Aug 13, 2021
To:znf
I'm glad you're digging things so far! From this point, the pacing will be picking up and be a bit faster than you have seen previously, partly because I needed this first part to breathe and establish character, but also because I have a lot left to cover and if I don't speed things up a bit I simply wont finish in time.
I will look at the unceremonious thing. I have a tendency to do that, but can usually catch it within the same chapter. Chapter to chapter, however, it's easy not to notice.
Ven's regimen is meant to be absurd, and I intended it to be emblematic of Eujin trying another tact to try and get her to abandon her desire to do what he does. The fact that she can not only keep up with it, but seems to actually enjoy the brutality... that raises many more questions, only some of whcih are answered as of this chapter.
As far as Eujin saving the day, I decided before I even started this scene that him intervening was not going to be an option. It would be pretty predictable and cliche, obviously, but I felt like it would also deny Ven the opportunity to demonstrate both that she is capable of doing whatever it takes to survive, and that she is capable of thinking on her feet in dire circumstances. As both are essential to both her desired role and her character core, having him rescue her would in some ways diminish those two things.