Hello everyone! This isn't a regular chapter, but I had the idea to share my thoughts on my work and figured I'd give an elaborate update with a few notes here and there.
I know it's a lot to ask, but if you can I'd love to hear both your criticisms and comments in regards to my story arcs. So please leave a review if you have the time!
Agricultural District Arc. Chapters 1-7. Rating: 7/10.
My first attempt at writing a fanfic for Basil Hawkins and Jaune arc. While the chapters and the grammar included were a tad rough around the edges, I'm pleased with how it came out and offered me a really flexible opening and solid introduction to Vale.
Patch Arc. Chapters 8-12. Rating 9/10.
Quick and to the point, this arc was the most enjoyable to write as it mixed in a tone of past sorrows and new beginnings while showing a slight change in Hawkins' bitter and cold heart along with the dynamics of team STRQ.
Vacuo Arc. Chapters 13-33. Rating 6/10.
Ah, the first arc that lasted more than 10 chapters. I'm not gonna lie, I wanted to do so much more in this arc, but due to pacing and understandable complaints about the length of the arc, I rushed to finish it and ended up with only a satisfactory conclusion. However, the idea of making Emerald the spring maiden was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and boy am I glad I decided to make it.
Raven was an interesting and fun character to write to be sure. I didn't want to make her the same cold-hearted and distasteful person that her canon version represents, and tried to give her a more sympathetic and humanized personality which clashed between cowardice and a desire for a loving family.
Vacuo Ruins Sub-Arc. Chapters 34-38. 8/10.
Boy, did I have fun writing this set of chapters. Giving Jaune his fake devil fruit was a blast and hit me with the idea to put a few musicals in my story. Whether people like the idea of songs or not is in the air, but at least it's easy to switch around the lyrics in a Disney song.
Sora Movie Sub-Arc. Chapters 39-42. Rating 8/10.
Started with fluff and ending with fluff, I enjoyed writing this series of quick chapters as the tone came off as playful with a sting of family struggles.
Menagerie Arc. Chapters 43-58. Rating 3/10.
Oof, my weakest arc yet. A scramble of emotions, the way I went about revealing Jaune having a phony devil fruit was lackluster and did not meet mine, or many of my reader's expectations. However, I had a splendid time writing Blake's character while doing my best to keep her from going OC, though I think I failed this with many of my characters already XD.
Also, the issues with the Faunus, I thought I drafted the idea in a reasonable way but I'm not too experienced with writing something such as racism. I understand that the subject of racism is a serious topic that should be addressed and treated with a calm and collected mind, but writing it is uncharted territory for me and I hope I handled it decently.
In regards to Hawkins' steady rise in power, I felt that I forced him to be a tad weak in the beginning in hopes of having a powerful payoff, but that came out lackluster as well. Especially near the end when he awakened his conqueror's haki and the sudden arrival of the sea king.
However, I did give myself three points for Emerald's moment with Hawkins in the hospital, and the funny realization Jaune had when he discovered that he was the new owner of the shadow-shadow fruit.
Initiation Arc. Chapters 59-73. Rating 9/10.
Aha, now this arc was an absolute blast. The writing and enthusiasm came to me a lot easier this time around, and I had a lot of fun mixing the teams from their original cannon. However, I understand that a few people weren't happy that I didn't put Jaune in a team right away, but to be honest, I wanted some time to think about who would join the young magician.
Vernal seemed like a solid choice, as the two already had a history and were well acquainted with one another. As for Ciel, I liked her design and was really disappointed when the wiki said she only had a few minor appearances.
"Phew~" Well, those are my thoughts on my story for those who were curious. I'll be taking a break for a bit as I want to plan out what I have in store for the Mountain Glenn Mission Arc along with a few sub arcs along the way.
With that, cheers everyone, and have a wonderful day!