Jul 03, 2022
To:IceDonut
wow, im really flattered that you took the time so dive so deeply into the story and to write such a long comment 😍
As you correctly figured out in your comment a few chapters earlier, my aim with Wark and Beat was to portray them very similar to each other but have them take different "paths" throughout the story. It was a bit of a challenge for me at the beginning to make them similar, yet give the reader the chance to tell them apart. So, I guess its easy to get them mixed up especially with all the other things going on in the first chapters. You most certainly werent the only one struggling with it ^^
One observation that I had in my life was that whenever people felt lonely they aimed to fill that void with a relationship. Hence, I made Wark come to the conclusion, that the void that he thought can only be filled by a relationship, can also be filled by other things such as intimate friendships, magical experiences and hobbys. I'm happy that you feel like his arguments were on point. Took a while to craft this talk, deliver the message I wanted to deliver and still make it authentic. :)
Good observation with the "you are just stalling for time" haha. I have to admit the only reason I added the thunderstorm was to have an explanation for why Emily doesnt return immidiately 😂 I guess its a bit cheap, but lets pretend its simply too dangerous for her to return earlier 😜
And Im glad you enjoyed the dialoge between Emily and Erik at the campfire. It is also my personal favourite scene in the novel in terms of comedy 😄
In my opinion, the problematic thing isnt writers fleeing into fantasy but consumers, especially in Japan. One thing that has always bothered me a lot about Anime is that almost 50% of the series have protagonists who basically have no interesting/outstanding personality at all but are somehow still dragged into the wildest stories and have a lot of people showing interest in them. And I feel as if the reason behind this was to give the viewers the possibility to escape into a fantasy that suits them better. In real life you have to work hard for appreciation. In many anime, however, being goodhearted and friendly is often enough for you to be "the hero the world has waited for" or "the guy every single girl falls in love with". And I have already experienced some hardcore Anime fans becoming very delusional and having a wrong idea on how reality actually works.
Anyway, thanks again for all your kind words. It really brightens up my day. A new chapter is released every 3rd day. 😊
