Cuzosu

Looks like I'm playing devil's advocate, here. I have tried, a few times, to get into playing KH games. It never works. In addition to making FF characters look more Disney, they went so far as to change the names of some of the main FF characters! I talk to people who dabble in different fandoms, or mix FF and KH fandoms, about Squall from FFVIII, and not even halfway through the conversation, they start calling him Leon! Uh, hello, kindly do some research. By date of copyright, the character's actual name is Squall Leonhart. (Hey. FF fan, here.) As if the names and looks weren't enough, Square-Enix even went so far as to let the personalities get changed. Not for all the characters, granted, but enough to rub me the wrong way. From the perspective of someone who has a longstanding adoration of many FF characters, KH warped them to the point of being barely recognizable. Don't get me wrong, in places I feel that they warped Disney characters, too--but if you ever watch some of the older Disney cartoons, particularly Mickey Mouse, there are some episodes where the characters take on different personas. So the change doesn't bother me so much with the Disney characters, if that makes sense. KH, to me, is like fan fiction. It's just that there is so much OoC behavior and looks that don't fit the original, I honestly cannot keep my head in the story. The differences are a constant aggravation that forcibly evicts my mind from the game when I try to play. I've given up on it; KH is obviously not for me.

Okay. I wasn't asking about the misplaced thing so much as the AU; my brain is kind of fried today, so when I was thinking to myself about the AU/original thing, I gave myself quite a headache.

http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=544186944&chapter=1 I feel like this story is misplaced, since it uses, from what I saw after a brief look-over of a few chapters, a LOT of Pokemon elements. I realize the author is using a number of OCs and a different world, but wouldn't that make this an AU instead of an original?

Cool. Always glad to inspire.

Raymy: I already responded to you, but again, thank you for taking the time to read and review and demand still more of me. daqueenbee: Caimus is definitely adorable. Young, cute, spunky, and with that playful lovable-ness that I, at least, acquaint with puppies. As to Jaden's romance--I don't want to spoil it, but I'm sure it'll be fun to read. *grin* Thanks for the review! SneakySpy: Heheheh! I'm glad to know I can brighten your day; it's neat to be able to cheer people up and to make them happy. And my A/N.... *shakes head* Yeah, I still mean it. But I don't want to give spoilers, so I can't really say anything else, either. It's kind of frustrating, because there is plot, and I know it, and you readers don't, and I want to share but I don't want to ruin the surprises (and there are a good few planned). I'm glad you're still with me (or rather, with the story ) and I've got more in the works, but, given the recent strings of updates (main story AND side fics!), I'm not sure how soon I'll have more posted. Still, I'm trying, and thank you for reading, reviewing, and sticking with it despite the times life gets in the way of updates. Anon: Addicting, you say? I like that description; writing it is addicting, too. *tears hair out* I can't seem to add more than, maybe, one chapter in three to ANY story other than this, and lately, not even that. *sniffle* But I am happy you came across TWKH, too, and I hope to see you around again.

I adore my reviews, especially if they point out specifics that I should either keep doing or fix. A number of my fan fics have no reviews, but honestly, I get the feedback that I want for those from other people, generally people I met in the specific fandom and for whom I write the fics. My original work has been a blessing and very much fun for me. Within the first 50 views, I had a review. I call that a miracle; personally, I think I posted it at just the right time, because I started getting more in very short order, and I've looked around enough to know that that's rare, in any category. And I must be doing something right, because I had a total of nine reviews on a then two-chapter story by the end of the first month. Now it's up to five chapters, has a rating of 62, and 2,900-some hits. It has 15 reviews, which isn't all that much spread out (3 reviews per chapter), but I'm really delighted to read them because the reviewers are actually leaving opinions--so I know what keeps drawing them in. If I'm posting a work and looking for reviews, I know that it's my responsibility to make that connection with the readers, that intangible link that makes them want to review. If I'm not getting reviews on a story that I'm trying to get feedback on, then either I haven't asked in the right way or my story was lacking. And if that's the case, it's on me. (Well, either that or I posted in the wrong place, because popularity matters, too, but that would also be my fault.)

Pen Name: Cuzosu Story Link: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600105875&chapter=5 Prompt Used: phrase prompt, "Diagnosis boredom" Type of Fic: Chapter of ongoing story Fandom: Original, part of my TWKH main story Pairing: N/A Warnings: MiCD and...I think that's all.

I am reading the manga TAL. Again. 'cause I love the comedy.

Guilty indeed. Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to come out of your mouth right? Oh yeah, I was mangling words all day. It made for funny mistakes, but it did get irritating.

Not guilty. I either hang up or just don't answer. Ever been asked a really disturbing sex-related question by an older relative? My grandmother...she asked me, "So what's the appeal of bondage, anyway?" *facepalm* I am scarred, I tell you--scarred for life. Even if it does make a funny story to tell people, between their reactions and the universal understanding of why, exactly, it's so hard to get under my skin when sex is the topic under discussion.

I am eating breakfast when I ought to be in bed, since I only laid down two or three hours ago.

I'm not sure. I can't think of any off the top of my head. Well, maybe a feline of some sort, but that's a double-edged sword, because it's just as likely to be taken as calling them 'catty' and insinuating 'hissy fits' or some such. LOL! No worries; my man actually said something similar. He told me that he was glad I wasn't a twig like so many women aspire to be these days; he'd be scared to break me.

I shared this conversation not too long ago in a PM, so I figured I'd post it here. If anyone else has experiences of this nature to share, by all means, toss them in here! My grandpa-in-law is a muralist, a painter, and while he had known my family for years, he'd never seen my family really active at the same time. So when my dad and grandpa helped set up scaffolding for a mural, he had an epiphany. The next time he saw me, he felt the need to share it. "You know, seeing your dad and grandpa together like that, I realized something. Your dad, your grandpa, you, your whole paternal side of the family--you're all built like bulls." I had to ask. "Oh, so you're calling me a cow?" It took him a moment to figure out where that one came from, like it came from left field or something. "Yes, yes, that's it exactly." I just nodded. "Okay. Had to check." Like I was making sure he wasn't trying to be nice to me or anything. And this is just one reason I think phrasing is important: most females would not react well to being called a cow, even accidentally. He was lucky I knew what he meant; my paternal bloodline has really, really strong genetics and we tend to be sturdy, kind of stocky, with bodies that make hard work easier and broad shoulders that don't notice heavy loads as much as most. My dad and grandpa have, for most of my life, worn the exact same size clothes and shoes. Apart from obvious differences in age, they look like brothers. And I inherited the same kind of body structure, except as a female. So in that respect, I can understand why he inadvertently called me a cow; he meant it as an awed, admiring comment on just how much my family is built for hard/heavy work. Once he realized how his words could have offended, he (showing the remarkable acuity of humor my family considers delightful) played along. I like to think he took a lesson from it. At least he hasn't called me a cow again.

Some more quotes. "A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking." - Arthur Bloch "My body has certainly wandered a good deal, but I have an uneasy suspicion that my mind has not wandered enough." - Noel Coward "Intelligence is derived from two words - inter and ligere - inter meaning 'between' and ligere meaning 'to choose'. An intelligent person, therefore, is one who has learned 'to choose between'. He knows that good is better than evil, that confidence should supersede fear, that love is superior to hate, that gentleness is better than cruelty, forbearance than intolerance, compassion than arrogance, and that truth has more virtue than ignorance." - J. Martin Klotsche "One of the functions of intelligence is to take account of the dangers that come from trusting solely to the intelligence." - Lewis Mumford "I've had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am." - Gerald Ford "Thwackum was for doing justice, and leaving mercy to heaven." - Henry Fielding "I always felt from the beginning that you had to defend people you disliked and feared as well as those you admired." - Roger Baldwin "I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde "I have tried to know absolutely nothing about a great many things, and I have succeeded fairly well." - Robert Benchley "Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace." - Elbert Hubbard "Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." - Thomas Huxley "There are times I think I am not sure of something which I absolutely know." - Mongkut, King of Siam "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." - Henry Ford "Man is not weak - knowledge is more than equivalent to force. The master of mechanics laughs at strength." - Samuel Johnson "The simplest questions are the hardest to answer." - Northrop Frye (Such as, "What are you?" or, in the case of amnesia, "Who are you?") "They know enough to know how to learn." - Henry Adams "You are remembered for the rules you break." - Douglas MacArthur "A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napoleon Bonaparte "You don't learn to hold your own by standing on guard, but by attacking, and getting well hammered yourself." - George Bernard Shaw

I am fresh out of the shower.

I am watching Darker Than Black.

Well put. I love well-thought-out OCs in original works, and when a fan fiction writer can throw in an OC (or more) without ruining the story and/or the canon characters, I think it's wonderful to read. The problem is that it's truly difficult to create a balanced character for a minor role that shows up more than one very short time. That's where I see most writers mess up--hell, I've caught myself doing it a few times, too. That said, there are some stories with OCs in fairly major positions, sometimes paired with canon characters, and I can honestly say that I will be happy to read more of them. Or reread, as the case may be.

Sitting at the table for lunch, my man's grandpa says something about "dean bip".... His grandmother thought he said something about "ding bat".... What he meant was "bean dip"....