#luo ji

[jinian-ginias]

Illustration for The Three-body Universe

[luyi]

In celebration of the Children's Day on June 1st in China, Three-Body community's weibo account posted this art of main Three-Body characters being 7-year old in school.

Look how adorable they are! Ye Wenjie is about to receive her first message from listener 1379 via that paper plane. Luo Ji is drawing the solar system and holding a book that says "宇宙社会学/Cosmic Sociology". Zhang Beihai is the one who's eager to speak up (not sure if he's asking a question or answering one). I think those are Wade and Yun Tianming on the blackboard in the back of the classroom.

Last but not least, I'm thrilled that the Shiwang agenda is still strong. Every time there's a group art of main Three-Body characters, they are always together in their own little world. Look at them in the back with Shi Qiang falling a sleep, and Wang Miao judging him. That's just so them and so in character LOLLOLLOL. I'm pretty sure after Dashi wakes up, he'd beg Miaomiao to help him catch up after class LOL.

[kikutainkisa]

The Wallfacers

[squidfinch]

One out of my sparse annual art posts 😭 i wanna make a point to post more of my stuff.

Anyway, little thing ive been doing on the side of studying abroad :) little chibis of my sinners. I had fun with this! Its been a while since ive done a project thats had Multiple Pieces to it so this has been a nice way to ease into it again, as well as familiarizing myself with their designs again.

[diamantdog]

I finished “Death’s End”

More [SPOILERY] thoughts under the cut. Mostly writing it for myself, because I'd like to remember some things about the book, lol.

After finishing “Dark Forest”, I stumbled upon a 2-star review on Goodreads, calling out Luo Ji’s misogyny and how the narrative didn’t punish him for it; iirc the review also went on to claim the book as misogynistic. Personally, I disagree that any kind of retribution is necessary in a fictional work. Moreover, a misogynistic character ≠ misogynistic story. However, Luo Ji does get what he maybe deserves in “Death’s End”, so. Maybe that reviewer is happy now, lol.

That said, I agree that there may be some sort of author bias against women that continues to exist in “Death’s End”, particularly in the way LCX portrays some female characters as romantic subjects for the male.

In the beginning of the book, I also think this bias kinda ruins Cheng Xin’s characterization. I think she at first believes her being a woman means she must care for the Earth like a mother would her baby. But I change my mind later on, lol. I think she is indeed somewhat trapped in these made-up gender roles, but it’s the society’s fault rather than hers. And it is because of this ridiculous norm that Sophon manages to coax Cheng Xin into becoming the Swordholder. Iirc, the image of herself holding a baby once again appears when she rejects the lightspeed travel research, showing that she is still trapped. But by the very end, Sophon’s comment on her still having a sense of responsibility, what she writes near the conclusion of the book, and her saying she doesn't fit the interstellar life (? (not sure how this part is translated in English)) suggest, to me, that she’s just... Being human. I think she realizes that she would make the same decisions every time not just because she's a woman, but more because she is a human being raised on Earth, reshaped and changed by the love she gives and receives.

Does this mean humans are doomed to lose the space war because of our very existence? I think so, yes.

Speaking of love, idc what everyone says, Cheng Xin and 艾 AA are the true love story in this book! The thought of them not being able to say goodbye to each other before being separated is killing me! My doomed yuri!!! ;_; Cheng Xin says AA doesn't live in the micro-universe because she wouldn't want to see the end of the world, BUT!!! I believe that if they weren't separated, AA would want to join Cheng Xin in it. Why? Because Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan may be together because of circumstances, but over and over again, through centuries and eras, AA always chooses to be with Cheng Xin. Therefore, if Cheng Xin weren't stuck in the black domain, I believe she would live in the micro-universe with AA. I don't think Yun Tuanming wants to. I think the Knight in his fairytale is meant to be AA. Alas!

But my point still stands! "Death's End" is, at its core, a story about humanity, and it's love that shapes humanity. I think AA's surname being 艾, a homonym of 爱 (= love), says a lot. They're true love, guys (gender neutral)! I will die on this hill, lol.

[hwaetis]

Yesterday I finished reading the Remembrance of Earth's Past series, what am I supposed to do now?

Nothings in this world matters and I want to scream into my pillow. I need to look at the moon and the stars and appreciate the world.

I need to reread everything right now. Liu Cixin you genius!

[spontaneouscollapse]

Let's take a dance! - Good Boy Twist, Jannabi

[smolwoppergal]

Spoilers for 3 body problem and the dark forest.

I've read 3 body problem and the dark forest now, and I have been provided, yet again, more evidence that I believe in women's wrongs:

I am presented with a woman who is constantly seeking trouble with conviction in her morals and she's having a terrible time and no one respects her and treats her like a real full person, and I just want to steal her away and give her a hug and help her feel loved and safe and all that. Ye Wenjie, I love you darling, come in out of the cold, I know you'll find more trouble soon but come home after.

We are then presented with a woman who is clearly some sort of sinister techno-priestess who has a quiet house husband and says spooky and ominous shit all the time

Ye Wenjie kills her boss, and accidentally but not guiltily, her husband and baby daddy to keep other people from finding out Red Coast worked. Oh, and in an episode of prolonged cold rage, she dooms all of humanity.

The techno-priestess tries to kill her husband, which reveals that he enthusiastically let her domesticate him to do mathematics for her. And it's also revealed that she is a part of a doomsday (factually correct) cult and is part of the archive recruiting to subvert the freedom of all earthly peoples.

There's another woman who's even wilder, but she only has like 2 scenes and ends up nuking herself or something.

Then I start the dark forest, and I enjoy watching the misadventures of Luo Ji and Da Shi, don't get me wrong, but the points were just hammered home further because:

The entire way through the dark forest, there I sat at every event, pining. "I miss Ye Wenjie. I wish Ye Wenjie was back. I wonder what Ye Wenjie would think about this. I'm really enjoyng this, but I wish Ye Wenjie were here."

I am granted at least a small reprieve when Yamasugi-san is revealed to be a foil to one of the Wallfacers before we return to our scheduled viewing of "Men vs Apocalypse"

Oh, and I was really entranced with the awesome snarky Captain of the space society and her weird parasocial paternal relationship with a man she met, at most, a week or two ago and her subsequent moral erosion. Like sister, I too have had the knwoledge that I was capable of deep dark horrible things, and that a random man said he was proud of me awakening some dark storage locker in my soul which flickered with the halogen bulb whisper of "dad?" (These happened seperately, just to clarify)

I just want to live in a weird sitcom with these women and make really terrible life decisions together. Like, I don't like to get parasocial, but I'll allow myself this small dream to tuck away into a corner of my head (although I think I'm fine without the bomb lady)

P.S. I could try talk about the men other than Da Shi (I know that's a nickname, but I too ended up feeling like it suited him too much to think of him as Shi Qiang) and Luo Ji, but all the rest are kinda just plot devices, even the mc of 3 body.

There was the domesticated house husband that I enjoyed, but I think I mainly enjoyed him because our techno-priestess just decides she was going to take him home with her. And I suppose there's the navy guy, but I don't think I really started enjoying him outside of his wallfacer esque plans till I saw him through the captain's eyes and he was like, "I've adopted some kids, so I guess I'm going to retire and support them from behind, like a good grandpa should."

The rest of the men are paper thin in 3 body and cardboard thick in the dark forest (they get some characterisation outside of their plight, but they're kinda archetypical to me), I don't really feel like getting into how they're interesting as plot devises, because I'm not really getting into plot here.