Xaqtly's fanfic thread

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

I'm hoping it's cool to start an introductory thread for my own work like this. If not, just tell me and I'll delete it.

Anyway, hi! I'm Xaqtly. I love Balto and Balto-related stuff.

I've been reading and enjoying all the fanfics here and there are some mind-blowingly fantastic fics that have inspired me to start writing again. I've written fanfics before, but never for Balto.

But now I have! My first one is called Balto: Hero, and it chronicles the day after Balto's return to Nome with the medicine, and shows how the residents of Nome see him now, and how he sees himself. And of course, since I'm a big sentimental softy, it shows how Balto and Jenna begin their new life together.

You can read it right here.

It's pretty short and is just a simple one-shot story.

I've also begun work on my second fanfic, here's a sneak preview.

[DISCLAIMER:] Since this is a work in progress, this snippet is subject to change.

---------------------------------------

Quote:

"S-so c-c-cold," he hissed through clenched jaws. His paws had long since gone numb and he could feel his legs beginning to freeze. "C-can't... can't..." His eyes were sealed shut against the blizzard threatening to freeze him solid and tear him limb from limb. How long had he been traveling like this? He didn't even know any more. It seemed like an eternity, a white hell from which there was no escape.

"M-must... have to m-move," he whined. His brown and tan body was covered with snow and shivering violently, and the force of the blizzard was pushing him back, keeping him from going anywhere. The small leather pouch slung around his neck and shoulder flapped violently in the wind, and he prayed that its strap would hold. A particularly vicious gust of wind and snow hit his muzzle straight on and he cried out, turning his head away. "Aaagh!" He coughed and spit blood onto the whitened ground in front of him, gasping for air and losing the battle.

The edges of his vision began to darken as his world become unbalanced and he fell over into a snowdrift. "No!" he cried out, weakly. "N-not yet! not... yet..."

The darkness engulfed Balto as he silently screamed in protest, knowing this was his last chance. As his mind screamed and thrashed in defiance, his body shut down. In the last pinhole of light that remained, his final word broke free.

"Kodi..."

---------------------------------------

I'm very excited to be writing this, and I'll try to do it as well as I can. You guys have really inspired me, and I'm really happy to be writing again. I'd gladly welcome any comments or criticism about anything I've done, as I'm always trying to improve my writing. Thanks for reading!

-X

Lone Wolf_fanwriter · **Posted:** Fri Nov 07, 2008 10:36 pm

Wow! Talk about a cliffhanger!
Subject to change you say? Oh phooey. I like it as is. I guess there's always room for improvement, though.

Best of luck!
-LWf

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Haha, well hopefully I won't have to change it.

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Just an update for anybody interested in following my fanfics here. I've updated my gallery with a presentation, and it's got an introduction section, an ongoing work section and an update section. My plan is to update the update section every day that I work on a story (which so far has been every day) so you can see what will be finished next and when.

I know that's not infinitely sustainable, but for now I have more material that I want to write than I know what to do with, so that section will be steadily updated for the forseeable future.

I'm currently working on Balto: Son, part two of a series that explores four aspects of who Balto is: Hero, Son, Father, Husband (or Mate). I know I'm biased, but so far I'm actually very proud of what I'm doing in Balto: Son, and I can't wait to finish and upload it. I'm trying to do it right and not rush it, but it's hard when I'm so excited about it.

I really love the fanfics on this site, and I'm trying as hard as I can to contribute stories that are worthy of the standard that has been set here. I know I'll never be as good or as prolific as a lot of the writers here, but I hope to at least maintain a minimum level of quality and enjoyment. That being said, here's a teaser for Balto: Son.

Quote:

"It is time you knew the truth, my son," she spoke as her voice carried across the landscape, a warm blanket of sound that wrapped Balto in its embrace.

"M-mother?" Balto asked, both shocked at what he was hearing and grateful for this chance to speak with his mother. "What truth?"

"The truth behind your origin, little one. The reason you are here.... and my own failure as your mother."

Intrigued? *twirls mustache*

My gallery is here: http://baltosource.timduru.org/en/fanfi ... /1933.html

As always, thanks for reading.

-X

Juuchan17 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:11 pm

Woah, I'm loving the teasers! You have quite a knack for this story-telling business, huh?

Anyway, I think I'll go check out your first fic - it sounds good and I am stumped by your cliff-hanger (Did you get that from reading our fics?)!

Great job!

- Juuchan17

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Thanks. I love storytelling.

That first cliffhanger snippet will appear as part of one of my upcoming stories, but I haven't decided which one yet. I have a lot of ideas rolling around in my head and they haven't all settled down yet.

And yes, everything I'm doing now is inspired by your fics. My concepts and stories are hopefully unique to an acceptable extent, but my drive to write these fics is definitely inspired by your fics.

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

I changed the thread title. This will be the place I'll be posting updates, teasers, etc.

I've just finished and uploaded Balto: Son to the site. It still has to get approved and posted, but it's finished. This is part two in a four part series in which I explore 4 different sides of Balto (Hero, Son, Father, Mate). I've been updating my presentation in my gallery on a daily basis, but this is here for anybody who's interested but hasn't been watching my gallery.

In any case, as a thank you for you guys who have been patiently waiting for me to finish this story (er, that is if any of you were actually waiting, haha) here's a little snippet from Balto: Son as we wait for it to get approved and posted by the site mods.

Quote:

Balto recognized the signpost he had seen in his dream, and walked past it to find the snowdrift, but there was none to be found. The landscape had changed in the years since he was abandoned here, but Balto still knew where it had been.

"It was here", he said. "I was right here." Jenna looked at the patch of ground at Balto's feet. "This is where your mother left you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. At least if what I saw in the dream was true. I don't remember it myself, and Boris never told me exactly where he found me." Balto sat down and hung his head. "Jenna, why would she do this to me? I had almost forgotten about being abandoned, my life is so good now. I'm in love with the most beautiful girl in the world and I have six beautiful children. Why would she show this to me now?"

Jenna smiled at Balto's compliment, and she leaned forward to kiss him. "I don't know, my love. From what we've seen so far though, there is always a reason behind the dreams that come from Aniu. There's no reason to assume that this is any different, right?"

Balto looked up at Jenna and smiled. "What would I do without you, Jenna?"

"You'd be lost without me," Jenna said with a grin.

As always, thanks for reading. I'll post again when the story is available.

-X

Idy · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:01 pm

Wow, Juuchan and LWF are right! You have a real knack for cliffhangers! I must say that your story Balto: Hero is exceptional. The only thing I felt was lacking was the length; I wanted it to go on much longer that it actually lasted :lol:

I can't wait to see Balto: Son. If it is even half as good as the first one, then I'll be very pleased. Keep updating with snippets of the stories; I can't wait for more!

-Iditarod]

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Balto: Son is about 4 times longer than Hero. I can't really say for sure because I'm biased towards my own stories, :mrgreen:

but I hope that Balto: Son is at least as good as Hero. It feels like it is to me. Without giving anything away and ruining the surprise, I think what I like the most about Son is that it really goes into detail about why Balto was abandoned, not just where or how.

Maybe Universal Pictures and the writers of the Balto films didn't wonder why Aniu, the great wolf spirit would abandon her child, but I sure did.

Also, I'll apologize in advance if somebody else has already written fanfics that cover what I wrote about in Son. I've read as many as I can so far and looked over the descriptions of a lot of them but I didn't see any that looked like they described what I was going for.

One of my goals is to write stories that haven't been told yet, so I hope I'm succeeding in that.

-X

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Balto: Son has been posted. You can read it in my gallery.

This is part two in a series of four stories that explore four different sides of Balto: Hero, Son, Father and Mate. Balto: Son tells the story of how Balto came to be abandoned in the snow outside Nome, but also it goes very deeply into the reasons behind it all. If Aniu is the great wolf spirit, what was she doing here on Earth? And why would she abandon her son? And why is Balto only half wolf, I mean wouldn't you think the son of the great wolf spirit would be full wolf?

The story tries to answer those questions and show the motivations behind all of it. In writing the story, I tried to stick to what we know as canon from the first and second Balto movies, and fill in the backstory.

I hope you enjoy it. As always, thanks for reading.

-X

P.S.: As a little teaser for Balto: Father, check out the pack I belong to now, on the left under my avatar.

Juuchan17 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:13 pm

. . . . I can't find the right words to express how much I loved your take on Balto's past, as well as Aniu's, in your latest story.

I just finished reading it some time ago, and I was blown away by how you managed to tie in the first two films and the characters together.

Great job! I can't wait for "Balto: Father" to be complete - if it's anything like these first two fics, it'll just keep getting better, won't it?

- Juuchan17

Xaqtly · **Joined:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:17 pm **Posts:** 267

Thanks, that means a lot to me.

For what it's worth, when I wrote the part about Aleu, I had "Here I Am" in mind. She's doing very well for a new leader who's never lived in the wild before.

Idy · **Posted:** Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:32 am

Balto: Son is an amazing fic. Wow, you did a fantastic job filling in the backstory, as well as introducing some characters of your own, such as Balto's father! It wasn't just a "fill-in" kind of fanfic, but a truly inspirational one that stands out. Keep up the fantastic work!

-Iditarod

Animation Source Forums

Xaqtly's fanfic thread