bedlam boundary - 24.31
Added 2024-09-28 03:26:03 +0000 UTCChapter squirms and worms through the factory's spinning guts, caressing machines and kissing the forges with lips of molten iron.
https://katalepsis.net/2024/09/27/bedlam-boundary-24-31/
This week's password is: bifurcation
An epub version of the chapter is also attached below!
And we are back, once again! Here we go, dear readers, the final stretch of arc 24! Or ... is it? I'm actually not sure! My plans and outlines tell me that we can and may indeed finish on chapter 33; but my plans never survive contact with the characters. Two Heathers are going to absolutely shred my outlines. They've already started. So! I've penciled in the possibility for this to go to 35 chapters, but I would be seriously surprised if it got that far.
And then, of course, there's the epilogue! We're so close now, I can taste it in the air.
Anyway! I hope you enjoy this one, dear readers. Heather (and Heather) is going to some difficult places.
In the meantime, I have yet more art to share, from over on the discord! First up we have one of the most delightful pieces of fanart I've ever received, 'Moffdance', a fully animated gif of Lozzie and Tenny, by the very talented Cera. Over on the fanart page there's several variations on this, including LozzersXP (modified by spring!), and LozzieBuddy, (by Yendi). Next up we have a meme-based interpretation of this whole double-Heather thing (by cylonspy!) We also have these two interpretations of Lonely Heather's insignia (by skaianDestiny!), and this 3D printed real life physical version, (by BadMedic!) Phew, gosh. That's a lot! Once again, thank you all so much for this fanart, it's so very flattering to see! Thank you all!
Comments
Of course! Lozzie loves her moth-puppy daughter!
Hazel Young
2024-10-07 17:46:17 +0000 UTCAs we would all do for any larvae we had!
Trip Space-Parasite
2024-10-07 06:44:00 +0000 UTCLozzie leaning over my shoulder as I write and demanding Tenny gets to be large.
Hazel Young
2024-09-30 15:55:47 +0000 UTCNope, it's all Lozzie!
Trip Space-Parasite
2024-09-30 01:00:50 +0000 UTCYou're so very welcome! That's very kind of you to say, thank you so much. I'm always delighted whenever a reader is getting so much out of what I'm doing here; knowing that people out there are enjoying this makes all the hard work worth doing. You are welcome, and I am endlessly thankful that I get to bring this world to life. Don't worry about this being TMI or something, seriously; many readers have already mentioned how much they feel their own selves or past reflected in Heather here, in her self-loathing and refusal to accept herself, in her downward spiral, and so on. And you know, honestly, I was tearing up while writing this part, too. Writing Heather so lost in self-loathing and self-rejection is painful. If I can capture something so real, and offer some catharsis to readers through the themes I'm exploring here, then I count that as something done right. Heather's situation here is firmly rooted in reality and real experiences, despite the supernatural gloss and the dream. So, yeah! You're far from alone in that! Once again, you are so very welcome for Katalepsis, I'm glad you're enjoying it! (And yes!!! The Moffdance is incredible!!! I keep pulling it up to watch.)
Hazel Young
2024-09-29 23:22:53 +0000 UTCHonestly, this comment of mine has been a long time coming, but, I have to thank you sincerely for Katalepsis, the awesome people in this messy situation, the quotes and the puns and the plot, the tentacles and the adorable fuzzy tentacled moths - thank you for bringing this world to life - and sharing it with us <3 Also, thank you for the chapter lol :p In a more sobering line of thought, this chapter was... hard for me to read, to be honest. The interaction between the two versions of Heather brought back memories... and not in a nostalgic way, but rather in a.. painful one, to be honest. It brought back the various ways I rejected things about myself. Sure, things that I considered (and still do) flaws, but things that were, in the end, results of trauma and not something one can just deny - can just ignore and bash and scrape at them and hope they goaway and if it doesn't just hide them so they never see the light of day because why whould anyone want to see the ugly parts of - well. I'm not sure if I should post this - it feels too much like TMI and.. attention seeking, I suppose, but I will post it against my better judgement, if only because I feel a lot of sympathy towards Heather (and had to take quite a few breaks to cry during this chapter and this comment, I'm invested now lol), and hope she can reconcile with herself lest she end up breaking herself like I did, once long ago. Thank you again for writing Katalepsis and sharing it with us :3 PS: The moffdance is adorable XD
RollerCoaster123
2024-09-29 20:20:29 +0000 UTCHonestly I feel like I'm not the one in control of the puppet strings here!
Hazel Young
2024-09-28 22:17:12 +0000 UTCDance dance dance!
Trip Space-Parasite
2024-09-28 21:45:00 +0000 UTCExactly! Being a "good girl" is one of the core elements of Heather's long-term trauma. Enforced normalcy, the desire not to appear 'weird' or like 'one of those freaks'. Her tendency to worry about how random people might perceive her. Her insistence on extreme politeness mixed with a boiling cocktail of rash behaviour. A 'good girl', but she doesn't want to be. And the animation!!! Yes, it's incredible! Absolutely made my week, and I've pulled it up multiple times while drafting and editing to give me energy.
Hazel Young
2024-09-28 16:14:45 +0000 UTCAlso, that dance animation is adorable, I sat here for like five minutes just smiling and bobbing my head along as I watched. ❤️
Kennyevilmonkey
2024-09-28 04:14:36 +0000 UTCSomething about Heather calling herself a good girl always felt off to me. Like it is something that she used to tell herself as a kid, or was told to her as a kid, and it stuck with her as an adult. Be a good girl Heather, good girls take their meds and don't see things that aren't there. Be a good girl for the nice doctor, they just want to help you... I'm a good girl, good girls are normal...
Kennyevilmonkey
2024-09-28 04:12:25 +0000 UTC
