9/21/2020 UPDATE: Okay... So... close to a year ago now... I wrote an update in regards to Responsible Adults-- my long Naruto OC story that I'd been neglecting to update-- telling people not to panic. Now... Maybe panic? The time just continued to stretch on and on... And I'd start working on the next chapter but then have that motivation quickly die out... I'm gonna be honest. I really don't know what's going to happen with it now. To be quite frank: I'd stopped enjoying writing it. And much as we should all strive for quality as well, enjoyment should always be the first priority when writing fanfiction. It's not that I didn't feel attached to the idea anymore. I would still get excited thinking about future events I'd planned. But then I'd think about the steps I'd have to take to get there and I would just feel stressed out, more than anything else. I tried my best to keep things in line with canon... at least the parts that weren't directly changed by my OC's inclusion. And there were even bigger changes to come... Just reflecting back makes me really want to pick it up again! I'm just... not making any promises anymore. My life has been in a weird place lately... I honestly haven't been writing much in general. And I'm aware that it's totally selfish. But from now on, I just have to do things on my own time. Writing on a schedule worked for a good while-- more than a year-- but ultimately killed the experience and left me feeling burned out. I'm sure any readers I had have long since given up on the story and written it off as just another forever-incomplete OC story, but I do apologize, all the same.

Spread the word! I love to read through other authors' profiles on here, and I noticed that a lot of people talked about how they're not actually all that crazy about reading, (which blew my mind at first) but their love of writing brought them here. I saw quite a few attribute this to dyslexia or something similar, and it got me thinking... Wouldn't it be great if the site had an audio library? Guess what? It does! I don't believe it's actually part of the site itself. Rather, it was put together by fans. I'm not part of their staff, myself, but I wanted to do my part to spread the word, because I think it's a great idea. The site is actually under construction at the moment, and as a result, they're not currently accepting any new projects. But you do still have the option to record a story yourself and send it in to them. (You'd have to check out the official rules and whatnot; all I remember is nothing marked Incomplete and nothing M rated.) I suspect one of their greatest drawbacks right now is just that not a lot of people know their site exists. I've only recorded one of my one-shots at the moment... but I would love to see other people get involved with this and add their own work! Anime fans in particular, because that's one thing their archive is sorely lacking. So please! Go check it out!

Things to Know About My Stories: These are just a few things that have come to mind upon recently analyzing my own writing. It'll give you an idea of what you're in for, should you make it down to My Stories on here. I like Angst. I like sentimental-- occasionally awkward-- moments between characters who don't have an easy time dealing with emotions. Perhaps this lends to some OOC moments, but I try to keep everyone as in-character as possible. I like to read into lighthearted or innocent things and make them a little dark. I like to address the passage of time and how it affects characters and their relationships (romantic or otherwise) with each other. If any or all of that sounds like something you're interested in... You're in the right place. Welcome.

As an update... I've now had my own account for a while now (and I'd like to sincerely thank anyone who's reviewed my stories so far) and I guess there's just something else I'd like to throw out there... When it comes to writing, I basically live by the philosophy: Write the story that you would want to read. So whether it's a completely original idea (like I'm hoping with some of the one-shots I've got planned) or something that's been done a million times, I enjoy what I write. Of course, personal enjoyment doesn't always mean I've got a whole lot of free time to actually write. So I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to review or sticks with a story that I write. Thank you!

I do primarily write one-shots, but as for the status of my on-going chapter stories:

Responsible Adults: Kindly refer to the long note at the top of the profile.

What I'm currently working on: I'm just waiting for an idea to really strike me. I can feel that urge to write... but don't yet have anything that I really want to write... if that makes sense. Things really stalled out for me this year. I'm working to fix that. Even if it is just one-shots spawned from a passing whim.

Hello, all! I recently wrote a one-shot (Love) as my way of celebrating this year's Asexual Awareness Week. As promised, here is a list of other stories (across a variety of fandoms) on the site that include asexual characters or address asexuality that I enjoyed:

Magic Ace by EllieLovesToRead (Harry Potter) -- Ace!James Potter. This is the one that I've known the longest. I've reread it quite a few times. It discusses the pressures and expectations around being a teenager (particularly in a boarding school) when everyone is discovering their sexuality. (Or in this case, lack thereof.) It certainly got points with me because James isn't an obvious character to choose as asexual, and he's very aware of this. He does a lot of posturing for his peers based around what he's expected to want, and I really enjoyed this one.

Matthew's Zucchini by JayRyan98 (Hetalia) -- Ace!Canada. A fairly short, simple coming-out story that also addressed a queerplatonic RusCan relationship. That alone was enough to make it onto this list, because we are talking about awareness here, and queerplatonic relationships aren't something I often see addressed outside of the Ace community.

The Talk and The Choice by ArrowandShield (Avengers) -- Ace!Hawkeye. A well-written, slightly angsty fic about Steve trying to understand Clint's asexuality and their friendship growing in the process. I really liked this one because it brought up the subject of Asexual pride and made a few connections between the colors of Clint's costume and the colors of the asexual flag that I'd never noticed before.

You're Not Broken by DragonofFernweh (Naruto) -- Ace!Sasuke (SasuNaru) This one is just so well-written. There are actually quite a few Naruto fics that address asexuality and very, very few of them are ever done well. Many of them follow this formula: (Insert Character Here) always thought they were asexual until they met (Insert Other Character Here). Which is a personal pet peeve of mine. Don't get me wrong, there's certainly a conversation to be had about demi-sexuals, but that's not usually what the author is going for. These types of stories tend to perpetuate that idea that asexuals just haven't "found the right person" yet, which can be really damaging to a community that's still struggling to be acknowledged as a real thing. But anyway, this story was really well-written, and it gets points for directly addressing acephobia-- not as a hypothetical worry, but as a real problem-- something many people are also hesitant to believe is a real thing or a big deal. I actually favorited this one, if you want to find it that way.

Paradigm of Aesthetics by brumalbreeze (Free! Iwatobi Swim Club) -- Ace!Rei (Reigisa) This one is quite a bit more graphic than the previous four, so be warned. This is another one that's been dear to my heart for a while, mostly because it addresses topics that a lot of people don't. The difference between aesthetic and sexual attraction, for one. The fact that many asexuals do engage in sexual activities, for a variety of reasons, and can even enjoy those activities, though maybe not in quite the same way as their non-ace partners.

These last two are a little different:

How it's going to be by lucky filbert (Avengers) -- Ace!Steve. Okay, first off, this one is actually on Archive of Our Own-- a site which I don't typically spend much time on as I find it kind of hard to navigate. Captain America isn't a character I usually like to see portrayed as asexual. (I feel like it's almost a little too obvious and perpetuates its own sort of stereotypes.) But I'm really glad I found this one. It shows Bucky and Steve growing up and slowly starting to explore and understand their sexualities. It goes through Bucky repeatedly setting up his best friend with dates and then, when Steve doesn't react... 'appropriately' to girls, he starts to suspect his friend might be gay. Mostly I love this fic because Bucky is an amazing friend-- then going on to try and set up Steve with another guy instead and doing his best to be supportive, even though being gay certainly wasn't accepted at the time. (Note that this is the 1930s we're talking about.) They never really come to a conclusion or have a realization moment-- I don't think there was any data on identifying as asexual in the 30s... but Bucky still does his best to assure Steve that there's nothing wrong with him, and I just... loved it.

Ace of Hearts by Reinamy (Harry Potter) -- (Sirius/Remus) This one I was a little hesitant to add because, despite the author's intentions, I don't really see Sirius as asexual... If anything, this portrayal perpetuates yet another stereotype-- that a total disinterest in or aversion to sex stems from some sort of trauma. If anything, Sirius is suffering from a fear of losing control and feeling unclean, due to his stay in Azkaban. Like I said, I don't really consider this asexuality, but this fic was really well-written, and it addresses some things that are important to all couples of course, but come up between asexual couples especially. That being communication and personal boundaries and limitations. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to consider Sirius asexual in this fic, but I personally, would prefer to call it something else.