Handle With Kara @handlewithkara - Tumblr Blog

Minor characterization thoughts

Just want to quickly say, I’m not really emotionally into Vi/Cait (though I do think that that is a story that is happening). However, I can’t help but sideye a bit that people jump to the conclusion that Cait was having a “gay panic” moment. Again, i get that that is a joke/a trope, but to me it seems kind of a leap to assume that Cait must not be aware that she is into girls and be shocked that Vi is hitting on her as opposed to “is it a good idea to hook up with this person I barely know and who is freshly out of jail?”. (no comment on “I was just released from years in a mixed gender prison on non-existant charges and on the way to try and save my sister, but I have time to hit on people”)

Now, don’t get me wrong, it is possible of course and I could see how if it was the case that this is news to Caitlyn why that would make Vi more special in her eyes and explain the high amount of latching onto her.

At the same time, I don’t feel like the show has defined it either way and between the line about being misfits to Jayce, the way she interacts with him in general and blows him off or removes herself from her family (for example during the hunting thing), I wouldn’t rule out that that is very much not news to her.

(I swear, this is the last of the Arcane spam)

#arcane #caitlyn #vi

Call me crazy, but I feel like the creators of Arcane might have a type.

#arcane #viktor #mel medarda #caitlyn

Sidenote

Anybody else had to laugh at Viktor doing his best How To Train Your Dragon impression?

#arcane #viktor league of legends #viktor

So, Arcane Act 2 aired/dropped. Glad to report that it’s still pretty good and still offensively pretty.

I was also happy that it went against my typical prejudices and actually contained a sex scene, no matter how not really emotional and plot relevant it was, and no matter how LSD trippy it got,

Going against my cyncism of “violence is okay, sex is taboo” (looking at you MOTUR). Then again the studio who makes the art is French so maybe that explains it. 😉

Also, the relationship between Silco and Jinx is unsettling.

He makes an excellent villain though.

#arcane

aprincessofdaxam

I’m kind of surprised that people are so upset about Mon. Like….they made it REALLY CLEAR at the end of s3 that karamel was over. There was no real reason for him to have to leave, and even if there were, the radio silence over the last few seasons (minus the ‘alternate timelines’ ep) cemented that. I’m sad that they brought it back to rub in our faces one last time, but the writing was on the wall way before the finale.

Anon, I don't think it was "really clear" that Karamel was over FOREVER. Sure, they were done at that point, and even the most optimistic of us would have called it only a slim possibility over the last three years.

BUT when he left in S3, they very deliberately left the door open for if they ever chose to bring him back - the original script from that scene had a line from Mon-El saying "I will always cherish knowing you," a very final line that was scrapped in favor of him giving her the ring and "In case you ever need me."

And again, in his appearance in 100, they very clearly KEPT the door open. It was a pretty straightforward scene that they could have kept strictly platonic. But they made the directing and editing choice to keep that last lingering, fond look Kara gave Mon-El.

I never thought it was presented as "this door is completely closed," I thought they played it as "we do not have this actor/character available to us, so we're moving on to tell other stories without him, but we're not completely shutting the door, just in case."

But anyway, as far as why people are upset ... I can't speak for others, but while I'm bummed but resigned about Karamel, what I'm REALLY UPSET about is Mon-El's story. And I already wrote that novel here.

handlewithkara

I have always been hesitant to buy into the whole “he was made to deal with her dual identity, so it HAS to be resolved this way” (though I do think that the “with you I can just be myself line was written AFTER AK was already gone from the show, like, dear writers, you wrote that, nobody made you). Simply because there was no proof the writers ever saw this way just because it sounds neat to us.

My dislike is more about how this was an annoying scene to close out even in a world where the writers don’t want to do Karamel ever again and to them it’s 100% clear that Kara is happy in the present and should stay here.

The problem with something like the “in this lifetime” line is that at least in my this immediately triggers ??? Why? Errr, what other lifetimes are you talking about? (beacuse “this lifetime” sounds like the words of somebody who is sad/regretful about it)

If the writers wanted to signal to us that Karamel is absolutely chill over and are totally at peace with that and there is no yearning, no tragedy, I think the line would have worked better with something like:

Mon-El: My data shows that we are not going to see each other again. So I was glad for this last opportunity to see you and thank you for changing my life. I’m glad that we met. Kara: I’m glad as well. Good luck in the future.

Now what would work even BETTER if they were actually determined with their “alien Kara on earth in the present” storyline would have been if they had done a formal “handover”.

Like imaging a scene where Mon-El does go to the wedding, hangs out in the background. At some point they have a conversation and Mon-El tells Kara something like:

Mon-El: It’s good to see everybody be so happy/you have changed the world so much (in regards to aliens hanging out with human)/this is your place, you belong in the present, I’m sure the best it yet to come for you. I’m glad I got this last opportunity to meet the person who is going to change the world. ..

Basically if they had used Mon-El to give his “blessing” to this way of resolving her identity conflict and reinforced the theme and confirmed to the audience that even he, an outsider sees that this is how it should be. (along the lines of to the scene where James is looking at Mon-El with Kara and telling Kara that he had never seen her happier, a formal passing the torch moment)

Again, maybe from the point of view of the writers I can see why they might not have wanted that if they believed this sort of confirmation from somebody who hasn’t been with the show for a while wasn’t necessary, but imo it would have created a more cohesive feeling whole if they had used his appearnce to actualy tie into the themes they were apparently going for.

Basically writers have a right to shift from one couple to another, and even from one central conflict to another if they feel the old one is not working anymore. The problem in this case is in regards to couples they moved away from Karamel, but never towards anything else. Again note that we have Kara asking Will whether they meet up again and asking Mon whether we can stay at the wedding and both times she gets shot down. Seriously, at this step of her journey, why is she still getting shot down? Why is the decision moved out of her hands by the men pushing her away? (and while they moved thematically towards Lena they also at the same time very intentionally reaffirmed that they did this in a friendship area) If you want to tell the story of a strong proactive protagonist, shouldn’t she be the one shooting people down rather than the decision being taken out of her hands? And if you really don’t want to write that… why even have her ask?

(again imagine a scene where Mon-El is like “I could never stop thinking about you, I would like to try again” and Kara is very clearly “I’m sorry, let me cut you off right there, we never fit that well together and if you search your heart, deep down you know what you are happier in the future”. Yes that would be terrible for Karamel, but at least it would be KARA making that decision. Rather than being made a passive recepient in an episode that should be celebrating that she is a strong and liberated woman)

With the identity conflict I think there is more room to argue they tried to replace it with something else, we just don’t find it very convincing, but we are also shippers so we are predisposed to be uninterested in the new way of doing it.

Again, I’m focusing on that line because I just really don’t want to rant on finale, because it would likely be another rant on Lena and the nature of lies and identity and I just don’t want to talk about it. I like Lena too little that I want to give her that much space in writing and ranting about her. So I’m focusing specifically on how they resolved Mon-El and his guest appearance.

I don’t really feel like posting long philosophical treaties or takedowns of the finale. It just don’t feel that it’s worth it.

I do want to note one thing though (I’m sure I’m not the first one to note this, like I said, I’m not really interested, so I also haven’t been reading anybody else’s rants either):

To me it is quite striking how this feels like a repeat or mirror of the season 1 finale. I assume that was entirely intentional.

Most notably in:

1.) Cat urging Kara to make a decision about her professional future 2.) All the friends convening (the “Love binds us all” speech from season 1 if you remember)

I get why this was probably appealing to the writers, but to me this feels kind of stunted. That rather than Kara showing off to Cat how much she has grown, it is instead a repeat of their dynamic. Which again, back in season 1, back when Kara was just starting out as Supergirl, used to be based on Kara being young/inexperienced/insecure. One would think that after so many years, Kara would be past that?

Like there is a difference between Kara saying “I have been thinking about this, I want to do this, as my friend, let me run this past you, will you have my back” or Kara going “I don’t know what to do, please tell me” or “I don’t know whether I can or should do it, You tell me whether I can/should do that”.

I just feel like the show could have made a stronger argument in favor of Kara being a strong, confident woman, a leader, somebody who is ready to grab her destiny and make her decisions with her friends supporting her, rather than leaning on season 1 characterization.

(Ironically, reminds me a lot about the rants about the Supernatural finale with some people disliking that the show went back to Sam and Dean just hunting things just like in season 1 rather than celebrating a new dynamic with the extended found family. Maybe it’s just inherently attractive to writers to go back to how things started for their own nostalgia, even if it isn’t necessarily the most appealing choice for character development)

But yeah, I don’t really want to talk or think about it too much.

So I’ll just go back to ignore mode.

#supergirl #kara danvers #kara zor-el #cat grant

notsomildmanerred

Hi guys. I haven't been painting/coloring due to budget issues but a friend suggested to post my drawings anyway so we have more karamel content. 💙

If anyone likes them enough to commission a colored version, feel free to send me a message. If not, likes and reblogs still help as feedback. Thanks much!

handlewithkara

Thank you so much for your art, it’s amazing as always. Maybe it would be interesting what the price of a colored commission roughly is?

ao3feed-karamel

by handlewithkara

Basically my take how Mon-El’s visit should gave gone

Words: 3736, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Supergirl (TV 2015)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Mon-El (Supergirl TV 2015), Nia Nal, Background Nyxly/Lex, Background Brainia - Character

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Mon-El

Additional Tags: Declarations Of Love, Angst, Alien Culture

handlewithkara

Originally wasn’t rushing to post this, but some really touching compliments for this one from by beta, so I decided to post it sooner ❤️

notsomildmanerred

MON-EL FAN ART

Lineart / Sketch

Mon-El / Valor

mikkeneko

if there’s one self-care skill I really wish fans would develop – especially fans of continuing media, where you get into a thing before it’s finished – it’s the ability to say “this is no longer the story I wanted it to be” and walk away

(and I am not exempting myself from this! there are definitely periods in my past media engagement which would have been less negative for my mental health if I’d been able to do this, rather than banging my head in increasing frustration as the story veered further and further away from what I had always thought its arc was supposed to be.)

you gotta marie kondo this shit. if the story no longer sparks joy for you, then let it go. and you can grieve for that! that loss of potential, that happiness you might once have had with it. you can be frustrated and sad and bitch about it in your group chat. but you have to let it go.

because the alternative is trying to force the creator to change course to comply with your vision and historically? the success rate of that is very, very low, and far more statistically likely to result in the destruction of the thing entirely. which might sound tempting and satisfying in those moments of frustration but in the end, honestly, is not going to make you any happier. (and is definitely going to make other people unhappier.)

what will make you happier is finding some other story that is more like what you wanted. because it’s a vast vast world out there, and people are creating stories and media faster than ever. yes, even queer media, yes, even PoC driven/led media. no one person will ever be able to consume them all. find something out there that brings you joy, that is the story you wanted. and the rest? let go.

ao3feed-karamel

by handlewithkara

When a 5th dimensional imp invades the DEO and turns Kara into a boy, Mon-El offers her his help in coping with her predicament.

(season 2 AU)

Words: 3069, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Supergirl (TV 2015)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Kara Danvers, Mon-El (Supergirl TV 2015), Alex Danvers, Nyxlygsptlnz (DCU)

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Mon-El

Additional Tags: Genderbending, Hand Jobs, Inappropriate Erections, Topping from the Bottom, Magic, Body Dysphoria, Crack, Humor, Denial

handlewithkara

So a little bit a crack/dumb humor.

At this point I have written Karamel hooking up while they are body swapped, Karamel while he thinks Kara is a boy (twice!) and while they are both cross dressing for a halloween party, so this sort of completes the set with a story where Kara is actually turned into a boy, at least temporarily.

Structurally it’s a fairly mundane season 2 alternative getting together story. I miss those. So much less angsty.

handlewithkara

So, I finally posted the next chapter of this, now the smut is starting. Wasn’t sure whether to post this or the second chappie of Control, but I figure this one is overall fluffier/funnier, so this is what I went with.

andromedasmith

I wonder if I’ll ever want to write Karamel fanfic again. Sure doesn’t feel like it right now.

handlewithkara

I just wanted to say, it means so much to me that you are still willing to beta read all the stuff I dumped on you. I imagine that it might be quite sad and painful, on top of various real life responsibilities.

I’ve been thinking at lot lately about inspiration and how it related to canon. (warning, this is going to be an endless tangent)

I have a lot of stuff left that was already finished or close to finished, that I will post, but I’m not going to lie, there is probably a story or too, that would have had a higher chance of getting finished if Karamel had ended on a more feed-good note. And that is aside from the of course things like people moving on from the fandom if there is no more canon content (though I hope at least some peeps are wiling to at least stick around for He-Man since at is like only 2 weeks from now or so?).

Anyway, about our relationship with canon. In a lot of ways, I do think that of course it feels good and rewarding to feel like one is in agreement with the writers about something, on the same page with them.

But I’ve also been second guessing if maybe we place too much importance on it. Writers are powerful people outside of fandom, they are supposed to have a more professional point of view, so of course validation from them feel bigger.

But in the end, they are also just people. People have different tastes and priorities and opinions and worldviews. Fro me to lose sleep over it is as pointless as losing sleep over why that song in a hit and that one isn’t, why that movie is tearing up the box office and that other one isn’t, why that celebrity is a star and that maybe more talented one isn’t. Or in a more serious area, why this politician or political party is getting more votes.

Yes, those things are important, but at the same time, taking each incident too personally is just draining and bad for the soul. You can’t go into the world and expect everybody to share your opinion instantly (whether it is because of various things that are unfair things in society (like sex sells, society is racist or “people who are willing to make a media circus out of themselves get more attention” for artists for example) or just genuinely matters of different tastes, you can just live by your opinion and speak up for it. Most of the time it’s not going to work and even when it does work, it’s not going to work very quickly.

Anyway, I feel I have just had a lot of experience with media that was of very different quality.

For example, Frank Herbert’s first Dune book is one of my favorite scifi books of all time. The second and third book are kind of readable, everything beyond that gets really weird and then there are the additional material by less talented writers that are completely pointless.

The fact that everything past the first book is of varying quality however does not change my love for the book itself.

Similarly, I read comics and I feel like there it’s very normal to enjoy just “a run”, a storyline, a particular year of a character, then for the next three years you go “wtf is this, this makes me want to stab my eyes out”. Because you have the same characters written and being interpreted by so many completely different artists and writers.

TV shows suffer that as well. For example, while it had its moments, I don’t think Vampire Diaries was every really a good show again after Kevin Williamson left. And books could be written of “promising first season, completely goes off the rail”.

Anyway, because I have so much experience with really flawed canons, I feel like what I have taken from it is that you have to zero in on the good parts. And the parts that weren’t just good, but that had that special spark that ignited fan behavior in you. (Though I feel like fan behavior is often particularly attracted to promising but flawed media, promising enough to spark the imgination, but not so flawless that you don’t feel like you could ever add to it) .

I guess what I’m trying to say is: I think it’s normal to love inspiration and feel downtrodden. In the end, hope is a powerful motivation (though other motivators like anger or perfectionism of course also exist). I just don’t think it should ever be a question of it feeling wrong, as if we needed permission from the creators to write fanfiction or interpret the story in a certain way.

At the same time, I don’t think people should pressured to create (or comment) either, if they are blue. Like, I know I want to post all the stuff that I have lying around. And I’m at peace that it’s pretty much my own fault that because I’m so slow finishing stuff that by the time I post it, I doubt many people will still feel like commenting or discussing (the part what I enjoy the most about the process). But even I am not sure whether I will write anything beyond trying up the loose ends of mostly finished stuff after this week.

(though I have to say, big kudos to people who can, it’s kind of inspiring to look at the AO recent fics and find people still writing things for concluded canons like X-Files or the original Harry Potter books)

I do want to encourage all Karamel writers who are feeling blue to just post their unfinished stuff. Just make a story on A03 “Unfinished Karamel Snippet(s)” or something like that and post whatever you got. I realize, it probably won’t be very rewarding, because just like you are feeling too down to write, there’s probably a lot of people who feel too down to read and comment. But I genuinely think you should stil do it and it would be a fun thing to preserve for posterity.

ao3feed-karamel

by handlewithkara

With her sister’s wedding approaching, Kara takes stock of the people in her life. What conclusion does she come to?

Words: 4415, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Supergirl (TV 2015), Legion of Super Heroes - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Mon-El (Supergirl TV 2015), James “Jimmy” Olsen, Kenny Li, Alex Danvers, Legionnaires (Legion of Super-Heroes)

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Mon-El, Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers

Additional Tags: Fix-It, Happy Ending, Goodbyes, Bossy Kara

handlewithkara

This was not inspired by the finale, I had this lying around. It was basically riffing on the idea that everybody in Kara’s life is settled in and is doing fine without her. Mon-El is the wedding and Kara realizes he’s the only one who isn’t, that even though he won’t admit it, he is actually miserable and so she decides to do something about it.

#my writing: karamel