The first thing I'd like to say is don't read this; it's full of spoilers. Read this only if you have read most of the fanfic!
Ok, hello! Good morning, good night, and good evening.
Anyway, welcome to author notes. Today's topic is the 'Mei Mei arc.'
The only big thing people dislike about this fanfic, other than that it's made with the help of 'AI,' is the Mei Mei arc! :0
Now why do people dislike this? I mean, it's simple. Mei Mei was sent by the higher-ups to seduce Ren, but Ren plays a Uno reverse and manipulates Mei Mei, pretty much flirting with her. If you knew anything about manipulation, you would realize Ren was pushing boundaries left and right and also love-bombing Mei Mei, and not only that, but he was also playing the 'Fear/Mystery' card.
If you don't know about the fear card, then the best explanation is that you know how most people feel like they fall in love when they're in danger? and someone saves them? or something creeps you out? You get a little hint of fear, and well, a small hint of fear is sometimes mistaken for love. This is actually a thing, by the way; it's a known psychological effect (think "damsel in distress" tropes).
Not simple at all anyway, Ren was using all of these techniques on Mei Mei to not sleep with her. No, Ren just wanted Mei Mei in his house, where Mei Mei was out of public sight… And also at that point, Mei Mei also had dropped her guard; in fact, the last thing Mei Mei thought was that Ren would make her a slave or try to hurt her…
So Ren's manipulation worked, simple as that, and it looked bad, and people did not like it. It's funny, really. You guys are the ones who asked me for a villain but dislike it when Ren does something that a villain would do…
Plus, this was not for no reason; Ren actually did this not only because Ren wanted Mei Mei—she had potential in his eyes—but also because Ren's main goal was to get the Higher Ups off his back. He knew they chased him down, especially after the Geto and Mahorage fight...
So Ren made a binding vow, forcefully making Mei Mei his slave, pretty much, and Mei Mei told the higher-ups that 'Ren Sato' was seduced, simple as that, and Ren also made a binding vow; he had only thought about a binding vow where he gets Mei Mei's knowledge about curses.
And I know I did not explain the knowledge he got from Mei Mei, but it was mainly about cursed energy and things like 'curtain.' Yeah, Ren was able to use one; it was because of Mei Mei's knowledge, so Ren got a lot out of this one arc. In a way, Ren got a 'Grade 1' sorcerer who is pretty useful—her birds are pretty strong, actually—and he also got more knowledge on curse energy, and he also got the jujutsu higher-ups off his back…
So yeah, even though Ren flirted more than half of that arc, he got a lot out of it just by flirting… And now, why don't people like this arc? Simply, the answer is that it made people uncomfortable. Most of this fanfic up till now is really just Ren training and planning and thinking and making up new techniques and thinking about ways to break the system pretty much, and this arc was way different, so I expected that people wouldn't like it. That's also why the whole Mei Mei arc was a bulk chapter drop...
But I kind of 'had' to make this arc for 3 reasons. First, this showed that Ren liked twisted things like flirting with and manipulating MeiMei. Ren actually enjoyed that a little, which in fact surprised Ren himself…
And the second reason I had to write this chapter is because of 'Mei Mei.' If you read the fanfic, you will realize that Ren actually uses Mei Mei a lot. Like to run away and get out of the country, Ren uses Mei Mei's money and safely lives in Congo. And not only that, but because Ren got Mei Mei, he also, in a way, got 'Ogami' and Jiro. If you think about it, if Ren did not get Mei Mei, he would have never gotten Ogami, and Ren would still be stuck in Japan without Rika...
But now that Ren got Mei Mei, Ren is not only still training and planning but also uses whatever the world throws at him; he is not wasting anything, and if you see the way Ren treats Mei Mei after she was under the binding vow, you will realize how messed up Ren actually is… He has zero feelings for Mei Mei. The most he ever felt for Mei Mei was that one time when Ren saw Mei Mei wrapped in a towel and nothing else, and that almost gave Ren a boner…
And that brings me to the last reason I needed to make the Mei Mei arc because, well, this reason is like 2 reasons. Really, first I wanted to try something new. I was bored, simple as that. I did not just want him to train for another few months. What's the fun in that? And the second reason is you guys would not like it.
I mean, if I just made Ren train more and then fight and then train and fight, this would not be interesting at all… Ren already barely interacts with the students. The reason for that is simple: Ren is actually older than 'Maki, Panda, and Unmaki 'since his soul is from another world. Plus, like, if you were old, would you like to hang out with teenagers?? No, right? Simple as that. Plus, this is also why Ren only talks to Gojo or Mei Mei because he actually feels like he is talking to a normal adult his age...
Mei Mei is also like the perfect woman for Ren because his morals are twisted, and so are Mei Mei's… Plus, Ren is older, so he digs older females. Simple, right? And also this is also kind of true in Mei Mei's point of view; let's just say she enjoys younger men… ANYWAY Was the arc too long? It was like 10 chapters, so yeah, but was it needed?? Yes, because, like, I could not just let Ren get Mei Mei; she was actually useful, and you know me, I can't let Ren even get a girl without some struggle and trouble...
Anyway, this is not a sorry or a thank you. No, no, this is only a note for people who did not understand the mei mei thing. The only reason I am even making this is because, like, I got so many comments about people disliking the fanfic or saying, 'It fell off,' but no, it did not fall off, bro; you just got uncomfortable...