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Quote by Kyoko M.

“Part of me wanted there to be an updated version of this fallaciously hopeful virtual manual—one that didn’t have as much emphasis on being a hero because our world was dead. We were no longer heroes. We were walking gravestones. Memorials with pulses.”

Quote by Kyoko M.

Work

The Starlight Contingency

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Author

Kyoko M.

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“I don't think anyone sets out to be a hero or a role model. I don't think that's how you become those things. But when you set out to follow your dreams—when you set goals and go after them with hard work and persistence and faith and integrity—then you start creating a path that others will want to follow because of the light that you shine. If you set out to be the best version of yourself, there's no way you can go wrong.”

“The new non-Dionysiac spirit is most clearly apparent in the endings of the new dramas. At the end of the old tragedies there was a sense of metaphysical conciliation without which it is impossible to imagine our taking delight in tragedy; perhaps the conciliatory tones from another world echo most purely in Oedipus at Colonus. Now, once tragedy had lost the genius of music, tragedy in the strictest sense was dead: for where was that metaphysical consolation now to be found? Hence an earthly resolution for tragic dissonance was sought; the hero, having been adequately tormented by fate, won his well-earned reward in a stately marriage and tokens of divine honour. The hero had become a gladiator, granted freedom once he had been satisfactorily flayed and scarred. Metaphysical consolation had been ousted by the deus ex machina.”

“And isn’t that the problem with heroes? Without an adversary to fight and hapless people to protect, heroes feel irrelevant, pointless even. Heroes are defined by their opponents—the more formidable the opponents, the more potent are the heroes. So, rather than defining the hero by his own merit, heroism is relative. If a man killed a small poisonous snake, he would be applauded for a minute. If he slew a lion, he would be spoken of for years. If he slew a dragon, generations would talk about him. The other thing about being a hero is that every spectator has a different sense of what is right. A hero in the eyes of one could be a murderer in the eyes of another. By that logic, one man’s hero may not be another man’s hero. A mongoose is a hero when it is fighting against a cobra, and when there is no cobra, it is just a rodent—a pest. A snake is poisonous and can kill. A lion is dangerous and can tear you apart. And a dragon is fearsome and can burn you to ashes. And a hero who kills them becomes part of the folklore. But has someone asked the snake’s mate, the lion’s cub, or the dragon’s worshippers what they think of this hero? More importantly, has someone asked a person living with a hero constantly? Imagine being reverential every time you see or talk to them forever. It is impossible! Once the awe fades, you see a hero as an average person. Peace and normalcy relegate a hero to the crowds of commoners going about their daily chores”

“The reappraisal of a historical figure always presents a difficult problem, particularly when his history is comparatively recent, and during the intervening years other people have given their own version of his character and the events of his life -- some of them nearer to him in time than others, and those not infrequently hostile to the principles and ideas which guided him through his span on earth. The heroes of yesterday are often mocked and reviled by the rising generation, who are trying by all means to free themselves from the restraints of the past.”

“The lesson here is that if you watch the side characters in a love story, you might notice the lovers treating them like garbage, with the excuse that they're doing it for love. But another lesson might be that maybe you're not the hero of every story, and maybe Farhad was Shirin's true love, or maybe there isn't just one person designated for everybody. Maybe there's a lot more to it--maybe you choose and you practice and that's what makes the love true.”