Otter's Rock

My problem with Supergirl--Kara's thinking specifically, but also the way the show is structured--is that when there is a problem Supergirl goes in and fights it, or maybe she gets the DEO to arrest it, and if that doesn't work then maybe she writes an article about it.  Every problem is a nail to get hammered on in the same way.  Whether or not any of these options are even REMOTELY right for the situation at hand.  And the show forces all things to fit that structure.  So, for example, this week's episode, in which ( Spoilers )
There were a lot of things that would have been a more appropriate way of handling the situation than punching it, and yet the show forced us into that mode anyway

So!  I am in the mood for some Lois Lane, Awesome Girl Reporter.  I take me to AO3, and find the Lois Lane tag, and sort it by kudos.  What do I find?

Pages and pages of Clark Kent/Lex Luthor slash (Smallville era) and Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne slash (current movies), with the occasional welcome break for Kara Danvers/Cat Grant femmeslash (Supergirl TV show).  In all of these, Lois is a minor background character who either a) gets our heroes together, b) is the obstacle to them getting together, or c) is off on the casefic aspect of the fic while the main focus is on our heroes getting together.

Now, it's nice to have the occasional femslash thing in there, so it isn't all "Lois Lane Pushed Aside for Whitecock," but still.  I'm not looking for Lois Lane, Minor Supporting Character (and shoved into a one-dimensional box to facilitate someone else's love story).  I want Lois Lane, Awesome Girl Reporter!

Going for the Clark Kent/Lois Lane tag does get me stories where Lois is actually a main character, although also a lot of stories where she's just there to be shoved out of the way for the whitecock pairing.  But while I love CK/Lois Lane fics, it's frustrating that either I'm limited to that or slogging through ENDLESS PAGES OF OTHER STUFF to get to what I really want, which is Lois Lane doing her job and being AWESOME at it.

This is also my problem whenever I'm in the mood for Sam Wilson fics.  In a very high percentage of fics, he is there to facilitate the Steve/Bucky angst.

And here's the thing: if AO3's character tags were broken up into "main character" and "supporting character," when I want stories focusing on Lois Lane or Sam Wilson or any of the host of interesting characters who get shoved aside in favor of the Major Pairing, I could easily find fics where they are the focus!

All in all, a very satisfying episode.  Things I liked:

It was ALL ABOUT women's relationships.  Like, ALL about them.  Even the monster in the fight at the beginning who was just there for Kara to pound for 30 seconds was female.  There were probably 5 minutes, total, of men talking in the whole episode ... and none of them were plot-critical.

Doctor Danvers: shown to have been a less-than-perfect mother whose decisions left some emotional wounds in her daughter Alex, but not demonized for it, and at the same time not blaming Alex for feeling the way she does.

Cat was humanized; we saw a bit behind the mask.  But at the same time, she wasn't softened or "feminized," there was no great sobbing heart-to-heart, she remained truly herself without being demonized.

It was the dad who was fringed, whose death gives his daughters a reason to fight and investigate.  Male pain for female character and plot development!