FOREWARD
I have often found myself here, at my computer, in the most hellish of early morning hours, wondering why sleep has once again eluded me so that my mind can prod me out of bed and place me firmly behind the keyboard. The only answer I ever come up with is that the great god of fan fiction has requested my services once again to thoroughly explore, with my literary fingertips, the darker side of the X-Men. The Brotherhood of Mutants has often been unjustly portrayed in the comics, and only slightly more adequately in the movie (I say this because the actors for the villains seemed to fit as smoothly onto their characters as Rebecca Romaijn-Stamos's blue body paint). Being a fan of the greatly misunderstood and misrepresented Toad, I was quite delighted when his character was vastly improved by the addition of Ray Park to the cast to take on the role. He is no longer a jester, but a true blue (okay, green) badass to whom was added a depth and color that struck down the assumption that he would be lame and unimpressive. Truth be told, he stole the show for many of us.
I wrote "Faces in the Stone" as an exploration of Toad's inner torment, and how he chooses to deal with it. I picked his artful adaptation (the faces in the stone) of the events of his life as a means of dealing. It seemed a more positive, strong, and admiral thing to do rather than sitting about whining and being introverted (which is only good fic fodder when there is another interesting aspect blended with it). Jacob was an extension of a number of people I have encountered, as well as an extension of what every mutant must feel when faced with the realities of life. Jacob was lucky: he was set free. But what now of the Brotherhood? Surely Jacob left an impression upon all of them, like, as Magneto put it, "a stain on our lives like blood on floorboards, which can never be removed no matter the scrubbing and bleaching and wishing and regretting."
"The Bleeding Star" is a tale that begins after Jacob's death. Things have settled down and smoothed out again, and relationships are victim to the very real effects of time. I have been asked many times over for a sequel to "Faces in the Stone", and have decided to quell the cravings of the avid fan fiction reader as well as my own desire to journey once again into the cool depths of the lair; feeling the infiltrating sea breezes, hearing the whispers that permeate the stone, touching the faces carved upon the walls. It is a much a journey than it is a piece of writing.
Many people loved the relationship between Toad and Mystique in "Faces in the Stone", but in that aspect "The Bleeding Star" is sadder, for the relationship has been subject to the erosion that time causes, just as it does in real life.
"The Bleeding Star" is another testament to the life of this fascinating group, but, though it is a sequel, it should be seen as a work unto itself. It is not only a journey within the very soul of the Brotherhood, but also an endeavor into our own hearts, our fears, our prejudices, our human instinct.
So hang on. This ride could get bumpy.
-Andrea the Spiky Sithster