New fanfic: All My Life

The creativity bug has bitten one hand and let go on the other. I may have to put The Age of Darkness on hiatus temporarily to follow my muse.
I've worked out this new story from beginning to end so I know exactly what happens in terms of the main events and big surprises, though I am allowing the characters to more or less speak for themselves.
This story is near and dear to my heart as it's inspired by real events from my own life. But because this is a Bella & Edward story - and I am a firm believer they should always find some kind of happily-ever-after - the real ending will be morphed into something warm and fuzzy.
There will be plenty of angst, mention of sensitive issues, and some delicious lemons here and there (when life hands you lemons...). I think it will be my best story so far because I've been through what happens to them, so I know exactly what they're feeling. It won't be an easy journey for them.

The Sword

Here is a diagram of the parts of the sword:

Edward's sword that Bella has crafted I pictured as something like this:

Except that it is much longer and there are two dragons that make up the grip instead of one. But the craftsmanship is essentially very similar.

Chapter 23 - Grub House

In chapter 23 I brought up the term "grub house." It's a relatively new archaeological term derived from the German 'grubenhaus' meaning Pit Structure. It's a very common Anglo-saxon building used typically for one family to share.
Here is an excellent site that describes how they were constructed.

And here's a photo:

Map of Britain's Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

Here is the map of Britain from The Age of Darkness. It's semi-accurate - these tribes were roughly in those places. But Cornwall was actually significantly smaller while Wessex reached further to the East and Sussex is usually known to stretch along further across the south. However, this is how I decided to portray it for the purposes of the story.

All the important places are indicated on the map. There were others mentioned but to be honest they're not really crucial to the story.

Welcome!

Hello!
This is where I'll post extra information for my fanfiction stories, such as photos, links to sources of knowledge, and my random reflections on the writing itself.
So here's a little bit about me for context...
I'm a university student finishing up my second undergraduate degree in Ontario, Canada. My first degree was in Anthropology and the one I'm currently doing is a double major Social Justice & Labour Studies with a minor in Philosophy. I hope to do a career in non-profit work helping with issues of poverty.
I've always been a very creative person and enjoy many different types of artistic expression. I'm most avidly a writer, painter, photographer, and scrapbooker.
I'm a left wing activist though I hate both those labels, and discussing politics can make me very aggressive. This is especially true when people have uninformed, uneducated opinions. Seriously... it's too easy to go online and actually LEARN about government parties and corporate corruption. I have little patience for people who think they have all the answers yet are clearly ignorant.
When I'm not overly stressed with school, I volunteer a great many hours at a local social & environmental justice organization doing various tasks. Some include events organizing, maintaining the website, and sitting on their Board of Directors. I get the occasional paid photography gig (ie: weddings, family portraits, etc). I also love to read and have a steadily growing library of books. I love movies (some from every genre), video games (primarily Zelda), computer games (my Sims2 addiction sometimes gets out of hand), and playing with my cats.
I'm generally an easygoing person though there are a few things that irritate me beyond belief: 1) Tom Bergeron (he is NOT funny); 2) When someone bids $1 over another person's guess on The Price is Right (seriously... think for yourself); 3) Bagpipes; 4) People with a superiority complex when they have no right to have one; 5) Groups of drunk young adult females; And the list could go on, but you get the point.
So, that's me.
Welcome, and enjoy!