You can call me Suleika. Aspiring writer. Lover of FF8 and Stardew Valley and other nice things. 36, she/her.
ao3: suleikas_hideaway
Singin' side blog: kitchentunes
He had been given the freedom to choose his life, to dictate his path, and this is what it led to.
—
And so, the end of Part I.
It feels so monumental to have gotten this far. Not only have I published almost 100,000 words, but a third of this story that means so much to me.
Thank you for sharing the journey <3
The journey is far from over, of course! I’ll probably take a little while to organize part 2 so I can get into a regular posting schedule. And as you probably know I live in the US and have been a liiiiitle bit distracted trying to figure out my place in the revolution. I hope you understand 🙂
More about Time Will Tell under the cut!
Fic Summary: Carefree, fun-loving, passionate, free spirited, can also mean impulsive, reckless, obsessive, thoughtless. Rinoa Heartilly is learning the dangers of her own personality, and who she will become if she continues down this path.
Squall Leonhart is fully awake now, no longer a pawn in someone else’s plan. He’s ready to take charge of his own fate. But what if fate has other plans?
Tags: Angst with a happy ending, Fluff in early chapters, Self discovery, Navigating relationships, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Codependency, Sexual content, Drug & Alcohol use, Canon-typical violence, Debunking a fan theory, Friendship, Fandom blind, Post-canon, What is time anyway, Fate & Destiny, Tags to be added
Maybe a certified mid-life crisis. I am thirty-seven, after all.
I want to do SO MANY THINGS.
I want to write. Not just my magnum opus fanfic but I want to write everything: poetry, essays, novels, screenplays.
I want to be with my friends. Take trips every weekend to visit them all, spread across the country and the globe, and talk to each and every one of them on the phone every day.
I want to honor my kids' childhood. Revel in the magic of the early years. Birthday parties, arts and crafts, dolls, sandcastles, decorating cookies.
I want to make art, connect with nature, record an album, reno my bathroom, grow my business, learn how to rock climb, go on backpacking treks again, ride roller skates to school with my kids, run for school board, get really good at make up, go on dates with my husband, play board games, play video games, plant a vegetable garden, change the fucking world and leave a legacy that will honor the truths that I've learned for years to come.
I don't think any one person can do all these things, forget a person who is learning what it means to be disabled. With a dynamic, not-well-understood disability that most doctors just throw their hands up and send me to the next specialist.
This is an important moment in my journey of self-discovery. After uncovering all the bullshit for years and years I have finally found myself. I finally know what I want. And yet, AND YET, I am ultimately in a place where I am so physically limited in what I can and can't do, and straddling this paradox is DIFFICULT.
I AM NOT A PATIENT PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO MYSELF.
But. I can honor what I've learned. I can honor the fact that I have come so fucking far to understand that nothing is permanent, nothing in this journey is linear, and being able to come and go with the tides is mandatory for thriving.
January is coming, and with that the natural ushering in of a fresh start. I don't normally subscribe to the new years resolution mindset, but I can acknowledge it falls at a perfect time for me this year.
I can also acknowledge that if I ever want to do any of the things on my long, long list, my body must be stronger than it is now. Maybe I won't be able to ride roller skates and reno the bathroom when I'm thirty-seven, or thirty-eight, or even forty; but maybe, with incremental work, I can when I'm forty-five or fifty.
I AM NOT VERY DISCIPLINED WHEN IT COMES TO MY PHYSICAL WELL-BEING.
But I've done this once before. I started the physical therapy process for POTS last July, and by September I was in the full swing of it and felt better than I'd felt in years. As I am wont to do, though, I flew too close to the sun. I took on too much. Physical therapy got pushed to the back burner while I lived my life again.
And now the consequences, or by-products, have made themselves known. Never-ending fatigue. A brain that doesn't function. Pain, everywhere. Grief for the life that could have been. Boredom.
Like I said, though: the new year feels like the right time for a reset. I will turn off and back on again, this time with a keen awareness upon the reboot. January can be a month of taking each day as it comes. Honoring the rest that I need as I need it, not delaying what my body so urgently demands. If the day calls for it, I will do my PT. If the day calls for it, I will sleep. If the day calls for it, I will pursue my creative needs.
Six months straight of physical therapy is not reasonable for me. I must come and go with the tides. I have the wisdom within me to do so.
September event: Ultimecia's Week - September 24th - September 30th
September is for our elusive main villain: Ultimecia!
The prompt list
Last year, there was no Ultimecia's week, but I added a "2025" prompt anyway: Time won't wait!
ORIGINAL PROMPT LIST
Time Kompression
Junction Machine Ellone
Possessing Edea
Griever
Rinoa’s Mind
Castle
Art Gallery
Kurse All SeeD!
Remember your Childhood
Free Choice!
NEW PROMPT LIST
2025: Time Won't Wait
The creative marathon
To celebrate Ultimecia, we'll have a creative marathon running on September 21st on our discord server!
In the special channel #creative-marathon we will cheer on each other with writing and drawing sprints to celebrate the character and give the final push for all your creative efforts!
Submissions
Prompts can be claimed and fullfilled through the AO3 prompt meme challenge that you can find here. You can start posting on September 24th. Please tag @ffviiicharacterweek and/or use the hashtag #ffviiicharacterweek on Tumblr so I can reblog you! ONLY if you're not on AO3, please fill in this form too, so I am sure I won't lose your submission. If you need an AO3 invite to join the challenge, please let me know, I still have a couple of those.
August event: Squall Leonhart's Week - August 25th - August 31st
In August, we celebrate our moody broody Commander: Squall Leonhart!
The prompt list
All prompts from last year can be used, and there's also a new prompt for 2025: Silence!
ORIGINAL PROMPT LIST
Lone Wolf
Whatever
Commander
Griever
The Sorceress Knight
Promise
Scar
Sis
Triple Triad
Free Choice!
NEW PROMPT LIST
2025: Silence
The creative marathon
To celebrate Squall, we'll have a creative marathon running on August 23rd on our discord server!
In the special channel #creative-marathon we will cheer on each other with writing and drawing sprints to celebrate the character and give the final push for all your creative efforts!
Submissions
Prompts can be claimed and fullfilled through the AO3 prompt meme challenge that you can find here. You can start posting on August 25th. Please tag @ffviiicharacterweek and/or use the hashtag #ffviiicharacterweek on Tumblr so I can reblog you! ONLY if you're not on AO3, please fill in this form too, so I am sure I won't lose your submission. If you need an AO3 invite to join the challenge, please let me know, I still have a couple of those.
Closing out the week of my mini writing retreat and I have some thoughts.
First of all, I need to schedule these writing retreats more often!! I was lucky to get the kids excited about a little half-day summer camp, which is what awarded me this precious free time. And of course I'm also lucky that my health was in the right place to actually take advantage of the time. (Side note: extra coffee has not killed me yet. Though paying almost $8 every day for a delicious iced latte at this adorable cafe is, I'll admit, extravagant.)
It will probably be a while before I get this sort of luxurious free time again, though. I'll be starting cardiac rehab soon for POTS therapy, so that will take priority. But if I can manage it, maybe when the kids go back to school next month, I can gift myself another mini retreat, or maybe even bake in a few extra hours of writing into my regular routine. That would be ideal.
As far as the actual writing?! Well, good and bad news. I had some come-to-jesus moments with chapters 21-23. Major changes have led to an outcome I'm really, really happy with. Still needs massive editing, but I'm pleased with the overall structure. Chapters 24-26 have had a lot of attention, too, but they need that same treatment, and may require more massive changes.
At the moment, though, my brain does feel a bit fried. I'm not used to long writing sessions anymore. I might try taking in some other media to help prevent the mental block I feel forming, so let's see how that goes.
He had been given the freedom to choose his life, to dictate his path, and this is what it led to.
—
And so, the end of Part I.
It feels so monumental to have gotten this far. Not only have I published almost 100,000 words, but a third of this story that means so much to me.
Thank you for sharing the journey <3
The journey is far from over, of course! I’ll probably take a little while to organize part 2 so I can get into a regular posting schedule. And as you probably know I live in the US and have been a liiiiitle bit distracted trying to figure out my place in the revolution. I hope you understand 🙂
More about Time Will Tell under the cut!
Fic Summary: Carefree, fun-loving, passionate, free spirited, can also mean impulsive, reckless, obsessive, thoughtless. Rinoa Heartilly is learning the dangers of her own personality, and who she will become if she continues down this path.
Squall Leonhart is fully awake now, no longer a pawn in someone else’s plan. He’s ready to take charge of his own fate. But what if fate has other plans?
Tags: Angst with a happy ending, Fluff in early chapters, Self discovery, Navigating relationships, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Codependency, Sexual content, Drug & Alcohol use, Canon-typical violence, Debunking a fan theory, Friendship, Fandom blind, Post-canon, What is time anyway, Fate & Destiny, Tags to be added
No time for full update. Chronic illness, trauma recovery, motherhood, government collapse, yadda yadda you know the drill.
Excellent news is I'M WRITING AGAIN!!!!
Time Will Tell Part Deux is still in the early stages, but I'm getting shit DONE and have high hopes. I really need to feel out this arc of the story...problem is my angst fest is like, SO angsty. Trying so hard to get a Zell hotdog joke in here and there but it feels awkward lol.
Other excellent news is I'M PLAYING FF8 WITH MY KIDS!!! AND THEY LOVE IT!!!!!! We are about to meet NORG and I'm losing it. They are going to freak the fuck out lmaooooo
I think parents should teach their toddlers the phrase “my will has been thwarted” for when they’re feeling frustrated by not getting what they want. I don’t think this would reduce the incidence of temper tantrums, but I do think it would make them more entertaining.
PART FOUR skrrt skrrt!!
Not only am I sliding back on tumblr after finally completing my internships, but I'm bringing memes with me!
Big shout out to @angelosearch for finding some of these hilarious text posts!
I've had little time to pick over my Time Will Tell Part II draft, but I will say it's VERY EXCITING.
Chapters 21-25ish have not been feeling so hot, so I'm being very brave and rewriting them. I can frankenstein a lot of existing snippets together so it's not a true rewrite, but of course it will take a lot of tender loving care to get the proper continuity. Not a problem.
I'm just beyond thrilled to get to this stuff omg.
But yeah, it's slow going. My health continues to deteriorate, mainly with fatigue and sleep problems taking over my life. I have some big doctors appts coming up soon so maybe I'll get some new tricks to deal with the insanity of essentially losing much of my life to dysautonomia.
And as I'm sure you've heard, we've been having a bit of a time here in the US, and for once I've dug my head out of the sand and been using my ample time at home (not working) to try and be as politically active as possible. It's hard when I can't physically attend protests or run for office, but I'm learning where I fit in and how to be as helpful as I can be while still maintaining the balance of my physical and mental health. It's a struggle, but I'm more grateful than anything that I can overcome the feeling of powerlessness and hopefully get the cheeto out of office!
I generally come to tumblr for escapism, so I am not going to say anymore here. I'm here for fanart, thank you!
(Tumblr is being weird about letting me link this - hopefully it works lol)
Updated February 27, 2025
Chapter 19: I Will Wait
Chapter length: 3,848
Chapter Summary:
“Of course,” Cid said, sorting his messy papers and putting them in a haphazard pile. After he made a show of clearing off his desk, he leaned forward on his elbows. “Now that’s done, we have to talk about Rinoa.”
—
How I vastly underestimated this chapter. Damn. It feels SO GOOD to finally get it to where I want it. I think. Anyway I can’t possibly fuss with it anymore. I hope you enjoy Squall’s emotional torture as much as I do. (My god what is wrong with meeeee)
And chapter 20 is the end of Part I 🫨
More about Time Will Tell under the cut!
Fic Summary: Carefree, fun-loving, passionate, free spirited, can also mean impulsive, reckless, obsessive, thoughtless. Rinoa Heartilly is learning the dangers of her own personality, and who she will become if she continues down this path.
Squall Leonhart is fully awake now, no longer a pawn in someone else’s plan. He’s ready to take charge of his own fate. But what if fate has other plans?
Tags: Angst with a happy ending, Fluff in early chapters, Self discovery, Navigating relationships, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Codependency, Sexual content, Drug & Alcohol use, Canon-typical violence, Debunking a fan theory, Friendship, Fandom blind, Post-canon, What is time anyway, Fate & Destiny, Tags to be added
