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The final installment of The Last Straw is here! And it's nearly double the length of the previous parts - just under 15,000 words with 14 images. The complete trilogy is now 33,000 words and 40 images, which is... not a snapshot. It's a novella. I don't know what to tell you. Eddie grabbed me by the throat back in Part 1 and never let go.

I won't spoil anything, but I will say: if Part 1 was a war story and Part 2 was about survival, Part 3 is about what happens when you stop surviving and start living.

I can't wait to hear what you think. These characters have lived in my head for a few months now, but it's time to let them go. 💕

P.S. In case you've been waiting to read the whole thing once it was finished, I've attached an omnibus with all three parts combined!

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Comments

Gemma

Just beautiful, beautiful Emory. You inhabit both the complexities within not only Eddie’s but also Walt’s mind and psyche. You so amazingly and accurately capture the confusion, angst and journeys of both these protagonists and ultimately the experiences and journeys of so many. Thank you 🙏

Pet Jeffery

Thank you for that. You are right. 33,000 words is a novella. And just under 15,000 words is almost half of the novella. I'm a slow reader, and it may take me several days to finish it. So, I'm afraid, you'll have to wait to hear what I think, but you will hear.

ender8343

The bit at the end about the ones that don't make it is beautiful and depressing at the same time, and sadly still relevant today. God I am crying a little before having to start working.

Maggie Heels

❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

Ellen Mellor

Thank you so much. I read the entire story and re-experienced all the feelings I had in the first two installments, plus more. The final part was moving and wonderful and so sweet. I was so happy for her - and, loved the permanent change from 'Eddie' to 'Edie' , it was so subtle and I love that it just happened, the same way that her pronouns changed. It was so moving and hearfelt, there were more tears as she found the love of her life. I adored the idea that Walt was creating a sort of reverse 'Picture of Dorian Grey' here, capturing her true self long before he knew. It's a slightly odd courtship, but it works. (it also sort of vaguely reminded me of the ST:TNG episode 'Haven' with the guy falling in love with a woman from a dream that he thought was Deanna. I spent the whole episode going 'he's trans and this is her vision of herself as a woman. And Deanna is still going to marry her and it's going to be a gorgeous lesbian couple on the Enterprise'. Which would at least have made Deanna vaguley useful in some way. And she could have used her oh-so-useful abilities so that when she returns to her cabin to discover her wife lying on the bed in lingerie, beckoning to her, she can say "My wife... I sense that she's horny!". But that's by the by and has very little to do with this gorgeous story. I really believe this is the best writing you've done. While I obviously love everything you've done, this stands head and shoulders above the rest. While a follow up with her from Denmark and happily being Walt's muse would be dull, it would still be quite nice to see. If only for the fashions...

Jessika

Wonderful...so immersive!

Jerome B

Another amazing story Emory! Your storytelling is sublime, not to mention your knowledge and attention to detail. I loved the way this ended, more than I had hoped for at the end of Chapter 1. ❤️😊

Tim

Beautiful!—the prose... the art... every bit of this story is beautiful. And I especially loved the final image—Edie enjoying a morning coffee on a tenement fire escape in what looks like New York's Upper West Side in the 1950s.

Bella Lime

Wonderful wrap up to the story. I’ll forgive you making me sob again. Lol. So glad you included that last render from New York fire escape showing her happy presumably with Walt, having stopped “running”.

Crewchick

Emory, a beautiful and fitting conclusion to wonderful and superbly written and masterfully illustrated story. Brava! I am not sure any words can do it justice. It speaks for itself in the reading. As I said about the other two installments, it is certainly a trans story, but your writing style makes it very much a human story. Something I can tell you poured a great amount of yourself and your literary and personal experience into. That is something that can't be faked. It is also what makes it so real and relatable beyond the Transgender community. Any person of any background can read this story and pick-up on the fear, self-doubt, isolation, anxiety, insecurity, the oppression of stereotypes and misperceptions, The desire to be invisible while holding back a craving to be seen for who one really is. We here much in the business world about imposter syndrome. People who feel they have not earned the praise and reputation they receive. But instead of enjoying the fruits of that, it only causes them stress and anxiety and pressure to try and live up to that reputation with a constant fear they will be found out. And the longer this goes on it can drive a person down a career path they don't really want or enjoy, because they are afraid changing jobs or careers midstream while they are successful will somehow reveal them to have been an imposter all along. I think people in that situation, even if they don't understand Edie, can certainly relate to Eddie. He is a decorated war veteran, a Staff NCO with a reputation for being very good and highly professional at what he does. And yet he feels like a phony. He has a secret he has tried to deny and hide away, that he knows will get him kicked out of the Army in disgrace, despite his combat awards and superior service. Not everyone can relate to his secret, but his fears and anxiety are completely human and relatable. there is a way you show Eddie/Edie coming to terms with and dealing with her anxiety. By going to the bathhouse and having them figuratively wash over her. That appealed to my sense of stoicism. My own life experiences have taught me that most negative emotions such as worry and anxiety are wasted energy that has no ability to change that which we fear. In most cases the phrase "it is what it is", applies. No amount of worry will change it. But what we can control is how we react and how we let the "it" affect us. There is also the other saying that we are the product of all our experiences, good and bad. We see Keiko teach Edie this. The fish market was devastating for her, and yet it also made her much stronger and confident in who she is. Those are experiences and lesson all people can relate to on some level. You leave the ending on what feel like positive notes, but you leave much for the reader to imagine for themselves. Do they actually stay together or does the light of the new day eventually dissolve the dreams of the night prior? If they stay together how does that play out. Does Edie come forward as trans expect a Section 8 or Administrative discharge that may be other than honorable? Does Edie wait to the end of her enlistment. To get out with good paper before rejoining Walt and starting any medically supported transition? However, I think you leave us a clue with the last image. That one that is my favorite of them all. Edie on a fire escape (brings up memories of Taylor Made) drinking her morning coffee with what looks like New York City in the background. Is this just a dream or fantasy like the image from earlier in the story of Edie walking down a street back home? Or is this where Edie ended up, living with Walt in his apartment in NYC. Again the reader is left to decide. This was not an easy story to tell, and yet you do it so masterfully. The characters are real and 3D. They are fully human. The story is about the birth of Edie, but the underlying emotions are relatable across a broad canvas of human experiences. This story should obviously resonate with the trans community, but one does not need to be trans or even particularly sympathetic to that community to find a connectivity to Eddie/Edie and the emotions she is experiencing while trying to do the "right thing" as she understood it in the norms of society at that time. Even when conforming leaves you an empty shell. Sometimes the "right thing" is choosing to be true to yourself regardless of what society may think. This is just my reading into it, but I don't see Edie and Walt as returning to the U.S. to become celebs for the Transgender community, as much as just two people trying to find a way to quietly live their lives as they are finding them reveled to themselves over time. No longer going to extremes to conform, but also not trying to stand out and call attention to themselves. NYC is one place where they may eventually find like-minded people. Or maybe they find a small community in Western Massachusetts or Maine where they are accepted or at least tolerated with little acrimony. And where they might buy a farm with a barn where Walt can paint and Edie can find something to do for the first time in her life that does not involve war, external or internal.

Jade Diaz

Jesus that was superb writing. Yes the art is incredible too, but you’re so good with words. Thank you 🙏

Tim

When I saw that final image, I thought Maria from West Side Story—same neighborhood... same era (mid-50s)... same hair color and style... and very nearly the same facial features as Natalie Wood. Can't help but think the film buff in Emory drew inspiration for this render from that classic movie.

Jade Diaz

Good call out actually. It is giving some West Side Story energy

Kris Greg

Beautiful story, Emory. This is one that I know that I will come back to re-read in a couple of months. While I wouldn't mind an epilogue, this story doesn't need one. We can end it with them finding one another.

Omagathief

I feel sorry for Keiko, nobody and I mean nobody deserves to be made to feel like someone’s “dirty little secret” like she was 🤬. Keiko is too good for Fumiko, who doesn’t know what she’s got ❤️

Crewchick

Agree with Jade, very good eye and very good call with the Westside Story comparison. It is interesting, we are seeing recurring fire escapes in Emory's work with connections to the 1950's. I noted that she had one in "Taylor Made". In that story I commented that scene reminded me of the "Moon River" scene in the movie and Maya dressed as Holly Golightly for Halloween. I think there is no question Emory is a classic movie buff. Would be interesting to hear from her how she thinks it may influence her writing.

Tamsin Davis-Langley

I love your work, Emory, and I always look forward to a new story from you with anticipation and delight, but this is the first piece where I’ve actually awaited the final installment with anxiety. I’m so glad to have it now, because this is heartachingly beautiful. It’s not merely my favorite of your stories; it’s one of my favorite stories, full stop. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

M Fielding

This was so very truthful and heartfelt from start to finish, Emory. It's hard to say anything other than thank you for this wonderful story and for keeping it real, in the best sense of the word.

Jenny S

Phew, Walt, you may have stumbled onto the one situation where obsessively painting a woman over and over again isn't creepy stalker behavior :P In all seriousness though, what a treasure this has been. The emergence of possibility when there didn't seem to be any is such a euphoric release, the tingling when the numbness goes away. What a great use of history, the hope given with social and medical progress. My heart swells for Edie as she a future opens up for her. One of your best works, Emory, absolutely amazing! <3

Pet Jeffery

I finished reading this in bed last night. My fear was unfounded that this would reach a wildly improbable conclusion. In reality, Edie would have had no easy route to transition. Well, there is no easy route even now, but the difficulties in the 1950s would have been considerably greater. Edie's position is quite different from Christine Jorgensen's prior to her transition. I'm reminded of a joke about someone asking for directions and receiving the reply, "If I was going there, I wouldn't start from here." That applies, as very far from a joke, to Edie's situation. It would have been easy, as a writer, to have written a fairy-tale happy-ever-after ending, but it would have rung false. We are left nearer the beginning than end of Edie's story, and that was the right decision for writing it. We can try to imagine our own continuations, all of the realistic ones difficult and painful. There is just one point that I would prefer to have been cleared up. At the end of the story, is Eddie absent without leave?

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Jessika! Immersive is exactly what I was going for. I wanted readers to feel like they were about to step out into that bar and see Walt, and be seen by Walt, for the first time. 💕

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much, Ellen! 💖 I really love the reverse Dorian Gray comparison. I'm mad I didn't think of it myself, at least not consciously. But that's exactly what's happening - she's aging in paint, becoming more real, while Eddie stays frozen. Thank you so, so much for saying this is the best thing I've done. These characters took something out of me (in a good way). I'm glad it shows on the page!

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Ender. 💖 You're a sweetheart. The ones that didn't come back is the section I couldn't stop thinking about after I wrote it. There are so many people we'll never count. I'm sorry for making you cry before work, but honestly I'm not that sorry. Thank you for feeling it.

Emory Ahlberg

Take your time! It's not going anywhere. I'd rather you read it at whatever pace feels right than rush through it.

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much, Gemma! Walt was the character I was most scared of getting wrong, honestly. It would've been easy to make him too perfect or too understanding. I needed him to be a real man with real confusion and real fear who just happened to also be someone who sees. I'm so glad that came through. 💕

Crewchick

All wonderful and insightful observations and comments. As to the AWOL, I had the same thoughts but was afraid to speak up and appear to be raining on an otherwise brilliant and well written and illustrated story. But that and the choker collar service uniform jacket at the start Part three were technical distractors for me. That jacket, famously associated with the "Doughboys" of WW I, was decommissioned some time after the war. The only services to retain the choker collar are the U.S. Marine Corps for its Blue Dress Uniform, and the U.S. Navy with it's choker whites for summer wear by officers and Chief Petty Officers. The Army adopted a more contemporary (for the time) service uniform with lapels and a tie. Enlisted wore an olive drab uniform both coat and trousers. Officers wore an olive jacket and khaki trousers. Later in the war to save on uniform costs and fabric shortages, a short jacket was issued in place of the belted suit coat, and was known as the "Ike Jacket". The design was likely borrowed from the British who had already been wearing a similar jacket. We can still see pictures of Eisenhower and Churchill wearing their respective jackets. The U.S. Army Air Force, became an independent service in 1947. They fought as an independent service in the Korean War and had their own distinct uniforms by that time, and certainly by 1955 about the time this story takes place in Japan. So just off the cuff Eddie's service uniform would have looked similar to the Army Service uniform, but in a dark shade of cadet blue, with a light blue shirt and Navy Blue tie. A less formal version would be the dark blue trousers and light blue shirt, short sleeve or long sleeve with rank on sleeves, with or without a tie. A working summer service uniform would have been khaki trousers, khaki shirt with distinctive blue inverted chevron rank on the sleeves, and a blue barracks cover or blue overseas cover. And I think a Navy Blue tie was sometimes worn with it. And a working uniform for the field or possibly working in a warehouse would have been the olive drab fatigues with blue name and service tapes. Regarding the AWOL, this has bothered me. I hate to see someone get bad paper because of none criminal, but imprudent behavior. AWOL is a criminal offense and could include jail time from several months to two years, a reduction of rank, forfeiture of pay, and a bad conduct discharge. Being caught engaged in a homosexual act at that time was also criminal and would be subject to a similar punishment with possibly longer jail time and a Dishonorable Discharge. Admitting to homosexual orientation without any related conduct that was labeled criminal or deviant, could get a person then a medical or administrative discharge. For this reason, it would probably be best if Edie waited until the end of her enlistment before attempting any transition and living as a woman with Walt. Then she at least would not have her life with Walt disrupted by a jail sentence of several months to a couple of years. And trans women in jail never do well. She would also be eligible for Veteran's benefits. Though using them would be difficult without presenting as Eddie at that time. As you point out, there are no real happy endings for a trans woman in this era. But some choices and outcomes could be much worse than others.

Emory Ahlberg

LOL - thank you for forgiving me, Bella - I was crying, too. And yeah, that fire escape image was always going to be the last one. Bare feet, coffee, morning light, no uniform, no wig - just her.... and Walt inside. 💕

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much, Jerome! 💕 More than you hoped for at the end of Chapter 1 is more than Edie hoped for, too. But I think we had to plunge into the dark for the light to feel earned - especially in this time / setting. I had a lot of emotions while writing this. 💖

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much, Tim! 💖 That was my intention. I couldn't do an epilogue, so I let the last image speak for itself. 😊

Pet Jeffery

I did wonder about that stand-up collar. I'm no expert on American military uniforms, but I've lived a long time and I have seen a lot of photos with American servicemen at different periods. The collar struck me as more appropriate for the First World War than for the 1950s. Still, I thought that maybe it was right. I don't know about American predilections for such things, but the British Army likes to dress its soldiers in uniforms that would have been more appropriate for the Napoleonic Wars. I've even seen recent footage of British air force personnel parading with swords. I'd be prepared to stick my neck out and say that nobody has ever fought with swords from aeroplanes. Weird! I don't even pretend to understand the military mind. The AWOL thing bothered me because I know that the military takes a dim view of it and that it can be punished severely. As to the homosexuality issue, I assume that it was, at the time, illegal in both the USA and Japan, although I have no details of that. It was only partially decriminalised in Britain in 1967, something that I recall as a news story. Even then, it was only legal for consenting adults in private. The 'in private' was taken to ridiculous lengths and men could still be arrested if there was anyone else in the building. I don't know when it became legal to have gay sex in a British hotel. And, of course, the armed services lag behind the law for civilians. I know that British servicemen could be prosecuted for gay coupling long after it became accepted for civilians. (I use the word 'men' advisedly because lesbianism was never illegal in Britain but, I'm sure, not accepted in the armed forces.) In the short term, Edie having sex with Walt was not a problem, because it had only been one night and only Edie and Walt knew about it. In the longer term, though, it would be difficult to keep secret.

Sarah-Wade Smith

No secret that I have been waiting for this one. I think it's going to go down with Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile On The Sandbank as one ofy favorite romance novels, ever. Having grown up in the 50s and 60s, I very much identify with Edie's attempts to not understand her identity and denying her truth to fit in. And she and Walt make such a beautiful couple. This is good. Well, satisfying to me at least. I know this is the last episode but I do think you have left a door open for a sequel. The bit about Edie wondering what happens when a sergeant starts growing breasts opens up the story of her transitioning. Sadly, having been in ROTC in the early 70s, I'd have to say nothing good. The slightest hit of either same sex attraction or gender nonconformity was treated as grounds for a bad conduct discharge. Thank you for doing this. We honestly need more positive stories like this. And thanks also for the last two Half Sisters. I laughed my ass off at Nikki dealing with Ron and especially Evie! And, Ghod, we need laughs in this terrible era.

Sunflower

I wish I had your way with words Emory, so I could more eloquently express just how beautiful that was. This story will ride along in my heart with me for a long time.

Roz Milner

Loved this, thanks for it

Emory Ahlberg

Yeah, Omaga, I totally agree! 💕 Keiko's an absolute queen and Fumiko really messed up big time. That moment in the Kuromon market with her yellow dress kinda shatters my heart every single time I think about it. Nobody should ever be treated like a dirty little secret, especially someone as vibrant and fiercely loyal as Keiko. She deserves someone who'll proudly show her off in the daylight. Thanks for showing her some love! Maybe I'll continue her story in a snapshot.

Emory Ahlberg

Kris, that means so much to me! I'm so glad you plan to come back and read it again. I totally went back and forth on adding an epilogue, but finishing it right there in that Tokyo hotel room with the morning light just felt right. Edie finally owning her life with Walt holding her... it's exactly the fresh start they've both earned. I hoped that the final image would show where I planned for their story to go next. 💕

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much for the incredibly kind words, Jade. 💕💕💕 Its was a heavy story to tackle, but so so rewarding!

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much for this amazing comment, Diana! 💕 Honestly, I'm smiling so big reading your thoughts. Yeah, you completely nailed it with the imposter syndrome comparison. Edie's spent thirty years playing this perfectly polished Staff Sergeant role, winning Bronze Stars and counting crates at Camp Drake, but she feels like a total fraud the whole time. It's just so exhausting pretending to be someone else at your job, let alone every single second of your life. I'm so glad you brought up Keiko's fish market story, too. It's heartbreaking that her ex got embarrassed in front of the eel stall, but Keiko absolutely refuses to let it ruin her. She's such a fierce friend for giving Edie that tough love before the big reveal in the back room. Oh, about that fire escape art and the ending! I definitely like to leave a little mystery for you all to chew on. But let's just say Walt's already got that studio on the Upper West Side, and Edie looks awfully good drinking morning coffee in civilian clothes. I'm in love with your idea of them buying a farm in Massachusetts or Maine down the line. I can picture Walt painting in a dusty old barn and Edie finally getting to relax and grow a garden without a commanding officer breathing down her neck. They've both had more than enough of wars and hiding. Getting out with good paper and starting over sounds like the exact cozy, quiet life they deserve after all that stress. 💖

Emory Ahlberg

LOL, you're totally right, Jenny! 💖 Honestly, if Walt wasn't such a big sweetheart, keeping nine secret paintings of your former ball turret gunner hidden in an Upper West Side apartment would be major red flags! It's basically the definition of creepy stalker behavior in any other situation. But the poor guy was just losing his mind sitting on the floor of that dingy hotel room in Tokyo. I mean, picture him just chugging Jack Daniels with that ruined portrait of the dockworker on the table, totally convinced he's going crazy because he couldn't stop painting her face over his other subjects. I'm so glad you loved that moment of euphoric release for Edie. It was just so incredibly satisfying to write the scene where she finally steps out of the back room of the bar in the blue dress. All that terrible numbness she carried around for thirty years just totally vanished. And yeah, dropping in that little bit of real history with Christine Jorgensen making the front page of the Daily News was super fun. Edie sitting in the rec room with all those clueless guys, just staring at Christine's picture and realizing she actually has a future - it makes me tear up every time. It's so wild to think about how much courage it took to step into the light back then... even more than now, which is saying something. Thanks so much for the love. 💕

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you so much, M! 💕 Keeping it real (as much as possible) was my biggest goal with this whole story, so hearing that means a lot. I can't tell you how much research I had to do - but it was worth it. I really didn't want to sugarcoat how terrifying this entire experience was for Edie. Even during their cute little yakitori dates, you could just feel her panic bubbling under the surface. Thank you for reading and for leaving such a sweet note!

Emory Ahlberg

I'm so incredibly honored to hear that, Tamsin. 💕 Though I definitely have to apologize for giving you so much anxiety waiting for this final installment haha. Honestly, I was pretty anxious writing it, too. The tension was just off the charts. I really wanted to capture that paralyzing fear she felt, especially when she was lying on her cot earlier in the week, just letting that heavy panic wash over her and deciding not to run away. Now, she finally knows she deserves to be seen. This one was really important to me, so calling it your favorite story has me blushing for real. Thank you so, so much. 💖💖💖

Emory Ahlberg

Honestly, Pet, you're right! 💖 I really didn't want to wrap everything up in a neat little bow because, let's be real, transitioning in the 1950s was incredibly brutal. Even moreso than today. Edie definitely has a long, difficult road ahead of her after that morning in the hotel room. But to put your mind at ease about the ending, she absolutely did not go AWOL! That final art of her on the fire escape is actually meant to be a massive time jump years later. Her hair is so much longer, and she has clearly been on HRT for a while! She totally played it safe, finished out her enlistment to get her good paper, and then made the big leap. Your historical knowledge is seriously so impressive, Diana, hehe. You completely caught me on the uniform. I just thought it looked better, to be honest. Let's just say Edie picked up a vintage WWI doughboy jacket at an Ueno market stall because the heavy wool felt like better armor. 😉 And you're right about the military justice system back then. Edie is way too smart and careful to risk a dishonorable discharge or jail time over going AWOL. Like I mentioned to Pet, that final image is years down the road. She definitely waited until her enlistment was up, got out properly, and then finally started living her truth in the city!

Emory Ahlberg

Thanks so much for reading, Roz! 💖 Writing that final scene where Edie looks in the bathroom mirror the next morning and finally accepts herself was such an emotional ride for me. She spent so long treating her own body like enemy territory, so having her finally realize she actually survived the war and had a future to live for was a huge deal. It made me cry.

Emory Ahlberg

That is the sweetest compliment, Sunflower! 💖 Honestly, your words are plenty eloquent. I'm just so happy Edie and Walt’s long war and (eventual) romantic journey resonated with you. And thank you for leaving a comment - I live for these and it really makes me smile and makes all the long nights worth it. 💕

Emory Ahlberg

Oh wow, Sarah, comparing this to Elizabeth Peters is such a massive honor! 💕 Yeah, growing up in that era and suppressing your truth to fit in to society must have been just brutally hard - I mean, it's brutally hard NOW so I can't even imagine🫂. Edie really had to build an absolute fortress around herself just to survive the barracks. A sequel tracking what happened after and the move to New York could be super interesting and fun... Hmmm... And I'm also so glad Nikki and Evie brought you some laughs recently. 💕

Crewchick

@Emory, phew, I feel so much better knowing Edie didn't end up in the stockade or discharge with bad paper. Even with my technical knit picking and over thinking, it was still a lovely story. It was a pleasure to read.

Pet Jeffery

Thank you for that, Emory. I wonder whether, if you have a chance to revise the story, you could slip in a mention that Eddie has a 48 hour pass (or whatever). (If you did mention that, my face will be red!) I think that I understood that the final image was either long after the story, or the way Edie imagined her future. Quite apart from the hair etc., it doesn't look like Tokyo. I think you were right to end the story before the brutal business of transitioning in the 1950s. Going into that would have required novel length and changing the flavour of the story radically.

Pet Jeffery

Diana, I don't think you were overthinking. And the fact that the story set you thinking at all is a big plus for Emory's work. Thinking is good!

Pelicanboss

E, this story is a Masterpiece, a brilliant, and beautiful narrative of love and determination. Absolutely one of your best stories!