#AG watchthrough

[torchickentacos]

AG Watchthrough Episode 1: Get the Show on the Road! AG001. Long Post, I promise they won't all be this long, this is AG commentary georg, outlier.

Well. Outlier until contest episodes. I won't apologize for who I become once we hit those. Anyways, RE: above. There's usually not TOO MUCH of a plot in AG eps to even comment on, hence this post as an outlier for the pilot episode. So! Starting a full AG watch. I have never fully watched all of AG by sitting down with the intent of watching all of it. I have seen all of it, but not in a directed, intentional, in-order way. Changing that today to really see how it holds up as a whole outside of the episodes I tend to gravitate towards! I don't think I'll realistically follow through with this for more than a week. Going to be honest. BUT I HOPE TO! We'll see. The plan is to watch episodes in bulk but schedule posts once a day. Posts will likely get pretty long for some episodes, short for others, because AG is wildly varying in 'things to talk about' episode to episode. Anyways, episode 1: Get the Show on the Road! AG001.

Side note. I think I will put this in relevant character tags if I have any commentary on specific characters. One, so I can find my own posts. But two, I know as someone who likes characters who don't always get a whole lot, it's SO EXCITING to see people talking about them, so on the off chance there's, like, a Morrison fan out there, I think I should put it there??? Like, I'll read Hoenn Coordinator commentary from 2013 to feel something, so I want to be able to provide that on my end, too. I'd be heartbroken if someone did an in depth ep-by-ep analysis on them but didn't tag it so nobody could see it. ANYWAYS!!! I'll play it by ear and do it when it feels relevant and not just 'yeah this person showed up, I guess'. I don't want to be annoying but also you can just block the #ag watchthrough tag. Or just block me, I guess lmao.

So, the episode opens where the last episode of Master Quest left off (OS274, Hoenn Alone). Basically, Pikachu has electric rabies and May is getting her first pokemon.

The episode opens with May giving her internal monologue/narration about starting her journey. She hits her head on a tree, which may explain some of her decisions later in the series (/joke), but she's on her way to Birch Lab to get her first pokemon. Does she want to? Not really, but she DOES want to travel and this is a way to accomplish that. This is instance one of what I'm dubbing 'Early AG Girlboss May'. (Basically, in Early AG May was more of a go-getter. Or rather, she had more agency and opportunities to get her own way. Early AG May is far more... frankly, shown to be intelligent, which drops off rather quickly in favor of big of heart, dumb of ass May [whom I do love dearly]. I think it's largely done to emphasize Ash's mentor role and her student role, but I digress). I can and will make a separate post on this if anyone wants my thoughts on her character inconsistencies. But for now, just know she's not a fan of pokemon but will deal with it to have a chance to travel the world. She has a goal, she will get it done and use what's at her disposal. Anyways, behold. A girlboss in her natural habitat.

Now, we switch to Ash and Pikachu, alone and Brock and Misty-less (well, until the mirage special. I'll... get to that when the time comes, I guess...sigh).

We also find out Jessie's been to Littleroot before. I, uh, don't know if that was ever expanded upon??????? WAIT same thing after iirc spontaneous combusken where she makes some comment about young love and heartache and stuff. Jessie has some weird backstory in Hoenn (well, SC is Kanto but yk) that I don't remember ever hearing more about? Huh. Anyways. You'll notice a pattern of this in AG, of random interesting details being brought up and immediately forgotten.

Back to Ash. No pokemon center in the town, so he's headed to the Lab, where May's headed too. Birch is 'out conducting an experiment', so Ash just hangs around until he can go to the lab.

IN COMES BIRCH WITH THE JEEP!!! Ash's uber is here.

After giving Pikachu a quick look-over, Birch explains that Pikachu can't release its electricity regularly so it's all building up and getting a bit explodey. Apparently it's due to magnetic field exposure, and I won't question the science or lack thereof. Birch, fascinatingly, doesn't question when Ash explains that Pikachu was strapped to a magnet. Anyways, Birch's driving remains amusing to me.

Look at him go. This is fine and normal. Average Maryland driver.

Anyways, they get to the lab and hook Pikachu up to, quote, 'A device that will rid Pikachu of all its trapped electricity'. It goes bad. Another pattern you'll notice in AG- lots of explosions. Not just Team Rocket blasting off (solarbeam, go), either, just... lots of general, everyday explosions.

So, Pikachu quite literally blows a hole in the side of the lab and escapes in a frenzied state. Ash runs after Pikachu with no other pokemon, Birch follows Ash with the three Hoenn starters, and Joshua the lab assistant is like "WAIT what about that girl we're going to give her first pokemon to- oh, okay bye I'll figure that out myself then".

Team Rocket's... here, I guess. Another AG pattern we'll notice. They show up. they blast off. they leave. rinse and repeat. Jessie is depressed this time around I guess.

Anyways, says Pikachu could explode at any sudden disturbance, so that's a hell of a way to start off here. New season with the beloved mascot? Yeah, he's about to explode. Sorry about that. So, Ash and Birch split up to look for the imminently detonative rodent.

Switching over to May now, who shows up at the lab. Joshua explains that Birch has an emergency in the mountains to deal with and asks May to wait there.

May does not wait there ("I've never been much good at waiting! Bye!"). Joshua uses one of his, like, four lines to complain about kids these days. Instance two of Early AG Girlboss May, having, uh, an actual choice that she can make that isn't just travelling with the group in the back until a contest episode and then going back to travelling with the group in the back. Brock and Max get this FAR worse, though, a topic for a few episodes later.

SO. Birch and Ash are split up looking for Pikachu still. Birch slips and falls and we get a reference to the opening of RS(E, but E has Zigzagoon iirc), with Birch being bullied by puppies. Take note of May's bike in the back. Last we'll be seeing of it. I wonder if she got a new one in the johto arc that we never got to see. Sigh.

We aren't quite halfway done with the episode yet.

Anyways, Birch asks her to help him out and to choose a pokeball. She chooses Mudkip, who promptly water guns her in the face. I guess Mudkip is like a horse or something, it can sense fear. Or rather, it can sense dry apathy and mild dislike. Birch directs Mudkip to use watergun on the Poochyena, which it does.

Ash finds Pikachu and is promptly electrocuted. Badly. But he's fine.

...He's fine, right?

Birch and May see the thunderbolt and rush on over. We get this line from Birch, which admittedly did make me laugh.

"Pikachu. It might explode."

LIKE. OKAY THEN! Way to tell it like it is, bud. Then, seeing Ash, he yells, "PIKACHU COULD EXPLODE AT ANY MOMENT!" So, things are going absolutely perfectly great here. Pikachu panics at the noises and runs right off of a cliff, and Ash dives right after it.

We are interrupted by who's that pokemon.

It's Lanturn. 👍

Ash is falling, he catches Pikachu and a branch and is dangling. Birch and May get a rope and pull him up. Pikachu bites Ash and feels bad about it. Ash doesn't really acknowledge the random person there (May) but to be fair, he's got other stuff going on.

Team Rocket shows up. Pikachu blasts them off and releases electricity that way. Get REALLY USED to the team rocket portions being blown through like this. Just trust me on this, I'm doing us all a favor here. AG TR is REALLY FUNNY when they're funny!!! But... all the great one liners can't make up for the repetition of AG TR. Moving on. Pikachu feels better now (well, he passed out but isn't sick anymore), and....

Yep. Bike barbecue'd. 2 for 2 now, we all saw it coming, there it is!!!

They go back to the lab. May eavesdrops on Birch, Ash, and Joshua, and knocks over a flowerpot, alerting them to her presence. She introduces herself and Birch asks May to choose her first pokemon. Ash asks if Treecko is a water type. It is not. May chooses Torchic!!!!! Birch tells May that if she works hard, she can be an even better trainer than her father. I'm sure we all know who that is but it's meant to be a mystery at this point so let's all act intrigued.

I'm going to expedite the end of the episode. May inspects her bike, it's dead, she goes in and sees Ash asleep next to Pikachu and seems to think their bond is nice, even if she herself doesn't care for pokemon. She just watches them through the cracked door, slightly weird but go off queen, and she attempts to bond with Torchic.

NOW. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS GOING TO BE A RECURRING THEME. MAY IS TALLER THAN ASH IN THIS EPISODE. ALL THROUGHOUT AG, THE HEIGHTS ARE HILARIOUSLY DIFFERENT. I will be pointing out amusing examples of this. AG001: May is tallest. I am making a spreadsheet and keeping track. This gets far funnier when Morrison and Drew come into the picture and we get to just watch it wildly vary every single episode.

Now, Ash AND May are sent off to register for the Hoenn League in Oldale.

SO, this is interesting and another instance of Early AG Girlboss May. May doesn't want to go alone on foot, and her bike is ruined. So, she plays this pretensive game of "oh, my bike is ruined (thanks to you), and I don't want to travel alone on foot, if only there was some solution- OH I KNOW! Let's go together, I happen to know the way, it's no trouble at all, shall we?". This interests me because it shows... manipulation is the wrong word here, but again, like, it shows pretense?? that May generally lacks once her characterization firms up a bit. They're still figuring out writing her at this point, I guess, and we see her be more calculated and thinking and using things and situations and people to achieve her goals. Again, this does drop off into dumbass territory before too long, but it is interesting to see and to think about. When writing May I try to strike a balance- more emotionally intuitive and more of a go-getter like early ag, but not in that premeditated sort of way. She's interesting with the amount of wiggle room you have in her personality, because it simply isn't the most consistent. You get to pick and choose a bit more.

But the episode ends, and May and Ash head on over to Oldale town to register for the league.

End of episode metrics:

Height ranking: May > Ash.

More metrics will be added as we go on. I considered an explosion counter but I would lose track. We're already at like, six /not joking, deadass.

[smallblueandloud]

WE HAVE REACHED THE FAITH INTRODUCTION. CAN I GET A HELL YEAH.

my first reaction to meeting her was just: she's so… teenaged. i am so surprised and charmed by how gangly and loudspoken and immature she is. i think i expected them to try to make her ~sexy~ but she's really more of a tomboy than a femme fatale. and i love that so much.

[leakyrectum]

just got to s1e17 and um. i knew this show was gonna get sad later on but jesus that was unexpected

god im scared for the later seasons i dont want my silly slutty blorbo to suffer :(

(yes i do)

[dandp]

Also obsessed with Dan genuinely saying Glee is his favorite show at the time only a few days after the first klaine kiss happened. I know they've mentioned it a bit but I desperately want to know every opinion they have about that show

[marc--chilton]

AO3 down again within 24 hours so I’m also asking you mgv stuff to quell my fandom hunger…

What’s Giselle’s teen fate? Is she still super clingy to her parents, or is she ‘misunderstood!’ and going thru it? Does she have any childhood friends (maybe Chase and Cameron’s?)

good question.... honestly she has a great relationship with her parents so she rarely ever even feels super embarrassed by them, and if anyone calls her mom and abba weird, she calls their parents boring (she carries house's philosophy of "if it's boring i'm not wasting my time on it" so this is a huge insult in her book)

she's also not very good at making friends but that's okay because being alone suits her just fine no matter how much wilson encourages her. though she does manage to find a scattering of other outliers of the high school social hierarchy to sit with at lunch, she hesitates on calling them 'friends' -- they do consider her to be theirs, though, so??? at the very least she does warm up to them when she isn't turned away for sneaking a mantis in a jar-terrarium into the school though.

her first job is as a pizza delivery girl btw. they let her take food home sometimes so on those days house and wilson will come home to giselle already plowing through cheesy breadsticks and wings like "oh hey. i have dinner" that leads to her getting swamped with exaggerated affection from house ("i always knew there'd be come good coming out of having you!!!" followed by an annoyed yet fond eyeroll from wilson) and then having the breadstick in her hand stolen while she's distracted

[charmac]

forgive me if i get anything wrong with what i say; i only very recently finished my first watchthrough of iasip and much more recently started interacting with the fandom.

out of curiosity, is there a general consensus on how the fandom views the possibility of macdennis being canon? it feels like scrolling through tumblr and other social media there’s people who are in love with the idea of it being canon and those who abhor it, along with everything in between. reading through your previous ask, for me it begs the question: is there any reason why sunny fans or macdennis enthusiasts would discourage the idea of the ship actually being canon?

Nothing incorrect with what you've said; great question. And the funny thing is it's so confusing because there isn’t really a (good) answer as to how the fandom as a whole views the “possibility” of canon Macdennis, because there isn’t a general consensus on whether they should be/are considered canon already.

I think, to some extent, almost everyone has their own micro interpretations on Macdennis being canon or not based on what already exists between the two of them, though there are two undeniable facts: It’s canon that Mac is in love with Dennis and it is canon that Dennis (as Johnny) knowingly became Mac’s boyfriend this season. For a chunk of people, that is canon Macdennis; for others, it’s not canon until they’re in an official relationship, and for most (?) it's an in-between that leads to micro labels and conditional sentences before and after the word "canon"

For the sake of your question, I'm going to split the difference and say "Canon Macdennis" is an undeniably-reciprocal, on-screen hook-up. And why would Macdennis shippers not want that?

In my experience, I tend to see three main/popular explanations as to why:

RCG cannot write it. This is the most simple and maybe least popular (?) reason of the three that I see. The argument being that, whether they have the inability to or people believe they don't have the right to, R(C)G as cishet (allegedly) men can't write or act a canon queer relationship in a way that would be conducive to the characters, a gay ship, and/or the show, and therefore they should not write it at all. Don't trust it = don't want it.

It will permanently alter Mac and Dennis' dynamic. This is the most based (in canon) reason as to why people don't want Mac and Dennis to more-explicitly hook up. Their current dynamic (which has arguably existed this way since before MADBU) has always been pseudo-sexual, toeing the line of "are they fucking..?" for over fifteen years. It is true that Mac and Dennis hooking up, both fully conscious and aware that the hook up is happening with each other, will alter their relationship in a way (that's potentially destroying). There's no going back once Dennis' acts on the sexual tension between them with Mac fully aware of it happening, and some people don't think on-screen gay shit is worth ruining what they currently have. Some people are satisfied with the ambiguously sexual edging of these middle aged men and don't want Canon Macdennis because, for however it's written, there's no way to have them hook-up while retaining the unique ambiguity of their sexual relationship. Don't rock the boat.

Macdennis' current relationship is too toxic and canonising them would be unenjoyable. This reason is probably the most popular but definitely the least based (to the point of canon), stemming from the fact that a chunk of the fandom only likes Macdennis based on flanderised characterisation. If you haven't encountered this (as it's really mostly on Twitter) there are people who ship Macdennis only in fanon (either they found out about the ship through edits, fanart, fics, whatever) and they dislike the toxicity of their canon relationship (and the general idea that the Gang are bad people). Macdennis in this sense is treated more as if it were a typical sitcom ship, where the idea is that they finally hook-up, become boyfriends, and (mostly) happy together. Knowing the actual nature of the show, however, they understand RCG would never "let them be happy" and thus believe Canon Macdennis would suck to watch and would only ruin fanon Macdennis. Fanon > Canon.

I know people out there have other reasons for not wanting Canon Macdennis (i.e. Rob is too ugly to be kissing Glenn), and surely some combine a number of these reasons, but I think these three encompass the majority of what you may be seeing from anti-canon Macdennis shippers.

And I am actually interested in finding out where the divide lies over this, honestly! Right now I would predict the majority of the fandom here would like Canon Macdennis, point blank... but maybe I'm wrong.

[tostadamika]

Daniel Watches She-Ra & The Princesses Of Power

-S1E2- 'The Sword Part 2'

Today's She-Ra Watchthrough Art: Another Messy Glimmer Sketch

Okay so, it's safe to say as of episode 2:

Glimmer is my favorite by a wide fuckin' mile she's so real.

I don't know if it's been made obvious to anyone, but in case you haven't noticed yet. I have a huge soft spot for characters that fit under a very specific aesthetic. Glimmer most certainly fits it.

"But Daniel, what kind of aesthetic is it that you speak of?" I hear you ask?

The Best Kind.

(I don't even like MHA but I do love Mina, wish the show was good)

I find it really funny that when Adora turns into She-Ra she just is like, bigger. Like one of She-Ra's superpowers is being fucking tall.

Like being tall is one of her magical abilities.

I really liked the moment Glimmer actually started sounding like she was about to cry. Phenomenal voice acting right there, that alone says so much.

Just hearing Glimmers' voice breaking & hearing her struggling to hold back crying in the middle of her rant.

It just makes everything she's been saying feel a lot more impactful now. Seeing that it had this much of an affect on her.

She doesn't even specify how many people were lost. Like, fuck she might mean it's not just a few, it's not a thousand it's probably like millions.

Like, they didn't have to flashback or explain it, just that one moment made me go "Oh shit." It tells you more than enough to understand what kind of horrible shit she's been through. Amazing voice acting right there. I love it.

Shadow Weaver is still a cunt. Fuck you shadow weaver.

Hope your pillow is warm on both sides you wizard bitch.

Also Bow was literally the best this episode he was just like so endearing & every time he spoke I had a big goofy smile on my face. He's so fucking joyful. His optimism is infectious.

What else happened uhhhhh.....

Cat-Ra is angry because idk she's lesbian or something & she's decided to make it everyone elses' problem.

Like geez, Cat-Ra was throwing a real HISSY fit at the end there.

(please laugh i'm fucking desperate here)

Also I see they kept Swiftwind in this reboot.

Please.....

PLEASE TELL ME THEY KEPT HIS FUCKING WEIRD POPEYE GRUFF CHAINSMOKER VOICE.

LIKE IN THE ORIGINAL SHOW HE JUST SOUNDS LIKE THE NARRATOR FROM DOOM 2016. IT'S SO FUCKING FUNNY.

WHY DOES THE MAGIC SPARKLE PEGASUS SOUND LIKE HE'S ABOUT TO TURN TO ADORA & THEN JUST:

"IN THE FIRST AGE, IN THE FIRST BATTLE..."

I really fucking hope he still sounds like that because it's the funniest thing ever & I adore it.

So anyways, new ship dropped.

I ship these two & they are canon & nobody can fucking stop me.

If they don't kiss I'm going to burn down a church.

Don't be surprised if most of the she-ra watchalong art is just them.

Also Hordak showed up. He seems like he's a better villain in this one but he's still not even close to Skeletor levels yet.

YAWN.

You're gonna have to wow me a lot more than that, Mr. Whore-Dak.

[bluebirdmybird]

FMA Watchthrough: wow we really have a serial killer already?

Episode 4: This series really enjoys its serial killers huh

My Brother thought Edward was an adult. He's literally under 5 ft, he's so short, he's so immature, how do you make this mistake?

Like I get they aged slightly since the failed resurrection but they're TINY

Me: maybe I should burn down the house. Family bonding!

Brother: please don't

Ed and Al are drawing some speedy circles to catch random pickpockets in a train station

Alternatively, the train station just has alchemy circles ready to catch people

That would be funny

Imagine you go to a train station and you're like 'ah yes the regular emergency cage circles. oh that circle is new. is that a human transmutation circle-'

The entire time we kept forgetting Majahal's name (Hohenheim's friend) so brother just started calling him Taj Mahal

Ed and Al get beat by literal children

I guess they are children but. More childreny-children that don't have trauma adding 10+ years to their live

Also dear lord this series loves throwing the Elrics into messed up situations

Edward having chronic back problems is so relatable

Me too, dude

Clause: appears

Brother: is that a PAPERBOY?

He then insulted me by saying that's how I dress

Anyways. More Hohenheim mysteries. I'm so excited to learn more what has that old bastard been doing

Human Alchemy: forbidden by law and by everybody.

Ed: Well I dOn'T cArE

Also the frames of Ed eating are horrific

Enjoy that it took me like 10 minutes

Anyway then we get Clause trauma. It's actually really sad I couldn't imagine loosing a sibling so young

On another note, why did her sister dying make her dress like a guy?

I guess the 'ghost' only kills girls or something

I felt like that wasn't really explained

Ed than gets knocked out by a candle

Not his best moment. also what. can we have an explanation? why does he faint when he sees a candle?

Anyways the twist was INSANE

We both knew Taj Mahal was up to something but ANIMATING MANIQUINS WITH YOUNG GIRLS?

DUDE WHAT???

And then the actual girl he lusted after was literally RIGHT THERE

And she was sad he didn't recognize her : (

Girl don't even try to act like you were scared you were fully complacent in all the shit

Like she literally watched as Taj Mahal tried to turn Clause into a manequin

Enjoy the guilt I guess

And now thinking back, the 'ghost' watching Clause and her Dad in the graveyard was probably her sister in a maniquin

That's literally devastating

Crying sobbing wth

And then Ed lowkey kills him? It wasn't intentional but he hit the sword and boom. In his chest

Really highlights the differences quickly between BH and 03. Ed doesn't want to kill people, but also doesn't seem so vehemently opposed to it like BH.

Inchresting (interesting)

Nothing says brotherly love like "good to see you're depressed again and back to normal, Al"

Me @ my brother: good to see you're sad again! suffer

Clause gets a outfit change. We love a kid who just does whatever slay queen

Don't be sad boys, it's Hughes time! Wooo!

Final thoughts: this was insane. I've heard '03 was darker but I didn't think we'd get that deep that fast. Can't wait for it to get worse!

Also I am aware I didn't spell maniquin once at all in this I don't care

[eggthew]

me on my first watchthrough of invincible: I get that being 17/18 is a horrible age to be and being a working superhero and full time student must fucking suck but I don't really like eve that much. her hearts in the right place but oh my god. and yes her parents fucking suck, but her dad does have a point about being careless with her powers

me after watching the atom eve special: oh. oh. oh okay. oh my god

[panther-os]

I understand why people think cql Xiao Xingchen is older than Wei Wuxian because I did too for the first two or three watchthroughs, but actually one of the first things they say when they're having the talk by the cliff just the two of them is Wei Wuxian being like "I can't believe you're my shishu and we're the same age" which, since this is immediately after the lectures at Cloud Recesses, iirc makes them both sixteen - seventeen, if we say Xiao Xingchen came down from the mountain at the same age he was in the books.

[torchickentacos]

AG Watchthrough Episode 3: There's No Place Like Hoenn. AG003

Strategically doubling up on a couple days so we can watch iconic episode lines/scenes on their blog holidays (Solarbeam Go! Sunday, Harley's Ass Friday), so expect another post later today OR two tomorrow. This is a normal thing to care about achieving.

No real commentary here otherwise, no prefacing, so let's get into it.

AG003: There's No Place Like Hoenn

We're headed to Petalburg City! Remember how in AG002 I mentioned that a lot of episodes start out with Ash or May running ahead and the other one complaining about it? Yep, happens here too. Ash is excited for his Petalburg gym debut. May is not and lags behind. She seems to really dislike running. I don't blame her. I should make a ranking of pokemon characters most likely to walk the mile in PE... hmm. Someone remind me later.

Ash explains the badge system and the Hoenn League. May's weirdly dodgy about her dad again, which, BY THE WAY I will keep mentioning whenever it happens so you're all frustrated along with me when it's not expanded upon or resolved or even utilised in any meaningful way whatsoever. We're going to suffer through AG's lack of meaningful follow through on interesting plot/character points TOGETHER.

Anyways, it's really funny to me that in early AG Ash has no fucking idea what to make of May. He has a tendency to go "uhhhh sure?" to most of what she says. To be fair, Early AG Girlboss May™ isn't very direct whatsoever and she doesn't say what she means outright. She keeps her cards in her hand. Again, a contrast to later AG May who is much more of an open book. If this May keeps her cards in her hand, then later May doesn't have cards. She's not playing Poker, she's too busy playing metronome and assist roulette. Or go fish or something. So, May avoids going to Petalburg Gym and runs off to do... stuff??? And Ash goes to the gym, which is pretty similar to its in-game appearance, minus all the rooms of the gym puzzle.

Ash calls for the gym leader, and someone comes in claiming to be the gym leader!!!.... Hi Max. Max explains that he was right in the middle of watching a video of the Silver Conference, and he recognizes Ash ("You lost in the second round :D!"). We get a flashback reference to his battle between Charizard and Blaziken, which ticks the explosion counter up to 6. We're averaging two explosions per episode so far at episode 3. Hoenn loves explosions.

Max keeps pushing Ash's buttons, very intentionally. We get to know him as a character very well here- he's an impudent little know-it-all, but he does have the book smarts to back it up. Oddly, not entirely unlike AG Ash- an arrogant know-it-all with the battle experience to back it up. But Max enjoys getting a rise out of people, and he seems to very keenly know how to do so. Not that it's particularly hard with AG Ash, and this is the first real instance we'll see of that. He's been pretty patient with May so far, so this is the first time we see AG Ash AG Ash-ing.

Just wait until he tries to fistfight a child in the Deoxys Movie, WHICH I WILL BE WATCHING AND REPORTING ON! We will be doing movies as well. Yes, I do plan on getting very far off topic for the Destiny Deoxys movie and getting into my rant about LaRousse City yet again. It's a requirement for me, just as salmon must journey upstream. It's a deep, innate, inherent urge I feel, to go on this infodump any time it's relevant. Mark your calendars. Anyways.

Max pretends to be the gym leader and explains that the rules are 3 on 3, and Ash only has Pikachu. May then interrupts with her family in tow. Which doesn't make sense, as she seemed pretty insistent on avoiding having Ash know that her father was the gym leader???? Again, we get no explanation on this whatsoever in my memory. BUT my memory may very well be flawed, hence a rewatch, so we'll see, I guess.

Ash is introduced to May's family and argues with Max a bit more. We learn that Norman is the real gym leader. Torchic attacks Max because Max says he'd have chosen a Treecko.

I question the uneven layout of chairs here. Perfectly square table I think, five chairs, two on two sides and one on another? Interesting. Don't get it. I mean, I know it was to frame the shot but it's still an interesting choice on a practical level. But that's enough about chairs for right now.

Norman agrees to battling Ash in an unofficial gym battle. Team Rocket wants to steal Vigoroth. I won't get into the battles unless I have something meaningful to say about them, but we DO get a nice moment where Max says 'of COURSE Ash is a good trainer, he made it to the Silver Conference', which sets up another group dynamic I like in AG WHEN THEY ACTUALLY REMEMBER MAX EXISTS- Max is both Ash's worst critic and biggest admirer. I really like that Max looks up to Ash but would never say that to his face, I think it's just a really nice character detail. Max doesn't get a lot of those, and the ones he DOES get tends to lean into 'annoying younger brother', so it's nice to have something else there.

Norman keeps telling Vigoroth to use Scratch like four times. Enthralling battle. It is effective, though??? Jesus.

Explosion count is now at 7.

Caroline calls TR May's friends. She does the same later with Harley (And Drew iirc, though that one makes more sense, I guess). May makes this face- the faces in AG tend to be the same a lot of the time, so it's nice to get unique expressions when they do come around.

Team Rocket attacks, Ash electrocutes Max, TR steals torchic instead, Ash promises to get it back.

The Who's that Pokemon? segment plays.

It's Cleffa. 👍

So, Ash, May, and Max are looking for TR. We get a fun little moment- Max is looking for footprints meticulously and can't find any. May points out that that miiight be because they left in a balloon. I like this- it shows Max as someone detail oriented to the point of missing the bigger picture. Anyways, in the time it takes May, Ash, and Max to bicker (the bicker the better flashbacks), Caroline and Norman find the hot air balloon and Torchic, just sitting in a cage in what totally isn't a trap. Everyone but Ash runs towards it, they fall into a pitfall, which Ash actually warns them about. AG Ash is still ASH, but he does have the braincell sometimes.

They save torchic. May calls out for Torchic to use 'amber' instead of ember and we get this??? A quick bulbapedia search gives us this: "The original Japanese version of this episode contains an untranslatable pun. When May first commands Torchic to use Ember, she mistakenly says "kinoko", and an image of a mushroom pans across the screen. In Japanese, the words for mushroom (キノコ kinoko) and Ember (火の粉 hinoko) sound nearly identical. In the English dub, May instead says "amber", which was likely the only word that the dubbers could come up with that both sounds similar to Ember and makes the mushroom bit as relevant as possible, since the mushroom is arguably amber in color."

Interesting stuff! So, anyways. TR blasts off, explosion count is at 8 now. Max keeps calling Ash 'Alf'. Max says he should travel with too, and they all agree! Ash and May get a badge case. Max gets a pokenav!!!! I'm sure this will help prevent them from getting lost, right? ...Right?

They head off to Rustboro for the first gym.

Episode ends, which I do appreciate (the AG slog is hitting on the third episode... not promising). We're off to a start here, and it'll pick up a bit more soon, which is good.

End of Episode Metrics:

Explosion counter: 8

Height Ranking: Ash is noticeably taller again. Ash>> May this time.

[rileylastname]

LAUREN LOPEZ QUEEN OF MY EVERYTHING really went off with the choreography of this number. I’m so grateful for her thank you ma’am I owe you my life

I love all the cameos in the Hatchet Town proshot but it’s nice to see the live version too, I was wondering how they’d done that. I do miss Ziggy and Karen Chasity’s respectful pronoun use though

[oh-my-may]

Hey there

Hi, this is my reintroduction to tumblr (kinda).

I go by May on the internet, it's some weird nickname I made of my real name and goes back to my first gamer tag on minecraft...

I'm currently 22 years of age, which sometimes makes me feel incredibly old on the internet? At the same time I seem to come across many other people my age who go through very similar struggles as me lol

I curretnly work fulltime as a waitress. I'm European so I get paid a proper wage there, and the work with my coworkers is very fun and comforting. I'm not always the biggest fan of other people, but being a people pleaser and having the ability to hide my true personality behind a "nice" facade makes my job possible and bearable. (jk aside, I really like my job)

Hobbies include:

reading (I always say that, but I barely ever pick up a book. Just spent most of my early teen years absolutely ramming through a shit ton of books. I still really enjoy reading, but I barely find the time to do it. My tbr list is endless)

gaming (I'll dip my toes into anything that's not an ego-shooter, my PS5 is one of my most treasured possessions)

watching movies (last year I dragges either my sister or one of my friends to the theaters at least once a month. Doesn't mean I'm a movie critic or anything, but I really like watching movies and I might just share some takes on it on here)

anime (just a select few, the most famous ones. Life's busy when you have a fulltime job and still have other hobbies, but I'm currently on my first watchthrough of One Piece! Will definitely post about this from time to time)

listening to music (realizing I have very basic hobbies bc my parents never urged me to pursue anything specific when I was a child, but anyway: I will listen to almost a bit of anything, but Taylor Swift and Ghost were amongst my most streamed artists on Spotify last year. Do with that info what you will)

writing. I did start with writing fanfiction, first harry potter, then boybands, then kpop, then anime. Most important to me was always my original idea though. I know many people have things like this. A few years ago I thought I'd actually go with trying to publish something. Now I have revised and rethought the whole thing. I barely write, but it's still in the back of my head all the damn time. I always think about writing, but doing the actual thing rn seems impossible.

As I'm writing this I realize how pathetic I feel doing this, beacuse I have this awful feeling no one is gonna respond and I'll end up regretting this so much that I'll delete it. Thank God the internet gives me the opportunity to be anonymous.

Anyway, the previously mentioned hobbies lead to my (current) interests that I'll most likely post about, so if you're into one or more of these things as well, let's chat!

in terms of games: Currently playing through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and generally FF7 is probably a huge hyperfixation of mine and has been for years. I've just arrived in Gongaga on my playthrough and I'm loving all of it. The game caters to all the expectations and interests I have in games. It's just so insanely beautiful and makes me tear up every couple hours idk

on this note I'd like to mention that I dipped my toes into FF14 but since I only play on Playstaion now, all the commands are overwhelming to me. I'm definitely planning on playing FF15 and FF16

Kinda cringe but I swear I'm normal: Genshin Impact. Have been playing since early 2021, once had a pretty unhealthy relationship to this game, but I was mentally not doing well during that time. Having a fulltime job changed my perspective on the game. Now I'm a casual enjoyer bc I love the open world and characters, and I love to get into the lore, so I might post a few theories and stuff on here

On that note: Honkai Star Rail. Same company, but it took me way longer to get into the game. Really enjoying it now though, although I am struggling with a bunch of battles. Save to say, I am NOT playing the game for the meta lol

One Piece! As mentioned, I started my watch of it last year in summer just before the Netflix live action came out (work bestie talked me into it). I'm quite literally at episode 500 rn. Had to stop for a while at around Thriller Bark bc the first few episodes didn't quite do it for me. Now I try to watch a few episodes before sleep everyday :)

Other anime that I am different levels of unhinged about: Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Bungou Stray Dogs, Demon Slayer. The basics, I know. Just don't have the time to watch a lot while other life stuff happens, you know. OP is the main thing rn, and until I am kinda up-to-date with that, everything else will have to wait lol

In terms of book stuff I must admit I keep going back to communities and fandoms I was a part of when I was a teen lol. This largely refers to stuff like Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugho, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and All for the Game by Nora Sakavic

Right now though I am more interested in reading some classics and other stuff. Read Britney Spears' biography last year (within the span of one day, I wanna add), currently I'm reading a chapter of Crime and Punishment once in a blue moon. I'd like to read more stuff like that in the future, but everything at it's time ig

Other fictional universes I was once quite unhinged about: Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Both communities are kinda dead atm though. I'm still in the process of reading the books (which means I last picked them up over a year ago. But believe me, I'll get there, eventually.... someday)

In terms of music as I said I listen to almost anything. Not a lot of rap and techno, though. I like stuff with lyrics I can sing along to and feel deep within my bones. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" of any particular artist, I was very unhinged about musicians as a teen and I have learned my lesson. Now I just listen to the music without caring too much about the artist themselves. I used to really like 5 Seconds of Summer as a teen, then I moved to Kpop. Now I barely keep up with either but just listen to the stuff I did back then

I think that's basically it for now? The most important parts about myself. Stuff I like to talk about, so if you like some of this too, maybe come talk to me? I wanna get to know people here after all, and I have learned this is probably the best way to start.

I don't have many conditions for friends tbh. I'm 22, so anything between like 19 and 26 or so is fine as long as the vibes are good :) I don't care about genders and all that, personally going by she/her. I'm a Taurus, in case someone wants to know. Last time i took the test I was an infp-t (still think it's pretty accurate but it's been a few years nd I heard that test isn't as accurate? idk)

Other things you should maybe know is that English is not my native language, so excuse any mistakes you might come across lol. I dropped out of university. My profile picture kinda captures my most basic features.

Anyway, feel free to hit me up, I love talking to people on the internet and I really look forward to this reinvention of my account here and actually talking about my interests and reposting stuff I like :)

If you have any questions, just ask!

Until then,

May

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hi steph!

1. *hugs (if you want some)*

2. i LOVE your hair - i want purple hair so badly!!! it's like one of the coolest thing ever.

3. CAN I PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TALK ABOUT GOOD OMENS 2 WITH YOU?! (ik this blog is not primarily for go but... idk i just need *drowning noises*)

i'm just gonna rant and you can decide if you wanna answer this (probably messy) dump of thoughts...

😭😭😭

omg okay so "i forgive you" fucking KILLED ME I AM DECEASED AND WILL BE HAUNTED BY THESE WORDS UNTIL ETERNITY.

i just finished it... and i can't... i CANT! first johnlock now good omens... WHY AM I - a lesbian in her 20s - so obsessed with pining middle aged queer men?! like WHY?! (you don't actually have to answer i am just confused about this...)

the pining in this season was UNBEARABLE! from BOTH SIDES! and then we get a kiss but it's - WHAT I CANNOT

and i kinda want a s2e6 fix it fic...

and OMG NINA IS HARRY WATSON. they have the exact same vibe (imo) - grumpy, a mess, kinda bitchy to customers, etc. i also believe they are both easily wooed (by absolute sweethearts with lots of brave stubbornness) but try to hide it so badly because their feelings are just so vulnerable because of their past bad experiences with relationships (family & partner)

and like how cool that there is a lesbian representation too because fuvking damniit i need more! lesbian/wlw couples!

ALSO I AM SO FUCKIN PROUD OF CROWLEY FOR FINALLY SPEAKING UP BUT I AM SO MAD AT AZIRAPHALE FOR FUCKING IT ALL UP UFUDHUFURBE I HATE THIS

rant over, thanks for listening

PS: it's 2am where i am...

Hi Lovely!! *HUGS*

Sorry I didn't reply to this sooner, time's limited this week on my computer and it was midnight when I saw this, hahah, LOL <3

One, YES, I love hugs thank you!!

Two, THANK YOU!! I love it too! I've had it various shades of purple for a few years, I love it!! :D Makes me feel a lot more like myself. As I'm getting older, I'm feeling more comfortable expressing myself, even at my job since I hit tenure and I think I'm stuck there forever now lol.

Three, ALWAYS!!! I love Good Omens so much!! I also have a GO blog over at @inevitably-ineffable-husbands too if you want more content!!

LOL your reaction was the same one I had after the initial watchthrough, but GOD it felt SO different than the way I felt post Sherlock S4... Like it was a "good hurt / angst" that GO gave me, and I'm so excited to see where it will go from here!!

I LOVE NINA, she's fantastic, and Maggie is SO me, ugh, I love them both so much.

Crowley was SO BRAVE, but I think his timing was shit. It was an act of desperation, and I FUCKING LOVED IT. I am SO ANGRY and SATISFIED, and just UUGGGGGHHHH they love each other so much but they just CANNOT TALK and it frustrates me and makes me giddy!! :D I hope your rant meant you enjoyed it too, but I totally understand if you didn't *HUGS*

And never hesitate to rant to me, I enjoy chatting with y'all!! :D

*HUGGLES* Cheers, Turtely!! :D

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E12: The Conscience of the King

Original Thoughts

"It was fine. Not too much to keep me invested compared to others, but still worth a watch. Learning some more Kirk backstory was nice and performed well by William Shatner. The climax and ending are very much tragic. A tyrant caused genocide, then tried to hide and keep that legacy out of his daughter’s touch. But it failed, and that daughter killed the survivors to keep her father from facing retribution. It’s just… sad. They’re both murderers, but clearly loved each other, and the ending where the girl accidentally kills her father is just heartbreaking (even if her reaction dragged a bit too long). Finding out that Kirk survived a freakin’ genocide was also a pretty big reveal. Not the most interesting watch, but still a good one."

(Original Post)

Rewatch Thoughts

I sometimes wonder what was going on in my head back when I did the first watchthrough. I had originally started watching TOS out of pure boredom, so maybe I wasn't giving it as much attention as I should have. I had a feeling that I would enjoy this one far more than the first time... and ho boy was I right~!

This one is... a lot. Like... a looooot. We're dealing with a Shakespearean company, murder, and past genocide. And in the middle of it is Captain James T. Kirk. We find out that he was one of the people who survived said genocide and one of the few witnesses to have seen the man who ordered it. It certainly wasn't a detail about Kirk that I was expecting when I started this show, haha...

This is such an excellent Kirk episode. This is him dealing with a situation that is incredibly personal. One that he thought that he had moved on from until one of the other witnesses involves him and ends up dead. We see Kirk investigating, changing plans and reassigning one of the other witnesses without giving any explanation to Spock or anyone else, and trying to get close to the suspect's daughter Lenore (who is 19... ugh, at least she's of legal age this time...) to find out more. This is Kirk at some of his most methodical. He is a man on a mission, and the looming question throughout is if Kirk is doing this for justice? Or is it out of vengeance? A question that even he doesn't know the answer to.

This won't be the last time we see this kind of personal conflict pop up with Kirk. Obsession next season will do something similar. But this one is much more... real, for lack of a better word. He's composed for the most part, but you can tell that what happened on Tarsus still haunts Kirk. How when presented with the fact that this dictator may be alive, he doesn't want to believe it at first, but the more he looks into it the more he has to do something. He even snaps at Spock, who has realized what's going on and points out his irrational behavior, for getting involved in his personal business despite how it's affecting the ship, and it's thus Spock's job to pry. Even at the end when he stops Riley from killing Kodos, he also makes no move to save him when Lenore accidentally kills her own father. Say what you want about William Shatner as a person and as an actor, but he did a phenomenal job as Kirk here. It's one of his best performances.

Kodos himself is complicated. I don't think anyone will argue that he's a horrible person. He didn't get the name 'Kodos the Executioner' for nothing. You can argue that he was put in a difficult situation with deciding who on Tarsus got food and who didn't... but the fact that he did it based off eugenics theories causes it to not hold water. And regardless, he killed thousands, caused immense trauma for countless others, and was so much of a coward that he faked his death and started over. A chance that none of his victims had. Twenty years later he's a shell of a man, forever haunted by what he did and the constant threat of being discovered. You know what? Good. He brought all of this onto himself, and him evading justice for so long in and of itself is terrible. And the one person he tried to shield from his horrible legacy? Went insane, murdered, and caused his own death. It's sad in a away, even pitiful. But more because of those that Kodos affected, not for Kodos himself.

And Lenore... oh God Lenore. The girl was born after the Tarsus massacre, but still ended up in her father's bloody legacy. A legacy that even he wanted to keep her out of, probably the only decency he's ever shown. But not only did he fail, but she chose to murder the people her father ruined the lives of to save him. Kirk and Riley are the only ones who survived, and that was just barely. It's clear when she confesses that she's not quite mentally stable, and she loses it completely, living in her own world where her father is able to continue with his performances. There's no justifying what she did, but it's just unfortunate to see this girl ruin her own life as she did. An utter tragedy.

Then we have Spock and McCoy. Ah, we're in that part of S1 where we start getting far more with them, and their scenes are a delight. When alarmed about Kirk's bizarre choices, who does Spock go to? McCoy. Mind you, McCoy doesn't take it seriously at first, but it's still nice to see the two talk about Kirk matters. Then as Spock uncovers more and shares it with McCoy, the latter tries to deny it... but it's clear that he realizes exactly what Spock is. And even despite that, when Kirk snaps at Spock, McCoy outright tells him that it's Spock's job. We're gonna be seeing some more tension rise between the two, especially since Galileo Seven is the next episode, but it's still nice to see McCoy defend Spock.

They're both concerned about what Kirk is doing, though ultimately McCoy has to deal with Riley while he's recovering and Spock actually helps Kirk with identifying Kodos. McCoy's also worried about Kirk's mental state and what his actual motive is. Justice or vengeance? Kirk himself has no answer... and he never does reach an answer, I don't think. He didn't get to. I don't know what's worse, finding out that the tyrant who caused you and others so much torment was alive, or watching them die and not being able to see them get either justice or get your own vengeance. He can't even feel glad that Lenore is stopped, since she both lost her mind, and he grew to at least like her despite using her. You get nothing. All that Kirk can do is have Lenore placed in proper care and go on with the knowledge that he's seen Kodos die before his eyes, but never truly have closure. Even as McCoy tries to talk to him at the end, he just stays in Captain Mode and gives orders to continue on. It says all that you need to know.

Like I said, there's a lot here. This episode is a tragedy, full stop. I don't know enough about Shakespeare to read into any of that, but it certainly feels like a Shakespearean tragedy. It's an excellent episode, and I can't believe that I thought it wasn't much of a watch the first time. There is SO MUCH to read into with Kirk, this tidbit of his history, about Kodos and Lenore, and just how horrible and senseless it all feels. So many lives ruined by one man, including his own flesh and blood, despite trying to prevent it. At least he's dead now, for all that's worth.

Original Rating: 3/5 Rewatch Rating: 8/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

[Previous Review] / [Next Review]

[eyfey]

The gundam uc watchthrough continues: This time it's 08 MS TEAM!

episode one let's goooooo

aaaaa I watched the movie/OVA versions for 0079 & Origin so I this is the first Gundam I'm watching that's formatted for TV! Short eppysodes!!! OPENING AND ENDING SONGS!!!!

i love u old school anime art style!!!! i love u old school anime op music!!!!!!

I can't wait to get to know all these characters and maybe see half of them die!!!!

pLEASE U CAN'T BE DROPPING SLURS IMTO THE SUBTITLES LESS THAN 3 MINUTES INTO THE FIRST EPISODE

love when we get a sleeveless woman mechanic #girlpower

why is he like this (neutral)

they both seem like they're gonna be obnoxious in different ways and i love that for them

The Ball.

I love The Ball.

okay now who's this fucker with the bangs and the red suit and the stance

even the villain can be a womans #genderequality

lol bye enjoy the cold expanse of space

oh he's A Idiot

you just KNOW she's running calculations through her head. Trying to find out what kind of 5D chess game this guy from the enemy army is playing. Ma'am he does not have a single thought going on in there he is just Doing things.

*this is the point where I googled the main characters age to make sure this isn't another repeat of 0079's "War Babies In Space" dilemma. Thank u sir for being in your 20s.

oh whoops i also immediately forgot about the watch

-

I really really missed the old school art/animation/sound design while watching Origin! Can't wait to get to know all these new chars!

anyway: jumping immediately into episode 2!