EveKnight75

Because they aren't given enough money to not suck. Why?

Because we're hormonal freaks. Why?

Because there's a place for everything and everything in its place. Why?

Because order is overrated. Why?

Because humankind is narcissistic by its very nature. Why?

Never say you've hit your peak. It's creative blasphemy. You can't know what your peak is until you've hit the slump afterwards and stay in that slump for a significant amount of time. As for a testing audience. don't post the chapters online on any public site. You'll just have a potential copyright suit on your hands afterwards. I think it's a better idea to have someone you know and trust in real life to criticize your work, if you want someone to comment before you mail it to the publishing companies. As it is, AFF isn't exactly full of constructive critics. I'll go read some of your fics and leave concrit, if you like. Based on that, I can send you a PM later, commenting on what I think about your overall writing. Would that help?

Because roughly have the world's population don't have them. Why?

I use a Yahoo! account for fanfiction purposes, and fanfiction only. My personal friends and family don't have that address, except for my sister and a few of my friends who actually read my fics because they love my storytelling abilities. Even then, they respect my rule and don't contact me through Yahoo!. Nearly all of my friends and family members have a Hotmail account. This is why I use a Hotmail account to keep in touch with them. I used to have AIM at one point, but I rarely used it and ended up deleting it. Never did stick around long enough to discover the psychos. As for Messenger, I rarely appear online. When I chat, it's only with people I'm sure I can trust, even if I don't know them in person. For example, if someone from this forum decided to add me and chat, I'd be OK with it, because I'm relatively familiar with you guys now, and I'm sure you're sane and won't try to stalk or harass me. I've never been into RPing. I write stories, I act in plays often, but I never developed a taste for role-playing online. Odd, but true. Even then, I couldn't be roped into RPing or collaborating on a fic with someone unless I've seen their work before on a public site. Beta-ing is different - I'd do that for nearly anyone in my smaller fandoms, because there's such a small number of people available and I like to help others. Really, the only time I've encountered a problem was when I started receiving hate mail for one of my fics. Something about Jesus hating me and burning in hell because I'm a sick freak who needs to see a shrink. Oh, well. I deleted the account because blocking didn't work with this person. I'm opening the new account soon and Yahoo! has been alerted of the problem and will try to trace the sender next time. I adhere to Internet safety rules pretty strongly. I end up doing a good job remembering them because I have a 12-year-old sister and it's my job to make sure she's safe online. The best way to do that is to set an example and hope she follows it.

Because you have a family history of mental illness. Why?

It takes a sense of humor to get through life. Why?

This lists all the main story codes at AFF and what they mean.

There are many idiots in the world who lack an ability to make logical deductions in addition to being stupid. Many ot these idiots have access to the internet. Out of those idiots, there are many who read fanfiction. The bright side: only a handful of them know how to use the review function. I agree that we shouldn't have to label every last little detail. We want people to actually read the fic itself. However, there are times when it's just safer to spell it out before-hand. Just as insurance against the few idiots who do know how to use the review function and know how to flame in chatspeak and emoticons. I'm not worried about them, but there are also plenty of articulate people who lack an ability to make logical deductions. There are a higher number of articulate clueless people out there who manage to master the review function. As for something such as F/F pairings, sometimes it may be a good idea to name the pairing itself, especially if there are popular opposing F/F ships within the fandom. For example, there's actually a fair number of people out there arguing between Ginny/Hermione and Ginny/Luna. Not quite as many people as Harry/Draco vs. Harry/Tom, but still a fairly large number. Let's say you write a F/F smutfic where you only mention Ginny in the summary. How important is the element of surprise when weighed against the risk of inadvertent misleading? If the element of surprise is a huge factor in how well the fic plays out, then take the risk, but in such a way that you keep within site rules. If the flames come, then prepare to take them in stride, because not all of them will be uncalled for. What I mean by that is, if someone flames the concept of lesbianism when you tag F/F, go ahead and defend yourself. If the women involved are 10 years apart in age and it squicks someone, they have a right to complain if you didn't put an age gap warning in there. If they plain don't like the specific pairing, they have a right to state that, but it may not be fair of them to let it cloud their judgement of the writing quality (even though many people do that). Um, I'm not sure if I stated that clearly, but I hope it's at least comprehensible. Personally, I feel that it's better to state the main pairings in the summary, and state minor pairings in the disclaimer of a chapter if the pairing is featured in the specific chapter. If there's any squick that's frequent in the fic, put it in the summary. If it's one instance, put the warning at the top of the chapter. That's the best solution I can find for keeping within the summary limit for a long fic while adhering to the rule about warnings in advance. If it's something like two different homosexual couples being featured in two different chapters of a ten-chapter fic, put Homo in the summary, and list the pairing above the chapter.

I'm gonna have to agree with Melody on that. It would be nice to have an area where people recommend good fanfiction for a change. Antidotes on GAFF isn't active enough. Still, everyone has discerning tastes, so it's not that great an idea to put one person in charge of judging what's good and what's not. Having a group of people judge on different factors is a good idea. Maybe you could leave at least one spot open for a special guest critic who specializes in a different area that relates directly to the fic. How about having specific positions with varying critics? For example, there could be one position called "Pairing Veteran", where someone who has read the pairing for a long time and is known for concrit can comment on how the pairing is handled in a particular fic both in general and as opposed to most other fics with the same pairing. Obviously, you'd have a different critic in the same position for Ron/Hermione and Harry/Hermione, depending on the fic being reviewed. I, for one, like R/Hr, but there are just too many fics out there that handle the pairing in an unrealistic manner, and I get fed up with it. The only reason I don't support H/Hr is because there are less fics that handle it well in comparison to R/Hr, and that's sad, considering the numbers. I also like Draco/Ginny, but I've only read two where they're both IC and manage to fall for each other in a believable manner. Yes, a "Pairing Veteran" would be nice. A guest critic could be introduced for a number of different reasons. Suppose you have a fic that centers around a brother-sister couple who move and take up new identities. The fic is excellent because it makes you feel for them even if you don't approve of incest, and it makes the relationship rocky rather than simple (too many fics make incest easy, but it's not). Along comes a reader who knows a lot about the R v. Ball case (Britain, 1911). In this case, a seemingly average married couple, who were living together happily with their healthy daughter, paid the bills, and had a fairly respectable reputation in their neighborhood, were arrested by the police. The reason: they were actually brother and sister. Someone who knows a lot about this case and read the fic could come on as a panel guest to draw parallels between the fic and the case, thus discussing how realistically incest was handled in the fic. Once again, excellent idea, Melody. However, there would be a major problem with quality control. Which critics can be trusted to give a thorough and dependable review in their area of expertise? Who knows? The best candidates would be members of sites that tear apart badfic, because we know for a fact that they're critical. We'd have to take those critics and cross-reference them with the fandoms they write in. If that critic has repeatedly left constructive criticism on both good and bad fics in their fandoms, then we know that we've found an eligible panelist. Who's willing to go to all of that trouble to find people who can truly spot the goodfics? Your other idea is very feasible. After the Favorites list is reintroduced, we can have special links to our own signed reviews on the review page of the fic. The reviews could point out what the member liked about the fic and why it's on the Favorites list. It's a matter of how well Dark Avenger could pull it off.

LONG POST AHEAD! I've only posted in 2 fandoms on AFF so far, and they're both relatively small. Many of my reviews consist of "OMG, I luv it! Update soon, K?". Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that there are people reviewing the fic, and that there are so many who love it, but when I read a review like this, I have to wonder whether they like the fic itself or whether they're simply giving a positive rating based on the pairing (which is popular). My favorite review so far is this one: Sorry for not reviewing the fic in a long time. Here goes: I would have posted in the forum, but I can't because I'm not a member. I won't sign up because I'm more of a technical writer than I am a creative writer. If you want, I'll leave an e-mail address on AFF once it comes back up. I think that at this point, it would be very hard indeed to keep Martin and Diana sufficiently IC while developing it into a believable AU. Very few people could pull it off. However, you have displayed the talent, skill, patience, and respect for canon that it takes to pull this off. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job. I actually had to read "Domestic" twice for it to sink in. Martin putting away his clothes and Diana lounging around in her underwear seems off. The second time around, I noticed that it does tap into certain personality traits that aren't often explored on the show, but have been established in canon. Thus, they are IC. Martin does have moments where he tries to get along with Diana or give her some comfort as opposed to antagonizing her. Diana has a wild side, and she does tend to be logical to a fault. Judging by your updating speed and the quality of your work, I'll hazard a guess and say that you have "Writer's Syndrome". In that case, don't let the first sentence in the previous paragraph give you a panic attack. The flow is relatively smooth and the pacing is fine. Just keep developing the relationship this slowly and you'll do fine. As for this chapter and the whole question of characterization: slow and steady. Make sure to use subtle clarification for their actions in future chapters, and space out the character developments. Also, develop them by degrees. Martin was fine, but Diana might have been over the top. I suspect that there's an invisible third party present, as there recurringly is. Once again, no panic attacks please. There's negative concrit mixed in there, but all of it is meant well, and you're someone who strikes me as capable of becoming a professional author. Consider this a taste of what is to come in real life if you choose to follow that path. Don't worry about rushing your chapters. Take your time and post the chapters once you feel that they're good enough. I'd also like to wish you good luck on your exams and finishing off your final projects. I know that the first year of university is tough. I should know - it's my first year too. Hopefully, you'll look back on your first year and have loved the whole experience. I've enjoyed mine so far. Sorry for the long review. I wanted to make up for not reviewing in such a long time. -sweetblood The last chapter I wrote, I was insecure about characterization. I was finally starting to develop the main characters, but I wasn't sure if I kept them effectively IC. This is why I stated this in a brief AN at the top and asked people to give concrit on characterization. I mean, there are definitely criticisms that aren't exactly praise, but I wish she didn't apologize so much. She must have been blasted by others for providing concrit. Me? I'm just re-reading this several times in awe. I just find it so amazing that someone would take so much time and care in reading my fic and providing such a thorough review addressing the issue that I'm worried about. On top of that, she somehow managed to figure out that I have Writer's Syndome. Wow. This person has reviewed nearly every chapter of every fic I have posted so far, and she always does a good job. This, however, is the first time she has ever given me criticism that isn't positive, and she does an even better job. Here's another review that actually tells me I'm doing a good job: ...ew...ugh i feel bad for them. Hopefully something happens to get them out of it. I like the story though. -Red XIII's Twin Apparently he doesn't like the pairing. However, he does like the fic. I assume that this is a sign of objective judgement. He didn't like the pairing so he chose to judge it based on other factors, which I assume would be factors related to writing style. Now for the flame I've received: Lololol. Moronic. I would stop writing if I were you. -Anon Is there something wrong with me if this doesn't bother me, but rather I feel relieved that the flamer obviously knows normal English? Now for the other fic. I feel a little guilty for having found the sex scene kinda hot...I'm not a fan of underage sex, but you wrote it realistically enough that it didn't turn my stomach. XD This was pretty amusing at points, too, especially Lucy's plan totally failing on her. And your characterization of Lucy was...unexpected. My interpretation of her is quite different. -Sara Jaye She generally doesn't like the themes that were involved in this fic. Yet she liked the fic to the point that one of her squicks actually started to arouse her. And that last comment was, to a degree, a euphemism. I've read her fic, and she has a positive characterization of Lucy as opposed to my negative one. This means that there were many main factors in the fic that ought to have earned a negative review and rating, yet she gave me a positive review and rated it a 5. At least, I think it was her, because the first rating and review for the fic came at the same time. That's when I knew I that the high rating was meaningful. All in all, I think that reviews and ratings have similar advantages and disadvantages. There are many instances where a review or rating is a poor reflection on the story itself, even when it is placed honestly. Not everyone who reads fanfiction has discerning tastes. Then there are those who rate/review on only one factor, either because it's the only factor they care about, or because it's the only factor they feel qualified to judge. There are people out there who read a fic and don't review because they don't feel that they have the right words. Maybe they like the fic and are a bit overwhelmed by the quality. Maybe they're shy about their English, because it's not their first language. If that's the case, and they rate it instead to show that they have read it and do want to give an opinion, I appreciate that. There are times when I read fics in Spanish/French, rate it, but don't review it. Why? Because the language is so good that I'd feel stupid reviewing in the same language, and perhaps my concrit would come across wrong because I used improper grammar or vocabulary. I just don't feel right giving simple reviews such as "Je l'aime. C'est une fic excellente." or "Me gustó esta fic muchísimo. Fue bien escrito. Soy una fan enorme de X/Y." The thing is, I know reviews like these are well-meant, but after the nth time, the English versions of them mildly irritate me. I wish they didn't, but they do. When I give a review like that, I can't help but wonder if it will irritate the author. I'm yet another person who believes that no one should be allowed to rate one's own fic. The problem with that is that someone can easily rate one's own fic while logged off even if there were a system that prevented members from rating themselves while logged on. I'm going to stick to my system, because it rarely steers me wrong. I read the summary and the reviews. If the summary is something like "PLZ READ" and nothing else, forget it. If it's something like "I was bored", "Nothing else to do", "not that good", etc, then I want to know why you bothered to post the fic in the first place. If there's heavy chatspeak, then I'm not visiting that room. If the spelling and grammar is so bad that I can't decipher it, then I'm not going to give myself a potential headache. However, if I can decipher it, I'll give it a go. There have been times where a potentially good story has been written by someone who's not that good at English, and I want to see if an offer of a beta helps. I'll also go easy on "First Fic," provided that the rest of the summary is good, and the reviews give me the impression of a fic worth reading. The reviews are harder to work with. There are very few concrits out there. If I can find a fic with even one positive concrit, I'll give it a go. If it's gushing praise with one harsh (and I mean callous) concrit, I'll read it to see if it's GAFF material. There have been times when the fic is not that great but definitely reedemable, and the harsh concritic is just a bit too full of it and is actually an eloquent flamer as opposed to a negative concritic (there's a fine line there). Then there are other times where the fic merits the harsh review, so I'll bring it to GAFF, get the worst out of my system, and leave a gentle negative concrit. With the rating system as it is now, I can't fully trust it unless the rating matches the reviews. I know that very few people do both, and most opt for one or the other. Still, a 3-star rating should have mixed reviews, a 1-star should have mostly negative reviews, and a 5-star should have mostly positive reviews. If the rating is much higher than the reviews claim, I'm gonna have to go with the reviews. I also agree that a multiple rating system would be really nice. How about a rating system like this one: Overall Rating: Fetishes: -(list fetishes here) Language: -terminology (sex words, etc.) -swearing/cursing -spelling/grammar Pairings: (list pairings here. Also include Mult.) Writing style: -Description -Pacing -Characterization -Settings -Plot If there is anything else you'd like to add, please do so in the following field. The rating system could range from 1-5 and include a radio button for "No Rating". Anything else that's added as comments in the rating box could be transferred to reviews. This way, people can rate in the areas where they actually have an opinion. Also, when presented with a form like this, most people tend to use phrases instead of chatspeak or attempting full sentences, and give comments on specific things, rather than a general "I like it.". The result: not the best ratings or reviews, but certainly a better idea of how we're doing in each area, which is something I'm sure many of us want to know when we're writing. Of course, it's just a suggestion. I realize that implementing a rating system like this is rather complicated, so it's really up to the mods.

Recently, a lot of us have admitted that we started visiting AFF or other adult sites before our 18th birthday. Sure, we're legal now. Sure, a lot of us were smart enough not to get caught. Still, everyone has a different reason for coming here underage, and everyone participated in different ways to different degrees. I discovered AFF way back in 2000, when I was 13. I was about to move back to North America, and I wanted to look up information on any TV shows which I used to watch (I had been living on the Indian subcontinent for 2 1/2 years). I ended up discovering FanFiction.Net. Frankly, the fics irritated me because of the childish quality of the writing and the atrocious spelling and grammar. Once I figured out how to review, I kept leaving reviews on the spelling and grammar under different guest names (one for each fandom). Eventually, someone led me to AFF, under the mistaken belief that I was actually an adult. Naive person that I am, I honestly believed that the writing quality would be better because the stuff would be written by adults. An 18-year-old must have better writing skills and a relatively clear grasp on spelling and grammar, right? Right? Wrong! Although the sheer number of badfics were nowhere near as close as that of FFN, there were still plenty of fics written in bad English. I chose to steer clear of the Erotica section, but I still learned a lot about fictional sex, different fetishes, and different types of RL sexual deviations. I decided to stick to both sites while looking for professional sites representing the shows I was looking up. Eventually, I got hooked on fanfiction. By the time I was 14, I had learned how to write better concrit, commenting on plot, characterization, and relation to cancn, as well as spelling and grammar. I started working as a beta reader at the age of 15. I started working with the R-rated fics on FFN at 16. However, I only visited AFF. I never rated a fic or left a review, no matter how often I wanted to concrit. I was already doing something naughty and I wasn't about to test my limits. I didn't actually create an account until I was 18. One night, I was suffering from a fever and insomnia while recovering from having my wisdom teeth pulled out (first surgery). So there I was, at 2 in the morning, hyped up on several different meds while worrying about my first ever university assignment. I was also doing beta work for some pretty crappily written fics at the time. I don't clearly remember what happened. All I know is that the next day I ended up getting reviews in my inbox for a fic I had apparently posted. I do a backtrack. The fic is on my hard drive on OpenOffice. So I had written it after all. I had also created a new e-mail account, and an account on both FFN and AFF, all under the same pen-name, one that I like. That fic is the only complete one that I have posted, it being a one-shot. I've now figured out several things. There's a reason why some of the greatest writers in the world were drug addicts. Honestly, I don't think I have the guts to write erotica well when I'm sober. Another thing is that I had been contemplating writing fics as a form of revenge for all the crap I have to read, just to show the world that not all fanfiction has to be utter crap, and there are fanfiction writers out there who know how to work with the English language. I just didn't go through with it until I was out of it. I guess I was just lucky that I was already 18 when I finally created a fanfiction account for the first time. I know that it seems odd, seeing as how I had been a beta for over a year, but I never posted my own pieces, so I never saw the point. That, and I wanted to create an AFF account, so I didn't want to dangle the proverbial carrot in front of myself. Either way, I realize that my reasons for visiting AFF aren't conventional. I mean, I could have just stuck to books, right? Still, I wanted to read fiction written by amateurs, and I wanted to see how other fans reacted to the same literature that I liked. AFF is also largely responsible for opening up my mind and allowing my intellect to grow. I've never liked PWP - I still don't. I enjoy erotica now, but didn't start enjoying it until I was 16. However, once I discovered concepts like necrophilia and incest, I actually wanted to learn more. I mean, incest is featured in royal history, especially Egypt, as well as Greek mythology. Yet, teachers always skipped over that part, and I wanted to know why. I read the stuff on AFF, and did separate research on these and other sexual deviations. It taught me to open my mind to other worlds, and not be so judgemental about people who were different from me. It also taught me the difference between real gays and fictional gays. I used to steer clear of gay people as a kid because that's what society taught me to do. AFF helped me question ths attitude, and once I actually got to know a few gay people, I realized that they can be some of the nicest people in the world. Even now, AFF keeps provoking me to research sexual deviations, and how they apply to real life. I'm also the type of person who astonishes people by being very open to different concepts, and it shows because I have friends who are nerds, who are shopaholics, and who are goths. I was the only person in my family who supported my cousin marrying a white Protestant, and managed to bring everyone else around by bringing up our own history (Aryan/Dravidian, Hindu/Muslim). I had this information a long time ago and I'd like to thank the xeno fics I have read. It looks like I'm babbling a little too much here, and getting a bit too deep, so let's wrap up this post. I first visited AFF when I was 13, but I didn't participate actively until I was 18. I realize that it was illegal, but I don't regret it. I've made my confession, and if I had a second choice, I'd click on the "Yes" button at that tender age all over again. Why? Because despite what popular belief is, this site helped me grow up in a positive way, and I don't think I would be quite as happy with the adult I would have become if I had chosen to be a good girl and turn back at my own peril.

In most cases, I want to be informed of the pairing(s) in a fic. Especially if the pairing is unconventional, central to the fic, or is mentioned within a fic for a fair part of it. If it's a conventional pairing that's only mentioned in passing once, then I don't care because anyone can easily skip over it. For example, if the fic is about a developing relationship between Draco and Ginny, then the author has to put D/G in the summary. If a side plot involves this pairing, then put D/G in the summary, because otherwise I'll keep going throughout the whole thing, even if it is concentrated on something else. Let's go back to the first fic example. If R/Hr is mentioned just once, skip it in the summary because it's not necessary. If R/Hr is mentioned several times and it's more than 3 seconds in passing, then it's probably a good idea to mention R/Hr in the summary, and not just because of the R/Hr vs. H/Hr battle going on in the fandom which often manifests itself in the D/G section of the fandom. I once remember reading a Hagrid/Ginny fic, but I didn't find out until the end because the pairing was not mentioned in the summary. Ron/Ginny was mentioned in the summary. Basically, Ginny is in bed with her lover and is recounting her sexual history with Ron to him (though why she would do that is beyond me). The way it's worded, you know that her lover at the moment isn't Ron. She and her lover do have sex, but it's not explicit. At the very end, we find out that her lover is Hagrid. All right, the Hagrid/Ginny mention is very brief in passing, despite the fact that they're in bed together the whole time. I mean, the majority of the fic is her history with Ron, which is why it makes perfect sense to include Ron/Ginny in the summary. However, the fact that the present pairing is so unconventional is reason enough to include the pairing in the summary. I mean, if her lover was Harry, Draco, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Blaise, etc. (take your pick, people), I don't think it would have bothered me as much, seeing as how these pairings are reasonable and/or popular on some level, and having it mentioned in brief passing wouldn't have bothered me, even if it was a surprise. Come to think of it, I think if it was Luna/Ginny instead, the whole "recounting an incestuous history" would have made some sense to me. I mean, Luna strikes me as the type of person who'd want to know and wouldn't judge. The only warning I'd want in that case would be F/F without having to mention the specific pairing.

It's happened to me, too. There are times when they forget to put in the pairing, because it's a popular pairing and they take it for granted that everyone will automatically know when they click on the link. Umm...no. That's not how it works. Even if it is a popular pairing, there might be someone out there who's not a fan of the pairing and clicked on the link in hope of finding something different. On the other hand, it might not be a usual pairing, but because the writer forgot to put the pairing in the summary, the readers assume it's the usual pairing and get pissed off when they find out that it's not (this happens often in somewhat smaller fandoms). I mean, it wouldn't kill the author to put the pairing in the summary. Even the initials help somewhat. I mean, if the person put in M/D, and the M stood for Marvin rather than Martin, I could pass it off as a misunderstanding despite the fact that Martin/Diana is the norm in the fandom, especially if the summary was long and there wasn't much room to type in full names. It shows that the author made an attempt to tell us about the pairing, and I can tell the author to use Mv for Marvin next time to make things easier. No problem. However, if the author uses a lame excuse such as the summary was too long, and there was only enough room for 2 more characters so they didn't mention the pairing, I'd tell them to at least put a note within the fic before starting the actual story. You know, somewhere near the disclaimer where the warnings usually are. This brings up another question: If you put the specific pairings in the summary, does it become necessary to put in the het/slash/femmeslash warnings? I mean, if the main pairing is a male and a female that are well-known characters, is it necessary to put in a M/F tag in the summary as well?

I try to be very careful with my labels, and put in the ones that I think are likely to apply. If I end up incorporating something new into the fic, that I didn't expect to put in there before, then I'll edit the summary before adding the chapter. There are also times when a label doesn't quite match what's going on in the story, or there's something graphic in the story for which you can't find a definitive label. With one fic, I put an incest label on it because it centers around a sexual relationship between stepsiblings. I got bombarded with reviews claiming that it wasn't incest because they weren't related, and according to the fic, they met as teens. Eventually, I changed it to "stepcest" (a term I made up), and the complaints stopped coming. I mean, now that I think about it, it's not full-out incest, but the relationship itself would likely disturb some people and does merit a label or warning of some sort. I also wrote a disturbing investigation scene in one chapter, and the chapter was pulled off AFF, because there was no label for it. Basically, the two investigators end up examining their parents who are frozen in the middle of a sexual act (supernatural victims), and they're naked. The investigators are completely uncomfortable with this, but they do their job. The scene isn't detailed or long, but it's there. Well, I had no idea which label it could possibly merit, so I put the note "extra rating warnings in disclaimer" in the summary, then tried my best to explain why the scene would merit an adult rating, without actually explaining specifically what happens in the scene. So far, no complaints about the scene. In fact, one of the reviewers actually thought the scene was cool (review got lost), so I just read it and went "whew" because keeping that scene in the fic made me a bit nervous. The thing is, that working with warning labels isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. Neither is trying to write a warning without giving away the actual events (I want them to find that out by reading the fic). However, when a fic crosses the line that separates a general rating from an adult rating, there should be warnings about the content within the fic that warrant the adult rating. That way, the reader can decide whether or not s/he may be able to handle the fic itself. Honestly, the chapter I'm working on right now for one of my fics includes a gay bellhop who overtly checks out a half-naked guy when delivering dinner to his room. Nothing happens, because the guy is there with his "wife" and they're on their "honeymoon". Even if nothing happens, I'll add "hints of M/M" to the summary, because for all I know, one of the readers may be homophobic, and if I get a negative review based on that one part, I'd be just as much at fault for not giving a warning, even if the scene didn't develop into anything remotely adult. However, if I get a flame going "eew, their stepsibs, ur sick" for that fic, I'll have every right to sit there, laugh my head off, save it to my hard drive, delete it from the review page, then keep going with that fic. I'll just read the review afterwards every time I need a good laugh. Honestly, the summary has "Teen stepsiblings... undercover as newlyweds... stepcest... R" in it. How much more obvious can one get? Only an idiot would not have expected something sexual to occur between them at one point, whether it be a kiss on the lips or the act itself. I realize I can't prevent an idiot from reading and reviewing my fics. It's out there for everyone to view. But if I took all the necessary precautions when it came to warnings, then I've done my job, and can only hope for the best.

I couldn't stand Sailor Moon either when I was a kid. I mean, more than anything, I wanted to watch female superheroes when I was 5 years old, but I hated that show so much. No, I stuck to Power Rangers, which was still passably good back then. Honestly, that show seems to get worse with every new version they introduce. Give me the Powerpuff Girls any day of the week.

There's usually only one or two payphones around, and they're usually located in the main entrance hallway, which is pretty far away from the classrooms. One wouldn't have enough time to make a call between classes, and the noise level would be too high during lunch time and after school to hear someone properly. So yes, there are payphones, but they're not much good for an actual emergency, seeing as how one usually gets in trouble for running out of the classroom while the teacher is talking. I remember one kid running out in the middle of class, coming back with mild traces of bile on his shirt, and getting detention for running out in the middle of a lecture. He threw up! And in the bathroom, no less! Isn't that better than the trash can? Isn't that an extremely valid excuse to run out of the room? I also remember another time when I just had a feeling that something was wrong, so I went down to the main hall during my free period to call my mom. Someone in the office sees me, recognizes me, and pulls me in. And then, "By the way, we got a call from your sister's school an hour ago. Apparently, she started crying in the middle of class for no reason. Your mom wasn't answering so they called here to contact you. The loudspeaker in your classroom isn't working, so we couldn't page you." Our dad had died 6 weeks ago and they were doing a Father's Day assignment. That's a pretty good reason to burst out into tears. I had nearly forgotten that Father's Day was coming up, but now I knew what that nagging feeling was. What I want to know is why the office didn't send someone up in person. If I hadn't walked past the office, I wouldn't have found out until I picked her up from school (which was right across the street from mine). I just have no faith in the system anymore. Melody's right about one thing, though. There's always several idiots who abuse the privilege and ruin it for the rest of us. We had a vending machine ban at one point. We couldn't enter the library during a free period unless we showed our timetable and ID to the librarian as proof, because too many kids skipped a period and hung out at the library lounge with the "free period" excuse (our library lounge had some of the most comfy chairs I have ever sat on). It was ridiculous. And another thing is, the school does use the black and white policy and try to disguise it as fair play. We receive contracts at the beginning of the year that make us promise that we won't use school computers for personal use, but rather, academic research. If they catch 3 kids within the first month violating the contract, no one else gets to use the computers unless their teacher booked them for that period, for the rest of the year. And one time, they managed to mess up with me. I was researching "sexual tension between teen stepsiblings during the initial stages of a combined family" for psychology, and used the computers in the library during my free period. I was on a site that referenced popular literature and media (such as The Brady Bunch and Marmalade Boy), the librarian saw, and automatically assumed that I was goofing off by reading up on my favorite TV shows and animes. I don't even like anime! (But I'll admit to liking stepcest fiction, but only here ). The librarian would not listen, not even after I brought my psychology teacher into the whole mess to explain things. Eventually, the vice principal got involved before the ban was lifted for the entire school. And all the while, I'm thinking, Was this trip really necessary? Never used the library's computers again after that, unless I was forced to because my class was booked. At least the librarian had the good grace to look sheepish whenever she saw me after that incident. Now where was I? Oh yeah, black and white in disguise. During my senior year of high school, the same contract policy was enacted for cellphones. Apparently, the school finally admitted that even thought there were many students who were rude about cellphone use, there were many more who were polite and responsible about it. So sign a contract and stick to it. They managed to ease up on the computer contract and enforce it in a fair manner (the psych incident was my junior year). Surprisingly, they played fair with the cellphone contract, too. Maybe they really are improving, but I have no way of telling, because I have had no news about my high school after I graduated and we moved.

OH. MY. GOD. How could I forget about I Love Lucy? I love that show! We used to have TVLand but there's been issues with the signal on that channel. In fact, I used to watch The Brady Bunch, Batman, and Green Acres on TVLand and DejaView (signal problems on all the classics channels). I also watch Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies, and I Dream of Jeannie. I already mentioned the Brady Bunch, but I also read Batman fanfiction. Bewitched and Jeannie have mildly interesting fanfiction, but Hillbilllies and Lucy don't. I'll go to the "other site", read Green Acres fics, and report back to you.

Yes, there's a lot of people who need to be forced to take lessons in cell phone etiquette. If they irritate you in public with their cellphone use, you have a right to approach them and point it out in a polite manner. It usually works for me when someone's annoying me. Another thing is, the paging system no longer works. A lot of parents complain because the school doesn't pass on the message to the student. Those who have that responsibility are paid crap so they don't bother to do the job right, even if the message is important. One of my friends had her mom end up in the hospital due to a heart attack. Her dad called but the school didn't page her. Her mom died a few hours later while she was still in school. After that, her dad gave her a cell phone and told her to check the messages in-between classes, because Allah knows that he couldn't trust the school to do anything right. And hers isn't the only high school. Many public high schools have the same problem, and many parents make the same complaint if they ask to have messages paged often enough. Sure, the messages aren't usually as important as the one in the above example, but they're still important. And unless the schools learn to do their job right, there really isn't much of an alternative outside of cellphones. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true.

I'm East Indian. Well, mostly. My paternal grandparents immigrated to Bangladesh from east India during the religious wars, so the blood is East Indian. My maternal grandfather was from west Bengal but he had a lot of Pakistani heritage. The same applies to my maternal grandmother, but she looked Pakistani as opposed to Bengali. As far as I know, my dad's side of the family came to Bangladesh to escape religious persecution. My mom's side of the family has a strong Pakistani background but they had to stop speaking Urdu because they didn't want to be killed by a mob during the Bangladeshi independence war. As a result, my older aunts/uncles and my maternal great-aunts/uncles speak Urdu, my paternal great-aunts/uncles speak Hindi, every relative in my grandparents' generation speaks better English than my cousins in Bangladesh, and my cousins in Bangladesh speak Hindi thanks to cable TV. Don't worry, they all speak Bengali. So in that respect, I guess I can get away with Indian subcontinent as an answer. But I can't. See, the thing is, our coloring is unusual. I have red hair and green eyes, making me one of the few natural redheads on the planet with beige skin. My sister has dark blonde hair and hazel-gold eyes. My great-uncle (by blood) has blue eyes. My mom and her siblings all have reddish hair (one of my uncles has bright red hair). My dad's sisters are both blonde and he himself had gold eyes. I'm pretty sure that there's European blood in there, because Kashmiri just doesn't seem to cut it with our features and coloring. My great-uncle confessed that it likely holds true for both sides of my family, but the records would have been either hidden or destroyed for safety reasons. You know what else is funny? As far as the U.S. and Canada goes, a lot of people mistake us for Mexican. (That is, myself, my sister, and our cousins on both sides). It was especially bad back in N.Y.C. I decided to learn Spanish, became fluent in it, then messed around with people's heads just for the heck of it. Even then, I learned Spanish not out of spite, but because I sincerely wanted to learn it. I love learning new languages and I'm pretty good at it. So I guess that makes it OK. I suppose that my life might have been simpler if people didn't make an issue about ethnicity. God knows that plenty of us have a convoluted ethnic background. But then again, I don't think I would have taken the trouble to find out about my ethnic background and discover an interesting family history. I mean, my cousins in Bangladesh don't know much about theirs because they never bothered to ask, but my cousins in North America know plenty about theirs, because their ethnicity came into question. Honestly, I wish that people wouldn't judge others based on something as miniscule as skin color. I wish that they wouldn't judge by ethnicity either, but I don't find ethnicity to be a miniscule thing. Ethnicity is a combination of many different factors, including important things such as culture, history, geography, and genetics. (Nothing offensive meant by that last part).

Mike256bit: I've been forced to watch many different animes, Naruto being on that long list. StoryJunkie: Truth be told, I have a very hard time stomaching "the good guys always win" concept in American series. Most of the time, I can't help but sympathize with the bad guys simply because the hero tends to win on sheer dumb luck. I mean, sure the villain is evil, but at least s/he tends to be hard-working and intelligent, and I can't help but respect that.

Thank goodness I never developed a habit of cursing out loud. I also tend to be a fairly level-headed person. Maybe I'll pass this list on to a certain someone I know who's been having a hard time getting his foot out of his mouth. Pixagi, your mother is a very wise woman indeed.