Valyssia
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<div class="content"> <h3>About</h3> <hr> <br> <p>I introduced my previous website with a story. It was about a moment in my life where a combination of elements came together and I was deeply affected. I think they call that an ‘epiphany.’</p> <p>Really, it was just another moment in time. It wasn’t much different than any other. I was profoundly bored, restless and a little lonely, sitting in my room, listening to music. The A Perfect Circle song <em>The Noose</em> came on. Yet another birthday had slipped by. I went out and bought <em>Buffy Season Eight</em> comics as a present to myself. I was reading the first arc, <em>The Long Way Home</em> and the line, ‘I'm more than just a little curious how you're planning to go about making your amends to the dead,’ stuck. It hit me that in a very real way Willow had that sort of opportunity.</p> <p>Strange how those things could become this thing.</p> <p>There’s a Maynard Keenan quote I hold onto from the <em>Alternative Press</em>.</p> <p>“In a perfect world, people in general will hear the album, be inspired and do something extraordinary.”</p> <p>I don’t know that I’ve done anything extraordinary. I have written one hell of a lot of smut.</p> <p>Is that extraordinary?</p> <p>Perhaps, if you do it well enough.</p> <p>I do know that this world is far from perfect. Which is probably why the smut.</p> <p>The thing is, I’ve gathered a circle of friends as a result of this experience. These people encourage me to continue doing the things I do. They tell me that the word ‘smut’ is a misnomer. They seem to think that my ‘smut’ has artistic merit. They label it ‘erotica.’ I’m <em>so</em> not snowed. That’s really just a pretty word for ‘smut.’</p> <p>As I offer my smut in the coming months, please feel free to form your own opinion.</p> <p>For helping to construct that moment, providing a cohesive, identifiable theme for my fiction and general inspiration, I would like to thank Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel, the members of A Perfect Circle and Tool.</p> <p>Further thanks to Joss Whedon for creating some of the most highly tortured and tortureable characters in syndication.</p> <p>“I swear, Buffy has a tag that reads ‘eviscerate me, please’ somewhere on her person.”</p> <p>Tag inspecting might be fun, no?</p> <p>When Em presented me with that line which I misquote shamelessly now, she went on to say that the best characters do. They are full of flaws, weaknesses and foibles. That’s what makes them feel human. They become something we can relate to by way of their defects. We see ourselves through their eyes because of this. Strength is really a meaningless commodity. We look at acts of courage and aspire, but the thing we really relate to…</p> <p>Joss is a master of this. Despite their extraordinary nature, his characters remain beautifully vulnerable and truly timeless.</p> <br> <hr> <h3>Rating System</h3> <hr> <br> <p class="note"><img src="images/dotg.png" alt="(General Audience)" title="General Audience: Content Suitable For All Ages" /> General Audience: (All Ages) Depending on your taste, you could read a selection that was marked with this to your six-year-old as a bedtime story.</p> <p class="note"><img src="images/doty.png" alt="(Contains Mature Themes)" title="Contains Mature Themes: Parental Supervision Suggested" /> Contains Mature Themes: (Teen) About like your average primetime television program in terms of content.</p> <p class="note"><img src="images/dotr.png" alt="(Mature Audience Recommended)" title="Mature Audience: Parents Strongly Cautioned" /> Mature Audience: (Ages 16 and Under Please Seek Parental Permission) Roughly the equivalent of an ‘R’ movie. More adult themes and language are present, but nothing overt.</p> <p class="note"><img src="images/dotp.png" alt="(Adult Content)" title="Adult Content: Sexual Situations and/ or Explicit Violence" /> Adult Content: (Ages 18 and Up) What is commonly described using the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating of ‘NC-17.’</p> <p class="note"><img src="images/dotb.png" alt="(Adults Only)" title="Adults Only: Graphic Sexual Situations and/ or Gratuitous Violence" /> Adults Only: (Ages 21 and Up) It bugs a little that NC-17 is now the cap because the pornography industry latched onto the ‘X’ rating. ‘Triple-X’ pretty much belongs to them now. I’ve added my equivalent. A black dot. My reasoning is simple: There’s a vast difference between what two consenting adults do in their free time and violent acts of a predatory nature.</p> <p>In addition to this, you’ll see that there are tooltips for each dot describing what it means.</p> <p>You'll notice that this is arranged very much like the ‘con system’ in a video game. I used to play Dark Age of Camelot. I'm not sure if World of Warcraft has a similar system, I’ve refused to get sucked in, but I assume it does.</p> <p>Looking this on a very basic level, what it says is: if you wish to avoid adult content, then don't read the grape or black stories. Pretty simple.</p> <br> <hr> <h3>Themes</h3> <hr> <br> <p><strong>Under the Willow</strong></p> <p>When I first began to conceptualize this art for this site, an image came to me of Buffy sitting inside the canopy of a willow tree. As you may know, the first incarnation of this site had nothing to do with this. It wasn’t until the restructure in March of ’09 that this vision came to light. Like most things I do, the picture in my mind was so much better, but—</p> <p>Brushes: <a target="_blank" href="http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/">Daydreaming</a></p> <br> <p><strong>Cacophony (narrow)</strong></p> <p>While I was working on the Under the Willow theme, Howard and I had a conversation. The gist of it was that not all people maximize their browser windows. He likes to read in a tall skinny window with other things opened along the side. I promised that I would create a theme that was well suited to this. </p> <p>Brushes: <a target="_blank" href="http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/">Daydreaming</a><br> Screencaps: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.buffyworld.com/">BuffyWorld</a></p> <br> <p><strong>Whedonistic Tendencies (wide)</strong></p> <p>This theme is named in honor of a friend and fellow author. The concept is simple: take two Luis Royo images, alter them using familiar faces and tie them together with a common, text friendly backdrop. </p> <p>Brushes: <a target="_blank" href="http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/">Daydreaming</a><br> Foreground Images: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.luisroyo.com/">Luis Royo</a><br> Background Images: <a target="_blank" href="http://resurgere.deviantart.com/">Resuregere</a></p> <br> <hr> <h3>Credits</h3> <hr> <br> <p><a class="floatright" href="http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/"><img src="images/onenet.png" alt="Viewable With Any Browser" /></a></p> <p class="flattop">This website was created by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.howardrussell.com/">Howard Russell</a> using <a target="_blank" href="http://www.notetab.com/">NoteTab Pro</a> in compliance with HTML 4.0 standards. We support the Any Browser Campaign.<br> Unless otherwise stated all website art is by Valyssia.</p> <p><a href="flood_cover-f.php"><em>Flood</em></a> cover art by <a target="blank" href="http://www.stayfallen.net/news.php">Charlene</a>.<br> <a href="bloodletting_cover-f.php"><em>Bloodletting</em></a> cover art by <a target="blank" href="http://blacklagoon.left-unspoken.net">Wenj</a>.</p> <br> <hr> <h3>Author Awards</h3> <hr> <br> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/R13authornew2.jpg" alt="Best New Author Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 13" title="Best New Author Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 13" /> </p> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/R17author2.jpg" alt="Best Author Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 17" title="Best Author Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 17" /> </p> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/SOG09_slashauthor2.jpg" alt="Best Slash Author Runner Up, 2009 Shades of Grey Awards" title="Best Slash Author Runner Up, 2009 Shades of Grey Awards" /> </p> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/09overallauthor-valyssia.jpg" alt="Best Overall Willow Author, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" title="Best Overall Willow Author, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" /> <img src="awards/09buffyauthor-valyssia.jpg" alt="Best Willow - Buffy Author, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" title="Best Willow - Buffy Author, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" /> <img src="awards/09biggun-valyssia.jpg" alt="Big Gun Award, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" title="Big Gun Award, 2009 Willowy Goodness Awards" /> </p> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/10ofauthor-valyssia.jpg" alt="Best Willow/ Other Female Author, 2010 Willowy Goodness Awards" title="Best Willow/ Other Female Author, 2010 Willowy Goodness Awards" /> </p> <br> <hr> <h3>Beta Awards</h3> <hr> <br> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/R13beta2.jpg" alt="Best Beta Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 13" title="Best Beta Runner Up, Sunnydale Awards Round 13" /> </p> <p class="center"> <img src="awards/R17beta1.jpg" alt="Best Beta, Sunnydale Awards Round 17" title="Best Beta, Sunnydale Awards Round 17" /> </p> <br> <hr> <h3>Affiliates</h3> <hr> <br> <p class="center"> <a target="_blank"href="http://blacklagoon.left-unspoken.net"><img src="affiliates/blacklagoon.jpg" alt="Black Lagoon" border="3" title="Black Lagoon"></a> <a target="_blank"href="http://www.buffyforums.net/"><img src="affiliates/bfn3.jpg" alt="BuffyForums.net" border="3" title="BuffyForums.net"></a> <a target="_blank"href="http://nha.magical-worlds.us/index.php"><img src="affiliates/nha.gif" alt="Near Her Always" border="3" title="Near Her Always"></a> <a target="_blank"href="http://sacrifice.wiflfag.net/"><img src="affiliates/sacrifice_buffy_100x35.jpg" alt="Sacrifice" border="3" title="Sacrifice"></a> <a target="_blank"href="http://www.stayfallen.net"><img src="affiliates/sf.png" alt="StayFallen" border="3" title="StayFallen"></a> </p> <br> <hr> <h3>Link to Valyssia</h3> <hr> <br> <p class="center"> <a target="_blank" href="images/va1.jpg"><img src="images/va1.jpg" alt="Button 1" border="3" title="Click to load on a blank page. You can right-click save from there."></a> <a target="_blank" href="images/va2.jpg"><img src="images/va2.jpg" alt="Button 2" border="3" title="Click to load on a blank page. You can right-click save from there."></a> <a target="_blank" href="images/va3.jpg"><img src="images/va3.jpg" alt="Button 3" border="3" title="Click to load on a blank page. You can right-click save from there."></a> <a target="_blank" href="images/va4.jpg"><img src="images/va4.jpg" alt="Button 4" border="3" title="Click to load on a blank page. You can right-click save from there."></a> </p> <br> <hr> <div class="disclaimer" align="center"> <ul> <li>All material derived from pop culture at large is the property of its respective owner. No copyright infringement is intended. Please read the <a href="disclaimer.php">disclaimer.</a></li> <li>© Valyssia Leigh 2009</li> </ul> <br> <br> </div> </div> <img id="back2" src="images/Cacophony2.jpg" alt="" title="" />
