Dear fandom (more specifically the G.U. fandom),


What is it with you guys and colors? Enough with the strange color similes, more specifically 'honey brown.' I know you want to try to keep from having to repeat a character's name over and over again, but you don't need to come up with weird similes just to help your reader distinguish characters.

For example: One fic describes Ovan as "cornflower haired." In fact, they use it more than twice in one chapter. *whips guilty author(s) in the palm with a ruler* QUIT THAT. Once is enough. It would probably be more preferable to never use it. "Blue-haired"? Okay, sure. Again, don't overuse it. But "cornflower haired"? Knowing a rarer name of an existing color does not a smart fic make. Even worse is if you use the same type of comparison for every other character in every other sentence.

And for DOYC's sake, EDIT YOUR FIC. Read it backwards. Ask a friend who knows grammar and spelling to beta it for you. Just correct any mistakes you have before you publish it! I can count the number of fanfic that didn't have this problem with my fingers. That. Is. Just. Sad.


A friendly reminder from someone who cares,
Marie (CCMars)

Just a friendly reminder from someone who is seriously sick and tired of this trend:

14-YEAR-OLD BOY =/= FEMININE WUSS

I'm actually aiming this towards one fandom in particular, but it applies to all of them.


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Zombie infestation at paradisa! Yes!

Here's my view of the whole Japanese fanart ordeal that goes around every big fandom that comes along. I'm going to use bold letters because people never seem to get the idea.

THIS IS GOING BY WEBSITES ONLY. I'll explain why later.

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I don't support it to an extent. Why? Because most likely if an artist running their website does not want to have their stuff used and they catch someone in, say, America doing so anyway, they may block the IP addresses of everyone in that country. Yes, they can do that. In other words, people who use fanart for their icons or whatever when the maker clearly says on their website that they don't want them to, ruin it for the rest of us. And you know what? Most likely they won't give a damn if you knew where it came from or not.

If the artist never mentions anything and then get pissy when it does happen, then I'll agree its their own fault. It's when people use fanart of those who make it more than slightly obvious that they don't want them to be used that it pisses me off.

Doujinshi...I'm still debating on that myself, as it is an entirely different matter. BUT I BEG OF EVERYONE, IF A PERSON RUNNING A WEBSITE CLEARLY DOES NOT WANT THEIR ART USED FOR ANY PURPOSE, PLEASE RESPECT THEM AND DON'T TOUCH THEM. IT IS NOT THAT FUCKING HARD TO USE MANNERS.

In fact, if you REALLY want to use that art, you could (GASP!) ask for the artist's permission. If there is a language gap, that's what sites like Babelfish are for. If you're not sure of the artists' language abilities, apologize for your own crappy language skills. They'll understand.

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Thank you.