You’ll find chapter 87 over HERE.
I want to talk a little bit about Prei and this chapter – in fact, this entire mini-arc.
This chapter is a rather significant one to me. When I first conceptualised Prei, I didn’t intend for her to be this important to the narrative, and I never intended for Lily to get this attached to her. When I first drafted out the plan for LXM, I didn’t even intend for Lily to become a foster mother to Prei; Prei was meant to be a character hell-bent on vengeance against Vessel, who followed Lily’s party out of convenience before slowly getting attached. Looking back, I am positively delighted that I didn’t go with that very cliche portrayal, and went with this avenue of development instead.
Prei’s presence in this story has allowed me to develop Lily in ways which I did not originally conceive, showing more of her gentle and caring side, which is a rather different direction from my intention. To me, Prei’s development and subsequent positioning within Lily’s family is a key example of how a story often can write itself, running away from the author’s intentions, and that is a beautiful thing.
The story wants to be written, and the author’s job is simply to fulfill that wish – this is an idea I’ve adapted from SoRaNoWoTo (a very good anime imo, highly recommended) and it’s an idea that I find very romantic. I’m glad to have had the privilege of my story doing just that in the case of Prei, turning from a generic, unimportant party member into a character of actual significance to Lily’s growth.