#First few episodes at the MOST. Not the last one????

[jakeroo123]

Thank you to everyone who voted! This kind of... blew up way more than I expected it to. As promised, here are the answers and the episodes in which everything occurred.

Firstly, I'm going to reveal the status of the winning option, which was "Pikachu devolves into Pichu and becomes a literal Pocket Monster.": It is real, that actually happens, and I will give more context below.

Second, the trick behind the quiz is that all of the weirdness is real. Everything strange or impossible actually happened. For the actual answer, I simply changed the context around said weirdness. In this case, I swapped out one running gag for a very similar one.

Which means the correct answer is...

Brock falls in love with an old lady who uses ninja magic to look young.

While the old lady who uses ninja magic to look young is indeed real, first appearing in XY099, The Legend of the Ninja Hero!, Brock hadn't been part of the main cast and had not physically appeared alongside Ash for two hundred and forty episodes by then. Instead, it was Bonnie who did her whole "you're a keeper" thing.

Thoughts:

A few people did figure out that Brock not being in XY was the key to the whole thing. I was really surprised at how many people voted for Pichu the literal Pocket Monster, though, I thought that one was better known. It does break the established rules, yes, but there was an exception that allowed for it to happen! I will explain it in the context section.

Team Rocket winning was another popular choice. That option was included because it was just too funny not to include, I expected most people knew that one was real. Kudos to anyone who voted it solely because it was funny!

Out of all of them, the option that lasted the longest with zero votes was Ash getting turned into a Pikachu, which managed to last the entire first day with no one voting it. I expected people to know this one was real, but it's a shoo-in as far as lists of weird stuff in this show is concerned.

The Misty vampire hunting gear was a last-minute addition. I originally had something else there, about Ash entering the dreams of an unhatched egg and seeing its memories with no explanation, but I deleted it once I confirmed that I misremembered it. The egg had already hatched by the time that happened. I mean, there was a completely separate instance where an unhatched egg talked to him, so maybe that was where my confusion came from.

I mentioned in a reblog there was one I slightly misremembered and so stretched definitions a little, that one was "Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket help some aliens fix their crashed spaceship.". While you could describe Team Rocket as "helping", it wasn't quite willingly, and so I wouldn't have worded it the way I did had I remembered that detail.

Screenshots, episode numbers, and context below the cut!

Pikachu devolves into Pichu and becomes a literal Pocket Monster.

JN090, Showdown at the Gates of Warp!

Dialga's powers caused time to reverse, which in turn caused Pikachu to devolve back into Pichu. Ash puts him in his pocket to carry him, making him a literal "Pocket Monster". Interesting note, Ash never actually refers to him as "Pichu" during this time.

On his way to school, Ash somehow ends up in a parallel universe instead.

SM100, Battling the Beast Within!

Weirdly enough, this didn't actually happen because of an Ultra Wormhole, Ash just met Tapu Koko on the way to school, challenged it to a battle, and then Tapu Koko opened a rift with the help from the parallel universe's Tapu Koko. This was actually the first half of a two-parter, Ash only makes it home at the end of the next episode and it turns out that no time has passed.

Pikachu, Meowth, Piplup, and Croagunk pilot a spaceship for evil Togepi.

DP142, Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!

... Just watch the episode.

Pikachu nearly catches Meowth as his first Pokémon.

XY079, A Frenzied Factory Fiasco!

Meowth got a hold of Pikachu's Poké Ball while in a Poké Ball factory, and keeps trying to return him to it. At one point, Pikachu hits an empty Luxury Ball at Meowth with his tail to stop this. Meowth is very annoyed at how Pikachu nearly caught him once he breaks out of the ball. Pikachu even says "Pi-Pikachu!" (roughly "Gotta Catch 'Em All!"), the same thing he says when Ash catches a Pokémon.

May and Meowth bring a man back from the dead with a time-traveling locket.

AG157, Time Warp Heals All Wounds

The locket sent them back in time, and they change the past so that the locket's owner's husband doesn't die in an accident by preventing him from boarding a train. No, I do not know why the locket can do that. No Pokémon did this, it just happened. And then May's Eevee hatched at the end of the episode.

Ash gets turned into a Pikachu by a witch's magic potion.

EP241, Hocus Pokémon

It was actually supposed to be a spell that let him read the minds of Pokémon temporarily, but it went wrong and he turned into a Pikachu instead. Ash freaks out until he learns that it's temporary, at which point he decides to just have fun and play. It wore off at the start of the next episode.

Misty brings vampire hunting gear to a ghost fight.

EP020, The Ghost of Maiden's Peak

I don't really know why she did this either. Everyone else, including the talking Gastly that she brought the gear to fight against, was also very confused about this.

Ash and Goh have a rap battle that results in a golden pot of noodle curry.

JN097, An Evolution in Taste!

In hindsight, my description makes this episode sound much more normal than it actually is. I should have, instead of mentioning the rap battle, mentioned the fact that the noodles and curry start out separate and do a fusion dance with glowing and morphing and everything to become a giant golden pot of noodle curry.

Ash and Pikachu die and comes back to life by possessing their own corpses.

EP023, The Tower of Terror

I'm not sure they actually died, it was really unclear, but that's how I mostly see people describe this. Their spirits were definitely separated from their bodies for a good while after they got crushed by a chandelier.

Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket help some aliens fix their crashed spaceship.

BW133, Capacia Island UFO!

The Beheeyem are actual aliens, and, well, they crash landed. They hypnotized everyone on the island to help look for the missing part of their UFO, though due to being idiots Jessie, James, and Ash were immune to the hypnosis (Pikachu wasn't but Ash snapped him out of it). Ash agrees to help, and... well, Team Rocket didn't agree, exactly, but they were the ones who found the missing power source.

Ash actually loses a Pokémon battle to Team Rocket.

SM012, The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!

After catching Mimikyu and Mareanie, respectively, Jessie and James actually manage to beat Ash's entire current team for the first time ever. And then Bewear jumps out of the water and takes them home before they're actually able to do anything with the victory.

Which of these didn't happen in Pokémon the Series?

So, this is an idea I had based on seeing someone do one for a different show a while back. Out of all of the options in this poll, eleven are real things that have happened over the course of Pokémon the Series during Ash and Pikachu's stints as protagonists. One of these is fake, and I want to see how many people can figure out which one! Or who are big enough nerds to have watched everything and know which one isn't real.

[vi-is-badass]

This is going to be my scattered thoughts on Arcane season 2. Still reeling from the finale and some of these thoughts and opinions will change with time and re-watches. My thoughts have already changed a lot over the course of the last few days, so I might revisit this in the next couple of weeks, but for right now this is how I feel.

If you disagree with me that's fine. Everyone is going to have a different experience from you and connect with different things. That's why I love media and talking about it with other people.

Act 1 has really grown on me over time. Initially, I was a bit critical of the pacing and Vi's writing but with time, a re-watch, and talking with other people about it I have a significantly more positive view of it to the point I genuinely love the first act. Vi's writing especially works better for me when combined with what they do with her in the second act.

I love episode 3. It's a strong conclusion to act 1 and did pretty much everything I wanted to see in a follow-up to season 1. The Ashes and Blood sequence that cuts between Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger finding the anomaly and the fight between Jinx and Vi was so well done that it is one of my favorite sequences to rewatch. It’s especially incredible from an editing perspective. The way the fight ends is also great with each characters reaction to Isha’s involvement being incredibly powerful on a personal and thematic level.

Act 2 is easily the strongest act for me because it takes the time to slow down and really focus on Vi and Jinx. They are what I consider the narrative heart of Arcane and it's their relationship that made me fall in love with the series in the first place. I think this act is phenomenal for both of them, doing so much heavy lifting to explore their characters and trauma in a quiet and subtle way. It really takes a look at who they were before they lost their parents-- the core of their characters-- and how it informs who they are now. How trauma and hardship shaped the two of them and who they want to be vs who they were forced to become.

To me, the " Remember Me" montage is the most beautiful music sequence of the season. This montage does so much in so little time. I will write something to expand on how I viewed the scene, but for right now, I'm just going to say it never fails to work for me emotionally.

Episode 5 is my personal favorite of the season. I love the way it explores the relationship between Vi and Jinx. They get to be siblings, fight like siblings, and finally start to reconnect after years apart without any influences pulling them in opposite directions. It's also another exploration of their longing over what could have been (What if vander and silco succeeded in creating zaun, what If silco found Vander's letter, what if they were allowed to talk in season 1, what if things with their second family didn't fall apart). It's a strong episode that is centered around what I love most about Arcane.

The moment when Vi trusts Jinx and puts down her fists, calling out to Vander despite her uncertainty, and Jinx's desperate attempts to see what happened in the aftermath really shows just how much they love each other and their individual growth.

The family hug where Vi looks at Jinx and tells her "What are you waiting for? He's your dad too." and she breaks down crying, lunging into the hug, is also one of the most potent emotional moments for me. (This family makes me emotional if these thoughts don't make that clear)

Act 3 still has me a little split, but I'm going to talk about the things I loved first because there are a lot of things I loved! I was overall mostly positive on it, but I have a few nagging issues.

Episode 7 is phenomenal. This is a close second for my favorite episode of the season. It's such a beautiful exploration of "What could have been". The way it shows that Ekko, the character the most adamant in the first season that Jinx is a lost cause and that they have to look forward, is also bogged down by a wish that things could be different especially when it comes to his relationship with Jinx/Powder, hits like a truck. His decision to return to his own reality and change what he can in the present, reconnecting with Jinx and helping save Piltover and Zaun, makes his arc one of the most effective and impactful ones in the season. It

Episode 7 also gives Jinx and Ekko's relationship the most beautiful and satisfying exploration of any of the relationships in the season for me. Ekko gets to see what Jinx could have been, that she was a creation of her surroundings rather than through pure choice like he convinced himself in season 1, and that the girl he cared about and loved/loves is in there and worth reaching out to. This alternate universe allows him to let go of his anger and pain over how things played out and mend that relationship that was broken in his universe.

Side note for the spiel above: The fact that the episode has Jinx and Ekko talk about Vi in such an emotional and empathetic way only for people to use this episode as a bludgeoning tool against Vi, saying her death made everyone happier and she made Jinx, is incredibly ironic and deeply frustrating to me. (It took me a minute but I realized my issues with this episode stemmed from the bad takes I've seen online rather than anything in the episode itself, but I'm glad I took that step back)

The dance scene with "Ma Meilleure Ennemie" playing over it was gorgeous.

The way that Jayce and Viktor's arc ends worked incredibly for me. I was initially worried because they had no screen time together in act 2 outside of Jayce killing Viktor, but the way they had their conflict play out in act 3 subverted my expectations and was very satisfying to me.

I actually like how Jinx's arc played out in the season. It was a beautiful arc that I felt was fully explored for the most part. I'll also probably expand on my thoughts on Jinx's arc once I finally recover from my most recent rewatch of Arcane and can pull my thoughts together to make something more coherent.

This isn't an act 3 specific thing, but I absolutely love how much praise Mel has been getting as a character since season 2 started up. I thought she was one of the strongest characters in the first season with a fantastic arc and I was so glad she lived to continue her growth in season 2. (She was awesome in this act though so it is a bit act 3 specific haha)

This one is hyper-specific but the shot of Vander looking at little Vi and Jinx with so much love while the words “if there was nothing to fight or protect maybe then I could finally be free maybe death is like falling asleep” play over the scene in the finale makes me want to bawl every time I see it and/or think about it more than any other moment in the series. That hit me so hard and it really shows just how much this series and its writing made me love these characters.

Now for the negatives. I didn't like how much they sidelined Vi for the final act. I loved what they did with her in act 2 and I have grown to love what they did with her in act 1, but I really don’t think they did what they needed to for her character in act 3. I do think the end point for her character is where she needed to end up and that it was where she was heading since season 1. I like the moments on their own, but she’s not in the act enough and her perspective is explored so little that it doesn’t work for me as a whole. We go from her breaking down after losing what’s left of her family (from her perspective) to a happy ending with Cait so quickly that it feels like whiplash. The show didn’t give us enough screen time with her in the third act for me to buy into Vi's ability to move forward from the weight of her guilt and feelings of responsibility. It’s frustrating because it’s that very part of her character, the guilt and responsibility that comes with being parentified at a young age that stays with you into adulthood, that really resonated with me and seeing the transition and healing from that being skirted over disappointed me personally. Still love the show and Vi is still my favorite character but the way the show handled her in the final arc was disappointing.

I will probably get crucified for this take but I was also a bit disappointed with how the show chose to brush over a lot of the things between Caitlyn and Vi in act 3. Act 1 introduced so many issues between the two of them that still needed to be addressed in act 3 (Caitlyn’s actions towards Vi in episode 3 and her prejudice towards Zaunites in particular) that their big moment didn’t feel as satisfying as I wished it did. I genuinely did want them to get together, I like that they got a happy ending, and I actually do like the scene where they get together because so much of it evokes the empathy and understanding I liked about the relationship in season 1, but I was disappointed they decided to sweep so much under the rug between them. I might have a different experience as time passes and I genuinely hope I do, but that's just how I feel right now.

I also wasn't a fan of how Vi and Jinx were sidelined during the final fight. I already talked about Vi, but outside of Jinx's big damn heroes moment she was really sidelined as well. We didn't get to see her and Ekko rally the undercity and her fight with Vi against Warwick, while emotionally impactful, lacked any tangible impact on the course of the final battle. Considering how much emphasis acts 1 and 2 put on Jinx stepping into a leadership role and being a symbol for the people of Zaun I think the decision not to show her do exactly that was a misstep and something missing from her arc. I think the fight with Warwick should have had some sort of importance in winning the fight against Ambessa and the Machine Herald.

Overall these aren't things that make me hate the show or the finale, but they're persistent issues for me that make the third act my least favorite of the season as a whole right now. I can understand why people would think differently. This was just my experience. I don’t want to be a blog that spreads negativity and I hope others enjoyed the show and found something to connect to. I love this show and it was a big part of the last 3 years of my life. I will always love this show.

[mikuni14]

15 Day BL Challenge - Day 5

(I skipped a day, I don't know how it happened, probably my brain was too tired to function after watching the new Gladiator 🤡)

Day 5: Biggest Flop

If I don't like a series, or it bores me, I simply stop watching it. That's why I considered a flop those series that I liked at the beginning (often a lot), invested in them, and then, halfway through, or at the end, Everything Went Wrong, but which I still watched wanting to see how it would end and hoping for improvement, even in the last episode..

Most often it's about 1) losing the goal, forgetting what the story is about, 2) forgetting about certain universal rules of romantic productions, or 3) the feeling of "betrayal": of the story, the characters, the viewers.

The biggest flop for me is The Sign. I was simply crazy about this series at the beginning, I was the biggest fan. However, halfway through, the series completely changed, the main couple stopped appearing together in scenes that were significant for their relationship, which were so good in the first half. The series also became increasingly stupid and the characters were irritating, especially Tharn. The Sign also mastered my most hated tropes to perfection, i.e. "noble" sacrifice, complete lack of communication, making drastic/life decisions without consulting their partner, forced separation that drives the loved one to despair (but which in the end turns out that it was.. fine, all is good!). I didn't like anything at the end, and the idiocy associated with watching the finale, charging fees, was just the nail in the coffin of any good feelings I had for this series. I still mourn what happened to it, it was SO GOOD 😭

The same situation was with I Hear The Sunspot. In this case, the additional insult was the most irritating female character ever. I loved this series at the beginning so much.

Step by Step - it started to be so irritating at some point, and it had a good and interesting beginning.

Of course this list can't be complete without Last Twilight lmao. Gosh, Mhok deserved so much better, I'm still angry on his behalf.

Tbh I wasn't a fan of Only Friends because everyone on that show was an unlikable character, but the ending of that story fell flat and sanctimonious.

My personal flop is the direction Light On Me went. I loved that show so much and I absolutely loved Da On and I was devastated by how easily he was cast aside when he was at his lowest and how few people showed him understanding. Da On needed a few days to overcome his problems, but those few days were apparently too much for his crush. It's not that I'm against the main couple, under normal circumstances I would root for them. But it's just… the whole situation left a bad taste in my mouth, Da On was such a good character, he was so kind and he was in a tough spot that his rival had been in before and had already worked through it, that's why he seemed so brave compared to him. It was all so unfair, idk. I just think that Da On - like Mhok - deserved better for their kindness 🥺

(I'm not posting any gifs this time because I don't want the people who made the gifs to feel bad that I used them to criticize their favorite shows 😘)

[cloudluvs]

it was incredibly frustrating to see keeley once again be the pacifier between roy and jamie. it's been three seasons and she's still having to deal with their jealously and conflict. like, why do the writers oppose her having healthy relationships romantically and platonically?

[fairykukla]

This is something I have experience with. Please learn from my mistakes and my successes:

I have a higher sex drive than most partners I've had in my life. I'm in my 50s now, so this has been going on for a long time.

As a child I was diagnosed with an "unspecified childhood neurosis" but it was most likely ADHD. I had severe anxiety as well. That rejection sensitivity dysphoria is a real monster; and my classmates figured out that they could make me cry over the slightest thing.

Several years of counseling (and switching to a better school that could meet my needs) later, I had reprogrammed myself. First, coping strategies for how to deal with that burst of intense rejection, then managing my outlook so that when people reject me, I don't have that intense reaction.

As a high schooler, and college student, I had a reputation for being emotionally bulletproof, and incredibly fearless. It's because I had shifted from a panicked, anxious, rage when I thought someone rejected me to a shrug and a "sounds like a you problem" and going about my business.

But that therapy was during my childhood.

Once I became sexually active, it turned out that I was super vulnerable on the subject of sex. It probably didn't help that I had a whopping case of Eldest Daughter Syndrome and had been a confidant to my mother's issues with my father's rejection and coldness, either.

And it *always happened.* I'd get to a certain point in my relationships and my partner would be too tired, or not in the mood, and it was like a flaming arrow through my heart every single time.

I broke up with someone over this issue, because I was certain he didn't care about me anymore.

I got married, and my partner has depressive episodes that last for months. He becomes asexual during his depressions, and isn't interested in sex.

And I took that personally. It was poisoning our relationship.

We had many conversations about it, and more than one actual fight.

Here are the things that helped, and worked:

1. Reframing his responses to help me gain context. For example;

"Not tonight, but maybe this weekend?"

"I'm not up for that, but we can cuddle."

These are responses that reassure me that he still loves me and wants intimacy l, but is not up for sex, specifically.

2. Reframing how I initiate sex; sometimes a spur of the moment is good, sometimes a few days notice will help him get in the mood. If we set a date night, I'd ask if that's a sexy date or if it was just quiet time together.

We are still married many years later. I don't take it personally if we don't have sex, but I'm free to ask for cuddle time, backrubs, or other intimate touch time.

It is absolutely worth it doing the emotional work to resolve RSD. I'm living proof. Seek a therapist, and then commit to fixing it. You can do it, and you will feel so free and happy and balanced when you do.

i dont know if this is the right place to go but im so lost why do i have crying meltdowns when my boyfriend turns down sex? it makes me feel disgusting and like im pressuring him to sleep with me, but i would never and thats not my intention. I just get filled with an overwhelming feeling of rejection and disappointment that it hurts physically

I know this may sound hurtful. That's not my intention. I mean this genuinely, in the kindest way possible but it may be that one of the main reasons you have crying meltdowns when your boyfriend turns down sex is that you are not in a space where you should currently be having sex.

It sounds like you have a very strong reaction to what you view as a rejection. I don't know if that's a general thing or just a sex thing but clearly, it's an issue you need to work on. It's not an unheard of issue-What you're describing is word-for-word something that plenty of people who have RSD [Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria] deal with regularly.

But if it's causing you to have meltdowns when your boyfriend turns down sex, it might be a good idea to stop putting yourself in that situation until you've got a better handle on all of it.

That should definitely start with sitting down with your boyfriend and thoroughly discussing with him, "Hey, I have this issue but it's not me trying to pressure you," and listening to his feelings about it and seeing where to go from there.

But from there, you have a lot of options. Therapy, generally exposing yourself to rejection to build yourself up, learning more about how to manage your reactions, etc, that's up to you.

I can't tell you exactly why you have those meltdowns but I can tell you that some people feel things very intensely. And sometimes we can't control our exact reaction to those feelings.

That's not something that makes you evil. Often, there's nothing wrong with feeling things strongly, even if you express them in ways other people view as "inappropriate" or "strange."

But sometimes, it's something you need help with! Like when it's so intense you're feeling physical pain because of something repeatedly! Or when it might interfere with your boyfriend's ability to consent properly. That's definitely an issue you need help with. But it doesn't make you evil.

Not sure how helpful this is, Anon. But let me know if you have any other questions. <3

[variksel]

matthew arnold has mastered the game of tumblr ship teasing and He Knows It

[autism0fadown]

I’ve been re-listening to dndads s1 and i just finished the last episode again… im inconsolable

[hooved]

Wrt your poll, I follow you for aesthetic posts, funny posts, and your art! I orginally followed for tf2 posting too but I think both of us have shifted focuses away from that fandom? But the quark posting is endearing to me and it's interesting reading all the little details you notice about him. I haven't watched DS9 at all but I'm becoming progressively more tempted to cuz of your posting 👍

[readingwriter92]

Finished watching John Mulaney’s new stand up on Netflix and it immediately reccomended night agent??? Those two things seem very different. But since I think I was seeing gifs sets of it on whump blogs i just went. Fuck it. And decided to start.

I’m enjoying. Yep.

[shikiimisaki]

ive once again come to understand the fact that i do not fuck with analog horror. shit got me seeing things that aren't there out the windows if its dark

[mariocki]

Stuart Damon plays pretend as secret agent Vince in The Adventurer: Poor Little Rich Girl (1.2, ITC, 1972). Damon was initially cast as a recurring supporting character, one of a group of assistants that work with lead Gene Barry, but he was dropped from the series (almost certainly at Barry's behest) and appears in just two episodes

[autumnrory]

just started rewatching ugly betty bc i had read some v excellent betty/daniel fic i thought recently but i guess it was a couple years ago lol, i just couldn’t follow everything, because i didn’t remember all the characters/plots that well ANYWAY from what i remember idt i really thought of betty/daniel romantically until the end of the series, i remember liking her with henry before he became a shit (at least i’m pretty sure that’s what happened, i haven’t watched since this show since it ended 13 years ago) but other than that there’s not TOO much that sticks with me, i just know i loved the ending but ofc was left wanting more at the time but ya while i think i was reading fic on ff.net in 2010 there were only a few things i would’ve been searching for at that point SO once i get through the series i’m gonna have so much fun bc i read 3 fics from that author and they’ve published like 12 more stories this year and i’m gonna be able to understand them so much better, but yeah just now rewatching the pilot i’m like oh my god how did i not immediately love them i mean obviously daniel was a dick but he apologized and at the end of the ep he’s watching her fondly and i’m just ahhhh over them already bc i know the romantic aspect aside there’s such excellent growth in them and their relationship and i can’t wait to watch it play out

[perenlop]

team rocket being crammed into episodes they dont need to be in in xy (and jn to an extent) probably wouldnt be nearly as bad if they had literally any of the traits that made them quirky and unique in gens 1-4 but it seems that the only thing bw taught them about what people like about TR from what they changed was that team rocket has to be in as much episodes as possible, not that they were charming

[consciouschunkofmoss]

the creativity has striken and now my coccyx hurts like hell

[pollyperks]

~

[whimsigod]

9 people to get to know better

tagged by @nighthawkes !!

last song: Mad Lucus by the Breeders

currently watching: Adventure Time (always) and recently been only watching movies :)

currently reading: A Court of Mist and Fury and Another Country

current obsession: been reading so many aftg fics again

I quite literally have like 2 mutuals and barely follow anyone but i was happy to be tagged and wanted to participate anyway sooo tag urself❤️