End of Hiatus; Chapter 24 Progress...
I'M FREE! I'M FREE! I'M FREE! *Takes deep breath, resists overwhelming urge to burst into song*
Sorry to shout, but I am just SO HAPPY right now...school is over until the 24th of January and my time is once again my own. My stress-induced psychosomatic symptoms are gone, I've gotten a good eight or so hours of sleep and am more or less rested for the first time in weeks, and somehow or other I managed to get through my small mountain of work. So, yes, I have every reason to be in a celebratory mood.
Okay...and now onto my progress with TRD, which I'm sure is what you're here to read. I'm 1918 words into (untitled) chapter 24, as my Muse has been in procrastination-induced overdrive since I posted chapter 23 on the 3rd. Currently, I'm trying to conquer Grams' misandristic issues and convince her to perform the Wiccaning. It hasn't been easy, since she doesn't seem to want to respond to rational argument and I'd really rather not degenerate into verbal sparring.
Speaking of the Wiccaning, I'm trying to go with my usual "as-true-to-the-belief-system-as-possible-while-excising-theology" approach, but apparently, once all references to the Goddess and God are removed, there isn't a very great deal left of the traditional ritual... I can include the usual acceptance of responsibility for the child by parents/godparents, but after that...?
I'm toying with the idea of adding a blessing ceremony of sorts--sometimes included within the Wiccaning--wherein each member of the family would present the baby with a gift symbolic of some wish or hope for his future. The problem (besides my having to come up with appropriate gifts; if any of you have ideas, feel free to comment) is that since neither Phoebe nor Cole was expecting the Wiccaning, they wouldn't be prepared for that... Well, I'll come up with something, anyway. Eventually.
After the Wiccaning is over, I'm going to reveal Phoebe's pregnancy to the rest of the family, and possibly begin some exploration between her and Cole of the limits/capabilities of their bond (not least, because it's fairly important that she masters his deflection before she's called upon to participate in active combat). After that, it should be about time for their handfasting, which I'm eagerly looking forward to writing... I'll probably end up cutting to the morning of the ceremony, so that all the tedious preparations will have been conducted off the page.
*Contented sigh* It's great to be back!
Sorry to shout, but I am just SO HAPPY right now...school is over until the 24th of January and my time is once again my own. My stress-induced psychosomatic symptoms are gone, I've gotten a good eight or so hours of sleep and am more or less rested for the first time in weeks, and somehow or other I managed to get through my small mountain of work. So, yes, I have every reason to be in a celebratory mood.
Okay...and now onto my progress with TRD, which I'm sure is what you're here to read. I'm 1918 words into (untitled) chapter 24, as my Muse has been in procrastination-induced overdrive since I posted chapter 23 on the 3rd. Currently, I'm trying to conquer Grams' misandristic issues and convince her to perform the Wiccaning. It hasn't been easy, since she doesn't seem to want to respond to rational argument and I'd really rather not degenerate into verbal sparring.
Speaking of the Wiccaning, I'm trying to go with my usual "as-true-to-the-belief-system-as-possible-while-excising-theology" approach, but apparently, once all references to the Goddess and God are removed, there isn't a very great deal left of the traditional ritual... I can include the usual acceptance of responsibility for the child by parents/godparents, but after that...?
I'm toying with the idea of adding a blessing ceremony of sorts--sometimes included within the Wiccaning--wherein each member of the family would present the baby with a gift symbolic of some wish or hope for his future. The problem (besides my having to come up with appropriate gifts; if any of you have ideas, feel free to comment) is that since neither Phoebe nor Cole was expecting the Wiccaning, they wouldn't be prepared for that... Well, I'll come up with something, anyway. Eventually.
After the Wiccaning is over, I'm going to reveal Phoebe's pregnancy to the rest of the family, and possibly begin some exploration between her and Cole of the limits/capabilities of their bond (not least, because it's fairly important that she masters his deflection before she's called upon to participate in active combat). After that, it should be about time for their handfasting, which I'm eagerly looking forward to writing... I'll probably end up cutting to the morning of the ceremony, so that all the tedious preparations will have been conducted off the page.
*Contented sigh* It's great to be back!