eyes yet to open - 22.3
Added 2023-10-28 15:05:18 +0000 UTCChapter turns to mist and moonlight, ghosting through the windows, sneaking into the sealed mansion and spooking the maids in the kitchen.
And we're back! Woohoo! Thank you all so much for your patience, thank you for waiting a whole extra week for this chapter. Even though I did not manage to publish as usual last Saturday, I have been working/writing this entire time and managed to push myself ahead a bit more than usual, which will hopefully help avoid breaks in the future! And now, it is time for Heather to have the most difficult conversation. Here we go!
Ah, but first, I have something to share with you! I know not all patrons go to the discord, so I want to share this adorable art of Heather and Evelyn, by Cera, over on the discord!
https://katalepsis.net/2023/10/28/eyes-yet-to-open-22-3/
This week's password is: apokalypsis
An epub version is also attached!
Comments
You're so very welcome, thank you! And I'm really glad you enjoyed this part. You're right, this was one of the most emotionally difficult parts of the story so far, with the full long-term impact of Heather's relationship with her parents on display. I tried to base a lot of this on real life examples and experiences, especially the stuff with Heather's mother. It was very sad and heart-wrenching to write, but Heather has hope for eventual catharsis, and her parents can hope to do the right things from now on.
Hazel Young
2024-06-02 17:57:18 +0000 UTCI think this is the saddest chapter so far, but it was brilliant. Thanks for writing.
Phthalaldehyde
2024-06-02 16:51:45 +0000 UTCGosh, thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed this part, and that's exactly the sort of feeling I was trying to get across here! Heather's spent her whole life afraid in one way or another, all focused around this violation, this unexplained horror that was inflicted upon herself and her sister. And in this moment she has the first real scent of something she can follow toward an answer. Doubt may come later, she may face complications, she may have the wrong angle - but the feeling of predatory intent and desire is very pure, very much for herself, and she's going to follow it now no matter what. She really has grown so much! That was always one of the main focuses of the story, Heather's own development, her changes, how far she had to go. Thank you so much! I'm really happy that's all come through so strongly.
Hazel Young
2023-11-04 17:13:04 +0000 UTC*bounces impatiently up and down* Is it time yet? Is it time yet? I read the chapter on wednesday, having saved up all three Eyes yet to Open Chapters when halfway through the first I realised that there would be a cliffhanger. Oh, I was such a fool. The cliffhanger this time, it is the worst and best in the entire series so far. It is no beginning if the dramatix showdown, or the cliffhanger when something went wrong or potentially very right. No, this cliffhanger really is explained best by dear Heather's reaction. No hesitation. No doubts. No anxious planning because of fear of loss of control. Not even the satisfaction like when Edward's house was found or when he was killed. Just deep satisfaction, that from the beginning there was purpose. And I don't think Heather has realised the implications yet, but it seems that this satisfaction expresses itself as the satisfaction of the hunter who, finally, has found the scent of the prey, which everyone did not even believe existed. And now she is on the hunt. I will have to double check the old scenes, but this is the first time there is no hesitation, self-doubt or overshadowing through worry about someone else in the moment Heather is letting out her inner predator. In scenes like when claiming Zheng for her own in defiance of Orange Juice, or when she hisses at people like Heart, there was always focus on protecting, pushing how she behaves to the back of her mind only to suffer dysphoria or mortification afterwards. This, if I am not mistaken, is the first time she indulges in that feeling fully. Sure, the worry and hesitation might come again, but I believe this moment might have pushed Heather to the next level. Only now did I realise that she not only fully indulges in the feeling of power, of being the Hunter, not the Prey, but does so in the one place where she felt the most powerless. She was a shivering mess before entering after all. Oh how much she has grown
Tarmandan
2023-11-04 11:42:02 +0000 UTCAlso, your chapters are like drugs. I think I was going into withdrawal without my weekly dose. Your writing and story telling is just that good. Please, never stop being amazing.
Kennyevilmonkey
2023-10-28 18:32:25 +0000 UTCI understand why she didn't but, I would have brought them to Camelot to open their minds the rest of the way; try and ease them into it rather than violently break. Not for revenge, but to make it so they can fully understand things and be more supportive for when Maisy comes back. She's going to be relearning how to be human in a dolls body and I could see her mother trying to send her to the hospital. Better to just get them broken now so that she can have all the love and support that she needs. Better than having her parents minds trying to do backflips to rationalize their second daught's disappearance, reappearance, and sudden disabilities.
Kennyevilmonkey
2023-10-28 18:28:11 +0000 UTC
