Hello hello everyone, long time no see. Sorry for the literally year-long hiatus. That was not expected but the moving I needed to do has been a bitch and a half frankly. I was burned from my old apartment environment with a neighbour playing music all night long, and sirens in the background during the night was well multiple times a night I just couldn't cope anymore. I'm better now, got a new apartment specialized for people with noise sensitivity disabilities and I already see the difference in my energy and sleep after only a week.
So yeah, I'm back from hiatus for now. Won't ever make you any promise I can't hold though, I don't know how far I'll go before I need another break. Mental health is a fleeting island in a sea of chaos and all that Jazz... talking of jazz... segway
I've been working with Suno AI to write some songs directly connected to the story as companion pieces for the chapters. I'm putting the link in the author's notes at the beginning. Don't make the mistake of listening while reading... they can be a bit intense XD They are also quite varied, from Jazz to Nu Metal passing by 1950 commercial jingles. I hope you enjoy it. Ultimately my dream is to have an AI direct a VR first-person movie from Kate's perspective... enjoy the trauma... viewer discretion is advised. Here's a message from our sponsor: Neutronix Cybernetics is not responsible for seizures, PTSD, dissociative state or any other harm experienced during the visioning of this entertainment product.
I also found a way to fix some issues with the writing of longer action scenes. I also grew a lot as a writer since writing the early chapters. I'll therefore do a full rewrite before pushing forward. Chapter 1 is up with the new version. nearly twice as long all being said and done. Hope you like it.
I'll be posting here the completed chapters until I get to the end of the list then I'll delete this message.
Chapter 1: Done
Chapter 2: aye aye captain!
Chapter 3: in da box baby!
Chapter 4: me painted red to work faster! Me smart!
Chapter 5: that one was painful...
Chapter 6: Fucking hell, finally...
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Chapter 7: should be easy... (welp... that was wrong in retrospect XD)
Chapter 8: Sorry for the wait, it's done, my neighbour was using her apartment like a wood workshop 24/24 for the past 2 months, I was burned out and it took a while to stabilize the "situation...
Chapter 9: Well that took longer than expected... still issues with the neighbour, it takes a lot of juice, but I got through this one today.
Chapter 10: done, this one took much less time, life is stabilizing at home
Chapter 11: Done... sadly the stability was an illusion, my neighbour is nuts.
Chapter 12: Completed, I think that's a pretty good one.
Since I probably need to pad the word count a bit to publish here chapter's 1 lyrics:
Like a puppet wired to the void
[Verse]
Crushed beneath their wires plugged into the lies
Can’t breathe can’t feel just watching time die
Voices in my head selling me a cure
Peddlers in my brain I’m just a number for sure
[Verse 2]
Riding on the edge can’t tell if it’s me
Hollow in the dark drowning in their disease
One more step don’t slip don’t fall
But the ground's been pulled out don’t trust this at all
[Chorus]
Fingers on the trigger heart on the line
Reality’s breaking I’ve crossed the line
Eyes wide world spinning out of control
Lost in the network where do I go
[Bridge]
Static in my brain can’t shut it down
Trapped in the feedback wear my digital crown
Ghosts in the code whisper sweet nothings
I reach for salvation but it’s all bluffing
[Verse 3]
Binary whispers cold as ice
Can't discern truth from the lies
Walking through fields of endless screens
Captured in pixels shattered dreams
[Chorus]
Fingers on the trigger heart on the line
Reality’s breaking I’ve crossed the line
Eyes wide world spinning out of control
Lost in the network where do I go
Oh, if you made it here, be careful with chapter 13, the jingle, I left it running for an hour yesterday in my headset; I was completely hypnotized and ended up going to a fast food joint for a burger, hypnotoad style, so yeah, be careful out there of what you're listening to.
