#and i know lots of people complain about how simplistic it is & i only have the base game so far so i definitely see that

[autolenaphilia]

I finally found a definition of "radical feminism" from a transandrophobia dude. Like I lamented before that they calls trans women "radfems" without defining what they mean by that term, and here i get an answer. It's terrible, but an attempt was made.

I won't link to it, it was left as a very lengthy, rambling and sealiony reply to a mutual's post complaining about this very behaviour, and that dude doesn't deserve any additional attention giving to his ravings. Believe me, whatever I screenshot is worse in context. The context being a transfem saying "don't do this thing" and a guy deciding to do this exact thing for over 30 paragraphs as a reply.

But here is a relevant screenshot.

His definition of radical feminism is literally: "making a distinction between oppressor and oppressed." And It's literally any distinction, not just between that between men and women in the patriarchy. As he proves when he condemns tme/tma distinction as terfy:

Like tme/tma is a binary, but it's one that includes a lot of varying groups in the oppressor class, including cis women, much to the anger of actual terfs. This definition of radical feminism is literally believing in the oppressor-oppressed distinction.

The problem with this definition is that making a clear distinction between the oppressor and the oppressed is a fundamental part of analyzing oppression.

Saying that in a patriarchy men have male privilege, and institutional power over women, who are oppressed by misogyny, is a true statement and a fundamental part of feminist theory. And saying that in a white supremacist society, white people have white privilege and institutional power over non-white people, who are oppressed by racism is also true and is vital to analyzing racism and white supremacy. And queer tumblrites practically all agree that in a cisheteronormative society cishet people have privilege and power over queer people.

These are binary statements to be sure, and simplistic because they are only analyzing one form of oppression, and not studying their intersectionality, but they are also obviously true. It's in recognizing how they are simultaneously true that forms the basis of any intersectional analysis.

It's not radical feminism, when marxist, anti-racist analysis, queer theory and other forms of feminism all rely on these distinctions between the oppressed and their oppressor class. If we are going by this definition of radfem, Karl Marx was a radfem, and so was probably Hegel, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

And again, this is a way of using the label terf/radfem to label all feminist analysis as suspect, including transfeminist analysis by trans women, you know the people actual terfs want to genocide.

It's a tactic right out the right-wing conservative playbook to label any discussion of how people are oppressed as divisive and making the oppressed into angelic victims that do no wrong.

It's basically another variation of what I call Farrell's fallacy, here the existence of other forms of oppressions is used to deny misogyny. "If men are privileged, why do marginalized men exist, checkmate feminists" Misogyny is nuanced out of existence, where the term "intersectionality" (a method that in reality includes a lot of feminist analysis of misogyny) is used as a club to deny misogyny. Feminists are strawmanned to lack intersectional analysis, when they are in fact at the forefront of it.

And you can do this to deny any form of oppression. You can point out that the oppressor class for practically every oppression has members that are marginalized for other reasons, and thus deny they have any privilege at all.

Of course antifeminist tumblr queers do love doing this to misogyny to deny their own complicity in it, while oppressions that they feel is important (because it affects them) is exempt from this treatment. Like you could nuance the existence of straight and cis privilege out of existence by pointing out that "cishet" covers a lot of marginalized people, like women, non-white and disabled cishets all exist.

Actual terfs do in fact use misogyny in that way, they have their own version of farrell's fallacy where they say "how dare you say we have cis privilege, women suffer from misogyny."

And of course, it's wrong for all the reasons i outlined in my post about the fallacy linked above. People can simultaneously be oppressed and privileged for different reasons. You can see cis privilege when you compare the outcomes and social status of cis and trans women for example. And people who are queer in addition to being non-white and disabled have worse outcomes than cishet disabled and non-white people. Just as you can see male privilege when comparing men and women who are oppresssed for the same reasons.

The reality is intersectional analysis answers this seeming contradiction without denying that the existence of any oppression and privileges given to the oppressor class. It's the difference of using the existence of other oppression to deepens one understanding of society, and to deny that one particular oppression exist at all.

[niqosblog]

Why Do People Distrust Reboots of Cartoons?

An Analysis

Root of The Trust Issues

I feel like ever since Teen Titans Go, people have lost faith in reboots of classic shows. Especially since their only basis is "this is a show for little kids", and they expect it to be immature and plotless.

You can't just announce that you're making a TV show reboot of a classic with a more simplistic art style without expecting backlash.

Just saying "I like the [insert media] reboot!" Everyone is gonna be on your back and say that it's a bad lifeless reboot. But I believe that some are actually good. They have kept up similar themes and still progress with the modern world.

The Exception

If we're really getting into this topic, may I say that Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reboot that people loved to pieces. Even with its awful ending, people still loved it. Yet no one asked for it.

No one looked at the old Voltron and said "I wish there was a reboot".

Was the show good? YES!

It performed amazing during its run. It had a strong fan following to it as well.

Was it bar for bar, character for character accurate? NO!

Keith was supposed to end up with Allura, going so far as to marry her. Pidge was actually a clumsy dwarf boy that had a crush on Allura. Hunk was some buff white guy rather than a chubby Samoan dude.

Yet, did people complain? ALSO NO. And the only reason why, was the art style.

Simplistic Art Style

Then we get to things like the My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake Reboot. These are objectively good reboots as a stand alone, without a nostalgia bias.

They have representation, life lessons, friendship themes, basically everything that the original was. But the fact it's a 'reboot' is what throws people into hysteria.

Strawberry Shortcake was always a spunky girl who would always problem solve in a kind and caring way. Always true to her friends, loved making friends.

She is such a stereotypical good girl that the show even pokes fun at it. Making jokes that she's too trustworthy and friendly. And they keep this trend in the reboot. Yet people didn't watch it.

And you want to know why?

"it looks lifeless" "it lost its spark" "the designs are ugly"

Why This Argument Sucks

This isn't a real argument. Exhibit A would be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

We can agree that TMNT has kept a consistent art style. Mostly consisting of the big eyes, similar body shapes, wide mouths... The only two thing differentiating them being the eye covers and weapons.

Now in the reboot, there are several differences.

Raphael - Stocky, beefy, wider, taller, snaggle tooth

Leonardo - skinner waist, broad shoulders, long head, slightly muscular arms, eye markings

Donatello - basically the same as Leo but he has skinner arms, and goggles

Michaelangelo - rounder, shorter, bigger eyes, more colors

Unlike the other adaptations, where they look like the same copy and paste character with a slight hue shift, they actually look different. But before it came out, there was a lot of backlash of the characters looking ugly.

That soon changed when clips started circling around that people gave it a shot. And guess what. They liked it! They called the characters charming and unique, and even got a huge fandom from shares on Tiktok and advertisements from the program airing the show.

Sure, people did complain about the simplicity. But they eventually came to enjoy it. So why can't people keep the same energy for other reboots?

Nostalgia

The biggest factor of all is nostalgia. I loved Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures. And I dabbled in watching the 2003 version because I loved it when I was a kid. Yet, I still love the reboot.

Berry in the Big City isn't a bad reboot, people just don't want to give it a chance because of the nostalgia factor. They grew up with the 2003-2009 version and expect no changes, and when things did change they threw a fit.

I don't know how to tell you this, but this show was made for KIDS. Not teenagers looking for a fun watch, not adults looking for a taste of classic TV, but children.

Sure, there are some teens and adults who love this show because they might be a babysitter or an older sibling. Or maybe just someone who heard it was good and wanted to give it a watch.

But if your only reason for disliking a show is that "it's not my [insert character]" is showing that you're just scared of change. If I'm really being honest, BITBC shows more personality in their characters.

Back in Berry Bitty Adventures, they all felt like the same girl just with a different goal. Here, Strawberry is more hyperactive and passionate, Blueberry is going with the flow and airhead-ish, Orange is a competitive athlete, Lemon is an emotionally closed off inventor, Lime is a nerdy fashionista.

And they all look different.

I have confused Raspberry Torte and Strawberry in 2009 more times than I can count. Even characters like Cherry Jam and Blueberry who have a different color scheme, look similar when desaturated.

And if you feel hurt by the fact that I'm saying cons about a series you loved as a kid, then you're part of the problem.

I don't expect you to say that "oh, yeah, I can see that." but instead, admit that not everything you grew up with was perfect.

And if Strawberry Shortcake isn't enough proof that people glorify the original too much, may I remind you people continuously hate the Monster High reboot.

The original had racial stereotypes, outdated jokes, sexist characters, toxic relationships (that for some reason stayed together), misrepresentation of disorders, and way more.

The reboot actually tries to be sensitive to who might be watching their show. They made Asian coded characters not yellow, they properly represent disabilities, they don't make Abbey's foreign accent a joke, they have body diversity. And g1 is apparently still superior.

Another reminder is that when g1 tried to make progress with their first gay character, they back tracked it and made it subtext. There will always be a problem with g1 Monster High, the only people who ignore it are people who are scared of change.

Conclusion

Are you supposed to watch all reboots from now and forever into eternity. No. This is just a thing I noticed when goons glaze on a cartoon that they (probably) didn't even watch getting a reboot.

There are bad reboots out there, (I'm looking at you Velma..), but I feel like if you just watched a couple episodes you'd find them more enjoyable. The original doesn't disappear when you watch a reboot. In fact, most of the examples I've mentioned are free on YouTube.

[quibbs126]

*sigh* screw it, I just want to complain more

So I’ve been trying to draw Menos (he is said favorite character above) yet again today, but it just keeps not working. I don’t really even know what I’m doing wrong, though at the same time I don’t really know how to do it right either

He’s just so difficult for me to draw for some reason. Actually no, I know the reason. It’s because he’s big and buff and has a different body shape to the rest of the main cast, and I don’t really know how to draw that. Also, there’s that godforsaken neck chain of his, that for some reason is impossible for me to draw

It doesn’t look that hard to draw in the game’s concept art, hell he doesn’t look hard to draw, especially considering his clothes are awfully simplistic compared to his companions and other characters

It’s literally just that he’s buff, I swear. But I just can’t draw him!

And this summer, I actually did somehow manage to make a sketch of a character with his body type this summer, and I keep looking at it for reference, but it just ends up looking trash

I don’t know how I did it that first time!

I know you people don’t really see my art of him that often, mostly just Ceres (though in all honesty I have been drawing a lot of her recently), but that’s because I either keep deleting it or I don’t post the never to be finished page that I drew him on, and only my Discord server that’s for Cookie Run and not this gets subjected to it. I have been trying and failing to draw him so much, including today

Speaking of today’s drawings, I actually did manage to make something halfway decent today, that being this

I’ve previously mentioned being at the dentist today, and drawing this while waiting (not entirely sure what I was waiting for, other than the thing to fill my cavities I guess? Since we were finished drilling holes in my teeth. Ah well, not important). I wanted to recreate the style drawing thing I had done above, while also maybe attempting to give them eyes closer to their canon designs

And quite honestly, I think they turned out pretty well! Maybe not the best, and I really don’t know what Ceres is doing with her arms, but it’s still not horrible

Then later today, I was trying to draw Menos similarly. And it crashed and burned (I’ve already erased what I was drawing, so I can’t show you). I’ve also been kind of trying to draw something else on the page, but it just isn’t working

I think I can only draw decently when I’m not at home, like when I’m at the dentist. Because it just isn’t working for some reason. I mean, I guess I won’t have much longer to wait, since I go back to school one week from now, and I always do my best work during lecture. Which isn’t great since I need to pay attention in lecture, but I at least will be able to draw outside of my house, and presumably do better

And yeah, I was able to draw that Dark Cacao and Choco picture yesterday, and it turned out pretty fine. And also, I’m a Cookie Run artist, I should just stop complaining about all this, making it a bigger deal than it is, and just go back to what I can do relatively well

But for one thing, I’m still stuck on this quest to draw Menos good, and I still haven’t gotten there, because I literally don’t know how to achieve it

And second, quite honestly it’s those Cookies’ fault I can’t draw these guys anymore!

I tried to learn how to draw the Cookie Run characters in a style similar to how they’re officially drawn. It took me a while, but I can pull it off I think pretty well, or at least decently (it just depends on how lazy I feel with the designs). But in the process, I have forgotten how to draw human characters properly/other beings with similar proportions. I may be able to draw them and it look semi decent by the end, but I don’t actually know what I’m doing in the sketch layer, and it feels like far more of an ordeal than it should be, and that quite honestly, I don’t have the skill anymore. I’m sure you can see it with how limited the poses of most human-ish characters I’ve drawn recently tend to be. Or at least, I’ve noticed it in drawings that I’ve done but haven’t posted because they weren’t done or I didn’t like them

And I struggle with applying what I’ve learned from Cookie Run to these human designs, because in my mind at least, they aren’t applicable here, because the proportions are all different and they have hands and necks now, and it’s all completely different so how do I apply it? Not to mention the fact that I’m semi-remembering how I used to do it and trying to copy what I used to do, but not knowing how I’m supposed to actually do it, so everything becomes a jumbled mess, and I get something that might look decent out of pure luck. I want an actual stable process for drawing human characters that looks good, but because of Cookie Run, I don’t have that anymore

And I can’t just draw in the Cookie Run style, because that’s basically like a Chibi art style, and that just wouldn’t look proper when it’s entirely different from the actual art of the game. Cookie Run you can get away with since that’s the canon art style and also just what the characters look like, being living gingerbread people. But I can’t do that with Evoland 2, it’s just not true to the game and quite frankly would just look embarrassing

What was I talking about again? Right, being unable to draw Menos. Well, that’s why you have to deal with this right now, because Cookie Run is in some way the reason that I am having this problem. Also, I really like Menos and want to draw him, but I can’t and it’s so endlessly frustrating

Yeah there’s the other characters, but I want to draw him specifically, since he’s the one on my mind most of the time, along with his family and also Velvet. It’s mostly Fina and Kuro who aren’t on my mind that often. But even then, I struggle with drawing the other characters too. Though that might be because I run out of steam by the time I decide to draw them, and so I just don’t want to draw them. I don’t know

I hate that I’m an artist who’s whole purpose is to draw, and yet I cannot draw my favorite character, who frankly isn’t that difficult to draw, all because I currently lack the ability to

[thessalian]

Thess vs the Rivaini Coast

So I now finally have a full Veilguard crew. Yet again, this has only led up to yet more stuff I don't get about the negativity. Please recall - this is just my opinion, and if you have a different one, that is totally your right. Just let's all please remember "it's not for me" and "it's objectively bad" are two different things.

That said: What is people's problem with Taash?

Yeah, I just met them (and don't even know they're a 'them' yet, technically, ICly), but ... gods, they remind me of how I get sometimes. I get defensive if I don't know you. You can literally see the wall going up in me if you're trying to engage beyond what I'm comfortable with, socially speaking. And I hate, hate being volunteered for something without my express consent or even knowledge. I don't consider Taash "sullen teenager"; I consider Taash "guarded as fuck because, among other things, they have a huge flashy ability they're supposed to be hiding and that's just the most obvious example of them having to hide who they are, and that means building a huge wall because no one gets to know them". And if "sullen teenager" is the front they need to paint over that wall? It's as good a one as any. Anyway, I haven't had them in party long but they seem remarkably patient, considering; I did a quest on the Rivaini coast with Taash and Bellara and Bellara was poking at Taash the whole time about "So you go into ruins and tombs and steal Dalish artefacts?!?" and Taash was like, "No, only assholes do that" but without getting angry about it, if you get me? Like, it was more, "Yeah, I can see why you think that, because the world is full of assholes, but we're not those". Maybe Taash's personality will grate more later, I dunno, but for me personally? I love them.

Also the complaints about the puzzles being "too simplistic" kind of tick me off, given I went through the entire abandoned Warden keep tracking ghosts and finding wisps and hopping all over the battlements for clues to how statues were supposed to face and I found it actually really impressive in the way that it used all the neat traversal tricks we've been seeing since the start of the game. I think that a lot of these puzzles are very clever uses of the mechanics, and the rewards you get from them feel earned (even if I do wish some of them were more useful than some of the ones I've had lately - but I did get a couple of Unique pieces and one entirely changed my approach to combat so I'll call that a win).

I admit, there's a lot of things that I complained about at the start that I kind of want to take back now. Not entirely, but mostly. I still love being able to pick the party that works best for me and run it all the way through the game, and am sad we can't, but I can see why - and honestly, it's fun putting together different groups depending on where we are and whose skill sets complement each other. And I get to hear more companion background dialogue that way. Not to mention how much easier it makes things from the point of view of triggering background banter; after all, it's not a choice between which two of the three available companions will be bantering with one another. I guess I'm seeing it mechanically as well as narratively, in that case.

Heh. See, this is why I pick everything apart. Does it sound like I'm complaining about certain games, shows, books etc when I'm doing it to find the flaws? Sure. And there are flaws in this game, yes. But I'll also look for the good, if I need to, and dig into why it's good while still acknowledging that those who don't like it are entirely within their rights to. I'm not going to say, "You have a negative opinion of this game so I will never trust your opinion again" (because seriously, some of the YouTube vids that have dared to be positive about Veilguard are getting that kind of shitty reaction). You like what you like. I like what I like. I like this. I paid £50 for this game and was sure that I'd regret it because I'd be causing myself pain to prove my own fears right. I'm fine with being wrong about that.

And now I'mma watch another episoe of Arcane while trying to decide whether I deal with Wardens or Morrigan first after seeing what Davrin wants and going walkabout with Taash.

[kirafanxx69420]

i need to get this off my chest its been in me for too long

i think deco 27 songs ever since vampire and onwards don't really hit at all excluding salamander, deco really peaked there it was a very nice song

i just finished listening to his latest song, rabbit hole and compared to zombies or journey it's definitely better but it feels kinda idk maybe im just missing his less upbeat style (that's definitely the case) because all these songs feel lukewarm to me at best and i feel like the lukewarm thing can apply to many more

i also think when voca-p's make songs for the sake of prsk it never goes right because they release it in vocaloid with human singing in mind and i was never really a fan of the prsk covers, im sure there are some good ones but so far overall its a very hit or miss thing with most going miss

because i think in most cases vocaloid songs are sang through vocaloid for a reason and it has to be made with vocaloid in mind and majority songs made for prsk felt mid (cosmospice didn't do anything for me despite my overflowing love for Pinocchio-p)

this is a section to commend becoming potatoes YEAH NERU!!!! NERU!!!! NEVER MISSES!!!! neru is so good

i know im sounding like a huge pissed off vocaloid "i think im better than you prsk lovers, i play project diva im a real one" person but dont get me wrong i love how vocaloid is getting a revival through prsk and the new genre/style of vocaloid is booming and i have a profound respect for people who play prsk and are good at it, i can clear up til 9.5 ex/exex songs on project diva all i want but i somehow cant do shit on proseka and watching gameplay is always amazing

i do admit they bang and i like the people who are discovering or even rediscovering vocaloid due to the resurge and i do admit some human covers of vocaloid originals do them justice (ahem miyuu ahem) this is just a very in general observation

im pretty much navigating through multiple topics but another thing im gonna add is nowadays i personally dont see heavy story telling based songs a lot i might be shit at finding them so if anyone sees this and think i am so wrong please prove me wrong with those sweet sweet YouTube/nico nico links but anyways things like the evillious chronicles hell not even that much even things like what hitoshizuku x yama does or the shama series

i also kinda miss how the artists draw the vocaloids themselves for the characters in the story or songs just outright about vocaloids interacting with other vocaloids like a little slice of life but i dont really want to complain too much because seeing individual and iconic designs for songs is also nice

i think thats all, my head stores a lot of thoughts towards vocaloid wait til you see me talking about MEIKO and her tuning and how i grieve for her everyday because I've found so many songs that sound nice but the way people tune her breaks the song but in the cases where she it tuned skilfully i drop down to my knees in amazement and i will stop there because i know i might spiral into this whole separate thing

so yeah i might be a hater at times,i can spend a whole 24 hours shittalking corn (I'll get on that some day) but you know what I'm not a hater of?

schoolmizzy, more people need to know their songs oh my god just amazing shit right there simplistic yeah but good stuff and only 1.6k subscribers im fucking crying man

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

so like... apparently jimin's like crazy is based on one of his favorite movies. for some reason that made me feel disappointed. i know i shouldn't be talking before the full track is out but i have a feeling the "content" of the track will disappoint me. because i feel that jimin is already distancing himself from what the lyrics/meaning may express by attributing it to a movie he enjoys. also he keeps talking about the pandemic. i thought this album spanned these last two/three years and not just the pandemic but he keeps referring to it. it's like a shield. like if he says he felt depressed or alone or lost it all can be blamed on the pandemic and its effects because it's safer that way. i don't know i really hope i'm wrong. i just feel him so defensive all the time...

Why is it so difficult to just wait? Why?

There's so many ways in which someone can take an inspiration from books, films, you name it and still make it their own in their work. Maybe just the theme, or one aspect from it that somehow speaks to what the artist is trying to convey through their own lyrics. The work gets transformed and even seeing how that happens can be a fascinating process to explore. Did the use of the Rilke poem took away from Jimin's own thoughts and feelings about what freedom means to him? I personally don't think so. In actuality, it only enhanced and deepened the meaning.

Intertextuality and taking inspiration from other works can be quite complex and not as straight forward as you might think, or how the fandom is currently positioning itself over this piece of information. I'm already seeing people watching that movie and thinking that it's some direct clue over Jimin's personal life. Which is a simplistic view, to say the least, but I can only imagine the discourse getting more traction once the song is out.

My point is, can we just not nitpick and pull apart every single element and complain about it without being able to look at the full picture or go beyond a basic layer of understanding?

And yes, he keeps talking about the pandemic because the album reflects that period in someone's life. And yes, the word might be used as an umbrella term when one doesn't want to get into details over everything that happened during that period. Or maybe it's used as an excuse for other issues, part of some defense mechanism. I think we should look at ourselves first in relation to that period of time and maybe we can understand better where he might come from. I know I do because I also use the pandemic as an excuse for a lot of stuff. But beyond all that, let's wait to hear the album first, ok?

[abuddyforeveryseason]

This is the Buddy for February 26th. It's a Harry Potter thing. I'm a Hufflepuff.

I'll be honest, I never finished the Harry Potter series. I did start reading the last book (the deathly hallows one) but for some reason or another, I didn't finish it. I only know the end thanks to reading spoilers online.

Same thing happened with Star Wars, too - I watched the first part of Return of the Jedi at my grandparents' house one day, and didn't see the end of the story until a few years ago. One of those weird nerd things, I guess. People do think the last movie of the trilogy's the worst, anyway.

The one thing about Harry Potter people are into is the four houses aspects. It's fun to pick a house and have this sort of kinship with other people who share your choice, and to be able to tell people abut yourself through this common pop culture branding.

The four houses are kind of based on the four humors of ancient greek medicine, as popularized in obnoxious detail by Ben Johnson.

Gryffindor is Sanguine - they're sporty, brave and "good at everything" - and of course, the type of people who only exist in fiction, or in the minds of people who think real life works like fiction, and see themselves as heroes. But all attempts at mapping personalities usually has a "good guy" personality just in case.

Slytherin is Choleric - evil. Technically, bitter and angry, which does describe Draco Malfoy. And evil people in general are usually angry, right. Cholera, of course, is yellow bile. Have you ever noticed that, when you're angry, you feel heartburn? That's the bile rising. In Japan, there's even the idea that when someone is really angry, they need to throw up.

Ravenclaw is Phlegmatic - Nerds, pretty much. If all the brainiest students go to Ravenclaw, how come they don't win every house cup? Though the idea that intelligence is an innate personality trait is pretty unintelligent in itself. Phlegm, as we know, is snot. Nerds are always sniffling and complaining about allergies, right?

Hufflepuff is Melancholy - basically "the rest" of the personality group, for people who aren't strong, smart or angry enough for the other three. Melancholy is the worst of the personalities, the opposite of sanguine, having neither the intelligence of Phlegmatic nor the strength of Choleric. Melancholy is the black bile, which totally exists, and comes from the spleen. What else would the spleen do?

So, basically, Sanguine/Gryffindors are strong and smart, Choleric/Slytherins are strong and dumb, Phelgmatic/Ravenclaws are weak and smart, and Melancholy/Hufflepuffs are weak and dumb.

People choose their Hogwarts houses based on their personality, or rather, the personality they wish they had. Choosing Gryffindor means they have a hero complex, or see themselves as brave. Good thing they've never been in an actual emergency situation to see how they'd do, right? Slytherin is the edgelord house. They act like they're above simplistic morality and "know only the strong survive". Ironically, many Slytherin characters were born rich. Ravenclaws are proud of their nerdiness. That often just means reading a lot or being good at math, though. Not so much the scientific humility aspect of nerdiness. And Hufflepuffs are the ones who claim to reject the whole idea of the house system and take pride on being part of the "loser house", since it means they're refusing to put themselves in a box.

Makes sense that I'm a Hufflepuff now, right?

[selchwife]

this is maybe not the blog to have this little bitchfest on but here we go. because i love bitching and am a hater.

i do get angry pretty often that nuanced conversations about things like abuse in fiction as a reflection of and dialogue with the society in which said fiction is created and how certain common narratives can genuinely influence people's thinking and how they interact with other people in subtle ways and how to create art as ethically as possible given all that have been like. kind of subsumed under this really simplistic shipcourse debate where i think both "sides" have, to a degree, kind of lost the plot (in that i think vocally profiction people are generally really noxious and horrible and morally indefensible, and antishippers who identify strongly with that label and who get really invested in Doing Discourse frequently stoop to the level proshippers often dwell at and fail to make actual cogent points, NOT in that i'm neutral or something obvs).

because the reality is that there is a deep and wide and vast can of worms opened when the base discussion is like, "what is and isn't okay to write and what should the consequences be for people who do write something that isn't okay?" because i think the reality is there are a myriad of positions to take in relation to those questions between the two extremes of "being offensive is COOL, actually," and "no one should ever write anything." like, an entire world of nuance that gets lost there. especially because the whole hashtag Debate is confined to the sphere of people's fucking dumb ass fanfiction. i don't think fic has no literary merit or something but it's so deeply entrenched in the realm of arguing over shit that largely is like. i don't know. i don't want to be insulting to fic but having read so much of it it astounds me that so many people argue on the side of like "but the ARTISTIC MERIT!!!! of these depictions!" and then you read some piece of Problematique Erotica with about as much Artistic Merit as the back of a box of cereal and you just have to stare out your window and wonder about the general state of intellectual discourse

anyway of course you guys already know this but i think in evaluating whether or not a depiction of a taboo subject like abuse is valuable one has to figure out what it is that the narrative is ultimately communicating first and how that message, like, idk gels with social discourses that already exist about the subject. this is why i tend to be more sharply critical of these elements in fanfiction; typically i feel like the only message is like "what if there was an excuse for this behavior/what if it was desirable" because it's, you know, erotica, or it's poorly-done Dark Romance, or whatever, and then there's a whole further debate to be had about like "well if it's just kink etc and clearly labelled as such does that actually feed into the dominant social narratives you're complaining about" but generally i think like, just the sheer volume of this stuff portrayed in a positive light is kind of concerning and there needs to be some kind of wider analysis of like, how that potentially perpetuates and is certainly perpetuated by external elements like rape culture or a society that largely has a lot of discomfort with actually criticizing behaviors it outwardly condemns when those with power and social capital are the ones doing the abusing.

but like i said, yknow, that's all complicated shit and i think your average like ~problematique darkfic~ writer has not really attempted to wrestle with any of those points in relation to their own work. or even cares about them or finds them valuable questions. it's really readily apparent too when people from this general "camp" are like "but what about when people like hannibal from tv show? he ate people???" like, as if there's the same sort of cultural defense of cannibalism as there is of fucking rape that makes idealized depictions of rape dangerous. like, get real.

also ive bitched about this on my personal but 90% of people who are not incest survivors like just in general have not even the barest understanding of what is actually objectionable about incest, so i don't tolerate its incursion into fandom shit basically at all. not to mention that debates about it tend to be massively offensive toward actual survivors on both sides (protip: try not to rely on arguments about how it's 'gross,' it's really fucking stigmatizing to hear repeatedly that abuse you have endured is primarily objectionable because other people think it's yucky rather than because it causes extreme harm physically and emotionally).

anyway tl;dr i am just really tired of people being dumb and knee-jerk in their endless quest to find justifications for being just as utterly offensive and vocally reprehensible as possible without any criticism or repercussions and how said desperation has really watered down any useful dialogues that could be had about fiction and its impacts on survivors of abuse in favor of, like, having to anticipate utterly inane bad-faith arguments from people who do not give a shit about anything but their own sense of being pleasurably naughty and transgressive. like the majority of proship arguments have all the intellectual honesty and depth of "but i WANT to stick my hand in the cookie jar!" to me.

[rottenbrainstuff]

Haha I just saw an Instagram post complaining about how we went from beautiful masterful renaissance paintings to Jackson pollock paint splatters.

You know what guys, I don’t even LIKE a lot of contemporary art that much ok? I don’t, yet I still find myself defending it all the time and that makes me mad, don’t make me have to defend this stuff I don’t even like.

To boil it down extremely, extremely, extremely simply:

1) once cameras were invented and became widely accessible, art was no longer stuck having to be strictly representational, and artists began to get more and more experimental with how art could be used to express feelings and ideas, instead of just a strict representation of reality. Artists like to explore boundaries and limitations. Every new movement was shocking when it was first a thing. Those impressionist water lilies that are so popular everyone knows them nowadays: people hated that when it was new. Van Gogh? The art movement he was a part of was literally called “the wild beasts” (fauvism) because people thought it was so ugly and crude.

2) the old masters you are probably thinking about learned painting as a trade, like a guy going to a technical school to become a mechanic, and most of them started learning it as children. Most of those paintings you admire so much were never created to be the artist’s personal expression, they were mostly hired by wealthy people to paint something that showed off the wealthy person’s wealth, either “look, I can afford to hire someone to paint this giant ass painting” or literally “look, I hired someone to paint this giant ass painting of myself standing in front of my massive land and wearing all my expensive accessories”. Those were the first vanity selfies! Back in the day you had to pay someone and wait three years for it. Lol. As that one popular post going around tumblr says: if we had people quitting highschool and going to painting school as teenagers, then having every one of their expenses paid by rich people so they can just sit and work on a painting for three years, you’d have beautiful stuff like that.

3) there ARE still beautiful representational paintings being made, actually! You just aren’t seeing them because you’re not going out to a variety of shows, you’re only seeing the famous controversial works that everyone likes to complain about. For instance JUST off the very top of my head, every year my city has a big western uh festival I guess and there is a showing of western artists and sculptors making art with western Canadian themes. I have never seen so many beautiful paintings of landscapes or horses. Tons of them. Probably at least 50 artists. Just in my small area of Canada. They’re still there. Why aren’t you trying to go out and see it? Why are you just looking for the weird avant-garde stuff to complain about?

4) perhaps most importantly: it’s not being made for you. That sounds rude maybe or overly simplistic but like that’s the best I can explain it and do try to wrap your head around it: the weird-ass art that’s a banana duct-taped to the wall: that’s not being made for you, you’re not the audience. You know, those old portraits, they were meant to be looked at and admired by a large audience of people, but this new stuff, it’s really not going for the same thing at all, it’s not made to be appealing to the general public as a pretty object of decoration. It’s got a WHOLE different thing it’s trying to do. I’m not defending the weird stuff and saying it’s all awesome and you’re just too stupid to understand it, trust me I went to college with some of the most insufferable artistes you can imagine and I know exactly the process and the intent behind all of this and guys I don’t necessarily like it either! I don’t. I’m just trying to explain. It’s different, it’s a whole different animal, it’s like complaining that you don’t like action movies when you went to see an action movie: you’re just not the audience. I know action movies are dumb and loud, they’re supposed to be like that, that’s how people like them, and it’s not a tragedy that we don’t have people making black and white silent movies anymore… it’s just different.

Whether you think this stuff is worthy of being displayed in large museums and having tax dollars spent on it, my friends that’s a totally different conversation that I’m not having here, and I don’t necessarily disagree with you there: I just, look, I spend four years and a lot of money learning art history and I took an honest to god class about how to look at contemporary art, and it just makes me feel tired when people make these dumb “kids these days” posts about why we don’t have renaissance paintings these days, implying it’s some sort of fault of degenerate or lazy artists who just don’t want to paint good anymore. That’s all I’m saying.

Ok?

[the-knight-of-the-stars]

I just finished Mark of Athena and I absolutely loved it, BUT, before I post my overall thoughts, I first feel the need to get two thoughts I have out of the way.

A bit of a warning. I'll spend a ridiculous amount of text complaining and talking about what is probably a deeply personal and irrational opinion but I just need to get it off my chest because it is driving me insane.

First. The thing with Hazel, Leo and Frank was kind of unconfortable. Like idk it didn't pass the vibe check for me. It wasn't a love triangle but it kind of felt like one in very weird way.

Now, I don't date, and I have blurred memories from when I was thirteen, so I don't know if its like normal for 13 year olds to get involved ( romantically or otherwise) with 16 year olds but it felt kind of strange to me, like for me 13 is still a kid and 16 is like a whole other stage of life, right?. Hazel is just like, hagging out with teens three years older than her. Do people her age really do that? (Or should they?)

This isn't exactly a complained about *this book* specifically but I was thinking it while I read.

Now, the other thing probably makes less sense but here we go. *singhs*

So... the part about Hercules. I wasn't a fan.

I know that is an interpretation, and there are many ways to interpret myths, but this one in particular is really bothering me.

It irked me a little since Titan's Curse, but there it was whatever. Now, I really don't like how it was handled here.

Is it me or the story is like, incredibly dismissive of his pain. The characters really take on this attitude of "yeah, we know you suffered and all, but we all did and now you are the trademark asshole of the story."

And like, maybe I'm crazy, but I dont think this is a good case to be so simplistic things. Hercules is arguably one of the heroes that got it worse with how much the god's internal conflicts dragged him under the mud.

This isn't some case of someone just being stuborn because he is like that. Hera made Hercules's life a living hell just for just existing. SHE MADE HIM KILL HIS OWN WIFE AND KIDS. And then he spend years trying to ease his guilt by going on impossible missions under the orders of another man who despised him.

He only got on Zeus's grace after a lifetime of suffering, being puppetired by the gods and finally dying a painful death. So yeah, I would be a little bitter and petty too.

The cult around Heracles is all about strength And it's not just because of his physical strength, but because he survived everything gods and man alike put him through. He was the representation of courage for a reason.

And I really don't see any good reason to potray him like this here. Specially because there seemed to be a lot of parallels between Hercules and Jason, and Hercules and Percy and I really thought they were leading to something. But now I guess those were accidental (? Or for fun or sm.

I don't want to say is a double standart, but is starting to feel a little like it. Or like at leasts like an weirdly handdled anachronism. Applying modern morality standarts to figures from the distant past is anachronistic, and I know the books do it all the time for the story's sake and because well, is fantasy. But in certain cases I can't help but feel like it creates some inconsistencies that I don't understand.

Like, what is the criteria here? Why does it feel like we judge a human more harshly than we are judging, lets say, the gods?

And I may be gettkng a little out of topic here but is not the first time something like this stings me.

It happened before with how Prometheus was potrayed. Why was he, of all greek figures, potrayed like a cowardly traitor? What was the point?

Prometheu's entire myth revolves around the fact that he loves human kind so much that he sacrificed everything for them.

He is one of the first and most important figures who defied and challenged the selfish ways of the gods, and he paid a horrible price for it. He was torutured for years for helping humanity, until another hero finally saved him. AND THAT HERO WAS HERCULES BY THE WAY.

Ok. Am I a little bias because Hercules is my tocayo and favorite greco-roman hero? Maybe, but my point still stands.

Why are we suppose to feel even a little bad for Achelous, the guy who stole a girl to make her his wife but not another demigod? Why is Hercules the asshole for fighting him?

I... I don't get why this was a thing.

Just like... it felt like such an unnecessary judgmental atittude towards him.

Yes I know, at the end of the day this isn't the myths, this is Rick Riordan's own universe and he can bend it to whatever he wants. But you would think that, under his own standarts, Hercules was a victim of the gods as much as any other demigod in the series was.

I don't really have more arguments, it simply did not sit right with me.

Ok, guess I'm done, I'm sorry. I'll post my other thoughts later. It was a great book. :D

[dragontamer05]

I fully support and on board with wanting to see Game Freak/Nintendo expand and improve on the pokemon games. I want them to be able to put out and showcase what the developers can do.

However might be a hot take but I really don't think that means, or has to mean things like Realistic Graphics or Full Voice acting.

If it's for like a one off, spin off/side game type thing Ala- Colosseum, XD, hell even Pokemon Conquest where development of it is it at the very least fully handled by Game Freak themselves then you know what sure. I'd love to see what could be made.

But in terms of the main games themselves Hell No. For one even with change of consoles, going from Pixel to 3D models and all the changes that came with it there's still at least some amount of consistency. Bright popping colours, cute things look cute and cool designs still look cool. Characters are recognizable plus over all the art design is seems to try and balance complex elements (with varying success) while also kinda remaining simplistic which allows for KIDS - their main target demographic although a game that can be enjoyed by anyone- Kids to be able to draw out their favourite characters themselves.

Sure I agree a little more details- and perhaps what might help best being able to get the game to better handle stuff like light and shadows consistently. Whatever can be done to help the games look their best I'm for it. But looking its best I really don't think means needing to go overly detailed/realistic. You change up the games look to much and you're gonna end up losing part of what makes a Pokemon game a POKEMON Game. And then you can bet your ass people would start complaining that 'Yeah it looks great but it doesn't look/feel like a Pokemon game'

Pokemon ain't Zelda, or Monster Hunter or whatever other game you want it to look more like.

To take a page out of Jurrasic Park, All people keeping thinking about is if they could instead of thinking about if they should.

Same goes for voice acting.

Look I enjoy some good voice acting in games, it can be a lot of fun however not every game needs it or should have it.

Animal crossing has it's fun little garbled noises take that away and put in full voice acted lines and I think you'd take away a lot of the games charm.

Zelda has proven it can work with voice acting but it's also long proven itself to work just fine without such. Using not much more then some small character noises- grunts, laughs, sighs ect, and not much more then like a 'Hey' sound for some characters when they're calling to you.

Or Okami. Beloved game without a lick of voice acting and frankly I don't want any. It also works off the Animal Crossing school of little noises- just changed in pitch/speed/volume/ ect to fit the character.

Now I can agree voiced or not the choice of animating characters talking in Pokemon games with out even some kinda of noise is an odd one and if they really want to keep that particular choice up - in particular having those full rendered cut scenes, I'd say at the very least maybe they could implements some sort of extra sounds of some kind or just do something to at the very least distract/take away from and make up for the lack of voice acting.

Besides the fact that fully voice acted games would take all the longer to be released- which sure for the development stand point of like the over all game not a bad idea and the games do deserve more time to cook before being released but that doesn't mean all that extra time would actually get put into / used with developing the game itself.

Not only would they need to at minimum have JP voice actors but then comes the decision of how many languages should they dub it into and what can they afford and then going through having to hire all those vas.

And once again we're back to the simple fact of not being able to please everyone as no doubt at least some people would be bound to fine some problems with voice acting. Not liking how one sounds, nit picking if 'oh the horror' there was a slip up oops maybe there's some lines of dialogue that they couldn't make match lip flaps perfectly or god knows what but you know someone would find something to complain about (whether it be an actual issue or just some personal gripe)

Over all I think when it's situations that are like one off side games with a smaller cast of characters to handle like say Pokemon Snap those are great for voice acting, and just in general sort of an experimentation exploration ground for things that may not work or fit well within one of main line games - it's great that they've been trying to do more with their classic formula of game play, trying to find ways to mix it up a little so the games aren't exact but come on they're always going to hit some of the same beats.

[project1939]

Day 65- Film: Ikiru 

Release date: October 9th, 1952. 

Studio: Toho 

Genre: Drama/foreign 

Director: Akira Kurosawa 

Producer: Sojiro Motoki 

Actors: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri 

Plot Summary: A middle-aged Japanese bureaucrat discovers he has stomach cancer and only has months to live. He confronts the fact that he hasn’t done anything meaningful with his life, and he uses the time he has left searching for ways to rectify it. He spends time with a hedonistic writer, tries to reconnect with his son, and forges a friendship with a bubbly co-worker. 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***** 

I remember seeing this in a film class when I was in school, and it was one of those movies that seeped into my bones and made it hard to concentrate on other things for the rest of the day. I was curious to see how I would react to it again, years later. I think it hit with an even heavier punch now! It’s still a movie you need to take some time to recover from.  (Spoilers)

The Good: 

The casting and the acting all across the board. The actors all looked like “normal” real people. No one was given the glamour treatment. They didn’t just look the part, though, they pretty much all gave convincing and moving performances. 

Takashi Shimura as Watanabe. He had a lot to convey in this movie, and much of it was in close-ups, but it was his face and his expressions that were most stirring. Try to even think about this movie without picturing a close-up of Shimura’s face! You can’t. 

Yunosuke Ito as the novelist. His face was so striking and interesting, you almost didn’t want to take your eyes off him.  

Miki Odagiri as Toyo Odagiri, Watanabe’s bubbly co-worker. She was also a gem who took well to close-ups. She had the perfect kind of youthful joie de vivre, innocent and unknowingly wise all at once. 

Kurosawa is a master of shot composition. Master! Especially with the framing of faces. 

This kind of follows the previous one, but Kurosawa is a genius of the close-up in and of itself. The movie would be very different without all the lingering shots of people’s faces. 

The unique plot structure. Not everyone likes that Watanabe dies with nearly an hour of running time left, but I found it really interesting. We see the final months of his life solely through the eyes of those he left behind. They all have different agendas, different levels of knowledge, and even different levels of interest.  

All the little visual details- the suit Watanabe wears being too loose because he has lost weight from being ill, the mounds of paperwork burying everyone at the office, the worn stockings of Toyo, the pachinko machines, the little wind-up toy rabbit, etc. 

The use of the song “Gondola no Uta,” with its “life is brief” lyric. Using a song like that could have easily become cheesy and maudlin, but instead it brought me to tears. Twice. 

The plot and its themes of finding meaning in life, handled in a less simplistic, more realistic and gritty way. You can’t help but examine your own life when you watch. 

It was largely unsentimental, and when it did get somewhat so, it was always tempered by a darker reality. This wasn’t It’s a Wonderful Life... yet it also has great heart at its center. The way his co-workers at first downplayed his achievements, then were moved by them, then promised to change their ways and live like him, and then just go right back to the way they always were... that is a perfect example. 

The initial despair in realizing that most people around us probably don’t notice or appreciate what we do... but the hope that comes from the fact that some do. There are always some. 

The Bad: 

Is there anything? I know some people might complain it’s too long, and some might complain about the last 50 minutes, but I don’t agree. 

[kanmom51]

I see the "Jimin gave Dior their highest stocks" argument circulating on Twitter and on Tumblr. Wanted to add my two cents: Stocks don't work that way. One single person being named brand ambassador won't influence stocks in a mega way. Not even our bestest, cuty-sexy-lovely It-boy.

Two things:

a) what influences stocks is quite complex and it's difficult to pin it down to just one factor and trying to determin what impact that one factor had b) Dior's stocks have been pretty good since September last year. And the rise in stock since Jimin was named brand ambassador wasn't that high. That's not because Jimin being brand ambassador wasn't impactful. Because it obviously was. But again, stocks are a bit more complicated than that. Also during times of crisis, luxury brands are always quite successful, since rich people usually aren't affected by those times of crisis. Sucks, but that's how it is

Still Jimin being brand ambassador is a highly successful move for both sides. Jimin holds a lot of brand power. He gets Dior a lot of recognition and gets people to shop Dior products. And of course since the new money is in Asia, naming a big asian celebrity as brand ambassador is a very clever move. And right now Jimin is one of the most famous celebrities. People can be pressed about that all day long. Won't stop the Jimin effect and won't stop people from running into Dior stores, lol (and maybe soon Tiffany stores?). And like clockwork, everyone shading Jimin for being lazy just dug their own graves. When I see people complaining about Jimin being lazy, it majorly pisses me of. But I also know I just need to sit back and wait for Jimin to do his thing. Chefs kiss.

Very well said. I completely agree.

Saying JM being announced ambassador for Dior has their stock at an all time high is so very simplistic and kinda wrong.

It is very possible that the announcement itself, on the day, caused a spike in the stock price, that would be a momentary influence, nothing more.

Just like @guacamoli-avocadorado mentioned, the stock market and stock prices are much more complex than that. Many more influences, inside brand influences and outside world influences, other stock markets are at play here. For instance, a fall of the Wall Street stock market will influence other stock markets all around the world and stocks in those markets, even if they have zero to do with Wall Street will most likely take a hit.

I would like to add some more though.

Yes, stock prices are important to assess a company's worth, but at the end of the day, the success of a brand is not in it's stock prices.

It's in the profit it makes selling their products. Cost versus income, as simple as that. The more the brand is profitable, the more successful it is. The more profit there is to divide out as dividends to their shareholders, the happier the shareholders are in it's management.

Cost and profit.

And JM is a cost, probably a very big one, but he's also an unbelievable investment for Dior. The buying power JM holds is immense, not only in the Asian markets but add to that international Army.

I mean, just go online to see how many Army have been out on shopping sprees buying Dior products all because JM was announced as ambassador. Buying clothes he wore, bags he carried, make up he had on.

Now that's buying power, and that's also a good investment.

JM is a money maker, and that's why they snatched him, Mr. brand reputation king.

Talking about brand reputation rankings, JM no. 1 and JK no. 3 - when are we finally going to be hearing who snatched JK up, eh? I guess it's all about timing, cause we know these deals are months in the making. But it sure is coming.

Dior did more than good to land JM. Good business is what it was, and every JM hater out there, well, boo to you you idiots. JM is the king, case in point.

JM might have done that by mistake, but that's exactly what the haters deserve. Instead they got a little of the very famous JM/JK Karma.

And those sounds, the screechers calling JM lazy, those sounds were silenced. Boy's been working non stop, recording, filming, shooting, being cooed by Dior from the second the solo path was announced.

This same claimed lazy JM is in tip top shape, able to move his body, do things that no other member of BTS can, not even our super fit, Mr. boxing and exercising all the damn time Jungkook.

You aren't able to control your body like that by being lazy. And that's just the latest example.

JK has spoken about what a hard worker JM is, how he admires him for it. But you know, Jikook are scripted, so probably doesn't mean a thing, right?

Yoongi said it too, but again, he's BTS, it's all a falsehood they are trying to sell us.

Then how about Taeyang then? Is he part of the BH JM propaganda machine?

I think you all know my thoughts about it, right?

I'm just as pissed as you @guacamoli-avocadorado.

Hell, JM, as per usual, quietly, humbly, shows them all exactly who he is, what he's made of and what he's worth (if only we had access to that ambassadorship contract for Dior - my guess is a shit ton of money).

And folks, believe me when I say this is just the start.

Stream Vibe.

[hamliet]

So, this person mentioning your 2ha metas made me get curious about it so I wanted to look for them but then the first thing I found was this: "I think 2ha had the potential to be as rich in complexity as MXTX's works, but instead settled for a more traditional black/white version of the morality" and now I'm actually more curious about this line 🤣

You see... I've alway failed to get the whole hype regarding mdzs and its morally gray this, morally gray that. And it doesn't help that the Chinese fans I know also complain about it, they're like "wwx is the hero, why western fans are so obsessed to change this? Why they don't do the same with their heroes?"... And they also comment on how mxtx is pretty clear about the morals of their characters and I feel like I get both sides but again, not really the obsession with the matter. Because then there's the fact that, while I agree with meatbun not treating SQT well, I don't feel like MXTX did it better when it was only literally wwx the one having his happy ending... Everyone else is dead or condemned to be forever alone for some reason... and even someone as jc is someone who, imo is pretty clear, MXTX thinks doesn't deserve anything but loneliness (the fact there's no woman who wants him according to her, he has no friends, he has no real bond anymore with anyone...). So, honestly, I don't feel like if MXTX wasn't clear about who are the morally correct and the morally wrong in her stories just as I don't feel she was any more fair with her secondary characters for the sake of wangxian happy ending. The same goes with her other works where all the characters that are antagonists in different levels, just like in mdzs, get what "they deserve" 🤔

Ahhh okay, I've seen this argument floated a lot, and it's become a bit of a pet peeve for me, so I'm going to take a bit of time to respond to this... There is a lot here to respond to.

For starters, I would caution you about categorizing of "Chinese fans" as if they are one monolith; they are not. They are also not different than western fans in terms of being human; they are closer to the cultural context of the story, but that doesn't inherently mean every interpretation is correct or textually supported. For example, I haven't seen at all your claims about WWX being the hero (I saw it from a western person, and if the Tweet is what you're referring to, they took the quotes shockingly and almost laughably out of context): while I'm sure Chinese fans do say this... so do western fans. A lot. In fact, Jiang Cheng is very not popular among Chinese fans in polls, while Jin Guangyao is. The point is, you can't say Chinese fans vs Other fans in a simplistic way to make any claim of substance.

As for MXTX's statements, I literally do not take authorial interviews into account in analyzing stories, nor do I really understand why people do. I'll quote Dostoyevsky here: “Don’t let us forget that the causes of human actions are usually immeasurably more complex and varied than our subsequent explanations of them.” Authors explain things in overly simplified ways, and explaining a novel that runs on complexity simplistically is never going to be satisfying. You also have to look at the full picture: she's said pretty cold things about Xue Yang (much worse than about JC), but has also defended him from antis, calling him "my son" and saying that she loves him more than any readers because she created him. I don't doubt this is the same for Jiang Cheng.

"jc is someone who, imo is pretty clear, MXTX thinks doesn't deserve anything but loneliness" I do not think this is true. The notes about Jiang Cheng's dating life are humor. You may not find them funny, but they're clearly intended to be humor. Framing matters (I'll discuss framing in a bit.) It is also factually incorrect to say he has no real bonds. He clearly does. Jin Ling is a bond.

Everyone else is dead or condemned to be forever alone for some reason... I also don't see what you mean by looking at the story, or whom you might be referring to. Song Lan went to restore Xiao Xingchen's soul, to heal it. The juniors went from being antagonistic to being friends with each other. Wen Ning helps Sizhui with his heritage. Lan Qiren accepts Wei Wuxian as Lan Wangji's husband.

The ones where I can kiiiinda see people assuming this are with Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen, but I also don't think the framing is taken into account. Jiang Cheng has Jin Ling, and much like with Lan Xichen, I think people expect spoonfeeding where nuance works better. The trajectory of the novel--towards healing, towards the younger generations doing better than the older ones--indicates that there will be healing that continues beyond the main story. Not everything needs to be spelled out. I doubt Lan Xichen will be in seclusion forever like his father; his father had Lan Qiren (a flawed if well-intentioned man), but Lan Xichen has Lan Wangji, and I highly doubt Wei Wuxian is going to leave brother-in-law miserable. I do think Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian will form a new bond, because they are both clearly involved in Jin Ling's life. Neither of them are really good at cutting off bonds (like even after WWX's death, Jiang Cheng was looking for him). I wrote more on this here.

What is missing from most of these discussions is framing. framing, framing, framing. It tells you what to think about a story's events. Yes, Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang die, but how is that framed as "what they deserve?" Xue Yang dies with a candy in his hand, which if you want to rely on MXTX’s statements, she literally said she did that to show that he was not a heartless monster. Which is indeed what the text implies. For JGY, you have Jin Ling bawling and realizing his uncle was good to him too, Lan Xichen tricked into killing him when he wasn't doing anything, Wei Wuxian realizing how wrong it was and that they are the same. That's tragic framing, not "haha got what he deserved." The literal point of tragedy is that it shouldn't end this way. Tragedy is not "justice." Tragedy has injustice as its main point. You are supposed to be sad.

I've talked about tragedy in media before, and will quote Arthur Miller's "Tragedy and the Common Man" here:

The possibility of victory must be there in tragedy. Where pathos rules, where pathos is finally derived, a character has fought a battle he could not possibly have won. The pathetic is achieved when the protagonist is, by virtue of his witlessness, his insensitivity, or the very air he gives off, incapable of grappling with a much superior force.

Pathos truly is the mode for the pessimist. But tragedy requires a nicer balance between what is possible and what is impossible. And it is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies. In them, and in them alone, lies the belief-optimistic, if you will, in the perfectibility of man.

What is the "much superior force" in MDZS? It's society. And yet, because things are gray, society is not fully evil. Like with Dostoyevsky's novels, people need each other. They need each other to heal and to fully live; seclusion is not a Good Thing. But also, playing the political game kills, so society also corrupts. See here.

What is society if not a reflection of the human being? Born with tendencies towards good and towards evil. Someone who can corrupt, and hurt, and also heal others. Someone who can comfort an orphan with a dog and also torment his father to death. Someone who can kill thousands of people and also risk his life to save others. People who are complex.

By saying "gray morality," I'm not saying that there is no good or evil, but instead that context determines much of this; empathy matters as well, and so what is evil to one person may save another person. That said, there is an overall moral implication that people living is good, and empathy is good. Gray morality has never ever meant moral nihilism. It just means that instead of thinking "there is no right choice sucks to suck"; it should be "there are no choices that will heal without hurting; hence, let's empathize with those who make those choices instead of condemning them." Black/white morality is exemplified with Nie Mingjue's character, who ends up stuck in a coffin for 100 years after being used like a puppet to kill innocents. I think black/white morality is pretty clearly condemned.

Imo, claims that only Wangxian got a happy ending and everyone else was sacrificed for this are based off of personal projections and impressions, not off careful analysis of the text that takes culture, literary allusions, tone, framing, and the like into account.

Wangxian are a gay couple, aka already challenging societal understandings on love. They leave society to heal and then return to help others, which is as far from a "f*ck you got mine" attitude as you can get. It's an old trope used as far back as the Bible: after some time away, you return to go into the world and save. The salvation isn't religious here but it's empathetic. They want to be a part of their loved ones lives.

Wei Wuxian never thinks that he didn't deserve death for what he did, even if the context leading up to it might well justify him feeling that way. He does not think Jin Guangyao deserved what happened to him, at the same time. He does not think everyone else's sacrifices were justified. If WWX is supposed to embody morality, as black/white people claim, then why do they disregard chapter 113?

It's fine for people to prefer things to be more spelled out (they are in TGCF, for example!) but I think MDZS is a novel that is heavily based in nuance (like, that's a central theme), and so when people approach it with an attitude of expecting spoonfeeding, they end up confused.

[fingertipsmp3]

Never thought I’d be saying this but Sims 4 has won me over

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 26 - The Higher Realm

The Higher realm continues. So close to the end!

Master post linked here

Enjoy!

______________________________

Time passed, but it was difficult to tell how much. Time worked so differently in the different realms. How long did we really spend trying to save one lower realm? Minutes? Decades? It felt like no time and forever. Adonis and I traveled to lower realm after lower realm, fixing the stories, stabilizing the world before heading back to the higher realm.

Some lower realms were easy, if a bit annoying, such as the high school dramas. In those I would often play the “average” new girl at a school. I would meet new people, and was supposed to go on to have romance, betrayals and coming of age realizations. I quickly realized that befriending all my supposed romantic leads instead of dating them, reconciling with my rivals instead of humiliating them, and pushing towards success all together was a much more satisfying strategy. Fortunately, graduating valedictorian with a happy and psychologically healthy group of teenagers often stabilized worlds that had been torn apart by half-baked character design or infighting between rivals.

I took calculus so many times that I could recite lessons in my sleep, but at least the worlds were saved. Despite our success, however, Adonis was often frustrated. He had his own vision of how we were to save these realms. His plans almost always involved us dating, making the high school romance “successful”.

I refused.

He had been a lot more likable since our first meeting, and I was able to consider him a close friend and ally… but I felt uncomfortable at the idea of even pretending to have a romantic relationship. It was definitely a more difficult route to stabilize the world without a romance, but I chose it every time. Adonis pouted and complained, but couldn’t argue with success, and I was successful.

Some lower realms were more difficult. In particular, zombie apocalypse stories were my least favorites. The worlds often couldn’t be stabilized until a cure was found or humanity’s survival was assured. This meant that Adonis and I sometimes spent decades within these realms, working to build armies, or teams of scientists. There was hardly ever any running water, which meant showering was few and far between.

My unwashed self was made even filthier by my absolute failure at using anything with range. Bow and arrow, guns… anything that would keep me out of the gore, I couldn’t hit even the largest of monsters. Fortunately I picked up a sword with relative ease, which allowed me to fight… but this also meant I got covered in rotten blood and guts.

I hated zombie worlds the most.

Realm after realm. We worked constantly, spending very little time in between in the higher realms. Adonis would often try to use those moments to push his ideas regarding fate and the higher realm’s story, but as soon as I rejected him, which I did every time, he would simply scowl and pull us into the next lower realm to save.

It was getting old.

“How many lower realms are there?” I asked one evening as we recovered from our latest mission, rubbing my sore shoulder where I had taken a blow in the last sci-fi alien battle. The wounds disappeared with the realm traveling, but my mind still could feel the wound, projecting the pain long after I had left that form behind.

Adonis leaned back in his chair, his grin a little too bitter to be a natural expression. “How many unfinished stories are there? Infinite, Bel. There are infinite lower realms. We will never be able to save them all. Not like this.”

“It’s not like there’s a lot of options.”

“There are options. You just don’t want to hear them.”

“What, this fate you keep talking about?” I sighed, closing my eyes, tired. “ It sounds like a terrible idea.”

“It’s not.” His voice was quiet, but the intensity shown through all the same. “It’s our duty. Everyone’s survival depends on it.”

“But what you’re saying is: we follow along some sort of script…”

“Fate.”

“…fate… here, in the higher realm. And that is somehow supposed to fix the lower realms?”

He chuckled. “You’re oversimplifying it, but pretty much. We follow our fate, and the heroes of the lower realms will find their happiness tied to ours.”

“What if they don’t want that ending? What if they don’t want that happiness?”

“Of course they do! Everyone wants a happily ever after with their destined one.” He snapped. My eyes flickered open to study his enraged expression.

“I don’t.”

“You’re selfish!”

I shrugged. “Am I? If you’re right, we submit to fate here, everyone in the lower realms gets an automatic happy ending… but most of those worlds aren’t breaking because they don’t have a happy ending. They need a wider world, different ideas… and what about the side characters, even the villains… what about their happiness?”

“They don’t matter.”

“Why not?” I raised an eyebrow. “Just because they’re the villains?”

“They’re evil.” He stood up, trying to tower over me. An intimidation tactic, one that might have worked before we’d spent countless years fighting in life-or-death battles together.

“Have you met the heroes and heroines of some of these realms?” I laughed. “They’re not much better. I don’t think these roles are as clear as you would like them to be. And I don’t think you and I having a happy ending together, and forcing a simplistic ‘and they lived happily ever after’ on all the lower realms will actually fix them. In fact…” I stood up, and he stepped back slightly at the danger in my tone. “I bet we would break them all the more. Are you really so foolish as to think that saving a universe of worlds would be so simple?”

“…” Adonis was gritting his teeth, his hands clenched so tightly the knuckles were white. But I didn’t back down. Didn’t step back. I knew he wouldn’t hit me. He wouldn’t dare step out of the role he imagined himself to be in. Wouldn’t dare cross a line that might ruin his chances at the happy ending he seemed to crave so desperately.

“…” The silence stretched on between us. We were at an impasse. He wanted to follow fate. He wanted clearly defined roles and rules to follow. And I?

I wanted freedom.

*** Soul transfer 11% complete. ***

It’s been forever since I last saw those words… I thought it had disappeared. For some reason, I felt a deep sense of relief at the glowing blue sentence. Something within me had frozen during these many trips to the lower realms, but finally it was growing again.

“The next world is waiting.” Adonis spoke up, his tone flat. I noticed an odd shifting of his gaze, a reluctance to meet my own, and felt a sense of unease.

I won’t like this next world. I cracked my knuckles and gave him a thumbs up. Well, no sense running from a challenge.

We left.

______________________________

I woke up in a luxurious canopy bed. Staring up at the fabric , I raised my arms and have a cheer.

“YES! NOT A ZOMBIE WORLD!”

On the downside, the setting appeared to be a more primitive era, medieval at best, which meant no running water, but at least I appeared to be noble or wealthy.

At least if I suffer, I’ll be clean while I do it!

“Princess?” A young woman dressed as a servant entered the room, seeming very confused. “Are you all right? I heard you yelling.”

I smiled brightly at her. “No worries. It was just a nightmare.”

She visibly relaxed. “Even so, you seem in a much better mood, if I may say so.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you haven’t broken a single thing this morning.” She, unfortunately did not seem to be kidding. “I’m so glad you’ve accepted your father’s decision.

I didn’t have my character’s memories yet. I needed to accept the mission first. In the meantime, acting too out of character could destabilize an already poorly functional world.

“I’m still… thinking it over.” I spoke up cautiously.

“It’s not so bad, your highness.” She smiled at me. “Most young girls feel a little uneasy when their father arranges their husband. But you’ll be happy. I just know it.”

Arranged marriage?

“After all, Prince Harold is reported to be a true gentleman, a might warrior, and a handsome young man!” She sighed dreamily. “Any woman would be thrilled for a chance to be his bride.”

“I’m. Sure.” I spoke through gritted teeth, the satin sheets crumpling in my grip. Adonis, when I find you, I’m going to make you regret every life decision you’ve ever made… and the ones you’ve only considered making. What kind of lower realm did you land us in? As I plotted my revenge, the mission screen popped up.

**** NEW WORLD: A Divided Kingdom****

This is a romance fantasy story featuring a prince and a princess from different kingdoms, putting aside their differences to save the world.

“I already don’t like this.” I muttered.

The Princess Alaire of the Yenlar Kingdom was a clever, independent woman, horrified at the idea of an arranged marriage. Prince Harold of the Bestion Kingdom felt differently. He fell in love at first sight and vowed to woo the young maiden. The couple was different in almost every way, and seemed destined to bicker and fight.

“Then how about we don’t get married?”

But fate had other plans…

“Of course it did!”

A terrifying beast threatened to destroy both their kingdoms, and to survive, the political marriage had to go forward. Uniting the kingdoms, and therefore their armed forces, was the only way to save their people.

However, despite the happy ending, the first book was not well received by readers and the trilogy was abandoned due to poor sales. The reason given was that the romance was “forced” and unbelievable.

Your mission is to bring a satisfying end to the story, while making ensuring the survival of both kingdoms.

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES? NO?

“Quick question.” I spoke quietly to the glowing words in front of me. “Do I have to marry the prince to ensure an ending?”

The kingdoms will not unite without the political marriage.

“That wasn’t what I asked. I asked if I HAVE to marry the prince. What if I can save both kingdoms without a political marriage?”

The stability of the world is all that matters.

“No lecture on the necessity of fate?”

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES? NO?

I grinned. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

As the words faded away, I jumped out of bed. My head spun slightly as I accepted the memories from the poor princess of the original story.

She had not been happy.

She had dreams, ambitions. The Kingdom of Yenlar allowed for women to inherit the throne, and as the firstborn she was ready to take over from her father, to rule her nation. She had spent her entire life preparing. Studying law, economics, warfare…

And all of it had meant nothing in the end.

She had begged for a political treaty. One that did not involve marriage. The Kingdom of Bestion had refused to even discuss it. They stated that there was too much distrust between the kingdoms to move forward without some sort of permanent assurance. Even the threat of annihilation from the ancient beast of legend wasn’t enough to have them reconsider. That wasn’t the full story, though.

Later she discovered that Prince Harold had seen her at a party. He had supposedly fallen in love with her at first sight, and became determined to marry her. He had learned of her plans to marry a minor noble, one who would support her position on the throne without causing an imbalance of power within the nobility. He had no chance, as far as she was concerned. The threatened destruction of their people was just the perfect opportunity to force the matter.

She had lost all power. Becoming a figurehead, a beautiful statue beside the true king, Harold. He ruled over both nations with an iron fist, treating her own people more harshly, much to the approval of his staff. She slowly became bitter and deranged, watching the destruction of the people and the nation she loved so dearly.

Beyond the end of the first book, when the realm’s story ended, she had attempted to poison him and failed. Harold had been disappointed, but felt that she still had use as a figurehead. They faked a stroke, and kept her mute and weak with poisons. A lovely doll. A perfect figurehead.

…is this a fantasy or a horror? Sheesh, no wonder the trilogy wasn’t going to sell. I shuddered, still standing awkwardly next to the beautiful bed that had belonged to a lovely young woman.

I will change this story. I spoke silently to the memories, feeling a sense of relief that didn’t belong to me as I did so.

First, let’s try to reason with Adonis. He and I had worked together in multiple realms, side by side. We were friends. We may not see eye to eye when it came to our approach towards fate and the lower realms, but he had never forced me to do something I didn’t want. He had always respected me and backed off when I said no, even if it made him unhappy.

Hopefully this time will be the same. I thought uneasily. Hopefully he will listen.

______________________________

“No.” His tone was gleeful, but his face was calm, towing with a silver goblet rather than meeting my gaze.

“Are you joking?” I leaned forward, keeping a gentle smile on my face to fool the guards and our fathers who sat on the other end of the enormous dining table.

“I’m perfectly serious, Princess Alaire. Our kingdoms face certain doom at the hands of the ancient beast. The only way to survive is to work together. We can only work together if we trust each other. The only way the Kingdom of Bestion will trust the Kingdom of Yenlar is with a marriage alliance. It’s out of my hands.”

I reached forward and took the cup from his hands, forcing him to look at me. “Why are you forcing this, Adonis? You know it didn’t work out so well for the originals.”

“Careful Princess.” His eyes glanced over at the nearby guards. “You don’t want anything to destabilize the situation further, now do you? Better to act as a proper princess should.”

“Answer the question. This plan already failed. Why do you think it will work?”

“Simple.” He leaned forward and plucked the goblet back from my hands. “We’re different. You may not want to admit it, but we have spent lifetimes at each other’s side. Growing up, going to school, facing enemies, fighting together… we could make this work. It would be a wonderful ending.”

“You know what happened to Alaire after the first book.”

“I would never do that to you.”

“But you are.” I growled, wishing I could punch him. “You are trying to make me a beautiful figurehead, just like Harold did to Alaira.”

“We would rule side by side.”

“What use is that promise, if you are already ignoring my wishes and forcing me to do this in the first place?”

He shook his head. “You have to trust me. This is the only way we can defeat the monster, and stabilize this realm. We’ll save this world. Together.” He smiled. “It’s our fate.”

I threw a plate at him, forcing him to fling himself on the floor to avoid injury. Walking out, I ignored my father’s shouts of rage. Picking up a bag I had packed ahead of time, just in case, I changed into some light armor, grabbed a sword, and headed out into the forest.

If I couldn’t win by a political alliance, I was going to find another way to save the world.

I was going monster hunting.

I searched Princess Alaira’s memories of the legends and stories, going out in a northern direction towards the area known as Death Valley.

As I marched onward, my thoughts wandered over the time I had spent since I had woken up in the Higher Realm. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed with Adonis. He might truly think that he was saving the world by insisting on going through with the marriage, but his lack of willingness to even consider other options was frustrating. He was the only person consistently by my side through every one of these worlds, someone I considered a friend, and being unable to rely on him served to make me feel all the lonelier.

My mind briefly touched on the assassin of the first realm, Liam. I had thought with his comments and actions that he had known about my mission… that he might be from the higher realm too. But no matter how much I looked for him, no matter how much I hoped to see him again, I never did.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was someone from the lower realm, and I’ll never have the chance to see him, to thank him.

I felt a sense of despair. How long can I keep doing this? Is this why Adonis preaches following our fate so much? Is he as tired of traveling, tired of the missions and the different lives? Is he just hoping to end all this?

I sighed, keeping moving. I’m not that tired, not tired enough to sacrifice my freedom. Not yet, anyways.

It took several days of traveling. Fortunately from my years of experience in zombie worlds, I was well prepared to survival in the wilderness. At least here the rivers were clean, allowing me to bathe occasionally. Finally I was at the entrance of the valley, staring up at the pillars on either side.

There were ominous words carved deeply into the stone.

Only death lies ahead.

I stared at the words silently for a few moments, and then shrugged.

“Still better than marrying Adonis.”

I moved forward.

______________________________

The valley was dark, a deep fog settled in permanently, apparently unaffected by the weather beyond its borders. Dark twisted purple trees rose all around me, their roots tearing through the earth desperate searching for nutrients. The valley was quiet, suffocating in an unsettling silence. My presence there felt like an intrusion, my instincts screaming at me to run away, to escape.

I kept moving.

There were no other signs of life. But I knew at least one other being lived here, the reason why nothing else dared to.

The Ancient beast.

There were no descriptions of it in the legends. Just that it was deadly, enough to take on entire armies. And that it was terrifying.

I feel like I should have seen something by now, if it was so large. I sighed, sitting on one of the trees, staring up at the mountain ahead of me. Shouldn’t it be easier to find an enormous beast that terrified an entire world?

…

Wait.

I looked up, struggling to see the top of the mountain in front of me.

I’m in a valley…

The mountain moved up and down, with regular motions.

There shouldn’t be a mountain here.

It was breathing.

I drew my sword, inwardly despairing. I had underestimated the sheer scale of the monster. I had thought it would be the size of a house, an elephant. Instead it towered stories above me, unimaginably large.

I was doomed.

There was a rumble as the beast in front of me shifted. I couldn’t tell the shape, just an impression of scales and spikes. Slowly, something lowered down in front of me, stretching forward in all directions, filling my vision. I saw teeth larger than my own body, the white of them contrasting with the dark fog around us. As I prepared myself for my death, an eye opened to stare at me.

It was a beautiful dark blue.

“…”

Suddenly, I felt relief. It was incomprehensible. I was standing in front of an ancient beast, enormous and terrifying, and instead of fear and dread… I felt safe.

I raised a hand, almost despite myself. “Hello there.”

The eye blinked. I comforted myself that it hadn’t eaten me yet.

“I think you look awesome. I’m Princess Alaira from the nearby kingdom of Yenlar. I actually came here to kill you, to protect my people… but now I realize that you could crush me like an ant, and that was a bad plan.”

The eye blinked twice. It seemed more confused than anything.

“I have a much better plan, if you would be willing to listen to me.” I let out a laugh, slightly startled at how… villainous it sounded.

*** Soul transfer 20% complete. ***

The creature let out a sound like thunder. I felt that it was laughing too.

______________________________

The wedding was this morning.

I was surprised as I drew near to see the party going. You would think that after I disappeared, they might have canceled or delayed it. I assumed that Adonis had felt sure that I would agree with him in the end. That I wouldn’t be able to let the world end just because I didn’t want to marry him.

Well too bad, buddy. This princess has a different plan in mind!

I could see him, standing on the elevated stage before two thrones, waiting. I couldn’t see his expression from this distance, but I imagine he was barely hiding his worry. Alaire’s father and Harold’s father were also waiting on the platform, their postures betraying their impatience.

“Let’s get this party started!” I yelled.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR!

The ancient beast let out a triumphant roar as he flew closer and lowered his head, letting me jump down onto the platform before landing behind me, a large, threatening mountain of a creature.

“Alaire?” The king called out, confused. “What are you doing?”

“Hello, Father.” I also nodded to Adonis, who stared back.

“What is this?”

“Your daughter is a witch!” The King of Bestion shouted, drawing his ceremonial sword. “She betrayed us!”

“Hold on, father.” Adonis held out his hand, stopping his attack. “I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”

I grinned.

“Nope. It’s exactly what it looks like. I’ve teamed up with the Ancient being. We’re friends now.” I gestured at the monster high above us, who let out a grim chuckle, shaking the ground. “So now I make the rules, got it?”

“…”

“I’ll take everyone’s stunned silence as happy agreement! Now, first rule: Wedding canceled.”

“What?”

“What?”

“You can’t do this!”

The three other royals on stage shouted simultaneously. I simply pointed again at the enormous creature.

“I can do whatever I want. The big scary monster behind me says so. Next, the kingdom of Bestion will surrender to me, as will the kingdom of Yenlar.”

“You want to rule the world?” Adonis’s gaze was… disappointed. I grinned shamelessly. “Nope. But here’s the thing: Our kingdoms face certain doom at the hands of the ancient beast. The only way to survive is to convince the monster not to kill us. The monster only trusts me. So I have to rule both kingdoms.” I shrugged. “It’s out of my hands.”

I threw his words from earlier back at him, and felt satisfied as he winced in recognition.

“We… surrender.” His words were quiet, defeated.

“You unruly child!” My father tried to shout, but a roar from the monster above us silenced him. He quickly surrendered too. I accepted both surrenders, quickly organizing the meetings to bring our governments together under one rule. Fortunately, the princess’s years of study served me well, guiding me smoothly through the process.

______________________________

I had one more confrontation with Adonis, the night before the coronation. He was escorted to my rooms by guards, saying he had a request. I hesitated briefly, but allowed him in, waving the guards behind the door so we could speak freely.

“What was that?” He shouted as soon as they had left.

I stayed sitting, forcing myself to be calm. “I fixed the story.”

“You ruined everything! Even if it stabilizes this world, it will ruin it in the long run.”

“Says you.”

“Trust me.” He threw up his hands as he paced back and forth. “Everything will go a lot smoother if you STOP CHANGING THE STORY.”

“I thought that was why we were here, though?” I sighed, leaning back in my chair and cleaning my nails with a blade. “To fix the lower realms, to save these worlds? That requires change, right?”

He paused in his movements, glaring at me. “Stop acting stupid. These worlds are broken because they didn’t follow the rules. We have to follow them perfectly.”

“I don’t want to though.” I shuddered. “No offense, but if the story is going to require us to have a romantic relationship, I’m finding an alternate solution.”

“That’s what the story requires, you have your role to play. You know the consequences of not playing the right part.”

I sighed. “No, there’s always different paths to take. You’re a good friend, and I’m glad to have you by my side, but that’s different than love.”

“…”

“You clearly don’t love me either, so why are you making such a fuss about this? As long as we complete what we came here to do, that’s all that matters, right?”

“…”

“Right?”

Adonis stepped closer to me, his atmosphere slightly threatening. “Why are you so different from what you are supposed to be?”

“What are you…?”

“Why can’t you just accept.”

His hand grabbed my wrist, the grip painful.

“your.”

He pulled me closer until our faces were inches apart. His bright blue eyes were blazing with anger as they stared into my own.

“fate.”

Letting me go, he walked away, putting some distance between us, before turning back to face me.

“This lower realm is stabilized. We should return.” His smile was cold. “The next mission is a little different from our previous ones. We’ll talk about it later.”

“…”

“And next time…?” He laughed, a bitter sound. “You’ll play your part whether you want to or not.”

THUD.

The blade in my hand threw through the air, stabbing into the wall inches from his face. I smiled cheerfully as he looked back at me, shocked.

“Try touching me again, and I’ll cut off something you’ll miss. We’ll discuss missions and roles again in the higher realm, but for now?” I rang a bell and guards came in, escorting him out. “I have a coronation to plan.”

______________________________

My coronation was held outside so that the Ancient beast could stand behind me. It seemed cheerful, letting out victorious roars and swaying from side to side. The people cheered as well, seeming a lot happier than I expected them to be. I guess they’re relieved that they won’t be eaten by the giant monster? I wondered idly how I was going to incorporate the creature into the day to day life of a monarch. For an odd reason I had very little doubt that the monster would stick around.

However, all my plans came to nothing. As the crown was placed on my head, bright blue words formed in the air in front of me:

100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

It was time to go.

At little sad, I looked up at the ancient monster above me. “Thank you, friend for your help. I wish I could stay with you longer.”

A mournful cry echoed through the world. It seemed to understand that I was leaving. Before I could say anything more to reassure it, the world around me shimmered and disappeared.

Only to reveal a furious Adonis standing in front of me.

“Happy now, Your Majesty?” He sneered.

“Oof, someone’s still a little angry that I used an ancient monster conquer the world. Believe it or not, I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you. But you know why I did what I did. Let’s talk about it in the morning.”

I walked away, feeling his glare on my back long after I was out of sight.

______________________________

When I woke up, I realized that I couldn't move.

I panicked, struggling to move my arms and legs, only managing to turn my head slightly. Enough to see Adonis’s smug expression as he sat by my bed.

“It’s time for our story to progress, Bel.” His smile was strange, twisted. I couldn’t talk back, I shook my head slightly side to side.

“I’m the hero, you are the heroine. If the relationship between us can’t be advanced by working together, than it must be forged in adversity." He reached down and picked me up, carrying me out of the small cottage I had arranged for myself and into the castle courtyard. Whatever drug he had injected me with was slowly wearing off, and I struggled in his arms, finally able to shout.

“Put me down!”

To my surprise he did, and although I struggled to stay upright, I kept my balance and glared at him.

“What are you planning?”

He sighed quietly. “I’m tired of always being the one to compromise. It’s time for you to make a sacrifice, Bel. I’ve avoided this so far, worried that progressing our story this way would kill you, but it seems that it is our fate that we take this risk. It’s… unfortunate. I do very much hope you don’t die.” He paused, trying to smile at me. “Don’t worry. It’s only temporary. I’ll come and rescue you soon.”

“A sacrifice?” I felt cold, even as I stood in the warm afternoon sun. My thoughts were slow to form, possibly a side effect of the medication. “Why?”

He shrugged. “There’s an order to everything. Rules. Law. They are all that stand between us and pure chaos. No one can ignore them. Not you. Not even me.”

“Then sacrifice yourself, asshole! Why send me?”

He shrugged. “It’s your role to play, not mine. Your fate.”

“Screw fate! I don’t care if you say it’s temporary or not! Friends don’t sacrifice friends!” I was furious, still weak and feeling helpless.

His hand reached out and brushed my cheek, the touch freezing my skin. I wanted to move away but I could still barely move, only managing to glare at him. “Don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s not my fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame the story.”

“Ad…”

“Sorry, you must accept your fate.” I felt a pinch in my arm, the stick of a needle as he injected something into the muscle. Immediately darkness overwhelmed me.

“We all do.”

Everything faded into darkness.

______________________________

When I woke up, I was in a strange world, surrounded by forest. I lay on my back, still feeling weak, fury coursing through my veins.

Adonis and I had worked well together, despite arguing multiple times in the past. But now… any goodwill I had towards him was gone. He had betrayed me. Knocked me out and sent me to somewhere dangerous, somewhere I could be killed, just to follow his precious fate. To get the story he wanted.

“Are you lost?

I looked over at the source of the voice. It was a tall young man with dark hair, wearing grey, non-descript clothing. He kneeled down next to me, and I found myself staring into dark blue eyes.

“Seems a good description for my current situation.” I smiled despite the dizziness. “Nice to meet you, Stranger.”

He grinned, reaching out a hand to help me up. “Call me Liam.”

Liam? Could he be…?

“…Nice to meet you, Liam.” I laughed. “Or should I say: nice to see you again?”

*** Soul transfer 25% complete. ***