Hi!

Bundle of Contradictions~In one of the last entries of her diary, Anne Frank wrote that people would call her a bundle of contradictions, and then mused that all of humanity is just that. I was always was struck by that notion. Anne, of course, lived through a horrible time and yet still managed to focus on the kindness of humanity overall. Is there anything more contradictory than insisting that all human beings deserve a chance whilst hiding from Nazis? Is there anything more contradictory than the bundle of characterizations that form the personality, motives and actions of every singular person?

I see myself as just that-A person with mixed emotions, intent, personality traits and actions. A Bundle of Contradictions.

Basic Info:

Gender: Female

Location: East Coast, USA

Age: 1984-Today

Interests: various fandoms, Reading a steady diet of mostly manga and graphic novels, listening to fun podcasts, NPR and music, Watching anime, animation, anything animated, really

Favorite U. S. Television Shows:

Live Action: House, Glee, Scrubs, The Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report. When I was a teen I had a huge thing for Star Trek: Voyager and would watch the reruns almost every weeknight at, like, midnight. There, I said it. That makes me both a Trekkie and a Star Wars fan (love the original 3 movies), but I'm not "active" in either fandom as of late.

Animated: Everything. No, not really. Avatar: The Last Airbender is the best television show of any fictional genre to grace television in over a decade, IMHO. The Simpsons, but it jumped the shark years ago, King of the Hill had some really good stuff going for it.

Old School kiddy shows from the 90's like Gargoyles, Spider-Man, Freakazoid, Bobby's World, Life with Louie, Eek! The Cat, Animaniacs, Histeria, EarthWorm Jim, The Tick and Mighty Max (does anyone remember Mighty Max? It was based on a toy franchise, but it was good!) still hold a place in my crazed mind, as does The Critic and other failed animated series for adults that aired on Network TV over the years. I grew up without cable, and would tape Saturday Morning Cartoons and watch them on Saturday night. Guess why.

The shows I'm most excited about these days (besides The Legend of Korra) are The Venture Bros. and Ugly Americans. Oh, and South Park has its good eps. I also liked both Unlimited Spider-Man (yes, the one that aired on MTV) and The Spectacular Spider-Man. Still upset that neither show was able to live up to expectations because they were cancelled too early.

Book Series: The Harry Potter fandom opened my eyes to fanfiction and this site back in the '90s. Love the books, dislike the movies, rarely read the fanfic anymore unless it's a crossover or very funny/unique. That may change. I was a huge Animorph fan back in the day.

Manga and Anime: I read tons of manga. Thanks to the public library system, I've been able to read most things for free but legally. Fun fact: I have 4 different library cards from 3 different states. I only read Naruto and Bleach scanulated on a regular basis. *Shrugs* Old habits die hard, especially with Bleach. It's been bad for years. Why on Earth does Shonen Jump still publish it? I got into Bleach because Isshin's character intrigued me, and even though there's still no sign of an Isshin Gaiden, I'm still reading the dumb thing. On a positive note, I got into Naruto to try to figure out why it was so darned popular (yes, I'm a sheep person and will try just about anything that's popular) and it only keeps exceeding my expectations. I can't say its the best Shonen manga out there (Black Jack is. Point blank. Nobody can beat Tezuka), but I'm on a Naruto trip right now.

I wish Gintama was recognized as one of Shonen Jump's "top three." For the life of me, I can't get into One Piece. Don't know why. I'm sure it's better than Bleach, though. :)

Um, Anime, yeah. : Generally speaking, if I like a manga, I'll check out it's anime version. I wish more Shojo and Josei titles would make it here. NANA ROCKS IN EVERY INCARNATION!!!

Of stuff not fully based on manga: I recognize the quality of Cowboy Bebop, but I like Samurai Champloo better. The original Full Metal Alchemist was brilliant and I liked the ending! Not the movie as much, though. I still like Brotherhood/the original manga storyline. Arakawa is a great storyteller.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad (goes here because I never read the manga and Tokyopop lost the rights), The Twelve Kingdoms and Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit are some of my favorites.

Everybody Does This: SHIPS!!!!!:

Generally I ship canon and heterosexual couples. When I'm reading a romance, I like to read stories that are *ROMANTIC*! Pointless lemons are pointless. Fluff can be cute. Humor is always appreciated. CONFESSION: I LOVE BABY FICS!!!

Least Favorite Ships:

(Disclaimer: I'm a tolerant gal, but fans can be crazy! Stop having catfights over which two fictional characters should get together! It's the original creator'schoice in the end, and you know it. Even if that means we get stuck with weird, out-of-nowhere couples who end up dead. Lupin/Tonks, anyone? What was she thinking...:P)

(Fun Fact: Did'ja know that their once was a gal on Jeapardy who said that she was writing her doctoral's thesis on how Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were a cople? Seriously, getting a PhD by writing about Slash Fanfiction! How awesome is that!)

1 I HATE Bad Guy/Good Guy Pairings, and they-really-HATE-one-another-in-canon Pairings. UlquiHime makes me gag. Draco/Hermione? Yeah, right! SNAPE/HARRY??!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! They *Hated* Each other! It's not Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet *loved* one another, their *families* hated each other! See the Difference?

2 Teacher/Student or Huge-Age-Difference: Snape/Harry, again, What is wrong with you people? I only ask out of love! Really!

3 Incest: Need I say more? Unless you are writing an abuse fic with a point, I just don't want to read a "forbidden love" fetish fic.

4 Slash pairings in which both characters are straight in canon: This ones not *that* bad. Apparently, you can even get a PhD if you wrie it well enough (See the "fun fact" above!) Also, I ship House/Wilson. More for Bromance then sex, but as far as I'm concerned, they are the OTP of House. The banter between those two is always fun to watch. In general, though, Character A is straight, Character B is straight, so why are they having sex in your serious, dramatic fic? Isn't that gratuitous? Jus' sayin' Also: Snape/Harry. There Done. Won't mention them again! ;D

So, Fave Ships by Fandom:

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Kataang, Tokka, Maiko when written well. I completely understand Zutarians. I feel your pain~Bryke really teased us, the whole show through. Zuko and Katara wouldn't have been a bad couple, but Aang loved her first...I think Bryke just wanted to let Aang get the girl, in a way. Personally, I think it works, but I know it hurts...

Because Tokka could have worked, too. And Suki had barely any character development...plus, she cringes at Sokka's jokes! Ugh!

As for Maiko, well, they provide one another with a certain type of balance...and she loved Zuko more than she feared Azula. That's gotta count for something! ;)

Fave Characters: Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Iroh, Toph, June, Azula (Best Villian Ever. In just about any fandom!), Ty Lee ("Poof!"), Mai...I love then all, basically! Aang is so charming, sweet, childish and innocent, and he grows so much! Katara is such a bundle of contradictions~feminine, tough, quick-tempered, loving, angry, over-protective, inspiring. Zuko is amazing. Sokka is smart, strategic, and holds his own despite his limitations. Plus, he's sarcastic and funny! Toph is tough, vulnerable, young. Plus she 'gets' Sokka's humor! I could go on...

Naruto: ShikaTema. Anything else goes, as there really are no 'canon ships' yet in the show, except: Yoshino/Shikaku, Asuma/Kurenai, and Minato/Kushina...

Fave Characters: Shikamaru Nara, Tenten, *KUSHINA UZUMAKI*

Everyone else; The Inuzukas are so much fun! Kakashi is so interesting! Iruka is so sane, in an insane world! Naruto has some good qualities (LOL!), Hinata's so sweet, Ino's so bossy, Sakura grew so much, Sai had such a bad past, and his social inept-ness is both frusterating and endearing, because he tries so hard. The Sand Siblings are interesting, with Gaara the Stoic, Kankuro, the Overly Emotional, and Temari, who doesn't take crap from anyone. Tsunade's the Hokage, damnit! Kabuto's an interestingly twisted villian...and a shout out to Shiho, the code-cracking girl, because she reminds me of Sheska in FMA, and I love Sheska in FMA!

Bleach: IshiHime...and I keep reading for Isshin and Ryuken's backstories. That's about it. Oh, I love Ichigo's high school friends, and his sis, Karin. Wake me up when they get to do something interesting