The best news I have to date in regards to my beloved project is that the first step is officially done and the hardest part is being done now: my beta reader, my husband, is now making his way through it and I hope you will all send him some happy thoughts because as either my RPers or readers of this well know, when I get on a kick I can produce some huge posts. xD He has a lot to wade through and while I am nervous of his doing so I am sincerely and completely beyond thrilled. I never thought I would make it this far but I did and that feels so damn good.
I am going to keep this brief because I have a lot of stuff to go through on here, wanting to catch up on how everyone is and what has been going on, both with Gaia and with you guys. I have a ton of Announcements I want to comb through (I love knowing what has went on even if it is nothing pertinent to me) and there are certain forums I like to nose about; plus I have a few PMs to go through (though chances are I won't be able to get to them all tonight, or at least not ALL of them) and some threads to check on. I am certainly behind but not daunted by getting caught back up again; I have been far more behind with far less going for me and managed to get back on top. Aries power, go!
So, in short, an update on all things Flare:
The project I left to complete is complete. It is in the next stages; there will be at least two more rounds of editing and then I will start shopping it in a few months.
But that is not the only good news I have.
I have two very wonderful pieces of good news; while I was gone there was a lot of other things going on and these are the best two of those things, two things that I still cannot believe I have been lucky enough to have happen to me.
Meet Copper.
He's a nearly two-year-old Maine Coon that I first saw online and would not shut up about until Asai took me to go and see him at the shelter.
Needless to say, it was true love at first sight. On that first day I got to hold him and I instantly knew he was the kitty we had been waiting for. The lady at the shelter kept talking about how much of a shock it was that he was letting me hold him because he had not taken to other people; she kept stressing that he was "waiting for someone" and took pictures because she said no one was going to believe that he was letting someone hold him.
I had kept saying over and over to my husband and my friends how I was going to manifest a little Maine Coon male if I had to, because not too long after Candle went home I started having dreams of her with a little male kitten, loving on him and treating him like her kitten. Candle never had kittens of her own (and as far as I could ever tell was okay with that) but the feeling I got from the dream was that she was letting me know she was sending him to me.
The dreams were a great source of comfort to me during that bad time.
I had been saying for months there was a male Maine Coon kitten out there for me (I could even describe what marks he would have, since Maine Coons tend to have unique patterns around their faces); knowing Copper was born around Candle's birthday (they are both Libra kitties!) just felt right to me.
The ladies at the shelter all talked about how he was a sweet, serious kitty who they thought would never get adopted because he did not "take" to people. The lady I spoke to that day talked about how he was born in a field to a wild mother and he had only had one other home; a woman had tried to take him but she had two other cats who got sick and she gave Copper back to the shelter because he obviously was not taken with her and he was not getting the attention she felt he needed. They said he was a loner and introverted and liked to keep to himself. He was not hostile to people or the other cats but he obviously was happier by himself and tried to distance himself as much as possible from others.
I instantly empathized with him.
How could I not? They could have been talking about me.
When we first brought him home he spent days under the bed, only coming out when we were asleep or when we "chased" him out by lifting up the mattress to look at him.
The pictures do not do his eyes justice because he is named Copper for his eyes: He has these huge, copper-colored eyes that gaze at you without flinching. He's anything but shy but he is very introverted. He still runs from Asai every now and again (the man is tall, I can understand why Sir Fluff-N-Stuff runs) and does not like loud sounds (but who does?).
Those eyes, though...They really can get you. They are the color of new pennies and for such a sweet, young creature there is a lot of wisdom in them. He is very serious.
But with treats and toys and finding out what he likes (in particular, he is a seafood guy and he adores the toy carrot in the picture above; it's like his teddy bear- he keeps it in my room and mostly near my chair. I have tons of pictures already of him cuddling on it. I just like this picture because I love the way he sleeps- fluffy belly up- and I find it funny how the carrot is right there, like a scene from the game Clue.) we were able to slowly win him over.
Gaining his trust has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done; he reminds me so much of how Candle was at that age (he reminds me of her in so many ways but yet he is his own little person), still a baby and jumpy over things but yet so curious, and it is a real joy and honor that he picked us to be his people. I treasure the years ahead of us; he's already had his first vet visit (Candle's vet) and is a very healthy boy: He may even get bigger since he is still technically a kitten (Maine Coons grow for the first five years of their lives) and every night I send a thank you to whatever is out there and a wish that I can have years with him as I was blessed to have with Candle.
They are so precious, those years, and he has already given me more happiness then I thought I would ever have again after my girl went home.
I needed him a lot more then he needed me.
My other news?
Yeah, that is what it looks like- I have a new job!
*Does her happy dance until she falls over from happy exhaustion!*
