Crafty Disaster

she/her||18+||hate free||shealynn88 on ao3||no gen a.i. Harry Potter (anti-jkr), Supernatural, Teen Wolf +||gen to explicit, fluffy to dark Tags: all ships, dub-con, non-con, dark fiction, dark art, blood

[shealynn88]

I’m on a ‘write at least one word a day on this project’ kick for this week, at least, and I’m reminded how it’s so good for my brain. Low bar for meeting the challenge, basically always exceed the goal, and make progress on a project that feels scary. (Revision!!) V2 of the Hollanov with trans Ilya you never knew you always wanted.

[shealynn88]

I just watched Twinless, and I have some thoughts and feelings, but overwhelmingly (spoilers):

I felt like i was promised either a death or a metaphorical death of one or both of our MCs at the end there, and I'm a little lost now that it didn't happen. Like... how did I completely misunderstand the point of this movie? The Chekov's gun of Roman's uncontrollable anger. Dennis's inability to let people go. These things should have exploded in a way that couldn't be returned from.

And yet.

I'm not saying it's bad, or even thematically an issue. I think I was just looking at things differently than they were intended? Or something? Like, I saw it as a theme of loss and need putting people in unstable places where they can only ruin themselves and each other. But maybe it was more a theme of, like, broken people are sometimes the best fit for broken people? In which case, man, I hope Marcy gets outta there post haste.

Considering further, the connection of somewhat estranged twins by a person who sort of knew them both, but who cannot be known, himself...

[so1987-deactivated20230102]

who’s gonna tell tumblr that executive dysfunction is more than Not Doing Things?

[so1987-deactivated20230102]

okay

these are the executive functions. impairment of these functions is executive dysfunction

[dailypattondoodles]

Oh.

OH

[lurlur]

Girl, help. None of my executives are functioning

[septembercfawkes]

Using Character & Theme to Fix a Scene

Recently I rewatched the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (if you haven't noticed from my latest posts), and it really holds up: complex and sophisticated plotting, iconic characters with sturdy arcs, and nuanced themes about honor and freedom.

This trilogy did so many things right. It's no surprise it was a huge hit. (Do they even make movies like this anymore?)

While I could go on long about everything that it does right, today I actually want to zoom in on what I consider its weakest element: Davy Jones's Locker.

This is one (1) scene in the whole trilogy, but it's always felt off and just . . . weird to me. To the extent that it sort of taints my memory of the last film (which, revisiting it again, is actually quite well written).

Don't get me wrong--I get it's meant to be weird.

But it's weird in the wrong way.

It's weird in a weak way.

What could have been a major opportunity to add depth and dimension to the series' themes, and to Jack's character . . . 

. . . is nothing but a strange, delusional 8-minute experience that actually could be cut without really affecting the story.

And that's the main problem. It's not doing enough.

Yes, it did what it needed to on the plot level: The point of the scene is to show Jack trapped, slipping into madness in Davy Jones's Locker. It does that.

But it doesn't do that in a resonating way.

Really, if that's all it's doing, the filmmakers could cut the scene and simply show the crew arriving at the Locker to interact with a delusional Jack. (Though I don't quite like that idea either.)

Watching this film again, I realized, on a subconscious level, I always look forward to Davy Jones's Locker because it's a fate Jack spent the whole previous installment trying to avoid. And now he's trapped there.

I also think I subconsciously look forward to it, because it's a scene loaded with opportunity--because this is where we see (or could have seen) Jack in his most vulnerable state. It's begging to be used to develop character and explore the themes.

But instead, we get a (basically filler) madness trip--one that's trying to be comedic yet doesn't quite deliver--and some rock crabs that don't carry enough significance beyond helping move the ship (yes, I get they relate to Calypso. . . . They aren't terrible, but . . . )

Not as satisfying.

Let's go over what could have been done differently, and maybe it will help you with your own less-than-satisfying scenes. . . .

The bones of storytelling are character, plot, and theme.

And the best ideas for your scenes, are going to be those that hit on at least two--or preferably all three--of those.

When you understand that, you can produce more meaningful scenes (and stories).

Digging into Character & Theme to Revise the Scene

One of the most important aspects of any main character is his wants. His motives.

If you've followed me for a while, you may know I refer to this as the "abstract want."

The abstract want (or wants) exists behind nearly every major concrete goal the character pursues in the plot. (Or it should.)

Katniss wants to survive and save others. That's why she aims to win the Hunger Games. That's why she volunteers to take Prim's place and risks her life to save Peeta.

Luke wants to become, or be part of, something great. That's why he plans to go to Academy, become a Jedi, rescue Leia, and destroy the Death Star.

To add depth to a character, it's often a great idea to dig into this abstract want: What does it mean to the character? Why does fulfilling it matter? And how come the character has it in the first place?

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack's abstract want is to live free, preferably forever (as I wrote about somewhat recently). This is why he wants The Black Pearl back, and to be its captain, in the first installment. This is why he wants to avoid Davy Jones and the Kraken in the second installment. And this is why he wants to replace Davy Jones in the third installment.

Every major concrete plot goal Jack has, ties back to being free (and alive).

And so do many of his minor ones. ("You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.")

Also noteworthy is that in the first installment, it's said that The Black Pearl symbolizes freedom.

So, having a scene where Jack is trapped in Davy Jones's Locker, with The Black Pearl, would have been the perfect opportunity to explore his abstract want more deeply.

Instead of slipping into madness and envisioning copies of himself on The Pearl, it would have been more meaningful to delve into why freedom matters so much to Jack, and even better, why he has that want in the first place.

Often there is a key backstory (referred to as a "ghost" or "wound") that typically explains the origin of the abstract want.

For example, the reason Katniss wants to survive and save others, is because her dad died and that left her family starving; and after Peeta saved her by throwing her burned bread, she determined she was going to be a survivalist and save her own family.

While Jack's backstory of being marooned by his crew (as told in the first installment), relates to losing freedom (he's trapped on an island, without the Pearl), it doesn't explain the origin of his abstract want (since he wanted freedom via The Black Pearl before that). I don't consider that a flaw, but the Locker would have been an amazing time to go further back into Jack's past and reveal why freedom is so important to him to begin with.

The reason he's trapped in the Locker, is because he made a deal with Davy Jones to raise The Black Pearl (and himself) out of the ocean, so he could be its captain for 13 more years. 

That's how much freedom means to Jack. He's literally willing to sell his immortal soul (in addition to working 100 years on The Flying Dutchman) to have 13 years of freedom.

That's a big want.

The trilogy does hint at other aspects of his past, like how he refused to deliver people in the slave trade, and that's why Beckett branded him a pirate in the first place. The writers had the right idea in giving Jack this backstory, as it's ripe with the concept of freedom (vs. bondage). But this is mainly left in subtext. Again, not an innate flaw.

But again, wouldn't it have been great if the film had delved more into that while Jack was in the Locker? Maybe his experience with slaves is what led him to value freedom so highly to begin with.

Or, maybe that was one moment in a whole string of moments that defined his desire. Maybe his abstract want has origins even further back. Maybe as a child, he was somehow trapped, and feared he'd somehow become a slave.

Maybe instead of just having a bunch of copies of Jack in the Locker, we should have had Jacks from different parts of his past--maybe different parts of when he felt trapped. Jack who was marooned. Jack who was imprisoned. Jack who was punished for helping the slaves. Jack who was trapped as a boy.

Surely that would drive Captain Jack Sparrow mad.

The scene would have been so much more interesting if Jack had been haunted by his past. And if the Locker was an opportunity to compound the concept of being trapped.

Naturally, one of the main themes of this film is freedom (vs. bondage): Jack wants to get out of the Locker, Will wants to free his dad, Barbossa wants to release Calypso, and Beckett wants to capture (and kill) all pirates.

So this would have made the film feel more thematically resonant as well. But there are other options too.

The main theme of the whole series explores what it means to be honorable (vs. dishonorable). The nuance (and irony) comes from the fact that pirates, like Jack, ultimately end up being the most honorable. Despite all the (selfish) piracy they engage in, when it comes down it, they're more honorable than Beckett and his men.

And the reason Jack ended up in the Locker at this specific point in time, is because he chose to be honorable, rather than dishonorable, at the climax of the previous film.

Jack could have fled to land and saved himself, letting his crew die, as he'd planned.

But when it got down to it, he couldn't--he came back and saved them.

(. . . before Elizabeth--of all people--betrayed him. . . .)

So this moment in the Locker could have also tapped into the theme of honor (vs. dishonor). It could have questioned if honor was worth it, because look at where it got Jack. Being trapped is likely Jack's worst fear, since it's the opposite of his deepest desire.

For the pirates, the concept of honor comes from keeping the code. Later in the film, we learn that Jack's father is the strict keeper of the code--outright killing a man for even suggesting they don't follow it.

The writers could have delved into that--Jack's relationship with his father, who had always been strict in honoring the code, even when Jack was a young boy. "And look, dad, look at where it [honor] got me!" Jack might've yelled, while wasting away in the sand.

Symbolism & Imagery

But let's say, for some reason, the writers didn't want to do any of that. This is an adventure film, and maybe they didn't want to lean into that directly. They could have worked with more symbolism, tying into character and theme that way instead. The Black Pearl symbolizes freedom, and it's trapped in the Locker. Sure, we get a little bit of symbolism with just that--it's a ship stuck on sand, and it's too heavy for Jack to move.

But there could have been more. 

We don't need the rock crabs. Or if we do (to show Calypso helping move the ship), they should have been sea turtles instead--ya know, the creatures that were rumored to free Jack off the island in the first place?! Maybe they should have been used to move the ship (and if we wanted to be silly, with ropes of human hair too 😜).

Or, there could have been more imagery related to being bound--other ropes, chains, cuffs, or bars--driving Jack crazy. Maybe he keeps getting stuck, trapped, or bound somehow.

And rather than these things seemingly randomly moving the ship, Jack should have had a thematic epiphany that apparently led to that, or he should have done something that seemingly caused that to happen (even if it's really revealed it's Calypso later).

In his hallucinations, Jack stabs himself in the heart. We get a brief line about that, but it's not very thematic. If it had tied into one of the themes more, that image would have landed better.

We also get some weird stuff with him eating a peanut, laying an egg, and moving closer to a goat. It's meant to be funny, but it's not very meaningful. Interacting with sea turtles would have been much funnier, since it would have been a callback to the first film. And I get the peanut is meant to emphasize the lack of food . . . but it would have been better if instead, the filmmakers emphasized a lack of rum . . . since that's what he had when trapped on the island, and it was a drink that Elizabeth tied to honor vs. dishonor in the first film (i.e. with a little more work, rum could have been made into a thematic symbol).

Heck, I would have settled for imagery related to Elizabeth "haunting" him--since she's the one who betrayed him, by pretending to reward him for being honorable. Or even traumatic flashbacks of Davy Jones, Jack being eaten by the Kraken, or Jack arriving in the Locker.

That would have aroused more sympathy, for me.

Really, this scene could have been used to emphasize Jack and his vulnerability so much better--rendered in a way that made the audience feel something deeply.

Unfortunately, though, it does little in the way of that.

Now, you would think, based on this post, I positively hate this scene--I don't; it's just a huge missed opportunity.

Yeah, it gets its plot job done.

But it misses out on character and theme.

Regardless, though, this is still a great trilogy.

And despite this post, it's easy to forgive it for fumbling one scene.

Nonetheless, I thought this was a good opportunity to illustrate what character and theme can do for a lackluster scene.

Story isn't just about plot. It's also about character and theme.

If you find a scene lacking luster, you might want to try digging there.

[shealynn88]

I just watched Twinless, and I have some thoughts and feelings, but overwhelmingly (spoilers):

I felt like i was promised either a death or a metaphorical death of one or both of our MCs at the end there, and I'm a little lost now that it didn't happen. Like... how did I completely misunderstand the point of this movie? The Chekov's gun of Roman's uncontrollable anger. Dennis's inability to let people go. These things should have exploded in a way that couldn't be returned from.

And yet.

I'm not saying it's bad, or even thematically an issue. I think I was just looking at things differently than they were intended? Or something? Like, I saw it as a theme of loss and need putting people in unstable places where they can only ruin themselves and each other. But maybe it was more a theme of, like, broken people are sometimes the best fit for broken people? In which case, man, I hope Marcy gets outta there post haste.

Considering further, the connection of somewhat estranged twins by a person who sort of knew them both, but who cannot be known, himself...

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[archaeologistproblems]

Extremely relatable content as an archaeologist.

[nat-20s]

out of curiosity, how many books have you read this year

0

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

21-25

26-30

31-35

36-40

41-45

45-50

over 50

Voting ended onJun 5

[shealynn88]

I’m thinking, like a very excited small dog, about doing more podfic. But I want to finish this fic to podfic. I have so many thoughts about what to do differently this time! How to position the microphone, where to upload, all the cool tips and tricks I’ve been reading! But I want to podfic my work going forward, so I want to write the story. And I want it to be good. Which takes time! So…

(this is not to say I won’t podfic for other ppl, just that this is the current focus)

[devinellekurtz]

My very first tiger drawing and my latest

[formaldehydedoesstuff]

Your skill level is unquestionable but listen.

I love him.

[toasthaste-art]

me also. as well.

[devinellekurtz]

This is the COOLEST thing I’ve seen in AGES. You both completely made my entire week.

[redstonedust]

we all know adult humans dont get enough enrichment but the other day i was walkin home past an empty playground and impulsively ran over to spin myself on this zipline merry-go-round contraption for a few minutes and it really did feel like it unlocked some neglected part of my brain. like damn we really should all go outside and play more. fuck. they werent kidding with this play time thing. have you guys heard about play time. it could be huge.

[shealynn88]

y’all, I started roller skating and that shit is MAGIC.

[shinesurge]

Guys if you want queer shit written by queers on our own terms you're going to have to start seeking out weird independent media. I'm sorry that's the only place you can regularly find it idk what to tell you, we can't keep acting like there's nothing if we're not getting blockbusters and triple A titles or whatever it is we're waiting around for. The thing you keep saying you want is already being offered for free by one person making a passion project on the internet and you would both benefit enormously if you interacted with it instead of lamenting that the only options we have for representation are pandering afterthoughts from corporate shit

[fandomsandfeminism]

I say this with so, so much care: Real queer shit written by real queers can and will sometimes make you uncomfortable. That's one of the defining features of weird, independent queer media. And weird independent media more broadly. Art that comes from true individual passion and authenticity has edges and bite to it that mass market corporate products intentionally do not. Has a rawness that can offend.

You are allowed to feel uncomfortable about it. But don't ask for queers to self censor for your comfort.

[ao3commentoftheday]

Hello! I'm very interested in making podfics but I can't seem to find anywhere that explains how to put the audio file into ao3. I'm not the most tech savvy person so I'm hoping you or your followers know. Thank you in advance, I love your account!

There are two ideas you need to understand when you're trying to post media on AO3. Those two ideas are hosting and embedding.

hosting means (basically) storing and sharing. You upload a file to a host and that host then serves your file to the people or websites that try to access it.

embedding is (basically) displaying or presenting.

The host holds the file and shares it with AO3 when you embed it in your work. It then gets displayed when you post.

Both archive.org and soundcloud.com are hosts that can embed directly into AO3. Other hosts might not work but I know that those both do.

Since you're new to podficcing, I'm also going to recommend Azdaema's Newbie's Guide to Podficcing and GodofLaundryBaskets' Keep it Simple: A Highly Biased Podfic Guide for Absolute Beginners.

Podficcers - please add in any other resources you think might be helpful!

(shoutout to @hullomoon for reccing those two guides to me when I was looking for info before)

[flamingwell]

A great guide for different hosting options is @godoflaundrybaskets ' amazing Podfic Hosting Guide! I highly recommend it.

I also want to extend an offer to anyone interested in maybe dipping their toe into podfic waters (or who is already a podficcer) to join the Podfic community on Tumblr and also the Podfichat discord server. Lots of super knowledgeable and super friendly podficcers would love to welcome you and help you out with any questions you have!

[duckprintspress]

I learned, some years ago, from this post by @emilianadarling

Podficcers who work with Duck Prints Press also threw together some tips we have here:

Post by @duckprintspress · 1 image

💬 0  🔁 13  ❤️ 22 · Roundtable: Tips for Podficcing ·  Press author and editor Shea Sullivan is looking to begin podficcing, so she asked th

[mysticalcats]

it's really gross how you can be self aware enough to know what's going on in your head but you can't actually stop it from happening. i need to grab it like a pigeon that got stuck in a house and throw it out the window. be free

[annabelllewallis]

i don’t hate series finales because it’s the ending of a show.. i hate them because somehow writers find a way to fuck up the whole show in just one episode

[dreamfinder83]

It’s truly amazing how this happens 99% of the time. You’d think writers would get lucky every once in a while

[shealynn88]

This is very interesting, and I think probably somewhat related to:

Tv isn’t typically scripted with an overall arc. Wrapping it up generally isn’t the point, you want that sit to run as long as possible.

over several seasons, characters will have moved through a ton of storylines, there are loose threads everywhere. These are all glimmers of POSSIBILITY.

a finale, even with some time to plan it, will fail to rise to the shining open sea of potential inherent in all those threads, in all of the character journeys.

Viewers want the story, as they interpret it, to be resolved in a way that is satisfying to that interpretation. And because those interpretations can be so broad and varied, most of them are doomed to be disappointed.

this isn’t to say they don’t mess things up on all sorts of levels, but I just think trying to actually put a satisfying ending on a story that was never meant to have one, or had different writers deciding on different ones to seed…. Yeah. That’s a losing battle.

[ororium-z]

Happy Pride!

[rootbeergoddess]

Every pride, you must reblog this. No exceptions

[thesaltofcarthage]

I love that four different people on my feed scheduled this joyous person to reblog by 8am on June 1. I look forward to seeing this a dozen more times today.

[newlyy]

Not that I think all marriages are doomed but when deciding who to marry you should ask yourself “is this someone I’d want to divorce?” As in, is this someone I believe would be mature and fair, even when they’re upset and don’t particularly like me at the moment. Is this someone I could continue to trust while going through an adversarial process? And if the answer is no, don’t marry them.

[hempseeeeds]

also, dont't have sex-that-could-lead-to-pregnancy with someone unless you're reasonably certain they would handle an unplanned pregnancy in a way you can live with, and don't breed-on-purpose (or co-adopt) with someone unless you think they'd be willing and able to cooperate as both a visiting, child-support-paying noncustodial-parent of a child you are single-parenting AND as a loving, capable single-parent to YOUR child that doesn't live with you.

[kyraneko]

there's a concept in engineering called a graceful failure. that is, sometimes things fail, whether that's a marriage or a pane of glass, and what you want to do is design its features and select its components in ways that the likelier forms of failure will do the least damage should that happen.

so they do things like making windshields that shatter into tiny dull fragments rather than huge sharp shards of glass. they keep its positive features (transparent, for example), but avoid characteristics which would be bad in the situations where a failure would occur (sharp edges).

some of this you can do by talking things through with your partner, getting a fair, looked-at-by-separate-lawyers-in-each-of-your-employ, thoughtful prenup, and considering your partner's handling of frustrations and disagreements.

other things you need to do by keeping up your own financial independence, arranging your life for resilience including preparing to handle the sudden absence of your partner (people not only betray and divorce but also die, get into car accidents, and get called away to help family or friends across the country), and being familiar with your locality's divorce laws.

knowledge is power, an emergency savings account is power, and a precedent set by your discussions with your partner about values and what you each want the relationship and your future to look like is power. (if they rugpull you and turn into a monster after marriage, you'll be able to recall that conversation and tell the lie/unilateral change/shifted goalpost for what it is, and not second-guess your own right to not have that be done to you.)

[podcastwizard]

you don’t realize how important lunch is until you’re wandering around thinking about how unloveable and untalented and uniquely cursed you are and then it’s 4pm and you finally eat lunch and you go Oh. oh right.