Stories for a winter's night

So October came and went very, very quickly. I've spent the month working on Bleeding Daylight (and have posted two snippet parts here and here), but as mentioned in a previous post, without a firm deadline I really found myself kind of failing. I've been cleaning up the parts that I finished and touched a little on the last few chapters but I haven't really added a lot. I think that the problem is that I'm fighting over the ending. There's the one that ends happy and the other that ends ... well, not so happy. I kind of want to go with the not so happy one since this is a one-shot and will never be revisited again, and since only a small handful of people are likely to read it anyways (super rare pairing in a little used canon) I really shouldn't care that people may not like the ending. But on the other side, this is supposed to be a love story and those are supposed to end well, right? Sunshine and roses and babies ever after? I'm thinking that after NaNo I'll get back to things. Maybe then I'll have some clarity on it.

Which brings me to the other thing that I've been working on - a rough outline for NaNo. I'm going to be continuing on with Being Human. I have the first three chapters posted here, here, and here, and am working on the fourth chapter that will lead into the fic proper. Yes, four chapters of set up so I can do something ...?

The problem is that this has kind of turned into a cast of thousands with many, many locations and factions and groups involved. Assuming that everything goes to plan, I'll have one group with Hydra, one group with the Avengers, and one group with ... Maybe Dr. Strange. I'm not positive on that one just yet. But either way, I need to decide if I'm going to chapter jump and pull a "Meanwhile in Avengers Tower!" or write them as a series of fics with the four chapter opening starting it off, and then having the other three groups as their own fics, and then coming back together as a single fic for the end. I know that Ladydragon76 managed to write a cast of thousands with Crackalackalicious in a single fic, but she had everyone pretty much in one place. And yes, I'm name-dropping that fic because it's what inspired me to write mine. Well, that and Kidu's Adapt but that one's not on the net any more. I have a .pdf if anyone wants it though.

So, yeah, that's what's planned. I'm going to be working on Being Human during NaNo and see how far I get with it. I'm sure I'll manage the 50K I'm just hoping I have something halfway postable. I'd like to get something more posted on AO3 before the end of the year. I did post two new things here in September but one might end up as part of "You Remind Me" and the other doesn't quite feel done yet.

Title: Bleeding Daylight
Fandom: Transformers: G1 (Wings Universe)
Characters: Smokescreen
Pairings: Smokescreen/Swindle
Rating: Mature
Content Tags/Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
Other Tags: Canon-Divergent - AU, TF: Wings Universe, Friendship, Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Cross-faction relationship, Torture, Alcohol/Drugs, PTSD, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Switching alignment
Summary: There was a time when the Combaticons were Autobots in good standing, members of the Elite Guard. But then a deal went wrong and they were betrayed, leaving chaos in their wake and others to pick up the pieces. Smokescreen was one of those left behind - living out the rest of his life with his half of the bond he had once shared with Swindle both raw and numb. With the help of a new faction and the friends he made therein, Smokescreen was able to move on with his life and almost forget about his former Conjux and bond-mate. And then the unthinkable happened. Megatron found the Combaticons in their prison and revived them, forcing them to become Decepticons and unknowingly reopening wounds thought long closed. But those old wounds and that ancient bond may be just what’s needed to end the war as everyone has known it. Pity that some people prefer the status quo and others are unwilling to put aside old grudges for long enough to take advantage of the opportunities presented. But, a someone once said: “Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight / Got to kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight.” (Bruce Cockburn, Lovers in Dangerous Times)

( Fic under the cut )

Part 2