I watched an interview with Ira Behr, the writer and showrunner on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. He talked about his days in the DS9 writer's room. It was the 90's, and the early days of the Internet. Even in those days, Star Trek discussion was flourishing online ...

Ban Fan Plan?
Banes at 12:00AM, May 11, 2023The Slippery Slope (Or How to Make a Great Villain Origin Arc)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, May 6, 2023
Villains are tremendously important for a story. They set the framework and standard for a lot of things in an unsaid but definite manner: how far your villain is willing to go sets up audience expectations for how big and how dire the stakes will be in the story.
If ...
The 1990's Whiny Slacker Protagonist
Banes at 12:00AM, May 4, 2023
In rewatching some 1990's movies, I saw quite a few of these Protagonists show up - they're these disaffected types, usually quite intelligent or at least verbose, who are wrapped up in their emotions and sort of spinning their wheels in life as they analyze their problems and face ...
Fanservice and Nostalgia
Banes at 12:00AM, April 27, 2023
Picard Season Three hit the fan service HARD. I absolutely loved it.
The final season of Star Trek Picard is winning very good reviews from fans and critics.
Of course, in some corners there is criticism of fan service, nostalgia and ‘member berries’ being the driving force behind the season ...
Writing Overpowered Characters
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 22, 2023
One of the most frequent ways to make characters stand out in fiction or myth is to give them a staggering, amazingly powerful ability. Something that mere talent doesn't give you. Something miraculous, larger than the largest life, unique and insurmountable:
Like a dude that can part an entire ...
Creator Feuds and Hidden Messages
Banes at 12:00AM, April 20, 2023
Jon Favreau played Maz Kanada. Or Pablo Hidalgo. Or something like that
There are Easter Eggs hidden in media that might be spottable by viewers/readers, and others that the audience would never know unless they got the inside scoop from somewhere.
It's one reason I like commentaries and ...
Fake Media - Not the Kind You're Thinking
Banes at 12:00AM, April 13, 2023
my webcomic, Typical Strange, uses many fake films in its video store setting
A few years ago I spotted a book in the second hand store - one I'd read as a kid. I bought it and reread it. It was definitely more suited to the younger me - it was ...
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Uses Genre Tropes Against You
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, April 1, 2023
Recently I have been revisiting a sitcom that I used to love but, funnily enough, never finished. The last season of the show dropped during a hectic period of my life and by the time I had, well time, to watch it, I had lost the plot. But thanks to ...
TwistJam, a Cross-Webcomic Site Collaboration Project, Begins!
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, March 20, 2023
Photo: “TwistJam Page One”. Drawn by HawkandFloAdventures. (March 2023)
TwistJam, a collaborative comic involving many crossover interactions between original characters from TheDuck AND ComicFury started uploading new pages (*Patreon or *Ko-Fi only) two days ago.
TwistJam will feature a Basketball game with VERY special commentators (who have yet to be ...
Being Inclusive vs. Being Authentic
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 18, 2023
So for some reason my youtube is being besieged by rant videos over The Little Mermaid live action movie by Disney… AGAIN. You'd think the algorithm would know by now that I only watch ER skits and debunking videos, but here we are.
The controversy (again) is over the ...