#also now its time to binge all of s5

[mjlol52]

just rewatched strikeback and man my eyes sure are watering for no reason in particular

[kittenninja14]

OKAY OKAY OKAYYY!!!

SO LIKE!!! I JUST FINISHED WATCHING THE NE ZHA (2019) MOVIE AND AHHHHHHHHHHIACBUGJYRHHFHTSJYAHVTHVST

OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT!?!??!?!?!?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ITS SOOOO GOOOODDDDDDDDD

even tho i couldnt find an EngDub and had to watch with subtitles, it was still SOOOO good!!!!

LIke... helllo!!?!?!?

The backstory... its just so, so GOOODDD *BREAKS DOWN INTO A MESS OF TEARS*

LIKE I CRIED OKAY!!! I CRIEDDD

IT WAS SOOO EPICCCC AND HEARTWARMING AND MY HEART JUTS MELTED WITH THE FLUFF AND WHOLESOMENESS OF CERTAIN SCENES <3333

Alsoo.. I laughed wayyy to many times XD

but like... hello!?!? I just love Ao Bing!!! He's soo cute!!! ANd his and Nehza's friendship <333333

okay so i dont wanna spoil anything but uh... hehe

yall remember this scene in LMK?

i think i finally understand whats goiing on hehe

anyways ANYWAYS

if yall wanna watch the movie you can watch it for free in Tubi (its in Chinese (i think???) but you can use the English captions to watch lol)

i DEF rec the watch lol

also now that s5 is coming ouut and it seems like its somewhat centered around Nezha, it's gonna be nice knowing a bit about his backstory loll

anyways thats all i have for now XD

https://kittenninja14.tumblr.com/post/731916269075480576/hey-yall-i-just-found-this-incredible-video-and

[ghostboyhood]

TELL ME YOUR COMMUNITY THOUGHTS

oh lord okay.. im gonna give my thoughts on the last season ish because i just finished it so its what i mainly remember and its 1 am..

the anniejeff made me SO uncomfortable i dont understand why they kept pushing that when they also pushed the dad-daughter relationship throughout the show.... and the second to last episode being centered around incest was odd, not a huge fan of that..

now okay my MAIN thoughts are about abed, so here i go

i feel like in the last two seasons (maybe 4 too? i dont remember atm) abeds autistic" traits were completely stripped from him. yes they included all his "fourth wall breaking meta tv show lines" but it wasnt right.

and i understand people will eventually change/grown up but also.. you cant "fix" autistic traits so it just felt like they were trying to make his autism seem more "normal" also by making him more emotionless i realized? abed cant express himself well, which he mainly copes with by dissociating. but he just.. in the last seasons it seemed more like he DIDNT have emotions (i believe he says something like this to buzz when talking about his duck comics, along the lines of the emotions he cant feel or wtv) but this isnt right, abed is emotional, hes actually really emotional we just dont see it directly like we do with people like annie or troy..

speaking of emotions im glad they really explained that jeff was scared of change and everyone leaving at the end though, its always been known that he is, but i liked that they really Showed it

annies ending was nice i guess? she was basically just a prop for jeff though in the weird fucking fantasy he wants though??? again idk why theyre pushing that it felt so out of place and weird and ew. jeff was also uncomfortably violent in season 6, like i dont think he would ever choke abed out that made me feel so gross...

alright back to abed because hes the main one i noticed in the last seasons.

in the end where abed was talking to jeff in the bar and said like.. "ik ur comforted by this meta lens but this is reality!!" just felt wrong.. yeah abed was still meta w the whole tv show thing but that was it.. and then him saying that to jeff? its like they tried to make him this big mentor guy to jeff (idk if thats necessarily it but its all i can think of to describe it at the moment) but not in a friend way but an uncomfortable "im grown up now and ur not" way if that makes sense,, which again goes with stripping him of his autistic traits by making it seem like its completely necessary to Grow up in order to move forward in life which isnt.. its true in some ways but not in the way they portrayed it at all.. they make it seem like abed had to grow up completely in order for him to "be okay"..

i related a LOT to abed in the early seasons for Many reasons, i think they handled the abed centered episodes especially about his mental health EXTREMELY Well. (ie, abeds uncontrollable christmas) its one of the first times ive seen experiences like that in media that i can almost directly relate to yk? but after geothermal escapism its all gone, never mentioned again besides in call backs where they try to laugh it off/dismiss it..

oh my god and abeds 'girlfriend' was just sooo out of place she was mentioned like twice and then that was it.. they didnt need to do that it felt really forced

also in like season one abed sits in that fucking room for hoursss without so much as making a peep but then he looses his cool and yells at buzz in season five?? again troy just left which makes a big impact but its still smt i noticed

everyone just felt very bland in the last seasons after troy left at least… half the cast was gone, then replaced

idk im not like, ruined the show pissed at the end, but im also not a fan of s5/6 (besides like.. sum scenes, and like i mentioned earlier maybe s4 as well)

i have to binge tv shows so i dont always immediately retain all the information and i have to rewatch episodes a lot, but thats my thoughts immediately after finishing the show at 12 am, sleep deprived, and in a really bad mental health episode so theyre not well put together n shit and i wish i could remember more to go over but alas

theres my immediate thoughts,, im gonna probably sleep or restart community.. i was planning on starting interview with the vampire now but im thinking of starting black mirror so we'll see...

[sibylsleaves]

Helloooo defend in place/mayday anon :) sad to report I did not finish my s4+s5 watch/rewatch this weekend (tall task in hindsight plus anirudh tweets dropped right before I was about to start jinx of all episodes lol) BUT I did finish up to 5x10 which means I got to defend in place yayyy! General s5 thoughts 1. Watched ghost stories for the first time and its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be (although 618 and 710 didnt exist when this seemed to be consensus worst ep. So). I get how this ep might be hard to watch on a weekly basis but its pretty fine while binging and also features crucial henren/karen lore like … also noooo way chim really said he was going to bring buck near death, revive him with his paramedic skills and then kill him. Did the writers know. Lmao. 2. Taylor kelly stuff is not nearly as bad as I remember it from what I had watched. Its just painfully obvious her and buck should be friends and not even because their physical chemistry is outright bad just their dynamic feels super friend-ish. And they put all that development time into taylor when they should have developed bucktaylor instead, like how karen was developed after henren, for example. Bucktaylor ily scene still hits like nails on a chalkboard though. God forbid we have to live through something like that again 3. Ravi deadass in every episode. When will my sweet prince return in this capacity 4. Forgot about athena hitting harry :( definitely one of the things that I had issues with from before and was just as shocked now as before like why did that need to happen :(

Okay okay NOW defend in place thoughts !!!!!! I really really liked it, definitely a top 3 s5 episode for me probably (the other 2 I really love are 5x11 and 5x12). Michael/grant family proposal montage… genuinely top (fun) montage in the show. Up there with jinx and stuck/chris and poker date montages imo it was so cute. And while I really loved the ep the whole time I was like damn we were robbed of david content so bad 😭😭😭 he was so good in this ep and the s4 michael bobby ep like I just want more I cant believe we’ll never see him again. Okay and the ravi lore. Im going to be honest I spent years thinking the ravi cancer child thing was fanon/ravi begins spec LMAO like I saw gifs of that ravi hen scene a few weeks ago and was like damn… that lore is canon😭 but yay I wish the show would just once expand on his lore beyond surface level. And the defend in place call was so good although I will say it was giving greys anatomy massively though. Before I kinda wished the show would have done more with david/hen dr stuff but honestly after this Im glad it didnt bc I swear Ive watched this exact stuff happen in greys before lol. But yeah overall what a great send off for michael like so good. On my first watch years ago I was always kind of like okay michael is fun but he doesnt really get to contribute to the main part of the show much outside of being a dad and in that sense I always found his character a bit weak/neglible. But now on this watch Im like why didnt they give us more of this michael!! Copaganda aside, The athena team up when theyre searching for harry was so good and it was probably when I started thinking damn this cast is really missing rockmund in recent seasons. But at least they went this direction with the send off, if theres one thing you can trust 911 for its an eventual happy ending. (And also side note. Amidst the summer of bpreg and domesticverse some of the scene in this episode had me really in my feels. Yay)

hiiiiii bestie!!!!!!! thank you for updating me!!! i also did not watch 5a live (started the show the january between 5a & 5b) so i'm in agreement with you on the fact that it's really not a bad half season when binged!! i can understand the frustration of watching it live though. also ravi being in every episode omg......we used to have it all....(totally forgot about that athena and harry shit too wtf...)

OK YAY DEFEND IN PLACE!!! idk if you saw but i ALSO rewatched it this week (partially in your honor and partially to fulfill the summer of buddie self-care prompt). I have SUCH a soft spot for david, we really don't get to see much of him but i loved their meet cute, loved him in there goes the neighborhood and he's just!!! ugh!!! super hot and so sweet and such a good partner to michael.

lol I've never seen grey's anatomy but i can def see that...anyway yay i'm glad you enjoyed the episode. on my rewatch it really hit home for me how much the episode was grant-nash focused (like you said, with the fun little proposal montage) and it made me realize how much i really do miss them. Looking back, part of what really drew me into the show in s2 was all the family stuff--Buck and Maddie first & foremost (also Eddie & Chris), but also definitely the Grants and how they navigated adding Bobby to their family. It was such a good storyline and they really continued to showcase how special their family is through the next couple seasons!!!

anyway thanks for updating me, let me know how the rest of s5 goes (esp May Day!) 🫡

[littlemisssquiggles]

For those who don’t know, the new season of The Dragon Prince: Mysteries of Aaravos is out now on Netflix. It was original planned for this Friday on July 28th but in a twist that would floor M. Night Shyamalan,  they released the season a whole week early.

I find this tactic kinda funny given how (ridiculously) LONG they took to announce the official release date for S4 last time. But yeah, it’s out ya’ll.

I had made peace to watch the new season on Friday but noooooo, the TDP team just had to “ruin” my plans by dropping the new season a whole week early!

Why? Why did you do that!

Now I gotta be dodging spoilers for the new season for a whole week before I can settle down to watch it myself.

I know I can probably try to watch the new season. HOWEVER…I also know if I watch the new season right now, I’ll probably finish it like probably tomorrow for the latest and then who knows how long we’ll have to wait for the next season? I’m not quite ready to part ways with TDP just yet since it just got here.

I don’t just want to binge the new season of TDP. I want watch it, enjoy it (hopefully more than I did S4) and then savour it before I give my full thoughts on S5.

Outside of the one teaser clip which gave me hope for Rayllum, I have avoided any and all further promotional content for the new season since the first trailer drop.

So I know f*** all about what is to come from this new season outside of where the last one left us off. And that’s how I like it to be before I can have time to watch the new season.

If there is one thing I hope this season does is deliver more on dem Rayllum crumbs. Season 4 was painful to sit through as a diehard Rayllum shipper so I’m hoping that S5 does better on my main OTP.

While I do adore the Terry and Claudia pair (who I’m also looking forward to see being developed more for this new season), even their quirky cuteness was not enough to quell the displeasure I felt for the showrunners’ decision to break up Rayllum ESPECIALLY COMING OFF THE HIGH THAT WAS S3 OF THE ORIGINAL SERIES AND THEY DID IT ON CALLUM’S CANONICAL BIRTHDAY IN A BOOK!!! A FREAKING BOOK THAT AS A RAYLLUM SHIPPER I REFUSE TO EVER READ BECAUSE WHY WOULD I HURT MYSELF!

Rant aside, I’m just gonna simply say that I’m still very, very, VERY salty about how Rayllum was canonically broken up. The salt well still runs for that. That being said, I hope S5 delivers a little more on bringing these two kids back together…maybe.

If you’ve already watched the new season, please refrain from sending me any kind of spoilers. I don’t even wanna know if there are any cute shipping moments for the season. I wanna go into this blind and experience it for myself.

But that will have to be on Friday. Sorry TDP team but this squiggly gal will be watching the new season on its original release date since it better fits with my busy bee schedule.

So until then, time to skirt around some spoilers~

~LMS (2023)

[literaphobe]

[i'm the anon from earlier] tbh I have no idea how I found you or if I followed you before I started watching mlb!! I follow people rather impulsively and I’ve been on Tumblr forever so it’s hard to tell sometimes but your posts are bangers and I’d reblog them all if I weren’t shy

I started watching mlb because I was binging another show that had come out earlier this summer and I wanted it to last me a bit longer so I thought “oh, mlb is on Netflix, I once had a mutual obsessed with it in 2016, might as well watch a few episodes in between eps of the other show” and well, here we are, three months later 🤠

It had nothing to do with the movie coming out or the Season 5 finale, I only found out about the recency of these when I tried to watch the entirety of season 5 on Disney+ and. there were only 8 episodes. it was two in the morning. I was upset

But how/why did you start watching the show!!!! I assumed you’d also been one of the “company founders” asdfsgsg (1/2)

HI ANON!!!! Oh my god we’re both new-ish??? this is so crazy. i love how u started watching the show. i should think about what random mutuals of mine were into in 2016 too and randomly decide to watch those shows. SPEAKING OF NETFLIX i saw the show summary they gave once like yknow ‘as teenagers, she’s in love with him and he’s oblivious. as superheroes he’s in love with her and she’s annoyed’ LIKE I WONT LIE. i think they slayed that!!!!! mlb is not on netflix in my country btw. its on disney plus tho!! which is where i first binged the show HEHE like july 2022!! been over a year since i first started watching time truly does fly

i started watching mlb because i saw people talking about the s5 lovesquare flip and this was before it happened (ultimately it did not turn out how other people were discussing it) i was seeing tweets like OLD LOVE SQUARE -> NEW LOVE SQUARE and it went from omg chat noir loves ladybug and marinette loves adrien and well all the damn arrows to um marichat being a thing?? and i saw a mutual of mine qrt like ‘yeah tbh marichat is prob the healthiest dynamic in the lovesquare so they should be dating’ and um. well. i wont give my opinion on that but I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT MARICHAT WAS DATING OR SOMETHING AND THAT ID SEE A LOVESQUARE FLIP. so i was like. man this show sounds absolutely insane. and so i clicked on it

AND I LIKED IT A LOT. so i kept watching. and here i am now. june-july 2022 michelle was tricked. marichat is not an established couple. its adrienette. which well. it is what it is. me being me i dont want any pairing established bc i think complicated situations are fun ^_^

i totally get u being upset when there were only 8 episodes in s5 tbh. BUT IMAGINE ME REALIZING S5 HAD STARTED BUT THERE WERE ONLY TWO EPISODES AND GLOOB WAS THE ONE WHO DROPPED THEM. i was like. what the fuck is this. i mean im watching them they are so fun but. why am i suffering. and here i am now!!!

i wish you would reblog my posts but honestly i far prefer having fun little convos like this on anon 😍😍 so i completely love and accept u and encourage u. as long as u drop by my askbox i am already the happiest blogger girl alive !!

also NO im not a company founder no. im the intern who runs into the break room every day and screams ‘WHOOOOOO WANTS COFFEEEEEEE’ and most days no one’s in the break room some days people are there but ignore me because there’s coffee in the damn pot so what’s this bitch on about BUT sometimes someone’s like oh hell yeah ill have a cup and then i start grinding beans on the spot to make bean juice or i like hand out instant coffee packets and smile like i just solved a problem. does that make sense

[hertwood]

dts s5 e3-5

e3: -"i am perfect 🥰" fuck u know what sometimes the charles leclerc charm does get to me ngl -"breaking america is very important" OH IS IT. let andretti join then -i'll say it. miami isn't that bad. you can critisize the consumerism of it all without being so anti-america yall -fuck caitlyn jenner but her gushing to christian horner abt how great it is that ferrari is winning is iconic -i did watch this season but i did after the fact /knowing/ max was gonna win in the end. its sorta hitting me how it did really look like, oh my god, charles could really win here. just lookin at his lil face thinking how much did he get his hopes up. how much did i hurt, watching it slip away. how do u even handle that emotionally -i know i've talked abt this before but when i was binging the 2022 season i got super drunk before/while watching miami and when i woke up in the morning i remembered basically nothing other than carlos taking his shirt off (priorities). i watched the race highlights sober and was surprised by the lando crash. lol -if anything this rewatch is putting me back in my max girlie era. chomp chomp chomp. and/or i'm ovulating. combination of both -cannot wait for padel game 2023 edition on dts. it will be superior i know it -i do think its wierd that theyre framing (trying to) prioritize charles as a mean thing to do when its exactly what merc did in 2021 for lewis and it was 100% necessary both times. the guy who said 'ferrari won with the wrong car' wasnt wrong thats just how this shit works!!! -idk why dts couldn't just explain that max has non terminal but non fixable damage and thats why he was so damn slow. i feel like it wouldve been so easy to just mention. give context to why he couldnt get back up there -i dont think having multiple episodes focus on the same race from different perspectives is the worst thing ever, but i do think they fucked it up here by having the silverstone episodes back 2 back 2 back...... at least mix it up a lil. put another episode inbetween so we've forgotten by the time its being rehashed is it rly that hard

e4: -"i would've fucked the whole paddock" you know what maybe gunther IS iconic. maybe i will miss him a lil -i'm not a mick girlie but he is such a sweet boy. gunther count ur days :) -being reminded that michael and jos were teammates is such a jumpscare. how did that happen -"its not about proving them wrong, its about proving yourself right." HES SUCH A SMART N WISE LIL BOY. MWAH MWAH MWAH -that was a legitimately terrifying high speed crash. like a crash is a crash but the way that car got torn up is insane -STAY AWAY FROM OLLIE BEARMAN BTW -kevin supporting mick is So Important like an older sibling trying to break the cycle w/ a shitty parent. kevin i love u -ALSO underrated ship. btw -respectfully. as someone who knows nothing abt cars. if the haas keeps having problems splitting in half during crashes mayb. its a car issue. just a thought -faldskjfalksjf but this monaco crash: thinkin abt during the race, kevin had a mechanical dnf nearly the same time, so when the camera cut from mick's smashed car to kevin standing on the side of the track, looking disappointed, there was legitimate confusion on who fucking crashed. anyway that goes to show MAYBE THE CAR IS JUST SHIT -sebmick. is indeed. important -i love the way mick thinks his name is only a blessing. i just love seeing other people be brutally positive in the face of adversity bc its what i aspire to try to do too. its a good mindset to have i hope he is doin well now <3 -small children humbling tf out of christian horner is so important actually -i'm so glad daniel knew what he was worth with haas. i'm so glad they couldn't damn afford him. as he should 💅 -mick & max ALSO underrated ship. this man is so shippable -i am glad max n mick got to have this lil battle tho. they got to have what their dads predicted finally :)

e5: -ok so this is actually the most recent dts episode ive seen since before i started the rewatch, right after otmar got fired i watched it as a fun lil victory lap. this'll be fun lets goooooooo -otmar as a man is such a walking ick. even if i dislike other TPs at least they dont give me the ick. thats the second most unforgivable crime otmar has committed -i'm sorry the way otmar left AM bc he didnt like lawrence as a boss only to sign up to work for LAURENT ROSSI????? u have to laugh -i've said it before and i'll say it again nando n estie were fucking raw 100% -even if mclaren continued to be shit and alpine didn't implode oscar still made the right choice bc CLEARLY otmar was keen on keeping the nandoestie lineup for as long as fucking possible. and then he gets mad when oscar realizes that and bails??? i hate this man sm -'je m'appelle yuki. merci' iconic dts quote. yall if dts didnt exist we wouldnt have this be grateful -ok. so i know when this season came out this whole dando in the parking garage bit got some heat bc apparently that was not at paul ricard like the episode implies. but honestly. listen. netflix got a fun lil moment with daniel and lando. they didnt have anywhere else to put it. was there really any harm with having it squeezed in there. its not like ppl thinking theres a parking garage at paul ricard is super damaging misinformation. pls find real solid criticisms of dts instead of this kinda bitchin and moanin THANK U -HI SEBCHAL CRUMBS -ok um. not 2 tinhat here but i know dts got some heat for not having enough women in this season. did they go back and add these bits with jennie gow after she recovered from her stroke i dont remember her being here. its fine i just dont particularly like how netflix can go back n change shit -i hate birthdays i get so much second hand cringe from this. if i never get sung happy birthday again ever in my life that would be ideal -how many times has nando left and gone back to renault/alpine? god its like a girl who wont stop getting back together with a cheating bf and then being surprised when he cheats again oh fernando left ur team WATER IS WET BABES -ok what i'm getting is otmar is bad at getting contracts finalized in a timely manner and maybe this is his damn fault :) -'lets show him he made the wrong choice' you have to laugh ladjfaklsjdfaljd

[redrobin-detective]

Ok now that I know ur opinions on Alien Force, I gotta know ur opinions on OG & Omniverse. Which one do you like better? Did you like the Inclusion of Rook? I just have so many questions!

The OG was the original for me, Robin's second ever fandom after DP got cancelled. I loved it and absorbed the entire series only for that love to peter out rather quick. I think its bc it was just me in my head with no outside fanon to participate in. But rewatching it now, I was afraid it would seem stupid but I'm surprised at how well it holds up. God I love this half manic idiot child running around with his godlike watch. I'm reminded that the original series was actually decently well written with some great storylines and dialogue that I had forgotten about. I rewatched the whole Ghostfreak saga the other day and man there were some genuinely scary and tense moments in there. I think objectively the original Ben 10 is the best out of everything I've seen but I've been frothing at the mouth with the complexities and delightful storylines of Omniverse.

So I love the idea of Omniverse more than the actual show. Don't get me wrong I still really enjoyed it, I didn't binge watch 80 episodes in 2.5 weeks just for giggles. The world building/lore/and Ben's character* (*when he was done well) were terribly interesting and my mind is still trying to get ahold of all the nuances and hidden meanings the show just, didn't use. S1-4 was great, S5-8 were overall bad with good eps interspaced (I've uh watched And Then There Were None/And Then There Were Ben like 4 more times since the first watch).

I loved Ben and Rook's relationship for all the wrong reasons bc while fans were all like 'oh ship them!' I found their friendly but still distant dynamic, being unable to truly open up to one another (bias/disappointment & sense of propriety on Rook's part and Ben's heavily walled heart, insecurities and fear of abandonment). Despite going through countless trials, they got through 8 seasons as partners without like... actually understanding the other and it's so sad in a really interesting way bc its very in character for both of them. Rook as a character was delightful. How quickly he went from "Ben Ten!" with stars in his eyes to 'Benjamin if I were not legally and morally obligated to keep you alive I would have snapped you in two by now (but also I would still die for you bc I still have great respect for you as a hero if not as a person)'.

Rook had to practically pull Ben's teeth out to get him to admit to any sort of vulnerability and Ben purposefully kept him away with his annoying hero facade yet people still be pretending they're super tight? Ben & Rook are basically the equivalent of high school friends you hang with, have fond memories with, call your best friend but once you graduate, you completely drop off and when you look back you realize you never actually bonded in a meaningful manner. It really makes me sad bc Ben did this on purpose bc losing Gwen and Kevin so suddenly hurt him and he's pushing away any new friendships (especially with a fan, someone Ben will always try and please and be Ben 10 not Ben for) and if he keeps this attitude up he's gonna wind up very, very alone.

[joneswuzhere]

hello join me in thinking about some books and authors that are, or might be, part of s5′s intertextuality

5.10 in particular offered specific shout outs, and also u know i’m always wondering what might be ahead so i have some ideas on that:

- first, as mentioned in a previous ask post, i know i wasn’t alone in keeping an eye out for 5.10 parallels to the lost weekend (1945) the film that gave episode 1.10 its name and several themes - or to the 1944 book by charles r jackson which the film is based on

- s5 has not been shy about revisiting earlier seasons, especially s1. altho i feel that 1.10′s parallels to the lost weekend centered characters other than jughead (mostly betty), a 1.10-5.10 connection involving jughead and themes from jackson’s story (addiction, writers block, self reflection) seemed v possible if not inevitable

- but like,, , for a hot minute after the ep, i was really stumped on understanding how anything from the book or film could apply, even tho the pieces were almost all there

- jackson’s protagonist don birnam goes thru and comes out the other side of a harrowing days-long drinking binge that could be compared to jughead’s one-night hallucinogenic writing retreat

- but jughead is struggling primarily with traumatic memories, not addiction and self control like birnam. and tho drinking activates birnam’s creativity, it paralyzes his writing as he gets lost in fantasies; he’s never published anything. jughead’s drug trip recreates circumstances that already helped him write one successful book. even the rat that startles him mid-high doesn’t line up with birnam’s withdrawal vision of a dying mouse, symbolic of his horror at his own self-destruction thru alcohol

- and maybe the most visible discordance: in the film there’s a romantic motif around a typewriter. first it’s an object of shame; birnam’s failure to write, tied up with his drinking, makes him flee his relationship. he tries to pawn the typewriter for booze money and finally a gun when shooting himself feels easier than getting sober. but with the help of relentless encouragement from girlfriend helen, he quits drinking, commits to her, and focuses on typing out the story he’s dreamt of writing. rd goes so far to avoid setting any comparable scenario that jughead has brought a wholeass printer into the bunker so there can still be a physical manuscript to cover in blood by the end, even without his own typewriter. the subtle detail of his laptop bg image is a little less noticeable than his avoidance of betty’s gift

- tabitha might be closer to a parallel than jughead is, but she’s still no helen. both refuse to take advantage of the inebriated men in their care, but birnam takes advantage of helen, financially and emotionally. jughead refused a loan from the tate family and now has resolved to deal with his shit before he considers a relationship with tabitha. instead of helen’s relentless and unwelcomed attempts to get birnam sober, tabitha reluctantly agrees to help jughead trip safely bondage escape notwithstanding. she even helps him get the drugs.

- whatever potentials exist for parallels to jackson’s story, they were not explored for this episode. ok so why tf am i even talking about this? what was there instead?

-  i have arrived at the point

- s5 has been revisiting s1, not directly but with a twist. and jughead’s agent samm pansky is back. u may recall, pansky is named for sam lansky

- jughead’s trip-thru-trauma is a story device tapped straight from lansky’s book ‘broken people’

- lansky is like if a millenial john rechy wrote extremely LA-flavored meta but just about himself no jk very like a modern successor to charles r jackson. both play with the boundary between memoir and fiction. lansky is gay; jackson wrote his lost weekend counterpart as closeted and remained closeted himself until only a few years before his death. both write with emotional clarity and self-scrutiny on the experiences of addiction, sobriety, and the surrounding issues of shame and self worth

- i feel like a fool bc after this ep i had been thinking about de quincey and his early writings on addiction (c.1800s), but i failed to carry the thought in the other direction, to contemporary writers in the genre, to make this connection sooner

- lansky’s second book, broken people, follows narrator ‘sam’, mid-20s, super depressed, hastled by his agent to write a decent follow-up to his first book, but too busy struggling with his self-worth and baggage from several past relationships. desperate, he takes up an offer to visit a new age shaman who promises to fix everything wrong with him in a matter of days. not to over simplify it but he literally spends a weekend doing psychedelics and hallucinating about his exes. jughead took note

- unless u want me to hurl myself into yet another dissertation about queer jughead, i think his parallel to sam - who, unlike jughead, has considerable financial privilege and whose anxieties center on body dysmorphia, hiv scares, and his own self-centeredness - pretty much ends there

- But,, the gist of the book could not be more harmonius with a major theme shared by the 2 films that inform the actual hallucination part of jughead’s bunker scene: mentally reframing past relationships to get closure + confronting trauma head-on in order to move forward

- so that’s neat. what other book and author stuff was in 5.10?

- stephen king and raymond carver get name dropped. i’m passingly familiar with them both but u bet i just skimmed their wiki bios in case anything relevant jumped out

- like jughead, carver was a student (later a lecturer) at the iowa writers workshop. also the son of an alcoholic and one himself

- i recall carver’s ‘what we talk about when we talk about love’ is what jughead was reading in 2.14 ‘the hills have eyes’ after he finds out about the first time betty kissed archie (at that time he does not respond as would any of carver’s characters)

- this collection of carver stories deals especially with infidelity, failings of communication, and the complexities and destructiveness of love. to unashamedly quote the resource that is course hero, ‘carver renders love as an experience that is inherently violent bc it produces psychic and emotional wounds.’ very fun to wonder about the significance of this collection within the s2 episode and in jughead’s thoughts. and maybe now in the context of the s5 state of relationships. or, at least, the state of jughead’s writing as seen by his agent

- anyway pansky doesn’t want carver, he wants stephen king

- i have too much to say about gerald’s game in 5.10, that’s getting its own post someday soon

- lol wait king’s wife is named tabitha uhhh king’s wiki reminded me of his childhood experience that possibly inspired his short story ‘the body’ (+1986 movie ‘stand by me’) when he ‘apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train tho he has no memory of the event’

- no mention of that in this rd episode but memories of a train could be interesting to consider with the imagery that intrudes on jughead’s hallucination. i still feel like it was a truck but the lights and sounds he experiences may be a train

- ok now we’re in the speculation part of today’s segment

- if jughead’s traumatic memory involves trains, then it’s possible this plot will take influence from la bête humaine <- this 1938 movie is based on the 1890 novel by french writer émile zola. this story deals with alcoholism and possessive jealousy in relationships, sometimes leading to murder. huh, kind of like carver. zola def comes down on the nature side of the nature-vs-nuture bad seed question (tho i should say he approaches this with great or maybe just v french compassion). also i can’t tell if this is me reaching but, something about la bête humaine reminds me of king’s ‘secret window’ which we’ve observed to be at least a style influence on jughead post time jump

- but wow a late-19th century french writer would be a random thing to drop into this season, right? then again zola also wrote about miners, which we’ve learned are an important part of this town’s history + whatever hiram is up to this time.  and most notably, zola wrote ‘j’accuse...!’ an open letter in defense of a soldier falsely accused and unlawfully jailed for treason: alfred dreyfus. archie’s recent army trouble comes to mind.

- since the introduction of old man dreyfuss (plausibly Just a nod to close encounters actor richard dreyfuss, but also when is anything in this show Just one thing) i’ve been wondering if these little things could add up to a season-long reference to zola’s writings. but i had doubts and didn’t want to speak on it too soon bc, u know, it’s weird but is it weird enough for riverdale??

- however,,,

- (come on, u knew where i was going with this)

- a24′s film zola just came out. absolutely no relation to the french writer, it’s not based on a book but an insane and explicit twitter thread by aziah ‘zola’ wells about stripping and? human trafficking?? this feels ripe for rd even outside the potentials here for the lonely highway/missing girls plot.

- that would add up to a combination of homage that feels natural to this show

- anyway pls understand i’m just having fun speculating, most of this is based on nothing more concrete than the torturous mental tendril ras has hooked into my skull pls let go ras pls let go

[tuiyla]

She-Ra’s like, really good, people

It’s been over a week since She-Ra season 5 came out and I binged it and this is not going to be coherent but I just want to rant about it a bit before writing some more structured metas. I deffo wanna write about Catradora and how I think SPoP is the true spiritual successor to the Avatar.

But first, let me just scream about how good this show is. I already started rewatching it, pretty much straight after finishing it, and I don’t rewatch tv shows often. The exception is Avatar (seen it like 15 times) and sitcoms. But She-Ra is so layered that I felt like I needed to watch it again just to appreciate the dynamics even more.

I already enjoyed the first season but it kept getting better and better. I’m not in love with the art style and it’s definitely for a younger demographic overall than my other favourite animated shows, but like any good kids’ show it balances tone well. It doesn’t talk down to its target demographic but also includes more traditionally mature themes in a digestible and entertaining way. Not all the jokes landed for me but as the series went on I learned to appreciate the tone and the type of humour She-Ra goes for.

It’s funny to me because this is definitely the type of show I would have rejected as a kid, with all the princesses I would have deemed it “too girly” and therefore not for me because screw gender roles. There’s a degree of internalized sexism to that, for sure, a rejection of the feminine because it’s always been seen as less somehow. But there’s also a truth that, at least in my childhood of the late 90s and early 00s, children’s media targeted at girls often had a poor quality to it, at least when compared to “boys’ stuff”.

She-Ra is not only a clever, heartfelt, complex story, it also transcends that binary of having to be either for girls or boys. I know most of modern animation rejects that as well, but She-Ra embraces so many traditionally feminine qualities while also going beyond gender roles and even the gender binary. This show is so queer, man, and I love it. It’s especially impressive when you consider the source material that was literally just the girly version of He-Man. I have no beef with 80s She-Ra, haven’t seen much of it, but this is such an upgrade.

That being said, I would have loved to watch She-Ra as a kid. I’m so incredibly envious of kids, aged around 10, who get to watch this show as they’re growing up. But I am so, so, so happy for them and for the future of animation that shows like She-Ra can be made now, that they’re being made. I’m going to go into spoilers soon, but just before that: She-Ra’s a perfectly enjoyable show in many aspects. I think the worldbuilding’s pretty cool, the story feels coherent and planned out, it’s lighthearted and so genuine. That’s the word that I ultimately choose to describe the series: genuine.

I feel like so much of TV aims to be dark and gritty nowadays, animation included, and though that’s slowly turning to dark comedy or a balance between fun and serious, it’s still the norm. At some point in the last decade, creators became terrified of being judged as cheesy. Even something like the MCU bathes in bathos to avoid being cheesy. But She-Ra proves that creators shouldn’t be afraid of being genuine, of basing characters and storylines on the simple power of love. Like, it’s such a cliché trope but I think that’s mostly because it has become stale.

Noelle Stevenson has talked about the importance of love in her story and I’m so grateful for that. Through, She-Ra, she’s truly proven how powerful love can be in a story and how it doesn’t have to be cheesy. It’s just so unabashedly genuine. The power of love and friendship literally saves the day several times but it’s always so genuine and more importantly it always makes sense that it doesn’t get boring. If the foundation wasn’t there, then I’d say “well this is just super cheesy”. But the show makes a point of building relationships and making them the focal point of the story.

Alright, so, spoilers because I need to talk about character arcs and THAT KISS and just everything. I really need to write more in depth about Adora and Catra and their relationship but for now I feel like it’s so important to appreciate how they’re developed. Everything from their shared childhood to their trauma with Shadow Weaver and the finding their way back to each other, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It’s so well-written and believable. Ngl, I do have some minor issues with Catra’s redemption arc. Let’s just say that on a scale from Kylo Ren to Zuko, she’s definitely closer to Zuko. I also appreciate Shadow Weaver’s death scene and how it allows them to move on. I didn’t see that one as Death as Redemption and it shouldn’t be. Again and again the show made it clear that she was abuse towards both girls and nothing will negate that.

From what I can tell, the fandom really latched onto Catra, even when it wasn’t clear whether she’d get a redemption arc. I think that’s important, because unlike some characters in animation, Catra’s actions were almost always framed appropriately. There was always an understanding as to where she’s coming from, how she’s acting from a place of hurt, and yet her actions weren’t justified. They weren’t suddenly all okay just because she’s hurt, too. I especially loved in the season 3 finale when Adora was allowed to finally say no, to say that Catra’s actions were not her fault. That season as a whole was beautiful, like, episode three when Adora’s struggling so much and Catra has the opportunity for a better life but she still fails to choose her own happiness because she’s too bitter over SW and Adora? It’s poetic cinema. I love that angst, so well done.

It would be so easy to misfire in Catra’s storyline and either a) write off all the awful things she does because she’s just “misunderstood” or b) irredeemably stuck in her abusive environment with no hope of escape. They balanced quite well there and managed to handle such a complex character with delicacy. I’m quite happy with how Catra was portrayed because on the one hand, she’s painfully relatable to me and I assume to many others. The audience can see their own mistakes reflected in her character because we’ve all been too stubborn, done things out of spite, refused to acknowledge that we were wrong because we were hurting so much. At the same time, I always felt like the show gave me enough space to judge Catra’s actions and acknowledge that she was in the wrong. I honestly think I would have been a better adjusted teenager is if saw this show just before my angsty years, lol.

I’m going to write more about Adora at some other point but I love how vulnerable she’s allowed to be. Protagonists never used to be my favourite characters because they all seemed the same, with two major categories: the stereotypical male hero who can do no wrong or the angsty boi who can be shitty and the text still frames him as awesome. It’s only recently with series like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra that I go “damn, protagonists can be like that, huh.” Adora is a dumb jock who tries so hard and she deserves all the hugs in the world.

Also, Catradora? Breathtaking, amazing, groundbreaking. No doubt She-Ra needed shows like Adventure Time, LoK, Steven Universe and the likes to pave the way but still, it went there. I saw people be anxious about whether they were gonna be queerbaited, but I always, idk, knew? Trusted? That She-Ra would follow through. I didn’t wait six years for Bubbline to happen for Catradora to not get their big damn kiss. The series has been so effortlessly queer from the get-go that it just made sense that they were always heading there. I did see a gif of the kiss before watching s5 and ngl, that spoiler kind of bummed me out in a way that I wanted to be surprised. But even before I saw that I wasn’t worried. And the context of their journey in season 5? That cannot be spoiled by a simple gif. You have to experience that to fully appreciate it and that is the marker of good storytelling.

I understand that, though this should be the norm by now, Noelle Stevenson still had to be smart about how she approached the execs and she wasn’t sure this could happen. I cannot tell you how happy I am about what she said regarding how Catradora was so integral to the story that the execs couldn’t not allow it. That’s so brilliant, and it feels so natural in the story. Queer love saves the day and it’s not ambiguous, it cannot be censored because you lose a part of the story without it. You did it, Noelle, you funky little lesbian, what an icon. I can’t wait to see more stuff from her.

In other news, I appreciated other characters as well, like how all the princesses got to be different and awesome in their own unique way. Season 5 was great for so many characters, Mermista got so much to work with and Spinnerella and Netossa got so much more characterization than in previous seasons. Glimmer continued to be the third most important character in the story and I’m happy about all the relationships that also got to be canon. Good characters and dynamics all around, no wonder since the show is built on that.

Such a satisfying conclusion and one that makes you feel like this is just part one of a much bigger story. Such genuine, heartfelt moments, well-developed characters, complex themes explored in a respectful and digestible way, and such an unapologetically fun show. Melissa Fumero as a side character? Yes please. Catra’s new haircut? Heck yeah! She-Ra’s new design? Oh my.

I’m not even like, super into She-Ra, and I usually don’t write so much about things I only watch casually. But this show is so good and important that I had to rant. And I will write more about it eventually, but for now I needed to get all of this out. I’d give it a better structure but if I really get into I might never end up posting it so for now here, have this ramble of love. She-Ra, of all shows, deserves that.

[bardapologist]

I actually like tma s5 for what it's worth. It's a change but it's not bad just different, and I liked the ending

gave my thoughts in the last message i answered just now but yeah! its good to know things will change, im not too worried about like it or not liking it. thats all sort of secondary to seeing the story through for me, for whatever reason.

i also think the advantage of binging the show in one entire chunk after its over is that the investment is a relatively smaller time sink - the experience of sitting down and listening to 40 episodes over the course of a long day or two of doing housework and liking or not liking it is different than waiting patiently as episodes come out over the course of a year and finding it investing/disappointing. though i get people have strong feelings about it too, considering how recently it ended. and i kept myself pretty in the dark about it until now.

i wish id been able to experience the early seasons live - i think theres a lot i would have benefited from as an audience member in having the show and subsequent mystery paced out over time. but if i dont end up liking the end, i dont think its gonna feel as drastic to me as to those who had to wait week to week. so im not that worried.

[gayspock]

omg some tng thought dump bc i havent shot anythin in the liveblog tag for a whilst now <3

- i literally have barely watched ANY tng this month bc of exams :( and am sooo sad bc of it </3 but ALSO bc my focus is through the window & i need to find sth to do with my HANDS whilst i watch but i cnt rlly think of anyhting right now grr grr bark arf arf so hmm to solve later

- which is also funny i think im jsut getting to this lull in tng? i think its jsut bc its a bingeing thing do u know what i mean, besties. the episodes are all very good at this point imo like theyre all sound as hell but i think the problem is trying to watchthem all like this when tng is still very episodic. like tos was eaiser for me i think because there was only 3 seasons of it and yah like... after 5 of tng - but then, with the first two which were so.... rough... - i jsut get a lil tired too quick </3 but i do wnna binge bc guh thats the only way i'll consume it you know girlies im broken in the head now :|

- anyways more relevant i think . like i said episodes are good now but hiii hellooo girls ?? helloooo? TAIL end of s5 has just been some straight BANGERS in particular. like middle of s5 is eh to me, but ohhh tail end besties like- SOME eps idc at all for (imaginary firned was extraordinarily mediocre, for example) but a lot of meat there ya know

- and like also. i am pulling the trigger early yah but like two eps left but i think ive heard good things abt the this one (the inner light) and the desc for the finale.. bestie, you know how i am about a data episode; im such a whoreee for it, it'll win me easy so im just counting on these girlies being good

- an yah so like literally not gong to talk abt them all but it slike

- the outcast yas i dont thnik it was perfect but i dont know man fucking hell i think its just strangely reaffirming to see like. a discussion on gender like that- when now that was like wht... 30 years ago???? omg

- cause and effect also had me obsessd i LOVE a good time loop story who doesnt but that all beng said i think theyre sooo hard to do like i think so many stories try to do a time loop bc it soudns cool but NO besties what makes it cool is pulling it off and they did that! go off! also beverly moments always obsessed

- the first duty is probs one of my favourite wes centred eps ive made my little comments on wesley before and well im not going over it al again now but this is what i want from hsi character ya know. and like even IF the ep isnt as standout as some of the others im mentioning it is bc like? again within the context of it bein, like, them doin wes in a way i actually like yah...<3

- the next phase had me like STOP it. STOP IT!!!!! STOP IT!!! ALL THE MAKINGS FOR SUUUCH A FAVE, BESTIES. first of all? centred on ro and geordi. insane behaviour. thanks im obsessed i am. and also its like- god i dotn know but... IVE COME TO REALISE, what i am qutie obsessed with the most is eps like this where the focus chars of the eps are isolated in a way like this like (where they cannot talk to the others, theyre in some seemingly impossible situation that they cant break out of ) you really GET to focus on the characters nad have them persevre like YES. its why i liked remember me so much . and its LIKE that ep and this one- its like? i dont thinktheyre EXTRAORDINARILY PERFECT but because theyre that kind of set up i love them omggg...........

- i also did love i, borg god yah baby i LVOE HOW GEORDI IS JUST THE BESTIE. THE BESTIE OF THE YEAR. WE LOVE GEORDI HE LTIERALLY JSUT MAKES EVERYONE LOVE HIM. NO OFFENCE BUT WHY IS GEORDI LIKE THE BEST THERE E-

- ACTUALLY SORRY ABOUT THE NEXT PHASE ALSO . DATA PLANNING GEORDI'S FUNERAL. CHRIST ALRIGHT! THAT DID SEND ME QUITE OFF THE EDGE THERE.

- althoguh speaking of god help me im starting to melt we havent had a data centric ep in YONKS it feels like and i assume the finale is data-centric from the desc but nonetheless im strating ro have withdrawals WHEN was the last one? was it hero worship? HELL that was so long ago

- anyways thats all the little thoughts ive had over the last quarter of the show peace and love mwah

[panevanbuckley]

Casmund/911 anon back again, first off, never apologize for rambling because thats what I'm about to do. On casmund, I didn't ship it right away, but I rewatched prince capsian and after and was like, oof i see some pining in there, and it just got so much more intense in VOTD, but like, its such a quiet unappreciated ship that I am always excited to see someone else shipping it just as hard as I do. on 911, I AM NOT READY. I just finished season 3 on Hulu to find out season 4 will be removed soon and Im like, i need to process season 3 first please before watching season 4 . Oof i just got into 911, ive seen it trending a few times for buddie, and was always like, huh cool they chased turkeys in that one episode, and then there was a gunshot scene and the whole internet broke but now that im into it OMG I CANNOT WAIT. CAMELS IN LA!? the behind the scenes stuff is killing me slowly

omg sorry for the late reply, life went a little hectic for a second there 😂

honestly, I was surprised to see that casmund is pretty much the most popular ship in the fandom? but also, how could it not be like look at them 😅 my problem is I've been craving some soft fluff for them and can't seem to find anything that hits the spot. if you have any fic recs I'd be so grateful!

please, omg, it's been how long since s4 ended?? 2 1/2 months?! all I had to do was watch s3 so that I'd be all caught up before s5 starts and I swear- I've only just seen s3e8.... I miss lockdown when I could just binge watch my shows 😭 s4 is so amazing! so much sassy Eddie omg. before this, I was never really into any trending fandoms so the experience of watching new episodes with everyone was so much fun, I honestly miss the hype - I can't wait for it to return and my dash to be filled with so much new content!!

Ryan's face when he pets that camel still cracks me up 😂 that episode is gonna be so chaotic and I cannot wait 💕

[inevitably-johnlocked]

(was originally an ask, then i rambled a crapload, so if u wanna skip through, just go to the bolded questions)

i am new to the fandom & just found your blog, just wanted to say DAMN its so detailed and everything, i cant wait to read it all! also i was so relieved to find that the fandom is still alive <3

side note im just rambling here, i binged sherlock all really quick and everything is like a blur (idk if im in a state of shock or something, but i do know i was super invested at s1 ep 2, then i finished s4 at 4am one day and i had to read me some johnlock fics to comfort myself and i really dont know how i feel about anything yet just that well, johnlock and i cried during sherlocks fake death even tho i already accidentally read spoilers, and i also cried when they just went to hang out at bars together and hhh and during sherlocks best man speech and sherlocks goodbye to john (…maybe goodbye should be plural)…also i was v mad at eurus and s4 was a hell of a rollercoaster gd), so just wondering, how many times have you watched sherlock? how was the experience each time? (can be about any season or eps or anything, also any snacks u liked to eat while watching or anything of that sort? just curious and thought that might be fun to answer)(apologies if you answered this already i tried to look for it but i got a bit overwhelmed)

btw u are amazing ^^ (also nice timer even tho it makes me sad) and MAD RESPECT for answering so many asks and like SO DETAILED-LY? (i cant grammar) and god ur metas and stuff?? absolutely fantabulous. im legit crying im so glad i found your blog. i know how much work asks take (and like i procrastinate on them for so long…mm months old esp for fic rec lists bc i know those take WORK) so like again, SO MUCH RESPECT thank you for all your hard work!! you are absolutely fantastic and awesome :D please make sure you take care of yourself too <3

ALSO you have a great profile picture + background pic (forgive me i have half a braincell (actually lets make it .7437 gave myself a tiny upgrade even tho i didnt do anything) i forgot what its called…background thing?? idk) i love them!!

if u read through all that tysm, if not thank u anyways for being so amazing, i have a habit of rambling so pls bear with me ^^

(also would it be possible to make this anon? if not feel free to delete this line ^^)

(Submitted by Anonymous)

--------

Hi Lovely!!

Always can make something Anon if y’all ask <3

First of all, SORRY for how long it took me to get back to you with this one. I’m a giant heap of trash and I’m surprised people still come here LOL

Secondly, WELCOME TO THE FANDOM! We love having y’all here, and I’m honoured that you enjoy my blog and content! Also will comment on your praise on my meta here: THANK YOU. I’m very proud of my meta, and especially the SHEER AMOUNT of it I have produced still boggles me mind. Y’all remember when I was creative and thoughtful??? LOL S4 dragged me hard hahah. I still try to write S4 meta, just not as much as I used to. I like speculating, I truly do, but I have so little free time these days because of the nature of my full time job, so I tend to just... do nothing LOL. I find Fic Reccing really relaxing when you have nearly 800 bookmarks. I’m worried I’m becoming stale though. Oh well. I’m just trying to leave my mark here. <3

Thirdly, HAHHAH Thank you for your compliment about my replies to my asks; I genuinely wish I could get more asks finished every day, but I tend to ramble, as you can see, and I just... don’t finish them in a timely manner. Honestly, it’s a relief when I don’t know something because I can then get the community involved to help me out AND I also get new fic recs that way too LOL. I also draft a TONNE of asks and when I do that, I tend to just keep adding MORE and MORE and MORE so I have to post them, LOL. 

And finally: My fave episode is TAB; it was the episode I studied the closest and my analysis of the trailer is my “claim to fame”. I just love it to bits. It’s the episode I’ve watched the most. S3 is my fave season, and it’s the SEASON I’ve watched the most, no less than 30 or 40 times. Season 2, then 1. I have only seen S4 like 5 times in full total, and horribly enough, TFP is the most-watched episode: I watched the Leak, the airdate, and I went and saw it in the theatres because I already bought the ticket before it aired so I just... didn’t care. And then at least 3 more times in Watchalongs. So yeah :| I still haven’t watched the BluRay I bought, but I hated having an incomplete set so I bought it when it went on sale fore 10 bucks LOL.

But yeah, S1 and 2 I watched together, and I LOVED the show. I joined fandom the summer before S3 aired, and S3 is when I REALLY got into the fandom. I’ve been pretty much here since then, about 7 years I think now. When I saw S4, it was incredulity and disappointment with it. That’s really it. I’m still a fence sitter these days about the series as a whole, but I’m leaning more and more to “no S5 for at least 3 more years” kinda thing. Just... everyone involved seems so disinterested in the show these days, minus Mofftiss to keep pushing the Sherlock™ Brand to make money.

ANYWAY. Thanks for writing to me!! This was such a joy to read when I first got it, and I just... have been really overwhelmed the past few weeks that I just have only been sticking to shorter asks. But I had some free time tonight when I’m answering this, so THANK YOU. 

I hope you’re still around, and I hope you still enjoy your time here! Don’t hesitate to ask me anything else!! <3 <3

[dawnquafam]

FINE after months of seeing you reblogging stuff about dc shows i have decides to cave in and watch them so how many shows are there, what are they called, and in what order should I watch them? how dare you make me curious via gifs and enthusiasm

JOIN ME IN MY JOY AND SUFFERING (also this is gonna be a Lot more than what you were probably expecting, bear with me lol)

Ok, so there are seven shows: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and Superman and Lois. That list is in order of premiere date (though Flash has a backdoor pilot in Arrow 2x08-2x09, plus the intro of two other leads in 2x19; Legends has its backdoor pilot in the 2015 crossover; Batwoman in the 2018 crossover; and Clark and Lois had a few appearances in Supergirl and a couple crossovers before Superman and Lois, but there was no official backdoor pilot), so if you wanna take it by oldest first and watch one show at a time, that’s your watch order.

(Little note: I think Black Lightning technically didn’t become part of the Flarrowverse until the titular character’s cameo in last season’s crossover, and since this season is its last, I don’t really know how much that counted for. It’s the one show on that list I never got into, so I can’t say much about it. Additionally, Supergirl s1 was on a different network, so her involvement started off a little funky, but she moved to the CW for s2, so in s3 she was fully integrated.)

However, as you've probably guessed by now, this universe is very interconnected. There’s plenty of minor crossover like references and cameos, a couple smaller crossovers and those backdoor pilots, and then every season (except this year for obvious reasons) there’s a big universe-wide crossover. So watching one by one like that might not be the best way to do this.

The big crossovers are as follows (with the eps listed in watch order):

2014 - Flash 1x08, Arrow 3x08 2015 - Flash 2x08, Arrow 4x08 2016 - Supergirl 2x08, Flash 3x08, Arrow 5x08, Legends 2x07 2017 - Supergirl 3x08, Arrow 6x08, Flash 4x08, Legends 3x08 2018 - Flash 5x09, Arrow 7x09, Supergirl 4x09 2019/20 - Supergirl 5x09, Batwoman 1x09, Flash 6x09, Arrow 8x08, Legends 5x01

(Additionally, The Flash and Supergirl have a couple crossovers of their own: Supergirl 1x18, with a tiny follow-up in Flash 2x17, and Flash 3x17, with a little lead-in from Supergirl 2x16. There might be others between the other shows, but if there are, I’ve forgotten them lol)

The 2014 one started things off pretty small and simple, but, as I mentioned, 2015 was Legends’s backdoor pilot, and they only got bigger and more involved from there, up through the 2019/20 crossover bringing about Arrow’s ending and leaving lasting repercussions throughout the Flarrowverse. I didn’t start watching Supergirl until s3 was over, so you can miss out on a show or two and still enjoy and understand what’s going on for the first few years at least, but once you hit that 2017 crossover (maybe even the 2016 one), if you’ve only seen one or two of the shows it would probably really start to detract from your viewing experience. So I think I would recommend this:

Start with Arrow s1-2. You could probably throw in Superman and Lois too, if you wanna get that going since it’s only got 2 eps rn (it airs Tuesdays) - the pilot opens with a recap of their story, and I don’t recall any references to the other shows yet, so you should be fine. But from then on, I’d take it in half seasons - watch each show up to the crossover, then watch the crossover, then finish out the seasons, adding in each show as it premieres. For example, once you finish Arrow s2, watch Flash 1x01-1x07 and Arrow 3x01-3x07, then the crossover, then keep going with the rest of their seasons. It makes binging more complicated, but more background knowledge on the shows and characters makes for fewer spoilers (though if you’re jumping in based on everything I’ve reblogged, you probably already know plenty of spoilers lol) and a more enjoyable viewing experience.

That leaves you with a watch order something like this:

-Arrow s1-2, 3x01-3x07; Flash 1x01-1x07; optional Superman and Lois s1 -2014 crossover (Flash 1x08, Arrow 3x08) -Rest of Flash s1, 2x01-2x07; rest of Arrow s3, 4x01-4x07; start Supergirl s1 here if you want -2015 crossover (Flash 2x08, Arrow 4x08) -Rest of Flash s2, 3x01-3x07; rest of Arrow s4, 5x01-5x07; finish Supergirl s1, 2x01-2x07; Legends s1, 2x01-2x06 -2016 crossover (Supergirl 2x08, Flash 3x08, Arrow 5x08, Legends 2x07) -Rest of Flash s3, 4x01-4x07; rest of Arrow s5, 6x01-6x07; rest of Legends s2, 3x01-3x07; rest of Supergirl s2, 3x01-3x07 -2017 crossover (Supergirl 3x08, Arrow 6x08, Flash 4x08, Legends 3x08) -Rest of Flash s4, 5x01-5x08; rest of Arrow s6, 7x01-7x08; rest of Legends s3-4; rest of Supergirl s3, 4x01-4x08; start Black Lightning s1-2, 3x01-3x09 here if you want -2018 crossover (Flash 5x09, Arrow 7x09, Supergirl 4x09) -Rest of Flash s5, 6x01-6x08; rest of Arrow s7, 8x01-8x07; finish Legends s4; rest of Supergirl s4, 5x01-5x08; Batwoman 1x01-1x08; finish Black Lightning through 3x09 -2019/20 crossover (Supergirl 5x09, Batwoman 1x09, Flash 6x09, Arrow 8x08, Legends 5x01) -Rest of Flash s6-7; rest of Arrow s8; rest of Legends s5-6 (7 hasn’t premiered yet); rest of Supergirl s5 (6 hasn’t premiered yet); rest of Batwoman s1-2; rest of Black Lightning s3-4; and finally Superman and Lois s1 if you waited for them

Which I know looks like a mess, but it’s probably the closest thing to watching all of them together as they air. Granted, I don’t know how well this works, because I’ve been into this universe since Arrow was the only show and have watched most of the others from day one, so I’ve never really had to catch up like this. So if there’s another, simpler way you wanna watch, go for it! Whatever works best for you. This universe is worth the effort of getting caught up.

The one thing I would not recommend in any watch order: Don’t start with Legends. Not only is the 2015 crossover its backdoor pilot, the majority of its original cast started as side characters in Flash and Arrow. You’ll be missing a lot of backstory if you jump in there. Every other show has largely original characters, but in its first couple seasons, Legends really built on what Arrow and Flash started.

(Additionally, if this affects anything for you: Batwoman and Superman and Lois will never be on Netflix. (American Netflix, at least, not sure about internationally.) Every season of the older shows is/will be there, but due to the debut of HBO Max, the two newbies got different deals.)

[all-chickens-are-trans]

another tag game

i got tagged by @evakuality on this, thanks!

rules: tag 9 people you want to know better/catch up with

last song: "Electric Heart" by Neon Trees. I was listening to the Neon Trees playlist when i did my laundry because it's so upbeat and it helps me to actually get through that tedious, horrible task

last movie: "Futur Drei", I think the English Title is "No Hard Feelings" (which I absolutely love??!! helloo?????!) It's this stunning German indie movie about a German-Iranian gay guy who has to do community service at a refugee detention center and meets two siblings who live there. it's queer, it's touching, it's visually so stunning, and it's also apparently from the same people who made druck s5/6 (which i still haven't watched) - so maybe that's something? anyway, everyone should watch this movie

currently reading: "Desintegriert Euch!" by Max Czollek, a German non-fiction book about what it means to be a jew in Germany today, and about the fake idea that Germany has sufficiently worked through its own history and is now a state free of antisemitism, and free of the need for more reflection and repentance. It's an interesting read and I'm learning a lot - I'm also reading it at a rather slow pace bc this is the first non-fiction I've read in a long time (except for uni stuff) and I've never been good at processing that. but it's so well written and easily accessible that i'm surprised by how easy it is this time.

currently watching: on all levels except physical: the terror. i've binged s1 a few weeks ago and i can't stop thinking about it, but i've got no time and energy for a rewatch yet. i'm also watching star trek discovery s3 with a friend, and i started critical role s1 from the beginning a week ago while working on a sewing project, and i still have a couple of episodes of leverage s5 left to watch - i'm just not quite in the right mood for it rn, so i'm saving it for a little later.

currently craving: a swimming pool and a vegan iced latte maybe? it's too hot ugh. some focus and motivation would also be good - I wanted to use my free time today to write fanfic, but now my brain is all foggy and that's kinda rude of it :(

I'm too tired to tag anyone, but @ all my mutuals, feel free to do this and tag me!