Content Warnings for As the Moon Chases the Sun
As the Moon Chases the Sun takes place in a dark fantasy setting with strong horror elements. This book showcases a diverse cast facing their own traumas. Of the most traumatic elements of this work (particularly those that involve abuse) none are intended to be fetishized, trivialized, or romanticized.
THIS BOOK CONTAINS
Graphic violence, including:
Gore
Blood (a lot of it. Vampires).
Blood Consumption (animal and human, frequent)
Killing of animals for food and blood (on screen, frequent)
Physical altercations (on-screen, frequent)
Mass/serial killing
Broken bones
Loss of body part/limbs (infrequent, but detailed)
War
Violent on screen death(s)
Domestic violence
Abuse, including
Physical abuse of major character(s) in childhood (on and off-screen)
Emotional abuse (on-screen)
Narcissistic abuse (on-screen)
Animal abuse (off-screen)
Sexual assault, violence, and coercion (off-screen present ((background element, arc-specific, no major characters)) and implied past ((major characters)))
Sexual harassment (implied)
Captivity (on-screen and off)
Bride kidnapping/references to (on and off-screen)
(Implied) offscreen sexual trauma of major character(s)
Mild-to-moderate sexual content, including:
Sexual tension
Foreplay (lovers kissing/fondling/lying together, low detail)
Nudity of a sexual nature (low detail)
Casual, consensual sex (low detail)
Cracked-door sex scenes (low-to-moderate detail, focusing on the emotional aspects of sex and pleasure rather than physical descriptors)
And other potentially triggering elements such as:
Cosmic horror
Religious trauma (on screen and off)
Ritual scarification (elective and non-elective, off screen)
Self-harm/suicide attempt (references to)
Masochism (implied)
Mind-control
Abandonment
Alcoholism/references to
Loss of parent(s)/loved ones (on screen and off)
References to pandemics/sickness/chronic illness
Vomiting (on screen, infrequent)
Sexism
Colonialism and oppression
References to (past and ongoing) genocide, ethnic cleansing, and cultural genocide
Nudity (non-sexual), including cultural nudity, swimming, communal bathing, and situations in which magic destroys clothes
Survival situations/natural disasters
The implied drugging of a (major) character
Drug/alcohol consumption
Mental illness
Chronic illness (on screen, frequent)
Childbirth/with complications (on screen, opening scenes)
Miscarriage (on screen, ambiguous)
Discussions of infertility and miscarriage/stillbirth/child loss
Elissa experiences a condition that, while there is no exact term for it in the context of her fantasy world, most closely resembles two different conditions: the first, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, known as POTS, a form of autonomic nervous system dysfunction. It commonly causes rapid drops in blood pressure and results in fainting, extreme fatigue, heat sensitivity, blood pooling, as well as several comorbid GI issues.
The second condition Elissa suffers from would most accurately be described as physical damage to the heart muscle caused by her bout with Blue Boil Fever. This may be considered similar to Rheumatic Heart Disease, or classified as a more generic post-infectious heart condition.
While her experience is by no means beat-for-beat clinical, Elissa’s experience with POTS was not written in a vacuum. The author experienced post-infectious POTS for years after contracting COVID-19 in 2020.
It was important to the author to depict the chronic health conditions and mental health of her characters in a way that avoided unsavory tropes, or treated Aurelian’s healing as an end-all-be-all to disease and disability. This is expressly why, despite being able to mend broken bones, balm aches, pains, and some aspects of Elissa’s chronic pain, “he is no god to cure her disease.” He cannot fill in scars or regrow limbs (though, arguably, he's pretty talented with eyes).
Moreover, we ask, if someone had such an ability—what would be the cost?
Who would want to exploit it?
Who or what would the healer/healed be subservient to in return?
As with most elements of this work, the idea of “magic healing” is explored as both a fantasy element and a horror element, rather than with the intent to depict it through a lens of being Elissa's rescue.
Neurodivergence also exists prominently in the continuum of the author's works, and will never be treated as something that needs "fixing."