Gosh, thank you so much! Not a late comment at all from my perspective (or at least I feel that I saw it at the right time) and no worries at all about length - I can be pretty long-winded myself.
I'm glad you were so touched by Purple Prose. It was deeply personal for me - perhaps too much so I sometimes fear - and very much came out of where I was at at that time. I honestly wasn't sure what to make of it in retrospect before I saw your comment. I feel more comfortable that I can rest easy with respect to it and that I can move forward knowing that it existed for a time in conversation with you.
I can't think of too much to say about your commentary on it specifically other than to say that you saw what I was trying to do with Lucia. I'm also moved by the fact that you felt so close to her and to the caged bird bit - I was quite proud of that part in particular along with the epilogue. You don't have to say or anything but I'm curious what you thought was going on in it (the epilogue); it's something I haven't seen anyone comment on and I've always wondered a little about it.
I'm honestly really happy you felt compelled to track down Dies Irae because of this little VN and that you liked it. It's a favorite of mine and affected me deeply at the time I read it, even with what I suppose could be considered its flaws (I feel that you're right that it isn't quite serious enough in some ways to fully interrogate itself), but it's not something I have ever had an easy time recommending to anyone due to...well...yeah...
Anyways, thank you again for commenting! It puts things in perspective for me as I think on what to do next and it means a lot to me you cared enough about my work to share your thoughts and feelings about it with me. She's probably got nothing on the witch I had in mind while writing her but Lucia still put all her heart into displaying whatever it is she could be said to have in the hopes it would be seen by and resonate with at least one person. From one somewhat emotionally avoidant person to another, I hope the point you're at in your life right now is a good one; if my work here was in any way helpful or meaningful for you in your journey through it, that's all I could ask.
Viewing post in Purple Prose for Purple Hearts: **** the Witch comments
omg I hadn't logged in here for a while but it's a lovely coincidence to see this reply on the same day as I did :0
Yayy I'm very glad that comment could aid in your own re-assessment of this work. I'll definitely look forward to whatever you have planned next!
As for the epilogue ooh, I remember trying to figure out what it could all mean myself at the time too, I should definitely give it a reread sometime and get back to you with more detailed thoughts!
But from what I can remember, it Was interesting to see Lucia bouncing off these different characters, and those curious little visitors appearing after her epic explosion of power, wanting to help to guide her in some way, I wonder how I should take it all... whether they are also constructs born from herself on some level, like a witch's furniture?
(Also maybe I should reread the part in the main story where we get the excerpt from Lucia's own VN writing and her OCs, I feel like I remembered something from that being repeated/recontextualised in the epilogue here but perhaps I'm misremembering)
I definitely hope you'll like what I think I'm working on next!
Also, thank you for sharing. To be honest, what I was concerned with was whether or not people thought it was something that was literally happening or not or if it was just in her head - to be even MORE honest (perhaps too much so), it was basically me stuffing characters and ideas I've had rattling around in my head for years into this little jam VN as something of a foothold to perhaps circle back around to and expand on them later and to have them intermingle with what I was working on/through. I don't know if that devalues your experience with the VN and I don't want it to do that or to take away from what your impressions were. It's just something I've had on my mind although, if you do end up rereading it, I'd definitely be interested in what you take from that.
A larger worry I've had is that Lucia crossed the line between being someone with an illness she has to live with and navigate and being, like, genuinely unwell. Perhaps that's unbecomingly possessive of me with respect to letting what I wrote exist as whatever it happens to be to the people who read it. Ultimately, I feel it is more important how you took it - to the point that I wonder if I perhaps am saying too much - but it is something I think I do intend to come back to one day, for better or for worse.
Anyway, again, thank you - it's funny you hadn't logged in for a while; I also hadn't in some time. I guess that's just the nature of how people intersect. Your comment happened to intersect with me at the start of a jam month I'd been going back and forth on participating in or not and I mean it when I say it was absolutely what I needed to see/hear. I don't know if I'll finish what I have in mind for it, how I'll do it, and if it'll be worth your time but I appreciate it and you all the same.
Ohh I see! It definitely doesn't devalue it, don't worry, and it is interesting to hear this kind of Behind the Scenes reasoning for it... It's nice that they could make their debut here and indeed perhaps will make a return somewhere ohoho
As for Lucia, that's a fair worry to have too. I do think sometimes discussions about mental health that I've seen online can get too prescriptive in how every effort must aspire towards normalcy/respectable functioning in society whether it's achievable or not, and that leads to the exploration of more complicated feelings being discouraged as irresponsible or unproductive to be frank about. So I do appreciate how Lucia is written and the reader is invited to just immerse themselves in her worldview and thoughts for a while. Like, behaving in ways that seem strange or experiencing such intense emotions or inarticulable moments of Unreality can all coexist with still being a person who deserves to have their autonomy and perspective respected, even if a lot of media doesn't approach those depictions with the most grace nodnod. Reminds me of all the responses to the options in that "SAY SOMETHING YOU ASSHOLE" scene. And somewhat of the Mariage Sorciere and their problems a bit again. Ooh and if you do return to these ideas I'll be curious to see for sure
Also dw, I don't mind hearing your own feelings on it at all. I don't think it's saying too much or that it innately taints a reader's perception to know more about the authorial intents/what things you were invested in while creating it. In fact it can enrich the experience? without letting go of what I took from it either, I can still always hold these multiple different save files of my perception/experience in mind. It's an interesting work of art that any reader could rebuild into their mind into something else as they experience it, but also still something someone actually made with her own relations to it in mind... so in that sense it definitely feels valuable to be able to engage with you directly here.
And you're welcome!! I remember originally worrying my comment was a bit too obtrusive/randomly sentimental to drop there but it was indeed in considering the themes of the VN itself that made me think, no no this certainly isn't the kind of place I'd receive judgement on that for lol, so I'm very glad that sharing it could be of some help to you as well.
And yeah WIPs can be so difficult to get going u_u I hope you have a fun and enriching time however you approach it!
Also on a different note, I was wondering if the URL to your twitter/X changed at some point..? Clicking the link on your page says it isn't with an existing account. Or if you just got rid of it that's fair too lol, I'm not on there myself at the moment acc
Oh! I kinda forgot I was still linking to that - though I guess I haven't been actively checked in here for a while. I definitely did get rid of it but I guess it's also maybe the only social I can have a specialized link to in my profile? Thanks for pointing that out; I don't really want to leave a dead link hanging, haha. I'm I guess passively floating around out on Bluesky now.
And yeah, absolutely - I consider myself both obtrusive and needlessly sentimental so those are both things I can appreciate even if you had been either of them. The idea I'm actively scrutinizing is actually I think sort of simple so it's really more a matter of getting in the zone and hyping myself up that it's something that will come off well and be as good as I'd ideally like for it to be - you know, just sorta stuff that everyone deals with for everything lol.
I'm genuinely relieved Lucia came off okay. Her dignity was one of my biggest concerns and it would have sat poorly with me if I'd botched it and made a kind of caricature out of things that are personal and important to me.
Ahh I see, that's good to have clarified, I was wondering if it was just an issue on my browser's end ^^'' I'm not much of a public poster myself nowadays but I have tumblr and bsky for lurking around. Handle is the same one as on here if you remove the U.
And that's great to hear too, I am sure you can do it :3 I've never participated in a jam myself but maybe someday a certain theme can coincide with a pre-existing idea that I haven't used for anything... the time limit seems like it can be either stressful or motivational I guess.
And yepp I get that, with things that are so personal and nuanced you really hope to get it right or to be able to guarantee some of an ideal recognition/response to that effort even if one can't fully control it. She was definitely a fun character so I look forward to revisiting it all in that reread sometime.