A Long Winded Apology

Hi there.

Yeah, I know, bit of a lame start for an apology, but openings have always been a bit of a weakness. Also, I tend to come across as condescending too, so hopefully that won't be the case this time.

As noted at the top, this is being written on the 6th of March 2014, just over a year since I last published any work on this website, the final chapter of my short story Wild Card. I was very happy at the time with it. It was really quite an enjoyable little plot bunny. I actually considered at the time spinning off a further story that served as a continuation from the little tease at the end of that, but figured it wouldn't have been worth the effort when I hadn't updated any of my other work for so long.

As those who follow will have noticed, I have a pair of long winded stories that both started a long long time ago, in Within Shadow is Light and Fine Bloody Mess. They both had their genesis in my burgeoning creative mind, respectively as I felt no-one had written a particularly decent fic for either crossover canon. I thought I could do better. To be honest, I still do, and that may be a bigheaded boast, but since I started, I like to think my writing ability has got better. There are certainly thousands of writers and stories out there on this site and across the internet that could probably do better justice to these characters than me, but I had a vision for a pair of stories and thus started to write them.

Within Shadow is Light first. I wrote a pretty detailed plan by my standards for that, weaving in various plot elements with a bit of a clichéd outlook on characterisation; after all, fanfiction can choose to diverge in any way it wants, but will generally draw heavier criticism the further it gets in my experience. Anyway, I got a few decent sized chapters written, and what I probably should of done is continued writing before uploading any. But alas, I couldn't wait to share with the world and so the first chapters sprung up online. At the time, I had intended for it to be great, my longest attempt at writing to date, coming in at just over a hundred thousand words. I got just over a third of that done before I hit writer's block. Oh, I had the plans there - I still do as a matter of fact - but the motivation to do more just ceased. A shame too, as I had tentatively planned out a pair of sequels to continue the story of some of the characters and form a rough trilogy. Alas, it is dead in the water.

I am not a man who believes in dead fics; they are the bane of my existence on this site, apart from those with less than a thousand words and incredibly bad grammar. But somehow, I have become my own worst enemy, publishing not just Shadow, but also Fine Bloody Mess to the tune of multiple chapters and then left them hanging for well over eighteen months each. It is a sin for writing.

I do not intend on removing either from the site however, for the simple reason that I may return to them both in time. Indeed, I am still writing; I have the first two chapters of a comedy-based fic of an undisclosed canon written, in what I personally view to be my best work for a while, and Fine Bloody Mess is actually in the process of a dramatic overhaul. However, do not expect updates or a new story any time soon. I have made this mistake before, publishing work with it unfinished and, despite best intentions, left it so. I will now state this: neither fic posted on this site is dead. However, I will no longer set myself to a potential publication date for any future chapters as there may not be, particularly in the case of Shadow.

I will set myself one goal however; if neither has chapters published by Easter 2015 (I know, a whole year!), then I will most likely remove the fic from the website. Somewhere along the line, it may re-emerge, a complete and whole beast. But of that, there is still no guarantee.

So, finally, after all that, here it is; my apologies for those who have been holding out hope. You may be holding out for something great or nothing at all. To all readers and fellow writers, since I do not know when I will next hear from you, all the best.

Cheers,

Darkclarkson

Completed Works

1. Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me - Harry Potter - the first published work of Darkclarkson in any format, a sub-2000 word songfic inspired by the Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds song of the same name, and the dungeon scenario of Deathly Hallows.

2. Refusing to Admit - Discworld/Harry Potter - a oneshot about Sirius Black's fall through the Veil in the finale of Order of the Phoenix and his subsequent encounter with Death, leading to confusion on both sides.

3. Court Date - Star Wars - inspired by a particularly boring Law lesson, where the idea of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi suing the Emperor for a settlement seemed to good a chance to pass up.

4. Songbird - Harry Potter - taken from a pairing idea a good friend suggested as a joke; they were later aghast to find out I had written a songfic based around their pairing and an Oasis song of the same name.

5/6. The Red Rose Trilogy Pts. I: AKA What a Life! and II: Iris - Evangelion - two brief songfic drabbles based on the vulnerable portrayals of Asuka and Shinji's relationship, presenting a far more positive (and soppy teenage) outlook. The third and concluding part is currently a Work in Progress.

7. The Wall Series - Track One - In the Flesh? - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - the first track from an entire album of songfics, based around the lyrics of the track of the same name from the Pink Floyd album of the same name; the first in a planned series of twenty six.

8. Wild Card - Pokémon/Wallace and Gromit - a crossover that came to mind upon battling Wallace of Pokémon; why not let the far better loved and well know man from Lancashire and his dog of many skills have a go?

“So, Sally can wait,
She knows it's too late as she's walking on by.
My soul slides away,
But don't look back in anger,
Don't look back in anger,
I heard you say,
At least not today."

-Don't Look Back In Anger, Oasis, 1995

Concerts

We all love concerts, don't we? Below is my log of who've I've seen: hope it'll grow.

30th November 2010: Human League w/ Performance @ Victoria Theatre, Halifax
24th July 2011: Iron Maiden w/ Airbourne @ Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
10th October 2011: Bob Dylan w/ Mark Knopfler @ Manchester Arena, Manchester
3rd February 2012: Snow Patrol w/ Everything Everything @ Manchester Arena, Manchester
10th Febuary 2012: The Lightning Seeds w/ The Wicked Whispers @ City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
7th October 2012: fun. w/ Walk The Moon @ Manchester Academy, Manchester
11th October 2012: Hugh Cornwell @ The Cockpit, Leeds
1st November 2012: Muse w/ The Joy Formidable @ Manchester Arena, Manchester
11th December 2012: Madness w/ Man Like Me @ Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
1st March 2013: The Darkness w/ Ginger Wildheart @ Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
23rd March 2013: Biffy Clyro w/ City and Colour @ Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
16th April 2013: fun. w/ Miniature Tigers @ O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds
17th April 2013: Ricky Ross w/ My Darling Clementine @ City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
9th May 2013: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark w/ John Foxx and the Maths @ O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds
8th June 2013: Bon Jovi w/ James Walsh and Of Kings and Captains @ Etihad Stadium, Manchester
24th July 2013: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ first direct arena, Leeds
16th September 2013: Roger Waters @ phones4u Arena, Manchester
20th October 2013: Goo Goo Dolls w/ Flesh for Lulu @ O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds
25th October 2013: Peter Gabriel @ phones4u Arena, Manchester
13th November 2013: Depeche Mode w/ The Jezabels @ first direct arena, Leeds
2nd December 2013: Peace w/ Drenge @ Leeds Met University, Leeds

Synthpop, heavy metal, folk, pop rock, Britpop, indie pop, punk, space rock, ska, glam, post-hardcore, indie pop again, acoustic heartland, electronic rock, hard rock, heartland rock, prog rock, alternative rock, worldbeat, industrial dance, tropical rock... eh, I call it versatility.