life's footnotes

Seventh inning stretch

2009-11-27T22:11:38Z

I can't believe I have been writing fanfiction for as long as I have. It's been one of the few constants in my life. I'm ending my seventh year in the fanfic community and going into my eighth. I have gone from being a high school sophomore to a law school 1L.

Yes, you read that right. Law school. I decided to become a lawyer when I figured it was the professional school that would let me write the most. It was the worst mistake of my life. Law school destroys all of your writing sensibilities. It's not even good analytical writing. It's bad writing with legal terms of art thrown in everywhere. Since legal writing is this bad, I can never forgive myself if I became a lawyer. So after a semester of gritting my teeth and hating it, I will be trying to look for a writing job. I will probably be a struggling writer for the rest of my life, but I figure I'll be happier.

I probably won't be doing any creative writing. I'll be jumping into the world of journalism or copywriting. Wish me luck! I hope to eventually be happy with the career path I pick.

On that note, here is a new RK one-shot:

A Believable Courtship
By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

Disclaimer: The Rurouni Kenshin world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Watsuki Nobuhiro.

Kenshin’s lips feathered against her neck. Kaoru could feel his warm and solid chest against her back. His skillful fingers swept her hair to the side and over the other shoulder as he nibbled his way up to just below her ear.

Kaoru sighed in exasperation. “Your highness?”

He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to mold against his form. The sheer weight and size of the skirt of her gown prevented a certain amount closeness but he didn’t seem to care. “You know I don’t like you calling me that my lady.”

She rolled her eyes, “Your majesty knows you’re only pretending to court me right?”

His lips continued to work on her neck and nerves. “I’m just keeping a bit of realism in the situation.”

“And your hands are going to go from realistic to a distant memory if they travel any further north or south, your majesty.”

He wrapped his arms around her small waist, a gesture that Kaoru deemed a little too familiar.

“Are you going to harm your king my lady?” His hot whisper ghosted over her ears, “And don’t call me that either.”

She shrugged and attempted to pull away from his firm embrace, “You call me ‘my lady.’”

Kenshin spun her around and pinned her up against the armoire. He smirked down at her, “Would you rather I call you something more personal? More endearing?”

His scent made her dizzy, but years of training and resolve prevented her from folding under his weighty seduction. “My lady will be fine.”

She leveraged her arms against his chest and pushed away, but he barely budged. Kaoru groaned. She should be used to the odd ease the king had started to show her since he was placed under her protection, but she couldn’t. She wondered if there was a woman in the world that could get used to his scorching attentive eyes.

“I would prefer it if you called me Kenshin.”

She finally decided to take a bit of liberty and shove harder at his chest. He finally surrendered and stepped back. Kaoru made her way toward the mirror and adjusted her hair and dress. “I would be executed for calling you so informally.”

Kenshin fell back onto her bed and smirked, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t allow the woman I’m wooing to be executed.”

Kaoru pointedly gave the man a stern look, “Pretending to woo, your highness.”

“It’s a very fine line.”

“Just remember which side of the line you fall your highness.” She sighed and stepped her left leg up on a stool. Hiking her gown up she allowed a significant amount of thigh to show as she strapped a sharp blade from her bureau to her leg.

“If that’s the case, I’m enjoying the view from this side.”

She ignored the comment as she repeated the same gesture with the other leg. “I think you’re losing sight of why we’re in this situation to begin with your highness.”

“Of course I haven’t. It’s because the head of my guards is overly paranoid.”

“Captain Aoshi is not being paranoid.” She sat on the seat in front of the bureau and began hiding sharp pins in her hair, “You are being targeted your highness. It’s best for the enemy to think you have a weakness. They’ll attack me thinking they can get to you. You’ll be left in the clear.”

Kenshin frowned, “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“It’s my job your highness.” She stuck in the final pin and turned her head every which way to check her work. “I’m here to protect you by Captain Aoshi’s orders. Not that a man of your swordsmanship needs protection.”

He sauntered up behind her, sweeping firm fingers from the nape of her neck down to the exposed portion of her back. “I requested you.”

She shivered slightly under his ministrations, but her voice remained steady. “I was the only option your highness.”

“Because,” he emphasized the word. “I requested you.”

“No. Because I’m the only female member of the royal guard.” The hair on her arms stood on end when she felt his attentive lips graze her shoulder. “And I’m not sure how you knew I was a woman your highness. No one aside from Captain Aoshi and Sano knew.”

“Give yourself a bit more credit my lady. No matter what armor you adorn and how you ride a horse, your feminine essence seeps from you.”

She scrunched her nose, “My feminine essence? That sounds gross.”

He smiled against her skin and traced the curve of her hips with his strong hands. “It’s not gross my lady. It’s what gets men tripping over their own feet.”

“Then I would rather not have it. Men are idiots to begin with. They don’t need pheromones to help them in that department.”

He pulled back a bit and allowed a bit of humor slip into his voice. “Did you just call me an idiot?”

“Of course not,” She said in a tone humoring the king. “You would have me killed for my insolence.”

“I’m not going to have you killed.” His fingers played with the ties on her bodice.

With a deft tug it was free and her gown slacked a bit around her. At the sensation of being undressed Kaoru pulled away from the king and stood up with the bureau hitting her backside. She made quick work and secured her gown. “Whoa there your highness.”

“Do you deny your king?” Kenshin loomed over her as he supported himself with both arms on either side of her on the bureau.

She was taken aback by his words. Sure, he had been very hands on but he never stepped over the line she had set out. She would have described what he had been doing up to his point as pure seduction. He was the king. He could have any woman warm his bed. He was used to attention being thrown at him. She had allowed a certain level of physical invasiveness, but she would be damned if she became another notch on the royal bedpost.

Kaoru steeled her navy eyes and glared into his amber ones. “Yes.”

He furrowed his brows and a slight frown tugged down his lips. He pressed his body forward. Every line of his conditioned form pressed into the soft curves of her body. “Yes, you deny your king? Or yes to my proposition.”

His words breezed over her face, but her gaze did not waver. “I’m denying my king.”

Kaoru readied herself. There really was only one place this situation could take her. If it came down to it, she would fight. She would not whither like a submissive flower. Even though it would be a losing battle, even though he could best her in strength, and even though he was the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on, she would fight.

Kenshin leaned in closer. His right hand traced her fingers, her delicate wrist, her arms toned from sword practice, her gently sloping shoulder, her graceful neck. His warm calloused palm cupped her face. Any woman less stubborn than her would have probably crumbled under his touches, but she kept her shaky ground. His unruly bangs tickled her eyelids and cheeks. His lips inched closer and her breath lodged in her throat.

His whisper was hot against her ear with his unexpected response. “Good.”

He turned away from her and walked toward the bed. He picked up the sword he had unstrapped when he had first entered the room. Securing the sword at his hip, he adjusted his tunic and buttoned it all the way.

Kaoru’s eyes followed his movements around the room, but she had yet to step away from her place against the bureau.

With a swing of his arms he strapped the cloak on his shoulders. He looked expectantly at her and extended his arm out to her. “Ready my lady?”

She stared at him but didn’t move from her spot. “That’s it?”

He smirked and walked toward her. “Would you rather I force myself on you?”

She ignored his question and asked her own. “What if I hadn’t denied you?”

Kenshin reached for her hand and drew her away from the bureau. “You would be screaming my name in pleasure from between those bed sheets.” His pleasant smile betrayed nothing of the content of his words.

Her body froze. She didn’t have a vocal response to the image he suddenly presented. She did, however, have the decency to blush.

He smiled and guided her arm to rest within his looped one. “I’m glad you said no to me though. It would have been really disappointing if you hadn’t.”

Kaoru carefully looked at the king, “Disappointing?”

He nodded, “After our time in bed, I would have put an end to this courtship.”

She frowned, “Pretend courtship your highness.”

He was the one to ignore her comment this time. “I can’t have a wife that won’t stand up to me and say no.”

She shook her head, “You’re just teasing me now. You will take on a proper wife with a proper title. Not a cross-dressing orphan who got picked up by the old captain of the royal guards.”

“And who do you think told Okina to look for a crying child by the back gate of the castle?”

Her eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

His smile was endearing and predatory. “I was still in my adolescence when I stumbled on a little girl sobbing. I was the crowned prince. I couldn’t just pick up any old stray. So I asked Okina for a favor.”

“You’ve been planning this?”

“Planning? To seduce a child? That’s crossing the line. But planning to seduce the young maiden I saw swimming in the forest pond a few months ago, yes.”

Kaoru tried to pull her arm away but he kept it in place. “You were watching me?”

He shook his head, “I usually swim in that pond. I just so happened to have an intruder that day.”

She glared at him, “I was naked!”

“I’m very aware of that.” He grinned, “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Trust me.”

A blush rushed across her face at the intonation of his words.

“Now, my lady, are you ready to join me to the ball?”

She looked away, but gripped his arm. “You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“Conclusions?”

She snuck a glance at the man, “What if I wanted to marry a different man?”

He raised a brow, “I didn’t realize you had prospects.”

“I don’t, but I could.”

“And now you do.” He leaned in to whisper into his ear, “And with all the rumors that I’m sure are flying around about the king entering your chambers...”

Kaoru’s eyes widened, “Kenshin!”

He was taken aback at hearing his name, but after a beat he let a genuine smile split across his face. “I look forward to hearing you call me that for the rest of our lives Kaoru.”

She huffed then tugged him toward the door. “Let’s go you idiot.” She spared him a glance before reaching for the doorknob, “And yes, I did just call you an idiot.”

Kenshin grinned, “Good.”

menu du jour

2009-01-22T23:04:11Z

Currently I am seriously flirting and possibly dating the idea of vignettes. I started thinking about my approach to writing fiction. So here is the low down:
100 or less word drabbles are like the h’ordeurves you get at parties. You see it, taste it and enjoy it for the hot second that it’s in your mouth. Then, it’s over. No commitment.

Short one-shots (you know, “stories” that feature only a scene or two) are like appetizers. You enjoy it for what it’s worth, but after you’re done you kinda wish there was more.

Extended one-shots are those stories that have a beginning, middle, and end –so it’s the first category to be a full meal. You went to a restaurant, sat down, ordered an entrée and left a 15 to 20 percent tip. You’re full, and you’re satisfied.

Epics are the bane of my existence and multi-chaptered, those are a seven course meal. You get tired half way through, so they bring out some sorbet to cleanse the pallet and all you’re thinking after the first plate of meat is: “Where’s the dessert?”

And song fics? Well they’re dessert. Unnecessary, but fun on occasion to have dessert as a meal –but it’s not something you find healthy.

So there’s my fiction theory... now off to write an appetizer.

willingly not writing

2008-12-18T02:16:04Z

And by experiencing writer's block I mean I'm really not in the mood to start up another fanfiction (although Quadrille of War is technically started and in hiatus... irrelevant I say). I'm a graduating college senior now and I really don't have the fanfiction drive that I used to. I don't care to expand upon other people's stories, because what about my own? But being that writing fiction is panning out to be a hobby more than anything, fanfiction is something I think I will eventually revisit. Eventually, it's just going to be my original stories with manga characters plugged in (then again that's what "Remembering You" was right? kinda). I don't exactly see myself legitly making money off my writing and so there it is. Kind of like how no one reads this blog. Blog shmog, this was the worst idea ever.

Peace out kids.

Le Sigh

2008-07-09T06:51:19Z

Am just the most ridiculous review whore or something? I FINALLY finished my fanfiction and what have I been doing multiple times a day since? Checking if anyone reviewed. Maybe I'm just wanting some feedback, but after 23 chapters I was hoping for some kind of review. I mean, I have gotten four reviews... but for some reason I wish I could get more feedback. I mean, did anyone even really like the last chapter? Sigh. I am a review whore.

food! retail! and writing! oh my!

2007-08-08T07:27:32Z

Realized that I haven't posted on LJ for a VERY long time. And even longer ago was my last fanfic update... I'm the worst writer ever...
These days I've been addicted to the food network, TLC, and Bravo... I need to stop watching unnecessary cooking shows and write more. I've also been on a shopping kick and in desperate need to fund my ridiculous designer addiction (at the moment I have a hellish work schedule at a retail store).
Anyways, I've finally finished the last chapter of 'Remembering You' and all that is left is to do an edit (which in the end leaves a lot of errors) and a quick writing of the epilogue (and hopefully this time it won't take 9 months). I guess I better get started on that instead of wasting time here...

in memory

2007-04-18T07:15:38Z

I don't want to ignore what happened at Virginia Tech yesterday. I'm in college at the moment, a large state college -similar in the format of Vtech. Everyone around me is shaken up by the incident and questions of "Could that happen on our campus?" keeps on coming up. Sadly enough it could happen so I pray for all my fellow students and future college students to make it through their education without something like yesterday happening again.

Pray for the students at VT that lost their lives and for those who they left behind.

answering all of life's questions

2007-04-16T08:21:36Z

I love these silly little quizzes that try to guess what kind of person I am. I especially love it when they're right, or just completely ridiculous.

Wow! They got my eye color right!

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom

What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

This is pretty much me to a T:

You Have Your Sarcastic Moments

While you're not sarcastic at all times, you definitely have a cynical edge.
In your opinion, not all people are annoying. Some are dead!
And although you do have your genuine moments, you can't help getting your zingers in.
Some people might be a little hurt by your sarcasm, but it's more likely they think you're hilarious.

How Sarcastic Are You?

Being a Scorpio this makes sense...

You are 100% Scorpio

How Scorpio Are You?

Where can I get some Adderall?

2007-04-16T01:43:28Z

I'm about as focused as a squirrel with a caffeine high. I seriously need to get my life together and write that last chapter of 'Remembering You.' Two days ago I realized that it has been five months since my last chapter update... that's a bit ridiculous... although I think I've gone six months before. There is so much that needs to go into this last chapter and sealing off of plot holes that it's difficult to write. God I hope I can post this thing up soon... mean while I've been distracted by more drabble writing...

Author Notes: Forlorn thoughts of a doctor and her one-sided love.

Disclaimer: The Rurouni Kenshin world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Watsuki Nobuhiro.

Never Me

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

A quick tug at his bandages and they’re loose. The wounds he endures are never for me... There was a time when he had been hurt to rescue me, but he had done it based on his principles.

I apply ointment to his injuries and wrap them with clean bandages. I am the doctor of the group. I fix the problems they run into physically. I was never here for anything beside my duties. I am only a friend.

He fights for a future. Her future. He was never mine. I was never his.

in need of dynamite

2007-03-21T05:54:02Z

You know what I used to laugh in the face of? I mean besides stupid people? I used to laugh in the face of writer's block. I thought it would never happen to me... little did I know that it would bite me in the ass when I'm almost done with a story. Have you ever wanted to do everything, but found yourself doing nothing in the end? Well that's me... except with writing. I'm still writing the drabbles, and trying to write the one-shots but I can't seem to find the motivation. God... I need to get my life together.

drabbling like a mad woman

2007-03-19T00:00:39Z

I'm under the romantic obsession of writing drabbles and one-shots. Mostly in the RK fandom and within the canon and canon continuation that is set up by my one-shot 'To have me you earlier...' I'm in constant need to write, and being as ADD as I sometimes am, the best way to keep me going is to go with the realm of fanfiction that is shorter (drabbles, one-shots, and possibly a song fic... *groan* you have no idea how much I dislike those too).

Here is my first one: (hehe, I figured out how to use LJ cuts)

Your Name
by Hoshi-ni-Onegai

“Kaoru...”

Your name fell from my lips without the honorific. I had ignored the way you pouted when I persistently called you with it attached. But now that you are gone, I wish I had yelled it at the top of my lungs.

Too many things I wish to have done. Untying your hair ribbon as your lover. Embracing you without an impending departure. Feeling the soft hair behind your neck as I pulled you in for a kiss. To kiss you a hundred times a day -and still wanting more.

My worst regret is not telling you that I...

billowing capes

2007-03-17T07:13:31Z

I knew 300 was a quality film when I left the movie theatre wanting a red cape (and possibly a lance). I, for a fact, know that I would look kick ass in it... and a lot like super girl, but that's beside the point. 300 has also given me a bit of inspiration to write a chapter for 'Quadrille of War' but don't expect that to be coming out. The movie gave me more ideas to deal with, but I highly doubt I'll get a chapter out in the coming 6 months.

Today was also my first official day of spring break. I took my english final yesterday and I'm hoping for an A in all my classes (isn't everyone?). So, instead of hanging out in the state of Florida and drinking myself into oblivion along with my peers, I'm back at my parents house chillin... sigh, my plans of hitting up NYC fell through completely (stupid friends that abandon me for 'family' vacations...). And so I will be hanging out with my parents and our cat, which I hope the seclusion from all things societal will motivate me to write in my spare time... or go shopping... because I'm a bit of a shopping whore.

discovering my inner self

2007-03-15T02:41:23Z

Just in case you didn't know:

Am I cool or uncool? [CLICK]

You are Cool!

You're pretty cool! People look at you and think.. 'wow.. that person is cool!' Congratulations. Use your position wisely and teach the dorks below you a thing or two. There's nothing like recruiting a cool person.

Cool quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

When it's in a graphic like that and it was generated by codes within my penname, it's pretty freaking amazing how accurate they are.

Loves it:

Hoshi-ni-Onegai is poisonous! Induce vomitting if ingested.

N
POISON

From Go-Quiz.com

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this. I am a poison and so is my writing, so remember to vomit right afterwards. ;-)

ps- I do not condone bulimia, so don't go blaming that on me...

the frightening prospect of: if I were a drink

2007-03-15T01:24:26Z

How to make a hoshi-ni-onegai

Ingredients:
3 parts competetiveness
5 parts silliness
5 parts beauty

Method:
Combine in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice. Top it off with a sprinkle of wisdom and enjoy!

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

digging my educational grave

2007-03-14T21:16:14Z

I might just be a genius, and when I say genius, I mean dumb-ass... Instead of studying my ass off for the finals I'm wasting more and more time writing RK fanfiction... and of course by wasting I mean.... well, yeah, wasting... At the present moment I have a the weirdest sleep schedule in the world and an avid imagination that is telling me to write about all things RK... I'm writing another one-shot (which of course will be 20+ pages again) in the same reality as 'To have met you earlier' and I'm dying to write 2 fics (which I call epics, because of my incapability of keeping things short and sweet).

One fic is about robots and the other about assassins... O_o

I need to find time to write everything, and with college, I find that everything takes a back seat to my studies... sigh... I really need to get 'Remembering You' done, but I just can't get myself to write it anymore... but quiting with only a chapter and epilogue left seems a bit too shady... even for me

good grades are overrated

2007-03-13T09:06:24Z

After a good five month absence from fanfiction I have finally returned with a one-shot. Yes, gasp. A one-shot. Miss 'I don't write anything besides epics,' has written a one-shot... but let's ignore the fact that it is 22 pages long, no where near what a drabble should be. Also, I have proudly put off studying for the finals in my college courses to finish writing, editing, and posting it. I'll hopefully figure out how to post fics on here one day, but until then, you're going to have to go to my ff.net account... but since no one is probably looking at this I'll shut up now...

lost and loving it... sort of

2007-03-12T09:22:34Z

Another day and another post on LJ where I still haven't the slightest clue on how things work. I've obviously figure out how to post something, and I've also figured out uploading icons I've made. Beyond those two things, I'm pretty much lost. Also, I'm not entirely sure why I'm posting when I KNOW no one is reading this... oh to be alone in the world.

ps (aka 'note to self' at the moment)- I'm almost done with a RK one-shot...

wasting time...

2007-03-11T10:22:40Z

For some reason I thought it would be a brilliant idea to start a live journal account... which is highly impractical for someone who barely has the time to breathe let alone write on a blog... is this even considered a blog? I'm not even sure what live journal is... Someone is going to have to walk me through this... hahaha, the funny thing is I have no friends here at the moment so I am a lonely nomad of the world wide web (or just live journal). I was hoping to make the first entry memorable and witty, but it's 6:20am and I haven't gone to sleep for the night yet... so... wit and wisdom will have to be shelved for another day.