Hello peoples! It feels like it's been forever since I have written a blog post and tried to be at least semi-active in the community. I could offer a great many excuses (life, work, stress, etc.) but other than those, I won't. Most of us know how it goes and it seems, at least for the first part of the year, that I may not have been the only one struggling a bit. I do feel bad for being inactive/gone for so long and that much I will apologize for, especially in regards to answering messages or comments. Bad author/friend! I have recently tried to remedy/make amends for that silence and I do have my fingers crossed that I will now officially have more time to be active here!

Yay?

With this being the case, due to a new job and a recent relocation I am still in the process of (I got a job in Japan!), I have been searching for my muse and we've been trying to get back into the groove. I'm admittedly a bit rusty, for which I also apologize. For whatever reasons, it's challenging for me to try and write after grading dozens of student's papers. Fortunately (sort of - I really did enjoy it in a sort of twisted way haha), I should have more time now. That being the case, I recently brushed off the cobwebs with my most recent piece of work: The Banishing Festival (Currently, Daehyun and Luna are the mains, though not necessarily in a romantic setting). It's a three chapter story arc that will lead into something larger (no doubt about it) that I wrote for Tigress's Fantastic Fantasy Writing Contest (the mini July contest in this case). Go check it out if you're interested! Her contest for sure, though I wouldn't mind the gander at my work too, if you're so inclined. ;)

Now that I've finally found my muse, I do think I'm set to start writing again. Amazingly so, I actually have been! The place I'm staying right now (in Ryugasaki), doesn't have much in the way of writing spaces - I'm currently negotiating with my slightly uncomfortable bed and the really small, hard chair in front of the TV desk - but we're making something work. I've recently rediscovered my train of thought in Fleeing From Fate. I know, right?! After eight months of nothing (has it really been that long?!), I am working hard to finish this story. I was also looking back at the last post I made that was asking for input from the community.

Click >> here << for a refresher.

Based on that input, at least partially, I will be trying to focus my attention on the stories that people were interested in and then following up from there. Not sure if that measure of interest is still valid (it could have changed in eight months), but it's at least a good place to start.

Right now, my primary focus is Fleeing From Fate because I'm ridiculously close to finishing it (should be about 3 more chapters actually). *face palm* Why do I do this to myself? :?

After that, per the response from readers last time, the stories I would like to try and focus on are (in no particular order):

The Palace of Dreams (Luna and Jongup Siblings) - Contest with Deadline

Sunyoung and Jongup are twins and Dreamers. Born from the union of a god and a human, they have the ability to influence the world through their dreams. If their existence becomes known by the wrong side, they will either be killed or taken by the gods to be used for their own purposes. For it is known that when they come of age, in the forbidden Palace of Dreams, a Dreamer can change the whole of the realm itself.

 

They Walk Among Us (Mixed - Yesung, Henry, and Luna are mains)

Henry, Yesung and Luna were your regular fantasy buffs.  Drawn together by a mutual love and interest in all things fantastic and magical, they spent their time daydreaming about the strange and wondrous creatures to be found in their books, never imagining for even a moment that they might actually meet one for real.  That all changes when one falls into their lap.  Literally.

When they learn that the Sylph was fleeing capture by an unknown group, they enlist the aid of Donghae, a well-known fantasy artist and Henry's brother, who offers his assistance in any way he can.  Ecstatic over their find, the trio leaves their magical friend in his care, certain he'll be able to take care of her, but when she is taken by force from Donghae's home, they begin to realize just what they're up against.

The four are recruited to join a small, specialized task force developed just for the purpose of locating and retrieving other magical creatures before Atamos can get their hands on them.  Enter the MCPA (Magical Creature Protection Agency) whose mission is to protect the magical creatures until they can find a way to send them back home.

It's not so simple when they have no idea how to even begin to find a way to get them home and with Atamos hounding them at nearly every step, it may well be impossible.  That's not to say that they won't try though.

**This one probably needs a bit of reworking before I can fully continue/complete it

 

Surreal Isolation (DB5K Brotherhood)

What was supposed to be a simple, fun boat ride to their next destination quickly turns into the experience of a lifetime as the DBSK boys find themselves stranded on a seemingly deserted island with no way to call for help.

But things are rarely what they appear to be and their situation may not be as bleak as they first believe.  With no idea how long it will take for someone to find them, the only thing they can do is stick together, if they can find each other, and move forward to the best of their ability.

Even with nothing to their names, they may yet find they have far more than they know.

**Ironically, this is another that is also probably almost finished. I need to go look at it again and really figure out/remember where I was trying to go with it.

 

Curiously Enchanted (2PM - WooKay)

As little more than a regular village patrolman in the middle of nowhere, Minjun never expects anything out of the ordinary to happen.  But when his horse gets spooked and throws him down a hill, he learns there might be more truth to those forest spirits he's been warned about his whole life than he realized.

 

DGNA_Forever made a good suggestion about starting from the oldest first and working my way up. They Walk Among Us would be a good place to start and I do intend on looking into it. That is one story I should have finished a long time ago. Poor thing. I got distracted with someting else and never quite came back to it. *face palm*

So, provided I can start to make headway and find my traction again, these are the ones I would like to focus on. Keep in mind I haven't forgotten about the mentioned By Magic and Blood and Can I Help You, Dear? The former I'm happy to continue plotting and writing out, though I will need to revisit it extensively and do a better job of laying out how it's supposed to go. Things are fuzzy after this long, I assure you. >.> As for the latter, I want to finish it, if only because I started, but I have to say that I will need to be in the right mindset to complete it. I like the idea of it, but the genre and setting is... challenging for me now. *groans* Bear with me. I haven't given up, but it will take me some finagling to manage. *nods*

 

As for the rest. They are still things I plan on finishing at some point! So, in no particular order for them as well, eventually I will complete the following:

The Price of Innocence (Mixed - Byunghyun x Mika)

By the Will of the Gods (Mixed - JR Nu'est)

Sigil Sworn (2PM - WooKay)

Wind Tamers (Taeyang x Hyoyeon)

Keeping the Balance (BTS - Yoongi x Jungkook)

Love Lost, Love Found (Hyoyeon x Taeyang)

Symbiosis (Taekwoon x Onew)

Come Back to Me (Donghae x Eunhyuk)  **This is the only one I have any true hesitation on. I still like the concept, but I may need to make some changes for me to get back into it. We'll see.

 

Otherwise, I am forever getting in trouble with new contests, even if I did TERRIBLE in completing any from last year and into this one. *sighs* The latest I have set my eye on is the World of Literature One-Shot Writing Contest. The deadline is October of this year and the only restrictions are that they don't accept EXO and it must be a (new - as in written for this contest) one-shot. Beyond that, as far as I know, most things are fair game.

And as I mentioned previously, I do intend to continue the story from The Banishing Festival in a longer fic that may well be part of the Fantastic Fantasy Writing Contest. I do have other things swirling in my mind and forming in my daily musings (not forgetting my one-shot collections and pending sequels I'd like to start), but I will attempt to focus my energies to the ones listed for the time being. Wish me luck!

If anyone else has any input or would like to join either of the contests mentioned, feel free (to join a contest or say something in the comments/pm)! Otherwise, thank you for reading and I wish you all the best! Happy reading and good luck writing in your own time!

-Amalya <3