I'm annoyed.

Last year, I applied at 20_truths to claim Kiba/Hanabi. Then as luck would have it, it seemed as though the community had died right around that time (or at least the mods weren't responding to any of the claims anymore). I eventually wrote the fic on my own and posted it at my writing journal anyway. After checking back for a few months, I figured the comm dead for good. I was kinda sad because I liked the community's idea and would've wanted to claim other pairings or characters as well.

THEN just now as I was catching up on posts and such, I decided to check it on a whim to see what's become of the place. I trek over to the claims post and discovered that everyone else's claims were finally approved recently except for mine. They basically just skipped over my claim. WTF? Now I'm sitting here wondering if the mods hate me or something. Either that or they've decided that they won't approve me because I've already posted the fic at my journal and at ff.net (the rules didn't forbid it). But really, at least say something.

I'm really hoping it was just an honest mistake, because... well, freaking hells, I'm just annoyed.


Off topic: Two posts on the same day after almost three months of not updating- how about that?! xD

Help: Was it ever mentioned in Inuyasha that the Tenseiga can only be wielded by a full youkai? And if it was mentioned, do you happen to remember which manga chapter/volume it was covered in?

After some deliberation, I had decided to revive my Cycles of Destiny fanfic *gasp* from the dead even though it's been almost 4 years since I updated. And since I'm sorely behind in the series, I'm so not equipped to counter anyone's questions about certain aspects of the fic because...well, because I'm clueless. -_-;; So I'm on the process of revising and reposting the original 6 chapters...and this was one of the questions I got for my 2nd chapter:

I don't understand how he can use the sword of healing, I thought only a full youkai could, and that's why Inuyasha couldn't.

Anyone out there that's keeping up with Inuyasha- can you tell me if that's true?

My personal beliefs on the two swords in regards to their "barriers" have always been that it's not really blood/race specific...but rather an essence and the swords will then choose/accept its master accordingly. For example, the Tenseiga...didn't Toutousai always say that you must have compassion and the desire to save in order for the sword to accept its master? Same with the Tessaiga...I never really thought the barrier was about hanyou or full youkai blood, but rather about the will/desire/need to protect. If it's about blood, how would Inutaisho wield it- seeing that he's full youkai and all?

Note that I said my personal "beliefs"...that's because I had these beliefs long ago back when a whole lot wasn't yet mentioned about the swords, so they were more my theories than anything. But since I haven't kept up, these theories could've been shot to hell by Takahashi for all I know. :p Geh, I came back to this fic, telling myself that I would just write it according to how I had it planned without consideration to what's been covered later on...but I'm beginning to wonder if that's a good idea or not. T_T

Lately, I've taken to writing drabbles and fanfic snippets in an old battered notebook to kill time while commuting to/from work (that is, when I'm not falling asleep on the bus). It's kind of nice to get back into writing random stuff again- I miss having to write without really worrying about much. I wish PotW isn't currently giving me so much headache though...because it'd be nice to finish off that last 5% of chapter 19 so that I can update without waiting another year or something. >_>; I'm thinking of doing a cookie/drabble series project for PotW too, but I'll see. ^^;

But anyhow- my point (yes, I actually had one) is if any of you feel like chucking out unrefined ideas or some kind of fic challenge that I can tackle? I've been wanting to try my hand at different kinds of writing for different characters than the ones I've written before. Or something. I guess I just want something to mull over and daydream about while I'm commuting. All I've been writing is ShikaTema drabbles (some of which are posted at inkcanvas)...but I also want to write other stuff. I don't really know which of you are still reading fanfics or are interested in it enough to chuck out challenges at me, but I thought I'd ask anyway. ^^; Any pairing is fine, with the exception of yaoi/slash...just because I can't write those even if my life depended on it. -_-;; And obviously, it'd have to be from a fandom I'm familiar with though...like Naruto, Hana Yori Dango, NANA, or something like that. Or even for PotW. Whatever goes, I just want something to get my brain rolling. ^_^

On a completely irrelevant note, I just wanted to thank you for the responses you left for the last post. I didn't reply to them...because I couldn't formulate a reply to convey my thoughts in a proper way- but I wanted to let you know that the comments that were left brought a lot of peace for me. It calmed me down and made me step back a little to berate myself for being stupid again. *hugs you*

I MISS MY INTERNET!! *breathes* Now that I've gotten that out...I still don't have anything interesting to talk about. I had to be away from the internet for the past few weeks- and it was hard. T_T So for every free moment I have now, I'm running around trying to reply to emails and LJ comments, etc. ;_; Goodness, catching up is hell because it feels like I'd never finish the long list of backlogged stuff. So eee...for those of you who were waiting for a response from me about some thing or another, you'll hear from me very soon! :p

Other than that, I finally did add something to the writing journal I created for myself some weeks ago- and it's a NANA fic no less. *_* I saw the challenge prompt for (in parenthesis) yesterday and the next thing I knew, I got it written out in within 30 minutes. ^^; Yay for plotless and pointless slacking.

Anyhow...does anyone know the policy on writing fanfics inspired by fanart? Are you required to ask for permission if you happened across a fanart and want to write a fic based on the drawing? I'm really not very familiar with how the whole fanfiction community goes since I'm really one of those private writers...but I've kind of gotten curious with it all. :p

And now I'm going to go do some minor catching up with some overdue stuff before I crash for the night and continue with them plus the 1000+ emails tomorrow after work. Yes, I have over one thousand emails sitting in my inbox at the moment. Woe does not describe it. ;_;

I'm still not getting comment notifications. So if some of you had left me comments here or there and then didn't hear from me, it's most likely because I did not know you commented/replied/etc. =_=; If it's important and I missed you, leave me a message here...I'll be back to check this post often just in case. :p

Other than that, I've been so busy lately doing I don't know what. It's like all the little things crept up together all at once so I've been busier than usual. I'm thinking about withdrawing myself from some communities that I mod at because I don't think I'd do a good job if this goes on. I feel out of touch with most of you- so I'm really sorry if I haven't been around much as well. :(

That aside, look what I got as a little gift for updating my Pictures on the Wall fic! ^^ But yes, I still can't believe I actually updated Chapter 18 after over a year. I think I lost most of my readers though. I only have 2 new reviews. :p findingbliss, I don't know if you caught the update yet...but I thought of you while writing this chapter and if you've read it, then you know why. xD

One of these days, I'm going to make a real update with actual content. >_>;

Wahh...I'm so giddy right now, because someone just made my day at my HYD "Pictures on the Wall" fanfic's Yahoo ML. Apparently a reader of the fic wants to make a "doujinshi" comic out of my fic and is asking for my permission about it. *bubbles over and dies* I can't believe someone wants to do that! T_T I'm already in awe with the amount of fanart I get- so hearing this shocks me even more.

And of course she's also asking if I've abandoned the fic. ;_; I really should try to update it again. I get comments asking about it every so often- which amazes me because I figured most people had forgotten about it by now. But ahh, happy is me right now. *runs off to read my own fic so that I can try to update it*

ETA: Eee, I haven't replied to the girl yet but apparently she's already drawn a fanart of Nao. Lookie here! Chello, are you reading this?!! You know how excited I am right? T_T

I just found out that my Harry Potter D/G fanfic, Of Waning Hope won the Best One-Shot Fanfic award at a HP fanfic award site or something. *squeals* I didn't even know I was nominated until I got an email from someone saying that I won. So I'm all giddy now. I can't believe I won. :D It was the first fic I wrote for HP...and the only one that's completed out of all my fanfics since it's a one-shot so I was all proud of it. And now I've won!! <-- broken record syndrome here.

Right...but now I can hear reona_chan bugging me about my HYD fanfic, Pictures on the Wall, especially now that she seems to be rereading it again for the hundredth time. Yes yes, I know I so need to update it. >_<;; findingbliss is currently doing a "write a message for all your friends as though you're going to die tomorrow" and her message to me was:

"I MISS MO! T___T And Nao and Isao! What's gonna happen next? You left me hanging with that last cliffhanger! I'm dying to know who's Nao's brother. But as much as I want to read a new chapter of yours, of course, I really can't force you to write anything. Did you lose your muse? Or probably you're just not interested anymore? T___T And your icon skills are amazing. Your bases and gradients are really cool. I use them sometimes for my fanarts. Thank you!!!"

Eeps...and then Jennifer Kaio suddenly popped up at the PotW yahoo group asking for an update. *dies of guilt* Maybe it's all a sign for me to get moving. I feel like my butt's lit on fire and I need to write more of PotW soon. Gah, it's such a difficult chapter to write though. ;_;

Ooh! I was looking at all the fanart people drew for Potw- drooling over this one again. XD But my question is...does anyone know who the characters in this picture is? The girl who did the collage for my fic told me that she didn't draw it herself...but rather, she found pictures from different manga that she thought reminded her of my characters and then put them together though she doesn't remember from where. I've been curious ever since about who those people are though. Do you guys recognize any of them? (aside from the actual Makino and Yuki in the background of course). :p