The Origin

From 2007 and beyond

Back in 2007, I heard the song “Everything” by Michael Bublé and my brain was never the same. Listening to that song on loop, as a kid, led to the creation of Michael Baston, a character who I then piled all of my trauma onto in order to process the big changes in my life.

I’d tried writing this series countless times since, but in 2019 something clicked and I found myself going all in.

This series is a fusion of everything and everyone I’ve ever loved, inspired by every person, place, experience, and fandom, that left its mark in my life.

If you’re:

  • a third-culture kid / a first or second gen immigrant

  • neurospicy

  • queer

  • struggling with complex feelings, grief, panic attacks, trauma, PTSD, C-PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc.

  • conflicted on what healthy masculinity looks like in this day and age

  • really into lore-heavy plots, magical realism, and beloved fandom-worthy tropes

Then, this is the book series for you.

This has been (and will continue to be) the loving labour of a lifetime. So, rest assured, you will never run out of content to gobble up once you join in on Michael’s journey.

The Structure

A Trilogy of Trilogies

The goal of this series is to answer the question:

“When life takes away everything you love, is it still possible to love life?”

Heavily inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, of course this whole series is split up into threes - three alternating narrators, three arcs, made of nine volumes each, which can be thematically split up into further groups of threes.

Arc 1: Heaven - 9 volumes

We get to know Michael and his never-changing routines. Things are relatively peaceful, despite his struggles with his undiagnosed and untreated PTSD. But, when a new girl comes into town, chaos and conspiracies he’s unaware of gradually unravel all around him. Just when he thought he couldn’t lose anymore, things end for the absolute worst, which pushes us into the next arc~

Arc 2: Purgatory - 9 volumes

Lore and mysteries start to surface, forcing Michael to confront and process the horrors imposed upon him, his life, and his loved ones. He decides to fight through it all, no matter the dangers or emotional strains. He does his best and, somehow, manages to regain some sense of normalcy in his life. But, he’s not the man he used to be, so normal no longer feels like home. It’s a journey to grieve who he used to be, but at least the fight is over.

Arc 3: Hell - 9 volumes

Michael is unfortunately not done suffering, though - loss hits him once again, and the false sense of security he’d gained makes it hit so much worse. As he verges towards destructive insanity, the struggle to answer the theme’s question becomes inconceivably difficult. Will he manage?