Maidens of the Fall, Arc 7, Front Toward Enemy, Chapter 2
Chapter gallops across the misty moors, chased by hunting horns and the baying of hounds, but nobody can catch the fleetest of foot, as it slips away into the edge of the woods.
https://hungryshedgerow.net/maidens-of-the-fall-front-toward-enemy-7-2/
Password is: simulacrum
The usual epub version of the chapter is also attached to this post!
More arc 7 thus unfolds, hooray! This is another very long one, clocking in at over 10k words, and once again it really needed it, I couldn't make this any shorter (I think?). As usual these magical girls continue to surprise me by doing things I did not fully plan for. Octavia and Grimgrave are like a reactive chemical compound that keeps exploding all my fancy glassware, but they do make an exquisite mess.
I know I say this almost every single time, but dear readers, I do hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it, because I am having an amazing time with Maidens of the Fall!
Two more things this week.
First up, more fanart from the discord server! This Machine (by Alyssa!), is, I believe, the third piece of fanart of Octavia fully transformed, a real treat to see! Then we have the Castle March crew, all four of them! (By cubey!) Zenith, Putty, Spark, and Horns, as well as an additional close-up version of Horned in Glory making herself extremely clear with her choice of clothing. (Also by cubey!) And finally a piece of fanart which made me cackle like a madwoman: This Machine vs Scarlet Edge, in the style of the famous street racing anime Initial D. (Once again also by cubey!) If you've watched Initial D, you might recognise Octavia's facial expression, though less so her choice of vehicle. Anyway, gosh! I am once again delighted and flattered and amazed by all the fanart, thank you all so very much!
Second, I'm making a small change to the upcoming schedule.
There will be no Maidens chapter next week; I am moving the regular break week forward, then resuming the 3-on-1-off-schedule.
Maidens will resume as normal on the 14th of November!
Whenever this has happened in the past I've tended to delay the decision and end up writing a whole post about it, but this time I've decided to make the call early, so as to be less disruptive. I never like having to do this, my apologies.
Why the change? Nothing to worry about, behind the scenes I am absolutely fine. The last month or so has been unspeakably busy for all sorts of small reasons that would normally not be worth mentioning; my 3-1 schedule gives me more than enough buffer to deal with most disruptions (including some unavoidable matters next week). However, the last 5 chapters in a row have all been way above average size, especially last week's, which was so long and dense it stretched my ability to edit it all at once. While this has produced good fiction (I hope!), it has also put me behind schedule slightly, in a way I didn't expect, and means I haven't had a day off in several weeks.
Basically, I need a small breather to collect myself, just a day; if I take that breather, I won't be able to finish the next chapter in time, especially if it turns out as long as other recent chapters. I don't want to crash out and have to call a delay Tuesday or Wednesday next week, so I'm changing the schedule early.
Clearly I need to revisit my workflow if chapters are going to continue being 10-12k words long! Which I will certainly do; I don't like having to slow things down even a little bit. Once again, my apologies, I never like to do this, but faced with the choice between a delay on one hand, and a rushed, potentially fatally flawed chapter the other, I prefer the former.
I'll keep doing my absolute best, for the magical girls and their story, and all of you readers too! Thank you for your understanding and patience. Back very soon!
Comments (14)
“You wanna show me your spank-bank!? I’m down!” Is my favorite Grimmy line this time! That's the real magical girl team bonding activity right there haha! Also, the "Alt-tab betrays me" bit was amazing! So true! Also also, all of the magical girl anime names you came up with are absolutely amazing!
Hehehe, I didn't even plan that line, Grimmy just came up with on the spot. Her dialogue is always so much fun to write, she surprises me constantly. Alt-tab is dangerous, yeah! A little too real there. Awww, thank you! I had a lot of fun coming up with the fictional anime names. I'm glad they're so evocative, it was a difficult needle to thread.
👻 Happy Halloween! 🎃 And a spooky graveyard chapter for the holiday!
A very Happy Halloween to you, too! Spooky spooky chapter creeping up on us from behind ...
Oh God oh please I don't think I've ever wanted a pustulent communication boil lanced as badly as I want this one.
Gosh, what a way of putting it! Hehehe! And yes, this one is particularly rancid. I'm not even sure the problem is 'communication', that's more a side-effect of Octavia's lifetime of internalised homophobia. She doesn't seem to be able to think of her own desire as healthy or good.
Hooooy boy! Well that's one way to work through your issues, have your crush/situation ship wannabe ex-girlfriend who is also dead subject you to some intense soul searching about wants and desires and guilt! Feast of Bones is so interesting! What is going on here indeed??? What was that interaction? Occy certainly doesn't know! Also, Grimmy being protective and there and comforting for Octavia when she's clearly going through it is just adorable 🥰 she's present, and offers a relaxing opportunity, coaxing Occy into accepting like one might approach a wounded animal... Except not at all like that because this is Grimmy! And she does it the Grimgrave way! But it works! Goddess I love Grimmy, she's such a sweet soul. Octavia! Girl, you've got a loooot of narrative going on in your head and your head alone right now. And the more you add to that narrative, the easier it becomes to be further from the truth. Talk. To. Grimmy! Also I get it, it hard. But still! Also Occy doing a hard deep dive on magical girls (and Scarlet really, knowing her interest👀) is so her haha. Octavia telling Grimmy about Scarlet felt so loaded! On both ends, but in different ways. It's cool to see Grimmy get a bit of insight into Scarlet, even through Occy's fumbling. Now, what are we going to do next Octavia?? After what you talked about in the dream. What resolution have you come to? You want Grimgrave! Yay! And yes tiem is precious and there is no point in dancing around it! Now what does that look like for your next steps? I'm so eager to find out! This was a very satisfying note to end the chapter on, and also, gaahhh! I immediately want for more haha. Credit to an incredible story with compelling characters! And to Hungry of course! I'll miss the next week's one! But also, do what you must so it's sustainable for you ☺️ that's important! No need to apologise too, no guilt!
Hehehe, this is certainly one way to unstick the situationship problems, yes; go talk to the dead ex-girlfriend via the living dream. As Feast of Bones herself said, perhaps the exact metaphysics of what happened there are less important than the message she was trying to get through to Octavia. If only Occy would listen more. Grimgrave is a genius, yes! She can't help but being herself in all ways, irritating and grating and loud and manic and everything, but at the same time, all of it helps, she knows what Occy seems to need. Occy doing a deep dive on magical girl media feels extremely real, I'm glad that part was fun to read. Octavia's next steps might be a little fumbling, but perhaps less resistant. Thank you so very much, I'm really glad you enjoyed this chapter! I want more right away too! I wish I could write even faster, release two chapters at once every week! And thank you for being so patient with the adjusted break week; I'll keep doing my best and making the story the absolute best I can!
Octavia is a giant ass narcissist.
She's being incredibly self-centered here, but she's unable to see it, indeed.
your notifs always bring a smile to so many faces
Awww, thank you so much! That's very kind of you to say. I'm always really glad whenever my stories and what I do brings a little joy to anybody out there, I guess that's why I do this!
Thank you for the heads up and get some rest. :)
You are very welcome indeed! I'll keep doing my best!