ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are so many people to thank, that I don't really know where to start, which is obviously a lie, because I know exactly where to start, that being…

Thank you, my lovely, beautiful, amazing, wonderful wife. Without her, none of this would ever have been possible. She gives me hope when I have none, pulls me out of my funks, believes in me and, most importantly, makes me believe in myself. For possibly the first time in my life, I'm happy with where I am, and I owe all of that to her. I love you forever and for always, querida, because without you, well, I'm just a gangly dork in crooked glasses, and where's the fun in that? I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I've decided to stop questioning it. Te amo.

Next, I'd like to thank God, because at heart, I'm just a good little Catholic boy, and if I remember anything from my Catechism classes, it's that it's always best to cover your bases.

Thank you, Mom, just in case you ever read this, and I would like to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner again; you did all the work in raising me, and I've never given you nearly enough credit. It was a thankless task, but, I hope, a rewarding one. Love you, Mom!

Thanks to Austin College, for the best education five figures of student debt could buy. Go 'Roos!

Thanks to my fellow 'Roos, who joined me in screaming at the show back when we should have been studying, and encouraged me in my ship.

Thank you, Luo Guanzhong, for the work that gave me a title and an idea. One of these days, I'll sit down and read it all the way through. One of these days…

Thank you, Phillip-Morris, for your dangerous, and yet satisfying product, Marlboro Red cigarettes, which keep me going, even if I did decide to quite you on my thirtieth birthday. It's nothing personal!

Thank you, all the brewers of the world, for the beer that lubricates the brainstorming sessions with my wife on Fridays.

Thank you, Bryan and Mike, for the series that I love, even when I hate it. All of us fans give you guys a lot of crap, but, hey, if we didn't love what you created so much, we wouldn't bother to spend so much time complaining about it.

Oh, and because no one ever thanks you, I want to thank TXU, for the electricity that powers my computer, Time Warner, for the internet that lets me open fifty different tabs of Asian names and Chinese folk religion, and my apartment complex's water heater, which provides the showers in which I get my best ideas.

And, last but never least, I thank you, my readers. You guys rock; I can't praise you enough. Without you, I'd just be one more crazy guy, bellowing my headcanons at other people in the bar, wondering why everyone's looking at me funny. Sure, people still look at me funny, but because of my readers, I know I'm not alone.

You are the best, guys; I love you all, even those of you I don't necessarily like.

And with that, I say, until next time, good night, and [insert deity/non-deity of choice] bless. Adios!