sad shad

none of this is organized very well i just needed to get my thoughts out

i did really like her character in SOTH. it was nice seeing a brown character who's story didn't revolve around their religion (👀), but their culture was still relevant to the story at least somewhat. i wouldn't be able to tell how i feel about her character in EiE bc i havent finished the book

hey did you see the (👀) yeah did you see that did you did you like

i strongly disliked how she was pushed down into "delusional religious brown woman desperate for a husband who needs a man to come put her in her place" just to push forward the plot. there were so many different ways to go about her role in the story that would fit much better with the plot. hindus and muslims have had numerous different conflicts in history regarding territory and religion, why not use those to connect virlomi and alai? doesn't seem like osc was adverse to historical references given the amount of times hitler, napolean, and alexander the great were mentioned throughout the series.

i dont see why virlomi would need a husband to gain more control, especially when it's not shown that any of the male characters (besides suriyawong) have even considered the idea. it just seems weird and continues the trend of female leads getting into relationships that make no sense to their character otherwise (cough, petra) the scene with her and peter in the cabin added nothing to the story and just felt really awkward.

her ending up with alai for unity could have been half decent, but it really fell flat, especially with the lack of expansion on how divided the hindu and muslim people are in the setting. it could've been better even if just virlomi and alai's feelings about the relationship were more shown.

im glad she got with suriyawong in the end of it, i think he's a pretty good man and i prefer him over any of the other contenders virlomi could've ended up with. that being said, i think having him just somehow "fix" virlomi after only a few months to a year (? forgot how long it was srry) is just really odd and the pacing is off. would've liked to see more of their journey together as virlomi healed, but alas, they're gone forever.