If you've been reading AKOD since the beginning, this isn't the first time you've seen one of these parts. It happened in Sloth. It happened in Delirium. And I'm sure it'll happen again. It's the "single conversation that spans 15 fucking pages" part. Which means that you're getting half of it now and getting half of it next time. It sort of just up and ends in the middle of everything, with absolutely nothing tied up at all. 

Caaauuuuuse......I'm a dick.

There's also bunnies in this section. And Beatrice.

And lies.

So, Heartlessness III is up and, yes, is a little on the short side. But most of the time when I write these chapters, I'm not thinking of definitive places to start and end each part. Sometimes it happens naturally and sometimes, it does not. In the case of Heartlessness, I think the entire last 2/3 of the chapter flow pretty seamlessly and so I had to pick and choose where to start and end each part almost just by page length. So some parts are a little longer and some a little shorter. Part III is just one of those parts that got the axe a little closer to the tail. Which means stuff ALMOST starts to happen.....but not quite. So, sorry for the dick-tease.

Aside from that? Well, I sort of have to poop. So I'm gonna go now. Later.

So, Heartlessness II is up and all that jazz. Though this post is about 12 hours late. This is what happens when all the pre-work you do on your website the night before doesn't save (for whatever fucking reason) and then you wake up in the morning to find you have to do it all over again. This can be a problem when you have things like, oh, a job. So, needless to say, things did not go according to plan with the update this morning. These errors have now all been corrected.

Anywho, today's update is my way of trying to speed things along a little. Personally, I didn't want to write a book like Cormack McCarthy's The Road. Mostly because it's already been written. So, while I did play with the idea of really getting into the gritty, every day emotional battle that was this new world, I opted not to. I felt there was enough going on with the story that it was unnecessary. Also, I decided that it wouldn't really make a whole lot of freaking sense for the narrator to pore over page after page of serious emotional detail after some of the most trying experiences of his life.

So, as I'm sure you've all noticed, Sloth ended on a super emotional note. Which is fine and all. But reality continues to persist. 

Now comes the real aftermath of all that's happened. In sort of the same way that "What happens after 'ever after'?" addresses the idea of what happens after a happy ending, Chapter 8 (Heartlessness) addresses what happens after a sad ending.

Mostly because I'm an asshole and I like to see how things can get even worse.

Seriously, if you all don't kill yourselves by the time Chapter 10 rolls around, it'll be a borderline miracle.

Crap, I'm going to jail, aren't I?

Shit.