Sometimes, I think I made Phoinix 'too evil' to be realistic. I mean, I researched totalitarism when I created them, and so they have become a militaristic, harsh society that values honour, extreme loyalty and physical strength above all else. They are the Roman Republic × fascism × generational trauma × achievement-oriented society × phoenix lore. They are, like, really bad: slavery, war crimes, racism, genocide, attacks directed civilians and humanitarian groups - I don't think there is a single act from the Geneva conventions they didn't violate (or wouldn't if they could). The Phoinixian people are stuck in a cycle of doing horrible things and patting themselves on the back for them because they think they not only have the right to do those things, they also believe that they should.
But then I read the news and think: "no wait actually these guys aren't anywhere near bad enough to be realistic". Because at least my genocidal maniacs feel crippling guilt about the blood on their hands. They back down in tiny ways. Roy goes into a deep depression after setting the ocean on fire, and after it, he does everything in his power to end the war. Ashe frees her enslaved people, even though she risks her position in society by doing so. Turns out I could've made them a whole lot less complicated, I guess; they could’ve just been That Bad™️ and it still would've made sense :(
(Not Enya though, there's genuinely something wrong with her. She's up there with the real world bad guys)
Anyway long story short: be nice to each other y'all. If you take any lesson away from my stories, let it be: "kindness and compassion are always worth it". Even if it's not the easy way out. Even if it screws you over sometimes. Even if other people really make you mad, even if others do horrible things. Never let anything stop you from being kind.
