I'm a 30-something fangirl with a B.S. in Music and the occasional urge to write. The huge gaps in my posting history are more due to lack of time than inspiration, though the muse is fond of moving to Siberia in the middle of projects. That's pretty much the entire reason I haven't attempted to write a novel of my own yet. I live in the Heartland of the USA with my husband and our five cats and three dogs. We have a simple life, and I like it that way.

Oh, and since I have to put this here: As an employee of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the postings made by me on this website are my own and may not necessarily reflect or represent the opinions of my employer.

My Fan Fiction Philosophy:

I seek out and write fan fiction only when I am dissatisfied in some way with the canon of the fandom. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I really only write fan fiction when I think that the original author or writers either left something out that was important, i.e. an actual ending for Tin Man, or the author did something to a character that I felt was unnecessary or gratuitous, i.e. Tris's death in Allegiant. So, fan fiction is my way of "fixing" what dissatisfies me in canon.

Characterization is everything and canon is king, even in AUs. If I open a Divergent story and the first thing I see is Tris squealing with Christina over how HAWT!!!! Tobias is, I backspace so hard I'm surprised I haven't broken my keyboard. I will not read/review/follow/favorite any story in any fandom if the characters aren't true to themselves, even if you're putting them in different scenarios. The minute you change that character into something that you want it to be rather than the thing that it is according to canon, it's no longer the same character. Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect. Lord knows I've committed some atrocities in this area. And I know that interpretations of characterization can vary, and sometimes that happens in canon. But, as I've grown as a fan, I've become a lot more rigid about this.

Divergent Head Canon and Meta Thoughts:(I will add to this gradually as I see the need.)

Tobias Eaton/Four: This dude is fucked up six ways to Sunday. He was brutalized by his father as a child and teen, abandoned by his mother when she decided she couldn't take the abuse, and then the one person in the world he loves and who never tried to manipulate him to her purpose up and dies on him just when he starts to think he might wanna spend the rest of his life with her. Scars like that don't go away, ever. He is going to have commitment and abandonment issues until the day he dies. In his own words, he is deeply cynical of people by nature and only kind to those who give him reason to be kind. He is hard, and has had to learn to be hard at an early age. And that hardness stays with a person. In my head canon, he will only ever be two years older than Tris, because it doesn't work otherwise. I know canon doesn't describe him as cute, but while I was reading the book, I couldn't get the image of Matt Lanter out of my head. So, sorry to those who like Theo James, but he just ain't it for me as the perfect Tobias. And, no, I'll never call him "Four."

Beatrice/Tris Prior: Being raised in Abnegation has a way of making a person into an old soul. And that's what she is. Maybe it's the extreme emphasis on selflessness, community services, and honor. At any rate, Tris is never going to be the girly girl who squeals over anything, no matter how much Christina might want her to. Evidence of this is found all throughout the books, so I won't bore you with quotes and references except for one: the first shopping spree with Christina. She never once refers to Tobias as cute. In fact, I'm pretty sure that word doesn't exist in her vocabulary. She longs for freedom, but I don't think that there's a single silly bone in her body.

Ezekiel/Zeke Pedrad: I was actually shocked to find Zeke's full first name in Allegiant. It makes sense, though. Zeke is boisterous, braggadocios, and brash. He's a kidder and a prankster. He's an adrenaline and caffeine junkie. He enjoys a good drink, but I don't think he's an alcoholic. I think he likes being aware of what's going on around him when he's doing something stupid because it's a better rush. He's a fiercely loyal friend and a good big brother. I also think that he has a serious and sensitive side that he guards very carefully. But we don't get to see a whole lot of him in the books because the story centers around Tris and Tobias. Zeke is Tobias's friend, not Tris's, so there isn't a lot of room for for her to interact with Zeke. But we can see a little bit of the serious side of his nature when he spies on the traitor-Dauntless at Erudite, when he joins the Allegiant, in his loyalty and concern for Shauna, and his protectiveness of his brother. Of all of the peripheral characters, I think Zeke is my favorite.