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My mind just boggled when the tags for the first chapter of a mashup story elsewhere was seven hundred words longer than the chapter. LSS, I decided not to read it as there were dozens of chars and worlds I don’t know nuttin about. The big mashups I’ve tried don’t give enough background and the more famous ones are ooc enough I begin to feel they were included more like clickbait. I already have five stories pending to read for a while, no more.

Exactly! Ain’t no kids around before the dawn of time. And thanks! If I get it done, I’ll probably stick her right in there for someone for Chastia to be patrolling with. “Man, don’t ask what we get up to. A gentleman never tells.” “Right, got you, it’s just we overheard Calista leading a woman’s studies seminar on sexual fulfilment. Luzurial says there were three Succubi at the back. Looking shocked and taking notes.”

I’m actually glad people liked the Pride joke. I wasn’t sure whether to go with it or not. You know, it never occurred to me that Luzurial stabbing it through the head would look like one of those, but I guess that is kind of what happened, isn’t it? Well, they’ll both have their turn to blink. Kevin’s going to discover that he really shouldn’t taunt a demon, but by the end of the next chapter he’ll get a pretty good moment of his own. Thank you! I was actually pretty happy when I came up with the idea. I was trying to think of new sin creatures, but the only deadly sins that readily suggest monsters are Lust, Wrath and Gluttony (the latter two of which will get showings in this story as well). I wanted to use one of the other ones, and was wracking my brain trying to think of what Envy might be (trying not to go all Fullmetal Alchemist and have it be a shapeshifter) when the “stealing body parts” idea came to me. The creature’s arthropod form comes from a type of assassin bug that attaches its victims to its exoskeleton as a form of disguise.

Part Five is up and we have new reviews! It could be called “Not So Deadly Sin.” Thanks! To elaborate, the background monster, Grabby Hands there, is Greed. Luzurial creates incarnate virtues, the same way Eparlegna creates incarnate sins, so I thought that perhaps those virtues might specifically oppose the sins, thus being drawn from the seven Christian virtues. In this case, the virtue that opposes Greed is Charity, which, theologically speaking, is not so much giving money away as it is acting on love for your fellow human beings. Dogs are often used as exemplars of selfless love, so I gave charity a canine or lupine form. First off, we’re technically working in a shared universe, so as far as the stories go, what’s mine is yours. Second, I’d be perfectly happy for you to include her. I don’t know if she’ll ever get to personally show up in one of my stories, so it would be nice to see her...doing well, let’s just say. I’ve gone back and forth over her mythological role as Angel of Conception, but that wouldn’t matter for your story anyway, given when it takes place. It’s a cheap joke, I know, but I couldn’t keep from writing it in. For those not in the know, in Jewish folklore, Lailah and Gabriel actually work together. According to the lore, there’s a tree in the Garden of Eden called the Tree of Souls, from which new human souls are produced. The souls fall from the tree into something called the Treasury of Souls, Gabriel draws one out and Lailah bonds the soul to a human embryo and then watches over it until birth, which is why she’s often referred to as the Angel of Conception. Again, this is folklore, not hard canon; it’s not in Jewish church sermons or anything. In that sense, it’s kind of like the Celestial Hierarchy. I keep going back and forth over whether or not to include the conception thing into this story’s universe, but I liked the idea that those two work together, and that they might be attracted to one another, albeit unable to act upon their feelings due a perceived ban on physical intimacy. Thank you for the suggestion! First off, “There’s no way I’m coming out of this vent! That’s exactly what the penis worm wants!” is my favorite joke in the entire chapter. Second, the thought did occur to me that if the thing was attempting to get at Calista in the vent, that it might actually be her personal sin creature, which does make one wonder what her sex life with Abdul is like. Thank you again. The ring was actually an attempt at visually indicating that the monster isn’t made of human body parts, but is instead going around carving them off of people and wearing them. I figured jewelry was a good indicator for that. I really wanted everyone in our main group to get at least one really cool or important thing to do, so Abdul gets to apply his Chemistry knowledge with the methane bomb, and while Calista has a supporting role (well, aside from saving Abdul by beaning the Charnel Spider with her phone), it’s a vital one, allowing for those bullets to become useful.

Re: “The Happiest Place” From Fairy-Slayer on February 14, 2019 Thank you, and thank you. In this universe, Rule 34 states that “If it exists, there might be some non-porn interpretation of it somewhere.” Like Disney, they know better than just about anybody what sells, and to whom. Yeah, me neither. It’s probably for the best. :| The bit about the dog was the first part I thought up, and it inspired all the rest of the story. Rather different situation: Mommy-manager wanting her teenager to be a star versus crappy parents making their kid miserable. Also, I have a tendency to want to subvert the “corporations are evil” trope. Corporations are run by people, and sometimes, those people act like human beings. It was mainly to show that Colquitt’s line about putting smiles on kids’ faces wasn’t just said in the abstract. He’s thinking about an actual kid when he says that. As for the last bit of “Apprentice,” you probably just figured out the twist before most people. You’re welcome. And as always, thanks for another uplifting review!

If anybody here is following “Country Summer,” I have a question for you. I'm thinking that I will wrap it up in another 3 chapters or so. I know what I want to do in the final chapter, but I'm haven’t yet decided what the penultimate chapters should include. So I thought I'd ask y'all for suggestions. Is there anything you'd especially like to see happen in this story before it ends? SWP1, sorry you’re feeling poorly.

I’d wait for march. Cause you probably got stuck in the backlog but that doesn’t mean rejection.

I’m not finding anything here on AFF for that name. It’s not surprising, since I’m assuming it was a false name used for the purpose of stealing other people’s work. However, if you find out anything more, please let me know. As a published author, I really, REALLY dislike thieves. Pulling your work does feel like letting the bad guys win, at least to me. It’s ultimately your decision, of course, but I’m rooting for you to keep your stories up.