Maidens of the Fall, Arc 6, Zodiacal Light, Chapter 3
Chapter sweats and strains over forge-fire heat, hammers ringing out into the dark beneath the world, forging a collar for the god-worm of the deeps.
https://hungryshedgerow.net/maidens-of-the-fall-zodiacal-light-6-3/
Password is: cerberus
Epub version of the chapter is also linked below!
Chapterrrrrrr three of the arc, and oh my goodness, I am barely keeping control of these magical girls. This chapter is actually one of the most difficult I've ever written, across all of my published serials. Something about this part was just incredibly challenging to piece together, despite being outlined and planned in great detail. But I am very pleased with the result! Hooray! And I hope you are too, dear readers. I hope you enjoy reading it!
At this point I am now pretty sure this arc is gonna go longer than I expected. Can't say much at this juncture of course, you'll just have to read on, and find out why. Ehehehe. Ahem.
Also, a small behind the scenes note: the last 2-3 months have been sort of disrupted for me, by various things, but now everything is back on track and things are mostly normal (knock on wood). I'm gonna try to build up a bit of backlog again, to cushion again future problems. I'll keep doing my best! Thank you all so much for all your support! None of what I do here would be possible without all of you, the readers and patrons! Thank you!
Comments (20)
i love these two so much holy beans
Hehehe! So do I! I cannot get enough of what's going on here, it's such a huge mess. And thank you!!!
Also similar vibes 😂 except this is following through much better hahaha https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcP9mueN3hz/?igsi=MTE4OTAxN2J1MXdwcw==
Gosh! Wow. Ahem. Indeed, I can see the obvious parallels!
Ahhhh what a buildup and cliff! Had me giggling and grinning hahaha. Really loving their chemistry more and more, also how evil are you cutting it there!? (Valid reasons but still evil 😈) I'm fascinated by all the possibilities going forward, like there are so many ways this could go! Does she join Occy on the moon? Now? Later? How will the other girls react? How will jealous sister react? What parts if their dynamic will come to light? If Scarlet doesn't join her yet, what's it going to be like developing on secret, or maybe a poorly kept secret?? So many questionssss! I can't wait hahaha. And especially for this next chapter. Dommey Octavia is killing it here, going from incredible denial to this is a hell of a transformation, and the lowered inhibitions and situation are perfect for it to come out. Also, wow Francesca has really needed someone to just listen to her and try to understand, hot damn. Doesn't excuse all the things she's done, but also, girl was self harming and then forced into a fake spotlight version of herself? Just after feeling free and then being restricted. Yeah, I can see how she turned out like that, especially from such a young age. It certainly explains the situation and now she became who she is. And there is plenty more to explore there as well. Really curious in her perspective!
Hooray! Very glad you enjoyed this chapter, thank you so much! The chemistry here is indeed borderline explosive, I could barely control these two and get them through the scene. As for cutting the chapter where I did, it might indeed be one of the most evil cliffhangers I've ever done! You're right about the sheer confusion of future possibilities here, yes! There's so many ways it could possibly go, though ... from what we've seen so far, Scarlet really doesn't want to abandon England, or her close family. She might be in for a rough time. Turns out that Octavia is a natural dom, yes! She seems instinctively comfortable in that role. Mmhmm, Scarlet/Francesca is a lot more complex than what Octavia previous thought. A complex series of wounds and traumas, though she hasn't been dealing with that in the healthiest way. I'm sure we're going to find out a lot more about her, too!
I’ve been waiting to read this series since it started, letting it build up chapters. Now I’ve caught up all in one night and this is the cliff I’m left on? Pain.
Welcome to being all caught up! Really glad you've been enjoying the story so far, hooray! And yes, oh dear, this one really is quite the cliffhanger; I knew I had to cut this chapter here, or else it would expand to 15k words or something. More soon!
Was Octavia always this manipulative?
We've seen hints of it previously, most clearly during the scene where she helped Bright to bed, and a little with Signal and Grimmy, but much less so. Scarlet Edge seems to bring this side of her to the forefront. Being so exhausted also makes her a bit less inhibited!
Oh, I am *so* excited to see how this turns out
Hehehe, same! And thank you so much! Really glad you're enjoying this!
What an extremely good girl!
Scarlet Edge is a very good girl for Octavia!
The Zoog probably: "Stop flirting already, and let me out of this damn cage!!!"
He has seen far too much for one small zoog! Let him out! Free him!
“Read my lips, because I don’t know how else to say it. I am not interested in Scarlet Edge.” Words definitely not spoken by someone who is the new holder of the leash of a certain jealous girl’s sister… My word that was such a good chapter, I can’t hardly wait until the next one!
Octavia told lies and she didn't even know it! Oh dear oh dear, that one might come back to bite her later. And thank you!!! I'm very glad you enjoyed the chapter! This one was absolutely wild.
Okay, but why do I expect Scarlett Edge to transform one day wearing a T-shirt with a collar made out of the same material as This Machine around her neck now? Also, Octavia become some form of dream good?! Dream Gods _must_ get some kind of power from their... Idk, magical girls? So is Octavia going to end up putting collars on all her girls and kill God? Very down for this idea.
Scarlet Edge choosing to wear the collar! Hehehehe! Maybe, maybe ... Oho, you think Octavia might ascend to Dream-God herself? We don't have a clear picture of the metaphysics yet, so perhaps such a thing is possible. Though, would she have any reason to overthrow Nerys? Seems like Nerys has a pretty good relationship with her own magical girls so far.