AoD Sequel Part III - Delayed But Not Cancelled!

Writing is wild because you’ll plan a perfectly structured scene and then your character is like

“actually I’m gonna kiss this person now” or “what if I had a traumatic backstory I’ve never mentioned before”

and suddenly you’re spiraling because THEY’RE MAKING CHOICES and you’re just the poor little author with no control

like sir. ma’am. i gave you life. and now you’re rewriting your own plot??

Reblog this and tell me the most unhinged thing a character of yours did without permission.

I need solidarity. i need chaos. i need to know i’m not the only one getting bullied by their own cast.

More witches art! ♥

Another AoD book fest! Honestly, if I was going to share EVERY book that's influenced my AoD sequel novels, we'd be here all week. But here's a few more that have had a significant impact! Enjoy 🥰

📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️📚❤️📚

another Angie study in PTS

You’re not just a writer.

You’re a goddamn survivor of your own imagination.

You live with noise in your head that never shuts up until you bleed it onto the page, and even then, it whispers, “Make it better.”

🖤 Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness ✨️... Modern audiences are just not ready for the edginess of this game 🤭

🖤 I'm so excited for the 2nd round of remasters and really wanted to paint something in time for the release! The end result it's pretty far from my original plan though, cause I ran out of time 😅

Seriously, knock yourselves out with my full blessing xxx 🥰❤️💪

reblog if you’re okay with people writing fanfics of your fanfics and/or fanfics inspired by your fanfics

Ladies and gentlemen, D.M. again.

Probably the best TRAOD review I’ve ever read. I can’t resist to highlight some awesome bits.

“I cannot for the life of me understand those who felt Core’s Lara had no depth or motivation, especially compared to the wangsty, ham-and-cheese sandwhich Lara of Crystal Dynamics. Jonel Elliot has her limitations, of course, but there is more humanity expressed in the way Lara touches Kurtis after he’s been knocked into the pit with her than there is in Keeley Hawes shouting “WHERE! IS! MY! MOTHER!?” or “No, no, no, my mother’s dead. My mother died a long time ago. You’re not my mother.“ 

“And I loved the interplay between Lara and Kurtis. I understand some people hated it, either because Kurtis has sucky control, because he got grope Lara in the Louvre, or because they object to the notion that Lara could ever have a man play an important role in her life, or that she could age. Just look at her expression when Kurtis disarms her and steals the Obscura painting–say what you want about how ‘mature’ the scene is, but the fact remains that it’s presented to us from Lara’s point of view. She’s ****ed because he stole the painting, but perhaps as much because he didn’t finish what he started. He’s on the same playing field. When he backs away, she’s almost looking at him as if to say, “Now what? You started this.” I think she expresses this when she takes her “revenge” by disarming and searching Kurtis later in the game, though less suggestively. This is the only TR game I’ve seen/played that acknowledges Lara’s sexuality in the sense that she actually reacts to something rather than simply being made the enticing object of our oggling from atop an unreachable pillar. That makes her more human than giving her a wangsty past. Profoundly more so. Just watch her body language during all the scenes in which she interacts with Kurtis. It’s fascinating. “

Agree or disagree with me all you like, but I found their chemistry to be more convincing than the chemistry between Lara and Alex West in the first Tomb Raider movie, and more convincing than chemistry between Lara and Terry Sheridan in the second. Why did it work for me? There was no obligatory banter, flirting, or arguments one would expect. Kurtis very much inhabits Lara’s world, and is just as internally driven as she is. I would have disliked Kurtis if he were a macho stereotype or a braggart (which is why that image of Duke Nukem cupping Lara’s breasts makes me ill, and so do all suggestions that she and Larson had chemistry as well), but instead, he’s a kindred spirit, caught up in the same struggle against the same enemy as Lara, and about as close to a soul mate as she has ever had. Or at least, potentially. Their connection seems to stem, not from something as arbitrary as the attraction of opposites, but something as deep as the symmetry of souls. Once the guns are holstered (and perhaps before), they have an instinctive understanding of each other, and I thought that was fantastic. Kurtis Trent is far and away the best sidekick Lara has ever had, IMHO.”

“Though the game doesn’t make a point of this, Lara is perhaps more invested in Kurtis than she knows, because later on, she does something I have never seen her do once in six games: She forefits the macguffin she has just retrieved for the life of another person. And almost seconds later Kurtis does something similar: He forefits his chance for revenge/justice (and possibly, his life) for the sake of helping Lara. Again, no questions are asked, because the two understand each other.”

Now I’m crawling to a corner to cry and die.

Slow progress is still progress, dammit

It's been a hot second (i.e. an ungodly amount of time) since I posted anything to do with my third and final AoD-sequel novel. Suffice to say I'm genuinely uncomfortable talking about the progress – or lack thereof – of WIPs, especially when they've been WIPs for so long they've started sprouting little purple tendrils and have knotted together into a Lovecraftian horror under the sink.

This is in no small part because of my ongoing health issues. Privacy is very important to me, but it's also no secret that I'm disabled with multiple chronic conditions. I'd hoped, back at the launch of Path of the Black Alchemist in the summer of 2023, to have wrapped up this project and published the final book by Christmas. Or at least spring 2024. Or the next Christmas for certain.

Life, of course, has had other ideas...

The important thing is that the third book IS coming and I AM making progress – even though at times it feels so unbearably slow that it's in danger of being overtaken by hibernating snails. It's no coincidence that part of Lara Croft's arc in this story is about coming to terms with her limitations and accepting/offering help; a huge part of my own life's journey has involved deconstructing my internalised ableism and learning that it's okay – even necessary – to embrace support from others. We're so conditioned to be perfect little self-sufficient, independent individuals that reaching out during hard times can automatically make us feel like a failure.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth... as Lara finds out the hard way.

Another factor of this challenge is trying to reach out more online. To connect and grow with other creative minds. Hence, this post. Fatigue/energy limitations are a HUGE part of my daily life, so setting spoons aside purely for this is a Big Deal (TM) for me. Tumblr feels like a safer, more welcoming place to write more of these long-form musings than other SM platforms, so we'll see. It's counterproductive for me to make grandious promises about posting every day, or even every week, but it'd be cool to reach out more and try to open up a little after so long retreating into myself these past few years.

I'm also considering (but haven't yet committed to) sharing my works over on AoE. On the one hand, it's more work in the short term. But on the other, I'm seeing a lot of engagement and encouragement in the AoE community even here on Tumblr. Those of you who use it regularly: what would you recommend?

Bon chance xxx