#i mean this is the show that ended its final season with a lesbian wedding

[lesbicosmos]

i hate that most fandoms have a huge gap in the ratio of m/m fics and f/f fics with the sapphic ones having barely any

i do however love that the cw supergirl fandom said fuck that and flipped the trend

[unityrain24]

ok people here's my essay. (also note that this was for my english class so it is written in a different style than i usually would. it had to be all formal and grammatically correct and such)

2212 words, analytical essay

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: A Queer Allegory for Religious Trauma

ND Stevenson’s She-Ra and The Princesses of Power is an animated Netflix original series rebooting the classic 80s show Shera: Princess of Power. This time, however, the show is chalk-full of diversity, varied body types, queer representation, pleasing colour palettes, and a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance. The first four seasons follow Adora (aka She-Ra) and the princesses of Etheria’s fight against the Evil Horde, using their magic to try bringing peace and justice to the planet. A portal is opened at the end of the fourth season, however, bringing the planet of Etheria out of the isolated dimension of Despondos. No longer separated from the rest of the universe, Horde Prime arrives at Etheria- not only bringing higher stakes than any season preceding it, but an entirely new layer of symbolism to the series. The final season was a clear allegory for religious trauma, an especially relevant topic for the show’s majorly queer audience.

When his armada arrives at Etheria, Horde Prime sends his army of clones and robots down to take the planet by force. Unlike the Evil Horde that had been trying to take the planet before Prime’s arrival, who were disorganized, messy, and industrial, everything under Prime is sleek, elegant, efficient, and most importantly: white. Horde Prime’s ships are white, Horde Prime’s robots are white. Horde Prime’s skin is white, his hair is white, his clothes are white, as are all his clones. Pure, unblemished white, with only sparing accents of grey or green.

In colour theory, white has a few meanings. The colour can represent purity, cleanliness, innocence, and even righteousness. This colour theory is heavily incorporated into biblical verses, metaphors, and artwork (and some might even argue that our modern idea of white comes from the Bible). In art, God and angels are almost always depicted wearing white, as is Jesus in his resurrection. Halos of white or light yellow are shown adorning holy figures' heads. Several bible verses use white robes or other white objects as a metaphor of the wearer’s purity. White is still used in several Christian rituals/customs today, such as weddings, baptisms, and more. White is one of (if not the) most important colour in Christian lore. Even in instances where pure white isn’t used, there is a clear correlation between light versus dark and good versus evil. 

White has more than one meaning, however- on the opposite side of the coin, white can also represent coldness, blankness, emptiness, and loneliness. The most interesting thing about the show’s use of white is that it encapsulates both facets of its representation. Horde Prime uses white to represent his purity and perfection, but to the people of the colourful, messy world Etheria, this is a cold, eerie colour. As are Horde Prime’s ideals. His perfection and purity is synonymous to coldness. The white represents both- not only simultaneously, but as the same thing.

Horde Prime’s empire being entirely white is no coincidence- neither in-story by Prime, nor in real life by the writers. Horde prime uses white to represent everything he stands for, and the writers use white to represent everything Christianity stands for.

Horde Prime is a being that has lived an amount of lifetimes beyond comprehension- every time his body starts to grow old and fail, he selects a new clone of his to insert his memory and very essence into. So even though he has a new body, he is still him. And the reason for this? To fulfill his self imposed purpose of bringing peace and perfection to the universe. To thousands of planets he has been, one at a time, to reach this. Horde Prime believes there is only one right way to do things, and that humanity cannot be trusted to govern themselves.

Every planet he takes goes the same: he arrives with his ships, and slowly implants chips into the neck of each and every being on a planet. These chips take away the autonomy of the host, and they are left blank. No personality, no choices, no person. All their actions are perfectly automated and controlled by a hive mind, and Horde Prime can take specific control of and see through the eyes of any individual at any given time. With Horde Prime in control, there is no war, no famine, no pain. There is only peace, perfection, and purity. And anyone who does not conform, does not accept his gracious rule, are dealt with accordingly. Entire planets have been left desolate and barren, entire peoples subjected to genocide for not accepting Horde Prime. All dead in the name of peace.

These ideals upheld by Horde Prime are strikingly similar to Christianity. Perfection and purity are two of the main ideals of Christianity, in hand with righteousness. Christians strive to “be like Jesus,” to be their idea of a good person, to be loyal to their religion, and to make it into Heaven. Several rituals to “repent” exist when they feel they have not upheld these standards correctly- including prayer, confessionals, sacrament, and baptism. Even though true perfection, purity, and righteousness are typically seen as unattainable to everyone but the Godhead, it is common belief that constant trying will at least get you as close to it as possible. Conformity is another key aspect of Christianity, though it is not advertised, and to the exact extent it is upheld depends on the sect. In general, though, Christianity pressures every one of its followers (and even those who aren’t) to behave a certain way, to think a certain way, and to only associate with others among themselves.

Horde Prime’s way of upholding these ideals isn’t dissimilar to Christianity’s either. Much like Horde Prime’s Galactic Empire, Christianity has had a long history of forced assimilation. From the Spanish conquistadors to the pilgrims and other colonial settlers of North America, death and pain has come in the wake of the spread of Christianity for hundreds of years, amongst various sects of the religion. Native peoples have been murdered for their loyalty to their “savage” non-Christian ways, land has been stolen, and indigenous religions and other important cultural traditions have been changed past recognition or completely erased, all in the name of “saving,” all in the name of “love,” all in the name of “what’s right,” all in the name of God. Christianity is the only right way, Horde Prime is the only right way.

Its likeness to Christianization isn’t the only resemblance Horde Prime’s ways share with Christianity, however. When Horde Prime arrives at Etheria, three people are brought aboard his ship- Queen Glimmer, one of the Etherian rebels that had been fighting against the Evil Horde (and now the Galactic Empire), Catra, a high-ranking member of the Evil Horde that had been taking over Etheria before the Galactic Empire arrived (but is in love with Adora, who is one of the rebels), and Hordak, the leader of the Evil Horde. Hordak was a clone of Horde Prime’s that had been stranded on Etheria, which was in an isolated dimension. He spent his time in isolation trying to take the planet so that if he was ever reunited with Horde Prime, he would be seen as “worthy”. Horde Prime, however, is displeased by Hordak’s actions- claiming that Hordak was trying to take the planet for selfish reasons rather than for Horde Prime, and for giving himself a name. As such, Hordak must be “purified.”

In this purification process, Hordak’s mind is wiped, and he begs for forgiveness and to complete the process. He is then dressed in white and walks into a circular pool with liquid that reaches his waist. The liquid is electrified for several moments, and his screams can be heard, and then it stops. He is left blank, and Horde Prime and the other clones watching praise him for being the purest among them. Later, Catra is subjected to the same process against her will, and is now a mindless servant of Horde Prime as well. This process is almost identical to the Christian concept of Baptism. While exactly how baptism is carried out varies between sects (full submersion under water versus just a sprinkling, infant versus child, etc), the purpose remains the same- to purify past sins.

A more abstract similarity between Horde Prime’s empire and Christianity is the use of titles. Prime’s clones refer to each other as “brother” (and to Catra as “sister,” once she has been “purified”), and Horde Prime as “big brother.” Not all sects of Christianity use such titles to refer to each other, but some do; notably Catholic nuns or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). But even those sects who do not refer to each other as brother and sister often view Jesus as their “older brother” and God as their “heavenly father.” 

Horde Prime himself has many more titles than simply “brother” or Emperor of the Galactic Horde, however. Other titles given to him include Ruler of the Known Universe, Regent of the Seven Skies, He Who Brings the Day and the Night, Revered one of the Shining galaxies, and Promised one of a Thousand Suns. In Christianity, Jesus also is referred to by many names. The Saviour, the Redeemer, the Son of God, the Son of Man, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, and several more. In addition to titles, some of the phrases in general used by Christians and the Galactic Empire are common. Both use the word “rejoice” when telling of their faith. Amongst Christians, “glory to God in the highest” and “[God] is the same yesterday, today, and forever” are not uncommon phrases. “Glory be to Horde Prime” is a common phrase expressed by the clones, and even more so, the infamous mantra “Horde Prime sees all, Horde Prime knows all” repeated so many times throughout the season.

The titles used for each other perpetuate a feeling of conformity and a feeling of “otherness” concerning those who do not conform. The titles used for their leaders perpetuate subservience, power imbalances, respect, and devotion. The phrases used in relation to their leaders perpetuate devotion and omnipotence. These are true of both Horde Prime’s Galactic Empire and Christianity.

Horde Prime was a genuinely disturbing villain who represented every painful thing Christianity is made of- toxic perfectionism and purity, conformity, obedience, control, and omnipotence. Loss of expression and individuality. The fear of being constantly watched. These are things that anyone with religious trauma may deal with, but it’s especially true of queer people. Queer people have had a long history of oppression at the hand of Christianity (and colonialism in general). From outright murder to conversion therapy and other abuses, from abandonment to dismissal, Christianity has perpetuated all of it for centuries. And it’s still something that happens today.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has a majorly queer audience, due to both the creative process of the show and the representation within the series itself. Not only is the creator of the series (ND Stevenson) queer, but so was practically every character- whether they were a main character, side character, or background character with only a few seconds of screen time. One of the main plots of the show is the complicated lesbian romance between Adora and Catra. As such, the series attracted a good number of queer fans, and religious trauma (or at the very least, religious fear) is a topic that hits uncomfortably close for many.

Other pieces of media that incorporate religious imagery have a tendency to be unclear about how it is framed. Is the imagery shown to be wrong and the victim is right and prevails? Is the imagery shown to be right, and the pained victim in terrified denial? Is the imagery shown to be truly wrong but inevitably triumphant anyways, no matter what the victim tries? It is so muddy in so many pieces of media. The important thing about the fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was how it was framed. Perhaps it was because it was a kids show, or perhaps it was the queer creators’ spirit and defiance, but the series was clear in their framing of Horde Prime. The perfect white make the audience uneasy. Horde Prime’s retelling of his victories fill the audience with dread and then hollowness. The “baptisms” of Hordak and Catra are disturbing. Every aspect of Horde Prime and everything he stood for was presented as wrong. Without any doubt.

 And even more importantly, the people of Etheria were able to prevail. She-Ra and the other princesses were able to defeat Horde Prime and his empire, and free those forced into subservience by his chips. Catra (and Hordak) were saved. The ships were destroyed. The people of Etheria were allowed to be free and express themselves and be people. This message was something very important to the queer audience. Not only was the fifth season an expression of queer pain, but an expression of queer hope. Neither thing should be ignored. Pain is valid. Hope is needed. To be healthy, both need to be recognized. To have a series that expressed both, and in such a queer way, was extremely important to so many people.

[scattered-winter]

in honor of s6 returning tomorrow, here's a collection of highlights from the 911 annotation doc feat. season 2 finale and tsunami arc (transcript below the cut)

hen sees a chance to make buck’s life living hell and she always takes it <3 older sibling behavior

chim: [hands buck a sledgehammer]

buck: >:D

I FORGOT [maddie] CAME INTO THIS EPISODE <33333

not to be dramatic but if my brother almost walked into the shower with me absolutely ass-cheeked naked i would simply require him to give me financial compensation

buck automatically assumes maddie is talking about eddie when she says someone’s cute

sir. buddy old pal.

press f to pay respects to the new ladder truck that lasts all of like 3 episodes before blowing up

these detectives are stupid as FUCK godbless <3

MADNEY

THEY’RE DISGUSTING. WHEN IS THE WEDDING <3

damn i wish it would rain money where i am rn

a guy comes falling onto a car out of a window and my first thought is “it’s raining men hallelujah”

EUEHHH ITS MAGGOT LADY ALSO

not the hair maggot lady. the other one.

the fact that i have to specify WHICH maggot lady it is. evil.

lmao i forget that. most 15 year olds dont have learner’s permits

i was driving farm equipment when i was 10 so im an outlier i guess

oh my god the hand on buck’s waist

homosexuals

[ID: a close-up screencap of eddie and buck hugging, with eddie's hand on buck's waist and buck's hands on eddie's shoulders. end ID]

do u see this shit mr krabs

[eddie] looks soooooooooooooo slutty in that white shirt oh my god

spiritual successor to the slutty black tank top

WOOOOOO HERE WEGO <333 MOST INSANE FEW EPISODES TO EVER GRACE NATIONAL TELEVISION <33333333333333333

i was a different person before watching the tsunami for the first time btw. after finishing this arc i was a Changed Man.

DO NONE OF THESE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT NO WATER MEANS. Y’ALL LIVE IN LA. YOU SHOULD KNOW.

WHY AREN’T YOU RUNNING

GET THE HELL OUTTA DODGE

GO GO GO GO GO GOG OG GO GOG OG GO GOG GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO

ghlsdkjfskg this guy wanting A Sign … my brother you got a fucking tsunami

poseidon said Fuck this guy

fuck it

au where the greek gods are real

i mean we already know zeus has it out for buck and eddie

it aint much of a stretch <333

LENA <33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

i think she and lucy should have met onscreen tbh

or maybe not because the sheer dyke energy would be too powerful for the show to handle

and yes i know this show has a canon lesbian couple. irrelevant <3

ghlskdjg buck’s look of absolute shock after eddie looks him in the eye and says That….bitch me too the fuck

MAN AND [athena] HAS TO AMPUTATE A GUY’S ARM….

major props to her because i could NOT do that

i’d simply say Sorry bro i just. yeah i have a uh. thing. with a guy. i gotta go. bye <3

ghslkdgj [chim] makes a quip as he’s pulling up <333 ofc he does <33333

i fucking love him btw. in case u couldnt tell.

“we’re gonna need a bigger mail truck” the way you just KNOW he’s seen jaws

[wrens-wramblings]

A massive problem with how fandom - particularly queer rep - is going right now on this website is how quick people are to jump ship onto the next thing and then immediately start trashing the everliving shit out of the old thing.

Steven Universe (not a perfect show by any means) while it was coming out was celebrated constantly. The Garnet reveal? Pearl being in love with Rose? The Rupphire wedding? SU was revolutionary and has been quoted by cartoon creators now for being a big reason people are allowed to bring their stories to life. Say what you want about the show, but it broke boundaries and set precedents for a lot of the shows that you now love. And the show's plot lines regarding the diamonds has been taken in completely bad faith - do yall really think the half Jewish queer person meant for you to get "Let's all forgive Nazis" from the Diamonds redemption arcs??

After Steven Universe ended a large majority of people jumped to She Ra and the Princesses of Power and when they mentioned SU at all it was to put it down as a show with terrible representation and all round bad writing.

During SPOP's run it was massively popular, with a lot of buzz around the main ship, Catradora. I know this is gonna be taken in bad faith so a quick note - while I do like Catradora, I do feel that there should have been another season for Catra to properly acknowledge the harm she did to Adora and actually grow as a person before entering into a relationship. Catra was forgiven too easily, but that was in part due to Netflix not wanting to give the show another season to properly flesh out the redemption arc. The final season was rushed as all hell, and so many story points would have been better with another season to flesh them out further.

But I digress - during the show's run it was constantly talked about for it's representation, having multiple queer characters, including a nonbinary character.

The show ends and again, the fanbase jumps. This time, it's to the Owl House. People start talking about how SPOP was actually horrible representation and, my personal favourite, they "added gay people as a cash grab."

Yeah okay guys, I'm sure a queer nonbinary creator is writing about queer people because they actually dislike the gays and want to wring money out of us. That is definitely the situation here.

And now I'm worried that in a year or two we'll have the next big queer cartoon and the posts will start popping up -

"Amity Blight is the mean lesbian stereotype."

"Raine and Eda's relationship is problematic because-"

"Amity and Luz started out as rivals, which is toxic because-"

"The romance didn't start until later in the show, it was added at the end for a cash grab."

Again, I'm certain there's gonna be bad faith takes on this -- I'm not saying these shows are perfect. They all have flaws somewhere. No media is completely without it's faults and its good to recognise those faults, that what critical reading is. But calling someone an abuser for enjoying SPOP, or a Nazi sympathiser for liking SU (actual accusations I have seen on tumblr.com) is frankly a little ridiculous.

As for the bad rep argument - every show on this list has one thing in common: a queer creator. No one experiences queerness the exact same way - the only thing that harassing queer creators for not showing your experience does is make other queer creators... not want to write queer characters. No one wants to receive death threats because, for example, they based a character with their sexuality off of how that actually affected them and someone on the Internet decided they were feeding into a harmful stereotype.

[lgbtpopcult]

2021 Year in Review for WLW Entertainment

Lesbian movies really took a hit in 2021 COVID times. When in crisis, studios will always heroically sacrifice women and minorities! While last year's lesbian movie selection included big players like Ammonite, The World to Come, The Prom, Summerland, Happiest Season and New Mutants, this year's selections were more muted and many came from smaller studios as well as the international film scene. Still, we had some variety this year too. TV, on the other hand, had equal or even better offerings this year with some networks and streaming services stepping up their game with female lgbt+ characters.

Let's take a closer look at what 2021 has been like for wlw entertainment...

On the movie front, Lifetime finally gave us its first lesbian romance movie with Under the Christmas Tree and Hallmark gave us its first movie with a lesbian lead who found romance in Every Time the Bell Rings. These two were our lesbian Christmas movies of the year. The Novice gathered accolades as a queer sports drama done right while The Divide gathered them for being the "healthcare in the times of Covid" movie with a same sex couple at its center. Winner of Cannes film festival Titane also portrayed its protagonist as queer but what that means in a surreal fever dream of a movie that included doing sexual things with a car I don't know 🤷‍♀️

There were, however, high profile projects as well. I Care a Lot gave us the mainstream lesbian comedy we deserve and threw in 2 big Hollywood names with amazing chemistry for good measure. No wonder it became an instant Netflix hit. Another instant hit was the Fear Street Trilogy, 3 movies that represent the best of the emerging lesbian horror movie genre. Smaller additions to the genre this year were The Retreat, Bloodthirsty and Seance. Australian coming of age romance My First Summer gave us the sweetest lesbian love story of the year. We also got our first queer protagonist in a major studio animated movie this year with The Mitchells vs the Machines. Saint Vincent made the lesbian mockumentary of the year, The Nowhere Inn.

Surprisingly, Benedetta was our only high profile lesbian period piece this year and, considering how subpar it turned out to be, maybe that was for the best. Let's hope upcoming The Chambermaid (releasing at the beginning of next year) doesn't disappoint. We may criticize the lesbian period romance a lot and often(mostly because for a long time it was all we got) but we still love it. It just needs to be done right.

Over on the TV landscape, some of last year's favourites continued to deliver while the variety we celebrated last year was a bright spot this year as well. Among the highlights: Legends of Tomorrow, that gave us a superheroic lesbian wedding only matched by the equally wonderful wedding episode of fire fighter show Station 19. Joining the Legends of Tomorrow lesbian/bi ladies on the superhero genre front, was our new Batwoman, Alex from Supergirl and Black lightning (that ended with its lgbt+ ladies married as well). Joining the fire fighter/medical drama of Station 19 were other traditional TV dramas with lesbian/bi women in lead roles like Law and Order Organized Crime, NCIS Hawai, New Amsterdam, Family Law and BBC gem Vigil. On the more hardcore cable/streaming scene one of the leads of The Morning Show came out, cop drama Hightown gave its lesbian lead a love interest, The Box gave us a surreal drama with a lesbian lead, in Dopesick a lesbian is at the center of the opium epidemic, Genera+ion gave us some interesting queer teen drama(before going the way of Everything Sucks! and Teenage Bounty Hunters) and The L Word Generation Q got slightly better at giving us couples with good chemistry (basically Dani and Gigi) even if it still, for the most part, failed to actually give interesting storylines to its lesbian characters. Network comedy gave us family sitcom Home Economics for a second season, Atypical gave us a happy ending for fan favourites Casey and Izzie, Dickinson gave us the comedy period romance we've been asking for, Queens gave us the black pop queen of our dreams, Disney+ gave us the first gay romance on the platform in Big Shot with a sweet lesbian teen couple, Saved by the Bell gave us a genuinely funny wlw couple, Spanish speaking production gave us Madre solo hay dos and Gentefied continued with the Latina lesbian representation.

Fantasy and Science Fiction was, as it often is, good grounds for gay women in 2021. This year we got a lesbian lead character and a lesbian romance of the week in Fantasy Island, a lesbian lead reunited with her love in Motherland Fort Salem, queer teens in The Girl in the Woods, our little detective that could in Nancy Drew, survival adventures in Yellowjackets and our lesbian astronauts in Invasion and For all Mankind. By far the best one of the year though was Amazon Prime blockbuster adaptation Wheel of Time. In the meantime, just like Adventure Time, Shera and Harley Quinn the animated series before it, The Owl House and Arcane dominated the gay animated scene this year. Reality and competition shows added to the mix with lesbian contestants on both The Circle and The Voice, JoJo Siwa on Dancing with the Stars for the show's first same sex pairing, a new lesbian reality show Tampa Baes on Amazon Prime and 12 Dates of Christmas on Hbomax.

In the world of video games, selection wasn't as big but it did contain some real jewels. Life is Strange True Colors, a sequel to the popular graphic adventure game, dominated the conversation of course but fans of other genres had some choices too. Farming Simulator fans got a really fun game in Story of Seasons Pioneers of Olive Town, fans of rogue dungeon crawlers got Sword of the Necromancer and Mass Effect fans finally got the remastered version for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows. Narrative adventure Lake gave gamers who like slow paced games a sweet lesbian romance to play, while life simulator Growing Up did the same in a different way. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous gave RPG fans another game to love and Unsighted gave everyone a great action 2D game to play. The surprise of the year? Mobile choice game Scripts that finally gave lgbt+ choice game fans the front and center lesbian romance stories apps like Episodes and Choices never put on the cover of their visual novels.

One of the most important milestones of the year came from the world of comics when DC decided to dedicate an entire comic book title to the romantic relationship of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. A spinoff from the Harley Quinn animated series (season 3 coming in 2022), The eat, bang, kill Tour gave gay fans of the couple everything we wanted. A close second, the regular Harley Quinn comic title also gave importance to the relationship while other DC titles like DC Pride and the Batman comics also cemented that the relationship is canon all across the board. Comic book titles like America Chavez: Made in the USA completed the lesbian comic book mosaic.

The gay girl music world seems to be having a pop renaissance brought on, in great part, by the popularity of online creators but some mainstream musicians also contributed. Lesbian music icons Hayley Kiyoko and Fletcher gave us a new song, "Cherry". Angele, Ladyhawke and Girl in Red gave us new albums. Internet popularity gave musicians like Dodie, Grace Gaustad, Rebecca Black, Marina Lin, Hollie Col and Zolita the chance to put their music out there. The very gay new music video of Maneskin for Mamma Mia cannot be ignored of course.

Variety on the online entertainment creator scene started to stagnate. Still, we got some good content from iconic YouTube creators Rose & Rosie who had a baby this year. Some other YouTube highlights included content from beloved couple Paige and Holly, Colombian supercouple Calle and Poche, the return of Lilly Singh aka Superwoman and the wedding of the German lesbian super couple from Coupleontour. The Instagram and TikTok lesbian couple scene also grew and many couples came to have huge followings and popularity.

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A post shared by Priscilla ☆ ☼ (@justpriscillaa)

On a slightly different note, if you're a fan of TikTok episodic sketch comedy, one of the most popular TikTok creators in the world, kallmekris, has an ongoing lesbian romance of her own (and on her own 😌)...

Overall, in spite the set backs that COVID-19 brought upon us, 2021 wasn't a bad year for variety and diversity in lesbian entertainment. Here's hoping (and contributing so that) the upward trend continues. Happy New Year!

[qqueenofhades]

did you watch lucifer season six and what are your thoughts pls and ty

Ahaha. Yes. Yes I did watch it. Then I cried for a literal hour and attempted to compose myself, only to start crying again when I lay down and kept on thinking about it. Then I had more feelings. Then I slept like the dead due to emotional trauma. Then I reblogged gifsets and had More feelings. Then @buffaluff and @flynnanimal watched it and also required emotional support due to drowning in their own tears. So, uh... we're all fine here now. How are you?

My main takeaway from the final season was the sheer amount of love for the characters, story, and fans that you could feel shining through all the episodes, and which made SUCH a refreshing change. I had feelings in my tags the other day about how a show about the devil was constantly goofy, hopeful, loving, and uplifting, rather than all the grimdark nonsense they could have easily done with it. (As I said, just imagine it as written by the GOT idiots?? NO THANK YOU.) The writing really loved everyone and wanted to give them a proper ending and emotional journey, and it wanted to show the fans that they weren't stupid for having invested six seasons of effort and emotion into this, and just... that is so much rarer than it should be? Compare all the movies and TV shows that treat their fans like the enemy, that want to outsmart them at all costs even if it means changing major plot elements, that ferociously guard spoilers and think that "shock value" means good writing, by throwing hackneyed cliche upon cliche and making everything Depressing, and just... Lucifer had its hiccups and slow points and missteps, of course, but I am SO glad they didn't do that. The entire show consisted of Lucifer slowly but steadily progressing toward being a better man, despite mistakes and setbacks and sometimes a little too much will-they-won't-they. (Season 3 was the only one where I got bored and skipped over the filler episodes with Pierce/Lucifer/Chloe in order to get to the end).

That is an essentially simple premise, but they stuck to it, and they didn't try to create more drama by randomly wrecking what they had already established. I wrote a fic all the way back in mid-season 2 (In Nomine Patris) that ended up predicting quite a few of the future characters who had not yet appeared on the show at that time, including Eve, Michael, and Azrael, and several plot points, including the very major one of Lucifer returning to hell for the sake of his daughter with Chloe. And while this might mean that I am just that good at guessing TV shows (I would like to think this....) it also means that the writers set expectations, followed through on those expectations, and didn't suddenly derail everything or turn it totally on its head just for the sake of cheap shocks. As we can all attest, they certainly caused PLENTY of drama, anguish, pain, and suffering, but they did it in a way that remained faithful to the overall premises of the story and the characters, and wanted to see them become the best versions of themselves. I cried my eyes out at the end and then thought, "hey, I might want to watch the whole series again," which, if you ask me, is the mark of doing your job right. There have been so few TV endings recently where I didn't immediately swear off the whole thing or have to pretend that canon didn't exist, so yeah.

As I said, it was just refreshing to watch something that had that essential deep generosity at its core, where the message is that everyone is worthy of love if they make the hard and painful effort to change and become better, and that even if earthly things feel small next to all this messy celestial drama, they still matter, and that you are loved no matter what. I loved that Amenadiel became God and Lucifer returned to hell as a choice in order to help all the trapped souls be able to work through their guilt and go to heaven. There were obviously certain echoes of The Good Place in that ending; I don't know if it was something they had planned all along or if the success of TGP, another series asking deep questions about life, death, morality, and human nature within the framework of a goofy heaven-and-hell sitcom, influenced it, but either way, it worked so well. Even if it tore my heart out and stomped on it on the ground, it was fitting and oh so lovely to see Lucifer, once the most selfish being in the entire universe, following in Linda's footsteps and becoming selflessly dedicated to helping other people. Just. Chef's kiss.

And of course, Deckerstar. The Hades and Persephone vibes were IMMACULATE this season, and while it did take Lucifer and Chloe the best part of four seasons to get together, they never significantly backslid, never had third-party issues or cheap cheating storylines once they were officially a couple, and Tom Ellis and Lauren German REALLY killed it this season in particular. It was never easy for them and sometimes the drama went on a little too long over the course of said six seasons, but the love story was beautiful and incredibly meaningful and always true to the fact that the actors and characters and writers (not to mention the fans) all loved it so much. They were so much the emotional heart of this, and when they went to hell together in episode 6x03 (where they turned into cartoons because wHAT even IS this show), Joe Henderson said in an interview that this was to give the fans a view into Lucifer and Chloe's future (after) lives post-6x10, and to offer them a basis to write fanfiction. I mean... the showrunner saying to the fans "here, we love you, have something to write fic about!" is likewise pretty shockingly rare. It's again an example of how this show always audaciously poked fun at itself, never took itself TOO seriously, and was always welcoming its fans and the people who loved it to do so, rather than making them feel stupid or taking joy in wrecking beloved characters or plots.

Obviously, I loved Rory, the badass lesbian half-angel goth Deckerstar child straight out of My Immortal (seriously, she was SO edgy, it was amazing), because of the fact that Lucifer's entire arc was always about feeling abandoned by his father and that he was going to have to face it for himself. Dorky Devil Dad Lucifer trying his absolute HARDEST to bond with his daughter was simultaneously hilarious, adorable, and heart-wrenching, and yet again, the Growth. We all remember when he could barely tolerate Trixie touching him, and now we're here. Also, any variation whatsoever of "this is just a brief moment of time that we must be apart, love is eternal and stronger than death and we will never really leave each other" as a line is guaranteed to make me bawl my eyes out. So that was fun.

I got a big kick out of Ghost Dan running around and trying to get everyone to see him, and had feelings about seeing him in heaven with Charlotte and his beloved Pudding Pops at the end. I had feelings about how they handled Ella finding out the truth (or rather demanding to know why nobody had told her) and of course, I obviously loved Maze and Eve and their goth/femme wedding and the fact that they got a good three-season romantic arc (indeed, I wanted more of them). My god, Trixie is SO BIG, she used to be a tiny little nugget. I love that Linda was the moral and emotional rock all along, from the first episode to the very last, and that Amenadiel was Deeply Vindicated when Charlie's wings appeared at his first birthday party. I love how Lucifer in s6 is absolute thousands of light years from Lucifer in s1. And as ever, Chloe was Perfect. I am happy that I spent six seasons with these characters and saw them become better, and that I was never made to feel like an idiot for trusting the writers to end everything in a beautiful and emotional way. Because, well. They did. Sure, maybe I could go back and pick at a plotline here or a detail there, but I don't terribly feel the need to do so? It might not have been perfect, but it was perfect, and I am so grateful that it existed.

[bloodyshadow1]

On one hand, I stopped watching supergirl after the comic on dick move, I was in the supercorp fandom for a bit longer, but there were large parts of the fandom that were just gross and awful.  The sheer amount of racism and hate towards actors was just too much and I only observed from a distance while reading fanfic and episode summaries.

On the other hand, the whole fandom wasn’t horrible and supercorp was still a cute ship despite the vocal minority of the fandom being entitled racist assholes.  It doesn’t change that supergirl was queerbaiting at its finest, somehow queeringbating the ship of the show at an interracial lesbian wedding when both parts of the ship were single and the most important person in the others world. 

It was queerbaiting and bad writing.  Aside from the fact that supercorp was the biggest ship in the fandom by a huge margin.  For some reason instead of making the logical step of making the two women who have been the core of the show for the last 3 seasons fall in love, they chose to just not.  The last scene of their final episode, Kara and Lena have a heart to heart where they reiterate how much the other means to them and then go nohomo. 

Even if they didn’t want to make Kara and Lena a couple at the very end they could have left it more ambiguous.  They could have lied and blamed it on the higher ups not wanting 2 gay relationships in their show.  They could have had the last scene be Alex and Kara talking before Alex went off on her honeymoon because they were the first 2 characters we really see. Instead they chose to make one last attempt at burying supercorp by making sure to emphasize the ‘friendship’ between the two women, in a cheap imitation of Korrasami, the show for kids that aired almost 7 years ago. Honestly, I’m sure the people working on supergirl will keep getting work, but the show’s writing has never been good and I don’t think anyone who wrote on this show should be allowed to write on others it was so bad. 

Oh fucking well, it goes to show that once again the writers of the show don’t understand their fans, or former fans.  The supercorp shippers, have been rewriting their crap show since season 2 and nothing is going to change except now they’ll be more out of spite rather than hope.  Now the writers have no power or say, supergirl doesnt’ belong to them and now it never will again. 

I’m glad that I got out of the fandom when I did, but I am sorry for the people who were still here, most of you didn’t deserve that

[minijenn]

I posted 5,481 times in 2021

4908 posts created (90%)

573 posts reblogged (10%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.1 posts.

I added 2,687 tags in 2021

#jen rambles - 468 posts

#keys to the kingdom - 437 posts

#jen watches - 386 posts

#kingdom hearts - 291 posts

#jen writes - 222 posts

#disney liveblogging - 212 posts

#legend of zelda - 192 posts

#sora - 162 posts

#kh - 161 posts

#jen draws - 156 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#said last four are aladdin which will have some lighthearted stuff in it granted but oof it also has a downer ending like the p&tf chapters

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Me looking at all the Xehanorts. Also me: Which one of you is the main antagonist again? Why are there so many of you? Can one of you, like, wear a bell or something?

359 notes • Posted 2021-06-01 03:07:42 GMT

#4

Season 4 boutta be Infinity Train’s final season and I bet you anything its because the two guys kiss at the end of it and CN get scared just like they did when Rebecca wanted a Lesbian Wedding and fought them tooth and nail for it so they gave it to her but cancelled the original run of the show :| 

377 notes • Posted 2021-03-11 19:52:43 GMT

#3

Anyway bold of Pixar to release a very Queer Coded movie during Pride Month

440 notes • Posted 2021-06-19 15:26:10 GMT

#2

HHHHH NINTENDO DIRECT TOMORROW KIDS YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS

Manifesting

484 notes • Posted 2021-09-22 14:15:21 GMT

#1

My last art commission for this bunch and probably my favorite from this round! This one’s for boxvoxx from my Discord, who wanted a KH/Owl House sketch dump, so of course I was more than happy to oblige! So let’s run through these real quick. 

First off we got a standard Sora-esque design for Luz, complete with her Keyblade, the Portal Key! We also have Timeless River and Halloween Town designs for her (she’s a WareWitch in Halloween Town bc I couldn’t decide which one to make her ahaha). After that we got a lovely Eda design, with her Keyblade, Owl’s Wrath. Then we finish things off with a GayBlade for Luz and Amity, like that combined Keyblade Sora and Riku can use in DDD. Fun fact bout this one, Amity’s half is the lesiban flag colors, Luz’s half is the bi flag colors! 

Anyway this one was fun. Have a bonus Hunternort that wasn’t part of the comm, but that I had to draw because the thought literally would not leave my stupid skull: 

Commissions are CLOSED

1306 notes • Posted 2021-08-28 19:51:54 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[lesbianmarrow]

okay okay time to talk about legends of tomorrow 5.07 “mr parkers cul-de-sac.” i watched it twice bc i liked it so much. it has lots of thoughts on love and its consequences, and what you’re willing to do for love. all that mushy stuff hehe. 

fun to have damien darhk back as a guest star for this episode. i think he is always most sympathetic when the focus is on his love for his daughter, and this episode really leans into that. i like that we get him back for this episode now that we have seen this radical change and development in nora as she has been allowed to grow outside of her father’s influence and she has taken control of her life. like it’s definitely the most interesting time to bring him back. and i like that they bring him back not as a master manipulator villain but as a dad. because again that ended up being the most compelling aspect of his character when he was last on the show. they do of course showcase the villain aspect of him when he has his wizard battle with constantine and then again when he finds out the truth and attacks all the legends, and i think that works well too. good balance of silly and cruel. when he commits suicide at the end that did really get to me. and i like that even after he has made up with the legends sara still refuses to shake his hand bc hes still the man who killed her sister. that feels right for her. 

it’s been sort of running in the background this season but this storyline of nora taking control of her life and finding a sort of healing and catharsis in helping children is so excellent. it’s often shown as being kind of silly bc shes in this ridiculous costume granting children frivolous wishes but on a deeper level it is also so touching. i think it makes perfect sense for her to be confronted with her father again now, because part of what she is healing from is his negative influence on her, and yet there is still so much love between them. nora finally getting the courage to tell her dad that she isn’t the person he wanted her to be, but she is happy and thriving, is like the natural conclusion of her arc of personal reinvention. and then they talk it out and it all turns out well :) i mean damien ends up back in hell but that’s kind of where he belongs so it’s fine. 

despite being a lesbian i AM a big fan of the ray/nora romance and it was sweet to see how much they love each other in this episode. there is something sort of strange about how their relationship struggle in this episode sort of feels like a gay cliche even though theyre straight?? like how nora is hiding ray from her father bc he wouldn’t accept him, and how that little kid tells ray that you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you love. idk i thought it was kind of funny. often in these cw shows i get a bit annoyed at how characters will be so quick to propose marriage but in this case i think it makes sense with ray and nora. they already kind of were acting like a married couple and they just are so good together. their impromptu wedding was so cute. the ending of the episode hints that ray is gonna leave the team, which would be sad because i like him, but it makes sense that getting married would necessitate leaving the team.  

i wasn’t liking the mick/ally romance bc i am a believer in gay mick theory but i did enjoy the revelation that mick has a daughter now. it just feels like a fun and unique challenge for him to have to face. the scene where he is eating cake and zari criticizes him for running from the truth made me really feel for him. because he claims that he’s staying away because he would be a bad influence on his daughter, but really we know that he’s staying away because this kind of relationship is so new to him and he’s scared. even though mick is often a very silly character i think the more serious emotional stuff with him can be very impactful so i’m excited to see how this storyline goes. there’s also something sort of poignant about zari being the one to witness this family reunion and then urge mick to go be in his daughter’s life, since as we know zari 1.0 lost her family and changed history to bring them back. 

i’m noticing this motif of circles. i noticed it first in 5.05 when constantine gets lung cancer and we get the match cut of the hell lady messing with his soul token to the shot of him lying on the floor that has a circular design. and i thought that was just a one time thing but then in the next episode constantine has a circular rug that ray pulls aside to reveal a pentagram and i was thinking hmm. and then in this episode there’s all this talk of circles in the mr parker’s cul-de-sac theme song, about how circles represent eternity, so now i’m positive there’s something there. plus i remembered in 5.05 the young ghost versions of constantine and natalie we see are weaving on a circular loom. and then at the beginning of this episode the illustration of the loom of fate we see is sort of cylindrical or circular. it’s all connected!!!!!! since circles have this symbolic meaning of eternity or of the cycle of death and rebirth i think it makes a lot of sense for legends to use it as a motif. i will be on the lookout for circles in upcoming episodes!!!! 

ok that’s all for this post. i have more to say about sara & ava but i’ll save that for its own post. but yeah this episode was such a favorite of mine even though it was a lot of silly shenanigans i just really enjoyed all the love and mushiness. 

[bitchybutcher]

Texts I sent a friend the first time I watched The Boys, Season 2:

-        Gird your loins

-        I’m dying to know more about Black Noir

-        Ugh ffs Homelander smarming about on stage at Translucents funeral

-        It’s an empty box but I suppose how would people know cause invisible corpse

-        WHY IS ANNIE SINGING AT THE INVISIBLE PERVS FUNERAL

-        Aw no straight in with Sad Kevin

-        Oh ok angry drunk Kevin

-        Ugh not these Samaritans Embrace fuckers again

-        Oh Annie. Parroting the company line. I hope she’s gonna fuck them all over

-        SAD HUGHIE OH NO

-        BILLY JOOOOOELLLL

-        Aw Kimiko is learning

-        Her lil smile

-        Oooh Hughie is a liiiiiar

-        Meeting on the subway like a couple shifty teenagers

-        Oh I forgot they microchipped the supes like dogs

-        Oh nooooo young love angst

-        Oh no a Sad Kevin incident

-        Aaaaand he’s been arrested

-        A nice archer bailed him out

-        Omfg the fake Butcher re-enactment

-        Oh do NOT tell me this crazy bastard is gonna drink the frozen breast milk

-        Oh fuck he is

-        What the FUCK, HOMELANDER

-        This visually impaired ninja seems nice

-        That probably means he’s gonna turn out to be a dick

-        OH FUCK

-        Homelander what the fuuuuuck

-        Ok what the shit is happening here in the motel

-        WHAT

-        What the fuuuuuck

-        I – MM is making a dolls house? That’s so cute

-        Oh shit smuggled people

-        Homelander is nuts with power

-        Uhhhh who is Carol and why is she staring at Kevin while he sleeps

-        Finally an archer who is honest about how useless they can be once they run out of arrows

-        Oh noooo are they gonna try brainwash Kevin with homeopathic stuff? And why do they keep offering him Fresca

-        OH FUCK ME NOT ANOTHER RELIGION THING

-        Oh Hughie has grown a pair since last season. Good for him

-        Where’s Butcherrrrrrrr

-        Body gore porn dude is called Gecko that’s too cute a name for him

-        Stormfront seems like fun

-        She’s gonna be pissing off Homelander so much I like her already

-        OH WHAT THE FUCK THE CIA LADYS HEAD EXPLODED

-        I like Stan

-        Giving Homelander the dressing down he needs

-        I know it’s convenient for Toni to wear the padded suit all the time but does Homelander ever wear anything else

-        Oh hiiii Becca I still think you’re a bitch and Butcher deserved better

-        BUTCHERRRRR YASSSSS

-        “Daddy’s home”

-        I’m dead. It’s official.

-        The fuckin smirk and the voice I’m fuckin dead

-        OH NO KEVIN IS TRYING THE CHURCH THING

-        Is he making shroom tea

-        Why is Patton Oswalt voicing Kevin’s gills this is delightful

-        Atrain is awake again that’s not good

-        I’m cracking up at Sad Kevin and his singing gills

-        Homelander is gone way off the deep end oh boy

-        Awwww soft Maeve in the hospital with her girlfriend

-        I want to like Becca but I can’t shake the bad feeling

-        Homelander is a terrible father

-        I mean I know he has no role models to base his parenting on, but yikes

-        It’s like if Scar was raising Simba instead of Mufasa

-        ….are the gang raiding a party city store

-        I love how Frenchie always looks a mix of horrified and amazed whenever Kimiko kills someone

-        AWWW IT’S HER BROTHER YAY

-        Oh shiiiiiiiit

-        Butcher STOP JUST SHOOTING PEOPLE

-        You were right this season is weird

-        I like Kimiko’s brothers bedazzled denim jacket

-        Butcher don’t punch Hughie wtf

-        Starting with Hughie listening to the same song again, nice

-        Butcher is terrible at apologising it’s so cute

-        I’m sorry did Hughie just fall over trying to throw a punch

-        The kid’s a dandelion omg

-        Why are they on a boat? Did Karl just decide “I like being on boats lemme go on a boat”?

-        I see what you mean about Homelander being scary

-        He’s completely insane

-        Why does this storyboard guys shirt say assbinder

-        Chace Crawford is an excessively veiny man

-        BLACK NOIR IS CRYING

-        Or possibly laughing

-        Hard to tell when they have no face

-        Annie actually leaked all the compound V stuff good for her

-        FRENCHIE KISSED HUGHIE

-        Homelander is gonna get this kid killed tryna make him fly

-        Honestly the kid looks more like Hughie

-        OH MY GOD HE PUSHED HIM OFF THE ROOF

-        OH MY SWEET FUCKING JESUS HOMELANDER YOU CAN’T DO THAT

-        Oop there’s the laser eyes

-        Oh Homelander is back at the Tower and freaking Maeve out

-        OH FUCK THE BROTHER IS LOOSE

-        Hughie don’t do it

-        Oh ok I thought he was gonna jump off the boat

-        Kevin and the cult weirdos are up to something

-        Hughie no you don’t call the girl you like crying over Billy Joel lyrics

-        Oh god boyo you don’t then drop the L word in the same voice message!

-        He’s hopeless

-        Oh nooooo Kevin is attacking the boat goddammit Kevin

-        OH FUCK A WHALE

-        For fuck sake Kevin

-        Ewwwww

-        Butcher what the fuck

-        Hughie having a nervous breakdown inside of a whale

-        No but why is Karl so hot covered in blood

-        Actually I didn’t even need to include the blood part of that question

-        Oh boy here we go, the 7 show up to find Sad Kevin crying over spilt whale

-        ….why is Stormfront tryna get all up in Homelander’s ass?? I thought she was cool but now she’s all lemme suck that radioactive dick

-        OH NO

-        Poor Kevin he’s worked so hard to accept his gills and now Homelander has knocked him back down

-        Oooo dear Atrain is having a heart attack again this isn’t good

-        Oh fuck is Hughie gon get caught

-        Oh no it’s Annie it’s ok

-        OH FUCK

-        ANNIE WHY

-        THAT’S YOUR HUGHIE

-        OH MAN KIMIKO’S BROTHER IS BADASS YES SQUASH THE SMUG PRICK

-        Oh I do NOT like Stormfront holy fuckin shit what’s wrong with this woman

-        Poor Kimiko

-        What’s with the random woman talking about calling off her wedding?

-        Why is Frenchie taking drugs

-        FUCK SAKE FRENCHIE DON’T TRY KISS A GIRL WHEN SHE’S GRIEVING

-        What the FUCK is thiiiiis

-        Is he dreaming or is this the shapeshifter tryna stay alive by granting Homelander some sick wish

-        Yikes I feel bad for Doppelganger

-        I am fascinated by whoever and whatever the fuck Black Noir is

-        MM sees right through everyone’s bullshit

-        I feel so bad for Annie

-        Ooooo Atrain getting fired

-        MM having to put up with Hughie and Annie having a we didn’t start the fire singalong 😂

-        Ok who’s in the weird group therapy sesh with these women with strange views on love

-        Vending machine date so cute

-        Omfg ahahahaha the girl with the Ed Sheeran tattoo

-        I really want to like Becca cause she stands up to Homelander but I can’t shake the suspicions about her

-        I feel bad for Butcher

-        Homelander is a scary good liar

-        Oh shit interviewer lady is pulling out the diversity questions

-        OH FUCK

-        HE’S OUTED MAEVE

-        Poor Maeve what the fuck

-        Ugh Stormfront

-        Shut your racist hole bitch

-        Oh shit Kimiko on the warpath

-        Frenchie! Kimiko listen to him he’s tryna help

-        MM is doing a lotta sharing this episode

-        Ohhhh something bad is gonna come out about this Liberty lady they’re looking for oh fuck

-        Wait WHAT. STORMFRONT IS LIBERTY

-        Stormfront is like 70????

-        She’s really good with social media for an old bird

-        Ohhh fuck Homelander is pisssssssssed

-        Christ you’d know Homelander was an only child

-        Bitch you better not be fucking Butcher over

-        I FUCKIN KNEW IT

-        BECCA YOU RAGING BITCH

-        Got her goodbye fuck then called the supercops on him cause he’s a little broken? FUCK BECCA

-        Oh no Annie don’t give Hughie the “we can’t do this” talk

-        Pick your emo ass up and stop being melodramatic

-        All these women are chatting to Kevin?? Why??

-        Also this most recent one is super weird

-        THEY WERE INTERVIEWING TO BE KEVINS WIFE

-        This cult thing is so fuckin weird omfg

-        KEVIN GET YOUR SAD BUTT OUT OF THE CULT

-        Oh gross not the Doppelganger shit again

-        Doppelganger is really bad at flirting

-        ….

-        WHAT THE SHIT

-        Nonononono don’t do the selfcest

-        Not even Homelander is that fucked up

-        This is super weird

-        Why is Homelander crying

-        OH SHIT HE KILLED HIM

-        Uhhhh are they doing a lesbian scene in a vcu movie

-        Christ that was terrible and way too on the nose

-        “Strong female lesbians”

-        Homelander you himbo fuck what other kind of lesbian do you get

-        I feel bad for Ashley

-        She just wants to do her job well

-        Poor Butcher. His lil heart is broken

-        Oh no baby you’re hurt and upset? That’s so sad let me suck your dick about it

-        Oh no what’s he gonna do

-        BUTCHER WHAT THE SHIT

-        I mean it’s really fuckin hot but still

-        There’s always a cut on the cheekbone

-        “They’ve been moving her around like a Catholic priest” omg HUGHIE

-        Aww he called Hughie his canary

-        Oh shit are Frenchie and Kimiko missing?

-        KEVIN GOT MARRIED

-        BILLY HAS AN AUNTIE

-        Doggiiiiie

-        Awwwww soft Butcher with his dog

-        Aaaand now I feel bad for Atrain cause he’s being kicked to the curb

-        Oh gross this interview with Kevin and his cult wife

-        This is so cringe holy fuck

-        Bring back the Patton Oswalt gills

-        Why are the gangsters discussing musicals specifically Hamilton

-        FUCKING HELL KIMIKO PEELED OFF THAT GUYS FACE

-        Ahahaha the boys showed up at Butchers aunties house

-        The dog’s name is Terror that’s so cute

-        Hahahaha Hughie was holding the fuck pig

-        Why is there a sniper on the roof

-        Oh shit it’s Black Noir

-        Ugh what does Annie’s mom want and why is Stormfront being her friend

-        Oh hey it’s dickless

-        These two writer dudes are hella irritating

-        Poor Elena getting dragged into this shit

-        Yes Maeve scheme against his ass

-        Heartbroken Butcher is so tired

-        He needs a hug

-        Hughie give Butcher a hug please

-        Why is Kimiko in a church

-        Oh hey its Frenchie’s other girlfriend

-        Oh ok Kimiko is doing hits that’s fair

-        The old man just looking away like “I do not see it”

-        Aw no Frenchie don’t break up with Kimiko

-        Oh fuck off Cult Kevin

-        Stormfront again?????

-        Does this bitch ever fuck off

-        DID SHE JUST CALL ATRAIN GARBAGE

-        Wait why is Homelander giving an unapproved speech

-        This is gonna end in someone getting murdered isn’t it

-        OH FUCK

-        That’s a lot more murder than I expected

-        Ohhhh phew ok he was just daydreaming

-        Ashley is gonna go bald from stress

-        I adore grumpy Butcher

-        Omg auntie Judy is a drug dealer I love her

-        Ohhhh shit Homelander is having a nervous breakdown

-        BOBBY FROM X-MEN????

-        Uhhhh why is Homelander talking to Stormfront this can’t be good

-        Ooh MM set a trap this gon be good

-        BUTCHER HAS A BROTHER???? THAT HUGHIE IS LIKE

-        Oop Lenny is dead

-        The random explosions as Black Noir trips the traps

-        Oh shit Butcher locked the others out to face Black Noir alone

-        YES MM

-        OH NO MM

-        YES HUGHIE

-        Oh fuck did he KO Butcher

-        Shiiiit shit shit shit

-        Yes Butcher save your Hughie

-        Oh good they all survived

-        For fuck sake Kevin stop with the cult shit

-        Maeve please save Kevin from the cult

-        Annie why are you sneaking around don’t do it

-        There’s a lot of shots of Annie’s bum

-        What the fuck is Sage Grove

-        Stormfront needs to go choke on a bag of dicks

-        Oh fuck no not Homelander again

-        Uhhhhhhh

-        Stormfront x Homelander was not what I was expecting

-        These two have the WEIRDEST relationship

-        They’re gonna do some really fucked up supe bdsm shit aren’t they

-        Frenchie is Betty White. Fair enough

-        Wait what is happening. Why is Annie letting Frenchie at her with a lil saw

-        Ohhh the chip

-        “This might sting a little” FRENCHIE IT’S A FUCKIN SAW

-        Oh fuck that’s a big chip

-        Oh look it’s loves psychotic dream

-        Well that’s suitably gross

-        Aww Kimiko hugging Annie

-        Butcher is so menacing I love him

-        Kevin tryna be helpful to his buddies he’s so cute

-        NO! NO BAD KEVIN! STOP TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE JOIN YOUR CULT

-        Kimiko with her brass knuckle

-        Oh man, flowers??? Homelander has it BAD

-        Annie back the fuck off and leave Butcher alone

-        OH SHIT IT’S STORMFRONT AT THE HOSPITAL NOOOO

-        What the fuck is going on at this hospital

-        OH FUCK BOBBY FROM X-MEN IS LAMPLIGHTER

-        Oh shit who got let out

-        What does Cindy do

-        OH SHIT SHE’S THE HEAD BURSTER

-        Aaaaaaand now they’re all out

-        Good job, guys

-        Ewwwwww acid vomit

-        OH NO HUGHIE

-        Are you kidding me?? Annie can’t go all Starlight unless there’s a power source in the immediate vicinity??

-        What kinda fuckin shite superpower is that

-        Aha Butcher agrees with me

-        Ok so I’m guessing Homelander went berserk on set

-        Uhhhh apparently Cult Lunch is a therapy sesh?

-        Atrain get outta there

-        This cult leader guy is an arsehole

-        Hospital escape lookin like a horror survival game

-        Awwww flashbacks to happy times

-        Omfg Butcher with the slicked back hair

-        Welp, Annie just killed a guy

-        Oh shit a baby seat

-        Annie is gonna have a bad case of the guilts now

-        Oh fuck ok Lamplighter killed the kids by accident

-        So Frenchie went to save his friend instead of tailing

-        Oh god that’s the penis isn’t it

-        Stormfront to the…rescue? Maybe? She’s gonna kill Lamplighter isn’t she

-        Oh, no ok she didn’t kill him

-        Aw no sad Butcher cause Hughie’s hurt

-        Oh nooooo Elena found a video from the plane

-        Mallory gon kill sad Lamplighter?

-        Stormfront is coming clean to Homelander? Whaaaa

-        She was buddies with the Nazis??? SHE WAS MARRIED TO THE VOUGHT FOUNDER GUY

-        Oh fuck the head burster is still alive

-        A montage of how Stormfront is brainwashing people into racist attacks, nice

-        I hate Annie’s mom so much

-        Black Noir has just fuckin LAMPED Annie

-        Butchers mum called him 😂😂

-        Oh shit his dad died

-        Why are Hughie and Lamplighter watching knock off supe porn

-        Oh boy a racist rally

-        Homelander just threw Annie under the bus

-        Hughie that’s a really weird pep talk

-        And he’s gonna get Lamplighter killed

-        BUTCHERS MUM IS ADORABLE

-        Oh shit it’s Denethor

-        And he’s not dead

-        Oh fuck he’s why Lenny died?

-        Shit Lenny shot himself

-        Butcher was SAS???

-        WHERE ARE MY PICS OF BUTCHER IN HIS ARMY UNIFORM

-        Ah fuck he’s bringing stepmommy Stormfront to meet the kid

-        I have an urge to run my fingers through Butchers beard

-        Frenchie and Kimiko are too cute she’s teaching him her sign language

-        Is this a cult birthday party?

-        Poor Eagle the Archer. He pissed off the cult so he’s gon be excommunicated

-        Uhhhh kiddo made a Lego film?

-        Good for him

-        I know it shouldn’t be sexy when Butcher starts threatening to brutally murder people in his growly voice, I know, but hear me out: sexy growly voice

-        11/10 would let Karl Urban murder me

-        Oh FUCK Lamplighter killed himself

-        Poor Hughie

-        Why do all the bad things happen to him, like having to saw off a dead guy’s hand with a broken whiskey decanter

-        Annie versus Black Noir, beat his/her ass girl!

-        HUGHIE COME SAVE YOUR ANNIE

-        YAY MAEVE

-        Black Noir has an almond allergy that’s such an off the wall weakness

-        Annie’s favourite chocolate bar saved her life

-        Well Maeve did, technically. But still

-        Omg Hughie accidentally saving Annie’s mom

-        Hughie and Annie are too cute

-        Oh shiiiiit Homelander screwed the pooch and showed the kid everything

-        HAHA SUCK IT BECCA

-        OH SHIT HEADS ARE BURSTING ALL OVER THE PLACE

-        Butcher in his lil jumper

-        For a non-American, this school safety psa video is supremely weird

-        BOBBY FROM SUPERNATURALS CHARACTER IS CALLED BOB

-        BOBBY FROM SUPERNATURALS CHARACTER IS JUST BOBBY FROM SUPERNATURAL BUT FANCY

-        Annie’s mom critiquing her choice in boyfriends while in mortal danger is gas

-        And typical

-        The lads going nuts with weapons they’re so happy look at them

-        And Butcher in his lil jumper again he looks so comfy

-        I would very much like to cuddle him in the soft jumper and give him beard scritches

-        Annie ffs let Hughie enjoy his Billy Joel, that’s a good choice

-        Ahahaha Maeve just called Hughie a twink

-        She’s not wrong

-        Oh fuck off Becca

-        Uuuuugh OF COURSE Mr Edgar is in with the cult

-        Oop Atrain overheard all of that

-        Poor Ashley she’s going bald from stress

-        The kid is gonna have a meltdown

-        Poor Hughie with his mom leaving

-        I wonder if she’ll pop up at some point and turn out to be a supe that would be fun

-        ATRAIN YOU CAN’T JUST APPEAR IN A CAR LIKE THAT YOU COULDA KILLED SOMEONE

-        Hold the phone is Homelander actually being a good dad for a minute

-        What the actual fuck is Stormfront on with this white genocide shit

-        Ahahaha the news broke

-        Uh oh the Vought soldiers got caught by Homelander

-        OH SHIT

-        MM BETTER BE OK

-        Becca fuckin constantly squawking about Ryan is so annoying

-        WHY IS KIMIKO LAUGHING

-        It’s adorable but still

-        Oh FUCK she snapped her neck

-        She’ll be fine

-        She’s like a wolverine, snapped neck won’t keep her down

-        AYYYYY MAEVE

-        The lads just watching them kicking the shit out of her like uhhh

-        Oh hey Becca did something useful and stabbed the Nazi in the eye

-        Huh. The kid melted Stormfront

-        Good for him

-        AHAHAHA YES HE GOT BECCA TOO

-        BYEEEEE FELICIAAAAA

-        I mean yeah, heartbroken sad Butcher isn’t nice to see, but Becca sucked

-        Aaaand now Homelander covered in blood has arrived to listen to Stormfront babble in German

-        This is like in those scenes where it’s like oh who will the dog go to

-        Ayyy Atrain got back into the 7

-        Aww poor Kevin getting rejected again

-        See Kevin this is why we don’t join cults

-        Annie thought he was breaking up with her, girl don’t be daft

-        Butcher and the kid, not awkward at all

-        The one lesson Butcher can teach a kid – “don’t be a cunt”

-        Aww happy endings for all the boys

-        Aaaaand a “happy ending” for Homelander too by the looks of it

-        Oh ffs a corrupt politician in with the cult, what a surprise

-        HIS HEAD BURST

-        Wait the politician lady is the head burster? I’m so confused

-        Confusion may have been aided by it being almost 3am

-        Hughie getting a real job, bless him

-        Too bad it’s with the head burster

-        Oh this is such a good song to end the season with

-        Welp, now begins the long wait for season 3, I guess

-        Should I sleep or find fic to read

-        Body says sleep, heart says fic

-        That’s a lie, heart says Butcher

-        ….Butcher fics it is

[wigwurq]

WIG REVIEW: THE HAPPIEST SEASON

You guys! I finally watched the lesbian holiday movie!! Though when I texted my mom to tell her I was finally watching this, she thought I was talking about The Prom and I laughed for a real long time about it (mainly because it will take me an even longer time to get around to hate watching that!) It already took about a month to get to this one. There is a lot to discuss here - and also one wig!

So this is the first (big budget) holiday lesbian movie, which I am very here for. However, most of the movie feels like a combination between My Best Friend’s Wedding, Meet the Parents, and The Family Stone but with lesbians. Those movies were made between 1997 and 2005 and this movie feels like it should exist somewhere in that time as well. The whole plot of the movie is basically that Kristen Stewart (Abby) has to pretend NOT to be Mackenzie Davis’s (Harper’s)  long-term girlfriend for the sake of Harper’s conservative family with local political aspirations while also spending 5 days with them during Christmas. It’s a conceit that exists solely in these brand of garbage holiday rom coms but definitely one that feels bizarrely antiquated as well. 

Anyway! There is only one wig in this movie which belongs to Davis, who had a vastly superior lesbian wig in that one episode of Black Mirror that made us all cry. We first see this under this hat where it should have hidden for the rest of the film! 

Sadly, the next scene involves the full emergence of this wig and truly: NO. This thing is dried out, bent, and disheveled in not a cool way (Stewart’s actual hair is disheveled in a cool way, though). The entire presence of this wig bothers me because: just have her have whatever hair she has? This is not a historical recreation (that I’m aware of?) and she is not playing a real person! This feels like when SNL cast members wear wigs in sketches for similarly non-existent reasons. However, SNL wigs are vastly superior to this mess!

So anyway, Harper invites Abby to have Christmas at her parents’ house in the heat of the moment during a very romantic (?) Pittsburgh Christmas lights tour which is apparently something that exists. Abby conveniently, and completely for the sake of this plot to work (?) does not like Christmas and also is an orphan, getting rid of any possible Christmas plan conflicts. And then literally on the way to visiting Harper’s family, she is all: by the way, they don’t know you’re my girlfriend or that I’m a lesbian and you have to go along with it for sake of this movie to exist even though this is absolutely a terrible thing to ask of anyone, periodt. But we are beginning to find out that Harper’s character is as full of garbage as her wig. 

So we meet the parents, who are Victor Garber, Mary Steenbergen, and also Mary Steenbergen’s iPad which vulture correctly identifies as the star of this movie AND IT IS. Especially during the end credits where we get to see all the pics the iPad takes! But I’m getting ahead of myself. The parents live in one of those cavernous houses that is definitely a mansion but tries to feel homey even though it probably has about 12 bedrooms and usually only exists in a Nancy Meyers movie. Despite its amount of bedrooms,  Abby has to sleep in a basement bunker which also doubles as a well organized rubbermaid storage unit. For the rest of the movie, Abby is treated like a subhuman trash person much in the way Ben Stiller is treated in Meet the Parents and Sarah Jessica Parker is treated in The Family Stone, except they don’t also have to pretend to not be in a relationship with the family member they arrived with. This conceit becomes so degrading that you honestly wonder why these people are still together!

Abby endures scene after scene of total nonsense and still looks better than the wig on her terrible girlfriend. Which starts actually looking better in a few of these scenes but still is very much a terrible and noticeable wig which is on par with Rachel McAdams’ wig in Mean Girls in that we are constantly told that these women are gorgeous and every single time I ask “YOU MEAN WITH THAT TERRIBLE WIG ON THEIR HEADS????” I suppose this wig was “necessary” because Harper’s two sisters also have long-ish brown hair so they were going for some sort of familial consistency except one daughter has a terrible wig and the other two have hair. Also one sister is Alison Brie, who plays a harpy so awful that she starts to make Harper look palatable and one sister is Mary Holland, who also cowrote the script, and definitely wrote herself the only character who I’d like to meet in real life. 

Along the way, we also meet Aubrey Plaza, who I usually hate because she is just one-note sullen, but here is actually great as Harper’s high school ex-girlfriend who Harper outted and allowed to be bullied and wow Harper - you have been terrible for decades!! Also compared to Harper, Aubrey has beautiful (real) hair, doesn’t lie to her entire family, and has actual chemistry with Abby. I very much wanted Abby to end up with Aubrey and I am not alone! Harper somehow avoids Abby for most of the time they are both staying in the same (albeit huge) house and there is even a dumb subplot about Abby being framed for shoplifting while trying to buy a gift for the parents’ very important white elephant gift exchange during their very important Christmas Eve party and I wonder if any of these people really knows what a white elephant gift is or how to exist in society? Meanwhile, as Harper reverts to being more falsely  heteronormative at her parents house, I started to wonder if her wig was trying to serve a larger purpose in showing how fake this character is but: no it’s just a bad wig. Also this movie really does the impossible: it makes me care about and feel bad for Kristen Stewart! 

Although I did find it highly questionable that though they are the stars of a romantic comedy, neither Kristen Stewart or Mackenzie Davis is funny AT ALL. Like not even a little! Which makes the “comedic” plight of Stewart all the more upsetting! All comedy is left to the one good daughter (Mary Holland) and also all gay men in the movie. This is mainly Abby’s bff and national (Canadian) treasure, Dan Levy and also Drag Race faves Jinxx Monsoon and Ben De-La-Creme in this one gay bar scene which is honestly truly inconceivable and except for further cementing the fact that Abby and Aubrey really should get together. 

In the end, Alison Brie finds out Harper’s TERRIBLE SECRET THAT NO ONE IN 2020 COULD POSSIBLY FATHOM (that she’s a lesbian) and they have a fight in the middle of the white elephant party which reveals that all the family has been competing for years for each other’s love which is really really messed up and now I kind of hate everyone in this family. And also Harper is outed to her entire terrible family and also Ana Gasteyer (and also a room full of other randos). And she denies her lesbian truth!  I recently watched Uncle Frank which is essentially everything Hillbilly Elegy wanted to be but is Shakespeare compared to that mess, and a similar scene occurs but that character bravely faces the truth - and in 1970s SOUTH CAROLINA!! I don’t know what time or space this movie thinks it exists in but it is baffling. Still, Dan Levy gives an emotional monologue about how no one can decide when anyone else is ready to come out of the closet so: FAIR. And then Harper does come out and the entire family kind gives absolutely no reaction to this until Victor Garber says it’s ok?? ABSOLUTELY AND TRULY BIZARRELY PATRIARCHAL. And then Harper and Abby get back together in the parking lot of a Love’s convenience store which is as cheesy and clunky as any garbage holiday rom com so I guess this is definitely a new holiday “classic” which I’ll probably watch 100 more times and hate Harper and her terrible wig each time about as much as I hate Laura Linney’s terrible life choices in Love, Actually. AS CONFOUNDING AS HARPER’S WIG OR THE CHOICE TO GIVE HER ONE AT ALL!

VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ

[mtvswatches]

Jane the Virgin 2x22 Chapter Fourty-Four

Click here for previous recaps!

Stray thoughts

1) I get that it’s part of the Latino culture, but I kind of wish we would be done with this “women are obsessed over weddings and they dream about having the perfect wedding since they’re young and their whole lives revolve around this one goal”. I could maybe understand if it was about marriage, but it’s about getting married, having a dream wedding, and it all seems so shallow to me. I understand this is a wedding episode, but I wish they would’ve found a new angle instead of relying on the outdated “I’ve dreamed about this day since I was little” trope. It simply puts me off.

2) Will Jane really lose her virginity? Why do I feel she won’t? Like, I feel this is one of those shows that takes its title way too seriously and they will purposefully prevent Jane from having sex as long as they can. And I feel the only way she wouldn’t have sex is if she doesn't get married or if something was to happen to Michael, right?

3) Oh, damn, Luisa is going to be back? Not the moron, again!

4) Jane called Rafael over to share with him that Mateo had just taken his first steps, which was very co-parenting of her and I totally endorse it. Of course, the moment is ruined both for Rafael and me when he’s reminded that Mateo will walk down the aisle during Jane’s wedding to Michael…

And now he’s entertaining the idea of declaring his love to Jane and stopping the wedding? Are we really back to this? This is terrible writing, I’m sorry. Is this the only arc they can give Rafael? Forever pine for Jane?

5)

The cat is out of the bag.

6) Jane and Michael are fighting over the honeymoon arrangements and budget and I feel this doesn’t bode well…

7) Xiomara and Rogelio arrive late and set up in motion a chain of events that end up with Mateo nearly killing the priest during the rehearsal. Jane confronts them and tells them to get their shit together until after the wedding, and I find myself siding with her, for once.

8) Anezka and Magda are planning something sketchy during Jane’s wedding, right? But what, exactly? And more importantly, why? Just out of the evilness of their hearts? Or do they actually have some ulterior motive?

9) Well, for once, the moron didn’t act like a total moron. She actually told Rafael he should keep his mouth shut and let Jane go.

10) Alba ends up confessing that her wedding was actually a disaster and that the veil she’s given to Jane doesn’t actually belong to her family, and they all just... laugh it off? But if I were Jane I would be at least a bit peeved? I mean, this is the wedding story upon which all her fantasies and dreams were built? Alba’s retelling of her perfect wedding is the reason why she’s dreamed about her own wedding since she was a little girl? It’s the second time Alba’s fabricated stories have shaped Jane’s fundamental principles and goals in life and her personality, and I don’t understand why she’s not even slightly bothered by it? Am I crazy? Shouldn’t she be having an identity crisis? And how come Alba is such a hypocrite and no one calls her out on it?

11) Oh, Michael, just when I was starting to like you, you boil down feminism to this…

And this is shown as a very sweet moment between the two of them, they're having this all-nighter about all the important points to discuss before they get married, but… isn’t this a conversation they should’ve had way before the night before the actual wedding?

12) Now, Jane needs to pitch her new thesis on her way to the wedding. She gets her thesis approved, and she ends up having her professor get her into the wedding dress. And this is probably my favorite line in the show so far…

13) Rogelio left the car running with the AC on and now it’s broken down, and Rogelio is having a breakdown. Jane calms him down and they decide to take a bus, which I feel is the perfect way for Jane to arrive at her wedding.

14) And this is how she arrives at the church…

I just love that Rogelio is the one to be by her side throughout this whole ordeal.

15) Ugh, the fucker did it.

Such a selfish, asshole move.

16) Oh, nevermind, he really didn’t. I don’t take it back, though. I still think he’s a selfish asshole.

17) Michael learned his vows in Spanish. That’s very sweet. He’s going to die, right?

18) The choir and everyone in the church telling her to go have sex was a great callback to early season 1.

19) Okay…

How did this little show manage to get huge stars? Britney, Bruno Mars, fucking Charo! (I actually wonder how many people watching the show knew who the fuck Charo is before watching the episode where she had the cameo...)

20)  Petra breaks down after Jane’s wedding, thinking what she just witnessed is something she’ll never attain. Just as she’s crying, one of her babies starts laughing, and she’s instantly reminded of the only true love that matters.

21) Aw, Rogelio called Michael his son.

22) Jane and Rogelio got their own dance routine…

And I just remembered how she was crying while dress shopping with Xiomara after finding out she’d been lied to about her father her whole life.

Also, when exactly would they have found the time to learn and rehearse this little routine...? Makes no sense!

23) Is this… Anezka?

Or has she done something to Petra and taken her place?

24) Is anyone interested in this couple at all?

I mean, what role do they serve other than acting as the token lesbian couple, because there obviously can only be only one of those!

25) Rogelio and Xiomara have a very sweet, honest conversation in which they both admit they still want to be with each other but they haven’t changed their minds about wanting/not wanting to have kids. And again, they prove to be most mature and reasonable people in this show. They did act petty and childish at first, but they always find a way to have an honest, grown-up conversation about whatever is bothering them, and most importantly, they don’t let whatever that is draw them apart. They might not be together right now, but they will continue to care for each other.

26) Anezka is apparently paralyzed, except…

Called it. By the way, how does Anezka manage to speak perfect English when she pretends to be Petra but she reverses back to her broken English when she’s herself? It doesn’t make any sense. And what is the end game of this plan? Just woo Rafael? Get the hotels and his money? Well, I guess this is an answer…

27) Oops. I guess Xiomara got her wish…

Why do I feel Rogelio will end up raising the kid with her?

28) Jane and Michael are getting it on, and now he stops to go get some ice for the champagne, and I’ve got this nagging feeling he won’t be back…

29) Well, that happened.

(he looks like he’s about to sneeze)

30) And this is pushing my suspension of disbelief…

I guess this is why the moron fell in love with Michael’s partner.

I’m really not “wow, holy shit!” about this because I always felt they would bring Rose back, and it also doesn’t feel like an earned plot twist, you know? Usually, this type of plot twists work better when they shock you but you also feel like a fool because the clues had been there all along. This reveal? Not so much. They did plant the seeds in this very same episode, but that’s hardly good writing.

31) Well, that was an extremely soapy finale. There are so many loose threads it’s difficult to keep track – Michael got shot and we don’t know if he’s dead or alive, Rose is back, Rafael and “Petra” slept together, Petra is petrafied, AND Xiomara is pregnant. Although it was a very entertaining hour, I feel the show only manages to keep me thoroughly entertained during high stakes episodes like this, a finale. A whole lot happened in this hour, but not enough during the season, in my opinion. And we still need to see how all of these plots that have been set up will carry to season 3. There are many things about this show that I’m kind of done with, and to be honest, I haven’t really seen what everyone seems to see in it, why it is supposed to be so great. Two seasons in, and I’m still not sold. Except for Rogelio. Rogelio is a cinnamon roll and should be protected at all costs.

32) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi. Thanks!

[carolinesiede]

My 2019 Writing Roundup

Not to get too New Age-y, but 2019 felt like a very ~transformative~ year for me. I turned 30, got a literary agent, and became a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. After feeling like I’d hit a plateau in my late 20s, it was nice to experience a sense of forward momentum again, even if the lack of financial stability in this career is a constant background stress. Still, on the whole my sixth year as a full-time freelancer felt like a time where I kinda, sorta figured out what I’m doing. Instead of struggling in murky waters, I’m at least actively swimming in them.

I continued to write for The A.V. Club, The Spool, and Consequence of Sound, plus took on new outlets in The Verge and Polygon. I also had an article about romantic comedies published in Southwest Airline’s in-flight magazine and was asked to talk about Hallmark Channel Christmas rom-coms on Canadian radio. Speaking of rom-coms, 2019 was the second year (and first full-year) for When Romance Met Comedy, and I feel like the column really came into its own this year. It’s by far the biggest undertaking of my career (I’ve covered 47 films in total so far!), and I’m really excited to continue shaping its voice in 2020.

Beyond finding a regular fitness routine and seeing Cats onstage for the first time, the biggest personal project I undertook in 2019 was immersing myself in the world of film and film criticism—something I started in mid-2018 and really amped up this year. My goal was to watch 300 new-to-me movies this year, and I wound up watching 355! (Including 129 new releases.) Regular access to CFCA screenings and screeners allowed me to be a bigger part of the film critic conversation than I’ve been in the past, which was exciting. I also tackled a bunch of blindspots from the past decade and put together a list of my 50 favorite films of the 2010s, which you can see right here:

Over on the TV side of things, I bid farewell to the Netflix Defenders universe with binge-review coverage of the final seasons of The Punisher and Jessica Jones. Those Marvel binge-reviews were a big part of my early career, so seeing that universe come to a close was bittersweet. It’s always nerve-wracking when a semi-regular assignment ends, but I’m hopeful that new projects will pop up to take its place.

Putting together this year-end retrospective also made me realize I was on a lot of podcasts in 2019, including jumping in as a regular guest on the Cinematic Universe podcast in the latter half of the year. Podcasting is something I really enjoy (I find talking so much easier than writing!), and I’d love to do more of it in the future.

With that, I’ll leave you with wishes for a Happy New Year and a roundup of all the major writing I did in 2019. If you enjoyed my work this year, it would mean a lot if you would support me on either Kofi or PayPal. Or just share some of your favorite pieces with your friends!

My 15 favorite TV shows of 2019

My 15 favorite films of 2019

Op-eds and Features

“Rom-Com Revival” for Southwest The Magazine

Avengers: Endgame doesn’t earn its big “girl power” moment

An MCU breakup could be a terrific step forward for Spider-Man

“What is a weekend?”: A catch-up guide to Downton Abbey’s cast and characters

Nope, seeing Cats the musical will not help you understand Cats the movie

Let’s talk about the ending of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women

TV Coverage

Doctor Who’s 2019 New Year’s Special

The Punisher S2

Jessica Jones S3

The Crown S3

This Is Us S3 and S4

Supergirl S4 and S5

Rent: Live

Jane The Virgin fill-in

The Tony Awards

The Little Mermaid Live! 

When Romance Met Comedy

27 Dresses doesn’t deserve your hate and neither does Katherine Heigl

Bride & Prejudice weaves an impressive cultural critique into a Bollywood-inspired Jane Austen update

How does the original What Women Want hold up two decades later?

In 1990, Pretty Woman changed romantic comedies forever

For one brief, wonderful moment, Eddie Murphy reinvented himself as a romantic-comedy star

20 years later, 10 Things I Hate About You remains a model for how to do the teen rom-com right

Lloyd Dobler is Cameron Crowe’s original manic pixie dream date

We're just not that into He’s Just Not That Into You

Romance is the weakest aspect of one of the most celebrated rom-coms of the ’90s

To All The Boys and Netflix reminded the world why it’s smitten with rom-coms

Imagine Me & You gives a lesbian love story the classic rom-com treatment

Queer resilience thrives in this rom-com about love in the time of the AIDS crisis

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is bubbly and smart, just like Marilyn Monroe

The Best Man capped off one decade of black rom-coms and inspired another

Nicolas Cage romanced Cher in one of the weirdest rom-coms ever made

After a decade of discourse, (500) Days Of Summer is basically the Fight Club of rom-coms

It’s No Strings Attached versus Friends With Benefits in a rom-com showdown

Adam Sandler’s sweetness makes The Wedding Singer a rom-com worth growing old with

The Philadelphia Story delivered one of the most star-studded love triangles ever

13 Going On 30 made Jennifer Garner a rom-com star—and gave tween girls a sleepover staple

Celebrate Halloween with Warm Bodies, the film that tried to make zom-rom-coms a thing

In the 2010s, rom-coms went indie and saved themselves in the process

Sandra Bullock became a rom-com star with a cozy love story about crushing loneliness

With just two storylines, The Holiday paid tribute to the entire rom-com genre

The A.V. Club

The maudlin Five Feet Apart anoints a new pair of winning young stars

After thinks it’s beautiful, that’s what makes it tiresome

Teen Spirit has plenty of it

Ramy is a Muslim millennial comedy with impressively big questions on its mind

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson’s new comedy The Hustle pulls an inelegant con

The Sun Is Also A Star turns a compelling premise into a lackluster teen romance

The Art Of Racing In The Rain is a doggone mess

You don’t need to love Springsteen to like the thoughtful crowd-pleaser Blinded By The Light

The well-meaning Brittany Runs A Marathon can’t quite go the distance

Renée Zellweger zings in a Judy Garland biopic that clangs

The Downton Abbey movie is as pleasant as a cozy cup of tea

Tall Girl’s familiar teen love story fails to reach new heights

The new Lady And The Tramp feels like a ’90s update of a ’50s classic

The Verge/Polygon

Tigers Are Not Afraid puts a Pan’s Labyrinth spin on a poignant Mexican drug war story

The gloriously surreal space epic Ad Astra is half a great movie

An AI affair fuels a midlife crisis in the eerie science fiction drama Auggie

The painfully generic new animated Addams Family deserves no snaps

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is boldly bonkers

Netflix’s apocalyptic teen comedy Daybreak is an exhausting sugar rush

The Current War is basically Amadeus for electricity

Is Playmobil: The Movie just a reskinned Lego Movie?

The Spool

The LEGO Movie 2: Everything is About Half as Awesome

Isn’t It Romantic: An Instant Postmodern Rom-Com Classic

The Aftermath: Sumptuous but Surface-Level Melodrama

Late Night: A Sparkling Comedy With a Lot On Its Mind

Plus One: An Indie Millennial When Harry Met Sally

The Farewell is A Poignantly Funny Goodbye

Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A whimsical mid-life crisis

After the Wedding: A grown-up drama that doesn’t trust its own story

Falling Inn Love: Love, New Zealand Style

Paradise Hills: Harajuku Gossip Girls

Consequence of Sound

Brexit Takes An Engaging But Ultimately Shallow Look At the 2016 Vote

What Men Want Flips the Script and Finds Mixed Results

Dumbo Delights Without Ever Fully Taking Flight

Someone Great Continues Netflix’s Romantic Comedy Revival

Aladdin Has the Animated Classic’s Songs, But Less of Its Personality

MindMeet Interviews

Nadine Hack and Global Citizens Circle: Creating Connectedness

Podcast Appearances

Filmography: When Harry Met Sally

Filmography: Tim Burton’s mature films (Ed Wood, Sweeney Todd, Big Fish, Big Eyes)

Debating Doctor Who MCU Edition: Avengers: Endgame

Cinematic Universe: Alita: Battle Angel

Hall of Faces: Friends

Cinematic Universe: Joker

Hall of Faces: The West Wing

CBC Radio: Hallmark Christmas movies

Cinematic Universe: The Wolverine

Cinematic Universe: Awards Special—The Cuppies 2019 (Part One)

And here are similar year-end wrap-ups I did in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 6x15 As You Were

aka don’t you want your trash?

Welcome to this dailyish (weekly? bi-weekly?) text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and go on an impromptu rant about it for an hour. Is it about one hyperspecific thing or twenty observations? 10 or 3k words? You don’t know! I don’t know!!! In this house we don’t know things.

And in today’s episode Riley’s back, which is awkward, but not as awkward as his wife’s characterization.

For an episode that was written by one of the show’s main writers, As You Were is also just generally riddled by some awkward dialogue and story choices. Although there are just as many scenes and elements that I love for that matter.

The episode starts with painting a picture of Buffy’s messy adult life. It’s also just so mundane in its horribleness. For instance, when I came home from work today, I barely had the energy to put on today’s episode to watch. (Going out with friends? In this economy?) I also definitely have tried washing a shirt I like with my hands to wear the next day (and ruined it in the process). And I may or may not have run after a garbage car with my trash at some point in my life.

And while I don’t have a kid sister I’m supposed to provide healthy nutrition to… I have a cat? And most of the time, I’m only able to give her the garbage-type of cat food, cause that’s all that’s available in the nearest store to us. That’s almost the same.

Anyway, the point is that it’s all very relatable… All but the sleeping with a vampire part, but we all have our coping mechanisms. Mine is writing gibberish about Buffy the Vampire Slayer at 10 pm.

But then Riley shows up, and the episode takes a bit of a turn. I get that they were going for a theme juxtaposing Buffy’s mundane sucky life and this heightened James Bond action spy fantasy, but that doesn’t really work when you drop most of those former elements at that point. When Riley arrives, Buffy just leaves work. That’s that. She never returns, and we don’t address that she just left in the middle of her shift without telling anyone.

Which works in a heightened spy fantasy, but ignores the previous context we set up for the episode. That’s kind of what I mean when I say that this theme of contrast isn’t really executed well for me.

Still, if you get through that, there’s a lot to like. Even stuff like Riley being kind of the worst.

Which he is here. He drags Buffy out of work to help him hunting down a demon, even though he has plenty of resources. Including his wife, who he fails to mention while falling into a flirty banter with Buffy. He even screws up by not telling Buffy what their mission is and that they aren’t supposed to kill the demon somehow??

Riley… my dude… my comically tall dude with your new cool face scar… there is no part of this that you haven’t fucked up.

But then his wife shows up and calls him out on his bullshit, and that makes it a whole lot better.

Sam herself becomes kind of an issue for me though. She’s cool, she’s understanding, she says the right thing to all the Scoobies who all instantly bond with her. It somehow manages to turn into an unintentional red-herring, as you wonder if she’s manipulating everyone around her. Maybe she’s this “Doctor”, our mysterious Bond villain! At the very least, she’s definitely up to something!

And then the episode ends, and you realize that no. She really was just written that way. That’s her entire character.

I don’t want to shit on Sam too much though, because she’s obviously supposed to be a subversion of the whole rival jealous other woman trope. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that Buffy came to like her, that Willow’s whole deal of “let me hate that girl for you because friendship” was mostly dropped after a moment of genuine connection, that Xander was inspired by Sam and Riley’s marriage… These are good ideas. I just wish that there was more to Sam’s character than that.

Instead what we get is a lot of awkward dialogue quickly trying to establish those connections, and it doesn’t really work for me. Plus, in the awkward dialogue department we also get other gems like “I got addicted like addicts do”, in case you forgot that Willow has a drug addiction metaphor arc. It’s very important that you remember that, even though the metaphor itself is awkward and only semi applies to her situation.

On a positive note, I’m pretty sure that the sweater Willow is wearing will also be worn by Dawn in s7. Ah yes, the magical moment when you’re old enough to start sharing wardrobe with your cool (lesbian) aunt.

And then there’s the whole Buffy and Spike thing. Which, honestly? This might be my favorite episode of their storyline this season.

I’ve been admittedly avoiding talking about it in too much detail this season, and I’m not sure that I’ll have a longer rant about it at any point. It’s not a healthy relationship at this point for either party, but my focus is obviously on my girl, Buffy. It’s always Buffy.

Buffy’s been using Spike as an escape, and Spike’s been abusing that perceived power over her. Spike’s been Buffy’s punch bag, who in turn manipulated and isolated her even further from her friends and family.

I always felt like the best of their Buffy and Spike’s relationship in any season came from their most honest moments. And in many ways, I don’t feel like they’ve been fully honest with each other recently – mostly because they haven’t been fully honest with themselves.

Here and now however, Buffy’s finally been able to have the strength to face these truths. Not just about Spike and his weird evil ways, but about herself. She admits out loud to Riley that she’s sleeping with Spike, and sure, that happens after Riley has seen them together already, but telling people stuff is an important part of processing them. That’s why therapy is good for you.

This of course already started when Buffy told Tara, but that was a moment of catharsis. This is one of acceptance. She can finally take a step back, and instead of getting caught up in her depression pit, she can begin to process her emotions and understand them.

She’s breaking things off with Spike not just because she realizes that she’s been fueling her own self-hatred through that relationship though, but because she made a choice to change. This is her first act of self-care this season.

And she’s honest to Spike about it. There’s something gentle and incredibly vulnerable about Buffy admitting that this relationship was killing her. That using him only made her feel worse about herself. She even calls him William to convey that same tone, to strip away all these distractions they built up trying to maintain the illusion.

Keep up with that self-care, Buff!! You’ll need it.

Meanwhile Xander and Anya are planning their wedding from hell. Sometimes literally. For now though, they’ve managed to stay positive about the future of their relationship.

For now.

[spaceorphan18]

I'd love to hear more of your thoughts re: 23, how Chris' artistic choices were mistaken for apathy. I apologize if you go into this in your meta (which I didn't realize you were finished with and I'm SUPER excited to jump into!) -- clearly you're acknowledging that there is some sort of shift in Kurt's character. I think he's noticeably not as into the "Klaine" relationship and I just assumed it was because Chris was over Glee at that point. What do you think?

Okay - so yeah, I do get into it within the meta - so if you want super specifics - it’s there.  You think a scene looks off? Go check what I have to say - cause I’m sure I’ve tried to hit every complaint.  

So - first of all, though, I need to say this - there’s this habit of -- hey this scene isn’t the be all and end all of everything I wanted it to be -- especially after I’ve been spoiled about it.  And I do think /that/ plays into it.  

And yes, I do think Chris was getting tired of the show, but so was everyone else.  And I feel like it’s disingenuous to saddle him as being the one checked out when I think everyone had their moments - especially the last few seasons after they’re all dealing with the tragic early death of a friend and coworker.  But I also think once an actor says admits that (and Chris did) -- people jump on to every little thing not quite up to their personal standards and declares that it’s Chris not being into it.  

And quite frankly - it does frustrate me a little bit.  Cause no other actor gets as much scrutiny for it, and I really don’t think that it’s fair -- especially when there were other actors who had lackluster moments, too...   

I also think that, as a fandom, we micro-analyze these scenes and sometimes forget the bigger picture of what’s going on -- and we did that especially in season 5 when we weren’t sure what was going on with season 6, and I feel like once we have the whole picture - a lot of Chris’s acting choices actually make more sense (to me).  

I also believe Chris is professional enough to do his job, too...  

There is another huge thing I’d like to point out -- Darren, when talking about his time on Versace, mentioned that a lot of time, performances are shaped by directing and editing - and when he watched Versace, he felt like there pieces missing (cause they had to cut them out) and that some of his process wasn’t shone.  

And that clicked with me.  An actor’s performance is only one part of it.  There’s direction - what the actors are specifically /told/ to do, and then editing - where other people piece together what we see and create a performance out of what they’re given.  And I think a lot of times - things were edited together weirdly, tbh.  But I think it’s important to remember that someone’s acting/performance isn’t the full picture - and that there are other factors that go into creating a show.  

That said -- some specifics...  

I haven’t heard of many complaints about Chris’s acting until the end of season 4 - if there’s another, earlier moment you’d like to know more about, I’d suggest checking the meta.  I probably won’t get into this again because people get super wanky easily over this - and I’m just a little tired of it, tbh.  

1. The Lesbian/Breadstix scene of All or Nothing (4x22) - So.  First of all, this is an editing issue more than a performance issue.  If you look at a lot of the over the shoulder shots, or shots when Kurt’s very off to the side - you can see him smiling happily at Blaine.  Kurt wasn’t dismissive of Blaine at all - but because of the editing wanting to keep Kurt’s inner thoughts more of a mystery (because of the ending cliffhanger) they didn’t show the times when Kurt seemed to be having a good time.  Plus - they’re with strangers, and Kurt isn’t exactly the most open person when people he doesn’t know.  Plus also - the point of this scene isn’t about Klaine’s relationship, it’s about LGTB rights and the lesbians getting engaged.  

I know I go on about this scene in the meta - so I do suggest you check that out for more details.  

2. In Love Love Love, Chris’s acting is spot on - and I see absolutely zero issues.  He’s completely checked in and plays Kurt masterfully here.  People don’t complain about LLL - I’m just bringing it up because I feel like that Chris hits the major Klaine moments out of the ballpark every time.  

3. Movin’ Out - in general there was grumbling about the Klaine stuff, but again, I don’t see the issue.  Their one real scene together was awkwardly staged, but I see no issue with the acting in the scene.  And it’s not Chris’s fault there wasn’t a scripted kiss there.  **shrugs**

4. Mid-season 5 - did people have problems with Kurt’s acting during this? Did people notice? I feel like people only seem to have issues when it’s directly connected to Blaine, and that doesn’t feel fair.  

My only issue with Puppet Master is that they didn’t have a final scene for Klaine to reconnect and be over the conflict - but Glee is bad about those kind of things. 

Other than that...  ??  

I personally have an issue with Previously Unaired Christmas, but only because they never wrote Kurt to be that flirty and up on Blaine.  That’s not Chris’s fault either.  

5. The New York Arc - So, for detailed info, I really suggest the meta, cause I go super into Kurt’s headspace and defend Chris’s choices here a lot.  the tl;dr version -- 

Kurt’s not in a good place in general - partly cause of Finn’s death, partly cause he’s not ready to be married, partly because he’s constantly surrounded by an onslaught of people who are very much about them, partly cause he feels like his career isn’t going anywhere.  Kurt’s in a sad place through most of the arc - which leads to the break up.  

Kurt’s far more irritated and annoyed by Rachel than he ever is with Blaine throughout the arc

When Kurt was supposed to be happy with Blaine he was -- and I didn’t see any issues with Chris’s acting there.  

I know people have issues with the end of Tested - but that was definitely acting choice/direction over performance/actor bleed - and I go way into in the meta.  

I find there’s only one real bad Klaine scene - and that’s their first scene in the Back Up Plan - but its a) a badly written scene and b) It’s Darren whom I find off in it, tbh.  

I do agree that we should have seen more downtime/happier moments to balance out the drama - glee’s writers dropped the ball on that.  

And -- in season 3 we were used to the background moments of Klaine because that’s all we got... but now they’re front and center, we didn’t get background moments the same way.  Personally, I prefer the story and the conflict and the growth, and while yes, I think we could have used some more minor moments, I don’t think we got nothing? Nor do I think Chris was purposely pulling away in what we did see - or least in my own interpretation.  

6. I have zero issues with season six Kurt.  Chris totally knocked the whole thing out of the park, so I have no idea what people’s issues are during that season.  I mean - I kinda understand the lack of feeling married post the Wedding episode - but that was due to the story telling issues and the show not focusing on them as characters /at all/.  I think the finale was fine? 

7. As for Kurt, the character, not seeming as invested in Blaine?? Ug - Kurt loves Blaine.  It’s there, I promise, it really is.  There’s never an instance in the show where I thought - huh, Kurt seems like he doesn’t love Blaine anymore.  Not even during the break ups.  Whether you believe Chris’s acting choices were valid or not - the writing was always there when it came to Kurt loving Blaine. And yeah, I’d have loved to have seen more of it.  But it is there... I spend most of my meta analyzing time talking about it, lol. 

Do I think Chris was 100% on all the time? No - but no actor is.  But I ultimately think that most of the bigger complaints I’ve seen over the years are more from purposeful acting choices during season 5 than Chris being unprofessional.  Hey - if you just don’t see it that way, that’s fine, I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise.  But I really do wish people would go back and watch the full thing with an open mind before outright dismissing or judging it.  

**shrugs**

[nacrepearl]

This anniversary, I wanted to pay tribute to the show by redrawing my favorite SDCC poster. With a few changes. It’s been 3 years since this poster came out on the internet, but it’s the poster for the first SDCC I experienced in this fandom. Below the cut is me being sentimental because I really love this show and its impact on my life is greater than one would think.

March 26th, 2015. I decide to watch Steven Universe after seeing gifsets of the first Stevenbomb on my dash from lingering members of the people who worked on my previous hyperfixation Attack on Space (A spinoff AU from the parent series Attack on Titan, which my interest in was fading quickly). I opt to watch the episodes that are on demand because they’re easier to access. I watch Alone Together first, Full Disclosure second (actual quote from me, who hadn’t known about SU’s musical nature: “Since when is SU a musical?!”). I then spend the next week or two watching the episodes on demand, then going onto KissCartoon to watch the series in order, in its entirety. (Quote when watching S1E05 Frybo: “I’m glad I’m watching these now before this inevitably becomes my new hyperfixation.” I have second hand embarrassment moments from this episode to this day). My brother decides to watch with me occasionally.

Fast forward to the end of March. I’m caught up with the series (back then only up to Joy Ride, which aired the day I began this journey). My friend Zac and I are now both into the show, and the following week Attack the Light comes out the same day that Say Uncle airs. Say Uncle is the first episode I watch live. I download ATL and finish it within a week. The rest of the weekly episodes (you heard me: weekly) were to follow and I was excited to officially be involved in the fandom. The beginning of April, I found the comics and I got to issue #5, the one where Pearl sucks in a gem-embedded book into her own gem and becomes ill from it. that was the day that I realized Pearl was my favorite character. Hurt/comfort is my way to tell.

I carry on watching the episodes throughout the month, and then after Reformed airs, we are faced with a hiatus. back then, a month and a half was a long time. Then, I got into the Pearl theories. I was all over the so called “nacre theory” right up until the theory had been confirmed in Back to the Barn (I still am, though the term “nacre theory” takes on a whole new meaning that I’m not sure will see the light of day now that we know more about Homeworld). You should have seen me go ham reblogging things about Pearl being lower-class, a lowly technician (ha), a maintenance drone. And all Pearls looked exactly the same back then in the fanart.

May 26th they announced the second Stevenbomb, half the fandom combusted. So did I. Sworn to the Sword happened and I had more fuel for the NT. I woke up that Thursday morning to a gifset of Pearl and Rose’s fusion dance because We Need to Talk leaked and spontaneously combusted right there. Then they announced Week of Sardonyx and our naive selves said “another one?” I went camping that weekend, which was also the weekend of SDCC. I nearly had a heart attack from my over-excitement when I got home that Sunday.

Week of Sardonyx came and went, with even more fuel to the fire for the NT. Cartoon Network does their greatest fuckup of the year by accidentally putting all of the Summer of Steven episode titles a whole year before they air. They changed the release date for the weekly episodes from August 6th to September 10th, and then we were graced by small Peridot on September 24th.

Back to the Barn airs. I die.

Then we go into a very long hiatus until Stevenbomb 4, airing in January 2016. This marks the first epsiodes to be leaked with the traditional screenshots + 2 minute clip. This was our first look at both diamonds + their pearls, and people were reasonably excited. Then we entered what we thought was the longest hiatus in fandom history–and we got the In Too Deep special earlier than expected.

Following the special, they announced the Steven Nuke/Summer of Steven. 4 weeks of episodes every night from mid-July to mid-August. Mr. Greg was the first musical episode and the crew hyped it up so much and yet it still had a huge impact on those watching that night. It was nominated for an Emmy one year later in 2017. We got some of the most intense episodes of the show in that bomb, with Amethyst’s arc, Bismuth holding the first half-hour special, the revelation that Rose supposedly shattered Pink Diamond, and Centipeetle’s corruption being explained further. Following SOS, there were weekly episodes and then another short hiatus, until Gem Harvest’s release in November. A short hiatus and then Three Gems and a Baby aired in early December.

During 2016, I meet two of my best friends through the fandom - @always-make-it-gayer and @hackerperidot. Gale and J have been my friends since that summer and because of this fandom, I’ve been less lonely and have had a blast in the ever growing group chat we have (Reverse Garden of Eden). I love you guys, and of course everyone else in the chat.

Following 3GAAB, in early January 2017, the entirety of Stevenbomb 5 drops on the app. Pictures with the diamonds and the zoo and the famethyst were on the internet in seconds. I had been on holiday break from school, and the night this all dropped was the first school night when the break was over. I stayed up very late, watched the episodes when I woke up for school in the morning, and listened to What’s the Use of Feeling Blue on repeat in the cold, snowy weeks to come. This was also right around the time my mom bought a house and we were ready to move in.

I got another birthday episode–Rocknaldo, airing on February 24th. Could’ve been better. I’m not complaining though. SU was crucial during this time because I was feeling very depressed and closed off due to the move and missing the apartment. The New Crystal Gems was the last episode the apartment got to see, and I promised to show Pearl’s backstory when it eventually aired, but we moved too early for that to happen. I like to imagine it can see my journal entries (you can ask if you want, in short it’s a coping mechanism I developed). Thereafter, we had another hiatus leading up to the sixth Stevenbomb with Aquamarine and Topaz. That bomb ended with the saddest episode in the series, finalizing season 4. Then the Wanted event aired, and we got so much lore content and more hints to the Pink Diamond mystery.

There came the biggest hiatus in the fandom’s history to this day. We were so thirsty for content. It was dry as fuck and the only light in the dark was SDCC with the Lars of the Stars clip (which would then air months later) and the trailer for the first half of season 5′s kickoff bomb.

Gemcation airs, and everyone finally understands Pearl’s quirk with covering her mouth in discussions about the diamonds. We all were getting so antsy at this point to find out what was happening with Pink Diamond and the lore behind the show and by god where is White Diamond?

We get Stranded in January 2018, allowing us to spark the “diamonds get revealed in January” meme with the Pink Diamond face reveal. Of course, this is debunked by Legs From Here To Homeworld in July 2018.

We get more episodes in March, and then are plunged into the final reveal in May with the half hour event, Can’t Go Back and A Single Pale Rose. The fandom collectively freaked out with the revelation that Pearl and Rose were diamond and pearl and faked the shattering in an effort to end the war. The people who survived this saw the Heart of the Crystal Gems arc in July. This was the week that held the Rupphire wedding.

Reunited airs, and I am surrounded by 3 of my best friends ( @asassynerdnamedgabbs, @neroblackcat, and @hackerperidot who had been visiting New York from Australia that week ) so I hold myself back from reacting too much. I cried that night out of sheer joy that my favorite show was the first cartoon to show a lesbian wedding on national TV. Of course, we get the diamonds and then SDCC the following weeks, with Legs From Here to Homeworld. I am at my cousin’s graduation party the day of the panel and my phone is slowly losing battery percentage as I try to keep up with the tweets and posts about what was going on. It was a huge deal.

Now we arrive here. Nothing had been shown at last month’s NYCC which is unusual, but that’s okay. We are still on hiatus, and it is SU’s 5th anniversary of being on the air. I am patiently waiting for the show to come back, and I’ll have more memories to make with this fandom in the months to come.

Happy Anniversary, SU!