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hardwareabstractionlayer · 2 years

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Nirvana in Fire Historical Parallels: The Warrior Princess

Hua Mulan/花木兰 is unquestionably the most famous woman warrior of ancient China. But how much of her legend actually happened is of debate, while there were many historical women generals who were more similar to Mu Nihuang in NiF. Here are a few of the most notable, in chronological order:

Fu Hao/妇好 (Hao is her family name; before the Qin Dynasty, family names for women were at the end, reversed from the current name order; Fu means married woman now, but could have referred to priestess then), the earliest woman military leader on record, lived during the Shang Dynasty and died in 1200 BCE. Because her time period predated paper, what we know about her came from oracle bone script and the hundreds of weapons in her tomb, which is a burial rite afforded only to generals. As consort to King Wu Ding/武丁, she led an army of 13,000 to many successful military campaigns against the Shang’s enemies. She was not only a general and high priestess, two of the most important roles in that time era, but also owned her own land, which was extremely unusual for feudal women. After her death, the king made many sacrifices at her tomb in hopes of receiving her spiritual guidance to defeat invading enemies.

Mother Lü/吕母 (name unknown, so she is referred to as a mother of the Lü family) lived during the Western Han Dynasty in Langya Commandery and was the first woman rebel leader in Chinese history. After her son was executed for not punishing peasants who could not pay their taxes, she aided peasants under hard times by giving away her considerable family wealth while plotting revenge on the government. During this time, a consort kin to the Emperor had seized the throne and started his own Xin Dynasty/新朝 (literally New Dynasty), enacting many radical socialist reforms such as land redistribution and abolishing the slave trade. A series of natural disasters and poor implementation of the new policies led to great unrest and suffering among the peasant class. Commoners united around Mother Lü, and three years later, in 17 CE, she amassed thousands of loyal followers and declared herself the leader of the rebellion. They took the city, and she beheaded the county magistrate who had killed her son, sacrificing his head on her son’s tomb. As news of her successful rebellion spread, thousands more joined her even as the government attempted to quash her forces. Though she died from illness a year later, many in her army joined the Chimei Army/赤眉军 (literally red brows), a key force in the eventual downfall of the Xin Dynasty.

The most similar to Nihuang is probably Lady Xian/冼夫人, who lived in the 500s CE and served the Liang (the Liang of NiF is very loosely based on this dynasty), Chen, and Sui Dynasties. She was the daughter of a chieftain of a clan of the Li/俚 people and demonstrated great leadership and political acumen from a young age (women in her family could inherit command). She favored diplomatic solutions over fighting as much as possible and was always loyal to the reign, putting down local rebellions and eliminating corruption. Nihuang’s title of commandery princess/郡主 was also one of her titles, and as thanks for her bringing many minority peoples under unified rule, the Sui emperor gave much of modern-day Hainan to her command, much like Nihuang. She lived to around 90 and was given a posthumous name by the emperor as a sign of great respect. Hundreds of temples in the south were built in her honor, where she was deified and remains worshipped today as the Saintly Mother of Lingnan/岭南圣母.

One of many statues of Lady Xian.

Princess Pingyang/平阳公主 (personal name unknown) was the third daughter of the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Her father was an aristocrat who decided to seize the opportunity during the chaos of the failing Sui Dynasty to raise an army in 617 CE, and she decided to help her father ascend to power. With remarkable leadership and recruitment power, she quickly recruited several Jianghu volunteer armies under her wing. More and more people joined as her reputation spread, such that she had seventy thousand under her command by the end in what was known as the Woman’s Army/娘子军. Her forces registered several victories before rendezvousing with her father’s forces to take Chang’an, which would become the capital of the new dynasty. She was given the title of Princess Pingyang and higher honors than her sisters as a sign of her father’s gratitude for her help in starting his new dynasty.

After the coup of Chang’an, there was nothing in recorded history about her until her funeral. A rite officer had objected to burying her with military honors instead of a princess’s rites, but her father and emperor said she always fought at the vanguard of her army, so there was nothing wrong with full military honors. She is the only woman in recorded Chinese feudal history to be interred by soldiers.

Qin Liangyu/秦良玉 (1574-1648) was born to a civil bureaucrat in the late Ming Dynasty who believed in educating women, and she became skilled at riding, archery, and poetry. She looked up to Lady Xian and Princess Pingyang from a young age, and told her father that she would equal their accomplishments if she had military command (倘使女儿得掌兵柄，应不输平阳公主和冼夫人). She was married to a local county commissioner who often led armies to quash invasions from the neighboring Manchu Jin Dynasty, and he gave her command of part of his army. When he died in prison being falsely accused of wrongdoing, she assumed his role, as their son was still young. She defeated numerous Jin invasions across the country, and the Emperor gave her the title of Marquis in recognition of her actions in defending the homeland. She’s famous for being the only female general recorded alongside men in the official histories of her dynasty.

A portrait of Qin Liangyu.

So, what made these women leaders of armies while most women throughout Chinese history couldn’t even dream of such a thing? Fu Hao lived a very long time ago, well before the later Confucian system where wives are supposed to obey their husbands and serve at home. For the others, there are some common factors: growing up in a well-to-do family that educated daughters, demonstrated interest and skill in fighting and leadership, being around military power (true of a vast majority of male generals as well, of course), and some kind of unusual circumstance that gave them power, whether a husband or father allowing them to do so or an environment of unrest that gave them an opportunity.

The warrior princess trope exists for a reason: it’s the highborn daughters and wives of generals who are most likely to get the opportunity to command an army. And their stories are more well-known than, say, women like Chen Shuozhen/陈硕真, who came from destitute upbringings and called herself the emperor while leading a peasant rebellion that eventually failed. All history is biased, and contemporary Chinese history seems to favor those who quashed rebellions and promoted national unity.

Given these historical examples, it’s not so outlandish to imagine that Nihuang was educated by her father in the military arts from a young age, showed great fighting and leadership ability, and was then able to take command when he died during a crisis and while her brother Mu Qing was still too young. She is an exception in a field of men, as these historical women were. And like these women, she was very much still subjected to the expectations and boundaries of feudal women.

In some sense, show Nihuang is an ideal female Confucian role model. She is the perfect daughter and older sister who assumed the family mantle when there are no capable men, doing her duty under a corrupt regime for twelve years, with the implication that she will give up at least some of her responsibilities to Mu Qing when he’s ready. She is the perfect widow who never strayed from her arranged marriage pact. And she is the perfect potential wife who shed all of her commanding aura whenever she interacted with post-identity reveal Mei Changsu—she may question him but she will always listen to him, in the end. Her first scene is of a warrior princess soundly defeating men, and her last big scene is her telling Feiliu she wants to obey her Lin Shu-gege.

This is a far cry from book Nihuang, who moved on in those twelve years and found someone else to love. To be clear, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with characters displaying period-typical attitudes, and other female characters in canon, like Consort Jing, are compelling without being hidebound by tradition. Within the microcosm of NiF the show, the change to Nihuang’s character may only be due to the creators wanting to increase her screen time in a male-heavy show and add a tragic romance element that they felt the book lacked. But media doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and after some prominent examples of one-sided adaptation changes in recent years—The Rise of Phoenixes taking a book starring a strong female character and dramatically increasing the male character’s screen time for the actor to get top billing, Serenade of Peaceful Joy adapting a book centered around a princess’s futile rebellion against feudal expectations for women into a show about her loving daddy emperor trying to do the best for his daughter by keeping her in line, even Reset giving some of the main female character’s heroic moments in the book to the main male character in the show, to name a few—was Nihuang’s change from book to show a harbinger of the male-dominated Chinese television industry increasingly reshaping strong female characters into what they think women should be like?

This issue of media depictions affects historical women generals, as well. For various reasons, they haven’t gotten their big breaks in modern mainstream media, and the most famous Chinese female warriors remain Mulan and a few other very fictionalized characters who have had popular shows and movies made about their lives. A Qin Liangyu drama was supposed to be filmed a few years ago but never aired, and as typical of this era of Chinese media censorship, no one seems to know what happened to it.

With the lack of extant details for most of these military leaders, one can depict them as either true believers of Confucian values or as women who questioned and struggled against societal conventions. It isn’t hard to guess what’s more likely to be made today, with a slapped-on love story and plenty of screen time for the men to boot. If we can’t give a warrior princess a sword without always making her a dutiful daughter, wife, and patriot, perhaps we shouldn’t be telling her story to begin with.

#mu nihuang #nirvana in fire #琅琊榜 #chinese history and culture #long post #a few more women cut for space:#Xiao Yanyan/萧燕燕 #Liang Hongyu/梁红玉

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mission-light-if · 8 days

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💘 HEART W/ ARROW - what traits do they look for in a relationship? do they believe in love at first sight?

Sinan: He definitely likes to have a fun, maybe even childish and spontaneous dynamic with his partner. But she needs to be mature and reliable when needed. He likes to be more cozy at home, so his partner needs to be fine with that. He has too many adventurous things happening at work, so he doesn't need that in his free time. He also always has his team of chaotics nearby, so that's enough for him. He can sense someone's vibe really well, even just from observing them. If he feels connected or if the vibe is right, he can get interested immediately. He always sorts people into two categories—potential love or friendship—fairly early, and once you're in one category, it's hard to switch to the other. So if he sees a woman and goes through that process and ends up dating her, he will say that he fell in love at first sight.

Nayla: She and her partner need to give and take equally from each other in all aspects; it can't be one-sided. She wants to learn together with her partner, try new things, do fun things, and be creative. Trying to communicate is also super important for her—open and honest communication, even if she struggles with it herself. The trying part is important. Also, her partner should validate her feelings because she struggles with expressing them. She doesn't believe in love at first sight, but she can be interested at first sight and then try to interact with that woman to see how they vibe together and base her intentions on that. It's more like interest at first conversation.

Aneka: She needs to be comfortable with the person and vice versa, just existing in the same space without much interaction. She doesn't like forced interaction to cover awkwardness; if that's necessary, she and that person don't work well together. If she wants to, she will speak or interact with them, but you can't force her to. It can be random, but she just does what she feels like in the moment. It doesn't mean she doesn't interact at all; it's just limited, and she isn't shy or emotionless. She still expresses her emotions a lot if you observe her closely. She doesn't fall in love, but if she likes a person platonically, she will want them by her side, just mostly existing there, together. Working together, eating together, reading together. Giving each other stability and strength through being near each other, not being alone. Finding comfort in that is important for a really close friendship with her. Grounding and finding peace with each other. You need a lot of time, and it needs to happen naturally. You can't force her to like you and get on that level. One day, you and she are hanging out, and you ask yourself, "Wow, she just appeared, and now we're so close. How did that happen?" Like when you think about how you befriended that one person you're close with, and it just happened.

Hongyu: He has his boundaries, and they need to be respected. He needs time to open up about his deeper self and his thoughts and feelings. There's a whole world with depths inside him that he keeps hidden most of the time. He will come to his partner when he is ready, on his own. You can't force it. His partner needs to give him that space. His partner also needs to calm him and his mind, helping him get out of his head, stop overthinking, by spending time together—exciting or calm. Time with his partner should give him energy, not take it from him like his normal life does. It must feel natural and not like a chore. He doesn't want to be babied; he wants his partner to respect his decisions and trust in his ability to make decisions for himself. He doesn't believe in love at first sight. For him, casual friendships or even flirting are first and foremost fun. From there, deeper relationships can form; he needs a base first.

Miguel: His future man need to be fine with him being a little jittery. I have diagnosed ADHD, and I see a lot of traits I have in him, to be honest. He is also chaotic, bubbly, and talks a lot, so his partner has to be fine with that. His partner needs to let him talk, especially about things he is passionate about when he has a new impulse or something. He can be random and reckless, so it's best if his partner matches his energy but also looks out for him in that regard. He can overthink a lot, so his partner has to reassure him frequently. His partner also needs to be able to stand up for what he believes in; Miguel has strong morals and values. Like many others, he needs a partner with whom he can calm down a little, where he can stop his overactive mind. He definitely believes in love at first sight, especially when that person seems to match his energy. In his head, he is already planning the wedding and a whole family together. Still, that relationship needs time to develop.

Marcos/Maria: Trust is super important for them. Seriously breaking it makes it hard to regain, even more in a romantic relationship than in a friendship, where they are more forgiving. They also give that dedication back, of course, but they also need it from their partner. Their partner has to let them be perfectionistic and experience their emotions when they mess up. Don't downplay the problem, and don't put pressure on them to do better or tell them they messed up if you weren't directly involved because they already know. Maybe don't mention it at all until some time has passed. Let them live through it; they will learn, talk about it, and maybe even accept it eventually. Be there for them when they reach that stage. Their partner needs to recognize what they are going through and acknowledge it. They have a hard time asking for and accepting help but secretly appreciate it. They don't believe in love at first sight; they have a hard time with romance and feelings in general. They aren't even actively looking at someone that way.

Minhyuk/Miyeon/Min: They like teasing and when their partner gets them out of their shell, out of their comfort zone. They may seem like they hate it at first, but then they realize they don't and just needed a push. Their partner should make them laugh, validate their feelings—both positive and negative—and support them regarding their feelings and dreams. It's important for their partner to tell them it's okay to feel a certain way in a situation. They also need much time with their partner, with a lot of contact through regular messages, calls, etc. They have a lot of dedication and are stubborn, which can be frustrating, so their partner needs to be okay with that. They also have high values and morals. They can come off as rude and moody a lot, so their partner needs to be able to deal with that and see the person underneath. They know a lot of people can't deal with them, so they don't dare to fall in love at first sight or even show interest.

Some thoughts that came to my mind: there is even more to each character, but yeah, that's what just came out when I felt into them and brainstormed and wrote everything down :) As always, this can change in the future because I never know how actually writing them, the scenes, the story, etc. will shape them. (I just realized I gave a lot of my traits to different characters: Miguel and ADHD, Aneka and her aromanticism, specifically how "romance" or deep connections feel to her. Like I am aromantic, but I can still be in a sort of romantic relationship, but it is just different for me than what the mainstream portrays. It's more like friends with a little more? You will see in the story...)

#interactive fiction #interactive game #interactive novel #interactive story #mission light #if #mission light if #lgbtq #love interests #romance options #m soto #aneka evans #miguel martínez #min lim #sinan demir #nayla leong #hongyu huang

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bitterflames · 2 months

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[oc] shifu.

#original characters #vayne's art tag #oc: jian hongyu #aka the emotionally distant father (♀️) feng yan never had #verse: swordguys

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mengziyifan · 10 months

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#meng ziyi #孟子义 #zoey meng #meng zi yi #ever night #ye hongyu

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petite--plum · 2 years

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Papa Zhongli & his little daughter Hóngyù ♥ thank you @naokiichigo for the name !

#Genshin Impact #ZhongLumi #Zhongli #Hongyu #queue #2021 art #Genshin fanart

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indecentpause · 1 year

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Heyyyy I’ve posted a Three Wishes story that had only been on Wattpad for a while on Ao3!

When I Was Seven Years Old

Hongyu is seven years old when she meets the love of her life. But that doesn't make growing up any easier.

cw: body dysphoria, gender dysphoria (but with supportive people around)

Tagging my usuals, feel free to ignore if it is not your thing! Unfortunately with all the AI scraping going on I have felt the need to make my works available for site users only. I’m sorry. :(

General Taglist: @ohsugarfoot @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @athena-anna-rose @viskafrer @thelaughingstag @athenswrites @kaiusvnoir @magic-is-something-we-create

#my writing #writeblr #ao3 #original short story #queer fiction #lgbt fiction #lesbian character #transgender character #the four gods #hongyu li #xun li #three wishes #zhu que #suzaku #hongnan

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bengongzhunijiuzu · 1 year

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#chyyy #chen hongyu

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newyorkteasociety · 1 year

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Awesome Taiwanese tea session today, hosted by @the_tea_enthusiast including #gaoshan #shanlinxi #guifei #hongyu then, as life sometimes does, the tasting took a turn and we ended by brewing some 1970’s #lapsangsouchong #hongcha from @orchidteahouse then after tasting it, we decided to compare it with a 2003 #liubao #heicha . 😮 #newyorkteasociety #teaclub #teasession #teatasting (at Forest Hills) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp_YniuOytx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#gaoshan #shanlinxi #guifei #hongyu #lapsangsouchong #hongcha #liubao #heicha #newyorkteasociety #teaclub #teasession #teatasting

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blogdemocratesjr · 1 year

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Joan of Arc by Hongyu Wang

“Which do you love best, your banner or your sword?”

Her eye lighted gladly at the mention of her banner, and she cried out:

“I love my banner best—oh, forty times more than the sword! Sometimes I carried it myself when I charged the enemy, to avoid killing any one.” Then she added, naively, and with again that curious contrast between her girlish little personality and her subject, “I have never killed anyone.”

It made a great many smile; and no wonder, when you consider what a gentle and innocent little thing she looked. One could hardly believe she had ever even seen men slaughtered, she look so little fitted for such things.

—Mark Twain, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

#Joan of Arc #Hongyu Wang #Mark Twain

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visitheworld · 8 months

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Shenxianchi Scenic Area, Sichuan / China (by Hongyu Guo).

#china #visit china #travel #asia #nature #outdoors #sichuan #wanderlust #bucketlist #placestovisit #placestosee

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tushanfoxspirit · 10 months

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The Official Chinese Account Of Fox Spirit Matchmaker Posted This Poster Of YueHong!!!!

They will adapt the sequel Arc of YueHong story in the Manhua!!!!

Also, It looks like this promotional poster is based on a cover chapter from the Manhua of this Arc!!!!

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johnny-dynamo · 6 months

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25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

Day 4

Santa 2077 by Hongyue Zhang

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mission-light-if · 14 days

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What if someone is very actively flirting with RO, making heart eyes at them, complimenting, smiling sweetly, etc. The MC looks at them from afar. They don't like it, they are jealous and upset, but they can't say anything because they are too shy and not sure if RO likes such attention from this person or not. So, MC just sends sad glances in their direction.

What will the ROs do? (if it's a crush stage)

Okay, so I split this question into two parts:

When the ROs notice the MC but aren’t aware of MC’s feelings.

If the ROs don’t notice the MC, aren’t aware of their feelings, and they just get flirted with.

I assume the ROs have a crush on MC in both cases. (I applied their sexualities too, just for reference: Sinan - straight, Nayla - lesbian, Aneka - bisexual and aromantic, Miguel - gay, Hongyu - bisexual, Marcos/Maria - bisexual, Minhyuk/Miyeon/Min - pansexual).

Sinan:

He is the team leader. The moment he sees anyone looking sad or anything, he will be there, crush or not, MC or any other member. He would reject any flirting woman immediately if he has a crush. He wants to try his best and dedicate his energy always to one woman, who has his interest and heart, at the time.

So that applies here too; if he has a crush, he isn’t interested in anyone until he dates his crush or he is 100% sure that it's not going to work out.

Nayla:

She isn’t really the hook-up type, and to be interested in a woman, she wants to get to know her better. But why get to know a woman better when she already has a crush? She is not interested in getting to know two women at the same time. So she would, of course, come over to MC and ask her if everything is alright. She rejected the other woman to be by her crush's side before MC can even get really sad.

Same as Sinan, if she doesn’t notice MC, she would still decline and probably look for MC afterwards to spend time with her.

Aneka:

(So she is aromantic. Her route is more like a really close platonic friend/queer platonic friendship, and when wanted, with NSFW content, but that’s optional. I will describe her feelings in her route closer. She is similar to me in that I am on the aromantic spectrum too. You can play her route and be romantically into her, but you still have to remember that she is aromantic and may be a bit repulsed by that and unsure how to proceed. There will be multiple ways and endings to fix this later and still be good with her or not.)

Since she is aromantic, people flirting with her will lead nowhere; sometimes she just enjoys listening to them, so she stays, sometimes she don't. MC could still be jealous and hurt. Aneka values people close to her more, and since she doesn’t have a crush, let’s say she feels really close emotionally to the MC. She would definitely see that something is going on and immediately leave the flirty person behind; MC is way more important than some random person.

She would leave the flirty person after a while; she has fun with strangers sometimes, but there has to be strict no strings attached, so if the flirty person shows too much interest or is an asshole, she is out.

Miguel:

Miguel definitely knows when he has a crush on someone; he is really aware of his feelings and may hyperventilate and overthink. That’s why when he notices MC, the man he has a crush on, he is immediately concerned and comes over and makes sure that MC is okay and stays with MC if that is wanted.

If he doesn’t notice the MC but has a crush on the MC, he would either refuse the other man who is flirting with him because he has a crush on MC or go with him, flirt with him in hopes that it would take his mind off his crush even if he feels shitty later.

Hongyu:

He is really good at denying that he has a crush on someone, especially to himself, so he most likely isn’t aware that he has a crush on MC. He would notice that something is going on, however, and come over to MC and ask them if they are okay.

Since he doesn’t know that he has a crush, or well, he hasn’t realized, he would maybe just talk with the flirty person and decide spontaneously if he goes with them, or continues talking, or when he has had enough. He likes to have a good time; it’s nothing more than that for him, everythings starts as a good time for him, it rarely starts because of genuine dates.

Marcos/Maria:

They don’t like being openly directly flirted with, especially in a public setting, too out of their control. They would feel a little uncomfortable. They can get used to it and like it, but it takes time and trust. They like more subtle, indirect ways of flirting from others. They themselves sometimes flirt openly, but only when they do it and can decide the setting and everything, then it's okay for them. They wouldn’t notice MC feeling sad or off, but when they see them, they would use them as a way to get away from the person flirting with them and come over. They aren’t shy; they just don’t like it and often also don’t have the nerve or capacity for it. Plus, also because they are really loyal and share deep connections with some people, and to build that it takes time. They also sometimes think that they are really loyal to a person, but in the end, they have a crush and confuse those things until someone tells them or the person confesses. Similar to Hongyu, who has similar problems. They don’t make the connection why they would betray MC’s loyalty if they flirt with another person that they have a crush on, if MC is their friend. They just don’t want to deal with flirting, and they don’t want to "betray" their "friend".

Same as above, but obviously without them noticing MC, they would still go away from the person flirting.

Minhyuk/Miyeon/Min:

They know that they have a crush but try to deny it, so it’s a little different than Hongyu. When they see MC looking sad or down, they would raise an eyebrow and think about going to MC, but then not do it because they are too scared, and they would have to acknowledge their feelings. It would make it real. So they would flirt back with the other person heavily and later regret it, thinking about MC.

They would flirt back and maybe even sleep with the person who is flirting with them, kind of like Miguel in that regard, that they would play along only to forget their crush and regret it later.

I think that this and other questions help you get clearer pictures of the ROs, since they arent in the story yet. you can always send me questions about all the characters or specific characters if you want too :)

(This is how I imagine, planned and wrote the characters, it could be however, that at one point when I am writing, some things change. I mean its a WIP and characters evolve with time and writing and ideas etc.)

Sometimes I ask myself if I give too much away help, hahaha :)

#interactive fiction #interactive game #interactive novel #interactive story #mission light #if #mission light if #love interests #romance options #Sinan Demir #Hongyu Huang #Aneka Evans #Nayla Leong #M Soto #Min Lim #Miguel Martínez

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