In case you were wondering where I went off to, I can't believe this. I've written 100k or some other ridiculous amount of words for this ship in the last month or so. WTF. I didn't even write this much when I was in the Marvel fandom!? And I was in that for YEARS. So many, many years.
Sweet baby James, it's too early for this.
Anyways, be on the look out for those stories, if you like that stuff. It may be awhile until something else comes out of me, because I love the ship and it's going strong. I just didn't know there was an eldritch horror inside me, ready to devour my soul. They'll come out at a slow drip, one at a time, chapter by chapter, since I only post stories I've completed fully and now I have a backlog.
Hi, I stumbled across your teen wolf fics on Ao3 like a week ago and have been hooked since. I may have cried for a few hours straight whilst reading the Thought We Built a Dynasty series and gave myself a sore throat in the process, you are so so good at writing angst and feelings and it makes me die (in a good way). I fucking love your writing and I look forward to seeing what else you make!
Hello!
Holy crap, what a lovely message to receive, though I do hope you had tissues. And throat lozenges...
I'm so glad that you're enjoying everything. There are some long ass fics to get through on my page, so I thank you for taking the time to read them. I can assuredly say that I have no idea what the next thing on the docket is. LoL. I have a few things started, like a Stargate SG1 AU (because JR was in that - MARTOUF!), which is actually going back to the very first fandom I ever wrote for. Ah, teenage memories. And then there's a 'the Hales are human but the world is not' idea that is about halfway to where I want it to be, so we shall see how that goes or if Argent decides to be a butthole about it and not talk to me. But otherwise, I fly much by the seat of my pants, write until something is done, and then post. Heh.
There's also some SuperBat in there, because superheroes used to be my bread and butter before I found Petopher. Maybe one day I will return to them. Maybe.
I finally compiled all my AUs for the Thought We Built a Dynasty series into one fic. I have one chapter where I really have to flesh out / write more than the few sentences there but then it's just editing and posting. I really wanted Peter and Chris to work it out earlier than they did but I'd written the ending with "Just Like Her Father" first and was kind of 'locked in' and had to break it on purpose because of that. But it hurt and I didn't want it to hurt, so I wrote a bunch of AUs to make it hurt less at various points in the story. Or more. Sometimes the AUs hurt more. Eeeeeeh.
This universe was too big and I am still too small compared to it. LoL. So this is how it continues.
So, I've started organizing my fan works. In the process, I figured I would do an update on what is happening with my writing, myself, and what you can expect to see here and on AO3 concerning upcoming, finished work. I do ramble in this but it should only take you maybe ten minutes, if that, if you're curious in reading.
Warning for a frank discussion of health, mental and physical. This section is set apart, if you want or need to skip it.
First things first
I'm finally moving my works out of Google Drive. This is a long and arduous process, as it required quite a bit of research into other platforms and now that I've chosen a new one (Ellipsus), transferring things back and forth just takes time, even though it's pretty easy to do. But I can't trust Google to not use what's in my drive for their generative AI projects and I don't trust that they won't seek out users that don't align with their money/power-givers "morality" and give up the ghost to a government organization.
... Guess which country I live in. It's not even funny what kind of things I have to worry about now and there's only so many phone calls to representatives I can make before I feel strung out.
I'm also looking at open source software for my computer so that I can save my stuff offline, just in case anything happens to the places I post my works or if Google decides to just wipe everything. They can do that, technically and legally, since they own the platform I'm using. Again, my trust is limited and my options more so. But I'm thinking Office Libre looks pretty cool because Microsoft is the Devil and if they install Teams or any of their other bloatware on my computer with an 'update' ONE MORE TIME I'm gonna throw a proper hissy fit. I'm also playing with the idea of creating my own website archive for my works. Could be fun, I like designing websites in my free time for no reason - my coworkers are constantly baffled.
Secondly
Why does it take you so long to post? I get this question a LOT more than you may think. I delete those asks because I work at my own pace and so should everyone else. Fan works, in my unneeded and unasked for opinion, should be fun to do. Deadlines, while sometimes useful if you're working on something especially if that something is for a limited time fan event, often are not fun.
Also, for those that don't know my writing process, I don't post works that aren't already finished in my files anymore (stories only, series are a different beast). I write full fics and then post them chapter by chapter as I edit. This has helped me greatly in remaining focused on a story, as the pressure to 'get it done' is completely removed and if I'm not feeling something, I can just take a break with no one the wiser. This is especially nice because I'm a "pantser" or only write when I have an idea, no outline, not much forethought. The most I do in "planning" a fic is writing a tiny summary for it that you often see as the description of said fic.
So that's why it takes me awhile to post my works. I finish them first and then look at my next few weeks to see what kind of schedule I have so that I can edit and post regularly until the story is complete.
Third - The Health Talk
My health is crap, guys. I've been in and out of doctor's offices, the emergency room, and the procedure room more times than I can count over the last year. I have been diagnosed with a few chronic conditions that come with not a little amount of pain and sometimes I just don't have the energy or brainpower to write. I hate it, it's leading to a depression I'm trying to crawl out of (with professional help, don't worry), and it's triggered both my eating and anxiety disorders. These last two things, of course, make everything else worse and it's a rough road that I'm walking but I'm walking it.
I am not a healthy lady and so that is also why things are taking so long. There are ideas here, there are even mostly finished fics in my files, but they're just... not getting done and at this point, I have no idea where I was going with them. I'm still in the throes of trying to fix the pain and the other symptoms but fear not! There is slow progress being made and I hope to have something to show for it soon.
In Conclusion
The following list is only a minor representation of what I have in my files. It also is in no way an 'ordered' list where the first thing on it will be the first thing done. I also make no promises that a new idea won't bite me in the ass and get finished first. I'm still in my Petopher era and IDK what to do about it, I blame JR Bourne as my celebrity crush, but superheroes are coming back into my brain as well and there's thoughts of returning to them.
Here are the things that have been touched in the last month or two:
Teen Wolf, Petopher - a story about the Hales being human but the world remaining the same as canon. Cue Benny Hill music.
DC Comics, SuperBat - a Stardew Valley AU where Clark moves home to Kansas to setup his own farm and realizes there are a lot more Gothamites in Smallville than he's used to. Martha laughs at his attempts to grow vegetables.
DC Comics, SuperBat - a Nanny AU where the Daily Prophet gets bought out by Lex and Clark is saved from having to write hit pieces by accidentally walking into Wayne Manor for an interview at the same time they're looking for a caregiver. Jason throws a roll at his head and Damian is still a baby.
Teen Wolf, Petopher - after the fire, Peter is the last remaining Hale in Beacon Hills. That comes with some side effects, like being the only one that the spirits in the Preserve can rely on. An excuse to write a story based off the imagery in this Gord trailer: Conquer The Darkness Beyond The Gates
And the biggest project...
Teen Wolf, Petopher: rewrite of the Thought We Built a Dynasty series, AU chapters, and creative layout. I'm only poking at this every once and awhile, but I'm creating a 'book' of Dynasty for myself in Canva and thought maybe it'd be nice if I'd share it once it's done. I can share the cover pages here, if people want a taste.
I'm really proud of the series and I think it shows an amazing growth in my skills as a writer from start to end, as well as being a passion project that really was written for myself. Fun fact, I didn't initially plan on the Dynasty idea to be a series; Just Like Her Father was supposed to be a one-shot that grew into a beast that consumed my life for something like a year and a half. As such, each story was written independently, meant to be the 'last' one of the series, and the full timeline was never one I really had a grasp on until I finished. Now, looking back at the stories, I've started to edit and rewrite some sections drastically so that everything remains consistent and flows better. The plot remains the same, it's just going to be 'better' written because I know the entirety of it now and can use foreshadowing way better when I know the actual ending.
Oh, and also, because my brain won't leave this universe alone, I have a whole fic full of AUs that sprung up as I was writing. Each little snippet will have its own chapter, none will be a full story (unless I go crazy and a whole story spills out of me anyways), but they should be fun to read for those who are fans of the universe. I wanted them to work it out too, guys. But I wrote the ending first and so couldn't have Chris just off a character midway through to get his way. I really, really wanted to though. Really, really.
Frostgrave will probably get the same treatment in Canva but without the editing, as that one I red-penned the life out of way longer than any other fic I ever have before posting. You know, if you want that one too. Ha. I'm not happy with the cover I created, not yet at least. But it's happening!
If you want to chat or ask a question about any of this or something else entirely, feel free to send me a message/ask here or on my main blog, Camlann.
Does anyone know where I could get a single book published for personal use? I don't want to sell anything, I just want to print out some of my own works to have physically as a reminder of the hard work... But I can only find the "print 20 copies" type deals and IDK if places will even print fanfiction, even if I wrote it and am not selling it.
(Teen Wolf) Rewriting 'Thought We Built a Dynasty' into a singular story so people can download something pretty and/or print it. Also to clean it up a bit, since I wrote it without knowing the ending and now I can go in and smooth out transitions.
(DC Comics) A SuperBat AU where Clark goes back and becomes a farmer ala Stardew Valley. Yes I do still write superhero stories! I just haven't had the mindset to write shining, happy hero type stories recently.
Otherwise, I'm just trying to get to the end of the year as my health hasn't been great and I'm in need of a surgery soon. December is gonna be a big month, so updates and work on other things will be slow! But my ask box is open, especially today, for anyone that wants to distract themselves a bit.
I've been taking time to myself at the end of this year to really let my mental fortitude rebalance and regrow, as well as refill that well of creative waters. But worry not, I will begin posting stories again in the new year! Starting with a fun, short Petopher story and then diving back into the 'Thought We Built a Dynasty' series.
Until then: may your days be gentle, may those around you be kind, and have a happy new year.
