Happy Zutara Month, everybody! What, you didn’t know that was a thing that existed? Well, it is, and it does, and it has for at the very least the nine years that have gone by since the finale of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender tore that ship apart, set it on flame, and then salted the ashes.
Still, here we are, celebrating the ship almost a decade after the fact. And that “us” is not just rabid fangirls in their twenties to thirties, hiding in their own tag on tumblr.
Alrrrighty. I’ll be very interested to see if any of our writers want to take on a rebuttal of sorts (a Kataang shipper’s rejoice?), but I have to say I love the way Jana calls herself out as a shipper in a lot of places, and how she walks a line of “but isn’t this better” along with “okay, my goggles here.”
Very very thoughtful and meticulous analysis that gets at the idea of why Zutara is still a thing, still compelling to some, and still painful for those shippers to think about.
…Yeah, so, me writing stuff is still a thing. This time about something very silly that is very, very dear to me.
Or: How one of my favorite Christmas movies, and a Cinderella story at that, turned out to be really, really gay.
There’s nothing like some long-standing family traditions to really
get you in the mood for the holidays – even if that mood is vague
annoyance about doing the same shit all over again every year.
And in my family, and from what I can tell most of Germany and a
bunch of other predominantly eastern European countries, one of these
long-standing traditions are related to a charming little movie called,
well, Tři oříšky pro Popelku or Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel
in Czech and German respectively, as this was a 1973 co-production
between an east German and Czech studio. The literal translation would
be Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella, though a UK release, which does exist, is called Three Wishes for Cinderella.
Starting around the first Advent Sunday, this movie is basically
omnipresent on German television, and sharing the many, many air dates
of it on Facebook has become my family’s very own tradition over the
last years.
There is a post-Gilmore life for me! And it starts with analyzing my favorite Christmas movie until it’s gay.
He’s shaking
as he’s closing the door, even though she is the one standing there without any
clothes on. It’s almost enough to make her feel bad. Almost.
“Are you
alright, dear?” She asks, inching closer, head cocked in concern, and almost
but not quite dropping the mocking tone to her voice.
“Yes,” he
answers, as quickly as his eyes dart up and down her naked form again. “Yes,
quite.” Then he uncorks the bottle of what he’d referred to as Courage and
takes a long swig.
Vex raises
he eyebrows at him and crosses her arms, careful to do it in a way that pushes
up her tits for some totally accidental cleavage.
“Do you
honestly need to be drunk for this?” Now her tone swings back to sardonic and
mocking. “I mean, by all means, do go on, this is only the second least
flattering thing that’s happened to me in the bedroom. But once you accidentally
call me by my brother’s name, I’ll have to throw you out.”
Making him
choke on it was indeed an excellent plan to get Percy to put down the bottle,
though it’s probably a shame about the undoubtedly fancy liquor he’s coughing
up. She graciously steps closer and slaps his back to help with the process
anyhow.
“Great,” he
manages to say between coughs, eyes transfixed on her collarbone for some
reason. “Now that’s something for me to worry
about.”
something I am totally not working on right now shut up
So, with some additional time since its release, I think we’re now all ready for an in-depth review and recap of Gilmore Girls – A Year In The Life. As I hinted at in the spoiler-free review from two weeks ago, I wasn’t too thrilled with this. I was in places; some of this is really, really good. And yet, the bad just poisons the well so badly.
But all of that is still a long, long journey away from us. So. For the last time. Get ready in whatever clever way you can think of, because we’re doing this.
For anyone wondering my thoughts on the GG revival, Jana basically wrote down everything in my mind for this full review, frenetic detail and all.
Well, I mean, you kind of were there for every stage of me watching and writing this, and I almost pulled an award show in the end and thanked you for helping me keep my sanity.
Aka I relentlessly complain and analyze 6 hours of television to death and into the darkest interpretations allowed by a quick stunt pulled for no other reason than to go out with a bang in my last Gilmore Girls piece ever. Enjoy.
So someone brought it to my attention that Laura put a song for Percy on the very first Vex playlist. Referencing all the demony bullshit of the Whitestone arc, and probably about that, but, like…
It’s called fucking Say It To Me Now. And it’s perfect. And could totally make it on the next playlist, too. Someone seems to have been playing the long game here.
And is also the perfect soundtrack for angsty smut. Not that I’m writing any right now or anything.
Talking about season 6 last time felt like you could literally tell when the downward spiral that led to the worst season of Gilmore Girls
started. And no, it wasn’t April Nardini, at least not exactly. Now we
have reached season 7, which I previously referred to as a “dumpster
fire”—an ending to the series so unworthy, the show’s original creator
didn’t even watch it, and we’re getting a revival in less than two
weeks.
But is it really that bad, or are we all just bitter? And also bored. Let’s find out!
I don’t think I make a secret of it, but Gilmore Girls was one of my favorite pieces of media growing up (until S4, that is). Hopefully you’ve done yourself the treat of reading Jana’s meticulous and even neurotic retrospectives on each season with such thoroughness that it puts me and Julia to shame.
This is the final piece, with the show limping across the finish line in what is easily one of the worst seasons of any piece of media. Enjoy!
Never before have I felt such a strong need to post a “senpai noticed me!” meme.
Thank you so much!
(Also yes, look guys, I am still writing this thing. Last season retrospective, it’s only new stuff from here on out)
“I just…
Don’t want things to change for no reason,” she muttered into his shoulder. She
didn’t actually need the propping up from him, but it felt nice, so she kept
playing along. “You know, when we talked today? I mean, besides the fact that
we talked about death and resurrection and undead, it just was… Kinda nice to
talk to him, you know? Like nothing happened?”
“But things
happened,” Vax said softly. “And things will continue to happen. We could all
die when the next fucking dragon shows up here, and remember how that felt.”
“That is
such a mean argument,” she protested. “Oh, bye Grog. I guess.” Vex waved at
Grog as Vax led her out the room. Grog toasted her and went back to drinking.
“Yes, it’s
mean, but it’s also true,” Vax admitted, dragging her along. “Remember
Tiberius? That could be all of us in any moment.”
“Not as
well as you do,” she snorted and poked him in the side again. “And now I
instantly feel horrible. I’m drunk, don’t judge me. Also, really? He’s the
example? When we’re all in this shit just because of that time we all built a
pillow fort around Percy’s cold, dead body?”
“Is that
when you realized you are in love with him?” Vax asked in disbelief.
“I told the
fucking tree like a week before that, remember?” She now punched him in the
side now. “Keep up, man.”
Plans are made and also fail, more drunken awkwardness happens, and people talk. A lot. Just not what they’re supposed to be talking about.
Season 4 was a turning point for Gilmore Girls as a whole. We left familiar settings and had both Rory and Lorelai try
something new: college and opening an inn. Season 5 sees Lorelai’s inn
running, and Rory still at college, but while season 4 at least still
had some of the charm of the first three seasons, season 5 is where things get… Icky.
This is basically where everything starts going to hell.
Two more to go after this! Yes, it is me and I write again. This time about a good show going to shit, #NotMyRory and all your faves are ruined. It also takes me an entire paragraph to use a gif from my newest obsession, and that was only with really restraining myself.
Spoilers up to episode 69 in text, 70 in spirit. “I feels really third grade in here.”
“For fuck’s sake…” Vax muttered and half-dragged, half-carried his sister with him. “Have you tried talking to him yet?”
“Oh,
sure!” She retorted, making a grand, sweeping gesture with her free arm
and most of her body, forcing him to tighten his grip on her. “Why
hello Percival, so glad you’re alive again, and by the way, I… I…” She
apparently couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Vax sighed deeply.
“You did it before, and I’m sure you can do it again and be a bit more eloquent about it.”
In
which Vex is stubborn, Percy is emotionally constipated, Vax is a
thoroughly annoyed but effective matchmaker, Scanlan and Keyleth find
their true calling, Pike is somewhat glad her service to Sarenrae tends
to keep her away from this train wreck, and Grog is both happy and
confused that he suddenly has more drinking buddies than he used to. A
drama in 3 acts.
@actualinspectorkemp got me into this horrible soap opera-esque mess. Suckered me into it with drama and a pairing and shit and now I can’t get out and write fanfiction out of frustration. And y’all get to suffer along with me.
Overdressed & Underappreciated 