#also did rewatch like 5 episodes of midnight mass which I also love

[gaylittleguys]

uhhh my tv show recap is:

The x files: MY BABYYYYYYYYY MY ANGELLLLLLLLLLL My favourite tv show of all time I love these two ❤️ it’s been a while since I’ve seen it fully from the start and there’s a lot I’m still noticing on this go :)

Columbo: My best friend Columbo ❤️ started watching all of the episodes from the beginning after bouncing around a lot. I love Columbo.

House: you knowwwww house has got me if nobody else does and I need something on while I’m working

The Haunting of Hill House: I liked it! I wish the room/house had had more of a presence, but maybe it did and I’d notice it more on a rewatch? I liked the relationships within the family and seeing them at the house and afterwards.

The Haunting of Bly Manor: did not finish. Almost at the end (I think I had one or 2 eps left?) Did not care about any of these people.

Archive 81: also didn’t finish the last episode lol. The beginning was really interesting and I like the protagonist guy, but the more things were explained the more I lost interest.

[iamnotawomanimagod]

2021 Year in Review!

I was tagged by the forever-lovely @boomheda (thank you Luce!!) to do our annual year-in-review post. I did this last year (and I think the year before, but I can't find it!) Very happy to keep the tradition going!

Tagging a bunch of people but don't feel obligated!! @dylanobrienisbatman @bombshellsandbluebells @rosealie @laufire @lovelybeautifulpretty @neverwantedsaving @theemptysound @nomattertheoceans @nicoleanell @tolerateit and anyone else who wants to do this!! Please feel free to steal it!!

Under a cut because I've got a lot to say, dammit. I don't expect anyone to read the whole thing, it's mostly for me, haha <3

Top 5 Movies You Watched This Year

I so rarely watch movies, especially since COVID-19 started. So the top 2 of this list are the only "new" ones I watched, and the other three were revisits.

1. Inside (Bo Burnham)

This was such an incredible film experience, one which I think will be remembered as very emblematic of 2020 and 2021. I've kept the music on rotation all year, too.

2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

I never got around to watching this one when it came out in theaters. I finally rewatched the entire movie series this year, and finished it up with the final film. I think it's a decent adaptation!

3. Josie and the Pussycats

My sisters and I loved this movie when we were younger and watched it over and over again. I was surprised at how much I'd forgotten, and how much of it had gone over my head as a kid. It's very fun and campy and super underrated as a satire of musicianship under capitalism. But it's also a sweet and charming Grrl Power movie, which I rediscovered my love for this year, also thanks in part to...

2. The Cheetah Girls

This was another one that was on constant rotation when I was a kid. So I was especially delighted to share that cheetahlicious love with @rosealie in 2021! The music still slaps, and the looks will never be replicated in terms of iconic early 2000s girl fashion.

1. The Emperor's New Groove

I think I could watch this movie a thousand times and never get tired of it.

Top 5 TV Shows You Watched This Year

TV was soooo good this year, honestly. I had a blast with a bunch of different shows.

5. Season 3 of You -

Especially because I got to watch it more or less in tandem with several mutuals, and seeing everyone react in real time was a delight. It was such an insane season. Really great to watch Love and Joe fully embrace who they were and all of the absolutely batshit choices they made as a result. Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti absolutely killed their performances, and really kept the entire season so engaging when it could've been really slow.

I'm still pretty bummed about the ending and not sure if I'll continue on with s4, but s3 was a fun ride!

4. Midnight Mass

I almost gave up on this show, because it really tested even my deep love for long, introspective monologues. And the animal death in the beginning is rough. But once I finished the fifth episode, I was so glad I pushed through. It ends up being one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, hopeful meditations on the afterlife and faith and love that I've ever watched.

It's not for everyone. It wasn't much like The Haunting Anthology at all. This is a challenging show on a lot of levels, and certainly not one everyone is going to find value in. But I really loved it, and it only confirmed for me how brilliant Mike Flanagan is at telling dark, human stories.

3. Shadow & Bone

I gained like 3.5 OTPs from this show, lmao. It's a really fun setting, great world-building and magic systems, and the story is pretty good. But I think what really pulled me in and kept me going is how drop-dead gorgeous every. single. character. is.

I don't know what it is about this cast, but they are all my type. Inej, Kaz, Alina, Mal, Nina, Mattias, Anya, Zoya, of course Jesper, even the Darkling - hottest people I've ever seen, never leave my screen, let me feast my eyes on you forever.

2. Squid Game

I managed to sneak in riiiight before the hype really kicked off. I'm glad because I was able to go in with fresh eyes and zero spoilers, plus no real expectations of what I was about to see. I don't know if any show could've lived up to the hype levels this one reached, but damn, it comes really, really close.

Brilliantly acted, well-written, full of twists and turns and crazy suspense, plus enough comic relief to break the tension. Gi-Hun is such a funny, silly protagonist at first, so to see him break down as the violence progresses was so compelling. Big kudos to Lee Jung-jae for making him so layered and human. And of course, my heart was stolen by Sae-Byeok just like everyone else's was.

Visually it was one of the most unique settings I've seen in a long time. It was refreshing to get bright, bold colors and big, hard lines and shapes. Plus it added such a lovely contrast to the horrors of the games. I really liked it, and I'm excited to check out more non-English language shows, because I think there are a lot of really cool stories that don't make it to the Western mainstream often enough.

1. Legacies

Ahh, this dumb, fun, stupid show. I talk about it too much for it to not top my list. It's basically my new The 100, although I'll never let myself get that emotionally invested in a show from The CW again, lmao. And the fandom is clearly a dumpster fire, one I want nothing to do with.

But the show really has my heart!! I appreciate that we're finally coming to some of the consequences we've been building towards for so many seasons - Hope becoming a tribrid and flipping her humanity switch; Landon fufilling his "destiny" as Malivore's vessel and then tragically being killed by Hope; Lizzie becoming a heretic; the whole compelling Hope/Lizzie frenemy dynamic; Alaric coming to terms with his sins in limbo; even Josie leaving to go live her own life. It's all stuff that's been hinted at for so long, it's nice to have some closure. And I've loved seeing Cleo's story progress, and Finch finding a home. Even Kaleb turning into a dragon has been a welcome surprise, albeit a weird one.

I'm a bit anxious about where it'll go from here - I think we've hit the peak now and can only go downhill. They're about to invent more villains and more problems, since the original conflict has now been resolved, and that has never gone well in a TVDU show. But they might surprise me!

Top 5 Songs of 2021

Well the first five are all from If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power, so I'm putting them, in order, at #1, lol. Just so there's actually some variety. Taken from Spotify Wrapped!

5. "E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE" by CORPSE, feat Savage Ga$p

4. "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X

3. "Save That Shit" by Lil Peep

2. "Serotonin" by girl in red

1. "I am not a woman, I'm a god," "honey," "You asked for this," "Bells in Santa Fe," and "Easier Than Lying" - Halsey

Top 5 Albums You Heard In 2021

5. NEED by 3Oh!3

Top tracks: LAST BREATH, I'M SO SAD, LONELY MACHINES

4. Happier than Ever by Billie Eilish

Top tracks: Happier than Ever, Lost Cause, NDA, Therefore I Am, I Didn't Change My Number, and Billie Bossa Nova.

3. Inside (The Songs) by Bo Burnham

Top tracks: All Eyes on Me, Welcome to the Internet, 30, Don't Wanna Know, Shit, That Funny Feeling, Look Who's Inside Again, and Goodbye.

2. MONTERO by Lil Nas X

Top tracks: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name,) DEAD RIGHT NOW, LOST IN THE CITADEL, TALES OF DOMINICA, LIFE AFTER SALEM, and ONE OF ME (feat Elton John.)

1. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

Top tracks: Easier than Lying, honey, You asked for this, Bells in Santa Fe, Whispers, 1121, Ya'aburnee, Lilith, and I am not a woman, I'm a god.

Top 5 Books You Read in 2021

I really don't read anymore, unfortunately! So I'm going to make my own category. Feel free to do top books, or my suggestion, or your own thing, or whatever!

Instead - Top 5 YouTube Channels in 2021

5. Binging with Babish is fun, informative, and great for learning about slightly more advanced techniques in the kitchen that the average home cook doesn't consider trying. Getting to see different pop culture foods recreated in a tasty way is really neat!

4. Watcher is where you can find the Buzzfeed Unsolved boys now, as well as their former Buzzfeed compatriot Stephen Lim. Ryan and Shane have come up with a lot of funny, interesting, and spooky new shows, and it's been really fun to watch their channel grow this year. I especially love Are You Scared? and Puppet History.

3. Mila Tequila has produced some of my favorite pop culture video essays this year, especially her takes on The Bling Ring scandal of the mid-aughties, as well as as really sensitive but thorough explainer on Amanda Bynes' tumultuous career. Her relaxed setup is refreshing when compared to so many other incredibly polished YouTubers, and I think she's really talented for an unpaid student, which makes her stick out on this list!

2. Trixie & Katya crack me up beyond belief, I'm so glad I discovered them, even if I'm not all that into drag race anymore. They've really transcended their beginnings and now have so much content, it's sometimes hard to keep up. I'm not complaining though! It's been a great year for them both and I'm excited to see what they do next.

1. The Try Guys are pretty much a daily part of my life, and I enjoy almost everything they produce. They're great role models, funny dudes, and really creative at coming up with new content, even almost seven years into their friendship. They are very much so my comfort show, and I'm glad they've gotten to do so much in 2021, even with the pandemic limiting their production style.

5 Positive Things That Happened In 2021

5. I was fortunate that I didn't get COVID-19, and although I do know a few people who had it, no one I know was permanently impacted or killed by it. I feel very lucky about that and I know what a blessing it is to not be grieving someone or something this year.

4. I visited Albuquerque, New Mexico for the first time and got to see some really cool art during their First Friday Art Walk. It was so refreshing to be around people and art again, and because New Mexico has a mask mandate and we were all vaccinated and this was pre-delta-or-omicron, it felt safe enough to really relax and have fun. It'd be a long time since I'd been able to do something like that and it really helped me feel a lot less restless.

3. Halsey released a truly stunning album this year, alongside a beautiful film. I wasn't expecting another album from them for at least a few years, so it was a really awesome surprise. It's one of my favorite albums of all-time and certainly my favorite in their discography.

2. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and started taking the right medication. I'm working with a psychiatrist that I trust, for the first time in my life, and I'm feeling better than ever. I still have a long way to go, but I'm moving forward for the first time in a very long time.

1. My husband got a job that he's been working towards for at least five years. He's settling into it and is very happy. We're in a more stable place than ever.

***

Overall this was actually a pretty good year for me, personally!! It could've been a lot worse, and I'm grateful things have mostly been okay for me and the people I love. I have no idea what 2022 holds, or really any expectations for what it should be. These days, I'm just happy to be here. And I'm happy you're along for the ride, if you've read this far, or follow me, or are my mutual!

Happy holidays! <3

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 1x05 Twilight’s Last Gleaming

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

Rating: 8.5/10

This episode really shocked me and emotionally affected me back when I first watched, and it's when I first realized the show didn't pull punches.

Killing individual characters for shock value - that's nothing new, but killing a bunch of innocent people like that, having the audience expect throughout the episode for them to be saved at the last moment, and then instead they die anyway, when it could have been stopped... I really wasn't expecting that. Now it's far less shocking after you've seen The 100 use mass murder as a plot device multiple times. Well, this is not a murder, technically, since the people eventually volunteered for it to saved their loved ones. But before Abby decided to be seriously badass and show Jake's video to everyone and tell them the truth about the Ark dying, the 100 being sent to the ground, and the upcoming culling, the Council was planning to straight up murder 320 people and then lie about it, claiming it was an accident. And, as Clarke points out to Bellamy in this episode, it's certain that those would have been working class people rather than the Ark elite. The class issues the show keeps stressing is of those things that keep it from justifying the Ark leadership for their actions on the grounds of survival, tough choices, blah blah blah, and I'm glad for it. Jaha was here planning to be one of the people who died (but I bet a large part of the reason was because he thought his son was dead... which he was, just not for the reasons he thought), until Kane convinced him not to. They had a back and forth about who's the better leader, with Jaha arguing Kane had the strength to make tough choices, and Kane arguing later that Jaha was able to inspire people. And they were both kind of right, but not in the way they thought. Kane has changed a lot during the show, from pragmatist to idealist, from pessimist to optimist, but he's always been a guy who 100% believes in whatever course of action he's chosen, thinks it's right and throws himself into it, in a way that often comes off as a bit naive. But he does suck at winning the popular vote, going by the fact that he was never elected Chancellor and that he lost to Pike in S3. While Jaha somehow managed to get elected, bull&s.hits really well in a speech in episode 1x07, and in S4 we see him give speeches to the people for the benefit of Clarke and Bellamy that show how good he can be at swaying people, even when he's not in power. But S2-3 also showed the most awful version of his messianic complex and influence. Something else that has always bothered me about the culling is, we see people sacrifice themselves for their children (like Tor Lemkin for his daughter Reese) or their romantic partners (the guy who wants to do it for his wife), which is something we see multiple times in the show. But we don't see how their loved ones feel about it, whether they tried to stop them (Tor's daughter Reese didn't realize what was going on, but the adults did). How will Reese will about losing her father when she learns what he did, and that he did it for her? In the next episode, we see the husband of one of the victims in the culling in 1x07, and in S5 we learn Kara Cooper's father was one of the 320. I wonder how many of the people from the Ark that lost there loved ones are even alive by S6? This is also the episode that made me feel better about the Clarke/Finn/Raven love triangle, because it was dealt with much better than I expected. Another reason why this was a turning point when I was really on board with the show. Speaking of that love triangle - this show really loves the scenes where Clarke is shocked and hurt to find out someone has a girlfriend by seeing him reunite with her and kiss her. They did the exact same thing in S5. And both times the camera zooms on Clarke's face rather than on the couple, though in this case, they didn't go as far as to blur Finn and Raven out of focus. But these are two very different situations, of course. Among other things, because in S5, it was no one's fault, while this situation is fully Finn's fault. I've loved the way Clarke dealt with learning Finn had a girlfriend, absolutely not doing the "being catty and fighting over a guy" thing, but the exact opposite. She's heartbroken, but she immediately bottles it up. She clearly hates being the 'other woman' and her instinct when feeling unwanted is to completely withdraw. You know who definitely isn't dealing with it well? Finn. He's clearly uncomfortable as he wasn't expecting Raven to come, and then he goes to indicate to Clarke that he would like to continue a relationship with her, which she refuses... so he then goes back to Raven and acts like everything is fine, because if Clarke doesn't want him, why not stick with Raven, and has no intention of telling Raven that he slept with someone else, or that he's in love with Clarke or that he would like to be with Clarke. Just like he never thought it would be right to tell Clarke that he has a long-term girlfriend on the Ark. Speaking of relationships, but in this case, not very serious ones, one of Bellamy's friends with benefits we see him in bed with in this episode, Bree (the blonde one), is the same girl who came onto him and presumably had sex with him in season 4, while partying as one of Jasper's end-of-the-world suicide group, and who went on to be one of those who killed themselves. But I'd be lying if I said I would make that connection if I didn't see it on The 100 wiki. The other girl, Roma, ends up killed by the Grounders in 1x07. This was still the time when Bellamy was often acting in a very frustrating way - due to his narrow focus on just Octavia and himself and not yet the group as a whole or people in general - and massively screwing up things, and never more than in this episode, by stealing Raven's radio and throwing it in the water, so Jaha couldn't come down to execute him. Now, he did know about the Ark being on its last legs, but had no idea about the culling before Raven told everyone. I predicted at the time that we'll see Bellamy feeling super guilty later, since he doesn't outwardly show it much in this episode, and boy, did we see that in 1x08. (Much more than we ever did from Jaha, who was actually directly responsible for it, but that's what Jaha is like, always justifying his actions as necessary.). Here, Finn, Clarke and Raven confront Bellamy about the radio, and the former two learn about Bellamy shooting Jaha, while Bellamy learns Jaha survived, but with a massive difference between how Finn and Raven confront him and how Clarke does. The former two are basically like "You're the worst" and Finn calls him selfish, while Clarke - already at this point - seems to understand him better and have a much better opinion of him: "You're not a murderer. All you have done is to protect your sister", though she then gets angry at him a bit later, asking if he even cares that he caused the deaths of 320 people. It's so weird that the flares the 100 use to signal the Ark won't help at all (the Ark leaders, aside from Abby, will just dismiss them), but will end up burning a Grounder village and cause more conflict with the Grounders. Which is so consistent with Murphy's Law - not the episode or John Murphy, but actual Murphy's Law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. But just to be clear, the Grounders using that to justify their war was utter bullcrap. There's no way anyone intelligent could consider the 100 an invading force (LOL) after seeing what they were like (and we know they did: Lincoln was spying on them and making notes) and anyone who's not a small child knows that people can't be considered guilty for causing things by complete accident, which they never could have predicted happening. (I just had to have that mini-rant because people who try to portray both sides as equally responsible, or even demonize the Delinquents and/or excuse the Grounders, get on my nerves, a lot.) A minor-running theme in this episode: at the beginning of the episode, when Clarke and Finn are lying together in the afterglow, before their super-brief relationship came came to a crushing end after Raven came back, Finn - always the one saying romantic things - mentioned a falling star and making a wish, which Clarke was initially confused by, since she just thought of meteors in real world terms and didn't know about that old superstition, while Finn said he had read about it. At the end of episode (in a moment I've seen in a few Tumblr gifsets!), when everyone is watching the flares, Clarke and Bellamy are looking at them together and she asks "What would you wish on a falling star" and then assumes Bellamy wouldn't understand what she's talking about. But she obviously does (the guy has read a lot), since he says "I don't even know what I would wish for". Which is probably true, and sad - I imagine that he had never given any serious thought to what he actually wanted out of life, beyond "Protect Octavia - make sure she is not discovered." Of course, the scene was also an occasion to show Clarke looking sadly at Finn and Raven, so we'll know she's actually really heartbroken and pining. There's more pining from Clarke in the next couple of episodes, and after that, IIRC, fortunately barely any. BTW, let's just take in the fact that Clarke, in all 5 seasons, has never actually properly dated anyone, or specifically, she had one friend with benefit with no stronger feelings involved, and she had the two romantic relationships (with people she had known for a few weeks. and who both relentlessly pursued her romantically and made the first moves) which lasted a few hours each and consisted of having sex exactly once, but were portrayed as epic romances, where 95% of the overall relationship, in both cases, consisted of not dating, but a lot of angst, betrayal, and ended in death, and Clarke getting traumatized and feeling guilty (without actually it being her fault). It's amazing how similar overall her relationships with Finn and Lexa are, including in how much they lasted and how much focus they had on screen and for how long, but one is almost completely forgotten and ignored by the fandom now, while the other one is over-hyped.

[pop-punklouis]

Hi loveee 💞

You might be right bc the first time I've heard my older cat hiss was when we showed her our younger cat lmaoo

Yesss attachment theory is so interesting I truly think it helps you understand yourself and others!

No exactly. That or I need someone to like encourage me. Being a perfectionist and having a fear of failure AND procrastinating are the unholy Trinity it runs together. The only reason I didn't abandon painting after a day is bc I somehow was okay at it. You bet your ass I've never watched a single tutorial I simply don't have the patience. I'm either decent naturally or it's not for me 💀

Re: fandom friends: I wholeheartedly agree

Re: shows. Nooo how do you do that 😭 I can't even watch more than one show at a time (unless they're all ongoing shows). I automatically go for light shows as like, coping but I also feel like watching several complex ones at once would be me if I wanted to cope but HARDCORE jfhfhf. Ooh I kinda get that. I liked ST season 3 simply for vibes and aesthetic and like, robin. I thought season 4 (while incredibly different from all seasons) was kinda cool but they kinda ended it messily which sucks. Guess we see where they go for the finale. Supernatural was good then bad then good then wtf?? Then good 👀 then the ending was: trauma I deserve compensation 😭 I do enjoy the earlier black mirror eps more but also I'll eat up more if they did more. White bear is a fav. I also like shut up and dance. I should rewatch it all I've got terrible memory. And I'll deffo be watching midnight mass!

Re: food. Oooh yes Mac and cheese. Simple yet so good. For me I think just Italian food. Pasta. I could have pasta for the rest of my life I think it's just so good.

For today: saw that you're graduating!! Congrats! But that made me realize I didn't know what you're graduating in, so if you feel like sharing, what did you study? Is this a postgrad? Future plans? (I usually hate this question so you can skip the last one!)

Have a wonderful day babe 💗

~🌱

hiiiii babe sorry this is so late this week has been so busy rip but!! i love that about you painting. yeah, i have to at least see some sort of potential in a skill or else i abandon it all together 💀 see! i’m like the opposite of a procrastinator?? if i see i have to do something like three weeks in advance i will think about it obsessively until i do it even though i still have like three weeks to have it done rip it’s so bad. i stress myself over something like i’ve got two days to do it instead of 18 days 🙃 but anyway yeah tutorials have never been my forte either. i like watching paint tutorial videos to help calm my mind down to sleep at night but otherwise

re: shows dude i KNOW i’m truly a masochist with my own brain watching shows. if i’m not watching three at a time i don’t know what i’m doing. it’s so bad. i could never watch multiple shows with other people because it would be a mess 👐🏼 omg how did i forget about robin yesss season 3 of ST had it’s good moments and i loved the robin character introduction. i think i would’ve liked season 4 a lot more if they had stuck to the original lore of the series instead of throwing new thinks in for shock value and plot twists to create new monsters and villains. and holy shit i forgot about the shut up and dance episode of black mirror that was also a really cool one. maybe i also need to rewatch the seasons again. but fr if they came out with more i’d watch them in a heartbeat. pls update me on midnight mass!!! also i recommend you watch 1899 too. i just finished it and i wish i was able to watch it again for the first time. it’s too good ✨

re: food. please love how pasta is both of our favorite foods. what kind of pasta is your favorite? i love cheese tortellini if i had to choose (besides mac & cheese of course)

and yes!! i graduated wednesday with my masters in film & media studies 🥺💕 i truly very little future plans at the moment besides relaxing for the next 5 or so months at home while i figure out what i want to do rip i have a lot of experience in a lot of different things in the industry but nothing has really grabbed me rip would rather just work in an antique store (own one is the dream) for the rest of my life. would be v happy i think 👐🏼

how has your week been? 🤍 have you done any christmas shopping? (if you celebrate!) i feel like christmas has just came so quickly i’m scrambling to do all the shopping and decorating two weeks out 😮‍💨 we just decorated our tree last week so it’s been frantic lol