Um, hey again. It's me.
Sure been a long time, huh. Well, no real reason why I've been gone for a while. School, general burnout from life, what have you. But I'm back, and I'm back with a vengeance, as the old saying goes.
First up, a review of DW II:13 I did for the FFML. So read, discuss, hate me or not:
MURMUR: Hello, and welcome to the first BABYLON REVIEW, wherein we review various fanfics that catch our fancy. With me today are CLAUS BARCA and LAVI HEAD. Welcome.
CLAUS: Hi.
LAVI: Hey. So, which fic are we starting with?
MURMUR: Good question, Lavi-chan!
LAVI: Hey!
MURMUR: Well, the first fic up for review is Robert M. Shroeck's DRUNKARD'S WALK II: ROBOT'S RULES OF ORDER, chapter 13. And, Claus, why don't you give us the heads up on this series?
CLAUS: Oh! Um, okay. Well, uh. Hmm. Oh, okay! Our protagonist, Doug Sangnoir, is a "metahuman operative" from a world filled with super-people, who all act like comicbook heroes and villains but don't really call themselves that. Think about the WILD CARD series and you're halfway there. Anyway, Doug, also known as Loony Toons, is travelling through world after world, trying to get home. This is his second Walk, which takes place in the BGC world.
MURMUR: Some of the more salient points in this fic is that the author makes a conscious effort to stay away from the cliches of SI fics. So there's no hope of our hero getting into a romantic relationship with any of the Knight Sabers. Frankly, there's little chance of them actually liking him.
LAVI: I really like how he's really built up the secondary, and even tertiary characters from the series and made them more three-dimensional. Lisa Vanette and Katherine Madigan are two very good examples, really.
MURMUR: Good point. Of course, the wacky scientists that Doug has found himself working with are all orignal characters, but they fit pretty well with the rest of the cast. Anyway, this chapter, we have the aftermath of the lopsided battle between the Knight Sabers and reasonable simulacra of the Warriors (Doug's superhero team). Nene struggles with the moral questions that Doug brought up, as do most of the rest of the Sabers to greater or lesser degrees. And the question comes up: who exactly is Quincy, anyway?
LAVI: Doug realizes that he's been acting like a complete shmuck for the last few chapters, and resolves to make amends as soon as it is convient.
CLAUS: And Priss and Leon's relationship take leap forward.
MURMUR: So, thoughts, comments?
LAVI: Well, like I said, I really like how he's built up Lisa and Katherine, especially their strange relationship with each other. I particularly liked Lisa's thoughts on Katherine. She knows that Katherine does evil things, and she's not blind to it, but she also appreciates that Katherine has more facets to her. It's that kind of sophisticated characterization that makes this such a good series.
CLAUS: On the other hand, Doug is getting to be more and more of a guest-star in his own series. I think the majority of the chapter was devoted to the Knight Sabers and other characters rather than Doug.
LAVI: Which isn't a bad thing, you know. I mean, he hasn't been exactly sympathetic for a while now. He's never once come up against a physical threat that he hasn't rather handily beaten with one mega-powerful super power after the other. The worst thing that's ever happened to him is that he's been scolded! I think that it would be better, dramatically speaking, if the Knight Sabers become the protagonists and Doug becomes the antagonist. Not that that's likely to happen.
MURMUR: Interesting point, Lavi-chan. While Doug may be grating at times, and certainly you're right that within the context of this "Walk" he has yet to face any real difficulties, he is, as is the case of most successful SI fics, a compelling character with a unique voice.
LAVI: Sorry. I'm just finding less and less interest in Doug's "plight." There's just not enough dramatic tension for me there.
MURMUR: Well, that might change as soon as we find out more about Quincy. It was hinted at that . . . whoops, sorry. No spoilers here. So, overall, I thought that it was a good episode. The compelling characters made up for the fact that not much happened.
LAVI: Doug's still a shmuck, but he's getting a bit better. So it was all right.
CLAUS: Um. Yeah. I agree, see.
-murmur the fallen
Who asks Mr. Bob, "Mr. Bob, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie-Roll Pop?"
--no, wait, sorry; what's your policy on DW fanfic? Cause I've written something . . .
Sure been a long time, huh. Well, no real reason why I've been gone for a while. School, general burnout from life, what have you. But I'm back, and I'm back with a vengeance, as the old saying goes.
First up, a review of DW II:13 I did for the FFML. So read, discuss, hate me or not:
MURMUR: Hello, and welcome to the first BABYLON REVIEW, wherein we review various fanfics that catch our fancy. With me today are CLAUS BARCA and LAVI HEAD. Welcome.
CLAUS: Hi.
LAVI: Hey. So, which fic are we starting with?
MURMUR: Good question, Lavi-chan!
LAVI: Hey!
MURMUR: Well, the first fic up for review is Robert M. Shroeck's DRUNKARD'S WALK II: ROBOT'S RULES OF ORDER, chapter 13. And, Claus, why don't you give us the heads up on this series?
CLAUS: Oh! Um, okay. Well, uh. Hmm. Oh, okay! Our protagonist, Doug Sangnoir, is a "metahuman operative" from a world filled with super-people, who all act like comicbook heroes and villains but don't really call themselves that. Think about the WILD CARD series and you're halfway there. Anyway, Doug, also known as Loony Toons, is travelling through world after world, trying to get home. This is his second Walk, which takes place in the BGC world.
MURMUR: Some of the more salient points in this fic is that the author makes a conscious effort to stay away from the cliches of SI fics. So there's no hope of our hero getting into a romantic relationship with any of the Knight Sabers. Frankly, there's little chance of them actually liking him.
LAVI: I really like how he's really built up the secondary, and even tertiary characters from the series and made them more three-dimensional. Lisa Vanette and Katherine Madigan are two very good examples, really.
MURMUR: Good point. Of course, the wacky scientists that Doug has found himself working with are all orignal characters, but they fit pretty well with the rest of the cast. Anyway, this chapter, we have the aftermath of the lopsided battle between the Knight Sabers and reasonable simulacra of the Warriors (Doug's superhero team). Nene struggles with the moral questions that Doug brought up, as do most of the rest of the Sabers to greater or lesser degrees. And the question comes up: who exactly is Quincy, anyway?
LAVI: Doug realizes that he's been acting like a complete shmuck for the last few chapters, and resolves to make amends as soon as it is convient.
CLAUS: And Priss and Leon's relationship take leap forward.
MURMUR: So, thoughts, comments?
LAVI: Well, like I said, I really like how he's built up Lisa and Katherine, especially their strange relationship with each other. I particularly liked Lisa's thoughts on Katherine. She knows that Katherine does evil things, and she's not blind to it, but she also appreciates that Katherine has more facets to her. It's that kind of sophisticated characterization that makes this such a good series.
CLAUS: On the other hand, Doug is getting to be more and more of a guest-star in his own series. I think the majority of the chapter was devoted to the Knight Sabers and other characters rather than Doug.
LAVI: Which isn't a bad thing, you know. I mean, he hasn't been exactly sympathetic for a while now. He's never once come up against a physical threat that he hasn't rather handily beaten with one mega-powerful super power after the other. The worst thing that's ever happened to him is that he's been scolded! I think that it would be better, dramatically speaking, if the Knight Sabers become the protagonists and Doug becomes the antagonist. Not that that's likely to happen.
MURMUR: Interesting point, Lavi-chan. While Doug may be grating at times, and certainly you're right that within the context of this "Walk" he has yet to face any real difficulties, he is, as is the case of most successful SI fics, a compelling character with a unique voice.
LAVI: Sorry. I'm just finding less and less interest in Doug's "plight." There's just not enough dramatic tension for me there.
MURMUR: Well, that might change as soon as we find out more about Quincy. It was hinted at that . . . whoops, sorry. No spoilers here. So, overall, I thought that it was a good episode. The compelling characters made up for the fact that not much happened.
LAVI: Doug's still a shmuck, but he's getting a bit better. So it was all right.
CLAUS: Um. Yeah. I agree, see.
-murmur the fallen
Who asks Mr. Bob, "Mr. Bob, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie-Roll Pop?"
--no, wait, sorry; what's your policy on DW fanfic? Cause I've written something . . .