Chương 47: State of the Grindhouse (Reader Update #3) - Book 2 Title Reveal & More!

Hi, it's me, ShawnD! We made it to the end! You did it! I did it! We both accomplished a goal, and wow! It feels good, right? We're gonna live forever! Or... you know, probably longer than a lot of the characters that entered Zone Two. That's the fun thing about writing. I have plans, and then the story and characters have other plans. Things change and grow as I write.

I'm not a pantser, folks, and I think if you've made it this far, you're going to be okay with that, because what you loved wasn't a bunch of half-ass chapters to consume and forget. No, friends, what kept you coming back for more was the care and quality of the writing, and I want to continue to deliver on that rather than rush out underdeveloped dreck, as my mother would say (hi, Mom). The good news: I've completed the first two acts of Book Two. I've also shifted from organizing the story in "books" to "arcs."

Which, for you as a reader, means smaller chunks arriving faster, though they'll be shorter bursts than Book One. I know it's not the typical Royal Road/Patreon model, and I'm sorry if that's frustrating. Or against meta. I really just want it to be fucking great for you all. My goal from day one has been to tell you the best possible version of this story, and that hasn't changed.

PS2: Belly of the Boargore King is already available on Patreon, and I've found two fantastic beta readers helping me polish the first arc. If you spot something broken, let me know so I can fix it before it goes wide to Royal Road on August 24th. Okay. That's enough of that. NOW the part you actually want -- and I made this myself, not with AI, so whatever that's worth or not worth depending on if you like this logo. BEHOLD: Play Scared: Belly of the Boargore King!

This one had several titles before landing here: Basement of the Boargore King was in the running, and The Butcher's Basement stuck around for a while before the BGK showed his pig-like head. I'm holding one of the other title runner-ups for Book Three or Four. What's it about? I think the title speaks for itself if you're mapping horror genres to zones. If not, you'll figure it out fast... I'm not exactly subtle with the homage. Thank you so fucking much for reading 107, 484 words I wrote.

There is much, much more to come. Additionally, to celebrate the completion of Book One, I thought I'd share what I've created as the official unofficial Play Scared soundtrack. They should be sorted in the order I applied them manually, but I don't fully trust how playlists work, so your mileage may vary. It's on YouTube Music and not Spotify, because I got a free premium subscription via some promo a long time ago for YouTube Premium. But I digress!

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. https: //music. youtube. com/playlist? list=PLcMJxPD7MSZZ_lywaPHneJIv92OQ-X-Fe&si=mqNT9gFCpN7jVGfy It's a mix of things I listened to while writing, songs mentioned or referenced in the text, and tracks that just vibe with the book. Aquarius is mentioned in the story. Jimmy Olsen's Blues plays in my head during the maggot scene, weirdly. Right Place Wrong Time is a jam and works so well thematically.

Usually, when I write, I need silence or music with no lyrics, but I've found this book to be entirely different. Maybe it's because I've never written a novel before, but normally I can't focus with lyrics. Play Scared demanded a soundtrack; songs would pop into my head as I wrote it, and I'd put them on to silence my brain. For screenplays I've written, the soundtrack usually comes together later; as I'm doing revisions, I'll imagine what the songs would play over the scenes. As a result, this playlist exists.

Not sure if it translates the same when reading the book. You'll have to tell me if this kind of thing is worth sharing in the future, or if you don't give a fuck what music I listen to and just want chapters. Continuing down the track list, The Grease track is a reference to Plaxx's Frankie Avalon haircut and whole persona. Alice Cooper's classic gets a mention, and so does the Mission: Impossible theme. Reel Big Fish's Sell Out and Rancid's Ruby Soho are both there because of 90s ska.

Ruby Soho plays during the walk to school. Sell Out is what I hear at the end of the book when the ska music kicks in to celebrate the end of the zone. Don't Stop Believin' plays in Mickey's Diner during the gearing-up montage. I don't make the rules. That's just how it is. Smashing Pumpkins because the entire zone has 90s vibes, and because the world is a vampire. Literally, in the Grindhouse. AAAAAAH MEN! by Doja Cat is playing at the summer camp.

Mathematics by Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) reminds me of the cost of life that weighs on Nora most. This is a song that popped into my life in college and never left. Lyrically brilliant in the way he uses numbers as both a gimmick and an indictment of systemic oppression in America. I love the way he weaponizes the statistics of bloated national defense budgets and music industry exploitation against criminally low minimum wages and the booming prison-industrial complex... and this song came out in 1999!!!

Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients Young bloods can't spell, but they could rock you at PlayStation I mean COME ON! What a line! And I hear you: at first glance, a classic 90s hip-hop anthem about systemic oppression and a LitRPG horror-comedy, Play Scared, might seem like they exist in different universes. But Yasiin raps about systems profiting off people, and Nora is thrown into a sadistic survival game explicitly designed by a demonic entity to harvest human fear.

Also, the entire premise of the LitRPG genre is that life, death, and human capability are reduced to stats, skills, and leveling up. It almost perfectly mirrors one of Yasiin's most chilling lines: From your phone, your Zip Code to SSI digits The system break man, child, and women into figures Is that not what Maltheris has done? Or the AI in DCC? Back to the soundtrack. The strings from Psycho bleed directly into Gimme Some More by Busta Rhymes, which gets called out explicitly in the camp scene.

Will It Go Round In Circles felt thematically compatible, and so does Take Back The Power by The Interrupters, but that one also plays specifically when Nora calls the skateboard into her hand before she smashes the last Lake Mother into the ground. The Your Day Will Come epilogue, and all of the Iris-related chapters, are titled after songs by Streetlight Manifesto, one of my favorite bands. These titles are very specifically chosen for both thematic and character reasons.

I even mapped a small arc for her around them. Worth listening to the lyrics. There's relevant stuff in there, like this: And I have seen the monsters That will haunt her That will tear her all apart Make of that what you will, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts below. And finally: Suspiria by Goblin is the closest thing I can hear to credits music when I imagine a movie version of Book One. Book Two begins Monday, August 24th, 2026. That's in a week! I'd better get writing! Hearts & Farts, ShawnD