Part of the appeal of the fantastic is taking ridiculous ideas very seriously and pretending they're not absurd. – China Miéville
Greetings, all!
It has been a long time since I updated this. I know the last two years have been difficult for everyone, so I hope you're all doing well and thriving.
Being a dad is wild. Being a dad during a global pandemic is... something. I wouldn't recommend it. I would recommend having a kid, though, as it's an incredible experience. But enough about that, you're here because you're curious about Crimson.
I've been reworking and rewriting Crimson for almost two years now. It's been an amazing process, and I no longer wish to maintain radio silence. I want to start posting again. However, I don't think a daily or weekly posting schedule is doable. If the last two years have taught me anything, it's that random shit can happen at any moment and screw up your whole day or week (examples: 3 AM emergency room visits, hurricanes, a hostage situation in your building, someone ripping off Crimson). So from now on, I plan on posting entire Arcs. I'll upload chapters at 20 apiece or so. This won't be a monthly kind of thing. It's likely a few weeks or possibly months will pass between each posting. What it does mean, however, is that the entirety of the revised Kamoshida arc will be readable all at once. Same with Madarame, etc.
However, I am making some changes regarding where I post.
I love Ao3. You can have a conversation here that other sites just don't allow. Perhaps you've noticed the content of the chapters has changed. That's deliberate. I don't want to lose any of the conversations or comments from these past few years, so the chapters will stay as placeholders, and I'll be posting over them with the new content. Slowly, Crimson on Ao3 will be the entirely new story of Crimson. I've also established a profile on RoyalRoad, and I plan on posting the new chapters there, as well.
If you like the older Crimson and still want to read it, you can. currently hosts Crimson, and I will keep that story intact, as is. No updates will be made to the version.
As to Crimson itself, the revised version fundamentally remains the same as the original. Certain events, however, differ. Character arcs develop a bit differently. Some scenes got cut, and some are brand new. You'll notice significant changes in the very first chapter, but the fundamental changes won't kick off until about Chapter 9.
Some of you might not like this updated version, and I completely understand. If you no longer wish to read Crimson, then I'm very sorry. But I had to do what I needed to improve this story and make it the best story I could. Truthfully, reworking and rewriting Crimson has helped me get through the past two years as a father and as another person trapped in COVID-land.
So, what's the timeline? When will posting recommence?
On January 1, 2022, I will post the entire redone Kamoshida arc. That's twenty chapters.
Later in 2022, I hope to post some of my original fiction on a brand-new website. I hope some of you will join me there.
Thank you, as ever, for reading Crimson. I hope you'll continue to do so.
Now that that's out of the way, how's everyone doing? Hanging in there?