The Future of Pleasantries
I want to start this post by saying that I love all of my readers, the ones who comment regularly, only sometimes and the ones who never comment at all. I know you are there and reading along and it always makes me smile. I am a very thankful story teller that you are here and reading. It is with you guys in mind that I am making this post.
Okay, for the two people who just stopped breathing thinking that I am canceling the story, please inhale before you turn blue. Pleasantries is not going anywhere. We are going to talk about the nature of the beast, so to speak, and that beast is very, very ugly.
Since the beginning I have said that we are going dark places with this. I meant it. These kids are going to go through hell and not all of them are coming back. Not all of them are going to want to and a few that do are going to wish they hadn't. If you are reading along hoping for a happy ending and won't be able to handle anything else, please stop reading now. There is no happy ending here, only levels of coping. No black and white. The "good guys" are almost indistinguishable from the "bad guys", you can't even tell them apart by their intent. If this is more than you can deal with, stop now while we are still in the fluffy stage. I will not be offended and we will both sleep better at night. It is going to get worse, not better.
That is not to say that it is all bad, but don't take that as a sign of hope either. I am not pulling any punches here. I am not sugar coating anything. One thing you can be sure of as you read along, the only thing you are reading that is truly fictional is the existence of known Alien hybrids. Everything else has been well researched or is based on personal experience, usually the last option there.
One thing I have noticed is that I have some younger readers. This is awesome. I really love that you guys are reading along, (not that I would usually recommend a story like this for anyone under 17, but I am not your parent am I? The few of you that I have spoken to have also shown to be remarkably mature for your age). You guys especially though I want to take note of this next part. At the beginning of the Prologue I listed the following warnings: Graphic Violence, Death, Verbal Abuse, Adult Subject Matter, Alcoholism, Discrimination, Alternative Sexuality, Underage Prostitution, Mental Illness. These are the starting points. These cover the very base of what happens and future events will build on and expand, in detail, on these.
I think I have gotten my point across, yes?
Right. Enough from me. You all know where this is going and that it will not be pretty. Now I can relax and get back to doing what I do and you can get back to being the awesome readers that you are.
Now, because I would never make a post like this without something fun to go with it, have some pic spam!
Winston is a much more exciting teacher than this I promise! Usually.
I don't know if it has ever been mentioned but Rein and Dirk both work at J'Adore (with Angelo from Chasing Daylight!) where this picture was taken. Here they are after closing talking to Resha Jacquet (Gilbert's adopted little sister) and Tiethys Loner. Tiethys and Resha have their own stories to that I will get to telling one of these days, however, from the look on Dirk's face, Rien might just be telling them an interesting story right now! I love Rein. She has never been the most tactful personality.
This. They do this with surprising frequency. It is like the Villega house is the unofficial gathering point and they all just walk right in. Lilith has been known to randomly nap on the couch ... all night.
A better view. They are all there. There is enough seating in the room they could be watching TV. They choose to hang out instead, on the floor. :D
And finally a small preview of an upcoming (very soon upcoming!) set redesign.
Okay, for the two people who just stopped breathing thinking that I am canceling the story, please inhale before you turn blue. Pleasantries is not going anywhere. We are going to talk about the nature of the beast, so to speak, and that beast is very, very ugly.
Since the beginning I have said that we are going dark places with this. I meant it. These kids are going to go through hell and not all of them are coming back. Not all of them are going to want to and a few that do are going to wish they hadn't. If you are reading along hoping for a happy ending and won't be able to handle anything else, please stop reading now. There is no happy ending here, only levels of coping. No black and white. The "good guys" are almost indistinguishable from the "bad guys", you can't even tell them apart by their intent. If this is more than you can deal with, stop now while we are still in the fluffy stage. I will not be offended and we will both sleep better at night. It is going to get worse, not better.
That is not to say that it is all bad, but don't take that as a sign of hope either. I am not pulling any punches here. I am not sugar coating anything. One thing you can be sure of as you read along, the only thing you are reading that is truly fictional is the existence of known Alien hybrids. Everything else has been well researched or is based on personal experience, usually the last option there.
One thing I have noticed is that I have some younger readers. This is awesome. I really love that you guys are reading along, (not that I would usually recommend a story like this for anyone under 17, but I am not your parent am I? The few of you that I have spoken to have also shown to be remarkably mature for your age). You guys especially though I want to take note of this next part. At the beginning of the Prologue I listed the following warnings: Graphic Violence, Death, Verbal Abuse, Adult Subject Matter, Alcoholism, Discrimination, Alternative Sexuality, Underage Prostitution, Mental Illness. These are the starting points. These cover the very base of what happens and future events will build on and expand, in detail, on these.
I think I have gotten my point across, yes?
Right. Enough from me. You all know where this is going and that it will not be pretty. Now I can relax and get back to doing what I do and you can get back to being the awesome readers that you are.
Now, because I would never make a post like this without something fun to go with it, have some pic spam!
Winston is a much more exciting teacher than this I promise! Usually.
I don't know if it has ever been mentioned but Rein and Dirk both work at J'Adore (with Angelo from Chasing Daylight!) where this picture was taken. Here they are after closing talking to Resha Jacquet (Gilbert's adopted little sister) and Tiethys Loner. Tiethys and Resha have their own stories to that I will get to telling one of these days, however, from the look on Dirk's face, Rien might just be telling them an interesting story right now! I love Rein. She has never been the most tactful personality.
This. They do this with surprising frequency. It is like the Villega house is the unofficial gathering point and they all just walk right in. Lilith has been known to randomly nap on the couch ... all night.
A better view. They are all there. There is enough seating in the room they could be watching TV. They choose to hang out instead, on the floor. :D
And finally a small preview of an upcoming (very soon upcoming!) set redesign.