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A Little Vice (Trans Magical Girl fic)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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ArlequineLunaire said:
Actually makes me wonder why Samara wasn't called Inessa instead in The Ring US? I get that Samara sounds closer, but I always like it when you try to preserve the meaning through localisation
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Well, not all translators are worried about the meaning of character names. Even if they're not "the curtains are just blue"-pilled, they might worry about the names sounding similar. There are absolutely reasons why that might matter for a given localization; I can't think of any that apply to The Ring's US remake, but they definitely exist in some contexts.


Clown Bean said:
It swings from metaphor to metaphor with no real connecting thread or any cojoining link tying together the thought to thought whatsoever, it's a cohesive song based off vibes, rather than any sort of narrative or dialogic (that isn't a word but it is now) throughline.
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I support your neologism.

when you're falling in the forest, and there's nobody around
do you ever really crash or make a sound?
When you're falling in the forest, and there's nobody around,
do you ever really crash or make a sound?
It's like I never really made a sound!
It's like I never make a sound.

And now we get to the chorus where we have to recontextualize things a bit, but even then not really that much.
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Honestly, the big recontextualization is that there's an actual forest she fell into and not just an...orchard, I think? I haven't watched Dear Evan Hansen, I don't even remember whether Evan Hansen is the main character or the guy everyone thinks he was friends with. Point is, most of the metaphor has been shifted from the idea of a forest into the actual Forest.

This was such a normal post. I'm a very normal person, you know.
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Normalcy is overrated.
 
I admit A Little Vice kinda makes me self-conscious about my own Fool Bloom which also has a trans lead (co-lead in my case), with how ALV goes much deeper into trans identity and dysphoria than my work does.
Of course, no rule that says we can't have both works that go deep into trans identity and works that just happen to have trans leads (and everything in between), helps keep transgender fiction varied
 
A Little Vice is basically all about the psychological journey and experiences of the (villain) protagonist. That's pretty much the entire plot, and C is the kind of character who absolutely can warp an entire plot into pretzels with the terrible gravitational force of her massive neutronium neuroses. Which Shadell uses to make tasty pretzels with!

Fool Bloom contains Miyako's psychological journey and experiences, but isn't about them. Miyako is, as a viewpoint character, naturally well suited to existing in a world that isn't about her, if only because she really isn't complete as a person without something outside herself to fangirl over.
 
I also get the sense that Miyako has her Chiro phase behind her. She's figured out who she is, she's accepted it, and now she just needs to figure out the entire rest of her life.
 
GreatWyrmGold said:
I also get the sense that Miyako has her Chiro phase behind her. She's figured out who she is, she's accepted it, and now she just needs to figure out the entire rest of her life.
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Pretty much this, I was going to say the same. They're at different points in their lives.

Arlequine's story barely touches on her protag's gender identity at all, really. Her general setup as someone who has dedicated the last several years to transitioning and now finds herself past it, but failing at everything else in life and having burnt any support network, is pretty believable. But her personal struggles really aren't the focus. I guess there's an argument to be made that good media representation means that not every transgender character needs to be angsting about it.

I'm sure it's possible to write a passing, post-transition trans woman and still have something interesting to say about that aspect of their lives, without just using them as a foil for someone else to question their own identity. But it seems like it would be hard!
 
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Embler said:
I'm sure it's possible to write a passing, post-transition trans woman and still have something interesting to say about that aspect of their lives, without just using them as a foil for someone else to question their own identity. But it seems like it would be hard!
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Honestly this. Like, the egg arc writes itself in a sense. It creates a clear internal conflict and the path to solving it. At the same time, it tends to posit a certain focus on that internality.

Chiro is just shy of solipsistic at points, and while that makes her really fun to write, it means that it's hard to fold in social commentary or reflections on trans existence that aren't as grounded in her subjectivity.

These are important stories to be told, and arguably more core to things than the psychological struggle of figuring out you're trans in many ways, but also ones that come with a lot less built in scaffolding. It's much trickier to write a character that has a complicated relationship to gender that they've already largely sorted but continues to influence them in a lot of interesting ways.
 
To compare our works, I'd say thematically A Little Vice is like a sniper rifle, in it hits one mark but hits it really well, while Fool Bloom is like a shotgun, taking aim at a whole bunch of things however elegantly. That might be a little unfair to ALV though, since while C's rocky transitioning is the main theme there are others, but I do worry I may be biting off more than I can chew with what FB addresses.
Also, funny I'd use such an allegory given Koyomi hates guns, but hey.

Also, on ClownBean's analysis of 'Waving through a Window', I figured I could probably do something similar with Regina Spektor's 'Us' in regard to Fool Bloom.

LampWitch said:
Labyrinth arc!
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You remind me of the babe
 
ArlequineLunaire said:
That might be a little unfair to ALV though, since while C's rocky transitioning is the main theme there are others, but I do worry I may be biting off more than I can chew with what FB addresses.
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To be fair, with the right type of sniper rifle and caliber of bullet, I bet a sniper could achieve enough overpenetration to do at least moderate damage to anything standing behind the person they're sniping, too. Which would make your metaphor work either way.
 
I have not gotten around to reading Full Bloom but really the comparison just seems to be a difference in what the story is About. ALV is a story About C's internal struggles and how she affects and is affected by those around her. The magical girl setting exists to inform and color C's internality, which is the real subject of the story. FB, by contrast, appears to be About the world, exploring a speculative fiction scenario through the perspective of someone living in it. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but my elevator pitch understanding of FB starts with "in a world where magical girls are a widely known documented phenomenon" whereas if I had to sum up ALV it would be start with "midseason Cure trapped in world's strongest eggshell".
 
Back to Bean's song analysis, one part stood out to me:

Clown Bean said:
when you're falling in the forest, and there's nobody around
do you ever really crash or make a sound?
[snip]

And now we get to the chorus where we have to recontextualize things a bit, but even then not really that much.
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Love how this can now refer to the Abyssal Forest, instead of the original place where Evan attempted suicide.
Edit: Huh, now I'm wondering if that was a Dante reference on DEH's part. Eh, probably not
 
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ArlequineLunaire said:
You remind me of the babe
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The babe?
Also, the lyrics of these songs are strangely fitting for a little vice.
Teeth bared, clawing the air
Sin wrapped in sinew the rats do not fear you
[...]
Dig in, pull back the skin
See what's inside you, the sickness that drives you
Beating black
Demoniac

Pride, greed, in mud thrive these seeds
Rotten and reeking the fruits of your making
Testify
Come take a bite

Bite down, blood in the cut
Choking on life as your light's slowly swallowed
Fade away
Or join the fray
Soul, laid bare
Foul and fair
[...]
With each bite does your sanity die
Sucking the life out, letting the dark
Inside, say a prayer as the light leaves your eyes
[...]
Pride, greed, in mud thrive these seeds
Rotten and reeking the fruits of your making
Testify
Come take a bite
Pride, greed, first we were warped
Twisted and broken, the words left unspoken
 
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Clown Bean said:
It's a form of trauma-bonding

This was such a normal post. I'm a very normal person, you know.

(Now to actually try and incorporate some of this a bit more into what I'm writing.)
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Speaking of trauma-bonding, Digimon! I'm currently obsessed with it so here are some Digimon for the main cast and also a half idea for an

Inessa
I don't have a lot to say here as the line here was mostly created to be a dragon counterpart to Chiros line and I picked Rurimon because I like it and it's literally not used for anything. The mega I picked for Au lore reasons
Rurimon ->

Paledramon

[ if DNA digitizing]

-> Paildramon ->
Grankuwagamon/Grandis Kuwagamon ( acts as a mode change)

[Evo with the help of the crest of apathy? To be honest, I have no good one at this point.

-> Wingdramon ->

Dynasmon (X-Antibody)

Chiros
The basic idea behind hers was the first I came up with I liked the idea of her getting a partner whose self-esteem was as bad as hers, though they were better at hiding it through a shell

That was ultimately more fragile

I also went with an insect partner right away with the idea of bugs being disgusting creatures and we all know C's opinion of herself

Bancho Stingmon was always going to be a mega for this line, as I like the idea of her partner gaining actual self-esteem and overwhelming Pride

I also imagine that fight style being a mix of endurance warfare, gorilla tactics, and hit-and-run; this applies no matter what form, yes, even Imperialdramon (Black).

Dokunemon

Roachmon (or Flybeemon if you want something cooler and more typical)

[ if DNA digitizing]
-> Dinobeemon

Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode (Black) or Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode (Black)

[Regular Evo with the help of the crest of pride]

-> Anomalocarimon (X-Antibody) -> Bancho Stingmon

Lupin
I came up with this line with the idea of lust being toxic love and obsession You can say that Lupine has an obsession with sin because of her platonic love of the evil Pride dragon and if you look into his character, you will see a lot of repetition of this idea
Their partner is obsessed with the Royal Knights, especially Omnimon and whether they let the obsession consume them or conquer it will change the Mega they turn into

Clear Agumon

Omekamon ->

Ex-Tyranomon

[crest of lust]

-> Omedamon

[And is a dark evolution]

ShinMonzaemon

The basic idea for the AU right now is Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, where the founder of the royal Knights left a group of seven Digivices
For Dynasmon his followers, and friends, this was kept in a special box to be only opened when Dynasmon believed that Drissal did something too evil for him not to do anything These seven digits contain the power of the crest of the seven Great demon lords, which Paladin mode tricks them to giving him

Dynasmon sacrifices himself to power the devices

The devices did what they do best: connect a Digimon who works best with the respective chosen children

Dokunemon was a digimon under the Royal Base Protection who's destruction in the circumstances around it would be the catalyst for the beginning of this whole chain of events in some way or another. Dokunemon is or believes herself to be responsible for the destruction, not acknowledging that.

Dokunemon and Rurimon may be the Reincarnations of Paladin mode
The paladins plan might be to make a second version of the royal Knights but Amy will protect both worlds
Iris-Iven-Ibis threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: this not having any mistakes Total: 64
64 64
 
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I have no specific comments on the current filament of discussion, so will instead just complement the work overall and hope more is available soonish.
 
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