azurite: (all muses are busy...)
These tend to be fun, even if I should actually be, yanno, writing fic.

Stolen shamelessly from [livejournal.com profile] rose_of_pollux.

To fic or not to fic: that is the question! )
azurite: (inuyasha - sesshomaru (unexpected hero))
So I watched the last episode (26) of Inuyasha: The Final Act today. There was laughter, there were tears, and there were surprises. There were a few things I was right about in my last post about it and a few things I was wrong about.

Spoilers for the have-yet-to-watch! )

I guess it's time for me to find another anime and/or manga series to get very attached to. We'll see what happens....
azurite: (inuyasha - kagome born to be)
So there's only one more week until the very last episode (26) of Inuyasha: The Final Act airs and then it's finally done. Finito. Owaru. OVER.

Having experienced Rumiko Takahashi's so-called endings before, I'm prepared for something out of left-field, but I wonder with all the time she's spent making this story (and whether or not the anime adheres very well to the manga, but I've heard it has), the fact that the anime stopped and started again in a new OAV-type series, and all those movies, etc...could she really cop-out of what the ending just plain calls for at this point? (And I think it's been pretty obvious from the get-go; if anything, Inuyasha at least had an implicit promise established well within the first season.)

Spoilers for those who may not have seen The Final Act )
azurite: (fy - miaka & tamahome (red))
I just finished re-watching Fushigi Yuugi: Eikoden, also known as "Legend of the Eternal Light." I'm sure it would have made a lot more sense in the novel form (assuming I understood the idea that it was based off the Fushigi Yuugi Gaiden novels), but the episodes were long enough to convey a plot and...I'm still a bit confused.

Kaishen! )

"Eikoden" seems to wrap everything up, but it's only left me with more questions.
azurite: (inuyasha - sesshomaru (unexpected hero))
So I've been watching Inuyasha: The Final Act on Shonen Sunday's website (yay for free subbed anime every week), and the most recent episode actually got me thinking about fandom meta and fic, considering nothing I ever expect actually happens in Inuyasha. Though, I never finished watching the MAIN series, so I can't say for sure how it (or the manga, for that matter) really ended.

Still. Osuwari! )
azurite: (textually active)
Ganked from [livejournal.com profile] obabscribbler

How about a brief introduction for yourself?

I go by Azurite (heck, even one of my uncles has been calling me that), but anyone from my early Sailor Moon fandom says knows me as Andi (short for "Andromida"), and I'm not too shy anymore about telling people my real name: Meredith.

Fabulous! And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?

Sailor Moon was my first fandom, and as most people know, there was a huge wait between the the first part of Sailor Moon R and the second, let alone the three remaining seasons (the fifth and final of which still has not been formally licensed and subtitled). So I started to go on the Internet to look for spoilers or something, and I ended up reading this story about a "Sailor Milky Way." I thought it was genuinely a synopsis of episodes to come. I later found out that the image was just a flip-flopped one of Hotaru Tomoe (Saturn) from one of the artbooks that I'd never seen in the States, and Sailor Milky Way was just a fan's invention... hence, my first encounter with fanfiction.

The idea of writing ideas as I saw them, and then sharing them with other fans to see what they thought sounded pretty appealing. I wrote my own horrid first fic, which was my take on just who Haruka and Michiru were (this was back when all I knew of them was what I'd seen on stickers that I collected), joined the SMRFF, learned from some masters, and eventually wrote my own Sailor Moon fics.

From there, it's history.

I see, so what kind of fanfiction do you like to write?

When I first started out, I genuinely thought fanfiction was meant to fill in the holes that canon created. Of course, if you have a canon where things DO finish, and DO go a particular (agreeable?) way, then you can have fun writing about alternative universes or timelines/realities, and all number of "what if" scenarios. Originally, I wrote WAFF --warm and fuzzy feeling fanfiction. I couldn't see myself ever writing something angsty or full of dramatic tension. Nowadays, that (and the blend known as TAFF, or Twisted and Fuzzy Feeling) is more my style, and I aim for drama and realism (in terms of characterization or development) in all that I write, regardless of fandom.

I can't really do oneshots or drabbles and the like-- I babble A LOT, and when I get an idea, it tends to be the multi-chapter type. Even right now, with a 36-chapter fic in the works, I have plans for 2 sequels of equal or near-equal length, plus a myriad of other multi-chapter fic ideas, ideas for other fandoms, revisions...

Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing you struggle with?

I find it in-between. It's always hard to develop a simple idea into workable prose, something that isn't just "this happened and that happened, the end." I use fanfiction as a way to improve my own writing, because even though I'm using someone else's characters (and often scenarios, because hey, there's no such thing as an "original story" anymore, right?), it allows me to discover new ways of thinking and writing in general.

I'd like to think fanfiction has helped me come a long way from taking just plain stupid ideas into really fully-developed stories about a character's growth or experiences, about his or her feelings about some event or other person.

Also, a lot of what I've learned comes from snippets from craft writing books or kits, things like "nothing you say should be useless, everything you say should have a reason for being said."

Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.

I'm an Azureshipper for the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, which is my primary OTP (I do enjoy a classic Revolution or Peachshipping piece every once in a while, and Azureshipping also tends to read better when there's a side pairing. I've seen Stumbleshipping done pretty well too, among others.), but in other fandoms I may waver-- I like Usagi x Mamoru *AND* Usagi x Seiya in Sailor Moon, but also Haruka x Michiru. Even if I don't write it, I may read it (provided it's well written). For other fandoms, I usually like one pairing exclusively: Kaname x Sousuke from Full Metal Panic, Ranma x Akane from Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha x Kagome from Inuyasha, etc.

Out of all those, it's usually the female who I feel most attracted to, and I would detest seeing any of them characterized badly. You'll notice that, even in my romance fics, I tend to focus on the female half-- I suppose that's on account of me taking to heart the phrase "write what you know." So even if I have no experience with Millennium Items, massive mecha, gender-bending water-activated curses, demons, etc., I still KNOW what it's like to be young, female, and wanting love, so I tend to write about that.

Are there any fanfiction clichés or trends you’re sick of or just can’t stand?

I'm going with [livejournal.com profile] obabscribbler on this one: Bashing. I hate, loathe and abhor character bashing.

Are you guilty of any fanfiction clichés you hate? Or any other ones?

Well, of course when I started out, I was guilty of making the characters OOC, or exaggerating one or two of their qualities into their whole WORLD. I am guilty of the "trite" plot-- the plot device that is overused to death, but I like to think I can put a new twist on it, just as a challenge. WDKY supposedly fit that bill, because the idea of killing off Anzu's parents was a common one for any fics starring her (at the time I started writing it), and it's a lame plot device to get two people together. But, all things considered, it's still worked out pretty well despite that.

What was the first fandom you wrote for, and do you still like/participate in it?

Sailor Moon, as mentioned above, and yes-- but very rarely.

Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.

As mentioned before, Anzu x Seto (Azureshipping) is my OTP for Yu-Gi-Oh, but I've been known to enjoy a few others with Anzu involved. I adore dramatic love triangle (or polygons), too. To keep talking about them, rather than going on about those other pairings I like and already talked about, I like Anzu and Seto because they have SO much potential. They never struck me as characters who hated each others' guts and were wholly incompatible, nor were they characters that had never or could never meet and have any sort of relationship. They HAD interacted, they HAD opinions about one another. Neither of them were the "star" of the show though, so fanfiction about or involving them meant digging deeper into what little glimpses of characterization the canon offered, and developing it into something interesting and unusual. I love to write either of them in such a way that people feel that my Seto could very well be the canon Seto, if someone else had just taken the reins of Yu-Gi-Oh and written it for a different audience.


What would you call your writing “style”?

Long. Except for this answer. :P

Do you read other people’s fanfic? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?

Oh, whenever I can. I prefer to read by recommendation, but when I discover or get into a new fandom and I don't know anyone there, I do the usual "hunt and peck" search for it. And that usually involves me Googling a fandom's fic archive or FFnet and scouring C2s or the filter system-- but even then, there's a lot of Back-clicking involved. I find myself reading Romance and/or Drama the most, because I love to read the styles and genres that I myself write. It's great to see other people taking the same basic idea (Romance or Drama, etc.) and then veering off with it in an unexpected way.

Name one thing you’d LOVE to write, but have been too afraid or shy to do.

Smut. :P The temptation's there, the IDEA is even there (anyone here remember "Kaiba the Virgin Sacrifice"?), but I just can't get the lady balls to do it. I keep saying I won't start anything new (especially anything long and potentially multi-chapter) until I finish WDKY, anyway.

Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?

I don't think I have a bloated ego, because almost every review, even if it's short and not littered with praise, flatters me that it even exists. It's so cool that someone took time out of their day to say something about what *I* wrote. I love thinking I've made someone think or feel a certain way due to my writing (style, ideas, etc).

Sometimes, though, I do feel I take things a bit personally, especially when I interpret critique one way and the writer may have meant it differently. But I guess that's bound to happen with all kinds of reviews: being online means you're not psychic,you have no way of knowing what sort of "intent," if any, was behind the review. I can't stand anyone who attacks a writer personally based on their writing though-- that is flaming, and I find it senseless and stupid.

When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?

Music, almost always. A lot of my fics have unofficial soundtracks as a result of that, and some of them even read as being "songfics" because I found them so inspirational. I don't like to fall into the trap of writing fics that essentially rehash the same story from a song, or use a song's title, but it has happened.

What inspires you?

Who the hell knows? My ideas hit me like bolts of lightning, and if I don't write them down immediately, I lose them. WDKY was just a random idea that came about one day when I was working at the box office of a movie theatre. I had to try and write every bit of the idea down on small scraps of paper that I didn't have nearly enough of, or enough room for in my too-tight regulation pants. About the only thing that job was good for was the inspiration I got during the dead hours.

Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?

I'd like to think I've come a hell of a long way since I first wrote fanfiction WAAAY back in the day (I think my first fic was titled "The Cosmic Rebirth Series"), and I've certainly been able to write new and different styles, and MORE of it (I have chapters that are almost novel-length). But I'm always looking to improve, and for that reason, I can't really see myself leaving fandom completely. It's always great to meet new people and brainstorm, too. Honestly, my life's been changed by fandom, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tag six friends because they’ll hate you for it.
[livejournal.com profile] guardian_kysra
[livejournal.com profile] atlantian_magic
[livejournal.com profile] bewareofdogz
[livejournal.com profile] svelterose
[livejournal.com profile] a_white_rain
[livejournal.com profile] dqbunny
azurite: (usagi sweater)
So the other day, I mentioned how I was reading Ceres: Celestial Legend, aka Ayashi no Ceres, along with the tail-end of Death Note (oops, turns out I have up to Vol. 11; the last volume, 12, doesn't come out until July), and contemplating love, romance, and relationships in manga.

Guys, girls, and all that stuff )

Whar?

Nov. 8th, 2006 08:51 pm
azurite: (double trouble minako & usagi)
Over the past few days, I've been getting mysterious emails from HTMLGear's guestbook notification service, saying I have new guestbook notices on a site that I used to have (that has been defunct for years; when you try to search for it via Yahoo! *OR* Google, you won't come up with anything).

I couldn't remember my login for the site (which is affiliated with Tripod and Angelfire, neither of which I ever maintained a site with-- for long), and I was trying every possible combination. Lycos doesn't have a password reminder service, so I was stuck trying every username and password combination I could think of.

AT LAST I got it and I checked the settings... and they pointed to a site that does not exist. I wondered how the messages could be posted without a site (after all, no site means no "Sign my Guestbook" link), so I checked the notices... and of course, they're from bots.

What a waste of time! I liked the GuestGear service when I used it, but since I have my own domain, I guess there's no point anymore. I shouldn't have to put up with their limited capabilities and adverts when I can just create my own Guestbook, or use a customizable script from somewhere. I'd really like to get rid of ALL of my old services, but to trash my old Yahoo! services would mean the end of those emails... and I don't know whether I'm really up to changing EVERY SINGLE place I receive email from to my new email address (even though GMail can handle the flux of messages).

Anyway, I've found out how to delete entire GuestGears (by going into the Gear Manager), and so I'm going through all these old links, just for nostalgia's sake. Some of the old sites that used to be my favs... )

Ah, nostalgia. One Gear down, several more to go. Maybe I ought to just take the high-road and start getting rid of these old things.

Azurite's Favorite Fanfiction... from WAAAAAAY back in the day )

Ranma 1/2, Peach Girl, and then some... )

Okay, done... I only have 4 Gears left, 3 of which are guestbooks which I need to review and finally delete, and the other is a poll on my old Digital Horizons site (remember, [livejournal.com profile] staplerx?) about Reverse Racism.

Wow, talk about a trip through memory lane. Today was like that in general. For Christine's last EC group, she had clips of old TV shows that we both watched in America; since my group was also in Lavazza cafe, I ended up watching a few-- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, JEM, Animaniacs, Tiny Toons... ah, those were the days.
azurite: (plz die kthx)
Okay, let's bring everyone into this. It's fun, and I love discussions. Plus I need to figure out who all the people from SMRFF are here on LJ, and haven't told me.

Here is the Legend of Sueric, in a nutshell (think CliffsNotes version, but ya'll know CliffsNotes are copyrighted, so go on and buy them! I don't own their company or the name, heh heh heh!):

Setting: The Inuyasha Fandom
Characters: A number of "original characters" that are the children of the canonical characters Inuyasha and Kagome, from above fandom. Sueric, the author of the (infamous) Purity series. Her "fans" (read: Legion of Terror). A variety of other individuals, including wankers, trolls, people who know what they hell being in fandom means, you, and me.
The Situation: Sueric's Purity series features original characters that are intended to be the offspring of canonical Inuyasha characters Inuyasha and Kagome. Likely there are other original characters involved, but needless to say, the "fanfiction" she's written has a life of its own now, and as far as I can tell/have heard, it is not so much of an Inuyasha fanfiction, but a fandom within itself.

An adoring fan (age: 14) "asked"/"announced" (subject to debate) if she could use a plot line similar to Purity #'s, because the story inspired her. Sueric's beta sent said fan an email saying that such a thing would be considered plagiarism. The Fangirl changed things about her story (including character names and locations) and continued to post. Sueric found the story and... went berserk. She claimed that the Fangirl was plagiarizing. Various Legions of Terror (henceforth LoTs) went after the Fangirl, prompting her to change her name (and possibly create a third pseudo-account that supposedly belonged to her "sister). Eventually, they found her under her new SN, and got the girl to remove her stories. Sueric was still bitching and wailing though, because the Fangirl apparently had moral apathy, which is the greatest sin of them all (in her Bible). Apparently the Fangirl's admiration of the Purity series had Sueric in stitches, because she plagiarized.

Worse, Sueric didn't seem to think it was okay that the Fangirl had changed the names or locations of things; she stole the plot, she stole the characters, she did so willingly. A reader at the MediaMiner.org forums pointed out to Sueric that fanfiction is the exact same thing, and authors must be careful when accusing fellow authors/readers/fanits/whatever of plagiarism, else the authors WE base our work off of come after US! Sueric had no mind to hear it, and spouted contradictions left and right.

And now, Sueric has inspired everything from wank to lengthy discussions in the deep of the night )

Discuss.

NOTE: I would love if I had a JournalFen just to stay abreast of fandom_wank, but alas! No free accounts. On top of that, they don't seem to support OpenID for logging in for comments, nor do they have working RSS functionality. Sucks to be an LJ user if only for fandom_wank. Anyone else have any tips for staying on top of the funny? Otherwise-- why did f_w leave LJ?
azurite: (dancing 2k-tan)
1. I WILL clean my room before my birthday (4.14)

2. I WILL get a 2.5+ GPA before February 15th, if it is possible, regardless of the idiocy and lack of ability in my teachers.

3. I WILL pay off my debt to Columbia House, because I want to have a mostly-spotless credit record for college.

4. I WILL make up my mind about where I want to go to college-- and make that decision for the right reasons. I won't go to a college to follow a guy, or get away from my mom, or be with my friends. I will be selfish for once, and for good reasons.

5. I WILL go to Fanime and Cosplay (dress up) as Kagome Higurashi from Inuyasha. I'll do whatever it takes to make a costume, because some pointless and difficult tasks aren't once you master them.

6. I WILL get a boyfriend before I graduate, and remain the one wearing the pants. No guy is going to boss me about or make me his "love slave."

7. I WILL go out and do more with my mom-- because I never want to lose her to pettiness, the way "I lost my dad" to stupidity.

8. I WILL get my Sailormoon artbooks back, moth-eaten or not, from my dad, because he has no right to keep my stuff hostage.

9. I WILL succeed in Senior Journalism, because I know it's what I love, what I like, and what I can do. I will turn in articles, get along with people in the class, not nag the teacher, and get everything done.

10. I WILL get along with my classmates, because come the class of 2003 reunion, I'll be the one surrounded by friends, while the idiots that have made my life hell will be alone, crying, and covered in super-sticky-punch.

11. I WILL eat healthier and exercise more, because even if I am as white as Casper, sunburn too easily, am as freckled as a Dalmatian, and wear glasses, being able to run a mile is something every teenager should be able to do.

That's all for now... but I WILL think of more. ^.~

January 2016

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