A/N: Read this note, would you kindly? Got some important info. Big changes are coming to this site.
Sorrrrrry!
Got sick, fell behind, trying to catch up.
I feel like I've failed you guys and gals, but I'm just so exhausted. T_T
Once the plot bins are updated (which will be today) the updateFar from Home, Running to the Edge, Runt of the Litter, A Boy's Journey and One Helluva Team should be next, alongside Golden Soul, which Slifer is writing the next chapter for.
...that is, if I'm still around.
I'll say it plain, if this email opt-in business with the site doesn't get resolved soon, I'm probably going to retire.
It HURTS to say that, but with this new system, reviews and readers have dropped to an all time low, many authors are leaving the site in droves.
If you're not already aware, ever since the 16th of November, you now have to turn ON your email alerts in account settings-MAKE SURE YOU CLICK SAVE SETTINGS!-else you won't be notified when anyone updates. No alerts, no email, no nothing. Apparently that's a thing we all have to do every ninety days or so, now. Alas, not many are aware of it...which is a problem. As things stand this new "fix" as it were, has cut everyone's viewership/reviewers in half because most folks don't know about it. Authors are leaving/quitting in droves because of this.
Sometimes opting in works. Sometimes it doesn't. Really depends. Hopefully the devs can fix tweak/update this system.
As ever, the Embers rule remains: If people don't like this story? If they don't enjoy it? Well...I' won't be able to continue it. That's no joke, folks. I'm so busy these days with two jobs; holidays are HERE and basically, I don't have time off. Not anymore. My free time is limited and as such, I can't afford to focus on something folks don't like. Reviews keep me writing in these times, and keep the daily updates flowing. Silence...silence only hurts. I hate having to beg for feedback, but without it...well, it feels like I'm not making an impact.
Alright, then. As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
This is a rough draft. Time and feedback will determine if this becomes a story.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
GOW References ahoy~!
"Gods suffer even more than mortals. Lifetimes of tragedy. Eons, even.
You will find no solace in divinity.
That is the curse.
~?
Scarlet Son
Malenia's son exasperated her.
Truly, he did. Always a bundle of energy, always running ahead, never staying put for more than a moment. He wasn't a thing like her. She was stoic and reserved-laconic even-not a single movement or word wasted. She kept her sins and mistakes close to her chest, just as she did her false arm.
But not her boy.
No, not her Scarlet Son.
Ten years old and he wanted to be here, there, everywhere!
He was the result of a chance dalliance, a moment of weakness, a mistake made in her youth. They had always called her cursed. Barren. She hadn't thought she could have children. It shouldnt've been possible. She who was blighted by the Scarlet Rot, she who was shunned by all. She who had never even considered the prospect of a suitor until she met Minato.
That lovely, brilliant man. He who looked past her scars, he who helped forestall the curse that blighted her.
Were it not for him, she would've lost her eyes long ago.
And yet. Here she was.
She had left the Golden Order with him to bear their child in secret, to raise him here in the dense wilds of Caelid.
But new life required sacrifice, and the boy's Father had paid the price. He'd lived a short life; one that ended only two days hence.
Snow crunched beneath their boots as they walked, she two steps ahead, and her Boy a pace behind. He was still small and had to struggle to keep up with her long legs. Yet he did not complain. He carried the logs for the pyre without complaint. Perhaps that was owed to the beast inside him, the one his Father had trapped in him shortly after his birth.
Miquella would have liked him, she thought. Godwyn, certainly. What had become of them since she left? Did the Order still persist? Had it fallen into ruin? She knew little of it.
A thunk behind her caused her to pause.
The Boy had paused. He was tired. Her blinked back at her now, all bright blue eyes and blond hair, his whiskered cheeks even now dimpled in a smile.
...we can rest, if need be."
Naruto hummed a little. "I'm stronger than I look, you know."
She suspected he was. Her boy walked like a man at times. He would have to become one, soon. He was not ready.
He grabbed another log. "See? That wasn't so bad. I can keep going-
She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hoisted him upright, dangling him before her face as one mighty a naughty fox. She found the comparison apt.
Stern golden eyes glared back at him beneath her helm, framed by red hair caked in blood and viscera. "Slow. Down. Boy."
Naruto grinned at her like the cheeky boy he still was. Not an ounce of fear. "Sorry, mum...
Malenia sighed, know he wouldn't. "You're certainly you're father's son."
She dropped him, trusting he would land on his feet.
"Come, boy. The journey awaits."
They had a long road ahead of them, she knew that much to be true.
They would respect his father's final wishes. Spread his ashes.
To the Mountaintops of The Giants.
A/N: Scene~!
EDIT: Think of this as the reverse of Scarlet Vow. I'm thinking...Scarlet Son.
And there we have it. Request fulfilled.
Do you want this to be a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.
References ahoy~! And ideas for new stories. Hopefully this will sate my muse for the time being.
Again, these are from various things. Scarlet Son, Runt of the Litter, and the like.
God of War Vibes ahoy!
(Previews)
"Aha. There she is. Ou dear sister. Our lost goddess. The exile. Long way from home, aren't you?"
...you do not want this fight, brothers."
"Unfortunately sister, we do."
She caught a fist in her false hand. Wrenched their wrist aside. A yelp of pain reached her ears.
She snarled and slugged him in the nose, sending him tumbling to the snow.
"I warned you."
The truth is, your father was a shinobi. From a land far from here...his name was Minato.
Surrender! The Golden Order demands it."
She stepped forward. "No."
Rykard grinned. "Good."
"You will always be a monster, Malenia."
...I know. But I am your monster no longer, Father."
"You should be grateful, young Godrick. I grant you the castle of Stormveil. Now leave, and never return."
Naruto forebore the urge to sigh. Bear with it for now. His time would come.
He was the Runt of the Litter.
R&R~!