Hi guys!

I know a lot of you asked for an epilogue for several months, and I'm sure some of you have given up on me actually writing one, but I'm doing it! I promise! I really love this story. "Plastic Stars" gave me so much inspiration from the start that I had to push away all my schoolwork to get it done (even though I had to write a page research paper that I just barely finished in time) just to finish it because it just wouldn't leave my mind. 

While the epilogue isn't giving me as much inspiration as I'd like it to have given me (which is the main reason why it's taking so long) I am still planning on finishing it. There are four stages instead of five because I ran out of milestones to use. I did debate having MarkJin adopt a child at the fifth stage, but I felt like it wouldn't fit with the epilogue's flow.

What I AM giving you guys as a sort of consolation gift is the hook for each stage, and the overall motif. So here it is!

Mark's twenty when he debuts with Jinyoung.

He's twenty-two when he and Jinyoung come out as a couple.

He's twenty-four when he gets engaged.

He's twenty-six when they get married.

As you can see, I decided to do Mark's perspective for the epilogue. With Jinyoung, I explored his insecurity in something so far from him and his culture (homouality as well as Mark himself) and how he builds himself up to take that first step to bridge this gap to bring what he loves into his life. With Mark, I am exploring the reassurance he has in himself and others, and how that affects Jinyoung, especially when he hides it or doesn't vocalize his thoughts. Not really that much growth, but this is an epilogue, so this just ties up any loose ends or theories.

The overall motif is real stars. Yes, Jinyoung and Mark have the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars, but Jinyoung and Mark are growing up. They're adults now, and while they still have that physical reminder, their lives have become so busy that they don't get to spend that much time in their room looking at them. However, they do accomplish a lot of things at night, under real stars, so that's what I'm playing with.

I hope I gave you enough information to keep you guys excited for the epilogue! I'm currently writing the third stage, and it's getting pretty long, so I predict the last stage will also be long, so wait for me!

thequietrecluse