As I started once again on a belated-by-my-ill-health update, I noted with surprise that it's been a year since I first started fanfics here. It's rather amazing that time flies by so quickly, and I'd like to take just a moment to reflect on the great people and wonderful stories I've encountered while running Parallel Universe.

I decided on this anniversary that I'd break one of my own fanfic rules - that of printing lengthy chapter works. Soul-Hunter sent me one such fanfic, and since it was entirely complete I decided to give it a read. The problem with lengthy works is that it then takes me longer to get the actual update done. Yet, I know there is some wonderful stuff out there that probably doesn't come my way because of this rule, so I'm hereby abolishing it, but with a condition. I'd like all authors to feel free to send me a lengthy multi-part story, provided it is already complete. I'm going to be posting Soul-Hunter's Fourth Universe story at two chapters a week, partly because it's fun to keep people in suspense, and partly because it would be unfair to other authors to put such a huge amount of time and space into a single author's work in one update when others deserve just as much chance to be read.

That was awfully wordy. To summarize, send me your lengthy works if they are *finished*, but be prepared for them to take a longer time to be read and posted.

Today brings some more returning authors - Nightsong bestows upon us a long-promised Kartia fic, several poems by Michael Collins and Paul O'Rourke grace the update (one of which actually made me laugh out loud), and Natural offers us a first - a Resident Evil fanfic. (Now I think I've seen it all)

New authors join the mix today as well - Hoyden's Final Fantasy VI piece is extremely touching and well-written, Scarr's piece keeps you wondering to the end, and Frankie even throws a bit of interesting religious symbolism our way in a look at Aerith's final thoughts. And of course, David's piece is satire, but perhaps in a way many of us have often dreamed of...

I'll be heading back to Miami in a week, where, with my own computer, I should be able to get fanfics back on a weekly kind of update schedule. Thanks again, everyone, for a great first year - you guys make this job worth doing.

Wishing she could read Japanese as she ponders through FFIX's 1st disc,

Tami