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dinneratgrannys

sometimes the maddest stories are the truest ones

#inspiration #jafar

ltwilliammowett

Sailing ship at sunset, by M Larson, 1860

#inspiration

With Hercules visiting, Chi reveals some of Rumplestiltskin's history before he met Belle, and a lot of his own.

Start reading this fanfic from the start Take me to Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Storytellers

Three weeks after they'd arrived in Corinth, the strong stranger returned. He was awaiting them as they returned from the market one afternoon, casually strolling in front of the cave entrance. When Belle saw him, she waved eagerly while Chi lowered his head behind her. “Welcome back! Good to see you again!” “Likewise!” he replied, smiling widely. “I hope I'm not inconveniencing you by coming over today?” “Oh no, not at all! My name is Belle – by the way.” She held out her hand and he held it lightly as he introduced himself too. “I'm Hercules. It's a pleasure to properly meet you!” “Likewise,” she chuckled. “This is Chi, by the way.” She gestured towards him, trying not to get Hercules to shake Chi's hand. The further she could keep the two men apart from each other, the better for Chi's sake. “I'm her servant,” Chi said quickly, hoping this would keep Hercules at bay. “Hi!” Hercules waved a little awkwardly because he still hadn't seen Chi's face. “So... so you live in a cave?” “Yes,” Belle said, suddenly self-conscious. “Is... is that odd?” “Oh – oh no! No, plenty of people live in caves. I just had no idea anyone lived here – of all places – before I met you two.”

dinneratgrannys

OUAT APPRECIATION WEEK 2024 - FAVE DISNEY ADAPTATION If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

#beauty and the beast #inspiration

tpwrtrmnky

"For mature audiences" not as in "legally allowed to see a boob" but "can see a fictional character do a bad thing and not immediately go on a crusade against the author"

Chi shows Belle what is to be their new home until they can reunite with Rumplestiltskin again.

Start reading this fanfic from the start Take me to Chapter 55

Chapter 55: The Cave of Corinth

At the entrance of the cave, Belle noticed there were two lanterns like the one she'd seen before on Rumplestiltskin's ship. To consider these had come from the same ship she'd been forced to leave, made her feel odd. Near them was a tinderbox which Chi used to light them both, and he handed one to Belle. “Nobody's been here in probably eighty years, though I'm not sure if time here has passed as quickly here as it has for me. I hope everything is still as we left it.”

artemisdesari-blog

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

#mood. i assume at this point i have two readers #which is fine #i'll post for those two readers that comment on every single chapter #but simultaneously #if there's more people reading my story then i'd like to hear it #i've been poorly the past few years and lost my job #i have no colleagues #sure i have a few friends #but it would mean a lot to me to know my writing impacted some fellow human beings #especially now that my impact on the human race is as low as it is #a comment is never meaningless to an author. i reread them from time to time #just as i reread the actual stories #it means a lot let's just keep it at that for now

Belle and Chi arrive at their destination and make a new friend.

Start reading this fanfic from the start Take me to Chapter 54

Chapter 54: The Strong Stranger

As Chi had predicted, their trip to Corinth took about two full days. Belle could hardly feel her feet by the time they arrived – it also didn't help that she'd switched to sandals the last day, and those were not a type of shoes she was used to.

In the afternoon, they'd found a market in a tiny town where they had sold animals, tools, food, sandals and tunics and dresses. Belle had picked a maroon red long dress and some sandals. The dress was called a chiton, and while most men wore a short version of it, she'd picked a long variety.

She'd received a few curious gazes before she'd changed outfit, but folks had kept a respectful distance and not inquired about her origins. Thankfully, nobody had bothered to ask Chi either to remove his hood or anything of the sort. Even if he was completely overdressed in this heat, folks were a bit reluctant to speak to strangers, and Belle and Chi were glad for it.

Belle had also bought some food at the market, some freshly cooked fish along with some apples for the journey. The fresh fish had been delicious, and it had lifted her spirits for the rest of the evening.

They arrived the next morning at the borders of the city of Corinth, and Chi's enthusiasm could hardly be contained. He walked even faster towards his cave, and Belle tried not to wince from the blisters on her feet as she tried to keep up with his little sprint.

Belle finally has the chance to talk to a Black Bone, one of the mysterious servants of Rumplestiltskin...

Start reading this fanfic from the start Take me to Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Chi

“Chimalli,” Belle repeated his name, her eyes both seeing his black skull and the face he'd once had. “I want to apologize for my silence today. I'm not myself.”

Fully understanding her, he still looked worried and shook his head.

“Don't apologize. What you went through was traumatic. You had to say goodbye to your new home, with hardly a moment's time to do so.”

“Well... so did you, didn't you?”

Chi gave her a half-smile.

“That's true. But I'm not worried. I'm sure Rumplestiltskin and my brothers will find us again. It might just take some time.”

She nodded. She had to remain confident. She was usually so good at hoping – yet at the moment she had no idea where to find any hope. She needed to keep her spirits up in order to find the strength to continue this journey.

Belle arrives in Hellas in the company of her new protector - a Black Bone who needs to disguise himself in order not to stand out.

Start reading this fanfic from the start Take me to Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Hellas

Belle hadn't landed elegantly into this new land. It was nighttime and raining, and she'd fallen face-down into a puddle.

Honestly, she wasn't even sure she wanted to get up, and staid there longer than was normal. Her companion followed right behind her – though he wasn't as unlucky as her and was able to maintain his balance as he landed beside her.

“Belle, are you okay?”

The Black Bone touched her shoulder, noticing how she was still alive, just unwilling to move. He hesitated for a moment before he urged: “Come, let's get up, wouldn't want you to get sick.”