#can't remember if he actually appears in all those episodes and not rewatching now

[basingstokemercury]

If I remember correctly, the uniforms change in The Ascent.

When we discover that they pulled a Carson Beckett with Bashir in In Purgatory's Shadow, he's still in the old (prettier) uniform.

This means the Bashir we see in The Ascent, Rapture, The Darkness And The Light, The Begotten, and For The Uniform must be a changeling.

(it also means they all have to take place within five weeks, which is... interesting considering most of these include significant time lapses)

The question is, did the directors/actors know at the time? If I rewatch those episodes with the knowledge I'm looking at a changeling, will I realise something's off?

I'd imagine the answer is no because that would be logistically tricky, but it would be pretty cool

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

[As usual I can't write about this show, so once again these are just thoughts, that I have been writing, leaving in my drafts, deleting a bit, writing some more, and so on. ]

Tis better to have loved and lost?

So, this cliché, of all things, is what's been on my mind since I finished LITBC. I hate this quote. It's not important why right now, I just do. But put it another way. Are things only good if they last? Is the joy, the love and the happiness somehow erased if it doesn't last forever? This is what has been swirling around my brain these past few days while I recover from the pain this show put me through.

Young was never the happiest guy. All through this series, and the novel, he has spoken of his loneliness and sadness. Which is why ultimately, he doesn't fight for Gyu-ho or even is surprised when things don't work out. I think, when looking backwards, is easy to embellish the past, to make it more than it was. To make it happier, crazier, sometimes more tragic even. But what I appreciate about this flashback, is how it all seems so normal. It's a snapshot, a moment outside of reality, because they're on holiday, but we get to see all sides. They fight, they make up. They get rained on, and they have sex. They are wet and uncomfortable but they are together. Like a small representation of their relationship as a whole. The first time we saw them in Bangkok, it was a blip. It was just happy.

And watching these moments,a part of me is sad. The happy ending lover is sad. The little whimpering voice that goes, but they loved each other so much, why can't they stay together???? 😭

And this is where rewatching the final two episodes after rereading the final part of the novel, kinda helped turn a corner and put a damper in my own suffering.

There's a feeling in those last seconds that is nowhere to be found in the novel. Hope. In the novel, he hasn't moved on. He's still stuck in the loss of the relationship with Gyu-ho. There's nothing in it that tell us that he'll be okay from now on. That he turned a page, and can now remember Gyu-ho with a smile. Instead he's still just sad, "crumbling away, little by little."

So, in that way, the show is definitely a less sad. Because like Young, I'm now able to see this relationship in a different way. As something precious that Young got to experience at least once in his life. He got the chance to open himself completely to another person, and be loved for who he was.

Of course the presence of the T-aras throughout contributes a lot to the lighter feeling of the series and specially these last moments. In the novel, he would stay in bed for days on end, and neglect his appearance and hygiene. But here we got to see the T-aras bursting into his place, forcing him to clean himself up and get out of the house. And the fact that he's closer to Eun Su, also made me feel like he's less alone, and maybe there's a deeper friendship there than I believed there was before. And perhaps he will trust him enough to tell him about Kylie. Or even the whole group.

I'm still undecided about the father subplot being added. I mean, since the author is the screenwriter, I'm not gonna say it's wrong, but I could've certainly gone without it. I just don't see what it actually added to the story besides just another person that Young couldn't count on. I already knew he was not present in his life, I didn't need to know he was an even worst human being.

I still wanna rewatch the whole thing to pay attention to the different parts, and the different ways in how they were shot, because I was too focused on all the feels to appreciate anything else.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S06E02 - The Good, The Bad, and The Rex - Part C

(no bullet points, this is one giant bullet point lol)

Okay, first of all, Joe, this is the first time Sarah does something to "hone up her resume" as you stated and you worry about it. She's been doing that a lot, you just noticed now? I mean, Behavioral Science PhD kinda seems like an extension to her profiling courses in S4 even. (I also need to stick Behavioral Science to my forehead because I can never remember what she was studying for. I'll code it as, BAU position. I think I'll remember that.)

Second, I'd like to address how that storyline really went nowhere. And I'd like to address it now before I forget because they also forget about it after a few episodes or it only appears as a convenient excuse for her absence, which would make sense if she was actually absent in certain episodes, but she wasn't. They could still pick it up again this season, who knows. There was no apparent reason, though. We didn't see Sarah's new skills being used, we saw her maybe once (in S06E05) doing some kind of assessment that could indeed be due to her current studies. And this not the show that will plant things to be used on the next season.

They planted a seed that didn't cause friction in her relationship with Charlie either, which could have been something to do, especially considering that he could make some sort of parallel in his head with his ex-wife who, if I recall, had announced to him that she was going back to school at some point. To be honest, I wasn't worried about their relationship and I'd given like 90-95% chance that they were together and the show was being stupid with writing and/or episode order.

If Charlie and Sarah had been awkward with each other when they interacted, then I'd have worried about a possible off-screen break-up, but they were acting like pre-S5 stage. When you split up, you don't go back to being flirty. Just the previous scene seemed kinda flirty to me, as was the scene at the house. So my assumption had been lik, lol they "forgot" that they're together (but also not lol because I was annoyed). Which obviously isn't possible because you just can't do that.

In my mind, I'd thought that maybe they were trying to tone it down with the Charah scenes to appease a certain part of the audience. Later, that didn't prove to be completely accurate. I think that the writers made the conscious decision that the honeymoon phase was over and there wasn't a reason to set up as many scenes about their relationship as in S5 as it wasn't a new relationship anymore, even in S5 they'd established that by the end it, more than a year had passed. Instead, I think we did get fewer but meaningful scenes along the way, and that the show did what it did in many of its seasons, meaning they were struggling to strike a balance between Charlie and Rex's partnership, cases, teamwork, Charah, all those elements that a new showrunner comes and tinkers with. Not always successfully.

Another thing about this season was that the episodes were fewer than S5, so it would stand to reason that there wouldn't be as many Charah scenes as in S6. But even if someone was to somehow calculate them as a percentage in each season, there's no denying that S6's percentage of Charah scenes would be less.

Anyway, having said all that (and that is a lot), there are Charah scenes that I'm looking forward to rewatching in S6. And to get back to the scene, Sarah's answer to Joe's worry is completely reassuring, and it really gives off the vibe that the writers also wanted to assure the audience that she's not going anywhere. Just like this plot.

"Joe, you silly goose." (literally what her reaction seems to me)

Shoes inside the house AND on the furniture? Is this the same man who doesn't allow Rex to get on the bed?

Look, I don't need Charlie and Sarah attached at the hip, but having him seem so... alone in the house, and the house seeming way more unwelcoming than last season was... a choice. I don't think the fans' worry was completely unwarranted at this point. And if Charlie was supposed to be missing Sarah because she was at work or studying in her own house, they should have pointed that.

"When are we going for a ride?"

I don't understand Rex's excitement about Charlie's bike since I don't think that Rex will be on it. I assume this scene is to remind us that Charlie is a biker because later he'll have to get on a bike.

Charlie: "Don't get me started."

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don't listen to the haters, Sarah. They don't like flavor, apparently (and some all of a sudden).

Oh, you LIAR! I've got tons of proof!

Um, question. What happens to Rex if Charlie crashes the car? Shouldn't he be, like, tied to something? Doggie seat belt?

lol what?

That drive where everything's so foggy and you can't see the road reminds me of when I was playing Colin McRae rally games. They'd have all kinds of bad weather. I, of course, crashed the car any way imaginable.

Can dogs get carsick? (very important question lol)

We are not on Fast and Furious, Jesse! And there are like a million turns on the road.

Goodness. Look at that. Amazing.

More weirdness. Sarah is asking like she hasn't seen the thing in, like, at least days if not more. Rex lets out a small bark as if to say "poorly", and Sarah smiles. Light teasing, yes, but other than that, I don't get the point of showing that Sarah very obviously hasn't been over to Charlie's in days.

Weirdly placed slow motion sequences return.

Or what? You can't shoot in front of that many bystanders. Or generally shoot. They aren't raising any weapons.

No. Who would have thought we'd end up on a bike?

In case anyone needs a biker!Charlie close-up.

In case anyone needs a "Charlie taking off his bike helmet" shot.

That's a really cool bike, though. I like the color of the tire rims.

To be continued on Part D.

[caliburn-the-sword]

since i've been gone:

watched atla live action. hate the tell don't show writing style. got mad every time i saw ian ousley on screen. suki and jet ate that up tho i'm literally SO pan. zuko's flashbacks made me cry. him leading the division that he saved in finding the avatar is a nice touch. love how secret tunnel and two lovers/omashu is gay now

am starting a jade fire gold by june cl tan reread because holy fuck i'm in zutara feels rn

read if you could see the sun by ann liang. made me cry shake throw up. obsessed with her writing and need her book to hurry up and appear in aus

read the first shatter me book since i enjoyed the first 6 chapters on google. BIG mistake. how did simultaneously nothing happen in that book while everything happen at the same time?? why do people hate adam and love warner??? why is every man on the planet obsessed with juliette??? however the last two chapters gave xmen vibes so unfortunately i will be reading the rest of the series at some point in time

i became OBSESSED with the maleficent movies for an entire fortnight. so much so i thrifted a grunge fairycore skirt with NOTHING to style it with. can't wait for maleficent 3!!!!

follow up to maleficent, i ended up rewatching all of descendants. all i'm gonna say is mal did nothing wrong. ben is insanely mid. i think that evie's backstory is a lot darker than let on by the disney channel rating but i'll make a separate post about my headcanons for her. saw the teaser for the 4th movie. rip to cameron

i watched the marvels FINALLY. i ADORED kamala as always even with all the shitty writing changes to her backstory, iman slays as always. i screamed cried and threw up when i saw the og beast from xmen and professor x mention!!! seeing carol from the kree's perspective was also actually REALLY interesting. the family angst between monica and carol also made me emotional. seeing kamala become disillusioned with her hero was also very civil war 2 coded and i'd LOVE to see that fleshed out more. i'm interested to see whether kamala is trying to form the young avengers (which she was never a member of and predates her by 10 years), champions or secret warriors (both of which kate was never a member of if i remember correctly)

because of xmen crumbs i unfortunately rewatched about half of the gifted s1 for those feels

i now know 4 programming languages and am living out my own little cress darnel life

watched a few episodes of love between fairy and demon, thought i didn't like cdramas, gave an episode of who rules the world and actually?? i might be into it. i'll see in a few episodes time (IF i have time)

[fluffypotatey]

I dunno if you talked about this yet, but very few ppl are talking about s5 since the dub hasn't come out yet so I'll just put a thought I had here (and again, if you've already talked about this, sorry!!)

This isn't really a theory, bc the "evidence" is flimsy, more like a gut feeling, but like:

You know how 9 (I think that's his name) asked Macaque "who did you make a deal with to get these powers?" and Macaque seemed genuinely confused?

I think Wukong might have been the one who made some sort of deal.

Again, this is mostly speculation, I'll honestly have to rewatch the LBD storyline just to ensure that it doesn't contradict this, but idk, for me this would explain certain things fans were pointing out before- I'll just get to the point tbh:

1) It would explain Wukong's lack of confusion at Macaque's first appearance.

Macaque died, plain and simple, and as far as we're aware, this was the first time they had seen eachother. Wukong is definitely not happy to see him, but he certainly doesn't look confused. He never questioned it, actually.

I don't remember if he was surprised with him working with LBD, but I do remember that despite everything, he still affirmed to MK that Liu Er was not a bad guy. And coming from Wukong, especially at that point in the series, that's not something small.

2) Wukong clearly regrets Macaque's murder.

It's difficult to tell what happened when Macaque died, since we only have some vague screenshots and (now) a small audio that might have or might have not have actually happened (since Wukong's memory might have been very biased). But what matters is that we now know with 100% certainty that the murder HAPPENED. It wasn't mind control (or at least doesn't seem like it), it wasn't an illusion by a third party that tricked Macaque, and Wukong certainly KNEW that Macaque was dead.

This is important bc the main conclusion lots of fans got from the whole "Wukong didn't seem confused about Macaque being alive" thing was those theories. Which now seem pretty much impossible.

For a character to do something in a story, 2 things need to be true: they need to have a reason AND they need to actually be able to do it.

Considering desire alone, it seems like a Wukong thing to do. He clearly didn't wanna have anything to do with Macaque (seeming at least annoyed and at worst angry with his presence at the beginningof the story), but he also just didn't want him dead. It wouldn't be out of character for him to revive Macaque if given the chance, but also simply not look for him.

If he can do it? I don't know. He has alot of artifacts, and he's known for breaking rules to get his way, both in JTTW and in lmk. Whatever it was, it probably had to do with chaos magic, but (although not the the lmk's team fault, it's clear that this was mostly bc of complications in production) the season's plot was kinda rushed, they had litte time to tell their story, so I can't be sure.

3) Wukong's conversation with Macaque at the start of the season.

Okay, so this is the main one (bc it can make or break my entire point, which I'll explain real soon), since this WHOLE season had alot of references to past events AND alot of the first episodes' scenes were brought back in some way by the end.

And their conversation felt a little... idk, out of place. Kinda Chekhov's Gun-y.

Bc this wasn't a season focused on how their old enemies came back. Heck, it wasn't focused on Wukong at all! Sure, the poor guy was the season's punching bag (or in this case, more like a squishy stress toy lmao), but the vast majority of his scenes were focused on his bond with MK (be it with the fact both of them came from the same stone, or just his general love and care for the kid, to the point where he was willing to die in his place if it meant keping MK and the world safe.)- and those that weren't were glimpses with Macaque.

Okay, so why can it make or break my point? Because it's gonna entirely depend on weather or not Wukong is being honest in that conversation.

Now, Wukong is a big, fat liar. We all know this. The Samhadi Fire thing happened ENTIRELY bc of his lies. This man is not honest, and he loooves passing the blame to someone else when he can, especially to Macaque.

And I think he's lying in that conversation. I genuinely think he's lying. Why? Because he said he didn't know what MK was before he chose him as his sucessor.

And, okay, he might not have known the full story, but that man knew SOMETHING. We see in flashbacks that he had been observing MK far before he found the staff. He might not have known that MK came from the same stone as him, but c'mon. He is not that stupid. Also, the body language might be a bit harder to read bc of the budget cuts, but he did not seem honest at all. His first instinct as he said it was to avert his eyes and then TURN THE OTHER WAY, angry.

"Okay, anon, but your whole argument was about Macaque's revival, not MK's birth-" I'm getting to it.

What I'm trying to say is that we should take Wukong's words here with a massive grain of salt. Him and Macaque seem to be working together to discover more about MK, but that does not mean that Wukong is gonna be 100% honest with him.

Which comes the juicy part of this conversation: when the topic switches to Wukong's old friends with grudges returning. More specifically, Macaque mentions Azure Lion.

M: We still don't know who released Azure Lion. All of your old friends are back at once. You don't-

W: What about you?! You came back all of a sudden too!

Wukong's body language was really weird here. Like he was angry that Macaque was questioning things. Maybe it's just him being nervous about it too and letting his fear show off as anger, but it's still weird. This could be him just immediately throwing this at Macaque, because it's easier, with something along the lines of "What about you huh?? You came back too!" as a response for having his methods questioned, but again, it feels really weird.

Especially since this is not the thing you do when you're willing to be honest. Even when you're not willing to be criticized.

This might be a language barrier thing, since the subs I watched with weren't the best, but it was unclear to me wether Wukong was trying to lump Macaque together with everyone else that returned OR wether he was trying to differentiate him from the rest. With the eng dub it'll probably be clearer, but I genuinely couldn't be sure wether this was a "You came back too, just like the rest of them." or a "It wasn't JUST them, you came back too" meaning. This could also be attributed to him possibly being the only one who might have actually died before his return, instead of just "imprisoned", but idk.

And then Wukong looks down, with this weird conflicted look, until he mentions that someone might be manipulating MK, which makes him blink up and immediately pin it all on Macaque again, despite him definitely knowing by this point that Macaque would not do this.

As if he felt like it was a personal attack over something he did.

Which makes me feel like he was involved in some way with at least SOME of these returns, and not just in a "the ppl I messed with came back with a grudge" way. Since the topic of a deal was specifically mentioned by this season's villain, (which Macaque, again, didn't really seem to know about) it might have been that.

4) Lady Bone Demon.

So, I'm really gonna have to rewatch her entire story to be sure about the details, but this woman is the definition of opportunistic. She knows quite alot about destiny, and at some points, even the future.

She was sealed and became a whole lot stronger, sure, but the power to bring others back from the dead? Lmk is not very accurate to JTTW, but she was legit just a skeleton demon with the power of illusion from what I've managed to find. Heck, before she tricked MK into releasing more of her power, she was pretty much stuck with the Spider Queen.

And this was AFTER she supposedly brought Macaque back from the dead.

This woman is powerful, but not THAT powerful. Not at that point! Wukong supposedly defeated her with ease before according to the show, and even he had troubles with the underworld. Also, out of all of Wukong's past foes, it feels weird that she'd willingly choose Macaque to be the one to be revived- the guy with a conflicted past with Wukong that, considering everyone else he's faced, is pretty avarage in terms of power. Also, again, this man has a huge grudge, but he also has a really big past with Wukong. Even IF she could just bring someone back from the dead like this, she'd be smart enough not to choose Macaque. The risk of disobedience was far too great (since he's pretty smart + would likely not want to put up with her bs for long) and his strength is simply not great enough to justify that decision. She had to constantly check on him, threaten him, and even THEN he still found a way out of it.

Sure, maybe Wukong could go easier on him compared to other foes, but that's still not a good bet. Wukong killed him, after all, likely bc he was a danger to his JTTW friends based on previous scenes- so who's to say he wouldn't do it again?

So all of this: the flawed logic of choosing to revive macaque; the likelihood of her being able to just bring someone back from the dead WHILE weakened; the fact that she clearly didn't trust Macaque like she did the totally not a mayor guy; how her biggest strategy has always been to wait for an opportunity instead of doing the work herself... It makes me question wether she brought Macaque back at all.

Because maybe she just saw an opportunity and took it, maybe she just tricked him into thinking that she was behind his revival- as to make him obey at least somewhat- so she could lock him in a deal. Maybe it wasn't Wukong, maybe it was someone else, but the fact that the chaos magic thing along with the word "deal" wasn't immediately attributed with LBD (the only one we know to have made a deal with Macaque at some point till now) was just really weird to me.

Anyway, wow this was long! Sorry about that! Again, I don't truly believe this is the show's intention, I might just be overthinking/misinterpreting things, but idk. I thought it was at least an interesting enough hypothesis to bring it up fhdhdhhdhd

gawddam anon 👀 that’s quite a theory

also here’s a link of what Nines said to Macky (also there seems to be a new ship between the two and i, for one, suggest that their ship name should be called SixNine :D )

idk i agree with Wukong being the one who struck the deal but you do bring up a lot of hood points 👀✍️ Wukong lying about only having a “feeling” when he met MK (even i could smell the bs), Wukong’s “and what about you!” being more of a misdirect from what Macky wanted to talk about -> like these things i def thought were fishy but you bring up a new perspective 🧐

time will only tell!

[precariousmadness]

Having rewatched Night at the Museum the other night, I have found that Kahmunrah is insisting to be written again, and so here I am. Please forgive the mess while I get set up.

First of all, welcome to my blog for Kahmunrah of Night at the Museum!

This blog is private, independent, and selective. It is also multimuse, multiverse, and original character friendly! Currently, it is dash only, but I intend to add a theme soon, as well as a link to his carrd.

Also, this blog may be iconless as I suspect finding icons will be impossible and making them at present would be only slightly less so.

A few general points while I work on typing up Kahmunrah's carrd:

I have never watched the animated film. Without Hank Azaria, I just can't bring myself to do it. Azaria is so pivotal to how I hear the character that hearing any other voice is unbearable.

I am very much a history geek, especially about ancient Egypt. Though I might be a bit rusty until I brush up again—which I'll likely be doing as I'm here—I do have a fairly decent working knowledge.

Specific points about my portrayal of Kahmunrah:

Despite refusing to watch the animated film, I believe I gathered that the premise of Kahmunrah appearing was that the wax statue was destroyed, but not the mummified person. I would agree with that.

My version of Kahmunrah, as the url would imply, is someone who is struggling with what would now be understood as mental illness. Specifically? I tend to lean it toward the schizophrenia and bipolar area. I do the best that I can to properly research this, but I can only be as accurate as the information available. If something is incorrect, please tell me as much as I will be glad to make the adjustment.

With that said, to be clear: Kahmunrah is not a bad person. Yes, I know he killed Ahkmenrah, but bear with me here.

In my own personal headcanons—which can, of course, be adjusted for writing partners for a verse with them—Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah were actually close, at one point. This was the progression of events. After Kahmun was born, there were certain signs that something wasn't quite right, and the older he became, the more obvious. He had difficulty learning to read. He had terrible mood swings. Among other things that could not quite be explained or excused. Sometimes he was perfectly fine, personable and warm; at other times, he would be withdrawn and ill-tempered. There really seemed no explanation except that their son was wrong in some way.

When Ahkmen was born, Kahmun was all but forgotten. The truth is that his parents were ashamed of him. They thought him a punishment from the gods, and it was easy to focus on the newborn.

When it became clear that Ahkmen was a very bright, friendly, and normal child, it was decided that he would become Pharaoh. Kahmun wasn't upset about being passed over—most of the time. In fact, he, too, could acknowledge that his younger brother was far better-suited to the role. What could he do for their kingdom when he could not even manage himself?

Despite what could have caused animosity—again, within my own headcanon—Ahkmen was, indeed, a very bright child, very perceptive and sensitive to things that perhaps others were not. As such, he was often the only one who seemed to care anything about his brother. The two were almost inseparable, despite a gap in their ages. On the good days, Kah had infinite patience for the boy. On the bad days, Ahk was perhaps one of the most capable of navigating those treacherous waters. Ahk truly was one of the only bright spots in Kah's life.

Even during the worst of his episodes, Kah never physically lashed out at Ahk, though he could certainly say some incredibly cutting words, make statements that he would always regret and apologize for later—when he could remember them.

The fact of the matter is that Ahk, being the seemingly progressive sort of person that he was, had too many grand ideas of how to improve their kingdom upon becoming the Pharaoh. The old advisors and keepers of status quo didn't like that, and so they endeavored to solve the issue, though they had to be careful not to get their own hands dirty. How convenient that they had the perfect tool at their disposal.

The advisors first tried appealing to Kah's pride, a sense of entitlement. He should have been Pharaoh. It was his birthright, was it not? Kah did not fall to that reasoning. He knew his brother should be Pharaoh, and he knew that he should not. But that he resisted the first attempt... did not mean that it would continue to be able to do so. The unfortunate fact is that Kah's mental state meant he was vulnerable, and once they found the right catalyst, the outcome was inevitable, and the advisors took advantage of that. They began to whisper like treacherous snakes that Ahk would bring down the displeasure of the gods with all of the things he intended to change, all of the supposed 'improvements' he intended to make. It was heresy, and who knows what catastrophes might happen as a result!

Eventually, and likely following a few unfortunate events that might well have been staged, in one of his more unstable stretches, Kah succumbed to their influence.

Wound up and turned loose to do the advisors' bidding, Kah killed Ahkmenrah... and then followed the unfortunate and terrible moment of clarity... too late.

In the wake of his brother's murder, he seized power. He ordered the advisors to be executed. [ And he saw to it that Ahkmenrah was buried exactly as he was intened to be—though it should have been at a much later date—with their parents and with the tablet.

Absolutely destroyed by guilt and self-hatred, and now without the somewhat steadying influence and help of his brother, Kah's mental state further destabilized, leading him to become known as 'Kahmunrah the Bloodthirsty'. Prior to his death, he decrees that he should be buried as far as possible from his family.

My main thought for Kah returns to the living despite his best efforts to the contrary, is that the Egyptian exhibit is expanded—wherever it may be located—upon the discovery of his tomb, which he had very purposely placed nowhere near the rest of his family. He had never wanted to be returned to life, much less to inflict his presence upon the beloved brother that he murdered with his bare hands. He will actively avoid Ahk and their parents, if it is within his power, and tends to seek solitude, both to avoid being a burden on anyone, as well as because all of that guilt and self-hatred didn't vanish. He neither wanted nor felt that he deserved a second life. If left to his own devices, he will live it as though he isn't. He rises when the tablet takes effect, finds somewhere where he can be alone, and returns to his sarcophagus at the proper time. He endeavors to speak to no one, unless he is addressed. He does not attempt to engage with others, unless they approach him.

Thankfully, the tablet seems to have a calming effect on his mind, so no one has to worry of him trying anything maniacal, but... it isn't a cure either. He does still struggle, to a lesser extent, with his mind, with the moods, the delusions, the paranoia, et cetera.

[leffee]

opinion on each season of the show and each of its plots? stuff like the expo, pet fest, and pet street. unless you’ve already posted something like that

Ohohoh seasons, huh? No, I have not posted anything like that yet. Good that I rewatch this show all the time so I remember a lot. I will do a ranking if you don't mind~ from my least favourite to my favourite season and talk about the "plots" there as well:

4. Season 1 is definitely my least favourite, but like, I still love it dearly, just out of the four I love it the least amount. I just find many of the first episodes pretty boring, just kinda nothing happens in them or at least nothing appealing to me. The songs are also hit or miss, there are a few bangers in there like Humanarian and of course Wolf-i-fied but a lot of the others are just kinda "eh". I said it before and I'll say it again, this show to me has no bad songs, but there are definitely some I enjoy less than others and this season has a lot of them. Like many things it has some "first season weirdness", or just things that didn't appear ever again. An example? This sign on Blyhte's room's door, it's from 1st episode and I'm quite sure it never appeared after that

Also characters' eyes were drawn a bit differently and many other things that I won't mention because this reply would be 10 pages long. But! It also has a lot of episodes when there wasn't exactly main emphasis on just one pet but all 7 of them (sometimes less) were doing stuff together, and those are by far my favourite kinds of episodes. Also bonus points for that Vinnie's voice I mentioned a few days ago, his voice in season 1 was different and I liked it more, another bonus for having quite a few good Vinnie episodes. Another plus for the fact that I think Vinnie and Sunil weren't potrayed as best friends yet (It's actually hard to determine, but I think the writers didn't intend to make them best friends then, my personal theory is that they only decided that those two would be best friends after releasing "Door-Jammed"). Again, I love them together of course, but I crave Vinnie interactions with others too and after that he was with Sunil basically all the time.

But you know how I know for sure it's my least favourite season? Because when I rewatch lps I always leave it for last, unless I'm going by the order of episodes. Plus it has my sleep paralysis demon Minka, look at her

Terryfying.

And last thing - "plot". Well, this season didn't really have an overarching plot, but since we're talking about like last episodes that the season is building up to, I personally really like the last episode of 1st season. As I said, I like when an episode doesn't exactly super focuses on just one character but everybody has something to do.

3. Season 4 - on one hand it has some banger episodes but on the other there are some that I don't really rewatch until I rewatched everything else (aside from season 1). It also had this weird distinct feeling to it? It was lps for sure, but it felt different than previous seasons, it's hard to explain, sometimes it was a good thing, sometimes a bad one. It had some banger songs though with my favourite being Hearty Time Pet Food Jingle the one that Zoe, Sunil, Vinnie and Penny sung, absolute banger!! It actually doesn't have any songs that I feel "meh" about, they range from "good" to "absolute banger" Now that I think about it the reason why this season felt different might be because there were a lot of quest pets, seriously, they were in like every other episode.

But what really brings this season down to 3rd place is the finale. Again, I liked it, but man, it felt wrong that the pets were separated for the finale. Genuinely, they all should have went on that plane with Blythe, you can't just separate them like that :( not for the last episode ever. Yeah, opening a whole street was grander than the Pet Fest or Pet Fashion Expo, and good for Mrs. T :), but really, the pets not being all together is just all kinds of wrong. Of course, it was also the last ever episode and yes, yes I cried when watching it for the first time and then when rematching it a few more times ;-;. Overall my least favorite of the season finale episodes. It did bless me with cat-boy Vinnie though, so that's good :} oh and that expression, priceless!

Oh and one more thing worth noticing. Thank fuck they didn't add a new pet as a regular day-camper, I would have hated if this happened. I have no problem with new guest pets, but a new pet main character? Oh hell no, there's 7 of them and 7 of them shall remain. They might have done it, but they haven't, and thank the stars for that.

What's really important here is that it was the season that finished lps and that's just thw biggest crime.

2. Now this is really hard to choose because I really really like both season 2 and 3, the difference is really small, but I think I will go with season 3 as second best. Well, what's not to like? It doesn't have season 4 off-feeling yet but it has season 1 vibe, just better. It has so many great episodes, either because they follow my beloved "all characters do something together and there's not much emphasis on just one of them" formula, but also because it has some great episodes when Vinnie is one of the main characters (Sleeper, Two Pets for Two Pests [oh my beloved], as well as kinda Why Can’t We Be Friends?, The Very Littlest Pet Shop, Hamster Hoods). And the songs, the songs! I'd say season 4 has overall better ones but season 3 has many good ones as well like Hangin' by a Thread - the underappreciated masterpiece. I know we all think about Wolf-i-fied when thinking of Vinnie and Sunil duet and sure, nothing beats it, but hangin' by a thread is so so good too, pls.

As for the pet fest? Yeah, it was pretty good, I do like that it had some sort of build-up, that's not something I need but it sure is cool to do so.

Oh oh this season also had the episode where Youngmee (<3) discovered that Blythe can talk to pets, which in my opinion was pretty epic, grounded because all in all it's just a normal world, and yet still kinda awesome. I actually really like this episode. Heck, I think I like all episodes from this season, aside from maybe a few that I'm more "meh" about.

Season 2 my beloved 😩. It has so many good things about it. First of all, it doesn't have many guest pets, nothing against them but overall I prefer just the regular ones. Second of all, it has Sunil's sick day which just deserves an award on its own. And the songs? Oh the songs! I mean, come on, this season might not have wolf-i-fied but it has such masterpieces as Two Times As Cute, Chez Paris, Dance Fu Fighting, Biskit Twins Rhapsody, Cyril McFlip and most importantly All Around The World. My goodness what good songs, I wanna eat them. Yeah, I think this season has more "meh" episodes than season 3, but the good episodes are SO good, I especially love the episodes in which Blythe and the pets fly to other countries, they are all just really good, you know?

And oh my God the finale was the absolute best, this is actually the epioode/s that I usually start rewatching from because I love The Expo Factor so so much. I mean it had Delilah? And a banger song? And nice complex yet not too complicated plot? All pets and Blythe together? Hello? Truly one of the best epiodes this show has ever seen. Not to mention that there was some build-up to it to which is always appreciated.

So here, my thoughts on each season. I could honestly say so much more because you know, each season has 26 episodes, so it's pretty hard to gather them all together for judging, but I tried my best. Speaking of which, if that's something you're interested in I'd be more than happy to talk about whatever episode individually, I mean, it would give me a good reason to rewatch once more (nah, I would do that anyway actually) and share my silly thoughts.

[balletwatchespokemon]

Indigo League Episode 11

It's Charmander time!! I love this episode a lot, it's so dramatic. I found it interesting to note on my first rewatch of this episode as an adult how Brock is actually the one to worry about Charmander the most, even though Charmander ends up being Ash's pokemon.

We start off with the gang STILL lost (someone save these kids).

I love Misty jumping up on top of Ash here.

Brock suggesting catching the Charmander they encounter is the start of his consistent worrying over him this episode. Also, isn't Charmander so cute here!

I love it when Pikachu translates Pokespeak for the gang, because he also does not speak human but I guess it's easier to understand a Pokemon they know than a stranger Pokemon.

I really like this shot for some reason, it's really moody.

A Pokemon center! We haven't seen one of those for multiple episodes in a row. I love the rustic vibe of this one, with the log cabin exterior and the log seats. It's very homey and welcoming.

These guys are so cruel, I know that they mirror the attitudes of some real life people in regards to animals, but it's just so awful that they're gloating about how Charmander is going to literally DIE.

Yes! Violence! It's nice to see someone other than Ash descend into violence for once.

Ooo raincoats! I wonder if we ever see these again or if they're just one off. I like how they're all subtly different, Brock's coat appears to have snaps instead of a zipper like Ash's coat does, and Misty's coat has a color accent lining.

So like, are these Spearow trying to eat Charmander here? Canon Pokemon eating Pokemon moment?

Aww they're all so worried.

Once again Brock is the most worried after they get Charmander back to the Pokemon center, though it is notable that Ash was the one to protect Charmander's tail on the run back.

This shot is so pretty!

Another fun feature at this Pokemon center is this sunken hangout spot that they spend the night sleeping in. This center is out in the wilderness, so you'd think they'd have some rooms for trainers to sleep in but apparently not.

Brock once again is the one to worry about Charmander, being up the earliest and first to notice that Charmander is gone.

They decide to continue on as they can't change Charmander's mind for him, and Brock is still the focus of this episode where he doesn't catch the Pokemon. It does show off how passionate he is about the welfare of Pokemon though.

After Charmander comes back and scares off his human garbage of a former trainer Brock encourages Ash to go ahead and get Charmander.

And now Ash has a new Pokemon! I wonder if the show will remember that Brock was such a critical part of getting Charmander. Probably not lol

On Monday we'll meet Squirtle!

[mytragedyperson]

OK tumblr apparently hates me because twice now I've wrote out a relatively long slightly ramble post and it's let me click post and then just not posted, and as far as I can see there not in my drafts so, instead of that post, I will be watching all the episodes of bsd 5 tomorrow and just noting down any thoughts I have, probably mostly appreciating Ranpo and making fun of Fukuchi, because that's fun to me. However there are 2 thoughts that won't leave my head and so tumblr gets to have them.

So first of all I've seen manga panels of Dazai getting shot and presumably dying, which I guess is a spoiler but has also been all over tumblr and it looked like it was on twitter too. Quite frankly, I'm not buying it, and not just because I love Dazai and am living in denial. I've already been burned by BSD in this department of being convinced a character is dead and then bringing them back. I am, of course, talking about Margaret. I thought Akutagawa had killed her and then, a season later, she was brought back, albeit in a coma, to further a plot. Also this is Dazai, if anyone could come back from being shot in to head it's him. For all that he's suicidal and has no will to live, hes really bad at dying, which is good for those of us who like Dazai and I won't complain about that. The only people that have died and stayed so far are Oda and his orphans and Rando (I only watch anime). There may be others but I can't remember them. There were a couple characters who appeared in one episode and were killed off in the episode but everyone else has simply said no to death, which I can respect. Honestly they could get his body out of the prison and have a whole like funeral/memorial scene with all of the characters mourning him and I still wouldn't be fully convinced he's dead. So maybe it is slight denial but I stand by what I said.

My second thought was that I still feel sorry for Bram stoker. I dont care what terrible things he's done, he doesn't deserve the fate he's been given. I can just imagine Fukuchi going on and on about his plan, sounding so confident since he always has turn back time as a backup plan, and he just can't escape it. He's stuck forced to listen. That's the true evil right there.

Also I have a lot of thoughts about how Fukuchi is actually not a good villain, as in I'm not intimidated by him and don't truly see him as a threat. Like his sword is a threat, moreso when he weilds it, since he makes it more effective, but the guy himself? He should be more of a threat than he is. I'll address that tomorrow as I rewatch the episodes because its a big part of my mental commentary and making fun of Fukuchi hours. He might actually be one of the worst villains in the show. I'll address that on a later date. Another thought I'll be addressing tomorrow is my theory that Fyodor is the true leader of the Decay of Angels. Like if they had to listen to one of them regarding a plan they'd listen to Fyodor over Fukuchi. They just can't be bothered with Fukuchis attempts to murder or control them with the sword. Also, bing is my search engine and when I looked up who is the leader of the decay of angels? You know to double check it was Fukuchi, it had his name but the picture next to his name was Fyodor so do with that what you will. Anyway no more thoughts head empty.

Also if anyone has asks regarding anything to do with the BSD anime, I'd be happy to answer them because thinking about/discussing BSD is fun and I do have opinions on a lot of things

edit: change of plans. while i do still plan to do this it's gonna take a little longer. I have a blog, not a tumblr one, though, that I basically never use, so I'm gonna use that to note down any thoughts, opinions and just things in general that I feel like noting down. After I've done that, I'll share it here. Again, asks will be open and this will probably take me a while so, if anyone wants to discuss the BSD anime, feel free to send asks or messages or comment or whatever

[roseposts-stuff]

hello folks!! i have been rating nuwho seasons and it has been a while so!!! it is time for series 5!! also deleted series 11 thoughts because 1. i want these to be in order 2. i want to rewatch the series as well before rating it 3. i disagreed with my own thoughts

just my personal extremely unprofessional opinions mostly based on Vibes, so feel free to disagree!! but now! series 5!

1. Vincent and the Doctor (5x10) - SO good, i love that they showed vincent that his works will be appreciated, that moment was so great. loved the general story, too, and how the "evil" creature wasn't actually evil and how everyone was so kind it was very beautiful to me. also, i always smile when i remember "the ultimate ginge" it was so funny to me

2. The Beast Below (5x2) - really really really like this episode like. already just for the visual look, i love it so much. the story is good imo, and i love that they managed to save the star whale, all hail amy pond!!! the ending was adorable i think. will never get over how visually gorgeous this episode is imo

3. Amy's Choice (5x7) - SUCH a fascinating episode, toby jones is fantastic as the dream lord and at least i kept doubting like no it's this no that AND IT WAS BOTH!?!? yeah love this episode, also rory is with us!!! he's so great guys one of my favourite companions for sure

4. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (5x12/5x1) - a great finale, i lovedddd how little amy came back and she helped save the world and the timey-wimeyness is SO GOOD y'all i love steven moffat because he does timey wimey stuff and i LOVE timey wimey stuff like all paradoxes and like going back in time to do something in the future etc etc is SO SO INTERESTING and you can do it in doctor who i need timey wimey stuff to happen even more in doctor who tbh

5. The Eleventh Hour (5x1) - great introduction to both amy and 11, the story is good + OLIVIA COLMAN RAHHH honestly i need her to come back to doctor who in a bigger role like even as the doctor or the master she's fantastic, but yeah i like this one too

6. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (5x4/5x5) - i like the story and the scene where the angel is appearing through the video clip and when amy had to walk with her eyes closed like the forest scenes were honestly so good, ANDDDD THE FACT THAT THE DOCTOR DOESN'T HAVE HIS COAT AND WHEN HE COMES BACK HE HAS IT ON YOU CAN SEE IT AND IT'S NOT A MISTAKE IT TIES TO THE SERIES FINALE I'M SO INSANE ABOUT THAT, always LOVE seeing river song, the angels moving on screen kinda sucks, however i'm fine with that because of the theories that they move between frames or the crack affects their abilities, and also the scene between 11 and amy at the end of the 2nd part was NOT good like i've heard steven moffat regrets writing it tho can't confirm that, and yeah he should like it doesn't add anything to the story, it's creepy, deeply uncomfortable and makes no sense

7. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (5x8/5x9) - it's not bad, i like the exploration of how humans can be very cruel, absolutely LOVE rory i was so sad when he died and karen gillan's acting when amy is trying to remember rory AAAAA, also loved many of the side characters, but that one silurian and the mum made me SO. ANGRY. like y'all won't even believe how much i hate those two god i was so mad

8. The Lodger (5x11) - i like the story even tho it's probably not the best there is, it's pretty funny and i do like craig ngl, i know people don't like him because of james corden, however i'm not aware of ANYTHING i have no idea what he's done because i like barely know the name so he doesn't ruin it for me

9. The Vampires of Venice (5x6) - i like rory and amy in this but tbh i'm not a fan of the story, i liked the side characters tho and was sad when the girl didn't survive she was really nice :(

10. Victory of the Daleks (5x3) - the story is okay i think but tbh i wasn't too invested, also what's it with churchill being such a hero so often like he was NOT that great of a guy and definitely not someone i'd really see the doctor being friends with, the scene where they're sort of turning the robot guy into human is great, i really like it

that's it for today!!!! hopefully i'll post series 6 sooner lol

[piduai]

I totally agree with you , I tend to remember the bad more than the good . I guess for self care it's better to just watch the arcs you loved . I watched the episode 153 or 157 something ( I don't remember the exact number but it's about Kagura not wanting to sleep ) more than ten times because I liked it. I think it's the best way to view an anime like this.

After all not much is to be  expected from an author like this.

The aliens versus us is just a way to portray the pre opening era . CLEARLY . No reach. If he could write "THOSE FOREIGNERS " he would. Very weird it's giving Isayama with Snk , the world population vs us the people of ( I don't remember honestly 🥴). It's like a nostalgic / xenophobic stand but not outspoken.

I just wish we got more contents of characters like Asaemon and nobume + mutsu these three really could introduce  interesting drama with their profession and personalities. I will never NEVER get over it 😩👹. You know what ? I wish gunatama was a female only cast ( I DARE TO SAY IT👹👹👹)

Also I don't like Emosugi , Kamui is so  cringe , he's what to expect from a teenage boy. He's so predictable, a violent  emotional red hair emo .

But  Takasugi Dramasuke ?!  I just can't . His rage is valid but he never gave anything . A plate of pasta without salt . The hype about him is what all his character is . I never understood it. He doesn't look cool and I think his feet smell NGL.

He's the example of a delayed frontal lobe growth. Soratchi just used limited appearance to tune the citizens on. I don't know how they fell for it . When the whole truth was finally exposed i was disappointed 🧍🏻‍♀️.

I don't know how to explain it and why . He's just so cliché i thought ginballma would be more original but it's not when you look back when it's about serious topic.

i don't have arcs i particularly hate, tbh i watched it in 2013 for the first time and a lot of the cultural & linguistic jokes flew over my head, as well as a lot of references. so now i rediscover a lot of stuff on my rewatch, which is fun. but ig if you have stuff you really hate it's just better to skip altogether, i mean who cares. i only started rewatching it bc i need something to play in the bg while i eat/do my nails/clean around the house etc and short series end too fast while i don't feel like committing to a long series i haven't watched yet

yeah i do wonder, i didn't notice it the first time at all but now it feels very sus. it's also funny that earth = japan it seems, the word japan is never uttered actually but the existence of other nations is never brought up either. and amanto = foreigners, with kagura and the rest of the yato being alien chinese while catherine being alien something vaguely southeast asian. with the rest being animals. i don't think it's that deep just something that made me raise an eyebrow

asaemon is a one arc character and mutsu was shown for a bit towards the end, but nobume was snubbed lol. but again everyone else who isn't g*ntoki was also snubbed. with nobume it's a shame that her shoyo disciple side was never explored while some whomstie (oboro) got an entire thing around it. zura was also sidelined when it comes to this. nobume didn't really do much after sabuchan died from what i recall which is a shame. but also the cast is HUGE so with sorachi's limited formulaic writing abilities it's understandable lol

people always praise the character writing in gintama and i always disagreed with that because 98% of the cast is the same thing from different angles, or rather it seems that he can't write anything else. default character in this series is kind of a rude jerk who is actually super duper kind and niceys deep down and when it matters, and if push comes to shove they'll give you a helping hand no questions asked. most of them have their own quirks (kagura is an abrasive glutton, tae is arrogant, mean and backstabbing, nobume is aloof and apathetic, kyuubei and tsukuyo are overly-serious and awkward and so on and so forth) but the mold is the same. which is like, fine for shounen standards, and a lot of them are very likeable, but let's be real no giocondas are being painted here

i liked kamui until it was revealed that he actually fr fr is obsessed with his mom and sister and this whole time he was just lonely and misunderstood and lashing out. boring. he was fun as a power-hungry #psycho little shit but obviously we can't have any divergences from the mold in this house. as for takasugi he's always been one of my favorites so i can't say much here lol to each their own

[measuringbliss]

Glee Rewatch 1x22, bye Matt!

This is actually Blaine's first appearance.

(Are you confused? Check this out!)

This episode is notable because it's Matt's last appearance until season 6. See you later <3

Guys, the last episode of season 1 is called "Rhapsodie" in French. I wonder which song they'll cover...!

Mike's shirt <3

Once again, Glee's weird relationship with sex rears its head. Why does Will care if Emma has slept with Carl? Why does the scene end on her answering him? I know I'm pretty detached on that subject compared to a lot of people but as gay dude, Ryan Murphy would probably have a vaguely similar mindset to mine on that subject. But apparently the episode was written by Brad Falchuk who, considering he's married to Gwyneth Paltrow (...), probably isn't gay. So that explains it. Still, it's weird. It's just sex. Does Will want to be Emma's first? Why? Whyyyyyyy? Who cares about virginity???

Anyway, we hear Don't Stop Believin' and at this point I'm curious how many times we heard. Twice in the pilot, at least once during the season aside from that, now this time... I was going to say that Glee could feature other Journey songs, like Any Way You Want It (because I know that song and I enjoy it) but I looked it up in Google and oops, seems like this song is part of a mashup for this very episode!

Remember when the judges were actually linked to the season's storyline? We've already seen all of them. Josh Groban for Sandy's obsession, Olivia Newton-John for her great featuring with Sue, Rod Remington and Sue herself of course. It makes them more fun to follow.

The "Queen of Hearts, King of Diamond" made-up play is NOT a reference to the "Queen of Hearts/King of Spades" song by Jackson Aide, as I initially wrote ("initially" meaning here "two seconds ago during my Google search") since that song came out in 2016. It's probably about Rachel and Finn since they rekindle their relationship in this episode.

Speaking of Finn and Rachel, they're so adorably cute in this episode.

The Journey covers are fine, I guess. "Faithfully" is typically the kind of music I won't care about. "Any Way You Want It" is disappointing but there isn't any big mistake or anything, it's just There. "Don't Stop Believin'" is nice, but I think we all prefer the pilot version, right? I'm happy Santana could sing for a bit though.

Gorgeous colors, also I got chills (they're multiplyin') from the first few seconds. The whole Bohemian Rhapsody performance is incredible and also very funny. It's humongous. Iconic. Fuck, it's good!

This painting only appears in this one specific shot. It looks a bit mythological or religious, but I couldn't find what it is. It probably implies that Shelby's actually a goddess. And, I mean, it's Idina Menzel we're talking about. It doesn't sound that far-fetched.

These, however, we can look at. The left pic is a vintage poster for an exhibit for carpets and upholstery, probably meaning that somewhere out there, in another universe, these three judges sold goods at exhibits for exorbitant prices.

The second one is a poster from 1893 drawn by Jules Chéret for the Folies Bergères French cabaret featuring Loïe Fuller, an american dancer, doing her famous serpentine dance. Seems like she was lesbian or bisexual as she spent the last 23 years of her life having a relationship with another woman (Gabrielle Bloch). We love to see it! So who's gonna write a meta about bisexual Rachel Berry based on this?

Matt has a lovely scarf. I'm gonna miss him! It's very funny that he got that line given how little time was spent on him. Matt went from "just another football player" to "just another Glee Club member". Can't say I'm very impressed!

Sue voting for ND is part of those few moments where I love her even more than just for her comedic purpose.

I actually sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow in class many years ago. I already didn't care about the song before singing it again and again, but after that I started actively disliking it. That is to say, Will's number left me completely unfazed. Oh well!

Overall, I think season 1 has quality you can't deny, but after the pilot, it peters out and only gets back up around episode 9, in time for the midseason finale, after which it is consistently solid.

[aprillikesthings]

LET'S GO

man they made this scene have Peak Emotional Damage to Adora AND us

Catra: "Prime has set me free of that pain. The pain that you caused. He will set us all free...forever. A world of peace, without end."

*hides under a blanket*

I can't. I can't.

I feel like every cliff scene they've done lead up to the ones in this episode

Meanwhile, Entrapta and Bow are struggling in the server room (it's a really complicated server!) and Wrong Hordak is fighting off clones in well-meaning confusion

But Glimmer helped :D And she stabs the server's control panel and they run as shit explodes

The way Catra and Horde Prime talk at the same time through Catra reminds me of the way Lapis and Jasper talked at the same time to make Malachite's voice. D:

"She was afraid, in the end. And she suffered."

but she's herself for a split second again

Chipped Catra: Then you're a fool. You cannot stop Horde Prime. He will reign triumphant over all the universe. It is...destiny"

But the server is fucking everything up and electricity is going everywhere and zaps Catra's chip.

And Catra's not fighting her as Adora grabs her and jumps away from shattered glass spraying all over

that's not good

OH GOD we see through Catra's eyes as they open on Adora

(the last time we saw through someone's eyes like this that I can think of? Adora opening her eyes during the Battle of Bright Moon, to Catra looking down at her in triumph. Oof.)

Catra: "You should've stayed away!"

I AM SHOOTING MYSELF INTO THE SUN

oh god but then her eyes glow green again and she sits up and just backhands Adora D:

the chip keeps jolting and malfunctioning and hurting her

Adora: "Come on, Catra! You've never listened to anyone in your life! Are you really going to start now?!" (Yeah! Appeal to her bratty side!)

I'm not gonna lie. Those two lines ^^ are some of my fave in the whole show. This is actually their first love confession and I will FIGHT A BITCH on that. It's their "I see you. I know you. I accept who I am. I accept you for who you are. Just as you are. And I'm always going to come back for you."

Tell me that's not love.

IT'S JUST. SO GOOD.

Adora: "I'm going to take you home."

;_;

;_;

D:<

"Some creatures are destined only for destruction."

I couldn't get a screenshot but Adora's split second horror, then determination, then she jumps--just a literal "after all this?? if you're going to (metaphorical) hell I'm coming with you"

And then it cuts to the floor (far below), and Adora tries to get up but she's definitely broken SOMEthing

she literally crawls to Catra

(I'm somewhat convinced that some of these shots are intentional Pieta references.)

Catra's little gasps and whimpers of pain here while Adora cries ;_;

OH I REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

I WAS RIGHT

Adora just like

"DO NOT FUCK WITH ME OR MY GIRLFRIEND EVER AGAIN"

THAT'S RIGHT, SHIELD YOUR EYES FROM THE POWER OF LESBIAN LOVE, FUCKERS

(also She-Ra's new outfit has a headpiece clearly inspired by Catra's old one. And is it just me or does she even look older? Less like a teenager.)

also I rewound the last like ten minutes to rewatch it without pausing it constantly lol

Okay! Elsewhere the squad is being cornered by shit-tons of clones, and there's a great moment of Entrapta being like "I can get us out of this but you have to promise not to be mad" and she whistles for Darla lol. The ship crashes through the hallways and puts out the ramp, Bow is like "we gotta find Adora" but then--

yeah that's a badass moment god I love it SO MUCH

LOL she just silently smiles for a second and hands Catra to Bow and then turns around in cold fury, the sword appears in her hand, and wipes them all out with magic shit from her sword

The ship is damaged but She-Ra can heal that too. And Darla is like Oh hey it's She-Ra ooooh administrator detected!!

Poor Catra is still Out.

I knew this moment was coming and I still made a really weird loud noise

and I literally JUST ran out of screenshots on this post and I refuse to delete any for one of Hordak finding the chip in the rubble and saying, "...Entrapta?" but that's the last moment of the episode before they roll credits

AAAAHHHHHH

okay. gotta get ready for bed and I have a long-ass day tomorrow before I can watch more but this episode is pretty satisfying with lots to chew on so I'm good lol

EDIT also the story Nate wrote and posted to ao3 starts after this episode, in case you wanted to reread that for maximum emotional damage lol

OKAY last one tonight

and it's a doozy

s5 ep5 Save the Cat

I always wonder if people get the joke in the episode title? There's a famous book about writing scripts called Save the Cat. I kind of assume at least one person in the writer's room for She-Ra has actually read it.

Also Daci got me Strawberry Oatly (vegan ice cream) hell yes

LET'S DO THIS

eek

she tells them she's alone??? hm

oh the others were clinging to the outside of the ship in space suits lol

roll intro

okay Entrapta and Bow are gonna fuck with the computers and Glimmer is gonna find Catra

god it must be weird for Glimmer to be on the ship again???

WHOOPS

okay so Adora tells Horde Prime: hey you're gonna let me leave with Catra okay?

"The Heart of Etheria. And if you don't do what I say, then I'll use it...and destroy you and your empire for good."

"You would never risk the safety of your Catra."

(Ever noticed he always says this? Your Adora. Your Catra.)

Adora: "You don't know me. And you don't know what I'm capable of." Horde Prime: "Oh...but I do." Horde Prime: "I am old, far older than you can imagine. My brothers lend me their life force, and when one vessel fails me, I simply elect another."

(Like a Time Lord but WAY creepier)

"There is something so...familiar about you, Adora."

"Not since I faced your ancestors, and crushed their once-mighty empire beneath my heel. You call them the First Ones. And you are one of them, are you not, Adora?"

AUGH

Meanwhile Entrapta thinks she's spotted her boyfriend

She's got the little chip she gave him ;_;

(maybe?)

not good!!!

ARROWED

BAHAHAH oh right that's how this guy starts. Anyway this poor clone is panicking because the jolt removed him from the hive mind

he starts SOBBING. "how will Horde Prime see my thoughts?? how will he know I am faithful???"

but then:

Entrapta: "Can you open this door?" He does Entrapta makes a happy little squeaky noise

Entrapta: "But we broke him! We're responsible for him now. Pluuuus, he can open doors!"

He says he'll take them to the server room, and Bow gives him his nickname of "Wrong Hordak" lolol

Glimmer went back to her old cell, and Catra's not there

And that's when Glimmer realizes their little earbud comms aren't working

Horde Prime: "I thought the First Ones were all gone, but clearly...some faction remains. That race of tyrants...abandoned you on a forgotten planet in a shadow dimension. They made you their weapon, their...She-Ra."

I mean, it sounds bad when you say it that way (because it is, actually)

Adora: "I don't fight for the First Ones. I fight for my home, for myself, and for my friends. Now for the last time, where is Catra?"

oh, god

augh

he's not...wrong

Horde Prime: "As she would've said, 'You are so very predictable.'"

eeughghg

AAAAAAAAAUGH

I knew this was coming, I knew it was this episode, and it still makes me want to crawl out of my own skin

SAME ADORA, SAME

NOOOOO

Horde Prime: "I have made her anew. I saw her mind...so ensnared in grief and rage and pain...and I brought her to the light."

(okay but if he saw into her mind did he see all the times Catra thought about kissing and/or having sex lol)

Adora's absolute horror here is so relatable

Adora: "Catra, you have to fight it!" Catra: "My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don't want to leave." Horde Prime: "Tell her what I've done for you." Catra: "Prime has given me peace. Something you could never do."

"But he has made it whole again."

"I'm happy here. You could be happy, too."

(It's genuinely hard to rewind this to get decent screenshots because hearing/seeing Catra act all weird with the chip is just SO UNCOMFORTABLE)

And there we see it--the first hint that Catra is actually being actively tortured and forced to say/do this shit like some kind of sentient puppet, having to experience her own body doing/saying these things without her permission. Her eyes even keep twitching.

Horde Prime: "I will give her to you, if...you want her... But first, you must do something for me. You...will give me She-Ra." Adora: "Never." Horde Prime: "Very well."

He snaps his fingers and everyones in-ear comms shriek with static and electricity

(okay I gotta stop just copy/pasting the script)

He squeezes poor Catra's neck and for a second her eyes go back to normal, she looks at Adora, and then they start glowing again. Adora notices!!

aaagh look at poor Catra

but yeah Adora can't bring out She-Ra on command right now (and he knew that)

UGGGH

OH SHIT THAT'S RIGHT oh god oh fuck

okay so Glimmer's in the trophy room thing and she kicks the ass of a couple of clones, that's cool

but also

"I know you're still in there. I'm not leaving without you."

Catra gets a good slice into Adora's leg

Adora: "I don't want to hurt you!"

AND I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT okay hold on

[mooralltach]

Okay hold on, hold on. This latest Lupin arc is making me go insane (in a good way). Let's see if I can put all this into coherent thoughts.

Since episode 19 I've been checking and rewatching some moments, and found out some... interesting details. Then after this weeks episode I noticed another thing, which had me rewatching everything again, and I'm now convinced things are even more connected than previously thought. If I'm right, this second arc is insanely good at leaving the smallest hints right under our nose that you wouldn't know were there unless you know what to look for. Even though yes, I also agree part 6 has its pacing problems and I'm not the biggest fan of interrupting the main arc with standalone episodes all the time either, but at least in this second part they do make use of that (yes I will elaborate).

Gonna continue under the cut, this post is long. Will probably end up continuing it too, since tumblr doesn't allow more than 10 images per post (grrr). In any case, spoilers for up to part 6 episode 20.

Anyway! I'm gonna go nuts for a moment

Alright. Let's start at this weeks episode. The thing with these filler episodes is that they are very much filler, but they also got slightly more in common with each other than simply being centered around a woman each time, as the arc implies. At first, I thought that was all there was to it, even if this arcs writer (Shigeru Murakoshi) said that the way all the individual women were shown in episode 14 was not a coincidence (or, to quote him: "Actually, this scene was not intended to make everyone appear unnecessarily. I would like you to look forward to how each and every character here appear in future episodes, and to see what position they form in the story and how they interact with Lupin and the gang."). I just thought that was an interesting extra, like oh cool, those are the women we're gonna be seeing this season, I love a little bit of foreshadowing like that (although, if he hadn't said so, I'm pretty sure I would've entirely missed that it was these exact women too until having a rewatch, since the designs don't really stand out save for one or two). However.

This doesn't seem such a remarkable quote in itself. They don't really make it a big scene either, it's just an inbetween sentence. But then we get Lupins reaction:

It's nothing more than a look, really, but it's peculiar enough that they make him have a reaction to it at all, and it also made me remember we've seen a scene like that before.

In episode 16, which is Goemons one:

I didn't remember what the girl said, but I did remember thinking it was odd to zoom in on Lupins reaction afterwards. After all, this is a Goemon episode, and Lupin has barely any interaction with her at all. There's no reason for them to focus on him reacting to a simple sentence. Until I rewatched it and realized that the sentence is eerily similar to Amelia's one. Which immediately made me wonder, does Jigens episode woman say something like this as well? And uh

And then, of course, what about all the other women?

(Ep. 18 and 17, respectively. I think the last one's particularly clever btw, because it's completely in character for her to say that!)

Episode 14's even got two in the same episode:

And of course:

It's gotta have something to do with Tomoe, even if I can't find a way how that would make sense yet. I don't think every one of these women are trained by her, even if some of them are, but then again, maybe they'll go into that in the last few episodes. I also haven't been able to find a sentence like this from Ari (yet), but I could've easily missed it.

Talking about Mattea, she's an interesting one in general of course, as we now know she's definitely bad news, but they actually gave us hints for that too (though very very vague ones)! Apart from the few visual hints, it's mostly in the things she says, but very inconspicuously hidden in the way that anyone would share stuff in some smalltalk:

(Ep. 13, about the flowershop obviously) Considering what she said here now, btw, for a second it had me thinking about the moment we see her first, delivering flowers on the street before the explosion almost gets her. Now I don't know much about flower shop business and delivering flowers, and I also couldn't find what time the auction and the chase scene afterwards happen, but isn't it a bit strange to be delivering flowers in the evening, in the dark? Then again, maybe it's like 18.00h/6pm and then it wouldn't be too weird, and I'm reading into this way too much. But what Ari said to her in ep. 19 ("What were you doing in front of that flower shop?") does have me thinking about it again...

Then ep. 18:

(Like yea girl we know you said you were joking. But also you're not.)

I have more thoughts (incoherent screaming), but I've got no space for more screenshots left, so that'll have to wait >:|

Now it's waiting for next week's episode to see if the next girl will say something along the same lines!

Also, if any of you guys have found more/other details I haven't caught yet, come yell at me!

[marshmallowgoop]

Wow! Fascinating explanation and interpretation Goop! Heiji's father is a piece of shit, and I'm glad you (and from what I've seen, the fandom as well) agrees! And it's such an interesting thing to think about, like after passing the defensive and cocky Heiji, you see that he's quite sweet and caring! I can definitely see him being insecure, especially when he makes very obvious mistakes in his deductions sometimes and others will correct him ╮(─▽─)╭

Heiji absolutely has big shoes to fill, thank hell someone pointed that out!

Might I also add the fact that when Shinichi shows up in the episode, even while saying Harley is wrong, he doesn't belittle him or insult him at all? He tells him to go back and think on an important peace of evidence (the position of the key in the victims pocket) which causes Harley to correct and rethink his theory, and he sees that Kudo is not intimidating whatsoever.

I think it leaves a good impression on Harley for future events, leading up to their friendship now. Obviously they're still competitive with each other, but they're not rivals at all.

They're so sweet with each other and I adore their friendship so much (｡-_-｡) 💗

[In response to this post]

Thank you for reading. It's true that I'm not... exactly a fan of Heizo Hattori, and I think one of the (many) sad things about his parenting is that his choices help feed into exactly what he was probably trying to avoid. Heiji definitely has big shoes to fill, but he's also very privileged and undoubtedly gets opportunities and special treatment that others don't, purely because of his lineage. So, Heizo is harsh and cold as a father, hoping that fame won't get to Heiji's head... and yet, Heiji winds up acting like a cocky, arrogant kid anyway. As a cover, in my mind, for his overwhelming insecurity, which is, at least in part, because of that treatment. It's... really, really awful.

I'm not sure how to properly respond to the rest of this ask, so what follows is some overly long and rambling thoughts because goodness, I have so many of them. But the short of it is that I agree! Yes! I love Heiji and Shinichi's friendship, and I think they're a fantastic duo!

But if you are interested in reading on, do note there will be some pretty major spoilers for "The Desperate Revival" and Episode 345 here.

So, first, I gotta say: I don't remember being particularly fond of Heiji back when I was first introduced to this show. But in my recent go through, I skipped ahead to "The Desperate Revival" before rewatching everything else up until that point, and in revisiting it, I found myself so endlessly endeared to Heiji at the end of Episode 189. He's on the plane back to Osaka after visiting Conan in the hospital, and he's quiet, clearly deep in thought, very solemn and subdued and not at all his usual upbeat self, and he tells Kazuha, dead seriously, that he has something important to attend to that he can't not do:

Heiji: I have something to do that day. I can't get out of it. It's important...

This moment genuinely had a profound effect on me. I was touched. While I can't say I agree with Heiji's plan to help Shinichi—please just let Ran know already!—the lengths he was willing to go to in order to bring his friend peace of mind gave me one of the most emotional reactions I've ever had to this series. I became very attached to the character.

Because, yeah, Heiji sure does come off arrogant and cocky at times, especially in his first appearance, where he acts as though he's better than everyone and that the only thing that matters is his own reputation. But he does deeply care for those around him; I mean, when he's asked to impersonate a guy who's supposed to be dead, and who will presumably get actually dead if found alive, his immediate response is to message an "OK" composed entirely out of heart emojis (Episode 345):

And, well, as I already discussed, I view his overblown self-confidence as a front to cover up his self-doubt. He's not at all a one-dimensional jerk.

Anyway, I also felt a need to bring up 189 here because I think the episode ties well into the point about Shinichi not belittling Heiji, too. While I do see Heiji as insecure and unconfident in himself, I feel like Shinichi, even within minutes of being in the same room with the guy, recognizes Heiji's skill, and, yes, respects it. There's a reason that Conan follows along to investigate the Tsujimura case in Episode 48, despite feeling horribly sick, and that's to keep an eye on Heiji. He knows Heiji's a good detective, and he's afraid of what his so-called "rival" will discover about him.

Maybe I'm totally off the mark, but I get the sense that there's this... popular impression that Shinichi doesn't think too highly of Heiji, and their relationship is hugely lopsided in one direction. And, sure, Shinichi/Conan can certainly get irritated by Heiji's antics on occasion, but I think it's clear even in their first interactions that Shinichi respects Heiji and cares about him enough to sincerely want him to improve.

Because you're right. Shinichi critiques Heiji's deduction in Episode 49, but he's not insulting about it, and when Heiji—very gracefully, if I must say so!—admits that he misinterpreted the case, Shinichi doesn't just brush him off. The antidote is losing its effect, and he feels awful, but Shinichi still dedicates his time to Heiji and makes sure to leave him with a healthier mindset:

Shinichi: There's no winning, losing, above, or below when it comes to logic... After all... there's always only one truth...

Which, yeah. You could argue that that's just the kind of person Shinichi is; he sees value in everyone and frequently moralizes to murderers, too. But those lectures tend to be a lot more... biting, and impersonal. An outsider's perspective. "You did wrong, and now you're going to be punished for it. There's no way that the person you're avenging would be happy with what you did."

His speech to Heiji, in contrast, comes off as very personal and emotional and passionate, and that's because it is. Detective work is what Shinichi does. It makes his heart sing. And I don't think he'd share his deep-seated insight about being a detective to someone he thought nothing of, who he figured sucked so much at the job that they should just quit.

Which encourages Heiji and means the world to him! Of course it does. He's—at least as I see it—so used to being considered inferior to others, to insults, put-downs. But Shinichi does no such thing. He trusts Heiji with his near-and-dear-to-his-heart beliefs about being a detective, and he trusts that Heiji will take those beliefs to his heart and be stronger for it.

Oooor, you know, I'm looking too deeply into it. But I will say this: I think Conan's behavior around Heiji in their second encounter (Episodes 57-58) is quite... telling. He immediately falls into deducting with Heiji as though he's in his own body, and he fears—rightfully—that Heiji is onto the truth:

Conan: But it's all over if he catches me during my explanation.

Which. I mean. Even after dozens of cases with, like, Inspector Megure, Conan had never once feared that an actual police detective would figure him out. But in their second meeting, he's anxious around Heiji for that very reason. This isn't somebody he doesn't respect or value as a detective, at all.

And I started this whole tangent with Episode 189 because I think it's also clear that Shinichi trusts and respects Heiji a whole lot as a person, too, which is super obvious in 189 but also far before that. In as soon as their third encounter (Episodes 77-78), Conan opens up to Heiji about what happened in "The Piano Sonata 'Moonlight' Murders," Episode 11, where he couldn't stop a culprit from committing suicide, and I have to wonder if he'd ever revealed his guilt and regret concerning that case to anyone, prior to that moment.

I've written before about Heiji being the metaphorical key to Conan and Ai's true selves, arguing that it's Heiji's gift of alcohol in Episode 48 that helps the both of them reach an antidote that returns them to their own bodies. But maybe, in a sense, Heiji also serves to unlock some of the emotions that Shinichi keeps buried and hidden, too. It speaks absolute volumes to me that Dr. Agasa calls upon Heiji, out in Osaka, to comfort Shinichi in Episode 189, and the way that Conan does wind up spilling everything on his mind to Heiji is one of the most poignant moments of the series for me:

Conan: Hattori, listen... What would you do... What do you think is right?

I think it really speaks for itself. This is someone Shinichi values, respects, and trusts. Deeply. There's a remarkable openness and honesty in the vulnerability he displays here, in the softness of his voice, and from someone whose current situation necessitates near constant lying, that's huge.

In any case, I probably went way too far. But, yes! These two are so sweet, and I love that even when they do have disagreements, they're very healthy disagreements, with both respecting the other's insight. I think they both are so good for each other—that Heiji is someone Shinichi can trust and rely on when he's forced to keep so many secrets, and that Shinichi is someone who respects and values Heiji when he's so plagued by self-doubt.

(Also, as an aside... as much as I love FUNimation's English dub, I can't deny that it, well, kind of really borks up the end of Episode 49. And I feel like I should maybe be more miffed about it, but it just. Kinda cracks me up?

(Because, from what I understand, the dub tried to fix a continuity error; in the manga-equivalent of Episode 5, Conan learns Gin and Vodka's codenames, but the anime altered the story so much that this didn't happen. So, to fill in a gap (in Episode 54) that the original script didn't bother to, the dub has Harley of all people just. Ominously namedrop "Gin" and "Vodka" in the closing minutes of Episode 49. And it makes absolutely no sense and goodness. Jimmy is collapsing in front of him, and Harley's just going off about alcohol.

Conan (internally): A while back, Harley told me that those [Gin and Vodka] were the code names of the guys in black who poisoned me and made me shrink.

(And, like, I mean. Why in the world would Harley know these codenames before Conan...?)

[experiment-000]

My Top 10 Ships of 2020

It's been a weird year but I've seen other people doing this. Plus this year I've been way more into gen fics (love a bit of found family especially in clone wars and marvel) than anything shippy. So I genuinely don't know what imma put on here aside from two ships for sure. Sorry this post is super long idk how to do the below the cut thing and I've had this app for 5 years...

10) Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki - Yuri!!! On Ice

It was a real toss up between this, supercorp, kanera and wolfstar cos they're all very integral ships to my fan heart but this son because of the Yuri on Ice fandom's rebirth this year. I've never stopped shipping this, never stopped reading fanfic of them for any extended period of time, they're still my most bookmarked ship on ao3 (although I think now star wars - all media types may have overtaken them for fandom). They were one of the first things I watched where the queer ship I loved became canon and I can't wait for the film (and hopefully someday a season 2). Heck I even made my mum watch Yuri on Ice with me so I think that says it all.

9) Edelgard Von Hresvelg and female Byleth - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

My first fire emblem game was fates when I was like 14 (and finally gay awake lol). I was so disappointed that I had to be with a guy character because the only female option was kinda creepy and also I wouldn't get the character of kana. So when three houses came out I was so happy because finally there were beautiful incredible female characters my female byleth could romance (I'm so sorry mlm you deserved so much more than you got). I got the game as soon as it came out (had to search a lot of shops let me tell you) and started on black eagles. I was actually kinda disappointed back in 2019. I didn't like the explore the monastery bit (still find it kinda tedious) and the battle mechanics weren't quite the same as fates (no pairing up?! Aka my main battle technique for protecting the weaker units). So I got like 20 hours in and put it down. Came back to it in lockdown and finally finished it! I'm so proud of myself I virtually never finish games. And I fully fell in love with the useless lesbian edelgard in the process. When I started back playing in 2020 I was like eh I wish I'd picked a different character to romance (like shes an emperor that's morally very shady) but then the romance stuff started with edelgard and I fell the heck in love.

8) Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter (and Topanga Lawrence) - Boy Meets World

Disney+ was released in the UK this year and I finally got the opportunity to watch boy meets world in its best quality (aka not on YouTube). I watched it back when I was like 12 or 13 and it's such a nostalgic show for me. Watching it again I still absolutely adore it (and my bi ass was low-key crushing on Shawn especially in chick like me - I'm 18 btw and I got so scared for a sec but rider strong was 18 when chick like me came out so it's fine woah). And of course now I see the possibilities of the beautiful Cory and Shawn relationship like they were so bromance it was basically romance and throw in topanga it's the perfect ot3 (but I'm also fine with just Cory and Shawn or just Cory and Topanga). Read some good fanfic for them this year. My favourite was one about Shawn stealing makeup and stuff and exploring gender (need more fics like this I'm biiii).

7) Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes - Marvel Cinematic Universe

I rewatched all the MCU films this year too. And got really into Peter parker whump and irondad. Plus my eternal obsession with identity and relationship reveals of course led me from Spiderman identity reveals (and found family cuteness) to stucky coming out. Especially when it involves the internet and social media. Not my favourite ship but it's been significant to my year due to the sheer amount of marvel stuff I've read.

6) Satine Kryze and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I rewatched clone wars in prep for season 7 and wow Satine's death was sad and sudden. She first appeared in S2 E13 I think and just the sheer sexual tension of their bickering. "The sarcasm of a soldier. The delusion of a dreamer." Just ugnnhhh my bi ass can't take much more of this. And Anakin just sipping his wine in the background grinning. And I fully believe korkie is a Kenobi.

5) Commander Cody and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I am very much an Obi wan multishipper. I don't really have a favourite but I fully believe he was with satine and Quinlan in his life. I don't think be would've actually done anything with Cody because of the whole superior officer thing. And this probably isn't even my favourite Obi wan ship - that honour probably goes to quinobi or obitine. However the most popular ships in the fandom are codywan, quiobi and obikin. No offence to anyone who ships these they're just personally not to my taste, but I can't stand quiobi, and obikin I find only slightly more tolerable and I think that's just because there's so much obikin content so if I like the concept of a fic that happens to be obikin I'll read it. I'm just not a fan of the mentor/student relationships. So I generally favoured the codywan fics when there was shipping involved meaning I read a lot of them this year. Needed that nice fix it content post season 7.

4) Zuko and Katara - Avatar: the Last Airbender

Again I am a multishipper I have nothing against zukka it's cute. But I'm a zutara shipper first and foremost because when I first watched avatar I was like 13 and denying my gayness and gayness in general so I shipped the straight things and the straight things only. Most of these ships I stopped shipping - dramione, spuffy, some my little pony ones which we don't talk about. Zutara stayed. (I have nothing against any of the things I used to ship I just stopped shipping them so much/shipped new things more). I've continuously shipped zutara since I first watched avatar even if I didn't necessarily spend that much time on it it has always been here as one of my favourite ships. It has such good fanfic I swear including my favourite ever fanfic from any fandom - love thy enemy. Plus like the black games (reread this for the millionth time this year), a delicate subterfuge (which I read for the first time this year and damn it's so good) and so many more. With the avatar resurgence this year I haven't actually rewatched avatar aside from my normal random episode every now and then when I feel like it. But there's been a lot of avatar on my dash from people I follow getting into it and people I followed for avatar returning so naturally I returned to the fandom and read quite a lot of fanfic. I also read just a lot of avatar gen fics which were great at the whole found family thing I've been so obsessed with this year.

3) Catra and Adora - She Ra and the Princesses of Power

Catradora is canon! They kissed! What more is there to say. Arguably they should've been top but I never shipped them that much since I was always very much a multishipper when it came to she ra so yes I was very happy it became canon because we actually won for once but also I've never read much fanfic for them etc. But they are very much a dynamic I love and watching she ra all again in prep for season 5 I really enjoyed the build up of their relationship. The other two only go above because Buffy is my favourite show ever and damn there's some good fuffy fanfic and Aphra and Tolvan is both fresh in my mind and star wars owns me. Would love some catradora fic recs btw if anyone has them tho.

2) Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I didn't realise it was last year that I got super into them but according to my ao3 bookmarks it was lol. 2020 I swear it's lasted an eternity. I got into them about a month before lockdown (which feels like another lifetime). I've loved Buffy since I first watched it when I was 13. It's arguably still my favourite TV show. I've been through a lot of ships for Buffy - bangel to spuffy and now fuffy. I still think angel and her were a beautiful ship back in season 2 and especially in the angel episode I will remember you. But faith and Buffy had so much chemistry in season 3 - she would've been a fresh start for Buffy and the amount of fix it fics I read I swear. My favourite has to be one where they met in LA during Anne and how that changed everything feat Buffy's internal homophobia.

1) Cheili Lona Aphra and Magna Tolvan - Star Wars

I read Darth Vader (2015) and Doctor Aphra (2016) for the first time at the end of 2020 (got a comic subscription which has served me very well already I've nearly finished the star wars canon comics). Just to see canon queer ladies in star wars was so magical for me as a queer lady. I didn't think star wars would be so overt yet as to have a queer kiss in canon (even if it's in the comics) and especially not with the main character of arguably their main comic series. Now we just gotta hope that we'll get it in live action someday soon. They weren't the ship I consumed the most content of in 2020 but they were the highlight of my 2020 because star wars did that and I finally found out about it

Honourable mentions: Vivian and Elle - Legally Blonde, Candace and Vanessa - Phineas and Ferb, Stevie and Alex - Wizards of Waverly Place, Xander and Spike - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I actually don't ship this but damn some authors are good - this was the ship that made me realise I don't need to like a ship if the author is good enough to write it well), Eli Vanto and Mitth'raw'nuruodo - Star Wars (started reading the books last year but finished this year and only started with fanfic this year), Villanelle and Eve - Killing Eve, Kanan and Hera - Star Wars, Barriss and Ahsoka - Star Wars, Remus and Sirius - Harry Potter, Kara and Lena - Supergirl (let's hope this becomes canon next year!) (Those last four are ones I've shipped forever some of my og ships but nothing particularly big has happened for me this year with them so)

I got Disney+ this year so rewatched a fair few things from my youth and though hey my obsession with that character may have been a little gay.