#listen el's dialogue is always so funny to write

[nerdieforpedro]

I love how you write and it makes me so glad you are here.

can I ask what inspired you to start?

signed - a maybe inspired future fic writer

This is such a wonderful ask! 🥰

I'm glad you enjoy my writing. I have ideas and I write them is my short answer and explains nothing I realize.

The long answer:

I've written fanfic before, off and on for maybe the last 10-15 years. Very different fandoms. Started out with anime, dabbled a bit in Yaoi then transitioned to Marvel and now I'm firmly planted in the Pedro Pascal, Oscar Issac, Benny Miller triangle of hotness.

Fanfic for me is an expression of a story, show, movie, video game or pice of media that I enjoyed so much, I just had to make something. I can't draw, no mixing of hot tracks or beats, I've just started dabbling in photo editing this year and am a beginner at that. It's all purely fun for me. I enjoy it and it's fun to share with other people who create and are like, "Hey! You like that? I like it too. Let me see yours and I'll show you mine. Where'd you get the idea for that?" And then hilarious conversations leap from there.

What inspired me to start specifically in the Pedro Pascal fanfic world was The Mandalorian. It was the first time I realized, "that's the man I've seen before!" And then realized I've seen Pedro Pascal in many of my favorite shows, (The Mentalist was watched for the sake of completion. After season 6 and the first episode of season 7, there wasn't a real reason to continue other than spending time with my mom. She's fine, when I tell people that they think she's passed on but the woman is still lifting 50 lbs mulch bags in her mid seventies. She more than fine.) I then became fixated on this man, reset the password on my AO3 account and found Pedro Pascal character fanfics. I was then led back to Tumblr which before I was on years ago for anime and read fics by @secretelephanttattoo ( I shall always sing about Headshots. It inspired the first fic I posted on Tumblr and is just so damn cute. El is also just a sweetheart.) and @morallyinept whose Tendrils fic only deepened my brain rot for that tall beskar bucket, she's also a dear friend who's made me laugh, cry in a good way, inspired me and very time I turn around she's crafting something new. Fics, banners, self-care, doodles, smut, databases, and all sorts of Pedro interviews and dialogue. Because I'm a fangirl of them both and many others actually, I keep 👀 on them.

What keeps me going is the fandom overall and that despite, recent tribulations let's say politely, we're all still here. Geeking out over a goofy, handsome, I know he gives the best hugs, actor who loves what he does and has been working at it for years and it's finally paying off.

I've met wonderful friends and moots who reach out, give me encouragement, tell me I do well (I'm starting to listen to them I swear. I'm not good at taking compliments in person so it's even worse online FYI.

So I hope this answers your ask and I do encourage you to write that weird, funny, smutty, cute, sweet, dark, twisty, angsty fic that you want to write. I do hope whoever you are, you tag me in it so I can read it. 🤭

Special love to the following and if I left anyone off, I'm sorry. It's after work, I rubbed my eyes, wipes my glasses because I got them wet while writing this and it was a lot:

@maggiemayhemnj @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @magpiepills

@mysterious-moonstruck-musings @for-a-longlongtime @i-own-loki @undercoverpena @connectioneverywhere

@soft-girl-musings @perotovar @julesonrecord @lotusbxtch @604to647

@yorksgirl @pedroshotwifey @fhatbhabiee @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @bitchwitch1981

@jessthebaker @avastrasposts @inept-the-magnificent @lady-bess @grogusmum

@schnarfer @boliv-jenta @iamskyereads @iamasaddie @chaithetics

@tinytinymenace @yourcoolauntie @alltheglitterandtheroar @musings-of-a-rose @rhoorl

@trulybetty @laurfilijames @wannab-urs @legendary-pink-dot @din-cognito

@sin-djarin @beefrobeefcal @spacecowboyhotch

[i-mybrunettelady]

❛ is it really you? ❜ for siona please? <3 [echowilds]

Siona has some brother drama so let's go for the less obvious one - aka El and Siona interacting in fic for the first time ever :>

--- The Grove, 1335 AE

It's hard to find solitary corners in the Grove in daylight, especially when you're a Warden captain. People bustle around, drink, train, chat and saplings run amok as saplings are wont to do, it's in their nature (as much as other races' children confound her, Siona does understand that they will run amok as much as newly awoken saplings do.) And it's been one of those days where she just wants to listen to the world exist, live, breathe, so she does, from the safety of her terrace.

She almost doesn't hear footsteps in the grass, but the voice accompanying them makes it stark clear who it is. "Siona," Elandrin says, in a very strange tone. If she didn't know better, she'd call it amicable. As amicable as he can manage, anyway.

Still, he's done nothing wrong yet. She doesn't own the terrace and he has the right to be here as much as she does. Siona looks him over and supresses a frown at his all red homegrown outfit. "Elandrin," she says politely, joining her fingers in front of her. Unease radiates off him, though she can't possibly fathom why.

"Have you come to seek me out or are you here by accident?" she asks. He looks at her beneath his dark blue hair and his lip curls upwards in a half-sneer.

"If I was here by accident you wouldn't even know it," he says, squinting. "Obviously I'm here with a purpose, Siona."

"You weren't going to start the conversation so I had to," she replies, not unkindly. Elandrin's sneer breaks and he closes his eyes and mumbles out a fucking shit before he takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes again, he's less agitated, but still defensive.

Some habits are hard to break, Siona thinks. She empathizes, even. Elandrin leans his hands on the balcony and Siona takes a moment to observe the very open cut of his skirt and the flash of the giant, fresh scar on his thigh.

"It's been ten years since Cadeyrn," he begins, as gracefully as Dyole tackling her to the ground is. Since you slit his throat, she wants to add, but doesn't. A faint, dull thud echoes in her chest and disappears.

"And you're still wearing red," Siona says, firmly.

"I'm the last one standing in our little fight," he shrugs. It angered her, years ago, his irreverence. But now all it does is mildly annoy; El isn't changing anytime soon. "But, he was your brother. He meant something to you, whatever that may be."

"Your point, Elandrin?" she digs her nails into her palms. "Why do you keep stating the obvious?"

El's grip on the railing tightens. He determinedly stares at a point in the distance. "Because I know what it's like now!" His voice cracks a little and he sneers at that, running a hand through his hair. "That's why I do it! Are you happy now, Siona?!"

"Your understanding won't bring Cadeyrn back," Siona whispers. "Nor do I want it. But I am grateful you brought Trahearne back, though I know it's largely for your own sake and not for mine."

"It won't," he agrees. "He--" opens his mouth to speak again, but decides against it. "I don't even want Cadeyrn back. If Gixx didn't hold expulsion over my head, I'd even give you my notes so you can attempt resurrection yourself. You're a necromancer, after all. This isn't really about Cadeyrn, though. This is about what his death left behind."

"So you're not remorseful over it?" Siona cautiously asks. El watches her for a long moment, as if thinking how to word his response.

"No," he says, not breaking eye contact. "I'm not."

"Then, brother, there's nothing to try and salvage," Siona declares, crossing her arms over her chest. Was she truly expecting a yes from Elandrin, of all people?

"Suppose not," he shrugs. "I'm not even trying to salvage it. I just want you to---" He looks around, as if air would fill in the gaps for him. It doesn't. "Nevermind. Experiment failed."

"Is this really you, Elandrin, actually trying to build bridges with people? You, who rejects everyone on principle?"

"That was... It's not..." He waves his hands around, frowning. "You know what? Go fuck yourself, Siona. You're impossible to talk to." He lets go of the railing and turns his back to her, but a a low laughter resonates alongside a rustle of leaves.

"Not my fault you and words have split up," she quips, a lot gentler than she should.

"They're awful lovers, you understand," he straightens his back, looking at her over his shoulder. "And I don't tolerate bad sex. I'll let you know if they ever get better, though. Highly doubtful."

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART FOUR OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

THIS ONE IS A MESS.

But first a little rant about my feelings about Red Hood in general at the moment.

I am not going to lie, it took me a long time to read this comic, I am kind of tired of reading this book, I feel like I lower my expectations each issue that passes by and I still get disappointed at the result.

Maybe I just love a Jason Todd that is no more and I have to accept the one we have now, but here is the thing, if this is what we get then I just don’t like it, and on rough days I hate it. These are very negative thoughts about one of the two DC characters that I love and I don’t enjoy having them, I don’t want DC to keep giving us this version of Jason or these versions of Jason, each time they change little things that just change the character from the one that he once was even more.

I feel a bit defeated about it and I don’t know, on one side I want to fight and scream so they can finally give Jason the characterization he deserves and for them to give up the bland formula they have going on with him and on the other side I just want them to stop, stop writing Jason Todd/Red Hood and that is so sad, imagine loving a character and wanting the publisher to stop making content with them because what they give is just terrible. I don’t know, this is a rant that I felt like writing before I read the issue (I did skimm it briefly), so don’t take this as part of the review, its just me explaining my feelings right now.

Anyway, I will start the review now, sorry for the rant.

Wonderful, this book is on crack (or should I say Cheerdrops?), the thing with this particular issue is that I had a great laugh, it’s funny but in a good way, it's stupid and it kind of doesn’t make sense, the only way to describe Zdarsky’s writing here is with a phrase that we say here in my country “se pisa el palito”, which means that he lies about something and after some time he reveals the truth himself by mistake or because he got confused, in this case Zdarsky makes Jason say something like “this time I have come prepared” but he is actually not prepared at all and like two pages later (within the same scene) he has Jason call himself an amateur, it's very weird and to me it translates to Zdarsky not liking Jason or just not caring about him at all.

And that sucks and it really bothers me. As I have said before this anthologies book might be called Batman: Urban Legends but the particular story I am reading is a RED HOOD one, I am not here for Batman content, I am here for Jason Todd content.

The fact that we are not getting a Jason-specific story in a Red Hood book is killing me, it would suck if we get, let’s say, a Nightwing book and its all about his relationship with Barbara…That is not a Nightwing book, that’s a Nightwing and (fake) Oracle book.

Anyway, this issue in general is like a connector, the things that happen are all happening because they will be developed in the next issues but what is said here is absolutely absurd so I will be talking about that.

This issue starts with a flashback and Jason from the present (who is currently a popsicle because he fell in Freeze’s trap) having a monologue. The flashback is set when Jason finds out that his birth mother is alive and is being used by the Joker so he (in civilian clothes) and Batman at doing some reckon. What I want to dive into is the monologue because it's interesting but also very dumb so here we go.

“What was I supposed to do? I thought I was an orphan; I carried that sadness and anger everywhere I went and then I found the woman who gave birth to me halfway across the world. I found her…and the Joker. He was blackmailing my mother, forcing her to help him steal medical supplies, which he replaced with a deadly gas, that was being hauled to a village.”

“Batman knew what he had to do. Save people, forever saving people. Batman has always been a master of control, every situation, everyone around him. He’s always known just how to handle everything. Until I came along.”

“How could he be surprised? How could the great Batman not know? I wouldn’t listen to him and he couldn’t hear me. And the fucking cycle continues.”

The first part of the monologue is pretty simple it's basically setting the scene in time and space for the reader and it also gives us a little insight on how Jason was feeling at the time which was quite nice. It sets up the fact that Jason wanted to help his birth mother out of a horrible situation, he wanted to save her from the Joker. (Hear that DC, haters and fanon, Jason was a good Robin and a loving and caring son!!!!!)

In the second paragraph of the monologue I would have assumed that Dick never existed in this universe because the idea of Batman being able to control Robin!Dick or Gotham back in the day by himself is incredibly funny to me but because Dick exists and has been mentioned in this story already I will just take it as Zdarsky wanting to really push the “Jason could never reach the level of good Robin because he was reckless and nothing like Dick” and the “Dick was always completely obedient and Batman’s perfect little soldier” narratives. It sucks man, this is like bad fanon made real and I don’t like it!

During this part we also have a little dialogue between Batman and Jason where the narrative of Jason being so incredibly reckless is explicitly shown once more.

Let me repeat myself, Jason didn’t take on the Joker because he wanted to prove himself to the Bat or to prove that he was as good a Robin as Dick was, Jason did what he did because he wanted to save the last person that he had that he felt was family, he wanted to save the woman who birthed him and that he was hoping he could call a mother. He worried and cared for this woman and then he was betrayed and it ended up ending with him dying at the hands of a mad man that to this day is still alive.

Jason wasn’t reckless for the sake of being reckless, he took the decisions he took because he didn’t feel heard by the man that was supposed to protect him and care for him, a man that had the same feelings of sadness over being an orphan, a man that despite being the greatest detective to ever detective in the multiverse couldn’t understand that Jason felt like the woman that was his birth mother could come first in his list of priorities. Jason was a child and the adult responsible of him at the time bares the fault of his death as much as the mad man that committed the crime.

There, I fucking said it.

Gladly in the third paragraph of the monologue Jason calls out Bruce on his bullshit.

Also, what the hell was Bruce thinking leaving Jason stranded in the middle of the dessert, the man literally takes the only mode of transportation away from him. What the hell.

That’s it for the first glimpse at the past, now we are in the present with Ice!Jason where Zdarsky lies to our faces, he says that Jason is prepared for this situation…I am sorry but I do not believe this.

Anyway, Jason does manage to break the ice but he trips on the iced floor almost as soon as he breaks free and falls in a hole. Are you kidding me? I know this is supposed to be funny but Jason has been written as this incompetent dumbass in this book so much that this is just insulting.

He manages to escape for three or four seconds but he realises once more that the whole thing was a trap because Freeze had actually closed all the exists with ice because he meant to trap the Bat (also maybe Freeze is under the effects of Cheerdrops?), Jason also tries to use his guns even though he had already thought about the fact that they wouldn’t fire because of the cold AND he didn’t pack his explosives, yeah… “I am now prepared”, sure Jan.

The last thing we see in this scene is Freeze getting ready to ice Red Hood once more before we start jumping from past to present scenes as Jason’s monologue continues, he does that a lot in this issue, it’s quite impressive.

We jump into the past and we see Jason going to help his mother in his Robin suit, her betrayal and the Joker being ready to torture and kill a child. From there we go back to the present where Jason manages to ask Oracle for help but not anyone’s he asks for the Batman’s help.

First let’s talk about the monologue that happens across these scenes because it has some interesting takes.

“Stupid amateur, its not going to be okay, not if we keep repeating the same mistakes. He never trusted me, I never trusted him. Neither of us lived up to the idea of ‘Batman and Robin’, the ‘Dynamic Duo’. Because Batman and Robin requires trust, it requires knowing you can’t do it alone.”

Let’s be honest as per the modern take on Batman and Robin (if it includes Bruce as Batman) the dynamic is quite dysfunctional, Batman doesn’t know how to care for a child and children shouldn’t be responsible for an adult’s safety, so the whole thing has been weird for every Robin, its not something that happened only to Jason but here is the thing, in Under the Red Hood (which is canon in this story) when Batman and Red Hood fought side by side Bruce said the following: “…Neither of us has the strength to take him out, it will require skill and teamwork. It happens before I have time to question it, a manoeuvre that comes without thought, executed as practiced and practiced many times in the cave.”

So, him and Jason worked well, they trusted each other and the work they were doing but that is not all, because they are in the middle of a fight the Red Hood doesn’t act recklessly and takes the opportunity attack the Bat when he is vulnerable, he sticks to the coordinated fight because he trusts it will work. Batman’s thoughts confirm that because he continues saying this: “To complete it (the manoeuvre) I’m forced to leave myself unprotected from an attack, an attack from the Red Hood. But the attack never comes, he just takes cover from the blast, like practiced.”

– Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 10.

This thing alone, written in 2005 kills the narrative of Bruce’s Batman and Jason’s Robin not working well together.

Secondly, I have to laugh about what it's actually said in the very last panels. I am sorry but it's too funny to me, I know it acts as a parallel to Jason asking for the Bat when he was about to die but this is a man, a grown man that has experience on this job, this situation would have never happened if Jason was written fairly. This is funny because of all the people in the world I would never imagine the Red Hood asking for Batman’s help. Fuck that.

Oracle of course contacts Batman but let me say something really quickly, Barbara and Bruce are both acting like Jason getting in trouble and needing help is an annoyance. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why would Jason work with Oracle or Batman in the first place?

Batman gets in the Batmobile as soon as he can and dares call Jason his son. No thank you sir, I will not be taking that kind of bullshit today. Anyway, the Bat also has a monologue because he can’t be less, here it goes.

“Jason. Dammit, son. I’m on my way, I won’t let you…” (explosions) “You’re alive. In the here, in the now. I know this, like magic…with a curse…You’re alive.”

“I don’t need to be there again, in the past. I’ve learned my lessons, the guilt doesn’t help me, it doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. You’re alive, Jason and I intend to keep it that way.”

To this I have to say the following, the only reason why Bruce is not feeling guilty about what happened to Jason is because Jason forgave Bruce/Batman for not arriving in time in order to save Jason from the explosion back in that warehouse all those years ago. Jason forgave Bruce when the final confrontation happened in UtRH. He did it because he believed that Bruce tried and still didn’t make it.

- Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 13.  

And something else, Bruce might have been “keeping Jason alive” but he has harmed him. Rebirth RHatO #25 exists, I don’t know if it's canon within this particular story but I can’t not bring it up if this is what this man has to say.

My take on the Batman and Red Hood relationship is that it shouldn’t exist. Red Hood is not a Batman villain but he IS a Batman antagonist. STOP making Batman and Red Hood work together, with how things ended in UtRH Jason would never work with Bruce again. I am sorry but the concept of the Batfamily with Jason as a willing participant is the biggest lie this fandom and Lobdell gave us.

Enough of my takes, let's go back to the issue because it's ending is closer and the funniest panels in this whole ass book are coming!

Batman does Batman shit and as he grapples out of the Batmobile, he manages to get Ice!Jason out of a truck and everything comes to a stop, the bad guys come out of said vehicle and one of them is going in Red Hood's direction with the intention of killing him, Batman of course saves Jason and starts fighting the rest of the baddies.

I will show you funny panel number one.

You really want to make me believe that Bruce can pull that move, shut up!!!! There is no way! That’s some Nightwing level of leg work, stop it, if the Bat pulls that move he will break something or get stuck like that…

Ahh it doesn’t matter because as Batman finishes defeating all the baddies he goes to Jason’s side and here is where funny panel number 2 comes!

STOP IT, WHAT THE HELL IS THISSS? I am losing my mind over this, have you ever seen something and thought “oh this is wrong wrong” like what? This interaction is so wild to me, everything about it makes no sense…Imagine putting Jason Todd in such a vulnerable position that he is, I don’t know, happy or glad that the Bat showed up and that Batman would say that he will always be there for Jason, this shit is hilarious.

But that’s not the end, at this point nothing should shock me (as far as character designs) but this dude shows up…

Who the hell is this guy, and why does he look like that, why are all these new character designs the same and horrible? He reminds me of the weird discount-Joker-looking dude that we had in Rebirth RHatO #52

Anyway, the new dude that will be called Cheer (apparently) and Freeze ice Batman as well and that’s it, our Red Hood related suffering is over up until next month!

This one, this one was wild, I don’t know what else to say about it…I am honestly drained after reading the issue and writing this.

Let me know what you thought about this issue and if you want to read my reviews of the previous parts I will link them here! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

[writerwhofears]

Hey! When I write I usually wind up making it more dark than intended. How do I add comic relief and/or know when to add it?

As someone who consistently finds their writing darker than intended (or even imagined), I understand the struggle of finding a way to lighten up the mood a little bit. 

When it comes to comedic relief, here are a few ways to incorporate it in your writing:

The comedic relief character or moment:

- A serious character makes a sarcastic comment that is taken literally

 “Yes, you should definitely jump off the bridge.”

 “Well, if you say so–”

 “The hell? No–stop!”

- A literal comment is taken as sarcastic/joking

 “If you hit that button, the entire room will explode”

*rolls eyes* “You mean this button?”

- Characters who blurt out whatever they are thinking 

Could be a curse word coming from a character who never curses

 Blurting out something embarrassing

Word vomit

- Have a character get their words mixed up 

Think of sound-alike words: they say “Cherry�� instead of “Ferry” or something. 

 Calling a rifle a “boom stick” or something: this can happen if your character speaks a different language, or is from a different place, or fumbles with their words a lot

- Insert an inappropriate response that makes the reader giggle 

Someone proposes, and a character starts choking on their wine 

The villain threatens to kill them, and the hero holds up a hand and yawns

 Speeding away from a bank robbery when a character pokes their head from the back seat and announces, “Wait, we’re missing Tony!”

 Anything to create that, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” moment

- Introduce a blunt character to a sensitive topic or person

“Your face is blazing red.”

*Clamping hands on face* “W-what? Oh, sorry, I just…” 

“Did you confess your love to him?”

*Eyes opening wide, going even redder*

*Enter romantic interest, having heard everything* “Sorry, what?”

- Likewise, have a sensitive character navigate around a blunt topic

“Listen. When someone asks you how they look… you can’t just say they look like a bloated toad.”

*looking confused* “So I’m expected to lie?”

*Swallowing hard* “You’re, uh… no, not lie exactly… just be nicer?”

- Create a massive misunderstanding between characters

 “I thought you said you were pregnant!”

 “I wasn’t talking about me!

- When a character is oblivious to the obvious

“So… explain to me again just what happened.”

*pulling hair out of head* “Did you not just see the explosion?!”

“So that’s what that was!”

 - The unexpected comment from the smart aleck character 

I always think of El Dorado when Tulio and Miguel are adrift at sea with no supplies and no land in sight:

“Tulio, did you ever imagine it would end like this?”

“The horse is a surprise.”

Utilize humourous language:

This can be in the form of:

Puns

Funny Words

 An unexpected metaphor or simile 

Misused Idioms

 Click here for more ideas!

 Oh, and here.

Make the situation funny:

You know how this one goes… 

When to use comedy:

To release the tension in your writing

If you want to lighten up your writing (if you personally feel like its too dark, depressing, gory, or some of your readers feel it necessary)

To remind readers that there is a light at the end of the tunnel

To give the reader some relief 

When comedy hurts: Click here

If you’re writing about a serious/heavy topic (illness, injury, abuse, rape, assault, life flashing before the eyes, etc.), inserting comedy can take away from the gravity/seriousness  of the situation

Comedy can undermine the credibility of a character, making them appear less threatening. If you want a villain who gives nightmares, leave the comedy out

Comedy can also make your character look like a jerk. If you have someone in the hospital, and you want your character to come across as kind and considerate, you don’t want the first thing comes out of the character’s mouth to be some horrible, brash joke. You’ll want to match the dialogue with the tone.

 If your reader cares about a character, humiliating them won’t make the character laugh. It will make them cry.

 “If you have a genuinely serious or emotional scene, don’t make that scene into a joke–treat it with the gravity it deserves”

Comedy during a sincere high stakes/dramatic scene will take away from the moment. Readers will not like the interruption, especially if emotionally invested. 

See the above link for more ideas!

 And this link as well: Tips for Writing Dark Stories, Settings, Characters

I also want to put out there that darkness is not bad! Sometimes darkness makes a novel or writing snippet more powerful. Sometimes the heaviness needs to be felt. 

Hope this helps, and thank you for the ask!

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

Sumbission

Thanks for replying to my submission.  Funny thing, you took so long to do it that I thought you got sick of the topic and deleted it lol.  Which is cool.  If you’re tired of talking about it, feel free to delete this too.

Since you did reply though, I just want to reply to a few things.  I agree with Peggy that I don’t believe the writers hated Mon El for two years.  The Kreisberg excuse has no bearing on what happened to him.  Look, here’s an example: after the Harvey Weinstein debacle, do you think the writers/producers of his projects took their hate of him out onto his projects?  Why would they?  It makes no sense.

So why such a difference between s2 Mon El and s3 Mon El?  It’s not because they hated him, it’s because they’re shitty writers who got painted into a corner because of the Mon El hate and let it negatively affect what they did with him in s3,hence making a total fucking mess.  s2 Mon El wasn’t written like anyone hated him, he was spoiled but also funny, goofy and genuinely loving and along the way he evolved into a wannabe hero who fell in love and Kara fell back in love with him too.  What part of that seems like he written from writers who hated him?  Not only that, but you can’t blame it on Kreisberg being there either, he was a producer, not the writers, he didn’t write the scripts so you can’t say Kreisberg is why s2 Mon El was written like that.  I doubt Kreisberg stood over the writers and pointed a gun to their heads saying to write Mon El in that way or else.  The far more logical explanation to me is the writers wrote him that way because they planned to make him a hero and eventual endgame for Kara.  

So why s3 Mon El and the total pile of shit with the way he was written then?  Because not only did scs make their lives hell with the constant barraging of complaining, nastiness and hate, but they also got hate from Sanvers shippers and the moron “feminists” who screamed bloody murder at Kara getting ANY love interest, saying it made her weak, an anti-feminist, and all that BS.  A smart group of writers would’ve just rolled their eyes and kept on with their original plan [to make Mon El a hero and karamel endgame] and muted the bullies or better yet blocked them but these idiots writers literally believed with all the immensely vocal morons screaming over and over that that’s what all the fans wanted.  They tried to rehabilitate Mon El to placate the moron/bully trifecta - they fucked it up not because they hated Mon El but because they got painted into a corner and so came out their weak, shitty writing, not realizing instead of making Mon El look better to the bullies, they were actually making him look worse - and all they did was piss off karamel/Mon El fans but I can assure you that wasn’t their intention.  They didn’t realize the real hate of Mon El was ship-related and they thought the turgid mess that was s3 would make Mon El acceptable to the bullies, which of course it wasn’t acceptable to anyone.  In the end, who knows what happened?  Maybe they gave up and decided it wasn’t worth it to deal with the psychos and just wrote him off BADLY.  Or maybe Chris had had enough, decided to go.  Insert your favorite conspiracy theory here, Area 51 peeps need not apply.

Anyway, one last thing for people who think fans have no say in how a show is run, trust me, they’ve always had a say even back in the days when there was no social media.  Some writers listen more to fans than others but these days, everyone monitors the fan reactions on social media with every show.  There have been many shows who’ve basically kept characters around they never meant to JUST because they’re so popular with fans.  The actor playing the youngest kid from One Day at a Time basically took over all the storylines.  Steve Urkel in Family Matters was meant to be a one-time guest star, and he basically became THE star of the show.  When the writers realized Will on Alias was getting so much hate, they admitted in an interview they retooled the entire character because of it.  I remember the funniest comment of that era coming from an online fan who posted a huge rant about him online and ended it with the line that everyone quoted for a while “And BUY THE BOY A HAIRBRUSH!” (they were complaining about his hair).  But I digress.  And of course Felicity Smoak was never meant to be Oliver’s love interest either till she developed a fan following, I’m pretty sure Laurel Lance was supposed to be his initial endgame.  Point being, I don’t think Mon El was gotten rid of because of nothing but fan hate.  But I definitely do think it was a huge factor in how they ended up writing him in s3 and it’s also why they’ve gotten to the point where they’re afraid to even breathe a word of him now.  Anytime they do, the hyenas go batshit crazy.  And we all know how afraid of the hyenas they are, hence also why SG has become the Luthor hour now.  

Thanks again for putting up with another submission from me.   :)

**************************************************************************************

Yeah, sorry. As I said I’m on fence with this topic. One day I think that, the next this blah blah.

I guess I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t think they hated him because of AK, I think they just didn’t like his character as a whole, a frat boy from Daxam, LI for Kara instead of James etc. But the whole AK drama helped them. There was something about that they could not use AK’s ideas after they kicked him out. I have heard Legion was his baby (while Reign was Queller’s) and they had to changed things. And comparing Legion 3B storyline with 3A storyline – it makes absolutely no sense, there are missing parts, ignored things and simply dumb things – I think, personally, there is some germ of truth in it. Also, well AK was a face of Arrowverse and I don’t think he had at that time other projects. And he is not Weinstein (fuck him very much) league.

Well, they couldn’t have written him differently in s2, because they were supervised. Also, writers can’t openly write their characters like they hate them, because it’s not professional. No writer can admit that, it’s like a say sayonara to your career. We can talk about Dark Angel and Supernatural and about writers who hated characters. Small things. Like writing a dialogue about microagression that haters can twist. Also, you want to tell me executive producers just allow the writers to write anything they want? Plus, I need to check how many writers were changed between s 2 and 3 to have some, hmm, clearer picture.

And I think we didn’t understand each other. I don’t think s2 Mon-El was a problem or that he was written like writers didn’t like him. Problem started in s3. After AK left and Queller and Rowner got more power.

In s2 yes, but in s3 he was written as an end game bait. Imo.

The hate probably was the factor, but just one of many. The same goes for my “writers hated him and karamels”. I don’t think it was the only one possibility (did I sound like that earlier? Sorry).

We all know what fucking FANSERVICE is. It basically killed Teen Wolf and sooo many other shows. When writers and producers become fan’s bitches, you know show is going to drown in shit :’)

But you know, there is fanservice when people demand something JUST BECAUSE THEY WANT SOMETHING, and there is change in plan when something simply doesn’t work. There is fine line between fanservice and throwing away not working plan.

(They were hating on poor Will? Thank god I was not in the fandoms back then xD)

Anyway, all we do here is speculating. Basically I agree with you, just with different proportions. And we won’t know the truth. Maybe in 20 years when some of the writers will write autobiography :P

Thanks for the submission :D

[mindslayed-a]

* getting  to  know  the  mun :

name :   nona nickname :  bee, kirby,  faceclaim :  millie bobby brown pronouns :  she/her! but i dont mind they/them. height :   5′6 almost 5′7 birthday :   may 28th! aesthetic : cinnamon roll but could kill you last  song  you  listened  to :  imagine dragons - birds favorite  muse (s)  you’ve  written : i... havent written any besides this one seriously, but i used to write star butterfly (svfoe) and adora (she-ra and the princesses of power) on the side

* getting  to  know  the  account :

what  inspired  you  to  take  on  this  muse : el is babey and so am i!! my family always said i practically act exactly like her, and my writing friends encouraged me so here i be.  (fun fact: in high school around the time the first season came out, i smacked my face into a doorframe because i am an absolute IDIOT on the first week of school and ended up giving myself a nosebleed. i had it for the rest of that day and then people started blaming me for posters falling off the wall so they thought it would be funny to confuse my teachers by calling me el.)

what  are  your  favorite  aspects  of  your  current  muse :  oh god.... shes babey. its just so much fun to write her because i don’t like excessive dialogue, so its almost challenging to write her fun expressions.

what’s  your  biggest  inspiration  when  it  comes  to  writing : i do a lot of weird shit irl so its not that hard lol. 

favorite  types  of  threads :  romantic fluff... ( my inbox is open, winks)

biggest  struggle  in  regards  to  your  current  muse : for me? duplicate anxiety. there are SO many great els out there that write so much better and have a grasp on the character that makes if feel like im reading a script. i like to think i write well but not well enough to have people chose me over others, and it just gets to me a lot. 

tagged by: @ridingwheeler

tagging: the person reading this

[aicosu]

Hey guys! I wanted to know how was the fifty shades darker movie? Was it decent or was it really bad like some people are saying?

Omfg.

I actually have intense complicated thoughts on Fifty Shades.I’ve been obsessed with the rise and fall story of Fifty Shades, mostly because I’m a fanfiction writer myself and super - SUPER fucking familiar with the community and it’s inner workings. LONG POST AHEAD. 

The tale of HOW and WHY Fifty Shades even hit bestseller is amazing. AD I SEE IT HAPPEN EVERYDAY ON AO3. Like, keeping your fanfic chapters to a couple thosand words, updating weekly, and commenting on comments for your fic to up the comment count (something I refuse to do for this very reason) is a VIABLE method to staying on the top list of any fandom on any fanfic hosting website. Even if you only have the same 10 people commenting on your fic, fic you comment back, 20 comments per chapter nad have 60 chapters? Thats 1200 comments! FUCKING INSANE. I see it everyday. I think every fanfic reader/writer knows that ONE STORY thats ALWAYS on top, for this reason alone, even when (JUST LIKE EL JAMES) the writing is horrendous. 

So! When I researched all of this once the book was released and had all that controversy about BDSM I was both suprised, impressed and horrified. Suprised that a fanfic had even MADE it this far. Impressed because, you got to give the girl kudos. Having her original fanfic readers comment and rate her book on amazon with copy pasta reviews and skyrocketing her to #1 is ingenious. It is, from a marketing stand point its amazing. And of course, I was horrified and dissapointed that with all the fanfics out there, it had to be this one. Not only was the writing terrible, but its a terrible terrible representation of the bdsm culture and community. 

Do not misunderstand me; The Fifty Shades books are horribly written and super problematic. 

The Movies: 

Okay so, I’m a huge film buff. Huge. I took film history and cinematic storytelling in college and I love analyzing movies. 

From a director and writer and cinematographers standpoint, I was literally curious about HOW THE FUCK YOU EVEN FILM THIS MOVIE?? Like, will they have exposition of her ‘INNER GODDESS’ like some odd edgar wright cut aways to a Lizzie McQuire type Anastasia steel!?!? WILL THEY ACTUALLY FILM HIM RIPPING OUT HER TAMPON TO FUCK HER?? (this happens in the book) LIke I needed to know. I had to know. SO I had to see the first movie. I was too curious. AND I wanted to see a legit, from my generation, written fanfiction, adapated for film. Its too groundbreaking, even if you have problems with the story and films how is that not fascinating. 

After watching it this is what I got (I did not pay for this movie btw.) 

EVERY FANFICTION I EVER READ EVER ALL ROLLED UP INTO ONE META MINDFUCK. Like!??? I have almost a keen adoration for how WEIRD it is to see ON SCREEN lines like “Your biting your lip.” LIKE – thats fanfiction from 2005, the lip bite. The FUCKING. Dialogue of this movie is like a collection of all the terrible coffee shop aus, high school, fanfic soap opera craziness. Or how he just bumps into her at her work and shit!? OR the fanfic issue of a 20-something yr old interviewing the SUPER HOT hotshot bachelor who has tons of money because….why? WHAT DOES HE DO? In fanfic it doesnt matter but in the movie THEY NEVER ADDRESS THIS EITHER> 

I MEAN its literally that FIC. The one where theres nothing left of your ship you havent consumed, and this one aint so great but eh its 4am on a tuesday and it has 45 chapters. 

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend any writer or reader to watch this film just for the weird TRIP it is. It freaks me out mann its nuts! 

The movie literally breaks hundreds of Cinematic rules JUST TO tell the story because its source material is what it is. Theres no introduction to the protagnist, no side introduction to our love interest like a rom con always does and the Meet Cute is isn’t a meet cute, it plays like a PROMPT. And its in the first 3 minutes of the film. 

And the Twilight source the fic hangs on can be seen there on screen. Seattle, him saving her from the bike/car, his big rich family compared to her remarried mom (to a golfer not a baseball guy), and her estranged dad whose never around, the weirdness of Christian Grey thats missing that can only be explained by -immortal vampire-. Its insane. They didn’t change any of it. You can see Twilight right there its hilarious. 

AND BECAUSE ITS FIC, theres actually, surprisingly, some really good moments? Its few and far between, but I find the bar scene generally funny and charming. Anastasia anyway. Christian is a creepy from first minute to last minute of every movie because what can you do with a non-vampire-vampire character, really? But Anastasia is pretty funny in a way Bella swan never was. I love the whole “Your so bossy, come here, come here, go away go away!” dialogue. FUCKING hilarious. And so unarguable a FANFIC genre of WIT. I like those moments. Or the buisness meeting about the bdsm contract “please turn to page 5 and strike out ‘anal fisting.’” “Are you sure?” “YUP.” (no paraphrasing, she literally says YUP. 10/10 delivery) Also love the texting scenes, reminds me too much of MS though and I immediately felt like trash. 

Now, aside from those moments, hands down, terrible fucking plot. But it had terribel fucking plot to begin with. 

What I was suprised about was that the film crew and creators DID IN FACT listen to te protests and uproar about the controversy of the content of the film. And I was suprised to see that THEY CHANGED a lot of stuff and cut out a lot of shit too. Christian NEVER touches her unless she says so. There actually a lot of moments stressing the consent thing. Even in the room, he tells her to hold out her hand and test the pain, and se if its ok. If its ever to much, he tells her to say stop, and he will. In fact, we see a lot of “nos” that he adheres to. Whereas in the books hes on he like a grade A rapist. They also add her in negotiating a ton of the terms. 

Theres no tampon pulling scene and no inner goddess, much to my dismay/happiness. Lol. 

HOWEVER.Aside from terrible plot, after making changes to the controversy, the movie didnt go far enough to differentiate the problematic nature of CHRISTIAN and the lifestyle of BDSM. Because Anna is a stranger of both, both are presented to the audience as BAD. We see bdsm through the lens of someone who USES IT THE WRONG WAY, FOR THE WRONG THINGS, and thats the main idea the movie can seem to target, and the book never bothered to learn. That last red room scene is Confusing at best, since its all consensual and really tame looking to anyone apart of bdsm, and misdirecting at worst to anyone not apart of it. Because its obvious Christian has ACTUAL Issues, but we’re made to believe all BDSM is like that, and its just not true. 

TO THE SEQUELS CREDIT, 50SDarker goes a little more into this. Not just with dialogue, but showing how Anna is accepting of and in control of BDSM. She asks for specific thinks and seeks out certain sexual activities and calls him out on the shadier parts of his own personality, But in my opinion, its not enough. Theres too much –between the lines– and for a movie ABOUT this lifestyle, its to important to skim over like they do. Thats probably the most disapointing part. 

All in all, its a terrible plot and terrible movie, that doesnt know enough about a material it references, and cant stand alone without its SOURCE material. 

Theres way too many helicopter shots of places, and vehicles. Greys idea of romancise seems to be fancy transportation of some sort and his idea of -KINKY- sex is Cunnilingus, missionary, missionary cunnilingus, and missionary with some handcuffs. But its a WILD ride to watch. And has its genenuinly charming moments that can only come from the COMMUNITY of FANFICTION that molded it. As we know, fandom is just as much influenced by the original fiction as it is the headcanons, aus, peronality tropes and almost mandala effect culture the FANS put into it. And I love and adore that secret part of the movies. Dakota Johnson is also super charming and natural as Anna. A Bella swan, oc, induced character, self instert type fanfic pov. And to do that is some acting talent right there. And finally, and I’m probably the ONLY one here, but Im not 100% upset that 50shades got a movie. Because yes, its terrible in a on of fucking ways. But its STILL a fanfic on screen. And thats incredible. Thats why I bought tickets to support the sequel. She may have manipulated the rise to fame, but EL James still showed us the path to that goal. Fanifc to novelist, novelist to billiondollar box office numbers. EL James was ON SET, telling them how to film – HER FANFICTION. Thats a THING now. You cant not take fanfiction as a community and tool seriously now. Not when it made that much money. And hey, look at Superhero movies. We had to sit through too many shit Xmen and Daredevil movies to get an Iron man. 

I will sit through a few 50shades to get my fucking favorite fanfics on screen too. Its not like Hollywood has any better stories to put up but Adam Sandler movies.

[theragamuffininitiative]

@amerraka replied to your post: I hate watching Supergirl. But I am in love with...                

   Why do you hate it?   

Whoo-boy, where to start.

Okay, so if you are reading this as a fan of the show, don’t hate me. I don’t hate you. I don’t judge you for liking Supergirl. The show has its merits. But as a fan of Film in general, and as a writer, I have....a lot of problems with this show.

So, in no particular order:

Melodrama: It has a lot of it. Not nearly half as much as its older brother Arrow, or even the awkward-but-beloved middle-child of The Flash. But Supergirl is not without its angst, emotional roller-coasters that are terrible plot devices, and people just going off to do their own things because “This Is What I Have To Do.” There are sooooooooo many examples, but let’s go with the one that is freshest in mind. To be fair, I just watched the last aired episode, so obviously I don’t hate it that much, but if you haven’t seen the episode The Martian Chronicles, don’t read the rest of this bullet, because spoilers: Near the end, as the nuclear reactor is going berserk and they’ve just discovered the White Martian has disguised itself as Winn (my poor child), both Kara with who we believe at the time to be Alex, and J’onn (my beloved Space Dad) with M’gann take a moment - or five - to have a Deep Heartfelt Conversation. In...in the middle of a freakin’ attack. Just...guys...you can do this later. And, as much as I adore Space Dad, the Martian Manhunter is among the drama queens of this serial. Often the guy who gets stuck in the middle of a tense and fast-paced situation because of emotional issues. He has plenty of reason for these, but he is the Martian Manhunter, not to mention the leader of the DEO. As a functioning agent and a functioning character, he needs to be able to set things aside and accomplish the mission. I’m sorry, but you cannot have characters have extremely long and drawn out, emotional dialogues when the world is suddenly going to pot. Again, this is only one example. I could find more, but it’s a good one, so I’ll leave this there.

Quickchanges. Supergirl morphs into her supersuit without any conceivable ability to do so. Someone is falling down an elevator? Go after her, Kara, but for heaven’s sake, make sure you change, mid-flight on the way down. And, I mean, how does her cape and boots and skirt fit underneath her regular outfit anyway? I understand this is a comic book story, and if it wasn’t so blatant, I might let this slide on that merit alone. But, good grief, at least DC usually gave Clark a telephone booth.

Personal note: No one takes care of Winn. LOL this doesn’t really count as a point, but you asked why I hate the show, and this is a reason. Winn, your normal average nerdy guy, goes through so much crap in this show and barely gets the occasional “are you ok” from his compatriots. Kara has utterly ceased showing concern for him since S1 - except when she’s generally unhappy about his team-up with Guardian. And his relationship with James is pretty much one of clinical manipulation, with James only coming to Winn in friendship when Winn has something to offer him. (Don’t get me wrong, I like James, I just need him to stop being such a jerk?) Also, although not every time, Winn remains one of the few voices of reason on this show: He tells James not to be Guardian for a long time before agreeing to help (and even then, only under the outspoken mentality of “I’m doing this because if you do it alone you have an even higher chance of getting hurt”). He does an admirable job of trying to teach/maintain Mon-el at the beginning. He is constantly trying to tell Kara not to go off and do stupid risky things. But does anyone listen? Nope, and it does usually backfire on them. But that is totally just because I’m in love with that particular character, I don’t care if anyone else feels the same way as I do on that one. ;) Winn needs friends who will listen to him, take care of him, and maybe occasionally give him a hug or a break. That’s all.

Relationship Status: super or unsuper or just unsurprising. Kara’s little flirts an flames have been near the forefront of the show since its beginning, and in the early days they were marginally decent at keeping those in check. But as the show progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that her dating dramas are the driving plot points of the whole thing. From James to Mon-El to the little off-shoots in-between, Kara Danvers really needs a solid boyfriend and fewer hormonal issues that take away from her character by instead portraying her as a hopeless romantic who is more concerned with who will take her to prom than who is trying to nuke the universe. I get that part of the show is about her trying to balance Kara Danvers with Supergirl. I applaud that. But guess what, tv execs and writers? There is more to what drives an individual on a daily basis than who they want to sleep with, and to be frank, that stuff is boring anyhow. Kara’s breakup with James? Didn’t shock me, and therefore didn’t impact me as a viewer. I just shook my head and fast-forwarded. What I would like to see out of this show is Kara balancing a healthy, long-lasting relationship with her super-self, or else not being all that concerned about it at all. I’m so tired of cheap romances on television, and Supergirl, for all of its feminist leanings, is no different.

They took out Cat. Cat was one of the best, most well-functioning and well-developed characters on the show, played by arguably one of the best actors in the entire cast. Idk if this was an issue of contract conflict or Harrison Ford’s wife just didn’t want to be on the show anymore, or if writing her off was some executive decision in order to make Kara’s character grow. While I definitely accept that the latter happened, I’m still unhappy about it.

Oh, and the cool map-orb thing on Kyrpton was a complete rip-off from my favorite Disney movie Treasure Planet. I’m not forgiving that cheap shot easily.

The actual film-making/writing of the show itself. This is actually the biggest one. I could devote an entire post to this point. It is so lazy and inconsistent, it’s painful. I’m just gonna give a few examples on this, because if I allow myself to, as a student of film, I will never stop. 

1. It is always snowing inside the Fortress of Solitude - idk, maybe this is in the comics? But there is enough snow inside Superman’s top secret sanctuary that Kara sees footprints in it, and there are always flurries dancing about there too. Like. Why. How? I mean, I know Clark is the kind of guy to just leave his front door key out in the open, but how secure is a sanctum where it is apparently completely exposed to the weather?

2. Switching tracts, you know how when the episodes go to the DEO, they often show the outside of the base, with like some tanks busing in and stuff? Look more closely next time, that’s the same footage, just edited slightly to reflect night or day. It is always the same tanks rolling up from the exact same angle. Every time. I’m sorry, that’s just lazy film work right there. You could have shot that scene just two more times and added those to the repertoire and it would have still been Bad, but at least it might have been a little less Noticeable. 

3. Characters not reacting physically how they should. James gets electrocuted? Walks it off looking mildly indignant. Winn is almost choked to death? Jumps up and make a funny quip. Supergirl can take down literally anyone but somehow still gets punched across the room on multiple occasions?

4. Oh, yeah, did I mention: Characters Having Dramatic Conversations Mid-Battle? This is a pet peeve of mine anyway, but holy cow, does Supergirl know how to use that trope to its most frustrating potential. No. One. Does. That. Deal with the situation. Then have the characters talk about what they need to talk about. Or, better yet, have your characters be people who actually talk to one another, and have the issues dealt with beforehand. This is yet another example of lazy writing and an unmasked attempt to achieve two things: establish emotional conflict with the characters, often in the form of anger or general angst, and/or make sure the dialogue you want to deliver doesn’t fall flat or boring. If you can’t find a way for your characters to discuss important, emotional things without making them take a pause in a life-or-death situation to do so, then you really need to work on your craft, folks.

I could go on. There is a lot about the show I’m personally unhappy with as far as quality writing, style, character development, themes, and etc; but I think that is more than enough to complain about for now. I don’t like to complain. But the errors, inconsistencies, and general laziness of the show do irk me. And, well, you did ask. So there it is.

Now, on a happier note: Some things I like/appreciate about the show:

Winn Schott, Actual Ray of Sunshine. I know, I know, moving right along...

The cinematography, as a general rule, isn’t awful. There have actually been some really solid, and occasionally unique choices as far as camera placement, movement, and visual editing are concerned. From a visual standpoint, the show is quite pretty and has a really good, vibrant color palette. In that regard, it is a pleasure to watch.

J’onn is Space Dad and I will always love him.

Kara is a beautiful, chipper, quality gal and brings such light and life to the story. I may complain about her, but she’s actually not a bad lead. And that is saying something coming from someone who really never likes main characters and completely goes for the sidekicks anyhow.

It is, as I said, a crap-ton happier than Arrow or even The Flash. Like. People smile and joke and laugh in this show. ??? I didn’t know that was possible. And, despite their drama and issues, not everyone is a back-stabbing, secretive, lying, manipulative, egotistical, brood-in-the-literal-corner-when-I-don’t-get-my-way moron. At least not all the time. I can actually smile watching this show.

I done now.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Moooore Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow stuff, courtesy of another Tom King interview: 

King was on the Supergirl Radio podcast this week, and while a lot of it is just a repeat of what was said in the previous interview on ComicPop Elseworlds Exchange, there were still some interesting bits, IMO!

They opened with some general questions--how did he start writing, when did he get into superhero comics, etc. 

And then, the Supergirl portion!

The hosts asked where he first encountered Supergirl, and as before, he said that Supergirl is one of those characters that everyone just knows, like Batman and Superman. So he felt there was never a time where he wasn’t at least aware of her.

If forced to pinpoint something specific, though: the cartoons (Superman: The Animated Series and JLU) and for Kara Zor-El in particular, hardcover trades of the 70s stuff.

He had some AWESOME Carmine Infantino art, from the issue where Supergirl fights a bunch of mini-supergirls, in Daring New Adventures.

When asked if he used any of those stories for this new project, King again said that he went back to the ORIGINAL origin, in the Silver Age Otto Binder stuff.

Because he’s written Superman, the hosts asked if he thinks about the differences/similarities between the two when writing Supergirl.

He said that Kara’s more of a survivor than Clark, she’s been through more; he feels that Superman is always striving to be the icon that is Superman, whereas Kara can just be herself. 

He describes her as harder, more cynical, ‘she’ll drop an F-bomb here or there,’ she’s ‘old and crusty.’

The hosts asked him how he came to be on the book and while it’s basically the same story he told on the other podcast, there were a few additional details he mentioned here.

He specifically said that editors were frustrated, because there is this. Thought? Among creators, that Supergirl is perfect, and there are no fun Supergirl stories to tell. 

(Brief, opinionated interjection here: HOGWASH!)

He again brought up the idea that people can be precious with Supergirl; he said she is precious, but she’s also badass.

When asked if there was any particular piece of Supergirl mythology that he wanted/was excited to use, King said that this book isn’t really about that--he again used the expression of stripping off the barnacles that have built up on the characters over the years, really getting at the most basic, pure take on them.

He was like, ‘we keep the dog, maybe the horse if we can make time for him, because [Comet] is the weirdest thing in all of comics.’

Elaborating on the book/lack of Supergirl mythology: He put her in space, gave her a simple mission, and let the story be a thesis on why Supergirl is awesome.

Next question was about the comic writing process.

King said there’s no set way to write a comic script; he tends to write ‘full scripts’; they resemble movie scripts in that there’s panel descriptions for each page, as well as the dialogue for each panel.

His descriptions are light, though. For example, he’ll simply put: ‘Supergirl encounters a Space Dragon’, and leave the rest up to Bilquis.

Again had nothing but praise and excitement re: working with Evely and Lopes. 

Said Evely adds such depth and emotion and storytelling to the artwork.

Then there was a question from the live chat; the listener noted that a lot of King’s work contains romance/is focused on romantic love. They asked if this book would also be about romantic love, or another kind of love.

King: This is not a romance. The love in this comic is a friendship love, between Kara and Ruthye.

When asked if other pre-existing characters would make an appearance: There will be shout-outs, but this is first and foremost a book about Supergirl; she is at the center of the book.

The goal is to make her one of the pillars of DC Comics.

On the subject of the ‘western’ part of the space western: Again mentioned True Grit, as well as The Searchers, and Red River.

Compared Kara to John Wayne.

Likes the idea of a character who has a simple mission, needs to go somewhere, and travels through various lands to get there, like the Odyssey.

Initially, he was going to have Kara be a sort of ingenue who learns to be tough as she goes on this journey, but his editor said, ‘No, she should be the teacher, instructing this young girl on how to be tough’ b/c Kara has the life experience. And King was like, ‘yeah! Let’s do that!’

And of course, because it is Supergirl Radio, they asked if he’s watched the show.

He watched the 1st and 2nd seasons with his daughter, then they fell behind/stopped watching because she moved on to other things, but he loved it! Specifically loved that he could watch a superhero show with her; good bonding time.

They asked him about incorporating stuff from the show and he said that he opted not to do that, as it’s sometimes not done well/feels forced. The example he used is that it’s very hard to get something like Calista Flockhart’s performance from the TV show into the comics, both in terms of the actual writing, and also in terms of legal stuff like the likeness rights, etc. 

Then they talked about KRYPTO! And King’s own dog, Roxy. 

Because King is a dog owner, he said he found it very hard to write Krypto sometimes, because he never wanted to put him in danger.

He also said that you can feel like a dog is a family member, and that is how Kara views Krypto; he is not a pet, or a tool, but a member of her family.

Another live chat question: Does he think of Kara differently, now that he’s written her?

King said she’s a much tougher character, than he initially thought.

Compared her to Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark; you don’t see him become Indy, he just already IS Indy, and he’s done this stuff a hundred times over.

And then he shared a little bit of issue 2 to illustrate this point: Ruthye and Kara encounter a guy who has beef with Superman, so he decides to take it out on Kara, and Kara easily dispatches him; Ruthye (the narrator of the book) marvels at how this happens everywhere they go, and it’s just a daily occurrence for Kara, because everyone thinks she’s the weak link/a way to get back at Clark.

Final question was about what he hopes is his legacy/the takeaway of this book.

King said he wants it to do well, and convince DC/the editors that there ALWAYS needs to be a Supergirl book on the stands.

And now, SOME THOUGHTS!

As mentioned, a lot of this stuff was already covered in the prior podcast, BUT! There are some new details here that build on those points.

For instance: King is really committing to a harder, cynical Kara. Who knows if she’ll remain that way by journey’s end, but that’s the take he’s going with.

(And, as before: not my preferred/ideal Kara! But I am open to seeing this. Largely because it is rooted in like. Character backstory/history; he’s not being edgy for edge's sake.)

Also, NO ROMANCE. 

*insert happy muppet flailing here*

I will admit that I had the extremely cursed thought that he’d bring back Comet, or worse, 90s Comet as some sort of guest star--and maybe he will, who knows! But I don’t get that vibe, really. Like, maybe as a fun shout-out, but not a full-on character in the story.

I do like that he repeatedly emphasized that this is a very simple book, with Kara at the center, and that it’s basically about Supergirl, and why she’s awesome.

Especially given how Future State whiffed that one.

That said, was a little dismayed to learn that Ruthye will be the narrator of the whole thing. It brings back horrible visions of Future State, and it’s harder for the reader to get into a character’s head when you’ve got someone else narrating the whole thing, but. We’ll see.

(What might take the edge off of this narrative choice is Evely’s art, since you can better determine Kara’s emotions/thoughts/etc.)

Interestingly, King didn’t want to comment too much on this book’s potential connection to Future State: Superwoman which...has me a little concerned.

(Please, never let that book be canon. PLEASE.)

The further details on the BTS stuff is disappointing, but not surprising. ‘Supergirl is too perfect/boring’ is a take that 1.) mirrors the same nonsense you see about Superman, and why everyone would rather be writing Batman and 2.) has existed FOREVER, and was particularly prevalent after the introduction of Power Girl. 

(It’s also flat-out wrong, in the same way that ‘Superman is boring’ is wrong.)

Other little things: Love that King says Kara views Krypto as a family member (because he totally is), and the Camine Infantino art was SO COOL.

SO, OVERALL: Gonna have to get used to the idea of an old, crusty Kara.

(Honestly I can’t even be mad at that description because I kinda find it funny? I mean, what with the Superman Fortnite announcement recently, I’m feeling pretty old and crusty, ngl. XD)

But I like a lot of the stuff King’s said so far.

Some of it does give me a little pause--like the heavy emphasis on the Supergirl part of her identity, as opposed to Kara, and how she’s just this awesome badass, with no real mention of other aspects of her character--but.

As should be very clear by now, I’m not in it for the writing.

Rather. I am here primarily because of

*takes a deep breath*

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!

[waynekelton]

Astrologaster Review

Astrologaster is an odd bird. A sincere quack doctor dispenses both medicine and life-coaching lessons by consulting the stars and thereby inferring from astrology the true state of affairs. Born from a close, if selective, culling from Simon Forman’s writing, this game is, to put it in cinematic terms, ‘based on a true story’. The ‘medical’ dilemmas showcased are funny and insightful, and with each one Simon pulls close to his ridiculous acquaintances with affection.

The game also has a healthy dose of mockery, sailing through historical references with a modern-day sensibility and verve. The voice acting, plotting and overall characterization are leagues ahead of most games, but it is admittedly a niche offering: a wickedly amusing historical storybook with mildly branching paths. Yet the total package transcends genre, for Astrologaster is not to be missed.

Dr Simon Forman is a medical practitioner with a self-diagnosed heart of gold. Through luck or foolhardy genius, he has survived the plague, and credits his miraculous turnaround with a cure he dreamt up on death’s door. Now, he seeks to grow his practice and obtain a medical license, in that dubious order. The game’s story is linear with variant outcomes for each of Simon’s patients.

First, a quick account of the mechanics and flow of play. He treats, at the player’s direction, anyone who comes through his doors, listening to their sorrows at length. One is distraught at the thought of Papist neighbors and wonders whether they are, by nature, treasonous. Perhaps she ought to report them and protect the crown? Another wishes to know, ever-so-sweetly, whether her betrothed is long for this world. Ought she marry at all if heartbreak be right around the corner? There is a monkey sidekick for one visitor, of course. These querents are the game’s lifeblood, and they are a varied group but uniformly delightful. There are men and women, young and old, of various professions, personalities and beliefs. A motley crew, whose lives are full of twists that would be just as home in a soap opera.

So each ‘medical’ consultation is divided into four parts. The customer is introduced with a quick ditty, musically summing up their situation and character. As an aside, the songs alone are gems worth the price of purchase, packing a punch with melody & rhyme. Secondly, the guests are greeted and chat at length with Simon. When the game-flow pauses, the client's star chart is displayed, along with some interpretations. The game deliberately futzes with ‘astrology’ as such, lifting the same terms but tweaking their import. So a Libra dignified in Neptune could mean anything, in-game. One section of the stars points to a corruption of the blood, another to a weakness of the mind, for example. Luckily, the game translates the chart into somewhat plain advice, so the player simply chooses between outcomes.

This is where things get dicier. The ‘best’ answer is the one which pleases the customer. This is not always the most truthful, or accurate, interpretation. Some prefer flattery, most everyone has ulterior motives, and others will not heed good sense. Follow your intuition based on the dialogue, essentially. The stories of these characters will advance across multiple consultations, with their approval meters sliding up and down depending on Simon’s prowess. His ultimate goal, and yours by extension, is to obtain a critical mass of letters of recommendation from these patients and use these testimonials to obtain a medical license.

But the game is amusing even in abject failure. The story length is the same whether or not you succeed in winning people over, though it might feel better to ‘win’ a license at the end. Astrologaster offers the player an ahistorical, eagle-eyed perspective to know and learn, but mostly to judge. The game is juicy and gossipy as much as it is informative. Yes, if one knows a bit about El Dorado or the Spanish Armada, a few consultations will have their proper choices jump out, but beyond some rather nifty nods to Elizabethan history and culture, the historical immersion of the game is pretty minimal. All the better to create ironic distance.

The first great pleasure of Astrologaster is its sense of intimacy and disclosure. Simon is priest, cabbie, bar-keep and shrink all rolled together. He is privy to these people’s tantalizing stories because they are trusting or desperate. Other games like Gone Home or VA-11 HALL-A also offer close glimpses into people’s (fictional) lives, heightening the sense of drama by mixing in the mundane. Astrologaster feels fun and silly, but also lifelike and lived-in, which is a difficult atmosphere to capture. It puts you in a position to know and then decide fates, based on laughably muddled astrological hints.

The game’s second great pleasure is its potential for satire. I say ‘potential’ because all-to-often satire is conflated with naked malice, lazy mockery, or sincere atrocity. No, the game’s tone itself is decidedly not neutral, but it leaves the japery and merriment up to the player. I’d give choice examples but would mangle them in the telling. Some diagnoses are inherently funny for their mixture of graphic description and antiquated language, like ‘purging from the fundament’. There are plenty of fools, luckless souls and prejudices on display here, but instead of serving up ham-fisted commentary, the whole affair is refreshing and light. Levity cuts deeper than argument. It’s not a particularly subtle game, but the brand of jocular dialogue leaves plenty of room for interpretation and imagination.

Now the game is relatively brief, I suppose, running around five hours for a playthrough depending on whether one listens to full voice-lines or skips through with subtitles. But it has a dedicated throughline, both as a whole and individually within its characters. For a fraction of the price of a blockbuster film, you can experience more wit and ingenuity across a greater length of time, all the while wondering at the fact that this game is only possible because of the fastidious case notes of the real-life historical figure of Simon Forman, whose own life and patients are, by all accounts, just as bonkers.

  Astrologaster Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/