Meme: Favorite Canon Moments!

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

Since yesterday some of us got our rage on talking about the worst canon moments, I figured maybe we'd want to go ahead and do favorite canon moments. I thought it'd make us all feel better. Also I'm going to be bored again today and we haven't done this since 2008. Don't ask me how we managed that, but we did.

So from just_add_starch:

What are your 5 favorite moments from your pup's canon? Describe them and then explain to us why you like them so well. They can be overall moments, moments involving your characters, or both! You can include video clips, quotes, anything you want!

Have at it!

Comments

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

Not that I decided yesterday I'd be posting this today or anything. And YOU try stopping at five.

1. Remedial Chaos Theory (http://youtu.be/xsE5JtY2WiE)- My new favorite episode! Troy and Abed throw a housewarming party, and we get to see seven different timelines as a different character is selected to get the pizza and how them being gone affects that particular timeline. Super interesting as a study of what each character means to the group, and so funny. I linked Troy's cuz it's my FAVORITE. Also, TORG.

2. The bottle episode! (http://youtu.be/a-WjwgKe4uw)- Annie freaks out over a lost pen, so she makes the entire study group stay in the library till someone fesses up. She maybe goes WAY over the top with it and it gets sliiiightly out of hand, but it's my second favorite ep in the series.

3. PAINTBALL!- There are three episodes over two seasons covering the school's epic paintball battles. The first is s1's Modern (http://youtu.be/MvpT8ocp0SE) Warfare (http://youtu.be/Se-LPKxcLSQ), and then s2 gave us the two-parter A Fistful of Paintballs (http://youtu.be/t2pp59Hfzl0) and For a Few Paintballs More (http://youtu.be/9AfBHoG6T_s). The first one was so awesome they had to give us a western parody, and then a Star Wars parody. No seriously.

4. Troy meets his hero Levar Burton (http://youtu.be/UajEx7iU9-M)- A compilation of the whole thing. "YOU CAN'T DISAPPOINT A PICTURE!"

5. Abed, Troy and Annie FAIL AT SNEAKY (http://youtu.be/K7ZcDShqCl0)- "MY WHOLE BRAIN IS CRYING!"

6. ZOMBIE EPISODE. (http://youtu.be/IXYUn5BOgHA)- Seriously, this show pulled it off. And it wasn't just a dream or something.

7. The clip show! (http://youtu.be/g0ou1RG38Pc)- Done with 100% new footage. This would be the montage of all of Jeff's speeches through the clips.

8. CLAYMATION CHRISTMAS (http://youtu.be/oJcp0hnzbw4)- Sure, all the characters are stop motion animated, but it's actually a really awesome character study of Abed.

9. "I am completely comfortable being uncomfortable with my sexuality!" (http://youtu.be/gQqcXfz1HoY)- Completely safe for work, btw, and one of my favorite Annie moments. Since she was going to have to demonstrate putting the condom on a banana for the STD fair without ever having seen a penis (not that she can say the word), Shirley and Britta sneak her in to see one. And they get caught. And lo.

10. Dungeons and Dragons! (http://youtu.be/YlQmdkyNQ90)- The study group decides to invite someone outside their group in for a D&D game. Starring Abed as the elf maiden and Annie as Hector the Well-Endowed.

Honorable mention: Annie blows everything off (http://youtu.be/6ZyUyEbL8fg)- Passive aggressiveness at is best.

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

Ugh, cheater. Preparing ahead of time. ;) This is going to just be me trawling the Tumblr tag because ahahaha otherwise I'll never leave the house for work.

All right, so a lot of these might be from Steph's tenures as Batgirl and Spoiler rather than as Robin, but in my defense she was both of those a lot longer than she got to be Robin.

This one's from Batgirl 14, in which Kara Zor-El comes over to hang out with Steph, and what starts out as a harmless night of touring Steph's college campus turns into Batgirl and Supergirl chasing down vampires all over Gotham. It's one of my favorite issues, partly because all the banter is like this (http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltxyhjzLRj1r4p4wco1_500.jpg).

From somewhere back in the mid-90s Robin run, Steph as Spoiler makes Barbara Gordon facepalm (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltnw8pUVF71qibb61o1_500.jpg). She's good at that.

The origin of Batman, as told by Stephanie Brown. (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltn3umhbnC1qcicbto1_500.jpg)

Stephanie Brown, (http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/11916884193/2/tumblr_ltn0u3FVz81r0np08) Harry Potter fan (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltn0u3FVz81r0np08o3_500.png) -- Okay so. In the DC-verse, at least pre-reboot, there is this place called Limbo Town, which is like this inverted Puritan village where everyone does magic and you can get burned at the stake for not being magical. In Batgirl 18, Steph ends up having to go undercover with Klarion the Witch Boy, and gets challenged to a spell duel, and, well . . . this is what she does.

Any moment of Steph's relationship with Barbara Gordon is a favorite of mine, but this rooftop conversation from Batgirl 24 is what I have on hand.

THIS SCENE OMFG. (http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls9py7Zn6H1qcnmfpo1_500.jpg) From Red Robin, issue I can't be bothered to remember. Steph's ex-boyfriend Tim Drake, who just came back from a trip around the world to try and find Bruce because he refuses to believe Bruce is dead, was none too pleased to return home and discover Steph "playing dressup," as he put it, because Tim can be a smug superior prick when it comes to Steph. This assassin he was working with (WTF getting into the League of Assassins, Timothy) comes after them and pulls a gun on Steph, and Tim has this whole EMO ANGSTY INNER MONOLOGUE OF MANPAIN about how Steph's going to die now, and it's HIS FAULT and OH GOD WHAT HAS HE DONE -- and then this happens. It's one of my favorites ever.

I can't do this without including Stephanie Brown slapping Bruce Wayne in the face (http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrhyafQsaY1qa0gybo1_500.jpg) from the Batgirl issue of Bruce Wayne: The Road Home. That's just necessary. I love the rant she gives him afterward, too, about how she hit him because she was afraid he'd tell her to stop being Batgirl (like he fired her as Robin, and kept telling her to stop being Spoiler), and then getting really mad about that "because you don't get to take that away from me." It's a big moment for Steph, when she realizes she doesn't need or even want his approval to validate her self-worth any more. (http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsi4dvrqRp1qmavteo1_500.png)

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

God, I so loved Stephanie as Batgirl. That series was so well written and was something I looked forward to reading every month.

And Steph explaining the whole bat family history to Wendy is one of my all time favorite moments in comics.

I can't even read Gail Simone's Batgirl without comparing her to Steph.

[lockestheway]

I'm going to skip over Ender's Game, since Peter's only shown from Valentine and Ender's perspective in it, and hence mostly (though not completely) functions as the Big Bad. Skip forward instead to the Shadow Series, or How I Gave In And Learned To Love The Psychopath.

1. Peter's first appearance.

Shadow of the Hegemon, second book in the Shadow series. After some drama with Bean setting up the kidnapping of various Battle School students, we switch to Peter, who, being POV character for the first time, gives a long (long) internal monologue criticizing his own abilities, reflecting upon the message he just got from Graff, analyzing his chances for the future, agonizing because he's just not a military strategist, sublimating his very real pain over Valentine and Ender leaving him through anger and hurt pride, terrifying himself with the image of a life spent worrying about things like bills and women, and finally regrouping to tell himself: I can do this.

This... was not the Peter of Ender's Game, whose every show of insecurity was cynically judged by Valentine.

"That's me. I can manipulate the press. I can paint public opinion, nudge and pull and poke and inject things into it, but when it comes to war -- and it will come to war -- I'm going to look about as clever as the French when the blitzkrieg rolled through."

2. Peter's first meeting with Bean

Which is about as disastrous and awesome as the first meeting between 'the two most arrogant boys on Earth' (tm Sister Carlotta) would realistically be. First, Bean meets Peter for point five seconds and decides he dislikes him. Then he goes to Peter's house. We get a scene of WTF-and-sort-of-awesome, where Bean and Peter's mom talk about Ender and Peter and Bean logically deduces that the Wiggins have been playing their children all along, both to keep themselves safe and to encourage Peter's ambitions. In the process, however, their kids grew up in a home where no one was honest with each other, to predictably rotten results.

Peter comes home, pretty much the only one in the room who doesn't both know that Peter is Locke and that everyone else in the room knows he's Locke, and attempts to play the innocent son when all he really wants to do is throttle everyone in the room. Especially Bean. Smug bastard.

It's both amusing and heartbreaking, and this scene cemented my sympathy for Peter very effectively.

""Do what you want," said Father. "It's not like you're a minor. We can't stop you."

"We could never stop him from doing what he wanted even when he was a minor," said Mother.

Damn right, thought Peter.

"The curse of having children who are smarter than you," said Father, "is that they think their superior rational process is enough to compensate for their lack of experience."

If I were a little brat like Bean, that comment would have been the last straw. I would have walked away and not come home for a week, if ever. But I'm not a child and I can control my personal resentments and do what's expedient. I'm not going to throw off my camouflage out of pique.

At the same time, I can't be faulted, can I, for wondering if there's any chance that my father might have a stroke and go permanently mute."

(And now I run off for a meeting, but I have TOO MUCH MORE.)

[lockestheway]

3. Bean and Peter finally see eye to eye, in a way, at the end of Shadow of the Hegemon

The dialogue says everything:

"Yes, Bean. I'm arrogant. I think I'm the only person who understands what to do and has what it takes to do it. I think the world needs me. In fact, I'm even more arrogant than you. Is that what this comes down to? I should have been humbler? Only you are allowed to assess your own abilities candidly and decide that you're the best man for a particular job?"

"I don't want the job."

"I don't want this job, either," said Peter. "What I want is the job where the Hegemon speaks, and wars stop, where the Hegemon can redraw borders and strike down bad laws and break up international cartels and bring all of humanity a chance for a decent life in peace and whatever freedom their culture will allow. And I'm going to get that job, by creating it step by step. Not only that, I'm going to do it with your help, because you want somebody to do that job, and you know, just as surely as I do, that I'm the only one who can do it."

Bean nodded, saying nothing.

"You know all that, and you're still angry with me."

"I'm angry with Achilles," said Bean. "I'm angry with the stupidity of those who refused to listen to me. But you're here, and they're not."

"It's more than that," said Peter. "If that's all it was, you would have talked yourself out of your wrath long before we had this conversation."

"I know," said Bean. "But you don't want to hear it."

"Because it will hurt my feelings? Let me make a stab at it, then. You're angry because every word from my mouth, every gesture, every expression on my face reminds you of Ender Wiggin. Only I'm not Ender, I'll never be Ender, you think Ender should be doing what I'm doing, and you hate me for being the one who made sure Ender got sent away."

"It's irrational," said Bean. "I know that. I know that by sending him away you saved his life. The people who helped Achilles try to kill me would have worked day and night to kill Ender without any prompting from Achilles at all. They would have feared him far more than they feared you or me. I know that. But you look and talk so much like him. And I keep thinking, if Ender had been here, he wouldn't have botched things the way I did."

"The way I read it, it's the other way around. If you hadn't been there with Ender, he would have botched it at the end. No, don't argue, it doesn't matter. What does matter is, the world's the way it is right now, and we're in a position where, if we move carefully, if we think through and plan everything just right, we can fix this. We can make it better. No regrets. No wishing we could undo the past. We just look to the future and work our zhupas off."

"I'll look to the future," said Bean, "and I'll help you all I can. But I'll regret whatever I want to regret."

"Fair enough," said Peter. "Now that we've agreed on that, I think you should know. I've decided to revive the office of Strategos."

Bean gave one hoot of derision. "You're putting that title on the commander of a force of two hundred soldiers, a couple of planes, a couple of boats, and an overheated company of strategic planners?"

"Hey, if I can be called Hegemon, you can take on a title like that."

[dollpocalypse]

So my canon is cracky as hell and it has its moments of quality, but mostly I just love Topher. That may become clear in this list.

5. Topher and Adelle high. THIS IS WHERE I GET ALL MY CANON ABOUT HIS JUNK FOOD. Not to mention the basis of a certain scene with Ramona the other day.

4. The scene in "Vows" where Whiskey calls him "her God" (see, Len, just like alt!Peter!) and tries to crawl into bed with him (not like alt!Peter) and is generally acting crazy, and she asks him why he would program him to hate her and just asidghpaoisgphasip omg my bb genius, omg.

3. "Belonging," which has my kid finally growing a pair and taking a lesson from all the white hats he knows here and saving an Active from being basically bought by a guy who made her crazy, literally. Incidentally it's where all my bloodied icons of him come from, so, yeah. IT'S INTENSE.

2. The end the end oh god the end, in both the "Epitaph" episodes. *hugs Topher*

1. Topher and Sierra in "Haunted." That episode is actually one of the most hated ones in fandom, possibly second only to the one where Echo is a backup dancer, but this is the only episode I can rewatch without being bored to tears. Basically you have Topher imprinting an Active for what he calls "diagnostics," except really he programs her to be his friend for the day and play laser tag with him and talk about nerdy movies and at the end she brings him a birthday cake and aisoasdgiaohspighpasidg I cry every time. Shut up. I may have had oddly sniffly moments in the past thinking about how I'm gonna adapt it.

[showmetheproof.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Also, oh my god, I forgot the hilarity that is Adelle high. And Topher *still* sucking up to her while both their brains are flying. "I am so ... British."

And yeah. *Hugs birthday Topher tons*

[its-theclimb.livejournal.com]

I thought about just linking you guys to songs. But I won't. Because I am a nice person.

5. The first half of the movie when everyone seems to realize for the first time ever that Miley is an enormous brat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=q5c-vsPcI7k#t=60s). She gets into a shoe fight with Tyra Banks (no, seriously, watch) and this is her dad's first and only clue that she needs to take a "Hannah detox." True story.

4. It is RIDICULOUS and ends in THE WEIRDEST ROMANTIC REALIZATION EVER, but there's an episode with Miley breaking up a teenage wedding between her celebrity BFF and her celebrity ex-boyfriend, and if I wasn't dying on the floor laughing through most of it, it would have no place on this list. Mainly I just like it because WTF, DISNEY, WTF.

3. All the completely random costumes Miley wears over the course of the show. THE GIRL IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE. I have icons of her as: Indiana Joannie, a carrot, a moose, a different moose, a pirate, a salad, a chicken, and some Renaissance lady with weird hair. And oh god there are so many more. And the best part is that THEY ALL HAVE CANON JUSTIFICATIONS.

2. Almost every scene with Miley and Jackson fighting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt3MVLP-tEc). I sort of love their dynamic way too much.

1. I know I'm a total hypocrite because I completely bitched about this episode yesterday, but the scene where she comes out as Hannah Montana is actually all kinds of awesome, and she sings "Wherever I Go (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihr7uY6PJYo)," which is my favorite song from the show by leaps and bounds, and IDK IT'S AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT. Shut up.

[solo_sword]

I am totally doing as much as I want now, because I've gotten through a buncha canon now and am about to get to more so. FREE REIGN, I SAY. Though I'm trying to stick to Jaina-related or Jaina-adjacent stuff. So maybe not so free.

1. Anakin Solo's death (New Jedi Order: Star By Star)/Jacen's death (Legacy of the Force: Invincible)- How much does it have to suck to have to be there when both your brothers die? Sigh. I put these both together because, basically, I CANNOT READ EITHER OF THEM WITHOUT CRYING. Anakin's death is self-sacrificial and and heartwrenching and the big turning point of the Vong War and the series, and also made me put the book in the freezer.

Meanwhile Invincible was completely cruel and has these flashbacks throughout the book to when the twins were younger and There For Each Other, and each chapter starts with one of Jacen's old (horrible) jokes, so you have THAT STUFF right after he dies, and Jaina's reaction just kills me every time, and SERIOUSLY. TEARS.

2. Protecting the Jedi Academy (Legacy of the Force: Inferno)- Troy Denning writes badass!Jaina the best (which is why I can't wait till Apocalypse- Jaina vs. a bunch of Sith? YES PLEASE). So when she's hanging at the Jedi Academy while it's under occupation by the Galactic Alliance Guard under Jacen's orders, and the GAG starts coma gassing the adults and rounding the kids up, Jaina definitely breaks out the badass. Like we're talking taking out guards, completely without a lightsaber, sending a shiv into a dude's throat with the Force from another room...

3. Jag yelling at Jaina (Legacy of the Force: Fury)- Which might sound weird, but. Up till this point, Jaina had been focusing on hunting down Jacen and the Sith and therefore she was being a closed-off bitch about everything, and Jag was the first person to finally call her on it. In book SEVEN. And it turned out he knew her well enough to do it in a way that she'd actually listen. I'd more or less just disliked him (and the ship) until this point, and this completely won me over.

4. The proposal (Fate of the Jedi: Omen)- I wouldn't think I'd say any marriage proposal that's spoken like a business proposal would be on my favorites list, but it's so perfectly J/J and it's nice to see them both happy for once. (KEEP IT THAT WAY, CANON.)

5. Jaina's characterization from Invincible through Fate of the Jedi- (Mostly.) Jaina and Tahiri both got completely screwed in what they did to their characters in LOTF, and canon finally pulled it together with both of them. Thank god. And while I'm not going to get into too much detail about Tahiri except for the Thank godding, my girl got largely ignored for most of LOTF or shoved to the side in the stupid love triangle thing, and then when they finally decided to use her, they did a pretty good job of it. And maybe it's because I've been looking specifically for this stuff, but by Invincible she's the only person with a calm head through everything who does what needs to be done, and the fact that she came out of what seems like some pretty horrible aftermath well-adjusted and happy is amazing and awesome. Plus they've finally decided to let her be kinda kickass with her powers and giving her credit for her piloting skills again and I'm pretty sure she's the only character in FOTJ to be even peripherally involved in every real plot in the series. Sure, she got stuck on the BACK cover of the last book and she has to share it while LUKE GOT THREE, but... shut up.

And let's ignore any handling of the idiot ball in Ascension, because they were all playing hot potato with it. NO, THE SITH DID NOT JUST GO HOME, JAINA, GOD.

[solo_sword]

6. The Jaina and Lando Show (Fate of the Jedi: Allies, Vortex)- I don't know why, I just LOVED Jaina and Lando teaming up for a couple books. These are two characters who haven't been in the same scene since the NJO iirc, and I don't think they've ever had one on one dialogue throughout the 20 years of them publishing these books. So seeing them being awesome and snarky and Jaina worrying him unnecessarily was just so much fun for me. And she called him Uncle Lando! Come on!

7. Traitor (New Jedi Order)- Matthew Stover is, imo, the best SW author out there, and this is a great book. Like even outside of just being a great Star Wars book, it's great, period. It's the book that made me love Jacen Solo again (temporarily, SIGH, Jacen), and as it takes place during that time when Jaina was being dark sidey and bitchy, Stover did more to make her scary on two pages than Elaine Cunningham did in an entire book.

8. The opening of Outcast (Fate of the Jedi)- So remember the beginning of Return of the Jedi, when the Emperor shows up on the Death Star and Vader goes to meet him and all the stormtroopers are around? Take away the context and put Jag and Jaina in it instead and you have their first meeting of the series. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

9. THE EMPIRE OF THE FREAKING HAND (Fate of the Jedi: Ascension)- I said Jaina-adjacent, didn't I? While Jag has been GROSSLY underused in Fate of the Jedi, throwing him in the political arena has made him tons more interesting because it turns out he's kind of a devious bastard when he needs to be. Like when he finally really goes toe to toe with Daala and it turns out that he's been hiding the long-lost Empire of the Hand for who knows how long and was able to call them for help in the most perfect, badass way in the middle of battle. This moment may have made me like this book even though the first half was terrible. GOD, I CAN'T WAIT TILL HE'S EMPEROR.

It's going to bother me now that I don't have ten.

[bitten_notshy]

I have to start by linking everyone to the first story from Jack's canon, because it is just that awesome.

1. Sebastien is in trouble. Jack gets to be a badass.
Sebastien, still blinking tears from his eyes, couldn't see it. But he could imagine quite plainly that Jack paused, turned—slowly—and balled his hands into fists before pursing his lips into the most condescending consideration imaginable. He would stare the captain in the eye until Hoak flushed and dropped his gaze, and then he would drawl—
"Oh, I think not."
It was as well that Sebastien's face hurt too much for smiling, as he heard the hesitancy in the captain's voice as he said, "Lad?"
"I'm of age," Jack said. "Eighteen in December, before you ask, and also before you ask, I know everything I need to know about Sebastien de Ulloa. He saved my life, and you'll have to kill me to take me away from him." He lifted his chin, arms crossed, the smallest man in the room—shorter than two of the women, in fact—and though Sebastien couldn't see it, he knew Jack glowered.
Sebastien swallowed a ridiculous, hurtful pride, feeling like a man watching his terrier stare down a room full of mastiffs. "Jack—"
"Shut up, Sebastien," Jack said. "Let me handle this. Captain, Germany's laws against vampirism were repealed in the eighteenth century, along with the witchcraft laws. Sebastien has done nothing wrong."

2. Jack tells Sebastien to shut up and let him make his own choices.

Mulishly, Sebastien plowed ahead. "I can't give you a life. Life is for the living, not the undead."
Jack dropped his hand and stared at Sebastien, chin tilted up. "Don't be an idiot."
"Jack?"
Shaking his head, Jack lifted himself up on tiptoe and kissed Sebastien quickly on the mouth. Sebastien closed his eyes for a moment, to savor the passing warmth, and so happened not to see when Jack turned on the balls of his feet and strode away. He'd gone three steps by the time Sebastien stirred himself to movement and caught up. Without looking at him, Jack coughed and ran one frail-seeming hand through his hair. "I don't need you to give me a life, you old fool. Or haven't you noticed that I've got my own?"
Sebastien blinked. Slowed his steps, so that Jack slowed to stay alongside him. "There's no such thing as forever."
"That's all right. I haven't got forever. So if you leave me like Lillian got left, I shall be quite cross. Promise."
It was harder than it should have been, so he knew he wasn't lying.
Sebastien touched Jack's arm, and said, "I promise."

[bitten_notshy]

3. Jack and Abby Irene have dinner.

"You're of Sebastien's court," Mr. Priest said, with a fine display of unconcern. "It would be easier on him if we didn't throw fits and jealous squabbles." And then he smiled up at her through his lashes, a beautiful golden child.
"I'm difficult," he finished, as if he shared a great secret.
The coquettish flirtation left her uneasy, even as she laughed. But she didn't think of herself as a vampire's courtier. Surely the power in their relationship was shared, not taken. "I'm Sebastien's friend," Garrett corrected.
"Yes. Sebastien is considered something of an eccentric."
"How old is he?"
Mr. Priest stopped, and stared. "He doesn't know."
And that was kind. He could have toyed with her, gloated over knowledge she did not share. Oh? He never told you?
"Roughly?"
"He remembers the Black Death," Mr. Priest said. "He remembers the millennium. He saw Vladimir the Great baptized a Christian in Kyiv. And Evie had already left him, by then, and he says they were together forty years or so—"
"Evie."
The blond boy tipped his head. "The one who gave him his first. . .
taste."
"He's a thousand years old, Mr. Priest?"
"My best guess? I make it about eleven hundred. He sometimes mutters to himself in a particularly incomprehensible dialect of medieval vulgar Latin when he's not pretending to that ridiculous Spanish accent. It might be Galicean. He's Galicean. Or Asturian, rather, if I have the dates right."
"But you're not sure?"
Mr. Priest shrugged. "He says he doesn't remember. He says he starved, during the plague, and forgot a great deal."
"And you believe that?"
He tilted his head. His smile slid from cherublike to conspiratorial. For a moment, they were allies. "I think he wishes to believe it."

4. Jack helps Sebastien with some unconventional travel plans.

"Jack, do you think both David and I can fit in that coffin?"
"Coffin?"
"Grant Nelson's coffin. If there's revolution in the streets, I shan't suffer us to be parted. And the mails may not be reliable." The morning post had not arrived, and neither had the forenoon one.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Good God. How. . .cliché."
"Indeed. But if the Governor's darling son is murdering his lovers, then Chouchou must be warned."
"Oh darling," David answered, laughing hopelessly, "do you think for an instant she doesn't know?"
"Nevertheless," Sebastien said. "Nevertheless."
* * *
Sebastien was moderately tall, but slender, and David was a small man by anyone's standard. They fit, face-to-face, lying in one another's arms, although Jack gave them a doubtful glance before he settled the lid. "Breathe shallowly," he joked, hefting the hammer.
"I shan't breathe at all," Sebastien reminded.
"Right. This is insane, you realize."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I CAN SIT HERE AND DO THIS? A long time. Srsly. Again I will limit myself to Angel stuff, and I will probably be editing to add more all day unless someone shuts me up by commenting.

8. All the sneaky little mentions throughout the series about how sincerely fucked up Wes is. There are just these teensy mentions of him getting locked in the closet as a kid, and there's a phone call where he tells his dad how he's leading Angel Investigations and his dad is just not impressed, and at one point a demon calls him paranoid. And then in "Lineage" you actually meet his dad and wow, there you go. Kid's got issues.

7. "A Hole In The World," AKA That Time Wesley Got The Love of His Life For Five Seconds And Then She Tragically Died. I actually bawl all the way through that episode. I mean, I'm okay on Fred, but oh god the acting in that episode is fucking amazing and tearjerky and one look at Wes' face at any given moment (and he goes from, like, determined to fix the situation to being less sure of himself but STILL DETERMINED to being determined to just make her happy once, and then finally he's grieving) -- omg. Just so many emotions.

6. Building off of that -- the rest of S5, wherein Wes is half-crazy and sort of lost in grief and scotch, but he still clings to the shell of the girl he loved and tries to introduce Illyria to the world, and adigphasdighpa I love this man. And in "Origin" he remembers everything that happened with Connor and realizes that all of that, that his mistake there had led to Fred's death, and he has to grieve her ALL OVER AGAIN, and then Illyria is trying to blur the lines between her and Fred and it's so much for him to deal with. And then in "The Girl in Question" he talks to Fred's parents, and you can see in his face he's kind of running through the fact that they could've been his in-laws, and meanwhile he's standing there with this primordial being that isn't their daughter or the girl he loved but he has to pretend that it is and for the love of god, Wesley. I'M SORRY, I WARNED YOU I WOULD GET RANTY.

5. Okay, here, have a lighter one: Early S1, where he is just craving Angel's approval badly and he sort of grovels all over the place and offers to grind squished coffee beans and apologizes for getting kidnapped. This kid, I swear.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

4. Every single thing about the episode "Spin the Bottle." It starts out all super srs with Wes and Gunn's little face-off over Fred, which is when we get Wesley's "I had my throat cut and all my friends abandoned me." And then they all do this spell to try to get Cordy's memories back (whatever, I can justify the absurdity of the whole damn thing because this episode is too amazing), and it ends up regressing them all to their teenage selves (http://vrya.net/bdb/clip.php?clip=4943), with stoner!Fred and bitchy!S1!Cordy and pompous!Wes (W: "I happen to be Head Boy." / C: "Wonder how you got that nickname." DYING.) and thug!Gunn and Liam!Angel. EXCEPT LIAM HAS NO DREADFUL IRISH ACCENT, AND THE FANS REJOICED FOREVER.

And it's all set up with this neat little framing device of Lorne talking to no one, and if nobody's guessed from my twitter handle, I freaking love Lorne. Also, Alexis and Joss' commentary on this episode is A THING OF BEAUTY. I die laughing every. Single. Time. If you ask, I will send it to you, and then you too can experience the hilarity.

Oh, and then there's Angel and Cordelia with some kind of romance subplot. Whatever.

3. Pylea arc. Mmmm, strategizing!general!Wes. HE REALLY CAN DO IT, I SWEAR. He's too awkward to figure this stuff out quite yet, but he will.

2. And: Gun skills. Impractical as it is, the fact that he can shoot two guns while flying through the air is one of my faaaaavorite Wes points. Plus it just adds to how significant it is that a man who can aim that well needed to shoot his father (or a cyborg who looks just like his father) NINE TIMES for threatening his girl. Oh, Wes.

1. The kidnapping-Connor arc. Wes is just so lost and isolated and rejected because he loves this girl and she doesn't see him, and so he's miserable and alone and hurt and he makes a mistake, sure. But then no one gives him two seconds to explain himself once it all goes to hell, and it's his fault and he accepts that, but meanwhile he had his throat cut and Angel tried to kill him and he's just so -- lost. He's so lost that he sees Lilah as someone who might even be able to understand him. Lilah. Oh god, Wes. MY CREYS.

[smartestone]

1. NEVILLE IS A BADASS (The Deathly Hallows)- The movie actually unbadassed him a bit here. In the book, Voldemort puts the Sorting Hat on Neville's head, sets it on fire, and that's how he gets the sword of Gryffindor. Which he then uses to cut off the head of a giant snake. I'll wait for willbethenight to link the quote that he loves so much about it, but god I love this moment.

2. Order of the Phoenix- All of it. I know, I know, Harry was a capslocky bitch. He was also 15 and his life really did suck and I thought being a capslocky bitch was appropriate for that. It's also the first book I read as it came out, so it holds a special place in my heart, but the DA, and that bitch Umbridge, and the Weasley twins leaving school in a literal blaze of glory and Sirius and and and...

3. The Yule Ball dramaz (Goblet of Fire)- I love the plot of HP, but I love when the kids act like kids, dammit. I like the stupid little drama over who's going to the dance with who and Hermione getting upset that Ron was being a brat and it was all so HIGH SCHOOL. (Do I also love how Hermione dated a guy just to piss Ron off because he was with Lavender? Yes, yes, I do.)

4. Hermione showing Rita Skeeter who's boss (Goblet of Fire/Order of the Phoenix)- So at the end of GOF, Hermione traps a beetle. Which happens to be reporter Rita Skeeter in her Animagus form. AND SHE KEEPS HER LIKE THAT till she's good and ready and then ends up getting Rita to write a positive piece on Harry in the middle of a ton of bad press. Look who just let a 16-year-old make her her bitch!

5. Dumbledore's death (Half-Blood Prince)- This would be when it got real. I don't think it got me emotionally like say, Sirius or some of the deaths in book seven, but I thought it was a really well-done way to have the mentor in the story die that had consequences and fallout for soooo many people, not just Harry.

[iwishiwasbig.livejournal.com]

Regarding Neville: 8 nerds who will utterly kick your ass (http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/12/8_nerds_who_will_utterly_kick_your_ass.php)

While the smell of his burning skin and hair filled his nose, he pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the hat and beheaded Voldemort's giant pet snake in one motion, making it possible for Harry Potter to save the world. Then he went and kicked a werewolf's ass. That's not goofy hyperbole for the sake of making a humorous aside - he actually followed having his skull set on fire by killing a giant snake and then beating the fuck out of a werewolf.

[weetuskenraider]

I think I'll mostly stick to later canon for this, because I got my rage out over NJO and LotF yesterday and I'm in love with FotJ Tahiri.

"Say 'too young,' and I'll kick you where you don't want to be kicked." (New Jedi Order: Star by Star) - I mentioned this one in yesterday's meme, and it's still one of my favorite bits ever. When Anakin Solo's putting together the mission to Myrkr in Star by Star (OH GOD), and Tahiri realizes he's trying not to put her on the team, she gets mad about it and confronts him in front of the entire room. He starts to protest, and that's her response. I love that this is Anakin Solo, media darling, Jedi hero, part of the most famous family in the galaxy, but to Tahiri he's still the frustrating kid who's been her best friend for years and she has no qualms about treating him that way in front of everyone.

Tahiri and Corran (New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory, The Final Prophecy) - Corran Horn (former Corellian Security agent, crack pilot, generally awesome Jedi who just happens to be the worst telekinetic ever and it runs in the family) first starts working with Tahiri when she wheedles her way into a supply-running mission with him and Anakin. This being Anakin and Tahiri, of course, it can't stay an ordinary supply run, and ends up with them trying to save an entire planet from invasion and Corran facepalming at both of them a lot. (Kam Solusar, upon finding out where they ended up: "He took Anakin and Tahiri, together? No, I doubt he has any idea whatsoever what he's doing.") After Anakin's death and toward the end of the war, Corran insists on accompanying Tahiri on a mission (to infiltrate the galactic capital, as you do; I swear she does this like three times in NJO) because he doesn't trust her after her personality merge. They clash a lot, but he ends up agreeing to take her on as an apprentice and they get a lot of really snappy banter. I hate that they basically dropped this relationship like a hot potato after NJO.

DARKMELD (Fate of the Jedi) - So when Jaina forms a covert team to undermine the government (SERIOUSLY WITH THE POLITICAL GAMES, SW), it consists of her, Tahiri, Mirax Horn, Cilghal, Winter Celchu, and Jag Fel as the lone token guy. I mean, sure, by this point Tahiri's a Force-sensitive bounty hunter and social pariah (funny how being a fallen Jedi/former Sith apprentice will do that to you) and everything, but I love that Jaina still trusts her enough to be part of the group. And they get to do fun things like break into high-security prisons and steal speeders and go on high-speed pursuits through the Coruscant airways. I love it.

Tahiri Veila, Smartass Defendant (Fate of the Jedi: Abyss) - So of course by FotJ, my girl's a convicted political assassin and on trial for her life, partly because Daala wants to scapegoat all Force-users for the recent civil war (you know, as opposed to all those other ones), and she's out for blood. Does this stop Tahiri from mouthing off to the judge at her arraignment? NOT AT ALL.

"I understand that," [Judge] Lorteli said. "But in your capacity as a Jedi Knight, you were privy to a great many secrets that the Jedi Order might not want revealed in open court, were you not?"

"Oh, we all know where the Emperor buried his treasure, if that's what you're asking," Tahiri said, slumping back in her chair. "I'll be glad to draw you a map, if it will get these charges--"

The rest of her offer was lost to the din of guffaws and chuckles that rolled through the courtroom, and even Daala snorted in amusement.

"That one has guts," she said. "I have to give her that."

"What does she have to lose?" Jag asked. "A blind Gungan could see that you've had this court rigged from the start."

Also, I love that Jag has her back.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri and Jaina in Fate of the Jedi, in general - As much as I love to joke about the slashy subtext with those two, I genuinely just love the relationship they have in FotJ; for a long time, Jaina's the only one who will stick up for her, and is willing to risk getting dirty looks from the Jedi for walking into the Jedi Temple dining hall with her. (Okay, I can't not joke about the subtext, because that scene has a bit that mentions them having just gotten a sanisteam between the mission they were on and walking into the Temple, and DID THEY TAKE ONE TOGETHER? THE NARRATIVE COULD BE READ EITHER WAY. Bless you, Aaron Allston.) And Jaina being at Tahiri's trial and glaring daggers at the judge. And yes.

Actually, just Tahiri's whole relationship with the Solo family in FotJ - Okay, so there's a bit where Luke and Ben go to the Lake of Apparitions and talk to Force manifestations of Mara Jade Skywalker and Anakin Solo; I'll leave that to momslilassassin to detail if desired, but Anakin's "ghost" asks Ben to tell Tahiri he still loves her. Then there is this wonderful heartbreaking scene where Han and Leia go to visit Tahiri in prison, and Leia busts out with the badass to intimidate the prison guards into letting them into Tahiri's cell, Force-flashes the security cam, and relays Anakin's message to her, and Tahiri just breaks down crying on them when she hears it. (Which, okay, I'm still not a huge fan of how much they're tying her psychological well-being to a dead boy years down the line, but THIS SCENE.) Keep in mind, two years ago Tahiri tried to arrest them on Jacen's orders and got into a huge brutal fight with Leia in the process, and now they've been at her trial every day they can manage to spare and are being this supportive of her.

Look, Tahiri in FotJ in general is just love.

[withasword.livejournal.com]

This I can come up with multiple points for. With ease. These books are crack.

5. Atlanta.

Not a plotty moment, but as the backdrop for the entire series, the city gets its own point. I love their post-Apocalyptic magic-fueled take on the world like NOTHING ELSE. They have shapeshifters, they have extremely a-typical vampires, they have people who sell ice sprite eggs and fetishes and roast rat. Giant (house-sized) tortoises are not too far out of the norm, nor stymphalian birds, trolls, snow in mid-summer, walls that eat people... The list of wacky magical side-effects goes on and on.

The remainder of these points can be summed up in various snatches of book.

4. Julie.

The last time Assistant Principal Parker called, a girl in the school’s locker room had accused Julie of being a whore during the two years she’d spent on the street. My kid took exception to that and decided to communicate that by applying a chair to the offending party’s head. I’d told her to go for the gut next time—it left less evidence.

3. Ascanio.

“Really? You don’t say. Emotionally compromised?”

“Aunt B used that phrase today to explain to me why I shouldn’t punish a fifteen-year-old idiot for having a threesome in front of the morgue.” Curran pondered his beer. “Never would’ve thought to use that to describe the kid’s problem.”

“Well, how would you describe it?”

“Young, dumb, and full of cum.”

That pretty much summed it up. “You missed your calling. You should’ve been a poet.”

[withasword.livejournal.com]

2. Ghastek. Clinical Master of The Dead.

The vampire gagged. The muscles of its neck constricted, widened, constricted again, and it disgorged a six-inch-long metal cylinder onto my desk. The bloodsucker grasped it, twisted the cylinder’s halves apart, and retrieved a roll of papers. “Photographs,” Ghastek said, handing me a couple of sheets from the roll.

“That’s disgusting.”

“He is thirty years old,” Ghastek said. “All his internal organs, with the exception of the heart, atrophied long ago. The throat makes for a very good storage cavity. People seem to prefer it to the anus.”

Translation: be happy I didn’t pull it out of my ass. Thank the gods for small favors."

1. Kate. Her paranoia is probably well-placed.

I frowned at the parcel. It lay on the grimy landing before my new door—the old one had to be replaced when a demon burst through it. I‟d built a bit of a reputation in the neighborhood as that crazy bitch with a sword who lives in 32B, an image I carefully cultivated, but even so, an unattended parcel should have been pilfered within seconds of hitting the ground.

Maybe it was booby-trapped.

I pulled out Slayer. The light filtering through the grimy window above me caught the opaque, nearly white metal of the saber, layering a nacre sheen along the blade. I nudged the package with the saber‟s tip and dodged just in case.

Nothing.

The package lay quietly. Yes, yes, and as soon as I picked it up, it would sprout blades and slice my hands to ribbons.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Okay so honestly, when you ask my about a favourite moment, I can only think of one and it's from the movies too.

The quality isn't all that great, but still. Here's a link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZiwAGNqfNk). For one thing, the song is freaking awesome, and it has the wolves being cool. Just ignore Bella's whining in the beginning.

[puppywithatutu.livejournal.com]

You're wrong. This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_pZitY6EEA) is the best Twilight moment.

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

1. "H.O.U.S.E. Rules" - It's a crazy episode that's completely cast driven. As a result of Henry announcing he's leaving Eureka and Jack calling in sick because he's pissed off at GD, S.A.R.A.H. takes matters into her own hands and traps almost the entire cast in Jack's bunker to try and make them get along. This goes as far to trigger the military AI that S.A.R.A.H. was built on which means arming all the weapons that apparently everyone forgot to take away when they turned it into Jack's home.

However the best moment is when Zoe is coming home from school and gets targeted by S.A.R.A.H's laser defense system. Jack sees it happening on the monitor and completely loses his mind, attacking a NUCLEAR POWER GENERATOR with a baseball bat to try and stop his house from killing his daughter.'

2. "Once in a Lifetime" - And while I can really do without the Allison/Jack relationship, this one scene still kills me. In the last episode of the first season the entire show jumps to five years in the future to find Jack and Allison happily married, a kid on the way and everything is just peaches and cream. Then they find out that someone has tampered with the timeline meaning Jack has to go back in time and stop it from happening. This of course means that the last five years may not even happen. When Ally asks Jack what if they never end up together as a result?

Jack: "There is no time, no WAY that we don't end up together. You just gotta have a little faith."

It's a beautiful moment. It almost makes me like the ship.

3. "E = MC…?"

Due to an incident almost everyone in the town eats chicken that was made artificially, all the town's geniuses turn into morons. (Of course this happens when an experiment to recreate the "Big Bang" is about to occur which could blow up the entire universe. This town is nuts.) At one point Henry is trying to understand what's going on but can't and looks over at Jack and says "Geez, Jack. I'm sorry. This must be how you feel all the time."

The look on Jack's face is priceless.

4. "Dr. Nobel" - Due to a mind meld with an aging scientist to try and stop a doomsday device (Yes. Again), Jack inherits the memories and feelings he had for his girlfriend at the time. Which leads to awkward moments as Jack has flashbacks and ends up making out with the senior citizen girlfriend at the end of each flashback. Kills me every time.

5. "Try, Try, Again" Another great episode in which Fargo presses a button and almost gets killed by a force field and having a 3 meaton nuclear bomb dropped on him. When Carter (again) saves the day he has this exchange with Nathan:

Nathan smiles and says "Good job, Carter." He then pauses and grins before adding:"Wow, that didn't even leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Jack smirks back at him and then merely says, "Wait for it."

Nathan waits and then nods in realization "Oh, there it is!"

I seriously love the way the two interact.

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

6. Best in Faux

Mostly I love this show because the entire town goes nuts over a robotic dog show, each one trying to be more realistic. Fargo wins because he cheated and used a real dog.

7. "Here Comes the Sun"

Another favorite "Holy crap the world is going to end" episode when a kid in the science fair accidentally creates a second sun in the Earth's atmosphere. In the process Jack helps save the day using a re-engineered of Degree anti-perspirant.

8. "Your face or Mine" For once the episode has nothing to do with the world ending. It does involve Jo having her identity stolen and a scientist using her image to hit on Fargo which is just plain wacky to watch. It also features Jack going through his DOD re-certification test which involves him sitting on an elevated platform and trying to press a red button with a bunch of straws.

9. "It's not easy being green" - Mostly amusing because it features a bowling competition between Eureka and the scientists from Area 51. Fargo and his team end up turning green due to gamma radiation.

10. "Crossing Over" - Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13 shows up and smooches Fargo and they get stuck in a minefield. And yet even though they almost blow up? They still make out. I like this one mostly because Claudia is in it.

11. "The Ex-Files" - As a result of some weird therapy mind zapping thing, Jack starts seeing Nathan Stark who seems to be alive. The episode is Nathan following Jack around and snarking at him. It's beautiful. Especially for this scene where Jack turns around and sees Nathan shirtless, sitting on a deck chair looking buff and drinking a margarita.

Jack: "Will you put a shirt on?!"
Nathan: "Hey, this is your fantasy, not mine."
Jack: "More like a nightmare. Shirt it!"

[wrongkindofsith]

1. Cara's face - IT TOTALLY COUNTS AS A MOMENT Just, Cara's face. Tabrett Bethell has pretty much the most expressive face in existence and it kills, especially when Cara's all woobie-ish.

2. Princess - This episode is my happy place, it's glorious candy covered crack. Cara has to pretend to be a pretty, pink princess in order to save Kahlan's life and hilarity ensues. There's Cara failing at girl, Richard failing at seductive, nomming of not!minotaur livers to Richard and Kahlan's sexytiems music, Bruce Spence in drag, improvised rhymes about torture, blink and you'll miss it Hamlet jokes, and pretty pink dresses I will find excuses to stick FH!Cara in forever.

3. Girl-fight inna Tomb - So like this one time Cara and Kahlan got stuck in a tomb with only a day's worth of air, and Cara told Kahlan she liked her, and Kahlan gave her probably the first hug she'd had in years, and then Cara tried to kill herself to give Kahlan more oxygen, because she has ALL the self-worth issues, and so there was a massive girl-fight and Kahlan had to choke Cara out for her own good, and they held hands when the air ran out, and then Cara took back telling Kahlan they were friend after they got rescued and Kahlan and Richard just grinned at each other because they know their girlfriend has all the issues, and it aired like two days after my birthday so it was the best present ever. Trufax.

4. Cara's re-introduction in S2 - Okay, so her intro in the season one finale was awesomesauce in and of itself, but her first scene in season two involved a) a hot-tub, b) nekkidy, and c) beating the crap out of Cordelia Chase for interrupting her bathtiems/imminent Mord'Sithly threesome. So, yeah...that was fun.

5. Cara and the Night Wisp - Darken Rahl getting his casual xenocide on leads to Cara needing to save the blue-fairies Night Wisps by taking the last one to the mystical Night-Wisp birthing grounds, and since Night Wisps are 'very delicate' she has to talk to it so it doesn't die of emo on the way. Cue Cara being bullied into talking about her feelings to her hand. It's epically hilarious and woeful at the same time (she thinks they just keep her around because she's good at killing things D:).

6. Department of Backstory - So Broken is the first Cara-centric episode and by the end you just want to give her all the hugs because srs, my girl needs them.

7. Dahlia is the worst girlfriend ever. No, seriously, Edward Cullen would think she has issues respecting her partner's autonomy - I was actually tempted to post this yesterday since the entire plot is pretty much repeatedly kicking Cara in the teeth, but it was just beautifully done. Basically another Mord'Sith named Dahlia who Cara has ~teh histories~ with shows up saying they need to rescue Cara's super sekrit son (with Darken Rahl, oh noes). Naturally it's a trap, but before it is sprung there is sexytiems and awkwardness, and adorable characters touches. So then there is torture, and Rahl is all, btw I totes killed the kid when he was still a baby, lulz, while Dahlia is all have some more heartbreaking backstory to explain why this is all for your own good :D :D :D, and there are POWERFUL DARK MAGICS to break Cara and Zedd using the Power of Friendship^TM to break through to her, only not so much, so Cara ends the episode brainwashed I spend the next two weeks until it got resolved flailing because it aired on freaking Newbie Day and I had no idea if I'd been jossed right out of the gate.

Not technically canon, but still...Seekers of Love - So right at the start of S2 they decided to have a wee competition to promote it. There are no words. None.

[hurtingzeebo]

I can't do YouTube from work, but that's okay, since most of the YouTube clips from this show are terrible quality, anyway.

1. [Enter FREDDIE in a bear suit]
SAM: "Oh my gosh, the bear ate Freddie. Bad bear!" [smacks FREDDIE in the head with a bat. FREDDIE falls to the floor groaning, then gets up and points at SAM]
FREDDIE: "Never do that again!"
SAM: "You can't tell me what to do." [smacks FREDDIE in the head with the bat again."

2. [iCarly is being produced for television by professionals. They've decided to add a new character, a talking dinosaur named ZEEBO.]
SAM: "Hey, can we move that boom a little closer? Cloooser . . ." [grabs boom mike and uses it to beat ZEEBO to the floor]
ZEEBO: "Ack! Hurting Zeebo! Hurting Zeebo!"

3. [Thanks to Carly suggesting that if Sam and Freddie are dating, then Sam should participate in some of the things that Freddie likes to do, Sam is at Freddie's train club meeting full of huge dorks who are afraid of girls. So what does she do? She takes the time while they troop off for fig newtons to set up an epic train collision.]
TRAIN CLUB LEADER: "There's train in my milk."
SAM: "Drink it!"
[Freddie was better off without those friends, anyway.]

4. Spencer and Jack Black face off while cosplaying as mortal enemies from World of Warlords. In song.

5. CARLY: "Gee, I'm sorry your clown had an aneurysm."
SAM: "I'm sorry he had an aneurysm while I was dancing with him."

I could go on and on and on and on.

[gastronomistic]

My favorite moments in this show are all kind of tiny. But I'll try, anyway.

1. "Reprise" -- The whole town has been essentially hypnotized by song lyrics, resulting in Vincent turning Cafe Diem into a neverending dance party. When Jack comes to break it up and save the day, Vincent an absolutely EPIC speech made up almost entirely pop dance hit quotes, culminating with "AND THESE HIPS DON'T LIE!"

Mmmmmhm.

2. "E=MC. . .?" -- Nathan and Allison are dumb together in the GD lobby. I can't find the precise quote but they're ADORABLE, okay?

3. "Bad to the Drone" -- Jack's trying to reign in a flying drone named Martha, which he's traced to Cafe Diem (she's trying to refuel using Vincent's freezer's nuclear reactor). Since Martha has a cloaking device, he detects where she is by squirting mustard randomly in the air. Vincent stands up when he's done, mustard covering his apron, stares at Jack, and goes "REALLY?!" with that face there in the icon.
Also, Jack's "Noted!" when Martha responds to his cajoling by zapping the crap out of his jeep.

4. "One Giant Leap" -- Jack: "Wait, my PDA has a camera and black holes are everywhere?! PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS!"

5. "H.O.U.S.E. Rules" -- Pretty much the whole ep, but there's this little moment where they're all sitting around the kitchen counter/table thing, Jack in a bathrobe with a beer, trying to figure out what to do about SARAH.
JACK: I wish Jo were here. She'd know what to do.
HENRY: That's it! We'll blow her [SARAH] up!
JACK: But she's [Jo] not here.
NATHAN: [silently reaches out and slides Jack's beer away from him.]

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

Oh man. That scene where Jack shows all the pictures from his pda was hilarious. That was a glorius episode.

I still have to work out that PDA bit in the game because it's too good not to play with it.

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

I'll think about this more after work, but for the moment I'll just mention that there's a YouTube video serious called Batman Is Awesome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WXYhcuZ6Ag) that hits a lot of the high points, especially from the JL years.

You know, I could just do this as "Top 5 Canon Moments In Which Batman Fights An Animal" and still have more than enough to choose from.

[stykera]

Can I say everything? That's cheating, isn't it? Plus I have some issues. But still. SHOW I MISS YOU COME BACK.

Anyway. I will look for youtube clips later maybe. But...

1) Nerve/The Hidden Memory because it gave us Stark and Scorpius. And especially the "my side, your side" scene and the scene later where Stark shows he isn't really crazy (mostly) and takes care of poor abused John by being a glowy plot device.

2) Peacekeeper Wars because it was the bestest 21st birthday present ever. EVER. I mean, really, they brought back my favorite show on my birthday. TELL ME THAT IS NOT AWESOME. And just the fact that it came back at all (in spite of the issues I have with some of it) is amazing.

3) Stark sort of proposing to Zhaan because it is adorable and he is so nervous and she just smiles and awwww.

4) Revenging Angel. It's a cartoon! It's Looney Tunes in spaaace. But it's also really dark because it's John's brain reacting to how his skull nearly got caved in because his best friend has anger management issues.

5) The end of Into The Lion's Den. Mostly for that shot of Scorpy on the stairs with the water because it is AMAZING.

6) "you were in my shoes, I was in your pants..."

...I have to go back to tending to tiny children. I will return. With more love. Later.

[stykera]

1)My side/your side

3)"If you are in agreement, Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, it would be an honor and a pleasure to share the future with you." And she just smiles and awwwww. AWWWW I SAY.

5)Into The Lion's Den

7) Crackers Don't Matter is such crack. There are photogasms and nonsense and...this. HUMANS. ARE. SUPERIOR!

And really, I just love this show so much.
And the comics were good and now they are over and it ended THREE TIMES NOW and this causes me pain.

[showmetheproof.livejournal.com]

God, so many great moments, even with the terrible ones in there too.

In no particular order:

1. Scully being a badass in the movie, walking in and telling the security guards to evacuate the building, them gaping at her with "uh, I don't think we can do that in two minutes." And Scully pointing at them and saying, "GET ON THAT PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN."

2. Any time Scully is facing off with committees, senators, or investigations, saying the most ridiculous stuff with a straight face while they stare at her like she's crazy. Knowing how crazy she sounds but going through with it anyway. The best one of this is in the pilot, when she actually brings back alien tech from the investigation, and her bosses are questioning her, and she calmly tells them that the material in the implant is not identified. They all just kind of stare at her like "bzuh? Wait, you ... actually have proof that Mulder's not crazy?" Scully: "SCIENCE. NEENER."

3. X-COPS: (AHAHAHAH.) Everything in this ep makes me happy, but one of the happier bits is Scully conducting an autopsy on-camera, and being frantically questioned about Hanta virus by a paranoid morgue worker, and finally telling the camera with this death's head grin, "The FBI has nothing to hide."

A later great moment in there is the camera guys for COPS hiding in a closet and screaming when Mulder and Scully open the door, only to have it slammed in their faces again with Scully saying, "I hate those guys."

4. Memento Mori. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzWtADDeFlU) But especially this bit. Sometimes the cancer arc got confusing, but the acting... God, it made me cry the first time. And it's a great bit of Mulder/Scully friendship/whatever, but it's also Scully saying it's not just his fight, it's hers, and she's going to keep going.

5. One Breath. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD5srj8x5lc&feature=related) Scully's returned from her first kidnapping in 2nd season, comatose. Mulder pretty much goes nuts for the whole episode, trying to find some way to keep her alive, and then almost settles on revenge... and then gives up the chance at that to stay with her when he thinks she's dying. This is pretty much what sold me on the series for *years* later.

When she wakes up, he's so thrilled. And she tells him "I had the strength of your convictions."

6. Bad Blood. And the whole Texas vampire road show.

7. Scully taking on Donnie Pfaster not once, but twice. I still need to work the creepiest necrophiliac ever into some kind of plot here.

8. Triangle. Being a 1940's secret agent and Scully at the same time.

Seriously, the good so outweighs the bad with this show. It's just that the bad is so WTF that you end up remembering it a lot.

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

1. Lighting the beacons. Yes, it's a movie scene, no I don't care. It's gorgeous and makes my hair stand on end and makes me tear up any frigging time I see it. Even in a stupid youtube vid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6LGJ7evrAg).

2. Faramir's ride to Osgiliath (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2L0SdYqomI). Yes, movie again,but I love how they brought it. I love the contrast of Faramir riding to his doom because his father wishes it of him and Denethor sitting their in his hall without realising the madness of his order. They managed to portray the tragedy of it all so well, staying in the spirit of the books as well.

3. This moment is one of my favourites in the books as well as in the movie: The Ride of the Rohirrim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZTmCALoQFo). Again, they portrayed the book so beautifully and the Rohan theme is just the best in the entire three movies. In the book, the Rohirrim have been guided through narrow paths to get to Minas Tirith unnoticed and when they finally arrive on the battlefield, that dark ashen cloud seems to breaking up as the wind pushes it away, bringing hope along with the arrival of Rohan.

I couldn't possibly type it all up, but Théoden's speech is actually a mix of his own and the one Éomer gives later in the battle when the thinks both Théoden and Éowyn are dead and he thinks to make a last stand.

Théoden's speech:
Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

Éomer's speech:
Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising
I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!

4. The last march of the Ents (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPNC8W0XRWE&feature=related). Again, something I adore in both the movie and the books. The Ents pretty much doomed themselves with how they are, losing the Entwives. Chances are they're all going to die and their inability to care about anything that happens now makes you want to strangle them. And just when you think nothing is going to happen and they're going to sit back, they decide to throw in their weight. Which leads to one of the most fun sieges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8WyXv7hQvE&feature=related).

5. Éowyn defeating the Witch King (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSNPeJAgBzo). Books or movie, it makes no matter. This scene rules.

I am no man!

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Pfffffffft. I'm not done, there needs to be some Éowyn/Faramir in here dammit.

1. The first time Faramir meets Éowyn and she gets right up in his face:

Faramir: Your window does not look eastward? That can be amended. In this I will command the Warden. If you will stay in this house in our care, lady, and take your rest, then you shall walk in this garden in the sun, as you will; and you shall look east, whither all our hopes have gone. And here you will find me, walking and waiting, and also looking east. It would ease my care, if you would speak to me, or walk at whiles with me.
Éowyn: How should I ease your care, my lord? And I do not desire the speech of living men.
Faramir: Would you have my plain answer?
Éowyn: I would.
Faramir: Then, Éowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither flower nor lady have I seen till now in Gondor so lovely, and so sorrowful. It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still. For you and I have both passed under the wings of the Shadow, and the same hand drew us back.
Éowyn: Alas, not me, lord! Shadow lies on me still. Look not to me for healing! I am a shieldmaiden and my hand is ungentle. But I thank you for this at least, that I need not keep to my chamber. I will walk abroad by the grace of the Steward of the City.

2. When they know each other and it feels like everything might end and they're both looking to the East for their doom or their salvation. It bugs me a little that in the movies, they took Faramir's dream and gave it to Éowyn to make a scene with Aragorn with.:

'It reminds me of Numenor,' said Faramir, and wondered to hear himself speak.

'Of Numenor?' said Eowyn.

'Yes,' said Faramir, 'of the land of Westernesse that foundered, and of the great dark wave climbing over the green lands and above the hills, and coming on, darkness unescapable. I often dream of it.'

'Then you think that the Darkness is coming?' said Eowyn. 'Darkness Unescapable?' And suddenly she drew close to him.

'No,' said Faramir, looking at her face. 'It was but a picture in the mind. I do not know what is happening. The reason of my waking mind tells me that great evil has befallen and we stand at the end of days. But my heart says nay; and all my limbs are light, and a hope and joy are come to me that no reason can deny. Éowyn, Éowyn, White Lady of Rohan, in this hour I do not believe that any darkness will endure!' And he stooped and kissed her brow.

And so they stood on the walls of the City of Gondor, and a great wind rose and blew, and their hair, raven and golden, streamed out mingling in the air.

The movie condenses the scene to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzvUZwAHjNY&feature=related).

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

1. Kurt sings "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy. Chris Colfer's finest moment.

2. Quinn confronts her parents in "Ballad." "You just pushed it aside like we do every bad feeling in this house ... If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist." A powerful scene, and one that explained who Quinn was and why a hell of a lot better than the show's managed before or since.

3. The Journey medley in "Journey to Regionals."Both because it shows how far the club has come since they sang "Don't Stop Believing" in the pilot, and for the one moment when I actually liked Will Schuester. It's tiny, but there's a shot of him bouncing happily to the music that made me feel how much he loved teaching and the club.

4. Every time Brittany opens her mouth. Okay, so lately they're tipping over a bit too far into 'actually developmentally disabled' instead of just 'lives in her own reality,' but she's gotten off some great ones, from "I took all my antibiotics at once and forgot how to leave" to "I think my cat's been reading my diary." Massive props to Heather Morris for taking this dumb blonde backing dancer character and making her a person.

5. "Grilled Cheesus." Not necessarily a popular episode, but one I really liked because it showed how differently the show's characters approach their spirituality, actually had a valid Sue motivation for once, and did not end with the atheist being magically converted 'cause God is awesome and stuff. Also has fun, doofy Finn voiceovers.

[brat_inslayage]

...yeah, today I'm sticking strictly to my thirteen episodes of canon (the comics so don't count), but no video links because they crack down hard on YouTube clips. :( Also I feel like a lot of this is spoilery for my upcoming canon catchup stuff but WHATEVER.

"Better not hog the covers." - Oh god, look, I know people were all OMFG OUTRAGED that this girl just shows up at Buffy's house and hits on Willow right off the bat, like WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS TRYING TO REPLACE TARA WTF, but it was just so... Kennedy is just so not ashamed of being who she is and going after things she wants, and I would kill to be that assertive. I swear I loved her from that moment.

The end of "The Killer In Me." - Never mind that the dialogue in that scene goes badly off the rails (I've done that rant before) at the end of the scene. I think it says a hell of a lot about Kennedy that she's standing there, staring down the barrel of a gun and all of Willow's raw grief over another girl, dealing with a magic-related problem when that's the last thing in the world she's equipped to handle, and she doesn't give up. And she goes with her instincts and it works. Plus oh my god, Alyson Hannigan's performance in that scene just destroys me every time.

"You're out of line." - Kennedy getting up in Buffy's face during "Get it Done," when everyone is upset and demoralized and Buffy's just ripped into all of them for being weak and letting her carry them? Okay, the whole "let's kick Buffy out of the house" thing is really kind of WTF, but I love this scene for showcasing Kennedy's protective tendencies. The original shooting script says that after Buffy's tirade, when she throws the shovel down, Willow flinches and it's Kennedy noticing the flinch that makes her jump up and confront Buffy; I like how it turned out instead, though, with a wide-angle shot of everyone's reactions. She's not tactful, and she doesn't really handle the situation that well, but hey, she is impetuous.

The sewer chase from "End of Days." - It's Kennedy's first real chance to act as a leader, with Faith unconscious and badly wounded, and obviously helping wounded Potentials try and escape from a section of the sewers where a bomb just went off (and killed some of them) is a great way to ease into that role, right? I love that she insists on finding Faith, even though Faith humiliated her in front of everyone the night before, and then keeps herding the girls along and telling them they can handle the Ubervamps, then does everything she can to protect them even though she's completely outclassed. Girl might be incredibly dumb sometimes, but she's got guts.

"You're my way." - Ah, I'm always gonna go with this one because in the end I really am a giant sap. It was just a nice, sweet little twist on my girl's obnoxious tendencies.

Wow, how did I manage to not be excessively rambly? EDIT-HAPPY THOUGH, GOD. WTF FINGERS.

Yes, I limited myself to Kennedy stuff. Otherwise I'd have about three comments' worth for every season, shut up.

...actually I could probably come up with three comments' worth just for "Restless." And "Hush." And "Graduation Day." And "Becoming." And and and and and.

OKAY I SWEAR I'M DONE EDITING NOW.

[halfman-lion.livejournal.com]

Limiting myself to stuff on youTube for sake of not writing an epic...

1. Tyrion slaps Joffrey. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLOXUGmRKI) His nephew. Who is also the future king and more than deserves it. La.

2. Viserys gets the crown of gold that he's been promised. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-cSm5qyk0) Violence warning.

3. Tyrion confesses his crimes. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4B-PysR_4s&feature=related) Which do not happen to include the murder he's on trial for, but that's another issue.

4. "Never forget who you are." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASZsMRzqhs) Tyrion delivers some words of wisdom to Jon Snow.

5. Arya Stark does not want to be a lady. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYxo4ssBXZw) And Ned Stark is a good, if limited, daddy.

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Hitting Joffrey is kind of the best thing ever.

[locointhecoco]

All of it.

Okay, to be more specific:

1. "Party of One" -- Ye olde "character feels unloved because friends appear to be ignoring them/forgot their birthday, when in fact they are throwing a surprise party" episode. Except for the bit where this causes Pinkie to have a psychotic break. BEST. EPISODE. EVER.

2. "The Show Stoppers" -- The Cutie Mark Crusaders, three baby ponies who have yet to find out what makes them special and thus earn their "cutie marks" (the little design on their flank) decide to compose a song about how frustrating it is and perform it at the talent show. It's terrible. In the best possible way. I know, this is also listed as one of my cringe inducing moments. IT'S SO CRINGE-Y THAT IT'S GOOD.

3. "Feeling Pinkie Keen" -- Twilight Sparkle learns about Pinkie's future-predicting bodily twitches and doesn't believe it. She sets out to investigate them, which mostly results in her getting smashed by falling furniture and slamming doors. She gets so frustrated that she turns white and catches fire. What? Like you've never felt like that.

4. "Lesson Zero" -- Twilight is so OCD that when she realizes she has nothing to write a letter back to Celestia about, she freaks out, becomes convinced that she's going to be sent back to magic kindergarten and . . . suffers a psychotic break (what? I don't have a pattern. . . .) To make sure she has something to write about, she enchants her ratty old stuffed doll, Smarty Pants, with an obsession spell to make all the ponies fall in love with it and fight over it.

Then, when the spell is finally broken, Big Macintosh, the big, stoic work horse older brother of Applejack, sneaks in, grabs Smarty Pants, and gallops off with hearts in his eyes.

5. "The Return of Harmony, parts 1 & 2" -- The Cutie Mark Crusaders are on a field trip to Canterlot, and their bickering accidentally sets free Discord, the evil dragon pony thing that lives off chaos and has astonishing powers over his environment and everypony in it. Discord, by the way, is voiced by John de Lancie, aka Q from Star Trek. Mmmhm.

I love pretty much everything about these episodes, but just to offer up one example: one of the first signs that Discord is on the loose is a bunch of cotton candy clouds spilling out chocolate milk rain. Prompting this response from Pinkie when they're tasked with stopping him:

"Wait, wait, eternal chaos means chocolate rain, you guys. CHOCOLATE. RAIN."

(Also, "You better THINK before you laugh at the PINK! . . . ie Pie!" So. Many. Good moments.)

[endsthegame]

Since I can't just go ahead and say ALL OF ENDER'S GAME AND MOST OF SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, here's some moments I loved.

1. Ender gets transferred out of his first group of friends. His friend Alai is there to say goodbye.

"I understand them, Ender. You are the best of us. Maybe they're in a hurry to teach you everything."

"They don't want to teach me everything," Ender said. "I wanted to learn what it was like to have a friend."

Alai nodded soberly. "Always my friend, always the best of my friends," he said. Then he grinned. "Go slice up the buggers."

"Yeah." Ender smiled back.

Alai suddenly kissed Ender on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "Salaam." Then, red faced, he turned away and walked to his own bed at the back of the barracks.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

2. "They scare you, too? They slap you up in the bathroom? Stick you head in the pissah? Somebody gots a gun up you bung? You still my friend?"

Large boys show up to try and interrupt Ender's practice sessions. Alai talks Ender out of bowing to the pressure. Later on, Ender and his tiny group of students beat the crap out of a bunch of older, bigger boys when they show up and try to get them to stop.

But it all started with Alai.

3. Bean tries to get Ender to give him a toon.

"And what do you want, love and kisses?" I love this scene because it's the first time in a while we see anyone get Ender emotional again, and Bean and him bounce off each other brilliantly. Ender winds up realising he's being mean to Bean because Bean reminds him of himself.

"Nobody would notice you, except to feel sorry for the little kid. But I made sure they all noticed you today. They'll be watching every move you make. All you have to do to earn their respect now is be perfect."

"So I don't even get a chance to learn before I'm being judged."

"Poor kid. Nobody's treatin him fair."

Which leads to...

4. Ender shows weakness to Bean.

With a grueling schedule of battles happening, Ender's wearing down, and his continued isolation isn't helping much. So he asks Bean to come over, and the befuddled boy winds up completely surprised when Ender actually confides in him.

"They can't break you."

"You'd be surprised." Ender breathed sharply, suddenly, as if there were a stab of pain, or he had to catch a sudden breath in a wind; Bean looked at him and realized that the impossible was happening. Far from baiting him, Ender Wiggin was actually confiding in him. Not much. But a little. Ender was human and Bean had been allowed to see.

5. Ender and Valentine on the lake.

Valentine gets dragged in to emotionally blackmail Ender into going back to war. Again. The whole scene is heartbreaking, as you realise 1) how broken Ender is at this point, 2) how much what Valentine's doing is working and 3) how aware he is that she's doing it because the IF wants her to, shattering the last bit of trust he has in anybody.

And then there's this:

"Beat the buggers. Then come home and see who notices Peter Wiggin anymore. Look him in the eye when all the world loves and reveres you. That'll be defeat in his eyes, Ender. That's how you win."

"You don't understand," he said.

"Yes I do."

"No you don't. I don't want to beat Peter."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want him to love me."

[endsthegame]

And the Speaker for the Dead moments (no, I'm not doing the other books, because they are WTFy with moments of brittle awesome at best):

1. Ender and Plikt

Plikt is a student of Ender's, who he considers the most promising among them. She kind of crushes on him hard, though, and that's led to her deciding that she wants to be a Speaker for the Dead and speak his death.

Ender, who hasn't made a human connection with anyone but Valentine in thousands of years, is not amused. Plikt does not let up, and he finally winds up pretty much fleeing because omfg HE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE HUMAN RACE, OKAY.

Look, I like Ender when he gets issuey. And there's the academic discussion up front, with Plikt and Ender and a few other students, that quickly becomes just Plikt and Ender... and one guy who won't shut up. Ender deals with it like this:

"For the moment, Styrka, hold your tongue. I know all the arguments of your Calvinism, but even John Calvin would call your doctrine stupid."

"How do you know what Calvin would--"

"Because he's dead," roared Andrew, "and so I'm entitled to speak for him!"

Mmm.

2. Ender says goodbye to Valentine.

HELLO, HEARTBREAK. Ender decides it's time to move on. He also decides that Val won't want to come with him anymore, so he doesn't make arrangements for her to come.

When she finds out, she is understandably Not Amused, accuses him of sneaking out like a burglar in the night (well, he kind of is), pointing out that it's unfair of him to just leave her behind like that when she's followed him for years, and so on.

Finally, they both snap and these two hyper-intelligent, ultra-composed people are ranting at each other.

"No, you're right, I wanted to hurry because I have a work to do there, and every day here is marking time, and because it hurts me every time I see you and Jakt growing closer and you and me growing more distant, even though I know that it's exactly as it should be, so when I decided to go, I thought that going quickly was better, and I was right; you know I'm right. I never thought you'd hate me for it."

Now emotion stopped him, and he wept; so did she. "I don't hate you, I love you, you're part of myself, you're my heart and when you go it's my heart tom out and carried away--"

3. Ender in Novinha's house.

So I don't like the ship, but this scene has so many minor bits of awesome along the way - like one of the kids trying to stab Ender, which he stoically fends off, and then the same kid actually pees on Ender when Ender tries to keep him captive and Ender just snarks his way through it.

And then somehow in thirty minutes' time Ender manages to talk each of those kids into an emotional epiphany that brings them all closer as a family. And then Novinha shows up and he baffles the hell out of her, too.

Ender basically handles the whole thing like a Zen master -- "Order and disorder," said the Speaker, "they each have their beauty." -- and I kind of love him when he works his magic, okay.

4. The Speaking of Marcao

In which we see Ender speak a death for the first time, and it's incredibly moving. And ruthless, as he shakes up the town with everything that he's found and forces Novinha to accept what she's done and move on at least until the next book.

No quote can do it credit, but I'll show a small snippet: "There's no blame in this. You were children then, and children are cruel without knowing better. You wouldn't do that now. But now that I've reminded you, you can easily see an answer. You called him a dog, and so he became one. For the rest of his life. Hurting helpless people. Beating his wife. Speaking so cruelly and abusively to his son Miro that he drove the boy out of his house. He was acting out the way you treated him, becoming what you told him that he was."