Taking Flight -- Part 1

Huzzah! I've done it! It's taken me a few months, but damn, TAKING FLIGHT is here. First and foremost, I'd like to thank the Academy for their nomination and -- wait. Sorry, wrong speech. Got a little ahead of myself here...
I digress.
TAKING FLIGHT, like CAGED BIRD, was intended to be written as one story, but to save y'alls poor eyeballs, I've broken it up into parts. (At the moment, there are three.) TAKING FLIGHT is not nearly as long as its predecessor, but it packs a more emotional punch. TF flips back and forth between Abram and Cayde, as you will find out shortly, and has plenty of flashbacks, which you guys will need when you see what's coming!
Well, without further ado, here's part one of the sequel to CAGED BIRD:

Taking Flight

"Caged Bird" Extras and Whatnot

With most stories I write, I usually have extras or "behind-the-scenes" tidbits to help me stay on track with the story and also to put a clear image in my head of my characters, setting, et cetera, et cetera. "Caged Bird" did not deviate from my usual modus operandi, so I have a playlist and a small "behind the name" thingy that I thought you guys might be interested in taking a peek at.
Or not.
Anyway, without further ado...

Caged Bird Playlist

Cayde's playlist

1. Whispers in the Dark by Mumford & Sons

2. Sleeping At the Wheel by Matchbox Twenty  

3. Blank Maps by Cold Specks

4. Into the Grey by Everest

5. Ride This Feeling by Kate Miller-Heidke

6. 5678! by Butterfly Boucher

7. Scream by Usher

8. Let Yourself Go by Green Day 

9. When a Heart Breaks by Ben Rector

10. Diamonds by Rihanna

Abram's playlist

1. Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter

2. No Reflection by Marilyn Manson

3. Beast of Burden by The Rolling Stones

4. Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin

5. Sweet Lady Luck by Whitesnake

6. Fire Woman by The Cult

7. Wish by Nine Inch Nails

8. Come As You Are by Nirvana

9. Deus Culpa + Con clavi con Dio by Ghost (hint: inspiration behind band's imagery FYI)

10. Lie by Black Light Burns

Behind the Name

...of We The Shepherds

It was an interesting picture, to be honest. Here was this random guy dressed in priest’s robes and a duster, surrounded by five other guys dressed as executioners; the sound of what could possibly be a satanic call-to-arms reverberating between the walls of The Offering. And all he does is simply smile at me and raise the microphone to lips smeared with red paint and lead the masses into a familiar but odd prayer. - from "Caged Bird"

 Okay. The key words here are "familiar but odd prayer", just in case the yellow highlighter didn't tip you off. And here is the prayer:

"And Shepherds we shall be

For thee, my Lord, for thee.

Power hath descended forth from Thy hand

Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands.

So we shall flow a river forth to Thee

And teeming with souls shall it ever be.

In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti." - from "The Boondock Saints"

Twisted guy, twisted music, twisted name. And it all makes sense now, doesn't it?


Anyway, these are just a few extras I had stashed away on my hard drive. I have more, which I'll post once I have them all together.

Have a great weekend everyone!
-LA

P.S.: All songs go straight to YouTube videos which may or may not be available in your country. If *any* of the songs are to your liking PLEASE LEGALLY DOWNLOAD/BUY THEM FROM THE ARTISTS. Can't stress that shit enough. Stop pirating and pay for the tunes, yo.
P.S.S: I'm not responsible for how stupid the music videos can be. Blame the artists and their lack of creative direction. (Whatever works for you, works for me.)

Caged Bird, Pt. 3

Just a reminder, this story was meant to be a standalone and read entirely in one sitting. Because of it's 20K word length, I thought subjecting everyone to read it all on one long blog post would be something akin to torture on the eyeballs. Thus, I broke it down into three parts for easier reading. Like the other two parts, this one follows exactly where the other left off, and as it is the final piece of the story, I hope it meets everyone's expectations.
As always, this is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance of people, places, and/or events is entirely coincidental.

Caged Bird

Caged Bird -- Pt. 2

As stated in my previous post, "Caged Bird" is one continuous story. Part 2 picks up immediately where Part 1 left off. Comments and feedback are very much welcome.
As always, this is a work of fiction. Any similarity to people, events, and places are entirely coincidental.
Enjoy!

Caged Bird, Pt. 2

Long Time No See

...and that whole chestnut.

Sorry about my being M.I.A., guys. New job has me pooped M-F and weekends have been reserved for outside activities, meaning I haven't been on the computer in, like, weeks. Yikes! Anyway, I've been getting emails the past few weeks...okay, okay MONTHS, asking me what in the hell happened to so and so, and what about those chapters you promised to post?

Well, good things come to those who wait. I've FINALLY got my shizz together enough to post the first chapter of my new story, which I've re-titled "Caged Bird" for reasons you guys will probably pick up on throughout the story.

A bit of info before we begin: "Caged Bird" is intended to be one story, but I thought perhaps because of the length of it, I should break it down for easier reading and whatnot. I'll probably post it to Literotica in one go eventually, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Another tidbit of info: one of the protagonists is named CAYDE. Her name is pronounced "CAY-dee", not "CADE". Just an FYI. Finally, the story is not fully edited, so if there are inconsistencies, feel free to make a comment below the post and let me know. If you do this, please refer to the EXACT LINE if you can, because counting paragraphs etc., is a tedious chore for someone with as little patience as me. =)

As always, this is a work of fiction, similar characters, places or situations are completely coincidental.
Copyrighted by LilithArchivist.

Caged Bird