eilonwiiy

[eilonwiiy]

I’m back to writing Bookends and it feels so gooooooood

Here’s a snippet from chapter 13

Safi was busy getting ready when Iseult entered their apartment.  

“So what book is it again?”  Safi asked, pulling her shirt off over her head and disappearing into her room.  Iseult stared after her.  

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Of course, I am.”  Safi reemerged wearing a different top, a loose low-cut blouse that would look lethal paired with her leather jacket.  She inspected herself in the mirror, posing at a couple different angles before giving her reflection a satisfied nod of approval.  “I’ve heard you gush about this book so many times I didn’t even have to read it.”

Safi slipped on her jacket and tucked her long hair out from under the back with a flourish that, had they been out on the street, would've caused several heads to turn.  She looked especially good for a night of discussing the machinations of reclusive witches and their covenants.

Safi noticed Iseult staring as she dabbed on some lip gloss.  “What?”

“Nothing,” said Iseult with a small shake of her head.  “You just look nice.”  

“Should I change into my wimple?”

“That won’t be necessary.”  Iseult dropped her apron onto the small square of counter space that acted as their kitchen table and shuffled into her bedroom.  She stopped in front of her closet and stared at its contents.  Several minutes passed. 

Iseult had planned on just wearing what she already had on, but watching Safi making eyes at herself in the mirror she was suddenly self-conscious of the loose threads at the cuffs of her wool sweater and the ever-lingering smell of coffee beans that clung to everything she owned.  That aspect of her being couldn't be helped regardless of whether or not she changed, but she could at least look like she hadn’t been out in a field shepherding a herd of sheep all day.

“That’s nice,” Safi said, watching Iseult inspect a plum colored sweater from the door.  

“Mm maybe.”  Iseult passed on a couple more unremarkable shirts before stopping on something else.  It was a dress.  An especially pretty dress, in fact.  It had been tucked out of sight for so long she’d honestly forgotten she even owned it.  It was simple in its design, long sleeves and a high neck collar that made up for its noticeable lack of length, and made with a soft velvet that tapered off at the waist.  The thing Iseult really loved about it was the nearly imperceptible stars stitched into the fabric with gold thread that winked like the night sky when the light hit them just right.  

For Iseult, shopping was rarely ever an inspiring experience, but she remembered falling in love with the dress the instant she saw it.  There was a small hole on the underside of one of the sleeves, which was the only way she was able to afford it.  Even with the discount, she remembered how guilty she felt after taking the plunge and walking out of the store with it.  Spending a chunk of that week’s paycheck on a dress that she’d likely never have an occasion to wear.  

Iseult took the dress off the hanger and draped it onto the bed.

Safi beamed.  

#i finally bulldozed through the mental wall i was having with the next chapter #it only took a year but hey better than never #the witchlands #bookends #iseult det midenzi #safiya fon hasstrel #bookends verse #my fic #snippet

[eilonwiiy]

#FUCK ME #THIS MAN #hzd #hfw #kotallo

[eilonwiiy]

#relatable #hzd #hfw

[eilonwiiy]

#the facial expressions in this franchise are insane #hzd #hfw #kotallo

[eilonwiiy]

Horizon Forbidden West ▶ ⤐ Kotallo｛5/∞｝

#i am very (ʘ‿ʘ✿) for this man #hzd #hfw #kotallo

[eilonwiiy]

I saw an onrushing storm. The future comes hungry, for man and machine. It will catch me, I expect. Catch us all! So enough hunts, enough visions. I’ll run-- chase that teasing sun to the Forbidden West.

#<3333 #i'm FINALLY playing HFW and i'm just- #<333333333333 #hzd

[eilonwiiy]

It is always easier to blame gods or legends than it is to face our own mistakes.  This land is no more cursed than any other.  It is simply seeped in too much blood.

#the witchlands

[eilonwiiy]

#lol

[eilonwiiy]

#lmao

[eilonwiiy]

Witchshadow musings...

Ever since I finished Witchshadow, I’ve been trying (and failing) to collect all my thoughts about the book so I can write up a post... but I think I need to get one thing off my chest before I can go into anything about the story or the characters.  It’s overshadowing all other thoughts about the book so I’m hoping once I just say it, I can let it go and move on. 

In truth, I’m a bit bummed about Witchshadow.  My disappointment has very little to do with plot and all to do with the fact that Iseult’s story needed to be two books. 

I don’t really feel like spending too much time speculating why Susan’s editor had her combine two books into one.  There’s too much about the publishing world I don’t know enough about and making assumptions isn’t something I feel like doing.  It will only be more frustrating than cathartic, so I’m not even going to go there.  Aside from the obvious culprit, money, all I can guess is that she wanted Susan to wrap up the series sooner rather than later because of the developing tv show and/or other projects.  And you know, maybe within the context of their conversations around it, going down that avenue made sense.  Who knows?  I can only speak from my perspective as a reader, and as a reader, it really didn’t work for me.

Iseult’s story desperately needed space to breathe.  And when you’re already three books into a series, with the overall trajectory of the story mapped out, being tasked with cramming two books into one seems like a ludicrous, if not impossible, demand.  How do you do that without killing the integrity of your story?  How do you preserve the plot for the remainder of the series?  It gives me heart palpitations just imagining being in that position.  It just shows how little control authors have over their stories at times.    

All I could think about while reading Witchshadow was, “I wish Susan had been given the space to write Iseult’s story the way she originally envisioned.”  She deserved it.  Iseult deserved it.  Readers deserved it.  It kills me that we missed out on so much story.  Because all the fundamental plot points were there!  Again, I didn’t take much issue with the actual story.  But for a series as complex as The Witchlands is, it suffered being boxed into such a tight space.  While I firmly believe this series is purposefully enigmatic, several points that I’m sure have been cooking since the very first book came across as rushed and underdeveloped because of how much needed to be crammed into this installment.  Which is tragic!!  Anyone who’s ever listened to Susan talk about writing and storytelling knows how much thought she puts into her work.  There was just too much to cover for one book.  Aeduan was basically cut from the book to make it work but that’s a rant for another day

To be clear, my love for this series hasn’t changed.  I just wanted to get this out of my system because I felt like it was holding me back from talking about anything else.  For the most part, I like to keep my fandom experience positive, but the occasional pinch of salt won’t kill me.  It’s kind of an inevitability that the things we love will have a misstep and disappoint us (I’m a life-long Star Wars devotee - I know that all too well), but I’m here to have fun, so that’s what I’m going to do.

#the witchlands #witchshadow #iseult det midenzi #i'd love to hear what other people's thoughts are! #i'm already starting a reread bc i forgotten so much that happened #eilonwiiy talks

[eilonwiiy]

uh huh

#oh my god #i'm in love #naruto #kakashi hatake #rin nohara #art

[eilonwiiy]

#this sums up my headspace for the last few months #naruto

[eilonwiiy]

#art

[eilonwiiy]

can december slow down??  i’m not even remotely in the holiday spirit yet and we’re only two weeks away from christmas. :’(

#i just had a long break thanks to thanksgiving and i still feel burnt out #i really want to drop one of my programs at work but i feel bad asking for it #:/ #eilonwiiy talks #personal

[eilonwiiy]

Moon Mugs

Alive Ceramics Shop on Etsy

#i'll take 6 pls

[eilonwiiy]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… the only Disney remake I want is an animated series of The Black Cauldron/ The Chronicles of Prydain done in the style of the Dragon Prince.

Oh, the style of TDP would suit this dark, epic fantasy series so well. We could have one season for each of the five books, and Taran absolutely stands as a Callum type of hero figure! With a series I believe Taran could become a very unique, enjoyable protagonist. 

Once TDP ends, I absolutely need this on Disney+ for my animated fantasy fix. THIS is the kind of creative opportunity and thinking which Disney remakes should be born out of, not just doing a carbon copy of every classic. 

#far be it from me to want disney to get their greedy hands on yet another thing i love #but what do i have to do to get this?? #the chronicles of prydain

[eilonwiiy]

#looooooooool #fandom