#i was planning on adding art to this one but i just wasnt feelin it. sorry amigos

[tmd-clangen]

MOON 0 | SMILING MOON

As Poolgleam evaluated the herbstores within the strangenooks of the monster, he hummed thoughtfully. His count of most things was at least semi-favorable; he had the bare essentials, if anything, and that brought an air of peace to his mind. But he felt… burdock was important, and he wasn’t currently in possession of it. His brows furrowed. That should change.

By all means, I should still be able to find some. The tall plant was hardy even through leafbare, so he reasoned it was likely still possible to find it around. The sooner he did, the better. He looped his tail under the handle of his small wicker basket- unfortunately the only one he’d been able to make so far, too busy otherwise- and held it up to carry, paws carrying a dull tap tap tap against the monster’s insides as he exited through its open wound.

He drew in a breath of the chilly air, blinking rapidly at a snowflake that landed on his nose. Then, hearing laughter, Poolgleam looked back up and saw all four of the little cats playing in the snow, seeming to be having a great time. Leappaw and Irispaw appeared to be sparring, kicking piles of snow at each other and fighting totally unfairly, while it looked like Bushkit and Serpentkit were trying to build their own pile of snow as big as they could. The pile was already taller than them, and Poolgleam chuckled.

As he padded over to them through the paw-deep snow, he meowed, “I’m going to go out to gather some herbs, okay? Don’t go anywhere while I’m gone.”

Leappaw stopped frolicking for a moment to look over at him, his tail held high and a cheerful smile remaining on his face. “Yeah, yeah, of course! We’re having too much fun anyw–OOOUF!” A clump of snow was thrown directly into his face by Irispaw, who cackled with glee and stuck his tongue out.

“Goodness, you kids are wild,” Poolgleam huffed with amusement. “I shouldn’t be gone long.”

“Okay!” Bushkit squealed from over by the big snow pile while Leappaw gave an exaggerated yell and barreled right into Irispaw.

Poolgleam nodded to himself then walked past the young cats. Not much more than a fox-length away, though, he turned his head back over his shoulder. “Hey– hey, all of you, please don’t stay out here too long, okay?” he meowed worriedly. “It’s going to get very cold soon with all this snow and I don’t want any of you freezing and miserable.”

“Sure, we’ll go in soon!” Irispaw called this time. He went down seconds later to Leappaw’s batting at his face, and retorted with a shriek and kick of his legs.

A somewhat relieved smile crossed Poolgleam’s face. He knew out of any of them that Irispaw would be the one to really make them all take shelter in the monster when they needed to. With that fret taken care of, he slipped through the hole in the shiningfence and made his way out.

Leaving the kids alone was still something he was always anxious about. Several times he’d nearly clawed himself awake at night to check on them, just in case, even when the secure part of him knew they were safe as long as they stayed within the boundaries of the shiningfence. And even more safe with the Smiling Moon shining in the deep dark sky above. No beasts would be around to threaten any of them… he could have been resting easy all this time, but his mind still found itself wandering lost in the realm of the past moon’s horror.

His jaw clenched tightly. He had to cope with this, all of this. It was just the five of them out here now… he had to make it work. Thinking about this wasn’t going to help with his search right now, anyhow. His recollection, helpful as ever, pointed out the most likely growing spot for the burdock would be near the thunderpaths he’d scouted out several days ago. But while he could remember the thunderpaths at least, he couldn’t remember whether he’d actually seen any burdock plants there.

Poolgleam attributed it to his muddled mind at that time… in the still-red sky, he’d been trying to scour the entirety of the nearby area to make note of its landmarks while also avoiding all the beasts crawling about. His searches had been hasty and only half-thought through, so while he could remember the key lays of the land at the very least, no specific details about them were recalled. Now that it was safer… he was probably going to have to do another big comb-through of the territory.

Puffs of fog trailed from his mouth as he kept it open to catch the scent of the thunderpath, first and foremost. After wandering around for an amount of time that was a bit too long for him to be pleased with, it wasn’t hard for its acrid feeling to catch and he followed the trail. Evergreen trees towered around him until they grew sparser and sparser just over the span of half an hour. 

Again, much too long for his comfort. At least he finally found the slick black thunderpath, gazing down its trail. Large metal trees with hanging glowing boxes were interspersed regularly along it to light its way. The Smiling Moon was making its way closer to the horizon, now, a little over halfway through the sky. He looked far out, gazing past the rolling landscapes below the nearby cliff and at the distant ocean. Nearby the ocean and its long-spanning beach were settlements that looked like they’d once belonged to twolegs… a very colorful looking gathering of twoleg dens on the section of the beach directly in front of his gaze, and to the further southeast an incredibly long and large bridge that was surrounded by countless other twoleg dens.

Poolgleam shivered slightly and decided he’d spent long enough with his eyes on the landscape rather than in the ground where he’d find what he needed. He sniffed at the air and kept his jaws parted again, pressing his head a little lower to the ground. Of course, he didn’t want to dip his nose into the snow, so he didn’t actually get all that close…

He was at this for what felt like, and unfortunately was, a very long time. Gazing up at the moon once again and determining his time, he’d been out here walking down the trail of the thunderpath for far too long. And still no sign of the burdock… was his sense of smell really failing him right now?!

If it’s fruitless out here, I should really get back to camp… make sure they’re all safe… Another tight shiver ran through Poolgleam’s body and he shook his head. “No, no, they’ll all make sure of that th-themselves,” he murmured aloud, trying to reassure himself that they would be just fine until he returned. He really needed to find this burdock…

The snow fell harder and continued to blanket the land heavier, coating his fur with cold white flecks that sent chills through his bones. But he wouldn’t give up just yet. They needed burdock. His pace grew more hurried. “By all the stars!” he cried, throwing his head up with frustration. “Where is this damn heeeer–”

His gaze leveled again and suddenly he was staring right at the towering plant. Poolgleam berated himself in his head for ever thinking to swear on them and instead exclaimed “Oh thank the Cosmos, finally.”

He unsheathed his claws and got to digging through the snow. Getting past the white layer was the easy part, but when it left behind the chilled earth below, that’s when things got hard. He gritted his teeth as he sank his claws into the cold hard dirt and tried to dig. Huffs of exertion left his jaws and with that only more and more puffs of cold foggy breath. 

Poolgleam was shivering more and more as he went. The biting freeze in the air and in the ground was leaching into his body, slowly but gravely surely. But he couldn’t give up yet… He was so… At long last, he saw the long black roots of the burdock streaking through the cold soil and gave a gasp of relief. The roots looked like they trailed underneath the thunderpath as well, far too anchored to even try to dig those parts out.

He reached his paws towards the roots and leaned forward–

Then Poolgleam gasped again, this time from the sheer cold, catching himself just barely before he fell over. The roots were right there but he knew the signs. His body was demanding he go home and he had to obey it. He let out a breath that quickly ascended into a frustrated growl. How foolish he was to spend such a long time out here even without result! He was incredibly lucky he hadn’t already succumbed to the cold. But now he needed to get back to camp fast.

Poolgleam wasn’t sure how quickly he could.

-----

But, just barely fortunately for him, it didn’t take long with the newfound urgency in his steps. In the heavy snowfall and the moon headed even further toward the horizon, now the young cats were nowhere to be seen; likely having turned in an hour ago when it was really getting bad. More lethargically now, he slunk through the hole in the shiningfence once again and gave himself a groan of effort.

Just another minute of trotting through the snow and he made his way back through the open wound of the monster and into the cleric’s den. With the chills in his body making him absolutely miserable and leaving him drained of energy, he didn’t even feel like jumping into his proper nest on top of the softbody. He instead slunk into the thinpelt nest underneath the metal frame that held up the softbody.

Poolgleam began to lick at his pelt the wrong way, hoping to dissipate the chills enough that he’d be able to rest well for some time. The burning up would cease… If he could just handle that, he could handle eating feverfew in the morning to help soothe it further. But right now, he just needed to sleep… he was so tired.

He found it funny how he’d been the one warning the kids about staying out of the cold, lest they get chills, as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

“As the snows of leafbare blow around camp, Poolgleam eyes the herb stores and decides he should still be able to dig up burdock. He heads out to replenish their stocks. However, he doesn’t manage to sniff any out in a timely manner and by the time he does, he spends too long trying to dig up the roots that he is inflicted with shivering. Arriving back at camp, he’s just miserable and cold and desperate to rest.”

[thesunnyshow]

Name: reya

Writing Blog URL(s): @chu-ni

Age: 19

Nationality: african-british

Languages: english, swahili, korean

Star Sign: libra

MBTI: enfp/entp (it always changes lol)

Favorite color: purple!

Favorite food: i really love chicken burgers

Favorite movie: princess and the frog

Favorite ice cream flavor: vanilla!!

Favorite animal: elephants

Go-to karaoke song: fancy - twice

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? caramel frappe with whipped cream, in general i prefer tea though

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? secretary general at the UN….or an author

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? making anyone agree with me and do what i want them to do

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? ancient egypt!!

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?.....no.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? neither if i could lmfao but i’d go for 100 chicken sized horses

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? the nerd who’s actually really pretty after she gets a cool makeover 

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? im not sure about aliens, but i definitely believe in ghosts and spirits.

What are some small things that make your day better? when i can have moments to myself to enjoy my own company. or when someone asks me what i want to eat and they bring it for me 🥺

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? uhm…...probably the fact that i write fanfiction lol..but outside of that! i sing in the shower. and i talk to myself a lot.

What fandom(s) do you write for? nct dream currently, but in the future i want to expand to other groups!

When did you post your first piece? 17th of June 2018.

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? i can never write just one genre. predominantly i write fluff with a dash of angst for spice simply because i love a story that has an issue and then having that issue be resolved for a happy ending. when i started my blog i was 17, and so i said i wouldn't write smut. now that i'm older im feeling more and more comfortable writing suggestive content at the very LEAST.. so maybe in the future i might write smut, who knows? i like writing fluff because i like making people feel good, but i like adding angst to it because i feel like the contrast between the two is very *chefs kiss* to me.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? i only write x readers!

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? i first got tumblr when i was 13 years old and i was a fresh kpop fan lmfao. i wanted somewhere that shared my interests. of course i discovered x reader fics on here and i was in awe, i guess of how much power writers had in contributing to fandom content and keeping readers satiated. i’d always loved to write and so i’d always wanted to start my own writing blog, and for 2 years i did write for other blogs! it wasnt until 2018 that i finally took the leap and decided to start my own, because i wanted to impact people's emotions and take them on a journey through my writing.

What inspires you to write? what inspires me….teen movies, music!! music is a big one for me, and also the books that i read. i also grew up playing otome games so the plots and writing from those influence my writing a lot.

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? i really enjoy writing royalty!aus as well as exes!aus. i love to do them cause they require me to build a world and with royalty aus specifically i love weaving together bits of political intrigue, or arranged marriages, etc. its so much fun!!

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? that if this world is too rough or too much, you can always escape from it. it might not be physical, but immersing yourself in a universe that's entirely different for a little while can help soothe you.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? usually i try and take breaks. the problem with that is that my breaks can go on for longer than i’d like and im trying to fix that. so my other solution is to read read read!! read as much as i can, or go back to books that i loved. ask myself what i liked about the writing, what are some parts that i thought were amazing examples of good writing - i note them down then see if i can apply that to my own work. another thing i do is take a break from writing my longer, fleshed out works and write blurbs! blurbs are a great way for me to write but not feel like its tedious because i don't have to spend as much time on them and it gets me into the groove of writing without feeling stressed out.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? my favourite piece of work is miscommunication. it took me months to write that, even after i lost all the work halfway through, and its the longest piece of work i have written so far, so its kinda like my baby. my most successful is candy jar. its also the work i owe my blog exposure to - it was the first piece i published, and it was also the first piece of writing i did in around 4 years.

Who is your favorite person to write about? i don't have much out for them, but i really enjoy exploring mark’s and jeno’s characters. they're people, but in my work i enjoy analysing them and judging how they’d act in different contexts.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? the only difference for me is that fanfiction (depending on the fandom) has some of the stuff fleshed out for you already, such as the world its in. if youre the type to write AUs then the only thing you already have is the characters - the planning, the writing, the drafting, and everything else is still the writer's responsibility. therefore there isn't much of a difference between the two for me.

What do you think makes a good story?  a good story, to me, is one that takes me on a journey. it could be any genre, but i like to feel immersed and connected to the characters and the world in it. also aside from the obvious, like good grammar, a good story feels natural to read. i don't feel like skim reading half of it.

What is your writing process like? my writing process consists of me getting inspiration - usually from a song, or a film or a book ive read or a game ive played - i note down my idea and who i want the story to be about, and then bullet point the whole story, with some snippets of particular dialogue i want the reader or the other person to say at certain scenes. i then open another document ( i have a writing app on my phone, called werdsmith, so i use that!) and set a word count goal i want to hit so i can track my progress and start writing the fic, with fleshed out language and exposition. when im done (usually after a couple weeks up to a few months, depends on the length of the plan) i read through it to fix any mistakes, then i transfer it to docs so i can read it again and italicise any areas i feel need it.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? i...don't think so. mainly because the original fiction i read and would like to write for myself is predominantly fantasy, whereas the fanfic i write on my blog is usually non-idol, normal fics. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? im a SUCKER for enemies to lovers, royalty ofc, “and they were roommates”, and i think superhero aus are really cool but there isnt enough of them :( idol/you as member aus....not feeling her… also abo/werewolf/vampire aus….not feelin em

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? a LOT. a HUGE amount!! i said before how i like giving my readers somewhere where they can immerse themselves as an escape, even for a short while. hearing about how my work affected them, made them feel, makes me feel less insecure about what im writing and thus more confident to publish it.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? i’d say reblogs. and also putting out more content. when i first uploaded candy jar i went to my one of my favourite writers (jaeminlore) and asked her if she'd be okay with reading it and giving feedback. to my surprise she loved it and her reblogging it to all her followers is literally what gave me a bunch of followers all of a sudden who loved what i’d written. to keep that momentum i created more and more content, and while i haven't uploaded as often as i've wanted to or written as much as i’d wanted to, i can say i have a good amount of work on my masterlist for people who are looking for more to read.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? 100%. fanfic has an unfair reputation for just having bad writing and cringey fics (and i feel like this is because of the way society views the demographics who predominantly consume and create it), when in reality i feel like those who write fanfiction are extremely talented and selfless people. they're on the internet creating content for free for people to enjoy and like any other work of art they're putting time and effort into it. i think it should be respected. any form of art is going to have its good and bad sides.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? hmmm….yes. i feel it can be a way to reflect the thoughts of people and also be a way to inspire people to do more.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? sometimes. sometimes i feel like i'm forcing myself to write because i feel like if i don't then people will forget about me or they’ll forget about my blog. while what i choose to write about is for me, i feel like the speed of my writing and what im writing isn't to the quality i want it to be cause i feel like i gotta get it out for people to read.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? i've never felt that way!

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? only 2 of my friends know, and i only told them like. a week ago!

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? i wish you guys would message me more! i'm quite a sociable person, and i’d love to have regular anons who talk to me 👉🏽👈🏽

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? i think one common thing amongst all writers is that we write what we want to read. so don't feel like nobody's gonna read your work, cause somebody will. you gotta act like your work is top tier even if someone says it isn't - always write the best you can, and just do it! like don't even give yourself time to overthink it, write that fic, make it look pretty, upload it onto tumblr and do not be afraid to ask your favourite fic writers to read your work once its up!! i’d be happy to read and give feedback for any fic writers as well so don't feel afraid! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? ive been on here for 7 years….i grew up on this site lmfao. but i don't think i regret joining tumblr once.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? shes not very active anymore and i miss her very much but user hyuck-s was so supportive and i love her!!

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

she believed she could, so she did.

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