#metabending

[fanonical]

tired of being the best earthbender and metalbender in existence,, toph decided to oneup herself by phasing through the fourth wall and becoming a metabender

[juney-blues]

hey its been a hot second but i finally sat down and Actually caught up with your comic and im obsessed. thats the kind of metabending horseshit i could crush into a fine powder and snort <--- normal

hehehe~ >:3

LOVE meta horse shit

[woodface]

@novak-fan​

- Alder to me is one of the most interesting characters in the show. She is so complex and she is basically a living legend, but also the living memory of all the witches out there. Having her die off would mean getting rid of so much potential in this show. (Unless it is to give us the spin off that focuses on Alder’s life. I would sign up for that.) I very much hope the show takes a leaf out of Snowpiercer where Alder losing power actually frees her up to becoming more human and be more involved in the story in a much freer way.

- Yes. Nicte’s refusal to share her memories to me is suss. It let her manipulate Tally into hearing exactly what she needed to hear to rebel. This is a woman who has spent decades twisting the minds of young witches into becoming suicide bombers for the greater cause. (Nvm that the greater cause we a personal vendetta.)

Refusing to talk to anyone but Tally for me shows that Nicte has figured out that there is a weakness there (the bond that should be gone, but is also why Tally feels so damn betrayed by all of this and that has shown Alder being more lenient with Tally).

So we still get one side of the story. A part told by Tally who saw it through Alder’s eyes and then through the eyes of a ghost. We don’t know Alder’s full motivations or fully see what happened, we just saw the aftermath and it feels like Nicte and Alder both could be hiding something that is between the two of them. Those ends are just not cleanly tied off in the narrative and I hope there’s even more to dig into, but I kinda fear I’m just wishful thinking.

ETA: Yes fine, first attacks we see from the Spree are not suicide, they walk away. Point still remains. (I very much doubt Batan never before asked anyone to sacrifice their life for the cause.)

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

If someone (you) were to be great at writing meta, that someone (you) would be a...*drumroll* metabender! (Sorry not sorry)

There is absolutely no need to apologize for this. I’m Obsessed(tm)

[foofoocuddlypoopsthethird]

Do you think metalbending is gonna end up like icebending (with every earthbender being able to do it)? The water tribes are constantly surrounded by the cold and ice, so it’s natural that they would work it into their bending. Being more and more surrounded by metal, metalbending is becoming way more common - Suyin even says “the only thing limiting you is your attitude” when it comes to learning metabending. That being said not everyone can do it (rip Bolin), but maybe someday?

[theorangestar]

I just had an Idea about how Bolin can metalbend. I believe it would tie to him learning to listen to earth which seems to be the foundation of Metalbending. I believe the techniques Toph used with Aang in teaching him traditional earthbending in learning to listen to the earth could be the way Bolin properly learns to earthbend AND listen for the earth within metal. Aang meditated when learning seismic sense so Bolin meditating and listening for the earth in Metal could be the way he can do it.

I agree that could probably be how that goes. Aang and Bolin are similar in a lot of ways, and I think it’d work. Also, maybe them being in the swamp might help. It’s a very spiritual place in the avatarverse, and maybe Bolin learning about the connections of the swamp will help him listen to the earth. 

[woodface]

In the past week, I’ve rewatched season 1 of Motherland: Fort Salem as I wanted to get a refresher before diving into the new season. I’m just amazed to have a character like Sarah Alder grace our screens now. Her character is so ambiguous and there are so many themes we usually mostly see for male characters. It’s a delight the way this show turns gender roles upside down.

I’m intrigued to see where this season is going to take her. I can see it going both ways and I honestly don’t know which I would prefer. Okay, maybe I do have a slight preference, but I won’t be mad if it takes the other route anyway because it’s just amazing character development. 

I love how she teeters on the edge of being a villain while at the same time also seemingly truly caring for everyone who is put in her charge and acting out of a sense of doing the right thing. She’s the tragic hero who compromises time and again, making sacrifices for the better good until it becomes unclear if she’s still a hero at all given the number of sacrifices she made along the way. She’s selfless and selfish all at once, and I am thoroughly enjoying the duality of her character.

We’ve seen several glimpses on how the Salem Accord came to. It’s clear that the Salem witch trials were putting everyone she knew and held dear in danger. She lost her sister and who knows who else, and in the end, she made a deal with the devil. She vowed to protect her country in exchange for the lives of all the witches.

I wonder how many witches there were at that time. If the matrilines we see now all begin at Salem or whether Alder made that deal for witches she didn’t even know. Or was she always in charge? She was portrayed as a very young girl in the play we saw, around the age of the new recruits really.

She tied her life to those that hated her, that wanted her kind destroyed, and she tied the lives of everyone else as well. Even this first act is ambiguous as we have no idea whether all other witches were on board with this plan or not. We do know that she did it to save her own live and that of those around her and in that moment she sealed the fate of all her kindred.

A deal with the devil. To save their lives, but also to risk it for those that would have killed them all. I can imagine that in that moment, the military she created felt like family. It was us against them, hoping to buy approval and create a world where they could be safe. She put the weight of the world on her shoulders and the entire future of all the witches suddenly depended on her getting them through.

I wonder if she realised how much wars would follow after, or if she thought that it’d be the end after this one conflict. No way anyone could stand up against them, especially not civilians without any witchcraft. Only one war leads to a next and she watches the families she wanted to protect lay down their lives. She extends her own life, has people who willingly give her their life energy so she can continue the conflict. So she can continue the fight. 

Except the fight never ends and she makes comprises. Just like she did with the Salem Accord. She spent 300 years making sacrifices and feeling responsible for this world she created. Power corrupts, and it probably corrupted Alder just as much. One compromise leading to another, all for good reasons. A whole line of good intentions leading her further and further down the path. First the Camarilla, then the Spree. A reason to keep fighting and she has to see it through. She started it all, didn’t she?

I can imagine that Alder carries a lot of guilt with her. That over 300 years, she might even have forgotten some of the awful things she had to do, but I also think that she truly believes she’s doing the right thing. That she means it when she greets each new batch of recruits and sees them as her daughters. Her legacy. She is responsible for them being there, she is responsible for how they might die fighting for her. 

And aside from that, after 300 years, she truly believes that she’s the only one who can see them true. She has to be, right? After all, she’s had young witches give up their life force to keep her going. If she can’t fix it, then their sacrifice was meaningless. She’s come this far, she’s compromised so much, to turn back now and give up the reigns of control is not an option. 

Her connection with the Biddies intrigues me. Even in S1 we see her truly caring for them and I can’t imagine that’s a lie. She is tied to them so deeply, shared thoughts and memories. I wonder if it’s also her connection to the world. Through each new person she binds to, she sees a new generation and cares for a new generation. 

It’s so intriguing watching the impact this bond has on Tally. Tally was so ready to rebel against Alder when she realised that Alder sacrifices those hostages and Tally is the moral compass of this entire show. To have her suddenly do a 180 is interesting because now she’s seeing into Alder’s mind and she’s seen her intentions and she understands it.

Now, it’s not surprising because people will justify their actions even to themselves. Alder is the most unreliable narrator to her own history, but I do think that Tally saw something good in her and wants to believe in her.

Which leads me to wonder where they’re taking this. Tally exploring Alder’s memories is not going to end well either way. Nikte seems to be the founder of the Spree and I imagine that whatever Alder did to push her to such extreme measures won’t be pretty. 

I really hope that whatever influence Alder is now having on Tally, that it works in both ways. I would love to see Alder having to re-evaluate her actions seeing them through Tally’s eyes. The moment where this jaded character who made so many compromises she doesn’t know herself anymore, sees herself mirrored in the eyes of this young soul who she is now bound to and wants to be better. 

On the other hand, I fear this might just end with them turning Alder into a true villain, but I hope not. I love the complexity in this character so much and I like to believe that she cares. That she cares deeply for each recruit and each life lost, and that it’s that amount of caring that has her stuck where she is. And I would love that to be the reason that she stops, that she realises she can’t compromise more and that Tally becomes the compass she lost so many lifetimes ago.

[woodface]

Right of Proxy (Alder edition)

I’ve been a bit sloppy getting my thoughts out lately as my brain has slowly been getting eaten D&D but I would be amiss to not do it now after the glimpses they’ve given us.

- Petra: I mean, they have been setting us up since the previous season that Petra was going to succeed and take over from Alder. I was secretly hoping she would fail and I think she’s going to get tested and I guess we’ll find out how well she will cope.

- Tally: I am so torn. I am proud of Tally for continuing to the moral compass of all of them. Her standing up to Alder has been amazing and she’s been growing so much, but man, do I wish they had done this all a different way.

- I feel like the show failed to develop Alder’s involvement with Batan and the start of the Spree. Don’t get me wrong, Alder needed to step down and if you’re puppeting the president then this is what she deserves. Covering up her actions in Liberia is also suss, but that conflict remains barely touched upon. Why did Alder respond so drastically? Why did Batan act like a woman scorned after it? I feel like they just didn’t go deep enough into this story and that there is still a conflict here that hasn’t been uncovered. The narrative puts the focus on this one act and says that the Spree were created because Batan was betrayed and had her work used to kill other witches.

Batan then proceeded and killed so many other witches. Claiming that all civilian deaths matched the witches death count is just... no, you added to that death count. Then killed your own followers to get that revenge and tortured them for your personal vendetta. We know this, we know Batan went insane, but there is a focus here that Alder hid everything because her actions created the Spree and just... No. She did not. Nicte did. Nicte went insane. Alder has done enough bad things on her own and putting the existence of the Spree on her with this one action just feels odd. Especially given that Alder was always known as the cause of the Spree since she was the one who started the conscription.

- We got to see Alder be truly vulnerable now. Everything is falling into pieces and while I am certain she stared her own death in the eyes several times by now, she is suddenly faced with a very different sort of end of her life: dying of old age. We’ve already seen that the loss of one biddy cripples her. Roughly counted, there’s 50 years of age carried by each biddy so depending on whether one dying would spread the age around between them or put it all back towards Alder, there isn’t much loss she can take before she dies as well. Her mortality has just become very real and I don’t think Alder wants to die sitting in a home somewhere.

Now, even with the program being ended, I imagine that Alder might be able to still find witches willing to carry her age. She is a legend and a sign of hope. She has led them for so long and she defeated the Camarilla once. I don’t think everyone is going to instantly rally around Bellweather so if Alder wanted to, she could probably build up a new following. I doubt she will however.

Alder has built up an army, she has built up a safe place for all witches and I have a hard time imaging her undermining that now. Even if she is not the one leading it. Definitely not after the display at the hangar. The moment with Quartermaine was so so important. She has seen Anacostia doubting her and it has made her doubt herself and just that touch was enough for her to finally stop.

I do think we now have an Alder on our hands who is ready to die and who is ready to go out with a bang. I worry that in the next episode she will be sacrificing herself for everyone else and regaining some of the respect she lost. I hope I am wrong. I would love to see her grow further, to rediscover her humanity and the freedom that comes with it to join the fight and still kick ass, and maybe redeem herself (and not just with Tally). The show would be a lot less interesting without her, and I want to see Petra be in over her head and go to Alder for advice.

- Which brings me to my favourite part and that is the glimpse into Alder’s past. The Mycelium knows the essence of who Alder is more so perhaps than Alder now remembers it herself. It must have been the first time Alder came to realise that even despite the sacrifices they were making to serve the country, it wouldn’t be enough to stop people from fearing and hating them. And she built Fort Salem on top of that memory. She was filled with such grief that she sang the Mycelium into being and created something where the essence of witches could reside in and carry out her dream of vengeance while also making a home for witches.

She lived every day on top of the memories of her greatest loss and she used it to carry her on, to protect all the witches that came after. Petra saying to Alder that she lost her humanity is just... so far off the mark. Alder’s humanity solidified itself into a creature that now has taken up a bond with Raelle in order to stop everyone from ever having to carry her grief again.

Alder’s words to Petra about the things she has seen, the grief she had suffered, they were perhaps fueled by arrogance, but they were also warning because Alder made herself who she was to push through all that loss.

Which brings me back to Liberia and how that moment just doesn’t ring true. Is it perhaps an example that Alder has lived too long and too far? That she became too jaded to still feel the loss of a witch? I think if she was, she never could have been moved by Tally’s rebellion or be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. I think that she lost her way, but it’s still there and it’s bubbling to the surface. It’s certainly strong enough to have the Mycelium still speak as if it knows her and it knows her grief, and it wants to act and accomplish exactly what Alder wants to do as well.

Funny that it is Raelle who has now seen deeper into Alder than Tally ever did.

ETA: if you haven’t seen this already, this interview and insight into how Lyne Renée played Alder is just amazing: https://twitter.com/Motherland/status/1427828749848891393?s=20

[woodface]

Interesting to see Amity skipping the Palisman day. I assume then that in the emperor's coven they don't generally get a Palisman because it is wild magic. So I'm guessing Amity probably not banned from getting one and having her eventually getting her own will be a way for her to break once and for all from her old dreams as she finds her own path.

It does make me wonder how Lilith was allowed to keep her Palisman. Especially considering she was head of the coven and was on all their recruitment posters. Makes me wonder if generally a witch gives up their Palisman to Belos when they join, but then why did Lilith keep hers? Or is this an old form of magic that has been greatly discouraged and Bump is all tickled to keep it going at his school since he has such a close bond with his?

[woodface]

After yesterday’s thoughts on Leena dying, something suddenly struck me about how Claudia is handling this. 

Claudia’s main concern about Leena’s death was the how. Not only did she lose someone she loves (her words, I’ll quote them gladly), she lost them at the hands of someone she loves. 

The first reaction Claudia has when she is told about Leena’s death and Artie’s part in it, is denial.

It hits her like a ton of bricks, her denial is so instant and so visceral. It annoyed me a little with how little she talks about Leena, but then she can’t. She can’t stop because she’s eaten up by it. She is crumbling and if she for a second imagines Artie as being the one who did this, then she loses another person on top of it all.

Claudia’s insistence on how it was not Artie who did this brings us right back to S2 when Leena was whammied by MacPherson and Claudia failed. It brings me right back to this fallout between them:

Claudia was so stuck in her own head, so stuck on her own anger and her own fears that she didn’t see the impact she had on Leena. 

So here she is again, and this time over it is so much worse because Artie took away a piece of their family. He permanently took someone away, and Claudia’s gut instinct would be to rage, but she remembers this moment. She remembers how she wasn’t there for Leena and held her responsible for something that was out of control.

So faced with what Artie did? She’s struggling because she doesn’t want to repeat the mistake she made back then, but it’s eating her up. She’s just trying very hard to not have it eat her up like she let her anger eat her up back then, like she let herself almost lose a friend because she was so stuck in her own head, with her own fears, that she couldn’t get out of it.

It’s there, though, it comes up when she’s talking to Nick. Here’s a kid she relates to like she’s never related to anyone else. She sees herself in Nick (and what a joke that is) and when he asks if she has nightmares, she shows just a little too much.

Just this moment, she way she has to look up and takes a deep breath. She braces herself at even speaking the words because she’s so close to breaking. She’s so close to being consumed by that grief, but she needs to be there for Artie. Like she wasn’t for Leena because she’s supposed to be better now.

I mean, I’m mainly just headcanoning now so this entire thing can suck a little less, but it does make sense that this is what Claudia is trying to do. Just a shame this never gets addressed anywhere.

[woodface]

Leena deserved better

So we’ve made our way halfway through s4 of Warehouse 13 and I have so much feelings and a whole lot of salt. I love this show and its found family, but oh boy, do I also have issues and most of it revolve on how Leena gets treated. 

I love Leena a lot. Despite how... well for 3 whole seasons this show does not know what to do with Leena. It’s so painful to watch. They threw in a character who was all heart and could see a little too much. Her aura reading made her rather mysterious and a little mystical, and she obviously is very empathic to all the other characters around her. She’s able to sense artifacts and the strange energies they resonate... and unlike with Pete’s vibes or Steve’s ability to know when someone is lying, the writers did not know what to do with that or did not really want to bother trying to write around it.

So they kept Leena in the background. Sometimes there to lend an ear, to do the jobs others were too busy to do, but in general, Leena was shoved towards the background.

It took them until S4 before they let Leena venture away from the B&B and the warehouse, and god, that moment is so good that it’s painful. We get a glimpse of who Leena is, of how she can read these artefacts and keeps them in balance. Her reactions are so amazing and it just makes it all that more painful that we never got more of any of this. Even when the show was focussing on Leena with the pearl of wisdow, Leena had to carry that burden on her own. She didn’t get to confide in anyone else, she didn’t get the team around to support her. (Not on screen anyway, but let me headcanon it.)

In comes S4 where Leena is suddenly thrust forward in an attempt to build up the character they neglected for 3 whole seasons so... well her death would have a bigger impact on their story. It’s rather telling that we come to understand her true impact on the warehouse, that we come to see what she did, after she’s gone. Through the eyes of Artie so we could understand his guilt and his grief. While all the other characters around are more focussed on Artie. There is no pause in the show for them to remember her by, to show how much she is missed.

The grief over Leena is shown solely through the eyes of Artie. Leena’s death is the greater evil Artie has to live with as payment for using an artefact to change the world. It’s so gross and so disappointing, and it doesn’t work. At all. 

What strikes me as odd is how this death closely follows everything happening with Steve. The writers set up a big storyline here. Steve dies for them, to save them. Steve sacrifices himself, and Claudia is so eaten up by guilt that she does the wrong thing. She does exactly what Artie says they should never do. 

They bring Steve back and show us just how bad it is. Claudia ties herself to his fate, she binds them together and every hurt he feels, gets transferred to her. It’s an interesting storyline and the potential had me on the edge of my seat. Claudia has spent so much of her life trying to get her brother back. Only for him to walk away and leave her behind, and Claudia is left fumbling until she find her home with this little family. 

Only for history to repeat itself and Claudia once more being faced with potentially losing a brother, and putting her own life on the line to get him back instead of learning to cope with her grief. The parallels are so obvious and it’s obvious where this storyline was meant to lead. Steve realising the danger he poses to Claudia, convincing her that he had his time and he would not let anyone get hurt in his place. Steve taking himself off the metronome after being able to say goodbye to Claudia and allowing her to move on. 

It would have been beautiful, even if it would have been painful. Except, that’s not how it goes. There are no consequences to Claudia’s actions. They go back to Steve’s mother, have the weirdest kind of ceremony that felt not really cathartic and mostly confusing, but they do it. Easy as that. A moment of love, the metronome gets destroyed and Steve can live happily after.

Steve’s death would have had meaning. It would have resonated and he would have died protecting everyone. He would have been a hero, and he would have been a good brother keeping his found sister safe. Except, he lives. 

Steve being alive leaves a bad taste in the mouth when a few episodes later Leena gets killed. And it doesn’t resonate. Claudia’s angst is about Artie and while that is understandable, Claudia’s lack of grief for Leena isn’t. They got Steve back without any great negative consequences, but no one pauses to think about getting Leena back. No one mentions while they angst over having Artie use the astrolabe again and that it would kill HG, Steve and Mrs Frederic, it would ultimately mean saving Leena.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think using artefacts to bring the dead back is a particularly good idea, but the show just literally made it clear that in fact, it can be done and you can get a happy ending. For the while male character, at least. (And even for HG Wells as well.) The black woman? No, she isn’t worth it. Heck, no one even wants to stop and think about what it means that Pete actually saw her. That’s just the Warehouse, apparently. 

There’s so many ways they could have handled this better, even if she still ended up dead in the end. Heck, just the group sitting together in the B&B telling stories about Leena would have been something.

The closest we get is Artie showing us four seasons too lately exactly the type of work that Leena did. All the things, the show didn’t bother to include before as they shoved Leena’s character to the side. And it just makes the character’s death that much harder to swallow, because we never even got to see her shine. And in the same instant, we see Steve (the boy who lived) take the seat and do what she was good it in her place.

I realise I’m like 8 years too late with my indignation, but it still sucks, dammit. I’m still mad as hell because Leena was an awesome character and she deserved so much better than any of this bullshit.

And now I need like 500 fixit fics. I need the entire team dogpiling on Leena as she’s safe and sound with them again. I need Claudia clinging to her and showing her relief that she didn’t have to lose Leena too. I just... Rawr.

They couldn’t even bother to give her a frigging last name, goddammit.

[woodface]

What got you watching Warehouse 13??? Was it Myka??? HG Wells??? Both??? I would totally understand if it was any of those, but it's an awesome show anyway

I hope you don’t mind me answering this publicly. I feel like gushing.

What got me watching? Well mostly, @theriacs was affronted by my lack of knowledge in regards to Wicked. So she made me watch Wicked as part of my gayducation because my queer upbringing is just laughable. When I asked her what was next, she said Warehouse 13 and who was I to argue?

It’s one of those I’ve been aware of for a very long time, but just never really found it anywhere to watch and wasn’t interested enough to track it down. Oh boy, was I wrong.

I’m pretty sure I’m here because of Bering and Wells. I love Bering and Wells. It’s all very tragic and very gay. Myka is the perfect tired lesbian dealing with a headache of a straight partner who has his heart in the right place. They’re a brotp and I love them. 

I love HG Wells making all the puppy eyes at Myka and having fallen for her from the first instant. Wells being all in love and trying to do the right thing, but then there’s so much guilt and wrong choices. And just... ugh...

All of that was a bit as expected. Well mostly. What I didn’t expect was all the found family feels that suddenly got piled on top of all that. And what I definitely didn’t expect was getting sucker punched by how much I love Leena and Clauda. Individually as characters who I want to be happy and see them grow and shine. I love them both so very much.

And then there was this conversation:

Claudia: It’s okay if I don’t like you, right?

Leena: Of course... but you do.

And she just had to have this little pleased smile about it that made it reminiscent of America going “I’ve seen the way you look at me. You’re not that straight” at Kate Bishop and I fell down this rabbit hole of feels.

So while I am very much looking forward to getting through the spoiler danger as I wait until the next binge watching session to finish S4 so I can get to the Bering and Wells fics... I’m mostly lamenting how few Claudia/Leena there is out there and so my brain has decided I need to fix that.

Funnily enough, this is a show that makes me also happy to go down the gen path. I just love all of these character and I want them to be happy and be each other’s family. 

[woodface]

It took me two tries, but I finished my Wonder Woman rewatch and I finally jotted down my thoughts. I decided to give it a go and throw this up on AO3 in the hopes that it’d make it easier to have an actual discussion.

Also yeah, it’s longer than i expected.

[woodface]

New here. What's up with you and that Alex ship on SG? Just genuinely curious.

Okay, anon. I’m gonna take you on your word here and explain one more time. At least, I hope I’m understanding your question correctly. Tbh, your tone makes me a little weary.

Nothing is up with me and S*nvers. I’m canon terms, I don’t give a flying hoot about the ship. In theory, it’s fine. It’s just not speaking to me. Here’s my rub about Alex’s coming out story: it’s written like a checklist. I respect the writers for trying to get it right, but parts of it are too close to home for me. I wanted to like it because representation, but it just.. . It didn’t work for me. 

S*nvers is much of the same. It’s a checklist. TPTB added a lesbian so Alex could have a romance. Nothing wrong with that, but being a series regular, Maggie has less development than Lena. Just like most new characters, she’s also isolated. She’s not part of the story. Meaning that Alex has been methodically been removed from the main story as well. Where our most hated fratboy is very solidly incorporated, Alex has been scratched out. To the point that they have made both Kara and Alex ooc to accomplish it. 

All would have been fine if they went back to their normal storytelling after the coming out. If they put Alex back in her place at the DEO and in Kara’s life and made Maggie a part of that, but they haven’t. They would rather make up a forced story where Alex contacts Maggie’s ex to make things up with her than think of ways to include them naturally in the main plot. Instead, Alex does something no one would ever think of doing and the only character point Maggie gets is that she has a history of cheating. 

Alex suffers the same symptoms Kara does this season; her story is reduced to a romance story. At least she is the driver in it. Compare her role in the show with season 1, however, and it’s painful. Where Alex consistently had a spotlight within almost each episode, even when her story diverged from Kara, now that hasn’t been the case at all.

Furthermore, what drew me to this show is the family element and that one has been the most ailing this season. Like I said, Alex is becoming isolated on her little island with Maggie. Her connection with Kara has been reduced to a sounding board when it comes to talk about the significant other. There’s a handful of exceptions and those moments shine and make it all the more painful and obvious how the show has changed.

All this to me has made me conclude that The CW is interested in Alex (and Maggie) as a lesbian more than in Alex the character. They’re happy to highlight S*nvers moments in trailers, but put a minimum effort in evolving either of them beyond that. I was already disgusted with how they baited people into watching all their shows to figure out who the queer character was, now I feel like Alex is their chance to redeem them in the eyes of a community they pissed off. And it’s working...

That’s pretty much all the beef I have with the pairing. As a ship, I’m at most disinterested. When it comes to writing and marketing, I think the characters are suffering and not getting what they deserve. I think The CW is queer baiting us, and I want them to do better. I want them to become a part of the story and I want to see Alex be the main lead beside Kara again. I want my space family back.

In fandom? Well, considering that trying to get this point across to TPTB has suddenly earned me a subset of these rabid shippers to jump down my throat and call me a homophobe and while tearing down a female character (Kara) and a so important relationship to the show (Kara and Alex), to prop up their own ship, they are very much becoming that pairing from the meme that you dislike because of the shippers. 

I am genuinely thinking I’m too old for fandom. There’s a nastiness and judgemental mentality going around with a subset of shippers that is leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve addressed it time and again, but the inability of people to stay in their own lane is rapidly ruining the experience for me. 

I’m trying to fight tptb. I’m trying to get a point across to the creators because I love this show and I want it to do right with the characters I care for. If I have to do that and fight a subset of the fandom? Especially when I imagine we want the same thing, I’m not sure if it’s worth it. Having a critical thought about something that involves your pairing, doesn’t turn someone into a bad person. It doesn’t automatically make them homophobic/lesbophobic/racist. 

So yeah, that’s “what's up with me and that Alex ship on SG”.

[woodface]

Sanvers is queer baiting

Saying this might annoy some people, but please realise that this is not meant to diminish the ship and is no judgement on the ship itself or people who like it. This is about how the ship is being treated and its impact on the show. 

Honestly, Sanvers was queer baiting from the very first moment allusions were made towards it. Rather than straight up tell us, the information was trickled towards us with statements of which show would be getting the gay character and the announcement of Maggie Sawyer and the stress on how she’s a lesbian. From the onset, they used the promise of this pairing to lure in queer fans.

In itself, there is nothing wrong with this. Studios realising that queer relationships sell means that they will be included more often. It’s a positive step even if it might sound insulting, but het romances are used in much the same way to draw in certain demographics.

Is it really queer baiting when a ship has had such a positive influence and has been lauded left right and centre for its representation? It’s a tough line to draw. Where do we say that one ship is queer baiting and another isn’t? 

Honestly, I had almost forgotten about the rocky start that placed this ship into the baiting category for me. Perhaps it is still a rather harsh judgement to make, but considering everything that is going on with the show, I can’t help but place it solidly back in there.

One of the main issues this ship suffers from is that Maggie had very little background. She is a love interest and not much more. She’s usually isolated from the rest of the plot and rarely interacts with anyone but Alex and when she does, it’s usually about Alex. To me, the writers failed when they focused on the love story before they focused on giving the character depth.

Maggie was brought in as a love interest and has not moved much beyond that. Again, that in itself needn’t be bad. So many shows have pulled in love interests for their main characters as a way to develop the main character further.

Ah, but here lies the rub. Did making Alex queer make sense? Most definitely. Was it good character development? Definitely, but the problem is that Alex has become rather one dimensional herself. Alex is not The Queer Character of the show with a Girlfriend, and there is not much else to her at the moment.

Alex has been systematically replaced in her function as Kara’s backup and Kara’s support. Male characters have been taking her place when it comes to science and when it comes to fighting along side Kara. There’s bursts where the show remembers itself, but I’m not sure they’re passing the Bechdel test lately. (Admittedly I am counting Sanvers as not passing since it’s talking about romance.) 

By including the romance story, Alex has lost her connection to J’onn almost entirely and she has lost her connection with Kara in some ways as well. To a lesser degree, but all the touching moments between them have been about Maggie and this one aspect of Alex’s characterisation. As a result, the found family aspect of the show has been sliding sideways and Kara’s main points of support have become Lena and to a much greater result: Mon-El who is not capable of being supportive if his life depended on it.

No matter how well done Sanvers has been as a coming out story and how important it has been to many people, in the light of the show, I am hard pressed to count is as a positive. Its presence has made other parts of the show suffer so so badly, and at this point, all Alex and Maggie have become are book ends in each episode to draw in a young queer audience and give them just enough to have them keep coming back. How long the latter will work when you’re effectively keeping your characters shallow or reducing them to one aspect of who they are, only time can tell.

All this, however is why I can’t conclude anything else but that Sanvers to me is queer baiting. 

[woodface]

Supergirl S2: United we stand, divided we fall (aka Strong Together)

The past few days I've heard several people tell me that they have or are considering to stop watching Supergirl and just enjoying the gifsets that tumblr throws at them. I can't say I'm surprised, but it does sadden me at how much the show has changed. It's a shame because I know people still enjoy the characters and (most of) their relationships. I think we all know why, but it's Sunday and if you know me, I tend to ramble on Sunday. I've been meaning to give a review of the first half of the second season and now seems as good a time as any.

Now, Supergirl has been all but a perfect show. Season 1 had its flaws: the writing was wonky in places, throwing characterisation overboard to fit the plot and the pacing of the season was terrible. There was something there, however, that had many of us turning in. (More than an amazing cast.) Supergirl was a story of hope. It was a story centred around the women in the show and their journey of becoming heroes. It was a story about found family and how after losing everything, it is still possible to heal when you open your heart for the people around you. At the heart of the show were Kara, Alex and J'onn. The three people who formed the core of the show and who despite the conflict thrown at them, were always there for each other. Stronger together.

When the show changed channels, we all saw the writings on the walls. We all held our breaths as marketing didn't seem to realise what it was that made people tune in. While the second season started a little shakily, by the third episode I was appeased. The show was still there, the Danvers sisters were fighting side by side, still being each other's back up and then… 

I miss the old days where ships were a thing that happened in the background. When subtext was what had us rooted to our screens, or what we could easily ignore when we aren't interested. Romance has been the bane of this season. But Jara, I hear you say, romance was present even in season one. You're right, and it was a tad embarrassing how many men the show threw at Kara, but it also always went back to the heart of the show. Take the finale. James and Kara get their screen time, but when the action is going, when the chips were down, it was the found family that ran through everything. The show told us how much Kara cared about everyone in her own unique way. It was J'onn who walked out with Kara to defend this earth that had become his new home. It was Kara who struggled to say goodbye to Alex, and Alex who refused to give her up. Where movies and other shows would have focussed on the romance, this show put family at its heart. Romance was secondary. Kara was learning to become Kara Zor-El before anything else. Being a girlfriend was second or third. 

Much has changed since then, and nothing was more painful to me than seeing the last episode and having Kara say she always has to fight alone. She's almost desperate to have Mon-El become a superhero was so she would have someone with powers fighting at her side, conveniently forgetting that J'onn had always been there, that Alex will fly into space or jump to an alien planet to get her back. In that one sentence, the show summarised exactly what has been wrong with its second season: romance is no longer second place. It has become first place and found family is taking a backseat to everything else. 

It took them ten episodes to give us a decent moment between Kara, Alex and J'onn. You could argue that this is natural, that conflict keeps things interesting and we'll get there in the end. I have no doubt that we'll see glimpses of our found alien family, but this used to be the glue that held everything together. Stronger together has been hollowed out as Kara, Alex and J'onn are isolated in their own stories and their lines seldom cross. 

The Danvers sisters rarely get moments together, and when they do, it's generally to talk about the romance. Alex is no longer Kara's mentor. They don't hit the training mats anymore, and while they're still supportive and the actors make certain that we see their bond, the show is no longer putting it central to its story telling. 

Kara has become isolated, her actions more and more fuelled by protecting Mon-El and getting him to become the hero she thinks he should be. While this could be an interesting take, after all, it might be evidence of Kara struggling to go back to not having Clark there, this is not what it's about. It's not Kara's struggle, but it is Mon-El's. That in itself wouldn't be so bad if only Kara did have her own storyline, but she doesn't. We don't see Kara growing as a superhero, she's trampling in place and getting isolated as the show puts her in function of Mon-El. Meanwhile James is learning to be a superhero as well, which in a way removes how Winn and James would be what reminded Kara what it was like to be human. 

Now, CatCo has always grated on me so I admit that I was glad to hear Cat Grant was gone. I was hoping her removal would mean that the show would have an easier time to balance out Kara's plot. The division between the DEO and CatCo was always superficial to me and diluted storylines where it shouldn't have. Episode 3 to me is the best example at how well the lesser attention to CatCo works. Sadly, TPTB seem to enjoy juggling too many storylines at once and we're still getting too much plot crammed into one. I keep being reminded of @racethewind10's mantra: this show needs to pick character over plot. My hope was that less CatCo would help with this, but so many new characters have been added, each with their own separate storyline that it hasn't happened. Character moments are so rushed and hamfisted in its delivery, it's almost painful to watch. 

While the plot was suffering in season 1 as well, we got some amazing character moments. I'm thinking of Kara facing the robber without her powers, Alex screaming and begging at Kara to come back to her, Alex and Kara supporting J'onn as his past comes back to haunt him. There were so many strong moments that were truly moving, but season two has had very little… The few we did have were tied to Alex and her journey of self-discovery. They were delivered between Kara and Alex. 

The difference between how Kara and James were treated versus how Kara and Mon-El is treated is huge, where James was always a player in Kara's story, this isn't the case now. Never mind how the change in romance was handled. I actually could completely understand when Kara broke up with James. Her realisation that she needed to find herself first fitted well. I bought it and could actually applaud it. However, that character moment (one of the last Kara was allowed) was completely retconned when TPTB decided to throw Kara at the next available guy that crossed her path. 

How can we believe that after barely any time between her breakup, Kara who had no other character development whatsoever, can suddenly come back and be interested in Mon-El. Such is life? Perhaps, sometimes loves hits us at the most awkward moments, but the way Kara has been treating him like a little brother (or a replacement for Kal-El) to suddenly this arc where Kara is only fighting for him and can only think of Mon-El as her backup when the going gets tough… It comes out of nowhere and is completely out of character for the girl who would always turn to her found family and would live by the creed of Stronger Together. 

It's true that Kara has been isolated, however. J'onn is a bit in a world of his own and Alex has her own romance story that has been monopolising her time, and here lies the rub. I don't want to make light of the importance of Alex's character development (at least she has some). Representation matters and the message the show is sending with Alex is powerful and so much needed. I want to look beyond this for a moment, however, because this has been another key part of how the show has changed. 

Alex's romance is not a natural development within the show. We all knew Alex was gay without needing to be told, but the show runners decided to treat this as a completely new discovery. That in itself should not be a problem, but they brought in a completely new character who has no other purpose to fill than to be Alex's love interest. As a series regular, this is problematic because Maggie had no natural place within the storyline. She's a cop and has no ties to anyone else. To make this work, TPTB changed the universe of our show (I'm sure there's more it than that, but it does seem to be a part of it). Maggie knows about aliens, has been friendly towards them all her life and has a job at the NCPD handling said aliens. That's the common ground the worked into the show to have Maggie and Alex meet. 

However, in order for them to continue meeting, they had to come up with ways to have Maggie show up. So what happened is that Alex and Maggie got their own plot, separate from everyone else's. Kara would get drawn in occasionally (because you really can't separate those two completely), but for the most part, Maggie's only point of contact with anyone else is Alex. Furthermore, to have an excuse to have Maggie around, the role of the DEO has been lessened and with it, J'onn's role as well. Now imagine if the show had used Lucy or Vasquez and given a more natural progression for Alex's self-discovery, where the romance would fit right into the main plot and not water down the importance of the DEO. 

Instead Alex gets her own storylines while Kara and the others have their own. While I love seeing a different side to Alex, it means that she was effectively replaced in the main Kara storyline by either Winn (when it involves science) or James and Mon-El when it comes to fighting scenes. Alex's relationship with J'onn got watered down as she no longer was there for much of the big plots, and Alex no longer is Kara's main backup. Yes, there's been exceptions, but this is a trend where the men replace Alex as our kicking ass human hero. 

After all, James is now the human who gets to beat up bad guys and wants to make the world a better place. M'gann and Kara have had a stronger bond with J'onn than Alex does. Danvers sister moments are replaced by Alex hanging out with Maggie. While this might balance out as Alex's sexuality becomes a simple fact rather than a huge revelation, I'm not confident that we're going to return there. After all, Mon-El has been slowly taking over Alex's role when it comes to Kara. Alex was always the one with one foot in reality, evening Kara's goodness and innocence out. (Remember her threatening Lord.) Slowly the show has been pushing Mon-El to take that position because Alex is too tied up in being in love. 

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Alex happy. I love that we got such a positive storyline on television. I love the moments when Kara gets to be supportive of Alex. I want Alex to actually think of herself for once, but that does not negate the fact that it's another part that has the glue of our show crumbling down. 

Alex's romance story has effectively removed her from the main plot where she used to be at the centre with Kara. Do you remember how many times they'd end up fighting and checking in at the middle of the fight to make sure the other is okay? We've had so little of these moments because Alex basically rarely gets to be there anymore as the side characters take up her space. 

The show has screwed itself over by bringing in too many new characters and wanting to tell too many stories at once (the latter is an old issue that's gotten worse). They've separated the main three characters from each other and have removed what was the heart of the show. It's still there, but less so and the moments that we should see are rushed or simply don't happen because a romance scene gets precedence over them now. 

Supergirl is simply not the same show anymore. Kara was a different superhero. Not only because she's a woman, but because she knew she shouldn't do this alone. Because she had her friends around her, her found family, which kept her going and saw her through. She was working through so much pain and suffering, but she managed to hold on to her kindness. 

Supergirl was a show about Kara, but they're trying to turn it into an ensemble show where the female heroes are defined by their romance stories and the men learn how to be heroes. That's not the show I signed up for. That's not the show I fell in love with. I am disappointed and saddened any time I see those pictures of all those little girls excited to meet Melissa Benoist, to meet Supergirl. I am saddened because they deserve better and so do we.