#like it's not being marketted as a spinoff or new show it's just

[andrew-the-lego-maniac-mandrew]

okay so Phineas and Ferb getting two more seasons is fucking insane this info was just thrown into my lap without much elaboration.

[my-mt-heart]

When I think of the Caryl spinoff we were promised, I think of all the space there'd be to explore a new, but hard-earned romance between the two underdogs turned most iconic duo of TWD.

I think of them getting back to their roots, helping each other heal from their trauma, and conquering their fears of not being worthy of each other's love.

I'm tired of sitting through explicit beats of shipbaiting for the sake of marketing Daryl as the most eligible bachelor and riling fans up while Caryl, the relationship that sold me on their chemistry and their one-of-a-kind bond is treated like a dirty secret.

I'm tired of Carol feeling, and being portrayed, as if she isn't good enough or young enough or blonde enough for Daryl and I'm tired of the ageism Melissa has to suffer in order for the show to please an unreliable market that's more likely to watch clips on TikTok then subscribe to the show anyway.

I’m tired of foils and subtext and symbolism being used to say something about Caryl's relationship in a round-about way without ever seeing the payoff.

I don't want a retread of Caryl’s entire story that makes me think...

Canon is coming!

We're almost there!

Just a little bit further!

Maybe the next episode!

Maybe the season finale!

Maybe the series finale!

Absolutely not.

Because I know the difference between telling a longform narrative and stringing me along, manipulating me into thinking I'm getting exactly what I want ...

At least Daryl and plot device #100 didn't get together.

At least Carol doesn't die.

At least Daryl and Carol are finally alone.

At least there's "hope."

...when in reality I'd be getting nothing I want and not even for any creative reasons, but because it isn't good for an EPs brand or his ego or whatever it may be.

There's a lot of hype for Melissa's/Carol's return right now, amplified because of the year-long fear that her fans were never going to see her again, but what's the hook going to be for S3? If AMC wants a large fanbase they can rely on to keep tuning in and to keep growing, they should want all Carylers on board. And to get us all on board, including the ones who left a long time ago, explicit canon that honors both Carol's and Daryl's journeys is a must.

S2 is THE chance to show me—clear as day—how Daryl and Carol really feel about each other. That they are in love. That they are and always have been each other’s only choice and plot devices 1-100 never changed that. That's the Caryl spinoff I'll watch.

*This is my response to a few anons I received over the past week or so. I figured it would be better for my sanity to address them all in one go.

[dangermousie]

Netflix has ruined a lot of things. Don't get me wrong. I love Netflix and it handled foreign language content much better than Disney Plus that will only release in localised regions. (I remember being excited for a Disney Plus show (it was a spinoff of a localised show in Korea. Then on release date, it's not available in my region. It took like a year for it to be available)

Anyway, Netflix handles foreign language content better than other major streaming services. But I hate how for certain regions they have given up exporting localised contents and just only create new Netlfix content. Like Netflix used to have a decent range of Turkish dizis on their catalogue, some classics. Although it was frustrating because most of them weren't complete.

However, since they tried to dabble in the Turkish market with their own shows - (None of them have interested me apart from Midnight at Pera Palace and even then I didn't watch it), they no longer buy licenses to stream local Turkish dizis.

The only reason kdramas are still thriving is because of the Hallyu domination. But smaller foreign markets, they don't bother anymore.

I don’t like Netflix and its influence on shows all over the world tbh.

But then nobody asked me - they are clearly making bank.

[maizethecorn]

Hazbin Hotel Fanfiction links for Charlie/Alastor, link for Helluva Boss, spoilers mentioned

Hazbin hotel is a musical cartoon number created by Vivienne "Vivzie Pop" Medrano that can be watched on Amazon Prime. Only season one is out right now. You can watch the series at this link:

There is a spinoff series to Hazbin Hotel called Helluva Boss (two seasons are out) you can watch on Youtube for free in this link:

The main character is Charlie Morningstar who is running a hotel to rehabilitate sinners in hell so they can go to heaven. Charlie is the daughter of Lucifer. Currently, Charlie is in a bland relationship with a female fallen angel named Vaggie. So what bothers me about their relationship? Their relationship starts out based on a lie. Charlie found Vaggie in an abandoned alley, put a big bandaid on Vaggie's head and nursed Vaggie back to health after her eye had been stabbed out. Their romance bloomed out of Charlie being a nurse to Vaggie after Vaggie was kicked out of heaven for refusing to kill a demon child. Vaggie poses as a moth demon and lies to Charlie about her origins until the angel Adam reveals the truth about where Vaggie comes from. Charlie gets upset but eventually she makes up with Vaggie. I didn't care for Charlie taking Vaggie back. Vaggie lied about who she was to Charlie. Also, Charlie/Vaggie has no chemistry. Vaggie just seems to be with Charlie because Charlie was nice to her in patching her up. That's it. The two girls don't seem to have any common hobbies or interests with each other. Vaggie is just focused on helping Charlie follow her dreams and doesn't seem to have any self interests or worth beyond doing what Charlie wants. Vaggie should be with someone else who will help her realize her own hopes, dreams and goals.

Now unto to most interesting character: Alastor. He was a southern radio host and serial killer before he was killed in a deer hunting accident. Alastor is partly fascinating because of his backstory. As a human, Alastor was born into a mixed Creole family in New Orleans and saw the Stock Market Crash of 1929. He was close friends with fellow demon Mimzy who worked at a jazz club with him when they were both still humans. As a demon, Alastor wears a very stylish coat, pants, has hooves and other physical attributes like a deer. Now, Alastor has a twisted code of ethics which can be read in this free comic link to someone else's tumbler page which shows what a day in Alastor's life in hell is like:

So why Alastor/Charlie? Gosh, the chemistry between these two would be intriguing! Charlie is a dreamer and needs someone who isn't afraid to be realistic with her. Alastor isn't afraid to speak his mind with Charlie. Alastor tells Charlie when she messes up but he doesn't let her have a pity party either. After Charlie comes back from heaven, she is down in the dumps about Vaggie lying to her. Alastor is the one who gets Charlie to get out of bed and go look for an army of demons to fight angels. Alastor is supposed to be asexual but he does mention to Rosie that being with Charlie is being on the winning side. Alastor also tells Charlie she is a charming southern belle. On a slight level, Alastor does seem to find Charlie to be very charming with her singing and charisma. Now, Charlie hasn't been shown to be attracted to Alastor but she does rely on Alastor to protect the hotel. She also made a deal with him indicating she has a certain level of trust that he won't hurt her. Charlie is usually comfortable when talking to Alastor and he seems to enjoy talking to her even when he is insulting her. With her warmth and brightness, Charlie would bring some light into the dark solitude Alastor has built up around himself save for Husk, Niffty, Rosie and Mimzy. Here is a list of fanfiction links to stories I have read for Charlie/Alastor by different fanfic authors:

Mine~ (2022) - Claireanela, Lila_Vey, MixedKarmaStudios, TheCalisteEdition - Hazbin Hotel (Web Series) [Archive of Our Own]

The link above is to a story where Alastor gets Charlie pregnant. There is family drama with Charlie's parents over Alastor/Charlie getting engaged. The story is still ongoing.

Dearest Little Pet - Chapter 1 - MightiestGlitch - Hazbin Hotel (Web Series) [Archive of Our Own]

The author has been really slow in updating this fic but I love the story to pieces. Alastor is attempting to dominate Charlie sexually but finds he is developing genuine feelings for her.

I'm Sure Your Plan is Sound (138020 words) by Radar1388

Chapters: 30/30

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Alastor/Charlie Magne

Characters: Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne

Additional Tags: Romance, Eventual Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Asexual, Asexual Relationship, Swearing, disowned Charlie, Fluff, fluff at times, Drama, Drama & Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Angst, Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)

Summary:

Charlie hadn't been able to get in contact with her parents since opening the Hotel. After watching a devastating news interview, she now understands why. How does one cope without the support of their own parents? How does one explain to their hotel staff that they're no longer getting support from the royal family and why?

Eventual asexual romance between Charlie and Alastor.

The link to the fic above has a complete story.

my obsession - Chapter 1 - gardenianloverboy - Hazbin Hotel (Web Series) [Archive of Our Own]

The link is to a complete two chapter fic with Alastor having an obsession with Charlie. This story takes place after Charlie and Vaggie break up.

Housewarming Gift - Devin_Trinidad - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]

The link is to a complete one shot fic where Charlie decides to give Alastor a present.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into - Chapter 1 - Kildar (Ki1dar) - Hazbin Hotel (Web Series) [Archive of Our Own]

This is an ongoing 18 chapter fic where Alastor misunderstands the meaning of Charlie giving him a dog collar. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Alastor decides to mess with Charlie in one of his mind games. I love this fic but be prepared for very slow updates from the author.

[youmakethelight]

What do you think is the purpose behind putting Daryl in romantic relationships whenever he is away from the group? Away from Carol? Or could it just be a coincidence?

Hi, thank you for your question! Sorry I've taken some time to get back to you. ❤️‍🩹

This depends a bit on if you want my delulu answer or what I think the writers were thinking. For example, I have my own way of coping with the Isabelle romance for now, but I am absolutely certain that isn't what the showrunner had in mind. And I'm not confident those ideas will survive whatever happens in season 3. But I have thoughts about the Leah romance that I have much more faith do align, at least to some degree, with that showrunner's vision. Ultimately, I think the showrunners probably had different things in mind when they decided to do this.

Generally, I think the Leah romance while Daryl was away from the group and from Carol does have a storytelling purpose, which I'll explain below. However, I think the purpose of the Isabelle romance is likely just an ill-judged and poorly executed way to market spinoff Daryl as an appealing, new reinvention of the character.

In this case, Daryl is away from the group in a new show, so he becomes the default lead. From my perspective, for whatever reason, the showrunner didn't have confidence in his ability to tell a compelling story for his lead without pushing a romance with a new, conventionally attractive younger woman. To me, this is largely down to the showrunner not understanding Daryl and what his audience loved about him. Initiating the Isabelle romance away from Carol specifically also allows the show to keep dangling the caryl carrot. It makes it more believable that Daryl and Carol might still be endgame, so in theory, fans who hope for that might stay on the hook.

For me, any storytelling purpose that might be gleaned from the Isabelle romance is weak and misplaced. Although I can come up with my own (very weak) ideas about it to try to make it make some sense, I don't feel like it tells the audience anything new, or even cohesive, about Daryl and his character development.

As for the Leah romance, I think the primary purpose of this storyline was to explore Daryl's difficulties with feeling a sense of belonging, so I definitely think it's relevant and intentional that he was away from the group and away from Carol for this. And I think that this was for a storytelling purpose, rather than simply to manipulate the audience, which is what I think of the Isabelle romance.

I'm putting my thoughts on the Leah romance storytelling purpose below the break because I got carried away and took my answer way too far 🙃 (and honestly, I could have taken it further, I reigned myself in 🫠🫠).

But the tldr is: Daryl struggles with feeling like he belongs, being away from the group explores this, Rick and Carol were both his main anchor points for feeling 'belonging', there was a Merle and Rick parallel when Daryl left the group in season 3, now there's a Leah and Carol parallel when Daryl is away from the group in season 10, the revelation is that Daryl sees romantic love as a possible source of 'belonging' for him, and Carol is that endgame.

We saw Daryl wrestle with his sense of belonging throughout the flagship show almost until the very end. When he left the prison with Merle in season 3, Rick and Merle acted as foils for each other. And despite Daryl's loyalty to Merle, he learned that he had developed a sense of belonging with Rick, his 'found' brother. When Daryl decided to go back to the prison, Merle asked him where he was going, and he replied "back where I belong." This is in sharp contrast to his answer when Leah asks him where he belongs, which was, "I don't know."

At this point, Daryl is evidently missing the anchors that gave him a sense of belonging. So, what are those anchors for Daryl?

I think it's important that when Daryl met and developed a romantic relationship with Leah, he was self-exiled and looking for Rick - his brother, which he told Leah. I think the fact that Daryl described Rick as his brother and didn't mention his name emphasises that the importance of Rick's loss for Daryl was the brotherly bond he was missing and couldn't find. This demonstrates that that brotherly bond had been one of Daryl's anchors; a place he had felt he belonged.

Finding people is "his thing" (I think that was an Aaron quote?), but while trying to find Rick, what Daryl was really trying to find was his own sense of belonging. This is reflected in the episode title 'Find Me', which has broader symbolism connected to Carol throughout seasons 9-10 (a tangent I won't go into now). I think the relationship that he developed with Leah during this time represents an attempt by Daryl to feel like he belongs somewhere. And that indicates that romantic love is something Daryl sees as a possible source of 'belonging'.

If we look back at the time that Daryl left the prison with Merle, the other person who definitely helped Daryl to feel a sense of belonging was Carol. We could go even further back, to season 2, when she pulled him back from a mini-self-exile on the farm. Arguably, Carol gave him a sense of belonging first, before Rick.

And although Rick is an extremely important part of Daryl's sense of belonging by the time they reach the prison, Daryl's departure and subsequent return with Merle is also framed by his relationship with Carol. Glenn used "What do you want us to tell Carol?" to try to dissuade Daryl from leaving. And when Daryl came back, we were explicitly shown Carol visiting his cell to tell him that she's glad he came back. Somewhat importantly, she said "This is our home." This, among other instances, positions both Carol and Rick as the two most important anchors giving Daryl a sense of belonging.

Rick is, of course, missing, presumed dead, at the time that Daryl meets Leah, and Daryl is desperately searching for him. Meanwhile, Carol is still visiting Daryl, but he still feels lost and unable to return home. Every time she visits, Carol reminds him of her new life with her husband and child. She still wants him to return home, but her priority is evidently her husband and child, and there is a tension Daryl seems to feel towards her.

Nonetheless, he still doesn't feel able to entertain Leah as the person he 'belongs' with until Carol advises him to move on with his life; 'to find some peace'. She seems to be talking about his search for Rick, but in the same conversation, Carol seems more and more to be letting Daryl and their old life go in favour of her new husband and child (there are potentially interesting parallels here with Daryl and Sophia, but I won't go off on that tangent). Daryl identifies this as Carol having found 'her peace'. And in season 11, Daryl reveals to Leah that the reason he didn't commit to her before this conversation with Carol was because he was 'scared of letting go'. I think this interaction reinforces that Daryl's relationships with both Rick and Carol were what had been keeping him tethered to that sense of belonging.

So, I think that this specific case of Daryl entering a romantic relationship while away from the group provides the opportunity to show that, like Merle and Rick were foils for each other as Daryl's brother, Carol and Leah were foils for each other as Daryl's romantic love. The parallels were fairly explicit with scenes like the spear fishing scene and mirrored lines of dialogue. But notably, the contrast between Carol telling Daryl that she would be searching for Rick with him if not for Ezekiel and Henry, vs Leah berating Daryl for searching for Rick, positioned the two of them as foils for each other. So, ultimately, I think the purpose here was to show that being with Carol romantically would be somewhere Daryl feels belonging. I do personally think the intention was to build on this in season 11 before the ball was dropped for behind-the-scenes reasons.

There could, of course, be other explanations, but these ones make sense to me for now. I hope that answered your question in the way you wanted, but please do let me know if not!! And if anyone else has thoughts, I'd love to hear them. ♥️

[decepti-thots]

Wait explain to me the transformers nezha thing you mean one of the most famous deities in Chinese culture???

Ahhh, Nezha is an interesting one!

Nezha: Transformers was intended to be a collaboration with the intent of making a sub-franchise that was specifically for the Chinese market. It was going to be a Cyberverse-style spinoff of some kind using those assets and possibly being in the same continuity. (Maybe? That part has never been totally clear to me, but the format and animation were gonna be the same regardless.)

The Nezha part is because it was a crossover series. "The Legend of Nezha" was a Chinese cartoon from the 00s that I gather was quite popular? (There's not a lot of information in English about it beyond the basics I could find.) So this was going to be a continuity crossover between Transformers and that series which, yes, is about the deity Nezha!

It was seemingly pretty damn far in production when a trailer came out in 2019. But then, well, COVID hit, and of course it hit China first and hard, and everything seemingly went out the window distribution wise. For all we know the series is mostly done somewhere and just... hasn't come out. The trailer below shows all sorts of clips of new animation, looking fully polished:

We know a little bit about the rest of the cast, partly from the very truncated toyline that did make it to Chinese shelves. Several new robot characters were designed: Xiaolong Nu, Lei Zhenzi, Tu Xingsun, and Shi Ji Niangniang. (So, we have more stuff from classical Chinese literature etc here. Theming!)

The toyline was very brief and infamously hard to get ahold of even in mainlaind China. Very little of it seems to have made it to shelves stock wise; the most common items seem to be the lego-style toys and the smaller scale three pack?

There was almost certainly never any intention of Nezha being marketed to any other region, and certainly no marketing material etc ever came out in English- which makes perfect sense given the crossover element, and anyway, as TF is very popular in China, it can easily support a cartoon and toyline as market size etc goes. I doubt we would have gotten even fansubs tbh. But I want to see it so bad knowing it exists! It really seems like it might have been far into production. And like. It's a CROSSOVER SERIES. That is such a wild thing to me, a full TF cartoon that is a crossover with something else. The franchise has really never. Done that for any extended piece of fiction bar Hasbro's own stuff. So...

[guardian-angle22]

welcome back! I need your thoughts on all the stuff that happened while you were “out of office”… Spinoff show! All the spoilers about carlos content and Tarlos spicy scenes (breaking a dresser! heehee) this year! are you excited?

Apologies for the late reply since you must've sent this to me back when I first got back from vaca. The show aired and I lost my mind and didn't notice this was sitting there.

Soo... Thoughts on the Spinoff show! I feel like there are two separate spinoff show discussions that have been had by various people and I'm not sure if they're being merged together into one now or not but my thoughts are very different for each.

Spinoff Option #1: 9-1-1 in a different city. This has been in discussion for years by various people. Lone Star was a success, so why not turn it into a franchise like CSI or NCIS with multiple cities? Angela Bassett made a comment about it during a recent Emmy presser saying something along the lines of “people need help in every city”… This is the spinoff that I could see happening regardless of how this season goes but with a brand new cast of characters. I probably would not watch this. I’m not a procedural girlie, this show was an absolute anomaly and I don't know how I got here but it's really just these LS characters I love.

Spinoff Option #2: the “Tarlos” spinoff. This is the one Rashad has spoken about pushing for and Ronen has been hyping up on social media and at cons saying it could possibly happen based on how viewership goes this season. I know some have talked about these as two separate shows but I don’t think that��s the case. I think Rashad talked about it in the context of Carlos’ character and the new ranger because that was the interview/article topic, but I genuinely don’t think there has ever been a discussion of having a Carlos only spinoff without TK. Given the popularity of the pair, from a marketing standpoint it would just be silly to even attempt to have one of the characters headline a show without the other also there. This one I feel like would have to be set in Texas and named something other than 9-1-1. I would absolutely watch... most of it LOL. I don't think I would watch any of the ranger content ngl. which I guess segues into my thoughts on the Carlos content spoilers...

Thoughts on the content spoilers!

The Carlos plots… I don’t really care about if I’m being honest cause I just don’t care about the rangers stuff and the s4 Gabriel murder plot actively makes me angry if I think about it for too long… BUT people are gonna like things I don’t and I’m gonna like things other people don’t. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as no one is a dick about it. and I certainly have no plans to yuck anyone else's yum. so my thoughts are: I hope other people enjoy!

The spoiler I AM insanely excited to see is the infamous furniture breaking sex scene. It just tickles me that they really went so hard they almost broke a toe and some furniture. That's the dedication we get from the Tarlos actors and I appreciate the hell out of it... Although it does not surprise me in the least given 1.02… I MEAN...

[itsclydebitches]

I honestly have no idea how they intend to greenlight volume 10 if it's not been greenlit already. They've announced the final season of Red vs Blue and a lot of early day fans are in agreement that the end of RvB is the signaling of the end of RT in general. It's their second biggest money maker next to RWBY. After this new season, it's over. What do they do next? Do RT really believe that RWBY is popular enough to coast on for another decade? It'll be a miracle if it lasts even one more year.

Their viewership has been on a decline since Volume 6, they've abused so much of their animation department that there's almost no one left, most of their VA talent for RWBY's popular characters aren't coming back due to all the controversies, any spinoffs or soft reboots or whatever keep going back to the Beacon era and don't really do much to help with the overall problems that are down to the roots of the company.

They even made their biggest ship that kept what few fans are left canon and put out half assed merch that sold out in minutes, and somehow they still haven't managed to find enough money to greenlight another volume?

If they somehow miraculously get Volume 10 made, it's probably going to be the last.

The last few years of RWBY have really highlighted for me how challenging it is to define "popularity" and "success" nowadays. Granted, a good chunk of that is simply my own ignorance about how the production side of things are run, but it nevertheless feels like there's this intense level of ambiguity that wasn't there in the past (or at least wasn't as obvious). Fandom itself has always been an unreliable source because depending on the corner of the internet you're in, you can get a wildly skewed perspective without engaging with everything that contradicts how "good" or "bad" you think things are going. As you say, merch sells out in minutes, yet neither the finances nor the implied security of that seems to be enough to land another Volume. There are questions about whether this could be a marketing scheme, wherein Volume 10's future is simply being kept under wraps to drum up interest. There's the question of whether popularity matters at all when we've got companies cancelling and pulling undoubtedly successful shows, all according to their own, long-term algorithms. On the one hand the information surrounding RT is all about the abuse of their workers, another scandal, how this might all tie into the strikes... and yet most of this is nothing new and RWBY has still secured movies, a soft reboot, comics, and books. I agree completely with your list above of all the ways in which the series is struggling (massively) and yet RWBY has been "dying" for half its run-time. So is this the final nail in the coffin—the inevitable ending that's been a long time coming—or just another year where the fandom unintentionally cries wolf?

I'm not so naive as to believe that things were actually simple 'back in the day'—that's the nostalgia talking—but it still seems like things were simpler in comparison to what we've got now. TV and its media equivalents used to be—or at least felt like—a fairly straightforward journey of airing, ratings, syndication, cancellation, renewal, and then (eventually) the viewer securing a copy for themselves via VHS and DVDs. Now it's like, "What do I do with the newbie webseries eventually bought up by a major corporation and moved from a free watch, to a company-specific streaming watch, to a different, more expensive streaming watch, all of which has led to a decade of success with various spinoffs, but apparently this webseries still isn't making enough money to continue? Regardless, it and everything else I love to watch is inching more and more towards digital-only copies, a status that is inherently nerve-wracking, which means that if it does suddenly crash and burn (given that this is one of two series keeping the original company afloat) circulating this story and maintaining the fandom will be that much harder."

I find that depressing and I'm someone who thinks RWBY is pretty awful right now. I can't imagine what that ambiguity and the state of streaming media in 2023 feels like to fans still in love with the show.

So yeah. Idk how they intend to greenlight Volume 10 either.

[indigoraysoflight]

Hello indigoraysoflight!!

Honestly, I don't know how tptb believe that these strategies are going to work for them. As a viewer, I am hanging on by a thread.

I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to watch anything that purely retcons the mother series, so for me, more shipbait and Caryl being only friends = I leave TWDU as a whole. We even had show writers telling us Caryl is true!!

I adore Melissa and will support any other project she does, but it has been many years of being continually utilized and clowned by this franchise and enough is enough. Any ending that isn't Daryl and Carol together doesn't make sense to me, and a studio that treats me like this as a viewer doesn't deserve me to spend another minute on it, much less my money.

At this point, I will base whether I watch the spinoff or not on the reviews of some people I trust. Depending on what I gather from their reviews, I will stay or leave completely.

Which brings me to ask... Do you know if there will be reviews? With what happened with certain shippers of another spinoff leaking spoilers left and right, I have my doubts.

If there weren't any and we had no way of knowing in advance what to expect, I'm afraid I'll only follow episode spoilers weekly and won't watch anything until the end when I get to know 100% that I won't be disappointed, which for now seems almost impossible.

To think how excited I was with season 3 being filmed in my country... Now I don't think I care that much.

Thank you for everything you do for what's left of this fandom ❤️

Hello, dear anon!

Honestly? Same. I'm being very cautious now because I genuinely don't like how things are unfolding.

I respect your choice to do what's best for you. To be honest, it all feels really frustrating because Melissa deserves so much better. It's always lovely to see pictures of Melissa on set but I'm not sure why there isn't a robust marketing campaign working to promote the show. Not only is it disrespectful to the leads, but it also gives some people more incentive to bully Carylers.

Some poorly positioned social media posts — that rely on the fans to explain how the ship is romantic — are simply not good enough.

I'm not sure about the reviews. I don't know if you're aware that I run a Caryl podcast called Nine Lives Two Mics with my friend @kryptoniancape. We intend to review TBOC with or without screeners and share our honest take on it.

But it's safe to say the whole show is resting on Melissa's back, which is incredibly sad, considering she isn't getting any official promo.

To me, the future looks concerning, especially if it rests in the hands of a showrunner who has no idea how to write women and has leaned heavily on ship baiting to give a female character any value. Norman and Melissa being EPs is good. But they need a showrunner who actually cares about Caryl, and the current one has given me no reason to trust him. The future of this show needs a showrunner who can deliver not just for Caryl but for the fans who have held on for years in some cases.

It's not just about canon anymore. It's about canon being done right and a vibrant story that Caryl deserve.

I'm really sorry I don't have better news for you, dear anon. I'm not really doing anything for the fandom. I'm just hoping people's voices and concerns are heard.

I also want to thank you for your courage and vulnerability today. We need more people speaking up the way you did. I need you to know that your voice has meaning and I appreciate you for using it.

Stay safe and be well. ❤️❤️

[crusherthedoctor]

"Mario never undergone a drastic redesign for plots"

I mean...the proportional change between the SNES era and N64 era for Mario is massive, and design again changed a lot for Early GC era. And less said of the 1981-85 designs the better

Or hell, Bomberman doing whatever the fuck until Super Bomberman 4

https://twitter.com/a_kinopio/status/1243785430299865088?s=20

Sonic also very much HAD gradual design changes between 1991-7...it's just that the general public didn't give a shit. We go from this tubbiness

To long legs and hair mcbrow here. Hoshino did Sonic CD and R 2D art, and the diff between that and here is still indicating an overall evolution. Only Amy and Eggman drastically changed, which for the former I'm glad. Better than being a literal girl Sonic clone. The rest are just continuing a trend then adding iris color

But really I feel Sonic Team did the redesigns to welcome a new era, given how Japan unironically forgot about Sonic. It's jarring- if you ignore 6-7 years of the franchise, but also distinctively full of much needed energy given the crap 1995-7 period.

Similarly I feel we're missing cultural context; both the US and Japan had a problem with associating design with specific tone, so you ended up with typecasted designs. Sonic despite having attitude and games like 3K WAS associated to being a cutesy generic mascot inferior to Hello Kitty in Japan, which is not a good thing. Almost all noncanon manga further just divorced itself from actual game tone to be a parody or cutesy manga, which both Naka and Oshima didn't like, same for early Sega Harmony Calendar art.

The US market had a forced redesign that lasted till 1994 that while ass, unfortunately just lended to the idea of not accepting a design as is, regardless of tone. So Sonic Team gave in to that for Adventure, which a competition was held in 1997 to see how it was recieved. Uekawa won ironically cuz he had the safest design, but took elements of Okano's art later to add flair and zaniness as it'd defeat the point otherwise

I feel Capcom had a similar problem with Megaman: they didn't feel comfortable with solely using the same design for bigger stories, so they opted for the more adult X spinoffs, and then similarly did the same for Legends and Battle Network (ironically I feel this backfired). Even Ruby Spears attempted to be faithful for their show pilot, but test audiences didn't like it, so we got a mediocre jocked up muscle Mega Man. While in Japan the anime OVAs were very cutesy and basic, despite games being more action oriented

It's hard to say if this issue disappeared now, and I feel it's revisionism to say "oh, if the redesigns didn't happen, no one would be mad" cuz the truth is...Sonic would die if he didn't change harder

I feel both ignoring every middle design and just lumping Sonic as "Classic" "Modern" is a very stupid thing as both are fucking subjective and tempermental terms. Adventure isn't "modern", and anything with sentimental value and nostalgia is "classic". Heroes is fucking over 20 years old, and can be considered one to some, as unpopular of an opinion that is. Sonic Team didn't have eras awkwardly like that in the 10th Anniversary book, and even said "Sonic will continue changing", but after 10 more years of the fandom, original creatives outside Iizuka leaving, and game reviewers destroying nuance and history, they forcibly had to split him like so for Generations. I see the same fan mentality outside Sonic for Golden Age era cartoons, it's maddening. Just look at Looney Tunes fans on how they treat Daffy, it's the same shit

Sorry for ranting, but I hate when history and evolution are ignored just to make strawmanned points when it boils down to "wishful revisionism under MY misnostalgia/control". I saw someone make an SA1 mod to make stages "More classic" with checker spam when not only is that term bullshit, Sega and Okano literally showed us concept art of Adventure stages before the char designs tweaks, and it's the exact same texture and bg prop set as final. That is maddening

I'm tired of it

At the risk of being blunt, I'm aware of all that. I assure you that I could never forget American the Assface and Ivo No-Eyes no matter how much I'd prefer to.

As for Mario, his earliest designs had the excuse of it not being fully set in stone yet, and with the N64 era onward, they generally only involved slight proportion changes or subtle details in the clothing and what have you... much like Sonic in the years between 91 and 97, American Assface and other questionable SoA decisions notwithstanding. The point is, Mario wasn't redesigned for the explicit purpose of seeming like a more mature bing bing wahoo man. :P Neither was Kirby, who I used for reference due to his reputation of fighting eldritch abominations and occasional dark subtext despite resembling a pink blob with stubs for arms.

Finally, I can't speak for how others choose to use the terms, but I use Classic and Modern for simple convenience. I agree that there should never have been an official line in the sand between the two, at least outside of Generations' context, but this is what the franchise has taught us to do at this point. That's the ugly truth, I'm afraid. As is the ugly truth that the vocal, dramatic shift to the Adventure designs and style - regardless of intent, regardless of justification, regardless of the gradual alterations and differences between artists in the years beforehand, regardless of every angle of relevant context - still brought on one of the single most notorious divides in a fandom full of them, up there with the debut of SatAM. We can debate all day as to whether it was fair or not, but the divide happened all the same.

I'm not a Classic-only purist. SA1 is one of my favourite games in the series, and I love various other Modern titles. And to stress once more, I like the Modern character designs and have no personal beef with them whatsoever. But I can't ignore these things in an age where Adventure era rose-tinted goggles are at an all time high, and while it's true that not everything is straightforward, that goes both ways in cases like this.

[fandomsfrillsandfuckingtea]

Save OFMD

Other shows have been brought back through fan action. Now, we fight.

Season 3 was so close - The streaming numbers for season 2 were brilliant, reviews were excellent and fan fervor was and is high DESPITE the 40% FUNDING CUT for the season and its slashing from 10 to 8 episodes. Max was pumping so much money into advertising season 2 still, ramping up new merch, and investing at such a scale that makes NO sense for a show set for cancellation. The cast were getting hyped and active on social media late December. David Jenkins has vouched for the folks at Max and their enthusiasm for a third and final season.

So, why no season 3?

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of Max and controlling entity, has been cutting shows from the platform early for the tax breaks and follows the no third season strategy as this is usually the point where pay must increase for those employed for the project. Additionally, since he took over leadership, the platform has had a tendency to remove cancelled shows from services VERY QUICKLY and offers no other way of watching. This means if you enjoy something, you have to pirate or potentially never see it again, all for the sake of greed. There's FAR too much love and hard, hard work that goes into projects like these for them to just be wiped from the face of the earth, ESPECIALLY in a time where we have ample ways to preserve things indefinitely.

WBD has seen a 5% drop in stock value recently and this will only get worse if fans become aware of his financial strategy and realise they can't get invested in any Max shows as there's no guarantee they'll be around for long at all. It's made worse by knowing so many wonderful, impactful, meaningful shows are being cut in favour of another 90 Day Fiancé spinoff and other derivative reality shows. No offence to them and their fans, but the market is pretty saturated already and we could all use television with HEART in these times.

If you can, even if you're not a fan of Our Flag Means Death but may be interested in the fight against the current strategy being forced on the likes of Max, consider signing and sharing the petition set up by Renew as a Crew (linked above).

Also, if we can get Neil Gaiman's eye on this, even better. I'm overjoyed we get the last part of the Good Omens story, I just sincerely hope we can get the last act of Our Flag too.

Representation is important. Love is important. We shouldn't have queer representation relegated to it's own category, forced to fight other shows of other genres to be THE queer rep we get to keep on screen. We deserve better.

[my-mt-heart]

Thoughts on TBOC Trailer

I'm issuing another trigger warning (for mention of abuse) and another gentle reminder that if you're happy with the trailer, then I’m genuinely happy for you. This post will not resonate with you though, so I encourage you to keep scrolling or to just block me. I really won't be offended. If you aren't happy with the trailer or you're still processing the trailer, well, let's talk about it...

There are three major issues for me. The first is the way it positions the story as Daryl's despite all the promises offscreen that it would be Carol's story this season. He gets the first appearance, the name drop, and the spotlight in 90% of the shots while Carol's side of things is like an undercurrent. I love Daryl. I love that he has his own spinoff to explore his character more deeply, but this is supposed to be Carol's spinoff equally. She may not have been marketed as much as Daryl has been over the years, but her popularity and Melissa's critical acclaim have more than earned the same amount of narrative space that Daryl has. Her being sidelined in S11 and then removed entirely from the Caryl spinoff upset an entire fanbase.

Finding out about Carol's/Melissa's return on the other hand offset that pain and started generating (organic) buzz for the show, so it baffles me that AMC wouldn't keep following that path to maximize viewership. If TBOC really is Carol's story, and I'm not saying she won't end up having the most screentime, why wouldn't they want to sell that to the Carol/Caryl fans who left, the Carol/Caryl fans who feel uncertain about the storytelling (hi 👋) and the GA who love Carol, but may not realize she's back because all the media coverage keeps leaving out "TBOC" and using Daryl as the thumbnail? When you have something amazing, like Melissa's acting and Carol's story development and Caryl's chemistry, then it only makes sense to show it off. But instead, the positioning triggered my fear of Carol being sidelined again, of her being treated as insignificant to Daryl's story and the story overall. Whether that's valid or irrational, it's still not the visceral reaction I want to have when I thought I was being treated to the epic return of the character who taught me everything I know about resilience and strength.

My second issue is the heavy-handed positioning of Daryl, Isabelle, and Laurent as a nuclear family, not just when Daryl tells Laurent that he and Isabelle want to take him to America, but the classic American image right after that of the three of them playing baseball together. Whether it's a misdirect or not—I'm having a hard time figuring out which to be honest because I know Zabel and Nicotero are more than capable of taking it in a direction that might seem wildly absurd from our POV—I'm very uncomfortable with any representation of Daryl in a manipulative relationship/friendship/nun-ship, especially if the manipulation isn't going to be addressed. And I don't expect it to be addressed going off of what Zabel and Norman have been saying about Daryl needing to open up his heart to his new family.

I have to refrain from giving out any personal details about myself on my blog, but I'll share this because I think it provides important context for my position on Daryl and Isabelle (trigger warning). I was terrified of my dad when I was a kid. He wasn't a monster like Ed or Daryl's dad, but when he was angry—and he was angry a lot—he was mean and loud and destructive. That was my frame of reference for how men naturally behave, for almost all of my adolescent life. When I started watching TWD, I recognized some of my dad's worst qualities in Daryl at first, but then Daryl grew in ways my dad never could. He overcame his predisposition as an angry redneck because he "opened up his heart" to Carol and saved all of the violence/aggression for killing zombies and fighting villains (usually). When Isabelle accused him of being like his dad to get him to stay in France (106), it cut deep because Daryl isn't anything like his dad. He's not an abuser. He's not selfish. He doesn't abandon anyone or intentionally hurt the people he cares about. He's the male role model I never had. A man of honor who deserves to be loved by someone who sees that without a doubt. Carol sees that. She was the first person to help him nurture that, whereas Isabelle keeps him in the cycle of abuse by gaslighting him into becoming a father figure to a kid he barely knows. So unless the EPs are telling a clear story about that, which they aren't, they're just glorifying toxic/abusive relationships.

Caryl is the relationship that fans have invested in for more than a decade. It's one of the most iconic relationships on television for a reason. They represent hope for their fans, some having endured hardships in their own lives similar to Daryl's and Carol's. Their fans seek comfort in a love story between two damaged, middle-aged people who thought they couldn't heal from their trauma and thought they weren’t worthy of love. Their fans have every right to expect Caryl-centric storytelling in a show that's being marketed as a Caryl show (see AMC's hashtags), especially considering they've had to wait more than two years after some assholes underestimated Melissa's value to the franchise.

I personally went into SDCC wanting to know what I could look forward to for Caryl's shared arc in addition to their individual arcs. I think a lot of people did judging by all the questions they dropped on AMC's/TWD's social media accounts leading up to the con. Side note: All of those questions were ignored in favor of questions geared toward TWD fanboys. We only got the tease at the very end of the trailer, and that tease doesn't tell us anything new. Only that, once again, it's Daryl's story and Carol is in the periphery. We already know Caryl are going to reunite. We've known for over a year and even for those who don't track filming updates, it's not a difficult conclusion to come to. The trailer can't spoil how and when and what happens after, but it can show us how Daryl and Carol remain spiritually tethered despite being physically separated. It didn't do that. It played on anxieties instead of desires, which is both tiresome and unethical.

My last issue, which we've been talking about for a while now, is the excessive friendship positioning. Yes, Daryl's and Carol's bond is rooted in a deep friendship. No, it doesn't mean they can't also be romantic. But when that word shows up in every tweet, every synopsis, and every interview, it's not only deliberate, it's targeting a specific viewership and judging by Melissa's mandated (yeah, mandated) use of it as well, I think it's less about telling Caryl fans to set their expectations (AMC thinks we're already guaranteed viewers), and more about trying to appeal to dudebros/fanboys, which is ridiculous because those fans aren't going to invest long-term anyway, not without a catalyst for more Rick stories and action-adventure stories that aren’t in Zabel's wheelhouse. It's just going to make a portion of the fanbase who will invest long-term less hopeful for what they want, plus erase the romantic potential for the GA to see. It's obviously not wrong for AMC to try to maximize their viewership. It is wrong to invalidate the profitable viewership that they have in the process. I have no idea if the show intends to surprise Caryl fans with canon by the end of the season or if certain EPs will get their way, but I do know I can't make any sense of a platonic friendship for Caryl. Insisting on that would be a huge retcon for me. A dealbreaker, as I’ve always said.

AMC started off on the right track with the very first teaser we got, showcasing the significance of Caryl's relationship in the tagline, "To find home is to find each other.” The SDCC trailer feels like we've taken three giant steps backward. I came out of it feeling like the story Zabel, Nicotero, and some faction of AMC want to tell isn't for me, that my favorite characters aren't for me unless I'm willing to forfeit my understanding of them to make the fanboys and certain EPs feel justified in their biases. It doesn’t feel good.

That’s all of my SDCC coverage for now. I appreciate everyone for giving me the space to voice my honest opinions. It might be a buzzkill, but it’s the only way for AMC to properly assess what’s working and what’s not working for their audience 🤷🏻‍♀️

[bohemian-nights]

It still blows my mind how Chris, the showrunner of the first 2 Bridgerton seasons, isn’t held accountable for any of that writing. The contrast between how he’s treated and given so much grace versus how they treat Shonda and Jess, the new showrunner. I’m just sitting her like, do they not see this? Mind you, Shonda isn’t even our showrunner. She doesn’t even write for the show. I’m not saying she’s not involved at all but…. if they’re going to blame Jess for a season that hasn’t happened yet and writing they haven’t seen yet, why wasn’t Chris blamed for the first two seasons? Why is he given so much grace? As if he was being controlled by the “evil” Shonda Rhimes? Am I crazy or is this fandom really weird about all of that? Why is Chris seen as the guy who should save us from the writing of future seasons? Why should he come back? What evidence is there that he could do better? I’m just so lost. It’s just blatant misogyny and racism and the fans don’t know how to be normal with their criticisms. The way Shonda is blamed for the marketing and not Netflix who’s really in charge of all of that. It’s insane. It’s interesting… They’re making me defend this woman who I’m not even that fond of myself like. But there’s just an obvious bias that I cannot stay quiet about. It’s a bit much. It’s not even subtle.

Shonda is definitely used as a scapegoat for obvious reason. With Jess, I want to give her a chance. Chris definitely shouldn’t be held up to a high regard after season 2. However, I think people are pissed at Jess because Benedict’s season was skipped and because of all the “leaks” that have come about.

Due to what happened yesterday the fandoms morals is at an all time low.

I don’t think half of what was “leaked” has any truth in it(specifically talking about yesterday), but since we have no actual way of verifying things until both part 1 and part 2 drop, people are reacting to what has been put out there.

Now if people are upset about the show being split into two parts, yeah that’s definitely not Jess or Shonda’s fault.

That’s Netflix trying to get more money out of one of their biggest cash cows cause they did the same thing with Strangers Things and The Crown. It’s a really stupid model and they either need to go back to releasing all of the episodes at once or spacing them out weekly.

In turns of where the fault lies with Shondaland, it’s I trying to hide the last two episodes for no good reason(well I suppose it’s to create hype, but all they’ve done is piss people off). With that move they’ve opened up Pandora’s box to allow trolls to run wild and play with peoples emotions.

Personally for me though, I’m reserving judgement until, I find out what they have done with Franchael and who is playing Sophie Beckett.

The show would be idiotic to try to place a Black woman in a role intended for a beloved male character. Bridgerton has established that gay people do not have a happy ending. so after what they did with Lady Danbury in QC, turning Mariana biracial when they know she has to die, doing that spinoff on QC which while beautiful was yet another tragic love story, it would be a slap in the face to Black fans to never give a Black woman a happy ending like every other woman is allowed on this show.

Our only representation on this show cannot be more pain and misery. It can’t be a relationship that must be lived out in secrecy.

You shouldn’t market your show to Black women(cause this show is heavily marketed to black people) say your subverting expectations and providing representation when you’re doing the same old same old.

For Bridgerton to be Shondaland production the fact that we haven’t gotten a Black female lead is disturbing to me.

Shonda is not involved in the day to day operations, but it’s obvious she’s involved in the big decision making like who are they going to cast in a lead role or who’s season is going to be next.

So if Sophie isn’t Black and Masali is somehow playing Michael and that’s our only representation then yeah it’s fuck you to Shonda, Jess, and everyone else involved in this mess.

Again I don’t think that Shondaland is that idiotic to do that. Mainly because even if they don’t care about Black women, Franchael fans damn sure will be mad about having their story ruined and it would be because just like with Benophie their story is gender specific, but I reserve judgement until I see things with my own eyes.

[builder051]

Disney is not drawing Marvel fans into theaters— it’s not the characters, it’s not the storylines, it’s not the actors. The production teams are turning out sub-par films. Looking back to the original introduction films, such as Iron Man, the quality was there. The adaptation of source material was great, the characters were amazing, and the writing and editing tied them up with shiny red bows. Each of them, through Age of Ultron at least, were literal gifts to the fandom. Lifetime comic collectors came together with general movie lovers and the mass of the MCU fandom came out of the woodwork to enjoy high quality entertainment. At this time, Disney-backed Marvel movies pale in comparison to previous films in the franchise, and the quality is continuing to degrade with each subsequent release. The MCU fandom is feeling disappointment en mass. The film characters are not receive the justice they deserve, and Disney seems to be more interested in quantity then retaining quality. The number of MCU spinoff shows on Disney+ is massive and growing rapidly. Many are cartoons and geared toward kids. Not only does this create an overwhelming amount of content (which is going to waste, for nobody has the schedule or attention span to consume all of it), but it cuts the MCU fandom at its heart. The Marvel films have graced home and theater screens with deep, compelling stories that adults love just as much as youth. The MCU canon has stretched into its 15th year of relevance. When we have over a decade of continual content, the passage of time must be applied to the fans, too. There have always been adults in the fandom, but now there are more than ever— people who were kids in 2008-20012ish are now grownups, some with kids of their own. The initial Marvel films hit (and remain) in a sweet spot of mass appeal. Kids enjoy the movies just as much as the adults. With the portrayals of complex characters and detailed storylines, we can enjoy the movies throughout our lives. There’s no lack of source material, and the fandom was, until recently, steadfast and willing to share their love of Marvel with friends and loved ones. There was an opportunity to keep old and new fans happy, feeding the potential audience and strengthening it over times to come. Unfortunately that opportunity is lost, and Disney as a production company has sabotaged itself. Currently, Sony is the company to beat with its Spiderverse film and recent sequel. Even as animated movies, the content is undeniably alluring to adult fans too. It is the quality of the films overall, not just flash bangs and rude humor, that leaves audiences completely satisfied and ready for more. They have shown their solidarity and dedication, patiently waiting for more wonderful MCU films. As stated earlier, the fandom thrives on quality, not quantity. Disney as a company caters to a younger audience, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Appealing to kids is a tried and true marketing tactic. However, productions like Frozen and Moana are categorically different from the films of the MCU. Those were never meant to appeal to adults (except all-time Disney lovers—a genuine, though small, audience.) One cannot compare recent Disney metrics against predicted sales numbers for upcoming MCU projects. The fandom is larger than one would anticipate, and there are qualifications that must be considered, such as the COVID pandemic and the general transition of film viewing being a home activity rather than one requiring a trip to the theater. Adult fans, again, are more patient and more discerning about what they see as quality entertainment.

(Read the rest of the essay in the reblog section—it’s the next post on my blog right after this.)

[ferdieinceladoncity]

I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WATCHING THE GIGGLE NOW THAT MY MOTHER IS WELL, I'M ONLY ONE ENTIRE WEEK LATE BUT HERE'S MY GIGGLE THOUGHTS

-okay, for one I am not as averse to the bi-regeneration as some people have been. I saw that leak detailing it waaaay earlier, and I was honestly excited more than disappointed. As long as they don't do this every single time future doctors regenerate- which would suck-it was fine as a one-off thing, and made sense for the iteration of 14. Of course he would be brought back so that he could go home and stay there. And 15 gets to go gallivanting off and start off the new season, so alls well. I dont think it takes away from Ncuti's arrival as the doctor at all because he had most of the focus of the episode from when he split off and became real.

-I could not help but draw parallels between all the people of earth thinking they are right and denying wearing the... whatever they were called, the rings- and covid and masking stuff and whatever which I guess was the point. The toymaker referencing 'cancelling' was so cringe though lmaoo

-Kate Lethbridge Stewart you are my wife forever <3

-what the fuck was that robot there for. the vlinx. This is like, for suuuuure we are getting a UNIT spinoff soon and the inclusion of that weird robot is gonna be part of it. Literally everything is pointing to a UNIT spinoff and that was so obvious in this episode. I don't have opinions for or against the existence of a UNIT spinoff, btw.

-the callback to the Moffat companions was great. Shame he mentions Amy but not Rory?? hello? he was very much touched by a weeping angel too.

-Overall, I didnt hate the toymaker as a villain, but it was like... i don't know. a discount master. I guess he was fun, but I wouldn't be too keen on seeing him return anytime soon.

-that being said, spice up your life was very fun :3 Oh I'm going to have that in my head forever, aren't I..

-Please don't reference the year as a big speech in the episode of television you're making. Yes I understand it's because it's the anniversary but does nobody else find it super cringe when they're all like.. oMG.. 2023... maybe that's just because im super tired of that trend back in 2020 where verbalising the fact it was 2020 was used as like the marketing campaign of every single brand

-mel bush was certainly there! for, I guess, reasons! maybe I'd care more if I'd seen her back in the like... 80s, but I didn't, and so it was like. okay. were there any classic fans watching jumping out of their seats when she was on screen? I just feel like when the doctor reunites with an old companion, it always feels shallow. Like when 13 reunited with Tegan and ace in power of the doctor. It just felt like she didn't really know them anymore and we only really saw 14 exchange pleasantries with Mel as if they were friends meeting back after a couple years in a grocery store aisle. I think they more or less got it right in school reunion, seeing ten with Sarah Jane was so wonderful. But that was a whole episode centred around their reunion and when you're introducing a past companion as part of a special or big anniversary episode you kind of have to push it aside in favour of the other stuff you have to show, making it feel like, what was really the point? a companion is such an important person in the doctors life and it feels narratively unsatisfying to bring them back to satiate or entertain older fans but not really centre any part of the episode on the doctor and this companion they formed a real bond with.

-if I was donna I would have stepped right on that doll the first time I saw it and smooshed it into the floorboards like a spider

-I feel like they played catch too fairly. For one, why even bother throwing the ball back and forth between yourselves? dont tempt fate like that. take all your shots at the toymaker. surely it wouldn't have been hard to just lob it a little bit to the left and off the edge a lot sooner. He'd say you were a bad throw but I doubt he could prove it

-I liked the imagery of the rose petals shooting out of the guns I dont know I just thought that was neat

-oh, speaking of! Rose mention! the doctor said he loved rose in 2023. Well, in a stilted way (next point) but man I guess this can be considered a timepetals win???

-the dialogue just didnt crackle and to a point and with a few expeditions this has been the case for all the specials. I don't know if im looking at it all the wrong way, but there's something a little bit devoid of life when compared to earlier seasons. It's not deal-breaking for me. But I think it was especially potent this episode.

-The TARDIS having a ramp is pretty great but why not let her in it?? why show her ( cant remember her name but the UNIT officer in the wheelchair) you show her it has a ramp now and she's happy about that, but nah fuck it you can't come in and have a look.

-The TARDIS also looks so much better with the warm yellow lights and I'd have warmed to it a lot more if it ALWAYS had that warm yellow lighting instead of the sterile whiteness 14 was kicking around in.

-Seen many people mention it already but the fact that was 14 was going commando after the regeneration because 15 got the underwear is hilarious. and he had the dogs out and all. my man. only in doctor who can the climax of an episode be the protagonists and the villain saving the world by playing a game of catch and one is barefoot and the other is literally in his undies. huh

-tentoo did not win ffs. just one mention. just somebody asking how he's going where he's at. just someone considering him at all. a fucking throwaway line. DONNA KNEW HIM. im going to bite my hand off and rtd better have something planned, some good reason for acting like he doesn't exist in these specials. Like even if when they were talking about the doctor settling down and having a domestic life, even if donna had said like "like that other you did" and then we all moved on. but literally act like he doesn't exist I guess

-I'd probably sooner kill myself than live with Sylvia noble but good for 14 for his ending. it was cheesy as all hell but whatever. it deserved to be. It was sweet. It was nothing I'm going to go crazy over but whatever. sure.

-I'm excited for 15 because I do love what we saw of him here. he's fun and he seems to be a bit more free of all the baggage his prior incarnations held which is good. I'm interested to see what he's like but this ep sets him up as quite promising.

-alright, wrapping up, this episode was by far the worst of the three specials, and left me feeling unsatisfied with some things and happy with others. overall, im not taking it too seriously because the episode itself wasn't doing that, it was just a bit of fun and flashy and a bit stupid but it had to be because it's tennats proper sendoff and an anniversary special. It was fine. And I'm glad, im so glad overall that we got these three episodes. I do think that doctor who is so back and im so happy to be a fan.

[s1mpl3sp0ng3]

the thing about velma is that i feel like it'd hit better if it weren't a scooby doo spinoff, like if it was its own thing we might be eating it up bc the art is gorgeous and the characters might be enjoyable as assholes and not characters we know and love

but nah it's gotta be tied to an ip to be Marketable and the way to do that now is to shit all over the source material and pretend you're better than it

if you want a dark scooby doo just fuckin watch mystery incorporated, if you want a dark scooby doo parody with an overarching plot watch venture bros, and if you want a more adult take either watch the live action movies or read the scooby apocalypse comics. consume things made by people who actually give a damn about the fuckin franchise for god's sake

like velma isn't filling a niche that hasn't been filled in the franchise or taking it in a new direction, it's just a mindy kaling vehicle with vague ties to your nostalgia for scooby doo and velma becoming a fan favorite over the past 20 years

also i'm sick of my youtube recs being all video essays on why the show sucks you're fuckin GIVING them free publicity