Well, I'm back. Sorry it took so long, read the review responses if you want to know why.
VeronicaWeasley:
I needed Monty in the Midwest for them to need to be going through CO to get to him, and let's just say it wasn't a random decision. I'm the same way with WAN notifications, even though I still haven't read it. In now way do I find it a competition. Whenever I get the gmail notification for WAN, it's like a little reminder that I need to stop procrastinating. Speaking of posting chapter 5 'today' if you read my profile recently, you'll know I got locked out of Blaze(writing software that I stopped using because it was very glitchy, but I write a lot of this chapter in there before I even had an account on here) and conveniently, technical support is not a available at 2 a.m. Christmas morning, when I felt like writing/editing the rest of it. Also, it was a lot further from done then I thought when I put that idea out there. Enough excuses, chapter 5.
JustVilda Potter:
Don't have much to say, hope to see you FSE soon.
Also, to anyone who is still not reviewing/commenting:
Honestly, I used to be you. I wrote two reviews in the first three months of being on this site. And then I published VLI. I had no idea just how motivating the littlest comment can be. I read an old JVP story where she said something along the lines of 'I got a guest review that said "this is probably one of the best fanfics I've read" and it just made my day,' and this idea of feedback on what you write being this powerful is what made me finally decide to publish VLI. I mean just totally make someone's day. Whether it's an anonymous 'I liked this', or a discussion about ideas and characters and whatever else, like I have with JVP, it gets me through the day. When I wake up and see 'Review from JVP: Oooooh…' pop up as a notification in the morning, it makes my day. Even telling me if something doesn't quite make sense, or doesn't feel right is still greatly appreciated. If math is your thing here's and system of equations:
[more reviews = more motivation]
[more motivation = more frequent chapters]
therefore
[more reviews = more frequent chapters]
It's simple math.
~Dylan
One more thing. Ryan Harper, I see you out there. I'd really like to know what you think of VLI. I know you're the NRDD fandom reader, so here's your quads.
"I thought you said it wasn't going to snow the whole trip."
"It wasn't supposed to." Bertrand said, sounding annoyed, "Me and Quigley checked the forecast."
Duncan shouted into the cab from the RV living space. "Where did you check, the Daily Punctilio?"
Meanwhile, everyone was trying to keep as warm as possible, given that the heater was broken. Klaus and Isadora were hugging each other as closely as possible without kissing under the blankets up in the loft, trying to warm themselves up. Quigley was over in his bed, drawing a map to take his mind off the cold, with varying levels of success. Violet and Duncan, also hugging up close to keep warm, were trying to make small talk on the couch but couldn't pronounce the letter 's' without shivering, so it was difficult to have any decent conversation.
"Mom, do you have any jackets-s-s, we're getting cold back here, the heater is-s-sn't working."
"No honey, your father decided not to pack any because the weather lady told him he wouldn't need them."
"Hey, Bert, any idea where we are?"
"The RV's GPS is down, so no. "
I'll come take a look dad. Violet walked over to the front of the RV, leaving Duncan freezing back on the couch. After unscrewing the touch screen panel with the Philips screwdriver she kept in her back pocket at all times and determines that the fuse had blown, she announced to no one in particular, "I'll need wire cutters, banana plugs, wie nuts, and one of the spare fuses we packed." She fiddled around a bit with the tools and parts, and got the new fuse installed. She tested it, and when it didn't work, she grabbed the largest wrench in the tool box and gave it a good whack.
"OK. I got the GPS back on but were still stuck."
"What are our exact coordinates, Violet?"
"40.013225° N 105.297770 W°"
"Thanks. According to my map," Quigley traced his finger across the map like a multiplication table, "We just outside of Boulder. It should be about a 15 minute walk to downtown."
"Perfect."
"Everyone grab your warmest clothes and blankets and we can get walking."
"Me and Violet can stay here and try to get the RV unstuck."
"Sounds like a plan."
Once the family made it to town, everyone started looking for a clothing shop to buy some coats and other assorted warm clothes. A few blocks later on the corner of the street, Isadora noticed a shop named "Tom's: Get Sporty."
"Look mom... I mean Mrs. B, there's a sports shop just up on the corner. Maybe they'll have some warmer clothes." After living with some as nice as Beatrice Baudelaire for almost a year, the triplets had started to think of her more as a mother than just a temporary guardian.
The group walked up to the sports shop and opened the door. They heard a man's voice calling from somewhere in the store. "Welcome to Tom's: Get Sporty! How can we help you?"
A blond haired woman popped out of a door near the counter to the right of the door. "I'm Anne, and that's my husband you hear yelling upstairs."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Beatrice and these are my children Klaus and Sunny, the three in the back are triplets: Isadora, Quigley, and Duncan, they've been staying with us since February; and my eldest, Violet, is back in the RV with my husband Bertrand. We got caught in the unexpected snow storm and are looking for some winter clothes."
"The winter section is over there."
"Thank you."
"Wait, we have quadruplets about the same age as your children, they're sitting at the first booth in the café if you want to say Hi."
While Beatrice and Duncan went over to the winter section, Klaus, Quigley, Isadora and Sunny started
to walk over to a small cafe in the shop. Before they were even halfway, the quads popped up from the first boot and started walking towards the group.
The tallest one, the girl, made it over first. "I'm Dawn, and these are the 'ickies." Dawn is athletic, she plays soccer extremely well and prefers to play goalie. She is also a part of the school Glee Club and sings quite well. In her eyes, she is the leader of the quads, but Ricky disagrees.
The next to make it over was the short, dark haired, boy wearing bright orange pants and a green and white striped shirt. "I'm Nicky." Nicky is the chef of the quads and takes cooking very seriously. He has a lot of pride in his food, but is insecure about everything else. He tries to stay out of trouble but always ends up getting caught up in the other quads's messes.
Next was a blond haired boy wearing a sweater vest with an 'r' embroidered on. "Hello. I'm Ricky." Ricky is the smartest of the quads as well as the most serious. He has the best grades in school and has never missed a day of school. Even though he isn't the oldest, he believes that he is the leader because he is the smartest and most serious quad.
Last, was the boy with hair about the same length as Quigley, but much more styled, and leather jacket. "Sup. I'm Dicky." Dicky is the 'cool' one. He doesn't take anything seriously, except his hair, of which he loves nothing more. He does poorly in school, but has the most fun in life.
While the other kids introduced himself to the quads, Dawn made sure to say hello to Quigley, who she was now making eyes at. Dicky started to do the same at Isadora, but looked away quickly when he noticed how close Klaus and Isadora were standing.
"I'm gonna go grab a few baskets of fries from the kitchen." Nicky said, turning away."
Sunny shouted "Chuni!" she meant something along the lines of 'let's go to the kitchen and get it,' but no one could be sure.
Klaus set Sunny down. "Sunny is a bit of a chef herself, do you mind if she follows you into the kitchen?"
"No problem at all. I'm always looking for a new cooking buddy."
While Nicky and Sunny walked off into the kitchen, the rest of the group sat down in the booth the quad's we're sharing before. Klaus, Isadora, and Quigley sat on one side and Dawn, Ricky and Dicks sat on the other.
Dawn tried to break the silence. "So where are you guys from and how'd you get here?"
"It's a long story." Quigley said. "Here's the short version 'we're from Southern California and took a family road trip and got in this snow storm on our way to Nebraska. Then, our RV broke down and we came here. My brother, Duncan, has a full rundown of the trip in his notebook, he's a journalist."
Beatrice called her husband to tell him the news. "We walked into town and found a sports shop, and they have a large winter selection with warm clothes for everyone."
"Perfect. I've got good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first."
"Tell me the good news first."
Violet and I got the RV unstuck from the snow bank using a snow sucker she made from things in the RV."
"And the bad news?"
"The starter fuel is frozen solid, the engine is broken and even Violet cannot fix it. She says we need a very specific part, and when we look it up, the part is back ordered and can't be here until at least January 3rd, and that's if there's no delays from weather, and were in a blizzard."
"I'll call Monty and let him know we won't make it for Christmas. Also, me and the kids met a nice woman at a sports shop, I can ask if her husband will come pick you guys. Then when you get here, we can try to find a place to stay."
"Alright, sounds like a plan. Love you."
"Love you." Beatrice hung up the phone.
"Anne! Anne!" Beatrice waited as Anne walked down the stairs and came over, "Is there any chance you husband could go pick up my husband and daughter? There about a 3 minute drive away, but we don't have a functioning vehicle.
"I'm sure he'd be happy too. TOM!" Tom ran down the stairs and he and Anne had a quick conversation off to the side.
Tom and Anne seemed to Beatrice like a vaguely familiar duo, but she couldn't remember where she remembered them from. Maybe Bertrand would know, he had a much better memory. Beatrice was more of a face person, so she could recognize people, but not where they were from.
I'm in desperate need of ideas. When the extent of the planning for a story is "ASOUE takes road trip, meets NRDD," once you get there, you have nothing left. I want to write more, but I don't know what. I have a vague idea for an ending, but for now, I need to do a little more planning for the middle. About 90% of the time I spent "writing" is me lying in bed trying to come up with ideas, so if someone give;s me an idea, I can theoretically get chapters out about 10 times faster. Usually, once I have a idea in my head I can out pen to paper pretty fast. If anyone has an idea for a scene or event I would really appreciate it if you'd leave it in a review or a PM. Sorry if this seems redundant, its 3 am, and I'm not completely with it, I've been awake for at least 20 hours and I only got about 3 hours of sleep the night before. Happy New Year.
