Author's Note:

Salutations
Hello and good evening (or day or night or afternoon).

My name is Jace. You may otherwise refer to me as Befallings, Aquinox, Alva Hesperus or Noir Hesperus. For the first time in… many years, I have finally decided to start writing fanfic again. It is more of a 'my muse refuses to let me sleep in order to write this' rather than a 'omg fanfic, need to write moar' thing.


Personal Misgivings
Before we start, let me first introduce myself as a roleplayer. If you do not know what is a roleplayer, basically, a bunch of us will gather in a forum and/or any other places where a group of people from different places can gather online, and roleplay. What is roleplay? Roleplay is really like acting, but with words. You put yourself in the shoes of a character, and you play out that character, with words, and interact with other characters, so on and so forth. A roleplayer's style of writing is rather different from a story writer. For one, roleplayers need only focus on their own character, be it an Original Character (OC) or a Canon Character. A story writer, on the other hand, has to focus on ALL aspects, for he/she only interacts with him/herself in a story. Thus the difference.

That said, I am first and foremost a roleplayer. My style is that of a roleplayer, which will mean I will probably only focus on certain characters most of the time, while neglecting others. I will try not to do that. I know how irritating it is to want to know what happened to another character, but the writer said nothing about it. However, the warning is already up. If you still desire to flame me for my writing style, I will not hesitate to feed you to my alter ego (a.k.a. real life me) who enjoys arguments as much as Allen Walker enjoys food and Poker. I will personally rip you to shreds. Considered yourself warned.


Disclaimer
I refuse to retype the same disclaimer in every single chapter, considering it is common sense that as a fanfic writer, we do not own anything that was created by the original creators. If not, it will be called Fiction, not FAN-Fiction. However, just to placate the voracious legal wolves, I shall tell you now, loud and clear.

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING UNLESS I SAY SO. Separate, special disclaimers will be noted in each chapter.


Rating
I am not too sure how I am supposed to rate my story, as there may be some violence, some gore, and of course, Kanda's mouth. Thus, I will rate the story as it goes along, depending on the necessity of the rating. But just in case I forgot to change the rating, and it so happens that Kanda has been a naughtier boy than usual, I apologize beforehand and ask for your help to notify me of the little problem. Other than that, the only warnings that I will post will be these:

Violence, Gore, (possible) Nudity, Kanda's Mouth, Allen's Dark Side, Cross Marian, Tyki's wandering hands/eyes, Komui's sister complex, Lavi's suggestive thoughts, Lenalee's kick, Miranda's outbursts, Krory's bloodlust, and The Earl.

Additional/special warnings will be posted in individual chapters as per required.


Introduction of Fanfic
On a lighter note, I shall now proceed to the introduction of this fanfiction. I am trying out something, not so new, at least, not to the fanfiction world, but it is new to me, so spare me a few minutes to explain my concept.

Firstly, there are several categories that I will explain in depth later on. Secondly, this is a game, somewhat, both to me and hopefully, to you, dear readers. (Will be explained under 'Writing Game') Thirdly, a fanfiction is for enjoyment, both for the readers and the writers alike. A reader's enjoyment comes simply, the writer updated, and they get to read. Simple. A writer's enjoyment, on the other hand, relies on the readers' cooperation. During my first fanfic attempt, I found that my story has received many hits, but not one review is from a person other than my close friend. I am rather dejected and my ego took quite a beating. Was I not good enough? Was my story that horrifying? Did the people simply come in, take a look, and run out screaming? I do not know, I will never know, because no one told me, no one dropped me a note.

So, I ask of you for a simple review. It does not matter if you criticize my work (I welcome it, in fact), it does not matter if you simply ask for more chapters (I will be much honoured), though I draw the line at flamers (but only if you are going to be an arse and put things like 'U SUCK!!!11! GTFO!!!1!11!', then I will not hesitate to verbally degrade you till you are a pulp of unidentifiable mess), I do appreciate those that at least tell me where I went wrong, why you hate my work, and so on.

With that put aside, I shall now continue with the detailed introduction of the fanfiction.

1. Characters
In this fiction, there will be specific chapters for each character. However, I started out with the main, three males (for reasons that will be explained in the story), so be prepared for more than one canon character appearing repeatedly. I have also added an OC, though I myself do not enjoy creating original characters very much (they fall prey to Mary-Sue-dom too easily, therefore, if you spot even the slightest clue of Mary Sue symptoms, please inform me and I will eliminate it) I require this OC as this is a storyline that I have thought up a long time ago, which requires said OC.

Also, I am not very well verse with the art of using another person's character, as my own. I prefer using my own characters, born out of the dark, horrible recesses of my mind. Therefore, there may be hints of Out of Characterness (OOC-ness), so I apologize in advance. I will try and give all characters that appear in the anime and the manga, as much paper time (as opposed to screen time) as I can afford.

Furthermore, I do not promote character bashing, therefore, I will not bash any character. If the character is evil, I will portray him/her as evil. Nothing more than that. Additionally, there will be no pairings for the characters at this moment. I refused to be dragged into the world of pairings and their arguments, whether yaoi is better than yuri, straight is better than gay… all that nonsense. Perhaps there will be hints of pairings, maybe a little crush or two, but unless my muse decides the story cannot go on without a pairing, (because the show must go on!) I refuse to put a character up with another.

2. Chapters (and Missions)
My story starts out with a prologue, that is set somewhere in the middle of the timeline of said story. The first chapter, will be dated a few months before the prologue. Bear this in mind, it is crucial, for you may get confused otherwise. Furthermore, the stories are named as 'Missions', and the 'Missions' may span over several chapters. For instance, Mission One may have at least 3 chapters to it, or more, and Mission Two may have around 2 chapters. It is very unlikely that one Mission would span only one chapter, but it is possible. I will name the chapters as 'Mission One: *title* (First Encounter)', followed by 'Mission Two: *title* (Second Encounter)', and so forth.

3. Writing Game
Now, who has not heard of writers taking requests from readers? Well, this is almost the same, but you have to earn it. Firstly, you must understand that the Game applies to each MISSION, not each Chapter. So if you are confused about these two, please go back and read 'Chapters and Missions' before continuing.

In each Mission, I will put a very, very slight hint of a cross over from another anime/manga/book/movie-verse. It is very vague, like maybe the name of the town, or the name of a character, simply a brief, hidden mention, like those hidden Mickey Mouse in those Disney movies. (Note, when I say hidden, it may also be in a form of a puzzle. Like anagrams, or famous quotes.) Should you win the game, even your own creation may feature should you so desire.

So how do you win?

Simple, in the first Mission, identify the anime/manga/book/movie that I have hinted on. Identify it and give your answer in a review. Don't worry about others copying your idea. My choosing style is first come first serve. For example, you posted at 11.00 a.m. on the 12th of June 2009, someone else posts on the 11.01 a.m. on the 12th of June 2009. I will choose the first answer that is posted. If the first is wrong, then the second, if the second is wrong, then the third. And so on. If no one managed to get it after the time limit (yes, there is a time limit), I will choose from my own collection and write the story nonetheless. Also, for the sake of avoiding any discrepancies in the future, I will post the answer of the anime/manga/book/movie in the following Mission, at the top, as well as announce the winner for the last Mission's contest. Should they be no winner, this will also be announced, and the answer given, before the story is presented.

The reward. Well, as I said before, you may have your own creation mentioned. This includes, perhaps, a world you created on your own, a character of yours, a city, an idea… anything. You will be given due credit, of course. If you do not wish an original character of yours to be mention, you may choose a piece of literature of your choice. Anime/Manga/Book/Movie, all applies. As for the amount of characters you may put in, this would be up to me. It is advisable that, should you put in a canon choice, you put in more than one (I may have Wikipedia to back me up, but not watching/reading the real literature itself would put a serious dent in re-creating the scenario). And if you were to give an original piece, put in a brief description of whatever it is (be it character, settings or idea), and if I have any questions, I would put them to you before continuing.

How do I contact you? Well, if you have won, I will send a Private Message to you telling you of your victory. We will communicate via PM.

If there is anything that still confuses you, do send me a word, either through the review button or through Private Message.

4. Time Limit
There are several instances of time limits in my story. Firstly, for the Writing Game. I will give an approximate 3 days between each chapter, and around 5 days between each Mission. In other words, 'Mission One: First Encounter' will be followed 3 days later by 'Mission One: Second Encounter'. After Mission One: Final Encounter', I will wait for 5 days, before posting 'Mission Two: First Encounter'. This will allow me a grace period to prepare the story along with the mention of whatever literature that the winner chooses.

I am the type of writer that cannot write without a muse. My muse has the MOST horrible timing in history (worse than mine, horrors). Thus, should I suddenly suffer writer's block, I may take up to a week before I can post something. Should I face that particular obstacle, I will still produce a chapter for you, but I shall add a warning on top regarding my block.

Also, Real Life is very much a part of me (unfortunately). I am currently doing my attachment (I am a Law student, this very boring extension, is compulsory… I think) at a Law firm, and the assignments given to me, are at random. I would never know when I have to dash out to the Court, so I may be occupied, and thus, unable to post. Again, I will try to inform you, should such problems arise.


The End?
I am quite sure that I have covered every aspect of this ridiculously long Author's Note. Should you have any questions, any uncertainties, please feel free to post the question to me via review or PM. I will post the Prologue within a day's time, so as to allow you to read this Author's Note and post any questions to me. The Prologue and Mission One has already been written, and so, once posted, I await your participation.

Humbly yours,
Befallings


Updates

Guests Appearances (rewards) will be noted at the start of each Mission to avoid confusion. Guest Appearances cannot be answers as that would be unfair. However, the same person may win the next mission if they guess the answer correctly.

Missions may contain more than one reference, but one is enough to win.

There is a new addition to the references. Bonus reference may come from everything in our everyday life. Bonus references may range from common knowledge to traditions and customs and famous sayings. Getting one right will earn you a one-shot in any theme you choose as well as pairings if you so desire.

A Hint section will be added to the starting of all the Missions that will depict the particular genre of the reference in the particular Mission, whether it is from a book, movie, manga or anime. Also, the existence of bonus references (which will not appear in all Missions) will also be stated so you may look out for it.