Breathe is over
That’s it. Two years. 34 chapters and an epilogue. Over 64,000 words. It’s been a long one, lads, but it’s finally finished.
To the people who’ve read it, whether you’ve been here since chapter 1, or you binged it all at 2am, thank you so much. Your support and encouragement was essential for this. I genuinely couldn’t have finished writing this story without you.
This part may not be interesting to all of you, so if you just want to know what happens next, skip ahead. But I just want to talk for a little bit about some of the stuff going on behind this story.
I was in my last year of high school when I started writing Breathe, and I had just realized that I was bi. I started dating my first girlfriend. I grew up in a religious and homophobic country, so only our close friends knew about the relationship, and I was constantly terrified that someone would find out. I broke up with her a couple of months into the relationship for a couple of reasons, the main ones being my fear, and some mental health issues I was struggling with at the time.
I don’t really like talking about my feelings or asking for help, but I’ve always loved writing as a way to funnel those emotions and get them out there. So I started Breathe, which was partially inspired by the situation that I had been in at the time (it’s not an exact retelling, don’t worry, I don’t have abusive parents or anything). A lot of Dave’s growth was based on my own, his fears about what it might mean to like someone of the same gender, and coping without his friends immediately available were the same things that I thought of constantly (I had recently transferred to a new school, and was about to move to a different country for college).
Fast forward two years, and I’m about to finish my second year of college. I’m stressed and still struggle with mental health from time to time, but I’m much better off than I had been. I’m comfortable with myself and my identity, and I’m proud of the person I’ve become. I genuinely think that working on Breathe played a big part in that.
Now, moving away from all that sappy stuff, and on to the big things - what happens next?
The Red Thing has been on hiatus for almost a year now. I need a little time to mentally adjust and get back into it, but I do intend to finish it as well.
There are a couple of other fics I have planned, but haven’t had the chance to commit to. After The Red Thing is finished, I’ll probably start something new. It might not be long, but I want to try writing some different things - still davekat, because I adore them, but maybe a different style than you might be accustomed to seeing from me.
And finally...I’m considering a sequel to Breathe. I have some ideas, but I haven’t decided yet. I really enjoyed writing this story, and would love for it to keep going, but I don’t want it to get stale. If I do make a sequel, I plan on writing all of it - or at least a good chunk - before I start posting, so there won’t be 8 months of silence. If you’re interested, let me know!
I don’t want to drag this out anymore, so I’ll wrap it up. For the final time...thank you for reading.
