My pen-name is from my favorite Harry Potter pairing, Severus Snape and Remus Lupin. If you'd like to read how that works out in my mind, read the story "In the Cottage" posted on FanFiction.net, also under "SeveRemus." I have one K-rated Harry Potter story under my other pen-name, "JapaneseT," which I use here on FictionPress, too, for clean stuff that I can let my nephews and nieces read -- mostly translations of Japanese folk stories.

My first story here, "Quartetto," is M-rated slash, and my avatar is of Johann (Serafim) dressed up as a cowboy!

There are more pictures of the guys at my website, http://severemus.webs.com/quartettogallery.htm, as well as a diagram of their apartment in Salzburg and concept images of the house in Illinois.

I love to read other people's stories (mostly slash) here on FictionPress as well as on FanFiction, but will stop reading if there are too many mistakes or if the story has obviously not been Spellchecked. The purpose of writing is to communicate, and if you haven't bothered to learn the rules of communication, you're not a good writer. If you want to be a basketball player (at any level) you need to know the rules! Traveling will get you kicked out of the game, regardless of how good an athlete you may be.

Here are just a few common errors that I find most egregious:

"more then" for "more than" -- Honestly, is that what they're teaching in the schools these days?! Doesn't Spellcheck correct that?!

"alot" and "alright" -- They are not words! "alot" is an improper contraction of the two words, "a lot," and "alright" is of "all right." What are they teaching in the schools?!

"irregardless" and "nauseous" -- These two are used so commonly now, I've even heard news reporters on CNN say them, but they are incorrect. "regardless" already has the contradiction built in, so adding "ir-" is not only unnecessary but also ludicrous. And "nauseous" means "to cause nausea" -- not "nauseated" which means "feeling sick to one's stomach," although I will grant that if you are throwing up in front of me, you will probably make me feel queasy, too.

"complementary" vs. "complimentary -- "complementary" means that two or more things "complement" each other -- that is, one person/thing has qualities that another does not, so each helps fill in what is missing. In cooking, "complementary" means the two ingredients or dishes go well together. A "compliment" is something nice said about someone or something; hence, "complimentary" is a statement that praises or reflects well on what is being discussed.

"for you and I" and "you and me did" -- If you're not sure, take the "you and" out and see how it sounds. You wouldn't say "for I" or "me did" -- it's "for me" and "I did."

"there" and "they're" and "their" -- "there" is a place, "they're" is a contraction for "they are," and "their" is something possessed by multiple other people together.

"it's" and "its" -- "it's" is a contraction for "it is" whereas "its" is the possessive form of "it" as in "The dog wagged its tail." No, it doesn't need an apostrophe!

Note: I have consistently used an apostrophe for the word "mic's," the vernacular plural form of "microphone," because "rophone" has been abbreviated. I've also considered using apostrophes for the plural of "limo" since it's an abbreviation of "limousine," but I find that "limos" is an acceptable form in most dictionaries, whereas "mics" is not listed.

As for punctuation, I usually put my periods and commas inside of the quotation marks, unless I'm deliberately writing in the British style (for some Harry Potter fanfiction), and I also put a comma before the "and" in a list of items, which some people consider extraneous. My primary rule is consistency. If you're using a different set of rules than I do, I don't mind; however, if you're using no rules at all, you're just being lazy, and in that case, I shall be lazy, too, and simply not read your story.

If you have any questions regarding English grammar and punctuation, feel free to e-mail me from the link above. I don't have time to beta (proofread) stories, but I can give you tips and pointers.