#yay nostalgia

[pixlokita]

How many years has it been tho

[steelflexbell]

[gunstellations]

calm before the storm

[lunar-and-ardent]

Let me just talk a little about a queer, non-canonical Winx Club ship I feel weirdly passionate about - Layla/Aisha and Stella. They're pretty much opposites in practically every aspect, and yet it's more of a "two sides of the same coin" situation than "two different worlds".

As far as I know, we don't have an official ranking of the most important planets of the Magical Dimension, but based on how Solaria and Andros were shown in the series and what we know about them, it's easy to assume that they are most likely in the group of the most important kingdoms of The Magical Dimension (this on its own is material for a separate post). And both Stella and Layla are the only daughters (or children in general, for that matter) of their respective rulers.

Both were met with huge expectations, though it's clear that their upbringings were pretty different. In one of Stella's memories, she goes to something that looks like a pretty normal school in a rather casual, although neat, attire, while Layla was homeschooled, and in her memories she is always shown in this dress in which she looks as if she was deeply uncomfortable and almost suffocating. It is clearly stated that the red-haired girl (I don't remember if she had a name) was her only friend, but she had to move away, and they never met again. Both Stella and Layla struggled as children and were shown as rather withdrawn, with Stella being the stereotypical girl with glasses, unnoticed by her first crush, and Layla being unconfident and having practically no contact with her peers. Quite similar children, but one had some space to grow relatively normal (Stella at school with, I assume, average kids), while the other had much less room for being a child. Plus, after the divorce of her parents, Stella lived with her father, and with her nonchalance about ruining the experiment room in Alfea, I'd assume she was a daddy's daughter.

We both know that, as they got older, started sneaking out: Stella for parties and Layla to the village of pixies. It can be read partially as teenagers' things, partially as them relieving the pressure, with Stella seeking the validation of other people (I mean, she was a stereotypical ugly kid with complexes and her parents divorced; I guess it would be kinda weird if she wasn't at least a little of a people pleaser) and Layla just running from it all and wanting independence. Come to think of it, Stella's arc as a monster in the third season is actually pretty well-thought-out, because as a kid she was pretty much just there, and as a teenager became prettier and more confident (maybe some "fake it till you make it" tactic was there) which made her more popular, so it's only fitting that she was scared people like her only for her beauty.

The more conservative approach of Layla's parents shows again with the arranged marriage thing, while Stella quite easily left back the fantasy of marrying a prince, and, as far as we know, there was no pushback from her parents about her dating Brandon (maybe there was some in the comics, but I'm not sure + they pretty much have their own canon, changing multiple times till it disappeared almost completely - which, again, is a topic for a separate post).

Stella fits the classic blond princess stereotype, and Layla fits the rebel princess stereotype, but they are not as different as one can think. I simply find their differences and similarities in their upbringing, fears and personalities pretty interesting, as well as how much they both learned from each other and how much more they could learn. They aren't the only interesting relationship in Winx (and interpreting them in relation to Musa would also be a treat), but there is something about them that makes me weirdly passionate about them. Potential that wasn't fully used.

[mavrice]

to live is to hold onto memories

[pipiandraws]

miffy chillin in the rain ☔️

[spacedlexi]

sooo glad we live in the universe where twdgs4 was rewritten to be about saving the school instead of the original lis2-esque on the road each-episode-is-a-new-location plot. really dodged a bullet there

dont know if it was due to the cuts and collapsing work environment (no budget for all the assets needed) or what but the school plot is just like the perfect setting for her to end her story. and we really almost got a plot about her.... just trying to make it back to her original house? oof

[guardianofnightmares]

“And you'll always miss [your mother]. But she'll always be with you, as long as you remember the things she taught you. In a way, you'll never be apart, for you are still part of each other.”

Good. God. This quote hits me in a gut every time I listen to the dialogue between Littlefoot and an Old Rooter.

It’s such an interesting fact for me that originally the interaction between these two was not part of a movie and was added into it during an editing process. For, personally for me, that dialogue made me more emotional than death of Littlefoot’s mother it addresses.

When you see her passing away, you feel rather lost than heartbroken, incredulous even. But it’s thanks to Rooter that the reality finally sinks in for a boy - she’s not there anymore and she’ll never come back to him.

And yet, it doesn’t mean that her son’s journey is over. Grieving is a right thing to do, but it shouldn’t consume all of his being. Hence why an old man kindly advises Littlefoot to focus on memories of his mother’s love for him rather on last moments of her life. He does not say that pain of a loss will go away. But he shows a way to make it to affect you less over the course of time.

All in all, this scene is meant to to be a comforting one, something that kids would come back to in search for guidance, especially when they have no one else to share their grief for parent with. And I can not thank Don Bluth and his team enough for taking such a mature and respectful approach in storytelling towards young audience of this movie.

P.S. Did I draw this miniature at work due to a random whiff of nostalgia? - Yes. Did I have other, more important things to do in an office? - Oh, absolutely. Do I feel bad about avoiding my responsibilities? - … not quite.

[jaskersneakthief]

Me when I STILL CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN SEPTEMBER BACK WHEN EVERYPONY DIED TRAILS OF BLOOD DURING MY STRIDE‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️📢📢🎶🎵

random bonus

[mayapapayaxox]

it's my birthday!!

i feel so old

[booloocrew-blog]

My autistic childhood in an image

(i fuckin loved rainbow magic as a kid)

[mochaxswirl]

im watching minty christmas and the nostalgia is hitting me like a dang train

also there’s a character named thistle whistle and immediately i thought of everyone wanting brambleclaw to name bristlepaw bristlethistle

[eyesprout]

im a level 56 emo. I cast 3 shadows and one of them isnt even mine. its an astral projection of pete wentzs shadow from 2008

[lucypenniiies]

he

[cocolacola]

who remembers this scene lol i dont

[sweetjollylooks]

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