8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,b]"[b] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3: 8-9, NKJV, )

I am a Christian. This influences my stories in that none of them have ever or will ever include slash, foul language, or sex.

Chronological Order for My NCIS Lost Ones AU:

Come Back Soon (ch. 1)

If We Shadows (ch. 1)

Little Girl Lost (ch. 1)

If We Shadows (ch. 2)

Come Back Soon (ch. 2)

Little Girl Lost (ch. 2)

Come Back Soon (ch. 3)

If We Shadows (ch. 3)

The Lost Ones

Little Girl Lost (ch. 3)

Snapshots can be read at any point.

This is not necessarily the same as the recommended reading order, as this would leave you jumping from story to story. If you're new to the series, I'd recommend jumping straight into The Lost Ones and reading the prequels once it's finished. If you do want to try the prequels first, Little Girl Lost should stand on its own fairly well although it will have minor spoilers for the first few chapters of The Lost Ones. Come Back Soon and If We Shadows both work fine on their own as long as you're willing to wait for answers as to where certain characters came from.

When people see an intricate, well made fantasy world in movies or books, they praise the creator.

When people see the complex, amazing world around them, they say it was an accident.

The Difference Between Canon and Fanfiction:

Canon ignores the potential in the relationships they set up. (Gwaine/Merlin friendship, Gwen/Merlin friendship, Ghost!Uther and Arthur, etc.)

Fanfiction explores every relationship possible under every circumstance possible, including some that really make you wish brain bleach was an actual thing. (You know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Canon ignores the broader implications and seriousness of situations. (Merlin stole Arthur's free will, Merlin laughed when Aredian died, Will is never brought up again.)

Fanfiction can and does extrapolate angst from a split second glance and a half eaten apple.

Canon is way too short.

Fanfiction is practically limitless and still growing. (I've seen some writers who have written more for a show than the creators have.)

Canon has budget and time constraints.

Fanfiction: For my one hundredth and eightieth chapter, there will be even more explosions. BIGGER ONES!

Canon never explains everything. (Morgana, Agravaine . . . )

Fanfiction explains EVERYTHING. (Why does Gwaine like apples? What's up with Arthur's messy room? What does that thrown goblet really mean?)

Canon ends when it stops making money.

Fanfiction ends when the last fan capable of holding a keyboard, pen, or chisel dies.

Does anyone else read Fanfiction for shows they've never watched, or is it just me?

About My Favorites:

I treat the favorites section like it's a bookshelf where I can store anything I might want to come back to later. In case you, like me, use other author's favorites sections as jumping off points to find new fiction, I want to say that while nothing in my favorites section includes sex or slash, there is some foul language in some of the stories.

General Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. Because this is fanfiction.net, not "I'm secretly the owner and I'm trolling you. net" although if an author really were to do that, it might be kind of awesome.

All credits of this beautiful speech goes to Nic-n'-Nyx. Copied from percabeth2025's profile.

You may be a reject. You may not be smooth with the spoken word. You may be the most popular kid in school. You may be the boss at your office. You may be short or tall or heavy or light or anorexic or white or dark or struck by an unfriendly label. You may be the homeless guy on the corner or the one inside the store signing books as you hand them out. You may listen to Justin Bieber or to Three Days Grace. But what you are is a writer; never doubt the power of what you can do. Tell me, what did you learn more from this year; the President, or the Hunger Games? The senator or Rick Riordan? The public speaker or Clarissa Fray? Your boss or Pi Patel? American Idol or the Twilight Saga? A list of facts or Harry Potter? Which of them stole the most of your time? Which is more well-known?

It's the book. Every time. People fail to realize flaws in our society in their own lives, but they see it in District Twelve and in the Capitol. Books make clear what we can't see with the naked eye. Authors are the ones that speak to people's hearts. Writers are the ones people turn to for lessons and entertainment. It's been this way for thousands of years. We are the teachers of every child who opens a book. The themes we write are the themes they learn. We are there in every life, a quiet influence bound in a pretty cover, months' worth of work and reading, colored with imagery built around the lightning rod of an unforgettable plot line. A story spent months reading is memorable more than a speech listened to for just five minutes. I can't name all the leaders of the world right now, nor what they decide to preach about, but I can tell you all the characters from Percy Jackson, and every little thing they taught me. And they are things worth learning.

So don't think there's a better way to make a point. Don't think there's a better way to reach your audience. Fiction stories have been striking the hearts of their readers farther back than anyone alive can remember. And striking the heart is what makes literature so different from everything else. Don't ever doubt your ability to show someone something new, to teach them a life lesson, or the importance of what you have to say. Say it in this foreign language everyone knows. Decorate it with characters and light it with sights and smells and sounds and touches and tastes and give it to the public gift-wrapped with your finest effort. Because I guarantee you, someone is bound to hear you clearer than they've heard anyone else before.

I hope you've found some words of inspiration. The world needs it desperately. Do us all a favor, all you writers, and come out of hiding. We've had the greatest influence of all over people of the past, and as we act now, we are the ones influencing the future. We have more knives and pens than the BVB Army, more sway in society than the Senate (whom we have proved this to before), more power than any celebrity you could name. I'm calling on you now. Rise up. I dare you to write something today that readers won't forget. I challenge you to make someone cry with one thin little page of text. I urge, no, I demand you to put something down on paper that'll be copied and produced and remembered for longer than Ancient Mythologies have been. I dare you to slam a revolving door. I demand you to write a message in the folds of a book and watch how, in awe, people unwrap it. Watch your footprints stand bold against the falling snow and refuse to be covered. It is all possible, I assure you. You have no idea just what power you hold in a pen - or a keyboard - until you use it.

And right now, the world needs you to use it more than ever.

We, writers, have made history. We were the ones to record it. And that ability has not changed at all, just our awareness and will to use it. We were given the gift language and storytelling for a reason.

This is that reason. It's calling. So ask yourself what message you want to send. Ponder about what you want to say. Because the world is listening to us above all other beings currently on this earth. Us, not the movies, not the official-labeled politicians, not the superstars. And it's our job to give it a story that's worthwhile.

What's yours?