#then I've got a few posts to make about those episodes I rewatched...

[lesbianmarrow]

augh. rewatched btvs 5x22 scene where spike & buffy go to buffy's house to get weapons before the big showdown. them having to retrieve weapons is such an amusingly flimsy excuse to have them go to her house so we can have the scene where she invites him in + he promises to protect dawn + "i know you'll never love me" speech. i love a paper-thin excuse to put 2 characters in a room together. especially when those characters are buffy and spike!!!!!!!!!!!!

it really is so striking the way spike refrains from asking buffy to let him in even though he would be perfectly justified in doing so as it's obvious that buffy has forgotten he's not allowed in. i think part of it is that he wants to make it clear that he will respect the boundaries she has set with him. but i also think part of it is that he doesn't wanna feel the pain of being rejected again, because that fucking hurt. if he doesn't ask then he doesn't have to hear her say no again. it shows how head over heels he is for her and how much he has changed since the beginning of the season, when he was challenging her boundaries so much.

spike's expression when he's walking thru the doorway......it's so endearing and some really great acting from james marsters. first surprise and disbelief, then glee which spike is trying very hard to restrain because these are grave times. and yet he can't help feeling so joyous that buffy trusts him. he glances as the doorway like he's thinking "ah yes what a nice house" which makes me laugh because it's so stupid but also sweet. i think it's him trying to play it cool and doing a not so good job of it. there's such a lightness to him - it reminds me of the feeling when you think you did something to upset your friend a few days ago and you're anxious that they've been angry with you all this time and you finally gain the courage to ask them about you and it turns out they were never angry or upset at all. the giddy relief you feel.

and then there's that little moment of tension where they're standing so close together and you think something might happen but then spike breaks off and goes to the weapons chest and starts rambling about what they should take. it's so notable that it's him who gets nervous and moves away. so different from the way he behaved with her in fool for love, getting up in her space and trying to make her admit she had feelings for him. he's accepted that she'll never love him back, and moments like this where it feels like maybe there could be something between them are too painful, so he disrupts the moment. moves away.

jumping to the end of the scene - i love that buffy is on the stairs when spike does his little speech. she's physically above him. "you're beneath me." not only that, she's ascending, just as she ascends at the end of the episode, accessing a level of heroism that spike will never be able to meet. rewatching this part, spike's expression really surprised me. when he says "i know you'll never love me," he doesn't look at all bitter or resentful. his face is open, understanding, compassionate, and thankful. because that's what this speech is - he's thanking her for treating him better than he deserves. he's so grateful for the respect and trust she has given him. it has been truly transformative, as we've seen. only he doesn't get to the actual thanking part, because he cuts himself off, saying he'll wait for her down here. i think he cuts himself off because he realizes that this isn't what buffy needs to hear right now. she's got an enormous battle to prepare for, and a sister to save, and spike's feelings simply aren't important. so he stops mid-sentence for her sake. i think we're meant to understand that the only reason he started to say this at all is that he really thinks he might die tonight and it could be his last chance to let her know what it has meant to him to be treated like a person capable of doing good.

i've focused on what's going thru spike's head in this post bc i think buffy is a lot harder to read here. which is interesting bc sarah michelle gellar as buffy is so expressive that usually you can always tell exactly what buffy is thinking. but when she's with spike in these episodes toward the end of season 5 it's difficult to tell how she regards him. i think a lot of the time even she doesn't really understand how she feels about him. their relationship is so paradoxical. she relies on him but she reviles him. she wants him around but she finds him intolerable. i might rewatch the scene again and make another post about what might be going thru buffy's head, but for now i'll leave it at saying that i kind of love how spike's feelings for buffy are crystal clear to us and buffy's feelings for spike are much murkier. spike started out as this cool mysterious antagonist, whereas buffy has always been the protagonist and we're constantly seeing things from her point of view and being made to understand how she feels. so it's kind of fun to see that flipped a little bit. and it also rings really true for me how buffy in this moment is like, i have 5 billion things to be worrying about right now, i cannot even begin to process whatever feelings i may or may not have regarding spike. and with all of that said........there really is a softness to the way she treats him in this scene. and it's nice.

anyway. these two ✌️ gonna go jump off a tall tall tower

[wingsyliveblogs]

Amity's aloof and detached attitude in the episode's beginning not only serves as a contrast to luz and willow genuinely hanging out and going dumb goofy friend stuff together even when they're ridiculed for it, but also makes sense with the reveal that she's been forced to hang out in a certain social group from a young age. Even when she's 'got' to be friends with them in case it reflects badly on her parents and family name, amity can't lie or force herself to genuinely enjoy being with them when she used to be happier with a genuine friendship. Since they'd be able to tell if she was faking liking the same things they do, amity instead keeps up a cool and detached attitude that prevents anybody getting too close to her, and thus exposing her real 'imperfect' self. Willow was not the only person suppressing things about herself this episode, and it's interesting how both willow and amity wound up forcing the other to show how they really felt on the inside.

1. Yeah, I think it's pretty cool that "Understanding Willow" also leads us to understanding more about Amity as well! Their pasts are so deeply connected by their former friendship and by that one incident in particular that we get to learn a lot about both of them in this episode, even if it's just Willow's mind that we're looking into.

And that's a very good point about the contrast between Amity with her "friends" compared to Willow with Luz. Amity shares the same space as Boscha and the others, but never makes much effort to engage with them. Contrast that with the friendship trio - or even with Amity when she does get to hang out with people whose company she actually enjoys! For example, she seems to make an attempt to retain her detached persona around Luz in Episode 12, but it doesn't last.

(Is this an excuse to post this screencap again because I think it's a very cute Amity moment? Possibly.)

2. I've recently rewatched Episode 3, and it's very interesting to examine Amity's actions in that episode with the added context of everything we've learned about her since. Her lines in her introduction scene definitely feel a bit like an awkward attempt at a Boscha impression in retrospect, as does the cupcake-squashing in Episode 5.

I do think that it's a very plausible read that she was genuinely trying to encourage Willow at first, while also trying not to act in a way that could be interpreted as friendly towards her (because they weren't friends and they couldn't be friends) - and the combination of these factors came out as "extreme condescension" and just added to Willow's already building frustration with the class as a whole.

It certainly seems consistent with one major element of Episode 15, which is that everything that Amity has done to Willow in an attempt to protect her has really only hurt her more, and that Amity didn't truly understand the full extent of that hurt until Inner Willow spelled it out for her.

3. The birthday party photo is very interesting to me, because it's the only one that doesn't seem to represent what the actual memory is about. As far as we saw, every other photo was directly related to what happened in the attached memory, but we never even get to see Amity and Willow being happy together before Amity's parents intervene. The photo itself is deceptively cheery - covering up the truth, just as Amity was doing and just as Willow herself wanted to.

4-5. These are some interesting points! I didn't really consider the possibility that Amity was avoiding Willow specifically because she'd given up on making things right and felt that Willow would be better off without her. It's not quite how I read her actions throughout the episodes so far (it seemed more as though she was still trying to keep herself separate from Willow due to what her parents said, and that she wasn't quite taking Willow's own feelings into the equation until Willow threw them in her face) but it's a reasonable interpretation and could very well be what she was thinking!

I'm still not quite sure if Amity knew the full extent of what erasing herself from the photo could do... because what she was trying to accomplish really depends on how much she understood what she was doing. Was she trying to erase herself from Willow's mind (just like Inner Willow herself?) Was it just a panicked attempt at destroying the evidence of her old friendship with Willow that was out in full view for anyone at Hexside to see?

Both answers seem plausible... though as you say in one of the messages below, it's quite likely that Amity never took the photography class at all, and thus would have had limited knowledge of how the memories and photos worked. I don't think she'd ever have risked setting Willow's entire mind on fire if she knew that was a possibility, so it's reasonable to assume that she didn't know about the connection between the photos and memories at all.

6-7. Ooh, this is certainly a fun topic to speculate on! Willow's mindscape has a very solid theme because plants are very much her thing, so it's actually a bit tricky to imagine what some of the other characters' mindscapes may look like when their own interests may not translate so easily to a clearly defined space inside their mind. I like to think that a healthy mindscape would represent what someone would personally want to have in their mind, in addition to reflecting their personal interests.

For example, Luz is very much into fantasy stories, but I'm not sure if she'd have a library as her mindscape? She proved to be a bit of a troublemaker in the library environment in Episode 7, after all, so I'm not sure how well it really suits her. But based on her comment about Amity's secret hideaway and her excitement over the hidden area in Episode 13, I think that her mindscape might have a lot of hidden doors and passages - not because she's trying to hide anything, necessarily, but because she thinks they're cool.

I think that her mindscape might also incorporate physical manifestations of elements from stories she likes, sort of like that fake quest from Episode 2? Basically, I don't think she'd have the books themselves inside her mind; I think she'd want to bring those books to life inside her mind instead, if that makes sense.

Similarly, I think Gus's mindscape would probably incorporate his skill with illusions and flair for the dramatic, in addition to his obsession with the human world.

I'm honestly not sure what Amity's mindscape would be like? Your idea seems quite plausible - alternately, she might be the one with the library mindscape, since Episode 7 indicates that she sees the real-world library as a relatively safe space compared to basically everywhere else. It's where she hides the things she doesn't want anyone else to see.

I would honestly love to see what Eda's mindscape is like, because she definitely has a pretty consistent owl theme going on, and I'm curious about what that would look like in her mind, but also I'm starting to wonder if her curse might have an effect on her inner world and if so, how would that manifest?? Sadly, since Eda is the only person we know who can cast the mind projection spell, she's probably the last person whose mind we'd ever get to see inside...

meanwhile, I'm not entirely sure I want to know what goes on in Hooty's mind

[roseofhybrids]

i put a microphone near your face

how are you feeling after that md stuff huh

Well, the fact that it'll be the end of the series makes it a bit bittersweet, but it had to end at some point. If the story can be told in 8 episodes then so be it. 8 is a lot more than what I had a little over a year ago when I first decided to watch it

I've been invested in quite a few projects that I've never seen get a conclusion to (mostly webcomics, so so many unfinished webcomics). Which is probably where I got the patience to wait as long as I do for these sorts of things. It's easy to wait a few months for an episode to air after waiting multiple years for things that never came to be

Having an ending is much better than the limbo of always being stuck somewhere in the middle, just being left to wonder forever what was meant to happen. So I'm overjoyed that we'll get to see this story get a proper ending

But it is still bittersweet. The show will end, and for a lot of people that means the fandom ending too. I don't believe that's the case, no matter how old something is or how long it's been over for, I see no reason to stop getting as invested as one does with a brand-new piece of media. But still, not everyone can stick around forever. So I'm preparing myself for people to move on. It's sad, but as inevitable as the show itself ending. No matter how long-lasting a fandom, members will move on to other things eventually. Personally, I don't see myself stopping the fan art any time soon. I've never had a reaction to a show like this before. I've gotten really invested in things the same way before, but all those instances it eventually died down after a few weeks and I could stop binge-watching/reading the thing over and over and just be normal about it.

Murder Drones on the other hand. It's been well over a year at this point. I managed to pull my shit together after two weeks like I usually do, but a fraction of the intensity lingered. Now I'm here, with 109 post tagged "murder drones fanart" and 623 just tagged "murder drones" according to the Tumblr archive

I still get giddy rewatching the episodes, still have a long ever-growing list of drawing ideas, still think about the little robots on a daily basis. So yeah, I think I might just be stuck like this the same way I'm stuck forever liking animals, ghosts, and roller coasters. Eventually I'll have to get back to drawing my own characters and one day make my own comics and such. But as things stand, I can see myself still drawing MD art for years. One can only hope I can balance the two out

So yeah, how I'm feeling, Excitement for another episode and finally seeing how this all ends. Dread for the inevitable change, not looking forward to that part, (the joys of living with an anxiety disorder am I right fellas? c'est la vie, c'est la mort) and just a touch of nausea, because this is a lot of excitement after just waking up

so anyhow, gunna go watch the trailer on repeat a couple times and then see if I can't calm myself down a bit afterward

[iamafanofcartoons]

RWBY Fans talk about what makes RWBY enjoyable for the FNDM.

I want to take a moment to thank the RWBY Fandom for coming together on post

www.tumblr.com/iamafanofcartoons/714857308133441536/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

and discussing why RWBY was an enjoyable show for each of them.

Everyone here had a fantastic reason, and I am grateful to each of you!

@hmvw2015 : For me, RWBY filled the void left behind by Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

It’s one of the few shows I’ve seen (aside from Adventure Time) that grows up with its audience.

The fight scenes are so incredible! They’re lightening fast I would have to rewatch the same episode at least twice or thrice! Easily rivaling those done by Studios Gainax or TRIGGER, or Titmouse.

Since every character, place, and object have connections to fairy tales, mythologies, folklore, and classic novels, it did a great job portraying them to their root inspirations. Plus, I’m always digging deep into their designs and backstories.

The music is almost top tier to the music from the Disney Renaissance Era. Maybe even better than that. The songs add another layer of foreshadowing for the characters, and they’re fun to listen to~!

It tackles issues like self-worth, abuse, and death.

The series basically screams “Women’s Rights” and “Gay Rights” and proud of it. :D

www.tumblr.com/hmvw2015/715987868852666368/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@ammy246 :

I've always enjoyed the characters, and I like how there are 4 badass female protagonists who are each enjoyable to watch. I also like how the villains are actually threatening, so the heroes have to put effort into earning victories unlike many works of fiction. The animation always excites me, because you never know what you're going to get. And, don't even get me started on the amazing soundtrack.

@cinnamonrollfuckhead :

it tickles all the right things about me. i got in trouble for reading in classes when i finished my work early at school, it was nearly always history or mythology. i was an ancient Egypt kid. i read outside my age group. if Snapple wanted to employ me to write factoids for their caps i would take it. i was hooked on RWBY immediately despite being older than any of the main characters. i found an unlikely character to relate to in Jaune. i loved how it balanced serious and goofy themes.

@satoshi-mochida :

Some stuff I like about the show is that it's pretty fun and entertaining to watch, has constantly improving writing and animation(the CRWBY recognizing ACTUAL criticism, and working on those), with smarter and deeper than some may think moments, well-done characters, great music and songs, and probably more. I even cosplayed as Jaune(and the 'HuntsMan' with a Wonder-Zwei plush)with my then-girlfriend before COVID hit and other stuff happened, and enjoyed doing that.

@haunted-meatsack :

I'm waaaaay behind but I started watching for the fight choreography, music, and battle skirts. Plus I'm a sucker for small girls who kick ass with GIANT weapons. Then the story and characters kept me coming. I need to catch up.

www.tumblr.com/haunted-meatsack/715895495101497344/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@bumblebyfan :

I like RWBY due to a lot of reasons, for starters, the relationships between the main characters, and how they constantly help each other, I also really like the whole fantasy setting and how funny it is at times, I also really liked how they handled Ruby’s arc during season 9, as someone who has had... intrusive thoughts

www.tumblr.com/bumblebyfan/715730749688561664/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@xlbingo10 :

one thing that i particularly like about rwby is that the characters aren't dumbasses. i feel like so often in shows i watch there's an episode conflict where the characters make an obviously terrible plan that will clearly backfire horribly just for the sake of the episode plot and it's always painful to watch, so it's really nice to watch a show where that doesn't happen.

www.tumblr.com/xlbingo10/715707865708527616/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable.

@sir-somewhat :

I love the cast.

I honestly can't say there is a character I am not fond of in some way and that includes the villians.

I love the idea of semblances and the faunus.

Also I want more faunus lore. Given the existence of the Ever After I have to wonder if the Faunus came from another world created by the Brothers.

www.tumblr.com/sir-somewhat/715323283721076736/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@ghost-of-sparda :

Rwby was a show I found in college that I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy, but as I watched it- I found myself completely enthralled in the world created by Monty Oum and his friends. It’s story has me on the edge of my seat every episode, and it’s anime vibes make it a treat to watch. It’s not perfect, I will admit that- and there have been times where I didn’t agree with a direction of story telling at first. However there hasn’t been a show that gets me as excited as RWBY does since I was a kid.

If you grew up watching anime, or grew up watching anime- I’d give RWBY a go. If you are still not over the Owl House/ She-Ra/ ATLA/ LOK/ Naruto/ or any other amazing series with crazy fights and an amazing story: I recommend Rwby as your next obsession.

And if you want to give anime a try, but are still dipping your toes into the medium- Rwby is a good half way point for newcomers.

www.tumblr.com/ghost-of-sparda/715237926532956160/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@aspiringwarriorlibrarian :

I really like the characters and their arcs, tragic villains, the triumph of hope and healing, and the fantasy elements.

www.tumblr.com/aspiringwarriorlibrarian/715056039519830016/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@miki-13 : I love how they use fairy tales and myths as inspiration but execute them in really interesting ways, as well as how human and grounded everyone feels while inside such a fantastic setting.

www.tumblr.com/miki-13/715136165044469760/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@thatringboy :

For the same reasons above, I’m also in love with the complex motivations behind the antagonists. Mercury hated the world and needed an enabler, Emerald needed security, Cinder snapped after a lifetime of abuse (just like Mercury), Hazel wanted revenge, Lionhart wanted to save himself, Raven wanted to save herself, Tyrian is just insane (based), Watts wanted petty revenge, Neo wanted revenge but doesn’t know what to do afterwards, CC wants to fulfill their cruel purpose, and Salem just wants to finally die. Torchwick was a comical villain who posed a dangerous threat, the Malachite sisters were doing their jobs, Ironwood was a victim of his own paranoia, Cardin was just racist, Cordovin worships her superiors, the Fennec brothers too, Adam wanted total control over everything and everyone in his life and would stop at nothing to get it, Ilia believed in a cause, Tock was following orders, it’s all so varied and exciting!!

www.tumblr.com/thatringboy/715138435689676800/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@pyrokinetic-murder-hobo :

I honestly fell in love with this project immediately back when the red trailer was first introduced to me.

Though the animation for RWBY was simple and understandably a lot of people regard it as not the best. Even V1 and the original 4 trailers had a living soul to me and there was a certain charm to the characters and the animation.

What kept me coming back is I find myself being unable to predict where the show will go and it honestly keeps me drawn in that my thoughts and predictions are completely circumvented. The show doesn’t follow the trajectory of really any other media and Monty navigated it masterfully.

There’s so many relatable characters and the situations they are put in are approached not perfectly but in a human way as to be a human (even if you have copious amounts of power) means you’ll definitely trip up.

But simply put I’ve loved this project since the beginning with the 4 trailers and could write a dissertation on why I love this show and include a long list of different things I love ranging from OST to characters to design animation. But maybe a talk for another day

And it made me some awesome friends on tumblr of course too which is a major plus (you better know who you are lol)

www.tumblr.com/pyrokinetic-murder-hobo/715072709057478656/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

iamafanofcartoons:

For me, RWBY is a change of pace.

It allows for women to be shown as independent characters, just as smart and strong as male ones.

It doesn’t use fanservice , you don’t have internal monologuing during fight scenes, you don’t have people screaming random attack names, and the music and designs are great.

I appreciate the humor, its not toilet humor or degrading humor like a lot of anime.

It also tackles difficult themes like abuse, leadership, morality, and debate.

It also takes the white male savior trope so common in the fanfics that people use to promote their OCs, and takes a giant dump on that garbage. If anything, when people say “the fanfics are better than the show” you’ll see them promoting a white male savior trope above all else.

Finally? Its a pro-LGBT show on many aspects, which amusingly infuriates a lot of straight shippers who defend their straight white male character who they put on a pedestal.

www.tumblr.com/iamafanofcartoons/715040015347040256/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@grimmgrinningghouls :

for me RWBY is a comfort

It has been for 10 years

I literally would not be who I am today without this show

I'd probably still be a closeted lesbian living in a conservative household with an abusive father

and a mother who hated me

hell I may not even be here

But instead I'm living across the world from them and I'm okay

As okay as I can be

Its helped me through so much and its introduced me to people I have become life long friends with

These funky little lesbians are part of my life and they will be till the day I die

www.tumblr.com/grimmgrinningghouls/715064091163721728/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@snowqueenofmyheart :

Agreed to the above, as well as being able to enjoy a story that centers women in a way that doesn’t reduce them to simplistic tropes or fanservice. I’ve been looking for more female-centered material over the last several years, and stumbling upon RWBY turned out to be a real joy in that regard. Across the board, you have so many compelling female characters, heroes and villains alike. Not to mention two main characters being explicitly in a queer romance is a delight and a relief.

www.tumblr.com/snowqueenofmyheart/715058819349233664/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@youraveragecatastrophe :

well first i love fantasy so we're off to a good start between the monsters heroes and magic

the characters are a very strong point of this show. they're well fleshed out

(even many secondary characters including villains and despite the big cast!)

and they get the opportunity to develop and evolve

i love the themes! love and hope and caring about each other and all that

the fights are really fun to watch especially with the unique weapons and everyone's different fighting style

the story is really compelling and well written too!

also gayness. can't forget the queerness

really this show has everything

www.tumblr.com/youraveragecatastrophe/715058708953071616/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@foulfirerebel :

The music was what first made me get interested in RWBY. The hard hitting rock that also carried quite a bit of meaning into it if you truly took a moment to listen to the lyrics.

So, from there I watched V1 at a friend's house and felt it was good. It did a good job with the action scenes, and setting things up for the characters.

Volume 2, however, is where I truly fell in love with the show. The appearance of Cinder, of Ironwood, the food fight, the investigation into Torchwick and the White Fang, the dance and hacking sequence! Everything pointed to something more going on. Something hidden waiting to spring forth!

V1 was a great entry point, V2 convinced me to stay and hooked me, and when I finally marathoned V3 I was EAGER to watch V4 and onward. Any and all quibbles I may have had melted away when the Fall of Beacon happened.

So, long story short, I love the story. I love how things are built up and come back further down the line (Jaune's issues, Ruby's issues, etc.). I love how the characters do go through a lot and need help getting back up. I love how sincere and earnest everything is without a hint of irony.

I love the slow burn relationships, and that the show doesn't end with those relationships just being established. I love that, despite everything, this one little indie show has continued going past everything that's happened in a decade since it started. I love that the story is engaging, the characters are deep, the writing is great, and that I'm even feeling bad for the villains which I don't normally do.

RWBY may not be the most perfect thing ever, but frankly I love that the writers do see and incorporate feedback into their work. I love that, unlike how Halo or Star Wars do things, you don't necessarily need to have read all the side content to understand things too.

Most of all is I love how this show has improved on every level: animation, writing, voice acting, etc. It's just so refreshing. It's the Little Engine that Could continuing onward and getting better as it goes.

And hey, being a Bumbleby shipper since V3 and being vindicated in V9? Cherry on the sundae. It's been a wild ride, and I'd love it to continue.

www.tumblr.com/foulfirerebel/714989613562904576/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@maor-koren :

RWBY is one of my favorite shows, it take a unique concept and make it very enjoyable to watch.

The main and side characters are all unique in their own way and very enjoyable.

The story is really good.

The animation, fight scenes and the design of the characters and places are all very pleasing to the eye.

And the music is phenomenal.

Don’t let other people make your opinion! look at the show and see for yourself if you like it or not!

www.tumblr.com/maor-koren/714954350873788416/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@but-a-humble-goon :

Rwby is, in a word, earnest. Its characters are unashamedly sincere, affectionate and vulnerable and the show understands not only that these things are not a weakness but that there can be no greater measure of strength. It’s a story overflowing with heart that categorically rejects stoicism and nihilism and never once apologises for itself. Nothing has ever hit me harder and I do mean that.

www.tumblr.com/but-a-humble-goon/714953671346176000/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@mikey-polo420 :

I watched RWBY Because i was drawn in by the trailers when Monty was alive and i liked the idea of cute girls fighting monsters with giant weapons, then i wanted to see their journey through beacon and now i've become invested with the Messages of hope the show presents, i love each of my precious children and want to see them achieve their happiness , i want to support RWBY to it's conclusion because that's what Monty wanted, it's what his friends wanted and they deserve to complete his Brain child.

www.tumblr.com/mikey-polo420/714951464721743872/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@mooninoir :

i started watching when vol. 1 was still going, with a fansub (!) working hell and back to translate each episode as they came out. i remember waiting every week to see a new episode, and when the last episodes came, i was entirely invested in this sci-fi fantasy series with fairytale elements and wanted to know what would happen next.

and, for me, it's an endearing series that i enjoy watching, even with its flaws. it's fun, but it also has a heart. i like how it didn't shy away from telling a broader story. vol. 3's gut-wrenching finale was for me what made me realize i was not there just for the amazing fights and cool soundtrack, but for the characters and how they live in this crazy world. it was amazing to watch its worldbuilding evolve to such great lengths and see the characters i like to grow and learn and evolve along with it. they are done well and don't feel misplaced in the narrative. it just flows nicely and i guess the latest volume proved that to me (the themes, the motifs, the characters' choices, and the visuals) everything comes together, y'know?

and i just... like it. i like rwby. i really do.

www.tumblr.com/mooninoir/714949733681102848/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

Tumblingxelian:

Why do you watch this show?

I watch RWBY for the cool characters, interesting setting and engaging overarching story and arcs, plus some gorgeous animation, sets and awesome music.

What makes it appeal to you?

Women, including queer women, are center stage and given tons of dynamic personality, agency and exploration in ways I rarely see done in other series.

www.tumblr.com/tumblingxelian/714943623381303296/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@feifiefofum :

look, the ad on the tin was cute girls doing violent things and looking great while doing it. that was the impetus for me to follow the show, i was there when it started with the famous red trailer to yellow trailer.

the writing then wasn't bad, a bit condensed because, y'know, shoestring budget so everything was very tight time wise. but y'know, you didn't watch the four trailers and get sold on the story- which was good by the by, but it wasn't exceptional. it was by the numbers, hitting what they need to hit, but good. you didn't think it was spectacular.

but then volume 3 hits you out of nowhere, and you realize, oh, the writing is phenomenal actually.

rwby has deceptively good writing that on the surface is good par for the course that lulls you into complacency, and then manages to sideswipe you with incredible twists that you don't see, but on looking back, the seeds for the twist were planted from book 1 on. the world is slowly and meticulously rolled out to the viewer, the characters shine, and the action, while still spectacular, become secondary to the characters and the world.

i started watching rwby, expecting cute girls doing violent things. and they deliver on that, and if you come watch rwby just for that, it delivers that. i didn't come in for hearty world building, intrigue, and lore so deep you can get lost in it. the writers write on a razor's edge, giving enough lore for a backdrop and setting the stage, but if you decide to dig at any trail, you can get lost in it. the concept of dust, the name of the world itself- frankly i think it's a masterclass in giving enough to keep the story going but having enough in the back that every new twist that they lay out can be found to have grown from a seed that was planted in an earlier volume.

i dunno who traded their soul away to keep track of all that world building and lore, but that excel sheet must be something to behold. rwby throws u-turns that you don't expect at you, lulls you with a sense of 'okay, i see your tricks now' and somehow manages to turn you around again, and have it make sense.

frankly, it's a little frustrating, i've been bamboozled and led by the nose.

and i love it for that. i'm delighted by the ride i'm on, and i hope the show keeps going.

www.tumblr.com/feifiefofum/714920887601790976/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@aspennntree :

I watch rwby for several reasons- mostly for the characters, i find some of them really relatable

also i just genuinely enjoy the story and the visuals and find the show very comforting

i also like the people i’ve met in this community that are kind and i like having people to share my interests with

i’ve made many new friends being in this community and it’s something i’m very passionate about, i just really enjoy it genuinely

www.tumblr.com/aspennntree/714906439613906944/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@tokufan400 :

Even with everything, I can't bring myself to stop watching RWBY. I got back into it after talking with some friends in highschool, and I've been doing my best to keep up with it since. I have love for the characters (Weiss is the best), and I do feel a sence of amazement that a western project like this ha s grown so much. Not to mention the amount of art, comics, manga, and fanfics that have spawned from the show.

Do I have problems with RWBY? Yes. I will probably never stop ranting about something the show does to tick me off. But I do the same for Star Vs and Kamen Rider Zero One, both shows I still hold a love for. Hell, I might do the same for Amphibia and Owl House down the line if I do a re watch.

So yeah, still love RWBY and I want to be around to see how this story ends.

www.tumblr.com/tokufan400/714910475313446912/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@howlingday :

So, I was in high school and I was watching Red VS Blue. Then I started watching Rage Quit. Then Achievement Hunter. Play Pals.

Then my sister and my high school crush were like, hey, try out RWBY. I mocked them by saying "It should be Ar-Dubyoo-Bee-Why". Then I got into it and, well, I liked it the more I got into it until I was caught up to Volume 2. Then Death Battle had the Yang VS Tifa fight (PLEASE, NO REMATCH), and I was rooting for Yang. Then I saw Volume 3, and I was shocked, dismayed, and devastated at the sudden heel turn. I've been hooked ever since.

So, to answer your questions.

I watch RWBY because it's fun, and I want to know where the story goes. I loved the fun had at Beacon, and I want to know what happens next.

The appeal comes from the desire to see these group of friends fight to save the world from the Grimm. I want to see them thrive against a world where everything is stacked against them! And I want to see them flying kick someone in the face to the sound of the most amazing butt-rock since Crush 40 Sonic (No offense MGR)!

So, yeah, I love watching RWBY because it's a story to be told. And I'm going to openly sob when the story finally comes to an end.

www.tumblr.com/howlingday/714865441082851328/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@gorillageek27 :

i watch because, okay i was kinda turned off by it at first, just "what is this anime shit?", but i watched it and it's the most out there animated thing i can think like. Rwby is a show that somehow got me appreicating animated projects and you can tell the writers and animators have fun with it.

www.tumblr.com/gorillageek27/714864574777671680/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@lithominium :

Its endearing, the lack of amazing animation in vol 1-3 is made up for in how much love was put into it. The characters are fun and loveable and the writing is goofy but unlike some other media ive watched its very good at knowing when to keep the tone consistent. Its very gay and i love gay and its got one of the greatest slow burns ive ever seen with great payoffs which always happen when they should. I like the setting and the lore and the weapons and the semblances. Its such a good show

www.tumblr.com/lithominium/714869719134535680/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@everafterfrisk :

I love RWBY for a ton of reasons but to keep it short:

• The Facial Expressions of the characters match really well with the tones of each scene

• Amazing character designs that can just tell you so much about them before you get to know them

•The animation: RWBY imo is best 3D animated series, most of the time 3D animes tend to be stiff and lifeless

But RWBY gives its fights alot of finesse and creativity to go along with

Like here's a few examples:

(V9)

Weiss and Blake using gambol shroud's blade to propel Yang while simultaneously having Yang use Arma Gigas's Sword

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9RQnk7Oueo

(V3)

Yang closing Flynt's Trumpet making his quartet backfire on him

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLu3_LKG_A8

(V4 Short)

Ruby using the recoil of her weapon to bounce out of the way from a Grimm and trip him up using her Scythe catching him into a Hurricane formed by her semblance (13:54)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivns4_clQ_c

There's even a full in depth analysis on the fight choreography from the earlier volumes to check out

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMQfm0RsY6o

• Themes of Unity,Self identity,Acceptance,Loving oneself, Finding hope in the most dreadful scenarios and the list goes on

• The Protagonist Ruby Rose is a breath of fresh air similar to say Deku from BNHA where both know the world isn't exactly kind but still try to help the best they can; even if it results in them destroying themselves to get there as their series's goes on

•The Villains are all pretty realistic in their motivations being not afraid to fall victim to arrogance while simultaneously being victims of either the world's actions or their own

°The show doesn't swindle you into thinking that just cuz they have sympathetic backgrounds that they're immediately good

They have to work for it and atone for misdeeds such as Ilia,Emerald and Hazel or doesn't believe their actions are unwarranted like Salem and Cinder or has a lack of empathy for the world around them like Mercury or Tyrian or Wants to do the right thing but lets the ends justify their means(Ironwood) or Living only on the fear of your actions(Lionheart) or The world has dealt so much injustice to you that you felt giving it by ten thousand fold would remedy it ( Ilia and Adam)

▪︎ The Music is just PEAK for me

The Sound design,everything just speaks volumes of the scene

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS4HvQ5BP-1gKp4Ou4PRkqdEDvnNqdTGS

www.tumblr.com/everafterfrisk/714883876389044224/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@blakistan :

I think RWBY was first suggested to be me on the grounds of “lots of really cool fights” which, while not ultimately the point of the show is still a big plus! Monty was an absolute wizard when it came to fight choreography and CRWBY has done a fantastic job keeping up that legacy. Ofc that was only the thing that got me to look at the show in the first place - what made me stay was the incredibly well done character-driven story. Following along and exploring the arcs of all the different characters in the show helped me through tough times and shaped a lot of who I am as a person today - Blake and Weiss’ stories in particular did so much in helping me find hope that I could grow as a person because that what the show is: hope. So uh yeah, if you like deep, interwoven character narratives that don’t shy away from growth, change, or the ugliness that sometimes crops up along the way with those things, definitely give RWBY a watch

www.tumblr.com/blakistan/714867196992585728/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@proximio-5 :

Tbh, I don't know, there's something about it that I can't explain, I started watching it in 2018, but somehow it's one of my top 3 Favorite animated shows, it can be because of the story or maybe the background, like the people behind it and everything they've done and how far they've come

For example, Monty; first he made the Haloid animation, then he became director of animation in Red vs Blue, and then he created this masterpiece that will be a big part of me

The animation itself is one of the best things about the show, I mean looking back at the style of background in V1 and more recent volumes, saying it has improved would be an understatement, I mean just look at it, you can see how much effort the've done for it

Another reason is the development or the characters, they've changed and matured in many ways. (Speaking of, I really hope Ruby comes back different but keeping at least some of her previous self)

So yeah, this show is far of being perfect, but then again...

What isn't?

www.tumblr.com/proximio-5/714866831427567616/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@kereeachan :

I’m generally a fan of animation, and it’s been neat seeing how it’s improved since volume 3 (when I got into it). The story intrigues me, and I love the wide cast of characters and their development. The alternate universe is a neat one, Grimm are fascinating as a take on Evil Creatures to me, and the designs have always been cool, bar a few that never flew with me (Blake’s 1-3 outfit just kind of always looked a lil too sexy for my tastes on a “huntress” and I initially thought Nora’s 4-6 look was a downgrade before it grew on me)

I really enjoyed Ironwood’s slide from well-intentioned, if incorrect, hero to villain. Honestly his foreshadowing in volumes 2, 3, and 4 was some of the best I’ve ever seen. Maswartz above has commented on how they fool you by having him take facistic actions against people we hate more to hide how far he’s falling fast until we actually GET to Atlas and Mantle and realize it’s gone full Police State (if it wasn’t before). Genius.

I also adored Penny, she was my baby, she was amazing as a character and I’m so happy we got her back for a few more volumes before losing her for good (as much as anyone is ever truly gone, of course, she still looms large over vol 9). As one of the “weird girls” of the world who took a long time to come into my comfort with being a girl due to teasing and bullying (autism, baby. they always know) Penny just always SPOKE to me. I’m glad she not only proved her Real Girl bonafides as a Maiden but even got to live outside a metal body for a few episodes before her death, finally feeling the warmth of a hug.

www.tumblr.com/kereeachan/714863784387297280/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@sevenofreds :

It's a genuinely fun and enjoyable show that can mix multiple genres together without it being jarring. There's action and comedy, there's horror, there's mystery and drama, and it all makes sense for what's happening. It has a layered and complex plot where things almost always turn out to be more nuanced than they first seem, and almost every twist/big event is subtly foreshadowed in some way. The shorter length of episodes compared to other shows also makes it really fun to binge watch.

www.tumblr.com/sevenofreds/714860874339352576/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@crowwrites2140 :

Of course it has its flaws like every other piece of media, but I genuinely find RWBY both entertaining and just a good show in general. I love the "AHA!" moments when you something is revealed that has been hinted at for volumes. I love the music and could listen to it for hours. I love the characters; their designs, their motivations, their relationships with each other and their character arcs that span the show. In regards to the protagonists, I also enjoy how they all seem so human. The writers allow them to make mistakes and fail. They aren't always the perfect heroes. And in regards to the villains, they are believable too. Nearly every one of them has some kind of motivation that drives them to want revenge in destruction. I love the plot, despite its flaws. It's complex and ties in with countless allusions. And lastly, I love the fanbase. Not the toxic side, honestly it makes me sad that a show like RWBY needs positivity posts because its hate fanbase is just so large. But there are so many in the community who are incredibly creative and create hilarious memes, beautiful art, and amazing stories, and I'm grateful to be a part of that.

www.tumblr.com/crowwrites2140/714860089114312704/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@the-god-of-nihon :

RWBY is a special show to me. I’ve been with the series since it premiered at the end of RvB Season 10, and ten years is not an inconsiderable amount of time to be a fan of something. And unlike the “critics” or RWDE, I don’t stick around to hate-watch because of the sunken cost fallacy, or “to learn what not to do.” Or just for a reason to complain, more accurately. I simply enjoy the series. I have since it began, and I still do, and I’ll continue to do so.

While I don’t like everything about the show, or agree with all the creative choices; I don’t automatically assume that something I don’t like is wrong or bad. I happily take RWBY for what it is, and not what I think it should be. I, by no means am blind to the flaws and missteps, but none of them hinder my enjoyment to the degree that I feel like the show overall is a negative experience, even at its lowest points.

I watch the show because I like it. It has been a consistent source of enjoyment for me, and even now. I’ve enjoyed growing alongside it from an indie web-series into what it is today and seeing how it’s changed and improved with every volume.

I enjoy and am invested in many of the characters. I like the world and the bits of world-build and lore we get throughout the main show and supplementary material. And of course I can’t not touch on the fights and character designs. Its vibrant and narrative-relevant use of color, and how that’s effected the shows aesthetic development. And Monty Oum’s classic high-speed, frenetic and intricate choreo, that’s yet to be replicated. And how while different the post-Monty fights are still interesting and engaging for the most part.

I love the depictions of friendship and platonic/familial connection in the show, most prominently for me personally, Ruby & Jaune’s bond. As it’s so rare for a male-female friendship to be purely platonic and still be so genuinely well-written and integral to both characters. Although, I think RWBY is largely hit or miss with the way it handles romance, I think its friendships & familial bonds are where it excels.

Ruby, Yang, and Jaune are my top three favorites characters in RWBY, and how their characters and arcs have been so endearing and intriguing to watch. Especially as since V7, and what is being done with them current.

www.tumblr.com/the-god-of-nihon/714867324298182656/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

@lostdemifiend :

The biggest thing for why I love RWBY so much it is "oh that makes sense!" when something unexpected happens BECAUSE everything was set up previously that would result in this eventually, and none of it feels forced.

At the same time, its gleeful deconstruction of common shonen anime tropes adds to that sense of surprise. Subconsciously, one goes in expecting certain things to happen, but it defies that expectation in a way that feels like a natural consequence.

There's so much more, but I can't even start to unpack just exactly why I love this series so much.

www.tumblr.com/lostdemifiend/714857897499164672/lets-talk-about-what-makes-rwby-good-or-enjoyable

Thank you all of you for showing everyone what makes RWBY fantastic to all!

If you want some youtube channels that discuss RWBY in analytical or philosophic detail? Or if you want comic dubs?

Xel Writer on Youtube aka @tumblingxelian for analysis videos

@marylizabetha on Youtube for philosophy videos

and @markzschiegnerii or Mark Zschiegner on youtube for comic dubs!

I love you, RWBY Fandom, you've made my life rich with joy.

[panelshowsource]

If you had to pick a top three favorite episodes of any panel shows EVER, which would you choose? One of mine would have to be Terry Wogan guest hosting old NMTB, which I am dying to watch again in my lifetime. Your old-NMTB-posting reminded me just how amazing and formative those old episodes were for me. Anyway, it got me thinking… I would love to hear yours!

as long as i'm allowed to answer this totally subjectively...! because the objectively most iconic panel show episodes are probably quite different to the ones i gravitate to especially for rewatching — and especially in this difficult recent climate 🫥

this choice is almost bizarre knowing me, a huge huge huge sean lock fan, but this episode of cats does countdown — without sean! and not even golden era, probably, whatever that is in my mind — is so ridiculous and chaotic and stupid that i've watched it about 1000 times. there's something very specific about the dynamic between jimmy, jon, roisin, and joe without sean; those four have been in quite a few episodes without sean and they're like actual children without an adult in the room: jon is goofier and completely lets go of the game, jimmy throws even more to roisin (we do not talk enough about what a fucking kick jimmy gets out of her), roisin and joe's insane sibling dynamic becomes next level. anyways—this episode, which includes rly funny mascots, glory hole, the fucking hoop game and joe eating an onion and jon eating peppers???, THE UNICORN, its sheer childishness just cracks me up every time :') (if we're gonna mention the golden age, 2.02 is very iconic — from rhod killin it and always arguing with jimmy to claude to nick x susie hahaha but i have sooooo many catsdown episodes i love love love)

i really love the episode of 8 out of 10 cats following jimmy's tax scandal. it's not one of my favourite panel shows in general, but the circumstances of the news and the discussion epitomised what the show was meant to be: panel show meets reality tv meets a comedy central roast. watching that live, as the news was running it so heavily that even the prime minister mentioned it, as the press and twitter were reacting to it... wild times. it holds up incredibly well — it's hilarious watching them rip him to shreds, because he deserves every word and they're having a ball doing it to him, and i really appreciate jon grounding the conversation in just how tax avoidance hurts their country and some of its hardest workers — a really interesting, engaging mix of comedy and anger and wit and disappointment and political commentary that is not only funny but strikingly relevant no matter how much time passes. like so, so many people who were so, so disappointed in jimmy, this was the foundation of his carrying the responsibility, shame, reflection, and growth that people wanted to see — and that he truly needed to. since then he's talked a lot about not only righting the wrong (in paying back what he owed in avoidance) but just how the system is so broken — and taking the least complicated, most honest road forward since.

now i want to pick 1000 different things this is why i don't make lists or rank things!!!!! while my instinct is to pick a big fat quiz, i'm actually gonna go top-level nostalgia and say this episode of buzzcocks when stephen fry was a guest. what can i say — simon, stephen, it was two intellectual, mildly bitchy homosexuals on a stacked panel including josie long, dominic cooper, and yet another skinny white rock man for simon to pretend he's not trying to flirt with. stephen saying "there is a history, in pop music, of recto-veginal insertion" and denouncing god, like, in the first 5 minutes? stephen doing the intros round?? did i mention history boys-era dominic cooper??? such a throwback!!! (not to cheat but this ep with josh groban & martin freeman is my runner up)

i want to apologise to big fat quiz, taskmaster, wilty... THE WHOLE HISTORY OF PANEL SHOWS... I WISH I COULD CHOOSE YOU ALL

[cat-of-starlight]

I finally found someone else that feels the same way about Jace that I do! I don't want to yuck on anyone's yum but, like, he deserves better than what so much of the fandom had done and I just... ugh...

TRUE!

It makes me so sad that a LOT of content I've seen so far has either been "welp lmao he's just evil too and has been since the beginning" or "teehee lmao, twink man fell for the bad guy and does whatever he wants him to <3" When like. Deadass there's the threat of Porter going "I killed you once and I'd do it again" + the whole thing about the shatterstar fully meaning that the person it happened to was subjected to the ritual UNWILLINGLY-

And!! He's so nice in Season 1!! He deserved SO MUCH!! I about screamed in my rewatch of Sophomore Year because he was the Bad Kids' (specifically Fig's) FIRST CHOICE on what hireling they should take with them- If that happened, we could have fully avoided him being on the other adventure happening at about the same time/being killed-

His only crime is trying to be friendly to his coworkers (even when they're creepy as fuck), being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and potentially failing a few saving throws as his ass got killed/rezzed against his will

--

But yea, its nice to see other people who agree! When the episodes first came out, a majority of the posts about him were basically "Part of the group of terrible adults who were abusing children", "lmao look at this stupid loser idiot who can't do anything", or both simultaneously ;;

Which,,, is disheartening considering that his vibes fully brought me out of my artblock, and I've been drawing him constantly like some sort of unhinged maniac- (I deadass haven't drawn at ALL this year until like. last week (because new tablet)- and out of 8 drawings that I've actually finished, he has been the focus of half of them)

Also- idk- he especially vibes hard to me because, despite some people ragging on Sorcerers, as a neurodivergent person who just. learns Differently™️ than other people, I just relate to the vibes of Sorcerers more lmao- also it makes it just. a touch uncomfortable when people word it as "lmao, they're just dumb/lazy, and don't wanna open a book to actually learn REAL spells" because it sounds a LITTLE too similar to shit I've been told irl :,D

So yea- All of those feelings of "Cool Character w/ Untapped Tragic Circumstances" + Feelings I have about that class in particular- combined in a Perfect Storm to create a character who lives in m head Rent Free and probably won't leave my head for a WHILE

He's my perfect blorbo and he deserves SO much more than he got <3 <3 <3

,,,,and you know what,,, maybe seeing more positive posts about him (+ Receiving this ask lmao),,,, may be the motivation I need to make me post the pics of him that's been sitting in my art folder,,,,,,

(PS: The fics slap so hard and you are SO VALID for That Ship™️™️ being shown as a Horrific and Toxic thing because. yea. Send help for he- he needs better partners fr ouuughhhhh(I'd Comment on the actual ones themselves because I know that helps, but the site hates me and refuses to let me have proper accounts/access- I am in shambles))

[caliburn-the-sword]

since i've been gone:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[precuredaily]

Precure Daily's Sixth Anniversary

On April 10, 2018, I posted the first review in the project that became Precure Daily. It wasn't actually on tumblr at that time, but on Facebook. The plan was to watch an episode every day and just post some thoughts, but it evolved into reviews and screenshots and that necessitated a whole blog, and here we are. That was six years ago today!

Six years. It's hard to believe. I honestly, truly didn't think I'd still be doing this. Whether I petered out before the end, or managed to get it all done in the 2-3 years I anticipated, I figured I'd have stopped by now. But somehow I haven't given up yet! I'm still watching, still writing, and still getting new fans to share with, and that makes it all worth it.

The past year was slow, I will readily acknowledge it. I only got about 7 reviews out in that time, including the one that just went up earlier today, but one of those was the Go Go movie. That was a whole undertaking, it took me nine months to get out. Granted, for about 6 of those 9 months it was just sitting there unchanged. I'd open it occasionally to poke at it but then not end up getting much done. Maybe it still wasn't the best it could have been but I'm proud of it nonetheless. It was a good review for a good movie. Also, I got to review the very first All Stars, even if it was a short film. Having recently wached the most recent All Stars brings that experience full circle and it's real nice.

One small hiccup is that, at the time of writing, I haven't yet gotten out the traditional Honoka birthday post. I just haven't had time to sit down and gather artwork for it. Hopefully that'll come out in the next day or two!

Outside of the blog, let's look at the wider world of the Precure series over the last year

I said last year that I hadn't finished Delicious Party, and that's still true. When it was on air, I was watching it with a friend and she was really into it; we are going to resume watching together to finally push through it.

HIrogaru Sky's second half was good, it lacked a little bit of the driving power of the first half and the villain plot never properly came together in my opionion. I still love the characters, I think they're my favorite cast in a good while.

I did not watch Otona Precure. Although I've watched Go Go before, I want to finish this current watchthrough for the blog before I jump into it. Maybe I'll even review it as I go, that remains to be seen. I've heard mixed things about it and I'm not very big on the idea that the girls just go back to teenagers when they transform, but I'll reserve judgment.

Wonderful Precure did not appeal to me when information started coming out, and I fell off it for a few weeks when the first couple eps didn't impress me, but I decided to keep going and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I don't think it's going to crack my top 10 but it should be a solid middle of the road series.

I watched the Delicious Party Precure movie and Precure All Stars F with friends in fairly close proximity, and wow do those movies exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. DeliPa's film was one of the weakest Precure movies I've seen, while All Star F was phenomenal. I need to rewatch it.

I did say last year that the blog would look different when I finish Go Go. That is still true. I should be able to wrap that up in a few months, then comes the next phase of things. Deets when it happens.

And also just because I can, here's some recommendations for shows outside of Precure you should watch that came out in the last year-ish:

Oshi no Ko

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a monotone elf)

SPY x FAMILY (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a psychic toddler)

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

The Last of Us

And I think that's it for this year's update! Here's to another year of watching and writing about Precure! Thanks as always to my loyal friends and fans for making this project a success: @sailorzombiestar, @vertixscribe, PaintedOutlaw, @hanasaki-tsubomi, yugimon135 (can't tag you for some reason), and my newest fan @nono-bunny.

Here's all my previous sappy anniversary posts if you want to go back and read them.

First Anniversary

Second Aniversary

Third Anniversary

Fourth Anniversary

Fifth Anniversary

[spinnysocks]

spinny!! I’m curious, what got you into the lion guard?

EHEHEE YAY I LOVE ASKS LIKE THIS!! don't mind me rambling about how i got into it :3

i watched the lion guard originally as a young teen! my memories are foggy, so i can't say how much i liked it, but i do remember ono being my favourite and that i watched enough to remember a lot of the episodes when i revisited it a few years later. i rewatched it out of childhood nostalgia and curiosity - i wanna say around 2020 maybe? - and developed a hyperfixation on it, specifically on janja! back then, i kinda only cared about his character and a few others such as timon, pumbaa, scar and kiburi, though janja was the character who i was actually interested in. i had even bought a lion king notebook to write a snippet of an au i had for him, i still have it lmaoo

because of how my hyperfixations work, i get obsessed over one fandom for a while until it switches to another. for instance, most of last year i hyperfixated on the madagascar movies - those periods of hyperfixating would last anywhere from hours to months until shifting to, for example, the lion guard. it also wasn't my main fandom at the time, madagascar was. that changed in november last year, when i found that there was a LOT of cool lion guard content on here (especially @devilsrecreation's outlanders posts!). i began to interact a little bit which made me hyperfixate on it even more. i made my first lion guard post in december, and that's where my posting and very long hyperfixation on it began!! since then i've had like a landslide of constant thoughts about this silly show, and i've picked up a lot of new favourite characters along the way (such as kiburi and his float, beshte, goigoi, dogo, literally all of the outlanders...). i've barely shifted hyperfixations since then and the show has very swiftly become a favourite media of mine! :3

so, i guess seeing content being made AND making my own has made me hyperfixate on it endlessly (/pos btw). i've specifically hyperfixated on the outlanders as you can probably tell lol. essentially, ✨the power of hyperfixations✨ lead me to being on and posting on this site, but the show has always been for me since i was a teen c:

[wilcze-kudly]

I'm writing an AU of season 3 and I'm about to get into the Zaofu episodes and I REALLY want to do a better job of how the Lin Su conflict was handled. I've gotten myself a little stuck and you're so Beifong smart. What kinds of things do you think I should adjust/change around their conflict to make for a more realistic and interesting story while still keeping to the general dynamics between them? I've rewatched those episodes like four times in the last week and I agree with your last post about how weird the whole storyline was.

Hmmm... well it really depends on the type of story you're writing, but my main issues with the Beifong sister's storyline was that it was basically a speedrun and very 'Lin-heavy'.

To be honest the story doesn't even feel like it's about Lin and Su's relationship. It's more Lin crashing through the first stages of dealing with repressed trauma on express speed.

I'd say including some more scenes with Suyin would be a good idea. Perhaps one of her comforting Opal after Lin yelled at her at the end of "The Metal Clan". It would be interesting to see, especially with this line from Lin earlier that episode.

Lin: Five kids. What a nightmare. Suyin: No, no. My children are a blessing. Lin: Yeah, mom used to say that too, but she never meant it.

You could have Opal (or Huan or the twins) asking Su about what Lin ment with that comment about Toph, since I doubt that Su would tell her kids about her difficult childhood.

Suyin seemed very intent on showcasing her children the best aspects of her family. She even told her kids positive stories about Lin, despite their estrangement.

This could provide a few interesting scenes as Suyin's kids realise that their cool aunt Lin is actually kind of a bitch. Su talking to her kids about her story is a better jumping off point than what we got in the show, since Suyin would probably be more open with her children then with Korra, outsider.

Seperating the actual Suyin from Lin's perspective of Suyin is key. Because Lin is an incredibly biased vehicle for the audience.

I'd also try not to make it seem that the relationship between Lin and Su is mending itself in leaps and bounds. Slow and steady wins the race here, Lin has only began healing herself, let alone her external relationships.

Please do keep me posted on your AU, I'm intrigued, love! And I'm honoured you reached out to me lol! If you have any more questions I'd be glad to ramble on.

[lo-toh-takes]

I remember this vaguely so do take it with a hefty amount of salt, and I don't think it was properly archived in time so at the moment I can't even look for it, however, though I don't recall it word-for-word;

I distinctly remember Lily, all allegedly long before actually watching Owl House, making a post saying she was already about to make a video about why it's bad because "it's not episodic" and it didn't have the exact yuri shipping she wanted (Luz and Willow), thus it was "gay in the bad and wrong way". Insinuating stuff to that effect.

The post was IMMEDIATLY swarmed by Owl House fans (and I believe plenty were Lumity shippers) dunking and clowning on her for being so fast to shit on an earnestly fun fantasy show that happened to also feature lgbt+ characters. And that was when Lily scrambled to be all "Oh Um no guys! I totally LIKE it actually!" and fast deleting the post from her tumblr.

I just find it really cathartic that TOH was at that moment one of the few fandoms who shut down Lily's idiocy immediately, and I think back then it actually got several younger followers of her to go "hey, wait a minute..." so she would have also been trying to reel those minors back into her web by flipping her opinion around.

That is the most cathartic thing I've heard in a while. I REALLY wish that post was still up because reading posts of people clowning on the most hateable person alive would be the most cathartic thing on the planet.

But aside from that this pretty much tells me one thing; Lily either tried rewatching the show after the backlash her post recieved to try and find some more things she liked about it (which is unlikely because since when has Lily ever given a show a fair shot without some level of bias?) or she ever never actually liked the owl house. She pretended to like the owl house. She only focused on the things about the show she liked and didn't mention the issues because she KNEW that she would get backlash for it.

She only made a positive review of the first season so she woulden't recieve backlash for her shitty takes. And she KNEW that the show was going to get serialized eventually and saw the signs for it as early as season 1, so, she, unsuprisingly, wrote the show off as objectively bad because it didn't meet her personal preferences and only retracted once she got backlash from people for it.

Lily was never a true fan of the owl house. She pretended to like the show until seasons 2&3 where the show fully abonded her personal preferences completely.

[aprillikesthings]

New pinned post time!

I've recently lost my mind over the 2018 She-Ra which is probably painfully obvious lol

If I flooded your notifications with likes on all your spop content, please know my queue is ridiculously long and at some point you will also get a slo-mo flood of reblog notifications as my queue catches up

My "about" page is here

The tag for my fic writing is #april writes

And my ao3 account is here

And you can read all the posts where I rewatched She-Ra starting with the first episode here (if you're on mobile that link won't really work but you can read them starting from the end here)

And you can see progress on my Catra cosplay (and photos of the whole thing once it’s done) here

I know I have a few posts that have gone semi-viral and/or have tens of thousands of notes, and I talk about them in the readmore:

EDIT: ON A RELATED NOTE:

for the love of god if you screenshot one of my tumblr posts to put it on facebook (looking at you vellum and vinyl you have done this twice lol) or twitter or whatever, please for gods sake mark out my username

I really do not want to change my tumblr name because I've had it since 2012, but also I do not need people finding my tumblr, yes I know it's my own fault for having a name/icon/account that is painfully obviously me but like, c'mon

If you got to my blog via my post about rayon: it's just a minor hyperfixation of mine, I rarely blog about that kind of thing. I'm actually not real fussed about "sustainable fashion," I own plenty of polyester and WAY too many clothes--but I do try to take good care of those clothes and make them last. I just get pissed off when people try to pass off "bamboo" or "eucalyptus" as anything other than rayon. (I like rayon. I shouldn't have to use fifty search terms to find soft socks.)

"Why is your queer love post not rebloggable" hahhhhhh well. Browse the notes sometime. But also I explain a bit more here.

Landlord discourse: Hi, I'm not an expert on affordable housing or anything, I just know that The Rent is Too Damn High, and housing is a human right. I got pissed off, I ranted, it blew up.

"The first link on your boobs post leads to a super problematic website" yeah I didn't realize that until it was too late and there's jack shit I can do about it now, sorry.

If you found my blog via a screenshot of a post about no-fault divorce or that bonsai apple: where the fuck are people still finding those lolol

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hi aj! I’m the rewatch anon and I just got started on the miniature case (my first time actually rewatching those as I only rewatched dead/living doll) and I just love how both Grissom and Sara are the leads on the first case, def foreshadowing. ANYWAY despite the angst that I know it’s coming with the sabbatical, I just love how lovey dovey and cute they are with each other for the first few eps. Do you suppose at this point they’re more sure of what their relationship is? I mean S6 felt slightly off balance for them at times but S7 just gives us a sense that they’re very happy together and sure of their relationship. What do you think?

hi, rewatch anon!

good to hear from you again!

so my answer to your question is kind of a roundabout one.

i'll start by saying: mine is an unpopular opinion, but i don't actually think s6 is as volatile a period in grissom and sara's relationship as many other fans do.

while a lot of folks suppose grissom and sara spend much of s6 fighting, only to get their shit figured out come s7, i'm not convinced that there is any legitimate/protracted conflict happening between them early on.

i have a couple of longer posts explaining my stance—and specifically my takes on the two episodes most fans would point to as being potential evidence that all is not right in gsrland during that time (i.e., episodes 06x03 "bite me" and 06x12 "daddy's little girl")—here and here, if you're interested.

but the tl;dr version is that i think that from the moment grissom and sara first get together in late s5 or early s6, they both realize the significance of what they're doing for themselves.

the risk that becoming a couple poses—not just to their careers but to their very hearts—is high enough that neither one of them undertakes the decision at all lightly; both of them know, from the get-go, that they are making a life-changing move and, moreover, consider their romance to be a "for life" kind of thing.

as i've talked about here, i believe they both are aware very early on that they want to marry each other.

that said, i also think that early on they both are somewhat worried that the other person may not be as "all in" as they are themselves, and that uncertainty is a source of insecurity for them, especially on sara's side of things.

consequently, i imagine that in the immediate aftermath of them getting together, there is some tentativeness on both sides—a kind of nervousness about trying on new labels and suggesting further changes to their situation (such as possibly moving in together), with both of them trying to hold back so as not to "come on too strong too fast" and freak the other person out.

some of this anxiety, of course, is internal: they both have fairly poor self-esteems and doubt their own lovability in the long term.

however, some is also part and parcel of their situation: the fact that their relationship is and must remain a secret from everyone who matters to them complicates what they're doing together and (especially for sara) raises questions about what to expect in their future.

how can they ever take things to "the next level" if they constantly have to hide the very fact that they're together?

to my mind, that's the only real source of disequilibrium for them during s6—not any actual tension or fighting, but just a kind of diffident, unspoken wondering of "does s/he feel as strongly as i do? is s/he in this for life like i am?"

otherwise, their early relationship is very happy and that they both generally feel very safe and secure with each other.

from that perspective, my take is that what changes for them between s6 and s7 isn't anything having to do with them figuring out their feelings for each other; as stated, to my mind, they've both known, from the beginning, that theirs was a "till death do us part" kind of bond.

in fact, i would go as far as to say: i don't think they would have ever even gotten together had they not both individually felt that level of commitment from the beginning. it was a "this risk is only worth it because you are my one true love and i want to be with you forever" sort of deal.

rather, the shift has more to do with them becoming more confident in the other person's feelings and comfortable in their particular circumstances, navigating their secret romance.

while there are still some question marks, especially for sara, with regards to the whole "does the other person really want to be with me forever?" deal, by and large, the longer grissom and sara are together, the more secure they become in their bond.

grissom starts to get it through his head that despite what he had always feared prior to them getting together, sara isn't going to up and leave him the second he shows any signs of weakness. he learns to trust in her devotion and constancy.

likewise, sara comes to understand that (unlike everyone else she's ever known) grissom isn't about to bounce the second her jagged edges come out. he knows her past, he is cognizant of her issues, and he still loves her all the same. she doesn't have to worry about being too much for him to handle.

though for as long as their relationship must remain a secret to everyone else in the wider world, there is still some uncertainty, particularly on sara's end of things, regarding what their endgame might be, by s7, they've gotten over that initial "if i show too much of my heart, the other person is going to leave me" hang-ups.

—and especially because, by this point, they've really carved out a life together that works for them.

early on, when they first begin seeing each other in vegas, the precarity of their situation definitely contributes to their trepidations regarding the long-term viability of their relationship.

"secret dating"—and hiding their relationship from their trained observer coworkers—is hard work, and it plays into those "what if things get too hard? will s/he leave me?" fears they both have to start out with.

but, again: the longer they stay together and the more they get the hang of balancing their home and work lives, the more at ease they become. after two years of being together, they've figured out a functional system; learned how to keep their thing on the dl. they don't feel that same imminent threat of being discovered that they did in the nascent days of their relationship—not necessarily because the threat itself has actually diminished but rather because they've become so expert in avoiding detection.

by early s7, they're at a point where they feel like they can really have it all: they can maintain the same arrangements that they've always had at work, with grissom being sara's boss and both of them working together (even frequently as partners), while also, after hours, living in the same condo and having a dog and sleeping wrapped up together in the same bed. it's the best of both worlds.

they're supremely comfortable.

the only thing that at all is disquieting to them at this point is their mounting dissatisfaction with having to keep their whole relationship a secret.

however, even though that concern looms, they're not yet ready to broach the topic aloud with each other, as neither one of them wants to upset the delicate balance they've struck.

they both try (instead) to just live in the moment and not worry overmuch about the future.

—and, to my mind, they're largely successful.

like you say, early s7 is a pretty blissful time for them.

jorja fox has talked about how she literally played those episodes as if she were acting in a romcom, and her approach definitely shows.

grissom and sara both just seem happy and well, especially around each other. while eventually some professional burnout will start to sneak in on grissom's side, early on in the miniature case, at least, they are both invigorated and clearly enjoying life.

though they both secretly yearn for more—again, grissom very much has marrying sara on his mind, long before he proposes to her in s8—they're also very satisfied with what they currently have.

like sara will later say in her letter from episode 08x07 "goodbye & good luck," their life together has become a home, and they are both settled and happy.

as a fan, it's very fun to watch—especially before things become more chaotic at the end of s7.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

[im-immortal]

2023 Writing Wrap-Up

I'm a little late this time around since it's already 2024, but I haven't done a writing wrap-up since 2021 and I thought it would be fun to bring back!

So this year, I was on quite a roll for the first half of the year. And then July rolled around and I started slowing down until it came to a screeching halt. Not sure what happened. Maybe it's my ADHD and constantly shifting hyper-fixations to blame. But I gradually managed to come back around just in time to post something for Christmas, which I'm still working on finishing. However, my hiatus doesn't take away the pride I still have for what I was able to write during the year. And I look forward to writing more in 2024! So here's all I managed to finish/get a good start on and post during 2023.

A Kiss For A Drink: 6,740 words; one-shot I actually started writing this back in 2020 or 2021, intended to be posted on Valentine's Day. And then I got a point where I couldn't finish it and let it sit for about 2 years. I finally came back with some inspiration and motivation and finished it just in time to post for Valentine's Day 2023! I'm really happy with how it came out. It was a fun idea that turned into a fun fic with a few laughs included, even if it is one of my least-viewed fics lol I had fun writing it too, which is all that really matters!

Lunacy Fringe: 62,690 words; 8/8 chapters To say this fic suddenly came out of nowhere would be an understatement. I literally got inspired out of the blue while listening to an episode of the Therapy Gecko podcast and the next thing I knew, I was balls deep in a psychological thriller. I actually managed to write it in just over a month or so!! Which is really incredible for me, especially considering I didn't step away from it at all or lose inspiration before it was finished. I'm really proud of how it turned out, and I haven't really told anyone, but I am working on converting it into an original story and possibly self-publishing. It could end up being my very first original novel :) the feedback I got was far more positive than I'd expected, especially considering how I portrayed Beth. I'm overall so so happy with how it turned out!!

Longer Than A Heartbeat: 157,289 words; 29/29 chapters Now this... this fic is one of my proudest pieces by far. I'll never get over how happy I am with how it turned out, and how I was actually able to finish it. For the last few years, every time I rewatched "28 Days Later," I couldn't stop thinking about how it would make such a good Bethyl fic, and how I wanted to convert it into a Bethyl fic that included Rick and Judith. I finally did it!! Technically, I wrote it in 2022, but I didn't completely finish it and post it until 2023. When I say I write for myself... this fic really proves it, because I go back and read chapters from it all the time just because it's so fun and I love how I wrote it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the reception and how people who hadn't ever watched "28 Days Later" enjoyed it! Not to mention, @boltthrutheheart made some incredible custom manips for me that I can never get over!!

hot girl summer (playing by the rules); 167k+ words, 16/30 chapters Ah yes, here she is... the companion piece to the first 3 fics of "in for a penny, in for a pound" that I've been planning/contemplating ever since I did that first fic from Beth's POV for the series. I always wanted to show Beth's POV for all the major moments in the series, and then once I got started, I figured why not go all in and just do her POV for the entirety of the series thus far? It gives a little more insight into how she's feeling, why she does the things she does and says the things she says, and we also get to see exactly what she was doing all those times that Daryl couldn't help wondering about her (because I already knew in my head, but I thought it might be fun to share with everyone else). I also thought it would make the set-up for the next fic a little better, so we could try and understand Beth's motivations better and where she's at in her head. Of course, I got pretty into it and then hit a speed bump and then suddenly, lost all ability to write. It'll come back soon, though. I can't wait to finish this fic and move on to the next in the series, and eventually conclude Beth and Daryl's tumultuous journey in this fun little AU.

Small Miracles; 39k+ words, 6/10 chapters This is the fic that finally pushed me back into being able to write. I had no plans of writing for BHF 2023, and then I suddenly had this strike of inspiration for a very weird idea and decided to go with it and try and finish it in time to post for Christmas. I did manage to finish about 1/3rd of the fic in time, but I'm still writing it and haven't lost motivation yet, so that's a good sign! It's also just really fun and kind of cathartic to do a new exploration of Beth's journey through the eyes of an older Beth who survived Grady, with that fun little supernatural twist added to it. I can't wait to finish this one, because I've had a lot of fun writing it and really look forward to seeing what people think of her entire journey and the way it will conclude.

To everyone who's read my fics, left feedback, kudos, bookmarks, or even helped me bounce ideas off and come up with plans for fics... thank you so much! I appreciate everyone in this little fandom so, so much. Y'all mean the world to me, and I am so grateful that we have this wonderful community in our own little corner of the internet. Happy New Year to you all, and I hope 2024 brings you nothing but blessings!

[castlebyersafterdark]

AH the cafeteria scene drives me INSANE. barely any bylers ever talk about it even though it's such a crazy scene and i feel like it's such an important look into mike's character.

i suppose a lot of bylers are just uncomfortable with the idea of mike being into any other guy than will, let alone eddie, who's older than him, and that's why they ignore it. which, come on.

it's not anything against byler. and not anything problematic, obviously, not even gonna go into that. let him have a fucking crush. it's just proof that mike is intoTM men. and only men. that boy is smitten. he's shown more attraction to eddie in this one scene than to el throughout the entire series so far, istg. it's so funny.

and he's just so cute. this is the only time we've ever seen him act like this, other than in his scenes with will. especially taking into consideration how absolutely miserable mike is ever since the byers moved, and that him and dustin are 'in trouble' because lucas won't be able to play d&d, the fact that eddie manages to make him sooo giddy says so much.

and the music choice... even without it, i'd have been real suspicious, but that just confirms to me mike really has a crush.

i think about this all the time.

Combining two older asks with this recent one together for some Eddie chat! This will cover a few topics as to consolidate ideas and not be repetitive. I made a post a little while back about Mike's behavior towards Eddie I've linked here, the rest of my thoughts under the cut since this got long!

I think Eddie in general served primarily more as a plot device - and you can love him and love the character and that's cool and admit that's not a bad place/character to be in the narrative. Stranger Things has a pattern. New character for the season, they will represent something for main/focus characters arc, then they die tragically. Barb, Bob, Billy (even if he slid into two seasons), Eddie (people add in Alexei and I guess he counts? I have very few thoughts on him but sure, I'll add him). Not to say that these characters are not characters onto their own, but for analytical purposes - I think it's accurate. Eddie had an arc, met his end, represented many many things for our characters. Especially Mike and Dustin. There is something to be said for his queer-coding - but I don't think it was primarily meant for Eddie himself (I mean, to be fair we do have the guy yelling about sodomy in the high school cafeteria). It was the catalyst for audiences to shift the idea onto Mike. And most probably missed it, but I think it will hold up on the rewatch after the whole series is out. Who knows what the show is going to do with Eddie (mentioned in passing - that guy's dead) in season five. Maybe it's my biased opinion since that's when I picked up on what was going on with Mike, that cafeteria scene.

Mike's reactions and body language around him. His treatment of Eddie like an older figure he respected and didn't want to disappoint. They hang out and play DnD together, but when has Mike ever been a beacon of agreeability with people giving him shit, especially those older than him? He wasn't really trying to be cool, Eddie was a freak. I'm honestly not sure they were close friends, even if they were in the club together - and maybe I'm wrong. I feel like Dustin was the closer one, and Mike enjoyed the club, but was probably also going through the motions of high school. I haven't watched the show in a while, might need to revisit to reevaluate episode one to see how Mike is acting overall that episode. There's a lot packed in there.

He wanted his approval, though. His body language around him. The cafeteria scene, though - that song playing in the background. Mike had a crush. I stand by that forever. Eddie wasn't on Mike's mind once he left for Cali because Mike wasn't around Eddie, and Eddie's part in the story was for those in Hawkins. Television storytelling. Mike had to pretend and force it again for El and hide it all and act messy af with Will. But it set the tone for the season, what happened in episode one. Why would he mention Eddie when they had other things going on in California?

And I stand by in canon - no real purposeful chemistry between him and Steve (I don't care what people do in fanon fanfic world - yes, yall want two adult male characters to ship and write smut about. I see you, I understand you, I've been you. I just have no investment because Byler is more interesting to me and I'm bitter about the Steddie fandom because I wish I liked them more so I could enjoy more fic and art while wishing people weren't babies and fearful about Byler for no damned reason). YES there was a cheeky little remark in the van, but I think Eddie's just an ass, not specifically flirtatious. He spent too much screen time on pushing Steve and Nancy together, for whatever reason (plot device reasons). He moved the narrative. He will move the emotional narrative for Dustin, like Bob moved it for Joyce, and Barb for Nancy.

It's interesting that there's this discomfort with either Mike or Will having a wandering eye for anyone other than each other, which is just unrealistic. You don't have to write them with other characters if you don't want to, but to not even acknowledge what might have brought them along their sexuality journey... boring. I've literally read things where fans say "Mike is just Will-sexual" or the same for Will. Ughh, spare me. Let them be gaaaaay. Let them admire men around them and have formative crushes on other boys, especially older boys. That's sooooo formative and something fun about the speculative nature of fandom, a space to dive into what that could mean for the characters.

Take Eddie for example, great question. Because we talk a lot about what Eddie meant for Mike's sexuality, but what would Will have thought about him? I'm not sure, because I can see multiple angles with him. There's the rock and roll angle and the unashamed nerd angle and the DnD angle - I also think Eddie draws? They'd have a lot to bond over. Eddie's unabashedly himself. Will would admire that. But Will's also a little reserved, a little bit of a doormat sometimes. How would he react to the somewhat brash attitude? The aggressive methods. The critiques and insistence of nonconformity. But Will is really the most himself of everyone, even if hiding a massive secret. His style and personality and demeanor is neither "conformity to being normal" (Mike) nor a somewhat forced "fuck you to conservative small town society" (Eddie). Will stands alone.

I firmly believe Will would have gone to Lucas's basketball game - the loyalty of friendship. But with Eddie screaming at them in the cafeteria, judging them? Would he even have joined Hellfire? Would the Party have even joined if Will had been there - maybe, maybe not. It seemed Will leaving broke the glue. Would they all have even been interested if Will was there - would he have made some comment to the group - "I'm not interested in joining a new party. What we have is good enough, right?" or would Will been intrigued by joining in a group with fellow nerds? I honestly cannot make up my mind. And I'm not so sure that Will would be as into Eddie as Mike is. I just feel like there would always be either this layer of trepidation or his admiration might be at arms-length. But I can also see Eddie as maybe clocking Will for his sexuality and maybe since they're all fellow misfits, maybe he'd be a source of telling Will to embrace who he is and tell the rest of the town to fuck off. I'm not sure he would be that sort of mentor but he... has the potential capacity. And maybe we can make the case of bi Eddie, as something he and Will could find commonality over, idk. That makes for a cool fanon exploration, to be honest.

Kind of a ramble, kind of a lot of ground covered. But there's a lot of interesting directions to take with Eddie - who is just a fascinating point of conversation regarding his role in Stranger Things. The Eddie Effect is both bafflingly overly-popular while simultaneously underutilized in other subsets of the deeper fandom.

[carefulfears]

can you pleeeease please pls pls talk about piper maru/apocrypha theeee apex of the early myth arc obviously i just rewatched it and also you rewatched it a few months ago but i rly would like to hear you get super into it. talk about watever you please but i wld love 2 hear stuff about specific scenes/line or plot implications or performances or technical stuff you liked or what have you. i love you xoxo mikey

okay coming back to this because we just watched these together lol but the thing about piper maru/apocrypha is that like...they speak so much for themselves. and they have a lot to say, about the core themes of the series. it's not just the apex of the myth-arc, it's a subtle love letter of everything that the show believes in.

firstly, i've said this before, but that opening sequence of first scully and skinner, then scully and mulder, is so much of what it all boils down to. and, almost in contrast to the rest of the arc, it's relatively loving and hopeful. just not in the sense that everyone wants things to be.

the government is not going to pursue melissa's murder investigation. the FBI does not care. those in power do not care. they have the tools and technology to piece together any crime, but, as scully says:

"in a case of a woman, my sister, who was gunned down in cold blood in a well-lit apartment building by a shooter who left the weapon at the crime scene, we can't even put together enough to keep anybody interested."

scully is always bubbling with this benevolent indignant rage, just under the surface, and it's so moving when it breaks. it's her sister. and no one is even interested.

it matters that skinner tells her that he's fighting it, he's going to appeal. he's going to go over all of the evidence personally, make sure nothing was overlooked. i love the way he tells her that he got the memo last night and debated calling her at home, you can tell that he's been sitting with it all night.

when she goes downstairs, and mulder is buzzing about some ship wreckage that he's already researched coordinates and weather and radiation spots before anyone else got there that morning, the way she smiles is the end of any confusion as to why she stays. it's been 23 years since the last time anyone cared about his dead sister, and he's down there digging. ("i'm just...constantly amazed by you.")

it's nice that someone stays interested. it's nice to spend your life with someone who cares, when no one else does.

later, in san francisco, i always cry when scully drives onto the military base where she grew up, and sees the kids playing. and it flashes to the kids as her and melissa. once again, this episode is a love letter to everything this show believes.

and when she speaks to her old neighbor, it's spelled out in my favorite quote of the franchise: "we bury our dead alive, don't we?"

i always think of @scullysflannel's post on this thematic arc:

But then I also think about “we bury our dead alive” and “nothing disappears without a trace” and how The X-Files is always in conversation with its ghosts...It matters that the show is saying both everything ends and nothing’s ever really over. You can’t stop moving forward, but there’s also a duty to remember, both out of love (“I want to remember how it was”) and to prevent the same things from happening to anyone else. The future won’t be any better unless people honor the ones who came before. Progress on The X-Files is this constant push and pull between hope and tragedy; you can’t have one without the other.

the x-files is always in conversation with its ghosts, and everything buried still speaks.

when the first installment of this two-parter ends, skinner is shot for his unwillingness to abandon melissa's case. and krycek's soul is overridden with visible darkness, before mulder's eyes.

(i also want to talk about krycek lying, in the airport, and telling mulder that he didn't kill his father. but i think that may be a larger post on krycek/mulder and trust.)

(it literally can't be stressed enough that krycek briefly becomes an alien in this episode and mulder doesn't notice. mikey like that one time you were like "if i were possessed by a demon and a guy who i know personally sat next to me on a twenty hour flight and didn't notice at all i would be so mad")

moving on to apocrypha...well...the x-files is about love, you guys. i love scully running into the hospital and holding skinner's hand. most of this episode is a whirlwind of allies, of understandings. and a testament to how much it matters, to have allies. to have someone you can call. to have three friends who will pull off an elaborate ice-rink locker heist. to have someone who will come hold your hand, chase down an ambulance to watch over you.

back at the FBI, pendrell breaks down the data they've collected on skinner's shooter. partial prints and saliva and secretors and hemofactors and chromosome-stains and hair fibers. i love the run-down that they give, it really drives home the point that scully was making in the beginning. they have all of this equipment and all of these resources and all of this science. but what does it matter when no one cares enough to follow through?

ultimately, it's scully that pieces together the evidence, and realizes that the man who shot skinner is the same man who killed melissa. (at the same time, the syndicate is starting to grow impatient with CSM, as the man suspected in the shooting is: "one of yours, isn't he?")

but in the end, there's nothing. they're pulled out of the silos without finding any evidence. they lose krycek, after learning of his involvement. the man who killed melissa is dead in his cell. "nothing vanishes without a trace," but everything can be controlled.

when mulder goes to melissa's grave to tell scully that cardinale is dead, it's one of my favorite details of the series that he's holding flowers. it just makes me tear up that he stopped to bring missy flowers. even though he was just going by to tell scully news. (it was only a year ago that it was missy sitting having coffee with him, or banging on his apartment door. that it was missy who didn't give up on him, when scully was gone. these sisters linger. there's a kind of reverent respect.)

"You know I thought... when we found him, this man that killed Melissa, that...that when we brought him to justice, I would feel some kind of closure. But the truth is no court...no punishment is ever enough."

four years before the show concludes "there is no closure," scully quietly betrays, there is no closure. nothing would ever be enough. her sister is gone. there are no answers, there is no justice, that would make it better. (and what a statement to make)

and the episode ends on scully repeating back: "maybe we bury the dead alive."

as we cut to krycek, locked in the missile silo, banging on the door, crying, screaming for help.

it is on this note that the x-files leaves its most thematically relevant arc. there is no closure. we bury our dead alive. and no one is ever coming to save you.