In Time

Notes and FAQ :)

Q: So is Xavier in a gang or not? What's with his sudden fighting talent coupled with his lack of athletic ability?

A: Xavier is in the Blood Eagles in some of the timelines (the very last one where the tables turned on him). So he had some sort of muscle memory with regards to climbing gates, sparring and the like :)

Q: What's up with Xavier's dreams?

A: I hope the dream sequences aren't too confusing. The dreams are actually split into 2 categories.

1. Showing the alternate timelines where Xavier was on the verge of dying and Diana was trying to save him (getting stabbed by Tristan, dying of asphyxiation)

2. Showing him as a kid when he met Diana (at the playground where the kids shunned him, at the Blood Eagles hideout where the gang wanted to deflower Diana)

Q: What's with Xavier's rotten luck with close shaves with death all the time?

A: Yes, the part where a flower pot almost drops on him, where he almost chokes to death on a fishball and where Tristan almost kills him in the final gang fight. The way the Balance works (in my mind at least) is that it will try to eradicate either one of them by the deadline. So in all the timelines that Diana successfully saves Xavier from getting killed, she would be the one dying :)

Q: Who was the girl that Fate claimed to have worked with three years ago?

A: I actually meant for this girl to be Diana. So back in middle school Xavier was an outcast and depressed about his disability (before he met Jon and had a new lease of life). There were times when Xavier contemplated suicide because he simply felt so alone. Diana was the one to notice him back then and tried to save him from himself.  She made a deal with Fate to exchange her and Xavier's destinies. And that was how she ended up dying by suicide (by drowning herself in the lake) in the first chapter. I didn't elaborate on this too much because I was afraid of confusion/messing up my universe even more hahahaha. But this was my concept when I wrote the story. 

Q: Do the other characters retain any memories of all the different timelines?

A: Nope. Only the time-traveller (or rather time-travellers) will have their memories. 

Q: Is Xavier's father dead in all the timelines? Did he simply leave in the first timeline?

A: Yes, Xavier's father is dead and he stays that way HAHAHAHA 

Q: If Xavier managed to prevent the kidnapping incident, why was he unable to save Diana's life?

A: Yep you got me right there ;) I actually used the kidnapping incident to give Xavier and readers hope that outcomes in different timelines can be changed (dynamic timeline). Unfortunately that's not the case in this universe and I will attempt to explain with the fixed timeline theory. :) 

So in fixed timeline, if you went back in time to stop Hitler from rising to power by switching him as an infant in the crib, the replaced baby will become the 'new Hitler' instead. In the first timeline, the kidnapping incident traumatised Cherlyn and made her reclusive as a person. So in the timelines that Xavier prevented her kidnapping, another incident will happen to Cherlyn which will traumatise her in the same way. (Of course, it wasn't mentioned in the book :D)

Q: So who are the bad guys in this story?

A: Thyme is mainly the main antagonist but she isn't revealed until the very end. I did drop some hints of her maliciousness gradually through the second half, not sure if anyone picked up on that hahaha. Basically she was preventing Fate from meeting Xavier by coming up with excuses like Fate being down with the Deity Flu because she was afraid that Fate would reveal the truth about keeping the Balance. If she did then Xavier would know that he was being manipulated by Thyme all along simply for a chance for him and Diana to both die (as morbid as that sounds)

Other side antagonists include Victoria, Susan and Tiffany :D (hehh doesn't everyone love that one bitch in the story). 

That's all the questions I can think of right now. If you have any more, please leave them in the comments and I would love to address them :) Do let me know if it was frustrating to read any of the characters (eg. Xavier is frustrating for his loser-ish ways in the first half) I would love to hear your feedback :D

Also feel free to let me know if you feel that I should explore this story/characters further eg. different POVs, sequels though I think I'm quite done for now HAHHAAH

Thank you for embarking on this writing/reading journey with me, I hope that it's been  meaningful for all of you to read it, as much as it was for me to write it :)

-J. Y. Leong