#and not in the like. carol & darryl way. but in a like. best friends that make out & are dating (i hc them as poly also btw)

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

ik they call morgan his wife but like what if they weren't married yet (why morgan hasn't/didn't change her name to close or vice verse tbh) and also what if those rings were promise rings not wedding rings. like,,, just think about it..

[watchingyoufromthestars]

Finally cleaned this up so here’s my DnDads ultimate ship opinions list. I was waiting until after s2 ended to clean this up in case I had any final opinion changes with the last few episodes. Please don’t bash me for any of these. The DnDads fandom is generally very nice but shipping discourse is something that can get heated no matter the fandom.

Dads

Henry Darryl: very neutral. I understand the ship I just never fully got on the boat

Henry Glenn: absolutely fucking feral about them do not get me started on Glennry

Darryl Glenn: feral in a different way that I don’t know how to describe other than toxic yaoi in the way that they’re damaged but refuse to talk about it so they kiss about it instead

Loveeeeeeee polydads but only as Henry/Glenn/Darryl. Not really a Ron shipper I love him and Samantha too much. Ron and Glenn’s friendship is very important to me though

In terms of Jodie, I don’t really ship him with any of the main dads, ESPECIALLY not Glenn. Even if Jimmy didn’t play Jodie I’d still never ship them. Wish Scamster was real and not completely a scam because they’re literally a crackship become real except it was never a crackship before canon. It’s surprising to me that they weren’t really shipped beforehand

Henry Mercedes: THE T4T OF ALL TIME BABEYYYYY. Absolutely iconic couple, fate was in their favor with how they met they were destined for each other

Darryl Carol: After hearing how Darryl talked about his family in Heaven, I was actually really happy they ended up not getting divorced. They clearly had a rough patch as seen in s1, but they genuinely love each other and I love how devoted to her Darryl is. The little finger puppet he made of her in the time out zone… :,)

Glenn Morgan: GLORGAN!!!!!!!!! Oh my god these two tear me apart. I am feral for Glorgan angst there’s too much to work with. More people need to start calling them Glorgan instead of Morglenn please please please please pretty please indulge me in my silly ship name

Ron Samantha: sobbing. They’re so sweet. The distinction that Samantha is also a little silly is very important to me. They love each other so fucking much

Kiddads

Nicky Sparrow: didn’t realize how much I love them for a good while but when I did oh god I love them so so much. T4T it’s so real to me that they’re both trans

Nicky Lark: used to like it but yall mischaracterize Nicky so much in fics. If yall want toxic yaoi just ship Grant and Lark I’m so serious

Nicky Terry: sobs. They were best friends. I don’t personally ship them but the fact that Terry said he was his best friend… that line rattles around in my brain so often

Nicky Grant: recently learned this might get shipped and has THE coolest ship name. Crossfire I love you but for the ship name alone

Sparrow Terry: I think I’ve seen this shipped a few times but only in the context of Terry/Nicky/Sparrow. Not my personal cup of tea though

Sparrow Grant: I don’t see this shipped too often but they have the worst ship name ever /aff. Wtf is a spant lol. Also I’m too much team transfem Sparrow to feel comfortable shipping this

Lark Terry: do not know the appeal of Gun Control but their ship name is fun

Lark Grant: toxic yaoi central. They both need intense therapy but them both being so fucked up is what makes them interesting not that that’s healthy though

Terry Grant: I see them more in a qpr place than anything romantic. I have one fic of them that’s bookmarked on Safari because I think about a part from it from time to time

Don’t have any poly ships for them

In terms of s2 spouses I so desperately wished we could’ve seen more of them. We barely get to see them

Nicky Cassandra: Telling Taylor his dad was a good man and that she misses him every day makes me think they parted on good terms. But then Nicky disappeared because of FBI shit. In another life maybe they could’ve worked.

Sparrow Rebecca: more ugly sobbing. I’m unsure on my sparroace thoughts if they’d end up getting divorced post-finale but I know they’re not fully separating or breaking up. They really are in love but it’s unconventional and messy.

Terry Veronica: I think the reveal that Terry is infertile is a nice touch to their relationship. It sounds weird to say and I feel like I might word this all weirdly. Him being unable to have bio kids but finding love in someone who wants to raise a kid with him anyways. Veronica finding new love again after a supposedly abusive relationship. Both of those combined is something I really love.

Grant Marco: Canon gays ftw. The Titanic episode was so generous in letting us get to see their dynamic. Obviously Grant still has a long way to go in finding self love but I’m so happy he found someone who can support him and loves him back like this.

Teens

Normal Scary: ugly sobbing over them I love them so much. Cradling my madomagi and tma aus with them as madohomu and jmart

Normal Taylor: yearning for the early s2 days like when they went to Sonic and made some devious plan off screen I wish they had more silly interactions together. Was truly fed with the kareoke intro and them bonding over costume making for a minute. Tayloak could be so interesting if there was more material to work with

Normal Link: Childhood BFFs to Lovers; I wish they could’ve hung out more as kids but all that happened

Normal Hermie: I get the hype but I have personal reasons for feeling neutral on them that I wish I could get over. Good soup though /ref

Scary Taylor: see them too much as a sibling dynamic to ever ship them

Scary Link: respect to all y’all shippers but I do not gothcleats and will leave it at that forever. I can only accept the finale with my transfem Link hc

Scary Hermie: I love Scene Partners. These stupid kids and reflecting each other /aff

Taylor Link: one that I can’t believe I didn’t ship sooner they’re so silly

Link Hermie: I think this one is very funny (/pos) but not my personal vibe

Love love LOVEEEEEEEE Marloakworthy AUGH. A giant triangle of everyone paralleling each other

Polywagon I love you; cannot believe you’re real and genuinely canon. This is just Homestuck again when Hussie said all ships are canon (DnDads never beating the Homestuck allegations from me)

Scary Erica: wish there were more interactions I love Erica so much but alas she’s a guest NPC. “You awaken a lightness in me” sapphic ass Scary I know what you are

[cha1cedony]

I think part of the reason Gothcleats has literally like consumed my mind since becoming canon is because I think about the Wilsons in the context of marriage/romantic relationships SO much?? Like. Being aro, I normally don’t like analyzing characters through the lens of romance and how they function with crushes or in relationships… It’s just not that interesting to me, and I don’t like basing a character’s personality or worth on their romantic (or sexual) dynamics with other characters. BUT THE WILSONS? OH BOY.

Ramble under the cut bc this got way too long

ALSO!!! Warning for discussions of sex! Not very in-depth. (It’s mostly just about Grant and Marco hooking up on the Titanic lol)

Anyway!

So so so much of the Wilsons’ identities in canon (and also to an even further extent in my fics/headcanons/mind hehe) are based on their marriages and immediate nuclear families. For Darryl, his entire life WAS his family. As far as we know, the same was the case for Frank, and even Robert Wilson was pretty much always talking about his gal Sal iirc. Like obviously bc this podcast is about family, BUT as your resident Wilsons expert (lmao), I want to put forth that the Wilsons in particular are about marriage!

I think the best example of this, actually, is in S2 when (on the night before Grant’s WEDDING), Darryl is talking to Grant about marriage and says that he and Grant both know that Carol and Marco respectively are too good for them. Which like. is also one of the most loaded and important statements to me in this whole goddamned podcast (and probably THE most important for the Wilsons) for many reasons. but I digress lolol

For Darryl and Grant both, there’s a perceived power imbalance in their marriages: not in an abusive way or anything, but rather as like… a measure of self-worth? For better or worse, their self-esteem and sense of self-worth are dependent on the people close to them, especially their romantic partners.

Darryl is constantly comparing himself to his father (as is Grant), but not just as a father—as a husband, too. Darryl tells Frank that he wishes he had the kind of relationship with Carol that Frank had with Darryl’s mom (which is. doubly ironic and sad bc Darryl’s mom was cheating on Frank, and he almost cheated on her, too. but I digress again oops)

But he compares himself to Carol, too, thinking she’s smarter and ‘better’ than him, and Grant especially compares himself a LOT to Marco, saying that Lincoln would be better off with Marco as a single dad and that Marco is ‘better’ than him in general. I find this extra interesting bc Frank does NOT do the same with Darryl’s mom; in fact, he (albeit light-heartedly) says she’s worse than him for having cheated—I don’t have transcripts in front of me, but something along the lines of “If you think that’s bad…”

And that’s why I think the best (and honestly only) way to really examine the Wilsons as characters/people is through the lens of their marriages.

So much of Darryl’s character especially is based solely on Carol. He’s been with her since she was 13-14 and he was 14-15, and so much of his personality and life is entirely formed around her. She’s his best friend. When he gets the idea that she might be cheating on him, or dead (as a mummy), he loses himself because, like. What else is he if not Carol’s best friend, her husband, the father of her son? Almost any time Darryl has any character development (that isn’t related to his dad or son), it’s about his romantic and sexual relationships and feelings: with Carol, with Sweet Matilda, with the fucking sex pit! Lmao

And he and Carol NOT divorcing after S1 is honestly the only thing that makes sense to me; what else would he do? Even if they never manage to fix it all, what else does he have? (The answer is all of his family and newfound friends, but he can’t see it that way; his self-worth centers around HER, remember; she’s BETTER than him.) So they stay together, and he dies believing she still loves him and will be happy to be unchangingly domestic him with him all over again in heaven, whether it’s true or not. Until then, he lives with a facade of her and their son (btw the fake personal heaven Grant is a kid, so Darryl is presumably reliving his life before the events of S1 without changing anything which… is sad for a whole other set of reasons) because Darryl can’t be alone; what is he alone? ALSO. Okay actually no. I won’t get on my aromantic Darryl soapbox right now, but….. expect it at a later date lol. This part got kinda rambly/headcanon-y oops.

A lot of Grant’s character is ABOUT his romantic feelings/relationships; he’s pretty much inextricable from them. His crush on Yeet was originally his whole character (aside from aloof gamer kid lol): Shy, easily embarrassed, extremely obvious about his crush, trying to impress this cute and cool guy. And then, by the time of the Supper Bowl arc, after the chimera and everything else, he becomes more complex, of course, but those feelings are still at the center of everything—because they’re his escape.

He tells Yeet the TWO things that make him feel alive are violence (whether done TO him or BY him) and his crush on Yeet. Grant’s romantic feelings become linked and equated with violence and rage (which. makes me feel crazy btw but anyway. Sorry I love Grant beyond words) and are the only temporary cures for his dissociation.

So when Grant is an adult, of course he relies on romance and sex like a crutch; it makes him feel safe and real, and it’s an intersection of love and violence that makes him feel at peace.

I know it’s a funny moment, but this always makes me think of him and Marco hooking up on the Titanic: Grant believes wholeheartedly that they are both going to die and that there’s nothing he can do about it (or maybe he just doesn’t even want to try to save them). When Marco finds out what’s happening and sort of scolds Grant for it, Grant is embarrassed and says it’s because he’s just “having so many feelings” (probably not exact words), which is also interesting because that’s pretty much the opposite of his original problem of dissociating.

But, between being overwhelmed and dissociative, at its core, the same root feeling is there: hopelessness and helplessness. Also, in his second conversation with Lincoln is S2, Grant says that violence and killing help with his self-worth, also (which ties back to what I said earlier about the connection between the Wilsons’ self-worth and their marriages). When Grant kills someone, all of his doubts disappear and “it all goes white.” If we’re looking at this through the lens that Grant equates violence and love/sex, it must give him that same feeling of… blissful ignorance? Emptiness.

This leads me to believe Grant copes with feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt not just through killing, but through romance and sex, too—like we see on the Titanic (lol)

There’s a lot more speculation I could do about both Darryl and Grant (and Frank, and even all their spouses), but I’m trying to leave it to at least canon-adjacent stuff. Anyway, let me finally circle this all back around to Lincoln lol…

It’s clear that Lincoln thinks romantic relationships are very important. He thinks marriage is beautiful (and, based on his dads’ marriage, that all marriages are good and happy lol—which is especially funny/interesting to me when you consider the several times it’s been said that something Lincoln did/does is the only thing holding their marriage together, and he’s the whole reason Grant didn’t call off the wedding in the first place). His dads have spent a lot of time educating him about love and sex and personal choice in both of those categories, which he references a few times, but, despite their emphasis on personal choice and not raising him Catholic but encouraging him to believe whatever he wants, Lincoln, at 16, is SURE that he will get married someday (and probably young, since he said to Normal that a few years is a long time to wait lol). The Wilsons’ generational insistence on marriage, romantic relationships, and nuclear families persists regardless of Catholicism, it seems :’)

Lincoln’s marriage to Chris in the simulation was also clearly really important to him—and to Chris, too, since they asked him never to remarry. I know the cast joked about this, but it does make me a little sad that Lincoln’s relationship with Chris seemed to be a lot like Darryl’s with Carol! Granted, we only know a like two things about Chris lol… also, I LIKE Chris and Carol! A lot! No hate to either of them <3 but also, that doesn’t mean those relationships aren’t strained, you know?

Anyway! A lot of Lincoln’s character can of course be attributed to his dads’ marriage, like I said before, but his marriage in the simulation was pretty big, too. Although he doesn’t talk about it a lot, it must have matured him, at least on the inside. He later references the job he had in the simulation, as well as being a dad. When he marries the other teens in space, he still thinks of Chris and what they would think. Once again, like Darryl and Grant, a lot of Lincoln’s decisions and beliefs are tied to his spouse—even if they’re not there or were never even real to begin with. Even once he’s married to the other teens, he takes it VERY seriously with pet names and domesticities.

All of this to say, it makes me wonder about his marriage to Scary in relation to his characterization as an adult! I’m not speculating that their relationship is bad or anything; I don’t want it to be and in fact VERY MUCH hope they’ve broken cycles. I just wonder how it affects him as a character (and Scary, too, of course)!

I was really excited when Gothcleats became canon not just because I shipped them, but mostly because I think the Wilsons are most interesting when looked at through their marriages. Lincoln has always put a really strong emphasis on marriage, and all of his pet names and PDA with Scary in the S2 epilogue confirmed to me that they take after the previous Wilson generations in GOOD ways, which makes me really happy.

I guess the main question I’m getting at is about how Lincoln perceives himself in this relationship. In the years soon after the end of S2, does he still feel that same emptiness and feeling of “not caring”? Does he try to cure it in the same way as his father, making “it all go white” with violence or sex or getting someone else to hold him together, or his grandfather, suppressing his depression and trying to will it away with love and close/‘happy’ romantic relationships? Does he find any of those things in Scary? Does he see himself as her equal, or does he feel inferior, like she’s smarter or more capable or ‘better’ than him? He did say multiple times in S2 that she’s the leader, she’s the one who knows what she’s doing, and he just wants to follow along because he doesn’t care anymore.

I hope not. I hope Lincoln and Scary are really happy together. I hope their self-worth is not determined by their partner. I guess that’s all this ramble is :’)

OKAY WHEW. I’m done. That was fun :D

Thanks for subjecting yourself to my ramblings omfg… please send me all of your Wilsons thoughts always. I’ve been wanting to write a long thing about this FOREVER… The aro Darryl fic(s) will come eventually. Also one about Grant coping (badly lol) with sex, which has been in the works forever bc I am bad at NSFW. But it’s fun. Uhhh I guess that’s all?

OH ALSO. If you want to read more of my post-canon Gothcleats thoughts, I published a 15k fic the other day about Jerry being their foster kid! Here you go :3

Hit the Ground Running - chalcedony

(It’s very fluffy and sweet—which is rare for me, but I promise I’m not lying! It’s silly and fun. And I do not speculate too much about Lincoln’s inner turmoil, I pinky promise)

If you read this all. Um…. Sorry? LMAO. Here is a gold star for you ⭐️

[pearbug]

ep.17.01 - fatherunknown’s daddlegrounds

poor poor grant oh my goodness

i really like the fact that they included that carol wasn’t cheating on darryl because fandoms can get quite toxic towards female characters over the smallest things so that was very relieving to hear!

and like beth said, henry was so hot this episode! they way he and darryl were kind of competing in this masculinity contest with taking charge and henry actually being really scared is such a great psychological thing!

but man was this a tense episode, it felt like when your friends parents are arguing in the room with you and you can’t get up and leave cause it’s so awkward!

and henry taking the blame for darryl so grant wouldn’t see him differently?? man these dads hit my emotions so hard!

also in the talking dads when freddie said that glenn thinks of ron as his closest friend in the group, i love best friends ron and glenn sooo much they are so near and dear to my heart

[icy-book]

Henry, Darryl, and Glenn toddler/baby parenting headcanons, brought to you by discussions with my mum, studying attachment in psych currently, and @landrick-lycidas foolishly asking about them.

Henry and Mercedes are definetly on one of the Science-Aware Natural Parenting groups on Facebook. They always had slings ready to carry Lark and Sparrow in, (the twins probably prefered walking and running, so this was for when they got tired and clingy, or when they were babies who couldn't yet walk) and probably ended up amassing a collection, which then became repurposed/given to other parents when the twins were older. Breastfed for as long as possible, and very child led.

Carol and Darryl were much more a set feeding times, bottle-fed only and move Grant onto formula pretty quickly kinda couple. Very American from what I've seen. Grant probably slept in a crib in his own room, and I imagine Carol was a very "Let him cry it out" 90s style of parenting (which had a lot to do with Skinner's operant conditioning stuff!) but I don't think Darryl could bear to hear his son in distress, and would often go comfort him anyway. He probably would have worn those baby carriers if he was as comfortable in himself/his masculinty then as he is at the end of the show. Glenn and Morgan are a very specific kind of parenting I don't know how to describe. They never bought a crib for Nick, and always let him sleep in their bed until he was big enough to need his own. Much like the Oak-Garcias, very child-led but less in a concious, methodical way and more in a punk and/or "we're twenty and don't know what we're doing so lets just try and make our kid as happy as possible" way. Glenn is also definetly a picking up on Nick's alert phases and show reciprocacy kinda guy. In other words: very much a "hey little man" *baby gurgling in response* "hell yeah dude, that sounds wild". Engages a lot with his son's baby babble and treats it like serious conversation, strongly a play/talking kinda dad. Also, picture: Glenn lying on his back with baby Nick resting on his stomach for tummy time. Even then, they were best friends

[thecoddaughter]

DNDads characters as Maisie Peters' 'The Good Witch'

HONEY, I'M HOME!

Guys, I'm back with DNDads as Songs thanks to this album. I tried to stay canon compliant with these, but you all know how my brain is.

The Good Witch - Sparrow 

I cannot see anything that says Armageddon and not say its Sparrow "Still wants to politely and properly warn you, this is Armageddon" "When all I do is think about the past" "I still argue like my mother and suppress stuff like my dad"

Coming of Age - Cassandra

As much as I like the concept of Cassie and Nick being married and then she was brainwashed into thinking they got divorced, I also like the idea that they were a bunch of flings or friends with benefits.  "Was it a love affair or just a lot of late nights" "If it was a first kiss, how come it felt like a snakebite" "I’m quarrying new ground and I’m burning all your CDs" "I know I made you the big star" "I wish I could’ve seen it"

Watch - Grant

So I make Yeet Bigly a bigger part of Grant’s life in my head than he probably was to Grant but whatever… If the first person I came out to and liked very politely turned me down, I don’t know if I would ever get over that. But I never let go of anything… I like to think they have to have run into each other since if the Kiddads have traveled back and forth.  "You took a road trip into the mountains. I feel like all of my exes have done that." "You’re still there. You look better. I fought it but I saw it and it sawed my right in half. You still get to me, but I still let you. You’re being a superstar and all I got are victim cards…" "You have a camcorder out of the 90s." "Everybody pretends that they’re great, but what if you actually might be." "Cause you broke my heart and my self-esteem"

Body Better - Darryl 

DON'T QUESTION ME... I will never get off the train of Darryl and Carol needed to get divorced! 

Want You Back - Morgan

I think once Morgan found out that Glenn lost Nick in that court case, even though it wasn’t really his fault, she would have very complicated thoughts… They do eventually get back together because obviously. But also she had to have felt like things with Jodie where just wrong, they never were meant to happen.  About Glenn: "’Til you caught a teacher’s daughter with a dangerous text. I read it like a bible and I wore it like a bulletproof vest." "Found myself a lover that made everything rhyme." "So I know you did bad" "You left like an assassin, maybe that’s for the best." "The issue is I know of this and I still want you back." "I must go out with a stranger. I must kiss him to get stronger." About Jodie: "So I know you did bad" "Yeah I know it didn’t last and what was cheap to you, to me was all I had." "Found yourself a lover, I bet she doesn’t sing." "So you got to be a coward and I salvaged a little self-respect." "It wasn’t real, it was for me but you know that."

The Band & I - the Dads

The entire vibe, not specific lyrics.

You’re Just A Boy - Normal and Hermie 

This song is both of them at each other, because those two don’t communicate clearly and everything is just a mess.  Both "You’re kinda awful but you’re not awful on purpose" "I’m on a one way trip to take over the world. You could’ve come but your head’s in the sand." "You were my best friend, my shoulder to lean on" Hermie "Gave a two word response, when I was having a breakdown. Oh Mr. Bruce Wayne, where is that cape now?" "But you just a boy and I’m kinda the man" Normal "Don’t you see that you’re losing this, I’m bout to be gone!" "Maybe your lost and just can’t see what you have" "Goodbye from your biggest fan. Goodbye from the bigger man." 

Lost the Breakup - Veronica 

Because she very clearly won the breakup with her and Scary’s dad. “I’m the greatest love that you waste,” come on! That is so Ronnie-coded. 

Wendy - Scary

I struggled with this one… While this song is about a romantic relationship, I think it is Scary’s view of men (the boys, Willy, Terry) impacted by her dad.  Her brain "Behind every lost boy, is always a Wendy" "If I’m not careful I’ll wake up and we’ll be married and I’ll still flinch at the sound of a door." "Lose the world that you live in, pretend that it’s what you wanted" Normal "I know the girl that you want and it scares me" Link "And you’re pretty like a girl ’til you’re vicious like a man" Taylor "Yeah you give up like a ghost, leaving halfway through the band" Willy "And you’re evasive on the phone ’til you’re sorry on the floor" "You’ll throw your rocks and you’ll scream that you hate me" Terry "Wait until he gets bored and wanders back to the forest"  "It’s a life, I could have, I know."

Run - Hero

I feel like Hero is in her advice giving era and would probably have talked to the other girls, Normal, and Scary about this at some point. I feel like she has some bad past relationships due to her family’s complicated romantic entanglements… (also lyrics all say man but we know that aint true from some of these folk) "I’ve been lied to, I’ve been cut and deleted. I’ve her some things that I will leave unrepeated. I’ve seen some flags but the reddest one is:" To the Girls: "If a man says that he wants you in his life forever, run! To Normal: "If he calls you up, says he so in love and it’s been one week you better run!" To Scary: "If you heart says ‘broke’ and your friends say ‘don’t,’ it’s and RIP you better run! As fast as you can, take a quick, sharp turn at the sight of the man and make it done." How she thinks: "If he says he’s real, he’s not" "He likes a promise if he don’t have to keep it. He hates a sentence when he has to mean it."

Two Weeks Ago - Glenn

A song cannot be sad and mention cars and me not think of Glenn and Morgan. This song is not about grief but god knows I will make it about grief! (I was crying thinking about them, even tho she’s alive now…) "When we said goodbye, wish I hadn’t let go and I wish it was two weeks ago." "You were driving fast, I was holding back and I loved you babe, but I bet you knew that." "And the song was true and the sky was black." "I wish when we went to the beach that day, we’d taken more pictures, I’d been more brave." "The song was true now it’s all I have… Now this song’s for you and it’s all we have."

BSC - Lark

Lark in the wake of the complicated relationship that is his life toward Rebecca. Listen to this one cause it didn’t write all the lines applied to him because the sone is an acronym for a reason…  "We don’t speak cause its too tricky, but if I’m tricky, why’d you kiss me?" "If you don’t love me, why’d you’d act it? Love’s a verb and not a bandage." "I kept it in but it wrecked my organs." "If you don’t love me, what was April?" "You played a game but I run the table. Mr.-I-Don't-Want-A-Lable" "I am unhinged. I am scaling all these walls, I’ve gone within. "

Therapy - Veronica

This one might be cruel… Veronica after Terry died (but that isn’t confirmed yet… He’s just been shot! But it was all I could think about… Don’t hate me!)

There It Goes - Cassandra

Cassie again because I couldn’t think of anyone else. Except every time she talks positively about her new man I cringe remember she currently dating Willy. SO THIS IS WHEN SHE JUST GOT “DIVORCED”.  "I’m reading novels, I’m dating but just dating for sport." "I’m doing better, I made it to September" "I feel it changing, I’m young but I am aging and I need you less than I did." "The girls and I do yoga. I wake up and it’s October, the loss is yours."

History of Man - Scary

This is Scary about her view of love and her parents.  Her mom: "She stays up, he’s sleeping like a lamb. She begs him, he says he doesn’t understand. She loves him more than anyone ever has." Her dad: "I couldn’t believe it, how you could just stop wanting me." "You didn’t even falter. Didn’t look back once, did you?" "He stole her youth and promised heaven."  Herself: "I’ve pleaded with the powers and their plans." "Hear my lyrics, taste my venom." Link (I am a gothcleats shipper, sorry): "I stay up, you’re sleeping like a lamb. I beg you and you don’t understand. I hold on, I try to hold your hand. I save you a seat and then you say you wanna stand. So you’ll lose me, the best you’ll ever have."

[iersei]

yes please feel free to add on, and in fact, i will be continuing to elaborate on this point because that is yet another thing that bothers me.

i think that it does tie in to my overall point about the lack of care for the family NPCs being to the series' detriment. like it was already bad enough with the kiddads, but their spouses?? oh boy.

in season 1, it felt like the PCs had actual relationships with their wives. an active effort was made to include them in the narrative (see: all the phone calls made) or they had fleshed out issues (see: carol and darryl's strained relationship being an important thing that darryl kept from grant and how that tied to the wilson's overall theming) or their absence spoke volumes (see: morgan). and it all worked to create a cohesive family dynamic that helped support the main theme. even though i do wish we got more of the moms, i feel like what we got did work okay for what it was and what it had to be.

i think that scary's relationship with terry was the most fleshed-out among the kiddads, and i really like that! but i keep wishing we got more of veronica because that mother-daughter relationship had so much potential and the comments about her being scary's best friend are a glimpse into such an interesting unspoken dynamic. it feels like that aspect of scary's family dynamic was so sorely underdeveloped. and i'm so upset that veronica was ignored by the narrative to the point that i think the first time she learned her husband had died was when she was twisting in pain and agony and torture on the floor and for what.

i have a decent idea of how each s2 PC feels about their other parent, but they barely interact with them at all! they didn't get brought into the story in the same way, and it sucks. especially since, seeing as the PCs are the kids in the dynamic this time, it feels like all the parents should've been mentioned a little more! rather than the father-son dynamic that was at the forefront of s1 that was able to function without a lot of input from the mother's side of things, s2's inability to flesh out the parent-child dynamic for most of the parents overall makes it feel really empty to me.

link's dynamic with his dads and his changing feelings towards them was definitely explored, but it feels like there's very little that differentiates marco from grant. and it helps that it does seem that link views them as a single unit, but it means that i really have no clue what his relationship with marco is like on its own.

the lack of a relationship with nicky for taylor felt like the point, and we do get a pretty good sense of his dynamic with cass! but it felt like, after a certain point, cass became little more than a pawn for whatever fuckery willy was up to. she felt less like a character with a complex dynamic with her son with time, and it really feels like a waste.

and rebecca. REBECCA.

i actually also liked what little we got from normal and rebecca! she was a pretty helpful NPC all things considered! WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE DIE FOR. FOR WHAT. FOR WHAT!!!

she is a prime example of that avenue of a family dynamic being irrevocably shut down, and i just can't forgive that. once again, it's not a missed opportunity. it's complete destruction of what should've been important.

i have some choice words for the people who were glad that it was rebecca that died, but really, i don't think any of their lives should've been on the table in the first place! all the parents that were in the kid's lives should've been important and not this DISPOSABLE! what does it add?? more stakes?? as if the teens didn't have enough of that already???

i can't even feel too broken up about it happening because there was no good narrative reason for it. i feel empty. i feel fucking pissed.

sigh. with the dungeons and daddy issues season finale on the horizon, i feel like i need to say something but i need y'all to not eviscerate me on the spot for it.

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 2

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: ~2900

Warnings: Elevators, Angst

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Steve POV

“The 911 operator I was talking to had this great idea to use the hose to pull the little girl across the water to get her out of the pool,” Steve reminisced, sitting at the big island in the kitchen watching Sam cook.

“Dude, I was there, remember,” Sam replied.  “And hasn’t it been like a week since that happened?”

“Yeah, but it was such a clever idea. I didn’t even know they could see the whole house on their monitors.”

“Who cares! It’s probably some fancy technology not available on the market yet, but if I'm hearing this correctly, it sounds like she popped Stevie’s dispatcher cherry,” Bucky joked behind him.

Steve peeked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Bucky. “My what cherry?”

“You know when you talk to a dispatcher on the phone while on scene. Danvers takes those calls most of the time, but every once in a blue moon, one of us takes it.” Bucky wiggled his eyebrows. “Who was the operator?”

“Um...YN.”

“Oh, my sister,” Thor announced in a deep voice, patting him on the shoulder and taking the stool next to him. “She is very intelligent.”

“Wait, you have a sister?” Steve asked, widening his eyes at him.

“I have two sisters, while one half-sister, but we don’t talk about her because she’s the worst,” Thor answered with pursed lips. “YN is the best though, I like to think she got the brains, I got the brawn, and well, I guess, that makes Loki the beaut of the family.” He nodded with a half shrug. 

“Are we still talking about how Rogers popped his dispatcher cherry,” Carol smirked, walking into the kitchen with Valkyrie. Steve felt his face heat up as he tried to say something, but she held her hand up. “It’s okay! Everyone remembers their first time,” She winked, forcing him to shake his head.

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Steve held up his hands in surrender, trying to hide the blush on his face.

_____________

You swiveled back and forth in your chair, waiting for the next call to come in. You had a half-hour left of your twelve-hour shift, and you needed a girls' night out. Living with your brother and Darryl was both a blessing and a curse. They offered you a place to stay, rent-free when you first moved here, but the amount of testosterone in that house was sometimes too much for you to handle. You tapped your fingers on your desk when your line started ringing. You sat up, letting out a deep breath, and pressed the spacebar.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hello,” a male voice replied.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m making a turkey and was wondering what the internal temperature has to be?”

“You do know it’s against the law to call with a fake emergency, right?”

“Yes, but this is an emergency.”

“No, it’s not, so get off my line.” You hung up the line, shaking your head. Right away, another call came through, and you answered it. 

“911, what’s your emergency?” 

“Hi, hello. My friends are trapped in the elevator. The elevator must have snapped or something because there was this loud bang.”

“Where are you calling from?”

“The Natural History Museum. Please hurry!”

____________

Steve sat in his unassigned assigned spot at the dining table, eating a late lunch with the team. It was the cardinal rule at Station 107: Work as a team and eat as a family. Steve never thought he'd be able to find another firehouse he enjoyed working at, considering his previous teammates and friends at his old one. He hated leaving them behind, but he needed a fresh start, and so far, Station 107 was the best second home he could ask for. 

Everyone brought something to the team as every firehouse did.  Captain Danvers, or Ace as she preferred to be called in the field, brought her confidence and experience, which made for a great leader they could trust and rely on. Thor had his strength and his bravery, but he did have an ego. Sam was a great motivator and could keep everyone on task while still cracking jokes. It was no wonder Sam was the head EMT at this firehouse. Valkyrie was a badass and wasn’t afraid to put people in their place. As for Bucky, Steve knew he would always be there for him till the end of the line. 

The loud alarm blaring throughout the firehouse pulled Steve out of his stupor. Everyone knew what that sound meant, and they were ready to tackle whatever it might be. One after another, they slid down the firepole, pulled on their gear, and hopped in the truck, heading towards the scene. It wasn’t unusual to take calls that didn’t involve fire because whoever could get there the fastest was better than no one showing up at all. 

Thor hopped behind the driver's seat of the fire engine, pulling out of the garage. Carol sat beside him, giving him directions while speaking with the dispatcher through her headset. The sirens were wailing with Val and Sam behind them in the ambulance. 

“Alright, boys. We got an elevator crash at the Natural History Museum,” Carol said into her helmet mic after speaking with dispatch. “Dispatch says three students and their pregnant teacher are inside.”

“What’s the plan, Ace?” Steve asked into his helmet mic, concealing the siren blaring in the background. 

“I have contacted the museum's elevator technician, and he has already locked and tagged the power on the cars. The car sits near the basement level, so we will approach from the top in the lobby. I want Thor on the winch…”

“Ahh---what,” Thor interrupted her.

“Calm down, big guy, you can have the next one.” She gave him the side-eye, making the rest of the crew chuckle. “Steve and Bucky are going to do an immediate retrieval and approach from the top. Sam and Val will set a perimeter and then treat those who come up. Then, I will help with the retrieval, and Thor with the winch,” she stated with the last part dripping in sarcasm.

“It still hurts,” Thor added, taking a right at the intersection.

Once on-site, everyone grabbed their gear and took their positions.  Steve and Bucky strapped on their harnesses and helmets, switching on the flashlight. They started scaling down the elevator shaft from the lobby as Thor lowered them on the winch with the retrieving rope.

“How we looking, Steve?”

“Sexy, but not like we are trying too hard, but it’s more kind of effortless.” 

“Yeah, I mean, have you seen Steve’s ass in that harness. It could be American’s Ass or more like LA’s Finest Ass,” Sam commented with a whistle, echoing in the shaft. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Steve landed on the top of the elevator, unhooking himself while Bucky did the same.  “I’m down and unattached.”

“That’s what she said,” Carol responded with her head appearing in the shaft.

Thor chuckled, shaking his head. “Classic.”

Steve rolled his eyes and used his other flashlight to find the hatch on top of the elevator. He unclipped the lock, opening the hatch door, seeing the top of the lights. “I’m Fireman Rogers, please move towards the buttons. I’m going to kick the light out, so we can get you out of there.” It took a few kicks, but once it fell through, a few faces peeked up at him.  “How are we doing in there?”

“Oh my god, thank god, you’re here. I thought we were gonna die,” one of the kids replied, clutching his phone in his hand.

“Calm down, Flash. Everything is fine,” the pregnant woman reassured. “Right?” She looked up at Steve with worried filled eyes, and he nodded.

“Watch out, I'm coming down.” Steve crawled down into the hatch, and Bucky passed him the spare harness.  “Ma’am, you’re going up first, but first we need to get you strapped into this harness, then we’ll pull you up.” She nodded, trusting him, and allowing him to put the harness on her before Thor used the winch to pull her up.

“Okay, boys, who's going to go next?”

“I’m next,” the one they called Flash stated.

“Okay, then, how about you with the cool hat.”

“Thanks, it gives me confidence,” the kid smiled.

“And then, you,” Steve pointed to the kid wearing a Midtown School of Science and Technology shirt.

“Um...yeah--” he nodded a little too much. “--Yeah...I can go last. Get everyone else to safety first.”

“Perfect.” Steve clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this.”

___________

It turned out to be a quick rescue, and no one suffered any major injuries. Steve took some gear out to the truck and started repacking it when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around, noticing the kid in the Midtown School of Science and Technology shirt wrapped in an ambulance blanket. 

“What can I do for you, kid?”

“Peter. Peter Parker. I’m...I’m Peter Parker.” He held out his hand, and Steve shook it. “I just wanted to say thank you...thank you for saving my teacher and my friends back there. We’re on our school trip from New York, and this was an adrenaline rush experience.” Peter held up his hand, and Steve noticed it shaking.

He chuckled. “It will wear off.”

“It felt like that opening scene of that old action movie. Where John Wick saves those people that were trapped in the elevator after the bad guy tried to blow them up with a bomb. They don’t catch him obviously because it’s the opening scene, but later he puts the bomb on the bus, and that Bird Box lady has to keep driving like fifty-five miles an hour, or the bus will blow up.”

“I know the one. I think you’re thinking of Speed, but I don’t think it’s that old.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that one,” he chuckled, pointing his finger at him. “It’s kind of old, I mean you’re kind of old, so it’s kind of old to you, but to me, it’s kind of new because I’m not that old.” He rambled on, his eyes widening, realizing what he was saying. 

“Peter, come on. The museum is going to show us some never before seen stuff because we almost died,” the kid with the cool hat shouted from across the street. 

“Coming, Ned,” he yelled back. “Thanks again, Fireman Rogers, and sorry about calling you old. I didn’t...”

“It’s okay, kid, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Steve watched Peter run back over to his friends with a smile on his face. It was these moments when he loved his job, watching friends and families reunite after a tragedy. It was these moments where he felt like it could almost fix what he lost. 

______________

You sighed, taking a seat at your usual spot at the end of the bar in Happy’s Hydrant. Happy noticed you right away and smiled, giving you a bottle of beer. You thanked him with a nod, taking a sip, and scanning the crowd. It wasn’t unusual to spot a familiar face, considering this bar was created for the heroes of Los Angeles. It welcomed all those members who served or are currently serving as first responders, but civilians were welcome, too. It’s nice to have a place to go with people you could relate to and share similar experiences with after working a twelve or twenty-four-hour shift. They understand what we go through on a day to day basis. It was one of the many reasons Happy Hogan wanted to open this bar after he retired from his Fire Chief position at Station 12.

You swiveled back and forth on your bar stool until someone familiar on the other end of the bar caught your eye. You stopped moving, your eyes not wavering from the man. Your mouth went dry, hearing your heartbeat thumping in your ears. You gulped, feeling your palms start to tingle as the muscles in your legs start to tighten. Every nerve in your body was firing, telling you to run, but it felt like if you moved an inch, he would see you, and these past three months would’ve been for nothing. He glanced your way for a brief moment, and relief flooded your whole body. You relaxed, squeezing your eyes shut as you took a few deep breaths in and out. It wasn’t him. 

The weight of someone touching your shoulder makes you jump off your bar stool, and turn around to see one of the ladies you were waiting for.  “Hey, it’s only me.” Carol held up her hands in surrender, giving you a reassuring smile. “Sorry, I forgot how jumpy you can be.”

“It’s okay. Lost in my head again.” You nodded, returning to your barstool.

“Thanks for giving my transfer a chance to be the shining star of my squad last week.” She nudged your side, flagging down Happy for a drink.

“Your what...with what,” you asked, narrowing your eyes at her. 

“The pool, the hose, the little girl stranded on a floaty with the water electrified. Ringing any bells?”

“Ohhh, right. That one.” You took a sip of your beer. “Fireman Rhodes or was it Ronin?”

“Rogers. Steve Rogers.” You pointed the neck of your beer bottle at her and nodded. “You made quite an impression on him. He can’t stop talking about it, and it’s getting really annoying, but I guess you did pop his dispatcher cherry.” She nudged your side with an ever-growing smile on her face. You rolled your eyes at her, shaking your head. “And if single you is interested, I am sure he is willing to mingle. At least, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

“I’m not ready to start dating. I’m still trying to find myself after going through a terrible six-year marriage.” You gave her a half shrug, eyeing the bar. “When I am ready to date again, all I want is a nice guy.”

“Steve’s nice.  Hey, you should swing by one day before your shift and meet him,” she winked, and you scoffed, rolling your eyes. 

“I haven’t even filed for divorce yet.”

“Wait--” she turned on her stool to face you “--hasn’t it been three months? Why not?”

“I don’t want him knowing where I am.”

“Doesn’t he know where Thor lives?”

“No,” you sighed, shaking your head. “Let's just say he didn’t take much interest in my life while we were together. Besides, I don’t think he'd think I’d go to Thor with how everything turned out the last time I went to him for help.

“What an asshole.” She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her beer, and you nodded.  “Well, at least you know you have an admirer,” she added, making you scoff.

“Hey ladies, sorry I’m late,” Natasha greeted, taking the other stool next to you. “Clint and I checked out this noise complaint a neighbor called in. And it turns out this guy was serenading his ex-girlfriend with hopes to win her back. It was this whole thing, and we wanted to stick around to see what happened next.” 

“So what happened,” Carol asked with curious eyes, wearing a mischievous smirk on her face.

“It was crazy.” She shook her head, letting out a breathy chuckle. “She came down and punched him in the face. Apparently, this dude cheated on her with, wait for it--” she drummed her hands on the bar countertop “--her brother. It was a twist I didn’t see coming, but talk about drama on duty. Sometimes I think it would be easier fighting fires or answering phones all day.”

“Oh please, Nat, you wouldn’t last a day. You would miss seeing the excitement first hand. Over the phone, you don’t get much excitement,” you replied.

“Speak for yourself,” Carol added, taking a swig of her beer. “You would love my job, Nat. You get to boss men around.”

“I kind of do that already. Besides, I don’t think I could leave Clint. He’d be lost without me,” she smirked, signaling Happy to make her a martini.

Natasha oozed confidence, which came off as intimidating to most women. When she walked into a room, all eyes were on her, but it was attention she chose to ignore. When men would buy her drinks, she'd take it to another lovely lady. Nat was all about lifting and empowering women to feel confident in their own skin. She wasn’t afraid to tell people to back off or shut up. She was the role model you wish you had when you were with him, then maybe you would've had the confidence and courage to leave sooner. 

“Here you are, Nat?” Happy pushed the martini glass to her. “Are you ladies still good?” He asked, pointing to the drinks in front of you.  

“Yeah, we’re good. Thanks, Happy,” you smiled at him as he walked away, shooting you a thumbs up. 

“How is apartment hunting going, YN?” Nat asked, taking a sip of her martini.

“Good, I found this cute little condo a few blocks away from work. It has a modern feel to it, but I think it would be perfect for me,” you described. “I loved it when I saw the pictures. The landlord is out of town right now, but she told me it’s mine if I want it.”

“I’m so excited for you,” Nat squealed, squeezing your forearm. “You need to get out of that testosterone-filled house and get on your own two feet again.”

“Yes, you do,” Carol agreed. “What’s your softie older brother going to think of you leaving?”

“I’m going to have to break it to him slowly.”

__________

AN: Thanks for reading part 2! I hope you all are liking it so far! If you caught it there was a quote from Brooklyn 99 that I thought was too good not to put in! 😂 Also, Darryl Jacobson, if you don't remember him, he was Thor's roommate in those Marvel shorts. I thought he would be a fun and entertaining addition to this story! Also, any ideas as to why Steve left his old firehouse? Did you enjoy the little Peter Parker cameo? And what do you think Thor is going to think of her moving it? Comments always welcome, thanks again for reading! 

[ma-lark-ey]

Darryl had put this conversation off long enough. Far, far long enough. Two years, to be exact. Him and Carol were filing for divorce, and Grant still didn't even know. He had been left to tell him that, as Carol wanted very little to do with her family anymore.

He knocked the door, waiting for a response before poking in. "Hey, kiddo, I uh... I need to talk to you 'bout something." Grant looked up from his spot on his bed where he was playing on his Switch. Darryl could hear Terry Jr and Grant's new "friend" Kai coming through on some call website. (Of course, Darryl Wilson knew this Kai was no simple friend, he had seen the way Grant acted with Yeet, and this new boy who has joined the group is treated no differently.)

Grant took a second to mute his microphone and looked at Darryl. "Yeah, Dad, what's up?" Honestly,,the football father was glad him and Grant had patched up their relationship a few years ago.

"I um... You should hang up on your friends for now. This may take awhile. Tell 'em you'll be back on later." Darryl took a seat on Grant's bed. Whether the mess of his room was Grants depression or just the fact he's a teenage boy, Darryl will never have an answer.

He didn't miss the concern and fear in Grants eyes as he quickly said bye to his two closest friends and hung up, shutting off his Nintendo.

"Dad did... Did something happen? Is everything okay?" Grant looked like he wanted to lean on Darryl, but didn't know where the rest of this situation would go.

"Um.. Yeah, yeah everything's... Its fine. But um... I don't think you're naive enough to not notice your mom and I have gotten pretty... Distant." He scratched at his neck nervously. God, this was so much harder than he'd thought it'd be. But, its okay. It needs to be done. Its gonna be better for everyone involved when he knows.

"Yeah... I... It worries me, Dad."

"I know, kid. I've... I've been putting this off for awhile. I wanted- i wanted mine and Carol's marriage to last at least until you were out of the house. Cause, I feel like that would be easier on you. But, its just... It can't, Grant and um..." Darryl pressed his palm to his eye to try and keep his emotions down for a little longer. "God, fuck..."

"You're getting divorced. I-I figured." Grants voice was shaking, that slight tremble that you wouldn't notice unless you knew how to look for it. His boy was gonna cry.

"Yeah... Your mom's moving out, Grant. And I- I'm so sorry. I tried to hard, Grant. I know how hard this is, and I didn't-" Darryl was cut off when Grant hugged him, a tight hug. The father didn't waste a second in returning the favor, squeezing his son as tight as he could.

"I'm gonna stay with you, right? Or its at least gonna be even? I-I dont- I..." Darryl could hear the unsaid words. 'I don't wanna get taken away from you.'

Grant had seen his fair share of custody battles in his school friends growing up, not the main group, but there were always more friends than the twins, Nick, and Terry. He saw so many kids not get a say in which parent got primary custody and wind up completely isolated form their dad. He knew how often dads lost all custody to the kids during divorce.

"Grant I... Your mom already signed off her rights to you. You're all mine, kiddo. Staying right here." He expected the sob that left Grant, and he held him with as much love as he could give, which was all of it. His whole heart belonged to his son, every sliver.

Darryl couldn't begin to understand how much hearing that had hurt Granted. He understood Carol's reasons for leaving Grant completely to Darryl. 'He's got a relationship with you, Darryl. While I have that natural mother-son bond, there's just not as much there. And, Darnell doesn't have the space for another kid. I don't want him winding up sleeping on the floor or something when he stays with me.' It made sound sense.

"Grant, I-I know how that sounds. But, its just temporary. When your mom gets her own place, or until her and Darnell get a bigger place, you're with me, and she'll come visit all the time, promise. Her and I are still best friends. Your moms not going anywhere." He assured, pulling Grant to practically be in his lap so he could bear hug him while he cried. Darryl looked over Grants room. The Minecraft mural they had done when he was nine, that still stood because it was Grants favorite thing. The pride flag hanging above his dresser, where the too was decorated with pictures of his friends and random trinkets that mean something to him. The couch just below the mural with a TV across from it, a beanbag or two hidden in the closet. The five of boys always stayed uo crazy late duelling each other in Mario Kart or Call of Duty. Grant or Lark always won. At the head of Grants head was a framed page from one of The Library's books from when they lived in Faerun.

Every inch of this room was filled with Grant, with all the memories he had. It was beautiful.

Darryl looked and saw Carol standing in the doorway, the pain her face at seeing Grant so weak made him realize she hadn't seen Grant full on cry like this in a very long time. Not much had happened to make Grant cry like this in her time with him.

She sat behind him, putting a gentle hand on his back and running her thumb back and forth. And, the family sat there like that. Not quite grieving together, but preparing for the change that was too come. Too soon for Grant, too late for Carol, and... Maybe it was at just the right time for Darryl.

[silversundown2]

There’s a new article out about Daryl and romance that might cause some concern because of the headline and the writer’s comments but I wanted to cut out the extra and just paste in Kang’s words by themselves for you guys in case that helps. 

I think it’s actually pretty good for Caryl and also shuts down D@nnie better than Daryl did.  It confirms that part of the reason Carol is trying to nudge Daryl toward someone else is because she's not sure she's going to make it out of this alive. She's accepted she might die in this fight and doesn't want him to be alone when she's gone. It also paints the picture that the roadblock to Caryl romance right now is Carol's state of mind and her need for revenge.She's not in the "mode" for anything else. 

The quotes are under the cut because it’s a bit long. Bottom line is ignore the writer’s comments and only read the quotes.

"Daryl’s such an interesting character that way because in some ways, when it comes to romantic relationships, he’s not a person that I think trusts easily, and a lot of that has to do with his backstory, which is filled with so much trauma," Kang tells EW. "He was physically abused, as well as in other ways. There’s sensitivity there for him. And I think he’s also just a person who it’s hard for him to trust anybody enough to connect with them really, really deeply. It’s a long, slow process for him in a lot of ways to get into any kind of a romantic thing, whereas I think most people these days think of it as just like, 'Oh, you could have fun with somebody, and you can have sex with them and then it doesn’t have to mean anything.'"

"Daryl’s just not wired that way, and that tracks with conversations that Norman [Reedus] and I have had," Kang explains. "He doesn’t attach to people lightly enough that he can give it a chance easily, you know? So I think that that’s really a big part of it. But certainly from Carol’s perspective, she cares about him so deeply and people certainly see that relationship in all kinds of different ways. But what felt real for us is they had this whole conversation about we’re best friends and she’s in this mode where she just wants revenge. And there’s an aspect of her that wants to make sure that no matter what happens in all of this and what happens to her, that Darryl has other people to lean on and rely on besides her because what if something happens to her?"

"There’s a lot of friendship psychology and love, the care that they have for each other, and she she sees that Connie’s a good person, he seems to connect to her and he doesn’t connect to very many people at all. It’s like she wants to make sure that he’s not going to just kind of drift off and lose that community like he has before," Kang said. "She was the one thing that kept him tethered to the group when he was off as a mountain man in the years that we jumped."

Here’s a link to the article but maybe don’t give them any clicks lol 

https://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/2019/11/11/the-walking-dead-daryl-carol-connie-relationship-angela-kang/

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

No rush, but if you're in the mood for another question: pick your one favorite and least favorite season of each of these series :) Charmed, BtVS, Angel, Friends, TVD. I know it's hard to pick just one favorite and one least favorite, so good luck ;)

Charmed

Favourite season: Season 4

What can I say about this season? It’s just brilliant. Although Prue is my favourite character, the aftermath of her death, introduction of Paige and transition to a new trio is handled brilliantly. I love the different dynamic that Paige brings to the show and how Piper and Phoebe’s worlds are completely turned upside down by losing Prue and finding Paige. I love getting to know Paige in episodes like A Knight to Remember and A Paige From the Paige, I adore seeing the process of Piper accepting Prue’s death and embracing Paige and their magic in episodes like Hell Hath No Fury and Lost and Bound. And despite the controversy surrounding the Cole/Source plot, I enjoyed Phoebe’s arc in this season with adapting to becoming the middle sister, getting married and pregnant and suffering the most life-changing, soul-destroying losses imaginable. We even got a Leo-centric episode with Saving Private Leo which finally gave us insight into Leo’s past. Season 4 is a consistently strong season in my opinion (albiet with a weak finale) and episodes like Charmed Again, Hell Hath No Fury, Charmed and Dangerous and Long Live the Queen are some of the most memorable episodes of the series for me. You can read more about why I love season 4 here.

Least favourite season: Season 8

This season is so weak. The show could’ve (and probably should’ve) ended with season 7 so the whole season suffers from a complete lack of direction. All of the characters have already gone full circle with their arcs and development so there’s nowhere new to take them. As a result, they all feel watered down. Phoebe and Paige lose all of their personality and spark, whilst Piper is reduced to a stereotype where her snark and sarcasm is taken to unnecessary levels. Billie and Christy are poor villains for the final show-down and neither actress fits within the show. They steal too much focus from the sisters and since it’s the final season this is the season that should be all about the sisters. In addition, there’s a complete lack of sisterly moments in this season, Darryl is absent and Leo is removed for a large part of the season. Not to mention, Paige and Henry and Phoebe and Coop are rushed romances established simply to give Phoebe and Paige their “happily ever after” for the season finale. Even the final episode is pretty weak. Whilst I appreciate the happy ending, it all seems cheesy and too good to be true, and it’s way too Piper-centric and lacks balance. You can read more about why season 8 is my least favourite here.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Favourite season: Season 2

This season is a solid and a really great season. We have Spike and Drusilla as the best villanous pairing in teleivision history, a brilliant two-parter with a dramatic twist in Surprise and Innocence, the Angelus arc which I never get tired of watching and a strong ending with The Becoming Part 1 and 2. For Passion alone this season deserves to take the number 1 spot, but my love for Angel/Angelus (and Bangel) only adds to how much I love the season.

Least favourite season: Season 7

Whenever I rewatch BTVS, I rarely make it through the final season. It’s just not a good season. I don’t like the direction Buffy and Spike’s relationship is taken in, I dislike the introduction of the Potential Slayers, the after-math of Willow’s dark arc is handled poorly, the Willow/Kennedy romance is rushed and completely forced, The First is a poor final villain to end the series with particularly following villains like the Mayor, Angelus, Spike and Dru. All of the supporting characters (Willow, Xander, Anya, Dawn etc.) are pushed aside and given no real arcs or development. Overall this season is completely forgettable and a very weak end to a brilliant series.

Angel

Favourite season: Season 2

Ah, it’s so hard to choose because it’s a toss-up between season 2 and 3. At this present moment, I’m going to go with season 2. I love Darla’s arc in this season and her dynamic with Angel, it’s also so satisfying to see Dru and Darla wreak havoc together. Angel gets pushed to arguably the darkest place he’s ever been (up until this point) and I love seeing him lose all faith in the world, life and humanity only to then have an epiphany where his entire perspective shifts and he gets absolute clarity. Seeing Cordy, Wes and Gunn go off on their own is great, I love their dynamic and how strong they are in this season. This is also the final season that features Kate, who I really like and think is very underrated. There’s a lot of focus on other minor characters who I love such as Lilah and Lindsey. This is also the season that we get the newest additions to Angel Investigations: Lorne and Fred. Honestly, the end of this season really lets it down for me, but the beginning and middle is so strong with Darla and Angel that it always sits near the top as my favourite season.

Least favourite season: Season 4

This probably won’t come as a surprise to any Angel fans reading this. Season 4 is undoubtedly the worst season of the series. It takes a beautiful, complex, well-developed character in Cordy and completely decimates her. Everything that she is and that fans love her for is stripped away, her agency is removed and she’s hijacked by an evil being who uses her body to commit horrendous acts. Seeing Cordy!Jasmine sleep with Connor will always make me feel physically sick. For Angel to have to witness that and endure the pain of seeing the woman he loves having sex with his adolescent son is disgusting. Overall, the treatment of Cordy and Connor in this season makes me so uncomfortable. Fred and Gunn’s relationship is dismantled to make way for Fred and Wesley, which in my opinion is by far the weaker ship. Even the appearance of Angelus and Faith later on in the season doesn’t make up for the rest of the season. Losing Cordy and Lilah are huge losses that also make this season my least favourite.

Friends

Favourite season: Season 3

This is a great season. Whilst every season of Friends is generally a mixed bag in terms of the quality of episodes, season 3 is pretty consistent. The ensemble feels at its strongest in this season and every episode gives focus to the group as a whole. Ross and Rachel’s relationship is great in this season and their break-up is genuinely heart-breaking; we have Janice this season who I find highly entertaining; Monica and Richard’s relationship which I enjoy (despite being a Mondler shipper) and of course, the chick and duck. Despite this being a sitcom, all of the characters go through genuine development in this season too. Joey gets to experience what it’s like to be on the other side of things when he falls for Kate who plays around with his feelings; Chandler navigates his first serious relationship with Janice where he has to try and overcome his fear of commitment and later deal with the hurt of their break-up; Monica deals with the loss of her first great love in Richard and has to reconsider what she wants from her future; Rachel progresses in her career and tries to establish her own identity and independence for the first time; Ross has to face up to the damage his relationship with Carol has done to him in regards to his jealousy and insecurity. It’s rare that we see character development like this in a sitcom, but season 3 is definitley a strong season for this. There are so many golden episodes from this season: TOW No One’s Ready, TOW the Flashback, TOW the Football and TOW the Morning After.

Least favourite season: Season 9

Lets get this straight, there’s no such thing as a bad season of Friends, however, this is the weasest season in my opinion. I don’t like Chandler’s move to Tulsa, the direction Ross and Rachel’s relationship takes, how Rachel’s feelings for Joey are handled and the two parter TO in Barbados is my least favourite season finale, I really, really don’t like those episodes. I also find that there are quite a lot of episodes in this season that are just plain bad and not funny like TOW the Sharks, TOW Phoebe’s rats and TOW Monica sings just to name a few. Overall, there’s not a single season 9 episode that I could name as being a favourite or even coming close to being on my top favourite episodes list.

The Vampire Diaries

Favourite season: Season 3

This is an easy choice for me (although season 2 is a very close second). I love season 3. It’s the season of the Originals and for that reason I can’t do anything else but love it. Klaus is the best villain and feels like a genuinely terrifying threat to the gang. The overall plot across the season is tight and well executed. Despite my dislike for the triangle, it’s handled amazingly in this season and it’s the only season where I can genuinely appreciate the triangle and the dynamics within it. As a Stelena shipper, I live for the angst between Stefan and Elena in this season and adore every single scene they have together. I also love Stefan’s arc with him being forced to become Klaus’ side-kick to save Damon and then being compelled to turn off his humanity despite how hard he fights against that. It’s a great season for Stefan’s character and shows the complexity of him better than the previous two seasons. Elena is also at her best in this season. Her strength and resillience really shines through and in this season she stops feeling like a by-stander and like someone that’s taking charge of her life and getting shit done. Alaric’s arc is dark and heart-breaking. Caroline and Tyler are strong in this season and they’re one of my favourite TVD ships. However, Klaus and Caroline’s dynamic is intruiging and brings a new flavour to the show. And although I never wanted Elena to become a vampire, the season finale is fantastic and a very strong ending to a brilliant season.

Least favourite season (note that I haven’t watched seasons 7 and 8): Season 5

Urgh, this season is just the worst. It totally retcons the mythology and history of the show with making Stefan a doppelganger. As much as I love Paul’s acting, Silas is such a crappy character. The Travellers are pointless; Damon and Elena’s on-again-off-again relationship is tiresome, the Augustine plot goes no where; the switch from high school to college is bumpy; Stefan is completely sidelined by awful writing choices; the best character on the show (Katherine) is done a huge disservice and her exit from the show is pitiful; Bonnie suffers once again (surprise, surprise); the introduction of Nadia just doesn’t work; there’s stupid scenes and episodes that are present for the sole reason of baiting Stelena shippers (5x04 and 5x18) and the finale is completely dumb. There’s not a single thing I like about this season.

Thanks for asking, lovely! 

[ajmichalka]

Tag The MCS as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend characters.

This was actually really hard! I feel like we’re all combos of characters and some of them could go to multiple people. Also I’m gonna link to a song/clip that I feel is relevant to why I tagged y’all as such.

@damianhubbards: Darryl. Just like Darryl Rob is so enthusiastic about life and always has a positive outlook. He’s also low key everyone’s favorite and is so easy to love.

@revengeparty: White Josh. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, White Josh is The Voice Of Reason™ on this show and is never afraid to call people out, that’s Gwen for us (especially that time he went off about straight girls co-opting gay bars)

@janisarkisians: Heather. Too cool for us in the best way and also gives great advice.

@treblemakerz: Rebecca. Dives head first into things she loves, has a competitive streak, would drop everything for their crush, and is loved by her friends.

@starcuffedjeans: Josh. ALWAYS has a positive outlook and just wants to have a good time and can see and focus on things that the rest of us don’t.

@nobody-told-the-horse: Nathaniel. Has a fashion uniform and can seem a little tough but is a total softie who values connecting with people in a meaningful way.

@kleksuh: Valencia. Queen of dragging her friends with a smile and would probably demand her girlfriend propose before realizing that she could just do it herself.

@chloebeale: Greg. Sardonic, lovable, and usually right.

@lvrsonbrie: Father Brah. They’re both pure of heart and we love them both unconditionally.

@dontwannalosemyself: Dr. Akopian. The best character on this show (I SAID IT). Carol is constantly concerned about us and our antics and has the best head on her shoulders.

@annablisshoa: Maya. The authority on Youth Culture who is a team player that we all love and cherish.

me: Paula. I WILL go to far for my friends without them asking.

[cha1cedony]

Click to read my insane ramblings (I put them under a break because this is. absurdly long). It’s just a bunch of fun facts about the Wilsons from the last 10 or so minutes of today’s episode (plus my own jumping to conclusions about them). Some of it is actual character analysis at the end. Vaguely. Obviously spoilers for DnDads S2E42 below!!!

Grant and Marco got married on a beach in Florida (unless they actually got married on the Titanic or something lmao). First of all, win for me as a Floridian! I wonder which beach it was; probably Clearwater or somewhere on the Gulf side because the sand is less pointy and full of shells

Anyway, Darryl’s mom (whose name I’m 99% sure is mentioned once, but I don’t remember it off the top of my head; sorry) retired to Florida. I wonder if she was there, or maybe even if they had the wedding near her place on purpose (because at that point she probably couldn’t easily come all the way to California)? :) Sweet.

I’m a little surprised that Grant invited his family tbh. I’m also wondering who else was invited, since Scam Likely popped up unexpectedly. Wondering if the other dads and kiddads were there, for example… hmm

Also cool that DeSantis hasn’t outlawed gay marriage in Florida in this future HAHA

Grant CAN tie a tie, thank you very much, but he’s not good at it :’) Marco probably usually ties them for him (and Darryl, too, of course). This also leads me to believe Link probably can’t tie a tie, either, but that’s not surprising. It’s okay. He only wears soccer jerseys even as his new business persona Boss Kicks

Grant doesn’t like spaghetti that much. He likes it enough for Darryl to make it for dinner for him, but not enough for Darryl to swim in it (even though swimming in spaghetti is apparently heavenly?) Hmm. This podcast… is so interesting… 🫶 hahahaha

I THINK this episode implies Carol and Darryl didn’t get divorced, since Darryl talks about wanting to impress her by getting fit in heaven. Either that, or they DID get divorced but still have sex, which is fun. Regardless, it’s definitely implied that they still have sex: “When Carol lifts this shirt up, ohoho… It’s gonna be heaven; I’ll just tell you that much.”

The last (and funniest) option is that they DID get divorced and no longer sleep together, but Darryl has deluded himself into thinking Carol will fuck him on sight once she dies and sees how hot he is now. This is probable because he’s setting up the house for Carol and Grant and presumably JUST the three of them; not counting Marco, Lincoln, etc. Maybe he’s still thinking about their family from when Grant was 12, before they went to the Forgotten Realms. That’s sad for a whole other host of reasons :’) aaah

Darryl only takes his Christmas lights down for a month (February-March) because otherwise Glenn will get mad at him? So fucking funny

Darryl and Darnell are FRIENDS. They’re FRIENDS GOD this means everything to me. If you’re reading this and don’t follow me, you should know I am a big Darnell fan. This is the best day ever. Anyway, Darnell finding Darryl dead is less fun. :(

The clarification that it wasn’t Carol who found him also makes me think they were still living together, since Matt says it like Carol finding Darryl would’ve been the most logical conclusion. It also makes me think Darnell comes over to visit often, which is nice :)

DARRYL CALLS MARCO “MARKY”. Sweetest thing I’ve heard in my wntire life oh my LORD.

“I know those phases… ay. Grant, buddy, you went through a couple phases yourself.” I NEED to know what Grant’s embarrassing teenage phases were

Ron and Darryl’s beer tastes like feet (and the Marys hate it)

Darryl and Grant both agree that in their relationships, they’re the overachievers, and their partners (Carol and Marco respectively) are just settling for them. Which is. SO. Fucking sad. The Wilson family self-hatred runs deep. I could go on for a very long time about this, but I’ll just shove it in a character study fic someday. Augh

Given the (mostly confirmed, I think) knowledge that Darryl and Carol stayed together, it’s extra sad. Despite couple’s counseling and years of working to stay together post-Forgotten Realms, Darryl still feels like he’s not good enough for Carol :(

And the same with Grant feeling he’s not good enough for Marco… I can’t believe how ready he was to call off the wedding. I wonder if that’s how he is often, and maybe Marco’s used to him being capricious like that, or if he’s been thinking about this for a long time and finally snapped. I think the latter. That’s the most like Grant: dwelling on things and bottling it up until he explodes. My poor boy :(

Marco was the one who wanted kids, which makes sense to me. Grant was resistant to it, which obviously also makes sense. Just mentioning it to say I think it rules out the idea that all the kiddads tried to have kids on purpose to get more daddy magic

Lastly, Grant’s reaction to seeing Darryl again made me cry. Maybe it’s because I’m overly invested in these two particular characters; I don’t know. I will elaborate…

Grant hasn’t gotten to hug his son or his husband in AGES, and that’s basically his whole family now. He’s not close with the other kiddads (except sort of Sparrow and Terry, one of which he literally killed), and he’s presumably not close with the rest of his family, either. Maybe Carol, since she’s still alive, but I don’t think there’s been any time for him to see anyone else since the beginning of S2. And then he got to hug Darryl again for the first time in YEARS. I know the line Anthony said about the fucking. spaghetti pool was a joke, but the emotion in his voice was there. Idk maybe I’m being crazy

Also, Darryl died suddenly. When Frank died, it was a shock, and it happened suddenly, but he did have cancer; Darryl knew it would come eventually. But Darryl literally died just living his everyday life. Grant didn’t get to say goodbye or even have time to process the idea of losing him. They were probably still not speaking to each other when it happened. They didn’t get along often as adults, as Link has said before; they were always arguing

But that relationship is still strong on Darryl’s end. He’s been thinking about Grant the whole time he’s been in heaven. And when they reunited, Grant stopped caring about their disagreements, too. Because he got to hug his dad again :’)

Okay, I’m done. Tl;dr I’ll never be normal again. There’s probably other things I forgot to mention. Idk. I’m feelign Unwell (/lh). Feel free to add stuff I forgot in the reblogs if you want. IDK. I LOVE THESE GUYS. I’m so happy and sad

I will never be normal again. Relistening to this forever actually. I will probably make a bulleted list of all the new things we learned about the (Li-)Wilsons also 👍

[sistercelluloid]

Welcome to another edition of TINTYPE TUESDAY!

Does the current crop of Christmas movies make you yearn to go back to 1947?  I mean even more than you normally do?  Then let’s journey together back to that magical time…

…when the lovely Maureen O’Hara was ready to pretty much punch someone in the face. She’d just flown home to Ireland after back-to-back shoots on The Homestretch and Sinbad the Sailor, and was all set to curl up with a cuppa and relax for a spell. So just imagine her excitement when she was suddenly summoned off the sofa and clear across the ocean to New York to star in a little confection called Miracle on 34th Street.

Luckily for 20th Century Fox, she fell in love with the script the instant she read it.

Which is more than you can say for Darryl F. Zanuck, who didn’t want to make the “corny” film at all. Director George Seaton, who’d thrown his heart into the project, fought back hard—finally wangling a paltry $630,000 budget out of the cynical studio boss in exchange for a promise to direct The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, which Zanuck was willing to pour five times as much money into. (And which we all gather ’round the TV to watch every year! Oh wait…)

For O’Hara, a divorced working mother herself, the part of Doris Walker was an especially good fit, and also a chance to cast her glow on the kind of role rarely seen in films of the 1940s. (The powerful Legion of Decency found the portrayal of divorcées on screen to be “morally objectionable.”)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a newly restored print of the Oscar¨-winning Christmas classic ÒMiracle on 34th StreetÓ on Thursday, December 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The 35mm print to be screened is from the collection of the Academy Film Archive, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox, and is presented as part of the AcademyÕs Gold Standard screening series. Pictured: Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, and Maureen O’Hara in a scene from MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, 1947.

Once the perfect leading lady was on board, the search for Santa was on. The first choice was Cecil Kellaway, who turned down the part but suggested his cousin, Edmund Gwenn. “I’ve never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role,” O’Hara later recalled.

So much so that until she saw him in street clothes at the wrap party, Natalie Wood—who said she’d been “on the cusp of not believing in Santa Claus”—thought her beloved co-star was the real thing. And this was no sheltered, impressionable child: known as “One Take Natalie” for her photographic memory, Wood was whip-smart and had what Seaton called “an instinctive sense of timing and emotion.” And if she O’felt Gwenn was Santa Claus, who are we to argue?

Unbeknownst to the thousands of spectators lining the streets of New York, Gwenn was also Santa Claus at the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, even greeting the crowd from the store’s marquee. To make sure he got ample footage, Seaton set up 14 cameras all along the route. “It was a mad scramble to get all the shots we needed because we only got to do each scene once,” recalled O’Hara. “The parade couldn’t stop because we needed a second take!”

In fact, in an era when soundstages ruled the day, almost the entire film was shot on location—during a winter so bitterly cold that the chill sometimes froze the cameras.”One scene was shot in Port Washington, New York, where a woman let us warm up in her house,” O’Hara later laughed. “The crew put the cameras in front of her living room fireplace to thaw out… finally the cameras defrosted and we were able to finish the scene. Her generosity was one of the miracles in Miracle on 34th Street!”

The closeknit cast also helped to warm things up. “John Payne was a wonderful person to work with,” O’Hara remembered. “And he became one of my dearest friends.”

O’Hara was especially close to her screen daughter: “I played ‘Mom’ to more than forty children during my movie career. But Natalie always held a special place in my heart. She called me ‘Mama Maureen.'”

The scenes in Macy’s were shot after hours, which thrilled the adventurous eight-year-old: “Natalie loved to work at night because she got to say up late. With all the shoppers gone, we walked through the store and examined all the toys and girls’ dresses and shoes,” said O’Hara. “It was a special time for us.”

“Mama Maureen” was also kinder and more lenient than Wood’s own notorious stage mother: “I brought a bag of chocolates for Edmund every day. We hid the candy from Natalie because her mother didn’t want her to have any.

“One day, Edmund got some chocolate all over his white beard, and Natalie spotted it immediately. We let her sneak some, but we made sure her mother never caught us.”

Wood found a special way to thank her movie mother for her much-needed warmth. “At least once a week, she gave me a little ceramic figurine she’d made,” O’Hara remembered. “I took them all down to my home in the Virgin Islands but when Hurricane Hugo hit, they were all literally blown away. I couldn’t find a single one.”

When the movie wrapped, the cast and director were pretty confident audiences would love seeing the film as much as they loved making it. But Zanuck remained unconvinced—and in another stroke of genius, decided to release the film in June, when, he argued, movie attendance was higher. This left the studio scrambling to promote a Christmas film without ever calling it a Christmas film. Which brings us to this head-smackingly odd trailer:

In it, the studio boss, who’s something of an imbecile (did Zanuck see this?), bellows, “What do you make a trailer for? To give the public an idea of what kind of picture to expect!” Then—Irony Alert!—they completely sidestep the fact that this is a Christmas movie. The boss wanders out onto the lot, buttonholing passing stars like Rex Harrison and Anne Baxter for their opinions of the film. They all love it, for wildly different reasons (Peggy Ann Garner calls it groovy!) but no one dares utter the “C” word.

Joining the long list of films that succeeded in spite of studio bosses rather than because of them, Miracle on 34th Street ultimately found its (sandal-clad) audience, recouping its skimpy budget several times over. And along with The Bishop’s Wife, it was one of two Christmas films vying for Best Picture at the 1948 Academy Awards ceremony. Both lost to Gentlemen’s Agreement.

Gwenn fared better, taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor against a brutal field. Literally. Two of his rivals—Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death and Robert Ryan in Crossfire—played noir characters legendary for their viciousness. So the next time you see Tommy Udo push Mrs. Rizzo down that flight of stairs, just remember that ultimately, he was beaten by Santa Claus.

As you can hear in the clip below, the applause that greets his name—or as presenter Baxter would call it a few years later, “waves of love coming over the footlights”—make it clear who the winner will be. “Whew! Now I know there’s a Santa Claus,” Gwenn tells his adoring colleagues. “He’s an elusive little fellow… he turns up in all sorts of places under all sorts of names and disguises. The first time I met him, he told me his name was George Seaton…” And later, his voice breaking, “Thank you, all of you, for making the evening of my life such a happy one.”

Actor Edmund Gwenn (right) and writer George Seaton (left) holding their Oscars for the film ‘Miracle on 34th Street’, with presenter Anne Baxter, at the 20th Academy Awards, Los Angeles, March 20th 1948. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

And finally, here a few bits of Miracle on 34th Street trivia to toss around the Christmas table:

Remember when Kris Kringle is taking his sanity test, and to show off his memory, he proudly proclaims that the Vice President under John Quincy Adams was Daniel D. Tomkins? Um, no, he served under James Monroe. Adams’ veep was John Calhoun, whose picture is too scary to put in a Christmas story. (Google him. Yikes.) So the next time you watch the movie with friends, be sure to smugly point out this mistake! (And never be invited back!)

Macy’s Christmas window displays were made by Steiff, famous for their stuffed bears and other toys. After the movie wrapped, the store sold them to FAO Schwarz, which later sold them, improbably, to the Marshall & Ilsley Bank in Milwaukee, where they’re showcased every year in the main lobby.

Gene Lockhart, who plays the judge, was also Bob Cratchit in the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol. And Percy Helton, who played the drunken Santa Claus, also popped up as the train conductor in White Christmas. Oh and speaking of making a bit too merry, here’s a Gimbel’s ad from the year Miracle on 34th Street came out:

The movie also gave us the gift that keeps on giving: the film debut of Thelma Ritter, who went on to win six Oscar nods while never moving out of Queens. And typically, she’s the one who sets the whole Christmas détente between Macy’s and Gimbels in motion.

Ever wonder what Kris Kringle and the little Dutch refugee who sits on his knee are talking about? Here’s the translation:

Kris Kringle: I’m happy you came! Little Girl: Ooh, you are Sinterklaas! Kris Kringle: Well yes, of course! Little Girl: I knew it! I knew you would understand me! Kris Kringle: Of course! Tell me what you would like to get from Sinterklaas. Little Girl: I don’t want anything… I already have everything… I just want to stay with this lovely lady. Kris Kringle: Do you want to sing something for me? Little Girl (singing): Saint Nicholas, little rascal, Put something in my little shoe! Put something in my little boot! Thank you, little Saint Nicholas! Saint Nicholas little rascal, Put something in my little shoe! Put something in my little boot! Thank you, little Saint Nicholas!

The house Natalie Wood bolts into at the end of the movie still stands, at 24 Derby Road in Port Washington. It looks almost exactly the same today, but for the addition of a window that changed the roofline.

It seems only fitting to give the final word to Maureen: “I’m so proud to have been part of Miracle on 34th Street.” And we’re so grateful you were. We still miss you, dear lady. And we’ll never forget what you told us:

TINTYPE TUESDAY is a regular feature on Sister Celluloid, with fabulous classic movie pix (and backstory!) to help you make it to Hump Day! For previous editions, just click here—and why not bookmark the page, to make sure you never miss a week?

TINTYPE TUESDAY: Behind the Scenes of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET! Welcome to another edition of TINTYPE TUESDAY! Does the current crop of Christmas movies make you yearn to go back to 1947?  

[ellenzone]

Review: OK KO Let’s Play Heroes!

With hits like Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery and Critter Cruncher on their resume, and the mysterious Below continuously grabbing attention when it shows up at festivals, it’s clear that CAPY is at the forefront of the indie scene. It might come as a surprise, then, that their first game in four years is a licensed title.

OK KO Let’s Play Heroes isn’t the first time Cartoon Network works with an indie studio to bring their animated worlds to life. CN Games and Adult Swim Games have both attracted attention for working with renowned indie studios like Devolver Digital and releasing shockingly beloved licensed titles, like Pocket Mortys and the Steven Universe: Save the Light series. What’s curious about OK KO, then, is that it’s the first CAPY Games release since Super Time Force in 2014. With hits like Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery on their resume and the mysterious Below grabbing the spotlight whenever it shows up at a game festival, it’s certainly surprising to see CAPY working on a licensed game. Make no mistake, however, OK KO Let’s Play Heroes is as fun as anything CAPY’s worked on, and it’s imbued with a sense of childhood wonder that makes it unforgettable.

I’ve written about this game before – I was fortunate enough to get some hands-on time with it at Day of the Devs, and I’m glad to see the game hasn’t changed much sense then. For the unfamiliar, Let’s Play Heroes is based on the ongoing Cartoon Network show OK KO Let’s Be Heroes. The cartoon, from powerhouse creators Ian Jones-Quartey (Steven Universe) and Toby Jones (Regular Show), follows the journey of a young boy, KO, who dreams of being a high-level superhero like his mommy. To become the greatest hero he can be, KO works at Gar’s Bodega, a convenience store for superheroes run by the legendary Mr. Gar, and defends Lakewood Plaza Turbo from the machinations of Gar’s rival Lord Bossman. Heroes and villains are all assigned POW Cards, trading cards that track their individual levels, and KO dreams of having his own POW Card someday.

As KO, your work at Gar’s Bodega consists of accomplishing tasks for your coworkers and defending Lakewood Plaza Turbo. On any given day you get to choose which coworker to finish tasks for. The dialogue and adventuring and the mishmash of gameplay styles are deeply reminiscent of Night in the Woods, in the best way possible. Side plots flesh themselves out through the missions you accomplish, players get a chance to choose from various dialogue options to spice up the conversations, and along the way you can make other plaza denizens happy by helping them recover stolen items or finding hidden objects throughout the plaza. In all of these activities you learn more about the people you’re helping, and it’s hard not to become invested in KO’s mission to help as many people as possible.

In the midst of helping your friends and allies, KO is tasked with beating up Boxmore robots sent by Lord Bossman to attack the plaza. There’s a healthy mix of random battles and forced encounters. Players can choose to take on as many random battles as they’d like, with battle difficulty connoted by the color and size of the boxes they encounter, or they can for the most part avoid brawling until it’s absolutely necessary. That said, I absolutely wouldn’t recommend skipping out – for a studio that’s never built an arcade brawler, Let’s Play Heroes makes CAPY look like 90s Konami. It’s not super advanced - there’s only a punch button, there’s no light/heavy attack, there’s no kicking - but a combination of charged punches and dash attacks makes brawls into fluid and fun affairs. By the time you’ve leveled KO up in stats, you’re granted access to a swath of really fun-to-use attacks, and racking up high combos requires a significant amount of skill.

Certain brawls change things up by adding in platforms, drone villains, and other light touches, and the game doesn’t hold back on its difficulty. If you go in expecting a light-handed cartoon game, you’ll be surprised at how tough some of the bosses get, and high-level play requires. Random brawls do lean on being repetitive, as you’ll be fighting the same set of Darryls, Shannons, and Jethros throughout your days as a plaza employee; however, I never got bored in that repetition, thanks to a constantly evolving moveset and a seemingly endless selection of super moves, or Powie Zowies.

Those Powie Zowies are really what surprised me the most. When I got my hands on OK KO at Day of the Devs, I was only able to try a scant few. By the final boss fight in OK KO, provided you’ve done all the chores for the plaza’s denizens, there are some 20 specials that you can call on a whim. Aerial slams from Mr. Gar, a rainstorm of bullets from KO’s coworker Rad, and a fearsome ground combo from KO’s mommy Carol are some of the ones I relied on the most early on. As I continued to play, I unlocked fun new special moves like a burrito truck that drives through and knocks into all the enemies on the field, and Godzilla-like foot to stomp on enemies and deliver massive damage. Tougher battles require tapping into these specials and building strategies based on how long they’ll take to charge and what they’ll do.

Powie Zowies are unlocked by helping the denizens of the plaza. While unlocking these are mostly optional, the mystery of what each is going to do drove me to do whatever I could to unlock them quicker. I was pleased to see how well these systems flowed into each other in practice. I needed money, Techos, to buy an item for a townie to unlock their Powie Zowie; thankfully, I had unlocked a special ability where Teamster, the self-cloning construction hero, runs onto the field and throws all the Boxmore badniks into glitch mode. I used Teamster to glitch the robots, knocked out a rapid-fire combo to beat microchips out of them, and sold the microchips to KO’s hacker friend Dendy for quick cash so I could, for example, buy a snack for A Real Magical Skeleton from the bodega, or buy antenna gel for Rad from the rooftop barbershop.

That the various quests and brawls don’t feel like distinct halves but rather gel together as a full experience is the real magic that makes this game special. 100%’ing OK KO is something that comes naturally; unlocking the game’s various POW Cards and completing the story go hand-in-hand, and I left the story absolutely wanting more. Fortunately enough, the Lakewood Plaza arcade has a fight simulator, so I can return to the game’s brawls whenever I’d like.

Admittedly, I haven’t actually 100%’d the game yet. For the most part, Powie Zowies are unlocked after receiving a villager’s card from the POW Card vending machine and accomplishing tasks. However, there are four POW Cards that don’t show up in the vending machine packs, meaning there are Powie Zowies I don’t have. Also, there’s constant references to mystical “Zappy Wappies” that apparently make Powie Zowies stronger… but the game doesn’t *give* them to you. Curiously enough, there’s a code machine on the POW Card vendor that takes three-symbol inputs, and the only Zappy Wappy I was able to get came courtesy of a cute little promo goodie that CN Games sent me. I was absolutely stumped when it came to unlocking more Zappy Wappies and filling out my card binder… that is, until I watched the cartoon again and looked closely. I’m well on my way to completing the game, now, but in order to *finish* it I’ll need to watch the rest of the season and come back to the game when I find what I need. I’m trying to be vague about this because I want you to discover this on your own as I did, but ultimately, I’m really excited that the game’s given me a reason to come back, and being a fan of the cartoon anyway, having a reason to rewatch every episode isn’t exactly a bad thing.

There’s a charm and a structure here that makes me feel right at home. Being a hero is more than just fighting a bunch of robots. KO doesn’t earn levels on his POW Card by taking on baddies, he earns them by making his friends happy and helping them earn their levels back. A lot of the missions are ridiculous, and many of them feel like mini episodes of the cartoon. Enid wants the cool teens in the alley to notice her on social media, so KO asks Dendy to help him make a gif of himself getting hurt. Rad becomes embarrassed after not being able to beat his box lifting record, so his muscles ask you to gather goodies for a gift basket they’re going to give him as an apology. There’s an endearing sentimentality that runs through the show and CAPY has clearly worked to bake that same feeling into the game.

I credit CAPY with that sentimentality because all of this stuff was done in-house. The animation and art style mimics the show but is absolutely its own thing. CAPY wrote the scenarios and dialogue themselves, and thanks to the delivery from the show’s wonderful voice cast the cutscenes are really fun and quite funny. The flow of the overworld, where players move in and out of different static “scenes”, feels stylistically like a Paper Mario game, and though this can lead to minor confusion with regards to movement it’s honestly gorgeous to look at. Overall, it’s super unique, and it’s all clearly done from a place of love for both the OK KO series and cartoons in general.

Granted, the game’s not perfect. It’s a tad repetitive, moving about the overworld can be a chore at times, and there’s some audio mixing weirdness that makes the cutscenes louder than everything else. Also, it *might* bug you that completing the game means watching the entire series. I don’t know if that’s really all that negative, though – like the game it inspired, the cartoon is endearing, really cute, and super fun. Come for the solid arcade brawler, stay for the heartfelt story about a kid trying to do his best.

I’m glad to say that CN Games has genuinely succeeded in bringing another cartoon to life as a really fun game. Thanks to the hard work of studios like CAPY, animated worlds like Steven Universe and OK KO are getting the games they deserve. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten our hands on a CAPY title, and I’m glad to say this one’s absolutely a knockout. 

Disclosure: I received a code for the PS4 version of OK KO Let’s Play Heroes from CN Games.

[greygamer]

Let’s Talk About: The Walking Dead ‘New Best Friends’

So maybe not much actually happened, but I thought that was actually a pretty good episode of The Walking Dead -- and I say that even though Negan was completely absent, and he was pretty much the only thing that salvaged last season for me.

For me, there were to big BIG highlights tonight, maybe the biggest one being the reunion between Darryl and Carol which seems like it’s been a damn long time coming. Their reunion was touching, emotional, and even though there were very few words shared between them, it felt like so much happened in those brief scenes.

I do feel like Darryl’s like to Carol was wasted, because god knows it’s only going to be a matter of time until she finds out the truth, but I guess for now she can continue living in peace.

I do feel like this continued Carol detour is kind of just a stalling technique until the writers can figure out what to do with her character. Her arc was amazing, and easily one of the most organic character transitions that has occurred on the show. But they reached a point where they couldn’t go any further with her. I thought they were going to kill her off a few seasons back, which I almost feel would have been a better way of bringing that arc to a close.

But I do still like Carol, and I’m hopeful that the writers have something brewing that will allow her to continue to evolve. And also be awesome.

The second most interesting thing this episode was the shit that went on at the residents of Trash Town, or whatever the fuck it’s called. As a comic book reader, it was exciting because all of that stuff was completely new, originating with the show. All of a sudden there’s something happening where no one can no know what’s going to happen.

It was also kind of interesting because it was so damn weird. The way they talked, the way the leader controlled her pack so easily, the fact that they had this weird gladiator zombie (AND the fact that he apparently was there just to be a gladiator zombie, and was a guy who had a name). Weird! Mysterious! Confusing! And awesome!

Favorite shot of the night: Rick coming back from his gladiator duel, right hand coated in blood from his fight, limping from the gash on his leg from the fight, and GRINNING HIS GODDAMN FACE OFF. So cool. Classic Rick.