August 14, 2013: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I just wanted to mention that I really am still working on Those Who Remain. I ended up being less than satisfied with how chapter 3 was turning out, so I've actually been having even more trouble with it than I was with chapter 2 .-. Hopefully the story will start to come along more easily once chapter 3's done, but by this point I think I might just be thinking too much into this, so who knows. Just please try to be patient! (Actually, the fact that I'm posting this update now should be taken as a good sign – I decided to bring it up after finally coming up with a better chapter opener, so it's actually starting to move forward now. Yay progress!)

May 19, 2013: To those waiting for the next chapter of Those Who Remain, I swear I'm working on it! D: Now that school's out I have a lot more time and focus to put into it, but it's been oddly difficult trying to work though a certain part of the chapter. Once I get through this mental block it shouldn't take much longer, and then with any luck the wait time between chapters should become much shorter. On a similar note, Continuing Adventures is out of its "plot hiatus" (turns out there wasn't anything in the Obelisk War that ended up interfering with my headcanon, but better safe than sorry heheh) and I was actually trying to write a new oneshot for it some weeks ago... only to decide that it didn't really flow quite right .-. I may end up going back and finishing it to post later, but for now I'm just going to finish the current chapter of Those Who Remain and then get to work on the next oneshot currently on the list. (Edit: Gaah, switch that. The oneshot's coming along much easier than the chapter right now) As a little teaser, it's going to be titled "Chance and Fate" and be the first in a special two-parter... I'll leave it to you guys to imagine what it might be about ;)

Greetings, fellow fanfiction readers and writers! You can call me by my pen name, or just Star, Dragon, Sport (if you want to use my Neopets nickname) or (if you really want to) Cassie. I'm a slightly nerdy member of the female sex, and a recent college graduate with a degree in Biology and a minor in Creative Writing. I write fanfiction for three main reasons: because the Plot Bunny commands me to (trust me, that guy will not leave me alone), because it's good practice for real life stories that I hope to not only write but have published one of these days, and because it's just plain entertaining! I also read plenty here, of course; even when I'm not currently writing for the site, you can expect me to still come and lurk here in search of some good reading material.

Q&A

What fandoms do you write for? Beyond what you can see at the top of my profile, you mean? *chuckles* Well, yes, I do hope to branch out a little more once I have the time. I like to think of myself as a bit "young at heart," so you can expect me to keep writing for things like "kids" shows. However, if I do ever get around to branching out fully, I have stories in mind for such diverse fandoms as Epic Mickey, the Mistborn trilogy, and Psych. So, just keep an eye out ;) (And as for right now? Well, I'm on a huge Neopets kick right now, so most of my writing is currently focused on that. But you've probably noticed that by this point...)

Where have you been?!? I've been reading one or more of your stories and you haven't updated in foreverrr D: If you're asking this question, then most likely I've been on hiatus. This doesn't mean I'm tired with the site or anything, just that I don't have time to write for it at the moment. You see, I'm currently trying to juggle working on stories for this site, another one, and real life (not to mention quite simply live my life), and I've found that the most potentially productive way to do so is by focusing on one thing at a time; thus, I generally have to semi-disappear from ff when I'm busy elsewhere. For the same reason, when it comes to chapter stories, I generally try to get one written out in full before shifting my focus to the next one. That being said, a few of my really old stories have kind of... died, muse-wise (I may go back and revive one or two of them in the future, but I'm focusing on other projects right now). Sorry about that :(

What's that picture you're using for your avatar? That lovely pic is a free icon I found on DeviantArt. It was made by the user hellsDragonWolf, and yes, I do have permission to use it here.

Wait a second, "college student?" Aren't you a bit old for some of these fandoms? Oh, not at all! Remember, "young at heart." In any case, I've come to find that a good story can easily defy supposed age constraints; I think you'd be surprised at how many people my age and older really enjoy some of these fandoms.

Right. So, anyway, what are your favorite pairings? When it comes to fanfiction, I take the original canon very seriously (after all, we became fans of it for a reason!) This means that I'll most likely side with canon pairings, and will never write something that interferes with one. I may ship a non-canon pairing, but only if it doesn't interfere with a canon one and I feel like it makes sense with the characters.

Yes, yes, that's all good and well, but what are your favorite pairings? Oh, right! Well, due to the nature of some of my stories, I have too many ships to just list here. Some of the pairings that I have a particular soft spot for, though, would have to include Robin and Starfire from the Teen Titans cartoon and Brynn and Hanso from the Neopets site.

Wait, what do you mean by "the nature of some of my stories?" I also happen to have a bit of a soft spot for next-generation stories. I'm not certain why, but I absolutely love imagining what the kids of the characters we all know and love would be like. The reason I brought that up earlier is because it means I have to pair off much of the major cast in order to give them children in the first place *chuckles*

Cool. So, what kinds of stories do you like/write? Like, what genres? Let's see... I'm really into Fantasy, so that tends to come up. I'm also easily hooked on Action/Adventure, and that is almost always going to be one of the genres of any multi-chapter story. I seem to tend more towards drama than comedy... But that doesn't mean I don't like to try my hand at Humor every once in a while. Romance doesn't come up way too often as a genre, but I do like to have a pairing or two show up in the background. And when next-generation stories come into play, the Family (and sometimes Friendship) genre usually does too.

I really like your fanfic and/or I think I know how you can improve on something in your story. Great! Both praise and constructive criticism are always welcome, so feel free to drop me a review. You can also PM me if you like.

I think you/your stories/your fandoms/the pairings you ship are lame/stupid/bad. If you seriously mean that, then I guess we just don't see eye to eye, sorry. If you're trying to rile me up, I'll have to say that you're wasting your time and kindly suggest that you find something more productive to do than harass innocent writers.

You sound nice/fun! Can we chat sometime? Of course! Like I said, PMs are always open. I'd love to meet a fellow reader and/or writer!

Bonus Content: Those Who Remain

I decided to go and make a fancy full-length summary for my next upcoming chapter story, mostly because it sounded cool in my head. Enjoy!

For several years, the alien madman who calls himself Dr. Sloth has been attempting to transform all of Neopia’s citizens into his mutant army. Time and time again, he has been driven back by vigilant resistance fighters and a powerful faerie of the stars, and through his repeated failures most of the public has lost its fear of him. Even among the wary, few have ever really given thought to what would happen if one of his plans actually succeeded.

They no longer have that luxury. In a single morning, all of Neopia is turned upside-down as a wave of power washes over the planet, mutating virtually every pet. With that mutation comes a brainwashing that transforms once-free societies into kingdoms of willing slaves ripe for the taking. All hope is not yet lost – a relative handful of pets have found the strength of will to resist the brainwashing, and the faeries are unaffected by the ray that caused this mess. Even so, those who remain in resistance face down a mighty challenge, not only in the overwhelming numbers stacked against them but in the demons plaguing their own hearts.

In Meridell, a knight awakens to find his king gone, his country in chaos, and a few dozen brave souls looking to him as their Champion and savior. Letting his people down is the last thing he wants, but he has never faced a threat on such a global scale before.

In Maraqua, a prophetess thanks the stars that she was able to warn the sea-dwellers before the ray’s effects could leave them in a more deadly situation than it already has. Yet she fears that the warnings may have come too late, not only for some of her people but for her own precious sister.

In Faerieland, a guard captain trudges on with a stoic face and a roiling soul, haunted by fresh memories of a loved one who lost his will as she looked on helplessly, and who still carries orders to hunt her down.

In Altador, a councilor bears the mark of what she considers her greatest failure – the failure to protect her people from the ray’s effects. Her own power mocks her, it seems, for she still somehow managed to protect herself.

These four heroes join a host of others – a great many to the incautious eye, yet only a drop in the proverbial bucket of the world’s full population – to convene in Faerieland, where they must put together one last effort to free their fellow pets from Sloth’s control before he can capture and subdue them as well.