Burnout Turning Me Feral (Oh, and I Wrote Stuff!)

Est. Read Time: 32 min
This Month's Font: Merienda

It's that time of year again, folks! The weather is getting nicer. The sun is out longer. I can open the windows and spend hours just out on the porch enjoying the breeze and the sun and the warmth.

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And Jonathan Harker again starts his doomed journey to Transylvania.

That's right, folks! Tis Dracula Daily season!

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...

Although... Not even two weeks in, and I had already fallen off the wagon this year.

*sigh*

Peeps, I am so burnt out! Hence my May blog update happening mid-June... nearly two weeks late! AGAIN! (I've been trying to simply edit this post for 4 days straight now.... TT^TT)

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Work is equal parts painfully slow and annoyingly frustrating due to the added projects I'm given to fill the down time. I mean, sure, the projects themselves are tedious (and might be making me mildly cross-eyed), but they are also sometimes fun. I don't inherently dislike those projects plopped onto my desk (although, it does cut into my "writing while at work" time which adds to this update being late). The PEOPLE, on the other hand, that I have to work with in order to complete the projects?

I'm slowly going feral.... (Kind of equal parts appropriate for this to coincide with Dracula Daily and ironic that I stopped reading Dracula due to said feral-ness....)

Add in that, for almost TWO WEEKS, I had to deal with a mysterious, spontaneous, piercing beeping at work! We could not track down where the beep was coming from because it both sounded like it was coming from everywhere, but also that it was definitely NOT coming from whichever new location within the office that we were currently standing in.

We also couldn't predict when the beep would go off in order to strategically work our way around the office to try to track it down. Sometimes it would be every five minutes. Other times it would be nearly an hour before the next beep. For three days I literally wrote down the time the beep went off in hopes of finding some sort of pattern! Nothing! All we learned was that we were hearing the beep at least thirty times per day.

It was a single, second-long beep that was distractingly piercing (actually hurting my ears on occasion) and it was MADDENING that we couldn't figure out where it was coming from or how to shut it up! I was about ready to start gnawing on cables if it would make it stop.

Stock image from Shutterstock

Thankfully (??) we DID finally figure out where the beeping was coming from this past Tuesday, and it has since stopped! Seems a colleague that only works in our store once a week hid a device that makes that erratic beeping as a PRANK! It was tucked away in such a small place that we didn't think to look there. Besides, what could possibly be beeping from the wooden countertop our register sits on??? (yes, we checked the register itself and confirmed it wasn't that) They even feigned ignorance after the first week: "Wow! That does sound annoying. How are you guys dealing with listening to that all day?" / "Oh, [LycoRogue] is about to claw at the walls."

AND YET THEY LEFT THE SOUND MAKER FOR ANOTHER WEEK BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY!!!!!!

Feral Stick Figure Violence meme

If that's not annoying enough, the radio station we usually play at work no longer comes in on the receiver we have. So, in our search for a replacement option, we could only find one work-appropriate station that came in clear. And, lucky me, it's in a musical genre that I'm not particularly fond of.... It also seems to only keep about 20 songs in rotation, so I get to hear the same songs (with a few "new" ones sprinkled in here and there) roughly 7x each throughout my 8hr shift... rinse and repeat the next day... and the next... and the next....

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People are also taking their vacations now that it's nicer out, so I'm working longer stretches in this AMAZING environment between days off. When I do have a day off, I'm either taking advantage of the weather by spending most of the time just on my porch (since we rent I have no outdoor house work to worry about/do), or I'm trapping myself inside but using the newfound non-winter energy to try to catch up on house work.

OOOOR... those people on vacation were also my friends, and my non-work hours had to be scheduled to include time for me to go pet-sit. I think I pet-sat for nearly every friend/family member in the area last month! But, ya know, at least I got to hang out with some animals throughout May, right? And not ALL of them spent the whole time plotting my demise....

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I've also been getting the itch to house-search again. Especially after my sister got a house, the house next to me went up for sale, and younger friends of mine also started looking for their first home. Trick is, every attempt I make to advance the process has been like pulling teeth. I can't just call up or visit my bank and talk to someone - like my friends did - because they don't have someone there all the time. Instead, I had to wait for the consultant to reach out to me, and she would only do so after I filled out finance forms.... which are only available via the bank's app.... and my phone - while still perfectly functional otherwise - is "too old" and "not compatible" with the app.... Thankfully, I have a relatively new tablet that I could download the app to instead. If I didn't have that alternative, though? I'd be SOL. My road ends there until I buy a new mobile device. Time to join the 2020s, Grandma.

I was able to download the app though, so we'll put a pin in that. I go to fill out the form, and the info they needed was more than just "What's your annual income?" which was what I was expecting. Ya know, given that I'm simply trying to talk to someone to get a gauge of what our budget should reasonably be and how much of a down payment I should be aiming to save up for.

Nope. Instead, it wanted to know the cost of the house we were looking at - we didn't have one because we don't know what to budget??? - how much we were going to put down for a down payment - again... I don't know... that's what I wanted to talk to the banker about???? - and the mortgage length we were looking for - again... WE. DON'T. KNOW!

I was also advised to try Credit Karma or Rocket Mortgage. CK simply told me that our finances meant there were no available offers.... That's reassuring.... And I've been getting daily calls from Rocket Mortgage for nearly a week, despite me specifically selecting TALK ONLINE for my option. The consultant keeps calling while I'm at work and can't answer. WHICH IS WHY I SAID TO TALK ONLINE AND *NOT* CALL!!!

Thankfully, my out-of-state cousin works in banking, so he was able to give me some broad-stroke answers instead. Hubby and I now have a plan of attack, which is all that we wanted! But... like... OUR FRIENDS WERE ABLE TO JUST CALL THEIR BANK AND GOT PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Why was this so much more complicated for me when all I wanted was answers and a savings plan!?!

Don't even get me started on that whole "your phone is too old and we're forcing it to become obsolete" thing! That BS has affected at least 5 different apps that Hubby and/or I have needed/wanted to use in the past couple of years. Some apps are just games like Pokemon Go. Others are self-care apps like Plant Nanny, which I had used to track my hydration levels. But Hubby and I are also supposed to access our PAYCHECKS via apps! Apps that our phones "aren't compatible with"... Luckily, we can both use our work computers to also look up our paycheck, BUT STILL!!!!! WHAT THE HECK!!!!!????!

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I bought tickets for a Broadway musical to celebrate my 40th birthday. I don't get physical copies of the tickets. I don't even get an email like I did with my Ticketmaster tickets to a concert two years ago. Nope. The show is having me download an app for the tickets.... an app I'm sure my phone won't be compatible for.... So I may be strong-armed into buying a new phone after all just so I can get the tickets to see the show!

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All of that financial stability that I've been grateful for the past couple of years? Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhhh.... the funds, they are depleting. And quickly. Every time I turn around I have to spend money on this, that, and the other thing. So, good luck creating a large enough savings to provide a house down payment, pay for an inspection, and cover closing costs....

Maybe Hubby and I can actually own a home by the time I celebrate my 50th.....

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All of THAT said, I guess it's a bit understandable that I'm both burnt out and not prioritizing Dracula Daily this year. Such a shame, I keep wanting to do it properly from start to finish! That's it. I'm adding "don't fall behind during Dracula Daily" to my bucket list!

I was hoping to be able to force a mental reset once we got to June. At least, with regards to Dracula Daily (hasn't happened yet, but AAAAAAANY day now....). That way it would only be two weeks that I've stumbled with this goal. Although... I've got a LOT going on at the end of June for my sister's wedding, so who the heck knows if I'll miss a couple of days then and fall off the wagon AGAIN?

No! I'm determined! I'll get back on the horse and stay on until the finish line in November!

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I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing for the rest of the novel run-time. Don't forget that you can also poke me in the comments section here to make sure I'm staying on track!

On the plus side - yes, this update isn't ALL doom and gloom - I HAVE hit my reading goal for May, even if it wasn't via Dracula. Seems I've been going hard with those digital comics again.

I am still chugging along with Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice over on Comikey. I read my daily chapter and then watch an ad to read a second one per day. So, that alone is nearly the 15min per day I'm aiming for.

Then it's over to Webtoon for... well... a bunch!

Float concluded for free-readers the first week of May, so there goes my Sunday night reading. Prior to that, though? You guys know how much I enjoyed that story. It even got me back into reading novels, even if briefly. The artwork was lovely, and I'm going to miss those plucky characters. Thank you, yet again, Float webtoon, for introducing me to the book.

I also finished reading Leveling Up My Husband to the Max. Such a good story. The ending was... interesting. Not disappointing, but also.... not expected???? A touch Deus ex Machina, but I didn't hate it??? It kinda-sorta felt earned? Either way, it was a fun read, and I'll miss it as well.

As for the rest of the on-going comics that I'm reading...

Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story updates on Mondays. As does My Husband Changes Every Night. So, I'm set on my Monday reading between those two and Double the Trouble.

Tuesdays, I have three comics to read along with Double the Trouble. I usually start off with Rental Hero to knock out the action comic. Then I'll read I Will Live the Life of a Villainess since the romance is more subtle in that one (although, it has been picking up lately). I'll finish with The Dragon King's Bride, which is the most romance-focused out of the three. So, basically, I'm spoiled for choice on my evenings off (post-9pm). And that doesn't even include yet ANOTHER comic that I've followed but haven't started yet: Office Romance From Hell.

The premise of that last one?

Dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her job, Jineon, her family's breadwinner, has no time to cry over the spilled milk. She must find another job and fast. Enter The Hell, a mysterious company with great pay, excellent work-life balance, and an easy commute! What more could she ask for? Or so she thought. Little did she know, she had walked into hell—literally. How will she navigate the harrowing journey in the hellscape of her new job with King Yeomra, her stunning new boss, further complicating everything? Could love blossom in this pit of hell?

I dunno. I'm just curious as to what the hecken is going on. But that's for Future Me to sort out. I already have enough on my Tuesday evening plate....

That said.... last month I was talking with MostLovedGirl (more on that later). As we were chatting about isekais and Webtoon reading lists, she suggested YET ANOTHER romcom to me: Retired Demon King. It's currently on hiatus, so now's the perfect time to catch up. But, as I mentioned, I'm overbooked with stories on Tuesdays, so I just haven't started it up yet. MLG adores it and finds it hilarious, though, so it is higher priority on my "To Read" list. Also, the premise DOES seem fun. I'm excited to get around to sitting down with it.

When the Demon King feels challenged by the hero to find love, he infiltrates the school for human adventurers where romance thrives the most, only to find that the school is under the holy church... which main purpose is to kill the Demon King.

Getting back to the stories I DO read, though, my Wednesday reading list only has Mythic Item Obtained. However, I still haven't gotten back into that one. I SHOULD though, since it's one of my lightest reading days. Or, maybe I don't read Office Romance From Hell the day it updates and save it for Wednesdays instead??? Or use Wednesdays for Retired Demon King? Or both? All three?

Thursdays I have nothing on Webtoon yet... but now that I KNOW that... looks like it's time to find ANOTHER villainess isekai and/or Generic Romance story that uploads on Thursdays!

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Or I could use Thursdays for that "To Read" list that's piling up....

Friday nights is only The Fateful Invitation. Another light day for reading. Another contender for catching up on those surplus stories like Demon King.

Saturday I have two new reads: The Duke's Teddy Bear, and I've finally started up Lore Olympus. Actually, I've waited so long to start up Lore Olympus that it concluded before the end of May! So, now I can just sort of plow through it. That said, there's nearly 300 episodes to go through! So, I'm sure I'll be reading that for a while. I can also now just read it whenever? So... daily, if I wish.

For a refresher on the series, here's the summary of Lore Olympus via Webtoon:

Witness what the gods do…after dark. The friendships and the lies, the gossip and the wild parties, and of course, forbidden love. Because it turns out, the gods aren’t so different from us after all, especially when it comes to their problems. Stylish and immersive, this is one of mythology’s greatest stories -- The Taking of Persephone -- as it’s never been told before.

It was a slow start for me. The modernization is neat, but, twenty episodes in, I felt like not much had really happened. Especially compared to the 20-some episodes of Punderworld that are live. I also didn't find myself itching to go back and read more at first. I mean, I found the Eros-and-Psyche b-plot more engaging than what was going on with Persephone.

That is... until I got to THAT episode (IYKYK). There was a hard-hitting episode, and THAT brought me in. I needed to see how the trauma was going to be handled and resolved. On top of that, I was developing a lot of eye fatigue while doing my data-entry project at work. When the fatigue got too much, I would take breaks by bringing up Webtoon on my phone and reading through a couple of episodes of Lore Olympus (along with walking around and stretching a bit) since Lore Olympus had more content that I could just tear through. I was able to semi-binge about 40 more episodes over the weekend that way!

In other words, I'm starting to get the hype. Hermes is a glorious himbo king. Eros had a problematic intro, but has since become a fabulous sass king that I adore. As for Hades and Persephone? There must be something in the myths that I missed when I read them as a kid. I just find it amusing that both Rachel Smythe, the creator of Lore Olympus, and Linda Sejic, the creator of Punderworld, came to the same conclusions. Hades is a lovesick precious bean; a socially awkward man beyond smitten the second he first sees Persephone. A complete nerd. Then, you have the poor naive and sheltered cinnamon roll that is Persephone. Granted, the Lore Olympus version is vastly more unsure, naive, and trying to figure herself out. Punderworld's version of Persephone is more self-assured of who she is, or, at least, who she wants to be. Both are still fiercely powerful women who can hold their own when pushed hard enough.

Completely contrasting their agreed views of Hades and Persephone, Smythe and Sejic went completely polar opposite with their depictions of Apollo. Lore Olympus went with the pinnacle of toxic masculinity and manipulation. He's almost exclusively referred to as "Asspollo" in the comments. Over on Punderworld, on the other hand? HE is the glorious himbo king. He basically plays the "guy best friend" role for Persephone that Eros/Hermes tag-team in Lore Olympus.

On top of the characterizations though, I do find the art style of Lore Olympus unique. Just... not as breathtakingly gorgeous as everyone else seemed to believe. That was one of the reasons (besides it being a Hades/Persephone story) that it pinged my radar: because everyone raved about the art style. At least, for the first season. It is stunning. That's the point. Smythe commented on how she purposefully created dramatic angles first and then worried about anatomy later. It shows, but it's also... a bit... MUCH for my tastes. I get why others found it breathtaking though. It's just not for me. Especially with the dramatic coloring that sometimes makes it hard to catch what is going on in the scene. And the fact that the character models seem to shift depending on what Smythe needs for her dramatic poses. Hades' nose becomes longer and more pointed in some scenes and short and rounded and more human-like in others. Persephone's face goes from round with baby-cheeks to more slender - as does her whole body - depending on the dramatic pose she needs to be in. The way hair is drawn shifts. Everything shifts. It's hard to tell which god is which on silhouette alone sometimes. You have to rely on coloration. But even that can be deceiving since Smythe makes sure to also have hereditary coloring. Such as Artemis and Apollo - since they're twins - being the same shade of purple... but also having that shade perfectly match their father Zeus. It's a neat way to show family ties, but also... Aphrodite is ALSO purple... but a slightly lighter shade???? And Apollo and Eros have similar silhouettes, but Eros is more of a dulled magenta compared to Apollo's purple... but based on the lighting Apollo could look like a lighter shade of purple and Eros could look like a darker shade....

On the flip side, I just find Linda Sejic's retelling of the myth of Persephone's kidnapping a lot more compelling. You have the mystery of the unknown deaths and Persephone commenting on how the earth doesn't feel "right" anymore. Which leads into Persephone's "kidnapping" and Hades trying to escort her out of the underworld. But then it cuts back to that "something with the dead just doesn't feel right" B-plot to keep the action moving and the mystery top-of-mind. Also, while the actual interactions between Hades and Persephone are adorable in Lore Olympus, there's just something... MORE with the Punderworld version for me. I don't know if it's because Punderworld is more comedic whereas Lore Olympus is more dramatic, and that's why I like Punderworld more? But the plot just feels like it is fuller and moves faster for Punderworld. More seems to have happened in Sejic's nearly-30 episodes than Smythe told in the 70 that I've read so far.

Beyond the plot, there is NO problem with recognizing a character off silhouette alone with Punderworld. While I praise Smythe for having The Big Three - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - look similar due to being siblings, I feel it just added to my "they have same-face" issue. Sejic, on the other hand, recognized that, while the gods may be considered siblings in the myths, they are also essentially shape-shifters who decide what their physical form will look like. So everyone looks distinct. Their outfits also signal who the character is. For instance, Hera's outfit is designed to look like a peacock, her favored animal. Demeter's dress resembles a watermelon. Zeus has a single-shoulder toga, which stresses his sexual nature by him showing off more skin than the other characters, and its blues and yellows encapsulate the essence of a lightning-filled sky. Hades' look is dominated by blacks and grays, and is much more somber/formal looking. Persephone wears a youthful, flowy, petal-like, knee-length sundress in spring-time greens.

Hades is pale and lanky with long, bone-straight hair. Persephone is petite, a little curvy, and has wavy hair that falls mid-back. Zeus has shoulder-length wavy hair and goatee. He's also muscular and tan. Demeter is also a bit curvier than, say, Artemis or Hera. Her long hair is kept in a braided bun. Artemis has that classic 90s Popular Girl look with luscious long hair typically kept in a high ponytail. She also has the classic "cheerleader" body: lean, muscular, but barely any hips, butt, or chest to speak of. Charon is a muscular black woman with short hair who crossdresses as a man for the spirits. Thanatos is also black-coded (being Charon's brother) even though his complexion is more gray-tones, and he has wings and keeps his medium-length hair in braids.

If those aren't enough distinguishing features, each god also has their own "crown" that reacts to their emotions. Hades has a bone-spike crown that grows and becomes more intimidating when he's mad, or shrinks and dulls if he's more sheepish or playful. Zeus has a crown of lightning that shifts as he gets cheeky ideas or wants to be aggressive. Demeter grows barley when she's pleased or fiery-red chili peppers if she's angered. Persephone grows thorns when threatened or angry, flowers when happy, pollenating blossoms when aroused or romantically flustered, and the plants wither when she draws into herself. (I will say, I like that Lore Olympus's Persephone also manifests a flower crown when happy and her hair grows uncontrollably when she's stressed. Similar vibes again). I dunno, I just prefer Sejic's character designs.

All-in-all, I am enjoying Lore Olympus. I mean, I'm 70 episodes in and itching to get back into it now that the drama is finally building. I just... I still feel like Punderworld is better, but it only gets a fraction-of-a-fraction of the love Lore Olympus has received. Tis a shame. Truly.

(And, yes, I do understand the irony of me preferring Punderworld, which gets less love, and thinking that it's simply an underrated gem... meanwhile, I will see the hit/view count on my fanfics vs popular fics and I'll wonder if it's because I'm just not as good of a writer as I think/was informed. The double standard I put on myself is not lost on me....)

As for The Duke's Teddy Bear? Well.... it's about as unhinged as My Husband Changes Every Night was when I first started reading it. Here's the Webtoon summary:

What if your soul could leave your body and possess people -- or even animals? Thanks to an incident in the past, that’s what happens to Marshall Lidiance every time she passes out or falls asleep. No one knows her little secret, but things become problematic for Marshall when she gets absorbed into a teddy bear owned by the icy-cold Duke Ludvillian! Will Marshall be able to figure out what caused the soul absorption while still keeping it a secret from everyone?

Hooboy! These names! I'm assuming the female lead's name is pronounced "mahr-SHALL" as opposed to "MAHR-shuhl" like I originally thought. But also.... Duke LudVILLIAN? Really? So close to "villain"? I looked up the surname to see if I was mocking someone's actual family name. Now, it could just be because search engines are now trash (because the internet as a whole uses S.E.O.), but searching for the surname Ludvillian only brought up links to or about The Duke's Teddy Bear. So.... I'm assuming it was made up for the story????

Also... the female lead Marshall just.... possesses the Duke's teddy bear against her will.... She goes to sleep and wakes up in the bear's body. She can move and talk, but she also kind of has to pull a Toy Story and try to avoid others discovering that this teddy bear is possessed. Especially when the duke himself tried to exorcise her from the teddy after she attempted talking to him. When the exorcism didn't work, he dropped her out of a fourth-story window to try to rid himself of the "cursed" plushie. Luckily, being a teddy bear at the time, she wasn't hurt.

There's now these weird romance shenanigans going on around Marshall. She is an introvert. She's also the second - and illegitimate - daughter of a noble. She doesn't see herself having any value in being married off, and her little introverted self isn't really interested in interacting with anyone in order to start up a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, while at a festival in the nation's capital to celebrate a long-standing war finally ending (which is when she possesses the duke's teddy), there are already three different gentlemen flirting with our fair lead.

She is not having it and tries to pawn the men off on her older half-sister instead. In turn, said sister is tickled that Marshall potentially has marriage prospects, so she keeps trying to convince Marshall to give the poor guys the time of day.

Instead of dealing with all of that, Marshall goes to bed, only to wake up as the teddy bear again. She then gets to witness the relationship drama the poor Duke is caught up in as he's forced to play nice with someone he was at war with for YEARS while their nations celebrate their peace treaty.

As I said, it's kind of an unhinged story, but I AM intrigued to see how the story will play out.

It's kind of the same reason why I still read The Fateful Invitation: to see more of Emperor Ebenezer's attempts to woo protagonist Hillaria. I'm still not a fan of Hillaria herself, but seeing her getting flustered by Ebenezer is fantastic! For those who know the anime/manga Death Note, Ebenezer is L to Hillaria's Light.... but with romance instead of a mass homicide case.... Anyway, the art style for Invitation is also GORGEOUS. Especially the details in Hillaria's dresses and fingernails! Another reason to read more.

Going back to The Duke's Teddy Bear, though. It is one of two stories that I'm reading that actually uses Daily Passes. These work like the keys on Comikey. I can use a free pass daily to read an episode that stays unlocked for 14 days. So, even though it updates Saturdays, since I'm a decent number of episodes behind, I CAN opt to read a new episode daily via the pass. The pass prevents me from binging the story in one sitting (without spending money, at least), but it does kind of incentivize me to read the story daily in order to catch up. So, I can fill those lower-volume days, such as Thursday or Sunday, with more of The Duke's Teddy Bear until I've caught up. One way to make sure I still get my 15min/day in.

The last fic on my list that updates on Saturdays is Obsidian Bride. I don't know why, but this is another story that I keep holding off on starting. Maybe it's the number of stories I have for Saturday already (or in general... it IS a lot to juggle)? I'll have to see if mentally shifting my To Read date to, say, Sundays instead of Saturdays will help me finally snuggle in to read it.

Finally, unrelated to all of the weekly updates, I have another completed story that I've started reading: Answer Me, My Prince. Much like Leveling My Husband Up to the Max, the story was completed before I even found it. Unlike Leveling, I can't just binge the story despite its completion. This is the second story I'm reading that uses Daily Pass to pay the creator. So, again, I can only read one new episode daily without paying the app. Before I get further into it though, how about a refresher of the premise:

Cordelia Grey, an editor at a publishing company, is given a manuscript of the sequel to The Princess and the Knight along with a vintage chest. But when she wakes up the next morning, the manuscript she placed in the chest is gone -- a letter is in its place. It’s from none other than Prince Archie Albert, the handsome playboy and protagonist from the novel. What begins as curiosity morphs into a deep friendship, but can they stop themselves from developing feelings for one another, and will they ever get to meet in person?

The correspondence between Cordelia and Archie is absolutely adorable. They are both so playful but also vulnerable. They quickly fall into a pattern of giving both themselves and each other nicknames as they come up with fun ways to open and close their letters.

It feels a little like You've Got Mail with how the leads communicate in their letters. It also feels a little like The Lake House with regards to the magic behind how Cordelia and Archie can become pen-pals in the first place. Actually, the mystery of how the letters teleport to each recipient, as well as the time differential between Cordelia and Archie, has had me thinking so much about The Lake House recently that I kind of want to have a rewatch of the movie. I mean, Hubby, Aurora Morgen, and I have wanted to do a Keanu Reeves marathon anyway. Might as well add this one to the Watch List, right?

The main mystery of Answer Me is, of course, that of the book chest and how it "delivers" the letters to each of the leads (along with other things; the two frequently send books back and forth to each other like the nerds they are). The other main mystery though? What happened between the events of the in-universe book The Princess and the Knight and the sequel manuscript that Cordelia is supposed to be editing.

The main plot of The Princess and the Knight tells the tale of a heartbroken princess and her knight, who had fallen in love with her. The princess was given advice to have the knight do something hard but trivial to prove that he truly loved her. She tasked him to simply stand outside her window for 100 days (presumably the man could eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom, but otherwise spend his waking hours doing nothing but standing outside her window... but also, it was a fairytale, so... maybe not???). On the 100th day, when the princess would finally accept the knight's declaration of love, he gave up on his task and wordlessly walked into the sunset, never to be seen again. The distraught princess, realizing her love for the knight, chases after him, and the story ends. A sort of The Lady, or the Tiger? style of ending, as Cordelia tells it. Why did the knight give up just before completing his task? Does the princess find the knight and live happily ever after? Does she never find him? Does he reject her outright (hence him giving up on her challenge)? Does she return home and marry another? The reader never knows.... at least, until the sequel that Cordelia is editing.

In the sequel, it is revealed that the princess's fate is also unknown to her father, and he instead appoints his niece as his successor. It is the niece's son - Prince Archie - who eventually discovers that the princess did indeed find the knight, and that they lived together in secret within a small cottage in the woods. There, they had a son; the true heir to the throne. In the manuscript, Archie discovers the princess's and knight's gravestones, but their son is nowhere to be found. Archie's older sister, who is the crown princess and the villainess of the story, stops at nothing to hunt down this threat to her inheriting the crown.

When Cordelia discovers that the prince is real, she helps him in his attempts to placate his sister, find the lost prince, and negotiate a peaceful solution that also solidifies his sister's claim to the throne.

We, the reader, know that the runaway princess and her child are both redheads. We also know, via Archie's correction of events - for instance, his mother was the runaway princess's best friend, not cousin - that the manuscript isn't a perfect one-to-one of the facts of Archie's life and world. Add in that Cordelia's also a redhead, as is her mother - who also implied that she (the mother) was reverse-isekai'd - and a LOT of readers are speculating that the "lost prince" is actually a lost princess... and that said princess is Cordelia.

The story isn't terribly action-packed or overtly romantic, but it IS intriguing. So I'm enjoying myself with my daily reads as I make my way through the story.

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The various webcomics aren't even everything that I read in May! There's also fanfiction.

Yeah! I got back into reading fanfiction. Sorta...

Earlier I had mentioned chatting with MLG. Well, that's because she came out of her own writing hiatus in order to participate in MariChat May. Basically, a month dedicated to the Marinette and Chat Noir corner of the Love Square. She wrote exclusively ficlets that ranged from 500 to 1700 words. Still, the fact that she wrote FIVE new pieces of fiction in quick succession after a writing hiatus is impressive. Doing so within the same week!?! Incredibly inspiring.

If you want to check out MLG's MariChat May fics:

• Bread and Honey

  After the death of his cousin and his cousin’s wife, Adrien finds himself the father of two small children. Not wanting to force sudden parenthood on his girlfriend, Adrien breaks up with Marinette and moves to London for the twins. Marinette, stubborn to the last, won't let Adrien give up on their relationship that easily. When she can't convince Adrien that she'll stick with him through thick and thin, Marinette forces her way into Adrien's life in the way he needs most at the moment—as the twins' nanny. Not that she's making life easy for him. Whatever happened to the sweet girl he'd known in their teen years?
  TL;DR Marinette is temptation, and Adrien is losing his sanity.
  
  *LycoRogue's Note: This is a flash fic less than 500 words long

• Midnight Snack

  Chat Noir finds his good friend Marinette crying on her balcony. She’s sorry, but she’s so hungry.
  
  *LycoRogue's Note: A bit of a supernatural twist to the superhero canon.

• Dendro Problems

  They're like champagne problems, but Alhaitham flavored.
  
  *LycoRogue's Note: References a Genshin Impact character

• Ice Cream (and Revenge) Are Best Served Cold

  Chat Noir drops by Marinette’s place for ice cream and cuddles after a rough evening. Marinette does not take it well.
  
  *LycoRogue's Note: Spy x Family inspired

• Ha! You Think That’s Embarrassing?

  Marinette is on a bad date. Adrien notices and sends his very good friend Chat Noir to the rescue.
  
  *LycoRogue's Note: What if Adrien and Marinette didn't meet as their civilian selves until they were adults?

That last one, in particular, really struck a chord with me for some reason. I don't know if it's because it was the longest out of the five. Or if it was because it was closest to canon while also.... not? Adult Adrien and Marinette were reverted back to their awkward season 1 personalities, which was fun since I do miss those characterizations a bit. There was also more playfulness in that last story compared to the previous four. Finally, while the story was told from Marinette's perspective, it very much felt like Adrien's story.

I couldn't help myself. I gushed in the comments section about how I saw Adrien's side of the story. MLG responded in kind. And I was done for. I knew I couldn't let it go unless I went ahead and wrote out this story.

My dudes.... I NEARLY QUINTUPLED MLG'S STORY!!!! How do these stories keep running away from me like this!?

I just had too much fun messing with poor Adrien. I finished writing my companion piece five days after MLG had published her story (I think it was only two days of writing, though...). It... then kept me another four days to figure out what to title the darn thing....

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Much like with You Pretended Not to Care, I was probably way overthinking my story title options. In the end, I decided to just title the story off of the song I was listening to on repeat while I was writing it: I Think I Like You by The Band CAMINO.

I Think I Like You (Maybe More Than I Should)

Summary: Adrien is intrigued by one of the junior designers at his father's company. Maybe more intrigued than a few passing interactions with Marinette would warrant. At least, that's what Plagg jokes when Adrien notices Marinette on an abysmal date and decides to intervene... as Chat Noir.

• Rating: General Audience
• Word Count: 7,974
• Est. Reading Time: 40min
• Status: Completed one-shot

• On ArchiveOfOurOwn		• On FanFiction
• On DeviantArt		• On Tumblr

This story got so much love, and it is still rolling in. Thank you, to all of my readers. I'm glad my thieving of MLG's story was so well received. My building off of her hard work tends to net me a lot of love, if I'm honest.

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Edited by LycoRogue

24 Hour Stats

AO3: 267 hits, 31 kudos, 3 bookmarks, and 4 comments
FFN: 88 views, 3 faves, 4 follows, but no reviews
DA: 72 views, but no other engagement

Total Results: 427 views, 34 kudos/faves, 7 bookmarks/follows, and 4 reviews

Tumblr Notes: 8 total; 3 likes off my post, another 2 likes off Ladynoir AO3 Feed's post, 2 reblogs off my post, and another reblog off LN AO3's post

AO3 Comments:

1. AAAAA so so so so cute ♡ I kinda want more of this kind of AUs
2. *MLG's Review: See Below*
3. Oooh, I love that this story is from Adrien’s perspective, usually I see this kind of thing from Marinette’s. Adrien’s so smitten with Marinette and neither of them seem to realize it - at first, anyway XD
4. They are so adorable. I think Adrien thinking Marinette’s awkwardness as cute is one of my favorite things. 💚💚💚

MLG had so many emojis in her comment! I loved the love! I truly did. I'm glad she enjoyed my take on her story.

MostLovedGirl: So many moments had me grinning and laughing. 😂 Loved it! These two are such dorks and are so gone for each other. I especially appreciated the emphasis Adrien gave to wanting to get to know Marinette better instead of the cliche “love at first sight” trope. Much healthier (despite all the low-key stalking 🤣). Poor boi is so infatuated and so screwed. 😂 At least Marinette is equally awkward and out of her depth. They are well matched. Marinette is going to be *pissed* as Ladybug (due to embarrassment) when the identity reveal happens. “I was in love with *you* all this time?!” “Wait. You love me?” And then they get married a year later. The end. 😆

Due to the aforementioned burnout and delay in publishing this update - despite working on it daily since May 30th - I completely blanked on taking my Week 1 stats. Which means we get to just jump ahead to the current stats of the story. I'm surprised at how much it grew in the 20-some days it's been live.

Current (at time of publishing) Stats

AO3: 611 hits, 66 kudos, 7 bookmarks, and 8 comments
FFN: 178 views, 8 faves, 5 follows, and 3 reviews (first one came in just past the 24hr mark)
DA: 258 views, but still no other engagement

Total Results: 1047 views, 74 kudos/faves, 12 bookmarks/follows, and 11 reviews

Tumblr Notes: 10 total; 5 likes off my post, plus the previous 2 likes off Ladynoir AO3 Feed's post, 2 reblogs off my post, and another reblog off LN AO3's post

New AO3 Comments:

1. This is sooo cute! I need more of this story!
2. *Another lengthy review: See Below*
3. THIS IS SO GOOD / Amazing writing <3 <3 <3
4. *Third semi-lengthy review: See Below*

FFN Reviews:

1. Bet you ten bucks that as soon as he hears about the date, Gabriel will send an akuma to interrupt it. / He's a jerk like that.
2. oh my goodness. this was so cute!
3. Hah! That ending with [Redacted Due To Spoilers]! LOL! / I really loved it, no surprise. I always enjoy your work. I read the work that inspired this one first, too. It was fun to get both perspectives! Thanks for sharing, it was so nice to see a new story from you!

Lots of love to those comments. I know I'm pulling out the longer ones, but that's because they are too lengthy to include in a bulleted list without it becoming overwhelming. Please know that if you simply leave me a single emoji as a comment on my stories I will still love and cherish the fact that you felt compelled to interact with my writing.

Thank you. I love you.

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As for those pulled reviews though....

Lengthy Review #1:
Oooh soooo sweeeet!!!!
I love the fact that Adrien just start adoring Mari from the first sight. And her just randomly [Redacted Due To Spoilers] 😂😂😂 They are just mix of sweetness and chaos xdd

I got so scared for Mari there!! I was scared that date with the dude was him making her go on the date or he kick her out or something. I was just really scared that he had some power over her. But then it turns out it was [Redacted Due To Spoilers] 😭😂😂😂

Adrien/chat constantly thinking that Mari is cute? I live for it😂😂💖💖

Also love the end!!! I love our sunshine boy being just too excited to [Redacted Due To Spoilers]!!!

Great work!!!!!💖💖

Lengthy Review #2:
        Well, given that canon is largely from Marinette's POV, combined with the fact that Most Fanfic Writers Are Female, the comparatively little Adrien POV we get shouldn't be much of a surprise. That only makes it more precious to me.
        I like that you had him nervous even though [Redacted Due To Spoilers]. I think most women don't realize what kind of risk a man is taking when he puts himself out there like that. If he's a decent guy, he has lowered his defenses, and he doesn't know whether she's going to take that opportunity to hurt him.

I agree with a lot of my reviews. This AU is too adorable with awkward Adult Adrien and Marinette stumbling their way into a relationship. I don't know if I can push through my burnout to write more within this universe, but I kind of want to.

My new story isn't the only one getting love lately, though.

I'm super excited - but also a touch embarrassed, simply due to the rating of the fic - that my Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story fic is still very regularly getting love. Not so much with comments, but I'm getting kudos nearly daily still! I also got two reblogs on Tumblr!

Here's the stats.

Stats from Last Update

AO3: 197 hits, 22 kudos, 2 bookmarks, and 4 comments
DA: 118 views, but still no interaction (probably never will get any, if I'm honest)

Total Results: 315 views, 22 kudos, 2 bookmarks, and 4 reviews

Tumblr Notes: 2 likes and 1 reblog

Comparitively, here's my stats now!

Current (at time of publishing) Stats

AO3: 627 hits, 62 kudos, 7 bookmarks, and the same 4 comments as before
DA: Now up to 131 views; probably will never get any other interaction on the story, if I'm honest.

Total Results: 758 views, 62 kudos, 7 bookmarks, and 4 comments

Tumblr Notes: 4 likes and 2 reblogs

I... The GROWTH! The NYTRS fandom must be thirstier than I thought. I was NOT expecting my smut story to be getting such regular reads and kudos! I'm glad that I apparently did a good enough job to warrant this love. Also, due to the subject matter and how people don't necessarily want it tied back to their account, I get why most of my views/kudos are from guests instead of named accounts. Likewise, I get why my comments section is relatively bare. I'm still thrilled to have this much love.

Especially since my first published smut - Sparks for the Moment - is nearly 5 years older, but doesn't even have 2x as many views, has an equal number of comments, and has fewer kudos and bookmarks. Could be a fandom differential, considering NYTRS is still on-going and Bitterblue was already an old book when I wrote my story. Still. It's nice to have that reassurance about a type of writing (smut) that I wasn't sure I was good at.

For oh-so-brief of a time in May I actually rode that writing high from getting so much love on my stories.

I published I Think I Like You (Maybe More Than I Should) on the 18th. The following day, Hubby and I watched the season (series? I hope not, given the cliffhanger) finale of Hailey's On It! The finale really cranked up the dial on the romance of the show. I was excited, but also nervous that the show would be cancelled before we get a season two and a conclusion to the cliff hanger. At the same time, though, I was a bit disappointed in myself. Back in, what, November? I had thought of that HOI fanfic of Scott confessing his feelings to Hailey. I had slept on actually writing that fic though, despite writing out an outline for it in January/February. After watching the finale, I feel like my story would have killed it. Did I miss my window?

I checked the show tag on both AO3 and FFN. Sadly, the show did seem to be dying. The finale only sparked one new story, as opposed to easily a dozen in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom with any given season finale. As for the show tag as a whole? There was only a couple dozen stories total on each site. I tore through most of the stories available (adding to my overall impressive - for me - reading time last month), and kind of scratched my head about how FEW Scott/Hailey stories there were... given her kissing Scott is kind of a key plot point of the series.... Scott's younger sister Becker clearly stole the show in the eyes of the fandom. So, even if I did publish, would I get any views? The fandom seems to be dying/non-existent, and most people seem to either not ship Hailey with Scott or only ship her with Scott if it's a polycule.

Then again, I didn't think I'd find any Bitterblue fans left when I posted my smut, and I still got 1300+ hits over the past 5 years. Maybe there's other Hailey/Scott shippers like me who are craving for content.

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Screw it! I wanted to write this story for over half-a-year now! Even if there are 5 other Scott/Hailey shippers left in the world, I want to write this story!

Write for myself, right?

With renewed interest in the story, and new determination to get it written, I started churning it out. I got about 1/2 way through the story, and about 2200 words in, before I hit my wall.

Between using the nice weather and renewed energy outside of work to try to catch up on housework, running out of down time at work because of the new projects, enjoying my front porch while trying to catch up on Dracula Daily entries, and pausing the story so I could instead work on this blog update.... well, my "Hailey's On It! story posted timely after the finale's cliffhanger" plan turned into my "I'll.... finish it before the end of the summer?" plan.

Let's hope I can break through this burnout and can find the time and energy to get back into writing. My latest story awaits! Do you peeps think I can get it done before the end of June so that I have a new story every month for the 2nd quarter of the year!?

I'm taking bets.

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