To clarify, I now know that there are different definitions of the word “ship”, but for the purposes of this article and to keep things simple I will use the definition of “a relationship that’s rushed and/or forced with no real development.” I hope you can understand as I do not know of any other single word to describe that concept. If you do, perhaps you can tell me. Also, fair warning, this is long form content (some 10 pages), if you like it but can’t read it all at once you can save it and come back to it over a period of time, or you can stop reading whenever you get tired of it and still discuss those parts of it with me that you have read. But keep it civil if you want a civil response.
With that, to qualify the title, no, Ezra and Sabine do NOT absolutely have to be a couple, but if they were to become one, it would NOT be a ship. Ezra and Sabine’s relationship has had years of development. Could they remain as simply friends? Yes, but ironically, it was their “friendship” that felt like more of a ship. It felt like the Ahsoka show, helmed by Dave Filoni, was going out of its way to tell us: “no, they’re not a couple, they’re just friends.”
I believe that Filoni made some very poor writing choices to stress something that didn’t really need to be stressed, such that it almost felt like he was in denial. The line “I love you like a sister” was never in Rebels, Filoni essentially had that retconned in, and like many I was put off by their (largely) emotionless reunion. Even if they were “just friends” I believe there would be a great deal more emotion displayed between two people that hadn’t seen each other in some ten years, especially when one of them was in a precarious situation when they parted. I also believe Ezra would be far more curious about Sabine being Force sensitive, perhaps even offering to help train her when she told him that her training hadn’t gone as well with Ahsoka. He did help to train her with the Darksaber, didn’t he? Why that never came up is another discussion, but for now, let’s focus on shipping.
In case you think I’m desperate to have them as a couple, no I’m not. I’m about the furthest thing from it. Like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers) I DESPISE shipping. Absolutely DESPISE it. With a flaming passion. Perhaps for this reason, and maybe some others, like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers), I’m generally wary of nearly all romance in fiction, and generally avoid it in my own work. The sad reality is that romance is perhaps the most abused genre in all of fiction, all throughout history. It has been so badly abused that many people, including myself for the longest time, have equated romance with shipping, though I’m slowly beginning to see that they are not the same thing, and one does not necessarily have to go with the other.
But sadly, many writers, through time immemorial, have not been able to separate them, going back into ancient times and perhaps even into pre-history, that is before languages were actually written down. Some of what is considered great literature; classics like Romeo and Juliet, are predicated on shipping, though at least the consequences of this “whirlwind romance” are shown to be fairly stark. Star Wars itself is no stranger to shipping, resulting in a very awkward incestuous kiss when Luke was shipped with Leia, then Leia was placed with Han and Lucas made Luke and Leia brother and sister, apparently having forgotten his original ship. Later Lucas essentially shipped Anakin and Padme, resulting in some of the most cringeworthy dialog in the history of film. Many fans of the Prequels even have been somewhat critical of Anakin’s portrayal, particularly in regards to the “romantic” scenes, with many describing them as “creepy”. Some have speculated that this was intentional, though personally I think it was just the result of bad writing on the part of George Lucas, and an impatience on his part for Anakin and Padme to become a couple, hence “shipping”.
One might wonder why this is so prevalent in fiction, and tragically, one does not have to look far. Fiction is merely a reflection of reality, therefore the reason that shipping is so common in our stories is that we fall so easily into it in real life. Indeed, entire cultures may be based around shipping, or at least very heavily wrapped up in it. Throughout history arranged marriages have been the norm, and the idea of marrying for “love” is something relatively new. To be fair, I’ve actually met people in arranged marriages who seemed to be fairly happy, but those same people were very open in telling me that many despise that aspect of their culture, and that it is quite normal for those in an arranged marriage to try to get out.
People might come together for “love” without marrying, but even then it often creates expectations that might turn into a burden. Even when a marriage is voluntary and for “love”, people are often left unsatisfied, such that today in the West the divorce rate is something like 50%. Happy, stable, long term relationships seem to be the exception across cultures and across the breadth and width of time. And yet pursuit of love and some kind of relationship seems to be the highest calling for many people, both in real life and in fiction. And it could be that the accumulated disgust is finally starting to boil over.
To be fair, this may not be the first time in history that the pendulum has shifted. You may recall that in Victorian times attitudes changed drastically, as compared to the previously bawdy Elizabethan times. Looking at a play from Shakespear, if you can understand the language, you’ll see all kinds of vulgar references, as well as what I believe are fairly sappy romances like in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, though I can’t say for certain whether Shakespear was actually endorsing that type of attitude towards “love” or presenting it as a cautionary tale, maybe even something to be ridiculed in some of his other plays.
But regardless, Victorians as you may well know had a very conservative attitude towards anything to do with romance, and would often avoid the subject in many places, or tread very carefully around it, as if walking on eggshells. It’s not that people stopped being romantic, in fiction or real life, but it was treated as something very serious and even dangerous, with many urges repressed or even suppressed entirely. This had all kinds of effects on society, both positive and negative. On the positive side, it reinforced the ideal of people being committed to their partners, and of marriage as a sacred institution rather than a “casual hookup” as was more common in Elizabethan times. Likewise it reinforced ideals of modesty and chastity, which may be coming back into vogue, though under different names. But just as there were positive aspects to these attitudes, so were there negative ones.
Just because the urges I described were repressed did not mean that they disappeared. In fact, they often morphed into things that many would consider “unhealthy”. From one statistic that I saw, in Victorian times about one in every 60 houses was a brothel, with the modern rate being closer to one in 6000. Additionally, the rights of women were often repressed, such that they could not fully express themselves and find their own identity, and path in life, as individuals. Just as Elizabethan ideals gave way to Victorian ones, so did the Victorian ideals gradually begin to erode.
Perhaps it began with the Jazz Age of the 1920’s (the “Roaring Twenties”), or with the increased interconnectivity of people traveling to different parts of the world during World War I, not to mention the cynicism that pervaded throughout the West in response to failed old ideals leading to the deadliest war in history up to that point, but many Victorian ideals began to be seen as a joke, and even resented for their “oppression”, which to be fair was not entirely unjustified. But regardless, people gradually, and at times not so gradually, became more and more “liberated” and promiscuous. This culminated in the Sexual Revolution in the late 1960’s, when what had previously been seen as a vice and even a sin was now seen as not only “normal” but as a healthy form of expression, a virtue even. And just as these ideas were embraced in real life, so too were they reflected in our films, TV shows, and other media, often to the consternation of older people and institutions, like the Vatican. The Catholic Church even went so far as to “ban” certain films, that is to declare them immoral for good Catholics to watch. Many of the films that were banned back then, or at least controversial, like The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, are fairly tame by today’s standards.
It continued through the 70’s, at times warming and at times cooling through the rest of the century, until you could argue it reached a kind of crescendo in the early 21st century with the advent of so-called “dark romance” and the publication of books like Fifty Shades of Grey. (Ironically, many of the themes within this “dark romance” can trace their roots back to the Victorian era, yet another indication that repressing urges without addressing them often doesn’t work out as one might hope.) But as happens all too often, just as something reaches peak popularity is when it begins to go out of style, and that is what we may be experiencing right now. As weird as it may sound, we may actually have come full circle and may be on the cusp of a “New Victorian Age” (complete with “dark romance”, even). Web sites like Porn Hub and OnlyFans, as well as other similar sites, may be the new “brothels”, and what was once openly celebrated may be going underground, to an extent. The effects of this on society have been interesting to say the least, and at times I would even say bizarre.
Whilst many younger people seem content with these changes, many older people are concerned. I’ve seen a number of books, films, and other media receive positive reviews for example based specifically on their lack of romance. Many of these books/films, etc. fall into the “young adult” category, meaning that it is young adults obviously who mostly consume them. At the same time I’ve heard a number of older people, mostly boomers and Gen-Xers, criticize these same books/films for their lack of romance. Even some older millennials seem upset by the changes, as perhaps evidenced by Jennifer Lawrence’s latest film No Hard Feelings (though to be fair that film may be lampooning the older generation’s frustration as well as the younger generation’s frigidity). So just as in the past older people were concerned about the promiscuity of the youth, now it actually appears that many older people are concerned about the youth’s lack of promiscuity.
Who could have seen that coming? But to be fair, the younger generation hasn’t gone completely frigid. As stated earlier, much of the promiscuity has gone “underground”, or online, which many would argue is not very healthy as it might undermine actual relationships, whether they are romantic in nature or simple friendships. And speaking of that, friendships within stories nowadays often aren’t portrayed in a very authentic or compelling manner, perhaps because in ditching romance modern writers haven’t quite yet learned how to replace it with something else. In other words, the “New Victorian Age” may not be an exact repeat of the previous one, but may have its own twists and turns, for better and for worse.
This may all essentially be a manifestation of the Human Condition, in that we just can’t seem to find a happy medium, neither in real life nor in fiction. Thus we keep swinging from one extreme to the other, apparently getting wilder with each swing.
So where does all this leave us? What is it that we really want in our lives, and in our stories? Especially in regards to relationships? I think at some level we all want to see good and healthy relationships between people and/or characters, whether romantic or platonic. I believe at some point we would like to see good examples of both friendship and romance, and I would argue that the best examples of romance have them combined. Even a toxic relationship, if well portrayed or documented, can be instructive and serve as a good example of what to avoid in our lives that we might be happier and relate better to each other. A good relationship, by contrast, can give us something to aspire to and inspire us to not only look for the right kind of person to complement our lives, but to make ourselves worthy of that person. And here I’ll add that I’m perfectly aware that in real life (and thus in fiction) relationships can be very complicated and heavily nuanced, with elements of both “good” and “bad” in them. Just as people change over time so can the relationships between them change, at times getting better and at times worse, sometimes breaking entirely and sometimes growing stronger. Relationships can have just as many layers and dimensions as characters, more even perhaps, and a skilled writer should be able to reflect this complexity. At other times a relationship can be fairly straightforward, simplicity sometimes being the best approach. But regardless, the audience should be able to relate and identify with what they are seeing, such that hopefully they can incorporate the lessons from it in their own lives.
Where can we find good examples of relationships to study? There may be a number of them in the real world, but the trouble with studying real world relationships is that they’re often much more complicated than fictional ones (just as real people are more complicated than fictional characters), and for many of them it is almost impossible to know all the details and nuances because they are often kept private, understandably so, and even if they aren’t it can still be difficult, due to unique circumstances, to see how to relate them to our own lives. Additionally there may be far more disagreement about a real life situation than a fictional one, with many more points of view. To keep things simple, for the purpose of this article I would like to focus on fictional relationships. (And fair warning, there will be some spoilers.)
One of the best places to look, I would argue, would be the films of Hayao Miyazaki. (And this is pretty significant to Star Wars as you will see in a bit.) A film of his that stands out to me the most is Princess Mononoke. Like many of Miyazaki’s films it has elements of romance, and yet subverts them in a way that makes complete sense and feels very genuine, without taking away from any of the accompanying charm. It starts with two young people, San and Ashitaka, and as soon as they encounter each other there is a kind of expectation of romance. This may be inevitable to some degree when you have a man and a woman of about the same age encounter each other in a story, especially if they happen to be adolescents. The expectation may not be inherently bad, and Miyazaki does play with it. Both characters are thrust into dangerous situations, at various points end up saving each other’s lives, and at a certain point I think it is obvious that they have feelings for each other. I was certain that at the end of the film, they would be together, and if things had gone that way, it would make complete sense. Instead, they go in different directions, but remain good friends, and considering their backgrounds and differing worldviews, this ends up making even more sense to the story.
Essentially, Miyazaki could have gone for the more conventional, tried and true “love conquers all” narrative, where the characters’ feelings for each other would negate everything that comes between them, they would somehow find a common ground in spite of their differences, the romance would not only take over the narrative but somehow also solve all the problems in the story, and then the couple would live “happily ever after”. Such an approach is not inherently bad or wrong, and is fairly common in Western media and storytelling. We can see it in films like Fern Gully, and more recently James Cameron’s Avatar, both of which have been compared to Princess Mononoke. As you can probably guess, the problem is that at a certain point such a narrative can become fairly simplistic, and lack nuance.
Miyazaki’s films, by contrast, are very heavily nuanced, and are anything but simplistic. In Princess Mononoke the characters San and Ashitaka don’t help each other simply because they are “in love”, but because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how they might feel about each other. Yes, romantic feelings are certainly alluded to, but they are not essential to the plot, for it could have worked just as well without any romantic allusions. And ironically, this makes those allusions even more valid, even if they are unrequited. How so?
Consider that if love is essential to a given narrative, is it not relegated to being nothing more than a plot device? Again, this is quite common in Western media and storytelling, and is not inherently bad or wrong, but when it becomes a trope or cliche, I believe it is the essence of where shipping comes from. Many storytellers get caught up in this, usually without realizing it, and while a story can still work even with shipping, I believe that it usually works that much better without it.
This extends not only to Miyazaki’s handling of romance but also to other things like environmentalism, the conflict between man and nature, and the contrasting ideals of human progress vs. preserving the natural order. Movies like Fern Gully and Avatar, as already mentioned, handle these themes in a fairly simplistic and I would even say hamfisted manner, whereby all progress and technology is shown as being inherently “bad” and in service to “evil”, while everything that’s “natural” is shown to be inherently “good”. Even our notions of good and evil, and right vs. wrong, are challenged by Miyazaki, with nearly all of his characters having complex motives and multiple dimensions to them, as well as understandable reasons for doing the things that they do. Rarely can any one of his characters be branded as a simple “villain”, and rarely is any one individual the source of conflict in his stories, again in contrast to most Western narratives.
I’ll reiterate once more, a simple, straightforward narrative is not inherently a bad thing, whether the themes being dealt with are romantic or anything else. Sometimes it is in fact the best approach. But the best stories in my opinion are usually the most nuanced, that challenge our notions of what we believe to be true, and that force us to think about what we do with our lives and what we could do differently. To that end Miyazaki introduces all manner of themes and motifs within his films that are familiar to us but shows them in a light most of us might not have considered, thus giving more dimension to our understanding of things.
“How is any of this related to Star Wars?” you might ask. It is quite related, and you don’t even have to look all that closely to see it. A very influential figure within Star Wars was very heavily inspired by the works of Miyazaki, and that figure is Dave Filoni.
This video shows the connections in some detail:
https://youtu.be/Q_4L0BbSpHo?si=04jDo6qFCnZT135w
But to summarize if you’ve seen any of Miyazaki’s films, especially Princess Mononoke, I think the callbacks in Filoni’s work will be all too obvious, especially in Star Wars Rebels. Some of the scenes in Filoni’s work look like they were taken directly from Miyazki’s films, and many of the same themes and motifs often come up. The relationship between San and Ashitaka I would argue is very similar to the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, and not just because both couples rode wolves together.
Incidentally, Dave Filoni was also heavily involved in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I would also argue was at least to some degree inspired if not by Miyazaki then by Japanese anime in general. The relationship between Aang and Katara was developed with great care and was allowed to build very slowly, as opposed to simply shipping them. Likewise other characters very gradually developed as individuals and in their relationships, at times stumbling as they did so, and making mistakes, before finding their way back to the right path.
All of this is in stark contrast to George Lucas, whose character development is often very rushed at best, and at times some might say almost non-existent. So essentially, even though Lucas has said that Filoni has been “like a son” to him, and I believe referred to Filoni as his “padawan”, I would argue that Filoni is ultimately as much a student of Miyazaki as he is of Lucas.
Again, you might ask, “What does all this mean for Star Wars?” It means a great many things. It means that Dave Filoni has taken Miyazaki’s lessons to heart, and can handle things like romance, as well as other kinds of relationships, quite well most of the time. Like Miyazaki he can play with romance, tease the audience with it at times even, leave the romance unrequited, and yet still have it feel satisfying. A prime example of this is the love triangle that Ahsoka was involved in with the young Separatist Senator, Lux Bonteri, and Steela Gerrera. As wary as I am of romance and as much as I despise shipping, love triangles I normally despise even more, but this one seemed to actually work. It never took over the main story, and even though Ahsoka’s feelings were ultimately not reciprocated, she still learned from the experience, and grew and developed further as a character because of it. The other characters involved in this triangle also grew and developed from their involvement, though unfortunately not all of them made it. All in all it was a good bit of storytelling and gave the audience something to consider.
When a relationship in one of Filoni’s stories does bloom into a full blown romance he also generally handles it quite well. For one Filoni is sparing with actual romance, so that when it does occur, it can be that much more appreciated. And rather than rushing or shipping it, Filoni normally takes his time to build it up. An example of this is the relationship between Kanan and Hera. Some might argue that this is perhaps the best developed romance in all of Star Wars, at least in Canon. Built up over four seasons, at times it wasn’t certain whether it was a romance or a friendship, or perhaps even a professional partnership. Perhaps even the characters themselves were not certain, though it was hinted all throughout the narrative that something was going on. To this day I don’t believe anyone can say definitively when it became an actual romance, and I believe Filoni did this intentionally because he wanted to be subtle, rather than making things too obvious and having the romance take over the narrative, as it usually does. When it finally did become obvious as to what was happening, it felt very much earned, in a way that is seldom accomplished in other works of fiction, including Star Wars.
The relationship between Ezra and Sabine was also fairly well written, for the most part anyway, at least in Star Wars Rebels. Ezra was almost immediately smitten with Sabine, but being a young teenage boy, it was understandable that he would feel that way about an attractive girl. Over time he learned to see her more respectfully, as a colleague and even as part of his adopted family, not just as a pretty face. Sabine for her part found Ezra annoying at first (c’mon, what teenage boy isn’t?), but as he matured and she found out more about him she came to understand and respect him more, and see him as a friend and almost a brother, with there being potential for something more.
There were times when the relationship could have been better written, like in the episode “Blood Sisters”, where Ezra was written to be a bit too immature to make Sabine look wiser. But overall, the bond between them developed fairly well; both saved one another at various times, and took risks and made sacrifices for each other’s sake. Both reassured and comforted the other when they needed it, and it was endearing to hear their banter when they became more familiar and trusting of each other.
So why then was I so disappointed in how they were portrayed in the Ahsoka show? The thing is, after how well their relationship was built up in Rebels, as I’ve already mentioned it was strange to see how lackluster and uninspired their reunion was.
Within the Ahsoka show itself Sabine was shown to be almost obsessed with finding Ezra, living in what used to be his home, watching a recording of him over and over again, and calling out his name as she woke up in the middle of the night. She even risked bringing Thrawn back into the Galaxy, which ultimately happened, just so she could see Ezra again. After all that, when she finally does encounter him, her reaction seems fairly casual, as does his, as if they’ve been apart for no more than a week, rather than 10 years. Not too much happens between them afterwards either. Like I said Ezra does not appear all that curious about what happened with Sabine, how she found him, and how it was that she was now Force sensitive. Sabine likewise did not seem curious about what had happened with Ezra, and how he had gotten away from Thrawn. And with Ezra rescued and returned home, suddenly it didn’t seem as though Sabine was all that interested in him anymore, nor he all that concerned with her, though they were just as far apart as they had been at the start of the show. To be completely honest it made me wonder what the point of the whole show was. Were they just working to set up Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy? As some have said, Ezra felt like nothing more than a Macguffin in the show. Was Sabine and Ahsoka’s search for him just a plot device?
Considering how skillfully Dave Filoni had written his stories in the past, what happened in this latest project of his does not make much sense. Was he so concerned about “shipping” and so desperate to avoid it that he inadvertently “shipped” them in the other direction? Was there some sort of external pressure on him about how to write this story to have more of an appeal to “modern audiences”? Maybe some combination of those factors?
And here I’ll add that when I say “modern audiences” I don’t mean that in a contemptuous sense, though you may think I do. If there is any contempt on my part it is for those in charge of telling our stories, or those in charge of those telling our stories, who do not seem to grasp these basic truths. The truth is that audiences at their core don’t really change throughout the ages, only superficially so. Trends come and go but certain truths and ideals are eternal, and universal. How people relate to each other fundamentally does not change, whether they are friends, or more than friends. And deep down, I believe everyone (or nearly everyone at least) wants the same things. Nearly everyone at some point wants some kind of a connection with another human being, to know that they are not alone in the world, and to know that there is someone else who sees and understands things as they do. While this desire can certainly lead to abuse, and absolutely has, it is still innate to us and is not inherently wrong. Finding ways of connecting and relating to other people is one of the great challenges of life, but many would argue it is the most worthwhile of challenges. It may be the whole point of life if you think about it. As complex as it may be, many would argue it is what makes life worth living, and likewise makes for the best stories. Just as it may be the whole point of life many would say that is what most stories are about at their core: people trying to relate to one another.
Sadly, just as in real life, most stories unfortunately don’t quite get it, and the Ahsoka show in my opinion was an example of this, made all the sadder by the fact that Dave Filoni had done quite well with these characters up to that point. We may never know for certain what exactly went wrong and why, or if it can ever be “fixed” at this point, but I can’t help but feel curious. Maybe in the future Filoni will find a way to make it make sense, but I’m not sure how. And to be completely honest I don’t feel quite as enthusiastic to find out as I used to.
Also for the record I would like to add here that there are other factors that put me off from the show, such as Sabine’s Force sensitivity, that came about without much build up. But in this article I specifically wanted to focus on shipping because there seems to be so much misunderstanding around it.
I hope that I was able to clarify some, if not most of this misunderstanding, so that people could better appreciate what shipping is, where it comes from, as well as what it isn’t. Many people today are understandably sick of shipping characters, myself included. But I hope people realize that in overcompensating for something, we often come back around into the very thing that we are overcompensating for. Or sometimes, into something even worse. This may apply to nearly every facet of life, by the way, not just shipping. Finding a happy medium in how we portray our fictional relationships may help us to better understand relationships in real life, as well as how to navigate them. Neither fictional nor actual relationships can ever be perfect but they can always be better. To this understanding then I hope that I was able to give my own modest contribution, and if nothing else I hope we can connect on that.

This is my attempt at a re-submission due to some misunderstandings on the first attempt. I now know that there are different definitions of the word “ship”, but for the purposes of this article and to keep things simple I will use the definition of “a relationship that’s rushed and/or forced with no real development.” I hope you can understand as I do not know of any other single word to describe that concept. If you do, perhaps you can tell me. Also, fair warning, this is long form content (some 10 pages), if you like it but can’t read it all at once you can save it and come back to it over a period of time, or you can stop reading whenever you get tired of it and still discuss those parts of it with me that you have read. But keep it civil if you want a civil response.
With that, to qualify the title, no, Ezra and Sabine do NOT absolutely have to be a couple, but if they were to become one, it would NOT be a ship. Ezra and Sabine’s relationship has had years of development. Could they remain as simply friends? Yes, but ironically, it was their “friendship” that felt like more of a ship. It felt like the Ahsoka show, helmed by Dave Filoni, was going out of its way to tell us: “no, they’re not a couple, they’re just friends.”
I believe that Filoni made some very poor writing choices to stress something that didn’t really need to be stressed, such that it almost felt like he was in denial. The line “I love you like a sister” was never in Rebels, Filoni essentially had that retconned in, and like many I was put off by their (largely) emotionless reunion. Even if they were “just friends” I believe there would be a great deal more emotion displayed between two people that hadn’t seen each other in some ten years, especially when one of them was in a precarious situation when they parted. I also believe Ezra would be far more curious about Sabine being Force sensitive, perhaps even offering to help train her when she told him that her training hadn’t gone as well with Ahsoka. He did help to train her with the Darksaber, didn’t he? Why that never came up is another discussion, but for now, let’s focus on shipping.
In case you think I’m desperate to have them as a couple, no I’m not. I’m about the furthest thing from it. Like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers) I DESPISE shipping. Absolutely DESPISE it. With a flaming passion. Perhaps for this reason, and maybe some others, like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers), I’m generally wary of nearly all romance in fiction, and generally avoid it in my own work. The sad reality is that romance is perhaps the most abused genre in all of fiction, all throughout history. It has been so badly abused that many people, including myself for the longest time, have equated romance with shipping, though I’m slowly beginning to see that they are not the same thing, and one does not necessarily have to go with the other.
But sadly, many writers, through time immemorial, have not been able to separate them, going back into ancient times and perhaps even into pre-history, that is before languages were actually written down. Some of what is considered great literature; classics like Romeo and Juliet, are predicated on shipping, though at least the consequences of this “whirlwind romance” are shown to be fairly stark. Star Wars itself is no stranger to shipping, resulting in a very awkward incestuous kiss when Luke was shipped with Leia, then Leia was placed with Han and Lucas made Luke and Leia brother and sister, apparently having forgotten his original ship. Later Lucas essentially shipped Anakin and Padme, resulting in some of the most cringeworthy dialog in the history of film. Many fans of the Prequels even have been somewhat critical of Anakin’s portrayal, particularly in regards to the “romantic” scenes, with many describing them as “creepy”. Some have speculated that this was intentional, though personally I think it was just the result of bad writing on the part of George Lucas, and an impatience on his part for Anakin and Padme to become a couple, hence “shipping”.
One might wonder why this is so prevalent in fiction, and tragically, one does not have to look far. Fiction is merely a reflection of reality, therefore the reason that shipping is so common in our stories is that we fall so easily into it in real life. Indeed, entire cultures may be based around shipping, or at least very heavily wrapped up in it. Throughout history arranged marriages have been the norm, and the idea of marrying for “love” is something relatively new. To be fair, I’ve actually met people in arranged marriages who seemed to be fairly happy, but those same people were very open in telling me that many despise that aspect of their culture, and that it is quite normal for those in an arranged marriage to try to get out.
People might come together for “love” without marrying, but even then it often creates expectations that might turn into a burden. Even when a marriage is voluntary and for “love”, people are often left unsatisfied, such that today in the West the divorce rate is something like 50%. Happy, stable, long term relationships seem to be the exception across cultures and across the breadth and width of time. And yet pursuit of love and some kind of relationship seems to be the highest calling for many people, both in real life and in fiction. And it could be that the accumulated disgust is finally starting to boil over.
To be fair, this may not be the first time in history that the pendulum has shifted. You may recall that in Victorian times attitudes changed drastically, as compared to the previously bawdy Elizabethan times. Looking at a play from Shakespear, if you can understand the language, you’ll see all kinds of vulgar references, as well as what I believe are fairly sappy romances like in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, though I can’t say for certain whether Shakespear was actually endorsing that type of attitude towards “love” or presenting it as a cautionary tale, maybe even something to be ridiculed in some of his other plays.
But regardless, Victorians as you may well know had a very conservative attitude towards anything to do with romance, and would often avoid the subject in many places, or tread very carefully around it, as if walking on eggshells. It’s not that people stopped being romantic, in fiction or real life, but it was treated as something very serious and even dangerous, with many urges repressed or even suppressed entirely. This had all kinds of effects on society, both positive and negative. On the positive side, it reinforced the ideal of people being committed to their partners, and of marriage as a sacred institution rather than a “casual hookup” as was more common in Elizabethan times. Likewise it reinforced ideals of modesty and chastity, which may be coming back into vogue, though under different names. But just as there were positive aspects to these attitudes, so were there negative ones.
Just because the urges I described were repressed did not mean that they disappeared. In fact, they often morphed into things that many would consider “unhealthy”. From one statistic that I saw, in Victorian times about one in every 60 houses was a brothel, with the modern rate being closer to one in 6000. Additionally, the rights of women were often repressed, such that they could not fully express themselves and find their own identity, and path in life, as individuals. Just as Elizabethan ideals gave way to Victorian ones, so did the Victorian ideals gradually begin to erode.
Perhaps it began with the Jazz Age of the 1920’s (the “Roaring Twenties”), or with the increased interconnectivity of people traveling to different parts of the world during World War I, not to mention the cynicism that pervaded throughout the West in response to failed old ideals leading to the deadliest war in history up to that point, but many Victorian ideals began to be seen as a joke, and even resented for their “oppression”, which to be fair was not entirely unjustified. But regardless, people gradually, and at times not so gradually, became more and more “liberated” and promiscuous. This culminated in the Sexual Revolution in the late 1960’s, when what had previously been seen as a vice and even a sin was now seen as not only “normal” but as a healthy form of expression, a virtue even. And just as these ideas were embraced in real life, so too were they reflected in our films, TV shows, and other media, often to the consternation of older people and institutions, like the Vatican. The Catholic Church even went so far as to “ban” certain films, that is to declare them immoral for good Catholics to watch. Many of the films that were banned back then, or at least controversial, like The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, are fairly tame by today’s standards.
It continued through the 70’s, at times warming and at times cooling through the rest of the century, until you could argue it reached a kind of crescendo in the early 21st century with the advent of so-called “dark romance” and the publication of books like Fifty Shades of Grey. (Ironically, many of the themes within this “dark romance” can trace their roots back to the Victorian era, yet another indication that repressing urges without addressing them often doesn’t work out as one might hope.) But as happens all too often, just as something reaches peak popularity is when it begins to go out of style, and that is what we may be experiencing right now. As weird as it may sound, we may actually have come full circle and may be on the cusp of a “New Victorian Age” (complete with “dark romance”, even). Web sites like Porn Hub and OnlyFans, as well as other similar sites, may be the new “brothels”, and what was once openly celebrated may be going underground, to an extent. The effects of this on society have been interesting to say the least, and at times I would even say bizarre.
Whilst many younger people seem content with these changes, many older people are concerned. I’ve seen a number of books, films, and other media receive positive reviews for example based specifically on their lack of romance. Many of these books/films, etc. fall into the “young adult” category, meaning that it is young adults obviously who mostly consume them. At the same time I’ve heard a number of older people, mostly boomers and Gen-Xers, criticize these same books/films for their lack of romance. Even some older millennials seem upset by the changes, as perhaps evidenced by Jennifer Lawrence’s latest film No Hard Feelings (though to be fair that film may be lampooning the older generation’s frustration as well as the younger generation’s frigidity). So just as in the past older people were concerned about the promiscuity of the youth, now it actually appears that many older people are concerned about the youth’s lack of promiscuity.
Who could have seen that coming? But to be fair, the younger generation hasn’t gone completely frigid. As stated earlier, much of the promiscuity has gone “underground”, or online, which many would argue is not very healthy as it might undermine actual relationships, whether they are romantic in nature or simple friendships. And speaking of that, friendships within stories nowadays often aren’t portrayed in a very authentic or compelling manner, perhaps because in ditching romance modern writers haven’t quite yet learned how to replace it with something else. In other words, the “New Victorian Age” may not be an exact repeat of the previous one, but may have its own twists and turns, for better and for worse.
This may all essentially be a manifestation of the Human Condition, in that we just can’t seem to find a happy medium, neither in real life nor in fiction. Thus we keep swinging from one extreme to the other, apparently getting wilder with each swing.
So where does all this leave us? What is it that we really want in our lives, and in our stories? Especially in regards to relationships? I think at some level we all want to see good and healthy relationships between people and/or characters, whether romantic or platonic. I believe at some point we would like to see good examples of both friendship and romance, and I would argue that the best examples of romance have them combined. Even a toxic relationship, if well portrayed or documented, can be instructive and serve as a good example of what to avoid in our lives that we might be happier and relate better to each other. A good relationship, by contrast, can give us something to aspire to and inspire us to not only look for the right kind of person to complement our lives, but to make ourselves worthy of that person. And here I’ll add that I’m perfectly aware that in real life (and thus in fiction) relationships can be very complicated and heavily nuanced, with elements of both “good” and “bad” in them. Just as people change over time so can the relationships between them change, at times getting better and at times worse, sometimes breaking entirely and sometimes growing stronger. Relationships can have just as many layers and dimensions as characters, more even perhaps, and a skilled writer should be able to reflect this complexity. At other times a relationship can be fairly straightforward, simplicity sometimes being the best approach. But regardless, the audience should be able to relate and identify with what they are seeing, such that hopefully they can incorporate the lessons from it in their own lives.
Where can we find good examples of relationships to study? There may be a number of them in the real world, but the trouble with studying real world relationships is that they’re often much more complicated than fictional ones (just as real people are more complicated than fictional characters), and for many of them it is almost impossible to know all the details and nuances because they are often kept private, understandably so, and even if they aren’t it can still be difficult, due to unique circumstances, to see how to relate them to our own lives. Additionally there may be far more disagreement about a real life situation than a fictional one, with many more points of view. To keep things simple, for the purpose of this article I would like to focus on fictional relationships. (And fair warning, there will be some spoilers.)
One of the best places to look, I would argue, would be the films of Hayao Miyazaki. (And this is pretty significant to Star Wars as you will see in a bit.) A film of his that stands out to me the most is Princess Mononoke. Like many of Miyazaki’s films it has elements of romance, and yet subverts them in a way that makes complete sense and feels very genuine, without taking away from any of the accompanying charm. It starts with two young people, San and Ashitaka, and as soon as they encounter each other there is a kind of expectation of romance. This may be inevitable to some degree when you have a man and a woman of about the same age encounter each other in a story, especially if they happen to be adolescents. The expectation may not be inherently bad, and Miyazaki does play with it. Both characters are thrust into dangerous situations, at various points end up saving each other’s lives, and at a certain point I think it is obvious that they have feelings for each other. I was certain that at the end of the film, they would be together, and if things had gone that way, it would make complete sense. Instead, they go in different directions, but remain good friends, and considering their backgrounds and differing worldviews, this ends up making even more sense to the story.
Essentially, Miyazaki could have gone for the more conventional, tried and true “love conquers all” narrative, where the characters’ feelings for each other would negate everything that comes between them, they would somehow find a common ground in spite of their differences, the romance would not only take over the narrative but somehow also solve all the problems in the story, and then the couple would live “happily ever after”. Such an approach is not inherently bad or wrong, and is fairly common in Western media and storytelling. We can see it in films like Fern Gully, and more recently James Cameron’s Avatar, both of which have been compared to Princess Mononoke. As you can probably guess, the problem is that at a certain point such a narrative can become fairly simplistic, and lack nuance.
Miyazaki’s films, by contrast, are very heavily nuanced, and are anything but simplistic. In Princess Mononoke the characters San and Ashitaka don’t help each other simply because they are “in love”, but because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how they might feel about each other. Yes, romantic feelings are certainly alluded to, but they are not essential to the plot, for it could have worked just as well without any romantic allusions. And ironically, this makes those allusions even more valid, even if they are unrequited. How so?
Consider that if love is essential to a given narrative, is it not relegated to being nothing more than a plot device? Again, this is quite common in Western media and storytelling, and is not inherently bad or wrong, but when it becomes a trope or cliche, I believe it is the essence of where shipping comes from. Many storytellers get caught up in this, usually without realizing it, and while a story can still work even with shipping, I believe that it usually works that much better without it.
This extends not only to Miyazaki’s handling of romance but also to other things like environmentalism, the conflict between man and nature, and the contrasting ideals of human progress vs. preserving the natural order. Movies like Fern Gully and Avatar, as already mentioned, handle these themes in a fairly simplistic and I would even say hamfisted manner, whereby all progress and technology is shown as being inherently “bad” and in service to “evil”, while everything that’s “natural” is shown to be inherently “good”. Even our notions of good and evil, and right vs. wrong, are challenged by Miyazaki, with nearly all of his characters having complex motives and multiple dimensions to them, as well as understandable reasons for doing the things that they do. Rarely can any one of his characters be branded as a simple “villain”, and rarely is any one individual the source of conflict in his stories, again in contrast to most Western narratives.
I’ll reiterate once more, a simple, straightforward narrative is not inherently a bad thing, whether the themes being dealt with are romantic or anything else. Sometimes it is in fact the best approach. But the best stories in my opinion are usually the most nuanced, that challenge our notions of what we believe to be true, and that force us to think about what we do with our lives and what we could do differently. To that end Miyazaki introduces all manner of themes and motifs within his films that are familiar to us but shows them in a light most of us might not have considered, thus giving more dimension to our understanding of things.
“How is any of this related to Star Wars?” you might ask. It is quite related, and you don’t even have to look all that closely to see it. A very influential figure within Star Wars was very heavily inspired by the works of Miyazaki, and that figure is Dave Filoni.
This video shows the connections in some detail:
https://youtu.be/Q_4L0BbSpHo?si=04jDo6qFCnZT135w
But to summarize if you’ve seen any of Miyazaki’s films, especially Princess Mononoke, I think the callbacks in Filoni’s work will be all too obvious, especially in Star Wars Rebels. Some of the scenes in Filoni’s work look like they were taken directly from Miyazki’s films, and many of the same themes and motifs often come up. The relationship between San and Ashitaka I would argue is very similar to the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, and not just because both couples rode wolves together.
Incidentally, Dave Filoni was also heavily involved in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I would also argue was at least to some degree inspired if not by Miyazaki then by Japanese anime in general. The relationship between Aang and Katara was developed with great care and was allowed to build very slowly, as opposed to simply shipping them. Likewise other characters very gradually developed as individuals and in their relationships, at times stumbling as they did so, and making mistakes, before finding their way back to the right path.
All of this is in stark contrast to George Lucas, whose character development is often very rushed at best, and at times some might say almost non-existent. So essentially, even though Lucas has said that Filoni has been “like a son” to him, and I believe referred to Filoni as his “padawan”, I would argue that Filoni is ultimately as much a student of Miyazaki as he is of Lucas.
Again, you might ask, “What does all this mean for Star Wars?” It means a great many things. It means that Dave Filoni has taken Miyazaki’s lessons to heart, and can handle things like romance, as well as other kinds of relationships, quite well most of the time. Like Miyazaki he can play with romance, tease the audience with it at times even, leave the romance unrequited, and yet still have it feel satisfying. A prime example of this is the love triangle that Ahsoka was involved in with the young Separatist Senator, Lux Bonteri, and Steela Gerrera. As wary as I am of romance and as much as I despise shipping, love triangles I normally despise even more, but this one seemed to actually work. It never took over the main story, and even though Ahsoka’s feelings were ultimately not reciprocated, she still learned from the experience, and grew and developed further as a character because of it. The other characters involved in this triangle also grew and developed from their involvement, though unfortunately not all of them made it. All in all it was a good bit of storytelling and gave the audience something to consider.
When a relationship in one of Filoni’s stories does bloom into a full blown romance he also generally handles it quite well. For one Filoni is sparing with actual romance, so that when it does occur, it can be that much more appreciated. And rather than rushing or shipping it, Filoni normally takes his time to build it up. An example of this is the relationship between Kanan and Hera. Some might argue that this is perhaps the best developed romance in all of Star Wars, at least in Canon. Built up over four seasons, at times it wasn’t certain whether it was a romance or a friendship, or perhaps even a professional partnership. Perhaps even the characters themselves were not certain, though it was hinted all throughout the narrative that something was going on. To this day I don’t believe anyone can say definitively when it became an actual romance, and I believe Filoni did this intentionally because he wanted to be subtle, rather than making things too obvious and having the romance take over the narrative, as it usually does. When it finally did become obvious as to what was happening, it felt very much earned, in a way that is seldom accomplished in other works of fiction, including Star Wars.
The relationship between Ezra and Sabine was also fairly well written, for the most part anyway, at least in Star Wars Rebels. Ezra was almost immediately smitten with Sabine, but being a young teenage boy, it was understandable that he would feel that way about an attractive girl. Over time he learned to see her more respectfully, as a colleague and even as part of his adopted family, not just as a pretty face. Sabine for her part found Ezra annoying at first (c’mon, what teenage boy isn’t?), but as he matured and she found out more about him she came to understand and respect him more, and see him as a friend and almost a brother, with there being potential for something more.
There were times when the relationship could have been better written, like in the episode “Blood Sisters”, where Ezra was written to be a bit too immature to make Sabine look wiser. But overall, the bond between them developed fairly well; both saved one another at various times, and took risks and made sacrifices for each other’s sake. Both reassured and comforted the other when they needed it, and it was endearing to hear their banter when they became more familiar and trusting of each other.
So why then was I so disappointed in how they were portrayed in the Ahsoka show? The thing is, after how well their relationship was built up in Rebels, as I’ve already mentioned it was strange to see how lackluster and uninspired their reunion was.
Within the Ahsoka show itself Sabine was shown to be almost obsessed with finding Ezra, living in what used to be his home, watching a recording of him over and over again, and calling out his name as she woke up in the middle of the night. She even risked bringing Thrawn back into the Galaxy, which ultimately happened, just so she could see Ezra again. After all that, when she finally does encounter him, her reaction seems fairly casual, as does his, as if they’ve been apart for no more than a week, rather than 10 years. Not too much happens between them afterwards either. Like I said Ezra does not appear all that curious about what happened with Sabine, how she found him, and how it was that she was now Force sensitive. Sabine likewise did not seem curious about what had happened with Ezra, and how he had gotten away from Thrawn. And with Ezra rescued and returned home, suddenly it didn’t seem as though Sabine was all that interested in him anymore, nor he all that concerned with her, though they were just as far apart as they had been at the start of the show. To be completely honest it made me wonder what the point of the whole show was. Were they just working to set up Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy? As some have said, Ezra felt like nothing more than a Macguffin in the show. Was Sabine and Ahsoka’s search for him just a plot device?
Considering how skillfully Dave Filoni had written his stories in the past, what happened in this latest project of his does not make much sense. Was he so concerned about “shipping” and so desperate to avoid it that he inadvertently “shipped” them in the other direction? Was there some sort of external pressure on him about how to write this story to have more of an appeal to “modern audiences”? Maybe some combination of those factors?
And here I’ll add that when I say “modern audiences” I don’t mean that in a contemptuous sense, though you may think I do. If there is any contempt on my part it is for those in charge of telling our stories, or those in charge of those telling our stories, who do not seem to grasp these basic truths. The truth is that audiences at their core don’t really change throughout the ages, only superficially so. Trends come and go but certain truths and ideals are eternal, and universal. How people relate to each other fundamentally does not change, whether they are friends, or more than friends. And deep down, I believe everyone (or nearly everyone at least) wants the same things. Nearly everyone at some point wants some kind of a connection with another human being, to know that they are not alone in the world, and to know that there is someone else who sees and understands things as they do. While this desire can certainly lead to abuse, and absolutely has, it is still innate to us and is not inherently wrong. Finding ways of connecting and relating to other people is one of the great challenges of life, but many would argue it is the most worthwhile of challenges. It may be the whole point of life if you think about it. As complex as it may be, many would argue it is what makes life worth living, and likewise makes for the best stories. Just as it may be the whole point of life many would say that is what most stories are about at their core: people trying to relate to one another.
Sadly, just as in real life, most stories unfortunately don’t quite get it, and the Ahsoka show in my opinion was an example of this, made all the sadder by the fact that Dave Filoni had done quite well with these characters up to that point. We may never know for certain what exactly went wrong and why, or if it can ever be “fixed” at this point, but I can’t help but feel curious. Maybe in the future Filoni will find a way to make it make sense, but I’m not sure how. And to be completely honest I don’t feel quite as enthusiastic to find out as I used to.
Also for the record I would like to add here that there are other factors that put me off from the show, such as Sabine’s Force sensitivity, that came about without much build up. But in this article I specifically wanted to focus on shipping because there seems to be so much misunderstanding around it.
I hope that I was able to clarify some, if not most of this misunderstanding, so that people could better appreciate what shipping is, where it comes from, as well as what it isn’t. Many people today are understandably sick of shipping characters, myself included. But I hope people realize that in overcompensating for something, we often come back around into the very thing that we are overcompensating for. Or sometimes, into something even worse. This may apply to nearly every facet of life, by the way, not just shipping. Finding a happy medium in how we portray our fictional relationships may help us to better understand relationships in real life, as well as how to navigate them. Neither fictional nor actual relationships can ever be perfect but they can always be better. To this understanding then I hope that I was able to give my own modest contribution, and if nothing else I hope we can connect on that.

This is my attempt at a re-submission due to some misunderstandings on the first attempt. I now know that there are different definitions of the word “ship”, but for the purposes of this article and to keep things simple I will use the definition of “a relationship that’s rushed and/or forced with no real development.” I hope you can understand as I do not know of any other single word to describe that concept. If you do, perhaps you can tell me. Also, fair warning, this is long form content (some 10 pages), if you like it but can’t read it all at once you can save it and come back to it over a period of time, or you can stop reading whenever you get tired of it and still discuss those parts of it with me that you have read. But keep it civil if you want a civil response.
With that, to qualify the title, no, Ezra and Sabine do NOT absolutely have to be a couple, but if they were to become one, it would NOT be a ship. Ezra and Sabine’s relationship has had years of development. Could they remain as simply friends? Yes, but ironically, it was their “friendship” that felt like more of a ship. It felt like the Ahsoka show, helmed by Dave Filoni, was going out of its way to tell us: “no, they’re not a couple, they’re just friends.”
I believe that Filoni made some very poor writing choices to stress something that didn’t really need to be stressed, such that it almost felt like he was in denial. The line “I love you like a sister” was never in Rebels, Filoni essentially had that retconned in, and like many I was put off by their (largely) emotionless reunion. Even if they were “just friends” I believe there would be a great deal more emotion displayed between two people that hadn’t seen each other in some ten years, especially when one of them was in a precarious situation when they parted. I also believe Ezra would be far more curious about Sabine being Force sensitive, perhaps even offering to help train her when she told him that her training hadn’t gone as well with Ahsoka. He did help to train her with the Darksaber, didn’t he? Why that never came up is another discussion, but for now, let’s focus on shipping.
In case you think I’m desperate to have them as a couple, no I’m not. I’m about the furthest thing from it. Like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers) I DESPISE shipping. Absolutely DESPISE it. With a flaming passion. Perhaps for this reason, and maybe some others, like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers), I’m generally wary of nearly all romance in fiction, and generally avoid it in my own work. The sad reality is that romance is perhaps the most abused genre in all of fiction, all throughout history. It has been so badly abused that many people, including myself for the longest time, have equated romance with shipping, though I’m slowly beginning to see that they are not the same thing, and one does not necessarily have to go with the other.
But sadly, many writers, through time immemorial, have not been able to separate them, going back into ancient times and perhaps even into pre-history, that is before languages were actually written down. Some of what is considered great literature; classics like Romeo and Juliet, are predicated on shipping, though at least the consequences of this “whirlwind romance” are shown to be fairly stark. Star Wars itself is no stranger to shipping, resulting in a very awkward incestuous kiss when Luke was shipped with Leia, then Leia was placed with Han and Lucas made Luke and Leia brother and sister, apparently having forgotten his original ship. Later Lucas essentially shipped Anakin and Padme, resulting in some of the most cringeworthy dialog in the history of film. Many fans of the Prequels even have been somewhat critical of Anakin’s portrayal, particularly in regards to the “romantic” scenes, with many describing them as “creepy”. Some have speculated that this was intentional, though personally I think it was just the result of bad writing on the part of George Lucas, and an impatience on his part for Anakin and Padme to become a couple, hence “shipping”.
One might wonder why this is so prevalent in fiction, and tragically, one does not have to look far. Fiction is merely a reflection of reality, therefore the reason that shipping is so common in our stories is that we fall so easily into it in real life. Indeed, entire cultures may be based around shipping, or at least very heavily wrapped up in it. Throughout history arranged marriages have been the norm, and the idea of marrying for “love” is something relatively new. To be fair, I’ve actually met people in arranged marriages who seemed to be fairly happy, but those same people were very open in telling me that many despise that aspect of their culture, and that it is quite normal for those in an arranged marriage to try to get out.
People might come together for “love” without marrying, but even then it often creates expectations that might turn into a burden. Even when a marriage is voluntary and for “love”, people are often left unsatisfied, such that today in the West the divorce rate is something like 50%. Happy, stable, long term relationships seem to be the exception across cultures and across the breadth and width of time. And yet pursuit of love and some kind of relationship seems to be the highest calling for many people, both in real life and in fiction. And it could be that the accumulated disgust is finally starting to boil over.
To be fair, this may not be the first time in history that the pendulum has shifted. You may recall that in Victorian times attitudes changed drastically, as compared to the previously bawdy Elizabethan times. Looking at a play from Shakespear, if you can understand the language, you’ll see all kinds of vulgar references, as well as what I believe are fairly sappy romances like in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, though I can’t say for certain whether Shakespear was actually endorsing that type of attitude towards “love” or presenting it as a cautionary tale, maybe even something to be ridiculed in some of his other plays.
But regardless, Victorians as you may well know had a very conservative attitude towards anything to do with romance, and would often avoid the subject in many places, or tread very carefully around it, as if walking on eggshells. It’s not that people stopped being romantic, in fiction or real life, but it was treated as something very serious and even dangerous, with many urges repressed or even suppressed entirely. This had all kinds of effects on society, both positive and negative. On the positive side, it reinforced the ideal of people being committed to their partners, and of marriage as a sacred institution rather than a “casual hookup” as was more common in Elizabethan times. Likewise it reinforced ideals of modesty and chastity, which may be coming back into vogue, though under different names. But just as there were positive aspects to these attitudes, so were there negative ones.
Just because the urges I described were repressed did not mean that they disappeared. In fact, they often morphed into things that many would consider “unhealthy”. From one statistic that I saw, in Victorian times about one in every 60 houses was a brothel, with the modern rate being closer to one in 6000. Additionally, the rights of women were often repressed, such that they could not fully express themselves and find their own identity, and path in life, as individuals. Just as Elizabethan ideals gave way to Victorian ones, so did the Victorian ideals gradually begin to erode.
Perhaps it began with the Jazz Age of the 1920’s (the “Roaring Twenties”), or with the increased interconnectivity of people traveling to different parts of the world during World War I, not to mention the cynicism that pervaded throughout the West in response to failed old ideals leading to the deadliest war in history up to that point, but many Victorian ideals began to be seen as a joke, and even resented for their “oppression”, which to be fair was not entirely unjustified. But regardless, people gradually, and at times not so gradually, became more and more “liberated” and promiscuous. This culminated in the Sexual Revolution in the late 1960’s, when what had previously been seen as a vice and even a sin was now seen as not only “normal” but as a healthy form of expression, a virtue even. And just as these ideas were embraced in real life, so too were they reflected in our films, TV shows, and other media, often to the consternation of older people and institutions, like the Vatican. The Catholic Church even went so far as to “ban” certain films, that is to declare them immoral for good Catholics to watch. Many of the films that were banned back then, or at least controversial, like The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, are fairly tame by today’s standards.
It continued through the 70’s, at times warming and at times cooling through the rest of the century, until you could argue it reached a kind of crescendo in the early 21st century with the advent of so-called “dark romance” and the publication of books like Fifty Shades of Grey. (Ironically, many of the themes within this “dark romance” can trace their roots back to the Victorian era, yet another indication that repressing urges without addressing them often doesn’t work out as one might hope.) But as happens all too often, just as something reaches peak popularity is when it begins to go out of style, and that is what we may be experiencing right now. As weird as it may sound, we may actually have come full circle and may be on the cusp of a “New Victorian Age” (complete with “dark romance”, even). Web sites like Porn Hub and OnlyFans, as well as other similar sites, may be the new “brothels”, and what was once openly celebrated may be going underground, to an extent. The effects of this on society have been interesting to say the least, and at times I would even say bizarre.
Whilst many younger people seem content with these changes, many older people are concerned. I’ve seen a number of books, films, and other media receive positive reviews for example based specifically on their lack of romance. Many of these books/films, etc. fall into the “young adult” category, meaning that it is young adults obviously who mostly consume them. At the same time I’ve heard a number of older people, mostly boomers and Gen-Xers, criticize these same books/films for their lack of romance. Even some older millennials seem upset by the changes, as perhaps evidenced by Jennifer Lawrence’s latest film No Hard Feelings (though to be fair that film may be lampooning the older generation’s frustration as well as the younger generation’s frigidity). So just as in the past older people were concerned about the promiscuity of the youth, now it actually appears that many older people are concerned about the youth’s lack of promiscuity.
Who could have seen that coming? But to be fair, the younger generation hasn’t gone completely frigid. As stated earlier, much of the promiscuity has gone “underground”, or online, which many would argue is not very healthy as it might undermine actual relationships, whether they are romantic in nature or simple friendships. And speaking of that, friendships within stories nowadays often aren’t portrayed in a very authentic or compelling manner, perhaps because in ditching romance modern writers haven’t quite yet learned how to replace it with something else. In other words, the “New Victorian Age” may not be an exact repeat of the previous one, but may have its own twists and turns, for better and for worse.
This may all essentially be a manifestation of the Human Condition, in that we just can’t seem to find a happy medium, neither in real life nor in fiction. Thus we keep swinging from one extreme to the other, apparently getting wilder with each swing.
So where does all this leave us? What is it that we really want in our lives, and in our stories? Especially in regards to relationships? I think at some level we all want to see good and healthy relationships between people and/or characters, whether romantic or platonic. I believe at some point we would like to see good examples of both friendship and romance, and I would argue that the best examples of romance have them combined. Even a toxic relationship, if well portrayed or documented, can be instructive and serve as a good example of what to avoid in our lives that we might be happier and relate better to each other. A good relationship, by contrast, can give us something to aspire to and inspire us to not only look for the right kind of person to complement our lives, but to make ourselves worthy of that person. And here I’ll add that I’m perfectly aware that in real life (and thus in fiction) relationships can be very complicated and heavily nuanced, with elements of both “good” and “bad” in them. Just as people change over time so can the relationships between them change, at times getting better and at times worse, sometimes breaking entirely and sometimes growing stronger. Relationships can have just as many layers and dimensions as characters, more even perhaps, and a skilled writer should be able to reflect this complexity. At other times a relationship can be fairly straightforward, simplicity sometimes being the best approach. But regardless, the audience should be able to relate and identify with what they are seeing, such that hopefully they can incorporate the lessons from it in their own lives.
Where can we find good examples of relationships to study? There may be a number of them in the real world, but the trouble with studying real world relationships is that they’re often much more complicated than fictional ones (just as real people are more complicated than fictional characters), and for many of them it is almost impossible to know all the details and nuances because they are often kept private, understandably so, and even if they aren’t it can still be difficult, due to unique circumstances, to see how to relate them to our own lives. Additionally there may be far more disagreement about a real life situation than a fictional one, with many more points of view. To keep things simple, for the purpose of this article I would like to focus on fictional relationships. (And fair warning, there will be some spoilers.)
One of the best places to look, I would argue, would be the films of Hayao Miyazaki. (And this is pretty significant to Star Wars as you will see in a bit.) A film of his that stands out to me the most is Princess Mononoke. Like many of Miyazaki’s films it has elements of romance, and yet subverts them in a way that makes complete sense and feels very genuine, without taking away from any of the accompanying charm. It starts with two young people, San and Ashitaka, and as soon as they encounter each other there is a kind of expectation of romance. This may be inevitable to some degree when you have a man and a woman of about the same age encounter each other in a story, especially if they happen to be adolescents. The expectation may not be inherently bad, and Miyazaki does play with it. Both characters are thrust into dangerous situations, at various points end up saving each other’s lives, and at a certain point I think it is obvious that they have feelings for each other. I was certain that at the end of the film, they would be together, and if things had gone that way, it would make complete sense. Instead, they go in different directions, but remain good friends, and considering their backgrounds and differing worldviews, this ends up making even more sense to the story.
Essentially, Miyazaki could have gone for the more conventional, tried and true “love conquers all” narrative, where the characters’ feelings for each other would negate everything that comes between them, they would somehow find a common ground in spite of their differences, the romance would not only take over the narrative but somehow also solve all the problems in the story, and then the couple would live “happily ever after”. Such an approach is not inherently bad or wrong, and is fairly common in Western media and storytelling. We can see it in films like Fern Gully, and more recently James Cameron’s Avatar, both of which have been compared to Princess Mononoke. As you can probably guess, the problem is that at a certain point such a narrative can become fairly simplistic, and lack nuance.
Miyazaki’s films, by contrast, are very heavily nuanced, and are anything but simplistic. In Princess Mononoke the characters San and Ashitaka don’t help each other simply because they are “in love”, but because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how they might feel about each other. Yes, romantic feelings are certainly alluded to, but they are not essential to the plot, for it could have worked just as well without any romantic allusions. And ironically, this makes those allusions even more valid, even if they are unrequited. How so?
Consider that if love is essential to a given narrative, is it not relegated to being nothing more than a plot device? Again, this is quite common in Western media and storytelling, and is not inherently bad or wrong, but when it becomes a trope or cliche, I believe it is the essence of where shipping comes from. Many storytellers get caught up in this, usually without realizing it, and while a story can still work even with shipping, I believe that it usually works that much better without it.
This extends not only to Miyazaki’s handling of romance but also to other things like environmentalism, the conflict between man and nature, and the contrasting ideals of human progress vs. preserving the natural order. Movies like Fern Gully and Avatar, as already mentioned, handle these themes in a fairly simplistic and I would even say hamfisted manner, whereby all progress and technology is shown as being inherently “bad” and in service to “evil”, while everything that’s “natural” is shown to be inherently “good”. Even our notions of good and evil, and right vs. wrong, are challenged by Miyazaki, with nearly all of his characters having complex motives and multiple dimensions to them, as well as understandable reasons for doing the things that they do. Rarely can any one of his characters be branded as a simple “villain”, and rarely is any one individual the source of conflict in his stories, again in contrast to most Western narratives.
I’ll reiterate once more, a simple, straightforward narrative is not inherently a bad thing, whether the themes being dealt with are romantic or anything else. Sometimes it is in fact the best approach. But the best stories in my opinion are usually the most nuanced, that challenge our notions of what we believe to be true, and that force us to think about what we do with our lives and what we could do differently. To that end Miyazaki introduces all manner of themes and motifs within his films that are familiar to us but shows them in a light most of us might not have considered, thus giving more dimension to our understanding of things.
“How is any of this related to Star Wars?” you might ask. It is quite related, and you don’t even have to look all that closely to see it. A very influential figure within Star Wars was very heavily inspired by the works of Miyazaki, and that figure is Dave Filoni.
This video shows the connections in some detail:
https://youtu.be/Q_4L0BbSpHo?si=04jDo6qFCnZT135w
But to summarize if you’ve seen any of Miyazaki’s films, especially Princess Mononoke, I think the callbacks in Filoni’s work will be all too obvious, especially in Star Wars Rebels. Some of the scenes in Filoni’s work look like they were taken directly from Miyazki’s films, and many of the same themes and motifs often come up. The relationship between San and Ashitaka I would argue is very similar to the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, and not just because both couples rode wolves together.
Incidentally, Dave Filoni was also heavily involved in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I would also argue was at least to some degree inspired if not by Miyazaki then by Japanese anime in general. The relationship between Aang and Katara was developed with great care and was allowed to build very slowly, as opposed to simply shipping them. Likewise other characters very gradually developed as individuals and in their relationships, at times stumbling as they did so, and making mistakes, before finding their way back to the right path.
All of this is in stark contrast to George Lucas, whose character development is often very rushed at best, and at times some might say almost non-existent. So essentially, even though Lucas has said that Filoni has been “like a son” to him, and I believe referred to Filoni as his “padawan”, I would argue that Filoni is ultimately as much a student of Miyazaki as he is of Lucas.
Again, you might ask, “What does all this mean for Star Wars?” It means a great many things. It means that Dave Filoni has taken Miyazaki’s lessons to heart, and can handle things like romance, as well as other kinds of relationships, quite well most of the time. Like Miyazaki he can play with romance, tease the audience with it at times even, leave the romance unrequited, and yet still have it feel satisfying. A prime example of this is the love triangle that Ahsoka was involved in with the young Separatist Senator, Lux Bonteri, and Steela Gerrera. As wary as I am of romance and as much as I despise shipping, love triangles I normally despise even more, but this one seemed to actually work. It never took over the main story, and even though Ahsoka’s feelings were ultimately not reciprocated, she still learned from the experience, and grew and developed further as a character because of it. The other characters involved in this triangle also grew and developed from their involvement, though unfortunately not all of them made it. All in all it was a good bit of storytelling and gave the audience something to consider.
When a relationship in one of Filoni’s stories does bloom into a full blown romance he also generally handles it quite well. For one Filoni is sparing with actual romance, so that when it does occur, it can be that much more appreciated. And rather than rushing or shipping it, Filoni normally takes his time to build it up. An example of this is the relationship between Kanan and Hera. Some might argue that this is perhaps the best developed romance in all of Star Wars, at least in Canon. Built up over four seasons, at times it wasn’t certain whether it was a romance or a friendship, or perhaps even a professional partnership. Perhaps even the characters themselves were not certain, though it was hinted all throughout the narrative that something was going on. To this day I don’t believe anyone can say definitively when it became an actual romance, and I believe Filoni did this intentionally because he wanted to be subtle, rather than making things too obvious and having the romance take over the narrative, as it usually does. When it finally did become obvious as to what was happening, it felt very much earned, in a way that is seldom accomplished in other works of fiction, including Star Wars.
The relationship between Ezra and Sabine was also fairly well written, for the most part anyway, at least in Star Wars Rebels. Ezra was almost immediately smitten with Sabine, but being a young teenage boy, it was understandable that he would feel that way about an attractive girl. Over time he learned to see her more respectfully, as a colleague and even as part of his adopted family, not just as a pretty face. Sabine for her part found Ezra annoying at first (c’mon, what teenage boy isn’t?), but as he matured and she found out more about him she came to understand and respect him more, and see him as a friend and almost a brother, with there being potential for something more.
There were times when the relationship could have been better written, like in the episode “Blood Sisters”, where Ezra was written to be a bit too immature to make Sabine look wiser. But overall, the bond between them developed fairly well; both saved one another at various times, and took risks and made sacrifices for each other’s sake. Both reassured and comforted the other when they needed it, and it was endearing to hear their banter when they became more familiar and trusting of each other.
So why then was I so disappointed in how they were portrayed in the Ahsoka show? The thing is, after how well their relationship was built up in Rebels, as I’ve already mentioned it was strange to see how lackluster and uninspired their reunion was.
Within the Ahsoka show itself Sabine was shown to be almost obsessed with finding Ezra, living in what used to be his home, watching a recording of him over and over again, and calling out his name as she woke up in the middle of the night. She even risked bringing Thrawn back into the Galaxy, which ultimately happened, just so she could see Ezra again. After all that, when she finally does encounter him, her reaction seems fairly casual, as does his, as if they’ve been apart for no more than a week, rather than 10 years. Not too much happens between them afterwards either. Like I said Ezra does not appear all that curious about what happened with Sabine, how she found him, and how it was that she was now Force sensitive. Sabine likewise did not seem curious about what had happened with Ezra, and how he had gotten away from Thrawn. And with Ezra rescued and returned home, suddenly it didn’t seem as though Sabine was all that interested in him anymore, nor he all that concerned with her, though they were just as far apart as they had been at the start of the show. To be completely honest it made me wonder what the point of the whole show was. Were they just working to set up Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy? As some have said, Ezra felt like nothing more than a Macguffin in the show. Was Sabine and Ahsoka’s search for him just a plot device?
Considering how skillfully Dave Filoni had written his stories in the past, what happened in this latest project of his does not make much sense. Was he so concerned about “shipping” and so desperate to avoid it that he inadvertently “shipped” them in the other direction? Was there some sort of external pressure on him about how to write this story to have more of an appeal to “modern audiences”? Maybe some combination of those factors?
And here I’ll add that when I say “modern audiences” I don’t mean that in a contemptuous sense, though you may think I do. If there is any contempt on my part it is for those in charge of telling our stories, or those in charge of those telling our stories, who do not seem to grasp these basic truths. The truth is that audiences at their core don’t really change throughout the ages, only superficially so. Trends come and go but certain truths and ideals are eternal, and universal. How people relate to each other fundamentally does not change, whether they are friends, or more than friends. And deep down, I believe everyone (or nearly everyone at least) wants the same things. Nearly everyone at some point wants some kind of a connection with another human being, to know that they are not alone in the world, and to know that there is someone else who sees and understands things as they do. While this desire can certainly lead to abuse, and absolutely has, it is still innate to us and is not inherently wrong. Finding ways of connecting and relating to other people is one of the great challenges of life, but many would argue it is the most worthwhile of challenges. It may be the whole point of life if you think about it. As complex as it may be, many would argue it is what makes life worth living, and likewise makes for the best stories. Just as it may be the whole point of life many would say that is what most stories are about at their core: people trying to relate to one another.
Sadly, just as in real life, most stories unfortunately don’t quite get it, and the Ahsoka show in my opinion was an example of this, made all the sadder by the fact that Dave Filoni had done quite well with these characters up to that point. We may never know for certain what exactly went wrong and why, or if it can ever be “fixed” at this point, but I can’t help but feel curious. Maybe in the future Filoni will find a way to make it make sense, but I’m not sure how. And to be completely honest I don’t feel quite as enthusiastic to find out as I used to.
Also for the record I would like to add here that there are other factors that put me off from the show, such as Sabine’s Force sensitivity, that came about without much build up. But in this article I specifically wanted to focus on shipping because there seems to be so much misunderstanding around it.
I hope that I was able to clarify some, if not most of this misunderstanding, so that people could better appreciate what shipping is, where it comes from, as well as what it isn’t. Many people today are understandably sick of shipping characters, myself included. But I hope people realize that in overcompensating for something, we often come back around into the very thing that we are overcompensating for. Or sometimes, into something even worse. This may apply to nearly every facet of life, by the way, not just shipping. Finding a happy medium in how we portray our fictional relationships may help us to better understand relationships in real life, as well as how to navigate them. Neither fictional nor actual relationships can ever be perfect but they can always be better. To this understanding then I hope that I was able to give my own modest contribution, and if nothing else I hope we can connect on that.

This is my attempt at a re-submission due to some misunderstandings on the first attempt. I now know that there are different definitions of the word “ship”, but for the purposes of this article and to keep things simple I will use the definition of “a relationship that’s rushed and/or forced with no real development.” I hope you can understand as I do not know of any other single word to describe that concept. If you do, perhaps you can tell me. Also, fair warning, this is long form content (some 10 pages), if you like it but can’t read it all at once you can save it and come back to it over a period of time, or you can stop reading whenever you get tired of it and still discuss those parts of it with me that you have read. But keep it civil if you want a civil response.
With that, to qualify the title, no, Ezra and Sabine do NOT absolutely have to be a couple, but if they were to become one, it would NOT be a ship. Ezra and Sabine’s relationship has had years of development. Could they remain as simply friends? Yes, but ironically, it was their “friendship” that felt like more of a ship. It felt like the Ahsoka show, helmed by Dave Filoni, was going out of its way to tell us: “no, they’re not a couple, they’re just friends.”
I believe that Filoni made some very poor writing choices to stress something that didn’t really need to be stressed, such that it almost felt like he was in denial. The line “I love you like a sister” was never in Rebels, Filoni essentially had that retconned in, and like many I was put off by their (largely) emotionless reunion. Even if they were “just friends” I believe there would be a great deal more emotion displayed between two people that hadn’t seen each other in some ten years, especially when one of them was in a precarious situation when they parted. I also believe Ezra would be far more curious about Sabine being Force sensitive, perhaps even offering to help train her when she told him that her training hadn’t gone as well with Ahsoka. He did help to train her with the Darksaber, didn’t he? Why that never came up is another discussion, but for now, let’s focus on shipping.
In case you think I’m desperate to have them as a couple, no I’m not. I’m about the furthest thing from it. Like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers) I DESPISE shipping. Absolutely DESPISE it. With a flaming passion. Perhaps for this reason, and maybe some others, like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers), I’m generally wary of nearly all romance in fiction, and generally avoid it in my own work. The sad reality is that romance is perhaps the most abused genre in all of fiction, all throughout history. It has been so badly abused that many people, including myself for the longest time, have equated romance with shipping, though I’m slowly beginning to see that they are not the same thing, and one does not necessarily have to go with the other.
But sadly, many writers, through time immemorial, have not been able to separate them, going back into ancient times and perhaps even into pre-history, that is before languages were actually written down. Some of what is considered great literature; classics like Romeo and Juliet, are predicated on shipping, though at least the consequences of this “whirlwind romance” are shown to be fairly stark. Star Wars itself is no stranger to shipping, resulting in a very awkward incestuous kiss when Luke was shipped with Leia, then Leia was placed with Han and Lucas made Luke and Leia brother and sister, apparently having forgotten his original ship. Later Lucas essentially shipped Anakin and Padme, resulting in some of the most cringeworthy dialog in the history of film. Many fans of the Prequels even have been somewhat critical of Anakin’s portrayal, particularly in regards to the “romantic” scenes, with many describing them as “creepy”. Some have speculated that this was intentional, though personally I think it was just the result of bad writing on the part of George Lucas, and an impatience on his part for Anakin and Padme to become a couple, hence “shipping”.
One might wonder why this is so prevalent in fiction, and tragically, one does not have to look far. Fiction is merely a reflection of reality, therefore the reason that shipping is so common in our stories is that we fall so easily into it in real life. Indeed, entire cultures may be based around shipping, or at least very heavily wrapped up in it. Throughout history arranged marriages have been the norm, and the idea of marrying for “love” is something relatively new. To be fair, I’ve actually met people in arranged marriages who seemed to be fairly happy, but those same people were very open in telling me that many despise that aspect of their culture, and that it is quite normal for those in an arranged marriage to try to get out.
People might come together for “love” without marrying, but even then it often creates expectations that might turn into a burden. Even when a marriage is voluntary and for “love”, people are often left unsatisfied, such that today in the West the divorce rate is something like 50%. Happy, stable, long term relationships seem to be the exception across cultures and across the breadth and width of time. And yet pursuit of love and some kind of relationship seems to be the highest calling for many people, both in real life and in fiction. And it could be that the accumulated disgust is finally starting to boil over.
To be fair, this may not be the first time in history that the pendulum has shifted. You may recall that in Victorian times attitudes changed drastically, as compared to the previously bawdy Elizabethan times. Looking at a play from Shakespear, if you can understand the language, you’ll see all kinds of vulgar references, as well as what I believe are fairly sappy romances like in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, though I can’t say for certain whether Shakespear was actually endorsing that type of attitude towards “love” or presenting it as a cautionary tale, maybe even something to be ridiculed in some of his other plays.
But regardless, Victorians as you may well know had a very conservative attitude towards anything to do with romance, and would often avoid the subject in many places, or tread very carefully around it, as if walking on eggshells. It’s not that people stopped being romantic, in fiction or real life, but it was treated as something very serious and even dangerous, with many urges repressed or even suppressed entirely. This had all kinds of effects on society, both positive and negative. On the positive side, it reinforced the ideal of people being committed to their partners, and of marriage as a sacred institution rather than a “casual hookup” as was more common in Elizabethan times. Likewise it reinforced ideals of modesty and chastity, which may be coming back into vogue, though under different names. But just as there were positive aspects to these attitudes, so were there negative ones.
Just because the urges I described were repressed did not mean that they disappeared. In fact, they often morphed into things that many would consider “unhealthy”. From one statistic that I saw, in Victorian times about one in every 60 houses was a brothel, with the modern rate being closer to one in 6000. Additionally, the rights of women were often repressed, such that they could not fully express themselves and find their own identity, and path in life, as individuals. Just as Elizabethan ideals gave way to Victorian ones, so did the Victorian ideals gradually begin to erode.
Perhaps it began with the Jazz Age of the 1920’s (the “Roaring Twenties”), or with the increased interconnectivity of people traveling to different parts of the world during World War I, not to mention the cynicism that pervaded throughout the West in response to failed old ideals leading to the deadliest war in history up to that point, but many Victorian ideals began to be seen as a joke, and even resented for their “oppression”, which to be fair was not entirely unjustified. But regardless, people gradually, and at times not so gradually, became more and more “liberated” and promiscuous. This culminated in the Sexual Revolution in the late 1960’s, when what had previously been seen as a vice and even a sin was now seen as not only “normal” but as a healthy form of expression, a virtue even. And just as these ideas were embraced in real life, so too were they reflected in our films, TV shows, and other media, often to the consternation of older people and institutions, like the Vatican. The Catholic Church even went so far as to “ban” certain films, that is to declare them immoral for good Catholics to watch. Many of the films that were banned back then, or at least controversial, like The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, are fairly tame by today’s standards.
It continued through the 70’s, at times warming and at times cooling through the rest of the century, until you could argue it reached a kind of crescendo in the early 21st century with the advent of so-called “dark romance” and the publication of books like Fifty Shades of Grey. (Ironically, many of the themes within this “dark romance” can trace their roots back to the Victorian era, yet another indication that repressing urges without addressing them often doesn’t work out as one might hope.) But as happens all too often, just as something reaches peak popularity is when it begins to go out of style, and that is what we may be experiencing right now. As weird as it may sound, we may actually have come full circle and may be on the cusp of a “New Victorian Age” (complete with “dark romance”, even). Web sites like Porn Hub and OnlyFans, as well as other similar sites, may be the new “brothels”, and what was once openly celebrated may be going underground, to an extent. The effects of this on society have been interesting to say the least, and at times I would even say bizarre.
Whilst many younger people seem content with these changes, many older people are concerned. I’ve seen a number of books, films, and other media receive positive reviews for example based specifically on their lack of romance. Many of these books/films, etc. fall into the “young adult” category, meaning that it is young adults obviously who mostly consume them. At the same time I’ve heard a number of older people, mostly boomers and Gen-Xers, criticize these same books/films for their lack of romance. Even some older millennials seem upset by the changes, as perhaps evidenced by Jennifer Lawrence’s latest film No Hard Feelings (though to be fair that film may be lampooning the older generation’s frustration as well as the younger generation’s frigidity). So just as in the past older people were concerned about the promiscuity of the youth, now it actually appears that many older people are concerned about the youth’s lack of promiscuity.
Who could have seen that coming? But to be fair, the younger generation hasn’t gone completely frigid. As stated earlier, much of the promiscuity has gone “underground”, or online, which many would argue is not very healthy as it might undermine actual relationships, whether they are romantic in nature or simple friendships. And speaking of that, friendships within stories nowadays often aren’t portrayed in a very authentic or compelling manner, perhaps because in ditching romance modern writers haven’t quite yet learned how to replace it with something else. In other words, the “New Victorian Age” may not be an exact repeat of the previous one, but may have its own twists and turns, for better and for worse.
This may all essentially be a manifestation of the Human Condition, in that we just can’t seem to find a happy medium, neither in real life nor in fiction. Thus we keep swinging from one extreme to the other, apparently getting wilder with each swing.
So where does all this leave us? What is it that we really want in our lives, and in our stories? Especially in regards to relationships? I think at some level we all want to see good and healthy relationships between people and/or characters, whether romantic or platonic. I believe at some point we would like to see good examples of both friendship and romance, and I would argue that the best examples of romance have them combined. Even a toxic relationship, if well portrayed or documented, can be instructive and serve as a good example of what to avoid in our lives that we might be happier and relate better to each other. A good relationship, by contrast, can give us something to aspire to and inspire us to not only look for the right kind of person to complement our lives, but to make ourselves worthy of that person. And here I’ll add that I’m perfectly aware that in real life (and thus in fiction) relationships can be very complicated and heavily nuanced, with elements of both “good” and “bad” in them. Just as people change over time so can the relationships between them change, at times getting better and at times worse, sometimes breaking entirely and sometimes growing stronger. Relationships can have just as many layers and dimensions as characters, more even perhaps, and a skilled writer should be able to reflect this complexity. At other times a relationship can be fairly straightforward, simplicity sometimes being the best approach. But regardless, the audience should be able to relate and identify with what they are seeing, such that hopefully they can incorporate the lessons from it in their own lives.
Where can we find good examples of relationships to study? There may be a number of them in the real world, but the trouble with studying real world relationships is that they’re often much more complicated than fictional ones (just as real people are more complicated than fictional characters), and for many of them it is almost impossible to know all the details and nuances because they are often kept private, understandably so, and even if they aren’t it can still be difficult, due to unique circumstances, to see how to relate them to our own lives. Additionally there may be far more disagreement about a real life situation than a fictional one, with many more points of view. To keep things simple, for the purpose of this article I would like to focus on fictional relationships. (And fair warning, there will be some spoilers.)
One of the best places to look, I would argue, would be the films of Hayao Miyazaki. (And this is pretty significant to Star Wars as you will see in a bit.) A film of his that stands out to me the most is Princess Mononoke. Like many of Miyazaki’s films it has elements of romance, and yet subverts them in a way that makes complete sense and feels very genuine, without taking away from any of the accompanying charm. It starts with two young people, San and Ashitaka, and as soon as they encounter each other there is a kind of expectation of romance. This may be inevitable to some degree when you have a man and a woman of about the same age encounter each other in a story, especially if they happen to be adolescents. The expectation may not be inherently bad, and Miyazaki does play with it. Both characters are thrust into dangerous situations, at various points end up saving each other’s lives, and at a certain point I think it is obvious that they have feelings for each other. I was certain that at the end of the film, they would be together, and if things had gone that way, it would make complete sense. Instead, they go in different directions, but remain good friends, and considering their backgrounds and differing worldviews, this ends up making even more sense to the story.
Essentially, Miyazaki could have gone for the more conventional, tried and true “love conquers all” narrative, where the characters’ feelings for each other would negate everything that comes between them, they would somehow find a common ground in spite of their differences, the romance would not only take over the narrative but somehow also solve all the problems in the story, and then the couple would live “happily ever after”. Such an approach is not inherently bad or wrong, and is fairly common in Western media and storytelling. We can see it in films like Fern Gully, and more recently James Cameron’s Avatar, both of which have been compared to Princess Mononoke. As you can probably guess, the problem is that at a certain point such a narrative can become fairly simplistic, and lack nuance.
Miyazaki’s films, by contrast, are very heavily nuanced, and are anything but simplistic. In Princess Mononoke the characters San and Ashitaka don’t help each other simply because they are “in love”, but because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how they might feel about each other. Yes, romantic feelings are certainly alluded to, but they are not essential to the plot, for it could have worked just as well without any romantic allusions. And ironically, this makes those allusions even more valid, even if they are unrequited. How so?
Consider that if love is essential to a given narrative, is it not relegated to being nothing more than a plot device? Again, this is quite common in Western media and storytelling, and is not inherently bad or wrong, but when it becomes a trope or cliche, I believe it is the essence of where shipping comes from. Many storytellers get caught up in this, usually without realizing it, and while a story can still work even with shipping, I believe that it usually works that much better without it.
This extends not only to Miyazaki’s handling of romance but also to other things like environmentalism, the conflict between man and nature, and the contrasting ideals of human progress vs. preserving the natural order. Movies like Fern Gully and Avatar, as already mentioned, handle these themes in a fairly simplistic and I would even say hamfisted manner, whereby all progress and technology is shown as being inherently “bad” and in service to “evil”, while everything that’s “natural” is shown to be inherently “good”. Even our notions of good and evil, and right vs. wrong, are challenged by Miyazaki, with nearly all of his characters having complex motives and multiple dimensions to them, as well as understandable reasons for doing the things that they do. Rarely can any one of his characters be branded as a simple “villain”, and rarely is any one individual the source of conflict in his stories, again in contrast to most Western narratives.
I’ll reiterate once more, a simple, straightforward narrative is not inherently a bad thing, whether the themes being dealt with are romantic or anything else. Sometimes it is in fact the best approach. But the best stories in my opinion are usually the most nuanced, that challenge our notions of what we believe to be true, and that force us to think about what we do with our lives and what we could do differently. To that end Miyazaki introduces all manner of themes and motifs within his films that are familiar to us but shows them in a light most of us might not have considered, thus giving more dimension to our understanding of things.
“How is any of this related to Star Wars?” you might ask. It is quite related, and you don’t even have to look all that closely to see it. A very influential figure within Star Wars was very heavily inspired by the works of Miyazaki, and that figure is Dave Filoni.
This video shows the connections in some detail:
https://youtu.be/Q_4L0BbSpHo?si=04jDo6qFCnZT135w
But to summarize if you’ve seen any of Miyazaki’s films, especially Princess Mononoke, I think the callbacks in Filoni’s work will be all too obvious, especially in Star Wars Rebels. Some of the scenes in Filoni’s work look like they were taken directly from Miyazki’s films, and many of the same themes and motifs often come up. The relationship between San and Ashitaka I would argue is very similar to the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, and not just because both couples rode wolves together.
Incidentally, Dave Filoni was also heavily involved in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I would also argue was at least to some degree inspired if not by Miyazaki then by Japanese anime in general. The relationship between Aang and Katara was developed with great care and was allowed to build very slowly, as opposed to simply shipping them. Likewise other characters very gradually developed as individuals and in their relationships, at times stumbling as they did so, and making mistakes, before finding their way back to the right path.
All of this is in stark contrast to George Lucas, whose character development is often very rushed at best, and at times some might say almost non-existent. So essentially, even though Lucas has said that Filoni has been “like a son” to him, and I believe referred to Filoni as his “padawan”, I would argue that Filoni is ultimately as much a student of Miyazaki as he is of Lucas.
Again, you might ask, “What does all this mean for Star Wars?” It means a great many things. It means that Dave Filoni has taken Miyazaki’s lessons to heart, and can handle things like romance, as well as other kinds of relationships, quite well most of the time. Like Miyazaki he can play with romance, tease the audience with it at times even, leave the romance unrequited, and yet still have it feel satisfying. A prime example of this is the love triangle that Ahsoka was involved in with the young Separatist Senator, Lux Bonteri, and Steela Gerrera. As wary as I am of romance and as much as I despise shipping, love triangles I normally despise even more, but this one seemed to actually work. It never took over the main story, and even though Ahsoka’s feelings were ultimately not reciprocated, she still learned from the experience, and grew and developed further as a character because of it. The other characters involved in this triangle also grew and developed from their involvement, though unfortunately not all of them made it. All in all it was a good bit of storytelling and gave the audience something to consider.
When a relationship in one of Filoni’s stories does bloom into a full blown romance he also generally handles it quite well. For one Filoni is sparing with actual romance, so that when it does occur, it can be that much more appreciated. And rather than rushing or shipping it, Filoni normally takes his time to build it up. An example of this is the relationship between Kanan and Hera. Some might argue that this is perhaps the best developed romance in all of Star Wars, at least in Canon. Built up over four seasons, at times it wasn’t certain whether it was a romance or a friendship, or perhaps even a professional partnership. Perhaps even the characters themselves were not certain, though it was hinted all throughout the narrative that something was going on. To this day I don’t believe anyone can say definitively when it became an actual romance, and I believe Filoni did this intentionally because he wanted to be subtle, rather than making things too obvious and having the romance take over the narrative, as it usually does. When it finally did become obvious as to what was happening, it felt very much earned, in a way that is seldom accomplished in other works of fiction, including Star Wars.
The relationship between Ezra and Sabine was also fairly well written, for the most part anyway, at least in Star Wars Rebels. Ezra was almost immediately smitten with Sabine, but being a young teenage boy, it was understandable that he would feel that way about an attractive girl. Over time he learned to see her more respectfully, as a colleague and even as part of his adopted family, not just as a pretty face. Sabine for her part found Ezra annoying at first (c’mon, what teenage boy isn’t?), but as he matured and she found out more about him she came to understand and respect him more, and see him as a friend and almost a brother, with there being potential for something more.
There were times when the relationship could have been better written, like in the episode “Blood Sisters”, where Ezra was written to be a bit too immature to make Sabine look wiser. But overall, the bond between them developed fairly well; both saved one another at various times, and took risks and made sacrifices for each other’s sake. Both reassured and comforted the other when they needed it, and it was endearing to hear their banter when they became more familiar and trusting of each other.
So why then was I so disappointed in how they were portrayed in the Ahsoka show? The thing is, after how well their relationship was built up in Rebels, as I’ve already mentioned it was strange to see how lackluster and uninspired their reunion was.
Within the Ahsoka show itself Sabine was shown to be almost obsessed with finding Ezra, living in what used to be his home, watching a recording of him over and over again, and calling out his name as she woke up in the middle of the night. She even risked bringing Thrawn back into the Galaxy, which ultimately happened, just so she could see Ezra again. After all that, when she finally does encounter him, her reaction seems fairly casual, as does his, as if they’ve been apart for no more than a week, rather than 10 years. Not too much happens between them afterwards either. Like I said Ezra does not appear all that curious about what happened with Sabine, how she found him, and how it was that she was now Force sensitive. Sabine likewise did not seem curious about what had happened with Ezra, and how he had gotten away from Thrawn. And with Ezra rescued and returned home, suddenly it didn’t seem as though Sabine was all that interested in him anymore, nor he all that concerned with her, though they were just as far apart as they had been at the start of the show. To be completely honest it made me wonder what the point of the whole show was. Were they just working to set up Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy? As some have said, Ezra felt like nothing more than a Macguffin in the show. Was Sabine and Ahsoka’s search for him just a plot device?
Considering how skillfully Dave Filoni had written his stories in the past, what happened in this latest project of his does not make much sense. Was he so concerned about “shipping” and so desperate to avoid it that he inadvertently “shipped” them in the other direction? Was there some sort of external pressure on him about how to write this story to have more of an appeal to “modern audiences”? Maybe some combination of those factors?
And here I’ll add that when I say “modern audiences” I don’t mean that in a contemptuous sense, though you may think I do. If there is any contempt on my part it is for those in charge of telling our stories, or those in charge of those telling our stories, who do not seem to grasp these basic truths. The truth is that audiences at their core don’t really change throughout the ages, only superficially so. Trends come and go but certain truths and ideals are eternal, and universal. How people relate to each other fundamentally does not change, whether they are friends, or more than friends. And deep down, I believe everyone (or nearly everyone at least) wants the same things. Nearly everyone at some point wants some kind of a connection with another human being, to know that they are not alone in the world, and to know that there is someone else who sees and understands things as they do. While this desire can certainly lead to abuse, and absolutely has, it is still innate to us and is not inherently wrong. Finding ways of connecting and relating to other people is one of the great challenges of life, but many would argue it is the most worthwhile of challenges. It may be the whole point of life if you think about it. As complex as it may be, many would argue it is what makes life worth living, and likewise makes for the best stories. Just as it may be the whole point of life many would say that is what most stories are about at their core: people trying to relate to one another.
Sadly, just as in real life, most stories unfortunately don’t quite get it, and the Ahsoka show in my opinion was an example of this, made all the sadder by the fact that Dave Filoni had done quite well with these characters up to that point. We may never know for certain what exactly went wrong and why, or if it can ever be “fixed” at this point, but I can’t help but feel curious. Maybe in the future Filoni will find a way to make it make sense, but I’m not sure how. And to be completely honest I don’t feel quite as enthusiastic to find out as I used to.
Also for the record I would like to add here that there are other factors that put me off from the show, such as Sabine’s Force sensitivity, that came about without much build up. But in this article I specifically wanted to focus on shipping because there seems to be so much misunderstanding around it.
I hope that I was able to clarify some, if not most of this misunderstanding, so that people could better appreciate what shipping is, where it comes from, as well as what it isn’t. Many people today are understandably sick of shipping characters, myself included. But I hope people realize that in overcompensating for something, we often come back around into the very thing that we are overcompensating for. Or sometimes, into something even worse. This may apply to nearly every facet of life, by the way, not just shipping. Finding a happy medium in how we portray our fictional relationships may help us to better understand relationships in real life, as well as how to navigate them. Neither fictional nor actual relationships can ever be perfect but they can always be better. To this understanding then I hope that I was able to give my own modest contribution, and if nothing else I hope we can connect on that.

[I play Elden Ring in Japanese, as From Soft is a Japanese developer, so is Miyazaki.]
The most striking difference is within how they address the main protagonist (you as the player), as in Japanese he or she is referred to as 褪せ人 (lit: "persona sbiadita") from the NPC dialog and cutscenes, however in the official Italian version it is: "Senzaluce". In regards to the Japanese original, the kanji used is 褪 + 人 but 褪せ is from the ichidan verb:

褪せる

lit. trad: scolorire / sbiadire
Example sentence: 日光で看板の文字が褪せた。
(Le lettere dell'insegna si sono sbiadite al sole.)

人 (Persone)

Combine from 褪せる which is now merged as 褪せ人 [あせびと]
How would you really translate it into Italian from Japanese?

I have a rough list of the stuff that is named in Elden Ring, between the Japanese and Italian version of the game (Though I won't list everything, as it'll be too much):
Locations:

日本語	Traduzione dal giapponese	Versione ufficiale in italiano
リムグレイブ	Limgrave	Sepolcride
啜り泣きの半島	Penisola dell'Imbrattamento	Penisola del pianto
ストームヴィル城	Castello di Stormveil	Castello di Grantempesta
湖のリエーニエ	Lago Liurnia	Liurnia Lacustre
深き根の底	Fondo delle radici profonde	Abisso tra le Radici
ケイリッド	Caelid	Terre di Caelid
アルター高原	-	Altopiano di Altus
忌み捨ての地下	Aborrimenti sotterranei	Abissi Dimenticati
ゲルミア火山	Vulcano Gelmir	Monte Gelmir
崩れゆくファルムアズラ	Il Farum Azula in disfacimento	Farum Azula in Frantumi
禁域	Area interdetta	Terre Proibite
永遠の都ノクローン	-	Nokron, Città Eterna
王都ローデイル	-	Leyndell, La Capitale Reale
シーフラ河	-	Fiume Siofra
巨人たちの山嶺	La cresta dei giganti	Montagne dei Giganti Ovest
ミケラの聖樹	-	Sacro Albero di Miquella
聖樹の支えエブレフェール	Sostegno dell'Albero Sacro Elphael	Elphael, sostegno del Sacro Albero
モーグウィン王朝	La dinastia Mohgwyn	Palazzo di Mohgwyn
腐れ湖	Lago marcio	Lago Putrescente
聖別雪原	-	Campi di Neve Consacrati
魔術学院レアルカリア	Accademia di Magia e Stregoneria Reya Lucaria	Accademia de Reya Lucaria
月光の祭壇	Altare della Luna	Altare del chiaro de luna
漂着墓地	Cimitero abbandonato	Caverna della conoscenza
赤獅子城	Castello del Leone Rosso	Castello di Mantorosso

Bosses:

日本語	Traduzione dal giapponese	Versione ufficiale in italiano
ゴドリックの軍兵	Soldati dell'Esercito di Godrick	Soldato di Godrick
神肌のふたり	-	Duo Sacriderma
接ぎ木のゴドリック	-	Godrick l'Innestato
爛れた樹霊	Spirito dell'albero dolente	Spirito arboreo ulcerato
忌み鬼、マルギット	Un abominio malvagio, Margit	Margit il Presagio Implacabile
忌み王、モーゴッド	Re degli Abomini, Morgott	Morgott, Re Presagio
満月の女王レナラ	Renalla, regina della luna piena	Rennala, Regina del plenilunio
暗黒の落とし子、アステール	Astel, Bastardo dell'Oscurità	Astel, Progenie del Vuoto
最初の王、ゴッドフレイ	Il primo re, Godfrey	Godfrey, primo Lord ancestrale
火の巨人	-	Gigante di Fuoco
百智卿ギデオン	Il Signore Gideon il Cento Saggio	Gideon l'Onniscente
竜王プラキドサクス	Re Drago Placidusax	Placidusax, Signore dei Draghi
星砕きのラダーン	Radahn il frantuma-stelle	Radhan il Flagello celeste
獣の司祭 （黒き剣のマリケス）	Sacerdote della Bestia (Maliketh della Spada Nera)	Belva eccelsiastica (Maliketh la Lama Nera)
ミケラの刃マレニア （腐敗の女神、マレニア）	Lama di Miquella, Malenia (Malenia, dea della corruzione)	Malenia, spada di Miquella (Malenia, Dea della marcescenza)
黄金律、ラダゴン	La regola d'oro, Radagon	Radagon dell'Ordine Aureo
冒涜の君主、ライカード	Rykard, monarca della blasfemia	Rykard, Signore della Blasfemia
鈴玉狩り	Cercatore di "piccole palle"	Cacciatore di globi cinerei

There is a boss you come across in catacombs, from the Japanese version, it is known as 還樹の番犬 (lit: "Cane da guardia dell'albero restituito") as opposed to the Italian localization: "Guardiano sepolcrale dell'Albero Madre" - Anyway, I'll break down the Kanji used:

還 (rispedire / restituire)

樹 (albero / arbusto)

番 (numero (serie) / orologio)

犬 (cane)

番犬 - literally means "cane da guardia"
還 ('restituire') 樹 ('albero') coined as 還樹 - literally is like "riportare un albero nel suo sito originario"
の is just a word particle present.

In hindsight:

• From the literal translations between JP = IT (in italic) found on second column of the table, and the official translation in Italian, which one actually stays faithful to the source language?
• Have you played the game in Italian? If so, how accurate is the translation? (I mean, did they localize it from the source language or English, still resulting in mistranslations?)

Google na své dnešní konferenci I/O ukázal ambiciózní Project Astra Umožní vést přirozený dialog s telefonem s asistentem, který reaguje na okolí V rámci něj nás Google zřejmě nalákal také na AR brýle 

U can skip all dialogs and watch the video here and u will save ur self alot of time
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLraqJbkbJFlsQQyP__umithAklEnSdKTU&si=Pcco-Q_WNhyiORQt

I was looking for a video on kemono and the link provided downloaded a text file with this

EXTM3U

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https://manifest-gcp-us-east4-vop1.cfcdn.mux.com/luYVmOfQst5K6uuAS3ciSSbBZwizjwZYlycnO75szQAefgYsi81c6fVljxExwpPZrm61tsI7qiGxqm73RuWKmrlPEyO52BUo/rendition.m3u8?cdn=fastly&expires=1715173200&rid=Ir02FmqsqUnMIpEqH89MdlvWa15QwOo6dCnelCtSI9YI&skid=default&signature=NjYzYjc3NTBfNWE0Yjg2NGFkOGJiNTE3ZWMwYjk2OGQyYmQxYTI4NDhkNjZlYzI3MTI5YzQ4MGZhYTRiYzI5OGQxMmUyYmY2NA== but the first link download a subtiles file and the others say "invalid signature"

As far as I've been able to find, Bug Hunt from Wreck-It-Ralph (2012) never released as a solo track? I was talking with a childhood friend about her thesis on "modern music" in children's media/movie soundtracks and we got on a tangent about rap music in kids movies. I mentioned how Wreck-It-Ralph was one of my favorite OSTs and how the OG Bug Hunt track never fully released. In fact, the official WIR OST CD released with the Skrillex x Noisia track (which is v v v good yes).
I've only ever been able to find "remastered" versions where fans tried to make it the full OG song by removing the dialog and sound effects from the film and extend it, but I've never found those to have the right Sonny Moore touch, ya know? I also know Sonny sold the rights to the song to Disney, but I wonder if he'd be able to buy them back or release a remake of the song himself. Any ideas?
(Edit, accidently said "tangent about pop" when I meant rap)

My buddy from Ukraine Uncle Pecheneg, started streaming Chiv 2 a few weeks ago! He posted his FIRST edited match to youtube! He'd love to get some feedback and maybe win a like or two. He just now got 100 followers on twitch, and Chiv is his main game!
Uncle P's played for a long time, and he genuinely enjoys Chivalry 2. The video is in full Russian language but he knows English, and is always happy to interact how he can. His goal is to make a place where gamers can hang out in a good atmosphere absolutely FREE of tension, political or otherwise, and given enough people join him - he'd like to dialog with officials from the studio and advocate for new content in this, one of our favorite games!
About his situation in UA, since it's a common question - Uncle P has had a serious disability since he was a child. He's been excused from Military service, but he is still not able to leave Ukraine since it's been declared illegal for men to leave. I don't know anyone who works harder, and now work itself is a difficult situation for him there - so he decided to stream in his free time. He's ABSOLUTELY the kind of guy who deserves our good wishes and support.
So, when you have time guys, please check out this video and enjoy the energy, enjoy the frags, Mason Pecheneg on his favorite map Dark Forest! Leave some feedback, Many Thanks from Team PKP! https://youtu.be/58GS0s8Lzy0?si=zDW2J-HsSifFz76T

FalloutNV.esm DeadMoney.esm HonestHearts.esm OldWorldBlues.esm LonesomeRoad.esm GunRunnersArsenal.esm ClassicPack.esm MercenaryPack.esm TribalPack.esm CaravanPack.esm Landscape Texture Improvements.esm YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - YUP Patch.esm NavmeshOverhaul.esm fixy crap ue.esp Bad Touch.esm Vanilla Enhancements.esm Uncut Wasteland.esm Functional Post Game Ending.esm Functional Post Game Ending - YUP Patch.esm Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Wasteland Patch (VNV).esp TLD_Travelers.esm Simple Open Freeside.esm Simple Open Strip.esm Better Brotherhood.esm BraveNewWorld.esm Better Character Creation.esm Tactapack.esp QS3rdPerCamOverhaul.esm Main And Pause Menus Overhaul.esm MyNavmeshCompatibilityPatch.esm Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus.esp YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp NVMIM.esp Crafting Consistency Fix.esp ExRB.esp Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix.esp The Mod Configuration Menu.esp Vanilla UI Plus.esp JustAssortedMods.esp Just Sprint Plus - JAM.esp ImmersiveRecoil.esp Follower Tweaks.esp DelayDLCRedux.esp FOVSlider.esp Diagonal movement.esp Enhanced Movement.esp Vigor.esp Vigor - SMIM Patch.esp EVEM - YUP Patch.esp EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch.esp BraveNewWorld-FPGE.esp BraveNewWorld-YUP.esp MCMetalArmor.esp BulletTrails.esp IMPACT.esp Kyu_Ballistics_NV.esp mil.esp mil-Shop.esp mil_Add-On.esp HitDrugs.esp Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux FNV.esp Fallout 2 combat armor MK2 (remastered) replacer.esp TeslaWeaponsPack.esp Mk2 Replacer Redux Patch.esp B42Dropmag.esp B42Inspect.esp B42 RWMS.esp B42Inertia.esp MCPipBoy2000MK6_clock.esp Uncut Wasteland - YUP Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland.esp Misc Content Restoration.esp Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch.esp FPGE - EVEM Patch.esp DLC Enhancements.esp Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch.esp Titans of The New West.esp PAVE_NV.esp Better Brotherhood - FPGE Patch.esp Better Brotherhood - YUP Patch.esp FaceGen Tint Fix.esp 1nivVSLArmors.esp Character Kit Remake Yup Patch.esp CharacterKitRemake-Hair.esp CharacterKitRemakeHHandsFix.esp rockbiter_AnimationSounds.esp SSTRemasteredQuarries.esp Little More Lamplight.esp Strip Lights Region Fix.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch.esp Natural Interior.esp GeneralLightingOverhaul.esp AfterglowNeonIllumination.esp Atomization Restored.esp AwesomeBulletSounds3.1 NoScreenShake.esp Immersive Pickup Sounds FNV Patched.esp AWSOMER.esp Project Reality Footsteps.esp Atomic Audio Overhaul.esp DNWeathers.esp NeutralWeathers.esp Atlas.esp Interior Rain.esp CC - Rain.esp CC - 3D Rain.esp +Atomic Audio Overhaul +All Weapon Sound Overhaul Modern Edition Redone - AWSOMER +Animal Sounds +Project Reality Footsteps +Immersive Pickup Sounds Patched +Sound Extender +Awesome Bullet Sounds - Flybys and Whizzes -Sounding_separator +Rex 2k HD Retexture +Improved Cyberdogs Textures +FeralGhoulsHD +securitron HD +Improved Robots Textures OWB +Improved Robots Textures LR +Improved Robots Textures +Menace of The New West +Improved Deathclaw Textures +aMidianBorn NV Superb Mutants -Creatures_separator +FNV Clean Animations - Explosive Mines Pack +FNV Clean Animations - Grenades Pack +New Vegas Animation Overhaul Guns +Wasteland Warrior - A Melee Animation Overhaul +Butcher Pete Complete - A Melee Animation Overhaul -Blended Locomotion +B42 Inject - Animated Item Use - ESPless +JAM or Just Sprint animation replacers +Tesla Weapon's Pack Unofficial Patch +Tesla Weapons Pack +Tactapack +B42 Dropmag Another Millenia Patch +Another Millenia Shop Add-on +Another Millenia Gun Add-on +Another Millenia -Weapon Add-Ons_separator +Kyu's Ballistics - Fixed +IMPACT - Compatibility Edition (JIP LN) (DLC - TTW - All Mods) +IMPACT +Bullet Trails +Gore overhaul +Bloodverhaul (Blood Texture) +Atomization Restored +HQ Ash Piles +HQ Goo Piles +WAP B42 Optics Patch +WAP Bozar and LMG +WAP F4NV Laser Pistol and Pew-Pew +WAP Laser RCW +WAP Year One and Bonus +Melee Weapon Replacer Pack +Physically Based Plasma Rifles +IHWT - Improved Heavy Weapons Textures +Weapon Retexture from EVE +Varmint Rifle - Retextured - updated +22 SMG retexture +DKS and Friends +WTH - Weapon Textures from Heaven -Retextures_separator +Configurable Pip-Boy Light Color +Faster Pip-Boy Animation +Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI Clock +Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI Glowmap +Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI +PipBoy 3000 HD Retexture +Classic Fallout 2 Metal armor Mk II +Classic Fallout Metal Armor +Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux Patch +Classic Fallout 2 Desert Vanilla Tex +Classic Fallout 2 combat armor Mark 2 (remastered) +Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux +Character Kit Remake BB Patch +Character Kit Remake Uncut VNV Patch +Character Kit Remake Living Desert Patch +Character Kit Remake FPGE Patch +Character Kit Remake YUP Patch +Character Kit Remake - Hands +Character Kit Remake - Teeth +Character Kit Remake - Hair +Character Kit Remake Uncom Face Normals +Character Kit Remake +S6S Spice of Life Replacement Plugin - Scripted - Compatibility Config +S6S Spice of Life Replacement Plugin - Scripted - Compatibility +Spice of Life - Variety Armor and Clothing Robert Breeze Type3 +Type3 Body and Armor replacer -Expansion_separator +Power Armor Visual Enhancement (PAVE) +Titans of The New West +Assorted Leather Armor Retexture +The Gruntening - 2k Combat Armor Retextures +Assorted NCR Armor Retexture +Assorted Legion Armor Retexture +Physically Based Rangers +PM's HD Ranger Outfits +PM's HD Legion Overhaul -Armor_separator +Wasteland Clothing HD V1-3 FULL PACK -Clothing_separator +FNVLODGen Output +Legacy Reborn Alt Rock LOD Textures +Legacy Reborn Texture Pack LOD +LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) SoGB +LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) +Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions -Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave +More LODs Additions and fixes +TCM's LOD Overhaul +LOD additions and improvements +Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color +Much Needed LOD +FNVLODGen Tree Billboards +FNVLODGen +LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE -LOD_separator +NillaPlus Wood (Please be mature in the comme +High Res Vanilla Posters and Graffiti +EXE - Effect teXtures Enhanced +F4NV Billboards +Casino Posters and Signs HD +HQ Freeside Shop Signs +Various Signs HD +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 3 +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 2 +Street Signs HD Overhaul -Tier 5_separator +Grass Remesh +F4NV Auto Doc +Pool Table and items - Redone +HD Currencies +Fractal Crystals +Elegant Lockpick Retexture +Textures Over Time -Tier 4_separator +McCarran main terminal transparent glass +Mccarran Escalator Glass +Better Benches - Workbenches Retextured +Magazines of Unparalleled Aesthetic Quality +I showed you my Dinky pls respond +Gun Runners Kiosk Glass Fix +Resplendent Rugs - carpets retextured +NV Playing Cards HD Retexture +High Quality Picket Fences +NillaPlus Crate Expectations 4K (large metal shipping containers) -Tier 3_separator +Physically Based Kitchenware +Physically Based Wood Crates +Physically Based Collection 2 +Physically Based Collection +Physically Based Parkware +Physically Based Chems +Blackwolf24s HD Clutter pack +Forgotten Desk Texture Pack +Sunset Sarsaparilla HQ Meshes Enhanced +Rectified Water Towers +Semi-transparent Door Glass +6IXES Clutter Texture Pack NV Edition -Tier 2_separator +Better Grass +Inviting Vaults - A vault retexture +Legacy Reborn Texture Pack +Superpele's Disordered Texture Pack +Simple Loadwheels +POCO BUENO Texture Pack Hi Res WT +NMCs_Texture_Pack_For_New_Vegas Patch +NMCs_Texture_Pack_For_New_Vegas Pt2 +NMCs_Texture_Pack_For_New_Vegas Pt1 +POCO BUENO Texture Pack -Tier 1_separator +Remastered Quarries +Higher Poly Rocks +Freeside Neon Sign Fix +New Vegas Palm Trees Enhanced -Mesh And Animation Replacers_separator -Salamand3r Guide_separator +Climate Control - 3D Rain +Climate Control - Rain +3D Rain +Interior Rain +Cloud Upgrade NVSE +High Resolution Bloom NVSE +Atlas Iconic Coloring +Atlas - A NVR Multi Manager +NewVegasReloadedNewVersion +Neutral Weathers - DNW for NVR - NV - TTW +Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW +Afterglow -- Neon illumination +Lumen - Ambient Lighting +General Lighting Overhaul +Natural Interiors +ALT EVEM +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW) +A Little More Lamplight +More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops) +Wasted Rocks Normals +Landscape Texture Improvements +Improved LOD Noise Texture +High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix +B42 Dropmag and One in the chamber +B42 Optics NV Patches +B42 Optics - ESPless +B42 Weapon Inertia +Smooth True Iron Sights Camera +Iron Sights Aligned +FNV Clean Animations +Anniversary Anim Pack +Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE +Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE +Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) -Visuals_separator -Harder Barter Faster Stronger +Idle Variety ESPless +Brave New World +Simple Open Strip +Uncut Wasteland Simple Open Freeside +Simple Open Freeside +Better Brotherhood +The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more +Essential DLC Enhacements JSUE Patch +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged +FPGE - EVEM Patch +Functional Post Game Ending +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - VNV +Vish's Patch Hub YUP Misc Content +Misc Content Restoration +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch +Vish's Patch Hub Uncut VIgor +Uncut Wasteland -Content_separator +NV Compatibility Skeleton +Enhanced Movement INI +Enhanced Movement +Diagonal movement +3rd Person Camera Overhaul +Hit - Drugs +Hit - B42 Inject Animation Pack - Season 1 JSUE Patch +Hit - B42 Inject Animation Pack - Season 1 +B42 Inspect - aka Animated Ammo and Weapon Condition Checking +Vish's Patch Hub Crafting Fix +Vish's Patch Hub EVEM Yup +Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged +Vish's Patch Hub SMIM Vigor +Simple Vigor Config +Vigor - A Vanilla JSawyer Fork -Overhauls_separator +Realtime Weapon Modding System +Better Character Creation +Bad Touch NVSE +Auto-Save Manager +Faster Sleep-Wait +Cookable Grenades +Better Caravan +Delay DLC Redux +Follower Tweaks +Immersive Recoil 2.0 +Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS +Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) +JLM Grab Tweak +Viva New Vegas Resources +JAM - Just Assorted Mods -Gameplay_separator +Simple Cursor (YUI) +MAPMO - Main and Pause Menus Overhaul +Simple Maps +Map Marker Icons +Weapon Hotkey Icons +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Apparel +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Weapons +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Items +Pop-Up Message Icons +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 CPI Patch +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Framework Plugin +ySI - Sorting Ycons +yUI - User Ynterface +No Exit to Main Menu +Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs +JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless +Menu Search +Faster Main Menu +High Resolution Screens +High Res Local Maps +Clean Companion Wheel +Clean Vanilla Hud -VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on +Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas) +The Mod Configuration Menu -UI_separator +OneTweak for FNV +HDR Save Image Patch +Fog-based Object Culling +Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix +Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless +Strip Lights Region Fix +ExRB - Extended Roombounds +Crafting Consistency Fix +Depth of Field Fix - NVSE +External Emittance Fix - NVSE +Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE +Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix +MoonlightNVSE +ActorCause Save Bloat Fix +Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes Elijah +Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes +Climate Control NVSE +Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE +Improved Lighting Shaders +Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM) +Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) +PipBoyOn Node Fixes +skinned mesh improvement mod +New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM +ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless) +Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE +VATS Lag Fix +Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) +lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations +Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI +lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes +Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) Blank +Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) +GECK Extender +Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus +Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP -Bug Ficksez_separator +FOV Slider +AnhNVSE +KEYWORDS +Basic Console Autocomplete +Console Paste Support +Improved Console (NVSE) +Yvile's Crash Logger +FNV Mod Limit Fix +UIO - User Interface Organizer +kNVSE Animation Plugin +NVTF - INI Presets +NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix +ShowOff xNVSE INI +ShowOff xNVSE Plugin +JohnnyGuitar NVSE - INI Presets +JohnnyGuitar NVSE +JIP LN NVSE Plugin -Utilities_separator +Fixed ESMs *DLC: CaravanPack *DLC: TribalPack *DLC: MercenaryPack *DLC: ClassicPack *DLC: GunRunnersArsenal *DLC: LonesomeRoad *DLC: OldWorldBlues *DLC: HonestHearts *DLC: DeadMoney 

My LOD is glitching out in Fallout New Vegas, showing the sign for Monte Carlo Suites all over the hills surrounding Goodsprings, see images:
https://imgur.com/a/IYwkk8Z
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Granted I have a lot of LOD mods installed - is there one in particular that's bugged or are a couple incompatible with each other?
Plugin load order here:

FalloutNV.esm DeadMoney.esm HonestHearts.esm OldWorldBlues.esm LonesomeRoad.esm GunRunnersArsenal.esm ClassicPack.esm MercenaryPack.esm TribalPack.esm CaravanPack.esm YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm NavmeshOverhaul.esm fixy crap ue.esp Landscape Texture Improvements.esm Vanilla Enhancements.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - YUP Patch.esm Bad Touch.esm Uncut Wasteland.esm Simple Open Freeside.esm Functional Post Game Ending.esm TLD_Travelers.esm Character Expansions Revised.esm Simple Open Strip.esm vault22FloralOverhaul.esm Mojave Wildlife (Vanilla-Style).esp Better Brotherhood.esm Functional Post Game Ending - YUP Patch.esm Walking_Inertia.esm Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Wasteland Patch (VNV).esp YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp NVMIM.esp Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus.esp Crafting Consistency Fix.esp Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix.esp Vurt's WFO.esp Uncut Wasteland.esp ExRB.esp The Mod Configuration Menu.esp Vanilla UI Plus.esp JustAssortedMods.esp Just Sprint Plus - JAM.esp ImmersiveRecoil.esp Follower Tweaks.esp DelayDLCRedux.esp New Vegas Landscape Overhaul.esp Vigor.esp Vigor - SMIM Patch.esp EVE FNV - ALL DLC.esp Little More Lamplight.esp DLC Enhancements.esp Varmint Rifle 22LR.esp Character Expansions Revised - YUP.esp EVEM - YUP Patch.esp EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch.esp EVEM - Vigor Patch.esp Trap Tweaks.esp Character Expansions Revised - UW.esp Uncut Wasteland - YUP Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch.esp IMPACT.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch.esp Casino Crowds.esp Misc Content Restoration.esp Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch.esp FPGE - EVEM Patch.esp Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch.esp Better Brotherhood - FPGE Patch.esp Better Brotherhood - YUP Patch.esp FNV FaceGen Fix.esp rockbiter_AnimationSounds.esp B42Inertia.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch.esp Interior Rain.esp Viva New Vegas - LOD.esp Diagonal movement.esp 360Movement.esp 360Movement - Diagonal movement Patch.esp Animated Ingestibles.esp B42Bash.esp B42Descriptions.esp dD - Enhanced Blood Main NV.esp dD-Less Screen Blood Time.esp dD-More Gore.esp dD-Reduced Dismember Force.esp LightUpAndSmokeThoseCigarettes_edisleado.esp lightupandsmokethosecigarettes_dm.esp MaxFollowers12.esp QS_Blackwolf_NV_Backpackmod.esp The Weapon Mod Menu.esp FOVSlider.esp boa ncrpahelmet.esp Boacombat2glove.esp Better Burned Man.esp PipBoyEffects.esp PASSDLC.esp LoreAccurateJacobstownVoices.esp Power Armor Holo Panel.esp 3DGrenadeIndicator.esp PipBoyUITweaks.esp ItemCards.esp Character Expansions Revised - Extras.esp Universal Item Sorter.esp JIP Companions Command & Control.esp TreePositions.esp LessFlickeryCityOfNewVegas.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks.esp Strip Lights Region Fix.esp DNWeathers.esp Realism Redux.esp CC - Rain.esp CC - 3D Rain.esp 

Mod list below:

DLC: TribalPack DLC: OldWorldBlues DLC: MercenaryPack DLC: LonesomeRoad DLC: HonestHearts DLC: GunRunnersArsenal DLC: DeadMoney DLC: ClassicPack DLC: CaravanPack [Viva New Vegas 30.4.2024] [Utilities] Fixed ESMs JIP LN NVSE Plugin JIP LN Settings INI JohnnyGuitar NVSE JohnnyGuitar NVSE - All Tweaks Preset ShowOff xNVSE Plugin ShowOff INI NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix NVTF - Viva Default Preset NVTF - Texture Modding Preset kNVSE Animation Plugin UIO - User Interface Organizer FNV Mod Limit Fix Yvile's Crash Logger Improved Console (NVSE) Console Paste Support Basic Console Autocomplete KEYWORDS [Bug Fixes] Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) VATS Lag Fix Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless) New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM skinned mesh improvement mod PipBoyOn Node Fixes Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM) Improved Lighting Shaders Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE Climate Control NVSE Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes Elijah Missing Distortion Fix ActorCause Save Bloat Fix MoonlightNVSE Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE External Emittance Fix - NVSE Depth of Field Fix - NVSE Crafting Consistency Fix ExRB - Extended Roombounds Strip Lights Region Fix Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix [User Interface] The Mod Configuration Menu MCM BugFix 2 VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on Clean Vanilla Hud Clean Companion Wheel 256x256 Edition High Res Local Maps High Resolution Screens Faster Main Menu Menu Search JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs No Exit to Main Menu [Gameplay] JAM - Just Assorted Mods JAM - VNV Configuration JLM Grab Tweak Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS Immersive Recoil 2.0 Follower Tweaks Delay DLC Redux Better Caravan Cookable Grenades Faster Sleep-Wait Auto-Save Manager Bad Touch NVSE Bad Touch NVSE - Minimalist Preset [Overhauls] Vigor - A Vanilla JSawyer Fork smim - vigor patch Simple Vigor Config Varmint Rifle 22LR Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged EVEM - YUP Patch EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch EVEM - Vigor Patch Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills Harder Barter Faster Stronger [Content] Uncut Wasteland Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch Misc Content Restoration Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch Functional Post Game Ending FPGE - EVEM Patch Essential DLC Enhancements Merged Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more Better Brotherhood [Visuals] Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE Anniversary Anim Pack FNV Clean Animations Iron Sights Aligned Smooth True Iron Sights Camera B42 Weapon Inertia B42 Optics - ESPless B42 Optics NV Patches High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix Improved LOD Noise Texture Landscape Texture Improvements Wasted Rocks Normals More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops) A Little More Lamplight Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW) Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW High Resolution Bloom NVSE Cloud Upgrade NVSE Interior Rain 3D Rain Climate Control - Rain Climate Control - 3D Rain [LOD] LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE FNVLODGen Resources Much Needed LOD - Cleaned Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color LOD additions and improvements Less Flickery City of New Vegas FNV LOD Supplementation FNV LOD Supplementation - Optional Overpasses TCM's LOD Overhaul More LODs Additions and fixes Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) LODIFY FNV Wall_SoGB Editon VNV - LOD Patches VNV Pre-Generated LOD [Ryan Installed] OneTweak Ultrawide Black Box Fix Uncut Wasteland plus NPCs FNVUltrawider New Vegas Stutter Removal for Windows 10 Infinite Loading Screen Fix NVAC - New Vegas Anti Crash New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Remastered Simple Open Strip EVE - Essential Visual Enhancements Enhanced Camera 1.4c Enhanced Blood Textures Collision Meshes FNV update Collision Meshes FNV 1.6.3 to 1.6.4 MTUI Diagonal Movement 0.6b The Weapon Mod Menu Max Followers Desert Natural Realism Redux NV Map Marker Icons Pop-Up Message Icons Vault Boy Paper Doll Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Items Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Apparel Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Framework Plugin Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Weapons Weapon Hotkey Icons Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Extension Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - DLC's Items Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Reputation Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Addendumb Stats (And Some Perks) Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Dynamicon Vanilla Fonts Revisited Alternative Icons Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas) My Mommie Says I'm Special Consistent Pip-Boy Icons - Mod Patches Optional Plugins Animated Ingestibles (english) Animated Ingestibles - Update (english) 360 Movement NV Compatibility Skeleton PipBoy 3000 HD Retexture - PC and Xbox B42 Melee Bash IMPACT - The Michael Bay Light Up and Smoke Those Cigarettes v6d Dead Money Patch Hi-Res Eyes 1-2 Blackwolf Backpacks New Vegas ver01d Blackwolf Backpacks Nash Vendor Only B42 Descriptions Wasteland Flora Overhaul UHQNV Rocks - Roads and Terrain Overhaul Honest Hearts Trees and Plants and Rocks Overhaul MGs NCR Pack Ammo box BB Cigs Beige Pack Common globe Duct Tape Mop bucket_flat mop Improved OWB Robot Textures Improved Robots Textures Improved LR Robot Textures BOA NV The Book Of Flesh nov 2011 book of steel Hall Of Equipment PM's Med-Textures Better Burned Man Super Mutants HD - 4k WTH - Weapon Textures from Heaven 2k NMCs Textures NV LARGE Pack Part 1 of 3 FOR NMM NMCs Textures NV LARGE Pack Part 2 of 3 FOR NMM NMCs Textures NV LARGE Pack Part 3 of 3 FOR NMM Naval Chair Fix Water Tower Clark County Fix NMC New Vegas Patch for ALL Sized packs 21-9 Ratio Main screen for NMCs Texture Pack NMC's Pre-Generated Original LOD Updated NMC LOD texture fix NMC LOD Patch Walking Inertia SUP NVSE Plugin FOV Slider Pip-Boy Effects P.A.S.S. - Power Armor Suspension Shocks Lore Accurate Jacobstown Voices SPAHUD 3D Grenade Indicator yUI ySI - Sorting Icons ySI - Colorful Icons Fix ySI - Colorful Icons Fix (JLM) Pip-Boy UI Tweaks Color Inventory Ycons TTW Weapon Mod Description Fix Item Cards Simple Open Freeside Character Expansions Revised Character Expansions Revised - UW Character Expansions Revised - YUP Vault 22 Flora Overhaul Remastered Universal Item Sorter JIP Companions Command and Control Casino Crowds Mojave Wildlife - Vanilla Version FNVLODGen Output 

https://youtu.be/mPRNoBaveqI?si=YEFtn7eua3yF2CQl
Played on IOS Delta App, cheats used in the Code Breaker tab. Hope this helps with this lame quest!
(My game was actually bugged and I couldn’t enter the Mt.Moon cave, kept getting the zubat attack dialog preventing me from entering)
CODES — Red Shard: 82025840 0030, Yellow Shard: 82025840 0032, Green Shard: 82025840 0034

My LOD is glitching out, showing the sign for Monte Carlo Suites all over the hills surrounding Goodsprings, see images:
https://imgur.com/a/IYwkk8Z
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Granted I have a lot of LOD mods installed - is there one in particular that's bugged or are a couple incompatible with each other? Mod list below:

DLC: TribalPack DLC: OldWorldBlues DLC: MercenaryPack DLC: LonesomeRoad DLC: HonestHearts DLC: GunRunnersArsenal DLC: DeadMoney DLC: ClassicPack DLC: CaravanPack [Viva New Vegas 30.4.2024] [Utilities] Fixed ESMs JIP LN NVSE Plugin JIP LN Settings INI JohnnyGuitar NVSE JohnnyGuitar NVSE - All Tweaks Preset ShowOff xNVSE Plugin ShowOff INI NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix NVTF - Viva Default Preset NVTF - Texture Modding Preset kNVSE Animation Plugin UIO - User Interface Organizer FNV Mod Limit Fix Yvile's Crash Logger Improved Console (NVSE) Console Paste Support Basic Console Autocomplete KEYWORDS [Bug Fixes] Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) VATS Lag Fix Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless) New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM skinned mesh improvement mod PipBoyOn Node Fixes Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM) Improved Lighting Shaders Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE Climate Control NVSE Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes Elijah Missing Distortion Fix ActorCause Save Bloat Fix MoonlightNVSE Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE External Emittance Fix - NVSE Depth of Field Fix - NVSE Crafting Consistency Fix ExRB - Extended Roombounds Strip Lights Region Fix Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix [User Interface] The Mod Configuration Menu MCM BugFix 2 VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on Clean Vanilla Hud Clean Companion Wheel 256x256 Edition High Res Local Maps High Resolution Screens Faster Main Menu Menu Search JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs No Exit to Main Menu [Gameplay] JAM - Just Assorted Mods JAM - VNV Configuration JLM Grab Tweak Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS Immersive Recoil 2.0 Follower Tweaks Delay DLC Redux Better Caravan Cookable Grenades Faster Sleep-Wait Auto-Save Manager Bad Touch NVSE Bad Touch NVSE - Minimalist Preset [Overhauls] Vigor - A Vanilla JSawyer Fork smim - vigor patch Simple Vigor Config Varmint Rifle 22LR Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged EVEM - YUP Patch EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch EVEM - Vigor Patch Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills Harder Barter Faster Stronger [Content] Uncut Wasteland Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch Misc Content Restoration Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch Functional Post Game Ending FPGE - EVEM Patch Essential DLC Enhancements Merged Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more Better Brotherhood [Visuals] Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE Anniversary Anim Pack FNV Clean Animations Iron Sights Aligned Smooth True Iron Sights Camera B42 Weapon Inertia B42 Optics - ESPless B42 Optics NV Patches High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix Improved LOD Noise Texture Landscape Texture Improvements Wasted Rocks Normals More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops) A Little More Lamplight Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW) Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW High Resolution Bloom NVSE Cloud Upgrade NVSE Interior Rain 3D Rain Climate Control - Rain Climate Control - 3D Rain [LOD] LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE FNVLODGen Resources Much Needed LOD - Cleaned Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color LOD additions and improvements Less Flickery City of New Vegas FNV LOD Supplementation FNV LOD Supplementation - Optional Overpasses TCM's LOD Overhaul More LODs Additions and fixes Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) LODIFY FNV Wall_SoGB Editon VNV - LOD Patches VNV Pre-Generated LOD [Ryan Installed] OneTweak Ultrawide Black Box Fix Uncut Wasteland plus NPCs FNVUltrawider New Vegas Stutter Removal for Windows 10 Infinite Loading Screen Fix NVAC - 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That's right folks it's a big day LOST: Circle Season 6 is now available! Here is a clip to celebrate the release (this combines the lighthouse and cave scenes from season 6)! The entire season has been released and that's eight episodes total!
If you want to find out more about the project check out the website here.
More information on Season 6's release is available here.
Clips are available at the bottom on of this post or here.
This means we have only one season remaining! Season 7 will premiere it's first four episodes on May 19th (along with another excellent Lost: Circly surprise!) and the series finale will premiere on May 23rd just like it did once upon a yesteryear. I can't wait to share it all with you!! The End is nigh!!
If you need a link to the series you can send me a DM here on Reddit or The Island: A LOST Fan Server on Discord which you can also find linked directly in the sidebar of lost!
If You're New to the project here is a rundown on it's goals and features: Lost: Circle is a brand new and currently ongoing chronological fan edit of lost that tells the story through the lens of experience. This adheres to the cardinal time travel rule of lost Whatever Happened Happened. This means that the time travel moments the characters experience will happen when they happened to that person. So on day 108+ after the crash. Not towards the beginning of the narrative.
This fan edit features a lot of cool additions including:

• All on-screen opening credits have been removed for seamless scene by scene viewing

-30+ HOURS of additional music from Michael Giacchino and many other amazing artists
-Additional or alternative musical montages
-New shot by shot color grading on the entire series to bring the footage from multiple seasons in line with each other. Removed orange tint on Nigeria, Tunisia, and Iraq set scenes.
-End credits sequences from scratch to credit the entire cast and crew of a given episode
-All of the foreign language dialog that didn't have subtitles on it (IE. a lot of Jins on island dialog for example) has been translated and subtitles have been created and added.
-No split-screen in any of the episodes
-The Missing Pieces (only available in stereo) have been remixed from stereo into 5.1 using AI audio processors to lift elements from a sound mix.
-All episodes are presented in 1080p 5.1 surround, upon completion of the last season THIS SUMMER a 4k HDR remaster will begin!! I will also re-release the original cut of lost in this manner when the LOST: CIRCLE one is complete!
And so much more!! I've spend countless hours on every aspect of this edit and I think the results have turned out pretty great!! The feedback I've received thus far has been so enthusiastic and I'd like to thank everyone who has reached out!!!
Here are some clips from the YouTube page:
*NEW* Season 6 Episode 2 Clip
Season 5 Trailer
The Crash - Season 1 Finale Clip
The Crash Aftermath - Season 2 Premiere Clip
Season 2 Episode 3 - Second Chance - Shambala Sequence
Season 2 Episode 6 - B-6-12 - Ending Montage (Extended I Shall Not Walk Alone Sequence)
Season 2 Episode 12 - The City of Luil - Boone Makes Contact with the Tailies, Dies.
Season 2 Episode 12 - The City of Luil - Ending Sequence (Life and Death)
Season 3 Episode 1 - Little Gidding - Opening Montage (Make Your Own Kind of Music Extended)
Season 3 Episode 1 - Little Gidding - Jack Goes Down the Hatch
Season 3 Episode 2 - Dig Down
Nigeria Color Grade Comparison

No, Ezra and Sabine would not be a “ship”
To qualify the title, no, Ezra and Sabine do NOT absolutely have to be a couple, but if they were to become one, it would NOT be a ship. A “ship” is a relationship that’s rushed and/or forced with no real development. Ezra and Sabine’s relationship has had years of development. Could they remain as simply friends? Yes, but ironically, it was their “friendship” that felt like more of a ship. It felt like the Ahsoka show, helmed by Dave Filoni, was going out of its way to tell us: “no, they’re not a couple, they’re just friends.”
I believe that Filoni made some very poor writing choices to stress something that didn’t really need to be stressed, such that it almost felt like he was in denial. The line “I love you like a sister” was never in Rebels, Filoni essentially had that retconned in, and like many I was put off by their (largely) emotionless reunion. Even if they were “just friends” I believe there would be a great deal more emotion displayed between two people that hadn’t seen each other in some ten years, especially when one of them was in a precarious situation when they parted. I also believe Ezra would be far more curious about Sabine being Force sensitive, perhaps even offering to help train her when she told him that her training hadn’t gone as well with Ahsoka. He did help to train her with the Darksaber, didn’t he? Why that never came up is another discussion, but for now, let’s focus on shipping.
In case you think I’m desperate to have them as a couple, no I’m not. I’m about the furthest thing from it. Like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers) I DESPISE shipping. Absolutely DESPISE it. With a flaming passion. Perhaps for this reason, and maybe some others, like many millennials and Gen-Z’ers (and perhaps some Gen-Xers and boomers), I’m generally wary of nearly all romance in fiction, and generally avoid it in my own work. The sad reality is that romance is perhaps the most abused genre in all of fiction, all throughout history. It has been so badly abused that many people, including myself for the longest time, have equated romance with shipping, though I’m slowly beginning to see that they are not the same thing, and one does not necessarily have to go with the other.
But sadly, many writers, through time immemorial, have not been able to separate them, going back into ancient times and perhaps even into pre-history, that is before languages were actually written down. Some of what is considered great literature; classics like Romeo and Juliet, are predicated on shipping, though at least the consequences of this “whirlwind romance” are shown to be fairly stark. Star Wars itself is no stranger to shipping, resulting in a very awkward incestuous kiss when Luke was shipped with Leia, then Leia was placed with Han and Lucas made Luke and Leia brother and sister, apparently having forgotten his original ship. Later Lucas essentially shipped Anakin and Padme, resulting in some of the most cringeworthy dialog in the history of film. Many fans of the Prequels even have been somewhat critical of Anakin’s portrayal, particularly in regards to the “romantic” scenes, with many describing them as “creepy”. Some have speculated that this was intentional, though personally I think it was just the result of bad writing on the part of George Lucas, and an impatience on his part for Anakin and Padme to become a couple, hence “shipping”.
One might wonder why this is so prevalent in fiction, and tragically, one does not have to look far. Fiction is merely a reflection of reality, therefore the reason that shipping is so common in our stories is that we fall so easily into it in real life. Indeed, entire cultures may be based around shipping, or at least very heavily wrapped up in it. Throughout history arranged marriages have been the norm, and the idea of marrying for “love” is something relatively new. To be fair, I’ve actually met people in arranged marriages who seemed to be fairly happy, but those same people were very open in telling me that many despise that aspect of their culture, and that it is quite normal for those in an arranged marriage to try to get out.
People might come together for “love” without marrying, but even then it often creates expectations that might turn into a burden. Even when a marriage is voluntary and for “love”, people are often left unsatisfied, such that today in the West the divorce rate is something like 50%. Happy, stable, long term relationships seem to be the exception across cultures and across the breadth and width of time. And yet pursuit of love and some kind of relationship seems to be the highest calling for many people, both in real life and in fiction. And it could be that the accumulated disgust is finally starting to boil over.
To be fair, this may not be the first time in history that the pendulum has shifted. You may recall that in Victorian times attitudes changed drastically, as compared to the previously bawdy Elizabethan times. Looking at a play from Shakespear, if you can understand the language, you’ll see all kinds of vulgar references, as well as what I believe are fairly sappy romances like in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, though I can’t say for certain whether Shakespear was actually endorsing that type of attitude towards “love” or presenting it as a cautionary tale, maybe even something to be ridiculed in some of his other plays.
But regardless, Victorians as you may well know had a very conservative attitude towards anything to do with romance, and would often avoid the subject in many places, or tread very carefully around it, as if walking on eggshells. It’s not that people stopped being romantic, in fiction or real life, but it was treated as something very serious and even dangerous, with many urges repressed or even suppressed entirely. This had all kinds of effects on society, both positive and negative. On the positive side, it reinforced the ideal of people being committed to their partners, and of marriage as a sacred institution rather than a “casual hookup” as was more common in Elizabethan times. Likewise it reinforced ideals of modesty and chastity, which may be coming back into vogue, though under different names. But just as there were positive aspects to these attitudes, so were there negative ones.
Just because the urges I described were repressed did not mean that they disappeared. In fact, they often morphed into things that many would consider “unhealthy”. From one statistic that I saw, in Victorian times about one in every 60 houses was a brothel, with the modern rate being closer to one in 6000. Additionally, the rights of women were often repressed, such that they could not fully express themselves and find their own identity, and path in life, as individuals. Just as Elizabethan ideals gave way to Victorian ones, so did the Victorian ideals gradually begin to erode.
Perhaps it began with the Jazz Age of the 1920’s (the “Roaring Twenties”), or with the increased interconnectivity of people traveling to different parts of the world during World War I, not to mention the cynicism that pervaded throughout the West in response to failed old ideals leading to the deadliest war in history up to that point, but many Victorian ideals began to be seen as a joke, and even resented for their “oppression”, which to be fair was not entirely unjustified. But regardless, people gradually, and at times not so gradually, became more and more “liberated” and promiscuous. This culminated in the Sexual Revolution in the late 1960’s, when what had previously been seen as a vice and even a sin was now seen as not only “normal” but as a healthy form of expression, a virtue even. And just as these ideas were embraced in real life, so too were they reflected in our films, TV shows, and other media, often to the consternation of older people and institutions, like the Vatican. The Catholic Church even went so far as to “ban” certain films, that is to declare them immoral for good Catholics to watch. Many of the films that were banned back then, or at least controversial, like The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, are fairly tame by today’s standards.
It continued through the 70’s, at times warming and at times cooling through the rest of the century, until you could argue it reached a kind of crescendo in the early 21st century with the advent of so-called “dark romance” and the publication of books like Fifty Shades of Grey. (Ironically, many of the themes within this “dark romance” can trace their roots back to the Victorian era, yet another indication that repressing urges without addressing them often doesn’t work out as one might hope.) But as happens all too often, just as something reaches peak popularity is when it begins to go out of style, and that is what we may be experiencing right now. As weird as it may sound, we may actually have come full circle and may be on the cusp of a “New Victorian Age” (complete with “dark romance”, even). Web sites like Porn Hub and OnlyFans, as well as other similar sites, may be the new “brothels”, and what was once openly celebrated may be going underground, to an extent. The effects of this on society have been interesting to say the least, and at times I would even say bizarre.
Whilst many younger people seem content with these changes, many older people are concerned. I’ve seen a number of books, films, and other media receive positive reviews for example based specifically on their lack of romance. Many of these books/films, etc. fall into the “young adult” category, meaning that it is young adults obviously who mostly consume them. At the same time I’ve heard a number of older people, mostly boomers and Gen-Xers, criticize these same books/films for their lack of romance. Even some older millennials seem upset by the changes, as perhaps evidenced by Jennifer Lawrence’s latest film No Hard Feelings (though to be fair that film may be lampooning the older generation’s frustration as well as the younger generation’s frigidity). So just as in the past older people were concerned about the promiscuity of the youth, now it actually appears that many older people are concerned about the youth’s lack of promiscuity.
Who could have seen that coming? But to be fair, the younger generation hasn’t gone completely frigid. As stated earlier, much of the promiscuity has gone “underground”, or online, which many would argue is not very healthy as it might undermine actual relationships, whether they are romantic in nature or simple friendships. And speaking of that, friendships within stories nowadays often aren’t portrayed in a very authentic or compelling manner, perhaps because in ditching romance modern writers haven’t quite yet learned how to replace it with something else. In other words, the “New Victorian Age” may not be an exact repeat of the previous one, but may have its own twists and turns, for better and for worse.
This may all essentially be a manifestation of the Human Condition, in that we just can’t seem to find a happy medium, neither in real life nor in fiction. Thus we keep swinging from one extreme to the other, apparently getting wilder with each swing.
So where does all this leave us? What is it that we really want in our lives, and in our stories? Especially in regards to relationships? I think at some level we all want to see good and healthy relationships between people and/or characters, whether romantic or platonic. I believe at some point we would like to see good examples of both friendship and romance, and I would argue that the best examples of romance have them combined. Even a toxic relationship, if well portrayed or documented, can be instructive and serve as a good example of what to avoid in our lives that we might be happier and relate better to each other. A good relationship, by contrast, can give us something to aspire to and inspire us to not only look for the right kind of person to complement our lives, but to make ourselves worthy of that person. And here I’ll add that I’m perfectly aware that in real life (and thus in fiction) relationships can be very complicated and heavily nuanced, with elements of both “good” and “bad” in them. Just as people change over time so can the relationships between them change, at times getting better and at times worse, sometimes breaking entirely and sometimes growing stronger. Relationships can have just as many layers and dimensions as characters, more even perhaps, and a skilled writer should be able to reflect this complexity. At other times a relationship can be fairly straightforward, simplicity sometimes being the best approach. But regardless, the audience should be able to relate and identify with what they are seeing, such that hopefully they can incorporate the lessons from it in their own lives.
Where can we find good examples of relationships to study? There may be a number of them in the real world, but the trouble with studying real world relationships is that they’re often much more complicated than fictional ones (just as real people are more complicated than fictional characters), and for many of them it is almost impossible to know all the details and nuances because they are often kept private, understandably so, and even if they aren’t it can still be difficult, due to unique circumstances, to see how to relate them to our own lives. Additionally there may be far more disagreement about a real life situation than a fictional one, with many more points of view. To keep things simple, for the purpose of this article I would like to focus on fictional relationships. (And fair warning, there will be some spoilers.)
One of the best places to look, I would argue, would be the films of Hayao Miyazaki. (And this is pretty significant to Star Wars as you will see in a bit.) A film of his that stands out to me the most is Princess Mononoke. Like many of Miyazaki’s films it has elements of romance, and yet subverts them in a way that makes complete sense and feels very genuine, without taking away from any of the accompanying charm. It starts with two young people, San and Ashitaka, and as soon as they encounter each other there is a kind of expectation of romance. This may be inevitable to some degree when you have a man and a woman of about the same age encounter each other in a story, especially if they happen to be adolescents. The expectation may not be inherently bad, and Miyazaki does play with it. Both characters are thrust into dangerous situations, at various points end up saving each other’s lives, and at a certain point I think it is obvious that they have feelings for each other. I was certain that at the end of the film, they would be together, and if things had gone that way, it would make complete sense. Instead, they go in different directions, but remain good friends, and considering their backgrounds and differing worldviews, this ends up making even more sense to the story.
Essentially, Miyazaki could have gone for the more conventional, tried and true “love conquers all” narrative, where the characters’ feelings for each other would negate everything that comes between them, they would somehow find a common ground in spite of their differences, the romance would not only take over the narrative but somehow also solve all the problems in the story, and then the couple would live “happily ever after”. Such an approach is not inherently bad or wrong, and is fairly common in Western media and storytelling. We can see it in films like Fern Gully, and more recently James Cameron’s Avatar, both of which have been compared to Princess Mononoke. As you can probably guess, the problem is that at a certain point such a narrative can become fairly simplistic, and lack nuance.
Miyazaki’s films, by contrast, are very heavily nuanced, and are anything but simplistic. In Princess Mononoke the characters San and Ashitaka don’t help each other simply because they are “in love”, but because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how they might feel about each other. Yes, romantic feelings are certainly alluded to, but they are not essential to the plot, for it could have worked just as well without any romantic allusions. And ironically, this makes those allusions even more valid, even if they are unrequited. How so?
Consider that if love is essential to a given narrative, is it not relegated to being nothing more than a plot device? Again, this is quite common in Western media and storytelling, and is not inherently bad or wrong, but when it becomes a trope or cliche, I believe it is the essence of where shipping comes from. Many storytellers get caught up in this, usually without realizing it, and while a story can still work even with shipping, I believe that it usually works that much better without it.
This extends not only to Miyazaki’s handling of romance but also to other things like environmentalism, the conflict between man and nature, and the contrasting ideals of human progress vs. preserving the natural order. Movies like Fern Gully and Avatar, as already mentioned, handle these themes in a fairly simplistic and I would even say hamfisted manner, whereby all progress and technology is shown as being inherently “bad” and in service to “evil”, while everything that’s “natural” is shown to be inherently “good”. Even our notions of good and evil, and right vs. wrong, are challenged by Miyazaki, with nearly all of his characters having complex motives and multiple dimensions to them, as well as understandable reasons for doing the things that they do. Rarely can any one of his characters be branded as a simple “villain”, and rarely is any one individual the source of conflict in his stories, again in contrast to most Western narratives.
I’ll reiterate once more, a simple, straightforward narrative is not inherently a bad thing, whether the themes being dealt with are romantic or anything else. Sometimes it is in fact the best approach. But the best stories in my opinion are usually the most nuanced, that challenge our notions of what we believe to be true, and that force us to think about what we do with our lives and what we could do differently. To that end Miyazaki introduces all manner of themes and motifs within his films that are familiar to us but shows them in a light most of us might not have considered, thus giving more dimension to our understanding of things.
“How is any of this related to Star Wars?” you might ask. It is quite related, and you don’t even have to look all that closely to see it. A very influential figure within Star Wars was very heavily inspired by the works of Miyazaki, and that figure is Dave Filoni.
This video shows the connections in some detail:
https://youtu.be/Q_4L0BbSpHo?si=04jDo6qFCnZT135w
But to summarize if you’ve seen any of Miyazaki’s films, especially Princess Mononoke, I think the callbacks in Filoni’s work will be all too obvious, especially in Star Wars Rebels. Some of the scenes in Filoni’s work look like they were taken directly from Miyazki’s films, and many of the same themes and motifs often come up. The relationship between San and Ashitaka I would argue is very similar to the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, and not just because both couples rode wolves together.
Incidentally, Dave Filoni was also heavily involved in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I would also argue was at least to some degree inspired if not by Miyazaki then by Japanese anime in general. The relationship between Aang and Katara was developed with great care and was allowed to build very slowly, as opposed to simply shipping them. Likewise other characters very gradually developed as individuals and in their relationships, at times stumbling as they did so, and making mistakes, before finding their way back to the right path.
All of this is in stark contrast to George Lucas, whose character development is often very rushed at best, and at times some might say almost non-existent. So essentially, even though Lucas has said that Filoni has been “like a son” to him, and I believe referred to Filoni as his “padawan”, I would argue that Filoni is ultimately as much a student of Miyazaki as he is of Lucas.
Again, you might ask, “What does all this mean for Star Wars?” It means a great many things. It means that Dave Filoni has taken Miyazaki’s lessons to heart, and can handle things like romance, as well as other kinds of relationships, quite well most of the time. Like Miyazaki he can play with romance, tease the audience with it at times even, leave the romance unrequited, and yet still have it feel satisfying. A prime example of this is the love triangle that Ahsoka was involved in with the young Separatist Senator, Lux Bonteri, and Steela Gerrera. As wary as I am of romance and as much as I despise shipping, love triangles I normally despise even more, but this one seemed to actually work. It never took over the main story, and even though Ahsoka’s feelings were ultimately not reciprocated, she still learned from the experience, and grew and developed further as a character because of it. The other characters involved in this triangle also grew and developed from their involvement, though unfortunately not all of them made it. All in all it was a good bit of storytelling and gave the audience something to consider.
When a relationship in one of Filoni’s stories does bloom into a full blown romance he also generally handles it quite well. For one Filoni is sparing with actual romance, so that when it does occur, it can be that much more appreciated. And rather than rushing or shipping it, Filoni normally takes his time to build it up. An example of this is the relationship between Kanan and Hera. Some might argue that this is perhaps the best developed romance in all of Star Wars, at least in Canon. Built up over four seasons, at times it wasn’t certain whether it was a romance or a friendship, or perhaps even a professional partnership. Perhaps even the characters themselves were not certain, though it was hinted all throughout the narrative that something was going on. To this day I don’t believe anyone can say definitively when it became an actual romance, and I believe Filoni did this intentionally because he wanted to be subtle, rather than making things too obvious and having the romance take over the narrative, as it usually does. When it finally did become obvious as to what was happening, it felt very much earned, in a way that is seldom accomplished in other works of fiction, including Star Wars.
The relationship between Ezra and Sabine was also fairly well written, for the most part anyway, at least in Star Wars Rebels. Ezra was almost immediately smitten with Sabine, but being a young teenage boy, it was understandable that he would feel that way about an attractive girl. Over time he learned to see her more respectfully, as a colleague and even as part of his adopted family, not just as a pretty face. Sabine for her part found Ezra annoying at first (c’mon, what teenage boy isn’t?), but as he matured and she found out more about him she came to understand and respect him more, and see him as a friend and almost a brother, with there being potential for something more.
There were times when the relationship could have been better written, like in the episode “Blood Sisters”, where Ezra was written to be a bit too immature to make Sabine look wiser. But overall, the bond between them developed fairly well; both saved one another at various times, and took risks and made sacrifices for each other’s sake. Both reassured and comforted the other when they needed it, and it was endearing to hear their banter when they became more familiar and trusting of each other.
So why then was I so disappointed in how they were portrayed in the Ahsoka show? The thing is, after how well their relationship was built up in Rebels, as I’ve already mentioned it was strange to see how lackluster and uninspired their reunion was.
Within the Ahsoka show itself Sabine was shown to be almost obsessed with finding Ezra, living in what used to be his home, watching a recording of him over and over again, and calling out his name as she woke up in the middle of the night. She even risked bringing Thrawn back into the Galaxy, which ultimately happened, just so she could see Ezra again. After all that, when she finally does encounter him, her reaction seems fairly casual, as does his, as if they’ve been apart for no more than a week, rather than 10 years. Not too much happens between them afterwards either. Like I said Ezra does not appear all that curious about what happened with Sabine, how she found him, and how it was that she was now Force sensitive. Sabine likewise did not seem curious about what had happened with Ezra, and how he had gotten away from Thrawn. And with Ezra rescued and returned home, suddenly it didn’t seem as though Sabine was all that interested in him anymore, nor he all that concerned with her, though they were just as far apart as they had been at the start of the show. To be completely honest it made me wonder what the point of the whole show was. Were they just working to set up Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy? As some have said, Ezra felt like nothing more than a Macguffin in the show. Was Sabine and Ahsoka’s search for him just a plot device?
Considering how skillfully Dave Filoni had written his stories in the past, what happened in this latest project of his does not make much sense. Was he so concerned about “shipping” and so desperate to avoid it that he inadvertently “shipped” them in the other direction? Was there some sort of external pressure on him about how to write this story to have more of an appeal to “modern audiences”? Maybe some combination of those factors?
And here I’ll add that when I say “modern audiences” I don’t mean that in a contemptuous sense, though you may think I do. If there is any contempt on my part it is for those in charge of telling our stories, or those in charge of those telling our stories, who do not seem to grasp these basic truths. The truth is that audiences at their core don’t really change throughout the ages, only superficially so. Trends come and go but certain truths and ideals are eternal, and universal. How people relate to each other fundamentally does not change, whether they are friends, or more than friends. And deep down, I believe everyone (or nearly everyone at least) wants the same things. Nearly everyone at some point wants some kind of a connection with another human being, to know that they are not alone in the world, and to know that there is someone else who sees and understands things as they do. While this desire can certainly lead to abuse, and absolutely has, it is still innate to us and is not inherently wrong. Finding ways of connecting and relating to other people is one of the great challenges of life, but many would argue it is the most worthwhile of challenges. It may be the whole point of life if you think about it. As complex as it may be, many would argue it is what makes life worth living, and likewise makes for the best stories. Just as it may be the whole point of life many would say that is what most stories are about at their core: people trying to relate to one another.
Sadly, just as in real life, most stories unfortunately don’t quite get it, and the Ahsoka show in my opinion was an example of this, made all the sadder by the fact that Dave Filoni had done quite well with these characters up to that point. We may never know for certain what exactly went wrong and why, or if it can ever be “fixed” at this point, but I can’t help but feel curious. Maybe in the future Filoni will find a way to make it make sense, but I’m not sure how. And to be completely honest I don’t feel quite as enthusiastic to find out as I used to.
Also for the record I would like to add here that there are other factors that put me off from the show, such as Sabine’s Force sensitivity, that came about without much build up. But in this article I specifically wanted to focus on shipping because there seems to be so much misunderstanding around it.
I hope that I was able to clarify some, if not most of this misunderstanding, so that people could better appreciate what shipping is, where it comes from, as well as what it isn’t. Many people today are understandably sick of shipping characters, myself included. But I hope people realize that in overcompensating for something, we often come back around into the very thing that we are overcompensating for. Or sometimes, into something even worse. This may apply to nearly every facet of life, by the way, not just shipping. Finding a happy medium in how we portray our fictional relationships may help us to better understand relationships in real life, as well as how to navigate them. Neither fictional nor actual relationships can ever be perfect but they can always be better. To this understanding then I hope that I was able to give my own modest contribution, and if nothing else I hope we can connect on that.

Followed Viva New Vegas guide and The guide for TTW, Go in to play and the x axis is inverted,are any mods doing that !? it works fine in vanilla..already tried copying the default INI files no luck..
Edit: Since its not inverted in vanilla im sure its one these mods. If not and theres a way to fix plz lmk
MO2 mod list ↓↓

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer. +ESM Ultimate Fixes -Picker_separator +B42 Weapon Inertia +B42 Optics - ESPless +NV Compatibility Skeleton +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - TTW +Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW +Cloud Upgrade NVSE +Interior Rain +3D Rain +Climate Control - Rain +Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE +Iron Sights Aligned +Anniversary Anim Pack +FNV Clean Animations +Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE +Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) -Visuals_separator +TTW A World of Pain for Fallout 3 +A World Of Pain 6.94 +Functional Post Game Ending +Uncut Wasteland +Better Brotherhood +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged +Misc Content Restoration +Vish's Patch Hub +Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills +The Living Desert +Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged -Content_separator +Immersive Recoil 2.0 +Bad Touch NVSE +Viva New Vegas Resources +Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS +SawyerBatty TTW -Gameplay_separator +Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas) +yUI - User Ynterface +The Mod Configuration Menu +Item Cards +MAPMO - Main and Pause Menus Overhaul +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v5 - Framework Plugin +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 +Recent Loot Log - ESPless +B42 Notify - Corner Messages Overhaul - ESPless +No PipBoy in Power Armor +Alternate Holographic Panel +Simple Power Armor HUD +FOV Slider +Main Menu Redone - TTW +ySI - Pick Up Prompts +ySI - Sorting Ycons +Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) +JAM - Just Assorted Mods +High Res Local Maps +Faster Main Menu +Menu Search +Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs +JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless +Clean Vanilla Hud +VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on -User Interface_separator +Cookable Grenades +Follower Tweaks +JLM Grab Tweak +Faster Sleep-Wait -Tweaks_separator +Equip and Movement Speed Fix - ESPless +Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE +PipBoyOn Node Fixes +Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE +VATS Lag Fix +ISControl +Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless +Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) +ExRB - Extended Roombounds +Strip Lights Region Fix +Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix +MoonlightNVSE +Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes +ActorCause Save Bloat Fix +Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) +Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) -Bug Fixes_separator +ShowOff xNVSE Plugin +AnhNVSE +SUP NVSE +Yvile's Crash Logger +Improved Console (NVSE) +FNV Mod Limit Fix +Console Paste Support +Basic Console Autocomplete +NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix +Auto-Save Manager +UIO - User Interface Organizer +JohnnyGuitar NVSE +kNVSE Animation Plugin +lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes +lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations +ROOGNVSE Plugin +JIP LN NVSE Plugin +Tales Of Two Wastlands -Utilities_separator *DLC: CaravanPack *DLC: ClassicPack *DLC: DeadMoney *DLC: GunRunnersArsenal *DLC: HonestHearts *DLC: LonesomeRoad *DLC: MercenaryPack *DLC: OldWorldBlues *DLC: TribalPack 

Let me preface this by saying I do not mod fallout New Vegas at all. Completely out of my element here. I followed Viva New Vegas and Mojave Express Guide as well as the Mojave Express Texture Guide (I understand they're no longer supported but given they were last updated 2 months ago I figured they would be relatively up to date). Added a couple extra content mods for myself but that was all. I get crashes all the time- sometimes when loading into an area, sometimes when opening the pip boy, sometimes even when just walking out and about. There's absolutely no consistency with the crashes. Sometimes they happen, other times they don't. I'd post a crash log, but they are equally as inconsistent as well, and most of the time give differing logs. If it would be helpful to post one, I'd be more than happy to.
MOD LIST (load order has been added as well below):

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer. -FNVLODGen Output +OneTweak but Really Updated -OneTweak for FNV +VNV Pre-Generated LOD +VNV - LOD Patches +LODIFY FNV Wall_SoGB Editon +LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) +Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions +Parallax series -- Rocks variety +Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave +More LODs Additions and fixes +TCM's LOD Overhaul +FNV LOD Supplementation - Optional Overpasses +FNV LOD Supplementation +LOD additions and improvements +Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color +Much Needed LOD +Trees LOD Billboards Vanilla +FNVLODGen Resources +LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE -LOD_separator +Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW +PipBoy 3000 Remastered -- FIXED +PipBoy 3000 Remastered -MIMIC_WEATHER_REPLACER -MIMICTWO -Simple Fog Remover +MEG - NVR PRESET -fuckingidiotpreseyt +Neutral Weathers - DNW for NVR - NV - TTW +NewVegasReloaded +B42 Optics - Real Time Reflections Patch +Real Time Reflections - NVSE +Elegant Lockpick Retexture +Minimal Atmospheric Loadscreens -Simple Main Menu HD +Fallout Show - New Vegas Title Replacer +Nut Water Overhaul +ETJ Realistic Enhanced Blood Textures +Better Fire Barrels - ESPless +EXE - Effect teXtures Enhanced -METG - FX & Extra Retextures_separator +Securitrons On Alert +securitronHD +Eyes of Torment - Ghost People Retexture +Decaying Ferals +ghouls +FeralGhoulsHD +TheFriedTurkey's Bighorners +The Molerat Extravaganza - Molerat Retexture +aMidianBorn NV Superb Mutants -METG - Creature Retextures_separator +WJS's Super Sledge Ported +The True Blade of the East +The True Blade of the West +Hatchet Remade +Shovel and Friend +Fire Axe replacer +Kitchen Knife Re-Texture +Combat and Chance's knife Retexture +Cleaver and Chopper Retexture +Bowie knife retexture +Throwing melee weapon retexture -METG - Melee Weapon Retextures_separator +Physically Based Plasma Rifles +Laser Rifle Rebirth +Laser Pistol 3rd Person Latch animation fix +WAP F4NV Laser Pistol and Pew-Pew +WAP Laser RCW +WAP F4NV Recharger Weaponry +WAP 12.7 SMG Rebirth +WAP - A Light Shining In Darkness Remastered +WAP - F4NV .44 Magnum +WAP Single Shotgun +WAP Lever Action Shotgun +WAP Bozar and LMG +WAP Gauss Rifle Texture Edit +WAP Year One and Bonus +ETJ Miniguns +Grenade Machineguns Reborn - Weapon Overhaul +Holorifle Redux - FO4 HQ Replacer +Grenade Launcher Redux - FO4 HQ Replacer +Type II's Replacer Project +VWR - Vanilla Weapons Redone - Explosives +DKS and Friends +Nail Gun Retexture +Flare Gun Retexture +Euclid's C-Finder Retexture +Weapon Enhancement Pack +IHWT - Improved Heavy Weapons Textures +Weapon Retexture from EVE -METG - Gun Weapon Retextures_separator +Physically Based Rangers +AVCCA - Animated Visor for Classic Combat Armor +Classic Brotherhood Combat Armor +Classic Fallout 2 combat armor Mark 2 (remastered) +Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux +Classic Fallout 2 Metal armor Mk II +Classic Fallout Metal Armor +PM's HD Legion Overhaul +PM's HD Ranger Outfits +Assorted NCR Armor Retexture +Dandadern's Welding Helmet Retexture - 2k +Dandadern's Wastehound Helmet Retexture - 2k +Heaviin's Desperado Cowboyhat Retextured +Improved Desperado Hat +Veronika Outfit Retexture +Adamowicz Vault Suits +Atompunk Leather Armor - HD Retexture +Clothes HD - Doctors +Clothes HD - Powder Gangers +Clothes HD - Great Khans +Clothes HD - Prewar +Clothes HD - Gamblers +Clothes HD - Kings +Clothes HD - Wasteland +Clothes HD - Workers +Wasteland Clothing HD V1-3 FULL PACK -METG - Clothing & Armour Retextures_separator +F4NV Billboards +FNV-TTW Graffiti Redone +Vanilla Graffiti Redone +Fabulous New Vegas +HQ Freeside Shop Signs +Signs HD - Honest Hearts +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 3 +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 2 +Street Signs HD Overhaul +Nut's Street Litter Redone -METG - Signs And Decals Retextures_separator +Dead Money Graffiti Redone +Great Khans Graffiti Redone +Physically Based Beverages +Physically Based Chems -Physically Based Kitchenware +Stealthly Stealth-Boy rextexture +HD Currencies +Magazines of Unparalleled Aesthetic Quality +PM's HD Ammo Boxes +PM's Med-Textures - HD Chems and Venoms +Playing Cards HD Retexture - Plus Casino Tables +6IXES Clutter Texture Pack NV Edition +Blackwolf24s HD Clutter pack -METG - Clutter Retextures_separator +Physically Based Collection 2 -Physically Based Collection +Physically Based Wood Crates -Physically Based Terminals +F4NV Auto Doc +Pool Table and items - Redone +Resplendent Rugs - carpets retextured +Improved Rugs - HD +Through the Looking-Glass +Mccarran Escalator Glass +McCarran main terminal transparent glass +Inviting Vaults - A vault retexture -METG - Interior Object Retextures_separator -Physically Based Parkware -Motorcycles Remastered -Quality Carts +Terrific Traffic Cones +High Quality Picket Fences +NillaPlus Howitz Started--Howitz Going 4K (Nellis artillery) +NillaPlus Crate Expectations 4K (large metal shipping containers) +Textures Over Time +NCR Flag Retex 1.1 +Fractal Crystals +Rectified Water Towers +Sunset Sarsaparilla HQ Meshes Enhanced -Mormon Fort Gate Redux +Dinky the Deluxe Dinosaur - Definitive Dinky Retexture +Roads Redone (Road Retexture) +Architecture Retexture Pack (4k - 2k) +bsp_textures -METG - Architecture & Exterior Object Retextures_separator +New Vegas Palm Trees Enhanced +Wasted Pines +Micro Clutter +Vurt's Improved Plants +Simply Upscaled Grass +Mojave Flora Project +Remastered Quarries +Higher Poly Rocks +Irradiant Muck +Sandy Dunes +Nut Vegas - Landscapes +NMCs_Texture_Pack_For_New_Vegas +Base Object Swapper -METG - Landscape & Environment_separator +Pipboy Glove remover +ENB AO Fix 1.02 +MEG - Navmesh Compatibility Patch +MEG - TWEAKS +MEG - Patches +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 PATCHES +NV Compatibility Skeleton -MEG - Patches & Tweaks_separator +ATMOS Ambience Overhaul +Interior Exterior Sounds Framework +ADS - Backpack - Jump Sound Effects MONO +Aim Down Sights - Backpack - Jump Impact sound Effects +JSRS Sound Mod 2.0 +Project Reality Footsteps +Immersive Pickup Sounds Patched +Platinum Radio - A New Radio for New Vegas +F4NV - Main Menu Music Replacer +A Music Addition Project - Revised +High-Quality Classic Music +Some UI Sounds (SUS) -MEG - Audio_separator +FPS Weapon Lowering +Hit - Locomotion +Hit - Drugs +B42 Inspect - aka Animated Ammo and Weapon Condition Checking +SYNC - Remade kNVSE Animation Set - Classic AK-112 - The Adytum Rifle +Combined melee animation pack +Hit's Anims - Some More Animation Fixes +Hit's Anims - Animation Fixes -Hit's Anims - Season 3 -Hit's Anims - Season 2 -Hit's Anims - Season 1 +New Vegas Animation Overhaul Guns +Vanilla Animations Weapon Scale Fix +Hit - B42 Inject Animation Pack - Season 1 +B42 Inject - Animated Item Use - ESPless +B42 Loot - Animated Physical Item Pickup - ESPless +Hit - B42 Interact Skinning +Hit - B42 Interact Animation Pack +a Smoke before the Storm - No More Workbench +a Smoke before the Storm +B42 Interact - Animated Items and Interactions Framework - ESPless +Modern Stagger animations +JAM or Just Sprint animation replacers +Diagonal movement -Hit - Service Rifle Anim Set Redux -Hit - Anti-Materiel Rifle Anim Set -Hit - .45 Auto Pistol Anim Set Redux -Hit - Assault Rifle Anim Set Redux -MEG - Animations_separator +Configurable Pip-Boy Light Color +B42 Dropmag Another Millenia Patch +B42 Dropmag NV Patches +B42 Dropmag and One in the chamber +Subtler Bullet Trails - Retexture +Bullet Trails +Kyu's Ballistics - Fixed +IMPACT - Compatibility Edition (JIP LN) (DLC - TTW - All Mods) +IMPACT +Radiation Visuals +Sneak Vignette - ESPless +Just Bullet Time DoF - ESPless +Just Loot Menu DoF - ESPless +Weapon DOF and Blur Effects -MEG - Visuals_separator +Light Up and Smoke Those Cigarettes (and Cigars and Cigarillos) +Anton Chigurh's Suppressed Shotgun - No Country for Old Men +NVRA - AutoMag +Another Millenia Gun Add-on +A World of (Less) Pain - A Lore Friendly AWOP Revision +NV Interiors Remastered +The N.V. 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a JAM addon -B42 True Leaning - Contextual - ESPless +B42 Melee Bash +Retrievable Throwables Reforged -MEG - Gameplay_separator +ySI - Colorful Icons Fix +Colorful Inventory Ycons +ySI - Pick Up Prompts +ySI - Sorting Ycons +yUI - User Ynterface -Shiloh DS - Clean Pipboy Screen +Clean Pip-Boy 2022 +Simplified FO4 HUD +B42 Notify - Corner Messages Overhaul - ESPless +Pop-Up Message Icons +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 +MAPMO - Main and Pause Menus Overhaul -MEG - User Interface_separator +Hair Patcher Two +Sound Extender +Weapon Based Hands Clip Distance +HIPControl - Weapon Idle Position Adjuster - ESPless +AnhNVSE +SUP NVSE -MEG - Utilities_separator +Mojave Nights +DYNAVISION 3 - Total Visual Enhancement +Desert Natural Realism - Redux +Climate Control - 3D Rain +Climate Control - Rain +3D Rain +Interior Rain +Cloud Upgrade NVSE +High Resolution Bloom NVSE +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW) +A Little More Lamplight +More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops) +Wasted Rocks Normals +Landscape Texture Improvements +Improved LOD Noise Texture +High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix +B42 Optics NV Patches +B42 Optics - ESPless +B42 Weapon Inertia +Smooth True Iron Sights Camera +Iron Sights Aligned +FNV Clean Animations +Anniversary Anim Pack +Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE +Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE +Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) -Visuals_separator +Geonox Wasteland Outfits +Full_Leather_Jacket +Wasteland Specialist Outfit for Fallout new vegas +Mechanix Gloves -Mercenary Outfit +LexFONV Clothing I for TYPE3 -100 Outfits ReColor with Field Jackets +Clint Eastwood -Man With No Name- Pack +Gloves Galore +All we need is some gloves +Courier Head Bandage +Sunglasses Collection NV +Better Brotherhood +The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged +FPGE - EVEM Patch +Functional Post Game Ending +Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch +Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch +Misc Content Restoration +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch +Uncut Wasteland -Content_separator -Harder Barter Faster Stronger +Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills +EVEM - Vigor Patch +EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch +EVEM - YUP Patch +Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged +Varmint Rifle 22LR +Simple Vigor Config +smim - vigor patch +Vigor - A Vanilla JSawyer Fork -Overhauls_separator +Bad Touch NVSE - Minimalist Preset +Bad Touch NVSE +Auto-Save Manager +Faster Sleep-Wait +Cookable Grenades +Better Caravan +Delay DLC Redux +Follower Tweaks +Immersive Recoil 2.0 +Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS +Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) +JLM Grab Tweak +JAM - VNV Configuration +JAM - Just Assorted Mods -Gameplay_separator +No Exit to Main Menu +Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs +Show Water Source H2O - ESPless +JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless +Faster Main Menu +Menu Search +High Resolution Screens +High Res Local Maps +Clean Companion Wheel 256x256 Edition +Clean Vanilla Hud +VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on +Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas) +MCM BugFix 2 +The Mod Configuration Menu -User Interface_separator +Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix +Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless +Strip Lights Region Fix +ExRB - Extended Roombounds +Crafting Consistency Fix +Depth of Field Fix - NVSE +External Emittance Fix - NVSE +Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE +Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix +MoonlightNVSE +ActorCause Save Bloat Fix +Elijah Missing Distortion Fix +Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes +Climate Control NVSE +Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE +Improved Lighting Shaders +Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM) +Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) +PipBoyOn Node Fixes +skinned mesh improvement mod +New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM +ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless) +VATS Lag Fix +Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE +Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) +lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations +Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI +lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes +Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) +Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus +Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP -Bug Fixes_separator +NVAC - New Vegas Anti Crash +KEYWORDS +UIO - User Interface Organizer +ShowOff INI +ShowOff xNVSE Plugin +Basic Console Autocomplete +Console Paste Support +Improved Console (NVSE) +kNVSE Animation Plugin +FNV Mod Limit Fix +Yvile's Crash Logger +NVTF - Texture Modding Preset -NVTF - Viva Default Preset +NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix +JohnnyGuitar NVSE - All Tweaks Preset +JohnnyGuitar NVSE +JIP LN Settings INI +JIP LN NVSE Plugin +Fixed ESMs -Utilities_separator -Viva New Vegas 29.4.2024_separator *DLC: CaravanPack *DLC: ClassicPack *DLC: DeadMoney *DLC: GunRunnersArsenal *DLC: HonestHearts *DLC: LonesomeRoad *DLC: MercenaryPack *DLC: OldWorldBlues *DLC: TribalPack 

LOAD ORDER:

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer. FalloutNV.esm DeadMoney.esm HonestHearts.esm OldWorldBlues.esm LonesomeRoad.esm GunRunnersArsenal.esm ClassicPack.esm MercenaryPack.esm TribalPack.esm CaravanPack.esm YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm NavmeshOverhaul.esm Landscape Texture Improvements.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - YUP Patch.esm fixy crap ue.esp Bad Touch.esm Vanilla Enhancements.esm Uncut Wasteland.esm Functional Post Game Ending.esm Functional Post Game Ending - YUP Patch.esm Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Wasteland Patch (VNV).esp TLD_Travelers.esm NVInteriors_Core.esm NVInteriors_ComboEdition.esm Uncut Wasteland - NVInteriors Remastered Patch.esm New Vegas Landscape Overhaul.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - NVLORR Patch.esm A World of Pain Revised.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - AWOLP Patch.esm CIBS-Customizable-Integrated-Backpack-System.esm Main And Pause Menus Overhaul.esm Better Brotherhood.esm Character Expansions Revised.esm mil.esp SSTMojaveFlora - BOS & LOD.esm DYNAVISION 3.esm mil_Add-On.esp Securitrons On Alert.esm MEG - Navmesh Compatibility Patch.esm Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus.esp SSTRemasteredQuarries.esp YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp NVMIM.esp Crafting Consistency Fix.esp ExRB.esp Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix.esp The Mod Configuration Menu.esp Vanilla UI Plus.esp JustAssortedMods.esp Just Sprint Plus - JAM.esp JBTImproved.esp Diagonal movement.esp ImmersiveRecoil.esp Follower Tweaks.esp RAD.esp RAD-Fixed-NVYUP.esp DelayDLCRedux.esp Vigor.esp Vigor - SMIM Patch.esp Varmint Rifle 22LR.esp ArmedToTheTeethNV-Redux.esp Supplemental Ammo Crafting.esp Distributed Necklaces and Chains.esp 1nivVSLArmors.esp Titans of The New West.esp PAVE_NV.esp Power Armor Holo Panel.esp JSRS.esp PAHP_Edits.esp TacticalADSPlusFX.esp Immersive Pickup Sounds FNV Patched.esp Project Reality Footsteps.esp NV Music Addition.esp EVEM - YUP Patch.esp Platinum Radio.esp EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch.esp EVEM - Vigor Patch.esp EVEM - Another Millenia Patch.esp EVEM - Supplemental Ammo Crafting.esp Better Brotherhood - YUP Patch.esp Better Brotherhood - FPGE Patch.esp Trap Tweaks.esp Uncut Wasteland - YUP Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration.esp Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch.esp FPGE - EVEM Patch.esp FPGE - New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Re-Remastered Patch.esp DLC Enhancements.esp Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch.esp FNV FaceGen Fix.esp Character Expansions Revised - Extras.esp CER - Merged Patch.esp rockbiter_AnimationSounds.esp MCMetalArmor.esp Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux FNV.esp Fallout 2 combat armor MK2 (remastered) replacer.esp zMCArmorCombatBOS_Vanilla.esp HelmetArmorRebalanceJIP.esp GrenadeRifleReplacer.esp IMPACT.esp Kyu_Ballistics_NV.esp dD - R.B.E.T Main NV.esp WeaponBlurEffects.esp B42Inertia.esp B42Dropmag.esp B42Retrievables.esp B42Bash.esp BulletTrails.esp Little More Lamplight.esp Strip Lights Region Fix.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch.esp DNWeathers.esp Interior Rain.esp CC - Rain.esp CC - 3D Rain.esp Acies Apachii Hair.esp AEK971C.esp AK112.esp ATMOS Ambient Overhaul Intense.esp ATMOS Ambient Overhaul.esp Automag.esp B42Inspect.esp Chigurh_Suppressed_Shotgun.esp clintsfistfulrevolver.esp FPS Weapon Lowering.esp Geonox_Wasteland_outfits.esp Glove_be_gone.esp GlovesGalore.esp GlovesGalore_DeadMoney.esp HairPatcher.esp hitdaciggy.esp HitDrugs.esp ilbuonorevolver.esp Interior Exterior Sounds Framework.esp LexFONVclothingI.esp LexFONVclothingIPonchos.esp LightUpAndSmokeThoseCigarettes_edisleado.esp manwithnoname.esp Mechanix Gloves.esp Mojave Nights.esp NeutralWeathers.esp NVRA - ASVAL VSS.esp QwibHeadBandage.esp RadiationVisuals.esp Realism Redux.esp SimpleNightVision.esp Sunglasses Shipment.esp TGL.esp Viva New Vegas - LOD.esp Wasteland_Spe_Outfit.esp 

Please, experienced mod-goers, let me know what's wrong. I need to fix my game! I can't live like this!

Oh man. Forgot about may the fourth. Times have changed.
I do have some edits on the Star Wars.

• Return of the Jedi
• The phantom Menace
• Attack of the clones
• Revenge of the Sith
• The force awakens
• The last Jedi
• The rise of Skywalker
• The Christmas special

PM for links!
Trailer for The rise of Skywalker :
https://youtu.be/r2RRs7tejrY?si=JVi9l0sAztiIOro5
Trailer for the last Jedi :
https://youtu.be/S4Qq5ET0ZbM?si=IbV58L6PwJX7pGnZ
Edit :
Some might be interested on the changes made. Possible spoilers that may ruin the experience!

• Return of the Jedi : Never liked the movie being towards young kids. Seen it in the theatre and noticed it right away. So most stuff for kids removed. The small bears have dialog.
  
• The Phantom Menace : Never liked how the movie jumped around so much. Now the movie follows the 2 hero's throughout so the viewer can connect through their eyes. Mucho better for the soft parts of the brain.
  
• Attack of the clones : What a mess. Removed many fight scenes (like when Obi jumps out a window for a good looking but stupid chase scene) , trimmed the beginning so it focuses on the plot instead of the useless action. Inserted deleted scenes to complete the story. Anakin now maybe possibly might have used the force to get Pademe' to like him! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
  
• Revenge of the Sith : This was a bit better but still, all over the place. Trimmed many fight scenes and even changed a bit of the ending fight scenes so the mind does not wander. Anakin's dialog and motivations seem more apparent.
  
• The Force Awakens : Was so disappointed. Many changes to make the movie flow like a Star Wars joint. Many Changes. Main change is that Han dies from Klyo forcing an explosion instead of a lightsaber to the heart. No earthquake splitting the ground between the lightsaber fight at the end. So many changes.
  
• The Last Jedi : The last time I would see Star Wars in a theatre. Now they went and done it. Now they crossed the line. They did Luke dirty. They did Luke dirty. I was on a mission. My mission was to fix this movie. Waited until it came out and bought a copy. Oh man. Tons of edits. Now the first part of the movie, Rey gets trained. Used deleted scenes to bring out a more complex but restrained type of flick. Fixed this 12 sandwich eating, not for the original fans type of flick. So many changes. 6 and a half pages of changes.
  
• The Rise of Skywalker : Many scenes are gone that pad the runtime. Kylo dies. Rey no longer goes to fight with the others on the planet with the space ships. Rey fights the big bad dude on the planet where Luke went to hide. Removed a bunch of stupid jokes. Rey no longer holds up the stupid knife to find out where to go. Trimmed the talking between Luke and Rey so it makes more sense.
  
• The Christmas special : I edited this for fun ages ago. I think I was the first one to attempt this. Now it's a fun romp in the Star Wars universe that of course still seems made for tv.
  

I decided to go through all my movies and make a trailer. This means there will be about 130 or more fan edit trailers coming.
Anyway. Here is another edit with a female hero. So many female hero's these days. Can't keep up. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
So some controversy was made over the decision to make Doom guy into Doom girl. Doom girl. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I think the timing was horrible and they did not knock this one out of the park. So many be disappointed cause it was around average if not below that.
I actually liked this flick in its original form. Why? Cause it was low budget and the director was doing so much with so little. So many things be done that would have worked out better if they had more time, I imagine. They might have edited it a bit better. I mean it was so close. So close to being much better.
The flick has a ton of edits to bring out the hero more. The female hero. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Tons of edits to make the hero have more depth and bring more weight to the movie through a good solid main character. Pretty much the same idea with my Captain marvel edit. That movie was also so close to being so much better just like this one.
Tons of edits to bring out the story in an action fashion. Many small edits to keep the plot and dialog on track. So the ending has more weight through the female character. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
The hero is more approachable and therefore the story gains some of that valuable meaning stuffs to the viewer.
Trailer :
https://youtu.be/MQropJG832M?si=IAXP3ozMM450LS19
PM me for a link!