Let's talk about Reds, baby!
(This entry was motivated by this post on the fan tumblr, and I would like to take the time to please ask everyone to treat the asker with respect before responding. This is something that comes up with a fair number of readers, not just this one, and I've finally decided to respond myself.)
It always surprises me how many readers believe that the Reds are the most “perfect” or well-rounded characters. I try to refrain from discussing this at too much length because when it comes to bigger thematic elements I really don't want to be planting my words or thoughts in anybody's mouth - I don't want to tell anyone how to “read” my story. I would rather they come to those conclusions based on my ability to carry those points across in my writing. I have admittedly used this as a measure of how good a job I am doing - if people get it, I have succeeded! Hooray! If they don't, that tells me there is something I can work on clarifying. (The road to bettering yourself never ends.)
However, in the case of the Reds, I have received some pretty divided feedback. There are obviously readers who love the characters, both individually and as a “couple” as portrayed in TEF. There are also readers who feel the Reds are unfairly elevated above their siblings, that too much attention is paid to them, and also, why are they so perfect and great at everything? That's impossible. Nobody in real life is like that.
(Let's set aside the issue that this is a fic about cartoon heroines who are canonically perceived by their entire city as perfect and great, and also that Blossom is, canonically, the Powerpuff Girl most likely to strike the finishing blow (see “Stuck Up, Up, and Away,” “Ice Sore,” “Abracadaver,” “Mime for a Change,” aaaaand I'm going to stop because I don't need to be listing like 80% of the series' run of episodes here). I assume we have all watched the same show, so let's just get to the real meat of this business.)
I have brought up the issue a few times, mostly with regards to Blossom and a perceived Mary Sue-ishness about her (an opinion that I still vehemently disagree with), but for the most part refrained from delving deeply into the issue because, again, I don't want to tell people how to read the story, it is merely my job to tell it. I have realized, though, that this isn't an issue of me or the narrative not being clear. This is an issue of having wildly different opinions about what makes a person “perfect.” And having a different opinion doesn't mean you are reading the story wrong, so if you are in that camp, I hope you don't take this as an attack! I simply want to explain where I am (and perhaps several other readers are) coming from when I perceive the Reds as “imperfect” people.
Yes, Blossom and Brick are great at many things. They are both insanely intelligent, athletically capable (like their siblings), excel in a lot of their endeavors (like their siblings - I will clarify in a second!), and are found attractive by a great deal of people. And when I say they excel in their endeavors like their siblings, it is because their siblings excel in the areas that matter specifically to them. Buttercup and Butch care way more about sports than they do their grades, so their athletic performance is second to none. The only reason they get kicked off their respective teams in ch3 is because they cannot rein in their anger/tendency towards destruction during a critical moment. Bubbles and Boomer are much more musically inclined; Bubbles loves Choir, languages, and art, and Boomer... well, if you've been reading, you know there's some issues there, but they're both way more socially adept than their siblings. They are friendly and open and well-liked, and this was a conscious decision of mine in the narrative of the story, particularly with the girls. Bubbles is the one who interacts the most with side characters as friends - as equals. Likewise with Buttercup and her old gang, once they're reconciled. Blossom's friendly interactions, on the other hand, are limited to her sisters and... Robin. Her interactions with the dance team are almost always “commander” roles - she is not interacting with them as equals, she is functioning as their drill sergeant. Her conversations with her fellow dancers that don't fall into this category, the ones that are more conversational, are rarely instigated by her.
On the penis side of things, Brick is probably more socially adept than her, but only by a hair. He is immensely anti-social, and definitely has no intentions of viewing any “normal” people as equals in any sense. He initiates even less conversation than Blossom does with other people. In fact, he only ever talks to people when he wants something out of them.
How this inability to connect with people as equals - this inability to look at another person and befriend them, or perceive them as someone worth befriending - cannot be perceived as a huge failing, as a massive flaw, baffles me.
Because yeah, Blossom and Brick make good grades and people find them attractive. But the thing is... making good grades and having a lot of people find you attractive doesn't make you perfect, or well-rounded. All it means is that you make good grades and a bunch of people want to bang you. Being unable to connect with other people, on the other hand...
See, that's where I take the most issue. I have never thought of Blossom and Brick as perfect, or well-rounded individuals. Driven, yes. Type A, yes. Intelligent, yes. Arbitrarily attractive to a bunch of high school teenagers, yes. So if you place a lot of value in those traits, and those traits alone, then I can understand why you would perceive the Reds as “perfect.” (Except for that last item. If being attractive to a bunch of high schoolers is some marker of perfection for you, then I'm pretty sure we're never going to be on the same page, so you might as well stop reading and go do something else because you'll probably find it far more entertaining than this.) But... I don't see those traits as the makings of a perfect person at all. All their strengths come at a pretty significant cost. What does it matter how hot other people find you if you are not able to connect with them as an actual human being? What do all of these elevated traits matter if you cannot handle basic human interaction? Not only that, but as demonstrated in the last chapter with the Reds specifically, thinking of yourself as above it all, as something better, as something more, doesn't actually “save” you from the very human pain of having your heart broken.
(... I just gave away one of the most obvious themes in the story, which I've tried to avoid, but as it's rather essential to my point I'm just going to swallow it and leave it be.)
On the flip side of all this, I have had readers tell me how much they identify with Blossom especially. That means a lot to me. And to those readers in particular, I hope you realize that when I say “having difficulty connecting to people is a massive character flaw,” I am referring to Blossom and Brick as flawed characters in a story, and not to your situations! I am happy that you are able to relate to Blossom as a driven person, as a hard Type A, as an overachiever who finds herself awkward and flailing in social situations, because I am one of you. I absolutely relate to all of that. Thank you to everyone who has shared those sentiments with me.
“But sbj,” some of you may cry, “there's way more Blossom and Brick in the story than anyone else! They have more scenes! There's clearly a bias towards the Reds!” Okay, yes, there are a lot of Reds scenes. A lot. It's because - in my opinion - that's what the narrative calls for.
Like. Okay. Here's the thing about writing. (At the risk of sounding condescending. I apologize in advance, as that is far from my intention.) You write the scenes that are either most interesting or most important to the story you're telling. It's like a cut of meat - you salvage the meat and trim out most of the fat (although a good cook will leave in enough fat to make it taste better). In a story, the meaty bits - at least, what I consider the meaty bits - are the scenes that reveal character and further conflict or the plot. (A really great scene manages this all at the same time without disrupting the flow of the story.) In the first part of the story, a great deal of the more interesting conflict - the “meat” - comes from the Reds. The Greens have a conflicted start but resolve into friends pretty early on, and the Blues resolve... well, less quickly, but given their more open natures they are not prone to butting heads the way their siblings do. The Reds, on the other hand, given their natures, butt heads constantly and engage in the most conflict. Now, conflict (meat) is more interesting to read (and to write) than two characters having fluffy moments together (fat). Conflict also tends to reveal way more about a character than fluff. And it generally requires more setup, resulting in a series of scenes all working towards that conflict. Given the insane length and deliberate pace of TEF, I owe it to myself and the readers to trim as much fat as possible in the interest of moving things along. So the balance of things worked out that way - I always tip the scales in favor of conflict. And Blossom and Brick have a lot of conflict. Though I do hope at this point that it is evident the Greens and the Blues have their own fair share on the way.
I hope I've explained myself adequately. Again, this isn't intended to invalidate anyone's criticism, this is intended to explain the mindset I am approaching with regards to writing the Reds. I hope this entry doesn't deter any current readers from reading further, or from future criticism. I always welcome and encourage discussion!
There's more that I haven't touched on, but good holy Christ it is late and I need the sleep. Although, apropos of nothing I have rambled about tonight, if somebody could tell mirakelsey on tumblr that her rendition of the girls is one of my favorites so far (my God, her posing is FANTASTIC), please do! I don't have tumblr (and I will not get one, so please don't urge me to as your pleas will fall on selectively deaf ears) and she doesn't allow anonymous asks. So. Yes. If the Internet fairies could do that, that would be awesomesauce. (For the record, and always, thank you to everyone who has done fanart of TEF. I do see all of it and I squee and I save it in a little folder on my 'puter for safekeeping. Every piece, no matter how big or small, matters so much to me. Thank you ♥)
Originally posted at http://essbeejay.dreamwidth.org/107657.html.
It always surprises me how many readers believe that the Reds are the most “perfect” or well-rounded characters. I try to refrain from discussing this at too much length because when it comes to bigger thematic elements I really don't want to be planting my words or thoughts in anybody's mouth - I don't want to tell anyone how to “read” my story. I would rather they come to those conclusions based on my ability to carry those points across in my writing. I have admittedly used this as a measure of how good a job I am doing - if people get it, I have succeeded! Hooray! If they don't, that tells me there is something I can work on clarifying. (The road to bettering yourself never ends.)
However, in the case of the Reds, I have received some pretty divided feedback. There are obviously readers who love the characters, both individually and as a “couple” as portrayed in TEF. There are also readers who feel the Reds are unfairly elevated above their siblings, that too much attention is paid to them, and also, why are they so perfect and great at everything? That's impossible. Nobody in real life is like that.
(Let's set aside the issue that this is a fic about cartoon heroines who are canonically perceived by their entire city as perfect and great, and also that Blossom is, canonically, the Powerpuff Girl most likely to strike the finishing blow (see “Stuck Up, Up, and Away,” “Ice Sore,” “Abracadaver,” “Mime for a Change,” aaaaand I'm going to stop because I don't need to be listing like 80% of the series' run of episodes here). I assume we have all watched the same show, so let's just get to the real meat of this business.)
I have brought up the issue a few times, mostly with regards to Blossom and a perceived Mary Sue-ishness about her (an opinion that I still vehemently disagree with), but for the most part refrained from delving deeply into the issue because, again, I don't want to tell people how to read the story, it is merely my job to tell it. I have realized, though, that this isn't an issue of me or the narrative not being clear. This is an issue of having wildly different opinions about what makes a person “perfect.” And having a different opinion doesn't mean you are reading the story wrong, so if you are in that camp, I hope you don't take this as an attack! I simply want to explain where I am (and perhaps several other readers are) coming from when I perceive the Reds as “imperfect” people.
Yes, Blossom and Brick are great at many things. They are both insanely intelligent, athletically capable (like their siblings), excel in a lot of their endeavors (like their siblings - I will clarify in a second!), and are found attractive by a great deal of people. And when I say they excel in their endeavors like their siblings, it is because their siblings excel in the areas that matter specifically to them. Buttercup and Butch care way more about sports than they do their grades, so their athletic performance is second to none. The only reason they get kicked off their respective teams in ch3 is because they cannot rein in their anger/tendency towards destruction during a critical moment. Bubbles and Boomer are much more musically inclined; Bubbles loves Choir, languages, and art, and Boomer... well, if you've been reading, you know there's some issues there, but they're both way more socially adept than their siblings. They are friendly and open and well-liked, and this was a conscious decision of mine in the narrative of the story, particularly with the girls. Bubbles is the one who interacts the most with side characters as friends - as equals. Likewise with Buttercup and her old gang, once they're reconciled. Blossom's friendly interactions, on the other hand, are limited to her sisters and... Robin. Her interactions with the dance team are almost always “commander” roles - she is not interacting with them as equals, she is functioning as their drill sergeant. Her conversations with her fellow dancers that don't fall into this category, the ones that are more conversational, are rarely instigated by her.
On the penis side of things, Brick is probably more socially adept than her, but only by a hair. He is immensely anti-social, and definitely has no intentions of viewing any “normal” people as equals in any sense. He initiates even less conversation than Blossom does with other people. In fact, he only ever talks to people when he wants something out of them.
How this inability to connect with people as equals - this inability to look at another person and befriend them, or perceive them as someone worth befriending - cannot be perceived as a huge failing, as a massive flaw, baffles me.
Because yeah, Blossom and Brick make good grades and people find them attractive. But the thing is... making good grades and having a lot of people find you attractive doesn't make you perfect, or well-rounded. All it means is that you make good grades and a bunch of people want to bang you. Being unable to connect with other people, on the other hand...
See, that's where I take the most issue. I have never thought of Blossom and Brick as perfect, or well-rounded individuals. Driven, yes. Type A, yes. Intelligent, yes. Arbitrarily attractive to a bunch of high school teenagers, yes. So if you place a lot of value in those traits, and those traits alone, then I can understand why you would perceive the Reds as “perfect.” (Except for that last item. If being attractive to a bunch of high schoolers is some marker of perfection for you, then I'm pretty sure we're never going to be on the same page, so you might as well stop reading and go do something else because you'll probably find it far more entertaining than this.) But... I don't see those traits as the makings of a perfect person at all. All their strengths come at a pretty significant cost. What does it matter how hot other people find you if you are not able to connect with them as an actual human being? What do all of these elevated traits matter if you cannot handle basic human interaction? Not only that, but as demonstrated in the last chapter with the Reds specifically, thinking of yourself as above it all, as something better, as something more, doesn't actually “save” you from the very human pain of having your heart broken.
(... I just gave away one of the most obvious themes in the story, which I've tried to avoid, but as it's rather essential to my point I'm just going to swallow it and leave it be.)
On the flip side of all this, I have had readers tell me how much they identify with Blossom especially. That means a lot to me. And to those readers in particular, I hope you realize that when I say “having difficulty connecting to people is a massive character flaw,” I am referring to Blossom and Brick as flawed characters in a story, and not to your situations! I am happy that you are able to relate to Blossom as a driven person, as a hard Type A, as an overachiever who finds herself awkward and flailing in social situations, because I am one of you. I absolutely relate to all of that. Thank you to everyone who has shared those sentiments with me.
“But sbj,” some of you may cry, “there's way more Blossom and Brick in the story than anyone else! They have more scenes! There's clearly a bias towards the Reds!” Okay, yes, there are a lot of Reds scenes. A lot. It's because - in my opinion - that's what the narrative calls for.
Like. Okay. Here's the thing about writing. (At the risk of sounding condescending. I apologize in advance, as that is far from my intention.) You write the scenes that are either most interesting or most important to the story you're telling. It's like a cut of meat - you salvage the meat and trim out most of the fat (although a good cook will leave in enough fat to make it taste better). In a story, the meaty bits - at least, what I consider the meaty bits - are the scenes that reveal character and further conflict or the plot. (A really great scene manages this all at the same time without disrupting the flow of the story.) In the first part of the story, a great deal of the more interesting conflict - the “meat” - comes from the Reds. The Greens have a conflicted start but resolve into friends pretty early on, and the Blues resolve... well, less quickly, but given their more open natures they are not prone to butting heads the way their siblings do. The Reds, on the other hand, given their natures, butt heads constantly and engage in the most conflict. Now, conflict (meat) is more interesting to read (and to write) than two characters having fluffy moments together (fat). Conflict also tends to reveal way more about a character than fluff. And it generally requires more setup, resulting in a series of scenes all working towards that conflict. Given the insane length and deliberate pace of TEF, I owe it to myself and the readers to trim as much fat as possible in the interest of moving things along. So the balance of things worked out that way - I always tip the scales in favor of conflict. And Blossom and Brick have a lot of conflict. Though I do hope at this point that it is evident the Greens and the Blues have their own fair share on the way.
I hope I've explained myself adequately. Again, this isn't intended to invalidate anyone's criticism, this is intended to explain the mindset I am approaching with regards to writing the Reds. I hope this entry doesn't deter any current readers from reading further, or from future criticism. I always welcome and encourage discussion!
There's more that I haven't touched on, but good holy Christ it is late and I need the sleep. Although, apropos of nothing I have rambled about tonight, if somebody could tell mirakelsey on tumblr that her rendition of the girls is one of my favorites so far (my God, her posing is FANTASTIC), please do! I don't have tumblr (and I will not get one, so please don't urge me to as your pleas will fall on selectively deaf ears) and she doesn't allow anonymous asks. So. Yes. If the Internet fairies could do that, that would be awesomesauce. (For the record, and always, thank you to everyone who has done fanart of TEF. I do see all of it and I squee and I save it in a little folder on my 'puter for safekeeping. Every piece, no matter how big or small, matters so much to me. Thank you ♥)
Originally posted at http://essbeejay.dreamwidth.org/107657.html.