FOREWORD:

Seldom does a voice, in the field of professional writing, make a true mark on your perceptions. That at the end of the day you can sift through the scuffs made from the snippets of your reading material and remember a choice phrase that made you stop and muse. Perhaps it was the glib tongue that makes you dote upon a particular passage, or the underlying symbolism that peeks out from the shadows of the words for those able to recognize it to find a deeper meaning. Maybe it was just darn clever. This is the sort of writing that enlivens our speech and our vocabulary. It inspires us in our own writing. A good book is like a good meal. It is to be devoured with your eyes until the last drop drizzles into your brain and settles, leaving you satisfied. With fresh ideas and moods and connotations floating around from your experience, you are wiser. It's a great feeling. Seldom do you find this... in the world of professional writing.

Now here you are, at Fanfiction dot net.

...Wow.

Let me provide for you a bit of an insight into the unspoken words behind that pregnant pause. Typing on a keyboard, on the grand spectrum of intelligence, is somewhere between playing "Mary Had A Little Lamb" on the piano and drowning in a puddle of rainwater that is collecting in your gaping, upturned mouth. Having an idea for a story is somewhere between being able to order your own food at a drive-thru and communicating in a series of grunts and clicks. Uploading a document from your computer onto the internet is about synonymous with the mental capacity required to identify simple words and phrases. To put it quite bluntly, praying that none of you fanfiction writers are off grinding your swords against the ole whetting stone to defend your honors against the mass of insults I've just hurled at you, any down home Chucky from Cali-for-nie-ay can post a story here. There is no selection process, no editors or publishers or any ranking of person to judge your masterpieces, unlike in the realms of Harry Potter and what have you. This means that the rare elite are mixed in with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who can peck away at a keyboard about how "tOtAlY r00XoRs LOL L33T!" the Gundam Wing robots are, and every Jane, Jill, and Sally who decides to post their plotless, pre-pubescent drivel regarding the TRUE feelings of (insert generic anime yaoi couple here).

The purpose of this little blurb is to tell you that your search through this website has not been in vain. You've stumbled upon my good friend Funara's first fic, a meticulously edited (and I should know!) and obsessed over work that's sure to satisfy your hunger for that shining voice amongst the endless influx of relevant and irrelevant information. As the beta for this story, I'm not required to make any effort other than reading the story and adding a casual suggestion here or there. But the intelligence, feeling, imagery, and elegance in which this particular one was written compels me to share with you, the possible reader, of my finds in it. To abandon fancy words for a minute...? It's good stuff!!

Now...

You have a couple of choices at this juncture. You can kick yourself in the head for reading such an uppity and long-winded foreword to a story that sings its OWN praises, then quickly continue on to the story, or you could decide that there's something cagey about my mannerisms, shut down your computer, and light it aflame. I seriously recommend the former, since not only is this story quite pleasant to read, but I wholly endorse owning and functioning a computer, as it is an extremely useful contraption that you can derive hours of entertainment from. If you do, however, end up choosing the latter suggestion, I strongly recommend that you have a pail of water at hand and to consult your local fireman as to keep a domestic fire under control. I've heard that not only are they remarkably hot, but they can be remarkably painful as well. But this is merely rumor and hearsay--your best bet would be to have a chat with the fireman.

Thank you for your patience with me, and I truly wish you enjoy.

--Random Author Person