Yes, unfortunately, this is another one of those Sharuby Saga installments in which a lengthy and prolonged foreword that you really don't care about, nor wish to read, is a necessity, because this requires some explanation. This is also another one of those forewords in which part of the explanation will be spoilers, and as has been the case in the past, those spoilers will be marked should you wish to skip them before you get into reading this story.
For starters, the purpose of this particular Sharuby Saga installment was to bridge the gap between Albertson's two previous significant contributions, Card Tricks and Slumber Party – both of which not only took place much later than the current timeline, but were also set two years apart from each other, which left a sizable gap to fill. Card Tricks aged the characters to sixteen, Slumber Party aged the characters to eighteen, and since one of mine and Albertson's main goals with this Saga has been to cover as many of the major and significant milestones in Shannon and Ruby's relationship as we can (or that are worth writing about), and taking into consider where the characters would have been in their lives between these two installments, I figured that this period of time would provide such a milestone to cover in this installment: their senior prom.
Because of that, Albertson and I had originally planned to have this story go live back in May to coincide with prom season, however a combination of some writers' block, real life road blocks, and the fact that we were also collaborating on both their future wedding as well as the Saga's second anniversary special back in the spring and summer, contributed to some delays. As it turned out, that worked out for the better, because although Shannon and Ruby's prom is a major milestone that we are covering in this story, it actually is not the 'A' plot… that distinction belongs to another significant occurrence with these two cinnamon rolls, which is why an October release turned out to be far more appropriate… and this is where our spoilers now come into play…
! SPOILERS BEGIN !
For those of you who may not be aware, not only is October LGBT History Month, but October 11, specifically, is National Coming Out Day; it is for that very reason that delaying this installment for an October release was far more appropriate, because the main event that we are covering in this installment is Shannon and Ruby's parents finally learning the truth about the nature of their relationship, thus prompting both of them to finally come out. If you have read Slumber Party, you will note that the beginning of that installment provides a cliff note version of the aftermath of their revelation, and how their respective families reacted to such – all of which took place within the span of time between Slumber Party and Card Tricks. At the time, that was about all that we had; Albertson and I had discussed and figured out how the families would react to the news (and, if you have also read Love Knows No Bounds, then you have seen that Albertson took the initiative of taking it a step even further by figuring out how their families' reactions ended up setting Shannon and Ruby on all new courses in terms of their career paths and future together), but to figure out how, exactly, the two eventually revealed the true nature of their relationship to their families was something that had stumped us for the longest time – we both were drawing a blank.
Still, this was one of the reasons why I wanted to try to bridge the gap between Card Tricks and Slumber Party, so we could actually address that specific element. Going back to the subject of their senior prom, since that would have been a major milestone in their relationship during the time period in the gap, it eventually had occurred to me how their secret would finally be revealed by having it coincide with such a milestone: in this case, although Shannon and Ruby make plans to attend their senior prom together without their parents' knowledge, a slip of the lip nearly sinks their ship. I'm a poet, and didn't know it. I'm so brave, I'm making Lucy spin prematurely in her grave.
To sum it all up, and to reiterate, because the main focus of this installment is Shannon and Ruby finally coming out to their parents, that was the main reason why the release of such had been delayed to October to coincide with National Coming Out Day (and yes, those specific chapters will go live on October 11).
! SPOILERS END !
The format of this particular installment is also more on the experimental side. When writing multi-chapter stories, I ordinarily try to keep each chapter at a reasonable and consistent length, but with this particular story covering a series of significant events, such a format was not entirely practical. Instead of trying to keep each chapter at a consistent length, each chapter will be dedicated to a specific event that takes place during the course of the story... unfortunately, this means we will have chapters that may be as short as 3K words (which actually used to be the average length for a chapter for me when I got back into writing), and chapters that may exceed 8K-9K words. Either way, I hope this won't be too disruptive or disorienting to the reading process.
Another thing I want to address is that I am well aware that Albertson and I bouncing back and forth in the timeline the way we are is making the Sharuby Saga as a whole about as challenging to follow as the Star Wars franchise – even I, the salty captain of the S.S. Sharuby, am becoming quite scrambled in trying to keep track of what milestones, events, and themes we have already covered, what more we possibly have yet to cover, and just what order these installments would be in chronologically… we could really use a Google Doc, or a Wiki, or something to help us stay on track. Aside from that, in the event that any of you may also need some assistance in figuring out in what order these installments would take place and what milestones or significant events they cover, chronologically speaking, the list below should, hopefully, clear it up for everyone's benefit…
- This Will Be Our Year (by Grace and Albertson) – Beginning of Shannon and Ruby's friendship and eventual romance
- Free to Be You and Me (by Grace) – Their first major quarrel the following year
- Not another Obligatory Holiday Special! (by Albertson and Grace) - Their first holiday together, and getting acquainted with each other's families; immediately after Free to Be You and Me
- No Secrets, No Demands (by Grace) – Making a pact to come out to their parents together when they feel ready to do so, and their parents becoming acquainted with each other
- The Meaning of Love (by Albertson) and A Night to Dismember (by Grace) – Concurrent stories that cover their Valentine's dates and their first anniversary as a couple
- Card Tricks (by Albertson) – Their first discussions about being intimate another year later
- Prom-grenade (by Grace and Albertson) – Their senior prom, and coming out to their parents yet another year later
- Slumber Party (by Albertson) – Their first time having sex yet another year later
- Love Knows No Bounds (by Albertson and Grace) – Their wedding many, many years later
- The Sharuby Saga 2nd Anniversary Special (by Albertson and Grace) – Loud House couples game show special (also set a few months after their wedding)
That is about it. For now. I can't believe we have already written nearly a dozen installments of this Saga. (And that is not even counting a few random drabbles either of us have written that may take place in the same head canon, but are not necessarily connected directly to the Saga itself). Albertson and I still occasionally bounce ideas for future installments back and forth between us, but as of this writing, I cannot guarantee that either of us are totally committed to anything that is set in stone at the present time. We will just have to wait and see.
Also, I will admit that Prom-grenade is not the greatest title in the world, but I really could not think of anything more clever than to play on the word "Promenade" (not to mention the "grenade" part can also pertain to the big bombshell in this story, I suppose).
Okay, now that I have gotten my foreword out of the way, let us proceed with Albertson's prologue…
