My excitement seeing the first part of Welcome Home was next level. I read all of HNH over the course of one night while avoiding working on an essay last semester. Truly missed this Billy.
I am so, so SO happy to hear this. I’ve missed this Billy so much, too, so it makes me really happy to hear that other people are in the same boat.
I’m really glad that I finished it before I started writing Steel City because those Billys are so different - and I didn’t want there to be any overlap.
Reading all of that in one night, DAMN. That’s a feat. I can’t imagine that it was a fun night for you; there’s a LOT in that story, and most of it is not a Very Good Time. Thank you for sticking it out - and for reading. I really hope that you enjoy what’s coming next in WH.
hello! perhaps you no longer wish for asks or aren't active anymore, but i just wanted to let you know i just finished reading your 'his favorite place' series (in 1 sitting) and it was incredible, magnificient, wow. the last part, where they have their first time together? i don't think i've ever read a first time being described that well, and i silently wish mine was anything like that. thank you for this experience, i loved it <3
I’m ALWAYS accepting asks... and I am very active on here still, anon!
Thank you for your kind words about HFP. That was a very different story for me to write, since it’s a different world/different time etc... I wanted to be sure that I did Caspian and his eventual Queen justice - especially because that moment was so important for them.
I really vividly remember finishing and posting that final part the night before we caught a flight to California for a week last year - I wanted to make sure that it was ready to go before we left, and I was super nervous about it as a whole.
Reading it all in one sitting!?!?! Wow. That’s some commitment - thank you so much for taking the time to read it and for sending this message. .. and damn, the praise? So very happy to know that you liked it. I know that a lot of times in stories, a first time is going to be a lot more “magical” and unrealistic than in real life... and let me tell you, I’m right there with you in wishing that things had been even a little more “special” ... (but honestly, it’s with Caspian, so like... in a muddy barn on some hay would have been perfectly fine).
Also, please feel free to continue Caspian and his Queen’s journey - there are two follow up series, plus a few shorter pieces in my event masterlists that all follow this pairing. (Take a Sip and Truth Be Told are the series)
I hope you have an amazing rest of your day, and please know that you can feel free to say hello whenever - on anon or off - I’m always here!
Hey! I Hope you have a good day/night. I just wanna say thank you so much for writing Steel City, I love it so much, too much I’d say.. Tonight’s gonna be the 3rd time, me reading it. Umm.. I guess it became my comfort fics? It really helps me get through the day and when I’m down and all... But anyways.. AGAIN, THANK YOU THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! I love your work and bless you!
ANON! Thank YOU for this wonderful message on a chilly Friday afternoon.
THREE TIMES? That’s so many!
I’ll admit that that story changed a TON from when I first wanted to write it to what the end result is. It was supposed to be a silly little Christmas story, and it turned into ... well, the monster that it is now. But knowing that someone has read it multiple times? That means everything to me. And I cannot thank you enough for finding it and reading it in the first place ... but especially for coming back to it time and time again.
Billy’s always going to have such a special place in my heart, and I’m glad that you like *that* version of him so much. Thanks for reading. Thanks for reaching out. And thank you for loving Billy Russo. Have a good weekend!
Hey honey! I just wanted to stop by and say that I’m absolutely loving Steel City, I’m about half way through and I love it it’s really good! Also wanted to say that I haven’t read any fics in a long time but I’m super glad that I chose yours to be my first one in so long. Thank you for doing what you do!
Hello!!!!!! I’m really glad you’re enjoying that story. I loved writing it!
And thank you for choosing my story as your “reentry” into reading fics. That’s quite a long one to start with - but I really hope you find the ending worth it!
Messages like this make it so worthwhile for me to keep writing and posting. Sometimes i don’t think people realize how much simple little messages like this mean to writers and artists on here.
i just wanted to let you know that the first part of welcome home is SO GOOD !!! you never fail to amaze me with your writing aaaa and i'm very much looking forward to the next parts of welcome home <33 xo
Hi, anon! Thank you so much for saying this and for reading. I think that this billy is always going to be one that i take extra care with - just because he was my first on here, you know?
It’s tough trying to balance him knowing very little about so much with the things i believe he would remember that are non-frank related. I hope it comes off as believable as we move forward through the story.
It’s exciting to know that it’s wrapped up - that this portion of the story is X amount of words, and i don’t have to worry about writing anything else before posting (just final edits and additions; I think I added around 450 words to part 1 before posting)
Thank you again for reading, and I really hope you enjoy the rest of it!
anon who read HFP in 1 go. since then i've finished the follow up works on your series. and i'm a little speechless. where do i even begin?! your writing is incredible, you've got a way with words and it makes reading your work all the better (i'm not talking about the storyline, but words and just the flow). now onto the storyline though, oh. my. god. i'm speechless, i, more than once, held my breath during the last series of caspian. (again 1 sitting) and i simply can't. that was incredible1/2
Hello again, Anon!
I condensed both of your messages into one; I hope you don’t mind.
Speechless? Dang. You don’t know where to begin? I am unsure of how to even properly thank you and respond to all of the wonderful things you’ve said about my writing.
There’s a lot of myself in all of my work. I edit multiple times. I want what you guys get to read to be a representation of me as a person - and I don’t just mean eliminating typos or following grammatical rules. Writing has been an outlet for me for as long as I can remember, and I’m lucky enough to get to do it for a living... so I’ve had a lot of practice with word choice and flow and organization. I’m glad it shows, otherwise my entire 4 years of college and all of the years I’ve spent writing professionally would be for nothing, right?
Now. Onto Caspian.
Truth Be Told was very difficult for me to write. I knew really early on that I wanted Reader to deliver the punishment to Sor, because even though Caspian feels as if he should be the one to do so, it’s important for her (you) to show that you’re not weak, and you’re not wrong. It’s kind of different from the way that a lot of people view Caspian (traditional King that would take control in situations that concern the people of Narnia or the person he loves most) ... but in this case, he couldn’t do that based on the relationship that I built for them.
I wanted it to be suspenseful. I wanted it to show a different side of Reader. I wanted it to show that difficult decisions can still be made - and faced - with grace. It wasn’t an easy story to tell, because she legitimately killed someone (someone that deserved it, of course) ... but that’s not an easy thing to think about, so glossing over details would have felt wrong.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that series for them. I’m so glad that you enjoy them as a couple. I want to write more, (and like I said, there are a few shorter pieces in my event masterlists) ...but as soon as I think of a good scenario for these two, I would love to write them again.
I actually have two separate additional ideas for Caspian that aren’t tied to this pairing:
A modern day Caspian AU
A Narnian-based Caspian story where *redacted because someone will take the idea and write it before me and I’ll be pissed*
But I ALSO have a ton of other things that I am planning on writing, so I’m not sure when I’ll get to any of it. (I want to though, I promise)
If you want to read more Caspian, I have two in-progress recommendations:
@the-blind-assassin-12 is writing a story called “in the arms of the ocean” - it’s only a few parts in now, but it’s really really well done
@its-my-little-dumpster-fire has a story that she’s working on called “king and lionheart”
So again, in short: thank you for reading. thank you for sending these messages. thank you for the compliments. thank you for the support. I know I can be a little dramatic sometimes, but I don’t like to skimp out on details, so it is what it is. When people take the time out of their day to send me messages like the ones you’ve sent, I don’t think that a generic one or two word response cuts it. You guys deserve more, otherwise what’s the point of you choosing to try and interact? (There is none. Without an actual response, it’s like you’re yelling into the darkness and getting scraps in return.)
Oh my god I love your writing! You are so talented! Im dying for the next chapter of Steel City!!!
Thank you, Anon. I really sometimes don’t think people understand how much these kinds of messages mean to writers. (or artists or giffers). It’s really encouraging to know when you’re doing things right in terms of characters.
... Hope you’re still alive because I’m editing the next one right now. Should be up around 1:15 pm EST.
Oh my god! After much confusion in my life I managed to finish reading the story. The last chapters were exciting, they realizing how they feel. Everything was explained, everyone in the end managed to solve all the problems, and most importantly, Benjamin accepted that he can and deserves to be happy. I followed the story from the beginning, so I really felt part of it all, always getting emotional about what was happening to each of them. It was all amazing and I just got to thank you!
!! Hi! Welcome back! I hope that things in your life are less confusing now, and that you’re able to relax/take a break/ take some time for yourself.
I’m glad that you got to finish Tipping Point.
There was a LOT to wrap up in the last few chapters, and I’m so so so happy that you feel as if I did it well. There is a huge part of him that still struggles to believe he deserves happiness and an “easy” life... but he’s getting there. There are still also some issues with Eric and Michelle... but those will be explored in the future. This isn’t just gonna be smooth sailing - but it’s not going to be ANYWHERE as difficult as it was.
I can’t wait to go back and explore these two more and as their relationship grows.
I appreciate your feedback throughout more than I can ever say, and thank you so much for taking the time to read, reach out, and let me know what you think!
