First M-rated Continuation and Chronicles chapter release complete · 4:08pm Oct 18th, 2022
Well, folks... I admit I had a couple of shaky moments not long after I released the new C&C chapter, wondering if I'd just made a grave mistake by bumping the rating and including the ending scene. An upvote was reversed and the first two comments the chapter received regarding that scene were negative, which did not bode well at all.
If a third negative comment had come in hard on their heels, I was going to start thinking very strongly of pulling the chapter entirely, fearful of the damage it was doing to the greater story.
But after some slightly nervous discussion with prereaders...
I decided to at least give it until morning, and ended up very glad I did. Upvotes arrived as well as more favorable reactions, though I was surprised at the relative early dearth of comments on this one given the content. That might be a function of it having the clop scene, as past experience in other stories says that heavy adult action tends to garner oddly fewer comments, most likely for certain reasons I don't think I have to say out loud.
As the old saying goes, act in haste, repent at leisure. As the weekend wore on and more feedback was received, I felt better and better about it. In the end, the views this chapter racked up were impressive, notching 500 reads in the first three days, which was easily the fastest I've ever seen on a new Feathered Hearts chapter. So I'm assuming it picked up a lot of repeat business, for both the combat and sex scenes.
With regards to the latter...
I would like to thank readers GuntherBorb, Bed Whisperer and Okamiluver for expressing their critiques and concerns about the scene constructively.
Though I never like negative feedback (who does?), I'm certainly much more liable to listen to it when it's expressed with respect and also offset by saying what they did like. I knew full well going into this I was likely to lose some readers over the scene's inclusion and bumping the story rating. I'm sorry for that, but at the same time, I can't apologize for it, either. I simply want what I feel is the freedom to write this story properly, and doing so includes the occasional M-rated action.
I've already said most of what needs saying about the scene in comment replies here, here, and here. So I'm not to go into that too deeply in this blog except to say that in my view, a) Gilda needed it, b) our favorite ibex buck more than earned her through his actions, and c) strange as it sounds, it was the right time and place for it to happen, coming during a sudden lull in combat on the heels of a skin-of-the-teeth escape and mutual life-saving between them.
YMMV, of course, but like I said in the comments, I have it on good authority that post-combat coitus is a very real thing.
So where does the story go from here?
In terms of combat, from the (dragon)fire back into the frying pan as the Cloven mass to attack the hill and you see some other enhancements they've made to their soldier forms. The battle will soon reach its climax and its ending will involve two major twists, one of which has some surprising bearing on the sex scene itself. Though that won’t be clear until later.
In terms of the scene and its aftermath, you can bet some awkward moments are ahead, and that this won't be the only time something like this happens as she and her friends either escape death or anticipate it in coming battles. It's not going to be Eros-level for the most part (when it is, I'll do it there), but you can expect more of these encounters to crop up over time.
That said, I emphasize that there is not going to be a big M-rated scene in every chapter, or even every other chapter, but they will happen and expect more frequent suggestive or even R-rated moments as well. They're at war, folks, and as Gilda just learned, there's no point trying to save yourself for later when there's a very good chance there won't even be a later. But before I get to that, there's something else I want to do.
As the story is now M-rated...
And new readers coming in will be expecting it, I want to go back and add some extra adult moments to earlier chapters, amping up some of the merely suggestive or R-rated scenes that came before. Foremost among those—which should be to absolutely no surprise—is Gilda's first real time with Marco. I'd been intending to save it for a future chapter of Eros, but now, I'll add it to the start of the following chapter so you can see their first time together unfold fully.
Other places I'd like to add more M-rated interest include 1) Gilda's near-sex experience with Marco, Chris and Tara following the first battle when they were discussing guns, 2) Gilda's talk with Chris and Tara about Marco avoiding her when Marco and Fortrakt were away (and the discussion turned to human sexuality and modesty), and 3) maybe Gilda taking her post-coital tease of Reyes a bit further after she finds out he tried to cover for them and make sure they weren't seen.
For smaller scenes inserted earlier in the story, I'll simply update the chapter and then let readers know it's there. For larger ones like Marco and Gilda's first time, I'll unpublish the chapter and publish a new one in its place. In both instances, I'll make sure links to the Author’s Notes contain spoilered content warnings and make the old chapter versions available out on google docs for anyone who prefers them.
And for the time being, I will mark all M-rated content as you saw this last scene was:
****** M-Rated Content Begins ******
<M-rated scene>
****** M-Rated Content Ends ******
That way, those who don't like it can avoid it.
So when will all this get written?
Well, as my primary writing priority remains the Unleash the Magic series for the time being in the runup to Halloween, I'll work on updating the earlier chapters slowly around that.
I'll probably start with a couple of the shorter and simpler sequences since they won't take as much time. Doing Marco and Gilda justice will take more effort, so I'll save it for later. As for the next C&C chapter, I'll pick that up when I need a break from clop. I can't really say when it will be available right now, but we'll aim for the first or second week of November.
And after that, since the main C&C story will be at something of a breakpoint following the conclusion of the battle, I'll fulfill a promise by shifting gears to write a new chapter of Eros, detailing the second part of the viewing of Midway.
That’s everything I can think of. I’d like to conclude this blog post with a warm welcome to new readers, and I thank everyone for the intense interest in the story and chapter. That along with the feedback I receive is what keeps me writing it.
On the C&C updates, you will notify us when they are uploaded, won't you?
5693155
100% I will.
5693157
yay!
I disagree with the fic having M rated content but I'm glad you stuck it out. You've gone too far to go back now, like an earth pony in rut you must plow on.
5693166
Well-put. So am I. And thanks for understanding.
It's already great, we reach some serious great updates to existing chapters here.
Looking forward for more of C&C. One chapter in one mounth is still a LOT faster than the pace at which some stories are written in, especially with about 10k words in every chapter, but they still end too quickly.
5693209
Thanks very much for saying so!
I’ve already started the updates. I’ll do my best to make them great.
5693289
Hey, if I leave you wanting more, then I’ve done my job!
The only thing is that I’m not working on Feathered Hearts exclusively. My dedicated Unleash the Magic clopfics also need attention, so I have to split time between them.
As for chapter length, it varies with me. I stop at what feels like a natural breakpoint, whether that’s at 8,000 or 16,000 words. Climactic chapters like this last one also tend to be longer.