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Important Notice: I Leave Only Signed Reviews

It has come to my attention (4 Oct 2015) that my pen name has been fraudulently used for anonymous reviews, and nasty ones too. I have never condoned or given permission for my name to be used on anonymous reviews, and would like fellow writers and readers to be informed that anonymous reviews are not from me; this was done without my knowledge and approval. Case of 'stolen identity' and misrepresentations of my opinion aside, it is the writer I feel most indignant for. I'd like to state upfront that I have never submitted a flame or an anonymous review, and especially now, have no intentions of submitting an unsigned review. In fact, the initial reason I decided to create an account was to leave a signed review.

The main reason I sign in when leaving reviews is for accountability: feedback should go both ways, and it's often that meaningful exchanges are sparked off from reviews. I'm immensely grateful that the writer was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, even graciously leaving me a heartwarming PM and review.

I would also like to strongly beseech readers to give constructive feedback, rather than leave harsh and unnecessary comments; this is unwarranted and not fair to writers, and can be very hurtful. I firmly believe that any writer who invests time and effort, and has the courage to share their works online, should not be subjected to anything this nasty.

Should you ever come across any anonymous review with my pen name, please bring it to my attention. Rest assured that these anonymous reviews are not from me, and that I have no intention of leaving flames. I think the malicious act speaks for itself: even if I had that vicious intention, I would most certainly not have used my pen name.

I hope members of the fanfiction community (writers / readers) who are recipients of anonymous reviews using pen names of registered users on the site, would be willing to disregard and/or first verify the review with the registered user, before jumping to conclusions about its origins, particularly if the review is a nasty one, and/or PM the registered user to let them know of the incidence. I'm sure most registered users would be glad to be made aware of the incident.

I have since contacted the site administrators to inform them of this issue (5 Oct 2015), in the hopes that something could be done to address this.

If ever in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact me to clarify matters.

Current Status

Much as I miss writing, new works are likely to be sporadic, until after end-June 2019, due to academic commitments. Nonetheless, I have no intentions of leaving this site and will continue to personally respond to every signed review, and read and review fanficts. While anonymous reviews are just as valuable to me, I am unable to respond to them.

New fanfict posted (23 Sep 2015).

Fanfict/s in progress (3 Oct 2015); progress is slow, but happening :)

Cover Images
If you feel inclined to help me out with these for any of my fanfics, please PM me. Thanks :)

On Quotation Marks
Although I'm more used to writing with double quotation marks, reading a few books using single quotation marks for all conversations inclined me towards doing so as well. That said, I have also read many books using double quotation marks, and having re-read my own fics, can identify with readers' sentiments as to the unfamiliarity. As such, I have decided to revert to using double quotation marks from now on (10 Mar 2013). As some of you might have noted, conversations in 'Salve' were written with double quotation marks. Taking into consideration feedback from reviewers, I have updated 'Konoha's Itachi', 'The Konoha-Suna Collaboration Scheme' and 'Ino's Smile' by replacing single quotation marks with double quotation marks for conversations, along with other minor edits (4 Apr 2013). I intend to continue amending my other fics accordingly, eventually, however, I have limited time to do so. Once again, thanks to all who reviewed to give me feedback and to readers who have been patiently tolerating this oddity.

On Timezones
I've just realised (24 Sep 2015) that recent posting dates are reflected differently than they ought to be, i.e. they're not reflected as intended (e.g. the fics intended to commemorate Gaara's birthday 19 Jan, and Ino's birthday 23 Sep); I'm not sure why this has happened. I might have miscalculated the timezones this site uses, or perhaps it takes a while to upload? Either way, it's somewhat perplexing.

Profile
Hey there! You could call me Shadow :)

If there's anything I love dearly and take great pride and pains in, it's writing. Throw me in a room, and leave me with pen (a workable ballpoint pen would be nice, and a spare perhaps) and paper (fool scap, preferably!), and I wouldn't bother you or let anything bother me so long as I'm busy writing. I wouldn't even realise you'd left, especially if you revisited me hours later. My thoughts carry themselves away; sometimes I let them lead me so far I wonder how they got there. I promise you that anything I put up here is original, i.e. has been coaxed out of my brain, and nobody else's. Yes, when I put my heart to it, I become very detail-oriented, and I'd only be satisfied with the best I could give in the time allowed.

If there's anything else that can compare to writing, it'll be reading, and composing, and fantasizing, and doing a few other random things.

I prefer using traditional, hassle-free, 'no fear of hiccups' methods, because the unpredictability and unreliability of technology has messed my life up in traumatising moments. Way too many times for comfort. Unfortunately, other options have been more or less sealed off. Then again, maybe it's not that bad. Without technology, there wouldn't be Naruto or lots of other wonderful things I'm besotted with...

Language and culture intrigue me, and if something catches my attention (even if it isn't cultural), I can spend hours researching, reading up and getting drawn into it. This sometimes hinders my work, and is part of the reason why I feel exhausted upon completion of whatever that is. 'Wind Shadows' and 'Beyond the Shadows' have ventured into territories I've been highly fascinated by; they got me knee deep in extensive research and back then I'd only just began writing again.

I love including some element of nature in my stories whenever possible; hope my Pen Name at least gives you an indication of sorts about this. I love playing around with settings, contrasts and words, whenever possible...

Anyway, I'd really like to urge you to never harbour thoughts of plagarism, and to only claim credit you truly deserve. You might not think too much about it, but it harms the victim in ways that baffles time (I've went through something similar before some years back, and I still have a distinct impression of the ordeal).

On to the next rambling paragraph, whenever I read stories on FanFiction.net, I'll usually leave signed reviews, just so the writer knows I found his/her story worth reading till the end; reading fabulous stories delights me.

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Formatting / Spelling... And Doc uploading...
If you're wondering about my spelling, I spell in the British way, except maybe in a few reviews and PMs so don't be surprised.

The formatting with certain artificial breaks (in terms of alignment) on my profile page and fanficts has been testing my patience. Are you experiencing the same thing? The title and artificial page breaks in my fanficts and on this page were intended to be centralised. I've tried realigning everything countless times but it doesn't always seem to work, so please do pardon me if alignment seems awry (19 Oct 2009).

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Disclaimer
Firstly, and most importantly, without Christ, I'd be nothing.

In case you missed the other disclaimers, I love the Naruto series, but all places, characters, the jutsus and equipment they use (unless otherwise mentioned) are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

Hopefully, another disclaimer will appear on this line soon. If permission is granted for me to use information for 'Wind Shadows', I'll get to acknowledge another person.

The only way I stand to benefit is by receiving reviews (they're priceless to me), and experience and growth I accumulate as a writer; this applies across my stories (and chapters).

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IMPORTANT!
Every word in my fanfictions has been painstakingly composed, typed, edited, re-read, formatted, thought through, checked through and extracted from my mind and every paragraph drew me in deeply in ways that imitating others' work probably wouldn't satisfy, and I'm very proud to say that I referred to nothing -- no other stories, fanfiction, pictures, nothing (well except the dictionary once in a while). The scene in my stories are thus impressions in my mind that I can still envision very clearly, and I'm certain I'll picture the exact scene each time I re-read MY fanfictions. Yes they're certainly, wholeheartedly, delightfully mine.

Any plot that I write out, I believe to be original, because I've never read anything like what I make myself think up before; I prefer attempting something original. Hence, should you ever come across anything similar to mine, whether posted before or after my respective fanfictions, please do send me a PM. Otherwise, I’d appreciate if the locations (especially those I thought up), descriptions, expressions (particularly those I've invented), plot (events and ideas), terms / names / species I cooked up, in my fanfictions remain mine alone; they took lots of time and effort on my part thinking, visualising and writing up.

Thanks!

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Interests

Characters/Relationships, etc, that I've developed an appreciation for...

Shikamaru.
Itachi.
Sai.
Kakashi.

ShikaTema.
Hana.

Bonds between family members, whether of the same generation or different, free of improper relationships.

Kakashi and Shikamaru's relationship as sensei and student, and sometimes as comrades.
I always thought Kakashi's stepping in for Team Ten after Asuma's fall, although he really had no obligation to (he was slightly injured and probably could do with some rest), spoke volumes about his friendship with and mutual respect for Asuma, and his unselfishness. Besides, he really looks out for whoever he's been put in charge of, yet knows and respects them, and those under his leadership look up to him. I'm sure Shikamaru appreciates Kakashi very much. I think Kakashi's probably been looking out for Team Ten in Asuma's stead (hence the writing of 'Konoha’s Will of Fire'). I wish there were more of such ficts around; haven't seen very many; if you know of some good ones; I'd be grateful if you'd drop me a PM to let me know; thanks! :)

Crack fics and pairings, occasionally.

Previously unconsidered, deeper (and much darker) aspects of the Naruto universe, like how much a shinobi (particularly Konoha shinobi, who strike me as rather different from other shinobi nations; again, this is explored in 'Konoha’s Will of Fire') would be able to withhold to protect their nation's interest, and the extent to which he (or she) would be able to hold out for Konoha. I'm sure many would willingly give up their lives, but when deprived of this option, and pushed to the edge, how much would it take to break them? This train of thought is a result of having read ficts like lrs-darkmuse's 'Such a Beautiful Boy', which explores how far a shinobi might go to ensure a mission's success; and some other fanficts exploring a different aspect, but of a similar nature, such as 'He Can Handle It' and 'The Nature of Interrogation' by whoeverIamloves-, which explores what might break a shinobi, literally. I may not approve of the themes suggested, but I cannot deny that reading such fanficts have gotten me thinking very deeply. Links are on the 'Favourite Stories' tab; read at your own discretion -- I'm not kidding about them being of a dark nature. (Oct 9, 2009)

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not very comfortable reading ficts (especially dark ones like the above mentioned) that don't involve recovery of some sort, and which deal with more depressing thoughts and topics, such as the literal value of a shinobi as a weapon. Much as it seems very possible given the line they're in, I prefer bits about shinobi picking themselves up, and gaining strength from and with each other, rather than entertain morbid thoughts alone. The way I see it, regardless of how terrible the situation gets, Konoha shinobi have inner strength that helps them stand up again, though, no doubt, they'll require lots of time and concern. Take Ibiki, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Tsunade, Asuma -- shinobi who have faced terrible things (including losing their loved ones) but lived on, drawing strength from their memories, mentors and comrades. I believe in holding on to hope and having faith when things get bad. If you're one for reading such ficts, though, kimi no vanilla has written some pretty believable, less optimistic and more disturbing (to me, at least) fanficts than that mentioned in the above paragraph. The same warning as the above paragraph applies. Two are in my 'Favourite Stories' tab, if you're interested. (Oct 10, 2009)

Other characters have caught my eye too, for having very distinct personalities. I'd love to try my hand at writing them someday.

On a side note, I don't write, and I refrain from reading yaoi or yuri.

It's usually the writing I go for, and of course I'll consider the pairing before I read; I usually browse the site for completed stories.

Depending on the genre, different aspects appeal to me. Characterisation, perspective and depth, flow of the story, the plot, the feel it gives, how much it makes you reflect...

Certain intricacies, or mechanics in various relationships (even if they aren't romance or canon) have gotten me interested, and I must say it's lovely seeing how people bring characters together in fanfictions. The rationale, the process, etc; another beauty of fanfiction! I rather enjoy musing (and, when possible, reading) about how various characters would behave when given the chance to interact.

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The Nara Clan Symbol
Update: The symbol has finally been revealed, which rather renders my earlier speculations (below) and many others' unneccessary. I'm glad the three clans finally have their bit of prestige and history to their names now.

Shikamaru, pre-Shippuuden used to wear a circular symbol divided by a line on his shirt-like vest, and while I thought it interesting that he's about the only one whom that symbol is associated with (in Shippuuden he used it to mark his trap activation point), I didn't believe it to be his clan symbol; it seems too generic to me, particularly after seeing what I'm quite sure are the Akimichi and Yamanaka clan symbols (this was later refuted). Besides, it seems strange to loosely use a clan symbol, much less 'stab' it. After seeing the symbol on the Nara Medical Book featured in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, and I looked up quite a few Naruto sites in the hope that it had been featured; I have yet to find pictures of this online. It hadn't been featured, but Shikamaru's 'no entry' (I'm not sure what else to call it) symbol had, which made me a little vexed because nobody seemed to have picked it up. Then it popped up again in Shippuuden during two arcs Shikamaru featured in, with Shikamaru wearing a grey shirt with the symbol on it. Finally Shikamaru dons his clan apparel (or at least I'd like to believe so), and with that symbol no less! I rather like the concept of clan symbols and compounds...

If you'd like to have a look at what I believe is the Nara Clan symbol (no official confirmation; it's just a belief on my part), do check out Naruto Episode 135 (Tsunade refers to the Nara Medicine book), and Naruto Shippuuden Episodes 71 (on Shikamaru's shirt when he plays shougi with Asuma; ending bit of the episode right before credits, if I recall correctly) and 77 (in a flashback of Episode 71). I tried to describe this in 'Beyond the Shadows', but a visual would certainly work better!

Some firsts for me on this site...
First review written for: lord of the land of fire's 'Invitation'
First person who added me to his/her 'Favourite Author' List: PGNarutoFan; her ShikaTema story, 'Sweetest Melody', lives up to its name.
First person who added me to her 'Author Alert' List: CaitlinIsATreehugger
First story dedicated to me: 'The Price of Passion' by Midnight Memories (She writes beautiful stories; do have a look!)
First Reviewer: InosBane (Another of my favourite writers!)
First story published on FanFiction.net: 'Shadows of the Night'

Interestingly, I've recently noticed the above section on other writers' profile pages... I'm half-amused, half-flattered, because I didn't think anybody else would want it on their profile page. When I first posted it, I had just started writing and posting fanfictions, and besides holding my breath for reviews and wondering about how my first fanfiction would be received, I had limited options to keep my mind off it. This was the result -- the profile page got more developed. As time passed, it became my way of keeping track of things, and things got gradually added to the list. It's my little way of thanking the above people for providing that very first assurance in some form or another. If you really really really wanna use it, I suppose it's fine with me (I'm sure some of you probably feel the same way towards those who've done the same for you), but only from this tiny little 'Some Firsts for me on this site' section of my profile page, and nothing more from the remaining portions of the profile page or anything else I've posted (i.e. my fanficts), yeah? :) Thanks very much. (Please see the 'Profile' or 'Important' sections, above, if you're wondering why I'm so protective of the stuff I put up.)

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My Fanfictions
The following fanfictions can stand alone to a large extent, particularly the one shots.

Fanficts 1 to 5, 13 & 14, involve Shikamaru and Temari, at least to some extent.
Fanficts 6, 10 & 12 involve Shikamaru.
Fanfict 7 involves Ino and Shikamaru.
Fanficts 8 and 9 involve Hana and Itachi.
Fanficts 3, 10 & 11 feature Shikaku.
Fanfict 11 involves the Konoha Eleven and Sai.
Fanficts 12 & 14 involve Gaara & Kankurou.
Fanfict 13 involves Shikadai.
Fanfict 15 is a Team Ten fic.

A little background, i.e. what crossed my mind when writing them; for summaries and main characters see 'My Stories' tab...

In order of posting...
(1) Shadows of the Night (One shot; Complete)

(2) Wind Shadows (Multi-chapter; Can be taken to be complete for now)
I'd hoped to be able to examine the relationship between Temari and her siblings, particularly after events in SotN, but given the lapse in time and perspective, I'll have to reconsider the direction of this fict, and if satisfactory, to find time to get it done properly.

(3) Beyond the Shadows (12 chapters; Complete)
This came about because I wondered about just what makes a Nara. Not much is known about what they do, but I'm sure there's a lot more to them than merely being Konoha's shadow manipulators. This is the result :)

(4) Back to Back (One shot; Complete; mentioned in and inspired by Chapter 8 of 'Beyond the Shadows'; set before 'Shadows of the Night')

(5) The Konoha-Suna Collaboration Scheme (One shot; Complete; mentioned in and related to Chapter 11 of 'Beyond the Shadows'; set after 'Beyond the Shadows')

(6) Konoha’s Will of Fire (One shot; Complete; set after Asuma's fall)
I'm sure Shikamaru intends to live on to protect what his sensei died for. Besides, he told Kurenai he's gotta become a cool adult, right? ;) In this fict, two Jounin lend Shikamaru their support, as he continues sharpening his abilities, in preparation of the promise he intends to fulfill. They do it not out of pity or obligation, but because he is their comrade :)

(7) Ino’s Smile (One shot; Complete; set after 'Konoha's Will of Fire')
Ino has struck me as a commonly misunderstood character. Since Shippuuden, I think she's changed drastically, and in this fict I speculate about what may have caused this change. Of course, it's hard to step out of your own shadow without help, so she gets some in this fict. I do hope she'll regain some of the cheerfulness and confidence she seems to have lost.

Written before 'Konoha's Will of Fire', but posted after; can be taken as a sequel, because the events in this occur a day after that in 'Konoha's Will of Fire'.

(8) Seeing Eye to Eye (One shot; Complete; set in the Rookie Nine's pre-Academy days)
I started on this with intentions of writing 'Konoha's Itachi', but I realised that if Hana and Itachi knew each other, they'd have to have met somewhere. Though I'd envisioned their first meeting rather differently ('Konoha's Itachi' might give you an idea of what that might be), I decided that above all, I'd like to think of them as friends, not merely someone else who shares a similarity, so this was written for them, and them alone :)

(9) Konoha’s Itachi (One shot; Complete; set some years post-massacre)
The first thing that crossed my mind when I learnt about the truth of Itachi's actions some time back, was how he'd done so much for his little brother, and he'd gone through with his act the whole time without a word to any one. All for Sasuke. In the same way, Hana seems to dote on Kiba. If anything, I'm positively sure that Hana, more so than others, would understand an older sibling's love for a younger sibling.

This idea harrassed me when I was writing 'Ino's Smile', so I promised myself I'd get it done.

(10) Learning: Nara-Style (One-shot; Complete)
Birthday fict for Shikamaru. Done and posted on the day itself!

(11) Salve (One-shot; Complete)
Containing spoilers to Naruto manga Chapter 613, this is a reaction to the events contained within.

(12) That's What Friends Are For (One-shot; Complete)
Spoilers to Naruto manga Chapter 700. While working concurrently on two other still in-progress fanfictions, Gaara somehow kept making his appearance, and it made sense to give him some love in the form of a story of his own, in commemoration of this benign character's birthday.

(13) Growing: Nara-Style (One-shot; Complete)
Spoilers to Naruto manga Chapter 700. The fanfiction from which 'That's What Friends Are For' and 'Interim' stemmed. Sequel-of-sorts to 'Learning: Nara-Style'.

(14) Interim (One-shot; Complete)
Posted on Valentine's Day intentionally, as motivation to polish this one-shot and get it off my 'pending' list. While this was arguably completed before 'That's What Friends Are For' and 'Growing: Nara-Style', I felt there was room for improvement and thus delayed its release. Perhaps best taken to be separate from the Shadows-verse ('Shadows of the Night', 'Beyond the Shadows', 'Wind Shadows'), as the perspective is different and might make for incongruent timelines / scenarios. I'd struggled with posting it earlier partly because of this.

If you read and liked any of these fics, please leave a review, just so I know. Even if it's only a few words long, I'd be most grateful. Thanks so much! It's a wonderful source of encouragement and basis of improvement, so you'd like to read more from me, please cheer me up by reviewing my fanfictions...

(15) Ino-Shika-Chō (One-shot; Complete)
Birthday tribute to InoShikaChō. A spontaneous piece only completed in time for posting for Ino's birthday. Pre-Team Ten fic set in Academy-going days. Traditions came to mind; hope this tale enthralls you.

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Reviews
I make it a point to review most stories (in signed reviews), especially those I enjoyed, even if it was written years ago. To me, that's the least I could do to thank the writer for writing that story. I'd surely appreciate it if you like my stories enough to do the same for me.

The fact that reviewers were thoughtful enough to let me know they found my fanfictions worth reading always makes my day! Trust me, it's a morale booster. I'd like to know that even if my stories weren't superb, the reviewer found it worth his/her time.

I'm fortunate to have had extremely dedicated reviewers who show me their support in the most encouraging ways; besides sparing me their precious time to let me know what they thought of various chapters (no matter what, they always find ways to faithfully return to read and review the latest chapters), they'll respond to my questions in A/Ns, offer suggestions, constructive criticism, support me by waiting with me and for me; some even pick out their favourite parts and lines in chapters, and each time they do that, I can't help but smile at their sincerity. A few always inject humour and commentaries into their reviews, and it really warms my heart and makes me beam to see such reviews. I really feel blessed to have so many valuable reviewers. It is for them that I post; they really make the writing and posting process a wholesome, worthwhile, special experience. Thanks a million, my sweet reviewers, yes to every one of you! :D

Thanks also to those who've added me or my fanfictions to their Favourite or Alert lists, or both.

I apologise in advance to anonymous reviewers for not acknowledging your reviews in a Review Reply. Thank you so much for your feedback! I can only reply signed reviews, especially since, if I'm not wrong, the option for an anonymous reviewer to leave an email address is no longer available. Even when anonymous reviewers were allowed to list their emails down, I couldn't reply without not keeping my email address private; I'm terribly sorry about that.

Story Requests
I don't take story requests because I know every story requires preparation and commitment, and I don't want to disappoint anybody by promising them anything I might not be able to deliver, especially not if they've high enough hopes in me to request fanfiction.

Note
The above format, titling, wording and content are also original, i.e. I'm unlikely to copy and paste stuff here, with the exception of links, so, please do not copy and paste anything from this profile page into your own. Exception: The 'Some Firsts for me on this site...' bit can be copied and pasted to your own profile pages so long as you don't claim to have thought it up ;)