#rewatching since i got the first two seasons on dvd����

[jayjay-thejet-plane]

Jesse pinkman the babygirl you are

[terresdebrume]

I think I want to point at the elephant in the room today

The problem when we have the ever more frequent conversation of how to keep a fandom alive after the show it's based on stops airing is that we tend talk about it in a way that ignores the very real differences between the juggernauts of old fandoms like Star Trek and newer shows like Dead Boy Detectives, namely:

1. The difference in amount of material

2. The accessibility of said material

Part of the reason why Star Trek or The X-Files still have active fans so long after they aired is because those shows had multiple seasons with an average of 20 episodes each. For the X-Files' 11 seasons that's about 200 episodes each with their own storylines, themes, interesting ideas and frustrating mistakes right there to inspire Fanart, fic, meta, and any number of fanwork. I'm not even going to do the math on Star Trek: this show got about a bazillion shows

Dead Boy Detectives, and a lot of genre shows nowadays have like... Eight episodes. Ten, if we're lucky. Fandoms for procedurals or more broadly appealing shows fare better (Lone Star comes to mind, or sitcoms for example) because networks tend to keep them online longer, but genre series get ever shorter with ever fewer opportunities to really grow an audience... Think of all the shows that got popular on Tumblr in the past few years and tell me how many got a proper season? Shadow and Bones was cancelled. My Lady Jane: one season. Gentleman Jack, two (three?). Good Omens: maybe 3, depending on how the network handle the Gaiman situation. The Umbrella Academy got four seasons. Stranger Things, with 5 seasons and 42 episodes managed to equate roughly 2 seasons of the X-Files (probably not even that if you account for episode length). The Witcher currently has 3 seasons for 24 episodes.

Contrast this to shows like Dead Boy Detectives with, again, eight episodes. Maybe 16 if we get really lucky, but I'm not holding my breath. This is just materially WAY LESS soil for a fandom to grow in. It's not that people aren't motivated, it's that as much as you want to keep it going, there's only so much to say about 8 episodes! George Rexstrew, who plays one of the leads, even recently admitted that he's running out of things to say about his performance, and who can blame him? So after a while, you gotta turn to AU which by definition are always going to be potential hits and misses, since they diverge from what brought people to the show in the first place.

I know we're all real good at spinning yarn but sometimes it gets really hard not to run out of fiber.

As for accessibility: the Big Olds benefitted from two things. One, they were broadcast on much wider-reaching channels, if not from the start, then when they eventually made it on public networks. They had a regular play time, and you could stumble onto them by accident, this getting interested and picking it up. And two: the popular shows had a decent chance of getting tape or DVD sets, which made them easier to own and show to your friends so they could binge the story and join you in the fandom

By comparison, look at the barrier of access for Dead Boy Detectives:

Need to have a Netflix account

Need to see it somewhere in your recommendation (good luck if you come in more than a month after it released)

Need to see people talk about it as they binge (need to be in the right place at the right time, and by that I mean where fandom happens since Netflix has a habit of doing zero advertising for new shows)

Need to keep paying for a Netflix account if you wanna rewatch, or figure out how to do a piracy, which is getting more difficult and riskier every year

Need to be willing to get invested in a forever unfinished story

And when on top of that the writing in the first episode is, let's say it frankly, far from the best, that is a LOT of obstacle to overcome for a pretty small sandbox

So like, yeah, sure, we should be willing to keep making a fandom happen after a show ends, but at some point we can't ignore that the effort it takes to keep fandoms alive is getting way more intense than it used to be

[spaceorphan18]

14 years since Never Been Kissed aired. Did you watch it live? Where were you? Did you think it would be the start of something major - one of your favorite ever ships?

Ohh, interesting question!

It's kind of funny to try to remember details of something that did happen nearly fifteen years ago. the tl:dr version of how I started watching Glee was that I wasn't in a great place in Mar of 2010, and a friend of mine had given me the DVD of Glee S1 Part 1 (because that's a thing that happened back then.

And I watched it and I was, meh, it was fine. I mean, DSB gave me literal chills. But I didn't really connect with any of the characters (and omg did I find Terri and Ken annoying). And it's funny, Kurt I had a hard time with -- not at all because of the gay thing, but because his crush on Finn hit a little too close to home and I was still a little sensitive about how I was during high school.

Anyway, the same friend said we should start watching the show together - so I started going over to watch it with her. We watched the rest of Season 1 together. And maybe the first half of Season 2? I definitely watched the first four-ish episodes with her. I think (?) I must have watched NBK with her.

The ONLY thing I remember from my first time watching was the forced kiss between Kurt and Karofsky. It was THAT shocking. Like, WHOA what is happening???

The only real thing I remember about Blaine was that my friend had told me that Kurt was supposed to be getting a boyfriend, and we all wondered if it was going to be Sam (because Duets did give that tiny-ish set-up). And when Blaine showed up, it was one of those - oh, is it this dude? type things.

I did not like Season 2 when it was first airing, Nonny. I'll be honest with you about it. The thing I've since learned about RM and his shows, he often fills them with a lot of unlikable characters who are often ridiculously dramatic. And it just wasn't my thing. But also remember, the show focused hard on Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Puck, Sue, and Will (and Emma). Like -- not my favorite characters. At all.

It's one reason I appreciate the later seasons, because characters I like got more focus, and it just became super weird and super queer and that's just more to my taste.

But anyway -- I kind of only watched sporadically after the first few weeks. I caught Silly Love Songs - because I remember thinking after Kurt and Blaine have their When Harry Met Sally convo, oh yeah, they'll get these two together.

I have zero memory of watching Original Song for the first time. Which I just have, because I knew Klaine was together after that point. But I did miss most of the second half of Season 2.

No, I had zero idea I'd love Klaine as hard as I did (do). I can tell you I remember the exact moment I fell in love with Klaine, though. I decided to catch up on Season 3 because I missed the first half (and hilariously - I was actually enjoying Season 3 more than Season 2 at the time, wild right?) and it was The First Time, and it was the auditorium scene, and it was this moment.

And really, just Kurt saying -- I'm just a silly romantic, and Blaine saying it wasn't silly, and just kissing him. And, my god nonny, it made my cold, dead heart come alive. It took my breath away.

And then, I mean, I rewatched the full series again, and really got into the Klaine of it, and got into fandom, and as much as fandom was a headache -- and my god it was a headache -- I think that's why I stayed with Glee for so long? It was something to have fun with and explore and write about and talk to people about and there was the insanity of week to week, and it was wild - I mean really wild, but it's what made the show fun. Because, I mean, I love the show - but it's a mess.

And I'm constantly amazed new people come in for it, because sometimes it feels like there's a -- you had to be there -- to get it, lol.

But, I mean, did I think I'd be here, fifteen years later, still talking about how it impacted me? Not even a little bit. :)

[horsetailcurlers2]

tagged by @emily-prentits and @shrrpteeth :)

rules: answer and tag nine people you want to get to know better and catch up with

favorite color: baby blue

last song: would’ve, could’ve, should’ve by taylor swift

currently reading: it’s been nine million years since i read a physical book but the fanfiction i’m currently reading is “running in the shadows” by strideofpride

currently watching: my first time rewatching greys! i got the dvds for seasons 1-3 and i’m almost done with season two. catching a lot of things i missed the first time around.

currently craving: corned beef hash. no idea why

coffee or tea: coffee! waaay too much for somebody w my levels of anxiety.

hobby to try: really really want to learn crochet bc i keep seeing cute patterns on tiktok. i recently got very into cross stitching and it only increased my desire to learn crochet bc i saw somebody cross stitching with yarn ON crochet

current au: my never-actually-drafted swan queen college au has been on my mind lately but i actually just started fiddling with a maddek new york polycule AU that idk will ever see the light of day bc it’s mostly an excercise to get my repressed ass comfortable with writing smut.

no pressure tags: @crime-wives @hayscodings @jbthegift @darlingwrecks

pressure tags: @mostlikelyshutup

(srry that’s not nine people)

[umgirldog]

Would love to hear your general thoughts on Buffy! Favorite characters, episodes, seasons, ships!!

omg anon this is the question of my dreams I’ve been dying to talk about this

I have a hard time choosing order of favourite characters or anything, they’re all phenomenal, but big three for me are probably Tara, Buffy, and Willow. (Honorable mention to Oz i love werewolves and cool dudes) I think I could make whole essay posts about each of them so I won’t elaborate too much, but Tara and Willow respectively are wonderful characters, I find myself aligned with those two the most, and Buffy is a stellar protagonist and fashion icon, SMG and the cast made the show what it is, Joss aside (do we like him?)

(That said I actually have a picture of Faith in my wallet for when I go out as a reminder to never let my standards fall. Otherwise I switch it out for a picture of Tara and Willow so that I’m always ready to fight for something. Kidding. Kinda)

It’s been a while since I watched the earlier seasons but one of my favourites was 4x10 Hush. According to actors it was once of the hardest eps to film, but I love the monsters. They terrify me and their freaky little henchmen are godawful I love it. (Also brownie points for Tara and Willow content teehee) Once More With Feeling and The Wish are also close runner-ups, and I’m sure there’s more it’s just been like a year since I started watching - for that reason I also don’t think I could accurately rank seasons YET. I have the first 5 seasons on DVD and I plan to rewatch tho…

As for ships I love love love Tara and Willow more than anything, my guilty pleasure is Buffy and Faith, otherwise I just got into the fandom side of everything cause I was trying to stay away from spoilers! So recs to fics, comics, fan stuff and less known canon stuff whatnot is totally welcome and appreciated!

Thank u for the question I am totally psyched to get into the fandom more and wanna hear other ppls opinions too :o) lmk ur fav eps so I can plan a chaotic rewatch while I find a DVD player :oP

[changingplumbob]

Not Sims - Just Reign

So I binge watched the final 5 episodes today and... I am emotionally compromised. See below for my ramblings and how I attempted to make album art a decade ago.

If you clicked keep reading I'm going to assume you don't mind reading my rambles so I'm just going to indulge myself here. I need to process and getting it out helps me process.

I first saw Reign during my final year of High School and fell completely in love. Quite aside from English History being a special interest for me at the time, Adelaide Kane and Toby Regbo were so gorgeous. Honestly the signs that I'm bisexual were right there but it just did not click.

If you're my moot you will know by now I am a massive romantic. So of course I would get invested in the Mary Francis love story. Thanks past me for routing for Francis from the start, smart choice.

The outfits took my breath away, as did the wonderful landscapes. I fell in love with everything Mary wore and tried to find a graduation dress that was as close to something like that as possible.

The music! I loved every track they put with the episodes. Shout out to that one youtube channel that was posting full versions of the songs. I have a playlist with the music from the first two seasons and have listened to it on loop so often. There was a website that would post screenshots of the episodes and I would copy paste and make my own album art. Not to do anything with, they were solely for me to see when the songs came up on my iPod.

BUT I only watched the first two seasons before I took a break. History wise I knew Francis would die before they had a child, but the end of season 2 seemed to announce his death was approaching and my romantic self could not handle it. So over the next few years I rewatched the first two seasons plenty, and continued to listen to the music. I tried to watch season 3 in my first year at university, I really did. But things were different back then and I could only find low quality episodes because legitimate streaming services were in their infancy, if they even existed.

During my post grad diploma I would take a train part of the way to my placements. It was on the train that I happened to catch someone watching Reign on their phone. Not just any part of Reign either, the recap that shows Francis dying and Mary saying goodbye to the coffin. You bet any progress I had made towards being able to watch it was reset.

Following the worst of my depression, last year I began to feel a proper interest in things I love again and I wanted to see Reign to its conclusion. So I got myself the DVDs for season 3 (I don't have netflix, plus I like having physical copies of things) and worked my way through. Since I hate spoilers I didn't want to read the blurbs included in the cover so I never knew which episode Francis would die in, I was happy he was in it for so long. The whole plot with Francis having made Mary a sword for taking back Scotland made me love them all the more.

I gifted myself season 4, the final season, for Christmas. I've been watching it in bits and pieces. I have this thing where if something is ending I try to hold off the ending for as long as possible. But today I was so under the weather that I did watch the last disc all in one go.

Side note, Rizzio. I can't believe that actually happened! But wikipedia says it did. It really sounds like something a drama show would make up.

I've always known Queen Mary was executed for supposedly trying to kill Queen Elizabeth. I wasn't sure how Reign would tackle that. I figured they would do a flash forward or do that text over screen thing. I love neat endings but my heart could survive not seeing the end of Mary. I begun the final episode, saw Toby Regbo's name in the starting line up and immediately teared up. If he was in the episode then they were certainly going to show her death. Those end scenes, they made me happy and sad all at once. I loved that Francis was there for her, and I loved the flashbacks through their life together. Damn did it make me cry though.

The main characters have had a place in my heart for a decade. So heck yeah I'm grieving the loss. I know I'll watch it again, so it's not a permanent goodbye, but it's tough to see the end of anyway.

[letsrilakkusu-blog]

An ode to Given

A few days ago the internet collectively freaked out - myself included - when it was announced that the next chapter of Given would be the final chapter, ending its 10-year run. I'm honestly still in shock and while I'm trying to stay optimistic that maybe the big announcement that's coming with the final chapter will involve some kind of sequel, a second season of the anime seems more likely. It's difficult coming to terms with the fact that I may have to say goodbye to a series that I love so much, and with an ending that I most likely will not find satisfying. Regardless, Given has taken up a huge space in my heart for the past two years and I just wanted to write about how I found it, my experience with it, and what it means to me.

I've enjoyed manga and anime ever since I was in middle school, but toward the end of college I got too busy to keep up. Fast forward to years later in 2020, I was stuck at home during the pandemic and decided to dive back in. After rewatching a BL anime that I really liked in high school, Given came up as a suggested series. A quick Google search told me that it was a great romance story between boys in a band, cool.

The first episode starts with Mafuyu's melancholy monologue about the dream he keeps on having and I see right off the bat that I've signed up for a bit more than a cute love story with music. Then the opening song Kizuato hits and I'm totally captivated. It's probably one of my favorite opening sequences and truly captures the feel of the series with its hard-hitting instrumentals, Cenmilli's emotional vocals, and the moody art.

The series pace is on the slower side but there was enough drama and intrigue to keep pulling me in, and it's full of comedic gold. And then... episode 9, A Winter Story. It shook me to my core, everything about it was absolutely amazing. Ue's talk with Mafuyu before the show where he admits that even he doesn't know what he is doing or how to express himself, all he knows is that he loves Mafuyu's sound. The song itself, interspersed with flashbacks of Mafuyu and Yuki's relationship and Mafuyu's monologue (his "I'm lonely" is truly devastating, major props to Yano Shogo). THE KISS. A genuine surprise, so quick and so gentle from inexperienced Ue. I had to watch the episode twice because it left me in complete awe and I needed to experience it again. Then episodes 10-11 were the perfect wind-down with a lot of cute and legendary moments, aka Ue experiencing increasing levels of gay panic. The series became an instant favorite and I rewatched it immediately. I can't find the words to properly express what it did to me but it just made me feel so many things, things I don't think I've felt for a long time. I couldn't shake it.

After that, I was still hungry for more Given so I read the manga, which is a totally different and wonderful experience. The art is beautiful, and the way Kizu-sensei portrays emotions through the characters' facial expressions is unparalleled. Soon after that, the movie came to Crunchyroll, and I've been keeping up with the series in every form since. I read the chapters as they come out bi-monthly. I watched the drama adaptation (not great but not the worst I've seen). I watched the OVA many times (my favorite, all the precious RitsuMafu moments I was missing from the movie). I splurged on a second-hand DVD set of the stage play (really well done). I even watched the anime dub (tolerable), and I hate dubs. Rereading and rewatching the series are routine. Safe to say, it's consumed me for two years and the flame has not died down one bit.

Lots of fans joke about referring to Given as our comfort series when it actually hits on a lot of heavy topics and has eviscerated our emotions on more than one occasion. But it truly is my comfort place. Just as I had finished watching the anime for the first time, I lost a very close friend to illness. This friend was a fellow anime/manga enthusiast and was probably the one who introduced me to the world of BL. Although she didn't watch Given, I like to think that it could have been something we would have enjoyed together if we had the time. And although the circumstances are different, I could relate to Mafuyu prematurely losing an important person in his life. Because the story is equal parts pain and healing, Given kind of provided me with a space where I could dump all of the emotions I was experiencing, whether they were happy or sad. It taught me about loss, grief, and above all, the way music and love can heal the wounds that these things have left behind.

I also have to speak separately about the music of Given, it's just so well done, with so much care and attention to detail. You can tell that Cenmilli worked closely with Kizu-sensei or really dived into the source material when working on the music. Every song created for the series relates very clearly to an event or element of the story. I could write praises upon praises for all of them, but some of my favorites include:

Fuyu no Hanashi, for obvious reasons. Yano Shogo's raw vocals are haunting and the guitar riffs are insanely cool. The way the lyrics change from Mafuyu being stuck and unable to say goodbye in the first chorus, to finally moving forward despite that in the last chorus, show that he's getting the closure he needed.

Kizuato - The lyrics perfectly express the series' tagline "can't say goodbye, I'm still drifting with your echoes." And the pre-chorus is so, so good.

Hetakuso - A simple but insanely sweet song that is definitely Mafuyu's response to Ue's admission that he is bad at expressing himself. I squealed when I saw the lyrics mention "covered by the heat of summer" and "not being afraid of the next winter" in reference to the two of them.

Bokura dake no Shudaika - As I read the lyrics, I can't tell if the song is referencing Akihiko and Ugetsu's relationship or Akihiko and Haruki's (maybe it's both), but I actually like that ambiguity. I also love how it beautifully incorporates the violin as a salute to Aki and Ugetsu.

Uragawa no Sonzai - I know Mafuyu is singing the song but I like to think of it from Ue's perspective. He is aware that there is a side to Mafuyu that he doesn't know, his past, a time when he cried, a person he cried over. But he embraces this "existence on the other side" as a precious part of the person he loves and vows that he will fill up for what the other is lacking, and vice versa. I'm crying.

Now that the series is coming to an end, I don't know what I'll do with myself. If it's truly ending for good, I do have my complaints, but I'll save that for another time. No matter what though, Given is solidified as one of my top anime/manga series of all time, and I'm sure I'll keep revisiting it over the years even after it's finished. It's given me so much - joy (RitsuMafu soft moments are my serotonin), sorrow (Strawberry Swing, anyone?), laughs (too many to count), and some of my favorite music - and for that, I'm incredibly thankful.

[starry-mist]

I recently got the first two seasons of Hudson and Rex on DVD and have been rewatching season 1 and had some random thoughts:

1. Diesel/Rex was such a baby 🥺 I haven’t really thought of it before (maybe because I haven’t watched season 1 since it first aired) but you can tell he’s gotten older, especially in the poster for season 6, because he’s gotten gray around his snout. It always makes me emotional to think that he’s getting older and we don’t know how much longer he’ll be able to continue to play Rex, which will inevitably mean the end of the show (unless they replace Diesel with another dog, but I honestly don’t want that, I rather have the show end).

2. Charah are cute as all get out and the flirting was definitely there from the beginning, so I don’t get when I see people complain about them getting together and saying it was out of the blue or doesn’t make sense, because there was build up for a potential romance from the beginning.

3. In the episode “Blind Justice” Charlie refers to Sarah as his ‘work wife’ and it’s a cute moment and watching now, knowing that they will get together later on, my thoughts went “and maybe one day she’ll be your actual wife” 😌

1. It’s so hard to think of him getting older. I also couldn’t see them replacing him with another dog, and I think I read an interview with Sherri Davis (his trainer) in which she said that when he decides he’s done, the show is done.

2. Oh agreed, they’ve been endgame from day one!

3. Aahhhh I love that scene too. I hope if they manage to end the show on their own terms (i.e. the writers get to plan the ending as opposed to the show getting cancelled, not that I think it would) that they do end with Charah married, because it honestly just makes so much sense character-wise.

[psychokatrixxxy]

My first introduction to Batman was when I was quite young since my younger brother and I watched Batman: The Brave and The Bold (at least the few episodes of it we had on DvD... i need to find that DvD to rewatch it) then I was reintroduced to DC through the Young Justice cartoon on Netflix (never got to see past season 2 since Netflix only had the first two... now it only has the first, anyway-), I fell out for a bit until a crossover fic dragged me back. (Also, that Batman and Ninja turtle crossover movie watched that in the middle of the night at my Pa's cottage, and I NEED to watch it again, I loved it)

I haven't been able to read the comics because 1) they are expensive, and 2) they whole "where to start" thing. Because my brain is like, "Ah, I must start at the beginning to understand everything," but that is definitely not possible 😅

So most of my knowledge is obtained through osmosis and hoping I'm not being fed false info (and googling, lots and lots of googling)

In terms of 'people haven't read comics' I actually think there's a nuanced position people sort of instinctively understand and don't spell out:-

A lot of people enter comics fandom via an adaption medium (be that movies, video games, tv shows, cartoons)

That means they come in with a level of background understanding of various characters existing and some knowledge of them via osmosis, either from adapted stories or reading fic

General fandom discussion tends to coalesce around a small subset of characters and story runs

Because getting into comics is expensive, people preference what's easily available and/or what's most highly recommended in an attempt to maximise a story they will like

This is where all the panicking about 'where to start' comes in - it's overwhelmingly huge to look at and people are scared of 'getting it wrong'

They then read a run of a comic. Given all of the above for DC it's probably going to be a Bat comic, and there's a good chance it's UTRH, Red Robin 1-12, Batgirl 2000, Robin: Son of Batman, or The Court of Owls. They want the best storyline after all and that's what people tell them are favourites

They have also from being peripheral to the fandom noticed discourse about how certain stories/writers 'don't get' or 'ruin' characters and then avoid reading those stories

Because people are likely to only have read this small subset of stories, the discussion then focuses further on that subset

Echo chamber, the narrative that there's no such thing as a consistent canon in comics causes people to continue to avoid reading further, because they've been told Not To Read certain writers, and what they read doesn't really match how the fandom describes it

Because they're enjoying the fandom, they lean into the fanon and just...never read more comics. Sometimes pride themselves on not doing so

You end up with people who have 'read comics' but they mean about 3 famous runs totalling well under 100 issues, and very little comfort with even DC teams or families outside of the Bats

The current situation compounds because people aren’t comfortable with reading characters written by different writers and how that changes the story, even though that’s a huge part of comics

[beyondxmeasure]

As a fellow Aquarius I love that you can't follow the rules. I was gonna ask top ten but thought that might be to much. I am interested in your whole top 18 though. My top shows are in no order

Cold case. I honestly lost count of how many times I have watched this show.

Suits. This show introduced me into the fanfic world and I haven't been able to leave.

House. Grew up watching this show. It will always be one of my favorites.

White Collar. Just did a rewatch and I still holds up.

New York undercover. I used to watch this with my dad. So I reminds me of that time.

Resurrection Blvd. Again something I watched with my dad. But I love boxing and hate that I can't find it on streaming. I own the first season on DVD so manly thats what I'll watch.

The Mandalorian. Honestly hadn't watched anything star wars ever but my little brother was obsessed. He had heard about it and since he wasn't able to watch had me write him about it. I needed up really liking it.

Currently watching the new percy jackson series and am liking it so far. Also started The Rookie and am enjoying it.

Ok I just realized I like mostly crime shows. That would make since given my childhood of watching America's most wanted every Saturday night. Also documentaries but those aren't tv shows.

I need some fluffy shows any recommendations? I have never really looked into them.

Yes, I definitely see the trend! I have not seen any of the shows you’ve listed unfortunately. I did go through a true crime phase but that was more with documentaries and podcasts. For a time I was really into SVU and all of the ‘Chicago’ shows (Chi Fire/Med/PD) but that’s about it. White Collar interests me a little because after Fellow Travelers I’m kind of jonesing for any Matt Bomer content.

Anyway… for the remaining faves that didn’t make the cut. Here they are in no particular order…

Boardwalk Empire- of the two post WW1/roaring 20s era tales, this one pulls me in more- the music, the costumes, characters, the feel of it all. Even though it’s the underworld of the prohibition era, it’s more enticing.

Peaky Blinders- The darker, grittier and slightly more violent post WW1/prohibition era tale from across the pond.

*Downton Abbey- For Violet Crawley’s clap backs alone.

*Call The Midwives- I don’t have kids, don’t want kids and don’t particularly care for them but somehow a show about nuns delivering babies in the East End of London in the 50s just fills me with joy.

Deadwood- Wild West shenanigans and they say fuck a lot. Like, a lot. The interactions between Al Swearengen and Mr. Wu is worth the price of admission. Basically just anytime Al is on screen is gold.

*I Love Lucy- I grew up watching Nick at Nite and loved all those classic B&W sitcoms but Lucy was always my fave.

*Our Flag Means Death- gay pirates, what’s not to love?

Sons of Anarchy- motorcycles, mayhem & murder. It’s a wild fucking ride, but worth every mile—buckle up.

*Shrinking—a show so brilliantly funny with such a stellar ensemble cast you almost forget it’s about a family dealing with grief. It’s a bit of a slow starter but stick with it for the real payoff. Harrison Ford high on gummies was a high point for sure.

*Sex Education- worst name for a show that’s about so much more than that title makes it sound like. I feel like a lot of people slept on this show because of the title or the idea it was just some throwaway teen sex comedy. Far from it.

*Parks & Rec- if The Office is my wife, then Parks is the sidepiece I’m hiding uptown in a luxury townhouse and I’ll never give her up.

Rescue Me- There’s one scene that still haunts me to this day. I got chills just thinking about it, and the music throughout was superb. TBH I have a weakness for pretty much all firefighter/first responder shows (or as I affectionately refer to them—my ‘wee-woo’ shows🚨 LOL) but this one’s my OG fave. My newer faves are: 911 Lone Star and New Amsterdam

So, I’m noticing a trend with this list… if it’s British or old-timey I’m into it, and if it’s British and old-timey then I’m really into it.

Not sure what you meant exactly by ‘fluffy’… like rom-com-y? Or just something on the lighter side and easy to watch? Because I’ve never been much for most sitcoms (other than the ones I listed) but my last ask that I answered with the original list had quite a few lighter/comedy shows on there. Otherwise I could definitely recommend Downton Abbey or Call The Midwives if you want something to get lost in something with a feel good wholesome vibe to it. I’ll put stars next to anything else above that I think might hit the mark as far as fluffy vibes. Enjoy!

[parm4carm]

Love you, Jade ❤️ And though I know it's not the most important thing right now, speaking out and often is more important, I do hope you are okay ❤️

hiii oh my god has it forreal been weeks since you sent me this?? i swear i just saved this to my drafts three days ago .. the passage of time truly fries my brain

first, this is so sweet of you to send to me and i'm so grateful that people still check in on me when i'm quiet online <3 i know i am a veryyyyy unreliable presence here but i really do appreciate all the love and i'm sending it right back to you <3

you've kind of given me the perfect jumping off point to just throw a lot of updates and ramblings in one spot bc truthfully i do not feel right posting normal posts and taking up space with things that are trivial in the grand scheme of things. i genuinely don't have the brain capacity for much else these days besides keeping up with palestine/congo/sudan etc related updates + the occasional few hours where i can watch a movie or a show without feeling guilty

(general life update dump below so beware bc i talk a lot)

brief mental state check in but i am not doing well! not just with the weight of the world but with everything else in my life lmao. pretty much everyone who knows me knows that the holidays/the winter are the roughest months for me so i'm usually radio silent :/ this year has been... so rough and i don't know why every year feels worse than the last but it really truly does! i'm particularly lonelier this year and it's honestly my fault. idk how to reach out to people when i'm so isolated tbh i feel like a burden at all times especially now that most of the people i used to talk to daily online and irl are doing way better than me and i'm just. always stuck here in this really shitty space i can't seem to get out of no matter how hard i try

i don't talk about my problems a lot online but like. after losing my childhood pet and then getting accepted to two different programs in one year (grad school and community college) and having to drop out of both AND dealing with a decline in my mother's health AND my grandmother's cancer scare AND my own financial issues AND unemployment i'm just exhausted. because of all of this i truly don't know how to function like a normal person or make friends or keep friends anymore i'm just miserable tbh

okay i know this is a hard pivot, but i thought i could just compile things that have brought me a little bit of happiness that i haven't talked about here! it's all on me to feel like this, but i have intense guilt about posting anything not related to current events, so this is my way around that! so.. enjoy i guess <3

personal stuff (you can send me asks to explain more if you want)

i beat my new years' resolution of watching 365 things this year – i'm up to 500 logs!

a lot of new tv (28 total, entire shows, rewatches, new seasons, miniseries, and documentaries included)

fixated on kpop this year and listened to 30 groups whole discography! i actually counted and it was exactly 30 lmao ask me ab my fav groups and biases if you dare

started drinking tea every day :)

redecorating my apartment and it's so much cozier now

i've become more of a snoopy/peanuts fanatic :)

to build on the new years resolution, i've added quite a few horror franchises under my belt :) my horror tag on letterboxd is roughly 250 now!

i think i'm finally breaking my lifelong nail biting habit??? fingers crossed!

buying more things secondhand and feeling way better about it! mostly clothes and dvds but me and my partner are huge fans of knick knacks

have tried a lot of new food this year :) and am cooking new recipes a lot more too!

went to the beach for vacation for the first time in ten years <3 went to this cool little record store and got a band recommendation from the owner that's now one of my underground favs!

celebrated ten years with my partner this year and although it's been such a rough year for the both of us and we're not nearly where we ever thought we'd be, we're more solid now than we've ever been!!! i really would not have made it through this year without them

honestly this year has been a blur 90% of the time so there's obviously been more little things that make me happy but! it's been a big year for consuming media bc i don't have much energy for creating anymore unfortunately

[videostak]

wanna play pc engine again tomorrow :> tho idk also cause i did end up watching dersu uzala tonight and it really is straight up one ofthe most beautiful movies ive ever seen but since my dvd players hooked up cause of it i wanna watch some more movies or start mary tyler moore show again sincei have like the first 4 seasons on dvd :P or maybe start watching miami vice or smthn.. i have first two seasons of that on dvd well theres lots of shows and movies im long overdue for a weekend rewatch. well ok ya theres lots but i def wanna watch a thing or two and then play some more pc engine since i dont wanna get too scared of switching it and like live in fear everytime i use it its just a hassle gettig the video working since that cable is so sensitive -__- its annoying too cause it wasnt even the cable the console came w/ i ordered it seperately since the one it came with was mono and just missing one audio channel cause of it. but also its hard to find cables for specific consoles like that so ill take what i can get gladly! but ya the fact that it is a bit touchy makes me a bit like i wanna be in a pc engine mood when i plug it in and not like just flip flop but even tho i only have 3 games its super easy to get in a pc engine mood cause two of tehm are like in my top 5 fav games ever and like outrun is probably straight up my favorite game i think. pac land is really up there too im just so enamored with how fun the platforming is like it just gets tighter and tighter til ur always on the edge of ur seat. i got up to like round 20 smthn and ur on logs in the river avoiding planes its great

[beloveddawn-blog]

That's great! You have three options for that, then, with varying levels of canon compliance and accessability:

The Original Anime: In Japanese, and the first season came out in 1990. I know it's possible to find it places, but it was on youtube when I did most of my rewatches. It has, as far as I know, be removed since as they were tightening their grasp on the ISP in preparation for Sailor Moon Crystal. It's my personal favourite.

The English Dub: The one I originally watched when I was 5. I only got halfway through season 2 before switching to subtitles as it was harder to find online because the NA distributor was much more up on their copywrite enforcement. I now own the first four seasons on DVD.

Sailor Moon Crystal: The new one. It's got updated graphics and tech, and sticks much closer to the original manga. It's probably your best bet if you don't want to dive in to a 200 episode anime. There's 14-15 episodes a season, and seasons 4 and 5 are two part movies rather than seasons. It's on netflix, I believe. I also own the first three seasons XD.

I can answer any specific questions if you have them. This isn't me trying to make you pick right now. This is just so you'll have the information when you need it.

Ahh, sorry I didn't get back to you the other day! I went to my neices' TWD belt ceremony and didn't get home til like 9, then fell asleep on the couch. And yesterday I had a 14 hr workday, so that was a write off.

So.

Sailor Moon.

I adore it, so my first instinct is always to say yes when people ask me if they should watch it. I want to share it with the world. However, I can also get defensive over it so I do try to sound out if they're going to enjoy it or if it will just be frustrating for both of us.

Do you like magical girl anime? Specifically, it's shojo. I know you do enjoy things with the romance framwork around the main story, that's one of the cleverest parts of Library Wars, but magical girl is its own subset.

Are you good with the fact that 14 manga chapters of canon became 50 episodes of a TV show? Because yeah there's a fuckton of MotW and character building and strange little side quests. That happens when you adapt something into a longer format.

Do you enjoy media aimed at younger people? I've almost always been oddly split in that I generally prefer things made for people older or younger than my target audience. When I was a teenager I was usually reading from either the adult section or kids picture books. I was only ever in the teen section for the Elfquest comics. I don't know your actual age, but I'm nearly positive this is going to be geared young for you. The Japanese version is aimed at preteens, and the American version is quite obviously aimed at kindergarteners (Me. I was 5 when it aired in Canada)

Can you take media in the context of the time it was made in? Sailor Moon is actually decently progressive as far as childrens' shows from the 90's, but some of the choices they make and the way they interact with the world is a bit dated. Like Usagi often forgets to actually call for back-up after they get their communicators because... she's from 1987, technically. She has no familiarity with the idea of people being immediately contactable, so in high stress situations she tends to forget it's an option. Also the tech thing is a HUGE plot point in season 5.

If you say yes to these, I would say ABSOLUTELY give it a go! You might find it's not for you, and that's okay! Art doesn't speak to every soul in the same way. Either way, though, feel free to talk about it with me if you do give it a try! I'm always down for a Sailor Moon conversation!

Nah, it's okay. I get it. Everyone has their own lives and can't get to everything immediately. ^_^ 1) I do enjoy magical girl anime (at least the few I tried when I was a lot younger). If it has romance aspects that's even better. 2) That shouldn't bother me. :3 I'm not usually good with long series though. 3) I absolutely love shows aimed towards younger audiences. A lot of time I turn to them for comfort. I still watch shows made for like 7+ and I love them more than literally anything else. I usually stick to my age demographic or younger. 4) Oh sure. It doesn't bother me at all. My parents raised me in a way that I'm kind of used to that (if that makes sense) I've heard a lot about Sailor Moon since it's a very iconic anime, yet I've never actually watched anything about it myself. I like the style, I think it's super cute (<- style is a HUGE factor of if i'll watch a show or not). Usually if my mutual likes something I try to check it out. :3

[akkivee]

i was rewatching an old program with the bat seiyuu but i didn’t realise how old it was until hayama-san dropped his age in the middle of it like that program was three years old!!!! i’ve been cyberstalking these seiyuu for three years!!!!! bat’s been around for three years!!!!!! 😭😭😭

[sunnydalestudies]

About Me

Welcome, Scooby Gang! 

My name is Liz, my pronouns are she/they, and if you’re here, you’re probably a BtVS fan. Before telling you how I got into the show, I want to explain what this blog is all about. 

My intentions for this blog are to look at BtVS in various ways, predominantly through an academic lens. I will definitely also include non-academic discussions and be re-blogging BtVS posts that I enjoy, but I hope to do primarily an academic rewatch and share my thoughts. Besides going through each episode, I will also discuss themes and trends, holiday episodes, BtVS scholarship, and new emerging BtVS content. This scope may shift as I go along, but this is where I am beginning.

So what got me to this point? Good question. I was introduced to BtVS around Christmas time when I was eight years old when my mom and I came across a DVD set of season two when looking for a Christmas movie. We watched the first episode, “When She Was Bad,” and I fell in love, so since it was 2008, we went and borrowed the season one DVD set from our local Blockbusters. We finished the series within a year, and I immediately rewatched it. I immediately fell in love with the show, the characters, and everything it had to offer, and that love has continued until now, fifteen years later. At this point, I have likely seen every episode about ten times, with some of them probably twice that amount. I was always a fan of Halloween and anything spooky, but this show was my first true love and has been incredibly formative because of how young I was when I saw it. 

So that was fifteen years ago, and in the years since I first saw BtVS, I have never stopped talking about it. I introduced friends and family to the show, but nobody I have met in my life (except one person) has been willing to talk about it like I have wanted to. Initially, I wanted to do just that—talk. I thought I would do this in podcast form, but there are so many BtVS podcasts out there, and I am not technology savvy, so here we are. Also, I wanted to put an academic spin on the typical BtVS rewatch. 

Despite wanting to do every school project about BtVS throughout elementary and high school, teachers never allowed me to do so until late in my degree when I took a literary criticism course and then when I completed my honours thesis. The one person who enjoys discussing the show in the way I do was my advisor for my honours thesis, which was the capstone to my undergraduate degree in English literature. Despite the year and a half that I spent studying BtVS academia and crafting my own contribution, I do want to include a disclaimer that I am not an expert. I may have an abundance of knowledge about the show and hope to continue participating in the BtVS academic community, but that does not mean I know everything, nor that I am unbiased — and I am sure these biases will soon come to light. 

If you have read all of this, thank you so much, and I hope you’ll join me with my next post, where I will discuss he-who-must-not-be-named, Joss Whedon, and how I continue to enjoy the show despite what we now know about him. 

That’s that for this Sunnydale study session! 

Liz

[flameleadsarc]

I’m finishing my rewatch of FMAB (since I have season 5 on DVD), and I stopped before the big fight with Father on the Promised Day. While I watched, I paid attention to a few things for Roy.

1. His voice is strained. It’s difficult for him to talk. 2. Izumi moves him without anyone asking her to. She tells him what she’s doing basically every time she does, and he’s forced to trust someone he’s never met since he has no other option. 3. Everyone else could see Father’s tendrils when he had them pinned. Roy couldn’t. He had no idea what was going on. He only knew that he was pinned to the ground again. 4. When Father lets them all go, Roy is the first to ask if everyone’s all right. Does he have any idea what’s going on? No, but it doesn’t matter. He’s putting his fear aside and acting as a Colonel to check on everyone.

Father also creates a sun while he’s holding the power of god down there, and he says something along the lines of, “Shall I let these flames loose?” The camera then pans to the heroes, and we see Roy grimacing. I didn’t notice that before. We can attribute that to a multitude of things, yes: pain, discomfort, can’t see what’s going on, et cetera. But, I had another thought.

I think he was pissed. They took away his ability to safely use his alchemy. Want someone to turn flames loose down there? You’ve got the one and only Flame Alchemist right fucking there. How this all plays out in the manga is a bit different, and I want to bring attention to it.

For one, let’s start right where Roy gets dropped in front of Father.

"Have you gone blind? That’s great! Out of all the State Alchemists, your skills are the most troublesome” (Pride, Chapter 102).

Lest we forget, Mustang killed Lust and Envy almost single-handedly. One of those kills happened an hour or two beforehand. Pride knows exactly what sort of enemy Roy Mustang is, and he doesn’t underestimate him. In fact, he might be the only Homunculus who doesn’t.

All right, now that we have that established, fast forward to the scene where Father creates a sun. This is the dialogue that happens:

Father: “Now that I’m one with God, I can create worlds in the palm of my hand.” Hohenheim: “A sun... nuclear fission!”

It’s much more concentrated than what Roy does, but that is essentially what Roy is capable of. Havoc explains the basics of how his alchemy works in chapter 5: “The Colonel’s glove is made out of a special reactive cloth. When you rub it together, it sparks. The rest is just adjusting the oxygen level in the air around what you want to combust... and then... boom!”

But, that’s not all. We need to go back to the complete array for flame alchemy. There are a couple of blog posts (soterianyx and farginen) that cover the entire array, and both of them cover that part of it involves nuclear fusion. That was what Roy was truly capable of. Fun fact that both posts also mention: that’s the most burned away part of the array.

Now, fusion and fission are two different things. Fission is splitting of an atom while fusion is fusing two more smaller atoms together. But, Roy’s a genius alchemist. When Lust flooded the room with water, he was able to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen and create hydrogen gas. We can probably safely assume he’s capable of nuclear fission.

Is he capable of it on Father’s level? Oh fuck no. Father and Hohenheim are on different levels for well-established reasons. But, if Roy thought he was capable of using his alchemy then and there, that entire scene would’ve played out differently, and we all know it.

TLDR: I was thinking about all of this because after the Promised Day, he’s going to hate people touching him without asking him first. He’s going to have new nightmare material regarding this day and just having no agency. Then, my brain was like, “Oh yeah, there’s also this to consider,” and went off on a tangent.

Hi, my name is Kai, and I have a lot of feelings about a fictional character named Roy Mustang.