Hey there!

A few things about me:

1. I'm a 20-something accountant.
2. I made a critical error of choosing to pursue graduate school in the field.
3. My professional and educational pursuits give me very little time to write.
4. This means that sometimes I update reasonably, and sometimes at the pace of a dizzy turtle (like, if we're being honest, the last few years).
5. But I love to write.
6. And writing is, of course, a fantastic choice of procrastination tactics, especially when it clears my mind of the plot bunny that has been distracting me so.
7. I also love to read. I spend SO much time I do not have reading the imaginings of others. I regret nothing.

Some other things:

I don't like leaving stories incomplete (you'll see that I have them, though), so I'm pretty constantly thinking about them and slowly inching away at their completion.

That said, I fairly recently learned that I can totally do whatever I want, and I don't have to kick an idea that's been begging to be written to the back of the line because I have an incomplete story I've been trying to coax into reality for awhile. Hmm...

Shows I've enjoyed (and entertained writing for): Naruto, Library War, Card Captor Sakura, Dragon Ball Z, Full Metal Panic, Kyou Kara Maou, Inuyasha, Maid Sama!, Shugo Chara, Gundam Seed, Merlin, and Covert Affairs

About my Naruto Stories:

I'm a huge NaruSaku fan, but also, I've discovered, a closet SasuSaku fan based off of most of the fics that I read.

My writing has grown a lot since I started writing Stand Alone back in 2007. If you choose to read that fic you may notice the change around chapter 11 =P (seriously - some of the earlier chapters make me cringe to the point that I contemplate deleting the story, but its existence lets me know where I used to be and that I have improved.

The same goes for A Dangerous Game - I started writing that back in 2011, and now it's 2014. A lot changes in a few short years, so the storytelling has also changed as well, around chapter 8.

Lately I've been battling with my inspirations, and my muse. I have ADG planned out (in great detail), and several installments for the Operation one-shot series summarized. And yet, I've been struggling with turning them into a finished product. It's frustrating to me, so I can imagine from a reader's perspective how frustrating it is to have a story you're following get updated so rarely. I'm hoping to find my inspiration again, but in the meantime as I go with the tides of life, I'm also going to be following what is inspiring me right now.

Cherish Me - Prequel to Captivate Me, is, and has been, on hiatus. Every time I open my document for the next chapter I've been fizzling out so that's shelved for now.

A Dangerous Game - Still actively in progress, hard as that may be to imagine. I have the entire chapter laid out and frantically trying to wave me down as I warble about, doing other things. I have warm and fuzzy feelings about this story, so it is not being abandoned. It is, unfortunately, just going to suffer slow updates until I can (a) get inspired again, and (b) acquire the time to turn outlines into full chapters amidst this terribly inconvenient 'life' thing that's going on for me.

Cheers!

February 17, 2015 Profile Update:

Well hello there, lovely people. I haven't dropped off the fanfiction map yet! I'm looking at you, A Dangerous Game readers. The chapter is in progress! I'm having this battle with my inspirations and how I spend my time - and it's strangely only now just come to my attention that when it comes to writing my stories, I can do whatever I want. Weird, that it only just occurred to me. I'm going to be working on A Dangerous Game, but also on other stories that have filled my mind - some things just need to be exorcised before I can move on. I have 3 partially written tales right now, that will be emerging... eventually. Lately I've been completely into Merlin (and let's face it, I have the biggest crush on Merlin in the show), so I've been trying my hand at writing for that fandom. That fic will break free eventually! I have my NaruSaku one-shot series making its debut, plus a one-shot SasuSaku in the works. And, even, a fully outlined KakaSaku story I found in my little black book.

This seems like the perfect moment to bring up what's appearing to be an awkward elephant in the room for some - yes, I write multiple pairings. This is because I write because I love to write, and because it's fun, and because I love Sakura. As I've said before, I'm a closet fan - well, not so much anymore since I started ADG - of Sasuke x Sakura, but I'm not going to glue myself to them simply because they're canon. What's the point of fiction if we have to stick to the plot? I'm a huge fan of Naruto x Sakura, and they're not going anywhere for me. If you don't like Sakura being paired with anyone but your personal OTP, then treat yourself to only reading the stories that you want to read. The cover photos of my stories, among other things, should be a good hint towards the pairing you're about to click in to. I'm not going steady with any ship, or any fandom.

We all have the pairings that we like, the writing styles that we favour, and storylines that we wish we could see happen. That's what draws most of us to fanfiction in the first place. Me? I was drawn to share some writing here back in 2007 because I was looking for a possible Naruto x Sakura story plot and, when I realized I couldn't find it, I decided to try my hand at writing it myself so maybe at least one other person could enjoy it with me. This was Stand Alone.

I'm going to reiterate that I write because it makes me happy, and I write what I want to write. I get such incredible happiness knowing that the act of me having fun writing as a creative outlet makes some others happy, too! It's seriously exhilarating, and immensely flattering, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love other people loving my stories. Sometimes I write things that people don't want to read - that's totally cool. Sometimes I write things that *I* don't want to read. I sit down at my laptop, unload my imagination into a word document, and then lie face first on my bed for a solid 20 minutes wondering what I just did. Ever seen that Oatmeal web comic that says, "This is sh*t. I am sh*t."? Been there, done that. Sometimes I feel like I've accidentally set the bar too high for myself, producing a piece of fictional fun that somehow was really well-received. I look at my new work and think, "Oh, God. How am I ever going to live up to Captivate Me?" But, like Admiral Ackbar says, it's a trap. There's always fun to be had. Some, y'know, better than others.

To close this lengthy bulletin about my many feelings - I look forward to anyone who stumbles over my profile using it as a Choose Your Own Adventure. If you'd rather read about Ninjas than Wizards, then all the power to you. :)

I hope you enjoy my stories, and let me know by reviewing! If there's anything you'd like to say about them, feel free. I enjoy the opportunity to grow and improve and as such, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope all my readers have been well! A HUGE thanks to those who have been reviewing my stories - your kind words in my inbox keep Fanfiction at the forefront of my mind =)

Sincerely,

dancer-me