(Hi again everybody! To uh... address the elephant in the room... No, I never died. I just... didn't publish anything... for eight months.
I did try to write for other fandoms during the first part of the year, but my lack of focus was a huge problem. I started out writing a ton of unfinished drafts for Cuphead, then I shot over to the Villainous fandom and wrote the start of a trilogy [more unfinished drafts] for about a month before I moved yet again to The Amazing World of Gumball fandom to try and write some fics for them. Needless to say, my attention was divided, and I have so many projects for almost every fandom that I'm in, it pains me to know that most of them will go unfinished. But nonetheless...
This summer's been a "focus practice" for me. A lot of what I've been doing this summer has been editing the work of others, and one of the stories I work on ["The Second Great War" by samanan7 on Deviantart and now on FFnet! It's rated M for Mature, but if you're interested in a more adult Ratchet and Clank story, then I urge you to check it out :D] is long and multichaptered. Not only will I need to keep my focus on the project for a large amount of time, but I'll also need to keep it in my mind. So for the most part, it's been helping me build my focus, and a thank you to samanan for helping keep me on task. :]
That's about it for life updates. At the end of the drabble I'll say why I wrote it and what's coming up next storywise. I hope you enjoy the story!)
Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or its characters. Though I probably do own the title of, "The Writer Who Has Author's Notes That Are Almost As Long As the Story."
Snow Globes
The little dots of white snow drifted through the air. They surrounded the little cottage, the tiny building bathed in the lush white powder. Inside the cottage, warm golden lights lit up the inside, and shone out into the cold wintery night.
The little snow globe in Clank's hand swirled, and the robot watched intently as the little white dots flew through the "air" within the small glass ball. The cozy cottage stayed strong in the midst of the "blizzard," and Clank couldn't help but imagine himself in such a place.
When the last little bit of snow fell to the bottom of the globe, Clank gently placed the snow globe back in its proper place in his collection. He reached over and carefully grabbed another one of the globes, delicately cradling the glass in his palm.
Confetti swirled in the glass as Clank gently shook it, and the happy little monkeys on the "Polaris Galactic Zoo" sign were covered in the colorful little bits of paper.
He remembered that time. Thankfully he and Ratchet were able to stop Captain Qwark from breaking out his brethren onto a crowd of innocent people, but besides that little incident, Clank remembered all the wonderful times they had there.
The little smiles on the monkeys soon became covered in confetti, and when the last little piece settled at the bottom of the globe, Clank put it back in its place and lifted up a slightly bigger one.
This one had the Megacorp building in it, and humorously tiny little dots, representing the Protopets, flew around the building in giant swarms. A giggle lifted its way out of Clank's mouth, and the little warbot remembered the funny little gift Fizzwidget had sent him to apologize for all the trouble and make fun of the whole ordeal.
Oh that had been quite the adventure... For a second, Clank wondered where Angela was after all this time, but he smiled as he imagined her in a good place. Hopefully she was safe where she was now, and if she ever came back again, the little robot knew she'd be warmly welcomed with open arms.
He put his snow globe back where it was, but as he grabbed another, the door to his little room slammed open.
"Hey Clank! I just got back from the market and you'll never believe-"
There was a crash, and the yellow Lombax's excitement disappeared as he saw the shattered snow globe on the floor and the utterly crushed look on his best friend's face.
"O-oh... Clank, I'm so sorry-"
"I... I will be a moment Ratchet," Clank said sadly as he began to work his way down from the tall chair. "Let me clean this up first and then you can tell me what happened..."
Ratchet was already on the floor next to the spill. "Clank," he said as he quickly picked up the bigger shards of glass, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you pal! I just found something at the Bazaar you would have liked and wanted to give it to you."
The robot paused in his descent. He climbed back up onto the chair and looked at Ratchet. "You found something for me?" he asked.
The Lombax looked up from the spill and sheepishly smiled. He reached into the plastic bag on his right wrist, and gently pulled out another little snow globe.
Aphelion's red form took up almost the entire inside of the globe, and the dark blue tint of the liquid reminded Clank of the night sky. The little robot took the snow globe from his friend, and when he shook it, little white dots swirled around the starship.
Ratchet smiled. "I found a fan of ours that was selling them at the marketplace for a nice price, so I bought one to help support the poor girl. It's us in Aphelion, traveling through space on our next adventure... Do you like it?"
Clank stares at the globe, utterly mesmerized. He could remember all the fun times he and Ratchet had spent in ships together, and all of the adventures that had occurred when they weren't in the ship.
"I... I love it... Thank you Ratchet." The robot cradled the globe in his hands, and carefully swirled the globe again.
The Lombax smiled warmly at his friend and slowly stood up. "I'm going to go put the stuff I got in the garage, and then I'll get the wipes and clean this up. You stay here and enjoy your new little globe." With that the Lombax left, his tail waving happily behind him as he whistled a tune on his way to their garage.
Clank stared at the globe, a warm feeling filling his circuitry. A smile grew on his face, and he looked back up at his collection to try to find a place for it.
Right between the Protopet globe and the cottage globe was a small, little, empty space. Clank eased the delicate ornament onto the shelf. A dozen other ornaments surrounded it, and Clank felt it was right at home with his others. Snow globes were very precious to him.
But the memories they held were far more priceless.
I'm not going to lie... there wasn't much to this. When I came up with it, the words, "snow globe" popped into my head, and I poured out what came to mind. It may not be good, and it may not be as deep as my other works, but I'm glad I was able to publish something after all these months and I hope the story at least gave you a little smile. :) This was so off-the-cuff that I didn't really find any cover picture for it. I'll be making something to go along with this story, but if not then I'll try to find a good screenshot to use instead.
As for anything else I'm working on... I've got an 8,000 word draft still on my computer (and yeah... I published this instead of working on that... I know... I really got to get better at focusing) and that'll be up next on my publishing list, right after I edit the third chapter for "The Second Great War." After that.. maybe some chapters of "The Lombax King" will come out, or perhaps another Galactic Ranger story similar to "Teachers and Students," or a couple of little oneshots... I will do what I can to get more out before the end of the year. So there's more to come from me! :D
To those who get comments from me, if you are reading this, trust me, I haven't forgotten about your works. I check up on this site every day, and I see all the new stuff you guys post (though I haven't read them yet since I try to read and review at the same time). To the people who've gotten Follows from me, I also see your stuff, and I really hope to review your guys' stuff soon. I've been super busy this summer; I've worked two jobs, am editing for a major story, have tried to make more friends in the fandom... I know I've been falling behind on commenting, and I don't know when I'll be able to review again, but I will say this. You guys are great, and I wish you guys luck in writing your stories. Have fun with your writing, and I hope you guys have fun with your works. :)
And last but not least (Iknowmyauthor'snotesarelongIhateittoo), I really want to thank all of you for all the support you guys have given me over the years. My publishing schedule is wack as heck, but to all the people who comment, favorite, or just follow my work, I can't thank you guys enough for all you do. I really should have said this ages ago, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you. :')
And with that, I take my leave. Hope you guys enjoyed!
XD