What exactly makes a story a 'wish fulfillment' story?

[gaylolis]

Yuri lolis?

yuri lolis best lolis

i just wish more of them will pop up on Ao3. it's kinda weird seeing a lot of my works on the first page when i searched it, and it's also including the fanfictions.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

yuri lolis best lolis

i just wish more of them will pop up on Ao3. it's kinda weird seeing a lot of my works on the first page when i searched it, and it's also including the fanfictions.

Spoiler: Fanart from a reader about my MC

 

[The_Long_Serpent]

Interestingly, someone called my MC a Mary Sue despite her being a little sadistic amoral mass murderer. Nobody likes her because of her arrogance and her pride, but apparently she is still a Mary Sue. XD

Does she get away with it? If you can get away with genocide, you're OP.

 

[The_Long_Serpent]

Hahaha! Yes! What you wrote is Gospel. But here's the worst... I KNOW THIS ^ yet...I violate this rule regularly (the crowds adore my heroes, people want to sleep with them) but in my defense, the heroes are not infallible (they're human). they have insecurities and weakness and can and DO GET BEAT UP BY THE BAD GUYS (i don't play that indestructible BS. I will put my in MC in the hospital in a heartbeat).

Ah, I see. As long as they are not infallible and indestructible.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Ah, I see. As long as they are not infallible and indestructible.

Probably, but you have to judge for yourself. *read my story or you will be isekai ed by the nearest truck*

 

[JayDirex]

Yes, if you are going to make your MC amazing (notice i didn't say OP) make sure said MC is human. She/he, has doubts. CAN BE HURT, may not always make the best decision (that's why you have mobs and important side characters who will die because the MC's decision was not perfect, or was figured out by an enemy)...

...all of this is story telling tension. And if you don't want that, then let the reader know in subtle ways that your MC is flat out OP. @The_Long_Serpent

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Is it the condition of self insert? Is it that the wish has to be something that the author wants to achieve but cannot because they live in real life, therefore they do it through their story?

BINGO!

Personally, all that's missing in my life is a little fraternal polyandry:

I've already asked both of Husband's brothers if they're interested. They both said no. We made sure they know the offer is still open if they ever change their minds, and we like to tease them every so often as a reminder.

I still hope to achieve it in real life someday, but it's extra difficult now because of the pandemic. If nothing else, I'd like one of my lovers to move in with us, and then he and Husband could act like brothers. That almost happened this year, but then my lover had to pay back his parents some money, and he's still getting free rent with them, so . . . we'll see if that comes to fruition later. Not risking physical contact with someone who is not part of our household unit until the pandemic is over.

Anyway, link to my wish fulfillment story is in my signature if you're curious how this plays out in my mind with the Kaiba brothers!

 

[lnv]

Ok so it seems obvious. A wish fulfillment story is a story in which the characters are trying to fulfill some sort of major goal or wish, but the thing that confuses me about this genre is- what story out there are the main characters not trying to fulfill their goals?

I mean, if there is some story where the mc has literally no goal at all and is just blindly blundering around, would this story even be worth reading? There's gotto be something I'm missing here.

Is it the condition of self insert? Is it that the wish has to be something that the author wants to achieve but cannot because they live in real life, therefore they do it through their story?

Trying to fulfill the characters goal isn't what wish fulfillment is. Wish fulfillment is trying to fulfill the READER'S/AUTHOR'S dream goal.

To explain it in context of content you may have read, in japan they deal with a strict society where if you get sick, you use up vacation days before you use up vacation days before sick days. In that sense, many Japanese want to escape the stressful society and being isekai'd is like their vacation. From then they go on to try all kinds of foods (popular in japan) and build a harem "against their will" (also their dream but they can't actually say it publicly so they pretend that the world forces them into the harem and that slave)

In China, they don't have much movement on the social structure and pretty much the government has full control of them while those who are related to those in power reign. Their wish fulfillment is to crush all these young masters and get out of their oppression and oppress others themselves by taking over their position. They also after all those jade beauties. Thus you have the whole xianxia.

In Korea, the nobles of the time pretty much turned into corporations. (similar to japan), but since the change was much quicker, society has become more materialistic. But there isn't much class movement as corporations own everything. Thus many KR novels center around MC making a ton of money. Then forming a friendly partnership with some billionaire corporation.

Effectively, wish fulfillment novels are ESCAPISM of achieving your dream through a novel. But since many don't want to put effort into it, the plot pretty much spoon feeds you into your dream.