I wrote the first piece of Big City on Christmas Eve of 2013. I had just turned 15. I sat on the floor of my brother's bedroom and I typed out a prologue on my shitty heavy laptop that was constantly searing my legs. I'd already outlined the idea of a summer romance that closely resembled the Hannah Montana movie (as I've said several times, my only reference for small town life) and my own desire to not be as lost anymore. I wrote it wondering if anyone would read it, if anyone besides me would want to see how the story turned out.
I'm now 18. I don't remember writing most of Big City and would never have been able to finish the story without the extensive plot outlines 15-year-old me provided. I am forever grateful that people read the story, despite all its faults, and would like to address the three biggest concerns people approach me with in one big swoop.
1. Bisexuality, homosexuality, and Magnus.
The bottom line is this: I fucked up.
I was making notes on issues that would have to be addressed with Magnus living in the Lightwoods home, and I wrote in that awful, 15-page word document that Magnus was gay. I think I meant the word as a kind of blanket term, the way that the re-claimed term queer is often used. But this got copied verbatim into chapters for a handful of reasons and got noticed. Not by me, because I'm a moron, but by several people who asked me very nicely to change it.
I have gone through the entire fic and changed it. I'm sorry. Sorry for not noticing and for doing it in the first place.
I used to copy and paste my chapter notes into the doc I would then write the story in. With the way I outlined Big City, there were often pieces of this that would be copied almost exactly, with dialogue and pesky emotions added in. My careless nature when being consistent in writing meant that I didn't reread my chapters a lot. I wanted to write. There were people—mysteriously—that wanted to read. I looked over documents for spelling mistakes and weird commas that I like adding whenever I feel myself getting bored, but I never went looking for plot errors or incorrect descriptions. I just assumed that I got it right the first time around, because people that make long word documents can't make mistakes (you should be able to taste the sarcasm if you say that sentence aloud.)
The other core reason this happened is a somewhat horrifying confession that should also probably be made: I don't reread the books. I've read all of them twice. Most of my collage of Magnus and Alec comes from reading other people's fic. (How terrifying is that?) When you notice weird things (like Ragnor and Camille almost dating) it's because I remembered they were in the story and I remembered pieces of who they were and wanted to string them along for the ride. Because Magnus needed friends or there needed to be bodies at a party, or I felt the fic was getting boring so someone (*cough* Sebastian*cough*) needed to show up with a gun. Magnus' sexuality was among the many things I assumed I remembered well enough to include in my story. It is also among the many where I was wrong, though I think you'll find it to be the most embarrassing. (Maybe, I don't know that Camille/Ragnor thing was weird. I think I got really concerned that people would think Camille had intentions of sabotage? Maybe I just wanted all my loose ends happily romantically paired of? Also possible when looking at the notes I made: I couldn't remember how the fuck Ragnor was involved in anything but wanted Magnus to seem popular. Popular people sit in diners with groups of friends nursing hangovers right? God only knows.)
While none of this really excuses a mistake like completely erasing Magnus' bisexuality, I wanted people to know that I didn't do it because I'm a dick, I did it because I'm not very careful and the word research isn't in my vocabulary. And, most importantly, I've gone back and edited all existing chapters.
2. Sequels, epilogues, and anything of the sort.
Will there ever be more to Big City?
As of right now? (This being July of 2017.) No. Not because I don't love Magnus and Alec, not because I don't think that people would enjoy reading one. Simply because I don't know what it would be. The Magnus and Alec in Big City are, to me at least, vastly different from canon Magnus and Alec. As I've written different stories for them, I've created and lost threads of their personalities. The Magnus from The Magnus and Alec Club is different from the one in The Survey. I put down the thread of Big City Magnus and I'm not sure picking it up is an option. I'm not entirely sure I could produce anything that predicts where they would be years or even days after the story.
If an epilogue were ever to exist, were Big City Magnus and Alec to arrive at my doorstep with a story worthy of posting and telling, it would appear here. It would be lengthy, wordy, stupid, and probably seven years late, but if you follow this story, it would find its way to you. Don't worry yourself and don't bother asking me because there are far better stories that deserve your attention and far better questions to ask far more intelligent people.
3. Credit where credit is due.
Can I post this somewhere else?
My short answer is no. My long answer is fuck no. Kidding and not kidding at the same time. You can message me about translations and I am fine with people saving copies of the story in case it ever gets taken down or disappears. But at the moment, I would like it to stay where it is. Even though it is not perfect, it took me a damn long time to write it and I'm proud of the work I created. If you'd like to post a story somewhere and get credit for it, I suggest you start writing.
I thank you for reading, for putting up with my shit, for waiting a million years for an ending. If you've made it this far, I'm grateful. Know that I loved reading what you thought of the story, that it was important to me to see this to the end, and that I am less lost now, though not by much, and having this story to return to when I needed a way out meant the world to me.
