Dragonlance. it is a dungeons and dragons campaign setting, not that that matters...

You can't entirely separate airborne diseases from genetics though - without genetics you wouldn't have a body for the disease to attack. Plus the principal difference between men and women (aside from the obvious external decorative differences) is the Y chromosome. If an airborne disease is only affecting one sex, it's pretty likely that it's something on X or Y affecting susceptibility.

If you modify Trojie's explanation, it works - rather than considering a disease carried on the X or Y chromosome, consider a gene or collection thereof on one or other of said chromosomes which effectively prevents one sex from either getting your airborne disease, or else from developing symptoms if they're a carrier.

I also can't do, um, ninety days from now. (I forget the date, but it's my cousin's wedding, and her facebook status today said "90 days to go!")

Just October or carrying over into early November? Because there's a Discworld convention in Ireland a few days into November, and if I get my arse in gear and actually read Finnegans Wake I get a passport, plane tickets and a convention as my reward. So I'll be over that way too.

Answer the first: Miss Cam doesn't do permission for OFUs any more. I found that out about a year ago when I first spoke to her. You're more than welcome to write one, but you MUST credit her for the general idea of OFUs. I co-write one myself with Oozaru Angel, and in the disclaimer for every chapter we make sure to credit Miss Cam for the idea of OFUs and minis.

Answer the second: You're not familiar with Discworld by any chance? That description sounds a lot like Nanny Ogg's Greebo to me. Not that it would cause a problem, I'm sure; as Sedri said, just treat it as you would a humanoid character and don't go overboard.

Answer the third: I wondered about it for a while, but the last time this was brought up I believe someone pronounced it Toop-a-toot.

I personally pronounce it 'Twup-atwut', but if someone can offer a better version, I'm all ears. Except that that would be creepy.

hS

Ainur?

And I realise that elvish resurrection isn't the most common thing to happen, but the potential is there for everyone, right?

"I'm not certain, but I think Beren & Luthien, Tuor & Idril, and Aragorn & Arwen are the only Man-Elf couples. Encyclopedia of Arda mentions another as possible, but I don't recognize either of the names, and even so that's only four in the whole history of the world."

Surely you don't mean someone said "okay, in the entire history of the world, you only get four interspecies relationships. Use them well"?

"I have the distinct impression that Elves take one spouse, and one only, their entire lives."

That was what I was commenting on at one point. To my knowledge, there was an elf that was allowed to remarry as his wife had made it clear that she was never coming back to Middle-Earth.

"I might see if I could merge the brain-shapes of the love interest and "Glorgatha", and probably keep her alive - aiming for a sort of "stuck with her, so learn to love her" situation."

Hmm... maybe. I guess my subconscious just thought that Harry would be able to relate more with a human woman.

"Frankly I think the concept is at best an Improbable Crossover, and could very easily become Implausible, but if you think you can make it work more power to ya."

Frankly, I'm hoping that it won't work as I have a lot of stuff on my To Do list. :P

Knew I'd forgotten to mention something. The HP magic is a wild card at the moment. It flickers on and off. I don't want it to happen randomly, because that'll be rubbish. Is there anything I can tie it to in the LotR universe that will decide when it's on and when it's off (e.g. the phases of the moon)?

Unfortunately, that's the only comment I can give to yours, because I have no idea what you're talking about. The Silmarillion is gathering dust on my bookshelf at the moment.

Oh, okay. I could have said 'wank' then.

"Last week I spent six hours writing a cold draft of a chapter, and when I read it over two days later, I hated it."

I know the feeling with pretty much everything I write, but, as you say, the authors don't seem to reread it. A lot don't even bother looking for a beta (and the ones that do end up with god-awful ones, like the one I saw on FF.net advertising in chat speak).

In my experience, about ninety percent of writers do freak out at concrit.

I am often tempted to delete my own in-progress fics because they read to me like utter wank sometimes.

It never is effortless to produce a good story. But that's no excuse for letting a bad one out, as you point out.

PS: you are often right when you correct me - otherwise would I ask you to beta for me so often?:P

"As usual"? That's quite a compliment, m'dear. *bows* Thank you. And it was just a nitpick. It really is sad that so many badfic writers are unaware of how terrible they are...

Though really, it's harder than most of us make out. Last week I spent six hours writing a cold draft of a chapter, and when I read it over two days later, I hated it. Things seem so, so, SO much better as you write, because you're seeing the story in your head without cumbersome words getting in the way. I'm not excusing all those thousands of badfics - the authors should have stopped, read them over later, redrafted, edited, and so on - but it's all too easy to see how it happens. :(

You are, as usual, completely correct. There are always exceptions. But most badficcers? Are completely unaware that they're badficcers.

Some people do set out to write rubbish - crack fics and such - and trolls especially just want to provoke a reaction. But otherwise? Agreed, completely.

1: I don't believe Miss Cam hands out permission for OFUs anymore. I'm not certain, but I think she's washed her hands of the entire thing. Wait for the others to tell you for certain, but I don't suggest emailing again.

#2: I'd say treat the Kneazle the way you would a humanoid OC; don't go overboard. Your character could have such a pet as easily as he/she could wield magic - it's part of the HP universe. The line you have to walk carefully is making it 'speshul'; a bad-tempered cat isn't unlikely, as long as you explain it well enough and don't make it absurd.

#3: ...no idea. Sorry. Make that two answers.

I've started to read more plot based ones recently, don't know why. I still love Something Positive and the Devil's Panties and such as well. :D My favourite ones are normally the ones I've come across recently though. XD

Dreamless - actually, I'm half reading this one because of her name. It's so creepy when that happens.

Phoenix Requiem - drawn by the same girl as Dreamless. The story and art is amazing.

The Devil's Panties - and then a joke a day one. ^___^ Although it's been going seven days a week for far too long, so archive binges are only recommended if you have a week to spare.

Residents of Camelot in the BBC's 'Merlin' do not eat ham and jam and spam a lot
- And I am not to look scornfully at the castle and declare it to be 'only a model'.
- Neither am I to try and rouse the citizenry to overthrow Uther and become an 'anarcho-syndicalist commune'.
- Morgana may have 'huge ... tracts of land', but this does not mean I should point it out.
- I am not to follow Arthur around banging coconuts together
- In fact, 'Merlin' and 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' are not easily confused and I should refrain from deliberately doing so in the mistaken belief that I am being hilarious.

I am not a Priestess of the Old Religion and therefore I am not allowed to invoke the Power of Life and Death Itself OR to wear a slinky maroon dress and be ambiguously, seductively insane.

Killing Uther Pendragon in order to accelerate the crowning of Arthur as king is not allowed.
- Not even if you think Arthur looks better in a crown
- Especially not even if you think the removal of Uther is all it will take to get Merlin to confess all about his magic and somehow end up in Arthur's enormous bed
- If you think that's likely to happen, you have been reading too much Merlin/Arthur slash
- Look, Arthur's actually quite keen on his dad, weirdly, despite the obvious issues, and Merlin's already turned down one opportunity to get him killed. It's a bad idea, all right?
- Plus if they find you you'll have someone 'trained to kill from birth' and his protectively homicidal warlock manservant after you.

I must not refer to Uther as 'King Giles'.

Swords are to be held in the hand during use, not thrown. They are not aerodynamically suited to being projectile weaponry. If I attempt to throw them around, I will only end up cutting my own appendages off.
- Unless I am in the Merlinverse, in which case I may fling them at Sues with gay abandon

Anyhoo, I recently emailed Miss Cam for permission to write an OFU of my own (a friend of mine and I will be co-writing it.) It's been about a week and a half so far, and I haven't received a reply. Should I email again just in case, or would that seem pushy of me?

Also, I'm beginning to contemplate an HP fanfiction, and I wanted to give my heroine (Hogwarts student, not transferred from America thank you very much) a pet Kneazle/cat. I was just wondering if it would be considered a CAF it has one eye, numerous claw scars, and all the amiability of a junkyard dog.

This final question has been niggling at me since I started reading about the Reorganisation (I'm on Chapter 3 of the Crashing Down): How the heck do you pronounce Twp'atwt?

Jar Jar isn't appreciated nearly enough.

I have found a continuum that does not have a harry potter crossover! maybe I shouldn't have said that. nah, what could possibly go wrong?