#rotd - Gebo/Gifu - what gifts are you grateful for today? <3{
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5. What is the next moment you need to write that’s interesting to you?
I’m answering this for ROTD as a whole- I am incredibly excited to get to what I’ve dubbed The Childhood Fic. It’s split into three chapters, one for Gabriel, one for Grim, and one for Jim! It focuses on their childhoods and early adulthood- including when Grim and Jim first meet, in my current draft. I’ve got a few more things I need to finish up, but it’s the meta conclusion of something I’ve been planting the seeds of for quite some time. This is not to say that the in-between stuff isn’t interesting, but I’ve been brewing this particular extra up for years. I might do a similar piece for Brian and Daithi, but once it’s finished, the central theme that made me limit it to just those three will be pretty apparent.
9. What do each of the relevant characters currently want?
I had a hard time figuring out which fic to do this for, but I settled on the early stages of the SPLAU!
Kevin: He wants to figure out a way to convince Spiff and Seán to leave them alone, and he wants Daithi to stop being such an asshole-
Dan: He wants to see if there’s an easier way out of this situation than committing treason, oh my god, maybe they should really just turn themselves over, guys-
Brian: He wants to find out who he used to be.
Daithi: He wants to get the fuck out of dodge, because Seán and Spiff are coming for them oh my GOD can you PAUSE YOUR TREASON TIRADE FOR TWO MINUTES? GET ON THE TRAIN!
Seán: He wants to not fail. He wants a promotion, and he wants to ensure his place in the world, and so he wants Kevin, Dan, Daithi, and Brian to surrender.
Spiff (yeah, he’s here too, I wanted even “teams”): He wants revenge.
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Queen Erin Corcráin, of the Republic of Foltnia: She wants those metal miracle workers under her thumb.
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14. what do you like about this WIP?
Ohhh… I’ll answer for both, I think! Just for fun!
ROTD- I’m just incredibly fond of it as a whole. It was my first finished long-fic, so I think I’ll always hold a candle for it, even if I would do some things differently were I to write it now (that’s an art idea I’ve been kicking around tho 👀) I know I’ve kinda lagged in posting anything relating to it, but I’m thinking about it nearly all of the time. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s got so much stuff I love to write about, and it’s just kinda like. My writing happy place! I love getting to write gross body horror, I love getting to write about weird cults and worldbuild my own religion, I love getting to write about morally gray characters and characters who do and don’t improve themselves, I love getting to write murder and violence, I love getting to write about tense family relationships, and I love getting to write what happens after the happy ending!
Not to get lowkey emotional, but ROTD has done a lot for me. It’s led to me making good friends and finding a great fandom, it’s led to me taking classes I adore, it’s led to a VAST improvement of my writing skills (seriously, go read the first chapter and the last back to back.), it led to me traveling to a DIFFERENT COUNTRY, and it’s given me a lot of confidence! Thank you gay YouTuber RPF.
SPLAU- Well, first of all, I just love steampunk, so jot that down. But so far, it’s in my stretch zone, if that makes sense? It’s got a lot of things I’m either trying to write for the first time, or I’ve only done it once or twice (action is the main one, but also a significant amount of politics), but it’s also got things I love writing, like incredibly fraught relationships. and transgenderisms. and a smidge of body horror. Sorry about that last one [redacted]. It’s also got a trope I really like, of characters who hate each other and are on different sides having to unite against a common enemy. I also love getting to worldbuild for it, and researching specific points in time in the real world to figure out how I can adapt it to my fictional world <3 It’s delightfully self-indulgent, but in a way where I think it really works.
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11. What’s going through each character’s head in this moment?
For my current ROTD wip:
Kevin: Oh my god, they probably think I’m a freak. They don’t understand, I meant this to be a funny story. There’s something wrong with me.
Dan: oh, I figured his childhood was terrible, but this is…
Seán: what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what-
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#rotd - Sowlio/Sigel - in what ways are you using strength & courage to complete your quests? <3{
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hm I’ve realized I could make ROTD Kevin’s life More Complicated if I wanted to, and it would fit my established backstory for him pretty well. But I’m not sure if I want to actually play with it as a part of the narrative
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The first half of the title is from Farewell Wanderlust by The Amazing Devil. This song makes me exceptionally normal when I think about ROTD. Let’s take this outside, ‘cause we’re one and the same / Our gods have abandoned us, left us instead OHHH I’M GOING TO GO CRAZY.
Side tangent. This is such a Diana song, and the last bit in particular really reads as an argument between Kevin and Diana to me. When your mom says you look healthy / But you know she means you got fat is Kevin snipping at the fact that Diana hasn’t seen her mother since she was 16 (Diana is 34 when she dies). I’m the tales that the guests will applaud and believe is Diana immediately coming back with “your father made up a crock of shit and they’ve bought it hook, line, and sinker.” I’m the child that you just didn’t have time to conceive is Kevin firmly ending that argument by reminding her that she died unmarried and childless at 34 in 1877. She didn’t want children, and I’d imagine that Kevin even knew she didn’t want children and didn’t care, but it’s 1877, and he is blindingly furious at her. You know how Kevin tapped into his status as the “heir” to the cult and someone who can enforce violence to make Diana do what he wanted in the argument they had in chapter 13, without even consciously realizing what power dynamics he was abusing until he was already doing it? He’s doing that here.
OK TANGENT OVER. It’s going to come up in Honey, I’m Home that Kevin and Diana have a sibling-like relationship- specifically because Diana and Jim have a father-daughter relationship (and what does that say about what happened while Kevin was away in the events prior to Ch13? :D), because of things that happen in Honey, I’m Home. Jim is only a little bit younger than Diana’s actual father, and he, naturally, put on a facade of being very welcoming and kind to her. They’ve got some weird relationships going on in the Pickens/Donahue/Turner extended family situation.
Back to the fic itself. The plot of this draft is very fuzzy right now. However, this is actually where they properly make up for the events of Ch13! It takes place in January 1877, a few weeks after the events of ROTD (which takes place on Jan 8th and 9th of 1877) The cult is Very Normal about having people who have come back from death (in a sense, and for better or worse), and they get treated with a reverence that even Kevin, son of the leader and the cult’s golden boy, isn’t used to. They bond over this, and finally actually acknowledge that they’re. not not siblings. They’re still a little emotionally closed off, so it takes them some time. But they’re at least trying, because who else is going to understand what it means to be second to your gods (that don’t exist, that you don’t believe in) and still just a person?
leaving you with this chunk from my notes on this extra:
fun, only semi-related fact: ROTD kevin and diana made such an impact on how I interpret Kevin’s character for my fics that Kevin and Diana are a matched set to me now. If there’s a kevin in one of my aus, he has a Diana. She has different names in different aus but you can find her if you look hard enough.
Title from this ask game! Send in a title to hear a summary or see a snippet :D
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#rotd - Berkana/Beorc (inverted) - in what ways are you germinating & cultivating an attitude of gratitude & sacrifice? <3{
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Rotterdam
This weekend, I found myself abroad but without the usual concerns of collecting a van or getting ready for a televised sports event – I was on holiday! I boarded a Eurostar train with my trusty travelling companion Sam – or Samwise as I affectionately call him – and spent a few days roaming Rotterdam.
What’s in Rotterdam, I hear you ask? Well, the main reason for visiting was not because of the city itself, but one of our shared loves, The Lord of the Rings films. I adore the music that Howard Shore composed for it, so when I caught wind of live orchestra performances doing the rounds, I decided to investigate. The format for the shows has the film(s) play on a projector screen while the music is performed by an army of musicians+singers that would give the forces of Mordor a run for their money. Yes, they do come to the UK, but after failing to find tickets closer to home, I suggested a short European sojourn to Samwise, who didn’t need asking twice!
During our time roaming Rotterdam we agreed that whilst small, the city had its charms (and questionable sculptures). The place felt clean and well-maintained, plus I always award bonus points for places that have large bodies of water in/around them. It’s always easy travelling with Sam as we seem to be perpetually on the same wavelength, and we let our days develop organically, happy to see what we saw without trying to cram in more than felt necessary.
Because Sam and I are so rarely out of sync, it came as quite the surprise when we had a disagreement – about which film to pick for the concert! My preference was for the first instalment The Fellowship of the Ring, whereas Sam wanted the second film The Two Towers. I was prepared to put my foot down given that the trip was my idea, but any concerns over a Smeagol-vs-Gollum-type confrontation were quashed when it transpired that the only film with tickets available was the third one, The Return of the King!
We jokingly agreed it was a fair compromise but once we’d walked out of the arena, we felt that the fates had done us a favour choosing for us. Having made sure to watch the first two films on our previous two evenings in Rotterdam, it felt like an appropriate way to conclude both the weekend and the trilogy by watching the last one in such grand circumstances. I didn’t think my love of the soundtrack could get any bigger, but with so many mega, magic moments elevated by the live orchestra, I was proved wrong. Being so familiar with every note, I noticed several times that the score deviated slightly from the films, but overall, it felt no different to the many times I’ve watched the films in my own living room. In fact, I’d say that’s the best compliment I could pay the orchestra – I often forgot they were even there (and not just because I could barely see them from my seat)!
On our final day in the ‘Dam, we took a boat along the river to Kinderdijk, a sprawling area that is home to 20 old-style windmills (700+ years old) dotted around the canals. Now a UNESCO heritage site, there are public footpaths that allowed us to meander among the ‘mills in the peaceful morning sun and score numerous beautiful photos while it was still quiet. We did get a bit distracted by the gorgeous resident cat, who refused to let us take any more windmill photos until we’d given her sufficient attention.
Our Eurostar train was not due to depart until 7:30pm, so we did our best to stretch the remainder of the day; we visited an Italian restaurant for a late lunch and then found a café near the station to while away the hours. However, we soon realised they were due to close at 5, but by then we were done playing musical chairs in Rotterdam so decided to go the train station. This turned out to be yet another blessing in disguise, because once we found the platform of departure for Eurostar, the 5:30pm train was sitting there awaiting boarding; Sam and I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask if there was room on the train for two British stowaways, but before you could say “tot ziens Rotterdam”, we’d been whisked through security and presented with a pair of fresh tickets! We had already concluded that we’d enjoyed copious amounts of good fortune on this trip, but sneaking our way onto a train that left 2 hours early seriously took the stroopwafel. Not only that, but our tickets came as a pair, so we got to sit together – something we’d not been able to arrange with our original purchases. I spent the entire journey back smiling like an idiot and considering buying a lottery ticket upon my arrival home…it was just one of those weekends!
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#rotd - Tiraz/Tiwaz (inverted) - in what ways are you renewing your strength & courage with #love ? <3{
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#rotd - Wunjo (inverted) - in what ways are you using #love to restore your inner balance? <3{