#first of a few pieces I'm tentatively planning to re-post

[see-arcane-scribbles]

Black Dogs in Whitby

"It be all fool-talk, lock, stock, and barrel;--

--that's what it be, an' nowt else. These bans an' wafts an' boh-ghosts--

-- an' barguests an' bogles an' all anent them is only fit to set bairns an' dizzy women a-belderin'. They be nowt but air-blebs. They, an' all grims an' signs an' warnin's, be all--

--invented...”

...But still enough to send a certain new arrival in Whitby on his way. There’s a good reason the Count only bothered killing one dog for a laugh while he was out wolfing around. For those who don’t know, the barguest--sometimes called the Barghest--is one of many types of supernatural black dog with folkloric ties to death. Their barking signals that someone’s about to die, often with other dogs joining in on the baying and howling. They lead funeral processions of dogs for the same reason, and, if someone dares cross the fearsome Fido in question, it’ll ensure yours is the next funeral in the queue. 

All of which may go a long way toward explaining why poor Lucy heard so many dogs barking and howling in her phantasmagoric nights with the Count. 

They knew.

[savrenim]

hi hi hi. so I just got into the Hamilton fandom, I swear I am four years late where did everybody go, and, well. I am apparently a hamburr shipper. bcs that is my life now. anyway I saw your fic ifmlam and I swear it is my favourite of all the fics I've ever read (and trust me I've read literally thousands). I love it so so much, how do you write fics like that??? I cried about four times during the whole thing, I stayed up till 4am reading it even when I had to wake up at 7 because it is just. that. good. I could not stop thinking about it for days afterwards and ifmlam has just ruined me. I can't think of listen to Hamilton without thinking of ifmlam anymore.

on to my qursttion: is it abandoned? of course it's perfectly FINE if it is. don't let anyone tell u differently, your fic is YOURS and u are amazing.

but pls I really need closure from ur fic, it has been haunting me if its abandoned or ongoing and I've read ur other fics and they are just chefskiss and thank you so much for writing them all. thank you thank you thank you, I will never be able to thank you enough for writing this fic and for everything it's done for me. I am probably thousands of miles away but I am sending you virtual jugs through a co.puter screen right now.

(don't feel pressured to reply to this or update it flam, I know how overwhelming it can get with so many messages and after a while u get desensitized to it. u can literally reply "thx. itfmlam is abandoned" and I would still be amazingly star struck. anyway has gotten way too long and I need to sleep and I'm sorry u probably won't see this so I'm just talking to myself right now but bye!!)

and thank you so so much for writing itfmlam.

aaaah hello anon!

thank you so so much???? I am so??? honored??? that ifmlam rates so highly to you, and also that you've read my other fics??????

the answer to the "is ifmlam abandoned" question is probably the worst possible one, which is pretty much "I do want to finish it, both for the folks that still want closure as well as it bothers to me have abandoned projects that are in the public eye/ already partially published, but also, it is last on my current writing projects list"

my current actually active writing projects list, kind of in order of priority, is

I'm literally three chapters away from being Actually Fully Done with the not-quite-first-not-quite-second let's call it 1.5th draft of an actual?? full?? original?? novel?? Opus which of course then goes out to beta readers and then gets who-knows-how-much edited and then maybe beta readers again if a lot does change and then a copyeditor my mom, my copyeditor is my mom, and maybe my little brother he's one of the betas but is very good at catching typos and then I!!! get to publish it!!!! which is the single thing I am most excited for!!!!!!!!! this should be closed up in the next week or two, and then take a while for people to actually read the draft and get back to me.

I really desperately want to finish my open-but-like-90%-written fic, which means we raise it up, the final chapter of to the bottom of the river bc I realized that it was kind of incomplete, and the second chapter of a buried and a burning flame because any more work there will need to wait until the author publishes the next book in the series. this should be closed up in the next month or two.

Speedwrite the draft of the second book of the Opus series so that hopefully by the time book 1 edits are happening, I have an almost complete draft of the second book. this is mostly me side-eyeing myself about taking nearly four years to write the first book, but that is solidly in part because I had so many other open projects which point 2 is about clearing that docket. this should be done in the next year.

And then just have my major projects be, at least until books 1-5 are written and published, books 1-5 of that because that is arguably the first major 'plot arc' of the series, so if I'm looking for a pause point on writing, that's probably where to stop.

There are two or three other short side projects (a weird fun second person short story tentatively titled witch-queen, a collection of four short stories Memoirs about a not-so-evil necromancer and the shenanigans he gets up to trying to rule a kingdom, working title Perfectly Normal Recipe Blog which is a collaborative project about a perfectly normal recipe blog that definitely doesn't include anything out of the normal) that will happen when they happen

There are other projects that are on the backburner -- The Numanok Files, a series of probably 12-15 short novellas about a mercenary/ bounty hunter esque person in space whose specialty is dealing with hauntings, but, like, 80% of their jobs is actually "you are effectively a space home inspector pointing out faulty wiring reacting to solar flares/ there's a weird alien fungus/ it's carbon monoxide okay change your atmosphere filters" and 20% of it is punching ghosts; there's a post-post apocalypse novel that I want to write that I know characters and general pacing and half the setting but need to work out the other half and figure out how much aesthetic I want to commit to; there's Strangeside7 aka spacerace book that is my reaction to how much I love how Redline the anime movie commits itself to "no we are about a race, like 60% of the screentime is just fully going to be an utterly ridiculous sci fi space race"; there's even a ridiculous YA trilogy that I would have to completely transplant the setting but might end up writing because the interplay between angel-physics and physics-physics was one of my favorite things in the world. and I guess the weird ridiculous technically a sequel series to ifmlam that was going to be published as original books that was basically me having fun with 'okay I fucking love star wars prequels old rotting space bureaucracy galactic republic style' except with seers and that also still might happen because it does have some of the coolest sci fi concepts and honestly I thiiiink that's all?

but the tl;dr of that timeline is I'm trying to finish a punch of projects Right Now, so that I can write books 2-5 of Opus, and then when I'm done that (which honestly, my average fiction-writing output is close to 100k a year. if I'm concentrating purely on one project, and writing books that are about 100k, we are talking four years. although my job situation is super up in the air in that period and writing might get put solidly on the backburner as I try to make it in academia, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I will re-evaluate which projects go next, and that's when ifmlam is likely to come up for review.

I do not have any expectations that I will make it as an original author. I'm planning on posting all of my stuff online for free, but, like. it is incredibly difficult to convince people to try out even a piece of free and easily accessibly original work even if one has a huge following, I am a very small fanfiction author, and from what I can tell the majority of the people who are interested in my work are mostly interested in me finishing ifmlam. writing is a hobby for me, and while I'm writing mostly for me--and hence the for me bit at least for the next five years is pretty solidly going to be this series that I am deeply excited about and have sunk my heart and soul into every single aspect of--I'm human, and I don't really like shouting into the void, and I expect if I spend five years publishing to absolutely no response I will either stop writing for a while and do other things gods know my life is busy enough, return to fandom in general to write some other fanfic about whatever I get deeply into, or return to a work that I actually get response to. so ifmlam will probably start getting worked on a bit at that point one way or another. unless, of course, we are in the incredibly rare timeline in which I do make it as an original author, there are people who are deeply hyped for my original works and an actual demand for them, in which case as you may have noticed there are enough ideas there to keep me busy for a decade or two, and they will just get my full attention instead of fanfiction*. in this timeline, I will do what I was considering doing a few years ago, which is officially declare ifmlam otherwise abandoned and make one more giant chapter update which is a full and cleaned up outline of what I was going to write, interspersed with the scenes already written, and have ifmlam be given at least that closure.

*I want to make it clear that I very much love fanfiction and am proud to have been a fanfiction author and in my heart of hearts would keep writing it forever, I just also have a lot of ideas for characters and settings and magic systems and Aesthetics and I have been biting at the bit to write something that is //mine// and all mine and only mine for a while, I don't see original work as superior so much as there are a dozen fandoms that I am currently in and bursting to make content about except oops these fandoms currently only exist in my head, and I want to correct that

of course given how much as writing is my vent activity and I write what I'm in the mood for, there's a chance I'll feel ifmlam cravings before then, just... expect it to take a couple of years for an update, but also for there to be an update one way of another in a couple of years? but as for right now, I'm turning to original writing, because that is what brings me joy.

but I am really deeply honored that it brought you so much joy!!! and while I will never publish spoilers in a public place, if you message me off anon I am perfectly happy to give a run-down of my current plans for the ending, bc I know "wait a couple years and see" is not the most satisfactory of answers! and hey maybe you'll be like me and once you've given Opus a try you'll decide you like it better too, it does have Seers although they are deeply different Seers than in ifmlam but imo it's very gay and fun and at least politics on one side

[abyssaldyke]

am i allowed to ask for all the questions in that post? 👀

I don't see why not! And also you're so sweet omg

As a disclaimer I did much less reading and a lot more writing than usual this year, which is a bad habit! Sometimes there are absorption periods and production periods; so it goes!

Describe your experience reading/writing this year in one word.

Transformative. I wrote in a lot of new ways and found a lot of tricks that work well for me!

How has this year and this specific point in time affected your reading/writing life?

Uh, well. The Ick kinda threw me into a creative spiral and I wrote a ton on unemployment, and even more now that I have some structure. Also it's a good time to write about antifascism.

Did you have a reading/writing goal this year? How did you do? What’s next year’s goal?

I wanted to read 35 books which I certainly did not do, though I did read quite a few. I also wanted to do a full Watch Party rewrite and write a draft of another idea, both of which were never finished. Next year I'd like to try for that 35 again, finish a first draft of Space 3: Tokyo Drift and a rewrite of Untitled Space Opera: the First One (now tentatively titled Space Trash). I'd also like to write a few short stories, particularly this post-apocalyptic museum thriller I've had kicking around for like 8 years.

What reading/writing achievement from this year are you proudest of?

Oh, dude, writing the first Space Opera. It was such a quick turnaround and yet I think it came out really fun and funny. Also, I'm proud of myself for recognizing that Watch Party probably won't ever turn into anything I'd want to pitch, but I loved writing it anyway. Nothing is wasted, right?

Did you manage to get out and do something literary in person? Think of seeing a play, going to a reading, visiting a bookshop, inspecting your friend’s bookshelf, taking a writing class, or anything else that feels meaningful to you.

Bookstores, absolutely. I wish I could've gone to more talks. Also pruning the bookshelves is always nice.

Did you re-read any books, and if so, how long ago did you originally read them? Did you read more new books or rereads (try to guess!) and why?

I've been skimming parts of Gideon and Harrow for a bit now; they're practically writing guides at this point because I love the way TM does mood.

Discover any new writers this year? Tell us about them!

I mean she isn’t new but Ursula K Le Guin. Also Merlin Sheldrake is pretty cool!

Did someone do something kind for you (buy you a book, write with you in a coffee shop, read your book review, leave a nice comment on your writing, etc.) this year? Thank them!

Ollie literally listened to me read aloud like every single day this year, for which I will never stop being grateful. Also, M’s comments on the first space opera are some of my fave pieces of commentary ever and I go back to them a lot. Having people read and listen to your work is very nice, turns out!

What do you hope to see in your and/or others’ writing in the future? Feel free to name trends, themes, ideas, inspirations…

More cannibalism, more gross shit, more gay shit! More nuanced portrayals of addiction oh my god. Everybody should be writing the stuff that gives them butterflies (except creeps).

Share a song you read/wrote a lot of words to this year!

Oh dude, Megan Thee Stallion’s Captain Hook. Also all of Montero (especially Sun Goes Down). And Kiss Me More.

How many books/projects are you in the middle of right now, and which do you hope to finish by the end of this year?

Fuckin’ NONE. NONE! Maybe I’ll do a little planning for Space 3 for the rest of the year but right now I have nothing! Literally the worst.

What book/project most surprised you this year? What book/project did you most enjoy reading/writing this year?

Space Opera in general; I’d never written scifi and it rose from a really rough creative time and went so well. I had a lot of fun and learned that genre fiction is and has probably always been my thing.

What book/project changed your worldview?

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Mushrooms are unreal I love them.

What’s your favorite book of all time, and are you thinking of it differently this year?

My fave book of all time was at one point 1984 which... yeesh. The book I’ve enjoyed the most is John Dies at the End, though Gideon the Ninth is definitely up there. Mostly I’m just thinking of how art doesn’t have to be terribly serious to be good or affecting, you know?

Name a Book or Project of the year– this is different from all those questions above! Explain your criteria.

Space Opera 1: Daddy’s #1 Candy Baby. Easy to write, easy to read, funny and a lil sad.

What writing/reading lessons did you learn this year? What would you go back and tell yourself at the beginning of the year? What are you telling yourself now?

It’s okay to just leave it if it isn’t working. Even if you spent a lot of time on it. Sunk cost isn’t real. Grieve and be upset and everything and then do something else really cool! You’re literally 26, fucking chill.

Look back at your posts from the beginning of this year. What were you thinking about?

Man, probably the Locked Tomb and neo-noirs. Not much has changed!

Share a writing/reading memory from this year that sticks with you.

Ollie finishing One Good Turn! I’m so proud of them!

What will you be taking with you from this year into the next?

Hopefully some fuckin’ optimism and good advice. And perhaps I will take the bullying from my mother about querying to heart.

[adventurdate]

The adventure has already begun!

So where do we begin all this I find myself asking. So many adventures in such a short amount of time have taken place and we have a lot of catching up to do to bring you all up to speed with us.

I guess the best place to start would be an introduction to who we are and why we are writing this blog. We are Rosie and Shaun with our trusty land rover Skippy. The three of us have only known each other for a few months and have all been adventure heads before we all met, bringing us three together is a perfect combination full of off road travels, sight seeing, weekends away, holidays and plenty more. I first met Rosie back in May of this year with a camping weekend away with our mutual friends for a car show. We've since then carried on our adventures together round the UK creating great memories together some more spontaneous than others.

We both decided to write this blog so a) we could both share these amazing moments in time with the world and B) to look back at our progress and great memories as change is always happening and a constant part of living in this day and age.

Rosie

She is the most talented and ambitious person I've ever met. With a go getter attitude towards her career as an interior designer Rosie has massive amounts of talent and creative ideas to think outside the box when it comes to design work. Showing a lot of her talents with a dolls house to test out different materials she adds a lot of influence into my life showing the rules need not imply when it comes to creativity. It's so refreshing meeting someone who has such an adventurous soul and spirit be sure to look out for her posts on this blog.

Shaun

Ever since I can remember I've always fallen in love with adventuring, exploring the unknown what with stories such as biggles the pilot, Indiana Jones (small chuckle to myself at just how cliche that sounds) but without these stories would people want to push the boundaries on exploring? As with Rosie I too have a creative background from a self taught pinstriper to becoming a church restorer. Although more structured than your design work there's still a huge satisfaction of re creating great pieces of art to their original form.

Skippy

Our fairly new addition to Rosie and I is our 2002 land rover freelander td4. Originally Rosie and I spoke about buying a camper van to go travel around with but with prices soaring due to the whole van life movement it just wasn't viable. What with that said I do feel as though we have come up trumps with this landy. It's perfect for what we need at the moment in time. There's plenty of space for any camping essentials we need, comfortable, reliable, permanent 4wd for when it gets a bit tough something maybe a camper van can't handle and best of all it's ours to enjoy and share moments with. We do have some plans for this to make our travels a bit easier such as a lift kit, mud terrain tires, roof rack with a possibility of a roof top tent, and I'm sure at some point some art work will end up on Skippy somewhere.

So there we have it, our little introduction to us three. We hope you enjoy reading and viewing the photos about our adventures together.

Lost but not forever