How to Haunt

by SabastianScott

To put it simply, this is a story about, well, writing stories! General things like paragraphs to each genre with examples (which might not be the best, bare with me) of each. To learn more about writing in general with particular focus on Ghost Hunt, please proceed to the story!

Come one, come all! I have made this in the hopes that maybe I can get rid of some of the files on my computer… they aren't so big a problem yet, but I'm not about to let it!

I'm not sure which ones I'll give up for 'adoption'. It's not that I mind it, per say, it's that I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing… I suppose I'm an 'open adoption' person… so while I figure out my inner conflictions, I'm made this.

I present to you… My guide on How to Haunt for New Ghosts. New Ghosts referring to us Ghost Hunt fans, of course. The fact of whether or not you are alive, dead, or anywhere in-between has nothing to do with your ability to use this guide.

It's specified to Ghost Hunt… since it's the one fandom I'm most familiar with… but you can probably use it for other fandoms and for original stories. Well, maybe.

Just in case- I don't own Ghost Hunt.

Let's begin!

For general story consensus… Genres—how to work with each in Ghost Hunt (with examples). I am going to assume you know basic plot stuff like protagonist, main character, hero, antagonist, villain, companions, damsels or dudes in distress… very simple stuff.

I cannot promise the examples are good. For one, I'm not particularly caring for them since I made them basically to fit what I needed… two, I'm not good enough nor have a broad enough understanding of each topic to really make these shiny nice stories… honestly, some of them are probably going to suck.

For simplicity, all are in Mai's POV (point of view) unless stated otherwise.

If I say something's adoptable, please ask me first. I'd like to know who is adopting the idea so I can see how you took the whole thing. Also, if it's rather popular, I'm probably giving the idea away to more than one person. I also may redeem the right to tell you no (though I probably won't) if I think you shouldn't, although the chances I'll tell you no, you can't take the idea, is next to zero. I'm only saying that so you don't get accused of plagiarism. Seriously, it's for your sake. Also, that means I can tell others who got the 'adoption rights'. Someone might not feel comfortable writing under the same idea as someone else, so that's another thing I'll work through. If you see a fiction of someone who used an idea of mine and REALLY, REALLY wanted to use it, ask THEM first, and if and ONLY IF they say okay, then contact me. Actually, that just goes in general, whether it's me or not. Heck, I'm not really expecting the ideas to be that thrillingly popular at all. It's just so that if someone is using an idea, whether or not they are still in contact with me about it, I can tell them if you are also wanting to use the idea so that they know about it and, if uncomfortable about it, that they reserve the right to say no. It's nothing serious. It's just a precaution against plagiarism. Also, if you are using an idea of mine, and someone contacts you about it, make sure they know I'm here too. I won't interfere with your creative workings, but if you want me there I am happy to help, whether it's my idea or yours.

Er… I hope I worded that right… I might have to reword that later on, but for now, just contact me, okay?

Adventure-

Obviously, this includes adventure. When I think 'adventure', I have a tendency to think about journeys and discovering new places, or maybe fighting monsters on a quest of some kind. This might have to do with the fact that one of the first animes I watched was Inuyasha… ANYWAY, so for adventure, you'll need at least a motive to get you going. Sorry to say that usually, people don't just go off with no aim, mainly because if you do, then a motive will find YOU. Plus the fact that, in my experience with the actual series of Ghost Hunt, nothing is mentioned, done, or said without an ulterior motive.

So, for an example of that, here's what I made (although honestly, for Ghost Hunt, adventure as a story doesn't interest me much…).

)start(

Dammit! Where the hell did that raven go? It took my key! It's my mom's good luck charm that she gave to me… I need it!

I searched around the woods where I had last seen it. "Where did it….." I trailed off as I saw something shine in a tree nearby. I ran over to it, and found my key resting in a nest. "Why would it use a key?" I pondered out loud.

"Because I asked it to," a voice called behind me. I turned to find a man standing there in a long cloak, the hood covering his eyes so that I could only see the lower part of his face and a wisp of hair that framed only half of cheek.

"Who… are you?" I stuttered.

A version-

"You're going to be late for work," his voice echoed to me. I quickly glanced at my watch before looking back at him, not wanting to lose him.

"You're right…" I said as I slowly backed away from him. When he didn't move from his spot, I decided I had enough of the creepy smile he had and ran to SPR.

"Mai, you had a letter come in," Naru said as I came in panting. "What happened to you?"

"I'm not completely sure… a letter?" I asked. Naru handed me a strange aged envelop. I took it and opened it up.

In it, there was a singular round stone and a simple note. 'Protect this' it said.

"Uh…" so I had to protect a stone…. Okay, seemed simple….

Suddenly, the window shattered, raining glass everywhere. "So you have it then…" a raspy voice called out of nowhere and seemingly everywhere.

…Or maybe not so simple.

B version-

"I'm your new servant," he said respectfully, kneeling before me. "I came to take you away from here. A great evil awaits you…"

"Hey, what are you talking about? Look, I've got chores to do, I need to leave!" I insisted.

"But you're destined for great things!" he cried as I started to leave.

"No way. I'm NOT who you're looking for! I'm sorry!" I yelled as I ran through the underbrush, the key biting into the flesh of my palm. Run away, run away, RUN AWAY!

"You won't get away that easily," a new, sinister voice interrupted in. I turned to find a black mass easily keeping up with my pace. I'm one of the fastest people around! How is thing doing it? And I swear, it must be able to read minds, because it started to laugh evilly….

)and end(

… I told you it won't be very good. This is usually how my roughs look like… It gives the main concept, but it rather sucks otherwise.

Version A could have the adventure being the time Mai protects the stone from various pursuers to when or if she gets rid of it or dies. Use any means available to protect. If none are available, MAKE one.

Version B could be that she is destined to rule the werewolves for all I know. She just has a destiny, a servant she doesn't want, and a guy who might want to kill her, wed her, give birth to her children, AND/OR have a cup of tea, not necessarily in that order…

You could make it magical. You could make the key actually be a philosopher's stone or something. (I have a natural tendency to think of magic whenever I think of adventure...) You could make an alternate universe—an AU. You could probably take the B version and make it an AU. Remember that with AUs, it could be as simple as the fact that, for example, Mai is blind (wonder where that one came from…), Gene could be alive, Mai might actually be a ghost, or anything could be changed. Technically, all fanfictions are sorta AUs of the original, however usually it takes more than a disability to classify it as AU, so unless it's actually drastic, I wouldn't worry about classifying it as such. Usually the main focus has to shift a bit. You can add magic without it actually being AU, however if you switch the focus TO magic specifically, it changes. Also, in AUs everyone's roles get switched up a bit.

I'll give you a very drastic AU for adventure. Here we go again…

)start(

I had to set off and find my way. I would find the way to reverse the curse on the village—the very curse that threatened the royal family, killed my parents, and would most likely kill me. But as the saying goes, if I can't get the cure, I'll literally die trying.

"Are you sure about this, Taniyama?" the dock boy asked. Ah, John. Such a sweet boy. He came a missionary and fell in love with our town. Too bad he chose to love a cursed town, but he says he doesn't mind. He now works at the docks to make money so he can live here peacefully while spreading the Word.

I smiled. I would miss him. "I'm sure. I'm the only one brave enough," I said as I adjusted my belt.

"Be safe," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. A necklace. He put it around my neck, being careful around my hat, and set the pendant front and center. I looked down at the pendant to find it to be a small cross made of driftwood and twine. It was homemade, but that made it even more special. "I wish you safe waters."

"Thank you John. For… everything," I said gratefully. "I know you don't exactly approve of my profession and I sorta just busted into your life…"

"Quite literally. Did you have to break my window AND my table?" John laughed.

"I said I was sorry and paid you back tenfold, didn't I? But… we became friends after that."

"Yeah, we did."

We stood in silence. John always hoped I would give up being a pirate… I had a crew and knew the nearby waters, but this journey would test my limits and break them. I would have to keep holding on.

Slowly, I turned from him and ran off the dock.

As I fell, I grabbed one of the ropes hanging of my ship and climbed in steadily. I was soon behind the compass ready to go. I yelled to one of the crewmates. "Are we ready?!"

"Yessir!" he cried back. I may be a girl, but with the baggy clothing and profession, I was used to being called a boy. I think the whole ship knew that I was a girl—I think—, but I had them call me sir anyway. It seemed less ladylike than being called 'ma'am', and if you haven't gathered already, I was anything but ladylike.

Soon, the sails were set and we cast off.

Time to find our cure… for their Majesty… and the royal heir to the throne.

)end(

See, that had Mai as a pirate, when in actuality she is not… as far as we know, at least. Who knows what she does at that school of hers?! Actually, the idea for her being a pirate has floated around with me for a while, so… I might use it later. Probably not. Did I mention that if you feel like 'adopting' one of the blurbs I made, you're free to them? Because I seriously made them up in a minute and am trying to keep them out of my head.

Adventure, at least in my terminology and brain, needs three key factors (though this really applies to ALL stories, it seems to be especially outlined in adventure stories). These three key factors are Motive, Obstacle, and Movement.

Motive-why are they on an adventure? What will they gain? Are they trying to gain anything at all, or are they trying to bring someone down? Do they have something or someone to protect? Is there more than one? Is it with them, or do they have to find it? Do you have one thing, but not the other?

Obstacle-The opposing force. Do they have the motive, or are they pursuing it? Are the two sides competing for the motive? Does the obstacle secretly sabotage our main character of the story? Plot twist-is our main character actually the antagonist? Are they an obstacle too? Or maybe it's just the pursuers of the motive, or demons, or natural factors. If it gets in the way, it's an obstacle.

Movement-Also known as development. You have to move the main character here to there. Point A to point B. Confuse the points. Move instead to point C from point D. Just move them along in their hypothetical journey. See, this why I view adventure as usually involving a journey. You don't necessarily have to go far. You just have to MOVE. You can have them start at the end and move back for all I care. Movement is necessary for most all stories, just as obstacle and motive are, but seems to be especially highlighted in adventure genre.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and I just lead all of you astray.

Angst

You know this. Most of you are teenagers. Basically, anything that just seems angry or depressing or WHATEVER is angst. Life trials. One-sided love. Deep anxiety. Stuff like that.

Imagine frustration.

Basically, you probably won't find a lot of these stories to be very happy. Most of them have a tense, hyper-real feel to them. Suicide, self-harm, or death may not be uncommon in angst stories.

You probably won't have to go AU for this. This isn't a kid's show. It has a few angst themes in it, actually. Very subtle, though, since all stories usually have angst somewhere in it. (Mostly, if you want angst, look up the backstories of the Fruits Basket characters.) However, kids shows will mostly ignore this. Mostly. So with Ghost Hunt, we can stay at SPR offices, go on cases, visit Mai's apartment, whatever. You can still go AU if you want, but you can probably stay right at SPR and drink Naru's tea.

Here's my example for it… though I can't promise its good…

)end(

I didn't want him to know I love him. I just didn't. He didn't need to know, right?

I'd let him live his life.

He was Professor Oliver Davis, world renown parapsychologist, publisher of various books on the study of parapsychology. He was even one of the most powerful psychics out there. And… he was only seventeen.

Who was I? Mai Taniyama, orphan. A high school student who has a scholarship to the school she attends, works part time jobs so she can keep her apartment and pay for necessities. Oh, and with some latent psychic abilities, just like every other person Naru seems to meet.

No, I wasn't that important, I'm sure. He's found his brother. He got his goal. He still wouldn't be happy, but hopefully Eugene is at rest.

I thought I should confess to everything. Dream Naru, my feelings for him, how I knew exactly how he liked his tea because I wanted him happy… but I won't.

I talked to his mother. I talked to his father. I talked to Lin. I talked to Naru himself. Yet, I didn't show that I was bothered by his leaving.

"Goodbye, Naru," I waved at the airport.

"Goodbye, Naru," I cried into my pillow.

And when I heard the news…

"Goodbye, Naru," I said as I pulled the trigger.

)end(

Okay, that was depressing. Damn. See, this is why you shouldn't dwell TOO much on angst…it's not good for your health, I tell you.

You can assume what you want at 'And when I heard the news…' and leave it like that for readers to decide. You could continue the story in the time between Naru's leaving Japan and Mai's suicide attempt. You could have it where she dies and the others have to cope. You could have it where they have to deal with her ghost. You could even have it where she lives and the SPR team goes through with her at therapy, or make her go it alone. Stuff like this isn't a laughing matter. Dark, cold, dry laughs exist here, I'm afraid. You can make the blurb I gave you to be it, or you can extend it…. I think I read a story once where Mai killed herself, and the whole story was to give herself a second chance by getting them to forgive her so she can live again, as she learns she regrets leaving…. It was actually pretty good, but for the life of me can't remember the name of it…. You could also have it where Mai has to hunt down Naru and kill him. Or maybe she becomes an assassin, and she says 'Goodbye, Naru,' as a way to say goodbye to the old her when she has her first target.

Anyway, angst is pretty simple. Ever read any of Edgar Allen Poe's works? There's quite a few examples there….

So good luck to the angst writers. Try not to be too depressed, okay? Life has always sucked, so you might as well look on the bright side and find the good things in life instead dwelling on the bad…

I'm usually not so optimistic and stuff, but reading angst and depressing stuff can be bad for really sensitive people… you've been warned…

Then again, maybe I screwed up this ENTIRE THING and I have no idea what angst is exactly…

Crime

In case you haven't noticed, I'm just going through the list on fanfiction...

Anyway, crime is pretty self-explanatory, and can go one of three ways.

Option one, the police side. You don't necessarily need to be on the police force, just on their side.

Option two, the criminal side. Get them to join a gang or something.

Option three, the tangled in side. This can be done numerous ways, such as the main character being kidnapped or falsely accused of a crime.

Notice how I didn't say anything about which side is the good side or the bad side. Sometimes, there isn't a good side or a bad side. Just opposing forces.

You can mix and match these, of course. Like, Mai could be falsely accused of stealing something, SPR tries to disprove it while the client tries to prove it, since they are the actual culprit.

Remember that the police aren't always your 'good guys'. Sometimes, it's like Robin Hood. Sometimes not. The term 'good guy' can be used loosely, such as the main character is the criminal, and though what he does isn't good, he is the main character, so if the police try to arrest him, they are the 'bad guys' in his point of view. AUs are 50/50 here. Since it's Ghost Hunt, have all the fun you want with the supernatural prospects of it. Murder cases are pretty popular in Ghost Hunt, so keep that in mind.

Here's the example!

)start(

When I was younger, I thought about being a forensic scientist. Soon though, Mom died and I had other things to worry about. So to say I was sorta happy to help in this murder investigation would be an understatement.

Of course, it'd be a heck of a lot happier if it weren't my murder case that they were investigating.

)end(

That was short, but I believe that should do the trick. Actually, that's part of an idea I have had bouncing around my head for quite some time now… I might do it later on, not sure. I figured you guys would like it, so…

That's pretty much it for this one.

Onward!

Drama

I'll be honest. I don't even know where to begin on this one…

Well, a literal definition might do.

Drama- an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances

That probably didn't help, but anyway…. Basically, it's what happens. Something that is defined as drama focuses more of the situations caused by other people interacting with one another.

I think.

I'm trying to think of an example, and it's really not working out for me…

Okay, let me see if this works… I'm not sure it's quite right, but I'm a supernatural and magic stuff writer, so any drama that occurs usually comes from that.

Here we go!

)start(

I knew this day would occur. I knew it. But…. I had hoped, somewhere in my mind, that it wouldn't.

"Hello, Mr. Shibuya," the old man who sat beside me said with clear disdain in his voice.

"Hello," Naru greeted politely, though his tone said otherwise. "May I ask what you are here for?"

"Not what, whom," the old man answered.

"Whom?"

I sighed. This was my cue. "Naru…" I said hesitantly. "Meet my grandfather…"

"Mai, be polite. The men are talking," my grandfather scolded.

"Yes Grandfather," I said, and though I really wanted to have a nasty tone, I knew better than to do that.

"Now, I would like to inform you that Mai is coming back to my estate. A young lady shouldn't be living alone or working with a bunch of men," Grandfather said sternly.

"Since when?!" I yelled, standing up from my seat. "I'm doing just fine, thank you! And why do you suddenly care?! You were there when Mom died, but you didn't even come to her funeral. Your own DAUGHTER?!"

"Don't disrespect me!" he yelled back, standing up at about the same height as me. "You're just like her! You look like her, sound like her, and even act like her! A split image. Just like my wife."

"Well, I apologize for genetics!" I yelled back at him.

"Mai," Naru's voice cut in. Oh yeah, we're still at SPR… "Care to explain?"

I sighed. This was going to take a while…

)end(

Okay, maybe not the best… and maybe not even for the drama genre… But it's what you're getting, I'm afraid.

Basically… just cause drama. That's all you really need to do. Drama llamas and such… Heh.

Family

This is a cute one, really.

Basically, it's about the friendships and family ties with each character. Mai is an orphan, but considers SPR her family.

Let's see if I can get a blurb from this…

… got it!

Okay, this might be cheating a little, but hey, whatever.

)start( THIS IS THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

"You wake her up, you'll be the next ghost we investigate," Naru hissed as his team walked into the hospital room to see a sleeping Mai.

"She looks… exhausted," Monk said oh-so-smartly.

"She just gave birth, you dolt! And be quiet," Ayako whisper-shouted at him.

It's true, Mai Taniyama—or should we say, Mai Davis—just gave birth to her and Naru's first born.

It had been quite a scene when her water broke. In the middle of the street. In Shibuya… on a Sunday, no less! The busiest day!

Then how long it took Naru to register that his WIFE was about to give BIRTH in the middle of a busy street if he didn't get his ass in gear and get her to a hospital… well, let's just say Naru almost became a ghost himself by Mai's hand.

Sleeping soundly next to Mai in a little hospital crib that laid level to the hospital bed Mai occupied was a little baby wrapped in blue cloth.

Softly, Masako padded over to look at the baby, Yasu and John in tow. "He's beautiful… and so tiny…" she whispered in awe.

"Well, he was just born… and Naru is the father…" Yasu joked.

"And this is why he's a narcissist. Don't encourage him, Yasu," Madoka said as she went up to Naru and Mai. "So, how does your hand feel?"

"His hand?" Monk echoed.

"It feels like she broke it… but she's still holding it and I can't be sure," Naru said, indicating the hand Mai still had in her vise-like grip.

"Oh," Monk said, realizing that Naru had obviously held Mai's hand as she went through labor. Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he preferred being male or female when it came to birthing… No, definitely male he decided, though he also began to think of adopting as a very viable option.

That shattered, however, when he walked over and saw the little creation of life his 'daughter' had made.

"He is beautiful…" Monk agreed with Masako. A small, sparsely there tuft of black hair peeked out from under the blanket over his head. Though his eyes were closed, you could tell that if he opened them you would see big round eyes of whatever color he picked up.

"Hey Naru, what's the little squirt's name?" Ayako said as she watched the baby sleep.

Naru smiled sparsely and tiredly. Yes, that's right, he smiled. Then again, he did just have a son... "Mai already chose, but she won't tell me. She also said if I don't accept it willingly, I'd meet my twin on the spiritual plane a lot sooner than planned."

"That sounds like her," Lin commented in.

Soft noises of agreement sounded through the room. They all stood or sat in there in comfortable silence.

A little while later, Mai started to stir. "Mm," she said as she blearily stared at Naru, who looked back at her with a soft expression.

"Hey there," he uncharacteristically said in a very soft voice. "Awake yet?"

"No," she answered, looking like she was about to go back to sleep. They would have let her, but then she woke up more when her baby started fussing. She looked over at him softly. "Baby… when did you get here? Aren't you supposed to be in my tummy?" Okay, she still wasn't awake.

"Mai, you just went through hours of excruciatingly painful labor and you're asking when the baby got here?" Masako said with a dead-pan expression on.

"Oh… oh!" Mai suddenly seemed to wake up tenfold. Her son was still fussing, so she reached over carefully and picked him up. "Hey there," she said softly as she settled back in her bed.

Naru took the chance to check his hand to see if it really was broken. Well… he was already at the hospital… he'd get them to double check later.

"So Mai, what's the name of the first official SPR baby of the Japanese branch? Also known as my student's first child? God, I always thought Gene would be the one to have children… I always expected Naru to just… I don't know, disappear after his first wrinkle or gray hair. That is, if it's even possible for him to get either…" Madoka glared at the aforementioned male.

Mai laughed. "Imagine my shock in all of this."

"Hey," Naru said, glaring at his wife a little. She laughed it off.

"Everybody, this," she fondly looked at her baby, "Is Eugene."

"Mai," Naru began.

"Remember what I said. Do you want to see the boy your son was named after so soon?" Mai said, the way her face still fondly looked at her son and the way her voice was calm and quiet made the threat even more forceful than it should have.

Naru smiled at his wife. He was smiling a lot today. Well, for Naru, at least. The euphoria of a new life, supposedly. "It's perfect. Thank you," he said earnestly. Mai looked up at smiled at him happily, though also quite tiredly.

The baby Eugene mumbled softly before peering open his eyes to look at the world.

One blue eye, and one brown. Funny that.

"Wow," John said as Yasu readjusted his glasses to make sure he saw correctly.

"Cool," Yasu grinned when he confirmed it wasn't a trick of the light.

"So, who's the godparents?" Ayako said bluntly.

"Er…" Mai started to sweat a little. She hadn't even thought of it! She looked to Naru to find he looked as lost as she did.

"You guys forgot about that part, didn't you?" Lin said plainly.

"Kinda…?" Mai grinned sheepishly. "HEY, Naru, when are your parents coming in?" she said, desperate to change the subject.

"Two hours, now back to the godparent thing…" Madoka said, instantly cutting off Mai's last and only resort.

As if on cue, Eugene took now to start crying his eyes out for whatever reason he fancied. Well, looks like it wasn't the last resort after all….

But they still needed to take care of the crying baby.

"Gah, ah, um, HELP!" Mai stuttered, unsure of what to do with the crying newborn in her arms.

How did her teammates/family help? They laughed at her expense as Naru went to flag down a nurse, about as lost as Mai was, only better at controlling it.

)end(

So I took family literally on this by giving Mai and Naru a baby! So there, heh.

Oh, and the part of having a baby on a sidewalk? That's actually how one of my siblings was born… like, legit, we have the picture of the sidewalk she was born on.

Basically, all you need for family is, well, family. It doesn't have to be blood related. Sorta like how in the crime genre, you just need crime.

Fantasy

Okay, this is really where we start getting more into AUs…

Fantasy is just that—fantasy. This is where you can get into dungeons and dragons and magic and princesses and stuff. Or at least, that's what first pops up in my head. Fantasy reminds me of fairy tale stuff. You can also have futuristic stuff. Hoverboards, flying buildings, a grand central control center… stuff like that. You could probably have it in modern times, but you'd probably have to change the way the modern world was. Magic could be added. A demon attack on the world. Turn everything into a desolate wasteland. Either way, you are now in AU territory.

You could probably do without the AU exactly, but it'll probably be there somehow. Like… in the process of solving a case, the team has to go into a fairy tale book or live through their worst nightmares or escape from fluffy dreams that have sinister means behind them, like if you stay too long you die.

Or something like that.

So, without further ado… an example of fantasy.

)start(

I hadn't a clue how I got here.

One minute, everything's all happy and lucky and good, even if the case was scary.

Then Monk brought in a children's book.

Somehow, we got sucked into it.

But, the weirdest part wasn't even the fact that I was stuck in a fairy tale in weird clothes…

It was the roles.

Monk was a merchant, Ayako his wife, and Yasu was their neighbor who worked for them.

That made sense.

Madoka and Lin are the royal advisors of the kingdom.

Still made sense.

Masako was the visiting princess, and John was her loyal servant.

Poor John, but it made sense.

Naru was the princess, and I was the prince…

Yep. You are correct. NARU is the PRINCESS and I am a PRINCE.

I know I had an argument earlier about being able to defend myself and stuff… but I'm going to have to slay a dragon!

Oh, you might wonder how I know this. Usually fairy tales are third person with a narrator, right? Well, that little narrator is following me. It's invisible, but I know it's there.

And it won't leave me alone.

It's horrible. AND, since I'm currently stuck walking to a castle to first find out that the princess was kidnapped, Narrator ran out of things to tell me and was singing.

Here's a little known fact—narrators cannot sing. Seriously. I think my ear's bleeding…

And I thought my clothes were bad enough. Now I'm stuck with both the clothes AND my invisible buddy.

Did I mention no one else can hear him? So I'm alone in my torture. I also have to be careful about responding to him.

I haven't met the rest of SPR yet, but I really hope that they can hear him… and then he can stay with them…

I tried redirecting my thoughts…

If Naru was the princess and I was the prince… and this was a fairy tale…

I'm not so sure how Naru feels about the dress thing…

"You're forgetting something there," Narrator stopped singing.

Oh right. He knows exactly what I'm thinking now. Damn.

"Language, Prince, language…"

"Yeah yeah, so what am I forgetting?" I said.

"He's the princess and you're the prince. So… at the end of fairy tales, what happens to the prince and princess?"

"They live happily ever after, don't they?" Well, usually. I hoped so.

"Well, yes, but…"

"What!"

"They kiss."

… Damn.

"Language."

"Stuff a sock it it."

)end(

So basically, just write to your heart's desire about random stuff like that. You could destroy the earth and they have to live in it. Fairy tales. Getting stuck in your own mind.

Fantasy DOES NOT mean HAPPY.

Fantasy means FANTASY.

Not real. Imagined. Thought up.

So on and so forth.

…. And I know that the blurb was not that well written. I was just trying to get the point across.

It's relatively easy to write, and if you really thought about it, all fiction is really fantasy in a way. Not exactly for some, but pretty close for the most part. But as you probably figure, I only apply it to fairy tales and stuff. Fiction, folklore, and fantasy. My favorite three F words.

Other than fork, that is. Why fork? Don't ask me, I have no idea. I just like the word fork….

FORKTHEWIN!

…bad puns galore aside…

To the next one!

Friendship

Yay, friends!

I love my friends. If any of them are reading this, then HEY GUYS! How are you doing?

That aside, friendship is a very broad genre in my opinion (I'm saying that A LOT). It ties in to family, but not quite the same way. Usually, these stories are rather light and happy. No couples, and can just be two friends hanging out together. Well, hold that thought. There can be couples. Stories have more than one genre. But friendship, if it's JUST the friendship side of things, does not include couples. Just two or so people hanging out.

You can include how all their friends left, but that's more of angst, and if you involve friendship it usually means they are going to make new friends that help them through their difficult time.

Let's see… I'm more of the fantasy-action-supernatural-horror-romance genre writer, so JUST having friendship will take a minute… usually it just comes along the way.

Hmm….

How about…

Ah, screw it. Yasu and Mai friendship (er, yes, Yasu JUST got friendzoned by one of his many adoring fans…)

)start(

"Yasu… do the clouds look like bunnies to you?"

It was an off day for the universe, I think.

We just wrapped up a case, but due to some storming along the way, we hadn't left yet and wouldn't leave until tomorrow. However, if you looked out and up, you'd see the sky to be a pleasant happy sky.

So, bored as we were, Yasu and I had headed out to do some cloud watching.

Yes, cloud watching. The fact that Yasu was able to be still enough to actually watch the clouds with me is surprising enough.

"They don't look like bunnies… they're cotton balls," Yasu decided from where he lay in the grass.

"But to me, cotton balls and bunnies are sorta the same."

"What? No, bunnies are ALIVE, Mai. Alive. A-L-I-V-E. Cotton balls are not."

"I said to me, you dolt," I retorted. "Besides, I know that bunnies are alive and cotton balls are not. It'd be weird if cotton balls were alive. You'd never be able to use the bathroom peacefully ever again."

"True… they'd be up in the medicine cabinet, and then as you went into the shower, the cabinet door would creak open…" Yasu trailed off.

"And these little cotton-ball-bunny THINGS would just STARE at you… it'd be weird." I crinkled my nose and shuddered at the mental image.

"Although, some might enjoy it…" Yasu said thoughtfully.

I paused. "Like who?" I asked hesitantly, knowing I might regret it.

"Like Naru. He'd enjoy it."

"Oh, gosh, YASU!" I yelled at him, sitting up to glare at him for the mental image of Naru stripping in front of an audience of cotton-ball-bunny creatures.

"Heh," Yasu sat up and smiled.

"What are you guys doing out here?" a voice said.

Damn. Of ALL the times to come out, ALL OF THE TIMES…

Naru came out to see what we were doing.

"Hey, quick question Big Boss," Yasu said, obviously up to something. "Actually, make that two questions."

Naru raised an eyebrow. In translation, it means 'Go on'.

"So, first off. What do the clouds look like to you. Bunnies or cotton balls?"

What was Yasu planning?

"They look like clouds," Naru answered in a 'What the hell?' sort of tone.

"Okay, second and last question. If Mai was an animal, what animal would she be?"

… Say what?

"All things considered… I'd think a sheep."

"A sheep?" I asked.

"I think I can answer that one," Yasu said. "Sheep aren't particularly intelligent, and there have been some cases where they follow each other off a cliff."

"…" I couldn't answer that one. Naru smirked and walked off.

"Good deduction, Yasu," he said as he slipped back in the house.

"HEY!" I yelled.

"Hey Mai."

"What now, Yasu?"

"The clouds look like sheep, you know." I looked up at the clouds.

"Yeah… I can see it…"

"You know what else looks like a sheep?"

I was hesitant… This WAS Yasu. "…What?"

"A cotton ball looks like a sheep."

"Gah-YASU!"

"Mai's a cotton ball!" Yasu laughed before jumping up and standing. I stood up and glared harshly at the boy in front of me. "Should I run?"

"Fast," I said as I lunged after him.

Even as he was being chased, he was laughing his butt off and yelling that I was a cotton ball.

And I swear Naru knew of our conversation because he was smirking when Yasu and I came back in a while later.

"Baa," Naru said—bleated?—as we walked in, not even looking up from his book but smirking all the same.

"Stuff it, narcissist."

)end(

I AM THE DICTATOR OF ENDINGS!

Maybe.

Anyway, so that was that. I even threw in some Mai/Naru stuff because I felt it was needed so that Mai would chase Yasu around.

I just can't stop the mental image of Naru smirking as a disheveled Yasu and Mai came in panting from running and saying 'Baa' to smite Mai even more.

So basically, it's usually a happy-go-lucky sort of thing.

Family and friendship can go hand in hand, very much so in the Ghost Hunt fandom (again, Mai's 'family' is her friends) but in other stories or fandoms it can be a different story. The family might be way hard to deal with but the friends are easy-going, or vis versa, if you're capable of such a story (I know I probably couldn't, seeing as friends would typically be easier to get along and if they weren't they weren't your 'friend', but you're stuck with family).

So… friendship needs friendship like how all the other genres need themselves, such as drama needs drama and action needs action.

Another common thing to put with friendship is Hurt/Comfort for obvious reasons of friends being able to comfort you when you're hurt. Or angst… so on and so forth.

Most stories have friendship in them anyway. Try as you may, people like being with people. And if you're around people, SOMEONE is going to want to be with you. Without social interaction to vent or brag or just be with, you can go insane or make a volleyball/coconut your new best friend… though if you seriously have a coconut as a friend… I'm concerned for your mental stability.

Anyway, friendship fluffs are usually one-shots, or maybe a series of such one-shots. Not often are they enough on their own to make an entire story without something else. Nothing wrong with it, it's just how the world works.

Think of writing a story like baking or cooking a meal.

Plotlines are… I guess the main course or main dish.

Plot twists are the seasonings and spices.

Friendship is… the butter.

Yes, the butter.

You can't have much with just butter.

Or something like that. It's the best analogy I've got.

So, since I have obviously just lost my mind, I'm going to the next genre.

General

Okay, so general is actually just a default, I think.

It's just a general story.

If it doesn't have anything particular that REALLY sets it apart, it falls here.

It's sorta hard for examples on this one… but…

)start(

I was stuck at the office. Four hours away from leaving.

It seems that Naru was determined to keep me bored and/or busy during those four hours.

Also, I'm beginning to think he has some 'who drinks the most tea one day' contest… with his mirror…

"Hello?" a voice softly trickled into the office as the bell above the door rang out.

Immediately remembering that I was to greet her, I got up and went to the door with a smile on my face. "Yes? Can we help you?" I asked.

"Is this SPR?" a woman peeked into the office shyly.

"Yes, it is. Do you want an interview?" I asked. The woman walked into the door a little more, letting me see her long black hair and soft face with vivid brown eyes.

"I… it's bad. Really bad. I think my house is haunted…" she said, picking at her long-sleeved shirt. The door shut behind her loudly, making the woman jump.

"Why do you think that?" I said as I guided her to the couch.

"Well…" she said as she sat down. "I think… let me show you what has happened to my arm."

"Your arm?"

"Yes." She lifted the sleeve of her shirt to reveal long gashes trailing up and down her arm. "I've woken up with these every morning since I moved in two weeks ago." Two weeks and her arm already looks like it was mauled by a bear?! "I've almost bleed to death twice now."

This… could get interesting.

)end(

So, basically, it can be a story or it can be a oneshot set in the middle of the office or case.

Any story at all.

Also, I think now is a good time to mention that the people that hire SPR to do cases should be called CLIENTS NOT CUSTOMERS.

Customers are restaurants and stuff.

Clients are more professional offices.

Guess which one SPR is?

Use clients. For the love of all that is good and holy USE CLIENTS!

…Now that we have that out of the way… General is just a general story. For Ghost Hunt… well, that could be anything. It can have other genres, but it means that it's not particularly supernatural or JUST romance or so on.

Understand?

General is… well… general.

ONWARD!

Horror

Oh yes, I think we can all recall the Urado and demi-god case quite clearly for this one.

Horror isn't always for the faint-hearted. There can be hard-core stuff here.

I hope you already know what horror is, but if you don't…. I guess I'll go ahead and explain.

Horror will be anything that, well, horrifies you. It will be grotesque. It will more than likely be bloody. The mental images could scar your brain.

But, hey, some people can't get enough of this stuff.

It depends on the person reading and the person writing on how horrifying it will be and whether you'll enjoy it or not.

I'm not sure whether or not to write for horror right here seeing as some REALLY don't like it… I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong. My brain can come up with some gruesome stuff sometimes. Like, holy-crap-you-just-described-a-chainsaw-massacre-i n-the-most-gruesome-and-horrifying-way-possible sort of stuff. I just don't particularly enjoy writing it.

Let me think…

I'll do a mild horror, and if you don't like that sort of stuff, just go ahead and skip it.

)start(

It was… to put it simply…

There were no words to describe it.

We came into the restaurant to investigate for the owners. The couple had come in a week ago, asking for our help. They have been having violent attacks directed towards themselves and anyone who stayed there often or for too long. The husband had almost died three times and emitted to a hospital five times during the month that they had bought the place. They already decided to move their business but didn't want anyone else to go through what they did.

When we came in, we did find the owners quite quickly…

… they were dead.

The image is still burned into my mind, even as Naru had quickly grabbed my arm and more-or-less shoved my face into his shirt to hide the sight from me.

The husband was at one of the tables and was surrounded by a pool of blood. He had been clearly shot, and his vocal cords ripped from his neck and placed in his own dead hands.

The wife was somewhere behind him. Considering the placement, she had found her husband and had shot herself. Blood was everywhere, it filled the air with the stench of rust and death.

I found myself outside, sobbing into Naru's shirt and strangely him comforting me…

Even so, I don't think I'll ever get the image out of my mind.

)end(

Let me tell you right now, that was way different than what I had considered putting, but that's a basic example of bloody horror and gore. What I considered putting was a bit more than what some people could handle. Actually, what I put might make some squeamish anyway…

You can also have horror as in general frightening experiences. After all, Ghost Hunt is considered a horror series. That example was just taking it to a bloodier side of it. Remember that in the series, during the case with the demi-god, they did find one of the family members almost dead. He had slit his wrists and tried to kill himself (though I don't remember if it was his own doing or one of the ghosts who possessed him or something like that).

I would do an example with an 'experience horror', but that takes time, and currently this thing is long enough as is, plus 'experience horror' has to usually have a basis, and usually takes an actual story. These are just blurbs, so… yeah. The point wouldn't really get across.

But you get the idea.

Humor

This is a good one for after Horror.

Humor IS NOT Parody (which I haven't gotten to yet). There is humor in Parody, but not necessarily parody in Humor. Understand?

Er… that was a bit vague. Basically, if it's a parody, it will usually be humorous and funny. If it's humor, it won't necessarily have a parody of any kind in it. Kind of like how all rectangles are squares, but not all squares are rectangles.

So, it can just have all these jokes in it. It can be about Mai and… say… Monk hanging out (since I already did Yasu), Lin releasing a spider in the SPR office to see what would happen (Whisp, that one was for you), or Madoka teaming up with… I don't know… Ayako to help Mai chose a new apartment for who-knows-what-reason.

Everyone has some sort of sense of humor, so humor is usually easy and fun to write. It's also easy to do little one-shots with. Since nothing is usually ever just ONE genre, this can easily be paired with Family or Friends. Since I think I described Friends as butter (I think, it's been a while since that particular section… well not to you, but to me it's been at least a week), you can consider this one the 'Bread' of the meal. You usually always have some sort of grain or bread… and you can always pair up Bread and Butter!

And since I'm obviously losing whatever sanity I apparently never had, AGAIN, let's go ahead and start.

)start(

"Why should I help you with this anyway?" Naru said, staring straight at me with a rather bored expression.

I sighed. OF COURSE the narcissist is going to be difficult about the whole thing. "I'm expecting you to be more knowledgeable about this than I am, okay? You're always saying that I'm an idiot and that you're a genius, so obviously the 'idiot' should go to the 'genius' and get some damn help, right?"

"Logically, yes, but why on Earth would I help you with… whatever this is."

"It's a school project, Naru. I don't have a choice. Look, you don't even need to do anything, I just have to read through the list I already have, and you can tell me what you think."

"What if I don't like anything you chose?"

"Then we get a book on it and we choose from that. Surely you're familiar with books that are basically encyclopedias or dictionaries. Honestly, I think I saw you reading one once…"

Naru sighed. "Seeing as you are obviously not going to give up on this, I suppose I can help you on this. After all, I wouldn't want you to get a failing grade because of the incompetence of whoever is supposed to be your partner."

That's how we found ourselves on one of the couches in the SPR office, pouring over books of baby names.

"Is this how all parents feel?" I asked as I jotted down another name from the book onto one of the notebooks we had lazing around along with about a million pens and pencils.

"Possibly," was the simple response. "Aren't you supposed to have another person from your class helping you?"

"We had the option of doing it alone or not. I chose not to," I shrugged.

"Why?"

"No way in heck am I pairing with ANYONE at my school, particularly my class."

"And again, I ask. Why?"

"Well, all my friends already had partners. Since we were on a case last week I only heard of it now. So while I don't mind making more friends in the class, or even pairing with another girl-it is just a project after all- it ended up being that I'd end up pairing with one of the guys. For lack of a better word, all of the guys in my class completely suck."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You never stop questioning everything, do you?"

"I'm just trying to get a complete picture on how I ended up holding a bright pink book that says 'Your Baby and You, Name Your Child for Success' for an egg."

… the narcissist had a point. "Well, for one, it's an actual baby doll. The ones that cry and stuff, only it's thankfully not a real baby. We only have eggs right now to practice the 'fragility of a child in your care'… okay, actually, the dolls are new and haven't arrived yet…"

"Back to my actual question…"

"Oh, right! Basically, I knew that all the guys would have left me to do the work and I'd probably be stuck doing this with you anyway."

"Why me?"

… He got me there. "Well, John's busy. I haven't seen him in a while… Do you actually trust MONK with this? At all?"

"No, not really," Naru admitted.

"Exactly. Lin, well…"

"Point."

"That left you, Yasu, Ayako, Madoka, and Masako. Masako is busy with her shows and stuff, plus I don't think she'd want to help me anyway, Madoka is who-knows-where, Ayako… I get the feeling that it would end badly and possibly with a lot of baby clothes that I don't need."

"What about Yasuhara?"

"Well, he's busy with university…"

"He's been coming to the office every day for the past month and doesn't leave for hours."

"Okay, fine! Maybe I just wanted it to be you to help me. Is that such a bad thing?!"

"No." Well, I didn't expect that answer from Naru.

"So you don't mind this too much? Even though I sorta forced you to?"

"Not particularly." (Right. Because in no way, shape, or form was Naru thinking about if he were to ever have children. It was seemingly impossible for the workaholic, tea-addicted, cold bastard to find a partner to do such… things with him while also knowing that he was, in fact, a workaholic, tea-addicted, cold bastard. Yet, it didn't seem to be so impossible when he was with his relaxed, tea-making, warm assistant. Nope, the narcissist was not thinking about children and his assistant at all. Not one bit.)

We continued our work. I occasionally got up to get more tea, but we still hadn't found a name for the fake child I was going to take care of.

"What gender is it supposed to be?" Naru took a break from asking about names.

"I don't know. We find out randomly when we get the dolls. It's a literal fifty-fifty chance. It's possible to have all the dolls in the class to be girls or all of them boys."

"Did they order two shipments of dolls for your class size, one boys and one girls?"

"Yep, I believe so."

"Hn."

We continued like that for a while longer. Around an hour later the SPR door opened. I looked up to find Ayako, Monk, and Yasu walking right in.

"Hey, guys, whatcha got there?" Monk said as he walked over. He quickly grabbed one of the books around us. "'The Complete List of Names Native to Japan'…?"

"Yeah. We still haven't chosen a name yet," I said.

"We?" Ayako asked, from where she had sat herself down on the couch across from Naru and me.

"Naru and I…?" I said. Did she see anyone else around? I don't think Lin's come out of his office…

"I didn't expect this day to come… especially not so soon," Yasu said with a mischievous smile. He had sunk himself into an armchair next to my seat on the couch and was resting his head into his folded elbows on the arm of the chair that was facing me.

"What day?" I was lost.

"The day you and Big Boss choose out a name."

"Okay…?"

"What are you implying, young man?" Monk narrowed his eyes at Yasu.

"You already know," Yasu's smile grew wider.

"Mai!" Monk yelled and turned his attention towards me, his yell made louder by his dropping of the book he had previously held.

"Ah! What?!" I said, surprised at Monk's sudden yell and the thud of the book.

"Is it true?!"

"Is WHAT true, Monk?"

"You're choosing out a name, right?"

"Yes…? It's for my-"

"I don't want to hear it! Lalala!" Monk childishly put his hands over his ears. "I can't hear you!"

"Monk? Do you need to go outside for a little while…?"

Monk nodded before heeding my advice and leaving the office.

"Naru," Ayako said after the door clicked closed. "You better take responsibility. I'll hunt you down."

"Um…" Okay, I was still as lost as I was three minutes ago.

Naru seemed to get what everyone was talking about. How did I know? That damn smirk that told you he was up to something, and that you were more or less about to become his personal amusement piece. "I'm doing my part, just like Mai asked."

"Is he, Mai?" Ayako's serious look was a bit shocking.

"Well, yeah. What's everyone so hyped up about?" I asked.

"You're the one choosing out names! You tell me what everyone's so hyped up about," Ayako yelled.

"Okay, okay, calm down, geez… do you want any tea?"

"Please?" Yasu said. "You might also want to consider getting Monk an aspirin… or two… or the whole bottle…"

"Okay…. You, Ayako?"

"Yes please."

"Mai-"

"I'm just going to get you the whole damn kettle, Naru," I said as I walked off to get the hot beverages.

I came back a little while later with four tea cups and the kettle. I gave Ayako and Yasu their tea, poured myself a cup, and set the kettle in front of Naru.

"You weren't kidding, you actually gave him the kettle," Yasu said with an amused smile.

"Yep. He can just refill his own teacup. Heck knows I have all of these to clean up," I said, gesturing to about ten other empty teacups just laying around the area. I was about to take a sip of my tea when Ayako reached across and stopped me.

"Woah, are you sure it's safe for you to drink that right now?" she said with worry.

"Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure…" At that point, Monk came back in with John beside him. John had a nervous smile and Monk was pinching the bridge of his nose. Monk took one look at me and I immediately responded. "Kitchen, third drawer on the left of the stove…." He nodded and walked off.

"Um… Takigawa told me the news… congrats on the baby. Many blessings to you," John said while rubbing the back of his head with a light blush on his face.

"Er, thanks…? But I'm only going to have the actual doll for about two weeks…"

"Doll?!" Monk's voice could be heard shouting from the kitchen before he immediately ran back into the lounge area we were in. "Did you say 'doll'?"

"Yeah… it's a school project. I have to take care of a doll like it's a baby. I don't have a partner so I asked Naru to help me choose a name," I said.

"You had me think that you'd actually…" Monk said with a groan. I looked around to see everyone with various versions of relief and irritation. Well, except Naru. He was smirking. Actually, so was Yasu…

Wait a second….

"You guys thought Taniyama was pregnant with Naru's child, didn't you?" a voice said from behind us. We turned to find that Lin had finally come out of his office.

"Well, yeah, what did you expect, with all the name books and Mai and Naru just sitting there and going through them without arguing every three seconds," Ayako huffed, irritated that she had made a false assumption.

"You guys thought I was…" I said slowly, face growing redder and redder.

"With Naru, yes they did," Yasu finished for me. Yasu had apparently caught onto the whole thing from the beginning, I think.

"Well, I'm just glad Mai wouldn't have to go through that just yet," John said happily. "I mean, I guess it would have been fine now, but…"

"Guys, I am SIXTEEN!" I groaned, my face extremely red and I could feel the blood coloring my cheeks. "And, come on, I wouldn't do that sorta thing…"

"Ah, but we said with Naru. I'm not so certain you'd be able to resist…" Yasu said with a growing mischievousness.

"I'm going to kill you Naru!" Monk growled.

"I didn't even do anything," Naru's smirk STILL hadn't gone down.

"Like hell you didn't! I know that smirk!" Monk yelled back.

"Mai, Lin," Naru said, standing up and grabbing my wrist. He pulled me towards Lin's office, grabbing Lin's arm along the way. He put us all in there and closed the door, the lock clicking in place loudly.

"NARU! GET OUT HERE YOU BRAT!" Ayako yelled. "YOU TRICKED ME! MONK, GET HIM!"

I sighed, my face still red. Then I realized…

We left all the books on the couch. Damn.

"I'M CALLING MADOKA!" Ayako yelled again.

Does Ayako have her number…? DAMN! SHE DOES!

)end(

That was longer than expected… But the humor wasn't really kicking in until about halfway through, so…

Anyway, aside from the fact that Naru completely trolled basically half of SPR, the focus was to make you laugh and think of exactly what both sides are thinking. I know I'm not the best in the world or anything, but you could probably tell what the rest of SPR was thinking and what Mai was thinking. If not, well, you got told at the end anyway.

So… Humor. Make me LAUGH!

Corny jokes are accepted. Corny jokes are ALWAYS accepted. At least, they should be.

Oh, and I originally was going to do the 'Ayako and Madoka help Mai find a new apartment', and that's how the beginning was going to go because I wanted Naru involved too… but then I thought of the project some of my friends had to do with eggs and baby dolls… and I couldn't resist. Misunderstandings are always fun, right?

Well, onto the next one, then…?

Hurt/Comfort

Okay, so with this one, there's usually a melancholy sort of thing going on. Someone is hurt or sad, and someone else is comforting them. For Ghost Hunt, it's often Mai that's hurt and Naru or someone else comforting…

There are different situations you can have for this one. Like… Mai could be a cutter, and the rest of SPR have to help her to stop, Masako could be anorexic (let's hope not), or they could have to get over the death of one of their own teammates. Er, and like I've said, if you feel depressed and stuff, please don't just sit around on it. Go get help. I know it's hard, trust me on that one. I've participated in the Butterfly Project before (for those unaware, it's where you draw butterflies on your arm instead of cutting… I feel like I've already said that) and it's a much better alternative.

I LOVE ALL OF YOU!

So, back to Hurt/Comfort, we're going to go ahead and go for the example I've thought up. (I told you my mind's overactive at times).

)start(

"He was your brother?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"It's… okay."

I had just found out… Oliver and Eugene… I never even knew.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked.

"No, it's okay."

His voice was cold. Extremely cold. I didn't like it.

"It's okay to be upset."

"I'm not upset Mai."

"Like hell I believe that. I know you better than that."

I know that the Davis twins might not have always been close… Naru had been the studious one, and Gene the silly one… yet this was sobering no matter what. They were still twins. They were still brothers. They still were mirrors of each other.

Somewhere, there was a bond that could never be broken.

"I'm so sorry…"

I looked down at the gravestone in front of me and the boy who stood beside me. He wouldn't meet my gaze at all.

"Come here, you," I said finally, grabbing him and hugging him. Without any struggle what-so-ever, he fell into my embrace. He wouldn't cry out loud or sob, but if anyone asked, it had rained outside.

I looked again at the gravestone.

He would be forever missed.

Goodbye, Oliver Davis. I may not have known you, but Gene knew you better than anyone.

I looked away and held Gene closer. Sure, it would be sad. But I'd help him in any way, shape, or form I could.

I had to.

Twins would forever be twins… two halves of a theoretical whole, according some.

Gene was a part of said 'some'.

Gene had lost his half.

I had to make sure he didn't lose his whole.

)end(

…. You thought that it was Naru that Mai was comforting, didn't you? Keep in mind that there's always an opposite viewpoint. Use it if at all possible. Give a new edge to things. That'd be interesting, if it was Gene looking for Naru instead of the other way around…

Crap. That's adoptable. Take it before I'm tempted.

So… yeah, Hurt/Comfort is exactly that—hurt and comfort. It's a pretty basic concept. Classify it as such only if it's the main focus though. There's usually a bit of Hurt/Comfort in about any story, so keep that in mind when choosing genres in the genre selection thing.

Next?

Mystery

Did anyone else here grow up on Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, by any chance? Well, I did. That and a show called 'Ghost Hunters' and Scooby Doo… actually, I grew up on a lot of stuff like that. Lots of mystery stuff and plenty of the paranormal. It sorta helps when you can hear voices on your back porch and live near a cemetery… Anyway, mystery is fun and exciting.

What's in the box?

What's causing that noise?

Why can't I ever shut up?

All of them are good questions.

In the simplest sense possible, Mystery is all about questions and trying to solve them.

For example, I recently started writing a detective story. It's not for Ghost Hunt, and I'd have to really try to make it into Ghost Hunt, but it's a pretty cool story in my opinion. I only recently started it, and so it's not long. In the thirty pages I have, someone's died, a car has had a bomb in it, said car drove off a bridge, two police questionings—one of which was NOT by the detective characters themselves, and an interesting incident involving a fake relationship, a fake baby pump, a wig, maternity clothes, colored contacts, and an old beat-up van that is fondly referred to as 'The Trash Can That Moves'. In case you're wondering… Yes, it has a name—'The Death of Days'. No, it is not published anywhere. No, I'm not sure if I will or where if I decide to. Yes, I know who the culprit is. No, I'm not telling you.

This genre can work well with Crime, if you want to, however you don't need to. Usually on cases the SPR team works to find out everything they can. The hauntings are all mysteries in their own ways.

There's really no way to tell you how to write about mysteries. You just… you have to know exactly what's going on, really. What's the outcomes? Will our heroes be lead astray? How will they be tricked? Who are the suspects? You ask more questions than you answer. In the end, you answer everything. From the beginning, you sorta need to know what questions will be asked, and what the answers to the questions are. Another interesting thing to do is to be the one behind the mystery.

Let's go ahead, shall we?

)start(

This is JUST great. Of all things to do, I get KIDNAPPED.

Great. Just perfect. Peachy, really.

AND IT'S NOT EVEN BY A BLOODY GHOST!

NO, IT'S BY A FREAKING DEMON.

DAMN.

Now, I just have to wait, and hope I don't die in the meantime…

"What do you want from me?" I said as I glared at the… thing that had me in its grasp.

"Happiness," an echoing, chilling voice said. Dear Lord I hated it when it talked.

"Happiness, really? I'm not becoming your servant."

"Not servant."

"Or anything to do with you."

"I don't want you specifically." Please stop talking… Why do I keep asking questions?! "If I take you away, the other humans will get upset. I can feed on those emotions."

It wants negative emotions? Then… "Are you going to kill me?"

"Depends." That's what I feared.

"Great…" I groaned.

"How so?"

"It was sarcasm."

"Sarcasm?"

I groaned. I freaking hate this demon thing.

Better yet, when are the others going to find me?

"Can I leave?" I asked, ignoring it's previous question.

"You won't get out."

"I'm not expecting to." I really wasn't. "I just want to know where I am."

"You still won't get out."

"I'm going. I'll probably end up lost. Or back here again."

"Bye. See you again."

I groaned for the third time. This thing pissed me off.

I got up and walked around, down this vast tunnel system.

"Now if I could just get out…" I said. "You won't get out my ass, I'll dig a damn tunnel if I have to."

"Doesn't matter what you do, you won't get out," it said from behind. I screamed.

"Are you following me?!" I yelled.

"I'm not losing my prey."

Just peachy.

I ignored the thing behind me and walked straight ahead. I came to an opening of light. I walked towards it, careful of the cave I was in.

… Shit.

First off, the opening was on the side of a sheer cliff. No way could I get out. Secondly, I was ninety-nine percent sure that this wasn't Earth nor was it Heaven.

No, judging by the giant dragons, amount of brimstone, lava, and sulfuric rocks, this was someplace entirely different.

I felt hands grab me. The demon.

"I told you, you won't get out."

"I noticed…"

I felt myself get dragged back to where I had started. I just let it happen.

… What else could I do?

-POV Naru-

"Where is she…" I was pacing. This was bad. We had already determined that whatever it was that was here, it was not an ordinary haunting. Anyone that came here came to misfortune and sadness. I didn't think it would take five minutes for it to happen. I especially didn't think it would take four minutes for Mai to get kidnapped.

This was bad…

Where could she have gone?

"I cannot sense her ghost, so she is still alive," Masako said to the whole of SPR. We were all concerned. "She's still alive, and she's okay, I'm sure. We just need to find her."

"It's been two days, Masako," Monk snapped. "Unless you can think of anywhere else to find her, please be quiet."

We all were frayed. We had searched every inch of the property. We even had a police search up now.

Nothing.

"What was that?" John said suddenly.

"What was what?" Ayako asked snappily.

"Can't you hear it?" John said.

Then I heard what he was talking about.

A child's giggling could be heard.

"Is that a little kid?" Lin said, looking around the room and the monitors for any sign of, well, anything.

"It sounds like it," Yasu said, looking unsure of himself as the giggling got louder.

"Over there!" Masako yelled, pointing to a back corner behind us. We turned and saw…

Mai?

She was giggling, wearing a sardonic smile on her face. It didn't fit. At all.

More disturbing yet, behind her was a demon. A large, lanky demon, gender indiscernible. It had its arms raised above Mai like it was holding puppet strings.

Then, it was gone.

"What the hell was that?!" Monk said.

I wasn't sure myself. I said the only thing I knew for sure. "That thing has Mai. It's now our lead."

"All you have to say is 'it's our lead'?!" Ayako yelled. I finally turned my gaze from the corner to Ayako.

"No, but I'd prefer not to say such things in the presence of ladies."

"In other words, he plans to kill that thing with his bare hands and would rather not have people throw up while describing what he'd do," Lin said. I turned to our research and nodded.

"Naru?" Monk asked.

I looked up harshly. "What."

Yasu grinned evilly. "Leave some for us."

I nodded.

"Let's check the basement again," Lin said, getting up to go there with or without us. We all nodded and followed.

We searched for hours. Hours. After some time, John leaned against the wall. He promptly fell backwards into the wall.

"John!" Monk yelled, running over to the fallen priest.

"I'm okay…" John groaned as he stood up. He turned around and gasped. He looked… ill.

I turned to look inside the place that Mai might have been dragged into…

I was looking straight into what could only be Hell.

"Naru…" Lin said sternly. "This does not bode well."

"We are not leaving Mai. We aren't losing anyone on this team, no matter who it is," I said.

"I'm aware," Lin said. "We need a plan."

"Are we sure Mai… Mai is in t-there?" John said, his eyes wide.

Right. He's a Catholic priest. This was probably disturbing him a lot more than it was us. Strange how that happened. I didn't feel scared particularly of the place itself. I had an odd feeling, though, that if I were to go in there, I'd feel completely different.

"Where else would she be?" Ayako said, obviously disturbed that Mai would be in such a place.

The giggling started again. We turned around to see the Demon with the creepy giggling Mai.

"Wrong place…" the demon said in a chilling voice. It sent shivers down your spine and echoed inside of your head.

"Hehe," the giggling continued. "Find me, Naru. Find me, Takigawa. Find me, Ayako. Find me, Father Brown. Find me, Yasuhara. Find me, Masako. Come on, find me!" The giggling became even louder and more erratic.

Then it stopped. The figure disappeared. The wall was back in place.

"What the hell are we dealing with here…" Monk whispered, obviously terrified.

"I'm afraid it's not 'what the hell'… I think it's what in Hell, or better yet, where in Hell are we dealing with," Lin said firmly.

Mai… where are you?

)end(

You probably thought that wasn't that mysterious until the end. Sometimes, mysteries won't feel mysterious until there is a sudden curveball. Giggling Puppet Mai is actually really fun to write about. I didn't write much with her, but she's fine. Er, I'm not sure whether it's actually Mai, or a projection, or a doppelganger, or what. I just know that if it IS Mai, she's not the Mai you know. Same look, completely different mentality.

Basically, Puppet Mai is really f***ing psychotic.

I'm considering writing this one. It's fun. Hehe. Mainly because I seriously enjoy writing about SPR going in circles to find a completely psychotic Mai or to find that she doesn't remember them or something. Or that she doesn't actually exist or something. It's weird that I enjoy that, I know, but whatever. Maybe I just enjoy screwing with people's minds? Hm…

Well, back to Mystery! Making people go in circles until they realize the answer is right in the center of the circle where the woven tale of lies has been made is a good metaphor for what to do. Or sometimes right behind them. Or beside them… Anyway, mysteries can be really fun and silly to write. For example, the fact that the Demon It THING didn't understand sarcasm was supposed to be humorous, as was Mai's frustration. Mysteries also have serious, confusing, and scary times. Scary like when everyone saw the place that Mai was held and when Mai saw it herself. Serious, as all of SPR is. Confused, like Puppet Mai and the Demon It Thing made them.

So… yeah.

Here's another one. It's actually a part of a scene I wrote in 'Death of Days' that will work well in this.

)start(

It was about two hours in when we both realized there was something very wrong with Detective Shibuya's car.

For one, the brakes were being jumpy. I ended up calling him on my phone on speaker.

"What the hell are you doing over there?" I said as I watched his car in the rearview carefully.

"Don't call me while driving, idiot."

"It's on SPEAKER, in the CUP HOLDER, and you ANSWERED, didn't you? Nitwit. Answer my question."

"I don't know," Detective Shibuya sighed as his car did another jerk.

"Well, do the pedals feel okay? Anything wrong there?" I asked, concerned enough for him to not want him in a car wreck.

"It feels like something's jammed there. It felt like this earlier, but I figured I was just paranoid. This is Mr. Minami's car."

"Why do you have his car?"

"Reasons. He said his car would seem more official. Plus mine might be… completely wrecked…."

I sighed. "How?"

"Long story. Anyway, I've tried pulling over and stopping, but I can't," he said.

I had a theory. "Something feels like it's lodged there? And you can't stop… we haven't gone above about fifty miles per hour, right?"

"Yeah, because of your slow driving."

I realized what was wrong. "Don't go above fifty. We're about to get to a bridge in a few minutes. Got that?"

"What about it, Detective Taniyama?"

"Well… don't freak out… I want you to drive off the bridge. I think there's a bomb."

"A what, Detective Mai Taniyama?"

)end(

So that was short… and in case you're wondering, I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT BOMBS AND BOMB PLACEMENTS, OKAY?! I JUST GUESSED!

Basically, I just changed the names I had. Funny, the girl I switched Mai with… they look nothing alike. At all. Neither does Naru's. Huh.

So… there. Heh.

ONWARDS!

Parody

Oh dear Lord, we get here….

Basically, make fun of the series as much as you can, or of any other series using the Ghost Hunt cast…. That's about it. However, I have never done a parody before that I can think of.

Parodies are supposed to be funny. I suppose there are some exceptions, but I'm sticking to 'it's funny, deal with it'…

Well, let's see if I can find anything good for you… hmm….

)start(

It was the perfect plan. I mean, it had to work, right?

… right?

Well, it was worth a shot. And Monk was the one who suggested it.

I knew where it came from, but… maybe there was a hint of truth in there. Somewhere. Distantly….

"So I can say anything, right?" I said.

"Yep. Might I suggest 'tea'?" Ayako said, holding the object of our plans. Right, I think it had more to do with Shintoism than Buddhism….

"Nah, I don't think so. How about… narcissist?"

"Okay, whatever you want Mai," Monk ruffled my hair.

We sat out in the sitting area of the office. Naru was sure to come out any time now…

"Mai," a voice whispered behind me. I turned around with a little shriek and found Naru standing there. "Why aren't you working?"

"Work-a-holic," I mumbled.

"What was that?" Naru said, leaning down slightly. Perfect.

I grabbed the necklace from Ayako and swiftly put it on him.

"Wait, isn't there a chant?!" Monk said.

"I don't know, you tell me!" Ayako yelled.

Naru took one look at the beaded necklace. "Mai… Tea."

Out of nowhere, the necklace glowed and then Naru was face-first on the floor.

"Naru?!" I yelled.

So…. He just cast the word on himself…?

This should make him ordering me to make him tea that much more interesting….

)end(

For those who couldn't figure it out, it was the beaded necklace Inuyasha wears. Whenever Kagome says 'sit', he ends up face-first on the ground in his own personal crater. I can just imagine Mai sitting there, agitated, yelling 'tea' over and over as Naru ends up face-first on the ground multiple times… and then Ayako, Monk, Yasuhara, and possibly Lin trying it out to find it doesn't work. Although, Lin would probably just mumble it under his breath…

Too bad it doesn't work like that.

Well… That's really about it for this one. Just make fun of someone or of some series.

Poetry

Poetry… rhyming and all of that… I'm not explaining the whole damn thing to you. It's POETRY. You have entire lessons on it in class as is. Rhyme things and make sure it's in a good meter and you should be fine.

You can do various things with poetry in a fandom. It can be about the characters, in the character's perspective, about the series, in Ghost Hunt in can be about the cases, about the frustrations they might have (such as Naru going about a year and a half with the alias Kazuya Shibuya and NOT TELLING ANYONE ANYTHING. THAT PRICK.)

Really, there's no limit. Not one that I can think of. It's sorta fun, actually. Although, I'll be honest, I don't read much poetry. It's not that I dislike it, I just don't read it much. Like you might like garlic bread, but you don't eat it much… (can you tell I write these in the middle of the night sometimes? I'm usually craving something really freaking weird…)

So, I'll just go ahead and start.

)start(

There once was a girl named Mai

She came in late when the sun was high

The narcissist yelled

His emotions shelled

The fact they were in love was no lie

)end(

That was a limerick… again, middle of the night, can't think of much for poetry…

Like any poetry, it can be sad, funny, silly, just plain up weird… it doesn't even have to make that much sense.

Ready for the next one?

Romance

Ah, Romance… awkward feelings and almost-kisses aplenty. Hehe.

Almost every story out there in the universe has romance in it. Love is an inescapable feeling. We feel it towards our family, our friends, our lovers (obviously), our mirrors…. Heh.

Focus on the feelings between the characters. Make it as awkward or simple as you want. Add love triangles, locked closets, and weird dinner conversations. Make it funny. Make it sad. Heartbreak. Love. Truths. Anything you want. Literally anything… beware the lemons….

So, I guess some sort of one-shot sort of deal is to be had here? Hmph… what to put…

Ah!

Okay, so some of you might have read 'Arranged'? No? Don't blame you if you didn't. (I keep mentioning my stories… and I apologize…. I'm trying to keep sources a few clicks away.) If you haven't, it's about Mai having an arranged marriage (go figure) and her fighting to get out of it…. It wasn't all that well written to be honest. So I was considering rewriting it… and so…. I made this one night. If I post that story again…. Well, this would be the ending scene (a damn good one in my opinion).

It is only slightly edited. This is how I typed it. So… it's mostly a rough draft. Though, I'm not sure if it's all that rough…. If it doesn't make sense in some parts…. Well, just ignore those parts then!

Enjoy!?

)start(

"So, it's over now," I said as I stood in Naru's office.

"Yes it is," Naru responded as calmly as ever.

I wasn't some girl to be married to man I didn't love—and borderline despised.

I was free.

So… why do I feel sad?

"Are you alright?" Naru said. I didn't even notice that he had stopped working and was looking at me.

"Wha—oh, yeah, I'm fine… I just feel like I'm waiting to wake up to find this whole thing to be a dream…"

"Well, I'm afraid reality can be quite surreal." He stood up and walked around his desk to where I was before leaning against said desk. "What would you do if it was a dream?"

"Pinch myself to double check, I think. Then I'd question you about everything that happened."

"Just me?"

"Well…" How do I even begin? "You were the one who was there the most. I mean, the others were there a lot, but… you were always fighting with my ex-fiancé… How I hate that term, how about… that guy I almost got hitched to."

"However you want to term it. You were his fiancée," Naru was smirking. Jerk.

"Okay, you totally did that one on purpose, dammit. Back to why I would question you…" I thought for a moment before continuing my reply. "I guess… I'd ask about the times I would be a complete ass to my… that woman that almost became my mother-in-law. I guess I could also ask about when Luella said she'd never allow (Madam Needs-A-Name) to be my mother-in-law, and that she was the only one allowed that title."

"She is quite fond of you."

"Yes well… I'd also ask about how you felt when everyone thought we were the two that were engaged…" Those were some embarrassing moments. "Actually, how did you feel then?"

Naru ignored my question. "How did you feel?"

"AH, well, um…." I was SO not saying how I felt secretly happy, and how I wished it was Naru and not some guy I had been betrothed to before I was even actually conceived. I started fiddling with my ring finger before I realized.

There was no longer a ring there. I suppose I'll have to find a new nervous habit.

Suddenly, a hand held mine. I looked up to find Naru right in front of my face, his deep blue eyes staring at me with such intensity... I felt faint. Then, he slid something on my finger before bringing my hand to his lips. I glanced at my hand to find that, glittering softly in the dim light of the office made darker by our shadows was a ring.

A ring. An engagement ring

"N-Naru," I breathed out before looking back in his eyes again. They were serious, more serious then I can recall seeing them. Then again, with him this close, his eyes, his lips against my fingers, his breath fanning out on my skin, his general essence, and then this ring… I was having trouble recalling my own name at this point.

"When I said that no one should be forced to marry someone they don't love," Naru's voice softly drifted into my ear, "I meant you as well."

I stared at him carefully. What is he saying, nonetheless doing, right now?

"Do you remember when you cried in the garden? You were upset, so I went to comfort you," he simply whispered against my skin.

"Y-yeah," I nodded, somehow recalling the incident when he mentioned it. "I was in that awful pink-and-white dress… all that lace… and you listened to be cry, even though I'm not the prettiest of criers. I fell asleep… and you carried me… you whispered something then, b-but I couldn't tell what…"

"I said, 'No one else is allowed to marry you. I won't allow you to marry anyone else'." Does he know what he's implying with that statement?! "Do you recall what happened the next day?"

"Didn't you and(Sir Needs-A-Name-Since-He's-A-Fiance-And-Important-But -Also-A-Prick) get in a f-fencing match or something? I only saw part of it before being whisked away again."

"Yes, we did. We had a wager." He leaned in closer, if possible, and I felt my own hand starting to press against my lips. "Now I fully agree that you are your own person with your own decisions… but jealousy got me. We wagered that the winner had your hand."

"N-Naru?" I whispered. Could it be possible? What he's saying...

"We never finished the match, but I was winning. After all, I am a sore loser when it comes down to it." He leaned back again, letting me fully see the simplistic but beautiful ring on my hand. "You don't look quite right without a ring… but that other one was far too extravagant. You are simple, just like this ring, but also very beautiful."

God, I must be red. Wait, what was my name again? I can't seem to recall.

"It's yours, of course. If you want-"

I cut him off. "Yes yes yesyesyesyes!" I flung my arms around his neck, tears streaming down my face. I almost threw us off balance, but he caught me and strung me up in his arms. I could feel the smile as he let his face get buried in my hair.

"Mai…" Oh yeah, that's my name. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am, dammit!" I laughed right next to his ear. I felt the adrenaline, I didn't need anything else… I did need to say something else though, something known but unspoken. "I love you," I said, calming down slightly. Not much, just slightly.

"I love you." There. Words I thought I'd never hear him say, but here he was, embracing me, smiling, his ring on my finger, and saying that he loves me. "You earlier asked how I felt when people thought we were engaged."

"Yes," I said breathlessly. "And you asked me how I felt."

"That I did. I felt… elated that they would think that. Jealous and angry that it wasn't true. Then… determined to make it true." He turned our embrace slightly looser so we could see each other's faces. He wasn't smiling, per say. He wasn't stoic Naru. No, while his face lacked smiles and such, his eyes wrote volumes in its depths. "I suppose this means I succeeded."

"I'm wearing a ring, aren't I?" I laughed, giving the line I usually gave to those who asked if I really was engaged. Naru even smirked at my little joke. "To answer your question… I mostly felt completely embarrassed. I thought they could clearly see the feelings I felt towards you. After that, it was a mixture of totally pissed because it wasn't true… and the depressed because I wanted it to be, but it seemed impossible."

"According to some, ghosts aren't real. Yet we both hunt ghosts. You thought that we'd never be engaged… but yet, here we are."

Naru's eyes were soft. I smiled more. All through this, I don't think I stopped crying for joy. He let a tear roll onto his finger and brought it up between us. "Don't cry, we'll always be together. Good and bad, I want you to know that for every tear you make… I will love you a thousand times more." Then he smirked. Crap. "Besides, didn't you say you didn't cry very prettily?"

I didn't get upset. This was Naru. I did, however, half-smile-half-scowl playfully. "Weren't you calling me beautiful a minute or two ago? Where did that Naru go?"

He smiled. "He's always right here. He's just a little shy…" He pulled a 500 yen coin out of his pocket. "Just like this little guy."

"Hey, I haven't seen that trick in a while… but why bring that up now?" I was curious. Naru's 'pet' never made another appearance after the manhole incident.

"Because it was at that moment, showing you this trick… I realized how much I loved you. I guess I always knew I did, but at that moment… the depth of it came to me. I wondered, 'Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Or the case itself. Or maybe even the stress on my body made by moving those rocks from the bottom of our fall'."

"There were rocks?!" This was the first I heard of that fact!

"Yes… and I am so thankful you didn't fall on them. I doubt either of us would have lived. Regardless of that, I thought about it and thought about it, trying to get what I had felt for you down their out of my head. I had to find my brother and return home, I didn't have time for this! But… you were there anyway. If I didn't have time, then bloody hell you made time."

My smile widened. More tears came down. Dammit, I didn't care anymore! I once again lunged myself around his neck happily.

And we stayed like that… I don't know how long, but we stayed there. When we pulled apart, I had two seconds to look at his eyes before I found myself being kissed by Naru.

Naru the Narcissist was kissing something other than a mirror. He was kissing me. I cautiously put pressure into the kiss.

It was chaste, and it soon ended, but it was very sweet. We pulled apart and simply looked at each other's eyes, searching for something unknown.

"I'll walk you home," Naru said, pulling the embrace apart completely but still holding my hand modestly.

"Okay." With that, we walked out and headed out towards my apartment. "By the way, isn't there something we're supposed to do before being engaged? You know, like dating or something?"

"I suppose, but in our line of work conventional means usually don't work out, so I think it's appropriate. Besides, you just got out of a different engagement, didn't you?" Dammit, there's that smirk again.

"Don't remind me, okay?"

If you were to look in the CEO office right then, and then should happen to also look on Naru's desk, you'd find a fitting summary for the couple set in a box.

A part of a broken camera.

A small mirror.

A broken ring.

A little 500 yen coin.

And then, a note, addressed to the guy I almost got hitched to, with a simple message.

"I won."

)end(

So… yeah… romance…. I'm hoping I didn't screw it up in this little blurb…? AH, you can't use this blurb or any variant using this as a base. NONE OF THAT. NONE. Of course, I can't claim the idea of Mai or any of SPR being involved in an arranged marriage. So…. Have at it on that one if you want… I say 'so' a lot, don't i? Oops?

Back on track, Romance is all those fuzzy feelings inside… Remember that the line between Love and Hate is thin. EXTREMELY THIN. HOLY CRAP, IT CANNOT GET MUCH THINNER. It may not register to you yet… but trust me… it is… And this works both ways. Usually we see Hate to Love… But it is just as easy to go from Love to Hate… I dislike couples getting in fights. I mean, I know it happens, but not every fight is gonna be life-ruining. Or love-ruining. Naru's a sarcastic ass. Mai knows that. She won't COMPLETELY blow up on him for something relatively little… Don't over-exaggerate their fights and such, if you have them. Even when Mai called Naru a freaking MURDERER, they sorta understood each other. Or at least, Naru understood Mai's feelings. He's more careful about these things than you seem to think he is. I would point out something about the murderer comment and the apology… a secret meaning… but I'm doing that for Blind, and it's easier to write the scenes and point it out than explain it…

Or not. I don't know. Oh well. Anyway, so Romance is as light or dark as you make it. You can pair this with, well, anything, really. So have at it!

ONWARD, HO!

Sci-Fi

Oh, joy. Sci-Fi.

Science Fiction.

Self-explanatory, right?

All those things with spaceships or mutant weapons and such can go nicely in this category (not limited to spaceships and/or mutant weapons and/or such).

Actually, fun fact for my Blind readers (I keep mentioning it and I feel bad for those who haven't read it and don't care to, SORRY ABOUT THAT). Blind is actually sorta a Sci-Fi fic… not quite yet, of course, but I guess you could consider it one, based on where my future plans for it go…

Going on past that, Sci-Fi is where you can have your nice bit of inter-galatical (spelling?) battles with space pirates using PK power (I know I'm being stereotypical with Sci-Fi, but I don't write it much and it's easier to just stay with one theme… apparently, I chose SPACE….).

Oh, gosh, that looks like I'm saying you're having spelling battles with pirates… er, I'm asking about the spelling of 'galatical', for those confused…

(THAT BRING UP A GOOD POINT! Make sure your sentences make sense to everyone. Or, at least try to.)

Anyway, honestly, the only reason I watched the Sci-Fi channel was for Ghost Hunters. No joke. I guess I was always destined to come here….

There aren't many of these stories for Ghost Hunt. GHOST is in the bloody title. Science…. Well…. Not so much…. (Although in the series Naru is trying to prove that Parapsychology should be a recognized science, so…)

So I suppose I should go ahead and start…?

Let's see if I can do this….

LET'S GO!

)start(

"Captain Taniyama, reporting in for duty," I said with a salute to my commanding officer.

"Right, your mission is to take down… him." The man in front of me pointing to a picture on the wanted wall. A well-known fugitive.

Noll.

That's what we call him.

I don't know his name. The report should tell me… right?

Then suddenly, alarms were going off everywhere. Sirens, lights, and…

I fell out of bed.

Looking around, I found my room just as small as I remember it being completely. Not a thing out of place. Well, except me.

"Great, a dream…" I mumbled as I got up and checked my clock.

…

….

…..

"I'M LATE!"

I ran and ran until I made it to Grand Central. I worked there as a secretary to the main control center of the ships that came in and out. I hope to be a captain one day… but I needed training. Lots of it. Currently, that's why I'm working. To pay for the schooling I get and attend to.

I came in to find that I was actually on time due to my running… but I was still almost late as all heck.

A space captain… I'll get there one day.

"Hello, Miss?" a voice cut into my thoughts. A person was in front of my desk.

"Oh, sorry Sir, I can help you. Whatcha need-er, what do you need?"

"Yes, I have an appointment with a… Captain… Smeecion?"

The man came closer to the desk…

Wait….

I know him….

He was the guy on the wanted poster in my dream….

"My name is Noll."

… Well… that's… interesting… -ly TERRIFYING!

)end(

Mai and her precognitive dreams… so much fun in such little time.

So… she works at a space port… er, this is obviously an AU….

This is adoptable by all means as long as you swear a nice adventure that puts the movie Treasure Planet to shame…. (recently went on a Disney high…) And don't forget the space pirates and the possible kidnapping of Mai by Noll to use as a hostage/crewmate… STOP THINKING ON IT SABASTIAN, BEFORE YOU BAN ITS ADOPTION!

*ahem* So… Next? (sorry this one was shorter than the other usually are… well, mostly)

Spiritual

So you might think this is easy for Ghost Hunt.

Well, not exactly.

Spiritual has to do with one's inner spirit. You know, faith and such.

A story with 'Spiritual', well… when I (and this is my opinion) think spiritual, I usually think of life-moving stories and giant shifts in spirit and faith.

So… I suppose John would probably be in this particular genre quite a lot, huh?

Without further ado, I suppose I shall teach by example?

)start(

It was hard at first to get used to the idea.

Really hard.

Me… who would have guessed it would be me that would end up like this?

Here?

In front of all these people, these rich men and young pursuers...

In this sort of dress. Especially in this sort dress.

John was here too. Well, I suppose he would be expected.

Yeah, John did sorta help run the place, after all. He's also the one that got me into this.

I expected someone else from SPR to come in. Get confused. Stop me from what I was doing.

Why would someone stop me from something that finally made me feel whole?

Complete?

Sane?

Purposeful?

What would they be doing? Saving me? From what?

To relieve these people from their innermost sins… Yes, it was my purpose to do this.

What was it that was so wrong about it?

After all…

So what if I have become like this? Nothing can stop me now.

I've already committed to this.

Heh…. John was helpful during the whole process. More than I could have ever imagined. I mean, I already knew how he felt on this inside about this… but offering me a place in this world of his? I couldn't have asked for more.

"Sister Mai?" a man asked on the other side of the confessional.

"Yes?" I called back softly.

"Thank you for listening to my sins and sorrows."

"Not a problem. We sisters are here to help you."

With that, the man left and another took his place.

Yes… I suppose….

Converting to the Christian faith was quite a shock to even me.

And now… being a sister… being a nun…

Yes… it's a shock.

And I couldn't be happier.

)end(

… So if you thought I was going to make Mai a slut (and other such related words) and someone had to help her back to her old self or whatever, then you fell for my trap. If you didn't… Well, then you didn't. Nothing witty to be had here I'm afraid.

And that's all I really want with Mai the Nun. The only thing I can think of for her beyond this blurb is maybe the story of her conversion and all that. Maybe the others finding out, but I can't really think of much for that one as much as the other one…

Anyway, so for Spiritual… think of soul and faith. This doesn't need to be religious like the example was though. Like… once I read a fanfic about a character that had been injured, but had a vision about if they died and stuff. So they pulled through and lived.

Spiritual… to do with the spirit and matters of the soul. Understand?

Then we're moving on.

Supernatural

This is sorta a give-me. The whole thing is going to be supernatural no matter what in this fandom. Unless it's an AU, but even then, it's usually supernatural somehow.

Basically, ghosts and hauntings, mythical creatures and curses can all be associated with Supernatural.

We all know this pretty well… I mean, come ON, the word 'ghost' is in the bloody title!

There are also cases of other weird things that we can associate with supernatural. Basically, it's anything that can't be explained normally. It's not natural, it's supernatural! (Okay, that was from a friend a long time ago, but anyway…)

I feel like I'm not giving much about the genre's right now and just posting up examples… but I really can't think of much for the genre descriptions. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory…

So I'm going to go to the example blurb anyway.

)start(

It's dark.

Really dark.

It was also bright.

Really bright.

Crashing together… I was caught somewhere in the middle of it.

Then I fell through the ground right before it hit.

And I was awake. On a… hospital bed?

What happened?

A nurse came in a short while later. Or maybe a long while?

Then she left just as quickly. Or just as slowly.

A boy came in.

Well, I say boy, but he was around my age, maybe older by a year or so. Dark hair, dark clothes, blue eye, and pale skin.

He was… pretty. Or should I say handsome? He is male.

The boy walked over to my bedside. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I guess."

"I'm sorry. I drag you on these cases…. But I almost didn't make it in time. I'm sorry."

Wow. He looked sorta distraught. He also seemed like he had some sort of mask on… I felt something stir in me, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"I'm sure you did all you could."

He didn't respond.

We kept in silence like this for a little while.

Then I decided to ask some of the questions that weighted on my mind.

"What happened anyway?"

"The ghost… she cursed you. We're currently working on breaking it… you almost got hit by a… well, it wasn't a real train, more like a phantom train. Fortunately or not, you fell through the unstable floor into some of the service tunnels under the tracks. You did get hurt pretty bad…. I'm so sorry, Mai."

Mai…

"My name is… Mai?"

The boy looked a bit shocked. I was still confused so I ignored that and continued my next question with a tilt of my head.

"And who are you?"

)end(

Yeah, the curse sorta caused her to lose her memory… Was it from her accident, or was this the curse's intention all along?

Well. I can't exactly ask you to tune in. I'm actually considering using this case for…. Something. Don't know what for, but whatever. So for now its fine the way it is like this.

This is one of the ones that might require a bit more research. Or a lot more research. Or you can BS the whole thing and hope it sounds okay. Either way, good luck!

Supernatural is really fun to mess around with.

"The grapes are haunted! The gingersnaps too!"

"Honey… they're on fishing wire… You can see it clearly right here-"

"NO THEY ARE HAUNTED!"

…Shall we continue?

Suspense

Oh, suspense! Things to make you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for what happens next.

They also lead to interesting cliff hangers.

Suspense… Action… Ah, they're fun to write AND go hand-in-hand. (They do NOT need to though.)

For all you know, it could be suspense over a turtle race. It could be suspense about someone who's sick. It could be suspense during a battle.

Suspense over whether or not you failed your test.

Suspense is everywhere.

Even if it's not intense suspense. (HA! THAT RHYMED!)

The last blurb I did for Supernatural might be considered Suspense to some. However if the story were to be written out in full, it probably would NOT be considered Suspense.

Then again, what do I know?

… Hmm…. What should I use for this one… hmmm…

)start(

"We have three minutes to evacuate before we are crushed. Yes, Naru, I am TOTALLY fine."

That would be me talking.

And the sounds of destruction you hear? That would be the building we are in.

And possibly going to get buried by.

"Mai, it's okay, we're going to get out. Everyone else is outside. You can see them out by the van, can't you?" Naru said without even stopping for a second as he ran ahead of me while pulling be along by the wrist. "Worse comes to worse, we jump out one of these windows."

"On the seventh floor, Naru?"

"We'll be fine."

We continued running. Debris and rubble rained down from above as the building shook. We had to dodge larger pieces as we ran.

We got to the fourth floor when we had to stop.

The stairwell had been taken out.

The debris was falling faster. We had hoped to get out, so although it was safer to be on the roof than the ground floor, we ran down anyway.

We were almost out of time.

"What do we do? We have maybe a minute left!"

"Mai…" Naru was suddenly very calm. He was looking off somewhere, but seemed tense. "Listen to me. We'll be fine."

"Naru…"

In a flash Naru turned around…

And he kissed me.

Then he dragged us to a window…

And we jumped.

)end(

Ah, left you with a cliffhanger, huh?

Well, actually, there's a second part.

)restart(

Somehow, we didn't break ourselves on the fall out. We also were fortunate enough that the others didn't have to watch us jump and/or die. Well, we didn't die, but they certainly would have freaked out.

We did, however, end up staying at the hospital.

For a week.

Turns out bruised ribs are literally no laughing matter.

Neither is Naru's arm. The idiot literally fell on his arm. And then broke it.

Lin is still scolding us both for even being near the building and separating from the group.

Go us for thinking that the curse was in there.

Well, we were right…

But we nearly died.

Almost all of SPR was on us as well. Actually, the only ones who weren't would be Naru and me. Even JOHN was getting rather upset. He didn't say much of anything, but you could tell exactly how he felt…

But we were fine….

And Naru still ordered his tea every ten minutes.

He might have been more than a little irritated about having to jump out a building, breaking his arm in the process. Or the fact the curse was set to destroy itself and that it was probably my horrible luck that caused it to start falling as soon as we were as far from the exit we could get.

But you know what?

I'm just glad the idiot didn't think of using his PK on the place. It'd be even worse if he did do that.

If I could just take Gene's place as his PK partner… I mean, not replace him, but as a substitute…

"What if I told you that you could?"

)end(

…. I left you with a cliff-hanger for a story that doesn't exactly exist. Though I could have easily ended right after they jumped. I actually considered doing that and not having a second part… But whatever.

I wasn't really feeling the story until the second part anyway. Though I'm not sure whether this will exist past here, just like the others here.

Suspense is associated a lot with cliff hangers for obvious reasons.

Suspense can also be really funny if you want to. I just can't think of an example for that…

I really can't think of anything else to say….

Next?

Tragedy

If you're like almost everyone in this universe, you've experienced tragedy. I'm no exception.

But the thing with Tragedy as a genre… NO MATTER WHAT, YOU CANNOT HAVE A HAPPY-HAPPY ENDING. It might be a bit bittersweet, I suppose… but not all 'Oh happy day, the flowers are singing and I'm so in love and everything is great and my significant other loves me and we're happy and we'll have kids and be married and I'M GOING TO SING A SONG TO THE BIRDS!'…. Yeah, that's not allowed to happen. It can be bitter-sweetly happy, or downright tear-jerking…

But no singing with the birds.

None of that nonsense.

None.

(-Fun fact, whenever I think tragedy, I think about the Princess Tutu anime….-)

You're allowed to be as tear-jerking as you want. Make people sad. Make it, well, tragic.

Tragedy…. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy I think… (I'm so well versed in this stuff… *sarcasm*)

So basically, be sad. Angst has made its appearance again… Well, usually.

Just make people sad, or melancholy. A sad smile while watching the kids play in the yard. A tear on the scrapbook with only their most fond memories. A monologue in front of a tree.

Do whatever it is you think you need to.

Just… don't screw it up. Oh dear Lord, please don't screw it up. A tragedy is a tragedy… so while you can have your dry humor, not a lot laughing is done. At least at the end. The beginning…. Or before the climax, yes. One really good one was when the entire story was about this group of people all happy and just forming romantic relationships. It was a happy story. Nothing wrong, maybe seeming a bit pointless at times…

Then in the last like, five pages, there was an explosion, leaving only the main character alive but with severe scarring and pregnant with her fiancé's child.

And then it ended.

No sequel.

Nothing.

I nearly threw the book….

But then I read the whole thing over again.

I can't remember the name of it for the life of me though.

So since my memory sucks, let's get on to the blurb before I forget about it.

)start(

It just… it wasn't fair.

Of all the things that could happen, this is what took place?

I try to call to him. So many times."

Naru, can't you hear me? Hey, come on!"

… But he can't hear me.

Go figure. I'm not exactly alive as is.

More like… possessed and made a puppet by a demon and now used for said demon's own sick games.

I also can't be seen, heard, felt, or anything really by other people unless my stupid 'master' decides he wants them to.

At first I tried get their attention the usual ways. You know, talk to them and stuff.

Not even Lin or Masako could tell I was there.

So then I started throwing tantrums. Slamming books, banging doors, I even broke a window once….

But to no avail.

They didn't know what was here. After their exorcisms didn't work (I'll admit that it burned a bit when they did them… well, Ayako's didn't, but it's the middle of Shibuya, no way is there a tree she can use), I stopped and just started watching them.

What was worse… Even though they greatly mourned my 'death' –although there wasn't a body, and I had been suspected of running away since I was taken away in the middle of the night, cleared only by the fact that the window was broken—, they did eventually move on. Even Naru stopped trying to use his psychometry to find me… I mean, I was sorta a demon puppet now. He couldn't read me if he tried, but he also couldn't see the moment I became what I was… dead but not. Alive but not.

Then again, while I was stuck in my teenaged body, it had been at least fifteen years since then.

They didn't forget about me, so that made me happy. But they did learn to live their lives.

And I'm glad they did.

I watched as my friends finally got married. Started families.

It was so sweet when I found out that the eldest of the Houshou kids were named Mai after me.

Naru still was the one I watched the most, though. He now had his twin's death and my 'death' to happen here in Japan, but still he stayed.

Alas, as much as I'd like to watch them as they grew older, watch over their kids and such... I felt myself slipping.

I didn't belong in this in-between state.

The girl that was already more-or-less dead was dying.

At least I wouldn't be a puppet anymore, I suppose. I just know that I won't be able to stay haunting this place forever…

So as soon as I feel that I'm officially dead as can be, I'm moving on.

But not without a goodbye.

I figured out long ago that, while I can't write messages on paper without it looking like blood and coincidentally (and ironically) bleeding all the words together to an untellable mangled mess, I could do other things.

I also found out that the girl who ironically enough shared my name could see me. Go figure, huh?

So I already knew what I was going to do.

Today everyone was here. All the kids and everything. Even our favorite workaholics were hanging around in the seating area. The office was closed and everyone seemed to be having a favorable enough time, though something seemed to bother them. It was towards the end of the day when I knew that they would stop leaving that I beckoned the young Mai to come to me in the kitchen.

Being only a child, she didn't question it and ran off by herself to me.

Well, aren't we smart?

"Hi there," I said as friendly as I could.

"Why are you in your pajamas?"

… I did mention I got kidnapped in the middle of the night, right?

"I'm leaving soon, so don't worry about it. See that pencil and pad over there?" I pointed to the table.

"Yes," little Mai responded.

"Well, I need to get a message to my friends. Can you help me?"

"Okay," she said before trotting over to the supplies mentioned.

"I'm going to borrow your hand, so don't freak out, okay?" I told her. "Just keep still and stare out the window."

Little Mai complied, and I was able to ghost my hand into hers and use it.

I'd only recently figured out this ability, but even if I knew it before I was NOT using someone from SPR or any other random person, and though I'd rather not use this girl, I didn't have a choice.

I finished quickly. I ended up using the whole pad, huh, go figure. It was nearly empty before too.

"Okay, done. Now I have one more task," I said to the little girl. She turned her head towards me curiously.

"Alright…"

"I want you to get everyone in the other room in here. Can you do that?"

"Easily," she said.

Then she screamed louder than I thought possible…

But sure enough, they came.

"What's wrong?" Monk asked, picking up his little girl. Ayako and Naru both quickly looked over the girl. It was not a shock to anyone that my namesake is Naru's favorite by far. Then again, she's a heck of a lot quieter and more compliant than I ever was…

"I was told by the lady to get you all in here," she said modestly.

I nearly laughed. Geez, since when was I a lady?

"The lady?" Naru asked.

"Yeah, she's right there," little Mai said as she pointed to where I was. I smiled and waved even though I knew she would be the only one to see it.

"Sweetie," I said. "Give the papers we wrote on to Naru."

"But who's N… Naru?" the girl sounded out.

Oh, right. The kids didn't know about his nickname just yet. The adults kept in minimal so they would learn that technically it's not actually okay to call someone a narcissist 24/7.

"Mr. Shibuya, then," I said. The girl nodded and handed the papers to a stunned Naru.

Guess he wasn't expecting that one.

"Mr. Shi, here you go," the girl said, prodding him with the papers she held in her hands. He hesitated before taking them and then immediately going to the first page. There he found the beginning of the letter I wrote out for them.

"To my dearest friends…" he read out.

I felt myself pulling away. I glowed golden for a second.

The others could see me now.

I finished the first sentence.

"… Thank you for everything."

And then I was gone…

But then I wasn't.

To a happy place where I would willingly wait forever to see my still-alive friends…. Yes, I suppose this will be where I'll stay for a while.

Hopefully a long while.

"Care to sit with me?" Gene asked from where he sat. I nodded and sat next to him.

"I suppose we'll be waiting her for your brother for a while then?"

"Knowing him, he already knows we are patiently waiting and is going to make us wait for as long as possible to punish us for leaving…"

I thought for a second. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

So we watched.

And we waited.

Still, though, we always hoped that they never came.

)end(

Using death is a pretty common way to make a tragedy, though I'm sure there are other ways to do it to.

…not that I can think of any right now…

Er, anyway… It would probably be more tragic to Mai to have someone else die…

But I just couldn't.

I pick on Mai WAY TOO MUCH…

…but she makes it too easy.

But also, imagine if you stopped growing but you had to watch as everyone around you grew.

It'd be pretty upsetting.

I probably would have worked on that more if it weren't for the fact that I'm almost done with the genres and I really don't feel like going through all of that and editing. Most of these blurbs were written on the spot anyway, actually. As far as adopting this one… Meh, have at it. I'm not that interested in Demon Puppet Mai, I'm afraid. Sorry 'bout that.

But I do hope that you got the general idea of Tragedy.

I suppose Gene's story is a tragedy, I think….

ONTO THE FINAL GENRE! ABOUT DAMN TIME!

Western

If you are anything like me, you had to go phone a friend on what a Western was…

One word.

Cowboys.

Or at least, that's what it's technically supposed to be.

For whatever reason, if it's an anime, all it needs to be considered Western is if it's not in Asia.

Actually that's for sort of story. Not just anime or manga. But seriously… Just because it take place out west of where it was originally was or west of you DOES NOT make it a Western.

Westerns=Cowboys. Also, they're probably in America and involve at least one bar fight, one hanging, and one showdown.

And outlaws. Plenty of outlaws. Plus the sheriff who is probably either scary-good or drunk.

Heh, once my friend pointed out that almost every country in the world was obsessed with cowboys it seemed… And then America is just like, 'YOU CAN HAVE 'EM!'…

… Anyway…

Oh it's a good thing Westerns are more or less the same plot or else this would be a REALLY hard blurb to make.

-Most Westerns are probably going to be an AU as far as fanfics go. Just like this one will be.-

)start(

"Come on, Chessie!" I said as we rode away as far as we could as fast as we could from the burning town.

That stupid idiot…

That stupid outlaw!

"Minami… I won't forget your name, not ever," I swore as the town disappeared in the horizon.

I knew what he wanted.

He wanted a certain gem. That gem was in a necklace, a locket made just to hide it. The locket looked plain and, if you didn't open it correctly, would simply show the pictures of a man and a woman.

My parents, actually.

If you opened it right, the gem would come straight out.

And I had this locket. It wasn't slung around my neck or in a pocket. No, I hemmed it into the side of my dress, easily accessible if you knew where to look.

Not so much if you didn't.

… Eventually I made it to another town in this dusty place. I knew I couldn't stay long, but the horse needed rest and so did I.

It was when I was in my room in the old town that it happened. I was just getting ready for bed, and had started to undress to get my hastly-packed nightgown. I still had on my dress, but the other things like my shoes and stuff were lazing around on the floor.

A thump was heard behind me.

I turned around to see a man crouching on the ground.

"Hey! What are you-"

I was cut off by the guy grabbing me and getting me on the wall under the window, clamping a hand over my mouth in the process.

"Sh, quiet for… what, five minutes?" he whispered.

I was scared, so all I could do was nod shakily.

I don't know how long we kneeled there, pressed against the wall under the window. It was obvious the man was trying not to be seen…

Finally, he let out a sigh. "Sorry about that ma'am. I'm sorta being chased."

"Mmph," I said, considering I still had his hand over my mouth. I wasn't so stupid as to think his hand was clean enough to lick. It's dusty and dirty even if you're inside one of the finest places out here.

"Oh, sorry," he said and completely let me go before helping me stand up. "I'm Yasuhara. Call me Yasu."

"Yasu," I said calmly.

"Yes?"

I hit him with my boot. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU SNEAK INTO A GIRL'S ROOM?!"

"Sh! The guys chasing me might not be out there, but my boss sure is!" Yasu said as he clutched his head.

"Are your boss is more scary than the guys that are probably going to kill you?"

"Yes I am," a new voice said. A cold, cynical voice.

Another man was in my room, leaning against the window. "And why are YOU in my room?" I asked, raising my boot as a weapon.

"Calm down. I'm just here to collect the idiot who decided it was okay to piss off people that already hate us and then had the gall to sneak into a lady's room to hide as said lady was obviously going to undress."

I snorted. "I'd hardly call myself a lady, but I suppose that makes sense. Now who the hell are you?"

"Kazuya," the man and Yasu quickly answered.

My eyes narrowed. "Considering how fast you responded and the fact you both said it that fast, I'm inclined not to believe you… But considering my own circumstances, I can't judge. I suppose a fake name wouldn't be too bad an idea."

"Your own circumstances?" 'Kazuya' questioned.

I grimaced. I obviously couldn't say that much. "Let's just say that I'm kind of on the run. I actually am going to get as far from here as possible come morning."

"Is this town that bad?" Yasu said.

"No, not really. It's too close to my hometown though."

"Your hometown? What made you leave?" Yasu asked.

"Fire. Minami," I said. Might as well tell them something. "And he's sorta looking for me." Half-truth. He didn't know it was ME he was looking for, but he knew that someone else had the gem by now for sure.

"Minami… I've heard of him. We're not too fond of each other," Kazuya said. Then he eyed me up and down.

"Hey, what're you doing?" I asked as he just stared at me.

"It's dangerous to go alone, especially a young lady. Take this," Kazuya tossed a pistol from one of his… five holsters. Wow. "We're taking you with us. We'll drop you off with an old friend that's far from here."

"Say WHAT?!"

)end(

Okay, so actually, this one has more plot to it. They travel back towards the burnt town, Naru figures out that the gem he was looking for is with Mai. Well, after having to dodge around Minami's men in the old burnt place. Mai agrees to give it to him as soon as she's with this 'old friend' of his. Naru reluctantly agrees and they go through this whole journey to get there. The others will obviously show up eventually, including a particular scene with Masako as a lady with a nice dress and a lot of explosives. She's… not exactly their friend. Teams up with Minami even. Might die later on, maybe not, after changing sides and helping Mai and her friends.

Anyway… before I write more of this than I have to… Westerns. The good old west. Or not so good.

It doesn't really say anything about the west OR cowboys, but that is the setting. I just don't know much about the west or what to describe exactly so I couldn't put in much imagery…

But… OH HEY! WE'RE DONE WITH ALL THE GENRES!

YAY!

Now for part two

In General, Stuff You NEED To Know

So, in this section, we'll go over things that you probably SHOULD and SHOULD NOT do while writing, particularly for this genre/fandom.

Like I said before use CLIENTS, NOT CUSTOMERS. They are hiring the team to help them, not to eat dinner. Just… NO. PLEASE. FOR THE LAST BITS OF SANITY I MAY OR MAY NOT POSSESS, USE CLIENTS.

Cannot stress that enough. Gah.

We all make mistakes in writing. Missing letters, double letters, messed up words, confused words, screwed up paragraphs… But try to get them all out. I know I'm not perfect, and I know I probably have mess-ups in this. It becomes a problem when it's once or so times in a sentence, though, so just be careful.

AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, USE PARAGRAPHS!

Keep in mind that at this point of this fanfic, you've read… well, let's just say that the total number of pages in this entire thing, including what you haven't read yet, is 120 word document pages. Now imagine I didn't use paragraphs at all. None. Just one big block of word.

Yeah, exactly. Not pleasant, huh?

As a general rule of thumb, use a paragraph each time someone new talks. I don't care if the two characters are lovers, twins, clones, mirrors, I don't care. NEW. PARAGRAPH. The ONLY TIME more than ONE PERSON will have words in a sentence in your nice little quotation marks is if they are speaking the same thing at the same time.

You are allowed to say, "Both parties agreed with variations of Yes to the plan expect for BLANK, who said No." Stuff like that, it's okay. When you're writing, it won't be in quotation marks like it did just a second ago. It will be a part of the sentence, and therefore allowed. Depending on what's being said next, you may or may not want a new paragraph. I can't tell you a trick for that—you've got to do that one on your own.

Another thing. On the FanFiction website, it tells you to use double paragraphs. That means that when you type, you need to click the enter button twice for each paragraph. It'll look mushed otherwise.

I'm about to show you what happens when you don't.

I'm slowly dying inside as I do this.

Don't do this.

Even in a list format like this, DON'T.

I swear.

I'll key your car.

Same as if you don't use your GODDAMN TURN INDICATOR.

OH MY F***ING GOSH, IT'S THERE FOR A REASON!

I usually don't use language like that (okay maybe I do), so that should tell you I really will key your car if you don't use it.

Also, buckle seat belt.

Um, you before the car…

You can replace cars, no one can replace you.

Never drink and drive.

Don't text and drive.

… Get the idea?

Click. The. Enter. Button. Twice. Oh. My. Effin. God. I'll. Key. Your. Damn. Car.

And use your turn indicator. I'll get a whole army and a bunch of keys. The arrows will NEVER COME OFF.

There may or may not be variant slurs written on there too…

Mainly rhyming with, 'Use your clod ham turn indicator you little hit'.

I'm sure you can figure that one out.

Try to edit your work and look for mistakes before you post. I know I sometimes don't, but that because I usually have these behemoth chapters… Plus I'm generally good at making sure it's all nice because I hate revising anyway. Or at least I think I good at making sure it's all nice…

Remember to pace yourself. It's okay if it takes some time to go from one point to another. Even if you want to hurry, you need to have some form of pacing. If you go too fast, it'll go over everyone's heads and all the readers will feel a 'Huh?!' feeling go over them… in reverse, don't go too slow, either. If it takes only about a minute to get someplace in the story, don't make an hour-long conversation during the travel there. If you are too slow, it could disinterest readers. It's a fragile line, sometimes… but a bit of practice and listening to what others say will take you far. Also, it helps to read your own work. For one, it tells you if your point got across. It also tells you if you want a different angle than the one you have. Also, sometimes you just need to look at your work and say, "Damn, I'm awesome," and just give yourself a nice narcissistic boost. And I know I have trouble with pacing too… I try, okay?!

I know English is tricky. I know not everyone is very good at it, and I'm so proud of those who can speak it when it's not their first tongue. (Anyone else think tongue is a very weird word? And it rhymes with sponge and it's just… strange… whatever). I understand you may have trouble…

But I do know that there are lots of people who DO speak English as a first language, so please, refrain from improper grammar and from using slang words too much. Also, keep the speech patterns of each character in mind.

For example, Monk might say 'Gig', 'Man', 'Show', and ect, but if NARU'S –or anyone else for that matter— is saying that, you should probably assume that they are possessed (not an out-of-realm possibility with this particular fandom).

Another example is that Mai would actively curse at… well… anything, really. Including her own boss. Masako, John, Yasu, and maybe a couple of the others would not do so (well, at least at their boss. Yasu might in other situations…). BUT ESPECIALLY NOT JOHN. I'M PRETTY SURE JOHN COULDN'T CUSS IF HE WANTED TO. If he did during any version of Ghost Hunt (novel, anime, or manga), do tell me because seriously, I can't think of any time he has cursed…

If you need to have a separate document just for notes on a story, go ahead and make one. It helps you keep organized. If you're stumped, you can go there. It's also interesting if you haven't updated it from your previous ideas in a while, and so, when you go back, you find how different it became. It doesn't have to be organized. It doesn't have to be an outline. It just needs to be a nice little document that's super messy and has random ideas more or less jotted down on/in it. Though I do suggest keeping it somewhat slightly organized so you can actually find your ideas and references and stuff.

Here's a fun fact—when writing (especially with fandoms/genres like Ghost Hunt), you'll find your doing more RESEARCHING than actual writing.

Yeah. That's right. Research.

Now, I'm not saying every story needs researching on the various ways the color purple can cause mental distress.

I'm not even saying it's research on terms such as clari-whatever and teleki-something (although that may also need to be done).

It's research on the CHARACTERS THEMSELVES.

Did you know Mai's blood type in B? -99% sure of this one.

I think Naru's is AB. –Eh, about 50%, if that, sure on this one.

They cannot donate blood to each other.

You'll find some blood types can have certain diseases that that blood type is more prone to. You can play with that. There's also something about how blood types affect personality and stuff like that.

I advise when you do your own characters (as you may very well do one day) and decided to put them in a story, have a little sheet of information on them. Stick to that sheet. You may change it, but while writing, remember what the character is like. You don't need to put blood types, specific height (though I'd advise you do this one), left or right handed (again, I suggest you do that one too. There's so much playing ground!), or anything like that.

Just know the character.

That brings us to our next point.

Try to the best of your abilities to keep the characters IN CHARACTER.

I understand there may be some changes. That's expected. In The Transfer ( I DON'T OWN IT, BUT I LOVE IT AND MOST OF YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY READ IT), Mai and Yasu are more secretive. Well, I'm not going to spoil it, but for those who know, it's sorta expected that they DO become more secretive.

In Blind (WHICH I DO OWN, HAHA!), Mai and anyone else who knows her secret keep it from the others, since Mai is uncomfortable with the attention or behavioral changes that happen when people figure out she is blind.

And so on and so forth.

Maybe Mai is something more powerful than we knew. Please try to be gentle with the transition. Remember, the character is not originally like that. To get from point A to point B, something has to happen, and it usually can't just be at a drop of a hat. Be gentle.

If Mai's suddenly been through vigorous princess training for Lord-knows-what-reason, she isn't SUDDENLY extremely graceful. It'll take time and a couple of falls. SHE IS STILL MAI. Even if she's been faking the entire time and you just now know the real Mai, it has to show that it is still Mai—no matter the act, your true self will show somehow. Mai can be portrayed many ways, but if she's suddenly going to go cold… she can do that quickly, but it still takes time. From cold to WARM is always much harder and TAKES LONGER. Naru won't suddenly get less dense to love. It'll be a long process full of moments that, even as you write it, you want to hit him. Even if you're doing it in flashbacks to show where they are now, make it so you and the reader can FEEL the time that passed.

FEEL.

FEEL FEEL FEEL.

FEELS! (Sorry, tumblr moment there… hehe.)

What is the F word in writing?

Feelings.

Well, I'm sure there are PLENTY of F words you can think of, but Feelings is IMPORTANT.

If the character is sad, make me sad.

If the character is happy, make me happy.

If the scene is bitter sweet, make me feel the melancholy of it.

If the scene is funny, make me laugh.

Let me see what's happening.

Let me be there.

Let me experience the story.

Basically, let me be a creepy going in on EVERYBODY'S business.

Use the five (and sometimes more) senses to tell me what's happening. In Blind (as you can tell, I'm assuming you've at least figured some of it to some degree, but basically, Mai is blind {go figure}), Mai is down a sense, and I have to work with that. I try my best to have you experience it through her other senses. I am still developing myself. No one is perfect. Writers are always developing themselves and their writing styles. I know I have work to do, which is another reason why I decided in Blind to not suddenly blind her, or have Naru come back to find her to be blind, but to go through the series.

I sometimes get more practice writing than I think I ever need… but I'll always need more. I think that's about as true as you can get right there, and trust me, I know it's true.

Just let me see, smell, feel, hear, and taste what's happening. If there's a sixth sense, you can use that. You don't HAVE to, but it's good to use it every once in a while.

OH YEAH.

I MENTIONED RESEARCH BEFORE, DIDN'T I?!

WELL, WE'RE GOING BACK TO THAT NOW.

I know what you're probably thinking. Research sucks.

Well, I won't lie. It sucks sometimes.

However, the difference between the papers you're forced to research and write about when you're in school and writing for pleasure is that you might actually somewhat like what you're researching.

Plus, you can stop more or less where you want to. And bull crap it when you don't really want to.

It's about what you like, it's not research to oblivion (well, probably not), and if you want to switch or do something else, you don't exactly have a tremendous due date. It's not all about the topic you researched. It's ingrained into whatever you're writing. You'll also find the weirdest things to research about (the other day I was researching about the nursery rhyme Ladybug Ladybug for no reason).

Yeah, you'll research about random crap like that. You won't even realize you're researching them. You'll be so used to it that you'll suddenly find yourself researching stuff that's totally random and looking up words to check that it means what you think it means.

This may take some time, but it happens. Trust me. I know. I've struggled through every single damn research paper I've ever had to do, yet now I'll look through my web history and find all these Google searches.

You'll also find that researching gives you ideas.

My brain works differently. I can look up and see some leaves fall of some trees at a random place and think of how a scene would work there, what would the characters be doing? Why were they there? What's going on? What season is it? What questions do THEY have? How did they get here? Why here? Are the alone? What do they feel like right now? Are their feelings opposite of how the surroundings look? Happy? Sad? Confessing? Getting a grip on reality? Running away from it? Griping around or whatever? Continued and continued on like that for hours… but also seconds… GAH!

Yeah, anyway, you know how I said I researched Ladybug Ladybug earlier? Well, I sorta got an idea for a case from THAT. A NURSERY RHYME. Now if you know the song, then you might see where I got it. Thing is, I'm not sure I'll use that idea. I've had a lot of things like that happen, where I get an idea or image and suddenly, it's something completely be-fucking-ly different.

However, I know that not everyone's brain works like that. For all I know, I'm the only one whose brain works like that. I'm fine with that. I've come to terms that my brain does not have an off button. EVER. Heh, it's not a bad thing unless you're trying to take a math test. That's where several scenes and characters have come from. Yep. My MATH CLASS. And not just because math is ungodly boring to me and that I hate it and don't like it usually. I just… it just happens. I don't understand it… (although, I've been tutoring people in pre-algebra. Apparently I can do that JUST FINE…. But no one in my family seems to believe me when I tell them that… I don't blame them.)

Anyway, back on track from my brain's oddities, researching can help you find things you like and find interesting. Seriously, it's true.

Research can suck. We have to do it though, so you might as well find something you like and do it instead of hating the entire world for even having the topic you're forced to research.

I have found that I either love or hate the 'related searches' button. I hate it on bad days and I just want ONE DAMN THING and I can't find it because for some reason something else that's not even halfway related is really popular and now I CAN'T FIND IT because everything will try to redirect me. God, it's awful. However, I do LOVE it when I have something interesting, but it's not quite in depth enough for me, so I can search on those to find stuff related to it that's all cool and really nifty. There are other reasons I may hate/love the related searches button, but you'll probably find yourself in the same exact boat.

It's pretty awesome, honestly. Trust me. This boat is a party with a lot of Google searches…. Okay, that's a really bad metaphor. All I can see now is a bunch of people on a boat on water with computers just typing into Google search bars and stuff and getting all giddy and crap. They also have padded headphones that cancel noise plugged into the computers and a DJ directing the whole thing at the beginning of the boat deck and crap…

Have you noticed I use Google a lot? Well, it's because I do… plus that's the automatic search engine on basically all my electronic devices. I sorta don't have a choice anyway…. And when you suddenly have an idea and are researching how kittens are affected by living with a medium even if said kitten isn't being disturbed by spirits at all when it's, oh say, 2 am on a night of an exam, you don't particular care for the system used. (PS-I haven't actually searched that, but I might in the future, and I have done things just as random…and so on and such forth.)

Hm…. What else…

Oh, I remember now….

Summaries

I probably should have different sections for the above part, like 'Research', 'Characters', 'Speech', 'Paragraphs', 'Use Your Turn Indicator Or I'll Key Your Car'…

Oh well. Maybe I'll edit it someday. Meh.

Please do not take anything I say the wrong way. I only hope to help. Summaries are a first impression and therefore are pretty important. It can literally take one word, misspelling, bad sentence, or random parenthesis to instantly turn a reader away. That is not want you want at all. So… take it with a pinch of salt, okay?

Summaries are hard sometimes. Other times it's easy. For each person, there's a different challenge in store for the summary versus the story.

I'm going to try and tell you what to do and what not to do.

You won't always get the best summary. Sometimes, it just doesn't happen. I try to think of it as if I was putting the book on a shelf in a library and/or a bookstore. I'm not going to put 'This is my first story, please read!', I'm going to talk briefly about the story.

Don't reveal the end. That sorta defeats the purpose. You want to lure readers to your story. It makes me happy to go to the stats thing on my account and look at the views. It makes me all happy and stuff. Even if they don't favorite, review, follow, or anything, I know that my story is being read. Sometimes, it's being read multiple times by the same people in said day (though I obviously can't see who unless they tell me, I just guess by the viewers-to-views ratio). You want the story to be read.

Remember that since this isn't a physical library, there is some leeway on what you can get away with on the summary.

What you SHOULD put in/do:

Something about the story.

Try to have about…. Three or so sentences.

Avoid run-on sentences.

Try to avoid telling the WHOLE DAMN STORY.

They put a word limit there for a reason—it helps you to keep it small. You only have so much room on the back of a book or on the folds of a book jacket.

Speaking of lack of space, avoid useless sentences and words.

If the intro is somewhat a preview or gives the general view of the story, I guess you can use it in a summary. It's mixed in this. Sometimes it'll be okay, others… not so much. You don't want readers reading the EXACT SAME THING and then change your writing style or something. Just… No. And while this sometimes looks good, other times it might look lazy. Totally depends on the story, writing style, or so on. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying proceed with caution…

You might want to at least indicate who the person who the story is about in the summary. If you're keeping it a mystery, okay, fine. Just be warned that some people don't like reading from certain points of views. Like… Although I adore most of SPR, I usually only care to read from Mai's POV, occasionally a bit of Naru's. After that, I usually get disinterested. It's just me. I can't help it (trust me, I've tried). They also may not want to try it because they don't know who it's about.

If you have room, you should mention if it is a sequel or a prequel. If it can be read without the other story(ies), then leave it for the author's note so if the reader would LIKE to, then they can. It's no good if your readers are confused three sentences in on a story they may like.

If you really think it's important, include why it has a rating. Such as if it is T, is it for mild violence or cursing? Or is it just for later chapters? Or perhaps for general teenage nonsense? If it is M, is it for gore or for, well, lemons. Trust me, some people enjoy reading about serial killings and would NOT appreciate practically walking in on some, ahem, intimate things.

What you SHOULD NOT put in/do.

Don't use abbreviations like LOL, OMFG, OMG, or any emoticons. It just seems like you're not going to be serious in your writing. It's okay to have fun, but that's a TEXT language, not a TEXTBOOK language. Just because you're not using text language does not mean you aren't going to have fun while writing, it just means that you need to actually write it out. You're not limited to 160 characters. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE, HOLY CRAP. I'll still key your car. (This rule is made null if you are writing a text message conversation or if it's relaxed like this... well, it's not a story, so I'll just call it a thing, so regardless of the fact that I haven't actually used any abbreviations, if the situation fits, in this form of writing, it can pass.)

Do not say 'This is my first fanfic, please read!' for the love of the Earth. Please. I get it, it's your first one. You're unsure. You're afraid. You want them to be gentle as you try your hardest. HOWEVER. That sentence you used was USELESS in the summary where you could have told people the awesomeness of the story you have made. You can tell them in the first author's note at the top of your fanfic. No biggie. Honestly, I find it a bit repelling when I see that sentence. I'll be honest. Brutal, but…. It's true. I might still read it anyway, but I had a less likely chance of choosing it to read.

DON'T USE USELESS SENTENCES AND WORDS!

Don't say the pairings. For one, you can choose that in the little pairing boxes when you first make the fanfic. Two, you can say it IN THE AUTHOR'S NOTES. The reason we use those is so they can understand that you're new, the pairings, the general story if you don't think the summary was long enough, why you were so late in updates… since it goes chapter by chapter, you can do this. In a novel, you just go through the entire book just like that, plus you don't already know the characters. You get to know them. Always format stories like it's in a book. Makes everything SO MUCH EASIER on you. That is a tip, not a guideline. It just… it makes it easier. PROMISE. I know I may not be the best at it, but come on, let's be serious for just a little while, okay?

Don't say to R and R (read and review) or any variant thereof. PLEASE. AUTHOR'S NOTE, PREFERABLY AT THE BOTTOM. I don't like begging, and I hate hearing begging. It's not anything personal to you guys, and it's not like you have to beg me to do stuff. I just can't take it in my heart. It makes me feel pitiful, even if I'm not the one begging. I'll give it out freely, trust me, so try not to beg. If you make it funny, though, or offer me a cookie… just be nonchalant about it, or funny. Don't beg. I get the feeling I might have begged for reviews in some story or another, but I'm not sure… if I did, I'm sorry for being all 'DON'T BEG RAH RAH RAH RAHRAHRAH' on you. I'm just trying to help… Anyways, I'm not saying to NOT ask for reviews, because you are entitled to know what others things, whether they are flames or if they are cookies. I'm just saying to not beg on your knees and grab my ankles and pleading for them and to leave that to the bottom Author's Note.

Don't leave it TOO short. You should probably mention some aspect of the story. A sentence probably WILL NOT cover it. Think of it like a skirt. Long enough to cover it, short enough to be interesting… Er, that's something my English teacher once said. No offense to the ladies (or gents) out there…

Don't say 'You'll like this, I promise' because you cannot guarantee that everyone will like the story. Just like people have different tastes in music, they have different tastes in writing.

… That about covers it.

And I'm sorry if I offended loads of people with the summaries thing… I just want to help you, okay? So try not to get mad…. Actually, have that go for this whole thing in case it offended someone's viewpoint on writing and/or how they write. Betas are AWESOME and will help you with what you need to fix. I don't have one, but I'm considering becoming one… How does it even exactly work, anyway?

Leave things for author's notes. Maybe people don't read them, but seriously, it's polite to at least skim a little bit, if not completely read, the author's note provided. Usually, they're to inform you a bit. Plus, some people have little funny skit-like things in there!

Two tips before I go.

MY FIRST NUMBER ONE TIP!

To be a good writer, you need to read.

AND MY OTHER NUMBER ONE TIP!

Have FUN, no one's forcing you to write a funny parody of the SPR characters dancing to Tik Tok by Ke$ha… and if they are, I'LL KEY THEIR DAMN CAR!

HOW TO HAUNT

HOLY CRAP IT'S DONE!

THIS TOOK WEEKS! WEEKS!

But… I'm more or less satisfied. I hope you enjoyed it. I liked writing it. I just hope it helps our New Ghosts get involved with writing and helps them develop as a writer.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy writing it, but I'd also be lying if I said I enjoyed every second of it… But it was an interesting experience, and in general I did enjoy it. It was just when I finally decided to make a list and I saw what I had left that I felt a bit discouraged, and a few of the genres I had difficulties with.

I'd like to think the producers of the Fairy Tail OSTs (I own neither Fairy Tail nor its music) for making such kick-ass music that I kept just sitting down with the songs playing in order to write. Actually, I just like their OSTs anyway. And also the song 'On the Precipice of Defeat' from Bleach (and I also don't own it or the song). Or any other song I listened to and got my ass in gear for this thing.

Also to anyone who helped out in the process, I'd like to thank you guys too! You all are awesome! You should know who you are…

If you have any questions of comments, review or PM me. If you think I should do another chapter of something like this (although I don't know what I'd do), tell me! If you have a suggestion to give for said chapter, or something you'd like me to go over or go over in further detail, then please, feel free to tell me. I honestly don't mind. I like talking to all of you guys!

Also, don't take this fic. You shouldn't anyway and I really shouldn't have to say it, but as some of you are aware, I have had problems with that… Seriously though. I worked months and spent quite a bit of my summer on it. I don't mind the blurbs that much as long as you tell me first—that part is crucial and I will find you—but for this fic…. Please don't. I mean, I obviously don't own the rights to tell you not to make a similar fic for writing in fandoms or anything like that, and you're welcome to make one about writing yourself, but as for literally taking this, maybe editing it, then reposting it as yours… Well, you can get kicked off this website if someone decides to report you. And I have 100+ pages of evidence and a rather short temperament.

Just keep that in mind.

Hm… maybe I should do a chapter or something about the characters in general…. Hmph… Or Crossovers….