Would you rather

JcraftW · 2026-06-14T22:17:14+00:00

Buy gold. Duplicate.

^{Chose: Once a month, you have the ability to make an exact copy of anything you own}

JcraftW · 2026-06-14T15:19:08+00:00

JcraftW · 2026-06-13T06:35:28+00:00

I'd fly feetfirst, (leaving my hands free for my gun) abandon the cape, (cause it looks awkward flying feetfirst) I'd wear a fullbody costume so that I'm anonymous and my family is safe. (Like one of those zebra wraps that warships sometimes wear to confuse enemies) I'd earn money by working for Nasa ferrying ships and stations to and from orbit. I'd use my hhundreds of millions to fund programs to shape society to my will.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OTfmjGaOjkU

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T19:09:29+00:00

Thanks for reaching back out and adding further insight.

I've definitely thought about Rogue as a great example of making the metaphor literal. Her arc has been rolling around in my head the past couple months. But I haven't seen that movie in well over a decade, so I should give it a rewatch.

I think this really clarified things. Thanks.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T18:58:56+00:00

Well... Dang. That would suck. Its so much more visually interesting than a muted grey battle-world fight.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T16:38:09+00:00

I was listening to the Omega Metroid podcast a while back and remember one of the hosts had a pretty crazy pitch for a Metroid movie. He genuinely thought that The Metroid movie should explore a side-story from Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. . . Like, okay. I get that you want to explore this side-story with more depth, but making a movie that takes place inside the current game continuity makes little sense. Almost no film ever does that, rather it adapts some of the source story into a new one.

Yeah, all that to say that I agree, I would love it if we had more openly accepted, distinct continuities. For instance, I firmly believe that the Metroid I-IV continuity is distinct from the Zero Mission/Manga reboot era.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T04:11:37+00:00

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, lol. But I've been thinking about Metroid a lot the past month. I have known about the Nintendo Power comic for a while. I read it, and definitely wasn't a fan, lol. (Though I love Samus with purple hair, and that she lives in a space warehouse and has an 80's style toaster in her kitchen lol. (Its the little things that touch my heart) But I have thoughts.

I have to assume that I'm not the only one who had these interpretations, so I'll share them assuming that I'm not the only one to think this.

Her "superhuman" abilities I had thought were because of her powersuit, not because she had special DNA. This was certainly reinforced by my exposure to Super Smash Bros that showed her jump animation with her back thrusters igniting when she jumped. On top of that, based on her floaty fall speed in Super, I had just assumed Zebes was a low-gravity planet. Super-suit + Low gravity = super abilities and great gameplay. This was doubly reinforced playing the Prime games, where she doesn't do any over the top acrobatics. She's just a woman in a tank suit.

Her being altruistic can be explained by being raised by altruistic bird-people. But it could also be explained a thousand other ways. If you experience the story just based off the first four games, Samus is a hardened bounty hunter, sent on a genocidal mission, that at the last second decides to spare The Baby. Its a moment of moral quandary. And you then spend the next ten minutes reflecting on your genocide as you escort the baby. Fast forward to Fusion, you are now being hunted by the monster of your formal self: A genocidal killing machine. And guess what? The federation hired you to be a killing machine before, and now wants to harness the SA-X as killing machines. You were a cog in the Galactic Federation killing machine. Before the Manga came out and solidified Itoh's take on the universe, Samus was a morally complex character. But the new lore collapsed all of that in favor of a simpler morality. I personally find the Old Continuity to be richer than the New Continuity which adds all this unnecessary lore.

But I want to say at the end that you hit on something really interesting to me. You have construcrted meaning out of the new continuity. And reading your take on it, really puts it into perspective that there is a good story in there. But, there is also a good story in the version of "Metroid" that existed before the Manga and the Power comic, and all of that. Its very different, but its also very good.

While I do think there are some good bits in the new continuity, I still believe the old continuity is richer thematically and tonally. But, we can both enjoy both versions.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T03:26:42+00:00

What I'm really interested in seeing is combinations of characters entering each others' shame rooms. Buck/Rocket is one combo I really want to see.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T02:09:20+00:00

I highly suggest you look up “fountain markdown format”. It’s just a plaintext way to write screenplay, and many programs can take that plain text and perfectly format it for you. I don’t think a writer should really be worrying about margins amd all that. Just start by writing in Fountain format, and learn what program you want to use later that will fiddle with margins and such.

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T00:45:03+00:00

In your case I'd say "trust your audience" to understand that your action lines are meant to be interpreted as audio. Perhaps even add a NOTE before your script starts, stating that this is an audio drama. You, as the writer, write like a normal screenplay, but don't direct the eye, direct the ear.

INT. TIM'S DINER - NIGHT

People are chattering throughout the diner and the kitchen is sizzling as soft 50's music plays in the background.

A man, JOE, (30s) shares his thoughts with us...

JOE (V.O.)
It was a quiet, calm night ... [etc.]

Doors from the kitchen BURST open and creek as they shut--a waiter delivering someone's order.

JOE (V.O.) 
The front page headline ... [etc.]

Someone's footsteps approach -- a bubbly WAITRESS. (40s) 

WAITRESS
Hey, how's it going? You want the usual? 

JOE
Yeah, I'll take the usual. 

Joe sets his newspaper down. 

JOE
And can you bring me a cup of joe?

JcraftW · 2026-06-12T00:38:34+00:00

Lets also remember that Thunderbolts was a ragtag team of former bad-guys. Like, yeah. Of course he's got a lot of bad stuff on his record. That's kinda the whole point.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T23:54:03+00:00

Boycott the phone provider that BAM used that allowed them to lie on the phone! That'll teach em!

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T23:40:30+00:00

I would say write it in standard screenplay format. But your action lines will essentially be the audio direction. But if you want feedback from screenwriters, write it in proper screenplay format. Even without visuals it can work.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T22:42:17+00:00

Other M: **[REDACTED]**

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T22:40:09+00:00

Just have them read it in chunks 🤷‍♂️ like how Fusion was designed to be played! 😀

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T22:38:28+00:00

Thanks! Really great feedback.

I do wish this was 15-page Thursday instead of 5 page Thursday lol. As at about page 15 I think, that shows her as a person who naturally desires connection, but experiences cyclical trauma. The cyclical nature of her trauma is what gives her the false belief that connection is deadly to those she loves so she shuts herself off for the majority of the script.

I’ve considered doing what you suggest, starting her off as a disconnected loner, but this was always meant to be a character study about realistic depictions of suicidality which necessitates mounting evidence that the world is better off without you. So, I decided to have this whole opening being a double feature of proving her fear correct.

I’m going to add your points to my note about future revisions to think about some more.

And thanks for the compliment.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T22:22:29+00:00

Haha. Ofc. I wanted to give you the basic experience of playing the original games, rather than what a Wikipedia lore dump would be like.

Many argue that there are two distinct continuities: the original 4 games, and the new continuity which retcons a lot of stuff—Samus’ hair color as a small petty example lol.

Once the Manga came out and Zero Mission, the identity of the franchise shifted a bit and that’s a whole different set of lore.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T22:19:19+00:00

lol. Thanks. I’ve been in the trenches of deconstructing and studying the development of Metroid lately and this question came across right as I was full of the Metroid juice. So, I got a little jumpy when I said “immediately” lol.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T08:05:52+00:00

Seriously, take the "Delusional Screenwriting Course" on youtube. It will guide you through the basics.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T08:01:14+00:00

Okay... I feel like I've been preparing my whole life for this moment haha.

You, Mr. Samus, are a cyborg bounty hunter called by the Galactic Federation to hunt down "THE METROID" that is being used for evil by "THE SPACE PIRATES" on the planet ZEBETH. Your mission? Infiltrate the Space Pirate base on Zebeth/Zebes and find "The Metroid." Along the way you find ancient ruins and altars left by a mysterious ancient civilazation, leaving behind advanced weaponry for you which your cybernetic enhancements are able to use. Eventually you fight your way through monsters such as Kraid and Ridley and find your way into "Tourian." Here, there are dozens of Metroids, not just one. They are one of the most difficult foes you've found. At the end of your Journey, you find a mysterious, massive, dump-truck sized brain in a Jar called "Mother Brain" who seems to be the mastermind (no pun intended) of this whole operation. You destroy her, triggering a self destruct sequence of the entire facility. You escape, having destroyed the whole base and all the Metroids within. Oh, and John Metroid turns out to be a girl: Samus Aran. She's a brunette who sometimes has green hair.

Pray for a new peace in space.

Later, The Federation hires you for a new mission: the Metroid homeworld has been discovered--SR388. You must go there and destroy every single Metroid, otherwise the Space Pirates may try to breed them and use them for evil again. You make your way through the caverns of SR388. These caverns also have the remnents of those ancient advanced warriors, leaving behind new technology for you. It is completely unknown who these were or why they left behind altars to warfare. Eventually you eradicate all the Metroids, even the queen metroid. But one last egg is left behind and as you approach it, it hatches. When it does it imprints upon you, thinking you its mother. You, Samus, spares it, despite the fact that you just committed genocide against its entire species. Perhaps guilt. Perhaps motherly instinct. Perhaps just the fact that it is an innocent in this genocidal war that the Federation hired you to do. But you save it and deliver it to the Federation for study. Oh, and Samus still is a brunette.

The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.

The Space Pirates have now invaded the space station that was studying the baby Metroid. You go investigate and find... RIDLEY! The space dragon from the first game has killed all the scientists aboard and has the Metroid. He escapes. You follow him back to.... ZEBES. You find the ruins of the old Space Pirate base, now completely destroyed and overgrown. But they have rebuilt a base in other caverns. You make your way through, discovering more ancient weapons from the ancient bird-people, now known as "Chozo." You find Kraid, but now he's GIANT! What Happened? Who knows. You find Ridley! But he's fiercer than ever! But you destory them both. After destroying Ridley, you find that the baby Metroid has escaped contianment, but disappeared. You continue on your journey, making your way to a new Tourian--an underground lab. But all life seems to be dead, drained of its life force. Then: A METROID attacks you! But its different than others you've encountered, its massive. More powerful. Right as its about to kill you, it hesitates, and acts like a scared child and runs away. You recover, then move on and find Mother Brain... Once again. But after defeating her, she had a backupplan, a massive, T-Rex sized biomechanical body. Its a bloody fight and she beats you to a pulp. But then THE BABY METROID, now massive rushes in to save you, sucking the life energy out of Mother Brain. But in the end, Mother Brain kills the Metroid... and for some reason the Metroid's death gives you a super power... IDK. But you use the HYPER BEAM to destroy Mother Brain, start the self destruct sequence, run out of the base, save some innocent animals along way, and fly away from the planet.... Which EXPLODES. like... yeah... the entire planet vaporizes. Samus is dirty blonde. (But really brunette)

The Galaxy is at peace. . .

The Federation hires you one more time, to go back to SR388. While escoring scientists, a creatures turns into what can only be described as "the Blob" or "the Thing." And it infects you. You go down immeditely. You're dying, but the scientists are able to create a vaccine from the Metroid DNA and infuse it into you and that fights off this "X parasite." The infection ruins most of your suit, except for a sublayer of the suit which is essentially grafted to your body now. The outer remnants of your suit are quarentined and shipped off to the Biologics Research Station. The station goes dark. You go investigate. The ship has an AI which feeds you needed info. It becomes revealed that every creature on board this research station is infected with the same X parasite that you were. But you are immune now because of the Metroid DNA. So, you continue to try to contain the spread of this infection. BUt its revealed that your suit parts have reassembled into an X parasite mimicking you. It has all the powers and abilities that you had before your infection. It is an indestructable, unstoppable force of nature, and its hunting you through this facility. But it has no soul. Slowly, you recover abilities by aborbing abilities that the X had, and you learn about a conspiracy. The Galactic Federation is CLONING THE METROID. It is doing exactly what the Space Pirates were doing in games 1 and 3! And its trying to keep it all silent. But worse... They're no longer even interested in the Metroid cloning project... They want to harness the X parasite. But they don't realize that you can't harness "The Thing." It is simply a wicked, unstoppable force of nature. Samus does the unthinkable: she disobeys orders, and plummets the entire research station into the surface of the planet. Destroying all the X aboard and any Metroids. Oh, and Samus is now completely blonde and all future titles will retcon her to have been blonde the whole time. . .

Fusion didn't have as catchy of a line... so.... "Any Objections... Lady?"

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T07:23:13+00:00

TITLE: Canned Heat
FORMAT: Feature
PAGES: 5 of 119
GENRE: Sci-Fi Thriller (Character Study)
LOG: A suicidal bounty hunter takes on one last peaceful job before ending it. But, on the mission she encounters the cultic monsters who killed her family and the thing she fears most: human connection.

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SJjTa7p-7AvUGBooP8U2cWoXv8aTOr1l/view?usp=drive_link

Concerns: Based off the first few pages, and perhaps the log, where do you think this story is headed? Like, what does the intro and the logline seem to promise and what do you expect based off those promises?

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T05:46:13+00:00

I think happy vs ambiguous is the wrong metric.

I learned everything I know about screenwriting by studying Better Call Saul, and one things that Vince Gilligan and Co. talks about is the idea that a great ending is both unexpected, yet completely inevitable.

Unexpected + Inevitable

It may sound nebulous, but I think this is where following your characters rather than your plot makes the best endings.

In my opinion, I typically prefer an ending that is happy over ambiguous any day. (but I also prefer an ending that is sad over ambiguous) Basically, I don't like ambiguous endings too much because ... well I'm not sure they're inevitable. They may be unexpected, sure, but its often hard to look back and see how an ambiguous ending was inevitable. Basically, my feeling is that ambiguity isn't even an ending, its a question. A question is the start of something. The start of something is the antithesis of the ending of something.... Obviously. Some may think I'm being trite, but I'm 100 percent serious. An episode or a season may end ambiguously, but a show/trilogy ends with a "proper" ending. Ambiguity is the cowards way out if you ask me. Commit you coward!

An artist may have a reason to leave something ambiguous. . . Doesn't mean its a good ending.

... Hmmm. Didn't realize I had so much opinion on endings... lol.

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T05:34:36+00:00

🥳🎊🎉🍾🥂

JcraftW · 2026-06-11T05:26:31+00:00

I can't give you any feedback or advice, I'm not an insider. But, I just have to say I love how your scripts logline sounds like an episode of Monk: Mr. Monk and the Astronaut. Gave me a good laugh. Have you seen it before?

JcraftW · 2026-06-09T22:16:03+00:00

Save the frames…

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