Extended Progress Update: 12 December 2024 [Public]

Hi Returning Visitors,

Key highlights of this update and reminders:

• I'm on hiatus! Please feel free to read more about it here. Patron billing is paused for December until we're back in the regular swing of things with TFS content. 🌲

• Despite being on hiatus, I'm still writing everyday. 😎 I'll share some of that!

• Updated: The TFS Book One Achievement and Relationship Guide alongside my optional TFS Character Description Document (mainly Reese and James. More on that later.)

• Teasing upcoming emotional content I added recently! More choices, more heartache.

• Book Two Snippets: A peek at what I'm working on!

The hiatus is still hiatus-ing! Although I'm never far from Fernweh with my thoughts and how I'm spending my time working on Book Two. (It's closer to Me 🤝 TFS Grandfather with less notifications from both Patreon and my email while lost in the woods, lol.) Striving to reach that word count milestone has come more easily because I added thousands of words of emotional choices to a particular section. It was an intense span of writing; however, it has strengthened the section with the potential for emotional breakdowns, tamping down your grief, and being vulnerable with your RO(s) alongside other choices. I'm eager for Returning Visitors to come across this choice set! Aside from my penchant to add things that Hickories in particular are familiar with, I have been working on those outings with Marjorie! That's the lion's share of this particular chapter, requiring many tens of thousands of words. Who knows maybe this one will rival the Corvin dinner chapter once I'm done with its variation? 😏

Anyway, here's a note from my friend/editor to me about the emotional content I added. She's quoting something I said before remarking on it:

‘I went dark with some of the fills, ngl.’

^You warned me. You warned me and I was still blindsided. Like, Aelsa, no. (Except ‘no’ means ‘yes’ in this case. And ‘yes’ means ‘some of those lines hit so hard and hurt so much that I was getting emotional and had to take a break from reading for a short time’.)

[Alternate Text: A GIF of Salem, the talking black cat and MVP from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He tosses his head back, laughing evilly after having done something dastardly.]

Ahem, as I was saying: There have also been updates to publicly available documents for readers to use. The same friend/editor added content to the expansive TFS Achievement and Relationship Guide, including the ranges and descriptions for the romance/friendship statuses in Book One, extra information about an extended scene with Mal in Chapter 7, and added context regarding R's injury (its levels of severity, the link to Milton's fate, etc.) So, a big thank you to her! Similarly, I have updated my Character Description Document, except I plan to continue to spiffy it up and check those links during my hiatus and the future. The main changes concern: Reese Verner and James Corvin. I've updated their main faceclaim references to reflect our TFS art, including pieces I've yet to share, so feel free to take a look! As always, it's an optional document with you being welcome to cling to what's in your own imagination. In particular, Reese has a lot of pictures because the modeling agency kept breaking my links. I always gently recommend using my linked Dropbox for the pictures but then my document for my words about a character trait/detail! I intend to update the doc with more pictures; there are some really cool photoshoots of Beckett's main face claim and then I also certainly wouldn't mind looking at more images of Jane's, etc. 🥰 So, yes, it's a work-in-progress with my improving it; however, I wanted to mention the changes.

The section I'm currently working on is branched predominately by your romance route with Mal-mancers getting two alternatives because Mal isn't going to come along here. (It's fine; you saw them earlier for a moment alone in the same chapter. I try to ensure balance!) That means there are many opportunities for choices with your RO(s)—learning more about them, flirting with them, sharing a sentimental moment, teasing each other, trying to figure out how to handle Marjorie as a team, and so much more that I'm having a lot of fun writing. That's why you're still standing outside of Marjorie's facility; I have a lot of choices/scenes to write. Yet, it's my hope you have even more fun while exploring them! Let's get into just a few teasers:

[Spoilers Ahead!]

Here's an excerpt from Book Two:

Beckett

"I'm ready for my close-up," you declare. When Beckett raises his eyebrows in disbelief, you pose against the historical plaque's tall sign post while holding onto his messenger bag's strap to draw him into your space. It's a very tempting lean. "I had to find the perfect spot."

"Being this close isn't how they work." He tries and fails to sound exasperated, far too caught up in you when an absolutely smitten smile breaks through. "The angles."

Becca

"I'm ready for my close-up," you declare. When Becca raises her eyebrows in disbelief, you pose against the historical plaque's tall sign post while holding onto her messenger bag's strap to draw her into your space. It's a very tempting lean. "I had to find the perfect spot."

"Being this close isn't how they work." She tries and fails to sound exasperated, far too caught up in you when an absolutely smitten smile breaks through. "The angles."

_ _ _

James and Reese

"Is something wrong?"

James's question gently cuts through your moment with unquestionable consideration, but Reese still covers your fingers on his cheek before slipping away from your personal space.

"Seeing as you were preoccupied, [Surname] was playing nurse to me this time around. It was only a temperature check, which I passed."

A crinkle of concern pinching itself into James's brow mirrors your feelings about this half truth. Despite Reese's minimization, that felt like progress compared to other times you've brought up his arm. "He did."

"There's a thermometer in my first aid kit," James offers. "Do you want to sit down? I know you weren't feeling well last night…"

Reese stares at James for a second before recovering by gesturing at a walkway encircling the spring. "You are both rather sweet," he mutters. "No, that passed, but thank you, truly. We should get going though."

Jane and Ruby

"Is something wrong?"

Jane's question gently cuts through your moment with unquestionable consideration, but Ruby still covers your fingers on her cheek before slipping away from your personal space.

"Seeing as you were preoccupied, [Surname] was playing nurse to me this time around. It was only a temperature check, which I passed."

A crinkle of concern pinching itself into Jane's brow mirrors your feelings about this half truth. Despite Ruby's minimization, that felt like progress compared to other times you've brought up her arm. "She did."

"There's a thermometer in my first aid kit," Jane offers. "Do you want to sit down? I know you weren't feeling well last night…"

Ruby stares at Jane for a second before recovering by gesturing at a walkway encircling the spring. "You are both rather sweet," she mutters. "No, that passed, but thank you, truly. We should get going though."

James and Ruby

"Is something wrong?"

James's question gently cuts through your moment with unquestionable consideration, but Ruby still covers your fingers on her cheek before slipping away from your personal space.

"Seeing as you were preoccupied, [Surname] was playing nurse to me this time around. It was only a temperature check, which I passed."

A crinkle of concern pinching itself into James's brow mirrors your feelings about this half truth. Despite Ruby's minimization, that felt like progress compared to other times you've brought up her arm. "She did."

"There's a thermometer in my first aid kit," James offers. "Do you want to sit down? I know you weren't feeling well last night…"

Ruby stares at James for a second before recovering by gesturing at a walkway encircling the spring. "You are both rather sweet," she mutters. "No, that passed, but thank you, truly. We should get going though."

Jane and Reese

"Is something wrong?"

Jane's question gently cuts through your moment with unquestionable consideration, but Reese still covers your fingers on his cheek before slipping away from your personal space.

"Seeing as you were preoccupied, [Surname] was playing nurse to me this time around. It was only a temperature check, which I passed."

A crinkle of concern pinching itself into Jane's brow mirrors your feelings about this half truth. Despite Reese's minimization, that felt like progress compared to other times you've brought up his arm. "He did."

"There's a thermometer in my first aid kit," Jane offers. "Do you want to sit down? I know you weren't feeling well last night…"

Reese stares at Jane for a second before recovering by gesturing at a walkway encircling the spring. "You are both rather sweet," he mutters. "No, that passed, but thank you, truly. We should get going though."

_ _ _

Today is my grandmother's birthday, so I'm diving into baking. (B's Bodacious Brownies, which I shared with you all, is one of her faves. I'm eager to bake those chocolate gingerbread near month end.) I'm wishing you the best. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! 💚⛄