#ghd chatter

[abalonetea]

Can I ask a kind of thinky GHD-adjacent question that's sort of more form than substance? I remember the original, and how it was sort of this fusion of cute and nice with dark and horror because of the 2 versions and glitches and all. Since, since then, you seem to have put a lot of work into more darker-toned and more horror-themed pieces, does that have an impact on the direction you think the eventual GHD rewrite might end up taking? (This is the part where I am hinting you should TOTALLY ramble about changes and tone and themes if desired). Also, would one expect more "these things start small and become more noticeable as we go until OOPS maybe things aren't so nice," or a jarring back and forth between the light and dark parts? (I think either would be fun there tbh).

Yes, you can! I love questions like this! Also nonny, you've been here that long, that makes me super happy to hear <3 I'm glad to still have you in the area!

Okay, so! I have definately been writing a lot more horror and crime stories recently, and even a lot of fantasy and modern-day pieces with a darker tone to them. It's been a lot of fun! And I actually put GHD on the back burner for a long time, because I wasn't sure whether I wanted to twist the new draft to match those darker, more horror-esque vibes.

Like, it's been on a solid year long haitus because I couldn't figure out whether I wanted to keep the lighter tone or not! And I've actually recently come up with an answer: yes, and no.

When I first started writing for GHD, the story didn't have a cemented plot on Locke's side of the world! As such, the first draft was a hot mess, it was so hard to sort through, for real. But as I started to grow in my writing, and then read over GHD, and explore other themes, and return to GHD, I realized that I already had the skeleton of the story that it was meant to be.

GHD is not meant to be the same as, say, Sun Touched. Sun Touched is the break down of a singular character; an up close look at someone who was never meant to be in a war suddenly being in a war. It has a lot of heavier themes to it (side eyeing Isaac's cigarette problem here, and I don't mean smoking them) and a very specific tone. I thought about it and... That's not GHD!

GHD is a dichotomy, and it's a story of hope. And it's meant to stay that way.

BUT I'm finally at a point with my writing where I can handle the nuances of the story more.

In the first few drafts, I tip toed around Fara Falls (the glitched dystopian world) a lot, because I wasn't sure how hard into the dystopia I wanted to lean. In the current draft, that's going to be a huge focus. We're going to look at the world and see exactly how Bolte ended up the closed off person that he is by the time the story starts. But more importantly, we're going to use it as a warning.

Fara Falls has always had EXP hunters, famines, food hoarding, fight clubs, and gangs. But in the current draft, it's going to be highlighted even more. The glaring danger of the world, the heavy burden on Bolte's shoulders, as well as both Celeste and Captain's stories. Neither of them are happy.

But then we're going to bounce to Locke's story, and it's going to remain the cute, soft, hopeful world that we've always seen. Locke is the embodiment of Hope. His world is, for the moment, still mostly good. The candy is still sweet, the bees are still buzzing, and... Locke's story is still one of Hope, but here's the thing, nonny, here's the thing.

Bolte's world has already fallen. But it's in such a state because of something that's about to happen in Locke's world. That's the key feature the first draft missed! So while Locke's story starts out as a venture of health and hope and healing, we soon realize that the world isn't as happy as it used to be, that the Queen is acting different, that there's something wrong.

There's going to be a tonal shift at the middle of the story. A sudden departure from the slice-of-life style at the start, shifting closer to the action before a brewing war. And it's never going to be as dark as Fara Falls and Bolte's journey, but we're going to be able to see the places where things could go wrong, where if left unchecked... Well, maybe Bolte's world makes a lot more sense now.

So, it's a jarring back and forth, and then a slight creep towards... Maybe the back and forth isn't so jarring after all.

[abalonetea]

Ok, wait, you mentioned that my boy Bolte levels up, but said unfortunately.... Is it seen as a bad thing/does something bad happen when one levels up in GHD? Or does something happen to him post level up? ... You're making me nervous for my boy!

Yes! It is! In the confines of GHD, you Level Up by gaining EXP and, just like in any rpg game, you gain EXP by killing animals and other people. Which in a real world context is going to have some serious side affects. Aside from the fact that the Level is visible when you CHECK someone, meaning you can't lie about gaining that EXP, it will eventually do damage to your HEART.

The higher your Level, the more damage your HEART takes, until you've eventually found yourself Heartsick.

Heartsickness has some serious side affects, like severe anger problems, migraines, glitches in your stats and CHECK box, an inability to control yourself or your actions and can even, as it gets more severe, cause things like dizzy spells, affect the ability to control and summon your magic, and even cause nose bleeds, shaky hands, and double vision.

(hmmm... who do we know that has anger issues, and migraines, and an inability to control themselves at times?)

If left untreated, it can eventually result in your HEART cracking, and even breaking completely - which is mostly a death sentence.

And then you have the fact that Bolte is getting that Level from a fight with the Corrupted, beings who were never meant to be part of either Fara, so twisted in their delusions of helping Midnight bring Fara to its knees that they have forgotten what they used to be....

[abalonetea]

one of the first striking images in the book is Bolte snarling at a licorice wolf, and the licorice wolf backing down. yeah, it’s a pretty decent first chapter.

[abalonetea]

The food comes back, a plate of roasted eggplant and bell pepper salad slid in front of Blue. And, okay, okay, this sends up all kinds of alarm bells because Bolte’s pantry is mostly empty, the shelves barren outside of pre-made hard tack and oats and little jars of dried fruits and nuts and tea leaves.

ah yes, the introduction of the casino

[abalonetea]

He doesn’t want to ask how Celeste came to that conclusion, how Celeste knows so much about other worlds and where Blue came from. He doubts he’ll get an answer, and there’s the distinct vibe of ‘you only get so many questions before I go back to being a cryptic bitch’ happening right now.

ah yes. the ‘celeste won’t tell you the straight truth because i, the author, am still figuring this out’ vibes that this gives off

[abalonetea]

found a missing scene in the manuscript! i knew rereading this chunk of GHD was a good idea. i managed to completely leave out the scene where Blue first gets his room in the Casino!

[abalonetea]

everyone in fara: oh yeah don’t mess with celeste, they’re the strongest around, they’re super scary

celeste: *busy pinching blue’s face like you would a young child*

[abalonetea]

this is just your friendly reminder that locke and bolte both have dyslexia, and chronic pain caused from the burn scars on their hands.

locke also has insomnia, and bolte’s got some pretty serious self-worth/depression issues going on there.