Extended Progress Update: September 22 2023

Hi Returning Visitors,

Key highlights of this update and reminders:

• My typical gentle nudge to remember to add my email address can be found here. It's important for the TFS character portrait inquiries and welcome message that I promptly send out. Also, remember to check your spam folder and to reach out to me, if needed.
• 🎃 October is creeping closer and closer; I’ve had fun planning the fall content that will be spanning two months since it’s sure to be an extra eerie time in Fernweh! 🎃
• Reveal: The fall writing themes!
• Important: We had our first RO excursion this month! R. Verner was the star. 🖤😏 (Mr. Verner would be so proud… I’m sorry. I was working on a ??? section before this.)
• I’m very grateful for your comments, theories, and kind words about the content! 💞
• Book Two Snippet: A sliver of some Bee bittersweetness, well, mostly sweetness!

It has certainly been a jam-packed and busy month with the Q&A session questions being sprinkled all throughout and the continuing alpha release of the 1st RO excursion in TFS: Book Two. This is on top of my continuing to move forward with Book Two! 🌲 I've also started writing/outlining the fall-themed short stories which will begin appearing in October. Writing these are a great diversion when I need to step back from the book for a short period of time; plus, I love exploring the spooky and festive fall themes. Hopefully, I don't get carried away. 👻

The winners for the fall themed writings are:

• Couples Costume Contest 🦇 (Sexy? Cute? Calamitous ? Who knows how it goes.)
• A Frightful Encounter 💀 (This one is spookier!)
• Hocus Pocus Mishap 🧹(Someone's put a spell on someone. Are they still yours?)

For the spicy fall themed writing it's:

Costume Calamity: A costume party seems to go awry when your partner (or partners) are far more interested in what you decided to wear than the apple bobbing or dancing. Did A have an ulterior motive when helping you pick it out? They said you looked 'spookalicious', but as the night draws on, it seems you just look delicious. What if someone else notices whom you aren't romantically entangled with? That probably isn't going to end well. Oh, look there's a closet. 👀

Kink/Theme Summary: A festive Halloween  atmosphere! Jealousy from your beloved(s) that they will act on.  Semi-public with a risk of being caught. Praise kink since the MC does  look nice, and they should hear it even if the costume ends up on the  ground, maybe even torn? A sense of urgency/insistence that gradually  falls away as the party becomes an afterthought.

These are just the start! I've already begun working on a piece of writing called ‘Trick or Treat’ (no, it's not the most original title, but it's intriguing 😌).

Thank you very much for all of your kind words, comments, theories, and feedback on R's RO excursion! I enjoyed reading them all so much, and I'll often take mini-breaks (for motivation and a pick-me-up) from writing to look back through them before forging ahead with the outline. I believe some of you know I'll sometimes add even more choice options and unique triggered scenes if I get inspired, which is why it’s interesting to learn about your MCs and how they have dealt with returning to their hometown. The response to the first RO excursion is more than I could've hoped for, so please know that I treasure and keep all of your comments, DMs, and emails. 🥰 I can't wait for you to experience the other branches since each one was crafted with care. I'd also encourage you to use the Alpha Discussion channel on Discord and/or comments to run your thoughts by other Returning Visitors. You might see some trends emerging! 👀🔎

For instance, I noticed some readers discussing Mal’s choice-dependent appearance at the end.

That was meant to be a bit of a tempting treat from our mysterious beloved. 💔 (I debated whether to add it into the alpha now or leave it with the MC going to bed.) It will be the common ending for those of you pursuing Mal until their RO excursion is released. As in, you will get it with R, J, B, S, and then JR before the ‘night’ in the narrative continues. Mal can also appear in the actual excursions too! 🏍 Those scenes and Mal's level of interaction vary across branch.

I wonder where they'll creep up next?

[Spoilers Ahead!]

Here's an excerpt from Book Two:

Despite everything that's happened, B hugs you back with only a stutter of hesitation, slotting into an achingly familiar place within your arms. You missed this, but who knows all of what they’re missing outside of Fernweh.

I imagine many of you would like a hug from sweet Bee. 🐝

Thank you again for all of your support. I hope you're looking forward to a restful weekend! 💚