Line #28 Literature/REEL


1	[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6121cc12444aed459c4d734f1187367a.jpg]]
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3	->''"'Keep yourself busy?" Don't you find that a little...sad? You sound like a prisoner."''
4	-->-- '''Likaï'''
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6	''RÉEL'' (French for ''REAL'') is a ScienceFiction novel that was self-published in 2015 by [[http://dragonaplumes.fr/auteur/ Sophie Renaudin]], author of the ScienceFantasy series ''Literature/LesEnfantsDePromethee''. It takes place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, in a society inspired by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KphWsnhZ4Ag the Venus Project]], where, thanks to the progress of technology and an efficient way of sharing resources, work is no longer mandatory. Everyone has an access to education, communication and entertainment thanks to TheMetaverse, REAL, where every person on Earth has an individual account since birth. However, only a select few choose to do the jobs that machines can't handle. (Such as art and psychiatry.)
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8	In spite of his mother's insistence that he gets a job, [[LonersAreFreaks Neru]] would much rather spend all his time on REAL playing video games, which he excels at. In TheMetaverse, he meets the mysterious [[AmbiguousGender Likaï]], whom he admires from afar and develops feelings for.
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10	Everything changes when Neru's latest victory wins him a place in an exceptional online tournament: other people envy his chance to participate, and Neru's naivety might cost him everything.
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12	----
13	!! This work provides examples of:
14	* TheAce: Sasha, the only person Neru admires aside from Likaï, is introduced as one of the best video gamers in TheMetaverse. [[spoiler: He lives up to his reputation by getting a perfect score on the Future Tournament.]]
15	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: [[spoiler: In spite of Neru's GameBreaker abilities as Likaï's sentient partner, they still struggle through the Future Tournament due to Likaï's inexperience as a player, while [[TheAce Sasha]] gets a perfect score fair and square, crushing Likaï's hopes of winning the AI.]] Remember, kids: [[AnAesop cheating doesn't beat real talent.]]
16	* AmbiguousGender: Likaï changes the appearance and gender of their avatar constantly. Neru refers to them as a 'he' or a 'she' depending on the current gender of their avatar. [[GenderIsNoObject This behavior is common online]], but Neru is too embarrassed to ask directly about someone's gender, in spite of his friends' claims that people do it all the time.
17	* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler: [[FalseFriend Likaï]] befriends Neru to steal his account, and Neru, in turn, joins the tournament as Likaï's partner in order to sabotage their game, but instead the two of them develop a genuine bond of trust as they play together.]]
18	* BettyAndVeronica: Initially appears to be the case between Neru's teammate [[CatGirl Betti]] (Betty) and [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Likaï]] (Veronica), as the former openly hits on Neru, who is [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] and feels drawn to Likaï. It gets [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] very quickly: [[spoiler: Likaï betrays Neru's trust, and it turns out that [[BitchInSheepsClothing Betti]] was only after the glory of being Neru's girlfriend after he joined the Pantheon - she dumps him as soon as his account gets stolen.]]
19	** The story moves on to a similar dynamic between Neru, Fasia (Betty) and Likaï (Veronica), who are both variations of the ManicPixieDreamGirl: Neru only knows Likaï from TheMetaverse and [[AmbiguousGender doesn't even know their gender]], and Fasia is a complete stranger he meets in the real world who decides to help him out when no one else would. It is also [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]: [[spoiler: the physical attraction Neru feels towards Fasia is merely that: physical. It doesn't last, and is one-sided from the get-go. In the end Neru fully embraces the fact that he was only ever interested romantically in Likaï, and the latter's GenderReveal doesn't change anything.]]
20	* CatGirl: Betti's avatar. Her cat ears flatten when she gets angry, making them a virtual mix of AnimalEaredHeadband and UnusualEars.
21	* CoolOldGuy: Den. He is a successful artist but still found the time to raise his granddaughter on his own.
22	* FalseFriend: [[spoiler: Likaï, who steals Neru's account, and Neru's three teammates, who refuse to help and turn their back on him at the first sign of trouble. [[BecomingTheMask Likaï does grow to genuinely like Neru, though.]]]]
23	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Neru.
24	* LonersAreFreaks: Neru hardly ever disconnects unless his mother tells him to. He is completely lost when he has to step outside in the real world and is very awkward towards Fasia.
25	** Fasia's parents are much worse: [[spoiler: they are so addicted to REAL that they only disconnect to eat, bathe or get some sleep, and [[ParentalAbandonment neglected their daughter so much that her grandfather had to step in and raise her himself.]]]]
26	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Likaï at first, although [[DeconstructedTrope there is a lot more to them than Neru suspects]]: [[spoiler: Likaï is only trying to gain Neru's trust in order to steal his account and get into the tournament.]]
27	* TheMetaverse: REAL.
28	* NoPoverty: Advances in technology means that everyone shares the benefits of society equally.
29	* ParentalAbandonment: Fasia was raised by her grandfather. See the spoiler tag for LonersAreFreaks above.
30	* PromotionToParent: [[CoolOldGuy Den]], Fasia's grandfather.
31	* {{Utopia}}: As a result of NoPoverty. The setting seems pretty much perfect. The people? [[HumansAreFlawed Not so much.]]

Context Literature / REEL