#if they were then ignore literally everything I've written lol it's nonsense

[derangedthots]

I'm really curious about your writing process and everything ctf, got a million questions but most of them you probably can't answer because spoilers 😅.

If that's OK, I wanted to ask some more general, behind-the-scenes things? (if not just ignore them)

Like, who out of the truly secondary (as in, they don't appear that much/aren't that central to the plot) characters you like/enjoy writing the most/least and why?, what scenes came easily vs which ones were a pain to get just right? , is there anything/anyone that's been flying under readers' radars but will be "a surprise tool for later"? , when it comes to reader reaction, is there anything in particular you didn't expect or that you thought may happen but didn't?

And finally, when writing about the Tullys (Kermit, Elmo, Oscar, Grover...), have you ever been overcome by the mental image and ensuing hilarity of everyone else as human and them as Muppets? (I had the realization midscene and got the giggles BAD 🤔😲😳🤭😂)

hi darling🥰💕

i'm always getting such fantastic questions from you guys and don't worry, i can actually answer all of these ones haha

out of the truly secondary characters, it's hard to choose a fav when it comes to writing them. it's good that you narrowed down which ones you meant by secondary bc i love almost all of my ocs but it just so happens a lot of them also reoccur and play important parts LOL. if i had to choose someone tho...maybe matilda? she just gives such matronly but no-nonsense vibes and i have nothing but respect for that personality type. not to mention, i feel like with any building/home/estate, the kitchens are always one of the places where everybody knows something. it's where the food gets made which already gives very "this is the heart of the place" vibes but also lots of ppl pass through there, which means there is always tea (both literally and metaphorically). matilda's fun to write bc she's aptly positioned to receive a lot of information, while also being highly responsible and respected for her job (srsly never EVER mess with the cooking staff anywhere), and idk i just like that abt her lol. i realize i haven't written much of her yet but hopefully that'll change soon. also who knows, my answer for fav secondary character to write might very well change as we go along (i did say this was a difficult choice haha)😅🤷🏻‍♀️

as for least favorite? bors. it's bors. no real spoilers but yeah, you'll find out why

what scenes came easily? is it bad if i say none😭 i think almost every scene i've written has been jam-packed with detail/characterization which means very little relaxation while writing for me lol. oh actually, on second thought, i think any scene with vermax? just bc he never actually says anything and his interactions with jace are all pretty straightforward. LMAO that's not a v interesting answer but it's the best one i have for you rn😂😂

as for what scenes were the hardest/took the most pains to get just right, i'd have to say the really emotional ones just bc whew - jace's emotions are really quite heavy and i want to convey how he processes (or doesn't process) them as authentically as possible. his scene with daemon in the dragonpit took me forever and i was constantly switching back and forth btwn writing that scene and other ones bc i needed the brain break

weirdly enough, i'd say any scenes between jacemond themselves are both easier and more difficult? they're in a weird liminal space. on one hand, they flow quickly bc i love writing them, they ARE our romantic leads after all lol, the origin and main impetus for why i'm writing the story (besides fixing what hotd broke), but also their scenes together are always charged so i have to do a lot of thinking while i'm working on them

my only advice for now regarding something that's been flying under the readers' radars but will become a special little mousekatool (god how american of me) for later in the story is:

just like jace, you should keep your eyes open and pay attention to the shadows👥

if we're going off what i've read in the comments/seen in my asks, i will admit i was surprised no one mentioned jace's relationship to rhaenys in terms of how he learned to braid from her. then again, i'm just very soft abt the idea of baby jace getting his little fingies caught in her hair and then jace practicing on his siblings+parents after they moved to dragonstone. but honestly i'm just endlessly thankful for all the responses and continued interest regardless🥹💕💕

the tullys tho. omg the tullys. i'm so glad you brought this up bc i absolutely had to hold back my laughter while writing their scenes i'm sorry but george is a comedian for naming them after muppets😭😭 i know he ran out of ideas for names but sir? the muppets? really? i'm over here trying to picture two charming young men with red hair for kermit and oscar and instead have to physically fight back images of a stuffed green frog puppet and a green whatever-oscar-is in a trashcan💀 little benjicott blackwood sparring with two muppets i'm wheezing babes😂😭

[stuffedeggplants]

While the Shangri-La missions are great at introducing us to an important figure in Kyrati culture and mythology, I think their purpose might also be to contrast Kalinag’s journey with Amita and Sabal’s in order to talk about their characters and say something about the larger story. I’m still trying to work this out and I haven’t done the last Shangri-La mission yet, so let me know what you all think!

In the third mission, Kalinag talks about how the longer he stays in Shangri-La, the more he loses his identity and forgets his original purpose, who he is and his people, etc. He begins to feel “more at home” there than in his actual home, Kyrat. He also talks about how your state of mind determines your reality, and that Shangri-La itself is a state of mind. He comes to the conclusion that he can’t abandon his people and identity in favor of just mentally existing in some manifestation of paradise, cut off from everything else but his own enjoyment. Then he would be like a Rakshasa, literally only there for himself, and the corrupting influence of that mindset is visible in physical changes and butchery all over Shangri-La, consequences of the demons that have invaded it. This is important because though Kalinag never came to Shagri-La with bad intentions, he recognizes that he could make a choice to stay there that would only have selfish outcomes that don’t actually help anyone. So Kalinag decides to free Shangri-La from the demons and return to Kyrat and his people.

What did Amita and Sabal originally want? What was their purpose? Amita would probably say that she wants to emancipate the women of Kyrat and modernize the country, transforming it in ways that will improve the lives of all its citizens with economic and educational opportunities they could never have had before, all while throwing away superstition and cultural institutions that only oppress others. Sabal might frame his goals as wanting to protect Kyrati heritage and traditional centers of community, honoring the goddess Kyra and restoring and strengthening a cultural identity that’s undergone twenty years of damage as Pagan Min destroys religious sites and seeks to replace ancient cultural symbols like Kalinag with himself.

At some point--maybe before the game even starts?--Sabal and Amita both lose sight of their original goals like Kalinag admits almost happened to him, but while Kalinag was self-aware and realized he had to stay grounded to his true purpose and walk away from an implied path that would only lead to suffering like the Rakshasas brought to Shangri-La--or at least a path that wouldn’t actually help anyone--Sabal and Amita never have this realization. If your state of mind determines your reality, then they’re both so stuck in their own worlds and in their own concept of the right path for Kyrat that they’re both completely blind to the terrible nature of the place that leads them. 

Like Kalinag, neither of them started their journey with explicitly “bad” intentions, but they fail to realize that having good intentions does not mean you always make good decisions or achieve good outcomes. They can’t see past their own egos (maybe?) and don’t even try, so while Kalinag realizes that the path he feels inertia is leading him down is actually negative and rejects it, Amita and Sabal are unable to conceive of their choices on the road to liberate Kyrat as being fundamentally mistaken or wrong. They’re unable to look back, reassess, and see that they’re running roughshod over human rights to achieve once positive goals. They replace one evil with another and in the end both turn out like the Rakshasas, corrupting something that was supposed to be good.