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Well, put the first of the LFM sketches up… Almost forgot the feeling of apprehension that accompanied that post button...

Yeah, I definitely get it now. Good news is that Chapter 6 is up next. Meanwhile the only way I knew of the term was from Warhammer 40,000, where there’s a monster called a Carnifex. Of course, that didn’t tell me what the term meant. I probably would have just made some sort of giant crab monster. That wouldn’t have made any sense in this story, but I wouldn’t have let that stop me!

This and some of Part Seven anyway. As for Luzurial and PTSD, her mind, while very close to a human one, is quite resilient (it’s the only way she came out of that statue sane), so I didn’t agonize over doing an exact portrayal of PTSD, but I did do some research. Specifically, I found out that there are four symptom groups for PTSD: intrusive thoughts, avoidance, negative thoughts and feelings, and reactive symptoms (often called “arousal symptoms”, but here that might be misread). I decided that Luzurial wouldn’t have the “avoidance” symptoms (where the affected person avoids areas, objects and other things that remind them of the traumatic event), but that she would manifest intrusive memories (the flashbacks), negative thoughts and feelings (such as an overwhelming sense of shame) and to a very slight level the reactive symptoms. Those include having trouble sleeping, which we see on her first night after being freed, but seems to be remedied to a large extent by Kevin sleeping in the room with her. Thanks! Like I said in the author’s note, it’s the first tentacle scene I’ve ever written, so I was nervous about how it was going to go over. And now, a dramatic reenactment. Sunday night, at a bedroom desk somewhere in the United States Me 1: Okay, we’ve polished the Q&A session and the tentacle scene. Is there anything else we need to do so we can post this thing tomorrow morning? Me 2: Well, we did notice that in the rough draft there’s no explanation for why IA doesn’t come looking for Caulfield before the shit really hits the fan. I mean, she’s going to be missed. Me 1: Yeah, we’re going to have to mention that a false paper trail has been created, but where do we put that exposition? Me 2: Well, there’s that line in Part Four about information control; that seems like a natural place for it to go. Me 1: But if we do that, there’s going to be a week where people are going to start to wonder about it. Me 2: We could put the exposition in Part Three and have Hobbs say it, but if we do that, then we’ll have to mess with the dialogue a bit more. Me 1: So you’re suggesting we be lazy? Me 2: Trust me, we can wait until Part Four. No one is going to… Me 2: ...notice. Me 1: Me 2: Well...now we know, and knowing is half the battle! G.I.- Me 1: NO! Sooo I went back and added in the following little explainer in Part Three instead of waiting for Part Four (with credit to you in the Author’s Note):

I'm so glad you're in! Welcome back!