Kalli's Journal

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inFrequently Asked Questions

It was the Kingdom Hearts Yaoi Mailing List. Now defunct (for all practical purposes), it was once a source of weekly prompts, etc. Some other lists were SHiBbY (Silver-Haired Bishonen Yaoi), Guys-With-Tails (GWT), etc.

What is DM/DM:A and what's up with it?

Dark Magic/Dark Magic(k): Alternate is an original fantasy universe that Kalloway has been writing in for two decades. Over the years, a lot of ideas and characters have changed quite a bit, so sometimes the ficlets will contradict one another. It doesn't mean they didn't all happen? Basically, it's an evolving storyline and can splinter at any point. Even if many of the stories don't end up being possible in the end version of the main tale, they'll always be here because maybe off in another version, they still happened. Or something like that.

Who are all the people mentioned in fic notes or on the main page?

Some of them are linked to in the Links section. Some of them are meant to be cryptic. And some are friends come and gone with the passings of time. If you'd like more information about the Cafe staff, check out the bio page.

Are you still doing link swaps? Do you still accept guest fic or art?

Yes and no. You can ask, if you'd like, but I am so ridiculously far behind with things that I can't promise I'll get around to adding your link/fic/art in a timely manner. I'm sorry. Same with banners/other little webdingers.

This is not as friendly a policy as you've previously had.

We know. But Kalli and I are staring down a backlog that stretches to about 2005, with a few lingering commitments from before that. New goals are to take care of all of that and then maybe we'll open things up again.

That is a ridiculous backlog. How did it happen?

Multiple ways. Without detailing Kalli's entire personal life -- her personal life, work, periods of un-work, fandom shift, toxic relationships, etc. Creativity versus time. Periods of uncreativity. A lot of things.

You're writing me a fic - when will it be done?

I don't know. If you send a message (your best bet is to leave a message on Kalli's journal - I'll even see if she'll make an entry just for that) to Kalli, she'll let you know. Maybe she's working on it or maybe it's on a list and she can bump you up on it.

What's up with the print book(s) I've heard about?

Kalloway has 'published' a collection of short stories. Message her for more info. And she has plans to self-publish her NaNo novels as well. Mainly she just makes little zines though.

Can you ever pinpoint the exact moment when certain stories completely get away from you? And is it ever terrifying?

Kalloway? Completely get away from me? Sometimes. Turnabouts, especially when I have a scenario in mind, amuse me more than anything. I've had moments of serious "WHOA!", including Tracey's breakdown in 'The Swing of Things'... That one still gets me. Other than that, most of the stuff I think is good, other people don't like and vice versa. I still really like 'Fuck', though, as an example of a story that I never had the reigns on.

I've had -reaction- completely get away from me. I originally posted 'One Wing' on ff.n and it had the biggest positive reaction of anything I've ever written... I was honestly just fucking around without a plot, writing lemons to amuse Sprink...

As far as things go that I'd recommend to anyone who's curious just how deep the rabbit hole can be, I recommend a 15minuteficlet, Tricksters.

Will you write me a...

Kalloway? Maybe! I'm not exaggerating when I say I have about 900 fics on my to-do list right now. So if it's a fandom I'm interested in and currently writing for, the worst thing you can do is ask.

I think someone stole one of your stories!

Thanks for bringing it to my attention (my e-mail is on the main page). For the record (and I believe this is our first time admitting all of this), stories posted by 'jenova_synth' on livejournal, 'dayslipper' on ff.n, 'razrantha' on ff.n, 'razrantha' on aff.n, 'filthy_mind' on greatestjournal, and 'Heartspark Dollarsign' on a couple of past anonymous challenges are KALLOWAY. They're okay, please don't report them! I appreciate the concern. Anyone else isn't her (or me posting for her), and we both really, really thank you for bringing it to our attention. So far we've had little trouble taking care of the plagiarists/thieves.

What's up with the graphics and layout?

Function over form? Basically, it's how the site was built in 2003 and since it works, there's not much reason to remake it. Besides, any sort of layout change would be dozens of hours of work and I'd rather add new things than keep poking at the old.

As for graphics, most of them are made in Paint or an ancient version of Photoshop. They do their duty and when I find something that's really bad/old, I do fix it. For awhile, there were some real clunkers but most of them are gone. I hope.

What's with the big 'Header Edit' project?

It's two-fold. Firstly, it's for general uniformity on the site. Having all the fic headers contain the same information should make it easier to browse. It also forces us to make sure there are proper summaries. Because 'this was written for a request' is not a summary and we know it. It's also a BIG project. When I started, there were about 800 fics/chapters to be re-coded, I think. I'm maybe a quarter of the way done. Kalli has also done some editing on various fics while we work, so that's slowed progress. Eventually, we'll be done.

Secondly, the project is being done because fandom views have changed. In 2003, we'd plaster 'zomg boys touching' as a warning (more like advertisement!) on fics and that's just... not the thing to do anymore. So it's a modernization thing, too. No offense ever was or is intended.

Oh, and all the summaries nicely being put in fics will one day be on the main pages and uniformity yay~ Too bad I can't go back a decade and not have made such a mess. Because I would.

I think that's everything for right now.