#the HOPE is i get some short stories published between now and april 1 so i can have that set aside for housing changes

[shu-of-the-wind]

i would like to be ✨sedated ✨

[violettelueur]

— ITADORI YUJI + FUSHIGURO MEGUMI + GOJO SATORU + RYOMEN SUKUNA || WAKING UP WITH THEM

↳ featuring : itadori yuji + fushiguro megumi + gojo satoru + ryomen sukuna from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : hidden suggestive hints + grammar issues

↳ form : headcanons

↳ published : 05 april

↳ pronouns : non specified in headcanon

↳ request : Hi! Can I ask you for a Headcanon on: Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna, in the morning when waking up with their s / o please?

↳ barista’s notes : so right now, i have no anime to watch...but fruits basket is coming out tomorrow i believe so i do have something to be excited for soon also, i updated the spotify playlist so go ahead and enjoy some new songs i have added ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ other than that, i hope you enjoy your cup of classic black coffee and come again soon ʕ￫ᴥ￩　ʔ

I don’t think Itadori is a morning person at all despite his bright personality, so waking up with him is more like sleeping in a bit more and a few ‘5 more minutes’ will be said.

However, if Itadori does wake up before you, he would stare at you for a while because he wants you to be his first view he sees to start his day off - that’s how he obtains his bright self.

He does tend to place his whole hand on your cheek before stroking it with his thumb if you are facing him - he does make sure Sukuna isn’t about to bite you.

If he feels like you are too far away from him, he will pull you closer to you before resting your face into his chest because we all know that itadori doesn’t care one single bit if he is the small or big spoon - he just wants your warmth.

To be honest, Itadori sucks at waking you up because he feels guilty doing so and he also wants to sleep in overall.

However, if you wake up before he does, you would wake him up by giving him a few pecks on his cheeks - it’s like an energizer for him.

You can tell he loves it because he smiles before opening his eyes while reaching up to get more of his morning kisses.

You both do talk in bed for quite some time before getting out of bed because it just feels calm and comforting to you both before you start the day.

You and Itadori talk about what you both are planning as well as what you both are excited for like an up-and-coming date you both had planned or what game you want to play today - the morning conversations are a great start to both of yours day.

Estimated time of getting out of bed - 30-50 minutes in total.

It’s a process but a cute one.

Fushiguro is someone that is organised and we all know that, so you know he has a few alarms set because he knows that you sleep through some of them quite peacefully.

He seems like the type to be up by the first one if it is an important day or he will turn them off immediately if it is an off-day because he desires to have a sleep-in with you and doesn’t want you to wake up just yet - there is no in-between.

So when it is an important day, he slowly sits straight up to turn off his alarm before turning to look at you, only to discover you sleeping peacefully as usual.

He will ruffle your hair gently to wake you up because you need to and will tell you to wake up with a small smile on his face because you look really adorable.

If you whine and say to give you a couple of minutes, he will just sit there and admire you because what better way to waste time waiting for you - if you allow him, he will play with the ends of your hair to keep him occupied for the time being.

After a few minutes, he will wake you up properly (probably lightly taking the blanket away from you) and you have to comply because you know he is doing it for a reasonable reason (not) and he knows that you are going to demand a hug since you are quite clingy when you are tired.

If it’s an off-day, just know Fushiguro’s face is buried deep into your chest with his arms sluggishly thrown across your waist leading you to wake him up by playing with his hair as well as planting a few forehead kisses that he loves so much.

If you are able to sit him up, he will place his forehead on your shoulder for a short while to gain some extra sleep - so wake him up with a few temple kisses as well 

Estimated time of getting out of bed - 10-15 minutes (on a work/school day) or 30 minutes (on an off-day)

Like I said there is no in-between.

Gojo is someone that rarely sleeps to be honest, due to his role as the strongest sorcerer within this generation. However, when he wakes up with you by his side, it’s a whole process.

If you wake up first, Gojo will whine and moan at the fact that he doesn’t want to get up and if you try to leave the bed without him by your side, he will drag you back by force and anchor you down with his arm and leg.

You will complain that you both will be late and to be honest, he doesn’t care one single bit because he is known for being late - he will switch up the story to the others by saying that it was you that didn’t want to wake up (but they know he is lying and will inform you on what he said)

No matter how the day has started, either him waking up first or you, he will bombard you with so many kisses on your face and neck before you stop him when he comes to your lips - because morning breath ain’t it.

Once again, he will whine that he didn’t get to kiss you ‘good morning’ and he won’t leave the bed until you give him one - you will also be anchored to the bed until you give him one.

However, there are times when he has to wake up really early and leave you, so he makes sure to leave a little note before heading off - he probably tried to make breakfast but we all know he ordered something for you since he doesn’t seem like the type to cook.

When you both managed to sit up, Gojo will put all his weight on your back and just hide his face in the crook of your neck before placing a few kisses here and there because he’s clingy like that.

Morning cuddles are a must for him. One way or another, he will move you to his lap only to wrap his arms around your waist while waiting for you to wrap your arms around his neck - he will carry you around the house like that because he refuses to be apart from you.

If you have one of those days where you just won’t wake up and refuse to get up, Gojo will just admire you for a while and will play with your hair.

If you are married to him, he will fiddle with the ring on your left ring finger because it just reminded him that you are here with him - not like he is a canon player or anything…

“Morning exercises”

Estimated time of getting out of bed - 1-3 hours.

It’s a whole process, so wake up at like 6:30 am to be only 5 minutes late.

There are parts of me that say Sukuna doesn’t sleep at all for some reason like he will lay in bed with you but he will just watch over you during the whole night.

We all know Sukuna is a dominant person, so when you wake up just know you are in the position of the small spoon - always.

Let me admit, I have no idea if Sukuna is a morning person because he just doesn’t sleep...he just zones out for a while.

WE ALL KNOW, THAT HE SLEEPS SHIRTLESS - so admire...

If he feels mean, he will pinch your nose to wake you up because he wants your attention but he won’t admit it at all - don’t know why I thought of it.

Sukuna will also bite your neck to wake you up if pinching your nose wasn’t enough or you were taking too long to wake up.

When you wake up, expect to see Sukuna looking down at you with a smug face because it’s just him but please prepare yourself because you will probably be doing a few morning exercises to start the day off.

However, if you wake up before the King of Curses could wake you up, you would probably just stare at him with a smile on your face before caressing his cheek - which does surprise him and he will tell you that he doesn’t want your touch but doesn’t make the effort to move away.

If Sukuna does manage to fall asleep (which is quite shocking) he really likes it when you play with his hair - but as I mentioned before, he won’t admit it.

If you try to leave the bed without him, he will grip your arm or waist before ‘asking’ you “where do you think you are going?”

Somehow his hands are under your shirt - there is no question about it, there are going to be under your shirt somehow.

Estimated time of getting out of bed - probably when he feels like you are allowed to leave the bed...so never? Maybe a good 6 hours since he has nothing to do...not sure.

Like do I know what he does in his domain….no.

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[relto]

“appendix”

i ordered the physical books a while ago (theyre so pretty too..), and there were some presents in books 2 & 4.

let me know if you have ideas for improvement in the translations!

sorry that the pictures are lower quality. its entirely heavy shiny paper and tightly bound, so it doesnt scan or photograph well unfortunately. i feel like tungle is adding some extra blur, so click for full view!

each chapter also has a little drawing in front of it, i assume theyre the blog post drawings since most of them are in sius old art style. the fourth book goes up to mid hide and seek arc, to the scene where quant runs into aa’s setup!

first off, the covers:

(book 2)

”Now that 10 years have already passed since the begin of Tower of God's serialization, it finally (뒤늦게 - too late) ended up being published in book form. There are many reasons for the delay, but while I as a naturally lazy person learned to live a busy life, I think that all these things are extensive work. Apologies to everyone who waited, and I want to express my thanks one more time.

As someone who works as a webtoon author, I think that there is great significance in getting published. Because it's as good as receiving the recognition that between the many creative works on the internet, [this work] survives and is worth keeping.

(slap me if this is incorrect. this sentence was HARD.)

That's why this doesn't feel simple or like it's a given at all. There are many points that are embarrassing or lacking, so it seems that even now I end up questioning if I have the qualifications needed to take another step into the webtoon and publishing fields. 

But now that the books have been released, I hope that they sell well and that the result will be good. Haha.

I sincerely thank everyone who supported me in making it possible for these books to come out, everyone who helped, and above all those who made the serialization possible so far, and everyone who will help in the future. I keep saying this, but it seems that I'm a very lucky author. I will try to use this opportunity and repay with equally good work. 

Lastly, I want to say that I hope that the unfolding journey through the tower will be an enjoyable one, both for people who encounter Tower of God for the first time through these books, as well as those who have already read the webtoon.

Thank you. 

Let's make this a good journey.

PS.

Since some time has passed since season 1 has come out, I picked a few cuts from the previous drafts I thought were important to rework in the current art style, and attached them together with a short comment as a small bonus. (부록 - appendix) If the circumstances allow it, I will try to redraw several important scenes like this in the future. It's small, but I hope it's a good present”

“It's the scene where Bam rushes at the steel eel despite Headon's warning. I chose it because I think that it gives an impression of Bam's personality in the early story and shows the overall work's mood well.”

(i translated 신해어 as "steel eel" bc i remember it being called that, but its closer to "divine fish". also 이미지 is just "image" spelled in hangeul, but using that doesnt really work well)

“It's the scene where Bam and Khun meet for the first time and Khun makes Bam uncomfortable (?) (곤란하게 - awkward, embarrassing) after seeing the Black March. It's one of the scenes that led to the current Rakhunbam, so I picked it to draw again.”

(this is also the illustration on the sticker!)

“It's the scene where Anak confronts Bam with the Green April. In the Crown Game, Anak is definitely at her most active, and I figured that obviously I had to draw her once, so I picked something and tried to draw it. Haha.”

(book 4)

1. print release

(panel 1)

Bam: Khun-ssi! Rak-ssi! Look at this!! Volumes 1 and 2 came out!!

(panel 2)

Oh, I'm on the second book's cover. As expected, that useless crocodile was pushed back to the third book. What a relief. After all, I'm the most important.

(panel 3)

Looks like they're reserving me as a hidden wildcard to boost sales later on. Isn't it that that albino turtle's importance drops sharply after the second book? What a relief.

(panel 4)

Mm~ It's satisfactory. 

Bam: It seems that everyone is content, how fortunate!

I think it's well made. Wouldn't the third book make a good hot mat?

(something you set a hot pan/pot down on. i.. dont actually know a good universal word for it in english? research was inconclusive. any tips?)

2. Rakhunbam

(panel 1)

Bam: Khun-ssi! Rak-ssi! I heard that people call us "Rakhunbam"! That's interesting, isn't it? (Let go - you let go)

(panel 2)

The fact that I'm in the middle must mean that I'm the most important. After all, I'm the center of the world!

(panel 3)

Me being first means that I'm the leader!!

As expected, everyone recognizes me as this team's leader! This team's leader is me!

(panel 4)

Hey! Cut it out! Crocodile!!

Bam: It seems that everyone is content, how fortunate!

You stop first! Turtle!!

“Yu Hansong is one of the characters where it gets more difficult to know his true intentions the more his story is developed. I think so, not only in the first season, but also later on. He especially likes mixed coffee (?).”

“Khun likes the feeling of controlling and playing around with situations and people. I don't know if the blood of a great family was an influence, but he feels equal parts mischievous and serious.”

“Season 1 Rak was pretty imposing. As Tower of God's mascot, he's a true hero (for real). Haha.”

(thanks @ skimmilk11 for helping with this one!)

thank you for looking!

[bettsfic]

march pinned: ending the sex project

in the march edition of my lowkey writing-related newsletter, in addition to my writing-related post roundup and upcoming consultation availability, i have personal essay recommendations and a segment on the definition of a project!

for more information on my creative coaching services, check out my carrd.

if you want to receive my lowkey writing-related newsletter directly, you can subscribe here.

full newsletter below the cut, or you can read it here.

fuck february, amiright?

i thought january was bad. but february. february was the stuff of nightmares. my cousin passed away from covid (you can read about her here; she was really an amazing person and i feel so lucky to have known her). i was finally formally diagnosed with PCOS (bittersweet, i guess). my car broke down. i took two (2) days off and it took me two and a half weeks to get caught up again. i can only hope march treats us all a little more gently.

the good news is, i finished revisions on my short story collection to send to my agent, finished workshop submissions for the semester, and now i can return to my first love, fanfiction. that i am constantly working through original fiction to return to fanfiction has been making me think a lot about the nature of a creative, capital-p Project. so, this month’s BTALA (been thinkin a lot about) is going to inspect the concept of a “project.”

new resource

last month i unveiled a folder of my favorite short stories which i’m pleased to hear several of you have perused and gotten some inspiration from. this month i’ve compiled my favorite personal essays. there are fewer essays than there are short stories because i’ve broken them into two groups: personal and craft. next month i hope to have the craft essays compiled.

i’m always looking for more things to love, so if you have recommendations for your favorite short stories and essays, i’d be happy to hear them!

writing-related posts

how to physically maneuver the revision process

the difference between M and E ratings of fic

resources for worldbuilding (check out the reblogs for more!)

a couple syntax/prose book recs

how to break a long work into chapters

march availability

unfortunately i have to cut my coaching hours down a bit, so i don’t have any openings left in march, but i have some availability in april. if you’re interested in a writing consultation, please fill out this google form!

you can learn more about my services on my carrd.

what i’m into rn

for the past year, i’ve basically been trapped in a 10x10 room, and my health is definitely reflecting that, both mentally (does anyone else feel like they’re living in groundhog day? just, every day being exactly the same except fractionally worse than the day before??) and physically (i reorganized the kitchen and could barely move for two days).

reader, i have discovered something called “walking,” in which i put on real human shoes and go outside. it feels strange, bestial. neighbors wave hello to me. a harrowing experience.

while doing this, this walking, i’ve been listening to the lolita podcast which a friend recommended to me, a ten-episode series that dives into everything lolita: the novel itself, its context, adaptations, greater cultural responses, and — as a sticker on my laptop says — vladimir “russian dreamboat” nabokov. as far as i can tell it seems well-researched and presents the many perspectives of lolita in a fair way. i’m only a few eps in, but i’m entranced so far. highly recommended if you, like me, have a complicated relationship with lolita.

i’ve also found myself mildly addicted to a mobile otome game called obey me, which. look i know it’s like the definition of cringe but it’s also mind-numbingly fun and if i want to spend my minimal free time pretending 7 demon brothers are all vying for my affection then that’s between me and god. it’s a lot of what i loved about WoW: frequent events, bright colors, a daily to do list of simple but satisfying tasks, many many rewards, and it doesn’t take itself very seriously. and if i have 4k fic written of mammon/reader that’s nobody’s business but mine and my longsuffering ao3 subscribers.

i’m telling you this because i don’t know anyone else who plays it and am desperate to trade headcanons. so if you play, or start playing, hit me up!! i will give u mad tips and daily AP.

been thinkin a lot about

the project. the project. even the word “project.” PROject (noun). proJECT (verb). what is the project? “project” comes from the latin pro and jacare which means “to throw forward,” or projectum which means “something prominent.” a projector throws forward an image. to project onto something means to throw your perspective onto something else. to embark on a project is to make something prominent in your life. the concept of “the projects” comes from public housing projects, the government throwing forward affordable housing.

what is the project? in joseph harris’ essay “coming to terms” he says that “to define the project of a writer is…to push beyond his text, to hazard a view about not only what someone has said but also what he was trying to accomplish by saying it.” harris’ perspective is that of an english teacher encouraging his students to read critically, not just to summarize a text but to find its project, its greater purpose. and while i first read this essay in a seminar on composition pedagogy, it stuck with me as a writer. it made me reconsider the greater nature of the creative project.

how many of us, if asked to describe our writing project, would begin with a plot or character premise, the nuts and bolts of a specific story? maybe even the working title? but i wonder, is breaking out the plot really the project? is the discipline of sitting down and typing really the project? and when the story is finished, is the project over? what is the project?

in 2019, i wrote 86k words of a novel. i began revising that novel last fall, and i’m finding that i’ll probably keep maybe less than 10k of that initial draft. i’m not bothered by that. the novel i wrote before that started at 125k, then i rewrote the entire thing to 200k, then i whittled it back down to 160k, and next i’ll be tasked with paring it back down to 80k. i’m not bothered by that either. in the past five years or so i’ve written about 2 million words, and i’ve only published 20k of them. only 1% of what i’ve written, i’ve published. in the words of lauren cooper (catherine tate), i’m not bothered.

i used to see publication as the birth of the project, and writing it akin to a long gestation period. then i saw publication as the death of the project, and its life was lived in its drafting. now, publication seems irrelevant to the project. the confines of a story and its many revisions are also irrelevant to the project. the beginning of a story is not the start of the project and the end of the story is not the end of the project. the project is larger than the story, its revisions, its publication, and its eventual readership.

i think it took me so long to see this because for so many years i was still in my first project, the sex project, an exploration of trauma and sexual identity, which began in 2014 with destiel fanfiction, endured through many fandom shifts, my MFA, years adrift as an adjunct, all the way through 2020 with the completion of my short story collection. i used to wonder how anyone could write about anything other than sex. to me it was the only topic worth my attention. i was certain that i would spend my entire life being a sex writer and i’d never find fulfillment writing a young adult sci fi adventure or a highly literary novel about complicated family dynamics. i was baffled by people who were interested in other things, who could write entire novels without using the word “cock” even once.

then my sex project ended. i don’t know when exactly it happened or why, but suddenly i realized i never wanted to write another artful description of an orgasm or find a tactful euphemism for a vagina ever again (personally i prefer “wet cunt” because not only is it blunt, i find it phonetically pleasing). obviously i’m still writing explicit fanfic but it doesn’t feel the same as it used to. sex feels more sidelined to me, even if it’s still the center and drive of a fic. i no longer get any personal satisfaction from writing it, although i do get satisfaction in sharing the work for readers to enjoy.

it’s like i’ve somehow solved the biggest puzzle of my life. or i guess made peace with my meanest monster, that extremely complicated double-mind of desire that some non-sex-repulsed asexuals feel: you want to feel desire you can’t actually feel so you write it into fiction, to try to understand this thing you can’t have and which society tells you you’re missing, and you don’t even know if you don’t have it, because you still feel desire for affection and intimacy, and maybe even a desire to be desired. and for those of us who are asexual and have c-ptsd, sex you don’t actually want (but don’t know you don’t want, because maybe you’re ambivalent and mildly curious and touch-starved) and an unrelenting drive toward people-pleasing can be a dangerous combination. how can you ever know what consent is if you always put other people’s desires above your own?

maybe i’m alone in this. maybe i’m not. maybe for most people, wanting sex is a light switch: yes i want it, or no i don’t. but for me, i had to write a whole lot of words to figure out things like desire, consent, intimacy, forgiveness, the shape that good love takes. the lengthy theoretical flowchart of “i might be interested in having sex if this and this and this and this and this happens in this exact order and under these exact circumstances.”

it was hard to write something into reality that i have never seen except in pieces, in subtext i clung to with no lexicon to give it shape and meaning. te lawrence in lawrence of arabia. some of tarantino’s early work. the film benny and joon. and weirdly, the star wars prequels (that one’s hard to explain; i’ll spare you). i don’t think the sex project was about coming to terms with my asexuality as much as it was trying to organize my thoughts and feelings by continuously rendering my own experiences within a greater, shinier ideal — like how you sometimes have to unravel the entire skein of yarn to find the loose end, and only then can you get started.

i guess i’m in the infancy of the power project now. i’m moving toward themes of control, infamy, greatness. the exact circumstances in which atrocity occurs. how people rise into leadership and fall from grace. the consequences of success. i don’t know why this project has come to me, or what, if anything, it has to do with me. i’m not famous and have no intention of becoming famous; i don’t have social power or influence, at least not beyond my little corner of fandom, and i’m not interested in having it. and yet, here we are, already hundreds of thousands of words in.

my fics digging for orchids (tgcf) and a standing engagement (the hunger games) deal with the detriments of fame. and even float (breaking bad) to a degree is about the aftermath of being so close to power. my novel cherry pop, loosely based on macbeth, is about an ongoing power exchange between two teenage girls. my other novel, vandal, is about a girl who believes she has magic powers and casts a spell on her neighbor to fall in love with her. and i’m in the very early stages of a novel called groundswell, a cult story i’ve been wanting to write for years. i had no idea why i couldn’t write it until i realized it wasn’t yet my project. i’m not even to the stage of developing characters, let alone a premise or plot. i’m still just building my aesthetic pile (i discuss the aesthetic pile here, as well as vandal in more detail), watching documentaries on cults, reading books, finding inspiration, marking down ideas as they come. it may be years before i’m ready to sit down and write it.

now that i know what the project is, i have more patience with myself. it doesn’t bother me to rewrite a novel from the beginning, or to scrap novels altogether, because the story isn’t the project. the project cannot be diminished by cutting words, sentences, paragraphs, entire chapters. the project does not have a product. the project cannot be published. the project is in the practice, in dragging the impossibly large into clear, acute existence, so you can see it. so you can see the very center of what you thought was an unknowable thing.

[polandspringz]

Fanfic/Writing Updates!

I know I just put this in a mess of tags on my last post, but just an update for my readers:

Sorry for the delay in updating fics/writing stories! I was dying towards the second half of my semester so I didn’t have time to much other than some one-shots. Right now though, I’ve kicked it into high gear, lol. So here is what I can currently promise you to look forward to.

Obey Me

You Don’t Really Wanna Stay (Sequel to “Cause You Don’t Really Wanna Go”, now known as the Hot n’ Cold series): Chapter 2 has been finished since mid-April. I haven’t published it because I sort of screwed myself going off script and publishing chapter 1 before I wrote the entire fic (unlike how with CYDRWG, I wrote the entire thing in one week and then published it over a few days/like a week). I’ve had the entire story outlined in this case, but it was just a matter of writing it. Chapter 3 is also finished now, so I will be working over the next few days to finish Chapters 4 and 5 before I start publishing the rest of the work on a schedule. This was a story that was originally only meant to be 2 chapters, but as you can see, things have expanded. An epilogue may or may not be written later on (similar to the Mammon fic as well). I may or may not have plans for a third fic in this series.

Siberia: This story has had the entire plot and every detail outlined since I started writing it last fall. Again, it’s just a matter of writing it all together into a long chapter with scenes instead of plot points and summaries of events on a notebook page. Once the above fic is finished being written, I will immediately resume work on Chapter 8 of Siberia, and similarly, will try and get through 2-3 chapters before I start publishing again. At the earliest, I can guarantee an update by the end of May or June. I’m hoping to get ahead in my writing to help me out later on.

Designing in the Devildom (Series): There are SO many one-shots planned for this series still. I originally planned on having a loose chronological order for them, but as some of you may have seen, we’ve kind of deviated a bit. I have several documents with drafts for various stories that have been in the works for months, but am putting this series as less of a priority compared to the above works. I received an ask suggesting I continue the “M’Lady” fic with a follow-up of the actual fashion show the demons would participate in, and have drafted sketches of each outfit the characters would model, which I would like to publish alongside the work, so that is one of the projects that is taking some time.

gen:LOCK

I have so many stories still planned for gen:LOCK, and as I work on my other fandoms, I find myself itching to get back to this fandom that I love so much. I don’t want to give a lot away, but I have at least 3 ideas revolving around Yaz and 1 idea focused on the gen:LOCK team as a whole. They aren’t short one-shots or drabbles, so I ask you to be patient and promise by the end of the summer you will see something from me soon.

Cars gL AU: Believe it or not, I did plan a sequel to that joke fic. The idea came about after I wrote the ending to the story, and the response from the actual Cars fandom was so nice, it really made me want to write a follow up. It will be significantly shorter, but I hope everyone will enjoy it as well.

Miscellaneous

Omori: I have plans for a multi-chapter AU that if I nail it the way I want to, well it might not do anything but be self-indulgent for me, but I think it might obliterare the fandom (as I joke to my friend often). I won’t be working on this story until I finish Siberia, as there is a similarity between them and I wish to give each their proper attention.

SK8: I hate Adam but I love writing for Adam and Tadashi. I had another story idea floating around in my head but no concrete notes on it, so I can’t guarantee when this will be written, but know there are plans for it.

FF9: I’ve been promising my sister an FF9 fic for about 2 years now. I had an idea after beating the game but forgot half the location names in the game, and that’s what’s been holding me back. I planned for it to be more long winded and descriptive, but might go a more straight to the point approach. I’m hoping to try and finally sit down and write it before May 31st.

Genshin Impact: I have notes in my fanfic writing journal for a Xiao fic and a Dainsleif fic. Writing for Genshin Impact feels very volatile though and as much as I appreciated the response on my Albedo fic months ago, I cannot guarantee I’ll ever get around to these, lol.

Yu Yu Hakusho: ON GOD IVE GOT NO IDEAS FOR THIS YET BUT I DO HAVE THE DESIRE TO MAKE SOMETHING GOOD BECAUSE I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH. SO SOMETHING WILL COME OUT OF THIS BRAIN OF MINE

Demon Slayer: SAME THING I AM DETERMINED TO DO SOMETHING, DONT KNOW WHAT YET

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Guardian of creatures; AU! Queen x reader chap. 1

*Author’s note*

Well it took awhile from the last update (plus things have been happening in my personal life like losing yet ANOTHER kitty cat this year) but I finally came around and deliver to you guys the first chapter of my new Hallowqueen series. Now keep in mind it’s mostly in 2nd PERSON POV which means as the reader it’s basically gender neutral, so be patient with me as I try to make sure to keep my pronouns in order. Also I hope you all watch the video I have linked in the story, I def. LOVED it when I first found it years ago and this guy can really sing and bring a gender-bend Disney character to life, so if you’ve never heard of him, check out his page you won’t regret it :)

Now not really any warnings per-say except rude bosses, seductive gestures, 

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@queensdivas​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@dancingcoolcat​

@queendeakyy​

@kinole009x​

@klausidiot​

@geek-and-proud​

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 1,

First day on the Job

*April 11th, 1926*

First day on the job.  Well it’s really an internship but you were looking forward to it.  Working for the New York Times was an opportunity for any writer.  Your dream was to one day publish the next great American novel, as a child you’ve always been whisked away by the words and tales of dragons, sea-baring pirates, and worlds unlike the one you lived in.

It amazed you how one writer can just take you away on a journey and help distract you from the stresses of the world.  And here is where your journey began in hopes of accomplishing that dream.

You had first heard about the internship for the NY Times in the papers in an advertisement.  The call asked for a 300 word sample of your writing as well as any previous writing experiences you’ve had in the past.

In school you’ve been part of the school newspaper and helped write up advertisements for after school events.  So after submitting your sample as well as a resume, about 2 months later you finally got a letter from the NY times wanting to do an interview.

Long story short, the interview went great and now you’ve got the internship.  You now stood before the doors that would start your future in the world of writing. Tugging the strap of your suitcase over your shoulder, you take a deep breath in before exhaling and entered inside.

Already swarms of people flooded the first floor of the building, their voices echoing off the large room.  The repeated sounds of phones ringing piercing the room as secretaries at their desks were answering them.

It felt like a dream to you for you to actually think that you were now working in one of the top Newspapers brands in all of America.

“You there!” a voice called out.  You turned and saw a young man in a brown suit. “Why are you just standing there!? We are running a newspaper here, not a charity tour.”

“Sorry, I’m….my name is (y/n) (l/n). I’m the new intern to Mr. Grayson.”

“Ohh right. He’s been expecting you. You’re late by the way.”

“Late? But I’m right on……”

“One rule about working under Mr. Grayson, he expects his interns and anyone on his team to arrive before he does. Which is 6am on the dot. And it is now,” he looks down at his watch, “8:45. That’s a good start.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t tole. I promise it’ll never happen again.”

“See to it that it doesn’t. I’m Harry Wormwood, Vice President of the New York Times.”

“Oh Mr. Wormwood it’s an honor to—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get up to your post and start your internship.”

“Yes sir.” You said solemnly.  Wow he was rude.  To think you have a VP like him that acts like that around new people, especially interns.  But he was right, you had to get up to meet with your head of office and get right to work with whatever he needed help on.

You adjusted your bag once more before heading straight to the elevator and went up to the 13th floor.  After a bit of a ride and getting some more people in the elevator with you, you finally arrive to your floor.

People, like down in the first floor, were swarming the room, typewriters were tapping away as men were at their desks typing away their stories and articles for the paper.  Or as they like to call it ‘putting the paper to bed’.  You walk forward towards a middle aged man with ginger colored hair and ask him.

“Excuse me, do you know where Mr. Grayson’s office is at?”

“In the back, straight down the hall, last door. It’ll have his name plagued on the door in gold.” He said without looking you in the eye.

“Great, thank you.” you followed his instructions but when you got to his door, there was sounds of a commotion going on.  Well when you say that you mean the sound of someone yelling and belittling someone, then yes.

“YOU GODDAMN SONS OF BITCHES!!! If we can get a picture of Joan Crawford in lingerie, then we can surely get a hold of this damn jazz club!” you peek inside and inside you see four men surrounding a desk.

And right there at his desk with a cigar between his teeth was your new boss, Mr. Richard Grayson.  He was a middle aged man around his late 40’s possible even early 50’s. He was a fairly tall man with greying short hair, a small mustache across his lip.

But what really made him well known was the way he carried himself.  He was always described as a man who carried himself like a drill sergeant (that could be because he was one during the Great War).  A true, Bronx accent that carried out demands for miles and miles on end.

“Sir, we have tried everything we could to get a hold of an interview inside but not even our best interviewers could get pass security.” Said a blonde haired man in a blue suit.

“Our photographer Eddie has been on it for weeks and the owners have threatened a lawsuit against him because he’s been taking pictures of the club without consent.”

“Aww what are they shy?” Mr. Grayson mocked out. “Then let them sue us then, get rich on their own standards! That’s what made this country stand the way it is!”

“Maybe we should just forget about it.” Said a brown haired man.

“I have been on this case for years. Ever since these mysterious owners built their club at the start of the decade and has remained popular I want to know just what the secret to their success.”

“Sir the only thing we have is that the owners come from England and that they prefer a specific crowd of people.” Answered a young man around your age who had black hair.

“Yeah right they do.” Mr. Greyson muttered sarcastically. That’s when he suddenly turned towards you. “You!” he pointed at you.  You’re startled by his loud, strong voice as you quickly come inside his office.

“Sorry sir I-I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I really should’ve knocked.”

“You’re the new intern right?” he ignored your apology and went straight to the question at hand.

“Y-Yes sir.”

“Excellent. I want you to go to this night club and get an exclusive interview with the owners, bartender, musicians, I don’t care who. Just find someone to talk to and ask them about their Jazz club.”

“Sir you can’t give it to them. This is a big responsibility, not to mention too much for a fresh intern to take over.” Said the man in the brown suit that you saw first speak to Mr. Grayson.

“Shut it Mack! You remember what I had you do the first day you were late working for me. What better way to get started than by throwing fresh meat to the wolves.”

Can you say you regret working here yet? No too early? Okay then.

“So what do you say kid, will you do it?” before you could even answer, your boss continues, “Of course you’ll do it. Now then. Take this camera, your notepad, and come up with a clever story to get inside. Good luck kid!” he tosses you a camera and notepad before escorting you out of his office and shutting the door behind you.

Okay……what the fuck just happened? It all happened so fast you almost couldn’t even believe it.  And what jazz club did he want you to check out again?

Later that night (after getting the information from some of your new team members) you now stood before the building you were supposed to go undercover for.

In a bright neon sign at the side of the building was the name BEWITCHED JAZZ.  Now you have heard of this club before and remember it getting fairly good praise from the public and has a good swarm of people.  Hell even some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been seen going into that club.

But there was always an air of mystery about it.  Like Mr. Grayson said, security is always tight. First of all security actually gives you a pat down before entering inside.  Any traces of photography or recording equipment is immediately destroyed (yes you heard, destroyed).

Thinking it’d be best, you decide to leave the camera in your car and just wait it out.  Cause that seems to be the problem that most of Mr. Greyson’s reporters don’t seem to get, they just think barging on in will get them access.  A good reporter always plans ahead and blends in with the crowd, observes then goes in for the kill.

You stand in the line and for about an hour you stand there waiting to get inside until finally it’s your turn to go up.

“Next.” A very tall and muscular man speaks out as he unhooks the rope allowing you to come forward. “Pardon but I’m gonna need to do a pat down.”

“Go ahead.” As he carefully and precisely starts the pat down, you can’t help but feel intimidated, hell his whole hand goes halfway down your leg and covers your entire back.  He was a pretty intimidating man to look at, and you hope he doesn’t snap you like a toothpick.

“Now you don’t have any weapons or outside drinks that I’m not aware of?” he asks in that deep, deep baritone voice of his.

“No sir.” You answer.

“Show me some identification.” You pull out your wallet and give him your ID.  He looks down at it before looking towards you skeptically.

Swallowing nervously, the giant just looks at you with a skeptical look before finally giving you back your ID.

“Go right on in.” what? Oh god you couldn’t believe you could actually go in.  You take your ID and put it back inside your wallet and thank the guard before stepping inside.

It was a fairly big place, about 3000 sq. ft. A decent size of the typical jazz clubs in NYC.  It looked like any ordinary jazz club, firefly lights hanging from the ceiling, the lights lowered to a slight shadow, tables surrounding everywhere, including each side of the catwalk.

A grand stage was at the very center of the building with a band playing an upbeat jazz score.  Waiters and bartenders tending to each customer.  Some people were dancing to the music while most were sitting down talking to one another.

“Wow.” You softly muttered.

“It’s alright but we make do.” A voice suddenly spoke up. You jump back startled but you stop as you stare at the man before you.

He was unlike any other man you’ve seen in your entire life. He was fairly tall and lean, but not unhealthily skinny, just lean.  His eyes were almost a hypnotic blue and he had fairly sharp features, particularly his nose and even his profile.

It was like looking at an angel.  But what really struck your attention was the curly hair he had.  It reminded you of that one scientist from like the medieval ages or something, what was his name again uhh—Neutron? New—Newton! Isaac Newton that’s the guy.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“No it’s—it’s fine. I’m just…..I was just admiring the place. I’ve…..never really been to a jazz club before.”

“Well, I hope we here at the BEWITCHED can help fill your desires. Oh manners, I’m Brian. Head Bartender.” Head bartender? That’s new.

“What’s a head bartender?”

“Basically I run the bar and train all the other bartenders so that every drink is made to perfection. Now come, sit and let me prepare you something.” He does a gentle gesture towards the bar with his arm and you go to sit at an empty cushioned barstool.  Wow this was really cushioned, it kinda reminded you of sofa material. Now so soft that you sink into it but not hard enough to where it’s uncomfortable.

Brian goes around the bar and stands before you and asks with a warm smile and says with that soft voice of his that you can somehow hear over the music.

“Now what can I get for you?”

“Actually I’m…..don’t really know my drinks that well, what’s your most popular one?”

“Well the most popular drink on our menu is French 75. A pretty basic cocktail made with gin, champagne and lemon. I think the main reason why people like it so much is they think it’s actually from France but in truth it really isn’t.” he teases the last part of his statement which makes you softly laugh. “There’s also the Bees Knees, also called our ‘bathtub gin’. Mainly from our pianist player. But that’s basically gin, fresh lemon juice and honey. To give it that sweet yet tart flavor.”

“I think I’ll go with the Bee’s Knees then.” He gave a snap of his fingers.

“Coming right up.” He pulls out a small circular bowl wine glass and with graceful precision he starts whipping up the drink.  Shaking the cocktail up in a perfect blend, pouring out the right amount of gin and juice into the concoction.  Before finally topping it off with some honey and stirred it up.

Then with a grace and delicate pour, he pours the Bee’s Knees, which comes out in a beautiful, clear sunset orange color into the glass before topping it off with two flower decoration toppings.

“Here you are.” He said as he picked it up delicately from the stem of the glass and handed it over to you.  You set down a dollar and took a small sip of it.

And as soon as your tastebuds were washed over with the drink, it was like you had died and gone to heaven.

“Oh my god! This is sooo good!”

“I’m glad you like it. That’s actually one of the owner’s preferred cocktails of choice. Can’t get enough of it.”

“I can see why. And he certainly has good taste.”

“She does. Actually.” Wait did he just say.  I quickly looked up at him and I stammered.

“Wait—you mean this……”

“It’s a partnership. Both she and her husband own the place. She makes most of the decisions since she knows the business world better than any of us. While he takes care of the finances, she’s always been lousy when it comes to the math. Don’t tell her I said that though.”

“My lips are sealed.” You say as you take another sip of your drink.

The curtains then close and a spotlight came on at the center of the curtain.  That’s when you suddenly hear all the ladies in the room beginning to scream bloody murder. God never have you heard so many women scream before nor have you seen them try to get up to the stage so quickly in your life.

“Here they go again.” Brian says as he starts cleaning out a beer glass.

“What?” you ask.

“Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night when my mate preforms, the ladies all go crazy at the chance of getting to him.”

“Mate? You mean you guys are…..” you ask curiously.

“Oh no nothing like that. Where we come from mate means best friend. But even though I don’t condone his constant flirtatious behavior, he’s gotten me out of more scraps than I care to imagine.”

Peeking through the velvet blue curtain was an arm.  The red glittering sequin pattern delicately bounced off the spotlight and soon a hypnotic, soft yet raspy voice began to sing. When the curtains opened up and a soft jazz tune began playing, on stage stood a very, very, very, very handsome man.

When you say handsome, you really mean handsome.  This man looked like he was carved from the god with his ruffled up blonde hair, his piercing blue eyes that unlike Brian’s which were soft and inviting, this guy had hypnotic eyes that just draw you in and could kill you.

He wore a bright sequin cherry red tail suit which was unbuttoned pretty much all the way down, exposing his upper body to the ladies.  His neck decorated with 3 necklaces.  One of which went practically down to where his abs were, the other hung right at the center of his chest and was in the shape of some sort of snail shell or some other type of seashell.  The last one was more of a choker but was decored with beautiful diamonds like a crown of sorts.

He strut across the stage with grace and purpose as he continued to sing with a lustful, hypnotic tone that just made you go numb and melt in your seat.  And your eyes refusing to look away from this handsome creature before you.

*Male singer*

I got plenty money in 1922 You let other rich men make a fool of you Why don't you do right like some other gals do?         

He kneels down in front of the stage in front of a beautiful young woman.  She had long, wavy blonde hair and she looked up at this man with lust in her eyes.  He placed a dollar bill between her teeth and closed her mouth as he walked down the steps of the stage.

        He then walked over towards a woman with short raven hair.  She was fairly lean and had almost an aristocratic air about her.  He stood in front of her and took her hand in his.  He leaned towards her hand almost wanting to kiss the back of it, but his lips teased her hand and you could see her slightly shiver past her authorative demeanor.

With a cunning grin, he then stripped his tailcoat off his back leaving the undercoat which exposed his bare arms, the hint of black ocean waves tattoos decorated around his biceps.

You couldn’t speak at this point as you felt our heart racing rapidly, almost as if it were about to pop right out of your chest. The man soon turned his eyes right on you.  His piercing eyes staring deep into your soul.

Slowly walking towards you, he circles around you like a wolf circling it’s prey.  His hand gently grazes up your arm and you feel a bolt of electricity run up your spine, and it didn’t help when his hot breath gently sung in your ear.

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

You're sittin' down wonderin' what it's all about If you ain't got no money they will put you out Why don't you do right like some other gals do? Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

Now if you had prepared twenty years ago You wouldn't be wanderin' now from door to door Why don't you do right like some other gals do?          You didn’t know why but you were willing to let this god-like siren just devour you. But when you turned your attention back to him, you saw that he was now looking towards you left at the upper floors.

        There at the top of the red carpet stairs stood a fairly beautiful woman. Her hair was a beautiful long ginger color and she wore a similar sparkling dark cherry red dress.  She held in her hand a silver dollar.

        He slowly walked up towards the mysterious woman that stood by the stairs and the two stared each other down.  She gave him the dollar but before she took her hand away, he took it in his and stared up at her like she was an angel (which you’ll admit, she did kinda look like one).

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you

Let’s get out of here, I got some money for you Why don't you do right, like some other gals, do?

As he did a falsetto for the final note, he grazed the woman’s hand before doing his seductive walk back towards the stage. He turned back towards the audience and gave a flirtatious wink before the curtains closed on him.

The ladies all screamed as the lights came back up and you felt the spell the man had somehow placed on you slowly fade away.  Right now if you had to describe how you were feeling it’s be like running a marathon and had just swam across the entire Pacific ocean twice.

“Hope he didn’t scare you too bad honey.” A soft, Southern accent spoke.  You turned around and there stood the woman that the blonde singer had tried to seduce with his voice.  But she didn’t seem affected like all the other women were.

“I-I ju……he was……” she lowly chuckled.

“He has that effect on all the ladies. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Brian dear, get this dear a glass of water.”

“Right away my lady.” Brian said as he prepared you a glass of water.  She takes a seat beside you and continues.

“He may act all macho and seductive. But trust me, his bark is worse than his bite.” She spoke in that honey-like voice of hers that had a slight raspy to it, but it didn’t change the softness to her motherly tone.

“Who—who was he?” you ask her.

“He only gives out his name to those he truly trusts. So most of the ladies here call him the blonde Siren.”

“The blonde Siren?”

“Now I hope I’m not being intrusive but I haven’t seen you in this club before, have I?”

“No. This—is my first time actually.”

“Really? For business or pleasure?” she said as she leaned her chin against fist, looking at you with red eyes? Wait she had red eyes? And not like the kind of red that comes from being tired or when you get pink eye.  They were literally red eyes, blood red to be exact.  Not wanting her to see that you were stuck in thought you came up with a good excuse.

“I’ve just heard about this place from some friends and—wanted to see for myself.” She looked at me skeptically at first but a soft grin spread across her face.

“Well we try our best. We also want to make sure that first timers are treated fairly and respectfully. That’s the one law here at BEWITCHED.”

“Well I’m fairly happy. The drinks are amazing and the music is phenomenal.”

“I’m glad.” She then hummed out a chuckle. “Silly me, I almost forgot, you can call me Serafina. I’m the owner of this fine establishment.” Your eyes widened.

This young and beautiful woman owned this entire place?! But she couldn’t be older than her mid 20’s.  And the fact that she was a woman running this club, that’s completely unheard of.  A woman owning such a booming business.

Of course there wasn’t any jealously on your part.  In fact you were amazed that such a young woman could run a business like this and be so successful.

“Brian told me that a woman owned this place. But—pardon me for saying this but you’re…….”

“Too young to run a big business?” she said with a quirked brow. Thinking you had offended her you tried to defend your statement but all that came out were stutters of embarrassment. “Relax honey. I get that a lot. Why do you think we’re so secretive? A young woman running a big business. Oh the scandal of it all!” the two of you laugh.

The big clock along the ceiling soon chimed out midnight. Whoa it’s already that late.

“I should get going. If I’m late for work again my boss will kick me to the curb for sure. And on my second day no less.”

“You sure you’re sober enough to drive honey?” Serafina asked you.  You give her a nod.

“Yeah. I only really had one drink and that water sobered me up a lot. Thank you so much Brian, Serafina.”

“Anytime sweetie. Hope to see you again soon.” Serafina says with a warm smile.  You grab your wallet and pay the rest of your tab to Brian before finally walking out of the club.

*3rd Person POV*

Once they were gone, Brian turned to her and said.

“It was them.”

“Just as Freddie prophesized.” Serafina dropped her fake accent and spoke with her normal British tone.

“So it is time then?” another British male voice spoke up. The High elf and the ginger haired witch turned and soon walking towards them was John Deacon himself.

His once long hair was now cut down to a short tuff of brown hair. He wore a clean-cut black tailcoat suit. Serafina extended her hand and the two lovers joined hands with each other.

“Yes my love.”

“Honestly I hoped this day would never come.”

“But it must John. You know this. You have seen what will happen if they don’t help us.” Brian warned him.

“I’m not sure if we can even trust them.” Coming around the bar to pour himself a drink was Roger. “They’re human. And humans have been poking around in our business for centuries. Especially their reporters. We already run the risk of exposing ourselves to the human realm.” He took a shot of his beer.

‘Now, now my darlings we mustn’t quarrel.’ A soft, serpent voice spoke in their heads. ‘The humans are our least concern right now. What matters now is getting our key to help us finally put an end to the dark Wizards once and for all.’

“Yes Freddie.” All four of them softly chorused out.

[thoseindarkness]

DtD News Nov 2020

Thank you to anyone who came back for this nonsense. For brevity I have an announcement that I want to make up front. I didn't have room for it last month so I pushed it back, but I can't anymore. I had to make one major revision to the published story. I want people to know about it.

This is the TLDR version. I tell a more in-depth story at the end.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The summary: I had a bad outline walking into writing Mistrust Goes Both Ways. I ran into a problem mid-story. Instead of stopping and taking the time I needed, I challenged myself to creatively solve my way out of my problems. I re-started with about half of what I'd written, published Mistrust Goes Both Ways, and restarting my outline with high hopes.  I was proud of myself for rising to the challenge.

Despite my best efforts, it didn't work out. In the end, I had to scrap my outline. I was able to structure the end I was going for and spent the end of 2019 trying to link the first two stories to the ending I wanted. It wasn't working. Then TRoS. Then COVID. Here we are. In June, I started experimenting with scrapping Mistrust and restarting from Read Between.

Mistrust Goes Both Ways will not be part of the finished story when I'm done. I know some of you love it. I love it. I have no intention of taking it down. I might, for a short time, when I'm posting the final story. I'll let you know if that happens and it will go back up afterward. I don't have specifics as there's no point planning for it now.

For right now, nothing is changing on my AO3 account. Feel free to read and comment to your hearts content. I promise it will stay up forever to remind me that some mistakes are worth sharing with others. I learned good lessons from this mistake. It stays.

That being said I think I owe you an actual update on the progress of this story.

WHAT THE HELL I DID THIS MONTH

After my first update I needed to re-integrate with Reylo friends. Funnily enough, that pulled me into another fic. I've been working on that between following this election. Now that it's called I can get back to writing. I tried a couple of times since I voted on Oct 30th, but I knew it wasn't what I wanted to be thinking about.

Thankfully, I've also begun doing more social/political essays lately. I'm not sure what overall form or shape those may take and I haven't published any. Still, I was creative and I did plenty of writing. Interestingly, all this political focus is good for Deceive the Deceiver. Spinning and listening to conspiracy theories is a big part of weaving a world like this one. A great deal comes from my thoughts and perceptions of the real world.

WHERE DTD IS

As of right now I am in the process of first drafting the entire story with Read Between as the starting point. That is, every one of the short stories in the series. What I'm doing is somewhere between a history, an outline and random scene writing. All of these elements are currently strung together in one long, continuous, chronological, first draft. It's everything from the history before Read Between (which starts in the 1930's), all the way to the final scene of DtD.

I'm taking all the good ideas I've created in the last couple of years and re-organizing them into a first pass. It's the skeleton and some of the meat now. I'm slowly building out now that I have a blank-er slate. It's about choosing what works and what doesn't.

I call it accordion writing. It just gets bigger and bigger. This outline will later level up into the first full story drafts for each part. I've got so much history when I finish this I might… I'm getting ahead of myself. Don't want to give too many clues away.

Another interesting thing that's happened recently is I've started pulling bits of other fic ideas that I’m just not gonna finish. A big chuck of the history I stole from a modern/academia AU where Ben and Rey are history students specializing in the ancient Jedi religion. Another was a complication between characters came from a canon story where I wanted to paint the relationship with a new layer. We'll see if I can pull that off.

I spent a lot of time prior to this year focusing on the heroes but my villains hadn't gotten much love. Filling in the history has given me a chance to flesh out the villains. All their moves and countermoves, woven through the bits I already have, are spinning a pretty tapestry. Oh, the villains are so much fun to write!

This other fic came together in the same sort of accordion fashion and it's been fun working through the kinks in the process now that I've seen some of the weak points on a scale like DtD. I think I've mentioned, but this is a writing experiment for me and I'm most invested now in improving my process and clue-threading with DtD. This other fic is helping me test it on a smaller scale.

Not that this needs to get any longer, I'm just going to throw pretense out the window and go with complete vanity. If you don't give a wet shit about my life (and I don't blame you) you have reached the end of your journey. I hope to see you next month. If not, then I leave you with this parting:

May we meet again in our next fandom, through mutes and not as rival shippers.

The following is the ridiculous story of my ups and downs with Deceive the Deceiver. I figure if I explain to you how much I'm invested in this story some of you will stop worrying that I'm going to abandon it. Trust me. I'm not.

This tale stretches from NANOWRIMO 2018 and the prompt that started it, through the ups and downs of 2019 and 2020, to the writing of last month's letter. Buckle up. I love bumpy rides.

DtD: from NANO '17 to COVID-19

This story truly starts in December 2017 when I drenched the seat beneath me during Last Jedi. I'm a TLJ shipper. I got caught on the thirst train. It hit a time when writing was becoming a really big part of my life. I've been writing since I was a kid. I stopped for a while and came back to it. It's a long story. Ultimately, I'd started writing a lot a few years earlier. A mix of fic and originals but I was running into problems so I start reading a bunch of books to get better. TLJ lit the fires. NO joke TLJ came out on the 15th. I have pages of writing from the 20th.

2018 was Reylo year! I was already on Tumblr for my previous fandom (Batman comics). I found Reylo AU week which is in August. I submitted a story for that. It was the first fic I published for Reylo. Fast-forward August to November. I'm in the Writing Den on Discord and someone throws out this spy prompt. People start running with. Throwing ideas around. One of those was the snuggie in Mistrust! I have that conversation saved and story spots for each crazy thing they threw out. Finally, I said I'd do it!

Mind you, this is November 2nd. Nano has just started and the event is about "turning off your internal editor." This prompt consumed me. I was trying to keep up with SpaceWaffleHouseTM that first year. I did, btw. We both crested 100,000. It was my first Nano. Word count is not my problem. Organizing my crazy ambitious ideas is my problem. Some of that 100k was other stories, like Custard which I wrote half of in November and the other half Jan/Feb 2019. Most of it… probably 80k of it… was DtD.

Read Between the Lies is currently 33,710. I wrote at least 20k of that during that first Nano, as well as outlines and scenes for what I thought would be the starting point. I remember wanting to write Read Between to "get into their headspace" by writing their first meeting. I didn't think it would become a whole story. I was just going with it then. Any idea that came to mind.

I took December 2019 off for a few reasons. Some personal. Some burnout. I'm one of those people that can use writing to relieve stress, but I was so exhausted from that month-long writing sprint. By the last week I was dragging to get the final four or five thousand words to hit 100k.

Also, what I had by the end (no internal editor) was a bird nest of ideas that had too many beginnings, not enough middles, and endings to go around. I knew one thing right away: I knew I had more than one story. There were so many fun ideas. I figured, what the hell. I knew another thing right away: the prompt was at the end of the story. Like, the very end. Like, the last short story. Or the second to last short story, at the earliest. That hasn't changed. Ever. That's just where it ended up.

Between January and April of 2019 I touched DtD a few times. I kept coming back to it, reading through it, trying to untangle it. I made new notes on the stories. Expanded ideas. Tried to structure it. I figured out a bunch of good notes, but no real substance. The hardest thing was figuring out where to start! Did I:

(1) Start shortly before the prompt with Ben/Rey's relationship established and fill the story with the history?

(2) Start a lot earlier and build Ben/Rey's relationship from the beginning I'd written in Read Between?

If I'm being honest, Read Between was a lot better than I thought it would be and I didn't want to get rid of it. For a while I was thinking of publishing it last as a "prequel" if people liked the series.

Funny enough, the turning point happened May fourth weekend 2019…

In the week leading up, I was struggling through another story and decided to take a break for the weekend. I'd start writing again on Sunday when I met with my writing group. I met them through Nano. We used to meet at Panera. Now they meet on Discord. They mostly sprint though and I'm not a sprinter. I miss Panera. Anyway.

May 4th was a Sunday (look it up). I gave myself a writing break for the weekend and marathoned Star fucking Wars. It was nerd weekend. I was going to nerd out. I wore exclusively SW gear all weekend. I remember it well. It was the start of something fucking magical in my life.

Have I mentioned recently I really love this story. Trust me I will fucking finish it. Oh my god the demons won't leave until I do. Get them out of my head…

I had a pretty rockstar weekend. I believe the reason I skipped the PT that weekend was because I'd watched it the month before or so. Right after finishing the Clone Wars animated series (which is awesome and I strongly recommend both it and Rebels). I skipped them and SOLO.

Starting with R1, I went through in chronological order. I stopped at RotJ. I was with my family on Saturday and they were playing RotJ in the living room during the party. We talked about my marathon. My mom came over to my apartment after. We watched RoTJ properly. Then Force Awakens. It was too late by then to watch TLJ. I know I went straight to bed after my mom left on Saturday night.

Somewhere during or right after TFA I started thinking about Deceive the Deceiver. I don't remember what sparked it. I went to bed thinking about DtD. I know this with 100% certainty because I woke up thinking about again on Sunday and I thought it was quite odd.

I dream about this story in a way I have only dreamt about a precious few. Technicolor folks. It keeps me up at night.

I went to my writing group with (a) no plan for what to write, (b) a gordian knot that I had yet to untangle, (c) a sudden urge to re-read it. I opened my notes and read DtD through all our sprints. I read most of it during that writing session. We go about three hours.

That night I had Game of Thrones at my parent's. It was the (spoiler alert) episode where Arya kills the Night King. I remember because two minutes into the episode my brother's car broken down a few blocks from our apartment and we had to go help him. Derailed the whole night (this is foreshadowing).

Side note: I live with my younger brother and he's the best roommate I've ever had in my 35 years of life. Love you, Mo!

The episode was recording so we ran out. Had to leave the car in a parking lot. Someone had already helped him push it out of a puddle but my brother was soaked to mid-calf and the engine was shot. We dropped him off at home and I rode back to my Momma's crib to watch GoT. It was only the beginning of a wild night.

I went to bed late. I had to get up a few hours early to deal with the car before work started for either of us. I guess we were both hoping to avoid taking the day off. That wasn't going to happen. I drove home but I couldn't sleep. That crazy episode and the fact that my brain was already on fire with DtD.

I spent the wee hours finishing my re-read through the rough draft of Read Between the Lies. It saw my starting place. I started writing. I wrote through waiting in a parking lot, for the tow truck, in my car, at 6 am, with no sleep. I did a voice recording as I drove from the parking lot to the mechanic where the driver was taking my brother's car. I thought about it the whole way back. I sat on the sofa a wrote some more when we got home. I went to bed at 11 am and I'd written 10k more words for Read Between the Lies.

Somewhere between the chaos of May 5th and the official publish date on June 5th, Read Between got written. I know it didn't take too long. I remember sending it off to beta (by my amazing beta team on 1 & 2: Em, Jen, and Sai) and immediately pivoting to my outline. I slapped that together far too hastily and kept moving. I was going on holiday in the UK (I'm American and I'm ashamed) in early August so I planned on trying to publish Part 2 when I got back. At the very least I wanted it ready for beta.

Also some to admit, around the middle of 2019 I was fatigued with the fandom. We were hitting a lull. I was psyching myself up for the end and the exit. I was trying to clean house. I wanted to push out unfinished fics. To make them work. There was a lot of that mood from me in 2019. I was trying to make everything work. It's why Read Between came out, and that was a good thing. It's also why Mistrust came out, and that was a bad thing.

With that mentality looming, tough outline in hand, I started writing Mistrust before the end of May. I hit my snag sometime during the period I was publishing Read Between because by the time it was all done I knew I wasn't going to have a finished story by the time I left for London. I would figure it out when I got back. I picked up another project to distracted me from my problems for a little while. That is going to be an original if it's anything. One day…

At some point after I got back I started focusing heavily on problem solving. I had two stories already and a number of plot threads I had to resolve. I have heavy, heavy, heavy notes from September to December of 2019. Lots of possible ways to run this story. It sucks that a lot of that stuff isn't going to make it, but I'm recycling shit every day and I learned so much about the characters/story in that four month period. It really shaped the finished product in an important way.

This period is where I started to look at the bigger structure and how I was going to solve specific plot problems in each short story to bring the whole together. That focus on the different parts is important because it was the last thing on my mind when TRoS happened.

December 20th (the release date) is my birthday. My ass drove up to one of those Reylo-only screenings and I was surrounded by amazing people as I watched a movie that ruined my 35th birthday. Thankfully, I spent it in incomparable company. Thank you to all the hosts and super special thanks to Jen. Not only was she a DtD beta on both, she invited me. Thank you love! You are the reason I still remember that trip with joy.

Side note: I no longer hate TRoS. I've made my peace with it. I'm a far happier person now.

Needless to say, the only Reyloing I did in January of this year was venting frustration. Then I took a few weeks away from the fandom. I'd done my purging into the void. I knew other people still needed the space to vent but I had to get away. Once the toxin is out I couldn't let it back in.

What occurred starting in February of 2020 was a series of situations in which, every time I logged into Twitter I was faced with the kind of vitriol in the fandom that I don't need in my life. Some of it was still TRoS stuff, even as late as May. I'm not judging, I'm just saying, with the world on fire (literally), I didn't need it.

I don't think I have to explain why I've avoided social media like the plague since early this year. I live in America. If you heard anything about our recent President I don't have to explain any further what this year has been like. That has been par for course all over the world.

So here's my secret to happiness. I don't fux with the trolls. Do not engage. Sometimes that means radio silence. I'm breaking that silence because I want you to know 2020 has not destroyed DtD. It's only leveled shit up.

I have pretty much been working on this story consistently since March of this year. I go back and forth with reading, history, documentaries. I'm learning to wield many new weapons. They take time to settle in. DtD is the de-stressor I go to in between the real shit.

Sometime in June I was screwing around with the order of the parts. I had worked out the end but I was trying to bridge the gap between the ending I was certain I needed to get to and the two beginning stories I'd already published. I couldn't bridge the gap. It had been a year since I published Read Between and it wasn't working. Then I had an epiphany.

What if I got rid of Mistrust? Read Between is a pretty blank slate. I didn't want to re-write it and I still don't. I have no intention of getting rid of Part 1. I may clean it up and add some stuff at the very last minute, but it will be right before the new stuff drops as a pre-cursor to the flood of subsequent stories. I may add a few new clues or alter a scene or two, but I have plenty of room to move with it exactly the way it is.

What does that mean for Mistrust Goes Both Ways? To make a long story short, there was no good way for me to continue with what I'd published and still write the story in my head. I'm sure there are cool places to take the existing story, but that's not what I'm trying to do. In truth, I should have left 1 and not published 2 when I hit a snag. Lesson learned.

In June I basically threw Mistrust out and asked myself, "Now what?" I have months of great ideas rife for reshuffling and no restrictions on how to bridge the gap from 1 to the ending I wanted. But the end had shifted.

That brings us up to speed. The last thing I did before taking a much needed break was get through 90% of the history in my accordion outline/draft. I poured the foundation that was missing. I walked away in early October and let it set. I'm going to button up this other fic I'm working on and then go back to DtD and check the foundation I laid.

I'm very confident that not only will it hold, but that with fresh eyes and the fun side stories I've had the chance to lay to rest, I will finally be able to start building the finished products on top of it.

IN CONCLUSION

I'm still as excited as I've ever been for this story. It frustrates me all the time, but that means the medicine for my soul is working its magic. Change it painful, but pain is transformative. I've embrace changed. That ache is just a sign the muscles are getting stronger. Growing pains. As I learn to live with them in my family, my country, and my job, I find that life's lesson's often end up reflecting in every place in our life if we but open our eyes to look.

Growing pains exist in my writing process too. They are as transformative in this corner of my life as they are in every other. They have revealed as much about me as a person in my writing as they have in my politics. They have taught me how to compromise with my family as I learn to compromise with my characters. As I consider how people treat each other I am reminded that struggles in understanding our fictional counterparts may shine a light on our struggles to understand our truer selves.

Take care of yourselves. Once you've got that covered, if you can, take care of each other. Feel free to poke me and say hi. If not, until next month.

Fari.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Poll: Learning setbacks a top concern for parents (AP) Parents across the U.S. are conflicted about reopening schools. Most are at least somewhat worried that a return to the classroom will lead to more coronavirus cases, but there’s an even deeper fear that their children are falling behind in school while at home. Sixty-nine percent of parents are at least somewhat concerned that their children will face setbacks in school because of the coronavirus pandemic, including 42% who say they’re very or extremely worried about it, according to a new poll from The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Nearly as many, 64%, say they are at least somewhat concerned that in-person instruction will lead to more people being infected, but it’s only 33% who say they are very or extremely worried about the risk. That tension reflects the fears of a nation on the cusp of a widespread return to classroom teaching. More than a year after the pandemic started, more schools are now opening their doors to students or plan to do so in coming weeks.

Home school (US Census Bureau/Numlock) Since 2012, the rate of homeschooling in the United States has been pretty steady at about 3.3 percent. Then the pandemic hit, and according to the U.S. Census during the period late April to early May 2020, roughly 5.4 percent of households with children reported homeschooling. To be clear this isn’t doing school at home—they adjusted for that—it’s yank-the-kids-out-of-the-district homeschooling. By fall, that number was 11.1 percent of households opting for true homeschooling rather than virtual learning through school.

Damage from virus: Utility bills overwhelm some households (AP) Millions of U.S. households are facing heavy past-due utility bills, which have escalated in the year since the pandemic forced Americans hunkered down at home to consume more power. And now, government moratoriums that for months had barred utilities from turning off the power of their delinquent customers are starting to expire in most states. As result, up to 37 million customers—representing nearly one-third of all households—will soon have to reckon with their overdue power bills at a time when many of them are struggling with lost jobs or income. A study done by Arcadia, which runs a service that helps households lower utility bills, found that the average past-due amount by those in its network was roughly $850.

Is bad news the only kind? (NYT) Bruce Sacerdote, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, noticed something last year about the Covid-19 television coverage that he was watching on CNN and PBS. It almost always seemed negative, regardless of what was he seeing in the data or hearing from scientists he knew. When Covid cases were rising in the U.S., the news coverage emphasized the increase. When cases were falling, the coverage instead focused on those places where cases were rising. And when vaccine research began showing positive results, the coverage downplayed it, as far as Sacerdote could tell. But he was not sure whether his perception was correct. To check, he began working with two other researchers, building a database of Covid coverage from every major network, CNN, Fox News, Politico, The New York Times and hundreds of other sources, in the U.S. and overseas.      The results showed that Sacerdote’s instinct had been right. The coverage by U.S. publications with a national audience has been much more negative than coverage by any other source that the researchers analyzed, including scientific journals, major international publications and regional U.S. media. “The most well-read U.S. media are outliers in terms of their negativity,” Molly Cook, a co-author of the study, told me. About 87 percent of Covid coverage in national U.S. media last year was negative. The share was 51 percent in international media, 53 percent in U.S. regional media and 64 percent in scientific journals. Sacerdote is careful to emphasize that he does not think journalists usually report falsehoods. The issue is which facts they emphasize. Still, the new study—which the National Bureau of Economic Research has published as a working paper, titled, “Why is all Covid-19 news bad news?”—calls for some self-reflection from those of us in the media. Sometimes our healthy skepticism can turn into reflexive cynicism, and we end up telling something less than the complete story.

As Europe’s Lockdowns Drag On, Police and Protesters Clash (NYT) In Bristol, an English college town where the pubs are usually packed with students, there were fiery clashes between the police and protesters. In Kassel, a German city known for its ambitious contemporary art festival, the police unleashed pepper spray and water cannons on anti-lockdown marchers. A year after European leaders ordered people into their homes to curb a deadly pandemic, thousands are pouring into streets and squares. Often, they are met by batons and shields, raising questions about the tactics and role of the police in societies where personal liberties have already given way to public health concerns. From Spain and Denmark to Austria and Romania, frustrated people are lashing out at the restrictions on their daily lives. With much of Europe facing a third wave of coronavirus infections that could keep these stifling lockdowns in place weeks or even months longer, analysts warn that tensions on the streets are likely to escalate. In Britain, where the rapid pace of vaccinations has raised hopes for a faster opening of the economy than the government is willing to countenance, frustration over recent police conduct has swelled into a national debate over the legitimacy of the police—one that carries distant echoes of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.

Subterranean playgrounds—and refuge (Atlas Obscura) Thought to be the world’s only city with an underground master plan, Helsinki began excavating tunnels through bedrock in the 1960s to house power lines, sewers and other utilities. City planners quickly realized that the space could also be home to retail, cultural, and sporting attractions—and that it could shelter the city’s population of 630,000 in the event of an invasion from its neighbor to the East, Russia. Today, nearly 200 miles of tunnels snake beneath Helsinki, providing a weatherproof subterranean playground. But hidden behind the bright lights are emergency shelters fitted with life-sustaining equipment: an air filtration system, an estimated two-week supply of food and water, and cots and other comforts. “It’s comfortable and safe,” says Eija Kivilaakso, Helsinki’s chief underground planner. “If it’s raining, you can drive into the city center to an underground car park and go straight into department stores from elevators. You can dress for comfort instead of in cold-weather clothes. If the weather is not comfortable, people choose the underground.”

Cars become home for Spain’s pandemic casualties (AP) When the social worker called to tell Javier Irure that he was being evicted, the 65-year-old Spaniard couldn’t fathom that he could end up homeless after five decades of manual labor. “I grabbed some clothes, a few books and other things, wrapped them up in a bed sheet and told myself, ‘I have one more roof to put over my head: my car,’” Irure said from inside the old Renault Clio compact that has been his shelter for the past three months. Irure belongs to the multitude of economic victims of the coronavirus pandemic. He managed to avoid getting COVID-19, but the labor slowdown caused by restrictions on movement and social activities the Spanish government imposed to control the spread of the virus proved lethal to his financial stability, and he lost his apartment. The pandemic has been particularly hard on Spain’s economy due to its reliance on tourism and the service sector. The country’s left-wing government has maintained a furlough program to reduce the impact, but over a million jobs have been wiped out. Catholic aid organization Cáritas Española said earlier this month that around a half-million more people, or 26% of all its aid recipients, have reached out for help since the start of the pandemic. Like Javier, some are living in their cars.

Writer faces prison after calling Polish president ‘moron’ for confusion over U.S. electoral college (Washington Post) Polish writer Jakub Zulczyk says he is facing up to three years in prison after he called Poland’s president a “moron” for saying he did not understand the U.S. electoral college system. Writing on Facebook on Monday, Zulczyk said that a district prosecutor in Warsaw had filed an indictment, using an article in Poland’s penal code that prohibits insults against the head of state. The writer said he had not been contacted by the prosecutor and had found out about the indictment from a Polish news site. International rights groups have criticized Duda’s ruling Law and Justice party for clamping down on freedom of speech and an independent judiciary. Freedom House, a U.S.-based group, has called Poland’s laws related to insults “harsh” and noted that libel should be a criminal, rather than civil, offense.

Rohingya refugee camp fire (Reuters) A devastating fire that tore through a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh killed 15 people and left tens of thousands homeless, the United Nations said Tuesday. More than 550 people were injured and 400 remain missing. The fire began Monday afternoon at Balukhali camp, one of several such settlements in Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh, which is home to nearly 1 million Rohingyas who fled from neighboring Myanmar.

North Korea fires short-range missiles in challenge to Biden administration (Washington Post) North Korea fired off multiple short range missiles last weekend after denouncing Washington for going forward with joint military exercises with South Korea, according to people familiar with the situation. The missile tests, which have not previously been reported, represent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s first direct challenge to President Biden, whose aides have not yet outlined their approach to the regime’s nuclear threat amid an ongoing review of U.S.-North Korea policy. For weeks, U.S. defense officials warned that intelligence indicated that North Korea might carry out missile tests. The regime elevated its complaints about U.S. military exercises last week when Kim’s sister warned that if the Biden administration “wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink.” The tests put renewed pressure on the United States to develop a strategy to address a nuclear threat that has bedeviled successive Republican and Democratic administrations for decades.

South Koreans Are Furious Over Housing Scandal (NYT) The 10 people bought $8.8 million worth of land in an undeveloped area southwest of Seoul, registering it for farming and planting numerous trees. It’s a common trick used by shady real estate speculators in South Korea: Once the area is taken over for housing development, the developers must pay not only for the land, but the trees, too. A national outrage erupted this month when South Koreans learned that the 10 people were officials from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)—the government agency in charge of building new towns and housing—suspected of using privileged information to cash in on government housing development programs. The incident has thrown President Moon Jae-in’s government into crisis mode just weeks before key mayoral elections that are largely seen as a referendum on him and his party ahead of next year’s presidential race. Young South Koreans are saying they are fed up with corruption and the president’s failed policies on runaway housing prices. The LH scandal is now set to become a critical voter issue in Mr. Moon’s final year in office. President after president has promised to make housing more affordable in South Korea, but real-estate prices have kept soaring, undermining public trust.

Massive cargo ship turns sideways, blocks Egypt’s Suez Canal (AP) A cargo container ship that’s among the largest in the world has turned sideways and blocked all traffic in Egypt’s Suez Canal, officials said Wednesday, threatening to disrupt a global shipping system already strained by the coronavirus pandemic. The MV Ever Given, a Panama-flagged container ship that carries trade between Asia and Europe, became grounded Tuesday in the narrow, man-made waterway dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. An Egyptian official blamed a strong wind in the area for the incident. Egyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting as much as 50 kph (31 mph). The Egyptian official said tugboats hoped to refloat the ship and that the operation would take at least two days. The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 meters (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 meters (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. About 12% of world trade by volume passes through the canal connecting Europe and Asia.

Work affects bosses, workers differently (Bloomberg) A new survey of 30,000 workers in 31 countries by the popular gaming and social networking service Microsoft found that 61 percent of business leaders said that they were striving, while just 39 percent said they were surviving or struggling. That 61 percent living their best life is markedly out of step with the entire rest of society—23 percentage points higher than the average worker—where 54 percent said they are overworked, 39 percent described themselves as exhausted, and straight up 41 percent of people said they are considering just leaving their jobs, a level of burnout not seen before.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Narita retweeted a tweet yesterday (i.e. August 8, 2020) from the Kurayukaba Project account pertaining to the short “SS novel” (SS = side story or short stories, I think) he signed on to write for it. If you recall, the Kurayukaba anime project was/is a crowdfunding effort; there are different support tiers available that offer different rewards. The tweet seems to be boasting that the ‘bookstore course’ is the most popular tier at the moment. I checked it out: for 12000 yen (about 113 USD), the returns seem to include: the right to view production materials; a large-sized postcard with a ‘random pattern’; and Narita’s SS novel. It looks like the rewards “will be delivered in December 2020.” That tier--remember, the most popular one--has 56 backers. The only other two tiers that include the novel as benefits are the 300,000 yen (around 2,833 USD) and 400,000 yen (about 3,777 USD) tiers...whew. I digress. What’s of most relevance to us is the projected Dec 2020 date for the bookstore course; unless I’m misunderstanding something, surely it requires Narita to have the SS novel publisher-ready before or by December 2020. I think the deadline may not be new news--it may have been shared with the novel poster in May, but I either didn’t notice or forgot. Stil, now that we’re drawing closer to December, it’s worth considering what the Dec 2020 deadline means for us fans... If you recall, I’ve previously posted about Narita’s April 30-ish tweets in which he said something to the effect of, “I’ll start working on the Kurayukaba SS novel after the Baccano! manuscript I’m working on, which is in it’s final draft/stage...” So. If the SS novel is set to come out in December, the optimist’s conclusion here would be that Narita will have Vol 23 out before or by December as well. He must have been aware of the Dec 2020 goal well in advance of it being announced, so I imagine his Baccano! tweet in April must have been made with that year’s release plan in mind.

...However, we have to acknowledge the possibility he may have at some point had no choice but to set aside or otherwise deprioritize Vol 23 in favor of the SS novel; after all, a delayed or fumbled delivery of a promised backer reward wouldn’t reflect well on the overall project.

In other words, the pessimist skeptic might be fully poised for no Vol 23 this year (i.e. glumly doubting whether Narita can get it out before or by the same month as the SS novel). I want to be cautiously hopeful that he can. Dengeki Bunko should be sharing its October releases list in 1-2 days’ time, so I’ll be checking it with baited breath; personally, I’ve sort of been expecting a November release given Vol 23 was originally slated for Nov 2017. A double December release, though, might be more ‘likely’ than either October or November, so as to allow Narita as much time as possible for both projects. In the event Volume 23 just doesn’t make the 2020 cut, it surely won’t take much longer...

Edit: Oh, by the way, in the ‘updates’ tab on the project page, you can read a two-part interview between Narita and Kurayukaba’s director. The first part was published in May, the second in June.

Edit x2: Yep, nothing by Narita for October. I’ll try not to let my nursed November notions become anything more than notions, as much as I find the idea of a November release satisfying--that is, Narita being able to make a November release for 1935-E after all, just a few years ‘late’. If not, I won’t double down for a double December release; it’ll come when it comes.

[breaniebree]

Can you share your journey as a writer? How the idea of writing fanfics came into your mind? Do you have other own fiction too? Also how do start a particular fanfic? As in do you make notes, timeline or character sketches and stuff or do you just go ahead and write and then make notes on facts?

What an interesting question -- thank you for asking!  This is literally going to be a novel response (letting you know in advance LOL)

My journey as a writer... I guess I always wrote things down, started as a child when I wrote in a diary and then as I got older I wrote a little poetry, none of it very good (though I wrote a poem when I was twelve to describe the loss I felt when my Nana, my great-grandmother died, and my aunt read it aloud at her funeral).  I wrote a few short stories, just little things, prompts from teachers in school and such and then one day I decided I wanted to write my own story.  But funnily enough, it actually came about through fan fiction.  

I used to love this book series back when I was ten called Trash by Cherie Bennett, and I was completely in love with the characters Chelsey and Nick, and when Jazz claimed that she was pregnant and Nick was the father and it did ended on a cliffhanger and I didn’t have the next book, I remember writing my own version of what happened next -- God, looking back, it was probably terrible, I definitely don’t have it anymore.  Pretty sure the book series isn’t that great looking back at it now, but when I was ten, it was great! LOL.  I also wrote a side story for Demetrius and Karma, so even then I guess I branched off into subplots.  When I was fourteen, I started my own original series, which I am still currently working on and probably will be for the rest of my life if I’m honest -- it’s changed over the years, but the characters and my ultimate goal have stayed the same.

How did writing fanfiction come into mind?  

Well, with Harry Potter, it was because of my friend Chris.  We used to talk on the phone every single night after school for hours on end and after HBP came out and Harry and Ginny were FINALLY together only for him break up with her, I was so livid that I had to wait to find out what happened!  I remember Chris and I debated what would happen in the last book for ages and one day I must have ranted too much because he told me to go write my own story if I didn’t want to wait, so I did.  

I was seventeen and it was Harry Potter and the Prophecy Fulfilled: Which looking back at it now, I think it’s not exactly the greatest story lol and you can definitely see where I’ve improved since then.  After finishing HPPH, I ended up still having different ideas, all Hinny, and went on to write a few one-shots: Almost Too Late and Beautiful Mess.  Then I started writing A Different Beginning, which turned into my Beginning series: A Different Beginning, A New Beginning, Why Don’t We Just Dance?, Life Is Fickle Like That, Graduation Party, and The Reunion.  Those of you who have been reading my fanfiction since the beginning know that I originally posted the above stories on SIYE between 2005 and 2007 and had then completed (except for the second half of Life is Fickle onwards before Deathly Hallows was published).  I didn’t start posting on fanfiction.net until 2008 and only recently on Ao3.  Somewhere in between writing the Beginning Series, I also wrote a few other Hinny one-shots including The Greatest Gift, She Never Lets It Get To Her Heart, I Loved Her First (actually Arthur POV, which I later incorporated into the Beginning Series), The River (which is a standalone but also can be read as part of the Beginning Series), When the Sand Runs Out, and then the mini-series Padfoot’s Advice (Late Night Talks with Padfoot 1 & 2, Padfoot’s Advice, and Secrets from the Past).  Then I wrote the short Hinny/Romione story: The Trouble With Secrets and was inspired to write a Jily series, which I did with Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which could technically be a prequel to the Beginning Series as I kept some of the story similar.  I also wrote a Jily one-shot called Flowers and another Hinny one-shot called I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend.

I didn’t plan on writing any more fanfiction as university became busy, but then in 2017 I started writing these little Missing Moments for Harry and Ginny both before HBP and then during, and then after.  I just sort of compiled them on my computer for a while, wondering if it would turn into a story or not and then the idea came to me one day for A Second Chance after seeing some fan art of a five-year-old-Harry in sunshades and a leather jacket while riding a child’s motorbike next to Sirius in the same outfit and the next thing I knew, this story just pored out of me in February of 2018, I had the first twelve chapters written by March and another five by April.  I started posting the Missing Moments compilation, added a few more things including the Remus and Petunia scene from ASC and kept writing A Second Chance and in May, decided it was time to share it and uploaded the first twelve chapters.  

By the time I realized it was going to be a long one, I knew which characters I would sacrifice and how it would end, but how I was going to get there I still have no idea.  I’m not a writer who methodically plots.  I have a few general bullet points at the end of my current WIP chapter and that’s really it.  I add to it occasionally as I go, but mostly, I just write as I go along.  I can’t tell you how many chapters it will be or how long it will take me to get to the next section because frankly, it’s constantly changes.  I do not write in chronological order, which means I am often writing anywhere between 2-6 chapters at the same time depending on what scene has drawn my attention.  I might write something today that fits in the chapter I am currently working on and then by the time I finish writing other stuff, I realize that it doesn’t really fit there and stick it ahead into the next chapter or ten chapters from now.  I write where my heart takes me and where my creativity flows.  

I rarely ever work on more than one story at the same time, though I did write the short Newtina one-shot for my friend Heather as a Christmas present in 2018.  She requested it and I couldn’t write it, I found it so hard as I like them but it’s not characters I loved enough to write so I did it with a Luna spin-in, which I found helped.  I never take writing requests so this was very different for me, but I think it turned out cute: Say Love, ‘Cause We Got All the Time in the World.  I only recently uploaded it a month or so ago because I found it on my computer LOL.

Do you make notes, timeline or character sketches and stuff or do you just go ahead and write and then make notes on facts?

Once I am into the story, my notes are EXTREMELY detailed.  I do have a time line and separate documents for the following:

Character lists and family trees

General notes on: Political stuff, bills I’ve written, the sacred 28 document I wrote, tattoos mentioned, important dates, moon cycle dates of Remus’ life, classes I’ve invented (what they are about, who teaches them etc), textbook list per school year, notes on each Animagus form and information about their animals, actual time tables I wrote up Monday to Friday for Harry’s third/fourth, and fifth year, details of Zee and Tonks’ engagement rings, history and outline of Dante’s circles of hell with notes on how to incorporate into story, notes on pregnancy, character’s wands, geographic locations of characters, and any other little notes I think are important but don’t belong in the bullet points at the end of my current WIP chapter

History and ancestry of each family (from Harry Potter Lexicon, Pottermore, Harry Potter wiki, and my own personal creations).  This also includes manor information for Potter, Black, Longbottom, Nott, and Malfoy.

Hogwarts lay-out including stuff I’ve added or made up

Ministry of Magic departments and people (known and created)

List of spells (including ones I’ve made up and which chapter and which character introduced it to who)

List and pictures of Sirius’ motorbikes with information on each one

List of Pensieve memories and marauder moments (crossed out which ones I’ve shared already, some are written and waiting to be used and others just a general idea)

Terms and phrases from different languages I’ve used in the past

My playlist of songs I have mentioned in the story

An entire document dedicated to Operation FUVP including a Voldemort timeline which I have now shared in the story itself (also includes when and where each character found the Horcruxes)

A list of some of the recipes I mentioned, and 

I have a 72 page document that is literally just detailed chapter summaries to help me remember what the hell I’ve written LOL (also highlights introductions to new characters in a different font colour to help me find out when people were introduced).

Hope this answers your question -- thank you again for asking!

[siarven]

2019 Recap + 2020 Goals

Soo.... 2020 here we come--Happy New Year everyone! <3 I hope it’s a good year for us all and the world we live in, and that it treats all of us more kindly than the last one did :’)

I haven’t really been very active on here the past few weeks (the holidays were great but also filled with lots of things) and I’m 50 tags behind, according to my emails x) I’ll do my best to catch up! So, for 2020 I’ll try to be a bit more active and share more things and stuff like that. I’ve never done a post like this despite existing on tumblr (in some form or another) since a few days before the mishapocalypse XD those were... days XD So this is my first step in that direction :D

Lots of things happened last year! 

1. As Dreams Collide & (Camps) NaNoWriMo

Dreams became a trilogy! Those are temp covers, but they were still a lot of fun to make XD ... back in april. Forgot to upload them x)

I finished the second draft of Dreams in January, and then proceeded to spend the rest of the year figuring out more of my worldbuilding, adding Elinor as a POV character with a new subplot, and changing some other major things about the story and characters :3 So even those who read Draft Two will probably be surprised by some of the changes :D

I also started writing the Draft Three during November/NaNoWriMo, and finally figured out how the new subplot and Elinor’s involvement would shift the events of the story! And I wrote 35k of words that I still like! Which I’ve edited a bit, sure, but I still like them. (We won’t talk about the rest of the 126k, they’re trash xD but they helped in figuring things out, so that’s ok)

My plan for 2020 is to finish Draft Three and get Dreams to a point where I can start editing instead of rewriting (and throwing it at everyone who wants to give me some feedback) <3

2. Hope Beyond & Inktober

I also participated successfully in Inktober last year! And actually managed to make art on all days for all prompts!! IN INK!!! Despite there being a conference to attend!! I never managed to actually do that before, even though I tried two times, and I also wrote short stories for some of the art! :’) I love Hope Beyond so much, ahhhhh :’)

And the best thing about it was that I developed my newest WIP through inktober, and that its characters have truly become people in my mind, and that there are so many wonderful creatures I didn’t know of before <333 I doubt I’d have had all of these ideas without it :D

My goal for 2020 is to make a detailed outline for Hope Beyond, and to create concept art of the characters, creatures, and locations! And, most importantly, to find the style for the comic aspect, and to get Hope Beyond to the point where I can seriously start making/publishing it in 2021. My plan regarding the publishing is to do so weekly on wordpress and tumblr @hopebeyond :) Which is why I will need a good plan beforehands :D

Also, if you want to see the inktobers properly (and read the short stories!), here’s my inktober tag <3 

3. My art

I know I used that pic in the inktober collage, too, but it’s just one of my fave artworks from last year and this is my post so :’)

Art-wise, I did a lot of things last year, even if it was less than I wanted. Not sure how much progress I made, but there must’ve been some ;D

I also graduated from uni! Post-graduate life is scary but despite all my various crises I am probably going to figure things out. :’) life only goes forward, after all. 

I have a ton of art-goals for this year! 

First of all, I am going to try to participate in a procreate art challenge called Making Art Everyday by Lisa Bardot and it will probably kill me but I hope I’ll also learn a lot. And that’s another thing! After a year of not getting along with it, I have finally tamed procreate. :’) There’s a lot of art I did over the holidays, in various mediums, and I can’t wait to show you! 

The biggest thing will be to make a proper concept and illustration portfolio, and I’m going to combine that with my hope beyond things, so I hope I can show you all of that during the coming months :3

Also, I think I am now going to actually use that art collection tumblr I made a while back, and upload art from there, so it’s easier to find. Not sure if it’ll make a difference but we’ll see :) It’s @siarvenart ! Hope to see you there, too <3

As for the decade... 

That’s my art progress from 2009-2019! I came pretty far, I should say :D And I took a detour over realistically copying portraits/animals with pencil on my way to draw things from the imagination again, I guess :’) Still shocked at the pencil things I did, back between 2013-2014. That captain jack sparrow one was january 2013 and the dean winchester one in summer 2014, after I’d graduated from school... quite a skill-leap. But then again, what else can you do when school is boring but spend 10-20 hours drawing portraits xD

I’m glad I’m now firmly in the “draw your own thing instead of copying photos” area (since end of 2015, I guess) but it’s a lot of work and I wish younger me had sat down and learned the basics like perspective and anatomy because then I wouldn’t have to learn all of that stuff now XD 

Practise does pay off :) this call-out is directed @me, specifically, but also everyone else who needs the reminder

I’m tagging some mutuals and friends below the cut <3 Thanks for all of your support <333 It means a lot :’)

I guess I will now try to catch up to the things I got tagged in over the past month. :’D

@wilde-writing | @madmoonink | @lynnafred | @prismalicht | @sincerestaffect | @romenna | @zekethegm | @random-stuff-thrown-into-a-pot​ | @asttralhell​ | @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword | @kittensartswriting​ | | @raiswanson​ | @ettawritesnstudies​ | @writingwordsanddrawingpictures​ | @fatal-blow | @fynniana​ | @consciousdreamz​ | @corishadowfang​ | @raywritesblog​ | @kainablue​ | @afragilestrongsoul​ | 

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

Shanie’s Dream Fic: A Masterpost

The following is a Masterpost of all my various finished, started, and sketched out dream stories. They are listed here as the dreams originally were, not as the stories the dreams became. Listings are by Saga/Series, Story Title, and Month/Year of original dream. Also listed are the fandoms of the dreams and any specific warnings the fics might carry. For the record, this isn’t a post really for anyone on here. It’s mostly for my own records. I do have a copy on my cloud storage but I’m putting it here as well on the off chance anyone is curious. BTW: I’m putting this here so that I don’t have to list it every time. As far as the WWE dreams go. Absolutely NONE of them are Kayfabe compliant. That’s the problem with not watching the shows regularly. I don’t dream about the TV side of it often. The Zowens dream is close though. It’s sort of a hybrid. The rest? Well, all of them are some level of NKC, but some are not only non-kayfabe, they are straight up AU.  BTW2: In every single one of these stories involving me I am some manner of queer. I’m pretty sure in all but maybe one or two. I’m either wlw, ace, or both. NOT ONE of the first person dreams contains romance between me and another character. The best you get is a single platonic fake-relationship story. (That one did have a smut scene in it but it isn’t romantic.)

Anyway, list behind the cut!

ADVENTURES IN DREAMLAND Master Post

SAGA   A Family Beyond Blood

Part 1 Darkness Fallen (August 2019) I find myself trapped in a world where I died as a child. Now as a spirit I must find a way to restore the universe to it’s proper order. (Somehow my young death caused the entire universe to splinter) *McMahon Family and MCU Dream* Part 2 Death and Life on Planet Earth (August 2019)

Having saved the universe but not ourselves, I vow to do whatever it takes to return Shane to his rightful place with his family. *McMahon Family and MCU Dream*

Part 3 A World Restored to Fall (August 2019)

The universe has been reset again, and I have been returned to my proper timeline. Or have I? There’re odd happenings in a local bookshop and it’s up to me to figure out how to stop them *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Part 4 World War Winter (August 2019)

Nuclear Holocaust has occurred. The world is at war with the machines. As a soldier in the CAMP forces, I must leave everything I know behind and face down the android army. But, maybe there’s a familiar face or two in CAMP after all... *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 5 Of Queens and Kingdoms (August 2019)

The world is reset. AGAIN. This time, it’s me, Shane and Marissa in a new land where the middle ages and modern times are happening simultaneously and women are the dominant gender. And, somehow, I’m the bloody queen. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

Part 6 Titans Reign (August 2019)

Having ascended to the throne and filling the royal court with WWE superstars, I must now find a way to rule over a land I barely know. Meanwhile, a sinister plot is brewing to put the patriarchy back in power. *McMahon Family and WWE Universe Dream*

SAGA That’s What Friends Are For

Part 1 Death of a Fangirl (and Birth of a Friend) (October 2019) [Only Published Story on List]

I find myself being given the chance to meet Shane. Unfortunately, my mental illness turns the dream into a nightmare and my life unravels. But don’t worry. Shane will save the day. He always does. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 2 With A Song In Her Heart (October 2019)

Shane has been ignoring my texts, so I hunt him down. My search finds me at a pride festival where a spontaneous song catches his attention a little too well. *Shane O Mac Dream*

Part 3 One Last Birthday to Celebrate (November 2019)

It’s Christmastime in Squirrel Hill. For some dumb reason, Shane McMahon has decided to visit me the day before his birthday. Naturally I surprise him with a present. The other surprise (getting caught in a domestic dispute) is far less pleasant. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

Part 4 The Pink Rose (Not a Dream)

I survived the shooting. Waking up in a hospital, I find my mother and a room full of flowers from the WWE Superstars. But one flower, a lone pink rose, is unlabeled. Wanna take a wild guess who sent that one? *WWE Universe Story NOT Based on A Dream*

Part 5 Dreams and Demons (December 2019)

So, it seems that watching your friend nearly die in a hail of bullets isn’t the best for your mental health. At WrestleMania 37, Shane is presented with a choice. Me, or TV. Of course he chooses me, this is my dream, what other choice   would there be? *WWE Universe Dream*

[Are you starting to see why I never publish any of these. They are painfully bad self inserts and woefully self-indulgent. But they are also therapy, hence the writing]

SERIES   Trippy Shorts

Story 1 A Little Fall of Acid Rain (August 2019)

The world is ending – but only in NYC. I’m there. So are the McMahons. Destruction and danger abound. *McMahon Family Dream*

Story 2 I Know Who I Am (September 2019)

All of my favorites from TV, movies, music, and wrestling are turning up murdered. Each time, a cryptic message is left behind, written in blood. Can I figure out the connection before everyone I like is killed? *General Pop Culture Dream* *EXTREMELY VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Story 3 Fixed Points and Fixed Pairings [An Unfinished Symphony] (September 2019)

One night, outside the bar, I am approached by an older version of myself. She brings a time machine and a mission – go back to the attitude era and change time so Shane remains the heir apparent. But some people are just meant to be together, and others just refuse to listen – even to an angel from the future. *WWE Universe Dream*

Story 4 A Song of Summer [A Snapshot] (October 2019)

As an Agent of SHIELD, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Black Widow and Hawkeye are in love. So, through the power of music, I decide to try and hook them up. *MCU Dream*

Story 5 Journeys Beginning [A Snapshot] (December 2019)

One day at school, I find myself amid an alien incursion. But don’t worry, the Doctor is on the case. Also, Shane is involved because of course he is. *Shane O Mac and Doctor Who Dream*

Story 6 Arson, Murder, and Revolution (January 2020)

At a Hollywood LGBTQ party, I find myself caught in a plot by the Trump administration to commit mass murder. When it goes awry, revolution stirs and it’s up to me and several other progressive celebrities to light the fuse *General Pop Culture Dream* *VIOLENT*

[See, they aren’t all about Shane. Just... most of them]

STAND ALONE STORIES

Once Upon a Dream (August 2019)

I black out drunk in an alley one night and awake to find myself in a dream. It’s 1990 and I’m somehow a middle-aged black woman. Also sharing the dream is a young and angry Shane McMahon. Together we use the circumstances of the dream to fuck shit up for the NYPD. *Shane O Mac Dream* *VIOLENT*

The Many Deaths of a Tabhead (August 2019)

Five years after getting hooked on a new drug called Tabs, I find myself in an endless loop of getting murdered. The only way out is to survive. Too bad I have no memory, and everyone wants me dead *Original Story Featuring IRL People* *VIOLENT AND DISTURBING*

Champion of the Faerie Queen (December 2019)

Did you know that Marissa McMahon is the Faerie Queen and Shane is her consort? Neither did I. And, it seems, when war comes a calling, it’s up to me to save the McMahons and the country. But I’ve got superpowers now, so that helps. *McMahon Family, MCU, and DC Universe Dream*

To Earthquakes, Lovers, and Newfound Friends (May 2020)

In lovely SoCal, I’m watching a movie when an earthquake strikes. I soon find myself both blind and badly burned. The only hope I have to survive is a certain pair of lovers who just happen to be in the area for some R&R. *Zowens Dream*

Penny and Kicks vs The World (June 2020)

As a longtime WWE employee, I’ve been best friends with Shane for years. But in the fallout of Coronavirus, the public is looking for a scapegoat. Vince is more than happy to offer up my father. Now, the entire wrestling world is in turmoil and Shane and I are just trying to weather the storm. *WWE Universe Dream* *VIOLENT*

Virginia Gothic (October 2019)

In a world where my highschool sweetheart and I never broke up, we must forge a path on our own through hardship and rejection. But what is the meaning of the mysterious Jesus statue? And why is Bacchus being so damn shifty? *Original Dream Featuring IRL People*

Uzil (January 2020)

An mystical being from the horsehead nebula takes up residence in a little boy’s guinea pig. The miracles come quickly and soon they are inseparable. *Original Third Person Dream* (I wasn’t in this one)

The E-Manual (February 2020)

The end of days is drawing near. I have been chosen as a prophet of the end times by the Almighty himself. I must go out into the world armed with only scripture and a mystical magazine, trying to convert as many people as possible before time runs out. *A Mostly Original Dream* (Shane’s in the last two pages)

Seraphina and the Seven Wishes (April 2020)

The world is a video game and the McMahon’s are the Addams family. It only gets weirder from there. *McMahon Family Dream*

A Matter of Science (And Opinion) (May 2020)

I accidentally set fire to my apartment during a spell. I’m promptly arrested and call The Doctor as my defense. Sadly, the call is rerouted to Stormcage and SpongeBob SquarePants ends up on the case instead. This one is every bit as absurd as it sounds. *Doctor Who and SpongeBob SquarePants Dream*

A Revolution In This Century (Enter Me) (November 2019) The year is 2027. Climate Change has decimated the globe and revolution has reduced the Ruling Elite to food reserves. However, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and soon the new ruling poor become as ruthless as the 1% had been. In this horrible dystopia, I am a powerful government official who has taken on the McMahons as consorts for the sole purpose of saving their skins. *McMahon Family Dream* *VIOLENT, DISTURBING, AND A BIT SMUTTY*

Crystal Vision – A Dozen Birthdays (December 2019)

After showing kindness to an enchantress, I am given my hearts greatest desire – a place in Shane’s life. I am sent back in time to 2005 as a WWE Makeup tech and given 12 years in the life of my childhood heroes. But a lot happened in the WWE from 2005 to 2017 and not all of it good. How much can and do I dare change? *WWE Universe Dream* *Painfully NKC. Disturbing subject matter involved because 2007 is a thing.*

Dr. Slime and the Wondernerds (August 2019)

Three high school nerds find themselves in possession of a mysterious green substance. When it explodes during an experiment, they find they have been given superpowers. However, this is the real world and super-powered “freaks” get picked apart, not celebrated. Can the teens resist using their powers? *Original Third Person Dream* (I’m not in this one)

Planeswalking Like A Grecian (October 2019)

After death, Xena finds herself on the Astral Plane. Promptly running into Joxer, they must find a way to survive the dangers of the afterlife. But don’t worry. Gabrielle has a plan. *Xenaverse Dream* (I’m not in this one)

The Foresight Curse (June 2020)

The problem with knowing the future is that you usually don’t have the ability to change it. So when Radar O’Reilly realizes Henry’s fate the day before it happens, he has to spend the next day trying to drown out the feelings of dread and sorrow, if only for the Colonel’s sake. Funny thing though, sometimes fate takes a left turn and you get a second chance to say goodbye. *M*A*S*H Universe Dream* (I’m not in this one) Vampires, Wraiths, and Shades, Oh My! (December 2019)

In the middle ages, I am orphaned at a very young age by vampires and taken in by Vampire Hunters (AU Shane and Stephanie). Now a teenager, I fight alongside them to protect the world from the dangers of the night. *McMahon Family Vampire AU Dream*

WHEW! I’m pretty sure that’s all of them! I have so dang many dreams it’s hard to keep track of them all! Anyway, out of all of these, only a handful are finished, ONE is published (Death of a Fangirl) and a ton of them aren’t far past the sketch stage. So, this is my list. Every story on here I at least have sketched out. I doubt I will ever even bother writing many of these, but the intent is present.

[aelaer]

Tagged: All about me and fanfic

Thank you for tagging me @dragonnan! My fan fic history is a long one... and in three fandoms. Which is why most of this will be under a cut for anyone who has a lot of time to waste. And is morbidly curious. But there’s some (okay, dozens) of fanfic recs for three fandoms under there too, sooooo.

Tagging at the top so you don’t have to read my verbose-ness if you don’t want to: @amethyst-noir @cairistiona7 @mdcbd @phierie if you’re interested in giving it a shot :)

1. At what age did you start writing fanfiction?

13. You can still find my earliest works online, too; I kept up anything that wasn't completely deplorable (though fanfiction.net deleted my stupidly popular, several hundred reviews of a story I did in 2004 because it was script format. The bastards xD Popular with all the little kids).

2. Who is your favorite author?

Lmaooooo what a question. Okay so for three fandoms. The big thing that’s common between all my favorite authors is that romance is not a primary genre with any of these writers. So if you like gen (of all genres) you’ve come to the right post.

If anyone here is a LOTR book fan (especially Aragorn), let me direct you to storiesofarda.com. It’s an old site, not even mobile friendly. Anyway, go read the works of Cairistiona and Meckinock. If you're more into hobbits and anything fluffy, go read Shirebound. That I remember their names since I was last active in fanfic in LOTR in 2011 speaks to their quality. I've had the honor of meeting Shirebound several times in real life as well, this last time in New York back in April after several years apart (though I'd like to meet Cair one day for sure, as well). I had a lot of favorites years ago but I’d need to reread the old stuff to see what still lives up to my expectations.

Scanning my favorites in Sherlock, Jolie Black , CaffeineKitty, and hollyesque on AO3. Stillwaters1, chappysmom, Radon65, and Morgan Stuart from fanfiction.net. But I have a couple favorite stories from authors who only wrote a couple fics (below).

Now the MCU (okay basically Doctor Strange, let’s be honest), on AO3: Grim Revolution and merrywil (the latter is pretty new and needs a hell lot more attention, she is a great writer). I love those long, introspective character one shots. There's not a lot of authors who don't focus on romance in the MCU with Stephen as a main character -- indeed, it’s partially nonexistent -- so shorter list. ElenaCee wrote some great stories just after the first film but has sadly moved onto other fandoms.

Dragonnan on AO3 is currently my favourite whump writer. Two of my fandoms and lots of my favorite tropes. I feel spoiled. My favorite romance-is-their-primary-genre writer is amethyst-noir for her characterization of Stephen combined with the oh-so-fun (for us) scenarios.

3. Favorite type of scene to write?

I can usually tickle myself quite a bit when I get some really great situational comedy into a story. I can never be fully an angst/whump writer because I adore comedy. So yeah, situational comedy for sure.

4. What is your favorite fanfic?

Stop asking me these questions ahhh. Okay so I'll be mentioning fanfics not by any of the authors listed above (which are in my most favorite stories too but, well, their works are all favorites anyway. Just look at all their works in said fandom for more favorites if you’re lacking reading material and have similar tastes. And once you’re done reading all the works by those authors, come back here for more. Seriously, read the authors above).

I listed these fics in alphabetical order because that seemed most fair.

LOTR (Most are book-verse. I need to reread a lot of these. Most of these authors have several works for the fandom, though I think each of these particular stories have Aragorn as a primary character):

A Proper Course of Action by GadFlyGirl (absolutely hilarious one-shot after Helm’s Deep about ‘the Denethor situation’)

Across the Years by MistyC (a very creative and well-written story that spins an old cliche in a much more interesting way)

Butterbur and the King by Eledhwen (fantastic character one-shot from one of my favorite minor characters)

Conversations with the King by athelas63 (great characterizations, good healing scenes)

Conversion by Pentangle-linnon (for everyone who says that first person can’t be done in fanfic - read this one-shot, then tell me what you think now. A work of pure brilliance)

Crossroads of Light and Shadow by Mirach (this one I recommend simply for the creativity alone; the art she was able to execute with the text in flipping fanfiction.net is really mind-boggling. Very creative!)

Doomed to Live by fliewatuet (it was never completed, but it’s so freaking good that I am putting it here anyway)

For Every Evil by Mirrordance (fantastic modern incarnation AU that spun out into a series)

Greet the Dawn by Neoinean (a great, very long long-shot with two characters meeting and it’s just a great combination of humor and angst. More great characterization)

Helping Strangers by Imaginigma (fantastic one-shot, really interesting OCs, a wonderful scenario)

In Shadow Realm by Legolass Q (original concept, well-developed characters, engaging plot, truly magnificent)

Light Fingers by Aearwen22 (I think this is the only fic here that doesn’t star Aragorn- he’s a pretty minor character. Brilliant brilliant characterizations of the OCs and a look of a part of society often ignored in LOTR fan fic)

Pale-Faced Tark by Carafinwe (everything by this author is brilliant, but the visceral imagery she managed to capture in two short chapters here still blows my mind)

The Patient by Scribe (another fantastic modern incarnation AU that spun out into a series)

Ransom by MP brennan (man I just continue to see how much the LOTR fandom completely spoiled me with all of these brilliant, plotty fics. Another original concept with brilliant OCs and fantastic execution)

Shattered Stones by MCat711 (a very creepy, original, well-executed one shot that keeps you guessing the whole way through)

The Weight of Power by Nefhiriel (does it follow canon as established by the Appendices? No. Do I care? No. The story’s absolutely fantastic and makes those small discrepancies mean nothing. This was also the first story I ever drew fan art for. I then made something for Shirebound a year later, then didn’t make anything again until that Ebony Maw piece I posted a bit back)

With Hope and Without Hope by docmon (AU scenario in that the Three Hunters are captured while trying to rescue the Hobbits. Very well-thought out and compelling plot, fantastic characterizations all around)

Sherlock:

Annie’s Song by Berouge (One of the only romantic-leaning fics listed here [Sherlolly], but that is due to its excellent characterization and execution. Creative one-shot.)

The Case of the Missing Bus Ticket by Unsentimentalf (I think I burst a rib laughing to this story. Long one-shot. Situational humor at its finest)

Constantly by thesignofserbia (great one shot concerning Serbia)

Drowning by Dayja (I like a lot of her stuff. Angsty.)  

Firestorm by Dustbunny13 (This is... beyond words. So gorgeous. I adored it from beginning to end. Have read a few times. Sometimes accept it as season 3 alternate canon, it’s just fantastic)

Fortune and Bust by ThessalyMc (a wonderful gap-filler fic, very similar to a lot of my favorite authors listed above in quality and type of content)

The Green Blade by verityburns (excellent case fic)

The Holiday by Scriblit (both whumpy angst and humor and case fic? Yeeeessss. Another I’ve read several times.)

Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus by Caitlin Fairchild (another Serbia fic? Yes predictable of me)

London Orbital (another story, very long one-shot, where I burst a rib laughing)

Rigging screws, size 1 3/8 inch, galvanised by AJHall (another excellent case fic)

World Enough, and Time by StoneWingedAngel (an excellent and creative execution of a trope that you'll realize by the time you get to day three)

Doctor Strange (unless stated otherwise, they’re all one-shots. Need more multi-chapter fics... or just gen Stephen content in general):

The Architect by mudgems (a great what-if with Stephen, Loki, and the Time Stone)

Born of the Same Impulse by GwendolynStacy (WIP multi-chapter. Time stone shenanigans send Stephen and Tony back to just before Ultron and a few months after the car accident, but before Kamar-Taj [the accident happens in 2015 rather than 2016 for this to work. It’s brilliant])

Citizen Erased by Imagined (WIP multi-chapter. One of the only romance-is-a-major-genre story [ironstrange] on the list, but the plot concept is incredibly unique, the mystery is being unraveled so wonderfully well, and the collection of characters is really fantastic and in-character.)

The End of Infinity by FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls (WIP multi-chapter. It’s canon compliant, only Stephen does a fantastic trick after canon and snatches Loki from the claws of death to go back to 2016 and fix everything. Peter, Tony also co-star. I am very much looking forward to where this goes)

Extracurricular Activities by EmptyHead (I am cheating here and linking a series. But it’s so damn creative, and while Stephen plays a big role, he’s definitely not the starring character. Synopsis is that MJ learns the mystic arts. It’s really brilliant!)

Geniuses by decotex (Stephen Strange's and Tony Stark's backstories, published before IW came out)

Hearth Sorcery by keshwyn (Another cheat here with a series of 5 one-shots, but this is too excellent and undervalued not to link. Excellent OC and world-building, highly recommend)

Holiday Magic by KarToon12 (Stephen plays Santa Claus for sick kids. It's adorable)

i hope you hold the mirror up (to show me what i chose) by CallicoKitten (Stephen and Tony being assholes to one another, published way before IW. I love it)

Like an Old Coat by ValmureEld (Could definitely see this as a follow up scene to the events in the Doctor Strange film. Great character interaction sequence)

Magic In Our Veins by Luna_Heart (the lack of Loki and Stephen interaction stories is criminal. Absolutely criminal. I want more!)

The Night’s First Watch by fathomfive (omg this is so good. So so so good. Excellent character study, I can’t recommend it enough)

of coffee and (questionable) first impressions by Phierie (Ooohh I love this alternate first meeting lots. Beat up on monsters and a coffee break after the work. Great stuff)

Project Code 131793 by StrangeMischief (Absolutely haunting and incredibly well-executed AU. I would adore to see more in this universe, it is so interesting)

Replay by INMH (the horror of Dormammu and coping with it)

You’ve Got Mail by Jadesfire (it’s about the mail situation with the Sanctum. What is not to love about that concept)

5. What tags do you avoid like the plague?

A/B/O, mpreg, not Mary friendly (for Sherlock), not Team Cap friendly, anti-Steve, anti-Wanda (or similar). Any of that anti-character bullshit, but in the MCU those are the two I see the most (and so probably make me rage the most. I once saw anti-T’Challa for instance and that just confused me more than anything). A bit of a rant in the next two paragraphs (I have Strong Feelings on this topic).

I don't tolerate the anti-character crowd. I really don't. Disliking a character is one thing and completely normal (I have my own list), but expanding time and energy to write just how much this character sucks is mind-boggling (and tends to make for really shitty fanfic. So you create a strawman villain of the character you hate for your favorite character to go against? Good job, you’ve made your favorite character appear entirely too stupid to deal with a well-developed character in conflict, and have made your favorite character 2D. Have a gold star). Your energy can be used elsewhere that isn't focused on hate. If you hate the character but aren’t creative enough to present them as anything but a strawman in your writing, don’t bother. Create an OC for your antagonist instead. Stop making canon characters so ridiculously OOC.

The real world is too filled with negativity to have it as part of a major focus in my fandom experience. It actually really, really bothers me that I cannot save a filter that automatically excludes all those anti tags as they haven’t been canonicalized on AO3. What perhaps bothers me even more is the number of kudos those hate-filled fics with incredibly OOC characters receive. The hypocrisy in this crowd is just astounding when you start pointing out the flaws in their favorite characters, too (FYI: All well-developed characters have flaws. I love Stephen Strange for his flaws. Before Stephen made his debut, Tony Stark was my favorite for similar reasons. It makes them INTERESTING).

Anyway, rant over.

6. What AU do you wish to write but feel like you won’t manage?

If I really really really want to write something, I'll write it. That said, there are things that I don't plan to write that I would adore reading (like that unfinished Stephen travels to the HP universe in Harry's fifth year fic ahhhhh I want that it would have made the 5th year so much better. Maybe if I bribe the original writer with fan art... wardmason you’re killing me).

7. Do you outline, or write as you go?

Depends. The outlines only tend to come into play for long stories with several scenes, and writing tends to happen first before outlining.

8. What has been your favorite story to write so far? Why?

Such hard questions! Uhhh I had great fun writing in my youth but I can barely remember it. Within this last year, uh... can I just say all of them? I've written about 100k in 6 months, I'm clearly enjoying myself here. I’ve had vibrant moments of delight in writing or planning several of them.

9. Do you prefer to write one-shots or multi-chapters? Why?

Both. Just depends on the story I want to tell and how long that story is saying it should be. I like posting a variety too; have one-shots coming out while I am working on the longer stories in the background.

10. What is your favorite kind of comment?

Oh those deep analytical ones that clearly took time to write. They're so lovely and really make my day. Every fanfic writer knows exactly what type of comment I am talking about.

11. Why did you start writing fanfiction? Why are you still writing?

I started because I had just seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and I really liked the characters (before the sequels ruined them in various capacities) and I thought, "I should put them in Middle-earth!" 45 chapters and 7 years later that damn fic got completed (after dozens and dozens of rewrites as my writing abilities improved over the years).

Now, it's because I really enjoy writing and I like playing in copyrighted playgrounds with characters and worlds I love. Yeah, I could write an original novel, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

[aflinley]

O best beloved Patrons, followers, and friends,

First, the new business:

Starting today, April 16th, this is a single-tier Patreon. $1/month gets you everything I have to offer – all the fiction, all the weird ideas, all the writing essays, and anything else that comes along, as well as acknowledgments in future published projects and access to early merch and sales. (The Oddments series will remain free-to-read.)  

It will take me some time to unlock everything, as there's way to mass-edit posts, but it should be all taken care of in a day or so. Also:

In honor of my and my Patreon’s birthday, anyone joining between now and April 30th will receive a $0.99 Smashwords coupon for my first ebook, Creeps, Ghouls and Jewels. That’s two dollars off the normal purchase price – a 67% savings, if you’re of a mathematickal persuasion.

Now onto the old business:

Somehow, whether through miracles, a confluence of the planets, or sheer cussedness, I’ve survived thirty-five trips around the sun, and – even more astonishing – this Patreon experiment is still going.

…HOW.

In this last year, I’ve written so much. SO MUCH. Seven Oddments articles, some of them very research-heavy. Five chapters of a novel that’s been rattling around in my brain for twenty years. A dump truck full of other wordage. My first blind and groping attempt at a podcast. I also joined the editing staff at Dream Foundry, and had my first 'professional' article published, with another one coming up very soon!

And my first book. A teeny tiny self-published digital collection of a few short stories, but for all that, a book.

Look, it's pretty and I'll show it off whenever I can.

It’s not much compared to other Patreons, but it’s more than I ever expected when I panic-started this thing a year ago.

Clearly, you all believe in me far more than I could ever believe in myself, and I can never thank you enough for that.

And now, forward. Upward and onward and squareward and multi-dimensional-hypercube-ward!

What’s in store for the upcoming year? More Oddments, some that aren’t about forgotten white men, even. More Oddities. More things that don’t begin with ‘Odd’. More short fiction. More of my thoughts on writing and genre (I know you’re all so excited for those). More attempts at audiovisual… stuff. And probably stickers!

More than that, I don’t know, but I have Sekrit Plans and I’m hopeful.

So to friends new and old and as yet unknown, from the bottom of my antiquated heart, I raise a glass to you all, and to the next twelvemonth.

Let’s make them just a little bit odder than usual.

Order my first short story collection, Creeps, Ghouls and Jewels, now available at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo.

[hollenka99]

A Growing Family

Summary: In the aftermath of the war, Jameson is still struggling. Not only that but there is more bad news on Siobhan's side of the family. So he focuses on his family and attempts to be happy with what he's got. As such, the Jackson family grows by four new members.

February 23, 1919 Dear Mother,

I hope 1919 has been treating you well thus far. Siobhan and I have some news.

Our fourth child should arrive sometime in the fall, likely September or early October. I am secretly hoping for another daughter. Not only to achieve an oddly satisfying symmetry. This child will be less than 18 months younger than Sophia. I do enjoy entertaining the idea of the two girls sharing a close sisterhood due to the short gap between their ages.

Do not be mistaken, a son would be equally welcome. After all, I gain more experience with raising boys with every day that passes. Despite their difficult beginnings, Anthony and Ollie are rather good friends now. It was Anthony, after all, who dubbed his little brother 'Ollie' in the first place.

Speaking of Oliver, I caught him playing around with his mother's piano the other day. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me Anthony was only better at playing the instrument because he was bigger. He insists he'll be bigger than Anthony one day. When that happens, he'll be the one who is better at playing piano. It does make me laugh how a child's logic works.

Yours. Jameson

April 30, 1919 Dear Mother,

Now that we have celebrated Sophia's first year of life, I feel I may be able to relax slightly. She's certainly not invulnerable but she's more so than last April. She's still not able to stand independently but I have been assured that this developmental delay is common in children who were born prematurely. For us, we see no need for her to be rushed. After all, a crawling child is easier to grab before they do themselves harm as opposed to one who can run.

Anthony enjoyed his time on set last year so I'm planning to work out how to incorporate a first grader into one of our movies. Four years have passed since he made a cameo appearance in The Puppet Man. I've asked Ollie if he's interested but he declined the offer. I suppose you can't win them all.

I am working on a second project as of right now, not related to the pictures. You should be able to see the results later this year.

Yours, Jameson

June 27, 1919 Dear all,

Those Europeans scare me. They all must be mad. I thought the war ended in November. Yet here we are in June, with the Allies threatening to resume the conflict if Germany don't sign that peace treaty in Versailles. I was under the impression it was all a formality to officially document peace. They can't just order their men to return to the trenches after all this time, can they? People have been spending these past seven months attempting to rebuild their lives.

I don't know what conditions Germany is agreeing to. However, I do know the terms should be reasonable. They may be forced to play the scapegoat but placing the blame too harshly could trigger a resentment amongst the German people. God knows how dangerous that could be if taken advantage of.

This League of Nations that Wilson proposed could work. If a number of countries allied themselves together, it might prevent another Great War. Although, it hasn't escaped my notice that it was close alliances that caused the domino effect during the July Crisis of 1914. I suppose all we can do is have faith the politicians know what is best for their respective countries and for the world in general.

Yours, Jameson

August 2, 1919 Dear Jameson,

You have to stop doing this. By all means, use writing as a creative outlet. I don't mind you attempting to work through all of this mess. That said, I wish you would be sensible. If you're going to write an anthology full of anti-war poems, keep it to yourself. At least you had the sense to publish them under an alias.

I'll admit it took me a few minutes to understand your pseudonym. Laurence Wilson is quite a clever disguise. I suppose you chose it so nobody outside of our family would recognise you. I tried to explain it to Mother but she argues you should have used Silas instead. It makes sense, masquerading with the name of our other grandfather, but I'm sure it wouldn't have quite fit with what you were going for.

I worry about you, Jameson. My biggest concern, other than you ruining your reputation, is that this is still an issue. October will be here soon and with it, the second anniversary of Harvey's death. You must let go, if not for your sake then for your family's. You both made mistakes that you weren't able to rectify. Sometimes that is the cruel way the world works. The two of you simply drew the short straw.

We all miss Harvey dearly. It is not only you who wishes he were still here. I hope you understand we were all affected. As for your irrational decisions, you cannot keep doing this to us. You know how much of a worrier Mother is.

Yours, Mabel

August 15, 1919 Dear Mabel,

This has never been about who misses him more or can grieve the hardest. Please don't speak as though I have turned bereavement into a competition. I never made just the one mistake. I made several major ones that lead to countless smaller actions I regret.

I was so close to resolving the feud between us. I received his final letter and set down to write my reply. I remember still writing when Pearl and Clifford came to share the contents of Mother's letter. It frustrates me to no end that he was able to apologise but he would never see my apology.

It wasn't only Harvey I wronged. I ruined my friendship with the person closest to me outside of our family. There were times when I felt closer to David than my own brothers. If it were not for Clifford and Harvey, I would have made him my best man without a second thought. I had hoped he would have chosen me to perform that duty when the time came for him to marry, seeing as he was brotherless. That shall never happen now. His son will have to be raised on mere stories passed down from his mother and grandparents.

All of this is because I am a fierce pacifist. Why has not wanting the world to descend into bloodshed and violence cost me so much? Answer me that, Mabel. I didn't want either of them to contribute to the fighting, especially as they would be risking their lives by getting involved. I went about it the wrong way, I know that. I expected it of Harvey but certainly couldn't foresee David choosing to enlist. I don't know to whom I was harsher. My hand moved before my head could contemplate the repercussions. You have no idea how cautious I am when writing to my loved ones nowadays. Placing letters in envelopes fills me with paranoia. I may read through this letter when it is done and decide it will never be sent.

I can never forgive myself. Never. During the Advent of 1914, I went to confession as I tend to do in preparation for Christmas. When I leave, I usually feel freer. I'm sure you understand what I mean. By admitting your faults to God and saying a prayer or two, you are supposedly cleansed until the next time you commit a sin. Yet, in 1914, I failed to have that sense of peace within me. At the time, I assumed it was because I still held on to resentment and was somewhat privately wrathful. The Advent following Harvey's death, once more I asked to be forgiven. And, once more, I felt as if it failed to be effective. This whole process feels more like a formality to satisfy those around me than something that benefits my soul.

I believe that upon my death, hopefully decades from now, I will finally be able to speak to Harvey and David, face to face as we should have done years ago. Maybe then I can make peace with all of this. Until then, I can't do much except for take each day as it comes.

Yours, Jameson

Henry Robert Jackson Male September 15, 1919 Los Angeles Siobhan O'Hara Jameson Jackson

September 15, 1919 Dear all,

Our third son, whom we have named Henry, arrived in the early hours of this morning. Needless to say, his entrance into the world was far less stressful than his sister's. He is still technically early too but what is one day in the general scheme of things?

The boys are very pleased to have another brother. Anthony is bound to be telling his friends at elementary school tomorrow. Oliver has been fussing over our latest addition. As for Sophia, I feel she is a little too young to particularly care about the new baby the same way her brothers do. That doesn't stop her from checking in on Henry every so often with curiosity.

The most humourous reaction to the baby is courtesy of Lyra. She has found herself hovering around Siobhan all day so she can get a good whiff of Henry. Siobhan cannot take a step in any direction without being cautious of the Dalmatian who is potentially under the feet.

Yours, Jameson

October 1, 1919 Dear Jameson,

Two sons, a daughter then another son? I dare say you're copying me.

Congratulations on the birth of your fourth child, Jem. Give Siobhan my love too. You know, it's a shame we live so far apart. Arthur and Henry could have grown up good friends, given there is only three months between them. That's not to say they can't be playmates whenever you visit us.

Yours, Mabel

February 9, 1920 Dear Mother,

Yesterday, the three of us drank together to commemorate what should have been Harvey's 40th birthday. We talked about him freely. After a while, I felt comfortable enough to join without restricting myself. I even laughed once more at the story of him introducing Edith to us. Pearl still swears she didn't intend to immediately spill wine on her at the table. The whole session has made me thoughtful though. This could potentially be the first time since before the war that I've be able to reflect on my memories of Harvey fondly. Since then, those memories seemed too bitter to remember.

Perhaps this is what I have been lacking, a chance to speak without fear of being misunderstood. I knew Clifford and Pearl were willing to listen. I've known this entire time but, in a strange way, I have failed to internalise that information. I have subjected myself to dealing with everything alone. I am a fool for doing so. I have spent the majority of the past decade being a halfwit.

At the end of December, I promised myself I'd endeavour to have a fresh start this decade. At the time, I wasn't completely sure how I would go about that goal. Other than being more cautious about the what I write, of course. I'm glad it only took me 5 weeks to receive this epiphany. It certainly saved me some time.

Tell Edith and the girls that I say hello, Jameson

May 22, 1920 Dear Jameson,

Forgive me if I'm intruding on matters that you want to remain private but I am worried about your wife. She didn't seem herself at the reception last week. I could sense something was wrong when you visited for Christmas too. At the time, I assumed there had been some dispute between you so I didn't interfere. I am guessing it is the same issue bothering her as five months ago.

Is she alright? I hope whatever it is can be resolved soon.

Wishing your family well, Your mother

June 3, 1920 Dear Mother,

It is a family matter that is worrying her. Do you recall me telling you about Huntington's Chorea when we announced her pregnancy with Anthony? The disease has made itself known in our generation. Her brother has begun to exhibit symptoms. At the moment, it is mainly mood swings and clumsiness. It will only get worse from here on in.

As to be expected, this development has greatly affected Siobhan. Not only is her brother sick, she may be next. It may be fairly likely that by 1930, she could be inflicted with Huntington's Chorea as well. This reality is weighing heavily on all of us. We had desperately hoped we could go without this worry.

Of course, Michael being affected is not proof in itself Siobhan will suffer the same fate. It simply brings the matter close to home again. With the topic so relevant once more, the two of us have spoken and mutually agreed Henry will be our last. We knew having children was akin to playing Russian roulette, long before we entertained the idea of starting a family. If the disease runs through Siobhan and her line, we could have subjected four individuals to potentially inheriting the condition and watching their mother suffer through it.

We both secretly wish we could have given Sophia a little sister. Neither of us admit it, as doing so would be actively insulting to our three sons. We have four loving children. We must learn to admire what we already have.

Yours, Jameson

August 19, 1920 Dear all,

Yesterday brought good prospects to Sophia's future, even if she won't feel its effects until she is 18. They have ratified the 19th Amendment so voters cannot be denied their right on the basis of their sex. Which means, come 1936, she will be able to cast her first vote. Thinking about it, I believe an election is due that year. So there, she will turn 18 at the end of that April and some six months later she can choose which man she trusts more to avoid leading the USA astray.

Technically, women of California gained their right to vote around the same time we moved here. In the very least, I understand that to be true. Unless she moves to another state as an adult, it is the Californian regulations she must pay attention to. Despite being of Irish and Canadian descent, she is still a citizen of the United States of America thanks to jus soli.

Britain and Ireland have only granted partial voting rights to their women. I am told that only those who are over 30 years of age are eligible. I suppose there is more work to be done across the water. While Siobhan has never been the type to tie herself to railings or starve herself in protest, she has been eagerly supportive of the cause.

What are the laws in Canada now? Having lived in America for so long, I realise I've found myself somewhat out of the loop.

Yours, Jameson

September 3, 1920 Dear Jameson,

It's a good thing the world is progressing like this. Judith and Sophia won't have to worry about not having their voices heard. It's exciting to think how differently they will stand among their male peers as they grow up compared to our generation. Honestly, I'm surprised it has taken this long for politicians to realise that they were restricting half the potential voters.

Here in New Brunswick, we were granted the right to vote last year. We still can't run for office but neither myself nor Mother are particularly affected by that. Several provinces preceded us in legislation changes. I think Quebec is yet to catch up with all this.

As for the British Isles, let's hope they lower the age limit soon so that women will have to be 21 like men to vote. The women have really made their case. If they're not throwing themselves in front of the King's horse, they're starving themselves to the point the government introduces a law to stop them.

Yours, Mabel

September 26, 1920 Dear Mother,

I have been debating whether to join you next month for Thanksgiving. When Anthony and Oliver were younger, I wasn't so worried about leaving California. Now that Anthony is in third grade and Ollie will begin Kindergarten next year, bringing them to Canada is proving trickier. In the coming years, when Sophia and Henry become old enough to be sent to school, visiting Saint John will be even more difficult.

The third Monday of October will fall on the 18th this year. Of course, Oliver's 5th birthday is that Thursday. My intention is to stay a little longer than I normally would so you can celebrate it with us. However, in doing so, I would be keeping Anthony from his classes for up to two weeks. You can tell why Siobhan and I are of two minds about Thanksgiving. You could always come in November so we could celebrate it the same time as the Americans. That said, papers are always a hassle and November here is as warm as summer for you. A warm Thanksgiving has never felt right to me.

I will certainly be there at the end of February for your 70th birthday. There is no way I would miss such a special celebration. You'd better be prepared because all of us are coming. You'll have find the space for six adults and five children. We're not trying to cause tedium, I swear.

Yours, Jameson

March 6, 1921 Dear Jameson,

It was such a pleasure to have you back home for my birthday. I particularly love the necklace you bought me. However, by a large margin, my favourite treat was to see your children again. They are all growing so quickly. When Anthony was telling me about 'Peter Pan and Wendy', I nearly had to remind myself that he is already eight years old and literate. What did you do to the boy who was struggling through written words the last time I saw him?

It was especially sweet to watch Sophia and Henry discover snow and frost. I have never seen a child so confused by it. You can assure them I believe their attempt to help their big brothers build a snowman was commendable. I have never met a snowman with such low arms though. I suppose they were unable to reach the torso.

I think you made the right decision by keeping the little ones inside during the snowball fight. Being so small, they would have probably received an accidental snowball to the face in the heat of the moment. These things happen. You fell victim to it a number of times when you were their age.

It is a shame they aren't able to experience winter the same way you did. Maybe we could compromise and agree you will travel to Saint John every Christmas? Either way, thank you for visiting me and I hope you had a smooth journey back to Los Angeles.

Missing you already, Your mother

May 3, 1921 Dear all,

Clifford presented me with a script earlier this week. He wrote the whole thing himself. It's a decent story but he's assigned me the task of improving it. I'll admit, he needs to work on visualising stage directions and how characters will move about the setting. The screenplay has a disproportional quantity of dialogue compared to the action. If we can find a better balance, this will be his first production as the writer. I'm looking forward to discovering how the public enjoys the picture.

My biggest concern is the subject matter. This was clearly inspired by the situation with his children. I know, after spending so long negotiating with Elizabeth to receive them, he feels their letters to him are merely a formality. Lord knows he can't picture Clara as any older than two years old. He's only met Daniel the once, immediately after his birth.

He was so happy last August to be given a second chance with Louise. He deserves the opportunity to prove himself now that he doesn't act so frivolously. I remember how ecstatic he was to receive his first correspondence from Clara herself, as illegible as her childish scrawl was.

Things will be different with Louise. He's not going to be some distant figure like he is to her half-siblings. Even so, he makes a good uncle to his nephews and Sophia.

Yours, Jameson

May 17, 1921 Dear Jameson,

It's good that he wants to branch out. Just be careful. You never know, he may surpass you in the future if you teach him your methods too thoroughly.

Why don't the two of you visit New York again? It could be a nostalgic vacation for the two of you. Not only that, you can bring your children and show them the city. Wouldn't it be nice to show them sentimental places from your time there? Children enjoy learning how their parents' relationship came to be.

Yours, Your mother

May 30, 1921 Dear Mother,

Ah yes, Lady Liberty. It has been a while since I saw her. However, it is slightly absurd to suggest we should go to New York just because his children are there. I will probably take my children to see how the city has changed one day but not to sneak around like some ne'er-do-well.

Yours, Jameson

September 3, 1921 Dear Mother,

This week, Oliver began Kindergarten. Obviously, this is an important moment for him. No-one was more excited to see him attend Selma Avenue than Anthony. I have heard from Ollie himself that his brother keeps him company during recess. While Siobhan and I agree this is a caring gesture, we have privately suggested to Anthony that it may be beneficial to leave his little brother to make friends on his own. As soon as we were done speaking to him, he nodded and promptly went to explain to Oliver he'd be left to deal with the school yard alone. Ollie looked so crestfallen to learn the first week was a trial period. I will never understand my eldest son or his ability to turn on a dime.

However, the beginning of the academic year is not the true reason I am writing. Siobhan is nearly four months along. I have tried to dissuade her from a fifth pregnancy. I eventually didn't have the heart to argue with her. I have always wanted to grant our children a better start than either of us got. She simply wants to give Sophia the sister she never received in her youth. After all our discussions concluding with a decision to leave our family at four children, my will should have been sturdier. If this child is a girl, my resolve will be stronger should she ask again.

In any case, I am happy. I don't wish to be misconstrued. This was as much of my choice as it was hers. Plus, I have always loved seeing how the children interact with their siblings. Our home is a lively one and I am enjoying it being so. It's the kind of household I was accustomed to in Saint John.

Yours, Jameson

February 19, 1922 Dear all,

Did you hear about William Desmond Taylor's murder at the start of the month? It's a terrible thing. I hope they find whoever shot him quickly. Although I never met the man, I did admire his work. Cliff, Pearl and I were discussing him after the news of his death broke. He was a good director from what I've seen.

His final resting place not far from where we live. I decided to pay him a visit. I wanted to tip my hat to him, so to speak. It's Clifford who wants to pay his respects, in my opinion. He is Jackson Trinity's main director, after all. I think he may have taken slight inspiration from Taylor at times.

Yours, Jameson

Theodore Stanley Jackson Male March 2, 1922 Los Angeles Siobhan O'Hara Jameson Jackson

May 24, 1922 Dear all,

The Veterans of Foreign Wars have been selling poppies in the lead up to Memorial Day next Monday. I took the liberty of purchasing a few for you in case you would like to find comfort in them. Or you can leave them be until November, if that suits you.

All the best, Jameson

June 6, 1922 Dear Jameson,

Thank you for thinking of us. Your gesture was greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, you are a little late to this poppy scheme. They began doing the same thing here in Canada last November.

I've returned some of them so you can have some spares. I know how easily young children tend to misplace or lose things. I'm glad you chose to buy some of those poppies. I did not think you would do something meant to support those who fought.

With love, Mabel

August 7, 1922 Dear all,

It is hard to believe that a full decade has passed since I became a father. Hints of regret for missing Anthony's birth do still appear each year. Although, by now, it is so inconsequential. Why fret about one when I've managed to be around for the subsequent four? If he ever becomes upset by it, I can always blame his Aunt Pearl for not running fast enough to fetch me. Not only that, he is at fault too. I could have made it if he weren't so eager to meet us. Still, as I stated before, it's become trivial over the years.

We bought him 'The Story of Doctor Dolittle' and its sequel 'The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle' by Hugh Lofting for his birthday. It's about a doctor who can converse with animals and prefers their company to that of human patients. He has begun reading the first book in our sitting room. I suspect he is trying to get through as many pages as possible before Siobhan finishes preparing the cake. Ollie supposedly left the house to play with Lyra in our front yard. It is very peculiar that Lyra is lying on my bed while Anthony's new bicycle has mysteriously vanished from the hallway. I will be sure to discuss the strange happenings with him, whenever he chooses to return. Do you think I should deny him a slice? At least Sophia and Henry are entertaining themselves quietly inside which makes a change for once.

I am being called for cake so I will end my letter here. It is a jelly roll with strawberry jam so I am looking forward to taking a bite.

Yours, Jameson

November 3, 1922 Dear Mother,

Sophia does not act the way you would expect a little girl should. She enjoys straying from us, usually taking Henry with her, to explore her surroundings. All children accumulate dirty laundry but she may be eligible to set a record. She is hardly rolling in the dirt like some feral creature but, without fail, she will always return to us with some dirt on her person. It doesn't matter if it is soil on her hands or grass stains on her tights. I blame the fact she has nothing but brothers. They indirectly encourage her to play rough by doing so themselves. What's worse is that Henry follows her lead. If she were able to climb partway up a tree, he would surely imitate her. One of these days, one or both of them will harm themselves. It is tiring attempting to keep up with the duo.

What I can see in Sophia is that she finds great joy in using her hands to create. At her age, she does not possess the right amount of dexterity to be presented with the opportunities to truly show this off. She may be slightly too young to be introduced to sewing or knitting. Although, she does show interest in it. Perhaps in a year or two I could leave her in Pearl's care so she could be taught. Unlike Pearl, I may have lost some of my abilities thanks to neglecting the activity.

It is odd that she has little interest in playing an instrument, even a piano. In no way am I expecting every child of ours to be virtuosos simply because of their mother. Besides, Oliver has enough enthusiasm for the five of them. I only feel that it would be a worthy pastime while she grows enough to explore other hobbies.

On a completely unrelated note, have you ever tasted a cake with a pumpkin filling? No, I hadn't either. That is until my birthday on Tuesday. Seeing as I was to become 35 years old and my birthday happens to fall on Halloween, Siobhan thought it would be a clever idea to do something special this year. If pumpkin is an acquired taste, it is not one I have acquired. Not that I would ever admit that to her. She put so much effort to please me that I could never break her heart her like that.

I can never escape pumpkins whenever my birthday approaches. The children love preparing several of the fruit to leave outside our home on the 31st. Oliver even asked to receive one for his birthday two weeks ago. I had to remind him that it would be thoroughly rotted by the time the holiday arrived 10 days later. Maybe I should film a short based on carving pumpkins one October. It would have to be a short. If any man can create a decent script for a full length feature inspired solely on carving pumpkins, I'd like to meet him.

Yours, Jameson

January 18, 1923 Dear all,

Germany's economy appears to be worthy of living among the trash. Their prices are so inflated that I wouldn't be surprised if a loaf of bread cost me millions of marks. Didn't they attempt to fix their financial troubles by simply printing the money at one point?

See, I can't understand why Germany were made the scapegoats. They came to the aid of their allies the same way the British Empire and United States helped ours. If any country should be blamed, it should be Serbia for the assassination and Austria-Hungary for declaring war on them in response. I suppose it could be easier to point fingers at the country who have been at the forefront of Prussia for centuries. Of course, despite the books I've read on the subject, I could be talking nonsense. They do say you should never discuss politics in polite conversation.

I also hear they are growing increasingly anti-Semitic. You're likely to find that sentiment anywhere you go. However, it is unnerving to hear they are naming scapegoats within their own country. Anti-Semitism amongst Christians has always confused me. Yes, the Jews chose to persecute Jesus. Was that not the whole point? I wouldn't say the population of Jerusalem were possessed. A higher power possessing you, now that is a scary notion. No, influenced is a better term. The Jews were influenced to play their part in a plan that had been centuries, no millennia, in the making. For Christ's sake, Mary herself was Jewish. You don't see anyone condemning her, do you?

Long story short, I have yet another script idea brewing. Something along the lines of a man being able to conjure surplus amounts of money at will. Originally, I planned to make the protagonist's powers akin to that that of Midas but with dollar bills. I'm unsure what the end product will look like.

Yours, Jameson

April 25, 1923 Dear all,

We have added a couple of new members to our family. They are two Jack Russell Terriers, a brother and sister, whom we have named Woodrow and Holly.

No, we did not name one of our pets after the last President. We were inspired by the Hollywoodland sign they're constructing near our area. It's meant to draw potential homebuyers to this part of Los Angeles.

I have heard some advice that siblings should not be brought home together. It is related to their pack dynamics, one must be dominant no matter what. It can also negatively influence the way they interact with humans and other animals. However, I believe with the correct training, all this can be avoided.

The children adore them and Lyra seems to tolerate the puppies. With five children and three dogs, we appear to have made quite the family.

Yours, Jameson

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Jennifer  • Nickname: Jen or Jenny • Age: 21 • Birthday: February 9th • Timezone: UK, GMT • Best Availability: Late night • Fave Villager/NPC : Whitney and Skye • Fave AC Game : New leaf • A little about you I work in retail maybe 2 days a week, I love animals, Disney, games, drawing, reading and writing. Im self teaching guitar and writing songs as a hobby. Tryng to be a vegetarian which is going well, haven't ate meat in a week, yay. The tv shows I like vary in type, I like: The walking daed, Once upon a time and A series of unfortunate events. Movies I like are mostly Disney , the lion king most of all. I also love animals , especially my dog Amber. I do hope to run my own business to rehalibitate pets and wild animals to find homes and re release the healed ones back into the wild. I also appreciate kind and loyal people 💜

Mollie 💖 Nickname: MolflakeMagic (my main gamer tag & online name) 💚 Age: 19 💖 Birthday: December 1st 💚 Timezone: GMT / BST (UK) 💖 Best Availability: Currently Afternoons through to Night unless I'm with family or my boyfriend :3 💚 Fave Villager / NPC: Goldie!! 😍😊 💖 Fave AC Game: Animal Crossing City Folk 😍😊 💚 A little about me: I'm generally very goofy and always looking to make people laugh and smile. I'm currently preparing to move to Nottingham to study at University in September, so essentially preparing to be an official adulty adult xD I play lots of League in my spare time but also love to design on New Leaf, and I'm currently working on completing all the collections for the museum. I also love to dance and I'm also currently starting to learn Japanese :3 When not with my goofball boyfriend or at home, you can usually find me at my grandparents with my doggy Poppy 😍😊

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Ruth 🌸Age: 21 🌸Birthday: 25th December 🌸Timezone: BST/GMT 🌸Best Availability: Usually evenings or any day that I’m off work 🌸Fave villager/NPC: Apple and my fave npc is Kicks ❤️ 🌸Fave AC Game: New Leaf 🌸 A Little about me: I have lived in the south west part of the uk all of my life with my parents and older brother. I love cats so much, I used to have a black cat called Twinkle but he was very ill and passed away from a heart murmur at only 7 years old. I now have a calico called Poppy who I love very much ❤️ I have suffered from anxiety and depression, with the occasional severe migraine (to the point I passed out) since 2013 (but thank goodness I’m nowhere near as bad now) I also love an incredible KPop band called BTS (you may have heard me talk about them already 😛) and playing games like Animal Crossing and Zelda ❤️ Sorry I’m rambling now 😂😂