#Casey's complete... everything

[jtownraindancer]

"...This is humiliating."

Sports Night- Season 2 Episode 5: Kafelnikov

[andro-dino]

watched all of 2012 and went insane

this one is from last year but I still like it a lot. making human designs for nonhuman characters that are hard to draw my beloved <3

[agathas-megacoven]

I’m scared for my lil guy Mobius on the timelines all by himself. What if some non-Kang related big bad who has managed to evade the reformed TVA’s watch and wants to control a bunch of timelines puts 2 and 2 together, realises that Möbius was a key player in helping establish Loki at the centre of the Yggdrasil (that Loki cares deeply about Mobius and visa versa) and comes after him in the hopes to oust Loki? Part of me feels like Mobius could handle it but Mobius doesn’t have big scary dog privileges anymore girlies, what with Loki being tangled up at the Citadel and it worries me. Sylvie is a slippery lil sword wielding snake (affectionate) who’s entire childhood WAS self-preservation and survival, she’ll be fine. B15, O.B and Casey are all somewhat afforded better protection from within the TVA but what about Mobius? He’s just a lil mourning retiree trying to make a new life for himself. What if danger finds him? I trust B15 to have some sort of protection and emergency measures in place for him but what if it’s not enough?

[mobbertx]

Re-do of tumblrina and da blorbos but 3 years later

Ah yes my blorbos, weird girl number one, weird girl number two and whatever the fuck that blond bitch from one piece has going on

[mylove-thresher]

I didn’t cry after a minor incinvenience!,!,!!!, yay!!,!, >D

[aroacettorney]

tbh its kinda disappointing that aup focused so much on the power struggle between marias and casey to conclude their sibling arc when their conflict was much more subtle/psychological and had little to do with whether they could beat each other into submission.

marias didnt corner casey and scare her into agreeing to an engagement/arranged marriage just by force, as it would have ruined the reputation of both of them. instead, she seems to have given casey extremely generous terms when it comes to choosing her own love interest, but thats only because she lowkey already knew its not gonna happen, fully aware that casey had zero interests in love or romance.

the deal between them was rigged against casey from the start, and it was even done under the guise of giving casey a fair chance to fight for her own happiness. casey, being herself — living only in the present, gave it a lick and a promise without any second thought, not knowing that even her reaction was also a part of marias's grand scheme to put casey under her control.

marias was absolutely certain of her win against her beloved sister, which was why she didnt even bother to check up on how casey was actually doing before sending the letter to call her home, but miraculously for casey, ludger agreed to help and everyone in the entire continent for some reasons seemed to be convinced there was something that ambiguously could be romance between them.

marias is the extraordinarily cunning politician archetype of character — one that is on a par with eileen von exilion in terms of foxiness and cannot simply be defeated through brute force or sheer strength, while casey is... casey, ever straightforward in her problem solving approach. casey might have won in terms of raw power but it would still mean nothing if she couldnt outwit marias. the fight between the selmore sisters didnt end with the holy war; it barely just started.

[batsplat]

what press conference is that and what lies is Valentino telling 😭😭😭

I’m always obsessed w the Case - J Lo - Vale pressers bc I feel like Jorge actively dissociates anytime he’s not asked a question (bc he’s already internally mapping out his answers to the next 20 possible questions he could be asked), Casey simmers n stews n hates every second of being there, and Vale is just always having the time of his life

(side note but rly underrated skill of his!! to be able to pretend you actually enjoy the press element!! maybe he’s not pretending, maybe he really is just able to turn it On that often & that easily…but idk I’ve been a longtime f1 fan too & the way Vale is able to make press conferences ~fun, or at least project that he’s having fun during them, is incredibly rare)

((i recognize “underrated” is probably not the right term generally speaking for the guy who is widely recognized as like the greatest showman the sport’s ever had lol. just that i personally underrate it & then am always pleasantly surprised when i watch almost any press conference of his))

(text posts here) this is from aragon 2011, a point in their relationship where quite honestly casey didn't need much of an excuse to give valentino the stink eye

there's not anything in the presser you'd actively expect casey to want to kill valentino with his mind over (beyond valentino's terminal affinity for yapping at anyone in his vicinity in these things). maybe valentino commenting on how fast casey and ducati had been at aragon the last year somehow attracted casey's ire? maybe valentino reiterating he was going to race in japan (a major talking point throughout that year - valentino and jorge had initially been united in launching a bit of a riders' revolt on that issue, including meeting at jorge's motorhome at a time when relations between them were otherwise... uh, frosty; eventually it had been casey and jorge who were the final holdouts, with casey still not willing to 100% commit at aragon)... generally though, I reckon this is mostly just how casey looked at valentino those days

though that reminds me, there's one specific question where, if I were valentino, honestly I'd be tempted to off myself - but somehow it's casey who manages to look quite awkward while valentino just laughs

Q: Different question for you, Casey - any advice for Valentino this weekend? This is where you turned your season around last year. ... Ride faster? CS: Do something drastic, I don't know... (mumbles) [Same for me?]

absolute all timer dynamic idk, look at casey's little nervous tics while valentino is grinning at him

so self-conscious god bless

anyway, here's the presser photo

expression gets gradually more enthusiastic as you move to the right. not reflective of current competitive situation

and yeah I find their different styles of engagement v interesting!! jorge's also gone on a bit of an arc with this over the years... you've got these very early clips where he still needs a translator in the presser (not at all uncommon, dovi for instance was the same) and he's just deeply awkward but also quite enthusiastic, then you get to his first premier class years where... y'know, he's clearly not a natural at this, but he WANTS to be, he WANTS to engage with the process and be charming and all the rest of it... and then by 2011 he's kind of given up. 2010 was great for his career but less great for his popularity, and it's really when you can feel the disillusionment creeping in. he never quite loses that part of himself, still obviously wants to win hearts and minds... but yeah. he's never been particularly up for listening to his peers in these things, but by this point in time he did clearly want to fast forward through these things. default state is zoning out

casey might be a well-known sceptic of any kind of engagement with the public - but he's actually a self-professed people watcher, he likes sitting around quietly observing people. one of my fave lil autobiography nuggets:

I like to think I can read people very well, especially people I get to study a lot, and when I come in during a session to make changes to the bike that is exactly what I am doing. The mechanics might think that because I have got my visor down I'm just sitting there doing nothing but I'm observing everything and I could see they weren't coping well with the pressure of having the big bosses watching over them.

'my mechanics think I'm doing nothing but actually I'm sitting with my visor down secretly observing them' is such a. a deeply funny line, deeply casey line. not sure I'm convinced the mechanics would prefer to know that this is what casey was doing, but there we are. in any case, obviously casey doesn't SAY this but I don't think it's a massive leap to suggest he was doing the same thing in pressers. ofc I enjoy using these photos in text posts because they kinda tell their own story, but I should note that to some extent this is just casey's resting face. like,, if I'm sufficiently motivated obviously I can also make a 'casey doesn't fw dani' version

now admittedly, there are way fewer photos of casey staring at dani and jorge (or indeed anyone else) than there are of him staring at valentino... arguably even in the years where valentino is very much no longer casey's main on-track rival. but like, there's also relatively less photos of casey making heart eyes at those other two guys. whether this genuinely reflects how much staring casey was doing or is just the result of photographer bias (no criticism, I too would be documenting every look casey sends valentino's way) or a combination of the two... who knows. but I DO think that casey was very much committed to studying valentino, including by doing this little staring act in pressers. slightly clashes with his whole 'oh I don't care about my rivals' schtick, but, well, casey's no stranger to a bit of an internal contradiction. so he's quietly studying and quietly judging and quietly seething... LEARNING from the enemy by documenting every last detail of his side profile. or something

and yeah lol massive props to valentino not getting tired of this week in week out. admittedly in pressers specifically he does also frequently entertain himself by choosing the nearest convenient victim to yap at, which both jorge and casey very obviously found an annoying habit at times. (shout out to misano 2016 where jorge and valentino started bickering in the presser and jorge afterwards went HE NEVER SHUTS UP IN THESE THINGS, which, like, wasn't particularly relevant in that specific situation and clearly had just been something he'd been sitting on for years.) both jorge and casey have also actively turned to valentino on at least one occasion in a presser to indicate that they would like him to shut the fuck up - and both times valentino has complied, so theoretically at least they could have put a stop to this. so, y'know, it probably doesn't hurt if you're the type of guy willing to make your own fun in these pressers, even when it comes at the active cost of the sanity of the people around you. beyond that though, yup. I mean it's probably a good attitude to have if that's literally your whole life. I think it's always done valentino a lot of good that he's fundamentally a curious type of bloke who is curious about other people. journalists DO piss him off a lot of the time, but in theory it's a process he likes engaging with because he likes talking and he likes listening. honestly did miracles for the vibes of these things, like the f1 thing is a good point because I sometimes watch motogp pressers these days and go. man. this place could do with a yapper

[sageshouldknowbetter]

Some may be apprehensive that Severance won’t portray Mark’s interaction with Helena in the tent as the sexual assault it was. But not only will they — they already are.

Mark’s behavior toward Helly has completely changed. He doesn’t sit next to her at Irving’s funeral. He shuts down attempts at conversation with offhand, vague snarky comments and a defiantly blank facial expression. When Helly knocks on the door to the bathroom, his eyes dart around like an animal cornered. Where he once would have slowed down for her in the hallway so they could talk, he walks much faster ahead. He’s trying as hard as possible to avoid her. To ignore her. To run away.

Now contrast this with his treatment of “Helly” when she first walked out of the elevator in season two. He waited for her to arrive! He was so relieved she’d come back! And when they were walking down that hallway and he was explaining the situation with Ms. Casey, he stopped mid-stride, turned to her with a smile on his face, and said “Look, Helly—“

He never got to finish that sentence. But some say he was going to confess that though his outie had a wife, his affections lay with her. And I think they’re right.

So why is he acting so differently now? The answer is obvious: “Because they are smarter than us, okay? They know everything.”

After the assault, Mark likely feels like a complete idiot. He spent so much of season one deconstructing his beliefs and breaking free from Lumon’s propaganda. And the minute he believes he’s immune to their lies and no longer a corporate slave, he is taken advantage of and hoodwinked by the very figurehead of said company, masking as someone he loves.

A symbol of Lumon convinced him he was safe. Tricked him. Invaded him in the most intimate way possible, with him completely oblivious, “like an idiot.” Right when he thought everything might be okay.

So maybe Lumon’s right. Maybe there’s no point in fighting. Because if he was stupid enough to not realize his own friend was being possessed by her billionaire doppelgänger, then maybe Lumon is correct about innies being nothing more than pawns. Maybe they are people, and he really is… not. (That’s how Helena treated him, anyway.)

And if that’s the case, of course he wants to give up looking for Ms. Casey and lose himself in work! For a moment he thought he was a human being, deserving of autonomy over his own body and capable of something more than sitting behind a desk — but his assault sends that all crashing down. He is an extension of his outie, made for work and nothing more. Going beyond that gets dangerous. That’s what got Irving killed… and him in Helena’s tent. And Helly? He cannot trust Helly. As far as he knows, his only confirmed moment with Helly since the OTC was when he was holding her in his arms, his jacket wrapped around her shoulders. Why should it be Helly coming back to the severed floor? If Helena could trick him before, who says she can’t learn from her past mistakes and trick him again over and over? Mark refuses to be humiliated and hurt after last time, so he avoids her (and Dylan!) and puts up a barrier of cool, snarky indifference — just like how he deals with grief.

But we know that indifference is a mask. When Milchick walked out of the elevator after revealing he knew about him and Helena Eagan, Mark had no one to pretend for — and he went completely stiff, blankly wide-eyed in an expression extremely reminiscent of his usual innie self. Whatever the reasons for this, one thing’s for sure: Mark does deeply care about what happened in the tent. And at least for now, he will lose himself in Cold Harbor to cope with it.

Lumon certainly got their productive worker back. But good Lord… at what cost?

[wuntrum]

can you speak on your severance s2 opinions? i promise this isnt in bad faith or anything, im just anon bc im shy lol, im genuinely curious

i'm gonna put this under a read more because it's gonna be long but...yeah [scratches head] if YOU the person reading this looooved this season and see nothing you didn't like about it, thats awesome and i'm happy for you. i also liked things in this season, and also its normal to be able to critique things you like, love and light <3 its literally just television

generally, yeah, i found myself disappointed with it. i think the writing this season, both the dialogue and then the actual character/world writing, fell flat and/or seemed like it was completely incongruous with the characters and world that we had seen in season 1. i think something i really appreciated about season 1 is that yes, mark was our main character and the lens we got introduced to both the inside and outside world, but both felt so much BIGGER than just him.

season 2, the entire plot and world and characters bend and contort to make mark like, the center of the universe lol. it's kind of ridiculous, the extent to which the world revolves around him now. it makes the world feel SOOO small. parts of my favorite worldbuilding aspects are seeing how the outside world feels about severance--i think the part where we see how working as a severed employee makes it almost impossible to work anywhere else is great! and in concept i like seeing other towns that have been devastated by lumon's industrialization, though i don't love the execution that we got. so like...everything lumon does is about mark? ALL of it? i know we don't know exactly how long lumon has been operating but like...they've been working on this stuff for longer than two years, lol. like, how many files have dylan completed? irving? petey? that girlie who wrote the lexington letter? is all of their work literally meaningless? like i get that there were people before gemma who failed the tests and they died, sure, but what about when mark started working there? what about the files that irving started and didn't finish, why don't they care about those? ohhhh right, because that's not the one that mark's working on. i get that it'd be a big deal if they got it to work fully once, but surely they'd want to make it work AGAIN, right??? like a science experiment?? i just wish we got like, A nod to other people on the testing floor, because i think the implication is that all of them are working on files connected to…different people, but maybe they're all just different versions of gemma?

honestly all of the innie stuff this season just felt so…idk, aimless? it feels like parts of the building only exist when the writers want them to, and just generally are not interested in exploring anything outside of the romantic aspects for all of these characters. like sure, after the season 1 finale, their asses are not gonna wanna work (EXCEPT FOR WHEN THEY DO? TO MOVE THE PLOT ALONG?), but where's the camaraderie? what about all those other people in O&D, they literally export things to the testing floor, maybe they know about gemma? fundamentally i think the thing that's the most frustrating about innie mark is that they keep telling us that he doesn't care about gemma. which, sure, outie gemma, he doesn't have that same connection with as helly, whatever. but also, he DOES care about her, he literally knows that that's ms casey and that lumon was just going to do what they always do when they fire people????? like s1 mark cared soooo much about his coworkers, ALL OF THEM, even the ones that weren't there anymore—seeing petey and then ms casey get removed was like, a HUGE deal and vital to his growth as a character!!!! and the way that they constructed this whole season basically to remove everyone that isn't mark and helly by the end. lol. i'm honestly shocked that they didn't make a new version of the desk that was just two chairs, like dylan was just excluded from the finale except for when they needed him to come in and hold the door against mr. milchick. again. lol

i don't inherently have a problem with exploring the romantic stuff, i think that could have been done well, but i just don't think it was. and that's primarily because, i think the writing this season for helly was ass! they took away her agency and subjugated her to be just the love interest for mark! especially with the finale, i just feel like the helly i know would've been like mark, what are you doing??? go?!? like she wants to take down lumon, THAT's what will take down lumon! like whatever, mark made the choice that he did, but helly playing along with it makes no fucking senseee. like they want us to think that it's the same ol helly we know and love, they give us crumbs of her anger, like when she's rallying the marching band people or whatever, but again, only when it's plot convenient. WHY WOULD SHE NOT ATTACK JAME? he's like 90???? and helly doesn't like this man???? she has nothing to lose???? fucking THROW something at him helly!!!! the helly that tried to chop her fingers off and hang herself and gave that speech in the s1 finale is not in the room with us. and i don't mean this in a way where i think it's helena again, it's not. they've just completely fumbled her character because they want mark and helly to be together at all costs. and honestly, i think it's so reductive to make this show just about ships, but textually it feels like that's what they want us to do, and i think that's sad. again, it makes the show feel so SMALL, when the world within it used to feel so BIG and like we would want to learn more about it. i care about mark and helly--before they kissed!! i think it was rewarding to see the ways they challenged each other and grew as people!! them as a romantic thing could work but they haven't put in the work to MAKE it work. and, it feels like of redundant even to say, but i do think it's fucking ridiculous to write a story where we get kissing and fucking for allllll the straight characters and then the one gay couple doesn't even get a kiss before separating them completely and writing irving out of the show, basically. like what are we in, hayes code era television?

but yeah, the information they chose to reveal vs what they didn't was also frustrating. i honestly wish they revealed less! there's so much TELLING this season. it feels like they think we're stupid (which, i can't speak for the entire population watching the show, maybe some people literally do need mark to look at the camera and explain everything, idk). like there's sooo much clever storytelling in the first season that just, completely gets snuffed out from overexplaining. i understand in the finale that oMark needs to tell iMark about why he did all of this but like, WE as the audience already know??? we don't need to see this?? and cobel confirming stuff i feel like we already knew about how the numbers work and like, i just don't knowwww. like you can just show me it, i was picking up on it. like we know about the four tempers, you show it to us all the time, cobel having to look dead in the camera and explain it just made me feel like there was a better way we could've done this. i do think some stuff benefits from a "hard" confirmation. like i'm glad they confirmed the helena thing, BECAUSE it backs up and supports all of the lovely and subtle things they had already shown to prove that it WAS helena! like i've known since the first episode LOL, so they do KNOW how to do subtle storytelling. and i think the gemma episode was great, i loved seeing her as a character and thought it gave her so much depth. but again, i think allll of the explaining they do this season not only snuffs out the fun of speculating on the viewing end, but from a writing perspective it just kind of writes them into a corner. i think they're focused too much on making these elaborate set pieces and events take place without thinking of how they fit together, not only on like a writing/episodic level but just the world of lumon at large.

i think a great way they showed story in the first season is through the paintings, and through irving and burt bonding over the paintings! like it not only establishes the lore of kier and then we get to learn more about them as characters through their reactions to the paintings. the paintings this season, honestly, were weak, they were so heavy handed. love and light to whoever painted them, but they were nottt doing the job for me.

(this is a small thing, but like…the intake questionnaire asks them to "name a US state or territory," so they KNOW that delaware is a state. so why would they think the equator is a building? again its just like. a cutesy moment for mark and helly to banter but they could've done it in a way that isn't contradictory to like, our understanding of what information crosses over the sever and what does not).

i keep thinking about the ORTBO, and it just seems fucking CRAZY to me that they aren't freaking out about SEEING THE SKY? BREATHING FRESH AIR? FEELING FIRE? SLEEPING?? WASN'T THE WHOLE THING THAT THEY COULDN'T FALL ASLEEP???? i guess my impression of how the chip works is that the technology doesn't know how to handle when they enter a subconscious/asleeep state, so the innie and outie memories begin to bleed together, hence why dozing would be a bad thing on the job. but again, they clearly had this idea of how they wanted irving to reveal that it's helena in the waterfall, and yes, i did enjoy the spectacle of the episode, but its another example of how they'll build these moments and only focus on what they want to see. like there's so much interesting stuff that they could explore and just choose not to, because (usually) it doesn't involve mark, or mark and helly.

also, i'm just gonna say it, i feel like the writing for the women this season all was kinda bad! it's, again, a byproduct of the world revolving around mark now. reghabi is brought into the story when mark needs her, and cast aside when he doesn't want her anymore. devon has been completely reduced to mark's lackey, like i guess ricken and the baby are fucking fine or whatever??? because she only exists when mark is around, and her only job is caring about mark (which obviously yes, they're siblings, of course they care—but s1 devon had a life outside of mark as well). cobel is only brought back into the story to explain to mark how cold harbor works. i said this before but honestly i like the concept of her little solo episode, though the execution wasn't great, because at least she was doing something on her own (except for when she needs that guy to help her. heaven forbid a woman does something of her own accord without a man to help). and again, helly is completely flanderized to be mark's love interest. i think there's a way to have mark and helly be together and them be their own people, but for the length of the season they did not have the proper time to unpack all the shit from the ORTBO episode so everyone just…conveniently gets over it very quickly, like in the span of a day. like i do think it's a jump to go from "i don't trust you, are you even you?" to missionary under plastic tarps that quickly, i'm sorry. and i think even gemma suffers from this fate as well. i think with hers it makes more sense, like she fucking loves her husband, but i wish she was given opportunities to like…want things for herself, too. like she hasn't been outside in two years! i bet she misses her job, her students, her family, devon, ricken, like anyone outside of mark? but she has to be the tragic love interest that can't be with mark but can't run away from mark, either. she's reduced to set dressing for mark and helly by the end.

they constructed this season i think, with the hopes and knowledge that they'll likely get a season 3. which yes, we know now that it's been confirmed and approved or whatever, but they didn't know that when making season 2, and it feels like no one got a full character arc. it's all start and no follow through. we've had the same "mr. milchick experiences racism in the workplace" moment like what, five, six times, and yet we haven't even started to see him DO something about it yet? like sure he told mr. drummond to eat shit, but then to play along with the minstrel show cold harbor shit, they just didn't care about giving that plot line any action so it'll just get brushed along to season 3. (and while there's intentional commentary about race in the show, it also feels like there's unintentional consequences to their writing choices that upholds the whiteness. like, natalie is just forgotten about, reghabi is dropped as soon as mark doesn't want to play with her anymore, ms. huang barely gets to do anything before being written off and sent away, and yes, i do think having gemma suffer as mark and helly skip away is part of it. it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, sorry!). i think dylan is maybe the closest we get to an interesting arc, and i enjoy the inclusion of his wife, but even he's reduced to JUST this story, only getting to talk to mark or helly when the writers need him to, i guess. and the stuff with burt and fields is so nothing, like it feels like it should be going somewhere but they're just leaving it open for season 3 (i guess??? even though it seems like irving isn't going to be in it at all, so why would we be following burt and fields??? and also don't even get me started on how the outie irving stuff is just NOT EXPLORED AT ALL. like whatever sure who the hell cares, sorry for wanting to see that go somewhere or whatever).

it's too early for full reintegration to happen so, we'll just finish that in season 3. (then why introduce it so early in season 2? ohhh right, we need cliffhangers to end every episode on). it almost feels like they don't have faith that people will keep watching without introducing these dramatic moments, but it's all just gasps of breath, there's no actual momentum. like, i've already watched the first season, you don't need to bait me with the prospect of seeing meaningful progression and then take it away from me when the next episode starts. the structure of how episodes speak to each other is that they…don't? like obviously i don't need every episode to pick up on the exact moment the last left off, but the timeline of this season is just soooo strange. the first two episodes are in the same span of time, and then there's gemma and cobel's episodes back to back…it genuinely just feels like they didn't consider the season as a whole which, considering how much money and time it took to make it happen, makes no sense.

and to continue on the timeline aspect, it feels so confusing as to how much time has really passed. it feels like the wanted the structure of the first season, but the pacing mechanic of the first season (working up to the end of the quarter to get to the waffle party) makes the pacing of the second feel even worse. like a.) mark's completed like 3 files a quarter (if we assume he's worked there for 8 quarters, i.e. two years), so making THIS file the super special final one truncates the possible time by at least a third.but then also, b.) he's been at like 95% complete since like, episode 5..? again, i just think it should've been considered more during the planning stages. and it kind of boggles my mind that the creative team views the marching band in this finale to be analogous to the waffle party in s1 when, it's way closer to the music dance experience? (they said this in the like behind the scenes for the finale ep). and in that regard, it really does kind of feel like a retread that doesn't work as well because, again, it's all about mark! especially after the shit with the kier statue, why would mr. milchick play along with the song and dance, like it just feels like they wanted to use tramell tillman's dance experience again, and they wanted to use the colored lights again. he could've just stood by the door to make sure mark and helly stayed there, which was obviously the goal of having all those people there. and yeah, i get the work is mysterious and important or whatever, but the implication that they have ALL OF THESE PEOPLE whos sole job is to be a marching band makes no fucking sense, i'm sorry. i find it hard to play along with the worldbuilding, again it makes lumon seem like its run by like dr. doofenshmirtz or something, it's so cartoony. like are they a global and successful company, or are they incompetent and leave gaping holes for their employees to undo everything? this is THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY IN LUMON HISTORY and they couldn't…shut the door to MDR like they had before? the goat sacrifice room is directly outside the exports hall door? the music dance experience works so well as a catharsis moment because everyone has their own shit going on, and we get to see the guy who hasn't really disobeyed yet (dylan) finally snap, and we see the others come and support him as a TEAM. it's just spectacle for us, the viewer. and especially the thing where they make the panels with mark's face on it—HE CAN'T SEE IT???? i don't need fan service winking moments like that, i dunno, that just annoyed me lol.

anyway, i feel like i have more to say probably but i gotta go do things so, i'm gonna leave it here. in conclusion, i'm missing my friends from s1 MDR sooo so bad, i feel like i haven't seen them this season at all. i did like parts of this season, but overall it was not what i was hoping it would be. (i don't even really KNOW what i wanted it to be, and of course it doesn't matter what i "want," but i feel like what i "want" lined up with what they wanted to do explore with season 1 so…maybe that's where the dissonance is coming from). and whereas at the end of s1, where i left it being like "where are they going to go from here?? (as in, theres so many possibilities", this season finale has left me asking "…where are we gonna go from here?" because i'm left like, inherently incurious about the people we have left and the choices they've made. and, i feel like THEY (as in the executive team making it) must feel this way too, because apparently they've completely scrapped the writers room from this season and added on two new showrunners. good luck to whoever that executive story editor is LOL

[haematoclan]

Leo's relationship with death

Leo really doesn't like to think about death.

I mean, we all saw how much impact Karai's death had on all of Mad Dogs but Leo was the only one that had to be dragged from her, yelling after her, he really, really didn't want to lose her.

And I think when he lost her it left a deep scar.

I saw posts talking how Leo wants for things to get back to normal and pretend nothing happened, which I completely agree with. I think it's in big part because of his fear of repeating losing a close one.

He REALLY doesn't want to even acknowledge death.

Here Raph seemed to be getting through to Leo-

-but the moment he mentions possibility of his family dying?

Nope, time to deflect, joke and feign ignorance.

Leo's aware that death is a big part of being a responsible hero and that's why he'd rather goof off with his brothers and not train.

Because obviously when you ignore something it just dissapears, right? So if they ignore severity of certain situations and possibility of dying it won't happen, right?

If they don't treat it seriously they'll be fine! Totally!

Then Raph shields Leo from the Krang and sends him away.

And it's as if Karai's death stared right in his eyes.

So Leo picks up the slack of leadership in order to save Raph. He behaves carelessly during this time but can you really blame him, he desperately wants to save his brother, to stop yet another family member from death that he is so scared of.

He still tries to be positive and nonchalant, that "pfff obvioulsy everything will turn out alright!" but at the end of the day, it's not that simple.

Casey's speech had hard time to really hit Leo, he's still avoiding confronting resposibility, literally and metaphorically turning away from it. But the moment Casey says Leo's whole family died?

Now that made an impact.

And every time his family is in terrible danger he looks absolutely terrified and basically every time Leo has to be dragged away to not just return and try to save them again.

And when there's nobody to drag him away?

First thing he does is sacrifice himself. Because I don't think Leo is scared of his own death, or at least he is not as scared of him dying as his family. He'd rather give away his life than live through another grief.

Obviously I'm not sayin that the rest of the fam isn't terrified of close ones dying. But while they seem less aware (Mikey) and/or more ready for the possibility (Raph)...

Leo's wholly aware but he'd rather not be and ignore his fears until he can't anymore.

[a-shade-of-blue]

I've recently moved to a new country due to the worsening political environment in my home country, and I've been struggling to adapt. Uprooting yourself from the place you've called home your entire life is not easy, and I've had to discard many items close to my heart because I cannot afford to bring them with me.

Therefore, I cannot imagine what Mahmoud's family (@mahmoudfamily1 ) must be feeling. They have had to evacuate 16 times in a year! Each time they evacuate, there are fewer things they can bring with them. They are a family of 17 people, 10 of whom are children! With limited space on the car they use to move, should they bring all the blankets they own so everyone can keep warm, even if it means discarding a young child's favourite toy?

Then there is the problem of food. With the scarcity of food, they are forced to eat spoiled food because the alternative would be to not eat anything at all and go hungry. As a result, the 10 children suffer from constant stomachaches and diarrhea from the contaminated food and water they consume. Imagine evacuating, walking for miles and miles, while in constant pain!

Most worryingly, Mahmoud's family also includes 3 infants. The youngest of them, baby Meryem, was only born a few months ago in this genocidal war. Mahmoud's sister almost lost her life in the birth process due to a lack of medical resources. She still suffers from severe infections caused by the difficult birth because she has not been able to get the medical supplies and the treatment she needs. And reminding everyone again that they have to deal with all that while bombs are falling all around them!

Mahmoud's campaign has barely been getting any donations. Even though he has been raising funds for almost 6 months now, he has only reached 6% of campaign goal and has only raised $4,763 CAD  out of his $80K target!

This campaign is #3 on @/gaza-evacuation-funds vetted list here, #117 on @/gazavetters vetted list, vetted by bilal-salah0, and vetted by association!

Donations have stopped for Mahmoud's campaign!! Last donation was more than 2 days ago!

tagging for reach

@hazem-khalil @soggystyrofoam  @kibumkim @pigswithwings @plaidos @bellybuttonblue2 @caseys-soup-corner @squidie-tittie @bubonicherald @seravph @horreurscopes @ripe @irradiatedsnakes @dreamingamongthestars @hoodnaruto @akaratna @mai-monnie @novastarology @nightydraws @elderscrollpdf @geospiral @lone-nyctophile @mysteryvhs @wiremotherrrrr @artoatsblog @beepbatt @theothergal @mere-glim @feytouched @nash13 @chilisaws @biterflies @twistedmiffy @ilovelifetbh @thecoffeelorian @artofenby @entryn17 @bifauxnnen @dormont @dykefagz @beargif  @wouriqueen @coffeelich @battle-spouse @block-swing-perry @ana-bananya@northgazaupdates@c-u-c-koo-4-40k@riding-with-the-wild-hunt @roadimusprime@aces-and-angels@just-browsing1222@neptunerings@mushroomjar@northgazaupdates2@kyra45-helping-others@decolonize-solidarity @heritageposts@timetravellingkitty @briarhips @ankle-beez @akajustmerry @wellwaterhysteria @rhubarbspring @brutaliakhoa @decolonize-the-everything @sporesgalaxy @postanagramgenerator@heydreamchild @watermotif @stuckinapril @malcriada @appsa @buttercuparry@bixels @afro-elf @officialspec @wormzandgutz @tlirsgender @apas-95 @renegadeer @fadedlovemp3

[creaturecon]

CREATURE CON MASTERPOST

Before we get started, please note that Creature Con is not a competition. There is no "winner" or "loser," but you can earn achievements! It'll be an online convention so that people can interact, share their stories, and make new friends!

Where and Who

Creature Con will be hosted on Discord! Both AU creators and guests are more than welcome to join.

However, guests do need to wait until all AU's are in and submissions are done for the Discord to be open to the public.

All TMNT generations are welcome!

What Counts As A Creature

For the purpose of this con, a creature counts as a character being a different thing, having something happening, or both! Here's a list:

Extra Mutations

Human Characters [April, Casey, ect.] Mutating

Curses [Vampire, Werewolf, ect.]

Mythical Creatures

Feral

Krangified

Ghosts/Spirits

Undead

Animal

AU's will be separated based on category. If an AU fits multiple categories, the AU owner will be allowed to pick the one it goes in.

If your AU doesn't fit on here but you think they may apply or have a questions, contact one of the mods on the list below or send us an ask! However, do note some may count but might not be included as to not overwork the mods.

Participation

Their are many ways to participate! Interacting with AU's is the main one, but there are many ways to do this. Some ways include:

Making art

Writing

Roleplay [The Discord will have Tupperbox for Roleplay purposes!]

Gold Stars [Each AU participating gets one Gold Star that they can use/gift]

Asks [Both Discord and Tumblr]

If you do decide to make an ask on Tumblr, @ us and use event tags! We might miss it if you don't.

General Tags: #tmnt creature con #tmntcc

Specific Tags: #tmntcc art #tmntcc ask #tmntcc asks #tmntcc participant #tmntcc guest #tmntcc news

Interacting gets you achievements! Some will even be AU specific. Stay on the lookout for hints on hidden achievements as well, you never know what you might find.

Rules

While more rules will be available in the Discord once the server is open, here are some of the basics.

NO Tcest [This includes showing images/art with the intention of mocking it].

NO directed racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia or sexism. If your AU contains these themes, they must be tagged and have the according TW/CW's.

Sensitive topics MUST be blocked out [In Discord, this means having || on either side of the word/sentence, which covers it] and tagged with TW/CW's.

NO Arguing, harassment, bullying, ect. If you have a problem with someone talk in private to sort things out, or contact a mod if they are causing issues.

NO heavy venting in the server.

NO spamming the server.

Want To Submit An AU?

When the forms are open, anyone is welcome to apply if their AU fits! As said above, it can be an AU from any generation. However, there are only 30 spots as to not overwhelm the mods with too many people!

SUBMISSION FORM

SUMISSIONS WILL BE OPEN FROM 6/19/2025 - 7/3/2025, WE WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY MORE SUBMISSIONS AFTER JULY 3RD AT 11:59PM UTC OR 6:59PM EST.

Once submissions are complete, there will be a break so everything can get set up and so invites can be sent out.

Some creators may be asked extra questions, here is where we'll ask if they are any extra TW/CW's forgotten when the form was filled out, along with things like custom achievements for the AU.

To make sure every AU has it's time to shine, there will be Spotlight Segments. During these, certain AU's from different categories will get focus put onto them. Think of it like a panel in an in person convention. This way, no AU gets overlooked!

Time of Spotlight Segments will vary depending on how many AU's we have attending.

DISCORD LINK - 🚧 [Under construction! Come back later!] 🚧

Mods

@calebscornerofart ( 🐈 ) @uncannyalien ( 🔵 ) @nights-flying-fox ( ✨ ) @noxvee6 ( 🌑 ) @the-most-neon-leon ( 🐢 ) @whyamiheretumbled ( 🪐 )

[wandasaura]

CRAZIER

summary — casey came around and she changed everything

warning(s) — established relationship, marriage, alludes to previous slow burn, useless lesbians in love, casey novak is down so bad, mentions of court preceding, law school, open investigations, and arrests, slight canon compliant themes/elements, neck kisses, kissing, public affection, slow dancing, mentions of courthouse elopement, domestic fluff

authors note — enter casey novak !! highly recommend listening to crazier by taylor swift while you read !!

Growing up, your mother had always referred to you as her fairy. It had come to fruition when you were about six, if memory serves you right so many years later, but regardless of when it first came up, it had stuck up until the day you moved into a dorm room with a girl you didn’t know and big dreams of becoming a prosecutor. You’d been specific about that goal, because too few people you know recognize that a prosecutor is a lawyer but a lawyer is not always a prosecutor. The distinction in your goal gave your mother hope that you wouldn’t fail in college, not completely anyways. She knows that the start of your life is only just beginning, that there will be hard times and grief not only for physical people. You didn’t know that, but when it hit you hard in the second month of your freshman year at Harvard Law, it shattered you somehow, and you’d thought to call your Mom in tears, because surely this is the moment that you’re supposed to confide in her, but it feels like too big a hit to your pride to admit that maybe this is all too big for you too soon.

With hindsight, eighteen years old is so little. You pride the little girl in you every day for being so assured in her passions, because as an adult, a woman who has seen the world be unkind and cruel in unimaginable ways, you know just how much strength it had taken little you to keep persevering.

Fairy followed you in birthday cards and Facebook posts until your mother unexpectedly died of a heart attack at seventy-eight. You’d graduated from your masters program at Harvard with honors at that point. You’d been holding a picture of her looking so radiant beneath the sunlight on the day of your ceremony when you’d gotten the news. It had felt like some sick coincidence at the time, and it still does now when you let yourself think about it.

Her house was sold three months later. Not because you wanted to relinquish the one physical place you had left to remember moments with her in — you don’t even want to think about how every establishment from your childhood has either attempted to modernized itself and lost its feel, or has just disbanded as a company entirely — but because there just wasn’t enough money to keep the lights on and yours whilst you prepared to take the bar exam.

Begrudgingly, you’d done the dirty work of clearing everything out, because if you didn’t do it, nobody was going to do it, and the hypothetical financial burden as a current and perusing student was a great motivator during your grief. In the process, you'd found a little yellow journal tucked into a corner of her closet that you’d never seen before. You’d thrown it to the side for later on, more worried about why your mother had so many pairs of flip flops when New York City was no place to be walking around so exposed and she rarely ventured out of state without you.

It had taken you a week to even remember that you’d left the journal on the counter, but when you’d gone in to lock up for the last time, an owner already lined up because the property was gorgeous and considerably spacious for its location, you’d grabbed it in a haste, overcome with guilt that you’d nearly forgotten it.

As compassionate and empathetic a woman as your mother had been in her life, she wasn’t a sentimental woman. You hadn’t found much worth keeping whilst cleaning out her house, outside from her Valentines decorations specifically and a handful of her nicer fragrances, but the journal had intrigued you enough to be saved.

You opened it over a bottle of wine, and when it hit you that the words etched on the page in fading black ink were diaries entries from the first few years of your life, you’d knocked the bottle off the counter and had to spend the next ten minutes sweeping up glass.

You’d never poured much thought into your devoted nickname. It had always just been there, and you’d dutifully accepted it, but when your eyes glazed over an entry dated May Seventh from the year you’d turned six, you had answers to a question you hadn’t fathomed. So tenderly your mother listed your wildest attributes — how you seemed to never have a path to follow, how you just drifted with the wind from time to time, content with whatever it led to. She noted that your mischievous smirk was something she adored, how your eyes twinkled and even though it gave her a headache, she pretended not to notice when you got into situations you knew were toeing the line. You hadn’t remembered being so mischievous, that small detail of your younger years was a development, but you could still see the likeness in her attention to your weightlessness in life.

If you didn’t know what you wanted to do, where the end goal was for you, you’re certain that you could’ve made a life for yourself out of anything. Even with the tunnel vision you’d suffered during the fundamental years of your education, you could see how in your day to day life, between your carefully planned out study schedule and necessary working hours, you still had no real plan. You chose dinner based on a whim, you changed plans whenever it felt compelling to sacrifice sleep for a beer, you skipped town on long weekends because scenery played a role in mental health and you’d scream it from the roof tops proudly.

Fairy had fit you so beautifully until it didn’t. Until you were two months into your bar preparations and an obnoxious ginger waltzed into your life. She’d sat down at your table in an overcrowded cafe near Harvard, a graduate from the same year as you, though somehow you’d missed her face in all the lectures you anticipated. She didn’t say a word to you until her pen ran out of ink, and she curiously looked at your spread of utensils and supplies.

You hadn’t seemed to be able to get rid of her after that day. You found her everywhere, and when you didn’t, she found you. Even if she was slightly abrasive and quick to prove her passion, even if nobody was questioning it, you found that she was an excellent study partner, and her couch was ten times comfier than your shitty half price mattress had ever been.

It wasn’t noticeable at first, but slowly, she started to change you. You’d always known where you wanted to end up, where the end goal was for you no matter how long it took to get there, but you’d overlooked how simple and rewarding small things could be in the in between moments until she did them, until she opened your eyes and made you believe in every single romcom you’d ever seen; even the ones starring Drew Barrymore. It was stupid, childish, a real hit to your ego when you’d realized that as a woman with a Masters in law weeks away from taking your bar exam you were head over heels with the ginger — who wasn’t a ginger anymore — that infuriated you easier than anyone ever had, but it had only further propelled you on your strive for success.

Casey laughs about it now, years into your marriage, because somehow, she’d been oblivious to your mutual feelings up until the night you’d both received the news of your passing of the bar. But, in the weeks that led up to your separate exams, you’d been inseparable. By the of the first week, she’d come to learn that you need food before seven o’clock or you turn into a real pleasure, and by the end of the second, you learned that she is the worst version of herself in the morning unless her body decided without an alarm that it was ready to wake up. Even though you’d wanted to strangle her at multiple points during those weeks, those slow burning weeks where neither one of you realized the other felt the same way, but you’d survived it because you could survive anything with Casey.

“I could literally ring Hewitt’s neck.” You seeth, slamming your laptop closed, raking a hand through your hair as your skin tingles with stress. The Manhattan courtroom wasn’t all that different from Brooklyn, but your eyes notice the lack of rust in the door hinges and metal embellishments. Brooklyn holds no candle to the work that goes on in Manhattan, but it has you, and that’s what keeps it afloat, even if Jackson Hewitt is the dumbest individual you’ve ever met and somehow your overbearing DA.

“Uh,” Casey tutts, readily shooting up from her slouched position to wag her finger in the air, Your eyebrows raise in amusement, lips twitching as you try to act unswayed by her dramatics. Not a damn thing has changed since you’d met her all those years ago. “No Jackson Hewitt conversations in this office. I told you that already.” She scolds, looking rather disappointed in you for a moment before she gives herself away with a broad grin.

“This place is so much nicer.” You huff, choosing to abandon your workload for the night even if that wasn’t the wisest decision you could’ve made. Even though life with Casey is anything but romantic a majority of the time, you still find a fairytale in everything she brings to your day. It doesn’t feel important to focus on court hearings and emails from your boss all telling you how to do your job better, meanwhile his suggestions are just things you’ve asked him for and have been denied, that will still be happening tomorrow, but Casey won’t be wearing your favorite blue shirt tomorrow, and her hair won’t be on day three of no shampooing tomorrow, and tomorrow, you’ll have already lived whatever number day of loving her this is, and the fear of not taking advantage of every second you have together haunts you. Your mothers unexpected death haunts you. It changed you. Or, Casey allowed it to change you. Before her, you hadn’t known your mothers death had sparked a fear of loss in you. How beautifully twisted the weight of love. You hate it immensely. “What do you think would happen if we switched for a day? I take Manhattan sex crimes, you take Brooklyn persons crimes.”

Casey hums taking your inquiry seriously, as she always does. No thought is to outlandish for Casey, in fact, the more obscure the better. That’s one of the things you adore about her. She can talk about anything, and she will talk about anything, and nothing is ever too small or too silly to her. She’s a child at heart, truly she is because during one case, when she’d been all tied up and bent out of shape of a child with Williamsons, she’d come home fuming about grilled cheese, how she hates them, how they’re the most disgusting excuse of a hot lunch she’s ever come across, and how Katie was absolutely right and valid in her adamant disgust. You don’t think Munch would believe you if you told him that Casey was silly like that, passionate about the littlest things, but then again you think he would. Casey and passionate are synonymous.

“Stabler would probably be less of a dick. He likes you.” Casey hums, because there’s nothing wrong from Brooklyn outside of its need for an upgrade. She loves these hypotheticals, these situations that you create in your head and then serve to her on a silver platter. You think it keeps her brain moving enough to make her feel like she’s not letting her skills go to waste when the time clock punches after every day. You know the feeling of wasted potential too well, but Casey knows how to distract you too.

“Because I scared the shit out of his little punk when he thought it was cool to shoplift.” You defend, and Casey knows that it’s partly the truth, that Elliot had developed quite the amusing obsession with you after you’d manage to break through a wall in his son nobody in his squad could so much as chip. To this day you don’t know what broke through to Dickie back then, but he still refers to you as ADA even in adulthood. “I think Munch would be the one to give me a problem honestly, and then he’d get all passionate and rope Fin into it until all your little cop friends hated my guts and wanted the worst for me.”

“Probably.” Casey hums, and your nose twitches as her willingness to agree. Decades and a marriage later, she never tries to sell you a lie, even when she knows you're no better at taking criticism now than you were in the bright eyed years of youth when you’d met. “Munch is their backbone. He’ll flip Cragen on you easy.”

“Gee. Thank you, sweetheart.” You grind your teeth together, suddenly not interested in this little hypothetical with Casey. You married her, you love her with your entire being, but she is absolutely infuriating when she wants to be. She knows what she’s doing, she knows that she’s digging her claws in, riling you up. She knows that once you explode, she can coerce you into doing anything with her because the adrenaline of your affectionate annoyance is a drug like no other. She should know. She’s drunk on you half the time, and she’s certain her boss is catching on. Finally. It’s taken him a while. But the way he’s started to narrow his eyes at her n passing is answer enough. He’s perplexed by her duality. Cornered by his own realization that Casey Novak is an impossible creature to learn in any regard. Unless its you.

Casey bubbles with amused laughed, the light catching on the strawberry hue to her hair. It’s not quite ginger anymore, though she had gone back to that dark flaming color recently per your request. It had faded since January though, naturally, and she thinks she’s going for a more strawberry blonde color now. ‘I’m being serious. Benson wanted to eat me alive and Stabler could only picture me on a little league field.”

“Okay, it wasn’t a little league field. It was a standard softball field. There was no attempt to diminish your street cred in his recognition.” You roll your eyes fondly, but Casey knows all of this, and she tries not to let her lips waver as she lures you into her trap. It’s so easy. It’s been easy since you’d both stopped resisting what you felt for each other, but now that she knows you — really, truly, deeply knows you — it’s so much easier. “And secondly, my love, you are the most irritating person ever when you want something done your way. You gave Benson about five reasons to hate you during your first day alone. I should know. Brooklyn gave you the case and I oversaw it.”

Casey twirled a pen between her fingers, black ink because she hates blue, and leaned back in her office chair, both elbows on the armrests. ”I’m passionate. You said you liked that about me.”

“You’re also incredibly self-assured and arrogant.” You scoff, and while Casey isn’t unaware of those traits, it’s still her turn to be shocked at your delivery. “But I believe I’ve said I like those things too.”

Casey smiled, unable to fight the urge anymore. Maybe she didn’t have you exactly where she wanted you yet, soft between the palms of her hands, but you had her in that exact predicament now. Her eyes softened with her expression, a sigh slipping off of her lips that sounded particularly satisfying from where you sat across the room, watching her closely. She pushed her chair away from the desk, standing up tall. The carpeted floors prevented her heels from making any sounds, but there were still padded thuds to her footsteps before she stopped in front of you, a single hand — the one with her wedding ring — extended toward you. “Come with me?” She asked hopefully, no further hints in her question.

“Where are we going?” Your eyes squint curiously, but your hand is already in hers when you finish the question. Casey doesn’t answer, she never does if she wants something to stay a surprise, and you appreciate that her passion isn’t narrowly channeled into her career. Casey Novak is the most passionate woman you’d ever met, though it had taken you a couple of months to see how much she cares about the people she loves.

She doesn’t tell you to bring your bag, nor does she collect her things, so you can’t imagine that you’re going very far from here. You cling to her arm as she walks you down the hallway, only slightly aware of how you pin her bicep between your breasts. Casey doesn’t notice, too busy letting her eyes wonder around the courthouse, seeing the ghosts of your younger selves in the halls.

Five years ago, you’d gotten married downstairs on a whim. Casey had pull with basically everyone in the courthouse — and somehow yours —, so when she’d shown up with you on her arm after a valiantly fought for guilty verdict, requesting to elope at the earliest possible convenience for the man named Evan, it had happened within the hour, right downstairs from her office, on a random Wednesday.

Your eyes trace the door too, because they do every time you walk by even when you don’t recognize that you’re doing it. It just feels unconscious, like a part of you still lives inside of that room. You’ve been inside it again twice after, and each time you’d smiled wide and flushed with a radiant youth. Casey thinks it's cute, but she admits that when she passes it every morning and afternoon, she wears the same flustered smile.

When she leads you into the empty courtroom, you don’t have to ask what she wants. A shadow of a smile stretches across your lips. It’s delicate, fragile, it could dissolve into tears in a minute. Casey smiles, leading you farther inside, until you’re right in front of the Judge’s stand, your matching kitten heels clacking on the tile floors, the acoustics almost haunting if you weren’t so familiar with them now.

Her arms loop around your waist, and when she pulls you into her chest, you’re back in the three minutes of your first dance as a legally recognized married couple. Your head falls onto her chest, and you step and sway with her easily, never forgetting the melody you’d set the first time, because it’s the only one you’ve chosen ever since.

Her heartbeat is faint, but if you press your ear into her chest enough, you can hear it pounding under your touch. You can still make her nervous all these years later; she can still make you nervous.

When your lips press into the column of your neck tenderly, her hips, gripping your hips tight. You sigh, sinking against her, trailing your lips and those soft sweet kisses up until you reach her jaw, taking a chance to nip at her smooth skin.

“I love you.” You hummed against her jaw, but in a second you shrieked, being spun around by Casey before she encouraged your back to dip, supported by a practiced hand. You giggled manically when you finally found her eyes, slightly dizzy from the unexpected twirl. Casey smiled, her eyes wild, ablaze with affection and love.

“I love you.” She hummed, pulling you up to kiss you, keeping your body trapped against hers. You didn’t mind, deflating into her touch, letting the world be only the two of you for a minute. Nobody else was coming in tonight. The janitors had already been through, the judge long gone; you had the courtroom to yourselves for as long as you wanted.

When you pulled away, only because your body found it necessary to breathe and you couldn’t do that with her actively stealing air from you, Casey dropped her forehead against yours, panting softly, her breath hot. Her eyes flickered to yours, that soft green shade that twinges so carefully between the lines of grey whenever she’s sad or wearing dark colors, all consuming. You smile, still panting, face still tingling, lips still buzzing, but you smile because its all you can think to do when she traps you in her eyes like this.

Casey’s the go-getter in your relationship. You have your goals and your passions undoubtedly, but she’s the reckless spontaneous one that somehow always has a plan and a vision and a way to make the impossible happen. When she’d found you in that cafe, your entire world had been upside down. Every down was a torrential downpour, but then came Casey, and even with her infuriating arrogance, she never seemed to have even a chance of rain on her radar. You remember thinking she was a fool for studying so hard. She made everything seem like it came so easily. She dominated everything with ease, like it was fun, a little game she had the pleasure of playing at no disservice to herself. You were just as good a prosecutor as Casey Novak, but you’d never have the innovation that makes her so useful in open court. That only makes you love her harder in your darkest moments now, because you know that she has you, that if you can’t seem to figure out how to fly with the wings you’d tenderly grown and poured into on your own, she’ll guide you until it feels natural again.

Your mother had called you her fairy for years of your life, and you think if fairies are akin to butterflies in any way, then it still fits you perfectly.

“What would’ve happened if you never sat down at my table?” You ponder, because its a valid hypothetical, though one that Casey refuses to consider. It terrifies her that your entire relationship, entire painfully and beautifully paved path, is all traced back to one moment of brazen confidence in a moment of overwhelming stress. If she’d been just ten minutes later, when most everyone had cleared out, she would’ve had no reason to sit down at your table in defeat because the entire cafe was full.

“I really don’t care.” She tells you, and it makes you laugh, and she kisses you again, and nothing has ever felt more right than Casey's lips on yours. “I love you.” She says again, but you could listen to it on a loop for the rest of your life.

“I love you.” You settle, because it gets you nowhere if you tack a ‘more’ on the end of it. You’re married to a prosecutor, and your wife, well unfortunately she’s married to one too, and the both of you can surely argue until you’re blue in the face and still without a solution, so any ‘I love you mores’ had been barred from even entering your relationship at all. “Spin me around again?”

Casey didn’t answer, she just did it, and that was pretty much exactly what it felt like to do like beside her every day.

[cheri-cheri]

EN vs CN: Wildlight Chronicles Event (Caleb)

While the English translation of LADS content is definitely wayyy better than in MLQC, there are certain translations that I felt could have captured the original Chinese version more accurately. Let's have a look at some of the major translation differences in the Wildlight Chronicles Event:

1. Caleb's "Maturity"?

[ EN Version ]

Caleb: You're making me sound like a beanstalk in a fairytale. MC: Were you worried about not being taller than me? After all, it might make you seem less mature to me. Caleb: Was there ever a time you thought I was mature?

[ CN Version ]

Caleb: You make me sound like a spring bamboo shoot. [说得我像一根春笋。] MC: Back then, were you ever worried that you'd never be much taller than me and lose your dignity as a big bro? [你那段时间有没有担心过以后都不比我高多少，失去当哥的威严？] Caleb: When have I ever had the dignity as a big bro in front of you? [在你面前，我什么时候有过当哥的威严？]

The EN translation likely used "beanstalk" instead of "spring bamboo shoot" as the former is more common in a Western context, but this is just a small point.

The more significant difference is that the word "威严", which carries the idea of being dignified, stately, imposing and stern (think of the majestic aura exuded by royalty), is simplified to "maturity", which has a completely different word in Chinese (成熟). And as usual, the EN translation had to censor the reference to Caleb being a "brother" to MC 😂

2. Caleb's Retirement Plans

[ EN Version ]

MC: Caleb, you can be a farmer when you retire! Caleb: Workin' as a tutor, chef, and handyman... You already planned out my retirement. I'll be busy even as an old man.

[ CN Version ]

MC: Caleb, you might actually become an outstanding farm owner after retirement! [夏以昼，你退休以后说不定能成为一个出色的农场主！] Caleb: If I add this to what you said earlier about me becoming a tutor, chef, and handyman, you have already filled my post-retirement plans to the brim. [加上你之前说的家教，厨师和修理工，我退休后的规划已经被你安排的满满当当了。]

I find that the extra adjectives used in the CN version (e.g. "outstanding", "filled to the brim" injects more colour and vividness into their dialogue.

As a side-note, wouldn't you agree that the best post-retirement plan that Caleb could have is being a doting grandfather?

3. Casey's Chinese Name

[ EN Version ]

Caleb: The campsite manager said he named him Casey because the name's derived from a word that means "vigilant". Casey's always on top of everything, even catchin' field mice.

[ CN Version ]

Caleb: The boss of the campsite said that he gave Kuan Kuan its name because of how it oversees the wide field and can catch field mice. [露营地老板说，因为宽宽管得太宽会捉田鼠，所以才给它取了这个名字。]

Just a slice of trivia that Casey's name in Chinese is 宽宽 (Kuan Kuan), which literally translates to "broad broad" / "wide wide".

4. Caleb's Retirement Plans

[ EN Version ]

Caleb: I bought them because they're beautiful. also, beautiful flowers are meant for someone special.

[ CN Version ]

Caleb: Because they look very nice. And also because nice flowers are meant to be given to the person one likes. [因为它很好看。也因为好看的花要送给喜欢的人。]

To me, the phrase "the person one likes" comes across more intimate and direct (which is in line with Caleb's nature) than simply saying "someone special".

5. Bad and Good Results

[ EN Version ]

Caleb: There will always be a result. MC: What if none of them bloom? Will that still count as a result? Caleb: Yes, even if it's not what we're hoping for. Caleb: Regardless of whether the flowers bloom or not, they're the flowers we cultivated, protected and watched over together. Caleb: Even if none of them blossom, we can take what we've learned and plant new ones. Caleb: As long as you're willing to keep trying, our flowers will bloom someday.

[ CN Version ]

Caleb: Our flowers will bear results. [我们的花不会没有结果。] MC: A bad result where the flowers don't bloom also counts as a result? [开不出花的坏结果也算结果？] Caleb: Of course a bad result is also counted as a result. [坏结果当然也算结果。] Caleb: Regardless of whether it's a good or bad result, those flowers were cultivated by the both of us, protected by the both of us, and accompanied by the both of us. [但无论好与坏，都是我们一起耕耘，一起守护，一起陪伴过的花。] Caleb: Even if the flowers don't bloom this time round, we can carry this experience when planting the next round of flowers. [即便这一次没有开出花来，我们也可以带着经验去种下一次的花。] Caleb: As long as you're willing to keep trying, there will definitely be a time when our flowers bloom. [只要你还愿意继续尝试，我们总会迎来一次花开的。]

The CN version brings out Caleb's mindset towards results more clearly, where he sees purpose in the pursuit of something regardless of whether it ends badly or well.

Sprinkling in a little analysis: This dialogue is clearly layered, where you can replace the word "flowers" with "relationship" and it would be an accurate description of their pre-relationship dynamic. Caleb's tender care in cultivating the flowers, his patience in waiting for the flowers to bloom, having no expectations that the flowers would bloom (as we can tell by how shocked he was when the flowers actually bloomed), and him simply being content with being by MC's side is a mirror of what he has been going through so far with MC.

I also find it interesting that Caleb's says that the flowers will bloom someday "as long as you're willing to keep trying" instead of "we", and I'm glad that the EN version captured this accurately. Just like in his previous dates where Caleb holds himself back like the yearner he is, we once again see Caleb giving MC the space to take the initiative to make their relationship blossom. And she finally does that in the Floating Floraletter date ( ´ з `)🍎

6. The Little Assistant

[ EN Version ]

Caleb: It doesn't matter what role you pick after you retire. You'll still need your trusty assistant.

[ CN Version ]

Caleb: It looks like no matter whether I become a farm owner or handyman after retirement, I can't do without my specially hired little assistant. [看来退休以后无论是做农场主还是作修理工，都不能没有特聘小助理。]

This was unfortunately a mistranslation which changes the way this line is interpreted.

The official translation could be interpreted as Caleb wanting to become MC's trusty assistance regardless of what post-retirement hustle MC decides to take up.

However, in the original Chinese version, Caleb was actually referring to his own post-retirement plans and how MC is indispensable in his future.

⸜( ´ ꒳ ` )⸝ That's all for now! Thanks for reading and I hope you found this interesting HAHA

❀ Masterlist

[heretherebeturtles-comic]

⭐

ALRIGHT! I told myself I would write this as a reward for finishing today's tasks, so lets go!

Here There Be - Director's Commentary :D!!

Starting with Chapter 1 part 1 (pages 1-4)

First of all, everyone say a big thank you to my friend and editor OurLadyOfCoffee for double checking the spelling and grammar for this comic.

Any mistakes in the writing are my own fault for making last minute changes and not showing her before posting. If she had gotten her hands on this page "missing in all the time in this city" would never have happened ( u_u)... I'll go back and fix the page eventually.

Pages 1 & 2 (and 20) did not exist in the original draft of the chapter. I made it to the lineart/inking stage and the page flow was not working. April's narration felt too cramped and boring. I completely redid the whole 4 page section, and the end the final result is so much better!

Page 1 - Panel 1 had two purposes! One, the establishing shot, introducing our setting. Two, to show that NYC is rebuilding after the Krang. Its been a few months and thanks to cartoon logic, they have made significant progress fixing everything.

I love to experiment with colour as a storytelling device. I use red/orange multiple times at specific points throughout the chapter. It simply morning in NYC or is there something dangerous on the horizon... (figuratively)? The good ol' "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."

Page 1. Panel 2 has a little 1987 April reference with the lady in the jumpsuit on the right. I was really excited to see a few folks point it out, even if it's not quite the iconic yellow jumpsuit. The colour had to be muted or the bold yellow would pull attention away from April (the focus of the panel).

Hello Junior, what do you have there? Something that won't get context for a while? These panels almost didn't make it into the final cut due to page/panel limits. I was very happy that the added pages gave space for it.

Page 2 - someone sent an ask a while back confused about what April was saying, so to explain the text in a more straightforward way: "the mutants that started out as humans have been going missing, but no one knows how long it has been happening or who has taken them. April has figured out that the non-human based mutations disappeared first."

that orange again, this time over the spots where the now missing mutants used to be :)<. I have no idea if this sort of thing is too subtle or not subtle enough, but it makes me go eheehehee and rub my hands together like an evil mastermind.

Page 3 - I debated whether or not to have them move after the movie. How much structural damage did the Krang do on their way through? What are the chances of the lair being discovered because of this? Would the city be too focused on cleanup elsewhere to bother finding it? Do I really want to design a whole new lair when this one is cool and we barely got to see it? In the end I decided that it was more important to have a familiar visual that the readers can instantly identify as the turtle's home. We'll see if there are consequences for remaining in a potentially compromised lair. :)

Despite only showing two rooms in the page, I spent several hours gathering references and building a layout for the entire station lair. I do not control the hyperfocus, it controls me.

Did you know that there are two different designs for this one archway in the main room? I love seeing stuff like this! If an animation studio with multiple background artists can have small inconsequential inconsistencies like this, then it's completely ok if it happens in my own work. It's relieving in a weird way.

PAGE 3 - panel 5 is another way I tried to show that a few months have passed since the movie. They have put some work into unpacking some of those boxes stacked in the back.

Page 4 - Hello Two Phones Jones <3

The Jones Duo! They both have a little outfit change :D! CJ has a rough edged jean vest calling back to the 1990 movie with 03 colours. Casey has a base outfit colour change to match and a cropped hoodie reminiscent of 1987, in pink ofc.

I do not yet have the skills to show the fight that happened in that shipping yard, so I decided that this comic would begin in the tense quiet after it. This also starts us closer to the actual plot instead of dilly dallying. Maybe I'll eventually make a prelude comic to show what all went down.

Aaand that's pretty much it for April's 03 style narrated opening sequence! This is where the intro theme would start playing~

Thank you for the star, I hope this was interesting! I make so many small decisions per page, it's nice to share some of my thoughts. :)

[tolerateit]

the contrast between gemma/ms casey and helena/helly is so brilliant like while helly is trapped in lumon trying her best to leave as an innie it's gemma's outie who is desperate to get out. gemma comes so close to leaving only for her innie ms casey's obedience to bring her back in that elevator, whereas every time helly is back at lumon it's because helena stepped inside that very elevator. all four of them somehow becoming entangled with mark in some capacities. gemma attacking the doctor with a chair much like helly's aggression in the early days the complete opposite to helena's reverence towards her father and the company and ms casey's inability to raise her voice against milchick. gemma and helly trying everything possible to leave while helena and ms casey are so trapped by their own psychologies they can't even fathom quitting/rebellion an option