Yes, yes, I know, I suck. Almost six months since I updated here, let alone updating my fanfics. And the thing that really gets me is that I legitimately thought this time I was going to get a chapter of “Guardians” out in a reasonable amount of time! I totally freaking outlined chapter 7 AND chapter 8, I had story notes coming out the wazoo, and I was super excited about writing it, I couldn’t wait to buckle down and get to it.

But you see, in late August/early September this little thing called Monster High happened. If you don’t know, MH is a new doll line put out by Mattel that has an accompanying cartoon as well as some novels… and they hooked me HARD. For like 3 or 4 months, all I could think of was Monster High. This wasn’t really a writing fandom, but those dolls… you don’t understand. I was spending like every hour of the day posing them and taking pictures. You don’t understand how cute these dolls are. Anyway, I tried to write, but all I could think of was MONSTER HIGH OMG GOTTA CATCH COLLECT ‘EM ALL, and I thought, “You know what? To heck with it. I have fandom commitment issues like no one would believe. In a few months, I’ll be sick of MH and I can go back to PGSM.”

And guess what? A few months have passed and I’m sick of Monster High. Do I know myself or what?

Anyway, so this means that barring any major catastrophes (which seem to happen frequently in my household, unfortunately), I should be able to get back to writing next week or so, after the season finale for House of Anubis has aired and that fandom takes a break from consuming my every waking thought (see what I mean about commitment issues? As an aside, have you SEEN that show? It’s like crack!! I know of no one who has seen it who has not devoured it like potato chips and then demanded moar).

Thank you all, as always, for being patient with me. I hope that the new chapter of “Guardians” will be worth the wait. 🙂

I always re-read my previous chapters before I start a new one, so I’m not really sure how this happened…

In chapter 5 of GotE&M, I had Nephrite tell Ami not to tell anyone that they were looking for the stuff about the feud. This is because originally, they were going to find all that stuff on their own. Why? Because I started writing this thing in 2004 when I was 18-19 and what do you mean there are other characters in this series who should be included?? Back in those days, I wrote romance and if it didn’t have to do with the romance, then why even bother with it? That’s why Rei and Makoto were like… barely in it. That’s also why, in the original outline of the story, Luna and Artemis were not going to be in the story. At all. I couldn’t figure out how to include them, and as far as I was concerned, they weren’t necessary.

Fast-forward to 2010, I’m still working on this thing and I’ve reached the point where I’m out of the material from 2004. I had written like 5 pages of chapter 6 back in 2004 and I stopped because I was really stumped and didn’t like where it was going. There’s a good reason for this: it was crap. It just took 6 years of maturing as a writer and as a person for me to figure that out. I’d been stuck at a road block on that chapter, and when I finally got past that, the chapter went in a really different direction than what I would have written in 2004.

Nowadays, I still like romance, but in moderation–I’m not going to be writing a story that’s just like “I LUFF U, LET’S MAKE OUT” anymore (I’ll leave that to Stephenie Meyer). Thus, GotE&M isn’t just the story of Nephrite and Ami’s twu twu wuv (and later down the line, Zoisite and Minako’s… spoiler? XD) anymore… I want it to be the full story of what happened in the Silver Millennium, one that can explain how everything that happened in PGSM came to be. Yes, Ami’s relationship with Nephrite (and Kunzite) has a lot to do with it, and I hope that when you see more of Zoisite and Minako’s relationship, you might understand why they act the way they do in PGSM. But there’s a lot more to it than that. I think it’s important to see how Serenity transformed from the sweet girl we see in the PGSM flashbacks (and the one we’ve seen in GotE&M so far) into the tough bitch Princess Sailor Moon was. We need to understand how Luna and Artemis figure into this, and how they become who they were in PGSM. And we need to understand the relationship between the Silver Crystal, Metallia, and Serenity/Usagi. These are all things that I want to cover in GotE&M. So the story has evolved, and this is just part of the reason chapter 6 had to change.

I also realized that it just didn’t make sense for Ami to be the only character driving the story just because “I liked her best” back in 2004 (P.S. funnily enough, she’s not my favorite character anymore, so now I look back on my old stuff and think, “Why did I use her so much?!”). And there are other things that matter in Ami’s life besides her ~luv~ for Nephrite, other people who are just as important. After getting older, having real relationships and seeing other girls doing so as well made me realize that your boyfriend is not, and shouldn’t be, your life. Ami has a great group of friends in the Senshi, and that needs to be a factor in stories about her. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense for Ami to want to include Makoto, her closest friend after Usagi, in the search. So that’s what I did.

I’m personally very happy with the way it went, but it does create a plot hole between chapters 5 and 6. This really is the downside of fanfiction as opposed to writing, for example, a novel that no one but your editor sees until it’s finished– with fanfiction, it’s “publish as you go.” This is why on most of my newer fanfics, I have been waiting to upload until it’s completely finished, so if I have to make revisions, I can without creating problems. But in GotE&M’s case, it’s too late for that.

So the question now is, “Just leave it? Or revise chapter 5?” I’m planning on going for the revision (I have typos I want to fix, anyway). But for those of you who have already read it… sorry for the plot holes. XD

I figured it’s been awhile since I gave an update on what I’ve been up to recently, so I thought I would… do so. Uhh…

Lisa need brain for smart making.

I’m kind of stuck on Guardians right now. I’m not really sure what to do next. Well, I know ~in general where it’s going, but I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to start the next chapter, what all to include in it, etc. This has happened before so I’m not terribly concerned. I feel confident that it will come to me when the time is right. It’s like how, with chapter 6, I kept trying to force myself to work on it, but it never felt right; then one day, inspiration struck, and I’m really happy with the final product. So I’ll just wait for that to happen again with chapter 7. This probably isn’t terribly reassuring for my readers, but, you know. It will happen when it happens. XD

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about other projects. For like… 3 years (headdesk)… I’ve been working on a Dark Ace/Cyclonis fic on and off. I feel like the day that it will be complete is soon approaching… mwahaha. It’s an origin fic that I started on long, LONG before the “Origins” episode aired. I mean, I started on it like after episode 6 aired lmao. So it’s going to be VERY different from the actual “Origins” story, but I like it and I think Darklonis fans will like it, too, and will be willing to forgive the alternate reality of it all. Expect lengthy, lengthy notes to go along with it when I finally post it, because I have a lot to say about this one.

I also started working on something really random the other day. If it makes it further than the scribblings phase, I’ll update you.

I’m re-reading the Oracle Prophecies so we’ll see if that Sethany fic ever comes to fruition.

And that’s what I’ve been up to.

Welcome to “Sailor Wings,” my fanfiction blog. Here you can find notes, explanations, and rambles pertaining to my fanfictions published under the penname SailorDonut. If you’d like to know a little more about this blog, please click here. Enjoy your stay!

Finally, chapter 6 of “Guardians of the Earth and the Moon” has been published.  This chapter went through a lot of evolution, which is a large part of the reason it took so long to write/publish (that, and the fact that I’m easily distracted XD). You see, I started writing this fic back in 2004, but it was all on binder paper… so I had to type it, which is why it took me so long to get even this far. Chapter 5 was the last chapter I’d written back then. From Chapter 6 on, all content is brand-spanking new.

Because of the amount of time that’s passed since I wrote the first five chapters, you might see a slight difference in style between chapter 5 and chapter 6. I’m hoping it’s not too bad (my sister betas for me and she didn’t think it was a drastic departure from the previous chapters; it could be that I’m being overly critical XD).

This chapter also went through a lot of revision as I came up with new ideas to tie in more aspects of the PGSM timeline, as well as ways to give the characters more depth and backstory. Hopefully you will enjoy these additions. Here are some notes I had regarding this chapter that I hope will answer any questions you might have (here there be spoilers):

• This chapter goes into Princess Serenity’s backstory much more. I wanted to find a way to explain why Serenity is still a princess (not queen) if her mother is not present. The most logical explanation for this something that has occurred throughout history: a regency. Serenity is ruling with the help of advisors such as Egeria and others until she comes of age. In this story, Serenity is 18 and will become queen when she’s 20… that may seem old, but there’s a reason for it which will soon be explained, and it has to do with the Crystal.
• Speaking of Serenity, we see a harsher side to the Princess in this chapter. This ties into what we see in PGSM: she looks so sweet in the flashbacks, and yet she’s so cold as Princess Sailor Moon. Serenity’s under a lot of strain right now because her heart is telling her one thing, but everyone else is telling her something else; but there’s more to it than that. We’ll be seeing more of this evolution of her character, as well as the reasons behind it, in chapters to come.
• The Ethereals are probably my favorite addition in this chapter, so I hope they’re not too “WTF” for everyone else. 😛 I had been trying to think of a way to include Luna and Artemis, but was having trouble  figuring out how to incorporate talking cat plushies. My solution to this six years ago was to just ignore them. XD But then I recently came up with the idea to make them shape-shifters… I won’t give you more details than that and what Serenity explains about them within the chapter, since I don’t want to spoil you. But I’m looking forward to introducing Luna and Artemis and revealing more about the Ethereals, who will be playing an important role in the story in the future.
• I reference a lot of Greek and Roman mythology in this chapter, although I use the names loosely (a lot like Naoko Takeuchi’s borrowing of Selene and Endymion for her own story, heh heh). For example, Egeria’s name (and character) is based on Roman mythology. According to legend, a nymph by that name was the wife of the second king of Rome, and she was also his chief political advisor. Many of the laws and traditions in ancient Rome were begun by Egeria. It’s only fitting that Serenity should such a strong political leader as her advisor! I had a fun time coming up with this character, although I don’t think she’ll be playing a very big role in the story.Other mythological names in this chapter: Deukalion is actually the name of one of Endymion’s ancestors. The names of the months are based on the Athenian lunar calendar. Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth (tying in with how “Mariel” means of the sea [although that’s a Dutch name], I thought the princess of Mars should have a name that tied to her powers as well).

I think that’s it… if you have any questions about the chapter you’d like me to answer, feel free to post them here! ♥

Tags: Guardians Chapter Notes

Welcome to “Sailor Wings,” my new fanfiction blog. It seems like I’m often updating my FF.net profile with lengthy explanations about the status of my fanfics, and I always have ridiculously long author’s notes that I want to post with my stories/chapters, but I think it looks messy to have them sitting there at the top or bottom of a chapter. So I thought, why not make a blog for it? I thought about making a Livejournal for it, but I already have a personal journal and logging in and out drives me crazy. Then I realized, “I know how to use WordPress… why not use WordPress?” XD So here we are.

Stuff you’ll find here:

• Status updates about fanfictions
• Rambly thoughts as I write my fanfics
• Author’s notes for new stories and chapters

Stuff you won’t find here:

• Actual fanfics. They are all up at my Fanfiction.net profile (or, if it’s a PGSM story, at PGSM Fanfiction).

This also seems like a good place to explain the title of this blog, “Sailor Wings.” All the sites I have hosted on this domain are tied to the fact that both my domain and my sister’s are named after angels from Oh My Goddess! So my collective is “Angel Feathers,” our banner exchange is “Angel Wings,” etc. With that in mind, I thought, “Hey, my fanfiction author ID is Sailor Donut, and ‘Sailor Wings’ is a line from ‘Kirari*Sailor Dream’, and I mostly write PGSM fanfics…” 😀 I dunno, it was like 4:00 AM when I thought of that. But hey, it works.

Umm… I may update this post with more info at a later time, but I think that’s sufficient for now.

Oh, but I am planning on adding some back-dated entries– stuff I posted on my LJ about my fanfics that I thought readers of this blog might enjoy. So even though this is the first actual post, there will soon be some entries dated before this one. 🙂

Sooo…. welcome!

Okay, so I know I keep promising more GotE&M, but it’s coming FOR REAL. I am about halfway done with chapter six right now. It’s been taking longer than expected because I came up with some awesome (well, I think) ideas to add some new plotlines to the story, which required a bit of tweaking to be done to my draft of chapter six. I hope the wait will be worth it for all the Silver Millennium fans that like my story.

That said, I have an itty bitty new Zoi/Mina one-shot today. I wasn’t planning on adding it until GotE&M was done, but my sister made a fanvid that sort of ties into it, so we decided that we would upload both together (if you want to see the video, you can do so here). So I hope you will enjoy it. This one takes place in the universe of “After the End.” I really enjoy writing within that universe, so expect more stories set in it as time goes on. I’ll try to make my next update be chapter six of GotE&M, and it will be within the next week or so. 🙂

Finally, I’m sure most of you saw this coming, but I have decided not to continue “With a Blink and a Nod.” Unfortunately, I just don’t really enjoy I Dream of Jeannie the way I used to, so I know I’m never going to work on it again. I think it’s unfair to leave dead fics up taunting fans, so the story has been removed from the site. I hope that any fans who might have been hoping for an update on that one will forgive me.

I know I said I don’t like to leave dead fics online, but “Tales From Atlantis” is more a collection of short stories than a fic that has continuity, so it can stand as-is. I had planned to continue the story up until Milo and Kida met, which would have given it maybe two or three more chapters. I hope you won’t hate me for not making it that far. XD Maybe someday, I will write more, but for the time being I feel comfortable leaving it where it is now.

I am so annoyed/embarrassed. When I uploaded “Guardians of the Earth and the Moon” to PGSM Fanfiction, I had to use the text box instead of uploading the document since I didn’t have MS Word on my old computer. The formatting all disappeared so I fixed it manually, and then like a year later I went back and saw that all the sentences I’d italicized had appeared TWICE, once in italics and once in regular formatting. I was totally mortified so I went through and fixed it, quadruple checked it, and called it a day.

Well now I’m getting ready to add a new chapter so I go back and re-read the old chapters, and what do I find? Some of the doubles are back, AND on top of it, in places where I’d fixed the italics problem, there are whole paragraphs missing!! I am so incredibly embarrassed!!! How can anyone read it?? I have so many positive reviews for the story on that site, and I’m like, “HOW?? HOW COULD YOU HAVE ENJOYED IT?? IT’S DROWNING IN TYPOS!! IT’S F–KING DISTRACTING (OH, GOOD)!”

I haaaaaate reading fanfics that are filled with typos/missing sentences/double sentences. If it’s just typos, but the rest of the writing is good, then I don’t mind. But this is downright terrible. I’m so frustrated. Every time I think I have it fixed, Haha think again!!

Now that I have MS Word, I think I am going to re-upload the chapters which should take care of the formatting problems. The only issue with that, though, is that I’m not sure if the version (of the fic) I have saved on my harddrive is the same as the one on Fanfiction.net, and whether either is the same as the one on PGSM Fanfiction. (I don’t think there will be major differences [at least, I hope not], but there may be typos I fixed on one version that I missed on another).

EDIT: Haha, just kidding, it doesn’t take .doc files, only plain text and (certain) HTML files. That doesn’t really work for me since I use a lot of formatting in my stories and it will detract from the story if it’s lost. And the online text editor is no longer on the site, with only an HTML box in its place. Dammit, it looks like I’m going to have to hard code all the new chapters from now on.

FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

I have some new, non-GotE&M fanfics coming out this week… sorry, Silver Millennium fans! GotE&M is NOT on hiatus right now, I am working on the next chapter, but I had a few short stories that came into my mind that I wanted to tell. The first is “Hit and Miss,” a Len + Maya (Kamen Rider Dragon Knight) fanfic that I wrote for my sister. It was intended to be a multi-chapter piece, but I got annoyed with the direction the show was going. I may expand that story in the future, but for the time being, this story functions as a stand-alone short story.

The other new story is “After the End,” a post-Act 49 Nephrite + Ami one-shot. While I love writing Silver Millennium Neph/Ami, I was really in the mood to write a modern day fic. Hopefully fans of my first two Neph/Ami one-shots, “Getting to Know You” and “Double Date,” will enjoy this story.

“After the End” is a Neph/Ami short story set after the end of the series (but before the Special Act). I am planning on writing a number of other stories set in this continuity (the first one of these is “Reunion“, which is a Zoi/Mina fic), so I wanted to give some more details about the universe.

1. Stories set in this continuity are written with the assumption that the Shitennou were reborn as humans just as the Senshi were in Act 49. I believe that this actually is the case in canon, although I know many people disagree with me. If you want to read a lengthy argument as to the whys and hows of this theory, you can do so here. Reading that rant might be a good background to reading the fic, although it’s totally not necessary.
2. In this and other fanfics set in this continuity, the Shitennou’s human names are:
   

   Jadeite = Jun Kiiroi
   Nephrite = Naito Akai (his given name was borrowed with permission from my sister’s story “Darkness Emerging“)
   Zoisite = Zero Shiroi
   Kunzite = Ken Kuroi

   The way I thought of these names is kind of a funny story: when I started this fic, I was sitting there trying to think of what they should go by on Earth, and I thought, “Oh, I’ll give them corresponding colors for their last names” (Red, White, Black, and Yellow). So I looked up the colors and I was thinking, “Wow, I’m so original.” Well, I later realized that my “clever” name choices were actually the same names the Shitennou-police had in Act Zero. In my defense, I’ve only seen Act Zero once and it didn’t have subtitles on it, so I wasn’t really paying attention to their names (I also didn’t know back then that they were named after colors… the things you learn!). There’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

   For their given names, I chose names that started with the same letter as their Shitennou names (“N” for Nephrite, “Z” for Zoisite, you get the picture). I didn’t use “Shin” for Kunzite because, since he has his memories now, I honestly can’t see him wanting to use that name (or acting the way Shin did, haha).

3. For this and the other fanfics in this continuity, I have tried to do a lot of research so that it won’t seem like I’m so obnoxiously clueless about Japan. I felt like in some of my earlier PGSM fanfics, they were acting much too American. I really want to make something that is believable for the culture they’re in and would be as believable as a real episode of PGSM, but not being Japanese and never having been there, I can’t claim to be an expert. Hopefully I didn’t screw up too bad. Please forgive me if I did.

If you have any questions about anything you encountered in the fic, feel free to comment here and maybe I can answer them! XD