WELL, WELL, WELLLLLLLLLL. I decided to come back swinging with MULTIPLE updates.
Azure Dive - Chapter 29
Until We Meet Again - Chapters 4-7
I reached 200k words overall in Azure Dive, and I'm amazed at myself over how much work I've been putting into this for the past year and a half now give or take.
But I couldn't have really gotten this far without people commenting on it which greatly boosts my motivation to keep going. Thank you guys so much for that!
Overrated - UndeadWitch - Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series) [Archive of Our Own]
My first ever Mintteashipping-focused fic, and of course it's Valentine-themed despite being a week late but hey it being late fits into the theming as well.
Just wanna say that I really love your writing! I think it's cool that you started Azure Dive before Indigo Disk so you have a lot more creative freedom with that. I hope you're doing well!!
Thank you Anon and I hope you're doing just as well!
It is a lot of fun writing Azure Dive and I'm glad people are genuinely interested in my writing!
For starters, no I am not dead, or I stopped writing fanfictions.
What happened was I got COVID during the end of December and I couldn't fully recover from it because I got the flu two weeks after that. Leaving me very bedridden and unable to write anything for most of January.
The worst part wasn't COVID/Flu itself. It was the fact that being bedridden made me mess my scheduling up so much. And I also gained a bit of a writer's block! It was very difficult to get back into writing. But when there's a will there's a way!
So here we are nearing the end of February. And I have some progress updates and surprises.
I wrote a oneshot between Carmine and Drayton for Valentine's Day. Even though it's a week late, it was very intentional considering the title of it. It is complete but, I want to have a look over and make sure everything is good. So expect that one VERY soon.
For Until We Meet Again, you know that Dipplinshipping Hype Week Fanfic? I am currently focusing on finishing that. I have Chapter 4 completed and currently working on the remainders of it. Because I refuse to leave a fanfic complete nowadays.
Lastly but not the least. Azure Dive. I have 80% of Chapter 29 completed. And originally it was going to be a lot bigger but, considering how long it took to get the behemoth that was Chapter 28 out and how many words that one has. I decided to split it in half to make for better pacing and didn't want to keep you guys waiting on that.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary
Juliana’s time at Blueberry Academy is coming to an end, but the League Club decides to give her a send-off she wouldn’t trade for the world! And can Kieran finally realize his feelings before it’s too late?
Wasn't wanting to be late to the party but uh- Things happen.
I was looking at the prompts and figured out a way to make linear story with them. Each chapter focusing on each prompt to keep sticking to the theme!
With that being said, here is my contribution to DipplinShippingHypeWeek2024!
So, I just wanted to drop an update because it's been a month since I said in my previous post "delayed for a bit." and that was me being hopeful.
Chapter 28? Still being worked on? Absolutely, yes. I love this Chapter so much. It's a lot of fun working on it!
I keep breaking records on how longer I'm making these chapters. But hey, that just shows how passionate I've been getting with Azure Dive.
When will it come out? Eeeeeh... I can't say if I'm being honest with you guys. Because I still have 2-3 more sections to go, and one of those sections is a dozy for a few reasons I can't disclose. That being said, it's still coming. And I can't wait to show you guys it!
Signing out for now, and don't forget to keep yourselves hydrated by drinking water!
A Reflection: One Year of Writing Azure Dive, One Year of Writing Almost Nonstop
To think, it really has been one whole year since I posted the very first chapter of Azure Dive on AO3. My thoughts at that time when I started planning the entire thing and typing up the first chapter was how excited I was to share my ideas and thoughts about a possible way for Indigo Disk's story to go.
My attention span can get pretty terrible at times to the point I'm considering I have undiagnosed ADHD. I do have that surge of wanting to write a fic from time to time, but my desire to write fades away within the first month and I move on to playing video games again.
With Scarlet & Violet, this was the same except I couldn't find it in me to write anything despite loving the games so much. Until the first half of the "Hidden Treasure of Area Zero" dropped and took me in for one hell of a ride. I barely read and saw any info on it before playing it. I didn't buy it at launch until a few friends recommended me it. Again, I loved the base games, but I didn't know if the $35 price point was worth it or not compared to SWSH's $25 DLC.
But man, was I wrong. That $35 dollars was WORTH IT.
It's still strange knowing how the DLC's story, lore, and cast hit something for me that heavily driven me to write fanfictions about them when nothing else really did that to me. My mind was particularly honed in on Kieran's interesting relationship with Juliana that developed over time, seeing as that is one of the main points in the DLC.
I've been an avid shipper since I was a kid when I first watch Hinata get all blushy with Naruto back during the days of that show being on Toonami. When it comes to shipping in Pokémon it wasn't new to me, I almost consider myself a veteran at this point haha. I remember the early days of myself loving Soulsilvershipping (Silver x Lyra) and Oldrivalshipping (Green x Blue from PokeSpe).
Suguao, before it was now referred to as Dipplinshipping was hitting all of my favorite things I like when shipping characters. You have your Rivals/Enemies to Lovers (or vice versa), you have possible Sun and Moon symbolism with them (because Juliana usually represents Scarlet), you have that early young love aspect about them you see in a lot of coming-of-age anime, and more.
Suguao is HUGE in the Japanese community, I saw so much good fanart and works by talented creators who adore their bond as much as I have. I actually think it's currently both Kieran's and Juliana's most popular ship there at the moment (Which is impressive for the latter since it's barely been one whole year since the DLC first dropped).
But when I turned to see if that kind of hype was in my side of the world, it was pretty much Kricketunes. (I will admit I looked on Twitter/X & AO3 mainly, not on Tumblr to check)
And you know what? That also drove me to write fanfictions about them. Because if no one else was going to do it then I will! My passion for writing was at an all-time high! Might as well use that energy for it!
I got to work and uploaded the very first Suguao fanfiction on AO3 on September 18th, 2023. "Take My Crown and You're Dead" was quickly positively received and seeing that made me drove myself to upload a second one in a short amount of time between the two. September 20th, I uploaded "Firefiles". A much more wholesome tone compared to my previous work.
Okay, so two oneshots down the bag! I was already feeling happy and content writing oneshots but I wanted more. I wanted to go a multi-chapter fic, a big one to be precise. It was ambitious because I've attempted those before, but I lost interest in them working on them after a month.
But I was so excited for Indigo Disk after that cliffhanger of Kieran saying "Just you wait, Juliana." ominously combined with the music for the scene. That violin coming into play as he snapped with a dark smile on his face in the midst of a sinister sounding theme. That gave me chills over how this teen was going to potentially become our character's worst nightmare. Or in this case, Juliana's. (That's still one of my favorite tracks out of the entire OST for the game, it's so, so good and underrated.)
It was that and the accumulation of their relationship that gave me the push to start planning Azure Dive. I went with Azure Dive as the name because I took one look at Blueberry Academy and went for something that you could describe the location. While also giving it a sinking like feeling if that makes sense.
On September 27th, 2023, I uploaded the first chapter of Azure Dive. And it blew up like I never thought it would.
I remember looking at official Pokémon media such as the manga and Masters EX and going "Huh. I wrote that in before it was confirmed." quite a few times. I even almost got Lacey's connection with Clay right!
I also never thought my work would actually inspire others to start writing their own fanfics, and that's the best feeling in the world to me right now. It makes me incredibly happy to see the one tiny community grow and continue growing to the point we have at least 214 (at the time of this post) stories to tell about this pairing.
When writing Azure Dive, my mindset also goes into "This is the Violet Universe. I gotta show that." Which is why aside from a few lines that might need changing. You could say, replace Sada with Turo and it would work out the same way if this were the Scarlet Universe instead.
Apart from Azure Dive, I did take breaks in between to write other fanfics on the pairing and also took part in Dipplinshipping week to show my love for them. It was interesting and refreshing to work in a different setting from time to time, and I think I needed that after working on Azure Dive for so long.
Unfortunately, my attention span is once again being difficult, and that's why I enforce myself a deadline to work on this fanfic to its completion. And no, I'm not burnt out or anything and I still do incredibly love writing chapters for Azure Dive. As a matter of fact, my brain continues to FLOOD itself with ideas for that fanfic in particular of different scenarios I could put them through in the future.
But it's also why I don't really work on anything else besides Azure Dive aside from special occasions to maintain my focus and diligence towards it. I have so many ideas for other fics, but I put them off for my own sanity when managing my own schedule.
Which brings to my final bit. Finishing the first arc of Azure Dive. It's no secret that it's finally nearing the end with what's left. Drayton and Carmine are working on creating the talisman needed, Juliana needs to do Drayton's trial and she'll finally be able to formally challenge Kieran for that fight they both been wanting. Oh! And they're now in a relationship where surely nothing bad will happen!
Chapter 28 will be delayed for a bit but, I promise it will be worth it! There will be some cool lore bits in there that I think you might like.
Again, I can't thank you guys enough for the support and seeing you like my work so much. The engagement from the comments in particular are what really help me fuel motivation on continuing Azure Dive. It lets me know "Oh they're still reading Azure Dive? That's great to know!" and gives me a nice feeling that my work still brings enjoyment for others.
I suppose I can give a bit of a teaser for future chapters since you've read up this point! These are out of context, but I think they'll keep you on your toes for the upcoming chapters.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
When an unexpected incident with Terapagos happens, our trio of soon to be heroes are transported to the past where they come across a certain young trainer’s first encounter with a familiar pair of siblings.
A tribute to Teal Mask’s 1st Anniversary.
Surprise! Remember when I thought about Juliana and Kieran having kids? Well, what better way to debut them AND celebrate Teal Mask's 1st Anniversary by doing a short two parter!
Chapter 2 is coming soon but, I want to work on Chapter 28 for a bit before coming back to this.
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