Hello out there in cyberspace. I am a twenty-something college graduate with an English degree (Cum Laude, mind you) I will probably make the same sort of mistakes in my own fics, so feel free to point them out, constructively. I'd like to either become a professional musician, or a television writer...not sure which dream is less likely, but whatever. Here are some of my opinions:

Movies: #1 is always going to be Star Wars: A New Hope, but I enjoy classics like Arsenic and Old Lace, Charade, dumb romantic comedies like Runaway Bride, kids movies like The Goonies and the North Avenue Irregulars. Recently, I've enjoyed films others passed over like Speed Racer and 17 Again. I loved the new Star Trek movie despite my initial doubts. I had a top 25 movies list I made in 2006, but it really needs an update. I don't really write for a whole lot of movie fandoms, but I do have a WIP for Batman Begins/The Dark Knight-which I haven't updated in a year, but it is on my Christmas to-do list-and Star Trek (2009)-which also needs an update, but I should get inspired for that since I got the movie on Blu-Ray. So, for the readers of Masking Dawn and In the Arms of Family, updates are coming your way for the holiday season...hopefully

Music: My favorite bands are MxPx/Queen/Relient K in no particular order. I also love Skillet, Hawk Nelson (whom I've seen twice), Michael Buble, Amos Lee, and the Jonas Brothers (whom, yes, I have admittedly seen live). I don't write that many songfics, and only songs from Michael Buble and Skillet have managed to make their way into my fics...I think. Regardless, I love music and would like for it to be a major part of any career I choose.

TV Shows: This is where the majority of my fic writing comes from. And I will watch just about anything. You've probably noticed I've written everything from Star Trek to Gilmore Girls to Sonny With A Chance with Heroes and Bones thrown in for good measure. Here are my favorites, the reasons I love them and the ships that I'm on:

Heroes: started watching in 2006, thought it would get cancelled, so I stopped, and then when it came up available to watch instantly on Netflix, I watched volumes 1-3 in like six days and I LOVE it. I'm not one of those people who thinks they totally lost it after season 1, I like to pretend season 2 never happened, but I really liked season 3 and I'm loving season 4 so far. I do, however, think they should have just stuck with Nathan's dead and that they should lose Ali Larter's many characters all together because she's just not very likeable. You may notice that the only multi-chaptered fic I've ever finished was a Heroes fic. It's definitely my favorite show currently on TV. It's a perfect end to my blue Mondays. My ships: Syelle (because they were cute and cracked and sadistic and deep down Gabriel is sorry he killed her), Clach (because they were adorable when he offered her his handlebars in the pilot and I wish they'd bring him back b/c Thomas Dekker is presently unemployed, which I shed many tears about), Hiro/Charlie (because they were adorable from the word go and I'm so glad they sort of got them together), I was a Paire shipper for about two hours because I watched the entire first season in about two days, so I thought they were cute and then found out they were related, so I didn't totally succumb to the mania, but I do understand it. I'm really starting to get into Pemma because they look totally adorable together and they can save each other and Peter hasn't worked with anyone quite so well ever in the entire series. I'm torn on Matt/Daphne and Matt/Janice. I really liked Daphne as a character but I like both women with Matt. I wound up using both in my Heroes fic. Lastly, there's Molly/Micah, two characters that are no longer on the show, but were totally cute from the first moment at Kirby Plaza.

Chuck: started watching this last January because it was on before Heroes. I adore this happy little show and am totally pumped that the fans rallied to get it renewed and then get it brought back two months earlier than expected. Fanpower is limitless, Adam Baldwin knows this and now can share it with the rest of his new castmates. There's only one ship for that show and I'm totally on board, Charah, Chuck/Sarah. Welcome Back, Chuck!

Gilmore Girls: Milo Ventimiglia get the loudest screams at Comic-Con even though Zachary Quinto has now played Spock (which is like monumental in the sci-fi community). The reason for that is the loyal fan base he that followed him all the way to Heroes, but it's a two-way street, and I started watching this show just because he was in it (yes, I'm shallow and I also went to the last Rocky movie because he was in it too) and discovered that I loved other aspects of the show as well, especially the fast dialogue and the complicated family relationships. I knew I was going to be a Literati shipper going in, but now that I've seen most of the episodes, there's not going to be any converting me. I also ship Java Junkie b/c Luke and Lorelai remind me of my parents (except my mom is Luke and my dad is Lorelai). Out of curiosity, I looked at the numbers. Jess was by far in the fewest number of episodes of any of Rory's boyfriends, but there's over 80 pages of Lit fics on this site and only fifty or so pages of Rogan fics...and this doesn't include fics just about Jess, b/c people have gotten inspired to just write about him before. That's probably why the CW hasn't done a follow-up movie because Amy Sherman-Palladino knows she'd have to wrestle Milo away from Tim Kring...but ASP seems kind of scrappy. It'd be a fight I'd pay to see.

Bones: B/B, Hodgela...nuff said.

Books: I have to read "deep" stuff for school, so I tend to stick with young adult type fiction for leisure reading

Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia: Tolkien and Lewis inspired me as a young person. I don't write fanfiction for these because I basically think they're perfect just the way they are, with one minor exception...Susan and Caspian. It's something I read into the book when I was like twelve and I'm kind of glad they put a kiss in the movie...so, yeah, I'm a Suspian shipper...

Twilight: Okay, I've only read Twilight and New Moon because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, and I still don't get it. If I had to choose, I would be on Team Jacob (can't believe I admitted that in print)

Harry Potter: I've discovered I prefer witches and wizards to vampires. And I love that J.K. Rowling loves that we write fanfiction. I stick to cannon so Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and the one that isn't in the books, but makes total sense to me is Neville/Luna b/c they're the "losers" that are really heroes and they would just work great together. I've started writing for so many different fandoms now that my Harry Potter fics have gotten lost in the shuffle, but they're out there. There's Harry Potter and Merlin's Heir which is about an adventure the gang goes on which could shake the already slippery foundations of the wizarding world, and The New Marauders, which is about the next generation at Hogwart's where Albus and Rose make a very unlikely friend on the train.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The movie was: 'eh, whatever' but the books are still awsome.

if you would like to be friends on facebook, here's my url: http://www.facebook.com/melissa.cravens

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