#sun and moon are authorized and the upload point wants People

[possumsarecool]

Why do I have nightmares about fnaf characters but instead of them acting like the games I make it much worse

[dreams-to-wish]

Seeing all these posts and articles about Midnight Sun has reminded me of how much I really don't like Stephenie Meyer.

This isn't me shitting on the Twilight books, by the way. As embarrassing as it is now, I loved them as a pre-teen and they are a big reason why I love vampires now. They had an influence, whether I like it or not. This is solely me talking about Meyers as a person.

I'm taken back to when I was fourteen and over the moon excited about a book from Edward's point of view being written. Seeing all the classic events through his eyes? Yes, please! Then the drama of the draft getting posted online happened...

Don't get me wrong, I understand why she was so upset. As someone who writes, I know how much an author's writing means to them. You put so much thought and effort into getting the words just right and creating this amazing world. It becomes a part of you. It's like your baby. And having someone you trust take that before it's ready and publish it online for the world to see?

I can't imagine.

I remember me and a friend visiting her website and reading how crushed she was and how she wasn't sure she could finish it now and how since people had already seen it, she might as well post the first few chapters.

What stands out to me all these years later was how judgemental she was to her fans- most of which were young teens like myself- chewing us out for reading it even though it wasn't a legal version and hurting her in the process. How we'd basically forced her to upload these chapters since they couldn't be published now.

Even then I remember thinking that depending on where it got uploaded, people could have easily just thought it was a well written fanfiction. I know she was deeply hurting but lashing out at your readers like that? That's not okay.

It stings when an author you highly respected treats you like you don't matter. Like all the love you had for her work is meaningless in the face of, not what a fan did, but what someone in her inner circle did.

She was angry someone she trusted to read the draft betrayed her and thought attacking everyone was a good idea.

That's what cemented the impression that she really didn't care about her fans. That and the few interviews of her I've watched, she always seems, I don't know, cold? Distant, disinterested? She just doesn't have a very welcoming vibe to her at all.

Another reason is she comes off as really flaky and unreliable to me. Almost like when she has an idea, she'll work on it but if she gets bored, she doesn't bother to finish.

Anyone remember a book called The Host that was supposed to be the first in a series that never happened? No explanation why and any reference to the second book was quietly removed from her site after being up there for years.

She has a bad habit of announcing and teasing things that never happen. Not the most appealing trait in an author I would want to follow and support.

I haven't read Midnight Sun and probably won't unless I can get a used copy for dirt cheap. Her actions back then killed any desire I have to spend money on her work. And now she's saying she has ideas for two more books. Who's to say when those are going to happen.

[holographic-chogi]

Protector pt.10/?

Author: holographic-chogi

Pairing: fem!reader x stray kids

Warnings: Mentions of death, guns, suggestive content. Please let me know if I missed anything.

A/N: Ayyyyy we got to part 10? Wild. As always, thank all of you for your patience, I know I’m pretty inconsistent with uploads but y’all are rolling with it and I appreciate it. Haha also I know I said this would be out Friday but then I had to pick up a bunch of shifts and just ughhh. Also...out of curiosity, do any of you have any advice for Y/N? She’s in a bit of a predicament. 

Summary: a virus has wiped out most of humanity, and society has collapsed. People survive in groups where they live in constant fear and a struggle to survive. Women were the primary victim of the virus, leaving few behind. You are one of the few, kept in secret since the beginning. However, you’ve just been caught.

Masterlist

The cold air nipped at your cheeks as you sat in the lookout tower beside Seungmin, curled up under a blanket. The night was quiet, the usual sounds of wildlife starting to quiet down as the nights passed, signaling the coming winter. All you could hear was the sound of frogs by the nearby pond, right at the border of the immense forest.

The silence was comfortable, but every once in awhile, you’d notice Seungmin staring up at the sky during his breaks. This was a pattern you noticed every time he was up to guard. Curiosity on the tip of your tongue, you leaned up,

“Seungmin, why are you always watching the sky?”

He smiled and looked down at you, “I like the stars.”

“The stars? I wouldn’t have expected that.”

He nodded, “I know just about every constellation up there.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

He smiled again, as if he was remembering something fondly, “Cassiopeia.”

You stood completely, sitting on the wall beside him, “Show me.”

He looked over at Minho, making sure he was on guard before standing beside you, pointing to a particularly bright star. “Do you know the North Star?”

You nodded, pointing your own finger at it.

“It’s connected to Ursa Major. Now if you go from there to the left about this far,” he moved his finger across the sky, pointing out another small cluster of stars, “You’ll find Cassiopeia.”

The constellation he had pointed out was a line of stars kept in a zig-zag, definitely unique. “What makes this your favorite?”

“It was the first one my dad had shown me as a kid. It pretty much determined what I wanted to do with my life.”

“Oh?”

Minho spoke from the other perch, still focused on guarding. “Seungmin was gonna be an astronaut one day.”

You looked back at Seungmin, eyes wide, “That’s amazing! How close were you?”

A hint of sadness flashed in the young man’s eyes, “Very.”

He was such an intelligent, curious person. You heart hurt when you realized just how far he could have gone. “I’m sorry, Seungmin.” Despite how much you wanted them to be true, the next words, you knew were a lie. “Maybe you’ll get up there someday, if this all ends.”

He nodded, and pulled you in for a hug, “Thank you. For now, I’m happy down here with you guys.”

Minho cleared his throat, “I get it, you two are literal angels. But Seungmin, can you please guard? It’s your turn.” He looked over at you, “Hang out on my perch while he’s on watch, you’re just gonna distract him.”

You chuckled, before hugging Seungmin once more and walking across the board that connected the perches. You’ll admit that board was pretty shaky, and there were multiple people who would have a heart attack if they saw you use it, but you were far too lazy to go back down the ladder. Minho tsked as you made it to his side, before you settled in beside him with the blanket.

He set his gun down and sat beside you, the two of you obscured by the wall. He spoke quietly, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

You gulped, this could be any number of things you didn’t want to address. Minho was extremely observant, much to your dismay.

“When we were up here that one time, playing truth or dare with Jisung and Woojin, you lied.”

You smirked, attempting to hide your nervousness, “What? Since when is that game so important?”

“You know what I mean, Y/N. You have a thing for Changbin and I wanna know why you covered it up.”

Your heart sunk. “I mean...I wasn’t exactly lying about Hyunjin, I think he’s really attractive…”

“Don’t change the subject.”

You sighed. “Fine. I have feelings for Changbin. Those don’t matter though, because he’s consistently an asshole.”

Minho smiled a bit, “Yeah, he’s an asshole. But enough of an asshole for you to ignore how you feel? He isn’t a bad guy.”

“I’m not gonna let him hurt me, Minho. I don’t think he feels the same way, so there’s no point in telling him.”

Minho started laughing, attempting to cover his mouth to stay quiet, “Trust me sis, he’s into you. He has been for awhile.”

You groaned in frustration, “Minho I respect your observational skills, but you’re just wrong. You weren’t there for the trip. He can’t stand me, it’s like I’m radioactive.” You pause, “For a second there, it seemed like things might change, he was beginning to come around, but he just flipped a switch and became just as cold as before.”

Minho’s smile fell a little. “He’s traumatized by someone else, Y/N. He lost his sister way back, so I’m guessing he’s scared to get close to another girl. Apparently they were really close before she got hit with the virus. We all lost a lot of important women in our lives from that, so I understand where he’s coming from.” He giggled a bit, “Not that I’m excusing his behavior. The man needs to get his shit together.”

Looking down at the floor, you felt your heart ache for Changbin. Loss was also familiar to you, so you know how much it hurts. You smiled, “Whatever you say, Minho.”

He shrugged, “At least consider my words, I actually give good advice when you idiots let me.”

You smiled, leaning forward to tussle his hair, effectively ruining it before preparing to stand back up. However, before you could stand, Minho stopped you.

“Wait. There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

You tilted your head in confusion, “what else?”

He sighed. “I probably shouldn’t be talking to you about this, but you’re my friend and it’s really beginning to bother me.”

Your brows furrowed In concern, “spit it out, Minho.”

“You need to decide soon whether or not you’ll leave whenever Jiho finally decides to show up.”

You had been dwelling on this as well. You told yourself countless times that you’d leave with Jiho in the beginning, but now you were beginning to doubt. You didn’t want to leave the farmhouse, you were happy here and you didn’t want to leave these people behind. And on top of that, Minho had a point. Where is Jiho? Why has he not shown up yet? It almost felt like he had actually abandoned you after all.

“I don’t know, Minho. I’m not even sure if Jiho’s coming.”

He was torn, you could see it in his eyes, and so were you. Either Jiho abandons you, or he shows up and you abandon them.

Without another word, Minho leaned forward and pulled you into a hug. “I’m sorry Y/N. If he doesn’t show up, he’s an idiot.”

You chuckled, your voice still shaky from emotion, “Thanks Minnie, I know.”

As he released you, he made sure to make eye contact, conveying his seriousness, “But for your sake, you need to have a plan ready for if he does arrive. This could end very badly if you aren’t careful. We both know there are some people here more willing to let you go than others.”

You nodded, “I understand.”

That night, you sat in bed, dwelling on Minho’s advice.

On one hand, when Jiho arrives, you could leave with him. Up until you arrived here, Jiho was all you had known, and you would be lying if you said you weren’t worried sick about him. But then, you’d be back on the road, with no home. There’d also be no midnight air, sitting beside Seungmin and Minho as the moon sank into the horizon. There’d be no more Felix smiling at his hens in the morning sun, when he thinks no one can see him. No more feeling of joy as you shoot arrows with Hyunjin, making you feel powerful in this world of hiding in cement cellblocks. There would be no more Chan arriving home from a raid, relaxing into his chair in the livingroom and sighing in content as the smell of dinner made it’s way in. No more lazy afternoons reading aloud to Jeongin, or sitting up in Woojin’s perch eating snacks and teasing Jisung. You’d even miss the grumpy Changbin, the way he’d try and hide his creeping smile whenever you made a particular clever joke, or the way his hair looked as the sun rose in the morning, making his deep, black locks glow an almost amber color.

Or the way he rubbed his eyes just before starting his shift.

Or in those rare moments where he was absorbed in a book.

Or those moments where you accidentally catch him staring, the split second of softness before he darkens his gaze.

Despite how much you hated it, you’d miss that asshole with all of your heart.

Lost in your thoughts, staring at the ceiling, hours had passed. You weren’t sure how late it was when you heard a soft knock at your door. You sat up abruptly, muttering in response to the closed door, “Who is it?”

A soft whisper came from the other side, “Jisung.”

Odd. Maybe he wanted to head out early with Woojin again. How long had you been awake? “I don’t wanna head out early today, I can visit Woojin tomorrow. I haven’t slept very well.”

His voice was sad as he spoke again. “It’s about 3 am, Woojin isn’t up yet. I just wanted to talk to you.”

You hesitated, remembering his behavior earlier that day. So many serious talks today, and you had a feeling this one wasn’t gonna be a piece of cake either.

Jisung spoke again, “is it because of me?”

You furrowed your eyes in confusion, responding to the still-closed door, “Was what because of you?”

“You not being able to sleep...I’m really sorry about earlier, I know it was scary, I was being stupid and-”

You cut him off, “Not because of you. Because of Jiho.”

“Can I please come in?”

You spoke softly, “yes.”

The door opened slowly, and he peaked in first. You simply sat on the bed, waiting expectantly for him to say something. He entered timidly, sitting on the end of your bed.

“Y/N, are you going to leave?”

You avoided his gaze, not prepared for the raw emotion in his eyes. “That’s been the plan since the beginning.”

Though you couldn’t see him, his voice was shaky, “So you are. You’re just gonna be gone.”

“I...I don’t know.”

He grasped your hand in his, but you still avoided his gaze. His voice was now full of hope, “So you might not? If he comes here you might not leave with him?”

You finally look up. His eyes were brimming with tears, looking like he could shatter at moment. “Jisung…”

“Please choose us. I’m not ready for you to leave.”

It’s funny, how different society was. Life was short and bonds were strong. Despite not having been here for long, it felt like you’ve known these boys, this boy, for years. The look in his eyes was tearing you apart.

“Jisung please don’t cry...I’m right here...I haven’t gone anywhere yet.”

His eyes. Those damn eyes. You pulled him in for a hug in an attempt to avoid them. You didn’t want him to hurt, and all his eyes did was remind you of the pain he was feeling.

His voice was still shaky, barely above a whisper, “Can I stay here tonight?”

You nodded, pulling away from him and patting the spot beside you, lifting the blankets and letting him crawl in. Moments after you lay back down, his arm wrapped over you, and he tucked himself into your side, holding on for dear life. You could feel his slowing breath on your shoulder and you tried to fight the blush growing on your cheeks. His whisper was different this time, it sent tingles down your spine,

“I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

[ask-the-guiding-light-cast]

Guiding Light turns two years old today!

It’s crazy to think this all began only a couple of years back... and also hilarious it falls on the same day as “International Mystery Dungeon Day” over on Twitter. More after the cut. This is gonna be a long one, so I appreciate anyone willing to read this. ^^

For a long time, I had been a casual consumer of fan fics. It started in the late 2000s when I was in a Spyro craze thanks to the more story-driven Legend of Spyro trilogy. I had an itch that I needed scratched and FFN fulfilled that to some extent. I also looked at some Mario fics, including Paper Mario: The Temple of the Sun, which I greatly enjoyed and thought did a good job adapting the formula that made Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door so beloved and putting a unique spin on things.

But it was until the early 2010s that I actually started getting back into Pokémon games with Gen V. After Emerald, I fell out of touch with Pokémon for a time. When Gen VI came around, I dipped my toe into the fandom through Twitch livestreams, but also through reading a few anime-based fics that are very long and still going, even now. 

At the same time, I ended up buying PMD: Explorers of Sky... and damaged my cartridge before I could properly finish the game with my Vulpix/Riolu team. So, I watched cutscenes for what I missed on YouTube, then got Gates to Infinity and, later, Super Mystery Dungeon and had fun with both of them... though more for the stories and characters than the actual gameplay. Truth be told, I don’t care much for roguelikes at all.

It was during the gap in time between Super’s release and the first official footage of Sun & Moon in mid-2016 that I found myself hit with a recurring thought: “What if someone made a PMD story where the hero and the partner are forced to fight one another with the fate of the world at stake?” I wound up (loosely) brainstorming an idea for a PMD story revolving around an antagonistic Hoopa character who would use its ring portals to collect entire communities, including the Pokémon living in them... all so that he would never be bored. This would lead him to “collect” the partner to add to his “toys,” so when the hero shows up, he’d sic the partner on them.

But that was as far as I got with the idea. I ended up graduating college and took a job with late evening hours. It left me pretty tired and exhausted and unmotivated to do much of anything. I withdrew from the parts of the Pokémon community I was involved in.

Then the Generation VII games came out and, while divisive in the fandom, I found myself really liking some of the concepts. There were so many times when I thought, “Gee, I wonder what this would be like if it were in a PMD game?” For example, one of the ideas I had was a sort of edgy rival rescue team akin to Gladion, which would have a Midnight Lycanroc, a Zoroark, and a Type: Null character in it.

So, toward the end of 2016 and early 2017, I started creating an idea for a Choose Your Own Adventure story with the intent of putting it on this really small forum I was a part of. It would be a Gen VII-themed PMD story, but because I didn’t think that sounded interesting enough, I decided that, not only would the human keep their memories, but they would be from the real world and be a major Pokémon nerd. The idea was that the choices the readers made would affect the relationship between the human and partner. I even came up with a point system. The more points the readers earned for their choices, the “closer” the relationship the hero and partner would have and the happier an ending the story would get. If the hero and partner couldn’t stand each other, one of them would likely end up working with the bad guy and winning. If they became steadfast friends, they’d work together to save the world.

Unfortunately, the forum shut down before I got too far into planning it, so I shelved the idea and continued focusing on my job. And things stayed that way for several months, until I ended up getting into med school and scrambling to move.

During the downtime I had when I wasn’t doing moving related stuff, I decided to look at FFN again and found Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Defenders of Warmth. I wound up reading through the entirety of the story quite quickly. I guess you could say it sparked something in my head. The fic itself focuses on what, at the time, was the newest Gen (Gen V). It also has multiple humans and is set on a continent separate from the canon locations (which were just the Air and Grass Continents, since Gates and Super didn’t exist when the fic was written). In short, it renewed my desire to pursue my idea of a Gen VII-flavored PMD story.

So, I set about creating my story outline. It is so... so much different from the actual story, though I’ve gone into that in previous posts (search for #amby answers). Originally, I used Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time as the framework for the fic: an alien invasion in a colorful, comedic world. I took more specific cues, too. Zero was meant to be a (mostly) silent antagonist a la Princess Shroob, for example.

The problem was, I really didn’t have much confidence in myself or my abilities. I’d like to say I was writing for myself, but I really did want validation, too. I think any author is lying to themselves if they say they don’t feel this way at some point. Because of this, I figured if I put the fic on FFN, it would get ignored. The site’s huge! There were, at the time, around 85k fics in the Pokémon section alone. (That number’s since gone up to over 90k!)

Given I had experience with forums, I decided to post it to Serebii, because the fic community seemed much smaller and more open to giving feedback to one another. In an effort to try and, y’know, establish some connections, I actually read other pieces and reviewed them before posting any stories. This also helped me build up a backlog of chapters and prove to myself I enjoyed writing this enough to keep going.

When I finally did post the fic, it was a bumpy start, for sure. I do think I made a lot of mistakes out of the gate, including uploading chapters way too quickly for readers on Serebii to (reasonably) try to keep pace. That probably cost me a few potential readers... or made them silent readers who I never ended up hearing from. Which is why I’m especially thankful to @girl-like-substance (who I can seem to tag, drat) for all of the well-thought-out feedback given throughout the fic’s run. I don’t think I would’ve made such significant strides in my writing otherwise... and there are plenty of long-running fics where the quality tends to stagnate.

In any case... it was thanks to a request from @deliriousabsol to put the fic somewhere more mobile-friendly that I chose to mirror Guiding Light on FFN starting in October 2017. I would’ve kept going on Serebii had she not asked so nicely, so she’s the one you can thank for it showing up there! (She’s a fellow author who does cyberpunk-themed fics and art and her characters have cameoed in the fic.)

And, honestly, I’m just... beyond shocked at what wound up happening to the fic once it hit FFN. Well, actually, for the first several months I was lucky if I even got a comment when I put up a chapter. I’m not sure any of the people who first commented on FFN still follow the fic anymore. I haven’t seen/heard from them at all, so I assumed they moved on with their lives.

In any case, around March of 2018, the word count on FFN passed 300k and... somehow, the fic starting getting more attention. Like, a lot more attention. This was... not really something I was even remotely prepared for.

(Yes, this means there’s gonna be a giveaway. More on that later.) I never would’ve thought I’d reach a number like this. I never imagined I’d meet another PMD author who’d be willing to do a fun collab (thanks @virgil134, Spiteful Murkrow, and Namohysip). I really did not imagine that I’d ever get fanart of characters that I wrote (huge thanks @thebreak-ofdawn, @ask-nicky-and-others, and @cresselia92). I mean, above everything, I not expect the fic or characters to resonate with anybody the way it wound up.

A part of me feels like I don’t really deserve it. I’ve made a lot of serious gaffes with writing this. When initial Serebii feedback had people intrigued by Shane’s jerkass attitude (when I didn’t actually intend for him to come off as a jerk), I dialed things up in the hopes I’d keep their attention. It probably cost me readers. Then there’s the slow pacing of the early episodes and the mistake of making Special Episode 3 as long as it was... which my speaks to my (bad) tendency to give into some of my strongest impulses even though I had an outline I was trying to stick to.

And, I mean, there’s also some of the “shamlessly shameful” stuff I’ve done with the fic. I’m not fooling myself. Guiding Light has grown progressively more furry and, uh, probably fanservicey, too. All the big furbait (and some scalebait) ‘mons are accounted for. There’s a lot more sexual humor when I initially promised myself I would stay away from romance and keep everything platonic. I practically turned Xerneas into waifu bait, if some of these asks are anything to go by. This blog certainly didn’t help in that regard. Maybe I’m just being my usual nervous self? 

I am worried that this fic’s performance has, somehow, affected my thoughts and behavior. There are very popular fic authors who let their popularity get to their head... or chose to open up Patreons (something that makes me uncomfortable) or start doing things like taking commissions for written pieces, which is understandable... though I think it’s an easy way to lose your passion for writing. I guess some of that worry stems from a debacle I learned about on a Discord server I’m in, but that’s not something I’m comfortable discussing publicly. 

And I haven’t even talked much about the blog itself. Like, it somehow passed 100 followers? Where? When? How? I don’t actually draw stuff like many other Pokéasks. And, like, for a lot of folks, I have no idea if they’ve actually read the fic or just check in on the blog. It’s the same with the fic, I suppose. If you’re a silent reader/follower, I would really love to hear from you! I promise... I don’t bite or anything. I’d love to know what (if anything) you’re thinking. And if you’re a blog that’s following this one and we haven’t interacted, please feel free to reach out! It’s honestly hard to tell if people like what I’m doing, so any feedback is always appreciated.

In any case, if I haven’t lost you by now, I guess all I can say is... thank you. Thank you all so much for all of the support... whether it’s on the fic, the blog, or both of them. I really do hope this final episode can meet your expectations. I’ll try my very best to make this an ending to remember. Nothing would make me happier than to hear you guys enjoy it and feel it does justice to the PMD series.

Sorry for all the rambling. The inbox is open again if you’d like to send any messages for the ficaversary. Again, thank you all so much! You’re the best!

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview taken from The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (Admin approved)

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Loten and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

Many of our members will know your works with Post Tenebras, Lux and Chasing the Sun being considered classics for the SS/HG pairing.

Thanks for the invitation, hello everyone.

What's the story behind your pen name?

There's a werewolf novel, Bareback by Kit Whitfield. In one scene a character is looking at the moon and mentions that in Old English poetry they would use the term loten to describe a night when the moon was bright enough to see by. I haven't been able to verify it since the author may well have invented it, but I love nights like that and I liked the word, and the rest is history.

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

I get asked this a lot, actually. There is no one character, I don't think - I identify to some extent with most of the characters that feature more frequently in my fics, or I wouldn't be able to write them (the exception is Lucius, as far as I can tell he's truly fictional and not derived from anything in me). I probably have more in common with Hermione than the others, at least my version of her, but it's hard to say for sure.

Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general)

Fantasy all the way. My mother nagged me into reading The Hobbit when I was around seven or eight, and that was it. I do read other genres but a good 85 per cent of my reading material almost certainly has magic or dragons somewhere in it.

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

I have a few. I like all of Austen's works, my favourite is probably Sense & Sensibility. I've just finished re-reading Jane Eyre. I like Elizabeth Gaskell's novels as well.

At what age did you start writing?

My mother is one of those parents who hoards everything her offspring do, and among the boxes of paper is a short story I wrote and illustrated when I was maybe five, about a flying shoe (imaginatively titled The Magic Clog). And when I was six I had a poem published in an anthology of children's verse (I don't remember how that came about; I think my school was asked to get involved, had a competition and picked out a few that ended up in the book) - my contribution was a piece of free verse about a dripping tap. So it's something I've always done, though I started taking it more seriously as a teenager developing roleplay characters.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

My best friend when I was around thirteen was into fanfiction, she wrote Stargate SG-1 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fiction at the time. I don't know how she got into it herself but she introduced me to reading it, though it was a year or two before I found the courage to try writing any. My early stuff was... not very good, and I will never admit to being the author of any of it now!

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

Oh, that's a hard one. I like seeing consequences being explored - often authors will give a character the backstory or motivation they need them to have for the sake of the plot, but if it's not one of the main characters they won't pay it any more attention after that. When it's done well, I do like stories exploring the realism of just how a character would be affected by what happens to them. It adds a new dimension to their personality, and the psychology behind it is interesting in its own right. We're a product of our experiences, and so are fictional people. I try to show it in my writing as well - why a character does something is as important as the thing itself.

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

I read fics from all sorts of fandoms, but Discworld was where I first started writing (badly). It's a pretty small fandom despite the legions of fans worldwide, so I got to know a few writers there and learned more about what I was doing. Took a break for a while due to personal reasons, and when I returned under this name I started off in the even smaller Tamora Pierce fandom, trying my wings before entering the madness of Harry Potter. These days the Potterverse is still my first love along with the other two, but others include the Wheel of Time, Good Omens and too many smaller ones to list. I don't write for them or anything so active, though.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

Snape surviving, and the HG/SS ship, naturally! Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?

Music, or Youtube videos (I watch a lot of Let's Plays), or just having the TV on. I can't concentrate in complete silence, my mind wanders to other things. I also talk to myself if there's no other source of noise and I'm trying to break the habit.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

This would have been far easier to answer a few years ago, but I read less and less fanfiction as time goes by and I don't read Potter fics at all any more. My personal headcanons have developed more and more over the years, and nobody's headcanon is the same as anyone else's, so I end up disagreeing with fics these days because it's not how I would have done it and it makes it difficult to enjoy them.

The best fic I ever read was also the one that introduced me to HG/SS, but at some point, along the way, it was deleted and the author removed their account, and I've never managed to remember the title or pen name to look for it elsewhere. I don't remember the plot either after so long, but the characterisation was absolutely superb and the ship just made so much sense that I never looked back.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

A plotter, definitely. I always have a first draft mostly complete before I start uploading anything. Initially, it was just because I realised I was writing longer stories and didn't want to risk hitting writer's block or real-life delays and having to go on hiatus in the middle of uploading a story, but later I realised I preferred it. I don't have to worry about writing myself into a corner or contradicting myself, I can take the time to make sure things are coming across the way I want them to. And it means I never have to force myself to write 'the next chapter' to a deadline - if I don't want to work on whatever comes next, I can jump ahead and write something later in the plot that I do want to work on. I also find it a lot easier to plan a story around a timeline to get the overall pacing right.

What is your writing genre of choice?

I don't really know what you'd call it. Slice of life, I suppose? I like stories about characters rather than about plots.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

Most of them, in their own way. My Tamora Pierce series, even though they're nothing groundbreaking and even though I know I could write them far better now, because they were the first things I wrote that I felt truly pleased with and because the overwhelmingly positive responses gave me the confidence to keep going, to try for something completely original rather than a retelling, and to venture into a far bigger and much more terrifying fandom.

Post Tenebras Lux, because it's (almost) exactly the story I wanted to tell and (almost) exactly the way I wanted to tell it. Chasing the Sun because it's the best written of anything I've done and I can see how much I've improved over the years, although I prefer the content of PTL. And I'm incredibly proud of the thousands upon thousands of positive and constructive reviews both of them gathered along the way,

I never expected to attract much notice at all and it's been a tremendous help to me both as a confidence boost and helping me see more about how others view storylines and characters in ways that I'd miss. I think overall it's PTL I'm most proud of, with CTS a close second.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?

Talking about CTS and PTL both, they're more or less the way I imagined them. Sometimes I'd get a review showing me a perspective I'd never considered, and one or two of them ended up having quite a long-running impact. Sometimes I'd reach a point, particularly in CTS, and realise that what I had planned for that part of the story wasn't going to work and I'd end up writing something completely different.

During the writing of both of them I mostly learned about how my brain works and how to organise myself to write at my best - I think I've learned more after they were done; I re-read both of them every year or so and see things I could have done differently and things that work and things I no longer agree with.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

Back to PTL for this one, since most of CTS' plot isn't completely mine. I never planned it to be particularly personal to me; at the time I just wanted to write about my favourite character and give him a better ending than canon did, and enjoy myself telling the story. As I went along and started touching on different subjects it became more personal - I've experienced bullying and depression, amongst other things, though fortunately not on the same scale as the characters I write about. I think it made it both harder and easier; stirring up old memories wasn't particularly pleasant, but it meant less time researching and rewriting those particular parts because it felt more real, to begin with.

What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing?

That's another hard one. Subconsciously I think almost everything you read influences you at least a little. I tend to divide books into three categories - ones I don't enjoy and don't finish (which is rare but does happen), ones that were good but ultimately forgettable, and ones that deserve to be re-read, and I've probably learned something from almost all of the latter kind.

If I had to name one author it would be Terry Pratchett. His writing spanned such a vast spectrum it blew my mind wide open from the first time I picked up one of his books (I think I was ten or so) and he's still the author I come back to time and time again and find something to enjoy and appreciate no matter what my mood is. He's known for humour but there's so much more in everything he wrote. As for how outside influences show in my writing, I really don't know but I can guarantee they're there.

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

Not really. Some of my school friends did, but over the years I've lost touch with all of them. Of my family and current friends, the ones that would understand fanfiction don't share the fandoms I write for, and the others just wouldn't understand the concept. I'm not ashamed of it, I just don't know how to explain it to someone who has no overlap with this world. Some of my online friends know, but half of them I met via my fanfics in the first place, so I'm not sure that counts!

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

Where fanfiction is concerned, there's no point doing anything else. If you're trying to make a career out of writing you do have to write for your audience at least to some extent, but one of the joys of something not for profit like fanfiction is that you can tell the stories you want to tell and don't need to impress anyone.

The whole reason PTL exists is that I couldn't find a fic that told the story I wanted to read, so I wrote it myself. CTS primarily exists so I could fix a lot of the parts of canon I had the greatest problems with. The fact that other people agree is amazing and I still get warm fuzzies from every review from someone sharing the same opinion, but that wasn't the point.

Starting out in small fandoms meant I had no expectations for reviews so I never felt the need to try and court them, and every piece of feedback was a pleasant surprise rather than a main motivation. It's also a lot easier and more enjoyable to write for yourself; my other fics are mostly small one-shots based on prompts from other people, and many of them were a real struggle to write.

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I'd say it's pretty important. I try to answer every signed review where possible, and it's always surprised me when people tell me they weren't expecting it - it seems to be something most fic authors don't do. It never occurred to me not to at least thank someone for taking the time to leave a review, and for those who leave longer reviews with questions or observations or (constructive) criticism I like the chance to explain some of my reasons for a particular decision or to talk about something in the fic or the wider fandom or writing in general.

That said, I don't have much contact with readers outside review responses and FFN messages. I don't really use social media (hence the format of this interview). Nothing against it, but introversion and a lack of much free time (and, it must be said, a little laziness) mean it's not for me at this point in time. I do have a blog but it's not very active.

What would you most like your readers to take away with them when they've finished your stories?

Honestly? I'm happy if someone finishes and thinks 'that was a good read, I enjoyed it'. Anything else is icing on the cake. Sometimes I get lovely messages from people who've been going through rough times and they tell me something in my stories resonated with them and helped them feel a bit better, and that's an incredible feeling. Others tell me they've been inspired to work on their own writing or to read more about a subject I mentioned. Some just want to let me know they've checked out a song or book I referenced or quoted and they liked it. All those are great, but as long as someone likes the story and enjoys reading it, that's enough.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

The most specifically useful was probably "when you're writing dialogue, read it out loud". Time after time I've done that and realised a piece of a conversation was very awkward and strange and been able to rewrite it. In a more general sense, the best thing I've seen was "don't force it". If you're not in the mood to write something, don't try to, because it'll be far lower quality than if you wait until you're excited to write it down.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

That ties into the previous question. Usually, I leave that piece of writing alone and either work on something else or move away from writing entirely and give myself a break for a few days to clear my head. Sooner or later something will shake loose and I'll see my way past whatever the problem was. (This usually happens either in the shower or while driving, when I can't do anything about it, because the universe just hates people sometimes!)

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Oh, absolutely, though I can't give many specific examples. As I mentioned before, my experiences with bullying and depression definitely added an extra dimension to the way I write about those issues, but that's the only obvious thing. I haven't consciously included any specific incidents from my life anywhere in my writing, but I'm sure there are a lot of small things I haven't even noticed. And there are definitely some details that are me, such as certain characters' music tastes (or a preference for black forest gateau...)

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I get asked this one a lot! Yes, I do plan on at least two more long Potter fics, if possible. I'm fairly sure at least one of them is going to happen. I have some concrete writing and a lot of notes. But it's difficult to avoid treading ground I've already covered in existing fics, I don't want to produce anything that feels too similar. I also wrote both PTL and CTS while I was unemployed and living with my parents, and now I'm living on my own and working, so I have much much less free time. No teaser, I'm afraid :)

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

The only way to get better at writing is to write, so write. Don't worry about not being good. That can come later. You can always rewrite anything. My early fics under other names range from thoroughly amateur to absolute trash that I've disowned, and there's plenty of original writing that will never, ever see the light of day.

If you write something down and hate it, leave it for a while and then go back and look at it and figure out why you hate it. Try not to be afraid. It takes real courage to let other people see your writing for the first time, and nothing hurts like your first negative review, but the world won't end. Criticism comes in three forms - misunderstandings that you can address; genuine criticisms that you can learn from; and, very rarely, flames or trolling that you can ignore. Most people will have a valid point, and most of them will genuinely be trying to help you.

And READ. Read everything you can get your hands on. Fics, books, blog posts, newspaper articles. If you don't like something, try and work out why. If you do like something, try and work out why. Exercise your imagination and the rest will follow.

Thank you so much for spending some time with us Loten, it was a genuine pleasure getting to spend some time getting to know you better.

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Forgotten Alliance Ch 32

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x OC with other parings mentioned throughout.

Word Count: 7.6K

Warnings: Canon Typical things

Author’s Note: As a reminder, FA can be found on ffnet up to chapter 42. I am uploading chapters here on tumblr for convenience. I decided against tagging this until new chapters are posted. If you would like to be tagged please let me know! Chapters are queued and will be posted randomly. Enjoy

Elizabeth sat on a bench as she watched Elijah with Hope. He had been chasing her around the garden just as Kol and Rebekah had done so earlier. From the moment they walked back up to the house and were in her sights, Hope demanded his attention. There was no way she was going to leave the dream world without spending some kind time with her Uncle Elijah. Elizabeth knew it was only fair. She had spent the beginning of their visit with Elijah, it was now Hopes turn.

To see Elijah chasing after Hope had brought back the memories Elizabeth had of her wanting attention from Elijah when she was younger. It brought a smile to her face just thinking about it.

"'Lijah" A whine passed Elizabeth's lips as she tugged on the man's shirt. Her younger siblings had been put down for a nap and she had been bored. While she probably would have found Rebekah to play with, she was no where to be found. The other siblings didn't seem to take an interest in the young girl and if she had to be honest, Kol scared her. It was why she favored Rebekah and Elijah. Elijah always seemed to give her the attention she wanted when Rebekah wasn't around.

Elijah had been busy with the plans he and Elizabeth's father, William, had been working on to expand the village. They had plans of making the village safer so that they no longer had to venture to the caves once a month to hide from the beasts that came with the full moon.

"We will be able to build a barrier around the village. While it will take time to complete, it will benefit the village in the long run." While Elijah had heard Elizabeth and felt her tugging at his clothes, he needed to get his ideas out to William. He wouldn't have an attack on this village that was becoming their home. And if Elijah had to be honest, if they did everything they could to make the village thrive he'd hope there would be no reason to leave.

"Elizabeth, leave Elijah alone." Her mother, Mallory, had said rushing over to pull Elizabeth into her side.

"It's quite alright " Elijah said giving Elizabeth a smile.

"I told you she wouldn't leave you be once she got used to you." William said with a smile. William had told Elijah and his siblings from the moment that arrived in the village that Elizabeth would be attached to them as soon as she was comfortable with their presence. It happened exactly as he said it would. "I'd say between your sister and yourself, Elizabeth would rather live with your family."

"She knows good people when she sees them." Her mother said looking down at Elizabeth who was currently pouting. She didnt like that she was being held at her mother's side and kept from Elijah. She enjoyed spending her time with the newcomers. And Elizabeth's mother was right, Elizabeth had a sense who was a good person and who wasn't. Its why she kept her distance from Kol and occasionally Niklaus.

William noticed the pout and chuckled before looking over at Elijah. "I believe we have the plans that we need. We can start building the barrier tomorrow." He said with a smile. "We'll take a break from planning for now."

"Come on, Elizabeth." Her mother said beginning to head towards their hut.

"Why not leave Elizabeth in Rebekah's and Elijah's care?" Her father said before looking towards Elijah. "My wife needs her rest and I must leave the village for a while, if it would be alright with you and your sister."

"We would love to." Rebekah said walking up to them.

"I see no problem in that." Elijah said giving a nod in agreement.

"She would be trouble if I didn't leave her be." Elizabeth's mother said nodding. She looked down at Elizabeth giving her a smile before letting her go. They all watched as Elizabeth ran towards Elijah.

"You do realize that child is attached to you." Rebekah said smiling at Elizabeth before looking over to see William and Mallory smile at them before turning and walking away.

"We are the new comers. You heard what William said." Elijah said as he smiled down at Elizabeth.

"But none of the other children are attached as she is." Rebekah said looking back at Elizabeth. "How about a game?" She asked.

Elizabeth nodded eagerly. "Yes, please." She said with a bit of excitement.

"Now," Rebekah said looking back and forth between Elijah and Elizabeth. "How about we go hide and Elijah tries to find us."

Elizabeth looked up at Elijah for only a moment, giving him a smile before she left his side and left with Rebekah to go hide.

Rebekah took her hand and they quickly ran off into the woods surrounding the village. Reaching a tree that had a hole in it, Rebekah tucked Elizabeth into it. "Remember not to make a sound, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Okay." She said with a smile and watched as Rebekah went to hide behind a nearby tree.

If felt like minutes had passed while she had waited there in her spot. She looked out towards Rebekah from time to time to see if Rebekah was still in her hiding spot. When she didn't see Rebekah, she wasn't sure if she should stay in her hiding spot or go out and find Rebekah. She knew the woods could be a scary place and she didn't want to stay there if something had happened to Rebekah. She took a step towards the entry way of the hole she had been hiding in and looked around for either Rebekah or Elijah.

"Gotcha!" Elijah said as he pulled Elizabeth out of her hiding spot. A loud shriek passed Elizabeth's lips and soon after laughter followed as she looked up at him.

Elizabeth's laughter had brought a smile to Elijah's lips as he placed the young girl down and watched as she began running away from him. He shook his head slightly and began chasing after her. Her laughter could be heard the whole time she ran from him.

"Elizabeth?" Elizabeth looked up to find Freya standing there.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Elizabeth said giving her a smile.

Freya smiled sitting next to her. "It must have been a great thought if it has you grinning from ear to ear."

If it was possible, Elizabeth's smile grew as she looked over to see Hope jump on Elijah's back. "Picture a little girl with black hair and hazel eyes in Hope's place."

Freya smiled at the thought. "Sometimes I forget that my family knew you when you were human."

"Out of all the memories that I have, that is the part I could never forget. There was so much about your family that had me curious. Despite the outcome of it all, I'm glad I did know them during that time." Elizabeth said looking towards Freya. "To say that I've known them that long, it is rare. I know that there are others that have known your family for longer, but it is rare to find someone that knew them for years before being turned. If it wasn't for Elijah, I probably wouldn't be here now."

"I'd say it had something to do with that bond of yours as well." Freya added in. She was right though. Elizabeth knew that if they never had that bond between them, Elijah probably wouldn't have fought as hard to keep her alive.

"Bond or no bond, I kind of owe my life to your brother for saving me and helping me give my daughter a chance to live a full life." Elizabeth could have been just a meal the night Kol and Niklaus had decided to slaughter the village. She also could have died at the hands of her husband many years later, but Elijah had been there to save her from it all.

"After you find the cures and wake us up, I'd call it even." Freya said with a nod.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Until the next time I'm in trouble and then I'll owe him again."

"Are you planning to get into trouble?" Freya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not today." Elizabeth said with a nod as she looked back at Elijah and Hope. "Not even tomorrow."

"Good." Freya said looking out to the two as well. "I think after this, our family needs a break from trouble and just needs to take a vacation."

"A vacation only lasts so long before having to deal with the real world again." Elizabeth noted. She knew that from the times she had come to visit. This was her small vacation from the real world and once she left here, she'd be forced to deal with reality once more.

"Maybe we'll just make a life where ever it is that we decide to vacation at." The idea had sounded perfect. It was something that Elizabeth wanted. To just leave her problems behind and not have to think about them. She just wanted to enjoy life more than she already had been.

"That sounds like the best plan." Elizabeth said with a nod. "I could get used to that."

"I think we all could." Rebekah said as she walked up to them. "A lovely vacation on beach somewhere would do us some good."

Both Freya and Elizabeth laughed. "Why does it have to be somewhere with a beach?" Freya asked.

"We'd be less likely to run into some kind of vampire council there. If we are in a beach town, no one would dare even to suspect us of anything if we are out in the sun all day." Rebekah said placing her hands on her hips.

"She's got a point there." Elizabeth said with a smile. "Might as well find a place that is mostly abandoned. That way we'd really live a worry free life."

"A worry free life from what?" Elijah asked as he and Hope made their way over.

"From everything." Rebekah said. "Once Elizabeth cures you and Kol, we'll be up and out of this place and on our way to sandy beaches for a vacation that will last a lifetime."

"What if some of us wish to go elsewhere to vacation?" Elijah asked looking at his sisters.

"Then you and Elizabeth can go vacation somewhere else and eventually make your way back to us." Rebekah said rolling her eyes slightly. "And don't even think about saying you wouldn't return to us. We always return to each other."

Elijah just shook his head and smiled. But the truth was they always found some way back to each other no matter how long they had gone their separate ways for. Like any other family, separation made them want to come together after time. It is what would happen if they did decide to go on separate vacations. Eventually they would all meet back up together and move on with their lives together before they needed time apart from each other once more.

"Besides all this planning for a future vacation, there is something we should worry about now." Elizabeth said looking over at Hope who just had a smile on her face. "Hayley needs help with Hope's magic. That charm of hers isn't exactly helping with her magic."

"Has Hayley said what she has been able to do?" Freya asked curiously.

"Well besides this loophole that she found with me, she managed to cause a blackout from having a tantrum." Elizabeth said looking at the siblings.

"That sounds like one hell of a tantrum." Rebekah said looking over at Hope. "What made her upset?"

"Her not wanting to be in time out for redecorating the living room with paint." Elizabeth said with a nod.

"She's been holding in that magic." Freya said shaking her head. "Maybe I can start teaching her how to control it from here."

"But if I am not around as much, how will you be able to do that?" Elizabeth asked. "Without me she can't get here."

Freya sighed. "We'll have to figure something out. Her magic will only continue to grow unstable if you are telling me she can cause a black out with a single tantrum."

"Whatever you can do to help Hayley its best to come up with it fast. She can only do so much." While Elizabeth had no idea what it was like living with a growing witch, she can only imagine what one would go through.

Elizabeth

Both Elizabeth and Hope's heads lifted and they looked towards each other. It was obvious that they had both heard Elizabeth's name being called. It was Hayley's voice they had play through their ears and there was no mistaking it.

"What is it?" Elijah asked watching the both of them.

"Hayley." Elizabeth said looking over at him. "She's trying to get my attention. " There was disappointment in her voice. She wasn't ready to leave yet.

"You two have been here for quite some time." Freya noted.

Elizabeth, someone is here.

Those words had caused her eyes to widen and to stand up, picking Hope up in the process. "Something's wrong." She said looking at the siblings. She probably should have stayed calm but if there was a chance someone was there to harm them, Elizabeth couldn't do anything while she was there.

"What is it?" Elijah asked taking a step closer to her and Hope.

"I'm not sure." She said shaking her head. She didn't want them to worry, but she had no clue herself on what was going on out there. "We'll be back. I promise." She said with a nod before looking at Hope who understand it was time to leave. The moment they were back in the basement, Elizabeth placed Hope down and looked towards Hayley. "Whats going on?"

Hayley brought a single finger up to her lips to get Elizabeth to stay quiet. She then pointed up above their heads. Both Elizabeth and Hayley could hear two people walking around upstairs. Elizabeth pushed Hope gently towards Hayley before mouthing 'stay here' and making her way up the stairs. She could easily hear them walking through the living room. One made their way down the hall towards the rooms and another headed outside.

Elizabeth figured if she could keep the mess outside, it would make Hayley happy. Heading outside, she found a woman standing off the porch looking around. It wasn't a minute later that she pulled out her phone and began texting away. That had worried Elizabeth. Without wasting another second, Elizabeth had the woman pushed up the nearest tree with her hand shoved into the woman's back, holding on to her heart.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your heart out." Elizabeth said keeping the vampire pinned.

"I-I'm here w-with Kai." The vampire struggled to say.

"Kai?" Elizabeth asked as she almost completely let go of the vampire's heart.

"What the hell, Liz." Malakai asked as he stepped out of the house. "Taylor is with me."

Elizabeth sighed and pulled her hand out of Taylor's back and took a step away from her. "Sneaking around isn't the best thing to do." She looked to the ground noticing that Taylor had dropped her phone. Picking it up, Elizabeth noticed the message she had been typing.

"All I was doing was trying to find you." Malakai said as he watched Elizabeth pick up the phone off the ground.

"I'll take that back." Taylor said as she held her hand out towards Elizabeth.

A smirk grew on Elizabeth's lips as she stood up straight and looked at Taylor. "I'd so love to know more about you, Taylor. I mean you were about to send a very interesting text about my whereabouts."

"I have family that's likes to keep tabs on me. Is that a crime?" Taylor asked as she rolled her eyes.

Elizabeth took a step closer to her before locking onto her eyes. "What is the real reason you are here? And don't leave anything out." While Elizabeth had no idea if Taylor had been taking Vervain or not, she just knew that she was lying. There was something about her Elizabeth just couldn't trust.

"I was to find you and follow you. If you lead me to what I need, I was to call back and give them the location." Taylor said under the compulsion.

"What is it you are looking for?" Elizabeth asked.

"The hybrid. A lot of people know that she left New Orleans with The Mikaelsons in tow. Elijah still lives and other wish to know where he is being hidden." As Taylor finished, Elizabeth had felt a rage fill her at knowing someone wanted to know where he was.

"All to end his line, am I correct?" She asked taking another step closer to her.

"Yes." Taylor said with a nod of her head.

"Who knows you were on your way here?" Elizabeth asked needing to know more.

"Several people. They've been waiting." Elizabeth didn't even want to hear anymore. Without hesitating, Elizabeth shoved her hand back into the woman's chest and pulled her heart out.

"Let's leave a message for when they get here." She said as she watched Taylor's body fall to the floor. "Now while I am glad you are here, I hope you knew nothing about this." She said looking over at Malakai.

"If I knew anything about it, do you think I would actually bring her here," he said gesturing around to where they were. "just to watch her get her heart pulled out."

Elizabeth's eyebrow raised as she crossed her arms over her chest. The hand that had the fresh blood on it, the fingers tapped on her elbow. She was tempted to compel answers out of him. But he had been right. He wouldn't have willingly brought someone straight to her when it came to Elijah. After a moment she nodded and sighed. "How did you even find me here? I expected you to be at the compound by the time I returned."

"I tracked your phone here." He said pulling out his own phone. From the looks of it, Malakai had gotten a new phone while he had been gone. "All updated maps dont show anything here. Which made me question why you'd be here in the first place. Then we saw the house."

"That's because the place is cloaked." Elizabeth noted as she looked back at the house before looking back at him. "How did you even meet her?"

"The better question is why you are out here in the middle of nowhere at a cloaked house?" He said crossing his arms. "Or why said house has a child's room."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "There is so much I need to catch you up on." She said as she turned towards the house."But first, I have a few things to do."

"What exactly?" He asked but she hadn't answered him. Instead she just continued to walk back towards the house. The moment she took a step inside the back door, she placed her hand up signaling for him to wait there.

Malakai sighed and did as she said. He watched as she walked in and towards the a door off to the side. Now that he had looked at it, he wondered what would have happened if he had went through it first.

"What happened?" Hayley asked the moment Elizabeth began descending the stairs.

"It was Malakai." Elizabeth said sighing. "As much as I am glad to have seen him, there is a problem."

"The woman that was with him." Hayley noted.

Elizabeth nodded. "There is no telling who she was keeping updated." She held up the phone Taylor had. "Whoever it is, she was about to tell them they had something."

"But they knew she was headed here." Hayley sighed and looked down at Hope. "If we stay, others will come."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Elizabeth said with a nod. She was counting on it actually. She'd leave Taylor as the message to hopefully get them to back off. But even though she wanted that, she knew what this now meant. She looked around at the caskets before looking back at Hayley. "Any idea where you will you go next?" She asked knowing that this was going to cause Hayley to move.

"I don't know. Give me a month and we'll have a new place." Hayley said looking down at Hope. "I'd say that this would be the last time you saw us until we had the cures to keep us all safe, but she needs to see you. To see them as well."

Elizabeth looked down at Hope. "If I wasn't her loophole to seeing them, I would completely agree on staying away." Elizabeth hated that this is the cause for Hayley to uproot Hope once more. "Give it two months though." She said with a sigh. "Gives us both enough time to make sure there is no one following us in anyway. I'll look into some more of who she may have been with and the two months will give you time to make sure you weren't followed."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan." Hayley said with a nod. "I'll give you a call once we are all settled and I feel that it's safe for the time being."

Elizabeth nodded before looking at Elijah. "They are going to need to know." she said sighing.

"I know." Hayley said with a nod before looking at Hope. "Take all the time you need. Let her enjoy it while I start to get the essentials packed."

Elijah had been pacing the garden until Elizabeth and Hope had returned. He hated that there was nothing that he could do to help them. For all he knew there were vampires attacking wherever it was they were currently at. Hope would be guarded by Hayley while Elizabeth was left to take them on. While Elijah knew that Elizabeth could handle herself, it still left him worried for her. But most of all he hated that he wasn't there to help protect them -to protect her. Seeing Elizabeth and Hope enter the garden, a sigh of relief pass his lips and he began walking towards them.

Elizabeth noticed the worry that was written on his face and she gave him a smile. "Everything is as okay as it can be for now." She said with a nod.

Elijah wasn't sure he believed it. But she didn't seem to look worried at all and Hope seemed happy to be back that she ran passed Elijah and ran towards the house. "Who was there?"

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head almost in disbelief. "None other than my lovely friend Malakai."

"Why would he be looking for you?" Elijah asked confused. "Doesn't he know you come for visits?"

Elizabeth shook her head once more. "He's been gone all this time. To where, I don't know yet."

"You didn't tell me he left." Elijah said surprised. This was Elizabeth's best friend they were talking about. He figured she would have been at least a little upset that he had left to go on his own. But then again, Elijah didn't know when he left. He could have left before Elizabeth and Hope found a way into the dream world.

"He didn't leave on his own free will." Elizabeth clarified. Those words alone had shocked Elijah and Elizabeth could see that. "The night you were placed into this spell, Malakai almost ruined our plan to ensure that Klaus would be safe. And since I was supposed to be this creature without her humanity or had no care in the world for your family, I compelled him to leave." She shrugged slightly. "I would have told him to come back a few days later but I figured he would want to see the world without my problems interfering."

"I'm sure he'll understand you had a part to play." Elijah said with a nod as he looked at her.

"I know he will. But him coming here wasn't the only thing." Even though her visits weren't as frequent as she would have liked, she knew the next few months were going to be hard for her. "He brought someone with him that I couldn't leave alive."

Elijah looked at her with worry. He didn't like the sound of her words at all. "Someone was looking for us." He said after a moment. He knew there were still plenty of enemies that were still out there. He just assumed-more like hoped-that they dropped it all once they had been gone for some time.

Elizabeth nodded. She wasn't going to bring up the fact that they specifically wanted him just kill off his sireline. "Malakai had no idea what she was really doing behind his back. But that doesn't change the fact that someone is out there wanting information on where Hayley could be keeping you and your family."

"I assume you and Hayley have come up with a plan." He didn't like this at all. For the first time in his life he really was helpless. Other times where he believed he was didn't even come close to comparing to this. Those were moments of where even if helped in someway, he was helping and never felt completely helpless. This time, there really was nothing he could do. There was no way he could even help in the slightest and he hated it.

"Hayley will be moving from here." Elizabeth said sighing. "I don't know the specifics and I won't know about them until Hayley is sure no one has followed her. In the meantime I'll be doing my own digging to see who may be trying to find her. But this also means that-"

"That your visits will stop for some time." Elijah finished for her.

Elizabeth nodded. "I know my visits haven't been frequent, but I'm not sure how long it will be until we know for sure everything is safe for them to have visitors." She ran her hand through her hair as she looked around. "If only there was an easier way."

Elijah smiled at her and placed his hand on her cheek. "We are lucky enough to have this. Imagine if we didn't."

"I'd be even more crazy." She said with a small chuckle as she leaned into his touch.

He smiled down at her before kissing her forehead . "How much time do we have?" He asked knowing their time was limited.

"How ever long she needs." Elizabeth said referring to Hope. "As much as I don't want to leave this place, or your side, it all depends on how long she can handle being here."

Elijah sighed before grabbing a hold of Elizabeth's hand. "Then we'll spend this time together, as much of a family as we can be." He said as he took a step back before turning and leading her back towards the house.

Once again, Elizabeth found herself standing next to Hayley in the back of the moving van. Elizabeth's hand ran over Elijah's casket as she sighed.

"It's not goodbye." Hayley said watching Elizabeth. As much as Hayley loved Elijah, there was moments like this that she could see that she would never have what Elizabeth has with him. Elizabeth's literal other half was lying in a casket in a deep sleep and Hayley could see it, just in this moment, that Elizabeth looked lost without him by her side.

"I know." Elizabeth said with a slight nod. Her hand tapped the top of the casket one last time before she turned and jumped out the back of the moving van.

Elizabeth tried to hold herself together but that was difficult. She watched as Hayley closed the back door of the moving truck and it had reminded her so much of the the night this had all started. She didn't know when the next time it would be that she could visit any of them.

"I'll call you as soon as I know it is safe again." Hayley said as she walked over to Elizabeth.

"You still have connections with a witch that can put up another cloaking spell, right?" Elizabeth asked wanting to make sure. She wanted to offer Jess to do the spell but it would be against the whole reason they were leaving in the first place.

"I'm sure I can find one once we get to where we need to be." Hayley said with a nod. "Every once in a while she's going to want to call you. "

"I'll have my phone on me." Elizabeth said as she patted her jacket pocket. "You'll have to remind her that she can't tell me where you guys are until you are ready to."

"I know." Hayley said sighing. "Just make sure that if you find anything at all, you'll let me know what we are up against."

"Of course." Elizabeth said with a nod. "I'll keep you updated as much as I can from my end."

Hayley nodded before taking a step back and turned towards the moving van. Elizabeth watched as she climbed into the driver seat and a lump formed in her throat. The sound of the engine starting actually caused Elizabeth to look away from the truck. There was this feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her she should stop Hayley from leaving. But she knew it was just the bond telling her that someone was taking Elijah from her. She had felt the same thing the first time she had watched Hayley drive off. She had thought it was guilt but now she understood the feeling that was in the pit of her stomach.

Malakai placed his hand on her shoulder just as Hayley began to drive off. Elizabeth wanted to shrug his hand off her shoulder, she wanted to be angry with him for what this all meant. But Elizabeth knew that none of this had been his fault at all. So instead of shrugging her shoulder, she simply sighed and looked over at him.

"How about some dinner?" She asked knowing that there was a lot she had to explain to him.

"At a time like this, you're thinking about food." He said raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Wanting food is a whole lot better than wanting to drain a body." She said with a smirk on her face. Even though at that moment she did want to rip her teeth into something, she knew it wasn't going to help any situation at all. Food in public place was probably the safest thing for her.

"You know what, you're right. There is a restaurant that I saw not to far from here. It had an advertisement for some steaks." He said knowing that Elizabeth had a point. He knew her. He knew this was just added stress for her.

"Sounds like the perfect place." She said as she started backing up towards her car.

"What do you remember from the night you left?" Elizabeth asked as they sat down in a booth that was away in a corner. Their conversation wasn't exactly a human friendly conversation and Elizabeth preferred not to have to compel people tonight.

"To be honest I've tried remembering myself. It's like there are pieces missing. I remember you coming to the compound and I found out you had taken the serum. I could tell you were fighting the switch. I warned Elijah about what I had seen before leaving. I couldn't just let you deal with that on your own. I looked everywhere and when I finally started making my way back to the compound, there was a lot of noise. I just remember that there was a lot of chaos walking into the compound and..." Malakai stopped trying to get the memory of that night. "Nothing." He shook his head. "I was compelled wasn't I?" He asked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth nodded. "You were. I was the one who compelled you. It was actually necessary at the moment."

"When is compelling anyone actually necessary?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You were about to ruin the plan that we had in place." Elizabeth said honestly. "Yes, we should have included you in on the plan, but you were still out looking for me."

"I had no idea where you were." He sighed. "You were fighting your humanity and on top of it I had no idea where Alex was lurking. It had me worried."

Bringing up Alex had made Elizabeth stiffen slightly. "Alex is dead."

"Since when?" He was glad to hear that Alex was dead.

"The day you left." She said with a nod. "I ripped his heart out."

"Nothing slow and painful?" He asked disappointed.

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "There was other things going on at the time." A sighed passed her lips. "Do you want to remember it?" She asked.

That made Malakai actually think about it. This was a piece of his memory that he had been trying to put together for a while now. There was obviously something there that Elizabeth didn't like. "Will it explain everything?"

"Everything up until you walked out of the compound." She said with a nod. "I'll fill in everything afterwards." She promised.

Malakai thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Go for it."

She nodded before she looked him in the eye. "I want you to remember everything I had taken away from you." She said before looking away. She watched Malakai sit back for a moment. She was sure he was getting that night back.

"Did you kill him?" Malakai asked watching Elizabeth.

"No." She said shaking her head. "I shoved Papa Tunde's blade into his chest. Doing so, while putting on a show bought Freya the time to do one last spell before they were pulled into the spell."

"What spell was that?" He asked.

"Tie their life force to Klaus'. I had bitten Elijah and Kol in the process of cleaning up a mess that Marcel had began. It was the only way to make sure they would survive my bites. That and Freya had been poisoned and Rebekah's hex wasn't going to be doing us any favors."

"That would explain Hayley hiding out with them." He said with a nod. "They're vulnerable."

"They are. And with there being others out there that want to find her, this is just going to add to everything I've been dealing with."

Malakai shook his head in disbelief "That whole time you had your humanity."

"I had to put on this show." She said hoping he'd understand. "It was to help them in the end. And I have been failing at that even now."

"You believe you should have found a cure for them already." Malakai noted. "Liz, you do realize that this is a big task you are putting on yourself. It's been a year of you trying to get things undone. Who knows how long Lucien had been coming up with that serum."

"I've thought of that." Elizabeth said shaking her head. She knew that Lucien must have been working on getting the serum for years before any of them had even seen him in town. "That doesn't mean I can just sit around and wait for it all to fall into place."

"Okay, since everything went down, what have you gotten done?" He asked wanting to prove that she hadn't been doing nothing as she seemed to be claiming to be.

She sighed before looking around. "Freya's antidote had been made, Hayley got the cure for Bekah's hex, and I currently have someone trying to break down the components of my venom."

"All of that in a year sounds like you are doing everything you can to get them back." Malakai said with a nod.

"Yeah, it just doesn't seem like it is enough. Even with all my distractions in the quarter, I was hoping that this would have been easy."

"They are immortal." Malakai reminded her. "A few years of sleep isn't going to hurt them."

"But it keeps Hope from having them awake and in her life. Seeing them in a dream world isn't enough. She also needs to see Klaus." She knew what it was like to not have her parents in her life. She hated that Hope had been hours away from seeing her father. But because of the precautions Elizabeth had to take, he was still kept locked away.

"That day will come." Malakai said giving her a smile. "When it does, Everyone would be one happy family again."

Elizabeth nodded. "One day. But enough about the problems I am going through. Tell me all about where you've been this past year."

A grin grew on his face at the mention of it. "I'll tell you, but first let's order and get a round of drinks."

She smiled and shook her head. He hadn't changed one bit. That was the thing about Malakai. While he was as old as she was, he had hardly lived that long. He was still that twenty five year old man that loved adventures. Being awake for almost five years hadn't put a damper on his perspective on life. While the world had changed in so many ways for him, he was still that guy that was her best friend from the moment she met him.

"There are a few things you should know." Elizabeth said as she drove into the city limits. "Things changed since you've left. Different rules were put into place."

"When aren't there ever any rules?" Malakai said as he looked out the window.

"I'm serious Kai." Elizabeth said looking over at him. "These rules have kept the city in the best shape possible. The rules are enforced and it keeps the perfect balance that we need."

"Were these rules put in by everyone or just the humans?" Malakai asked keeping his eyes looking out the window.

"I tossed some in there as well." She said with a nod, bringing her eyes back to the road. "You do need to know the changes to the rules Marcel had put all those years ago."

"Let me guess, no feeding on the locals, stay out of which territory, don't piss off the wolves?" Malakai listed. Elizabeth could tell he wasn't interested in hearing the rules.

"This isn't a game, Kai." She said sounding worried. "You are a hybrid. While you are both vampire and wolf, the rules you follow will be that of the vampires. Punishments aren't taken lightly anymore."

"I get it." Malakai said shaking his head. "No freedom, no fun unless its with the tourists that won't be missed."

Elizabeth looked over at Malakai once more. "I hope you fully understand that these rules have kept the city in good standing."

"What happens if one of the rules are broken?" Malakai asked.

"It depends on what you are. Witches have their magic bound, for the wolves it is completely up to Mary on what their punishment is. As for the vampires and hybrids, that is my job to handle and most punishments lead to one thing and one thing only."

"Your kidding right?" Malakai asked looking over at her.

Elizabeth shook her head as she pulled up to the compound. "I'm not. So don't get carried away or anything, okay?"

Malakai nodded. "Alright." He said. "No getting carried away."

Elizabeth sighed but nodded. She knew how Malakai was. She just hoped that he really did pay attention to the rules and the things he'd be doing. "Welcome home." She said with a smile before getting out of the car.

Malakai smiled and got out of the car and followed Elizabeth into the compound. As he looked around he noticed that there had been a lot of changes since he had last been there. "Someone's been redecorating."

Elizabeth laughed and looked around. "It was needed. Especially after the chaos from letting Klaus' sireline destroy the place."

"You let them do what?" He was shocked. He definitely missed a lot.

She shook her head slightly. "This place was a mess, don't you remember that at least? Someone had to clean up the mess."

"Right." He said with a nod. "It looks great though, Liz."

"Thanks. Just took a few compelled interior designers to get it the way I wanted it." She said as she looked around again. "I assume you still know where your old room is."

"You mean you aren't in the room next to me anymore?" He asked faking hurt.

She laughed and shook her head. "No. I'm in Elijah's room."

Malakai opened his mouth to say something but closed it quickly. He knew his usual jokes weren't ideal for this moment. "Does it make this easier?” He asked a moment later.

She nodded. "Some days it does, some days it doesn't."

"We'll get those cure for them in no time." He said placing his hand on her shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. "But for now, I'm going to get settled and then we'll talk about our next move."

"Sounds like a night of starting to plan things but then becomes a night of you drinking away half the stock of alcohol in this place." She said with a shake of her head.

"You know me so well." He said with a smile before he turned towards where his old room had been.

Shaking her head once more she turned to head up stairs. As she made her way up the stairs she found Veronica standing up at the top with a smile on her face. Elizabeth's eyebrow rose as she reached the top.

"What's that look for?" She asked as she put her bag down for a moment.

"You left to see Hope and Hayley, yet you come back with him." Veronica's smile grew into a mischievous grin. "Should I call him temporary grandpa until Elijah wakes up?"

"Veronica." Elizabeth said rolling her eyes. "And god no. That's Malakai."

"Wait, that's Malakai?" Veronica asked almost excitedly. Veronica didn't even recognize the man Elizabeth had been talking to.

"Yeah." Elizabeth said with a raised eyebrow at how excited she seemed to be

"I'm just going to poke my head out to say this," Malakai said as he looked over at Veronica from his room door on the other side. "While I tried that once, she turned me down. And I'm sure if Elijah heard you say that, I'd be somewhere lying in a ditch with a stake in my heart. You don't even kid around with that man when it comes to Liz." Without another word, Malakai was gone. Elizabeth laughed and shook her head before looking back at Veronica.

"Is he serious?" Veronica asked. "That Elijah would do that."

Elizabeth smiled before grabbing her bag once more as she walked past Veronica to go towards her room. "The bond makes both Elijah and I very...what's the word I'm looking for… possessive and at time makes us jealous if someone shows any caring actions towards the other. Kai had been talking to Elijah about me, words were said, and let's just say that during said conversation I felt that need to show I was Elijah's. I'm sure if Kai didn't set things straight, Elijah probably would have."

"Remind me to never be bonded with someone like that." Veronica said following her.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Oh if it happened to you, you'd have no choice. It becomes a part of you." The thought alone made her already miss Elijah. The next few months were going to be tough on her.

[rdmfavcpls]

July 16 - Soulmates

July 16th - Soulmates

Category: Pokemon

Pairing: Lonashipping (Moon x Gladion)

Rating: T

Summary: Moon doesn’t see why everyone shuns her because of her soul pokemon tattoo, but Sun finally makes her hide it. Gladion doesn’t understand Moon’s expression when she sees Type:Null or why she’s so kind to him and Type: Null. Trouble arises and that’s where he gets his answers from.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the franchise.

Author’s Note: 1. I am so sorry that I am so late with getting these uploaded. I tried to get everything done so I would be able to work on these as fast as I could. 2. This is just a little idea I have going on in my head about soul marks being tattoos of a specific animal (or Pokemon). Please enjoy!

~~Story Begins~~

Moon couldn’t understand as to why people looked at her like she was a freak after they saw her soul mark. It was of a four-legged Pokemon that had a Gyarados like the tail fin, the two front paws had talon-like claws, around its neck was an article of clothing that was cut evenly in-between spaces. A caged like helmet had long spikes, almost as if a double edge spear was pushed into the molding to cast from the sides and from the back. The helmet had open spaces for the eyes that we so small, they couldn’t be seen and the mouth. The top of the helmet seemed to be broken up with an ax shape thing sitting on top of its head, but a strap was around it.

She thought her soul mark was cute and adorable, everyone else thought it was ugly, that the pokemon must have been some kind of mistake.

“I will start treating you like my sister again if you start hiding that mark,” Sun said and pointed to Moon’s front left shoulder.

“Yours isn’t any better!” Moon yelled back as she fought back tears. Everyone was isolating her, refusing to socialize with her, and it's all because of her mark, even now her own twin brother was going to isolate her.

“Mine is ten times better than yours and mine is easier to hide,” Sun screamed back.

It was true. Sun’s soul. mark was on his ankle and it was of an insect that had tiny legs with a giant like a bubble surrounding the area where the head is supposed to be.

“But, I don’t want to hide it,” Moon said. “I like it.”

“Than you will be alone,” Sun said.

Moon tried to handle being alone, but it lasted for a week before Moon walked up to Sun wearing a T-shirt that covered her mark.

~~

Years later, both being teenagers now and their parents divorced, the twins moved to a new region with their mother that was as far away as possible from Kanto.

“Sun, please!” Moon said as they got ready for their first day of being in Alola. “It’s a tropical place. Why can’t I wear a tank top?”

“I am not going to have people recognize me as the one who has a sister with a mistake of a soul mark,” Sun said.

“Fine,” Moon said as she put on another shirt over her tank top.

“Moon, I’m doing this for you as well,” Sun said as he tried to get his sister to calm down. He could feel that she was fuming in anger and staying quiet about it.  “I want you to find happiness, but if you show that mark, you are just going to get bullied again.”

“Whatever.”

~~

“Aren’t you going to see the new trainers,” Lillie asked her older brother.

“I’ve already met Hau,” Gladion said back. “I have more important things to do than see if my soulmate arrives.” He walked away from his sister. “Not all of us are as lucky as you.”

“You never know,” Lillie said.

“I don’t deserve to have a soulmate,” Gladion said. “I don’t deserve to be happy.”

~~

“Who are you?” Sun asked Gladion on Route 5. “It is very rude to block someone’s way.”

“Oh, yes,” Moon said with a roll of her eyes. “Let’s lecture someone about blocking a path when you wouldn’t go buy coffee for an old man who was blocking the way.”

“That was then, this is now,” Sun said. “Did you want a coffee?”

“No,” Gladion said. “I’m here to put an end to you causing Team Skull trouble.” He held out his Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside.

“Are you kidding me?” Sun said as Type: Null stood at the ready. “Are you seriously kidding me?” Sun turned to look at Moon. “No. Absolutely not.”

Gladion blinked.

“Sun, look at it! It’s so cute!” Moon said.

That caught the Pokemon’s attention and it tilted its head.

“I’ll be right back,” Sun said as he dragged Moon away back into the city.

“Did she just call you cute?” Gladion asked Type: Null.

~~

Gladion and Type: Null was walking along the beach, not paying any attention to their surroundings. It was one of Gladion’s rare days when he walked barefoot on the beach. The beach was usually clear of anything dangerous since it was so close to a hotel, but they didn’t see the Pyukumuku that had washed up on the shore.

Type: Null let out a howl as Gladion hopped to the cliff to sit down so he could look at his injured foot.

“Arceus, this hurts,” Gladion hissed.

~~

Moon heard the howl and looked towards the direction of the sound. She looked back at her brother who was trying to get Manatine Surfing down.

“He won’t know if I leave,” Moon said as she went to the path and left the beach.

She passed by the hotel and saw Type: Null look around in a panic. Moon walked towards the pokemon slowly so she wouldn’t startle the Pokemon.

“Hey,” Moon said getting the Pokemon’s attention. “Where’s  Gladion?”

Type: Null ran to her and grabbed her shirt with his mouth. This trainer called him cute so she must be a good person.

“Okay, okay, I’ll follow you,” Moon said.

Type: Null took off in a run and Moon followed it. When they came upon Gladion, his foot was bleeding, but one of the Pyukumuku spikes was impaled into his foot.

“Really, Null?” Gladion said as she saw who his Pokemon brought to help him.

“Under the current circumstances, you should be lucky that it was me your pokemon brought,” Moon said as she sat on her knees in front of him. She dumped the contents of her back out onto the ground.

“Okay, that’s weird,” Gladion said. “We have only met once and you can pronounce currently, but I don’t know your name.” He looked at the contents that fell out of her bag. “Okay? Are you trying to start a berry farm?”

“No, though it would be wise,” Moon said as she grabbed one of her Pokeballs. “Rowlet, come on out.”

When Rowlet appeared, it used the top of Type: Null’s as a perch.

“Get your owl off of my pokemon,” Gladion said.

“Rowlet, can you go and get more Enigma Berries,” Moon said.

“Ro~,” Rowlet said before it flew away.

“You are worried about berries at a time like this,” Gladion said with a roll of his eyes.

“Let me see your foot,” Moon said. She didn’t even wait for his response before she grabbed it and had it on her lap. “What happened?”

“I stepped on a Pyukumuku,” Gladion said. He tried to get his foot free when he saw some sort of crystallized blue gel on her fingers.

Type: Null sensed its trainer’s unease and sniffed the gel which Moon allowed.

“Are they poisonous?” Moon said.  Type: Null made a sound and Moon looked at it. “I’ll have to get more berries, but only then will I let you taste it.” She looked back at her patient. “This will numb your pain and skin.”

“No, Pyukumuku is water type only,” Gladion said. He didn’t like the look on her face that she made once he told her. “Why?”

“This spike has poison on it which is slowly seeping into your blood system,” Moon said. “If the Pyukumuku were poisonous than I could have waited for Rowlet to return, but I can’t now.”

“So, what do you plan on doing?” Gladion said.

As if on cue, one of her Pokeballs shook on its own before a Mareanie appeared in front of them.

Gladion’s eyes shifted over to the poison type Pokemon. He’s seen them before, but not as a captive Pokemon. His eyes shifted over to his wrist where a Mareanie tattoo was at before movement caught his eyes.

“Chill,” Moon said sensing Gladion about ready to freak out as Mareanie picked up the scissors off the ground that she always carries. “Sun would abandon me if I ever let my shoulders go uncovered in public.”

Gladion watched as Mareanie started to cut Moon’s shirt. “You trust your Mareanie a lot.”

“If you know anything about my brother is that he’s reckless,” Moon said. She touched the area around the spike. “How did that feel?”

“How does that feel?”

“Good,” Moon said as her Pokemon got done cutting the bottom half of her shirt off. Mareanie than cut that part in half again. “Are you squeamish with blood?”

“No, why?”

Moon pulled the spike out of his foot. Mareanie took the spike as Moon started to wrap his foot up. When it was tight enough, she tied the fabric up.

“Did you really just pull that out of my foot?” Gladion said as Type: Null sniffed his foot.

“Yes, Mareanie, can you go check on the Pyukumuku,” Moon said. “You are going to need to stay off of your foot for a day or two. The enigma berry juice will help heal it faster.”

“Moon!” Sun said.

“I usually would have you drink something that would make you asleep,” Moon said ignoring her brother. “I didn’t realize I was so low on supplies.”

She set his foot down and grabbed an empty Pokeball as her Meleanie let out a cry.

“Ro!” Rowlet said as he held onto three Enigma berries with Sun chasing after the owl. She caught the Pyukumuku before Rowlet sat on her head.

“Thank you, Rowlet,” Moon said taking the berries. She looked at her brother.  “I see you are alive. Good.”

“What are you doing here with him?” Sun asked as he pointed at Gladion.

“He’s injured. Now take this Pokemon to the Pokemon Center and get it healed,” Moon said tossing the Pokeball at Sun’s face. “I’ll put a good word in you for Lana.”

~~

The next time Gladion was alone with Moon was in Aether. Faba had trapped them in his former bedroom.

“As soon as I’m president, I’m firing him,” Gladion said. He turned around to face Moon who looked at him with a concerned expression. “We’ll get out of here, but we need to stay calm, not to panic and -”

“Claustopic? Understood. It’s fine,” Moon said.

“Not me, Null is. If we don’t get out here soon,  it will start attacking,” he said.

“How’s your foot,” Moon said changing the subject.

“My foot is fine, thanks by the way,” Gladion said as he turned back around to try and pick lock the door. “What you did was pretty amazing.”

Moon hid her blush behind her black hair even if she knew he wasn't looking at her. “No, not really. It’s nothing by the way.” She looked around the room. “So, we need to get out of here, right?”

“Yes,” Gladion nodded. Moon went to try the window and found out that it wouldn’t budge. “Don’t bother. Mom bolted the window shut.” He stood up and kicked the door. “Faba did something to the door as well. I can’t get it unlocked.”

Type: Null escaped its Pokeball. It hated it here and the Pokemon wanted to escape. He was in a small room with two people.

“Null, calm down,” Gladion said as Type: Null headbutted a wall. The helmet left an indent on the wall.

“That actually gives me an idea,” Moon said.

Type: Null faced Moon. “No,”  Gladion said, but it was too late.

Type: Null charged at her. Moon reacted a little bit too late in dodging. The ax part of its head cut into her left shoulder. The window didn’t break but Moon’s shoulder was bleeding.

“Gladion, move,” Moon said.

Moon stood in front of the door and dodged Null a lot better this time. When Null ran into the door and broke it open.

“Well, that works,” Moon said as she grabbed her shoulder. “Ow.”

Type: Null was trying to get control of its sense while Gladion focused on Moon.

“Idiot, why did you do that?” Gladion said. He tried to move Moon’s hand away from her wound, but it was already covered in blood.

“I didn’t think that Null would consider me an enemy,” Moon said. “I don’t have any supplies either. Sun commanded me to heal his Pokemon.”

“Why do you let Sun boss you around so much?” Gladion said. He grabbed Moon’s free hand and dragged her out of the room and past Null.

“Where are we going?” Moon said.

“To find a first aid kit, ”Gladion said. “Please answer me.”

“Sun is basically my only friend,” Moon said. “It is either that or be alone.” Type Null caught up to them and looked at Moon with a whine. “I’ll be fine, Null.”

Gladion lead Moon to the infirmary. “Sit on the bed.”

Moon did as she instructed and Null laid his head on her lap, whimpering. She petted Null.

“It’s okay, Null,” she said as she comforted the Pokemon. She looked at Gladion who had the first aid kit out. “I can’t really help you take my shirt off.”

“Your Pokemon can’t help you?” Gladion said.

“Pyukumuku is the only one who hasn’t fainted,” Moon said. “I do  have another shirt on  underneath.”

Gladion took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Gladion, is there another Type: Null?” Moon said.

“There might be one more. Why?” Gladion said as he lifted her shirt up.

“You’ll find out,” Moon said.

When her shirt was off, Gladion started to clean and bandage her wound only to get distracted by the tattoo on her shoulder that barely escaped her wound.

“Type: Null is your soul mark,” Glaidon said.

Moon nodded. “Sun and everyone in Kanto shunned me until I hid it. I hated hiding it so when we met on Route 5 -”

“That’s why Sun took you away,” Gladion said. He focused on bandaging her shoulder. “Your brother is an idiot. Hau will still be your friend along with everyone in this region. So, was Meleanie your first Pokemon?”

“That is correct, why?”

“Meleanie is on my wrist.”

~~

When the drama ended, Moon was asleep in her bedroom at her mom’s house. She had lost more blood than they imagined and Gladion wouldn’t let no one else take her to a safe place for her to sleep. A Silvaniy and Type: Null were curled up on each side of her with her mom’s Kanto Meowth asleep on top of Moon’s stomach.

Gladion left her room with a smile before leaving the room and the house to talk to everyone that is waiting for him outside.

“Brother,” Lillie said. “Will Moon be okay?”

“Yes. She just had a lot of blood loss,” Gladion said. He patted her head. “So, I found my soulmate.”

“No way,” Hau said. “Someone has Type: Null as their soul pokemon.

“Moon, ”Gladion said. He turned towards Sun. “So, what do you have against Type: Null?”

“Nothing, why? Because I had her cover it up?” Sun said. “You don’t know how bad she got picked on. Professors from Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh didn’t know who or what it was.” Sun glared at Gladion. “Just because you two are soulmates does not give you permission to kiss her.”

“As in when she’s awake or asleep?” Gladion said.

“Both!” Sun said.

“Too late,” Gladion said with a shrug. “She was the one who kissed me first when I gave her the other Type: Null.”

Lana and Sun’s mom had to restrain Sun from charging at Gladion who smirked. He walked back inside Sun and Moon’s house. He ignored the screams of Sun as he walked into her room.

Silvanny looked up at Gladion.

“It’s time for us to go,” Gladion said as Silvanny was called back into its Pokeball.

Gladion leaned down and pressed a kiss to Moon’s forehead. “Now,  I  can say that I kissed you while you were asleep,” Gladion whispered with a smirk.

~~The  End~~

[royalbluehues]

Sideral, Part 8

A/N: Finals are next week. But ya girl already finished the next chapter, so I might upload that tonight or tomorrow. From there until Wed, I might be MIA because of all the stuff I got to study.

Title: Sidereal

Chapter: 8/?

Summary: This is the story of a fallen queen.

Author: royalbluehues

Warnings: There be angst, and science lessons.

Pairings: Loki x Reader

mi·ser·ly (adj) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity.

Part 8: Miserly. 

“My lady.” A hand shook your shoulder. “My lady.” You groaned, lethargically swatting the hand away, slowly turning into your pillow, giving your back to whomever it was that was bothering you.

“My lady, the royal family is waiting for you to attend breakfast.”

“Well tell my mother and fath-” You stopped, your body tensing. Slowly sitting up, you assessed your surroundings. The maid at the end of your bed had narrowed her eyes. You averted your eyesight as well, bunching the covers under your hands. “I-,” you cleared your throat, training your eyes on a spot beside your bed, “please send my thanks, but I am not hungry.”

The woman bowed, no doubt wanting to get out of this uncomfortable situation. “Wait,” you blurted, “no- don’t say that. Just inform them that I am still weary from my travel. I’m sure that they will understand.”

“Yes your Majesty.” She curtsied and exited the room, leaving you to sit in silence with your loud thoughts. You closed your eyes, burying your face in your hands, breathing in a deeply.

After a moment, you laid back down again, pulling the covers up to your chin, trying not to think about anything else.

Thor was taking a gulp of his drink, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, his face the definition of confusion. “That was her? With the stars last night?”

Loki sighed as he hung his head, his fork hovering over the piece of ham. “I truly feel that we have been trying to explain this to you for a millenia. Yes. She, once again, is a turning. They control-”

“Yes, yes. I know. The stars, moon, and sun. I understand that, Loki. But how? There has to be a science around it.” Thor expressed in defense, tearing at a piece of bread.

Loki titled his head up, “I believe that that is the first,” he pointed his fork at his brother, “intellectual question I’ve heard come out of your mouth in this whole week.”

“Boys.” The stern voice of their mother made the two brothers cringe a bit.

Thor grumbled something that sounded like “piss off” to Loki under his breath, then turning away from his brother, giving his attention towards his father. “Have you decided on anything?”

“Not as of yet.” The king observed the wine he was drinking, swirling the cherry liquid in his glass.

Frigga frowned, placing her fork down. “I would hope that you would help her, dear. You saw what she looked like, the poor thing. Imagine if something happened to us, someone had killed us, and they took everything from Thor and Loki. I would hope someone would try to help them.” Frigga smoothed over the ridges of the napkin on her lap. “Speaking of which, Loki,” the queen turned to her younger son, who was taking a bite of the meat, “I was and am appalled by your behavior yesterday.”

Thor snickered at his brother, shoveling a piece of bread into his mouth. Loki leaned back into his chair, meeting eyes with his mother. “I was only speaking on behalf of Asgard. Do you really think that going into war is wise?”

“Whether or not it is wise does not mean you can speak to another person as if they are beneath you. I have raised you better than that- Thor wipe that smile off your face. I should send you two down to the stables to clean after the horses.”

Thor’s smirk fell, and Loki grimaced before he quickly put on a face of sincerity. “I apologize if I offended you mother.”

“No, it is not me you should apologize to. You apologize to the girl.” Loki groaned inaudibly, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Sincerely.”

“Alright mother.”

“I agree with what Loki said.” Odin calmly spoke, making each family member turn to the man in surprise.

“You agree?” Loki asked dumbfoundedly.

“Quite so. Believe it or not, the family was sacked due to negligence. There is a shortage of food, from what I understand. It also doesn’t help the matter that the king would spend the crown’s money on lavish parties and items.”

“Ake? I find that very hard to believe, actually. Ake was always frugal with his allowances, especially when we were younger.” Frigga spoke earnestly, spreading a preserve on her toast.

“Whatever the reason, it’s not something we can afford to invest in. From sources, I hear the people are starting a republic.”

“The more the reason as to why you should help. You would be doing the right thing; taking back what is rightfully hers and so forth. ” Frigga responded.

“Morals don’t play a part in running a kingdom.” Odin’s voice had an underlying tone of annoyance, the two sons briefly making eye contact before returning their gazes on their parents.

“And so you’re not going to do anything?” Frigga’s voice was sharp, “You won’t help the daughter of our friend?”

“Not when I can avoid conflict. You women and your sympathy.” Odin scoffed into his drink. The queen gave her husband an icy glare. “It clouds your judgment.”

The air in the room became tense, and the sound of a metallic clicking against the plates was the only thing that was heard.

The queen placed her napkin on the table, “I will help her. Not because my sentiment is clouding my judgement, but because it is the right thing to do. Because Asgard is the safeguard of all the Nine Realms.” She stood from her seat, looking to her husband. “I honestly expected more from you.”

The queen left, leaving her two sons behind in quiet astonishment, and her husband, who was still swirling his drink.

A knock on the door broke the silence in the room. You raised your head to look up at the door, waiting to hear if the person would leave if you did not answer. You had changed into a dress the maids have given you- something that was comfortable to wear.

Another knock and you placed your feet on the floor, forcing yourself to walk. You turned the handle, and you were surprised to see Queen Frigga.

“I haven’t woken you, have I?” She smiled sympathetically, her voice warm.

You shook your head, clearing your throat, “Not at all.” You opened the door wider, stepping aside to let her in, “I haven’t been able to sleep, really.”

You closed the door behind her, walking slowly to the armchair you had been sitting in. “I will tell the maids to bring up Valerian tea. It put you out in no time.”

You gave a small smile, “Thank you.”

“And something to help with the throat. Have the healers seen to you yet?”

“No,” you replied folding your hands in your lap, “though the swelling has decreased- so it doesn’t hurt too terribly.”

She reached out to grab hold of your hand. “I can only imagine what you have gone through.”

You said nothing, watching as she searched deeply into your eyes. “You are a strong woman. I do not believe others would have been able to get through an event and still get back unto their feet.”

There was a moment’s pause. You could hear the birds outside twittering and a few voices from the grounds below. You stood up, walking to the open window, looking down to see the guards. “I see that you have a garden.”

“Oh, yes. I’m quite proud of it. When Odin or the boys visit a different world they bring me back a plant or two.”

You turned to look at the queen, tilting your head a bit. “If I recall, I heard you say you were rather close to my father growing up. How is that?”

“Well,” She rubbed her hands on her lap, “I was actually one of the potential matches to your father. Your grandfather, King Arvid, was close with my father. But as your father and I grew older, we just didn’t… reciprocate any feeling for one another. He was more as a brother to me than anything else. Also, I believe that was around the time he met Hillevi.”

You opened your mouth, paused and then spoke, “I never knew that.”

She gave you a sad smile. “My only regret is that I didn’t get to see your parents one last time. There was an issue that arose that prevented me from attending the anniversary party.”

You narrowed your eyes, feeling them water, and a lump beginning to form in your throat. You turned back to the window.

“I miss them.” You said quietly. “So much that it physically hurts.”

You watched as maids below went about their day, laughing as the guards attempted to flirt with them. “Time will allow you to heal.”

You smiled sadly, lifting up a hand to wipe away at a stray tear. “So I’ve heard. If you’ll excuse, me, my lady. I think I’m going to go take a stroll. To get out of the room for a while, get some fresh air.”

The Queen of Asgard nodded, watching as you bent down to slip on your shoes. “I want you to know,” she said as your hand hovered over the handle of the door, “that you will always have a home here with us. That you are not in this alone.”

You paused, turning your head just slight, then opened the door to leave.

Part 9: Omnipotent.

Part 1: The Ascent.

Previous Chapter

Masterlist

*Let me know if you’d like to be in the tagging list!*

Sidereal Permanent Tag List:

@i-venoidea, @jedionironthrone, @marty-the-flying-bison, @theyfckup, @antisocialtrashpotato, @deputy-orange-juice, @celestialmommy, @blackcat995, @mala-firebringer, @starxgazing, @sweetlytenacious25, @beanie-boy-jones-iii

Loki Tag List

@starxgazing, @jedionironthrone, @sweetlytenacious25

[wallpaperpainter]

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[fan-tastic-fiction]

Fanfiction Author Profile Friday

This is the seventh interview in what I hope will be a long running series! I think people need to feel more connected to the brilliant authors behind their favorite fics, I also feel that fic authors need to be taken just as seriously as published authors and treated with respect and admiration in the same way. Making money should not be the only way to gain prestige! Some of the best peices of writing I’ve ever read have been fanfictions and they are often equal or superior to published stories. If you have a story or author recommendation, let me know! And if you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask your favorite author, message me and I’ll try to make it happen!

Pen name: The Moonmoth (fun fact: I shudder at the “The” every time I write it out. Thirteen-year-old me thought it made me sound very serious and mature, but thirteen-year-old me was Pretentious with a capital P!)

Age: 33? I think? I am at that stage where I have to count up from my date of birth D:

Is English your first language? No. At home, we talk in Baby

How long have you been writing? There’s a beautiful self-insert Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story in a primary school exercise book that my parents have kept, from when I was about 5. I was kidnapped and the turtles came to rescue me. I like to think of that as the start of my writing career.

What do you think your strongest piece of writing has been? If we’re saying completed piece, it’s The Lady of the Gift. I think the story is tightly written, well-paced and plotted, and has lots of nice world-building. It’s also, to date, the longest thing I’ve ever written – as a slow writer, I take quite a bit of pride in that :)

http://archiveofourown.org/works/325083/chapters/523878

If we’re allowing WIPs, then it has to be The Soul Lies Down, which is possibly not at all well-paced or plotted since it keeps growing like a hydra, but has been so successful for me (so far) in terms of exercising The Craft that I feel like it’s brought me on a huge amount as a writer.

http://the-moonmoth.livejournal.com/200408.html

Your weakest? Well, I have (perhaps unwisely) uploaded fic to my AO3 account dating all the way back to 2004, so it’s a fair bet some of that is a little sketchier in quality than my more recent stuff…

What is your favorite website for posting your writing and why? In general it’s AO3 because it’s just so user friendly, but for Spuffy stuff, Elysian Fields is where the main action (read: comments) is.

What do you find most challenging about writing fanfiction in particular? The actual writing part! I have a six-month-old who, one could say, is occasionally healthy. The 5% of my day she doesn’t currently take up I spend eating or taking “me time” locked in the bathroom with the fan on (sometimes together)

In your opinion, what can the fanfiction community do to encourage fanfiction writers to continue their art? Cheer, cajole and bribe new writers to pick up their metaphorical pens and join the ranks of the obsessed. Once they’re in, it’s a drug – there’s no going back! Oh, and leave essay-length comments describing in detail what’s awesome about the fic, highlighting favourite lines and analysing the author’s clever allusions, symbolism and foreshadowing :D

What was your favorite review or comment? I’ve been very lucky over the years to have received some wonderful and often inspirational comments, but the one that springs to mind is the one that @yavannies left on The Lady of the Gift. It was the start of our friendship, which has lasted many years, changes of fandom, (very occasional!) differences of opinion, foul language, cross-continental moves, and child rearing.

What type of fanfiction do you enjoy reading? One of the wonderful things about fanfic is that you find yourself reading and enjoying genres you wouldn’t normally touch with a punt pole in the mainstream. For example, I fricking HATE zombies. HATE THEM. And yet one of the best fics I’ve read in recent years is Solstice’s “A Home at the End of the World” (linked below). So pinning it down is hard, but I suppose in vague terms it’d be something along the lines of anything well-written, with good characterisation that drives a compelling plot, a romance with a well-paced and believable arc for my OTP, and, yeah, teh hawt sex ;) Also, anything that works with fandom tropes is like catnip to me, whether it’s inverting them or gleefully and unabashedly running at them headlong, I LOVE that shit.

What are some of your favorite fanfictions or fanfiction authors?

Bearing in mind this is just some from two decades of voracious fic-reading.

Solstice, A Home at the End of the World http://dark-solace.org/elysian/viewstory.php?sid=4155 (I love Sol’s take on S4 Spike, and the domestic element as he’s forced into protecting Buffy’s family)

FlightsofFancy, Accursed http://dark-solace.org/elysian/viewstory.php?sid=4465 (this story is just plain beautiful, with delicious plot in an alternate S6, vivid prose, and a really refreshing take on spuffy)

St Ephiny, Ever Sun, Ever Moon http://dark-solace.org/elysian/viewstory.php?sid=4762 (I have some quibbles with the author’s style, but her storytelling hits me square in the id, mmph)

Rahirah/BarbC, The Barbverse http://archiveofourown.org/series/514 (Barb has, imo, the best take on Spike in the fandom, and plenty of incisive and witty insight into the rest of the cast. Her writing ticks every box for me, plot, characterisation, storytelling, pacing, and just all round craftswomanship in the construction of a good story. I envy and admire her skill in equal measure)

Bewildered (aka, my partner in grime), if I have to pick one then Restfield Irregulars, which I believe right down to my slippered feet she is writing just for me :D http://archiveofourown.org/works/9257948/chapters/20986136 (I have never laughed so much as I have reading, beta-ing and corresponding with Be, but underneath the funny, fluffy romance is a rich core of feeling and writerly skill that is easy to overlook but hard to pull off. And she gives woooonderful Buffy)

Yavannie, The First Day of Spring http://archiveofourown.org/works/966791/chapters/1897169 (Yav excels at subtle symbolism, subtext, and a lovely, spare writing style. This fic in particular is perfection)

Seperis, You’ll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While) http://archiveofourown.org/works/20274 (this fic is basically pure, distilled fanfiction – it revels in its tropeyness and NC-17 rating with the original OTP, Spock/Kirk. Can’t count the number of times I’ve read it)

What are some major influences on your writing? That pretentious inner-thirteen-year-old :D No, okay. (Well, yes, but moving on). It’s a total cliche of course, but: life. I’ve reached an age now where quite a lot of Stuff has happened to me. Bad stuff, good stuff, passing the time of day stuff. The last five or so years have been particularly packed with stuff-ness, and so most of what I write is drawn from my experiences in some way. I am also very influenced by visual media, and I think it was @kimberlite8 who once pointed out to me that my writing is packed full of descriptions of body language, which I hadn’t noticed before, but yes, I see the scenes in my head like a film reel, and then try to describe what I’m seeing. And of course, the way I frame these mind-movies is shaped very much by the movies and TV that I watch.

Anything else you would like to tell people about yourself? I have a personal vendetta against phonetic spelling of accents. It makes my eyeballs bleed. I think it might be an allergy or something. One day, when I have some free time again, I’d love to take some poetry classes.

I would like to thank The Moonmoth so much for their time! They are one of my personal favorite fanfiction authors. I would like to encourage you to go and read their fanfiction! Remember to leave comments and kudos in support!

[writingguide003-blog]

Fairy Tales Still Inspire Modern Female Writers

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/fairy-tales-still-inspire-modern-female-writers/

Fairy Tales Still Inspire Modern Female Writers

Aimee Bender is the author of quirky novels such as The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and short story collections like The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures. Her stories often have the feel of modern-day fairy tales, but in her recent collection The Color Master she goes one step further, writing new versions of two classics, “Donkeyskin” and “Molly Whuppie.”

Podcast

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“For ‘The Color Master’ I wanted to think about what kind of tailors would make dresses the color of sky, moon, and sun,” Bender says in Episode 231 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “And with ‘The Devourings,’ how does a marriage survive if your husband eats your children?”

Bender has always been drawn to fairy tales, but as a young writer she feared that she wouldn’t be taken seriously unless she wrote realistic fiction. That all changed when she was accepted to an MFA program at UC Irvine, and saw that the program’s temporary director, Judith Grossman, had placed Andrew Lang‘s The Lilac Fairy Book on the recommended reading list.

“She happened to love fairy tales, and she had this moment, and she was the female director,” Bender says. “And she was flanked by wonderful [male] writers who probably wouldn’t have listed it. And that spoke to me in some deep way about the validity of these fairy tales.”

Bender belongs to a broad movement of newer writers who draw inspiration from fairy tales, including Kelly Link, Karen Russell, Judy Budnitz, Julia Slavin, Stacey Richter, and Helen Oyeyemi. And while the group includes some male writers such as Kevin Brockmeier, the majority are women. Bender says there does seem to be something about fairy tales that speaks particularly to women.

“In the olden days, when they would sit around and spin their wheels and tell their stories, those were mostly women, and they call them ‘old wives’ tales,’” Bender says. “So I guess I do see an echo from that.”

And while older fairy tales are famous for dishing out gruesome punishments to their villains, one trend that Bender finds heartening is how many modern-day fairy tales—such as Wicked or Maleficent—try to sympathize with the monsters.

“In this kind of scary era we’re in, maybe there’s something hopeful about the fact that people are interested in the full story, at least in these narratives,” she says.

Listen to our complete interview with Aimee Bender in Episode 231 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.

Aimee Bender on The Wizard of Oz:

“The Wizard of Oz was on once a year, and we had a black and white TV until I was probably 12, so it was not that interesting when she would go to Oz. She’d open up the door of her little cabin, and then it would still be black and white. Then later, when I saw it on a big screen in Technicolor, it was so different, and I understood so much better why it was a shock to her, standing there holding Toto. But I would dress up as Dorothy, I had a whole ritual. … And there was a point where I felt like I really shouldn’t be doing this anymore, but it would be on once a year, and I would want to have a nightgown that was gingam, and I would enact this sort of movie worship.”

Aimee Bender on writing fantasy and science fiction:

“There are teachers who will tell their class ‘You can’t write fantasy and science fiction,’ which I’ve always found really odd. It’s not addressing what makes a story work—it’s not genre. Genre in my mind is not the deciding factor. … It’s a problem if you write a fantasy piece that just feels like a rehash of some other fantasy piece, but that’s true of realism too. In fact it’s more cynical when it’s realism. I feel like people who love fantasy and science fiction tend to be kind of earnest in their love, and if people are writing a ‘literary’ short story but it still feels not quite of them, there’s something bleaker to me about that than someone who’s writing a fantasy story that’s not of them.”

Aimee Bender on fantasy and science fiction readers:

“I have this novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and it has kind of this light blue cover, and it’s gotten a really good touring of book groups who tend to do more realism, and they balk—there’s a couple magical turns in the book, and one of them was a risk, and a lot of the people who are used to more traditional narratives won’t go there. And I actually have longed for the sci-fi readership to find the book, but I feel like if they looked at it they would never think that that book would be for them, and I’ve wondered ‘How do I tap into that?’ Because I think they would get it. I think it would be a leap that a lot of sci-fi readers would be willing to take, that a lot of other readers won’t.”

Aimee Bender on her short story “The End of the Line”:

“I’m the youngest of three, and so I didn’t have a little sibling to persecute and adore in the way that older siblings, I think, can do, and so I think I was always obsessed because of that in the little people idea. What would happen? And then into adulthood, thinking of that idea of ‘What would really happen if you could actually go buy a little person?’ and then playing it out in terms of power dynamics. … It’s really fun to read aloud, but I can feel the moment where the audience feels uncomfortable, and it’s really interesting for me to be able to track that so closely. It’s funny up to a certain point, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, this isn’t funny anymore.’”

Read more: http://www.wired.com/

[larafoos7285-blog]

One Month

An exploration from daily life aboard the International Spaceport station, and also the unexpected explanations the purpose is actually still beneficial. Our experts might at some point need to become a multiplanet types-- either because we actually grow out of the Earth, or since we destroy it. Or even our experts may simply want to come to be a multiplanet species: someday, some people could prefer the vacant black silence from the moon, or even the uncrowded reddish beauty of Mars, just as they preferred Oklahoma to Philly in the 1890s.

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Let's start along with the eclipses, which landed on the Leo/Aquarius axis, component of a brand new series that are going to renegotiate your work-life equilibrium coming from 2017 to 2019. Rhymes and banners ought to support Songs In Our Institutions and focus on the existing year's statement. The Obama administration guaranteed personal debt comfort to the victims from aggressive for-profit universities. On August 2, revolutionary changemaker Uranus will transform reversed till January 2 in Aries as well as your eighth house of affection, discussed funds as well as mergers. A crowning moment arrives on August 21, when the second of pair of RARE Leo brand new moons (this one a powerful solar energy eclipse) electrifies your tenth residence of profession and success. In timeless Leo-season kind, August is actually an active month in the superstars. While the claim, like those of head of states past, took note the process from charitable organization as well as mind-calming exercise" that define the divine month, that took place to focus on a subject matter that has been at the leading edge of Trump's 1st journey overseas as head of state: violence.http://individuomuscular.info, you can call us at our page. com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MonthPart2.jpg" width="285" alt="months in spanish"/> The station was actually to possess seven significant features-- it was actually to become a research lab, a production center, an observatory, a room transit hub, a satellite-repair amenities, a spacecraft-assembly amenities, and a hosting base for manned objectives to the solar system. Driven Mars could carry an outbreak of task to your residence life-- along with a few instants from rubbing. August 21: Leo new moon & overall sun eclipse The year's unusual second Leo brand new moon is also a groundbreaking eclipse in your groups and innovation residence. Coming from August 12 to 31, the swift carrier world turns back with Virgo and your alliance home, an unsafe opportunity to authorize contracts or even arrange. The ones that disregarded when Nixon summoned order," or when Reagan appealed to condition's liberties" The ones who ignored the subtext from the Willie Horton ad The ones that weren't alarmed by George W. Plant visiting Bob Jones College, or even the McCain-Palin rallies, or even Mitt Romney boasting that no person ever before questioned where he was actually carried The ones which thought Donald Trump had not been that bad.

[royalbluehues]

Sidereal, Part 5

A/N: I am not too sure when I’ll be able to upload next. The end of November is just around the corner and I need to finish my applications. I hope to finish them by the end of next week so I could continue writing during Thanksgiving break. I keep changing what I’m going to write next, and that’s been frustrating me. But here’s a dose of Loki for you; you will meet him next chapter.

Title: Sidereal

Chapter: 5/?

Summary: This is the story of a fallen queen.

Author: royalbluehues

Warnings: None.

Pairings: Loki x Reader

Carrier (noun)

       a person or thing that carries, holds, or conveys something.

Part 5: Carriers.

A messenger ran through the halls of the castle, pushing servants out of his way to locate the King.

“Where is he?” He asked a passing servant holding a jug of water. The servant pointed to the dining hall, and he murmured a quick thank you. The guards were quick to open the doors where the royal family resided. He slowed his pace, switching to a quick walk. The dining hall was long, and the family sat in the back, eating their breakfast as Prince Thor and Prince Loki laughed over a conversation.

“My King,” the messenger bowed, “There is urgent news.” King Odin looked up from his food, his blue eye watching him.“Would you like to hear it in private?”

Odin shook his head, lifting up his drink to his lips. “No. Now what is it, boy?”

“Heimdall has told me that the royal family of Bjartsjord have been assassinated.” The conversation between the two brothers stopped; the Queen whipped her head to the messenger and put her fork down. The messenger fidgeted under their gazes as he continued speaking. “They were assassinated after returning from visiting a village on the outskirts of their country.”

Odin look lost in thought for a bit, and Queen Frigga piped up. “And the girls?”

“Only one daughter is alive. She managed to flee the attack, the rest are dead.” Frigga blinked, sadness washing over her features.

“And where is she now?” Prince Thor asked, setting down the piece of meat he was about to eat.

“She’s on her way here. To Asgard. With the intent of speaking to you.”

“No doubt for assistance.” Prince Loki said, interested in the conversation. He turned toward his mother. “These are the people that rule over the stars, correct?”

“And the moons and the suns. Yes,” Odin answered, “How far is she?”

“She is just reach of the Bjartjord’s trading post. She will be here in an hour or so, with her companion.”

“Thank you, you may go.”

The messenger bowed and left, and Odin sat in silence, pondering what he would do. Frigga pushed her plate away, not feeling hungry anymore. “My father was friends with them. Growing up I would visit their palace every other year. I played with Ake and his sisters. The eldest daughter is younger than Loki by a hundred years or so.”

“Would you like me to greet her when she gets here, Father?” Thor asked, munching on scrambled eggs.

“Yes. Loki may go with you if he’d like.” Thor turned to his younger brother, who was deep in thought.

“I had a few errands that I planned to do this morning. I’m afraid you’ll have to do it yourself.”

Odin took another drink from his cup. “I want you in my study when she arrives. You both must learn what to do in situations like these when they arise.”

“Father, I am sure I will be able to defend myself if an assassination ever attempted to take place.” The golden haired prince said nonchalantly, taking a bite of bacon.

Loki looked in disbelief, lifting an eyebrow at the crown prince. “Are you an imbecile? Or do you enjoy acting as one? He was speaking about foreign affairs, you oaf.”

“Loki,” Frigga warned, she turned to her oldest, “My dear, please don’t say things like that when the girl comes. The Norns only know what she’s gone through.”

Loki wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin, stood up and turned to his father. “Well, I have urgent matters I must get to. I will return soon.”

Odin waved a servant over, “Go prepare rooms for our guests.”

She bowed, “Yes my King.”

Boren Rabec looked over the balcony in the King’s quarters. The sun was hidden behind many clouds. The forest looked deadly from where he stood, and the cold air left shivers running down his body. The kingdom below his was quiet, not yet stirring. The wooden scaffold was in sight, but he avoided his eyes from even looking that way. Two arms wrapped around his midsection and he felt her nuzzle into his back. The scar on his left cheek still throbbed, and every time he saw it in the mirror, he cringed. The jagged scar ran from his cheekbone, all the way to the corner of his mouth. Had you had pulled farther down, he’d have been adorned with a longer lip. The healers quickly fixed him up, with a few medicinal herbs and spells. When he saw the falling stars in the sky, he was fearful that somehow King Ake had risen from the dead and would come for him. “Love, come back to bed. It’s too early.”

The night before stressed him like no other. The moon had disappeared, leaving Bjartsjord’s first moonless night in a millenia. The fear that the ormrs would attack the kingdom had his right eye twitching. He reassured with the rest of the council that they would all be safe, as long as the lights of the castle did not dim.

A knock on the door made him turn his head, and the woman around him squealed, giggled and jumped back into bed. Boren retrieved his pants on the floor, pulled them on, and went to open the door.

“My lord, the princess- we have not yet found her. There is no trace of her or that soldier.” Boren looked at the older councilman in annoyance.

“Then she must be dead. She couldn’t have been able to survive a night with the ormrs. She hasn’t even completed her lessons.”

“But the stars and the moons. You don’t suppose she caused them?”

“No. When a turning passes, normally a phenomena occurs,” the lie sounded convincing enough, “I can assure you it is because of them.” A wave of guilt hit him, remembering all the fond times he would spend with Ake and Hillevi; he pushed it aside.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not. But the girl couldn’t have survived, Aslen.”

Aslen nodded. “The council wanted me to relay that we should begin recruiting. Just in case.”

“Yes, caution is always good. Have the masters found out a way to create new everlasting stars?”

The older councilman shook his head, his long white beard doing the same. “No. It’s not something we can craft in an instant, Boren. It might not be something we can make at all.”

Boren grimaced, his head turning to look back to the redhead in bed. “Well we will need to try harder. For now, I want fires all around the perimeter of the castle and to the edge of the forest, until we can find a different solution. Thank you, Aslen.”

He quickly shut the door in his face and walked back to the bed. He sat down on the edge, and raised his hand to lightly skim his new feature.

“If she isn’t dead,” The girl spoke into his ear, “She will die soon.” A hand went up his back.

“I know she will.”

“All she was preoccupied about was having pretty things. She was weak.”

“She was my friend’s daughter. I killed them all,” Boren whispered, looking at a spot on the rug beneath his feet.

“A King does not neglect his people. You had to do what was right; they needed to be rid of.” Renna turned his head and placed her lips on his, and Boren sighed, allowing himself to forget about everything for a bit.

Part 6: The Query.

Not sure what the heck is going on?

Part 1: The Ascent.

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