Age: 21 (almost 22)

Location: Prescott, Arizona (when I'm at college) or Salem, Virginia (when I'm home on break)

College: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Degree Major: Electrical Engineering (Senior)

Degree Minor: Math Languages spoken: English, German (conversant only), Japanese (so little that it's barely worth mentioning)

December 5/6, 2005:
As you all most likely do NOT know, being a senior in the BSEE program at ERAU in Prescott at this time of year is especially hellish. I've got a design proposal to finish up (3 bounded copies due by noon on Wednesday the 7th), and not much time to putz around. This means that I even don't have much spare time to work on homework in my other (all EE) classes. However, after having reread Having Faith so far (I had to reread it here, as I don't even have my original fanfic files after I built this new computer back in June of this year...only my original novel files have been moved over as far as pieces of writing are concerned), it is in sore need of revision. Let me elaborate.

Something I've noticed, even among the great takari fanfics (this especially includes kale's works), is how QUICK our favorite characters are to jump into such a serious relationship, and how focused they are on each other beforehand and afterwards. From observing, I've found this to be a dreamer's dream, not actual reality...in fact, far from it. Those people in my life who are married (like my good friends Phil and Jessica) and outwardly are living the idealic life of two who love each other immensely actually have a secret...well, not really a secret as they'll tell you straight up what it is... it is that they don't obsess over each other. They love each other very much, and even from a guy's perspective it's sweet. The truth is that they rely on God first and foremost. Now, this isn't going to be me preaching, but the thing is that what I need to revise in Having Faith is I need to have Takeru and Hikari be more focused on being friends, and less on the doubt of whether they should be more. A solid, loving relationship is based more upon the underlying friendship than it is on the intense (though momentary) flashes of emotion and passion. There is especially need for revision in Takeru. I also have some overall plot devices that need subtle introduction, but that's easy to do.

How I portray Takeru's and Hikari's relationship has changed as I've grown and matured (several of you noticed this greatly between how I portrayed them originally, and how they are portrayed now), and I hope to finally set their interaction in stone. There will be some slight changes, but overall, I'm certain you all will really like how I am going to revise things. There are also some glaring (to me) contradictions in the chapters so far, and those need to be fixed. Some stylistic cleanup is needed as well (none of you have read my original novel, as I am keeping it OFF the web so that it won't be copied and stolen from me before I have been able to get some legal protection attached to it), but it's all for the better. Also, another good thing is coming out of this revision. Gennai's character (the same character...not in technical detail but the same man on the inside, if you know my meaning, as one of THE main character's in my original novel) has had more defining and detail. As I was writing more of my novel, I took the time to type up character profiles of my main characters, and I will be drawing on his personality type. Eventually I may even write a cross-over fanfic between digimon and my novel. It'll be a fun (for me) little one-shot, though the tone will be serious. Still, it'll be fun to have Gennai, the Royal Mechanized Marine Corp 1st Lieutenant clad in full assault armor interacting with Takeru and Hikari. Chuckles all around on my part in that scene. Still, that's for the future. For now, I need to focus on surviving this proposal paper and then finals. Then onto revision. Not major, just minor overall, but still there will be important revisions done to this digimon fannovel before I continue. And another thing, I'll be putting an end to the beginning author notes. They are distracting, I now find, and an annoyance. THere is no need for them. Footnotes may still be attached as appropriate, however.
~Sir Brass