mary sue, mary sue... is that you? the one who holds the power but still looks blue supposedly tortured and devoured but smites all quick, not soon mary sue, mary sue... is that you?
Come on! The twist that all the books from 3-7 were secretly a test by her long lost, thought to be dead, vampire mom who was also the antagonist was a brilliant move!
And it turns out the protagonist knew all along that her mum was the mastermind behind all of it but because Wicker Basket secretly cares about her mum, when it came to one of the battles at the end of book 7, Wicker hesitated and was dragged away by both her love interests who in that moment worked together for the first time since meeting each other. Then book eight shows the love triangle is broken down a little because they blame her for what happened and neither understand because both of them are orphans. But then in book 12, we find out the mum for the prickly love interest is actually alive and was a scientist who is now held prisoner against her will because her moral compass activated once she saw the devastation her life's work caused. That pushes calm sensitive love interest away because now Wicker and Prickles have a shared connection. Then we find out Calm Guy is actually an experiment by Prickly's mum and suddenly they're brothers.
Don't forget the part where the existence of vampires in the setting came out of literally nowhere and has no evidence of being a thing until said third book
@@willofthewinds3222 oh no, they're not "vampires". They're "moonwalkers" or something else. They're exactly the same as vampires but the author says they're not vampires so it's lore friendly. The fandom will have a lot to say about the decision until one of the characters is an attractive guy with a basic af sensitive side, after which the fandom will immediately simp for that character and all opposition for moonwalkers will be shot down with vigour.
You forgot to mention that one of the white dudes is friendly and approachable, while the other one is a distant and prickly jerk that might have a hidden heart of gold, allowing the main character to pinball between the two flavors of love interest and fans to form groups over which one is better.
Also the two male love interests hate each other so that the third group can interpret it as sexual tension and write smut fiction shipping the two of them.
Oh, I may have just got a subtle joke about that name. Maybe she's called that because bland YA protagonists and wicker baskets hold something in common: they're both empty vessels.
Come on, you acted WAY too good for a YA heroine! You gotta be more flat, uninteresting, and apathetic! You fail the audition for being too amazing a voice actor.
HAHA. Thanks X'D I first decided I would sound flat, uninteresting, and apathetic, and then as I recorded, I thought I'd make each subsequent line a taaad more ridiculous.
+AderuMoro Lol. It was very good. I was just playing around because of the trend among lead actresses in YA movie adaptations being so uninteresting. lmao
It’s weird how Hunger Games was the codifier for so much of these but itself ultimately subverted or deconstructed such things. One of Katniss’ love interests is ultimately a war criminal who kills her sister. The other is PTSD riddled as her. She’s called a “chosen one” but really used as an empty figurehead by the Resistance (who prove to not be all that good either) and is shot down so many times when she wants to use her status for the better. She ends up leaving her “hero” life behind a broken mess whose only consolation is being able to begin anew.
Reminds me a bit of far cry 4. You speak to Pagan Min, and he flat out says he's not the good guy, but points out that most all the worst events are either through people in his regime or in the resistance. Min himself largely does fuck all during the game, and when he finally meets you talks to you reasonably, and refers to the resistance as "Monkeys who will throw feces at eachother the moment they don't have something to unify against". And funny thing is, we even see the resistance itself is fractured, and in the end... he's pretty much right. Whoever holds the Resistance at the end, they rule with an iron fist, and either perform mass executions or turn thier country into a drug state. Pretty fair to say that just because a faction resists the antagonist of the story doesn't really mean they have everyone's best interests in mind. Nor does removing an antagonist from power mean that there will be peace and harmony when all is said and done.
Reminds me of The Bard's Tale from 2004, a cynical RPG in which you find countless "Chosen ones", most of theim either locked away or dead, who are all convinced that they will be the one to free the princess.
@@whitedragoness23So far, the ones I got were capitalism, propaganda, war mongering, karma. But there are definitely many more lessons that some people analyzed very well.
Wait who took my idea. I was going to have a chosen one. I mean that's NEVER been done, or a a love triangle THAT'S originality. But yeah lol i noticed that too
And if the novel in question is one of those rare ones where the protagonist is a guy, you can bet your ass that: 1. He's the reluctant hero down to a T and will not ever let the reader or anybody else forget it. 2. He can't fight his way out of a paper bag and can't even walk 10 feet without tripping over his own shadow or stubbing his toe. 3. His deduction skills and perception and cunning are so non-existent that he wouldn't be able to find sand in a desert or outsmart a doorknob and everything confuses him. 4. He has a rival who is his opposite in every way and is also better than him at everything and who only gets beaten out of sheer luck or because somebody else takes them out. 5. Just the idea of physically harming another living thing makes him violently ill. 6. He has a main love interest who is an invincible Amazonian who is much smarter than him, saves his ass every 20 minutes and is basically Wicker Basket. 7. There will be a plot twist involving either: A. Child soldiers B. Clones C. A predecessor who was actually competent D. A sudden but inevitable betrayal that a blind person could've seen coming E. A roundabout version of "Luke, I am your father" F. "Are we the baddies?" G. All of the above
@@shinespark1007percy jackson wasn't a dystopian novel though i dont know if it can be considered as young adult but surely isn't dystopian and was actually good as a character and as a fighter the dude was litterally blood bending a minor god in a book
Percy Jackson is probably my all-time favorite YA novel series. I wrote my comment because I noticed commonalities between amannamedsquid313's comment and the Percy Jackson series.@@massimilianoreali4398
I see this video is 7 years old so that is why the expansion with MC also being a "half demon/ angel/ werewolf with more hot dudes of various ethnicities was not mentioned.
Seeing these comments, I genuinely don’t understand how Katniss is applicable to this She isn’t a chosen one, she’s a random girl, she isn’t clumsy, is a competent and well trained hunter, in this books she and Gale are very much indigenous coded and are described as having darker olive complexions, dark hair, and darker eyes with the divide between people with traits like them and people with more blonde hair and blue eyes being the wealthier group on average in their district and the standards there are that she is considered rather plain by both their standards and the capital’s and that is brought up multiple times in the books as a detriment to her. She’s also mentioned to be thinner than what is considered attractive to those in the capital too because of her circumstances. She is awkward but that’s part of why the capital likes her because it’s “raw” and “so uncouth” in a way they aren’t used to and it’s very much shown it’s in a belittling way that isn’t actually flattering, and she is very much used as a figurehead in the rebellion who doesn’t want to be doing the things she’s doing for promotion with the government having a very real reason to try and get her as a result She and the other kids who survived the hunger games are very much shown to struggle and be haunted by what they’ve been through. There are real consequences shown. The movies, to an extent: sure But the books: absolutely not
@@moniquegerken182 comment above said she’s patient zero I’m just pointing out the fault of piss poor media literacy that makes people think Katniss fits these tropes Putting them on her isn’t accurate and she shouldn’t get any blame for this set of tropes becoming popular considering her story it ultimately the inverse for this kind of archetypal bs
@@moniquegerken182 her popularity and generalized mischaracterization isn’t at fault for these tropes becoming popular. She wasn’t patient zero like the comment above mentioned. Ergo, not her fault, not how she was written.
Most ""dystopian"" YA novels aren't actually dystopian fiction. The truth is that actual, proper dystopian literature as a genre is a *really* bad fit for YA novels. If your novel has shining heroes leading a successful revolution, it's not a dystopian novel.
Honestly dystopia as a genre is very misunderstood by modern authors in general. It was never meant to be "what if society was bad?", it was supposed to be "what if society was run the way some people think it should, and it led to a living hellscape?" What I meant by that is that a dystopia should be a twisted version of an utopia, thus a "dys"-utopia. It needs to take a popular utopic political ideology and showcase why it wouldn't work in the real world as people think. 1984 and Brave New World, for instance, satirize ideologies that were in the political zeitgeist of the time and some concepts that some people even today describe their ideal society as. Who the fuck unironically wants a Panem, even conceptually?
@@starkillersneed Hot take: Panem is what Mormons who were homeschooled think communism is like. It is technically a centralized planned economy, it's just that the planning is done by trolls and idiots. In fact, a lot of YA "dystopias" line up really neatly with the straw man of communist and generally leftist ideas that Mormons (and other American right-wingers to some extent) frequently attack.
@@vi0let831Eh, not all of them are written in Europe or America. There's also Japan and Korea as major exporters of the stuff. And there, most characters are Asian even when renamed with random European names.
@@AnMCommyea but those are not young adult. Some of those actually take more than a single braincell to get through, which is unheard of in western "self insert for young women" caustic vomit that is YA.
You forgot to mention that even though the protagonist is a teen, they are somehow more skilled and capable than any adult. They can face off against any foe and still come out on top with nothing more than minimal injuries and a ton of angst.
Book: poorly maintained, scrapper survivalist girl who tends to be anxious to the outside world Movie: a scandinavian-hot sixteen year old white girl who wears a makeshift poncho, a spaghetti croptop and tight booty shorts, with her thong panty straps exposed to the side. Every interaction she does is fully extroverted, but with shy glares and hair twirling.
Nah, a true Mary Sue would have acted like "it's so weird how every single person here finds me attractive" or "I don't know why but people love to be friends with me". Mary Sue characters act like them being perfect in everything is just an accdent
Twilight: I’m very plain but also gorgeous. New Moon: Two hot white dudes are in love with me. Which one do I choose? Eclipse: I’m so clumsy. Breaking Dawn: Excluding all forms of combat. Also I’m a vampire.
Oh, and everyone in any dystopian movie universe has pearly white teeth and well-maintained hair, unless they’re a villain. I dare you to find any movie where a likeable human side character has yellowed or missing teeth.
How is Katniss applicable to this? She isn’t a chosen one, she’s a random girl, she isn’t clumsy, is a competent and well trained hunter, in this books she and Gale are very much indigenous coded and are described as having darker olive complexions, dark hair, and darker eyes with the divide between people with traits like them and people with more blonde hair and blue eyes being the wealthier group on average in their district and the standards there are that she is considered rather plain by their standards and that is brought up multiple times in the books as a detriment to her, she is awkward but that’s part of why the capital likes her because it’s “raw” and “so uncouth” in a way they aren’t used to and it’s very much shown it’s in a belittling way that isn’t actually flattering, and she is very much used as a figurehead in the rebellion who doesn’t want to be doing the things she’s doing for promotion with the government having a very real reason to try and get her as a result
@@marcosgonzalez4207 I honestly just consider the movie and the book to be separate things for this I made an actual comment on here about it and basically said just that for the hunger games Book version: absolutely not Movie version: to an extent For the most part they did keep her attitude, skill set, demeanor, and so on too, so I’m still not sure how this is necessarily true for Katniss even in those tho She looks more conventionally attractive by our standards and they whitewashed her and Gale and gave the general appearance stuff a boost and played up the romance more than in the book, but most of the other stuff is still not true of her situation in the movies
I was reading this one about a dragon rider lady, and this is legit the book. At one point there is a deaf character, and it's written that the MC signs to this non-supporting side character. Im about halfway through, and that character only appears once. Why did that character need to be deaf? Why did it have to be know the MC could sign?
That's because the purpose is different. YA dystopian novels are all aesthetic and no substance and if there is some substance, it's usually shallow and/or pretty poorly thought out. The good dystopian novels were made to tell a story. Not a pleasant happy story, but of an over exaggerated story of what they fear could happen. It was probably why the genre rapidly grew during the cold war.
I like the newer version of the comic, where the guys are thicc, into each other, and look like the heroine just... interrupted something, between them?
Thank god we got Asian Dystopian writers! The story: A boy trying to survive, with his doggo! They did their best, they finally found home! But home and peace doesn't last. Raiders come, plunder and kill, leaving boy only survivor. Boy also looses doggo. Now boy on path of revenge. Kills everything in path, finally gets revenge! But...no fulfillment out of it. Only sorrow. Until he gets krumped by Ork with a dakka.
don't forget finding out that one of the love interests was her long lost brother and the big bad was either mommy or daddy! And also there is the multiverse that involves with a bagel!
Meanwhile the heroine of my world: I am Sythca Vaneth. I was one of the many Apothecaries of Latticae tasked with providing the right of immortality. I am libertarian almost to the point of Anarchism, and I learn history and its secrets just to spite the Latticaean government. Despite being born in an Elven country, I fuuuucking hate those goddamn filter-feeding knife-ears with every cell in my body. Oh, and I was recently exiled from Latticae because I found a gun that’s secretly a fallen Angel that refuses to leave my side and is slowly killing me with its Necromantic vinegars.
@@def3ndr887 I also focus a lot on worldbuilding, and I’ve been doing that for a few years. Now, I’m able to host a character’s story in a full, developed realm. Also, your idea of having a story is highly cynical. Sythca, for example, is, like many people in her world, a couple hundred years old. Her travels through other lands involve her meeting others with many lifetimes of experience, and as she travels, she learns that other countries aren’t much better than Latticae. Having a bunch of children be the center of the plot isn’t the only way.
@@KonRoge11 oh I have nothing against your characters I’m just saying that most stories fall short because they make the world revolve around a few main characters and whatever choice they make the world would seemingly kneel to them such as all the different factions settle all of their feuds that spans for centuries over a cup of tea because the main character said killing is bad.
Actually I read a YA mecha novel where that happened and it worked but it pretty funny cause it was just like, "well lets make our love triangle a threesome."
The two dudes also always have different hair, while one is more desired by the main character but the other is more devoted to the main character MA-REY SUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Not to mention, her mother is dead and apparently she looks exactly like her. Seriously, I always think about how YA writers seemingly can't grasp the concept of a scene like "the protagonist talks to her mother, who loves her".
50th comment The video was very funny and accurate (at least to what I heard about ya novels the only one I read was scythe so far) and terrible writing advice will surely use your video for his next book
I can recommend "Storm of Steel", by Ernst Jünger, to get a true look in the german mindset during the first world war. Afterwards, I recommend "The Outlaws" by Ernst von Salomon for the Interwar/Freikorps in the Baltic experience.
@@dangerjoe8911 yeah I’ve been meaning to get those books though atm I’m reading “Mine Were Of Trouble,” by Peter Kemp with his experience with the Requetes and the Foreign Legion.
Wicker Basket, great name, but how about Pletenaya Korzinka, it sounds very mysterious and foreign, Pletya for short, it gives me BDSM vibes, maybe it's exactly what we need?
I wanted to tell since when Dystopian stories has such things, only to remember I didn't know any Dystopian story at all. I get it, so that's what "New Vegas" is about.
To be perfectly honest, doesnt bother me at all. See these kinds of stories are clearly directed to the female fantasy and I dont say that as a bad thing. Just as dudes like me love the musclebound dude blasting demon heads with antique shotguns and armored berserkers destroying hordes of ascended Gods with an ultra greatsword, i feel like women deserve to enjoy a little fantasy of their own. Of course, there are many ways to improve writing and even add clever twists to tropes but thats completely anothrr topic.
You say that, but male self insert stuff is demonized to the extreme. Call me the next time you find a novel for male teens to self insert, where the protaf has 2 to 4 girls constantly fighting for him and teling him how handsome and masculine and amazing he is.
@@_kaleido no, it is not at all, because it literally only happens in a completely different culture that is Japan or south Korea. Like I said, call me next time you find that happening in our countries and not getting brutally cancelled lol.
You know, I think novels like this are why Urban Fantasy gets a bad wrap. A lot of it has followed similar trends over time when there's a lot more you can do with the idea. Percy Jackson still slaps though.
![Every Dystopian YA Novel [Comic Dub]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
