After 35 chapters and three days of on-off reading, this unworthy authoress finally finished Maeniel(née Fitz)'s "My Life". This story is an excellent example of an AU that shouldn't really be called an AU. That is, it's a remarkably well written original idea that just happens to feature Watsuki-sama's characters' names, appearances, and (vestiges of) personalities. Pickier readers might rampage.

Take note--I'm not bashing it, exactly. (Never have known how to handle confrontations...) It's too capably pulled off for me to bash it. I wouldn't have slogged through all 35 chapters if I didn't thoroughly enjoy what I was reading. ^.^

Except that it's a great example of what I've heard other RK fans--and doubtless what fans of other fanfic-ized creations as well--complain about: so-called "alternate universes" that take the advantage of the term to create virtually completely new characters that are similar to the original ones only in terms of physical appearance, names, and a little bit of personality.

I should really write the author decently and warn her(?) about this, but... hehehe. Maybe next time. A fanfic junkie like me is too much possessed by her cravings to take the time out to do anything other than read.

It's a terribly entertaining piece of work, though. That I can't contest. I myself could never write so successfully about such life-and-death things. And she sounds like a very mature, intelligent person too.