NGL im thinking of that I’m not star fire graphic novel written some four years ago and thinking how it could’ve been a first generation immigrant reflection of sorts instead of what it was
This is in no way an attack on the author but rather my way of viewing it or how i would’ve wrote it
I’ve been scrolling on YouTube and seen a video of it and i kinda went down a rabbit hole
Initially when this first released i didn’t go deep into it since i wasn’t a big D.C fan but i knew it got some hate and was pulled into the nostalgia train and had some ideas so here they are
I am not a professional writer and i never claimed to be this is just my silly little ramblings so dont take this seriously lol
To start with
in the book it seems Starfire never taught Mandy about her culture or past. That could be a plot point despite being done many many times it works.
What if Mandy wanted to be part of her mom‘s culture? wonder where she came from?? who she was ?? shared customs?
(Also as I’m writing this does she not notice her mom doesn’t have ANY family?? Like …AT ALL?? Like its normal to not have any aunts or uncles i guess but did star not have any support system in the titans??? Seems really unrealistic
I also know that this isn’t a direct canon to the comics and that its simply a version of star fire but i want to think deeper)
It happens a lot in immigrant households where the parents don’t share anything with their kids to adapt them to the u.s
(my parents never taught me creole for some reason. Don’t know why, )
but mandy could want to know where or who she is
Also where shown that Starfire was making by food from her planet (im guessing? )
Maybe mandy could’ve brought food from home to lubch to eat and like how this happens to many poc kids where kids make fun of the smell of your food or the food in general if its to ethnic it couldve happened to mandy and that would distance them even further
Starfire seemingly never told Mandy about her origins or culture because maybe she wants to assimilate or protect her ?
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Also! Mandy runs from runs away from her problems a lot and that could be a plot point. We see star taking mandy outside to see if her problems come in every birthday which is like…huh..?
Maybe She runs away from training every time her mom says “hey we should train” or “do you want to train/spar with me?” you could make Mandy find any excuse under the sun to avoid training with her mom
things like avoidance and her overcoming avoidance, that could be a good plot point since we see that a lot of times mandy retreats when forced to face issues she finds difficult or doesn’t like but what is the significance of that when really has no consequences?
What if she was secretly meeting backfire to get away from her mom because “anti starfire like me” and blackfire could feed her lies about her mom or she could become distant from her mom to go towards Black fire. It’s a little cliché, but it works
Why would Mandy want claim from the throne? She didn’t even know existed that’s dumb. Just take the throne black fire. She already had power?? Why are you kidnapping? That makes no sense
I feel like I’m not Starfire focuses more on the outside appearance
Like I feel like Mandy‘s, appearance carries the whole story more than her character
I mean her outward appearance carrying the story rather than the story itself
Like it heavily relies on how she contrasts physically from Starfire like it literally starts from her dyeing her hair.
The story relies on Mandys appearance and how outwardly different she is from starfire rather than show how different she is from Starfire it’s showing rather than telling and that’s I think people’s main problem story it seems unfleshed
I know the story wasn’t supposed to be this deep but when everybody else can tell, it wasn’t supposed to be this deep it kind of falls flat
( I know Mandy was a teenager and teenagers are supposed to be immature but at the same time she was approaching college?? Like she was talking about college and what college she was attending i expect at least some form of unbrattiness and less temper tantrums )
Like we could see how black fire is affecting Mandy having her pull her from her friends, her crush, school and Starfire would see that
Also, it would be a good plot point for Mandy to resemble starfire, she would still get to look like Mandy and have some insecurities
I don’t understand why Mandy had to look so different from Starfire. I don’t know why is she pale when Starfire is tan? Why is she short when Starfire is tall? She already doesn’t look like Starfire
It takes away the whole “I’m not Starfire” thing
Mandy could be tall like her mother
Since Starfire is known to be taller and is A tall beauty, but unlike star Mandy could find some insecurity in that
Have mandy be insecure about being tall like I’m not that tall but ive never been on the petite side either and that’s something many girls can relate too so we could showcase Mandy growing up faster than her peers and developing more faster than others like by the 4th grade she was taller than most boys and the teacher??
And some girls develop more faster than others, and they feel ostracized by it
Mandy being sexualized and resulting in her covering up, covering up more showcasing her insecurity
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Honestly, what really would be a good addition could be like a parallel to how Mandy looks up to Raven since raven and starfire have known each other for a long time shes bound to come by at one point
And should be super close. There could be like some sort of disconnection or crack in their relationship
Since their already is a disconnection between Mandy and Starfire, and we have Mandy being close to Raven
Starfire could Show some bad qualities(not necessarily bad but she could come off ad overbearing ) Starfire simply being jealous of Mandy’s and ravens relationship which upsets mandy because teens want independence they want fredom but starfire can come off as overbearing when we know she really had her daughters best interest at heart but Mandy wansts to let go a bit thats a more realistic mother - daughter relationship especially in this day in age and mady could lean toward Raven becuse ravens the cool laid back aunt (she wouldn’t go againt stars wishes but shes not exactly motherly either)
Mandy would be this mentee for raven and would bond more
And starfire could feel like raven is taking mandy away from her
that would be better and would make characters feel like not a place holder for Mandy’s little world
Im not trying to diminish or disrespect the original story the art is nice and the story is okay for what it is im just taking some of the stories criticisms and spinning it to my own web
