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A Tale of Spirits Status and Other Updates (Long Post)

I've gotten a lot of questions about A Tale of Spirits and its hiatus status over the past few days (months lol). I've been mulling over this post for a while now, avoiding it if I'm honest, but I've gotten to a point where even I can't avoid the writing on the wall.

So, let's start with what's holding me up. Over the last ten-eleven months, I've been dealing with a nerve issue in my wrists and hands (both, if you can believe it). Now it's nothing super serious (we haven't had any surgery talks, thank God), but it bothers me constantly throughout the day, and having an office job doesn't really help. It's crazy to go through some of these older Tumblr posts because my hands were bothering me even then, but I didn't want to admit it.

Long story short, I feel like I'm caught in this...loop of trying to heal. I'll have really good, consecutive days, and when I think I'm on the right track, something happens, and I'm pulled right back into it. It's frustrating, demoralizing, and terrifying all at once. I try not to spiral into worst-case scenarios with this whole thing, but my hands are numbing while I'm typing this. So....yeah, it's slowed my writing practically to a halt. I can bang out a couple hundred words here and there and focus on one-offs since they don't feel so...daunting, but chaptered anything mentally makes my hands twitch. My long sessions are gone at the moment and this leads me to that writing on the wall I mentioned earlier.

I don't know when A Tale of Spirit will return.

Man, that hurts to type. ATOS has been a part of my life for almost two years now. I've grown so much from this story, and my writing has evolved so much from this story. I have so much fun with ATOS. I mean, that's the point of fanfic, but I have fun with ATOS. I go back and reread parts, and I laminate past narrative choices as if those words are written in stone. I snicker while working out dialogue and really (and I mean really) let loose with action choices and experiment.

Hell, I have AUs of this AU on my drive lol. I owe a lot of my growth and confidence to ATOS. I mean, I read every comment and every Tumblr message (and I mean every comment). The support and love this story has received makes me believe that I'm not as terrible of a writer as I thought, that I might actually hack it in the literary world, so it's devastating that I can't put all my energy into this or my personal work.

To be honest, I'm still halfway in denial. I know I'm going to finish this story eventually. I love it too much, but I can finally admit that I'm not sure when that 'eventually' will be. Geez, I should've written this a while ago, but denial is a blinding thing.

I tackle writing when I can, but the nerve thing has thoroughly pulled me into a slump.

I'm going to update ATOS to say indefinite hiatus and put this same message on AO3.

I'm not saying goodbye to ATOS. I was deep in my unposted arcs before all of...this reached a peak even I couldn't ignore. I was really doing something with April, Zuko, and Suki (fun dynamic, by the way). Azula's been fun to play with, and angry, fed-up turtles have been a challenge in a half, so I want you guys to see that one day.

So, there it is. I know this is closure for some of you, and you all deserve to know what's going on with ATOS. I know this update will be a relief for some of you because now, there's no more guessing. The dreaded 'indefinite' has been typed and sealed in digital ink (dramatic, I know).

I'm going to leave it here because I don't know how to end this post. I'll be around, lurking in possible (short) one-shots and slowly chipping away at ATOS. So, until then, rest, rehabilitation, and copious amounts of books and music to listen to.

See you soon.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #crossover #fanfiction #fanfic #atla #a tale of spirits #crossover fanfiction #atos #a tale of spirits question #a tale of spirits update #fanfiction update #health issues are the worst #this literally pains me to write #i'm not abandoning it #hiatus announcement #avatar the last airbender drill

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Just like the person before me, I also absolutely love your Rottmnt X HH Crossover! I don't know how you do it but you always manage to find a way to make the craziest crossovers work! I would really love to see more of this.

I already suspected that the fact that they were so powerful was due to their ninpo. So, getting straight to the point, that means they are more powerful than Alastor? Considering they were able to threaten Vox, and come out of the Vs without a scratch, It wouldn't be too far fetched. Yikes, Alastor is not going to like that. If the fandom's suspicions are correct then he doesn't like not being the most powerful in the room. Maybe if the twins don't ignore him like Lucifer did then maybe he'll be able to tolerate them.

They sit around same level for two different reasons.

While extremely powerful, Alastor is limited by his deal (at least that’s how I’m reading the breadcrumbs lol). I personally think there's a lot more power we aren't seeing because of it.

On the other had, Leo and Donnie don't know everything they can do yet. They've only been around for a short time. Like a few weeks tops (this is set around the first two episodes). They're still learning the demon thing and they react more with ninja skills/instincts than using their demonic power.

I like to think of it as three big cats in one huge enclosure. They each know they other is dangerous, but they won’t know who would come out on top until the claws comes out. Although Donnie and Leo have an edge because they work together.

I really want to say something about their dynamic (because the three of them in a conversation?!? Can you imagine….I currently am). Don’t get me started on Vox and Donnie🙄😂

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #hazbin hotel #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #crossover fanfiction #alastor #tmnt leo #tmnt donnie #question answers #questions and ask #questions

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Omg I am in LOVE with your ROTTMNT/Hazbin crossover!!! I am a million questions but I’ll wait in case there’s more~ for now tho; what’s your reasoning/thought process behind your demon designs for Leo and Donnie?? The descriptions are so different from each other and beg elaboration!! Love your work as always ❤️ I hope you have a great day!!

Thank you! Im so glad people like it. I’m always surprised when people like my more….out there crossovers. Some days I’m like “ok, NOW you’re jumping the shark.” 😂

I didn’t want it to be just turtles walking around in Hell, but I also didn’t want to push it so far that they’d be totally unrecognizable. I tried to keep their powers/interest in mind as well when I was constructing them. It was hard though, not going to lie.

Leo’s always moving even without his ninpo, and I wanted to…emphasize that in his demon form. He’s basically all smoke and shadow now. Able to slip in and out places easily and it’s now very very hard to land a hit. He’s still working on being completely solid (and the cape is a nod to future Leo, while also working as reference point for a body) but he’s learning lol. He secretly loves the drama of it all though.

Donnie’s a mix of tech now, but I didn’t want to make him like Vox, but I wanted to show that it’s a big part of who he is. The biggest change is his shell. He’s put so much thought into his soft shell in life that it became his center in death. It basically has a mind of its own if I’m honest. Its entire purpose is to protect Donnie while still offering him a great range of motion.

All four of them have multiple eyes now because I think all ninjas would want an extra pair. Leo’s are in the back of his head while Donnie’s have a hard time staying in one place lol. Donnie’s secondary eyes act like his goggles and he tends to treat them as such. They do more than just see though and I’ll leave it at that.

As for their ninpo, it’s…..different now that they’re dead. I don’t want to say much but it’s made them powerful demons in death.

I feel like I halfway answered the question lol

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #hazbin hotel #fanfiction #crossover #fanfic #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise leo #rise donnie #tmnt leonardo #tmnt donatello

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I feel like I'm building to something, but I don't want to put too much pressure on this idea just yet. Anyway, there's a second, short chapter for anyone interested!

I need to stop treating crack seriously. enjoy this short Hazbin Hotel/ROTTMT crossover. I won't blame you for jumping ship 😂

Redemption

Summary:

In Leo’s defense, he’s operating on this being one huge, cosmic, colossal mistake. A joke even, who’s to say that the Almighty doesn’t have a sense of humor? At the very least it’s an overreaction. _ Or, Heaven is really really hard to get into.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #hazbin hotel #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #crack fic #crack treated seriously #donatello #donnie #rise donatello #leo #leonardo #rottmnt leonardo #ao3fic #ao3 writer

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I need to stop treating crack seriously. enjoy this short Hazbin Hotel/ROTTMT crossover. I won't blame you for jumping ship 😂

Redemption

Summary:

In Leo’s defense, he’s operating on this being one huge, cosmic, colossal mistake. A joke even, who’s to say that the Almighty doesn’t have a sense of humor? At the very least it’s an overreaction. _ Or, Heaven is really really hard to get into.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #fanfiction #crossover #fanfic #hazbin hotel #ao3fic #ao3 writer #crack fic #crack treated seriously #tmnt donatello #donatello #rise donatello #donnie #leo #leonardo #rottmnt leonardo #tmnt leonardo

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Please give an update on a tale of spirits!

anything but this endless waiting.

*breaks down into tears*

I didn't realize how long it's been. I'm feeling a bit better and actually typing again. I'm dropping this chapter since I feel so bad about the cliffhanger I left you all on. This isn't the start of the total post (yes, I know. I don't keep my word lol) but this is a taste to thank you for waiting.

Chapter 21 - Collision is LIVE

#rise of tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #avatar the last airbender drill #atla #rottmnt #fanfic #fanfiction #crossover #crossover fanfiction #teenage mutant ninja turtles #atos #a tale of spirits #azula #zuko #mai #ty lee #donnie #mikey #leo #raph #katara #toph #aang #sokka #suki #april oneil #iroh

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Obsessed with these promos

Adventure Time - Fionna and Cake ep 1-2 tomorrow!!

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promo for episode 9 of Fionna and Cake

(it should say Sonja, not Sonya, sorry about that!)

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now that ATOS is almost over, would you say it’s been easier or harder overall to write with pre-existing plot beats? like in Recoil you were taking the setting of Avengers and RotTMNT and making your own plot, but here you’ve mostly stuck to ATLA’s canon. i suppose both have pros and cons, but i’m just interested to hear what you think!!!!! ^^

Great question! It's been A LOT harder than I thought it would be. For me, there were times when I couldn't mentally break away from atla canon. I think it's difficult when you're working with a piece of media you really enjoy and respect (atla), so you unconsciously try to justify why certain events need to happen. That mindset can be very limiting creativity-wise. Looking back on early chapters, I could've deviated more from atla events and still had the drill since that was in motion long before season 2.

I had ideas -my could've, would've, should'ves- that I didn't add because I was too married to the avatar canon. Plus, it's easier to justify staying the course when the first few story beats were necessary to get everyone moving in the Earth Kingdom.

Personally, I wish I didn't stick so close to canon in the middle, but you write and you learn.

When it comes to Recoil, my only issue was making sure that the character voices stayed consistent. I'm going to be honest, Recoil was one of those one-in-a-thousand crossovers for me that just worked lol. The plot just fell together so easily for me. The only thing I had to do was make sure the character voices stayed consistent and reel in my crazier ideas (at one point I had Bruce and Mikey go into one of those orb things from battle nexus: New York, where Mikey would spar with Hulk in what was supposed to be a bonding moment for them (ridiculous I know)).

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #a tale of spirits question #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fanfic #atla fic #atla crossover #crossover #crossover fic #crossover fanfic #ao3 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #writing #writing questions #fanfiction writing #a tale of spirits #atos #a tale of spirits questions and answers #question and answers

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A Tale of Spirits - Chapter 20: Fissures - is now LIVE

I know, I know I'm late lol. Here's the chapter! It's long!

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fic #atla fanfic #atla crossover #a tale of spirits #a tale of spirits update #tmnt #rottmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #zuko #aang #katara #toph #azula #ty lee #mai #sokka #leo #raph #donnie #mikey #april o'neil #suki

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Tale of Spirits Sneak Peek and reminders

Below is a final sneak peek for chapter 20, which should be up Sunday!

Just a reminder to anyone who missed it. After Chapter 20 is posted the next update will be a mass upload of the entire work, so there will be another hiatus after this post (a small one though, a little over a month)

Anyway, here's the sneak peek! Something fun and small.

Katara POV

Donnie chuckles before leaning back with a loud shout.  “Raph!  Leo!  Someone get in here to laugh at my amazing joke.”

“I can’t believe I was scared of you,” Sokka sighs.

“Hey, I’m still scary,” Donatello says.  His shell opens to release two thin metal appendages.  They wiggle back and forth in an odd sharp motion while his own arms squirm in the air.  She snorts, he looks like a jellysquid.  “Oooh, look at that.  Four arms, bet I’m pretty scary now.”

Sokka hides the pull of his face in his hands and Katara looks away with a laugh.  “Sure,” she grins.  “Super scary.”

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fanfic #atla fic #crossover #teenage mutant ninja turtles #a tale of spirits #fanfic #fanfiction #atos #ao3 #ao3 fic #donnie #sokka #katara

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In regards to that last ask you answered- I’m super curious as to why you’ll be releasing the rest of the fic in one go after chapter 20! I don’t know nothin’ about releasing fics and schedules and what not, so I’m not judging your preference at all! But why release it all at once? Not complaining at all, I love your fics and all your writings I’ve been blessed enough to stumble upon! Just curious :) do absolutely anything that makes you happy! feel free to ignore!

I don't mind answering! It's mainly because I want to focus on finishing my personal work. I just turned 29 (for those of you who don't know that I'm old lol) and it's a personal goal of mine to finish my manuscript and start querying agents before the big three zero.

But I really want to finish A Tale of Spirits before I do. I know myself, and if I get too deep into my manuscript then the updates for A Tale of Spirits will be few and far between. So I set my manuscript down (I needed to step away from it for a bit anyway) and decided to finish the Fic completely. Don't worry, I'm not rushing it. Right now I should be done with it by next month or so, but if it takes any longer then I'll keep you guys updated.

But yeah, 29 is my 'year of growth' and I want to hit all my goals. And starting it off with finishing and completing ATOS would be a huge accomplishment and motivator for me.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fanfic #atla fanfiction #a tale of spirits #atos #a tale of spirits question #a tale of spirits answer #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #ao3 #ao3 fic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #writer #writing stuff

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☀🌙 Rise Leo art dump again-

#rottmnt #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rise leo #artwork #digital art

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I truly hate to be this person: when will a tale of spirits update again?

i love your writing so so much, I read everything up to bread crumbs all at once sometime on July and it sPARKED THE SEROTONIN OH MY GOODNESS ALL MY BABIES ARE MAKING FRIENDS and I have been checking literally every week since if it’s updated.

Good writing takes time but is there like a date you’re aiming for to release the next chapter? Soon? Mayhaps? An earlier post said chaps 20 and 21 were in the works and my hopes were high.

of course of course of course run on your own time and take as long as you need until your happy w it. But a vague goal for release or confirmation of hiatus would be so appreciated bc I just re read the most recent chapter and I am TREMBLING with anticipation srsly thank you so much for bringing this fic into the world I love it so much

sorry for the long ask!! Basically any form of an update would be stupendous

So, A Tale of Spirits timeline update! Chapter 20's probably going to be released within the next sevenish days (Yay!) After that, there will be another hiatus (not too long, maybe a month and some change) and then the next update will be the whole thing. And when I say the whole thing, I mean the WHOLE thing. Like, switching the status from in progress to complete lol

It's going to be one massive update, and I'm being honest this time lol. That's what's been slowing me down outside of regular life. The overall rearranging, rewriting, and scrapping of certain aspects of the Fic.

Anyway, when chapter 20 drops that '20/?' will show the total amount of chapters for the story so you guys know what to expect.

And again, just to reiterate, the update after Chapter 20 will be the ENTIRE thing. I'll even make an 'update imminent' post the day/night before the uploading begins.

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #a tale of spirits #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla fic #atla fanfic #ao3 #ao3 fic #crossover #crossover fanfic #atos #fanfiction #azula #a tale of spirits update #a tale of spirits question #zuko #donnie #aang #raph #leo #ty lee #mai #katara #toph #mikey #sokka #rottmnt raph #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey

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The Long Fight is LIVE

Summary:

Donnie walks in undisturbed, his headphones thumping a fast and loud beat before the turtle collapses on the couch. “It’s the wrestling team,” Donnie answers the unasked question with a yawn, and Splinter marvels at the fact that the boy can hear anything at all. “They won’t let him compete. Hell, they hardly let him scrimmage half the time.”

“Language,” Splinter frowns. Another crash echoes through the home and he takes a worried step forward. “But why? The videos you’ve shown me look very good. He never loses!”

“Take a guess,” Donnie snorts. He turns his phone sideways and the screen sparks to life with a small pixeled soldier. “Honestly, I don’t know what he thought was going to happen.” Another crash shakes the sewers and Donnie cranes his neck toward the hallway. “That better not be my stuff!” he shouts.

______

Or, school isn't as fun and accepting as they thought it would be.

-First in a new series of shorts for the possible High School shenanigans the boys might get into.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #ao3 fic #splinter #raph #donnie #high school sucks and I don't think they're really ready lol

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second day of school