LITTLE BY LITTLE

LITTLE BY LITTLE

HI IM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS SILLY LITTLE STORY. it is:

a feel good lighthearted story about a bunch of kids in high school 👍

one half enemies to lovers romance, other half queerplatonic coming of age 🤨

dual storyline following two annoying siblings who will die for each other 🤱

set in chennai because i want to draw the city i grew up in and have a crisis over not having seen it enough 🤯

me deciding to compensate for my non existent final years of high school via fiction because who needs therapy tbh 🤔

BLURB

It’s Sameera’s last year of high school, and everything’s going her way: she’s a student council head, the captain of the girl’s Kho-Kho team, and she’s liked by almost everyone in her grade. Almost. Frigid, uptight Kayalvizhi, fellow council head, is the lone exception. Their first interaction was a nightmare, and while Sameera is told that Kayalvizhi’s just indifferent to everyone around her, she still feels personally attacked. So when the two of them are paired up as the cultural leaders for their school’s end-of-year ceremony, she’s more than thrilled to prove Kayal wrong by outshining her in everything. Too bad the latter’s determined to shut Sameera up by competing just as fiercely. What neither of them expects, though, is to find common ground, or to realise that the other person isn't who they thought they were, or, god forbid, actually start to enjoy each other’s company.

Anbu is a reserved kid, Sameera’s younger sibling by two years and the apple of every teacher’s eyes. Still just getting used to adolescence, Anbu is, to say the least, a bit disoriented. They’re exploring their confusing world, trying out new hobbies, grappling with their gender identity and pushing the limits of the life they’ve led so far. But right when they think they’ve got it all figured out, change hits them between the eyes in the name of Tamizh—their cool, mysterious neighbour who’s come back from Mumbai years after moving away. Anbu and Tamizh were childhood best friends, but that's childhood, and they know better than anyone else that adolescence upends everything with a rage. As the two’s rekindled friendship begins to deepen, Anbu is left questioning whether they see him as a friend, a crush, or something else entirely.

At least one thing’s certain for them all: this will be an unforgettable year.

CHARACTERS

SAMEERA. she/her, bi. annoying ass extroverted jock mf. everyones fave gremlin. needs constant love and validation or else she will perish

ANBU. they/them, trans. former sweetheart now saddled with a growing bloodthirst. going through too much all at once and is on the verge of emotional burnout.

KAYALVIZHI. she/her, trans, lesbian. moody ass introverted nerd mf. hates every single person to ever grace this planet and i love her so much actually

TAMIZH. he/him, aro. Resident Cool Kid™ except he feels very uncool and very unchill, ball of nerves just barely keeping it together. is unlearning a lot of toxic beliefs on gender and he’s doing it with style.

SO WHATS THE DEAL HERE

idk what happened in the last two years but i’ve gone from being a prose hoe to a webcomic bitch and it has been working out great for me. comics are such a brilliant format for someone who’s equal parts artist and writer and recently all my important all-consuming story ideas have been webcomic ideas and im so excited to get to make them!!

there are two parts to this story, two parallel arcs, one for each sibling: sameera’s enemies to lovers story with kayal and anbu’s queerplatonic coming of age thing with tamizh. i think the main inspiration behind this was a) bridgerton season two which was the first time i actually ENJOYED an enemies-to-lovers romance and which made me go hmm yanno what. i’m going to do the same but without british people. b) me realising that as much as i love romance and writing romantic relationships i also would like to write a queerplatonic relationship please and thank you [it is endlessly amusing to me that my favourite genre is romance despite me being aromantic lmao] and i esp wanted to try writing a qpr from the pov of the non-aromantic character, just for that extra spice!

in the very short time ive had these four they’ve taken over my brain completely and i love it so much!! im currently working to on getting the basic prep work done [character turnarounds, uniform designs, bg models etc etc] and i’ll post updates on progress whenever i feel like lmao

one of the longest non-descriptive paragraphs in prestissimo, con dolore is entirely a serious discussion of which blackwood sibling is most likely to believe in ghosts

when florence welch said 'those heavy days in june when love became an act of defiance' she was talking about enjolras and grantaire dying hand in hand in the june rebellion

ok but in GOOD publishing news, we’ve officially landed on a title for my debut😭 creds to @prince–kiriona - thanks for the stellar suggestion!

DEAD GIRLS DON’T SAY SORRY coming summer 2024!

[image description: a photograph of a wave crashing against the ocean. to the right, in a white serif font, reads “@dallonwrites” /end id]

@dallonwrites​ | writeblr intro

hi! my name is dallon (he/him) and i’m a 22 year old transmasculine, autistic writer from the uk. i mostly write literary fiction but im trying to branch out. i like writing about complicated queerness, autistic protagonists and, occasionally,  zombie apocalypses

instagram: dallonwrites personal blog: @thelostboys87​ 

minors are allowed to interact if they are comfortable doing so, but i am an adult and sometimes will post adult content. i also will not interact closely if you are minor or don’t have your age in your bio (i may follow back/reblog your work, but i won’t dm and things like that). no hard feelings!

my published work

you can find all my published work either on my LINKTREE or HERE. check the latter out for summaries and content warnings!

my current projects

Revelations, Revelations: personal project. litfic/historical series following multiple queer characters living in san francisco in the 1980s. current focus is on twins trying to reconcile and process their childhood trauma/co-dependency when they reunite after four years apart.

Swimming Pool Prayers: tentative title for my short story collection. featuring complicated transmasculinity, fraught relationships, christian trauma and bodies of water.

Ammonites For Eyes: novel. litfic. a trans man is forced back to his coastal hometown and back into the closet after the death of his mother, and has to reckon with his fragmented identity when his half-sister looks for a new maternal figure in him.

Life Cycle Of Massive Stars: novel. litfic/contemporary/????. an examination of university life, transness, grief and romance through the lenses of two autistic best friends.