H&V has constantly been on the back of my mind, ever since the release of Chapter 8. Even though I've been in the worst creative drought ever I think about it all the time. I have such a soft spot for my H&V followers, because I truly feel the patience, dedication, and love for this series from you all.

I have begun writing again, but it's more as an overall thing than it is specifically for H&V. I really want to find my rhythm and groove again, and hopefully chapter 9 will come out the way I want it to. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ Personally, I was (and still am) really excited about chapter 9. I have a clear vision for it, but the words are just not flowing the way I am satisfied with.

I hope you enjoy the Higuruma fic! It has completely taken me by surprise by how many people liked it. Haha.

H&V is the first piece that I'm genuinely happy about, because I felt like I finally leaned more into my own style and really understood what kind of work I wanted to put out. I'm super excited about how the plot is unfolding, and how all the characters are coming to life - there's definitely a lot of room for lore exploration. 😁

Yessss, I LIVE for small romantic gestures. Nothing overtly loud or performative (unless the occasion calls for it). Hehe. Personally, I liked the kiss too and that tiny moment of realization. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ And when I wrote the horse part I kinda giggled because my immediate thought was "poor horse, it didn't sign up to have its back broken like this, but it shall for the sake of my story."

And I'm also so glad to know that you're able to envision the scenes as you read. I think one of my biggest struggle is actually with scenery and descriptive details, so I'm trying to put a bit more of a conscious effort in finding the perfect balance. 🙈

Another one of my biggest concern was pacing, so I spent a lot of fretting over it and asking myself "ok, would so and so do/say this, at this point in time?" "what are the consequences/ripple effect of their action or inaction? and how would that affect the narrative?" "is this happening too fast, or too slowly?" "have I lingered on this for too long?" - but I know that's all very subjective at the end of the day, so at some point I just have to roll with it.

Suguru is definitely entering his remorseful/yearning era. And there will be a huge power shift in the upcoming chapter, which I can't wait to share!! Right now I do have a full draft completed (yay) 🤟, but I'm just ironing out the details, and seeing what I need to close the book on for arc 1, and what groundwork I need to lay out for arc 2.

Oouu. I love these questions! There were many things that inspired H&V - this entire story started with this one very specific scene in mind, which I haven’t written out yet! But if the way the story pans out still allows this scene to be added, then it will come up in Arc 2! And I’ll let you know then ~ 😌

Another inspiration is my alleged ancestry. I say alleged because I have no clue how accurate it is, and just take it with a grain of salt (but inspiration is inspiration nonetheless ☝🏻😎). So that’s where the idea of a general and a judge’s daughter came from. I had an uncle that crashed out during his one year of unemployment and did a whole deep dive on our family tree, and tried to reconnect with long lost relatives. Needless to say, most of them were skeptical and thought he was some unhinged man and hung up on him (because honestly same, I would too).

In terms of reader’s character especially - I was inspired by characters like Navier from the Remarried Empress, Ariadne from I’m the Queen in This Life, and Asha from The Age of Arrogance. I just adore resilient and intelligent women without it being overly preachy, while still having their flaws, insecurities, and adversities they have to overcome, which makes them human.

I LOVE historical settings there’s something about it that really draws me in. My love for storytelling didn’t actually begin with reading - it started with video games. So growing up playing Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda - really influenced me to gravitate towards history, fantasy, and even mythology!

I do have other historical/mythology au stories planned out 😌😌 but knowing more than 90% of my WIPs don’t make the cut feels kinda wrong of me to further tease you all about it 🙊

our reader is still a lovely girl at the end of the day and someone's daughter underneath her layers being lady geto and guild leader.

1000% This really hits for me, because from my observation, women who are capable, intelligent, and reliable unfortunately, do not receive the same empathy from others, compared to those who come off as docile, or even 'incompetent'. But at the end of the day, everyone is human and even the strongest and most resilient person yearns for understanding and someone to lean on. And that whole realization and acknowledgment that mc is beloved by her father... yeah, that made me shed a tear as I wrote it.

id like to think that this is her pleading for him to leave her alone after all the damage he's caused be it directly or not but with his stubborn need to show his alliance to her, its become a challenge where she dares him to try when all odds are against him at this point.

Yeah, at this point after everything that mc has gone through there's a lot of conflict inside her, which we will continue to explore in the upcoming chapters. I know on the surface it may seem like it's easy for her to just let Suguru go, but it's not that simple. And in the upcoming chapter, we'll explore more about what she thinks of all this. Tbh, Suguru is enthralled by mc, but it's safe to say there are parts of him (despite how cold and neglectful he's been) that mc can respect and even admire. At the end of the day, it takes a certain character and grit to keep House Geto afloat from a young age, and to come as far as he has.

i'd like to think that when ayaka came to the eastern campsite, she is confused by suguru's distance and desperate to be his no matter what to solidify those feelings once more.

i don't think ayaka necessarily hates or has ill intentions toward lady geto but overwhelming sadness and envy for her brilliance and understanding of suguru more than ayaka tries.

Yesss, I'm so glad you don't just pin Ayaka as a villain right off the bat. I know it's very easy to dislike Ayaka at the moment, but at the core of it all... I'd like to think she doesn't mean anything malicious. Is she jealous, bitter, maybe even resentful after this whole ordeal? Perhaps. But her feelings - though negative - are understandable.

Taking into consideration where true love scarcely existed especially in high society and how everything was a political maneuver, we can't exactly fault her for clinging onto Suguru... even despite the fact that he's married. Especially, from her understanding, the feelings were mutual.

In fact, Ayaka's position in my honest opinion is quite pitiful - she's essentially her father's pawn and she knows it. She was basically groomed from the day she was born to become a charming, refined, and appealing woman, so that she can be married off to someone powerful. I know it's easy to compare Ayaka to MC and be like omg, Ayaka is so dense, annoying, and tone deaf, but again, she's basically been a bird trapped in a gilded cage her whole life.

Also huge disclaimer: I'm not trying to pitch that one type of woman is better than another. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. And I think a bulk of Ayaka's ignorance and insensitivity comes from her sheltered upbringing. I.e when she thought she could just plead with her father to be with Suguru, which we all know is not that simple. And though King Sato has been kind with Ayaka, it's safe to assume his love is conditional (but Ayaka doesn't see that). And also, when she said something super naive as: “I don’t care that I’m not Lady Geto, and if I must be second—” - basically here she was willing to be Suguru's second wife, without entirely understanding the reality of things. Hypothetically speaking, even if Suguru took her as a second wife, will she truly be happy then? Is her love for him enough for her to endure the complicated dynamics?

Anyway, I don't want to give away too much of Ayaka, because I do have a chapter that's dedicated to her in the upcoming arc. But perhaps it's just a little food for thought right now. ;)

he tries to resist the allure of lady geto yet her mysterious behavior is what captivates him no matter how much he tries to deny it.

omg, Wicked Game is perfect! Hahaha. The tension and realization is definitely there. Suguru is a man that values competence, and I think after feeling like he's the only one standing atop the mountain could be suffocating. It goes back to that whole theme of idealized love vs compatibility. Yes, perhaps if his family hadn't been massacred, if tragedy hadn't struck, Ayaka may have been the one who was good for him. But he also understands now at this point in his life and where he's gotten - Ayaka simply can't keep up or understand even if she tried. There is a darkness in Suguru which I believe is very overwhelming, and it's not easy to accept. But we all know mc is capable of doing so, and I think Suguru is slowly beginning to realize that too.

At the end of the day everyone just wants someone to understand and love them unconditionally, and all it takes is just one person. 😊😊