Wings & Fourteen Things

My evergreen reaction:

I'm old enough to know what ships I like, what ships I vibe with, and what ships I don't. I don't have to like them all, and i don't like them all. So the nicest thing I can do is stay on my side of the sandbox and let you enjoy your side of the sandbox.

There's also been a rise in "garage kits" for FT Gunpla. Basically pirated fan made Gunpla. That's a demand signal accompanied by money that isn't going in Bandai's pocket. People are 3D printing Bandai's intellectual property without consent.

And finally, there's the Yashahime of it all. That was another controversial sequel production by Sumisawa. The plot was similarly not favored by fans in the West. And Bandai still gave it 48 episodes. It ranked #43 on Animage for 2020.

I don't think the fan works side of fandom realizes this is to court casuals with money? Sailor Moon has a ton of continuities with plot choices I hate. There are some arcs I haven't watched since I was 8 years old. I don't make fanwork for it.

And I still spent $400 on a JP exclusive kaleidoscope necklace with a serial number attached to it. I think it was about $100 for my Dream Mirror and Tamashii Nations Figuarts Chouette? I've supported the cosmetics releases. Got the stationery. Got the art book. Got the Taiwanese handbag collab from Gracegift because I didn't stand a chance fighting the horde for the Jimmy Choo and Samantha Thavasa collabs. 😂

I couldn't explain the first thing about how Sailor Moon's plot works if anyone asks. I just like collecting pretty things. And Sailor Moon has run 90's anime, manga, reboot, live action, and musicals. They have more timelines than GW with more plotlines a loud subsection of fans hate.

At the end of the day, what people need to remember is this:

BANDAI IS A TOY COMPANY. THEY ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING TOYS. THEY WILL MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT SELLS.

I think that is far too often forgotten in this fandom.

Even Tomino himself didn't set out to write a giant robot story. He has said in interviews that he wanted to tell a political story, but the companies in charge wanted to sell toys. So he wrote political stories with giant robots in it.

And I say all this as someone who isn't a fan of FT. If it turns out to be, I'll still watch and I'll still buy and consume the merch in the EXACT same way I have since Wing first aired. FT has been around for a decade and has not changed the way I consume and enjoy the media, why would it now???

Novel is a bit more blatant for 6x9 but same deal. I know Zeonic has QC against shipping bias so I trust this to be accurate. Hilarious how fast Relena catches it in both versions. Noin just spilling this Relena while Zechs is in denial.

You know what Zechs does clock though?

Like if I wanted to read OC x OC, I'd go somewhere else. Guess I'll just have to write things myself to see the stories I want 🙃

Crazy idea, I know!!! /s

Like honestly, every time there's some weird ass misogyny thrown in just to hate on a woman OUT OF NOWHERE, LIKE GIRL AIN'T EVEN ON THE SCENE, I'm just like

Like if I wanted to read OC x OC, I'd go somewhere else. Guess I'll just have to write things myself to see the stories I want 🙃

Anyway, the next night we watched a thing about some pig man who is supposed to live in Vermont. People said it had claws and a pig nose but walked upright like a man. Now, I happen to know that sideshows used to shave bears and present them as pig men. So every piece of evidence they gave of this monster sounds to me like a bear with mange.

So now the running joke in our house is that everything is bears. Aliens? Bears. Loch Ness monster? Bear. Every cryptozoological mystery is just a very crafty bear.

@cloakandfire was like "hey maybe it's time you finally wrote that 6x9/13x11 essay on where they keep lining up" and I was all "well, we did just celebrate six years of friendship so why not?" This is for you, girlypop.

Keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky (EP 04; FT 11)

I do love how FT establishes that Une didn't attend Lake Victoria. (My headcanon is that the Alliance academy is in New Edwards since I like the idea of her being a bitchy California girl but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, I guess Noin and Treize have similar inclinations when it comes to top students regardless of Zechs claiming his student rank is questionable.

They say the holy water's watered down (EP 04; Kamishiro Novel 01)

As you can see, Noin isn't alone in the novel version of the scene where she gets out of the shower. Rather than just having pictures of Zechs, the man himself is seated right there. I love the contrast of Une's formality discussing work with Treize in the bath while Zechs is just chilling as Noin leaves the shower.

I'm your favorite reference, baby (EP 04; EP 28)

Sharing that proclivity for photos yep.

i'ma buy you a drank (EP 04; EP 09; Kamishiro Novel 02)

Out of all the parallels, this has to be my favorite. Noin's got game and Treize somehow manages to fumble this drink invite in TWO TIMELINES. Like what do you mean you invited her to drink with you IN YOUR PRIVATE QUARTERS and then let her change the subject to work?

I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me (EP 09; EP 42)

Let's look at that unique combination of medical vulnerability, touch, and hesitant departure, shall we?