As per tradition, I never really join the ONC without multiple entries, so here is the second main entry that I wrote and submitted for the contest. This story is not without tribulation though, and in this part's story time, I'll tell you all about it.

As you all know, Deadly Wicked is the second official entry, so it means it has received relatively less attention than the other entry. But, even so, this novella has got to be the easiest to develop, mostly because it is already in my niche genre, Fantasy, with a bit of romance trope thrown into it, which is fake dating. I've always wanted to experiment with the romance tropes and figure out how to twist them my way, and for once, I'm happy it turned out nicely with this novella.

As such, the ending and Mavyn's entire character is initially not built up the way it is now. She was supposed to be a meek witch who got it bad for her dead fiance and not...whatever this was. xD She definitely surprised even me during the plotting phase. I even tried to steer her story towards what I initially wanted it to be—an emotional damage fantasy romance novella that hinges on heartbreak and loss—but...Mavyn just wouldn't follow. This means that I had to reframe the entire story and look at it with fresh eyes. And the result is what you have just read.

I have no idea if that is a good decision, but rest assured that it is not entirely not mine. I had the reputation of always directing my characters to where they should be, and this is the first work that I had a character directly fight me and wrench the story from my hands. So now, all I'm left with is writing the incident report to you guys. Imagine being a backdrop to your own novella. That's exactly how I felt writing Mavyn and the wicked world of the Kathari. ;-;

So...yeah. It's an uphill battle from this point forward, but I am excited about the trajectory of this series and the overall direction that Mavyn pointed me to. There are certainly more to explore in this series, and the way I set the series up is nothing short of wondrous. But that's all I can say about it. As usual, I don't talk about my projects any more than what is necessary. Who knows? There might be more in store. Only time will tell. 😉

Of course, this work won't be possible without the help of the awesome ONC community over at several communities I unwittingly found myself in, particularly: DreamlandCommunity, BootcampMentors, WritersConnX, and LiteraryLounge. Seriously, keep doing what you do best—helping writers find their communities in the vast orange world of Wattpad.

Finally, we get to the most important part of this mega essay: the acknowledgement section! I would, first and foremost, give a shout out to the Mango Matriarch, SuVida777. Thank you so much for spearheading the mango cult that I will forever be a member of. I told you I would work hard to get your sticker to the winning slate, and look where we are now! I'm in shambles. 😭 Keep shining, and keep writing your kawaii heroines. You rock, and keep doing so! Uwu.

To my long time friends, TessaTuring, Waterbender_poet, and AmnerisTenjo, you guys seriously keep me sane and provide me a safe space to rant about anything and everything in that tiny space we occupy. Thank you so much for all you are!

And I did say something about the community spirit, right? Well, cheers to my all time cheerleaders - BrianMullin0, Kaiddance, Ry-reader-29, EverythingsNothing, EvelynHail, allrenwrote, -DeeIsDead-, DrizzleTheWolf, MilaForLife, yaris052018, GandalfofspaceAnli, Shivran86, WendyyWolfe, MusicalKehleigh, Saramitra_, DomiSotto, pixelmum, starisredy, Renaissance1111, HeideHunt, AnnamitaMuscaria, BreanneLHeureux, anonymous_audrey, Queen_of_life_Heba, and M_A_Hartman. Thank you so much for showing up every time they release the winners and qualifiers every round in the ONC and dropping in my little corner to celebrate the milestones across all ONC entries with me! I told you that I remember you. You have my heartfelt gratitude for making these wins not feel lonely. Thank you!

Special shoutout to BrianMullin0 and FoxLock34 for their energy and creativity. You guys make me chuckle with every inventive and enthusiastic congratulations ever! I appreciate the effort and all you are. Keep rocking and passing the torch forward! 🙂

Thank you as well to BootcampMentors and yaris052018 for giving my ONC entries the shoutouts in your message boards. It means a lot to this undiscovered plebian. Special thanks to Nablai for tagging me every time in various discord servers as a way to congratulate us and for not faltering every round. To neverfakeit as well, for never missing my name in your congratulations. To BirtheV, for populating my dying corner in LL, thank you for dropping by to celebrate my milestones with me.

Special shoutout to RookWri78, Kaiddance, and laurimilangie for dropping by personally to offer your congratulations. I truly, really appreciate it. You guys might have just caught me just waking up, so apologies if my replies sounded a bit confused at that time. 😂

To those who have celebrated Deadly Wicked's achievements throughout the contest's duration: Juleove, Sapphire-Rain, Cross-Warrior, Roy_Taler, chaotic_naturx, AziaElga, ZonderZorg, BlueStarrySky1, WrennaStone, lexalee17, axgirl13, Brei_Mcgillicutty_17, Davrielle, AmeliaCrossGE, alana_kate, ToWolfKin, ahkaswrites, AmariOkito, jinnis, storieswithsoul, DreamingAboutCats, LiamMcMarsha, JankyFluffy, MGHicks_reloaded, Jadiinvine, CrownedMadness, ArestaDinata, and TheCagedWriter14 — thank you for dropping by even if briefly to congratulate the milestones this novella reached! Your support will always be appreciated. Keep being awesome people. Thank you so, so much!

To the people who went far and beyond in supporting Mavyn's journey:

lexalee17 — Thank you for picking up this novella when you had the chance, and unprompted too! Your comments seriously delighted me. I am glad that you enjoyed Mavyn's story as much as you did. Thank you so much! :)

yaris052018 — Thank you so much for reading this novella in full despite not being required. Your comments are so insightful they made me think you should have written this instead! You are a great writer, and a thoroughly awesome reader. Keep being you, and continue to pay it forward. Thank you for loving this work as much as I did, maybe even more. ♥️

To the people who have left comments, votes, and reads along the way: carol_carrots, dianhauraa, MilaForLife, sorrellia, BellOfSilence, ThePerfectChild13, WriterObsessed_Queen, TheConfusedTurtle, MusicalKehleigh, alana_kate, GandalfofspaceAnli, Davrielle, WakeWriteWrath, fionafel, viva_vamp, WrenMorgan, avadel, pixelmum, KatWynter, and soxiarchive — thank you so much for interacting with Deadly Wicked and for the notes you leave. The notifications coming my way are seriously making up my day every time. You have my gratitude for walking along this path with me, even if a bit briefly.

To the people who added Deadly Wicked to their reading lists: Shivran86, DrizzleTheWolf, Ry-reader-29, starisredy, allrenwrote, EverythingsNothing, BootcampMentors, TheCagedWriter14, Queen_of_life_Heba, ratpoison1600, GraveyardSiren, DomiSotto, violadavis, BarbaraRatliff3, LilOldMeTree, favcountrywriting, BrianMullin0, AriaOfStorms, EllenFairyBlue4, sternentreumerin, Casey0207, Oxviola, Van_Carley, FoxLock34, AziaElga, WrennaStone, Han_writer21, MiyaHikari, chaotic_naturx, honey-locust, druidrose, Tanu_ambia, Sarae-Seong, Habiba-Sejuti, ninaisawip, BlueStarrySky1, _BLACKSPADESZ, and HyperKatKei— thank you so much for including this novella in your collections. Whether you are interested in this novella or not, rest assured that I will be forever grateful that you clicked that + button and crossed paths with me even just for a short time.

A huge thank you to the judges and OpenNovellaContest for making this contest and this community possible. This novella getting Honorable Mention was just a big added bonus. Seriously, I never thought I'd get to this milestone considering I have one that already won. Thank you so much for loving Mavyn as much as I did. It is truly an honor I never thought I'd receive in a short time. 😭

And to you, dear reader, please know that even if you are not mentioned here, if you interact with this story in the near and far future, know that I will remember you as long as you make yourself known and leave a note for me to go on. Readers are the backbone of this community, and I seriously couldn't have made it without you.

To people who have made it this far, I have decided to give you a little teaser. You guessed it: it's an announcement of the next book that will drop in this series. And that is... drum roooooooooll

🎉 Wickedly Deadly 🎉

This is a novel that tackles Mavyn and Valen's story in a deeper and more comprehensive level than the novella did. No, it's not an extension! It's a different story that will serve as both the prequel and the direct sequel of Deadly Wicked! When will this be up? Who knows? It might be around the corner or in the far future. We can never be really sure! 😜

See you all in the Open Novella Contest 2025! Be ready for fun and exciting surprises! 😉