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Okay, so skipping the usual 'been a while' rigmarole. We all know how this works. I'm just glad to finally get things lined up to get it posted.

This chapter is actually pretty personal for me. I don't think I've gone into a lot of detail on this publicly, but as I said way back in the description of the first chapter, there are elements of Night in the Woods that resonated with me as someone from that part of the country and with a lot of experience with those sorts of towns and people. Eric is based on and reflects a lot of fears I had about growing up in a small town -- particularly fears of being trapped there. Bea's situation in particular happened to stir up some "There but for the grace of God go I" thoughts, and that's a big part of what led to this story. It's not all of the inspiration for the story, but it's enough ​of it.

Disclaimer: This story is going to have big spoilers for Night in the Woods, particularly these last couple chapters. But you're five chapters into a fanfic at this point, so either you're reading later stuff first with reckless abdandon or you already know all this stuff. So I'm just going to say that if you're just coming in, click the convenient link above and start with chapter 1.

Enjoy!