Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 25 - Reflection

So, although I've told this story in a couple other posts, I'm going to tell it again here. Maybe some of you missed it, but also, maybe new people will come in later! They probably aren't going to read the various update posts, but they're more likely to read these Reflection pieces. Hi future people!

Anyways, originally, this book was only going to be twelve chapters, with 25 being the last. I wrote around Chapter 24, and it was a little longer than usual, but it wasn't terrible. Then, I go back to writing Tessa Ch. 2, and decide I need to put together a timeline so that I know exactly what dates everything happens on. I'm really happy I did this, it helps visualize how much time has passed, and it also makes it easier when I need to reference past events or add new events in (Like with the Tessa side stories). But, when I finish this timeline, I make an interesting discovery: Chapter 24 took place on Thanksgiving weekend. My original draft just skipped over the weekend entirely, and that suddenly made no sense! It's not like the entire campus is just going to forget about Thanksgiving!

So, I did a bit more work, and put together a comprehensive holiday break schedule for Aurelius University. They only get an extended weekend for Thanksgiving, then a few weeks of school to finish up the semester, then they get a slightly longer Christmas Break. Few, problem solved.

Except, no, not quite. I happen to love the holiday season, and I needed to address this is the chapter. Suddenly, Amara is lying to her mom about the holiday, and Nick is throwing together an impromptu feast because, I mean, he's Nick. Of course he is. And to top things off, he's told a little white lie to get Vee to come over as well.

In all honesty, I think this makes the story a lot stronger. In Book One, Chapter 12, I did something similar; I gave Amara a relatively quiet chapter, and took time to check in with her before the big events of the Halloween party. This time around, our cast is a little bigger, so I was able to give everyone a breather before they jump headfirst into cult-fighting territory. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to give Amara and Vee just a little more time together after their contentious (and not at all homoerotic) fight in the gymnastics building.

Amara's guilt over her fight with Vee is, in my opinion, the centerpiece of this book. It drives her desire to bury her powers in the beginning, and it drives her decision to go after Derek. Her guilt is what pushes her to ask Vee for help with the cult, and repeatedly give her chance after chance to try and prove herself. The first attempt to stop the cult, however, ended poorly for everyone, but especially for Amara. After weeks of agonizing over what she did to Vee, suddenly she's beginning to doubt Vee's motivations in all of this.

Backing up a bit, I should probably talk about the beginning of this chapter at some point. Pardon me for being a little scatter-brained, it's honestly been a pretty hectic month!

So, the first scene wasn't in my original draft. When I split the original Chapter 24 into two Chapters (24 and 25) the scene of Amara and Tessa hooking up after the fight didn't exist. One benefit of splitting the chapter, then, was the ability to flesh out this particular beat. Just like with the Thanksgiving scene, I think this scene in the beginning helps set up some important things going into the last chapter. Except, this time, the scene perhaps hints at some edgier thoughts at the edges of Amara's consciousness when she's back into a corner. This is nothing new, of course, that was why the fight on Halloween got so out of hand, but Amara's guilt has been tempering her emotions for most of this Book.

After their hookup, we get to a scene I've been very excited to put to paper; the girls training in the Gymnastics building. This is, in my opinion, the first time Vee and Amara have been on equal footing. They both know each other's identities, and they both know they aren't trying to kill each other, at least for now. However, because of Amara's doubts about Vee, she's no longer letting her guilt drive all her decisions. She's finally asking herself if it's right to trust Vee, which is a pretty healthy question to ask. Vee hasn't exactly been very welcoming this book, and from Amara's perspective, she keeps getting spurned when she extends the olive branch.

All that tension, everything that didn't get resolved in the Halloween fight, all the unspoken emotions that have been building this Book, finally get a chance to come out. Thankfully, this fight is a bit healthier, and the girls aren't fighting to the death now. They've got a chance to vent their anger and their frustration, and I'm glad they got a chance to do this in a safe environment. If this tension had been present during their final fight against the cult, I think things would be a lot harder.

But, all fights need to end somehow, and they both clearly don't want to surrender. Thankfully, our resident horndog is here to break the ice. After noticing that the fight is turning Tessa on, Vee and Amara call it off and leave for the night. I don't normally write jokes of this nature, but it felt right this time.

Next up is the Thanksgiving scene, which I've already touched on. The most important thing, which I'll stress again because why not, is that it lets us check up on Amara and Vee. Even if it's just a holiday, Vee seems willing to meet Amara halfway, but things are still hesitant. When the food is all gone, Vee even makes a point of telling Amara that they can't be friends after this, which probably isn't confusing for Amara at all.

Then, at long last, we get to the last scene of the Book. This is something I dreamed up a LONG time ago, probably even before Book One was finished. I love the drama of it all; the girls gearing up, prepping for their final fight... and then Amara vanishes without a trace. Where did she go? Well, you'll be finding out pretty soon, but let's just say I'm very happy with how chapter 26 turned out. I can't wait to show you how everything pans out!

Nyx <3