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imagitory · 1 month

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Hey all! So recently Wish was added to Disney+, and I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to watch it again for the first time since I saw it in theaters. I asked you all what I should write about after watching it, and in the end, the top answers were an analysis of the criticism surrounding Wish and something focusing more on the positive aspects of the movie, rather than just the usual mindless bashing.

So that's what I intend to write! A look back at some of the common criticisms I've heard about the film, and how much weight they actually have.

Now, before we begin, I should put in a disclaimer -- I don't particularly like Wish as a film. I think it had ridiculous amounts of potential that were likely hampered by corporate decisions, but I personally find it to be one of Disney's weaker animated films. That being said, as promised, I will make any critiques I do include as balanced as I can, and I will try to include praise where I can too.

So let's start!

"Asha is a badly written character because she has no character arc."

This is a critique I actually found on a list also discussing valid criticism of Wish, and I knew I had to include it, because even BEFORE I rewatched the movie, I thought it was a bit unfair. Because here's the thing: there are plenty of good films, Disney or otherwise, where the main character doesn't have/need a character arc. All of Walt's original three princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, don't have character arcs. Ariel doesn't have an arc either -- instead her father Triton is the one who goes through a change of heart. Neither does Pongo, or Basil of Baker Street, or Robin Hood. Indiana Jones doesn't go through any real character development in Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet he was interesting enough to inspire a whole movie series! with mixed results. The important part is that even if a main character doesn't develop personality-wise, we should still be able to root for them and want them to achieve their goal. We don't want Cinderella to be abused by her stepfamily -- we want her to find someone who loves her and will take care of her the way she takes care of others. Although it can be more interesting to give your characters an arc while they pursue their goals, it isn't necessary to tell a good story or write a compelling character. Sometimes a story can be more focused on how their life circumstances or environment changes around them.

Another criticism this leads into is the idea that Asha is just another "quirky female lead" a la Rapunzel, except without any background that justifies it. And well...plenty of people griped that Anna was too much like Rapunzel, when Frozen came out. I saw people compare Moana to both Rapunzel and Mulan, when her film came out. Mirabel was also compared to past Disney heroines like Anna and Rapunzel. Even before Wish came out, people tried to argue that Asha looked just like Isabela Madrigal, which was just ridiculous. There's plenty of bad-faith criticism out there that'll shallowly associate one character or story element with one trope exclusively without looking at any nuance or detail. And I think most people would agree that truthfully, none of these female characters are the least bit "the same," no matter how much someone might try to all boil them down to "the quirky Disney female lead." And, like the others, Asha has traits that set her apart. The big one for me is her bent toward social justice, which is something we haven't really seen in a Disney leading lady since Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even so, I admit that Asha's quirkiness isn't as justified by her backstory as the trait is by Rapunzel's isolation or Mirabel's "outcast" status in her family, and that does make it so that her characterization has less depth than those of some of her counterparts'. Does that make Asha a bad character? Of course not. If you like Asha as written, that's totally fine. Underdeveloped doesn't have to mean unlikable.

"There are too many characters in this movie!"

Even I've been a bit guilty of thinking this. I still feel as though the film would've saved a lot of space if some aspects of Asha's friend group had been redistributed to other characters. Like okay, you want to reference the Seven Dwarfs in Asha's inner circle, but give them all distinctive personalities? Have her mother fill the Bashful role, and cut Bazeema. Have her grandpa be Happy, and cut Hal. Have Valentino be your Grumpy role, and cut Gabo. Have Star play your Dopey, and cut Dario. Suddenly you only have three characters -- Simon, Safi, and Dahlia -- to introduce in that kitchen scene instead of seven, and you've also now given Asha's mum, grandpa, and sidekicks more personality as well!

That being said, the amount of characters truly isn't the problem. The real problem is time. Because let's be honest, we can ALL think of media with a large cast of characters we've become strongly emotionally invested in. The Lord of the Rings -- The Avengers -- Hazbin Hotel...but the difference is how much time the audience is given to get to know all of these characters. Even Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which has a cast of eleven, ends up leaving the Prince and the Huntsman rather underdeveloped compared to the Dwarfs. We don't ever learn the Evil Queen's whole deal or even her name, and she gets a lot of focus! With Wish only being ten minutes longer than Snow White with a cast of fourteen, it's little wonder the filmmakers struggled to have all fourteen of them leave a strong, unique impact. Even when I first watched the film, I didn't feel anything negative toward Asha's friend group -- if anything, I was happy to see a Disney animated female lead with a friend group of her peers, since the closest we'd gotten to that previously was Hiro in Big Hero 6 and Mei in Pixar's Turning Red. All of Asha's friends had the potential to be very interesting people, and that's why it's sad that we didn't get to see more of them and have the chance to become invested in them as individuals.

"Magnifico was actually right the whole time! Asha is the REAL villain of the story."

I see this one a lot, both from people who disliked the movie and fans who stan Magnifico, and as much as I won't give anyone a hard time for liking Magnifico, I think this view isn't really fair to either character or to the story the filmmakers pretty clearly wanted to tell. And sadly, as much as I want to be positive, I think this interpretation comes about partly because of inconsistent writing on the filmmakers' parts.

In Welcome to Rosas, there is this utopic vision presented of the island -- one that only reinforces the story told to us at the beginning by Asha, of how this man who loves wishes learned powerful magic so he could found this idyllic island kingdom with his wife where he could make wishes come true. Unfortunately, for some viewers, I think that propaganda works a little too well -- making us see Rosas as a place that truly is that happy and content and peaceful. And yeah, that does make it so that when Asha sings about how she wants "more than this," that could make her come across as rather selfish and entitled. But I think there are a few things that are good to remember --

Welcome to Rosas is framed as an advertisement of sorts -- like one of those commercials you see promoting Disneyland and how magical it is, without ever bringing up how much money it costs or how many lines you'll have to stand in. Asha's guiding some new people around with the goal of convincing them to stay and give their wishes to Magnifico, so of course it's going to sanitize the kingdom and make it seem like a place you'd want to stay in. There's blatant hyperbole thrown in there for dramatic effect, like the idea that you could go to outer space. Asha even sings that you're "unlikely to be unhappy": not that you'll be happy living on this island, just not unhappy. And yes, there is a difference between contentment and true, fulfilling happiness.

Simon's friends flat-out call him boring, after he turned eighteen and gave up his wish. This foreshadows what we learn about the wishes later, which is that they're a core part of a person that they're left a shadow of themselves without. At the wish ceremony later on, we can see this in the animation of the two "new citizens" giving their wishes to Magnifico. When they think of their wishes, they're full to the brim with joy, but when they've given them up, they're left looking confused and almost bereft, and even as everyone else cheers, they look unconvinced by the crowd's cult-like "forget without regret" chant. According to Wish's own canon, you're cutting out the "heart" of who you are, when you give up your wish.

Considering Amaya says that Asha will need to keep the tea hot, listen whenever and for however long Magnifico wants to talk, and never question anything, Magnifico didn't want an apprentice -- that would insinuate he'd actually be teaching them magic. If anything, it sounds more like he wanted a personal servant to cater to his whims. And when that person interviewing before Asha disappoints him, he's left running down the hall crying hysterically. This develops Magnifico as the film's future antagonist. Already long before he uses the evil magic book, we see that he wants a subordinate to do whatever he wants without question or complaint, seemingly for nothing in return except his own approval and, I would presume, some sort of paycheck. (I mean, I'm not saying Asha was right to expect favors from Magnifico so soon, or that that kind of quid-pro-quo stuff isn't corrupt as heck, but considering she and Magnifico did seem to connect over how important the wishes were, and considering Sabino's 100 years old, can you blame Asha for opening up about her hope that Magnifico would consider granting her grandfather's wish? She never framed it as a quid-pro-quo, and this probably would be the best chance she'd have to appeal to the King directly.)

Asha is seventeen! Of course her world view is going to be smaller and more idealistic than Magnifico's, and of course her family is going to be the center of her world. At the same time, even if Asha is young, it doesn't mean her perspective isn't worthy of compassion and respect. Sometimes the young do have a more meaningful view of a situation than their elders -- just look at David Hogg, or Malala Yousafzai, or Greta Thunberg...hell, even Anne Frank! However upset Magnifico was about Asha disagreeing with and contradicting him, it does not justify how pettily he decided to shut her down. He was an adult, and a ruler besides: it behooved him to act like one.

The filmmakers clearly envisioned Magnifico as the villain. Even if you want to ignore the promos where they compared Magnifico to the likes of classic Disney villains, Magnifico is portrayed as an arrogant, vain, vindictive control freak. He thinks only he knows what's best for everyone else, has decreed that only he has the authority to cast magic or grant wishes, and knows how beautiful people's wishes are, but prefers to hoard them away like trinkets, long before realizing that crushing them gives him power. (Not to mention he looked at Asha's hand-drawn animation and actually said, "Do we call that a talent?" I mean -- excuse you!) I've even heard some people theorize that Magnifico was based off Disney's "collect-'em-all" CEO himself, Bob Iger, and not in a flattering way. His main argument scene with Asha has been compared to how creatives have felt about their corporate bosses abruptly shutting down and locking away their incomplete films rather than let them be finished or released. Admittedly Wish also goes out of its way to try to make Magnifico sympathetic by giving him the slightest of tragic backstories, having him actually trust Asha enough to show her the wishes after only just meeting her, and (later on) not giving into the temptation of the random evil magic book because Amaya asks him not to, and that definitely muddies the waters. I still have to stand by the fact, though, that one's motivation doesn't excuse their bad behavior, however much one can explain the other. Magnifico having a sad backstory or trauma doesn't mean he's justified in treating people poorly, collecting wishes for his own enjoyment instead of truly loving them and the people they're attached to by sharing them with others, or not wanting people to ever question him or his authority. Magnifico's "nicer" moments don't mitigate these things either. Nor does his role as king. Even if yes, the story could've done well to add more nuance to the idea of wishes and make clear that not all of them are good -- and yes, the story could've either made Magnifico's villainy a bit more straightforward or followed through with the idea of Magnifico being a misguided anti-villain...in this film, we only see good wishes represented in Rosas. Magnifico even calls the wishes "the very best part [of a person]" -- and so one can only presume that all of the wishes Magnifico's collected are that way. Asha even suggests (before Magnifico interrupts her) that if a wish is dangerous, they could probably address that, while still giving back the wishes Magnifico won't grant. And the wish that Magnifico explicitly calls too "dangerous" to grant is Sabino wanting to inspire future generations, presumably through music. Paranoia on Magnifico's part? Perhaps, but also unjustified, in the context of the film. When Star comes down, every last person in Rosas -- including Magnifico's wife and queen, Amaya, who presumably must know something of his trauma and understand wanting to protect their people -- feels nothing but warmth, hope, and joy: all except for Magnifico, who immediately reacts in fear just seeing the wishes moving outside of his control. This insinuates that Magnifico's perception is the odd one out -- he's the only one who's afraid and not inspired, because that alternative magic threatens his absolute rule and control. Just like he's threatened by his people asking too many questions about the wishes he's taken. Just like he's threatened by the idea that Sabino could inspire the next generation in a way he doesn't approve of. And in the end, if that random evil book did corrupt Magnifico, it only magnified what was already there inside of him -- a greedy, obsessive need to hoard things away all for himself and to control others.

Again, for those people who see Magnifico more sympathetically than the filmmakers intended, I can understand why. Wish has two very conflicting ideas of who Magnifico is supposed to be, likely because it was compiled from dramatically different script drafts. But I feel demonizing Asha or ignoring the film's overall message about the value of people being free to chase their dreams to try to prop Magnifico up is misguided.

"Wish is bad because it's 'woke.'"

I almost wonder if I even need to say anything. This sentiment is so disingenuous, it seems like I should really be able to let it speak for itself. Ironically enough, though, I would actually argue that one of Wish's biggest shortcomings is that it isn't as revolutionary as it clearly wants to be.

For one, the culture of Rosas -- inspired largely by Spain and the Mediterranean -- is really never explored. We get no real influence of either of those cultures on the soundtrack aside from a few mandolins and a flourish of castanets now and again, unlike how Encanto embraces Colombia or how The Princess and the Frog celebrates New Orleans with their music. There's a lot of diversity in Wish's cast with a biracial lead and her colorful friend group (including Dahlia, who has a crutch!), but that would be a lot more meaningful if that diverse cast of characters had had fully fleshed-out personalities and relationships that made us emotionally invested in them, such as how Turning Red handled Mei and her friend group. We have aspects of social justice in Wish's storyline, sure -- but as much as you can draw parallels to Wish's story and the writers' strike that had been going on earlier that year and I think those parallels are striking, a film that clearly dealt with so much corporate oversight and meddling almost couldn't commit to making their villain a True Evil sort, and in the end, Rosas doesn't even do away with the absolute monarchy at the end of their supposed "revolution": it just shifts leadership from its King to its Queen. (And yes, I acknowledge saying "no more royalty" is a message that Disney, of all companies, would be hesitant to put out there, but you can't deny, it would've been both ballsy and different.)

Does this mean Bob Iger was right, that Wish is proof its creative types are focusing too much on message and not on entertainment? No. I'd say the bigger problems with the film were more likely caused by corporate interference -- you know, like hiring some popular pop composers to write songs that can be repackaged into other projects easily rather than primarily tell the story and develop the characters. Or deciding that our main female lead has to be able to do everything on her own without "too much help" from her main co-star (LOL, pun) because "feminism." Or defanging the villain with similarities to the company's CEO so he won't scare the kiddos. Or even animating the film at the exact same time as you're writing it like you previously did with Frozen II, to save time and take advantage of the 100th anniversary timing.

Even so, I sadly can't help but feel that Wish is "woke" largely in a performative sense. It features people who look different from each other and it talks about revolution and positive change, but it really doesn't go far enough to depict diversity in a way that people can get really excited about it or inspire deep thought and even maybe positive change in its audience. That's not focusing too much on message and not on entertainment -- if anything, it's more indicative of not giving the relevant and timely themes and the diverse culture enough focus.

"The meta Disney references are awful."

This one I think really is much more subject to personal taste. I've heard quite a few fans say how fun it is to find all the Easter eggs for other Disney projects or even to theorize how Wish could be connected to those movies in some kind of Disney Cinematic Universe. Personally I'm not in this camp, but that doesn't mean that I hate all the references included. The film opening with the exact same kind of text from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually made me smile. The Sleeping Beauty-esque drawing style in the storybook was pretty. Even the Seven Friends as an idea I thought was cute, when I first saw the concept art for them.

By and large, the references I tend to see more favorably are the ones only hard-core Disney/animation fans would pick up on. This might make me sound snooty, but I still personally enjoy references like Star's design being based on one of the star cherubs from a discarded Snow White sequence far more than I do the more blatant ones like Magnifico crushing a dream about a "perfect nanny" or the boy dressed like Rosasbound!Peter Pan. I guess for me, the first kind of references feel more like homages, rather than things that are deliberately supposed to make you think of other Disney movies you could be watching instead of this one. For other people, though, thinking of different Disney films while watching Wish is fun, and it reminds them of how much they enjoy those other movies too. It's good, clean, nostalgic entertainment. And well, Disney has put plenty of Easter eggs in its work before, though usually a bit more sparingly.

So yeah, I think ragging on the flood of Disney Easter Eggs in Wish is a bit unfair. As much as most of them aren't for me and I would've been happier with a lot less of them, I know there are other people who find joy in them, and I'm happy they do. The animators working on this film undoubtedly had a lot of fun including those references too, and I don't blame them! It's fun to create art celebrating what you love with like-minded people.

"Wish's songs are all terribly written."

Now up to a certain point, I could just say exactly what I said against the last criticism -- that this really comes down to personal opinion. Unlike meta Easter eggs, however, music is an art form, and there is real craftsmanship to it -- hell, people study music theory for a reason. And as several Youtubers have discussed before, there are real structural problems to how a lot of these songs are written. In some cases, it's an issue of cadence, where the way the words are sung don't sound like how they'd be naturally spoken aloud. In Knowing What I Know Now, for instance, sometimes the singers use the wrong emphasis on certain words, just based on where they land in the song, such as when Asha sings about Magnifico showing his "TRUE col-ORS in SHADES of GREEN," even if people don't naturally emphasize the second syllable in the word "colors." In other cases, it's over-stuffing a line with words so that the melody line isn't as memorable, such as in This Wish where the amount of syllables per line are all over the place and sentences get cut in weird places --

Isn't truth supposed to set you free? (9) Well, why do I feel so weighed down by it? (10) If I could show them everything I've seen, (10) Open their eyes to all the lies, then (9) Would they change their minds like I did? (8) But when I speak, they tell me, "Sit down!" (9) But how can I when I've already started runnin'? (8) Oh, this is where we've been, (6) But it's not where we belong, (7) And I may be young, but I know I'm not wrong... (11)

There are also cases where the songs barely use any actual rhymes in favor of half-rhymes or worse twist themselves into pretzels just to make an actual rhyme, such as in I'm a Star, with lines such as "When it comes to the universe we're all shareholders // Get that through your system! (Solar!)" and "Ooh, I'm a star! // Watch out, world, here I are!" (Excuse me while I cringe.) And then of course, most infamously, there are the redundant and otherwise weird lyric choices, most commonly cited in Magnifico's And This is The Thanks I Get?!, such as "I got these genes from outer space!" and "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent!"

By and large, people have not responded as well to Wish's soundtrack as they have for many other Disney musicals. It could also be argued that the songs don't tell the film's story as well as they could've. The most egregious example of this is At All Costs, which is supposed to be our villain and hero singing about the beauty of the wishes the first has collected, but was literally written as a love song first, just because Julia Michaels wanted to write a song that could be played at people's weddings even if the movie in question didn't feature any romance. Even This Wish was written well before the script was finished, and this is when we can tell from all the concept art released by Disney that this movie had been dramatically rewritten at multiple stages of development.

And yet even with this, I still see people making animatics for At All Costs featuring their own characters or Asha and the discarded Starboy concept. (And yes, we'll come back to that.) I still see fan-made music videos featuring This Wish. Hell, even I have some of Wish's songs on my IPhone, and I listen to them actively! Knowing What I Know Now, as much as I see what's technically wrong with it, is still a bop for me. However much I had to take a full-on sanity break after listening to I'm a Star a second time, I do enjoy This Wish and At All Costs, just on their own. I don't think This Wish (reprise) is a bad musical or thematic climax, especially if one considers Magnifico's fear that Sabino's wish was to inspire the next generation through music, and it ends up being a song -- sung by his loving granddaughter -- that ultimately defeats our antagonist. I don't think any of Wish's songs really help tell the story as well as other Disney songs do for their films, but I still think there's room for personal taste here. Music -- like all art -- still has an element of subjectivity. It isn't a science -- yes, there is talent and skill involved that can only be mastered with practice and hard work, but there's still a bit of magic that comes with the finished result, and as much as it might not be popular with the masses, that doesn't necessarily make something worthless, or that public consensus can't change. Tchaikovsky famously hated the work he did for The Nutcracker, as did the critics of his day, only for it to go on to become a staple of holiday entertainment and ballet productions overall. Plenty of cult classic films like Labyrinth and Heathers didn't make a lot of money or get lots of praise when they first came out, but soon enough they found their audience.

"The animation is lazy!"

There's actually a much better video discussing this, made by a real professional animator, and I think I'll just let him handle this.

youtube

One thing I want to touch on, though, is Jennifer Lee's commentary about why Wish ultimately wasn't done in 2D animation --

"What happens in hand-drawn is that you have the incredible hand of the artist, but also limitations in what you could do on screen. What happened in CG is you'd have incredible, boundless opportunities, visually, that elevated it — even to the point for some — into realism, which is not what we wanted to do. The more important thing to us was to have a way to find technology that can do everything. Connect to the true vision of the artist, but bring in technology that could finally take away limitations."

-- and yeah, I'm not going to lie, this sentiment leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. The idea that hand-drawn animation somehow limits what art you can create is mind-boggling for anyone working in animation to think, but especially for someone working in Disney animation. I can't help but feel like Uncle Walt would've been ticked if he'd heard anyone suggest this. Anyone who loves animation I think would be annoyed by it, and I'd say people like Hayao Miyazaki continue to prove that Lee's thought process isn't true, considering that his hand-drawn film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature the same year that Lee's Wish was passed over by the Academy altogether. To be fair, though, this is more a reflection on certain Disney leaders' dismissive attitude toward the medium that built their company as well as the vast majority of the films they're supposedly celebrating, rather than any condemnation of the hard-working animators who worked on Wish. And yes, although no one can argue that Wish ultimately doesn't look as good as its animated peers like Sony's Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (which was made with half the budget Wish was), that's more the fault of a flawed vision on the part of the filmmakers than anything. It's certainly not indicative of a lack of talent, resources, or caring from the animators themselves.

"Wish would've been so much better if it had featured a love story between Starboy and Asha!"

Okay, let me pop this bubble right now --

None of Disney's official releases have ever indicated Star was going to be Asha's love interest.

The concept art featuring Asha and human!Star? Yeah, that exists, but there's nothing strictly romantic in any of those concepts, like them kissing or even hugging. At All Costs originally supposedly being a love song for Asha and Star? As touched on above, nope, it was even more of a cynical corporate decision than that -- the songwriters just wanted to write a love song that they could repackage and use elsewhere, even if there was no love story to go with it. The thing about Asha and Star supposedly being soulmates? That's derived from a comment in the artbook from Wish co-writer Allison Moore, talking about Asha and Star in their current forms, and so therefore the sentiment was intended platonically --

"Now Star and Asha have an emotional journey. They are soulmates."

And well, just based on a good chunk of the Disney animated films that had come out prior to Wish featuring male and female leads -- Zootopia, Moana, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph -- there was really nothing definitive to suggest that our two central characters were going to be romantically linked. And even if Star and Asha were going to be love interests, that still would've been no guarantee of a better movie -- you'd still need compelling, well-developed characters, if you want to likewise have a compelling, well-developed relationship between them. And as I've argued in the past, a movie doesn't need romance to be good. If someone could feel sincere platonic love between Star and Asha as their actual movie selves, then any romance between them wouldn't be needed. I truly believe the only reason that so many people have gotten so hung up on the idea of a Star/Asha romance is because that original platonic "soulmates" idea Allison Moore and others envisioned just didn't ring true for them. They saw more love and interesting chemistry between the original concept art versions of Star and Asha than they did between any of the characters in the finished film...and so they've built upon those flickers of love with their own imagination and then built that mental image up into something that I don't think the filmmakers probably ever intended.

I must be honest, it was kind of a slog, watching Wish for a second time. I stopped multiple times to take notes, unable to just sit back and let the movie wash over me. Even so, I truly appreciate how much time you must've spent to skim through this way-too-long analysis, as well as the votes you all cast in that one poll of mine! I love analyzing Disney, and as much as I don't love Wish, I do think it provided great fodder for new fan creations and has amazing potential as an educational tool about both good storytelling and film-making. And if there are more criticisms of Wish you'd like me to discuss, please feel free to reblog this post with them! Thank you for your support!

To close us out...if you love Wish, then keep on loving it! Don't let anyone -- including me -- tell you otherwise. I don't think a film that was truly the worst thing ever would've attracted as much attention or overanalyzing as Wish has received. And for those of you who are still dissatisfied with Wish, here's a list of films I compiled that you can watch and enjoy instead!

For Starboy/Asha stans...Stardust!

For both Starboy and Chris Pine stans...Rise of the Guardians!

For those of you who love the idea of storytelling magic...Whisper of the Heart!

For those of you hungry for a diversely cast, "woke" fairy tale...Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)!

For people looking for a colorful, family-friendly musical...Wonka!

For avant-garde animation fans...Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio!

For modern CG animation fans...Puss in Boots: The Last Wish!

And finally, probably most obviously -- for those Disney fans looking for a loving tribute to 100 years of Disney Animation with a bunch of Easter Eggs and good humor...Once Upon a Studio!

Much love to you all! 💛

#disney wish #wish (2023)#wish critical #disney #opinion #analysis #oh boy here i go

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fansplaining · 1 year

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Do you have any advice, guides, or opinions on how write a good rec list?

WELL! This is Elizabeth, and as the longtime co-curator of "The Rec Center" newsletter (with @hellotailor) I do have *a lot* of thoughts about rec lists. 😊 I'm delighted you asked, because as I'm sure both Flourish & I have mentioned on the podcast, rec-list-making is way less prominent now than it has been in previous fandom eras, and I think that's a shame. Reccing can be a great critical tool, and rec lists make a fanwork space richer—not least because they can move readers beyond the mostly quantitative metrics of the AO3.

I'll put the rest of this under the cut:

So obviously there are different kinds of rec lists, including by category/trope, favorites about a character or a ship or fandom, etc. To me, a true ~authored~ rec list is one in which the writer(s) deliberately put together a batch of fics to make some kind of argument about the works/the ship/the fandom/the source material.

Most of the lists we run in the newsletter are not like this, because we're pulling 5-7 works from our guest submissions bank—and since we don't (realistically, can't!) read the stories that are sent in, I have no idea if those 5-7 compliment each other in any real way. (When I put together one of these lists, I aim for balance: not all M/M, not all white characters, not all Western source material, etc.) (Yes, unsurprisingly, those are overrepresented in our submissions bank.)

But an authored rec list treats the rec list itself like a fanwork: you can tap into connective tissue that runs throughout the fics you choose, and you can put stories side-by-side that illuminate something when read together. You can approach this from two different directions: working from a broader pool of fics you like and pulling out a coherent batch, or starting with a theme, an argument, that connective tissue, and seeing what fits.

When I first got into my current fandom, I kept a google doc with fic titles, links, brief descriptors, and general thematic vibes etc., for future reccing use. (Obviously you can do this with AO3 bookmarks, but I use those differently, so this was a separate endeavor.) These were set up to transfer to "The Rec Center" easily, e.g.:

“Celestial Navigation” by kaydeefalls. 9K words, rated Teen. Canon-era: C & E go to NYC to try to recruit several mutants. Delicate balance sort of story with a soft revelation. No tropes.

When I actually go to rec something, I reread it—mostly because I want to get the content warnings right, but also because reading it to rec is more like reading for work: you wind up looking at the text with a different eye, always lowkey thinking about how you'll make your argument about it in writing. I haven't actually recced the fic above in the newsletter, but here's another X-Men fic I did rec at one point:

“Come Together” verse by blarfkey. 60K words across 4 stories, rated Teen. Backstory: When Peter gets arrested for breaking Erik out of the Pentagon, Erik returns the favor and breaks Peter out in turn—and takes him to live with Charles. Beautifully awkward father-son bonding coupled with bitter, stubborn exes pining: *chef’s kiss*. The verse spans five years, with really believable character growth, which is really saying something, based on the emotionally-stunted starting point for all parties involved. Rec: Peter is the POV character here, so a+++, and the close third-person narration plays with the spaces between what he feels and what he says while capturing his voice beautifully. This means 50% dragging people and 50% feeling like an idiot, which is a total joy. A lot of X-Men stuff, canonically or...fanonically...sorry...is about found family, and I mean, this one is about finding your literal blood relations, but it’s also about building a true family, and I think the author gives that enough space to really sell it. Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, torture, ableism, the unenlightened thoughts about women’s bodies that preoccupy heterosexual teenage boys

That rec is from a whole list I did with @morgan-leigh a few (five???wtf lol) years ago, which I think is a good example of an authored rec list: Morgan and I had overlapping tastes and similar interpretations of the characters, so all the fics here feel like they're talking to each other in some way, and making an argument about who these characters are (in Morgan's beautiful words, many of these stories "capture the exquisite and venal dickishness of both our heroes" lol).

Obviously rec lists don't have to be super formal—we created this reccing format a long time ago to keep things standardized—and I certainly don't think recs need to sound like literary criticism (not that the examples above sound like literary criticism lol...you know what I mean). Some of my favorite rec lists are pure vibes and (performatively? in a good way) emotional, and that's great. If you're a fic author, you know what a delight those comments are to receive. And like someone's AO3 bookmarks, the all-vibes rec list is an opportunity to see if you, too, feel like the selected fics smack you in the face or whatever violent expression of appreciation people are using. They often don't give you a ton of information, but if you and the reccer have similar taste, you know you can trust their picks.

But! I would make the case for reccing as a chance to talk about fic in a way that you really wouldn't in a comment to the author or in a performatively emotional tag: critically, not in the "this is bad" definition of "criticism," but, like, in the lit-crit way. Why does this work—and how does it work? As with all literary criticism, "work" is totally contextual; a good rec list sets up that context, and gives you just enough information to want to click through and see for yourself.

All that being said, you don't need to overthink it—and I say this partly because I'd really love to see more rec lists floating around! The AO3 often primes people to sort in a top-down way, and though there are tons of great fics with lots of kudos, as the meme goes,

Rec lists let you include things that aren't super popular, that hit niche characterization or plot notes, that really worked for you specifically for whatever reason. They're pure human curation—not just recs, but an arrangement of those recs that creates a whole new work in the process. And that's something I really love about fandom! We don't want algorithmic 'if this, then that' for-you pages; we're interested in doing the actual work of reading, thinking about, and sharing what we like with others, and that's wonderful.

#asks #fanfiction #reccing #rec lists #the rec center

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controversial-blorbo-bracket · 7 months

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Hi and this account is very fascinating, thank you for what you are doing! :)

I’ve been in the SK8 fandom since the show aired and I’ve found the whole discourse and dichotomy around the character of Adam always extremely fascinating and alas also sometimes very black and white, too.

He’s not one of my favourite characters in the show and I low-key think his trope is abused in media, like the queer flamboyant man with a sort of predatory stance towards the deuteragonist… Yeah, I personally think we can move on, at this point, in all kind of media.

But, what a lot of people tend to forget when it comes to him is that he’s the antagonist, I would dare say the villain, of the show. He’s a corrupted politician who comes from a family of old money and he’s a victim and a perpetrator of the cycle of abuse represented very well by the show, especially when it comes to him and his secretary, Tadashi.

A lot of his fans tend to forget that you can indeed become a perpetrator of abuse when you’re abused yourself, but apparently showing a sad backstory to today’s audience means also losing a lot of nuance on how’s evil and a very clear critic to society are shown. He’s also a psychopathic with narcissistic tendencies, and I think this is what makes him extremely fascinating.

Still, I don’t understand why a lot of people don’t get that the sense of distaste and creepiness we get from him when we watch the show is intentional. It means the writers did their job, he is meant to make the audience feel uncomfortable in many instances, even when he hits and assaults his former friend trying to reconnect with him. His emotional impact is strong and it must be like that, since his role is that of the antagonist in a character driven show. There’s no plot that would have the same role as his.

I personally think that striping him out of all his villainesque features is a disservice to his character and I don’t understand why the fandom came to “woobify” him and sometimes even give to other characters (like the one he assaults) the role of the antagonist, when it’s just formally incorrect.

I’m sorry for being so long but I hope my take on the matter can be interesting, have a good day :)

#cw assault #cw abuse #cw ableist language #sk8 the infinity #not a poll #ask #anonymous

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simply-ellas-stuff · 2 years

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I have thoughts.

The thing with Daemon and Rhaenyra is that we know how it ends.

We know where They specifically are going in their storyline.

So I feel like a lot of people are mixing up where they are now in the story for HOT D. Fire and Blood and House of the Dragon are two very different forms of media telling the same story - parallel universes if you will.

In the after-episodes we learnt that Daemon does genuinely love his family. [I still think that Otto's telling of the Heir for A Day brothel scene was skewed and told only from Otto's twisted story] He genuinely cares about Viserys and only wants his love and he does Genuinely love Rhaenyra.

But he's jealous. He's chaotic. He's temperamental. He puts on an act of being careless and giving no fucks. He's desperate for attention even if it's negative.

What he did to Rhaenyra from her perspective is romantic because she's very obviously got a thing for Daemon. But From Daemon's it's manipulative. They say in the after show it is abuse. He knows its wrong. But he's doing it because he wants the attention from Viserys. Its a form of revenge for banishing him in the first place and not helping with the Step Stones war.

He wants to marry Rhaenyra, yes because he does love her but Also because he wants the power of being married to the (future) Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. The two are not mutually exclusive.

And technically, the political play of combining Daemon and Rhaenyra's claims would actually be smart. It'd strengthen Rhaenyra's claim, halve the betting on whose going to sit the throne by removing a claim, and maybe even end the debates for Aegon given that he's a child but Daemon and Rhaenyra are both grown - and have dragons.

Daemon's love for Rhaenyra as of this moment in the show is exceptionally toxic. He loves her, but he uses her. He loves her, but she's his pawn. He loves her, but he's jealous of her. He loves her, but she's his rival. He loves her, but he abuses her.

Daemon is basically the perfect toxic 'Dark Romance' trope wearing Matt Smith's face. But that doesn't make him good and that doesn't make it okay what he did.

Rhaenyra's basically totally uninformed and uneducated when it comes to the freedom of being a woman, having sex, and doing whatever the fuck you want whenever the fuck you want. Sex for her is a duty and a death sentence, as she tells Daemon. and Daemon used that against her.

Do I think he stopped because he realized it was wrong? Yes.

Do I think he stopped because he loves Rhaenyra too much to hurt her like that? Yes.

Do I think that Daemon feels guilty? No.

Do I think Daemon feels remorse? No.

Do I think he'll take this and become a better person? No.

No one in HOTD has morals. Everyone is a grey character. And everyone at some point is going to do something we hate. It's not a good thing.

If you got excited because the scene was really sexy thanks to the way the actors play it and its a look at the chemistry and passion between them, good for you. If you found it disgusting for more than one reason, good for you. This isn't a story where the morally high grounded will end well.

This isn't a story where you can look at it and say "This person is the bad guy, this person is the good guy" however you are allowed to critically think about the story and look at the characters in the abstract. But in doing so, if someone so choses to ignore their morals for an hour long episode and a freak-out-lengths tumblr post, you do not have the right to shit on them for it.

The person Daemon is and the person Rhaenyra is are not the people they will be in the future. Daemon manipulating Rhaenyra in the last episode is absolutely fucked. Rhaenyra's choices in the future are her choices.

We're just starting to watch this unfold, so if you so wish to talk it critically - do it. If you want to abandon your morals and just enjoy that Milly Alcock is hot as fuck - do it.

But they are not at the end of their story yet, they are not the people we know they become.

#House of the Dragon #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #Rhaenyra x Daemon #Daemyra

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padfootastic · 10 months

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sorry, I have a lot of thoughts lmao. I think that I find it really frustrating that deep down, despite assurances to the contrary, people DO think that Family must come before everything else and if you don't secretly Love Your Family above all else, then you must be defective or broken or hiding it. And I see it so much with this fandom. Like do I think Sirius loved Regulus? Yeah. Do I think he was closer to James and the people he chose to be his family rather than the people he was blood related to and there's nothing wrong with that, particularly when they were all massive bigots in canon? Also yeah. People act like Sirius Has to Love Regulus Because He is His Brother (and he can't be closer to James because blood!! they're blood related!!! you can choose to not be close to your parents but not your bruddah!!!! found families mean just as much as blood families except wait no they don't because if I had a strained relationship with my sister I would be sad. :( idk it's just weird and not enough people in here critically examine whether or not this insistence is harmful.

ok anon im taking executive decision to publish this bc i actually think it’s such a good take.

acting like found family isn’t just as, if not more valid than blood relations is WILD, esp on the ~neurospicy queer website lmao.

i love the ‘person drops everything for their family member, regardless of any differences they had’ trope but i’m also a sucker for ‘character a makes a clean break and their family has to suffer watching them from the sidelines’ ykno? guilt tripping and yearning from a distance hit so well. but anyway. that’s irrelevant. point is: as we know them in canon? j&s were super ride or die. even w/o a hint of romance, they were ALWAYS centred around each other. james was literally bullying someone for sirius. he was the ONLY ONE HED STOP SHOWING OFF FOR. in the middle of a damn war, with his wife and child beside him, sirius was the one thought to make him feel better. like cmon man. j&s r the fkn blueprint i swear.

#sirius black #james potter #sorry i got a bit emotional there in the end lol #i think it’s actually a big part of their dynamic #that they’d be TERRIBLE partners #like isn’t it a running joke in the pf side anyway?#that their partners would hate them bc they’ll never be number one?#and i do think that’s something v specific w them you’ve to deal w if you’re being IC #and u can write it as a flaw or make it crack-y or a neutral thing #but it exists #the solution to that however ISNT removing it entirely lol #or. remove it if u want but acting like it doesn’t exist in the first place? ehhhh #eh. not rly cool.#but yeah. that’s been a rant.#thanks anon i actually rly like this lol #pen’s asks

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robinreflects · 11 months

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Hi, I want to ask you what are your thoughts on the "mentor/mother figure" tropes that surround Eda and how the show handled them, because to me it fell flat. Sure, Eda does count as a mother figure to Luz and King, and my disinterest in this found family, could be writen off as just that - me being disinterested in them.

I have a small gripe with how the show calls the tropes Eda has in the story itself by the characters naming them, that I get the feeling the writers are telling me how to view Eda and to love her character.

And this more fandom related, but am I the only one who doesn't get the whole "Eda is a Mama Bird" thing? Because outside of Luz and King, the only child she has this mentor/parental dynamic with would be Edred.

She doesn't have many moments with Willow and Gus, even back in season 1. I would say, Willow and Gus have more of that "parent/child" dynamic with Camila.

Eda and Amity do go on a dventure together for the Titans Blood, but nothing about their dynamic screamed "parent & child". The same goes for Hunter, but I will acknowledge that their lack of interactions is because of the cut on season 3.

I know my criticism mostly stems from me not clicking with Eda's character like many fans of the show do, so my view on Eda will differ from theirs.

First off, I totally get not clicking with Eda as a character, even if I liked her. I also know most of my liking of the character actually comes from Wendie Malick's performance, I think she did a splendid job, especially in the more emotional scenes (like the fight scenes in s1 with Lilith). I also knew her as Beatrice Horseman before I watched The Owl House, so seeing her play a good mother figure was very engaging to me.

THAT BEING SAID, the moment when Luz and Eda’s relationship didn't feel as special to me was when the show was trying to portray Eda in a motherly way with any other kid. I don’t mean just the main team, I mean, if there was a child character, they’d find a way for Eda to mother them. I think this started in season 2 when the show already had a decent-sized fanbase and was making their own interpretations and headcanons for Eda. Mainly the one you mentioned, her being a “mama bird”. Multiple (even background) characters call her “Mama Eda”, which seemed like excessive fan service. Many things like that were done in excess or amped up because the show's fans were responding to it well and a lot of those amped-up/excessive moments felt out of character for Eda. She didn’t even want to take care of Luz in the beginning, that alone would be enough for me to believe she wouldn’t be willing to adopt everything that lives and breathes.

Willow and Gus definitely have more of a "parent-child" dynamic with Camila, which I think was very nicely done, same with Hunter. I see him having more of a "mother-son" dynamic with Camilla than Eda. The season 3 being cut short is an argument I see a lot, however, if they managed to create this dynamic between Willow/Gus/Hunter and Camilla within the first episode of season 3, I don't see how them not doing that with Eda can be attributed to the shortening, precisely because they had either 2 or 1 season (Hunter I believe met Eda in season 2) to write this dynamic, unlike with Camilla who only became an interactable character with the main cast in season 3, while Eda was there from the beginning.

The "self-aware", breaking the fourth wall-esque humor you mentioned, is one of my biggest pet peeves with the show. Pointing out tropes in the most fandom way imaginable will never fail to make me cringe. Show, don't tell is one of the most basic, easiest ways to make a story interesting, and somehow, for the sake of "incorrect quotes" type of humor, they keep failing at it. A few quotes that instantly come to mind are the "cool aunt vibe" from Collector and "What are those stupid kids doing? Wait, those are MY stupid kids" said Eda herself. Most of the characters are written very quirky, almost falling into the MPDG territory. Often reducing them to one character trait for the sake of, as I said before cheap jokes.

I also have an issue with Luz and Eda’s narratives, in that the writers can’t seem to decide if Eda is the character Luz relates to or Camila is. Camila’s speech about understanding Luz in season 3 felt very haphazard because we’ve spent 2 seasons of Eda and Luz’s narratives paralleling each other in the points Camilla is bringing up. Being unaccepted, feeling isolated, having no one understand them, being seen as dangerous at times, messing up all the time, and not liking conventionality. These points are a big part of Luz and Eda’s characters and are parallels to each other. Camila’s speech would’ve been so impactful, if it was Eda instead, not only because of the fact their stories parallel each other (and this scene was exactly what their storyline was going towards) but also because of the fact that we know Luz looks up to Eda, seeing her as weirdly perfect, exonerating her at times even. Luz, not seeing Eda for who she really is, realizes they are much more alike after the speech, and that Eda understands her.

Thank you so much for the ask! I love talking about this! So if you want to hear my thoughts on anything else, just shoot me an ask! <3 I also just woke up so this might be a little over the place and I apologize for that.

#i also dont know how to tag so if I cross tag I'm so sorry #please let me know #toh critical #toh criticism #robin reflects asks #robin reflects on toh #the owl house criticism #eda clawthorne #luz noceda

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dirty-bosmer · 11 months

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~Writerly Thumbprint Challenge~

Rules: look back on your work, both past and present, finished and unfinished. what are five (or more!) narrative elements, themes, topics or tropes that continuously pop up in your work?

Thanks to @thana-topsy for the tag! I was admittedly a bit intimidated by this one, but it was so illuminating. It's been a long time since I've taken a step back to evaluate my stories through a critical lens, and sometimes I forget what I've written 😅 I know a lot of people have already been tagged, so I'm tagging: @wispstalk @atypicalacademic @thequeenofthewinter @chennnington @rainpebble3 @justafoxhound @dumpsterhipster @skyrim-forever @sylvienerevarine @gilgamish @burningsilence

I'm a baby writer. Only two fics, both TES. Here is what I came up with:

1. An Inner Darkness, A Downward Spiral — Most of my OCs have a secret (sometimes not-so-secret) viscousness that's always simmering under the surface, threatening to ooze free. They're not necessarily mean, but they're not good people. They may not be evil, but they all do very bad things. Why? Because 1) thieving and necromancing and murder for hire are kinda fun in-game, and if our Hero is doing all of that while saving the world, it needs to be explained with something other than whimsy lol, and 2) I like the challenge of writing morally grey characters who are flawed and fucked up and unforgivable while simultaneously asking readers to root for them. I've found it quite difficult to make them likable and deserving of sympathy while not overlooking their wrongdoings or writing them inconsistently, but it makes for such interesting conflict.

2. The Pursuit of Knowledge — My protagonists and their close friends are mage-nerds because I am a nerd, and perhaps this is a case of it's easier to write what's close to home?? I love University settings and the looseness of the elder scrolls magic system. There is so much great lore to work with but in many cases it's not so rigid that you can't also twist it and grow it and shape it to your own desire. Knowledge is power as the Telvanni say. Most of my protagonists are not physically strong and rely on cunning and/or magic for defense. In that way, knowledge is the primary avenue by which they assert control over the world around them, which facilitates a lot of conversations surrounding the ethics of magical use cause well... given the way my OCs use it, it deserves to be questioned.

3. Identity — How does a character perceive themselves? How does this compare to what is perceived by those around them? I love exploring the discrepancies between these two and often write arcs that involve a character breaking through the facades they've constructed to conform to what is expected of them and/or shield themselves from the discomfort they feel in their own skin.

4. Loneliness, A Desperate Need for Love — I write characters who have been placed or place themselves on the fringes of society, yet long for acceptance and a place to belong. This leads to a lot of unhealthy and messy relationships, both familial, platonic, and romantic. Often times they hurt people they care about. They let others hurt them too, but it's okay as long as they're not alone, right? It's angst all the way to the top baby.

5. Romance is not the End Goal — Yeah, my work features ships. I'd say it's actually a huge part of the stories, but mostly because the relationships my characters are involved in "fail." People break up or they die tragically. They become incompatible and move on (sometimes lol). Maybe they endure, but romantic love is not the only kind nor the highest valued, and most importantly, I want to write characters whose self-worth is not tied up in whether they're loved by someone else.

Bonus is Awkard Bisexual Losers because all my OCs are cringe-fail and have no game.

This was such an informative exercise! I encourage everyone to take a stab at it. Please tag me if you do. I'm so excited to see what you come up with :))

#tag games #seyda writes #sonny writes

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beeisntevenhere · 4 months

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Request Rules !

I realised I havent made an organised post about my requests so here it is lol

☆Fandoms I write !

Mcu

X-men

MHA/BNHA

Star wars

Actors

Hunger Games

Doctor who

I've seen lots of other stuff so jst ask and I'll probs have seen it

☆ What you can request !

Character x reader - I can't really do M!Reader because I'm not very good at it but NB! or F! yes absolutely just specify, I will do heterosexual BxG, or Homosexual GxG, BxNB, GxNB

Character x Character - This one you can request but it depends on the characters and also it has to follow the rules

Angst - I can write angst although I'm more of a fluff person

Fluff - One of my fav tropes to write I really enjoy it and I love myself some hurt/comfort, i write found family alot so it's probably one of my best tropes

Smut - I can write it and I don't mind anything particularly kinky but don't expect it to be a 1. A masterpiece 2.Wayy too kinky, there are plenty of writers on this app that can write that better and happily so

Anything not too gory - I don't mind writing gore but I don't know if I'm very good at it, please don't come at me with some horror movie shit tho because I won't do that

Aus - Depends on my mood but overall I will write them

Headcannons - These can be fluffy, smutty, angsty idc I really like writing headcannons but please for the love of God don't ask me for headcannons of a characters private parts I won't spend that much time thinking about that

☆ Things I won't write !

Noncon, Dubcon - nop

Incest - I feel really icky about even writing stepcest so no incest

Abuse - I won't write about said character doing it to reader or reader doing it to character, but characters talking about it for closure and stuff then yes, althought domestic abuse kinda of crosses the line been there done that.

Pedophilia, Zoophilia ect... - No. Althought some agegaps r fine but only if they're legal

Age regression or age play - don't feel comfortable

Watersports, scat, vomit

Feet

Pregnancy

Drugs or being drugged

☆ Other stuff

I won't write smutt of minors all the smut I write they're 18+ or in their adult timeline

I make take a little I do other stuff with my live and writing is not my only hobby

I'm more motivated to write certain characters than others so I might write those faster (they will be listed down below)

Constructive criticism is fine but only when I say I'm okay with it please don't give unwanted criticism

English is not my first language and althought I try to proofread everything I definitely miss some stuff occasionally so I'm sorry if there is any mistakes

I'm not a pro and I'm doing this for free so don't come at me being mean, rude, or disrespectful

☆ At the moment I'm more motivated to write

Anything MHA/BNHA

My CC

Especially:

Shigaraki

Bakugo

Dabi

Aizawa

Kirishima

Mina

Kaminari

Captain marvel

Any found family

I don't consent to my work being posted anywhere else by anyone except me

I dont consent to my work being translated by anyone except me

I dont consent any of my plots to be used by anyone except for me

☆ Any question you maybe have feel free to ask :)

-Bee

#taking requests #requests #fanfics #x men fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #avengers x reader #x men #the avengers #marvel mcu #writers on tumblr #captain marvel #star wars #mha #bnha

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rknchan · 1 year

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shoutout to andrei semyonovich lebezyatnikov being one of the most underappreciated ruslit characters like... almost no one ever talks about him, neither critics or literature teachers (in our school tho we did discuss lebezyatnikov as "another counterpart of raskolnikov along with luzhin and svidrigailov" but as far as i know he's seldom mentioned and even considered as raskolnikov's counterpart). but he does play a part in the plot??? and is a reflection of social movements and ideas of his time???? to begin with, there was a common trope in russian literature: a character who tries to be "progressive and woke" but is actually not, who is shown as foolish, fake and inconsistent in their beliefs, who criticizes the "rotten society" but actually is a part of it; is often a parody of the protagonist - who is indeed progressive and smart and revolutionary and misunderstood and so on (bonus points if they admire the protagonist and try to copy him) we can see this trope in griboyedov's play "woe from wit" (repetilov - a parody on chatsky), turgenev's novel "fathers and sons" (sitnikov and kukshina - wannabe nihilists as opposed to bazarov though kukshina is a literal queen she slays), and dostoyevsky's later works - "the idiot" (hippolite terentyev's gang) and "demons" (verkhovensky's circle); maybe grushnitsky from "a hero of our time" can be counted too, he fits all the traits but he's obsessed with byronism not politics and is treated more seriously

when we first see lebezyatnikov in p5c1, it's exactly how he is presented like: silly and pathetic, with unattractive features, described with usage of very strong and borderline offensive language (how do you like "half-animate abortion"?), dramatic and self-righteous to the point he looks ridiculous... his surname comes from russian word "лебезить" [lebezit] - "to fawn on somebody" sometimes he has a point but some his takes are harmful (beating a woman with tuberculosis because "he seeks equality in fighting !!!" defending prostitution and saying it is empowerment and protest !!! while not knowing how sonya is suffering); even though he has sincere good intentions his ideology, like that of many 1860s-70s russian nihilists, is based on the ideas of nikolai chernyshevsky and his novel "what is to be done" (and other utopian socialists) but inverted and satirized the part where he defends freedom in marriage and "deceptions" ("Your wife will only prove how she respects you by considering you incapable of opposing her happiness and avenging yourself on her for her new husband...if I were to marry, ...I should present my wife with a lover if she had not found one for herself.") is a reference to "what is to be done" and chernyshevsky's own personal life - in witbd the main heroine tells her husband that she is in love with another man, and her husband pretends to commit suicide so that she would be formally a widow and able to marry her lover the "it’s an insult to a woman for a man to kiss her hand" line is also a direct reference to witbd (sorry for the spoilers btw witbd is quite an underaprecciated book if i ever reread it i ought to make a post about it) - chernyshevsky himself had a complicated relationship with his wife; he worshipped her, always put her interests above himself and let her make all the decisions in their family life, while she saw him only as a friend and a chance to escape from her abusive family; chernyshevsky said that if she liked someone else he'd forgive her and suffer in silence but would always forgive her if she came back SORRY what is to be DONE WITH CHERNYSHEVSKY LET'S GET BACK TO THE POINT. YEAH LEBEZYATNIKOV his description is summed up in this line: "one of the numerous and varied legion of dullards who attach themselves to the idea most in fashion only to vulgarise it and who caricature every cause they serve, however sincerely" but there's one important thing. he takes a step ahead. he protects sonya marmeladova!! and accuses luzhin of slandering her, explaining what actually happened and giving proof of luzhin's vileness!! (and later on he also helps sonya and rodion find katerina ivanovna mad and near death from her illness...) even katerina ivanovna says he was sent by god - for saving sonya's honour. the one who desires to fight for equality but doesn't know how and only makes a fool of himself in other characters' and author's eyes - he actually protects the weak, silent and oppressed. no parody sidekick has ever had such a character development, no trying-to-be-progressive character before had a chance to step out of their stereotype and do something good for another person or for the society this scene makes me so happy, not only because i love seeing someone protecting my beloved sonya but it also has a deeply personal meaning to me

i was also concerned about equality, freedom and perfecting the society and all such things, and ofc had confrontations with others regarding my opinions like all of us probably do, but in the end i always looked stupid, uneducated and worthless as i could never shut up, cried when i lost an argument and did nothing but whine about how things are unfair but never knew what to do to change it and so i thought: i don't deserve to call myself a profeminist and a liberal, i am not good enough i wanted to relate to strong-willed, enlightened, revolutionary characters like chatsky and rakhmetov, but i knew that i was a repetilov, a sitnikov, a lebezyatnikov - an useless caricature who is a shame to their ideology

and when i first read the scene where lebezyatnikov protects sonya, it made me genuinely happy to see how somebody who was viewed as an "useless and fake progressist" could also be a help to somebody and become a better person... it made me feel like i'm not worthless too, like im capable of such a character development and maybe even change someone's life for the better too.... ;;;;;

sorry it ended up too long and too personal and whiny in the end ... :c anyway i hope you did enjoy reading this or find something interesting

have a nice day!! <3

#long post #crime and punishment #ruslit #russian literature #dostoyevski #dostoyevsky #andrei semyonovich lebezyatnikov #lebezyatnikov

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cipheramnesia · 1 year

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I watched my first horror movie tonight since i was a teenager in the 90's. Back then i mostly giggled through Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer with friends. Then life happened and i sort-of stopped watching things in general. Anyway, I'm now finding myself on months of bedrest and am watching things to pass the time and decided I'd watch a movie tonight and picked horror just to see if i even like horror. I caught The Pope's Exorcist and actually really enjoyed it, which is delightful! It kept me on the edge of my seat and in suspense and i know my heart was racing at times. So I figure enjoying that one gives me a starting point in the genre, and i was wondering if you might be able to suggest others based off my liking that one? I picked it based off rotton tomato critic and audience ratings. Not because i care heavily about such things, but it made it a logical place to start of what's new. I'm not catholic so i don't care about religion based horror but I'm not opposed to it. I don't like jumpscares. Learned that from Sixth Sense and 12 years on tumblr. Oh! I've also recently seen Renfield, though none of the dracula movies that follow the books. I don't really count Renfield as horror in this regard because it's comedy horror and more funny than scary. Kind of like how i found 90's horror. Though that might have been just as much me being a punk ass kid trying to look brave with my friends. Who knows. It was a long time ago. Anyway, do you have any suggestions? Old or new doesn't matter. I'm bored and mostly stuck in bed. Thank you for your time!

I haven't seen The Pope's Exorcist so I had to search it up - exorcism movies don't do a lot for me, but The Taking of Deborah Logan and Daniel Isn't Real are perennial recommendations which I think would sync up with possession movies. Deborah Logan is kind of divisive with how it treats Alzheimer's and dementia - for me it resonated with my experiences and felt like a sensitive exploration of the topic for horror, but it can also reas the opposite way.

Hellbender and The Deeper You Dig are some fantastic work by a team of independent filmmakers who are also a family. They all act and direct and write together in upstate New York and have astonishing talent. A magnificent illustration of why seeking work by independent artists is such a good idea.

I just watched Ghost Crew, a weird little low budget Scottish movie that I won't say too much about except that it starts out as slightly cringe-comedy faux documentary and grows into a lot more. Zombie For Sale is an adorable Korean romantic comedy zombie movie I had a fun time watching. The Dark (2018) also very intriguing movie, basically victims of abuse getting revenge but one of them is a revenant.

Jamie Marks Is Dead is a queer ghost story that made me cry, everyone should watch it. Also in the sweet romantic category is Attachement, a Jewish and queer horror. It's written and directed by a Jewish person and to my experience felt very true to life. My personal reading of it was a kind of metaphor about how Judaism can be carried forward in different ways everywhere from generational to academically to people who convert. It's another one that I think could be read different, but the positive reading works better for me.

A Wounded Fawn is just bonkers surreal, I can't describe it exactly but it's about a serial killer who gets in deep with some very hallucinatory shit. Related, but Vicious Fun is exactly what it says on the tin. Very fun silly stuff. He's Watching is imho one of the most terrifying found footage movies ever. All found footage movies use a lot of pretty common and consistent tricks of limited light and limited perspective, but He's Watching fucks with the sense of reality by constantly obfuscating who or what is recording, where the line between real and film is blurred.

Babysitter Wanted is also a fun twist on the satanic panic trope. Also similar in that vein, Anything For Jackson is pretty neat. And while I'm thinking about Shudder, The Mortuary Collection is pure spooky fun, a delightful anthology movie with Clancy Brown getting to chew up some scenery. Also for the movie that has everything, Saloum. It's a kind of revenge crossed with magic crossed with evil spirits centered around a bad ass team of mercenaries for hire.

Also check out my horror movie tag.

#horror movies

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ikeasharksss · 2 years

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hello! i dont usually make original posts on this blog, but lately i remembered all the thoughts i have about the Three Days In The Infirmary trope in the solangelo community. i wrote this essay, so check it out if you please <3

In my time reading solangelo fics, I have noticed that the most popular trope for this pairing is Three Days In The Infirmary. Everytime I scroll through the recently updated fics for solangelo on AO3, I am bound to encounter at least 1 fic w/ this trope. And I’m not too surprised by that! Solangelo writers don't have a lot to work with, so we take what we can get. Will makes the Three Days statement at the end of BOO, and literally in the next RR book– which takes place six months later– he and Nico are dating! Speculation as to what happened during those three days is to be expected, even more so among fanfic writers.

I have read many Three Days fics in my time in the solangelo corner of AO3, both before and after I began writing for the pair myself. This week, I spent some time scrolling through the recently updated solangelo fics and found two Three Days fics. I opened both of them. This leads me to the main point of this Tumblr essay, my friends: Three Days In The Infirmary fics have the potential to be really amazing stories on found family and recovery! However, they also have the potential to have harmful/lazy depictions of trauma and just awful characterization. For the purposes of this essay, I will be dividing the Three Days fics I have read into two categories: worse Three Days fics and good Three Days fics. This is not to say that this trope is black and white. Every fic– no matter the trope– can have bad and good elements. However, I can’t use this essay to dissect every Three Days fics I’ve encountered and give them a unique rating, so I will use the worse and good categories for convenience.

First, let’s talk about the depictions of trauma. If this would make you uncomfortable, skip to the next paragraph. I notice that, in the worst Three Days fics I have read, Nico's trauma is handled in one of two ways: it is glossed over or it is romanticized. Both of those depictions promote unhealthy views of trauma for everyone & it takes a critical writer to not fall into those traps. When it is glossed over, Nico's trauma is dismissed as just a part of his character– such as his hair color or his sense of humor– or even made into a joke by the less-traumatized characters. This irks me and the first sign of one of these depictions is enough to turn me off a fic. In HOO alone, Nico goes through an immense journey to save the world. He comes out of that exhausted and in need of physical and mental rest, but some Three Days writers forget that. Their fics consist of Nico walking into the infirmary, chatting with Will and others while in a bed, probably having an angsty moment or two about how he wants to leave, then, all of a sudden, the “am I in love with Will?” scene. It doesn't make sense! Anyone in need of such rest and care wouldn’t be looking for a new crush. If they did start to have feelings for someone, pursuing that relationship should never be at the forefront of their mind. However, that’s how these kinds of Three Days fics work. This brings me to my next topic: romanticization. This depiction is on the flip side of glossing over but it is just as harmful as irritating. Here, Nico's trauma is used as a plot point. For example, I read a Three Days fic once where Will has to pull Nico out of a nightmare (a common trope within this trope), which is the inciting incident for Will realizing he’s in love with Nico. In another example, Nico's poor health, whether it be him fading into the shadows or something new and creative, drives him to realize that he loves Will and needs to do something about it before it’s too late. In both of these instances, Nico's trauma is used to further the romance of the fic. There's no detailing of Nico recovering or learning to care for himself, just a jump straight into romance. Both the glossing over and romanticization of Nico's trauma makes an uncomfortable read for me. As I said before, Nico has seen some horrors! He's not going to jump into the infirmary A) completely ignoring them or B) ready to fall in love! Before I wrap up this paragraph, here is a quick note: notice how I didn't talk about Will's trauma? Neither do these Three Days authors. Most of their fics center on Nico’s POV and, if they do have Will’s POV, he’s mostly talking about how smitten he is. I think the Three Days trope as a whole could benefit with Will recovering from his own battle against gaea but, then again, RR doesn’t give solangelo writers much to work off with that one. This shouldn’t be an excuse to ignore Will’s own backstory, but, instead, should be an invitation for writers to explore the potential Will has as a character.

Now for the characterization in these worse fics: it’s always lazy. In fics where Nico's trauma is glossed over, he is babied by Will and is written to look like he can’t take care of himself. This often bleeds into Hurt/Comfort, but with Will as the perpetual comforter and Nico as the perpetual hurt one. Not only is this characterization of Nico not true to the books (Nico is, in fact, one of the more mature characters in the rrverse), but is a harmful and frankly stale take on trauma. His pain does not turn him into a baby! Furthermore, Nico ignoring his trauma is just as unrealistic. The war is fresh in everyone’s lives, who is going to turn from it after three days or less? But that’s not just for Nico– Will's characterization is a whole other can of worms. I will state, however, that Three Days writers aren’t given a lot of source material on Will's character. Despite this, some of the Three Days fics I’ve read write him as, what i like to call, The Forever Doctor. This trope means that the character is always in doctor mode: commenting and supporting others’ health, stressing over their loved ones' well being, and never needing support or care themselves. It's like these Three Days authors forget that Will fought two wars as a teenager, too! Not to be all like “Will has been traumatized, too!” but he does have a decent backstory that anybody with an imagination can learn and write with. In summary: glossing over/romanticizing Nico’s trauma is a poor characterization for him and is a harmful depiction of trauma. Trauma victims are not babies, and they can’t forget about their trauma in a few days. Adding on, this weak characterization of Nico and Will as The Forever Doctor make for a boring story. If these characters are rendered down to a patient and doctor who fall in love, there is no room for conflict and character growth. It would be way more interesting for both writers and readers to see Nico and Will develop as characters and in their relationship over time.

Good Three Days fics also discuss trauma but in a much different way than the worse ones. Again, this paragraph will be discussing trauma in this trope. If that makes you comfortable, scroll away, my friend. Good Three Days authors care about both Nico and Will's trauma. It’s not glossed over because it is always addressed with care and respect, but it is not romanticized because, when it is discussed, it is not to help the romance progress. These Three Days authors strike a balance between having a discussion on trauma and allowing the romance plot to continue. Usually, this is done when the two topics are separated: romance is not mentioned in the trauma moments, and trauma is not mentioned in the romance moments. (However, I’d like to make an exception: personally, I enjoy when Three Days authors discuss Nico’s internalized homophobia in romance scenes. It is consistent with his character!) It is helpful to a Three Days fic when there is one plot for trauma and another for romance. Which brings me to my next point: recovery! The worst Three Days fics I've read never handle this topic properly. The recovery is either rushed for the sake of romance or it literally doesn’t take place at all! But in the good Three Days fics, Nico and Will recover from the war, physically and mentally. Nico learns to live at peace with himself, makes some friends, and tries to find a home at CHB, while Will finds a new friend, relaxes from his Forever Doctor trope, and becomes a regular camper again. Recovery is always handled with as much sensitivity as trauma, which creates a well rounded piece and the perfect amount of catharsis for the reader.

Good Three Days fics have characterization that is consistent w/ the source material. Nico isn’t infantilized, & Will isn’t a Forever Doctor. Instead, they are introduced as complex survivors, and, throughout the fic, grow into peace. It isn’t like the worst Three Days fics where every word is spent for Hurt/Comfort. Instead, Nico and Will (and sometimes other characters!) have time to breathe. I can't stress enough how important it is to give characters time to breathe in any fic!

I have read a lot of bad Three Days fics, but I have also read some great ones! The first Three Days fic I read that really blew me away was “A Myriad of Stars” by chameleonwrites on AO3. It's a 25k one shot following Nico & Will's relationship, from when they were strangers after Gaea, friends in the infirmary, and falling for each other in the weeks after the war. I love this fic so much because the author is so gentle with Nico’s trauma, from battling his internalized homophobia to making friends for the first time. And what made this fic stand out so much to me when I first read it is that there’s no romance at all during the actual three days!! Instead, the romance plot is introduced after Nico is discharged from the infirmary.

More recently, I read “oh, the whole world, it is sleeping, but my world is you” by thelordofshrimp on AO3. This is an untraditional take on the Three Days fic but I won't go any more into that because no spoilers! The reason this fic represents everything that can go well with a Three Days fic is because of the sheer imagination the author had while writing it. And there’s no dramatic confession of love at the end! Sure, there’s a bit of romance because it’s a Three Days fic and that’s to be expected, but the story focuses on Nico’s growth & his friendship with Will. In my opinion, too many Three Days fics take inspiration from RR and shove Nico & Will together ASAP, but this fic (& the last one) take their time in writing Nico and Will’s relationship, which is why they stand out so vividly in the sea of Three Days fics I’ve read.

I originally shared this essay in a Discord server with other solangelo fans, and I learned something that definitely contributes to the mix of quality Three Days fics have. The RR books are targeted for young audiences, namely for middle schoolers, and solangelo is a very popular ship in this fandom. Therefore, young fandom members who want to try their hand at fanfic writing often gravitate to solangelo. It might even be their first pairing in any fandom! Similarly, Three Days is a very popular solangelo trope, so it makes sense that these young fandom members are driven to write this. I know that, when I began writing fanfic at fourteen-years-old, I didn’t have the ability to write nuance about trauma and romance. I see this in the worst Three Days fics I’ve read, because this trope requires nuance. I fear that young fanfic writers and readers who engage with this lack of nuance will grow into people who don’t know how to discuss trauma, recovery, and healthy romance.

I’m not saying the Three Days trope should be abandoned entirely. I still think it has potential! However, Three Days writers need to think critically about what they are writing. Glossing over and romanticizing trauma feeds into harmful ideas and stereotypes about trauma. Nico, Will, and the other PJO characters who have fought wars deserve to have their stories told with respect. In a lighter area, lazy characterizations such as Will The Forever Doctor and infantilized Nico are just painful to read. I believe the Three Days trope can be used to tell wonderful, touching stories, and I believe that because I’ve read those stories. It shouldn’t be retired, forgotten, abandoned, or ridiculed: it should be used as a learning experience.

This essay was inspired by my recent return to the solangelo tag on AO3. Everytime I read a good Three Days fic, I am well fed and have a deeper love for the characters than I did before reading it. Everytime I read a worse Three Days fic, I wonder how I would write my own version of this trope. The only reason I’ve never tried my hand at it is because I don’t know what I would write that hasn’t already been written.

I would like to leave one last message on the Three Days trope before I complete this essay: it’s just fanfiction. Nico, Will, and the universe they live in doesn’ t exist. Don’t get too pressed. Just because I expressed my critical views on a fanfiction trope does not mean you, the reader, can never enjoy that trope again. I enjoy it myself! If you’ve read this far, thank you for indulging me.

#solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo fic #pjo #hoo #toa #tsats #three days in the infirmary

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