Hey guys great news! I have written several chapters over the past few weeks (by several i mean 2-3 maybe four) and i just need to look them over and edit them and will probably have it released as early as late Sunday but no later than Tuesday! I also want to apologize for not updating regularly, im not going to make any excuses i have my personal reason and stuff and i don't like when other writers give a bunch of excuses (although when they are proper reasons i totally understand) Just know i'm really sorry and i will try and update when i can. Also i wrote a short Hobbit story and will put it on tonight, i am not sure i will continue it or not depending on people's interest in it.
Another thing, a couple people asked in reviews about Natsume and his powers, im pretty sure i phrased it as he would be unable to see spirits anymore, although its been awhile so im not quite sure and i might have said otherwise in an author note. I left it like that because im unsure if he will keep any portion of his powers, he will probably be just more sensitive to evil and have a slight repelling effect to it, like goblins really hate him. He may have his super punch (for lack of better way to put it lol) but wont realize it for awhile. one particular person mentioned this idea, he definitely wont have any dimension altering powers, or shop although it is a really cool idea, it wouldnt really fit with what im picturing with this story.
someone also asked if he would aid in the war against the ring, definitely as that was one of the prices he has to pay to be there or at the very least restore balance :P easy job right. Though i am unsure if he will join the fellowship straightaway or if he aids in a separate bit. i like the idea of him being a part of the fellowship but it seems unlikely with how overly protective elves would be of him that they would let him. also since aragorn is part of the fellowship he would not be able to sneak to join them without him knowing. I only have a very rough plan as to where this is going so it will be as much a surprise for me as it will be for you :P
Umm someone also questioned the fading thing. Fading is always very vaguely described in the books that i could find and is expanded many different ways in fanfics. I tried to research to find the exact meaning but couldn't find it. So i kind of have my own weird interpretation of it. To me it is when an elf completely loses the will to live. Not that the elf wants to die or commit suicide but rather can no longer find anything to look forward to in life. Natsume in the manga is usually quite stoic but cheery, unless in danger but in some rare moments he will let slip little things on how he was really treated. once the chapters in the manga hit around 25 (i think) he opens up a little more than before and it gets even darker. i put little quotes at the end of my chapters to try and show this to anyone who was a bit unfamiliar with the series. At a young age his parents died, he can barely remember them, he is taken in by a family that very obviously resents his presence in the house. He is then moved between several homes, if that is not bad enough he was beaten, ignored, neglected and starved at home by different relatives (although distant relatives). At school he was tormented by other children, and on the streets he met and was chased by malicious spirits. he wasnt safe literally anywhere and always feared he would be kicked out (and all when he was very young). now imagine that same child dropped in another world taken in by people who very obviously are overjoyed by his existence and shower him with love and promises of never leaving. After all this he finds he is being given away to people he doesn't know and the same thing might happen all over again (in his mind thats a massive possibility). He becomes simply exhausted with life, he doesn't want to try anymore or hope any more which is what causes him to start to fade. Although i have no clue how actual fading works. i did not have time to finish the books again after all :( so i do not know if it is ever described in any detail. if anyone has a resource for that info if you can send me an quick message or something would be really awesome, though i wont change the story now. I apologize if i was really way off but that was my reasoning behind it for anyone who is curious.
I also want to say thank you for each and every review again, they are an inspiration to continue writing.
One last thing before i leave for tonight, if anyone who reads this (annoying long author's note) has read His Majesty's dragon let me know :) i was thinking of writing a fic for it and it would be cool to exchange ideas or even possible crossovers and stuff. If you haven't read it it's by Naomi Novik and it is 150% worth it, although when you read the first few pages it seems like it will be dry it swiftly becomes one of the sweetest, most intense reads ever. i think there are 7 books out and you can read them all except the most recent one online for free.
SNEAK PEEK - unedited
Many years had passed since he had come to stay with the elves and he had finally grown more comfortable with his place here. He had grown from the unsure scared child he had been before, and although he still had anxiety about certain situations he felt like any other elf there. Sometimes, when he thought of before, as a child of men he could not believe how he came to be here. He did not like to think of before, the thought of being unlovable was horrific and he had truly believed it, even after many years of the patient care of the elves. But he had finally accepted it with the continuous peace he had in Rivendell, it was hard not too when every single person there cared for him in some way or another, he was almost never left alone. Though it seemed that the peace he had had since he came was fading, and darkness was slowly starting to creep from the shadows. More and more orc patrols were spotted along their borders, news from Mirkwood spoke of the increasing amount of spiders, the population growing as it had not since the reign of Smaug. He was still too young to be of any assistance in any sort of fighting and he resented that fact more than anything else. He had long learned how to use a sword, though he like many elves was more proficient with the bow and unlike the others a pair of daggers. The small twin blades his brothers had gifted him had become favored even more than the sword he had begged of Elrond. They easily fit in his hands and with his small form he could wield them more comfortably than a sword, it also helped that they were decorated beautifully, hand-crafted by the twins themselves. When he had first received them they had almost sparkled, but with his continuous practice with them they were dulled in color slightly and scuffed from use, which had only made him love them more. He was lonely right now though, both Estel and the twins were away from Rivendell, protecting the peace, he was not even allowed to pass the borders without a guard, and even then very rarely. He was old enough to fight! To be with his brothers in all but blood! He was nearly forty; he did not understand why he had to be left behind all the time. Sure there were other elves around but aside from Elrond (who was nearly always busy) they were not his family, though he may care for them. He sighed as he stared at the sky, there had to be something he could do…Maybe he could go for a ride on the trails, and if he happened to near the borders by accident, who could really blame him? Nothing would happen, and they would never actually find out what he had done.