I have received fanart! Elixire J. Crow has kindly and delightfully created a lovely pair of illustrations for my epic KibaHina fic, "Choosing Fate." The first is inspired by a scene from chapter 19, and the second is an image of something mentioned at the very end of the story. So both are major spoilers! Thank you, Elixire, for sharing your talent with them and us!

Naruto has ended, and I'm more upset by the way the kunoichi were treated than I am about most of my ships getting sunk. I was so bothered, I made a meme about it: Fanwoman's Kunoichi Then and Now. Please stop by, especially if you think our gals should have been capable of being both active ninja and mothers to preteens.

As for me, I firmly believe the true purpose of fanfiction is fill in the gaps left by a show/book/whathaveyou. Sure, all the other stuff is great--I especially love a good comedy--but one of the elements I consider to be lacking in many of my favorite shows is satisfying romance. Being in a romantic relationship is as much a part of life as your job. Actually, as relationships go, wouldn't you say the one you have with your spouse/potential spouse is of equal or greater significance than the one you have with your parents, siblings, children, coworkers, etc.? So how is it good to have a series that is so myopic as to not cover one of the basic relationships of life? Or to only allow for episodic, short-term romance? Anyway, the point is, I love fic that gives romantic satisfaction where the original story does not. I especially enjoy a good kiss.

I'm also not one of those people so stuck in the groves of Western literary forms that I think every story needs a tangible plot to be good or worth reading. What rubbish! That's like saying every painting has to be Biblical or every sculpture has to make a political statement in order to be worthwhile. While such things are nice, I perfer not to limit myself, especially in a form as self-expressive as fanfiction. I write to satisfy my muses and myself. I share what I write because there are bound to be others who will enjoy it (I love that about ff.net--you're never alone!). Likewise, I read the works of others for my own enjoyment, not to measure them by some arbitrary, personal, literary yardstick.

Anyway, thank you for your interest in me and my stories, and pardon me for getting on my soap box!