tofu talks 01

passion o.1 commentary
a break down of the chapter  with explanations for word choice and the like. enjoy my awkward rambling.
i recommend having the chapter open in another tab.

so passion opens with a segment in second person perspective. any guesses on who it's supposed to be depicting? when i was first writing it, it started off as taekjo but eventually ended with ilhwa. but really, it's open ended on purpose. it's not that significant to the plot haha 

i kinda based the setting off of the color palette of epik high's "breakdown" mv, with a mix of the green neon that i like so much. this is the first appearance of mr. hwang (cred. to lilico, who is technically the creator of the slimiest man alive). i wanted this scene to kind of put him in the center of what would look like a gladiator ring y'know. he's kind of like the lion in a sense, like the animal the gladiator would have to fight in order to make it out alive and earn glory. thus, spitfire = gladiator. (fun fact: i spent about ten minutes deciding how many people should be on hwang's staff. idk why. it never was significant)

the next segment is all animal imagery for the fans of the race team. idk i just picture screaming fans as animals. they give into their animal instincts and all that. (i'm just trying to be edgy!!!)

character descriptions follow !!! surprisingly, though they didn't take me all that long to write, i actually was really careful about how i was going to word each of these and how i wanted the first impression of them to go.

i like using queen/royal imagery for youngji, because she's the one in power for spitfire (technically. it's debatable how much power she actually wields over the group). i really really wanted to put in the cape description. it was the one thing i had set before i wrote the introduction tbh. i always wanted a segway from the powerful front she puts on in front of people, to the subtleties that tip you off that she's not as coldblooded as she appears. so that's why it focuses on her mannerisms rather than her glory by the end of her introduction.

damien's was really... just how i feel about damien. he's beautiful, but he also has this underlying edge to him that keeps you on your toes (e.g the way he takes everyone's breath away lmao). he also takes notice of mr. hwang and is the only one of the team to do so. this was important, because it means damien was already wary of this interviewer before they even began the questions.

following him is taekjo in his full glory. i don't have much to say about this description, but it's hard for me to steer away from cat imagery when it involves jongdae lmao.

allura is after him, and she's...soft. i wanted sort of an intermission amidst the darker colors of the other members (because basically everyone on the team wears black) with the colors of innocence and warmth. i made her wear a polo because it's more of a boy shirt. it's oversized like a hand me down. the polo represents her brother in a way if you catch my drift. the tennis skirt is to emphasize her teenage youth in comparison to the older members. candle on the windowsill is in reference to how she welcomes people in as that's typically a sign that the house is occupied idk. i forget a lot of why i put a lot of the words i did in her description whoops

adrian is next and i just !!! love describing him !!! his is a little short but i didn't want to get carried away. a lot of eating imagery to go along with adrian's use of consumption of things to help him get by. lollipop swirl on his forehead to go along with how he acts like a kid sometimes.

next is daniel. the only notable things in his segment is how he's compared to adrian (in that they both have charisma, but show it in different ways) and that he looks ahead to taekjo while he's walking. daniel and taekjo have an interesting relationship. this is a foreshadowing. a lot of daniel's body language is used to foreshadow important relationships coming up in the story lmao.

ilhwa has city imagery with namsan tower. also, the part where his face spasms when he looks at the fans is meant to be taken as an elitist sort of thing. he's disgusted by the lower masses or something like that. imagine his nose pointed in the air and a deep frown on his face haha

ok the seating arrangement took me so long to figure out. i was trying to juggle interactions, who talks the most, and who would be in front in my head and i'm not joking i sweated over this. anyway, youngji and damien are in front because they're the captains of the club and adrian is next to damien because 1) he has the most loyalty @ youngji so i wanted him close to her 2) he's one of the original members and 3) he's wellknown for his antics and i wanted him to be in front so he got screentime lmao. originally daniel was going to be next to taekjo and allura was going to be on the end next to ilhwa, but i liked the idea of daniel and allura being in the center once i decided to put in taekjo and ilhwa's little argument at the end of the interview.

onto the interview portion (why is this so long omg im dyin)

allura shrivels from the clapping because she's intimidated and she's s o f t

okok so a little tidbit on hwang. i basically have his whole mentality mapped out where he analyzes the weak links of the people he interviews in order to get the hottest story. thus, you see he lashes out at allura and daniel (who are the weakest in disposition) and damien who has the most interesting personal life. that's why a lot of his thoughts are talking about singling someone out. this comes into play later on with taekjo pls hold

the family question : youngji answers the quickest because it's something she feels the most passionate about. damien looks at her because he isn't sure how her expression appears. he knows she's emotional when it comes to the team and is wondering if she's breaking down or holding ground. daniel rubs at his wrists because (if you've read lilico's app) he's got some.. stuff going on there. ilhwa puts his hands over his to get him to stop, but doesn't look at him when he does so. this is a glimpse into their relationship. ilhwa's rather prickly, so he shows he cares in random and spastic gestures. this is one of em. daniel opens his mouth because he's probably going to inquire about it, but decides not to. (probably was going to ask him about it when they got back to hq but ilhwa shut him out) allura likes being called a family because she cares about everyone. she's the good noodle.

when adrian flops over damien, damien is used to it but is inconvenienced nonetheless. when he props him back up, he gives him a small smile. fatherly damien vibes are in this scene but only for a millisecond.  

taekjo when hwang asks about damien's royal lineage : this was like.. a really big thing in my head, but i don't think it had as much impact when added to the chapter in full. this paragraph following damien's reaction to the question is the moment taekjo realizes hwang's tactic for asking questions. he frowns, miffed by hwang's methods of trying to get them to say and thus scopes out the rest of s to try to predict who hwang could prey on next ("he begins to sweep over each one of his fellow members."). the two people he first looks at are ilhwa and daniel. they both have reasons for why they could be prey. ilhwa : is already looking uncomfortable, rich and part of the upper class unlike everyone else, has the potential to create black mail material, rich. daniel : weak looking, fragile mentality, easier to break. the next person he looks at is allura because she's soft, sweet, and out of place. then, his gaze goes back to damien to see how it all plays out. this was my interpretation of taekjo's capabilities of creating plans and being a mastermind. this is more the taekjo side over the bbypink side in this case. all of this takes place in a few seconds. the spark in his eye is a spark of recognition.

other note : damien looks in the camera when he says "i didn't mean anything by it" because he wants to make a point. take note that he acknowledges where the camera is unlike anyone else.

hwang vs taekjo : this scene goes along with taekjo's recognition scene previously mentioned. while hwang thinks he's being sly and picks allura for his next target, he is unaware that anyone has caught on until he locks eyes with taekjo. that's when he realizes he might be in trouble. taekjo is watching him and he's amused because he acted exactly how taekjo predicted. ("a disturbing curl twitches on his lips, pulling his face into a bewildered smile" - bewilderment because holy he was right) the thing that clamps on hwang's throat is a threat from taekjo, a warning. but hwang chooses to ignore it (big mistake). this is also why taekjo chimes in and prevents allura from talking more than she has to. he doesn't want to risk hwang winning. allura blushes because she doesn't understand taekjo's intentions, but is flattered anyway. (also pictured taekjo forcing a bbypink feel to his words, but not being bbypink... you feel?) daniel looks at them. more interaction signs. taekjo hops in to defend daniel as well because once again he was right about hwang's tactics and doesn't want daniel to crash and burn. however, the words taekjo says are basically what he says on a daily because he really respects daniel's work. after all, taekjo dragged daniel into spitfire.

ilhwa reacts to this. he doesn't look at them, but his brows knit together. he's uncomfortable and is beginning to stiffen up. while he can't read the situation as well as taekjo/damien can, he can feel something isn't right. the words that press against his mouth are probably something like "cut it out" lmao (also mild jealousy @ taekjo .. will come into play later on in story ahahha)

the daniel/hwang interaction is almost pulled directly from lilico's interview portion on daniel's app with slight modifications. taekjo is going to defend daniel again to prevent hwang from having his way (and he's scowling because he actually cares about daniel whoop) but allura hops in instead. remember allura has a hero complex and wants to save the day. she was probably contemplating hopping in as soon as daniel's interview started and the questions became awry, but wasn't able to work up the words until then. (she wobbles on "we" because she's still not completely with the fact that she's going against the law as well)

hwang's "anyone hold you back?" question : i really debated whether or not to put this in, but i needed a segway to end the interview, and also one last interaction to start the rest of ilhwa/taekjo's dynamic in the group. so...i put it in. hwang asks such an off the cuff question because he's desperate to get dirt on spitfire. more on this later on in the story. notice the flip on taekjo when it comes to someone he cares about compared to someone he loathes. he's just as ready to throw someone under the bus as he is willing to come to their aid.

taekjo throws out ilhwa because 1) he hates his guts lmao and 2) ilhwa is the only member to have not said a word the entire interview. he's basically provoking him to do something. damien gives him a look as a signal to watch what you say. this is our reputation on the line, as adrian takes his side (adrian doesn't care for ilhwa much either in my head. taekjo and adrian can agree on that.) and daniel silently pleads with taekjo not to do it. daniel is well aware of how taekjo thinks of ilhwa, but he's equally aware of the fact that ilhwa takes everything personally. this is basically another demonstration of daniel's relationship with both boys.

when taekjo gives his answer, youngji growls at him. i wanted this to be an indication that this conversation comes up a lot. more on their conversations (taekjo/youngji) will show up later in the story. (tldr; taekjo is like second strategist and oftentimes tries to persuade youngji to go with his plans.) ilhwa curls up because he's embarrassed. daniel is hoping taekjo can retract what he said lmao

youngji pulls the bbypink card so that she doesn't get mad at taekjo himself, but his alter ego. youngji doesn't like bbypink but has a soft spot for taekjo and thus, reprimands the part of him that's easier to reprimand. taekjo retaliates childishly, but in proper fashion. once again, it shows that this comes up a lot in spitfire discussion and also that taekjo is hurt by this because he feels personally close to youngji. 

ilhwa pats his pockets because he's trying to find his cigarettes. idk if this is clear lmao.

damien calls off the interview by looking at the camera. 

they leave and hwang is furious. more on hwang's role in the plot later on in this long post.

okok !! so they're back at hq.

youngji's personal squad is damien, taekjo, and adrian. why? they've been with her for a longer time, they're loyal to her, and they're people she can trust. damien/taekjo help with moves for the team and adrian is a confidant. you can really think of spitfire as just these four individuals tbh. ilhwa, allura, and daniel are in a league of their own. damien watches her as always. adrian brings up the jab at ilhwa because he's insensitive lmao but also because he genuinely thought it was entertaining. once again, he isn't too fond of ilhwa himself. the rest of this scene was basically written to show youngji's dynamic with taekjo, but also one of her weak points : ilhwa. (also damien stands up when the tension gets high because he's ready to hop in and stop a fight. he was ready for people to tousle.)

allura and ilhwa's scene is really soft. i wanted it to have the feel of two high school kids having a study session together. ilhwa and allura have a special relationship. it's nice. also, notice that allura finds ilhwa to be predictable (and even compares him to an equation at the end) and knows how to tread around him. she also knows a lot about daniel (the boy with the ashtray is daniel. he takes ilhwa's cigarettes for .. reasons.) but respects his privacy and doesn't rat him out to ilhwa. ilhwa's throat itching corresponds to his hankering for cigs, but also his rising irritation. he contemplates whether or not he should get his way, but decides not to. he's working on moving away from the spoiled brat side of him haha.

daniel enters. note that he isn't involved in the confrontation with youngji and taekjo but is worried about them. he's not so willing to get involved in the action though. daniel came in to talk to ilhwa, really. but ultimately is told to leave. ilhwa's mad at daniel in a way (in a sort of spoiled way of "why didn't you take my side???") but he mainly just doesn't want to talk to anyone at the moment so that he doesn't throw a fit. he sends daniel away in hopes of avoiding a fight. note that he meets up with allura who he feels comfortable with. 

fin. (finally omfg this is so long.)

relationships developed in this chapter

taekjo/daniel
youngji/allura
ilhwa/daniel
damien/youngji
adrian/youngji
taekjo/ilhwa
allura/ilhwa

secondary characters of zeroyon

i meant to outline this in chapter one but i didn't lmao !! so this all the secondary characters. applicants who weren't chosen for final lineup, your character might be here.
youngcheol : mechanic for spitfire. friends with youngji.
tolya : youncheol's assistant and currently in training.
dobin : racer on rival team MAELSTROM. catalyst for a later plot point.
rena : rival racer. team tbd.
hwang : antagonist. motives later revealed. (but the interview is just the beginning :))))

mild spoilers
+ scene involving daniel, youngji, and ilhwa near
+ allura and family life
+ youngcheol and youngji = 2young ???
+ taekjo v rena
+ ending decided !! hope ur excited
 - most of this is tentative but the ending is set in stone for sURE

q+a for the readers
"do you guys have any ships at the moment?"
"any predictions for future plot points?"
"anything you would like to see in the story?" - no promises on makin it happen, but y'know i'd love to hear what you guys are thinking
let's discuss !

hey guys... it's been awhile :')
anyway, coming by to tell you that zeroyon will be updated officially here on this thread from here on out! while ao3 is pretty cool in the reading aspect, i wasn't able to format zeroyon in the way that i wanted so i gave up on there haha. so ! i'm working on polishing up the second chapter which should be released by the end of december. in these two weeks until exams i'm going to finish the rough draft, and then revise it for uploading hopefully as soon as my holiday break starts. hope you guys are excited ! in the meantime, i decided i would post up some bonus zeroyon content as an apology for the long break between chapters and to hopefully rekindle your excitement for the story. i hope you guys aren't done with zeroyon just yet ;; 
(also idk if you guys want more of these along the way? this became so much longer than i intended im sorry!!!)

love all of you ! thanks for stickin' with me.