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Welcome to the home of all the weird and wonderful originality of the Wandering Crane herself, Michelle Nersesian Travis.

For years, I kept telling myself I was going to get a website.  Someplace where I could rant and rave and generally make an idiot of myself in public that people would actually want to visit. Well, now I have one. And you know, it didn't come out half bad!

The nickname Samuraiko came out of a game called "Legend of the Five Rings" - if you haven't played it, give it a shot. (But only 1st or 3rd editions - anything else is crap.)  The name, for those not familiar with Japanese, derives from the words 'samurai' (in Japanese, "servant", referring to the warriors of medieval Japan, which is what they were), and -ko (the Japanese suffix for 'diminuitive' or 'little'). Put it together, and you have "little samurai", or "little warrior." (My husband is probably the only person on the planet who could get away with calling me "little servant.")  (Is is true-to-form Japanese?  I doubt it.  But I like it anyway, so deal with it.)

At any rate, I played a samuraiko named Nasami (more on her elsewhere on this site). Nasami was one of my favorite all-time characters (and has gone on to develop a life of her own thanks to the wonders of fan fiction), so much so that I now use the nickname Samuraiko on a vast number of message boards, forums, and Internet sites. So what else could I call this place?

Anyway, this site comes out of two hobbies that have been going on for the better part of my life - writing and gaming. Writing everyone knows what it is, but gaming? Well, here's the definition according to Wikipedia:

"Gaming is an umbrella term that includes a number of special hobby game types: * Board games* Collectible card games* Computer and video games* Tabletop wargaming (i.e., using miniature figures)* Role-playing games**Live action role-playing games* Wargaming** Peace gaming"

I have done most of these over the course of my life. Great fun.
Anyway, over the years, I have spent a good deal of time gaming, and even more writing (when I'm not doing the important things like sleeping, working, going to school, watching anime, and being married). I've made a name for myself doing both (been published, and had game ideas of mine spread around the world thanks to the wonders of the Internet). But now is my chance to put all this neat stuff I've done in one place. Here. 

So feel free to wander around the site. Here'll you find any number of things to catch your eyes. Fan fiction. Anime music videos. Music. Artwork. Writing of all kinds. Even links to a few cool pages. If it's creative, and it's mine, it's all here. And if you know me personally, and you want to know why such-and-such isn't on here, drop me a line. I love email. In spite of the fact I work with it.   All. Day. Long.

What's New...

04/30/2010 -
Time to celebrate the sixth anniversary of City of Heroes with my Retrospective video, now live on the Multimedia>Videos page!

04/14/2010 -
Only one day off from my original prediction, and now my trailer for City of Heroes: Issue 17 is now live on the Multimedia>Videos page!

12/28/2009 -
And SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS rings out the last video of 2009 - the highly anticipated "AVATAR: COH STYLE" video! As usual, it's housed on the Multimedia>Videos page for your entertainment... along with two other new videos!

12/15/2009 -
A new AMV is up on the Multimedia>Videos page... for the inimitable series FRUITS BASKET!

11/23/2009 -
It's time to prepare for CITY OF HEROES: GOING ROGUE... with a new teaser trailer over on the Multimedia>Videos page courtesy of SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS! 
And as the year comes to a close, so it's time for something new! There is a new actual SamuraikoProductions.com website, and this site will be undergoing a major revision in the upcoming months.

09/17/2009 -
Another issue, another video! SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS steps up to the plate once more with a trailer for CITY OF HEROES: ISSUE 16 on the Multimedia>Videos page!

05/29/2009 -
And my FOURTH full-length novel (THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE) is now available for download on the Scribblings>Other Fan Fiction page, under the CITY OF HEROES heading!
In other news, all the stories on the site have been updated with either a COMPLETE or IN PROGRESS tag for your convenience!

04/28/2009 -
SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS celebrates five years of CITY OF HEROES/CITY OF VILLAINS with a new commemorative video on the Multimedia>Videos page!

04/01/09 -
It's no joke!  SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS now has demo reels available on the Multimedia>Videos page!

2/7/09 -
And SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS starts off 2009 with the CITY OF HEROES Issue 14 teaser on the Multimedia>Videos page!

12/1/08 -
Just barely beating the deadline for the CITY OF HEROES Issue 13 release, SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS offers its full trailer for Issue 13 on the Multimedia>Videos page!

11/21/08 -
Filmed for the good players of the Virtue Server, now available on the Multimedia>Videos page is the video Dropship Down!

11/17/08 -
Now available on the Multimedia>Videos page is the full one-hour video recording of my HeroCon panel on "Making Movies in CITY OF HEROES"!  (For those who attended the 'con, this is the 3pm session.)

10/23/08 -
For those who wanted to attend my HeroCon panel on "Making Movies in CITY OF HEROES", but could not attend, you can now find a downloadable PDF of my handout on the Multimedia>Toons on Film page!

And here's Nasami, in typical anime chibi style!

Check out what others have said about my writings!

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Please help keep the SAMURAIKO.COM website ad-free! A site this size takes a lot to keep running, and every bit helps...
It's circular!  You give, you get!

The chick to the left, by the way, is Nasami.  Or at least one anime-style rendition of her.  Get used to seeing her, she shows up a lot on this site.
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