Oh boy.
I’m not going to lie, I struggled a lot with this chapter. Not because I can’t deal with this darker content, but I really wanted it to be written in a way that felt very human. I’ve seen a lot of anime that have slavery as a plot point – almost all of them after I decided on Danae’s backstory years and years ago – and many of them haven’t done it any real justice. Even as recent as two months ago I was thinking of scrapping it completely. It’s integral to the longterm story of both Danae as well as a character that gets introduced in chapter 7, which is the other side of the coin of this chapter. So what changed my mind in favor of keeping these storylines in?
Those of you who read my stories but aren’t into anime at all probably aren’t aware of a currently airing show called Vinland Saga. It’s a story about vikings and it’s fantastic. This season had a slavery arc that was written really, really well. It was nuanced but it didn’t shy away from the reality of the situation. It gave me more faith in the fact that it can be done properly. So I’m trying my best to do so. Danae’s story is complicated. There are a lot of things I have planned for her as a character and her life is not going to be easy. Having said that, I prefer lighter stories generally so I’m sure some people will read it and think it’s not that bad.
As for the current chapter, I really wanted to convey the sense of hopelessness that Danae had. I hope I did a good job, I’d like to think I did. Reading back older versions of this same story I think I improved on it. The lightning and thunder was a choice I made early on. I wanted it to feel like things escalating and culminating in a final moment where things really go crazy. How crazy? We’ll get into that next chapter. The July chapter is titled The Amethyst that split the Sky II. To give you a little bit of a spoiler (or if you’ve already read the previous version of this story I uploaded back in the day) it follows someone else’s days leading up to the auction.
If you read this little post about my thoughts on this chapter I much appreciate it. I like talking about writing almost as much as I like writing itself. I also want to make the chapter titles of this series meaningful. This one is foreboding, but I’m not quite ready to tell you why yet. Also a friendly reminder that there will be no Hesitant Hero this week, I’m taking a week off every ten or so chapters to give myself some room to think. Quick little view behind the curtains for that one as well, but I’ve gone totally off script. Feaseral Cove was initially going to be the place that the pirates wanted to investigate, but I didn’t like what I wrote at all. So I’m changing it completely and I have no idea what’s going to happen next. That’s what I really like about my two series. The Necromancer’s Daughter is planned out properly and the Hesitant Hero just depends on my mood of the day. I think both have their charm and maybe one day I’ll figure out which one works best for me.
I hope you enjoyed this view behind the curtains and I can’t tell you enough how happy it makes me to see that people actually read and like my stories, that’s a huge motivation to keep going. I hope I can keep you all entertained for a very long time. Thanks for reading!
Ps. I’m feeling pretty awful right now – sore throat and headache – and instead of writing or gaming I’ve just been reading Solo Leveling, so forgive me if content is slow next week
Opal Kaharis 