#this was like. my first fandom experience too

[funnywormz]

I think this shitshow with Toshiro stems from the trend of people INSISTING that interpersonal conflict must be a moral failing. Like I think there's something to be said about how people afford so much less patience to people who are autistic in the "wrong" ways, but also Laios and Toshiro just clash on a fundamental level that has nothing to do with that. Hell, you could read Toshiro as autistic as well. People related to Laios' side of the argument but instead of getting any nuance out of it they started projecting their experiences with ableist people onto Toshiro.

AGREE AGREE AGREE. i think that Fandom Brain gets people very used to thinking of conflicts in terms of "who is the bad guy and who is the good guy", so when they encounter a more nuanced conflict they don't really know what to do. i don't think toshiro is a bad person at all, in his conflict with laios he's just exhausted and starving and has been pushed to the limit and from his perspective, laios doesn't even seem that emotionally affected by the situation. i don't think what he said was right and it was pretty cruel, but i don't think he's a villain or deserves to be permanently hated as a character just bc he fucked up this time lol

also yeah you could definitely read him as autistic, and i think that highlights an issue in the autistic community in general bc like....... a lot of autistic people have conflicting needs which can lead to conflict between them/make them unable to stand being around each other. and it's not because either of them are neurotypical or bad people, they're just incompatible. like autistic people who loudly stim vocally and autistic people who meltdown when they have to be around loud noises, for example. it doesn't mean either of them is bad or not autistic, just that they have conflicting needs

i 100% agree with the last part too. i disliked toshiro at first myself bc i had been (and still do ngl) projecting onto laios hard and the conflict they had reminded me of times when people have been mean or angry at me irl for social blunders i've made unintentionally, or when someone i thought liked me/was my friend turned out to actually hate me. it's a common experience for autistic people and that scene resonates with that! but i think it also helps to take a step back from projecting our own traumatic experiences onto the scene and just look at it objectively. laios isn't perfect either and he's the one who actually starts the physical fight by slapping toshiro (i feel like i don't see many people mention this lol). i feel super bad for him in that scene but he's not a perfect victim and has done things wrong himself too

as an autistic person i've also been in situations where i can relate to toshiro too lol, like where someone is overly physically and emotionally familiar with me when we don't know each other well and i've wanted them to back off but haven't been sure how to say it without hurting their feelings. this kind of conflict is far from just being a "neurotypical vs neurodivergent" thing as a lot of people portray it in the fandom

idk i just wish people would think a little more deeply about the scene and put their own emotions and experiences aside to instead consider the conflict with the added context of the individual characters and their respective cultures + the situation they're in. people don't have to like toshiro but i wish they wouldn't paint him as a villain or make up awful shit about him just to justify their feelings when he isn't even that bad of a dude in canon yknow 😑. also we literally see him at rock bottom struggling and freaking out and i think that's important to remember. in a different context i doubt he would have ever said those things to laios

[probadbatch]

A few thoughts as we head into this finale...

Star Wars was my first love and it's the love that's never left me. From the moment I saw those twin suns set over Tatooine, I was a goner. There have been times when it's been on the back burner, so to speak, but it's always been there and always will be. It's special to me like nothing else.

The Bad Batch is special to me even beyond that.

I've been here since their first appearance in the Clone Wars and I never could have predicted how much the Bad Batch would come to mean to me. This show has been so much more than I ever imagined. It's been joy, it's been heartbreak, it's been intrigue, and it's been hope. These boys and everyone I've met in this corner of fandom have woven their way into my heart in a way I couldn't undo even if I wanted.

I have no intention of packing it up and moving on as soon as the finale is finished. I'm not ready yet. But I imagine there will eventually come a day when even the Bad Batch moves to that back burner in my brain and one day this blog may not appear very active. I promise you I will still be lurking somewhere on tumblr and the Bad Batch is still very much on my mind somewhere.

If you find this post in a year or five or ten, please know that I am always ready to dive right back into peak fangirl mode with you. I will never think it's weird if you reach out and want to talk Star Wars or Bad Batch. Whether you are an old fan like me or just discovering this show for the first time years from now, I already consider us best friends and I will be thrilled to join you in whatever stage of fandom you find yourself in.

I've been a Star Wars fan since I was ten years old. Back then, there were only six movies and I was too young to appreciate that as far as anyone really knew, Star Wars had just closed its final chapter. If there's anything I've learned since then, it's that the story lives on in all of us - and who knows? Maybe one day it will return to the screen too.

Just because this show is wrapping up doesn't mean our love for it will end. Things will begin to look different after tomorrow and that is a little sad to think about but it can still be something we love just as much. Bittersweet as it is, I am looking forward to stepping into that new phase with all of you.

I don't know what's going to happen in the finale. What I do know is that the last few years have been a wonderful gift and I am more grateful than I can ever say. I will cherish this show and the memories it's given me for the rest of my life.

So as this chapter closes and we prepare to move on to the next one, I just want to thank you all for being such an incredible part of this experience for me.

I love you all.

[cherry-bomb1985]

I feel like The Father and Hell both understand and experience love in all the worst ways.

The Father sought to create a life form that would follow and love him unconditionally. It wasn't enough that he had a great cosmic kingdom of angels who are unquestioningly loyal, no, he needed something that knew suffering and mortality and the threat of oblivion, and would still find love at the end; love for him above all else. But after numerous implied failures at that, in his desperation, he instead created the threat of eternal damnation to force them to love him in order avert that fate. Lucifer's words must have been like a splash of cold water, but by the time he realized sheer magnitude of suffering he had unintentionally set into motion, it was too late. He could not destroy Hell; he could not stop the cycle of violence.

That guilt drove him to seek a death that, from the looks of it, eluded him in spite of the hollowness consuming him. And now he is... somewhere, helpless to stop his experiments from consuming one another and themselves in a glorious show of blood and violence.

And then there's Hell itself, who seems to recognize love as an act of violence and cruelty. It is something that derives joy only from the suffering of other living creatures. God gave it so many toys to hurt and break and reform, and Mankind gave it new ones. Why would it understand love as anything but? It gave Minos a facsimile of the son he is most ashamed of, and delighted when he cast it, once more, into a labyrinth. Gabriel flattened all the souls within it's confines beneath his heel and gave those that did bend false hopes.

Now there's V1, tearing its way through the remaining layers and creating a spectacle of violence like nothing Hell has ever witnessed before. How could it not love them all for all the entertainment they've provided?

But deep within its recesses, hidden away from the eyes of Heaven, there was a Gutterman. A machine built for war, who eventually came to love that which it gave it life at the cost of their own. Enough to give the human welded within their coffin the mercy that both Heaven and Hell had denied them; enough to write a single love letter to them, even knowing that it would never be read by its intended recipient.

So, as things turn out, you /can/ teach a machine to love. And they will understand and experience it more sincerely than God or Hell ever could.

[crabsnpersimmons]

READING YOUR TAGS AND IT WAS ONE OF MY POSTS THAT CONVINCED YOU TO JOIN????? I AM SO SO HONORED!!!! ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I AM SO GRATEFUL YOU'RE IN THE FANDOM, YOUR ART OF THE DCA IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!!

IT WAS!!! IT WAS THIS ONE: https://www.tumblr.com/cacaocheri/737396340539146240/the-dca-fandom-is-genuinely-the-healthiest-fandom

and like even before that i loved seeing your comics of Sun and Charlie (and occasionally Moon)! and all the energy and excitement of the fandom! just bursting with creativity and fun!

AND THANK YOU!! i'm happy to be here :')

[detransraichu]

hiiii gyns i have a date on SUNDAY!!!!! :D her name is precious (adorable!!) and she's soooo cute she's a writer like me and an anime lover too and just seems like a total sweetheart! it'll also be her FIRST DATE EVER????? 0w0 she has never been with anybody ever????? so the pressure is on for sure omfg... i want to make it super special for her even if we don't work out!! we're going to my fave froyo spot and then anime & weed back at my place!

she's also british and she sent me voice notes and her accent is SOOO ATTRACTIVE AAHHHHH and she's only looking for a serious relationship which is super attractive too!!! <3 we'll see how it goes, but either way we both agreed to be friends if the vibes aren't gay!

[vynnyal]

Unga bunga these take 3 hrs to make

[bluesmoth]

They settle and the vet rocks them, a hand playing with the braids in Warriors' hair, hums and it's okays getting kissed into his bangs.

hey so carved  //  hollowed    by @quirkle2 made me feel emotions. hello linked universe nation

[enderspawn]

this scene rewired something in me first time I saw it fr

[sorikkung]

so if i did nsfw art of hongjoong. hypothetically. would anyone be interested in seeing it,

[the-acid-pear]

I never tried the option myself bc it'd probably mean skipping the Reason You Suck speech at the end (fire for speedrunners though) but I Love that you can frame your Phoneys in 3, especially so if you've already killed the previous two. Like yeah couldn't send you off to die so i'll let the goverment do it for me 🧸 like its just Peak evil imo.

[milkbreadtoast]

someone called me 1 of their fav twsb artists....🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[toastsnaffler]

thinking abt the touden siblings got me sniffling and weeping....

[ohdorothea]

I don’t even know what to say

[purrfectlycontent]

someone who loves you

Relationships: Most Ancient Dream & Secretive Plotter (Omniscient Reader)

Characters: Most Ancient Dream (Omniscient Reader), Secretive Plotter (Omniscient Reader)

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Secretive Plotter Identity Spoilers (Omniscient Reader), Most Ancient Dream Identity Spoilers (Omniscient Reader), Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Family Feels

Summary:

In which a young boy finds a hand to hold in the darkness and a weary man learns to love once more.

He was used to the darkness.

It was a small desk corner that comfortably supported his body. It was a closet that housed his clothes. It was the only place he could go where no one would be able to touch him. It was safe.

This darkness was not safe. It was all-encompassing. It was suffocating. It was lonely.

It was the only thing he knew how to do. The thumps that could be heard on the other side of the wall made him flinch. Maybe if he wished hard enough, he would be able to mistake the noise for his own pounding heartbeats.

“Dokja-yah. Just hide and stay quiet, okay?”

He was scared.

The boy slid down the wall and curled up with a whimper.

“I—” His voice cracked as he whispered to himself. “I am…”

…Yoo Joonghyuk.

No, that wasn’t right. He could never be Yoo Joonghyuk.

A gruff voice called out to him amidst the darkness. “Kim Dokja.”

The voice was one that commanded the attention of crowds. It was impossible for him not to know who it belonged to.

Kim Dokja’s eyes finally focused on the person in front of him. He sat up, stock-still, and hurriedly wiped the tears from his eyes. “Ahjussi.”

Yoo Joonghyuk’s brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing! I just…” The stilted words clogged his dry throat as he mumbled. “Had a nightmare.”

He was ashamed that Yoo Joonghyuk saw him like that.

Guilt bloomed in his chest as he stared at the real Yoo Joonghyuk who stood before him. The strongest person he knew. Someone who lived through 1,863 lifetimes and overcame every single obstacle he faced.

In contrast, Kim Dokja was a weak person who used Yoo Joonghyuk to protect himself from his own shortcomings. It was despicable.

A nightmare was a nightmare. He didn’t actually experience a real situation, but something his mind conjured up whilst sleeping.

Yet, it felt so real.

Kim Dokja stared down at his trembling, unblemished hands. He couldn’t remember the last time his pale skin was free of imperfections.

Yoo Joonghyuk cleared his throat lightly. The boy looked up at him, impossibly small for his age.

The tear streaks on his face were the only marks that outwardly showed the sorrow of a child so young.

Despite his anguish, his eyes glistened as though he was looking at a star. It was a gaze Yoo Joonghyuk had yet to get used to.

“Come with me.”

Kim Dokja’s hand hesitantly took his. As they made their way down the hall, he spoke quietly. “Ahjussi?”

“What is it?”

“How did you know I…”

His mouth closed shut as a faint smile spread on Yoo Joonghyuk’s face. “You are my sponsor, after all.”

Unlike his own, Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand was calloused and scarred. He clutched onto it like a lifeline; he didn’t think he could ever let go.

Right. The reality he lived in was different from his nightmares. The darkness didn’t feel as lonely as it did before.

They stopped in front of a door similar to the one that led to his bedroom. Kim Dokja watched curiously as he opened the door.

“You may sleep with me tonight,” Yoo Joonghyuk said cooly.

“Really?”

The young boy’s face twisted into something between shocked and hopeful. He pulled on the ends of his shirt.

For some reason, Yoo Joonghyuk was reminded of Yoo Mia.

His hand unwittingly ruffled Kim Dokja’s hair as an obscure emotion made itself known once more. “You won’t be alone anymore.”

It would take time for the boy to grow comfortable and realize that he wouldn’t be abandoned. In the meantime, Yoo Joonghyuk contented himself with the first bright smile Kim Dokja ever gave him.

How sad that the others missed it.

[jegulus-trash]

I LOVE YOUR DERRY GIRLS MARAUDERS INCORRECT QUOTES I'VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH THIS SHOW FOR YEARS BUT I NEVER SEE ANYONE TALKING ABOUT IT

OMG THANK YOUU SM <333 absolutely loveee derry girls im actually having like Thoughts or wtver about marauders characters as derry girls but i don't really care abt the marauders era girlies like i do abt specific ppl

[sbrn10]

Me about 50% of the time I am wading through publicly searchable CR-related tags: for the love of god, can people be. Like. Normal about anything?

Also me the rest of the time: *not at all normal about CR*