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footnotes
Last Updated: 12.2.05
I have a bad habit of making jokes and references. Because I am aware of this, I decided to write down some of them here. Some of them are obvious. Some have other reasons.
Titles and Trivia
20/20 (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: 20/20 represents perfect vision, which is a pun off Hawkeye's name, her familiarity with guns, and also her role in the military.
Subject: Love in the form of duty, not necessarily two-way.
Trivia: I woke up at 2 am with this in my head and it wouldn't let me sleep until I wrote most of it down. Early morning fics will be the death of me.
$4.50 Matinee (Utena):
Title: Matinees are half-price showings on Sundays, sometimes Saturdays. The '450' is also a reference to the time (before 6 pm, which is still matinee time for some theaters.) In other words, it's a cheap fic half-off.
Subject: A fic about eternity as less than attractive.
A House Without Doors (Naruto):
Trivia: I liked the title until I decided it and the premise sounded too much like Language of Closed Doors, and promptly renamed to A House Without Walls before I remembered that a book by that name was written by Margaret Blair Young.
A Killing Light (Death Note):
Title: Fans translate Raito's name as both Raito and Light. I can never resist a play on words.
Trivia: It is completely tasteless for Raito to comparison himself to an atomic bomb, which is why I found it so appropriate.
All the Time in the World (Trigun):
Trivia: I started capitalizing 'He' in the divine sense for Knives and Vash because I thought it would be appropriate for Legato's view of the Plants, and then it stuck for every fic I've written for him since.
Anything on Water (FFX-2):
Title: Adapted from the phrase 'walk on water' as a sign of divinity.
Subject: Love in the form of admiration--but it doesn't always override old friends.
Trivia: I wrote this in something like an hour in the middle of other things. Unrevised, straight stream-of-consciousness. I'm amazed people like it.
Appleseed (Constantine):
Title: Supposed to represent a seed from the apple of the Tree of Knowledge, which led to the biblical sundering in Eden. Ended up also referring to a more blatent 'seed.' Parallels between Gabriel's visit to Mary and Chas's visit to Gabriel can be made.
Subject: Gabriel has its own crisis of faith after being exposed to knowledge which might or might not be true.
Trivia: Chas might or might not be real. Lucifer's visits might or might not be real either. Chas might have been a sending from Lucifer. Lucifer might have been a sending from god.
Artifice (FFX-2):
Title: Artifice means, 'a clever strategy usually intended to deceive or defraud; a skillfully contrived work; ingenuity'. All of them apply.
Subject: Nooj lies to the Crusaders. Rin, who uses a contrived excuse for both Nooj and the Al Bhed, lies to himself, too. 'Artifice' also refers to Nooj's machina limbs.
Trivia: None of the Al Bhed phrases Rin uses are actually used in the game.
Asymmetry (Bleach):
Title: Asymmetry refers to a number of things:
- 7 sections
- the length of the first three sections is different from the last four, if you 'reflect' them over the 3.5 mark
- the tenses change after the first three sections
- Yoruichi and Urahara are physically asymmetrical (female vs. male, dark skin vs. light, dark hair vs. light, and then cat vs. human)
- Yoruichi and Urahara are mentally symmetrical in many ways, but the small differences between them start to send them in different directions than how close they were while in the Soul Society. So the fic is really about how two things can resemble each other very closely, but on deeper examination, they're opposites. (Yoruichi wandering vs. Urahara stationary, Yoruichi alone vs. Urahara's store crew.)
Overall I wanted a feeling of relaxation that stems from similarity/ familiarity, but also an undercurrent of unease. Objects which are minorly asymmetrical tend to create a feeling of unconscious discomfort in a viewer, so I went down that angle.
Before I Wake (Cowboy Bebop):
Title: Based off the old nursery rhyme that goes, "If I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take," a cross-pun on Cowboy Bebop's recurring theme of dreaming/sleeping while being alive, and Gren's habit of saying, 'take care' instead of 'bless you' to a sneeze.
Subject: Two people with pivotal issues on memory, coming at it from completely opposite angles.
Belly-Down (Naruto):
Trivia: I have the sneaking suspicion that the title comes from the movie Labyrinth's Fireys, who sing 'Chilly Down.'
Biting the Bullet (Saiyuki):
Title: A pun off the physical position of Sanzo during this fic, aka leaning down with his mouth near his gun while he waits. Also a pun off of biting Sanzo. In addition, the phrase, ‘bite the bullet’ means to make it through a difficult situation just by surviving it, but it also means, ‘to grit your teeth, step forward, and endure no matter what.’
Trivia: Sanzo doesn't actually kill the inn. But he thinks about it.
Blind Spot (FFX-2):
Title: The whole fic is based around people's literal and figurative blind spots, including those of Baralai.
Subject: Relationships of all types aren't easy.
Trivia: I didn't really plan any of this out past a vague idea of events that I made up on the fly. I didn't revise it either. I should have.
Blue Summers (Trigun):
Trivia: This fic is entirely centered around Legato telepathically reading his mother's mind during her death. He's just reciting back what he's seeing and matching it with his own recollections.
Subject: A fic where Legato isn't abused by his parents as a kid. Amazing!
Breathe (Kingdom Hearts):
Title: This entire fic, from concept to title, comes from my listening to the Prodigy song by the same name.
Subject: Study of Ansem's possible rationales.
Brush Strokes in Ammonia Ink (Naruto):
Title: Kabuto uses a brush to paint the seal. 'Ammonia' is a reference to the bag of urine, and also to bodily fluids in general.
butterfly in nine laps (Utena):
Title: This series has to take its homage from Mikage, actually. Mikage and the butterfly displayed in reversed steps in the elevator. The 'laps' is a swimming lap reference too; the whole thing is a creature that develops in sections.
Subject: Touga as a foil to Anthy. Child abuse also happens to both genders.
Trivia: Trivia for this series is all in the Bonus Lap.
By the Book (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Originally titled 'The Duty of the Family' before I hated it.
Subject: Love in the form of unfulfillment, because sometimes it just doesn't happen no matter how much someone wants it.
Trivia: I have no idea what actually happens in the bathroom. It could be anything. Every time I look at it, I think it's something different between them, or between their motivations, and who actually cares about what.
C Sharp (Naruto):
Title: Musical note, and pun on 'See Sharp.' Which Tayuya does.
Trivia: I just wrote this without any idea of what to do or what it was about, from start to finish. It was almost 'B Sharp', but that was too much of a pun even for me.
Carrier (Warcraft III):
Title: Arthas is the carrier of a weapon, a potential carrier of a plague (literally and figuratively) and a carrier for the creature who possesses him.
Trivia: Turn your head and cough if you noticed the necrophilia slash.
Clockwork Happiness (Saiyuki):
Title: This fic was written to start off in the present and have the backstory explained while you continued to read; it's a reversal of presentation. Also based off Hakkai's retention of the watch, and I think I was listening to the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack at the time I wrote this. Also refers to mechanical, rote happiness, or at least agreements.
Subject: Sometimes people just don't see eye to eye.
Cold Snap (Kingdom Hearts):
Title: Based off the weather term of a 'cold snap' (n; a period of unusually cold weather) along with 'snap' as in 'break.'
Subject: Ansem was loved by his people. That's canon.
Color Wheel (Naruto):
Title: The chapters aren't sectioned off by time period, but by situation. They're like the colors on a pie chart.
Subject: A spy from childhood must have some really great mental quirks.
Trivia: Loosely, white represents nothingness, blue represents cunning, yellow represents compassion, and red represents bloodthirst. Kabuto draws from his traits to make his masks, like mixing paints fresh each time on a palette. I don't know if Bellflower really happened near Mist.
Death Do We Part (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Based off marriage vows.
Trivia: I can't believe I wrote sex with a metaphor into that. I wonder how many times Roy had to change his pants during the war.
In Defense of Flowers (FFX):
Title: 'Flowers' references the little girl Celsia, as well as the mourning practice of the village itself in comparison to other traditions.
Subject: How Auron lost his eye. Also, How I got told never to write violent fics again.
Dialects (Naruto):
Title: The many different ways to say 'no.'
Subject: In each snippet, everyone is saying their own version of 'no' even when they're aware it doesn't make a difference, or isn't understood. Kabuto's the only one who spells it out so literally, because he's the one who decieves the most.
- Jiraiya says no to Tsunade leaving to confront Orochimaru
- Kakashi: to Konoha's idea of him as a genius teacher
- Kabuto: to the Sand-Sound attack
- Itachi: to his inevitable conflict with Sasuke
- Neji and Lee both: to going home, for their own reasons
- Jiraiya: to Tsunade's fate as Hokage
- Kabuto: to all of Sound (I'm of the opinion that he has his own agenda)
- Itachi and Kisame: no to each other, and to their work
- Kakashi: no to the child and to fact that he is waiting for something, even though he doesn't want to be
- Kabuto: to Orochimaru
- Jiraiya: to worst case scenerios (his death, Naruto's death, Tsunade's death)
Erosion (FFX):
Title: The real erosion in this fic, of course, is Yunalesca's mind. Otherwise it'd be about a pond filling up, not something worn away.
Subject: Yunalesca just might not think she's doing anything wrong, a la canon presentation.
Farsighted (FFX):
Title: Being able to focus on what's far away, but having a blindness for objects in close proximity.
Trivia: Focusing on Hiashi is just another metaphor for Neji choosing to move on from the past. Also, all the Hyuugas have a problem with focusing on their own family issues.
Fingerprints on Glass (Naruto):
Title: Glass and mirrors serve as both Kabuto and Kakashi at various points in this fic. The association of fragility with glass is also deliberate.
Trivia: In the end, it's Kabuto who ends up with fingerprints on himself.
Firsts (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Kimblee's first kiss, first sexual experience, first date, and first murder are all with the same girl.
Trivia: I think he also thinks about sex with Mustang during part of the fic.
For Granted (Naruto):
Title: Based off 'taken for granted.' Refers to Tsunade taking Shizune for granted, Shizune taking Kabuto for granted, and Shizune being taken sexually.
Subject: Kabuto does love his mind games.
Trivia: Kabuto is, in fact, very uncharacteristic during this fic. That's a deliberate ploy to unbalance Shizune. The girl he's talking about saving is actually Shizune; his assignment is to break
into the S-6 cabinet and steal the Sound serums along with anything else there. He hints what he's up to several times; "Some things take practical experience to master. I hate to admit it, but there are limits to even my knowledge," and "This was my last option," refer to his inability to bypass the security locks on his own.
"If you could save a life by talking to me, would you?" and "You've just saved a life," refer to his seduction of her to get close enough to loot the keys.
Glass Houses (Rah Xephon):
Title: The Kisaragis live in a house primarily made of glass. Also from the phrase, 'people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.' Which neither of the Kisaragis should, or do.
Subject: Love triangles suck, especially when it's predetermined.
Trivia: I am a shameless fan of Itsuki and Quon paired together, despite their genetics.
Hearth Warmth (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: The 'hearth' that holds the fire is, of course, Hughes. I wanted to call it a variant of 'firetender' or maybe 'poker' or some other tool used to tend a fire, but felt that was too much like 'Tinderbox.'
Subject: Love's not easy to define, and you can't always prioritize it.
Trivia: This ties in directly to 'By the Book.'
Her in Him (FFX-2):
Title: The influences of Paine on Baralai, and her presence in his environment.
Trivia: I keep typing it as 'Him in Her.' It almost was named that, except for the sexual implication.
Historical Accuracy (Naruto):
Title: Chosen deliberately because the entire fic was generated off the fact that, at the time, there was almost no canon information about Itachi--hence, making it difficult to write accurately about him. Based upon 'historical inaccuracy.'
Subject: Writing fic when you don't know the full canon can be an exercise in futility.
Trivia: I hate writing fics when I don't know the canon of at least one form, whether it's manga/game/anime. In fact, this is the first one I've done like this. I'm assuming that the fic itself is inaccurate already. I'm always surprised when people heckle this fic for deviating from canon -- that's the entire point.
Hunger (Trigun):
Subject: The symbolism of food to Legato.
Trivia: A whole fic about vomiting, and I never said the words 'toilet' or 'throw up' once.
Inherit the Meek (Naruto):
Title: Reference to the phrase, 'the meek shall inherit the earth.'
Subject: Yashamaru and Karura both chose to stay at Hidden Sand, even knowing what would happen.
Trivia: Yashamaru really does operate on his sister without painkillers. The reason they smother her in sand at the end is because of a reference that Gaara's best sand is soaked in blood/chakra; I figured it'd
be a good part of the ritual if that sand was used to soak up the remaining essence of the mother, thus ensuring that her life would be claimed no matter what. Also, 'Yara' and 'Karu' are just the first syllables of one person's
name matched to the last syllables of the other: 'Ya-ra' and 'Ka-ru.'
Jumper (Last Exile):
Trivia: Suicidal impulses are a part of this fic, in that they show up through futility and depression. No, Sophia is not the suicidal type, but death doesn't have to be literal, nor does it have to refer strictly to the body.
like boys do (No Rest for the Wicked):
Subject: Why Red travels with and protects November.
Trivia: There's a line in here that I find highly erotic, but I bet no one can discover which one. The creator of NRftW actually approved of this fic when I sent it to her, which gives it a good enough canon!accurate stamp for me.
Littermates (Fruits Basket):
Title: I wanted to call this fic, 'myxomatosis,' but couldn't work it in. The fic revolves around the family of Momiji anyway, as well as the Sohmas as a whole and the Jyuunishi-animal relations.
Subject: Family isn't easy.
Little Stone Gardens (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Gardens are literal and metaphorical here.
Subject: Destruction and creation, inanimate and animate--they're all tied together, in the generations of old and new as well.
Trivia: I think I like Marco's neighborhood better than I like most of my other FMA fics.
Live Steel Child (Naruto):
Title: Itachi is the live steel child.
Losing Grace (Rah Xephon):
Title: A reverse of 'Saving Grace,' in its relation to virtues. Also because Haruka represents grace because of what she is, or rather, what her role could have been. Also because, despite himself, Itsuki is losing his own graces over the years and succumbing to resignation and depression.
Subject: Mu vs. Human. Fight!
Trivia: Despite the many claims that Itsuki loves Haruka more than anyone else, canon states otherwise. It doesn't mean he didn't love her honestly in his own way, though.
Lucid Gods (FFX):
Title: Adapted from 'lucid dreaming,' in which a person can consciously influence the direction of their dreams.
Lullaby (Rah Xephon):
Title: The series of RX has this habit of naming its episodes after musical structures. Also because a lullaby is used to send young creatures to sleep.
Subject: The path to hell is paved with good intentions.
Trivia: I make up so many things in the RX universe. For example, most of this fic. I don't know if Makoto is sterile or not, for instance, or if Helena had anything to do at all with Sayoko.
Made to Order (Rah Xephon):
Title: Helena herself is made to order. I assumed she wasn't the first.
Subject: Maybe Helena has depth to explain all her cruelty. Maybe.
Trivia: Martha Stewart meets Fight Club meets Bladerunner. That's the only thing I could think of while writing this.
Master of the House (Utena):
Title: Because Akio most certainly is not the real person in charge during this fic.
More (FFX-2):
Trivia: I wrote this on a napkin in a darkened theater while watching Van Hellsing. Can you tell?
Nothing if Not (FFX-2):
Trivia: Also another fic that appeared at 2 am in the morning and was written down solely so I could sleep at nights.
Not a Love Story (Cowboy Bebop):
Title: THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY. Not in terms of straightforward pairings.
Subject: Human fixations, affections, and connections aren't always as simple as pure eros. You can be fascinated by more than one person at a time.
Trivia: Faye isn't the only one suffering from a wierd crush-that-isn't-maybe.
Opposable Thumbs (Death Note):
Title: The title isn't just about evolution, but also about L and Raito facing off in opposition, like two different branches of the same species.
Past Twenty (Peacemaker):
Trivia: I don't know what I'm doing here.
Queen's Bishop to Stage Three (Lain):
Title: The 'queen', naturally, is Lain. Taro is the bishop, the stage is both the club stage and a chessboard square, and the title is a reference to a chess play.
Trivia: If you interpret this fic literally, it will make no sense. If you read it as a metaphor or another part of a Knight conspiracy behind the scenes, it works better.
Remains of You (FF8):
Trivia: The easiest explanation for FF8's plot: it was told to us from the viewpoints of the GF-users, meaning that large chunks were forgotten.
Replacement Options (FFX-2):
Title: A take off 'replacement plan,' like with appliances. New Yevon has the option of replacing Baralai with Isaaru, Baralai has the option of replacing the Crimson Squad with Isaaru, and Isaaru has the option of replacing his brothers with New Yevon and Baralai alike.
Riding (Weiss Kreuz):
Title: 'Riding' references the voudoun practice of allowing a loa to 'ride' you. It also is a sexual reference, and refers to trains. Which also are Freudian for sex.
Trivia: It took a vast effort of willpower not to have the last line be 'then he remembered to get off.' I wrote 'disembark' instead but couldn't stop laughing, so I revised the entire end line.
Routine (FFX-2):
Title: Because the predictable sometimes isn't.
Subject: Just when you think you know someone, they can surprise you.
Trivia: People wonder why I don't write humor. This fic is an example why. Also, Baralai's feigned nervous hand motions were deliberate the whole time.
Scorched Earth (FMA):
Trivia: Mabel might just be the only OC of mine that I have ever liked. I think she's fucking awesome.
Second Crossing (FMA):
Trivia: The diner is a tribute to every single greasy-spoon diner in every single B-movie out there.
Sleight of Hand (Host Club):
Title: 'Sleight' is another word for 'trick,' which is a vulgar reference that ties into another view of the Host Club.
Sleepers (Xenogears):
Title: Sleepers is short for 'sleeper agents.' It is also a reference to something Brin would remember, as he will always be my inspiration for Midori.
Subject: Citan is a sleeper agent for Solaris, Yui is one for Shevat, Id is sleeping within Fei, and all of them are metaphorically sleeping in their pretend roles of happy villagers.
Trivia: I don't know if Midori is actually telepathic. Lots of people like to think so, so I went with it, especially since it explains why Midori is so wacky in the game to Citan. The stuffed duck is a reference to a certain stuffed rabbit.
Smoke and Mirrors (Rurouni Kenshin):
Title: Smoke is a play off of Saitou's smoking habit, along with tying into 'smoke and mirrors' for illusions. Saitou parallels to Kenshin and Shishio for mirrors, and the whole interactions between Soujirou and Saitou might be illusionary in intent on at least one side.
Subject: Relationships come in all shapes.
Sotto Voce (Naruto):
Title: Kabuto says a hell of a lot under his breath.
Subject: It also means what's written between the lines. 'Trash' for the remains of the Sound Four, the insects that come out of the cabinets, the dogs fighting. Everything.
Still Life with Cats (Weiss Kreuz):
Title: 'Still Life' refers to a painting, and also means a literal 'stilled life.' 'Cats' refers to the kitten and also Weiss Kreuz itself.
Subject: All four combinations of the title apply.
Sugar Silly String (Kill Bill):
Title: Originally, "Sugar and Candy." 'Sweets' in this fic reference younger teenagers too, so 'consumption of sweets' deals with the legally underage.
Subject: Sweets are considered a taste that children are supposed to grow as they get older; even so, Japan has a very blurred setup of adult and child standards sometimes.
Trivia: If anyone thinks that I'm taking a knock at Japan, rest easy. Okay, maybe I am at the practice of enjo kosai.
Taboo (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Let's hear it for military and religious taboos against sexuality and suicide.
Subject: Various taboos.
Trivia: This fic was written by request of someone for a Scar and Mustang pairing. It was such a pain to write that I couldn't make it a decent gift, and 'taboo' references my inability to get this fic done as well.
These Strange Games (FFX-2):
Title: Taken from a clip in the story, but I think it was inspired by "Vanilla Sky" somehow.
Trivia: Written because it was pointed out that "Red as Snow" really gives Nooj a bad rap. Otherwise, I couldn't figure out why Baralai wouldn't have asked him about the whole shooting thing earlier.
Three Layers with Strawberry Frosting (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: The filling between the layers consists of the two time periods. The layers themselves are Tucker, Gran, and Marco.
Subject: I don't know if Tucker studied under Marco at all, but it was fun.
Trivia: The 'strawberry frosting' means blood.
Tinderbox (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: If anyone remembers the story of 'The Tin Soldier,' you'd be right. A purely verbal reference.
Trivia: I think Kimblee and Mustang are sleeping together during the ellipses. They go on to do this through Taboo and Death Do We Part, too. It drives me nuts. I also made up that they were housed together during the war; it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Trick of the Light (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: It's a trick of the light that reveals Hawkeye's lack of perfect invincibility, and hides Mustang's.
Trivia: Written for a Hawkeye who will never know. I'm told she read it and liked it, though.
Trick Questions (Naruto):
Title: Every person in this fic presents the grounds for at least one trick question. I originally wanted to call this fic 'Study Guide' or something else referring to school and tests, but eh.
Subject: If you read this fic and don't ask yourself at least one question about it, I've done the fic wrong.
Trivia: No, Kabuto isn't gay. He's just opportunistic. He's using Misumi as training practice for deceiving people like Orochimaru later.
Twelve (Full Metal Alchemist):
Trivia: I have no fucking clue how twelve-year-old girls behave. I had to ask friends, and this fic was the result of their opinions.
Unfeathering (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: A hawk stripping.
Subject: Transmutation doesn't have to be chemical in order for a change to happen.
Trivia: This is about as close to PWP as I get.
Vice (Full Metal Alchemist):
Title: Vice is another word for 'sin.'
Subject: If Liza had a sin, I think it would be wrath.
Trivia: This was originally a Greed fic. Then it was a Greed and Liza fic. Then it became a Sloth and Liza fic. I'm also not sure, but I think Sloth is trying to imply that Liza should sleep with women, if she doesn't already.
Winter is Delight (Naruto):
Title: Like so many other fics, I didn't know what the title meant until I wrote the story itself.
Subject: In canon, Haku had a good relationship with his parents. Right up until the end. Sometimes it's easy to forget this.
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