#fvafs

[thelightfluxtastic]

Zoey's Villain Arc

I want to get this theory out and on paper before reading/finishing Zoey Is Too Drunk for this Dystopia. This will reference plot points from the first two books in the series and contain nothing from the third.

I believe the ultimate arc of the Zoey Ashe series is her slide into villainy. And that this will happen without her internally feeling like a more callous or bad person. It will be an example of the political idea that there is no ethical way to be a billionaire, and that privilege inherently corrupts in a way that can't be fixed by putting a "good person" into power.

In the first book, Zoey doesn't want Athur's money, power or privilege. She's forced into situations at the threat of her life, and spends 99% of the book just trying to survive. At the end, it's only vaguely hinted she might stick around instead of just going back home. But there's scenes and hints of her changing things- like the pizza scene in squatterville. It's something of a left-leaning/liberal power fantasy. If a poor (or at least "average") person got access to billions of dollars, they'd fix the system, they'd be more humane, they'd use that power for good.

Then there's book two. And arguably, Zoey is fixing things. She's a lot less directly violent in her business than Arthur ever was. She's arranging public transit for folks who need it. She's divesting from unethical practices.

Except.

The entire point of the book is how much bigger the machine is than her. There's a running joke (/not a joke) that Zoey owns several businesses without knowing what they are or what they do. That her innocuous actions (like asking about a noise in the AC) have drastic ripple effects. She's doing better than Arthur, but hey, Arthur's dad was even worse...

I see the opening scene (and the conversation with Shae afterwards) as super critical to this. The young woman is as terrified of being in the Livingston house as Zoey was in book 2 (this is explicitly stated). And Zoey tries to reassure her with all the things the reader knows/is likely to think at this point: Will isn't that bad, they're trying to improve things compared to Arthur. But critically, Shae doesn't buy into it. As she points out, Will is still terrifying to the average person (and not seeing that says something about Zoey). And in terms of cleaning up the business, Zoey has kept the suits around, AKA the people that did all of the worst things for Arthur. After all, as Zoey points out, they're the ones that know how to run things...

So yeah, that's what I mean by villain arc. Not becoming the cannibal caricature that Zoey's harassers assume her to be, the cartoon villain. But I don't think the philosophy of these books can really allow Zoey to become a "good billionaire" and fix the system from the inside.

[scp372]

when zoey ashe 3 comes out and me calling zoey/echo 8 years ago was not just personal projection but also RIGHT

[c4rtoonnerd]

Zoey ashe drawings I did ages ago

[nereididae]

Jason Pargin you will always be famous

[localceilingdevil]

[walk of shame back to post on tumblr for the third time in a row]

these were all requested by @princess--bongwater and i couldn't resist. two bits galore.........

more below the cut per usual

[mincedpeaches]

im not gonna clog anyone's dash with anymore screenshots of Zoey Is Too Drunk for this Dystopia I swear BUT I just need to remark upon other great moments like:

the hug scene after the building collapse, which is for real everything I ever wanted, thank you

the entire talk that Will and Zoey have after the do all their prep for their final plan, were theyre both running on no sleep and Zoey has to be like "I know you have to act like you don't care about me and stuff, for appearances and so it can't be exploited or whatever, and how lonely that is" and Will is like "I haven't slept a hour since you almost died at the meat place." and "its unthinkable, imagining living the rest of my life with what almost happened there". like OKAY. whew.

When Aviv gets his dick snipped off by the wire. Incredible scene 10/10 no notes.

The way the first book was the Fish Out of Water Story, the second book had the character-based climax be "the Suits are your Team, you have to trust them", and now the THIRD book gets to be like "and also they care for you". Delicious. I think this was my favorite one so far. I seriously do not remember picking up on these vibes in the second book. Really glad the Will&Zoey and Zoey&Echo are getting time. Especially when I remember Zoey and Echo not getting on at first? (in part I think because like, Echo was so hot 🙄)

tl;dr:

Drake no meme: social commentary, satire, jokes about society.

Drake yes meme: the tiniest barest crumb of found family elements, jokes about dicks getting cut off

With deep apologizes to Mr. Pargin because I may in part be missing the point. But a girl likes what she likes. I didn't read jdate for social satire though now did I Mr. Pargin. I read it for dick jokes, existential horrors as a metaphor for depression, and character moments .

[cillixn]

tag people you want to get to know better

tagged by lovely alex @cillmequick, thanks babes 💖

Three ships: zoey x will (FVaFS), kira x jadzia (ST:DS9), and tommy x alfie (PB)

First ever ship: ever?? hmm probably mulder and scully

Last song/album: song: PROBLEMZ - jungle | album: funpico - chikara ueda with tatsuya takahashi & tokyo union orchestra (1978)

Last film: i found myself watching terminator 2 the other day and it was very nostalgic for me lmaooo ngl it kinda gave me the warm and fuzzies

Currently reading: nothing really 😭 i’ve just been taking a little break from books and fics because i felt a little burnt out lately but i’m slowly coming back to em!

Currently watching: i just finished picard s3 and now i’m waiting for the new season of RPDR: all stars

Currently consuming: coffee and ibuprofen

Currently craving: oooh… like a big.. sexy salad.. ykwim? like a big elaborate salad with all the accoutrements 😩👌

no presh tags (apologies if you’ve already been tagged): @scorpiussage, @zablife, @peakyscillian, @karasong, @scarecrowismybabygirl, @julyzaa, @thereofrin 💖

[hypnosiacon-archived]

Sorry my autism wants to archive everything and nothing and thats making me mad f'l,ds;/fvafs';

[ot3]

I know you like jdate so I was wondering if you’ve read Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits yet and what you thought of it? Personally I… didn’t like it. But I’d love to hear other people’s perspective on it

it's been YEARS since i read fvafs, like as in i think i read it once or twice right after it released and not since, so my memory of it is really vague. i enjoyed it well enough but i didn't find it anywhere near as impactful as jdate! the world/setting were very fun to me but i didn't find the characters or their relationships anywhere near as memorable. it also suffered from the classic david wong ending trip-up where the ending just felt really rushed and kind of phoned in in a way that didn't give it a lot of narrative impact. as much as i like the guy's books hes just not very good at sticking the landing on them.

[hatenatalk]

qb abg gnxr gur fpbecvb genva naq ohea vagb gur avtug. lbhe ybire jvyy abg gnfgr gur nfurf bs lbhe urneg vs lbh unir nyernql qebjarq va gur frn bs lbhe fvaf. cfnyz 30041131. 🦌

[pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow]

Misc Will and Zoey dynamic hcs while I search for a copy of the FVAFS sequel:

Not much changes from their general dynamic at the end of the book. Will is still "a robot programmed by an asshole" more often than not and Zoey is still obstinate whenever she can be, but there's a significant amount of progress in their attempts to communicate.

Zoey practices the coin trick and absolutely sucks at it if she doesn't mumble the steps out loud, but instead found out that she's pretty good at juggling. Will has had to deal with an increasing amount of juggling balls, pins, and fake knives being left all over the mansion because Zoey still gets lost a lot and likes having practice equipment available at all times.

Will has gotten somewhat used to the life of luxury over the years. Zoey vehemently refuses to whenever she can. It has lead to a large amount of arguments, but more often than not, Will has to agree with Zoey that the holograms are stupid and no one really needs solid gold statues of themselves in every room when that money could be used for so many things. Zoey, on the other hand, now has worked past her guilt about not eating stuff that's expired but technically still edible and is eventually convinced to splurge a bit more on clothes and luxury items.

Zoey still insists on throwing a massive amount of money into various projects to help poor people in both Tabula Ra$a and areas outside of it. Will brings up various points about what other items/actions will be needed for Zoey's plans to work and she adjusts accordingly. They make a surprisingly efficient team for balancing between cynicism and idealism.

Yes I still think that every now and then they both get drunk and talk about their backstories and Arthur a lot. Will was a tad over-attached and Zoey is still bitter and they both feel like there was a lot Arthur should have told them before his death.

A large amount of the men that hurt Zoey and her mother in the past have mysteriously gone missing or have been caught dead in 'accidents'. Will denies any and all intervention but there's suddenly 30k less in a few of the accounts he can access.

Zoey insists on making coffee whenever she can, both out of habit and to help. Will has yet to give in to the idea of trying a different type of coffee than his usual, but he's the only one who always notices her latte art (the ones she makes for everyone else) and is privately impressed by the level of detail in it.

They're the only ones who have no problems being each other's fake dates for big ceremonies (at least, during the events themselves). Will doesn't make crude comments or leer at Zoey no matter what she's dressed in, and Zoey helps Will tamp down the black cloud of death when they have to socialize and not scare away the other guests.

Zoey does her best to maintain what she can around the mansion (or at least the parts she's in most often). This extends to making sure the team's offices and rooms are in good shape and as much aid as possible. She remembers people's preferences a lot faster than they think. Will is pleasantly surprised that she knows exactly which brand of pens he likes, where everything on his desk goes, and what times of day he's more and less productive.

Will helps Zoey figure out a lot of the more hi-tech stuff that doesn't need to be so hi-tech. They lose about three days to figuring out how to operate the shower and another two to helping Zoey make a 'normal shower' setting and keep it as the default.

They have a weird relationship with comfort. Zoey needs physical contact that Will refuses to give, and Will doesn't trust the vulnerability offered to him by Zoey. Their net compromise usually involves sitting next to each other on the floor/staircase/ledge, and talking slowly and awkwardly. If it's Will who needs the talk, Zoey always has some extra coins in her pocket so he can run the trick while he talks. If Zoey is freaking out, Will lures Stench Machine over so she can at least snuggle her cat until she can calm down.

[thelightfluxtastic]

At Arthur Livingston's memorial service, Will says the following:

"I would like to say a few words about Arthur Livingston. I would like to, but his will expressly forbids me from giving a eulogy at this service, for fear that it would, quote, 'bring everyone down.' "

And of course it's a joke. A pretty funny one- I certainly laughed. Will has 'the personality of a robot programmed by an asshole', he says himself in the flashback that there are billions pf people better at party-planning than him, this isn't his type of scene.

But in combination with him calling the partygoers "leeches" and my brain going full obsession into his character specifically, it got me thinking way too much about this from Will's perspective.

Imagine:

Your father figure is dead.

Not your father, who was an abusive asshole, but your mentor. Your leader. The man who saved your life and pulled you out of an impossible situation and taught you there is always a way.

You know he's not a good person. Maybe there aren't any good people, but you know better than anyone exactly how dirty his money was because you have spent the last fifteen years of his life scrubbing his reputation, keeping the blood off his hands. You are the moon to his planet and he might not know half the asteroids you've kept from ever getting close to him.

Despite all that he didn't trust you in the end. Kept things from you. As if there was anything he could have done that you wouldn't have fixed for him. Gave everything to a daughter who can't go five minutes without insulting him and making it very obvious how little she wants anything to do with this.

And now he's dead and here's his memorial and there's eighteen thousand people here and none of them know him. It's not the waste of money, per se- it's exactly the sort of thing he liked to indulge. He's thrown parties like this before. Which is the point really- to the people here, this might as well have been a birthday or a bachelor party or arbor day as a funeral. Half the people wandering in from the street probably don't even know what the occasion is, just that there's free beer.

You are not allowed to give a eulogy.

You light the funeral pyre of your dead father and you are not allowed to grieve.

[scp372]

Zoey Punches The Future In The Dick but i give you no context

[c4rtoonnerd]

Townie by Mitski is so Zoey Ashe

[fiendfluid]

started the year off by redrawing fanart of a book ✌️ featuring zoey from futuristic violence and fancy suits during my favorite scene

[localceilingdevil]

hello tumblr. slugcat designs

@skybristle held my family hostage for me to make these /SILLY they were so fun to create!!! myths, hope, flare, fields, and prosperity from descending order :]