OH MY GOD NEW CHAPTER HELLO!! I never stopped thinking about this story 🥹
love the moment when a cold asshole character opens up and it turns out that he's just unhappy, and now you want to wrap him in a blanket and protect him from all the troubles 🤲🏼
thank you! it always warms my heart to know that people are ready to jump back on this story when I update it! <3
gosh your thoughts here have really gotten my brain buzzing! unhappiness is definitely part of what's going on with Elliott, it's true. but it's not the only thing, because Elliott as he is now could not bear to let himself be wrapped in blankets or protected. in fact, he would verbally eviscerate anybody who tried, with cruelty they don't deserve -- and nobody can change that part of his suffering (not to mention the suffering of those he treats poorly) until he takes that power into his own hands.
there are a lot of stories out there about how love and friendship can save people from their misery. and there's certainly an element of that to my story too. but this really got me thinking about how there's a certain agency that I want to make sure Elliott keeps. like -- unhappy or not, he has been a cold asshole and people have been hurt because of it. and there's agency in taking responsibility for that.
I think what I'm writing, mainly, is a story about deciding to get better in spite of everything. and how getting better can be the toughest battle of your life.