PLEASE... don't ask me to update Firewater Rose Arc 1. I really do appreciate all the comments about wanting more of the story - it's why the story is posted here, and they motivate me to write more. Firewater Rose Arc 1 is complete, and the sequel is in full-swing. Click below on Firewater Rose Arc 2 for the next installments of that story, that's where you'll find the updates. :-)

I didn't realize it at the time, but the roots of my infatuation with anime began in 1978 when Sandy Frank released Battle of the Planets in the US. It was an Americanization of Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman ("Gatchaman"), but it was so completely different from anything I'd seen before in an animated TV show. The animation style and the pieces of the original Japanese storytelling that got through were captivating. Gatchaman ended-up being my first foray into fanfiction writing. I'll eventually post those stories here, but at the moment, I'm tied-up writing an Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfic and an original work. The first arc of my Avatar fanfic is complete, and nearly a third of the second arc. The third arc is still a giant plot bunny sitting on my head.

My favorite shows currently on-air are: Avatar: the Last Airbender, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Inuyasha, Full Metal Alchemist, and Law and Order (for a little live-action fun).

I started writing Firewater Rose one day, about two weeks before I finished it, in fact, when an idea jumped into my head and just wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. The Firewater part should be obvious, since the fic is a Zutara fic. The Rose part is a little more complicated. If you've ever heard the song, The Rose, either by Bette Middler or someone else, the last verse was one of the things that just wouldn't leave me alone when I started writing:

Just remember
in the winter
far beneath
the bitter snows

Lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the Rose

The first arc is really a planting of a seed. True, enduring love isn't simply born overnight. It takes time, effort, and nurturing, and when it has those things, it's beautiful to behold.

My daughter asked me why I preferred Zutara over Kataang. It's not that I think Zutara is more likely than Kataang. As much as I'd like to deny it, I think it could go either way. Fortunately for all the Kataang-shippers, I'm not the one making that call. The reason I prefer Zutara over Kataang is because I find the character development opportunities that a romantic relationship between Zuko and Katara would offer more interesting. Everything's already there for Katara and Aang. Katara and Zuko - that takes some work, and some tweaking of both characters.

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Rather than put any A/Ns (Author's Notes) in my fics, I'm going to post them here, I think. I find it less intrusive that way.

FWR Arc 1 is done and posted. It went to 8 chapters which is atleast one chapter longer than it was planned to go. Sorry if the time jump caught anyone off-guard at the end, but I wanted to minimize the chances of the fic becoming completely obsolete, so I skipped over huge sections of unwritten canon. Now, the worst I have is an alternate means by which Zuko joins Team Avatar, and an alternate ending. The last chapter is more like an epilogue, anyway.

Plans for Arc 2: Zutara development. Arc 1 planted the seed, time to water the garden. It may end-up being significantly longer than Arc 1 just to get all the plot-bunnies lined-up. Darn plot bunnies, they're eating all the cabbages! I'll get to find out how many plot-lines I can juggle with this one!

Arc 2 Chapter 1 note: There's a rather subtle foreshadowing of Arc 3 in this chapter. So far, no one's spotted it yet. You'll all be just that much more surprised when it's revealed, I guess. (insert evil grin here)

Arc 2 Chapter 4 note: I mentioned Pakku receiving a vision. This is based on the tradition that when the Dalai Lama is reincarnated, the Tibetan monks receive a vision relating to the Dalai Lama's new identity, and confirm this with the toys.

Arc 2 Chapter 5 note: The vein Katara is referring to is the inferior vena cava, and it runs pretty much the length of the right side of the body from the heart on down. The superior vena cava goes from the heart up, if I'm remembering right. This vein is the reason why doctors tell pregnant women not to sleep on their right side - the weight of the baby will close off this vein causing the right side of your body to go numb. It's one of the largest, if not THE largest, veins in your body, and severing it can cause you to bleed to death quickly. Leaving the knife in was inspired by a story on a rescue show where a toddler had managed to puncture the back of his mouth with a toothbrush, severing a major blood vessel. By leaving the toothbrush in, his mother stopped the bloodloss and saved her son's life.

Arc 2 Chapter 8 note: Creating original characters (OCs) is always a risky proposition, especially when one is given a role as important as Akaj's role. It does a fanfic writer's heart good when readers are genuinely interested in OCs. Thanks to everyone who's commented on Akaj, Kazi, Kanna, and even Seong! As for Seong's character, I promise you'll see him at least one more time before the end of the tale. Maybe he can have a cameo in the next fic or something, too.

I know there haven't been any updates in a very long span of time. The story isn't dead, I've just become extraordinarily busy, and all of my writing time is consumed by an original work. When I need a break from that, though, FWRA2 will be getting updated.

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Firewater Rose Arc 2 credits: Thanks to my wonderful husband for:
1. Introducing me to Avatar: the Last Airbender
2. Beta-reading for me

Thanks to Kawaii-Lyn for beta-reading for me!

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Omashu:
1. Thanks to my husband for beta-reading for me. He spotted the source song for the plot right away, but it's one of our favorites.
2. "Shameless," by Garth Brooks is the right musical style (western), wrong era, but a good guess. The song is actually a ballad written about 20 years before, "Shameless." The last lines of the fic are almost verbatim the last lines of the song. Each paragraph matches up to a stanza, in order.

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Gatchaman fics: Bird Drabbles

I'm not writing any more on these, they are complete. If I get inspired to write another Gatchaman fic, I might, I dunno. If I do, it'll probably Condor (Joe)-centric just because Condors are awesome like that.

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Plug: http:///view/33495976/
I had to plug it, it's that damned awesome!