i actually really appreciate the generic-ness of split fiction's in-universe stories. like sure, they're complete genre cliches (and we can talk about the disdain for genre stories another time for sure), really milquetoast fantasy and sci-fi fare.
but then split fiction says, that's still better than anything rader's machine could ever come up with, and the most generic, cliche stories written by human beings are still worth saving from the maw of ai. because--well, they're written by human beings, with bits of those human lives seeping in.
mio's standard-fare cyberpunk future city with ninjas has a bunch of cars and motorbikes in it because her dad was a mechanic. it has beautiful screens and buildings and graffiti and also a game of hopscotch drawn in chalk on the ground because it comes from a childhood growing up in the city. her video-game-ass invade-the-secret-lab-after-everyone-else-gets-blown-up plot comes from her desire (and inability) to save her father.
zoe's extremely conflict-averse stories (one that's almost literally "saving stray cats in the alps") come from her desire to return to her childhood with her sister, to build gentler, happier endings for someone who didn't get one. the shapeshifting comes from a love of animals. the silly farting pigs come from a kid's imagination (and coping mechanism). and i mean, i don't care how cliche you think it is, dragons are just objectively cool always.
neither zoe nor mio are, perhaps, Good Writers or Talented Writers. but they are sincere writers, and that's worth everything.
