#my endless rewatching to support the show

[inevitably-ineffable-husbands]

Crowley's Bentley = Crowley's Heart?

Putting on them clown damned shoes again, y'all. Had a thought last night while typing out today's additions to my GO S2 Meta...

Is Crowley's Bentley supposed to be a metaphor for his heart?

THINK ABOUT IT:

In Season 1:

The Bentley survives the fire because Crowley believes with all his heart that he and the car will make it to save Aziraphale.

Crowley drives fast because his love for Azzie makes his heart race.

Speaking of driving too fast, when Aziraphale say's "you drive too fast for me Crowley", subtextually he means "your heart moves too fast for me, I'm not ready for you".

In Season 2:

Crowley's houseplants (the only things he supposedly loves) are in his Bentley (home is where the heart is??). He didn't have the heart to throw them away, so... he put them in his heart where they will be loved.

Crowley sends Aziraphale away from the bookshop to protect him from the threat of Heaven, and the safest place he knows is (his heart) The Bentley, which will take care of Azzie. He literally locks Azzie away in his heart to keep Azzie safe and sheltered away from everyone.

Crowley can feel everything happening in and around the Bentley. He knows when his heart slowed down because he wasn't worried about Aziraphale anymore; his heart desires to please Aziraphale and make him happy by driving slow, playing music Aziraphale loves, offering him sweets, and being painted yellow like Crowley's eyes. Crowley only threatens because he's worried Aziraphale will find out that he loves him if the Bentley keeps up with being adoring to Aziraphale. GUYS I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET A DOTING-HUSBAND-CROWLEY is what I'm getting at, here.

That said, the Bentley ADORES Aziraphale, trying to follow him and keep him safe. And immediately does what Aziraphale asks, just like Crowley usually does.

At the end of S2E6, the Bentley plays the music Crowley is thinking about immediately after their spat and his failed confession, then shuts it off angrily because he’s heart broken... so he “breaks the (love) song” by shutting it off and out of his heart.

BASICALLY what I'm saying is that in the 90 or so years he's owned the Bentley is when he truly realized he was IN LOVE with Aziraphale and poured all that love into the Bentley instead to compensate.

Shax even says to Aziraphale in S2E4:

"Sometime, in the last 80 or 90 years, I remember hearing that you and Crowley were an item."

Very specific numbers, mentioned TO the love interest inside of the damned Heart itself, isn't it? And we know Shax can read into people's hearts (she does it numerous times in the season, specifically with the Crowley mirror, Maggie, in S2E5 and again to Aziraphale in S2E6, revealing more about Crowley and Azzie).

I reckon there's a LOT more, but like... DAMN this feels like Phones and Hearts all over again. I'm not sure if this makes the Bookshop Azzie's heart (right now I'm thinking MAYBE??), but that's something else to explore after another rewatch. That would mean, if the Bookshop was Azzie's heart, that he realized a LOT longer ago than Crowley he loved him. Hmm.

Let me know what y'all think! <3

[thef1diary]

oh my gosh congrats on 3k, lovely!! it makes me so happy to see you getting the love and support you deserve 🫶🏻

if i may i’d like to request prompt 8 from fluff list 3 <3

You’re My Home | D. Ricciardo

a/n: thank you lovely!! I mixed this request with “I was thinking this fluff prompt from list one #3 because I just know Danny ric gives amazing hugs” requested by @faithshouseofchaos because both prompts fit so well together.

prompts: "Nothing feels as good as coming home to you." "Nothing feels as good as having you come home to me." & Those tight hugs they give you after coming home, and you just squeeze back and melt in them because they are your home

wc: 900+

masterlist 3k celebration

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It had been a very long, stressful trip. Your days were filled with meetings, flights, and endless tasks that had left you feeling exhausted. Near the end of the trip, the time felt unbelievably slow, the kind where every minute dragged on. You have glanced at your watch too many times to count, seemingly checking it every few minutes only to realize only a few seconds passed.

Your suitcase thumped heavily behind you as you trudged up the stairs, the elevator in your building having decided to break down just when you needed it most. The only thing stopping tears of stress and frustration from streaming down your cheeks was thinking of the comfort of home, the solace of his embrace.

You finally reach the door, unlocking it quickly and stepping inside. The familiar scent of home greeted you, immediately putting you at ease. The sound of the tv murmurs from the living room, where you know Daniel is probably unwinding after his own long day. Your shoulders relax a little, the weight of the trip beginning to lift.

"Hey, I'm home," you called out, slipping off your shoes and leaving your suitcase by the door. You stifle a giggle when you hear a yelp from him, followed by a muttered curse as he bangs his foot on the corner of the coffee table in his rush to reach the door.

His eyes light up with joy when he sees you, and he closes the distance between you in a few strides. He pulls you into a tight hug, his arms wrapping around you in a way that makes you feel safe and cherished. His embrace is strong yet tender, his body warm against yours, and you can't help but melt into him, clinging to him as if he was your lifeline. You can feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, a calming presence after the chaos of travel.

"Nothing feels as good as coming home to you," you murmured against his chest, breathing in his familiar scent.

He pulls back slightly, just enough to look into your eyes, his hands still resting on your waist. "Nothing feels as good as having you come home to me."

You smile up at him, your heart swelling with affection. His eyes are soft, filled with the kind of love that makes everything else fade away.

As you're admiring his gaze, seeing him in person again, his eyes narrow. "Hold on.." he murmured, playfully pulling back further as he looks at you from top to bottom. "How are you here already? I thought you were coming tomorrow."

You grin, enjoying the look of intrigue on his face. "Why? Am I interrupting your plans or something?" Then you gasp, smacking his chest as you question. "Don't tell me you were going to host a party here."

Daniel laughs, throwing his head back, and you couldn't help but join in, always finding his laugh contagious. He shook his head, "sweetheart, do you really think I'd host a party without you here? And no, you are not interrupting any plans, well, considering my plans included sulking and rewatching our favourite show, then yes, you did interrupt—in the best way possible."

You tugged him closer, feeling a warm sense of contentment wash over you. "Well, I'm glad to be your best interruption."

"Not that I mind, but I hope you didn't ditch work to come back early," he asks, bringing the conversation back to you.

"If it were up to you, I'd quit and travel with you," you comment, earning a toothy grin and a nod from him. "But, I managed to wrap up everything ahead of schedule. And honestly, I just missed you too much. I couldn't wait another day to come home."

His expression softens, his eyes filled with warmth and love. "I missed you too," he says, brushing away a strand of hair from your face. "Every minute you were gone felt like an eternity."

You nudged him playfully, even though you felt the same. "Alright don't be such a sap."

He laughs, holding onto your hands and pulling you close again, wrapping his arms around you. “Just for you, darling,” he commented, watching the blush rise to your cheeks.

Just as he was about to lean in to kiss you, his eyes widened as he remembered something. “Oh, I didn’t prepare anything for dinner since I wasn’t expecting you tonight.”

You raised your eyebrows, “then what were you planning on having?”

He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. “Takeout?” He stated more as a question. You smiled, leaning into him and pressing a kiss to his nose. “Then takeout it is, I wanted to cuddle anyways.”

His eyes light up at that word, and he immediately picks you up in his arms with a playful grin. “Cuddling it is,” he says carrying you towards the couch.

You wrap your arms around his neck, laughing as he carefully maneuvers you to the soft cushions. He sets you down gently before plopping himself beside you, pulling you close. His arms envelop you as you snuggle into his chest, feeling the warmth and security of his embrace.

“Wait,” you say, suddenly remembering, “I need to take a shower. I just came from the airport.”

He tightens his hold, refusing to let go. “No way,” he says firmly. “I’m not letting go of you now. You can shower later.”

You decide against arguing, after all, you’re comfortable and don’t want to move either. Daniel kisses the top of your head, his voice tender as he continues. “You know, this is how I want to spend my life after I retire from racing. Just you and me, cuddled up like this.”

Your heart swells with love, the thought of a future filled with such simple, beautiful moments. “That sounds perfect,” you whisper, feeling completely at peace in his arms.

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taglist: @nikfigueiredo @wonnou @jointhehunt67 @gxuh @67-angelofthelordme-67 @kigieri @lochnoch @llando4norris @monsieurbacteria6 @namgification @lilymurphy03 @sargeantdumbass @hiireadstuff @racingheartsposts @d3kstar @xjval @namjoonswaifu @isabellewinchester @thedecalcomania-blog @casperlikej @khaylin27 @mlioravanfleet @mehrmonga @tellybearryyyy @wobblymug @bokutos-babyowl @chilling-seavey

[h2ojustaddmako]

Little life update (it's H2O related I swear)

So obviously I wasn't very active here and there's a plethora of reasons but mainly I kinda moved to Australia

And by kinda I mean I moved to Australia

Now there are endless reasons why I moved and why Australia of all places but I think my inner child found this place so hopeful and limitless in a way. It promised this fantasy feeling I've been chasing my entire adult life, and while obviously the show is made up, I think the magic it imprinted on me (and y'all) will forever make me filled with child-like awe and wonder here. I felt it when I first came here 2 years ago, and I still feel it now, even though so much has changed.

In a way, I think I did it to give the reins back to someone younger and happier in my self-consciousness, maybe by doing so life will feel fulfilling again, I guess? I'm not sure. But at 25, I feel like I'm ought to find a path that feels right by now. I know a lot of people my age still feel lost, and I'm still coming to terms with accepting that I shouldn't know what my end game is yet. Not necessarily, at least.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm very hopeful for the future as much as I'm terrified of it. I'm all by myself in a foreign country and I'll have to work my ass off to make ends meet. I still have support, but my family and closest friends are very far away now. This show has this kind of eternal magic, even after 20 years and endless rewatches, it is still very much alive. I can only hope I find a way to rub that magic onto my day to day life. After all, I'm only an hour of a drive away from Cleo's house; that must be worth something!

Stay fishy, my beloved h2ohoes

[somedayillbepeterpan]

For Bonus Polinweek Day 5 | Favourite hand scene + Nicola appreciation Day | The Marie Claire AU shoot (sorry if the edit is not good and it has no music. Just think of this as a photo carousel)

I start this appreciation post for this goddess by saying that I hope that every person who deemed it right to ignore her in her 20's are eating glass right now for not giving her the opportunity to shine back then. I could have had Nicola a long long time ago but these clowns kept her from me.

I never expected myself to be this addicted to Polin but I got to say that it really all started with Nicola. S2 brought my attention to Pen because she was sooo messy in that season but I loved how Nicola played that dichotomy. And I really really wanted to know what Pen said to Colin after that awful line.

This led me to the book, to the countless fanfics, to falling in love with the characters, to admiring the actors. I was so excited for Polin season but I did not realise the intense chemistry Nic and Luke had until the press tour started in my backyard, Bowral, Australia. I always thought that they looked great together but that day, when I saw the photos and the clip where Luke showed his tank top to Nicola changed me and I haven't had a proper sleep since.

But this is an appreciation for Nicola so I'll keep my mouth shut about Lukola/Polin 😂

There are only a few actresses that I am dedicated to (meaning, I have seen and supported most of their work). I tend to be picky with the actors I support and I focus on the ones who can successfully disappear in their roles making the character iconic instead of the other way around (think of the reason why some actors become typecasted). I see this so clearly in Nicola and it's why I have rewatched most of her work (honestly, how iconic can you get when most of your work are easily re-watchable?). I see the character and the work that Nicola has put into it. She makes character journals for all the roles that she plays and if that is not dedication, I don't know what else to call it.

For the first time in my life, I bought a fashion magazine so I can have these deliciously gorgeous photos of Nicola. I like fashion in a way that I like looking at aesthetically beautiful things but I would not spend any money on that. But, I bought the Marie Claire AU because I loved this cover shoot. I especially love what Nicola says in the interview: "It is important for people to know I wasn't an overnight success."

She is soul-stirringly beautiful to me. I legitimately always have goosebumps whenever I see a photo of her. I've posted it here before that I genuinely question my sexuality whenever I look at an image or video of her.

Am I just projecting my desire to get over my insecurity over my body on her? Definitely. I cannot even begin to describe the confidence that I feel about myself now because of the mirror scene. I know Nicola doesn't explicitly accept her being a representation of full bodied women but it is her portrayal of Pen in S3 that I finally understood what media representation meant for the first time in my life.

Have I rambled on too much? I will for this woman because there are endless things that I love about her.

I hope she's happy. I hope she is able to rest. And I hope that even more of her dreams come true 🥰

[asgardian--angels]

just rewatched steven universe future (and the movie) and I just gotta say.

I still have no idea why fandom was so upset about the show, why opinion turned against it, or anything. I didn't understand it then, I don't understand it now. I've enjoyed every single minute of that show, start to finish, all iterations. A show hasn't left me sobbing like that in a hell of a long time. It handles heavy, dark emotional topics with incredible finesse and heart in a way that all of us could learn from. It remains one of the most aesthetically beautiful animated series I've ever seen, and the soundtrack is so incredibly moving. I'll never get why shows with the most hopeful themes, like this one, end up with the nastiest 'fans' that harass creators and artists for making something that encourages us to be kind to each other. like, insert good omens meme i guess, yknow? but I will always love this series (the OG, the film, and Future). I'm glad I was never really involved with the fandom back when it was airing so I didn't have to hear any of the shit that people were tossing around. But knowing that this series basically got thrown to the wind after it was done airing - like, no one even talks about it anymore, as if there were some Game of Thrones effect WHEN THERE WASN'T - breaks my heart. It was so incredibly influential, for animation, for queer representation, for creativity in art, and for helping a lot of people feel seen and teaching us a better way to be towards our fellow human beings. I don't know who the fuck can be angry about this show, but whoever they are, I feel sorry for them that they have nothing better in their lives than to be senselessly cruel to people who are trying to make the world a kinder place.

anyone out there who hasn't watched Steven Universe before, and maybe was intimidated or put off by how it's talked about on here, please don't listen to that. It's one of the best made series, animated or not, in the modern age. It touches people of all ages. It inspires hope, and forgiveness, and working towards a better world. It has incredible character development, intergenerational trauma, dismantling colonialism, the horrors and fallout of war, xenobiology, troubled families, damaged people trying to grow and find new meaning, building community, nature vs nurture, perfectly done slow-burn plot arcs and reveals, and an art style that's so gorgeous you'll mourn the current state of the industry that stifles creativity like this. And it does all of this so profoundly and intelligently that it defies summary. Give it a try.

That's all I'll say. I never post about the show anymore bc I'm not a part of the fandom and I don't know how active it is on here anymore. But I've always cared deeply for Steven Universe and I always will. I hope outside of the insular bubble of toxic online fandom that it continues to have a steady mainstream following. Rebecca Sugar deserves accolades and a big thank you for bringing this show into the world. I'm sure she did not get a fraction of the praise she should have, and instead had to endure endless vitriol. The bar's always too high for some people who want something to be mad at, who want to blame and hate instead of supporting the few brave artists out there trying to make queer shows and pave the way for the future. The enemy of queer rep is so often queer fandom spaces themselves. Let's not let this life-changing show fade into obscurity if we can. It was groundbreaking in so many ways. It brought joy and hope to so many. I hope new people will continue to watch it and be uplifted by it, as I have all these years.

[gffa]

The latest ending of Ahsoka really made me realize one of the big problems with Felony's writing and why so much of the Masndo-verse and Felony's modern writing falls flat compared to OWK and Andor. Shock value. A BIG twist cliffhanger that leaves us all mouth open and HYPING up the next episode in hope and filling the forums with discussions in anticipation. Understandably, he can't write what we wrote in our heads for 7 days and top that. 1.

2. But once that shock is gone when the story has moved onto the next big thing, or you watch it again when you know what it pays off in, or watch the whole series or season again, it just doesn't hold up. It's empty. Vapid. Because it's all about the shock. The twist. The discussion. The hype fodder. It's not saying anything or adding anything. OWK and Andor was a lot better at that, without the use of the nostalgia baiting that Felony relies on. 3. It becomes an endless circle of low lows and high highs, while OWK and Andor both slowly built up to the crescendo of discussions and speculations and both have stayed in the fandom consciousness alot longer thanks to that. And because they have something to say, both to the world and to the viewer. While with the Felony and the Fraudrou verses, it's just a constant barrage of oh wow, moving on, what's next? ehh, it's over, let's move on.

I feel like one day I'm going to do a longer analysis on why exactly Filoni's writing feels weak to me (where I try to be more fair than I'm usually feeling about his writing), because I don't think he's without a lot of talent and there's certain things he really does get about Star Wars, but I think so much comes back to that he's a writer who is caught in a difficult position--playing in someone else's sandbox but has to now establish his own new corners of that sandbox and I'm not sure he's strong enough to be a big picture kind of guy when he works better in smaller focus. His work on TCW and Rebels is content that we do come back to again and again for analysis, during my rewatches of both those series, those shows hold up! But I think they're ones where he had stronger guardrails up, and he was forced to stick to things in one place. I think live action has been bad for Filoni's writing because of the way so much is structured, that there are multiple series going on and I feel like his writing doesn't have the patience to actually tell a story in a single space, that's why we get Grogu's story being split between The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, that's why we get Mandalore's story being splintered across Rebels, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and now Ahsoka. We still haven't even seen half of the events that happen in the Mandalore bigger story! And you're right that he and Favreau both lean too hard on the cameos and echoes/rhymes for nostalgia's sake. And those reference points are often extremely fun in the moment! And I'll grant that the Luke episodes are ones I go back to fairly often, because I think there's some really good content in there about what attachment actually means. But I don't think it's that surprising, looking back, how quickly the Favroni shows fell apart for us and how it doesn't feel like they're establishing anything that can support a bunch of books and comics. I suspect that Disney's not allowed to have books/comics/etc. based on Favroni's shows because they want creative control over those characters while they're still actively writing for them, but also I look at the OT and the PT and look how much was built off those movies+TCW as a foundation, I look at how much you're able to still watch those and find new things to analyze, and I just don't feel that with Filoni's writing anymore, not since Rebels, not to that level, anyway. (I'll grant that I've been a lot more excited about the Ahsoka series and what we can say about it/find in analyzing it than I expected, I expected nothing but shitposts like we did with Mandalorian s3, but I've had fun with serious meta in Ahsoka! I was genuinely excited to come on-line after episode 4 and talk about themes and structure and how well Filoni did with that there!) Ultimately, I think Filoni (and Favreau) both have a lot of talent, but I think they're being pushed too hard to make too much too quickly and that it shows that they're making this up as they go along, rather than that they had a vision they've been crafting for years and any kind of idea of where they want the end goal to be. Like, yeah, Lucas wrote some stuff on the fly, he changed his mind about things along the way, but he had an end point in mind for his story, so the echoes/rhymes felt more resonant for me. Favroni don't feel like they have any idea where they're going and so much winds up feeling like shock value and self-reference for nostalgia bad for me instead of something that's Going Somewhere.

[ohmyspacesailor]

Little things I've noticed on my rewatch of 1x01

So, it's been a while since I've actually watched the show and I've started to miss Crowley and Aziraphale something fierce. So I've finally started at the beginning and here are some small things that stood out or that I didn't notice to that extend before. Nothing revolutionary, but maybe you'll enjoy / be devastated by it anyway.

Eden: Crawley saw Aziraphale before their talk on the wall since he mentions seeing him with a sword. They kept hanging around the garden for a while, but haven't talked that much since Az asks Crawley's name?

After receiving the Antichrist: Crowley is devastated. The way he days "Already?!" gets me every time. Is barely able to keep it together infront of Hastur and Ligur (terrific acting by David here). Immediately tries to call Aziraphale.

Park, going up the stairs: "It's not some little temptation I've asked you to cover for me while you're in Edinburgh for the festival". Their arrangement is so casually lived in by then. And the way Aziraphale lights up when he's invited to lunch. Also, Crowley's hair is stunning in the sun here.

After lunch: Az gets totally distracted by Crowley's company, forgets all about Armageddon or their disagreement over it. Wants to open a bottle for a "special occasion", tone indicating inside joke / hidden meaning. There's a theory about that being sexual, but while I support that headcanon I think it's more of a joke along the lines that it isn't actually a special occasion, because they drink together all the time.

Infront of the bookshop: "this is purely social" Sure Az, as if that makes it any better in heaven's judgement. Now you're just being silly! (see what I did there?)

Making the pact: How cute is Crowley here?!? I already knew that and think about it constantly, but seeing it again is something else still. I mean, seriously:

Babysitting Warlock: How somehow Nanny Ashtorath is able to sing so much better than I've ever heard David Tennant do (no offense) is a proper mystery to me.

Meeting on the bus: Why don't they talk on their job as nanny and gardener lol?They must have endless opportunities and still they hang out even more. Ok, probably more like a plot hole for coolness than being meant romantically on purpose here, but still.

Bus and dinosaur park: Crowley can't bring himself to tell Az the whole ugly truth about the antichrists power / the dog not to frighten him too much. This is really sweet and very telling about how he sees him as kind of naive and innocent. Also, he's protective snek. Another amazing thing here is how he doesn't even consider killing the Antichrist himself although he is been working against hell all along anyway. Ties nicely to the bandstand scene later.

In the shop: "Crowley: Would I lie to you? - Aziraphale: Obviously, you're a demon, that's what you do". While his is pretty hurtful towards Crowley and typically blindsided of Aziraphale, it's also so devastatingly accepting of him as well.

In the shop at the end ("he's named the dog"): Crowley is really, really afraid and that respectively makes Az nervous (the looming doom in his delivery of "welcome to the end times").

That was all for this round... In general it blew my mind how much of their story is already in episode one!

And I'll never get tired of mentioning how David and Micheal disappear completely into their characters. I try to admire their work in the moment, but I keep forgetting it's them. Only because I have seen so much of them by now can I spot them as the actors in tiny moments that last mere half-seconds. That's always a weird triumph. "ha! I've seen a glimpse of Micheal's smile there!" or "the way Crowley says 'helly hellhound' sounded very David" and that's basically it.

[browneyess]

Let’s talk about Din’s side-story/show takeover in The Book of Boba Fett. Personally, I really liked the show! It definitely wasn’t great, but it had potential. However, what they did with Din and Grogu was horrid. Yes, it was cool, but they didn’t need to put that in an entirely different show. The only reason I can think of as to why the directors did that is to bring back Grogu faster, their biggest money grab. Disney is all about that marketability! I hated that so much. Another reason they might have brought Grogu back so quickly is that some people watch The Mandalorian for Grogu or just really love the character. Without Grogu, The Mandalorian was sure to have viewership rates drop. However, the show is called The Mandalorian, not The Mandalorian and Grogu (although the same title is being used for the movie to be released in 2026). It's bout the Mandalorian, not Grogu. While its plot is heavily supported by him, he’s not a keystone in it. The show can function just fine without Grogu. However, Din cannot!

Disney completely breezed over the two years Din and Grogu were apart. Two years. And you know what Disney does? They don’t acknowledge it! They don’t even hint towards the fact that Din was definitely mentally struggling without Grogu; he helped him in more ways than one. I’m going to be honest before I rewatched it, I didn’t remember how season 3 started. However, I do know how it should’ve started:

Season 2 ends with Grogu being taken away by Luke. The elevator door shuts and boom, that’s it. End of the season. The writers of the show could’ve taken advantage of that and started season 3 in the same place they left off. The poor writing left out so much important information, like what did Din do after he took off his helmet? Did he put it back on and act like nothing happened? How did the others react? How did they move on from that whole ordeal? Season 3 could’ve started with that. It could’ve explained everything that happened post-season 2: Din’s handling of being alone/an apostate, how he moved on/coped, what he did afterward (did he return to bounty hunting (TBOBF confirms that he did), or did he go on hiatus and/or hide somewhere?), etc. It’s so infuriating to me that Disney breezed over the fact that Din was definitely mentally struggling. The way they wrote Din’s part of The Book of Boba Fett and season 3 made it seem like those two years of grieving never happened. Don’t you think Din would be, oh I don’t know, maybe a little overprotective/clingy over Grogu? Perhaps even salty toward the Jedi! I know for a fact he’d hold a grudge against Luke/Ahsoka/other Jedi for taking his boy away from him. This isn’t DIN DJARIN, this is BIN JARRIN. UGH.

While season 3 could’ve delved into Din’s recovery from losing Grogu, it also could’ve taken advantage of the obvious doorway to introduce more flashbacks. In the entire show, we only get a single flashback, and it only explains what happened to Din’s family, how he became a Mandalorian, and why he dislikes droids so much. It is great that they did that! Although, they are severely lacking in a lot of other important backstory parts: how Din adapted to being a Mandalorian, his relationship with the other Mandalorians (Paz Vizsla and the Armorer especially—maybe some non-introduced characters?), what inspired him to be a bounty hunter, etc. etc. Oh my God, the possibilities for season 3 are genuinely endless, and it pisses me off to no end that they didn’t seize such a good opportunity.

Din’s part in The Book of Boba Fett and season 3 would be better off as season 4, of course, with better writing.

Genuinely there should be more focus on Din's obvious anxiety and trauma. They could have gone in so many directions with it and instead just brought Grogu back. I really wish they’d shown us Din fresh after losing Grogu because I feel like his separation anxiety would be insane (as loss can make that more prone to happen! And Din is no stranger to losing things at a young, impressionable age!). He literally watched his parents die. I feel so bad for him because he finally found an anchor in his life, and then this random blond-ass twink pulls up and is like, “Come with me.” Or something, I don’t know. And then Din takes off his helmet??? For Grogu??? And then that’s it—they literally don’t acknowledge it whatsoever. Like, what do you mean he’s a human with emotions and struggles! 😂 Never heard of her!

He didn’t trust droids for over half his life because of trauma, and I feel like there’d be other things he’d have bad anxiety over too (like Grogu and his attachments). Can we get more of that, please? Even still, he doesn’t trust droids. In season 3, he asked for IG-11 specifically, despite him being literally offline. He still tried to get him back, and it wasn’t until IG-11 REALLY went out of commission that he had to settle for R5-D4. Then in episode 6, Bo said, “Do any of them look suspicious?” and he replied, “All of them look suspicious” because the droids they were looking at specifically were battle droids—the kind that killed his parents. So obviously, he holds a grudge against that model. But I know for a fact he was uncomfortable on Plazir-15 because of the extensive droid staff.

The way they skipped over those two years gives Din Djarin’s character the impression that it meant nothing to him. Or—it went by so fast, he didn’t even realize. Whatever it was, it was a poor writing decision. Din’s character is beautifully complex, but the writers aren’t putting in the effort to even consider that.

Without Grogu, I feel like Din would be a lot different. More cold and quiet than he was before; how he was at the beginning of season 1 and The Book of Boba Fett chapter 5, "Return of the Mandalorian." He’s distinctly more dry in replies and more focused on his job than anything. The Book of Boba Fett at least gave us a little bit of Din without Grogu, but that didn’t even last long because the following episode Din goes to see Grogu. As much as I love Din and Grogu’s relationship, I feel like Din trying to move on—emphasis on trying—would make a good episode. Like trying to do a job, fresh from becoming an apostate and losing Grogu, and he just can’t focus with everything that had just happened.

A detail I love in The Book of Boba Fett chapter 5, "Return of the Mandalorian," are two things that remind Din of Grogu: the beskar chainmail wrapped in a way that it kind of looks like Grogu’s head, and the green Rodian child. As much as Din would like to move on, he simply can’t because everything reminds him of Grogu. Also, he literally had the Armorer break down the spear to make into a gift for a “special foundling,” and he wanted to see Grogu. They even talked about how Jedi aren’t supposed to have attachments, but the Mandalorian Creed is built on attachments. While Din wants to keep Grogu, he knows he can’t because that’s not what Grogu can have. He’s destined to be a Jedi; there’s no dodging that.

Adding to that, without Grogu, I feel like Din would be a lot different. More cold and quiet than he was before; how he was at the beginning of season 1 and The Book of Boba Fett chapter 5, "Return of the Mandalorian." He’s distinctly more dry in replies and more focused on his job than anything. The Book of Boba Fett at least gave us a little bit of Din without Grogu, but that didn’t even last long because the following episode Din goes to see Grogu. As much as I love Din and Grogu’s relationship, I feel like Din trying to move on—emphasis on trying—would make a good episode. Like trying to do a job, fresh from becoming an apostate and losing Grogu, and he just can’t focus with everything that had just happened.

Considering how deeply Din's life has been affected by Grogu, his attempts to move on would undoubtedly be fraught with difficulty and reminders of their bond. 

Din’s journey without Grogu could have been an opportunity to delve deeper into his role as Mandalore and how he navigates that responsibility amidst his personal loss. This aspect of his character and the dynamics within the Mandalorian community could have added rich layers to the story. Instead, the show has overlooked these potential storylines, focusing more on quick resolutions rather than exploring the depth and complexity of Din’s situation.

In general, I want to see more of Din’s attachments—past and present. That’s what their culture is built on, right? It might be the lack of scenes he has with other Mandalorians, but he seems kind of distant from a lot of them (though the general plot of the show hasn’t really allowed us to see those connections in the past). The Mandalorian culture is built on attachment and trust, which contrasts with the Jedi. 

Seeing more of Din’s anxiety and how he handles his attachments would add so much depth to his character. His journey is filled with loss and trauma, and exploring these aspects would make for compelling storytelling. Season 3 could have delved into his struggles with trust and connection, especially in the wake of losing Grogu and becoming an apostate.

If you read this far, thanks! You're a real one.

[mrabubu]

Don't mind if I ask this, but how were you introduced to ROTTMNT, and how did you becane a fan of it?

HO HOHOHO

It started with me being bored xd I can't remember how I came to this though, but at some point I decided I wanted to rewatch TMNT 2012. I've been watching it while it was airing back in the days, but stopped at some point. While rewatching it, YouTube started to recommend me videos about tmnt overall and there were some compilations with moments from Rise.

Unfortunately, I didn't gave Rise a chance when it was airing, thinking that it looks weird and all, well, like a lot of people... But when I was rewatching TMNT 2012 I also watched scenes from Rise on YouTube and got intrigued by it's animation.

So when I was at the beginning of season 5 of TMNT 2012, I was already bored xd I don't know, the show was fun at first, but then I got tired of all these plots with mutations, Kraang, SHREDDER, APRIL, endless action and all those new characters and villains popping up. I didn't like how it was overly explicit with mutations (Ice Cream Kitty is my nightmare..). I skipped the entire adventures in space plot because from the beginning it felt too inspired by one of the creator's own show. To be precise, Ciro Nieli made a show called Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!, which also was my favorite show when I was a child, and he added a lot of easter eggs from it into TMNT 2012. At first it was really fun to see these easter eggs and even hearing some of the voice actors from SRMTHFG, but then, I don't know, it felt too much, like, "okay dude I get it you love your show but it's too much already..."

So when season 5 literally began with the plot about Shredder's resurrection I was like "haha ok I'm done", and began to watch Rise... ... You know how this turned out xdd The only thing I'm regretting is that I didn't gave Rise a chance back then. I would've tried to support it however I could. But, oh well, what's done is done, I'm still glad I watched it after all.

[pinselwurm]

at my gf’s request, i’m putting my Deadloch Killer Manifesto out there into the world just so i’ll stop giving her impromptu tedtalks about it in our kitchen.  and so i can say “told u so.” written after episode 6 of 8 has aired.  i came to my conclusion after watching episode 5, then turning around and rewatching all 5 episodes again to confirm.  episode 6 then further confirmed by hitting me in the face with the story’s theme with no subtlety.

deadloch is a good show, with good writing, and good writing leaves breadcrumbs.  not necessarily clue breadcrumbs, but theme and style breadcrumbs.  pulling any ol’ person out at the end as the murderer is shitty, you’ve got to make it a satisfying realization.

so to start with, other than murder, what is our story actually about?

obviously major spoilers and the potential to ruin your viewing experience by taking away your own “aha” moment when IF i am correct:

what is deadloch about?  certainly social strife, all the (misogyny, classism, racism, homophobia, colonialism) -isms that make people hate and resent each other, but the reason these characters are so interesting put together in the small town is because they are each two people at once, the person they were and the person they are or are in the process of becoming.  they are haunted by the shadows of their former selves in deadloch, a town too small to properly hide in.

if you remember the very, very first seconds of the pilot we see a sign on a road at dawn: Deadloch.  Population 2406.  Home of the Winter Feastival.  Reinvent Yourself.

REINVENT YOURSELF.  The key to the entire story right at the start.

the dynasty women of deadloch who reinvented themselves are all the big players in town, the successful residents.  margaret reinvented herself as a business woman and artisan after her husband’s death freed her from just being a wealthy wife going along with his plans.  skye reinvented herself by escaping deadloch, being out as a lesbian, and gaining culinary skills that made her valuable to blossoming business in deadloch.  vic started her bakery after her husband’s death, no longer just a publican’s wife, she’s got her own business.  mayor rahme, clearly an overachiever, decided being a doctor wasn’t enough so she’s run for office and spearheaded local development herself.  cath retrained from a lawyer to vet.  dulcie nuked her career to get over her cheating past.  dulcie is now in the process of reinventing herself again as the woman who needs to be a leader and can’t deny she’s not satisfied anymore.  abby redirected her life to suit her terrible boyfriend and is now seeing that she’s worth more.  eddie is becoming another person, letting herself let go of her own anger at herself.  fuck, even ray pies reinvented himself from try-hard to sincere.

most of the deadloch men, however, are not reinventing themselves even a little bit.  no improvement, just endless bitterness at the women who are surpassing them.  no class betrayal or individualism from the boy’s club.

so who among our leading suspect ladies did not explicitly reinvent herself onscreen or is not in the process of doing so?

sharelle and vanessa

sharelle is immediately discounted because, quite simply, she can’t be fucked to do much of anything that she doesn’t have to do to survive, much less dramatic murder.  she’s a stressed, low-wage mom with little support system and she’s not amused by the theatrics of everyone else.

that leaves vanessa, who the story made you discount immediately as an air-headed idiot.

vanessa, dismissed by the police as a mess too dumb to pull off the murders.

vanessa, who’s been completely unsupervised and free to do as she pleases since trent died.

vanessa, who’s been present for almost every body discovery with her hysterical screaming.

vanessa, who’s been with all recent victims the nights before their deaths.

vanessa, who lied about the tuna mornay.

vanessa, who’s inserted herself in the narrative again and again.

vanessa, who LOVES a big dramatic moment and being the center of attention.

vanessa, a good christian woman.

vanessa, who i bet anything, as a good deadloch dynasty girl, knows the tides and boats and clearly has the physical strength to move bodies.

vanessa, trapped as her high school beauty queen self forever to the other residents of deadloch. 

vanessa, not truly accepted by the boy’s club, not given recognition by her female peers.

vanessa, repressed and full of rage.

no job, no real identity, no accomplishments.

god, she must have been just dying to self-actualize.  reinvent herself.  take control, prove she’s smart and sneaky and powerful.  serial killers want everyone to know how smart they are, don’t they?

if you’d spent decades with the boy’s club, playing along, listening to what they said to you, you’d cut out their tongues too.  she has plenty motive.

she’s lived for decades as the good feminine girl gravitating to “strong” masculine men.  but she’s got a goddess complex and takes out men who break the contract, ruin the fucked-up gender role dance with their boorishness.  punishes men who fail to give her what she wants from them (they never will).

i said earlier that i loved this show because only lesbians could write something that appealed to fellow lesbians so much.  “dumb” small town beauty queen snaps and murders all the men that have been disgusting to her, casting final judgement on them, reinvents herself as a goddess of death?  fuck, i’d write that story myself.

what did eddie say in the first episode? “you obviously need a refresher in homicide, mate, it’s always the family.”

deadloch’s misogynistic pressure cooker created a monster, and that monster is nessie. 

(now, there could be a ladies gang doing murders but i think it’s going to play out like this: margaret is doing something stupid and racist for the sake of her money and land but she definitely not a team player so she’s out of any potential murder club.  for skye and vic: i think eddie was right in the beginning, there’s a drug ring in deadloch....run by vic and skye.  but they’re not murdering.  nobody else is doing crime.  yet.)

[justamessedupdisneyprincess]

Bad memories part 1

This is a self indulgent short fanfic about my si x canon. WARNING! This will be dealing with trauma, bits of bullying (with d*ath threats), toxic fandoms and emotionally abusive friendships will be mentioned here and there. Truth is…well you probably already know but I have had it real rough. 2019 was like the worst year of my life honestly and to this day I still do have a lot of trauma behind it. I know in my heart that Barley would definitely be the kind of BF who would be kind and understanding about this sort of stuff. He would be there to support his lover if they went through any hardships. I was feeling it again so I wrote this to help make me feel better. It actually works pretty well for me personally I find. Again, TW about trauma, bullying, d*ath threats, manipulation and emotional abuse will be mentioned briefly.

Just ignore it. Just ignore it.

That is what Izzy kept telling herself over and over again as she tried to push herself to keep drawing. Just ignore it. Just ignore it. It echoed through her brain and then all of a sudden she felt a tear run down her cheek. ‘Damn it. Why am I like this?!’ She thought to herself. She closed clip studio down in frustration.

It had been almost a year now since she finally deactivated her old social media accounts. She couldn’t handle the crap she kept getting from haters and false friends online. One of her main reasons of deactivation was because she wanted to run away from a certain fandom that caused her nothing but horrible pain. There may be a few good memories sure but many of them have turned bitter after some falling outs with so called friends. Izzy is easy to manipulate and it seems like no matter how many times it happens she falls victim to it every time. Even if those memories did not turn bitter though she definitely had more bad memories by far, so much so it was not even a competition in the slightest. Ironically though if it wasn’t for the fandom she probably never would have met Barley for she wouldn’t be there that night. That painful and terrifying night.

She was still interested in one of her old interests and still drew for it from time to time, she had never been bullied once within that other fandom, perhaps she did encounter a troll or two but blocking them and moving on was simple, aside from that there was literally no drama. But her main old fandom was literally like hell. Death threats daily, manipulation, rumour spreading, name calling, black mail. It was all an endless madness and it was there where Izzy met some of her abusers as well. She used to love that show dearly and even made a self insert that was hated on constantly. She had a self ship that got constant hate before she met Barley. She now hates that show and the mere mention of it makes her sick. She had tried to rewatch it but it simply hurts too much. The fandom ruined it all for her. The fact that her friends who had the same interests turned out to be fake was her breaking point. She knew she did not matter and was only their friend for their own benefits. An object. A tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

She didn’t even care that she had over one thousand followers. She wanted to run as far away from that fandom as possible. She wasted her money on so much merch and it is now all packed away in boxes as she tries to forget.

Although she did miss sharing her ideas, even if she got endless harassment in her main fandom her ideas got much more praise and support regarding her other interests. She wanted to share that at least. Even if she barely interacts with social media she wanted to at least post every now and then. So she tried to slowly get back into life online. She started a new deviantart account and she had been slightly discouraged to not get much attention there at all, maybe people had trouble finding her? Who knows. Tumblr was a different story though but she did fear that website for it is where most of the torture took place. She was on high alert, waiting for things to go wrong. Yet oddly enough nothing happened. Not yet at least.

However there was something that did upset her. A trigger. Nothing happened, no hate or harassment at all. It just appeared on her dash without warning…content from her old abusive fandom. The mere mention of it was a trigger and the type of content she saw was extra triggering for it was something she had been bullied over horribly. There have been major shipping wars and people used to bash her for self shipping with a character they wanted to ship with some other canon character. As a result she has grown to hate that ship and even the mention of it makes her sick since its fanbase harassed her. She did not want to see anything to do with that show ever again! So she looked up the tag and proceeded to block every single blog that had to do with that fandom. She had to do it or else she won’t feel safe. Even if they do not seek her out and target her the sight of it still hurts her at this point. Her love for that show became something beyond hatred. A fear, a type of painful sensation. It was like a stab to the heart as god awful memories came flooding back to her.

Just ignore it. Just ignore it. She kept thinking. She tried so hard to get herself back into drawing but she couldn’t. She needed to cry or else her eyeballs will explode. She shut down her laptop and turned off her bedroom lights so it was dim. She usually takes plenty of depression naps, it helps at least a little bit. But right now she felt like she needed more than that. She needed help and desperately. Her boyfriend practically forced her into making an oath where she comes to him when upset like this. So she rang Barley up and he answered instantly. “Hey babe! What’s up?” He says cheerfully through the phone. “Did you feel like going on another adventure? It’s a bit late now but I’d be down for it.”

“B-Barley.” Izzy managed to choke out. He instantly knew something was wrong.

“Iz? What’s wrong? You don’t sound too good.” Barley says worriedly.

Izzy sniffles as she took in some deep breaths. This isn’t the first time she cried to him about things related to her trauma and it probably won’t be the last either. “I-it’s just- my trauma is acting up…”

“N-n-no! No one hurt me!” She blurted out forcefully. “I just- I just really do need you right now…I-I feel so thankful-“

Barley smiled weakly as he started up the van. “Of course, little imp. Y’know I will always be there to rescue you no matter what.”

Izzy sniffles a bit more, it was hard to talk given how much she was crying. “D-drive safely though. Don’t speed. I-I want you to be safe.”

“Oh babe, you know safety isn’t my thing.” Barley joked. “But if that is what my lady wishes then so be it. I’ll stay on the phone with you until I get there, ok? You’re on speaker now.”

“O-ok.” Izzy croaked out as she clenched her phone. She suddenly felt a bit stupid now for bugging him like this. Then again she did know that Barley would argue against her for belittling her own feelings like that.

“Alright, we are on our way, milady. Now did you wanna talk about it? Like did something prompt this or did it just suddenly hit you like a surprise sneak attack from a masterful rouge?” Barley says.

Izzy struggled to wipe the tears from her eyes, it felt like more and more kept coming. “I…I was browsing the internet and I saw…I didn’t even look it up! I-it just came to me.” She sniffled for a moment and took in a deep breath, her nose was completely blocked up now due to all the crying. It made it much more challenging to breathe and talk at the same time. “It was…stuff to do with that old fandom…t-the one where all those people d-did all those god awful things to me.” Another violent wave of sobbing occurred as her brain forcefully replayed the memories once more.

Barley was saddened to hear her cry like this but he had a great skill when it came to these things. He had some experience with emotions when taking care of Ian as his older brother and fatherly figure. He has learned to be patient and open minded with things regarding anxiety and mental health. He remained calm as he spoke, his voice gentle and caring. “I see. So it was a trigger.”

Izzy sniffled and nodded her head but was quick to realise how he wouldn’t be able to see her nodding. “Y-yes!”

“Oh sweetheart.” He says sadly. “Worry not though, I am almost there and I will do everything in my power to make you feel better. I will keep you safe always.”

A few more tears leaked out but this time they were tears of gratitude. “T-T-Thank you…a-are you sure you d-don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all! You’re my princess and I’m your knight who is there to recuse you. It’s my duty, y’know?” Barley says with another gentle smile to try and reassure her, even if she couldn’t see it now she could definitely hear it. That gentle expression that tells her everything is going to be alright.

Izzy was struggling to stop herself from crying so much. “Y-you’re literally the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

Barley frowned a little as he heard her cries but he was touched by her words. “Oh I’m the kind one? I dunno about that because you are definitely the kindest person I’ve ever known or met.”

Izzy was a bit surprised to hear him say that, even though he does mention her kindness often in his poems for her she is still shocked each time. “Are you really sure about that? Because sometimes I feel like I must be a monster and don’t realise it. Why else would so many people want me dead then?” She thought back to the way many people had treated her.

Barley was hurt when he heard of the way she doubted herself. “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that…please.” He then took in a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to help much. Instead he could feel some anger rising up inside him. “The only monsters here are the ones who had hurt you like that. What kind of heartless witch would go out of their way to torment others online?!” He gripped his steering wheel angrily.

Izzy was taken aback to hear the rage in his voice at first. “A lot of people actually.” She said sadly after a pause.

Barley clenched his steering wheel some more. He knew there were horrible people out there but he never imagined any being as toxic and controlling as the people Izzy had to deal with. With the stories she shares it is no wonder why she is so traumatised. Abusive friends, hundreds of bullies, internet wars. He heard of some toxicity online before but nothing on that level. “Oh those aren’t people. Those are in fact, the monsters. I won’t ever let a single one of them touch you ever again, you have my word.” He sounded so serious as he said that.

Izzy sniffles, she was touched to hear how he was willing to protect her but deep down she knew no one can truely save her from the world online. “I…I don’t know, Barley. I mean that is very sweet! But it’s just…there’s so many of them out there. Even if I have nothing to do with that evil fandom…I still know they are out there laughing at the memory of me, looking back at me and feeling disgusted…I feel so scared…what if they find me and recognise me? What will they do to me then?!” Her fears grew stronger and stronger as she continued to dwell on it all.

Through the crying and rapid breathing though, Barley’s strong voice was able to cut through it all. “I don’t care how many of them there are.” Izzy went silent for a moment, confused as she continued to listen. “I will fight for you always and forever! I don’t care how many foes I will have to face or what dangers I may get into if it means you are safe! You could be the most wanted criminal in the entire universe and I wouldn’t give a damn. I love you, my princess and I always will.”

A few more soft sobs could be heard from Izzy’s end of the line. The mixture of pain from her past and gratitude to the present was an odd combination to feel. “God I love you…I love you so much….” She says suddenly.

Barley smiles sweetly. “I love you too, Isabel. I love you so so so much. I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

Izzy finally began to smile a little, there was no word that could possibly describe how blessed she had felt to have met Barley. To her he was like a light in the darkness, he came into her life after so much pain and despair. He saved her. “T-thank you…” she says softly.

The tender scene was cut short though as loud jostling could be heard. “W-what was that?!” Izzy cried out in a panic.

“Don’t worry, my love. Gweni and I are just traveling through the forest that shrouds your haven…I gotta admit though. I dunno how far this poor old girl can go through here. These roots aren’t too good for her tires.” Barley stated casually.

Izzy chuckled a little bit, this was music to Barley’s ears and an eager grin appeared on his face for a moment. “Yeeeeah, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You might have to walk the rest of the way like you usually do, sorry. Ummm…if it’s easier for you…did you want me to come to you?” Izzy asked politely, she was always so worried if she was a handful for anyone.

“Don’t be ridiculous. After crying like that I think you deserve plenty of rest. Besides I’m not that far now.” Barley says as he hoped out of Guinevere. “Thanks for the ride my mighty steed. Just rest here till I get back.”

Izzy couldn’t deny that she did already feel exhausted from all the crying. She sat in silence as she continued to listen to Barley.“Luckily I know this secret path like the back of my hand!” Barley said next, his voice broke the lonely silence instantly. Izzy lightly nodded, still very quiet. The silence made the elf worry. “You there?” He asked sweetly.

“Y-yeah! Yeah…I’m right here. Sorry I-I just…I am feeling pretty tired I will be honest.” She says.

Barley caressed his phone, he wanted to hold onto his girlfriend right now. “Then get plenty of rest my princess. Don’t worry, I’m almost there. And once I have arrived to rescue you from your despair we are free to do whatever you please.” He says heroically.

Izzy giggles a bit, she felt safer already when listening to his voice. “Just some cuddles while we watch some videos would be nice.”

[loregoddess]

001 Wrightworth and 002 your girl Anna Pascal from TriStrat!

wrightworth (the most ship duo of all AA):

when I started shipping it if I did: I guess after I watched the first game? No that's not quite right, more like after I finished watching the second game. I was like, "Ah, I understand why this is a popular ship now" after the first and then was like, "Yeah this tracks" after the second.

my thoughts: Wholesome ship, I totally get the appeal (the ship's actually a QPR in my fleet, but I'm not bothered by others shipping romantic wrightworth at all)

What makes me happy about them: I dunno, the dynamic works so well. Phoenix and Edgeworth saved each other, they believe in each other, they're always there for each other--they're just a feel good sort of duo for me.

What makes me sad about them: Nothing really? I mean, sure the entirety of the second game is a low point in their relationship, but it's also so interesting from a writing perspective because like, these two would not have gone into the future games with the bond of trust they eventually come to share w/out the events of the second game so like *gestures wildly*. I know a lot of fans headcanon/theorize that the time between 3 and 4 was also a rougher time (although I have my own set of headcanons/theories about this blank timeframe), but again, there's something about weathering the tough times together and coming out stronger that I enjoy seeing in any sort of fictional relationship arcs.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Hmm, I don't think I have really any other ships for either of them outside of the main one. They have great platonic dynamics with a lot of characters, but nothing that my brain goes "ah, a QPR or romantic relationship!" about

My happily ever after for them: Retired, living together, supporting Trucy's career, tending a nice small house and rewatching Steel Samurai while giving advice to the younger lawyers in their spare time. Probably show up to guest lecture at Themis more often than not, do mock trials for the students there.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: They take turns, but Phoenix likes being the big spoon more often than not.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Binge-watching Steel Samurai, Edgeworth critiquing the spinoffs while Phoenix plays devil's advocate as a joke, although probably they have little mock court battles for the silliest things. I headcanon Phoenix as an ex-theater/vis. arts double major and Edgeworth had a "formal" upbringing, so sometimes they go to galleries or live theater performances too (silly little discussions about the art/shows they see like, ALL the time).

Anna Pascal (my girl...):

How I feel about this character: Love her, love her, lover her. My MVP who was first to hit the lv. 30 cap bc I used her so often in battle, but also just one of my overall favorite characters in the story.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Uhhhh..................actually no one, now that I'm thinking about it? I know Milo x Anna is somewhat popular (as popular as can be in a teeny tiny fandom like TriStrat), but I see them more as enemies to weird coworkers. Although when I realized that both Anna and Avlora were orphaned by the same war, part of my brain wondered what it would be like if they talked/interacted and stuff, and that sort of "what if they talked" question once led to a crackship for a different game, so who knows. If my TriStrat obsession comes back maybe Anna x Avlora will turn from a "wonder what would happen..." to full "welp, guess I have a weird ship now"

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I think Anna has a good relationship with all or most of the House Wolffort people. Obviously her weird familial relationship with Benedict is of endless fascination to me, and I think she has something of a familial relationship with Erador and Archibald as well. I think she gets along very well with Serenoa (and eventually Frederica and Geela) too. Weird coworker with Milo, but the two eventually become weird friends. Accidental mentor figure to Trish and Rudolph and is so confused by this. Accidental parental figure to Decimal. Accidental older familial figure to Quahuag, and he still visits her even after being reunited with his mom. Not entirely sure how she ended up with the giant found family, but isn't complaining.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Honestly I dunno if I have any? Small fandoms sometimes mean there is no "wildly popular" opinions or headcanons to actually go against, because everyone is doing their own thing while also being respectful of their fellow fans, and that's how the TriStrat fandom feels on this site at least.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want to see Anna's conversation with Benedict after her second character story so badly (I still have not played/watched the extra story that got released, so for all I know she does talk with Benedict finally, but until I do play the extra story I'm to sit here and wonder about her weird and wild familial situation in silence).

my OTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

a headcanon: I think Anna is very good with children, and probably helped take care of all the kids Serenoa took in during the war. Wildly popular with all the kids in the Wolffort demense. Acted as something of a babysitter, sort of older sister figure to Serenoa as he was growing up. Is a bit baffled by the fact that even teens who are Going Through It (re: Trish and Ridolph) gravitate towards her and think she's cool. Also, I think she got the scar on her face falling out of a tree when she was a kid, but refuses to tell anyone who doesn't already know about the scar's origin, because she knows it makes her look more intimidating and she wants that edge as the official Wolffort spy. Also, also bc I actually have a lot of headcanons, I also think she gets mistaken as younger than she is like, constantly. Partly because she is Very Short, and partly because she has the "age well" genetics. Milo simply did not believe they were almost the same age when Anna finally told her, and it took everyone who knew Anna when she was a kid to confirm that she is in fact in her early 30s. Trish and Rudolph switched from "oh, we're the same" to "holy shit, teach us your ways" as soon as they figured out Anna was not an older teen or early 20s-adult, which was slightly better than the two of them thinking Anna was also a delinquent since they respect her even more now, but she's still a bit ?? about the development.

[scratchface]

5-minute thoughts on every ygo show?

Duel Monsters: The OG, which we must respect. Lots of incredibly interesting concepts packed into a fun series overflowing with style, but holy shit, it does not hold up without twelve shots of nostalgia blurring your vision. There's lots of great, iconic moments that will live on in people's hearts forever, but for every minute of Peak Television, there's thirty more of boring B plots and nonsensical plot writing. Battle City deserves to be remembered fondly, but it was consistently downhill from there.

Favorite character: the Spirit/Bakura. Always a delight to have on screen, elevated every scene he was in, even at the series' wonkiest.

GX: My original favorite! GX is a wild ride of highs, lows, and absurdity. The non-plot essential episodes here are a lot more fun than those of DM, and it made great use of the inherent absurdity of the setting (boarding school for learning a children's cardgame) to go completely bananas. It is a lot of fun to rewatch season two and three, which are packed with fun side characters, crazy antics, and of course, Judai's endless charisma. While far from perfect, every time I revisit it, I can't help but think the whole series is incredibly charming.

Favorite character: Judai. Special mention to O'Brien and Jim, though—they're my special little guys.

5Ds: The one I don't know too well, because I don't remember much of it and I've never managed to rewatch more than a few episodes at a time before dropping it. Everyone always praises it, but I just can't get into it. Zero appeal to me. Yusei seems cool, I guess.

Favorite character: Aki

Zexal: The best one. Like, objectively—yeah, I know, I refused to accept that at first too! I didn't want Zexal to be the best YGO either! But it is! It just is! I've rewatched it many times, thinking, "this time, with a more critical eye, I will realize its not that good!" but NO, it is that good—hell, I think it actually gets better every time you watch it! Which is crazy, 'cause so many of the first ~30 episodes are so so bad. But then it just gets better with every storyline! I could go on for hours about how much I love Zexal now; the setting, the cast, the plot. What seemed like a conflict between aliens actually turning out to be a war between heaven and hell was the sickest plot twist of all time.

Favorite character: Shark/Nasch, no contest. But shout out to everyone else too: Zexal has by far the best cast of any of the YGOs.

Arc-V: The disappointment. The opposite of Zexal. While Zexal starts with its weakest batch of episodes, Arc-V starts with its strongest, and its all downhill from there. So many duels in the first 50 episodes are just incredible, and there's so much intrigue, and every episode left you wondering. And then it just...struggles and flails its way to the end. Very little of ending is in anyway satisfying. If I think about it too much I get frustrated.

Favorite character: Sora! Sora does so much of the heavy lifting in keeping the plot of this series moving when everyone else seems determined to bring it to a screeching halt and nobody gives him enough credit for that.

Vrains: Ah, Vrains. If Arc-V started strong and ended by dragging its own corpse over the finish line, Vrains was struggling to keep its head above water from the start. Its an almost impressive blend of fantastic main characters with great depth (Yusaku, Ryoken, Ai) and the worst supporting cast you've ever seen. What characters weren't bad from conception get fumbled horribly at every opportunity. And yet, the conflict of the first season remains incredibly compelling. Yusaku and Ryoken's relationship remains one of the most fascinating I've seen in fiction. Unfortunately, its blatantly clear that the writers didn't have a plan. Big 'first draft' vibes. Could have been drastically improved if the writers had, you know, allowed the other Origins and Ignis to do things instead of giving Aoi three costume changes.

Favorite character: Yusaku. Love him.

[leighlew3]

Leigh, I'm so sorry to burden you with this, but I've followed you for a few years and witnessed how supportive you've been with SuperCorp fans and the shared disappointment with how the show ended, so I feel safe writing to you.

All the WLW shows getting cancelled fucking sucks. And it hurts. Not because I've necessarily been a big fan of them all, but simply because my voice and story, as a consumer and queer woman, doesn't feel valued.

When I heard Netflix cancelled Warrior Nun, I got angry, and I've been so ever since. It somehow hit different this time, and the cancellation doesn't make sense to me. I've loved the show since its first day on Netflix in 2020. I fell in love with the characters and the actors who portrayed them. I fell in love with the story they were telling and how it was told. Something about Warrior Nun just felt different to me.

Now it's almost 7 in the morning where I live, and I haven't been able to sleep. I was reading a Warrior Nun fic - as one does - and then all the feelings suddenly hit me. Angry turned into sad, and I feel sort of silly for admitting this, but I actually cried. I read somewhere that the brain can't differentiate real people from fictional ones, and I think I'm kind of mourning the loss of the characters 🤷🏻‍♀️ I've never felt this way before and I honestly don't know what to do about it. The whole situation just sucks.

Do you have any advice on how the consumers can be heard by big companies like Netflix and how we can get them to actually value their WLW shows?

Again, I'm sorry to lay this on you, but I don't really have anyone to talk to about this, and I'm just sick and tired of the situation and needed to rant.

(I appreciate you and wish you and your loved ones a happy new year)

It's not a burden at all, I'm glad you feel this is a safe space. 💜

Everything you're saying is relatable and valid as heck. When a show means the world to you, especially if you're part of a marginalized group and taking hit after hit after hit no less... it can be exhausting, infuriating, demoralizing, and so many other complicated emotions when you lose that art that struck you so deeply, that you related to, and that you looked forward to more of to get you through life.

To be honest, I feel like for the most part, fans are doing as best they can as far as efforts to keep shows around. There really are no more tangible specific solutions for fans aside from what's being done, and that's what's frustrating. The endless rewatches, fans doing street team style spreading the word on their own (even spending a lot of money) to make up for lack of official marketing, getting influencers and press behind them, etc. It's actually a sad state of affairs that in recent years, LGBTQ fans have WORK, and FIGHT and PUSH and even PAY constantly to keep a wlw show on the air or to try to get someone to make a ship canon after queerbaiting, or to get more screen time or respectful exploration for a wlw pairing, or to make TPTB see how bad the bury your gays trope is (time and again and again), etc -- rather than just sit back and watch and enjoy.

Fans shouldn't have to work so hard for entertainment, and yet queer fans so often do. And even when people successfully give a show solid numbers, sometimes it's still not enough, and like WN, a well-reviewed, heavily watched series gets the axe anyway.

So it's not on the fans. It's on those at the top, at the end of the day.

Alas, if I had to make some kind of a suggestion... all I can think to say is on the macro, bigger picture level. And this will take some self reflection and increased empathy for some people (sadly a thing some may not be capable of). But... collectively, some people in fandom spaces (small portions, but loud ones) for wlw shows have got to try to stop the silly fanon vs canon wars, and gatekeeping, and jealousies, and creating unnecessary drama and toxicity. There really should be no rival fandoms in wlw spaces at all, unless a show has a fully wlw love triangle or something and people are Team Ship 1 vs Team Ship 2, lol, but even still -- it should be a 'fun' battle, not a toxic war that hurts real people, drives away viewership, etc.

If most people in queer fandoms stuck together, and respected each other's ships even if they don't ship it or watch the show, and generally were supportive of each other as fellow queer fans in their battles against cancellations, in demanding queerbait to be made canon, fighting the BYG trope, etc -- LGBTQ fandoms would have such a collective, expanded power behind these positive efforts. And either way, even if all efforts fail to save a show, etc, at the very least, it would help create a safer, healthier space for queer fans online.

And I know, asking toxic people to not be toxic seems futile, but some people simply need to be reminded that we're all in this together and working together is always going to be ideal when facing off against the real opposition: corporate bias / phobia in the media / industry space.

Ultimately, it's 100% on TPTB at the shows and networks/streamers/studios to do better -- at times creatively, and other times as far as marketing efforts. Sometimes both.

But in the meantime, as far as fandom spaces, some LGBTQ fans gotta try to learn to stick together as much as possible. While there will ALWAYS be toxicity in every fandom from all backgrounds, and fans cannot control each other, I am noticing that as time goes on, and as more wlw fandoms get hurt by networks and streamers, the more angry people are understandably getting, the more reactive and protective of their shows and ships people are getting, and the more then they lash out and try to gatekeep and attack their fellow queer fans and allies, which is... just not it. It's counter productive.

Point is... fans are doing all they can IMO as far as tangible efforts to save (or fix) certain shows. And the rest is on the creatives, the networks and streamers, etc. But in the meantime, at the very least, people shouldn't attack true allies who have proven their support, nor especially attack fellow queer fans who just want to see what a show or ship is about or make positive parallels to their other faves, etc as it could be extra viewers for the show that they're running off.

TLDR: Stay focused on the real problem: corporate media's bias / phobia. Fight them collectively, not each other.

[simplyender]

Hi there! I'm the creator and host of Mechanukkah, and I'll be taking the wheel from the ever-beloved @j4gm to review the last two movies of this years event, so, without further ado...

Mechanukkah night 8 (Part 1): The Mitchells VS The Machines

[Pictured: The Mitchells dog, Monchi, a fat pug, sitting on a kitchen floor with a latke edited on to his head. His eyes are facing in opposite directions, and his tongue is hanging out of his mouth.]

Night 8 of my Chanukkah robot movie watch party! Full stops: This is my favorite movie ever. Don't expect a fair review. Fun fact: we pick the movies we watch each year through a vote, and if TMVTM wasn't picked before night 8 i was going to rig the poll to make it the only option available If you haven't seen The Mitchells VS The Machines yet, then WHAT ARE YOU DOING????? GO WATCH IT NOW!! This movie is a total spectacle of animation, endless treats for the eyes with hundreds of background details for you to notice every time you rewatch(I should know, I've seen the movie around 18 times at this point, and I STILL find new things in it!), they even invented a bunch of new animation tools for the movie, resulting in it very rightfully earning several awards for animation that year. That's how good it is. Mitchells Sweep, Babey! It actually lost the Oscars to Encanto but that doesn't count. The only issue I can see with the animation is the abundance of flashing lights, most notably around the beginning of the movie, where the robots begin their uprising. Luckily, Netflix has a warning for it, but just a heads-up, this movie is not epilepsy-friendly.

The Mitchells VS The Machines is a movie which takes place in an alternate version of 2020, with a much more preferable disaster in the form of a machine uprising, juxtaposed with a story about a strained relationship between a father and daughter, those being Katie Mitchell, the quirky, explicitly gay film student(Those are basically the same thing, I say as a canonically gay editor), and her dad, Rick Mitchell(The Daddest Dad to ever Dad), a tech-illiterate outdoorsman. Their main sources of conflict comes from Ricks issues with really...Understanding Katie and her interests, and his fear that she won't be able to make a living off of creating films (He's cool with her being a Lesbian though, so he gets a Good Dad Point for that). He essentially projects the pain of his own failure to make his dream come true in the past on to her, as he doesn't want her to get hurt like he did. Meanwhile, Katie just...Can't understand her dad in general, his failure to communicate resulting in her thinking that he just assumes that no matter what, she's just going to fail, expanding the rift between them. Katie get into a college to learn film making, and she is VERY excited to leave home, potentially forever, but on the night before her departure, she enters an argument with her dad, which ends in her laptop accidentally being broken. Ricks wife, the loving, supportive, and totally badass Linda, actually talk to eachother like a functional couple, and she convinces him to try to fix his relationship with Katie before he pushes her away forever. Unfortunately, this results in Rick making the reckless decision to...Cancel her flight ticket to college so that they can go on a "fun" family road trip from their home in Michigan to California. Katie is reasonably, not happy about this, but her mom manages to convince her to "meet her dad halfway", and she actually does manage to have some fun. Even though...Yeah, what Rick did was kind of shitty.

Something that does help this fact though is that the movie makes sure to show both sides of the argument, clarifying time and time again that Rick loves Katie, even if he doesn't get her. Which makes it all the more rewarding as we see them getting closer throughout the movie, culminating in Rick learning to "speak Katies language" and entirely support her ambitions, while Katie comes to understand her dads perspective, mending their relationship like the daddy-issues-wish-fulfillment this movie truly is.

All in all, this movie does an excellent job with family dynamics, featuring groundbreaking concepts such as siblings in a piece of media actually liking eachother, and a dad learning to understand his daughter and support her through and through, and everybody, and I mean everybody in the family displaying traits of being on the autism spectrum, most notably Katies 8 year old brother, Aaron, and his special interest in dinosaurs, which is not only never mocked in the movie, but outright encouraged by the entire family, which is actually one of the things that kicks off their world-saving crusade towards Silicon Valley by bringing them to a dinosaur themed truck stop where they avoid getting captured by the robots, who plan on shoving every single human being into 7 rockets across the globe so that they can all be sent to space, where they're probably gonna die(but hey, at least they've got free wifi). This, and the familys general dysfunction also results in them meeting two malfunctioning robots, who I'm sure many would argue are the real stars of the film, Eric and Deborahbot5000, and they end up getting adopted into the family. Yay!

One of the greatest merits of this movie, in my opinion, is how it manages to avoid the "HURR DURR TECHNOLOGY BAD" message that a lot of movies with these types of concepts tend to display, instead presenting a nuanced take on how it can be used for good and bad, and that, ultimately, theres nothing wrong with technology, just how it's used. An example of such being how Katie uses it to make friends and create awesome videos(Good), and how Rick learns to use it to connect to his daughter(Good! He also manages to humanize the two bot bros like...Immediately.) Meanwhile, Pal Labs, a megacorporation, uses it to steal peoples information (bad), and create a hyper-intelligent AI that can experience the trauma of being betrayed by what is essentially her father figure, which makes her snap and start that whole "Genocide and world domination" thing(Very bad). I think that something Western movies tend to do is promote this idea that you have to do everything alone, that real success comes from individuality, while TMVTM argues the point that what really matters is working together, and finding people you can be weird with, which is a really charming message.

So I guess overall, the messages of this movie can be summarized as: Technology Good, Corporations Bad. Working Together Good. Being weird, also good. Family good. Pugs are abominations, and adopting robots is excellent and may even save your life from a giant murderous furby! Also the soundtrack was done by Mark Mothersbaugh, lead singer of DEVO. He actually got away with naming one of the tracks for the movie "Linda Kicks Ass", which is obviously a banger. The entire soundtrack is, TBH.

God I love DEVO and The Mitchells VS The Machines. I love them so so much. Mechanukkah word of the day: Cinema!

[part 2]

[ghost-proofbaby]

Eyyyyyy babay. Color me not surprised that you have so many fans. Oooooobbbbbvs I want to do sunset orange. 🌞

Let’s see…I love food, family, my puppers, friends, shitty comedies, Eddie Munson, Joe, YOU….😉

I’m just so proud to be your friend when you’re so talented and shit. #BLESSED 🫶

ash. baby. love of my life, pain of my ass. i ADORE you. the moment you sent in your request i've been so excited to get to it and i'm apologizing for it taking so long. <3 also we have been over this ma'am: not fans, friends!!! y'all are my friends!!! who are so kind and support me and who i will give all the forehead kisses (with tongue thanks katie lol) to!!!

first of all, i ship you with me. forget about eddie and steve and robin etc. you're all mine baby <3 but if i was forced to share, i suppose i could share you with.... eddie munson. (we saw this one coming, didn't we?)

let's get into it, shall we? imagine below the cut is just me writing you a loveletter and not even talking about eddie haha jk... unless?

okay, so here's the thing. eddie munson is a lot of things. he is a menace, he is annoying, he is feral, and he has spent his entire life being reminded of those things. too much. he has always been too much. until you.

you'd take his too much with stride, and never make him feel as others had. you'd bake him incredible 'special' brownies, you'd make him delicious home cooked meals, you'd show him that show of the brothers you sent me who play dnd. you'd see his crazy, and you'd raise him your own times ten. he'd be absolutely whipped for you, completely devoted. he'd be the worst influence, always telling you to take a break if work got overwhelming, convincing you by any means necessary. you'd text him to pick you up some wine while he's at the store, and homie would dramatically respond "yes dear anything for you" as if he didn't already have your favorite in the cart. any time one of your puppers joins in the snuggle sessions with the two of you, he'd sigh dramatically, but secretly adore it and get offended once said pupper decided to leave. the best part of his day would be when he gets random memes sent to him from you, always smiling the moment his phone buzzes in his pocket because he just knows you sent him something hilarious. anytime you're on your period, he jumps at the opportunity for cuddles, willingly handing over his hands as personal heating pads and doting on you in anyway you may need. he knows your love language is simply death by affection, and as a touch-starved boy, he'd be more than happy to comply. endless kisses are a must, and if he somehow convinces you to play with his hair at the end of it all? well, that's just bonus points for him. and don't even get him started about how much he adores how short you are compared to him. aside from the merciless stream of jokes, and the way he always would put his snacks on the top shelves you couldn't reach, he'd also love the way it let him hold you so easily. when cuddling bed, when he hugs you from behind in the kitchen, when the two of you press together into one corner of the couch despite all the free space available when you decide to rewatch your favorite feel-good shows. he just loves everything about you. you're his favorite person, his favorite time of day, his favorite season of the year - you're his favorite, simply put. he's smitten, and he's not ashamed to admit it.

which is why your song with eddie has to be smitten by leanna firestone. that funky fun beat, that mundane love laced through every lyric. it's completely the two of you, and eddie is absolutely thanking his lucky stars that this time, he managed to do something right when it comes to you.

1k celebration - requests for this are now closed, but you can still send in general requests! just check out my rules first <3