I just saw a post that deeply annoyed me because it went, "Here's a story that's like a Regency romance, but I FIXED it by making the characters sexually liberated and shame-free and polyamorous!"
This is like saying, "Here's a story that's like a thriller, but I FIXED it by having the serial killer go to therapy instead of trapping victims in his evil maze and dismembering them."
The thing a lot of people don't seem to get is that the entire appeal of a Regency romance is watching a deeply repressed, perfectly controlled, buttoned up, straight-laced person who has never expressed an emotion before fall so hard for someone that something in them just breaks and they come completely unhinged.
It's a very specific kink that this genre is tapping into.
People who think the characters in a Regency novel are boring are missing the whole point. The characters are supposed to be boring, right up until they fall so madly in love that it drives them insane, at which point they become very interesting. Regency romance novelists are doing the writing equivalent of putting plain white featureless uncooked whole eggs in a microwave and waiting for them to explode.
adding on to say if you think the genre needs to be 'fixed' in this way it probably just isn't a genre you like and that's completely fine, you don't have to like everything
redemption773-deactivated202412
Wrecker: Aw! He’s actually wearin’ it!
(Wrecker gave it to him as a gift)
problematic-faves-appreciationA List of Moral Panics TW: Suicide mention The facts: Fictional media in particular cannot insta-brainwash you. Audiences don't passively absorb information like sponges, nor respond uniformly to media exposure:The 21st centuryMedium(s): NovelsSubject: Heartstopper and other queer storiesFear: "It's going to magically turn my kids gay or trans!"Medium(s): NovelsSubject: Colleen Hoover novelsFear: "Her books normalize abuse, and pose a danger to women!"Medium(s): Books and fanfictionSubject: Dark romanceFear: "Dark romance is normalizing abuse, and it poses a danger to women!" Medium(s): Fanfiction (this includes fanart and shipping)Subject: Fanfiction Fear: "The bad fanfiction is normalizing illegal behavior, and it poses a danger to the youth!" • Fandom antis Medium(s): NovelsSubject: Fifty Shades of GreyFear: "Fifty Shades of Grey is normalizing abuse, and it poses a danger to women!"Medium(s): NovelsFear: "Twilight is normalizing abuse, and it poses a threat to teenage girls and young women!"About Twilight and Fifty Shades: A domestic abuse epidemic did not occur in the wake of these books. The 20th centuryMedium(s): Video gamesSubject: Video gamesFear: "Video games make children violent!"• 8 Myths About Video Games DebunkedMedium(s): TVSubject: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Hero Turtles Fear: "The cartoon is going to make kids violent because... NINJAS!"Medium(s): FilmSubject: Horror movies — "video nasties"Fear: "These violent horror films are going to deprave and corrupt everyone, especially the children!"Medium(s): Multiple Subject: The Satanic Panic Fear: "This media is corrupting the youth!"• Pokemon• Harry Potter• Dungeons & Dragons • Heavy metal musicMedium(s): Comic BooksSubject: Comic booksThe Fear: "Comic books are corrupting the youth and causing juvenile delinquency!" • The Comics Code Medium(s): FilmSubject: Classic films; sex, homosexuality, violence, profanity, and interracial relationships in pre-Code films. Fear: "These movies are lowering the moral standards of those who watch them!"• The Hays Code Medium(s): Music Subject: Jazz — The "Devil's Music"Fear: "This immoral music is bringing about the downfall of society!"The 19th Century Medium(s): NovelsSubject: Sensation novelsFear: "The impressionable female readers are going to be morally corrupted!"Medium(s): NovelsSubject: Lady Audley's Secret Fear: "This novel is going to corrupt young women of 'good blood and good training'!"Medium(s): Novels Subject: Penny dreadfulsFear: "Penny dreadfuls are corrupting the youth, causing more juvenile delinquency!"The 18th CenturyMedium(s): Novels Subject: The Sorrows of Young WertherFear: "This novel is causing an epidemic of suicide!"• The ‘Werther Effect’ of Goethe’s Werther: Anecdotal Evidence in Historical News ReportsMedium(s): NovelsSubject: Pamela; or Virture RewardedFear: "It's going to lead female readers astray!"Excerpt from Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women (1766)Medium(s): NovelsSubject: RomancesFear: "These are especially dangerous to women, for they will get the wrong idea about love and ruin themselves!"Excerpt from Women's Reading in Britain, 1750-1835: A Dangerous Recreation by Jaqueline PearsonMedium(s): NovelsSubject: Novels (I disagree with the article author's take on trigger warnings.)Fear: "Novels are leading the youth and women astray!"#fiction analysis#moral panics#censorship#media audiences aren't passive recipients#debunking anti novel rhetoric#my posts#this list is a work in progress.
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedaethermirFollowNever was anything at once so frail and so indomitable#jane eyre#edward rochester#jane/rochester#classic literature fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedaethermirFollowEdouard#jane eyre#edward rochester#classic literature fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationReblogged ayyy-imma-ninjajust-prompt-thingsFollowbest trope and you can fight me over it (i abuse this so hard with my ocs)peach-flavored-cyanidealternativelymari-maryGIF by mcotome#fiction#tropes#one's fave
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedmeepmorps-art-trashcanFollow#steven universe#rose quartz#pearl#pearlrose#amethyst#su fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedanimentalityFollowquillfulwriterKey, pivotal moments need to breathe, and non-plot scenes are how you do it 💯transcyberismHUGE agree, but also, I think even calling them "non-plot" is part of the problem - "the plot" is, like, everything that happens in the story, including conversations/dialogue. "The plot" includes this kind of negative-space "breathing room" that punctuates action and sudden twists. Low-stakes, lighthearted scenes actively underscore and accentuate the more dramatic moments. A good plot is a balanced plot.#media analysis#'filler'#low stakes episodes#fandom
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedjohannesviiiFollowALTSo as you can see I liked Book 3 a normal amount#infinity train#grace monroe#simon laurent#infinity train fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedfist-of-vengeanceFollowjust saw someone on tiktok discussing whether or not a character "deserved a redemption arc" and i am losing my mind. we as a society have lost sight of what a redemption arc IS. it doesn't mean a character is rewarded by the narrative. it doesn't mean the other characters forgive them. it only refers to a character acknowledging their mistakes and choosing to better themselves, which any person can do, no matter how terrible. of course there's no shortage of badly executed redemption arcs, and a character who willfully committed countless atrocities having a change of heart after a single conversation about the power of friendship is simply poor writing and unrealistic. not every character who CAN change WILL. but there is zero value in debating whether a character "deserved" to be redeemed. no one in fiction or reality needs to be "worthy" of making better choices. there is no fixed point where a person is "too evil" and therefore forbidden from doing anything differently. it's always worth it to change, and implying otherwise is both a genuinely harmful ideology and bad literary analysis #media analysis#redemption#villains#fandom#redemption =/= forgiveness
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedautisticllyartisticFollowhey guys.. wazap…! heh😅#minecraft story mode#mcsm#mcsm admin#mcsm romeo#mcsm fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedvoidoftheeyesFollowIM FINALLY DONE THIS TOOK SO LONGThe Old Builders, an unlikely reuion photo#minecraft story mode#mcsm#mcsm hadrian#mscm soren#mcsm mevia#mcsm harper#mcsm cassie#mcsm otto#mcsm fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedhomoqueerjewhobbitFollowI really wonder what the "sex is never needed in a story" crowd thinks happens during sex? The way that people act immediately before, during, and immediately after sex (basically where the no sex crowd would end a scene and then start up again) tells you so much about a person and the relationship between people. How do they feel about their body? Do they want to stay covered or leave the lights off? Are they shy or ashamed of sex? Do they stifle their moans or make sure the neighbors can here? Do they only fuck in their bedroom or are they hooking up in the broom closet at work? Are there cultural taboos to be aware of? Are they selfish or giving lovers? Are they serious or playful? Who initiates? Who escalates? Do they cuddle after? Do they behave differently during sex than during their day to day lives? Do meek characters become dominant? Do aggressive characters become submissive? Are they vocal about their wants and needs? What do they say no to? How familiar are the characters with each other's bodies? Do they feel comfortable saying no? How do they react when their partner says no? How do they react when their partner says no with their body language and not their words? Even graphic details can be relevant. There's a very big difference between someone who slams right in and someone who eases in and waits til their partner is ready for more. Between licking gently and biting hard. Between someone enthusiastic and someone going through the motions. Between someone skilled and experienced vs amateur fumbling. Do things happen during sex that change the way characters see their partner(s)? That change their relationships? Because they do in real life. There are a million things that happen during sex that are different for every person and can add depth and nuance to their character and relationships. You absolutely don't have to include sex if you don't want to, no story includes every aspect of a person's life, but don't act like all sex is the same and nothing that happens during it could possibly matter.#media analysis#citrusy487 notes
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedartschoolglassesFollowH.M. BrockPride and Prejudice#pride and prejudice#mr darcy#elizabeth bennet#classic literature art131 notes
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedinthetagsFollowReblog and put in the tags you CONFRONT character(s) (aka, a character you dislike intensely and would beat the crap off of if you had the chance - essentially the direct foil to comfort characters).#fiction#fandom games#humbert humbert#christian langland's family (I don't hate christian) and his brothers in law#elisa walsh#bishop romano#mr. and mrs. dursley#jackson noble#darren davis#kilgrave (mcu)#nikolas constantinos#dolores umbridge#lo apollo#derek hawke#percy wetmore#eric cartman#hindley earnshaw#mayuri kurotsuchi#pokemon paul#malyen oretsev#emily davis#jacob portman#caul bentham#naruto uzumaki… See all1,122 notes
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedwholeheartedsuggestionsFollowif your harmless fixation helps you heal, go for it. get engrossed in what could save you.la-alyssaThat is why you must support anything and everything your dear friends invest their time in. ocelaw#fandom#coping through fiction14,348 notes
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problematic-faves-appreciationReblogged flighty-and-shycla-ohFollowI draw Hades from Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, because I love him so much💙#lore olympus#lo hades#lo fanart419 notes
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedecle-c-ticFollowJust because you don't like something doesn't mean it is bad. #fandom#previous tags:#this is about lore olympus#and people getting offended bc RS adapted a thousands of years old myth for the contemporary reader#like omfg if you don't like it read literally any of the 100000 other adaptations out there
problematic-faves-appreciationI'm back with another "the haters think this guy is a super problematic male love interest? 🤣" Lore Olympus post!Before we get to Hades, let's discuss groveling in romance, aka making amends/an act of atonement. It's a highly popular trope because a good deal of MMCs are known for wronging their lovers or letting them down in some way (this is not even an exclusively dark romance situation!), making things up to them, and changing their cold/jerk ways. Now, let's look at Hades and Persephone's relationship: the dude never hurt Persephone! How can he be "very problematique" if he doesn't even behave like your average romance novel hero? These two are such a harmonious couple, that they never had a massive row where Hades ended up saying something incredibly hurtful, and had to apologize soon afterwards. Like, the few arguments they did have resulted in them growing closer as a couple!Behold, Hades and Persephone overall — sickly sweet (affectionate): Haters, I would appreciate it if you guys recommended complained about couples who have ACTUALLY wronged each other in serious ways. I'm trying to grow my problematic ships collection, here. Persephone/Hades are too fluffy. Lol#lore olympus#romance#redemption#lo hades#lo persephone#my posts
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedchrollcFollowstar wars propaganda won. #star wars#the acolyte#sw qimir#sw fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationReblogged rnelifluaquasi-normalcyFollowSome of you need to learn the difference between "This art has aspects that can be interpreted in a problematic way and, when an artist turns out to be a complete shitheel, you stop giving them the benefit of the doubt" and "You can tell which artists are shitheels by interpreting their work in the most uncharitable way possible"#media analysis
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedsadgollum-blogFollowThe misfits out on the town #jem#jem and the holograms#the misfits#jem fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedlazarus171Follow#jem#jem and the holograms#pizzazz#phyllis gabor#jem fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationReblogged rnelifluavamprismsFollowkill 'character did nothing wrong'. nurture 'character did everything wrong and i was whooping and cheering the whole time' janedrewfinallyPerfect tag is perfect: #character did a lot of stuff wrong and I was unconvincingly saying oh no stop don't do that between bites of popcorn#fiction#villains#problematic faves#fandom
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggednedlittleFollowit drives me bonkers the way people don’t know how to read classic books in context anymore. i just read a review of the picture of dorian gray that said “it pains me that the homosexual subtext is just that, a subtext, rather than a fully explored part of the narrative.” and now i fully want to put my head through a table. first of all, we are so lucky in the 21st century to have an entire category of books that are able to loudly and lovingly declare their queerness that we’ve become blind to the idea that queerness can exist in a different language than our contemporary mode of communication. second it IS a fully explored part of the narrative! dorian gray IS a textually queer story, even removed from the context of its writing. it’s the story of toxic queer relationships and attraction and dangerous scandals and the intertwining of late 19th century “uranianism” and misogyny. second of all, i’m sorry that oscar wilde didn’t include 15k words of graphic gay sex with ao3-style tags in his 1890 novel that was literally used to convict him of indecent behaviour. get well soon, i guess…dancinggrimmI saw a review of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall that said ‘I can’t believe people think this was a feminist book’.Like, do you know how swooningly, outrage-causingly shocking it was that the main character slammed her bedroom door in her abusive husband’s face? Do you have any idea how unthinkable it was that she denied him access to her space and her person? She was supposed to submissively look away while he turned their son into an alcoholic for his own amusement and seduced innocent young women! It was revolutionary in 1848; when Bronte (Anne) wrote it, she had to do so under a male psuedonym because publishers wouldn’t accept works by women unless they were harmless pap, which was all that was thought suitable for women to read lest their mild and gentle minds be corrupted.The reason these groundbreaking books of history seem to tame and understated now is because they worked. They raised the bar, pushed the agenda forwards, cleared the path for the next writer. They did exactly what they were supposed to. Time is linear. History moves forward. We make progress.When you are old, if things happen as they ought, a future generation of teenagers will read The Hate U Give and Simon and the Homo Sapiens’ Agenda and Speak and think to themselves ‘why did anybody ever think this was contraversial? Why did they ban them? These are just things we talk about, these are things we deal with like normal people. What was the past like, and how do we stop from backsliding into a place where these things are considered shocking again?“I really hope that’s how it goes.svengooliecatFirst rule of literary analysis: the analyst cannot judge a past work by modern standards or ethics. Doing so leads to faulty comprehension, straw man fallacies, and lazy logic and analysis. We must always consider the work within the broader frameworks of the history, culture, and events that shaped it.ktempestbradfordI had a roommate in college that hated Jane Austen because the protagonists always ended up marrying men and it was such a wrong signal to send to young women that marriage is the only goal. I stared at her for a full minute before screaming WHAT IN THE BUTTERFLY BISCUIT F—?What’s hilarious is that the entire year I knew her she would vehemently deny that she was a feminist. Because feminists were man-hating harpies! She just believed in equality. So…. there’s that. Still, it surprised me to hear her say that about Austen’s books given the era they were written in. I even tried to explain this to the roommate but she wouldn’t have it. Apparently Jane should have written about them all getting jobs to live independently.Historical context is important, children. magpiemirroringThere is space when discussing old books to come at them with a modern perspective. But you have to be aware that you are doing it and I still thinking knowing about the relevant historical facts and social environment is going to help folks, like, achieve that awareness. But, yeah, if you just wanna address an old book as a modern reader, you can do that. You can write, “As a modern reader, this book’s attitude towards X struck me as Y.” or “To modern eyes, this is hard to read because we’ve made progress in (these ways).”You can talk about how a book made you reflect on how modern life is better in certain ways. Or you can find the moments in an old work that are still relatable as a modern person. You can absolutely go, “This was uncomfortable to read as a modern person, and I didn’t like that.”What you cannot do is go “This old book is bad and no one should read it because it wasn’t written with today’s progressive standards. Why wasn’t it written like a modern book?”Sometimes old books are pretty uncomfortable to read, and it’s fair to acknowledge your personal discomfort! When reccing old books to friends, I will often make note of period-specific ‘isms in case there’s something they want to avoid. I don’t say the book is bad because it’s got some extremely dated ideas about women or mental health or whatever. I just give people a heads up so they don’t walk straight into something that’s a huge Nope for them. I find reading old books along with some social history is really eye-opening. When you know what the standard was at the time, you can see people pushing at the edges of that standard and that can be a really exciting discovery as a reader! You can see and appreciate period-specific progressive views. Sometimes you can find startlingly modern ideas framed oddly, but they’ve got the spirit! You can see how “progress” is something kind of amorphous. It’s not a linear progression from bad to good, but something that develops and goes down weird branches. How we gain rights and then lose them. That who gets rights and what those rights are and what is good and bad is constantly changing and must be continually fought for. That what is a wildly progressive thought one year, is hopelessly backwards the next decade!And also, as a side point, you don’t have to read Old Books and Classics if they always upset you. Do I think working through that discomfort is worth it? Yes, obviously I do, lmao. But if you’re already overwhelmed by life here and now (understandable) and wrestling with the past is not your jam; I’m not gonna make you do it to earn your Dark Academia Lit Nerd BookTok Reader’s Challenge gold stars. I’m not an english teacher. I don’t care what you read. Just don’t tell people books are bad because they made you uncomfy. Own the fact that you were uncomfortable. Just don’t treat your personal opinion and feelings as some sort of objective metric by which to judge something’s worth. Don’t insist that everything needs to be written to a modern standard. Don’t be writing what is basically a soft call for a book ban. (Seriously. So much of book bans and calls I fielded as a library work about objections to books just boiled down to “I don’t like it. It makes me uncomfy to think about. I don’t understand why anyone would want to read this. The whole library should match my standards and preferences.” So if you sound like when talking about a book, I am mentally lumping you in with the people who wanted me to pull the cute gay penguin picture book from the shelves.)#media analysis#censorship#long post
problematic-faves-appreciationReblogged renthonyaureltiFollowwe all missed her didn’t we#the dragon prince#tdp claudia#tdp fanart
problematic-faves-appreciationRebloggedbmpmp3Followand "wholesome" is another term that really gets my hackles raised when i hear it in video game marketing or anything really. sorry but all i can think about is like the hays code and other media regulatory standards of its ilk. it makes me feel like im gonna be taken off the air for showing an interracial kiss or something.problematic-faves-appreciation"'Clean' romance" also gives off major Hays Code vibes. Just call it a "fade-to-black" romance, people. This term doesn't make the implication that sex is "dirty" and "impure". #media analysis#purity culture#romance#response
