A few days ago, the first chapter of 4X+Y was posted.
I spoke a little bit about why it shares the date of when I first posted Raspberry Line Chapter 1; in short, that I believe it is a work on par, or even more, than Raspberry, and that it and Raspberry both influence each other. They are two faces on the same coin, sharing the same material and body but expressing themselves in a different direction and way.
Though I announced it suddenly and quietly with its teaser, I actually hope that this story will be heavily impacting. I didn't give it much fanfare because... well, I'm a little scared about its reception, so I didn't want to hype it up. If it's good, and/or bad, the proof will be in the reading for this one.
This story has been, for lack of a better word, "incubating" for two years. Some of that was waiting for the right time to post it, and some of that was waiting for the confidence to post it.
4X+Y is a story... that has a bit of a story behind it. I feel like those whom even have a passing interest in 4X+Y may find the story-about-the-story interesting. It may even provide a bit more appreciation behind it.
So, if I may, I would like to tell how 4X+Y came to be.
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A long while ago, near the start of February of 2015, I got sick. It wasn't anything awful, just like a cold or manflu or something. But, I mentioned that I had come up with an idea; or, rather, a "technically" new idea.
Around this time, I was well in the middle of The Little Harem, working on the 10th instalment (which would come out about a month later). I started getting this idea that maybe I should write The Little Reverse-Harem. The same concept, but with the reverse-harem trope.
I spent a week or so thinking about it, and then started writing. I wrote a little under 7,000 words (still have the defunct documents). I was excited, coming up with all the ideas that would happen in the instalments to come, and the ways it would both mirror and differ from the original series.
I had haphazardly decided to have the lead girl be an energetic, foul-mouthed, and sarcastic red panda named Shalisa. Her romance-equivalent would be a boy named Audrey, who preferred to go by Rey, and who was a Calico. This was going to be a source of contention for him, because in felines Calicoes are almost exclusively females, with males being rare cases. This was to be an underlying theme that allowed for conflict and story elements in a story that would otherwise have other material within.
It was after I wrote the 6500 words of the (incomplete) first chapter, and the first 300 words of the (very incomplete) second chapter, that I started to... feel uneasy. Something was really nagging at me, troubling me.
The more I thought about this premise, of a male Calico having to deal with contention and distress about being such, and having a friend that saw past it, the more I realized I was doing something wrong.
Something very irresponsibly wrong.
When I came to realize this, now shortly before March, I wrote a journal called A Puzzling Analogy, in which I tried to explain in abstract terms what was going on in my head.
I had started off with the idea of doing a reverse-harem story first. The male calico was put in haphazardly as a quirk to make the story interesting.
I thought back to how I had haphazardly put Kval being abusive in Raspberry Line. I had done so irresponsibly, in a way. I wanted to give a hook in the story, and I didn't really think it through. In fact, it was kind of a regret of mine that I had done such a thing, until I realized what I had stumbled upon when it came to Lonely Oak Part 1, where I could "redeem" my irresponsible behavior and add breadth to the Alatyrtsevs' story.
"Irresponsible." That's what stuck with me. I felt as though this premise of a male Calico, serving as merely a quirk to add depth to what is otherwise a very superficial story, was an irresponsible use of this premise.
When I fully realized that, the most wonderful and frightening thing happened to me. Never before had I been hit so hard, had become so compelled to write a story.
All at once it came to me. The puzzle grew rapidly, almost out of my control. It was like a wind, blowing so fiercely I had to take steps forward with it, or else I would be pushed over.
I felt that I could write something truly special. Something that went beyond my own experiences. Something transcendental; a journey that I could take that, though I am the navigator of, I am also the one navigated through.
The scenes that I originally tried to compose for The Little Reverse-Harem changed to suit this new idea. An entire world was discarded, save for two characters.
The boy would remain named Audrey, for the same reason I selected it originally--it is a feminine name that can be shortened to Ray (changed from Rey, due to Star Wars) to be more masculine.
The red panda would remain; her personality and ultimately her relationship with Ray would stay the same. Her name would change, though, to Andrea, which would serve as both a foil and a complement to Audrey's name. It is a foil because it is a more masculine-sounding name, and it is a complement because it can be shortened to Andy.
Many, many other details like that would come into place. So compelled was I to write that in one night I had written the last five chapters of the story in a flurry (though that's the basis for later revision).
I managed to slow it down, though. While I was thrilled with this idea, I knew that if I wanted to be responsible with it, I had to be slow and methodical.
So I let it incubate for two years. Slowly and carefully coming up with the scenes that will play out. Researching genetics, elements of the setting and time-period, fleshing out characters, and more.
During this time, I am writing Lonely Oak Part 3. I'm not happy with where Part 2 is in terms of pacing, plot, and style, and with Part 3 I am attempting to return to form with Part 1, and also enhance that form.
This is where the blend between the two begins. I am able to use my methodologies and attitude for Lonely Oak Part 3 to even begin having the confidence to actually go through with 4X+Y.
Having the confidence to do so with 4X+Y helped to make Lonely Oak Part 3 take on an even more emotional voice, and add dashes of more mature or intimate situations within the story in a responsible way, sort of a practice.
Both stories are slice-of-life. Both stories follow younger characters, making their way through the world with their own perspectives. Both stories seek to explore complex themes with a simple, hopefully not ham-fisted, and reasonable, presentation.
Of course, they are their own stories. 4X+Y does not explore the same themes as Raspberry Line; to do so would be uninteresting, especially at the same time. This is where they face different directions, on the coin.
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Thus, 4X+Y incubated. I wrote a little here and there, but mostly I did research. I couldn't finish the story before posting, I had already tried that with Lonely Oak Part 3; in a way, writing and posting at the same time works better to make sure I don't keep my ideas locked in my head. I researched, and I still research. I planned, and I still plan.
Where Raspberry has several concepts all flowing in parallel, 4X+Y will have far fewer. Where Raspberry takes it slow and meanders, 4X+Y will be faster and more focused.
Now that you know a little bit about why this story is dear to me, maybe you can see that in the writing. My greatest fear with this is to fail, and result in not meeting my aspirations of treating this premise with the respect and responsibility I feel it deserves.
Only time will tell, and I both look forward to, and dread, when this journey has reached its destination.
