shimotsuki's story stash

So, I have this genfic Harry Potter WIP about Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Molly Weasley... Heh. It's only six chapters, but the first one was posted in May 2007 (!!) and the last one isn't quite done yet. Actually, I've been sitting on the last chapter alone for, literally, a year and a half; the last-but-one went up in February 2010.

Every now and then I'd haul that last chapter out and try to work on it. Some of the scenes are in good shape. But I just couldn't make the scene that's supposed to be the climax of the entire story -- a confrontation between Remus and Sirius -- come to any sort of satisfying resolution.

Recently, though, a couple of people have prodded me about finishing this fic (thank you for being interested!). And so, I've been thinking about that last chapter. I've also been thinking about some honest and deeply appreciated reviews I got from a reader a few months ago suggesting that there was just something missing in this story.

( And I realized that the two problems were related. )

The plan now is to revise one of the already-posted chapters every two or three days, as time permits but fairly quickly. And then when all the revisions are finished, I'll give the final chapter a thorough edit and actually post it.

I revised Chapter 1 today. Most of the changes are in the final scene. As a teaser -- and an attempt at self-motivation! -- ( here's the modified ending to this chapter. )
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As much fun as I've been having with Chalion and Vorkosigan fics and all lately, I really do think of my Remus/Tonks series Kaleidoscope as my main fic project -- and yet it's been ages since I've managed an update. This summer I've been poking away at a major expansion and rewrite of "Blindsided," which was one of the earliest R/T drabbles I'd written, but it's going horribly...I keep rewriting and rewriting and I just can't make it work. (I need to have Remus grieving for Sirius and worrying about Greyback and falling for Tonks all at the same time, and he will not cooperate, darn him.)

So, partly inspired by katyscarlett76's posting her bittersweet Tonks drabble today, I thought I would shake off the jinx by making myself sit down and get started on an entirely different piece of the series, and post the first scene as a drabble. This installment doesn't even have a title yet, but the idea has been in my head for a couple of years, and I've known all along it would be from Arthur's POV -- Molly's had her say, and now it's his turn!

In Which Tonks Has News For Arthur [a story in search of a title]
(500 words | PG)
( Arthur knew something was going on when he heard the heavy boots come clomping his way. )
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I guess it must really be summer, if I'm posting fic! Heh. It has been a while.

Anyway, this is a Kaleidoscope installment from early in DH. As always, it's intended to stand on its own, but for people who are keeping track of the series, it picks up an hour or so after the end of All That I Am.

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Moving Forward (2847 words | PG-13/intimate situations)
Remus has come home, but Tonks needs to work out how they can fit themselves together again.

( Tonks woke slowly, feeling groggy. )
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There's a new seasonal drabble/drawble event underway at metamorfic_moon. The last one was a lot of fun, so it's great to see another.

I've sort of cheated this time, actually -- I decided to post an excerpt from a "Kaleidoscope" update I've been working on sporadically this winter. It's kind of a sequel to Messages, in that we see the mirrors again and it deals with the dynamics of the relationship between Remus and Andromeda.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to finish the rest of this story and post it here -- work is really, really crazy right now, and I know I'm always saying that, but I really mean it this time, heh. (This is the first evening I haven't spent working since last Thursday, including the weekend.) But maybe having posted this excerpt will motivate me to finish the story. Especially since the title has nothing to do with this part of it! ;)

Porridge (PG)
( A soft knock on the half-open study door made Andromeda start and look up. )
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Well, I obviously didn't make my self-imposed deadline of last weekend, but at least I finished this (just barely) before posting opens for the Jumble at metamorfic_moon on Friday.

Concrit is sincerely welcome, especially pertaining to timeline errors, plausibility, or continuity from other chapters in the story (...if anyone still remembers something they read months and months ago!).

All Will Be in Order -- Chapter 3: A Long Summer
(5359 words | PG/mild profanity)
Author's note: Many thanks to katyhasclogs for help with British food culture. (Additional notes are at the end of the chapter.)

Sirius tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and let the liquor slide down his throat, burning all the way. He sat still for a moment and waited for the tingle in his hands and feet that spoke of really good firewhisky, well aged.

Sighing in blessed relief, he looked up to find Remus watching him, eyes twinkling in his tired, slightly grimy face.

"That bad, eh?"

"Gah." Sirius poured himself another three fingers. "Mages preserve us from that woman!"

( 3. A Long Summer )
( 1. The Perfect Flat ) | ( 2. The First Mission ) || ( Chapter Index )
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Somehow, I've managed to collect a few dangling WIPs, alongside the eternally-in-progress Kaleidoscope series -- I'm still working on everything, though. I'll be finalizing and posting the concluding part of By a Thread (that sneaky DH-denial fic that got started at rt_challenge) as soon as I'm caught up with reading and reviewing all the wonderful new fics and art at metamorfic_moon.

For now, though, here's another installment of Kaleidoscope, also at Meta.

Asking for Forever (5020 words | PG-13/mild profanity, cuddling | DH spoilers)
A mere fortnight after the relationship finally begins is hardly the best time to ask a certain question. But what if it's now or never?
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So the thing is, I started (sporadically) working on my Grand Saga of R/T a full year ago, intending to write a multi-chaptered, internally coherent fic about how Remus and Tonks meet, agonize, and finally get together. It was the first major fanfic plan I ever hatched, even though I've written and posted (several!) other things since starting this eternal WIP.

But then last January I started posting parts of the Grand Saga, and/or writing up parts of it especially to post, at rt_challenge. Okay, fine, think of them as teasers, and incorporate them back into the coherent chaptered thing at a later time, right? Sure.

Only, then came the spring challenges at metamorfic_moon. Now I've got R/T stories that are part of the same time period (and character development trajectory) as the Grand Saga, but for POV reasons they can't be anything but stand-alone pieces. Hrmm. And meanwhile, I've been coming to the conclusion that I may be more cut out for ficlets and one-shots than large fics, at least given my current opportunities for writing.

Then it hit me: I should do the Grand Saga as a series! Then I can write up and even post pieces of it out of order, as inspiration strikes or challenge prompts become relevant. And I can indulge my love of short fics while still making progress on my overall story arc. Ah...I feel so free...

So, let me present: Kaleidoscope. There's nothing new there yet (except for its Official Status as a Series), but the ficlets I'm working on for the Showdown at metamorfic_moon will fit right in, so I will actually (*gasp*) make progress on the darn thing in the next week or two. Yippee!

Okay, I'm sort of blocked on my next fic for the current Jumble at metamorfic_moon.

I suspected I would have a harder time with this one, since I usually write character studies (or one- or two-chapter fics where whatever plot I manage to write is really just an excuse for some poor hapless characters to undergo an experience of my choosing so I can watch them deal with it). For this Jumble, I swore up and down that if I got action/adventure for my genre prompt, I would go for it, because I want to learn to handle more genres.

Well, I did get a/a. Trouble is, days have gone by and I'm still at the point of choreographing various scenarios in my head, waiting for that feeling of "aha, there's the plotbunny I'm going to follow." Nothing I've thought of so far feels like it's something that wants me to write it.

I've already had a look at the a/a writing discussion at metamorfic_moon. That was extremely helpful, especially the suggestions by jesspallas, whose a/a fics Oblivious and Imperius are some of my favorite long fics ever. So I've got some technical ideas I'm dying to try, but NO PLOT.

Here are some ideas I've been pushing around. Any opinions? Does anything stand out as something you think you'd like to read?

( a/a plot sampler )