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I never finished uploading Future Talk onto AO3 due to [many and varied reasons].

Should I finish uploading it? Is there any interest in reading that story on that platform?

One of the aforementioned [many and varied reasons] is that I don't particularly enjoy reading the story anymore, though I respect it as a monument to my writing history and growth. I'd like to know if the time and energy necessary to edit and repost that beast of a work would be wellspent, insofar as it would make at least a few of you happy to see the story transferred.

So:

Should I finish putting Future Talk on AO3?

Yes, please put FT on AO3.

It's still on FFnet, so it doesn't matter.

Voting ended onJan 23, 2024

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"Future Talk" Editing Log

Some thoughts as I edit Future Talk.

1/25/2024, Chapters 17/18:

Revisiting this work after so many years, I can see how my writing has improved since I wrote those early chapters. There's a lot of filler language like "I saw, I felt, I heard," which I'm omitting as I go. But for the work of a literal teenager (I was 19 when I started writing the story), I'm honestly impressed at how the language is holding up. It's not nearly as bad I expected.

I'm also doing my best to rewrite parts to omit song lyrics, both for copyright purposes and because it just feels... amateurish? Their inclusion takes me out of the narrative. The songs themselves and the "musical moments," so to speak, are staying put.

I also dislike the device of thinking in italics. I am eliminating those moments so the narrative flows more seamlessly, though without sacrificing Dani's colorful internal monologue.

I forgot how lively Dani is. Realizing, slowly, that I missed her.

I forgot how much I used to dislike contractions. Finding quite a few instances where no contraction is used, but if I was writing the story today, I would absolutely use one.

Will update with more tales from the editing suite as they arise.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter 21 of the edited version of Future Talk is available now on AO3.

This one was difficult to edit. In retrospect, I realize most of the scenes are basically filler. If this were the rewrite, I'd cut a good deal of them. That made connecting to the material tough.

Anyway. Enjoy. Will try to be faster with updates.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter 20 of the edited version of Future Talk is available now.

In spite of how long it took me to edit this and what that length of time may imply, this chapter was not as difficult to edit as the previous. I just didn't have much free time this month to spend on the story.

Hoping to get chapters out closer to weekly, but we shall see.

Thank you for reading, and special thanks to those leaving comments on the new installments.

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On which day of the week should I post updated chapters of "Future Talk"?

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Voting ended onAug 1, 2024

I'm returning to my roots with a poll, and a poll about update timing, at that. I don't know when people like reading fanfic anymore.

Picking a day would help me keep to a schedule. I may post biweekly instead of weekly, but having a target day would be beneficial for my motivation for this repost project.

Thank you for your feedback. :)

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"Future Talk" Editing Log - Chapter 19

February 1, 2024

I forgot I used Japanese honorifics throughout this fanfic.

Why oh why did I use Japanese honorifics throughout this fanfic!?

I do think they can be used judiciously (to indicate social hierarchies and relationships, etc.), but I was inconsistent with how they were used. They stick out like a series of sore thumbs bashed by a culturally tone-deaf hammer. I need to go back and look at the previously edited chapters and see how I handled them. So far in chapters 17-19, I've been taking them out as I go unless they're somehow relevant to the plot or characterization.

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Future Talk Chapter 19

Chapter 19 has been posted to AO3: Read It Here

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Future Talk Cover Image

I made a new cover image for Future Talk.

I made one a long time ago, but I don't like it very much. I'll be adding this to the first chapter on Archive of Our Own.

Top row, left to right: Dani at the piano, the Book of Beasts, ruins of the old world

Middle row, left to right: The pods of the Bright Ones, reaching for light/hope (a mood rather than a literal scene), Dani's musical powers

Bottom row, left to right: A tori gate in the new world, Dani and the Beasts, Dani and her ukulele

I tried to keep the colors balanced as best as I could. It's such a long story that you can't incorporate everything into one image, but I think this does a sufficient job of highlighting some of the story's high points.