Good Analysis - Blog Posts

on fanfic & emotional continuity

Writing and reading fanfic is a masterclass in characterisation. 

Consider: in order to successfully write two different “versions” of the same character - let alone ten, or fifty, or a hundred - you have to make an informed judgement about their core personality traits, distinguishing between the results of nature and nurture, and decide how best to replicate those conditions in a new narrative context. The character you produce has to be recognisably congruent with the canonical version, yet distinct enough to fit within a different - perhaps wildly so - story. And you physically can’t accomplish this if the character in question is poorly understood, or viewed as a stereotype, or one-dimensional. Yes, you can still produce the fic, but chances are, if your interest in or knowledge of the character(s) is that shallow, you’re not going to bother in the first place. 

Because ficwriters care about nuance, and they especially care about continuity - not just literal continuity, in the sense of corroborating established facts, but the far more important (and yet more frequently neglected) emotional continuity. Too often in film and TV canons in particular, emotional continuity is mistakenly viewed as a synonym for static characterisation, and therefore held anathema: if the character(s) don’t change, then where’s the story? But emotional continuity isn’t anti-change; it’s pro-context. It means showing how the character gets from Point A to Point B as an actual journey, not just dumping them in a new location and yelling Because Reasons! while moving on to the next development. Emotional continuity requires a close reading, not just of the letter of the canon, but its spirit - the beats between the dialogue; the implications never overtly stated, but which must logically occur off-screen. As such, emotional continuity is often the first casualty of canonical forward momentum: when each new TV season demands the creation of a new challenge for the protagonists, regardless of where and how we left them last, then dealing with the consequences of what’s already happened is automatically put on the backburner.

Fanfic does not do this. 

Fanfic embraces the gaps in the narrative, the gracenotes in characterisation that the original story glosses, forgets or simply doesn’t find time for. That’s not all it does, of course, but in the context of learning how to write characters, it’s vital, because it teaches ficwriters - and fic readers - the difference between rich and cardboard characters. A rich character is one whose original incarnation is detailed enough that, in order to put them in fanfic, the writer has to consider which elements of their personality are integral to their existence, which clash irreparably with the new setting, and which can be modified to fit, to say nothing of how this adapted version works with other similarly adapted characters. A cardboard character, by contrast, boasts so few original or distinct attributes that the ficwriter has to invent them almost out of whole cloth. Note, please, that attributes are not necessarily synonymous with details in this context: we might know a character’s favourite song and their number of siblings, but if this information gives us no actual insight into them as a person, then it’s only window-dressing. By the same token, we might know very few concrete facts about a character, but still have an incredibly well-developed sense of their personhood on the basis of their actions. 

The fact that ficwriters en masse - or even the same ficwriter in different AUs - can produce multiple contradictory yet still fundamentally believable incarnations of the same person is a testament to their understanding of characterisation, emotional continuity and narrative. 

Fallout New Vegas has an impressively cohesive thesis considering how big of a game it is. The theme of “if society cannot move on from the past, it will repeat the sins of the past” is present in all of the main factions and most of the minor factions. The DLCs extrapolate that to a personal scale.

I just can’t think of a theme that is THAT integral to every part of the game in any other fallout game I’ve played

NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ANALYSIS PART I

I just think that song is so brilliant because it’s so unique. Like how often do you get to have a duet between two characters who both turned on the same person and both became villains, but one has reformed and the other has only recently become a villain? I just LOVE how the song uses the same phrase for both characters but it has an entirely different meaning depending on their points of view.

I’m gonna break this analysis into multiple parts since there is SO much to talk about this song. (I MIGHT do a lyric analysis as well)

Special thanks to @whaleiumsharkspeare for helping me with this post. She has done an analysis of the song

Read the analysis here

Let’s Dew-this…

VARIAN’S POV:

Honestly, I find Varian to be the most interesting part of the song because he is reflecting on how his corrupt views and methods of the past and is now reaching out to someone who he sees is following the same destructive behavior, not wanting to see his former friend make the same mistakes he did.

In season 1 he took it too far, he crossed lines, used people, lied to himself that he was right. Now he’s seeing cass do the same thing and tries to stop her. He doesn’t want her to go down the same path of destruction he did. Also not to mention that she drugged him with a truth serum, that means that everything he’s singing in his verse is the truth. He reaches out to her (both figuratively AND literally). I mean…

Look at that. Even when he’s trapped in a cage he still reaches out to her. This boy is determined to reach out to Cass and nothing is gonna stop him NOTHING. I love how they are using Varian as an example for Cass to try to come to her senses. It makes sense if you really think about it, with Varian not only coming from that same dark path but also he used to look up to her and still wants to help her despite everything she’s done with him.

Varian also seems to be one of the first people to try and relate to Cassandra. He isn’t forcing this relatability on to her but rather, warning her. He isn’t saying “what you’re feeling is wrong” or “this isn’t who you are” he is instead trying to say, “I get it. You’re hurting and you think destruction is helping. It feels good, doesn’t it? It’s okay to change your mind, there’s always hope and a way back. It’s not gonna be easy but just try it. I will even help you” Also, it was revealed that Cass gave him the truth serum which means everything he is singing is true.

He doesn’t try to force their relatively situations on to her, he is saying it as a warning like you’ll regret this in the future and will eat you up in side like how he behaved I’m Rapunzel’s Return or Be Very Afraid. He knows/acknowledges that her feelings are real and that the struggle is real. Sometimes people hurting need somebody to just be in there with them in their suffering, listen AND understand the struggle.

While Varian does state that Cass is being irrational, and even stands up to her, he’s also trying to help her rationalize her feelings to help herself, to help begin the healing process.

I think that’s why his reaching out to her (both figuratively and literally) is so powerful. Even though he didn’t succeed in talking her out of the path of distraction he did show he cared for her.

Even though this is Cassandra’s verse, look at Varian’s expressions here…

He isn’t scared of HER he’s scared of what she’s BECOME. He doesn’t want her to go down the same dark path he did but, not he can see that she’s no longer in control, she’s crossed the line and is what he was afraid of her becoming.

Varian is looking at her in shock at how powerful Cass has become but also how much she is lost, it’s I’m a mix of shock and horror but, not of her but of what she has become. She has became what he was trying to prevent, he couldn’t talk her outta her destructive ways and now she has lost control. The one thing that he was trying to prevent and failed, especially in the bottom photo. Varian not only looks shocked but also sad in a way. He probably blames himself for not getting through to Cassandra.

Varian has failed in the past in the whole series (restoring the king/queen’s memories, the Quirinion everything). The scroll was his responsibility, if he found all 4 incantations he’d succeed but then Cass come. It just Cass and him, if he can get through to her then he’d be a success, if he can stop her then in turn he’ll also stop her destructive ways, If he gets through to to her then he’ll have his former crush/friend back. But he can’t, Varian knows Cassandra is dangerous, he knows she’s a threat he knows she has betrayed Rapunzel yet, he still sees her (in the song at least) as a friend who is hurting and lost.

CASSANDRA’S POV:

Cassandra doesn’t listen to Varian’s warning and she thinks since she already ruined her past relationships there is no point, even if she does change her mind. She’s not losing anything and has everything to gain and yet, she’s not truly confident because everything she shines is DEFENSIVE.

Her facial expressions change look at the following…

We see Cassandra looking at her self in the sword. On the left though, it’s almost as if she doesn’t know what she’s doing but, on the right, when Varian sings “Don’t you see, this path you’re on leaves a permanent mark, it feels good at first then it slowly turns dark” it changes to not mad more like serious. Almost as if she’s trying to not only convince herself but also, Varian that she is right. He’s singing at her teeing her that she’s wrong and doesn’t wanna hear it.

I think this moment when Cassandra points the sword at him it’s not actually Cass, I think it’s more like telling the viewers that Varian is right and that it’s not actually “Cass” how points the sword at him. This is also mere moments before she decides to get up and walk away from him and of course he follows her and runs after her. She’s in denial and tries to ignore him but she can’t, Varian is probably the 1st person Cass has heard “arguing” with her to stop. In many ways Varian acts like her moral compass in the song, she is obviously conflicted here.

I know the idea of Winnie the Pooh characters representing mental illness is overdone to death, but I can't help but be intrigued by it. What if the reason everyone display these symptoms is because they were specifically created to hold onto them?

What if Christopher Robin has Dissociative Identity Disorder or Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder?

What if, to cope with severe parental neglect, his brain created a world of people who would love him unconditionally?

Disclaimer: This is for a fictional interpretation of Christopher Robin, not the real person. This is based on the Disney version of the stories. Also, this idea is for entertainment purposes only, so artistic liberties are made.

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We start with Roo and Kanga, who are the classic mother and son archetype.

Roo represents the person Christopher wants to be in real life. He wants to be curious, bold, and michevious, but he also wants to be nurtured.

Essentially, Roo's a child alter meant to hold onto Christopher's innocence. Kanga exists to be Roo's, as well as everyone else's, caretaker and soother. She represents the mother figure Christopher wishes he had in the outer world.

Next, Tigger holds onto Christopher's ADHD/autism symptoms, as well as his desire to stim openly.

In the outer world, Christopher is severely stifled and is not allowed to express these traits to people. Therefore, they are passed on to Tigger to hold onto. Tigger is very rambunctious and carefree.

However, his desire to find other Tiggers and his catchphrase of "being the only one" represents the loneliness Christopher feels because of his neurodiversity. He wants to be proud of being unique, but really, he feels alone.

Furthermore, characters like Piglet, Rabbit, and Pooh are all symptoms holders as well.

Piglet holds onto anixety. Additionally, he holds onto Christopher's feelings of being overlooked and underappreciated. Meanwhile, Rabbit holds onto perfectionism and an obsession for order.

Due to being raised in a strict environment, Christopher feels immense pressure to live up to the high expectations of society. Thus, Rabbit and Piglet are high-strung because that's how Christopher feels in his day to day life. Rabbit also represents the limitations society puts onto Christopher, which is why he is so judgemental.

Similarly, Eeyore holds onto Christopher's traits depression and isolation. He feels left out even among the other alters because he is inherently created to be an outcast.

Eeyore's desire for a tail stems from a longing to be "normal." Just as Eeyore thinks a tail will make him happier and more accepted by his peers, Christopher thinks that "masking" will do the same. In reality, what they want will always be out of reach. Perhaps temporary, but never permanent.

Owl is a factive based on Christopher's teachers, presenting as a mentor to the other alters. Yet, his lessons are confusing and nonsensical to the audience because Christopher's own struggle with school.

Owl also holds onto Christopher's dyslexia and learning disabilities, concealed by a false sense of ego and bravado. The same type of attitude that Christopher's teachers presents on a daily basis.

Lastly, Winnie also holds onto Christopher's autistic symptoms. While everyone displays these traits, Tigger and Winnie hold onto the "least socially acceptable" qualities. Hence why Rabbit often has conflict with them.

Winnie and Tigger lack social awareness, are blunt, and can accidentally hurt the others due to misunderstanding their body language and facial language.

On a different note, Winnie is obsessed with honey, which represents Christopher's desire to overeat in real life. This is a coping mechanism for his isolation, and later on, the ongoing stress of boarding school.

Overall, the Winnie the Pooh cast are alters created to hold onto traits that Christopher can't express in the outer world. The Hundred Acre Woods acts as an inner world for the alters and Christopher to escape the daily stress of life.

Unfortunately for Christopher, the demands of boarding school leave him unable to visit most of the time. However, he can still watch their misadventures from the outside.

Additionally, the various stories of Winnie the Pooh represent changes in his life, as well as actual events in the outer world.

Tigger's movie represents Christopher wanting a family that is neurodivergent but finding solace in his alters. On the other hand, Piglet's movie showcases Christopher feeling like an outcast that is taken for granted and once again finding solace in his alters. And so on, so forth.

In the end, Christopher is forced to suppress his alters, so they are permanently trapped in the Hundred Acre Woods, always yearning for their host. They have no idea what lies beyond their home because they have never known anything else. And they never will.