#aaj anon

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

If Anons could send you photos/video I'd send you some of me finishing radiation last Friday! I made it! I am totally miserable cause my radiation covered much of my GI tract and it's a mess, but at least I am not messing with it any further, right? AAJ

And wishes for some speedy recovery. Man. The side effects are just insane. Hang in there, love!!! ❤️

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Oh, I wish you could feel the rush I get when I see a new chapter. If I was in the hospital, the alarms would start beeping. I have to negotiate with myself about reading now or putting it off to savor later. (Spoiler alert: I always read now). Thanks for adding some excitement to my day during a time of real life stress.

Although I am now worried about the cat.

I hope you’re feeling better in a sustained way. It feels weird to say because I don’t know you irl, but I worried a bit about you and was very happy to see you return!

The eternal debate… read now or later lol. I am so glad you are enjoying Where the Stars as well! I know it’s not the story most people are waiting on, and there’s only a handful following it right now, but it’s what I could manage to write. So that’s what gets updated.

I don’t think it’s weird to say at all! Honestly there are several regular commenters or Anons who visit me, yourself included, that I am often thinking about, and sometimes worried about, and seeing you in my inbox gives me a little thrill of happiness! Thank you for your concern about me. I still don’t feel quite 100% yet but I think I’m through the worst of this particular round. I don’t know how long your radiation treatments will be or if you can read while going through them, but here’s hoping I can provide some resting time reading material over the next few weeks before my classes resume mid August.

Lol nobody should worry themselves over the cat. My silly little notes at the end of each chapter started as a means to keep my fearless friend and beta (buttercupbadass) from charging after me for answers on Buttercup’s whereabouts. She has one rule. I must never kill the cat or the dog in my stories. Everyone else is fair game. But then it turned into a running joke. How many different ways can I say “the cat is not dead.” What y’all don’t get to see are the emails she sends me after editing each chapter that say “great chapter. where’s the cat?” No matter how many times I assure her he’s going to show up here soon. Alive and still kicking.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

You certainly know how to take care of someone. My last chemo (2 weeks ago today) beat me down and you provided some good distraction. I have my last a week from today and even if you post the next OC before, I will save it for that evening. That isn't it for treatment as I still have 6 weeks of radiation coming up in July, but I'll at least be halfway there. As always, thanks for the good reading! AAJ

Gah! As always, I am happy to hear from you. My mother struggled with the last two or three of her chemo sessions as well. It's gotta be so rough, but you've been so strong this far! I am certainly trying to get that next chapter up this week sometime, and it is going to be a stupidly long one, I am afraid. But! That means I can (hopefully) give you something to fill the time. Also, I truly hope you are are able to enjoy your rest time in between the chemo and the radiation. Lots of love to you, my dear!

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

AAJ here. Look at you posting an update! Good news, I only need 5 weeks radiation (I finish week 2 tomorrow) cause I was NED with just chemo!! Am totally wrecked, having a way harder time than expected and am in crazy inattentive ADD mode so can't finish the new chapter just yet. Also, I wanted to say that what I like about your writing are both your choices in relationships and scenarios, but also your writing style. If you have a synopsis that doesn't interest me, I'll just not read it 1/2

AAJ pt. 2) as opposed to fighting you on it. There are many authors I adore who have pieces that I may not care for based on subject matter or type of story. But, I'm not the writer and I am certain I have interests that would bore you and the other authors I like, and it's not any author's obligation to write. Write for you first, and the audience will be there for you, even if it shifts back and forth a bit. And, I hope you are taking time to prepare for next semester. Kick ass! 2/2

I think that’s a great attitude to have towards fanfiction. Just because you like most of a writer’s work, doesn’t mean you have to like all of it. You don’t have to read all of it. I too know several writers who I think are great writers, but there are several pieces of theirs that I just won’t read because it’s not my thing. There’s no sense in making them feel like crap for writing it, though. None whatsoever. It’s not my thing, but it is someone else’s, namely the writer themselves. So absolutely they should be able to feel like they can write it and enjoy it, as well as enjoy sharing it with the people it does interest.

Oh goodness! Here’s hoping you get some good rest time! And some healthy eating as well. I don’t know if you’ve been struggling with it, but I remember chemo absolutely wrecked my mom’s appetite during and then for weeks afterwards. Hers was reversed from yours though, radiation first then chemo. So glad to hear your radiation treatments will be fewer than expected!!! What great news!

I am trying to prepare for the upcoming semester… I’m doing a poor job of it tho. 😬 Summer just flew by so fast and things went off the rails so badly for a bit there that I did not accomplish everything I wanted to do. I’ve still got a little over two weeks though. Time to buckle down and get it done.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Hey, AAJ here. The anon you posted a few days ago wasn't me, but I am super flattered you thought it was. I start radiation Monday and it's only about 15 minutes/day on weekdays for 6 weeks. The accumulated fatigue has me taking leave from work, so there is energy to read (lots of library books stacked around me, not to mention library ebooks), and I am. Looking forward, as always, to next chapters.

I saw the word “hospital” in that ask and ran away with my assumptions…. If I’m reading the dates on this right, and I’d like to think that I am (when did they add time stamps to asks????), then you’ve finished a week of radiation! Woot woot! Only five to go!!

May you make a dent in those stacks of books and feel better on the other side! 📚

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

AAJ again, big sister and I have been big Winter Games watchers for decades, but she hasn't started reading yet. Still nudging tho. Things are meh in my life, joined the cancer club, got my chemo port today. I was thinking of saying that should make my vote count more for finishing OC and then move on to Spellbound, but your focus should be where it goes, not where any of us reading tell it to. I do hope you are enjoying school, so pleased for you in that endeavor.

Oh my darling... OC already won the vote handily, but if it hadn't, this would've put it in the lead for sure.

Somewhere right around the time I started writing OC, my Mom started chemo. Chapter 18 (I think that's the right number -- pretty sure it was the New Zealand chapter??? it's been a hot minute) was actually written while I was visiting my mother to help her through a round of chemo. My Dad had been pulling so much weight and naturally the stress of everything was a strain on them both, so I played buffer/fresh face/extra hands/comedic relief for a week. When I wasn't busy helping her and Dad or hiding in the bathroom to cry, I was working on that OC chapter. It... yeah.

Keep fighting, my love, and while it's insignificant compared to what others may be able to do for you, I'll see about knocking out another chapter to give you something new to read while you're sitting through treatment.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

I've been cheering you on as you work through your final projects for the term. Go you! And, thanks for the written treats before you dove in to the end of term work. It helped lift my spirits before this past Monday's round of chemo. I maintain that much of your AU writing is better than most of the books I am getting from the library to distract myself from side effect symptoms. 4 down, 2 to go! -AAJ

You’re almost done! Hang in there love 💕 I am so happy I could provide some reading treats for you while you went through this, and now that I’ve turned in my last portfolio for the semester (and taken like a two hour nap ahahahaha), I’m hoping to produce a few more.

Thanks for the love and know that I’m sending it right back to you, cheering you on as well!

💕 kdnfb

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

OMG! You did my ask! It's AAJ, by the way, and I still owe you that crappy ski jump photo from Steamboat Springs. No longer with UI, got a great job, ironic as I was meant to move back east this past summer. Still checking daily, or close to it, as I think the OC universe is better than just about any of the breezier books that I've been getting from the library this past year.

Hey there! I’m so glad to hear you’re doing well! It’s been a rough enough year on so many of us that good news is excellent news!

I’m so sorry it took me so long to get to your prompt. It’s been... yeah. Anyways, I’m still plugging away at the OC universe, even if the progress is glacial. Last year, I told myself I wanted it done before the summer Olympics torch was lit.... ahahahahahaha. 🙃🙃🙃 Maybe this year. But don’t hold your breath for that, lol.