All of these statements are based in my intent, and I acknowledge that I can fall short or make mistakes. Feedback in good faith is welcome.
Dysfunctional families / abuse: A major theme, depicted in several chapters.
- Verbal and emotional abuse
- Passive aggression and unrealistically high expectations
- After-effects: critical thoughts toward self and others, justifying the abusers’ actions
- Non-familial: non-detailed references to bullying in a school setting; descriptions of a dysfunctional hookup and breakup in the past
Fictional religions: A shrine and a church, from two different religions, are central locations. Fictional religions and philosophies are discussed, and religious ceremonies are depicted.
Violence: Grabbing and pushing in one scene. Two scenes of sword combat with ill intent. Scenes of practicing swordfighting/sparring for exercise
Sexual content: Same-sex flirting, kissing, and a non-detailed reference to other sexual activities. A romantic relationship is depicted, although it is not at the center of the story.
Mortality: A funeral service is depicted. Characters discuss the legacy of a character who died before the story begins.
Alcohol consumption: Two instances of intoxication; references to underage alcohol consumption in the past
Homophobia/transphobia: Not normalized in the setting, but a trans character is misgendered once in a flashback.
A note on “ND-coded”: A few times in talking about this book, I’ve called Lun “ND-coded” (neurodivergent-coded) or similar. Why “coded”, when a character is either intentionally ND or not? Well, I’m hedging my wording because I based his experiences on my own experiences with a few tweaks*, and I’ve never been diagnosed as ND. It’s possible I am either on or very close to the spectrum, but that has not actually been confirmed by science, and so I do not claim to be ND. So I think it’s fair to call the character that as well, rather than to affirm that he is absolutely ND when I don’t have the right to claim that.
* Characters and experiences in books are shaped to be more cohesive and consistent than real life, even in a book that takes a shaggy, imperfect approach to characterization like mine does. I actually don’t have Lun’s problem of not being able to read expressions at all; instead I never know what anyone is thinking and assume everyone hates me all the time. 😉 There are other differences here and there, but most elements are from my own experience.
Please read at your own discretion.