Jan 20My ParodiesMy Parodies Free Selections from Spoofs of The Hobbit by Valerie Estelle Frankel Now on Sale: Henry Potty and the Pet Rock An Unexpected Parody: The Unauthorized Spoof of The Hobbit Introduction What’s the only thing better than parodies? Free parodies! Along with plenty of commentary on pop culture (usually serious…Writing Sample31 min readWriting Sample31 min read
Published in Pop Off·Aug 22, 2022Member-onlyConsidering House of the DragonHaving watched the newest installment of the Dragons, sequel to the incredibly popular Game of Thrones, one word comes up front and center. Exposition exposition exposition. Okay there are a lot of new characters to introduce. But when we’ve reached the point of saying “I know you don’t like your…Game Of Thrones5 min readGame Of Thrones5 min read
Published in Pop Off·Aug 19, 2022Member-onlyFinally, a Real (Green) Woman at MarvelMarvel doesn’t have a lot of heroines. Black Widow is a humorless super-spy who never had fun of any sort before her epic death. The Wasp tends to yield the stage to Ant-Man, however unwillingly. Now Scarlet Witch has gone full Daenerys in her irrational fury (ugh). Most of the…She Hulk4 min readShe Hulk4 min read
Published in Pop Off·Jun 8, 2022Member-onlyMs. Marvel: The Fan Superhero Starts SlowSome fans had been eagerly awaiting this one more than any of the MCU shows, for a long long time. At last we got her in live action. Ms. Marvel was recognizable from the comics but different. She’s still an icon for first generation Americans with awkward immigrant families. Let’s…Ms Marvel5 min readMs Marvel5 min read
Jun 3, 2022Worldbuilding Timeline: CalithwainFirst Age correspond to earth time? Year 1: Founding of Calithwain and silver pillar 3000 years ago, myth. Year 278: The warlike Aesir invade from their realm of Asgard. Year 352: Humans enter realm of Calithwain from realm of Earth. They arrive on the isle of “Delos”. Year 352: Humans…9 min read9 min read
Jun 2, 2022Worldbuilding: Beasts of CalithwainCalithwain: Major powers: Academy (Jixil attacks book two) Elves/Forest Dwellers (Jixil attacks book one) Dwarves/Goblins (dark Wolf starts fighting each other over something stupid) Nomads (dark “convinces them to only care about themselves) Sea Creatures (dark Wolf sends a monster or natural disaster) he sends the leviathan. Evil Powers: Jixil/tzalmaveths …24 min read24 min read
Jun 2, 2022Worldbuilding: Plants of CalithwainHeartthorn: Purple Flower, grows in Seln, in out-of-the-way spots. Heals people who are deathly ill. (Nerana) Lavaroot: One of the more deadly poisons, grows in forests of north Calithwain (Magic Portal) Nulaan’s Kiss: little white flower used in spells, enhances water element, found on Nulaan’s isle and nearby, right beside…4 min read4 min read
Published in Pop Off·May 11, 2022Member-onlyMultiverse of Madness, Feminine Roles of SamenessWithout knowing anything about Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, I had no particular expectations. Wanda and America Chavez (yay) would be main characters, and they’d hurtle through the multiverses being toyed with in the rather unsatisfying allusions and lead-ins offered in Loki and What If, then presented a…Marvel5 min readMarvel5 min read
Published in Pop Off·Apr 27, 2022Member-onlyReturning to the Real Spirit of Potter: Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts 3Fantastic Beasts 3 was a pleasant return to what we were missing in movie 2. In fact, The Crimes of Grindelwald was terribly dark, with the problematic racist and sexist fridging of Nagini the show animal/sacrificed heroine. Another criticism of movie two is the muddled plot and very muddled characterization…Harry Potter4 min readHarry Potter4 min read
Published in Pop Off·Mar 27, 2022Member-onlyBridgerton Season Two…What’s the Draw Again?Fans loved Bridgerton season one. It brought a sweet joy to the pandemic and the cast was clearly having fun too. This time, the racial diversity doesn’t feel new — the Sharma sisters are from India and describe the culture there a bit, but they’re dressed as traditional English misses…Bridgerton5 min readBridgerton5 min read
