The Beautiful Way

[crunchysalad]

AFF asks that in-depth responses to reviews be placed in the forum, so here are my responses to the reviews for my fic The Beautiful Way. Thank you, readers, for taking the time to read and review my stories! It means a lot, especially for this one, which I put a lot of thought into!

Part III

Katastrifi: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Unfortunately, no new installments, this piece was only meant to be a trilogy. It's possible that one day I'll write a sequel, but even then it will probably be focused on Ichigo. Plus I have so many other ideas in my head that I don't think I'll ever get back around to this world. We shall see.

nivell: In regards to the kitsune's motivations, you'll just have to make up your own answers ~_^ I like leaving those kind of things ambiguous so that people can interpret them the way they like. I like to think it was a mixture of both, maybe. And in regards to the spelling mistakes, I really am an awful proofreader. I guess I should find a beta reader, but it seems to slow down the process so much. By all means, feel free to point out spelling/grammar mistakes, I'll do my best to fix them. Not sure if I'll be writing any more Ken/Bya, but they will get a chapter in my Sex and Football series, so be on the lookout for that!

satterb: Thank you for saying so! I don't think I'll add another chapter, unfortunately. I might do a sequel one day (focusing on Ichigo and Isshin and. . . Grimmjow), but I have so many other ideas swirling around in my head and no time to get them out, so no promises on that one. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy my other stories as well. Thanks again for reading!

qwerty: Who knows when it comes to that mischievous kitsune Feel free to come to your own conclusions when it comes to his motivations. I have my own thoughts, but like leaving it up to the reader to decide. I'm glad you liked it, especially the historical aspects, which I did spend some time researching (although I don't stay completely accurate).

Ficfan3484: Thank you so much for saying so. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Hitsuzen: Haha, I know, right? Gin's just so identifiable with a kitsune, I can't help but think of him in this role. At any rate, I'm glad you liked the story! Byakuya does deserve happiness, and while I couldn't give him exactly what he wanted, at least he's content at the end of the story.

Part II

satterb: You're right, poor Byakuya is not living a very charmed life in this fic. I'll leave it up to you to decide if Byakuya gets a happy ending in this last part, since it's a little ambiguous. But I'm glad you've enjoyed this story, it was a lot of fun to write.

Nivell: Well, the fox is definitely connected to Byakuya somehow! He could be a guardian spirit, if you want to interpret it that way. But you'll see more of him in this next part, in a way. But, yeah, Byakuya is fucked in several ways, lol. That's a funny way of putting it. I'm glad you liked his personality when it comes to sex; I imagine that hotheaded, impetuous Byakuya would be the type to just take what he wants. I also feel bad that he could not see Renji before he left. . . I was initially going to have him catch a glimpse of him as he rode out of town, but I decided I liked it better this way, as sad as it is. And you're totally right, Kenpachi's back. . . or so it seems

Katastrifi: Hahahaha. Don't worry, Kenpachi's back in this part. Kind of. . . But, at any rate, I agree that Renji-as-priest seems really odd at first. To be honest, I just like the idea of him in a priest's uniform, lol. It's always hard writing characters in AUs, because people are shaped by their circumstances, and in AUs you want to make them products of their circumstances while staying true to the core of their character. With Byakuya, I tried to keep him duty-bound (although he makes a few missteps in his youth, similar to the manga), although in this universe part of his duty is, basically, being a sexual creature. Renji was more difficult, but I tried to give the sense that the Renji we know and love is definitely in there, even if it has been repressed somewhat by growing up in the church. His loyalty (in this universe, to the nun and church that took him in) is still there, at least.

qwerty: Thank you for saying so! Third part's up, hope you enjoy the ending!

YACUMO: I'm glad that you liked Renji and Byakuya's interactions, and the way that they play off each other. They are a rather delicious pair, aren't they? Unfortunately Renji isn't coming back in the third part, so sorry! Hopefully Kenpachi's presence is okay enough? At any rate, thank you for reading and reviewing!

Part I

DreadfulVirtue: It's funny how so many people gravitate towards a character in either the role as bottom or the role as top, isn't it? I agree that whiny, emasculated ukes are no fun to read, especially when given a character like Byakuya, who has a certain pride and strength of his own in canon. So it's no wonder you avoid uke-Byakuya fics, lol. Honestly, and please forgive my crudeness, whether you like to take it up the ass or not has little to do with your personality, and it's a bit irritating when people feel like they have to make the person who bottoms gentler or more submissive somehow. Also, thank you for saying how much you enjoyed the fic. I didn't mean to make anyone sad, but I'm glad that it managed to touch you. Hopefully you'll also enjoy the other parts.

xpinkcloudx: Well, part II is here! I hope you enjoy it!

Katastrifi: Thank you so much for saying so! I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and hopefully you will enjoy the other two parts.

qwerty: Don't worry, I will! I have a definite plan for this fic, and I'll follow through with it.

satterb: Yeah, sorry, I made a mistake. When I uploaded the latest chapter of A Modern Courtship I accidentally uploaded it to this fic instead. I deleted it afterward and put it in the right place, but this fic still stayed in the recently updated fics list. My bad. At any rate, glad to hear that you are liking the fic! I also am a huge Kenpachi fan. . . why does he not get more fanfiction? Although, if it were up to me, most fanfiction would be of Isshin, lol. Hopefully when/if Kubo delves into his history, we'll see more fanwork of him. And, you know, it's fun to write, provided I have the time, so no need to thank me. Thank you for reading!

Deminos: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

YACUMO: Awwww, thank you so much! You are so sweet for saying all that. I really put a lot of thought into writing this, and it's been really fun so far to do, so I'm glad that people are responding to it and like it a decent amount. I don't think it will take me too long to update the last part. . . maybe a week or two or three, depending on how my free time works out and how motivated I am to finish. As for Uryuu. . . sorry, I already have this thing plotted out! And I am sorry to say that I'm just not a huge Uryuu fan. . . he's cute, but not my cup of tea.

Nivell: Lol. It's funny you commented on that scene, because I loved writing it. And I thought maybe it was kind of too weird for the general audience out there, but at least one reader liked it! Yay! And, well, you'll see what happens next with Byakuya. . .

Edited April 15, 2011 by crunchysalad