Online Name: Lady Monozuki

Age: Older than before

Location: Mentally: In a labyrinth filled with fog. Physically: At work or at home, writing.

Gender: You all have a fifty-fifty shot at this, but I think that there is a clue in my name to help you out.

Occupation: Surviving post-graduation student.

Favorite anime: Prince of Tennis, Kuroshitsuji, FullMetal Alchemist, Darker than BLACK, Yami no Matsuei, Ouran, The Wallflower, Nabari no Ou, Wolf's Rain, Witch Hunter Robin, Vampire Knight, and Black Cat.

Favorite manga: Prince of Tennis, FullMetal Alchemist, Yami no Matsuei, Ouran, The Wallflower, Black Cat, Musashi #9, Red River, Legal Drug, and W Juliet. (Mind you, these are just the condensed lists, heh heh.)

Quotes or thoughts from me:

"When you run out of good angst to read, write more!"

"Sometimes it's hard having forty different plots running through your mind, 'cause I never know which one to work on first."

"I don't have fifty notebooks just for fun, I have them because I need some form of organization in my writing."

"The most annoying part about my characters is that they always win."

"I'm not insane, I'm just a writer. Now shut up so I can listen to the voices in my head."

"The way I look at it is that you haven't committed me into a mental hospital...yet."

"If only my hands would type would type as fast as my brain thinks."

"I had another story idea, but I can't think of it now...guess it wasn't important."

"Whenever inspiration hits, drop what you're doing and answer its call. You never know if it will be back again."

"Writing the story is the fun part. Editing the story is when you truly decide whether or not you want to be an author."

"I have a curfew; it's when my brain is done thinking."

"I hate those sleepless nights where all you can think about is how much you hate that one sentence."

"I like unexpected endings, which is probably why I have a sequel to every book I've written."

"The first time I wrote the words "the end", I realized that it wasn't the end."

"I like filling holes, it's what I'm good at in writing."

"My biggest problem is that my execution leaves too many opportunities for my characters to sabotoge me."

"My biggest frustration with reading is that there are too many novels with bad editors."

"You're either good at writing or you're good at math; I just wish I was good at one of them."

"One day, I will find use for all the random facts I know. I'll probably stick them in a story."

"Don't look at me like I'm insane! I just asked you if my character should die at the end or not!"

"You should be used to me talking to myself by now."

"Inspiration dies too easily, especially when family is around you."

"I dislike it when I don't notice people right away because I never know whether or not they heard me talking to myself."

Note from the author: (10/10/16)

It's been forever since I last posted. I will not lie, I could barely write for several years. Now I'm back and getting into the swing of things. I will try and get my stories updated as soon as possible, but it might take me a while.

Lady M

Someone once told to me that to become a serious writer that I needed to write every day. The content didn't matter as long as I wrote. I took those words to heart and started on a habit that helped me get by. I started to write fanfiction on several different animes/manga. This started the development of my own ideas. I joined a writer's forum two years ago to help my writing skills and so far I'm working on finishing my third book. I'm not published, though one day I hope to be. Writing fanfiction is one way to help get my ideas flowing and make sure that I write every day. Because of this, I decided to post my work here so that you all can read my writing. I always appreciate a critical eye, which has helped me to become a better writer over the years. I still consider myself a beginner at writing because I feel that there are several aspects left that I still need to improve on. However, I am hoping to overcome my weaknesses by editing. That is the main reason why I self-edit. There is nothing wrong with other people going over your work, just to double check.

Fanfics:

Idea on-hold: Tortured Beliefs. Description: Ed and Al are captured and imprisoned for seven months. When they are finally found, they are afraid of each other. It's up to Roy and the crew to help them remember what they once were and build the trust between them. But are they too late? Pairings: None, it will focus on Ed, Al and their struggles to understand each other.

Prince of Tennis ideas:

Idea on hold: Fight On, Ryoma protested at this fic too much. Every time I sat down to write it, he kept on complaining on how annoying two characters were. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to get this one out. Description: Ryoma is hurt and can't find the love he once had for tennis. The Regulars are at a loss as to what to do. Will anybody be able to save him? Pairing: At this moment, none.

Idea on Hold: The Way We Began, Fuji hasn't felt like being nice. He likes his role as a sadist. Description: This is the story of how Fuji and Ryoma got together, in my mind. Pairing: Thrill Estimated chapter length: 4-5

Idea on hold: Behind the Mask: I decided to take all of the Seigaku Regulars and give them pasts. I mean, they all have some pasts but they're not near descriptive enough for my taste (that and I like twisting everything). Plus, everyone wants to know what is really going on in the lives of these nine tennis players, right? I plan this to be 10 chapters, one for each Regular and an epilogue of sorts. So far, the idea involves lots of drama/angst/comfort/friendship. We'll see how this goes. Pairings: None, it's pretty much the team supporting each other.

THRILL Quintet: (Status: On , current fic and chapter: Rescued/Four)

My brain decides to come up with ideas at the most random of times. Anyway, this idea sparked started to develop as I was watching Darker than BLACK. At first, it started off with just one idea, then it turned into two, and up to five. The THRILL quintet involves five (hence where the "quintet" part comes from) short stories (around 3-4 chapters) with the pairing of Fuji/Ryoma (hence where the "THRILL" part comes from). The reason why THRILL is all in caps is because each of the titles include a letter from the word "thrill". And yes, I can count and realize that there are six letters in "thrill". Anyway, this story will be slight AU due the fact that tennis will play a minor role in this story. I've got to say that I'm excited for this quintet. It will be dark, angsty, and maybe a little depressing.

The story puts Ryoma in a situation where things do not look good from him. To get help, his boyfriend (I'm not saying who right now) takes drastic measures to try and help. However, help comes at a price. Because of that price, everything spins out of control and Ryoma is left hurt worse than before. Can anyone pick up the pieces and will he be able to recover? Pairing: Thrill

The title sequence is as follows: Trial, Hopeless, Rescued, Illusion, and Longing for Love.

Next expected update:

Idea on hold: Destroying Lives: They never had an official relationship, but it felt like that most of the time. He came to visit him in the hospital and he returned the kindness by being there to listen. However, he decided to get involve with not one, but four other men. He didn't understand why. Was he not good enough? Did he do something wrong? No, there was one reason why he was betrayed, and that's the one reason why he vowed revenge on one person. Pairing: OT5

Broken Arc (Status: on , Stand in the Rain, current chapter is nine)

He tried to hold out. Their memories together were precious to him. He didn't want things to end this way. However, the pain cut too deep and he gave up on everything for this life. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't have prevented that incident from taking place. He wanted everything to return to normal. But they waited too long. Will they be able to save him? Will he once again open his heart? Or is everything in vain?

This idea came to me while writing an depressing song. The title of the song is, Broken Promises (shocking). While I was rearranging the verses, I realized how similar some of the things I wrote would reflect their personalities.

Now broken into three arcs.

Arc One: Broken Promises, OT5 breaking up (Completed)

Arc Two: Stand In the Rain, Thrill back together

Arc Three: Title Unknown, OT5 back together

Next expected update:

Always Forgotten: (Status: on , current chapter is fourteen)

His birthday is always depressing and he can't take it any more. Pairing: Pretty sure it's going to be Tezuka/Fuji/Ryoma

Next update:

Idea on Hold: Shattered World: Set in high school days, Ryoma disappeared after winning Nationals. He had promised to return in their high school years. They waited for him, with no signs of return. Fuji catches a glimpse of someone who looks like him and follows him to a home where he least expected to find the Prince, at Yukimura's. Things grow even more mysterious as they learn that Ryoma has no intention of ever seeing them again, but what will they do in order to bring back their pillar? What will they find out about him? And why is he living with Yukimura? Pairing: Undecided, debating between Thrill, Pillar, or Yuki/Ryo

Just As I Am: (Status: on , current chapter is ten)

Without and questions, Ryoma was brought into the house of a former rival. He didn't have to explain what had happened. It was a temporary home, one he didn't know could exist. Pairing: Yuki/Ryo.

Completed Works: Proven (2/10/09), Whoever Said I Loved You? (2/16/09), Live (2/16/09), Ego Pair (05/25/09), Life is Like Tennis (05/25/09), Why Fuji? (05/25/09), Broken Minds and Lives (06/22/09), THRILL QUINTET: Trial (08/06/09), Starting Again (08/14/09), We Belong Together (12/12/09), I Love You (12/12/09), Complete (12/24/09), Together (12/24/09), Forever (12/24/09), I Will Be Waiting (12/24/09), Waiting To Be With You (12/24/09), Unexpected (12/24/09), A New Year (12/31/09), That Equals Love? (01/05/09), Complicated (02/14/10), Real (02/14/10), Do You Hate Me? (08/02/10), THRILL Quintet: Hopeless (08/02/10), For You (09/06/10), Every Second Matters (06/21/11), Broken Promises (10/21/11), Do I Get to Bet? (04/03/12), Things to Never Do with Fuji (05/01/13), Ryoma's First Kiss (10/08/16)

Little things:

I accept request pairings for pairings that I like. If you want to see more of one type of pairing, please feel free to PM me or leave the request in the review. The reason I do not accept fic requests is because I have plenty of ideas of my own at the moment.

I do not mind people sending me flames saying they didn't like my work. I know that my writing is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. If writing a review is helpful in venting all the frustrations of wasting five minutes reading my fic, whatever. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. (Though quite honestly, wouldn't it be best to go find a fic you do like instead of wasting even more time brewing over something you didn't?)

However, I do mind people sending me flames where they attack my character. My writing does not reflect who I am as a person. Also, my profile is a small glimpse as to who I am, it is not everything about me.

Pet peeves in regards to fanfiction: I have several, most of them in regards to Prince of Tennis. The first being FemRyo fics that deal with tennis. It is basically impossible for a girl to participate/compete in men's sports. Why? Quite frankly, girls don't have enough testosterone in their system to build muscles. Men have an easier time because they're men. Unless a FemRyo went on steroids (illegal I might add) or pumped testosterone pills forever, there's no way that it's possible. Also, tennis is a sport based off of gender. There's no way a woman would be allowed on the men's team, the teams wouldn't risk the chance for disqualification, I don't care what you say.

My second pet peeve, when you don't know when someone wins a match. I read one time that Ryoma won a game 4-3, which is impossible. Why? Because that's the scoring system! No, I'll explain the fine details. It is possible for someone to win 6-0. 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, or 6-4 because in tennis, you must win at least six games, with a lead of two games over your opponent. 7-5 is possible because the person won six games, but the opponent already won 5. Following the rule that you must win at least six games, with a lead of two, the person mush win another game to win the match. Where confusion comes in, is the 7-6 scoring. I admit, I didn't get it at first either. However, when you are tied, the score is 6-6. To win, they go into a tiebreak, which means that the person who reaches 7 points wins. However, if the tiebreak lasts longer, you must gain two points over your opponent to win.

My third pet peeve is OCs (otherwise dubbed at "Other Characters"), they are fine if they're just there to push the characters along or not annoying. If they are annoying, I can't stand to read the story, let alone see them fall in love with a main character. Oh, and it really ticks me off when a female can beat Tezuka and Echizen in tennis. I mean come on.

I have discovered another pet peeve. It doesn't bother me as much as the others, so maybe this is a little bit more of clarification? Anyway, I have noticed several fics involving tennis matches have had one person serve, but the other person score. Many people write this out to be 15-Love, which would be incorrect (because it would indicate that the server scored a point). In tennis, the person who serves is the one whose score is put first. The one who receives has their score last. So if one person is to serve, but the receiver scores a point, it would make it Love-15. The same goes for games. If the person who is serving loses their game to the receiver, then it would be 0-1. This rule also applies even if the other person was leading. For example, if someone was leading 4-2 and they had their service broken it would be called 3-4, followed by who is leading. Hopefully that made some sense.

Yeah, that's all I can think of right now. I know it's harsh, but that's why they're called "pet peeves". I think that if you're going to write fanfiction, you should at least do a little research in regards to things like tennis. End my little rant (It feels good to write that down.)

Lady Monozuki's lesson in grammar:

Brief description: I will explain some common mistakes when typing in fanfiction, just so you know what to look for. (Note: I do not claim to be knowledgeable in all things in regarding to this subject. I hope that this section is beneficial in some way.)

Lesson One: They're, There, Their

This one may seem obvious to you. However, there are several people who struggle with these terms. It is true that they sound the same, but they are all used in different cases.

They're: this is a contraction (a shortened form of two words marked by an apostrophe or a period) of the words "they are". There are several forms of contractions in English such as; "he'll" (he will), "we're" (we are), "should've" (should have), "I'm" (I am). The reason why this one is confusing is because you have to question yourself as to which one you need to use for every case. In this case, "they're" means "they are", so when writing something about a group of people performing an action, that is the right time to use that.

Example: "They're going to the store."

This tells us that they are going somewhere (later we learn that they are going to the store). The word "going" indicates the action.

There: this word is often used to indicate a place, either one that has already been mentioned or is understood, or indicated by one pointing it out. For instance, if you want to tell someone to look at something, you usually shout "Look over there!", this is an indication of a location.

Example: "The building is located near the body of water, call the others and have them meet us there."

Their: this is a possessive adjective, meaning that it indicates that something belongs to a group of people.

Example: "We can't take their car on vacation."

"Their" in that sentence shows us that the car belongs to other people, not the ones who are discussing vacation plans.

Hope that helps some, there's more to come later.

Lesson Two: Where/were/we're

Okay, I've noticed this one popping up quite a bit as of late and it bothers me. Mostly when people mix up where/were. Quite honestly, those two have nothing to do with each other, and I'll explain why in just a second.

Where: this word is indicative of a location, usually inquiring as to the current position of someone or something (that is the most common use of this word).

Example: "Where did my glasses go?"

However, you can also use this word to indicate that when you have one thing, there is another. I know that's not really clear, so let my example speak for itself.

Example: Where there is life, there is also hope that tomorrow will bring a better day.

There it shows that there is life, but there is also hope. I know I didn't explain that well. But that's the best I can think of right now.

You can also use the word there as an indication of a location without using it as a question.

Example: No one knew where to begin looking for the girl.

Were: this word is hard to explain outside of the fact that it's past tense, so I'm going to use examples and hope it explains some confusion. What does past tense mean? It means that it did not happen this instant. Everything that happened after the current time, is history so to say. (According to word, "were" is the past tense to "be", but don't ask me to explain.)

Example: They were unable to form a response at his words.

Example: "Were you even going to tell me?"

In this example, the word "were" is used as an intent of the person who is being asked the question. Being past tense though, it sort of asks if the person even thought about telling the one who is speaking.

Example: You were more than enough.

--So as you can see, were and where have nothing to do with each other. One is a location while the other is past tense. I don't understand why people get these mixed up, but that's just me. I would understand more if people mixed up were and we're. Which I'm going to cover next.

We're: this is a contraction (a shortened form of two words marked by an apostrophe or a period) of the words "they are". There are several forms of contractions in English such as; "he'll" (he will), "we're" (we are), "should've" (should have), "I'm" (I am). The reason why this one is confusing is because you have to question yourself as to which one you need to use for every case. In this case, "we're" means "we are", so when someone is speaking about a group and indicating their actions, that would be an appropriate time to use this contraction.

Example: "We're going to the beach."

Example: "We're not going to attend the party."

Lesson Three: Lose/Loose

Lose: this word indicates a person either misplacing something or failing achieve something.

Example: He chuckled slightly. He had often scolding his wife for losing her keys, now he was the one who had done so.

This example shows that he misplaced his keys.

Example: "How did you lose the bid?"

This one shows that the person failed to win a bid.

Loose: this word is used to indicate when something doesn't fit right.

Example: The noose around his neck felt loose.

Example: The loose fitting clothing did nothing for her figure.

Example: He bit his attacker's wrist. The grip loosened, giving him the chance to break free.

These words are very often confused mostly because people aren't sure of the definitions. If you're trying to convey something that is lost, use "lose". If you are trying to convey something that is slackened, use "loose". Always ask yourself what you are trying to convey, especially if you aren't sure about which one to use.

Lesson Four: Who's/Whose

Who's: Who's is a contraction between "who" and "is". It is generally used to introduce a question asking about the name or identity of a person or people.

Example: "Who's the short one with the cocky smirk?"

Example: "Who's the one who said they were going to win?"

Whose: This is used to show possession of an object.

Example: "Whose boots are these?"

Example: "It was simple for him, whose wealth exceeded them all."

Lesson Five: Chose/Choose

Chose: Is more of a past tense reference to an event that happened in wich a decision was made.

Example: "Shouldn't it be obvious? I already chose you once."

Choose: Is used to indicate a choice that is upon someone right away or if you are declaring a decision.

Example: "Which will you choose?"

Example: "I choose you, Pikachu!" (Ah, I couldn't resist that one)

Lesson Six: Numbers

This is probably another one of my pet peeves (I seem to have a lot). There is a rule in writing where for numbers one through ten, you must write out the actual word. Everything beyond ten, it is okay to use the number representatives. Not writing out numbers often tells your readers that you were lazy and didn't want to take the four extra seconds to write the words. It's also not professional and usually turns off your readers. So, please take the extra time and write out your numbers. Most authors write out all of their numbers, not just the ones below ten.

Lesson Seven: Bear/bare

Bare: This word is used to indicate that something is missing in the sense that it is lacking.

Example: "He had not expected the room to look this bare."

Bear: Aside from its most common use, the animal, it can also be used to indicate that someone must take on something that they may not usually do.

Example: "It must be difficult for him to bear with that injury."

Example: "Bear with me for a while, this will hurt."

Lesson Eight: Then/Than

Then: An adverb to describe a sequence of events or a specific moment in time.

Example: I went to the store first and then I went to get lunch.

Example: I was living on the east coast then.

Than: Used for contrast or comparision

Example: I would rather eat 1,000 bananas than eat one bite of that.

Example: He is much taller than his father.

Lesson Nine: Effect/Affect

Effect: A change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.

Example: The effects of drugs are detrimental.

Affect: The action or result of an action

Example: The stress has begun to affect my health.

Special: Punctuation at the end of a sentence/ALL CAPS

I decided to go ahead with doing this special lesson because this one bothers me perhaps more than the others. You could call this one of my pet peeves if you want. I've noticed a trend to put several exclamation points or question marks at the end of a sentence, sometimes even a combination of the two. While it does draw attention to the sentence, it's usually not the attention that you want. When I read a story (either a novel or fanfiction) and I see several marks at the end of the sentence, my mind instantly screams "amateur". While you may not be one, that is what I think. The reason behind this is because your punctuation is working overtime and you aren't taking advantage of the words or placing emphasis on the words to stress your point. In writing, you want your words to do the talking for you. Let me show you an example:

Example: "Do you have any idea who you are talking to??"

Here, the question marks and exclamation points are working hard to convey your message. Obviously something in the sentence is important, but readers tend to get distracted by the overuse of punctuation. Too many cases of overused punctuation marks get your frustrated and annoyed. They will quickly lose interest in what they're reading and move on to something else. Now, I'm going to show you the same sentence, but placing the emphasis on one of the words in comparison to the punctuation.

Example: "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

I placed the emphasis on the word "any" because in the sentence, you are trying to convey to your readers that the speaker is offended by the lack of respect (as implied by the wording) given to them. By using the italics there, you stress what is important and it's easier to read. There is no distraction with the punctuation, it's clean and simple.

The reason I also place the "ALL CAPS" section with this is because writers tend to use all caps and then a ton of exclamation points following to get their point across. However, I first want to deal with using all capitial letters in a story. Now, there is some debate as to whether this is even a problem in writing. I say that there is a problem with it. I have two reasons behind this. The first is similar to using several punctuation marks at the end of a sentence: it screams amateur and in then the words are working more than they should. Again, you want to make a point, but you don't want your leaders to lose the point while reading. My second reason is that it feels like you're yelling at your readers instead of the characters yelling at each other.

While you get your point across by using all caps, you make the story less "special" and makes you look as though you know little about writing. Using several punctuation makrs and all caps are cheap tricks to placing emphasis on words, making them work harder than needed, and detracting from your work. Yes, you want your words to talk for you, but not in that way. Let me show you an example:

Example: "WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE? IT'S MY LIFE, I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!" she shouted.

Sure, your eyes are instantly attracted to those words. However, it gives you little insight as to how the person feels. There's no emotion, just yelling. It's working too hard, trying to make up for the lack of other words. You can still make the same point, just add a little more. Here's an example:

Example: Her body trembled as she stood before her parents. After years of acting indifferent, they finally decided to care. She clenched her fists to try and keep herself grounded. "Why do you even care?" she shouted at them. "It's my life, I can do what I want."

Here, you get a small hint of what's going on. None of the words are working overtime, it flows and grabs your interest. You want to know all sorts of things. You can tell that she's angry at her parents, but why? And what drove her to this point? What will happen next? The questions could go on. While the sentences may not be as attention-grabbing as all capitial letters, it builds more of a story and you've grabbed your reader's interest.

One of the worst things you could do is combine the improper use of punctuation and all caps. When you do so, it looks like a mess. Here's an example:

Example: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??" she screamed

As a reader, I'm just confused. While I know what they are saying, I don't know what anything is about. The meaning is lost and while you intended the words to be special, they aren't. You can easily make this better by adding a little description and eliminating the "problems".

Example: She almost dropped the phone in surprise. She had expected to hear the news sometime in the future, but not this soon. "Are you kidding me?" she screamed.

Here's another example: "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

Simple fix: "What do you want?"

Special: Ellipsis/EM dashes

Ellipsis: In my reading of fanfiction, I have notice that there are some who generally use ellipsis in the incorrect form. Most people just use it to indicate a pause in their thinking (I admit that I do this sometimes myself), but that is one wrong way to use the infamous "...". There are two correct ways to use these, the first way is to indicate a confusion in your sentence.

Example: "You mean that you ran into your boss at the...the store and cussed him out, leading you to be fired?"

Here, the ellipsis shows that the person speaking is trying to get the order of events straight, and maybe not believing them either. In a sense, this makes your character seem more realistic in the sense that we don't always get what the person says at first. The second correct way is to indicate that the character's words trailed off. Perhaps they were lost in thought or they decided to not delve deeper into the subject.

Example: He stared at the person in front of him. "Perhaps..."

In this case, this leads us to believe that someone suggested something, but the person speaking does not agree. It shows that the person speakng is still mulling over the thoughts.

EM dashes: This section, I cannot leave out. It just seems as though it should go in here as well. So, I have decided to do a small section on EM dashes. Most of the time, writers use EM dashes to cut off action. Meaning, the author usually does not know what else to fill there so they use characters or sentences to cut off what is happening previously to move on to another section. They usually do this in order to leave you hanging in suspense about a certain subject or climax to a situation.

Example: She snarled at him. This was something that she would not stand for. A smirk formed on her face. If he would stand against her, she would simply put her other plan to use. She raised her weapon and—

You see how the action just cuts off there? It leaves you hanging in suspense, but it's an inncorrect use of an EM dash. As the writer, you cut off the action, instead of showing that the action was cut off.

Example: "You mean to say that you and her are—"

"Yes!" he shouted. "We're getting married!"

Here is shows that he could not contain his excitment and therefore interrupted the speaker. There is a difference in how the sentence is cut off between this example and the previous one. This one shows that a person interrupted the speaker. Thus a good example of how the action, or dialogue in this case, was cut off instead. The previous example just shows that the author ended the action for no reason. THere was no interruption, jus tthe author left it hanging.