Urgh...

Once again writer's block strikes at an unlucky time. =( I really really really wanted to finish writing and posting Breaking Through the Storm this month, but there's no way I can do it. After reading Bleach 390, I decided that the way I thought of killing him was way too convenient. Aizen is just too dang strong... So a friend and I decided that we would make him slightly weaker than what he is. I mean, yeah, it won't be as good as Bleach, but I won't be able to finish BTtS until June (I read on the spoilers on the Bleach wiki that they're finishing this arc by June this year and the Hueco Mundo arc in the anime won't start up again until April). I'm just going to have to make up my own ending, which is good and bad. Good because it will be original and bad because a lot of my ideas suck. Only the good ones, which aren't always that great, get posted.

It's just so difficult. I don't even know where to begin. I've already written part of Kenny and Byakuya's fight, but that is still canon. I don't know how Yammy is going to die yet, and I don't even know where to start with Aizen. I originally wanted Toshiro to kill Ichimaru, but I don't know if that will happen now. In the manga he's fighting Aizen. It just kinda sucks... At least I know for sure that Sayuri doesn't play a very big part in the destruction of the last remaining traitors. Unless she helps Toshiro fight Gin... That might be good, but the biggest problem here is that we don't know Aizen or Gin or Shinji's bankai yet. I really wanted to see Shinji's, and I was kinda excited about his Shikai, but in the end it was disappointing. I thought he would have done better than that. It may have to be Ichigo, Shinji, Kyoraku, Komamura, and Love versus Aizen and Toshiro, Sayuri, and someone else (maybe Renji) versus Gin.

Hopefully this all gets worked out soon. I'm really ready to post the sequel, and at one point I even thought about jumping straight to the ending of BTtS instead of posting the detailed fights. In the end I decided against it because it was cheating and a crappy ending. I seriously think that Sayuri and Toshiro should start out fighting Gin because for awhile I've had this picture in my head of one of them lying on the ground unconscious while the other is holding onto them for dear life. Most likely Sayuri holding Toshiro. He hasn't been roughed up very much in the story... At least I can promise a fitting death for Aizen and Gin. After all they're the last two that will die. (aside from Yammy, who will eventually fall at the hands of Kenny and Byakuya)

Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated, whether it be in my comments or as a PM or review on FFN. =)

paper+pen+Three Days Grace=Shuuhei Hisagi?

Since the concert, I swear I've gone hardcore Three Days Grace/Breaking Benjamin fangirl and turned slightly emo. It scares me, yes. Even now I'm thinking that my CD player isn't loud enough to fully enjoy Break. Wow... I'm a freak. -_-;

Anyways, I've been wanting to write those Three Days Grace songfic/oneshots, but I dunno... While listening to the CD I created (of songs that they played at the concert, of course), I keep picturing this image of Shuuhei having some epic battle with someone strong. Maybe Shuuhei versus Ichigo... Oh, yes that's a sexy picture. XD Ichigo and Shuuhei shirtless and covered in blood.

See?! There it is again! Those disgusting fangirlly thoughts! I don't know how I can live with myself like this...

Anyway, I was thinking maybe a Shuuhei mini-series? No... too difficult. Mini-series are really challenging. Let's see, how about a Shuuhei AMV? No... Not enough scenes in Bleach where he fights. If anything I could make a short Shuuhei mini-series about Shuuhei going on a short adventure or something. A songfic series, if you will.

So fangirl or not, I've got to write something. You know, I was all geared up to write a bit of HitsuxSayu-ness today, but right after school got out, I was just so mad. (Last period was a nightmare) So I changed out of that uncomfortable top and jeans and into boy shorts and a 3DG shirt. Like I said, I'm a freak. Don't worry, I don't bite... I'm just a little restless at the moment. Maybe it's this stupid winter. I hate the cold! I just want spring to come. Especially March... Skip right to the first day of spring. (That only makes sense coming from me because my birthday is the day after the first day of spring)

Sorry about spamming the blog with meaningless thoughts... I just meant for this to be my story blog, but technically they were ideas. I suppose I could give the mini-series a try. But not right now because I'm hungry. Til next time!

"I Don't Care" -Twilight parody

Hmm... I know I said that I was going to post my one musician oneshots up here, but I ended up making my first one so long that I thought it qualified to be put up on FFN and Quizilla. It's up on both sites now, and I think it should be showing up on my FFN feed on here soon. (It's the one titled "I Don't Care") I kind of wanted to post them on the blog, but I've already started using them on my other accounts. I'll probably just put little snippets and thoughts on the fics here. Kind of like a preview. So here's what I got lined up for my 3DG challenge (the ones in bold have been finished and posted):

1) I Don't Care-BellaxEdward bashing [complete]

2) Last to Know-YuukixZeroxKaname love triangle

3) Over and Over-HitsuxSayu songfic [written before the challenge]

4) Wicked Game- SanaxAkito songfic [written before the challenge]

5) Time of Dying- IchiRuki

6) Drown- Light Yagami?

7) Goin' Down- ShinjixHiyori drabble [written for music drabble challenge before 3DG challenge]

8) Let It Die- FuukaxAkito?

9) Pain- OCxOC original fic [done for music drabble challenge]

10) Never Too Late- original fic

11) Are You Ready- original fic

12) Home- original fic or Akito Hayama

13) Animal I Have Become- unknown

14) I Hate Everything About You- HitsuxSayu oneshot?

15) Scared- A Cruel Angel's Thesis side story?

16) Break- Bleach oneshot? Original story?

Three Days Grace & Breaking Benjamin

Last night I saw Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin in concert! I was really blown away... It was my first concert, so I enjoyed watching the drunk girl in front of me dancing like she's an idiot. Adam was really good with the crowd. He'd have them sing and scream and interact with them. Honestly, I think I may have become a bit of a fan girl (the thing that I really hate. Ironic, huh?). I was so awed by the end of the concert that I became totally obsessed with 3DG. It was kind of depressing listening to it on my iPod after because they sound so much better live! Flyleaf opened and played for about 45 minutes. Then BB played for an hour or so. I think? I loved when they played Blow Me Away and had the Halo scenes behind it. I LOVE that song! It just makes me want to play Halo even though I really suck at it. I got a t-shirt that says Three Days Grace Life Starts Now and the back says two thousand X (2010). It's black with pink marks. =D 3DG didn't play very long compared to BB though...

There is a point to my madness. Since I've been going crazy over 3DG, I decided I would do that one musician challenge afterall. I've got a BellaxEdward satire set up as the first one for "I Don't Care." Well, technically that's Apocalyptica ft. Adam Gontier of 3DG, but Adam and the guys played it last night just as well, if not better. =) I wanted to do Break for an Ichigo oneshot... But a lot of those 3DG oneshots are going to be really short. I'll probably make some original stories up with it. I might or might not post it on Quizilla, but it won't be on FFN because 1. it's for fanfics, not original stories, 2. I want to keep all of them together, 3. I feel it's more personal with the blog. =) So my next couple posts will be some 3DG oneshots (not oneshots with the band, oneshots made out of the songs). Unless I've got something absolutely incredible or bad I have to talk about, that's the next thing I'll be putting up.

My Silent Angel

The post I mentioned about my best friend...

I see her every night in my dreams

She's with me no matter where I am

I see her perfect face,

so innocent and sweet

She's my angel that never speaks

But her presence is enough for me

She sits silently on a concrete bench,

Her golden blonde hair perfectly frames

her angelic face

I want to hear her voice just once,

But she never says a word

I don't want to forget her laugh

or that goofy grin

I can't see her smile anymore

The one just for me

The one that eases my pain and my fears

There is one fear that her

smile cannot ease

I fear that I will gradually

forget her

My angel stays by me,

and she never says a word

She visits me every night

in my sleep

Her absence leaves me empty,

yet her presence keeps me alive

I only wish I could hear her voice once more

I love her to death and will never let her go

She is my Silent Angel

The Fine Line

As of about an hour ago, I was so angry that I shook and my face turned red. I'd just had... enough. I was supposed to pick my brother up from a basketball game, but he decided he'd waited long enough and walked home while I walked around in the rain looking for him. I've been under pressure from one of my "friends" too, but I don't think I can call him that anymore. My parents are driving me insane and I just couldn't take it anymore. So, when angry, I wrote this sort-of poem.

Don't stand there and tell
me nothing's wrong
Talk bad about me,
Tell me how you wish

I was dead,

But don't tell me everything's

just fine

Walk in my shoes for a day
You might learn a thing or two
Until you see life through my eyes,
You don't deserve to say what's
wrong and what's right

There's a fine line between
teasing and bullying
You, sir, have stepped
far over the line

Just because you don't
understand the things I do,
You don't have the right to
call me stupid or tell me to
get a life

I won't tolerate this
treatment anymore
Until you've lived my life,
You don't deserve to judge me
So go back to your gossiping
and making fun of people
It only makes you look
like a pathetic loser

In reality, the one without a life is you.

   I wrote another one about my real best friend, but I'll put that in a separate post because the two things don't deserve to be related to each other.

Remembering good fiction

I suppose I'm in a better mood. It seems that every time I have a flute lesson, I'm a little happier. =) I went shopping with my grandma, and it kind of got me thinking about my grade school days when things were fun and life was easy. I also went through a list of books I've read (which could very well add up to 100 or more), and I remembered a few good ones I might reread. A lot of them were grade school level, so they're probably not as good to me now as they were. Off the top of my head, I would recommend this list:

The Secret Garden, The Secret Language of Girls, Walk Two Moons, The Quilter's Apprentice & Round Robin (the first two books of the Elm Creek Quilt series), To Kill A Mockingbird, Mutiny On the Bounty, Harry Potter (my fav), Tangerine, Number the Stars, The Chronicles of Narnia, Phoenix Rising, Driver's Ed, The Rifle, Johnny Tremain, Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte's Web (a classic), Tom Sawyer, The Circle of Magic series, The Dark is Rising series, and Portraits: Dancing Through Fire.

That's all I can think of for now. I've read so many books that I don't remember them all, but I can remember a vague plot of a few. Let's see... there's this one I remember about a young girl who lives with I want to say her aunt. I think she had a brother and they knew this "bad boy". I'm probably mixing the storyline up with To Kill A Mockingbird, but I remember she fell in love with the boy and got caught in a very... awkward situation with him in this old lady's house. It's sad that's all I can remember. I remember those diary books that were written about the depression or war that were hard cover and had the ribbon as a bookmark. I might have read Julie of the Wolves... I just remember the plot where some character lived with wolves in harsh winter weather (probably Alaska) to survive. I'll have to check out my school's library in the Accelerated Reader section. That's where I got them...

Enough with my rambling of good fiction. Earlier in the week I was determined to write a Kira oneshot due to my depressing mood and continue With These Broken Wings We Fall, but now I'm more motivated to work on the remaining oneshot requests I have left and possibly an Uryu oneshot. It's kind of strange... I write Toshiro best, but I'm more fond of Uryu. Maybe it's because I've never tried to write for Uryu. While I was thinking back to my Fullmetal Alchemist PS2 games (specifically, FMA and the Broken Angel), I thought I might name a new OC Armony. I like the name... Maybe that could be a Bleach oneshot. But who to use... I s'pose it's between Ichigo, Uryu, Renji, Shuuhei, Mizuiro or maybe even Zero from VK or Daisuke from DNAngel.

Also, I've been thinking of posting some short stories on the blog. Like maybe a couple drabbles or just things I don't feel like posting on FFN or Quizilla. Heck, if I even wanted to, I could write a different version of With These Broken Wings and make Inari less strong and more "normal." That would be a good RukaxOC fic... Enough for now. I should jot down all these ideas before I forget them. XD

With These Broken Wings We Fall

I'd announced on my FFN account that I wanted to discontinue with my Gakuen Alice fic, "With These Broken Wings We Fall," but right now I kind of want to continue it--even if the plot is slightly Mary Sueish. I took a Mary Sue litmus test, and for now, it seems Inari's not a Mary Sue. She scored a 15, and 0-16 ranks as "not a Mary Sue." Admittedly, Sayuri only scored a 9 and Tori a -1, but I think that's considerably good. I might continue with it, but I have to get chapter 3 sorted out. I started it a couple different times, but I never published it. Chapter 2 was the hardest, but I eventually worked that out.

This is the fail chapter for #2:

Mikan and Inari walked to geometry, taught by Jinno-sensei. Over the past week and a half the two girls had become very close. Mikan could easily relate to how Sumire and the other girls were treating Inari. When she entered the school three years ago, they acted the same way. Naturally, Mikan sympathized with her. She was hoping that it wouldn't last that way for long. When they were promoted to sixth grade, the other girls treated Mikan like a normal person. If she could be friends with Inari, maybe they could take to her sooner. Of course Natsume didn't think much of her. He never was the social type. When Mikan introduced the two, he looked at her for a short moment and grunted.
    "Your partner sure is rude," Inari said. "Does he treat everyone like that?"
    Mikan sighed. "Yeah... He's a real jerk most of the time, but he would do anything to protect his friends," she said.
    'He has friends?' Inari thought. "Um... ok," she said.
    "You're lucky you sit in the back in math. If you sat up front or toward the middle, Jin-jin would never let you hear the end of it!"
    "Heh... I'm sure I'll get it sometime. I caught him glaring at me once or twice. Unless it was dog girl?" Mikan laughed.
    "I bet it was!" she said. "So have they chosen a partner for you yet?"
    "Not yet. I just hope Jinno doesn't pick. He'll give me someone that'll make my life a living hell!"
    "Naru-sensei picked Natsume to be mine. If you're lucky, Misaki-sensei will pick someone reasonable for you," she chirped.
    "Let's hope."
-
    Jinno wrote meaningless equations on the blackboard at the front of the room. As far as Inari was concerned, it was all a bunch of nonsense. Every time that man spoke, she felt a little piece of her soul die. It wasn't exactly hard, but Jinno's voice was like nail's scraping on a chalkboard! She sighed.
    "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Konoe?" Jinno glared at her.
    "No," she lied.
    "Then I assume you can tell me the answer to this problem?" Inari grimaced.
    "Um... six feet squared?" she guessed. Jinno narrowed his eyes, and his hand sparked with blue electricity. He walked slowly toward her desk and...
    Boom. He destroyed a small part of her desk and left the area around it simmering. Inari gaped at him.
    "I suggest you pay attention, Konoe, or else you will receive punishment. I swear, hanging around Sakura must have had an effect on you," he said as he bent down to her eye level. "Now, your homework tonight is pages 60-61 problems 1-60." Everyone groaned just before the lunch bell rang.
    "Way to go, shrimp girl. It's your fault Jinno piled on the homework today," Natsume grumbled as he packed his books away. [1]

"Don't call me shrimp, Mr. Dark and Gloomy! Jeez, you never have anything good to say, do you?" Inari said. "I swear, Mikan! How do you put up with him?!"
    "I don't. Three years of being his partner and he still acts like the jerk he was in elementary school," Mikan said.
    "You're one to talk. I swear you have some hyperactivity disorder! You can't sit still for five minutes! She acts like she's going to jump out of her seat!"
    Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Hotaru's baka gun shot at Mikan and Natsume.
    "Whyyy, Hotaruuu?!" Mikan cried overdramatically.
    "If you wouldn't act like such an idiot, that wouldn't happen."
    "They're ganging up on me, Inariii!" she whined to her friend. But Inari stopped her from hugging her.
    "I can't help you here, Mikan... You got yourself into this one," she said and gave the girl a small smile. Mikan sniffed and looked at Ruka.
    "What do you think, Ruka-pyon?"
    "Well, I..." he looked away.
    "Ruka... Pyon?" Inari said. Natsume smacked his hand to his forehead.
    "I can't believe she still calls him that. Why not just call him Ru-chan?" he mumbled. Inari snickered.
    "Stop that!" Ruka said with a remarkable blush on his cheeks. "It's not funny!"
    "Ok, ok. Whatever you say, Ru-chan," Inari burst out laughing.

*I stopped there, and the #1 was meant to explain that Inari means shrimp, so Natsume likes to poke fun at her for it. I did have some future chapters planned out. I already know how things would have ended up (hint: the story description warns of character death)

    "Ah, Miss Konoe. What a pleasure it is to see you this evening," the Elementary Principal said in an eerie voice. Inari looked at him in disgust. "What's with that awful face? I brought you here to make you an offer you couldn't possibly refuse."
    "What do you want?" she spat.
    "You should know, as a member of the Dangerous Class, that it is one of your duties to carry out missions for the academy. By now, you would have been assigned one, but you've been lucky that some of your superiors have been fighting for your rights. I feel that it is time you carry out the responsibilities of a Dangerous Class member and join them on their missions."
    Inari glared at the stout man. Who did he think he was? He was practically giving her a death sentence! She crossed her arms and examined him skeptically.
    "What's in it for me?" she said.
    "You remember Konoe Kyoko, don't you? I mean surely you couldn't have forgotten about your own sister," he smirked. Inari's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
    "W-what did you do to her? What did you do to my sister?!" she demanded.
    "Don't worry, we haven't done anything to her yet. But tell me, Inari-chan- when was the last time you saw her?" She thought back to her childhood, before her parents discovered her Alice. She remembered playing with her sister all the time, but when she was about seven, Kyoko practically disappeared. At the time, Inari didn't understand what happened. Her mother and father tried everything they could to protect both of their children, but their efforts were practically wasted on the day their youngest daughter was taken from them.
    "Where is my sister?! What did you do with Kyo?!" She pounded her fist on the principal's desk.
    "Now, now. No need to be so ill-tempered. If you cooperate with me, I might allow you to see her again," he said. Inari furrowed her eyebrows and closed her eyes to think for a minute.
    'What should I do? I know he just wants to use me, but I really want to see Kyo! But what if it's a trap? Maybe he won't really let me see her at all.'
    "I'll give you a couple days to think about it. If you choose to work for me, I may allow you to see your sister. If not, there may be consequences," he said. "You are excused."
    Inari turned to leave the creepy office. She rubbed her temples and sighed a heavy sigh. "Oh, and one more thing. If you decide to accept my offer, I promise to promote your friend, Sakura Mikan, to a three star."
    She slammed the door behind her on her way out. Inari frowned. Trading her freedom for her friend's social status didn't seem worth it. She felt kind of selfish for a bit for putting her feelings before others', but she realized that the Elementary Principal wasn't going to use her for anything good. Ruka told her about how they work Natsume to the bone. His missions were hard on his health, and they weren't exactly ordered with good intentions. Besides, Mikan would never want her to do their dirty work to give her extra benefits.
    'What should I do, Mikan?' she thought.
xXxXx
    "He WHAT?!" Mikan screamed at the top of her lungs.  Inari lay on her best friend's bed and stared at the ceiling.
    "He really tried to bribe me. I didn't know what to say, Mikan. I don't want them to do anything bad to you or the others, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to Kyo," she said.
    "I say no! He'll have you right where he wants you, and once you agree to his conditions, you'll never be able to get out! Just look at Natsume-kun. They work him so hard even though they know his Alice shortens his life every time he uses it. I don't care what he offers to do for us. Your life is more important than my star ranking!" she fumed. Inari sat up and looked at her.
    "Thanks, Mikan," she said.
    "Anytime, Nari-chan," Mikan grinned.

So I think I'll be continuing with that. It's most likely due to the playlist I made up for when I write this story. I listened to it again, and I remembered why I wanted to write the story. Let's see... this is the list:

1. Halo Theme

2. Broken Wings -Tomoko Tane

3. Broken Wings (piano version)

4. Still For Your Love -Rumania Montevideo (Detective Conan ending theme)

5-8. Songs from the Fruits Basket "Four Seasons: Songs for Ritsuko Okazaki" OST

9. Viva Forever -Spice Girls

10-18. Various songs from the "Voices of a Distant Star" soundtrack

19. Ave Maria -Beyonce

20. Halo -Beyonce

21. Wicked Game -Chris Isaak cover by Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace

 

I think the only reason the Halo Theme is in there is because I played it in concert band last spring and was obsessed with it for awhile. ^-^;

More SOTS extras

I've been feeling kinda bummed for the past couple days, so instead of doing anything productive, I looked back through some of the various notes I've written on my stories. Back in July last year, I wrote a BTtS HitsuxSayu oneshot for Sayuri's and Ichigo's birthday. Of All Things To Forget I think it was. I rewrote it a couple times, but I was going to use a part I cut out for a future chapter of SOTS. It's not very long, but I ended up condensing the part into a few sentences on the final product. This is the original cut scene:

Back in the fourteenth division, Sayuri's office was filled with finished stacks of paperwork. Her vice-captain, however, was nowhere to be found.
    "Mitsuki? Mitsuki, where are you?" she said. A muffled sound came from the back of the room. She looked around the room, but no one was there.
    "A little help, Taichou?" a voice came from under a large pile of papers. Sayuri looked at it amusedly.
    "I know I said this paperwork needed to be done, but you didn't have to bury yourself in it." She sighed as she dug the brunette out of the pile.
    Mitsuki let out a big breath. "Man, thanks a lot! I thought I was going to starve to death in there!" she said.

And this is what it turned into:

"I cleared your desk off for you, but then I got lost in a sea of paperwork and had to swim my way out!" she flailed her arms about dramatically.

Kinda boring, huh?

Anyway, since I've been kinda bummed out lately, I read some Kira Izuru onehots. His personality seemed to fit my mood... And I retook this "What would the Bleach characters think of you?" quiz, and got a decent result, albeit cheesy. It kind of inspired me to write a Kira oneshot for the next music drabble I do. I'm guessing it'll be to "Disappear," "Satellites," or "Broken-hearted girl." (all sung by Beyonce) I mean, my mood is so dull that I don't even feel like writing any HitsuxSayu fluff. I s'pose that's a big change from a couple weeks ago. But I've just been in the mood to write something dark and depressing. I've only done that once before, but it wasn't as depressing as it was self-destructive (to the character). It was an original story oneshot to my music drabbles challenge called "Pain: Nothing is, but what is not." To show you what I mean, I might as well post it. It's already on my Quizilla, but my FFN readers haven't seen it because it's an original story and not fanfiction.

Pain without love,
Pain, I can't get enough
Pain, I like it rough 'cause
I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all"

-Pain by Three Days Grace
0o0o0

Droplets of blood landed in the bathroom sink as Sam slit her wrists. Cutting was what brought her back to reality. Emotionless as she was, the pain was her only way to cope with daily life. She would have cried, but her tears dried long ago. "Nothing is but what is not"--nothing was what it seemed. The people in her neighborhood and her classmates seemed like nice people, but she soon was proven wrong on her first day at Jackson High School. After meeting them, she knew she would hate her new life. They talked about her behind her back, made fun of her clothes, and when she tried to sit with some girls at lunch, they told her to go sit in her "emo corner." Every day when she came home from school she would cry in her room.
After a year of being harassed, Sam decided she wouldn't cry anymore. Beside her lack of a social life, her mother drove her to the end of her rope. She didn't have the grades her mom wanted and didn't meet her expectations. Sam was sick of her miserable life and sick of trying to be what her mom wanted her to be. She decided that she would not let anyone hurt her again. Sam closed her heart to the world and rid herself emotion. Her emotions made her weak, or so she thought. She hypothesized that burdens of stress, sadness, love, and acceptance were all weaknesses. She hated herself and society. Sam cut herself off from the only friends she had; she didn't want to be hurt again. Being away from society gave her a sense of security.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts. "Sam, you have visitors," her mother called.

"I'll be there in a minute," she said dully. She cleaned up the blood in the sink, wrapped her wrists in bandages, and put on a long sleeved shirt.

Sitting in the well tidied living room were her best friends, Seth Anderson and Kayla Summers. "Hi guys," she said in a monotonous tone. She showed no trace of happiness.

"We need to talk," Kayla said. Sam sat on the couch between them, Seth on her left and Kayla on her right. She acted as if everything was ok.

"What's the matter? We've been worried. You've been acting weird," Seth said. His wavy, black hair made it hard to see his hazel eyes. He skin was paler than the average person.

"There's nothing to be worried about," she said.

"Don't lie, Sam. You've separated yourself from us and the world. You're practically an empty shell. This isn't the Samantha we know and love," Kayla said.

"That's not true." Seth frowned and grabbed her arm. He pushed back her sleeves to reveal her bandages.

"What do you call that then? You're not just hurting yourself; you hurt us. We're always here for you. It hurts when you don't let us help," he said. Sam had an epiphany. The two people she cared about most were suffering because of her. Other's expectations weren't really important; she would rather be hated for what she was than be loved for what she was not. Letting go of the two people that accepted her was the last thing she wanted. Tears rolled down her face. For the first time in months, she showed emotion.

"I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry," she said quietly. Seth looked at her sympathetically. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close.

"Stop beating up yourself, or else Kayla will sic a rabid monkey on you." Sam chuckled and leaned her head on Seth's shoulder. He rested his chin on her head.

"Thanks, guys," she smiled.

"We missed you, Sammy!" Kayla said and gave her a great big bear hug.

"I missed you too."

0o0o0

So, there you have it. A bit of OCxOC fluff. "Nothing is but what is not" is a line from Macbeth. I kind of said it in the story: it means nothing is what it seems. But yeah, that's kind of how I feel right now. (minus the cutting and the whole hating myself) Emotionless you could say... I think I'm going to write the Kira oneshot similarly themed, but I've seen the cutting/self-hatred thing done before. I suppose people think Kira is this emo who can only like people who hate themselves. O.o Hopefully I'll snap out of this mood before too long. I should really finish those oneshots before January...

Late Updates

I had previously set a goal to finish my last three oneshot requests and BTtS by today, Martin Luther King Day (that's an edit. I originally had President's day. -_-;), but seeing as my last update was over a week ago, it's kind of obvious I haven't done any writing lately. I originally got the requests back at the end of December, and I posted like 5 of them since then, but these current ones are harder than the first ones I made. The first few requests were all Bleach requests, and I specialize in that fandom, so it was easy. But these current ones are from Vampire Knight, Ouran High School Host Club, and D. Gray Man--not my areas of specialty. The OHSHC one should be a bit easier, but the VK request is for Kuran Kaname, and I can't stand Kaname. =\ This should be a challenge, but last time I opened requests, it took me a year to complete my last one. I'd say I'm making better progress right now, but I really hope I can finish them before the end of the month.

I do have my reasons for not writing much over the past week. I recently rediscovered my Jak and Daxter games for PS2, and I thought I'd replay them since Jak II is part of the basis for the plot to A Cruel Angel's Thesis. (ACAT) I'm basing the two races created from the curse of Kame and Izanagi off of Dark Jak and Light Jak and partly off of the Light and the Dark from "The Dark is Rising" series. Tori's dream in chapter 3 or so reflects some of my ideas on that.

It's been awhile since I've messed with ACAT, so it'll take a little to get back into working with Tori. It's a big transition from BTtS to ACAT. Sayuri falls in love, Tori's story is friendship based; ACAT is completely alternate universe, BTtS is mostly canon based; BTtS is more long-term, ACAT is a short term project; BTtS is (almost) completely thought out, ACAT isn't going anywhere specific; Sayuri is more hot-tempered, Tori is much calmer and usually more sensible; and I know Sayuri's character better than Tori's. Hopefully I can work it out before May. Tori's "birthday" is May 9th, and I want to get chapter 4 up by then. My OC's all have birthdays, but none of them are based of the day I created them. Sayuri is July 15th simply because that's when Ichigo's is. I just picked a random month and day for Tori, and Inari's birthday was set that day (September 6th) because that's my parents' anniversary. I try to make them in all different seasons.

About not finishing BTtS as of now, it doesn't mean I'm going to quit it for good. I've planned too far ahead for that. It just means that I didn't have the ending as well planned out as I had wanted to. I originally wrote 34, 35, 36, and 37 in the same day, but the resolution of the story was so lame that I had to scrap the last three or four chapters and think up a new, more difficult ending. Trust me, it's for the best, but at the rate I'm writing now (which is like 0 words a day), I might not have it finished until at least February. It's only a couple chapters, but it's still a difficult thought process. I want the ending to be how a normal Bleach resolution would be (like the bad guy goes down after a difficult fight, things are thought provoking, etc.), but seeing as Kubo himself has not finished the Hueco Mundo/Fake Karakura town arc, it's more difficult. I need a legit way to kill Aizen. Apparently it will be harder than I originally thought. As always, suggestions are much appreciated. Comment below or leave me a pm/review on FFN if you have an idea.

This journal looked a little boring with just text, so I spiced it up with a good AMV. XD

Kurosaki Sayuri

I decided to make a little article on Sayuri and how I created her and her story. It's not like that little character bio I put on the first chapter of BTtS, but a bit more in detail.

In the beginning, Sayuri was created with a couple things in mind: a) she was to be modeled after some of the first fanfiction I read and b) she was to end up with Hitsugaya Toshiro. Back in 2008, I was really crazy for Bleach, so I was going to make a Bleach quilt with all the captains and Ichigo. I was looking up pictures of the Gotei 13 captains in real world clothes, and upon discovering a very good looking one of Hitsugaya, I discovered Quizilla. The picture was made into a banner for the story "Simple Desires: the Beginning." I think that's the title, but that's what the story was. Anyways, I read the story and got really into it, so I started reading more Toshiro stories on Quizilla. I eventually created a Quizilla account with a couple random quizzes and such, and one day I decided to make a Toshiro story of my own. I had been previously reading stories where the original characters were captains themselves, and I eventually came up with my own idea:

 "What if Ichigo had a twin sister?" I was torn between what to make my character. A captain or Ichigo's sister? So I decided in the end that I would make a 2 part series. One establishing that she would be Ichigo's sister, and another making her a captain.

This was back almost two years ago, but back then I was kind of interested in these "baby's daddy" and "seven minutes in heaven" quizzes. It's kind of embarrassing when I look back on it, but if I had not taken them, I never would have found "Sayuri". In one of the baby's daddy Bleach quizzes, there was a picture of what his kid would look like, and that was my basis for Sayuri. Here's the picture.

I had previously attempted a Toshiro story, but it was a total failure. The character was based solely off of myself, and was incredibly boring. Her name was Misako, but still, she was a complete Mary Sue. There was no plot. It was only about the instant love between her and Toshiro. So I attempted again, and came up with Sayuri. Now, might I add, that I had been reading AnimeFreakSyuYoukou's "Rai-kumo" (Ichigo Kurosaki story), and I was quite taken with Aki. Now I don't care for the 2nd person POV so much, but I do like Aki a lot. I decided I wanted a character like Aki. It's kind of sad in a way, but Sayuri was based on two characters: Ichigo and Aki.

So Watanabe Aki from "Rai-Kumo" was the main inspiration for Sayuri and her powers (Rai-Joshin, you know?), but Sayuri is her own "person," so to speak. I originally thought that we would get along really well if she were real, but she's developed so much from when she was first thought of that it turned out she would absolutely hate me. XD

Breaking Through the Storm itself has progressed so much that I'm now able to picture Sayu as a more mature character than what she originally was. In the beginning she was just this loud-mouthed hot head who was annoyed by anything and everything, but now I'm able to picture her feminine side. I'm glad I can do that now because there was one point in time where I really didn't want her to end up with Toshiro. It made me sad in almost the same way that a father is overprotective of his only daughter (except not). This was kind of a pointless entry (as always), but I was just thinking about a couple years ago when I created Sayu.

I remember having such a hard time finding her name. All my notes said "OC does this" or "OC does that". I ended up naming her Sayuri because I keep this list of names I see on anime or Japanese works. Sayuri was like the main girl on Makoto Shinkai's "Place Promised In Our Early Days" I think that's the movie. I don't remember the title exactly, but that's where I got the name. Someone had previously asked me if I got it from Memoirs of a Geisha, but I've never seen that movie, so no. It was from a Makoto Shinkai (that's his name, right?) movie.

I've gotten some really nice art work made for me of Sayu. I especially like the one WolfieArt from Quizilla made for me because for the longest time I couldn't picture her without pigtails. XD

Extras/Deleted scenes

Before I'd actually thought out the plot for SOTS, I had planned to have Sayuri kidnapped and taken to Hueco Mundo. I wasn't going to kill Ulquiorra off and have him become ruler of HM. I think the kidnapping Sayu idea is a bit cliche now, so that was scratched. Although, last year I wrote this future scene for that plot when I was in English (boring class...). I might as well put it up now. I think this was back when I was still writing in first person POV with Sayuri, so right now it's switched to Toshiro's POV.

   I was doing paperwork when a hell butterfly fluttered into my office. It landed on my finger and proceeded with whatever message it had.

   "Attention! By order of Yamamoto-soutaichou, all captains and vice captains are to report to the first division immediately for an emergency meeting."

   I froze. We were in a time of peace; there wouldn't normally be any reason for emergency meetings at that point. Something bad happened, but I had no idea what it was.

   I reported to the first division barracks with the rest of the captains, but I noticed an empty spot in the fourteenth division. Mitsuki was standing in her captain's spot, but Sayuri was nowhere to be found. Sayuri never missed meetings. It was unusual for her to be absent during an emergency meeting.

   "Perhaps that is why we're here," Hyorinmaru said. I grimaced. I'd kick myself if anything happened to Sayuri. My thoughts were interrupted when Yamamoto-soutaichou entered the room.

   "I have called you here to tell you all some devastating news," he said. "Last night, the captain of the fourteenth division, Kurosaki Sayuri, disappeared. We have reason to believe that she was kidnapped and taken to Hueco Mundo."

   I felt a sharp pain in my heart. Sayuri was... gone. My face dropped, and I hung my head low. Yamamoto continued, "I've decided I will send two captains and their vice-captains to Hueco Mundo to retrieve her." I looked at Kurosaki standing with Rukia. He looked terrified. His face showed shock, pain, and something else I can't put into words. Perhaps fear or sadness? He looked at me as if to ask if what he just heard was real.

   "I've decided to send Hitsugaya-taichou and Kurosaki-taichou with their vice-captains. They are best fit for finding Sayuri-taichou's reiatsu, and two of our most skilled captains," Yamamoto said. I felt slightly relieved that I could go and save Sayuri. I wanted to kill the bastard who took her. "Are you willing to go?"

   "Yes, sir," we both said.

   "Meeting dismissed." The line of captains disassembled and began to file out of the first division barracks, but Sayuri's vice-captain, Sakurai Mitsuki, stayed behind. She cried silently to herself. I felt bad for her and somewhat responsible for Sayuri's kidnapping.

----

That's all. Yeah, it wasn't my best work, but I wrote this over a year ago. It won't be that way now, but Mitsuki is still there. I did hint at a couple other things, but I want to see if anyone noticed them or figured it out. Comment and I'll tell you if you're right. =)

I love this song. XD I thought it kinda fit with the cut-scene's mood.

White Lilies

I'm starting to think that my writing is becoming bad for my health... I'm constantly obsessing over the whole HitsuxSayu pairing, thinking up little what if situations, etc. It's to the point where I can't take it anymore. I really wanted to make some oneshots out of those ideas, but I decided I should just post them up here. They're not really fitting to many of my challenges, and I've written like 2 or 3 HitsuxSayu oneshots now. It would be a little.... I don't know. It seems kind of sad I guess. Sad that I can't get into the HitsuRuki pairing or think about working on my IchiRuki pairing or a possible MatsuxShuuhei pairing. Heck, even my KaixSaya oneshot I wanted to do isn't working out. (Kai Miyagusuku from Blood +). So I suppose I'll start posting a few HitsuxSayu "what if" scenarios.

About the title of the post, I came up with that when I was thinking up said "what if" scenarios. I remembered that Sayuri means lily, so I looked up a picture of a lily and saw this really pretty white one. It's ironic because white lily is a combination of Toshiro and Sayuri's names. XD Shiro=white Sayuri=lily

Here's a couple of the ideas I came up with. They aren't written up properly because these are just from the top of my head, but one day I'll write them up properly.

Inspiration: Never had a dream come true by S Club 7

I had this vision of some sort of festival, like a captains' ball. So Toshiro asks Sayuri to go with him, and she dresses up in this really pretty kimono (kind of like the one in the SOTS banner I previously put up. I'll put it below). I imagine the whole thing would go something like this:

Toshiro took Sayuri's hand in his and laced her fingers with his own. He brushed a lock of her hair back with the other hand and put the lily behind her ear. He held her cheek and touched his forehead to hers.

"You're my flower, Sayuri. I love you," he said with his lips barely touching hers. Sayuri closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him as their lips slid gracefully across each other.

(I'd never written that out until now, but you never know... It's a possibility. Next!)

Inspiration: A car wreck (I'm dead serious. I got my car stuck in the snow in a ditch and was seriously like "I hate this effing weather." XD)

"I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I hate the cold," Sayuri chanted as she walked back to her division. She came to the tenth division office and stopped to look in the window. She hated cold weather, but she didn't hate the snow, that is, she didn't hate the snowy haired captain of the tenth division. A cold chill overcame her, and she shivered. Sayuri was about to start back to her office when someone wrapped a warm blanket around her shoulders.

"You'll get sick if you keep standing out here. I thought you didn't like the cold," Toshiro said in her ear. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her close.

(I only just wrote that one too)

I'd had a few others thought up, but they would take forever to type out. Just to shorten things up a bit, I thought of a scenario where one of the guys from the eleventh division is walking around drunk and starts harrassing her. Then Toshiro comes and gets mad to the point of scary (think a father who's overprotective of his daughter with boys, only not). Then the drunk scrams and Toshiro wraps an arm around her while he watches the guy get away. Another one had to do with a mistletoe, another with them flirting with each other at a captain's meeting, and a bunch of ones that I've already forgotten. I did quite enjoy the white lilies thing. If I'd thought of it earlier, I would've named the series that, but I think that's been done. "White Roses" to be exact. The girl's name is Rozu. I never thought about it, but I think it took my "white lilies" idea to understand the Toshiro-Rozu title. I think I can remember the songs that I got some HitsuxSayu inspiration from:

2 Become 1 -Spice Girls

Everytime -Britney Spears

When Your Eyes Say It -Britney Spears

Never Had A Dream Come True -S Club 7

Viva Forever -Spice Girls

Halo -Beyonce

Ave Maria -Beyonce

Hanging by a Moment -Lifehouse

Scared of Lonely -Beyonce

Over and Over -Three Days Grace

Yours to Hold -Skillet

Where Did I Go Right? -Hilary Duff

I'm sure there are more, but that's what I remember listening to when thinking those mini scenes up.

Snippets and such

So I was listening to my iPod, and one of the songs I was listening to (I think it was "When Your Eyes Say It" by Britney Spears) gave me a bit of an inspiration to work on SOTS. Since I've already written 2 chapters, I thought I'd post a little preview of what to expect. Keep in mind, nothing is final until my beta sees it.
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"What the-" Sayuri started. She looked at her kidnapper bewilderedly and dropped the bag of soccer balls. She must have been seeing things because she could have sworn that Hitsugaya Toshiro stood before her, almost a foot taller than her and more masculine than the last time she saw him. "Toshiro? W-what are you doing here?" she said, wide-eyed.
"Come with me," he simply stated. He took her by the hand and pulled her along behind him. God knows where he was going.
"H-hey, now! There's no need to rush. You could've at least said hello..." Sayuri said. She remembered the last time she saw him two years ago, before he went back to Soul Society after the battle with Aizen. Toshiro's hand felt warm. She squeezed it a little, and he laced his fingers with hers.
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"Sayuri! Don't run from your opponent! You must face your opponent and attack!" she said. Sweat dripped down the young girl's face, and her shoulder bled from a gash that Rai-Joshin gave her a few hours before. Her knees buckled from underneath her as she blocked her zanpakuto's attack. "Get up Sayuri!" She struggled to get up. "Get up! You can't do this in a battle!" Rai-Joshin pressed harder. Sayuri got up and her reiatsu increased. The zanpakuto attacked again, but she dodged and countered with her own attack.
---------------------------
"So will you do it?" Toshiro asked again. Sayuri looked at her brother for an answer, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Give us some time to think about it," she said.
"Very well then. I will be waiting for your answer at this shop tomorrow after you get back from school," Toshiro said.
---------------------------
They were sitting on the rooftop eating lunch. Sayuri played with her rice ball that Yuzu packed for her, and Nayuki poked her side. Sayuri smiled sadly at her best friend.
"What's wrong with you, Sayuri? You've been acting strange all day," Nayuki said. Her black bangs partially covered one eye, and her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail.
"It's nothing, really."
"Then why aren't you eating your rice ball? You love Yuzu's rice balls." Sayuri stayed quiet. Nayuki grew angry with her for two reasons: one, Sayuri hardly talked to her about what happened anymore, and two, every time Nayuki asked what was going on, she would avoid the question. "Why don't you trust me, Sayuri?! You're my best friend. We should be able to tell each other everything! Why do you keep shutting me out?" Tears began to form in her eyes.
Sayuri sighed heavily. "We need to talk, Nayuki," she said.
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"You mean you're...?" Sayuri trailed off. Isshin nodded. The thought never crossed her mind that her own father could be a Shinigami, but it only made sense. Sayuri wasn't given her powers like Ichigo was in the beginning. They were discovered by Urahara Kisuke. Isshin wasn't really the goofy, oblivious father that he pretended to be. He just used that as a cover. He had been watching over them all along like a guardian angel.
"Don't worry, I'll tell everything to Yuzu and Karin," he said. The two teenagers started to leave their father to his own business, but he stopped them. "Oh, Ichigo, take good care of Rukia. She's a sweet girl, and Sayuri, bring that young boy home sometime. I'd like to have a little chat with him," he said with a wicked smile.
'Note to self: don't let dad get his hands on Toshiro. It might get bloody,' she thought.
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That's all I'm putting up! XP Haha, I'm not giving it all away just yet. So those were just a few snippets of the first two chapters of SOTS. It won't make sense now, but it will in due time. I think I can try to put up the banner I made for the story in here.

Boredom at its worst

I'm bored... So instead of doing anything productive, I'll spam the blog with a bunch of random questions.

1. What are you listening to?
The Way I Are by Timbaland ft Keri Hilson (I never realized how perverted that song was until I looked up the lyrics 0.o)

2. Some strange guy is sorting through your refrigerator. What do you say to that?
WTF, man?! That's my cheese!

3. What if I said I could see every website you have an account on through Google?
Google must be better than the CIA! D= We must rid ourselves of this evil.

4. One word: teletubbies.
*runs around in circles screaming like a little girl* DX

5. Do you have an addiction?
No.

6. Why are you denying it?
I'm not.

7. Are you in a twelve step program?
Yes. (1) be born (2) gain trust from people (3) make billions off the stock market (4) hire evil minions.....(12) become supreme ruler of the world... NO! I don't have a twelve-step program!

8. Ole!
Like... the lotion?

9. What do you think of mimes?
EVIL!!!! Evil, I say!

10. If you were stuck on an island and could only have one thing with you, what would it be?
My giant care bear named Phil. -_- No, I'd have a boat. Why does no one ever say that?

11. I say spinach, you say:
Who says that!? Really, who just goes up to you and says "spinach"?

12. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Actually, I'm team "the-guy-who-almost-hit-bella-with-his-car" I think his name is Mike... But seriously, how epic would it be if he killed her, then Edward went all crazy and killed all the Cullens and people in Forks and then some Vampire Hunter kills him? Now THAT is what I call an ending! XD

13. Do not press your browser's back button with your thumb. Something will happen.
Really?

14. Did you seriously just do that? Loser.
You LIED to me!

15. Finish the sentence: Fangirls aim to...
slowly eat away at my soul.

16. Give me a number between one and ten.
8

17. WRONG!!
What? D'=

18. Are you 18?
No but I'm on question 18.

19. What shampoo do you use?
Herbal Essences and Pantene Restoratives. Why...? *gasp* STALKER! O_O

20. I say Edward, you say:
What the hell is wrong with you?!

This is going to drive me crazy

'Tis a sad sad day when an authoress cannot put ideas to paper (Well, put them to Microsoft Word in this case). I've got this really good story line, and I can't even begin to write it. For what I'm picturing, words cannot do the scene justice. It's one of those things that are so much better if you're there. I imagined something that entailed this:
"I hate the cold, I hate the cold, I hate the cold, I hate the cold." (most likely said by Sayuri)
I suppose I always could have used that in a filler chapter of the sequel, but I love the pairing so much that I can't help but make up mini stories of the two in my mind. I'm getting way too attached to the whole HitsuxSayu pairing, but after writing Sayu for so long, she ended up like the daughter I never want. XD Until then, I am left to daydream and sulk over the death of Lelouch. (I'm still a bit upset after rewatching the R2 ending)
I was seriously thinking about using up one of my Winter Wonderland drabbles for that line, but I don't know... I've got her in the first one throwing snowballs at Ichigo while he's asleep. Maybe I'll do it. We'll see. I did think up another HitsuxSayu moment though. It involves this song.


I'm just going crazy over this whole shoujo thing. Maybe I need to watch some blood, guts, and gore. Bleach is good for that. I think the Kurotsuchi torturing Szayel part will do just the trick. XD

I remember now...

I've discovered the source of my tears. It was the ending song I put up for the ending theme of BTtS. Since it was the end song for when Lelouch died, I rewatched it and started crying... So, it was Lelouch that made me cry, not Sayu-chan. =')



This makes me want to read Code Geass and go all fangirly over it. T^T

Finally finished a story...

I just finished writing the finale of Breaking Through the Storm (see rss feed above). Is it normal to cry after finishing it? Because I did... ^-^; I got chapters 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 finished over break, but my beta reader has to look them over first. Actually, I have to finish up 37 and fill in some blank spots because there were times I didn't know the name Kyoraku's zanpakuto and Yammy's ressureccion. I got most of the kidou spells down since I printed out a list of them.

Right now pretty much all I have to finish up is Kenny's fight with Yammy and fill in a couple blanks. I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to do that. I just know that Halibel and Stark are going to finish him off for them. Kenpachi will either be a) defeated; b) dragged back to the real world; or c) Stark and Halibel get in his way and they fight, and THEN he gets dragged back to the real world. I'm contemplating on b or c.

I swear there are too many characters in Bleach! I ended up putting so many people in Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime that I forgot about some of them and remembered at the last second. So all in all, I would have to send one, two, three, four... let's say about ten people back to the real world. In one trip! That seems really excessive, but there were only two extra people that I put in the Hueco Mundo arc (Toshiro and Sayuri). But that was kinda necessary because it IS a ToshiroxOC story. So I just have to work that bit out and I can send it all to my beta!

About the crying... I wrote the last bit as a major HitsuxSayu (Hitsugaya Toshiro x Kurosaki Sayuri) fluff moment. It seems crazy, but I was so happy for Sayuri that I cried. My OCs are like children to me. (even though I have very few) That seems like a Stephanie Meyer type deal (because Bella is her self-insert/daughter she never had), but it's not. I couldn't ever imagine myself in that situation, but I can for Sayuri because she matured and ended up as almost a completely different person by the end of the story. It wasn't a drastic change, but it was so gradual that I only realized it at the end of the story. My Sayu-chan's grown up! T-T (Yes, my characters are all too real in my head) I suppose it would make me feel better if I shared the last bit. [This is just as all the captains, etc. are going back to SS after killing Aizen]

-

Toshiro whispered something to Shuuhei, and the doors closed and disappeared while he stayed behind. Sayuri was slightly confused as to what he was doing. "I thought you had to go back," she said. Toshiro looked at her with a noticeable blush on his face.
    "I thought I should give you a proper goodbye and... thank you," he said quietly. He took a step toward Sayuri so that there was a foot or so of space between the two. His heart raced, and his palms were slightly sweaty. "Promise me you'll be careful, Sayuri. I don't want to come back and find you critically injured."
    "Toshiro, I-" Before Sayuri could finish her sentence, he pulled her close to him. He placed one hand on her cheek and the other on her arm. Toshiro shut his eyes and gave her a chaste kiss. Sayuri closed her eyes and returned the kiss. It was at that moment that time slowed down. Seconds felt like minutes, yet they were well spent. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes one last time. As he started to turn away, the hand holding Sayuri's arm momentarily met with her hand.
    Toshiro opened and stepped through the Senkaimon but not before stealing another glance at Sayuri. Her face turned bright red--so bright that it started to clash with her hair. She put her fingers to her lips and watched him disappear into the light.

-

Yes, THAT is what made me cry like a baby. I think I'm a bit too emotional at times. But it felt kind of like watching Voices of a Distant Star, except there was lots of blood, guts, and gore. I cried all the way through VoaDS, but it was only a half hour. I won't say "how can I not cry?" because I didn't cry when writing it the first time. It was after I read through it. It was also while I was listening to Continued Story by Kuroishi Hitomi. That's the last insert song played after Lelouch dies in Code Geass before the end song (which really ruined the whole moment...) That made me cry the most, but I was sad when Lelouch died, too. Anyways, it's an awesome song. I got it off gendou.com. I might be able to embed a player of some sort into this post with the song...

Since I'm having a bit of trouble with Kenny's fight, I decided that I should touch up the first couple chapters of the sequel. I wrote 1 & 2 a long time ago, but I edited ch 1 and finished ch 2 last night. The sequel is called "Sonata of the Storm" or "Breaking Through the Storm: Sonata of the Storm." I think I'm going with the first one, but the second is a possibility.