Slowly and Painfully ー ✓

Q&A Section

Hi, this is Haneul of NocturnalArmys! I'm going to answer the questions posted on our public message board! Thank you all for submitting questions! If there are any add-ons, the Q&A might be updated!

Anyways, here we go!

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1. What inspired you to write "Slowly and Painfully"?

— Well, first of all, the initial plot was based on an actual dream of mine. I can still remember it very vividly. I was running in the woods, wearing a white dress that was torn at the ends and at the sleeves. Hooded horsemen were chasing after me, so I just kept on running until I woke up.

Then, after discovering the Gymnopedie piano pieces, I was awestruck. I was like, omg this is beautiful what if I make a story out of it about a painter and a musician—and yeah, you can guess where it took me :'))

2. What happened after Rosette left the 18th century?

— Thus began the Post Revolution events. The people of Grand have chosen a new ruler to lead them, and they plan to slowly rebuild their kingdom by helping one another. It's going to be hard, but they'll make it. They freakin survived a crooked king and some hooded minions, so of course they'll survive this!

Oh, and the Painter vanished just as the history books said. The princes are devastated obviously, but since Rosette already warned them and they have had some sentimental speeches before the battle, their minds have prepared for this kind of bittersweet ending. We rarely promote happily ever after because we want to be relatable and touch your hearts with the truth. Remember: roses aren't at their most honest form without the thorns.

3. What did Tayden tell Rosette in the secret room?

— This is revealed in Deleted Scene #1, prior to the part where Tayden was blindfolded by Agustus. Specifically, he told her: "Some are meant to fall in love with each other, but are not meant to be together." And Rosette will remember that for as long as she can.

4. Who is Anastasia?

— Ooh, um... I think if you pay very close attention to certain paragraphs of this book, you'll solve the mystery before we can even properly introduce it. Let me just say that Anastasia is the woman responsible for f*cking up Eldred real hard. She's an important ingredient in the potion we call "Eldred's dark past".

5. What happened to the other characters after Rosette left?

— I'll assume you mean the side characters. In the Epilogue, we showed scenes of Mona's parents reuniting, the Hemsworths doing great with business, Peggy and the children being as carefree as ever, the young performers at the Village Center making music, and since Peggy is fine—that should mean that her father, Mr. Gudmund the innkeeper, is rocking with his drinks, too. Gertrude is at peace.

6. What happened after Rosette and Agustus jumped in the river?

— This is told at the very end of Epilogue that displays the scene at the Round Table where the brothers discuss. Their conclusion: Agustus and Rosette are missing, and being open-minded, they decide to conduct a search mission.

7. In the last chapter, Rosette told Nathaniel, "I hope you set yourself free". By this, does it mean that Nathaniel will go on venture out and explore beyond the kingdom or will he ends up settling down somewhere?

— It can mean any of these. In all actuality, what Rosette meant by 'setting yourself free' is a reminder dedicated to all our readers out there that is stuck in the past/problem like Nathan. Don't dwell in the past, set yourself free from what binds you, start appreciating the present, and find happiness. The other princes are also representations of other different issues that we deal with, and we hope they reflected at least a small part of you.

8. What about Audeath and Eugene?

— ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Okay, on a more serious note kdkfskjk Audeath and Eugene have actually shared a nostalgic past despite coming from opposite lives upon birth. That's why they're friendly and familiar towards one another. And the bridge that connected them? Queen Isabella of course. We have already written drafts of how deep their relationship grows in the sequel, but to satisfy your curiosity, I confirm that they are my third favorite ship—the second ship being the meow meow × mousey ship.

9. How does Rosette move on from Tayden and fall for Agustus? Is it when Tayden was broken and Agustus serves as her comfort?

— I like this question very much. Actually, Rosette and Agustus had a spark since the very beginning, but it had been covered by our charming Tayden who then swooped into their love story. Like Rosette's POV, I purposely made the readers fall in love with Tayden by creating more interactions, more scenes with him, and less screentime with Agustus like he's a legit background character, so you can truly experience what Rosette was experiencing—which is only realizing who had been truly there dawdling in your heart at the end of your love story.

I also gave out hints of their roles reversed by using the galleries. Mini Gallery 1 showed the assassins at first where Tayden feels like the first lead and Agust the second, and Mini Gallery 2 showed the same picture—but inverted—which means their roles switched. The second lead was the first lead all along, and vice versa.

10. Will there be a sequel?

— This is in our announcement posted below Epilogue's last sentence. We have drafts for the second and third book, including prologues and epilogues and the ending of the entire series. The only thing we're unsure of is when we'll publish these. Like you guys, we've grown attached to our characters, and we feel like they deserve good storylines.

You guys have no idea how many likeable projects we currently hold pending for future endeavors. We have, like, A LOT.

*sigh*

I wish I can be a legit successful writer someday... :'))

11. Was it all just a dream or did she actually time travel?

— Rosette did travel to her past life. Unlike other story plots about characters traveling through time by physical body, Rosette traveled by soul. They have different bodies scattered throughout the timelines, and Khaleesi is one of them, being Rosette's 18th-century body. All the bodies are possessed by the same soul, which is why Rosette unconsciously remembers bits of her past life. The current state of her soul resides in the 21st-century body, but since she traveled, the present was paused and the past was revived. When she returned, the present continued to move (making it feel like a dream), and the past stayed as it was—the past.

12. Agust followed Rosette to the edge of the cliff when their attackers chased them. Now both are missing. Does that mean he could've followed Rosette back to her timeline?

— When we base our reasoning with the "soul theory" stated above, that wouldn't be possible since Agustus’ soul is now currently residing in a 21st-century body as Yoongi. Therefore, Agustus has disappeared but still in the 18th, either within the walls of the kingdom or somewhere else, and his brothers have to find him.

Basically, our "soul theory" concludes that the current state of the soul is limited of its possible travels, which is back to the past or any event already considered as history. Only memories of the past can travel to the present/future if that's where the current state of the soul resides.

13. Will the brothers gain their past life memories like Rosette? Was Epilogue a hint to this?

— Epilogue contained several hints for the second and third book. Yes, one of them hints at this possibility. We wanted to give enough details for the stand-alone readers so they can create their own conclusions for the story.

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