#where the mc gets gross treatment from an industry pro with a lot more power than her

[obstinaterixatrix]

oh yeah, there’s this other bl I’ve been keeping an eye on that’s almost done being tl’d, I might put it in the rec tag but I’m still waiting to see how it plays out because like… this is the most low key and to some extent respectful/optimistic depiction of gambling addiction I’ve seen in a story? ever? it’s quite fascinating, the standard narrative is for the character without addiction to be very involved with discussing and being in conflict and supporting etc. like even when the conclusion is ‘the character with addiction needs to find their own way through recovery’ there’s still a huge emphasis on the other character’s role up to that conclusion. it’s like… you know how people talk about Rat Heaven as in the experiment examining addictive behaviors and conditioning and environmental needs and enrichment. that’s essentially the way this narrative goes. li starts off as his life’s been derailed by a series of tragedies which led to and exacerbated gambling which led to conflict and dissolution of his support system which exacerbated everything etc, and the mc just kind of lets li crash at his place and after a while of having stable shelter and food and an environment that’s… receptive to him would probably be the best descriptor, li just starts adjusting to the stable environment and independently pursues recovery. I feel like having the outside perspective actually enhances it too, the writer never writes the li’s thoughts, only what li says out loud to mc. like there’s half a chapter left so there’s still time for things to end up :/ but yeah actually I really like this approach to a romantic narrative that is tied to a serious topic. oh actually I should specify the respect/optimism is after a while into it though and more in the metanarrative sense, there’s still a lot of fear/stigma/reacting to how li is in the present

edit from the future: the second half of the last chapter sucks