Update (14/11/13)
Hello,
Sorry for the relative silence, but I've been very busy with the Real World, lately. I've been busy with university, living in a new county, learning how to live on my own and support myself. I've had brushes with illness, dangerous flirtations with procrastination, and dealings with new anxieties. It's Reading Week right now, a nice little slice out of a busy term before the holidays. The last time I posted, I told you about professional suspicions of my having dyspraxia (which have yet to be confirmed), but hey, it hasn't stopped me learning new narrative skills. I hope I will be able to show them off in the near future.
You can imagine I've found time to be productive on my original work (which no, I'm not working on especially for NaNoWriMo, why do you ask?), but as for the fanfiction, I have one or two small announcements.
Due to the fact that next month, December 2013, is the tenth year anniversary of Death Note's serialisation (I don't know the specific date), I'm intending on giving you a slice or two of excellence as part of the month-long celebration. So:
For Ave Maria, I intend to give you the next chapter, Chapter I - Tokyoite, next month. If all goes well, I may even spring for the official beginning of Part I (Styx), and give you Chapter II. I have a cover illustration for the fic almost ready for painting, which I hope you'll enjoy as much as I've enjoyed drawing it. (Yes, it's been drawn by the Taka-lad himself.)
Yes, this sounds like a tiny offering, but the fact is that I've been busy working on uni work and on myself. This fic hasn't been updated since its first installment in January of this year, so seeing a new chapter should be something, at least.
Meanwhile, I think I'm ready to give you a little announcement of a different strain:
I believe I'm transgender - by which I mean, not identifying with my assigned gender. It's been boiling around in my brain for a long while, these feelings, and I needed some time to work through it. I'm slowly coming to terms with them. It will be a while before I can present my true self to the public, but with patience, that won't be such a hard thing. I'm not sure how many people actually read my posts, since I rarely receive a comment or message to let me know someone's reading these, so I suppose that makes it a little easier. In any case, I'd just like to make it known about this. I know I've been fairly vague on my gender, but now, I want to be understood. I want to feel we're on the same page, like I'm not keeping anything really important from you.
In light of this, let me give you a few guidelines:
1. These are the pronouns I prefer: He/His/Him, and singular They/Their/Them. I would be happy with either of those. I would also appreciate Ne/Nir/Nem, Ze/Zir/Zem, or Schle/Schler/Schlem. I'm not sure quite where I fit exactly on the sprectrum of transgender - am I one gender, both genders, or no gender at all? Until I figure this out completely, I would appreciate any of these. If, at any point, you or someone else refers to me using any other pronouns (including She/Hers/Her), using my history as a fanfic author as a 'tip-off' (it's assumed by both fanfic authors and their critics that fanfic authors are female (which is a stupid stereotype, by the way)), all I ask is that you or them simply apologise and use the preferred pronouns. If you're simply not sure, just ask me what pronouns I'd prefer.
2. I am happy to answer most any questions you have for me about this, but I will not answer questions about my body. What operations I have had or am planning to have, what's going on in my pants, how I have sex etc... I will not be answering these. These are my personal business, mine alone. You wouldn't typically ask a cis-gender person such things in everyday conversation - that's considered weird, a little gross, and inappropriate, especially if you don't know them terribly well - so, please extend me the same courtesy. I am here to write, to entertain, to express myself. I am not here to get so personal I may as well be nekkid.
3. As mentioned above, I am happy to answer most any question. However, I reserve the right to refuse to answer a question about being transgender for any reason at all. If I don't like the question or find it offensive in any way, I will not answer it. Saying that, do not be offended if I do refuse to answer a question. The issue of my being transgender is privileged information that I have chosen to share with you, and you have no right to fly off the handle if there are answers I refuse to give. This isn't a reason not to ask me questions, of course, just don't expect an answer every time.
I thank you for reading, and for understanding. If you have anything to ask about my fanfiction, my writing, my Trans* Aspect or my life in general, just leave a comment down there. Comments make me happy~
If, however, the Trans* Aspect is simply something you don't/can't/won't understand, and you have nothing nice to say at all or any desire to see with renewed vision, you're free to unfriend me and simply leave. Nothing is making you stay. I have faith that the people I know and have met here are of the understanding and even loving variety, but if you're not, and you want to make trouble over it, just leave.
Thanks again. I know I can count on you.
Much love,
Ruin Takada XXX
Sorry for the relative silence, but I've been very busy with the Real World, lately. I've been busy with university, living in a new county, learning how to live on my own and support myself. I've had brushes with illness, dangerous flirtations with procrastination, and dealings with new anxieties. It's Reading Week right now, a nice little slice out of a busy term before the holidays. The last time I posted, I told you about professional suspicions of my having dyspraxia (which have yet to be confirmed), but hey, it hasn't stopped me learning new narrative skills. I hope I will be able to show them off in the near future.
You can imagine I've found time to be productive on my original work (which no, I'm not working on especially for NaNoWriMo, why do you ask?), but as for the fanfiction, I have one or two small announcements.
Due to the fact that next month, December 2013, is the tenth year anniversary of Death Note's serialisation (I don't know the specific date), I'm intending on giving you a slice or two of excellence as part of the month-long celebration. So:
For Ave Maria, I intend to give you the next chapter, Chapter I - Tokyoite, next month. If all goes well, I may even spring for the official beginning of Part I (Styx), and give you Chapter II. I have a cover illustration for the fic almost ready for painting, which I hope you'll enjoy as much as I've enjoyed drawing it. (Yes, it's been drawn by the Taka-lad himself.)
Yes, this sounds like a tiny offering, but the fact is that I've been busy working on uni work and on myself. This fic hasn't been updated since its first installment in January of this year, so seeing a new chapter should be something, at least.
Meanwhile, I think I'm ready to give you a little announcement of a different strain:
I believe I'm transgender - by which I mean, not identifying with my assigned gender. It's been boiling around in my brain for a long while, these feelings, and I needed some time to work through it. I'm slowly coming to terms with them. It will be a while before I can present my true self to the public, but with patience, that won't be such a hard thing. I'm not sure how many people actually read my posts, since I rarely receive a comment or message to let me know someone's reading these, so I suppose that makes it a little easier. In any case, I'd just like to make it known about this. I know I've been fairly vague on my gender, but now, I want to be understood. I want to feel we're on the same page, like I'm not keeping anything really important from you.
In light of this, let me give you a few guidelines:
1. These are the pronouns I prefer: He/His/Him, and singular They/Their/Them. I would be happy with either of those. I would also appreciate Ne/Nir/Nem, Ze/Zir/Zem, or Schle/Schler/Schlem. I'm not sure quite where I fit exactly on the sprectrum of transgender - am I one gender, both genders, or no gender at all? Until I figure this out completely, I would appreciate any of these. If, at any point, you or someone else refers to me using any other pronouns (including She/Hers/Her), using my history as a fanfic author as a 'tip-off' (it's assumed by both fanfic authors and their critics that fanfic authors are female (which is a stupid stereotype, by the way)), all I ask is that you or them simply apologise and use the preferred pronouns. If you're simply not sure, just ask me what pronouns I'd prefer.
2. I am happy to answer most any questions you have for me about this, but I will not answer questions about my body. What operations I have had or am planning to have, what's going on in my pants, how I have sex etc... I will not be answering these. These are my personal business, mine alone. You wouldn't typically ask a cis-gender person such things in everyday conversation - that's considered weird, a little gross, and inappropriate, especially if you don't know them terribly well - so, please extend me the same courtesy. I am here to write, to entertain, to express myself. I am not here to get so personal I may as well be nekkid.
3. As mentioned above, I am happy to answer most any question. However, I reserve the right to refuse to answer a question about being transgender for any reason at all. If I don't like the question or find it offensive in any way, I will not answer it. Saying that, do not be offended if I do refuse to answer a question. The issue of my being transgender is privileged information that I have chosen to share with you, and you have no right to fly off the handle if there are answers I refuse to give. This isn't a reason not to ask me questions, of course, just don't expect an answer every time.
I thank you for reading, and for understanding. If you have anything to ask about my fanfiction, my writing, my Trans* Aspect or my life in general, just leave a comment down there. Comments make me happy~
If, however, the Trans* Aspect is simply something you don't/can't/won't understand, and you have nothing nice to say at all or any desire to see with renewed vision, you're free to unfriend me and simply leave. Nothing is making you stay. I have faith that the people I know and have met here are of the understanding and even loving variety, but if you're not, and you want to make trouble over it, just leave.
Thanks again. I know I can count on you.
Much love,
Ruin Takada XXX