Nyx Nyghtingale
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Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 02 - Reflection
🕑 Added 2024-03-12 14:21:00 +0000 UTCThis Chapter continued giving me new things to think about as an amateur writer. Originally, the plan was to start immediately after Chapter 1, and have a bulk of the chapter be Amara panicking before testing what her tail could do. In the end, that felt a little slow, and I didn't want to write such a high emotion scene this early in the book.
Ultimately, I'm happy I started where I did. We get to establish that she's scared of being discovered, we see how she's hiding her tail, and we get to meet Vee! Plus, we confirm that Vee was the one flirting with Nick at the party, which easily sets up for later chapters.
In some of my initial feedback from Chapter 1, I actually had a few people say that I should add more to the worldbuilding. They didn't know if suddenly turning into a demon was normal or not, and wanted the extra clarification. I didn't want to add material to Chapter 1 that wasn't entirely focused on Amara, so I decided to take some time in this chapter to address some of those concerns, though I'll admit I could have done a better job.
Still, the hope was that this chapter would establish that Amara has lived in a world that appears identical to ours. She doesn't think magic is real, and Nick confirms that most people think demons and monsters are just myths. Obviously the tail is a pretty big clue that all those things are quite real, but it's early enough that they can't see the full scope.
With the introduction of Vee, this was the first time I had to write dialogue that wasn't as dramatic. The first chapter was all about two friends dealing with an awkward situation, and I wanted this chapter to be a look into Amara's normal life. I wanted Vee to feel like an old friend, eager to gossip but still able to tell that Amara has been off her game today. This chapter in general had a lot more dialogue, and it made me really start thinking about how best to write it.
One thing I really wanted to stress in this chapter was how Amara was reacting to her transformation. In my mind, she's pretty good at rolling with the punches, but is pretty nervous about such a dramatic change coming out of nowhere. She's desperately trying to hide her tail, and clearly doesn't want it, and flat out calls herself a monster later in the chapter.
That being said, we also get the first hints that she might be enjoying the transformation, especially once they decide she's a succubus. Is that partially because she's horny? I mean, probably, but it was still fun to flesh out her thoughts here.
As a fun fact, I normally try to stay a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting. By the time this chapter posted for the first time, I was already wrapping up Chapter 3 and looking forward to Chapter 4. There's a scene in the third chapter where I describe all of Amara's friends, what they look like, what they're wearing, etc. When I finished that scene, I realized that I'd never described Nick in the slightest. I had to revisit this chapter and find a way to add a description of him.
By the end of chapter, after they fool around in the staircase, we also get Amara cursing God for the first, and last, time. Her and Nick both realize that her existence may have implications as to the existence of the almighty, and she makes a conscious point to change her speaking habits in future chapters. This was something I wanted to establish early on, as I feel it's a pretty important part of how Amara views her transformation.
I also spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I wanted her horns to look like, both when they first appeared, but also what they might grow into. I play a fair amount of D&D, and we all know that tieflings are definitively the best race. I've played a couple, and I always spend WAY too much time obsessing over what their horns and their tails look like. Is this story wish fulfillment? Do I wish I had horns and a tail? I'll let you decide that for yourself.
(But like, obviously yes. My mortal form is SO boring.)
Nyx <3
