Writing Log #10 - "Does that mean I get to kiss the princess now?"

The end of another month is approaching (how!?), so it's time for another writing log! I usually write these on the weekend, but progress has been so phenomenal I'm making a rare Thursday post.

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In Sanctuary 17223 news, like I said in the previous log, this month was for updating my reference documents and brainstorming to get ready for the second draft. That's all done!

What I'm doing for the rest of the month is letting those notes sink in and work on the PDF short story--which has actually been amazing practice and a great help in figuring out what works and doesn't work for me in terms of writing and illustration style. Ideally I'll also do some reading to be exposed to more prose, but I always end up working instead, so we'll see how that goes...

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Now the big one for this month (and the coming one) is "Big Guys Want to be Desired Too!", the aforementioned short story. I was able to finish writing the four chapter draft (17k words pre-editing), and on top of that I also knocked out all of the illustration sketches and then some, as you can see from the progress previews. (Semi-related, my friend pulled me into her Notion cult, so I'm showing that off too because it pleases my brain to unreal degrees.)

You can get a pretty good idea of what the story will be like just from the chapter titles:

• Ch. 1: Big Guys Want to be Pretty Too!

• Ch. 2: Big Guys Want to be Protected Too!

• Ch. 3: Big Guys Want to be Desired Too!

• Ch. 4: Big Guys Want to be Sexy Too!

Because hey, sometimes keeping it simple is the most effective.

In this AU (non-canon) slice-of-life story, Alvin decides that despite what society says, he's going to be hot now! Well, that's easier said than done. What starts with getting a fancy haircut from his friend turns into a challenge to embrace who he wants to be and a casual but life-changing encounter with a certain athletic woman who has her own story of struggling in this society.

Body positivity is obviously the big theme here, and the final chapter is a very cute 'first time' fully embracing that sex can be awkward and that it's not all about PIV or performing a certain way.

The goal is to release this new PDF by August 30 and see how it does--it's a bit of a gamble because I have no idea if people will be up for this kinda thing, but I really wanted to make something that dives deeper into all these themes I care about.

A few smol excerpts from the draft!

[Ch. 1: Lulu talking to her friend at the hair salon.]

"Girl, if your boyfriend complains about your pretty hair, I'll smash his head in."

Her flat cadence exudes the kind of sarcastic confidence reserved for people who, despite their tiny frame, have smashed someone's head in before. It's taking everything I have not to giggle and twirl my hair. I may be attracted to the full spectrum of the human experience, but when it comes to women, I maaay also have a specific type.

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[Ch. 2: Lulu saves Alvin from a very big threat, trust.]

"Shoo."

And with that, the buzzing fades into silence. Carefully, slowly, I open my eyes. A young woman dressed in pink and black looks up at me.

Hey, wait a second! That's Lulu!

"You okay?"

"Oh, uh," I mumble between awkward laughter. "I'm fine thanks to you, my hero."

"Does that mean I get to kiss the princess now?" she asks nonchalantly.

If this humble scribe were to express his feelings in text, he would choose a deep phrase like 'fhsdjfkfhdsjkfhsdfjksdhf.'

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[Ch. 3]

She looks up at me and grins as she grabs my sweat-drenched shirt and pulls me down for—

A kiss?

Huh?

What!?

I don't know what I was expecting my first kiss to be, but 'surrounded by a cheering crowd' wasn't on my bingo card! (Realistically speaking, it's all 'just be happy if it happens,' but I digress.)

Feeling Lulu's warm lips pressed against mine, I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. Perhaps a little too close, because we both soon pull away to catch our breath in this unforgiving height of summer. After a single awkward glance, we laugh and lean in for another kiss.

That really just happened. It's still happening!

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[Ch. 4]

I rest my head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lulu. I'm a fucking failure."

Gasping a little, Lulu stops her movements at once and sits next to me, holding my cheek. "Muffin? Are you okay?"

"I am," I say—lie, more like—as I cover my face in shame. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. You're incredible, you're so hot, and still I— I can't—"

"It's okay, Alvin. Did it not feel good…?"

"It did!" I try to reassure her as she gently pulls my hands away, revealing how close I am to tears again. "It felt really good."

"Then…isn't that enough?"

"Huh?"

Lulu scooches closer. "Well, we're doing this to make each other feel good, right? So if we both feel good, then we're doing it right. I think."

And that's all I've got for this time! Back to work, I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I do when it's done :)