a keyboard or a pen; they feel that the original canon from whence they came has left too many things unsaid or unseen. This is why the majority of my work consists of one-shots that tend to be rambling and plotless. They may take place in a specific canon situation, or in a different situation of my own devising.

I often spend WAY too much time just writing lengthy speculative essays about certain characters: their backgrounds, childhoods, motivations, feelings, deep dark secrets, etc. This is especially true for characters that I don't think got the "fleshing out" that they deserved in canon. I feel the need to make them more human. I'm not satisfied until I can make the characters seem just as "real" as I am, with all the imperfections, secrets, regrets, conflicts, etc., that come with being human. That's the best part of fanfiction, for me, and the whole reason why I ever became interested in it. :)

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I can't stand people who say things like "fanfiction isn't REAL writing, it's just ripping off someone else's work" or "fanfiction is a waste of time, only kids would be interested in it" or"can't you think of your OWN ideas?", etc.

I don't write to make money. I don't care about getting published or becoming famous or whatever other reasons that non-writers think people would want to write for. I write because human beings are the most fascinating things in the world. I'm not satisfied with a series- no matter how great it is- if the characters don't seem "real" enough to me. Fanfiction is my way of making peace with books or shows (or whatever else) that really stuck with me, but left too much out. It's my way of getting closure and wrapping things up, adding substance to the characters and the worlds they came from. It's my way of filling plot holes, explaining mysteries, and answering those bothersome unanswered questions.

Sure, it's just a hobby. But it's no less legitimate than any other hobby. :)

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My favorite fandoms are: Harry Potter, Final Fantasy VII, Golden Sun, Labyrinth, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, Yami no Matsuei, Diabolo, Yu Yu Hakusho, Howl's Moving Castle, Warcraft, and Full Metal Alchemist.

I mainly read romance (as in fanfiction, not novels, which I find gag-inducing). I also enjoy angst, humor, parody, and adventure, but I'm just a big hopeless romantic at heart.

My favorite pairings are Vincent/Yuffie (FFVII), Sephiroth/Aeris (FFVII), Jareth/Sarah (Labyrinth), Auron/Rikku (FFX), Balthier/Fran (FFXII), Basch/Penelo (FFXII), Tsuzuki/Hisoka (YnM), Rai/Ren (Diabolo), Severus/Hermione (HP), Remus/Tonks (HP), Sirius/Hermione (HP), Draco/Hermione (HP), Howl/Sophie (HMC), and Horde/Alliance (WoW).

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